The Stars of Our Destiny by Janie Emaus #Giveaway

Guest poster Janie Emaus writes for a wide variety of publications including the Huffington Post and the Washington Post.

Her delightful YA novel is called Mercury in Retro Love and I'm giving away a Kindle copy.

 
If your life has been in a bit of an upheaval for the last few weeks, it is because the planet Mercury is in Retrograde. For those of you unfamiliar with this phenomenon, it appears as if Mercury is going backwards in the sky. It happens three to four times a year. This current period started on August 30^th and will end to be precise, on September 21^st at 10:31PM on the west coast and on September 22^nd at 1:31AM for those living on the east coast.   

Since Mercury rules communication, during retrograde all sorts of things go haywire.  For instance, it’s not a good time to sign contracts, start a new job, or make important decisions concerning your love life.  Cars can break down.  Planes get delayed.  Computers crash.   

According to fifteen-year-old astrologer, Emma Seigel, the protagonist of my young adult novel, Mercury in Retro Love, “Mercury in retrograde is like an astrological PMS.”  Definitely not a good time for her to start a new relationship.

Unfortunately, Emma sees a boyfriend alert in her forecast and must act quickly to land the boy of her dreams before the retro period starts.  Her plan backfires and she is soon faced with breaking up with her “not so perfect star-match.”

While writing this book, I went through at least a dozen retrograde periods. I had my computer guy and my astrologer friend on speed dial and I can’t even tell you how many times I needed both of them.

In fact, since I started writing seriously with the goal of getting published, I’ve lived through over one hundred retrogrades. 

So, you can see how long it’s taken for me to get to this point in my career.

But I’ve never given up.  I’ve been through five agents (one ended our relationship during retrograde) gotten very close to a sale in several editorial meetings, and have received enough rejection letters to cover the Zodiac. 

Whether Mercury was retrograde or not, I’ve always persevered. I’ve stayed focused, believing in myself, my stories and my writing. And you know what?   Perseverance really does pay off.  (So does backing up, but that’s another story.)    

During retrograde periods, I am always mindful of how I communicate with those around me, charge my cellphone and iPad every night, and always leave the house wearing clean underwear.         

But through the years I’ve learned  it doesn’t really matter what day it is, what time it is or how the planets and stars are lined up in order write the best book that we possibly can. 

We just have to do it. Because we are the stars of our destiny. 

Thank you for being here, Janie. You can find Janie at her website www.janieemaus.com Enter below for a chance to win Mercury in Retro Love 

Blurb

A story about crushes, conflicts and astrological confusion. 

Finally, after years of making love predictions for her friends, fifteen-year-old astrologer, Emma Seigel, sees a boyfriend in her future. But there’s one big problem. Mercury is heading for Retrograde in four weeks, and she sure knows what that means. It’s like an astrological PMS. A disastrous time to start a new relationship. 
Using her school newspaper column, Emmastrology, she sets a plan in motion and within a week lands hottie Evan Randolph as her boyfriend. She’s a Taurus. He’s a Capricorn. Both earth signs. What could be more perfect? But is he as perfect as her prediction claims him to be? The stars are telling her it’s right. But her heart says it’s all wrong. 
Everyday her feelings are growing stronger for someone else, a Leo, so totally not the sign for her. And to make matters even worse, Emma’s actions, caused by her unflinching belief in astrology, get her in trouble with her best friends in the whole world. 
Time is running out. Can Emma straighten up this mess she’s in before Mercury goes Retrograde again? 

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