Did you enter the giveaway for Explorer X-Alpha? Many of you said how much you’d like to win this book for your children. But alas, we could have only one winner.

That person is our 25th commenter, Heather C.!

Congrats to Heather! If you didn’t win, you can also get the book on Amazon.

We’ve got a wonderful giveaway today from author L.M. Preston. Ms. Preston did an interview with us a while back, and now we’ve got her book, Explorer X – Alpha to give away to one lucky reader!

Here’s a description:

For most kids, a trip to space camp is a trip of a lifetime, for Aadi it was life altering. After receiving a camp immunization needed for travel to Mars, Aadi finds that the immunization is the catalyst of an insidious experiment. Lucky for him, he was engineered to survive, thrive, and dominate. Without realizing he is being trained to conquer worlds, and manipulated under the guise of a camp, he unfolds the plot too late for a change of fate. Aadi’s world is shaken upon the revelation that life before camp was not what it appeared. This solidifies his plan to save them all from the company that seeks to control him, only for his rescue to end abruptly due to a freak accident on a field trip to Mars. The full experiment is set in motion when he and his co-pilot, Eirena, crash in a distant galaxy called Shrenas, where they change and realize the full extent of their power. Holding onto his humanity, in the midst of turning into a god is Aadi’s biggest battle yet. This turn of events causes him to put his childish thoughts away, forcing him to accept his change, and to decide to save a world, or to do what he was trained to do, dominate it. In the midst his struggles with his changes, his power is coveted by the warring leaders of Shrenas, and he is forced to choose sides to save a life, or to save himself. A decision that may prove just how much humanity he has left.

Want to win? Leave a comment on this post by Sunday, November 22nd. I’ll choose a winner at random and announce the lucky guy or girl the next day. Don’t forget to follow L.M. Preston on Twitter and catch up with her on her blog as well.

Some of us begin writing because someone in our lives believes in our work and encourages us to do it. L.M. Preston was challenged by her husband, and has created a wonderful new young adult fiction novel. She talks about her book, her writing process, and favorite authors. Enjoy this interview.

Tell us a bit about yourself. Where are you from and how long have you been writing?

I am from Washington, DC. I started writing poetry and short stories when I was around nine years old. I would carry a notebook with me here and there. When I finished college, I started working and had a family when my writing was put aside. Then I started writing when challenged by my husband a little over a year ago, and can’t seem to stop.

Tell us about your latest book. What do you hope readers take away from it?

My latest book, Explorer X – Alpha is about a boy who grudgingly goes to space camp, but finds out that the camp isn’t quite what it appears to be. His place as a leader is tested, his life as he knew it was challenged, and he has to struggle to hold onto the only thing he knows that he is, human. The experiment that he and his friends endure, change them, and allow them to be able to dominate and conquer any planet in which they land on. This ability is not only coveted by the company that created them, but by the leaders of the world in which they crash land on.

I want my readers to learn that being a leader is not easy, and is not always a series of successes. It’s the fact that you never give up on yourself or others, even when the world around you is crumbling.

Share some of your writing goals. What’s next for you?

I would love to keep writing at the pace in which I am writing now. It’s as if I turned on my writing bug and my psyche is on fire with ideas and energy. I can’t help myself, and since I have started writing again, I turn out three novels a year. It’s insane, and with four kids and a busy life I only hope to be able to put on paper all the wonderful ideas I carry around.

What’s the most interesting book you’ve ever read?

I just finished reading The Child Thief. I always loved the Peter Pan story, but always thought it was a much darker tale than Disney portrayed. When I read this book, I was saddened and enticed, because the picture of Peter Pan created made you love and hate him at the same time.

Favorite authors?

Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Mary Higgins Clark, Anne Rice and any other author that writes a great story.

Book you’re currently reading?

I am reading Molly Fyde and the Parsona Rescue, by Hugh Howey.

Any type of writing ritual you have?

Well, I like to write around my kids. I need the background noise of my family. I also have to have chocolate, at some point while I writing.

Do you believe in writer’s block? If so, how did you get past it? If not, why not?

I do believe some people experience it. I personally never have, at least not so far. Although, I have period of times when I struggle through an aspect of a story. Sometimes it takes me a few weeks to actually work through them sometimes.

In your opinion, what’s the measure of a successful writer?

A successful author is a writer who has met and achieved their own personal goals for their writing.

Advice for other writers?

Never give up. Write because you love it. If you don’t love it, then you will never achieve your own personal goals in writing.

Where can we learn more about you?

My website, blog, and twitter get updated all the time. Become a follower, tweet me, and email me. I’ll love to hear from you.

Anything else you’d like to add?

Please check out my site, and blog for teasers. Print out an invitation to space camp, and check out my other book coming out next year also, named THE Pack. Lastly, remember, you only ever get one life. Don’t waste a second of it.

More resources on publishing and novel writing:

• Write a novel in 60 days
• Take your book from manuscript to the masses with self-publishing and print-on-demand from CreateSpace.
• Write an ebook in 7 days
• Real Writing Jobs