Sarah Cass's Blog: Sarah's StoryLines, page 52

Hump Day Hook – Week 6 {Into a Mirror Darkly)

Time for another Hump Day hook.  This week I heard from my editor for Changing Tracks at Secret Cravings Publishing.  It’s funny how each little step makes the whole thing real and exciting all over again.

But, as I’m not hard at work on actual edits yet, I need to keep busy while I’m waiting on the notes that might drive me to tears.

And so I have.  Into a Mirror Darkly is coming along nicely.  I’m only 3 chapters in, but the FMC, Red, just rocks my socks.  The male lead is going to be an interesting one.  Their relationship…well it will be fun to write.

It’s a dark UF w/ romantic elements…so the romance won’t be the focus of the story by any means, but I don’t think Red or Wulfric will let me ignore it.

But I’m digressing.  Here’s a small little snippet I wrote yesterday that gave me giggles. Remember, this is first draft and completely unedited & uncritiqued:

Wulfric, on the other hand, grinned and handed her his own sandwich. His rich laughter boomed through the small cottage when she took it despite her apparent anger at him.  Brown eyes twinkled with amusement, crinkling at the corners.  “Hunting ogres is a horrid business.  Thought you’d have moved up in the ranks by now.”

“I have,” Red spoke around her food before grabbing her cup and slurping the tea out of it.  Thick lumps of bread washed down her throat and she wiped a drip from her lower lip.  “But the bounty on an ogre can handle two households for a full year while I hunt more elusive prey.  At least I’m still hunting bounty – unlike some people that cater to the evil that invaded this land.”

 

Hump Day Hook asks authors to post one paragraph of one of their stories, whether a WIP, one contracted, or already published.  Please visit and comment on the participants – you might just stumble on the next great read for your library!  To see more participants, click on the HHH banner below:

Hump Day Hook Week 5 {Changing Tracks}

Time for another Hump Day hook.  Once again I’m talking about  my upcoming release with Secret Cravings Publishing. (Their logo will be on the cover soon, I’m still waiting for the final copy – this is the cover I’m pleased to say I designed myself )

Changing Tracks is the story I worked on for a while. Jane & Cole became such a part of me, I thought I’d never be able to write anyone else.  I’ve since learned I have a tremendous amount of characters in my head, but Jane & Cole will always hold such a dear & special place in my heart. I’m so glad that I already have more books to (re)write for them – it is a series after all.  Maybe soon I’ll show something from book 2 – but for now I’ll stick with CT and show you another giggle worthy interaction between Cole & Jane. Jane is a sassy smart-mouth minx, with enough opinions to fill an ocean:

“Well you are a woman.” He eyed her appreciatively, “And women should keep their mouths shut. They don’t get opinions.”

“Just because you own the women you bother to keep company with and they must do as you say doesn’t mean they lack opinions. Just means you lack the fortitude to listen to them.”

“If you’re trying to curry favor, you ain’t on the right path.”

 

Hump Day Hook asks authors to post one paragraph of one of their stories, whether a WIP, one contracted, or already published.  Please visit and comment on the participants – you might just stumble on the next great read for your library!  To see more participants, click on the HHH banner below:

Hump Day Hook Week 4 {Changing Tracks}

Time for another Hump Day hook.  Once again I’m talking about  my upcoming release with Secret Cravings Publishing. (Their logo will be on the cover soon, I’m still waiting for the final copy – this is the cover I’m pleased to say I designed myself )

Changing Tracks is the story I worked on for a while. Jane & Cole became such a part of me, I thought I’d never be able to write anyone else.  I’ve since learned I have a tremendous amount of characters in my head, but Jane & Cole will always hold such a dear & special place in my heart. I’m so glad that I already have more books to (re)write for them – it is a series after all.  Maybe soon I’ll show something from book 2 – but for now I’ll stick with CT and show you another giggle worthy interaction between Cole & Jane. Jane is a sassy smart-mouth minx, with enough opinions to fill an ocean:

“Well you are a woman.” He eyed her appreciatively, “And women should keep their mouths shut. They don’t get opinions.”

“Just because you own the women you bother to keep company with and they must do as you say doesn’t mean they lack opinions. Just means you lack the fortitude to listen to them.”

“If you’re trying to curry favor, you ain’t on the right path.”

 

Hump Day Hook asks authors to post one paragraph of one of their stories, whether a WIP, one contracted, or already published.  Please visit and comment on the participants – you might just stumble on the next great read for your library!  To see more participants, click on the HHH banner below:

Hump Day Hook Week 4 {Masked Hearts}

Time for another Hump Day hook.  I’m excited for this week, because I get to use it to announce my latest contract!  Once again I’ve signed on with Secret Cravings Publishing, and I couldn’t be more excited!

Masked Hearts is my latest WIP.  I finished it a couple of months ago and have been working on edits for it diligently while plotting my upcoming WIP (Into a Mirror Darkly, of which you saw the 1st paragraph HERE).

Masked Hearts didn’t come easy to me.  It was my own personal challenge to write something under 50k (I’m super-wordy and writing short isn’t my forte), and I went into it blind with only some horrors of the past to trigger the story. Eventually everything fell into place and after some hefty editing of the first 10 chapters (before I knew Minnie & Roy very well), I felt it was ready.  I just got my contract signed, and can look forward to publication in April!!

So without further  mucking this up with words, here is my selection for this week:

Minnie turned again, her long black hair shimmering in the colorful glow of sunrise. The sense of perfection shifted the moment she lifted her hair.

Roy couldn’t stop his sharp intake of breath. A patchwork of scars stretched across her back in varying shades of white and pink.  From her neck to just above her backside they were a glaring difference to the bronze perfection of the rest of her.

At the same time the scars added so much beauty. Only a strong woman could survive the torture of a fire hot enough to sear itself into her flesh.

 

Hump Day Hook asks authors to post one paragraph of one of their stories, whether a WIP, one contracted, or already published.  Please visit and comment on the participants – you might just stumble on the next great read for your library!  To see more participants, click on the HHH banner below:

Hump Day Hook Week 3 {Masked Hearts}

Time for another Hump Day hook.  I’m excited for this week, because I get to use it to announce my latest contract!  Once again I’ve signed on with Secret Cravings Publishing, and I couldn’t be more excited!

Masked Hearts is my latest WIP.  I finished it a couple of months ago and have been working on edits for it diligently while plotting my upcoming WIP (Into a Mirror Darkly, of which you saw the 1st paragraph HERE).

Masked Hearts didn’t come easy to me.  It was my own personal challenge to write something under 50k (I’m super-wordy and writing short isn’t my forte), and I went into it blind with only some horrors of the past to trigger the story. Eventually everything fell into place and after some hefty editing of the first 10 chapters (before I knew Minnie & Roy very well), I felt it was ready.  I just got my contract signed, and can look forward to publication in April!!

So without further  mucking this up with words, here is my selection for this week:

Minnie turned again, her long black hair shimmering in the colorful glow of sunrise. The sense of perfection shifted the moment she lifted her hair.

Roy couldn’t stop his sharp intake of breath. A patchwork of scars stretched across her back in varying shades of white and pink.  From her neck to just above her backside they were a glaring difference to the bronze perfection of the rest of her.

At the same time the scars added so much beauty. Only a strong woman could survive the torture of a fire hot enough to sear itself into her flesh.

 

Hump Day Hook asks authors to post one paragraph of one of their stories, whether a WIP, one contracted, or already published.  Please visit and comment on the participants – you might just stumble on the next great read for your library!  To see more participants, click on the HHH banner below:

Hump Day Hook – Week 3 {Changing Tracks}

Time for another Hump Day hook.  I’m excited for this week, because I’m showing you a paragraph from my contracted book, Changing Tracks (due for pub in February w/ Secret Cravings Publishing).

Jane & Cole are two of my favorite characters so far. It makes it very difficult to ever pick just one paragraph (or very short exchange) for the pair of them.  So I found this little section from Cole’s POV.  Just this one little moment of him looking around his room encapsulates the two of them pretty well in a few simple words.

Then he saw it.

The book.

It had to be hers because he couldn’t read. Obviously he left her alone too much. She’d taken the chance to add herself to the room.

All it took was a book.

Damn her.

Hump Day Hook asks authors to post one paragraph of one of their stories, whether a WIP, one contracted, or already published.  Please visit and comment on the participants – you might just stumble on the next great read for your library!  To see more participants, click on the HHH banner below:

Hump Day Hook – Week 2 {Into a Mirror Darkly}

Time for another Hump Day hook.  I did miss last week because of all the hospital craziness with Denver, but I’m glad to dive back into it this week.

In the past few weeks I’ve started another new story.  It’s taking a lot of world building, but the idea started small and really blossomed from there.  Can’t get into too many details, but it’s a new series that’s going to be a dark urban fantasy – probably a few romantic elements thrown in.

So, without further ado, I give you the first paragraphs of “Into a Mirror Darkly” – book 1 of the Morgana Chronicles.

Red held her breath and kept every muscle relaxed to avoid twitching. The tiniest move would reveal her hiding place. She kept her long sword against her chest, her right hand folded in the familiar grooves of the handle. In her left she clutched the dagger still sticky with green blood.

Damn ogres.

To see more participants, click on the HHH banner below:

Research or Fun?

This is what my desk looks like.

This is my research.

There are days when writing is the worst job in the world.  When your inbox is a mine field of rejections or dead silence.  When you get notes from your editor that rip your plot to shreds and leave it bleeding.  Or notes on your grammar and technical issues that leave more red on the page than black.

When you sit and stare at your screen knowing in your mind what you want to write but the line of communication to your fingers is broke.

Of course – then there are the days when you hate everything you have written and want to throw it all away.

Then there are days like this.  When you have ideas brewing so fast you can’t keep track.

Or – when you have to research those ideas.

Reading fairy tales as research?

Native American Mythology?

Hells yeah.

Most of my research in the past has centered around the 1800′s.  The Wild West. I love that period and research is almost secondary now to knowledge (although there’s always more to learn) I have been so deeply enmeshed in that time period since my youth.

To research new ideas, and go into new genres that don’t get close to my original genre – it’s a daily bit of excitement.

It’s in those moments that I really do just love this job.

Hump Day Hook – Week 1 {Hex Ranch}

To get some more writing posts up – at least until I figure out the blog layout craziness – and then especially after that, I found myself a new weekly blog hop to take part in. This one is the Hump Day Hook. The point is to post  one paragraph of your writing. It can be a WIP, a finished MS or a book you have out in the world for sale.

To quote the creator (Kerrianne Coombes):

This is a new blog hop where you post ONE paragraph from a WIP or finished book for all to see. Then, it would be really cool if you could visit other writers participating and comment on their paragraph!

This is a fun way to meet new writers, gain more readers and basically have fun with your work! You can tweet about it, Facebook it Etc,  and get word out about HHH and your work.

So for my first foray into the world of the HHH I’m putting out a paragraph from my WIP, Hex Ranch. Instead of starting from the beginning I started somewhere in the middle so I’d have a good idea of the characters and their personalities before I tried to start Chapter 1.  One thing is for sure, it didn’t take long for Thea “Teddy” Drake to make her personality clear. Here’s her response to the Sheriff (Seth) asking if she’ll behave:

Goddess, she really wanted him to take her right now. His strong arms held her close enough to feel his own excitement pressed hard against her belly. Her body hummed, nipples taut against the thin cotton of her dress. “I make no promises, Sheriff. Can’t recall a time I’ve ever been real good at behaving.”

To see more participants, click on the HHH banner below:

The Power of Stories – Guest Author Sabrina Garie

I have the great pleasure of hosting my good friend (and top-notch critique partner) Sabrina Garie for her blog tour for her novel, Fires of Justice.  Take note – she’s giving away a copy of her book to one lucky commenter!!!

Thanks for hosting me Sarah. I am so glad to be here. You exemplify bravery and humor and practicality in the face of the unknowable and unexpected.  In tribute to that, I thought I’d talk about the power of stories and books—how they make us stronger and more adaptable.  I know many people use books to escape from life and I admit to doing that myself. But I also rely on them to help me be better at life and my goal as a writer is to fuse that into my work.

By touching our hearts and minds, stories give us a fun and risk-free ways to learn to handle the unexpected—those things that we can neither practice nor prepare for.  Horror stories, roller coasters and zombies retain their popularity partially for that reason.  Engaging with stories through film, books, however you like to do it, can help us learn to sit and act with fear in our bellies and panic-induced adrenalin weaving through our veins.

Paranormal and science fiction also take us into places where we cannot go, which is why I love to read and write them. What should we do if a werewolf knocks on the door or an alien lands in our backyard?  As silly as these questions may sound at first, they strike a chord on some level of our psyche. At their base, they bring to light how we deal with the unknown, the untested, the other that we have yet to meet.

In my new release, Fires of Justice, I try and pull a few punches in this direction.  Here are a couple of my favorites.

Calista, our heroine, is a witch, so she’s used to some pretty strange things happening in any 24 hour period. Even so, the story starts with the simultaneous arrival of an ominous dream and a shifter setting up camp in her backyard and she, naturally, is weirded out by the whole thing. Turns out, the shifter is one of the characters in the dream.  So what would you do if you crashed into a person who you’d only seen in a dream?  Isn’t this just like asking if you believe in love at first sight in a slightly off-beat way? In college, I crushed on a guy because every time I looked at him, he felt familiar, like I’d known him somehow.  Whenever I saw him, the lyrics from the Eagles’ Peaceful, Easy Feeling would float around in my head “I get this feeling I may know you as a lover and a friend.” It was strange and exciting and I had no idea how to handle it.  That experience influenced the creation of this scene.

When Cullen first meets Calista, he’s predisposed to hate her because of some of the damage he carries around from his past.  Surprise, she’s nothing like he expected. Sometimes that werewolf or that alien is just the boy (or girl) next door you can’t see for the fangs or your own scars.  The power of stories is that they help us see past the fangs and the scars—to look underneath the facades that often get in the way.  Even if we have to hex it off to do it.

Thanks for visiting.  I’m giving away a free e-copy of Fires of Justice to one commenter.  How do stories help you deal with the unknown in your life? 

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To Purchase:

Ellora’s Cave

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

 

Always read the fine print when swearing an eternal oath to gods and guardians…

Beholden by the sacred vows of her coven, fire witch Calista Reid agrees to temporarily mate with shifter Cullen McMahan to fulfill a mission assigned by the guardians. When tall, dark and damaged arrives on her doorstep, generating enough heat to scorch a fire witch, Calista finds herself drawn to his battle-hardened body and broken soul. His pain speaks to her own deep-rooted isolation and the intensity of his hunger slakes her passion like no other.

Cullen, scarred by a past that left him an indentured soldier to the guardians, resents yet another hump-on-command assignment…until he encounters the compassionate, fearless, incendiary redhead who detonates his body and reawakens the emotions sacrifice and loss had suppressed. But Cullen harbors a terrible secret—one that reaches back into Calista’s troubled childhood and threatens the foundation of their growing bond.

Link to Excerpt: http://www.jasminejade.com/productspecs/9781419941542.htm

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Sabrina Garie is on a journey to create the most kick-ass heroine romance fiction has ever known and the hero who can take her. A believer that big, audacious goals spice up life, she relies on coffee, red wine and laughter to make those goals (and her characters) come alive. When not at the computer, she wrangles vegetables and extra helpings of homework into her star-spangled, fashion-loving progeny, kowtows to a fat cat and reads, a lot. Since it is more fun to travel in packs, come along for the ride. I’d love to chat.

You can find me at:

Website/Blog: www.sabrinagarie.com

Twitter: www.twitter.com/SabrinaGarie

Facebook: www.facebook.com/SabrinaGarieAuthor

I also blog at Darker Temptations (Paranormal and Science Fiction Romance Blog):  http://darkertemptations.wordpress.com/