Guest Post: Mixing Passion with Writing by Jessica Gunn, Author of GYRE, PLUS #Giveaway

It's release day for GYRE by Jessica Gunn, the first book in the Atlas Link Series! Jessica Gunn's debut novel is a new adult fantasy from Curiosity Quills Press.

Chelsea didn’t try to teleport. All she wanted was to play the Battle of the Bands show. But after accidentally teleporting onto classified Navy vessel SeaSatellite5, all she’s rocking is the boat. Once it’s sorted out that Chelsea’s not a threat, SeaSat5’s top scientist offers Chelsea a position on the crew as an archaeology intern. Dr. Saint studies people with powers, believing them to be descendants of Atlantean refugees, except Chelsea’s powers are beyond anything on previous record.

While great for everyone else onboard, the miracle of Chelsea is Trevor’s worst nightmare. The same girl who’d given him a brief lifeline to sanity three months ago literally fell from the sky, under a mile of ocean, and onto the very station where he’s employed. Making matters worse, Trevor’s family are Lemurians, Atlantis’s enemy, and Chelsea’s presence is unpredicted—a wrench in an already unstable situation. But Trevor wants no part of his family’s war. The only thing he wants is Chelsea, Atlantean or not.

Days into Chelsea’s sudden appearance, SeaSatellite5 uncovers Atlantean ruins and a massive artifact cache, placing its entire, hundred-man crew in the crosshairs of an ancient war. There are those who want the Atlantean relics inside the ruins destroyed, and only Trevor knows the treasures for what they really are: Link Pieces, tools used by the ancient civilizations for their time-travel war.

With lies and shifting alliances abound, Chelsea and Trevor will have to think fast in order to save the station. If they don’t, the Lemurians will seize the artifacts and Atlantis will be destroyed forever.

Mixing Passion with Writing: Why I Love Atlantis

Let’s get something straight right off the top: I’ve always loved Atlantis. Before the Disney movie. Before Stargate. And definitely before I circled “anthropology” on my undergraduate college application because I had no idea what other major to pick. No, my love started way before all of that.

The idea of a lost city in the Atlantic just sitting there, waiting patiently to be found is almost romantic. It’s thrilling. It’s the kind of stuff that treasure hunters live for. I’m no treasure hunter, but I do love a good myth. A good story. A good chance at finding evidence of something that people all around the globe love to dismiss as much as they wish for a chance to see it turned into a reality. And what a reality that would be! To find evidence of Atlantis or the city itself now after thousands of years, what would that do to our record of history? Would a discovery like Atlantis change anything? Or would we have to rewrite the whole dang thing?

That, I think, is the most interesting part of the story of Atlantis right there. Not the city itself, not the mythos, but what would actually happen if we found it.

Of course, it could be a story. It probably is just an allegory written by Plato. But what if it’s not?

That’s why I love Atlantis. Not because I think that somewhere in the Atlantic seabed lies an ancient lost city doomed to the sea for its sins and tribulations. I love Atlantis because of what it represents: adventure and hope and wonder.

Gyre is, in many ways, a direct result of this love for Atlantis. I’ve read my fair share of Atlantis-based fiction, but I wanted to do my own take, and I wanted to tie in all the other mysteries of the ancient world that I love so much. From Atlantis to Lemuria (its sister-myth), to Stonehenge and King Arthur, you’ll see plenty of these ancient mysteries in The Atlas Link Series. If we can’t figure them out in the real world, I want to give solutions in my fictional one. Atlantis just seemed like the perfect place to start :)

Do you have any favorite mysteries or stories from the past? I’d love to hear what fascinates you!

Jessica Gunn is a New Adult author and avid science-fiction and fantasy fan. Her favorite stories are those that transport the reader to other, more exciting worlds. When not working or writing, she can be found binge-watching Firefly and Stargate, or feeding her fascination of the ancient world’s many mysteries. Jessica also holds a degree in Anthropology. To catch up with Jessica, follow her on Twitter (@JessGunnAuthor) or on her website, www.jessicagunn.com.

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Guest Post - Dead Jed 3: Return of the Jed by Scott Craven PLUS Giveaway!

Today we have Scott Craven, talking to us about The Joys of Writing Middle Grade Zombies. 

Ever since the first zombie sunk its teeth into human flesh, or cracked open a skull to scoop a bit of brain appetizer, the undead have gotten a pretty bad literary rap. Writers assigned them various disabilities, from a slow, shuffling walk to an inability to not only recognize a doorknob, but use it. Instead these dull-witted creatures attempt to crash through windows, always alerting their well-armed prey. It was never going to end well.

One day it occurred to me that if we just gave zombies a chance, maybe we could be friends. I wanted to turn the genre inside out, especially as zombies were making a huge footprint on pop culture.

I never set out to write a middle-grade book. My first inclination was to devise an adult zombie who moved into the neighborhood, and the horrified reaction when he is first seen mowing his lawn (and learning just how many of area residents had guns).

The more I thought, I wondered if perhaps there weren’t more fertile ground for imagination elsewhere. My character’s goal would be to fit in, and adults can be an intolerant bunch once they made up their  minds. Kids, however, can adapt. And if my zombie only wanted to fit in, his goal would match that of every seventh grader on the planet. Now it was relatable.

I loved weaving my own seventh-grade experiences. I was indeed tossed into a trash can, and a bully once locked me in a trophy case, humiliations suffered by Jed.

But the greatest gratification of writing a middle-grade book didn’t occur until the first book was published. Meeting kids and talking to them about everything from storytelling to bullying has been a great journey.

I wrote Dead Jed first and foremost to entertain, a book guaranteed to make readers laugh and smile, even as they can’t wait to see how Jed gets out of his latest predicament. As the series progressed, I delved into somewhat deeper subjects about realizing what makes us who we are, and making the kinds of decisions that force us to seek deeper truths.

But if the books result in just one child speaking up about bullying, or realizing the importance of embracing who he or she really is, then everything else is gravy.

Hmm, that gravy sure would taste good over brains.

Want to know more? Here's a blurb on DEAD JED 3: RETURN OF THE JED:

With seventh grade behind him, Jed jumps at the opportunity to spend the summer in Mexico with his dad. But there’s just one catch: Luke and Tread get to tag along.

In Mexico, fitting inmight be easier than Jed imagined, with Holidays such as Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). Here, a rising 8th grade zombie boy and his zombie dog won’t draw that much attention.

But then Tread unwittingly sets off Mexico’s Chupacabra Defense Network and Jed accidentally collides with a bus. So much for blending in. The unusual pair catch the eye of a professional wrestler, who challenges Jed to a fight!

Their antics manage to capture the attention of a doctor whose knowledge of the undead causes Jed to question his very existence. Is this the answer Jed’s been hoping for since his parents sat him down for the “you’re a zombie” talk? Jed may have finally found a way to be normal, but at what cost?

Dead Jed: Return of the Jed is book 3 in Scott Craven’s humorous and heartwarming series about surviving middle school, fitting in, and embracing one’s differences – even if you are a zombie.

Google Play | BAM | Chapters | Amazon | B&N | Kobo | TBD | iBooks

Proud graduate of Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, have one son who will turn 18 in March 2013, now a features writer for The Arizona Republic.

 Connect with the Author: Website | Twitter | Goodreads

Five (5) winners will receive a digital copy of Dead Jed 3: Return of the Jed by Scott Craven (INT)

Contest ends January 8, 2016

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