Guest Post + Giveaway: Lindsay Below (Head Over Hand-Bought Heels)

Lindsay Below, author of Head Over Hand-Bought Heels, will be stopping by today to talk about her publication journey. Thank you Lindsay for including me on your tour. Followers, please leave comments to support her success. Enjoy!

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From the time she could read, Lindsay Below spent her free time with her nose in a book. Always intrigued by the new worlds her imagination conjured, by the time she was thirteen years old, she was writing books of her own. Throughout high school, she embraced her nerdiness, and by the time she graduated, she was ready to pursue a career in publishing. Her first published young adult novel, Head Over Hand-Bought Heels, was written in five crazy days in 2008, when she was eighteen years old. Since then, her active imagination hasn’t given her any time off. Living close to the arctic in Iqaluit, Canada, she spends every day bundled in blankets, typing away at the computer screen. But that doesn’t mean that she hates email! In fact, the opposite is true — and if you’ve got something to say, she would love an email from you!

For more info on Lindsay, visit her sites:

-YA Website

-Romance Website

-Blog

-YA Blog

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Head Over Hand-Bought Heels by Lindsay Below

Reading Level: Young Adult

Release Date: Available Now

Publisher: Etiopia Press

Summary: When Katie meets Courtney, everything starts to change…When I marched into Vivian’s Boutique for my first shift, I didn’t expect to walk into a screaming match — or to make three new fiercely loyal friends just for comforting Courtney after her breakup. But I did, and now they’re set on coaxing me out of my temple of nerdery and onto their fashion-forward rollercoaster of social involvement. And now, after all the time we’ve been spending together, I think I might be falling for Courtney…

::Giveaway Details::

CONTEST IS CLOSED.

Want to win a PDF copy of the book? Easy! All you need to do is leave a comment on this post or any other in my Head Over Hand-Bought Heels book blog tour by Friday, December 17th at 11:59PM EST. Lindsay will announce the winner on her website, www.lbelow.net/lindsaybelow. You can find information on the other stops in the tour there. Good luck!

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Guest Post:

From Page to Publication

By Lindsay Below

When I started writing Head Over Hand-Bought Heels during the crazy month known as National Novel Writing Month in November 2008, I had no idea what would happen. Honestly. Two days before November began, I was broadsided by a vivid dream starring my main characters Katie, Courtney, Tia, and Jane. But aside from the first scene, I had no idea what the book would be about.

I love to take that scary journey with my characters. It’s like reading a book for the first time. I never know what will happen until I actually get there, but my characters are so engrossing, the story just flows from my fingertips.

That’s exactly what Head Over Hand-Bought Heels was like, for me. Katie led me on as she experienced friendship, drama, romance, and heartbreak. But like all books, my first draft wasn’t even close to being perfect. No, I had to revise, cut, and change scenes around. Luckily, I had the advice of some great fellow writers to fall back on.

Then, of course, came the rejections. But I never linger on those. Because nothing is sweeter than getting the acceptance -- through email, in my case. I couldn’t stop smiling for days. Just like in Katie’s journey, all the lows only added to my final sense of empowerment at the end. And after basking in my awesomeness (yes, at this point, my ego was just a little bit swollen), I got to root myself in front of the computer screen as I -- yes -- revised, changed scenes around, and this time lengthened! I saw my book morph into something completely new and just as engrossing as that first scary journey. And moreover, now I know it’s better.

Once I’d gone through a month’s worth of whirlwind edits, I finally got to sit back and breathe again. And this is the point where it became real. The acceptance was sweet, but seeing my cover art, and then the final version of my book -- nothing makes me feel so proud!

If you’re wondering what Head Over Hand-Bought Heels is about, let me give you a little taste.

Blurb: When Katie meets Courtney, everything starts to change…

When I marched into Vivian’s Boutique for my first shift, I didn’t expect to walk into a screaming match — or to make three new fiercely loyal friends just for comforting Courtney after her breakup. But I did, and now they’re set on coaxing me out of my temple of nerdery and into their hectic lives.

And after all the time we’ve been spending together, I think I might be falling for Courtney…