Hello everyone, I am so very excited to have KaraLynne Mackrory on my blog today for a guest post entitled Pink Gloves. Plus a giveaway for one paperback copy and one e-book copy of Haunting Mr Darcy! Kindly brought to you by Jakki at Leatherbound reviews! (Unfortunately this post did not get published this morning as scheduled, after speaking with Google it seems it could have been a glitch in the system I can only wonder at what that means!!! However I would like to apologise profusely to everyone for this untimely delay and offer my own theory that maybe this glitch meant my blog was also HAUNTED!!!!)
Pink
Gloves by KaraLynne Mackrory
About six months ago I started a kickboxing
slash cross fit slash I-want-my-mommy workout class. When I started it with about a half dozen
other people I didn’t know, I was at a fitness level that would make Mr.
Collins look buff. I started it because
I wanted to be stronger. Stronger
physically for sure, but stronger mentally and emotionally as well.
The
first time we used the punching bags I remember tentatively hitting the bag,
with all my hesitation taking any real oomph out of the strike. I was still having fun as I learned to trust
in myself, my ability and growing strength though. I eventually invested in some gloves. They were not actual punching gloves at this
point but they protected my knuckles some and so I allowed my punches to be a
little more spirited.
More
recently I have furthered my investment in some actual, bona fide punching
gloves – and hot pink to boot. They felt
funny at first, because they were heavier and stiffer. They made me feel a little conspicuous and
exposed even as they were more protecting.
I felt silly wearing them because I thought with my amateur skill, I was
fooling myself to get real gloves. I was
sure people would look at me in my gloves and think I was overreaching my
skill.
But
I used them anyway and slowly over the course of a couple more weeks I found
myself punching harder. Pushing myself and testing my strength. I would swing my arms with all I had and
strike the bag over and over until my arms felt like jello and I didn’t know if
I wanted to hug the bag or punch it again in satisfaction.
And
then it happened. A few days ago we were
doing stations and one was at the bag. I
started going through the routine ascribed.
Jab, cross, kick. Jab, cross,
kick. Harder and harder, smother and
more controlled. I was in my element and
I was feeling adrenaline begin to course through me – pushing my muscles
faster, harder and more powerfully.
After a long while the outside sounds around me began to trickle into my
awareness again and I realized there was silence in the room. I thought maybe it was time to change
stations and I turn around to see the half dozen or so people I work out with,
who by this time have become my friends, look at me and cheer! They joked that they didn’t want to meet me
in a dark alley and that my kicks scared them.
What a liberation I felt when I finally let myself go and gave myself
permission to really see what I could do.
Of course, I blushed at the unexpected praise and attention. But inside I smiled. I am stronger.
Writing
was something I always enjoyed. It was
something that I used to work through ideas in my head. When I began writing novels I gave it all I
had then – not realizing that I was probably a lot like my beginner boxing
self. Tentatively holding myself back,
hesitating unconsciously from taking too much of a risk. I still enjoyed the process and loved the
result. I was learning to trust myself
and my ability.
As
I continued writing though, I learned things and grew more confident in my
literary strikes. I was willing to push myself harder because my kid gloves
protected me a little. My kid gloves
being the experience I had gained and the wonderful support of readers who
liked my work.
With
Haunting Mr. Darcy I found myself a little scared throughout the process of
writing it. It was different in a way I
could not quite put to words. The way it
needed to be written, the way the story inside my mind demanded it be told was
terrifying in what it required. It was a
scenario that was farther fetched than I had written before and I wondered if
anyone would even like it. It was a plot
that pushed my abilities harder than I had ever tried before and I wondered if
perhaps it was beyond them. I may have
acquired some actual writing punching gloves (hot pink too I hope) but that
didn’t mean that I felt safe to let go completely.
And
yet… it was one of the most liberating writing processes I have ever
experienced. There were moments where I
felt like that time a few days ago when I was punching the bag. I felt like I had lost myself in the process
and by giving myself the freedom I had also given myself a great power. Now that it is released I find myself feeling
exposed again - did I make the unbelievable believable? Constantly wondering if
people would like it and deciding if in the end it matters if they do. Because in the end, what matters is that I
got stronger in the process.
That being said, I do hope you all like it! ::wink::
Haunting Mr. Darcy book blurb:
What
happens to the happily ever after when the ever after has already happened?
A
spirited courtship indeed! Jane Austen’s much adored Pride and Prejudice
is transfigured in this regency adaptation. That fickle friend Fate
intervenes when an unexpected event threatens the happily ever after of
literature’s favorite love story. The gentlemen from Netherfield have
left, winter is upon the land and after a horrifying carriage accident,
Elizabeth Bennet finds her spirit transported as if by magic into Mr. Darcy’s
London home. Paranormally tethered to the disagreeable man, it doesn’t
help that he believes she is a phantasm of his love struck mind, not the real
Elizabeth. Somehow they must learn to trust, learn to love and learn to
bring Elizabeth back to her earthly form before it is too late.
Author bio:
KaraLynne
is an amazing mother who never makes mistakes, never gets upset with her
children and never ever has a dirty house. Ever. She always has her dishes done
and the floors spotless and dinner is always prepared and ready on time. Her
kids are always clean, polite, respectful and loving, especially to each other.
She never gets irritated with her husband when he doesn’t turn his socks right
side out for the laundry and they always agree on everything. She delights in
nothing else but to serve her family and never wants or needs time for herself.
She takes great care to shower every day and put make up on so that she is
always beautiful and presentable. She never wears her pajamas all day or for
days in a row and she is the epitome of womanhood. Most of all, she has a great
sense of humor and loves to write.
Falling
for Mr. Darcy (2012) is KaraLynne’s first venture in to the world of book authorship.
Bluebells in the Mourning (2013) came next and coming in the
spring of 2014 is, Haunting Mr. Darcy: A Spirited Courtship. Although,
admittedly a Darcy addict, she enjoys many things, such as: Mr. Knightly, Edmund
Bertram, Captain Wentworth, Mr. Tilney and John Thornton. She is happily
married to her own Mr. Darcy and together they share the insanity inducing
responsibility of raising four children.
Links:
Buy
on B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/haunting-mr-darcy-a-spirited-courtship-karalynne-mackrory/1118956235?ean=9781936009350
Giveaway!!!
To be in with a chance to win a paper back copy or an E-book copy of Haunting Mr Darcy, simply leave a comment below. The lucky winners will be announced on the 18th May 2014!!! The winners will have 36 hours to contact me. If a winner does not contact me within that time, then I will choose a new winner. Good Luck!!!
