N.R. Walker's Blog, page 16

Good Morning Monday ~ And Excerpt, and It’s Almost December?

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“Um what?” is right. December. Pretty sure it was March yesterday but whatever. Good news this week was that I did manage to finish my first draft of Kennard’s Story! Bad news is I had a techfail and managed to lose a bunch of words and research when my iMac gave my laptop the silent treatment and failed to sync. Actually, it’s more a case of my laptop not listening to iMac. It’s kind of a long story. The short version is the words are gone forever and I’m diving back in today to redo it.

In other news, it’s only six more days until A Soldier’s Wish is released!! I’m super excited for you all to meet Richard and Gary. They’re adorable guys and totally deserve their HEA. And I thought I’d share a little excerpt from Chapter One…

This is Gary’s POV…

I began to study the other folks in the diner. The hippie-hating farmers were still there, sour-faced, scowling in their cups of joe. And there was a young family; I smiled as the kids enjoyed their pancakes. But then there was a guy, by himself, in a booth staring out the window. He was wearing slacks and a sweater. His blond hair was the good ol’ short back and sides. He was so tidy and clean-cut, he couldn’t be anything but military. The duffle bag at his feet confirmed my suspicion.

U.S. Army.

Normally I wouldn’t look twice at his type, and Lord knew, his type never looked twice at me. But there was a look of such profound sadness on his face, I couldn’t look away.

“Gary?” Lyman called my name.

I turned, not having heard any of what he’d said before. The three of them were watching me. “Hey, I’m just gonna go say hi.” I took my cup of coffee and slid out of the booth.

“We’re leaving in five,” Kathryn called after me.

I gave her a nod to let her know I’d heard her and made my way over to the sad army guy. He was still staring out the window, looking like he was fighting tears. “Hey,” I said so as not to scare him. I nodded to the seat opposite him. “Can I join you?”

He startled anyway and shifted in his seat. “Oh, sure,” he replied.

I slid in and put my coffee between us. “I was just sitting over there with my friends,” I explained. “I couldn’t help notice.”

His eyes, so blue, shot to mine. “Notice what?”

Wow, okay. So that was an overreaction. And over what? What did he think I noticed? He swallowed hard and looked back out the window, a deep blush staining his cheeks.

I put my hand up. “I couldn’t help but notice you were here alone.”

He glanced at me again, then kept his eyes on his hands that were now clasped on the table. “Sorry, I… I…” He sighed. “It’s been a helluva day.”

“It’s early morning.”

The guy almost smiled, then shook his head. “Feels longer.”

It was pretty clear he wasn’t having a good day, so I gave him a smile. “My name’s Gary Fairchild.”

He looked at me then, like really met my eyes. His cheeks pinked up a little. “Nice to meet you, Gary. My name’s Richard Ronsman.”

Release day will be December 2nd!  I can’t wait for you guys to meet these two

This coming week, I have delusions of grandeur of finishing Kennard’s Story redo, then starting my next book. I’m SUPER excited to start this one. These two boys have been waiting a while for their story to be written, and it should be fun!

Okay that’s it this week. I hope every one is well, and all my American friends survived Thanksgiving   I’ll be posting on Sunday with buylinks for A Soldier’s Wish.

Until then…

Good Morning Monday ~ Avoidance and distraction, thy name is procrastination!

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Procrastination. I haz it, and I haz it bad. I should have had my current WIP finished two weeks ago. It’s only short – currently 26K words and another 5K should see it done. But can I do it? My brain says no, apparently.

I should preface this by saying I have actually been doing other work. I’ve managed some accounting stuff, some edits, more edits, formatting and releasing ARCs. I’ve also managed to clean, scrub bathrooms, watch TV (which I don’t normally do), organise shipping of book orders, sooooo much laundry, and a whole range of other things… anything to avoid actually writing.

I’m pretty sure I know why. The thing I’m supposed to be writing is weird. Actually, it left weird and drove straight to crazy-town. And while the left side of my brain thinks this is awesome, I’m pretty sure the right side of my brain is telling me to pull back. So while there is a civil war in my brain, all else is lost.

I know I’ve been hellabusy. And I’ve also been/still am sick. I know my productivity for the last twelve months has been crazy. I’ve written and released a LOT of words. Maybe this is my brain’s way of telling me to take a breather. But then not being productive gives me hives. So this is quite the conundrum. It adds to the anxiety and that exacerbates the issue.

I need someone to *make* me sit down and write this goddamn book. I know I can fix it later. I know I can’t fix a book that isn’t written. I KNOW THIS. But damn, I’m avoiding this ending like I’ve never avoided anything.

So, I’ve decided I’m going to finish this book this week, or scrap it. That’s what I’ve come down to. I can shelve it for a while if need be. But I can’t keep doing nothing. My next characters are ready and talking to me. I don’t *want* to scrap it, but I need to think of the bigger picture.

Anyway, we’ll see what my brain lets me do

Good Morning Monday! A Cover Reveal, A Deadline, and a Chest Infection

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Sounds exciting, doesn’t it? Well, minus the chest/lung infection, that is. It’s not that bad… I only cough every time I breathe.

Good Morning Monday! All the things…

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After a crazy-busy few weeks, I’m now back to regular scheduling. I’m exhausted – the travelling and lack of sleep has brought on a cycle of chronic fatigue. To the point where even if I do anything (like laundry, cleaning, cooking) I need to sit down afterwards, like I’ve just done a workout at the gym. This is how bad it was when I was first diagnosed, and I’d been managing it fairly well. But yes, too much is too much and apparently I now know where my limits are. And, those limits are a two week whirlwind trip, travelling 30 hours straight, running between gates at airports, a hectic GRL schedule, and insomnia. LOL

But at least I know what I’m dealing with this time, so I can better manage it.

On to less depressing issues…

NOVA PRAETORIAN IS OUT NOW!!

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Good Morning Monday!! Nova Praetorian has a release date!

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Good morning!! Yes, Nova now has a release date!  Nova Praetorian will be going live and exclusive to Amazon on October 26th and I cannot wait for you all to meet Quintus and Kaeso!! I just love these two guys so much, I reeeeally hope you guys do to!

So, some quick facts about Nova:

It’s 103,000 words long.
It’s a historical. While some events are factual, all senators and the emperor are fictional. A lot of creative license has been taken.
It’s a romance. There is love and honour and heart-swoony moments. There is definitely a HEA.
It’s set in the Roman era – the story begins in 62 CE. That means there is also going to be things like slavery, brutality, murder.
It uses language and vernacular of the era. Like all historicals, this is important for it to be true to its time. There are no/few contractions, and the absence of words like yes, left, right, friend, love, etc because those words didn’t exist then. Basically, if the etymological root of the word was in Latin, I went with it. And yes, there is even some Latin. Did I get 100% correct? Probably not. Please bear in mind this is a fiction novel, not an essay. So while it needed to be truthful to its era, it also needed to be readable for today’s market.
Kaeso is pronounced Kai-so, or Ky-so.  He is not Spanish cheese LOL (a proofer thought it sounded like Kay-so LOL)
Quintus is not Qantas. LOLOL (one of my pre-readers kept calling him Qantas LOL)
And it was one of my most favourite stories to write, ever.

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OFFICIAL BLURB:

Quintus Furius Varus is one of the best lanistas in Rome. Tall and strong in build, fearsome in manner, and sharp of wit, he trains the best gladiators bound for the arenas of Rome. When Senator Servius Augendus seeks personal guards, he attends the Ludus Varus for purchase of the very best. He puts to Quintus an offer he cannot refuse, and Quintus finds himself in Neapolis contracted as a trainer of guards instead of gladiators.

Kaeso Agorix was taken from his homelands of Iberia and delivered to Rome as a slave. Bought by a senator to be trained as a guard, his fate is handed to the man who would train him. Absent free will, Kaeso knows his life is no longer his own, though he soon realises the gods have favoured him when he learns his new master has a kind heart.

Quintus and Kaeso forge a bond that far exceeds the collar at Kaeso’s neck, and together they discover the senator’s move for promotion has an ulterior motive. Thrown into a world of politics and conspiracy, of keeping enemies close, they move against time to save Rome before traitors and the gods themselves see to their end.

And in doing so, see the dawn of the nova praetorian—the new guard—rise.

WIP update:

I’m currently 12K words into my next story. It’s going to be around 20K all up – so only a short one. But this time we’re revisiting some familiar faces. Yes, existing characters! But this time it’s a side character who gets the stage. No hints or clues, but I will say it is NOT in the Red Dirt Heart universe.

I’m having so much fun writing this story! The words are really flowing and I am hopeful I can have the first draft done this week.

I leave for the US on Saturday morning and it’s school holidays here, and I’m running around after my kids like crazy, plus I have appointments before I leave, and my mother in law will be visiting so I’m not confident I’ll get it finished, but I’ll be happy if I get a chunk of it done.

I don’t know what I was even thinking when I had considered the chance of getting Nova out before I left for the US! I got through a round of edits (on 103,000 words) and still managed to write 10K plus a bunch of admin stuff, but pushing a release that wasn’t ready would have been foolish/crazy.

Speaking of leaving for the US, I don’t know if there will be a Good Morning Monday post next week. I’ll be in Virginia doing sight-seeing and touristy things

Good Morning Monday ~ Finders Keepers 99c Sale!

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Gooooooood morning!!!  I have a great feeling this will be an awesome week for productivity, even though my kids are off school for two weeks. LOL  I have things I HAVE to get done in the next two weeks – before I leave for the US. I have a bunch of appointments and my kids have a bunch of stuff on and whatnot but I have a good feeling it will get done

Good Morning Monday! Nova Praetorian Blurb and Cover Reveal!

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Yep, you guessed it! It’s been another busy week. They’re all so busy, at this point we should just take busy as a given and I’ll let you know if I have a non-busy week LOL

I did manage to finish my Christmas Angel story. OMG I didn’t think it would ever end! LOL But A Soldier’s Wish is now done at 55K words. I’m so relieved!! And I do love these boys – they’re super sweet and truly deserve their HEA.

So this week I’ll be working on edits on Nova, writing a blurb for A Soldier’s Wish, and doing some research for a short (20K-ish) story with some characters you’ve already met. My lips are sealed though! I can’t say anything because it’s a surprise. (No, it’s not Charlie and Travis…

Yanni’s Story is FREE for a short time only!

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That’s right!! Yanni’s Story (Spencer Cohen Book 4) is FREE for a short time only!!

Universal Amazon link: http://mybook.to/YannisStorySpencerCohen4

Grab it while you can!!

Also, please note that Galaxies and Oceans will be coming out of KU and going to other retail sites after the 22nd September. If you’re a KU user and have been thinking about grabbing it, now is your last chance!

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Universal Amazon Link : http://mybook.to/GalaxiesAndOceans

Good Morning Monday! A Cover Reveal, News, and Some Book Signing Info!

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I hope everyone’s had a great week! Mine’s been busy (always) but productive which always feels good.

So I promised a cover reveal for Nova Praetorian!! And I shall deliver – but there is no edited blurb yet and no update on the definite release date, but I do have the cover. So behold! I found this cover on a pre-made site (Go On Write) and LOVED it! So feast your peepers on this!!

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It is my first dive into Historical waters, and I loved writing it. So, a quick Q&A:

Is it Historical?  Yes. The dates, Roman customs etc, and some historical events are accurate, though the names of senators and the emperor are fictional.

Is it Romance?  Yes. LOL

Is it a little different from my usual books? Yes. Apparently. Or so I’ve been told. It’s written in third person POV which I think gives it a different feel. And the language/word usage is more formal – because it’s set in Roman times.

Anyway, I’m suuuuuuper excited for everyone to meet Quintus and Kaeso. I adored writing them. I hope everyone loves them as much as I do!  If release date is not before GRL (October 18) it will be after I get home (late Oct/early Nov). I’ll keep you updated!

My WIP now has a title and I’ve seen the prelim cover, so I’m getting excited! It’s called A Soldier’s Wish, and it’s part of a group Christmas anthology. A bunch of awesome authors are writing a story with a continued theme of a special Christmas Angel ornament that gets passed along throughout history. Each story is about the Angel and the men she helps along the way. Each book can be read a stand-alone, they will each have their own special cover, and they don’t have to be read in order.

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I’m excited for this! I just need to finish writing my story… and yes, I’m very well aware how close to the deadline I am for this. LOL  A Soldier’s Wish is now at 42K and I’m really hoping there is only 6-8K to go. I know I say that a lot and it ends up much longer LOL  Considering I thought this story was only going to be 15K in total, my estimates are a complete shot in the dark.

Release date is December 2nd! So mark it on your calendars!

With GRL fast approaching, I’d like to remind you that I will not be doing pre-orders and I cannot sell books at the event. If you want me to sign a book, you’ll need to bring your own copy with you.  You can buy my paperbacks from my Author Page at Amazon.

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SOME OTHER BOOK EVENTS!

Next year, I’ll be signing at Sydney Books By the Bridge on February 23rd. You can pre-order books for that HERE!

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And I’ll also be signing at Book Marked and Sexy in Brisbane on March 2nd. You can pre-order books for that HERE!

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Okay, that’s it for this week!!  I reeeeeeally need to get this WIP finished this week. It’s pushing my whole schedule back because it’s taken me so long to write it. If you see me online, kick me in the pants!!

Until then!