Loni Townsend's Blog, page 20

When Being Mean Gets You Into Trouble #IWSG

I’m one of those people who is vague about their story details online. It’s not for any fear of someone stealing my ideas; oh heck no. It’s because the mess inside my head is so darn complicated, I doubt anyone who isn’t bombarded with it regularly would really understand. I’m a master of confusing people. But one thing most writers can relate to is being mean to your characters.

I wrote myself into a corner. While contemplating what a certain character (we’ll call him D) would face during a seven day span, I realized the group of people he’s trying to help would have some resentment about how he left them the last time. He was a jerk, really, making threats and pretty much ungrateful about the fact this one guy saved his life. But this one guy now needs him, so the impact is minimal. D‘s daughter, on the other hand, isn’t needed, but wants to help.

That’s where the meanness came in. Technically, she was to be executed by these people, but because of D‘s action, she got to leave with her life. When she returns, a few of these people decide to exact “justice”.

Bullying is a serious issue, and I ended up with a situation where there was no good outcome. It troubles me. She’s the victim, and yet I couldn’t come up with solution that wouldn’t break the rest of the story or that I wouldn’t personally rebel against as a parent.

I did decide on an outcome to get past the situation. It has a ripple effect through the rest of the story, and there’s been a lot of notes where revision is now needed. I’m satisfied with how it works out in the story. D gets some humility, his daughter proves she’s more mature than her father, and the bullies feel shame and regret for their actions. But honestly, I’m still insecure about and worried that people will think I didn’t handle it right, or that I’m not taking it seriously enough. I guess we’ll see.

Have you ended up with a bad situation? Do you ever write about sensitive topics like bullying? How did you handle it?

About Insecure Writer’s Support Group



You can find the sign up for the IWSG here. We owe Alex J Cavanaugh a huge thank you for thinking this blog hop up.

The post When Being Mean Gets You Into Trouble #IWSG appeared first on Squirrel Talk.

The Case of the Disappearing Weapons #Fantasy

Today, I have the honor of having Lori MacLaughlin here at the Town’s End! She just released a new book and I’m stoked to be able to share it all with you. Now, take it away Lori!

Thank you very much, Loni, for having me on your blog!!

I write fantasy adventure. Traditional fantasy novels tend to run long, compared to other genres such as mysteries, chick lit, or horror. They can run up to 120,000 words or more. My second book, Trouble By Any Other Name, weighed in at around 164,000.

With stories this long, continuity can be a challenge. When you’re working on page 510, it’s hard to remember all the details that happened back on page 86. And it’s particularly difficult if you’re writing in multiple points of view. Keeping track of who knew what and when they knew it can make anyone cross-eyed.

Heroine Jane is just about to ride into the city to confront the good guy gone bad, but wait — Jane doesn’t know of his treachery. Hero John was the only one privy to the conversation in which the GGGB’s treachery was revealed.

I had several characters who knew various parts of the backstory, relating what they knew to other characters at different times. I had to be really careful to not have characters say things or act on knowledge they shouldn’t have known.

The same thing can happen with props. My biggest problem was disappearing weapons. My main character lost her weapons a few times and sometimes borrowed other people’s weapons. I had one scene where she threw a dagger at an enemy, but then I realized during a later read-through that, oh, wait — she can’t be throwing a dagger because doesn’t have one. She lost hers a few chapters ago.

And then when you start revising? Good luck remembering which details were kept and which were cut.

My solution has been to keep a notebook handy. When I finish a round of edits, I do a complete read-through in as short a space of time as I can. This helps keep everything fresh in my mind, and I find it much easier to spot inconsistencies. I jot down notes as I go along to keep track of any plot threads that have the potential for confusion. This is also good for spotting word repetition. I make notes about that, too, and go back later to replace some of the offending words.

Once I’ve done all this, I hire a good editor to go over it again. Nothing beats a fresh set of eyes and a fresh perspective.

Has anyone else run into these kinds of issues? How do you handle it? I’d love to know.

About the Book

Tara Triannon is no stranger to trouble. She’s yet to find an enemy her skill with a sword couldn’t dispatch. But how can she fight one that attacks through her dreams?

With her nightmares worsening, Tara seeks answers but finds only more questions. Then her sister, Laraina, reveals a stunning secret that forces Tara to go to the one place Tara’s sworn never to return to. Her troubles multiply when Jovan Trevillion, the secretive soldier of fortune who stole her heart, is mentally tortured by an ancient Being intent on bending him to its will. And worst of all, the Butcher — the terrifying wolf-like assassin she thought she’d killed — survived their duel and is hunting her again.

Hounded by enemies, Tara sets out on a harrowing quest to discover the true nature of who she is, to come to grips with the new volatility of her magic, and to defeat the evil locked in a centuries-old trap that will stop at nothing to control her magic and escape through her nightmares.

TITLE: Trouble By Any Other Name

Sequel to Lady, Thy Name Is Trouble

AUTHOR: Lori L. MacLaughlin

RELEASE DATE: May 16, 2016

GENRE: Fantasy

| | |

About The Author

Lori L. MacLaughlin traces her love of fantasy adventure to Tolkien and Terry Brooks, finding The Lord of the Rings and The Sword of Shannara particularly inspirational. She’s been writing stories in her head since she was old enough to run wild through the forests on the farm on which she grew up.

She has been many things over the years – tree climber, dairy farmer, clothing salesperson, kids’ shoe fitter, retail manager, medical transcriptionist, journalist, private pilot, traveler, wife and mother, Red Sox and New York Giants fan, muscle car enthusiast and NASCAR fan, and a lover of all things Scottish and Irish.

When she’s not writing (or working), she can be found curled up somewhere dreaming up more story ideas, taking long walks in the countryside, or spending time with her kids. She lives with her family in northern Vermont.

You can find her here:

Website/Blog | Goodreads | Facebook | Pinterest | Google +

Woot! Thanks for stopping by, Lori! I know I’ve changed a ton of stuff and have lost track a few times. What about all of you? Have you ever had troubles with losing your weapons?

The post The Case of the Disappearing Weapons #Fantasy appeared first on Squirrel Talk.

Coffee with Chrys, Plus a #Giveaway!

I don’t drink a lot of coffee, but my character Derek loves comparing people to this wonderfully caffeinated drink. Today, I have Chrys on my blog and she’s provided yet another scrumptious option to try out. This sounds yummy enough for even a squirrel like me to try out!

Christmas Coffee

It’s Chrys! On my blog!

Here’s what you’ll need:

1 Cup Instant Hot Chocolate Mix
1 Cup Regular Cremora (Coffee Creamer)
½ Cup Sugar
½ Teaspoon Cinnamon
¼ Teaspoon Nutmeg

Steps:

Mix all ingredients.
Put in a jar.
Add a spoonful or two (to taste) to your cup of brewed coffee.

Viola! Christmas Coffee!

Chrys also brings us an excerpt from Seismic Crimes which includes a conversation over coffee. Perhaps it should’ve been Christmas Coffee.

“Dear, I know you haven’t known Donovan long,” Lily said, “but the two of us are curious about your feelings toward him.”

Beth felt her cheeks sear red. She glanced at the women who waited for her reply while she carefully weighed her answer. “I care about him a lot. He’s an amazing man.”

“Have you slept with him?” Lily blurted.

Beth’s jaw dropped.

“Mom!” Meredith shook her head disapprovingly. “What she meant to ask is if you’re in love.”

Beth felt as though a cloud of butterflies were set loose inside her body. Her heart rate fluttered frantically at the mention of the L word. “It’s a little early for that.” She looked from Meredith to Lily. “Isn’t it?”

Meredith shrugged. “You tell us.”

Beth swallowed. “I…uh…” She knew she was in love with Donovan, but she hadn’t admitted it aloud since she’d told him outside the police department. “I think I am. Yes.”

The two women beamed at her, seemingly pleased with her response.

Beth took a sip of coffee, finding it cold and bitter. The look in Meredith’s and Lily’s eyes dashed the joy she felt a moment ago. The look said they hoped for marriage and babies. Lots and lots of babies. But Beth wasn’t ready for diapers and formula yet. The thought of being a mother for the rest of her life terrified her. How could she raise a child to be a good person? What if she screwed up? Although she had excellent parents, she wasn’t sure if she had the mothering gene.

Title: Seismic Crimes

Author: Chrys Fey

Series: Disaster Crimes Series (Book Two)

Publisher: The Wild Rose Press

Format: Digital and Print

Page Count: 282

DIGITAL LINKS:

Amazon US / Amazon UK / Amazon CA

NOOK / KOBO / All Romance eBooks

PRINT LINKS:

Amazon US / Amazon UK / Amazon CA

The Wild Rose Press

Blurb

An Internal Affairs Investigator was murdered and his brother, Donovan Goldwyn, was framed. Now Donovan is desperate to prove his innocence. And the one person who can do that is the woman who saved him from a deadly hurricane—Beth Kennedy. From the moment their fates intertwined, passion consumed him. He wants her in his arms. More, he wants her by his side in his darkest moments.

Beth Kennedy may not know everything about Donovan, but she can’t deny what she feels for him. It’s her love for him that pushes her to do whatever she has to do to help him get justice, including putting herself in a criminal’s crosshairs.

When a tip reveals the killer’s location, they travel to California, but then an earthquake of catastrophic proportions separates them. As aftershocks roll the land, Beth and Donovan have to endure dangerous conditions while trying to find their way back to one another. Will they reunite and find the killer, or will they lose everything?

Hurricane Crimes

HURRICANE CRIMES 99¢ SALE!

I’ve read Hurricane Crimes, and it was fast-paced and action packed. Be sure to pick it up.

DIGITAL LINKS:

Amazon US / Amazon UK

Amazon CA / NOOK / KOBO

All Romance eBooks

The Wild Rose Press

Giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Have you read Hurricane Crimes? Are you excited for Seismic Crimes? Do you like coffee? What did you think of the excerpt?

The post Coffee with Chrys, Plus a #Giveaway! appeared first on Squirrel Talk.

Loving that Music thing

It’s the season of new books so for the next couple of weeks, I’m loaning out my blog to friends who are releasing. Therefore today I’m bringing you things I’ve enjoyed recently.

Many of you may have heard this one first one already. It’s popular on the alternative radio station here in Boise, and my daughter requests to hear it before bed every night. It’s a powerful remake of Simon and Garfunkel and even Paul Simon has given his approval of it.

Disturbed – The Sound of Silence

Next is another one my daughter requests. When my husband and I first watched this video, we burst out laughing, which is perhaps why my daughter isn’t scared by it. My husband likened it to Dungeon Keeper, and I found Brendon Urie’s wild expressions particularly entertaining, but I happen to be fascinated with crazy.

I will warn that the video has theological implications. If you aren’t keen on watching people turn into demons, well, you’ll probably want to avoid this.

Panic! At The Disco – Emperor’s New Clothes

On a separate music front is a TV series I have been obsessed with for a while now. There’s only 8 episodes in the first season and 10 in the second. Each episode is only 22 minutes long to fit into a half-hour slot, so I can rewatch the entire series in a day, and trust me, I have.

I adore this show and my daughter has jumped on the fan bandwagon with me. It’s a fairy tale musical comedy called Galavant.

Now, this is my kind of humor, so it pokes fun at itself and is riddled with inuendos. I know that’s not for everyone, and fortunately it flies over my daugther’s head at the moment. She loves it for the music, which is composed by Alan Menken, the same guy that brought us all those wonderfully catchy Disney scores.

This is how the series starts:

Oh, and one of the best parts of this series is King Richard, played by who was in another favorite TV show of mine, Psych.

And this guy can sing too!

I’ve even added one of his songs to the lullabies I sing my children. I’ve only linked the audio for this one because it comes at the end of the season and I don’t want to spoil anything with visuals.

There is a lot of fun in this series including princesses, pirates, dragons, dwarves, giants, and zombies. (I couldn’t find a high quality version of the next song so you get one with non-English subtitles.)

Lords of the Sea

I can’t reiterate how much I LOVE this series. I bought the soundtracks for both seasons and listen to them constantly. I also own the series in digital format and have signed the petition to get DVDs released. Next on the list is to get the T-Shirt.

If you enjoy silly musicals, I’d highly recommending checking this one out.

Have you heard of Galavant before? Do you like musicals? What do you think of Disturb’s remake? What did you think of the Emperor’s New Clothes video?

P.S. Sorry for the long post, Sarah.

Guess Who’s Co-Hosting? #IWSG

After spending some time enjoying this group, I decided it might be time for me to do a bit of co-hosting. I took this seriously, of course, and even planned my post in advance instead of scrambling to write it the morning of.

That leads to my insecurity – The Plan.

Twenty years ago (good grief, I’m an old squirrel), Derek swaggered into my brain, charmed me with a lopsided smile, and offered me a steaming mocha. Granted, I’m not a huge coffee fan, but I let him move in anyway, and he’s been whispering to me ever since.

Creepy, huh?

The reason I write is to tell Derek’s story. Unfortunately, the story changes.

Oh, the basics stay the same. Derek + MaTisha = love forever. Plus there’s that whole rise to power and fall to deepest darkness before finally achieving a peaceful, simple life.

But everything else—from MaTisha’s personality in book 1 to the villains in book 4—has changed. And now, I’m not certain of the plan. I’ve got all these colorful blocks that fit into what I’m building, but what’s the end design look like? How do they defeat the big bad in book 4? What’s Derek’s healing process after book 3? Will MaTisha choose to step down from power?

Hopefully I figure it out before another twenty years go by.

Have you ever had a story change on you? What happened then?

About Insecure Writer’s Support Group



You can find the sign up for the IWSG here. We owe Alex J Cavanaugh a huge thank you for thinking this blog hop up.

The post Guess Who’s Co-Hosting? #IWSG appeared first on Squirrel Talk.

Making Mythology #amwriting

Wow, it’s the last week of April. It’s not looking like I’m going to reach my Camp NaNoWriMo goal. You might think, “What?! But Loni, you only set out to do 5K in MaTisha and LaTonya’s POVs for book 2. You should’ve been able to do that!”

I know, I know. But… I’m a squirrel. *shrug*

Okay, so if I haven’t been working on my Camp NaNo goal, what have I been working on? Glad you asked!

As soon as April 1st hit, my brain dashed off to figure out why a particular character from Book 4 (call him B) would leave home and hide from his twin sister for over a century. It had to be bad enough that she wouldn’t relent in her hunt and their older brother could blackmail B with threats of telling the sister where he was. But at the same time, it couldn’t be so bad that they couldn’t reconcile after a century long chase. I worked on a plan, showed it to my husband who immediately got hung up on a totally unrelated detail in which he told me this other character was a horrible person who needed to die (*clears throat*), and spent the night wallowing in self-pity. Then the next day, I revised my plan and bounced it off of my husband and sis-in-law, tweaked it a bit more, and called it good. *thumbs up*

And then taxes… Good grief! If it were up to my husband, we would’ve gotten them done some time ago. But we were waiting on my K-1 and it wasn’t until a week before they were due that I realized I was doing the business taxes, which led to panic-stricken tears, much freaking out, and wine. Lots of wine. I got them done three whole days before they were due (Yay!) and when the shaking finally subsided, I kind of just sat there in a state of stupor for a while.

B’s story returned after that and, with a plan at my back and inspiration in my head, I busted out 6500 words and finished his pre-book 3.5/4 story. Woot! I’ve since revised it down to under 6K, and I’m happy with it. For now.

With that out of my head and more than half of my month gone, I returned to my original goal of writing 5K in MaTisha’s or LaTonya’s POV. I stared at my screen for a while, chomped on a few nuts, and realized what I had already written just wasn’t going to work. So, I threw it out (or at least cut it and pasted it in a document titled “Removed from Book 2”). With that gone, I returned to a previous version where this one guy wasn’t a total jerk right off the bat, and therefore MaTisha could return to the palace without much delay to discuss what to do about the monsters. But in order to defend against the monsters, I needed to know how the different powers affected each other.

My squirrely side refused to sit still. It wanted to figure out how everything within my world fit together. Thus I dove back into my world’s mythology.

I knew there were two sides. They needed each other in order to exist, yet they were always destroying each other. Like life and death. You can’t really have the existence of life without death, or death without life. Yet death is the ending of life and life is the ending of death. After a long walk with my sis-in-law where we discussed all the different nuances I wanted in my world, she provided the balance I was looking for.

I have two primary powers, opposite to each other, but not defined as one particular side. They are both creation and chaos. When the two powers collide, bits of energy break off, forming two groups of beings, each group dominant in their originating power but possessing a fraction of the other. This helped me explain the existence and relationships of the seven or eight groups of people I’ve defined for my world. I documented it on my secret organization website (other people have those, right?) and returned to my story.

Now I’m down to the wire. I’ve got 4 days, if I include today, to get down another 3800 words. I’m hoping to write a large chunk after I take my daughter to the dentist tomorrow. We shall see.

Oh, but I do have good news. We’re doing a Goodreads Giveaway for a paper copy of The Ancient by The Seven! The giveaway opens today, so if you want a chance to win, be sure to enter!

What has your April been like? Have you developed a mythology for your world before? Do you get easily distracted from your projects or do you have the self-discipline to stick with only one thing until it’s done?

The post Making Mythology #amwriting appeared first on Squirrel Talk.

Golden Dawn Blog Tour

If you’ve been a reader of my blog for a while, you might have heard me mention my critique partner, Aldrea Alien. I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve read from her, from her clean romances to her more erotic works. Now, I’m thrilled to be able to announce the re-release of her paranormal romance, Golden Dawn.

Here’s a bit about the book.

Family and blood.

After 1100 years, these simple words mean everything to Herald. His life has been ruled by keeping his siblings safe, keeping them from becoming prey whilst feeding on the weaker. His failures have been many and measured by those he has lost. People like his twin brother.

There has always been another enemy.

Just who the enemy is comes into question when Herald meets the dangerous, angelic creature he is to guard. Wondering where his true loyalties lie is a dangerous thought. No matter whether he chooses family over the heart, it will mean death.

Only the right choice will ensure the life taken is not his.

Like the sound of it? Be sure to check out the giveaway, read the excerpt, and pick up your copy!

Goodreads | Amazon

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Excerpt

Firmly shutting the door, he leant against the wood and resumed glaring at the object of his guardianship. The crystal may not be completely clear, but he could distinguish enough of the wall on the other side of it to see there was nothing in the rock. Certainly no spirits.

He shook his head, absently pushing back the hair that fell into his eyes. Had the girl thought him some lack-witted cur? How could anyone believe a lump of rock would be strong enough to hold a spirit when the world was made of them?

His gaze fell to the waterskin at his feet. He bent to pick it up when movement on the edge of his vision caught his attention. Looking up to see who had managed to slink in unnoticed, he found a woman standing on the other side of the crystal. With creamy skin and hair the pale yellow of dried wheat, she could’ve passed as the mother to the girl he’d just evicted. At least, if he didn’t know better.

He put a hand on the wooden door and leant against it. The timber, old as it was, did little but issue a faint creak. Most definitely shut. Had he not just had his back on it a moment ago? Yet she stood before him as if he’d done the intruding. He’d circled the room and it had been empty upon his arrival. Hadn’t it?

Walking around the rock, his heart jumped upon seeing that the woman wasn’t merely on the other side of the crystal but in it. She wordlessly spun as he circled her, tracking his movement with eyes the pale blue-grey of approaching dawn. The most beautiful eyes he’d ever seen.

“A spirit,” he breathed. The girl hadn’t lied; he truly was guarding a spirit-imbued gem. But what kind of spirit? He doubted his father would’ve imprisoned a succubus or any other sort of demon. No fae would possibly be worth this much effort. “Jinni?” he ventured, although he hadn’t heard of any with such a form as this. His father had wandered much of the earth before returning to settle in the valley of his birth. Was it possible his father had taken more from the land than treasure and children?

“Close.” The deep-grey dress shifted colour as she laughed, lightening and rolling like storm clouds. “Try something with more power. Something holy.” At the last word, her eyes sparkled delightfully.

Of course, I couldn’t leave you without a bit about Aldrea herself.

Born and raised in New Zealand, Aldrea Alien lives on a small farm with her family, including a menagerie of animals, most of which are convinced they’re just as human as the next person. Especially the cats.

She discovered a love of crafting other worlds at the age of twelve when she first conceived the idea of The Rogue King. Since that that fateful day, she hasn’t found an ounce of peace from the characters plaguing her mind, all of them clamouring for her to tell their story first.

It’s a lot of people for one head.

Website | Facebook | Twitter

Have you met Aldrea before? What did you think of the excerpt? Are you looking forward to reading Golden Dawn?

The post Golden Dawn Blog Tour appeared first on Squirrel Talk.

The Formula for Happiness #IWSG

I was cruising Facebook a couple weeks ago and succumbed to clicking on a how-to article about happy marriages. Being a happily married person, I just wanted to see if the article got it right, or if it was a bunch of empty acorns. Unfortunately, I can’t remember who linked it or what the title of the article was, but the basics boiled down to one formula.

Expectation – Reality = Frustration

On the scale of life, when frustration dips, happiness lifts.

This isn’t a new concept. I can tell because I Googled the formula in an effort to find the article again.

What do you think? Have you noticed you are happier when frustration is at a low?

Perhaps I have low expectations (my writing) or maybe a high reality (my marriage), but this month, I’m pretty happy.

Is there something frustrating you? Do you notice a correlation between frustration and happiness? What are you expectations this month, and how is your reality looking?

About Insecure Writer’s Support Group



You can find the sign up for the IWSG here. We owe Alex J Cavanaugh a huge thank you for thinking this blog hop up.

The post The Formula for Happiness #IWSG appeared first on Squirrel Talk.

Let Me See Your Face … Again!

Two years ago, I posted about Gravatar. Seeing that the great A to Z challenge is starting this Friday (even though I’m not participating), I thought it would be a good time to revive this old post and share again. It might help with growing blogging relationships.

Do you know someone who is bad with names but good with faces? Or maybe you’re one of those people?

If the answer is “No” on both accounts, well, let me introduce myself. My name is Loni. I remember faces, not names.

Google is amazing. They have connected so many different services, your profile (and its picture) is available through several venues without any effort on your part. The result is you have a nice little picture when you comment on a Blogger blog.

But what if you’re not commenting on a Blogger blog? What if it’s WordPress? Or Typepad? Depending on the platform and settings, your avatar may vary. It might be a fractal design, or it might be something else.

There is a service called Gravatar that is designed to help out. The Globally Recognized Avatar identifies your email address and populates the generic avatar with your image of choice. Now people like me, who recognize faces and not names, can have that extra little helper to build relationships and connections online. And isn’t that what we all want? To connect?

I hope I see your face around here more often!

Are you a person who remembers names well? Do you remember people better when you have a picture to pair with them? Have you heard of Gravatar before?

The post Let Me See Your Face … Again! appeared first on Squirrel Talk.

Squirrel Plans Birthday and Never Expects This to Happen

CLICKBAIT!!!! MWAHAHAHAHAHA!

Tomorrow is my birthday.

It’s been a nutty year of darting from one thing to another, leaping precariously for branches that seem out of reach, and looking at the world from odd angles. The best part? This squirrel survived another year.

It’s all electric. Isn’t it cute?

Sure, I got rear-ended and my husband lost his job. I reworked my plan for book 2 three times and threw out 90K worth of writing. I mishandled a critique group situation and had it blow up in my face. My daughter chipped her front tooth, and my son started speech therapy.

But we got our mortgage paid off. I have added over 50K in new writing and brought my keepable total up to 133K and counting. I took up digital painting. I found a replacement car. My daughter is excelling in school. My son can pick out letters. My sis-in-law and I completed the Couch to 5K, and we’re working our way to 10K now. And this past month, my husband got a new job!

Really, It’s good to be alive right about now.

So yeah, I’m planning my birthday. And it’s going to be good.

What unexpected thing do you think should happen? What are you celebrating? Do you ever get caught by clickbait articles?

If you’ve never heard of clickbait, it refers to those articles that have no useful information in the title but leave a cliff hanger that makes you want to click. Then the article page is covered in a bunch of similarly titled links. The people who put up the clickbait usually get money from the clicks. I don’t, but if you wanted to send Red Bull instead, I wouldn’t protest.

PS. To celebrate my birthday, I’m marking down Thanmir War and This World Bites to 99 cents for a week, starting Friday. Woot woot!

The post Squirrel Plans Birthday and Never Expects This to Happen appeared first on Squirrel Talk.