Guest Post: Wendy Knight, Feudlings Author, on Support Groups

I am so excited that my friend Wendy Knight's book comes out this week! It's been such an inspiration to watch her journey, and I could not be more thrilled for her! She's got a wonderful guest post here and a wonderfully juicy blurb and excerpt from her book! Follow her, see her cover, and find out how to buy her book at her website!

And now, her words of wisdom on support groups!

Support Group – You want one!

I spent the first…however long I’ve been writing, writing alone. It was sketchy. Sometimes I would write a lot, but then I’d get bored or burned out and I’d quit for months or even years on end. It wasn’t that I didn’t love the story, and it wasn’t that I didn’t have awesome support from my amazing husband. There just wasn’t a lot keeping me going.

Which is why it took me two years to finish Feudlings.

Once I started querying, though, I realized I needed help from people who had been doing it for longer than me – people that might actually know what they were doing! So I started branching out (which is saying a LOT for me, because I’m massively shy). I found a chat room just for writers, and I found writer friends and I discovered Twitter, which seems to be made just for writers. I could be wrong, though.

It might seem counter-productive. I mean, you’re in a chat room, and there is a lot of chatting going on. BUT. There is also brainstorming and advice and support. Don’t believe me? Well, here’s some facts. It took me two years to write Feudlings, my debut novel coming out this month. It took me a year to write the sequel. Toward the end of that year is when I discovered my writer friends. In less than six months, I’ve written two more, started a third and a fourth and a short story, and edited the sequel to Feudlings.

So, it may defy the odds or common sense or something, but it really works. Having friends in the trenches with you makes sooo much difference and being a writer doesn’t have to be a lonely profession. Who knew?

--Wendy Knight

 
And now for the good and juicy stuff! Jump right in with a great excerpt!

“Shane, I’m tougher than I look. I can handle it,” she said, although she wasn’t sure she wanted to know any more about his magic than she already did. It could get him in trouble. But she couldn’t just leave it alone. Part of her wanted to know. Maybe the monster-killer part of her.

She squashed that thought. 

Shane stopped, studied her. Under his intense blue gaze her heart started to pound and she thought giddily that her favorite color just happened to be the exact color of his eyes. What were the odds? “I’m serious, Ari. There’s this war going on, and knowing anything about it could get you killed.” 

“Killed?” Ari tried to look dubious. 

Shane glanced around and grabbed her hand, pulling her with him out the front doors. The air was crisp and cool; Ari could see traces of her breath. If Shane was aware that half the student population was watching them speed-walk into the woods, he didn’t show it, and after a final glance back Ari ignored them too. 

When the school was out of sight, she stopped and pulled her hand away. “Okay Shane. Spill,” she commanded. She crossed her arms over her chest and tried to look cold. Normals would be cold right now, but because of the flames flowing through their blood, neither she nor Shane could feel it.

Shane sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Where to start? Even the short version is long. We’re sorcerers, and there are two sides to this war… of course, because that’s what makes a war, right?” he rambled. Ari raised an eyebrow at him as she tried to shiver. “I’m a Carules. I have magic that stems from these blue flames that, well, they’re in my blood. Hunter, too. And all other Carules. The other side is Edren, and their magic comes from red flames. Basically, we spend all our time trying to kill each other. It’s a lot of fun,” he said with a bitter frown at the ground.

“So you hide your magic because if an Edren found you...”

“They’d kill me. Or try to, anyway,” Shane finished for her.

Ari flinched at his words, and she knew right then that if she had seen him on that battle field in Adlington, she wouldn’t have been able to kill him. Her eyes widened in shock, her mouth opened into a silent “Oh”, and her heart started to pound. This was a very, very dangerous revelation she’d just made to herself.

She had a weakness. And it was Shane.

I know! Delicious or what?! And here's a bit more info!

Back Cover Blurb

Nothing makes a new school suck worse than discovering the guy you’re in love with is your prophesied nemesis.

Ari is the most powerful flame-throwing sorceress ever, and her people’s last hope in an ancient war. But she’s also a seventeen-year-old girl, and in her free, not-hunting-nemesis times, she jumps from school to school, trying to figure out regular people her own age and pretending she’ll get the chance to graduate.

Shane lives a double life. He goes to school and masters the art of popularity, hiding the fact that he has a fate with a slim chance of his survival. He’s destined to end a 300 year-old war by killing or being killed. He knows he’s hunted by a powerful enemy who’s not afraid to die. Only problem? He has no idea who that enemy is.

When Ari shows up at Shane’s school, angry and sullen and determined to keep him at arm’s reach, neither of them realize they are supposed to be killing each other, not falling in love. Until Ari does realize it, and she almost dies – by Shane’s hand.

Author Bio

Wendy Knight was born and raised in Utah by a wonderful family who spoiled her rotten because she was the baby. Now she spends her time driving her husband crazy with her many eccentricities (no water after five, terror when faced with a live phone call, etcetera, etcetera). She also enjoys chasing her three adorable kids, playing tennis, watching football, reading, and hiking. Camping is also big: her family is slowly working toward a goal of seeing all the National Parks in the U.S.

You can usually find her with at least one Pepsi nearby, wearing ridiculously high heels for whatever the occasion may be. And if everything works out just right, she will also be writing.