Brew Bash! Guest Post by David Estes & Giveaway!

I'm absolutely thrilled to have a guest post by the author of the Moon Dwellers series David Estes today and introduce you to his latest two books, Brew and its sequel, Boil! 

Thank you David for being a guest on the blog today!! 

Brew

Salem's Revenge #1

David Estes

October 1st 2014

Salem's Revenge strikes without warning or mercy, ravaging the powerless human race under the forces of united gangs of witches, wizards, and warlocks. During the slaughter, Rhett Carter's foster parents and sister are killed, and his best friend and girlfriend are abducted by a gang of witches calling themselves the Necromancers, who deal in the dark magic of raising the dead. Rhett's sword-wielding neighbor with a mysterious past saves Rhett from becoming another casualty of the massacre and teaches him the skills he needs to survive in this new world. 

Rhett is broken, his normal high school life of book blogging and football playing shoved in a witch-apocalyptic blender. The only thing he has left is his burning desire for revenge. Armed with his new witch hunting skills and a loyal, magic powered dog named Hex, he sets out into the unknown with one mission: hunt and destroy those who took away everyone he ever loved. 

But Rhett isn't just a witch hunter; He has secrets of his own that he has yet to discover, secrets that his enemies will stop at nothing to keep him from. 

And discovering the truth about himself is the human race's only hope. 

Boil

Salem's Revenge #2

David Estes

October 1st 2014

Revenge. That's all that's left for witch hunter Rhett Carter. The magic-born have stripped everything from him - killed his friends, cursed his warlock father, shattered his future - leaving him bare and broken, but not dead. Their mistake. 

When Rhett and Laney are suddenly thrust in different directions, Rhett must decide who to trust and who to kill. Backed by his trusty canine sidekick Hex, Rhett will embark on his deadliest mission yet, one that will lead him directly toward those who want him dead, pushing his unique resistance to magic to the edge and back again as he tries to remove his father's curse. 

Separated from Rhett, Laney seeks to understand the strange changes to her sister, Trish, who's believed to be the last living Clairvoyant, and what role she's destined to play in the future of humankind.

Wrapped around everything are four major groups: the Necromancers, the Changelings, the witch hunters, and New America, the remnants of humanity. When the major forces are brought together for an epic battle, the fate of the world hangs in the balance.

Get both Brew and its sequel, Boil, the first two books in the Salem's Revenge series, for a special price of $0.99 each for a limited time only (Amazon Kindle exclusive: Brew until October 17th; Boil until October 7th). Click on the above buttons to take advantage of this limited time deal!

Writing is like sitting (with your feet up) on a big leather couch

By David Estes

I am a writer. Although it started out as a casual thing, I became so obsessed with creating stories that I turned my fun hobby into a career, quitting my day job as an operational risk manager to pursue my lifelong dream of being a real author. With the creation of ebooks, anyone who writes can also easily be published, something that allowed me to find success in an industry that would've otherwise been almost impossible to break into. Many others are doing the same thing, writing and publishing in the hopes of one day doing it full-time - and many others have already realized that dream, as I have. 

But is it fun? Is it therapeutic? Or is it no different than the tedious nine to five job that I used to have? Does the reality fall short of the dream? These are all very important questions that writers need to ask themselves. More and more I'm getting messages from published authors saying that they're not enjoying writing anymore. Their sales of previously published works are lackluster, they've received a few bad reviews, they have writer's block, there's too much pressure to write a good sequel...etc, etc. I get it, I really do. I've been there. Occasionally, I still am there. Sometimes I dread the following day's five-hour writing session. Sometimes I feel like crap after said writing session because I feel as if my writing wasn't as good as it should've been. Sometimes I don't feel inspired. So should I stop? 

NO! This is the right answer for me, but it might not be the right answer for everyone. Whether to write or not to write is a very personal decision, but for me, I actually love it at least 90% of the time, and feel as if it's free therapy. Yes, you heard right, writing is like sitting (with your feet up) on a big leather couch. Why? Because my words are naked, floating through my mind unprotected, without judgment, without fear - they're hope and they're beautiful, despite being rough, imperfect things. I get to express myself in whatever way I choose just as I'd be able to if I went to a therapist. My innermost thoughts and fears and dreams and hopes and desires can be stroked from the paint brush of my soul onto the canvas of my laptop. And then I get to choose which ones to keep and which ones to delete, which ones are worthy of other's eyes, and which ones are just for me. That's a beautiful thing, a daily sojourn that's as therapeutic as it is satisfying. In other words, I get more out of my writing than my readers do. That's the big secret that authors don't always tell you. That although they love entertaining their readers and a lot of what they do is for their fans, part of why they write is selfish.

So although I need to pay attention to book sales, and reviews, and deal with the pressures and frustrations that come with writing as a career, I don't let those things affect my LOVE OF WRITING. In the end, that's what matters both for myself AND for my readers, because it makes me a better writer. When someone loves what they write, it bleeds through to the pages of their books, and sends their readers' hearts racing. 

To those who are struggling with whether to continue writing, I urge you to go back to what got you started in the first place. Write something just for you, and see if you enjoy it more. If so, then you MUST keep writing, even if only for yourself. Me, I'll keep writing till the end of my days, partly because I can't imagine a world where I don't write, and partly because I want nothing more than to make my readers feel myriad emotions every time they turn the pages of my books, just as I do when I read awesome books by my favorite authors. 

A huge thank you to Jennifer for having me on her awesome blog, and for the perfect guest post topic. And I'd love to hear all your comments about writing. Do you find it therapeutic? Do you love to write? Finally, I hope you enjoy my new book Brew, and its sequel, Boil!! Thanks for all your support <3

David Estes

a Rafflecopter giveaway 

Goodreads  ●  David's Blog  ●  Twitter  ●  Facebook  ●  Tumblr  and his  Goodreads Fan Group 

David Estes was born in El Paso, Texas but moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania when he was very young. David grew up in Pittsburgh and then went to Penn State for college. Eventually he moved to Sydney, Australia where he met his wife. They now live together in their dream location, Hawaii. A reader all his life, he began writing novels for the children's and YA markets in 2010, and started writing full time in June 2012. Now he travels the world writing with his wife, Adele. David's a writer with OCD, a love of dancing and singing (but only when no one is looking or listening), a mad-skilled ping-pong player, and prefers writing at the swimming pool to writing at a table.

 

To celebrate the launch of Brew and Boil, David Estes is also giving away FREE Kindle copies of his popular YA dystopian AND adventure book, Fire Country!!