Today we are delighted and honored to welcome our next featured blogger Zathyn Priest

Zathyn talks to us about how to prepare for GRL and he offers a free download.

Welcome Zathyn 🙂

Preparing for GRL – Zathyn Priest

A big thank you to Love Bytes for having me here for the GRL Blog Tour. For those of you who don’t know me, I’ll quickly introduce myself. My name is Zathyn Priest and, although I don’t release a lot of books, I’ve been around for quite a while. I have a new novel coming out with Wilde City Press in time for GRL, titled Inside His Reflection. Hopefully, I will also have a graphic novella out in time for GRL, too, titled HAI-21. I’m also a cover artist/digital artist and own Scarlet Tie Designs.

I wondered what to write for this guest post, because I never like to do personal promotion for GRL Blog Tours. I prefer to talk about GRL in general. With it fast speeding up on us, and October just around the corner, how could I make this post helpful? I thought back to my experiences last year and the one thing that kicked my arse. Con-Crud!

If you haven’t heard of Con-Crud, I’ll give you a description of this flu bug sent from hell. It lurks around these types of conventions. In fact, I think there are several of them. Hanging out together like germ gangs in the foyer, or at the bar, hiding in the elevators, bathrooms, etc. Probably with miniscule coloured bandanas on their microscopic heads. I imagine these germ gangs talking amongst themselves, choosing their victims. Be warned, a flu shot won’t protect you. Trust me. I had my first flu shot last year, thinking it would save me from Con-Crud. That’s not to say a flu shot isn’t still a good idea. But, don’t make it your only line of defence.

I’m one of those people who rarely get a cold. It’s even rarer I get a full-blown flu. So, yeah, I was pretty blasé about the Con-Crud thing. I knew about it. I knew it made the rounds at conventions. It wouldn’t get me, though. Famous last words. Second day… BOOM! Of course, I had to keep putting one foot in front of the other, soldier on, but holy hell, it kicked my arse. By the time I arrived back in Australia, I was practically dead on my feet. Which really, really annoyed me!   I still had a fantastic time at GRL, thanks to the incredible flu medication available in the USA. Seriously, what do you people put in that stuff? (lol) Being sick did, obviously, put a dampener on it.

Now is the perfect time to prepare in advance. To put fighting gloves on in case those Con-Crud germ gangs set you in their sights this year. If you don’t already eat food worthy of a gold medal from a dietician – and let’s face it, how many of us do? – it would be an idea to start taking a good multi-vitamin. Throw in an extra boost of vitamin-C and B, too. For those of us travelling on planes, especially long-haul flights, this is especially important.

Once you arrive at the Bahia Resort, and get into the GRL swing of things, don’t let your guard down. Which is easy to do with all the buzz and excitement. The last thing anyone wants, after waiting all this time for October to get here, is to get sick. It truly is not nice. Keep taking the vitamins. Try and eat properly. Make sure you drink enough water. If you’re tired, or need a bit of a break, have a rest. All the fun will still be there when you’re refreshed and ready to mingle again.

So, for what it’s worth, that’s my advice. I can’t guarantee it will work, but I know I’ll be trying everything to make sure I get through this GRL without Con-Crud. See you in October!

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My question from Tara Lain – Hey Zath, where did you acquire your amazing artistic interest and skill?

Answer – Hi Tara! *waves* I’m very visual. My writing process is an odd one, I guess. Usually movies are made based on a book, whereas I kind of do it the other way around. Over a period of weeks and months, I imagine a movie. I cast it, direct it, film it inside my head, and then I’ll write the book. My interest in 3D art came about when I needed a way to create the characters I’d already imagined. It turned into another passion when I discovered the joy of being able to take my ‘boys’ out of my mind and bring them to 3D life. Now I’m also interested in writing/illustrating graphic fiction.

As for the skill involved in creating this type of artwork and 3D characters? Lots and lots and lots of practice – lol. 3D digital art programs always evolve. They’re complex programs, but the challenge is half the fun of it.

My question for Jeff Adams

Hi Jeff! If you were transported back to 1843, and told write a best-selling novel for society in that day, what would you write about and why?

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Upcoming Book Releases

Inside His Reflection

Novel length Wilde City Press GRL/October Release

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Zathyn Priest is an award winning Australian MM fiction author and cover artist. His published novels include Amara: The Rebirth, The Curtis Reincarnation, The Slayer’s Apprentice, and Liquid Glass. He has also written short fiction, The Statue, Left of Centre, and One of Those Days. Zathyn’s new novel, Inside His Reflection, will be released in October, followed by a graphic novella, HAI-21. Zathyn discovered digital art five years ago when he wanted to create 3D models of his own fictional characters. The hobby turned into another passion, and then into pre-made cover art business, Scarlet Tie Designs.  He now creates original artwork book covers, website artworks, and poster artworks. He divides his time between writing and art. Which explains why he rarely sleeps!

My Links

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/zathyn.priest1

Twitter – @zathynpriest

Website – www.zathynpriest.com

Blog – http://zathynpriest.com/brokenpencil/

Zathyn has a free book you can dowload here!