Andrea R. Cooper's Blog, page 50
September 7, 2013
Suicide Prevention Week
Hi and welcome. I’m participating in Suicide Prevention Week.
I do have two fellow author blogs that were arranged prior to this, but I will post motivational quotes during those days along with their post.
First of all, if you are thinking of committing suicide, talk to someone. Preferably someone who will listen to you:
Your minister
Your parent(s)
Your school guidance counselor
Call a suicide hotline: 1-800-SUICIDE or 1-800-273-TALK
Don’t hold all your pain inside. There are people who care about you and what you are going through. Some have gone through similar situations and know exactly how you are feeling.
Write down your feelings. Sometimes just getting the words out either verbally or in writing can ease a little of the pain.
You are worth your life! You are worth everything! Don’t throw it away. Please seek help. I care.
Enter to win $50 Gift Certificate:
http://louisabacio.blogspot.com/2013/09/suicidepreventionhop.html
Leave a comment below and be entered for another drawing: Free ebook of your choice The Garnet Dagger – fantasy / paranormal or Viking Fire – historical romance.
September 1, 2013
Author Spotlight – Chris Brookes
Her lucid visions of his life labelled her delusional, but with a spiritual medium suggesting they were very real, which theory would hold the truth?
Sheffield, England, 1912. Nurse Mary O’Driscoll’s sheltered life is set to drastically change when she is called to a police cell by Court Missionary, Robert Elliott, to help with Walter Sanford; a roguishly charismatic, deaf and mute criminal. When Walter collapses and is rushed to hospital, Mary has the first of her vivid out-of-body experiences, which turns her normally organised life into turmoil and forges an undeniable connection with Walter.
Why have the two of them been brought together? Can Mary really accept the possibility of spiritual intervention? How can her feelings for Walter coexist alongside her developing friendship with handsome surgeon, Tom Sharpe? And what links a harrowing crime to a locket found in Walter’s cell?
One thing is certain…the answers have consequences!
Bio:
Chris Brookes was born in 1960 and lives in Sheffield with his wife and two children.
After spending time in the army, Chris embarked on a career in musical theatre production and began co-producing touring shows. However, after discussions with his bank manager and the revelation that a mortgage needed to be paid monthly, it was agreed he would also seek a ‘proper job’. Soon he found himself working in service delivery management, but all the while continued to pursue an interest in the stage, writing scripts and organising shows. He also worked on his other passion of painting and has produced numerous limited edition prints of his work.
Chris is currently busy writing the sequel to ‘Entanglement of Fate’, as well as a three-part TV script based on the life of Luisa – Crown Princess of Tuscany.
Buy Links:
Amazon: http://goo.gl/aiAQwe
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18397636-entanglement-of-fate
Chris Brookes’ website: http://www.chrisbrookes.info/
August 26, 2013
Random Post – Should appliances be given as gifts for anniversaries or birthdays?
Today, there was a topic that came up on Facebook about buying a vacuum cleaner for an anniversary present.
How is this even a question? I’ll take a gamble and say at least 90% of women would say NO!
A lot of men don’t understand this. (Of course, all of this is my opinion. if you disagree, please leave a comment and share your thoughts)
Let me try to explain why. Many women, myself included, don’t like housework. We love a clean house, but not the work that it takes. Of course there are always exceptions to the rule and I know of one woman who absolutely adores housework – but I bet if I gave her a free cleaning by someone else, she wouldn’t turn the offer away 
Unless your spouse or significant other says they love appliances as gifts for their anniversary or birthday, I think it would be best to mark that off your gift registry—at least until they come up with a robot to clean the house (then I’d want two: one for cleaning and the other to cook meals).
So, I’m sure a lot of you are saying, “well, that’s why I bought her xyz appliance to make it easier for her.”
Want to make it easier for her? Suggest she go out with the girls and while she’s gone clean everything you can. That would be a great gift—or just a wonderful surprise and one way to say “I love you.” True, we’d love a new dishwasher if ours is broken, but not as a gift.
I’ll try to explain with an example of why the majority of women would not want an appliance as a gift.
It would be as if you had to mow the grass every day no matter rain, shine, or whatever. It would raise two feet every day—sometimes it would grow two feet every few hours.
It would never end.
And it wouldn’t take an hour, but two or more every day. Then your spouse gives you a new lawnmower as a present for your birthday. “This will save you time!”
Yet, the grass continues to grow.
And with the new equipment, maybe you save a few minutes, but you’d rather have a gift that won’t remind you every day of how fast the grass grows.
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August 25, 2013
Author Spotlight – S.M. Boyce
Blurb:Kara Magari is about to discover a beautiful world full of terrifying things: Ourea.
Kara, a college student still reeling from her mother’s recent death, has no idea the hidden world of Ourea even exists until a freak storm traps her in a sunken library. With nothing to do, she opens an ancient book of magic called the Grimoire
and unwittingly becomes its master, which means Kara now wields the cursed book’s untamed power. Discovered by Ourea’s royalty, she becomes an unwilling pawn in a generations-old conflict – a war intensified by her arrival. In this world of chilling creatures and betrayal, Kara shouldn’t trust anyone… but she’s being hunted and can’t survive on her own. She drops her guard when Braeden, a native soldier with a dark secret, vows to keep her safe. And though she doesn’t know it, her growing attraction to him may just be her undoing.
For twelve years, Braeden Drakonin has lived a lie. The Grimoire is his one chance at redemption, and it lands in his lap when Kara Magari comes into his life. Though he begins to care for this human girl, there is something he wants more. He wants the Grimoire.
Welcome to Ourea, where only the cunning survive.
Excerpt from Lichgates:
Kara Magari squinted back up the path she’d just climbed. The gazebo’s roof peeked through the trees, evidence of where she’d been only ten minutes before. Not bad. With her finger in the air, she traced the way she’d taken, starting at the lichgate and going down over each step in her head. Her finger hovered and came to a stop, though, when she examined the base of the hill.
Built into the rock was a marble door, shrouded with overhanging roots and dangling moss that clung to its frame like bangs. She rubbed her eyes, but the closed entryway was still there when she opened them again.
She brushed her hand along the door’s smooth stone. It was simple, with only a round stone knob and a small emblem carved into the rock at eye level. The symbol looked something like a four-leaf clover made out of crescent moons.
Kara’s fingers itched on the handle, but she hesitated.
The ground trembled with a sudden force that knocked her against the cliff. The breeze stopped, dissolving with a hiss into the hot summer sky. She scanned the valley. Several somethings cracked in the ground under her feet.
Thunder rumbled overhead. A dark cloud churned in the sky, and her heart fell into her stomach; there hadn’t even been a single fluffy cloud up there ten minutes ago.
A blinding bolt of moss-colored lightning flashed, striking the ground nearby. The hairs on her arms stood on end. Heat coursed through her calves, and she caught her breath. Her ears rang.
Wait. Was that lightning green?
The cliff trembled as a boom shattered the air. It began to rain. The heavy drops pelted her skin and clung to her hair as another rumble coursed along the far edge of the valley. She needed shelter, and the last place she would go in a lightning storm was up a hill.
She turned back and twisted the door’s handle, sighing with relief as it opened—unlocked. Still, as wet as it was outside and as much as she wanted a safe place to wait out the rain, she lingered on the threshold to examine the room.
Mud covered everything from the floor to the ceiling. Since there weren’t any supports to hold the roof, she couldn’t figure out how the ten-by-ten dirt shelter hadn’t caved in yet. The air within was heavy, moist with the rot of dead leaves, and her only guiding light streamed in from behind her. Roots dangled from the ceiling like stalactites reaching for the floor. The wind picked up, howling as it pelted rain against her back.
Kara tested the ground with her sneaker. The dirt floor supported her weight, so she tip-toed into the room and left the door open. Rain fell in lingering drops on the threshold before it disappeared into the growing pools of mud. She stuck her hands in her pockets and watched the raging storm outside.
A flash of dark brown blurred past her.
She jumped. A tan flicker snaked along the roof, and clumps of soil fell in sheets. She glared at the ceiling, holding her breath as the settling dust rained onto her shoes.
It had almost looked like a root moving, but that—that was crazy.
Another streak of motion raced down the opposite wall. It passed through a shaft of light, and Kara saw its pointed, wooden tip. Tiny veins sprouted from it like hairs, digging into the dirt so that it could travel.
It was a root moving.
A second spiny vine shot up from the floor and wrapped itself around her leg. It pulled. She tripped, falling into the first root as it snaked along the far wall. Dirt poured over her head, blinding her. The scent of decaying bark made her cough. The root tugged again, and she was yanked onto her hands and knees. It dragged her towards the center of the room. She reached for the knife strapped to her free ankle, the one Mom had—no! She couldn’t think of Mom. Not now.
A third root wrapped around her waist, and another grabbed her hand as she reached for the blade. The roots flipped her onto her back. With a bang, the door snapped shut. Her stomach churned. The floor disappeared. She fell, and the roots let go.
Buy links:
You can get the ebook of Lichgates for free!
Amazon: USA | UK | Germany | France | Spain | Italy | Buy the Paperback
Kobo | Apple | Barnes & Noble | Smashwords
Author Bio:S.M. Boyce is a fantasy and paranormal fiction novelist who also dabbles in contemporary fiction and comedy. Her B.A. in Creative Writing also qualifies her to serve you french fries. She updates her blog (smboyce.com) a few times each week so that you have something to wake you up in the morning.
Connect:
Blog | Website | Facebook | Twitter| Google+ | Pinterest | Youtube
August 20, 2013
August 19, 2013
Guest Post – Brenda Dyer
Hello, everyone. My name is Brenda. Before we begin, I’d like to thank Andrea for allowing me to visit with you all today. Thank you, Andrea.
So, what makes a great book? Plot? Conflict? The characters? The answer is all three.
Today I’d like to talk about characters, and how I take them from words on a page, to three dimensional individuals with thoughts and feelings, a past, present and future.
Before I begin writing a story, I prefer to have my characters well thought out with their back-stories in place. I start this process with a hazy imagine of a character. I can’t see the face clearly, but I usually get the impression of hair color, then maybe eye color. Soon, the facial features come into view, then their bodies. Now I have a detailed mind-sketch of a character.
Next, I take this flat sketch—skeleton—and introduce what I like to call the meat, or muscle. This simply means I add emotions, a personality and a past. The character now is walking and talking—interacting with the world around him or her. This is the stage I refer to as the getting to know my character on a more intimate level. I do a lot of staring off into space and thinking in this phase, lol.
Okay. You may be thinking this all sounds too simple, but really, how does a writer accomplish this? How does he/she turn a flat character—words on a page—into a filled out individual that readers fall in love with? Or hates? Or wants to see dead.
I can only speak for myself, so here is what the process is like for me.
Once I know what my character looks like and what makes them tick so to speak, I now have to add specific events and experiences that help shape the character’s personality. At this stage I look to my own life and experiences. Plus, I look to people around me: family and friends.
For instance, part of Katherine’s—the heroine in Prophecy’s Child—backstory I swiped from my sister-in-law. I won’t use her real name. Instead, I’ll call her SIL, lol. When my SIL was a teen, she met a guy. They dated and she wound up pregnant. The guy wanted nothing to do with her or their baby. So, he left.
My SIL met a new man—my husband’s brother. My BIL raised my SIL’s son like he was his own. In fact, they are closer than most biological fathers and sons.
Anyway, when my SIL’s son turned fourteen, his biological father made an unexpected appearance. He demanded to see his son. My SIL tried to put a stop to it, but she relented—against her better judgement. She conceded only because her son wanted to meet his real father. At first, things went okay. Soon her son wanted to move in with his father. Well, my SIL went ballistic—and rightfully so. But a week later, her son’s father vanished—no note, no good-bye, just gone—never to be heard from again. Her son is now twenty-four.
I took this experience, bent and twisted it to suit my story, and whalla, Katherine had part of her backstory.
As for Kal’s character, he is a combination of me—love of pulling pranks and telling jokes—and my two boys—their love of video games. Ike is also a combination of my sons—Tyler and Trevor.
So you see, I take bits and pieces of people I know and their experiences to create my characters. Each of my characters is dear to me. I’ve molded them from simple ideas and words into living (lol), 3-D people. I know what makes them tick. Why they react to certain situations. The hardest part of this process is making sure I have done my job properly so readers will fall in love with my characters—become as emotionally invested in them as I am.
I hope I have accomplished this with Katherine’s character.
My question to you all is, what books/characters have won a permanent place in your hearts?
Leave a comment and your email address for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card.
I’ll leave you with a blurb and excerpt from Prophecy’s Child.
Blurb:
His secret will shatter her world.
Katherine Colby’s life splintered ten years ago when her lover suddenly vanished, leaving her with more than a broken heart. But when Kal unexpectedly makes an appearance, her safe, dependable existence is shattered once more. Drawn into Kal’s deadly world of vampires and demons, she must now put aside her hurt and anger and learn to trust him. Can she forgive past deceptions and find the courage to love again? Or will she turn away the one man who owns her heart and soul?
Her secret will change his life.
Powerful, and lethal, Kal is a vampire warrior, sworn to protect humans from demons. Loving Katherine too much to pull her into his dangerous world, Kal deserted her, believing his decision was best for them both. But not even time could assuage his yearning for the woman who has captured his heart. As fate tosses them together once again, Kal must fight to win Katherine’s trust and forgiveness before evil separates them forever. But is he ready to become the man she needs him to be? Or will he lose the one woman he can’t live without?
Excerpt:
Kal’s eyes met hers as he set the beer bottle on the coffee table. His blue irises glowed with tenderness. “It’s great to see you again. You look…” His gaze traveled over her face, down her neck before moving lower, where it lingered on her breasts before taking the same path back to her eyes. “Beautiful.”
Heat flooded Katherine’s cheeks and her pulse pounded. Embarrassment and longing churned through her, two emotions she didn’t need right now—they were weaknesses. She tried to stare him down, but couldn’t. Damn him—and her wayward feelings.
The hateful words she wanted to say stuck in her throat. With him acting so damn nice, it threw off her rage game.
Nice? Pleeease. He’s a selfish bastard that cares for no one but himself. Never allow him to fool you again.
Even if a part of her yearned for Ike to have a father in his life, she’d learned the hard way Kal was not a long-term commitment kinda of guy. No way would she allow Kal to sweep into Ike’s life only to sneak back out without a word. Her son’s heart was at stake, and she’d do whatever it took to protect him.
Katherine glared at him. “Let’s drop the niceties, and get down to why you’re here.”
Kal’s smile faltered.
Author Bio:
Brenda Dyer lives in the small town of Sooke off the coast of British Columbia with her husband, two teenage boys, and an assortment of animals.
She is a graduate from LongRidge Writers group.
When she isn’t writing you can find her out in her gardens or working with her two miniature horses.
Brenda loves to hear from readers. If you would like to contact her, visit her website.
http:.//www.brendamdyer.blogspot.com
Buy Links:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00E0R4230
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/337666
Where to find me:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BrendaMDyer
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BrendaMDyer
Website: http://www.brendamdyer.com
Blog: http://www.brendamdyer.blogspot.com
August 18, 2013
Author Spotlight – J.J. DiBenedetto
Dream Student
Blurb: What would you do if you could see other people’s dreams? If you could watch their hidden fantasies and uncover their deepest, darkest secrets…without them ever knowing?
Sara Barnes is about to find out. She thought that all she had to worry about was final exams, Christmas shopping and deciding whether she likes the cute freshman in the next dorm who’s got a crush on her.
But when she starts seeing dreams that aren’t hers, she learns more than she ever wanted to know about her friends, her classmates…and a strange, terrifying man whose dreams could get Sara killed.
“Dream Student” is the thrilling first installment of the Dreams series.
Excerpt:
(from Dream Student, book 1)
While I’m waiting I see there’s someone else in the office, another student. He’s obviously waiting for something or someone and reading the newspaper. I glance at the front page, and then I look again. There’s a photo there. I grab the paper out of his hands, completely ignoring his protest, and I look closely at it.
I’ve seen her before.
No.
No. It can’t be. It’s not possible. The girl in the picture looks exactly like the girl in my dreams. It’s not possible, except that I’m seeing it with my own eyes. I start reading the story. “Seventeen year old Amelia Morgan – high school senior – found murdered – body discovered on Old Tree Road…” No, no, no.
I read it again, and the words don’t change. Of course they don’t.
No.
Yes.
I just start wailing, shouting nonsense. I’m standing in the middle of the room screaming my head off. Ray comes out to me, puts his hand on my shoulder, starts to tell me to calm down and I push him away, shove the newspaper in his face. “It’s her! It’s her! It’s her, and she’s dead!”
She’s dead, she’s dead. She’s dead and I saw it and she’s dead and – and – that’s all I know. She’s dead and I saw it and it’s all real and – and what?
I don’t know, so I keep on screaming.
Author Bio:
J.J. (James) DiBenedetto was born in Yonkers, New York. He attended Case Western Reserve University, where as his classmates can attest, he was a complete nerd. Very little has changed since then.
He currently lives in Arlington, Virginia with his beautiful wife and their cat (who has thoroughly trained them both). When he’s not writing, James works in the direct marketing field, enjoys the opera, photography and the New York Giants, among other interests.
The “Dreams” series is James’ first published work.
Other Works:
***
Dream Doctor
“I didn’t expect to be woken up by someone I don’t know dreaming about killing somebody. I thought I was done with that once and for all…”
But Sara’s not done with it. As if adjusting to life as a newlywed and starting medical school weren’t difficult enough, she’s started seeing the dreams of everyone around her, again. Before everything is said and done, those dreams might destroy Sara’s hopes of becoming a doctor, wreck her marriage and even end her life…
“Dream Doctor” is the thrilling second novel in the Dreams series.
***
Dream Child
“I would give anything to take this away from her. I would gladly go back to having the nightmares myself – the very worst ones, the ones that had me waking up screaming in a pool of my own vomit – rather than see Lizzie go through this…”
As a resident at Children’s Hospital, Sara can handle ninety hour workweeks, fighting to save her young patients from deadly childhood diseases. But she’s about to be faced with a challenge that all her training and experience haven’t prepared her for: her four-year-old daughter has inherited her ability to see other people’s dreams…
“Dream Child” is the suspenseful third novel in the “Dreams” series.
***
Dream Family
“Why is this so hard for me? Why am I having so much trouble? Why do I feel so helpless, so hopeless? What the hell is wrong with me?”
After tangling with murders and mobsters, not to mention medical school and three years of residency, Sara thought she could handle anything. And then the police show up without warning at her new office and arrest her for a crime she can’t possibly have committed. Sara’s confidence, and her grip on reality, is shattered during one terrifying night in jail.
Now, the very dreams that have endangered her life and driven her to the edge of madness may be the only thing that can help Sara find herself again…
“Dream Family” is the powerful fourth novel in the “Dreams” series.
***
Waking Dream
“Oh, God! We can hurt each other. Whatever we do to each other in the dream, we’ll do it to ourselves for real…”
When her own dreams are visited by a mysterious woman in a red dress, Sara realizes she has something she never expected: a counterpart, someone outside her family who shares her talent to see other people’s dreams.
When the woman in red keeps showing up in other dreams as well, leaving ruined lives in her wake, Sara knows she has something she never imagined: a nemesis.
Now, Sara must track the woman in red down in the waking world, before she’s forced to fight for her life in her dreams…
“Waking Dream” is the exciting fifth novel in the “Dreams” series.
Links:
Dream student
Amazon (Kindle or Paperback or Audiobook)
Dream Doctor
Dream Child
Dream Family
All four books are also available at:
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/starkllr
.
Facebook:
August 15, 2013
Release Day and Giveaway – Heather M. Sharpe
Thank you so much for helping me celebrate Purr-fect Love’s release!
One lucky commenter will have a chance to win a $5 giftcard to one of my favorite soap shops, Skin Sweets and Body Treats! Make sure to leave your email in the comment so I can contact you if you win, and stop by my Facebook page to find other stops where you can get more entries!
www.facebook.com/heathermsharpe
www.heathermsharpe@webstarts.com
Blurb:
With time running out, there’s no pussyfooting around…
After her fiancé’s last betrayal, Mahri Lassler decides she’d rather become a crazy cat lady than live with another man. Yet when her sister drags her to the animal shelter to make that dream a reality, Mahri just isn’t ready to commit. Not even to a litter of cuddly kittens. But when an odd black and white tomcat reaches through the bars, it’s almost as if he’s choosing her…
Cursed by a scorned lover for all eternity, Scottish clansman Morgan Felix resigns himself to living eleven months each year as a cat. Now, nearly a millennium later, he’s trapped in a cage at the animal shelter with no hope in sight. He has to escape before the first day of spring, when he’ll change back into his human form and find himself in a very tight squeeze. So when the pixie-like woman stops just outside the cage, he takes the situation into his own paws and reaches out to touch her hand…
Buy Links:
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1116466228?ean=2940148435389
All Romance eBooks:
August 9, 2013
August 5, 2013
Celebrate your Talent!
Everyone has a talent. It might not be apparent at first, but it’s there. I didn’t think I had one until my thirties, and even then feeling was fleeting until I signed my debut novel, The Garnet Dagger with Crimson Romance.
There are many things I can’t do, don’t like to do, or wish I could do.
I wish I could whip up stuff like they do on all those cooking shows. But I can’t. I have to have a recipe and if I’m missing an ingredient it all goes in the trash. I love watching Master Chef, but I would never be able to do something without a recipe much less something I’ve never cooked before. Like did you know some things can’t be during certain weather? Try making divinity candy when it’s raining outside – you’ll come up with a gooey mess like I did.
I don’t like cleaning. I love a clean house, but I hate having to be the one to do it. And when I clean I’m sure an expert could come behind me and make it better.
I can’t sew. I can’t cut straight or sew straight. Patterns give me paper cuts and the finished product never looks remotely like the pictures—much less be wearable.
I used to play the flute in school, but I can’t now, and when I could play I was average.
I did average in school, except I excelled in Algebra—but where can I get a job doing it?
I tried cosmetology in high school, but that goes along with not being able to cut straight and being terrible at geometry.
I would love to paint or draw, but alas, that talent passed me by as well.
So what was I good at?
Imagination. Story-telling. I always thought up characters and stories. Whenever a writing assignment came up, I was glad. I didn’t have a problem making-up stuff and always got high marks on my papers.
Yet still, I didn’t think of writing as a talent, it just came easy to me—or at least the plots did.
I wrote poetry when I was fourteen until my late twenties, but didn’t really think anything would come of them. Then I started writing down stories that had plagued my mind since I could no longer act them out with the neighborhood kids.
It started as a hobby. Just something to pass the time that I thought was cool. I only thought family and close friends would read my stories.
Then I wrote The Garnet Dagger trilogy. I wanted others to enjoy the story as much as I did. I sent it off a few times in several years, not really expecting anything, yet holding my breath for each response.
In December 2012, Crimson Romance loved my story and now I am a published author.
I might not be good at a great many things, but I think I have enough of writing and story-telling to qualify as a talent.
What is your talent? Have you ever thought of it as a talent before? Celebrate it! No matter how small or seemingly unimportant you think it is—someone somewhere would be glad to have your ability.
