P.D. Workman's Blog, page 144

Stand Alone makes an Easter debut! #Fridayreads #yalit #standalonepdw

Wait—what’s that in your Easter basket?

Stand Alone makes it’s debut on Good Friday! Looking for something to read on the holiday weekend? (Okay, here in Canada it’s a holiday weekend.)

You can watch the trailer here.

My beta readers say this is the best book that I’ve published yet. Want it? Click on the graphic to see your options, or jump straight to the Kindle store.

Synopsis follows…

Is Justine crazy?

Everyone thinks so…

Her mother. The kids at school, and the teachers and administrators too. Even the police who pick her up from her night rambles. Maybe them most of all.

Justine’s therapist says she is ‘troubled’, but it means the same thing. He thinks that her vivid, reoccurring nightmares and atrocious behavior point to some trauma in her past; but Em, Justine’s mother, can’t explain it.

Justine used to have Christian, her best friend and skateboard partner. He was the only one who accepted her. Maybe because skating is the only time that Justine is really free to be herself. Now that Christian is gone… Justine keeps thinking things can’t get any worse.

Even as she sees her life spinning further and further out of control, Justine can’t give up her sense of who she is—someone far different than the loving daughter Em expects her to be—to just fit in and be happy. She is sure that Em secretly holds the key to who Justine really is. But if she does, Em isn’t talking.

—This book is a wonderful story filled with many twists and turns… it will keep you turning the pages until the wee hours of the morning. The end will blow you away. A great story.

—As PD Workman draws you inside Justine’s head you begin to wonder what really makes her act the way she does.  Good luck trying to put the book down until you find out why…

Update and Teaser from Andy Smithson, Blast of the Dragon’s Fury #TeaserTuesday

My CampNano Novel is now up to 64,621 words, and I am on track to have it finished by the end of the month (probably sooner). I got my paperback proof for Stand Alone, and had to make some formatting changes to it, including choosing a different typeface, so I am just waiting on the next proof to make sure that everything looks good for my readers. The Garamond typeface that I have used in my other paperbacks didn’t work well for Stand Alone. There are some longer italicized dream sequences in Stand Alone, and Garamond italics are too fatiguing to read (and I think the capitals look a little strange.)  Once I’ve seen the revised proof, I will hopefully be able to release this Thursday or Friday!

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along!

I have been puttering along reading “Andy Smithson Blast of the Dragon’s Fury” by L.R.W. Lee for a little while now. It is a juvenile/young adult novel, and the description is below. I would put the target readership at about 9-10 years old. There is a slightly confusing sub-plot, that I’m not sure what I think of yet. The problem-solving seems a bit simplistic. But I think I’m still going to end up finishing it.

Now onto a teaser:

The battle raged on for what seemed an eternity. No sooner had the three of them subdued most of the enemy than more vulture-men materialized out of thin air. When at last Andy felt like he had no more strength to fight, the dragon roared and spewed fire around the room…

L.R.W. Lee Workman, Andy Smithson Blast of the Dragon’s Fury

 

Praise for Andy Smithson: Blast of the Dragon’s Fury, Book 1

“I LOVED it! Totally hooked and want to hear more.” – M. Tate, Book Reviewer

Ten-year-old Andy Smithson believes he is merely a kid too often in trouble with his overambitious parents–until his destiny as the Chosen One to break a 500-year-old curse is revealed. Swept away to the land of Oomaldee of medieval times era, he discovers he must collect several ingredients for a magic potion to defeat the oppressive curse that plagues the land, the first of which is the scale of a red dragon. There’s just one small problem, he’s never battled dragons, except in video games. Armed with only his wits, an ancient sword and a key, he must overcome grave peril at every turn before he can even attempt the feat. No pressure, but it’s his skill alone that will save – or condemn – the kingdom forever.

“This mythical story has plenty of exciting moments and a great deal of humor… Delightful characters including stone knight statues that come to life, exciting moments, and plenty of cool extras.” – SP Reviews

“The humor is visible with many clever touches. The characters are believable… in this multi-layered, mythical story.” – Editor, A Woman’s Write

“What a wonderful read, it grabbed me from the first lines, and lively writing and dialogue kept me there!” – Author, The Sword of Demelza

The Andy Smithson allegorical juvenile fiction series of fantasy books for kids 9-12 includes:

Blast of the Dragon’s Fury, Book One

Venom of the Serpent’s Cunning, Book Two – Now available

Disgrace of the Unicorn’s Honor, Book Three – Coming Fall 2014

Yet unnamed books four to seven

Teaser from “Stand Alone” #teasertuesday

I haven’t blogged anything since last Teaser Tuesday! I have been busy with Camp Nano, and life has been very disrupted by my son’s football schedule (which is pretty much 2.5 hours every day of the week…) I was toying with whether to skip the teaser this week, and jump into my NaNo novel (now over 33,000 words), but I decided to take just a couple minutes anyway.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along!

“Stand Alone” is nearing publication date, hopefully next week. It is a young adult novel, and the description is below. Be sure to also watch the trailer! No link to Amazon yet, as it is still pre-release, but it is listed on Goodreads so you can add it to your “to read” shelf.

Here is my teaser:

She covered her face with both hands, sobs racking her body, and just let it all go. The dam had burst. There was no more keeping the water contained. Afternoon gave way to evening. The sobs stopped. The tears stopped. The pain did not. Her shirt was soaked in tears, snot, and drool. She didn’t care.

P.D. Workman, Stand Alone

 

Is Justine crazy?

Everyone thinks so.

Her mother. The kids at school, and the teachers and administrators too. Even the police who pick her up from her night rambles. Maybe them most of all. Justine’s therapist says she is ‘troubled’, but it means the same thing. He thinks that her vivid, reoccurring nightmares and atrocious behavior point to some trauma in her past; but Em, Justine’s mother, can’t explain it.Justine used to have Christian, her best friend and skateboard partner. He was the only one who accepted her. Maybe because skating is the only time that Justine is really free to be herself.

Now that Christian is gone… Justine keeps thinking things can’t get any worse.Even as she sees her life spinning further and further out of control, Justine can’t give up her sense of who she is—someone far different than the loving daughter Em expects her to be—to just fit in and be happy. She is sure that Em secretly holds the key to who Justine really is. But if she does, Em isn’t talking.

Camp NaNo begins! and a Teaser from the Book Thief #teasertuesday

(Scroll down for Teaser Tuesday)

I just noticed that this is my 49th post. My half-century is coming up!

Today is April 1, and for die-hards like me, April 1 means Camp NaNo! You can look at my previous posts about NaNoWriMo to get an idea of what Camp NaNo means to me, but here it is in brief: write a 100,000 word novel in 30 days. I love participating in NaNoWriMo and in Camp NaNo, which runs both April and July (previously, April was Script Frenzy, and I participated in that too.) Both Looking Over Your Shoulder and the upcoming Stand Alone were written for Camp NaNo last year. (Take a peek at the descriptions and shiny new trailers.)

So this morning I was out of bed bright and early, excited to type the first words on my new NaNo novel, tentatively “Once Bitten, Not Shy”. No, it is not another vampire story. The biters in this case are snakes, and here is a concept cover:

I’ve got a good 3,000 word start on it today (it is now noon local time), and need to finish this post so I can get back to it. So, on to Teaser Tuesday.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along!

I’m not sure yet what I think of the books I have started this week, so I’ll give you a teaser from one that I finished just recently, “The Book Thief” by Markus Zusak.

Here is my teaser:

I wanted to explain that I am constantly overestimating and underestimating the human race – that rarely do I even simply estimate it. I wanted to ask her how the same thing could be so ugly and so glorious, and its words and stories so damning and brilliant…I AM HAUNTED BY HUMANS.

Markus Zusak, The Book Thief

“The Book Thief” is pretty popular these days. Some people love it, some people don’t. You can see my review on Goodreads.

Description and link to Amazon:

The extraordinary #1 New York Times bestseller that is now a major motion picture, Markus Zusak’s unforgettable story is about the ability of books to feed the soul.

It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still.

Liesel Meminger is a foster girl living outside of Munich, who scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement.

In superbly crafted writing that burns with intensity, award-winning author Markus Zusak, author of I Am the Messenger, has given us one of the most enduring stories of our time.

Pre-Release Trailer for “Stand Alone”

Did you wonder whether I could do it or not? Well, I did–I created 4 trailers in four weeks. One for each of my published books, and one for “Stand Alone”, scheduled to come out in April. So without further ado, here is my newest trailer, for “Stand Alone”:

Syren teaser #TeaserTuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along!

Having finished Septimus Heap Book Four: Queste, by Angie Sage, we are now on to Septimus Heap Book Five: Syren. We love the Septimus Heap series, and did you know that Angie Sage is soon launching a new series, TodHunter Moon?

Here is my teaser:

(That evening Aunt Zelda boiled the soup and had it for supper. At the time she thought the flavor much improved by the extra day it spent sitting on the stove, and it was only afterward that it crossed her mind that maybe spider eggs had something to do with it. She went to bed feeling somewhat nauseous.)

Angie Sage, Septimus Heap Book Five: Syren, Kindle page 26

Description and link to Amazon:

In this fifth book in the Magykal series, Septimus ends up on a captivatingly beautiful island, one of seven set in a sparkling sea. He’s stranded there with his badly injured dragon, Spit Fyre, along with Jenna and Beetle. There are some strange things about the island, including a Magykal girl named Syrah, a cat-shaped lighthouse that has lost its Light, and an eerie presence that sings to Septimus—can he escape the persistent call?

Trouble is also brewing for Lucy and Wolf Boy, who have become entangled with some nefarious sailors at sea, and for Milo Banda, Jenna’s father, who is harboring a mysterious treasure chest in his ship’s hold.

Charismatic storyteller Angie Sage continues Septimus Heap’s Magykal journey with more laugh-out-loud adventures, more enchanting charms and spells, and an ever-deepening understanding of the interior life of a young hero.

Trailer for “Ruby”

Three trailers in three weeks!

Here is the newest one, for “Ruby, Between the Cracks“.

Maybe I’ll have one for you next week as a pre-release teaser for “Stand Alone“! It would probably be a good idea to get it done before Camp NaNo begins April 1, at which time I’ll be even more busy…

Goodreads Giveaway for “Deviation”

Want to get a free, autographed copy of “Deviation, Breaking the Pattern“? Watch the trailer, read the synopsis, and sign up on Goodreads.

 

Teaser from “Looking Over Your Shoulder” #teasertuesdays

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along!

I have featured both Ruby and Deviation in Teaser Tuesday before, but I have not yet done a teaser for “Looking Over Your Shoulder“. So, I will open up my MS file and pick a random scene:

His eyes opened, and he stared at Ursula without moving a muscle.

“Hi, sweetie,” she whispered. “Do you know where you are?”

“Crazy, not stupid,” he dead panned.

P.D. Workman, Looking Over Your Shoulder,  page 106

Intrigued? I have published a trailer for “Looking Over Your Shoulder“, and the cover and synopsis are included below.  It is on sale for just $0.99 on Smashwords this week, in honor of the debut of Ruby.

 

Just because you’re paranoid, that doesn’t mean someone isn’t out to get you.

Things were going well for Abe.  Despite all of his past struggles with mental illness, he was happily married, had three wonderful children, a nice home, and a fantastic consulting business that satisfied his creativity and brought in a good income.

But you can never get too comfortable.  When Abe becomes a prime suspect in a jewel heist – one of the largest successful jewel heists in history – his schizophrenia becomes unmanageable and everything begins to spiral out of control.  Abe’s own investigation into the heist has the jewel thieves hot on his tail… but are they really, or is he just losing the battle against his inner demons?

“I was drawn in from the first page and couldn’t put Looking Over Your Shoulder down . . . [it] kept me guessing and on my toes.”

“An exciting ride that keeps you guessing right to the end.”

“. . . a sensitive and uplifting look at one family’s efforts to triumph over the adversity of mental illness.”

Trailer for “Deviation, Breaking the Pattern”

Trailers are kind of fun to create! I hope you enjoy watching them too. Here is a new one for Deviation, Breaking the Pattern.