Celebrating the release and blog tour of Lyla Oweds’ novel Shadows of Nightshade!

Title: Shadows of Nightshade (The Garden of Eternal Flowers, #1)
Author: Lyla Oweds
Genre: Paranormal, Young Adult
Release Date: March 08, 2023

I dream of a time where I was warm, safe, and loved.

But my waking reality is starkly different.

Anxiety plagues me and spirits haunt the shadows. No matter how fast I run, I can’t seem to escape my past.

The only solace and steady force in my life is my best friend, Finn.

And now… there’s a ghost haunting me. And I’m not certain if it wants help or if it wants to kill me. There’s only one person who can understand: Finn’s brother, Damen.

However, in reaching out, I’m betraying Finn and setting things into motion that cannot be undone.

But nobody ever said that doing the right thing was easy.

---

Guest Post

10 things you wish every aspiring writer would know

• Decide what type of writer you want to be: writing to market or writing for
  yourself. Either is fine, but there are pros and cons to each, and be prepared to
  put the effort in required for either path.
• Do not skimp on editing and graphics. Visual appeal and proper grammar will
  make or break your book, so be sure to invest in those two aspects.
• You do not need a degree in writing to be a writer (even though it could help).
  Writing is about practice and passion. The more you write, the better you will
  become.
• Outline. Even if it’s only a few words. You should always know how the series
  will end at the beginning. You should also know how each individual book will
  end before you start the first sentence.
• Take the time to develop your characters and the way they interact with others
  before you begin writing.
• If you plan on incorporating a mystery in your book, keep notes on each ‘easter
  egg’ you put into the story. Otherwise, it’s easy to lose track of your hints and
  your story is riddled with a lot of dead ends.
• If your character has gone through something traumatic or has a disability,
  make sure that you either speak through personal experience or do the research
  to correctly represent those who have that background. Otherwise, incorrect
  characterization can be highly polarizing and insulting.
• If you’re including languages in which you are not fluent, either run the dialog
  past someone who knows the language or figure out something else. Do not rely
  on automated translation services.
• Any scene that is boring for you to write and edit, is a scene that is boring for
  readers to read.
• Do not be afraid to use ‘said’ as a dialog tag.

---

Lyla Oweds is a paranormal / urban fantasy author who resides in the beautiful Pocono Mountains, Pennsylvania with her husband, children, and animals. While she enjoys all genres of fiction, she has a deep appreciation for fantasy, romance, mystery, crime, and horror. Lyla has a bachelor’s in anthropology and will be completing her master’s in information technology in 2023.

Writing is her moonlighting passion, and she loves having the opportunity to share her perspective as a disabled (profoundly hard of hearing) woman. During the daylight hours, Lyla works as a principal / lead design and development specialist focusing on user experience and accessibility. When not working, Lyla is usually indulging in one of her many hobbies such as amusing her children, gardening, crocheting, interior decorating, baking, cooking, or playing video games.

Website | Facebook | Instagram
Amazon | Bookbub | Goodreads
Newsletter

---

a Rafflecopter giveaway