L.A. Sartor's Blog, page 10

R&R: Raves & Rants From Multi-Published Author Amanda Cabot

The Common Comma
Welcome back to our discussion of commas. Last December we talked about commas in compound sentences. This month we’ll address a few more uses of the oh, so useful comma. The good news is that most of these have simple, unambiguous rules.

Direct AddressThe rule is simple. If you’re addressing a person in a line of dialogue, you need a comma or perhaps two to separate the person’s name from the rest of the sentence.
Consider the difference in meaning between these two sentences:I don’t know Frances.I don’t know, Frances.
In the first sentence, I’m indicating that I’m not acquainted with a person named Frances. In the second, I’m telling Frances that I’m ignorant of some subject. The second is, obviously, an example of direct address. That’s why I used the comma.
Here are two more examples of the correct punctuation of direct address:Charlie, it’s time to leave.I know how you feel, son, but we have to leave.
Simple, huh?
Question tags and parenthetical phrases are two more instances where the use of commas follows a simple rule.
Question TagsCommas are always required with question tags. If you’re not familiar with that term, here’s an example of a question tag:You know how to punctuate this, don’t you?
There are no exceptions to this rule. If you have a question tag, you must separate it from the rest of the sentence with a comma. Parenthetical PhrasesThe same no-exceptions rule applies to parenthetical phrases. These phrases, which are used to either amplify a clause or provide a brief editorial comment, must be separated from the rest of the sentence with commas. Note: The phrase in the previous sentence beginning “which are used” is parenthetical.
If you’re not certain whether a phrase is parenthetical, remove it from the sentence. If the fundamental meaning of the sentence has not changed, you’re dealing with a parenthetical phrase.
Here are a few other examples:The day we chose for the picnic was, I’m sorry to say, the coldest day of the summer.This rule, fortunately, has no exceptions.
Unfortunately, we’re dealing with English, a language noted for its exceptions. One of those occurs with the use of commas after introductory phrases.
Introductory PhrasesThe general rule is that an introductory phrase needs to be followed by a comma to separate it from the rest of the sentence.
Although I wish there were no exceptions, this is one time where there is one.
There’s no question about the punctuation of the preceding sentence. The introductory phrase must be followed by a comma.
But, you’re probably saying, you told me there was an exception. The exception relates to short introductory phrases, with short being defined as four or fewer words. In that case, the comma is optional, not mandatory.
While it’s deplorable there is an exception.
Notice that I did not use a comma after my introductory phrase, since “while it’s deplorable” is only three words long.
Don’t become complacent and think that “no comma if less than five words” is a rule. It’s merely a guideline, since – as noted above – the omission of the comma for short phrases is optional. In another example of the vagaries of the English language, this almost-rule has its own exception. You should use a comma if you want to emphasize the introductory phrase.
Although truly deplorable, there are exceptions to almost every rule in the English language.
In this case, I wanted to emphasize my introductory phrase. You probably guessed that from the use of “truly,” but the comma underscores the fact that I considered the introductory phrase to be important. Remember that commas do more than prevent confusing sentences. They also cause the brain to pause. My goal in adding the comma was to make you pause ever so slightly to consider my introductory phrase. And there you have it: four times when you need commas. But, as the infomercials say, wait, there’s more. I hope you’ll come back in October when we continue to explore the uses and misuses of commas.

~Amanda
 A lifetime of reading and writing, not to mention a host of teachers who believed that good grammar was one of the essentials of life, have given Amanda Cabot such firm opinions about the printed word that I asked her to share some with us in her Raves and Rants posts.  
Although her working career was in Information Technology, Amanda achieved her dream of selling her first novel before her thirtieth birthday and is now the author of more than thirty novels as well as a number of books and articles for Information Technology professionals.  
Her most recent book, A Tender Hope, is the final book of the Cimarron Creek trilogy.

Find all of Amanda's books, newsletter info and social media links here.





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Mental Can Openers & Writer's Hash ~ Roulf Burrell

Particle Plot ProductionThere is nothing miraculous about past book or movie plots, though it seems magical when we read or watch them. Sometimes plots are copied with cosmetic elements changed. Zorro is just James Bond with cosmetic changes. Instead of a tux, you use a mask and black cape and the Walther PPK is replaced by a Spanish rapier. Instead of an Aston Martin, use a black stallion named Tornado. The cold war required spy training, so substitute the war for Mexican Independence and fencing practice fencing. But I want something original, you say?  Unfortunately, most of us can’t sit in a chair with our fists clenched, eyes squeezed shut, making such a plot pop into our head. How do the best authors give us something unique? I answer that with a particle accelerator. The best-known accelerator is the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in Switzerland. The LHC forces elemental particles to collide into one another. The result is undiscovered particles. So let's do this with plots. All plots combine common elements in uncommon ways. The Harry Potter series took many common elements. Boarding school life, school sports events, train rides, detention after class, teachers we don't like; none of these were original. Rowling collided them with the element of magic. Instead of dodge ball and polo, she makes the balls and players fly, swapping horses for broomsticks. Voila—Quidditch. After writing 100 lines on paper for detention, the lines magically scratch themselves onto the back of your hand. Ouch!Let’s try ramming a few elements of our own to see what we get. In three columns, make a list of occupations, motivations, and settings.  With people’s occupations, think of the more unusual ones you’ve heard about. Now make a list of common motivations for human behavior. These motivations will suggest some background in the main character lending itself towards that need.  Someone greedy, say, might have been poor growing up. Someone looking for romance might have been lonely or hurt. They can be general or more specific.Finally, list settings, making some common and some unusual. These will change as needed. As examples, see my entries below. Profession Motivation Setting Zoo maintenance worker Greed Abandoned factory Independent gold miner Romance Mount St. Helens Basketball team coach Pride Antarctic weather station Recently fired TV chef Revenge St. Paul's cathedral Catholic priest Growth Dying Kansas town Retired librarian Fear of death Mediterranean yacht
I can assure you, these have been written about. Each one by itself is commonplace and would not provide a story. But as we force each element into the one across from it, a story may suggest itself.A zoo worker steals valuable animals, hiding them in an abandoned factory. Perhaps the animals turn on the keeper, as we see a visceral lesson that our possessions can destroy us.A gold miner, hoping to find exposed gold after the Mount Saint Helen eruption, finds romance instead. A retired librarian (collision with another unusual character) likes to hike and learn new things. Will our lady miner find she must choose between hunting gold or a quiet life with a bookworm?
Or collide that gold miner and romance with a yacht in the Mediterranean. Is she now a diver for lost treasure?  Could our librarian’s access to limited archives and his ability to research find a missing clue? Could we set this during a looming World War I naval battle? As we collide between different rows in the columns, the possibilities broaden. A TV chef, whose career is waning, hopes for a rebirth when he/she volunteers to cook for a term at an Antarctic weather station. Filmed during the long dark months, he/she reconnects with cooking artistry and people sharing a common meal when confined.  Does our chef turn down the next TV offer? Thanks to a nationally advertised, interdenominational challenge, an atheist basketball coach has one month to create a winning team from the ordained members of St. Paul's Cathedral. (If St. Paul's has no ordained members, then switch it to Westminister Abby.) For the coach, pride is at stake. Or it could be revenge on the opposing coach. While team St. Paul’s might learn valuable lessons working as a team, what might the coach learn from them?A Catholic priest diagnosed with aggressive cancer faces his fear of death. He leaves his mark by converting an abandoned factory into a youth center. What challenges would he face? How much of the factory could be left intact to provide obstacle courses, a work-out center, industrial training for welding or cutting, etc.? How could you parallel his death with the dying neighborhood he's trying to help? As the abandoned factory finds a new life, will he? Have fun colliding your own elements. Remember, it takes a little practice, but you only need one success to launch you on to that next story, contest, or query letter. ~Roulf BurrellFind Roulf:
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Five Secrets Shared by Author Sara Beth Williams

Five Secrets From Sara Beth Wiliams If you could describe me with one word, it would be CREATIVE. I love to be creative. I love to paint, draw, sing, build things, design/organize interior rooms and outdoor spaces. I’m not especially great at any of those, but I have always been especially great with words. So, I use words to create. Hi, Sara Beth, please tell us Five Secrets we may not know about A Worthy Heart or you, but will after today! 1)  A Worthy Heart was not easy to write. Whereas my first book flowed like water from my fingers, this one challenged me on all levels. It took patience, practice, determination and the willingness to be flexible. I had to use every single piece of writing knowledge I’d picked up while working on my first novel and I am hoping it pays off. 2) People who know me in real life know that I am an extrovert. That’s not all that surprising. What is surprising is my need for downtime by myself. Or what some people refer to as ambivert. The mesh of introvert and extrovert characteristics. I still love to be around people, but I also love being alone a lot more than I ever did when I was a kid.

3) A Worthy Heart features Serena Hayes, a biracial female lead character with an African American father and a Caucasian mother. That was not done on purpose to fulfill some call or quota for more diverse books. Serena’s background was developed purely based on my own experiences. My husband and his sister are both biracial, and yes, they’re both incredibly tan. (you’ll have to read the book to get that reference) It’s not fair really how well they tan. If only…

4) While I show Serena journeying out of an abusive relationship, I have never experienced what she goes through. However, I know friends, and family members, who have experienced abuse in relationships to varying degrees. The more entrenched I became in writing, and further developing Serena’s back story, the more I began to realize how many people close to me have suffered. I think the internet gets bogged down with horror stories, or depressing depictions of abuse, and yes they’re out there, but this book is for all of your success stories! 5) Let’s do something else about me… I mentioned I love to create. Right out of high school, I discovered an obscure job posting – someone was hiring and offering to train balloon twisters. So, I learned how to balloon twist, and I absolutely love it. I entertained in restaurants for a couple of years, then after I went to college, and married, I ran my own business and entertained at birthday parties for another couple of years. It was a blast, and if I ever have a larger space, more time, and more money to put into running my own business, I’d pick it up again. Blurb:Joel Bennett has always known Serena Hayes as his sister’s gregarious best friend. In the three years since Lacey began college, Serena became a regular houseguest, but lately, she’s absent more than not. When Joel discovers she’s in an abusive relationship, protectiveness from within roars to life. 
With only a part-time job to support her and nowhere to go, Serena fears leaving her current relationship would jeopardize her chances of graduating college. After a brutal attack leaves her no choice, she courageously moves out. On her journey toward regaining confidence, self-worth, and independence, Joel falls in beside her, encouraging her. The way he emulates Godly love and compassion draws her close—not just to him, but to the God who can satisfy her longing for love better than any man,
Attraction sizzles between them, but events from their pasts cast shadows of doubt. When the unthinkable happens, can Serena open her heart to a second chance at love, or is she destined to be alone?
Buy:
Amazon
Find Sara Beth:
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | BookBub



Also, When Hearts Collide is available now.  Amazon












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New Class at Digital Scrapper!!

I'm so excited about this class. I use paper and make backgrounds with it all the time for almost everything I create for my digital work.  Book covers, meme's, blog posts, cards, digital designs for my Etsy shop, the list is endless.

And it's taught by one of my favorite designers ever, Syndee Rogers!!!

Take Five And Meet Author Josie Malone

Welcome to An Indie Adventure, Josie Malone.  Tell us, what inspired you to write your book, My Sweet Haunt?
I loved the old movie, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir , with Gene Tierney and Rex Harrison, but must admit I didn’t care for the ending. No spoiler intended, but the two don’t get together until the death of Gene Tierney’s character, so I played the author’s favorite game of “What If - - -?” What if they got together earlier? How could I make that happen? Figuring out the answers became the plot of  My Sweet Haunt .
How do you use setting to further your story? 
Since I also love western romance, I used a former dude ranch as the setting for my story so I could include some of my favorite elements, ‘smart-mouthed kids, horses and puppies’. When my heroine, Cat McTavish wins an essay contest and moves to the Cedar Creek Guest Ranch, the last thing she expects is to discover the hero, Rob Williams, a soldier who died during the Vietnam War still living(?) there and as he says, he isn’t going anywhere. I love the humor in this book but am the first to admit that Rob isn’t ‘politically correct.’ After all, he was born in the 1940s and died in the 1960s. He’s a man of his times.
How do you construct your characters? 
I start with Tami Cowden’s book about archetypes and then I usually read Linda Goodman’s Sun Signs and Love and War Between the Signs by Amy Keehn to find descriptions of diametrically opposed characters which helps me build the conflicts between them. I also go online and look for pictures of people who will fit into my story. Once I start writing, I slowly become acquainted with my characters to the point that they seem real to me, as if I’d recognize them if I saw them on the street.
How is your main character completely different than you? 
Cat is much more patient than I am and not nearly as sarcastic. She’s also more forgiving. I’m not. When I’m done with someone, I’m done and I bear grudges, traits my mother says come from my grandmother who was the queen of pithy comments. She served putdowns at her Sunday dinners, along with her pot roast. Grandma never swore. It wasn’t ladylike, but insulting someone’s intelligence, morality, behavior, manners and children or mate was an art form.
The two of us were great friends to the point that I adapted her name when I began selling romance, Grandma’s favorite genre. She’d have loved my first book about a female gunfighter in Washington Territory.
To you what makes a great romance hero or heroine? 
Passion. I love characters who are larger than life and live each moment to the fullest. I can’t bear “wishy-washy” people who won’t commit to a cause which is probably why I really admired Scarlett O’Hara and Rhett Butler in Gone With the Wind.  
Do you prefer to read in the same genre you write, or do you avoid reading that genre?  Why? I write two young adult series in addition to western romance, so I definitely read those as well as anything else that intrigues me, but I must admit I usually avoid most literature. I had enough of that when I was in college, studying for my BA and then for my Master in Teaching degree.
Give us a brief summary of  My Sweet Haunt .
In  My Sweet Haunt , cobwebs, eerie sounds and creaky floorboards greet Cat O’Leary McTavish and her twin daughters when they move to their new home, a dilapidated dude ranch near Baker City in the Cascade foothills of Washington State. Her plan to restore the destination resort to its former glory hits a snag when she learns she has the ‘O’Leary Gift’ and can talk to the dead man who still resides in her house.
Former Army Ranger, Rob Williams always planned to run the family guest ranch after completing his military service. Instead, he “bought the farm with his life” when he died in Vietnam, but being dead doesn’t mean he’s going anywhere. Encountering someone who “sees” and “hears” him is a welcome change.
Cat’s determination leads her into danger when they discover an adversary wants to turn the one-time dude ranch into a gravel pit. Will a woman with a dream and a man who’s had his dreams cut short, manage to save a ranch and each other when the biggest surprise of all is love?
Buy: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Bio:Josie Malone lives and works at her family business in Washington State.
Teaching kids to ride and know about horses since 1967, she finds in many cases, she's taught three generations of families. 
Her life experiences span adventures from dealing cards in a casino, attending graduate school to get her Masters in Teaching degree, being a substitute teacher, and serving in the Army Reserve - all leading to her second career as a published author. 
Visit her at her website to learn about her books.
Find Josie: Facebook | Website | Shannon Kennedy Books




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Take Five With Author Mary Feliz

Welcome to An Indie Adventure, Mary Feliz.  Tell us, what inspired you to write your book Cliff Hanger?
Cliff Hanger is the fifth book in my Maggie McDonald Mystery series. While it focuses on many of the familiar and favorite characters, the setting is new. Maggie travels to the California Central Coast on Monterey Bay, where I now live. I wanted to highlight the beautiful and fragile Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary while maintaining the mystery and character elements that fans have enjoyed in the previous books.
How do you construct your characters?
When I was creating the original recurring characters, my home office had lots of old cabinets. I mounted poster board on the doors and created large collages for each main character with smaller ones for the secondary characters. The collages started using celebrities who resembled the characters, but branched out from there including the character's cars, pets, hobbies, sports, favorite quotes, what they’d wear to a fancy party, and what they wear when they are at home. I continued thinking about and exporting the characters until each poster board was full. By that time, I had a great handle on who each character was and how they’d respond to conflict and to each other.
Years ago, I heard about an author who used this technique and thought it was bonkers. But it works for me!
For the new books, I review the original poster boards for the main characters and create online collages for the new players in each book. (I moved and don’t have nearly as much wall space for my poster boards!)
How is your main character completely different than you?
Maggie is very organized, and I’m a mess. My friends think I’m organized, but the truth is that I’m desperate to try to remember everything in my schedule and to bring what I need to every event. If I weren’t a bit organized, my whole life would fall apart. Despite my best efforts, I’m always losing my keys, misplacing my purse, and checking and rechecking my calendar. Maggie’s also thinner, braver, younger, and more energetic than I am. I’m happy to let the police do their job and have no interest in investigating murders or chasing bad guys!

Tell us something about yourself we might not expect!

I’m a certified California Naturalist. That means I’ve taken a course to learn about the flora and fauna of my area, along with the geology, climate, hydrology, and other elements of the state’s natural history. The California Naturalist program is run by the University of California in an effort to create “citizen scientists’ with broad-based knowledge of the “greatest hits” of the natural world. Part of my certification is a commitment to performing at least 40 hours of volunteer work with natural history organizations every year. 
Can I answer every question you might have? No way! But I’m definitely a nature nerd and know how to go about discovering answers to questions.
If you were not a writer, what vocation would you pursue?
I’m not sure that I could survive without some kind of writing, because I’ve always sorted through feelings, information, and plans with pen in hand (or fingers on a keyboard.) If I weren’t writing fiction, however, I think I’d be involved in some kind of science education for teens—a fragile, funny, and underserved portion of our population.How do you create internal and external conflict in your characters?  I find conflict often the hardest to create when I start planning a book.There are two kinds of conflict in real life and in fiction. Internal conflict is something we all experience and represents the challenges and problems we create for ourselves. For Maggie, that involves worry about whether she’s doing the right thing, neglecting her family, worrying her husband, or short-changing her clients. She worries that her amateur sleuthing is taking up too much time and risking everything. External conflicts occur on a daily basis in both fiction and real life in the form of unexpected weather, illness, traffic, disagreements, schedule changes and the complicated logistics of our busy lives.Where fiction takes a sharp detour from reality is in the bigger conflicts we throw at our characters: finding bodies, running into bad guys, plane crashes, frivolous lawsuits, and unwarranted criminal charges. None of those things has ever happened to be. They aren’t something most of us need to plan for. But that’s what makes fiction writing fun—finding a balance between the believable and unbelievable in throwing larger-than-life unexpected conflicts in the paths of our characters.When you’re brainstorming for a new story, what usually comes first for you, the plot or the characters?Truth to tell, I have no idea which comes first. There’s a period of daydreaming about the next book when I should be focused on the one that’s due to the publisher. After I meet the deadline and start sketching out the ideas for the plot, the bad guys, the people I want readers to THINK are the bad guy, and select my setting, I discover I’ve already thought about all of it a lot more than I probably should have. Most of those elements are developed concurrently.  I worked on the characters first for the first book, Address to Die For, but prior to that I already had a sense of the house where I wanted to set the story and the conflict that I wanted to focus on. Fleshing out the characters really helped the rest of the story ideas to come together.
Give us a brief summary of Cliff Hanger:

When a hang-gliding stranger is found fatally injured in the cliffs above Monterey Bay, the investigation into his death becomes a cluttered mess. Professional organizer Maggie McDonald must sort the clues to catch a coastal killer before her family becomes a target . . .
 
Maggie has her work cut out for her helping Renée Alvarez organize her property management office. Though the condominium complex boasts a prime location on the shores of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, aging buildings and the high-maintenance tenants have Renée run ragged. But Maggie’s efforts are complicated when her sons attempt to rescue a badly injured man who crashed his ultra-light on the coastal cliffs.
 
Despite their efforts to save him, the man dies. Maggie's family members become the prime suspects in a murder investigation and the target of a lawsuit. Her instincts say something’s out of place, but solving a murder won’t be easy. Maggie still needs to manage her business, the pushy press, and unwanted interest from criminal elements. Controlling chaos is her specialty, but with this killer’s crime wave, Maggie may be left hanging . . .
Buy: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

Bio:Mary Feliz writes the Maggie McDonald Mysteries featuring a professional organizer and her sidekick golden retriever. 

Maggie is like Marie Kondo with heart—she’ll never make you get rid of your books. Mary is a certified California Naturalist and delights in introducing readers to her state’s natural beauty. Her fifth book, Cliff Hanger , is set on the shores of Monterey Bay.

Address to Die For, the first book in the series, was named a Best Book of 2017 by Kirkus Reviews. For more information about Mary and her books, visit her  website .
Find Mary:Facebook | Twitter | Instagram



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Now A Scapple Affiliate~What Is That You Ask?

Scapple, brought to you by the fine folks that created Scrivener~Literature and Latte
scapple: to work or shape roughly, without smoothing to a finish.
—The Chambers Dictionary

If you have ever scribbled ideas onto a piece of paper and drawn lines between related thoughts, then you already know what Scapple does. 

It’s a virtual sheet of paper that lets you make notes anywhere on the page and connect them using lines and arrows. You can move notes around and customize their appearance using colors and borders.

Connecting notes is as easy as dragging one note onto another. Scapple is an incredibly simple but powerful way of shaping your ideas.

Plus you get a 30-day trial.  30 user days, not calendar days!!


CHECK IT OUT HERE
I use Scapple to brainstorm, keep track of storylines, timelines and character/dates/important information.  I couldn't work as well without it.  Perfect by itself or with Scrivener.  ~ L. A. Sartor

Scapple keeps all my brain blurps in one place. I love being able to just type out an idea and then either build on it or give it to a character or situation by just dragging the box. I don't have to keep track of idea notebooks or little scraps of paper. I keep the icon on my taskbar so I can pop open the program and scribble my thoughts and then forget them. Plus, it saves constantly so I don't have worry over losing thoughts. ~ Audra Harders

Scapple fits how my brain hops about, telling the organizing Grey Matter to “hush.” Scapple welcomes thoughts without requiring them to declare where they fit in or what they contribute.  Ideas, events, even dialogue spill out and float around on a white page without lines or numbers. Then I can arrange things, link things, color things into patterns I didn’t initially see. The program can later make it look pretty and aligned, which Mr. Grey Matter likes. 
~ Roulf Burrell






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Recipe Of The Month From Author Kathy L. Wheeler ~ Lasagna

I don't know about you, but anything with any kind of pasta in it is an instant hit.  Read on. 
Kathy’s Homemade Lasagna
The recipe and why you love making it:
Way back in 1978, I made this lasagna from a Betty Crocker cookbook my mother gave me. When I met my husband in 1992, I use to make spaghetti with a pouch mix. After a year of dating, he finally fessed up and told me he hated it. So I modified this recipe, which is completely natural, over the years for both spaghetti and lasagna, and occasionally as a marinara sauce.
I cook tomatoes in the instant pot for about 7 to 10 minutes with olive oil and salt, then drain off and blend in the blender for tomato sauce.
Part I1 pound ground beef1 cup of diced purple onion1 cup of sliced mushroomsFresh garlic 2 or 3 cloves1 ts salt1 tbs sugar1 or 2 tbs oregano3 tbs parsley or chopped freshButterOlive oil

I use an iron skillet. With a dash of olive oil, I saute the mushrooms, garlic and onion. It works best to remove them from the skillet once they are cooked to your liking.

Next, with another dash of olive oil, I brown the ground beef (93%/7% fat). I then add the oregano, the salt, some pepper, the sugar, the parsley. Then I add a tbs of butter and brown it a tad, before adding the sauted mushrooms, garlic and onion back in. Pour in about 2 cups of your cooked tomatoes and simmer, 20 minutes or so. Add water, or more tomatoes, if need be.
The last package of noodles I used were wide fresh pasta from Smith Brothers. Drop in boiling water for 1 to 3 minutes, then rinse.
Part II16 oz Ricotta or Cottage cheeseOreganoSaltPepperParmesan CheeseIn a mixing bowl, add the Ricotta Cheese, add more oregano, salt, pepper, and parmesan (about a cup)
Part IIIMozzarella Cheese – just regular, no prep…

Five Secrets Revealed by Author Kayelle Allen

Science Fiction author Kayelle Allen met her husband while they were both on active duty in the Navy. She told her big sister she wasn't serious about him. He was serious about her, though, and he won her heart. They've been married 45 years.

Hi, Kayelle, please tell us Five Secrets we may not know about you, but will after today!

1)  I was born in Idaho but lived there only six months. My family moved a lot when I was growing up, so I was never in one place very long. In one year, I went to five different schools. Since moving to Georgia, I've stayed in one place for about 30 years and I love the feeling of permanence.

2)  I've flown over the Grand Canyon, but have never actually been to it. What I saw from the air was majestic and beautiful. Even getting a mere glimpse was awe inspiring. I want to see it in person one day.

3)  As a kid, I was fascinated by astronomy. My parents bought me a small telescope and I used it every chance I got. We lived in Nevada when I was a young teen, where the sky is cloudless and clear at night. I fell in love with the various planets and stars. Today, I write Science Fiction and Fantasy. For me, it's a dream come true to research a topic I've loved since childhood.

4)  I take things literally and I mean that "literally." I think that's why I like puns. It's a different way to look at a word. But that tendency toward seeing things literally can be a drawback. For example, I've been binge-watching Suits, and it took me until season 4 to realize the name Suits referred to lawsuits and not clothing. After all, what's the common term for a guy who works in an office? We say "he's a suit" and this show is all about that kind of guy. It was a lightbulb moment when that hit me. I felt like a dork, but what can you do?

5)  I love art and have always had art in my home. Part of that is because my mother was an artist. She loved to draw in charcoal, pencil, and pastels. She also used watercolors and oil paints. My husband is artistic too, and my oldest son is a graphic designer. 

Jamin created a major part of the art on my website and collaborated with me on an illustrated book. These days, I've been working with an artist named Nano-Core, a Sci Fi and Fantasy artist who is known as a digital weaponsmith. He designed an entire combat uniform and weapons for my character Pietas, from my Bringer of Chaos series. The cosplayer Nik Nitsvetov is bringing those designs to life and will perform as Pietas later this summer, wearing those designs and carrying those weapons.


Blurb:
Bringer of Chaos: Origin of Pietas

Exiled to a barren world with only a human named Six for company, the immortal Pietas demands the mortal serve him. When Six refuses and insists they are equals, Pietas is outraged. How dare a mortal refuse anything he requests?

When he needs Six's support to find and join his people, Pietas must learn to humble himself and ask for help--politely-- and even more outrageous--request forgiveness. From a human.

For without aid, the immortal king might spend eternity alone, never finding the people he has already died over a thousand times to save.

Buy: 
Universal Buy Link
Find Kayelle: Website | Twitter |Facebook | Pinterest | Nik's cosplays | Amazon  Author Page | Kayelle's Reader Groups





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Design Cuts New Bundle!!

Make Your Work Shine With The Creative’s Vibrant Artistic Collection
We are delighted to bring you this complete collection of stunning artistic resources that will help you nail the aesthetic you are after for your upcoming projects. We know how much variety matters to the Design Cuts community, which is why we’ve included so many popular, creative items in this bundle. We have worked with Lisa Glanz, Set Sail Studios, The Artifex Forge and many more amazing designers to bring you this vibrant collection of graphics, fonts, Procreate brushes, watercolors, stained glass creator to list just a few.You know what I love is the number of Illustrated Letters! And the watercolor transformer. And the branding for Instagram and more. Ohhh!! Check it out  A Trusted Partner




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