R. Leonia Shea's Blog, page 8
April 18, 2015
April 11, 2015
Writing as therapy
Sometimes (like today), I get up at the crack of dawn because I’m simply too stressed out to sleep.�� Life’s like that – long periods of status quo where it seems as if everything is flowing along like a peaceful river and then you’re suddenly going through the rapids in an innertube, clinging to irrational hope that the roaring you hear in the distance isn’t a giant waterfall.
Those moments of “Oh, crap – here we go!” are what fuel my writing.�� For those of you who’ve read my books, you know that my characters find themselves charging forward despite those little voices in their heads that say “I’d rather be taking a nap on the couch” or even “this wasn’t such a good idea.”�� That’s what life is all about.�� There are days when you��can nap, and days when you just need to deal with the��insurmountable tasks you feel ill equiped to��handle.�� You can’t crumble and you can’t hide from those challenges – the only thing you can do is move through them,��trying to trust the fact that your talents and skills will serve you well.
For me, my ability to��make a mental escape into another place has been a��skill which has kept me from twisting into a giant stress ball and rolling into a nice, dark closet to wait out the catastrophe.�� Sure, I can’t sleep a lot of nights, but I can get up and lose myself in Arienne’s next adventure, or I can relish��Cleo’s self-serving “me first” attitude, or I can help Caly figure out what the clues mean.�� Those breaks from the reality��give me time to decompress and solving a complicated plot twist is so satisfying that it gives me hope I can solve the gnarled tangled that my own life sometimes becomes.
Writing is my escape.�� I can point to situations in my books and think “Oh, right – that’s when x happened” and I can remember the particular emotion or issue that was playing in the back of my mind when I first sat down to write a specific chapter.�� Those exact situations aren’t in my book, but I can think of times when (like Arienne) I was facing a giant obstacle and felt too overwhelmed to work out the solution until that little voice in my head spoke up (like Gonishen did) and said “Just think.�� You know the answer to this.”
That’s what a book should do.�� Take you out of your current situation and bring you somewhere where you can solve messy problems and feel like no matter how bad things get, there’s a solution and everthing you’ve learned up until that point has been to prepare you to find that solution and keep moving forward.�� I think of my readers when I write – I want to take you on a journey to an interesting place with people who feel just as overwhelmed and inadequate as the rest of the world does but after an adventure, I want to bring you safely home feeling like just maybe, a happy ending is always possible.
Filed under: #amwriting, indie author, indie writer, therapy, why I write, writer's life Tagged: #amwriting, Author, Fantasy, indie, indie author, therapy, writing
March 29, 2015
Promotion
From March 30 – April 1, 2015 you can pick up a free copy of Tattered Shadows on Amazon.com!
Filed under: amazon free, book deals, contemporary fantasy, demons, fantasy fiction, free book, free kindle, kindle free, paranormal romance Tagged: #freereads, Amazon.com, bargain books, contemporary fantasy, demons, ebooks, free kindle book, free promos, free short story, kindle urban fantasy, Urban fantasy
March 21, 2015
New Covers!
I decided to go for new covers for my series – more of a fun, funky, modern twist.
Filed under: Uncategorized
March 19, 2015
Free until April 19th!
Until April 19th, I’m offering Unplanned Magic for FREE with this coupon code:
RT73X
on Smashwords.com.
Just enter the code at check out and you can enjoy the Relic Hunter short story for free!
Unplanned Magic is the short story that started it all.�� Archaeologist Dr. Arienne Cerasola is on a dig in Ireland when she notices some strange writing in the ruins of St. Cieran’s cathedral.�� What follows is an encounter with a Pooka, an undeniable urge to solve the mystery, and a series of unfortunate decisions.
Filed under: Archaeology, book deals, contemporary fantasy, fantasy fiction Tagged: coupon, free book, free short story, humor, relic hunter, smashwords
March 17, 2015
Great St. Patrick’s Day Read
For a magical St. Patrick’s Day – check out Unplanned Magic.�� 
The setting is Ireland – a 16th Century Cathedral to be exact – with monks, demons, a Pooka, and a smart mouth archaeologist who uses magic when a shovel would be much safer.�� Come meet Dr. Arienne Cerasola for only 99 cents at Amazon.com!
Filed under: Archaeology, bargain books, book deals, contemporary fantasy, fantasy fiction, fantasy writer Tagged: 99 cent books, 99 cent reads, amazon, Amazon.com, archaeology, Author, bargain books, books, contemporary fantasy, Fantasy
February 24, 2015
Elementary Magic – Great Lines
So I was now an unemployed, homeless archaeologist who had blown three job interviews by causing minor disasters.
Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: 99 cent reads, contemporary fantasy, fantasy books, fantasy series, Fantasy Writer, fun reads, great books, humor, Urban fantasy
February 23, 2015
Elementary Magic – Great Lines
but I couldn���t tell the University that part of the story.
Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: 99 cent books, Amazon.com, Author, bargain books, Book Sales, contemporary fantasy, Elementary Magic, fun reads, R. Leonia Shea, Urban fantasy, Urban Fantasy Series
Because everyone needs a little Basir
This will be my first author/reader give-away item.�� It is a keychain with an owl, some sparkly (plastic) crystals and a Celtic design bead.�� It has a lobster claw clasp so you can hang it from anywhere.�� Check back here next weekend and you can find out the details and rules of the contest!�� Hint:�� It has something to do with my Relic Hunter series.
Filed under: Uncategorized
February 22, 2015
Elementary Magic – Great Lines
I had to collapse it after I���d accidentally released a three thousand year old demon…
Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: 99 cent reads, Amazon.com, archaeology, bargain books, contemporary fantasy, fantasy fiction, fun books, humor, legends, light reads, magic, Urban fantasy, witchcraft
