Welcome to Sunday Swag! I absolutely love swag. I think it's the perfect thing to collect. You can have a whole bunch and it doesn't take up a lot of room. One day it occurred to me that a lot of people might have the same feelings about swag as I do. That's when the idea of a Sunday Swag feature came to me. I could both show off my love of swag and give some away! Plus, it's a great way of spreading the word about all the fabulous authors out there!
This week I'm spreading the word about Kylie Griffin!
Kylie Griffin’s addiction to all things paranormal started at an early age when she imagined the jacaranda tree in her front yard was a spaceship or castle tower used to defend the world from hordes of invading enemies. Writing stories seemed like a natural extension.
By day she’s a primary school teacher but at night she writes paranormal romances for the Berkley Sensation line. She credits two wonderful English high school teachers, three writing organizations (RWAustralia, RWNew Zealand and RWAmerica), one supportive writing group (the BILD ladies) and the unlimited consumption of chocolate for her growth and success as a writer.
In her “spare” time Kylie’s a volunteer fire fighter, ambulance officer and member of the NSW State Emergency Service. She lives in a small rural village in outback New South Wales, Australia.
To contact or find out more about her, you can visit her website at www.kyliegriffin.com
Kylie has sent me some fabulous swag to give away to celebrate the recent release of the second book in her Light Blade series, Alliance Forged. There's postcards, magnets, a tote bag, a mousepad, and more including a poster of Alliance Forged. Let me tell you people, that's one mighty fine cover!
Since there's lots o' loot I think I'm going to split it up into 6 different swag bags. To enter this INTERNATIONAL giveaway just fill out the rafflecopter form below. Good Luck!
For a chance to win a copy of Alliance Forged check out the giveaway on Goodreads.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
lovely swag :)
ReplyDeleteHey, Eli, thanks for following the blog tour! Great to see you here!
DeleteGreat swag! Thanks for the giveaway!
ReplyDeleteNot a problem, Gabrielle! My pleasure.
DeleteI've not heard of Ms. Griffin before but the book sounds good I'm lookimg forward to it. This is a great contest I love swag.
ReplyDeleteYou are a volunteer fire fighter, Do you get to drive that big fire truck?
Lorimeehan, I've been a volunteer fire fighter for almost 10 years now. I've learned how to drive the truck over various terrains (it's certainly a lot different from driving a car!) but I don't have a license to drive it. I learned so if ever the unit's driver is incapacitated I can get us out and away from danger.
DeleteLooks like we're off to a good start on the swag, everyone! Thanks for participating!
ReplyDeleteAnd for those interested in Varian (hero on the cover of Alliance Forged) he's a gorgeous cover model by the name of Matthew D.Fox - a 27y.o., 6ft 2in. New Yorker. And he hasn't been photoshopped in ANY way! :-)
Hi Kylie: For a new reader of your work, what would you say is the best sentence (or two) that best describes you as an author? What or who is your inspiration?
ReplyDeleteLynn
lareynolds0316@gmail.com
Great questions Lynn! :-) I'm a paranormal romance author who enjoys switching between the sub-genres (ie.fantasy, sci-fi,post-apocalyptic etc.) and who likes multi-layered (and flawed) characters, an emotionally engaging story, and who loves creating exciting action scenes! (love me a good fight)
DeleteAnne McCaffrey and Mercedes Lackey are two huge inspirational writers for me - I love the depth to their characters and their incredible world-building. I get sucked into their worlds so quickly, no matter how long its been between reads and its like coming home.
That cover is starting to make me drool a little. I am a sucker for a man with a nice chest. Whew! Just had to say that real quick lol.
ReplyDeletesankofa0509@yahoo.com
Alex, feel free to say it a few more times - it gets easier! LOL Varian grows on you, doesn't he? I love the intensity in his gaze! Gene Mollica, my cover artist, really pulls the best out of his cover models during photo shoots.
DeleteAwesome swag :) Hi Kylie Griffin! Another new author to add to my list. Yay!!
ReplyDeleteG'day, Dawn! Happy to be added to your list! :-)
DeleteHi Kylie, it's nice to meet you. I've enjoyed visiting your blog today. I look forward to reading your books... Best wishes and continued success
ReplyDeleteHi, Christine, thanks for popping in and welcoming me so warmly! I love visiting a blog and meeting new people (even if it is only a virtual meeting!). :-)
DeleteGreat swag:) I have wanted so long to read Vengeance born. It seems really interesting.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lena! I had fun packaging up a collection of swag for RR Sunday Swag!
DeleteI really want that swag >_< but I haven't read Kylie Griffin's book yet.. and I want to read that
ReplyDeleteImel, there are some chapter excerpts on my website if you want to take a look at them just to get a taste of the books.
DeleteHere are the links...
Vengeance Born - http://www.kyliegriffin.com/VB_Excerpt.html
Alliance Forged - http://www.kyliegriffin.com/AF_Excerpt.html
Enjoy!
I'm not usually a fan of swag but Kylie's LIght Blade series is quite something else. The artwork is amazing - it's got pride of place on my bookshelf - & the story (I've read Vengeance Born) was fantastic. One of the best books I've read this year. I'd love some swag!
ReplyDeleteHi, Linda, great to see you following the tour! :-)
ReplyDeleteCredit where credit is due, the cover wizard's name is Gene Mollica, but I suspect you might already know that! Gene has worked with the Berkley art dept., my editor and myself and taken on board our ideas and the result are the covers.
I take my hat of to him.
Hi Kylie. Thanks for the awesome giveaway. I can't wait to read your books.
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure, Tore! :-)
DeleteThis book sound great. I can't wait to read this one. Love this post and thanks for giveaway :)
ReplyDeleteHope you get a chance to read the book, Filia!
DeleteHi Kylie,
ReplyDeleteI have not read anything from you yet, but your Light Blade Series looks great. Now I cant wait to read it. Thx
Glad you had the chance to discover the series, Lon. I return later this week for an interview with RR, so you can learn more about Alliance Forged and its characters. :-)
DeleteHi Kylie! You are a new author to me but I have now added you to my wish list. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteYvette
yratpatrol@aol.com
Thanks for adding me to your wishlist, Yvette! :-)
DeleteThis looks like a really interesting series and I'd never seen it before. I look forward to reading it. Thanks for the swag giveaway.
ReplyDeleteI love finding new series, Sophia - good luck in the giveaway!
DeleteUh i want that all stuf:D.. great swag...
ReplyDeletethanks
I love paranormal and I'd love to have some swag from you. Thank you for the giveaway.
ReplyDeleteKylie,
ReplyDeleteI think its great that you volunteer for all that stuff in your spare time but how do you ever find time to write? And how long have you been writing for?
LOL, Pyper541, sometimes I ask myself that same question! But somehow I do make the time. Admittedly now that I have a contractual obligation to write I have to say no at certain times to call outs with my volunteer work (and that's not easy!), especially when I'm on deadline.
DeleteThe call outs come in fits and spurts so it isn't as if I'm going out every day and training for them is only once a week.
If things are busy ie. teaching, volunteer work etc. then I usually get up early in the morning to write - 4 or 5am - and squeeze in some time that way. I usually means though I'm in bed rather early. If you love something with a real passion then you usually find a way to make time to follow it.
As for how long I've been writing. I started as an 11yo but if you're talking about submitting work to a publisher I first did that 18 years ago.
I didn't discover the wonderful Romance Writers of Australia until 10 years ago and then I realised just how much craft was involved in writing. It took probably another 5 years to develop my writing skills through workshops etc. before I could say my work was really ready for submission.
I'd been going it alone before I found out about RWA and so made a lot of mistakes not only in my craft but while sending work out to publishing houses through ignorance.
Writing is my passion though and I suppose you could say most of that time was my apprenticeship.
Cecelia83 & Linda - good luck in the draw. :-)
ReplyDeletethanks for the awesome swag giveaway!!
ReplyDeleteHi Gale, good luck in the draw! :-)
DeleteHi Kylie.. ^^
ReplyDeleteone question... what is the best part of your book for You..? :D
Thank's for the awesome giveaway... ^^
Hi Astri - great question.
DeleteIf you asking for when I write it - I love the editing phase of writing any book. Layering, adding more deep point of view and playing with the sentence structure and individual words to make it stronger, better - that's my favourite part. This also includes when I get revisions back from my editor as I know she's looking to make it stronger as well.
If you're asking for a scene from Alliance Forged, wow, that's a tough tough one to answer. Umm, I might have to go with the scene where Varian apologises to Kymora on the shores of Sacred Lake during the Summer's End celebration. It's a major turning point in his and their emotional relationship arc.
And, just one more favorite part about my book - it's seeing the cover for the first time. Up until then all you have a re ideas and images you've sent to your editor and the art department. And until the cover artist conceptualises the brief they're given, you wonder and wait and dream and hope they're able to match some of what you see in your head for the cover. :-)
Does that answer your question? (thought I'd better cover all bases! LOL)
Thanks for the giveaway!
ReplyDeletetiger-chick-1(at)hotmail(dot)com
No problem, Emily!
DeleteIt looks like we have another successful Sunday Swag here Kylie!
ReplyDeleteI think you could be right, Megan! Good luck everyone!
Delete