Mandy M. Roth's Blog, page 91
February 12, 2012
John Reyer Afamasaga, Metafiction Author Interview by Michelle M. Pillow
John Reyer Afamasaga, Metafiction Author
By Michelle M. Pillow, www.michellepillow.com
Most of us in these technological times have heard the term GUI (Graphical User Interface, often pronounced "gooey") and even more of us are familiar with a little social phenomenon called Facebook. It is these two elements that create the forum to author John Reyer Afamasaga's postmodern intertextual style. An ongoing story told via Facebook (and later in eBook and other formats), the GUIOPERA is an end-to-end saga that, well, is probably a concept best explained by the author himself.
And this wouldn't be an exclusive Paranormal Underground interview if there wasn't a little bit of the otherworldly thrown into the mix. The ongoing, online story deals with the idea of multiple planes of existence and the concept of possession. The possessions are not inherently good or evil, but more of a fundamental concept of the world building.
Q: Who are you and what do you do?
John: I'm an online writer. I write Emotional Techno Fiction (etfiction) namely the GUIOPERA.
Q: In your work, etfiction and the GUIOPERA, you delve into the world of Possession. What inspired you to write about this?
John: I write in the genre called Metafiction, and to quote wiki it "…self-consciously addresses the devices of fiction, exposing the fictional illusion…" So with that said, I use external devices, such as the interview taking place to reinstate some of that intrigue that traditional fiction has. From wiki again, "It is the literary term describing fictional writing that self-consciously and systematically draws attention to its status as an artifact in posing questions about the relationship between fiction and reality…" In the story or the End-to-End Saga, Lazoo, Metofeaz, Le Mac & Afamasaga (LMLA-ink) the lead characters are linked by events that go back to sometime in the nineteenth century. The modern day story is twisted so it may be used as a cloaking device to distribute Intel amongst LMLA-ink and other Network operatives who fight corruption.
Possession is a device that was used by the author who also appears in the story under various guises to sell to the new operatives under his care, who were mostly gifted ex-cons, thieves, hit men and the like their new identities or covers. He instilled in each of the untrained operatives their new personas and therefore personalities which had to account for their natural tendencies with such conviction that it was likened to being possessed by an entity. In GUIOPERA 1 John Reyer even created a site in the Nevada desert, like a mecca where the new and young recruits would visit after their training he designed based on psychosynthesis technique "Transmutation," to find their Entity with Entitlement, a spirit worthy of possessing their shell or body and mind.
Q: What is GUIOPERA?
John: GUIOPERA stands for Graphical Interface Opera. I like to think of it as an app. It's the brand name for the online serial I write, incorporating its facets, it's delivered in a browser (GUI) and it's an opera in how the story has links to music on YouTube. A glorified story if you'd like.
Q: What is Trillion Cool? I see you post this word a lot on your Facebook page.
John: *TrillionCool* is a phrase, but also a tour that I'm currently on. The Halcyon Days following an apocalyptic first decade to the 21st century. The tour ends in 2020, during which I hope to write the GUIOPERA in as many countries around the planet possible. Hopefully I'll be able to talk about topics like "Sustainability" and "Economic Development" for developing countries, in and amongst writing the GUIOPERA.
Q: In the story you refer to the SFD, MMD and AMD? What do the acronyms stand for?
John: They're dimensions, where the entities roam looking for a Shell to inhabit. MMD or the MindMorph dimension is earth or the physical realm where Shells exist. The name derived from how our minds are morphed in consumerism by marketers making it; life on earth quite a freaky reality when we consider everything we do is planned for us. The SFD is the SenFenide Dimension or the dream dimension likened to our subconscious mind. The SFD is the negative of or inverted image of reality. The AMD is the AmalgaMension dimension, or the realm where everything is congruent. For the sake of self-development the apparatus is two step paradigm —the new recruit works in MMD and SFD sorting out their mind and finding out how they work, and progress onto the AMD. In the End-to-End Saga the apparatus; three universes in which the battle of good against evil is waged by entities inhabiting or possessing humans.
Q: When world building, did you base your story off of known myths throughout history?
John: Mostly based on the mind, influenced by Psychoanalysis by Sigmund Freud and Roberto Agasiolli. But that is only the rules or the constructs of each dimension. What goes on in the dimensions has a lot to do with my upbringing, a strict Christian one till I broke free in my teens.
Q: What myths or legends inspired you?
John: The Bible of course, I had little or no say in that. But then there was King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table and Robin Hood. And Dracula. Add to that my penchant for making stuff up, and I ended up with a cauldron of misfits cruelly cut up by some real life experiences of demonic possession of people around me.
Q: Why do you think readers, and society in general, are fascinated by the paranormal?
John: Logically speaking it's a reaction to the rigidness of life we lead, another form of escapism that is safe from an inquisitive mind's length away. On the other hand it's an all immersed alternative to religion's "sit in a pew, fold your arms, face the front" search for the truth to satisfy the soul.
Q: What are your favorite paranormal shows, movies and books?
John: I'm out of touch to be honest, have had my head buried in my writing for the past decade. Meeting you was the first time I really got to know about this.
Q: Do you believe in the supernatural? Or are you a skeptic?
John: Definitely witnessed supernatural up close and personal if Demonic Possession is counted.
Q: Have you ever had a paranormal experience?
John: I witnessed three cases of Demonic Possession and all of them happened to deeply religious people. A few interesting facts prevailed in all three cases. 1, the chilling air, ice cold no matter the insulation of the room or the weather outside. 2, the fear in the person's eyes, but the strength and will in their bodies. And 3, the fluency in the tongues they were speaking in was also chilling. Two of the people are still alive and still remained in their faith after the experience. The other died from an epileptic seizure which couldn't be dealt with due to the ferociousness of the occupation. The first two I witnessed growing up. The later, I witnessed in my late teens. I didn't know the person, but was only there as a friend of a friend who knew I was a Christian and thought that I could be of help as the possessed person, also a Christian, was a runaway.
Q: What kind of paranormal creatures do you wish you could meet?
John: A vampire Rom writer who believes in the supernatural? Is that an admissible answer in this forum? [image error]
Q: I see someone finally got their season of True Blood. *laughing* So, if given the chance, which of your dimensions/worlds would you want to live in?
John: It would be the AMD or the AmalgaMension dimension where all lessons learned have amalgamated resulting in congruency or in find the Authentic Self, you!
Q: How would you react if you came face to face with a ghost or vampire?
John: Ghost, I would question the reason why they're here. Vampire, I'd be on the phone straight away to King Bill –"Dude, I think I have Sookie and Eric's love child here, he wants to know if I have any True Blood …" lol.
Q: What does the future hold for your writing?
John: As I pointed out earlier, the *TrillionCool* is a phase and a tour I'm on till 2020. I hope to write thirteen GUIOPERA by the end of 2020. I'm on number four right now, starting on September 5th 2011.
Q: Have you ever been to a psychic?
John: I've had out of body experiences, seen a lot of stuff, and I still believe that only destiny knows the future, and fate waits for you tempt it. Indecision and doubt are angels of fate.
Q: Have you ever been abducted by aliens?
John: Not yet, not today anyways…
Thank you, John, for joining us.
GUIOPERA 4 began September 5, 2011. It's a free online read and can be found at either http://www.etfiction.com or by friending John's Facebook page at www.NewGlobalRealm.com Interview by Michelle M. Pillow, www.michellepillow.com
February 11, 2012
Excerpt from Performance Criteria
Excerpt from Performance Criteria
What do you get when you have an IQ that is off the charts, the inability to let go of someone you love and a lot of spare parts? The man of your dreams, of course.
Droid Wars, Book 1
Dr. Aeron Braxton is on the verge of unveiling her newest creation—a droid who can pass as either human or Vanos.
An alien race took the man she loved away from her, but her revenge is at hand. Aeron has rebuilt Brad into a living, breathing killing machine she hopes will save the outer quadrants from a mass Vanos invasion.
Too bad the brilliant scientist didn't calculate the probabilities of love getting in the way.
Product Warnings
This book contains hot, explicit sex and violence explained with contemporary, graphic language.
Copyright© 2006 Mandy M. Roth
All rights reserved — a Samhain Publishing, Ltd. publication
Planet Athena in the Epimetheus Quadrant of the A-QET73 System…
Brad pried the bay doors open, his heart feeling as if it were lodged in his throat as thoughts of something happening to Aeron filled him. He should have never agreed to leave her side. The idea of sending pact members to opposite corners of the galaxy to avoid capture hadn't sat well with him but he'd listened, to a point, respecting the others' wishes. Instead of completely leaving the planet, Brad declined a promotion and stayed on as a captain to assure he would be in the vicinity of Aeron's lab. He'd not told her his decision yet and had little doubt word would have reached her even if he wasn't showing up to face her.
It wasn't until he intercepted a transmission leaking Aeron's whereabouts that Brad knew he should have trusted his gut and never left her side. He'd wanted to take her with him and confess all he felt about her. Only one thing had prevented him from doing just that—Conell, her on-again, off-again boyfriend.
None of it mattered now. Aeron's safety was his only concern.
"Aeron," he called, rushing down the corridor towards her lab. The sound of his voice echoed off the walls and was the only response he received. Adrenaline coursed through his veins as Brad continued full force into Aeron's lab.
"Aeron!"
A quick look around the area showed no sign of her. Brad grabbed the end of a work station and fought for air not wanting to come. "Aeron, honey!"
"Ouch. Brad, is that you?" Her soft voice never sounded so sweet. She peeked up from behind a tall table, rubbing her head gingerly. "What are you doing here? I thought we agreed to—"
He was on her in an instant, dragging her petite frame against his body and holding her close. She smelled of mint and Brad knew Aeron had been playing with her hydroponics garden again.
"Brad?"
"You're safe? Not hurt? Unharmed? All right?" He visually scanned her, searching for any indication she was injured but finding none.
A tiny laugh came from her and tugged at his heartstrings. "I'm fine but aren't you Captain Redundant. Could you think of any more ways to ask if I'm okay? Want to tell me why you're here?" She pressed her cheek to his chest and he felt the tension in her ebb away. "Not that I'm complaining or anything."
"I need to get you somewhere safe, Aeron," he said, not wanting to let go. Holding her felt right. "_They_ know where you are."
She tensed. "How?"
He'd wondered the same thing when he'd intercepted the transmission leaking her location. Brad would have assumed a pact member turned on Aeron if he didn't already know better. Each member was loyal to the cause—protecting humans from an all-out Vanos invasion. Aeron had also been one of the few pact members who remained on the planet Athena. She'd been adamant about not leaving her work behind and Brad had been equally as stern on her going. In the end, Conell stepped in, trumping Brad's decision. "I don't know, honey."
Aeron leaned back and lifted her sandy blonde brows to form a question on her face. "Brad, you're acting strange. You just called me honey."
"Is Conell here?" He didn't have time to worry about slips of the tongue. He needed to get her somewhere safe.
She shook her head. "No. He left, like almost everyone else did."
Anger coursed through Brad's body. As much as he hated knowing Conell held Aeron's heart, he hated the knowledge the man had left her alone more. The pact agreement didn't mean a thing. Not when it came to Aeron's safety. Brad would move the heavens to assure she was well. "Come on, we need to get you back to your father's ship. Is it still docked in the south bay?"
"Yes but it's not been serviced in the last six months." She closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath. "I couldn't do it, Brad. Not after they killed him. Being around the ship reminded me of my father too much. It's not ready to fly. Not yet." Aeron's bottom lip trembled as fear crept into her voice. "Brad?"
"Shhh, it's fine, Aeron. Every time you and the others got going on a new theory, I got the hell out of here and hung out on your father's ship. I've kept up on it. In fact, I think it's one of the best vessels out there." Unable to stand the sight of her frightened, Brad leaned his head down and pressed his lips to hers. He waited, stuck in the moment, sure she'd push him away. She didn't. Instead, Aeron parted her lips for him, allowing Brad to ease his tongue in. The kiss was intoxicating, stealing Brad's ability to do anything other than lose himself in the taste of her sweet lips.
The second Aeron went to her tiptoes and slid her hands into the back of his hair, Brad pulled her towards the ground, too many years worth of wanting but never having built up behind him to stop. It felt so good to finally have her with him. He wouldn't think about tomorrow, about how she'd no doubt push him away. No. He'd concentrate on the here and now.
Something whizzed past his head and his military training kicked in. Brad shielded her body with his as shots from a Vanos weapon flew by. He knew the ammunition they packed was often filled with a substance that ate human flesh. Having Vanos blood in him would retard the destruction, to a point, if he was hit. If Aeron was hit, she wouldn't heal.
A beaker exploded, raining glass down on them. Brad kept Aeron tucked safely beneath him. When he realized she hadn't made a sound, his worst fear hit him head on.
She's dead.
"Aeron?" He leaned back enough to look down at her. Her blue eyes were wide as she clung to him.
She peeked out. "Are they gone?"
"No," he said, relief breaking in his voice. "Are you hurt?"
Shaking her head, she whimpered before grabbing his neck and coming away with blood. "You're bleeding!"
"Just a scratch, baby." He planted a chaste kiss on her forehead and then rolled off her. "Stay put."
"Brad." She grabbed his hand. "They'll kill you."
He drew his sidearm and winked. "Not if I kill them first. Promise you'll stay here."
She nodded and he took one last chance to stare at her. Telling her how he really felt for her was on the tip of his tongue but he held back. He'd get her to safety and then tell her once they were airborne. Brad tugged his hand free of Aeron's and forced a smile to his face. "We'll get through this, Aeron."
***
Aeron watched in horror as Brad bolted upright and began firing off shots. The enemy returned fire—a multitude of bullets, breaking glass and fumes from lab experiments now destroyed filled the room. Each time something popped, Aeron yelped. She rolled to her side and onto broken glass. It bit at her exposed skin but she ignored the pain, too worried about Brad's welfare to mind.
She peeked around the side of the table and came face to face with a dead Vanos. Shocked, she lurched back, raking her legs through more broken glass. A portable microbiology system crashed to the floor next to her, a piece of its glass front flying wide and lodging into her upper leg, as sparks popped out of the back end of it. The cut, while superficial, resulted in a large quantity of blood. She pulled the shard free of her leg, careful to avoid cutting herself further.
Brad seized hold of her arm and yanked her to her feet. Aeron knew better than to question his judgment when it came to matters such as these. Brad was a soldier and a damn fine one at that. If he wanted to move, she'd follow blindly.
She touched her swollen lips with her free hand, still in awe he'd kissed her. For years she'd wanted him. When it finally happened, their kiss had literally been explosive.
He led her towards the double bay doors and stalled, just a second, as he raked his gaze over her. "Aeron, you're bleeding."
"It's just a—"
Something loud sounded and she watched in what felt like slow motion as Brad's body lifted off the ground. He fired his weapon towards the doors a nanosecond before he released his hold on it and continued his decent.
It took Aeron's brain a moment to catch up with what she saw—Brad, lying on his back. An array of wounds littered his once unmarred body. The only part still recognizable was his face. Bile rose and she steeled her nerves for the time being as she glanced towards the door and spotted a dead Vanos there.
"B-brad?" She reached out tentatively, already knowing the worst had come true. "No."
Instinct kicked in and Aeron shut off her emotions, focusing on Brad instead. She launched into the steps necessary to save him, if it were possible, all the while blocking out the sounds of station police heading her way. Help was coming, but for Brad, help was already too late. As his blood coated her hands, she knew she would do everything in her power to make this right.
Bending down, Aeron pressed her lips to his cheek and released a secret she'd held dear. "I love you"
Brad's hand jerked and Aeron dismissed it as nerves but silently prayed the action meant some part of him could still hear her.
February 8, 2012
MwM Author Spotlight: Jenna Ives
Marketing with Mandy Author Spotlight: Jenna Ives
Q: Tell us a little about your experience with Samhain Publishing as well as self publishing.
A: Samhain is an awesome publisher. They have great distribution and are very supportive of their authors. I'm very happy with them, but I decided to self-publish my novella Snow White And Her Seven Lovers to "test the waters" of self-publishing, since some authors are doing really well in this new frontier of publishing! My Snow White story came out on December 26.
Q: What tips/tricks do you use for marketing or promoting your own titles?
A: I try to think outside the box for promo tie-in opportunities. I always make a really big push at Christmas and Valentine's Day, since romances are a natural at those times of the year. I did a "Heat Up Your Holidays" book signing at a local lingerie store, and it was so successful they invited me back for Valentine's Day!
Q: What is one thing you'd want to tell a newer author, just coming into the game?
A: My marketing advice for any new author is that even if you're published with a traditional publisher, there's always some additional publicity you can get for yourself: pitch yourself as a "success story" to your local newspaper, college alumni magazine, or, if you happen to write about a particular thing (cats, knitting, martial arts, etc) pitch yourself to a magazine that focuses on those topics. No one will work harder for you than you yourself!
Q: Could you tell us a bit about your latest release?
A: My new novella is called Snow White And Her Seven Lovers, and it's an erotic twist on the classic fairy tale. Here's the blurb for the story, which is written in first-person from my heroine's point of view:
What's a girl to do when she wakes up poisoned in the ER and finds that she's lost her memory, her family, and very nearly her life?
That was me. Three months ago. With no identity, no money, and nowhere to go on the day I was discharged from the hospital, I gratefully accepted my gorgeous ER doctor's offer to move in with him and his equally gorgeous six friends – the ones who'd found me unconscious in an apple orchard. My plan was to stay until my memory returned, and I could figure out who I was and if someone really had tried to kill me.
Together with Doc, these were an amazingly diverse bunch of guys, but there was something about each of them that attracted me powerfully enough to want to explore it. The policeman with his clever handcuffs. The cunningly linguistic librarian. The disciplinarian teacher. The virgin computer whiz who loved to play sex games. The engineer who created shotgun orgasms. The wildly imaginative baker.
Becoming intimate with these seven men completed me in ways I suspected discovering my name never would. That is, until the fateful day a man showed up claiming to be my fiancé…
Conflict with lots of steamy love scenes! But by far, my most favorite part of this story was figuring out real-life jobs for these seven men. Doc (of course) is the ER doctor who saves my heroine's life after she's poisoned, but can you guess which of the above are Sleepy? Dopey? Grumpy? Sneezy? Bashful? Happy?
Q: Can you tell us a little about your current WIP's?
A: My Samhain release is called The Initiation Of Isabella, and believe me, you'll be hot to join this sorority after reading this story! I'm currently working on another college co-ed and her sorority initiation…
Q: How did you get into writing?
A: Well, as the oldest child, I was always making up stories to keep my two brothers and sister entertained. When I became an adult, the stories just kept coming!
Q: How do you balance family and writing?
A: Sometimes with the craziness of family life (plus a day job!) it's very hard to find time to write, but you just have to sit your butt in the computer chair and do it. Writing is fun, but you also have to think of it as a job, or else you won't treat it seriously.
LINKS:
February 7, 2012
Make a Story Stronger: Mental Illness
Authors,
I put a call out on the web, asking people who work in various fields or who have certain hobbies to step forth and tell me what bothers them when reading a book that talks about what they do or what they know quite a bit about. Here is one of the responses to my call out. –Mandy M. Roth
*
Make Your Writing Stronger Series is professionals in varying fields giving their personal opinions on their area of expertise. These do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the blog owner.
Dealing with Mental Illness in Books by Jennifer Watts
I read a story once that was talking about the heroine's brother who had some sort of mental disorder. That's all fine and well until I read what the disorder is supposed to be versus what the brother's actually doing. And what he was doing in no way fit his disorder in the book.
And here's my gripe…if someone wants to include mental illness in their stories they need to do enough research to describe it accurately. Leaning only toward a mental diagnosis is referred to as the medical model of mental health. Looking at family history, current stressors, lifestyle, religious views, and behaviors that could lead to a diagnosis are more of the systemic and family therapy model of mental health. Either way is plausible and can be written very well if the author invests the time in it. I just wish authors would portray their characters accurately if they wish to use this as part of a story arc.
Q:How should an author handle this, what tips do you have to help them better their book?
A: Honestly, I think the easiest way for an author to get the most accurate research without diving into the DSM-IV-TR is to look up what type of mental disorder they want to portray. The DSM basically has a recipe list of each disorder…if the person doesn't have the right behavioral symptoms they don't have the disorder. You can get some great information online about what the traits and symptoms of a disorder are and then incorporate those into the book with the character. It would probably be best to check several sites just to make sure the consensus is the same if you want to go that route.
But to say a character has OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) and then show the symptoms as going into rages and not being able to remember them is only going to show the author didn't take the time to do their research. And if an author wants to get really in depth they could ask a counselor or psychologist what would be the best way to display a certain disorder in a fictional character.
Jennifer Watts
Thank you, Jennifer for helping to make a story stronger!
If you'd like to help authors make a story stronger by lending tips or suggestions from your field of interest please contact me.
mandyATmandyrothDOTcom
February 5, 2012
Many Faces of Peter (Happy Cocking)
(older post that deserved time in the light again)
Funny edit moment, brought to you by me.
I just have to wonder about the reasoning behind changing a line from eased his cock into her to eased his happy cock into her. Is there any other kind of cock at that moment?
I hardly think it would be a wary wiener. Or a tired tool. Maybe a sad sword. How about a daft shaft? Hmm, resistantrubigo? No.A pensive penis? A naughty nightstick? A mean member? We could go with lucky lance. Or caring key?
I'm unsure but I do have a hard time thinking sex organs require antidepressants but then again that might just be me.
February 3, 2012
Excerpt from Going the Distance
The ultimate battle is waged with one's heart.
Paranormal Deathmatch, Book 1
Extreme fighting champion Quinn Padgett once had it all. Fame, fortune, freedom. One fateful night it was all stripped away, and for two years the alpha male has endured a torturous life, doing the bidding of a madman in a different kind of ring. The Deathmatch, where the only rule is kill or be killed.
It's as primal as it gets, and Quinn must draw on all his werewolf instincts to survive. Especially with Carri. Her very presence brings him to his knees, demanding he do all to protect her.
Carri had no idea how close danger lurked until she witnessed her boyfriend's sick idea of "entertainment". Now all she wants is to get away from the bastards who are hell-bent on ridding the world of that which they do not understand. But her boyfriend's reach is long–and brutal. Quinn is her only hope. And the only man who awakens a fire within her, body and soul.
As Quinn and Carri go on the run in a fight for their lives, they find themselves engaged in an even deeper and more dangerous battle–a battle of the heart.
Warning: This book contains a kick-ass alpha male, a crazed madman, towel-dropping sexual tension, smokin' hot sex, a woman who is more than capable of taming the beast, and the normal "Mandy" death, destruction and mayhem.
If you enjoyed Going the Distance by Mandy M Roth, please try Project Exorcism, Immortal Ops, Sacred Places or Gypsy Nights all by Mandy as well.
Copyright © 2009 Mandy M. Roth
All rights reserved — a Samhain Publishing, Ltd. publication
"You staying late?" Crosby asked as he held his bag over one shoulder. He was going through a painful separation from his long-time girlfriend and spent as much time as he could lending a hand at the gym.
Quinn glanced at his cousin, not really understanding the whole long-term relationship thing. When he found a woman he liked, he fucked her. That was all there was to it. He didn't ask for more and he didn't want more. Crosby was altogether different. He wanted to settle down and have the American Dream. The idea made Quinn shudder. Who in the hell wanted a picket fence and two point two children? Not him. "Yeah."
"Want me to stick around? I could help you train?" The hopeful look in his cousin's eyes was enough to make Quinn smile. As the Extreme Fighting Champion, Quinn was considered the shit around the gyms. Crosby got a kick out of the fact he chose to train in a gym in the area, rather than a big fancy one. The guy didn't have room to talk. He still owned a rundown hotel in the neighborhood and also owned a big swanky one in the city.
"Nah, you go on home. I have it on good authority your mother made a big dinner and is expecting you." One untimed hit by Quinn and Crosby would be dead. Didn't matter that the guy also carried the blood of the wolf in him, that he was a wolf breed, and had the ability to shift forms like Quinn. He didn't have the strength and the years of experience behind him. He wasn't an alpha like Quinn. Not yet anyway. In a few years, maybe. For the time being, it would be too easy to accidently hurt him and that wasn't something Quinn wanted to do.
Crosby groaned, kicking a foot out a little. "She called here lookin' for me, didn't she?"
"Maybe," Quinn said with a slight smirk. "It's a good thing. Means she cares and worries about you." He refrained from commenting on how much he'd give to have his mother alive and worrying about him. He motioned to the back of the gym. "Hit the lights for me back there on your way out. I'm gonna stay here, do some reps and then shower."
"Sure thing, man." Crosby did as instructed and hurried off.
Quinn ran through two sets of free weights and then moved on to jumping rope. It helped his speed and agility, plus he tended to get lost in thought while doing it. A faint noise cut through the silence of the gym.
"What the hell?" Quinn stopped his training, set the jump rope aside and listened with his ultra-sensitive hearing. Assuming he'd imagined the sound, he moved to the next step in his nightly routine. He stood before the heavy bag, his hands bare and ready to strike. His knuckles were long since scarred over, no longer requiring tape or attention. He struck the bag and at the same moment, the noise returned.
"Arghh."
His body cramped. Never had he responded to a sound in that way before. It was crippling, seeming to center in his groin. Catching his breath, his entire body strained as he listened for more. He heard it again and this time it was unmistakable.
A woman's screams.
Not just any woman. One who was able to call upon his primitive side. The wolf that was as much a part of him as the very air he breathed raised its hackles, wanting to be freed. It was a side of himself he wasn't embarrassed by, but one he didn't let out often. When he did, bad things happened. In human form, Quinn wasn't a man to be messed with. In wolf form, he was downright deadly.
He couldn't deny going towards the woman in need. Her draw was unlike anything he'd ever experienced before and resistance was futile. She needed help and he needed her. It was basic but true.
Quinn had friends who had suffered through something similar—the inability to reject a certain pull or call to a female. In the end, it was because they were a destined pair. Mates. If it held true, that meant his mate really did exist and that she was in dire need of him.
"It's my fucking imagination."
He rolled his shoulders, doing his utmost to disregard what seemed painfully obvious. The odds were too high. There was no way he had a mate and that she'd be close enough for him to hear. The woman screaming was probably someone fooling around, having a laugh. The theatre district wasn't far from the gym and more than once the actors had left the buildings late at night, carrying on so loudly one would think Armageddon was nearing. In the end, there was nothing really wrong with any of them. Didn't stop Quinn from being fooled into checking on them. Not this time. No. This time he'd ignore their ruckus. He was sick of falling for their crap.
He placed his attention upon the heavy bag, doing all he could to clear his head. The screams came again, taking with them his ability to turn a deaf ear. Something was wrong. The terror in the female's voice was too real, too full of emotion to be staged.
He snarled, the beast moving to the forefront and challenging him internally. It wanted him to respond to the cries, to save the woman, his mate.
"Stop thinking of mates." He grunted. "All that leads to is a heap of bullshit."
As was often the case, the wolf in him tended to see past the bullshit and cut right to the point. When all else failed him, his beast saw the world with a clear head and it said go to her.
Thrusting open the door of the gym, Quinn bolted, running full force in the direction of the disturbance. It was late and this section of the city wasn't one to frequent after-hours. Various gangs had laid claim to it some ten years prior but that hadn't prevented Quinn from training at the gym where he had started his career. A creature of habit, Quinn had always been one to follow through with the norm, to stay the course. The old neighborhood was no exception. It didn't matter how well he'd done for himself or how many vacation homes he owned. The old gym was a part of him.
The woman's scream echoed off the buildings around him, drowning out the sounds of the city at night. Gone were the sirens and the seemingly endless sound of traffic. Even the dogs that spent their nights barking, keeping up anyone unfortunate enough to reside in the area, were silent. All that remained was her plea for help.
Still caught off-guard by the intensity of his beast's reaction to the sound, Quinn stumbled before catching himself with one hand. His knuckles scraped the brick of the building nearest him. The flesh ripped and blood pooled.
Sweat beaded on his brow, dripping down his face. His temples throbbed as his pulse sped. Her feelings beset him.
So much fear. So much pain.
The agony felt as if it were his own. Lifting his head, his eyes, now an icy blue because of the wolf within him, he stared out into the night. He was closer to the woman who called to him from blocks away. The one whose very cry had ripped him from his training, hardened his muscles and prepared his beast to strike. The hairs on his body rose as his senses heightened. She needed him.
The city's current heat wave meant the breeze carried hot air with it. Humidity clung to the air as did her scent, reminding him that he had to find her. The option to refuse the call was no longer presented to him. It was internal and primitive. Something he could never turn down.
The call of my mate.
BUY Links
February 2, 2012
Come Hang With Me…
On Selena Robins blog today! I have an interview up there and would love it if you stop past and say hi!
February 1, 2012
MwM Self-Publishing Spotlight: Leigh Ellwood
Marketing with Mandy Self-Publishing: Leigh Ellwood
Q: Please take a minute to tell us a little about yourself.
A: Thanks for having me here. I am Leigh Ellwood and I mainly write romance and erotica, though I take on other genres under another name. I have been writing all of my life, but didn't publish a book until 2001. When I'm not at the day job helping clients with social media, I'm writing and reading, and hope to complete at least one novel a year.
Presently I have works out with Phaze Books, Samhain Publishing, Loose ID, and a number of works pubbed myself through an co-op imprint, DLP Books.
Q: What prompted you to self-publish your book(s)?
A: There are a few reasons. Early in my writing career, I had a few non-erotic books publish and quickly fizzle. I didn't know much about marketing back then, and the publisher of the first book unfortunately had little experience, too. When I got the rights back to these works I noticed few publishers were willing to take on the reprint rights, so I published them myself through DLP. To my great pleasure, those titles are selling better now than they had with their original publishers!
As for new material that I self-publish, the works are mainly genres that didn't interest some of my target publishers. I have a number of F/F erotic stories, which were once hard to place with pubs. After publishing them myself, though, I've noticed they sell well.
Q: How has the experience been to date?
A: I find the experience is good. I like that I get to keep most of the spoils when the checks are cut. The challenge for me is time to handle all of the marketing in addition to the writing. It's expected even when you're with a legacy publisher, yes, but publishers do relieve you of some of the book production that now falls on you.
Q: What do you know now that you wished you knew when you started?
A: I know cover art is very important in terms of making the package attractive to readers. I feel I have grown as a self-publisher in a sense because I know where my weaknesses lie in the process. I can produce an "okay" cover, or I can invest in a professional to create something more visually appealing.
Also, I wish I were a better accountant! Just a note for those of you new to this: keep track of EVERYTHING you buy – ad space, stock photos, etc.
Q: What tips/tricks do you use for marketing or promoting your own titles?
A: I believe content is king. I find that blogging and guest blogging (blog tours) are the way to go to get your name out there. I am planning one for my next work and hope to do one for every release going forward. I do also play around with Twitter and Facebook, but mainly for personal purposes. Your name needs to be where the readers go, and I think readers are more inclined to check out the book bloggers for recommendations.
Q: What is one thing you'd want to tell a newer author, just coming into the game?
A: Write, revise, and revise some more. Find a good critique partner who will stick with you and be honest about your work – one who tells you when things don't work. If he/she doesn't, a reader just may tell you later.
Q: Could you tell us a bit about your latest release?
A: My latest, ODD, is a M/M short out through All Romance's Perfect Strangers imprint. It is a contemporary, humorous short about two partygoers who meet at a most unusual event. It is available exclusively through ARe along with others from the line.
Q: Can you tell us a little about your current WIP's (works in progress)?
A: I am also finishing up a full length M/M work, tentatively titled Act Daring. This story is about an actor who makes a bad career move and leaves Hollywood to recover. While visiting his parents, he falls for a small town man directing a play and looking for inspiration. I hope to announce a release date soon.
Author LINKS:
January 29, 2012
Snippet from Red Light Specialists by Michelle M Pillow and Mandy M Roth
Snippet from Red Light Specialists by Michelle M Pillow and Mandy M Roth
Bianca, Sonja and Trinity were given a choice—become RLS-69 special agents or continue to serve out their prison sentences at the Restigatio Woman's Correctional Facility. Trained to complete their mission by any means necessary, these women aren't afraid to pull out all the stops. With their freedom on the line, they'll do whatever it takes to get the job done. From combat to seduction, their targets won't know what hit them until it's too late. There's only one problem…their handsome targets have a few secret weapons of their own.
Rating: Contains graphic sexual content, adult language, and violence. This title is erotic.
EXCERPT
Must be 18 years and older to read. If not, please leave the site.
An Excerpt From: RED LIGHT SPECIALISTS
Copyright © MICHELLE M. PILLOW AND MANDY M. ROTH, 2005.
Bianca's body was tossed into a wall. For a moment, she stood pressed to the hard surface, stunned that the damned A-mac had actually spit her out onto stone. If she wanted stone, she could've stayed on Restigatio, where she'd spent four years in the mines. If not for Director Simon's offer of rehabilitation, she'd still be there—sleeping in some dark hole in between digging shifts, her hands bleeding and raw, her body always aching.
Rehabilitation.
Bianca snorted. What a fool she'd been when she signed on for that. She actually thought she would spend a few months saying she was sorry to a counselor in a halfway house, repenting her sins and begging forgiveness for her heinous crimes.
Instead, she was sent to a training facility where they taught her how to fight and, more importantly, how to seduce. They turned her into a Red Light Specialist, part of the RLS-69s. She was elite now, special.
She was especially annoyed to have landed on stone.
"I specifically said no stone. Was it really too much to ask?" Agent Bianca rolled her eyes. Gingerly, she pushed away from the hard barrier and grumbled, "Ouch."
Bianca took a deep breath, trying to get her bearings. Big evenly cut blocks of gray stone lined the walls of a long hallway. Torches lit the otherwise dim area. It wasn't much to go on.
This is an alien planet? Looks more like the images of those Medieval Earth castles Abbi showed us. Blessed Stars! I'm not in a place that primitive, am I? Damn it, Simon! I thought those images were just so we could make fun of old Earth culture, not an actual training lesson.
"This blows!" Bianca frowned.
Her mission was supposed to have downloaded into her brain during the transfer to the planet. Maybe it wouldn't be as bad as she first feared. Concentrating, she had no clue what she was doing or where she was. Although, she was thinking in a different language, so that was something at least. It meant the information she'd been embedded with was working. Now, if only she could find a place to hide for an hour or so while her brain released the rest of her assignment.
The A-mac embedded everything she needed into her head during transfer. But Abbi had warned her that the brain could only take in so much at once and sometimes, due to the sudden burst of new information, it had to recharge afterward. That would account for half of the headache she now had. The damned stone wall would account for the other half.
Bianca decided to find a good hiding spot until she knew what she was up against. Feeling a chill against her legs as she began to walk, she glanced down and caught sight of what the A-mac had dressed her in. She froze, unable to make her feet move.
"Ah, blazes, no!" she swore. "Come on guys! You have got to be kidding me! Ha! Ha! Ha! Rookie hazing joke is now over. Get me out of here."
Bianca waited, hoping she'd be jerked back to the training facility. Nothing changed. Damn! She'd really hoped this one was a joke. She was going to strangle Simon and Abbi when she saw them next. Then she'd strangle the A-mac.
This was just too humiliating. She could see every last stitch of skin through the thin red gauze of her non-existent outfit. She might as well be naked. Well, to be fair, there was a triangle piece of cloth over the thin thatch of hair guarding her pussy and two more, tinier triangles fitted over her nipples.
Grimacing, she tipped her head back, doing her best to see what the back half of her looked like. Yep. It too was covered only in the thin veil. Turning in a circle, she caught the slightest glint of light further down the hall. It was a long mirror. Going to check out her outfit, she posed before her reflection. Her eyes were lined with thick, black makeup and her cheeks had been painted a bright red with rouge. She didn't care for the makeup, but her body looked damned good in the outfit.
"Hmm, not bad," she said to herself. Good thing her ass was sexy and toned. She flexed it for effect, tensing, releasing, tensing, releasing, jiggling it fast to make the muscles ripple under the almost non-existent weight of the red material. Not bad. Not bad at all. Four years of lifting boulders could really tone up a figure. It still didn't mean she wanted her ass out for the world to see, but hey, as long as she was the only one looking…
"This is a dance I have not seen before."
As the words rolled over her, Bianca shivered with feminine awareness. It was the first male voice, besides Simon and the prison guards, that she'd heard in nearly four years. It was deep, low, sexy…
Wait a minute. Whoever it belonged to was watching her wiggle her ass.
Blazes!
Think, think, think.
Bianca's first instinct was to beat up the guy. Well, the A-mac would surely give her the instincts she needed. Fighting it was!
Bianca focused on where the voice came from. Twirling on her heels, she threw out her fist. For a brief second, she saw incredibly dark eyes, before focusing on a white mist. Her fist went through the mist and hit the stone wall.
"Ah, sacred comet!" she gasped, cradling her injured hand. She'd swung hard. Now her knuckles were bleeding and she couldn't move her fingers. So much for her dominant fighting hand.
"That looks like it hurt," the man's voice continued. He was behind her. He sounded amused, mocking. "I would not have done that, gengli."
© copyright 2011
This is a work of fiction. All characters, events, and places are of the author's imagination and not to be confused with fact. Any resemblance to living persons or events is merely coincidence.
REVIEWS
"5 STARS! This collection is full of beautiful woman, handsome men with unusual abilities, and subplots that connect the stories together. The women make use of their seduction training as well as their fighting abilities and give them just the right amount of action. A large dollop of humor is added to the mix to make this collection one of the best I have read in a long time. I hope the authors will continue to write more adventures for these women. I want to know what happens next." Candy, eCataRomance reviews
"5 HEARTS! I love both of these authors and when they collaborate, they are even better…. The love scenes are extremely hot, and the characters very well developed. The authors also leave plenty of room for sequels. I can't wait to read them." Maura Frankman, The Romance Studio, July 2005
"5 STARS! Red Light Specialists is wonderful, I loved this book! From start to finish I was immersed within the pages… Mandy M. Roth & Michelle M. Pillow have a fan for life in me!" Chantay, Euro-Reviews August 2005
"4 1/2 Blue Ribbons! This book is a true testament to the talent of Misses Roth and Pillow…. A wild, sexy and very enjoyable ride into one of the most creative books I've ever had the pleasure to read!" By Romance Junkies Reviewer Christine Ventura, June 2005
"4 STARS! Red Light Specialists is a super sexy series of adventures …The sexuality is explicit, adventurous and arousing with each couple finding that their passions are ignited on first sight. But M&M also infuse each situation and character with humor as well as lusty satisfaction. This is a fine start to an exciting new paranormal series!" Patrice Storie, Just Erotic Romance Reviews
"4 ANGELS! Mandy M. Roth and Michelle M. Pillow are a great writing pair… I loved spending time with the Red Light Specialists and hope to read more stories about these sexy special agents very soon." Tanya, Fallen Angel Reviews, June 2005
"4 Tattoos! Red Light Specialists proves to be an exciting, adventurous and highly erotic read… from start to finish I was deeply engrossed." Erotic Escapades, July 2006
"Mandy Roth and Michelle Pillow are a writing team that will set you on fire with this story. Red Light Specialists is definitely one of those books you cannot put down." Debbie Braaten
"…intriguing, fast-paced…"
Sinclair Reid, Romance Reviews Today
Additional Book Information
Amazon ASIN:B004Y1M18K
Electronic ISBN:978-1-4524-1748-6
PRINT ISBN-13:978-1466250222
PRINT ISBN-10:1466250224
Release Date: April 2011
January 28, 2012
Blog Stats 2011
I'm often asked about my Blog stats so I complied them for both Nocturnal Journal (my blog here) and Raven Happy Hour (The Raven Books Blog). Here ya go…
Stats from my blog and Raven's.
Mandy blog 2011 Page impressions (blog only)
Quarter 1
/blog/feed/ 9,262
/blog/index.php 4,199
/blog/feed/atom/ 2,826
/blog/ 2,499
Quarter 2
/blog/feed/ 9,884
/blog/index.php 4,051
/blog/ 2,640
/blog/feed/atom/ 2,508
Quarter 3
/blog/feed/ 8,035
/blog/index.php 4,084
/blog/ 3,326
/blog/feed/atom/ 3,141
Quarter 4
/blog/feed/ 9,175
/blog/feed/atom/ 8,704
/blog/index.php 3,731
/blog/ 2,548
Raven Blog 2011 Page impressions (blog only)
Q1
/ravenblog/ 88,945
Q2
/ravenblog/ 90,428
Q3
/ravenblog/ 78,434
Q4
/ravenblog/ 69,230
