Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Guest Blog and Giveaway: Desecrated Beauty by Kyleigh Castronaro



Hi there! My name is Kyleigh Castronaro and I’m the author of Desecrated Beauty. I wrote my first novel by participating in a NaNoWriMo event and did you know right now there’s a Camp NaNoWriMo event going on right now. Every April, July and November thousands of people come together to write.

So how do you survive a full month of writing? Here are my five best tips!

1.      Have a story. You don’t necessarily have to have a plan but have a story in mind. You don’t even need a beginning, middle, or end – I never do! But have some kind of idea of what you want to happen because you’re going to have a lot of trouble writing 50 000 words without an idea.

2.      Never look back. It’s too easy to go back each day and re-read your work, but the trouble with that is you fall too easily as prey to editing. Once you get editing, you’ll never stop because then you fall into the cycle of not feeling your work is perfect enough. So never look back because what you’re writing right now doesn’t have to be perfect. It just has to be words – 50 000 of them.

3.      Never keep writing until you can’t anymore. You’ll fall into the trap of writer’s block or you’ll write yourself into a corner. This is my most important piece of advice, so listen up. If you’re on a roll and you WANT to keep writing… Stop. Because this way when you come back to it tomorrow it’s easy to pick up where you left off and keep going. You’ll never have a bad day or writer’s block because you’ll never get stuck.

4.      Trust your characters. Even when they do something that makes you go “but that isn’t in the plot!” Play it out. They usually know what they’re doing as crazy as that sounds. I have had some strange things happen in stories because I’ve let the characters go and have their way. I’ve even killed off one of my favorite characters because the other characters told me it had to happen. I struggled to do it, but in the end I realized they were right.

5.      Stop trying to believe your work is perfect. This actually ties in with point number 2, but this also counts when it comes to wording a sentence. Don’t get stuck spending a few hours just trying to perfect one sentence. If it’s not coming out right highlight it or italicize it and move on. You can go back later but if you waste time trying to perfect while you’re still writing you will kill your muse.

Thanks so much for joining me. I hope this helped you get that pen to paper and start writing. Feel free to friend me on NaNoWriMo my username is kcastronaro and follow me on Facebook where I post daily about what’s going on in my writing life!




Desecrated Beauty
Twisted Fairy Tales
Book One
Kyleigh Castronaro

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Date of Publication: July 6th

Number of pages: approx. 180
Word Count: 58,883

Cover Artist: Kyleigh Castronaro

Book Description:

Once upon a time, that’s how most of these stories start. But this isn’t one of those stories… Sure, it has the heroine and the hero but they’re not as you would expect them. Both of them have a bloodlust, one different from the other.

Quill was born and raised as a cold killer who takes enjoyment from the kill. Nero is the son of a Viking and a 1500-year-old vampire whose never been denied his pleasures before.

Until he meets Quill. He forces her to exchange her life for Rose’s, his indentured servant and Quill’s little sister. Drawn by her fearlessness and strength he has to have her but such a woman cannot be possessed. Both must learn to give up their carefully afforded control to let the other in. Only then may they have their happily forever after.

Sink your teeth into this dystopic re-telling of Beauty and the Beast and satiate your booklust.

http://mybook.to/desecratedbeauty

Excerpt #2: 

She moved through the crowd, following the Lieutenants with her eyes to ensure they didn’t go anywhere as she crossed to them. Nearly there, she stepped through two bodies and almost collided right into someone’s chest. She stumbled back, her face screwing up into a glower.

“Excuse me.” She said sharply, turning herself to try and go past him, but he only stepped back in her way.

“I saw how you play pool…”

“Listen.” She said, looking up at him finally and stopping short for a moment. He was gorgeous. Easily the best looking guy she’d ever seen in all the guys she’d ever seen - and she’d been around a lot of guys. His jaw was chiseled so sharply under smooth alabaster skin, full rosy lips that seemed to pucker naturally and his eyes were so deep she felt like she was falling to the bottom of an ocean. His hair was brown, maybe even black it was so dark, and hung longer in the front than some guys felt comfortable wearing it, but it suited him so much.

He seemed to wait, patiently listening for whatever she was going to attempt to tell him but her brain had completely stalled and she’d forgotten where the clutch was.

“Listen?” He prompted, raising an eyebrow to silently ask her to continue.

“Yeah. Listen…” She wasn’t nearly as cold and to the point as she had been before. “I’m here on business…” The words were sticky on her tongue and it took way too much effort to get them out. Slow to start but once they started to come back she shook herself from her reverie. This was ridiculous why was she fawning over this stranger?

“I’m here on business and whatever lame pick up line you were going to attempt on me I’m not interested. So you need to fuck off because I’m busy.”

“Well, that’s rude.” He said with bemusement as she peered around him, noting that the Lieutenants were getting up and getting ready to leave.

“Maybe but it’s also presumptuous of you to come over here and make some cringe-worthy statement about how I’m so good with balls and I’m welcome to play with yours.”

“And who said I was going to let you anywhere near my balls? Do I look like I have a death wish?” Her eyes finally flicked back to him, somewhat taken aback that he wasn’t coming on to her. That was arrogant of her and she felt foolish for thinking it immediately but then one look in those eyes and she didn’t care.

“No…” She said dreamily, another frown forming in the middle of her forehead. “I have to go…” She protested weakly.

“Mmm, I’m sure you do.”


“I do.” She insisted, tearing her eyes painfully away from him. The Lieutenants were getting away. 

“Now get the hell out of my way.” She tried to shoulder him out of the way, but it was like slamming her shoulder into a rock. Her body ached from the force she exerted and the minimal reward she’d gotten. She glanced up at him once more, imagining for a moment the state of his body underneath those clothes for him to be so hard.




About the Author:

Kyleigh Castronaro is the author of the debut series Grace of Gods. She is a self-published author who tackles many of her projects entirely on her own. She designed the cover of her first novel, self-edited and prepared all formats of the book for publication. Originally from Milton, Ontario, she currently lives in Nottingham, England with her husband and their adorable miniature dachshund Hera.

When not writing Kyleigh enjoys spiritual development, crafting, travelling, spending time in nature, going to the movies, cooking and baking (and then eating), working on self-improvement and spending time with friends and family.






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