Heather Fraser Brainerd's Blog, page 5

Release Day!

We couldn’t be happier to unleash Shadows of New York upon the world today! This Middle Grade Fantasy puts a whole new spin on the vampire/werewolf genre.

What do you do when your view of the world gets turned on its head? Eleven-year-old Josh Cooper is surprised when his new nanny ends up being a dude, but that pales in comparison to how he feels when he learns the nanny, Aiden, is also a werewolf. Aiden teaches Josh about the Imaginary World, even introducing him to his friends Larry Fancypants (a suave-yet-goofy vampire) and Steve Lickerman (a tall-yet-meek leprechaun). This fascinating world seems harmless, until Josh learns of the shadowy wraith that’s stalking New York, attacking creatures and stealing their powers. As werewolves are ideally suited for fighting wraiths, Aiden is called upon to help capture the elusive Mr. Midnight, unintentionally drawing Josh even deeper into the strange and mysterious.

E-copies available on Amazon, MuseItUp Publishing, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo.

Happy reading!

We’re on tour!

We’re currently doing a blog tour to promote our first book, Deception Al Dente. (Sure, we’ve published more books since then, but why not give a little love to the one that started it all?) Come along for the fun (and a giveaway)!

September 9th: Making Connections

September 10th: These Are But Shadows

September 11th: Books Need TLC

September 12th: Shut Up & Read

September 13th: The Avid Reader

September 14th: The Thrifty Reader

Ghostly Clues – on sale now

Kay LaLone’s Ghostly Clues is on sale for just $1.99 until September 14th.

The sweet scent of lilacs permeates the air around Grandma’s gravesite. Only Sarah Kay can smell Grandma’s favorite flower, and they’re not even in bloom.

Sarah Kay and her best friend, Mary Jane, believe the lilacs are a sign from Grandma’s ghost. The girls follow one ghostly clue after another, uncovering a secret that Mom never wanted Sarah Kay to know.

Grandma makes sure Sarah Kay gets the message even from the grave. As the evidence piles up, Mom still refuses to accept the possibility Sarah Kay’s father is alive.

Sarah Kay finds Dad’s parents. A set of grandparents she didn’t realize existed. They make it clear her father is alive but days and miles separate the father and daughter reunion because Dad is a truck driver on a long haul.

Sarah Kay waits. The news reports a fatal car accident involving a semi and Sarah Kay fears the worse. She runs away which leads to Dad and the truth, Mom wanted Dad to remain dead.

Dad had faked his death so why not just stay dead. The ghostly clues of Grandma wouldn’t allow Dad to remain dead to Sarah Kay.

Hop on over to MuseItUp Publishing to pick up your discounted e-copy now!

Alternate Points of View

Please join us in welcoming fellow MuseItUp author Kai Strand to our blog. For her fabulous guest post, read on!

Why Alternate Points of View? It’s Worth the Effort by Kai Strand

How many times have you scratched your head wondering why someone reacted the way they did? Said what they said? Got mad at you when you never meant to upset them? In the rare circumstance that you are able to find out the motivation behind someone’s unexpected actions, it often surprises you to learn their reaction makes a lot of sense, but only AFTER they explain themselves.

That was the reason I wanted to write my novellas in two different points of view. Except I didn’t want to hop back and forth within the same story, instead I wanted to devote an entire story to each character. So that you truly get to know the character and their motivations, quirks, dreams, weaknesses and most importantly, growth.

That’s how Worth the Effort was born.

~Ayden’s Story:

Seventeen-year-old Ayden Worth shouldn’t have to seek peace of mind in the streets. But as family pressures mount, his anxieties increase, and he turns his back on comfort for a life in homeless camps and back alleys.

Then one fateful day he runs into the only person he ever wanted to know better. Ella Jones. His memories paint her as kind and undemanding, and it seems the years haven’t changed her. Her simple expectations draw him to her. Against all odds, a relationship buds and grows.

Yet, as Ayden repairs his life, Ella suggests he help others who also struggle. Will Ella turn out to be just like his dad, expecting more from him than he can give? Or will he prove that he is worth the effort?

Buy Link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00M7HOZUU

~Ella’s Story:

Ella Jones is a coward. There is a teen boy living in the alley behind her work and she is terrified of him.

Desperate to leave behind the stereotypical and judgmental world she was raised in, Ella forces herself to make a true connection with seventeen-year-old Ayden Worth. As their friendship grows Ayden’s quiet, gentle ways teach her true courage.

But there’s more to Ayden’s story than Ella knows. When their worlds collide in the most unexpected place, Ella feels betrayed. Will she find the courage to learn who Ayden really is, or will she determine he’s not worth the effort?

Buy Link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00K4F0C18

***

What was Ayden thinking during their conversation in the den? Why did Ella befriend Ayden in the first place, when she was so obviously afraid of him? Readers get a unique chance to find out what the other character was thinking during crucial scenes, just by reading the other story.

Seriously, don’t you wish you could get this chance in real life?

About the author:

When her children were young and the electricity winked out, Kai Strand gathered her family around the fireplace and they told stories, one sentence at a time. Her boys were rather fond of the ending, “And then everybody died. The end.” Now an award winning children’s author, Kai crafts fiction for kids and teens to provide an escape hatch from their reality. With a selection of novels for young adult and middle grade readers and short stories for the younger ones, Kai entertains children of all ages, and their adults. Learn more about Kai and her books on her website, www.kaistrand.com.

Cover reveal + release date

It’s a double celebration around here – we have a cover reveal AND a release date for Shadows of New York! Check out the cover for our first-ever Middle Grade Fantasy:

What do you do when your view of the world gets turned on its head? Eleven-year-old Josh Cooper is surprised when his new nanny ends up being a dude, but that pales in comparison to how he feels when he learns the nanny, Aiden, is also a werewolf. Aiden teaches Josh about the Imaginary World, even introducing him to his friends Larry Fancypants (a suave-yet-goofy vampire) and Steve Lickerman (a tall-yet-meek leprechaun). This fascinating world seems harmless, until Josh learns of the shadowy wraith that’s stalking New York, attacking creatures and stealing their powers. As werewolves are ideally suited for fighting wraiths, Aiden is called upon to help capture the elusive Mr. Midnight, unintentionally drawing Josh even deeper into the strange and mysterious.

Shadows of New York, book one of The Manny series, will release on September 15, 2014. Preorder your copy at MuseItUp.

The Return of Stuart West

Well, we’re supposed to be interviewing Stuart West about his new novel Elspeth the Living Dead Girl. Unfortunately, he made the mistake of floating us copies so we know what the heck we’re talking about. Now we’re too engrossed in the book to spend time coming up with a good set of questions. Instead, we’re just going to modify the questions Oprah asked Lance Armstrong. Our apologies to everyone, particularly Mr. West, in advance.

Brainerd & Fraser: Did you ever take banned substances to enhance your writing?

Stuart West: Um, wait. What? Am I in the wrong place? Ah, no, no banned substances. Elspeth the Living Dead Girl was created all in my non-enhanced mind.

B&F: Was one of those banned substances Diet Mountain Dew?

SW: Sigh. I already told you. This is a joke, right? Okay, whatever. The book is full of laughs, suspense, hopefully a few tears. Speaking of banned substances, my heroines–Elspeth/Elizabeth, two girls sharing the same body, one dead, one alive (It’s complicated, it’s complicated)–are after a mysterious drug dealer responsible for the death of a student at Elizabeth’s high school. That’s as close as I came to banned substances.

B&F: Did you ever use blood transfusions to enhance your writing?

SW: No! Have you ever suffered a bloody nose while asking these inane questions? Sorry, sorry, deep breath. No blood transfusions. However, I almost felt the two teen girl narrators (yes, a twin narrative) channeled through me to tell the tale. I mean, really. I’m a 53 year old male. What do I know about teen girls? But, as challenging as it was, this was also the most fun I’ve had writing. These girls lived and breathed, practically writing themselves.

B&F: Was it hard to live up to that book that was created?

SW: I’m having a harder time living up to this nonsense. Maybe you’ve been partaking a little too heavily of the banned substances. Okay, again…finding my inner mellow self, yoga style. Sigh. Was it hard to live up to the book? Well, the burden’s there, I suppose, of representing a kick-butt, no-nonsense girl of action ripped from the nether regions of Limbo. That would be Elspeth and I hope I did her justice. Don’t want her coming after me. Then I also had to present Elizabeth in a…um…”flattering” light. That wasn’t easy. (Hope she’s not reading this). She’s not very likable, a money and career-oriented cold fish who won’t let anything stand in her way to world domination, winning the title of prom queen, and marrying her Prince Charming. As you can imagine, there are conflicts between the two.

B&F: But didn’t you help write that book?

SW: Hello! Yes, I wrote the dang book. With a little help from Elspeth and Elizabeth. Um, I think I have a TV dinner in the microwave…

B&F: It’s an epic story. What’s the moral to the story?

SW: Finally, a pertinent question! I suppose if there is a moral to the story, it would be don’t do drugs, drink school, stay in milk…wait. Now you’ve got me acting all goofy!

B&F: One former character, Mickey Goldfarb, told MuseItUp Publishing you threatened to kick her out of the book if she didn’t shape up and conform to the word processing program.

SW: Gah! Is this David interviewing me? Let me talk to your sister. Heather! Hello! You out there? Sigh. Okay, really, I’ve had enough. Just go buy the damn book. Later.

B&F: Hang on a second, don’t go yet. We have some more space to fill. Do you want to give the obligatory information on how to order the book or where people can find your blog? Otherwise, we’ll just have to, I don’t know, draw a cartoon giraffe or something.

SW: Grrr. Fine.

Elspeth the Living Dead Girl can be found on Amazon and MuseItUp Publishing.

While I’m at it, here’s where you can find the Tex, the Witch Boy trilogy from whence Elspeth came (but, don’t worry if you haven’t read the books. Elspeth the Living Dead Girl stands on its own.):

Tex, the Witch Boy is on Amazon and MuseItUp.

Tex and the Gangs of Suburbia is on Amazon and MuseItUp.

Tex and the God Squad is on Amazon and MuseItUp.

B&F: Shoot. We still ran a little short. Okay, fine. Here’s the cartoon giraffe…

Plus a bonus hippo.

Elspeth the Living Dead Girl available June 27th:

If you’re dead already, can you die again? Elspeth’s been summoned from limbo. Her new assignment? Track down the culprit in the mysterious death of a student at Clearwell High. And incidentally, uncover the identity of the new drug dealer prowling the halls. Only one problem—the body she has to co-inhabit has a different agenda. Elizabeth just wants to be prom queen, marry Prince Charming, and graduate with perfect posture. Both girls, alive and dead, will have their separate worlds rocked before the killer is unveiled. Nothing is as it seems. No one can be trusted. Being dead has never been so dangerous.

Meet Sara Jayne Townsend

Brainerd & Fraser: Today we are joined by fellow MuseItUp author Sara Jayne Townsend, who traveled all the way from the UK to New York for our visit. Welcome, Sara!

Sara Jayne Townsend: Thank you for having me and it’s great to be in New York. I just love New York City – I’ve visited many times. And Central Park holds special memories for my husband and me – we got engaged there.

B&F: Tell us a bit about your upcoming release, Death Scene.

SJT: DEATH SCENE is the first in my series about actress and amateur sleuth Shara Summers. At the beginning of this book, Shara is living in Canada, but she comes back to the UK, her country of birth, because her sister is suffering a mysterious illness. Then when an elderly aunt is found dead, having apparently fallen down the stairs, Shara starts to poke around in a few family closets and uncovers some skeletons.

B&F: What inspired this book?

SJT: I’m a big fan of Sara Paretsky’s VI Warshawski and I was inspired by this character to create a kick-ass female sleuth. I was a bit nervous about writing a police procedural, though – it requires far too much research and you’ve got to get the procedures right. So I decided to create an amateur sleuth instead. I drew on my own background for the character, having lived in both Canada and the UK, deciding to make her Canada-based and bring her to the UK, making observations on the way about the differences of life in the two countries. I also liked the idea of making her an actress, so that she could don disguises and get into ‘acting’ mode as she goes about her investigations, in order to gain access to places she wouldn’t ordinarily get into.

Coming soon from MuseItUp Publishing.

B&F: We understand you’ve lived in both the UK and Canada. What’s the best thing about each?

SJT: London has attitude, vibrancy, and a history. London has been a city for nearly 2000 years and I love the diversity that has developed as it has grown organically. I also like the fact that I can buy wine in the supermarket along with my groceries – something you can’t do in Canada. And then there are scones with jam and clotted cream – yum. And the chocolate is far nicer than it is in North America.

Canada, though, I visit often and it always feels welcoming. The people are laid back and friendly, and Toronto is a great city. I also have a great fondness for Canadian muffins. Especially those from Mmmmuffins…

B&F: Like us, you enjoy a good old-fashioned tabletop roleplaying game. Tell us about your all-time favorite RPG character.

SJT: My all-time favourite character is a rogue called Kaylia, who was great at opening locks and finding traps, and was also pretty good with a sword. But there’s a character I’m playing in a current game who I’m growing equally fond of – a female warrior called Hylla. She’s got a strength of 22, she favours a double-bladed sword and she’s seriously kick-ass. She just wades through the beasties felling them left, right and centre. Her intelligence and wisdom stats are in single digits, but who needs brains when you’ve got that much brawn?

B&F: Ha! She sounds awesome! What is your current favorite song?

SJT: “Knights of Cydonia” by Muse. It’s so dramatic!

Time for the rapid-fire round!

Coffee or tea? Tea, naturally. I’m British.

Sweets or savories? Sweets. I have an incurably sweet tooth. If I ran the world, everybody would get to eat dessert first.

Poe or Stephen King? Stephen King. Although, strangely, for my dissertation when I did my English degree I wrote about both of them and how they both used personal fears to create horror.

London or Toronto? London. For me, it’s home.

The Cure or Guns ‘n’ Roses? Guns ‘n’ Roses. If I was into bad boys, my first choice for a bit of rough would be Axl Rose. Tattoos and all.

Sara-Jayne Townsend is a UK-based writer of crime and horror. She was born in Cheshire in 1969, but spent most of the 1980s living in Canada after her family emigrated there. She now lives in Surrey with two cats and her guitarist husband Chris. She co-founded the T Party Writers’ Group in 1994, and remains Chair Person.

The first two books in her amateur sleuth series about Canadian actress Shara Summers will be released by MuseItUp Publishing in 2014. DEATH SCENE, the first book (and a re-release) will be available in Summer, with the sequel, DEAD COOL, following in Autumn.

You can learn more about Sara and her writing at her website or her blog.

 

The Mystery Prince by Mary Waibel

Our writer friend Mary Waibel has just released a new book. She was kind enough to stop by the blog and tell us all about it. Without further ado, here’s Mary!

Cinderella has always been one of my favorite fairy tales. Who wouldn’t want to go from poor, overworked waif sitting in the ashes to beautiful princess with the wave of a wand? And the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical with Leslie Ann Warren is my favorite one to watch. What an amazing cast they had!!

My familiarity with this classic fairy tale made it the perfect choice for me to twist into something new. I’d sit at my keyboard with the song “Ten Minutes Ago” playing in my mind as I altered and tweaked until I came up with my own version of this famous tale.

A Fairy Godfather, a princess searching for true love, and a bodyguard completely out of his league. These are just a few of the twists you’ll find in The Mystery Prince.

The Mystery Prince, a novella

Buy Link

Book Blurb:

Tristan enjoys being in the shadows as Prince Rand’s bodyguard. Similar in looks, the two often exchanged places in their youth, but he never expected the king to order him to impersonate the heir to the throne in order to win the hand of a princess.

Princess Zoe needs to find a husband. After a year of searching with no success, her father insists on hosting a masquerade ball for the eligible princes of the nine kingdoms. Not one prince piques her interest, until she meets the mysterious stranger who won’t tell her his name.

When Tristan meets Zoe he finds the girl of his dreams. The only problem? She’s a princess and he’s impersonating a prince―a crime punishable by imprisonment and floggings. Unable to tell Zoe his real name, he gives her a special navigation device. One that leads to the owner’s true love. Will this magic device lead Zoe to Tristan, or will her true love forever remain a mystery prince?

Author Bio:

Mary lives with her husband, son and two cats. When she isn’t twisting fairytales, she enjoys reading, playing games, watching hockey, and camping. Her Princess of Valendria series (Quest of the Hart, Charmed Memories, Different Kind of Knight) are available from MuseItUp Publishing and other major retailers. Her novella, The Mystery Prince, is available at Amazon. Her Faery Marked (book 1 in the Faery Series) will be available from BookFishBooks this summer.

You can find Mary Waibel at:

http://marywaibel.blogspot.com

https://www.facebook.com/authormarywaibel

https://twitter.com/mewtweety14

 

Coping with Doctor Who withdrawal

If you’re as geeky as I am, you simply cannot wait for the new season (or series, as they say in the UK) of Doctor Who. In the meantime, here are a few ways to cope with Doctor Who withdrawal.

- Watch old episodes. My provider of choice for this is Netflix. They have the entire reboot available, plus a sampling of the classic episodes. Enough to keep you busy for quite some time!

- Watch Torchwood. No, it’s not The Doctor. But it’s Captain Jack Harkness. Can’t argue with some Captain Jack!

- Check out the Doctor Who comic book series.

- Brew some tea in a TARDIS teapot and serve it in a TARDIS mug.

- Wear some fine Whovian apparel.

- Accent it with TARDIS bling.

- Paint your nails TARDIS-blue.

photo credit: Gabrielle Myers Torello

Do you have any other Who-worthy suggestions to get us through the gap?

Setting: the Lilac Festival

Have you ever written about a place you’ve visited? I’m guessing that most authors have done this. How about writing about a place you’ve never visited? I’m sure a lot of us do that, too – springboarding off of our dreams and desires, we use our imagination to visit places we may never see in real life. Okay, how about this one: have you ever written about a place you haven’t been to, and then gone there?

I did that yesterday.

Our upcoming release in the José Picada, PI series (Act of Abduction) has multiple scenes that take place at the Lilac Festival in Rochester, NY. Until yesterday, I’d never been to this festival.  I was curious to see how closely my imaginings of this annual event matched up with reality. Plus, it was a beautiful day out. So off we went.

I had envisioned a quaint festival with good food, arts and crafts for sale, a stage for live music, and tons of lilacs blooming everywhere.

What I actually saw: near chaos. Maybe it was the gorgeous weather. Maybe it was the fact that Rochesterians had survived the longest, coldest winter in recent history and were finally able to get out and celebrate spring. Or maybe the Lilac Festival is always a madhouse. Since I’d never been before, I don’t know the reason why; I just know that it was way bigger and busier than I’d expected. The paths between vendors were frequently bottlenecked, and my claustrophobic tendencies nearly kicked in.

That’s not to say we didn’t enjoy ourselves. We ate some yummy food, listened to a really good band, perused the art and craft items for sale, bought some delicious English toffee, gawked at the ridiculously long line of people waiting to purchase kettle corn, and strolled through the mostly-nonblooming lilac trees. That long, cold winter must have really pushed the growing season back; there were just a few blooms here and there.

One of the few lilac blooms we could find.

We enjoyed our time at the Lilac Festival, but I’m in no hurry to go back. I prefer my fictional version. Have you ever had a similar experience?