Guest Blogger Today!

Hello all! I was contacted by a new author a few weeks back asking if she could guest blog on GirlsWithBooks and of course I said YES and that I would love to have her HERE too! She also gave me the opportunity to read her book The Truth Lies In the Dark which I loved! You can read my review of it over on the book site but here is a guest blog from Kristin Callender!

Hi readers and fans of Girls With Books. I am happy to be here and want to thank Cammie and Kelly for having me as a guest. I love that you make reading sexy. In fact, it inspired me to make writing sexy, so I am wearing my bikini to write this ;) Brrr...and it is not quite a beach day here (24 degrees). I am Kristin Callender, author of The Truth Lies in the Dark. Please, sit down, grab a cup of coffee (or whatever your drink of choice is) and enjoy some girl talk.

I am asked all the time how I find time to write. Anyone that knows me knows that I am a full time mom of four kids, wife of one big kid :) and a part time substitute teacher (and not really wearing a bikini). My answer is usually, I don't find time; I make it. But I will let out a little secret here, just between us girls ;)...

It is not that hard to find or make time for something you enjoy. It is my escape from real life, which is why I love reading books also. Not to say that real life is all that bad, but it's real and if your lucky most days go by without much drama. You drive the kids here and pick them up there, figure out what's for dinner, throw in some laundry so you don't have to wear those same jeans again tomorrow, and so your kids don't steal your socks again, look at that pile of dishes in the sink and wonder where that dish fairy has been. You know what I'm saying; that kind of real life.

When I am writing I get to create the characters and place them in a story and see what happens. I can put them in dangerous situations or romantic embraces, basically I can control how much or how little drama they encounter. And unlike my real life creations, when my characters are not behaving the way I want them to I can turn off the computer and walk away. Try that with a temper throwing child who is starving for a cookie before dinner.

As much as I enjoy writing, I am amazed how much I didn't know about the whole publishing process. I thought that writing a book was the hard part. Then I had to find out how to get a publisher. It took a lot of research and a lot of rejections before I finally got my contract with BlueWater Press (Thanks Joe and Ardis!). Then it took another eighteen months to see my book in print. Now I am in the marketing and promotion part, and looking back I have to say that each step was equally challenging.

Thankfully there are also rewards along the way. I wrote a book and got it published, and to make it even better, my son, Michael designed the cover. Friends of ours said that his painting of New York City at night would make a great cover. So I took some pictures of it and submitted them to my editor and he agreed. Most moms get to show off their kids artwork on the refrigerator, I get to hold up my book. He is a talented artist and I am so proud to share this accomplishment with him.

Thanks again for stopping by Girls With Books. I hope that I have inspired other busy moms and non moms to make the time to do something you enjoy. If you want more information about me, the book, or my Book Blog Tour you can go my website. http://sites.google.com/site/kristincallenderbooks

The Truth Lies in the Dark by Kristin Callender is available on www.amazon.com/Truth-Lies-Dark-Kristin-Callender/dp/1604520140 and is the 'Featured Book of the Month' on www.bluewaterpress.com .