Anna Bloom's Blog, page 14
November 20, 2013
Guest Post by J.R. Richardson
I am excited to introduce today a new author J.R Richardson, who has her debut novel ‘Cursed be the Wicked’ releasing in March 2014. It looks like such a great read and J.R has very kindly taken the time to tell us about how she created her characters and share her favourite scene with us. So without further ado, here are Coop and Finn.
The synopsis:
Cooper Shaw lives his life under a pen name and enjoys the anonymity it provides during his journeys across the globe as a seasoned writer for a travel magazine. When his job lands him in his hometown of Salem, Massachusetts to cover the famous Festival of the Dead, he soon realizes that he can’t stay invisible forever as he faces ghosts from a past he’s been trying to forget ever since he left.
The city holds nothing but bad memories for Coop until he meets a quirky young woman with an old soul and curious insights by the name of Finnley Pierce. While she acts as his tour guide through a town he thought he knew, Finn helps him unearth the truth of his childhood and might even begin to open up his heart.
By unraveling the mystery of his father’s murder, Coop may finally accept who he is, where he came from, and perhaps even realize what he wants for his future.
Creating Cooper Shaw :
This is my Coop. James MacAvoy. Always and forever. He just fits the bill so perfectly for me. He’s not buff, he’s not superhuman. He’s just Coop.
Coop does his best to lead a rather anonymous life. He writes a travel destination column under a pen name, he has no room for friends, he’s got no long term relationships. He likes it like that, though, compared to his childhood, where everyone knew him as the potential murderer of his father, and the son of a crazy old woman who claimed to be a witch.
Coop was forced to deal with a lot of scrutiny as he went through the rest of his childhood living in Salem, Massachusetts. If the name calling and insinuations by people he’d previously considered friends wasn’t enough, on top of losing his dad, his mother was taken from him as well. After confessing to killing her husband, with witchcraft, Maggie Shaw was deemed unfit, and sent away by her sister to a mental institution where she refused to see her son, much less talk to him and explain what had happened between her and Coop’s dad, Ben Shaw. On top of that, he was placed in the custody of his only aunt, who wasn’t the best as showing affection while he lived with her.
So, he left. Immediately following his high school graduation, Coop took off to reinvent himself and never looked back. He was doing a pretty great job of it too, until he got word that his mother had died and the funeral services were to be held back in Salem – if he wanted to attend. Which he didn’t. And he wouldn’t have, except that as fate would have it, the powers that be at his magazine decided they wanted a huge spread on Salem’s Festival of the Dead and they wanted none other than Cooper Shaw to write it.
But was it fate? Or was it powers that exist beyond what his bosses were capable of at the Monthly Traveler?
Enter, Finnley, or as she likes to be called, “Finn” Pierce:
I’ve never really been able to give a face to Finnley.
I knew she was free spirited,
Not like any other woman Coop’s met before,
And, for lack of a better word, magical.
The closest I’ve come, is this fantastic photo of Emma Watson:
She has her own past that she thought was behind her but when she meets Coop, someone she’s vaguely familiar with before he even arrives in town, she begins to reacquaint herself with the gifts she was only starting to learn when her own parents were ripped from her life.
The challenge of writing Finn, and letting clues to who she is and how she knows what she knows seep into the story, as Coop see it all, was fun to explore. I’m pretty subtle at times. Too subtle, some might even say but that’s part of the enjoyment in reading a mystery for me, so I try not to give everything away too obviously when I’m creating the story. I can only hope people will have as much fun reading the story as I had writing it.
Coop, on the other hand, was pretty easy to write. He’s stubborn, smart alecky and doesn’t like people telling him what to do (much like me). I tend to enjoy writing stories from the male point of view because I believe I think more like them than my own species. I still enjoy writing from a woman’s POV, it just seems to come easier when I’m writing from his.
Putting these two together was one of the best experiences of my life. And not just because it’s the first story of mine to land a publishing deal. Between the guy who is determined to avoid dealing with his past, and a woman who helps him move beyond who he thinks he is without him even realizing she’s doing it, was fun to watch and write.
One of my favorite scenes in the book:
The excerpt:
“Raymond, I’m tired. I don’t have time for this to-”
The woman standing behind the front desk spins to see, not Raymond, whoever the hell that is, but me. As she comes to the realization that I’m not who she thinks I am, I get the feeling she still thinks I’m someone as she finishes her sentence.
“Night.”
Her long, brown hair looks as though it’s trying to escape the ponytail she’s pulled it into. Her eyes are dark, fierce even. It feels like she’s peering straight into my soul, or piercing it, as they stare across the front entry way toward me.
Her mouth falls open slightly as her eyes narrow, and now I’m getting the impression she’s trying to place me or, maybe she already has placed me.
Not good.
She looks away when her eyes catch up with mine and I approach with caution. As she begins to type away at the keyboard in front of her, I try to side step the awkwardness beginning to form by clearing my throat.
“I’m um-”
“I know who you are,” she cuts me off, sharply.
“You do?” I ask. Blood begins to rush through me. I clench my jaw, waiting for the judgmental comments to arrive.
Her eyes soften then, and she simply nods with a thin line forming across her lips.
She studies me, then twists her mouth up as though she’s disappointed of all things.
I get it. Just about half the town thought I was the one that killed my father, even after my mother confessed.
“Seems like every other Tom, Dick, and Harry in the media’s shown up already. You may as well join ‘em,” she says, and I’m surprised yet relieved at her words. In a way.
“You think I’m…?”
“You’ve got paparazzi written all over you.”
She arches an eyebrow.
I don’t mean to but I laugh out loud from the sheer relief that she has no idea who I am. I also feel the need to defend myself because I’m not a fan of being lumped in with the paps.
“I’m not-”
“The funeral’s not for another week, ya know,” she informs me, going back to her computer.
“You’re mistaken,” I insist, even though she’s right. I am media. Technically.
“Really,” she replies, like she’s not quite buying it. So I push harder. I’m very convincing when I want to be.
“Yes. Really,” I tell her and now she’s back to eying me and we’re staring each other down for a minute or two. I’m convinced she’s going to fight me on this but in the end, she bites her tongue and goes back to banging away on the keyboard.
“In town for the festival then?” she asks, changing the subject. Like whatever just happened didn’t happen at all, which both intrigues and irritates me at the same time.
I watch her a bit while she busies herself with the computer. The way she tucks some stray hairs behind her ear and then lets her fingers graze her neck before she goes back to typing. The easy way her fingers fly across the keyboard. And how she is most definitely avoiding eye contact with me for some reason.
I spot her name tag. She doesn’t look familiar to me but you never know.
Betsy.
Betsy, Betsy, Betsy.
I can’t think of a single Betsy I knew growing up.
She looks up and her eyes narrow again. It’s only now that I’m aware of the fact that I’ve been glaring at her for the past couple of minutes without saying a word. I clear my throat and forget to speak when she licks her lips and then takes the bottom one in between her teeth.
I am officially an ape.
She lets it go.
I stare some more.
“So . . . ?”
“What?” I snap, a tad more abrasive than I intend.
“Do you have a reservation?” she asks, trying to be polite without letting on that she most likely thinks I’m the slowest dolt on the planet.
Jesus.
Maybe I am crazy.
Maybe it runs in the family.
I gather my senses and shake off the odd feeling of vertigo I’m having.
“No,” is all I give her. Then I drop my bags and rest my elbows against the counter. My eyes close as I rub my temples, anxiously waiting to hear her tell me they’re all booked up, forcing me to drive those extra miles after all.
I mean, what would it take? Ten, twenty minutes tops to get there?
“Helloooo.”
My lids open to see her staring at me with curled eyebrows and a worried look in her eyes. They look so familiar to me again.
I just can’t…
“Are you drunk?” She asks. It takes me aback.
“What?”
“Because I’m not in the mood for-”
“I’m not drunk,” I assure her, wishing I was. As she eyes me carefully once again, I feel her staring straight through me.
Cursed be the Wicked is due out in March of 2014 by Soul Mate Publishing.
Where you can find Jo:
Website: http://jrrichardsonfics.wordpress.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JRRichardsonAuthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JoFictionFreak
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/JRRichardson
November 14, 2013
My Writing Song of the Day
I’ve been a bit quiet, it’s all that studious tapping away on my laptop I have been doing working on some surprise projects, all of which will be announced very shortly.
This is my writing song of the day and I defy you not to shed a little tear. . . This is the official song for Children in Need which is a very worthy charity. So if you can then please give http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b008dk4b/features/cin-donate.
November 3, 2013
The Saving of Benjamin Chambers – Release Date Announcement
It’s the announcement I have been waiting to make. My Ben, sorry Lilah’s Ben has his novella coming out and it will be arriving on Kindles and e-readers far sooner than I was expecting.
That’s right. The Saving of Benjamin Chambers will be releasing on the 4th of December… just a few short weeks away!
My excitement at this knows no bounds. This is Ben and Lilah’s back story told from Ben’s perspective and lets be honest Lilah was so drunk the first time they met it is a miracle she could remember him at all. Add to this the novella has a Christmas theme so this means we all have three weeks to start feeling Christmassy with Ben before the festive season arrives. The Novella is not all about Ben and Lilah, it also introduces us to some other key characters in The Uni File series and gives a little of their back story too.
Another aspect of this I am really excited about is that I have had a unique opportunity to go back over the story prior to release, and can I just say that Benjamin has just got a little bit sexier if that’s even possible. Damn that man.
And just because I always have a song. I have raided my teenage music stash especially for this occasion.
October 31, 2013
All I Want For Christmas Is A Soul Mate – Cover Reveal
I have a short story Christmas Miracles appearing in the Soul Mate Publishing’s Christmas Anthology which is out next Wednesday.
I love my characters in what I like to call ‘My Crimbo Short’ and I love the fact that within a few thousand words I was able to give them a great ending. I’m also proud of the fact that even though it is short I managed to tick all my writing ‘must-do’s’. It’s funny, sexy, sarcastic and has a swoonworthy guy in the lead. . .
I’ve read the other stories in the collection and they are all AMAZING and so worth a download.
Here is the hook for Christmas Miracles….
~ Jude gave up on Christmas last year when her husband walked out, but anything could happen this holiday season, thanks to a new man and a Christmas miracle . . . ~
I hope you will all give it a read and enjoy Jude and Adam’s festive tale and we all can start feeling Christmassy together . . . now where is my tinsel?
October 25, 2013
Ending on a high – The Book Lovers Review
Today is the last day on the Book Blog Tour for The Art of Letting Go, and what a ride it has been. I’ve had some amazing reviews, that I would never have dared dream of, not in a million years and I have also met some incredible people who are fast becoming friends.
As today is the last day, I have kind of been saving the best to last. But before I post the link I want to share with everyone why this review is so special to me.
What feels like a million years ago when I was deciding what to do with my manuscript and how to ‘get it out there’ I started researching book blogs – seeing who did what. I didn’t really know much abut blogging but I knew I needed to find out. There was one blog that stood out for me. It seemed like it was run by a crazy person not dissimilar to myself, and I followed it avidly for weeks before I made contact with the blogger. I completely got how the reviewer read her chosen novels – and her enthusiasm reminded me how I felt when reading.
So I got in contact and asked for help on how an aspiring author should go about ‘stuff’ stuff being – anything to do with, well anything.
That’s how I met Zoe and well the rest is kind of History. She gave me some lowdown and in return many months later I sent her a very very advanced copy of The Art of Letting Go. I had no idea if she would like it. In fact for weeks I heard nothing and I assumed the worst. The she started emailing me at every bit she loved, then when she finished we kind of slipped into a friendship that now involves texting – most of every day.
So this review is by the first person other than a family member to read my book – imagine how I felt this week when she finally sent me the final review. It meant a lot!!!! And that my friends is an understatement.
The Book Lovers Reviews also has a deleted scene that never made it to the final version….Ben and Lilah….Under a tree….A teeny bit of smoochy hotness.
Here it is…
October 22, 2013
October 15, 2013
October 14, 2013
The end…..
The ending of The Uni Files – The Art of Letting Go is causing rather a lot of frustration….so this is my blanket (cover all) apologetic response…But you know I have a strong belief that my character’s have got to work for the ending’s that they want.
You will all find out what was on the post it note soon…I promise…Also Ben has got some thoughts to share with you all in December which will help you piece it together, some more. Lilah may have learn’t The Art of Letting Go but she still needs to learn The Art of Keeping Faith and The Art of Growing Up….
This song is one of my favorite writings songs and I listened to it all the time for The Art of Keeping Faith but I think it ties in very nicely with the ending of Year One…I can visualise Vodka Lilah belting this out in the Tapas restaurant the night she gets barred from the pub that smells of old farts.
I hope you enjoy it.
October 5, 2013
The Learning Curve
This is one of those hard posts to write, where I have to try and be myself for a few moments and let all the crazy stop so I can say something rather important.
I appreciate that there are probably a lot of friends and family out there at the moment who have downloaded The Uni Files- The Art of Letting Go and realised with horror that there are a handful of mistakes scattered throughout the manuscript. And bless you all for sitting there and being so polite and not saying anything in a bid to spare my feelings…..but it’s okay I know about them and I am in the process of getting them fixed.
It’s kind of sad really, and even writing this post is making me feel considerably downbeat which is unusual for me. The situation is, and I am going to be very diplomatic here with my phrasing, I spent two years working on something completely new. That new project turned out to be The Art of Letting Go, my little baby. For whatever reasons there may be, and I do believe both parties are to blame The Art of Letting Go has gone out for sale in a form that I am not satisfied with. I know I am to blame for this as much as other people; I was to eager to get it out there, I rushed through re-reads and I was distracted by some very sad family events that caught me completely by surprise.
So really I just wanted to clear the air. I hate the thought of people reading it and wondering if they should tell me – it’s okay I already know – and I just hope that those lovely people who have already read it enjoyed the story and that it made them laugh, or cry, or whatever emotion it brought out of you. And for those of you who want to wait until the corrected version is on Amazon well then I hope you also enjoy it and it makes you laugh and cry.
The good news in this situation is that I have made some decisions going forward about Year Two and in a way this has been quite a liberating learning curve that I have been on. Slowly I am building a team of Beta readers and proof readers (I love you guys) I trust, so Year Two is going to completely kick butt. (More updates on Year two soon).
Happy reading – whichever version you go for!
I’m going to crawl back to my sick bed now…satisfied at the fact that I have cleared the air.
Anna.xxx
October 2, 2013
The Giveaway
I will post details of how to enter when the competition is up..
Bah! I want to win it all myself but I think that is against rules!
I wish I could give you all clues... all I can tell you right now is that one item is sparkly the others are edible and you need to read book to now what this all means.
Anna.xx
