Roh Morgon's Blog, page 11

~tuesday train

Tuesday Train.

I like the sound of that.

I'm participating in my first 'Tuesday Train', a weekly blog hop hosted by  The Survival Mama and My Mad Mind.

This is a great opportunity to meet new bloggers , both on their sites and yours!

You can join in here:

And for those visiting my blog for the first time, be sure to scroll down and get the details on my upcoming *snowfest* blogfest!

~interview… and a * snowfest * blogfest!

#1 – I'm being interviewed today! Let me tell you a bit about my host…

J.C. Martin is a fellow writer whose blog I've followed since its inception. Its title tells you a bit about her:

J.C. Martin, Fighter Writer

Reading, writing, and fighting–the three joys of life!

J.C. is a black belt and teaches martial arts and self-defense to both children and adults. She also writes dark mysteries and gripping thrillers with a psychological slant.

Needless to say, she writes awesome action scenes and great suspense! I've really enjoyed reading her blogfest entries and other writings on her blog.

Her debut novel, Oracle, is scheduled to be released by J. Taylor Publishing August 1, 2012.

J.C. was kind enough to interview me for her weekly feature, Writer Wednesday. You can check it out here.

Thank you, J.C.!

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#2 -  * Snowfest * Blogfest

Hopefully everyone's recovered from NanoWriMo and the holidaze…so I think it's time for a blogfest!

I love blogfests! They're a fun writing exercise and give me a chance to check out other writers' works. In fact, my two published short stories, The Monster's Growl and The Seduction, are both former blogfest entries!

I haven't hosted a blogfest in quite awhile, so I thought in honor of the New Year I'd do so.

I'm calling it * Snowfest *, because it's that time of year for some folks (I say this as I look outside at sunny skies and the non-snow covered rolling hills of California). I love the snow, so the theme of this blogfest is… to write a scene in the snow!

Here's the details:

1) What: Write a scene that takes place in the snow. It can be snowing or not, just as long as snow is part of the setting. And for those of you who like an extra challenge, write a scene in which snow is the main focus of the characters, whether they're building a snowman or fighting for their lives in a snowstorm.

2) Word count: 1,200 words or so (I can never keep my own entries in any blogfest under 1,000!)

3) Blogfest date: February 2, 2012

BONUS: Watcher Giveaway!

One entry will be selected at random to win a free copy of Watcher: Book I of The Chosen.

So bring out your shovels, I mean pens, and join me in a snowdance to celebrate one of the most beautiful forms of the water that gives life to our planet. And don't forget the carrot for that snowman.

You can sign up below with Linky Tools. And if you want to spread the word, just copy the blogfest banner to your blog

 

~flashback

Somebody asked me the other day how long I'd been blogging. I couldn't answer them off the top of my head. So when I got home and onto my computer that night, I checked to see the date of my first post.

It was December 6, 2009, two years and a month ago.

I can't believe I missed my own blogiversary!

Well, yes I can. I miss birthdays and anniversaries all the time – just ask my hubby. Oh well.

So, in belated honor of my blogiversary, and in honor of Watcher, the book that started it all, below is a re-posting of my very first post telling how I got started in this whole writing thing.

It's certainly been a long strange trip…

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the beginning of it all

I suppose if I'm going to tell the story of telling a story, I should start at the beginning.

One year ago, in December 2008, I heard an interview with the author of a popular book series. When asked who she wrote her story for, she said she wrote it for herself.

That statement flipped a switch somewhere inside me. And so I decided to write a story for me, about beings I'd long been fascinated with – vampires.

At least I thought I was writing it for myself.

The first words to hit the page stunned me. They spoke of the pain of an undead creature as she watched a family she could no longer be part of. They went on to describe how she struggled with her violent nature, held in check only by memories of her daughter, and how she lived with the loneliness of her dangerous secret.

And so Sunny was born. She didn't have a name then, because all I wrote that December was a one-page preface. The holidays were in full swing, my family was gathering for a long-overdue reunion, and there was no time to write. I reluctantly put her story on hold until after the first of the year. Fortunately she was content with that and allowed me to enjoy my family time.

But when January came around, Sunny came back into my life, and she brought others with her. Together they began insisting I tell their story, invading my thoughts all hours of the day as well as the night. I slept very little back then, averaging only 2-4 hours a night while still trying to hold down a full-time job.

Weekends were even worse. I'd start writing Friday night when I got home after work, recording their story until they released me to crawl into bed just before sunrise. I was usually back up by 8 or 9 Saturday morning to start again. I'd write all day, taking few breaks, and on into the night until sometime near dawn. Sunday would be a repeat of Saturday, writing almost non-stop. Fortunately, because I had to get up and go to work the next morning, they allowed me to go to bed a little earlier on Sunday nights – most of the time.

This went on for five months. At the end of May, over Memorial Weekend, I finished the end of the first draft. I still had a couple of early chapters to flesh out, but as far as I was concerned, I was done.

Sunny and Nicolas had other ideas. A week later they pushed me to continue with their story in the second book of the series. I wrote about 25,000 words before they let me stop. But they didn't stop. Shifting their attention back to Watcher, the pressure I've felt to edit and prepare it for publication has been relentless.

And so it continues. I'm hoping to have all the fine-tuning for Watcher complete by the end of the year. I've submitted to two agents that I met at writer's conferences, and will begin submitting to more in January if I haven't heard anything by then.

Friends are helping me with artwork and website management. I'm slowly building my online presence, including learning how to blog. This all takes so much time, yet I can do nothing else but press forward as Sunny and Nicolas insist.

Because their need to have their story known…is every bit as strong as the need they are known for.

So if anyone wants to know what it's like to be seduced and have your life taken over by vampires, I can tell them. Because mine has, and just like in the legends, the dark gift has its good points, and its bad.

 December 6, 2009

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~inspiration

The new year is almost upon us.

2012.

The year some say the world ends.

Others say 2012 will be the year of the writer.

I prefer to believe the latter.

Most writers write because they have stories in them yearning to get out – stories to be expressed, and shared, and maybe even loved. 

Inspiration is an important fuel for the fires of writing.

 

Sometimes the inspiration comes in the form of a dream or in a sudden flash sparked by an  image or a song. Other times it arrives in the words of another writer.

Several writers have written words lately that inspire me to write and keep writing. These are not words from a story. They are words of experience and encouragement, words explaining that my fears related to writing and publishing are normal, and that all writers have to move past their fears if they want to make a living on what they write.

Dean Wesley Smith has 30 years in the industry as a writer, editor, and publisher, and  is someone whose words I follow. I may not always do exactly what he says when he says it, but once the words have sunk in, I find his advice fits the path I'm on perfectly.

Last Friday he wrote a blog post titled New World of Publishing: Failure is an Option. Quitting is Not.

A quote from Dean's post:

"To become a professional fiction writer, you must become a major risk-taker without fear of failure or a care in the world what anyone else thinks of you or your writing."

Dean regularly writes words that I find inspirational. And the right ones always seem to come along just when I need them.

Another inspirational writer I follow is Kristine Kathryn Rusch. Kris is a no-nonsense successful writer whose 30+ years in the industry include editing and publishing. She's also Dean's wife.

Kris wrote a post not too long ago that really struck home. It came at a time when I was feeling a bit discouraged. The post was called Freelancer's Survival Guide: Giving Up On Yourself.

In the second half of the post, Kris lists six steps to keep from giving up on yourself. Below are the six-step titles. Please go read the entire post - my summary does not do it justice.

1. Believe in yourself.

2. Stop the negative self-talk.

3. Perform a daily gut check.

4. Watch out for that evil phrase, "I can live with that."

5. Watch out for "good enough."

6. Be tenacious.

Kris's closing words:

"Cling to your dream. Work for your goal. If you step off the path, climb back on the moment you realize you've veered in the wrong direction.

You will make mistakes. You will take the wrong path. The key is to come back to yourself, and come back to the right road for you.

I can't tell you if you're giving up on yourself. Only you can know that.

Dean has one other question, and it's a big one: when you're on your deathbed, what will you regret?

Will you regret not striving hard enough for your dream? Will you regret lost years while you were succeeding in a profession other than the one you love? Will you regret being "good enough?"

Only you can answer those questions.

And you should. Daily. To keep yourself on track.

To keep yourself from giving up."

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Now that's inspirational.

~The Seduction

The Seduction is the second 'short-short' paranormal tale from my Monsters in the Machines collection. It's 1500 words (about 7 pages) and includes an excerpt from Watcher.

The cover is by fellow writer Jeff Ambrose and me (thanks, Jeff!)

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The first time Erica saw the black, low-slung sports car,

she felt shock at its sensual pull deep within her soul.

But when she began to succumb to its whispered promises,

she didn't suspect that she might be losing more than her mind.

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The Seduction is available for free in multiple ebook formats from Smashwords.

And I'll repeat: this is not a true story. No way. Uh-uh.

Well…maybe just a little bit.

~another milestone: The Monster's Growl

My first short story was just published!

I owe a big thanks to my hubby and to fellow writer Jeff Ambrose for their help with the cover.

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The Monster's Growl
Another boring night at the small-town bar turns interesting for Carly and her friends when a mysterious biker puts his quarter on their pool table.

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This paranormal tale is a 'short-short' story from my Monsters in the Machines collection. The ebook includes the Prologue and Chapter 1 from Watcher: Book I of The Chosen.

The Monster's Growl is available from Smashwords as a free download in most ebook formats.

Check it out.

~signings

Signings are cool.

They give readers a chance to speak with their favorite authors, and maybe even get a personalized autograph on their favorite book.

They give authors a chance to interact with fans of their books, to see first-hand the gleam that comes into a reader's eyes when they talk about a story the author has written and what they loved about it, and hear their excitement while they ask when the next one's going to be available.

Last weekend was my first official signing for Watcher, and it was fantastic. The event was held in Burbank at Dark Delicacies, an awesome shop that carries books, gifts, and collectibles for lovers of dark fantasy and horror.

Five other authors participated:

Gabrielle Faust with her Eternal Vigilance vampire series
V.M.K. Fewing signing A Vampire's Dominion, the latest in The Stone Masters Vampire Series
Rebekah Weatherspoon with Better Off Red
P.S. Gifford with his anthology Curiously Twisted Tales
Colette Freedman, signing the popular Thirteen Hallows, co-written with Michael Scott

Everyone was very warm and friendly, and I enjoyed meeting and talking with the other authors.

I was both surprised and humbled by the support I received from friends and family, and friends of family. A steady stream of folks visited with me while I signed their books, and I stayed busy until the event was over.

Dark Delicacies sold all of the Watcher copies they'd requested, plus two more that I brought! Store owners Del and Sue Howison seemed pleased with my turnout, and asked me to come back for the release of my next book. Very cool. I have tremendous respect for them and what they do to support authors and other media professionals in the dark fantasy and horror genre, and I'm thrilled to have participated in one of their events.

Afterwards, a group of us met at Porto's Cuban Bakery (a Burbank icon) to celebrate with unbelievably delicious pastries and foamy coffee-flavored drinks.

All-in-all, the day was a great success.

And tomorrow, I'm attending another signing event!

The First Annual FSFW Bookfest, sponsored by the Fresno SciFi & Fantasy Writers, is being held at Clovis Book Barn in, well, Clovis.

Clovis Book Barn opened their new store in August. They have 8,000 square feet and two levels filled with both new and used books. The central part of the store is open to the ceiling, and the second level lines the four walls like a wrap-around balcony. A staircase up the middle provides access to the rows of tall bookcases on the upper floor (it reminds me of a library ).

The warm and welcoming atmosphere in this store is a sharp contrast to the corporate-sterile environment of Barnes & Noble, our lone remaining book boxstore. Most of the books Clovis Book Barn carries are used, and in some cases, hard to find.

Saturday's Bookfest, being held from 1:00 – 3:00pm, will showcase FSFW members and their works. Signings, readings, and giveaways are part of the festivities, as well as discussions on everything books.

If you live in the area, please join us to celebrate the efforts of local authors and support this great independent bookstore.

And if not, visit Clovis Book Barn online to check out their amazing inventory. They just might have that book you've been looking for.

~cover preview: The Monster's Growl

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Well, what do you think?

Does it intrigue you?

Does it make you want to read the back cover to see what the story is about?

Should I put a tagline on the cover, or do the image and the title tell you enough?

Be honest – an artist I'm not, so I appreciate any comment you might have to improve the cover and make it more sellable.

I'll have another one for you next week (don't worry –  it won't be black like the last two!)

 

 

 

~book signings, open mic night, and an interview!

Wow.

A couple of days ago, I was bemoaning all of the PR work I find myself continually doing.

And then the results started rolling in.

1)  Today I'm featured on a blog!

I recently participated in a blogfest with a Native American theme. An excerpt from my novella, The Last Trace, tied for first place with an entry by Kevin Lazarus.

The blogfest was hosted by the lovely Amy Jarecki. She's the author of the just-released novel Koicto, a historical fantasy centered around a young Native American struggling to save his tribe from extinction. It looks awesome (I just received a copy and am starting it next week) and it has the most gorgeous cover. Check it out:

 Anyhow, for being a winner in her blogfest, Amy interviewed me on her blog. So if you want to find out some juicy stuff you can use against me later, go check it out!

2)  Open Mic Night Readings

The FSFW Open Mic Night is alive and kicking. Rob Lopez, FSFW member, has arranged with Clovis Book Barn to host our event. I, along with other FSFWers, will be doing readings this Friday, December 9, from 6:30 – 8:00pm. If you live in the area, please join us!

3)  Book Signing at Dark Delicacies

Yeah, you read that right. This Sunday December 11, I'm joining five other authors to do signings at the famed Dark Delicacies in Burbank. Dark Delicacies not only specializes in books, gifts, and collectibles in the dark fantasy and horror genres, they also regularly host big-name authors and members of the film industry. I'm super jazzed to be signing alongside Gabrielle Faust, V.M.K. Fewing, Rebekah Weatherspoon, P.S. Gifford, and Colette Freedman.

4)  Book Signing at Clovis Book Barn

Saturday, December 17 at 1:00pm, I'll be joining other FSFW writers at the Clovis Book Barn in celebration of our First Annual Bookfest. We're doing all sorts of stuff to celebrate books – signings, readings, raffles, etc. If you live in the area, come join us in the fun and maybe even win a signed book or two by the FSFW writers.

~ ~ ~

Well, that's it for now – I'm worn out from just typing all of this!

So go check out my interview on Amy's blog. There will be a test on Monday

 

~excerpt – The Last Trace

My friend, Amy Jarecki (we met at Dave Farland's workshop!), is running a blogfest in celebration of the release of her new novel, Koicto. The theme of the blogfest is Native American.

I just happen to be working on a novella set within The Chosen world titled The Last Trace. This story introduces readers to the half-Cree Taz, a key character from Runner: Book II of The Chosen.

In honor of Amy's blogfest and the release of Koicto, here's a short excerpt:

Montana

October 1842

Trace Pierre Tasman stopped and knelt in the middle of the narrow trail. Even in the fading light of dusk, the deer's track stood out in sharp contrast to the blurry, older prints scattered along the tree-lined path. He fingered the track's sharp edges, noting the damp soil in the deepest part of the print.

He slowly stood, nocked an arrow, and drew back the bowstring. His moccasined feet stepped carefully, quietly.

A twig snapped up ahead and Trace stopped, becoming as still as the boulder next to the path. He took a deep breath and stretched the bowstring a little tighter and waited. A six-point buck walked out of the trees and stood at the edge of the trail not thirty feet ahead. Trace released the arrow along with his breath, and the feathered shaft hissed through the air to sink into the deer's side just behind the shoulder.

The deer coughed and leapt forward, then bounded up the trail. Trace hung back, watching the white flag of the animal's tail until it disappeared over a small rise. He broke into a quiet jog, slowing as he topped the hill. The buck was down, about sixty feet ahead. The arrow shuddered in rhythm with his shallow breaths.

Trace padded up to the deer. As the animal tried to lift his antlered head, Trace pulled his knife from its buckskin sheath, knelt, and slit the tawny throat.

He whispered a prayer of thanks in his mother's Cree tongue, keeping his hand on the animal as it died.

With a glance at the darkening sky, Trace stood and tied back his long black hair. He shoved his buckskin shirtsleeves up along his forearms, bent to the fallen deer, and picked up his knife. Within minutes, he'd gutted and cleaned the carcass. He stood and wiped off his blade with a handful of dried grasses, then looked up.

And froze.

A white woman stood a little ways from him up the trail. He noted her ragged skirts, threadbare overcoat, and matted ash-blond hair. But most of all he noted her blue eyes staring at him with the predatory focus of a mountain lion.

As red flashed within their depths, alarm rippled through his gut.

Machaya, he thought. Demon.

Trace fought the panic rising in his throat and tightened his grip on the knife.

The woman moved. Fast.

When she hit him, it was as though he'd been kicked by a mule. He flew backwards, then slammed into the ground beneath her weight, his breath exploding from his chest. His head slammed as well, and as he fought to keep from blacking out, he felt her grab his hair and yank his head to the side.

Her teeth tore into his throat and he screamed.

Trace could feel the life being drained from him, being sucked from him. His muscles no longer responding, he slowly succumbed to soul-stealing pain and a darkness blacker than the surrounding night.

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Copyright © 2011 Roh Morgon