Thursday, January 30, 2014
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Feature: Miranda Kavi, author of the Aurora Lockette Series
CRUX (The Aurora Lockette Series book 2) is LIVE and ONLY 99¢!
Haven’t read FLEE yet? No problem – grab it for only 99¢ as well!
FLEE - http://amzn.to/1cuXdBP
CRUX - http://amzn.to/M9FxWC
Find Miranda Kavi on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/MirandaKavi
Release day PARTY tomorrow! Join us -
Saturday, January 25, 2014
Feature: Daniel Sherrier, author of the RIP Series
Excerpt
He leaned against another tree and slid into a sitting position. He noticed the grass sticking through Serissa’s bare feet. “So I have to decide, basically, the course of my life from here on out—assuming, of course, I’m not simply losing my mind.”
Serissa stood her ground, summoning Rip with her finger. “Give me your hand.”
Rip climbed to his feet and stepped forward, hesitant.
He reached out, unsure what to expect from a dead, intangible girl.
Nor did the dead, intangible girl know what to expect.
She had no idea if this would work, but her lips curled up in the anticipation
that it might. Serissa slowly interlocked her fingers with his, and they both
squeezed.
Contact. Solid contact.
“You’re warm,” Rip said, feeling a soft human hand,
indistinguishable from any living person’s.
“Only to you,” Serissa said, smiling at her first
physical sensation since…in a long time.
Paperback available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble
eBook available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple, Diesel, Kobo, Sony, and Smashwords
Interview
What inspired you to write this
book?
A
random thought in the middle of the night—or rather, one random thought that
built into an even better random thought. I was thinking about ghosts,
naturally, and I thought about someone being able to physically interact with
ghosts as if they were flesh and blood. Then I turned it around and wondered
what if a ghost was able to touch a living person for the first time since he
or she died? The first thought was a kind of interesting notion, but the second
thought had substance and I knew this needed to happen.
Can you give us an interesting
fact about your book that isn't in the blurb?
I
originally wrote RIP as a TV pilot script. It was a finalist and semi-finalist
in a couple of competitions, and I eventually got it in the hands of a producer
who was nice enough to read it. He passed on it, though, as he preferred to see
it executed as a procedural. That gave me the hint that maybe this might work
better as a book series.
How did you choose your title?
Titles
are always tough. At some point early on, I realized, “Hey, I can name the main
character Rip and then call the series RIP.” See what I did there? I forget
where “Choices After Death” came from, but I knew it was right the moment I
thought of it, given that people generally aren’t used to making post-mortem
decisions.
Tell us about the cover and how
it came to be.
I
hired a talented cover designer named Mike Messina. He found the image and made
everything look great. He deserves all the credit for it.
Did you self-publish or publish
traditionally and why?
I
self-published. I can’t say whether indie or traditional is the better route,
but my feeling is, in any creative medium, indie is the place to start (well, the
place to start getting your work out there after you’ve spent many years
refining your skills). That’s how you show you’re serious about this work and
start building an audience. Then maybe after I’ve proven myself I might try
looking into traditional publishers.
What do you consider the most
important part of a good story?
It
has to be entertaining. Your story can reveal all the secrets of the universe,
but if it doesn’t entertain, it’s not a good story. Might be a good textbook or
philosophical tome, though.
Are you a plotter or a pantser?
A bit
of both. I plot enough at the beginning to assure myself the story will work
and that it has somewhere to go, but I might be a bit vague about later parts.
Things change along the way. In fact, RIP:
Choices After Death originally had a different ending scene…until my trusty
beta readers pointed out how it didn’t feel right. I had an ending I thought
needed to happen all along, but the characters went and grew in a different
direction than I had intended. So, yeah, I’m going to have to alter some of the
plans I had for the second book now, and that’s why you don’t plot too
specifically too far ahead.
What part of the writing process
is the hardest for you?
Physical
description. Much of my background is in playwriting, so I’m used to being very
specific about what characters say and less specific about what things look
like and precisely how everyone moves. In theatre, the director, actors, and
designers fill in all those details. In books, I’m on my own. Sometimes I’m
able to find my way into description by getting into a particular character’s
headspace and viewing the scene in his or her idiosyncratic way.
What tips can you give on how to
get through writers block?
Exercise
has many wonderful benefits, including clearing your head.
What kind of music do you like to
listen to while you write?
Mostly
instrumental soundtrack music, plus some musicals and classic rock. With RIP, Les
Miserables was playing a lot, as well as Alice Cooper and Buffy the Vampire Slayer soundtracks.
Who is your favorite character
from a book?
My
favorite character happens to be from my favorite book. Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird is basically the
soul of Superman, as I see it, and how can you beat that?
Read anything good lately?
I recently
remarked that I had been failing as a nerd lately by reading books like Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Silver Linings Playbook, both of which I
enjoyed. But now I’m rectifying that by reading the first John Carter of Mars book, which is interesting mostly from the
historical perspective. It’s the original sci-fi western, and it influenced
everything from Superman to Star Wars.
What do you like to do when
you're not writing?
Well,
there’s always reading. But aside from that, I take a kickboxing class (I
earned my black belt last year), I play with my four-year-old niece, and I
occasionally get addicted to TV shows like Buffy
and Doctor Who.
What advice would you give an
author just starting out?
Don’t
write about writers. Also, realize that it takes time to get good at anything
new. I started writing when I was nine years old putting together homemade
comic books, and I never stopped writing something. Comic books gave way to
screenplays and novels and plays, but I was always working on some project. I
published my first book, Earths in Space:
Where Are the Little Green Men?, at twenty-nine. So that was twenty years
of constant writing before I unleashed any books on the world. If you’re a
nineteen-year-old college student eager to publish, then pause. Put the book
aside, work on something else, and promise yourself you won’t publish anything
until you’re at least twenty-five, maybe even older. You’ll thank yourself,
because even if your teenage works have wonderful qualities, your first release
years later will be that much stronger. I suspect I would’ve made the mistake
of prematurely publishing if I had the option back then.
What's your next project?
I’m
finishing up the second installment in the Earths
in Space series. This series is basically adventurous space travel without
the aliens. A team of explorers visits other Earths scattered throughout the
universe, and each one has a unique human civilization. The second volume, We Must Evolve, will consist of four
novellas that build on each other and show a clear arc for the main character,
Amena. I’m hoping to get it out the first half of this year, but I won’t
release it until I’m certain it’s ready.
Daniel Sherrier is a writer based in central
Virginia. This is the guy who writes the Earths
in Space and RIP series, which
you’ve doubtless heard much about. Occasionally, a play he’s written gets performed
somewhere. He graduated from the College of William & Mary in 2005, where
he earned a degree in the ever-lucrative
fields of English and Theatre. Recently, he achieved his black belt in Thai
kickboxing. And there was that one time he jumped out of an airplane, which was
memorable.
Friday, January 24, 2014
Cover Reveal: Crossfire & Firestorm by Kyra Dune
In April, I plan to release my urban fantasy/spy thrillers, Crossfire & Firestorm, as a two-books-in-one special edition. If you like spies, lies, demons, secret organizations, and plots to overthrow the established government, then this may be the book for you.
Here's the cover.
Here's the cover.
BLURB
Three
factions rule Southern Archaides: the human faction - known as The Delegation,
the demon faction - known as The Underground, and the saint faction - known as
The Syndicate. But power between the three is far from equal and there are
those who seek to change that at any cost.
Angel
is a breed - half human, half demon - working for a private investigator in the
city of New Hope. But when her boss goes missing she finds herself plunged into
a world of spies, lies, murder plots, and deadly secrets.
It's
a tangled web to unravel and for every answer Angel uncovers, a dozen new
questions emerge. Someone is trying to pit the three factions against each
other, but who and why? It's up to Angel to find out before all out war buries
Southern Archaides in ash.
EXCERPT
“So what’s up with the goons?
Are you having me followed?”
“Only since this morning. I
figured you’d show up at Bo’s eventually.” He drummed his blunt fingers on the
table. “Sorry about bringing up bad memories over The Boneyard, but it was the
only thing I could think of that might get you to come.”
Angel shrugged. “It worked. So
why did you want to see me? I have a feeling it’s not so you can tell me where
Bo is, even though I think you know.”
His fingers stilled. “I brought
you here to tell you to back off. Stay out of this, Angel. It’s way too big for
you.”
“You expect me to abandon Bo on
your say so?” She laughed. “You’re crazy if you really believe I would
do that. Where is he, Rez? What were you looking for in his office?”
“Still the same old Angel.
Still living your life all about Bo. Wonderful, noble, heroic, Bo.” He snorted.
“Tell me how noble it is to take a scared kid off the street and turn her into
your little puppet.”
Angel stiffened. “Everything
I’ve done is to repay Bo for taking me in and giving me a reason to live. It’s
called gratitude, look it up.”
Rez’s lip curled back over his
teeth. “Yeah, Bo gave you a reason to live all right. He also gave you a home
and a family, then he took it all away. What do you owe him for that?”
“I didn’t fit in at the
Shelter. Bo taking me out was the best thing for everyone involved.”
“You are so...” Rez growled,
curling his hands into fists and shaking them. The muscles in his arms bulged.
“Pigheaded, stubborn, stupid.... You still believe that bullshit? Bo took you
out of the Shelter because of me. Because we were getting too close and
he was afraid somebody besides him would have some influence over you. He was
afraid he was losing control. I tried to tell you that the night you left, but
you wouldn’t listen.”
“And I’m not listening now.”
Angel drew her pistol and was on her feet in one quick motion which would have
caught anybody less familiar with her completely off-guard.
Rez caught Angel’s wrist and
held it tight enough to show he meant business. The barrel of the gun was
pointed right between his eyes. “I could break your arm.”
“And I could shoot you in the
face.” Angel’s finger hovered over the trigger.
“But you won’t.”
She thumbed back the hammer.
“Try me.”
Thursday, January 23, 2014
Book Review: Terra Vonnel and The Skulls Of Aries by D.C. Akers
BLURB
But what the Sea Vixen and her valiant crew do not know is something waits for them in the shadows of Mount Aries- something so unimaginable that no one has lived to tell about it. Full of excitement, the Skulls of Aries is an epic, breathtaking voyage packed with suspense-filled adventure, sword-clashing action, mystery and unforgettable characters!
4 STARS
My Review
Terra Vonnel and The Skulls of Aries is an action packed pirate adventure full of swashbuckling adventure and danger. From the deck of a magical ship on the high seas, to a cave where a fabulous treasure awaits, this story is nonstop excitement that will leave you on the edge of your seat waiting to see what happens next.
I absolutely love Terra. She is exactly what a pirate should be, fierce, strong, determined, and ruthless. She knows what she wants and she'll stop at nothing to get it. My only complaint with this story is the length. It's so short and I'm just dying to see what happens next. So far I haven't been able to find a sequel, so I'm not sure whether there's going to be one. With the ending it could sort of go either way. But I'll keep my eyes open and if I see another Terra adventure I'll be sure to pick it up.
If you like dashing pirates and breathtaking excitement, then I highly recommend this book.
AMAZON
Book Review: Haven by D.C Akers
BLURB
2 STARS
My Review
I'm not really sure what to say about this book. It had some interesting moments, especially toward the end, but I just couldn't get into it. It was pretty short, which doesn't bother me usually, but it ended right when things were kind of picking up story wise. Mostly I found the book rather dull and I didn't care much for the characters. I won't be buying the next book in the series.
AMAZON
http://www.amazon.com/Haven-Stranger-fantasy-Fantasy-Paranormal-ebook/dp/B00CR4IR7A/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1390511108&sr=1-1&keywords=haven+a+stranger+magic+d+c+akers
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Book Review: Ironside by Holly Black
BLURB
In the realm of Faerie, the time has come for Roiben's coronation. Uneasy in the midst of the malevolent Unseelie Court, pixie Kaye is sure of only one thing -- her love for Roiben. But when Kaye, drunk on faerie wine, declares herself to Roiben, he sends her on a seemingly impossible quest. Now Kaye can't see or speak to Roiben unless she can find the one thing she knows doesn't exist: a faerie who can tell a lie. Miserable and convinced she belongs nowhere, Kaye decides to tell her mother the truth -- that she is a changeling left in place of the human daughter stolen long ago. Her mother's shock and horror sends Kaye back to the world of Faerie to find her human counterpart and return her to Ironside. But once back in the faerie courts, Kaye finds herself a pawn in the games of Silarial, queen of the Seelie Court. Silarial wants Roiben's throne, and she will use Kaye, and any means necessary, to get it. In this game of wits and weapons, can a pixie outplay a queen?
3 STARS
My Review
Ironside is the gritty sequel to Tithe. Poor Kaye continues to stumble around making mistakes and generally causing trouble for everybody who comes in contact with her. Roiben remains the best character, the one with the most depth, whose actions can never be guessed at. I also really like Corny, a lot better than I like Kaye even though she's the main character.
This book is a dark journey into a world of manipulation and schemes, a world where the distinction between good and evil is hard to find and life might be thrown away on a whim. A world from which no one can emerge unscathed.
There is a lot of strong language in this book, but if that doesn't bother you and if you like YA urban fantasy with a dark side, you might want to give this one a try.
AMAZON
http://www.amazon.com/Ironside-Modern-Faerys-Tale-Faerie-ebook/dp/B001CB34IQ/ref=sr_1_1_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1390416411&sr=1-1&keywords=ironside+by+holly+black
Sunday, January 19, 2014
Book Review: Tithe by Holly Black
BLURB
Sixteen-year-old Kaye is a modern nomad. Fierce and independent, she travels from city to city with her mother's rock band until an ominous attack forces Kaye back to her childhood home. There, amid the industrial, blue-collar New Jersey backdrop, Kaye soon finds herself an unwilling pawn in an ancient power struggle between two rival faerie kingdoms -- a struggle that could very well mean her death.
3 STARS
My Review
Tithe is a dark and gritty YA urban fantasy where the difference between good and evil is a thin veil and not all things are what they seem.
This is an interesting story that moves along at a steady pace, pulling you along with it. Kaye can be a little clueless and annoying, but mostly she's an enjoyable character. My favorite character was Roiben, the darkly mysterious and dangerous fairy knight.
If you have a problem with strong language, you may want to steer clear of this book. But if that sort of thing doesn't bother you, and you like the genre, you might find this to be a good read. There are a few surprises and plenty of danger for Kaye and her friend Corny.
In a way, this book kind of reminds me of Twilight, but with fairies instead of vampires. Also, the romance isn't the main plot point, which is probably why I kind of liked this book but I didn't like Twilight at all.
AMAZON
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
Song Lyrics
This is a song I wrote. I'm not a songwriter, but sometimes lyrics pop into my head. They don't always make up a whole song, but this time they did. This is the first time I ever put one of my songs out for anybody to see. So here it is.
like I never believed it could
feeling like forever
you were my light in the dark
I was your shooting star
burning through the night
you used to be my lover
now you're not even my friend
we tried to hold it together
but it just kept coming apart
nothing's ever gonna mend the pieces
of my broken heart
I only wanted your love
I never knew you could be so blind
we were heading for the fall
but we couldn't read the danger signs
you used to be my lover
now you're not even my friend
we tried to hold it together
but it just kept coming apart
nothing's ever gonna mend the pieces
of my broken heart
the pieces, the pieces of my broken heart
PIECES
It
started out so good
you
and me togetherlike I never believed it could
feeling like forever
you were my light in the dark
I was your shooting star
burning through the night
this
is where it's gonna hurt
this
is where it's gonna endyou used to be my lover
now you're not even my friend
we tried to hold it together
but it just kept coming apart
nothing's ever gonna mend the pieces
of my broken heart
I never meant to do you wrong
I never thought you'd leave me behindI only wanted your love
I never knew you could be so blind
we were heading for the fall
but we couldn't read the danger signs
this
is where it's gonna hurt
this
is where it's gonna endyou used to be my lover
now you're not even my friend
we tried to hold it together
but it just kept coming apart
nothing's ever gonna mend the pieces
of my broken heart
the pieces, the pieces of my broken heart
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Book Review: Taken by Charlotte Abel
CHANNIE SERIES BOOK #2
BLURB
Bound by love and magic. Betrayed by those they trust. Not everyone survives. In this second installment of The Channie Series, Josh and Channie are tested physically and emotionally as the tough choices they are forced to make affect not only their future together but their very existence. The risks are high but the rewards are even higher.
3 Stars
My Review
Taken was better than Enchantment, although Josh remains an annoying character who can't seem to think about anything but sex. At least in this second installment in the series, the plot moves forward in a sort of interesting way. There were some dark themes in the first book, but this second one takes it to a whole new level as Channie and Josh are beset by danger from all sides. With a mage war brewing, the young couple have to make some tough choices that will have real consequences
that reach far beyond themselves.
Although this book was kind of exciting at times and it did come with a couple of surprises, I'm just not feeling this series so I won't be buying the next book.
Amazon
Sunday, January 12, 2014
Flash Fiction Challenge
In Chuck Wendig's first flash fiction challenge of the year http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2014/01/10/flash-fiction-challenge-roll-for-title/ we were given two columns of words and told to use a random number generator to select a word from each column to write a short story based of off. Here's mine.
CERLUEN FEAR
I
was working in the garden, surrounded by pink tulips and yellow daffodils, when
everything went dark. I froze in the action of pulling some weeds, my heart
hammering in my chest. I thought I had been suddenly struck blind, that I was
having a stroke or a heart attack or something. But I felt no pain, only fear.
I
slowly got to my feet and tilted my head back toward a sky I couldn't see. I
pulled off my gardening gloves and touched my eyes one at a time. First the
left, then the right. How could this be? I wondered. How could a relatively
healthy man in his early sixties be suddenly struck blind?
I
turned my head this way and that, listening. No birdsong. Only a few moments
before, I was trading tunes with a mockingbird while a chorus of cardinals
played backup. Now, only silence. Was I deaf as well?
"Hello?"
I whispered, then sighed with the relief at the sound of my own tremulous
voice. Not deaf then, but still blind.
Knowing
the layout of my garden as well as I did, I had no trouble negotiating my way
back to the house. I always left the back door open when I was working outside
because I could never remember the code and I didn't like to take my tablet out
where it might get dirt in the fans. The damn things were so sensitive and I'd
already broken three this cycle. If something happened to this one I wouldn't
get a replacement until the start of the next cycle.
As
soon as I stepped through the door into the kitchen, I knew something was
seriously wrong. No humming. My appliances always hummed. They were never
whisper quiet like they were supposed to be. I moved carefully forward,
trailing my hand along the counter until I came to the refrigerator. I touched
the door. The surface was cool, but the familiar tremble of the motor was
missing.
Cold
terror clutched at my guts. It was worse than I thought. I wasn't blind, the
power was out. I pulled my trembling hand away from the refrigerator. The
emergency generators should have kicked in within seconds of a power failure.
On
a normal day, the emptiness of the house didn't bother me. Madge had been dead
going on six years and I'd grown accustomed to be being alone. Now the
emptiness was like a living thing lurking in the darkness, waiting to devour
me.
"Don't
panic," I whispered. The sound of my own voice was eerie in the stillness.
"It's only this sector. Has to be. I just need to get to where I can call J-Block
and everything will be fine."
J-Block
was two sectors north of where I lived. Surely neither of those sectors would
be dark. And even if they were, J-Block wouldn't be.
I
made it through the house without running into or tripping over anything. Under
a little table by the front door, a battery operated lantern waited for me. One
good thing about living alone was that everything was always exactly where you
left it.
I
lifted the lantern and turned it on, casting the room in deep blue light. Madge
had picked this particular lantern because of the color of its light. Cerulean,
like the sky, she'd said. So much nicer than yellow or red.
Opening
the front door was out of the question, but when I had the house built for us
thirty-five cycles ago I had a failsafe put in. Madge laughed at me then,
saying I was being silly to think we'd ever need it, and it was a running joke
between us during the course of our marriage. Now it would seem it wasn't such
a fool thing after all.
After
setting the lamp on the floor, I pushed my recliner against the wall, revealing
a trapdoor. I spent a moment studying it. The door hadn't been opened since the
tunnel was installed. It was meant to be only used once, in the case of dire
emergency. This certainly qualified.
I
bent over and slipped my hand through the narrow opening where a button waited.
I pushed it and a spring activated latch
popped open. It wasn't hard to lift the door and once up it stayed open exactly
as it was supposed to. Three steps led down into the tunnel.
With
the lantern in hand, I descended into the confined space. The tunnel was made
of steel and was just tall enough so I didn't have to crawl or even stoop. Blue
light reflecting from the walls made the tunnel seem to glow all on its own.
The
tunnel was short. It ended at a second set of three steps and another trapdoor.
This one also lifted easily, tearing a small hole my front yard. I climbed out,
then stood a moment, shining the light around. I saw no sign of anyone else.
But I did notice the air had cooled considerably in the short time since
darkness descended.
I
walked slowly down the street, silence my only companion. The air tasted
metallic. Then I heard the sound of pounding followed by muffled screams. My
heart raced. I turned slowly toward the sound, wishing I'd thought to grab
something to use as a weapon before leaving the house.
The
light of my lamp played out across the front of one of my neighbor's homes.
Mary Watten's panic stricken face was pressed to the glass of the window beside
her front door.
"Help,"
she cried, her voice small and distant behind the glass. "Please,"
tears rolled down her face, "we can't get out. The air...it's so cold. So
thin. Please."
I
stared helplessly back at her. She couldn't get out; I couldn't get in. Unlike
me, most people kept their houses sealed up tight and rarely ventured outside
even though the temperature was carefully modulated. The Council discouraged
people from leaving the safety of their homes more than was necessary. They
didn't want people wandering around getting into mischief. In fact, this was
the first time since Madge's death that I had even seen another person face to
face, instead of through a video screen.
The
only way I could help Mary was to get word of our troubles to J-Block. Turning
my back on that terrified woman was one of the hardest things I've ever had to
do in my entire life. I gazed north, expecting to see the black eventually end
in bright blue. Instead, there's only more black.
With
a tremble in my step and the cerulean glow of the lantern to lead me, I
continued on into the silent darkness.
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