Michelle Irwin's Blog: Write On Shell, page 5

An Introduction Post

Wait . . . what?

I know that's what you're thinking. I've blogged for almost 20 months now, why am I just doing an intro post now? Well, I'm never one for doing things in the right order. Plus, this post isn't so much to say Hi, I'm Michelle, it's to let you a little deeper into the inner-workings of my mind (scary, right? LOL) We needed to know each other for a while before I could introduce the full crazy.

Here's my introduction then: My name is Michelle and I'm a walking contradiction. Why? Let's look at it:

I'm not a big believer in astrology, yet I can tell you that I'm a Taurus and a Dog. I can tell you that both of those star-signs put me in the category of incredibly stubborn, fiercely loyal, and sometimes a little hard to take and understand. I don't make friends easily, in fact reaching out to people is one of the hardest things in the world for me. Yet, the friends I do have I would go to the ends of the Earth for. I am not a fan of maths, and yet I work in an accounts based job. (I'm not bad at maths, in fact it works in my head in a way I don't understand, I just don't enjoy it). I am the biggest softie in the world when it comes to not wanting to hurt people's feelings or put people out. I have gone out of my way many times for complete strangers. Yet, my family and friends I'm often blunt, rude, and forgetful towards (sorry guys, I know I do this and I make an effort to try not to, but it's from a place of love y'all!) I am my own biggest critic and will never, ever think my work is good enough. I will constantly want to improve. Yet I'm a huge dreamer and like to think that one day I could have authoring as my full-time job. I am proud of each and every story despite thinking that my collective stories will never be good enough.I'm not religious, but I am somewhat spiritual. I believe in fate, destiny and that when you're time is up, it's up. Again, I'm not religious, but I will fully defend the rights of everyone to have whatever belief they want (just, don't try to convert me, I'm really not interested). I love where I work, yet there are days I really don't want to go.I love all things romance, yet I am not a romantic person. I love girly clothes and colours and yet, I am not a "girly" girl (I don't even wear make-up or nice shoes unless forced). How about you, are you a walking contradiction too or are you straight-up and straight-forward (I'm jealous if you are!). 

My first photo session

For those who don't follow me on Facebook, you might not know but last week I did something I only dreamed I might do. I had a dedicated photo shoot for covers and teasers for my upcoming contemporary series. It was a huge day but a load of fun. One of the reasons I really wanted to do a dedicated shoot is because I have four books to cover for this series and it's almost impossible to find stock photos which:
1. Have enough different photos for 4 covers.
2. Have the right looking couple for both male and female.
3. Have the right emotion.
Usually you might be lucky and find 1/3, occasionally 2/3, but 3/3 is practically unheard of. Doing a dedicated shoot means that you can hit all three much easier.

I still don't know that we got the covers for all of the books, mostly because the day is just a blur of excitement now, and the photographer is now working her magic. The photos I have seen though - GAH it was perfection. It's one thing to imagine what it might be like to have your own shoot down, to imagine people actually embodying the characters you've created. Another entirely to see it play out in front of your eyes. I imagine it must be what authors feel like when their books are made into movies. Maybe that's the next step, huh?

I'll leave you with some brief sneaky peeks:

Buy 1 get 1 free

By now, you're all probably well aware of my twin series Daughter of Fire and Son of Rain. If not, the easiest way to explain is it that I have two series, each of which follows one half of a Romeo and Juliet style paranormal love affair. The two stories follow the same timeline, and although they cross over in places, each character has a very different story to tell. 
Through the Fire (Daughter of Fire Book 1)

Evie Meyers’ life is one spent on the run. Every minute of every day, her life is in danger if anyone should suspect the truth about her ancestry. Her father was willing to risk everything to keep the truth hidden, even from her, but the lies he fabricated were exposed when her high school crush, Clay Jacobs, inadvertently stumbled upon her secret. His discovery puts Evie at risk from a secret organization tasked with washing the world clean of nonhumans—and Clay is one of its deadliest soldiers. Forced into a war she doesn’t understand, all because of what she is, Evie is left with no choice but to flee with her father to escape persecution.
When Clay reappears in her life, battle scarred and mysterious, Evie is unprepared and terrified as he forces his way back into her heart. When the battle catches up with her, and a tragic accident tears apart the peace she discovered, she finds herself alone and without the protection of her father, or her lover. Now, she needs to keep her secrets hidden and learn to survive on her own in a world that wants her dead, all while searching for the missing piece of her heart.


Besieged by Rain (Son of Rain Book 1)

Clay Jacobs is a soldier. His family—elite members of a secret organization—are tasked with washing the world clean of all supernatural threats. Each new day brings the opportunity to fight at their side for a cause that he’s never doubted is just.‏ 
But Clay harbors a dangerous secret. The object of his teenage obsession was not human, and he failed to detect the truth until it was too late to destroy her. Even after she fled, he couldn't bring himself to report her. Now, the memory of the one who got away not only haunts him, it holds him captive and assaults him nightly. Unable to escape her hold on his mind, he races across the country to locate her and restore his sanity. Only instead of the monster he expects, he finds a woman who ensnares him with her charms. In her embrace, Clay dares to imagine a different life.
When his family discovers his betrayal, and threaten to destroy his dreams in the worst way imaginable, Clay has no option but to return to their side and convince them he’s back on the right track. Will he be able to play his part convincingly when the cause he’s spent most of his life fighting for is the very thing that will end his lover’s life?



*** NOW 2 for the price of 1 ***

For a limited time, you can purchase Through the Fire & get the companion novel, Besieged by Rain, free. That's both books for only $3.99. Offer available exclusively in the BDP store: http://ow.ly/MJifx 
COMING SOONRise from Ash (Daughter of Fire Book 2) 
Pre-order now:  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00X51B0RI
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00X51B0RI
http://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B00X51B0RI

Cover Reveal: Drifting Sands (The Warfield Hotel Mysteries, #1)

Author: C. J. Baty
As he approaches his fortieth birthday, Justin Warfield feels alone, drifting like the sand that blows along the beach near his family’s hotel. He has done exactly as his father wanted. Married the right girl and carried on the family tradition of running the Warfield Hotel. On paper things seem perfect, but happiness hasn’t been a part of his life for a very long time. Marcus Drummond once spent a summer with his best friend Peter at the Warfield Hotel and fell hard for Peter’s much older brother. Five years later he’s back, and this time hopes that Justin will see him as more than his kid brother’s friend. Sparks fly when the two meet again, but there are a few things standing in their way. The closet that Justin has himself buried in and someone on a killing spree, dumping bodies on the Warfield beach . . . victims that indicate Justin may be involved in some way.

Book Page Link: http://www.bottomdrawerpublications.net/#!drifting-sands/c1i4v
Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25547169-drifting-sands-

Who is Declan Reede?

http://www.whoisdeclanreede.com/

All Amity Allows Release Day Blitz

RELEASE DAY:
ALL AMITY ALLOWS

Cover by Soxational Cover Art

Synopsis:
Amity is a disillusioned angel. 

For countless millennia, she's helped her assignments find truth in their experiences and improve their lives. Once, she'd been tender and caring, but humanity's misuse of free will and her own missteps have left her jaded. 

Now, all Amity allows is the truth. Get in, get out, and never let them know that she’s there. That’s the motto she's lived by for years. She considers her latest assignment nothing more than the next in a long line of jilted lovers that she’s had to help. When her presence exposes more than either of them was ready for, will they be able to find the truths hidden deep within the other? Or will the fallout leave them both in tatters? 

The truth will set them free. 

Won’t it?
Purchase Links:
Amazon:US: www.amazon.com/dp/B00UPXINFG/UK: www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00UPXINFG/AU: www.amazon.com.au/dp/B00UPXINFG/
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...
Teasers:



Author Bio:
Michelle Irwin has been many things in her life: a hobbit taking a precious item to a fiery mountain; a young child stepping through the back of a wardrobe into another land; the last human stranded not-quite-alone in space three million years in the future; a young girl willing to fight for the love of a vampire; and a time-travelling madman in a box. She achieved all of these feats and many more through her voracious reading habit. Eventually, so much reading had to have an effect and the cast of characters inside her mind took over and spilled out onto the page. 

Michelle lives in sunny Queensland in the land down under with her surprisingly patient husband and ever-intriguing daughter, carving out precious moments of writing and reading time around her accounts-based day job. A lover of love and overcoming the odds, she primarily writes paranormal and fantasy romance.
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MichelleIrwinAuthorTwitter: https://twitter.com/writeonshell
Website: http://www.michelle-irwin.com/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8076291.Michelle_Irwin

Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cover Reveal: Wolf Dancer

 

Cover Design: RSDesignPlace Nico’s loved Olivia from afar, for what seems like forever, never quite finding the right time to tell her how he feels.Olivia sees herself as submissive…weak… She tries her hardest to skate under
the radar; following her father’s rules, when deep down she knows it
will never make him happy.  When an opportunity to escape appears,
Olivia grasps onto it, weaving a web of lies to keep her secret from her
father.Fate intervenes and Nico and Olivia, are thrust together, leaving Nico injured and fighting for his life.Now Nico has crashed into her life; he not only gives her a reason to
stay, he makes her want to be brave… Follow Nico and Olivia as they find
themselves, and each other; learning sometimes love requires sacrifice.







Born
and raised in N.E.England before moving to New Zealand in 2008. Rachel
now lives in Queensland, Australia with her Husband, three Children and
Golden Labrador.She is the Paranormal Romance Author of The Deadwood
Hunter Series and YA Paranormal Author of Winter Wolf (A New Dawn Novel)

She hopes you love her characters as much as she does :)Keep up to date with RachelTwitter: @Rach1986UK | Facebook | FacebookPage

Goodreads | Amazon | Website

Google+ | Blog

Juggling Act

I know . . . I know . . . once again my blogging tasks have fallen to the wayside. The only excuse I really have is that I'm trying to bring you a number of awesome stories in the shortest time feasibly possible (without sacrificing on quality). Unfortunately, one thing I've learned since Through the Fire went live in October is that while writing, editing, and formatting a book are important they're just the tip of the iceberg in demands for author time. There is social media to manage, online parties to arrange (and some offline ones too if your lucky), review requests, blog tours, blogging, release day promotion, networking, accounting and tracking income/expenses, scheduling, troubleshooting, the list goes on and sometimes it feels a little endless. And I'm not doing half the promotion of other authors I know/have seen who post in every Facebook group and comment on every "Teaser Tuesday" post around. Whether those posts get seen or not, whether it helps get them a sale or not, I have no idea. Some of them seem to be doing okay, but very few seem to put up their hands and say that they're not.

For me, this is all done around my family and my full time day job. I really do love it, but there are many, many days I wish I could have just one hour more to get a blog post up, or to finish editing the chapter, write another 1,000 words, something--anything--productive. There are people around who can help with elements of these things obviously, but at the moment my entire income from books, and my everything spare in my budget from my day job, is being spent on editing and cover design. These are two areas I refuse to sacrifice and skimp.

Because of all the different things authors need to be doing, the indie world ends up feeling like a great big juggling act. There are some days where I feel like I have all the balls in the air and am wowing the crowd with my prowess. There are other days where I feel like each ball has just dropped on my head in successive order and all I should do is bow off the stage and let the professionals do it. Most days though, I feel somewhere in the middle. Like I'm holding my own just by not letting the balls fall onto the ground. Blogging and networking are the two balls which have come the closest to falling lately, but hopefully once I'm through the current round of edits, I can dive across the stage to get them back in the air.

The one thing which I always try to remember is that whether the days are good or bad, I'm just lucky to be here playing with the balls at all. (*snort* sorry, I had to. I can only say balls so many times in one post before my juvenile part pipes up and considering that juvenile part is currently driving Declan's story, I can't suppress it too much hehehehe)

Never Say Never

As part of the Besieged by Rain tour promo, I did a blog post about the reasons authors should never say never.

I have learned that I need to follow my own advice more often.

I am currently doing something I said I'd never do. I'm polishing one of my fanfiction stories with the potential for publishing it as an original. Although "polishing" is probably being polite. The more accurate way to say it is probably that I'm completely dismantling it and reassembling the pieces to make a better, more cohesive whole.

The new story will follow the love and loss between Declan Reede and Alyssa Dawson. I can't wait to share it with you all . . . eventually.

The Horror of Children’s Stories

Today, I have the honor of hosting a guest post by Russell Proctor, author of The Red King, on horror in Children's Stories. I hope you enjoy, I certainly did. 

Picture this: a little girl has just thrown a bucket water over a Witch. What happens next is quite disturbing.“With these words the Witch fell down in a brown, melted shapeless mass and began to spread over the clean boards of the kitchen floor. Seeing that she had really melted away to nothing, Dorothy drew another bucket of water and threw it over the mess. She then swept it all out the door. After picking out the silver shoe, which was all that was left of the old woman, she cleaned and dried it with a cloth, and put it on her foot again.”Now let’s get this straight… a little girl calmly melts an old woman, sweeps the gooey slime she has become out of the door like so much swill, and then calmly cleans her shoe like this sort of thing happened every day.You might thing the extract is taken from the latest gore-filled treat from Permuted Press, but it’s actually from L. Frank Baum’s children’s classic The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, published in 1900. A children’s book. Of course, if you are only familiar with the 1939 Judy Garland film, you may remember the witch-melting scene was a little more wholesome. Certainly in the movie Dorothy didn’t have to clean up the disgusting sewage of what used to be a human being like she was doing a simple household chore. And in the movie version Dorothy felt pretty upset about the whole thing as well, even though the witch was evil and had tried to kill her.Take another story: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. Now there are no violent scenes in that timeless classic, surely? Admittedly the Queen of Hearts threatens everyone with having their heads chopped off, but no one is unfortunate to actually have it done. But most of the violence of the Alicebooks is more subtle. According to Hugh Haughton in his introduction to the Penguin Classics edition of Carroll’s books (1998), there is an underlying theme of eating and being eaten in the book. The characters are in more danger of being consumed by other characters than anything the Queen of Hearts might threaten. Alice eats and drinks various substances and changes size; the baby oysters are consumed by the Walrus and the Carpenter; the Hatter is obsessed by tea and bread and butter. There is also, of course, more overt violence: the Duchess physically abuses her baby son, the March Hare and the Hatter try to drown the Dormouse in tea, and the terrifying Giant Crow threatens Alice in the forest.It doesn’t end with those books. In Peter Pan by J.M Barrie, the fairy Tinker Bell is a right bitch. Her first act on seeing Wendy is to get Tootles to shoot her with an arrow in an attempt to kill her. He almost succeeds. Tootles is so distraught he asks Peter to kill him. Now, the point is that these are probably not events most people recall when remembering these tales. But they are there in the original books.There have, of course, been many criticisms of traditional fairy tales as being too violent. Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel and so forth contain considerable murder and mayhem. The difference between them and the more modern stories I’ve referred to is that these stories are folk tales, handed down over many years and added to, extended and changed over generations before being recorded by people like the Brothers Grimm. They were not written specifically for children. The adventures of Alice, Dorothy and Peter Pan were.So what do we make if this? Are these stories in their original forms just too violent? I say “in their original forms” because each of those I mentioned has been “toned down” when made into films. Disney and Warner Brothers made a point of changing things so the stories were more wholesome for tender readers (or, in their case, viewers). Dorothy melts the Wicked Witch, but feels bad about it at least. Admittedly, modern versions of Alice (I refer specifically to the recent Tim Burton CGI extravaganza) may take liberties with the plot in which they do present a more dangerous version of Wonderland than the Disney version. But this is a modern trend, I submit, and I’ll mention it again later.My point is (and I’ve taken a while making it) is that there is a wealth of trauma available to writers in children’s tales. Quite often where you wouldn’t expect it. In The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame, Toad not only steals a motor vehicle, he is actually in involved in numerous car accidents and is thrown in prison as a result. And I’m sure most of us remember the Narnia series by C. S Lewis, which tells of children not only fighting in wars but killing their adversaries with barely a nod at any feelings of guilt afterwards.Writers might well find ideas in these tales. And that’s a good thing. While I’m not condoning the exposure of children to violence, death and horror, it certainly can entertain the adult reader and inspire the adult writer. Back when these stories were written, I submit the world was a more violent place. There was no such thing as being an adolescent. One went from the caterpillar stage of childhood to the butterfly stage of adulthood without any inconvenient chrysalis stage of adolescence in between. People grew up earlier. Children’s books were violent because life was violent. It still is these days, but we don’t like to admit it and try to protect our children from its excesses. An example of this is the scene in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland where the Duchess throws her baby boy to Alice (who only just manages to catch him) after singing a song about how beating a child was a justifiable punishment for it sneezing. This would hardly have raised an eyebrow back in 1865. Children werebeaten. The world was perhaps no better or worse than it is today, but violence was condoned more and seen as an acceptable solution to social and domestic problems. Carroll was using violence as nonsense, and perhaps as a comment on the philosophy of child-rearing at the time: the air in the Duchess’s house was full of pepper, the baby sneezed as a result, and so the Duchess beat him. Problem solved.We would not condone such a practice today, even as nonsense, which is why this incident has not, my knowledge, been incorporated into any film adaptations of Alice so far ( I don’t include the Burton film there, as it is so far removed from the original story as to be a separate entity).Burton’s film does, however, seek to make an adult vision of Wonderland (with a bit of Looking-Glass Land added into it). And that is how the horror of children’s stories can be used to good effect. Tales like Frank Beddor’s The Looking-Glass Wars is a classic use of a classic to create something new and insightful.So horror is there in children’s stories. If you sit and read the originals and wonder why they all seem so different to what you thought they were about, or what you remembered when you read them as a kid, then I hope you can take a whole new delight in these children’s stories for grown-ups. And, as a writer, that they inspire you in your own tales of horror and fantasy.

Russell Proctor is the author of The Red King , out now from Permuted Press. It is a mash-up of Alice from the Lewis Carroll books and Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz battling a supernatural serial killer in Edwardian London. It is the first of his horror/fantasy series The Jabberwocky Book. Coming soon is his science-fiction novel about terrorism 400 years in the future, Days of Iron . Further information about him and his other novels and short stories can be found at his website, Facebook page and Goodreads profile.