Blog Tour: Under the Same Sky - Genevieve Graham - When I'm Not Writing

First of all, a big THANK YOU to Corrine for allowing me to pop up here on your screen and say hello. Blog Tours are wonderful. Especially for someone living in a teeny tiny town in Nova Scotia.

Corrine suggested I write about what I do when I’m not writing, and I really had to think hard on that. Because when I’m not writing, I’m editing, since I have my own editing business (www.WritingWildly.com). But that’s relatively boring. What else?

Let’s see. Well, to begin with—oh, would you mind waiting a second? My daughter needs me to find something for her …

There. When I’m not writing I enjoy—Sorry. One sec. Other daughter calling me …

I’m back! I’d say reading is my favourite past time, and—Really? Right now? Okay. Sorry. I have to go grab a book for my husband.

Sorry sorry sorry. Back to what I was saying. I love to read, but for some reason I have trouble finding enough time for that. I suppose that explains the stack of half-read books on my bedside table, though—Just a sec. Something’s boiling over. Actually, l think I smell smoke …

Anyway, my favourite author, Diana Gabaldon, says the best thing you can do as a writer is to read … everything. That way you know what to aim for, and what to avoid. I aim for her brilliance in description, wordage, humour, well, basically in everything I write. Her books inspired me to write, and the greatest compliment I have received (from a few readers) is that my main male character reminded them of her incredible Jamie Fraser.

Other than writing, editing, and reading? We have a little dog named Murphy, who likes to walk a lot, and occasionally (not often enough) we go to the beach, which is ten minutes away. We also have chickens (with whom Murphy is not allowed to visit). I, a former Torontonian, never imagined I would enjoy chickens nearly as much as I do. We have five (one recently passed away), and each of them has a different personality. I let them out of their coop almost every day (they hate rain, so they’d rather stay indoors on those days) and they make a beeline to our pile of mulch, where they roll in it like puppies. They’re perfectly at home getting a pedicure from our daughters.

Two nights a week I—*sigh* Hang on. Laundry’s beeping …

Where was I? Right. Two nights a week I teach piano to children. My university degree is in music, and while I no longer perform on my oboe, I feel fortunate that I can pass along my love and knowledge of music. With all the electronic devices kids can choose to pound on these days, it’s a miracle to hear them say, “I want to learn piano.” I honestly believe every child should be raised within a cocoon of music. Preferably classical. There is nothing quite so healing for the soul. At any age.

And I love movies. We live a fair distance from town, so we don’t go to theatres much anymore, but the library is a wonderful source for movies, as is Netflix. And once I’m snuggled up in front of a movie, nobody asks me to do anything. Maybe that’s one of the reasons I love them so much.

Above all, I love hanging around with my family. We drive each other crazy, then end up hugging and tickling and laughing. Or we have quiet times where we’re each curled up around our own favourite/most recent books, sometimes with a candle burning in the background. I’m incredibly proud of the family we’ve become.

So what do I do besides write? I guess not much …

Would you please add after my blog on Jan 18 that I will be at http://evie-bookish.blogspot.com/p/my-favorites.html on Jan 19?

Thank you so much for being here today, Genevieve! It sounds like you keep pretty busy! ;) 

Genevieve Graham can be found on her website. 

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The year is 1746. A young woman from South Carolina and a Scottish Highlander share an intimacy and devotion beyond their understanding. They have had visions of each other their entire lives. And yet they have never met.

Now, with their lives torn asunder, Maggie Johnson and Andrew MacDonnell's quest to find each other is guided only by their dreams—and by the belief in the true love they share.

On the Carolina frontier Maggie Johnson’s family struggles to survive. Maggie’s gift of “the sight” and her visions show her a presence she calls Wolf. She watches him grow from a boy her age to a man even as she goes from child to woman.

Andrew MacDonald has always wondered about the girl he sees in his dreams. He is able to talk to her through their thoughts and vows that even if he must cross an ocean he will find her. They are thrust into different situations: Andrew fights for the doomed Jacobite cause and Maggie is captured by slavers, then rescued and brought into a kind, loving Native American tribe. They each believe in destiny and the power of the love they have shared forever.

Synopsis taken from goodreads.

Blog Tour: Saving June - Hannah Harrington - When I'm Not Writing

Hannah Harrington is here today with a When I'm Not Writing guest post courtesy of the Teen Book Scene blog tour for her new release, Saving June. Thank you for being here today, Hannah! You can follow along with the blog tour here, or by clicking through the banner. Enjoy!

When I’m not writing, I spend a lot of time reading—whether it’s various online blogs or books. I also watch an extremely ridiculous amount of television: everything from Community to Glee to Hoarders to The Daily Show to Law & Order: SVU to Friday Night Lights. My DVR is my best friend. I’m something of a film buff, too, and I will watch pretty much any documentary I can get my hands on.

Last year I bought an acoustic guitar and started taking lessons. I never played any instruments growing up, I am completely tone deaf with no sense of rhythm, and my musical instincts are less than zero, but after a lot of practice, I am now able to fumble through a handful of songs. I have no high aspirations, but I really enjoy messing around and playing for myself. It’s a nice distraction and a way to unwind.

I love music— whether it’s listening to old songs I love or discovering new artists. I’ve been slowly building up my vinyl record collection, and I can spend a lot of time hunting through our local record store if you’ll let me.

I’m also an animal lover who has too many pets! I have three cats (Marley, Ziggy, and Yoko) and a black Labrador (Ozzy), and my sister owns a beautiful horse named Sheriff, who I like to visit from time to time even though I don’t ride myself anymore. I love them the way I imagine parents love their children. Which seems appropriate since the cats, especially, tend to behave like toddlers with the way they demand my attention, and keeping them in line can feel like a job in and of itself. I am sure they would be happier if I spent less time behind the computer and more of it pampering them!

I agree, Hannah. Boy, do our pets demand attention! =) 

Thank you for being here today, Hannah! 

Hannah Harrington can be found on twitter.

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‘If she’d waited less than two weeks, she’d be June who died in June. But I guess my sister didn’t consider that.’

Harper Scott’s older sister has always been the perfect one so when June takes her own life a week before her high school graduation, sixteen-year-old Harper is devastated. Everyone’s sorry, but no one can explain why.

When her divorcing parents decide to split her sister’s ashes into his-and-her urns, Harper takes matters into her own hands. She’ll steal the ashes and drive cross-country with her best friend, Laney, to the one place June always dreamed of going California.

Enter Jake Tolan. He’s a boy with a bad attitude, a classic-rock obsession and nothing in common with Harper’s sister. But Jake had a connection with June, and when he insists on joining them, Harper’s just desperate enough to let him. With his alternately charming and infuriating demeanour and his belief that music can see you through anything, he might be exactly what she needs.

Except June wasn’t the only one hiding something. Jake’s keeping a secret that has the power to turn Harper’s life upside down again.

Synopsis taken from goodreads.

Blog Tour: Sins of the Angels - Linda Poitevin - When I'm Not Writing & Giveaway

Linda Poitevin is here with a When I'm Not Writing post courtesy of her "Angels Gather Here" blog tour for Sins of the Angels. Thank you for being here, Linda! You can follow along with the tour here, or by clicking through the banner. Enjoy! 

When Corrine suggested “What you do when you’re not writing” as a topic for my guest post here, I immediately thought “Where in heck do I even begin?!?” or something equally borderline-hysterical. It may have had to do with the fact that her suggestion arrived as our basement was being dismantled for repair work after unusually heavy rains had caused a minor flood followed by black mold. Or that, on my to-do list that day, I had yet to accomplish the laundry, the groceries, walking the dog, mopping up the dust mammoths left behind by the dog (he’s a really big dog), weeding the vegetable garden, sending out a proposal to a potential freelance consultant, or doing the bills/banking/post-office run.

Or maybe it was because over the course of the following month (during which the basement renovations would be ongoing), I had one daughter leaving for a three-week cadet camp and then preparing for a return to high school after nine years of homeschooling, and another moving back home to finish her last semester of university…necessitating that I move my office out of the spare room and into the dining room while simultaneously seeking to increase my freelance writing business after losing the only regular client I’d had for the past nine years. Or…well, I’m sure you get the picture. And I’m sure you understand the borderline hysteria at that particular moment in my life.

So, to answer Corrine’s question of what do I do when I’m not writing? I do what everyone else does. I juggle the rest of my own life along with those of my husband and my not-quite-yet-entirely independent children. I try to keep my head above water and not panic as I go down for the three-hundredth time. I try to be the calm in the storm my own life can become on occasion. And when I remember to do so, I strive for that elusive balance we all seem to be seeking in this hectic world of ours.

What about you? What do you do when you’re not [insert occupation of choice here]? Are you any better at the balance thing than I am? If so, I would dearly love to know your secret!

I want in on this secret as well! ;) Thank you for being here today, Linda! 

Linda Poitevin can be found on her website, her blog, and on twitter. 

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Linda Poitevin is the author of a new urban fantasy series, The Grigori Legacy, from Ace Books. Book one, SINS OF THE ANGELS, will be out September 27/11. Book two, SINS OF THE SON, follows in May 2012. In her other life, Linda is wife, mother, friend, gardener, coffee snob, freelance writer, and zookeeper of too many pets.

Linda is a member of Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America, Quebec Writers' Federation, Romance Writers of America, RWA Futuristic Fantasy Paranormal Chapter, and Ottawa Romance Writers' Association.

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A detective with a secret lineage. An undercover Hunter with a bullet-proof soul. And a world made to pay for the sins of an angel…

Homicide detective Alexandra Jarvis answers to no one. Especially not to the new partner assigned to her in the middle of a gruesome serial killer case—a partner who is obstructive, irritatingly magnetic, and arrogant as hell.

Aramael is a Power—a hunter of the Fallen Angels. A millennium ago, he sentenced his own brother to eternal exile for crimes against humanity. Now his brother is back and wreaking murderous havoc in the mortal realm. To find him, Aramael must play second to a human police officer who wants nothing to do with him and whose very bloodline threatens both his mission and his soul.

Now, faced with a fallen angel hell-bent on triggering the apocalypse, Alex and Aramael have no choice but to join forces, because only together can they stop the end of days.

Synopsis taken from goodreads.

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Giveaway Details

1. There are two copies of SINS OF THE ANGELS available for giveaway. Winners may choose either hard copy or Net Galley e-book format.

2. Open to US and Canadian readers, and to international readers who can accept a Net Galley e-book (in other words, physical books will be shipped only to US/Canada addresses).

3. International readers who would like to win a hard copy may state so in their comments. Names will be collected for a special International Readers Only draw at the end of the blog tour on November 14th, at which time three names will be drawn from all international entrants over the duration of the tour.

Please fill out this FORM to enter. 

Giveaway will end October 30, 2011.

All international applicants will be forwarded to Linda for the International Readers Only draw at the end of the tour. 

Thank you!

Blog Tour: This Thing Called the Future - J.L. Powers - When I'm Not Writing

J.L. Powers is here today with a When I'm Not Writing post courtesy of the Teen Book Scene blog tour for her new release, This Thing Called the Future. Thank you for being here today, J.L.! You can follow along with the tour here, or by clicking through the banner. Enjoy!

What I Do When I’m Not Writing

By J.L. Powers

Okay, if you had asked me a year ago to write about what I do when I’m not writing, I would have had to admit that when I wasn’t writing, I was—uh—writing.

That might mean I was providing written feedback on my students’ writing. Or providing written feedback on some other writer’s novel. I held a monthly writing club for teens at the local library. I taught a writing class to elementary school kids in my home. I spent up to twelve hours a day in front of my computer writing. And I used the weekends to catch up…with all the writing I didn’t get to during the week!

Of course, I have always been a big reader, too. Because how else was I going to become a better writer if I didn’t read?

“Put down your nerd tool,” my husband would tell me whenever he saw me devouring yet another book. Not that he doesn’t like reading. He does. He’s an English teacher, for God’s sake. But he knows that I’ve always been a little obsessive about my writing career. And reading for me is part of my job as a writer. A job that has been 24-7 for as long as I can remember.

Okay, I’m kidding. Sort of.

Besides writing, I’ve always travelled a lot. But that also had to do with writing. I travelled to promote myself as a writer, to do research for my books (for example, I planned three extensive research trips to South Africa for my latest novel, where I spent months hanging out with people, just trying to nail down my understanding of South African culture), and, yes, sometimes just to have fun.

The time I used to devote to my writing has all but disappeared since last September. In the title of the book written about my life, it would probably read, How J.L. Powers Got Knocked Up, Had a Baby, and Got a Life.

Emails make up the majority of my writing these days, though I try to carve out a few hours a week for the y.a. psychothriller I’m currently writing.

Instead, I’m doing a lot of fun things with my baby. We read books. We go for walks. We tickle each other. We play monster on the floor. We go to storytime at the library. We go swimming. We get our faces painted. We go to the park and hang out with other moms and their kids. Last week, I used special styling gel for curls in his hair to see what he would look like with extra curly hair. (He looked pretty crazy). We mess with the dogs. We go outside to say hi to the neighbors. We go to the mall and smile at strangers and play with the mall toys. We play “music” on the piano. (Okay, we bang on the keyboard a lot.) We bang on the African drum in our living room.

So that is what I’m doing these days, now that I’m not spending all my time writing.

I have always hoped I would be one of these people who have “balance.” I’ve always thought it would be ideal to write a few hours a day and spend the rest of the time living life, having other interests. But I don’t really know how to have balance. I do everything with gusto and I do it to the extreme. So right now, most of my life is being a mom…

But in a few years, I hope that I will have found balance between being a mom, being a writer, and pursuing other interests. Those interests include photography, playing the piano, traveling, and volunteer work.

For now, though, I’m just enjoying my son.

Awesome post, J.L.! Thank you for being here today!

J.L. Powers can be found on her website, on her blog, and on twitter. 

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Khosi lives with her beloved grandmother Gogo, her little sister Zi, and her weekend mother in a matchbox house on the outskirts of Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. In that shantytown, it seems like somebody is dying all the time. Billboards everywhere warn of the disease of the day. Her Gogo goes to a traditional healer when there is trouble, but her mother, who works in another city and is wasting away before their eyes, refuses even to go to the doctor. She is afraid and Khosi doesn't know what it is that makes the blood come up from her choking lungs. Witchcraft? A curse? AIDS? Can Khosi take her to the doctor? Gogo asks. No, says Mama, Khosi must stay in school. Only education will save Khosi and Zi from the poverty and ignorance of the old Zulu ways.

School, though, is not bad. There is a boy her own age there, Little Man Ncobo, and she loves the color of his skin, so much darker than her own, and his blue-black lips, but he mocks her when a witch's curse, her mother's wasting sorrow, and a neighbor's accusations send her and Gogo scrambling off to the sangoma's hut in search of a healing potion.

J.L. Powers holds an MA in African history from State University of New York-Albany and Stanford University. She won a Fulbright-Hays grant to study Zulu in South Africa, and served as a visiting scholar in Stanford's African Studies Department. This is her second novel for young adults.

Synopsis taken from goodreads.

Blog Tour: Torn - Erica O'Rourke - When I'm Not Writing

Today, Erica O'Rourke is here with a post about what she does when she's not writing, courtesy of the Teen Book Scene blog tour for her up-coming release Torn. Thank you for being here, Erica! You can follow along with the tour here, or by clicking through the banner. Enjoy!

When I’m not writing, I’m thinking about writing. Craft, research, deadlines, promotion, networking, the shiny new project trying to tempt me away from my current one…always, part of my brain is thinking about writing. Or sleep. I think about sleep a lot, too. And buying an iPad. But mostly it’s writing.

At the same time, I’m hanging out with my family. We have three daughters -- the oldest is ten and the baby is almost three, so there is a lot of ferrying them back and forth to school and playdates and activities and sporting events and the library, and a lot of helping with projects and homework. The baby’s favorite game is “Fisher Price Little People Go To The Urgent Care Center,” so I spend a lot of time dispensing antibiotics and bandages to two-inch-high plastic dolls. All three girls love to play at the park, so I spend a lot of time going down slides and exclaiming over tricks on the monkey bars.

After we wrestle the girls into bed for the night, my husband and I try to spend a little time together before I head back into my office. Even if it’s only a half-hour spent watching The Daily Show, it’s one of my favorite parts of the day. We catch up, exchange stories, make plans. We have two cats, Per and Maya, that I’m highly allergic to. I can’t pet them all day, or I’d be a giant swollen asthmatic mess. But we usually let them climb up on the couch and snuggle with us. After a while, Per goes upstairs and sleeps with our oldest daughter. Maya waits until my husband goes to bed, then follows him in and sleeps on top of him. Maya is a little odd.

I like television shows more than movies (that’s a story for another post) but as my writing career has developed, I’ve had to get much more particular about what I watch. Doctor Who is essential viewing, and I am waiting impatiently for Series Two of BBC’s Sherlock. And after every episode of Doctor Who, I have to deconstruct it with my best friend. You would be alarmed at the amount of brainspace I dedicate to Doctor Who.

I love reading. Even if it’s three in the morning when I go to bed, I have to read. Sometimes it’s only a page, but I can’t fall asleep otherwise. I read in a lot of genres: Mysteries, literary fiction, paranormal, historical. Most of them are YA, but not always. I’ll also read books about writing, or research for a project, but for the most part, I prefer fiction.

I can also tell you what I’m not doing: Doing laundry. (Though I spend a lot of time staring balefully at the laundry.) Cooking balanced meals. Scrubbing floors. Vaccuming. The one benefit of being on a tight deadline is that nobody expects your house to be clean, and I take full advantage of it.

Thank you for sharing what you are up to when you're not writing, and thank you for being here today, Erica! I'm going to have to check out Doctor Who one of these days. ;)


Erica O'Rourke can be found on her website, her blog, and on twitter.

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Everyone has secrets.

Even best friends.

Swirling black descends like ravens, large enough to block the glow of the streetlights. A dull roar starts like a train on the 'L', a far-away rumbling that grows louder as it pulls closer, until it's directly overhead and you feel it in your chest, except this doesn't pass you by. Verity, white-faced and eyes blazing, shouts through the din, "Run, Mo!"

Mo Fitzgerald knows about secrets. But when she witnesses her best friend's murder, she discovers Verity was hiding things she never could have guessed. To find the answers she needs and the vengeance she craves, Mo—quiet, ordinary, unmagical Mo—will have to enter a world of raw magic and shifting alliances. And she'll have to choose between two very different, equally dangerous guys—protective, duty-bound Colin and brash, mysterious Luc. One wants to save her, one wants to claim her. Which would you choose?

Synopsis taken from goodreads.

Felicity Heaton Guest Posts About Anime, RPGs & Her New Release, Ascension

What does a paranormal romance author do when she’s not writing?

Lost for Words gave me a fantastic topic to write a piece on and it’s something I don’t think anyone has ever asked me before. As an author, I’m always neck-deep in writing, editing or all the little things that go with the job description. I write dark paranormal romances and also some science fiction romance too, and with several series on the go, as well as new ones starting this year, I rarely have downtime. When I do manage to sneak some time off, or when I feel I need a break, I tend to gravitate to only a handful of things that are guaranteed to relax me or improve my state of mind. No, it’s not reading. I do read paranormal romance novels, but I generally wait until I’m between writing or edits to read them as I don’t like the books I read influencing my characters or style.

This is where I reveal my inner geek to you all and hope you find it endearing rather than freaky. When I’m stressed out and take a breather, I love nothing more than drawing, either sketching on paper or digitally with my drawing tablet, and generally my doodles revolve around my deep love of anime and manga. I love pretty much everything Japanese and have been to Japan four times now. I love reading manga or drawing manga versions of my characters, or characters from anime that I watch. Now that I’m a full time author, I start my day with a coffee and a couple of episodes of anime. Yeah, I watch cartoons in the morning just like any other kid (well, big kid in my case). I’ll also spend time learning or revising my Japanese when I can, and I’m hoping to learn my basic kanji this year. If I’m not indulging in my Japanese-related past times, I’m playing games on my PlayStation 3 or 2, mostly epic RPGs like Final Fantasy games or games such as Assassin’s Creed, Castlevania, and Devil May Cry or Prince of Persia.

Yes, I’m a geek and proud of it. I even have a collection of Gundam models and characters from anime I love, but don’t hold that against me. There are no giant robots in my stories, just vampires, immortals, gods and goddesses, werewolves and demons, as well as some witches. Paranormal has always been in my heart, setting up home there when I was a small child and used to love reading about Dracula and Frankenstein’s monster or witches and werewolves in my books. I spent days at school and college dreaming of vampires, and I think that’s where my creative writing spark came from. I would create a world for them in our world and play out scenes in my head during class. It was much more fun than studying.

I’ve always been a very creative person and I think that shows in my writing and in the covers I produce for my books, as well as the websites I design and build. I’m also a professional web developer and love nothing more than tinkering with code.

I’ve really enjoyed talking about what I do when I’m not writing or doing writing-related work. If you’d like to find out more about my books, or perhaps take a look at the covers I design for them, then you can find them on my website: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk

My latest release is Ascension, an urban fantasy romance novel that is available now in e-book format direct from my site, on Amazon Kindle, and other retailers, and will be available next month in paperback.

Ascension

Felicity Heaton

A witch on the verge of achieving phenomenal power, Lealandra must turn to her half-breed demon ex-lover Taig for protection from the dark force that is after her and also from her own magic.

With her Counter-Balance dead and her coven against her, Taig’s blood and power is the only thing that can help her control her magic and survive the ascension and gain the strength to defeat her enemy.

Old feelings come flooding back as Taig allows her into his world and Lealandra finds herself fighting not only for survival but to win his broken heart again and heal the pain in their past. Can he forgive her for walking out on him all those years ago and will he ever believe her when she tells him that he’s not a monster but the man that she loves?

Read the excerpt or find out where to buy: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/

Biography:

Felicity Heaton is a romance author writing as both Felicity Heaton and F E Heaton. She is passionate about penning paranormal tales full of vampires, witches, werewolves, angels and shape-shifters, and has been interested in all things preternatural and fantastical since she was just a child. Her other passion is science-fiction and she likes nothing more than to immerse herself in a whole new universe and the amazing species therein. She used to while away days at school and college dreaming of vampires, werewolves and witches, or being lost in space, and used to while away evenings watching movies about them or reading gothic horror stories, science-fiction and romances.

Having tried her hand at various romance genres, it was only natural for her to turn her focus back to the paranormal, fantasy and science-fiction worlds she enjoys so much. She loves to write seductive, sexy and strong vampires, werewolves, witches, angels and alien species. The worlds she often dreams up for them are vicious, dark and dangerous, reflecting aspects of the heroines and heroes, but her characters also love deeply, laugh, cry and feel every emotion as keenly as anyone does. She makes no excuses for the darkness surrounding them, especially the paranormal creatures, and says that this is their world. She’s just honoured to write down their adventures.

If you want to know more about me, or want to get in touch, you can find me at the following places:

My website: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk

My blog: http://www.indieparanormalromancebooks.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/feheaton

Twitter: http://twitter.com/felicityheaton

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/felicityheaton

Thank you so much for being here today, Felicity! Ascension sounds absolutely fabulous!

It looks like you have a great time when you aren't writing! :) 

Blog Tour: Shadow Hunters - Brent Hartinger - When I'm Not Writing

Today, Brent Hartinger, author of Shadow Walkers stops by to talk about what he does when not writing. This post is part of his blog tour for Shadow Walkers through Teen Book Scene. You can follow along with the tour here, or by clicking on the banner. Enjoy!

My “not writing” is more theoretical that reality, since I’m writing something almost all the time, mostly because I have a deadline looming. (I take on too many projects, but then again: if people are going to pay me to write – which is what I’ve dreamed of all my life -- why not do it?)

That said, I’m definitely not one of those “write every day” types. I love writing, but it’s extremely hard work for me, and when I’m not writing, I’m sooooo not writing. If I’m not writing and hanging around the house, I’m either reading, watching movies, or playing video games, or I’m over at this urban lake, Green Lake, which I live next to in Seattle. I never imagined how much fun it is to live on a lake – especially one you can walk all around because it’s completely surrounded by a park. In the winter, it freezes, and in the summer it’s full of swimmers, and the sunsets are fantastic regardless. It’s perfection!

If I’m away from home, that means my partner and I have thrown the bikes into the back of our car and have probably headed off somewhere to bike – preferably one of the islands in Puget Sound, which are my favorite places to be. Some are hilly (but that’s okay, because it makes a great workout), some are flat, some are big, some are small, some have towns, and some are almost deserted. But they’re all covered with wonderful Pacific Northwest forests, and winding roads and rocky beaches and farmlands. A couple of the islands even have these massive abandoned World War I forts to explore!

Seriously: me, a bike, a friend or two, a picnic lunch, and an island in Puget Sound is my idea of heaven.

Thank you so much for being here today, Brent! Love your idea of heaven! It sounds absolutely wonderful!

For those looking to know more about Shadow Walkers, I've included the book cover and description below.

Living with his grandparents on a tiny island off the Washington State coast, Zach feels cut off from the world. Especially when he's forbidden to chat with his online friends. But then his little brother, Gilbert, is kidnapped. To find him, Zach discovers how to astral project. Soon, his spirit is soaring through the strange and boundless astral realm—a shadow place.

While searching for his brother, Zach meets a boy named Emory, another astral traveler who's intriguing (and cute). As they track the kidnappers from the astral realm, their bond grows—but each moment could be Gilbert's last. Even worse, there's a menacing, centuries-old creature in their midst that devours souls and possesses physical bodies. And it's hungry for Zach.

Synopsis taken from goodreads.