Magic, immortals, and being a good monster.: Forsaken by Kristen Day Blog Tour Guest Post

Author Kristen Day has stopped by today with a guest post for the Forsaken A Daughters of the Sea blog tour.

Synopsis:

Once you’ve been touched by darkness, it never leaves you…

Abandoned by her parents as an infant; seventeen year old Hannah spent her childhood wading through countless foster families until being adopted by the Whitmans three years ago.

Unfortunately, Atlanta’s high society wasn’t quite ready for Hannah…or the strange events that plague her.
Chilling visions of murder, unexplained hallucinations, and a dark, mysterious guy who haunts her nightmares all culminate to set in motion a journey of self-discovery that will challenge everything she’s ever believed; not to mention her sanity.

Sent to live at The House of Lorelei on Bald Head Island, NC for ‘kids like her’, Hannah quickly realizes things are not what they seem. Her fellow ‘disturbed’ teens are actually the descendents of mythical Sea Gods and Goddesses. And so is she.

But when Finn, the ghost from her dreams, appears in the flesh; her nightmares become reality and her dark visions begin coming true. Inexplicably drawn to him, she can’t deny the dangerous hold he has on her heart. The deadly secrets he harbors will ultimately test her courage and push the boundaries of her love.

She must decide if she is ready to embrace the ancient legend she is prophesized to be a part of. The fate of all the descendents will forever depend upon it.

Guest Post:
After several hours of nail-biting deliberation, three sub-par attempts, and one epic fail, I think I’ve finally figured out what I want to write about in my guest post. I want to invite you on a mini tour - of my mind. I’ve been writing my entire life: poems, journals, short stories, quotes, and even songs. But they were simply bi-products of my experiences, feelings, and dreams; so close to my heart and soul, I would go to any length to make sure the only eyes that fell upon those sacred pages were my own. The words were too personal; too raw. The only exception was my very first published work - a poem about the color red. My second grade teacher tasked us with writing a short poem about our favorite color. In typical Kristen fashion, I completely forgot about it and found myself staring at a piece of paper the night before it was due. I wrote down whatever happened to pop in to my head at the time and was finished in about ten minutes. I stuffed it in my backpack and went back to my chocolate milk and strawberry toaster strudel dessert; poem forgotten. The next week it was chosen as the best poem in the class and selected to be in my elementary school’s annual student poetry collection. Go figure!

That’s the moment I fell in love with the written word, but it was also the same moment I began hiding it. As you might imagine, second grade was the very last place a kid wanted to stand out - ‘different’ was NOT considered a desirable quality. Neither was getting a perfect score on every spelling test. But I was harboring secrets from my classmates. Besides the secret that I loved words as a whole, what truly drove me to achieve that perfect score each Friday was the glorious opportunity to plunge my tiny hand in the coveted bag of candy that perched tantalizingly close at the front of the room; promising delectable handfuls of Sprees, Pixie Sticks, and Skittles to anyone who aced the test. To this day, I’d gladly climb Mt. Everest for one of those little boxes of Nerds.

So needless to say, when I get asked the question ‘How do you come up with this stuff?’ I tend to just shrug my shoulders and change the subject. I’ve never tried to explain it. But now, I’ve finally decided to divulge the ludicrous and bizarre mysteries of my mind. So here it is… (deep calming breaths)…(several sips of wine)…(another deep calming breath)…(overly dramatic pause in order to achieve maximum level of suspense). My thoughts and ideas…have a life of their own. I can only hope to contain them. These snarling idea-beasts crave one thing and one thing only: to feel. Even if I’m doing something as simple as painting a room, I’m actually searching for a particular feeling. That’s when the ravenous monster stirs; refusing to rest until I’ve searched to the ends of the earth for the exact color that elicits that emotion. In my craft room at home, the idea-beast demanded to feel inspired. Two weeks later, the color ‘Bittersweet Shimmer’ came in to my life and squelched the hunger; leaving me not only fulfilled from the success of finding the perfect color, but…well…inspired.

So back to the whole reason you are graciously still reading my rambling web of thoughts. Forsaken. I wanted to write a book that would make the reader feel as many emotions as humanly possible. That was my end goal and not particularly an easy one. But I opened the door to my imagination (and the idea-beasts) and let them run wild. Thankfully, they travelled for two months and returned with a character who has felt the best and worst of what life has to offer. Along with a storyline that’s guaranteed to take her on the journey of her life - I knew it was something I could be proud of. As I have to do with my own uncontrollable idea-beasts, the reader will need to hold on tight, open their hearts and enjoy the ride. Hopefully at the end you will find yourself fulfilled…and inspired.

Although I still tremble a little inside each time someone reads the sentences woven in the colorful corners of my mind, I’m having the time of my life and I’ve learned being different isn’t a curse blinking relentlessly on a neon sign. It’s a blessing in disguise whispering quietly to your mind.

Thank you for spending some time with me today!!! If you get the chance to enter the enchanting world of the Daughters of The Sea, I hope you have as much fun reading it as I did writing it!

Author Bio:
I am a southern belle at heart with a crazy streak that desperately tries to escape at every opportunity. I love all things nostalgic, rustic, and quirky. I've been told I see the world through rose-colored glasses, but I prefer to think of them as kaleidoscope glasses - swirling and morphing reality into something I can digest (who hasn't pretended those pasty lima beans were really kiwi strawberry jelly beans?).

I am the author of the DAUGHTERS OF THE SEA trilogy, which includes FORSAKEN, AWAKEN (Fall 2012), and CHOSEN (Fall 2012). I love all books, but really enjoy writing young adult, paranormal romances. I've loved to write for as long as I can remember. My first published work was my poem RED in second grade (you guessed it - it was a poem about the color red - life altering, I know) that won me 5 gold stars and a spot in my elementary school's poetry book. That's when my addiction to the written word officially began. I was the only kid in fifth grade that actually enjoyed diagramming sentences. Go ahead and laugh - its okay.

When I'm not writing I'm making jewelry, painting, drinking sweet tea, watching the discovery channel, or going on random adventures in the mountains of North Carolina with my amazing husband. I graduated from Appalachian State University and dream of becoming a full time novelist.

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