A Dream Within A Dream: The Whole Thing Together Blog Tour: Guest Post

The Whole Thing Together
Author: Ann Brashares
Genre: YA Contemporary
Release Date: April 25, 2017
Publisher: Delacorte Press

Description:

Summer for Sasha and Ray means the sprawling old house on Long Island. Since they were children, they’ve shared almost everything—reading the same books, running down the same sandy footpaths to the beach, eating peaches from the same market, laughing around the same sun-soaked dining table. Even sleeping in the same bed, on the very same worn cotton sheets. But they’ve never met.

Sasha’s dad was once married to Ray’s mom, and together they had three daughters: Emma, the perfectionist; Mattie, the beauty; and Quinn, the favorite. But the marriage crumbled and the bitterness lingered. Now there are two new families—and neither one will give up the beach house that holds the memories, happy and sad, of summers past.

The choices we make come back to haunt us; the effect on our destinies ripples out of our control... or does it? This summer, the lives of Sasha, Ray, and their siblings intersect in ways none of them ever dreamed, in a novel about family relationships, keeping secrets, and most of all, love. Booklist hailed THE WHOLE THING TOGETHER as “quintessential Brashares,” and fans of Brashares’s work as well as new readers will dive wholeheartedly into this original story that is a love letter to romance, summertime, and family—no matter how unconventional they may be.

Advance Praise for The Whole Thing Together:
“A gorgeously written novel on love, loss and family.”-Nicola Yoon, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Everything, Everything

* “Masterful.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review

Top 10 Things To Do Before You Sit Down To Write

1. Block out a minimum of 3 hours to work. The first hour can be frustrating and unproductive, but you've got to work through it to get to the good part.

2. Get at least a little vigorous exercise before you start. It makes you (me) smarter, calmer, saner. Even running up and down the stairs a few times helps.

3. Eat enough so you won't be hungry for a few hours. Protein holds you better than sweets. I am notorious for wandering into the pantry when the words get stuck. Often I go to a library where it's quiet and you can't bring food.

4. Set a timer for 25 minutes and plan to work 25 on and 5 off until, ideally, you've lost track of time or you've come to the end of your allotted session. I use a cooking timer so I am not looking at my phone. (see thing #6)

5. Close your door if you have one. As much to keep you in as to keep visitors and distractions out.

6. Turn off your ringer and put your phone out of sight. Don't check the internet or your phone but once an hour on your 5-minute break. (see thing #4)

7. Put on a short, meaningful playlist. Play a couple of songs to get you in the mood, but leave off listening once you get going. After that, devote attention to your words and nobody else's for a few hours.

8. On your desk keep a book or two, quotes, pictures that are relevant to your writing project. Try not to dwell, but use them for a push when you need one.

9. At the beginning, give yourself permission to write anything at all--bad, weird, stupid, beautiful. Just get the words going.

10. Don't analyze your work and don't analyze yourself. Just write. Analyze later.

Ann Brashares is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series, The Here and Now, 3 Willows, The Last Summer (of You & Me), and My Name Is Memory. She lives in New York City with her family. Visit Ann’s website at AnnBrashares.com and follow on Twitter @AnnBrashares.

Tour Schedule:

March 20: Bookhounds YA

March 21: Butter My Books

March 22: Here's to Happy Endings

March 23: Fiction Fare

March 24: A Midsummer Night's Read

March 27: Emily Reads Everything

March 28: In Wonderland

March 29: The Reader Bee

March 30: Books, Music, And All Things Written

March 31: YA Book Nerd

April 3: Peace Love Books

April 4: Tales of the Ravenous Reader