Cate Masters's Blog, page 61

Space and time

For most writers, space and time present the greatest challenges. For me, they're more like obstacles to hurdle, but that's another story. :)

One of my favorite creative people, John Cleese, shares his tips for fostering creativity in the videos below. If you don't have time to watch (though they're well worth the time), here are the five factors Cleese says you can work to your advantage:

1. Space - “You can’t become playful, and therefore creative, if you’re under your usual pressures.”
2. Time - “It’s not enough to create space; you have to create your space for a specific period of time.”
3. Time - “Giving your mind as long as possible to come up with something original” 
4. Confidence - “Nothing will stop you being creative so effectively as the fear of making a mistake"
5. Humor - “The main evolutionary significance of humor is that it gets us from the closed mode to the open mode quicker than anything else.”




And here's a longer version:

Infringement avoidance

Trolling the Internet for images has become a bit like fishing in shark-infested waters these days. I've always tried to be very careful about what images I use but the recent post by author Roni Loren who was sued for posting images on her blog made me more wary. You can read her cautionary tale here.

I believed the images I found for my book videos were legal, but because I'm not certain, I've deleted all but two from YouTube. As much as I loved the book videos and took such pains in making them, I don't have the resources to fight a legal battle. And I would never consciously share another artist's copyrighted work. So I'm slowly rebuilding them, after searching for copyright-free images, or using my own plus the cover images, as in this new video for Death Is A Bitch:



That was a stunning sunset over the orchards behind my house. It captured the mixture of awe and warning I needed.

My one conundrum is my blog series Casting Call, in which I post photos of the actors I virtually cast in my stories as I write. I'll have to figure out a workaround for that. Just listing their names would be boring, and often I'll find a pic that really embodies the character.

I've been going through old posts and removing graphics, but with more than one thousand posts, it's an ongoing process. Unfortunately, from now on the blog will be less decorative and appear more utilitarian. Guess I'll have to start taking a lot more photos and posting those instead, like this one -- one of my garden peppers that, when I sliced it open, revealed this happy face. A sign from the universe that everything will be all right!

Summertime

Ah, summer. One note of a summer-themed song, and I'm singing along, and humming it the rest of the day. Music influences so many writers, including myself. I don't keep playlists, as some do, but sometimes a song will trigger a story. Other times, I weave musical influences into my stories.

In any case, summer's a great time for both music and reading. Hard to believe this summer's almost over, isn't it?

Blog hops and other events have thrown my regular Monday-Wednesday-Friday schedule off of late. But that's what summer's all about, really - getting away from the drudgery of a relentless schedule.

Do you have favorite summer "beach" reads? Do you distinguish between summer reads and your reading the rest of the year? I don't - I read any genre anytime. Right now, Dean Koontz's Odd Thomas has me captivated. I am in love with his writing and have to read the series.

What do you like to read in the summer? Or listen to?

Here are a few summer songs, classic and newer ones:









And a quick reminder for this weekend's Western Blurb Fest!

If you write stories set in the West, whether historical or contemporary, come share your blurb this weekend at TBR!

Blog hop winners and another friend's news

Thanks to everyone who visited for the Last Days of Summer Blog Hop! I really appreciate the positive reception for my two giveaways. And am grateful for my new blog and FB followers!

And now, for the winners...



Heather (Red Headed Bookworm) has won the ebook of Going with Gravity









Denise Z has won the ebook of The 12 Dancing, Zombie-Killing Princesses.






Congrats! I'll email you your ebooks today. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them.

Thanks again for making the blog hop such a success!

Congratulations to Susan Gourley on the release of Beneath the Mountain!

Here's the blurb:

Beneath the Mountains continues the battle in the kingdom of Futhark. Marshal Cage Stone and his brother, King Jonared have pushed the demons out of the city of Futhark and regained the throne from the usurper. But they both know the peace is fragile and the demon solution is only temporary. Cage picks up the first hints of the evil power behind the plagues of illnesses and violence spreading throughout the city and into the countryside. He races to capture the demon lord before Keeper Sabelline Shelton embarks on a desperate mission to forever close off the opening to the underworld beneath the mountains towering over the city. Sabelline and Cage both believe going beneath the mountain will be a trip of no return.

Isn't that a cool cover? Check Susan's blog for more info on how you can get your copy. It's on my TBR list! [image error]

Blogger friends' news

If you're looking for the Last Days of Freedom Blog Hop, click here or scroll to the post below this one. Thanks!
 
Congrats to Ciara Knight on the release of Weighted!

Here's the blurb:

The Great War of 2185 is over, but my nightmare has just begun. I am being held captive in the Queen’s ship awaiting interrogation. My only possible ally is the princess, but I’m unsure if she is really my friend or a trap set by the Queen to fool me into sharing the secret of my gift. A gift I keep hidden even from myself.  It swirls inside my body begging for release, but it is the one thing the Queen can never discover. Will I have the strength to keep the secret? I’ll know the answer soon. If the stories are true about the interrogators, I’ll either be dead or a traitor to my people by morning.  


Isn't that a gorgeous cover? Check Ciara's blog for details on how you can get your copy!


Congrats to Lorrie Struiff on the release of The COD Series!

Here's the blurb:

Winnie Krapski hugged a cherry tree during a lightning storm. The bolt slammed her, splitting the tree in half. The near-death experience bestowed her with a gift–one she’d rather not have.
Drafted into the C.O.D. Club (Call on the Dead) by Fat Phil Phillips, her mission is to grant the newly deceased’s ghost one last reasonable request. Can Winnie honor her oath?

Check Lorrie's web site for details on how you can get your copy!




Congrats to Maria Zannini on the (almost) release of Mistress of the Stone!

Officially, release day is August 28, but if you pre-order, you get a great deal - only $3.85 from Samhain Publishing.

Here's the blurb:

She was ready for his steel, but not for his flesh.
Luísa Tavares has a list of sins the length of the Antilles, but there’s no time to repent for them now. When a pockmarked Frenchman hands her Papa’s ring—still attached to his severed finger—she orders the Coral back to the Caribbean, despite her father’s earlier warning never to return.
It’s Luísa’s luckless fate that the only man who can help her is a blasted Inglés pirate hunter who’s more dead than alive and locked in a curse he doesn’t want lifted. Worse, his feral sensuality sparks a hunger she can’t ignore.
Xander Daltry hadn’t planned on kidnapping this wild woman—or succumbing to his uncontrollable desire for her. But he needs Luísa and the moonstone she wears around her neck to rescind a witch’s spell. His sister, long dead, and others like her have been cursed to remain in the mortal plane for eternity. Only the stone can set them free.
The only way to convince the reluctant pirate queen to help him is to withhold one small bit of the truth. For if she learns who really betrayed her father, the longing in her fiery eyes could easily turn to murderous wrath…

Check Maria's site for more details!

Congrats to Marva Dasef on the release of Setara's Genie!

Here's the blurb:

Abu Nuwas sits in the bazaar on his threadbare rug; a cup and sign proclaim him a teller of tales. For one small coin, he bids passers by to listen. A poor girl, Najda, sells spices from a tray. Would he, she asks, trade a tale for a packet of spice? Abu Nuwas agrees and begins the epic adventures of a girl and her genie.
As did Scheherazade before him, Abu leaves Najda hanging in the middle of each yarn to keep her coming back.
He relates the adventures of the bored daughter of a rich merchant, Setara, and her genie, Basit, as they encounter the creatures of legend and folklore: a lonely cave demon seeking a home; a flying, fire-breathing horse who has lost his mate; a dragon searching for his family; an evil genie hunting for the man who put him in a lamp; and a merboy prince cast out of his undersea kingdom.

Available from MuseItUp Publishing. Catch up to Marva on her blog tour.

All these titles feature strong female heroines, so they all appeal to me. How about you?

Fever Dreams, contemporary with fantasy elements

Looking for the Last Days of Summer Blog Hop? Click here or scroll down.


Fever Dreams is now revised and re-released - and free!
It's available on Smashwords and all affiliated sites.
Here's the blurb:
When Diana Taylor changes jobs, she doesn’t expect it to change her life. Meeting Cal opens up a new world of passion. He encourages her to pursue her passion for photography. Her love overwhelms her, blurs the line between reality and dreams. But is it love or obsession?

I hadn't planned to re-release this title, but kept seeing copies for sale by others. It's very discouraging to have to deal with illegal downloading. If readers are interested in Fever Dreams, you are welcome to it. If you enjoyed it, I hope you'll consider leaving a review.


Thanks to Eternal Press, which first released this novel!

Last Days of Freedom Blog Hop

[image error] Wow summer has flown by! Hard to believe August is more than half over. But though the days already are growing shorter, there's plenty of life left in summer, so let's make the most of them!

Thanks to I Am A Reader, Not A Writer for hosting this blog hop! Be sure to visit all the participating blogs for a chance to win tons of goodies.

My two giveaways
Going with Gravity (ebook)
Contemporary romance novella (sensual heat level)
Set in Oahu (where there's endless summer, ahhh)
2011 EPIC finalist

Here's the blurb: Publicist Allison Morris plans her own life – what’s left of it – around the life of her boss Michelle McCarter, the ex-wife of a famous rock star. When Michelle needs emergency public relations patchwork in Hawaii pronto, Allison arranges a flight to the dream destination. At the airport, she meets Wes Hamilton, a six-foot-three sun-bleached blond whose blue eyes and dazzling smile rekindle her fizzled-out sizzle. A world-renowned surfer, Wes captivates her with his charm and wit, though his easy fame and on-the-edge lifestyle are the polar opposite of her own. When their jet loses its fuselage in mid-air, she takes advantage of what she thinks are her last minutes alive with Wes. The plane lands safely. Wes takes care of her when her carefully constructed life begins to unravel. When Michelle accuses Allison of using Wes to gain fame for herself, Allison’s world falls apart in an explosive confrontation. Wes is waiting with open arms when she has nowhere else to go, but can Allison learn to stop planning and go with gravity?

The 12 Dancing, Zombie-Killing Princesses (ebook)Paranormal/horror/futuristic romance (sweet heat level)My latest releaseHere's the blurb:Meilin’s never believed in fairy tales. Happy ever afters might have happened in the old days – before zombies. But this is 2089, and the zombies beyond City are nothing like the ones your parents warned you about.When their father promises riches to the one who can rid their city of zombies, the twelve King sisters rush to develop a solution that won’t bankrupt Dad. The war overseas left Will disillusioned, but fighting zombies at home is a cause he can embrace. Meilin’s another. Tough but sweet, she might make him believe in life again, and maybe even love, if she doesn’t kick his ass first.When zombies kidnap her family, Meilin must rescue them. But can she and Will save them from the worst fate of all?
How to enter

I'm going to make this easy. Just leave a comment on this post and let me know which ebook you'd like to win. That's it! Though I wouldn't object if you decided to follow my blog or like my Facebook page. :) And I hope you'll bookmark my blog and visit again.

Don't forget to visit the other participating blogs. Enjoy the rest of your summer!

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Casting Call: The Twelve Dancing, Zombie-Killing Princesses

While I'm writing, stories play in my head like movies, often very vividly. In my blog series Casting Call, I reveal who played each character's part.

While you might think The Twelve Dancing, Zombie-Killing Princesses has a huge cast, it actually doesn't. Twelve sisters is too much for one story, though the Grimms may not have thought so. :)  In my modern version, I name less than half, and only three play major roles.

The sisters, all adopted, are all the same age, but the others sometimes tease the heroine, Meilin, because she's technically the youngest. (As the youngest of seven, I sympathize with her!)

Their father, who's also mayor of the futuristic City, had them privately tutored, so the girls are well-educated. Their skills go way beyond academics, and they love to put their knowledge to practical use in their private lab.

Meilin puts her technical expertise to work on several systems to eliminate the zombie colony beyond City. Its boundaries sometimes feel like a prison and she wants to break free, and help other cities reopen by using her knowledge where needed.

Lucy Liu was always Meilin in my head.

Four years of military service left Will disillusioned. Returning home to the awful conditions in City, he realizes life will never be worthwhile until the zombies are destroyed. He doesn't have much left to lose, and everything to gain - especially Meilin. Had she not been privately schooled, he'd have made a play for her a long time ago.

Once he discovers she has the same goal in mind - eradicating the zombies - he's ready to take them on.

Ryan Gosling's quiet intensity makes him perfect as Will.

Zoe's technically the oldest of the sisters, and takes the role, and life, seriously. She's bossy and tough, aggressive and abrasive.

Uma Thurman would make a wonderful Zoe.


Lakshme's very close to Meilin, but also tries to be Switzerland during battles between the two. Like her sisters, she's a genius at technical systems, and is pretty handy with a gun, too.

Wonderful accent and all, Reshma Shetty is Lakshme.


Mr. King adopted his twelve daughters as infants, but unfortunately his wife died a few years later. He did his best to parent them, but after the rise of the zombies, had to leave his position as a scientist to become Mayor of City.

Harrison Ford's lopsided smile always reminded me of my own Dad, so he's Mr. King.

Reconstructed from a zombie attack, Dory was saved before the pathogen fully turned her. Mr. King paid for surgery to amputate and replace her arms and legs, so she jokes there’s not much left of her still human except her heart. Half her face is reconstructed because the zombie went for her brains. She’s fiercely dedicated to the girls, and in love with Mr. King.
I always imagined Jeri Ryan as Dory.
Nevin Duquesne came to a tragic end - so everyone thought. Until he reappeared as a zombie. Once Mr. King's trusted advisor and friend, now Nevin has no conscience, and his only motivations are greed and revenge.
Gary Oldman would be wonderful as Nevin.
So other than the requisite extras, that's the cast of The Twelve Dancing, Zombie-Killing Princesses. Hope you've enjoyed this Casting Call.  

The Twelve Dancing, Zombie-Killing Princesses is available from Smashwords and Amazon.

New release! The 12 Dancing, Zombie-Killing Princesses

August is a crazy month. I have another new release! Today, it's a fast, fun read that's a futuristic take on one of my favorite Grimm fairy tales, The Twelve Dancing Princesses. If you're not familiar with this particular Grimm story, you can check it out here. But while the original version contained no zombies, I wanted to give it a modern twist.

I had thought of subbing the novella around, but after finding this image, it was too perfect to pass on.

The Twelve Dancing Zombie-Killing Princesses is available at Amazon and Smashwords.

Here's the blurb:

Meilin’s never believed in fairy tales. Happy ever afters might have happened in the old days – before zombies. But this is 2089, and the zombies beyond City are nothing like the ones your parents warned you about.When their father promises riches to the one who can rid their city of zombies, the twelve King sisters rush to develop a solution that won’t bankrupt Dad.The war overseas left Will disillusioned, but fighting zombies at home is a cause he can embrace. Meilin’s another. Tough but sweet, she might make him believe in life again, and maybe even love, if she doesn’t kick his ass first.When zombies kidnap her family, Meilin must rescue them. But can she and Will save them from the worst fate of all?

Inspiration and work ethic ride right next to each other

Those are the words of Jack White. Wise words. There are many more in this three-minute video, packed with great information writers can apply to their own work – basically, that success and “having it made” can kill your creativity. You get too comfortable with the way things are set up, and you have nothing to challenge you. So he manufactures his own tension in hundreds of little ways for his performances, and doing this forces him to create something new and different each time.
The same is true for writers. It’s wonderful to reach new plateaus and experience breakthroughs, but then what? You have to keep setting the bar higher and higher. And treat it like a job:

“Inspiration and work ethic — they ride right next to each other…. Not every day you’re gonna wake up and the clouds are gonna part and rays from heaven are gonna come down and you’re gonna write a song from it. Sometimes, you just get in there and just force yourself to work, and maybe something good will come out."