Book: Destiny
Author: Andrea Buginsky
Book Synopsis:
Elena Baxter has spent her life desperately wanting to fit in. She’s used to being teased and taunted by the popular girls, but when she celebrates her sweet sixteen birthday and receives two amazing gifts—the power of telekinesis, and the truth about her heritage—she has high hopes that things will change. But her wish does not come true, and Elena is bullied just as she was before, only this time her hurt feelings and frustration boil into something even she cannot understand. When an explosion hits, chaos ensues and she learns that her new power just might be bigger than she is.
She embarks on a journey to a secret island to learn how to control her powers, and she’s thrown into a different world, one where she just might be able to fit in. What Elena learns about her heritage forces her to face her past – and the demons it created – head on.
Buy Links:
Excerpt
Elena was getting upset as she defended her family’s honor. She wasn’t thinking about where that might lead. She wasn’t thinking at all.
“Why, Elena, I didn’t mean to upset you. I just meant that-“
“I know exactly what you meant, Barbara Thomas! You think your family is better than anyone else in this town. You always have. Just because your dad happens to be the former mayor’s son doesn’t mean you own this town and everyone in it! I’m so sick of your mock sentiment when all you really feel is that you’re better than everyone. You’re no better than the rest of us!”
As she yelled, things around her felt funny, and she realized she heard screaming. She looked around, and was startled to see everyone staring at her, horrified. She took a deep breath, and realized what had happened. She let her emotions get away from her, and her powers erupted.
The only words she could think of to describe the scene around her were total chaos. Every locker had burst open, and the entire contents – books, folders, papers, pictures, mirrors, backpacks – had come flying out. The posters on the walls were scattered everywhere. Most of the students and teachers were picking themselves up off the floor. Elena knew her powers had gotten totally out of hand, and she made everything around her fly out of control, literally.
She heard footsteps walking toward her, the only sound in the hall. She looked up and saw her counselor, Mrs. Adams, walking toward her. She gently took Elena by the shoulder and guided her to her office. She looked back and saw Barb and the other Bimbettes staring at her, as well as everyone else in the hall.
I’m a freelance writer and author. “The Chosen,” a middle-grade fantasy novelette was my first book, and was followed by “My Open Heart,” an autobiography about growing up with heart disease. “Nature’s Unbalance” is the second story in THE CHOSEN series. I’m currently working NEW AVALON, a YA fantasy series. Book 1, "Destiny," is available on Amazon. I was born in New Jersey, grew up in Florida, and live in Kansas.
2. What inspired you to write Destiny?
I started writing it during a NaNoWriMo quite a few years ago. I burned out about halfway through, though, and had the draft sitting in the drawer for a while. I took it out and worked on it every so often. Finally, earlier this year, I decided to take it out and finally finish it. When I chose to write this story for NaNo, it was because I wanted to write a modern day King Arthur story, but I also wanted to focus on the female characters, particularly the Lady of the Lake.
3. Where do you usually get your ideas for your books?
From TV shows and movies I watch, or other books I read. I’ll be enjoying the story, and suddenly start recreating it in my head the way I want things to be. Then, if an idea really sparks, I’ll run with it and make it my own, changing the characters and themes to ones I’ve created.
4. How did you come up with the title?
New Avalon was the original title of the book. As I was working on it this year, I suddenly found myself writing scenes that made a better fit in a separate story, and new I had just created a series. I kept New Avalon for the series name, and had to come up with a title for the first book. I chose Destiny because the book is all about Elena, my main character, learning about her destiny.
5. Do you feel like there is a little bit of you in your characters?
Always. My main characters are big reflection of me and my personality. Through them, I can escape my bubble and go out in the world and do adventurous things.
6. How important are the names of the characters in Destiny?
Some of them are more important than others, and were chosen because of whom the character reminded me of. But many of them were names off the top of my head.
7. Is there some sort of message in your book you’d want your readers to grasp?
Definitely: Reach for the stars, and make your dreams come true. This is the motto I came up with years ago when I started writing, and created my website. I have always been a big dreamer, and I truly believe that if you believe in them enough, and work hard enough, your dreams can and will come true. I try to put this message in my books as well, and portray my characters as working hard to make their dreams come true.
8. What books have influenced you the most in life?
Growing up, I loved reading Judy Blume. Her books were perfect for getting me through my awkward adolescent years, because her characters dealt with the same issues. I also loved Sweet Valley High. There were a great mix of characters, and at least one I could identify with. When I was older, Harry Potter had a huge influence on me, and piqued my interest in fantasy. When I began writing MG and YA fantasy, JK Rowling became a huge mentor I could look up to and learn from.
9. What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
Watch TV and movies. No matter what I’m watching, I can get pulled in to the storyline, so much so that I’ll start to converse and even yell at the TV. I don’t even realize it until my husband asks, “What did you say.” Then I answer, “Nothing, I was talking to the TV.” Lol
10. Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?
I’ve always loved writing, and enjoyed working on stories and research papers in school. When I was close to the end of my sophomore year of college, I needed to change majors. I had no idea what I was going to do. My sister said, “You love writing, why don’t you do that?” And the spark started. I earned my BA in Journalism, and started freelancing after college. Then I started to write my books, and the rest is history.
11. Can you tell us about the challenges you faced, if any, when it came to publishing your first book?
The biggest challenge was finding a publisher. Once I found one and my book was published, I had to learn how to market it. That’s something I didn’t expect; to have to market the work myself. I guess I always thought that when a publisher published your book, they do the marketing, too. I quickly learned this is not always the case. It took a long time before I learned how to market my books, and I’m still learning as I go.
12. If you had to go back and do it again, would there aspects in any of your work, not just Destiny, that you would wish to change?
I actually did go back and change my first book. I rewrote it, fixing spots I didn’t like now that I’ve been writing for a while. I’m still learning how to write action scenes better, and build them up. I would like to go back and study some aspects of writing those scenes, and other action-packed scenes, before writing the books. But I can use what I’ve learned over the years to keep moving forward.
13. What has been the toughest criticism you have faced of your work?
Being told my books aren't long enough or don’t have enough action scenes. When I’m writing, I feel like I’m writing so much, and getting to the end of the book is like a marathon. I can’t imagine adding more than I’ve already written. A lot of my readers like my books being shorter than others they’ve read; but I’ve also heard critiques saying they’re not long enough.
14. What was the best compliment?
When’s the next book coming out J
15.Do you have anything you want to say specifically to your readers?
Thank you for reading my books, and for enjoying them. Thank you for your reviews and comments. Thank you for wanting to read more. I plan to deliver.
16. Are there occupational hazards to being a novelist?
For me there are a few: Muscle aches and pains from sitting at my computer, stress from trying to write difficult scenes and worrying about how the published books are doing, fatigue from writing for long hours. I also find myself realizing it’s been several hours since I ate, and should take a break to eat something.
17. Do you ever wish you had a completely uncreative job like working in a factory?
Sometimes, but not working in a factory. There are times where I wish I had a job where I could just clock in, do the necessary work, and clock out. But I’ve had other jobs in the past, and none of them were as fitting to me as writing. I wouldn’t change it for anything.
18. How do you get yourself into your “writing zone”
I sit at the computer, read over some previous pages, decide what comes next and start writing. Some days I may only get a paragraph or two, others I could find my muse taking over and write several pages.
19. What makes you laugh?
My puppies, my husband, certain shows and movies.
20.Coke or Pepsi?
Coke
Interview
1. Can you tell us a
little bit about yourself?I’m a freelance writer and author. “The Chosen,” a middle-grade fantasy novelette was my first book, and was followed by “My Open Heart,” an autobiography about growing up with heart disease. “Nature’s Unbalance” is the second story in THE CHOSEN series. I’m currently working NEW AVALON, a YA fantasy series. Book 1, "Destiny," is available on Amazon. I was born in New Jersey, grew up in Florida, and live in Kansas.
2. What inspired you to write Destiny?
I started writing it during a NaNoWriMo quite a few years ago. I burned out about halfway through, though, and had the draft sitting in the drawer for a while. I took it out and worked on it every so often. Finally, earlier this year, I decided to take it out and finally finish it. When I chose to write this story for NaNo, it was because I wanted to write a modern day King Arthur story, but I also wanted to focus on the female characters, particularly the Lady of the Lake.
3. Where do you usually get your ideas for your books?
From TV shows and movies I watch, or other books I read. I’ll be enjoying the story, and suddenly start recreating it in my head the way I want things to be. Then, if an idea really sparks, I’ll run with it and make it my own, changing the characters and themes to ones I’ve created.
4. How did you come up with the title?
New Avalon was the original title of the book. As I was working on it this year, I suddenly found myself writing scenes that made a better fit in a separate story, and new I had just created a series. I kept New Avalon for the series name, and had to come up with a title for the first book. I chose Destiny because the book is all about Elena, my main character, learning about her destiny.
5. Do you feel like there is a little bit of you in your characters?
Always. My main characters are big reflection of me and my personality. Through them, I can escape my bubble and go out in the world and do adventurous things.
6. How important are the names of the characters in Destiny?
Some of them are more important than others, and were chosen because of whom the character reminded me of. But many of them were names off the top of my head.
7. Is there some sort of message in your book you’d want your readers to grasp?
Definitely: Reach for the stars, and make your dreams come true. This is the motto I came up with years ago when I started writing, and created my website. I have always been a big dreamer, and I truly believe that if you believe in them enough, and work hard enough, your dreams can and will come true. I try to put this message in my books as well, and portray my characters as working hard to make their dreams come true.
8. What books have influenced you the most in life?
Growing up, I loved reading Judy Blume. Her books were perfect for getting me through my awkward adolescent years, because her characters dealt with the same issues. I also loved Sweet Valley High. There were a great mix of characters, and at least one I could identify with. When I was older, Harry Potter had a huge influence on me, and piqued my interest in fantasy. When I began writing MG and YA fantasy, JK Rowling became a huge mentor I could look up to and learn from.
9. What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
Watch TV and movies. No matter what I’m watching, I can get pulled in to the storyline, so much so that I’ll start to converse and even yell at the TV. I don’t even realize it until my husband asks, “What did you say.” Then I answer, “Nothing, I was talking to the TV.” Lol
10. Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?
I’ve always loved writing, and enjoyed working on stories and research papers in school. When I was close to the end of my sophomore year of college, I needed to change majors. I had no idea what I was going to do. My sister said, “You love writing, why don’t you do that?” And the spark started. I earned my BA in Journalism, and started freelancing after college. Then I started to write my books, and the rest is history.
11. Can you tell us about the challenges you faced, if any, when it came to publishing your first book?
The biggest challenge was finding a publisher. Once I found one and my book was published, I had to learn how to market it. That’s something I didn’t expect; to have to market the work myself. I guess I always thought that when a publisher published your book, they do the marketing, too. I quickly learned this is not always the case. It took a long time before I learned how to market my books, and I’m still learning as I go.
12. If you had to go back and do it again, would there aspects in any of your work, not just Destiny, that you would wish to change?
I actually did go back and change my first book. I rewrote it, fixing spots I didn’t like now that I’ve been writing for a while. I’m still learning how to write action scenes better, and build them up. I would like to go back and study some aspects of writing those scenes, and other action-packed scenes, before writing the books. But I can use what I’ve learned over the years to keep moving forward.
13. What has been the toughest criticism you have faced of your work?
Being told my books aren't long enough or don’t have enough action scenes. When I’m writing, I feel like I’m writing so much, and getting to the end of the book is like a marathon. I can’t imagine adding more than I’ve already written. A lot of my readers like my books being shorter than others they’ve read; but I’ve also heard critiques saying they’re not long enough.
14. What was the best compliment?
When’s the next book coming out J
15.Do you have anything you want to say specifically to your readers?
Thank you for reading my books, and for enjoying them. Thank you for your reviews and comments. Thank you for wanting to read more. I plan to deliver.
16. Are there occupational hazards to being a novelist?
For me there are a few: Muscle aches and pains from sitting at my computer, stress from trying to write difficult scenes and worrying about how the published books are doing, fatigue from writing for long hours. I also find myself realizing it’s been several hours since I ate, and should take a break to eat something.
17. Do you ever wish you had a completely uncreative job like working in a factory?
Sometimes, but not working in a factory. There are times where I wish I had a job where I could just clock in, do the necessary work, and clock out. But I’ve had other jobs in the past, and none of them were as fitting to me as writing. I wouldn’t change it for anything.
18. How do you get yourself into your “writing zone”
I sit at the computer, read over some previous pages, decide what comes next and start writing. Some days I may only get a paragraph or two, others I could find my muse taking over and write several pages.
19. What makes you laugh?
My puppies, my husband, certain shows and movies.
20.Coke or Pepsi?
Coke
About the Author:
Andrea Buginsky is a freelance writer and author. “The Chosen,” a middle-grade fantasy novelette was her first book, and was followed by “My Open Heart,” an autobiography about growing up with heart disease. “Nature’s Unbalance” is the second story in THE CHOSEN series. Andrea is currently working NEW AVALON, a YA fantasy series. Book 1, "Destiny," is available on Amazon
Connect with the Author:
Tour Schedule:
24th October
Kyra @ The Shadow Portal - Interview
Leslie @ That Chick that Reads - Review
Michael @ Michael Scifan - Interview
Sam @ Rockin' & Reviewing - Interview
25th October
Jenn @ BooksBooksBooks - Review
26th October
Jessica @ The Evening eBook Read - Review
Nikita @ NjKinny's World of Books - Review
28th October
Rae @ Drunk on Pop - Review
29th October
Jacquel @ She Reviews Everything - Review
Mindy @ Books, Books & More Books - Review
Tegan @ T & a Book - Review
Giveaway
1 Digital copy of The Chosen by Andrea Buginsky to the best reviewer of this tour
1 Digital Copy of Destiny
Thank You for hosting this tour. Dont Forget to add the post link to the Tour Host Exclusive Giveaway! :)
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