Blog Tour Spotlight + Guest Post + Giveaway: Sacred by Elana K. Arnold

Today I'm participating in a blog tour organized by Jean BookNerd Blog Tours run by the well known Jean. Please, help me welcome Elana K. Arnold and her book Sacred.
And to make things even more interesting there is a giveaway so remember to keep reading ;)

Spotlight

Sacred

by Elana K. Arnold
Release date: 13th November, 2012
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Pages: 368 (hardcover dition)

Summary from Goodreads:

Growing up on Catalina Island, off the California coast, Scarlett Wenderoth has led a fairly isolated life. After her brother dies, her isolation deepens as she withdraws into herself, shutting out her friends and boyfriend. Her parents, shattered by their own sorrow, fail to notice Scarlett's pain and sudden alarming thinness. Scarlett finds pleasure only on her horse, escaping to the heart of the island on long, solitary rides. One day, as she races around a bend, Scarlett is startled by a boy who raises his hand in warning and says one word: "Stop."

The boy—intense, beautiful—is Will Cohen, a newcomer to the island. For reasons he can't or won't explain, he's drawn to Scarlett and feels compelled to keep her safe. To keep her from wasting away. His meddling irritates Scarlett, though she can't deny her attraction to him. As their relationship blossoms into love, Scarlett's body slowly awakens at Will's touch. But just when her grief begins to ebb, she makes a startling discovery about Will, a discovery he's been grappling with himself. A discovery that threatens to force them apart. And if it does, Scarlett fears she will unravel all over again.

You can order it here:

You can find Elana K. Arnold here:

Twitter // Facebook // Official Web

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Guest Post

What’s the best advice you can give writers to help them develop their own unique voice and style?

by Elana K. Arnold

This is the thing about me. I have always wanted other people’s hair. One of my earliest hair-lusts was directed toward Anne of Green Gables. She hated her long, thick, red hair… I coveted it. “Covet” is not too strong a word. I choose it particularly, knowing its implications. To covet is to wish for earnestly, to desire that which belongs to another, inordinately or culpably.

I wanted Anne Shirley’s hair so badly that in seventh grade I poured an entire bottle of red food coloring over my head. My hair is blond, so it soaked up the dye readily. But I ended up pink instead of red, with a blotchy scalp and streaks of color down my neck, in my ears. It lasted for days and days.

In high school there was a girl, Julie Blackmore, who had a mane of thick dark brown hair, slightly wavy, that she wore some days in a high bouncy ponytail, other days like a river of chocolate down her back. Her hair smelled so good. I kind of hated her.

Even now, a grown woman, I suffer from hair envy. I know a writer—a famous writer, whose books have put her on the New York Times bestseller list, whose book is being turned into a movie by a big-time Hollywood star, who is on a first-name basis with Oprah. I am not jealous of these things. I cheer her on. I root for her, sure that if there is room in the universe for that kind of rock star success, surely a slice of it will come my way. I do, however, envy her hair.

It’s blond, like mine, but it grows long without splitting or turning into fluff at the ends. It frames her face the way people write about hair doing to faces. It looks good in all her Facebook pictures.

So what is the point of all this, of Anne’s and Julie’s and Cheryl’s beautiful hair? The point is this: their hair is not my hair. It will never be my hair. I can dye my hair, and curl my hair, and curse my hair, but still, alas, their hair will never become my hair. I can covet it, but I cannot possess it. And if I attempt to imitate it, all I will do is screw up the few things my hair does have going for it—it’s not oily; it’s not going gray; it grows all over my head.

And hair, of course, is not that different from a writer’s voice. You have one, already. As a speaking member of the English language (or any language, actually), you have a voice. As a reader, you know what you like to read. So I say—own your voice. Find what you love about what you have, and focus there. Keep reading—the way I continue to flip through slick-paged magazines, the way I always check my friend Jessica to see how she’s wearing her glossy brown locks. And then put words on the page. If you don’t like them, write more. And be gentle with yourself—there is time.

Watch Out For

Splendor
by Elana K. Arnold
Release Date: 12th November, 2013

Official synopsis:

The passionate romance that began in Sacred concludes in Splendor.

Scarlett loves the touch of her boyfriend, Will. But when he leaves Catalina Island to start college on the East Coast, she wonders whether their passion can survive a long-distance relationship—and whether she can face the home front on her own. Scarlett's senior year should be a breeze, but her parents have recently separated, and her already-wild best friend, Lily, is becoming involved with a dangerous boy named Gunner . . . a boy Scarlett is also attracted to. A boy she doesn't want to be—and shouldn't be—attracted to.

To take her mind off her troubles, Scarlett focuses on caring for her newly pregnant mare and delving deeper into the Kabbalah. Her religious exploration offers a way to stay connected to Will, who is a Kabbalah mystic, and a key to understanding her disturbing dreams about him. But as she gets wrapped up in her mare, her Kabbalah studies, and her conflicting feelings for Will and Gunner, Scarlett misses the warning signs that lead to a heartbreaking loss.

Burning
by Elana K. Arnold
Release Date: 11th June, 2013

Official synopsis:

Ben: Having just graduated from high school, Ben is set to leave Gypsum, Nevada. It's good timing since the gypsum mine that is the lifeblood of the area is closing, shutting the whole town down with it. Ben is lucky: he's headed to San Diego, where he's got a track scholarship at the University of California. But his best friends, Pete and Hog Boy, don't have college to look forward to, so to make them happy, Ben goes with them to check out the hot chick parked on the side of Highway 447.

Lala: She and her Gypsy family earn money by telling fortunes. Some customers choose Tarot cards; others have their palms read. The thousands of people attending the nearby Burning Man festival spend lots of cash--especially as Lala gives uncanny readings. But lately Lala's been questioning whether there might be more to life than her upcoming arranged marriage. And the day she reads Ben's cards is the day that everything changes for her... and for him.

Giveaway

- 3 winners will receive a signed copy of Sacred
- 1 winner will receive a poster, a bookmark, a button and a surprise art by James Vallesteros.
- 10 winners will receive one bookmark of a surprise by James Vallesteros.

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