Struck by Jennifer Bosworth - Guest Post

Thu, May 17, 2012

Struck by Jennifer Bosworth Mini Review & Guest Post

Struck
By Jennifer Bosworth
Publication date: May 8, 2012
Farrar, Straus and Giroux BYR, 373 pages
Source: Publisher, via NetGalley

Mia Price is a lightning addict. She’s survived countless strikes, but her craving to connect to the energy in storms endangers her life and the lives of those around her.

Los Angeles, where lightning rarely strikes, is one of the few places Mia feels safe from her addiction. But when an earthquake devastates the city, her haven is transformed into a minefield of chaos and danger. The beaches become massive tent cities. Downtown is a crumbling wasteland, where a traveling party moves to a different empty building each night, the revelers drawn to the destruction by a force they cannot deny. Two warring cults rise to power, and both see Mia as the key to their opposing doomsday prophecies. They believe she has a connection to the freak electrical storm that caused the quake, and to the far more devastating storm that is yet to come.

Mia wants to trust the enigmatic and alluring Jeremy when he promises to protect her, but she fears he isn’t who he claims to be. In the end, the passion and power that brought them together could be their downfall. When the final disaster strikes, Mia must risk unleashing the full horror of her strength to save the people she loves, or lose everything.

— Goodreads.com description

Stuck by Jennifer Bosworth was electrifying! This book got me back on the paranormal bandwagon. Suspenseful, exciting, unexpected—it was so unexpectedly great. It was full of fun forbidden romance (never get sick of that!), apocalypse action and, best of all, CULTS. What?! I know.

You have my recommendation, but check out today’s guest post from author Jennifer Bosworth for even more motivation to check out Struck…plus enter for the chance to win your own copy!

5 Lessons I Learned Writing STRUCK

By Jennifer Bosworth

STRUCK is not my first novel. I have a few other manuscripts gathering dust in drawers. But I learned more writing STRUCK than I did on all those other books. Actually, I probably learned more on STRUCK than I did in college, high school, and grade school combined.

Without further ado . . . the top 5 most important lessons I learned writing STRUCK.

1. Outlines are for suckers. Except when you reach draft 7 ½, and your manuscript is still a mess. Then outlines are for winners!

2. Self-indulgent writing is the first thing that gets cut. For all you writers out there, if you have a prize sentence that makes you smile smugly every time you read it, the kind of sentence that you know is going to impress other writers, don’t get too attached to it. My prize sentence was this: “She was like Lolita without the innocence.” I loved the irony of this sentence. It was one of my favorite lines in the whole book. My editor did not love it nearly as much as I did, and ended up asking me to cut it. I refused. Then she told me it would take people out of the story because they’d have to think about it. So I cut it.

3. With every book, there will come a point when you hit a wall. You have nothing left. You can’t write another word, and you start to hate everything about your creation. Those moments are when you’re about to break through that wall like the freaking Kool-Aid Man. Remember, it’s always darkest before dawn. You can’t get to the end of the story without passing through that “moment of darkness.” But that’s only fair, right? I mean, we put our characters through that moment, so why shouldn’t we have to suffer it ourselves?

4. Every writer needs someone with whom they can discuss their story. Out loud. Using your mouth, not your fingers on a keyboard. When you get stuck, sit down with that person and talk through your problem. Talking jars things loose in your head in a different way than writing does.

5. Please abide with me while I deliver this sports metaphor. Do you water ski? Wakeboard? Surf? If so, you know how hard it can be to stand up for the first time. You might fall twenty times or a hundred, but once you get up just once and you learn how it feels . . . it’s that much easier to do it again. Eventually you’ll get to the point where it feels as natural as walking.

Check out the book:
Book Trailer
Author Website
Fierce Reads Fan Page
Jennifer Bosworth on tour for Fierce Reads

Enter to win your own copy:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Posted by: Anna • In: apocalypse, jennifer bosworth, paranormal, romance

23 Comments

Lori said:

I want to read this so bad! I’ve been hearing such great things about it. Love the guest post! Thanks for the giveaway.
Lori recently posted..May Giveaway

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Posted on: Thu, May 17, 2012
Melanie @thedailyprohecy said:

The guest post was nice! I liked reading it.
Melanie @thedailyprohecy recently posted..Review 22. Carrie Jones – Need.

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Posted on: Thu, May 17, 2012
Grace Radford said:

These made me laugh. haha. Very cool!

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Posted on: Thu, May 17, 2012
Melissa @ niftynovels.blogspot.com said:

This looks like a great book, and I absolutely LOVED the guest post. As a hopeful writer (someday) those pointers are priceless to me!
Melissa @ niftynovels.blogspot.com recently posted..Can’t Wait for This . . .

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Posted on: Thu, May 17, 2012
Melissa @ i swim for oceans said:

I still have to review this one. It seems like something I’d really like! Love the guest post, too

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Posted on: Thu, May 17, 2012
Madison Louise said:

I want to read this book soooo bad.

-Maddi

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Posted on: Thu, May 17, 2012
Ashley said:

Thanks for this awesome guest post! I’m not a writer myself, but I loved reading about Jennifer Bosworth experiences! Too bad about #2 though

I’m really looking forward to reading this book! I’ve had it on my wishlist for some time now. Fingers crossed!
Ashley recently posted..Good Web Design Practices – Beginners

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Posted on: Thu, May 17, 2012
Ashley @ Ashley Loves Books said:

This is a fun guest post – I especially like the lesson about a particular beloved line. It’s always tough to swallow when the line you love best isn’t actually the genius we thought it to be =/
Ashley @ Ashley Loves Books recently posted..Jen Lancaster Signing Recap

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Posted on: Thu, May 17, 2012
Alyssa Susanna said:

Thanks for the giveaway! I loved this post. This book keeps getting awesomer and awesomer as the tour goes on. Thanks for being a part of the tour!
Alyssa Susanna <3

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Posted on: Thu, May 17, 2012
Bridget Howard said:

So after I watched the awesome trailer for this book I was so excited to read it!!! Thanks for the great giveaway!!!!

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Posted on: Thu, May 17, 2012
Lily Sooklal said:

Thanks for the giveaway and the guest post! I can’t wait to read Strcuck!

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Posted on: Thu, May 17, 2012
Sandy @ Somewhere Only We Know said:

Thanks for hosting this giveaway. After reading your review of Struck I’m looking forward to adding this to my TBR.
Sandy @ Somewhere Only We Know recently posted..Sizzling Sixteen Audio – Review

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Posted on: Thu, May 17, 2012
Kari said:

I want to read this book so bad! I know its out, but I have no money to buy it {so sad!}. I’m really hoping to win a copy, cause it sounds amazing!
Kari recently posted..The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

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Posted on: Thu, May 17, 2012
Heidi @ ya bibliophile said:

Cannot wait to read this one! I’m trying to read all the Fierce Reads book before the tour stop in Naperville.
Heidi @ ya bibliophile recently posted..Dark Frost

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Posted on: Thu, May 17, 2012
Luana Sirbu said:

i just love this book, thank you so much for the giveaway

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Posted on: Thu, May 17, 2012
Katie @ BlookGirl said:

Oy. Point #2 really hit close to home. I am totally guilty of holding on to a sentence or turn of phrase that I adore, likely to the story’s detriment. Thanks for the wake-up call, Jenn

Also, thank you for the opportunity to win!
Katie @ BlookGirl recently posted..About Blook Girl

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Posted on: Thu, May 17, 2012
Angie said:

I am so excited to read Struck. The whole idea of a religious cult that is evil is totally interesting me. Thanks for the giveaway!

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Posted on: Thu, May 17, 2012
Jasmine Rose said:

I’m fairly certain I remember reading the sentence she cut in the ARC. That’s kind of strange But, yeah, I didn’t understand the meaning behind the sentence, so I just kind of ignored it and moved on.
Jasmine Rose recently posted..In My Mailbox {44}

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Posted on: Thu, May 17, 2012
JennyC said:

CAN’T WAIT TO READ THIS!!!! SUPPPPER EXCITED:)

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Posted on: Thu, May 17, 2012
Alana said:

The paranormal, apocalypse, cults…I’m definitely going to check this one out!

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Posted on: Thu, May 17, 2012
Justine said:

I hadn’t planned on reading Struck but I’ve been enjoying Jennifer Bosworth’s guest posts on her blog tour that I just might give her book a chance!

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Posted on: Thu, May 17, 2012
Cordelia said:

I’m just beginning to hear about this. Novel. Can’t. Wait!!!!

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Posted on: Thu, May 17, 2012
STRUCK Blog Tour | said:

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