Devorah Fox's Blog, page 38

Song of the Ocean

Wow, it looks like it’s all about me this month. I had an opportunity to contribute a guest post about the “Winds of Change” to All Authors Magazine and today it’s an interview by Susan Helene Gottfried on her West of Mars blog.
I especially pleased to do this one because I got to crow not only about Naked Came the Sharks but also about “Song of the Ocean,” the wonderful tune that Kelly Brown of The Bad Monkeys let me use as a soundtrack for the book trailer.

And if all that’s got you curious about Naked Came the Sharks, you’re in luck. It’s on sale this week on smashwords.com. Click on this link and enter REW25 when you check out for a 25% off discount.

Tag, I’m “it”

Mondays are Book Tag days and I have been tagged by John Howell. John is President of the Rockport Writers Group and his first novel, My GRL, just launched.

Thanks, John, for tagging me.

The rules of this tag are to answer the following four writing questions, and then tag three other authors. Next week, March 10, those three authors will answer the same questions and tag three others, and so the chain continues to grow. This will enable readers to get to know more authors and their books. It will also allow everyone to get to know these authors a little better.

I’m delighted to introduce you to Leslie Zemekis, author of Behind the Burly Q; Grey Wolf, author of The Slayer among other works, and Alesha Escobar, author of the Gray Tower trilogy. Such a mixed bag of genres there, you’re sure to find a new favorite.

Now, here are the questions that were put to me.

Questions:

1. What are you currently working on?

I’m currently putting the finishing touches on The King’s Redress, the third book in The Bewildering Adventures of King Bewilliam, a literary fantasy series. This was my National Novel Writing Month project for November, 2013. The draft is nearly finished then there will be lots of editing, beta- and proofreading and prepress with the goal of a Summer 2014 launch. At the end of Book Two, The King’s Ransom, King Bewilliam may have thought his problems were in the past, but he was wrong. In Book Three he finds that he doesn’t know whom to trust. I guess it’s true; it isn’t easy being king.

2. How does your work differ from others in the same genre?

Many fantasy stories have more sorcery and paranormality. When I started The Lost King I wanted to capture the plight of contemporary people who have survived a life trauma only to find nothing to “come home to” but I wanted to tell the story in a “once upon a time” fashion. As I continue through the series I am still exploring present-day issues such as parent/child relationships and duty versus desire. The magic and the monsters in The Bewildering Adventures of King Bewilliam stand for the seemingly insurmountable obstacles that rise up out of nowhere and block the path to achieving our goals. Or as one reader said about the medieval fantasy world setting, “The story could have taken place today” and that is indeed my intent.

3. Why do you write what you do?

I can’t seem to help it. The littlest thing like a TV commercial or a billboard gets me thinking “but what if…?” Before I know it, I’m drafting a novel.

4. How does your writing process work?

I usually begin with a character and a dilemma. In the last few years my novels have started as a National Novel Writing Month project. The challenge of NaNoWriMo is to write 50,000 words in 30 days, which doesn’t leave any time for hesitating or second-guessing. I do a brain dump—write whatever comes to my head. It’s like creating a quilt. I finish the marathon with collection of scenes like a box of fabric squares. Then I work with them to see how they fit together and add whatever’s necessary to complete the picture.

You can find The Lost King and The King’s Ransom on amazon.com as well as other online retailers like Barnes and Noble and Nook. And this week, they’re on sale on smashwords.com. Click on this link and enter REW25 at check-out for a 25% discount. The sale ends Saturday, Mar. 8 so don’t delay.

Winds of Change

March is off to a great start.
Check out All Authors Magazine Issue #3 The theme is “Winds of Change” and the editors asked me to contribute my thoughts about how becoming an author changed my life. You’ll also find reviews, poetry, author interviews and other great features about storytelling whether it’s books, movies, TV shows or on the Web.
The Lost King, The King’s Ransom and Naked Came the Sharks changed my life, and readers have told me they changed their life too. Will they change yours? If that’s got you curious you’ll be especially glad to know you can buy those books at a sale price this week. All three in e-book format are available from www.smashwords.com. You can select from a variety of e-book formats including epub and Kindle, whatever works for your -ereader. Use the code REW25  for 25% the list price for all three but hurry. The sale ends Saturday, March 8.

 

Making some noise

Here’s a cool new site where you can get a taste of Naked Came the Sharks. It’s called NoiseTrade. Check out the author bio, scan the book description, find way to connect with me online and enjoy the trailer.
Then download a sample chapter. You can even leave a tip as a token of your appreciation, isn’t that clever?

Look for The Lost King and The King’s Ransom, coming soon. And by all means, explore the other books and music too.

The Lost King found on L.M. David’s blog

Author L. M. David interviews me on her blog.
Check it out; Ms. David pried loose some disclosures never before revealed in an author interview. Plus her blog opens up windows to other books and others authors you’ll be glad you learned about as well as some fun factoids and writing tips.

And, I was tagged by fellow author John Howell who recently launched his first book, MY GRL. Visit his blog and get to know John and get introduced to a couple of others authors and their intriguing works. Then check back here Monday, Mar. 3. See how I answered the questions that Jo Robinson asked John and which authors I tag.

Giving it away

We hope you have enjoyed the 2nd Annual Addicted to Heroines Blog Tour, that you learned more about your favorite authors and heroines and discovered some new favorites.
Today’s the last day. We’ll soon be announcing the winner of the giveaway. We hope you had a chance to enter but if not, there’s still time to take advantage of one last bargain: my books. Like everything else the cost of doing business has gone up and next week so are the list prices of my books but for the rest of the week you can still get them at their current low prices.

Get them from amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, iBooks and other online print and e-book retailers. Click on the links in the sidebar. My international friends can find them on Kobo and Flipkart. If you’re local, you can also find them at the Port Aransas Art Center and the Family Center IGA in Port Aransas and the Estelle Stair Gallery in Rockport. Check them out from the Ellis Memorial Library, the Aransas County Public Library and the Corpus Christi Library.

Stay in touch with all the heroines on our blog and Facebook page. We’ll keep those updated with news about our latest works and links to interviews and reviews.

Thanks for your company on our 2014 Tour.

What keeps Elsa going?

  We caught up with Elsabetha Ehlers, heroine of Samantha LaFantasie’s Nepherium novella series, on the Addicted to Heroines Blog Tour.
Struggling to regain her memory after a traumatic event, Elsa doesn’t know who or what to trust but we were able to get her to open up to us.

Elsa, what do you think is people’s first expression of you?

I think the first thing people think is, “What happened to that poor girl?” Then try to be overly nice to me when they discover that I’ve lost my memories. It’s frustrating. I’m not a damsel in distress and coddling me doesn’t help. Making connections does.

Do you have any best friends?

Yes! I wouldn’t be where I am now without my team. Each person has been there for me, although no one means more to me than Noah. But it’s hard to put a specific value on the people you consider your family.

Does trouble always know where to find you? If it seems that way, why do you suppose that is?

Trouble does find me. I wish I knew. The answer has to be somewhere in my missing memories. I’m getting closer to remembering though. Little bits and pieces continue to come back to me, disjointed and scattered, but still coming back. Nothing that is of importance. Yet. 

What is your motto in life?

Caelum est semper infra praedominare. It means, heaven is always within reach. I don’t know why, but there is a meaning there that I haven’t remembered yet. I just know that there is a pull with this. Something that gives me hope and keeps me

You’re struggling with recovering your memory but you remember some things. What is one thing you learned that you never will forget?

There is something big that I remember in Echoes of Memories. That will be hard to forget. And once you read it, you’ll know why. But besides that, my first date with Noah, my first day at the Academy. Some of the times that give me hope I’ll someday be whole again.

What’s your most prized possession and why is it so important?

My teddy bear and my necklace. Both given to me by Noah. The bear is what Noah won for me on our first date. That was the day that I knew I couldn’t love anyone else.

What’s your idea for a perfect day?

Depends on what you mean by perfect day. Weather wise, I love the rain. I love remembering the good moments, those sometimes make my days more perfect than others. Rekindling friendships and getting back to my old routine. Continuing on my mission by getting one step closer to finding Alexander…

Some stranger says something about you that he/she heard. Is it good or bad? How do you react?

I would probably react with determination and be somewhat threatening to find that out who said it, but more than likely it would be a step to figuring out who I was before the accident. If it’s negative, it will probably give me a clue about Alexander or the Aagrarians. Either to throw me off track or pointing me in the right direction. If it’s good, I would beg to know more. Anything to know me again.

What is your greatest fear?

That I will fail. Fail at finding all my memories, and fail at stopping whatever it is that Alexander is planning to do to the world. Because I know with every thread of my being, it’s not good. And I’m afraid of regardless of the outcome, I will be left behind in some way or form. I don’t know why.

If you could change anything in the world, what would you change?

I never thought about it. I was taught never to live with regrets; that everything happens for a reason. Whether that reason is good or bad, there’s a lesson to learn from. A way to grow and become wiser. I can only keep moving forward and take my experiences with me.

Get to know Elsabetha even better in the Nepherium series of novellas and look for the third installment, Echoes of Memories, slated for publication later this year.

 

Have lunch with a heroine

  It’s Week Two of the Addicted to Heroines Blog Tour 2014.
We hope you’re still on tour with us because we’ve got more fun in store. Be sure to stop in at Tour Central and enter the contests and giveaways

We’re also offering a chance for you to have Lunch with a Heroine. We’ve all seen or have been asked the question, if you could have dinner with any character, who would it be? We’ve also all heard of fan fiction.

We’ll now’s your chance to do both and have the memory last FOREVER!
Here’s what you do: Visit our Facebook page and comment on the Lunch with a Heroine post which heroine of our tour you would eat lunch with. One lucky winner will get the chance to work exclusively with the author (and heroine) to create a fan fiction piece where YOU get to sit down with the heroine of your choice. Anything goes (mostly).

There’s a catch though… You have to comment TODAY! That’s right, as of midnight tonight, the chance to win will be gone. So get those comments in under the Facebook Lunch with a Heroines post! Good luck!

*Facebook does not endorse or represent this contest.
*Please note this will take place in a digital environment via email, Facebook, or agreed upon method. Winner will not actually sit down with author in person.

Holly in the hot seat

In Naked Came the Sharks, Holly Rivera Berry is chasing her dream of becoming an investigative reporter in San Francisco when she has to return to her hometown of Bonafides on the Texas Coastal Bend to settle her recently deceased father’s estate. She discovers that just before he died her father researched the possibility that via an old Mexican land grant the Rivera family owns The Gap, a natural channel to the Gulf of Mexico. Land speculators plan to erect luxury homes, resorts, hotels, and a casino along The Gap and Holly comes to doubt that her father died of natural causes.

We found Holly taking a break at a Bonafides beachfront bar, the Tropics. We bought her a margarita and some nachos and plied her with questions.

Andrea: Tell us about the San Francisco paper that you work for, the Mission Crier.

Holly: It’s a shopper, like the Pennysaver. Lots of classified ads plus some syndicated content like jokes, helpful household hints, Top Ten lists and trivia. It’s a two-person operation. My boss manages the distribution, sales, and negotiates the contracts, and I do the layout, paste-up and prepress.

Alice: Did you resent Rusty quitting your job for you?

Holly: I did. I’d about had it with arrogant men making decisions for me. I had to admit thought that although it was something I thought about doing but I wouldn’t have done it, or at least not so impetuously.

Alice: Did you ever call your boss to tell him that though Rusty spoke for you, you want to confirm that you want to quit and start your own more significant newspaper?

Holly: I did call to apologize and then I gave proper notice and arranged an exit that wouldn’t leave him in the lurch. That wouldn’t be professional. The newspaper biz is actually a fairly close-knit community. Burning bridges is not a good career move. I did tell him that I was thinking of starting my own publication. Since we parted on good terms, he said I could call on him if I needed advice.

Alice: Will you start that paper in a future book or will you make use of your detective talents and start an agency?

Holly: Start a paper, definitely. Being a journalist is like being a detective in some ways except I get to share what I’ve learned with a lot of people instead of just the person who hired me.

Alan: There should be consequences to murderer for this brutal act. Do you intend to prosecute? And inasmuch as the cartel group collectively hurt you too, the same question applies to each member of the cartel.

Holly: That’s a criminal act so pursuing all that would be up to the county court. If I’m called to testify of course I’ll tell what I know. Those crimes should be punished and those people shouldn’t get away with anything.

Alan: The Cartel members may be released from incarceration someday. Some might now be incarcerated at all. Do you have any fear they may try to hurt you again?

Holly: Now there’s a scary thought. I wouldn’t put it past them. I think the best thing that I can do is become a person to be reckoned with so they’re less likely to try.

Alan: Are you planning any civil lawsuits against cartel members? You obviously suffered at their hands.

Holly: So much has been going on, I really haven’t thought about that. I’m sure after a while I’ll get angry enough about what they did to want to take action but for now I want to look ahead, not back.

Alan: What will you name your new Bonafides newspaper?

Holly: Good question! You’d think since this is my dream I’d already have a name but I don’t. I have in mind to run a contest and invite people in the community to suggest a name. It would be a good way to get readers invested in the paper.

Alan: Do you think you will be successful if you attempt to convince Rusty to get his law license reinstated and him return to practice? If so, will he be a part in the Rivera land grant case?  Or, do you think Rusty is too close personally?

Holly: I don’t like being told what to do and by the same token I wouldn’t presume to tell Rusty how to manage his career. He enjoys being a fishing guide and he might not be real eager to get back into a suit and tie. But I think he’d be great and I’d certainly support him if he wanted to return to the legal profession. He certainly has gotten me interested in finding out more about the land grant but I would need help.

Alan: Do you trust your brother after all this?

Holly: Oh, poor Tres. He does have some issues, doesn’t he? I’ll always love him, but trust him? I want to be supportive and give him the benefit of the doubt. Let’s say I’ll proceed with caution.

Alan: Most importantly, what will become of Forceps?  Will Forceps learn some new and exciting phrases?

Holly: What a character he is. “Polly want a cracker” might be too much to hope for, but we can try.

Meet Alesha Escobar

Today you can meet another author on our Addicted to Heroines Blog Tour 2014, Alesha Escobar.
Like me, Alesha first picked up a pen at a young age, and illustrated her work too.

She’s come a long way from those youthful projects, having recently completed the third book in her Gray Tower trilogy. You’ll never see World War II the same way after you’ve read these books. You can get started with the series for free today.