Guest Post: Kristi Helvig, Author of Sci-Fi novel BURN OUT

I'm so thrilled to have author Kristi Helvig stopping by today to talk about 5 Things She Loved About Writing Burn Out. Also there's an awesome giveaway at the end so don't forget to enter =)

Publication Date: April 8th 2014
Publisher:  EgmontUSA
Series: Burn Out #1
Order At: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indiebound | Tattered Cover |  BookBar 

"The last girl on Earth...just got company."

A futuristic blend of Beth Revis's Across the Universe and Lenore Appelhans's Level 2, Burn Out will satisfy the growing desire for science fiction with a thrilling story of survival, intrigue, and adventure.

Most people want to save the world; seventeen-year-old Tora Reynolds just wants to get the hell off of it. One of the last survivors in Earth's final years, Tora yearns to escape the wasteland her planet has become after the sun turns "red giant," but discovers her fellow survivors are even deadlier than the hostile environment.


Holed up in an underground shelter, Tora is alone--her brilliant scientist father murdered, her mother and sister burned to death. She dreams of living on a planet with oceans, plants, and animals. Unfortunately, the oceans dried out ages ago, the only plants are giant cacti with deadly spines, and her pet, Trigger, is a gun--one of the bio-energetic weapons her father created for the government before his conscience kicked in.

When family friend, Markus, arrives with mercenaries to take the weapons by force, Tora's fury turns to fear when government ships descend in an attempt to kill them all. She forges an unlikely alliance with Markus and his rag-tag group of raiders, including a smart but quiet soldier named James. Tora must quickly figure out who she can trust, as she must choose between saving herself by giving up the guns or honoring her father's request to save humanity from the most lethal weapons in existence.

Guest Post:

5 Things I Loved About Writing BURN OUT

1. It was a blast to write. The process was so fun and I wasn’t under any pressure. I had no idea at the time that I would end up with an agent and publishing contract, so I didn’t feel I had to write to a specific format.

2. The characters. I fell in love with all my characters, even the sketchy ones, which made me so excited to sit down and dive back into their world each day.

3. The writing time flew by. It only took me six weeks to write the first draft. Now it took a whole lot longer than that to revise and whip it into shape, but that first draft was such a rush.

4. I knew as I wrote BURN OUT that the story didn’t end with book one (and I got super lucky that my publisher bought the sequel at the same time as BURN OUT). Knowing this was very freeing and left me room to plan out where I wanted to go. It also made me so happy to know I’d get to keep these characters with me awhile longer. 

5. It caused daily bouts of gratitude as I wrote. Writing about such a bleak and hostile world made me so grateful for the important things around me that I often take for granted—air, water and chocolate.

Thanks so much for having me!
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About The Author:

Kristi Helvig is a Ph.D. clinical psychologist turned sci-fi/fantasy author. She often muses about Star Trek, space monkeys, and other assorted topics on her blog. Kristi resides in sunny Colorado with her hubby, two kiddos, and behaviorally-challenged dogs.

You can also find her on: Website | Twitter | Goodreads | Facebook

Giveaway:

Kristi is giving away signed bookmarks and a sun necklace. (US only)

a Rafflecopter giveaway