Lion Heart - Top Ten and Giveaway

I am SO excited to have the chance to share this book with you.  

This series Young Adult series by A.C. Gaughen is one of my all time favorites.  

I am sad to say that Lion Heart is the last in the series but it is so amazing just like the other two books.  If you love YA and/historical romances this is an amazing series...I can not recommend it enough.

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Book Description:

Scarlet has captured the hearts of readers as well as the heart of Robin Hood, and after ceaseless obstacles and countless threats, readers will finally find out the fate of the Lady Thief.

Imprisoned by Prince John for months, Scarlet finds herself a long way from Nottinghamshire. After a daring escape from the Prince's clutches, she learns that King Richard’s life is in jeopardy, and Eleanor of Aquitaine demands a service Scarlet can’t refuse: spy for her and help bring Richard home safe. But fate—and her heart—won’t allow her to stay away from Nottinghamshire for long, and together, Scarlet and Rob must stop Prince John from going through with his dark plans for England. They can not rest until he’s stopped, but will their love be enough to save them once and for all? 

A.C. Gaughen's Top Ten Must Haves for Writing

So I’m pretty low maintenance—ten things for writing is definitely a stretch, but I’ll see what I can do.  

1.  Scrivener

Yup, I drink that Kool-Aid hard.  I LOVE Scrivener; it makes so much more intuitive sense for me than any other writing program; it has it’s own “desktop” on my computer, so it feels like when I swipe over to Scrivener, I’m instantly in the writing mindset. 

2.  MacBook Air

Well, Scrivener would be nothing without a beautiful computer to use it on!  I carry my computer with me just about everywhere, which means that every ounce I can shave off is crucial.  I’ve had this for two years now, but I have to admit, the new space gray one looks insanely shiny and tempting….#bitesnails

3.  Post Its

So post its are my problem solving tool.  If there’s an issue with plot or character, something I can’t quite figure out, I don’t think that well with my fingers at the computer.  I need to get out of my head and use a different muscle, so I pull the artwork off the walls in my apartment, and start writing down everything I know on post its, switching colors when it makes sense.  So I have a huge collection that I LOOOVE! 

4.  Sharpies

For all the same reasons as #3—I need the sharpies to write on the post its!

5.  Moleskine Notebooks

I also have a small collection of these, but this is more modest, because my loyalty shows through here.  I use every last page of these notebooks—I am currently using a gray soft cover one that I can draw on and make notes on as necessary.  These become just life collection points—to do lists for my jobs, my writing, my non-profit work.  Notes from meetings from any of those places, thought work, everything.  I also love the Moleskine planners, though I go through phases of not wanting to carry it.  I’m currently trying to make iCal happen. 

6.  Panera

This is my office!  I have a desk at home but I’m not fortunate to have an office, and I really value the feeling of stepping away from everything else and deeply engaging with my writing.  I’m a binge writer, so I typically take one day a week and write about 8-10 thousand words.  Panera feeds me and gives me free refills of diet coke while this happens!  I am such a junky that I have favorite Paneras and ones that I don’t like to go to, based on food preparation, internet speed, availability of darker spaces near plugs and parking. 

7.  Library Card

But not for the reason you might think.  I usually buy any book I’m interested in (kind of as a courtesy to fellow authors and good karma—and tax writeoffs), but I’m lucky enough to have been a student at Harvard, and also for the past year to be working there as a teaching fellow.  Because of this, I have access to their stupid, unbelievable, ridiculous library.  I totally geek out over academic resources, especially when writing Lion Heart. 

8.  Music

I’ve only written one book where I really needed a character-specific soundtrack in my head; for most writing, I’m listening to something a little dark and dramatic, like Bastille or the Pacific Rim soundtrack, but honestly anything will do.  I just need something to contribute to the background noise and occasionally drag my energy level up. 

9.  Critique Group

Okay, I don’t think this is quite what you meant, but this is both new and important for me.   I was never much of a critique group person, but I’ve been with this critique group for about a year, and it’s kind of amazing to have people—I’ve been lucky to have a lot of writer friends since publication, and great beta readers and trusted partners, but this is different.  It’s pretty amazing to find people you click with AND can trust with your writing/innermost thoughts!

10.  TV

I love books—that’s pretty obvious, but often I need to be in a reading mode, and I find I can’t be too deep in my own writing.  I tend to read like ten books over two weeks and then not read for a few months, because there’s something about it that stops me from writing.  But TV—TV I can watch while I write, and it’s one of those things that I can admire the deftness of storytelling and feel that delicious inspiration without feeling like I’m blocked by it.  I think I’ve watched the first few seasons of Grey’s Anatomy more times than I should admit.  Good or bad, it definitely helps me focus! 

GiveAway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

3 complete sets of the SCARLET series. US Only. Copies will be sent out from the publisher at the end of the tour.

About the Author

I am shamelessly addicted to staying up far too late (it feels like stealing time), diet coke (it burns so good), Scotland (stupid country stole my heart and won't give it back. Interpol has been ineffective for prosecution) and thieves (so I guess I'm not that mad at Scotland). 

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