Keri Lake Guest Post and Somnium Giveaway!

Keri Lake, the author of Somnium, is guest posting on my blog today, she's going to tell us about writing, what inspires her, and her decision to self-publish. :)

Without further ado, here is Keri's post:
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Keri Lake

Like many writers, I began plotting away at a very young age. My first love though, was storytelling. And growing up, I had the perfect audience for my twisted tales: two younger sisters and a younger brother. As the oldest, they pretty much did anything I told them to do. So when I offered up story time during babysitting, much as they were horrified at the prospect of having a safe haven in our home somehow turned into portal for monsters, they often went along with it.

Ah…those were the days…

In middle school, I decided to start writing down my stories. And that’s when they began to evolve. By the time I reached high school, I was into the dark and twisted. My all-time favorite movie growing up was The Crow. This was exactly the style I’d yearned to incorporate into my writing. However, another interest began to compete for my attention. In spite of my very supportive English teacher, who insisted that I consider writing in college, I listened to my science teacher and pursued Microbiology instead. But like any passion, writing nagged at me. So I would take breaks during some pretty intense study to jot down poetry. It was a stress-reliever.

My writing sort of sat on the backburner for many years. I’d dabble here and there with some short stories and flash fiction, but nothing I’d taken seriously. Then in 2008, I sat down and completed my very first novel. It was a YA Romance and the word count was a little overboard. I sent out some queries, but for what I knew of the process and the publishing industry, I may as well have not even bothered. I don’t even think I sent them to the appropriate agencies. It was all new and completely experimental for me back then.

In 2009, I wrote another novel, an urban fantasy, and again went through the process of trying to get it published. I knew a bit more about the publishing industry by this point, but still not enough to make the slush cut. I gave up on the idea of getting published. What did it matter? I had a great-paying job; a family. I wouldn’t have time for a writing career on top of all that.

At the beginning of 2010, I was devastated when my sister called me up to tell me she was moving to Virginia Beach for a job she’d taken as an engineer. Not only would I miss one of the most exuberant personalities in my life, I worried about her moving out of state. I insisted that we talk and Skype frequently to curb the sadness. And she did a pretty good job of it. In fact, it was during one of our conversations that she told me about some cute military guard on a base she’d been assigned to in Maine. I literally laughed at loud, listening to her describe her interactions with this guy. Little did I realize, my mind was picking up all of the details of our conversation. That night, I dreamed of Halos. The idea of someone looking after my sister became such a comfort to me that I would steal moments out of my day to think, plot and write: my sister and her fiercely protective guardian angel. But not the guardian angels that we’ve come to know. Angels with a dark side. Warrior angels, forbidden to have contact with humans.

So after giving it a lot of thought, I decided to self-publish Somnium. And I did. On December 16, 2011, I released this paranormal love story to the world. I’m currently working on book two of the Halos trilogy, Requiem. This will pick up where Somnium left off and begin to unravel some of the mysteries of book one.

More about Somnium:

A work assignment in Kittery, Maine should be routine for Allie Lynch; nothing more than to prove herself as a brilliant engineer. Instead she finds herself torn between two men: a gorgeous military guard, Colton Briggs, and her devilishly handsome colleague, Drew Costa. To resist temptation, Allie does the only thing she can: she throws herself into her work.
But fate has other plans for Allie. Women are going missing all around her, Allie is struck with a series of life-threatening mishaps, and she becomes the obsession of a local deranged psychopath.
Thrust into a dark world that she can hardly fathom, Allie must fight for her very survival, open her mind to new realities – and open her heart to the possibility of love. Because both of these men are trouble – but one is a greater danger than she could ever imagine …

 (Description from Goodreads.)

Follow Keri: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Buy Somnium: Kindle | Barnes and Noble

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Giveaway

- International 

- 1 winner will receive a hard copy of Somnium
 - Giveaway ends February 10th at 11:59 PM (MST.)

- The winner will be chosen using Random.org and they will have 48 hours to claim their prize.

- Extra Entries for sharing the giveaway, or following the author on Facebook or Twitter. Note: to easily share the giveaway you can use the share option on the toolbar above, or the buttons near the bottom of this post. For any extra entries links are required. Please make them publicly visible if on Facebook or Twitter, ones that can't be viewed will not count.

- This giveaway has been generously sponsored by the author, so you have Keri to thank. :)

- To enter just fill out the form. (Comments will not count as entries, you need to fill out the form.)

Fill out this FORM to enter: 

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Don't forget to say thank you to Keri, or to let her know what you think about her guest post and her book, Somnium! :D

Happy Reading!!!

♪♫ Ambur