Today is my day for the blog tour for Ashes & Ice, featuring Rochelle Maya Callen. I hope you enjoy.
This or That?
- 1). Ashes or Ice?
Ashes!2). Hot or Cold?
Cold. You can always put a sweater on, but if you are in public you can’t just start stripping. Well, at least I don’t. I’ve seen otherwise on TruTV.3). Food or Drinks?
Sigh. I have a love/hate relationship with food and drinks. I LOVE BOTH, but my hips tend to hold onto every calorie. Unless I am indulging, food wins.4). Socks or Shoes?
Shoes without socks… not so hot. Socks without shoes means I am relaxing somewhere. SOCKS!5). Underwear or Commando? Lol
How about barely there underwear? LOL.6). TV or Music?
Music!7). Reading or Writing?
Oh my goodness… this is a treacherous question. *thinks* Ehem, don’t mind the steam coming out of my ears. I can’t decide!Pants or Dresses?
Pants!9). Sweet or Sour?
SWEET!10). YA or Adult?
YA Although I do enjoy some Adult books, YA will always own my heart.11). Books or Ebooks?
Hardcover books. I am transitioning to Ebooks though! My house can’t fit more books.12). Facebook or Twitter?
Facebook! I Facebook! I am starting to get into Twitter…
About this author
So you want to know more about me, eh? Well, the short of it is: I grew up with a book under my arm. I frequently read until dawn by flashlight so that no one could see I was up by the light under my door. I scribbled stories in the corners of notebooks and was convinced I would be a novelist one day. And then *BAM* twelve years later it happened!
Hmmm, what happened in that twelve years? I entered high school at thirteen and promptly abandoned my stories and dreams of being a novelist for a path of study that I hoped would make me suitable for political office and would eventually land me in a big white house on Pennsylvania Avenue in D.C. My fervent passion for social & political justice fueled my studies and I did not read a single fiction book (unless my study required) until two years after I graduated college. I worked up to four jobs at a time. Only one stuck: behavioral therapy. I have been a behavioral therapist for the past 8 years and have focused on cases of severe mental illness and autism.
So, how did story telling creep back into my life? I owe it all to my daughter—then in my ever growing pregnant belly—and the fabulous nausea that she insisted on blessing me with. For a period of time, I was so sick that I could barely get out of bed. It was then that I decided to pick up a novel. I fell in love again. I tore through books and read them late into the night. I think my husband worried about me. He would wake up to see me sniffling or laughing or taut with anxiety all because of the book in my hand.
During this time, I found a chapter and character sketch about an extraordinary girl named Jade that I had written at 12 or 13. Those few pages were the catalyst to writing Ashes and Ice. It took years to write. I was so intimidated by the process! It wasn’t until my sister said she would not speak to me if the rough draft wasn’t finished by her birthday (earlier this year). That got me writing!
Now, I am writing every spare moment and have not only the rest of the Ashes and Ice trilogy mapped out, but also three other projects in the works.
I feel incredibly blessed to have found my love of books and writing again. It truly was and is my dream—I had just forgotten about it for a time. And finally, I am living it.
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