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Tuesday, February 7, 2017

Romeo and What's Her Name Blog Tour: Guest Post + Giveaway




Publisher: Swoon Reads/Macmillan
Pub. Date: February 7th, 2017 (Today!)
Understudies never get to perform

. . . which is why being Juliet's understudy in the school's yearly "Evening with Shakespeare" is the perfect role for Emily. She can earn some much-needed extra credit while pursuing her main goal of spending time with Wes, aka Romeo, aka the hottest, nicest guy in school (in her completely unbiased opinion). And she meant to learn her lines, really, it's just:

a) Shakespeare is HARD,

b) Amanda, aka the "real" Juliet, makes her run errands instead of lines, and

c) there's no point because Amanda would never miss the chance to be the star of the show.

Then, Amanda ends up in the hospital and Emily, as the (completely unprepared!) understudy, has to star opposite the guy of her dreams. Oops?
Shani Petroff is a writer living in New York City. She's the author of the “Bedeviled” series, which includes Daddy’s Little Angel, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Dress, Careful What You Wish For, and Love Struck, and is the co-author of the "Destined" series which includes Ash and Ultraviolet. She also writes for television news programs and several other venues. When she’s not locked in her apartment typing away, she spends a whole lot of time on books, boys, TV, daydreaming, and shopping online.
Connect with Shani: Website | Twitter

Dealing With Writer's Block 101
by Shani Petroff

There are definitely times when the words don’t seem to come. Times when I’m sitting at my computer, and I switch from my freshly opened document to something entirely different. I’ll binge some Netflix, play on Facebook, surf the web, or do basically anything but write. Before I know it hours go by, and if I’m not careful—days.

When I’m on a deadline—self-imposed or not—this can be dangerous.

So what do I do?

I force myself to go back to the document and just do it.

I set a timer for an hour or so and make myself work. And if I wind up getting sidetracked, I add extra minutes.

And here’s the key—I give myself permission to write poorly. The goal is just to get it down on paper. I can always go back and fix it up after. I find it’s much easier once you have something to work with. Often, I even surprise myself—and find that what I typed has a lot of workable moments.

Once that first hour is done, I usually wind up adding a few more.

Sometimes there will be stories that come easy. There will be others that take a lot more effort. It can get frustrating, but if writing is something you love, something that makes you happy, don’t let fear or pressure or whatever stand in your way. Write, write, write.

And if something really isn’t coming to you—try some exercises. Write a character backstory, some descriptions, a music playlist that fits your book, anything to get the creativity flowing.

Just remember—you can do it!

Now, I’m going to go take my own advice, and get back to my work-in-progress.

Happy writing, everyone!!


Week One:
1/30/2017- BookHounds YA- Interview
1/31/2017- YA and Wine- Review
2/1/2017- Bookwyrming Thoughts- Guest Post
2/2/2017- Literary Dust- Review
2/3/2017- Owl Always Be Reading- Review

Week Two:
2/6/2017- Tales of the Ravenous Reader- Interview
2/7/2017- Brittany's Book Rambles- Guest Post
2/8/2017- Eli to the nth- Review
2/9/2017- A Gingerly Review- Excerpt
2/10/2017- Cutting Muse Blog Review- Review


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17 comments:

  1. This sounds like such a fun Contemporary YA! Congrats to Shani on release day today! I've added Romeo and What's Her Name to my TBR and I'm excited to read it. I loved Shani's advice on overcoming writer's block- especially the timer idea(and adding extra minutes). The backstory idea sounds like an amazing way to help with writers block and have fun while doing it!

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    1. I always love getting writing advice from authors because they know what they're talking about! I'm so glad that you enjoyed this post and I hope that you check out this fun book ^_^

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  2. Writer's block is something that I struggle with ALL the time. I have so much trouble letting myself write poorly. But I need to just do it, get the words out. It's great to read this from a published author. Thanks for sharing this!

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    1. I think it's an inevitable thing for all authors. I try to force myself not to overthink while I'm writing or I just end up editing and not finishing anything. I'm glad you enjoyed this post, thanks for stopping by!

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  3. I like her writer's block tips! I would completely agree with her: just get it down, don't worry about perfection- worry about that later. The story will flow once you begin. Her book looks delightful!Rebecca @ The Portsmouth Review
    Follow me on Bloglovin'

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    1. As do I! Shani gave great advice, I'm glad you enjoyed it and I hope you check out her book!

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  4. I get writers block all the time, so hearing a published author talking about this is reassuring. Very informative post!

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    1. Yes, it is. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for stopping by!

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  5. I love the cover on this one! Sounds super cute :)

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  6. This book sounds like such a sweet and fluffy YA contemporary! I've been looking forward to reading it for a while now, but just haven't gotten around to it, so I'm hoping I can finally pick up my ARC some time this week!

    Also, the guest post about writer's block was a great one - I deal with that all the time and it can be so frustrating!

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    1. It does, doesn't it? I hope you pick it up soon and enjoy it!

      It's a topic I think all of us writers needed ^_^

      Thanks for stopping by!

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  7. There is so much about this book that has me excited for it! It really looks like a fun contemporary that I will enjoy. Any book with Shakespearean elements is sure to be entertaining. Lovely post, Brittany. :)

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  8. This book was an adorable read, I enjoyed it. Thanks for Shani for the great advice! Great post, Brittany =)

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  9. Awesome tour post Brittany :D Not really a book for me, but I do like that cover. Pretty. <3 Thank you for sharing about this one :)

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  10. This book was awesome read, totally enjoyed it!

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  11. Thats a well thought approach towards building interest in writing...

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