Susanne Matthews's Blog, page 114
February 26, 2014
Look Who Dropped by Today: J. Hamlet
Good morning. My guest today is J. Hamlet, author of the sci-fi novel, Hand of Chaos.
About Hand of Chaos:
Exhausted, cynical, and confused, Anna is always there to report for duty. She’s part of a clandestine government team that defends the nation against supernatural terrorism—a job that understandably leaves her life in shambles and drives her to drink a little more than she should. Toss in a fear of intimacy with a desire to have friends and lovers like a normal person and, well, Anna is a troubled soul wrapped in a special agent with arcane, magical powers. Waking up hung over at five-thirty in the morning with a zombie-infested apartment building in the heart of DC to deal with, she’s knows she’s got the makings of the worst morning possible.
Purchase Links:
Amazon:
Barnes & Noble:
About J. Hamlet:
Everyone needs a hobby. I chose writing. Not one of the easier ones. I chose it at the tender age of 14, churning out terrible science fiction novels that heaped on the clichés and barely hidden tropes of all space operas. Thankfully, those creations reside in the prison of an old Commodore 64 hard drive and several 3.5″ disks (kids, ask your parents) in a landfill somewhere. And, let me be clear, the world is better for it. Along the way, I kept writing. Through college. Through grad school. Through the beginning of my career, such as it is. I like to believe I picked up skills. I write genre novels that have characters brimming with personal problems, professional problems, and sexuality. Sure, novels that do this exist. I’m not trying to say they don’t, I just think too few of them are out there and I intend to do my personal best to increase their numbers.
The following article was first published as an Interview: J. Hamlet, Author of ‘Hand of Chaos’on Blogcritics.
Welcome J; and thanks for sitting down with me today. I’m looking forward to learning more about you, so let’s get started!
I’ve attempted to do as much research as possible (prior to this interview), but there isn’t a whole lot of “about you” out there. With that said, why don’t you tell us something about yourself? Like, where did you grow up?
I’m from the Hampton Roads area of Virginia. Many people who pass through there are military families, but mine wasn’t. I actually lived there from birth until college whereas most people only stay there for a few years before they’re transferred elsewhere. At that time, there wasn’t much in the area aside from military bases and Virginia Beach; however things are very different now. There are actual bars! And not just in strip malls! Don’t worry though; there are still plenty of bars in strip malls, if that’s your thing. There are even nice restaurants that aren’t chain restaurants and more than one art house theater. I hardly recognize the place anymore…
I know you started writing (if I may quote you) “terrible science fiction” novels at age fourteen, but what was your childhood like prior to then?
It was on the water, so there was a lot of fishing and seasickness in my childhood. For about eight years, my mother was also a single mother which meant I had to learn how to entertain myself when she dragged me on multi-hour shopping trips.
I was an only child, and a lot of people write about how only children experience solitude rather than loneliness. I think that was very true in my case. I had a lot of time to myself. That’s probably why I still have such an overactive imagination. I would always try to make up new games for my friends to play, which usually just involved overelaborate tweaks to freeze tag or flashlight tag.
I read a lot, like…every novel written by John Bellairs (at the time), Fred Saberhagen’s Swords books, Lord of the Rings and a lot of Marvel comics. I also did a lot of drawing, a talent I have well, and thoroughly, lost in adulthood.
I was an awkward kid, and sometimes I had a lot of discipline problems at school because I thought drawing comic book and video game characters was much more interesting than math class. The one thing I didn’t do was play D&D, which I actually regret. I also had a handful of like-minded friends who I’d chew things over with as we spent too much time playing aforementioned over elaborate versions of flashlight tag at night and tons of Nintendo during the day.
What about after the age of 14? What did you do for fun? (Besides penning stories to paper and/or floppies).
I spent a lot of time with music. It started with piano lessons when I was about 12. Then I turned into a band geek and spent quite a bit of time playing the saxophone. I even kept that up throughout college, including my long and still ongoing flirtation with being a bad guitar player. I was even in a few short-lived jazz bands in college that were a lot of fun. I definitely went full into being more of a music nerd back then. I owned mountains of tapes, then mountains of CDs.
I’m still a bit of a music hoarder to this day, but since most of it is digital, it doesn’t cause the astounding amount of clutter that it used to. I was the guy in high school who listened to a bunch of bands no one had heard of, but I knew better than to be the snob. We all know teenagers take their music very seriously, and I was coming into my music fanaticism during peak grunge and then the heyday of Tupac, Biggie, and Wu-Tang. I only tried to drink it all in, the popular and the obscure, and I still try to. It’s hard nowadays, though, with so many sub-genres and the disintegration of radio into something that only plays the same ten songs over and over again. Thank god for something like Spotify. I can be a parasite on my friends and expose myself to everything they’re enjoying. I discover most new music nowadays that way. College was often a drunken haze of arguments about whether the loud frat party music was terrible or genius.
J, Based on your book’s genres, I’m presuming that somewhere along the way, between infancy to 14, you became enamored of Science Fiction. How did that come about?
It all started with watching the Star Trek animated series on Nickelodeon of all places. That was probably my first exposure to sci-fi. Then there was Star Wars naturally, and more Star Trek. I even read a lot of the novels. I was that kind of obsessive. Mix in the Star Wars and all the fantasy books I read and it was always going on in the background of my mind.
A lot of my early writing and drawing were all about imitating those influences; trying to fuse them together. I would invent my own characters and universes, but there were always echoes of these other stories, narratives, worlds, and characters. I also went to a few writing camps when I was an early teenager, and those also helped me hone my interest and abilities. Later, I discovered stuff with a lot more nuance and slippery morality, which is still a subject that interests me to this day, but that early stuff got me hooked through my childhood and then teenage years.
J, in doing my research, I also noticed that you are rather… fond of Immanuel Kant. *smile* How does one bridge the gap from Science Fiction to a man who is, for all intents and purposes, considered to be the central figure of modern philosophy?
Kant was a philosopher who I was obsessed with in college, among others. Hannah Arendt and Michel Foucault were also a huge influence on me. I was a double-major in political theory and econ, and Kant was something that resonated with me. I got into a lot of drunken arguments with some people about him, most of which I had forgotten about until I saw that Russian news story about the people who started shooting at each other over an argument in a bar about Kant. Gave me a lot of flashbacks, definitely.
Kant held, and I’m paraphrasing a lot here, that what we perceive is partially a result of things that our minds impose on the world. What we know, and see, is not the full picture of objective reality. There may be many aspects of the world and the universe that we cannot comprehend or perceive. That is obviously rich territory for both science fiction and/or fantasy, as there may be areas of science or technology beyond our understanding. Or, of course, magic might exist outside our normal perception.
Kant originally intended to stop the endless squabbling among philosophers in trying to “prove” the existence of God as that’s clearly a realm outside human perception, but it had much stronger implications than that. There are things that we understand, that we can predict, but we never quite have the whole picture. Again, that’s a dramatic oversimplification, but it’s an important takeaway from Kant’s philosophy.
Moving from childhood into adulthood, what career path did you choose for yourself outside of the writing arena?
I had a misbegotten urge to take up public service. That started with a college internship I had with the Navy. I studied a lot more in college taking classes in public finance, government, and political philosophy and went to graduate school in public administration. During that time I had an internship with the City of Syracuse and got a close look at the problems the “Rust Belt” in the northeast is facing.
The local officials were fighting a losing war against a city with a shrinking tax base and a shrinking population, but with growing problems in all sorts of areas like crime, abandoned housing, and unemployment. They were dedicated and smart people, but they were facing questions that had no good answers. It was sobering, but when I graduated in 2003 the only things available were public sector jobs at the federal level here in DC. That’s how I ended up in the DC area, and I’ve worked for several different agencies as a fed and as a contractor since then. I’d like to one day work for local government, or write full-time, but both of those are not the easiest situations to pull off.
Let’s talk about your debut novel: Hand of Chaos. What inspired that manuscript?
A few different things… A lot of it was very spur of the moment. I had decided that I would do National Novel Writing Month in 2007 and I had a few different ideas kicking around in my head. I wanted to do a dark fantasy story set in present day for quite a while, and I had a few different scenes and characters in mind, so I decided to just do it. I also had recurring nightmares about zombies in my high-rise apartment building, and that was just a gift from my subconscious. I couldn’t NOT write about that.
One thing: Hand of Chaos was very inspired by was the BBC show Spooks, MI-5, here. That show had a lot of things shows like 24 and The Shield did, where the protagonists have to morally compromise themselves in order to stop the greater evil, but the pacing and the characters were so much richer and the villains and antagonists evil, but relatable on some level. Especially interesting in that series was the impact their jobs had on their lives, the fact that they lived in deception and couldn’t have an authentic personal life. That’s obviously something that has influenced me, not in terms of straight-up anti-heroes, but more like people who constantly have to live in a world of moral flexibility where truth and certainty are illusive.
They do good, they do evil, and they have personal problems. They struggle for the right answer and get it wrong sometimes and they accept that “it is what it is” when that happens. I thought it would be interesting to build my heroes out of a worldview like that, one where both pure good and pure evil are the problem. Both can be equally oppressive in certain ways. The Grays, as my characters are referred to by others, seek to balance them. They keep either side from truly winning and try to protect ordinary people from all of these hidden agendas. I took the ideas of demons, angels, and these other mystical forces and sort of have them stand in for terrorists, ideologies, and geopolitics.
Aside from all that pretentious talk, I also wanted to write a fantasy novel where the magic was something deeply unnatural and disturbing. I wanted the moments of magic use to be surreal and unsettling, even when the protagonists use it. Sometimes the way magic is treated in fantasy is frustrating to me, so I wanted to do it the way I wanted to see it.
What were your favorite aspects of writing Hand of Chaos?
Aside from the adrenaline-fueled experience of churning out the first 50K during NaNoWriMo, I took to reading some weird things for inspiration. Things like medieval witch-hunter handbooks (malleus mallificarum), the Goetia with its demon-drawings by Aleister Crowley, lots of folklore, Apocrypha, and Gnostic Bibles. That gave me a lot of interesting alternative viewpoints and historical perspectives on Christianity that I could use to shape out this world.
I adapted it to the modern context and tried to understand how these concepts and ideas could fit in with not only a contemporary setting but to the world of espionage and counter-terrorism. Solving those puzzles and finding the interesting pieces to put together was fun and a challenge. There’s also watching the characters come to life. They popped in Hand of Chaos, feeding off each other and growing better than I expected. It’s exhilarating when you have a “cast” that gels together like that.
What were your least favorite aspects?
Editing. I’ve gotten a lot better at it over time, but it was tough with this one. One of the early pieces of feedback I got from a lot of my beta readers was that they wanted more explanation and description. In subsequent drafts I took that way too far and ended up with these exposition dumps all over the place. My manuscript went from the original, hefty length of 130K to a 190K word monster. Obviously that was unreadable, so I ultimately decided to eviscerate it. I got it down to around 115K at the end, which was like cutting a Great Gatsby and then some out of my novel.
It was painful, and I lost a lot of interesting “flavor” moments and dialogue between the characters, as well as a lot of stuff shaping out the main villain, but in the end the manuscript became a lot more focused and most appreciate the slim version more than the bloated one. It was a difficult and painful process to cut so much, though. It’s a painstaking process for any author to put so much of their own writing in the trash. It did make me more economical as a writer overall, though. The fact that I can actually write flash fiction, which is something that I thought myself incapable of before, is a good measure of that.
So, Hand of Chaos has been published, and you have moved on to Scarred Earth, a Tumblr novel where you share new content weekly. What started this compilation? Is this a story that will ever come out in book format, or do you prefer it to remain on Tumblr and forever free to all?
It began with NaNoWriMo! Sorry, it’s a recurring theme. I find it important to me as a writer. It forces me to get bolder and take more risks in my writing, and usually the leftovers from it help me develop something better either in subsequent drafts or repurpose into something else. That’s sort of what happened with Scarred Earth. I had a problem with writing chapters and scenes that were far too long. I didn’t let the negative space, the hidden transcript between the text, speak for itself.
Scarred Earth was a challenge I undertook to write extremely short chapters. I had long had a lot of ideas and had written some manuscripts and stories for a fictional universe that involved an alien invasion and the aftermath of that, and Scarred Earth was when I finally decided to tell that story. The multitude of perspectives and characters lets me examine things from a lot of different angles and even in forms that don’t match traditional fictional narratives.
As far as whether I will put it out in book format, I’m not sure. If anything, I would probably release it in e-book format and maybe put some extra chapters and material in to justify releasing it separately, but I certainly don’t ever plan to take the Tumblr version down; barring significant changes in the platform. A lot of writers put free stories up to promote their work and get things out to readers and I’ve decided Scarred Earth was a great method for that, especially as it is a novel and an anthology wrapped in one.
Last question… What’s your plan/vision from here? Any political satire books to write/share? *chuckle*
Political reality satirizes itself nowadays. That said, I am moving forward with the sequel to Hand of Chaos. I’ve written most of the first draft and it does have a lot more acidic things to say about politics, as does a lot of Scarred Earth. A lot of my experience has made me pretty cynical, but it’s been a long transformation. In my past I actually did things like lit dropping and political canvassing, but it’s tough to look at the landscape nowadays and think happy thoughts. If anything, I do tend to have faith in people, but not so much in institutions. Certainly not so much of our civilization’s leadership, either.
To learn more about J. Hamlet, check out:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jhamletauthor
Website: http://jchamlet.com
Blog: http://jchamlet.com/blog
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18470903-hand-of-chaos?bf=500&from_search=true
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/J.-Hamlet/e/B00F76WA5K/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jayhamlet
February 25, 2014
Look Who Dropped by Today: D. Martin
D. Martin is here today to tell us about her latest novel due out March 24, 2014. A Navigator’s Tale” The Arcane Map of the West. Here’s a peek at the story.
A dangerous man and an unbelievable offer—she should have run….
Starship navigator Hanna Baskira is entangled in a job contract with a hostile merchant-trader who doesn’t trust women pilot-navs. Captain West has hidden agendas. He’s also the commander of an elite military crew. They’re the intersystem government’s secret weapons—and the captain is the most dangerous weapon of all.
He plans on using Hanna in his espionage against an intersystem rebel network, but the captain has a thing about sharing plans…. And she has trust issues with the military.
If she wants to survive her new job, Hanna must trust the unpredictable captain of secrets and resist her attraction to him.
About D. Martin
D. Martin likes science and finding out how things work. She has a science degree from Eastern Illinois University, where modern dance and creative writing also caught her interest. Her professional career as science researcher has ranged from biochemistry to industrial chemistry applications. She retired to pursue a lifelong dream to write.
She believes a person can never have too many books. She reads everything, but is fond of Sci-Fi fantasy and romance. She’s a sporadic gardener, who’d rather write than pull weeds. World cultures and their foods fascinate her. She loves Sci-fi movies. She once wanted to be an astronomer and adores the NASA app on her phone.
She lives in the Midwest with her husband and daughter, who are both very understanding when she’s off the planet writing.
You can contact D. at:
Website – http://dorismartin.wix.com/starnavigatorseries
Twitter – @DorisDmartin
Facebook -https://www.facebook.com/doris.martin...
February 20, 2014
Writing With a Partner and Book Blitz
Good morning!
I hope the fact we’re only a month away from spring makes everyone feel good. Here in Eastern Canada, we’ve had snow since early November and I, for one, am more than ready to look up from my computer and see something green instead of white!
Misty Matthews, which consists of author Misty Cail and myself, is having a book blitz over the next few days and you’re invited to join the fun. Check out the website and follow the posts. There’ll be book excerpts and e-book giveaways for everyone. Follow the link below and join us in our first attempt at this. Misty or I will be around periodically, so you’ll have a chance to chat with us too. You’ll find links to other blogs on a number of different topics, Q & A, character interviews, and so much more.
https://www.facebook.com/events/58068...
Writing With a Partner:
Coming Home, Book One of Taking a Chance on Love is indeed a work of love, the brainchild of the Misty part of the co-authorship. Misty created the town of Chance and all its loveable characters. It was her imagination that gave the story a life of its own. Connor and Alana became real for me when she sent me the first plot draft of Chapter One of the story.
I’ve been asked how two people who’ve never met and live over a thousand miles apart can collaborate on a book and the answer is simple. The Internet. In the twenty-first century, it makes distance irrelevant. Misty and I met online through an author chat. We hit it off. After a few months of sharing thoughts and ideas, we decided to co-author a book. She sent me the story, chapter by chapter, and I used her words to flesh out the characters. There isn’t a story without Misty’s plot. Her vision drove the romance as surely as Alana drove her motorcycle. I was the passenger along for the ride.
So what was my part in the creation of the novel? In addition to verifying grammar and sentence structure, I did the research and added the details. If the scene takes place in the desert, I made the desert come alive on the page of the book. If the scene was at home, I added those bits that made home a real place. My prior novels provided some information I was able to use to bring other sections of the story to life, but, since this is a no-spoiler blog, you’ll have to read the novel to find them.
Misty uses pictures for motivation, I do too, but not the same way she does. Connor and Alana live in my mind as do all the characters I create in my own novels. My Connor resembles my husband the way he was when we met at Carleton University. My Alana resembles my niece with the same name, and while my vision of the main characters may differ from Misty’s, the places they visit, for the most part, are real. I found countless pictures of the Sonora Desert and Havasu Falls to help me describe those places. I poured over maps of Arizona, checked moonphase tables and temperature charts to make sure our book was accurate. if someone in Phoenix reads Coming Home, we wanted them to say–Yeah; it’s just like that!
Since completing Coming Home, Misty and I have collaborated on a short story, Grand Slam, available where e-books are sold, and are currently working on Book Two of Taking a Chance on Love. We’re taking a chance readers enjoy our books and want to read more of them. So, if you’ve read Coming Home and liked it, please review it. Reviews drive sales and as poor fledgling authors, we need your support to get people to know our work is out there for their enjoyment.. Please Take a Chance on us and support Coming Home.
February 14, 2014
Look Who Dropped by Today: Elle Marlow
My guest today is Elle Marlow who’s here to tell you about her two latest books: The Gambler’s Passion and Pour Me which are available now. If you love cowboys and western romance, these books are for you. There’s a link to a chance to win great prizes at the end of the blog. Comment leaving your email address for your chance to win an e-book copy of
Grand Slam
, the latest Misty Matthews effort or The Captain’s Promise by Susanne Matthews. Have a great day. Valentine’s Day is for love.
The Gambler’s Passion Blurb:
Beautiful Arizona Summers is determined to fulfill her mother’s dying wish and realize her dreams-even if it means dancing at Bare Backed Belles, cheating at high stakes poker or running from a spray of bullets with a man she’s given her innocence to. She’d do it all and over again to find love and keep her promise.
Jace Forrester gets a thrill out of living a double life. Preacher’s son by day, card hustler by night. Always after the big win, he can’t resist Arizona’s ultimate challenge. He may lose more than he bargain for-his heart.
Excerpt:
As Arizona and Vivian followed closely behind him, Vivian enjoyed the sight of the Victorian architecture in the area, while Arizona enjoyed looking pointedly at this stranger’s backside. When she caught her mother shooting her a disapproving glance, Arizona blushed for the third time in as many minutes, but she just couldn’t help it. The tall man with the dark mahogany hair, grey piercing eyes and terrific rear demanded her attention.
She continued to watch him intently. Jace Forrester walked with his head high, and with a swagger that bespoke of his confidence. He obviously fibbed about being meek. And she certainly had been around enough actors to know when somebody was hiding something. And this man was just too beautiful, too well dressed and way too charming for his own damn good. She also wondered about the strange items he didn’t want anyone to notice. For sure, he was harboring some kind of wonderful secret. She found him deliciously intriguing, and continued to mull him over with her thoughts, as they made their way along the busy boardwalk.
He finally stopped in front of the entrance of the Grand Palace, an aging, two story, Victorian-style building with chipping, faded white paint. Arizona knew it probably wasn’t the nicest place in town, but she would bet right off it was still too expensive. Biting on the inside of her cheek, she prayed her mother wouldn’t say anything else to embarrass them both.
“The doorman will retrieve your bags. Is there anything else I can do for you?”
Arizona watched him as he hooked his fingers into the pockets of his trousers and smiled down on them with an expectant look on his face. Sure… you can tell me what you’re hiding, for starters.
Arizona cleared her throat. When she spoke, no trace of her suspicions showed.
“Do you know where we might find Dr. Douglas?” she asked, batting her eyelashes. The gentleman gazed down at her. He seemed to be intently studying her. His gaze made her stomach flip. Was he purposely trying to make her uncomfortable? Did he use his charm to seduce women and bend them to his will? Her mind went wild with questions, while she also had a distinct feeling he was somehow assessing her very worth. Then a sigh escaped his lips, as those grey eyes of his filled with flashes of remorse and regret.
“I’m afraid I do. The good doctor left for Texas yesterday.”
Buy Links:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Gamblers-Passion-Elle-Marlow-ebook/dp/B00HY3R78Y/
All Romance: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-thegambler039spassion-1401207-154.html
SmashWords – http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/400175
Pour Me Blurb:
Wanted: One Cowgirl Mommy
That was the ad right next to the bartending one. Carly wasn’t sure she was prepared for either, but she was heading back to Arizona regardless. Running from her past and hopefully to a brighter future, Carly couldn’t predict that all three would collide and force her to face her demons. And sexy cowboy, Cade McCormick would be to blame for all of it.
Cade had to be careful about the women involved in little Danni’s life. A cowgirl was on the bottom of his list! But time has a way of changing hearts and minds roping the past together. Is his new bartender really the woman he thought he lost years ago? Did little Danni really place an ad to find her?
Excerpt:
“Sit down and eat breakfast,” Waylon ordered. Carly groaned, pushed a wild strand of blonde hair out of her face and sat at the table. He looked at her carefully.
“Who put a burr under your saddle?”
“After you left the Pass, all hell broke loose,” she mumbled, reaching for her coffee. Waylon chuckled then started coughing.
“What did Cade McCormick do this time? Pull your hair or smash manure down your shirt?” He continued to laugh as he sat an enormous amount of eggs and grits on a plate and place it in front of her.
“Christ, you’re gonna make me fat and kill me with all this food,” she exclaimed.
“It hasn’t killed you all these years, I think you’ll live,” he reminded her with a shake of a spatula. “So answer my question. What did Cade do?” he asked as he turned back to the stove.
“He kissed me. And not the nice, brotherly kind of kiss, the man practically tasted my liver with his tongue.”
She noticed Waylon didn’t turn around.
“Really? Well, it seems like that boy has some new tricks up his sleeves.”
Carly squinted. “What do you mean, and aren’t you shocked?”
“Nope.”
“Why not?”
“’Cos that kid has had it bad for you since he first laid eyes on you, thirty five years ago.” Carly had food stuck in her throat and she wasn’t sure she was going to be able to swallow it down or just choke it up.
“Wha-a-t-t?” she finally managed.
“Hell, you got on his nerves all right, but he was always lookin’ out for you, always sneaking peeks at you. I thought you knew.”
Carly’s words came out in a hoarse whisper. “No.” Then as if struck by lightning, Carly sat straight up and waved a fork at Waylon.
“This was your idea! This whole trip to Arizona, you found the ad, you told me about it, and you convinced me! You knew!”
Buy Links:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Pour-Me-Elle-Marlow-ebook/dp/B00IACR33M/
ARe:https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-pourme-1414872-154.html
Smashwords – https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/405552
Don’t miss out on the GIVEAWAY: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/YTI1NzU4ZjBkYmQxYzJhYWNmZTg2NDlhMTE3NTljOjA=/
Join the Facebook event for a chance to win more prizes: https://www.facebook.com/events/261435244014633/?source=1
You can learn more about Elle from her Author Links:
Website: http://www.ElleMarlow.blogspot.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elle.marlow.5
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ElleMarlowWrite
HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY
February 13, 2014
For Your Reading Pleasure
When I finished my first novel, a friend convinced me to pitch it to an editor. Crimson Romance’s editor was taking pitches that day, and so I did it. She requested some revisions–specifically to eliminate the POV from the villain– which I made and lo and behold, within two weeks, I’d signed my first contract. Fire Angel was born, followed by In Plain Sight. Crimson was my first publisher, and they hold a special place in my heart because of it.
This month, all the books published by Crimson Romance in 2012- 2013 are on sale at Amazon for half-price–the actual amount varies depending on which Amazon site you use, but it’s still 50% off the original price. It’s a great chance to load up your Kindle for the summer, Just remember to leave room for my latest Crimson book, Just for the Weekend, a fun romance about what can happen at a sci-fi convention in Vegas, due out April 14th.
Being a published author is a dream come true, but developing a reader following is harder than you think. So,I need those of you who’ve read my books to help me with that. If you read one or more of my books and enjoy them, please take a few minutes to rate and review them either on Goodreads or Amazon–both if you like. Tell your friends about them. Mark my new releases as to read. The more your spread the news that my books are worth reading, the more people I don’t know personally will have a chance to enjoy them.
I love to write, but my goal is to entertain, so if I entertain you, pull you out of today, for a few hours, then I’ve done my job.
February 9, 2014
Fire Angel, My First Born Is Coming Home.
About this time last year, I was head over heels excited about the sale of my first novel. Fire Angel, a romance/suspense was published and released as an e-book by Crimson Romance on April 29, 2013. It was and is the stuff dreams are made of for me, and although I’ve sold, published, and released other books in both paperback and e-book format since then, the first one will always have a special place in my heart.
Fire Angel is now available in paperback, which means I get to hold my first born in my hands, a thrill akin to the way I felt when my children were born. This book is the child of my mind and my imagination rather than my body, but that makes it no less my legacy than one of the three flesh and blood children I gave birth to. E-books are wonderful, but the feeling of holding a paper book in my hand can’t be beat. I have four paperbacks out now. Fire Angel will be the fifth and In Plain Sight, my second Crimson book will be available in paper format sometime in March.
Having a book in paperback opens a new market. It’s not as good as having a book in a store, but it’s a start. Now, let’s see if it sells.
January 22, 2014
Another Misty Matthews’ Book to Read
Well, Misty and I have done it again!
Grand Slam, the baseball reunion story that was Misty’s brainchild, will be released on January 29, 2014, by Secret Cravings. This is a novella, barely 15,000 words, which deals with a secret, that once revealed, may change the lives of all those involved.
While it sounds odd to say it’s a sports’ romance, the truth is women like sports and women like romance. Why not write a story with a sport-playing hero? Baseball is the great leveller. It’s considered America’s past-time, but it’s popular all over the world. You don’t have to have money to play baseball–you need a stick, a ball and a field–preferably away from anyone’s car or windows. People–boys and girls, play ball in Japan as well as in Canada. Some of the best ballplayers come from the Caribbean–Roberto Clemente. During World War II, while the men served overseas, women picked up the slack and formed a professional baseball league. There’s an excellent movie, A League of Their Own, that tells the story. They even have their own display at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.
Want to know more about Grand Slam?
Seven days under the Louisiana stars with major league catcher Justin Harris left Brittney James broken hearted and pregnant. Ten years later, her son has baseball in his blood and idolizes the last man Britt ever wants to see again. When she reluctantly agrees to take her son to a game, the worst possible thing happens . . . he catches his hero’s grand slam ball. Justin asks for a meet and greet, but Brittney is terrified. How can she face him knowing the secret she’s kept from him all these years?
Justin Harris’s first grand slam is one for the record books, but his biggest shock comes from seeing the woman he loved and lost ten years ago up on the stadium screen. The fact that her son caught the ball gives him an opportunity to renew an old friendship. How will he react when he learns Brittney’s secret?
You can pre-order Grand Slam at http://www.sweetcravingspublishing.com.
January 17, 2014
Look Who Dropped By Today: Anais Morgan
Our visitor today is Anais Morgan who’s come to tell us about her latest book, At Your Service. There is a giveaway attached to this blog. Check out your chance to win.
Welcome Anais. What can readers expect in your latest book?
Thanks for having me.
Readers can expect some smokin’ scenes. Rye walking in on Dana as she gets out of the shower, Rye taking one hell of a hot shower, and a dressing room encounter that definitely goes against the store’s policy, just to name a few. Oh, and a new use for strawberries. Plus, a spoiled beauty who gets whatever she wants from her butler. Repeat: Whatever she wants.
At Your Service begs the question: If you had a sexy guy at your disposal, what would you ask of him?
At Your Service by Anais Morgan
Entranced Publishing
January 13, 2014
About the Book:
As the new butler, Rye is sure sex with his boss’ daughter isn’t in the job description.
The last thing Rye Matthews wants to do is follow in his father’s footsteps as a butler. What keeps him at the Montgomery mansion is Dana. She’s beautiful and has amazing curves. Rye can’t deny the immediate attraction.
When Dana’s normal carrier is sick, Rye is asked to take her shopping. He doesn’t expect her to be forward, getting very physical in a dressing room. He burns to touch her more but knows he must keep it professional, for his job’s sake. Can he resist Dana’s temptations, or are his days as a butler numbered?
You can buy At Your Service from Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/At-Your-Service-Anais-Morgan-ebook/dp/B00HUFD0DC/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1389964062&sr=8-9&keywords=Anais+Morgan
About the Author:
Anais Morgan has been writing, in one form or another, since she was fourteen. Her loves have always been romance, followed by paranormals. It seems cliché, but she loves a classic tale with a sexy twist. If she can get inspiration from anything, it’d be Titanic. Anais has been married since 2007 to an equally strange man. Technically they don’t have kids, but four pets equal kids, don’t they?
You can follow Anais at
Twitter: https://twitter.com/erikalindsen
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/erika.lindsen
Facebok Fan Page: https://www.facebook.com/anais.morganluv
Blog: http://anaismorgan.blogspot.com/
For your chance to win, go to:
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/603a175/
January 14, 2014
Look Who Dropped by Today: Christy Newton
Christy has been a guest on a previous occasion. Today, she’s here as part of her first blog tour for her new novel, Trust Again, part of the Love Again Collection,which will be released 2-2-14 just in time for Valentine’s Day! This is the second book in the series, which started with Begin Again, released last August. I have had the privilege of reading both books and recommend them. They are wonderful, feel-good romances with a HEA that’ll leave you feeling great. I encourage you to read them.
Good morning, Christy.
Tell us about Trust Again.
Once broken, can the heart really trust again?
Dreams of escaping her small town brought Ellie Oliver to New York only to find that life there wasn’t all she’d hoped. Seven years later, she is returning to Pleasant Valley, Indiana with new hopes and secrets. She wants nothing more than to fade into the slow pace of small town life and forget about the demons of her past.
Jacob Jones is at loose ends. At twenty-six, a man shouldn’t be starting his life over from scratch. Finding himself out of work, Jacob looks for a new home in Pleasant Valley. He is ready for the single life just enjoying the company of close friends. All that changes when he takes a job remodeling the town’s toy shop and comes head to head with its new owner. Ellie turns out to be sweeter than the candy she sells in her store.
Ellie and Jacob bring out feelings in each other neither were looking for, but both can’t deny. Can they truly trust again or will their shattered hearts refuse to mend?
Excerpt from Trust Again:
Ellie nodded and clasped her hands together. “Want to help me fill the containers?”
“Depends.” Jacob eyed her for a second. “Do I get free samples?”
“Of course! Go wash your hands and you can have all the candy you want.” She got a box cutter and opened the first box marked jelly beans. Her favorite.
While Jacob was sanitizing his hands, Ellie opened box after box of sweets. He walked back into the room with eyes wide. “That’s a lot of candy.”
“I know, isn’t it pretty!” She scooped a large amount of colorful gum drops and poured them into the bin.
He grabbed a piece of red licorice and ate it in two bites. Ellie filled another bin with fruity lollipops while Jacob helped himself to a chocolate turtle.
As he reached for a piece of saltwater taffy, she put up her hand. “Hey, you have to help, then you can eat.”
About Christy Newton:
Christy Newton is a hopeless romantic and writes many genres of romance. She just might be the only author out there who doesn’t drink caffeine, but dark chocolate is her must-have. She falls in love with each of her heroes and hopes you will too! Christy is the author of the More Than Treasure Series and the Love Again Collection.
Mark Trust Again to read on goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19082863-trust-again
Follow on Twitter @CNewtonAuthor
Like on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/Christy-Newton/359791990763912
Website: www.christynewton.com
You can win a copy of Trust Again or another fine e-book in this giveaway. Check it out for your chance to win. http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/MWEyNGNkYjRlZWJiYmNkMzg5MWI3NWVmN2RhZjgxOjc=/
January 7, 2014
Look Who Dropped by Today: Danielle Doolittle
I’d like to Welcome Danielle Doolittle to the Living the Dream Blog, the second day stop of her month-long blog tour for her novel, Royal Pain. This is Danielle’s debut novel, and we wish her well.
Don’t forget to check into your chance to win a copy of Royal Pain at the end of this blog.
Danielle has a few thoughts to share with you today about the dreaded rejection. The floor is yours!
Thanks for having me..
For all of my fellow writers out there you understand the heart-retching, soul-killing, devastation of finally finding an email in your inbox, after waiting anxiously to hear back from the publisher/agent of your dream, only to open it to something like this:
Dear Ms Author,
I would like to thank you for the opportunity to review your manuscript. Unfortunately at this time it is not a right fit for us at this time so I will have to pass.
Please remember that while your story does not work for us, publishing is a very subjective business.
Best of luck to you,
R. VonEditor
Sound familiar? Have you reaching for the chocolate and wine? We’ve all been crushed by the heavy weight of the rejection email. Even worse the form rejection email. I sent my debut novel Royal Pain to many publisher and agents before getting that magical “yes”. So how do you keep on keeping on? Here’s a few tips that help me get through the minefield of publishing:
member that the world of publishing requires you to have very thick skin. People are going to tell you no. Often. You can’t take every rejection as a personal attack. Editors and agents understand that your story is your baby. You grew it from nothing more than an idea and flushed it out into thousands of words of amazing. They get it. But that doesn’t mean they have to offer you a contract.
Remember what that last line said? Publishing is subjective. Each individual agency, or publisher or even agent and editor for that matter, is looking for something specific. They are after what they see as the holy grail of their genre/wish list and they won’t take anything less. So your story isn’t right for publisher A, that still leaves B, C, D….you get the picture. KEEP SUBMITTING.
on’t look at rejections as a defeat. Look at them as a tool. Motivation. Badges of honor in the battle of publication. Sometimes we get lucky and an editor or agent will do the unthinkable and offer a golden nugget of advice in their rejection. Offer you a reason for their denial of your story. Take that reason and apply it to your manuscript. It’s free professional advice on the direction/structure/plot of your story why wouldn’t you use it?
Give yourself one day to grieve. The day you open that dreaded email let yourself feel it. You have 24 hours to wallow in your pity and chocolate (or your particular brand of vice) and that’s it. The next day brush it off and send out another query.
Find a writing group. It can be one that meets weekly at your local library or an online thing. Just find people who will understand your pain and push you to keep going even when you want to tackle a whole bottle of wine with nothing but a crazy straw and your disappointment. Trust me they’ll have your back and make you face the keyboard the next day and write that next query letter.
It’s not always easy, I have to remind myself every time I send a new query out to breathe and remember each of these tips. It doesn’t get any easier after your first, second or third “yes” to offer your work on the altar of publication. It’s still terrifying. But we do it because we must. Because the stories we write need to be told. And sometimes we get very lucky and find someone who will help us along the way.
About Royal Pains
Falling in love can be a royal pain.
A cocktail of sex, booze, and breakneck speeds is what sends Prince Henry of Benignus into rehab. He’s expecting to skip out on lectures and smoke behind the shed. He’s not expecting Carleigh.
Carleigh Philips knows Henry is trouble. His bad-boy attitude reeks of self-importance and over-indulgence. She’s not expecting him to lift a royal finger during his time at the ranch. She’s not expecting him to be a threat to her heart.
When Carleigh’s life is on the line, will Prince Henry step up to the plate? Or will he prove he really is nothing but a phony royal pain?
Excerpt from Royal Pain
“All rise. The Honorable Judge Freeland presiding.”
The bailiff’s voice caused Henry’s brain to ricochet against his skull. He was slow to gain his feet as an elderly man in a billowing, black robe walked briskly from a doorway set to the side of the room. Henry watched his bald head reflect the light as he took his seat at the bench.
The sooner this little show was over, the sooner he could find his car and get back to Chicago. His brother was expecting him. While he wasn’t looking forward to the idea of dealing with official state business, Henry found he actually missed Alexei. Must have been the hangover.
He hadn’t been home in six months. Not since they’d issued him the ultimatum. It was either change his ways on his own, or his family had resolved they would do it for him. He knew how they wished to solve what they perceived as his problem, so Henry packed up and headed to America. Here, his only official business involved deciding which party to attend and who he was taking back to the hotel with him afterward.
“What have you to say for yourself?” The old judge’s gravelly voice made Henry realize he should have been paying attention.
“Sorry?”
“I said, after your actions last night, what do you have to say for yourself?”
“I can honestly say, sir, that I sorely regret having to take the jobs of all the night staff at the Hilton for allowing me to leave the hotel in such a condition. So if you will let me be on my way, it would seem I have some business to attend to. And I assure you, after today, you will never have to see my face again. Now, if I could be on my way?”
“Hold it right there, son.” Steel had worked its way into Judge Freeland’s voice. “I know who you are, and I believe you expect it will allow you to walk away from this without feeling any repercussions. I’m here to tell you, young man, that in that assumption, you are very wrong.”
Henry felt himself shift under the weight of the old judge’s glare.
“You will find that we treat all offenders equally here in Sweetwater. You have quite a list of offenses: DUI, assaulting an officer, public nudity.”
Public what?
“Now, see here!” Henry was outraged. Who did this backwater, sorry excuse for a judge think he was? Henry was royalty, nobility. Granted, he was currently on the outs with the family, but that didn’t change anything. He was entitled to a standard of treatment, and this old man was about to get a lesson in etiquette.
“Before you can launch into how I have offended your noble lineage, Your Highness, you should know that the District Attorney has been in contact with your embassy in Chicago. The royal family has been made abreast of our office’s suggested sentencing and has fully backed it.”
What? Those nosey diplomats never bothered to stick their noses in his business before. Why start now?
“While I cannot pass a ruling on someone with diplomatic immunity such as you, I do have this message.” Pulling a crisp sheet of paper from the manila folder he had carried into the room, the old man cleared his throat before continuing. “It is the decision of the Kingdom of Benignus that Prince Henry Xavier Bartholomew Reginald Fitzgerald be sentenced to thirty days in supervised detox at Mount Mercy Rehabilitation, followed by six months at Sweetwater Creek Ranch and completion of their sober living program. If he does not comply with our stipulations, steps will be taken to strip him of his immunity, and we will not interfere with any who wish to prosecute him for his transgressions.”
“What?”
“I believe, despite that splitting headache I’m sure you are suffering, you heard me clearly. Thirty days at Mount Mercy, six months at Sweetwater Creek, and completion of the program or jail.
You can buy Royal Pain at:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HQ4UI7S/ref=tsm_1_fb_lk
and from other e-book distributors soon.
You can add Royal Pain to your to-read list on Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18723226-royal-pain
About the Author:
With a bachelor’s degree in English, Danielle has always had a passion for the written word. Initially starting out to be a high school teacher, she soon realized writing was her calling. Danielle lives in Ohio with her family. When she’s not writing (which is rare) she’s spending time with her husband, wrangling two rambunctious boys and one rowdy little girl, and baking like she’s on Cupcake Wars.
Danielle enjoys copious amounts of coffee and dark chocolate, chatting on Twitter, and a good love story. Oh, and an Alpha hero is a must!
You can find and contact Danielle here:
Twitter::https://twitter.com/elledoo
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/daniellewrites
Website:http://danielledoolittle.weebly.com/
There is a tour wide giveaway for the blog tour of Royal Pain. These are the prizes you can win:
- a grand prize goodie bag including a handmade bookmark, 3 3×4 magnets, a Royal Pain deck of cards and a tote bag.
– 2 e-copies of Royal pain,
Enter the raffle at:
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/1000e454/
