Suzanne G. Rogers's Blog, page 65

Calling All Young Adult Faeries & Fantasy Fans

The Young Adult Faeries & Fantasy Giveaway Hop is underway now!  Go to my dedicated Hop page HERE for a chance to win The Last Great Wizard of Yden for your ereader!  All you need to do is to leave a comment on my Hop page and follow my blog.  Extra entries if you *like* my Facebook page and follow me on Twitter!  Good luck!  ~ S.G. Rogers

 

Carrie James Haynes Rocks Your World Building

CREATING THE WORLD OF WHISPERS OF A LEGEND

Guest Post by Carrie James Haynes

To create a world full of myth and legend! The ultimate key in writing a fantasy. Fantasies are different to write than most other genres. Not only is the story driven by your plot but in a fantasy the setting is almost as important. The setting is not the only difference. Whereas most of us read fantasies because it allows up to reach into our imagination and dream; writing a fantasy allows an author to write without restrictions.

Lands full of wonder; worlds of untold mysteries and unknown places. Flying Hawkmen; magical beings; foretold prophecies; myths and legends. Welcome to the world of Whispers of a Legend.

Scarladin-

A world protected by a valiant warrior race, the Sordarins, rulers of the sky.

A land where the skies are dominated by a valiant warrior race. Set in a land where the majestic Preda Mountain Range serves as an entrance to the Kingdom of Scarladin. The snowcap peaks the origin of the powerful Kampar River which flows boldly down into the valley giving life to all around. On the horizon, far within upon the tallest peak the fortress Yucca sits guarding all around where on a clear day the Hawkmen can be seen dominating the skies.

Witheleghe-

A world where once magic abounded. A beautiful land where the grass was green as far as your eyes could see; the sky as blue as the ocean deep. There lay peace and tranquility; greater wealth and splendor could never be found. Until dark magic emerged. Sins of greed, wont and lust destroyed the world the Withelegheans once knew. Now the people are held in submission by the evil lord, Asmeodai!

Prince Mithelk and Princess Eufamia stood guard on the portal that connected their two worlds. When the Asmeodai emerged in Witheleghe, the two gave the ultimate sacrifice to give their worlds a chance to survive.

The legend holds that through the darkness a light will emerge, bright and shielding, not given to neither Witheleghean nor Sordarin, but to all, to guard and protect the innocent. When one is born such, there's only one purpose to their life to protect against a foreboding danger: one that can not be contained otherwise. Euchouns are born with such a purpose. After the fall of Nottesdone, there has never been a greater need.

So begins Whispers of a Legend. So challenging to create new worlds. Does it seem to you that when I created this world that I have started in a middle of another story? To me, I feel that Kela's story began long before her birth. What of King Edulf and Althea? Mithelk and Eufamia?  Could the story continue after Kela?

Creating worlds is complex, but I have loved every minute of it. On the inception of Whispers of a Legend the story evolved to a point that I never expected. When I first began to write, the idea of Whispers of a Legend sprang to life. I wrote a short story called Flight of the Sordarins that sat in my desk. It dealt mainly with King Edulf and Althea. Over the years, I kept going back to the story until I changed the point of view. Not only is Whispers of a Legend the only fantasy book I have written, it is the only book I've written in first person. Once I made that move, the story took on a life of its own with Kela as the heroine.

I'm so excited for the series. The possibilities are endless. Good versus evil. Romance. Action and adventure. At the end of January, first of February, I will be releasing Vision of Destiny, the third installment. I'm also planning on pulling the first three books into one, Whispers of a Legend, Volume I. Let the Legend Begin…

~ Carrie James Haynes

Whispers of a Legend, Part One- Shadows of the Past is absolutely FREE at BN.com and Smashwords.  At Amazon, it's only $0.99.

Whispers of a Legend, Part Two- The Path Now Turned  is available at Amazon, BN.com and Smashwords

Excerpt:

The legend, they say, is whispered within the winds along the magnificent Preda Mountain Range, the words and deeds never to be forgotten of the Time of the Nuxvenom, a time when the Sordarins crushed the impending threat, the dreaded Asmeodai, and once more Scarladin was safe. The mighty Sordarins, rulers of the sky! No, the Sordarins have slept well over the years secure in their knowledge the Great One watches over them, knowing the legends holds a mighty warrior will emerge if threatened again, born with a destiny only to defend their world. But subtle changes have emerged. Little by little fear beings to resurface that their world, their very existence is once again threaten. They look to the skies anxiously awaiting their warrior; questioning perchance if the Great One has forgotten them. I know this how? For I am the one born to defend their world. I, Kela Calledwdele, was born a Euchoun. I am their warrior

The Mistress of Steampunk Heather Hiestand

Starting In The Middle

Hi, Suzanne! Thanks so much for having me to visit again! I'm back in my steampunk world again, with a standalone smuggler tale for you.

Not only is "Captain Fenna's Dirigible Valentine" the second book in my Steampunk Smugglers series,  so I had a heroine I'd already written about, I started her story in the middle too. I'd assumed Terrwyn Fenna would want a more romance-driven story like her sister Linet, who rescues Terrwyn from Newgate Prison during "Captain Andrew's Flying Christmas."

But then I thought, this novella has 'Valentine' in the title and I've started the story in April, when Terrwyn meets Ian Cavill for the first time. Won't readers want to know what happened on Valentine's Day? So I began again, and Terrwyn found romance, yes, but also a lot of action and adventure.

Since this series is set in England in the 1890s, I needed to gather some inspiration. I turned to a book called "Victorian London Street Life", which is full of contemporary vignettes about the working folks of the time. I was instantly inspired by the section about locksmiths, since I already knew my heroine had been a screwsman, or lockpicker. Lightbulb moment! My first scene would be set at a locksmith stall. After all, my heroine is trying to go straight after three years in prison for her smuggling crimes.

Excerpt:

The third Blockader, a tall, wiry blond with wispy side whiskers who hadn't spoken until now, fingered the small ring of expensive keys where Terrwyn had found a suitable match for the birdcage. "A lot of money in this stall. Why aren't you trading inside?"

"I don't make those decisions."

"What is the name of the stall owner?"

Terrwyn desperately wanted to lie, but knew these men could easily find out the truth. "Owen Fenna."

"Fenna, eh," said the third man, a gleam in his eye. "Bloody smugglers, the lot of them. You a Fenna?"

Terrwyn took a couple of steps back, until she was pressed against the stone wall of the Market.

"By marriage, right?" said the youngest officer.

"She has the look of them," said the hairy one. "Black hair, dark olive skin."

The youngest officer peered at her. "No wedding ring."

"I heard tell of the most beautiful Fenna of them all," said the third Blockader. "She's in Newgate Prison."

"I don't know about that, Everard," said the hairy one. "Hard to believe there's a prettier one than this." With speed belying his avoirdupois, he shot out a hand and grabbed Terrwyn's wrist, pulling her toward the counter until her belly slammed painfully into the edge of the wood.

She couldn't quite keep her cry of pain in her throat, still a bit sensitive from giving birth less than two months before. Were they toying with her? Did they know she had escaped? When she'd come to Cardiff, she'd thought she could hide here, but airships had drastically sped communication in Britain, even though the only legal flight was by the government. She could have been known to be here all along.

"Word was that beautiful Terrwyn Fenna had a deft hand with locks," said Everard.

The hairy Blockader pulled Terrwyn's hand toward him and examined it minutely, blasting her with onion breath. "Her hands aren't nearly as pretty as her face."

She wrenched her hand from him and stumbled back toward the wall. How could she escape? She had no weapons, no friends nearby to create a diversion.

"Let's take her in," the youngest one suggested. "If she's an escapee, we might be able to pick up a fat reward."

"Was the pretty Fenna famous enough for a big reward?" asked the hairy one.

Everard's only answer was a grin.

Terrwyn knew her time was up. Summoning lightning speed from somewhere deep inside her, she ripped two strings of keys from their nails and threw them in the faces of the hairy Blockader and the youngest one, then grabbed Owen's strongbox and lobbed it at Everard. While they cursed, she leapt onto the base of the stone column to her right, steeling herself against the bite of heater rays that might hit her back any moment if the men were vicious. The surface above was smooth, but on the left were brick walls. With more luck than skill, she reached the outcropping of stone just below the arch of the doorway, then grabbed for the electric lamp post and pulled herself on top of the iron bar.

Shillings clattered to the ground along with keys as the Blockaders stomped into Owen's stall. She felt terrible to see his livelihood destroyed. Did he have friends who would protect his goods when the Blockaders finished with her? Hopefully someone would tell the Bebbs.

The youngest officer leapt onto the stones a few feet underneath her boots. With a prayer, she reached above her head and pulled herself up to the capital of the column. A few moments later she balanced on the roof. The glass roof.

She heard shouts from inside the market as people spotted her. Young men pointed to the view up her skirts. "At least my combinations are clean," she muttered. After whoring for prison guards for a year, the thought of men viewing her underskirts wasn't an impediment to her actions.

Blurb:

Smuggler Terrwyn Fenna just escaped from Newgate Prison and most of Queen Victoria's British Air Force is after her. Instead of spending a quiet Valentine's Day with her infant daughter, it's time for them to jump an airship and flee Wales. Terrwyn thinks she's out of harm's way—until the airship comes under siege.

Ian Cavill recognizes Terrwyn during the battle. An enslaved crewman serving aboard the government airship Defender, he wants to escape the clutches of the government as much as she does. Will joining forces help them rebuild their lives or lead them into more danger from all their enemies? Both have much to lose. They can die trying…or find a way to survive.

Captain Fenna's Dirigible Valentine is a 27,000-word steampunk adventure novella. It is the second release in the Steampunk Smugglers series. Available at: Smashwords, Amazon, All Romance Books, BN.com

HEATHER HAS AGREED TO GIVE AWAY A COPY OF CAPTAIN ANDREW'S FLYING CHRISTMAS TO ONE *LUCKY* COMMENTER. THE WINNER WILL BE SELECTED ON WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 4TH.  LEAVE A COMMENT, BELOW AND BE SURE TO MENTION WHICH FORMAT YOU'D LIKE. GOOD LUCK! ~S.G. ROGERS

Have a Fantasy New Year One and All

I undertook to write a 15,000 word Valentine's Day novella on a tight deadline (1/5/12), thinking it would be a slam dunk.  I most certainly should have started the project sooner, but I wanted to finish my current work-in-progress and the accompanying synopsis and then submit it to a publisher.  Perhaps I was dragging my feet because I couldn't really think of a good Valentine's Day story…and then the title popped into my head. I hate it when that happens since I can never let a good title go to waste.

A funny thing happened on the way to the novella…I'd topped over 10K words when I realized my story wasn't working at all.  My main character's goals weren't specific or important enough.  I should have remembered that little necessity from my improvisation classes!

Deflated Balloon

Fortunately, after I came up with a new goal for my main character, I was able to salvage most of Chapter One, and small sections of the rest.  Nevertheless, it's 5:00 p.m. on New Year's Eve and I'm only at 6,800 words.  Can I make the deadline?  We'll see…but you know what?  I'm much more excited about this story than the last one.  Even if it's appropriate for Valentine's Day, it will still work for the other 364 days too.

My take away from this whole debacle is this…I need to believe in my story one hundred percent before I can write it.  It's great to have a goal, but sometimes you can't rush the creative process.  As Shakespeare would say "To thine own self be true."  To my readers, I propose a New Year's Resolution:  Although I would like to sell my work, I won't write drivel.  But if it turns out drivel is the only thing that sells, I will write drivel to the best of my ability. Is it a deal? 

Happy New Year.

~ S.G. Rogers

One Red Rose: © Olena Chyrko | Dreamstime.com

Deflated balloon: © Philip Haskins | Dreamstime.com

Drinking Champagne: © Axel Drosta | Dreamstime.com

Writing At The Speed of Sound

As an author, there's one distinctive characteristic of 2011 that will always stick out in my mind–I feel like I've been writing at the speed of sound. It's sort of like when you're watching a fireworks show and the report of the exploding rocket reaches your ears several seconds after you've seen the glittering fan of color spread out in the nighttime sky. You see, the publishing process can be slow, and I found myself working with editors on projects that had been written many months prior.  The problem was, my writing had evolved since then, and it was as if I was looking at ancient history.  I managed to 'update' the writing in the editing process, but it made me wonder where my writing would be months or even years from now.  Does J.K. Rowling look back at Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and shake her head?

To any of the authors out there, I pose the question…do you ever find yourself re-reading your earlier work and wishing you had a reset button?

To readers I ask…when you read an author's body of work, can you tell the difference between his or her first novel and the last one?

And finally, given that novels are works of art, should it matter?

~ S.G. Rogers

© Henrischmit | Dreamstime.com

P.S. Don't forget that The Last Great Wizard of Yden is on sale this week only at Amazon and BN.com.  Don't miss out!

 

Holiday Kindle or Nook Stuffer

For a limited time both Amazon and BN.com have THE LAST GREAT WIZARD OF YDEN on sale for $0.99.  It's an amazing price for a full-length YA fantasy.  Enjoy!

Blurb: After his father is kidnapped, sixteen-year-old Jon stumbles across a closely guarded family secret–one that will challenge everything he has ever believed about his father and himself. A magical ring his father leaves behind unlocks a portal to another dimension, but in using it, Jon unwittingly unchains the forces of evil. A crisis develops when a malevolent wizard transports to Earth to kidnap Jon's would-be girlfriend. With the help of some unlikely schoolmates, and a warrior princess from Yden, Jon embarks on a dangerous quest to free his friend and his father from the most vicious wizard the magical world has ever known. In the end, Jon will be forced to fight for his life as he attempts to rescue the last great wizard of Yden.

~ S.G. Rogers

The Girl Who Remembered Horses – Guest Author Linda Benson

When you've been horse-crazy as long as I have, you begin to wonder if it's caused by some errant gene. It's a standard joke around horse girls, if something is in fact "wrong" with us, that we are so passionate about equines. In fact, that line of thinking caused me to build a college research project around trying to answer that question: Where does this passion for horses come from?

Were we influenced in early life by television, or movies, or cultural factors that might produce such a desire for all things equine?

As part of my research, I interviewed women and girls who all professed to be crazy about horses. Contrary to what I believed when I started my research, every single one of my interview subjects stated they were "born with it," (their love for horses) and that they might have inherited this trait from a family member.

This seed of an idea, based on my own research, sat in the back of my mind while I wrote the rest of the plot of The Girl Who Remembered Horses. Set in a future society where few even remember horses, one girl actually dreams of them. Here is a short summary of the story:

In a world that has forgotten the ancient bond between horses and humans, can one girl's dreams make people remember?

Several generations into the future, Sahara travels with her clan in a barren environment where recyclables are bartered for sustenance, and few remember horses or their connection to humans. But Sahara has recurring visions of riding astride on magnificent animals that run like the wind.

With the help of Evan, a young herder from the Gardener's Camp, Sahara discovers a crumbling book containing pictures of humans riding horses and learns her visions are real. Confronting a group of hunters led by hot-headed Dojo, Sahara rescues a wounded horse, but the animal escapes before it can be tamed.

Sahara is labeled a foolish dreamer and almost gives up her quest. Following horse tracks into a remote ravine, she finds wild dogs attacking a dying mare, and must drive them off in order to save the foal. Now she must attempt to raise the young animal, finally convince her clan of the ancient bond between horses and humans, and learn the secret of her true identity.

I truly enjoyed writing the character of Sahara for this novel. Not only was I able to draw on my many years with horses to try and get all the details right for the horse scenes in the novel, but I had research to back me up when the young woman -Sahara – questions who she really is and searches for answers. Fiction and fact and research all played a part in the creation of The Girl Who Remembered Horses, and I am thrilled that this novel is now available as an eBook, and I'm able to share a story that is so dear to my heart.

The Girl Who Remembered Horses is now available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble.com, Smashwords, Omnilit, Bookstrand, and from the publisher, Musa Publishing

Linda is a long-time horsewoman and the author of two middle grade novels from Mondo Publishing, The Horse Jar and Finding Chance. Her newest YA novel, Six Degrees of Lost, will be published June 2012 by Musa Publishing. Find Linda on Facebook, follow Linda's Blog, and learn more at her Website.

Draft horse: © Lisamarie | Dreamstime.com

Girl and horse: © Djk | Dreamstime.com

Alien landscape: © Satori13 | Dreamstime.com

The Ancient Book: © Valery Sibrikov | Dreamstime.com

Sources of Inspiration In My Writing – Guest Post by Beth Trissel

Inspiration comes from many sources and takes many forms.  The first muse that comes to mind is the importance dreams have had on my work.  The initial book resulting from this source of inspiration was historical romance novel Red Bird's Song.  Another dream evolved into my recent holiday release, vintage American Christmas ghost story romance Somewhere the Bells Ring.  That one took place in the beautiful Virginia homeplace where my father grew up and I often visited over the years, a gracious Georgian style brick home, circa 1816, and the old home the house in Somewhere the Bells Ring is based on.

I vividly saw a young woman, a guest there during the Christmas holidays, and the mysterious gentleman she encountered.  His profound sadness made a deep impression on me, as did the gentleman himself, and the young lady who reached out to him.  That dream nagged at me every Christmas for the past ten years until I finally wrote their story.

Life experiences, of course, supply a wealth of fodder for my stories.  As has research into family genealogy,  particularly early American, and even farther back.  I come from well-documented English/Scots-Irish folk with a smidgen of French in the meld, a Norman knight who sailed with William the Conqueror.  One family line goes directly back to Geoffrey Chaucer.  And there's a puritan line with involvement in the Salem Witch Trials—my apologies to Susannah Martin's descendants—but that's another story.

Sometimes watching a television program or imaginative film will inspire me in the most unexpected ways.  I came up with the concept for my 'Somewhere' series years ago while watching one of my favorite British mysteries, Midsomer Murders.  I enjoy the historic setting of these modern day mysteries, but especially when the story flashes back to an even earlier time in an old manor house or church to get to the root of the mystery.  So I thought, why not incorporate that with my love of romance and history.

The idea behind this series is that the story opens in an old home, so far Virginia, and then transports the reader back in time either in the same old house or another place entirely, such as the Scottish Highlands.  As is the case in Somewhere My Lass and the sequel I'm at work on, via a portal in time.  All of which is inspired by my fascination with the past. The unifying characteristic of the stories is the paranormal/time travel element, but the books themselves aren't necessarily tied together.

I also collect people whom I meet in real life or the dreamworld and sooner or later they take shape as characters.  As one author said, 'Be careful or you'll wind up in my stories.'

~ Beth Trissel

Blurb: Caught with pot in her dorm room, Bailey Randolph is exiled to a relative's ancestral home in Virginia to straighten herself out. Banishment to Maple Hill is dismal, until a ghost appears requesting her help. Bailey is frightened but intrigued. Then her girlhood crush, Eric Burke, arrives and suddenly Maple Hill isn't so bad.

To Eric, wounded in Vietnam, his military career shattered, this homecoming feels no less like exile. But when he finds Bailey at Maple Hill, her fairy-like beauty gives him reason to hope–until she tells him about the ghost haunting the house. Then he wonders if her one experiment with pot has made her crazy.

As Bailey and Eric draw closer, he agrees to help her find a long-forgotten Christmas gift the ghost wants. But will the magic of Christmas be enough to make Eric believe–in Bailey and the ghost–before the Christmas bells ring?~

***Somewhere the Bells Ring is available in various eBook formats at The Wild Rose Press, Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble's Nookbook, and other online booksellers.

The Genie Rule Interactive Series

(Episode Four – Recap)

The Boss of the Netherrealm showed up at Peter's apartment, fired Millie the genie for breaking the genie rules, and blew her the kiss of life.  Whistling "King of the Road," he left her with Larry and Peter.  Horrified she'd been made human, Millie trained her big blue eyes onto Peter and said…

Episode Five

"There's only one thing to do now.  We have to take a road trip to Vegas so I can file an appeal with the Supreme Court of the Netherealm."

Peter and Larry exchanged a glance.

"Okay," Larry said.

"No way!" Peter exclaimed.  "Unlike some people, I've got work in the morning."

Millie's lower lip began to tremble.

"Dude, you made the genie cry," Larry said.  "Feel like a big man now?

"Shut it, Larry," Peter said.  "We're not going and that's final."

Five hours later, they were cruising down the Vegas strip with Peter behind the wheel of his dark blue Nissan Versa.  Millie leaned back in the passenger seat and gave Peter a dazzling smile.  "I love Vegas at twilight, don't you? All the lights seem to come alive."

From the back seat, Larry leaned forward and stuck a fistful of cold fries in between Millie and Peter. "You guys want? Otherwise I got dibs." After a short pause, Larry shrugged, chomped the greasy potatoes down, and wiped his hands on his shirt.

As traffic came to a dead halt, Peter stared straight ahead.  "I can't believe I let you two talk me into this."

"You just haven't seen the benefits yet," Millie said.  "Get into the left-hand lane.  We'll check into Caesar's Palace."

"Is that where the Supreme Court of the Netherrealm is?" Larry asked.

"No, but I need a wardrobe and I love the Forum shops."

"I can't afford Caesar's Palace," Peter mumbled.

A little smile played on the corners of Millie's perfectly shaped lips. "I think you'll find you can."

Traffic was moving forward.  Horns began to sound but Peter could only gape at Millie.  "You didn't."

"I kinda used your last wish to add a few zeros to your bank account, Peter," she confessed.

"How many zeros?" Larry asked, his eyes bugged out.

Millie counted on her fingers until she reached nine.  "That many."

Larry burst out into insane laughter but Peter grew pale.

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Magic Lamp: © Frenta | Dreamstime.com

Las Vegas: © Robwilson39 | Dreamstime.com

The Circuitous Author

The Wednesday Spotlight's on me today at Meg Mims' blog, as I reluctantly divulge the gritty details about what finally brought me to the keyboard. Here's a hint: it involves thespionage.

~ S.G. Rogers

 

© Stuart Welburn | Dreamstime.com