Guest Post with author Michelle Scott

Hey all,  today I'm handing things over to Michelle Scott.

Enjoy!

Last week, I did the kind of thing I’d only do to make my daughter happy: I joined a gym.

For some strange reason, God blessed me – a nerdy, book-reading, rather lazy individual – with an athletic kid. As in she actually enjoys playing sports. As in she loves to exercise every day. As in she wants everyone else in the family to exercise alongside her. Hence the gym membership.

I write about hell in my books, and I’ve envisioned it as a gloomy, dingy office building with endless corridors leading nowhere. But the first time I got on the elliptical machine, I discovered an entirely new kind of hell. After five minutes on the machine, I had sweated through my t-shirt and was panting like I’d run a marathon. It then occurred to me that, rather than the depressing office building, hell would really contain a stadium full of ellipticals. (I’m going to work on that for the next book in the series!)

After a while, however, I fell into the rhythm of the exercise and when I did, an amazing thing happened: I started to unwind. Mentally, I mean. There was me, my music, and the machine, and everything else kind of faded into the background. It was strangely Zen-like.

See, writing it hard work. Obviously not physically difficult, but definitely mentally stressful. Trying to come up with plot threads that will keep readers engaged or trying to figure out how a character can get out of her contract with the Devil takes a lot of thought. It can boggle the mind.

So working out has become a way to keep my body in motion while at the same time letting my mind relax. Yes, it’s easy to focus on the pain, but it’s also easy to let my mind float free. When I’ve finished an hour at the gym, I’m physically exhausted but mentally alert. It’s like my mind has been power-washed of all its niggling concerns and stresses, and I walk away from the gym feeling refreshed.

Plus, as an added bonus, I’m also able to eat more chocolate since I’m working it off. Next to exercise, chocolate is the writer’s best friend.

About Michelle Scott:

Michelle Scott received her MFA from Wayne State University. Her stories have appeared in such places as “Tales of the Unanticipated”, “All Possible Worlds” and “Realms”. Straight to Hell, the first book in her Lilith Straight urban fantasy series, was released from Carina UK. Michelle lives in southeast Michigan with her husband and three children.

To keep up with Lilith and the other members of the Straight to Hell cast, visit Michelle’s blog, Urban Fae.

A bit about Straight to Hell:  

Straight to Hell, the first book in the Lilith Straight series, is available at Amazon and Amazon UK.

And now, enter the phenomenal giveaway with Michelle Scott and her urban fantasy Straight to Hell.

Enter to win 1 of 2 Amazon copies of Straight To Hell between April 16 & April 24.

This giveaway is open internationally & winners will be announced April 25/14.

Winners have 72hrs to claim their prizes or a new winner will be chosen.

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Straight to Hell by Michelle Scott

Title:  Straight to Hell

Series:  Lilith Straight #1

Author:  Michelle Scott

Published:  September 8th 2011

Length:  179pgs

Format:  ebook

Genre:  paranormal

Shelf:  review

Rating:  ★★★★

Synopsis from Goodreads:

The moment Lilith Straight dies, the Devil appears to claim her soul and cash in on a family curse. Now, Lilith has no choice but to work for him. The job is bad, the boss is worse and she can’t imagine how she’ll explain her new reincarnation to her eight-year-old daughter. But then an arrogant, yet oh so yummy, incubus shows up…and hell heats up just a little more.

My Review:

Scott’s laid back and approachable writing style draws you into this intriguing tale, allowing you to completely immerse yourself in the world that she creates. She combines the spiritual with the supernatural to give her world a very unique and all-encompassing twist. Not only are you engaged creatively but also intellectually.

Scott goes about character development in a very subtle way. She doesn’t come right out and tell you about the individuals who live out this tale but rather gives you insights into who they really are by the way that they interact with and treat each other.

As a whole this was a unique, quick read that I quite enjoyed. This story definitely made me giggle a time or two, and also made me think about and question life in general.

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Guest Post from Author Michelle Scott

Today I'd like to welcome author Michelle Scott to Pure Jonel.  Lets see what she has to say!

The Problem with Well-Meant Advice
       - Michelle Scott

Beginning writers are commonly given the following advice: write what you know. The problem is, for someone like me who writes urban fantasy, this advice is hard to follow. After all, I’ve never been to Hell.

Despite not having made the trip to the underworld, however, I have experienced many parts of Straight to Hell. Motherhood, for example. And teaching. But if I was limited to writing about only what I know, my books would be very dull. I don’t think I’m alone in this. After all, unless you are an Alaskan bush pilot, or an ER doctor in an inner-city hospital, your day-to-day activities can be monotonous.

I understand that the ‘write what you know’ advice is meant to help writers and not hinder them. Still, it doesn’t allow for the magic of imagination. And it’s imagination that adds spark to fiction. For example, here’s how I spent my day: I wrote, I ate lunch, I took a nap, and I went to the hardware store to buy a new belt for my vacuum cleaner. On the other hand, this is how Lilith spent her day: she used her devilish charm to win over a nasty sales clerk, she outwitted a demon, and she had a date with the hottest demon in Hell. Honestly, whose life would you rather read about?

Having writers write about what they don’t know is what makes fiction exciting. And interesting fiction is what gives a spark to our daily lives. We might not be able to fight dragons or date vampires or wield magic, but thank goodness we can read about it!

About Michelle:

Michelle Scott received her MFA from Wayne State University. Her stories have appeared in such places as “Tales of the Unanticipated”, “All Possible Worlds” and “Realms”. Straight to Hell, the first book in her Lilith Straight urban fantasy series, will be released from Carina UK on Oct. 24. Michelle lives in southeast Michigan with her husband and three children.

To keep up with Lilith and the other members of theStraight to Hell cast, visit Michelle’s blog, Urban Fae.

About Straight to Hell:

The Devil Never Forgets a Deal

I, Lilith Straight, was the woman you always wanted to be. I was married to someone better looking than your husband, we lived in that house you always wanted. Within a year, however, all of that changed. My marriage dissolved, my house burned down, and my job hardly paid the bills. So when I was hit by a car and died, I thought my life couldn’t get any worse. Boy, was I wrong.

Hell was not the place I imagined. It was worse. During my brief stay, I learned some disturbing truths about my family. Most worryingly my ancestor’s deal with the devil promising him every female descendent as a succubus.

So these were my options: Life on earth as a soul-sucking seductress. Or death and pass the succubus baton to my sweet little daughter. There was no choice. Welcome to hell on earth, Lilith. Mother, teacher, wanton she-demon.

Buy links: only .99p on Amazon UK! Also available on Amazon.

And don't forget to enter the tourwide giveaway!

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