Debra L. Martin's Blog, page 276

Review: WATER WITCH by Thea Atkinson

5 of 5 Stars


Alaysha has been used and abused as a killing machine by her father, Yuri the Conqueror. She has undergone brutal training sessions to strip her of any emotional response to the destruction and death she causes with her magic. She's a pawn in a grand scheme, but when she meets Yenic, a survivor from one of the villages she decimated, her worldview begins to change. Alaysha starts down the dangerous path to find out who she really is and to know her heritage, but who can she trust--her father whose love she craves or a stranger who seems to know her?



From the opening sentence: The call of the vulture is what brought Alaysha back, I was hooked. Brought her back from what? The more I read, the more gripping and all-consuming this book became. I didn't want to stop reading. Alaysha had latched onto my psyche and wouldn't release me until I knew her suffering--the continual pain of rejection she felt at the hands of her father, the utter contempt by everyone in her village and her abject loneliness. A loneliness ingrained so deep within her that it hurts to breathe. This is the masterful storytelling of Ms. Atkinson as she guides you through the story. The secondary characters, Yuri, Yenic and Aedus are just as engrossing and will keep you turning the pages until the final word. This is one of the best fantasy series I've read in a long time. If you're looking to get lost in a world full of magic, angst, deception, love and betrayal, this book is the one to buy. Highly Recommended.

 

Interview with Kathleen S. Allen

Can you
give us a brief overview of your latest book? Is it part of a series?

It’s called, HOW TO BE ALMOST
FAMOUS IN TEN DAYS-Young Adult Contemporary.

17-year-old
plus-sized Cassie wants to be “seen” so when she finds a book of rules on how
to be famous in ten days she devises
a plan---with the help of her BFF---to do just that. She has hilarious and
sometimes serious, almost disastrous consequences. Cyrano de Bergerac meets Comedy
of Errors with a teen girl.




Did you
try the traditional route to publishing, i.e. querying agents/publishers?

I’m still querying. My latest book is published by a small
press, but I’ve done the Kindle/Nook publishing too. In fact one of my
self-pubbed books, FITZROY: THE BOY WHO WOULD BE KING, a YA historical fiction,
has been in the top paid 100 for children’s eBooks/Historical fiction since
December, 2012 in the UK.




Are you
currently under a traditional publishing contract for future books or do you
have manuscripts that you will self-publish?

I have a YA Dystopian that most agents have told me is a “dead”
genre for editors right now so I’ll probably put it up on Kindle at some point.
I have one agent looking at it right now and if she passes I’ll put it up.  I also have a middle grade zombie book
that I’m querying and if that one doesn’t catch the eye of an agent, I’ll
consider putting it up too.  I’m
not under a traditional publishing contract at the moment.




What
factors influenced your decision to self-publish your book(s)?

The first book I self-published is AINE, a YA faerie novel.
It wasn’t as long as most agents wanted a YA book to be so I stopped querying
it and self-published it. Up until FITZROY, it was my top seller.  I heard about eBooks and wanted to try
it myself. I think that both eBooks and print books are good to have. I like
self-publishing but I’m also looking for a traditional publisher. At this point
in my writing career I need an agent to take me to the next level, so to speak.
I promote my books as much as I can but I feel like I’ve hit a plateau.






If you
used a graphic designer/publisher’s designer, how involved were you during the
creative process for your cover?

I’ve used a cover designer and did my own covers. For small
presses you have more input than you do in traditional publishing, or so I’ve
been told. I was able to work with the cover designer on AINE, LORE OF FEI, WAR
OF FEI and my two murder mysteries. I also chose the cover for FAMOUS but the
designer did the font.




Do you
belong to a critique group? Have they helped improve your writing?

I have an online critique group, a couple of beta readers
and two CP’s. Yes, they improve my writing. I usually want more of the big
picture, what works, what doesn’t, what’s confusing, timeline or plot holes,
that sort of thing. I encourage any writer to have someone other than your
family, an objective person to read your writing before you publish it or start
querying. Polish, revise, polish, revise…




Do you
outline your story or just go where your muse takes you?

I am a total pantser. I let the characters take me on their
journey. Sometimes I plot things out, especially in the YA faerie books and
murder mysteries but usually I don’t. I do storyboarding after the novel is
done, it’s a screenwriter’s technique that helps to visualize your scenes to
see if they’re working or not.




Did you
hire an editor to review your manuscript before publishing?

I have in the past but now I am more confident in my editing
skills, I rely on my own editing and my CP/Beta readers to help me catch
things. If you feel insecure about editing, I’d say hire a good one but they
can be expensive. Some of them will do a sample edit for you so you can see if
you like them first before committing.




Besides
Amazon, are there any other sites where your books are for sale?

Nook/Smashwords anywhere you can buy either eBooks or print
books.






What’s
next for you?

I am writing a science fiction novel based on a short story
I published in my short story collection, INTERLUDE. I love science fiction and
the first book I remember reading at a young age was a science fiction novel. I
also have a pirate YA book that is a historical fiction I hope to finish soon.
I have a novella about a girl who finds a box filled with secrets. That one is
YA too.  That one will go up on
Kindle as soon as I format it. I already have the cover for it. After that?
Finish the pirate book and go from there.




I write every day, usually in the morning and that’s the
best advice I can give anyone who writes. Write every day, no matter what. Get
a CP/beta readers, revise as needed, don’t be “married” to your words and stay
positive. Writing is filled with rejection after rejection but you can’t let it
define you. If you’ve put out the best story you can and it’s been polished and
revised and still getting rejections, “trunk” it and start your next project. I
always have another project “in the wings” in case my current one isn’t going
well or it’s getting rejections. KEEP GOING and write every day. Don’t give up.
Persistence is the key factor in getting published.




BOOK TRAILER:

http://youtu.be/IIGB1EoXnLA

Buy Link on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/How-Almost-Famous-Days-ebook/dp/B00BUX4FEI/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1363433820&sr=1-1&keywords=how+to+be+almost+famous

Buy Link on Nook:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/how-to-be-almost-famous-in-ten-days-kathleen-s-allen/1114845002?ean=2940016184265

Buy Link on Smashwords:

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/296104

Buy Link on Gypsy Shadow Publishing website:

http://www.gypsyshadow.com/KathleenAllen.html#Famous




FIND KATHLEEN HERE:

Websites:

www.kathleensallen.weebly.com

www.gaelicfairie.webs.com with blog

Pinterest:  http://pinterest.com/kathleea/ 

On Twitter: @kathleea

On Facebook: Witch Hunter  http://ow.ly/cWMFB 

Author Central page: amazon.com/author/kallen

Book Trailers on You Tube here: http://www.youtube.com/user/gaelicfaerie1?feature=mhee




Thanks for hosting me!

Stories My Mother Told Me by Rebecca Forster

My parents
made a pact to stand on every continent in the world. When my dad passed away,
my mother went to the Antarctic for both of them. That’s when I figured there
was a lot I didn’t know about mom.




When she
returned with a bright orange jacket that she got ‘for free’ (don’t count the
cost of the cruise), she had lots of stories to tell. Yet, when the excitement
of the trip wore off, we both had the sense that we were still standing on a
pitching deck with no way to sail to calm seas. A big piece of the puzzle – my
dad – was missing.




“Write your
memoir,” I said.




“My life
wasn’t interesting,” she answered.




But the
idea must have taken hold. Not long after this conversation, she called. She
was done with her memoir.




“Impressive,”
I mused.




It takes me months to write one novel and she finished hers in a week. When I saw her
manuscript, I understood why.  It
was five pages long and she was eighty-five years old. There had to be more.




So began a
year of weekend sleep-overs as we poured over photographs for inspiration. She
had twenty beautifully documented photo albums, a box filled with pictures
taken when cameras were still new fangled things.




There was
mom in waist-length braids and Mary Jane shoes standing in the German village
she called home.




She was a
teenager in the U.S. while war raged in Europe, threatening the grandmother she
had lived with, cousins and friends.




Here was
mom, posing in a swimsuit she bought with the dollar she found on the street.




Mom in her
twenty-five dollar bridal gown perched in the back of a hay wagon beside my
father, a skinny, wide-eyed farm boy who would become a doctor.




Mom with
one child. Two. Three. Five. Six of us all together. Dark haired and big eyed,
we were her clones dressed in beautiful, homemade clothes. I remember going to
sleep to the sound of her sewing machine.




And there
were words!  I bribed my mother
with promises of Taco Bell feasts if she gave me details. Funny, what came to
her mind.




 To keep body and soul together when my
father was in med school, he was a professional mourner and bussed tables for a
wealthy fraternity. My mom worked in a medical lab where the unchecked
radiation caused her to lose her first baby. They ate lab rabbits that had
given their all for pregnancy tests. 
They were in love and happy and didn’t know they were poor. But St.
Louis was cold, she remembered, and they couldn’t afford winter coats. Still,
she insisted, they weren’t poor.




 She typed, I edited; I typed, she
talked. My youngest brother almost died when he was 10. She didn’t cry for a
long while; not until she knew he would live.  The captain of the ship that took her back to Germany was
kind.  She dreamed of becoming a
missionary doctor. In 1954, she had two toddlers (me and my brother) and
another baby on the way when she and dad drove to Fairbanks, Alaska where he
would serve his residency at the pleasure of the U.S. Air Force. Her favorite
outfit was a suit with a white collar. She loved her long hair rolled at her
neck in the forties.  In the
fifties she made a black dress with rhinestone straps and her hair was bobbed.
In the sixties she made palazzo pants and sported a short bouffant.  She looked like a movie star in her
homemade clothes. I wanted to grow up to be as glamorous as she was. She still
thought she wasn’t interesting.




Mom wrote
the forward to her memoir herself. It began:




A great sense of loneliness fills
the house as twilight approaches. In the silence, I can almost hear the voices
of my grown children as they recall their childhood years, the laughter of
grandchildren and the quiet conversations of friends who have gathered here in
years past, echoing through the empty rooms.




You see,
she really had no need of my help as a writer.




We had
seven copies printed. On the cover was a beautiful picture of a sunset. She
called her book In The Twilight of My
Life and would not be swayed to change it. Mom thought it perfect and not
the least depressing. It was, she laughed, the truth. It was her laugh that
made it right. She gave my brothers and sisters a copy for Christmas. My older
brother had tears in his eyes. Everyone exclaimed: “I never knew that”.






Now I have
a book more treasured than any I have written. I learned a lot about my mom and
I realized why I create fictional women of courage and conviction, strength and
curiosity, intelligence and, most of all, spirit. It’s because, all this time,
I’ve been writing about my mother. 

Interview with Jordanna East

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<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Can you
give us a brief overview of your latest book? Is it part of a series? </span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">My upcoming prelude novella, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Blood in the Past</i>, introduces my <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Blood for Blood</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Series</i>.
Jillian Atford falls for an older man, a handsome Philadelphia cop, whose
mystery is that he’s married—a reality Jillian refuses to accept. Lyla Kyle
finds her mother dead on the floor from an apparent suicide. She blames her
philandering father and wastes no time taking her revenge. Detective Jason
Brighthouse Sr. is in the wrong place at the right time to attempt to save a
colleague from his burning home. When neither of them make it out alive, his
teenage son can only harp on their last argument. He shoots himself in the
head… with his father’s gun. Basically, all of these actions have consequences—consequences
that eventually cause their lives to intersect ten years later, which is when
the main series takes place. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Have you
ever had a minor character evolve into a major one? Did that change the
direction of the novel at all?</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Actually, yes. The original opening scene to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Blood in the</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Past</i> involved Jillian’s roommate, Mel, getting mugged. Mel’s only
role was to get mugged so that Jillian could meet one of the cops that arrived
to take her statement. But I thought since she was in the entire opening scene,
and a few others, she deserved a promotion of sorts. So, I changed the opening
to have both girls mugged and I showed the contrast of their personalities and
how they each handled the aftermath. Additionally, I had Jillian turn to Mel
later on, following a crucial event (that I won’t ruin for everyone here).
Jillian was a foster child. She has no family. The mugging brought her and Mel
only slightly closer, but she’s all Jillian has.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">What
factors influenced your decision to self-publish your book(s)?</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I had every intention of going the traditional route…until I
did some research. I knew what kind of person I am. I knew I wouldn’t be able
to handle sweating and bleeding into a manuscript and then handing it off to
someone else to choose a cover, rearrange the content, and be in charge of the
advertising and distribution. I want to be in charge of all of it, dammit! I’m
a perfectionist, so I know I can do it. And what I can’t do, I’ll hire someone
to do. Like my lovely cover, done by Kit Foster. Because I couldn’t navigate
Photoshop if the air I breathed depended on it.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">If you
used a graphic designer/publisher’s designer, how involved were you during the
creative process for your cover?</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Extremely involved. Poor Kit Foster. We must have traded a
dozen emails, fine tuning the tiniest of details. But I came to him with a
basic idea and we worked to get the right face and the right font, etc. I’m
very pleased with the result and would highly recommend Kit to anyone, as he
was highly recommended to me.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Do you
belong to a critique group? Have they helped improve your writing?</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Not a critique group, per se. But I did find and request the
help of several beta readers, who were invaluable. Mostly I learned that I
assume a lot. I assume that the reader knows things I know, has researched
things I’ve researched, etc. And you know what happens when you assume… Let’s
just say, I had a lot of scenes to add when they were done.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Do you
outline your story or just go where your muse takes you?</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I’m sure if I had outlined the entire story at once, I
wouldn’t have skipped important details! With <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Blood in the Past</i> (and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Blood
in the Paint</i>, the first full-length novel in the series, due out at the end
of the year), I was clearly a “pantser.” This led me to a lot of heartache when
revisions and subsequent drafts rolled around. Therefore, as exhilarating as it
was to have characters do something unexpected as I was writing, I’m already
outlining the second and third books in the series.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Did you
hire an editor to review your manuscript before publishing?</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Oh my god, YES! I don’t think anyone should publish without
an editor, unless maybe they themselves are an editor. I did a lot of research in
this area as well, but in the end I went with someone recommended to me
(obviously word of mouth carries a lot of weight with me), Red Adept
Publishing. They are a small publishing company that offers a la carte services
to self-publishers. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Besides
Amazon, are there any other sites where your books are for sale?</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Blood in
the Past</span></i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> will be available exclusively through Amazon’s KDP program
for the first 90 days. After that, I’m confident I’ll expand distribution to
all venues. It will, however, remain only in e-book form, as I plan to offer a
special print edition of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Blood in the
Paint</i> that includes <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Blood in the Past</i>.
Obviously that’s something that won’t happen until next year or so.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Besides
writing, do you have any other passions?</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I love sports. Obsessed is probably a more accurate
representation, actually. My husband and I are both sports nuts. We wear
jerseys, watch games, go to games, etc. ESPN is the home page on our computer
for heaven’s sake! In addition to pinstripes (Yankees), pigskin, and playoffs,
I love art, cooking, and, of course, READING. (You can’t be a writer if you
don’t read, right?)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">What’s
next for you?</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Well, after <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Blood in
the Past</i> is released mid-June, I’m going to start revisions on the first
draft of its follow-up, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Blood in the
Paint</i>. I’m also going to split time between that and a serialized novel
I’ve outlined (that’s right, outlined. See how I’ve learned?). It’s about a
spate of murders within one of those fanatical religious cult. No idea when
that will be ready for publication, but when it is, it will be released one
segment at a time, every month or so.</span></div>
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Review: A BARON IN HER BED by Maggi Andersen

3.5 out of 5 stars


Horatia Cavendish has vowed never to marry. She wants to pursue a literary career like her aunt, that is, until she meets sexy Frenchman Guy Fortescue. Except she doesn't exactly meet him under ideal circumstances. She dresses like a boy and goes out riding her father's spirited stallion (something that a proper young lady should not be doing), when she discovers Guy unconscious in the road after being attacked by ruffians. She can't abandon him so she does the next best thing and helps him to an abandoned cottage. With a raging snowstorm outside, she's forced to spend the night with him. That is the just the beginning of their secrets. Her literary career doesn't look so ideal the more she gets to know Guy. He's handsome, but has secrets of his own.



I enjoyed the antics of Horatia and her habit of making things worse when she's only trying to help. The author does a great job in describing the growing chemistry between Horatia and Guy. While I enjoyed the storyline quite a lot, I was jolted out of the story too many times by the abrupt POV changes, often within the same chapter. There were no section breaks to alert me to a new POV and it took a few moments to figure out who's head we were in. I would have also liked to see a section break or even *** when the story moved from one day to another. All of the text just ran together and it was annoying. Despite this criticism, this is a fun and engaging story, but it could
use some editing to give the reader the ultimate reading experience.



I received a copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Interview with S.M. Blooding

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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uqP91DSMegk..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uqP91DSMegk..." width="213" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Can you
give us a brief overview of your latest book? Is it part of a series?</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">When Synn El’Asim is captured,
his Mark is brutally awakened. He finds himself the most powerful Mark, and
quickly becomes a coveted weapon in the war between the Great Families and the
Hands of Tarot. However, only he can decide how he will be used to shape the
lives of all the tribes. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">This is book 1 of the Devices of
War trilogy.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Do you
have a favorite character?</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Synn. Though, Joshua’s a close runner up as is Queen Nix,
our villain. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Synn is just so…real. From the outside looking in, he knows
what he’s doing, he’s very decisive. He’s confident, capable, strong, powerful.
However, inside his head, we get all these little nuggets. One of my favorite
lines is when Varik corners him in Egolda City. Varik’s going to blow the
entire town, destroy the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">lethara</i>,
kill countless people. He’s taunting Synn when he says, “Are you scared, little
boy?” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">What was Synn’s internal response? <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Why, yes. Yes I was. </i>But he doesn’t act on that. He stands up to
Varik and he helps to save as many Egoldan lives as he can. I just love how
courageous he is. There are times when he’s like, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I had no clue what to do, but everyone was looking to me. I just had to
hope I did the right thing. </i>He’s just very human. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Have you
ever had a minor character evolve into a major one? Did that change the
direction of the novel at all?</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">These guys…for all that they’re invisible people inside my
head, they can really derail a story! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Like Joshua. I came up with Keeley’s character first. I knew
what she needed to do for Synn’s plot-line. However, when I delved into how she
became who she was and what her decisions were based on, I discovered she had an
older brother. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">When I introduced Joshua’s character into the mix, so many
things happened! Real chemistry was thrown into the mix. He became the glue
that held the whole group together. He has this quick wit, and he’s the one
with the brains to develop all the gadgets we’re playing with. He knows how to
get the group to understand Yvette who’s hard to read, and how to cool Synn’s
temper, and how to build Keeley’s courage. He’s even able to pull the best out
of Haji, and the two barely know one another. You’ll be seeing a lot more of
Joshua in the coming books. He plays a really major role in the development of
the war. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">He has so many great, great lines, but my favorite of his is
when Yotaka-<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">san </i>is teaching them all
how to use their Marks. He pairs Yvette (water) up with Joshua (plants) and
tells them to prepare to fight using only their power. Joshua replied with, “What
are we going to do? Make things grow to the detriment of others?” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">He makes me laugh all the time. You should see what does in<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> Knight of Wands, </i>book 2. Ooooohhhh my
word! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Are there
more books in this series?</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Book 2, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Knight of
Wands</i> is already written and is currently in edits. It should be out around
Christmas. Book 3, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Menagerie</i> is in
brainstorming mode and will be written this fall. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I’m planning more trilogies though, with other characters.
You’ll meet the main character for the next trilogy in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Knight of Wands</i>, but you’ll really get to know her in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Menagerie. </i>Oh, I’m excited! I think you’re
going to like some of the ideas running through my head! There are just so
many! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">If you
used a graphic designer, how involved were you during the creative process for
your cover?</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I used Ravven Glass for the cover. I told her about my
world, and about our ships, our cities, our ways of life. I told her a little
bit about Synn and his Mark. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">She came back with her initial cover ideas and I was blown
away! It was like she’d reached into my head and pulled what I’d been
picturing. It was amazing. She had me choose from several models she’d already picked
out. Then she wanted to know what needed to be tweaked in the background. Then
it was on to the title. It was an excellent experience. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Do you
outline your story or just go where your muse takes you?</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I outline. I start out with my basic outline. I line out
what needs to happen plot-wise and character arc-wise in quarters. This way, I
get a feel for the pace. Do I have too much plot in there? Is there enough room
for the character arc? (This is a common problem of mine, so I know to look for
it. *grin*)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Then I start with the first quarter and break that out into
chapters. I try to keep my outlines fairly loose. Sometimes, even though I
think my outline/pace is good, my characters sometimes disagree. Also, there
are times when they completely change their minds and do something else. Synn
did that to me really early in book 2. I had the book mapped out and then all
of a sudden he said, “No!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>I can’t
do this!” and it completely changed <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">everything</i>!
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The key to outlining is to not allow the outline to rule
your muse or to back you into a corner. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Did you
hire an editor to review your manuscript before publishing?</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Oh, good grief yes! I’ve <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">learned
</i>that lesson by the skin of my face. I still, to this day, feel the road
rash. Oh my word! That hurt! When I first started out, I enlisted my friends.
We hit my books hard, or at least I thought so. When they hit the market,
though, almost every single review came back with “grammar, grammar, grammar”. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The grammar wasn’t even that bad, but it was the fact that
in every chapter, there was at least something. A sentence that could have been
stronger. Two repeat words in the same paragraph. A misuse of a word. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">So now I hire a few editors and BETA readers who go through
it, looking for anything! I still use my small army of friends, too! Every
single eye finds something! If I have a gut feeling that my book needs another
set of eyes, I hire another proofreader. There are many great editors and
proofreaders out there. A “good story” won’t cut it in this market. It has to
shine – as grammar free as possible. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">What have
you’ve learned during your self-publishing journey?</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Soooo many things! I think the biggest one was with this
book. I didn’t have a marketing plan when I launched this the first time. I
said to myself, “Self, you have this great book. Slap a cover on there, a title
that’s Google friendly, and people will swarm to your book!” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Not so much. The cover, title and blurb that I had
originally didn’t give a clear indication of what the book was about and people
were getting seriously confused. You wouldn’t believe how many people picked up
this book thinking it was a romance. They were offended by some of the scenes
in here! And it’s not because they’re graphic because they’re not. They are
serious, I will say that, but they’re the kinds of scenes that are absolutely
taboo in the romance market. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I’ve already started getting reviews in from this latest
re-launch (new cover, new title, new blurb, new plan) and they’re right on the
money. People are picking up the book, knowing right away what the book’s
about, what kind of adventure they’re in for. Yeah. Having the right marketing
plan in mind before you pick a title is KEY! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">What advice would you give a new author just entering into
the self-publishing arena?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">STOP! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">PAUSE! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">THINK! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Repeat! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">There are a lot of books out there that are just…there. They
aren’t going anywhere, aren’t drawing any attention. I’m also very active on
the review/promotion side, helping other authors. So I see this all the time. Take
your proof copy of your book an ask random strangers (book stores and coffee
shops): </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Does this cover appeal to you? What does it say? Do you want
to pick it up? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Does this blurb tell you what you need to know? Do you want
to pick up this book? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Does this title catch your attention? Does it make you think
of the chosen genre? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Does this excerpt make you interested in the book? If not,
why? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Then be really, really honest with yourself. Is your book
edited? I mean, is it EDITED? If I were to pick it up, open it to some random
page, would I be inundated with poor sentence structure? Bad punctuation?
Mis-used words? When I’m approached for reviews by SP’d authors, I usually turn
them away for A) poor cover, B) poor blurb and most of all C) it needs to be edited.
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">What’s
next for you?</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Right now, we’re editing <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Knight
of Wands, </i>book 2<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">.</i> We’re in the
first stages of editing, but it looks like it should be ready to launch around
Christmas. It’s just such an awesome book! It’s so visual! They all are,
really, but some of my favorite scenes (visually speaking) are in this book. I
love where all of my characters are branching out, and we get to meet new
people. I will say, I bawled like a baby when I wrote the final chapter. My
sister walked in on me and thought someone in the Real World had died. No. I
was just writing the final scene and it ripped my heart out. Oh my word! You’re
going to love it and hate me at the same time.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I’m also brainstorming and researching <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Menagerie, </i>book 3. There’s a lot going on that I need to prep for
in that book. We’re reshaping our world, rebuilding it after what happens in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Knight of Wands</i>. I need to work out a
lot of the science before I start working on writing the book because I really
don’t want the reader to have to suffer through my learning curve. It’s so <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">neat </i>though! I’m digging into
bio-engineering right now and micro-biology. There’s a lot of this stuff that’s
going over my head. I’m not going to lie, but it’s going to be amazing if I can
just get a small portion of all this information to sink into my brainpan. I
will start writing that book this summer to be published in 2014. Get excited!
It’s going to be a wild ride! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Thank you so much for allowing me to be on your blog! </span></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TwoEnd..." height="1" width="1"/>

Review: BEYOND: TWO SUNS by Maureen A Miller

5 of 5 stars


Aimee and Zak - two people from different worlds, but with a love that spans the galaxy. It's been five long years since Aimee last saw Zak. He'd insisted that she go back to Earth and explain to her parents where she had been and, only then, would he return for her. She did as he asked and waited in the woods looking for the beam to lift her to the space ship Horus. Finally, it appeared, but Aimee got the shock of her young life. Zak wasn't on board and he was feared dead. Not believing that Zak was dead, she began to plan his rescue with a ragtag band of rejects aboard the Horus.



I've eagerly awaited this sequel and it was well worth it! Two Suns is a captivating and engrossing story of two people who would do anything to find each other including risking their own lives. They were incomplete shells alone. The author does a fantastic job of letting the reader feel Aimee and Zak's most inner thoughts and their determination not only to survive, but to heal their fractured hearts. The secondary characters add much to the story. I loved JOH--his declarations made me laugh. If you've ever suffered the pain and joy of a love so all-consuming that you could hardly breathe, you'll absolutely love the story of Aimee and Zak. Highly recommended. 

Interview with Larry Enright

Can you
give us a brief overview of your latest book? Is it part of a series?

My latest book is “A Cape May Diamond,” published October,
2012. It is the sequel to “Four Years from Home,” though reading “Four Years”
first is not required to appreciate the book. It picks up the story of Tom Ryan
after his release from jail in 1975. He is a convicted draft dodger, alienated
from his family and friends, who winds up in the town of Cape May. At that time
in history, Cape May was like Tom, down on its luck and sinking fast. It was a
rundown shore town that had never recovered from the devastation of a storm
some years before, and was struggling like Tom against a tide of desperation
and hopelessness. In this book, both Tom and Cape May are seeking renewal and
redemption, and the plot is a weave of the two stories into one theme. I would
classify it as a mystery/romance, though I don’t think there is such a category
on Amazon.




Do you
have a favorite character?

Tom Ryan has always been my favorite character. He appears
in four of my five novels, though not always as the main character. He is not a
person you would find easy to like if you met him in real life, but if you can
get through his often obnoxious and sarcastic exterior, you might come to love
him as I do. I guess that’s the result of my drawing him in a way that is
sometimes how I view myself — someone trying to do the right thing and very
rarely seeming to succeed.




Did you
try the traditional route to publishing, i.e. querying agents/publishers?

I have not tried this route since the 1980s. I actually
wrote three novels before self-publishing “Four Years from Home” in 2010. The
first of them was in the early 1980s. I queried agents and publishers when it
was done and got nowhere. It was very ego bruising. The second and third
novels, I wrote and simply put on a shelf, chalking them up as efforts to get
better at the craft. When I finished “Four Years from Home,” I decided to
self-publish mainly to avoid the anguish involved in the drawn-out process of
trying to get an agent or a publisher. Yes, I am a chicken at heart. I later
found out, though, that there are many advantages in self-publishing. But that
does not make me any less the chicken.






What is
your writing process? Do you listen to music or do you like silence?

I write in silence because I think best in silence. I cannot
listen to music and do anything else, probably because I am a musician and am
too easily drawn into it to detach the writing part of my brain from it. I work
best in a room by myself because I often will read my writing out loud. It’s
kind of like singing in the shower for writers. It may sound funny, but it’s
very important that it sound right to me. I think that makes for better
dialogue, in particular, but it also gives me a better sense of the flow of the
story to hear it read.




Did you
hire an editor to review your manuscript before publishing?

I work with an editor and a separate proofreader. I’m not
sure it’s possible to do without either and still come out of it with a good
finished product. I know nothing I do will ever be perfect, but a good editor
and proofreader will get me a lot closer.




Besides
Amazon, are there any other sites where your books are for sale?

All of my books are available in paperback and for Nook and
Kindle. They’re all listed on Barnes and Noble, Amazon, Google Books,
Books-a-Million, and Alibris.




What kinds
of marketing [twitter, facebook, blog, forums] are you involved with for
promoting your book(s)?

I have a Facebook fan page https://www.facebook.com/LarryEnrightAuthor
.

I tweet from @LarryEnright .

I am on Google Plus as https://plus.google.com/109464665691570099700/
.

I am somewhat active on the Kindle Boards www.kboards.com .

I am on Goodreads in several groups http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4496550.Larry_Enright
. 

I have a blog at http://fouryearsfromhome.blogspot.com/
.

I have a website at http://www.larryenright.net/
.




I post fairly regularly on my Facebook page, though I only
have 300+ followers.  Generally the
posts are not to sell my books but just things I have found either funny or
appropriate or newsworthy. On Twitter, I try to support other authors as much
as I can by retweeting them and I tweet one or two sales-type things a day.
Google Plus is a similar place for me. I try to share other authors’ posts and
do one of my own. Kindle Boards and Goodreads are spottier for me, mostly
because of time. I blog once a month or so, and my website is fairly static
unless I have a new book out.




Not a very imaginative marketing plan, is it? I have found
that the problem with this style of marketing is that it connects writers to
writers, not writers to readers. They’re a great bunch of people, don’t get me
wrong, but the whole point of marketing should be to connect to the customer,
not the competition. (I use this term loosely because the other writers I am
connected to are friends and not really competitors, but you get the idea, I
hope.)  But, I plug along and enjoy
writing, and thank God I don’t rely on my writer’s income for my total support,
or I’d be a starving old artist for sure.




Do you
find it difficult to juggle your time between marketing your current book and
writing your next book?

Absolutely yes! I’m finding it harder and harder to keep up
with it and my writing. It is a part of the business that I have never liked
and am not very good at. But in the position I am in, it is necessary, so I
keep at it and try to do my best without driving myself crazy. (It may be too
late for that, but don’t tell anyone.)




Besides
writing, do you have any other passions?

Music is my other passion. I have played guitar since 1964,
making it the longest running endeavor of my life. I used to be better at it
when I was younger and more agile, but I can still pick a little. I’ve recorded
a few things for Youtube over the past few years that I collected onto one page
of my blog http://fouryearsfromhome.blogspot.com/p/music.html.
In the late 1970s I played professionally and I still do the occasional open
mike night, but I guess you would call me a semi-retired musician.




What’s
next for you?

I am currently working on another novel that is in its
fourth draft now. It is the story of a young man’s search for his place in
life, an old man’s search for closure in his, and the woman who brings them
together. I started it back in October 2012, so it’s been a long haul. I like
the story, but it’s been difficult in the telling. I want to get this one right,
just as I want to get them all right.

Book Tour Blast: FALL OF SKY CITY by S.M. Blooding

 

Fall of Sky City
Genre: New Adult Fantasy, Steampunk Adventure

In a world governed by the opposing forces of the mystical House of Tarot and the tribal Great Families, Synn is caught in the crossfire. He witnesses the slaughter of innocent people, and the devastating murder of his father. This act awakens his Mark of power, a Mark greater than any the world has seen in a very long time.

Queen Nix thought she won a great prize when she destroyed Synn’s father, the leader of the strongest Great Families. She had no idea she’d be doubly blessed by capturing his son. 



However, before Synn can become her treasured weapon, before she can use him to bring the rest of the world to its knees, she must break him and bind his soul to hers.

She does her job with brutal brilliance. Synn’s mind is broken and his soul is seared to hers in an unbreakable bond.

That doesn’t stop him from wanting to be free. She may have broken his mind and claimed his soul, but he will find a way to destroy her.
Experience a world of ships that sail the clouds and cites buried beneath the ocean, and survive the fiery battle brought forth by those who control the forces of nature! 



Buy links:





Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Steampunk-Fantasy-Adventure-Devices-ebook/dp/B00CK4Q9PY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1367270124&sr=8-1&keywords=fall+of+sky+city+sm+blooding





Paperback: http://www.amazon.com/Fall-Sky-City-Devices-Volume/dp/1484052293/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1367270768&sr=8-1&keywords=fall+of+sky+city
 


About Author SM Blooding
SM Blooding lives in Colorado with her pet rock, Rockie, Ms. Bird, the Chicken and SistaPITA. It's quite the zoo. She’s taken a break from the piano, which Ms, Bird is quite happy about, and now knows more than one word in Arabic. Basically, she can say hello, good-bye, give it to me, and hurry up!

She’s dated vampires, werewolves, sorcerers, weapons smugglers and US Government assassins. Yes. She has stories.

 



Follow SM Blooding:
Website | Facebook | Twitter | GoodReads 



 Follow the Tour!




The Author is giving away a $50 Amazon GC. Fill out the form below to Enter!



 a Rafflecopter giveaway

Newly Expanded: LOVE BY SECRETS (A Regency Romance)

LOVE BY SECRETS has been expanded to a full-length novel and will be 

on sale at Amazon for .99 on Friday, May 3, 2013. 


LOOKING FOR REVIEWERS: If you would care to review this book, leave your contact information and the preferred file format (.epub or .mobi) in the comments section.









Book blurb:

Eighteen-year-old Emily Stanton is excited to attend this Season's balls and begin her search for a husband. She is thrilled when the dashing and handsome Connor Preston begins to court her. After each ball, Emily finds a love note in her drawstring reticule, and she expects a marriage proposal from Connor any day.



When her father objects and forces Emily to accept the proposal from Lady Tisbury's shy nephew, Ethan Richardson instead, her heart is broken. How can she love her new husband when her heart belongs to the man who wrote her such beautiful love letters?



Love by Secrets is ~50,000 words (228 pages). 



Buy link: