Michelle Graves's Blog, page 6

Leading Men and Leading Ladies....

          When writing, every author develops clear pictures of what his/her characters look like.  Sometimes we are able to convey those images to the audience, while other times we just fail miserably.  I happen to be a very visual person so when I set out to write this book I tracked down images of people that fit the mold.  It wasn't until last night that I finally found my Kennan O'Malley.  So in celebration of finally finding him, I thought I would post the images of my leading men and leading ladies.  I hope you enjoy!  (Disclaimer:  I have no idea who took these photographs.  I found all of these images through Pinterest.  So if you know who these people are, or who the photographs belong to please feel free to credit them!)








Izzy Boone:  I have no idea who this girl is... but in my head, she is Izzy.  The big eyes, the innocence... She just embodies her.  I have been told this character is pretty much me.   So it was kind of hard for me to find a picture of someone that fit the character in my head.  (I don't think she is me, just to be clear.  I guess I just wrote what I knew... and I know me.  LOL)




Kennan O'Malley:  I was so excited last night when my friend Ali posted this picture.  This is exactly how I envisioned him.  Eeek....   This man's name is Daniel Conn if you would like to hunt down more pictures of him.  












Xavier Xander:  The man we all love to hate.  He is a villain of the worst kind.  Yet he is painfully handsome.  This beautiful man's name is Derek Hale.  He happens to be an actor and I am sure he is a lovely person in real life.  It is not his fault he fit my mental picture.  





Ian:  Perhaps one of my favorite characters to write.  He makes me laugh out loud.  I just love him so much.  This stunning specimen is Sean Sullivan.  I dare you to look him up on Pinterest... there are some lovely pictures of him!  













Molly:  She is strong and beautiful and is a source of comfort for Izzy when she has none.  I love how tough Molly is.  (I have no idea who the actual person pictured is... so once again, feel free to let me know if you do.)














Isadora:  You don't meet her until almost the end of the book.  She has a much larger role in the second story so I figured I should add her here.  I love Helen Mirren so much.  I think she is one of the classiest women of our time.  So who better to play a brilliantly wise leader?









       Well, that is it for the casting round up.  Be sure to check back next Tuesday, June, 25th for the first chapter of the novel.  I shall post it in all of its glory and torment you!  
xoxo,Michelle Graves

Finding New Ways to Torture You!

    On June 25th I will be posting the first chapter of my book here on the blog.  Just so you can get a taste of what is to come!  Make sure to check back often so you don't miss anything.  I am also thinking up another giveaway.

xoxo,
Michelle Graves

Book Trailer

Here it is!  My very first book trailer.  I am sure with time I will get better at making them.  For now I am pretty stinking excited with this one!  Enjoy and please feel free to share!

xoxo,
Michelle Graves

Fear (Life Lessons with Izzy)

   This is the last of the Life Lessons with Izzy series.  I saved this one for last, because quite frankly fear is not something I especially like to face.  There are so many things in this life that I am afraid of and I knew that I would have to fess up to quite a few of them.  I, much like Izzy, like to repress and avoid things whenever possible.  Yes, I know, it is not exactly a healthy practice to take up this denial method.  See, I am doing it right now, avoiding.  Ick, fine, on with the fear.  Time to fess up and face it.

   I think fear is as constant as change in our lives.  Everyone is afraid of something.  Whether it be spiders, the dark, or small spaces.  We are all terrified of something.  There are a few things that genuinely scare me.  The first is honestly the dark.  I, an almost thirty year old, still need a light on somewhere to fall asleep.  I know it is ridiculous.  I know that the dark itself will not hurt me.  There is just something in my overactive imagination that takes hold and convinces me that there is something lurking unseen.  I think perhaps it is more a fear of the unknown than the dark itself. 

    The forest at night, don't even get me started on that.  I love to camp but when we go I have to have a flashlight and chem lights.  There might be bears.  I am just saying.  My husband, the tough Army man he is, thinks it is hilarious.  Yet, he will still climb out of the tent and keep watch for me if I have to run to the bathroom.  I seriously married a saint ya'll!  I know that there will never be a point in my life when I will be comfortable with the dark.  We will always be at odds.

   My other biggest fear, one that I don't often talk about, is losing my husband.  First, you have to understand who he is to me.  My husband is my best friend.  He is the strength that keeps me going when I falter under the pressure.  He is my everything.  I have never and will never love anyone the way that I love him.  Almost seven years into our relationship and I love him more today than I ever have.  So my fear of losing him, well it is because he is my other half.  He is the other piece of my soul.  When I am sad, he is.  When he hurts, I hurt.  Quite literally.  It is freaky.

  Sorry, I got off on a tangent.  Back to the fear portion.  My fear of losing him.  He has a dangerous job.  It is a job he loves and believes in, but it is not a safe one.  I know that every time he leaves the house for a training cycle, field problem, or deployment it may well be the last time I see him.  I never openly say it out loud.  In fact, this may be the first time I have ever admitted this to most people.  I get a lump in my throat when I say goodbye to him that stays there until I say hello once more.  He is strong, smart, and great at what he does.  I know that he will stay as safe as he can and that if it is his time, then there is absolutely nothing I can do about it.  That does not change the fear.  I love him with every fiber of my being and to combat my fear of losing him I try to live every second I have with him to its fullest.

   In the book, Izzy has to face an extraordinary amount of her own fears.  She is put through so many tests.  If it were me in her place I would have broken.  I guess I wrote her as someone I aspire to be.  I hope that someday I can face up to my fears and turn them into a strength rather than a weakness.



  "Each new nightmare brought on a new horror until finally he brought one that even I could not refute.  Not even in the dreaming.   He took me and locked me in a coffin.  I laid there as the air slowly started to seep out of the box leaving me without any oxygen.  I fought against the box and struggled.  I knew that he would leave me like this.  I knew that if I did not lift my wards I would spend the rest of my life in this tiny lightless box."  -Izzy in "See How She Runs"

Check back soon for the cover reveal and release date info.  I might even be working up another prequel.  You never really know what I am up to!  
xoxo,Michelle 

Just a little funny.

Some days I just need a chuckle.  This picture did the trick today, so I thought I might spread the joy!

xoxo,
Michelle

Change (Life Lessons with Izzy)

    Change.  It is something we must all face at one point or another in our lives.  Often times we have absolutely no control over what changes come our way.   Sometimes we, ourselves, can be the catalyst of great change.  Change is simultaneously frightening and exciting.  There is no road map to follow, no instruction manual, and no guarantee on what may be found on the other side.

   Change is something that I became well acquainted with at a very young age.   I moved once every few years growing up and in that time I learned a lot about change.  My life forced me to change schools, change houses, and even at times change countries.  I learned to embrace it all.  Sometimes, we would move to a place and the kids would all think I was completely weird.  While other times we would move and I would be welcomed into the social fold as if I had always been a part of the pack.

   I think the thing I took away from my upbringing the most was that change is inevitable.  No matter how I may wish for things to always be as they are something will shift.  Change finds us all in the end.  But I don't have to let change control me or make me cower in fear.  I can face the changes that come my way.  I can face the circumstances I am met with and I can make the absolute best of total crap situations.  It is all entirely in my power.

   I understand that there are situations where it seems impossible to look on the bright side.  Where in fact there is only a slightly less dark side to be seen in the grand scheme.  But, even in those situations, I have learned that it is not permanent.  That darkness will not last forever because like always change will come again.  I have come to realize that I cannot linger in the past no matter how lovely the past may be.  I must face the changes that come my way.  I must decide how I will react to the changes, good or bad, and move forward with my life.  Without change, we become stagnant.




Izzy is faced with a great many changes in her life.  She finds out things about her past and herself that she never knew.  She can let this change swallow her whole or she can embrace it and see where it may lead.
 
"My dreams were her trying to warn me.  There was someone after me for a reason

I had yet to discover.  I felt as though the past twenty four years of my life had been a lie.
I needed to know more.  I needed to feel like I had at least a semblance of control over
my life.  And on top of everything Kennan was being too nice.  It was freaking me out.
I took a steadying breath and sat up.  It was time I got my head wrapped around
all of this."- Izzy in "See How She Runs"



The release is getting closer... just a few short months away!  Keep coming back for more life lessons with Izzy!

xoxo,
Michelle