M.W. Russell's Blog, page 9
December 10, 2012
Music - Final Chapter of The Transient.
What music helps you to write? I often get asked this, so to give you an idea, here's the song I listened to throughout the final chapter of writing The Transient. (You'll have to read it to feel the relevance)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lyu1...
http://www.amazon.com/The-Transient-C...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lyu1...
http://www.amazon.com/The-Transient-C...
December 9, 2012
Roses at Dusk - An Exotic Perfume!
Thought this was a wonderful and well thought out review!
A fabulous Five Star Review - for Roses at Dusk!
http://www.amazon.com/review/R1GT27CE...
A fabulous Five Star Review - for Roses at Dusk!
http://www.amazon.com/review/R1GT27CE...
December 7, 2012
Lion Hearts
Go to https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lion-H... and check this out!
Although this is not strictly Lion Hearts, when I saw this photo of Andrei's, I couldn't help but feel the connection to our Lion Hearts story. My friend, Andrei Claude is a wonderful actor from Malta, currently working on a film called "Adormidera". You can see information for it here. www.facebook.com/adormideramovie
If you want to know more of Andrei and his career - please check him out at his imdb page: www.imdb.me/andrei
Although this is not strictly Lion Hearts, when I saw this photo of Andrei's, I couldn't help but feel the connection to our Lion Hearts story. My friend, Andrei Claude is a wonderful actor from Malta, currently working on a film called "Adormidera". You can see information for it here. www.facebook.com/adormideramovie
If you want to know more of Andrei and his career - please check him out at his imdb page: www.imdb.me/andrei
December 6, 2012
The Transient (Book1 The Castle Series) - NEW RELEASE!
Got a lovely message in my Inbox this morning from a lady in the UK called Ruth. She had offered her daughter Alex as a reviewer for The Transient. I sent it to Alex last night and this is what she said:
"When you wake up,Alex wants you to
know that she has started your book and she absolutely loves it more than the Twilight books.She's hooked." Means a lot coming from a Teen! :)
Here's the UK link
http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Transient...
http://www.amazon.com/The-Transient-C...
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...
"When you wake up,Alex wants you to
know that she has started your book and she absolutely loves it more than the Twilight books.She's hooked." Means a lot coming from a Teen! :)
Here's the UK link
http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Transient...
http://www.amazon.com/The-Transient-C...
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...
December 3, 2012
The Transient (Book1 The Castle Series) - NEW RELEASE!
#ALERT your #TEEN #Girls: SQweeeee! Finally!!! #TheTransient is almost ready to go. It sits in the capable hands of my illustrator and formatter extraordinaire Patti Roberts and huge thanks to my VERY patient editor Kathy LaVergne! I have cried tears of blood over this!
So.... Run and tell the #Fantasy #Romance world - THE TRANSIENT Book 1 The Castle Trilogy is #COMING!!!
So.... Run and tell the #Fantasy #Romance world - THE TRANSIENT Book 1 The Castle Trilogy is #COMING!!!
December 1, 2012
The Transient (Book1 The Castle Series)
ONLY ONE WEEK UNTIL THE RELEASE OF THE TRANSIENT!
A Magical Teen Fantasy Romance
She never believed. Not in ghosts, not in friendship, and especially not in love.
When Melodie Gibson moves half way around the world to upstate New York, her entire world turns upside down. Living in a quirky castle turned bed and breakfast, she finds herself confronted with someone watching her every move. That someone is Joseph, who captivates Melodie's heart, fulfilling her dreams and drawing her into his world—a world that is beautiful, magical… and treacherous. It will take all the courage Melodie has to face those who will stop at nothing to rip them apart.
From the pages of a Victorian gothic novel transplanted into modern times, The Transient is the first in The Castle Trilogy, a powerful fantasy romance series for teens.
A Magical Teen Fantasy Romance
She never believed. Not in ghosts, not in friendship, and especially not in love.
When Melodie Gibson moves half way around the world to upstate New York, her entire world turns upside down. Living in a quirky castle turned bed and breakfast, she finds herself confronted with someone watching her every move. That someone is Joseph, who captivates Melodie's heart, fulfilling her dreams and drawing her into his world—a world that is beautiful, magical… and treacherous. It will take all the courage Melodie has to face those who will stop at nothing to rip them apart.
From the pages of a Victorian gothic novel transplanted into modern times, The Transient is the first in The Castle Trilogy, a powerful fantasy romance series for teens.
November 29, 2012
Lion Hearts
Fan Page for Lion Hearts https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lion-H...
From A.V. Barber & M.W. Russell comes the Second Excerpt from #Lion Hearts! @authorAVBarber @mibbymw
...An excerpt from 'Lion Hearts.'
She sat in the sun's early light running the brush through her thick gold locks time and again. Lost in the hopeful thoughts of what today might bring; lost in the predicted wonderment of his words. They never failed to disappoint.
"Lillian?"
Her husband didn't mean to sound harsh, but it was his way; the essence of habit, from years of ba
ttle, which had only cemented in him, with age.
"Yes, my love?" she turned with a sinking heart.
His voice was not the one she so ardently sought. It was unusual for her husband, Tristan to enter the bower. It was her sanctuary, her private space – but today she knew too well that he would come. Her absence during the dark hours had been noted.
"Are you ill, my dear?" he enquired.
"No, why do you ask?"
He walked slowly to the window, shielding his discomfort with a view of his back. He was strong, clothed in robes of emerald lustre and neatly woven cloth.
"You were not in the marital chamber last night as I expected," he answered deeply.
"I was tired. We rode long and hard yesterday, my Lord. Such journeys take their toll."
Lilly stood and returned the brush to the table and moved awkwardly toward her husband, knowing she must placate him at all cost. He wasn't a patient man. She had felt his scorn before. It left an invisible imprint where the side of her face had met with the back of his hand. But, her own arsenal, he would fall victim to. She moved slowly beside him and reached a cautious hand to his cheek. Her skin was to cream as his was to russet; he closed his eyes predictably at her touch.
"I am sorry, my love. I shall be much more attentive tonight," she uttered softly. "Forgive my weakness for dreams."
He turned and gazed upon her, fragile under her watch. His twenty years of seniority meant nothing in the moment. He was powerless at her stroke, vulnerable as a child, as were many she enveloped with her love. He turned and pulled her close, drinking in the nectar of her skin. The roughness of his beard felt harsh to her. Lilly yielded dutifully, but with a heart of ice, feeling nothing but what the arrangement of destiny had brought. There was a quiet knock at the door, saving her from the farce.
"Come," Tristan answered impatiently.
A strapping youth, wearing riding attire and the family colours walked in tentatively; he flushed spying the lady Lilly standing there.
"Well, what is it?" Tristan urged gruffly.
"Your horse is ready sire."
Tristan nodded curtly and the young messenger hastily took his leave. He turned back to Lilly, all tenderness gone. "I shall be away until sunset." He walked off, tightening the laces on his pants. "I trust you will be well rested on my return."
Lilly watched silently the closing of the door. She rushed to the window and peered outside. All around was glistening with the remnants of raindrops that had fallen overnight. The clouds had parted by dawn, making way for azure skies to dazzle toward the east. She watched anxiously, as those below mounted up with military efficiency – panted steam filled the confines of the bailey and the sounds of impatient hooves filled the air. In one fluid movement the group departed, through the gatehouse and across the bridge, eventually vanishing into the blindness of the sun.
There wasn't a moment to lose. Reaching for her cloak, Lilly swung it about her shoulders and dashed for the door. The hour was late and she knew she had kept her messenger waiting too long. In her pocket, jingled two small pieces of silver, she would give him; they were a symbol of the salvation of her heart. Outside, she paused at the clump of flowers growing by the walk. There she plucked one gleaming yellow acacia, to send back, with its meaning blatantly clear. Our love is a secret love.
Watching over her shoulder, she stumbled her way in haste toward the stables. The ground was still wet, and slippery from the outgoing of horses earlier, lining her gown with a boarder of mud. She rounded the first pen, breathing hard. There waiting nervously was the very person she sought – a young boy of barley fifteen, anticipation etched across his face.
"Giles, I am sorry to have kept you waiting." Lilly offered anxiously.
"Tis fine Miss – here." hastily Giles handed her a smudged piece of parchment, rolled up and tied with some black thread.
"Thank you." Lilly took the scroll with a trembling hand.
She reached inside her cloak and quickly thrust the two pieces of silver into the boy's outstretched hand. He took them with glee. "Take him this also," she added, handing over the acacia bloom. The boy didn't linger, except to offer a smile of gratitude and hurriedly exited the stable by the rear.
Lilly, barely noticed his departure. With a hammering heart, she ducked inside the nearest pen, and flopped down onto a stack of hay. There she unravelled the piece of parchment and with a hand on her chest and tears welling up in her eyes; she read the words she so fervently sought.
My love,
I count in threads, the sorrow, the blaze and the glory of thy splendour, and feel all three. For my love shall be lost to the divulgence of innuendo and be cast to fury.
That you are caged by covenant in that which was, and with no weight to change circumstance – gives warrant to injustice. I shall not be your harlequin, but you will always be Aphrodite.
I live now in the ashes of that time passed, the lustre of an instance lost to the alacrity of grief and spared only by a memory.
The ties that bind cannot be drawn to parchment, forged to metal or be given to a word but that which is real, will find a way. And in that way, and of that memory, in convergence and safe from anguish, comes the arousal of a moment.
I gild each moment, softly unto the next and onward to the whispered tones of morning. The murmur of thought swells to imagination in flood of your countenance and I am lost to its tide.
In taste of fragrance and the sensuality of touch, beneath the taffeta of saffron and defined by form, I feel you. In surge and heave, drawn from breathless whispers and lost to blaze, we become one.
In the hushed tone of a promise once made, by the argent light of the fullest moon, I beseech that you come to me. This is my crusade, you are my grail and I would drink from thee time and again, and never grow old.
The sun now comes and my words soon to your eyes shall be. I will wait but three turns of a day and then be gone – for it is better to serve the lion and be lost to the sword than die of a broken heart.
Your Servant
Lilly sat in silence, serenaded by the anxiousness of her breathing. His words had spurned a fire under her skin with the memory of every touch he had gifted her. Such visions flooded the confines of her mind. His love was that which only dreams could be made of; sensuous beyond words, boundless beyond reason, yet all the while that of secrecy and folly. Still, she would find a way to meet with him again. Nothing in her lifetime could ever compare to what they had and there was no way she could let it go.
She raised the scroll and pressed it close to her chest letting the words, sink deeply within her. The passion she carried could not be measured, no matter how hard she tried and yet she knew she must choose her reply with care. She re-read the prose one more time and smiled.
"And the words were spoken of the knight," she whispered softly to herself. "And those words have been received, both in understanding and desire. I shall forever imprint them on my heart. Go safely, my love; I shall be with you soon."
From A.V. Barber & M.W. Russell comes the Second Excerpt from #Lion Hearts! @authorAVBarber @mibbymw
...An excerpt from 'Lion Hearts.'
She sat in the sun's early light running the brush through her thick gold locks time and again. Lost in the hopeful thoughts of what today might bring; lost in the predicted wonderment of his words. They never failed to disappoint.
"Lillian?"
Her husband didn't mean to sound harsh, but it was his way; the essence of habit, from years of ba
ttle, which had only cemented in him, with age.
"Yes, my love?" she turned with a sinking heart.
His voice was not the one she so ardently sought. It was unusual for her husband, Tristan to enter the bower. It was her sanctuary, her private space – but today she knew too well that he would come. Her absence during the dark hours had been noted.
"Are you ill, my dear?" he enquired.
"No, why do you ask?"
He walked slowly to the window, shielding his discomfort with a view of his back. He was strong, clothed in robes of emerald lustre and neatly woven cloth.
"You were not in the marital chamber last night as I expected," he answered deeply.
"I was tired. We rode long and hard yesterday, my Lord. Such journeys take their toll."
Lilly stood and returned the brush to the table and moved awkwardly toward her husband, knowing she must placate him at all cost. He wasn't a patient man. She had felt his scorn before. It left an invisible imprint where the side of her face had met with the back of his hand. But, her own arsenal, he would fall victim to. She moved slowly beside him and reached a cautious hand to his cheek. Her skin was to cream as his was to russet; he closed his eyes predictably at her touch.
"I am sorry, my love. I shall be much more attentive tonight," she uttered softly. "Forgive my weakness for dreams."
He turned and gazed upon her, fragile under her watch. His twenty years of seniority meant nothing in the moment. He was powerless at her stroke, vulnerable as a child, as were many she enveloped with her love. He turned and pulled her close, drinking in the nectar of her skin. The roughness of his beard felt harsh to her. Lilly yielded dutifully, but with a heart of ice, feeling nothing but what the arrangement of destiny had brought. There was a quiet knock at the door, saving her from the farce.
"Come," Tristan answered impatiently.
A strapping youth, wearing riding attire and the family colours walked in tentatively; he flushed spying the lady Lilly standing there.
"Well, what is it?" Tristan urged gruffly.
"Your horse is ready sire."
Tristan nodded curtly and the young messenger hastily took his leave. He turned back to Lilly, all tenderness gone. "I shall be away until sunset." He walked off, tightening the laces on his pants. "I trust you will be well rested on my return."
Lilly watched silently the closing of the door. She rushed to the window and peered outside. All around was glistening with the remnants of raindrops that had fallen overnight. The clouds had parted by dawn, making way for azure skies to dazzle toward the east. She watched anxiously, as those below mounted up with military efficiency – panted steam filled the confines of the bailey and the sounds of impatient hooves filled the air. In one fluid movement the group departed, through the gatehouse and across the bridge, eventually vanishing into the blindness of the sun.
There wasn't a moment to lose. Reaching for her cloak, Lilly swung it about her shoulders and dashed for the door. The hour was late and she knew she had kept her messenger waiting too long. In her pocket, jingled two small pieces of silver, she would give him; they were a symbol of the salvation of her heart. Outside, she paused at the clump of flowers growing by the walk. There she plucked one gleaming yellow acacia, to send back, with its meaning blatantly clear. Our love is a secret love.
Watching over her shoulder, she stumbled her way in haste toward the stables. The ground was still wet, and slippery from the outgoing of horses earlier, lining her gown with a boarder of mud. She rounded the first pen, breathing hard. There waiting nervously was the very person she sought – a young boy of barley fifteen, anticipation etched across his face.
"Giles, I am sorry to have kept you waiting." Lilly offered anxiously.
"Tis fine Miss – here." hastily Giles handed her a smudged piece of parchment, rolled up and tied with some black thread.
"Thank you." Lilly took the scroll with a trembling hand.
She reached inside her cloak and quickly thrust the two pieces of silver into the boy's outstretched hand. He took them with glee. "Take him this also," she added, handing over the acacia bloom. The boy didn't linger, except to offer a smile of gratitude and hurriedly exited the stable by the rear.
Lilly, barely noticed his departure. With a hammering heart, she ducked inside the nearest pen, and flopped down onto a stack of hay. There she unravelled the piece of parchment and with a hand on her chest and tears welling up in her eyes; she read the words she so fervently sought.
My love,
I count in threads, the sorrow, the blaze and the glory of thy splendour, and feel all three. For my love shall be lost to the divulgence of innuendo and be cast to fury.
That you are caged by covenant in that which was, and with no weight to change circumstance – gives warrant to injustice. I shall not be your harlequin, but you will always be Aphrodite.
I live now in the ashes of that time passed, the lustre of an instance lost to the alacrity of grief and spared only by a memory.
The ties that bind cannot be drawn to parchment, forged to metal or be given to a word but that which is real, will find a way. And in that way, and of that memory, in convergence and safe from anguish, comes the arousal of a moment.
I gild each moment, softly unto the next and onward to the whispered tones of morning. The murmur of thought swells to imagination in flood of your countenance and I am lost to its tide.
In taste of fragrance and the sensuality of touch, beneath the taffeta of saffron and defined by form, I feel you. In surge and heave, drawn from breathless whispers and lost to blaze, we become one.
In the hushed tone of a promise once made, by the argent light of the fullest moon, I beseech that you come to me. This is my crusade, you are my grail and I would drink from thee time and again, and never grow old.
The sun now comes and my words soon to your eyes shall be. I will wait but three turns of a day and then be gone – for it is better to serve the lion and be lost to the sword than die of a broken heart.
Your Servant
Lilly sat in silence, serenaded by the anxiousness of her breathing. His words had spurned a fire under her skin with the memory of every touch he had gifted her. Such visions flooded the confines of her mind. His love was that which only dreams could be made of; sensuous beyond words, boundless beyond reason, yet all the while that of secrecy and folly. Still, she would find a way to meet with him again. Nothing in her lifetime could ever compare to what they had and there was no way she could let it go.
She raised the scroll and pressed it close to her chest letting the words, sink deeply within her. The passion she carried could not be measured, no matter how hard she tried and yet she knew she must choose her reply with care. She re-read the prose one more time and smiled.
"And the words were spoken of the knight," she whispered softly to herself. "And those words have been received, both in understanding and desire. I shall forever imprint them on my heart. Go safely, my love; I shall be with you soon."
Roses at Dusk - Christmas Promotion
REMINDER - The date is getting nearer!
ROSES AT DUSK - CHRISTMAS GIVEAWAY PROMOTION!
Running from - November 14th - December 20th.
It's easy! Just Download your e-copy of Roses at Dusk from Amazon US/UK
http://www.amazon.com/Roses-Dusk-Demo...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Roses-Dusk-De... and be in the draw to Win the paperback of Roses and this beautiful heart/dove necklace!
Once you have downloaded - leave your name/email/proof of download here in messages and go into the draw!
The Winner will be drawn December 20th!
ROSES AT DUSK - CHRISTMAS GIVEAWAY PROMOTION!
Running from - November 14th - December 20th.
It's easy! Just Download your e-copy of Roses at Dusk from Amazon US/UK
http://www.amazon.com/Roses-Dusk-Demo...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Roses-Dusk-De... and be in the draw to Win the paperback of Roses and this beautiful heart/dove necklace!
Once you have downloaded - leave your name/email/proof of download here in messages and go into the draw!
The Winner will be drawn December 20th!
November 11, 2012
New Fanpage for The Demonic Series
Hop over to https://www.facebook.com/RosesAtDusk
I want this to be a place where you can come and chat about the characters, visit and enjoy the promotions and Giveaways.
Watch over the coming days for the Christmas Giveaway!
Go into the draw to win the paperback of Roses at Dusk with a beautiful angel wing necklace by simply downloading the ebook of Roses in the promotion time!
I want this to be a place where you can come and chat about the characters, visit and enjoy the promotions and Giveaways.
Watch over the coming days for the Christmas Giveaway!
Go into the draw to win the paperback of Roses at Dusk with a beautiful angel wing necklace by simply downloading the ebook of Roses in the promotion time!
November 7, 2012
The Transient (Book1 The Castle Series)
UPDATE:
Final Edits are almost finished, so we will be running soon with this.
Here's a reminder of what's to come.
Before the Dark came the light! Before Roses at Dusk came...
The Castle Series - A Teen Paranormal Romance!
Book One - The Transient.
Melodie Gibson never had many friends in her life — that is, not until she moved from Australia to New York. Now, they fill her every waking moment. Fresh off the plane from the other side of the world, Melodie and her widowed father have moved into Heartworth Castle, an imposing manor-turned-Bed & Breakfast in upstate New York that he inherited from a distant aunt. But it’s no ordinary castle. Full of hidden secrets and layers of history, Heartworth has its ghosts—literally. Dripping with atmosphere, adventure and epic romance, THE TRANSIENT is the first instalment in the completed “Castle Trilogy” which creates an original mythology with roots in classical and biblical literature, where the afterlife is as complicated as the present, and the rules are just as hard to follow. It centres around Melodie, a socially awkward teenager, and Joseph, a “Transient ghost” that can take human form and who was murdered by a spurned love in the latter stages of the Civil War. No one is supposed to be able to see Joseph—but Melodie Gibson does. This unexplained contact sparks a passionate romance between the two. As Mel settles into her new American home and begins making mortal friends, she falls for Joseph, but not before the Governance and some old enemies of Joseph’s begin to materialize against them. Apparently, not everyone is happy about their new found love.
THE TRANSIENT is only the first instalment; the final two novels are THE SOUL KEEPER and THE DARKEST ANGEL
Final Edits are almost finished, so we will be running soon with this.
Here's a reminder of what's to come.
Before the Dark came the light! Before Roses at Dusk came...
The Castle Series - A Teen Paranormal Romance!
Book One - The Transient.
Melodie Gibson never had many friends in her life — that is, not until she moved from Australia to New York. Now, they fill her every waking moment. Fresh off the plane from the other side of the world, Melodie and her widowed father have moved into Heartworth Castle, an imposing manor-turned-Bed & Breakfast in upstate New York that he inherited from a distant aunt. But it’s no ordinary castle. Full of hidden secrets and layers of history, Heartworth has its ghosts—literally. Dripping with atmosphere, adventure and epic romance, THE TRANSIENT is the first instalment in the completed “Castle Trilogy” which creates an original mythology with roots in classical and biblical literature, where the afterlife is as complicated as the present, and the rules are just as hard to follow. It centres around Melodie, a socially awkward teenager, and Joseph, a “Transient ghost” that can take human form and who was murdered by a spurned love in the latter stages of the Civil War. No one is supposed to be able to see Joseph—but Melodie Gibson does. This unexplained contact sparks a passionate romance between the two. As Mel settles into her new American home and begins making mortal friends, she falls for Joseph, but not before the Governance and some old enemies of Joseph’s begin to materialize against them. Apparently, not everyone is happy about their new found love.
THE TRANSIENT is only the first instalment; the final two novels are THE SOUL KEEPER and THE DARKEST ANGEL
