Nicole Zoltack's Blog, page 45

Birthday Weekend Fun

So I promised that I would share what hubby had surprised me with for my birthday, so here it is.



First, we dropped the boys off at my parent's. The only time I was away from son #1 overnight was when son #2 was born so this was hard for me. Luckily, I have a ton of siblings and my boys had a great time away from us.



From my parents, we went to Shady Maple, a seriously awesome smorgasbord in Lancaster. After a filling and delicious breakfast, we shopped at the outlets and I got a great hat and purse.



After that, we went to see Rise of Planet of the Apes (which I enjoyed, btw, although it had some major plot issues and I HATE it when the best parts of a movie are given away in the trailer, which was the case here), and then had dinner at a great Italian restaurant. Italian food is by far my favorite and this place came highly recommended. Recommended by us now too.



But the night still wasn't over. Instead of going home, we went to stay at a B&B. First time ever, and I really enjoyed our stay. Breakfast the next day was amazing.



As for presents, they were all Eagles related. I'm a diehard Philadelphia Eagles fan. Hubby roots for the cowboys. My big present is that we're going to see the Eagles and the Cowboys in Philly. I can't wait! All I have to say is that the Eagles better win, lol



E-A-G-L-E-S, EAGLES!



Did you do anything special over the long weekend? Got any plans for this coming weekend? Do you like to be surprised for your birthday or are you like a little kid and want to know everything now?

The Door flash piece

 I hope everyone had a great weekend and Labor Day! Tomorrow, I'll share all the details about my amazing birthday weekend. For now though, I'm participating in my first ever Campaigner challenge. From Rachel Harrie's blog:

Write a short story/flash fiction story in 200 words or less, excluding the title. It can be in any format, including a poem. Begin the story with the words, "The door swung open" These four words will be included in the word count.



If you want to give yourself an added challenge (optional), use the same beginning words and end with the words: "the door swung shut." (also included in the word count)



For those who want an even greater challenge, make your story 200 words EXACTLY!

 Sounds like fun, right? Well, my story is exactly 200 words and opens and close with "The door swung open." (I know it doesn't end with shut but opens fits with the story.) I hope you like it!



 The door swung open. Simon entered the stuffy attic and sneezed. He wiped the snot on his sleeve and glanced around.



He opened the closest trunk. To his disappointment, there were only old clothes inside.



A loud rumble of thunder sounded, and Simon jumped, almost hitting his head on the low ceiling.



Toward the back of the attic, Simon found a tiny trinket box on a small, round pedestal. A bright, red light shone, radiating from a stone nestled on the soft velvet material inside the box.



The attic door opened, and Simon slammed the box shut and whirled around. "Hi, G-grandpa."



"Whatcha doing?" His grnadpa puffed from his pipe, and smoke encircled around his head.



"N-nothing."



Grandpa smiled and winked. He nodded toward the box. "There are some treasures up here, that's to be sure. But sometimes, treasure comes with a price." With that, Grandpa turned around and left.



A price? Simon didn't like the sound of that. He hurried after his grandpa and closed the attic door behind him.



But he couldn't stop thinking about the stone. A short time later, he found himself near the attic door. Would the price be worth it?



The door swung open.

Mind over Mind Book Review

Mind Over Mind by Karina L Fabian



From amazon: Deryl Stephen's uncontrollable telepathic abilities have landed him in a mental health institution, where no one believes in his powers. But when Joshua Lawson, a student of neuro linguistic programming, takes part in a summer internship, he takes the unique step of accepting Deryl's reality and teaches him to work with it. As Deryl learns control, he finds his next challenge is to face the aliens who have been contacting him psychically for years-aliens who would use him to further their cause in an interplanetary war.



My review: This book was a refreshing read, both fantasy and science fiction or science fantasy. The blending of the two genres was well done, but the best part for me was the character of Deryl. Strong and yet unsure, Deryl learns not only how to control his powers, he also learns who exactly he is. Mind over Mind is the first in a trilogy and a lot of times, the first books in trilogies tend to just stop and not have a real ending. Mind over Mind has a satisfying conclusion as it sets up for the second book. Thank you, Karina, for a worthwhile and entertaining read!

Telepathic Powers - Mind over Mind blog tour

Today (my birthday - 27!) I'm handing the blog over to Karina for her Mind Over Mind Book Tour. Take it away, Karina!



[image error] Would you want to have telepathic powers?  Nicole asked me this question because my latest novel, Mind Over Mind (DragonMoon Press) involves a psychic.  Deryl has had telepathy and telekinesis since he was thirteen.  Pretty cool, right?  Not for him.  In the daily onslaught of others' thoughts and emotions, he could barely remember his own name, much less get through a full day of school.  No one believed him, of course.  The telekinesis was worse, though--if he let his guard down, he could act upon a desire (his or someone else's) and hurt someone without realizing it.  By the beginning of the book, he's managed the most rudimentary of control, but it's still not enough for him to leave the asylum where he's been for most of his adolescence.

But for this blog, let's assume control.  Would I want telekinesis?  I don't think so.  People have secrets--from themselves, from each other--little things thought about in the heat of emotion or in daydreams but which should never see the light of day.  I don't want to be able to invade that kind of privacy--and, to be frank, I'm worried what I'd find there.  There's a great filk song about a guy who broke up with his girlfriend because he was telepathic and couldn't handle knowing her thoughts all the time.  TMI (Too Much Information) definitely plays here.

Maybe it could be useful to read others' thoughts now and again, but in my everyday life, I don't see a lot of use. It might be useful to know the thoughts of my teens, for example, but I still remember how my own thoughts went when I was in a teenage funk, and frankly, I to this day do not know what anyone could have said or done to make me feel better, change my attitude, etc.  Sometimes, I just had to work things out myself; sometimes, something would just happen to make life better.  Frankly, I think a lot of times when someone is upset or disappointed, there's not particular answer they need--or at least, that they can spell out.  So really, telepathy would only help me if it also came with the ability to know what to do about what I'd just "read."  Then, of course, it would also have to be something that is workable for me as well--and how awful would it be to know that the only way to make a person feel better would be something that violated your own happiness--or worse yet, your principles?

No, telepathy does not appeal to me--and it didn't appeal to my character Deryl in Mind Over Mind, either.  Unlike me, he's stuck with his ability.  Fortunately, in the book, he has the help of a psychiatric intern and a good friend to help him survive it.

Title:  Mind Over MindAuthor:  Karina FabianISBN:  978-1897942369Amazon Link Kindle Link

Back Cover Blurb/summary:  Deryl Stephen's uncontrollable telepathic abilities have landed him in a mental health institution, where no one believes in his powers.



But when Joshua Lawson, a student of neuro linguistic programming, takes part in a summer internship, he takes the unique step of accepting Deryl's reality and teaches him to work with it. As Deryl learns control, he finds his next challenge is to face the aliens who have been contacting him psychically for years—aliens who would use him to further their cause in an interplanetary war.

Bio of Karina Fabian:  Unlike her characters, Karina Fabian lives a comfortably ordinary life.  Wife to Air Force Colonel Robert Fabian and mother of four, her adventures usually involve packing and moving, attending conventions, or giving writing and marketing advice in one of her many workshops.  She's always had an overactive imagination, however, and started writing in order to quell the voices in her head--characters who insisted on living lives in her mind and telling her their stories.  Winner of the 2010 INDIE award, winner and finalist for the EPPIE and finalist for the Global e-book awards, she's glad people enjoy reading the tales her characters tell.

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Excerpt:"Obviously. Did Edith tell you about the one time they did release me? The first thing I did was smash all the bottles in my uncle's liquor cabinet because the butler—yes, Joshua, they have a butler—is an alcoholic and was obsessing on it, had been obsessing on it for years. It was that or drink myself stupid, just because he wanted to. That was nothing. My aunt took meshopping. All those people, all those thoughts…It was like ants crawling in my skull. I was just managing to ignore them, and I felt this woman screaming—""'Felt?'""Yeah, felt. Inside my head. I couldn't help it. I snuck away from my aunt, followed the thoughts—she was so scared!—I found her in a part of the mall that was being renovated. This guy had her pinned. He was going to—" Ydrel broke off."What did you do?" Joshua asked.Ydrel shivered. "Beat him unconscious. Then I tried to knock myself out, too. See, he was so full of hate, and he wanted to— So I did, too. And the girl tried to stop me and I yelled at her and scared her all over again and I tried to run but the police showed up. So I ended up back here, where the environment, at least, is controlled, even if it isn't exactly normal. Even then, it's not always safe for me. Sometimes, Malachai puts someone in the room next to me…to study my reaction, sometimes to punish me." He looked up and his eyes were wide with fear. "I've got to get out of here, Joshua. It's not safe for me anymore."Joshua was beginning to think it wasn't safe for him either. The last thing he needed on his internship was to get caught up in some problem between a patient he wasn't supposed to be taking on, and the head of the institution—a friend of his father. Still…Earlier, when Ydrel had laughed at the idea of Joshua helping him, Joshua had moved his arm in a very deliberate way. Now he used that same motion to recall those feelings of hope and interest Ydrel had expressed. He waited as Ydrel calmed, watching him take a shaky breath and release his hold on his hair, his fingers running through the length, before he spoke again."We'll work on it, Ydrel."The younger man nodded."OK. You have some barriers. You've said that they work sometimes. I want you to think about one thing that keeps you here that your current barriers don't protect you from." He couldn't see Ydrel's eyes, for the patient had shut them, but waited for other cues."When my barriers work sometimes, or not at all?""Your choice.""The Miscria.""You don't have to tell—the what?" Curiosity got the better of him."The Miscria. It calls me, and when it does, I can't help it—I fall into this trance. I can be doing anything, even walking, and just—boom. Then I have to tell it everything it wants to know before it lets me go with some new assignment, and for weeks I'm studying God-knows-what until it calls me again.""You've lost me.""Information, Joshua." Ydrel opened his eyes and waved impatiently to the pile of books on his desk.Joshua walked over and examined the covers. "The Miscria wants to know military history?""Tactics. Swordsmithing. Triage. Medieval fortress architecture. So I go cra—I have to learn everything I can about the subject, and it just wants more. At least we have a good librarian. He humors me, you know."Joshua set down the book he was leafing through: Eye in the Sky, A Warfighter's Guide to Space Reconnaissance, by Felix Monroe."So this 'Miscria' calls you, you pass out in your oatmeal, and you tell it everything you know about whatever subject it's told you to study? So...ever refuse?"Ydrel blinked. "I— But it needs to know.""Why? Ever ask it?"Now Ydrel sat forward, dumbfounded. "I… It never occurred to me to ask.""How about going inside yourself and asking it now?"Ydrel shut his eyes, furrowed his brow. Joshua stayed standing by the desk, watching the young man first tense completely, then seem to relax every muscle, much the way someone under hypnosis would relax while remaining straight in their seat. Several minutes passed in silence before Ydrel shook his head. "I can't. It has to call me.""Then that's your first assignment. When it calls you, try this:  First, see if you can establish some kind of arrangement so that it doesn't call you at inconvenient times—you decide together what that means. Second, find out more about it, like why it needs this information so badly.""What if it refuses?""That's really up to you. Myself, I'd hold out. Blackmail can work wonders."Ydrel met his eyes in a steady gaze, not challenging and not trying to see into him, yet searching. "You don't believe me about the Miscria, do you? You think it's some weird part of my unconscious. You don't believe it's an outside entity."Joshua moved his hand as part of a shrug. It was a visual anchor he'd used many times and it was a natural movement for him. "It doesn't matter either way. The process works the same. Just give it a try. You don't have anything to lose." A yawn escaped his mouth, surprising him. He hadn't realized he was so tired. "I'm sorry, but I'm beat. Finish that drink off, if you want it, and go to bed. I'll see ya in the morning."He started for the door when Ydrel called him back. "Are we going to be friends? I mean, regardless of what Edith asked you to do?" he asked.He regarded him for a moment, a spoiled and snarky kid dealing with something he didn't think he could control. Josh could help him; he knew that. But be friends?Then he thought about how this spoiled kid had jumped up to protect the nurse he considered the one good person in his life. There was definitely more to him than met the eye.Joshua smiled. "Yeah, Ydrel. I think we are."

Introduction

For all the new followers from the Campaign, I thought I would introduce myself.



Hi, I'm Nicole! Writer has been my passion since forever. In grade school, I used to write stories during class. Yep, you could defiitely say I was born to be a writer!



I write across the board. I've written PBs, MG, YA, and for adults. Flash fiction, short stories, and novels. Fantasy (both based in a medieval-like world and urban), paranormal, dystophia, romance, horror.



I have a fantasy romance series through Desert Breeze Publishing (an epublisher). I also have a paranormal YA short story series through Echelon Press (another epublisher). Currently, I'm revising a PB that I plan on querying agents in a few weeks, as well as rewriting a MG fantasy.



When I'm not writing, I'm editing. I work as a freelance editor with Passionate Writer Publisher, a content and line editor for MuseItUp Publishing, and a content editor for eTreasures Publishing. I find being an editor to be very rewarding work.



Let's see... what else? I'm happily married to my college sweetheart, we just celebrated out 4th wedding anniversary. We have two sons, the youngest just turned one, the older will be three in October. I'm hoping that in February, I'll no longer be the only female in our family!



I love to watch movies and TV shows, and can't wait for The Vampire Diaries to return. I used to go horseback riding fairly often but since my first pregnancy, I haven't done back. Maybe once I'm done giving birth.



Oh, I have a B.S. in chemistry with a concentration in forensic science. So you would think I would write mysteries. I plan on it... eventually. Right now, I'm more of a panster and you have to be a plotter to write mysteries. But I will take at stab at it sometime in the future.



If you do to my website, you'll see a few of my wedding pictures. I love the Middle Ages so it's no surprise that we had a Renaissance-themed wedding.



Feel free to follow me on twitter or friend me on facebook or on goodreads. I'm on a fair amount of social networking sites. Just let me know, and I'll follow back!



I think that's enough for now. Glad to see so many new faces!

Favorite Summer Reads

Cherie Reich's Favorite Summer Reads Blogfest has already begun and will go through Saturday. Join up! It's a lot of fun! Here's the description: All you have to do is pick a favorite read (this year, this summer, years past) and write why it is your favorite read.



This summer I read to books that really struck a chord within me.



The first was Possession by Elana Johnson.



From Goodreads: Vi knows the Rule: Girls don't walk with boys, and they never even think about kissing them. But no one makes Vi want to break the Rules more than Zenn...and since the Thinkers have chosen him as Vi's future match, how much trouble can one kiss cause? The Thinkers may have brainwashed the rest of the population, but Vi is determined to think for herself.



But the Thinkers are unusually persuasive, and they're set on convincing Vi to become one of them...starting by brainwashing Zenn. Vi can't leave Zenn in the Thinkers' hands, but she's wary of joining the rebellion, especially since that means teaming up with Jag. Jag is egotistical, charismatic, and dangerous--everything Zenn's not. Vi can't quite trust Jag and can't quite resist him, but she also can't give up on Zenn.



This is a game of control or be controlled. And Vi has no choice but to play.



My thoughts:  I was able to get my hands on an ARC of Possession and let me tell you, I was stoked to read it! This book features a well-drawn heroine that you can't help but root for. Vi is playful and defiant and wants to do things her way. I love how fierce and loyal she is. She made the book for me.



And Jag. Don't get me started on Jag! Wonderful and handsome and dreamy... I am definitely team Jag!



This book is full of layers. Not just with the worldbuilding but with Vi's background. This book is fulled with so many ups and downs, it's like a wild roller coaster ride that will leaving you breathless and begging for more. The ending especially, it just killed me.



Possession is a book that I must get. I had to pass on the ARC I read, but boy, did I not want to.



Thank you, Elana, for a wonderful read that I cannot stop thinking about. And to me, that is a sign of a wonderful book.



The second was Delirium by Lauren Oliver.



From goodreads: Before scientists found the cure, people thought love was a good thing. They didn't understand that once love -- the deliria -- blooms in your blood, there is no escaping its hold. Things are different now. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the governments demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena Holoway has always looked forward to the day when she'll be cured. A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy.



But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable: She falls in love.





My thoughts: Delirium was a heart-wrenching read. A world where love is thought of as a disease? How horrible! At first, Lena believes the scientists and counts the days until she'll be cured. This is definitely one of the most romantic dystopias I've read yet. The ending leaves you breathless and dying to learn more about Lena and her struggles to become an adult, who chooses love over order.





And now for a book that I've read over and over in summers past.





Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery



I can't tell you the number of times I've read this book. I love Anne - she'll always be one of my favorite heroines! Feisty, with a temper, not afraid to speak her mind, always getting into mischief and fun. A wonderful start to a wonderful series that is a must-read for all girls.





Well, those are a few of my favorite summer reads. What are yours?

Love Me Some Football!

I'm a huge football nut. As part of Steph Burkhart's football blog tour, I blogged about being a diehard Eagles fan. I hope you check it out!

Third Writers' Platform-Building Campaign

I decided to sign up for the Third Writers' Platform-Building Campaign by the awesome Rachael Harrie.



From Rachael's blog: There are so many of us out there. Aspiring authors, bloggers (whether established or beginning), industry peeps, even published authors, all of whom want to build their online platforms. We write insightful posts and articles, actively blog within the blogosphere, take part in challenges, competitions, and contests galore.



We have the passion and the drive to make it, but…we could all do with a bit of support.



So I started thinking. What if we link all these people together? What if we create a way to meet people in a similar position, people who genuinely want to help build our online platform while at the same time building theirs? People who want to pay it forward in the spirit of writerly writerness and blogging beautificity (and see it come back to them in turn).



And so, my Writers' Platform-Building Campaign was born.



To learn more and sign up, click here.

Awesome Contest for Readers

Missy over at Missy's Reads & Reviews is celebrating reaching 1000 followers by having a huge giveaway with 6 different prize packs! Details can be found at her blog. Good luck!

Write on Con and Author Spotlight

Write On Con is a seriously awesome FREE online writers conference for PB, MG, and YA writers. Some many awesome blog posts and live chats, and the forums are amazing - so much feedback from other writers and even ninja agents that are going around, leaving comments and sometimes requests!



I've been hanging around the forums a ton and posted several queries (for Elena's Pen and 3 picture books) as well as the first 250 words and first 5 pages of Elena's Pen. I've been having the most trouble with Elena's Pen's query, so I would love it if you guys could stop on by and help me out, if you have the time! Here's the revised thread: http://writeoncon.com/forum/showthread.php?7561-MG-Fantasy-ELENA-S-PEN-Revised And here's the original thread (if you want to see where I started from) http://writeoncon.com/forum/showthread.php?6419-MG-Fantasy-ELENA-S-PEN



Also, I'm in the Author Spotlight for Joyfully Reviewed!