aLLiSoN WiNN SCoTCH: THe oNe THaT i WaNT BooK GiVeaWay!

Win The One That I Want By Allison Winn Scotch!

 You’re not going to believe this you book lovers you, but amidst all this moving crap, I’ve got another book giveaway, and this is another one you will LOVE by another one of my favorite authors. It’s interesting how I first “met” Allison Winn Scotch online – She was not yet a published fiction author, but had contacted me for a magazine article she was writing about marriage, and I wish I could locate that article now; I know it had something to do with marriage and maybe it was an article on ways of keeping a marriage freshalicious (cuz ya know Mr. Manic and I are soooo in love!), as we will be celebrating our 17th wedding anniversary on a plane as we move to Arizona. That’s what I call love—moving across the country with the man of my dreams.

Anyway, I answered Allison’s Qs way back then and kinda forgot about it until the article came out. But I always remembered Allison, and then her first book came out, The Department of Lost & Found, and it got a TON of buzz in the magazines and on the internet and I remembered thinking, “Hey, I gotta get in touch with HER!” Because I KNEW!

I knew she was gonna be big someday! (Not in the literal sense—ha, but yes, in the literal sense because “literal” is WORD & BOOK right, but literal is also BIG, but not literally literal because she’s teeny tiny, like a cute little peanut tiny, like I would tower over her small frame, but anyway, (Oh boy, I should not have had that skinny cinnamon dolce latte today because MAN am I flying, and yes, this is one of those days where I SHOULD be cleaning out a closet or something!).

So, how about we give away Allison’s third book, shall we? The One That I Want! I do have to admit that I have not had a chance to read it yet, and I hope you’ll forgive me for it, and as soon as I get settled in Scottsdale, I’ll get my “irsky” (nice way of saying ASS) out on my sun-filled pool-side patio and devour the book. Because what else am I going to do out there? READ! I am going to focus on catching up on my reading! And I’m going to write! I want to become a recluse, and just be by myself for a while and figure out my life. So The One That I Want is THE ONE THAT I WANT TO READ AS SOON AS I GET SETTLED!

Here’s my “haven’t-read-the-book-yet” review:

Tilly Farmer has got the perfect life until she receives the gift of clarity from a fortune teller at the local fair and starts having visions of the future. As she starts seeing what’s going to be happening to her perfect life, she must race to change her fate before her destiny changes. Does she want to continue on her life’s path she’s carefully crafted for herself all these years, or should she let the visions happen as they unfurl before her very own eyes? I don’t know what’s going to happen in the book yet, but I have visions of a best seller here!

And enjoy this quick Q&A with the lovely Allison Winn Scotch on her writing and her new book, The One That I Want before we get to the book giveaway!

What is your favorite part of the fiction writing process? What’s the worst part?

The best: finishing the book. The worst: starting it. :) In all seriousness, I dread the empty page of the onset. Usually the first 10k come really easily, but then I have to really push myself until the last third, and from there, it’s a snowball effect where everything slides into place. But there is no better feeling than writing that last word and knowing that you climbed the mountain that is writing a full book!

Before you started writing The One That I Want, was there one incident/scenario that stands out in your mind where you said, “That’s it! This is the next book I have to write!”

Not with this book, actually. With Time of My Life, my last book, yes. I had that BIG MOMENT in which I just KNEW that I had to put this idea on paper. The One That I Want was a real labor of love, a book that took work instead of pure enthusiasm and creativity. Which actually, in retrospect, is a wonderful thing, as weird as that sounds. Every book is a different experience, kind of like every child you raise is a different experiences, and truthfully – again, in hindsight- I’m glad that I was able to prove to myself that I could roll up my sleeves, dive in and get the job done. And after many drafts (and many agonizing hours), still produce a book that seems to be resonating with people and one that I’m equally as happy with as the books that came easier to me.

In TOTIW, Tilly goes to a fortune teller. Have you ever been to a fortune teller? I’m scared to go to them because I don’t want to hear anything bad. Plus, I think they glean info from looking at a person and take clues from a person and go from there. Like they cheat, or we really want them to know the truth and we give them the clues; do you think so?

Yeah, I’ve never been, but I share the same sentiments as you: a) that I’m not sure that I’d believe it but b) I’m not sure that I’d want to find out. It’s funny, I never really considered it: the gravity that would come with knowing your future, but after writing this, I’m 100% convinced that it would NOT be a good thing. Fate is fate. What happens happens. That has to be enough.

I give Time of My Life as gifts to my girlfriends – it’s the type of book all women can relate to and appreciate. In that book, and I’m sure in TOTIW, you write time-travel scenes that are so believably real. Are flashbacks and scenes where Tilly has visions hard to create? How do you make them real for the reader without the cheesiness?

I think the key to pulling of those fantastical scenes – whether it’s sending my heroine back in time seven years or allowing her to see into the future – is to keep them as emotionally real as possible. The fantasy is there, sure, but the heart of those scenes – and these books – plays out very truthfully (or so I hope). They’re ultimately about women who are striving toward more complete lives and the fantasy element works because it’s fiction...but if writing well (and I hope I’ve done so!), it shouldn’t take away from the core honesty of the lives that these characters are living.

As a writer, wife, mother, how do you turn it off? Are you able to say, “OK, it’s 5 p.m. I’m going to shut my writing brain off and go make dinner now, and be with the kids and my hubby.” Or are you constantly dreaming up the next scene?

It’s very difficult, and when I’m really in the guts of my writing process, I’m not sure that I do it so well. That said, I impose a pretty strict schedule on myself such that when my kids are with me, for example, at dinnertime, I’m absolutely not working. If I’m efficient during the day – in the hours they’re at school and I have my sitter – I shouldn’t really need to be thinking about work. All working moms know how to eke out the most from their hours, so I don’t think I’m much different in that respect. That said, when I’m really gung-ho about the book, I definitely find myself thinking about it when I should be sleeping, etc. One thing that’s really helped me over the years is to give myself an outlet, and for me, that’s running and/or exercise. If I can take off for an hour or so and just tune out my world, with my iPod and sneakers, I find that my brain really frees up and goes places creativity-wise that it otherwise wouldn’t. And by ensuring that I’ve given myself that creative time, I’m pretty okay not having it at other times.

Are you working on the next book yet or thinking about it?

Yes! I just finished the first draft of my next book, out in 2011. (Yikes!) It’s called (as of now) The Memory Of Us, and tells the story of a woman who survives a plane crash but who loses her memory in the process. She’s forced to piece her life back together by the stories that other people tell her about herself, which of course, raises the questions: who are you really and are we defined by everyone other than ourselves? I’m really excited about it.

Any movie news to share?

Nope. :) Well, maybe a little. The Weinstein Company renewed their option for Time of My Life in March, which is a good sign, as basically, they had the choice to extend their deal with me or let me go. That they opted to pay me some dinero rather than not is always a good thing, as – logically – people tend not to shell out for products they’re not interested in.

If you couldn’t be an author, what career would you choose?

Rock star. Movie star. Either one, and I wouldn’t complain. :)

And now, yes, A BOOK GIVEAWAY! We'll be giving away TWO copies, so that just DOUBLED your chances!!!

Leave a comment with your email address, (IF YOU DON’T LEAVE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS, HOW CAN I LET YOU KNOW YOU’VE WON?) or some other identifying trait, like your blog, telling Allison and me about The One That You Want! It doesn’t have to be a person. It can be a banana. What do you want right now? (And DUH, we know you want the book!) Be creative, although the drawing will be completely random!

Winners will be announced on Monday, along with ANOTHER FABULOUS BOOK GIVEAWAY!! Yep, cuz why not! I'm MaNiC that way!

GO!

And yeah, you know, PeaCe uP, cuz PeaCiNG down is dull.

~ MaNiC MoMMy