Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Guest Blog: YA Paranormal Author Meredith Shea Wood

Many thanks to Meredith for providing our Runner-Up prize of a signed copy of Panthan's Crucible and providing us with a wonderful Guest Blog. It's been great learning more about Meredith!  Enjoy!
Panthan's CruciblePanthan's Crucible
First of all, I wanted to say that I am so excited to have the chance to participate in this contest. I know some of you might be asking, “Who the heck is Meredith Wood?” Don’t be ashamed. I still wonder this every day. I thought I’d give away a few tidbits about myself and in doing so, I’ll feel like I know who I am for a day or two.

Hm, what are some things people like to know about authors?

Maybe some of their favorite authors?

Okay. I can do that. I love Charlaine Harris, though I loved her way before she became so famous with True Blood. When I first heard she’d signed over her Sookie books to Alan Ball I was ecstatic and figured I’d never survive the wait. But I did, and what’s worse, I realized I now had to share her world with others. After some careful thought, I realized I have jealousy issues with anything or anyone I hold dear to my heart. That’s probably not a good thing to reveal about yourself though, is it?

We should move on.

Maybe talk about my paranormal Panthan’s Crucible?

Sometimes life takes us for a ride where the good and the bad live in the same gray area. This makes it difficult to distinguish between the two. Maybe there is no right and wrong. Maybe it’s about choosing the best path for you. In Panthan’s Crucible Grayson and Laura learn this the hard way.

If you’d like to know a bit more about my world of Panthans, you can watch the book trailer here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOiPhhQ__ps

I’ve been asked a time or two how old I was when I made the decision to become a writer. I can’t remember. So I guess the answer to that question is: I’ve wanted to be a writer forever.

Now, I do know that I can’t write in coffee shops, bookstores, well, anywhere in public really. If I want to write, I have to do it at my computer desk with the door shut and my music blaring. Ah, music. That is the biggest inspiration for my writing. And I stress the word music, not style, because I listen to everything: classical, opera, rock, pop, country, and all the in-betweens.

Right now, I’m working on two projects. The first is Panthan’s Abyss, which is the second book in my Panthan Series. I’m also doing revisions on a contemporary young adult called Push. If that isn’t enough to keep me busy, I’m also waiting on the release date for my upcoming young adult Somewhere in Between. You can watch Somewhere in Between's book trailer here:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKWRypG9GOc

This probably brings us around to wondering why I choose to write for the young adult market. It’s really simple. Teens are complex creatures, but I get them. Completely get them. I also want them to know that I believe their problems are very important. I did the teen thing and I’m doing the adult thing now. Through the years, my opinion has stayed the same: Life is harder as a teen than as an adult.

Maybe you know me a little better now. Things could change though so if you’re interested you can always find me on Twitter here: http://twitter.com/meredith_s_wood, my Livejournal Blog here: http://meredith-wood.livejournal.com/ or my fan page on Facebook here: http://bit.ly/9Nn14Y.

Oh, and before I hand this contest back over to Karly and Michelle I thought I’d say a few things to those aspiring authors out there.

Don’t ever, ever be ashamed to say, “I’m a writer.” Really. Because it doesn’t matter whether you’re published or not. It doesn’t matter if you have ten best sellers or one hundred out there. In the end, we’re all on equal ground. We’re all still pounding away on our keyboards hoping that last paragraph we wrote doesn’t read as badly as we think it does.

Also, download one of those memo apps for your cell phone. When the moment of inspiration strikes, they are so much easier to jot down notes on than scrounging around for scraps of paper and an ink pen.


Meredith Shea Wood
meredithwood.com

8 comments:

Scotti Cohn said...

Nice to *meet* you, Meredith! Great interview! I totally identify with you about writing in coffee shops, etc. No can do. I also like to play suitable music, depending on what I'm writing.

Panthan's Crucible sounds like an awesome read. (I'll just step over here to my favorite online bookstore. . .)

Amanda said...

Hi, Meredith. Great post. It's always good to find out things about people. I like your words for aspiring writers.

Meredith Wood said...

Hey, Scotti! I am so glad to find a fellow writer who has to be "alone" before they can step in their other world. :-) I don't feel so alone myself now.

Meredith Wood said...

Hey there, Amanda! Thank you so very much for reading and taking the time to comment!

Terri-Lynne said...

Fabulous! Thanks for pointing me over here. Great words of encouragement, lovey. Then again--it's what you do!

Michelle Sussman said...

I write the same way - alone & with the music blaring. It's not an easy task since I'm an at-home mom with two kiddos.

I have been known to frequent a local library, but I know of a quiet, out-of-the-way table where no one bothers me.

Thanks Meredith!!! Awesome post! :-)

Meredith Wood said...

*Waves at Terri* Thanks for stopping by!

Michelle, I have 3 kids so I feel your pain. Oh, I feel your pain. lol

Karly Kirkpatrick said...

Thanks everyone for stopping by today! Thanks for a great Guest Blog, Meredith! It was great to get to know you!

As for me, much of the time I end up writing with the TV on in the background. I get very little alone time as well because of the little one! I think I need to start making dates to leave the house and go somewhere a couple times a week...