L.S. Murphy's Blog, page 5

{Blog Tour} Guest Post by J.A. Belfield

I’m thrilled to have the illustrious, multi-talented J.A. Belfield on my blog! I love the Holloway Pack series, so I jumped at the opportunity to be part of the Caged blog tour. In Caged, Belfield does something interesting. She takes her long running series and changed POV. It’s a risk, and one that most definitely paid off. I asked her to share her thoughts on this.

Here they are:

Switching POV in a series isn’t really that different to switching when you write a new novel unrelated to any others. I mean, you have to figure out who your character is, all the same. Get to know them. Work out their whims and wants and traits, and what will make them tick or cry.

Right?

Except switching POV in a series comes with one major bonus—as well as one important drawback.

The bonus is this: if your character has already appeared in previous books as a lesser personality, then you’ve already got to know him a little bit. You’ve seen his personality. You understand how he might, from an outsider’s perspective, react to certain situations. You’ve witnessed the building of his relationship with those around him, and with whom he prefers to interact.

It’s a win, right? You already know this dude on the outside, which should give you a pretty decent basis from which to build.

However, as much as this is an advantage, it can also be a disadvantage, if not treated with the utmost care.

Because if a certain character behaves in a certain way in earlier books, or has a relationship with a certain someone, drives a certain car, has a certain hobby, prefers a certain food … yep, you’ve got it. You can’t deviate from that. Not if you want it to be consistent and, thus, believable. And certainly not without a major catalyst of some kind.

So, the trick is, if you’re planning to write a series, especially if you’re planning to switch up the main character for different books, think ahead. Ask yourself: Would they do this? Is this them? Is this who I want them to become? In essence, don’t treat these side characters as insubstantial. Because you never know just how it might affect your story—or their story—later down the line.

P.S. I always find giving the main character for the next book a greater role in the preceding book helps me to understand them better, too, as well as gives me the chance to weave in traits that might have been previously hidden. That way, those little details won’t seem so out of the blue, and each book will then transition more smoothly from one character to the next. It’s an introduction, of sorts—for yourself as a writer, and for your readers. You should all try it—it’s fun.

About Caged: If the meek can become deadly, the strongest can be weak.

For Ethan Holloway, his mission to find a missing werewolf should be simple. Crack a few heads, bust a few chops and the solution always reveals itself. Always.

Not this time.

Ethan’s reputation precedes him, and because it does, someone is ready. Waiting. Unbeknownst to Ethan, he’s about to go down. Hard. Against a foe he never suspected and in a world he never imagined could be real.

What awaits Ethan is a fight not only for his reputation, but also his pack, his female, and his life. If he survives, damage control will become priority number one.

If he survives.

Because even Ethan’s not sure he’s strong enough to take on an entire race all by himself.

Especially one hell bent on exposing who and what he is in the name of sport.

Read an excerpt here.

To learn more about J.A. Belfied, visit her online at http://www.jabelfield.com

Tagged: 2013, Authors, Books, Fiction, Just for Fun, Musings, Novels, Opinion, Opinions, Paranormal Romance, ramblings, Random, Reading, Writers, Writing

Brent Kelley Takes Over …

Hello, folks! I’m Brent Kelley, the author of Chuggie and the Bleeding Gateways. It’s the second Chuggie adventure, the first being Chuggie and the Desecration of Stagwater. These are gory, profanity-filled adventures through the monster-filled world of Mag Mell. With Bleeding Gateways, I’ve chosen to donate half of my royalties for the first year to the American Cancer Society. I wanted to stop by my pal L.S. Murphy’s site today to share what I know about Young Adult Fiction. I haven’t published any YA yet, but I think you’ll find this guest post insightful, informative, and worthwhile. Visit me at www.brentmichaelkelley.com.

5 Keys to Writing Good YA Fiction

1: Your Audience

Obviously, understanding your audience is important. What are kids into? What moves them? What will get them to put down their Gameboys, turn off the Power Rangers, and read a book?

Those are great questions. I remember this one time back in freshman year, we were at Luke’s dad’s house filming for a history project. The video itself was absolutely pointless. It seemed like five buddies screwing around in the woods with no interest in addressing any historical topic whatsoever. And that’s what it was. It ended with each of us being “executed” by flying sticks in front of a big mud puddle, which we all fell backwards into. It was really an amazing scene. First, Rudy got it. Then me, then Fetting, then Trevor, and then Luke. I think. I know for sure Rudy was first and Luke was last. Luke had to throw his own stick at himself, so it was difficult for the viewer to assume that an executioner was responsible. In the end, we all laid in a pile in the cold mud, appearing to be dead. My memory may not be the clearest, but I’m pretty sure the power of our acting overwhelmed our instructor, Mr. Zak, so much that he accidentally gave us a much lower grade than we deserved. Much, much lower. As I re-read this paragraph, I’m not sure it addressed anything relating to understanding YA readers, much like our video didn’t address anything to do with history.

2: Raising the Stakes

HA! The first time I typed that, it said “Raising the SNAKES”! I bet that would have made TONS of sense in talking about YA! Raising the stakes on your hero is what I meant. More and more pressure on them as the book goes on. Now, if you were raising SNAKES, that’d be something else. Me? I have two snakes. An albino Nelson’s milksnake named Crabdip and a ball python named Darth Batman. Couple o’ regular little snuggle-pals! “Hey, Daddy! Can I have a mouse to eat whole?” No, DB, you just had one yesterday or the day before. Let me check my calendar. Oops! Yeah, you can have a mouse, pal! I used to have a 7-foot Burmese python back in college. Her name was Kitty, and let me tell you, that snake loved to snuggle! One time I yawned and she stuck her whole head in my mouth. Yeah, I know. Gross. So put THAT in your book!

3. Characters Need Flaws

One way you can make sure your characters are flawed enough to feel real to the reader is to answer the following 10 questions from each character’s POV: 1) What do I fear? 2) Who don’t I trust? 3) What is my darkest secret? 4) How does… Wait, I think the secret one was supposed to be first. Heh, here’s MY darkest secret: I can’t keep these things straight! Okay, maybe that’s not quite my “darkest” secret. It may not be a secret at all at this point. Anyway, I’m afraid of bees. Some will say this item – maybe even the entire post – is as useless as a lazy metaphor. That’s because they stopped reading before I got to…

4. Bad Guys Need Redeeming Qualities

That’s right, folks. Your bad guy should have something about him that’s at least a tiny bit decent. It makes the character complex and worth further examination. Like my old history teacher Mr. Zak. What a monster! Sure, most folks who know him think of him as a good man who enjoyed teaching and who made his classroom fun. But they didn’t see our historical film or the grade he gave it. They didn’t see the look on little Rudy’s face when that grade got handed down. You know who really lost out? The public. After we got the grade, none of us had the confidence to show that film to the community. I think about that, and I think about all the lives that could have been saved. How could lives have been saved? I don’t know. Somehow, I bet. I should bring it up next week at Mr. Zak’s Monthly Benefit for Orphans with Mesothelioma. That guy’s like Walter White on Breaking Bad, but without the drugs. And he’s never killed anybody. And he introduced me to Frank Herbert’s DUNE. And he’s really nice.

5. The Final and Most Important Key

You gotta go out with a bang when you do these lists. Much like, I imagine, Walter White is going to go out with a bang on Breaking Bad. I don’t think he’s going to die, though. I think they’ll leave it open to “OMG, what happens next?” And then they’ll never tell us. Maybe in like ten years they’ll do a movie or something. I’ll tell you one thing for sure: I’ll be watching on Sunday! Did you see the cliffhanger from last season? (or half-season, you know what I mean) Boy, I sure did. I’ve watched that episode a lot. Here’s a secret… It’s on right now! The only problem is I haven’t really “seen” it. I downloaded it from a Hungarian bootlegging site, so I don’t really know what was said. The subtitles are slightly off. Example: Walt Jr.:“Having is to you for to being receives… paining carwash the death!” To which Skyler replies: “One thousands of goat to soaking of goat.” So yeah, no idea what actually happened last episode, but it looks like Hank might be onto Walt. Oh, and speaking of Hungarian stuff, Google thinks all the emails I get from HungarianSingles.com belong in my Junk folder! Come on, Google, I pay good money to get those emails. Don’t hide them from me!

Thanks for reading BMK’s “5 Keys to Writing Good YA Fiction”. You found it entertaining and informative.

Also, I invite you to check out Chuggie’s adventures. Help me and Chuggie fight cancer!

Tagged: 2013, Authors, Books, Fiction, Fun, Guest Post, Just for Fun, Musings, Novels, Opinion, Opinions, ramblings, Random, Random Thoughts, Reading, Writers, Writing, YA, YA books, Young Adult, Young Adult Books

Cover Reveal: Running on Empty by Colette Ballard

 

I’m thrilled to show off this awesome cover! I’ve already added Running on Empty to my TBR list.  

Release Date: November 25, 2013

About the book: What does it feel like when you die—in those final moments? Do you feel the physical pain, or just the pain of your regrets? What does it feel like when you realize you can’t answer these questions because you’re not the victim?

You’re the killer.

River Daniels lives an ordinary life as a high school junior growing up in the confines of rural Texas until her boyfriend’s brutal attack leaves her both a murderer and a fugitive. When River’s closest girlfriends come to her aid, they make a hasty decision to not only help her, but leave their own troubled lives behind and join in her escape. The girls manage to elude police for months, but with every near-miss, River’s life spirals further out of control, until she finally hits rock bottom. Realizing she must stop endangering her friends and find evidence proving she acted in self-defense, the girls decide to make a risky return to Texas. Her return means more than facing her ugly past, she must also face the one person she was protecting the night her world caved in, the guy she has loved for as long as she can remember.

 

“Raw, romantic, and suspenseful!” ~  Katie McGarry, author of Dare You To

 Cover Designer: Marie Romero

ISBN: 978-1-939392-81-7

 

If you’re in the US, here’s a chance to win some signed bookmarks & a $50 Amazon gift card at Rafflecopter.

 

Tagged: 2013, Authors, Books, Cover Reveal, Fiction, Fun, Just for Fun, Musings, Novels, Random, Random Thoughts, Reading, Teens, Writers, Writing, YA, YA books, Young Adult, Young Adult Books

Swag #Giveaway: ONE MORE DAY goodies

Hello EVERYONE!!!!!!!!

I haven’t been blogging much lately because … well, because I have been writing my tail off. 

Since last June when I signed with fabulous literary agent Julia Weber, I have been incredibly busy with edits on my YA novel EXTRA INNINGS, writing another YA comtemp PIXELATED, and signing a contract with Entangled Publishing for NEIGHBORS, a contemporary romance novella. Crazy, right? 

On top off all that, there’s ONE MORE DAY! The release date is still a few months away, 

AND I HAVE A GIVEAWAY FOR YOU!

GRAND PRIZE WINNER GETS:

ONE MORE DAY journal, pen, and bookmark!

PLUS ….. 

A SIGNED COPY OF SENSHI BY COLE GIBSEN!!!!!!!!

First place winner gets:

PEN and BOOKMARK.

So, how do you enter to win? As Bean says, “Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.”

Comment below on what you would do if you only had ONE MORE DAY!

Contest will run from 7/15 through 7/29 and YES IT IS INTERNATIONAL!

Tagged: 2013, Anthologies, Authors, Books, Fiction, Fun, Giveaway, Giveaways, Just for Fun, Musings, Novels, Opinion, Opinions, Paranormal Romance, ramblings, Random, Random Thoughts, Reading, Short Fiction, Teens, Young Adult, Young Adult Books

Digital Goodies

Look at these lovely digital goodies for ONE MORE DAY!

Tagged: 2013, Anthologies, Anthology, Authors, Books, Fiction, Fun, High School, Just for Fun, Novels, Opinions, ramblings, Random, Random Thoughts, Reading, Teens, Writers, Writing, YA, YA books, Young Adult, Young Adult Books

{Blog Tour} Guest Post by the AMAZING Jocelyn Adams

Excuse me while I SQUEEEEEEEEEEE! *cough cough* Okay, sorry about that. Had to get it out of my system, you know? And why am I being such a fangirl. Becuase the AMAZING Jocelyn Adams is invading my blog today. I LOVE the Lila Gray series, and was fortunate enough to get a sneak peak of the first book of her Ironhill Jinn series, Stone Chameleon. She has this amazing ability to always make me cry. 

Okay, enough of my rambling. Here’s Jocelyn….

How it feels to complete a series…

Writing a book is like assembling a puzzle, maybe a thousand piece deal with one image to deal with.  You still have to edge it out, pick out the main points, then fill in the rest of the pieces to make the greater picture come to life.  I think that’s why I like writing so much because it puts my brain to the test, to see if I can weave all of the little intricacies of characters, environment and plot together to make something whole and real out of it.

Writing a series, however, is like assembling several puzzles with multiple images from one communal pile of pieces where it’s not always clear what pieces belong to which image.

In book one, the primary conflict and characters need to be introduced, as well as set up for the rest of the series.  Book two needs to remind the reader what happened in the beginning, as well as build up for the final showdown in book three, all while having its own storyline that comes to completion.

Book three is even harder.  There are a ton of loose pieces hanging around from book one and two that need to be placed in the right order and combinations, creating that final assembled group of puzzles.  As someone who doesn’t plot anything, getting that finished product at the end of Rise of the Magi was a struggle.  Blood, sweat, tears and a lot of soul went into Lila Gray’s character, friends, her world, even the villains that came and went.

I felt strangely empty after I wrote THE END and sent it off to the publisher.  Spent.  Quiet of the mind.  And a lot sad.  I’d been dragging my feet on that last book for a long time because I didn’t want to say goodbye to that world and its residents, the living houses, the romance that bloomed between several of the characters.

But it was over.  I’d finally assembled the giant puzzle and liked the picture it created.  Since I started writing back in 2009, I hadn’t gone more than a few days without writing something new.  After finishing the trilogy, it was two months before I was able to engage my imagination again.  It was a little scary, I’ll admit.  I worried that inspiration had left me and I was done writing.  That I’d poured all of me into Lila Gray and had nothing left.

A little patience and rest fixed me right up, though, and my writing gear slipped back into overdrive.  I’m so happy about that.  There are so many more worlds I need to create, characters to roam in them, and chaos to inflict on them.

Now I only hope I can wiggle out enough minutes in my life to write them all.  :)

About Rise of the Magi: 

In a battle of wills, who is strongest? The one who hates or the one who loves?

In a test of faith, who will fight the hardest? The one who has everything to lose or the one who believes only in herself?

For Lila Gray, the answer is both. For the Magi, the questions are pointless since they can’t lose, and they’ve been waiting since before Lila’s birth for this one moment. Lila only needs to find them to understand her entire purpose in life. This time, though, instead of protecting her people, Lila may be leading them all, including her unborn child and the man she loves, to their deaths — and not by accident.

In the ultimate trial of heart and soul, and the conclusion to the Lila Gray series, Lila will learn that the greatest weapon of war is herself, with one ultimate unknown. For which side will she fight?

Excerpt – Chapter 1

I choked on the black fear unfurling in my soul, brought on by what would come, what always assaulted me the moment I slipped into unconsciousness. It was stupid to think I could run from it for a third night, but shreds of hope were all that had kept me sane. Primal, cold and so dark it blotted out my Light.

Sleep, more terrifying than anything I’d faced yet, claimed me again.

Standing on the balcony of the new fae castle, I gazed over winding rows of ancient shifter houses, each quiet and seemingly content in slumber, in a night that wasn’t dark. Dark and light all at once—a perfect balance, as if the world hadn’t yet decided which side would win, until the red clouds rolled and curled across the sky like blood spilled into water. Flames, intelligent and ravenous, spread from the east, ready to consume everything and everyone until nothing but ash remained. Heat licked at my skin, growing hotter. Knowing it was only a dream didn’t keep sweat from pearling along my face and neck or the blue streak of profanity from escaping to color the air. Heart thundering, I gripped the railing while I stared at the coming storm, brain frozen with the puzzle I hadn’t yet solved.

What are you trying to tell me? What am I missing?

From below, shrieks invaded my ears, thundering across the land until they rose into a deafening clatter of sound. The houses came alive with light, moaning as fae spilled into the cobblestone streets and stared skyward before scattering, each filled with agony and despair deep enough there would be no escape from it. Dying. They were dying. My own scream built in my throat, to tell them I would fix it somehow, that I would save them, but it couldn’t find an escape. Nor would my body obey my commands to move, to help them. To do something. Anything.

The scene changed as it always did. I stared down from far above, my limbs turned to torches of white fire. A globe of light around me cast a white wash over the city, over the fae who still ran in every direction.

From me.

I am the storm.

Wings pounding against the wind reached me a moment before a giant snowy owl arrived to hover before me, those golden eyes shining with rage and fear, both inducing immense relief that Liam had come and blinding horror with some distant knowledge that he should have run, too.

My scream pierced the silence as a wail let loose from his beak.

No. No!

“Wake up, Lila. Please, wake up!”

Warmth on my arm jerked me awake.

Damn near hyperventilating, I scrambled out of bed and landed on my hands and knees on the hardwood without a stitch of clothing on, unsure if the room spun or if I was just dizzy. When Liam approached, his eyes haunted and glassy, a chilled realization hit me and stalled my breath until my lungs ached with need. What if the storm hadn’t been a dream?

 About Jocelyn Adams: 

Jocelyn Adams grew up on a cattle farm in Lakefield and has remained a resident of Southern Ontario her entire life, most recently in Muskoka. She has worked as a computer geek, a stable hand, a secretary, and spent most of her childhood buried up to the waist in an old car or tractor engine with her mechanically inclined dad. But mostly, she’s a dreamer with a vivid imagination and a love for fantasy (and a closet romantic — shhh!). When she isn’t shooting her compound bow in competition or writing, she hangs out with her husband and young daughter at their little house in the woods.

Website  | Blog |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Goodreads

Tagged: 2013, Authors, Blog Tour, Books, fae, Fiction, Fun, Jocelyn Adams, Just for Fun, Lila Gray, Novels, Paranormal Romance, ramblings, Random, Reading, Romance, Writers, Writing

Cover Reveal: One More Day

I have been DYING to share this with you guys for … EVER!

J. Taylor Publishing does it again with another gorgeous cover. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this.

Did I mention I love this?

Check it out!

One More Day

by Erika Beebe, Marissa Halvorson, Kimberly Kay, J. Keller Ford, L.S. Murphy, Danielle E. Shipley, Anna Simpson

Release Date: December 2, 2013

Back of the Book

What if today never ends?

What if everything about life—everything anyone hoped to be, to do, to experience—never happens?

Whether sitting in a chair, driving down the road, in surgery, jumping off a cliff or flying … that’s where you’d be … forever.

Unless …

In One More Day, Erika Beebe, Marissa Halvorson, Kimberly Kay, J. Keller Ford, Danielle E. Shipley and Anna Simpson join L.S. Murphy to give us their twists, surprising us with answers to two big questions, all from the perspective of characters under the age of eighteen.

How do we restart time?

How do we make everything go back to normal?

The answers, in whatever the world—human, alien, medieval, fantasy or fairytale—could,maybe, happen today.

Right now.

What would you do if this happened … to you?

Tagged: 2013, Authors, Books, Cover Reveal, Fiction, Just for Fun, Novels, ramblings, Random, Random Thoughts, Reading, Teens, Writers, Writing, YA, YA books, Young Adult, Young Adult Books

Rockin’ Thursdays: House of Pain by Faster Pussycat

Going old school hair metal here. Every Hair Metal band had “THE BALLAD” and this is Faster Pussycat’s version. 

I admit, I saw them in concert. Loved it too. But I love anything loud. :)

(By the way, who wasn’t talking to themshelf when they were 18? Never understood that.)

Rock ON!

Bonus song from some of the best hair of the Hair Metal era: CINDERELLA!

Tagged: 2013, Just for Fun, Memories, Music, Musings, Opinion, Opinions, ramblings, Random, Random Thoughts, Rockin' Thursdays, Videos

Rockin’ Thursdays: When I Was Your Man by Bruno Mars

I love the old school sound Bruno Mars has. This video just adds to his essence. 

Tagged: 2013, Bruno Mars, Music, Music Videos, Videos

Waiting on Wednesday: Tied by Laney McMann

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme, showcasing books that we are

waiting to read hosted by Breaking the Spine.

Since the moment I first saw the cover to this, I have been anxiously awaiting the release.

*crosses fingers* Hopefully, I will get an ARC.

BLURB:

Normal people don’t believe their nightmares stalk them. They don’t fall in love with boys who don’t exist, either.

Seventeen-year-old Layla Labelle, though, is far from normal. Her delusions walk the earth. Her hallucinations hunt her, and her skin heats to a burn every time her anger flares.

Or is that all in her head?

Layla doesn’t know what to believe any more because if none of that’s true, Max MacLarnon must be an illusion, and her heart must still be broken.

No matter how much she wants to believe Max is real, doing so would mean everything else is, too. How, then, is that possible?

The answers lie in an age-old legend the supernatural aren’t prepared to reveal, and with a curse that could tear Layla and Max apart forever—if it doesn’t kill them both first.

In TIED, book one in the Fire Born trilogy, learning the truth will mean fighting an arsenal of demons, and being with Max will put Layla on a path toward her own destruction.

Just how far will Layla go to protect the one she loves?

The answer may never be far enough … away.

Tagged: 2013, Books, Fiction, Fun, Novels, Opinion, Opinions, Paranormal Romance, ramblings, Random, Random Thoughts, Reading, Romance, Teens, Waiting on Wednesday, Writers, Writing, YA, YA books, YA Paranormal Romance, Young Adult, Young Adult Books