2nd Annual Authors Are Rockstars 2013 - With Shannon Messenger!

WELCOME TO THE 2013 Authors are ROCKSTARS EVENT!

^Full tour schedge here! ^

This is the first time I've done this, but it seems uber fun! The idea of having an event to promote amazing authors is just so nice and I definitely support it. The author I got was Shannon Messenger. I LOVE this author ever since I read Let the Sky Fall (which was a totally well deserving hyped book!) Keep reading because I'm going to be fangirling over this amazing author and yeah...

So??? What makes Shannon a ROCKSTARRRR!!! (Yes, (I'm allowed to abuse the letter "r")

Okay, so back in May, my school was doing an author fundraising thing. We were trying to raise money for our library and some charity money too! The event didn't go as well as we expected, but I did manage to solicit authors to get donations.

Shannon Messenger happened to be one of the authors I contacted. She told me that she doesn't normally donate for giveaways (which is totally fine) but said that because it was a school event, she'd help. Shannon is just so generous and such a nice person when we were conversing. This is an experience I had with Shannon. Please don't ask her for giveaway donations based on this post.

What else makes her amazing? The way she writes. When I was reading Let the Sky Fall I felt this connection with the characters that I don't usually feel. It's so hard to find books that are hyped and actually well deserving of the hype. Let the Sky Fall was so different from most YA novels and the relationship between Audra and Vane really touched my heart :)

She's also got this amazing personality that comes out when answering interview questions. Instead if just answering with seriousness, she loves to make the answers her own and yes, I totally giggle! (I may have stalked the Interviews Shannon has done. She's just that awesome!)

Hm... I didn't ask for a guest post because I'm really rubbish at topics. Things I'm not rubbish at, though, are googling things. These are a few things I've found about Shannon that I feel make her a ROCKSTARR!

My writing schedule is INTENSE. I write rather long books and my deadlines are very close together, so I pretty much work every day I'm not traveling for promo, and I pull a lot of all nighters. Which is why I've had to go dark online lately--especially when it comes to blogging. I stay a bit more active on Twitter, but mainly because tweets are short. Usually I sneak on during my daily writing breaks, respond to any @'s waiting for me, toss out a few new tweets of my own, and then sneak away and get back to work. But when I'm on a tight deadline I'll even be scarce on Twitter, mainly because my editor follows me on there and the last thing I'd want is for her to be like, WHY ARE YOU TWEETING--YOU OWE ME A BOOK!!! :)
 - [In response to the question "Since you’re juggling writing two separate trilogies, both with deadlines, what’s your writing schedule like and how are you juggling the social media demands with the heavy writing schedule? Any tips for the rest of us, especially on how to best use Twitter, where I know you spend more time at than blogging?"]

Oh and I JUST found this! It made me laugh so much. May I introduce to you...

SHANNON SHAME!

 I think this video alone shows that this author is a ROCKSTARR!

LITTLE BIT ABOUT ROCKSTARR in QUESTION!



Shannon Messenger graduated from the USC School of Cinematic Arts where she learned--among other things--that she liked watching movies much better than making them. She also regularly eats cupcakes for breakfast, sleeps with a bright blue stuffed elephant named Ella, and occasionally gets caught talking to imaginary people. So it was only natural for her to write stories for children. She's the author of the middle grade series, KEEPER OF THE LOST CITIES, and LET THE SKY FALL, a trilogy for young adults. She lives in Southern California with her husband and an embarrassing number of cats. Find her online at shannonmessenger.com.

1. Favorite character to write?
   Ohhh, that’s like asking a mom to pick favorite children! And it’s especially hard because my characters are  VERY different from each other—which is actually what makes them so fun to write. Vane loves to shock me with his humor and general teenage boy-ness. And Audra is so broken, and yet still somehow so strong. I love getting to channel each of their personalities on the page.
   
2. Are you more of a planner or just write spontaneously kind of author?
   
   I’m learning that it depends on the book. I’ve always needed to know my ending before I start writing, so I know where I’m driving the story. But I wasn’t much of a planner until I started writing sequels. There’s so much more to keep track of with a sequel, and I discovered along the way that the more I planned, the more I saved myself from having to delete and rewrite large chunks of the draft. So I’m now working with detailed outlines for my book 3s. It’s not as much fun as the discovery I get to have writing a book 1 without much planning, but it saves me a lot of headaches.
   
   
3.  Favorite kind of chocolate?
   ALL OF THEM. I’ve never met a chocolate I didn’t like. But if I have to pick a favorite, I guess I’d go with milk chocolate. My sweet tooth is very prominent.
   
4.  How do you get through those moments when you don't want to write?
   Ha—I’m still a work in progress when it comes to this, because I’m a terrible procrastinator (see my twitter feed for proof). But there’s definitely something to be said for the power of a deadline. The closer I get to when the draft is due, the more motivated I am to stay on track and get some serious writing done.
   
5.   I know I've only just met you, but I'm going to ask the most personal (and last) question: what's your favorite kind of food?
   CUPCAKES!!! Any flavor. Any time. I really think they’re the perfect food.
   

1 winner will get their choice to any book by Shannon Messenger.
OPEN INT!

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