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Showing posts from September, 2014

Writing for a Series: Don’t Tell Me What To Do. I’m a God in My Own Mind.

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One Enchanted Evening I’ll let you in on a little secret. All writers have a dark side. Deep down we’re convinced if people would only do everything we say, damn it, the world would be a better place. Eventually each one of us comes to the sorry conclusion we won’t be elected Ruler of the World. The only way to make up for the crushing disappointment is to write. On paper I wield omnipotent power over my fictional realm. I manipulate lives, kill off all my enemies (in print), and create people way more interesting than myself. Not to mention, being adored by millions of fans (in my mind.) The dark forces rise. Mwah-ha-ha. Then I got the chance to write One Enchanted Evening for a series.    Writing for a pre-existing series has a special set of challenges. Writers do not necessarily play well with others. We are pasty-faced individuals, bereft of social skills. Banished to unheated garrets with quills in hand, we battle wasting upper respiratory ailments. Writing for a se

Book Review: Breathe (Sea Breeze #1) by Abbi Glines

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It should be of no shock to most of you that I'm back with a review on an Abbi Glines novel, Breathe (Sea Breeze series). I love Abbi because I can always count on her to write an enthralling and drool worthy books. While many of the story lines are quite similar, I've always said that a good writer can make you forget those similarities and feel like you're reading something completely novel. So for those of you looking for something totally different in the NA world, this probably isn't for you. For the rest - read on! (Blur b) :  Sadie White's summer job isn't going to be on the beach life-guarding or working at rental booths like most kids her age. With her single mother's increasing pregnancy and refusal to work, Sadie has to take over her mother's job as a domestic servant for one of the wealthy summer families on a nearby island. When the family arrives at their summer getaway, Sadie is surprised to learn that the owner of the house is Jax Ston

Book Review: Words for Pictures by Brian Michael Bendis

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Given solid encouragement and a template I can make a pretty darn good smiley face. Needless to say, I don’t call myself an artist and have never produced either a comic or graphic novel. However, I have a lot of respect for those who do. Fortunately, Words for Pictures is not a how-to-color book. Unusual in its approach, it explores the business end of both comics and graphic novels. They are odd art forms. Sometimes the writer/illustrator is the same person, sometimes not. The writer’s work is more reminiscent of a script. The artist’s work is similar to that of an action movie director. While a fiction writer writes for a faceless unseen audience, the comic book writer works for a single person—the artist. If the writer doesn’t tell a good story, illustrations won’t save it. If the artist can’t generate the right level of excitement, the story falls flat. Each contributes equally. It is a unique collaborative effort not seen in other types of fiction. There’s a lot of ground

Book Blitz: The Warrior (Tainted Blood) by LJ Halkett & RT Lucas

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(Blurb)  There is a reason for everything and all actions have consequences. All Commander Xavier Raige wanted to do from the minute his world collided with Alicia Carberletti’s was to protect her.  Now, the biggest battle he has ever faced has just begun.  He needs to find a way back to Alicia and save her from the dark forces that are gathering against her and he won’t let the inconvenience of being dead keep him from her. Lieutenant “Shuggie” MacAndrew, Ancient Scottish warrior vampire.  Mystery surrounds his past and puts his future in jeopardy.  Can he win the battle between his heart and head, or will he be defeated in his pursuit of the One? Dr Teodora Valdez, skilled Surgeon/Scientist. She almost has it all until a dark secret resurfaces.  Can she heal the wounds or will she discover there is no cure for a broken heart? The consequences of recent events unravel and battle for dominance in the mafia underworld intensifies. Ambition…family…revenge…love.. .

Author Spotlight: Chasers by H.W. Vivian

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( Blurb ): The small town of Winston, Colorado, has a secret—one that hides in its children. Long ago, there were many children who suffered from the local “condition.” There are fewer of them now, but Shelby is one of them. She was born with a ruby embedded in her skin. In the same year, two other kids in town, Gary and May, were born with emeralds. Now a teenager, Shelby nurses a crush on Gary, while he sticks close to the fragile May and tries to protect her from, among other things, Shelby’s bullying. Despite their differences, however, their births connect them; when May goes missing, Gary needs Shelby’s help. Together, Shelby and Gary learn the unspeakable truth about each other—and about the chasers. Death lurks around every turn; in order to survive, Shelby, Gary, and May must work together. It is now their responsibility to save an entire generation of people also born with their “condition” before a century-old grudge destroys them all. Book Information: Age group:

Author Interview: Laura Strickland and Total Immersion in Writing Historical Fantasy

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Laura Strickland’s latest release is the historical fantasy,  Lord of Sherwood: The Guardians of Sherwood Trilogy, Book Three . As a writer of Historical Romance, I sometimes feel like the conductor on a bus tour into the past.  Pick up one of my books and I’ll punch your ticket. The bus will fire up with a throaty growl and we’ll disappear into the mists of time for a ride you won’t soon forget.  I've been conducting these tours for a while now, and quite a few people book return trips. But what makes for successful time travel? Well, if you love writing Historical Fiction and want to set up your own tours, here are a few things you might want to consider. It’s your tour, and those you take along will only see/hear/smell and taste what you share with them.   So you’d better make sure you don’t leave anything out.  If you make a stop in, say, eighteenth century England and drop by a pub to await the appearance of the Highwayman who features prominently in your story,