Giveaway & Interview: Gwynneth White Author Of Pledged

Be sure to check out the Expert at end of the Interview!

Synopsis

Of

PLEDGED by Gwynneth White

Everyone has a soul mate. But what do you do when your soul mate would rather give his soul to the demons than be with you?

Seventeen-year-old Erin has a problem. Seth has been hers forever, but now an ancient promise is tearing him away. And Reuel, the demon to whom the promise was made, will stop at nothing to force Seth to forsake Erin and to worship him.

How can Erin win against a pledge so binding that it has damned countless others to the same fate she and Seth will face if Reuel wins – an eternity alone?

The answer lies in the past. To find it, Erin and Seth must risk all, travelling back in time to a dangerous world where love is forbidden, and life – and death – hang on a promise.

Follow Erin and Seth as they travel to ancient Shenaya to break the pledge that has plagued their families for millennia. Caught in a war between the Angelic Guardians and the Gefallen, the disembodied dead, they must fight to keep their souls in tact and their love untainted.

Interview with the Author:

1.What inspired you to want to become a writer?

Writing wasn’t really a choice – it just happened. When I was a child I loved to read and write stories (Although I admit my fist attempt was plagiarised from the Pookie books by Ivy Wallace) My first job also required writing skills – I wrote advertising copy and training manuals - so it seemed logical that I would become a writer. But after my two non-fiction books were published I had children, and that put an end to writing for far too many years. That’s kids for you. J But four years ago I came back out of the wilderness and started writing again. And I’m just loving it.

   2. Tell us your most rewarding experience

   since being published?     

I have to divide my answer into then and now. Back (in the dark ages) when my non-fiction travel guides were published, they received almost instant best-seller status in South Africa where I live. That was cool. And now with Pledged? I’m loving working with the bloggers involved with the launch. It really is fun. And I’m talking to people who want to read my book on Twitter and Facebook! I can’t tell you how much of a thrill that gives me.

3. What's one piece of advice you would give aspiring authors?

Believe in yourself because, most of the time, no one else will. You have to be your own marching band, keeping yourself motivated through all the slumps, writer’s block, rejections and disappointments (of which there will no doubt be many) that come with the job title ‘writer’. Keep focused on your dream and don’t give up.

4. How do you react to a bad review?

I’m very single-minded and bad reviews make me want to get out and make my work better. I obsess about them, nitpicking over what was written, trying to get into the reviewer’s head so I can fix, fix, fix. I hate having unhappy readers.

5. How did you celebrate the sale of your first book?

To be honest, I can’t remember with the non-fiction stuff. But with Pledged, my husband and I shared a high-five. I know, it sounds so lame, but it’s true. And my daughter Erin (After whom Erin in Pledged is named) made me a nice dinner!

6. What is your favorite Quote?

“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” Eleanor Roosevelt.

7. What was your favorite book when you were a child/teen? 

As a child I loved all of Enid Blyton’s boarding school and mystery books. All that changed as a teen . . . Two books really stands out for me during those tumultuous years: Go Ask Alice by Beatrice Sparks and The Outsiders by TE Hilton. Now there’s a window into my past!

8. Who are your favorite authors of all time?

That is such a difficult question to answer. But I think I would have to go with JK Rowling and maybe Tolkien. 

9. Any other books in the works?

Pledged is the first in a series called the Soul Wars Saga. Sacrificed, second in the series, will be published in January 2013.

10. If you could have dinner with one person, dead or alive, who would it be and why?

Only one? Can’t I rather have a whole dinner party? No. Okay then . . . Neil Armstrong (I have to know more about the moon and space travel)

11. What do you do in your free time?

I’m a mom to three teenage girls, which takes up a lot of time, but also gives me great joy. When I’m not making their lives happen, I devour books, watch movies (preferably on the big screen), and grow stunning roses. I also love to travel, especially on boats and trains.

Michelle, thank you so much for having me on your blog. I really appreciate it. And now that your readers know a bit about me, I’d love it of they befriended me on:

Twitter: @GwynnethWhite

Facebook 

Goodreads

Blog 

Email: gwynnethwhite(at)4xforum.com

Pledged is available at:

Barnes and Noble 

Smashwords

Amazon

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Expert:
Meet Seth and Erin...
Despite the heat, Seth felt icy. Dread could do that to him. Or so he had recently discovered. Deep breathing usually calmed him, so he sucked in a lungful of desert air and told himself to relax. It didn’t help. By the time he’d walked from the aircraft to the immigration hall he’d ripped off a jagged piece of thumbnail, already bitten raw. He handed his US passport to the Botswanan border official, and, after a frown, and a stamp, he joined the crowd at the baggage carousel. Botswana in southern Africa was the last place on earth he’d ever have picked for a holiday destination. But he wasn’t here on holiday. Not even close.

His backpack was slow in coming. Tired from his long-haul flight from New York, he leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. Almost as if to mock him, the hated vision that had brought him to Botswana burst into his mind. In an instant he was back in ancient times, watching a man he knew only as Gideon. As usual, Gideon was huddled on a windswept hill with his band of hopeless soldiers, waiting to be slaughtered by a huge army gathered in the valley below.

Seth snapped his eyes open to stop the battle from waging in his mind. It wasn’t that he was particularly squeamish; he’d watched enough movies to iron clad his stomach against gory visuals. But no movie had ever left him icy with dread the way Gideon’s battle did. And the reason for that was simple. The moment the visions had started, he had known that the war, fought so long ago in a place he’d never heard of, was far from over. And, as reluctant as he was, he too was being enlisted to fight in a cause he didn’t understand or want.

He forced himself to focus on the present: Erin, who waited for him in the arrivals hall; his brother Kyle, whom he’d come to Botswana to visit; Kyle’s expedition to find the Lost City of the Kalahari . . .

He ripped off another piece of fingernail. Thinking about the search for the Lost City was almost as bad as the war-vision. I hope Kyle never finds the damned place. He slapped his hand on his thigh. Enough! Grabbing his backpack off the carousel, he set his face into a smile and strode into the arrivals hall.

The first hurdle was finding Erin. She was due to arrive an hour earlier on a flight from Cape Town in South Africa, one of Botswana’s neighbours. He’d never met her, although they had spoken over the phone once. Then she’d described herself as “a short, seventeen-year-old (a year younger than him) with a mass of ginger hair.” She’d sounded nice. Meeting her was the one ray of brightness in this otherwise dark picture.

He stopped to scan the crowd. A petite girl with shoulder length, reddish-blonde curls, dressed in skinny jeans and a purple blouse, immediately caught his eye. It had to be Erin. Nice legs. What’s it with girls that they always under-sell themselves? He studied her face with his artist’s eye. Vermeer would’ve killed to paint her. Suddenly wishing he didn’t look so grimy after his three plane-changes, he walked over to join her. “Hi, I’m Seth. You’ve got to be Erin. My brother’s just married your sister Izzy.”

“And after only knowing each other for about a week.”

Her dimpled grin was infectious, making him crack his trademark crooked smile. “Madness.”

“Mysterious.” Erin cocked her head to one side, seemingly appraising him. He knew he had been accurate when he’d told her he was tall and dark-haired. But what he had failed to mention was what girls had often said they liked about him: his strong, angular face, softened by expressive brown eyes. He watched her eyes rove over his grey Muse: Resistance t-shirt, taking in his broad shoulders and chest. From there they darted down his black camo-pants to his boots. Amused by her blatant assessment, he cocked his head to one side, watching her. Suddenly Erin giggled – was she embarrassed? – and picked up her bag.

“We’ve yet another plane to catch. My fourth in the last twenty-four hours,” Seth said, hoping to explain away his rumpled appearance. “To a place called Maun.”

“So we do. Let the adventure begin.” 

(These excerpts are issued by Swallow Press for use by bloggers participating in launch and blog tour of Pledged by Gwynneth White. Any queries can be addressed to Andrew at sethanderin@swallowpress.com)

Would you like to meet Caleb and Talitha? Click here for another Expert.  for a 3rd Expert go here to Meet Jared and Sophia

Continue on meeting Seth and Erin here, on a new post, plus a teaser!

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*Disclosure of Material Connection: I have received this book free from the author/publisher as part of an online book tour from Swallow Press. Although payment may have been received by Swallow Press, no payment was received by me in exchange for this review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”