Guest Post + Giveaway: Dalya Moon: author of Practice Cake and Poke

The giveaway found at the bottom of this post is part of the the 

YA Paranormal Activity Giveaway Hop!

Todays's guest is Dalya Moon, author of Practice Cake, and Poke! She is here to discuss Love Triangles! Plus, she is also giving away ONE SET of Practice Cake and Poke to FIVE lucky, lucky winners.

Dalya Moon, author and writer, lives on the west coast with her husband and two cats. She’s a proud auntie to two energetic nephews and one darling niece.
When she’s not writing, Dalya dabbles in art: painting (acrylics and watercolor), pottery (wheel and hand-building), paper cut-outs, and gluing things to other things.
She has worked as a bookkeeper and as a graphic designer. Both careers have had their merits, but are not as fun as writing.
Some random facts about Dalya:
- Looks really good in hats (longish-shaped head) but doesn’t wear them.
- Was obsessed with drawing the Easter Bunny as a child.
- Will order ahead of you at the restaurant–not because she means to be rude, but because she knows what she wants and figures you could use a little more time.

Stalk: Twitter | Website

A Post About Love Triangles and Other Fantasies

I've never had a love triangle in real life, not unless you count having a bunch of high school crushes on guys who don't know you exist.

I think love triangles of a certain kind (two hot guys in love with the protagonist) are popular because we all want love. We all want to be adored, respected, and appreciated. How better to ensure we get this than to have more than one person chasing after us?

Where I grew up, we only had one high school, and my parents were fixed in their careers. There was no way I'd be transferring to a new school. And yet, whenever I was in a neighboring town, for a drama festival or sports game, I'd imagine how different my life might be if I could move there, with a fresh start.

Without all the history of how shy I used to be, or who I hung out with, I could have an entirely new (and better) life at a different school. I could be the new girl. And two of the best guys there would fall immediately in love with me. Of course! Because that's what always happens when you transfer to a new school, right? We all daydream about a school (or job) transfer, which is why so many books start out that way.

True story: The handsome man I'm married to transferred to a new high school when he was in grade twelve. He had been invisible at his old school (his words, not mine--if I'd been around, I would have noticed him!), but when he got to the new school, he was suddenly popular. Instead of no friends, he had lots of friends. He didn't understand it; he was just quietly grateful. I don't know if transferring schools improves your popularity 100% of the time, but when he told me, I was a bit jealous! I wish I'd had that experience.

The best story protagonists are the ones who let us vicariously get a bit of what we want. Maybe it's love, or transforming from an ugly duckling into a swan. We might even crave battling something with a magic sword--not for the swordplay, but for the glory of conquering a foe.

The beginning of a book can awaken a hunger we didn't know we had--for justice, or strength, or mastery of a job skill. By the middle, we're invested in the character's goal (we're hooked!), and we want it even more. By the end, by golly, we'd better get that thing we--er, I mean, the protagonist--wants, or there'll be book flinging!

I only have one problem with the love triangle in some books. If it's the balanced kind, where the girl could end up with either guy, I always forget which one she chooses. Seriously, I could probably read Hunger Games all over again and be totally surprised by which one she picks at the end. Shhh, nobody tell me! It'll be a shocker when I see the movies.

Practice Cake

by Dalya Moon

There’s one thing Maddie finds more tempting than red velvet cake: her coworker, Drew. All it takes is one of his sly winks or a playful hip-check by the cooler, and she’s incinerating the cookies. Her boyfriend would not approve.
When a reality TV crew descends upon the bakery, her simple summer job gets even more complicated. Maddie could become the Bakery Network’s next breakout star, if she can handle the heat of being cast as a show villain. Drew has an alternate idea: run away from everything, with him and his sexy tousled hair. She decides to take the leap, but when she finds out Drew’s been hiding a shocking secret, Maddie looks down at her packed suitcase and takes a moment to think. Should she fly off to Australia with a guy she hardly knows, or should she pick up her suitcase and hit him with it?
Chock full of imperfect people behaving badly, Practice Cake is for readers who enjoy a good laugh.

Poke

by Dalya Moon

Zan is a teenage boy with a talent for discovering any girl’s secrets. If he asks a girl to poke her finger into his navel, he gets a psychic trip to Secret Town. Zan never likes what he finds.
When he meets mysterious, beautiful Austin, with her waist-length hair and mature laugh, he wants to get acquainted with her the slow way. Austin, however, can’t resist her curiosity, and when she pokes her finger into Zan’s belly button, he sees … nothing.
Austin dashes out of Zan’s house and out of his life, leaving Zan heartbroken and confused. To find peace, he must unravel the secret of his power. Is it a gift, or a curse? How can Zan love someone with no future? How can he not?
Poke is a fast-paced story about Zan's adventurous summer, as he battles witches, experiments with astral projection, and discovers the secret of his strange power, all to be with the girl he loves.

Now for the giveaway!

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