Blog Tour and Guest Post: Otherborn by Anna Silver

Title: Otherborn

Series: Otherborn #1

Author: Anna Silver

Publisher: Sapphire Star Publishing

Publication Date: April 4, 2013

Goodreads description: 
London and her teenage friends live in a reprocessed world.

Confined within Capital City’s concrete walls, London has done the impossible and the illegal. She’s created something New- a song. But her mentor, club owner Pauly, is not impressed. Since the historic Energy Crisis forced everyone behind walls generations ago, the Tycoons have ensured there is truly nothing new allowed under the sun. Pauly warns London to keep her song to herself, if she knows what’s good for her.

What he doesn’t know is that London is keeping an even bigger secret: she dreams. And she’s not alone. London’s band-mates and friends have begun dreaming as well, seeing themselves in “night pictures” as beings from another world. As Otherborn, they must piece together the story of their astral avatars, the Others, in order to save their world from a dreamless, hopeless future.

When Pauly is murdered and an Otherborn goes missing, London realizes someone is hunting them down. Escaping along the Outroads, they brave the deserted Houselands with only their dreams to guide them. Can they find their friend before the assassin finds them? Will being Otherborn save their lives, or destroy them?

Guest Post:  10 Best Things About Being a Writer by Anna Silver

I’ve been a writer a long time, though I’ve been a published author only for a short while. OTHERBORN has been such a blessing in my life and writing is what I love to do. It has its benefits and its drawbacks, but here are just a few, in no certain order, of the things I love about being a writer most.

1. Speaking your truth

Even if you’re a fiction writer, there is a little heart and soul in every word you write, and a little piece of you embedded in every character. Every book is an opportunity to speak your truth, to share some part of yourself or your experience with the world at large. And there is nothing quite like the feeling of being vividly, fundamentally who you are. It’s terrifying, it’s exhilarating, and it’s something I live every day.

2. Imagination

This supremely important faculty is so sadly underrated in our world. I always tell my children, imagination is the hallmark of true genius. Nothing happens in this world, no art, no music, no invention— that wasn’t imagined first. If we have a divine link, it’s our imagination, because it is our creative heritage. To put it simply: we think things, and then, sometimes, they happen. As a writer, I get to tap into this magic day in and day out as part of my job. It’s become expected of me, and I love doing it.

3. Pajamas

This may seem superficial, but try it and then you’ll understand. No pantyhose. No uptight, starchy business suits. No teetering heels. Just me, a cup of coffee, my favorite yoga pants, and giant t-shirt. That’s my uniform. Comfort cannot be overrated.

4. Being your own boss

Truly, writers aren’t %100 their own boss. We do have people we have to answer to— agents, editors, readers. But ultimately, we get to call a lot of the shots. And certainly, we never have to deal with someone trying to micromanage us. There is nothing I hate worse than someone coming between me and my work, telling me how to do it. So, I love this perk. If I want to write from midnight to 3:00 a.m., I can. If I want to take a nap in the middle of my work day and catch up later, I can. Most of the time, I get to be my own boss, and I’m pretty awesome to work for, if I do say so myself.

5. Reading

I don’t know a writer who didn’t fall in love with reading first. Imagine taking your favorite leisure activity and making it your job. Basically, I can’t write if I’m not reading. At least not as well. So reading is a genuine part of my job. If I want to write well, I must be reading. Nobody chastises me for having my nose stuck in a book anymore. In fact, they want it there. They encourage it. Sheer awesome.

6. Readers

There’s this whole aspect of being an author nobody tells you about until you get your first book deal, and it’s called promo. It boils down to promoting your own work. Which, for many of us, isn’t always what we want to be doing. I’m an introvert, so social gatherings aren’t my favorite thing. But the cool part is that when I do signings or cons or something of the like, I get to hang with the best people on earth: readers. I heart readers, big time. They’re my peeps. It’s made promo one of the best parts of my job instead of one of the worst.

7. Catharsis

What’s that saying? Physician, heal thyself? Something like that. Well, writing is a serious self-help method. I am an HSP, highly sensitive person (it’s a real thing, look it up). That means I get all the feels, all the time, in a big way. It kind of sucked when I was growing up actually. I didn’t always have the words for what I was going through and I was misunderstood a lot. Plus, it was constant upkeep to hold that emotional tide in. Writing is an awesome release. I get to pour my guts onto the page and let it go. Probably, without writing, I would have ended up as something tragic, like a sociopath or a street vendor.

8. Tax write-offs

This one sounds kind of lame. I know. But whoever told you all writers were independently wealthy was either lying or delusional. This is one of those jobs that often pays you in a lot of other ways besides money, like validation and creative expression. Unfortunately, my mortgage company doesn’t accept creative expression. So, I have discovered the beauty of the tax write-off. I save receipts the way hoarders save old newspapers. Hopefully, I don’t get audited after this guest post!

9. Expression

Self expression is one of those things I value highly. I’ve tried to work places where I wasn’t allowed to really be myself, where I was expected to conform to a mold, and they make me insane. Literally. I just can’t do it. Remember I mentioned being HSP? Yeah, well I need to let my geek flag fly high or else I spontaneously combust. I have to embrace the things that inspire me to keep creating. As a writer, I’m not only allowed to be as eccentric as I want to be, it’s kind of expected. It’s sort of become the excuse for all of my socially unacceptable quirks. “She’s a writer,” they whisper to one another with a wink, and suddenly, my kimono and offbeat humor are totally overlooked.

10. Did I mention imagination???

I know I already said this one, but it bears repeating. When I go to work, I go to some magical place in my head where anything is possible and everyone does what I want them to. If I didn’t have this job, they’d probably lock me in a padded cell for it. The best part is, everyone else really wants to go to that place too, but most people are too afraid or they’ve been taught that it’s childish and silly. The truth is, it’s available to everyone and it’s absolutely critical to our development individually and collectively. There is no quality more valuable, to my way of thinking, than an active, exercised imagination. No matter who you are or what you do.

 

About the Author:
Anna Silver is an author and artist living in the greater Houston area with her family, pets, and overactive imagination. Her art has been featured in the Houston gallery Las Manos Magicas. She studied English Writing & Rhetoric at St. Edward’s University. She’s freelanced for private clients and small publications like the Hill Country Current. OTHERBORN is her first published novel. She is represented by Rebecca Podos and Nicole LaBombard of Rees Literary Agency.

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Buy this book in Kindle or paperback format on the author’s Amazon Page.

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