 Spirit of the Northwoods by Auria Jourdain ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ GENRE: Young Adult ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ BLURB: Struggling to settle into a new school, junior Shannon Colfax finds herself entangled in a feud with popular football jock Brent Duray after he bullies her autistic twin brother, Shane. After an unlikely savior comes to her rescue—Brent’s friend, Cody Williams—the jock and his entourage devise an immediate retaliation plan: Duray promises to leave Shane alone if Shannon and Cody survive the infamous Paulding Light Challenge on Halloween night. Desperate for vindication, they take the dare...but are the local legends truly paranormal, or are they dealing with something more sinister? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ EXCERPT: “Bye Shanna!” Shane yelled again, looking at the ground as he waved at his sister. “Bye, Shanna!” Shannon whipped around, ready to throttle the sarcastic bully that dared mock her brother. “What an idiot! Who the hell would tease an autistic boy?” Christa stood on her toes, her lips lifting into a sneer. “Idiot is right. Look who it is!” As the culprit emerged from the crowd, Shannon glared at Brent Duray, the school’s most popular jock. His girlfriend, a petite cheerleader with blonde, blown out hair and a toothpick waist, walked next to him, smirking at Brent’s teasing. As usual, the arrogant football player’s entire entourage followed close behind—mostly members of the football team. Shannon balled up her fists and cursed under her breath. Christa tossed her head, scoffing in derision. “Duray’s a jerk. Let it go, Shannon.” The tall, blond boy sneered. “Yeah, Shanna, let it go.” Shannon’s face flushed with anger as she glared at Brent menacingly. She and Brent had been oil and water from day one when she overheard him teasing her twin. The senior linebacker refused to back down, and they’d been mincing words ever since. “Leave them alone, Brent. You are acting like an idiot.” Glancing over Brent’s head, Shannon frowned, unable to recognize the voice that had called out from the back of the crowd. “Who is that?” “Cody Williams!” Christa’s face lit up as Duray turned toward the dissenting voice, her excited whisper echoing in Shannon’s ear.  About the Author: An avid reader from an early age, Auria Jourdain has fond childhood memories of spending quiet afternoons with a book in her hand. She loved the "happily ever after" sweet teen romances, and when she came of age, she plunged into the world of historical romance with fervor, transporting herself to a bygone time. Her favorites were Regency, but as a girl brought up in a common home, she was disheartened that most of the novels of this era focus on the nobility and wealth. Auria set out to write her own romance, encompassing her passion for French Revolutionary history and her innate sense of goodwill for the common man. An idealist at heart, she writes heroes and heroines that struggle to find acceptance in their world. To go along with this theme, two years ago, Auria wrote a Young Adult novel during NaNoWriMo for her 17 year old autistic son who is struggling to make his own way in the world. Looking to educate people about this mysterious disorder, she wrote Spirit of the Northwoods for him and set it in their hometown in the Upper Peninsula. Her release coincides with Autism Awareness month, April 2016, and all proceeds for this novel will be donated to the Autism Society of America. Auria hopes that someday we can break down the social barriers and forgo stereotypical judgments that harm our world so that people like her son can form positive relationships with others. Auria lives in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan with her husband of twenty years, her four children (ages eight to eighteen), and two golden retrievers. A rather new transplant to the area, she loves the changing of the seasons, and she is currently working on a contemporary romantic suspense trilogy set in her rough and rugged homeland. Silence the Northwoods is set at a local ski resort in her hometown of Ironwood, Michigan—the ski capital of the Midwest. Silence the Waters takes place during the summer on the dangerous river ways that flow into Lake Superior in the Keweenaw Peninsula; and Silence the Birchwoods is an autumn tale set on Sugar Loaf Mountain, near Marquette, Michigan. All three involve murder, mystery, and romance, of course. Auria spends her the long winters plotting and scheming her next book, and in the mild summers, she and her husband devote every waking moment hiking and kayaking the Northwoods. An amateur photographer, she lives fifteen miles from the shores of Lake Superior, and her muse has been piqued by the awe-inspiring beauty that surrounds her. Although she hasn’t officially acquired “Yooper” status yet, she can’t envision living anywhere else. Find Auria here! https://www.facebook.com/auriajourdainbooks/ https://twitter.com/AuriaJourdain https://www.auriajourdainromance.com/ https://amazon.com/author/auriajourdain Giveaway!Auria Jourdain will be awarding a $20 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour! Enter below:
10 Comments
Mai T.
5/20/2016 02:56:28 am
Could you describe the mundane details of writing: How many hours a day to you devote to writing? Do you write a draft on paper or at a keyboard (typewriter or computer)? 5/20/2016 10:52:09 am
Hi Mai:D Great question. In all honesty, I'm always writing, in some way, shape, or form...whether it be thinking about my plot line while I'm waiting for my kids at activities or sitting at my keyboard and actually getting it down. I've got so many stories floating around in my head, it's far from mundane for me. When I get an idea for a story, I write the idea down and walk away from it for a while. It's always there in the back of my mind, but walking away gives me time to really think about it. At the moment, I have 9 stories written (I'm finishing up the 9th today:D), and only 3 are published, so while I have all of these ideas, I also tell myself I can't start a new story until I get the one I'm working on finished. In between there, I have edits to do. Of the 6 books that I have left to publish so far, 2 of them have had a good edit through only once -- and these are just mine. I have an actual editor that I send my books to once I'm ready to start the publishing process, and he works with me on content and details. The others novels are in dire need of edits. I don't mind edits, but it's a lot more exciting to start new material, so I have to balance the two. From start to finish, here's my process: First, the idea comes to mind, along with my characters (sometimes vice versa). I write out profile sheets on my hero/heroine and any others that I have in my head at the moment. This is everything from their physical attributes to their personality traits and life experiences that might dictate how they react to a given situation. Then, I'll make my cover. There's two reasons for this: 1) I really love it, and 2) it solidifies what my characters look like in my mind to help me connect with them. After the cover, I do an outline--the entire story from beginning to end. Then, I start writing. For me, the first 20,000 words are always the most difficult. I have to introduce my characters and build them in the reader's mind so they get attached to my character.If it's historical, i have to research while I rebuild the past for my readers -- this is difficult because I try to be as historically accurate as I can. Since none of us have lived during these time periods, I have to go to as many credible sources as I can. Research alone can take a few months. The next 40,000 words really fly by--in fact, I wrote Spirit of the Northwoods during National Novel Writing Month -- 63,000 words in a month. I already had the research done and the story in my head, so that helped. By the end of the novel, I've either stuck pretty close to my outline because I usually have the entire story in my head, or I've changed things up. But the end result is still the same...my ending hardly ever changes. When I sit at my keyboard to write (I don't think I'd survive with just a pen and paper), I have to have silence -- no music or distractions --because I'm actually seeing my story as a movie in my head...like someone observing something from a distance. I picture my characters actually doing everything I write. I don't hardly look at the monitor...I'm so focused on getting everything down that I'm seeing, I don't realize I'm actually typing. I try to write every day, but sometimes I need a break. Other days, I'll spend upwards of 8 hours at the keyboard, and I can get about 5,000 words done a day like this. But this isn't the end of it. I'm an Indie writer, so after I've written the entire story, it will most likely change from edit to edit -- again, just details. Most of the time, my plot stays in tact. When I think it's ready for publishing, I contact my editor. It takes him about four months from start to finish to take my book from written to polished. In between there, I've also got to start doing advertising campaigns and scheduling blog tours. After my editor is finished, I start formatting it for both eBook and paperback. This is two different processes, so each one usually takes me about a week to get finished. Then I'll get print copies...four of them, to be exact. I have my proof readers go through to help me see if I've got mistakes that my editor and I have missed. I reread it a few times myself in between there, and I've found there's always something missed. Still, 6 people is better than 1, for sure. Hopefully by the time it's released, we've got a nearly perfect book for readers to enjoy:) Thanks so much for this question, Mai! A lot of people don't realize how much goes into writing a book! 5/20/2016 05:21:23 am
Happy Friday everyone! Thanks so much to Angela for hosting me on her blog today. I'm very excited to talk about my newest release, Spirit of the Northwoods. It's my first YA novel, and I wrote it for my 17 year old autistic son. One of the main characters, Shane Colfax, is my son's doppelganger. My usual genre is historical romance and romantic suspense, so Young Adult was a a new and exciting adventure for me. This novel has a mix of everything: murder and mystery, action and adventure, teen issues, sweet romance, and even a bit of the paranormal. I'd love to answer any questions you might have about my book or my writing in general, so please ask! I'll check in periodically throughout the day.
Victoria
5/20/2016 10:27:41 am
Thanks for sharing the excerpt :) 5/21/2016 05:18:34 am
Thanks Victoria! So glad you could join me today:D
Victoria
5/21/2016 01:46:29 pm
you're welcome and my pleasure :)
momjane
5/20/2016 01:50:45 pm
This really does sound interesting. I enjoyed the excerpt. 5/21/2016 05:20:02 am
Thank you, momjane! Thanks for stopping by again today:D 5/21/2016 11:38:05 pm
I enjoyed reading the excerpt. This book sounds like such an interesting and intriguing read. Looking forward to checking out this book. Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
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