Bruce Blake's Blog, page 16
July 16, 2012
New from Emily Ann Ward
The curse is broken, but the war isn’t over. Grace is under the spell of a love potion, torn between her obsessive love for the prince and her calling to protect Dar and the shape changers. Though Dar wants nothing more than her freedom, he’s being held as a prisoner in the palace and watched at every turn. Miles away, Sierra is the reluctant savior of the shape changers as she tries to keep Evan alive in his lust for blood.
Grace and Dar struggle to make the political alliances needed to bring the shape changers back home while dealing with new doses of the love potion. But the king sides with the Protectors, who are willing to do anything to keep the magic away, even controlling the kingdom. When the man who cursed the shape changers ten years ago reappears at the castle, the Avialies abandon their attempts at peace in order to keep their family’s future secure. The consequences of their actions catapult a sequence of events that threatens Grace, Sierra, and the Avialies in ways they could have never prepared for.
In this sequel to Promising Light, the war is just beginning, and no war is without casualties.
Promising Light: Grace, a young noble, must decide whether to help a shape changer family break a curse set on their family by the powerful Protectors.
Goodreads for Promising Light: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13289252-promising-light
Goodreads for Promising Hope: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15722722-promising-hope
Author Website: http://emilyannward.com/
Author’s Newsletter for news and future giveaways of Promising Hope: http://eepurl.com/jz6EH
July 15, 2012
Laci Paige on Names and Titles
Naming things is one of the great challenges that writers face. Whether its a character, the name of the town in which your main character resides, or the title of the book, there is much to decide. Should there by symbolism on the name? Should it tell something about the character or town? Does the book’s title tell the reader something about the subject matter and draw them in to wanting to read it? This week, my guest Laci Paige shares with us about her erotic novella.
Names and Titles
When I named the characters in my erotic novella, Let’s Keep On Truckin’, I didn’t have or use a method. I just used the first name that popped into my head. From there I decided what they would look like based on the name I’d given them.
Now that’s totally backwards from my usual method. I usually see what they look like first and then name them. But when I wrote this one it was an experiment. One that seemed to
work out, so maybe I will use this method again.
As far as the title, I knew I wanted to use a title with the word “truck” or something driving related. One of the three characters in this story is a long distance truck driver.
I played around with different kinds of catch phrases and CB radio terms before I actually settled on one. The working title was simply labeled as “Truck”.
Some of my ideas were: 10-4 Good Buddy, Double Nickels, & Keep on Truckin’. I figured the average person might not know the first two terms as not everyone has ever used a CB radio in their lives, and so I settled on the last one and added Let’s in front of it for my own twist.
Let’s Keep On Truckin’ is available on most online eBook stores.
July 12, 2012
All Who Wander Are Lost – Cover Reveal
The second Icarus Fell novel, All Who Wander Are Lost, is set for release on Tues., July 17. To celebrate, the electronic version of the book will be available for on ly $0.99 for a limited time, and the first Icarus novel, On Unfaithful Wings, will be FREE July 19-21!
Watch this space over the next few days for more details, teasers and excerpts.
But first…the new cover
Now don’t be shy; tell me what you think.
July 8, 2012
The Real Story Behind Cursed Awakening by Nikki Noffsinger
When I read a book I enjoy, I often find myself wondering “where did that come from?” Most times, I never find out the answer, but today, Nikki Noffsinger let’s us in on the inspiration behind her novel Cursed Awakening. Thanks for taking the time to visit, Nikki.
A question was posed, “What inspired your latest novel?” Before I answer that I have answer what inspires me period. The answer is simple-everything. I get inspiration from just about anything. The first story I ever wrote was about the mermaids that lived in the lake outside of our house that became ducks during the daytime. I had a very great English teacher my junior year in high school, Mr. Moritz that gave a very interesting assignment one day. He spread out several ordinary items on his desk and we were to come and take a look. When we took our seats he gave each of us a number. Whatever number we had that was our object and we were to create a story, essay, poem, one act play, or comic about it. My object was a small compass. My story was what morphed into Guardian of the Night. So I think that it just goes to prove that I can literally write about anything and there are very few things that I can’t derive some sort of inspiration from.
So how was Cursed Awakening born? Scoot up and take a seat. This is a pretty detailed story. Several things took place when the conception of Cursed Awakening came out. Cursed Awakening is a book about a wolf shifter who falls for a woman who is determined to have her own life and new beginning after fleeing from a religious cult against some pretty big odds. Believe it or not the love story was not what came first. Actually I had watched Aliens 2 and that night when I had gone to bed, I had a horrible nightmare. It wasn’t of Aliens but it was of something else; something sinister with sickly pale greenish-yellow skin and glowing green eyes. It had blackened serrated teeth and moved like a jungle cat but only faster. I was running from this creature that made a horrible hissing with an almost insect like noise. To say the least, I woke up and didn’t go back to bed for awhile. About a month or so later I was watching a show on 20/20 about the Lost Boys and young girls who had either been cast out or had run away from a certain church known for atrocious polygamy practices. There is where the story began forming. I had a clear image of Ivy in my head as well as the creature feature. However I was still missing a piece to the puzzle-the hero. It didn’t take me long to figure out that I wanted to try my hand at writing a shifter character but I also wanted him to be Native American. Now before all you Twi-fans start thinking I’ve ripped off Team Jacob let me tell you why. Not only is Indian lore and history one of my favorite topics but on an episode of Oprah she highlighted the plight of so many Native Americans that live on reservations everywhere. Many of these places are in such poor conditions. Native Americans; the very first people that inhabited our country and they are all but forgotten it seems. My grandmother has long supported the St. Bonaventure mission that helps the Navajo nation and I have always been an avid supporter of many Native American causes that includes the freeing of Leonard Peltier. Before I knew it Nyx Wahpeton was born.
Monet found inspiration with landscapes and hay stacks in the French countryside. Degas couldn’t stop painting and sculpting ballerinas and dancers. Van Gogh found inspiration in the starry night sky and sunflowers. Me, I find inspiration in everything and with Cursed Awakening, I was inspired by true things that made a great fictional work. So while there may not be any sunflowers, ballerinas, or gentle mounds of drying grasses; Cursed Awakening is a story of survival, new beginnings, learning to trust not only with the eyes but with the heart, and much more. Plus it begs the reader to make a contrast to the real monsters in the story and it has some pretty gruesome ones in it inspired by a nightmare and urban myth.
So tell me, what inspires you? What monsters lurk in your nightmares? If you’ve not read Cursed Awakening, what are you waiting for? When you are reading a book what things are you looking for to grab your attention and what keeps you turning the page.
Author’s Bio~
Nicole Noffsinger or Nikki as she is known is a 37 year old mother of two children and has always loved writing and creating stories from a young age. She lives with her family in a mid-sized Indiana town. Aside from writing she has an eclectic taste in both music and art, loves to travel, and has a great love of all things that go “bump” in the night.
Links:
http://nikkitrueblue.blogspot.com/
https://www.facebook.com/nicole.noffsinger
https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Realm-Of-Author-Nikki-Noffsinger/191125007586215
http://nikkitrueblue.livejournal.com/
http://www.amazon.com/Nikki-Noffsinger/e/B00870O95C/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1340343792&sr=1-1
July 1, 2012
Flash Fiction with Raymond Frazee
I imagine the main reason most authors agree to join blog tours is to gain exposure. God knows, there’s not much I like doing more than exposing myself, but there is a secondary benefit in that you get to meet and get to know other writers.
I’ve never met Raymond Frazee. My only exposure to the man has been through his Facebook posts and updates, which always include phrases like: “I’ve just finished editing…” or “I wrote XX words today”, or “I finished writing this section of…”. Honestly, it seems like Raymond does nothing but write, which makes me a little bit jealous, but also has me looking forward to this week’s post in which Ray shares a piece of flash fiction with us.
Kathy stood upon the beach, smiling up at the tree. It looked so strange there, set in such a precarious position over the hollow in the cliff wall. Anyone walking along this stretch of beach would think it was going to fall over and be swept into the ocean.
Kathy knew better.
Nate was a co-worker who pestered the hell out of her. He wouldn’t leave her alone. He asked her out a couple of times, and the answer was always the same—“No.” No way was she interested in him.
But that didn’t keep him from being a pain in her ass. Some people would call it stalking; Nate called it being “persistent.” She was about to go to the police when . . . she was doing her morning run. Nate was waiting. Nate tried to talk, and Kathy was having none of it. He punched her, almost knocking her out, and while she was down—
He laughed about it afterward, telling her, as he zipped up, that he was “spreading his seed.” Kathy saw the smug, sociopathic look on his face, and instantly knew what she was going to do.
“You didn’t get me pregnant,” she said, looking up at the tree. “A hell of a case of Chlamydia, though; gawd knows who else you’ve been with—or raped.” Kathy smiled, but it was far from a humorous smile. “Now you get to keep spreading your seed—though not in the way you’d probably expected.
“As for me, I could have gotten in trouble with transforming you. Maybe I did . . . my girlfriend is pregnant with triplets. Like they say: what you send out, comes back to you three-fold.” This time her smile was much warmer. “When the girls are born, I’ll make sure we come here so you can see . . .”
Author Bio
A native of Northwest Indiana, Raymond Frazee has been writing from a very early age, but has only recently seen success. His first work, Kuntilanak, is a horror story self published on Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon, in September, 2011. His second story, Captivate and Control, is a story of mild erotica/BDSM, published on 6 May, 2012, by Naughty Nights Press, and also found on Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon. He current has two novels being reviewed for publication: one he calls “A modern steampunkish fantasy,” and the other he describes as “full of erotic horror”.
Follow me on:
Facebook: Author Raymond Frazee
Blog: Wide Awake But Dreaming
Also on Twitter
June 24, 2012
Guest Post by Allison Bruning: Go Deeper
When you are a writer, there a few rules that must be followed if you are to be successful: write everyday; don’t write the parts people don’t want to read; write for yourself, edit for the reader; and read. My blog followers know from a previous post, I am a bad reader. Allison Bruning is a good reader. Not only does she read, she also pays attention while she’s doing it.
Go Deeper by Allison Bruning
You must learn to see what you are looking at. The way of the warrior is the way of knowing. – Eragon by Christopher Paolini page 705.
The battle between good and evil rages deep within our human souls on a daily basis. The decisions we make in life have either consequences or blessings, depending on the path we choose to take. I have been reading the last book of the Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini. Like Twilight and Harry Potter, the series has caused much controversy among some conservative Christian groups. This is because it contains magic and the paranormal. I am a born again Christian who at first struggled with the aspect of including the paranormal and magic in my book Calico. My Christian friends told me I shouldn’t be reading Twilight, Harry Potter or the Inheritance Cycle because it went against the bible. I had a hard time with that but I continued to read all three of those series. I started and finished the last book of Twilight in one weekend! I had been in the middle of the Inheritance series when I had finished both the Twilight and Harry Potter series. I was so elated that Christopher Paolini had released the last book of the Inheritance Cycle last year that I begged my husband to buy it for me for Christmas. He did so.
There is something about these three series that left me hungry and craving for me. While I was reading these books I came to realize that these books were not about dragons, vampires, magic or any another paranormal 
occurrence. It was about the spiritual warfare that rages behind the scenes in every human being’s daily life. It was an eye opener for this Christian. I had heard of spiritual warfare but hadn’t dabbled much into it. Once I accepted that these series dove into something deeper than magic I came to learn that Stephanie Meyers is a member of the Church of Latter Day Saints. She is devout in her faith and never intended to have a writing career. God had given her the Twilight series in a dream. Calico had been given to me in a dream as well. My first book had been originally a little over 500 pages long. Like her, God kept giving me more to write about and it became a series. God had blessed Stephanie’s life because she had obeyed him. J.K. Rowlings is a member of the Church of Scotland. She wrote Harry Potter with many spiritual themes with Christian attributes. Like C.S. Lewis did in the Chronicles of Narnia, J.K. Rowlings created a world in which she could retell the gospel of Jesus without using Jesus as the main figure. I like this because I have noticed that Christianity had become a brand. The story had been told so many times that the public doesn’t pay much attention when another book or movie comes along about Jesus. They are only looking at controversy instead of the message. Just because someone says they are Christian doesn’t always mean they are. Anybody can wear the T-shirt, place a sticker on their car or buy from Christian groups. Nowadays, the name of Jesus had been branded so much anywhere you go you see Christian merchandise. The Christian market has become so large, you can make a lot of money proclaiming you are a Christian artist or business. I don’t believe that Jesus would ever endorse this practice that is why, like J.K. Rowlings, I don’t proclaim I am a Christian with my books. I am not ashamed of my faith. I know God gave me the story and he will bless me as long as I follow him. I also know there is a difference between knowing Jesus in your head and knowing who he is in your heart. J.K. Rowlings never spoke of the Christian message in her books because she didn’t want to give away the ending of her final book. Her series was not about power but about love. God is love.
Christopher Paolini’s series focuses on a young man named Eragon who must become a stronger warrior in order to defeat the evil that had plagued his land for centuries. He grows in wisdom by paying attention to his elders, learning from his mistakes and paying attention to his own spiritual development. Life is a journey. To become as stronger person you much pay attention to all that is around you. What you think you see is not always what you see. If you only focus on the physical and not the spiritual you are missing out on the bigger picture. It is this message that drives throughout my book, Calico. Calico must learn to see beyond what she believes she is seeing in her physical world. There is magic, demons, angels and other supernatural elements in my story that speak to the reader on a deeper level if the reader will accept them. I did not write Calico with a hidden agenda or message. I wrote Calico because the story needed to be told.
What is a book that you have read that has challenged your own beliefs or changed the way you think about things?
The Executive Director of the Kentucky Young Writers Connection, a non-profit agency of writers who promote young authors throughout the state of Kentucky. Allison originally hails from Marion, Ohio. Her father, Roland Irving Bruning, was the son of German immigrants who came to the United States at the turn of the 20th century. Her mother’s family had been in the United States since the 17th century. Allison is a member of the Peter Foree Chapter of the Daughters of American Revolution. Her linage traces to Private Reuben Messenger of Connecticut. Her educational background includes a BA in Theater Arts with a minor in Anthropology and a Texas Elementary Teaching certificate. Both acquired at Sul Ross State University in Alpine, Texas. Allison received National Honor Society memberships in both Theater Arts and Communication. Allison was also honored her sophomore year with admission into the All American Scholars register. 
She holds graduate hours in Cultural Anthropology and Education. In 2007 she was named Who’s Who Among America’s Educators. She is also the recipient of the Girl Scout Silver and Gold Awards.
Allison lives with her husband in Kentucky. Calico is book one from the series, Children of the Shawnee. It is available at http://amzn.to/JSNRpm. She is currently working on the sequel, Rose. She is also working on another series, The Secret Heritage, which traces the life of her great great grandmother at the turn of the 20th century in Ohio. Allison’s interest includes Ohio Valley history, anthropology, travel, culture, history, camping, hiking, backpacking, spending time with her family and genealogy. Her genres include historical fiction, paranormal, romance, and suspense.
You can reach her at:
Facebook: http://on.fb.me/xxJ249
Facebook Fan Page http://on.fb.me/plvkxJ
Twitter: @emeraldkell
Blog: http://bit.ly/whteQI
Goodreads:http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5164664.Allison_Bruning
June 21, 2012
Lucky 7
Tag, I’m it.
Steven Montano hit me up to be part of this Lucky 7 meme. In Steven’s words, here’s how it works:
Go to page 7 or 77 in your current manuscript
Go to line 7
Copy down the next seven lines/sentences exactly as they are
Tag 7 other authors
Doesn’t sound like too much work, so I think I have the time to indulge. I’m currently working on books three and four of my Khirro’s Journey heroic fantasy, so let’s see what’s happening on page 7 of book three. Oh, yes. Khirro and his magician companion, Athryn, have just narrowly escaped death at the hands of a ferocious giant.
“Get dressed. Better to use sunlight for travel than sentiment,” Khirro said slapping the magician’s shoulder as he rose.
Athryn stood and brushed sand from his shirt as Khirro went to the giant lying motionless at the forest’s edge. He approached cautiously, but the giant stared skyward, its eyes glassy and sightless; it didn’t move when he prodded its ribs with his toe. Satisfied, Khirro grasped the Mourning Sword and removed it from the giant’s back. A gout of blood followed it, the powdery sand absorbing it like a starving animal. The blade glowed and pulsed as the blood clinging to its steel disappeared, sucked into the runes twisted along its length.
Now I pass the baton to seven others? Hmm…who likes to play? How about:
June 17, 2012
This Week: Meet Author Anjie Harrte
We are all born blank slates with nothing but potential before us. The things we are exposed to set us along our paths. The things we see and read and experience influence us. This week, find out what authors and books influenced Anjie Harrte.
They saw me through life
The authors, who inspired me, saw me through life; from those days of learning words and forming sentences, to battling adolescence, to finding my identity and my genre, they all saw me through life.
I was first introduced to Enid Blyton’s work when I was about five or six years old. I had gotten some old books that my mother’s boss was throwing out, since their children were now adults. I soon got lost in the little worlds of pixies and mushroom houses. I cannot place my finger on the name of any of the books I read under this author. But I can see some of the pages from her work as clear as if it was yesterday. She inspired me to dream and imagine worlds beneath my own. I soon went in search of people living under my floor, under leaves in my yard, in holes in the mud; when I didn’t find them, I made up stories about them. Blyton’s stories set me on the path of imagination, on the path of dreaming while wide awake.
When I was fifteen years old I read these lines: Now is the winter of our discontent, Made glorious summer by this son of York; the first lines to the soliloquy from Richard the third, the first line I would ever read that was written by the great Shakespeare. I studied this play and fell in love with Shakespeare’s work. From the dramatic irony, to his wit, to his great command of words; I wanted to be like him. I wanted to pen words that fit just right together, that created such vivid images within the minds of readers; that touched the very souls of individuals, that would be studied in educational institutions for years to come, that would outlive me. I went on two years later to study Richard the second and to meet another great king from another era; to become lost again in Shakespeare’s world. With time came the sonnets and oh how they wooed me. Could I ever write lines like, “As cruel cause that did the spirit soon haste, From th’unhappy bones, by great sighs stirred,” could I make words flow the way Shakespeare did? It didn’t matter, I was lost in him. At seventeen I was in love, I was in a literature class with my heart thumping against my chest, my palms sweaty and my voice in my throat; I was charged with writing replies to Shakespeare’s sonnets and oh how I enjoyed it. It is a shame that today I cannot find any of those very sonnets I wrote, letting him know how his words touch me, how I imagined him whispering against my neck, comparing me to a summer’s rose.
When I wasn’t obsessing about Shakespeare I was admiring the strong female characters in Jane Austen. The women bent on speaking their mind in a time when women didn’t have the freedom to speak much. I was never obsessed with Austen, I was just impressed.
I later got acquainted with John Milton and enjoyed his satirical writing. I was wrapped into every scene of his epic poem ‘Paradise Lost’ and found the subtle way in which he presented a taboo subject, laudable.
Of course on the side I was reading a lot of Nora Roberts and Danielle Steel. A teenage girl from a tropical Caribbean country lost in the descriptions of burly Caucasian men. I would move on from these novels to find that in real life I was attracted to the opposite of these descriptions. However I would find that my writing style resonates a lot with that of Nora and Danielle. Always a little romance tinged with a little mystery, or a killer/murder, or something tragic that creates my climax. No matter how I try to stray or write something different, I find my genre is the same as the works of Nora and Danielle; contemporary women’s fiction.
Enid Blyton was the first author I ever read, or could remember reading and is the first author to create the wide eyed dreams for this writer. But Shakespeare melted my heart and inspired me to love it and to express my love in it. John Milton prodded me to not be ashamed of what I write. Nora Roberts and Danielle Steel showed me that there is no such thing as mediocre writing. To write is what I am, not what I do.
These authors helped me find myself and my genre, who or what helped you? Who is your favourite author or book?
* * * * * ** * * ** *
Anjie Harrte: Romance with some Caribbean flavour
Anjie Harrte is a twenty nine year old mother of one who resides in sunny Guyana, South America. Sometime between running a small business, having a full time job and being a mother and partner, she finds time to pursue her passion for creating stories. Anjie dreams up stories of contemporary fiction splashed with some romance, a little dose of murder or an ounce of suspense, and sometimes when no one is looking she dashes in a little twist. When she isn’t doing any of that, she is decorating a cake, knitting a chair back or sewing her latest design. Anjie even finds time to lurk around and stalk people and pages on facebook and you too can stalk her if you like at Anjie’s Facebook Page, or you can follow her on twitter @anjieharrte or keep updated with her writing at Author Anjie Harrte, or check out one of her stories online for free at The Storytime Trysts Blog.
June 10, 2012
Welcome to my blog…Doug Simpson
A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to become part of a virtual blog tour through Tasha Turner Coaching. Of course, I jumped at the chance; my little independent author’s brain screamed at me that this would be a great opportunity for a little blatant self-promotion. While this is definitely the case, a second benefit is the opportunity to meet and learn about other writers. Without the effort of people like Tasha, how would I ever get the chance to get to know a forward-thinking great guy like Doug Simpson? Have a read and get to know him yourself.
An Alternative Blog
In January of 2010 I began writing, and offering for publication, articles created by using the archived readings of the legendary American mystic, Edgar Cayce. Progress was slow, for a while, but I eventually located spirituality websites and magazines that were willing to showcase my efforts. Less than two-and-a-half years later I now have had published twenty-two different Edgar Cayce related articles in seven different countries, for a grand total of 139 times. I’m really not bragging, but developing a point. You cannot read any of my articles on my website at http://dousimp.mnsi.net!
As my slow early success began to escalate, I decided I needed a website to showcase my articles. Somehow, for some reason, the notion came to me that all of these websites and magazines had been nice enough to publish my articles, so I should not be publishing my articles on my website in competition with them, so I didn’t. Right from the day my website was birthed, I started directing visitors to my site to the websites and the magazines where my articles could be read, increasing the traffic to their websites. An additional factor was not in the original plan, but this system I adopted where I sent my visitors to the actual publication sites eventually resulted in some other websites seeking me out to ask if they too could publish my articles. I guess we could say that good deeds return good deeds? The system seems as simple as rolling a snowball down a hill – it just grows and grows and grows into an avalanche.
Until recently, I never considered having a blog because I never considered that I had much of interest to say to the world, but I somewhat reluctantly created one anyway. So, now what do I have to say that is not published somewhere else and visitors would be interested in reading? Not much! So, I adopted the same policy with my blog that I used with my website – use my blog to send visitors to where my writing can be read, and go out and find some more interesting writers to contribute to my blog. Maybe I will even join a blog tour! Visit me at http://doug-simpson-author.blogspot.com/.
Doug Simpson
© Doug Simpson 2012
Doug Simpson is a retired high school teacher who has turned his talents to writing. His first novel, a spiritual mystery titled Soul Awakening, was published in the United States in October of 2011, by Book Locker. Check it out at http://booklocker.com/books/5754.html. It is available in print and eBook format through most book stores around the world. His magazine and website articles have been published in 2010 to 2012 in Australia, Canada, France, India, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States. His articles can be accessed through his website athttp://dousimp.mnsi.net.
June 5, 2012
From the EYES Of...Bruce Blake, the Best Bitts in life include writing
Reblogged from WERZOMBIES PRESS:
This is a newer version of the cover for “Unfaithful Wings” a novel by Bruce Blake (courtesy art)
By AK DALE
WERZOMBIES PRESS
VICTORIA, B.C. – There is no dark chapter or a shock moment that propelled Bruce Blake to become a writer.
Nah, his was a journey lacking in Hobbits, Orcs, and Gandalfs, or anything resembling a Stand by Me…
Alan Dale profiles me today on his Summer 150 Tour. Follow his blog through June and July to discover great Indie authors.
