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Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Meet Author AJ Lauer: Author of Armageddon: Pick Your Plot

Please join me in welcoming today's guest, AJ Lauer, an A-Z participant and author. The book you're about to hear about is so unique I think we'll be burning of some fiber optic/cable/whispernet or other magical stuff that makes books go from Amazon to my beloved Kindle in about...oh there it is. I've interviewed AJ so you can get to know her a bit better.




A-Z Participant Profile: AJ Lauer, author of Armageddon: Pick Your Plot

Hi, AJ! Welcome to the Blogging from A-Z blog! Why don't you start by telling us about your blog?

Naturally Sweet started as a place to put my early-college angst. It was a way for me to keep in touch with friends from high school and my first boyfriend, a daily journal of writing snippets and figuring out how I fit into the college scene. Over the years it has become a bit more intentional. I use it now still to keep in touch with friends, but also to reflect on my profession and our adventures here in Colorado. And of course to share my writing efforts.


 How did you find Blogging from A-Z? 
Last February, I caught a horrible, awful cold. After about 2 days of whining and moaning and TV, I got bored and challenged a fellow writer friend to a duel. We spent the next four weeks duking it out creative-writing style in a shared Google doc. It was so much fun to push myself to write every single day. When we finished I knew I needed another challenge, and knew as soon as I saw it, that A-Z was the perfect next thing!

You've already signed up for this spring's challenge. What brought you back?
I had so much fun last year! I met several of my favorite blogging buddies, and truly enjoy the challenge of coming up with things to write about every day for a month. A-Z is also part of the reason that my co-author Dan approached me to write Armageddon. He is a talented graphic artist and does something super-cool every year for his birthday. Last year he decided to have an armageddon themed birthday party in honor of the Mayan calendar myth, so decided to make a Pick Your Plot book that explores apocalypses. He'd seen that I had been doing a lot of writing, so asked if I would like to co-author the project. Of course I said yes - how could I resist such an offer? So I'm back this year for the challenge of the writing, and also just to see what neat things come out of it.

Wait, a Pick Your Plot book?  Yup - kind-of like a Choose Your Own Adventure (TM) book. The endings range in topic from Ragnarok to nanobots to (of course) zombies. Since it's about apocalypses which are by nature somewhat unavoidable, you die in 33 of the 42 endings. The odds are definitely not in your favor, but each one is written to be entertaining. Our friends who attended Dan's party loved the book and immediately asked about 'real' publishing, so we decided to go for it. Feedback so far has been very positive - you should check it out! ;)

That sounds awesome! What are you writing about for A-Z this year? Well, last year I did the theme of "things I like" because it was general and easy to come up with topics. This year I've decided to write a scene or character description for each letter. It will be a bit more challenging, but should lead to some fun stuff. I'll start pre-scheduling posts in March, to make sure I've got enough time to do each one well.


Thanks for stopping by! We look forward to seeing what you write this spring. 
Thanks! I'm definitely looking forward to it

AJ's blog: Naturally Sweet 





Other places to find AJ: Facebook (public)Facebook (book fanpage)

16 comments:

LuAnn @ BackPorchervations said...

Hi AJ, I'm a first time Blogging from A to Z Challenge particpant. I've never read a PYP with so many choices, but I think Armageddon is a book my oldest would like. My 14 year old not so much ... he spent all of 2012 freaked out! But then, he likes zombie stories...go figure.

Tina said...

Hey A.J,
Checked all your links, everything is working correctly (yeah! unlike yesterday...but then again, don't have puking child today, so odds are in my favor...)
BOUGHT THE BOOK! So excited...and it makes sense it's not on Kindle...but I think I'll leave that part of the into in anyway, unless you'd like it out, just let me know. It's certainly Kindle priced ($8 bucks folks, that's two lattes!)

Looking forward to seeing the responses here today!

Tina @ Life is Good
Co-host, April 2013 A-Z Challenge Blog
@TinaLifeisGood, #atozchallenge

Tina said...

Hey A.J,
Checked all your links, everything is working correctly (yeah! unlike yesterday...but then again, don't have puking child today, so odds are in my favor...)
BOUGHT THE BOOK! So excited...and it makes sense it's not on Kindle...but I think I'll leave that part of the into in anyway, unless you'd like it out, just let me know. It's certainly Kindle priced ($8 bucks folks, that's two lattes!)

Looking forward to seeing the responses here today!

Tina @ Life is Good
Co-host, April 2013 A-Z Challenge Blog
@TinaLifeisGood, #atozchallenge

AJ Lauer said...

Hey LuAnn,
Armageddon does have zombies! Though I won't tell you how to find them :) Let us know how he likes it!

Tina, Yeah it looks good! We're working on a Kindle version - should be out soon. Will probably bump up the cost for the paperback once we do, so if folks want the cheap paperback they should grab them now!

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi AyJay - good to meet you via Tina here ... puking kids and zombies - I must be in the wrong place?!!

Welcome to the A - Z .. it's fun - and you're so lucky having an artist to work with ..

Looking forward to your posts .. cheers Hilary

Rosalind Adam said...

That writing duel with a friend sounds like it was excellent fun. I like the sound of your topic for this year. Looking forward to visiting.

(Hope Tina's 'puking child' is feeling loads better today!)

Rosalind Adam is Writing in the Rain

Philip Verghese 'Ariel' said...

Hi Tina, Thanks for introducing this prolific writer and this years a to z challenge participant, well interviewed but i felt an abrupt end, you would have asked her little more. :-)
Best Regards
Phil

Arlee Bird said...

Great endorsement for the A to Z Challenge!

Best wishes for the success of the book.

Lee
Wrote By Rote
An A to Z Co-host blog

AJ Lauer said...

Hi Hilary, I am so lucky to have an artist to work with - he did a phenomenal job on our wedding invites as well :) Zombies make a great Z post!

Rosalind it is a great activity. If you can find a writing partner it's a fun way to keep one another motivated!

Thanks for the feedback, Phil - next time I will make Tina let me talk more ;)

Thank you, Lee, for the best wishes. We're having a blast with the book, so it is already a success so far as I'm concerned.

Unknown said...

I'm very interested in the PYP book. So interested, I just bought it. Hah. Thank you for introducing us to some of the other A-Z bloggers. I'm very excited for April to be here already!
Elliot
We Are Adventure

Anonymous said...

Welcome to A to Z, I'm sure you'll have great fun and make many friends.

Yvonne.

Barbara In Caneyhead said...

Great to meet you! Looking forward to my second year of A-Z.

AJ Lauer said...

Great, Elliot! I hope you enjoy the book :)

Yvonne I am definitely looking forward to meeting more bloggy buddies.

Good luck with your second year, Barbara!

Shannon Lawrence said...

How fun about the Armageddon book! I like the sound of the writing duel. Wonder who I could challenge?

Shannon at The Warrior Muse

Empty Nest Insider said...

This is such an original and exciting idea for a book. I wish you all the best. Great interview Tina!
Julie

Anonymous said...

Nice to meet you, AJ! Wishing you all the best with sales on your book!Looking forward to seeing your posts in A - Z 2013.