The Chronicles of Midway Book Tour & Giveaway

Posted on by August 15, 2017  
The Storyteller’s Book
The Chronicles of Midway Book 1
by Kevin Fleming
Genre: SciFi Fantasy
“ … you must realise and accept, neither me, your mum, nor either of you are
human.”

Nick and Mel are 14 year old twins living normal lives with their parents.
When they discover an ancient book in their attic and read from it,
strange events begin to happen around them. Something has been
awakened which prompts their parents to take them away to a town
called Midway where they reveal to the twins that they are not human.
They had been hidden on Earth, brought up as though they were human,
awaiting the right moment for the truth to be told.
When their parents mysteriously disappear on their first night away, they
are forced to discover for themselves what their roles are in the new
lives they’ve been thrown into. They struggle alone as they try to
understand and balance their past human lives with their alien
destiny. When the book they discovered at their home is stolen, it
falls on the twins to recover it. The book has a lot more power than
they realised, and if they fail, it will not be they who suffer, but
the whole human race.
Along the way, they meet an array of characters, some will become friends,
some will become enemies, who can they trust? For now, they can trust
only each other.
The Mines of Kothkish
The Chronicles of Midway Book 2
When Sebastian, the brother of their friend Celeste is abducted by the
rogue faction known as The Malum-Atra, twins Nicholas and Melandra
Wigg are first in the queue to help the Shreen Angels in their quest
to find and rescue the unfortunate victim.
As the situation escalates and the full extent of the danger to Midway
and the whole human race is revealed, Nick and Mel face a race
against time to locate where Sebastian is held.
Do the Mines of Kothkish with their glowing caverns of billions of
precious stones hold the answer to the mystery of Sebastian’s
location? What role does Elaine, the human girl with the unusual
gifts have to do with finding the abducted Shreen Angel? And what is
the secret that has been hidden in Little Meesden for two hundred
years?
Find out as we meet friends and foe, old and new, as once again Nick and
Mel fight for the survival of the human universe.
From facing evil snow creatures to diving into lakes of fire, share in the
exciting adventures of Nick and Mel in the second of the Chronicles
of Midway series, The Mines of Kothkish.
The Warlords of Shreen
The Chronicles of Midway Book 3
Nicholas and Melandra Wigg have already met Hadad, the only warlord still at
large, but now they are faced with a plot to release the other three
warlords trapped within collectors.

When Nick and Mel enter the dream room, a story of great tragedy, loss and
regret is revealed as they discover Malvern, once a colleague of
Rufus, is behind the terror that is the Malum-Atra. Insane with fear
and hatred of the human race, he is searching for a way to open the
collectors, thus unleashing the warlords upon the world.
What does the secret of Meesden House and the tragic history of the old
railway house have to do with preventing Malvern’s evil
plans?
Join Nick and Mel in this story of redemption and second chances as they
continue their quest to fulfil their destiny in The Warlords of
Shreen, the third book of The Chronicles of Midway series.
Carnival of the Otherworld
The Chronicles of Midway Book 4
Join Nicholas and Melandra Wigg in one more exciting adventure as they
come up against Natasha Moon, Malvern’s evil accomplice, who
together lead the Malum-Atra’s desperate final attempt to destroy
the human universe.

How would the humans react if Midway was revealed to them?
How would Midway’s lethal automated defence system respond to
an Earth attack?
Nick and Mel are faced with these frightening questions and even more
horrifying answers as they do battle with sea spiders, Shreen demons
and the ancient Defender of Midway.
What were the startling events of several years earlier that unknowingly
affected the lives of many humans in Little Meesden? What was the
tragedy that befell Celeste’s mother? Will Nick and Mel finally
come face to face with their destiny?
Find out, as these and many more secrets are revealed in Carnival of the
Otherworld, the final book of the series, The Chronicles of Midway.
Kevin Fleming was born and still lives in Liverpool. He worked for a large
telecoms company for over twenty years before leaving to run his own
business for a further fifteen years.

Having written short or incomplete stories on and off all his life, he
believes now is the time to put his full commitment into writing more
seriously. Since 2012, he has devoted his time to writing and has
completed a four part sci/fi, fantasy series aimed at ages from 11
years old and upwards, called ‘The Chronicles of Midway’.
He is mainly interested in writing supernatural, science fiction and
fantasy novels that would appeal to young and old alike. Currently he
is working on another series that would combine all these genres.
Follow the tour HERE
for exclusive excerpts, guest posts and a giveaway!

Serengeti Book Tour & Giveawasy

Posted on by August 14, 2017 1
Serengeti
by J.B. Rockwell
Genre: SciFi Adventure
It was supposed to be an easy job: find the Dark Star Revolution
Starships, destroy them, and go home. But a booby-trapped vessel
decimates the Meridian Alliance fleet, leaving Serengeti—a Valkyrie
class warship with a sentient AI brain—on her own; wrecked and
abandoned in an empty expanse of space.

On the edge of total failure, Serengeti thinks only of her crew. She
herds the survivors into a lifeboat, intending to sling them into
space. But the escape pod sticks in her belly, locking the
cryogenically frozen crew inside.
Then a scavenger ship arrives to pick Serengeti’s bones clean.
Her engines dead, her guns long silenced, Serengeti and her last two
robots must find a way to fight the scavengers off and save the crew
trapped inside her.
**On sale for .99 from Sept 4th- 9th**
Serengeti 2:
Dark and Stars
Fifty-three years Serengeti drifted, dreaming in the depths of space. Fifty-three
years of patient waiting before her Valkyrie Sisters arrive to
retrieve her from the dark. A bittersweet homecoming follows, the
Fleet Serengeti once knew now in shambles, its admiral, Cerberus,
gone missing, leaving Brutus in charge. Brutus who’s subsumed the
Fleet, ignoring his duty to the Meridian Alliance to pursue a
vendetta against the Dark Star Revolution.

The Valkyries have a plan to stop him—depose Brutus and restore the
Fleet’s purpose—and that plan involves Serengeti. Depends on
Serengeti turning her guns against her own.
Because the Fleet can no longer be trusted. With Brutus in charge, it’s
just Serengeti and her Sisters, and whatever reinforcements they can
find.
A top-to-bottom refit restores Serengeti to service, and after a rushed
reunion with Henricksen and her surviving crew, she takes off for the
stars. For Faraday—a prison station—to stage a jailbreak, and
free the hundreds of Meridian Alliance AIs wrongfully imprisoned in
its Vault. From there to the Pandoran Cloud and a rendezvous with her
Valkyrie Sisters. To retrieve a fleet of rebel ships stashed away
inside.
One last battle, one last showdown with Brutus and his Dreadnoughts and
it all ends. A civil war—one half of the Meridian Alliance Fleet
turned against the other, with the very future of the Meridian
Alliance hanging in the balance.
Hecate
Prequel to Serengeti
Black Ops—the intelligence arm of the Meridian Alliance Fleet came
calling with an offer Henricksen couldn’t refuse: a ship—an
entire squadron of ships, actually—and crew to command. A chance to
get back to the stars.
Too bad he didn’t ask more questions before accepting the assignment.
Too bad no one told him just how dangerous this particular skunkworks
project was.

 

They call the ship the RV-N: Reconnaissance Vessel – Non-combat, Raven for
short. A stealth ship—fast, and maneuverable, and brutal as hell.
On the surface, Henricksen’s assignment seems simple: train his crew,
run the RV-Ns through their paces, get the ships certified for
mission operations and job done. But an accident in training reveals
a fatal design flaw in the Raven, and when an undercover operative
steals classified information from a Black Ops facility, the Fleet
Brass cancels the tests completely, rushing the faulty ships and
their half-trained crew into live operations. On a mission to recover
the Fleet’s lost secrets.
Out of time and out of options, Henricksen has no choice but to launch
his squadron. But a ghost from his past makes him question
everything—the ships, their AI, the entirety of this mission, right
down to the secrets he and his crew are supposed to recover.
Audiobook available 10-17-17
J.B. Rockwell is a New Englander, which is important to note because it
means she’s (a) hard headed, (b) frequently stubborn, and (c) prone
to fits of snarky sarcasticness. As a kid she subsisted on a steady
diet of fairy tales, folklore, mythology augmented by generous
helpings of science fiction and fantasy. As a quasi-adult she dreamed
of being the next Indiana Jones and even pursued (and earned!) a
degree in anthropology. Unfortunately, those dreams of being an
archaeologist didn’t quite work out. Through a series of twists and
turns (involving cats, a marriage, and a SCUBA certification, amongst
other things) she ended up working in IT for the U.S. Coast Guard and
now writes the types of books she used to read. Not a bad ending for
an Indiana Jones wannabe…
Follow the tour HERE
for exclusive excerpts, guest posts and a giveaway!

Autumn Birt, Epic Fantasy and Dystopia

Posted on by August 14, 2017  

Welcome my guest, Autumn Birt, a prolific writer you should check out.

Autumn is a best selling author in fantasy, epic fantasy, and war – not all on the same series though! She is the author of the epic fantasy, adventure trilogy on elemental magic, the Rise of the Fifth Order.

Her last series was Friends of my Enemy, a military dystopian/ dark fantasy tale laced with romance. Friends of my Enemy was released in full in 2015 and is quite the story full of strong characters, tight plots, and lots of action.

Meanwhile, she is working on a new epic fantasy trilogy, Games of Fire, set in the same world as the Rise of the Fifth Order. The first book was released in March of 2016 and the second in April of 2017. If she stops goofing off and enjoying hobbies such as hiking, motorcycling, and kayaking, she may even be able to release the final book in the fall of 2017 too!

Interview

  1. Tell us a little about yourself?

 

Sure! I’m primarily a fantasy author but also have a near future dystopian series that snuck in there. I actually wrote short stories as a teenager and won a writing contest in high school, but I didn’t take writing seriously because I was also a fairly skilled artist (pencil and oil). It really took over two decades before I took the stories in my head a bit more seriously when my husband found a scene I’d written and said it was good. Boy, he never realized the havoc that statement would cause!

A few years later, two adult ed writing classes, and an article (once again given to me from my husband) on self-publishing and I released my first epic fantasy novel on Amazon in 2012!

Besides the writing, I’m big into outdoors, which is what happens when you name your child Autumn. I love hiking, backpacking, kayaking, and motorcycling. All of that is a good and adventurous balance to spending hours behind a laptop, and it makes my little Cairn terrier, Ayashe, happy too!

2. What are your biggest literary influences? Favorite authors and why?

When it comes to influences, I would say I’m absolutely in love with George R.R. Martin’s writing style. I kept photocopied pages from his books in my writing journal for inspiration years before Game of Thrones became a hit. I love his descriptions and use of multiple POVs from characters. BUT, I hate other aspects of his stories. I can only take so many favorite character deaths. lol. And sometimes I just want him to get to the point already (the show creators have done an amazing job jumping through some of the slow points).

I fell in love with fantasy in seventh grade when I stumbled upon a short story of dragon impression on Pern by Anne McCaffrey. I was already a reader but that hooked me into a genre. I devoured books and still love Anne McCaffrey as well as Mercedes Lackey. Mercedes has actually released most of her books as ebooks, and I want to pick up some of my favorites to revisit them as an adult. I bet I’ll find so much more to them than I did as a child, but I know her tolerance, hope, and magic shaped my world view. [Jamie’s note: I love Mercedes Lackey. I used to say I wanted to be her when I grew up.]

3. Tell us something about how you write? i.e. are you a plotter or a pantser? Do you have any weird or necessary writing habits or rituals?

I’m a hybrid! I started my first book that I published, Born of Water, as a straight out pantser with only a vague idea of a few scenes in the book and immediately got lost around chapter 6. That slowed everything down and frustrated the heck out of me. I love efficiency and organization!

So I tried crazy, mad plotting. I didn’t like that either. The book to me still feels a little forced, and that was after three major overhauls and five massive edits (plus dozens of small ones). After that, I learned to create a rough outline all the way down to a target number of chapters and which ones should be climaxes and hurdles. BUT I’d leave what actually took place in each chapter fairly open. I’d give the character an opening scene and a general direction to head then let them go like I was directing a play. It worked great, and the stories became so much more intense and character driven while still following the plot I’d created.

Things are even more organized now as I’m writing my 13th novel! I have a 7 stage outline that I use to develop the plot, character arcs, and lots of little plot lines to keep everyone on their toes. I still rough in a major outline and sequence out the major events like the epic climactic battle. But I give the characters the lead to create the story. They do a great job! How can I argue with that?

4. Do you think people have misconceptions about the speculative fiction? Why do you think it is a worthwhile genre?

I think speculative fiction is an important genre. Science fiction often pushes the boundaries of science and can lead to new areas of research and speculation. And fantasy…. I used to call it brain candy as an antidote to some of the serious stuff I tackled in studies. But it is really so much more than that.

The books I read as a teenager shaped my world view and outlook of life and people. It didn’t matter they took place on make believe worlds full of magic peopled by amazing characters. Sometimes that is the only way to tackle sensitive subjects with centuries of history and conflict. And that is a way to shape a better future.

5. Could you tell us a bit about your most recent book?

I’d love to! In April, I release Gates of Fire and Earth. This is book 2 of my second epic fantasy trilogy called Games of Fire. When I finished the first trilogy, The Rise of the Fifth Order, I really thought I was done with the world of Myrrah and the characters, as much as I loved them. But they wouldn’t go away.

I was writing my near future dystopian series Friends of my Enemy at the time and really enjoying the more adult and serious storyline. There is no magic in that series and solving problems takes a lot of smarts, luck, and some big explosions. Despite loving what I was writing, I kept having the characters from the epic fantasy series pop in my head to point out threads I hadn’t quite tied up.

I finally sat down with them and demanded they either tell me a great reason to write anything else about their world or go away. So they did. Totally sold me on it. I realized the first trilogy only touched on some huge events, but past and future, which were going to implode big time.

So as soon as I finished the dystopian series, okay, actually as I finished the last book in the dystopian series, I started writing book 1 to Games of Fire, Spark of Defiance. That was released in March of 2016.

The world of Myrrah, the setting of both series, is full of elemental magic, but it has a twist in that there is another power which is forbidden. You’ll have to read the series to find out what it is though. 😉

6. Of all the characters you have created, which is your favorite and why?

This is a tough one! I always say my favorite character is the one whose voice I’m writing in at the time. Because his or her story is the one I need to tell the best I can, be they villain or hero.

But of course there is always someone a writer always feels a little closer to. In the epic fantasy series, it is Darag. He is Kith, which is a race I created for the story. Their souls are bound to trees, which causes as many benefits as problems. He is amazingly powerful, but I love his sense of fairness. Unfortunately, being my favorite, he has gone through heck and not quite back. But he’s getting there.

Honestly, overall, my favorite character out of any book I’ve written might be Captain Jared Vries of the Grey Guard from Friends of my Enemy. He is just one of those competent but smart-ass people who leave you in awe. In the most difficult of situations, he managed to say something that breaks the tension while delivering an emotional impact (he isn’t all fluff!). I hear his voice like I grew up with him. It makes me wish I could teleport him to this world… we really could actually use him. lol.

7. Tell us a little about your plans for the future.  Do you have any other books in the works?

I already mentioned that I’m just about to finish writing the first draft of the final book in Games of Fire. I can’t wait! Partially because when I get this far into a book, I feel obsessed by it, just like when I’m reading. You get to the part where you can’t put it down no matter what. Which isn’t so bad when you have a dozen chapters to read. It is a bit harder when you have a dozen chapters to write! That is days and days of writing still ahead. Ack!

After that, I’ve been developing an urban fantasy series that is a tinge apocalyptic too! I’m excited to start writing it, but I admit my brain is too cluttered at the moment to say the storyline has fully developed yet. I know it will be at least a trilogy, but it might end up as 5 books when I finally get all the ideas mapped out.

And… I’ve stopped resisting the characters from the world of Myrrah. I already see the potential for another book, and I’m sure if I delved into it, I’d find it is big enough for a third trilogy. Plus I write short stories set in it that are available on Patreon. And there are a few big events prior to the novel that would be sooo interesting as a trilogy. So there may be other stories in the world with characters not related to the current two trilogies to be found!

8. If you could live in any period in the past or future, which would it be? Why?

I firmly believe I was either born too late or too early for this life. I’d LOVE to be on a spaceship exploring or at least able to visit other planets. I love to travel, and this world feels too explored, too populated, and with too much magic lost for me. So if I could be one of the first to venture beyond the horizon, count me in!

Which is why the other choice would simply be the past. I know we romanticize so many time periods and ignore the hardships, but there are also some amazing moments in history. And since I love what I barely know, I think I’ll go with ancient Minoa or Mycea. Both civilizations had advanced cultures from multi-story houses, plumbing, amazing frescoes, and even languages that we still haven’t fully translated. Plus they were Mediterranean with amazing ships, which if you read Born of Water, you know I like!

Where can we find you online?

Blog: http://www.AutumnWriting.com
Website: http://www.autumnwriting.com/my-books/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Author.Autumn.Birt/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Weifarer
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Autumn-M.-Birt/e/B007B2AFCS
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/autumnbirt
Free Books: http://www.autumnwriting.com/get-free-book

Rise of the Fifth Order

Would you protect a girl whose forbidden abilities condemn her to death?

Welcome to the world of Myrrah, ruled by the Church of Four Orders – Fire, Earth, Water, and Air. But there exists another gift, dubbed magic, which is considered an aberration by the Church. To be born with the powers of magic is to be condemned to death. To be born with the ability to control an element is to be born to a life serving the Church… and obeying its rules.

One Priestess will stand against the Church to protect sixteen year old Ria, beginning an epic fantasy adventure that leads four unlikely friends across the breadth of their world to seek answers hidden in the buried archives of the Temple of Dust. Secrets from an ancient war and discoveries of hidden power lead to a fight for survival that threaten to tear apart their world.

What is magic and why does the Church want those who harbor its power exterminated?

Excerpt

Born of Water, Book 1 of the Rise of the Fifth Order

“If you don’t want me dead this night by your hand as much as the High Council’s, then tell me where the Curse is, Sinika. I will not come back to Solaire to bring you a child to murder.”

Ria or Lavinia gasped from where the trio watched outside the icy shield. Though they could not be seen, the sound carried. Sinika’s eyes darted to the side. He rocked back on his heels, rejoining anger fading to something else as he regarded Niri. Stone-faced, he replied, “It took wing, so I would imagine it would be over Thornastal by now.”

Thornastal was only halfway. There was still time to escape.

The image of Sinika faded as Niri willed an end to the summoning. He reached out, nearly touching her with his hand of fire in an effort to keep her from breaking the fragile connection between them.

“You must hurry, Nirine, if you want to outrun the Church. There is a place I’ve heard of that may help you. Go to Karakastad and into the Temple of Dust. There is a library there where the old records were kept. You should be able to find documents on the making of the Curse. Hopefully, something to protect you. Take care of yourself, Nirine.”

“I will. Thank you, Sinika.” She paused. Saying goodbye wore away the numbness. If Sinika himself had stood there, she would have thrown herself against him and begged to return to Solaire. But he wasn’t and she’d said no. Niri willed an end to the summoning. The thin layer of ice and water shattered, clattering down around her.

Niri shoved aside the lost ache filling her. Ria had to hurry. The Curse was coming for her, the Church surely behind. Niri hurried to the edge of the pool where the three teenagers waited, expressions nervous.

Despite the drive she felt, it took Niri a moment to find her voice. “You must go,” she said to Ria. Panic filled the girl’s eyes.

“We must go,” Lavinia replied, placing a hand on Niri’s arm. Niri fought an urge to collapse against Lavinia, as Ria had done an hour earlier.

“You cannot be serious. We can’t take her … she is a Priestess!” Ty’s anger was blacker than the night.

“No, she is not.” Lavinia said, calmly.

“Well, you aren’t going either! You will go home and …”

Lavinia’s expression took on some of the heat of her brother’s, but she did not need to answer. Ria yelped and reached for Lavinia before Ty could finish. He stared at the two girls and Niri. In the silence, the pressing of time closed in like the fog.

“I’ll find us a boat.” Ty hissed, turning on his heels and leaving. Without his fuming presence to tense herself against, Niri swayed on her feet.

Lavinia caught her shoulder, and Ria took the other side. They stood together, joined by fear and a need to flee.

“We have to find Ty.” Lavinia said, gaze searching the mist-shrouded courtyard.

Lavinia’s words spurred Niri to action. With gentle pressure, she pushed the girls forward.

“How … how do you know which way he went?” Ria asked, voice hoarse. She trembled under Niri’s hand.

“I feel where the mist has moved with his passing,” Niri answered.

 

If Autumn has intrigued you, please comment or order her book below.

My Publishing Journey, Part III: The Soul Stone

Posted on by August 8, 2017 4

This is the third in my multi-part series on my publishing experience. Click to read Part I and Part II.

In the midst of my unsuccessful attempts to market The Goddess’s Choice, I finished my second novel, The Soul Stone, which is a sequel to the first, and was then faced with what to do with it. I knew I did not want to publish it with the same press. Besides doing nothing to help in marketing, they had done a lousy job editing it and had used such a small font and narrow margins that it was not a pleasure to read.  I also had a hard time getting Reliquary Press to pay the royalties they owed me. My contract with them stated that they were to be paid quarterly, but I never got a check unless I repeatedly asked about them. Since the checks were so small, I stopped hassling about it, and Reliquary Press still owes me money. In the five years they held the contract for The Goddess’s Choice, they paid me less than $20.

But since The Soul Stone was a sequel, I believe that no publisher would want it.  Despite my distaste at the time for self-published works, I thought self-publishing would be my only choice. My husband was adamantly against doing so. To stop him begging me more than anything else, I submitted it to a few small presses (ones that didn’t ask for a synopsis) and was quickly accepted by two of them. It seemed that publishers would take a sequel. However, the presses that had accepted it did not look any better than Reliquary, so I turned them down and did more research into small presses, hoping to find one that better supported their authors. I came up with a list of publishers I thought would be good, queried again, and was accepted by Black Rose Writing. In addition to a cooler name, Black Rose had a much larger staff than Reliquary, including a publicist. My husband was again leering of the contract because it did not spell out in any specific detail what they would do to market it. I ignored him and signed.

At first, it seemed Black Rose was going to be so much than Reliquary Press. They edited my book better and printed in a more reader friendly way. They sent me a lot of information on marketing and had a publicist who helped me write press releases and submit to prominent review sites, but they didn’t do any actual marketing for me, and The Soul Stone sold even more poorly than The Goddess’s Choice. They paid me my royalties on time, but the amounts were minuscule.

I now had two published novels, but nobody was reading them.

Next time I discover cons.

Guest Author, S.M. Henley and Things that Go Bump in the Night

Posted on by July 10, 2017  

Welcome today’s guest, S.M. Henley, a fantastic author for those that enjoy the darker side of things.

Sue was brought up in an English seaside town singing to Echo and the Bunnymen and worshiping  Siouxsie Sioux. She now lives in rural Alberta, Canada, with more pets than people. Where everyone is friendly, winters are long, cheese is bright orange, and the occasional moose wanders through her yard.

Sue’s books stand as testament to the Gothic overtones of English suburbia, the world just beyond the veil, and the humor of Rick Mayall.

The Urban Fantasy is darker than average. It’s gritty, character driven stuff, fast action plots notwithstanding. It dips a toe into Dystopia, splashes blood freely, and features various creatures from the supernatural world as well as some pretty cool humans.

Her Horror is darker. Paranormal elements intertwine with psychologically driven plots. Characters run from flawed to freaky. Settings are realistic. Atmospheres are claustrophobic. Blood is optional.

Interview

  1. Tell us something about how you write? i.e. are you a plotter or a pantser? Do you have any weird or necessary writing habits or rituals?

 

I’m a plotter in as much as I have an outline that I mostly stick to, but I do a shed-load of idea doodling beforehand which range from some scribbles, lists, and whole first drafts of scenes. I usually have the first and last scene drafted before I put the outline together. In terms of structure I tend to use a hybrid of the roller coaster beat structure for my UF. It has the fast-pacing I like. I’ve created a template which is basically a table with each plot element on the left, then space on the right for me to start adding the key moments or plot points for a particular story. Once I have the key moments written down, I add short bullet-pointed scenes. When those are all done, I switch to Scrivener, transfer each scene to a cork board card and flesh out the bullet points to create a paragraph of detail. Then I arrange those into chapters, ensure I’m still hitting all the plot points and beats, then I’m good to go. I always write serially unless I really get stuck, then I may switch to an easier scene just to get the writing gods on my side again. I’ve just finished plotting the whole of a 5 book series in this way. No rituals. Beverage of choice is coffee. I write in the morning, and not every day or to a quota. I find I need to give my creative brain a rest for up to a few weeks at a time or my writing style falls flat. When not writing, I’ll do some editing, work on some new plots, do some research, or even some marketing!

2. What gives you inspiration for your book?

I’m one of those very lucky people who finds inspiration everywhere. In fact, sometimes I’m so inundated with ideas that it can be challenging for me to to sift through them to pursue the best ones. I will literally have the first lines of stories – or even complete opening scenes – spontaneously pop into my head. If I watch a TV show, read a news report, or read about a person from history, a whole storyline gets triggered. For the Written by Birds novels I was inspired by stories about the real-life darker side of Turin, Italy, that I heard about years back on a TV show. I filed it away ready for an opportunity to get creative. I combined that with an unrelated historical account of a monk killing his Abbot in Southern England in the middle ages. Those two things, effectively gave birth to the first book, Scratching in the Dirt. I also find a UK periodical The Fortean Times a font of inspiration – it documents real accounts of the weird and wonderful. I can’t get through one of those magazines without a zillion story-lines jumping out at me! I have an upcoming full-length novel which was inspired by one 50 word report from that magazine. Another technique I use is to use a deck of Tarot cards to help me get some inspiration for settings, characters, and  especially dialogue. Has nothing to do with their traditional purpose, I just find them great as a jumping off point if nothing else is working. [Jamie’s note: I love the tarot card idea.]

3.Of all the characters you have created, which is your favorite and why?

I have a soft spot for Billy Nadig. He is introduced in Book 1 but in Book 2, Taking to the Sky, he really comes into his own. Each book in the trilogy is written with a mixed point of view, but there is always one main character focus, and in Taking, that is Billy. He’s introduced as a technomancer, someone who has mastered the art of combining technology with magic, so he combines computer code with natural magic to control, influence, or just watch events that are happening elsewhere. He uses gadgets like cellphones and computers (“if it has a computer chip, it’s Billy’s”), electricity and radio waves, etc. But it’s not his skills that endear him to me, it’s his arc. None of the main characters are straight up good or bad, but with Billy we see a complete transformation. Without spoilers, he literally transforms into a non-human, but it’s more how he grows as a character that I find fascinating. He transitions from a neglected and dirt-poor immigrant to rent boy, from East London lad to playboy millionaire, from best friend to hero, and finally lover. I think I’m so fond of him because of all the characters in the Written by Birds trilogy, his story developed totally spontaneously, I just wrote it down. Billy is also funny, has serious problems with not blurting out inappropriate sexual innuendo, and a soft side that makes you just want to give him a hug. I loved writing his buddy scenes with the soul of the necromancer, Joshua, and the Swedish mercenary, Soren Huxford. I think Billy and Soren together are hilarious. A beta reader summed it up by telling me she hated Billy in Book 1 – she thought he was a chav (British slang for “antisocial youth” but the Urban Dictionary will give you a much better definition lol) – then gradually he grew on her, until finally she was rooting for him. And even though I don’t write romance, he was the only character I really wanted to experience true love.

4. What else would you like readers to know about you or your work?

As Urban Fantasy becomes a more diverse genre, I think it’s important for authors to clearly communicate their style. It can be tricky for the reader to choose something they will enjoy as most books tend to skew towards either romantic paranormal or gritty realism. I tend to write the latter – old-style UF. There may be the odd romantic subplot, but it’s never PNR; and though sexual themes emerge quite often, any actually action generally takes place off-page if at all.  I like to include those elements that first marked the genre I fell in love with: gritty realistic themes; violence that sometimes (usually) ends in blood; a contemporary urban setting mixed with a supernatural world; some proper scary monsters which may at times even inch over into Horror territory. My stories also contain a good bit of mystery and a substantial kick of adventure. Above all, I want darker themes bubbling under the surface. I also write a variety of diverse characters who tend to have personalities that incorporate multiple shades of grey, from the supernaturals to the humans. We all have a lightside and a shadowside, and that’s something I like to explore (takes me back to my Tarot days). In my books, sometimes the demons are the heroes, the humans do really bad things, and the angels aren’t altogether pure of heart. All that aside, I also throw in some humour to break up the darker themes. If you like the tone of the darker episodes of Supernatural, BTVS, and Angel, you’re in the right ball park. Not the ones that made you cry, but the ones that made you slightly uncomfortable or even not want to close your eyes at bedtime.

5. Do you have a day job in addition to being a writer?  If so, what do you do during the day?

I’ve had a variety of different jobs. I was trained as a business analyst and did that professionally for years in the UK. I then opened my first small business as a Tarot reader and teacher of psychic development. It’s an interest I’ve had since a teen, and something I still do on occasion. Most recently, though, I owned my own pet services business, looking after everything from cats to alpacas. I closed that last year, and I’m now working for a not-for-profit supporting small business entrepreneurs, while I write around that work. I find my current work extremely rewarding. At the moment we have a program which supports high-school entrepreneurs run their own businesses over the summer. I am continually amazed by the talent in our young people and get so mad listening to the constant disrespect targeted at the millennial demographic. These guys are focused, determined, and making their mark on the world. I get very passionate this program!

6. Tell us a little about your plans for the future.  Do you have any other books in the works?

Now that the first trilogy is complete, I’ve started work on my next series called Skye Quest. It is set in the same world as Written by Birds, i. e. in a contemporary urban fantasy world that has just averted the demon apocalypse. There is the same mix of gritty realistic scenarios, that just happen to have vampires, shifters, demons, and angels – as well as the odd human thrown in for good measure. These 5 novels are all set in Vegas and have one main character, a supernatural escort called Sowilo Skye. She is on a quest to free her daughter who is trapped in the Otherworld. Of course, “stuff” keeps getting in her way, like the spirit of a dead playboy, a human TV ghost hunter who’s inadvertently raised a demon during a video shoot, and a zombie go-go dancer. She’s also got a dead husband trapped in a mirror, and the main big bad is a seriously horrible demon who delights in throwing her off her game, usually with dire consequences. I’m really looking forward to this series. There is more mythology in this one, as some of the storylines are based on the legends of the mourama and the enchanted mouras of Galician folktales. The first of this series will be out by the end of this summer and is called Sowilo Skye and the Dead Playboy. I also have my first psychological horror coming out soon. The novel is called Weary and is set in the middle of a backwoods town in northern Alberta. It’s a disturbing but accessible paranormal thriller. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to write without at least a little bit of the supernatural.

7. If you could be transported to any fictional world, which would it be? Why?

It has to be the world of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I’d probably hang out with Xander a lot and take secret pictures of Spike to sell on the internet for oodles of cash. I’d also reveal Caleb’s eye-removing plans to him ahead of time, so we could figure out a defense. Poor Xander, now that was dark scene. I’d also insist on singing in Once More With Feeling, so that even Sarah Michelle Gellar would sound good when compared to my caterwauling. It would be great fun!

8. You’re in a tavern, and a dwarf challenges you to a duel. What do you do? What you do the same thing if the challenger were an ogre? Why or why not?

I would whip out my cards and read his fortune. Of course, the fortune would be good, and it would only come into effect if he spared my life. With the ogre, I’d give him a teddy bear; they may be big and tough, but inside they have soft-gooey centres. [Jamie’s note: LOL! This is a great solution that I never would have thought of.]

Where can we find you online? 

Blog: https://smhenley.com/blog/
Website: https://smhenley.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/smhauthor/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SM_Henley
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/S.M.-Henley/e/B06XH15DLM/
My books are available at all ebook retailers. To find out more go to: https://smhenley.com/books/written-by-birds/

Taking to the Sky

Billy’s life is just sex, tech, and magic. So how will he cope when things get serious? End-of-the-world serious.

For rich technomancer Billy Nadig, life’s a game: he lives in a cool East London penthouse, has a bedroom stocked with blond-haired lovelies, and an unhealthy obsession with women’s shoes. But when Billy is told he’s a Sleeper, awoken by Heaven to stop his best friend—a half-vampire girl—make a decision which could destroy the world, even he realizes its time to get serious.

Billy’s agonizing transformation couldn’t come at a worse time: demons are rising, evil angels take center stage, and a blond-haired mercenary continues to dog his every step. Saving the Earth will take both hard fighting and hard choices, maybe even the ultimate sacrifice—to kill his best friend. But if she dies, who will save Billy?

Taking to the Sky is the second in the Written by Birds trilogy and is an adult urban fantasy novel set on the streets of modern-day London, Las Vegas, and Boston. It treads lightly in the darkness, with not a small amount of blood and gritty humor. Just ask the birds…

Excerpt

Billy was still sitting there when he noticed the young man loitering by the garbage bin just off to his right. Actually, more like fourteen or fifteen, he seemed to be looking for discarded food, and had found some sort of Chinese concoction in a takeout box. He was peering at it cautiously as though expecting something to jump out at him. Sensible thinking, bruv.

The boy didn’t seem to find what he was looking for and dumped the carton back in the garbage before reaching down further, up to his armpit in discarded newspapers, food wrappers, used tissues, and condoms (Billy assumed).

This time, the boy seemed to come up trumps. He grinned and pulled out—a rat. A full grown brown rat which was very much alive and wiggling, dangling by his tail from the tips of the boy’s fingers.

Billy lurched backward, even from his safe distance away. He didn’t have any particular phobias, but rodents generally were a sticking point, and rats especially.

He continued to watch in fascination.

The boy held the rat above his head and looked deep into its eyes. The animal twisted its whole body away from the gaze as far as it could, bucking almost perpendicular to the fingers that held it tight, a position its little body could not maintain for long before gravity pulled it down.

As the rat fell back, the boy opened his mouth and bit its head right off.

Billy’s own mouth dropped open. He stared in silent but fascinated horror as the boy threw the still twitching remains into the garbage bin and picked the severed head back out of his mouth. He examined it closely, stuck in a dirty finger to gouge out what remained of the neck, and sucked enthusiastically through the hole he had made. Even at the distance, it sounded to Billy like chunky soup being sucked through a wide straw, stuck pieces suddenly releasing with a satisfying slurp.

“Bloody hell!” Billy couldn’t help himself.

The boy looked up at him and shrugged, then added the remains of the rat’s head, now just empty bone housed in a furry brown skin bag, to the discarded body in the garbage and shuffled over.

Billy instinctively moved back around to the driver’s door of the Jeep, not wanting to get too close to this rat-eating teen.

“Whatchadoin?” the boy asked.

“Errm, nothing much.” Self-preservation made Billy feel he should be noncommittal, but he couldn’t stop himself adding, “Nice supper?”

“Eh! I like ‘em younger. Not so tough.” He was still chewing. Okay then!

“You gonna finish that coffee?” the boy asked.

“Probably not now, no.” Billy was feeling decidedly queasy and held it out. “Do you want it?”

“Yeah. Thanks.” He took the remains of the proffered coffee, smelled it, and sipped at it cautiously, as though it might be quite distasteful. Oh, the irony.

It met with his approval and he nodded a little. “Later.” He briefly flashed deep red eyes in Billy’s direction, then turned and wandered back down onto the beach, kicking sand and picking at his teeth with his black-filled fingernails.

Jamie’s Note:

After reading the above, I was intrigued and went straight to Amazon to get the first book in the series. This is the first time this has happened since I started publishing these interviews. If you find S. M. Henley as fascinating as I did,  you will be pleased to learn that Scratching in the Dirt is free. You can get it here:

Character as Action

Posted on by June 29, 2017  

Today, I want to talk about developing character by focusing on the character’s actions or what the character does.

It is far better to let the reader know the character’s thoughts, emotions, and personality by what s/he does than by simply telling the reader. In other words, the old adage, “show, don’t tell.” If you tell the reader that your character is ghoulish, it has little emotional impact. It also isn’t very precise. What exactly do you mean by ghoulish? Much better to show the character acting ghoulishly. Read the following passages from The Ghost in Exile:

Warily, The Ghost followed Zotico down the corridor to the high priest’s office. It was large, the walls covered with instruments of war—swords, shields, battle axes, and plaques ornamented with what looked suspiciously like human ears. The ears were new. Zotico caught The Ghost looking at them and swept his hand over a plaque that contained five ears nailed side by side. “Do you like the new decor? Sacrifices, all of them. I had them moved from our private sanctuary so I could better remember the devotion demanded by the god I serve.”

Zotico sweeping his hands over the severed ears of people he has killed in ritual sacrifice as if they were a trophy conveys to the reader Zotico’s ghoulishness far more effectively than simply using the word.

While portraying character through action is important at throughout your work, it is especially important to do so in moments when a character changes. When a character grows or changes, the reader needs to see it through what the character does. Brigitta begins The Ghost in Exile as a victim. In the following passage we see her beginning to change through her actions with the dagger.

She had to be insane to trust her life to a hired killer. Frigg protect me! No, not Frigg. I’ve prayed to her time and time again, and the goddess has never helped me. But if I can’t rely on her, what can I do? She looked at the dagger she was still holding, then glanced at the sword Sigurd wore. The goddess had allowed her to be used by savages for two years, but Brigitta herself had used Sigurd’s sword to kill her master. Since the goddess couldn’t, or wouldn’t protect her, she needed to learn to protect herself. She tightened her grip on the dagger and held it up. “Will you teach me how to use this?”

Her examining the dagger, tightening her grip on it, holding it up, and asking for instruction in its use shows her becoming empowered to act for herself rather than being acted on by others. Simply saying she decided to protect herself doesn’t convey this change as effectively as her actions with the dagger do.

While using the image and the character’s voice tell us much about a character, we really get to know a character by seeing what s/he does. It bring in another old cliche, which is nonetheless true, “actions speak louder than words.” When a person’s actions are at odds with his/her words, we believe the actions, not the words. The same is true in character creation.

Welcome to the Apocalypse Book Tour & Giveaway

Posted on by July 31, 2017 1
Welcome to the Apocalypse
Book 1- Pandora
by D L Richardson
Genre: Apocalyptic Sci-Fi
The Apocalypse Games is a state of the art virtual game designed to
entertain doomsday preppers, gamers, and cosplayers. But not everyone
who enters is there to play the game the way the creators intended.
Some players don’t belong at all and some enter the game to escape reality.

Whatever the reason, over 100 people hook up to the mainframe computer with
one goal: survive twenty-four hours of an apocalypse. Instead of game
over at the end, they’re plugged straight into a new game. Then
another. It’s clear to the players the computer has malfunctioned.
What isn’t clear is why.
Welcome to the Apocalypse
Book 2- CyberNexis
Getting out of the game used to be all that mattered. Now all that matters is
getting back in.

THEN…
The Apocalypse Games is a state of the art virtual game designed to
entertain doomsday preppers, gamers, and cosplayers. But not everyone
who entered was there to play the game the way the creators intended.
Some players didn’t belong at all and some entered the game to escape
reality. Whatever the reason, over 100 people were hooked up to the
mainframe computer with one goal: survive twenty-four hours of an
apocalypse. Instead of game over at the end, they were plugged
straight into a new game. Then another. It was clear to the players
the computer has malfunctioned. What wasn’t clear was why.
NOW…
the players find themselves in an offsite facility far from their
original location, unsure why or how CyberNexis moved them. Getting
out of the game used to be all that mattered. But not anymore. The
world has changed and CyberNexis is keeping a secret that needs to be
exposed.
D L Richardson likes many things. Reality isn’t one of them. D L
Richardson is the creator of ‘Welcome to the Apocalypse’ series as
well as the author of YA fantasy and horror novellas which can be
likened to ‘Goosebumps for adults’.

The author’s world is her dog, her husband, coffee, and her writing. Not
always in that order. You won’t find the usual tropes in D L
Richardson’s books. You will find unique stories, engaging
characters, and thought-provoking situations.

CHAPTER ONE

Jack Minnow grabbed a brochure off the rack and his eyes scanned the back page.

“It says here that rule breakers are ten times more likely to survive an apocalypse. They’re adaptable and they rely on cunning and instinct.”

Jack was five-foot-eight, and the woman behind the counter, called an operator, was easily six-feet tall. Looking at her was like looking at a marble statue atop a pedestal. All white – her hair, her tight-fitting jump suit, her face, neck, and hands, painted to resemble a computer generated character. He allowed himself to imagine that the stage make-up covered places he couldn’t see.

She smiled at him. “It also says that rule breakers are ten times more likely to die within the first hour. They’re reckless and often act without thinking.”

She pushed a plastic tray towards him, the kind handed out at airports to slip under x-ray machines. Jack dropped his wallet, phone, and car keys into the tray.

“So it’s a win/win day for a guy with a superhero complex,” he said.

Superman, his mother had called him after he’d brought home a stray dog for the fifth time. “Can’t help but save things,” she’d told the dog ranger. Even as a boy, Jack knew what happened to the mutts who were handed over to the ranger, but he still brought dogs home for one last night of fun. His superhero complex was the reason he’d entered The Apocalypse Games. Save everyone. Save the world. Nobody dies. Not for real anyway.

The operator removed the tray and he stood there waiting for a voucher. None came. A warning flared up into his brain. What did he really know about this operation?

“Seriously, about those odds,” he said. “Exactly how much testing has gone into the program? I mean this is opening day. There must be kinks to iron out.”

“We use the same technology as they do at NASA,” she said. “The nutrient tubes and mist emitters feeding into the simulation pods are the same as those used in space travel. The structural integrity of the pods was tested by NASA engineers only last week.” She tilted her head to the side. “We’ll take good care of you, Mr Minnow. I’ll see to it personally.”

He didn’t know her name, or anything else about her, but he felt he could trust her. He had to trust her; he was placing his life in her hands.

She stepped out from behind the counter, slipped her arm through his, and guided him toward a set of doors where he caught flashes of shiny surfaces and bright lights. A sign indicated the room was called The Launch Pad.

“How will you see to it personally?” he asked, dragging his gaze back to her dazzling blue eyes. “Will you be in the game with me?”

She shook her head. Pity. He was sure he’d enjoy cyber-sex.

“You’ve got a good crowd here for the opening. How many players you reckon? Eighty? Ninety?”

“There are one hundred and five players taking part in today’s auspicious event.”

Jack’s mood sank a little. “Won’t it get crowded?”

She placed her other hand on his arm. Others might have found the gesture too friendly, but not him. Attention from a beautiful woman – genuine or as part of a customary service – warmed his insides.

“There are many apocalyptic scenarios on offer,” she said. “Some players have chosen to be placed randomly, in which case we’ll load them into scenarios that other players haven’t pre-selected. It’s highly unlikely you’ll all be playing the same game.” She stopped at a machine similar in size to an ATM and ran a laminated pass across the scanner. “I understand you’ll be teaming up with two other players, Reis Anderson and Kelly Lawrence.”

“Kelly’s my sister,” said Jack, not wanting to give the woman the wrong impression. “I’m being a good brother and chaperoning her.”

The operator nodded. “Have you chosen an apocalypse to survive? Or will you opt for the random selection?”

“I don’t mind surprises, but Kelly’s…let’s just say she’s a novice at this. We’ve decided to play—”

Her fingers swiftly landed on his lips. “Don’t tell me. If I don’t know then I can’t reveal any spoilers.”

She slipped the laminated pass around his neck and continued ushering him toward The Launch Pad. At the doorway, she gently pried her arm away and her azure-blue eyes twinkled.

“I assure you, Mr Minnow. You will be in the greatest of care. Please make your way inside and enjoy your complimentary champagne. It won’t be long until you’re taken to the simulation pod.”

The doubt still niggled at him. “So when we die in the game, what happens?”

She looked off to another player signing up at the desk.

“Miss…Operator?”

At last she turned around and smiled, revealing dazzling white teeth. “You can’t die in the game.”

“But it’ll feel like it. That’s what the brochure says.”

“Yes, it will feel like death,” she said before walking briskly away.

Follow the tour HERE
for exclusive excerpts, guest posts and a giveaway!

Juliana Spink Mills Hunts with a Blade

Posted on by July 26, 2017  

My guest today is science fiction/fantasy author, Juliana Spink Mills, here to tell you about her exciting novel.

Juliana was born in England but grew up in Brazil. Now she lives in Connecticut, USA, with her husband and two kids, and writes science fiction and fantasy. She has a soft spot for stories with explosions and fight scenes, tempered with moonlight kisses. She watches way too many TV shows and loves to get lost in a good book. Her dream is to move to Narnia when she grows up. Or possibly Middle-Earth, if she’s allowed a very small dragon of her own.

Interview

  1. Tell us something about how you write? i.e. are you a plotter or a pantser? Do you have any weird or necessary writing habits or rituals?

 

Hmm, plotter or pantser…? I think I’m a little bit of both. When I first started writing, I used to obsessively plot every inch of a novel – this worked as a ‘safety net’ of sorts. I knew that as long as I stuck to my road map, I’d get to the end. Rigid outlines were a great learning tool for me. Over time, I’ve relaxed, and now I use more of a ‘connect the dots’ system, with main plot points set out before I start, but wriggle room to go ‘off road’ when and where I want.

As for writing habits, I’m pretty easy. I don’t have a desk – I prefer to spread out at the kitchen table. And I can’t work with music on; I find it distracting. [Jamie’s note: Me, too.] However, I’ve learned by necessity to tune out my kids, though I prefer to work in the mornings when they’re at school.

2. Do you think people have misconceptions about speculative fiction? Why do you think it is a worthwhile genre?

I think a lot of people steer clear of the speculative fiction section of their bookstore or library thinking they won’t be able to relate. But elves, orcs, and laser-wielding space lords aside, you’ll find the same things in science fiction and fantasy that you’ll find in other genres: adventure, action, romance, intrigue… And new readers don’t need to jump straight into the deep end with epic fantasy or hard sci fi; they can start with something like space opera, urban fantasy, or paranormal romance – look how popular Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse novels are and not just with genre fans.

Personally, I love SF/F for the sheer escapism. I love to dive into someone else’s made up world and make it my own, even for just a short while.

3. Could you tell us a bit about your most recent book?

My young adult urban fantasy novel Heart Blade is the first book in the Blade Hunt Chronicles, a series that follows a centuries-old prophecy about four legendary swords. The story is set in present day USA, where preternatural creatures like vampires, werewolves, and witches live among the unsuspecting humans, governed by a failing and corrupt Court of the Covenant.

4. Of all the characters you have created, which is your favorite and why?

I have a soft spot for my half-demon Camille. She’s a petite French Canadian succubus, and she’s surprisingly fierce and extremely levelheaded and an absolute pleasure to write. Camille lives to surprise, as everyone tends to underestimate her.

5. What is the biggest surprise that you experienced after becoming a writer?

I was surprised and delighted to find out how welcoming and supportive the writing community is – both the SF/F community and the kid lit world. I’ve made amazing friends over the years. Some are virtual friends I’ve connected with on social media or on forums I belong to and others I met at conventions and conferences. My writing pals keep me going when things get tough and cheer me on when good things happen. I couldn’t do this without them. [Jamie’s note: Other writers are the best.]

6. Tell us a little about your plans for the future.  Do you have any other books in the works?

Yes! Definitely! I’m putting the finishing touches on Night Blade, Book 2 of the Blade Hunt Chronicles, which will be out later this year. I have a couple of short stories I’m working on for anthologies, and I have a sci fi thriller in the early stages. After all that is out of the way, I’ll be ready to move onto the third Blade Hunt book, Star Blade.

7. If you could be transported to any fictional world, which would it be? Why?

Tough question! Perhaps Cinda Williams Chima’s Seven Realms – her fantasy novels are so beautiful! All valleys and soaring mountains. Or Myke Cole’s present-day world with added magic, in his Shadow Ops military fantasy trilogy – that would be an interesting reality to visit. I also love the setting for Elspeth Cooper’s Wild Hunt quartet, with its vast, sprawling lands.

Where can we find you online?

Website: https://jspinkmills.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jspinkmills

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JSpinkMills

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jspinkmills/

Amazon: http://hyperurl.co/9ufdbj

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33868453-heart-blade

Heart Blade, Book 1 of the Blade Hunt Chronicles

Teenage half-demon Del Raven wears a promise in scarred letters upon her skin. Now, pressured to make her first kill and seal her demon nature forever, she flees her pack and forges a dangerous partnership with young angel-blood Ash.

But Del isn’t the only one on the run from the demons. For seventeen years the Guild of Saint Peter has done its best to hide orphan Rose, a key player in the centuries-old Heart Blade prophecy.

The threads tangle, and soon Del, Ash and Rose find themselves in the crosshairs of an ancient war between demons and angels…and the hunt for a mythical weapon that could change the balance of power forever.

Excerpt

The SUV rocketed along the dirt track, right on the motorbike’s tail. The surrounding trees were a dark blur in the night, lit only by their headlights. Ash realized he was holding his breath, and let it out in one big exhale. Becca heard and chuckled.

“Apprentices,” she said, shaking her head. “So darn cute. Hey, don’t worry, kid. We’re in good hands. Your old man’s the best in the business. You don’t get to be Scion of the New England Chapter of sentinels for nothing.”

Ash would have protested, said he wasn’t worried, but it would have been a lie. Becca would have known; they all would. You couldn’t lie to a sentinel. Instead he gritted his teeth and tugged at his bulletproof vest. The borrowed body armor he wore was too tight across his shoulders. His whole chest felt too tight.

Becca drew closer to the stuttering motorbike, still trailing acrid clouds of smoke. The trees opened suddenly into a vista of dark fields, and Becca accelerated, throwing the car off the road. They ripped through the tall grass, stems slashing viciously at the sides of the SUV.

There was a sudden impression of approaching buildings, and then the side of the SUV hit the bike hard. The bike went down in a tumbling crash, the engine’s growl cutting out abruptly as the vampire fell head over heels to land on his back. The SUV skidded to a stop, high beams raking the black. The vampire scrambled to his feet and took off, Deacon in pursuit with his sword over his shoulder as Ash leaned over his cousin to watch.

Becca snagged her hunting rifle from the back of the car and turned to Ash and Jordan, still inside. “Well? You here to learn, or what?”

 

If you like what you’ve read, please comment below, or click the link to buy Juliana’s book.

My Publishing Journey, Part II: To Market, to Market We Go

Posted on by July 31, 2017 1

Yesterday I published the first part in a multi-series on my experiences with publishing. You can read Part I here.

As I said in my previous post, The Goddess’s Choice, my first novel was published by Reliquary Press in April of 2012, and it was not selling. In October of 2012, Auburn University’s English Department (for which I work) sponsored its first writers conference, and I attended. One of the sessions was on marketing. This session gave me some ideas about what I might do to market my own book.

I am a writer and an English professor. I am also an introvert (as so many writers are). Marketing was (and still is) very much outside of my skill set and comfort zone. But I very much wanted my book to be read by people other than family and friends. If that was going to happen, people had to learn it existed.

In this session, I learned about blogs: starting my own blog and getting your book featured on the blogs of others. I attempted to start a blog, and I contacted about 1,790,983 other people’s blogs, asking to be featured for either an interview or review. Book bloggers with a large readership are inundated with such requests, but a few did accept me.

I also learned about Goodreads and Goodreads groups as well as a couple web communities that are no longer in existence. I got on Goodreads. I joined a few Fantasy fiction groups and a few groups for writers. In these groups, I found more bloggers looking to interview and review authors. I got myself on more blogs.

Making these requests to appear on blogs and answering the interview questions or writing a blog post for the bloggers who said “yes” ate at my time. I did sell a few books this way and garnered more reviews, but at such a slow rate that it took at least ten hours of my time doing this for every copy sold.

Another thing common in Goodreads groups is authors offered to trade reviews, meaning you read and review their book, and they do the same for you. I entered into quite a few such agreements, and I absolutely recommend against doing so. Most of those making these arrangements were self-published authors. (I hadn’t even heard the term “Indie” at that time.) I developed a prejudice against self-publishing that has taken me some time to get over. The vast majority of these books had no business being on the market. To begin with, they were riddled with errors. As an English professor, I may be more critical of punctuation and grammatical mistakes than most, but some of them were so bad they were unreadable. And punctuation was just the beginning of the problems with these books. Overall, they were amateurish. While doing this review swap, I read only one novel that I considered good, Serving Time by Nadine Ducca. You can read my review of it on Goodreads. I loved this novel, and my review of it is absolutely genuine.

All of the rest put me in a moral quandary. I didn’t want to write bad reviews in fear that the authors would retaliate by doing the same to me. But it felt wrong to give good reviews to terrible to mediocre novels. (This is why I recommend against putting yourself in this situation.) I compromised with my conscience a little. For the books that were too terrible to finish, I contacted the authors and told them I couldn’t leave a positive review, so I wasn’t going to leave one at all. The rest of the novels I gave better reviews than they deserved. Doing this bothered me, and I stopped swapping reviews after a short time.

Most of these Goodreads groups also have a special section where authors can promote their books. However, very few people ever read this section of the discussion board.

So with the advise I got on this conference, I put in hundreds of hours of my time and sold about a dozen copies of my novel.

At this point, the entire publishing thing might seem too depressing to even consider, but I promise the ending is happier than the beginning.

Stay tuned.

 

I’d love to hear your thoughts or experiences below.

My Publishing Journey, Part I: The Goddess’s Choice

Posted on by July 29, 2017 3

I recently read a friend’s post on why she’d decided to pursue traditional publishing for her first novel.  (You can find it here.) After reading it, I felt inspired to discuss my own publishing journey in the hopes that what I’ve learn from trial and a lot of error might help smooth the road for other writers. Once I started writing, I found I had a lot to say, so this would be a multi-part series of posts.

I finished my first novel (with the exception of the one I wrote in high school) in 2004. The Goddess’s Choice was an epic fantasy novel 318,000 words long. I was completely naïve at the time and knew next to nothing about publishing, except that you needed an agent. I researched on how to write query letters, synopses, outlines, etc. I then researched agents and began sending my novel out. Mostly I got form rejections or heard nothing at all, but I got a few responses that said positive things about my writing and style, but told me that at 318,000 words, the novel was three times the acceptable length for a debut novel from an unknown author. One agent even requested the whole manuscript, gave me a lot of positive feedback, and told me that if I could cut it down, he’d like to see it again.

After about four years of querying, I decided I had no choice. If I wanted to get the novel published, it had to be shorter. I began what I thought would be a painful process of cutting the novel down. It turned out to be less painful than I imagined, and I managed to get it down to 178,000 words. I knew this was still 60,000 to 70,000 words longer than the preferred length, but I couldn’t cut it any further. I’m not a fast writer, so it was 2010 before I was ready to try again. The one agent who had wanted to see again no longer worked in the business, and no one else was interested.

I decided to give up on the Big Six (now the Big Five) publishers and send my novel to smaller presses who are often more flexible about what they will publish. It was accepted within a few months by Reliquary Press. I was beyond thrilled. The editor at Reliquary Press gushed over my novel. I felt validated and would have signed any contract he put in front of me. My husband is more cautious, and to stop him from bugging me, I wrote to other Reliquary authors about their experience with the press and researched contracts. Feedback from authors was positive, and the contract looked pretty standard, even a bit generous in its terms. My husband was still not sold because the contract said nothing about what the press would do to promote the book. I wasn’t about to let my long awaited chance at publishing slip through my fingers, so I signed the contract despite my husband’s reservations and waited for my book to appear.

(My husband was quite right to be cautious. There are a lot of scams out there that prey on authors’ eagerness to be published. If a publisher ever asks you to pay them anything, run. They are a scam. You do not pay publishers. They pay you.)

My novel was published on April 12, 2012. When I got my first author copies with my name on the cover and my words inside, it was a rush. I had made it. I had beaten the odds. I was published. I basked in the glory of the moment and waited for my book to sell. A few friends and family members bought it. I had a reading that I arranged myself at a local bookstore and sold a few more copies, but that was basically it. Reliquary Press did nothing to promote it. Nobody had told me that I was supposed to do anything, so although I had the books with my name on the cover, no one was reading it.

The Goddess’s Choice was my baby. I had put years of my life into writing it, revising it, cutting it, publishing it, and nobody was reading it. I knew I had written a great novel, but no one knew anything about it.

Stay tuned for what I did next, and please share your own experiences in the comments.