Ramblings From This Chick: Guest Post with Author Aven Ellis and Giveaway

Monday, October 21, 2013

Guest Post with Author Aven Ellis and Giveaway

Meet Aven Ellis, author of Connectivity.

Aven Ellis has been writing fiction since she was sixteen. She studied communications at a large Midwestern university, and after graduation, Aven worked as a reporter for a community newspaper, followed by a stint at a public relations agency.

But writing about city council meetings and restaurant franchises was not as much fun as writing for young women trying to figure out their careers and potential boyfriends. So Aven got herself a job in television that allowed her to write at night. Connectivity is Aven’s debut novel; Waiting For Prince Harry and Chronicles of a Lincoln Park Fashionista (New Adult romantic comedy) will be published next year.

Aven lives in Dallas with her family. When she is not writing, Aven enjoys shopping, cooking, connecting with friends on social media, and watching any show that features Gordon Ramsay.

Places to find Aven:

| Site | Facebook | Twitter |

Me and MK

A common question authors get is “how much of you is in your heroine?” Well, in the case of Mary-Kate Grant in Connectivity, quite a bit! Mary-Kate (who goes by MK) works for a sports network (as do I), is an assistant (raising hand), blogs (yep) and has a passion for all things with home design and cooking (me me me!) Unfortunately, I do not have a hot British billionaire in my life (come on now, you didn’t think this was my biography in disguise, did you?) =)

But I want to come back around to the home decorating/cooking commonality. I am passionate about home décor and anything that gets me into the kitchen. I’m obsessed with cooking shows. Obsessed. If you scroll through my recorded programs list, you will see multiple Food Network shows, cooking shows from BBC America, and anything with Gordon Ramsay (is it strange I find him attractive? Never mind. I digress.) Oh, and shows from HGTV. And I assure you MK’s recording list is pretty much the same.

So when I was creating the character of MK, I thought it would be fun to explore the dynamic of someone who hated sports, loved home and garden, and was suffering through the job to get to her dream position--of working in programming for a home and garden TV network--or so she thought. But as MK goes on her journey--and William is introduced to her world--her line of thinking shifts. Her true passion is lit when she begins writing about her loves: home décor and cooking--and when a door is opened for her to pursue her writing about things she loves, her locked in career path might just change after all...

And thanks to Danielle, who will graciously host my giveaway idea--I’d like to gift a one-year subscription to HGTV Magazine for one lucky blog reader in honor of MK’s career passion. And I hope all of you enjoy reading MK’s story in Connectivity. =)

XO Aven

Overachiever Mary-Kate Grant (who is indeed named after an Olsen Twin) has followed every rule to the letter to pursue her dream of working in TV programming. Ripping a page from the “hard work pays off” playbook, she takes an assistant level job at a Chicago sports network to break into the industry.

MK has no time or desire for a relationship right now—she is totally focused on her career and being independent, unlike the other women in her family.
But MK’s plans are run through the shredder when she finds herself working for William Cumberland, a British media mogul who made his fortune with Connectivity, a social media site. William blows into Chicago just like the winds off Lake Michigan and purchases the group of networks MK works for—and makes her his personal assistant in the process.

Suddenly MK finds her career plans in jeopardy. William makes her question everything she has ever thought and has the uncanny ability to see right through her. And for the first time in her life, MK finds herself not only questioning what she wants for her career but for her personal life as well…

Purchase: | Amazon |