We’re so pleased to have author Kristina Meister dropping by today on the tour for her brand new release, Cinderella Boy. Kristina is sharing a bit about her writing with us, and there’s also a giveaway, so be sure to check out all the details below.

Welcome, Kristina!

My Writing Habitat

I figured out that, while I can pretty much write anywhere—and kind of have to sometimes because I get an idea and if I don’t write it down like literally right at that moment I will explode—I need an office. One room, in a place, that is just mine, and insulated for noise. My entire office is Justice League themed. I have a Batman art wall. One full wall. My nerd wall. Everything in my office from the switch plates to the drawer pulls is DC. Shut your mouth about Marvel, I love them too, but Batman is my soul and I will cut anyone who argues.

I have two desks. I need a desk that faces in, and one that looks out the window. Sometimes I need to focus and forget the world, and sometimes I need the world to help me focus. And frankly, sometimes I just need sunlight. I have a comfy sitting spot, one that allows me to sit with my legs crossed, or down, or however. It used to be a big bench, like a therapist might have, but now it’s my sister-in-law’s papasan chair. She thinks she’s getting it back. Nope.

I have two huge book shelves. They’re not filled with fiction (unless its a book that really makes me happy). They’re reference books. No joke. I have books on philosophy, firearms, historical encyclopedias, various editing formats, writer’s guides to the sciences, dictionaries for other languages, books on famous writers. I have travel books, books about food, books about the general areas in which I’ve set a plot. This is everything I’d need to pluck to get a picture of a place, or to describe a feeling, or quote somebody. Every time I start work on a new book, you know it, because I clear a shelf or move things around until a new pile forms near my reading camera, full of all the material I need to look through just to get a feeling for the soul of a thing.

I have to have music. What type depends on the subject. If I’m writing a piece densely packed with knowledge or action, I need something without lyrics. If I’m writing fiction, the music has to coordinate with the book. Eventually a soundtrack forms for every novel I write, and I actually do keep a playlist. I put those songs back on the speakers if I need to get jammed back in the headspace.

I need a big wall and a metric buttload of sticky notes. I’m not kidding. I have conservatively, 100 packs of post-its in all colors of the rainbow, drifting from I’ll-frack-up-your-eyeballs pink, to I’m-the-purple-that-reminds-you-of-lavender-spa-cream, to I’m-black-like-the-color-of-your-soul. I also need a roll of wrapping paper and some fat sharpies. What I do with these things some have called artistic in and of itself, but honestly, I just call it “plotting”. And not because it makes me sound like a super villain! Okay maybe a little because of that.

I used to write things out in an outline sometimes, but sticky notes are just easier. I roll out the paper on the wall as a base. This allows me to take this idea board with me if I need be (though lately I’ve taken to photographing it and carrying more post-its to duplicate it at any point. I may have a thing for sticky notes?) I build a color-coded legend. I can make one color represent lines of dialogue, one can stand in for certain transformative moments for a character, one color is always the chapter title and whose POV I’m using. The notes don’t even have to have anything written on them, because I can clump them together in a kind of color map of the pacing of the story—a “This chapter has too much green and not enough blue” sort of thing. The sticky notes stay on the wall until the book is finished, and then I tear them all down over a glass of champagne.

About the Book

Being perfect isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. 

Sixteen-year-old Declan is the perfect son . . . except for one tiny issue. When his sister Delia comes home to find him trying on her clothes, he fears her judgment, but she only fears his fashion choices. One quick makeover later, Declan is transformed into Delia’s mysterious cousin Layla and dragged to the party of the year, hosted by Carter, the most popular boy in school.

When Carter meets Layla, he fumbles to charm her. He adores her sense of humor and her poise. But when she vanishes in the middle of the night, he’s left confused and determined to solve the mystery of who she is.

As their school year begins, their high school embraces a policy of intolerance, and both Declan and Carter know they must stand up. Carter is tired of being a coward and wants to prove he can be a knight in shining armor. Declan is sick of being bullied and wants desperately to be himself. If they team up, it could be a fairy-tale ending, or a very unhappy ever after.

Buy the Book: Riptide || All 3rd Party eTailers

About the Author

Kristina Meister is an author of fiction that blurs genre. There’s usually some myth, some mayhem, and some monsters. While Kristina’s unique voice and creative swearing give life to dialogue, her obsession with folklore and pop culture make for humor and complexity.

She and her mad-scientist husband live in California with their poodles Khan and Lana, and their daughter Kira Stormageddon, where they hoard Nerf toys, books, and swords—in case of zombie apocalypse.

Website || Twitter: @kristinameister || Facebook

The Giveaway

To celebrate the release of Cinderella Boy, Kristina is giving away a canvas swag bag (with cover art) that includes a t-shirt, an engraved pen, and a tiara! (Yes, really!) Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on July 7, 2018. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following along, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!