Isabel Roman's Blog, page 45

Guest Author: Amanda Arista

Today I'd  like to introduce Amanda Arista! Whose last name I have the worst time typing-I want to put the t before the i. All that aside, think werepanthers. Think yummy hotness. Think I should buy this book because it looks just that good! I did. I haven't read it yet, but I bought it!

A voice of a whole other type
[image error]            Four years ago, if you asked me what I did, I would have said that I'm a medical secretary. It's where I spend most of my time and it's what pays the bills. Made sense. That writing thing I did was simply a very strange hobby that kept me up late at night. Concocting the moving of dark armies over the American landscape was just something I did in my spare time. It didn't bring in money and it certainly wasn't something that I told everyone I did.
            About four years ago, I was floundering. While being a secretary is interesting, I'm not passionate about typing up reports every day. Seeing that I was struggling, my husband issued me a challenge. I know it sounds a little cavemanish, but it worked. He said "Write a book or go to grad school." It was the type of challenge that I hadn't had since college, one that would stress me out just enough to keep me motivated. And being the stubborn girl that I was, I took him up on it. I was going to write a novel.
            And the first time I told someone that I was going to take a year to write a book, they laughed and joked "Yeah, the next great American novel." Several people actually had the same response and it was quite a funny joke at family get-togethers. It was disheartening at best. But I sucked it up and joined a class at the local community college. I could do this; I just needed a little more guidance and a little less sarcasm.
            The very first thing the professor said was that if you write, you are a writer. Just like if you swim, you are a swimmer. If you walk, you are a walker. Welcome to my first Yoda lesson. If you do it because you love it, then it becomes more than what you do, it becomes part of who you are.
            Did I run out of that first class proudly proclaiming that I was a writer? No. But it was the first step in a long line of small steps towards realizing that this writing thing was not a hobby. Being a writer changes the way I look at the world, makes me ask more questions to understand the world around me. This is why it's more than what I do.   
            Some of those first steps were just talking about my story out loud. This provided its own set of problems. Saying the words "werepanther" to a person outside of my inner sanctum was the next challenge I had to face. If it wasn't a snicker, it was a full blown laugh. "A what?" was most people's response. That's when practicing a good succinct one line pitch comes in very handy, a simple sentence that sums up what your book is about. My second Yoda lesson for today: when a person asks what you are writing about, give them the one line pitch. You'll be able to tell afterwards if they really want to hear more, or if they are just placating the crazy writer.
            I have to admit that I backed off telling people that I was writing a fantasy novel about a girl who shifts into a panther. I was defeated again, or at least tired of the crazy writer looks. I kept my head down and wrote my silly little book because I was still determined to win my husband's challenge. I worked my tail off writing every Saturday morning, finding time to slip away to coffee shops with a few other writers who were in the same boat as me: they needed someone who wouldn't snicker when they needed to talk about their books.  Last Yoda lesson of the day: get a group of people who understand the need to write and you will feel so much better about your own drive. They also will need practice with their one-line pitch and have been laughed at as well.
            As we know from all good tales, the hero must endure some challenges. While mine were mostly snickers about my genre of paranormal romance, I'm proud to say "My name is Amanda Arista, I am a paranormal romance writer." I have my weapons of choice: a one line pitch that doesn't scare my 70 year old uncle, an arsenal of other writers who are one the same journey as me, all facing down their own demons, and a book that frankly I can point to when people snicker and say "I showed you mine, now show me yours?"
            I hope that my little tale has helped you gain confidence that you are not alone. The tests will come, the stress of finding time, the looks, the snickers. But everyone one of those will only make you not only a stronger writer (don't think that some of those snickerers didn't get eaten on the page) but a stronger person able to withstand more that just your average Joe. Myke Cole (@ MykeCole on Twitter) said it best when he tweeted "The writing life is not for the weak. We could teach the marines a thing of two about coping with fear."
            What kind of experiences have you had when you told someone you wrote? Pen me a line to share your stories with other writers and you can enter yourself to win a $25 gift certificate to the e-book retailer of your choice.
            Thank you and Happy Writing!
Thanks for sharing, Amanda. What to find Amanda and learn more about werepanthers, book 2, and her writing? There's her site, twitter, and facebook (search Amanda Arista, Author). Plus, I'm sure she'll love to read an email or two!
Diaries of an Urban Panther Blurb:
[image error]             Violet Jordan thought the fairy tales her mother wove were just a way to get Violet to sleep, not a way to prepare her for the apocalypse she is the key to preventing. When she becomes a midnight snack for werepanther Spencer Haverty, his infectious bite invokes the first element of her destiny. When Violet's budding instincts allow her to save a boy's life, she realizes this new gig may come with perks: a slimmer figure, the attention of a handsome Guardian, and insights into her future embedded in her mother's stories. But as push comes to claws, can Violet make the fatal strike against the men threatening her new family, her new home and her first boyfriend in ages?
Excerpt:Chapter 15 ishIt was dark and quiet and there was no dog smell on the wind, no Chaz smell either. I sucked in the cool safe air as my head cleared.
What the hell was I doing? I asked myself. Who were they? Haverty's men come to collect? And why the hell had I run? I'd just left him there, to fight my battles. Just left Chaz to deal with the beasties because they were his thing; they were part of his world.
Screw that. When the last time Violet Jordan let someone else fight her battles?
Oh, that's right, until I met Chaz, there were no battles to fight. And if there was anything that invaded my little fortress, I ran. It's what I had always done. Run, move, and start all over with a fresh slate when things got hairy.
Wasn't getting any hairier than this.
I looked up at the waxing moon and felt the stir of the cat in my chest. I wasn't the Violet Jordan who ran anymore. I was the Violet Jordan who threw drinks in men's faces and threw sensei's across the room. I was the Violet Jordan who dated male models.
And those jerks had just ruined the first good date I'd had in years. Coming soon: Book Two of the Diaries of an Urban Panther, Dec 2011 

Is this thing working?

I admit, I've let the chronic blogger problems allow me to become lax in my blogging. Not working today? OK, I'll just skip it. There's always tomorrow. Or the next day. Or next week. It's so easy to let things go when I know I'll be aggrivated by not being able to log into my blog!

Before I get to the rest, July is guest blogger month! Friday 7/15 I'm hosting Amanda Arista, Saturday 7/16 is Stacey Thompson-Geer, Monday7/18 is Lorelie Brown, and Wednesday 7/20 is David Brown.

Be here or be square.

Now then, what have I been doing instead of blogging? I actually watched a few B sci-fi movies. Of the following 3 titles, which I watched based only on the titles, what one do you think was the best?

Lost City Raiders: The year is 2048, and global warming has flooded much of Earth's land areas. A father and his two sons try to salvage treasures from sunken buildings when they are given an important assignment by the New Vatican.

Sand Serpants: Jason Gedrick and a small group of Marines are stranded in the remote Afghan desert. But it ain't the Taliban that's worrying them, it's these giant refugees from Tremors. In fact the big worms prove to be an ally of sorts by doing better against the Taliban than themselves but battling these enemies is something not covered in their training.

Mongolian Death Worms: When an American oil company sets up an experimental drilling plant out in the vast deserts of Mongolia, they are completely oblivious to what actually lies beneath them. Pumping hot water deep into the ground, the company is hoping to expose untapped oil, but what they end up uncovering is something no one ever expected. As the superheated water plummets its way into the earth, it strikes a nest of deadly creatures that have been dormant for centuries. Thought to be purely mythological, these monsters are in fact real…and now they have been awakened! They are angry and they are bloodthirsty.

If you said Mongolian Death Worms, you'd be correct! Skocking, I know, but you have to love a movie that makes fun of itself.

Friday Pictures

Because I care enough to share my smiles and laughter.

What do I want to be when I grow up? [image error]
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And my favorite, the cutest puppy (so long as it's not my computer *G*)
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July

It's another month and I finally have story ideas! I was afraid (read terrified) that the stories I wanted to do were so far off the beaten trail they'd never be publishe (like that 1920s story I love and adore that's really difficult to sell!)

But a couple weeks of not doing any writing and I think I have a few ideas. Two are for sequels to Shadow State , which I'm in the process of self-publishing now that I have the rights back. One is a vague concept for In the Shadows (see reason above) and one is for a fun sexy contemporary.

This summer I want to plot out all of these stories so that when I'm ready to sit and write them, I can with as little trouble (read writer's block) as possible.

What are you working on?

Today I'm going to be a ballerina

How I Spent my Summer Vacation

Not necessarily the Tiny Toons cartoon, which was excellent, but how I'd like to spend my summer. If I didn't spend all my time working then writing that is.

Kayaking (have never been)
Hiking Great Smoky Mountains (have never been but have been hiking)
Canoeing with the family. We used to go when I was young but I haven't been in ages.
Horseback riding. Other than the 20 minute planned route. Maybe an actual lesson.
Get to the beach. I live so close and yet have I made it there once this summer? No, if you couldn't guess that.
Drive-in movies.

What about you? What do you want to do this summer?

Monday Musings

Sequels to stories.

And the possibility of them. With 2 of my stories' right reverted back to me, the temptation is great to continue in the worlds I've created.

Both stories In the Shadows and Shadow State are wonderful worlds I'd love to revisit, but at the moment I have a couple other commitments to finish.

Friday Guest: P.J. Jones

HOW MANY PARODIES CAN FIT INTO ONE BOOK? The answer is limitless. Consider my new release, Romance Novel , a  Vampire, Shape-shifter, Medical, Historical, Erotic, Western and Unwed Virgin Mother parody.  In the book I obviously poke fun of the Twilight series, plus Brokeback Mountain, Australia, James Bond (don't ask what he's doing in a romance novel when we know he's only out for one thing) and, of course, Texas Millionaire fatherless-baby books. We've all read them. We all love them, but oohhhh, they're perfect parody targets! Add a little medical suspense and a disgruntled, overweight cover model, and, BAM!, you've got a spicy, flavorful, if not tacky, parody. Currently, I'm nearly finished writing a romantic comedy (not a parody) and then it's on to Romnce Novel 2, where, of course, zombies must make their debut. What's a romance without zombies to add some zest to the plot? Some people may wonder, "PJ, how can your plots make any sense with all those novels jammed into one?" Honestly, I wonder that, too, especially when I've infused historical romance scenes into a contemporary plot. So to quote SMELLA ROSEPETAL, the heroine of Romance Novel , "Are you going to point out every historical inaccuracy in this convoluted story-line?"  Of course, you aren't. You'd be shoveling for days if you tried to fill all the plot holes in my parody.  Just sit back, relax, and savor the story. Romance Novel  is a rich blend of flavorful, if not foul smelling, piling heaps of crap, meant to be enjoyed with a fine glass of generic beer on tap.  Blurb:
"Snake," Smella cooed while trailing her fingertip along his bulging biceps. "There's something I need to ask you." Smella Rosepetal must find a millionaire husband to finance her baby's heart transplant. She flies home to her deputy father's ranch in Pitchforks, Texas, where she falls in love with Deadward Forest, a wealthy environmentalist vampire. 
When a deranged murderer is on the loose in Pitchforks, killing romance heroines, Deadward assumes Smella would be safer without him. Smella turns to her childhood friend, Snake Long, for comfort. But Snake doesn't have the money to save her baby, so Smella places herself in peril in a desperate hunt for a rich husband.
Time is running out for Smella's baby, and she must escape the Australian Outback, then face down Flabio, an overweight and disgruntled, aspiring cover model, plus enraged vampire wives and their homosexual, vampire, cowboy husbands, a jealous were-gerbil, James Bond, a drunk rodeo clown and Smella's strange boyfriend who wants to drain her blood, yet is repulsed by her smell. Excerpt:
His eyes widened, and he looked at her with a goofy, hopeful gleam in his eyes. "You want me to be the father of your illegitimate child?""Don't be silly." She swatted his shoulder while rolling her eyes. "I was wondering if you knew anything about Deadward Forest." Snake winced, a gleam of anger flashing across his features. "Why do you want to know about pasty face?""That's not very nice, Snake," she scolded. "Maybe he's allergic to Vitamin D." "Are you joking?" He spat. "Deadward is a bloodsucker, just like the rest of his family." "Bloodsuckers? Really?" Smella perked, the visualization of heaping wads of money making her mouth water. "So that's how he got rich. Do they handle personal injuries or divorces?""Neither, Smella." Snake shook his head, while jumping out of the truck and slamming the imaginary door. "You need to stay away from The Forests," he raged, before sweeping Smella into a passionate embrace. "Let me take care of you and the little bastard," he begged, his eyes turning dark, thunderous. Mouth agape, Smella stared at Snake. His body was large, strong and warm. She could get lost in his liquid molten gaze. Oh, if only he was rich and white. But now was not the time to be distracted by secondary heroes. She needed a man who could save little Wally. "Do you have the money to pay for my baby's heart surgery?" she rasped. "No," he said on an exhale, as if his chest had been crushed with the admission.  "Then forget it, Snake!" Smella pushed away, trying hard to ignore her feelings for him as she bemoaned the fact that friendship sex would count as a strike against her virginity. "I've already made up my mind." She spoke without conviction then bit hard on her knuckles in an effort to quell her raging sexual hormones.  "Besides," she confessed, "even though I don't know much about Deadward, I'm already irrevocably and unconditionally in love with him."

PJ Jones began writing Romance Novel in the spring of 2009 when she was seriously ill, thinking that this book would be her last dying legacy for mankind. After you read this book, you will probably wonder if she was trying to seal her fate in hell. Who knows? But PJ Jones has conquered her illness and is much better now. But you probably don't care, as long as her writing is funny. PJ Jones is also an avid reader of real romance novels. So why does she poke fun of them? Consider it comic relief. Want to find out more? Her blog and Facebook page have much more!

Thursday Progress

Or why I need to settle down and plot a story!

Because it's what I do. I write. I am a writer. I need to do this in order to continue living. It may not seem as important as breathing, but that's only because breathing is an involuntary function that takes no real concentration or effort and writing takes both.

But the last couple of weeks have been hard. Life has bludgeoned me. Time has slipped away. I have a couple great ideas, one a contemporary I'm super excited to write. Plus I want to read over my two short stories I just got back the rights to.

Wednesday Revews: Patient Zero

Every once in a while my reading kick involves all the titles in a certain genre I can find. After Night of the Living Trekkies, I ordered several zombie books and just finished Patient Zero. The first line caught me: When you have to kill the same terrorist twice in one week there's either something wrong with your world or something wrong with your skills... and there's nothing wrong with my skills. Told in first person, the action read like a Vince Flynn or old school Clive Cussler or W.E.B. Griffin book-lots of action, tough talking guys who love their country and hate the bad guys who may or may not be utterly one-dimensional. With the additional of the stereotypical grey leader of a super-secret government organization. It's technical, jargon-filled, and o-stop, but it also has a ring of could-be potential to it, which most post-apocalyptic stories do. Or should. However this does have the definite addition of zombies. Which, if you ask certain people, is always a great addition. That addition does lend a certain depthness to the story I otherwise might not have finished (but only because I've read the afore mentioned authors and enjoyed them). Zombies and terrorists and megalomaniacs? You can't beat it.  [image error] When you have to kill the same terrorist twice in one week there's either something wrong with your world or something wrong with your skills... and there's nothing wrong with Joe Ledger's skills.  And that's both a good, and a bad thing.  It's good because he's a Baltimore detective that has just been secretly recruited by the government to lead a new taskforce created to deal with the problems that Homeland Security can't handle. This rapid response group is called the Department of Military Sciences or the DMS for short. It's bad because his first mission is to help stop a group of terrorists from releasing a dreadful bio-weapon that can turn ordinary people into zombies. The fate of the world hangs in the balance....