Rose Sinclair's Blog, page 20

Happy Book-Day to From Under The Mountain

Oh boy, do I have a lot to tell you. I think this tweet sums it up however.

That’s right, I started a book club. Do I know how to run a book club? Who knows. I mean yes! Over 300 people have offically signed up and I send out what feels like 100 review copies. ‘Well, that’s nice, but what is Ace Book Club,” someone asks.

It’s a club where books we read either have an asexual spectrum author or have canon asexual characters within them. (Sometimes both) We will focus mostly on new-ish re...

The Future of Bone Diggers

I promised a surprise today, and here it is, a trailer featuring the song Why We Lose! (Which seriously has to be one of my favorite playlist songs) Instead of having a traditional trailer I decided that featuring the comment section would be more fitting way to wrap up the year. That way you can see the literal ways people help make Bone Diggers year– I mean 2015 so special. It also features brand new fnVR graphics to help blend the fiction with reality. Because if Bone Diggers was about one thing it would be that duality.

“Bone Diggers has queer characters that are defined by much more than their sexual preference, character driven story, passionate rage-based violence, and religious imagery. I’m always a slut for this right here.” – John Lopez

I can’t thank the people above enough for taking a moment to comment. Or the people who tweeted me about Bone Diggers, or even the silent readers who just added to the page count. 2015 was a great year because of Bone Diggers and you.

 And for the future~

For those who haven’t read Bone Diggers yet: The story will be staying on Wattpad and you can now read it all without wait! Cliffhangers are no longer a match for you! The story will be getting plenty polish over this year and I hope to have it published in ebook and paperback in 2017. That’s quite a long time from now, but it gives you plenty of ways to join in!

For those who have read Bone Diggers:  We also have something special for you! Instead of weekly new chapters we are going to have DLC chapters posted every first Friday! These chapters might be alternative chapters, ‘deleted scenes’ or AUs where we can play around with everyone in a different setting or game type. First Fridays here are a community gathering and we hope you enjoy these extra one-off chapters to get extra kisses and other fun in.

Merry interview time with J.M. Frey!

Today I have an amazing interview from author J.M. Frey. We talk about The Untold Tale, fandoms, fic, and other untold tales in life as a writer. But, first let me tell you more about the novel!

About The Untold Tale:

Forsyth Turn is not a hero. Lordling of Turn Hall and Lysse Chipping, yes. Spymaster for the king, certainly. But hero? That’s his older brother’s job, and Kintyre Turn is nothing if not legendary. However, when a raid on the kingdom’s worst criminal results in the rescue of a bafflingly blunt woman, oddly named and even more oddly mannered, Forsyth finds his quaint, sedentary life is turned on its head. Dragged reluctantly into a quest he never expected, and fighting villains that even his brother has never managed to best, Forsyth is forced to confront his own self-shame and the demons that come with always being second-best. And, more than that, when he finally realizes where Lucy came from and why she’s here, he’ll be forced to question not only his place in the world, but the very meaning of his own existence. Smartly crafted, The Untold Tale gives agency to the unlikeliest of heroes: the silenced, the marginalized, and the overlooked. It asks what it really means to be a fan when the worlds you love don’t resemble the world you live in, celebrates the power of the written word, challenges tropes, and shows us what happens when someone stands up and refuses to remain a secondary character in their own life.

No need to wait for Santa, you can get it now! 

Q: The title of The Untold Tale has such a classic feeling. Could you tell us the story of how you settled with that title?

A: Oh, gosh, it was a process. I usually don’t title my books right away, so the filenames are generally something really snarky like “The One With The Gay Blue Aliens” (which later became Triptych.)

The Untold Tale was originally “That Meta-Thingy”. After the first draft was done, I started searching the manuscript for a great line or phrase to use. I really liked the titles of books like The Knife of Never Letting Goor Where the Red Fern Grows, and I wanted something like that. But nothing in the book really stood out like that.

I asked friends, asked beta readers, asked my agent. I think at one point I had a list of about fifty possible titles. I finally landed on Between the Lines and really adored that title, but when I Googled it, it turned out to be a Jodi Picault novel. Next I went with Untold, and that’s where the book lived for a few weeks, and then Sarah Rees Brennan released a novel with that title.

I’d already had problems with people mistaking my Triptych for Karen Slaughter’s, so I wanted something unique. In the end, after about a year, my agent and I finally landed on The Untold Tales of Turn, and then in the middle of her shopping the book, I shortened it to simple The Untold Tale, because that’s what the book was, in essence. It’s a tale that hasn’t been told yet.

And boy howdy, the process was just as loopy and frustrating for the next two books in the series, too. The Publisher’s Marketplace announcement lists them as “The Returned Tale” and “The Final Tale” but I didn’t think those were evocative enough. Those were I’m-panicking-and-I-only-came-up-with-these-story-ideas-and-titles-three-days-ago titles. Once I’d actually had the opportunity to discuss the books with my acquiring editor, Kisa Whipkey, and we’d decided what the next two books in the series would really be about, we started brainstorming titles. They ended up being The Forgotten Tale, and The Silenced Tale, and they literally could not be more perfect.

Q: What is your favorite thing about fandoms?

A: For me it’s the sense of community. It’s the tribe of it. I can (and have) look across a room, see a woman with a fan-art printed bag, and know, instantly, that this is a person that I will like and have something in common with. They say watching people read in public is like seeing a book recommend a person. With fandom, it’s the same. It doesn’t matter who you are, what your age, gender expression, ethnicity, religion, sexuality, etc. if you are wearing a Stargate SG1 mission patch on your coat I know in an instant that you are someone that I will get along with.

I also love the creativity that is expressed through fandom. I adore the idea of someone so moved by a story, so engaged that they can no longer simply passively consume it. They must seek out more, and make more. They have to write, or cosplay, or make art, or go to conventions, or RPG online. That’s stunning. And as a creator, that’s flattering as all get out. I really hope that people will be inspired enough by my work to create fanworks. I think there’s no better way of telling an author you love what they wrote.

Q: After studying them for a while, have you noticed a change with how readers either react or interact?

A: Well, I mean, the readers I studied for my MA were all internet-based; I began with research in Yahoo Groups before Tumblr was even a twinkle in its creator’s eyes. And the only really difference I see is that the intense and deeply engaged discussions are happening on public walls instead of in closed-room groups that can sometimes become echo chambers of bias, to their detriment. This means the discussion is open for anyone to jump into.

Now, sometimes this opens the way for bullies, trolls, flamers (do we even use that word any more?) and douchecanoes, and I can absolutely say that I’ve seen a rise in the self-important entitled troll. But I’ve also seen a rise in diverse discussions, where people with differing opinions, or new information are welcomed into the thread and conversation, and their contribution is welcome, celebrated, fairly considered, and replied to politely. And I think that’s fantastic. Discourse can only be augmented by fairly reasoned, well researched, interesting additions. It’s just unfortunate that it’s also been joined by the rise of the entitled whiney trolls.

Q: What advice could you give to people looking to add more diversity into their own stories?

A: Ask yourself “why” more often when you’re creating your characters. For example, “Brian is a straight, white, man.” Okay, but ‘why’? What about this character Brian is inherently straight, or white, or male? Why does Brian have to be any of those things? Why is that the default? Why can’t Brian be Brienne, and not straight, and not white? Will it ruin the story?

The thing is, the world is not homogenous, and groups are not monolith. The default is white, and straight, and male, and it should not be. The white straight male is a sliver of the population of the earth. It’s time to start making art that shows the rest of the human race as well.

And once you’ve decided to make Brian different, be meticulous, fair, and as unbiased in your research as you can be. Figure out what the stereotypes are for Brian’s gender expression, sexuality, ethnicity, etc. and avoid them. Create a whole character, not just a caricature, and do it with as much thought and care as you would any “default setting” character you may write.

And most importantly, do not tell the stories of diverse writers FOR them. Include diverse characters, but don’t co-opt their voices and experiences.

Q: We’ve talked about fanfiction before, what sort of fanfiction would you love to see with your characters or worlds?

A: I tried so hard to write the “how they got together” story for one of the couples in The Untold Tale and every single time I tried to write it down, I could never do what was in my head justice. In the end, it was removed from the book completely because it didn’t work with the novel’s single narrator POV. I would just die with joy if a whole spate of “how they got together” fics sprouted up!

Q: In a few tweets, it’s been mentioned that there is another whole level under what is written that is filled with personal things like “I was on the train when I wrote this scene.” Could you tell us a moment of The Untold Tale that is soaked with one of these memories?

A: What I was talking about that series of tweets was the nostalgia of rereading one’s own writing. Books are intensely personal because there is a lot of the author in not just the story, but because the creative journey is long and laborious, and when we re-read our own work we inevitably are also experiencing the memories of when we wrote that part. We experience not only the book, but where we were when we wrote that bit (or cut it out again). For an author, a book is not just a story. It is also an emotional time capsule of who we were, and where we were when we wrote it.

For me, I think one of the scenes packed with the highest number of emotional moments for me is the ball at Turn Hall in The Untold Tale, where Pip dances with Bevel and Kintyre, and ends up telling them off. That rant was the very first thing I wrote for the book, and it came from an extremely long and infuriating conversation I had with a male friend where I tried to explain to him what it felt like to never be the intended audience. I couldn’t argue with him anymore, I was too emotional, so I fled into my office and ended up writing it all out.

I came back to that scene a lot to recapture Pip’s rage, and so I read it everywhere – on planes, on trains, overseas, under the covers, and out loud at several workshops, coffeehouses, and reading series.

And now there’s a new layer! I was out at a pub listening to the Steel City Rovers play, and they did an instrumental song called Aibhlinn’s Dance.About five bars into the song I burst into tears, and had to hide my face in my sleeves because the song was exactly what I’d had in my mind for the “Waves Upon the Shore Dance”, which Pip and Bevel dance at the ball. I was absolutely slammed with the memories of writing and reading the scene aloud, all at once.

Now when I reread the scene, I hear this song in my head and it makes it even more perfect and emotionally gripping for me.

Q: I know I’m really excited for The Untold Tale, what are some upcoming things you are excited for?

A: SLEEP! No, seriously, I really am looking forward to that. I’ve been really pushing myself to finish a few more projects before the release of The Untold Tale so I can just enjoy the celebrations. (As soon as I finish this interview with you, I am rushing straight back to a screenplay that is THIS CLOSE to being done.)

In terms of stories, I’m pumped for Captain America: Civil War and the Sherlock: The Abominable Bride. And of course I hang on every page of Meagan Kearney’s Beauty and the Beast, and series two of The Riftworld Chronicles, if it ever happens.

And I’m super excited to share the #SecretScreenplay project with everyone, once it’s complete and I can tell!

Need more of author J.M. Frey? | Website | Tumblr | Twitter

Pandamoon Publishing Acquires Hello World!

December 12th, 2012 That’s when I first wrote anything for Scott. And from the moment I named Hello World I was in love and from the second Scott had dialogue I was in love with him. So without burying the lead, let me tell you more about Hello World.

Scott’s skills as a surveillance expert come in pretty handy when he’s breaking down firewalls. But hacktivism isn’t enough; he’s going after the holy grail—UltSyn’s Human Information Drives. While plenty of hackers are trying to save the world these days, all Scott wants is to find his sister.

His obsession with finding her leads him halfway around the world. But as Scott digs deeper into restricted databases, he discovers that those who enlist with UltSyn get far more than they bargained for. Plunged into a world of human trafficking and corporate espionage, Scott is determined to find his sister, no matter the cost. But when the information reveals the people closest to him have been working for UltSyn all along, he has to find her—before UltSyn finds him.

I didn’t want to write this post until this moment. And now I’m sitting in the moment and all I can think is wow. Getting a book deal is kind-of like telling news on twitter, or waiting for your keurig to heat up the water. It’s an act that involves you, but is out of your control. And while with a much smaller waiting period you don’t know exactly when that little “Ready” message will display or that tweet will be liked.

I guess in a rambling way I’m saying submitting your book for publication is about hope. You hope you get creamer to coffee mix right, you hope everyone is excited at your news, you hope that everyone loves this creation as much as you do. None of those things are directly in your control, but you hope.

More exactly, it’s about collecting those pieces of hope like stringing popcorn. Each action adds to the wish. Every song, every tweet, every line of text you touch.

I love Hello World, and I hope you end up loving it too.

If you want to know more about my darling new publisher check out Pandamoon Publishing on facebook, twitter, and as always at a dot com. 

Sachael Desires Soundtrack

Today I sadly have no puns for you. I do however have the soundtrack to Melody Winter’s Sachael Desires so that’s better anyways! And remember Sachael Desires is now available and you can still enter this huge giveaway!

Even better than jamming out to some of these killer song choices is the why behind them.

Take That – Rule the World 

The overall theme for Sachael Desires. To me, this is all about how Azariah feel’s about Estelle. It also hints at what’s to come.

Nickleback – If Everyone Cared 

A great song for a moment a chapter that see’s Estelle struggling with other people’s reactions. She doesn’t always agree with the ways in which Sachaels live.

OMD – Our System

I love this song and it fits the moment when Estelle and Azariah prepare for the full moon submergence.

Ben Montague – Miracle 

The perfect song for the perfect moment between Azariah and Estelle.

Linkin Park – The Catalyst 

The Ultimate song about war and revenge. Here comes Orontes!

Evanescence – Secret Door 

When I listen to this I always imagine that I’m under water, traveling to a place that is hidden away from anyone who doesn’t know it exists.

Melanie C – Stupid Game 

Kaimi’s song. This is the song that makes me think of how Estelle would approach him.

Metric – Good Guns Girls 

Another fast and upbeat song which fits the moment when Estelle has more decisions to make.

Enya – Stars and Midnight Blue 

I always think of Enya when I write submergence scenes. The haunting and melodic tunes always transport me to the magic that surrounds Estelle on these nights.

30 Seconds to Mars – Stranger in a Strange Land 

A song that grinds along, threatening what you’re going to do with your enemy. Be careful Orontes!

Paramore – We are Broken

When the person you love is so damaged and broken, they break you as well. The ultimate song for broken hearts.

Bailey Tzuke – Strong 

Quite the reverse of the previous song. The lyrics to this are a wonderful fit for one of the final chapters of Sachael Desires. In the end, when you have a love that’s strong, nothing can break it.

*Disclaimer: This blog is not responsible for any songs getting stuck in your head

Dive into Sachael Desires!

Will I get tired of that pun? That answer is no.  Check out the trailer before I think of another!

During her ordeal with the Sect, Estelle Bailey dreamt of escaping back into the arms of the sea—and Azariah. But freedom came at a price, and though she’s back with the Sachael who’s stolen her heart, she’s also land-bound until the next full moon. And with the threat of Orontes looming ever larger behind them, Azariah, Estelle, and Michael—her once-captor turned rescuer and friend—are on the run.  Following Michael’s lead, they seek sanctuary amidst the natural beauty of the Orkney and Shetland Islands until Estelle can complete her next submergence ritual and Azariah can whisk her away to the safety of Saicean.  ​ ​ Secrets, betrayals, and old enemies await them, though, and as events spiral out of control, Azariah makes a decision that puts all their lives at risk, forcing Estelle to face a journey she never wanted to take. With time running out and tempers running high, her only hope to save the man she loves lies in a reconciliation between two kingdoms who despise each other.

Book Two in the Mine Series, Sachael Desires further expands on the intricate underwater world of the Sachaels, and the hostility and isolation of not belonging.​ | Get your copy today!

But, wait there is more~ You can win all of this! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You wouldn’t want to swim away from that chance!

That was really bad, I’ll let you all go read now. 

Link by Summer Wier Review!

I think the first description of LINK I heard was Stargate meets [something]. It doesn’t matter what you say after Stargate because at that point my brain yells sold! Some books have the pitfall of why does the “normal life” matter after this life changing event happens, but the world’s are so interwoven that I didn’t feel that here. In the story, Kira is presented with two very different lives, and the pros and cons of each continue to stack up. This creates a great balance that later on starts rocking back and forth in an increasingly tense way.

LINK sets The Shadow of Light series up in an otherworldly fashion without ever feeling like the whole first book is set up. I now know this cast in a very real way and curious what happens to the whole cast.

The only down side is LINK sets itself up as a bit mystery, one that I try to figure out beforehand to distracting lengths. This likely is just overthinking because I lovingly want to fact check explanations to real astrophysics. The science of this science fiction is strong I just wish I had the answers a bit sooner so I could have bought into the rules faster.

Review:  ★ ★ ★ ★ ½

If you aren’t convinced yet here’s some more about LINK!

For seventeen-year-old Kira, there’s no better way to celebrate a birthday than being surrounded by friends and huddled beside a campfire deep in the woods. And with a birthday in the peak of summer, that includes late night swims under the stars.

Or at least, it used to.

Kira’s relaxing contemplation of the universe is interrupted when a piece of it falls, colliding with her and starting a chain of events that could unexpectedly lead to the one thing in her life that’s missing—her father.

Tossed into a pieced-together world of carnivals and gypsies, an old-fashioned farmhouse, and the alluring presence of a boy from another planet, Kira discovers she’s been transported to the center of a black hole, and there’s more to the story than science can explain. She’s now linked by starlight to the world inside the darkness. And her star is dying.

If she doesn’t return home before the star’s light disappears and her link breaks, she’ll be trapped forever. But she’s not the only one ensnared, and with time running out, she’ll have to find a way to save a part of her past and a part of her future, or risk losing everything she loves.

Dreamy, fluid, and beautiful, Link pairs the mystery of science fiction with the minor-key melody of a dark fantasy, creating a tale that is as human as it is out of this world.

Available now from Amazon, and other retailers.

About Summer Wier:

Summer Wier is an MBA toting accountant, undercover writer, and all around jack-of-all-trades.  Link is her debut novel and the first in The Shadow of Light series. She has three short stories appearing in Fairly Twisted Tales For A Horribly Ever After and co-authors the Splinter web serial. When she’s not digging through spreadsheets or playing mom, you can find her reading/writing, cooking, or dreaming of the mountains in Montana.

Check out more of YA author Summer Wier on her blog, twitter, facebook, and goodreads.

Sachael Desires Cover Reveal!

About Sachael Desires 

During her ordeal with the Sect, Estelle Bailey dreamt of escaping back into the arms of the sea—and Azariah. But freedom came at a price, and though she’s back with the Sachael who’s stolen her heart, she’s also land-bound until the next full moon. And with the threat of Orontes looming ever larger behind them, Azariah, Estelle, and Michael—her once-captor turned rescuer and friend—are on the run.

Following Michael’s lead, they seek sanctuary amidst the natural beauty of the Orkney and Shetland Islands until Estelle can complete her next submergence ritual and Azariah can whisk her away to the safety of Saicean.

​ ​

Secrets, betrayals, and old enemies await them, though, and as events spiral out of control, Azariah makes a decision that puts all their lives at risk, forcing Estelle to face a journey she never wanted to take. With time running out and tempers running high, her only hope to save the man she loves lies in a reconciliation between two kingdoms who despise each other.

Book Two in the Mine Series, Sachael Desires further expands on the intricate underwater world of the Sachaels, and the hostility and isolation of not belonging.​ | Add to goodreads

About Melody Winter: 

Growing up, Melody Winter showed a natural ability in art, a head for maths, and a tendency to write far too long English essays. Difficult to place in the world when she graduated, she pursued a career in teaching, but eventually ended up working in Finance. Melody is convinced the methodical time she spends working with numbers fuels her desire to drift into dream worlds and write about the illusory characters in her head.

Melody Winter lives in North Yorkshire, England, with her husband and two sons. When not dealing with football, rugby, and a whole plethora of ‘boy’ activities, she will be found scribbling notes for her stories, or preparing for another trip to the beach. With an obsession for anything mythical, Melody revels in reading and writing about such creatures. In fact, if she wasn’t such a terrible swimmer, she’d say she was a mermaid.

Sachael Desires is her second book in the New Adult Romantic Fantasy series – the ‘Mine Series’.

Learn more about Melody Winter on her website, twitter or facebook.

 

Release Day: What You See

On May 8th 2015, the asexual community had their first Ace Day. It had one goal, to give the community a day where awareness was good, but pride was better. The day was willed with selfies, pride, stories, awareness, and a lot of art. Sara (The Asexuality Blog) and I were amazed how many people created beautiful things without prompt to celebrate the day. Those pieces served as the first for the collection. And now, the pride from months ago is back in time for Asexual Awareness Week!!

What You See from Creative Aces is the first art book of its kind and features 38 full color pages brought to you by artists of the asexual community. The collection is all about pride, big and small, heartfelt and sometimes down right adorable.

Two dozen asexual artists came together to make this and I’m thrilled to announce it’s now available on amazon! 

Happy Release Day To LINK!

About LINK: 

For seventeen-year-old Kira, there’s no better way to celebrate a birthday than being surrounded by friends and huddled beside a campfire deep in the woods. And with a birthday in the peak of summer, that includes late night swims under the stars.

Or at least, it used to.

Kira’s relaxing contemplation of the universe is interrupted when a piece of it falls, colliding with her and starting a chain of events that could unexpectedly lead to the one thing in her life that’s missing—her father.

Tossed into a pieced-together world of carnivals and gypsies, an old-fashioned farmhouse, and the alluring presence of a boy from another planet, Kira discovers she’s been transported to the center of a black hole, and there’s more to the story than science can explain. She’s now linked by starlight to the world inside the darkness. And her star is dying.

If she doesn’t return home before the star’s light disappears and her link breaks, she’ll be trapped forever. But she’s not the only one ensnared, and with time running out, she’ll have to find a way to save a part of her past and a part of her future, or risk losing everything she loves.

Dreamy, fluid, and beautiful, Link pairs the mystery of science fiction with the minor-key melody of a dark fantasy, creating a tale that is as human as it is out of this world.

Available now from Amazon, and other retailers.

About Summer Wier:  

Summer Wier is an MBA toting accountant, undercover writer, and all around jack-of-all-trades.  Link is her debut novel and the first in The Shadow of Light series. She has three short stories appearing in Fairly Twisted Tales For A Horribly Ever After and co-authors the Splinter web serial. When she’s not digging through spreadsheets or playing mom, you can find her reading/writing, cooking, or dreaming of the mountains in Montana.

Check out more of YA author Summer Wier on her blog, twitter, facebook, and goodreads.

But what there’s more! 

Win paperbacks of Summer’s favorite YA novels!