S.L. Stacker's Blog, page 6
March 20, 2017
Sassy Ever After
Hello! I have some exciting news. I've been asked to write in Milly Taiden's Kindle World, Sassy Ever After! It's a world based on her series, Sassy Mates.
I joined the team a couple of weeks ago and am scheduled to release my novella with the next batch of Sassy Ever After books in May. The title of my story is Sassy Witch.
Blurb:
Kendal Pitner is a member of the local witch coven, and she’s been in love with Auran Spenport, the alpha of one of the local wolf packs, since high school. After a night of passion, Kendal and Auran find themselves working together when cubs from the local packs go missing.
Kendal and her coven cast a protection spell on the wolves, but because of the amount of power it required, Kendal found herself burned out. Despite her recent ordeal, she’s determined to help find those responsible for luring the cubs away. Her resolve to help may hinder the search, and it could cost her the ultimate price…her life.
If you'd like to follow the progress as we progress to release day, you're more than welcome to check us out on Facebook, or you can follow me on Facebook.
I joined the team a couple of weeks ago and am scheduled to release my novella with the next batch of Sassy Ever After books in May. The title of my story is Sassy Witch.
Blurb:
Kendal Pitner is a member of the local witch coven, and she’s been in love with Auran Spenport, the alpha of one of the local wolf packs, since high school. After a night of passion, Kendal and Auran find themselves working together when cubs from the local packs go missing.
Kendal and her coven cast a protection spell on the wolves, but because of the amount of power it required, Kendal found herself burned out. Despite her recent ordeal, she’s determined to help find those responsible for luring the cubs away. Her resolve to help may hinder the search, and it could cost her the ultimate price…her life.
If you'd like to follow the progress as we progress to release day, you're more than welcome to check us out on Facebook, or you can follow me on Facebook.
March 3, 2017
Cover Reveal!
A few weeks ago, I wrote a brief introduction post regarding an anthology, Subject Verb Object. Today, I'm following up with the cover reveal!
Synopsis:
Twenty-one writers from both sides of the Atlantic come together in this genre-bending collection of new writing.
Meet Luís da Silva and get (thickly) settled. Visit Playa Del Carmen, get drunk in Cornwall or lose yourself in the Warren. Find out why Pete’s remote control keeps disappearing, how Gary’s cat found heaven and what lurks behind Jay’s mirror.
Subject Verb Object is a unique anthology of new writing from first-timers and award-winners. It’s a movable feast that sweeps across time and space. A joint exploration in creativity. We hope you enjoy it.
Subject Verb Object releases on April 8. Check back for links!
Synopsis:
Twenty-one writers from both sides of the Atlantic come together in this genre-bending collection of new writing.
Meet Luís da Silva and get (thickly) settled. Visit Playa Del Carmen, get drunk in Cornwall or lose yourself in the Warren. Find out why Pete’s remote control keeps disappearing, how Gary’s cat found heaven and what lurks behind Jay’s mirror.
Subject Verb Object is a unique anthology of new writing from first-timers and award-winners. It’s a movable feast that sweeps across time and space. A joint exploration in creativity. We hope you enjoy it.
Subject Verb Object releases on April 8. Check back for links!
February 20, 2017
Six Ways to Get Feedback From Your Readers
Today I'm doing something a little different. When scrolling through social media, the one thing I see most authors complaining about is feedback, or the lack of. An author friend of mine, Dane Cobain, has been kind enough to write an article regarding ways we authors can obtain feedback from our readers. Enjoy!
Six Ways to Get Feedback From Your Readers
Authors love feedback. It comes with the territory. After all, we spend hundreds of hours at the keyboard, writing, editing and marketing our releases, and feedback helps to remind us that there are people out there who appreciate it.
Of course, not all feedback is good feedback. Luckily, even negative reviews can help you to grow as an author, as long as they contain constructive criticism. It helps you to find areas that you can improve, and research shows that negative reviews can even help you to sell more copies.
But it isn’t always easy to pick up feedback, and even when people do take the time to review your work, they often say something simple, like “I liked it.” While that’s all well and good for boosting your ego, it’s not as actionable as “I liked the relationships between the characters but it needed some work on the backstory.”
So how can you go about gathering feedback from your readers? And how can you make sure that it’s feedback that you can act upon? Here are six techniques to get you started.
Ask!
The first thing to do is to ask people – you’d be surprised at how many of your followers will be happy to give you feedback, especially if you ask for specifics. This can be as simple as posting a social media update or as complicated as sending out email marketing messages or paid advertisements. Communicate what you’re looking for – if you want reviews on Amazon, ask! If you want to know what people think of your dialogue, ask! Remember the old adage: if you don’t ask, you don’t get.
Use Calls-To-Action
A call-to-action is essentially a piece of text or a clickable button or image that tells people what you want them to do. They’re usually placed on a prominent area of a website and encourage people to ‘buy now’, ‘click here’ or – in this case – ‘leave feedback’. Web developers (like post sponsors Publishing Addict) can help to add calls-to-action to your author website to encourage visitors to leave feedback, join your mailing list or buy your books.
Use Surveys
Surveys are great because you can define the questions and the types of answer that you’re looking for, and you can examine the data either individually or en masse. Free tools like SurveyMonkey will usually be enough to get the job done, and they offer a unique way of analysing every aspect of your work, from the way that you write to the way that you communicate new releases.
Offer Incentives
Give people a reason to read and comment on your work, even if it’s just a free e-book in exchange for their time. There’s also room to be creative – for example, you could offer some merchandise in exchange for a review, or even the chance to have a character named after the reviewer in a future release. It doesn’t have to be something huge – even a small incentive can make the difference between someone posting a review and them thinking ‘I’ll do it later.’
Team Up
For a different type of feedback, consider teaming up with another author and swapping books with each other. That way, you can both leave comments throughout and go into more depth than you’d see from a typical review, and there’s the added advantage that the two of you will both look at it with a writer’s eyes, effectively providing a lightweight form of conceptual editing.
Act On It
Once you’re starting to receive feedback, you need to act on it. Otherwise, the whole process was an exercise in futility, and when you were asking your readers for feedback, you were really asking them for validation. Feedback without action is useless, but if you take what you’re told and learn from it, your work will improve and your readers will be more likely to provide additional feedback in the future. Make sure that you communicate what you’ve learned so that your readers can see that their feedback is helping out.
Your Turn
How do you get feedback from your readers? And how often do you act on what they tell you? Let us know what you think with a comment.
About the author
This post is written by Dane Cobain and sponsored by Publishing Addict, an organisation that specialises in author website design to help writers to establish a brand, connect with their readers and to sell more books.
Six Ways to Get Feedback From Your Readers
Authors love feedback. It comes with the territory. After all, we spend hundreds of hours at the keyboard, writing, editing and marketing our releases, and feedback helps to remind us that there are people out there who appreciate it.
Of course, not all feedback is good feedback. Luckily, even negative reviews can help you to grow as an author, as long as they contain constructive criticism. It helps you to find areas that you can improve, and research shows that negative reviews can even help you to sell more copies.
But it isn’t always easy to pick up feedback, and even when people do take the time to review your work, they often say something simple, like “I liked it.” While that’s all well and good for boosting your ego, it’s not as actionable as “I liked the relationships between the characters but it needed some work on the backstory.”
So how can you go about gathering feedback from your readers? And how can you make sure that it’s feedback that you can act upon? Here are six techniques to get you started.
Ask!
The first thing to do is to ask people – you’d be surprised at how many of your followers will be happy to give you feedback, especially if you ask for specifics. This can be as simple as posting a social media update or as complicated as sending out email marketing messages or paid advertisements. Communicate what you’re looking for – if you want reviews on Amazon, ask! If you want to know what people think of your dialogue, ask! Remember the old adage: if you don’t ask, you don’t get.
Use Calls-To-Action
A call-to-action is essentially a piece of text or a clickable button or image that tells people what you want them to do. They’re usually placed on a prominent area of a website and encourage people to ‘buy now’, ‘click here’ or – in this case – ‘leave feedback’. Web developers (like post sponsors Publishing Addict) can help to add calls-to-action to your author website to encourage visitors to leave feedback, join your mailing list or buy your books.
Use Surveys
Surveys are great because you can define the questions and the types of answer that you’re looking for, and you can examine the data either individually or en masse. Free tools like SurveyMonkey will usually be enough to get the job done, and they offer a unique way of analysing every aspect of your work, from the way that you write to the way that you communicate new releases.
Offer Incentives
Give people a reason to read and comment on your work, even if it’s just a free e-book in exchange for their time. There’s also room to be creative – for example, you could offer some merchandise in exchange for a review, or even the chance to have a character named after the reviewer in a future release. It doesn’t have to be something huge – even a small incentive can make the difference between someone posting a review and them thinking ‘I’ll do it later.’
Team Up
For a different type of feedback, consider teaming up with another author and swapping books with each other. That way, you can both leave comments throughout and go into more depth than you’d see from a typical review, and there’s the added advantage that the two of you will both look at it with a writer’s eyes, effectively providing a lightweight form of conceptual editing.
Act On It
Once you’re starting to receive feedback, you need to act on it. Otherwise, the whole process was an exercise in futility, and when you were asking your readers for feedback, you were really asking them for validation. Feedback without action is useless, but if you take what you’re told and learn from it, your work will improve and your readers will be more likely to provide additional feedback in the future. Make sure that you communicate what you’ve learned so that your readers can see that their feedback is helping out.
Your Turn
How do you get feedback from your readers? And how often do you act on what they tell you? Let us know what you think with a comment.
About the author
This post is written by Dane Cobain and sponsored by Publishing Addict, an organisation that specialises in author website design to help writers to establish a brand, connect with their readers and to sell more books.
February 14, 2017
Subject Verb Object Anthology - Author Spotlight
Stevyn Colgan SUBJECT
VERB
OBJECT
An Anthology of New Writing
A few days ago, I gave you a brief outline of Subject Verb Object – An Anthology of New Writing. Today, I’m beginning my spotlight of the authors by featuring Stevyn Colgan.
About Stevyn:
Stevyn Colgan is an author, artist, public speaker and oddly-spelled Cornishman. He has been a chef, a comics publisher, a monster maker and – for three decades - a police officer in London, during which time he met three Prime Ministers, two US Presidents and a Pope, was set on fire twice, told to f*ck off by a royal, was kissed by Princess Diana (not the same royal) and let Freddie Mercury wear his helmet. He is a visiting lecturer at a number of UK universities and is a regular speaker at UK and international events such as TED, HybridConf, 5x15, QEDcon, Nudgestock, the Ig Nobel Prizes, Latitude, the Hay Festival, the Edinburgh Fringe and many others. He has appeared on numerous podcasts and radio shows including Freakonomics, Do The Right Thing, Ex Libris, No Such Thing As A Fish, Little Atoms and Josie Lawrence’s Short Cuts. He is also one of the ‘Elves’ that research and write the multi award-winning BBC TV series QI and was part of the writing team that won the Rose D’Or for BBC Radio 4’s The Museum of Curiosity.
Stevyn has a few published works under his belt, however, today, we’re focusing on Why Did The Policeman Cross The Road? – How To Solve Problems Before They Arise.
Blurb:
‘We need more cops like Stevyn Colgan but we also need more writers like him! Why Did the Policeman Cross the Road? is a model of smart storytelling, cunning insight, and pure inspiration.’
- Stephen J Dubner, Co-author Freakonomics, Superfreakonomics, Think Like A freak and When To Rob A Bank.
‘A great guy who you must meet - He took lateral and creative thinking and applied it to bigger social problems. I think there’s a huge opportunity for that kind of thing.’
– Rory Sutherland, President of the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA).
Can lollipops reduce anti-social behaviour? Or wizards halt street gambling? Do fake bus stops protect pensioners? Will organising a dog show stop young people killing each other?
Stevyn Colgan believes that the answer to all of those questions is 'Yes'. Packed with fascinating anecdotes and important questions, this astonishing book reveals the innovative and imaginative ways Colgan tried to prevent crime during his thirty years on the police force.
Colgan worked for twelve of those years as part of a unique team called The Problem Solving Unit. With no budget and laughable resources, they were given an extraordinary brief – to solve problems of crime and disorder that wouldn't respond to traditional policing. They were told they could try anything as long as it wasn't illegal, wasn't immoral, wouldn't bring the police into disrepute, and didn't cost very much.
With amusing, insightful and sometimes controversial approaches to problem solving, Colgan mixes personal anecdotes from his time on the force with real-world examples of how The Problem Solving Unit helped build communities and prevent recurring crime.
At its core, this book's message is simple: police should direct far more effort towards preventing crime before it happens rather than solving crime after it has happened.
Book Excerpt:
‘Roll up! Try your luck! Find the lady and win big money!’
I followed the voice. I wasn’t familiar enough with the various accents of Eastern Europe to tell if the speaker was Polish, Romanian or from the Ukraine. He sounded like an affable Bond villain delivering an expository soliloquy before yanking the secret handle that sends 007 sliding down into the shark tank below.
‘All you have to do is find the lady! Try your luck sir! Madam!’
He was standing behind a makeshift table made from two stacked milk crates and a sheet of corrugated cardboard. On the desktop lay three playing cards face up: two low denomination red suit cards and the Queen of Spades. He deftly flipped the cards face down and shuffled them about. There was a big toothy nicotine grin that came with the voice.
‘Find the Queen‘, he explained to the crowd, ‘Simple, yes? There are only three cards. You have one in three chance!’
But then our eyes met and something sent alarm bells ringing inside him. I was trying to look like a punter but maybe my interest wasn’t sufficiently focussed on the cards. Or maybe he sensed that I was checking him out just a little too thoroughly. In an instant, the cards were whipped off the table and he was off, running pell mell into the crowd of Wembley Market.
Buy Links:
Unbound Direct
Amazon UK
Waterstones UK
Amazon US
You can find more information about Stevyn and his works at the following:
www.stevyncolgan.com
stevyncolgan@gmail.com
Blog: http://colganwrites.blogspot.co.uk/
Twitter: @stevyncolgan
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100011092957196
Instagram: stevyncolgan
Snapchat: stevyncolgan
Unbound: https://unbound.com/authors/stevyn-colgan
VERB
OBJECT
An Anthology of New Writing
A few days ago, I gave you a brief outline of Subject Verb Object – An Anthology of New Writing. Today, I’m beginning my spotlight of the authors by featuring Stevyn Colgan.
About Stevyn:
Stevyn Colgan is an author, artist, public speaker and oddly-spelled Cornishman. He has been a chef, a comics publisher, a monster maker and – for three decades - a police officer in London, during which time he met three Prime Ministers, two US Presidents and a Pope, was set on fire twice, told to f*ck off by a royal, was kissed by Princess Diana (not the same royal) and let Freddie Mercury wear his helmet. He is a visiting lecturer at a number of UK universities and is a regular speaker at UK and international events such as TED, HybridConf, 5x15, QEDcon, Nudgestock, the Ig Nobel Prizes, Latitude, the Hay Festival, the Edinburgh Fringe and many others. He has appeared on numerous podcasts and radio shows including Freakonomics, Do The Right Thing, Ex Libris, No Such Thing As A Fish, Little Atoms and Josie Lawrence’s Short Cuts. He is also one of the ‘Elves’ that research and write the multi award-winning BBC TV series QI and was part of the writing team that won the Rose D’Or for BBC Radio 4’s The Museum of Curiosity.
Stevyn has a few published works under his belt, however, today, we’re focusing on Why Did The Policeman Cross The Road? – How To Solve Problems Before They Arise.
Blurb:
‘We need more cops like Stevyn Colgan but we also need more writers like him! Why Did the Policeman Cross the Road? is a model of smart storytelling, cunning insight, and pure inspiration.’
- Stephen J Dubner, Co-author Freakonomics, Superfreakonomics, Think Like A freak and When To Rob A Bank.
‘A great guy who you must meet - He took lateral and creative thinking and applied it to bigger social problems. I think there’s a huge opportunity for that kind of thing.’
– Rory Sutherland, President of the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA).
Can lollipops reduce anti-social behaviour? Or wizards halt street gambling? Do fake bus stops protect pensioners? Will organising a dog show stop young people killing each other?
Stevyn Colgan believes that the answer to all of those questions is 'Yes'. Packed with fascinating anecdotes and important questions, this astonishing book reveals the innovative and imaginative ways Colgan tried to prevent crime during his thirty years on the police force.
Colgan worked for twelve of those years as part of a unique team called The Problem Solving Unit. With no budget and laughable resources, they were given an extraordinary brief – to solve problems of crime and disorder that wouldn't respond to traditional policing. They were told they could try anything as long as it wasn't illegal, wasn't immoral, wouldn't bring the police into disrepute, and didn't cost very much.
With amusing, insightful and sometimes controversial approaches to problem solving, Colgan mixes personal anecdotes from his time on the force with real-world examples of how The Problem Solving Unit helped build communities and prevent recurring crime.
At its core, this book's message is simple: police should direct far more effort towards preventing crime before it happens rather than solving crime after it has happened.
Book Excerpt:
‘Roll up! Try your luck! Find the lady and win big money!’
I followed the voice. I wasn’t familiar enough with the various accents of Eastern Europe to tell if the speaker was Polish, Romanian or from the Ukraine. He sounded like an affable Bond villain delivering an expository soliloquy before yanking the secret handle that sends 007 sliding down into the shark tank below.
‘All you have to do is find the lady! Try your luck sir! Madam!’
He was standing behind a makeshift table made from two stacked milk crates and a sheet of corrugated cardboard. On the desktop lay three playing cards face up: two low denomination red suit cards and the Queen of Spades. He deftly flipped the cards face down and shuffled them about. There was a big toothy nicotine grin that came with the voice.
‘Find the Queen‘, he explained to the crowd, ‘Simple, yes? There are only three cards. You have one in three chance!’
But then our eyes met and something sent alarm bells ringing inside him. I was trying to look like a punter but maybe my interest wasn’t sufficiently focussed on the cards. Or maybe he sensed that I was checking him out just a little too thoroughly. In an instant, the cards were whipped off the table and he was off, running pell mell into the crowd of Wembley Market.
Buy Links:
Unbound Direct
Amazon UK
Waterstones UK
Amazon US
You can find more information about Stevyn and his works at the following:www.stevyncolgan.com
stevyncolgan@gmail.com
Blog: http://colganwrites.blogspot.co.uk/
Twitter: @stevyncolgan
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100011092957196
Instagram: stevyncolgan
Snapchat: stevyncolgan
Unbound: https://unbound.com/authors/stevyn-colgan
February 12, 2017
Subject Verb Object
SUBJECT
VERB
OBJECT
An Anthology of New Writing
What is an anthology?
Per dictionary.com, an anthology is a book or other collection of selected writings by various authors, usually in the same literary form, of the same period, or on the same subject.
Subject Verb Object – An Anthology of New Writing is a little different than the defined definition. Instead of having a collection of poems or fiction short stories, there is a beautiful mixture of material. However, the common factor of each contribution is how the pieces came to be and what they’re based on. Dane Cobain, the organizer of the anthology, had the brilliant idea of having each author contribute a subject verb object writing prompt. After the prompts were submitted to Dane, he assigned each author a random prompt. From there, they were given life.
In the coming weeks, I’ll provide you with more in-depth information on the twenty-one authors of Subject Verb Object, and hopefully, you’ll find a new to you author. Today, I’ll provide you with the list of contributors.
Subject Verb Object Authors
Eileen Maksym
Clive Whitelock
James Torrance
Heba El-Husseini
Sharon Anderson
Michael-Israel Jarvis
Amar Rana-Deshmukh
Taylor Dawn
Neil Denham
Chris Gower
Dane Cobain (Author & Organizer)
Alex Kimmell
S.L. Stacker (Author & Cover Designer)
Stevyn Colgan
J.G. Clay
J.C. Miller
Chico Kidd
Oli Jacobs
Dani Brown
Pam Elise Harris (Author & Editor)
Saul P. Tiler
VERB
OBJECT
An Anthology of New Writing
What is an anthology?Per dictionary.com, an anthology is a book or other collection of selected writings by various authors, usually in the same literary form, of the same period, or on the same subject.
Subject Verb Object – An Anthology of New Writing is a little different than the defined definition. Instead of having a collection of poems or fiction short stories, there is a beautiful mixture of material. However, the common factor of each contribution is how the pieces came to be and what they’re based on. Dane Cobain, the organizer of the anthology, had the brilliant idea of having each author contribute a subject verb object writing prompt. After the prompts were submitted to Dane, he assigned each author a random prompt. From there, they were given life.
In the coming weeks, I’ll provide you with more in-depth information on the twenty-one authors of Subject Verb Object, and hopefully, you’ll find a new to you author. Today, I’ll provide you with the list of contributors.
Subject Verb Object Authors
Eileen Maksym
Clive Whitelock
James Torrance
Heba El-Husseini
Sharon Anderson
Michael-Israel Jarvis
Amar Rana-Deshmukh
Taylor Dawn
Neil Denham
Chris Gower
Dane Cobain (Author & Organizer)
Alex Kimmell
S.L. Stacker (Author & Cover Designer)
Stevyn Colgan
J.G. Clay
J.C. Miller
Chico Kidd
Oli Jacobs
Dani Brown
Pam Elise Harris (Author & Editor)
Saul P. Tiler
February 2, 2016
Update...
Hello!
I apologize for being away for so long. I've been busy with life and have neglected this part of my life. So, again, I'm sorry!
HOWEVER...I have GREAT news!!!
I am beginning to get back into writing, and as of now, I'm planning on making a weekly fiction blog post...kind of like a weekly television show. I don't have all the details worked out, but stay tuned for more information.
Again, I'm sorry for being MIA, but I am back and working on new material.
Love,
Stephanie
I apologize for being away for so long. I've been busy with life and have neglected this part of my life. So, again, I'm sorry!
HOWEVER...I have GREAT news!!!
I am beginning to get back into writing, and as of now, I'm planning on making a weekly fiction blog post...kind of like a weekly television show. I don't have all the details worked out, but stay tuned for more information.
Again, I'm sorry for being MIA, but I am back and working on new material.
Love,
Stephanie
August 3, 2015
Macyn's Awakening Cover Reveal
The last several weeks have been hard because I've been dying to show you the new cover for Macyn's Awakening. Well, the time has come--today is the cover reveal! I hope you like it as much as I do. 
Macyn McIntyre’s search for Richard Jacobs and those involved in her abduction reveals much of her adult life isn’t as she was led to believe. With help from her past and present, she uncovers secrets about those close to her—secrets that may result in certain death for those involved.
New partnerships are forged as others end. Enemies become allies, and friends become enemies. The web of lies carefully constructed by others begins to unravel, allowing Macyn to close in on Jacobs. The deeper she dives into the past, the more she finds herself questioning her actions. Is she doing the right thing? Should she forget about this crazed man and concentrate on her new life with Devon? Death, a marriage proposal, and a phone call will make the decision for her.
Macyn’s Awakening proves life, happiness, and love are worth fighting for.
Macyn McIntyre’s search for Richard Jacobs and those involved in her abduction reveals much of her adult life isn’t as she was led to believe. With help from her past and present, she uncovers secrets about those close to her—secrets that may result in certain death for those involved.New partnerships are forged as others end. Enemies become allies, and friends become enemies. The web of lies carefully constructed by others begins to unravel, allowing Macyn to close in on Jacobs. The deeper she dives into the past, the more she finds herself questioning her actions. Is she doing the right thing? Should she forget about this crazed man and concentrate on her new life with Devon? Death, a marriage proposal, and a phone call will make the decision for her.
Macyn’s Awakening proves life, happiness, and love are worth fighting for.
The Secret of Strange Waters Release Day
Unfortunately for Lily Jordan, being a Light Keeper doesn't come with an instruction manual, but neither does being sixteen. While learning to use her powers, she’s confronted with unforeseen obstacles and forced to break her own rules in order to save her circle of friends.
With her mom’s wedding on the horizon, will misinterpreted visions create new enemies who could threaten Lily’s exposure? Will death and heartache ruin the big day? For Lily, the answers only lead to impossible decisions. Does she embrace her powers or abandon them for false normalcy?
Kelly Hall’s second book, The Secret of Strange Waters, proves paranormal powers
aren’t always a blessing.
http://tinyurl.com/amaztsosw http://tinyurl.com/bandntsosw
http://tinyurl.com/itutsosw
authorkellyhall.com
July 21, 2015
The Secret of Strange Waters - Cover Reveal
Kelly Hall is a YA Paranormal author. The first book in the Light Keeper Series, The Legend of the Light Keeper, was published with Booktrope Editions in March 2015. The second book in the series, The Secret of Strange Waters, will be available August 3, 2015. Synopsis:
Unfortunately for Lily Jordan, being a Light Keeper doesn't come with an instruction manual, but neither does being sixteen. While learning to use her powers, she's confronted with unforeseen obstacles and forced to break her own rules in order to save her circle of friends.
With her mom's wedding on the horizon, will misinterpreted visions create new enemies who could threaten Lily's exposure? Will death and heartache ruin the big day? For Lily, the answers only lead to impossible decisions. Does she embrace her powers or abandon them for false normalcy?
Kelly Hall's second book, The Secret of Strange Waters, proves paranormal powers aren't always a blessing.
Kelly Hall was born and raised in Southeast Texas and lives in a small town just a stone's throw from the ghost road where her Light Keeper series is based. When she's not busy writing or spending time with her husband and two sons, this self-proclaimed creative junkie dabbles in many different forms of art, including cake decorating and mixed media. Learn more about Kelly at authorkellyhall.comJune 22, 2015
Behind the Scenes
Macyn McIntyre and Devon Brady How did the Macyn McIntyre Series, specifically Macyn’s Letter, come to be?
The idea for the Macyn McIntyre Series came about after I lost my job in the natural gas industry. When I wasn’t interviewing and taking care of my kids and family, I found myself spending a lot of time online searching for and reading free fiction blogs. I’ve always been a big reader, but because our family had lost my income, I couldn’t afford to buy books the way I had in the past. When I realized I was limited in my online reading, I decided I would start a fiction blog.
How did you decide on names for your H and h (Hero and Heroine)?
When I was pregnant with my first child, I searched thousands of baby names, whether online or in books. When I saw the female variation of Mason, I fell in love with the name. I decided at that moment, if my baby was a girl, I would name her Macyn. Surprisingly, she ended up being a he, and the name was shelved away for later use.
My second child was a girl, and I threw the name into the pot, but ultimately, my husband and I decided on another name, and once again, Macyn was shelved...permanently as this would be our last child.
Well, when I decided to start writing, I knew immediately this would be my new baby, and I would finally be able to use the name I had chosen so many years earlier. Macyn was born!
Devon...well, I would love to be able to say his I had a cool story on how his name was chosen, but I can’t. I did search online for men’s names, and his name stood out. In my mind, it fit well with Macyn.
Now that we know where the names came from, how did your Hero and heroine come about? How did you decided what type of characters they would be?
When I initially started writing, I was going to focus on Macyn and her husband, but from the start, it felt wrong. I knew I wanted her to have been married, but I didn’t want her to be married to him throughout the book. I wanted her to be with Devon. However, I also wanted Macyn to be weak at the beginning and indecisive. I wanted her to be dependent upon Devon, but then I wanted something to happen, like a light switch being flipped, and suddenly she’s this strong person.
As for Devon, I had a specific type of person in mind. I wanted him to be this laid back man who went along with almost anything—the type of man who would support his woman through anything, but a man who didn’t think twice about taking charge when he needed to.
What will happen with Macyn and Devon in the future?
Well, without giving anything away, they will each get what they’re searching for, but they may not get it in a manner in which they think it should happen.
What inspired you with your villain?
I watch way too much crime television. I took a little bit of everything and mixed it into him/her. To be honest, this particular character was the most fun to write. I found there were no limits.
The idea for the Macyn McIntyre Series came about after I lost my job in the natural gas industry. When I wasn’t interviewing and taking care of my kids and family, I found myself spending a lot of time online searching for and reading free fiction blogs. I’ve always been a big reader, but because our family had lost my income, I couldn’t afford to buy books the way I had in the past. When I realized I was limited in my online reading, I decided I would start a fiction blog.
How did you decide on names for your H and h (Hero and Heroine)?
When I was pregnant with my first child, I searched thousands of baby names, whether online or in books. When I saw the female variation of Mason, I fell in love with the name. I decided at that moment, if my baby was a girl, I would name her Macyn. Surprisingly, she ended up being a he, and the name was shelved away for later use.
My second child was a girl, and I threw the name into the pot, but ultimately, my husband and I decided on another name, and once again, Macyn was shelved...permanently as this would be our last child.
Well, when I decided to start writing, I knew immediately this would be my new baby, and I would finally be able to use the name I had chosen so many years earlier. Macyn was born!
Devon...well, I would love to be able to say his I had a cool story on how his name was chosen, but I can’t. I did search online for men’s names, and his name stood out. In my mind, it fit well with Macyn.
Now that we know where the names came from, how did your Hero and heroine come about? How did you decided what type of characters they would be?
When I initially started writing, I was going to focus on Macyn and her husband, but from the start, it felt wrong. I knew I wanted her to have been married, but I didn’t want her to be married to him throughout the book. I wanted her to be with Devon. However, I also wanted Macyn to be weak at the beginning and indecisive. I wanted her to be dependent upon Devon, but then I wanted something to happen, like a light switch being flipped, and suddenly she’s this strong person.
As for Devon, I had a specific type of person in mind. I wanted him to be this laid back man who went along with almost anything—the type of man who would support his woman through anything, but a man who didn’t think twice about taking charge when he needed to.
What will happen with Macyn and Devon in the future?
Well, without giving anything away, they will each get what they’re searching for, but they may not get it in a manner in which they think it should happen.
What inspired you with your villain?
I watch way too much crime television. I took a little bit of everything and mixed it into him/her. To be honest, this particular character was the most fun to write. I found there were no limits.
