Sneak Peek!

There are only six months left until STUNG comes out! (STUNG is my new book in case you didn't know, LOL.) 

So to celebrate, here's the blurb, plus the first page. I hope you like it! Let me know what you think.

There is no cure for being stung.

Fiona doesn’t remember going to sleep. But when she opens her eyes, she discovers her entire world has been altered—her house is abandoned and broken, and the entire neighborhood is barren and dead. Even stranger is the tattoo on her right hand—a black oval with five marks on either side—that she doesn’t remember getting but somehow knows she must cover at any cost. She’s right.

Those bearing the tattoo have turned into mindless, violent beasts that roam the streets and sewers, preying upon the unbranded while a select few live protected inside a fortress-like wall, their lives devoted to rebuilding society and killing all who bear the mark.

Now Fiona has awakened branded, alone—and on the wrong side of the wall.

CHAPTER 1

I don’t remember going to sleep. All I remember is waking up here—a place as familiar as my own face.

At least, it should be.

But there’s a problem. The once green carpet is gray. The classical music posters lining the walls are bleached, their brittle corners curling where the tacks are missing. My first place ribbons are pale blue instead of royal. My sundresses are drained of color. And my bed. I sit on the edge of a bare, sun-bleached mattress, a mattress covered with dirt and twigs and mouse droppings.

I turn my head and the room swims, faded posters wavering and swirling against grimy walls. My head fills with fuzz and I try to remember when my room got so filthy, since I vacuum and dust it once a week. And why is the mattress bare when I change the sheets every Saturday? And where did my pillows go?

My stomach growls and I push on the concave space beneath my ribs, against the shirt sweat-plastered to my skin, and try to remember the last time I ate. 

STUNG on Goodreads. 

STUNG on Amazon.

The Life of a Writer--Roald Dahl's Insight

I got an email from a friend the other day. She's reading the autobiography of Roald Dahl and sent me a quote from the book, asking me if this is what writing is like for ME. The answer? I'll tell you after you read the quote.

"The life of a writer is absolute hell compared with the life of a businessman.  The writer has to force himself to work.  He has to make his own hours and if he doesn't go to his desk at all there is nobody to scold him.  If he is a writer of fiction he lives in a world of fear.  Each new day demands new ideas and he can never be sure whether he is going to come up with them or not.  Two hours of writing fiction leaves this particular writer drained.  For those two hours he has been miles away, he has been somewhere else, in a different place with totally different people, and the effort of swimming back into normal surroundings is very great.  It is almost a shock.  The writer walks out of his workroom in a daze.  He wants a drink.  He needs it.  It happens to be a fact that nearly every writer of fiction in the world drinks more whiskey than is good for him.  He does it to give himself faith, hope and courage.  A person is a fool to become a writer.  His only compensation is absolute freedom.  He has no master except his own soul, and that, I am sure, is why he does it."

Oh my GOSH! Yes, this is how life is for me (minus the whiskey). I got chills reading this because Mr. Dahl might have been writing it about me. 

If you write, is this how it is for you? And you readers, do you ever feel dazed after reading a really good book?

The Creative Writing Toolbox: Interview with Bethany Wiggins

In which I answer questions like:

Have you ever fallen asleep while writing?

And . . .

Do you really believe in Skinwalkers? (Doesn't everyone?)

The Creative Writing Toolbox: Interview with Bethany Wiggins

Shifting on Facebook

In some things, I am a SLACKER. Like blogging about the fact that Shifting has a facebook page.

It does. Now you know.

So, if you liked the book, check it out!

On another note, we are almost at the seven months to release of my newest book, STUNG! Be looking for a sneak peak of it on here in the next few days!

The Real Me

I have been asked a few questions as an "official" writer lately. People want to know more about the REAL me (which is the only me). Here are the answers.

Where did you grow up?
Denver, CO.
SLC, UT.
Silver City, NM.
SLC, UT.
Croton-On-Hudson, NY.
SLC, UT.
Fontanna Resort, NC.
Utah.

What did your parents do?
My dad was/is a worldwide renowned oil exploration geologist. My mother was a school teacher--but she taught school after I was an adult.

Did you always want to be a writer?
Nope. I had no aspirations to be a writer when I was a kid, or even a young adult. I often dreamed of being a writer, but never actually did anything to become one until I was in my late twenties. And then I just decided to start writing books (with a little push from my sister). BUT on that note, I always LOVED storytelling. I had ghost-story-telling parties at Halloween. When we visited family, I always asked for stories about my parents when they were kids. I have always sought out stories.

Have you always had a huge imagination?
Yes. In fact, my imagination was so big as a teenager that I was dubbed "odd." I liked strange things--like antique-looking jewelry that everyone else thought was ugly. I read big fantasy novels. I watched shows like Star Trek and Legend.

And . . . I won't bore you any longer! But if you want to ask me something else, post it in the comments and I will do another blog post.

Auction With Agent Critiques and HOBBIT Movie Loot!

I just found out about this auction. It is for a REALLY good cause! And it has some amazing prizes, like:

Agent and author critiques.

Signed books.

Jewelry.

Original art.

Customized portraits.

And . . . a special little something from the new HOBBIT movie!


Go on. Check it out. It starts at 4 a.m. EST. It's easy to spend money for a good cause. :)

Corndogs and Stung

Wow. So, I actually have more than five seconds to sit down at my computer, which has not happened for a long time! (If you don't believe me, ask my facebook friends. I'm not even on there much lately.)

So, here's what's new with me. I got a kitten! She looks like a black and white cotton ball with legs and a tail. I am running again. Nothing huge. Just two miles, three days a week (which is HUGE for me). STUNG is going to the typesetter! (All right, in all fairness, it has probably already gone there. I just haven't blogged about it in a while.) STUNG 2 is almost finished (as in written and ready for editing--so not really almost finished, more like almost begun). I love corndogs. Yes, that sounds like an odd "new" thing, but I hadn't had them since elementary school lunch! My husband brought a box of them home from the grocery store a few weeks ago(he does all the grocery shopping, bless him!)and my corndog love was rekindled. :) And that's all for now. I can't wait to share STUNG with you guys. I almost get weepy just thinking about it. If you want to sign up to read it on goodreads, click HERE. Enjoy your summer vacation!!! Unless of course you live in Australia. XOXO, Bethany