Elizabeth Guizzetti's Blog, page 18
October 1, 2013
Cover Reveal! Candace Knoebel’s Everlasting!
Check out the cover for Candace Knoebel’s next book Everlasting!
What if your destiny lay on the other side of death?
Faye Middleton never believed life would begin with death. She also didn’t believe one could find love after such a tragedy. With one, well aimed bullet to her chest – all of Faye’s well-constructed beliefs are put to the test.
After waking up in an alley covered in her own blood, Faye soon realizes life isn’t always what it seems. Being rescued by a strikingly handsome Hunter named Jaxen, shakes the very morals she had as a mortal, or what she thought would be her morals, if she could only remember who she was and what they were.
Jaxen Gramm never thought true love was an option. Being a Hunter meant he was bound to his Witch…someone completely opposite of Faye. But when he rescues Faye in the alley, she steals his heart with just one look. And after realizing just who she is and her importance to their race’s survival, Jaxen takes her under his wing in hopes to help find her killer.
No side of this war is safe for Faye. Hunted by both good and evil, can Faye learn how to use her newly acquired powers to retrieve the Exanimator before time runs out and Mourdyn, an ancient evil, is released from his cell in the Underground?
Add it to your Goodreads TBR List
Want to know more about Candace Knoebel the author of the Born in Flames trilogy and Everlasting, check out her Website & Blog
September 28, 2013
A Racy Question for Readers!
I’m going to pose a racy question about sex scenes in non-erotica books to my readers. (Yes, I posed this to FB earlier, but then I realized I could be much more specific on my blog! Though I’m having a fun exchange on FaceBook if you want to join in.) I write sci-fi, and so yes, I’m talking about sci-fi. Gritty dark science fiction.
Oh my gosh, I see stamens, how risqué!
In general, if you read a book that has a sex scene (In this case a married couple on their wedding night) Do you want to see a second sex scene or is one enough? Or since there is only one sex scene in the manuscript would you prefer it just blacked out prior to intercourse?
Since both characters are inexperienced, it’s pretty tame and there is some important dialogue, cultural stuff prior and during and after the act. I don’t want it to be gratuitous either, but it is a big deal for both the groom and the bride. I would also it is one of the most sweet scenes in the book because they care about each other. Nothing we would call kink of any sort is shown.
An example that doesn’t tell you much is prior to intercourse: a priest and wedding guests bless the marriage bed and then the groom unbraids the bride’s hair in front of the assembled crowd. They cheer then the bride and groom at left alone.
If you read Other Systems, you know the sex scenes I wrote there was a bit of foreplay and kissing, but the scene was blacked out prior to actual intercourse, but in this new book I thought the intercourse made the scene better.
(Unless it is going to turn readers away…then it is bad!)
I’d love anyone’s opinion whether they have read my stuff before or not.
So 1) Do you like sex in non-erotic books?
2) Do you think a wedding night is gratuitous sex?
3) If I show the wedding night, will you be disappointed there is no more sex shown in the book?
September 24, 2013
Want to know my favorite horror movies?
I love horror movies. Dennis and I watch them constantly. Here are my top ten favorites… you will notice that they have slow building suspense rather than just gore. (And yes, there is three John Carpenter movies on this list!)
10) The Exorcist 1973 The devil possesses a girl, her only hope is an exorcism.
This is a great slow build film. Also it shows the horror of the medical establishment when they cannot discover what is wrong with a patient.
9) Rosemary’s Baby 1968 A girl is impregnated by the devil.
This film is terrifying because no one believes Rosemary because she is a 60′s housewife with a controlling husband in a patriarchal society.
8) Drag Me to Hell 2009 A loan officer who evicts an old woman from her home finds herself the recipient of a curse where a demon wants to drag her to hell.
Good tension through out, with just enough creepy imagery to make it interesting. Plus some almost funny over-the-top fight scenes. Besides the love interest’s mom played by Molly Cheek is freaking fantastic.
7) Pyschomania 1963 An evil motor cycle gang figures out a way to live forever. What’s not to love?
6) Bram Stoker’s Dracula 1992 Dracula goes to London to find his lost love who has been resurrected Mia.
A Francis Ford Coppola film so as with so much of his work, it is simply beautiful, sensual, and everything else a vampire movie should be.
5) The Fog 1980 A fishing town becomes shrouded by a killer fog containing ghosts seeking revenge for their deaths.
I love the story of this town. There is all ages, all income levels. It feels like a real place with a real history.
4) In the Mouth of Madness: An insurance investigator discovers that a horror writer’s books is coming true.
Sam Neill plays a hardbitten investigator.
3) Session 9 2001: An asbestos cleaning crew work in an abandoned mental hospital with a horrific past that seems to be coming back.
I love the tension which builds between the main characters played by David Caruso and Peter Mullan
2) Absentia 2011 Two sisters link a tunnel with a local disappearances.
This is one of the best independent low budget films ever made. Creepy and atmospheric with a small cast. Also it gives alternate theories of what might of happened.
My number one favorite horror movie…
Prince of Darkness 1987 A research team finds a mysterious cylinder in a deserted church and have dreams brought to them by the future.
This movie is simply freaking awesome. Jesus is an alien. Plot is fundamentally powered by calculus and quantum mechanics.
September 20, 2013
Special Guest Amber Skye Forbes!
Synopsis:Amelia Gareth’s brother is a witch and the only way to save her family from the taint in his blood is to become a professed nun at Cathedral Reims in the snowy city of Malva. However, in order to become professed, she must endure trials that all nuns must face.
Surviving these trials is not easy, especially for Amelia, who is being stalked by shadowy beings only she can see. They’re searching for people they can physically touch, because only those they can touch can see them. Amelia soon learns why she is being stalked when she accidentally harms her best friend with fire during the third trial. Fire is a witch’s signature. The shadows are after witches.
Now Amelia must decide what to do: should she continue on her path to profession knowing there is no redemption, or should she give up on her dream and turn away from Cathedral Reims in order to stop the shadows who plan to destroy everything she loves?
Alright on to the questions,
So, Amber, when did you know you wanted to be an author?
It was in journal time in second grade when we all wrote in our journals for thirty minutes about anything we could think of. I used to write about things I just did everyday, but then I started to want to write stories like my favorite author at the time, Mary Pope Osborne, author of The Magic Treehouse series. It then became this compulsion, this need, and I knew I wanted to publish one day. There is no rationale behind why I want to be an author and be published an all that. I just know that I want to be.
I understand that. I have wanted to be an author as long as I could remember too. What has been the biggest thing you have learned in this process of writing a novel?
The biggest thing I’ve learned in the process of writing this book is that just because the story isn’t working now doesn’t mean it won’t work later. I started it at 15, which was 8 years ago. The story definitely didn’t work at the time, but unearthing it at 21 and re-doing it with the new skills I gained definitely made it something that, after much work, would be worthy of publication. So I learned to never give up on a story. Novels take time.
What was the most challenging character to write?
Nathaniel, Amelia’s younger brother, was hardest to write because he is eight and much younger than Amelia. I had a really hard time trying to develop him as a character because of this barrier, and even now I still don’t think I fully succeeded, but I’m still learning and growing as a writer, and Nathaniel is going to be in the second book, in any case–he will be much better developed, mostly because he will be older.
Who is your favorite character in WHEN STARS DIE?
Amelia, of course. I like her determination and loyalty and her unfailing will to want to do something good for her world, even though she is restricted in a lot of ways.
Your cover is absolutely gorgeous, who designed it?
Viola Estrella of Estrella Cover Art.
Are the names of the characters in your novels important?
I wouldn’t say they’re that important. I mean they are because the names differentiate them, but they don’t hold any special meaning. I name the characters based off the time period and what names I happen to like at the time.
Okay now the questions are going to get personal.
What makes you laugh?
Just about anything can make me laugh because I am a very easygoing person.
If you could choose anyone to be a mentor, which author would you consider?
Libba Bray. She has been an inspiration this entire time, and I would say fans of A Great and Terrible Beautywould love When Stars Die.
What is your favorite book?
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. It’s one of those books that makes me want to cry just thinking about it, and a book has never done that to me before.
Most of the readers of my blog are other writers, any advice to share?
Make sure something happens in every chapter, be it plot or character development. I had to learn that the hard way. Also, I recommend an outline at some point during the writing process. I also had to learn that the hard way. And last, try not to get too enamored with “rules of writing.” If you follow them so strictly, your writing will end up coming off as flat and unoriginal.
Amber Thank you for taking the time to be here today.
Want to know more? Ask a question for Amber in the comments!
Or follow this awesome new author on Facebook, Twitter Feed, Blog Reader
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AmberSkyeForbes
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AmberSkyeF
Blog: http://amberskyeforbes.wordpress.com
Webpage: http://amberskyeforbes.com
or add WHEN STARS DIE to your Goodreads TBR List
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18387010-when-stars-die
Special Guest Amber Forbes!
Synopsis:Amelia Gareth’s brother is a witch and the only way to save her family from the taint in his blood is to become a professed nun at Cathedral Reims in the snowy city of Malva. However, in order to become professed, she must endure trials that all nuns must face.
Surviving these trials is not easy, especially for Amelia, who is being stalked by shadowy beings only she can see. They’re searching for people they can physically touch, because only those they can touch can see them. Amelia soon learns why she is being stalked when she accidentally harms her best friend with fire during the third trial. Fire is a witch’s signature. The shadows are after witches.
Now Amelia must decide what to do: should she continue on her path to profession knowing there is no redemption, or should she give up on her dream and turn away from Cathedral Reims in order to stop the shadows who plan to destroy everything she loves?
Alright on to the questions,
So, Amber, when did you know you wanted to be an author?
It was in journal time in second grade when we all wrote in our journals for thirty minutes about anything we could think of. I used to write about things I just did everyday, but then I started to want to write stories like my favorite author at the time, Mary Pope Osborne, author of The Magic Treehouse series. It then became this compulsion, this need, and I knew I wanted to publish one day. There is no rationale behind why I want to be an author and be published an all that. I just know that I want to be.
I understand that. I have wanted to be an author as long as I could remember too. What has been the biggest thing you have learned in this process of writing a novel?
The biggest thing I’ve learned in the process of writing this book is that just because the story isn’t working now doesn’t mean it won’t work later. I started it at 15, which was 8 years ago. The story definitely didn’t work at the time, but unearthing it at 21 and re-doing it with the new skills I gained definitely made it something that, after much work, would be worthy of publication. So I learned to never give up on a story. Novels take time.
What was the most challenging character to write?
Nathaniel, Amelia’s younger brother, was hardest to write because he is eight and much younger than Amelia. I had a really hard time trying to develop him as a character because of this barrier, and even now I still don’t think I fully succeeded, but I’m still learning and growing as a writer, and Nathaniel is going to be in the second book, in any case–he will be much better developed, mostly because he will be older.
Who is your favorite character in WHEN STARS DIE?
Amelia, of course. I like her determination and loyalty and her unfailing will to want to do something good for her world, even though she is restricted in a lot of ways.
Your cover is absolutely gorgeous, who designed it?
Viola Estrella of Estrella Cover Art.
Are the names of the characters in your novels important?
I wouldn’t say they’re that important. I mean they are because the names differentiate them, but they don’t hold any special meaning. I name the characters based off the time period and what names I happen to like at the time.
Okay now the questions are going to get personal.
What makes you laugh?
Just about anything can make me laugh because I am a very easygoing person.
If you could choose anyone to be a mentor, which author would you consider?
Libba Bray. She has been an inspiration this entire time, and I would say fans of A Great and Terrible Beautywould love When Stars Die.
What is your favorite book?
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. It’s one of those books that makes me want to cry just thinking about it, and a book has never done that to me before.
Most of the readers of my blog are other writers, any advice to share?
Make sure something happens in every chapter, be it plot or character development. I had to learn that the hard way. Also, I recommend an outline at some point during the writing process. I also had to learn that the hard way. And last, try not to get too enamored with “rules of writing.” If you follow them so strictly, your writing will end up coming off as flat and unoriginal.
Amber Thank you for taking the time to be here today.
Want to know more? Ask a question for Amber in the comments!
Or follow this awesome new author on Facebook, Twitter Feed, Blog Reader
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AmberSkyeForbes
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AmberSkyeF
Blog: http://amberskyeforbes.wordpress.com
Webpage: http://amberskyeforbes.com
or add WHEN STARS DIE to your Goodreads TBR List
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18387010-when-stars-die
September 19, 2013
New Word! Illeist
Tycho and Rosie only fear getting baths, but they hate it when people talk in the third person …
This won’t a long blog post, but I learned a new word today.
illeist (IL-ee-ist) noun “Someone who refers to oneself in the third person.”
Example: Eyeing the pink bakery box on the table, Tom said, “Tom likes donuts. Tom also likes coffee.” Then thankfully shoved a cruller in his gaping maw, before the illeist referred to himself in the third person again.
I knew it was an annoying trait, I didn’t know there was a word for it and apparently neither does the spell checker.
Anyone else learned any other awesome words recently?
September 11, 2013
The Mountain was out today….
That’s what local people say when we see Mt. Rainier in the distance, but it was such a nice day that I cleared my schedule and went hiking with my grandmother at Mt. Rainier today. It’s a 2 1/2 hour drive for me to Paradise, an hour for her so we just met there. We hiked for a few hours and then had ice cream. Also it was weird, we saw three people that she knew.
This was just taken by my phone, btw. I was a goof and didn’t check my good camera before I left.
Review of Jack Croxall’s short story X
I just finished Jack Coxall’s short story X. It’s a quick and emotional read about a young girl dealing with a world of “uglies” (She never says zombies or zombie apocalypse) The opening line is: “What follows is the contents of a journal found in the basement of a farmhouse somewhere in the English countryside…”
Since it’s a short story I don’t want to giveaway too much, however I will say Coxall’s descriptions of X’s emotions of a lonely, angry, terrified fifteen year old girl ring true.
Great read and I highly recommend it.
September 10, 2013
The veil is growing thinner…and a poem
Dump: a word with many meanings. Today it’s referring to the fact that I’m down in the dumps…and about to dump on the readers of this blog.
Maybe i just need to build more lego structures, when Other Systems was first published I created this.
Honestly it’s been one of those weeks. One would think I’d be used to the routine. I try to stay upbeat and busy when I await feedback. I am waiting for two manuscripts to be read. One is The Light Side of the Moon which is at 48Fourteen, the other is the few folks who are beta reading The Martlet. I hate waiting. Waiting makes me irritable. Waiting on a rejection makes me feel worse. Little things annoy me. I’m getting frustrated with conversations with people who aren’t even here. I’m half-afraid to go to writing group because I can’t stop rambling. This week, I snapped at a friend over something stupid —and now I can’t remember if I apologized or not—I’m hoping I did or he just isn’t mad at me. The veil that covers my crazy grows thin.
Now I realize I can be a bit intense and high strung, but my hiking companion said, “You’re creeping towards level 10 neurosis.” Thank Goodness, we’re really good friends and she is willing to put with me. This is the part of the job, I am not good at–dealing with the intense emotions.
Now I want everyone to know, my neurosis is not because of the work. I love the work.
It also doesn’t help that I am busy preparing for the autumn cluster of appearances and classes which is ratcheting up my intensity even more.
Each time I encourage another writer to keep going —often in public—and follow their dreams when my own nervous stomach/critical part of my brain is telling me to quit. That I am never going to be published again. (Which is total BS, I know logically, but try to tell my stomach that!)
Of course, this feeling is the key to my next “project” I decided to create a small collection of poems and short stories. I don’t know if or when they will be published. They might honestly all suck. That’s not really the point. The point is to allow me to experiment. I decided to see what happened if I did not put any restrictions on my creativity for a few weeks. I know not every idea I will have over the course of the experiment will be great, but I feel it’s important not to censor or ridicule myself. So far I have written ten poems, rewrote a short ghost story, and wrote a piece about vampiric aliens. Each one has illustrations.
So here is a short poem I wrote. It is the kindest and most gentle of the poems which is why I chose it to share.
Dangers Real and imaginary
She warns of dangers real and imaginary.
So I take pause before I jump in t he icy water
Obscured with mineral dust.
Algae clutch to rocks and squirm under my bare feet,
My toes grow pink, Then my calves and hips
No further.
I could see minnows i n the emerald abyss
Nibbling at mosquitos.
Yes this poem is about a swimming in alpine lakes and why certain people don’t swim in them.
PS Before anyone thinks I am moping about physically. Nope. I still exercise each day. My tummy & brain are moping, but I’m going hiking to Lake Valhalla today and yes I’m going swimming! Which leads to the most important advice I can give: If anyone can stand your company, it’s important to stay busy with friends while manuscript waiting occurs.
September 2, 2013
Meet the Author Sonya Loveday of Casted on her Blog Tour
I am happy to welcome Sonya Loveday the author of the new novel Casted! It’s always a pleasure to be part of a debut author’s blog tour!
Sonya Loveday, first and foremost is a reader, an avid one. It is of that love that brought her to the realization that this was the answer to the nagging persistent feeling that ‘there’s got to be something more’.
The dream came alive in 2009 when she purchased her laptop and began the tedious step of becoming a published author.
When she’s not reading, she’s writing. When she’s not writing, she’s reading. And when she’s not doing either of those things she’s sleeping, shuttling her children back and forth to school, letting the dogs and cats in and out of the house for the umpteenth time in the last hour and dreaming of a clean house.
You can find Sonya Loveday on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads and WordPress.
Welcome Sonya and thank you for taking the time to answer a couple questions! Here we go, w hat have you learned as an author?
I’ve learned a lot of lessons the hard way and by watching others. To say what I’ve learned would probably sum it up best this way:
Nobody’s perfect
You will always have a mistake(s) in your novel
Have thick skin
Not everyone will be a fan
People will either cheer you or put you down – it’s human nature.
I can’t do 20 things at a time, no matter how bad I want to – I just can’t
One day at a time ~ One chapter at a time
What inspired you to write Casted?
Believe it or not, all of my writing comes from in the form of either a day dream or an overactive imagination when I’m trying to go to sleep. Casted came to me one night when I closed my eyes and this is what I saw:
The train rumbled down the track along the rocky out crop of mountain I’ve precariously traveled along. It had been six long years of running for me and, well, I’ve gotten a little worn down by it all. Never the same town, never the same country, always moving to keep ahead of those who hunt me.
The train whistle blew, its eerie sound calling to the darkness that’s permanently seated in my chest. After running for what seems most of my life, I was now able to look back and learn from my mistakes. All the near-misses and almost-endings have given me lessons in which they could never teach you in any class-room. I considered myself a self-graduate from the School of Hard Knocks and that last leg of my never-ending journey had finally come to a halt. I could only hope that I had found a hiding place.
This was at one point the opening of Casted. I pulled it from the story because it just didn’t feel right. It only served its purpose in showing me who Jade was and that she had a story to tell.
Who is your favorite character in Casted?
I’d have to say Jessa. She’s smart-assed, witty and takes no crap from anyone. She loves fiercely and would be a great person to have your back.
Was any character particularly challenging to write?
Hmm…No, not really. My characters – all of them- walked in and were very determined to show me who they were and how they fit into the story.
It was kind of like they invited me into their world instead of me inviting them into mine.
I struggled more with getting an action scene down the first time. Most every action scene was written, re-written, edited and then added to in order to get what I was seeing out of my head.
Do you find your own morals coming through your writing either intentionally or unintentionally?
In some cases yes, but then I have to stop and remember that every character is different, as is every person. I’m just here to tell their story the best I can.
I have many aspiring authors who read my blog. Any advice for them?
Learn from your mistakes –they will only make you a stronger person and better writer.
Never give up on your dream, no matter how far out of reach it is.
You’re going to feel defeated, you’re going to ask yourself ‘what the hell was I thinking’ and ‘who am I kidding’, those questions are perfectly normal for any new author/writer.
Use beta readers and make sure you have an editor.
Use every available resource you can to get the word out about your upcoming novel, get people interested and wanting to read what you’re writing. Use that platform to promote yourself. Push past the fear – fear gets you nowhere!
Keep pushing on until the day comes when your finger is hovering over the publish button. That giddy sense of OMG will set in when you finally click it. Ride out the panicked feeling that makes you want to either laugh in insanity or vomit (okay…ew!). At that point you can sit back and relax for a moment knowing you just accomplished your dream…congrats!
Now go promote the hell out of it!
Want to know more about Casted?
“My mind absorbed everything in the spell book I clutched tightly to me. Pages ruffled inside of my head, urging me to remember things and then to forget them. Voices chanted with tempo rising at the breaking points of pain until the book vanished and words to an ancient spell scribed across my arms. Each stroke brought blood to the surface, imprinting words I could not read; words that would forever change who I was.”
Jade had spent the majority of her life running from the Triad. A powerful group, who would stop at nothing to obtain Jade and the missing spell book for leader, Lorenzo’s, nefarious plans. And now that she has absorbed the highly coveted magic contained inside the missing book, there is nowhere left for her to hide.
With the help of her friends, Jade steps out from the shadows and learns how to fight back. But no one is prepared for Elinor-the woman bound inside of the book that’s trapped in Jade’s mind. Now she not only needs to protect herself from the Triad, but from what’s hiding inside her mind as well.
Jade never expected the answer to it all would revolve around love.
Edge is dark, mysterious, and a sworn member of the Triad. He also hides a secret past that threatens the thin line he walks between good and evil. Lives are at stake when Jade and Edge’s two worlds collide. Can Jade learn to trust him when he says he is her pre-ordained and vows to do everything he can to protect her? But more importantly, can she trust herself and the woman in her mind?
Casted is available in e-book and paperback at Amazon & Barnes&Noble
