Vampire Crush Blog Tour: Guest post by author A.M. Robinson

Heyyy! You're on stop number nine on the Vampire Crush blog tour, hosted by Good Choice Reading. At the end of the tour, there will be an awesome giveaway! Each stop on the tour will have a piece of a saying at the bottom, and it's up to to you to visit each stop an collect the pieces.

Today, A.M. Robinson is giving us a bit of writing advice:

"I love how many different ways there are to write successfully. Some writers work early in the morning because they feel like the ideas are freshest; others wait until late at night, when they can feel content that the day’s hurdles are behind them. Some spend almost as much time outlining as they do writing; others (myself included) will abandon any sort of plan as soon as they reach chapter two. Virginia Woolf often wrote standing up; Ben Franklin wrote in the bathtub. Find two writers whose days and writing processes are exactly the same, down to the minute, and the world will fold in on itself! Or—less dramatically and probably more realistically—I will be really surprised.

But when it comes to offering tips on how to start a writing career, I’ve noticed that they all tend to agree on one point and one point only: In order to write a book, you have to write. Not talk about writing, or read books about writing or think about writing, or say the word “writing” twenty times while twirling counter-clockwise, but actually write.

As advice goes, it seems ridiculously simple. But I’d be willing to bet that Actually Writing is one of the hardest steps for a lot of aspiring writers. I know it was for me. I spent a good six years wanting to be a writer but convincing myself that I wasn’t ready to sit down at a computer yet. If it wasn’t assigned for class, I was a master of finding excuses—I hadn’t read enough writing guides! My idea wasn’t fully formed yet! I wasn’t familiar enough with the market! This television show needed to be watched RIGHT NOW! My fingers were tingling, better rest them! If I had spent as much time writing as I did spinning reasons on why not to write, I would have had at least one finished novel, maybe two.

Then, when I was 25, I got the kick in the pants that I needed. It’s an embarrassing kick in the pants to admit now (although is there ever an un-embarrassing kick in the pants? Discuss) as it had less to do with willpower and more to do with a Long-term Boyfriend Who Did Not Want to Move to New York. I had/have a job that’s not very portable, as publishing companies seem to all want to cluster together in NYC, and I was looking for something I could do in Indiana that I was passionate about. Naively—and definitely last-ditchedly--I decided the thing to do was finally attempt a writing career.

I started to write a couple of hours every day, staying after work until I had knocked out a thousand words. At first it was hard sticking around the office while everyone was leaving, but fifteen minutes in, a switch would flip and I would suddenly be typing away happily, buoyed by an incredible sense of accomplishment that came from doing something that I had been talking about for years. And besides, it was FUN.

Somewhere around page 130, the Boyfriend and I parted ways, but (thankfully!) the motivation to finish Vampire Crush stuck around. By that time I was hooked on Sophie’s voice. I loved how snarky and determined she was, and how at first the vampires invading her school were mainly problematic because they were making it harder for her to be editor-in-chief of her school’s newspaper. I loved the banter between her and James, her childhood crush/nemesis who had moved back to Michigan with a secret. And—let’s not kid ourselves—I loved that it gave me an excuse to make corny vampire jokes.

So I’m going to dole out some advice, but I warn you that it will be utterly familiar. Go ahead and write what you want, how you want, where you want, and why you want, but seriously—just start writing. Because the sooner you have it down on paper, the sooner you can start making it perfect. "

GRAND PRIZE:

+++Signed HARDCOVER copy of Vampire Crush

+++A pair of whale-dotted pajama pants, a la Sophie.

+++Bat-shaped cookie cutter

+++Cute vampire monster mirror

+++"Vampire Blood" hand gel.

TWO ALTERNATE PRIZES

+++Signed paperback copy of Vampire Crush

+++"Vampire Blood" hand gel

That is a total of THREE WINNERS!!! This giveaway will be open INTERNATIONAL! All you have to do is collect all the secret sayings and follow A.M. Robinson on Twitter and Facebook. 

Here are the blogs participating in the tour:

March 8th: With a Book! Guest Post/Giveaway

March 9th: Once Upon A Twilight Guest Post/Giveaway

March 10th: A Simple love of Reading Guest Post/Giveaway

March 11th: 365 Days of Reading Guest Post/Giveaway

March 12th: Skyla11377 Reviews Guest Post/Giveaway

March 13th: Without a Bookshelf Guest Post/Giveaway

March 14th: Dark Readers Guest Post/Giveaway

March 15th: IB Book Blogging Guest Post/Giveaway

March 16th: Another Book Junkie!  Guest Post/Giveaway

March 17th: Read for your Future Guest Post/Giveaway

March 18th: Good Choice Reading Guest Post/Giveaway

This stop's clue:  "AND MAYBE"

The next stop: Read For Your Future.

A.M. Robinson on the web:

Facebook 

Twitter

Goodreads

Website

Review: Vampire Crush, by A.M. Robinson

Vampire Crush, by A.M. Robinson
Published: December 28, 2010
Publisher: HarperTeen
ISBN: 9780061989711
Genre: Paranormal YA
Pages: 416
Source: Paperback copy provided by author for an honest review.
Series: n/a.

I swear, my life was always totally normal.

Normal house, normal family, normal school. My looks are average, I don't have any superpowers, no one's showing up to tell me I'm a princess—you get the picture. But when my junior year started, something not normal happened. There were new kids at school . . . new kids with a wardrobe straight out of a 19th-century romance novel, and an inexplicable desire to stay at school until sundown.

And on top of that, James Hallowell showed up. James, who stole my sandwiches in fourth grade and teased me mercilessly through middle school. James, who now seems to have the power to make my heart race any time he comes near.

But something weird is going on. Because James rarely goes out during the day. And he seems stronger than your typical guy. And he knows the new kids, all of whom seem to be harboring some kind of deep secret. . . .

I think you would have to be delusional to not see the similarities between the blurb and a certain popular teen vamp story that shall remain unnamed. But ignore those possible similarities, because they hardly exist at all once you start reading Vampire Crush. 

Starting with the cover--I love it. It has a simple beauty, but I will admit that I have no idea how it plays into the story, other than the old fashioned bat&vampire connection. 

I'm beyond over the vampire craze, but since I'll be one of the stops on the Vampire Crush blog tour (keep an eye out for her stop here, on March 16th) I wanted to have an opportunity to read it beforehand. I was pleasantly surprised with Vampire Crush, and so glad it didn't resemble that other vampire series that shall still remain unnamed. 

I believe the majority of the characters were well developed. I liked the heroine, although she irked me from time to time with her editor-in-chief determination when there were far more important things going in her life. James was adorable, and I particularly loved Violet. 

Vampire Crush had an edge to it that was fun and witty. I found myself smiling on numerous occasions, and even laughing out loud a few times. It never once lost my attention, and I devoured it from front to back without feeling the slightest sense of boredom. The only negative thing I would have to say about it is the ending. I wish it had packed a bigger punch, but I'm still pleased with the book as a whole. 

Overall, it was a lot of fun to read, and I'll definitely be looking out for anything else A. M. Robinson writes!

4/5 Stars