Calendar Girls is a monthly blog event that has a specific theme, voted on by the participants, where some amazing book bloggers get together to talk about a particular book they love or think fits the theme the best. Last month, they held a special Spring Time Whirl Book Bingo challenge. ​I was so inspired by this challenge that I managed to win and get Bingo first! Yay! Here is my bingo row (left one down):

~ To Kill A Kingdom for Fairytale Retelling
~ Only Mostly Devastated aka “Grease goes gay” for LGBTQIAP+
~ The Music of What Happens for Squad Goals
~ A Throne of Swans for Cover Love
~ With The Fire On High for Diversity Rules

​And as price, I got to choose the theme for the June Calendar Girls! And I chose...

Drive-in Movie Day: Favorite Book Adaption

​Can't wait to rant about good and bad book adaptations... If you want to join in, please find more info here: Calendar Girls June Theme

So happy and honored that my book has been included in Darque Dreamer’s list of books that have really stuck with her. Head over to her blog The Mermaid Behind the Books and find out more about all amazing books on her list: Books That Have Stuck With Me

Today I did my first attempt to participate in #swapwednesday, and it was quite harder than I thought... Well, anyway, in case you don't know what this is, you take inspiration by another bookstagrammer's photo and try to recreate it in your own style. I tried to swap Julcsi's (@jayinbookland) gorgeous photo, which is one of my absolute favorite photos of Forever Disguised ever, with a similar photo of The Cruel Prince by Holly Black. What do you think? Did I get it anywhere near right…?

Also, don’t miss the amazing INTERNATIONAL Christmas giveaway of a SIGNED COPY of my book First Came Forever that Julcsi is hosting right now. Click this link for more info: Giveaway of First Came Forever

The lovely bookstagrammer and reviewer Lisa (@littlemeadowreads) just posted this absolutely gorgeous photo of Forever Disguised (and First Came Forever in the stack) for the #partofyourworld get some answers - most anticipated release tag, saying that:

"I am so EXCITED for the third instalment of the Angelheart saga by the amazing Annie Woods. I loved the first two and I am sure I will love the third!"

You can read Lisa's wonderful reviews of the first two books in the Angelheart Saga here:

• Review First Came Forever by Annie Woods
• Review Forever Disguised by Annie Woods

I was tagged by my wonderful friend, book blogger and fellow author Jennifer Leigh (Bound to Writing) for this fun tag. Click here check out her post: The Rising Author Tag - Bound to Writing

I’m going to do this based on my WIP, the third book in the Angelheart Saga trilogy.

Do you write the title before, during, or after the writing process?
When I start to write I have a working title, but then I finally decide on it after the writing process. I also try to ask for advice about the title, since it’s such an important part of the book’s character.

In my Angelheart Saga series, the title for the first book (First Came Forever) was the working title, since I decided already from the start that I wanted to do this as a kind of backward love story, starting with the fairy tale love instead of getting Prince Charming as the end game, but showing how hard it is to get fairy tale love to work in real life.

The title for the second book on the other hand had a completely different working title, but when I asked some close reader friends for their advice, they all choose the same one (Forever Disguised) over the one I had planned. So I decided to trust their advice.

As for the book I’m currently writing, I think I have to choose a title with the word “forever” in it, otherwise it will be too inconsistent… lol. Will be interesting to see if my working title will be the final title this time too!
 
What is your favorite genre to write?
Definitely YA. It’s my favorite genre both to read and to write. I have always loved teenage love stories, with all their intensity and all-consuming feelings; the coming of age and accepting who you are, and the characters you get to know and love and hope for a happy ever after for despite all obstacles in their way. So I’ve always kind of known that I wanted to write in this genre, to tell a story for teenagers as well as for any adult who remembers his or her first crush and the emotions of it all.
 
Is there any other genre you want to try to write?
As it feels right now, I don’t think so. I think I will remain a YA writer!
 
Where is your favorite write spot?
My favorite writing spot is my desk at home, since it’s so comfy and with a beautiful view, but sadly I seldom write there… I’m nowhere near being able to live on my writing, so besides being an author, I also have another full-time job. This means that I have to try and write whenever I can between work and being with my family. I guess that you could call me a “nocturnal commuting writer” as I do most of my writing when the rest of the family is asleep or on my iPhone on the subway or on the flight between Stockholm-New York.
 
Do you handwrite or type your first draft, and why?
No, I always write directly on my iPhone or on my computer. My handwriting is too bad… so it would take too long and be unreadable in the end anyway…
 
Can you tell us about your current WIP?
I’m working on the third book in The Angelheart Saga Trilogy at this very moment and I can tell you that it will be a tough job to wrap everything up…

The Angelheart Saga is a contemporary and romantic YA series following 18-year-old Erica Lindell as an unexpected meeting changes her life forever. It’s a story about friendship, first love and the devastating consequences a mistake can lead to.

When we first get to know Erica, in First Came Forever, she’s backpacking with her friends in Asia, but meeting the mysterious Sasha and falling in love with him sets her life on a new direction. But it’s not a typical love story as it focuses more on the difficulties when reality hits and how Erica struggles to make the right choices and stay true to herself. Shall she give up her own life to be with Sasha or risk losing him forever? Where shall she draw the line for what is worth giving up for love? And, as if that’s not enough, there’s also the mixed feelings for her team mate Tyler that intrudes Erica’s mind.

Then in Forever Disguised, we once again meet Erica as she has to find a way to pick up the pieces of her shattered heart and live with the consequences of her actions. But finding the strength to go on with her life is not all she has to contend with. Soon, Erica finds herself in the midst of the evil feuding behind the attack on Sasha and she has to fight to protect herself and all that is near and dear to her. Amongst all of the confusion, pain and hurt, Tyler proposes a solution that may solve all of her problems. But will Erica go through with Tyler's crazy scheme?
 
What makes you most excited about your current WIP?
To get to know what will happen… lol!

I had an overall plot outlined for all three books from the beginning, and a very strong idea about what would happen in each book. But then when I actually started writing, things kind of changed. Or rather, some persons just worked their magic on me. For example, Tyler was never meant to play such an important role, he just grew on me… So the ending twist as such in First Came Forever was always the plan, but not exactly Tyler’s role in it. Then when I continued with the second book, the story and characters kind of developed even further on their own, with some unexpected twists, and even some new characters introducing themselves, who were never part of the original outline. All this means that my originally planned ending has changed quite a lot along the way… And even though I have a pretty good idea, I don’t have the exact ending all sorted out yet, but am just as excited as the rest of you to find out what will happen…
 
What do you hate (feel unsatisfied) about your current WIP?
When writing a sequel (or a third book in a series as I am right now), it’s so difficult not to think and worry about the readers’ expectations. After all positive responses to the first two books, I can’t help feeling afraid to disappoint my readers and it really makes me struggle with writer’s blocks and anxiety this time. A thing I really hate about writing this book is that I’ll probably have to break a heart or two, and make some of my readers upset when their OTP is not sailing. I’d love for all of the characters in the book to get their happy ever afters, but I’m quite sure I won’t be able to accomplish that…
 
Where’s your favorite place to do research for your WIP?
I don’t have a special place to do research, really. I kind of get my inspiration from just about anything; Reading books and watching movies. Overhearing a conversation on the subway. Remembering something that have happened in my own life. Often the ideas pop up when I’m out running and then I stop to write notes on my iPhone, so I remember the ideas and can write them down in the evening. But mostly it’s the characters themselves that inspires me to write about them. I’ve been living with the characters in the book for years now, so I actually think about them as real-life-persons and in a way they kind of live their own lives, so I need to keep on writing to know what will happen to them…

Also, most of the places described in the books are based on my own experiences and my own visits. So I guess my favorite place to do research would be to visit the actual place... I really love Cambodia and Vietnam, and I’ve done my fair share of backpacking in Asia, which I hope shows in the books.

Tag time!
I'm tagging

M.C. Frank
Joey Paul
Katharine Corr
Pearl Khatri
Haley Rhoades
Kimberly Reich

for the same questions. You don’t have to do this tag, but if you do, I look forward to reading your answers! Just link back to this post so I can see it! This has been a lot of fun! I hope you enjoyed reading my answers to this tag!

The fab book blogger Darque Dreamer Reads just posted her Top 5 Summer Time Reads and included First Came Forever:
​
“First Came Forever by Annie Woods: A backpacking trip through a foreign country. First love. Friendship. Promises and lies. This YA romance is quite the Summer read!”

Read the full post here: Top 5 Tuesday: Summer Time Reads

One of my favorite book bloggers, Early Bookish Birds, recently did an amazing post about traveling through books, listing First Came Forever as one of the recommended books for getting to know new places.

Read the post here: Travel Books

Don't you just love how books can take you anywhere in the world? Which are your favorite books that have taken you to new places? ​

I was tagged by the amazing author, reader, blogger, designer, editor, physicist and teacher (to mention a few of all the things she does…) M.C. Frank to do the Find the Word Tag.

​I’ll be answering about my upcoming novel, Forever Disguised, which is the second book in the Angelheart Saga trilogy. This romantic YA series follows 18-yearold Erica Lindell as an unexpected meeting changes her life forever. It’s a heart-wrenching story about friendship and first love and the devastating consequences a mistake can lead to. Find out more about the series here and don’t miss the cover reveal for Forever Disguised on June 7.

The words I was given was eyes, breathe, sky. So here we go:

Eyes
“What?” he stopped kissing her for a moment and looked at her with amused eyes. “Are you analyzing this right now?”

Breathe
Breathe, Erica, she told herself, remember to breathe! She turned around in the snowdrift to kneel instead. When the next wave of pain came, she grabbed the edge of the snowdrift and tried to meet the pain with a deep breath.

Sky
“The night mist had started to fall, he could feel the wet grass dampening the shoes and hem of the trousers, and the sky was darker now, full of twinkling stars and a full moon. The moon light was piercing through the night fog in patches, creating a silvery veil over the landscape. The people dancing turned into a blurred, colorful movement in the dimness between the flames of the fire and the pale moon light.”

The supertalented and wonderful book blogger, Danielle, The Introverted Book Nerd, just did this amazing thing, sharing so much love and support in an Author Appreciation post. I cannot find the words to describe how proud and happy I am for this feature, and for having Danielle as my friend.

Some of the wonderful things Danielle said in her post was that

"On top of being an amazing author, Annie is so so so supportive of bloggers! She reads each and every review she receives and also shares them on her social media sites. She is always showing her appreciation for her readers. I love that about her! She shares blog reviews on her Twitter, is super supportive and gives shoutouts over Instagram, and she even has a Blogger Spotlight over on her blog where she recognizes a blogger each week. She truly is a fantastic person."

That is just so sweet that I don't know what to say, other than start crying happy tears...

Check out the full post here: Author Appreciation