Holiday contest and interview with Shelena Shorts author of The Pace

 Shelena Shorts has graciously agreed to do an interview, and as a bonus, one lucky reader will get a holiday gift pack with a copy of The Pace, The Broken Lake, bookmarks, and a gift from Shelena!

Shelena Shorts graduated from George Mason University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and a Master’s degree in Education. Her passion for igniting a spark in teens led her to teach American literature for six years in traditional and online classrooms. When she’s not interacting with teens in all possible realms, she’s writing novels geared toward the wants of young adults and the “young at heart.” She also works for the innovative online virtual school, K12, and lives in Virginia with her husband and three young children.


Bio and photo from Shelena's website

--The Twitter version: tell us about your book in 140 characters or less

A mysterious, fascinating, impossible romance between a near immortal and a girl who doesn’t have a future beyond nineteen years old, unless he can change it.

--How did you get the idea for the story?

I’m a romance fanatic and my favorite stories are ones that make me feel something. So I started thinking about a boy who felt a lot of intense feelings for a girl. The main feelings being love and fear at the same time. Then, I started thinking about why he felt fear for her and I came up with him knowing something was going to happen to her. From there, I needed a way for him to know about the future and that led me to him knowing from past experiences. Then, I needed a way for him to have lived in the past and I wanted it to be really cool and different, but also “possible” in real life. That’s pretty much the order I came up with the main ideas and I started writing from there.

--Which character would you most/least like to have dinner with?

I would love to have dinner with Wes, because he makes my palms sweat just writing, so to eat with him??? Definitely. LOL

The least person would be Andy….no thanks.  :)

--What are some of your favorite books? Do you still have much time to read?

I read all the time. I rarely watch TV anymore, because I’m either with my three young kids or writing at night, and when I’m not writing, I alternate reading.

Some of my favorite books are A Thousand Splendid Suns, Perfect Chemistry, Twilight, The Forrest of Hands and Teeth, Stolen, Dear John, I could go on and on, but these come to the top of my head because of the new/different emotions they made me feel as I read!

--If a fairy godmother told you your life could be like a favorite book for 24 hours, which book would you pick and why?Can I divide it up to 12 hours each? LOL….I would say 24 hours inside Perfect Chemistry:) :)! And if I could divide it up…give me 12 hours to actually wait for John in Dear John!

--Do you need anything to write (music, coffee, etc)? Are there any songs on " The Pace playlist-" songs that inspired you or that were playing while you wrote?

I have a playlist to every book I write and I listen to it over and over as I go. Some of it has to do with the lyrics, but I find most inspiration from how the songs make me feel. My playlists are on my website, but I try not to put the lists out until the books are released, because some of them can give away too many spoilers :)!

--If you could have any superpower what would you choose?

To seriously answer this question would be to heal people. I hate the fact that people suffer from terminal illnesses, especially children who don’t understand what’s happening to them. I’d pick that power in a heartbeat.

--Besides writing, what do you like to do in your free time?

I like to read, decorate, and play sports outside or Wii games with my kids.

--Is there anything else you want to add or say to your readers?

I'd like to wish everyone a happy holiday, and to let readers to know I appreciate their support and kind words. It means a lot when someone else reads my books, and it means even more when they enjoy it, so thank you!

And NOW for the contest--

What? holiday gift pack with a copy of The Pace, The Broken Lake, bookmarks, and a gift from Shelena

When: now- Dec 16th 11:59pm EST (ending a little early to get in time for Christmas)

How? 

-Fill out the FORM

-Extra entries may be gained by spreading the word (+4 for promoting in own blog post) and +2 each for twitter, facebook, etc, +1 for liking Shelena's page on Facebook, +1 for liking my page on Facebook, or meaningful comment on interview or my review

Feel free to use this tweet

Enter to win holiday prize pack- The Pace, Broken Lake and gift from Shelena Shorts @brandileigh2003 http://bit.ly/hkM6Iw

-US only please

-Good luck!