A Castle in the Sky + Giveaway Winner

It's April 26th; the day I have been waiting on for quite some time. The day that my newest novel, A Castle in the Sky releases! I still can't believe that this day is here. It's crazy to think that as of today, people will be reading this book. It's amazing. I am so excited for you all to read it! If you read A Castle in the Sky, please consider leaving a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads. I would appreciate it so very much!

So, throw the book-shaped glitter confetti in the air and put your party hat on, because today is A Castle in the Sky's birthday!

And now it's time to announce the winner of the giveaway!

*drumroll*

The winner is.....

Julie G.

Congratulations, Julie! You should have an email in your inbox from me notifying you of your win. :)

Thank you so very much to all those that entered! It's means the world to me and I am so happy to know that there are people like you in the world that support authors like me and our dreams. Many, many hugs to you all!

The rest of the week, I'll be posting "behind the scenes" snippets of A Castle in the Sky. Today, I'm talking about what it was like writing the book. Enjoy!

Writing A Castle in the Sky

I started writing A Castle in the Sky November 1, 2015 as my first ever NaNoWriMo project. It seems so odd to think that only five months ago, I was just starting this novel. And now we're here. It kind of makes me want to cry!

A Castle in the Sky has been my favorite thing I've written. I had always wanted to write a historical novel, and writing this is like coming home for me. I've always loved reading historical fiction; it's my favorite genre. And Abi is writer, which I obviously relate to, and that makes it fun, too. Writers are fun to write about. They're emotional, they're deep thinkers; they're just interesting people. And Abi is a dear. Really, she's just the sweetest thing, and someone you really love instantly. At times she has a bit of a temper when pushed to a certain limit, and she's a very sensitive person. But she wants desperately to do the right thing, and never gives up hope. Abi and I could be best friends!

This book holds a lot of firsts for me. This is the first historical novel I've written, the first novel I've written in third person, and my first venture out of young adult fiction. It's a pretty big deal! It's been so exciting and wonderful, and I can't wait to write another novel like it.

Of course since this is a historical novel, I had to do research. Sometimes that can be a bit of a pain, but I really can't complain. Most of the things that I was unsure of were easy to research. And I knew a lot of the basic things like how people dressed in the 1910s, what dances were like, what houses looked like, etc... from books that I've read. Honestly, when you're a writer, books are your best friends. They're your teachers. You can't write without reading.

This was the first time I've ever participated in NaNoWriMo, and I have to say, I loved it. It was pretty scary going into it, because 1,667 words per day sounds like a lot. But I did it! Okay, there were a few days when I didn't meet the goal, but I made up for it on other days. And, trust me, there were days when it got kind of stressful and I just really did not feel like doing the challenge. But I knew deep down that I wanted to do this, and so I pushed myself and accomplished my goal. That feels really good. When November ended, I had written 50,060 words of A Castle in the Sky. Now that it's been revised and edited, its 60,100 words. I can't believe that I added over 10,000 words, but they were important words.

Writing A Castle in the Sky hasn't been a bed of roses, by any means. Anytime you set out to write a book, there are going to be bumps in the road. But if you love your book and if you believe in it, then it's worth it. That's been my experience with this book.

Thank you all for taking the time to come here today. I hope you've enjoyed this post. Don't forget to come back tomorrow; there are a few folks I'd like to introduce you to. In the meantime, you can finally buy A Castle in the Sky! Just click here. I can't wait for you to read it. :)

-Miranda Atchley