Birthday Giveaway: Day 5 [CLOSED]

Today is a little bit different. I’m doing a giveaway along with an interview. Please welcome Shari Maurer!

Thanks for stopping by! Tell us a bit about the writing process for Change of Heart. What inspired you to write about this topic? Is Change of Heart based on any personal experiences?

My daughter was born with a heart defect (she's okay now). Several years ago, a friend and I decided to write a non-fiction book called The Parent's Guide to Children's Congenital Heart Defects. It was a wonderful resource that we hope has helped many families.

When I was taking a class at the Institute for Children's Literature, I watched a television program on heart transplants (my husband, a cardiologist, and his patient were featured). Also on the program was a little girl. I was so haunted by the look on her face as she was wheeled into the operating room to receive her heart, I decided to explore the idea further. I kept imagining all the "what ifs": What if she were a teenager and What if she were an athlete. As I continued with this, Emmi and her story were born.

What was the most challenging aspect of writing Change of Heart?

When you write anything with a medical aspect, you want to make sure you're being accurate. I spoke with many post-transplant patients and often badgered my husband with medical questions, so hopefully I gave an authentic view of what could happen in this situation.

What would you like readers to take with them after reading this book?

Be an organ donor! We hope you never need it, but we're encouraging everyone we know to register and to have their loved ones register. I'm going to put in the plug for this and give the website for more info: http://donatelife.net/

How did you celebrate the release of your book?

We had a big launch party at the New City Library. According to the local paper, over 300 people were there. It was all such an exciting blur. My editors came and we also had a table where the New York Organ Donor Network was able to register new potential donors. It was truly one of the most exciting nights of my life--to be able to celebrate this amazing thing with my family, friends and people I had met along the road to publication.

What's next for you? Are you working on another book?

I have one book that I love and hope will find a home soon and I just finished a promising first draft of a new book. It's very raw, but I'm hopeful that I can use the summer to bring it closer to where it needs to be.

Has your husband and/or daughter read the book and if so what were their thoughts on it?

When I set out to write the book, my daughter asked for two things: short chapters and IMing. I put both of those things in and everyone's telling me the book reads really quickly, which I think is because of that. My daughter was an early fan of the book and it's been great having her as a critical reader.

My husband finally read the completed book after we got the ARC. He liked it and I think he felt I did a good job of capturing one possible transplant experience.

I have Change of Heart on my TBR list and cannot wait to get it and read it!

Today I am giving away Change of Heart swag to (3) lucky winners! Shari Maurer has generously donated these prizes for my Birthday Giveaway. Thank you Shari Maurer!!

The Rules
-Open Internationally.
-You must be 13 years old or older to enter.
-(3) winners. Each winner will receive a stress ball and bookmark.

Extra Entries
+2 for tweeting. You must leave the direct link to your tweet in order to get the extra entries.

GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED.

Places to find Shari Maurer online:
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Donate Life

Giveaway ends Wednesday, June 30th, 2010. Giveaway open Internationally. Winners will be chosen randomly. Winners will be selected, emailed and announced on my blog some time after the giveaway ends. Winners will have 72 hours to claim their prize before a new winner is selected. Prizes to be mailed directly from Shari Maurer. The Book Vixen and Shari Maurer are not responsible for lost or damaged prizes once prizes have been mailed. Good luck to all who enter!