Michelle Garren Flye's Blog, page 58

Giveaway: What’s your favorite part of a book?

Romantic fantasy has opened up a whole new writing world for me. I love the creative license of world building. You could get a god complex from this! I invented a whole new race of people for the purpose of my Synchronicity story. I’m playing with the rules of physics. And I’ve liberally mixed existing mythology with made up mythology.

It’s fun.

And it’s got me started thinking about what makes a good book. Is it the characters? The backstory? The action? The romance? Great dialogue?

What does it take to make a book worth reading for you? Comment below withing an hour and I’ll send you coupon code good for a free copy of Time Being from Smashwords!

Giveaway time! Judging a book by its cover

I have a lot of gorgeous book covers, but I’m particularly loving the covers for my Synchronicity series. There’s just something about the way they each have their own character. Of course, they were all designed by Farah Evers Designs, but I like to think I had something to do with their beauty. I’m curious, though, which one is the best? Do you have a favorite? An opinion? I love the cover for “Strange Path” because it’s a little simpler than the others, but the Raven Mocker on the front of Out of Time and the book on Time Being are so perfect for those books.

Leave me a comment telling me which your favorite book cover is within the next hour and I’ll send you a coupon code for a free copy of Time Being from Smashwords!

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For the Time Being…

It’s a magical sort of expression, isn’t it? For the time being… Who is that time being? Or what…

Today the second book of my Synchronicity series releases. I’ve worked hard on this one, polishing every word, rethinking every phrase. I’ve done my level best to avoid typos and non sequiturs. I stayed up late, lost a lot of sleep and finally, just a month or so ago, decided it was ready.

Then last week I found another typo.

Such is the life of a writer, and that’s the life I live…for the time being.

You can find my Synchronicity series at your favorite online book retailer, whether that be Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, etc. “Strange Path”, the short story that details the history of Hunter Drake, who makes his first appearance in Kaelyn and Jack’s timeline in Time Being, is available free on most outlets and here on this blog. And if you missed Out of Time before, never fear…it’s now available for $1.99, so it’s more affordable than ever to join in the adventure!

Stay tuned here and, if you’re on Facebook, check out my Time Being Playlist celebration for news about giveaways all through the day! (I should have one set to go in about an hour…)

The art of action in Time Being

I had great fun writing action scenes in Time Being. This may be the most action-packed book I’ve written so far. Fighting, supernatural beings, and threats galore! Plus a smattering of physics, which is something I know very little about but if you’re going to write science fiction, you better be able to fake it. Two excerpts today illustrate the action content of Time Being. The first is Jack’s first encounter with Drake, Kaelyn’s long-lost uncle who’s not terribly happy about being found.

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I’ll leave it there so you’ll be eager to find out how, exactly, Jack manages to get out of this one. But one more scene, this one featuring Kaelyn and the Raven Mocker you might remember from Out of Time…

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I hope you’ll join me here Wednesday for the all-day release party of Time Being, Book Two of the Synchronicity series. And if you missed out on Out of Time before, don’t worry, I’ll be giving away copies of both books on Wednesday! So join me and find out what Synchronicity is all about.

Another excerpt: Time Being just five days away!

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Fur Babies and Heartbreak

For those who don’t know, it’s been a rough couple weeks in my household while dealing with pets. My cat, who has been sick for roughly a month, tested positive for feline leukemia last week, even though she was negative as a kitten and is completely indoors. Well, she’s been on antibiotics and steroids and things are looking up for her, thankfully. However, we were dealt a horrible blow two days ago when my sweet, valiant little Freddy, who was spending time in the backyard with our other dog, was bitten by a copperhead. He died about three hours later. I have this horrible, haunting, heartbreaking feeling that I somehow, unwittingly, traded the life of one beloved pet for another. I’m grateful for my cat’s recovery, but I miss my dog. So I wrote this for both of them.

For Freddy

By Michelle Garren Flye

 

The beauty that remains

Can’t take your place

Though she may try.

She can’t fill the dark shadow

Left by your absence.

She may comfort and help,

She may make me smile,

And her purrs may even delight.

I’m glad my beauty remains,

But my heart will always miss

The spot you once filled.

Time Being Excerpt

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A Poem and Some Words of Wisdom

Yesterday my daughter (finally) celebrated her tenth birthday with some friends and we took them all to see “Wonder Woman”. In such a strange place, I heard some eternal words of wisdom.

“Everyone is fighting their own battles.” –Wonder Woman

Yes, I thought, not even knowing then what I know now. That is very true.

 

If You Leave

By Michelle Garren Flye

 

If you leave, does the movie end?

Or do we hit pause and sit in the dark,

Waiting to hear your step?

If you stop reading, does the book end?

Is the story never fully told

Because the bookmark never moves?

If a life is abandoned too early,

What to do with questions left unanswered,

Dreams and promises left unfilled?

If you leave, do we wait in silent agony?

No, though our tears fall quietly—we turn

The page and march toward story’s end.

 

Time Being: The countdown begins!

What with sick cats and cars and failing computers and historic Senate appearances, I’ve nearly forgotten what’s really important (well…). Time Being emerges from its chrysalis on June 21! Book two of my Synchronicity series follows the adventures of Meti Queen Kaelyn and her Elf King Jack. And they’re joined by one of my favorite characters ever, Hunter Drake. He’s Kaelyn’s uncle. He’s an Elf sorcerer. He’s magical, mysterious and nobody’s sure what his motives are.

Are you intrigued yet?

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My latest poem: “Twisting Hate” (for 45)

Twisting Hate

By Michelle Garren Flye

Twisting words to kick the wounded.

Twisting hate to bind us all.

Twisting rope into a noose.

Without love or truth, you maul.

We’re twisting in the wind,

Left to hang without liberty.

Twisting, hanging, longing…

For the return of sanity.