Wednesday, April 17, 2019

*Book Tour & Giveaway* The Gap Year by Rita Kruger-GUEST POST


The Gap Year
Angela's Epistles Book 1
by Rita Kruger
Genre: SciFi Action, LGBT Romance

Angela Wright might have everything her father's money can buy, but that meant nothing to her on the night of her twenty-eight birthday. She is angry and a little bit drunk as she flees the scene of a fight with her mother.

All her life she has done the right thing. But she is tired of living under her mother’s shadow. How can she ever compete with Margaret Wright, the first Human judge on the Intergalactic High Court?

Within the space of a few days, Angela drops out in the last semester at Intergalactic Bureau of Investigation Academy, signs a bounty hunting contract to find the top ten criminals in the galaxy, and kisses Brenda, her best friend since childhood.
She might be late, but at last she is blooming.



**only .99 cents!**


Rita Kruger lives in Vereeniging, South Africa. She is wife, granddaughter, daughter, mother, and grandmother. Most of childhood happened within the pages of books. Stories conspired to carry her away from the world she knew. The places and people books introduced her to were much more exciting than her boring existence.
Currently married to her personal MacGyver, she surrounds herself with what enriches her body, mind and soul. Family. Friends. Nature. Great food. Good wine. Mountains of books. She writes novels challenging major themes of her life in the genres of fantasy and gothic horror, which she loves.



GUEST POST
What book do you think everyone should read?
Woman who run with wolves: Contacting the power of the wild woman, by Clarissa Pinkola Estés.
This is such an empowering book, and I think every woman should read it to understand her nature in all its intricacies, and men should read it to know the woman in their lives better.

How long have you been writing?
I have been telling stories since I could speak sentences. I wrote often throughout my life. Stories. Poetry. Novels. But I never thought about publishing anything until the doctor told me I need to hurry up and do the stuff of dreams. So I went home and awoke my dreams and started to write more professionally. Not just to get words on the page for myself and then never finish anything before I jump to the next one. I focussed on writing to finish and have other people read the words.


Do the characters all come to you at the same time or do some of them come to you as you write?
I usually have an idea about the main characters. But often the others come to me as I write. Sometimes characters that were only going to be “walk-ons” decide to stay, and I let them, if they contribute to the overall project’s value.

Do you see writing as a career?
I do now. I used to think of it as a hobby. I did it in secret and not seriously. It was like something I did to relieve the pressure of my inner voice telling me to write. So, if that little voice came pestering me, I’d say: “but I did write yesterday!”

I knew I was placating myself with lies. All of that is different now. I work at my career everyday with writing, reading, and doing the stuff writers do behind the scenes that has nothing to do with writing. Like this blog tour. And accounting. And making your voice known in the world.


Do you prefer to write in silence or with noise? Why?
I write to music! Every main character has a theme song that I play to help me get into their head. Every novel has a playlist with music for every specific mood and theme in that book. Music inspires me.

Do you write one book at a time or do you have several going at a time?
I get bored really easily. I usually have three works in progress in my system. One I’m planning, one I’m writing, one I’m editing. I might dally with a short story if things get really difficult for me with a series like Angela.


What are they currently reading?
I try to read at least six books a month. Sometimes I do fifteen. Some months only two. I just finished Girl Seven by Hanna Jameson, and Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children. On my TBR list is Dark Heart by Tony Park, James Swallow’s Exile, Sarah Lotz’ The White Road and Jon McGregor’s So many ways to begin.


What is your writing process?
I am a panser. I usually have a vague idea of two or three things that will happen in the book when I sit down to write. And then I bring the characters in and we dance. Sometimes I lead. Sometimes they do. I seldom have a outline for the first draft. Once it is done, I’d sit down and read the manuscript, making notes of plot holes and things that need to be fixed. Then I’d make an outline before I do the edits. Often here chapters or scenes would move to a different place then they were first written. Usually the beginning becomes chapter two or three. I once had a villain turn into a hero with the second edit.

Things happen that I don’t plan for. I like that. It keeps writing fresh for me.


What is your writing Kryptonite?
My perfectionism. I wrote stories and gave up on them because they were not what I wanted them to be. Once I decided to get serious with writing, I used to get lost in editing for weeks without writing anything new.

It is a constant battle for me to not edit the work I did yesterday. I have to be extremely disciplined concerning this. A tutor helped me set up a system. I have period of writing (in the morning) and editing (in the afternoon). I am not allowed to edit until I hit the required word count for new words.


How long on average does it take you to write a book?
I wrote the first draft of this book in fourteen days! But it is short (about 28 000 words) compared to the epic fantasy series I have coming next year. They are 120 000 words each and I spent about five to six months on each of those.


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