Guest blog & giveaway with Eliza Daly

9-1-1—Help, Someone Killed My Muse!

When I first noticed my muse had gone missing, I figured she’d been working hard, she needed a vacation, give her a break. When she hadn’t returned a week later, I wondered if she was delayed somewhere due to bad weather or a flight cancellation, which often happens to me. Two weeks later, I sat in front of my computer staring at a blank page, in total panic mode. I needed to start a new book. Where was she? Granted, she’d been complaining about needing a better work environment—more vacation days, weekends off, shorter writing days, etc., but she’d have given me a chance to provide her with some benefits before quitting. She wouldn’t desert me after 10 years and 11 books. No way.

So what had happened to her? Had she been abducted? Who would have done such a thing? A writer friend playing a sick joke? My cats, because I’d been working too hard and ignoring them? Frantic, I did everything I could to find her. I started reading like a maniac. Reading inspires me to write and helps fill my well. But no matter how much I read, no muse. So, I conducted research for a new book idea I was throwing around. There wasn’t anything I couldn’t Google out. Except my muse.

Unable to start a new book without her, I rewrote books, I entered contests, I queried agents, and I found a teen group to critique my young adult book. Yet, I still wasn’t motivated to start writing a new book. I finally had to face the fact that someone may have killed my muse. She might never return. Disheartened, I needed a diversion from my writing, so I started tracing my Irish ancestry.

Two years went by, then one day my muse returned, speaking Irish slang, bubbling with enthusiasm over a new idea for a women’s fiction book set in Ireland. She’d been off in Ireland visiting her rellies and friends. Her ideas were flowing faster than Guinness in an Irish pub. I filled an entire journal with ideas and wrote the first three chapters of a new book. I was still upset she’d ditched me without a word, yet I couldn’t blame her entirely, and I was so happy she was back, I never mentioned it again.

Moral of the story:  you can’t force your muse. She’s a very fragile and moody thing. I had written 11 books in 10 years and I was burnt-out. I promise to take better care of her and myself. Now that we’ve sold, she promises to stick around and not leave me high and dry again.

Please answer the below question or leave a comment about my post to be entered to win an e-copy of Under Her Spell or a $10 Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift certificate.

Have you ever lost the desire to do something you’re passionate about? Were you able to reignite your passion? If yes, how did you accomplish this? If you become burnt-out, what do you do to rejuvenate?

I would like to thank Kelly and Books-n-Kisses for helping me celebrate the release of my debut contemporary romance, Under Her Spell. And thank you to everyone who stopped by today. Please check out future stops on my blog tour, ending November 27. I’ll be giving away a variety of gifts, such as e-books, writing journals, and Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift certificates. If you comment on 5 stops, and are a Facebook fan, you’ll be entered in a drawing to win one of two $25 Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift certificates at the end of my blog tour. Winners will be announced on my website’s news page the end of November.

 Under Her Spell

 Under Her Spell is available at Amazon, iTunes, Google Play (Nook compatible) and Barnes & Noble (coming soon).

Book Blurb

When a series of failed relationships and business ventures have Monica Jackson doubting her self-worth, she turns to spell casting to attract positive energy and the opportunities needed to achieve her goals.  But can Monica’s belief in spells restore her belief in herself?

Monica creates a spell to find her soul mate, and one to ensure the success of her new romantic event planning company, Enhance Your Romance.  Monica is confident she has found her niche until divorce lawyer Reed Walker opens a practice next door to her office.  The anti-marriage slogan plastered on his office window, and his down-on-love clients, quickly prove detrimental to Monica’s business.  When his arrival appears to trigger a string of bad luck, Monica fears one of her spells sent negative energy into the universe and it has returned to her threefold.  Although Reed is beyond sexy, and she admires his self-confidence, she’ll do whatever it takes to get the universe back on her side, and Reed out of her life. No way is she losing another business.

Reed finds himself attracted to Monica’s beauty and her optimism. His job and his parents’ divorce have made him a pessimist, especially when it comes to love. However, he soon finds that Monica’s pro-love attitude is rubbing off on him, causing him to lose his edge.  If Reed doesn’t distance himself from Monica, he’ll likely destroy his reputation as a pit bull divorce lawyer.

Can Monica and Reed look past what they might be losing to realize the love they have found?

Author Bio

Eliza Daly’s first attempt at creative writing was in fourth grade. She and her friends were huge Charlie’s Angels fans and she would sit in her bedroom at night writing scripts for them to act out at recess the following day. She was Kelly Garrett. Fast forward to the present, she’s still writing stories about beautiful women who always get their men. The journey from fourth grade script writer to published author wasn’t an easy one, but it was always an adventure and the final destination was well worth it.

When Eliza isn’t traveling for her job as an event planner, or tracing her ancestry roots through Ireland, she’s at home in Milwaukee working on her next novel, bouncing ideas off her husband Mark, and her cats Quigley and Frankie.

You can find Eliza on the web at Website, Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads.