Author Guest Post with Billie Kowalewski: Our Lives in Between

It had been five years since the accident that derailed Veronica’s life, which left her suffering from a strange flu-like illness ever since.

Welcome to the April 2nd stop on the blog tour for Our Lives in Between by Billie Kowalewski with Goddess Fish Promotions. Be sure to follow the rest of the tour for spotlights, reviews, more guest posts, and a giveaway! More on that at the end of this post.

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Author Guest Post

How To Handle Negative Criticism

When I first started writing thirteen years ago, I didn’t think too much about what people may think, good or bad. I just wanted to write the story I had in my head. It wasn’t until I mentioned what I was doing to one of my coworkers that I thought about it at all. I remember him advising me to give this career path some thought before going any further. He had said it would be a tough path to follow that could take years with lots of rejection and then he asked me: “Are you sure you can handle that amount of rejection? Hearing what people are going to say about your story? Critics can be brutal.”

I did take what he said seriously and after giving it a lot of thought here is what I realized…

Getting things wrong is how we learn to get things right. I pretty much decided right there that I would examine each piece of criticism I might receive about my writing and if it makes sense then that will be the thing I work to improve on. My mission when I started was not only to tell the story in my head but to become the best writer I could be. I understood that this might be a longer road without some kind of formal education. Not an impossible one. I learned that criticism is an important building block in becoming the writer I wanted to be. So, my advice is to welcome it all. The good and the bad. Be especially discerning though when it comes to seeking out criticism from family and friends. More often than not they tell you what they think you want to hear because they are afraid to hurt your feelings. This will not help you improve and will actually hurt your progress. Seek out writer’s groups, either online or in person. Public libraries often have writing groups that are free to join. The best way to handle criticism is to seek it out right away and often. We must remind ourselves that it’s only bad if we take it to heart and don’t see it as the tool it was meant to be.

About the Book

Our Lives in Between
The Enlightened Book One
by Billie Kowalewski

Published 20 August 2023

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Page Count: 325
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It had been five years since the accident that derailed Veronica’s life, which left her suffering from a strange flu-like illness ever since. Thanks to a barrier set in her mind at birth, she can’t remember her name is Harmony and that this is not her real life. She has no memory of the many lives she had lived before this one and how several of those lives had been cut short. How she must uncover the reason why those lives had ended so early, and how this moment may hold the key, or she risks losing herself and Earth forever.

As Harmony, she wants to uncover the reason why her lives keep ending so soon. As Veronica, she wonders how much longer she has to live like this? What could possibly be left for her? Little did she know, she was about to get her answers…

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Excerpt

Transitioning from our life on Earth back to our real life can be compared to waking up from a very vivid dream. Sometimes you find yourself in the middle of doing something you didn’t expect, which can create a very awkward situation at times. The effects from going to Earth had worn off and it slowly occurred to me that I was on someone’s lap, still gripping their shirt. Just like me, being Harmony here meant that Seth was someone else here as well. Shit. I winced at the thought of turning around because I was afraid of who it might be.

The moment I turned, the stark contrast in his appearance caused me to leap out of his lap. “Whoa!” I stumbled back in my haste, catching my foot on my robe, flipping backward right over the cot.

He leaned over the cot, offering me his hand. “Harmony, are you alright?”

I looked up, and as soon as I saw that sandy blond hair and those blue eyes, I groaned on the inside.

Kaleb was the last soul I wanted to see.

He and I had been arguing before we left here for this last life. I remembered what he did—all the times he had gotten me killed early—and I realized that he may have done it again.

I got up quickly from the floor on my own. “I could have sworn I said that I didn’t want to talk to you.”

“You did.” His reply was so smooth and casual.

“Then what are you doing here?” I tried to control my tone but the irritation I felt at just the sight of him at the end of another short-lived life just wouldn’t quite let me.

“I was brought in for your transition from Earth.” His reply sounded so innocent, but I was on to him.

I crossed my arms. “You should have declined that invitation.”

“What for? You’re not still angry, are you?”

“Uh, did you seriously think I wouldn’t be?”

“I thought things might be a little different after that last one.” He sounded so sure of himself.

“Just because we got along during one lifetime does not make up for what you did in all those other ones!”

“It doesn’t?”

“No!”

“Why not?”

“Because you keep killing me!” I practically shouted.

About the Author

Billie Kowalewski grew up in a small town along the Connecticut shoreline. She’s always had a wild imagination and spent her childhood dreaming up stories. This would often lead her to the library or whatever bookstore where she would be combing the shelves for books that closely resembled what was in her head at the time. A lot of the time she would come close and would be satisfied with what she found. However, there was always this one story she could never find. It was in 2010 that she decided to write it herself. In whatever spare time she has left, she enjoys listening to pretty much anything that rocks, like 80’s hair bands, metal, etc. She also has a gift for finding the strangest movies and shows ever (according to her children) and loves spending time with her family.

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