Martha Emms Cognitive Dreamer: BLOG TOUR FATE: NEW AVALON, BOOK 2 BY AUTHOR ANDREA BUGINSKY

Fate: New Avalon, book 2

by Andrea Buginsky

Available Now

Elena Baxter’s second year at New Avalon may be more challenging than her first. The demons she was warned about show up, a visitor who greatly affects her arrives, and her best friend, Izzy, has to deal with her painful past. Can Elena survive everything that’s coming at her at once? Or will the future Lady of the Lake take on more than she can possibly handle?

Excerpt:

In Alchemy the next day, Elena could tell Izzy was still distracted. She never did that well mixing the potions, but she was getting better studying with Elena. Today, however, everything she mixed kept exploding. Elena knew she was still preoccupied with their conversation from the other night.

“Damn!” Izzy coughed as her third attempt to mix the potion exploded in her face.

Elena ran to her side. “Are you all right?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

The rest of the class rushed over to make sure everything was OK.

“You alright, Izzy?”

“Yeah, Mia. Just ticked. I can’t get this to work right! Lady Bittle, what am I doing wrong?”

Lady Bittle sifted through the ashes in Izzy’s cauldron. “I don’t think you used the right amount of herbs. Remember, you need to be very careful when tossing each one in. You don’t want to add too much or too little of any herb.”

“I know that! I’m a third-year. I’ve been mixing potions for over two years now. I know I’m not the best at it, but this is ridiculous!”

“Izzy, is everything OK? You know you’re powers are linked to your emotions, and you seem to be in overdrive right now. Perhaps you should stop for the day. I’ll still give you full credit for your attempts.”

Izzy looked like she was about to explode. But a scream from Elena broke her out of her anger.

“What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know…” Elena stood there, holding her head in her hands, nearly collapsing. “It hurts!”

“What hurts, Sweetie?” Mia tried to calm her down, but they were all freaking out over Elena’s outburst.

“My head! It feels like it’s going to explode.”

Lady Bittle rushed to her and took her by the elbow. “I’m going to take her to Isabel. The rest of you can use the remaining class time to work on your own potions, if you’d like. I’ll see you all tomorrow.”

“Wait! I want to go with her.”

“No, Izzy, that’s not a good idea. You’ll see her later, back in your room.”

She led Elena out of the classroom and down the hall to Isabel’s office.

Isabel was waiting for them. She sensed something was wrong, as she always did, and helped Lady Bittle carry Elena to the couch in her office. She gently caressed Elena’s head, her eyes closed, her lips moving.

Finally, Elena calmed down enough and took a deep breath. “What was that?”

“Tell me everything that happened.”

Elena told Isabel about Izzy’s trouble in class and her outburst. “I know she’s been upset lately, but I’ve never seen her like this. She just became infuriated, like she was about to explode!”

“And then you felt like your head was exploding?”

Elena looked at her, shocked. “Yeah, how did you know that?”

Isabel sighed. “Lady Bittle, I’ve got this now. Thank you for bringing her to me. Will you return to the classroom and let the other girls know Elena is just fine?”

Lady Bittle nodded, touching Elena gently on her shoulder. She left her in Isabel’s capable hands and returned to her class.

Isabel gently stroked Elena’s hair. “I think congratulations are in order.”

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Tour Dates

September 30: Missuswolf's Storyland

October 1: Bonnie Trachtenberg

October 2: Sheenah Freitas

October 3: Confessions of a Reader

October 4: Sheila Deeth

October 5: UnorthodoxBlog

October 6: Regan Black

October 7: Emerald Barnes' Dreaming Awake Blog

October 8: Annamaria's Writing Corner

October 9: Belinda Witzenhausen

October 9: Ignite Your Creativity

October 9: WriterzBlox

October 10: Martha Emms Cognitive Dreamer

October 11: Teen Books and Other Stuff

October 11: Brandi Breathes Books

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Author bio:

Andrea Buginsky is a freelance writer with a BA in Mass Communication-Journalism from the University of South Florida. She has always wanted to be a published writer, and decided to try to write children's fantasy books. The Chosen is her first book, and was released on December 14, 2010, to her delight.

Andrea has written three more books since:

My Open Heart, an autobiography of growing up with heart disease.
Nature's Unbalance: The Chosen, Book 2
Destiny: New Avalon, book 1, a YA fantasy

She is currently editing the third book of The Chosen series, and writing the fourth.

Andrea lives in Kansas with her family, which includes her two precious puppies.

You can visit Andrea on her website or Google+

Brief synopsis of your book:

Book title:

Fate: New Avalon, book 2.

Current book or project you’re working on:

The Chosen, book 4.

What moment or event sparked the inspiration for your novel?

This is the second book in the New Avalon series. The idea came to me during NaNoWriMo several years ago. I loved the TV movie Mysts of Avalon, and wanted to write a story about the Lady of the Lake, bringing her into the current time somehow. I wanted to create a group of teenage girls, too, so I came up with the idea of the Avolonians, New Avalon, and the descendants of the Lady of the Lake.

Please share three flaws or complexities about the characters in your book.

1) They’re uncertain of themselves.

2) They’re uncertain of each other.

3) Because their powers are linked to their emotions, they are constantly battling to keep them under control, something very hard for a teenage girl to do.

Which if any characters in your current novel are based on someone you know?

Elena has many of my own personality traits. Izzy has some traits of my best friend.

Are there any characters in your book that remind you of yourself?

Elena.

If you could pick any famous author to review your book who would you pick and why?

J.K. Rowling. She is my favourite author, and I would love to hear her opinion of my books.

Genre/Author/Reader and the process:

What genre and age group does your book fall into?

YA Fantasy.

Have you read any books that have inspired you to improve or change yourself in any way?

When I was younger, Judy Blume books influenced me a lot. Stories where the heroin isn’t always the normal heroin you would expect is what inspires me. I create my main characters with this trait.

Which three authors have inspired you the most, and why?

1) J.K. Rowling because she wrote a fabulous series that readers of every age love.

2) Rick Riordan because he took a very popular story theme from ancient history and made it his own, as well as bringing it into the present.

3) Danielle Steel because she is a wonderful writer.

How many books have you written?

Six: Five are published, one is being edited. I have also started writing my seventh.

Which book is your favourite and why?

My Open Heart. This is a story I have wanted to write and share for a long time.

What is your favourite and least favourite part of writing dialogue?

My favourite part is displaying the characters’ individual personalities through their dialogue. My least favourite is deciding what they should say.

Name three things that you know now that you wish you knew when you first began writing.

1) To eliminate helping verbs

2) How to “show” not “tell”

3) To take notes for future books in the series

Are there any stories in your heart & mind that you have not yet written but you dream to write about in the future?

Not at this time.

What have you learned from editors?

How to “show” not “tell,” how to write better dialogue, how to keep my tenses in sync.

What is the most important thing you’ve learned, either in the self-publishing or traditional publisher, route?

That you have to keep plugging away no matter what. You learn more with each book, and you bring that knowledge into your new books.

What part of the writing process do you enjoy the most?

Reading my draft for the first time. I’m often amazed at what I wrote.

When you write which do you prefer: handwritten, computer, laptop, or typewriter? Are notes, notebooks, or bulletin boards part of your process?

I have to write on my computer. I use notebooks for my series with separate sections on characters, places, storylines, and research.

What are your thoughts about the decline of the printed novel?

I’m on board with eBooks. I love that I can have 100s, if not more, books on one device, with me anywhere I go.

Do you have any ideas for your book and Hollywood? Actors, directors, music.

Yes, I’ve put together my dream cast for The Chosen, and picked a couple of actors for key players in New Avalon.

The Chosen

Halli - Natalie Portman

Silvorhawk - Chris Hemsworth

Striker - Sam Worthington

Kaidyla - Zoe Saldana

Lumina - Abigail Breslin

Redsham - Robbie Coltrane

New Avalon

Elena - Vanessa Marano

Isabelle - Isabella Rosselini

Which book to movie conversion is your favourite?

It’s a tie between Harry Potter and Twilight

What is your favourite non-fiction book?

On Writing by Stephen King

What marketing strategies would you recommend to a new author?

Set up a website with a blog.

Set up a Facebook and Twitter account.

Post to all three of these regularly.

Do you know the ending of your books before you finish writing them?

No.

How do you think reading has benefited your writing?

It has given me ideas for my stories, and shown me how to write stories.

Do you study science, the planets, history, or anything special to help you with your writing?

Magical things and Arthurian History.

What, who, and when, first inspired you to write?

I’ve enjoyed writing since I was a kid, but I guess reading Danielle Steel novels and then the Harry Potter series stirred up the need to write my own books.

Personal info:

Favourite:

Drink – Arnold Palmer (iced tea/lemonade mix)

Food – Pasta and seafood

Vacation – Disney!!!

TV show – Gray’s Anatomy, Mistresses, Switched at Birth, Dallas, Once Upon a Time… Too many, lol.

Movie – Dirty Dancing

Animal – bears

Sport – baseball

Song – Time of My Life

Comedy – Golden Girls

Struggle - Patience