Override Releases Today!

Yay, happy birthday to Override! I'm so excited for it to be out in the world so you can all find out what happens next for Adrien and Zoe!

Book release days are weird as the author, at least I say that with the little experience I've had with Glitch and Override. The big day doesn't feel as big or momentous as you think they should. Or maybe it's just me. I worry sometimes that I don't react like other people to big life events. For example, when the nurses handed me my son after he was born I just kind of stared at him and was like, ok, wow, this is weird. I hear all these stories about moms going on and on about that first moment of overwhelming love and joy when they finally meet their child, and I was just like, all right little alien creature, let's try to figure out how to feed you.

I feel similarly about my book releases. I've heard other authors cry with a sense of joy and accomplishment when they get their author copies in the mail, and I've just been like, oh look, it's that book I wrote and isn't it weird to see it all type set in pages instead of in my Word document. I've been a little out of it this week since my fam and I've all been sick, and realized at eight o clock yesterday that, whoa, my book comes out tomorrow! *blinks in surprise a few times*

So um. Yeah. Weird baby syndrome strikes again. Being an author sorta feels real when I go into bookstores and see my book on the shelf, and when I see a bunch of the other books that are written by friends and acquaintances. So I think, well, maybe I'll feel like a real author when I've written ten books, or some other arbitrary number. Or maybe not. Motherhood still doesn't feel like any of those stories I heard about how it would feel, so maybe being an author won't either!

Playlist for Override

Music is a SUPER important part of my writing process. I listen to music as I’m writing, and I usually try to match the album I’m listening to, to the type of scene I’m working on or the character I’m trying to figure out. Adding music to my creative process has helped SO MUCH with accessing the emotional core of a certain scene.

Zoe’s lonely and isolated in the beginning of Override, so I’d listen to Portishead’s album Dummy when I wrote those scenes, to get a mellow, lonely vibe.

When I was writing a scene with Adrien, I’d often listen to the Blue October album, Foiled for the Last Time, but only to the second disk that was recorded live. There’s so much anguished passion in the lead singer’s voice—and that exactly fits what Adrien’s going through for part of Override. That kind of raspy, screaming fury about things he’s afraid of.

For action scenes, I’d often listen to System of a Down’s album Toxicity. The driving, almost angry, metal beat gets my heart pumping. Perfect for writing pounding action scenes.

Zoe’s album would be Florence and the Machine’s Lungs, especially “The Dog Days Are Over.” In Override, we get to see her start her new life outside of the Community, as she works to get control of her powers and figure out what kind of person she wants to be. A lot of this is thrilling, but a lot of it’s scary too. That’s why I would temper the Florence and the Machine album with Sia’s Colour the Small One, especially the song “Breathe Me.” There’s a vulnerability to Sia’s voice that fits Zoe perfectly as she tries to navigate her world.

By the end, Zoe’s anthem for all the action at the end of the book would definitely be Adele’s “I Set Fire To The Rain”!!!

Also check out the on-going blog tour for Override and get a chance to win some great prizes!  Override's Tour Page at Rockstar Book tours

Override BLOG TOUR!

It's that time again! Override comes out next Tuesday, the 12th! Check out my stops on the blog tour over the next couple weeks to enter to win signed copies of both Override and Shutdown, read interviews with me, and check out reviews!

Tour Schedule:

Week One

Feb. 4th - Burning Impossibly Bright - Guest Post

Feb. 5th - Shortie Says - Interview

Feb. 6th - Bengal Reads - Review

Feb. 7th - WinterHaven Books - Character POV - Adrien

Feb. 8th - The Girl in a Cafe - Interview

Week Two

Feb. 11th - Paranormal Reads - Review

Feb. 12th - Books of Amber - Guest Post

Feb. 13th - Paulette's Papers - Review

Feb. 14th - The Book Belles - Guest Post

Feb. 15th - IB Book Blogging - Interview

You can also find the schedule on: Override's Tour Page at Rockstar Book tours