Megan Morgan's Blog, page 45
April 6, 2016
E – Exposition
My A to Z Challenge theme is teaching you how not to write a book, or a short story, or any piece of creative writing whatsoever. For more information, including links to previous chapters and lessons, please refer to this post. Now buckle in and proceed with…
THE WORST ROMANCE NOVEL EVER WRITTEN IN 26 DAYS.
PANDORA’S TACKLEBOXBillionaire Highlander cowboy Hawk MacHardcastle is tired of living the jetset life of champagne, bucking broncos, kilts, fast cars, and burning bundles of cash for warmth. Desperate to find meaning in his life, he retires to his family’s isolated cabin in the wilds of New Jersey, on the shores of majestic Lake Latrine.
There, Hawk plans on self-reflection and pursuing the great love of his life—fishing. However, Hawk’s self-imposed loneliness comes to an end when he makes a most unusual companion and fishing buddy.
Dropsy Velvet was once a young woman living on the shores of Lake Latrine with her settler family. However, a curse turned her into a mermaid and now she lives, sad and alone, in the depths of the lake. She hasn’t had human contact for close to fifty years, thanks to everyone either being terrified of her or thinking they’re drunk when they see her—but Hawk may be the connection to the world she’s been craving. Charmed by her innocent face, sparkling wit, and huge bare breasts, Hawk decides to help her find a way to lift the curse, as she will lift his: the curse of ennui and affluenza. But time is running out, for something sinister wants to flush Latrine away forever.
Exposition“I don’t understand how a mermaid can exist.” Hawk squatted on the pier to get a better look at her. “Seems to defy all scientific logic.” Hawk was a man of reason. He’d never been one for fairy tales—those were for children and women who still thought a knight on a white horse would rescue them. His experience in the rodeo with white horses was they were dirty and bit extra hard.
“I know it seems silly to a smart man like you.” She swam up beside the pier and flopped her tail on it. “But it’s actually quite simple. The musculature of my tail propels the human part of my anatomy through the water. My tail begins at the L5 vertebra, and rather than having a human pelvis, I have the vertebral spine of a fish that tapers down into a caudal fin. My human flesh turns into scales below the waist, but I also have a layer of sebaceous fat to keep me warm under the water—it doesn’t change the appearance of my gorgeous human torso though, because that would be gross.”
Hawk rubbed his beard, his thoughtful eyes narrowed in consideration. “How do you breathe underwater though? Do you have gills or human lungs?”
“Both!” she chirped. “I have gills on my neck and under my ribs, but when I’m out of water you can’t see them, because again, that would make me really unattractive and freakish.” She slithered her tail off the pier and glided across the water on her back, her breasts glowing like crystal orbs in the sunlight. “We can’t have that, can we?”
WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED HERE?
This is aimed in particular at sci-fi, fantasy, and paranormal writers, or anyone who writes fiction that’s not entirely based in our world. If you’re going to create your own universe and mythology, of course it must be explained to the readers, but do so creatively and delicately. Exposition is another form of info dumping and if you do it wrong, no matter how clever your made-up world is, it’s going to be distracting. Explain things when they need to be explained, and without butting in, so it’s part of the narrative and doesn’t turn a story into a textbook. Heavy-handed detail dumps jar the reader out of the story.
You should know every detail of how your fantastical universe works, but you should start writing the story as if your reader already knows it as well. Tell a story, first and foremost. When explanation is needed, that’s when it should be inserted. This doesn’t need to be done by characters describing their anatomy to each other. Sometimes it’s okay for the author to explain something in the right place and then keep going. Build a world brick by brick, not by dropping a load of them on your reader.
Filed under: A to Z Challenge 2016, Pandora's Tacklebox Tagged: blog hop, creativity, funny, paranormal, romance, writing
April 5, 2016
D – Dialog
My A to Z Challenge theme is teaching you how not to write a book, or a short story, or any piece of creative writing whatsoever. For more information, including links to previous chapters and lessons, please refer to this post. Now buckle in and proceed with…
THE WORST ROMANCE NOVEL EVER WRITTEN IN 26 DAYS.
PANDORA’S TACKLEBOXBillionaire Highlander cowboy Hawk MacHardcastle is tired of living the jetset life of champagne, bucking broncos, kilts, fast cars, and burning bundles of cash for warmth. Desperate to find meaning in his life, he retires to his family’s isolated cabin in the wilds of New Jersey, on the shores of majestic Lake Latrine.
There, Hawk plans on self-reflection and pursuing the great love of his life—fishing. However, Hawk’s self-imposed loneliness comes to an end when he makes a most unusual companion and fishing buddy.
Dropsy Velvet was once a young woman living on the shores of Lake Latrine with her settler family. However, a curse turned her into a mermaid and now she lives, sad and alone, in the depths of the lake. She hasn’t had human contact for close to fifty years, thanks to everyone either being terrified of her or thinking they’re drunk when they see her—but Hawk may be the connection to the world she’s been craving. Charmed by her innocent face, sparkling wit, and huge bare breasts, Hawk decides to help her find a way to lift the curse, as she will lift his: the curse of ennui and affluenza. But time is running out, for something sinister wants to flush Latrine away forever.
Dialog“You’re a mermaid?” Hawk asked.
“Yes,” she said. She lifted her great shimmering tail out of the water and slapped it back down, splashing him.
“I’m not just drunk?” he asked. He looked at the two bottles in his chair’s cupholders. Usually, it took a full keg just to give him a buzz, because his body was so ripped and full of testosterone.
“No,” she said.
“I didn’t know there were mermaids in the Latrine,” he said.
“Just one mermaid.” She sighed.
“How did you get in there?” he asked.
“I was cursed…cursed by an evil witch to spend my days in this form,” she said.
“A witch?” He gasped. “There’s witches around here too?” Everything he knew about Latrine was a lie, apparently.
“There used to be one around here,” she said. “They now say she hides in the forest.”
“Is she a hippy?” he asked. “How does she survive in the forest?”
“Her magic is ancient and powerful,” she said. “I fear one day she will emerge and take me as her captive, forever.”
He narrowed his eyes and puffed out his chest. “Not on my watch,” he said.
WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED HERE?
Good dialog is a beautiful thing. It can break up chunks of text that would otherwise make a reader’s eyes glaze over. It can move the story forward. It can tell you a lot about the characters, their emotions, and their motivations. When each character has a distinct and effortless voice, dialog is juicy and interesting, like overhearing gossip.
What can ruin dialog? As seen above, too many speech tags. ‘He said’ and ‘she said’ or ‘he/she asked, sighed, yelped, screamed, or ejaculated’ makes dialog choppy and awkward. If characters are distinct enough, there’s spots where you don’t even need speech tags, because the reader will know who is speaking. Also, combining actions with speech is a much more effective way of indicating who is speaking and the prose flows better. For example, instead of writing: “I never met a real-life mermaid,” Hawk said. “I must be dreaming.” A better example is: “I never met a real-life mermaid.” Hawk gazed at her in wonder, unable to tear his eyes away from her succulent dorsal fin. “I must be dreaming.” This not only makes the dialog smoother, but tells you something about the characters, as well. Like how a mermaid with a dorsal fin sounds much cooler than a regular old mermaid.
Make your dialog sound like people having a conversation, not like robots beeping back and forth.
Filed under: A to Z Challenge 2016, Pandora's Tacklebox Tagged: advice, blog hop, creativity, funny, romance, writing
April 4, 2016
C – Characterization
My A to Z Challenge theme is teaching you how not to write a book, or a short story, or any piece of creative writing whatsoever. For more information, including links to previous chapters and lessons, please refer to this post. Now buckle in and proceed with…
THE WORST ROMANCE NOVEL EVER WRITTEN IN 26 DAYS.
PANDORA’S TACKLEBOXBillionaire Highlander cowboy Hawk MacHardcastle is tired of living the jetset life of champagne, bucking broncos, kilts, fast cars, and burning bundles of cash for warmth. Desperate to find meaning in his life, he retires to his family’s isolated cabin in the wilds of New Jersey, on the shores of majestic Lake Latrine.
There, Hawk plans on self-reflection and pursuing the great love of his life—fishing. However, Hawk’s self-imposed loneliness comes to an end when he makes a most unusual companion and fishing buddy.
Dropsy Velvet was once a young woman living on the shores of Lake Latrine with her settler family. However, a curse turned her into a mermaid and now she lives, sad and alone, in the depths of the lake. She hasn’t had human contact for close to fifty years, thanks to everyone either being terrified of her or thinking they’re drunk when they see her—but Hawk may be the connection to the world she’s been craving. Charmed by her innocent face, sparkling wit, and huge bare breasts, Hawk decides to help her find a way to lift the curse, as she will lift his: the curse of ennui and affluenza. But time is running out, for something sinister wants to flush Latrine away forever.
CharacterizationHawk was just about to cast his line out, when a faint ripple in the water caught his ultra-keen attention. His parents had named him Hawk, after all, because of his nearly inhuman eyesight that was evident even at birth. He caught the little details other people missed in everyday life. That’s why he’d created MacHardcastle Feminine Products—he could tell by the way women walked when they were on their periods, and he wanted to offer them a product that disguised their unsightly time of the month.
“Is that damn shark back?” Hawk stood, clutching his rod. “Maybe he wants some more of these mighty fists.”
Instead, something else rose from the water, inch by inch—first, a shimmering head of golden wet hair, like gilded seaweed. Next, the face of a goddess, with crystalline blue eyes and red Cupid’s-bow lips. After that, a svelte pale torso that seemed to be carved from alabaster, graced with two huge, bare, buoyant breasts. Hawk was mesmerized—never in his life had he seen firmer, rounder, more succulent, delicious, tempting…eyes. For a moment he thought it was a skinny dipper, and then a great blue and green fish tail flopped in the water behind her.
She giggled, the sound of it like music on the warm breeze. “Hello, stranger.” Her voice rang like a clear bell at dawn. “I’m Topsy Velvet, the Latrine mermaid. I can be your catch of the day, if you like.”
WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED HERE?
Have you ever met a perfect human being in real life? I mean, one that is physically, mentally, morally perfect, who saves orphans from burning buildings while composing magnificent operas and lifting weights while eating only healthy, organic food? And this person is also funny, brilliant, charming, and a Nobel Peace Prize winner? No? Would you even want to know someone like that? Flawless people don’t exist in real life and they shouldn’t exist in fiction either, because they have the same effect—they make you groan and roll your eyes.
Characters shouldn’t be perfect. It’s their flaws that help us connect with them, that make them real people–their struggles, the things they’ve overcome, the blessings they’ve done without but made their way in life anyway. Think of your best friend, your mother, your own child—do you love them for the things they can do, or the things they’ve done despite the obstacles they face? Courage and growth is much more interesting than just being crowned with greatness. The characters we connect with are the ones we identify with and admire for their struggles, just like people in reality. Life is hard and it sucks. No one is majestic and flawless, not even your favorite celebrities—that’s just makeup and stage lighting.
When two perfect people meet in a book it’s not a story, it’s author wish-fulfillment.
Filed under: A to Z Challenge 2016, Pandora's Tacklebox Tagged: advice, blog hop, creativity, funny, romance, writing
April 2, 2016
B – Backstory
My A to Z Challenge theme is teaching you how not to write a book, or a short story, or any piece of creative writing whatsoever. For more information, including links to previous chapters and lessons, please refer to this post. Now buckle in and proceed with…
THE WORST ROMANCE NOVEL EVER WRITTEN IN 26 DAYS.
PANDORA’S TACKLEBOXBillionaire Highlander cowboy Hawk MacHardcastle is tired of living the jetset life of champagne, bucking broncos, kilts, fast cars, and burning bundles of cash for warmth. Desperate to find meaning in his life, he retires to his family’s isolated cabin in the wilds of New Jersey, on the shores of majestic Lake Latrine.
There, Hawk plans on self-reflection and pursuing the great love of his life—fishing. However, Hawk’s self-imposed loneliness comes to an end when he makes a most unusual companion and fishing buddy.
Dropsy Velvet was once a young woman living on the shores of Lake Latrine with her settler family. However, a curse turned her into a mermaid and now she lives, sad and alone, in the depths of the lake. She hasn’t had human contact for close to fifty years, thanks to everyone either being terrified of her or thinking they’re drunk when they see her—but Hawk may be the connection to the world she’s been craving. Charmed by her innocent face, sparkling wit, and huge bare breasts, Hawk decides to help her find a way to lift the curse, as she will lift his: the curse of ennui and affluenza. But time is running out, for something sinister wants to flush Latrine away forever.
BackstoryAfter vanquishing the shark, Hawk retrieved his trusty titanium fishing rod, his tackle box full of exotic lures and steel hooks, and his favorite camping chair with the cupholders in each arm to hold two 40-ounce cans of the finest craft beer, and got down to what he’d really come to Lake Latrine to experience, the great love of his existence—fishing.
Hawk sat down and began baiting his hook, and reflected on his existence and what had brought him to this point, alone on the shores of a lake deep in the majestic New Jersey wilderness. Born in the bathroom of a nightclub because his wealthy mother had so much plastic surgery she didn’t know she was pregnant, his life seemed to be destined for the icy toilet waters of life. His father, the lord of a Highland castle, was out west at the time procuring a fine steed for his collection of bucking broncos. Hawk would grow up in a life of privilege, bagpipes, and rodeos, but very little love from his aloof and self-involved parents.
He grew up attending the finest schools, wearing designer clothes, with only purebred dogs as pets, and only invited to the birthday parties of wealthy kids. His one joy was learning the cowboy way from his father and hearing the stories of his ancestral Scottish home. After graduating at the top of his class at Harvard, he started his own company: MacHardcastle Feminine Products, which would catapult him to the top of Forbes’ list of the most wealthy CEOs in America. When his mother died from drinking Botox, he buried her in a solid gold casket. His father disappeared into the vast deserts of New Mexico.
Wealth and fame was hard on Hawk, and he soon came to find drinking Dom Perignon from a supermodel’s bra and having his bedroom wallpapered with hundred dollar bills left him empty and forlorn. A week ago, he made a decision—he drained his bank accounts and would spend the rest of his life at his parents’ luxury cabin on the shores of Lake Latrine, fishing his life away. From now on, it was nothing but trout, cold beers, and chigger bites for him.
WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED HERE?
It’s all well and good to know everything there is to know about your characters, at least the main ones. Write out their life stories in a notebook if you must and construct every intimate detail, down to the names of their childhood pets, so you can write them better and make them seem like real people. But for goodness’ sake, don’t pour all that information over your reader’s head, and certainly not all at once. That’s called info dumping.
Readers should learn the details of a character’s life as they’re needed and as they pertain to the story. These should also be gently delivered spoonful by spoonful, not via dumptruck. After all, when you meet someone in real life, do you instantly know everything about them? No. As your relationship grows, you get to know them better, bit by bit. And there are some things you may never know about that person, because it’s not important to your relationship with them, or it’s trivial, or they simply don’t want you to know. Your characters should be the same.
Filed under: A to Z Challenge 2016, Pandora's Tacklebox Tagged: advice, blog hop, creativity, funny, romance, writing
April 1, 2016
A – Annnd…Action!
My A to Z Challenge theme is teaching you how not to write a book, or a short story, or any piece of creative writing whatsoever. For more information, including links to previous chapters and lessons, please refer to this post. Now buckle in and proceed with…
THE WORST ROMANCE NOVEL EVER WRITTEN IN 26 DAYS.
PANDORA’S TACKLEBOXBillionaire Highlander cowboy Hawk MacHardcastle is tired of living the jetset life of champagne, bucking broncos, kilts, fast cars, and burning bundles of cash for warmth. Desperate to find meaning in his life, he retires to his family’s isolated cabin in the wilds of New Jersey, on the shores of majestic Lake Latrine.
There, Hawk plans on self-reflection and pursuing the great love of his life—fishing. However, Hawk’s self-imposed loneliness comes to an end when he makes a most unusual companion and fishing buddy.
Dropsy Velvet was once a young woman living on the shores of Lake Latrine with her settler family. However, a curse turned her into a mermaid and now she lives, sad and alone, in the depths of the lake. She hasn’t had human contact for close to fifty years, thanks to everyone either being terrified of her or thinking they’re drunk when they see her—but Hawk may be the connection to the world she’s been craving. Charmed by her innocent face, sparkling wit, and huge bare breasts, Hawk decides to help her find a way to lift the curse, as she will lift his: the curse of ennui and affluenza. But time is running out, for something sinister wants to flush Latrine away forever.
Annd…Action!Hawk MacHardcastle stood on the creaking wooden pier which stretched out into the toilet bowl-freshener blue waters of Lake Latrine. His biceps bulged and glistened in the golden July sun. His mane of fiery red hair flowed and rippled on the summer breeze. His burly beard bristled like a proud sea urchin. His massive hands were clenched into fists as he focused his steel-gray gaze on the creature before him.
Hovering in mid-air, having just launched itself from the depths of the lake, a hammerhead shark levitated before him. Its razor-sharp teeth gnashed in burgeoning rage as its fins flapped out a death march. The shark swished its mighty tail and beckoned Hawk to his doom. But Hawk was not doomed—for his punch was mightier than the strike of Thor’s hammer, and he smashed down the uppity shark with one blow. It fell back into the lake with a massive splash, creating a wave like a tsunami on a Japanese beach. An agonized roar followed it to its watery grave.
Hawk drew heaving breaths, his gigantic chest expanding and deflating like a well-oiled bagpipe.
“I came here to find peace,” he rumbled out, and turned his face away. A single tear rolled town his manly cheek. “But peace will never find me.”
WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED HERE?
Writers are often told to start their story with ‘action.’ This is to draw the reader in, set the tone of the story, and make someone want to read more (including whatever agent/editor you submitted it to). However, overdoing it to start things off with a kick can have the opposite effect of creating interest—making your story seem really absurd instead.
Rather than having your main character punch a levitating shark, start the story in a place where something important to your protagonist is at stake—or has just been lost. In other words, create ‘action’ that will become the reason for pushing the story forward and trying to resolve the situation your protagonist finds themselves in. Give the reader tension and conflict. This doesn’t have to be loud and boisterous, or even particularly ‘action-y,’ as long as the opening resonates emotionally. Making the reader ask “how will this get fixed?” as a hook is much better than a literal right hook.
Filed under: A to Z Challenge 2016, Pandora's Tacklebox Tagged: advice, blog hop, creativity, funny, romance, writing
March 27, 2016
March 23, 2016
Bloggy Blogstuff
I’m going to quiet down here on the blog until April 1st, when the A to Z Challenge begins. I’ve been blogging myself silly getting all the posts ready for April and I want to take a little breather before the chaos starts. I’m also co-hosting the Insecure Writer’s Support Group on April 6th. So I’ll be taking a little break from blogging until April 1st, unless there’s some exciting news to share. In the meantime:
If you missed my A to Z Challenge theme reveal on Monday, it’s right here. I’m so grateful for all the responses and folks who visited my blog! I’m a little nervous now, I hope I can live up to everyone’s expectations. I promise I’ll try to be entertaining, funny, and informative. Try! Also, there was some concern voiced and I want to assure my readers–I am NOT making fun of romance novels or romance authors with this theme. I am a romance author! The theme will focus largely on writing techniques and mechanics in general, I simply chose the romance novel format because that’s what I write. Yes, it’s supposed to be a silly parody with exaggerated details, but I promise I have the utmost respect for romance books and authors…I do hope you’ll visit and judge for yourself!
In other news, if you haven’t seen, I have a book up for nomination in The Romance Reviews Summer 2016 Readers’ Choice Awards. I need to get fifty nominations by the end of March to get into the actual voting-to-win round, and I’d really appreciate a nomination if you can spare one! I’m not quite halfway there yet. Last winter my novel The Wicked City won best urban fantasy in the same awards. You need to sign up for the site to nominate, but it’s quite easy. Thank you so much!
So that’s it, it will be quiet around here until April 1st–unless it’s not–so I can warm up my blogging muscles and take a little rest. I may also have a big (good) upheaval in my life over the next few weeks that will take my focus offline somewhat. However, I will still be around on Facebook and Twitter if you want to chat.
Have a lovely week! Get ready for April!
Filed under: Behind The Scenes, One Night In Cleveland Tagged: blogging, information, me, romance, updates
March 21, 2016
The A to Z Challenge Theme Reveal
My theme for this year I hope will be both educational and entertaining for my visitors. I’m going to teach you how to write…by showing you how not to write.
THE WORST ROMANCE NOVEL EVER WRITTEN IN 26 DAYS.
My hoped-for goal with this chosen theme, gentle readers and writers, is to teach you how not to write a book. Each day’s letter will explore a different component of creative writing and the worst way you could possibly implement it. From awful dialog to awkward foreshadowing, cartoonish villains and even more cartoonish heroes, useless details, too many details, plot that goes nowhere, and metaphor-laced drivel, there will be something to offend even the most seasoned writer/agent/editor/beta reader/long-suffering friend of an author who thinks they’ve seen it all. Take notes, learn, discuss, and most importantly–laugh.
Each ‘chapter’ will consist of four paragraphs or short pieces of dialog, not only for the sake of brevity, but so you don’t lose your mind.
I hope you’ll hang out with me in April and take some writing lessons—that may never leave you, for all the wrong reasons.
PANDORA’S TACKLEBOXBillionaire Highlander cowboy Hawk MacHardcastle is tired of living the jetset life of champagne, bucking broncos, kilts, fast cars, and burning bundles of cash for warmth. Desperate to find meaning in his life, he retires to his family’s isolated cabin in the wilds of New Jersey, on the shores of majestic Lake Latrine.
There, Hawk plans on self-reflection and pursuing the great love of his life—fishing. However, Hawk’s self-imposed loneliness comes to an end when he makes a most unusual companion and fishing buddy.
Dropsy Velvet was once a young woman living on the shores of Lake Latrine with her settler family. However, a curse turned her into a mermaid and now she lives, sad and alone, in the depths of the lake. She hasn’t had human contact for close to fifty years, thanks to everyone either being terrified of her or thinking they’re drunk when they see her—but Hawk may be the connection to the world she’s been craving. Charmed by her innocent face, sparkling wit, and huge bare breasts, Hawk decides to help her find a way to lift the curse, as she will lift his: the curse of ennui and affluenza. But time is running out, for something sinister wants to flush Latrine away forever.
Letter Schedule:
A – Annnd…Action!
B – Backstory
C – Characterization
D – Dialog
E – Exposition
F – Foreshadowing
G – Genre
H – Hyperbole
I – Idioms
J – Jargon
K – Kinesics
L – Local Color
M – Metaphor
N – Names
O – Onomatopoeia
P – Purple Prose
Q – Quandary
R – Red Herring
S – Show vs. Tell
T – Tension
U – Understatement
V – Villains
W – Winding Up the Climax
X – X-PLOSION
Y – You Did It!
Z – Zip It Up
I will update this list with links for each day as they go live and refer visitors back to this post for more information.
Looking forward to seeing you–and making you laugh–in April!
Visit the other theme reveals!
Filed under: A to Z Challenge 2016, Pandora's Tacklebox Tagged: blog hop, funny, romance, writing
March 17, 2016
Luck of the Irish by Liz Gavin
Happy St. Paddy’s Day! Today I’m hosting Liz Gavin and her paranormal romance Luck of the Irish. Liz is giving away a $50 Amazon or B&N gift card, so make sure to comment, check out the other stops on the tour, and enter the Rafflecopter giveaway! Liz is also here today to talk about how her novel was born.
Enter to win a $50 Amazon/B&N Gift Card
Leave a comment and check out the other stops on the tour for more chances to win!
How Luck of the Irish was born
by Liz Gavin
First of all, I’d like to thank the awesome team at Goddess Fish Promotions for putting together this blog tour. YOU ROCK!!
Second of all – and equally important – thanks to Megan for having me and Luck of the Irish on your blog today. You’re much appreciated.
Now let’s move on to the actual post. LOL
In 2011, my best friend convinced me to accompany him and his family in a 15-day trip to Europe. He actually had to convince me because I didn’t want to spend the money nor take time off work. My only demand was that I visited Ireland. Since there were nine people in the group and the majority preferred to spend time in London, which they had never visited, and I had already done so twice, my friend and I came to an agreement. I’d spend a day and a half in Dublin while they visited the London attractions I wasn’t interested in touring again.
Off I went to Dublin on a rarely sunny day which turned out to be quite a fun-packed one because I had to make the most of the little time I had. All the people I met there were welcoming and helpful. In a nutshell, I was so impressed with the places and the people that two years later when I decided to set my second novel in Ireland I still remembered the sounds, tastes, and scents of that magical day. So my explorations of the city pretty much became Keira’s.
As for the characters, Keira’s personality reflects a mix of mine and my youngest niece’s. My niece shares with Keira a lot of her insecurities. She’s crazy about music and one specific band makes her swoon – One Direction. Since I wanted to write about Ireland, I changed the band to U2 because I’m a huge fan who have always dreamed of going to one of their Dublin concerts. Just like Keira, I also bought tickets for a concert that was canceled. I planned a whole vacation in 2009 to watch them perform in LA. I convinced two friends to go with me and we bought air tickets from Brazil, the concert tickets, and booked a hotel. Two weeks before we flew out Bono had an accident while jogging and the emergency surgery put him out of commission for some time so the band canceled the shows. We still had fun because we traveled to California anyway much like Keira did. I also gave her some of my sarcasm, irony, and what I like to call persistence. Some people call it stubbornness. Well who cares what they say right? LOL
Like Keira, I too met a nice, helpful bartender at the Octagon Bar when I stayed at The Clarence Hotel. Unfortunately, he wasn’t as gorgeous as Declan and I didn’t fall in love with him. I got inspiration for Declan’s personality from a lot of nice guys I’ve met along the years plus the ideal man I’ve always dreamed about, which means he is PERFECT. But be aware that ‘perfect’ for me doesn’t mean flawless. He’s all too human. He can be pig-headed or insecure at times. But he’s the kind of man who’s strong enough not to fear showing his vulnerabilities. He’s intelligent and sensitive, caring and protective, supporting and encouraging. And have I mentioned G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S? hahaha
Except for Paul O’Hallon – I won’t give any spoilers here as to why I’m thankful I don’t know anyone like him – most of the supportive characters have personality traits from people in my family or my friends. In fact, I even make a cameo appearance along with some real-life friends plus I named some characters after my most dedicated alpha readers. It was the least I could do since they worked so hard to help me through the writing process. The two police detectives were inspired by my friend’s husband who’s a cop and who helped me understand police procedure beyond what I used to see on TV shows.
As far as the plot is concerned, when I first started writing Luck of the Irish I wanted to create a romantic story about a young woman’s journey of self-discovery in her search for love and self-assurance. I ended up writing a book about how she learns to defend herself against a psychopath in the direst of circumstances and finds out she is much stronger than anyone had ever imagined including herself. I also managed to tackle delicate subjects such as domestic violence and rape, which I never thought I’d talk about in one of my stories even though I find these issues to be extremely serious and important.
All things considered I can honestly say Luck of the Irish is in many ways very close to my heart and I’m honored to share it with you.
Thanks for stopping by today! Enjoy the tour and remember to check out the other blog stops for more chances at winning the giveaway!!
Keira Ashe’s parents are great but her mother has overprotected her for years. Now, this twenty-two-year-old Bostonian has graduated from college and can go on a trip she has been planning for years. She fears her shyness may get in the way of her enjoying what could be a life-altering adventure. However, Keira feels her luck is about to change when she meets gorgeous bartender Declan Slane.
Declan Slane is twenty-six and works at a hotel bar in Dublin. He hasn’t been very lucky in his love life so far. Also, he has got a troubled past he has chosen not to revisit in order to keep his sanity. Because he isn’t looking for a girlfriend, Declan isn’t very pleased to meet a certain breathtaking American who walks into his bar one afternoon.
Get a taste of adventure and heartache as Keira spreads her wings and matures while she gets to know her great-grandparents’ home country – Ireland. Hold your breath when she faces tough decisions and dangers. Root for Keira while she weighs up the consequences of making love for the first time. Bite your nails when she comes across unforeseen threats.
Liz Gavin’s second full-length novel is hard to put down just as it is hard to pinpoint its genre. She has woven an intricate web around her characters that will leave readers breathless. In the sizzling concoction, this talented new author poured heart-warming romance, heart-stopping suspense, and a dash of heart-searching paranormal. Take your pick. Regardless of the literary genre you might favor, Liz Gavin’s writing will take you to a whole different side of it.
EXCERPT:
He was responsible for her withdrawal, which made him feel like an asshole. He shouldn’t have gone bi-polar on her. He should have managed his emotions better. It wasn’t her fault he’d had a shitty love life. And it was not her fault if he couldn’t keep his damn lustful body in check.
Those thoughts didn’t help Declan, but caused new graphic scenes to invade his mind. For a while, he let himself indulge in them. If Keira were to stay, he would find a way to know her better.
I’d love to spend hours getting to know her—every little inch of her.
He closed his eyes imagining her perfect body under his—felt her silken skin under his fingertips. He wanted to kiss her until they were both breathless, discover her secret spots: what made her tick, moan, and shout his name.
“Declan!” her clear voice yanked him from the daydream. He looked at Keira, still in a daze, and she smiled. “The check please.”
He was mortified at the bulge in his pants, which prevented him from going to the table without making a bigger fool of himself than he had already made. So he pretended to study some papers instead.
“What’s your room number? I’ll add the check to your room bill.”
“Don’t I have to sign it?”
“Not necessary,” he lied, I’ll have to sign it myself because there’s no way in hell I can stand up right now, you little bewitching thing.
BUY LINK:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MS48JO0
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
When Liz Gavin was in Second Grade – just a couple of years ago, really – her teacher told her mother the little girl should start a diary because she needed an outlet for her active and vivid imagination. She was a talkative child who would disrupt the class by engaging her colleagues in endless conversations. She loved telling them the stories her grandfather used to tell her. Apparently, the teacher wasn’t a big fan of those stories, and Liz’s mother bought her a diary. She happily wrote on it for a couple of months. Unable to see the appeal of writing for her own enjoyment only, she gave up on it. She missed the audience her friends provided her in class. She went back to disturbing her dear teacher’s class.
Since then, she has become a hungry reader. She will read anything and everything she can get her hands on – from the classics to erotica. That’s how she has become a writer of erotica and romance, as well.
As a young adult, she participated in a student exchange program and lived in New Orleans for six months. She fell in love with the city and its wonderful inhabitants. NOLA will always hold a special spot in Liz Gavin’s heart. Nowadays, living in Brazil, Liz’s creativity has improved many times because it’s such a vibrant, gorgeous and sexy country.
Welcome to her world of hot Alpha males and naughty, independent women. Add a touch of the paranormal in the presence of some wicked souls and you’ll get the picture.
AUTHOR LINKS:
Blog: http://lizgavin.wordpress.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lizgavinauthor
Twitter: @LizGavin_author
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7360069.Liz_Gavin
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00F5BJC7Q
B&N Author Page: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/liz+gavin?_requestid=513766
Email: lizgavin@elessarbooks.com
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Filed under: Giveaways, Guest Posts, Holidays Tagged: guests, paranormal, romance
March 15, 2016
I need nominations!
One Night In Cleveland is up for nomination in The Romance Reviews Summer 2016 Readers’ Choice Awards! You may recall The Wicked City won best urban fantasy in the Winter 2015 Awards. I’m up against some stiff (no pun intended) competition, but I’d be happy just to be nominated. Each book must get 50 nomination votes to get to the actual voting-to-win round, so that’s what I’m shamelessly begging for today.
You need to be registered for the site to nominate (or use your Facebook account), but signing up is simple and fast. Nominations go on until the end of March. I’d be HUGELY grateful for nominations and any spreading the word folks would like to do. Again, this is NOT voting for the competition, merely giving the book nominations to get into the actual voting round.
THANK YOU for helping me out! (Also, if you have a book in there yourself, let me know–I’ll nominate you too!)
Click the banner below to nominate!
Filed under: Contests, One Night In Cleveland, Promotion Tagged: erotica, romance, tirgearr publishing
