Meredith Allard's Blog, page 47

Guest Post from Sheenah Freitas

I'm an avid reader — when I have time to read. I've read an eclectic collection of genres from classics to thrillers to literary to children's books. I learn a thing or two about writing from nearly every single book I read and it's difficult for me to sit down and choose a favorite author. But I managed to do the impossible and have included valuable writing lessons I've acquired from their works way before I ever stepped foot a creative writing class.

Ann M. Martin

She was probably my favorite author in my childhood days. I couldn't tell you how many Baby-Sitters Club books I devoured and how savvy I felt that I knew the ins-and-outs of high school while I was still in elementary school. (Little did I know that high school was a far more complicated place than what fiction made it seem.) Though I have never baby sat a child, I'm confident that I could put up with even the worse child. That said, Ann M. Martin taught me how to write a sentence beyond: The dog sat. My second grade teacher, Mrs. Ross, can confirm that. At one point in my elementary years (second or third grade, to be exact) I remember a student teacher who happened to be looking over my shoulder when I wrote a sentence that started with the word "but." She chastised me that proper sentences didn't start with "but" and one should never ever start a sentence with "but." Ever. But because I actually read books, I knew that you could start sentences with the word "but" and even Ann M. Martin did it. Were those sentences less acceptable? I also knew that starting with "but" kept things interesting; I just didn't know how to express that. I let her win the battle that day. But I didn't let her win the war.

Dean Koontz

He's had some hits and misses in his long writing career, but he knows how to write for an audience. I also love his similes and metaphors. They're absolutely stunning and invoke such a sharp image in one's mind. For example, in Frankenstein: Prodigal Son, he wrote, "Salamanders of torchlight crawled the iron-bound beams of the main gate and the surrounding brick walls," as well as, "Like waxy stalagmites, yellow candles rose from golden holders, softly brightening the room." I decided then and there that I wanted to write metaphors and similes that exuded a sharp image as well. I don't feel like I'm quite there yet, but hopefully with more practice, I'll be able to.

J.K. Rowling

What's a list of inspirational authors without J.K. Rowing? It's exciting see her range of writing — I'm not sure if it was intentional or if she simply grew with her characters. Perhaps both. If one were to pick up Sorcerer's Stone and compare it to Deathly Hallows, the tone is vastly darker and the writing is even intended for an older audience by the time one reaches Deathly Hallows. In the trilogy I'm currently working on, I'm hoping to do the same thing: with each book the tone should get darker while staying consistent with the voice I set in the first book. I also think she's a valuable teacher when it comes to character. Everyone is so memorable and unique and chock full of personality in the vast world of Harry Potter. But besides her beautiful prose and well-rounded characters, the most inspirational thing she instilled upon me is that there's a little bit of magic all around. Some of us have to look a little bit harder to see it, but it's there.

THE CHOSEN: BOOK ONE

Kaia's entire life has erupted in flames after an assassin appears and burns her village down.

She's rescued by a god from another planet who requests her help because she's the descendant of their last savior.

Together with Reeze — the only other survivor from her village and her appointed guardian — they set off on a quest to find the treasures of the gods in hopes of preventing a dire prophesy.

Kaia and Reeze quickly meet the Tueors, a group of people many thought extinct, who are searching specifically for Kaia.

Their intention: to protect the truth. As Kaia discovers more about the truth and her family's past, she also learns of the Tueors' bloody secret.

Will Kaia be the savior the gods have been waiting for? Or will she let the prophesy come true?

Buy The Chosen:

Amazon  Barnes and Noble  iTunes/iBooks  Smashwords

Author Bio:

A neek at heart, Sheenah Freitas has a love for the whimsical and magical. She looks to animated Disney movies and Studio Ghibli films for inspiration because of the innovative twists on fairytales, strong story structures and character studies.

When not writing, you might find her in a forest where she's yet to find any enchanted castles.

Website: http://sheenahfreitas.com

Twitter: @SheenahFreitas

Filed under: Guest Authors Tagged: Bewitching Book Tours, fiction, guest blogs, Sheenah Freitas, The Chosen

Welcome to the Gratitude Giveaway!

Thanks to I Am a Reader Not a Writer and All-Consuming Books for hosting this great giveaway.

I'm thankful for all my new followers here and on Twitter, and now it's my turn to do something for you. I'm giving away one free e-book copy of Her Dear & Loving Husband every day of this giveaway, so if you have a Kindle, an iPad, a Nook, a Sony, or any other handy-dandy e-reading device, this is the giveaway for you. But there's more…I also have five paperback copies of the novel to give away! If you're not familiar with the story of Her Dear & Loving Husband, check here.

What do you need to do? Fill out the form below and that's it. No extra entries. No fancy tweeting. The only caveat is you must be a follower of this blog to enter. If you're not already a follower, you can sign up via e-mail or Networked Blogs. If you want to enter the paperback giveaway, be sure to fill your mailing address into the form below.

[contact-form]

There are over 300 blogs participating in this Gratitude Giveaway, so click here and hop on over to one of the other great blogs and see what else you can win!

Thanks for reading my blog. I'm glad you're here.

Filed under: Giveaways, Her Dear & Loving Husband Tagged: All-Consuming Books, e-books, Giveaways, Her Dear & Loving Husband, I am a Reader Not a Writer

Getting Organized So You Can Write That Next Book

Sometimes I feel like I'm being pulled in all four directions—one limb each stretched to the north, south, east, and west—and let me tell you, it can be painful. For a while I was so caught up in the business aspect of publishing I lost focus of why I do this in the first place: I love to tell stories, and I love telling those stories through writing. I had to get organized in order to write Her Loving Husband's Curse. At the rate I was going, it would never be finished.

When you're writing your second book after your first book has been released, there's so much more to do. After Her Dear & Loving Husband was sent out in the world, I had to learn about this thing called publicity. I didn't know the first thing about author platforms, social media, or blogging. I had never heard of a virtual book tour. I feel as though I've completed a six-month crash-course Master's program in marketing.

While I was reading everything I could find about book publicity, I neglected what I'm really here to do—write, in this case the remaining books in the Loving Husband Trilogy. I thought I would write Book Two over the summer, but I was so occupied with learning about book publishing that, except for a few scenes here and there, I did very little writing at all. I'm not saying that was wasted time since I had a lot to learn. But I needed to balance my time better so I could be successful as both a writer and a publisher. After a few false starts, I did finally get my act together.

How did I do it?

I put myself on a schedule. Now I spend an hour a day on marketing activities, which leaves the rest of my time to write. I love Deborah Riley-Magnus's suggestion for using a kitchen timer and setting it for thirty minutes or an hour or however much time you have to spend. When the timer goes off, it's time to write.

I love Facebook and Twitter, but they can eat your time away. With Facebook, I've learned to keep it simple. I reply to messages and comments left on my wall. I give myself a few minutes, just a few, to see what my friends are up to and I respond where I can. With Twitter, SocialOomph is a huge help. Where I used to spend thirty minutes or more a day searching for tweets, now I'm able to schedule my tweets every four hours. Whenever I find something tweet-worthy, it takes about three minutes to fill it into my SocialOomph schedule and then I don't worry about it again. Now I spend about 15 minutes or less on Twitter a day and my tweets cover all the time zones.

I've also learned to limit the amount of time I spend reading other blogs. There's so much good information out there, and I can spend an entire day reading post after post, getting lost in a single blog for hours. Again, I'm not saying that's wasted time because I'm all for learning from other writers who have gone before and have some knowledge of this brave new world of publishing. But there has to be a limit to how much time you spend perusing other blogs. You need to save yourself time to do your own writing. I've come to limit my blog reading to about twenty minutes a day, which works out well. Most posts are short and to the point, and I can usually read several of them in that time. If there are other posts I'd like to read and time's up, I bookmark them and get to them another time. Finish reading this, then get to work!

If there are queries I have to send (such as requesting book reviews or interviews), I can do that fairly quickly. I make a list of people I need to e-mail so I don't waste time trying to remember who I wanted to contact or who contacted me. This part takes me fifteen minutes tops, and this isn't something I have to do every day. I also try to save e-mails for Saturdays when I have more time.

When the hour is gone, when the buzzer goes off, it's time to write. No more Excuses. Pull up your story, scroll to your next scene, and let your fingers hop across the keypad as you bring your characters to life. And as simple as these organizational tips sound, they work. Since I started scheduling my time I've completed over 40,000 words of Her Loving Husband's Curse in about a month. Not too shabby.

Filed under: Writing Tagged: getting organized, writing, writing the second novel, writing tips

Hooray for Indie Authors

During my month on tour with Her Dear & Loving Husband, I realized I enjoyed the process of writing the guest blog posts, answering the interview questions, and getting everything organized and together. After the tour ended, I wanted to do for others what the hosts at Bewitching Book Tours did for me—provide a place where indie authors can showcase their work through guest posts and interviews. I've had some practice with interviews. It seems like just yesterday I interviewed John Jakes for The Copperfield Review, though it's about ten years ago now. I'm still amazed by how that best-selling author took time out of his busy day (he was on a cruise at the time, if I remember correctly) to answer some questions from an editor from a new, unknown literary journal. That's a class act if you ask me. If you'd like to read the interview, check here. 

As a writer myself, I'm fascinated by what others have to say about how they write, why they write, how they get past the hurdles. Writing, though exhilarating, can be long, sometimes hard, always solitary work. Now, as I'm well into the second draft of Her Loving Husband's Curse, I look forward to getting back to it every day. I'm at the point where writing the next story in the James and Sarah saga has become fun. But even when the writing is good, it's helpful to learn from others, and I have no qualms about borrowing a good tip when I find one. That's what I hope readers get from the guest posts and interviews: useful writing tips and some inspiration too. From my first two guests, we've already had some handy-dandy ideas. From Michael J Lee we learn about the importance of research as a tool to guide your story, and from Ann-Marie King we see the importance of sticking to it and finding time to write, even if you have a day job (which I do).

As of right now, I'm signed on as a blog tour host for Bewitching Book Tours. Then, in January 2012, I'll also be hosting for Nurture Virtual Book Tourz. I'm looking forward to reading the guest posts and interviews, and I can't wait to see what we learn together.

Filed under: Indie Publishing, News Tagged: Bewitching Book Tours, Book Blogs, guest posts, interviews

An Interview With Author Ann-Marie King

When do you find time to write?

Either late at night or very early in the morning.

What are the joys of writing for you?

I love being able to escape to another world through my imagination. It's awesome!

What are the obstacles of writing? How do you overcome them?

Since I have a day job, I guess my greatest obstacle is finding time to write. I try to write either early in the morning or late at night if I can.

What is your favorite genre to read in? Write in? Why?

I love to read and write paranormal romance. There's something about combining the magic of love with the supernatural. You never know what to expect.

What was the inspiration for your book?

I grew up listening to the most creepiest ghost stories ever told thanks to my wonderful storytelling grandmother.

Do you do research for your writing? If so, how do you go about it (Internet, travel, etc.)?

Actually, the internet, newspapers and various publications.

Tell us about your book.

Watching Over Me is about an imaginary ghost town called Beckford where spirits coexist with the living unaware they are dead. Because the town is full of clairvoyants, many of the living cannot tell automatically who is dead and who is alive. That's what makes the story fascinating or creepy. In fact, the main character Jayden falls in love with a cute guy unaware that he's…um…a ghost.

What did you learn about yourself from writing this book?

That I am terrified of ghosts.

What advice do you have for other writers?

Keep reading and keep writing. Keep honing your skills. Never give up on your dream of becoming published.

What is your next project?

Well, Book Two in the trilogy titled Protecting Me is completed. I'm excited about that.

Watching Over Me

Book One of  The Haunted Heart Trilogy

By Ann-Marie King

"In the ghost town of Beckford, what you don't know can haunt you…"

Jayden Morgan has no memory of her haunted past. All she wants is a normal life. But when she goes to stay by her estranged grandmother in the small spirit-town of Beckford, strange things begin to happen:

1. She meets and falls irrevocably in love with Trey, a gorgeous stranger, unaware that he's a ghost;

2. She learns the mystery of the town's haunted high school may have a deadly connection to her missing memory; and

3. Trey tells her he'd been sent to watch over her…but can she really trust him?

Available on Amazon

 About the Author:

 Ann-Marie King is a freelance writer and the author of The Haunted Heart Trilogy (Watching Over Me, Protecting Me, and Guiding Me).

Excerpt:

Sunday, September 13

11:43 a.m.

His restless spirit roamed the old abandoned schoolhouse on 143 North Chancery Lane. Anger swept through the once promising student like a deadly tornado, his ghostly energies directed towards the girl.  Tormented, the bodiless soul swooned through the empty hall flicking the light switches. Raging. Furious. Feeling lost. His fury shuddered every corner of the structure. There would be no calm inside the old schoolhouse or in the town of Beckford until he reached her. Only then would his soul rest in peace.

11:43 a.m.

Jayden Morgan stumbled as she got out of the cab on North Beckly Street. Panic like she'd never known before welled inside her throat. What she felt was indescribable. She had some nerve coming back to the town of Beckford–a place so tiny it barely existed on the map. She knew she made the right decision to flee from her stepdad, however, sadly leaving her mother behind. Something bad happened. She didn't remember what it was, but she had to disappear for a while before it was too late.

"You okay, missy?" the white bearded cab driver croaked, disturbing her thoughts, as he called out to her from the window after she'd closed the passenger side door. His eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Um…yeah, I'm good. Thanks," she lied quietly, slinging her leather backpack over her shoulder. A flicker of apprehension coursed through her veins as she proceeded to the curb. She stopped and stared blankly at the number on the door in front of her. Number 242. Yep, that's the house. But for some reason it looked different than she'd remembered. Then again, she had difficult remembering a lot during the past week.

The old Victorian-built house with the peeling yellow paint and oddly decorated green porch belonged to Mrs. Rae Morgan, her estranged grandmother on her father's side. The only black relative she knew.

Jayden had called her out of the blue last night and told her tearfully, she had no place else to go. They weren't that close, thus she only remembered staying there once a long time ago. Not sure when. Everything was a blur since Jayden's…incident. She'd stayed in Beckford once with her mom, when they were evicted from their home in Buffalo. That was another story. But that's all she remembered. She couldn't recall what year she'd stayed in Beckford.

She had developed selective amnesia. A silent curse.

Jayden looked around her. The quiet street appeared darkened by the overcast, grey sky.

This place looks like a ghost town.

Half of the homes were boarded up and looked abandoned. Debris littered the other side of the street. There were no cars parked on the curbs. She sucked in a deep breath and zipped up her black and pink hoodie to shield her chest from the autumn chill in the air.

What am I doing here? How could I have forgotten how creepy this town was?

"Sure you got the right place?" the cab driver yelled out to her—as if offering her a last call to get back in the cab and drive to some place more—alive.

"Nobody in his right mind asked to be taken to the ghost town of Beckford," he had joked to her earlier on their ride from the St. Catharines' bus depot. "It's a town full of ghosts acting like they're alive and a bunch of quack seers who can't tell the living from the dead—imagine that! Can't believe people still live in that town." He shook his head at the recollection.

"This ol' town had a booming railroad industry back in the day. It was settled by loyalists in the 1800s—now it's all rubble and dust. They're trying to build it back up and construct homes and developments and entice people to buy cheap new homes here 'cause it's close to the border," he had tsked. "Anything for money." He also gave her a little rundown of the town's history to Jayden's surprise. This part of Ontario was a haven for escaped African American slaves also in the 1800s. The famous underground railway had a stop right in St. Catharines, half hour from Beckford. The town had tons of old pulled up tracks and abandoned train stations and buildings. Jayden guessed he was bored and wanted to keep himself awake after a long shift on the job.

"Why can't you just go up to the ghost and tell 'em they're dead and to go away?" Jayden had asked him while they drove through the countryside to town.

"You crazy?" he had called out to her, eyeing her through the rearview mirror as if she lost her head. "You can never tell somebody they're dead if they don't already know it. Remember that! Or that'll be the last thing you do."

 

Filed under: Guest Authors Tagged: Ann-Marie King, Bewitching Book Tours, interviews, Watching Over Me, writing

Guest Blog from Author Michael J Lee

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Researching James Bond

By Michael J Lee

Believe it or not this project really took off once I started doing historical research.

I know. Sounds crazy. We all know James Bond has nothing to do with reality. He deals with comic book villains who live in futuristic lairs. What could possibly be realistic about that?

But it wasn't always that way. Ian Fleming began writing about what he knew. With his first novel, Casino Royale, Ian claimed he invented nothing. As a veteran of the intelligence services he knew all about the kind of brutal assignments that he detailed in the book. The operation to scam Le Chiffre at the card table so his bosses (in the novel the K.G.B. not terrorists) would kill him? According to Fleming that really happened. The first two kills that give Bond his double 0 rating? Also based on real operations during World War II. And the early books are noted for a nearly journalistic approach. Fleming had a knack for describing exotic locations, what one reviewer called "The Fleming Sweep." He was also, like Stephen King, very precise. Bond lived in a very defined world. His cigarettes came from a very particular shop in London and he had a very particular brand of lighter.

With that in mind I took a look at conditions during the Cold War. I researched British Intelligence and the K.G.B. I looked up possible ways for Ian to sneak into East Berlin. I looked for a possible, though not easy escape route. I ended up sending him on a pretty unusual journey but it was one of the best sections of the novel in my opinion. I actually wrote way too much. My first draft was loaded with Ian's early history with British Intelligence. There's a whole section that takes place during the failed putsch against Gorbachev where Ian breaks into the underground bunker of Directorate 666, the K.G.B.'s Paranormal division. But I had to chop that out. It was making the novel too long. Maybe I'll release that as a short story later.

Part of the reason I did this is because I was writing large sections of the book from personal knowledge. The other settings are Ohio, Connecticut, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas, places I've been to or lived in for a few years. I knew that if the Cold War sections didn't have some the same details, then they would stand out and not in a good way.

It was a very fun way to write a book. I was always an excellent student in History so that made it enjoyable. I'd learn various facts about Berlin and the East German Border and try to shoehorn them in. In fact I can't wait to return to East Germany in a future novel.

That means more research. Yay!

From Russia with Blood

By Michael J Lee

400 year old vampire Ian Redd joined British Intelligence during the Cold War. But after the Berlin Wall came down they decided they no longer needed his services. He was retired, almost permanently. Ian escaped and has lived the quiet life in a small town until a professional hit team arrived at his doorstep. Who sent them? That's a question that will lead Ian into the arms of a beautiful woman named Larissa Barton and into the most dangerous operation of his unlife.

Larissa Barton's life has barely begun and it's already gone off the tracks. She's back in her hometown working as a barista. But things change when Ian Redd enters her life. Dark, mysterious and gorgeous, Ian is her only protection her from the people and creatures who suddenly want her dead. With Ian by her side Larissa plunges into a world of magic, werewolves, vampires, spies and assassins and discovers her own secret past.

"One part James Bond, one part Dracula, and a whole lot of action and adventure. From Russia with Blood kicks ass!" - Vivi Anna, award-winning author of the Valorian Chronicles

About the Author:

Michael J Lee was born in the Midwest and has spent time out on the East Coast and in LA.

He learned the craft of screenwriting the hard way, as a barely paid reader. That's how he got a good feel for writing form and the craft of storytelling. His approach to a story is a lot like Bruce Lee's approach to fighting, absorb what is useful.

Lee recently published his first paranormal romance, My Frankenstein. It's been an adventure – and now he's onto book 2, From Russia with Blood.

http://myfrankensteinebook.blogspot.com/

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4849011.Michael_Lee

Filed under: Guest Authors Tagged: Bewitching Book Tours, From Russia With Blood, guest blogs, James Bond, Michael J Lee [image error] [image error] [image error]

Happy Halloween!

In honor of Halloween, I wanted to share the scene from Her Dear & Loving Husband that takes place on this fun holiday. Enjoy!

* * * * *

Two weeks later it was Halloween, the most important holiday in Salem, a month-long celebration. The streets were closed to motor traffic, and James had to walk around the barriers to find his way to Pickering Wharf and the Witches Lair. When he passed The House of the Seven Gables he saw an audience watching a reenactment of Nathaniel Hawthorne's story. He passed a pumpkin festival where small children held their oddly carved treasures over their heads, and he shook his head in amusement when he saw a walking tour, a class on how to hunt for ghosts and vampires. He passed that group quickly, not wishing to be bagged as a prized game that night. The smell of sweet and salt—candied apples, sugar-spun cotton candy, popcorn, and the sea—filled the air. He enjoyed being outside in the crisp autumn night, watching the children point and laugh and eat and run while a parade of witches, ghouls, and superheroes roamed the roads. He knew the Witches Lair would be open late. It was a good time for sales, Jennifer had told him, since the tourists get bored when everything else around town closes at five. But James didn't care anything about the tourists or the costumes or the sales at the Witches Lair. He knew Sarah would be there. He was going to see Sarah.

Once at the shop he walked inside, glanced around for Jennifer, then sat behind the counter. He watched the people stream in and out, smiled at the happy children, flipped through some books on casting spells. He spotted Olivia, dressed as Raggedy Ann and moving around helping customers. Then he saw the silver crosses displayed in a basket by the cash register. He picked one up and held it close to his face. He was still studying it when Jennifer tip-tapped behind him.

"You mean the crosses don't work? I thought I could finally do away with you."

"You're thinking about werewolves. Or maybe that's silver bullets with werewolves. Most of it is such nonsense." He shook his head as he looked at Jennifer. "You're dressed as Glinda the Good Witch? I'm not sure you picked the right costume. I was thinking more like the Wicked Witch of the West for you."

Jennifer curtseyed, touching her star wand to her gold crown. Her iridescent pink dress was so wide at the waist she hardly fit behind the counter.

"Oh no, Professor. There are only good witches in Salem. And I'm at your service. I'll grant you three wishes."

"I don't think you could grant my wishes. They're beyond even your magical capacity to help."

"I wouldn't bet on that."

"Who do you think I am, Dorothy from Kansas?"

Jennifer pointed her wand at the door. "I guess that makes Timothy Toto."

James watched Timothy walk into the store. The boy looked pleased with himself as he stopped in front of the counter and threw his black cape behind his shoulders. From his tuxedo shirt to his black shoes, his brown hair run through with black dye, red streaks dripping from his lips, there was no mistaking his cos-tume.

"You're dressed as Dracula?" James asked.

Timothy flashed his fake fangs. "What do you think?"

"I think you've lost your mind."

"It's not very original," said Jennifer.

"Not any less original than your costume," Timothy said. "Come on you two—it's the one night a year I can be proud of what I am and show the whole world. I'm a vampire, everyone! A real live vampire!"

The customers walking by, an older couple wearing orange 'This is My Costume' t-shirts, probably tourists, their cameras giving them away, looked nervously at Timothy and stepped aside to study the prayer beads. They only looked back once to see what the vampire boy was doing.

"Where's your costume, James?" Timothy gestured at James's street clothes, his gray argyle sweater, blue jeans, black Converse shoes. "It's Halloween. You're supposed to dress up."

"I'm a little old for dressing up."

Suddenly James smelled it, the fresh human blood, and he sniffed the air to center in on the source. He was afraid the temptation of oozing human blood would be too much for Timothy, who was still new to that life. Then he leaned close to the boy's face and barked in frustration. The blood was dripping from the sides of Timothy's mouth as part of his costume.

"You have human blood on your face?" James whispered.

Timothy shrugged. "It was all I had."

James grabbed the collar of Timothy's shiny black cape and pulled him close. "Go wash that off before someone sees it's human blood. Are you trying to get caught?"

"Relax, James. I'm having some fun. You should try it some time."

Timothy wiped the blood from the sides of his mouth with his hand and licked his fingers. He laughed as he left the store.

James turned to Jennifer. "You said you'd grant me three wishes. Can you make Timothy disappear?"

"Sorry. I'm only allowed to use my spells for good."

"Too bad."

James looked around at the faces, some painted, some masked, all smiling, laughing, happy with the sugar-induced candy high. He walked to the door, propped open by a black cauldron smoking from the dry ice inside, and peered up and down the wharf.

"She'll be here," Jennifer said.

He walked back into the store, heading for his place behind the counter where he had a clear view of everyone coming and going. He wanted a whiff of strawberries and cream as soon as Sarah stepped onto the wharf. He wanted to see her face as soon as she arrived at the shop. Instead, he heard the heavy, plodding footsteps he recognized from the library, and he knew Kenneth Hempel stood behind him. He tried to silently will the reporter to go away and leave him alone, forever, but Hempel still stood there. Jennifer nodded when she saw the reporter in her mother's store.

"Good evening, Mr. Hempel," she said. "Welcome to the Witches Lair. I see we have yet another Dracula here this evening. Have you come to suck my blood?"

"Good evening, Miss…?"

"Mandel. Jennifer Mandel."

"It's a pleasure to see you again, Miss Mandel. And Pro-fessor, how unexpected to see you here this evening. Not in costume I see."

James turned to face the reporter. "Not this year, I'm afraid. I like your costume though. There have certainly been a lot of Draculas here tonight."

"I'm not Dracula. I'm Van Helsing." Hempel grabbed at his belt and unsheathed a wooden cross that had been whittled into a stake. He held it an inch from James's face. "Van Helsing the Vampire Slayer."

As James stared at the wooden stake he wondered if he would have to kill Hempel right there in front of everyone in the store. If it came to a test of strength between Hempel and James, James would win. That was one of the first lessons he learned on his earliest hunts—he had the oppressive power to overwhelm his prey. After a tense moment, James realized that Hempel didn't intend to pierce him that night, at least not with the stake.

"A rather convincing costume, Professor Wentworth, don't you think?"

James kept his eyes on the stake as he spoke. "I believe you're referring to Buffy."

"Excuse me?"

"Buffy is known as a vampire slayer. Van Helsing is known as a vampire hunter. Even so…"

"But aren't they the same thing?" Hempel's brow furrowed as he considered. "Come to think of it, hunting and slaying are not the same thing. You don't need to do one to do the other. Doctor Van Helsing was very methodical in the way he hunted Count Dracula, wasn't he? He gathered the evidence and considered the facts before he made his plans to uncover his prey. He even followed the wicked vampire back to his home to capture him, though he left the actual slaying of the cursed monster to others more capable of such things. Yes, I am Van Helsing after all."

James knew Hempel wasn't entirely right about Van Helsing, but he didn't dare say so. The reporter stepped closer and smiled the same self-satisfied grin James had seen in the library. "You see," Hempel said, "you needn't fear me, Professor. I don't want to slay vampires. I want to hunt them, flush them out into the open. People need to be warned because some of them are a danger to humanity. But you're right—I am more of a hunter than a slayer. Thank you for clarifying that point."

Jennifer walked around the counter and put her arm around Hempel's shoulders.

"If you'll follow me, Doctor Van Helsing, I believe I may be able to find a vampire or two for you around the shop. You won't need to do much hunting tonight."

She led him to a group of small children, each dressed as a ghost, a witch, or a vampire, and the children laughed when they saw the man with a wooden stake at his side. Hempel seemed charmed by them.

"My children are getting into their costumes so they can go trick-or-treating tonight," he said. "I'm on my way home now to escort them around town."

He pretended to chase the children through the store as they squealed with delight, and suddenly the stake he carried looked more like a toy than a weapon capable of killing someone in the store. Push a wooden stake against a man and he'll laugh because it won't hurt. The worst a human would suffer is an annoying splinter beneath the skin. Push a wooden stake against James and witness the blood-splattered gore one expects from the special effects of a low-budget horror film. At least that's what James had been told. He had never seen it himself, and he hoped he never would.

James watched Hempel as he played with the laughing children, and he was sad that, for some reason unknown to him, the reporter had taken it upon himself to expose James's well-guarded secret. Hempel seemed like a nice enough fellow, a family man who might not be a bad person exactly but someone with a serious vendetta. James was concerned about what Hempel knew, but he didn't pursue it any further that night with the Halloween-costumed crowds streaming in and out. He wanted the problem to disappear.

He saw Jennifer watching Hempel and recognized her petulant face, the one that let everyone know she was agitated. The more she watched Hempel the more set her features became. When Hempel turned away, she snapped her fingers and the potion bottles shattered into glass and dust. The reporter glanced nervously around to see what had happened.

"I thought you had to wiggle your nose to do that," James whispered.

"That's on television."

From across the shop Olivia grunted in frustration. Unhappy at her daughter's blatant display of witchiness, her arms were crossed over her chest while her fingers tapped an agitated tune—the perfect picture of a perturbed mother. Jennifer shrugged.

Hempel, visibly upset by the exploding bottles, said good night as he walked to the door. Jennifer escorted him, her arm around his shoulders, smiling to his face.

"Good night," she said, brushing the bottle dust from his cape. "I'm so sorry. I don't know how that happened."

She stood by the smoking cauldron, watching until he was gone. When he was safely down the wharf, she joined James by the counter.

"He needs to be turned into a toad," she said, "or a rat."

"You said you could only use your spells for good."

"It would be a good thing to make that odious little man run through the sewers for the rest of his life. Are you all right?"

"I'm fine. He didn't touch me."

"So that one isn't a legend."

"That one isn't a legend."

"You can be killed by a wooden stake?"

"I can."

"But you live in a wood house."

"I live in it, Jen, I'm not being pierced by it. If I were pierced by the wood that would be a different story."

"Different how?"

"My blood would gush where the stake pierced me, and I could die from the loss of blood alone. Or it could make me too weak to fight, and if I were weak and someone decapitated me…"

"All right, James, enough." Jennifer held her hand to her mouth and squeezed her eyes.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm making the horror movie I'm seeing in my mind disappear." When she settled herself, she asked, "What do you think Hempel wants?"

"To be the one who uncovers the undead in Witch City. What recognition he would receive if he were the first to prove that such beings exist. Good enough for the Pulitzer Prize."

"I think you should talk to him," Timothy said. The boy had come back into the store without his cape, his shirtsleeves rolled up, his face still streaked with blood. "I think I should talk to him. I want to tell him the truth."

"You will do no such thing," James said. "It's too dangerous."

Timothy's dilated-black eyes widened. "I don't think it would be as bad as you think. I think people would understand."

James scoffed aloud. "You think people would understand? I can tell you a story about how little people understand."

Timothy could be a foolish boy, and the foolish are the first to act foolhardy. James knew Timothy was young, especially for their kind, but the boy was stubborn in his wish to be free of hiding and James needed to make him see the dangerous road he wanted to travel. Timothy would unleash not his own personal freedom but havoc and fear, leaving destruction and desperation behind. He had to understand.

Filed under: Fiction, Her Dear & Loving Husband Tagged: Halloween, Her Dear & Loving Husband, vampires, witches [image error] [image error]

Welcome to the Spooktacular Giveaway Hop

I'm excited to take part in my first blog hop, and this one's quite a doozy! Over 400 blogs are participating in this giveaway, so if you love books and goodies–free books and goodies–you're in the right place. Thanks to the ladies at I am a Reader Not a Writer and The Diary of a Bookworm for hosting this giveaway.

Each day from Monday, 10/24 to Monday, 10/31 I'm giving away two copies of Her Dear & Loving Husband, one e-copy and one paperback. With vampires, ghosts, witches, and werewolves, Her Dear & Loving Husband is perfect for Halloween. For a synopsis of the novel, click here.

What do you need to do? It's easy. First, you must be a follower of this blog. If you're not already a follower, you can follow me via Networked Blogs or sign up with your e-mail address. Then, fill out the form below and you're entered. If you'd like another entry, you can follow me on Twitter.

For more great giveaways, click here and hop to the other participating sites. Happy Halloween!

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Filed under: Giveaways, Her Dear & Loving Husband Tagged: Giveaways, Her Dear & Loving Husband, I am a Reader Not a Writer, Spooktacular Giveaway Hop, The Diary of a Bookworm [image error] [image error]

Tips 3-1 for Submitting to Editors

Do…

3. Proofread your queries and submissions

It's important to proofread for typos and other boo-boos. It goes back to showing editors, agents, and anyone else you're submitting to that you're serious about writing. You're not sending in something you wrote off the top of your head, and you took the time to read and reread to check for mistakes. Sometimes it's hard to catch your own mistakes because your eyes see what they expect to see, and they expect to see what  you meant to write. Maybe you meant to write 'she' instead of 'the' but your finger went to the right instead of the left and…you know how it goes. And spellcheck, while a great tool, isn't perfect.

It's helpful to have another set of eyes proofread your work for you. Whether it's a friend with a firm grasp of language and spelling or you hire a professional editor, someone else will often catch those pesky typos before you do, and that will help you create a professional looking draft most editors will be happy to consider.

2. Read previous editions of the journal/publication to see what they publish

Sites like New Pages or the Literary Magazines page from Poets & Writers are great resources for finding journals that publish stories like the ones you've written. When I first started writing historical fiction I searched for journals that published that genre, but I couldn't find any. As a result, I started my own—The Copperfield Review. With so many journals online these days, it's easy to click through their stories to see what they like to publish, and it helps to whittle down your list of possible submissions.

For the first nine years of The Copperfield Review's existence, we only published historical fiction. During that time we received countless submissions that were not at all historical in nature. Writers wasted time sending their non-historical submissions to us. That was one more rejection letter they wouldn't have received if they had checked our website. Even a cursory glance would have shown that The Copperfield Review was a journal of historical fiction.

If you write science fiction, seek out science fiction journals. If you write mystery, humor, romance, inspirational, literary—whatever it is, there's a journal out there that publishes it. Send your work to those journals because you'll have a better chance of being published. And if such a journal doesn't exist, start your own. It worked for me.

1. Follow the submission guidelines exactly as stated

As a writer myself, I understand that sometimes submission guidelines seem petty, even vindictive—you know, a way to make writers more miserable. What does it matter if it asks for a third person bio? What does it matter if I send in seven poems at a time instead of three? But those guidelines exist for a reason, and editors notice if writers don't follow them. You're going to have to trust me on this.

Maybe the problem is the word guidelines, which sounds more like submission suggestions. The guidelines exist because the editors need some semblance of sanity, a method to our madness, to help us weed through hundreds of submissions per edition. For example, we don't accept file attachments because we caught viruses when we did. We only accept three poems at a time and we have a word limit for fiction and nonfiction because we're a tiny staff with day jobs, families, and other life obligations. We ask for a third person bio because books, newspapers, and magazines use third person bios. I understand that to authors it might not seem like a big deal whether they send in a bio in first or third person, but it makes a difference to us as we put each new edition together.

For writers who want a one-size-fits-all file that will work as a submission for fifty different journals, I'm afraid that's not likely. Submissions that follow the guidelines are the ones we look at seriously for publication. Writers careful to follow our specific guidelines at Copperfield  are showing us that they take their writing seriously, they care about presentation, and they're making the process easier by giving us what we've asked for. All I can say is a hearty "Thank you!" to those writers.

It isn't so hard to send in a strong submission. It boils down to being professional, sending in your best work, and following the guidelines. If you can do those things, the sky is the limit for your writing career.

Filed under: Writing Tagged: agents, editors, literary journals, writing, writing tips [image error] [image error] [image error]

Tips 6-4 For Submitting to Editors

Don't…  

6. Resubmit a new version of your work after you've heard back from an editor

Whether your work is accepted or rejected, don't resend a new version to the same editor. If your work was rejected, it wasn't right for that editor for various reasons. It isn't anything about your talent or even that particular story. Different editors have different preferences, that's all. Keep sending the story out to different editors. But don't send it back to the same editor, even if you've reworked it—that is, unless the editor has specifically said to send it back after you've made revisions.

That goes for work that's been accepted too. It's happened where we've accepted a piece for publication and then the writer says something like, "I've reworked my story. Here's the new version." If we accepted it, then we thought it was fine. We don't need a new version. At Copperfield, we stopped accepting new versions because we were doing twice the work—formatting the original we accepted, then formatting the new one. Now on our guidelines it says writers need to send in the version they want to see online since what they send us (if it's accepted) is what's going up. Send in your best stuff the first time, and that will make the process easier for you and for the editors.

5. Forget to let editors know your work has been accepted elsewhere

I took a quick poll of a few editor friends of mine. I asked them what their number one pet peeve was concerning submissions, and every one said they're most annoyed when they choose a work for publication and then find out the work has been accepted elsewhere.

The issue isn't that the work has been picked up by another journal. Nearly every editor I know is a writer too, and we're thrilled when other writers are published whether it's in our journal or someone else's. The problem occurs when we aren't told a submission is no longer up for consideration. At Copperfield, we spend a lot of time reading and rereading every submission we receive. If authors don't tell us their work has been accepted elsewhere and we spend time considering their work, we've just wasted hours, and, like many of you, we don't have hours to waste. A simple e-mail is all it takes. No long explanations required. But it is expected, professional courtesy to let editors know your work is no longer up for grabs.

Do…

4. Send in your most polished work

I'm a writer too, and I know what it's like to be eager to be published. It takes discipline to keep reworking a piece until it's polished and ready to submit, especially since the revising process could take weeks or even months. You don't need to rush the submitting process. Literary journals, agents, and publishers aren't going to disappear (maybe publishers will disappear if you believe what you read).

Run your work by a critique group. Take writing classes. Read some great short stories and examine their greatness. Develop an ear for well-written dialogue. Unwieldy or unnecessary dialogue is a common problem in submissions we see at Copperfield. Give yourself time to grow into the writer you want to be. I know we live in the "I want it now" era, but there's no rush. You're on no one else's timetable but your own. Make sure your story is the best it can be before you send it off to editors.

On Saturday, I'll have my top three tips for submitting to editors.

Filed under: Writing Tagged: agents, editors, literary journals, publishers, writing, writing tips [image error] [image error] [image error] [image error]