Kelly Hashway's Blog, page 91

Friday Feature: Haunting Joy by Lena Goldfinch

Joy's grandmother gives her a thrift store dress...a dress with a little supernatural history. A dress that's a little more than she expected.

"I never believed in ghosts.
Until it happened to me."

Excerpt:
I know I heard a sound, an almost human-sounding sigh, and it came from the corner of my room. Inside my room. I’m sure of it. As I slide my gaze back that way, a chill slithers over me. All the tiny hairs on my arms stand at attention. You know, like that moment in the dark when you suddenly think someone—or something—might be in the room with you.

Only, my room’s not dark at all. It’s clear and bright outside. Sunlight is pouring through my skylight. Even so, my room feels creepy and strange now. I peer into the corner, searching for any sign of movement, for anything different, like a mouse or squirrel or something. But the dog would have been all over that, I think, wouldn’t he? The only thing I see is my chair. Except...the white dress is no longer heaped in a haphazard pile on the seat. It’s laid out all nice and neat, with the straps up over the back cushion and the skirt spread out over the seat. The two matching flip flops are sitting side by side in front of the chair, toes pointed toward me. Like there’s an empty girl sitting there, in an empty dress, with her empty flip flops, looking right at me.

I sit up quick and swing my legs over the side of the bed. The room tilts around me, and the floor’s flying up to meet my face, so I grab the edge of my mattress and take a deep, calming breath. Or try to.

“Mom,” I yell toward the door.

No answer.

“Mom!”

I hear her muffled reply.

“Did you lay out my new dress?” I call to her.

“What dress, sweetie?”

As if she knows nothing about it.

My heart squeezes into a knot.


Add it on Goodreads.

My thoughts:
I love this cover! So pretty! But moving on to the story... This is such a quick, fun read. It's not your typical "girl gets haunted" story either. Joy is given a dress of a dead girl—who she finds out was named Beth—and she soon realizes that Beth's spirit is tied to this dress. But instead of fearing the ghost, Joy wants to help her. She gets visions of Beth's last moments and unravels how Beth really died. And all along, she can hear Beth's thoughts in her mind, though only in bits and pieces so Beth can't just tell Joy what happened to her, and the coolest thing is that when she looks in the mirror while wearing the dress, she can see Beth in the reflection. (I loved that part!) 

The way the two work together is great. Joy is taken over by Beth, but not in a scary, possessed sort of way. Joy knows she needs to wear the dress to sense Beth, so she does wear it a lot. But she's doing it to help her spirit move on, which I thought was touching.

If you're up for a quick ghost story, give this one a try.

What do you think? Would you help a ghost?

And be sure to enter this awesome giveaway.

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Writer Wednesday: Inconsistencies

Have you ever noticed that TV shows and movies have a lot of inconsistencies in them? Let me give you an example. In the TV series Friends Chandler is afraid of dogs in one episode, but not in another. My daughter used to watch the show Victorious and in one episode, they say there was never a prom at Hollywood Arts (the high school on the show), but in the pilot episode, one girl complains that no one asked her to last year's prom. Another big example is in the movie Jurassic Park. One minute there's a goat tied up in the T-Rex pen. Then the power is cut and the T-Rex pen is suddenly a cliff that the Jeep falls over. Huh? The producer even admitted he changed that to make the scene more dramatic.

I notice these things all the time. Maybe it's because as a freelance editor, I look for inconsistencies in my clients' manuscripts. It's part of my job to make sure the book is consistent from start to finish. So why do TV and movie writers get to take liberties with these things when authors can't? It's baffled me for years.

Have you noticed inconsistencies like this? Why do you think TV and movies can get away with them?

Monday Mishmash 10/21/13

Happy Monday! Here's my mishmash of thoughts:
Tuesday Night TV  I have four shows on Tuesday nights! Pretty Little Liars, Ravenswood, The Originals, and Supernatural are all on Tuesday nights. Just my luck. Yes, they run at the same time, which means I'll be watching two of them on Wednesdays.Nothing To Tell Cover and Trailer Reveal  I'm organizing the cover and trailer reveal of the final and FREE installment of the Campus Crush Series by Ashelyn Drake. Want to participate? Sign up here.Crossroads Blog Tour  Yesterday was the official start of the Crossroads Blog Tour hosted by Judith Graves. I'm joining a bunch of authors for this tour and the grand prize is a Kindle loaded with all our books. Don't miss out.Announcement Coming November 6  I've hinted that I have an announcement to make. It's coming November 6th.Cricket's Drive Around Town Trailer  My next picture book, Cricket's Drive Around Town, is set to release December 3, 2013 through FutureWord Publishing. Here's the trailer my publisher made for the book.That's it for me. What's on your mind today?

Friday Feature: Spiralling Out of Control by Michelle Evans (Review)

Summary:
Temptation, depression, seduction, betrayal... Not what Stephanie was expecting at fifteen years of age. Uprooted from her happy, all-girl high school life with a dream filled future and thrown into an unfriendly co-ed school, Stephanie spirals into depression.
 
When charismatic high school senior, Jason notices her, Stephanie jumps in feet first and willingly puts all her faith and trust in him, a boy she barely knows. 
Every choice she makes and turn she takes leads her towards a dangerous path. 


Her best friend is never far away and ready to catch her … but will she push Tabbie too far away when she needs her most?




My thoughts:
I admit, I didn't know this was a Christian book before I agreed to read it. I'm mentioning it because if you don't like those books, this isn't for you. There's a definite Christian message that comes through. Stephanie falls fast in this book. She falls for Jason, and even though she thinks she wants to wait for marriage to have sex, after one kiss with Jason, she's already thinking about sleeping with him. I admit I thought that happened really fast. I would've liked to see a more gradual progression to their relationship, especially since he's the one who ends up dragging her down.

Stephanie makes one bad choice after another, and I wasn't sure how I felt about that. I wanted to root for her, but I found it hard to at times. Now obviously, the book is meant to be about a girl who is spiraling out of control, and Evans definitely portrays that. Stephanie's story gets bleak, and her troubles compound until her life truly is out of control.

This is really a tough book for me to review because it's not my typical read, but if you can appreciate a realistic look at what happens when teens get wrapped up in drugs and sex, then this is the book for you.

Writer Wednesday: Ups and Downs

Let's face it, this industry is full of ups and downs. Right now, I have to admit I'm in an awkward period. I'm full of emotions, and I'm not always sure which way is up anymore.

Why am I confessing this? Because I don't ever want to come across as someone who has all the answers. I don't. I share my experiences, hoping others will find them helpful and also hoping to hear about your experiences. 

Right now I'm trying to balance writing for different age groups and genres. It's tough. Really tough sometimes. I'm trying to balance writing and marketing. That's even tougher. And I have some things I'm dealing with that I can't tell you just yet.

So how do I get through it? I remind myself that after the down comes the up. One way or another, I'll figure this out and find my way up again.

How do you deal with the roller coaster that is this industry?

Monday Mishmash 10/14/13

Happy Monday! Here's my mishmash of thoughts:
Columbus Day  My daughter is off from school today, so we are heading to my parents' house for the day. Looking forward to it.Free Horror Short Story  I'm working on another free horror short story for you all. I'm hoping to get it up on Amazon soon. I love being able to give something back to fans like this to show my appreciation. :)Pumpkin Picking  We went to a birthday party at a farm and got to pick pumpkins, take a hayride, and go on carnival rides. It was so much fun. Oh, and there were animals to pet and a hay maze. I love this time of year.Books, books, books  I've read a lot of books lately and I realized I'm terrible at keeping up with Goodreads. I always forget to update the books I'm reading. *sigh* Zombie Blogfest  Beth Fred and I are hosting a zombie blogfest. Post about your favorite zombie movie, zombie book, zombie TV series, or share some cool zombie pics. As long as it's zombies, you're good. What's in it for you? How about a FREE story. Plus, US residents can also be entered for a chance to win some zombie limb candy and a signed copy of Touch of Death. (Sorry but international mailing is expensive and mailing candy internationally isn't always allowed.) Want to join us? Sign up in the Linky below.
That's it for me. What's on your mind today?

Friday Feature: Wish Upon A Star by Michelle McLean

Today I'm featuring my fellow Scene13 Blogger, Michelle McLean. Now in case you can't read the logline on the cover of the book, here it is: 
"Even a zombie apocalypse can't stop true love."So, zombies and love? Yeah, I'm in. :)
 



WISH UPON A STAR

Ceri McKinley never stopped wishing that her ex-fiancé Jason Crickett would come back into her life. But when he finally does, he comes with a request that puts them both--and all of humanity--into jeopardy. Jason only wants two things: to bury his brother properly and to convince Ceri to trust him again after he jilted her. But when Ceri agrees to help him get his brother back, they end up fighting for their lives as the second zombie uprising threatens them all.

 Amazon | B&N | iBooks | Kobo

Excerpt: 

 Jason sank down beside me and pulled me toward him, pressing a kiss against my temple. 

“Are you okay?” he asked, brushing soot and a few burned leaves from my face and hair. The smell of burned plastic and singed hair coated everything. But it could have been worse. 

I leaned against him for a moment before trying to push to my feet. Jason stopped me. “Rest for a minute.” He reached into my backpack and pulled out another bottle of water. 

I took it gratefully, gulping down half the bottle before handing it to him to finish off. When he was done, he bent down, kissing a drop of water from my lips. His hands cupped my face. “I’m sorry. For everything. All of it. Everything I put you through. These wasted years without you.” 

“I’m sorry too.” I pulled away and looked up at him. “If we get through this—” 

“When we get through this. Not if.” 

I gave him a small smile and nodded, knowing he knew what I wanted to say without having to voice the words. “When we get through this, maybe we can talk. About things.” 

He gave me one more lingering kiss. “I’ll hold you to that.” 

“But for now,” I said, brushing a lock of hair from his forehead. 

“Rain check?” 

“Rain check.”


  About Michelle:
Romance and non-fiction author Michelle McLean spent 98% of her formative years with her nose in a book indulging in her love of reading and research. Expanding that love into writing was inevitable. Michelle has a B.S. in History, a M.A. in English, and tends to be a bit of an organized mess with an insatiable love of books and more weird quirks than you can shake a stick at. When Michelle's not editing, reading or chasing her kids around, she can usually be found in a quiet corner working on her next book. She resides in PA with her husband and two children, an insanely hyper dog, and two very spoiled cats. For more information on Michelle and her books, please visit her on her website, blog, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, or Goodreads.

What do you think?

Writer Wednesday: Handling What is Out of Our Control

I think most of us like to be in control. I mean, that's a big reason why so many people are self-publishing. They want control over their stories, their release dates, their blog tours, etc. But...there are some things we just can't control, whether we are traditionally published or self-published.

First, you can't control sales. You can't. We can write the best book (in our minds) and we still can't make people buy it. Even if you offer it for free, you can't force people to download it so you can have a great rank on Amazon.

Second, you can't control reviews/readers' opinions. We love our books. Of course we do, or we wouldn't have written them. But not every reader is going to "get" our books or even like them.

Third, you can't control your release date. Publishers have to adjust release dates for a lot of reasons, and honestly this doesn't bother me much at all because they are doing what's in the best interest of the book and author. One of my 2014 titles was pushed back a few months, and I'm fine with it. The book will be better for it. But if you are traditionally published or if you self-publish, Amazon likes to do what it wants. They are known to release books early. We can't do anything about that.

Fourth, we can't always control our characters, nor do I think we should. I take it as a great sign when my characters throw my planning out the window and run with the story. It's their story, so I'm happy to let them tell it.

I could go on, but I'd rather hear from you. What are somethings we just can't control in this industry? And how do you handle them?

Monday Mishmash 10/7/13

Happy Monday! Here's my mishmash of thoughts:
My Husband's Birthday and Our Anniversary  Yesterday was my husband's birthday, and Wednesday is our anniversary. We celebrate a lot in October. :)Editing  October is always a busy editing month for me, which I couldn't be happier about. I'm getting to read so many great manuscripts. I love my job.Beth Fred's Blurb Writing Class  There are still four available spots in Beth Fred's online blurb writing class. She's sharing the technique that got her a 50% request rate, snagged her agent, and got her a publishing deal Sign up here.Free Monthly Newsletter  My free monthly newsletter goes out today at 5pm EST. If you aren't signed up but would like to receive it, click here.Curse of Death  Thanks to my amazing publisher, Spencer Hill Press, I was able to put out a FREE Touch of Death short story that shows the lesser-known myth about Medusa that this series is based upon. You just might be surprised by Medusa, and hopefully you'll come to see why I think she was wrongfully cursed. It's completely FREE so download it here. And if you'd like, feel free to post a review on Goodreads. I'd love you for it. :)

That's it for me. What's on your mind today?

Friday Feature: Cover Reveal—Moonless by Crystal Collier

Today, I'm happy to be taking part in the cover reveal for Crystal Collier's Moonless.


Alexia must choose safety and an arranged marriage, or true love and being hunted by the Soulless every moonless night. 





In the English society of 1768 where women are bred to marry, unattractive Alexia, just sixteen, believes she will end up alone. But on the county doorstep of a neighbor’s estate, she meets a man straight out of her nightmares, one whose blue eyes threaten to consume her whole world—especially later when she discovers him standing over her murdered host in the middle of the night.  
Among the many things to change for her that evening are: her physical appearance—from ghastly to breathtaking, an epidemic of night terrors predicting the future, and the blue-eyed man’s unexpected infusion into her life. Not only do his appearances precede tragedies, but they’re echoed by the arrival of ravenous, black-robed wraiths on moonless nights. 
Unable to decide whether he is one of these monsters or protecting her from them, she uncovers what her father has been concealing: truths about her own identity, about the blue-eyed man, and about love. After an attack close to home, Alexia realizes she cannot keep one foot in her old life and one in this new world. To protect her family she must either be sold into a loveless marriage, or escape with the man of her dreams and risk becoming one of the Soulless. 
Title: Moonless Author: Crystal Collier Series: Maiden of Time #1 Publication: November 13th, 2013 Category: Young Adult (YA) Genre: Historical Paranormal Romance
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17876692-moonless Buy Link: Buy Moonless Buy Link URL:  www.crystal-collier.com/bt Blog: http://crystalcollier.blogspot.com Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/crystalcollier1 Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2598146-crystal Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/crystalcollierauthor 
What do you think?