Yes, just a flying visit today to say I hope you'll stop by David Powers King's Cosmic Laire, where your humble blog scribe has been blessed with a most rare honour. Certainly one I never saw coming!
I'm sorry I haven't been around much the last few days. I'm just about finished grappling with the complexities of formatting, quite a learning curve as I'm far from technical, and am currently uploading to all the appropriate outlets. So far, so good! Those who have signed up to help with the launch will definitely receive all the info by the end of the week, including those who had issues with the linky list. (I've been keeping notes!) And you can still sign up!
I'll be back on Friday with something fun, but as I'm helping my other half prepare for a Ladies' Night on Saturday, I can't guarantee I'll be making my usual rounds for the rest of the week either. No rest for the wicked!
Have a great Hump Day (is that Wednesday? I think I'm just getting to grips with this concept). I'm looking forward to sharing my cover and everything else with you; there will be some pieces in the anthology which weren't in the bloghop, which are really special.
Wednesday, 27 February 2013
Monday, 25 February 2013
He Came For Mine Blog Tour
Hope everyone's ready for the start of another week. Today I have a guest post from the talented C.M. Brown, as part of her tour for Part Two of her Protector Series, He Came For Mine. Take it away, Carolyn!
Fending for herself for almost two years,
A long-time lover of Fantasy Novels Carolyn
decided to put pen to paper and create her own. Many years spent helping high
school students write their assignments from years 8 to 12, has given her the
experience to forge ahead with this dream! She lives on the Sunshine Coast in
Queensland, Australia and shares some of the wonders of this area with you in
this book.
Thanks for being part of my tour Nick and
inviting me to your site today.
You have asked me to talk about what
inspired me to write the Protector Series, well some might laugh, but honestly
it was Stephanie Meyers, Twilight Series which ignited my passion, I actually
read each book five times. I said in another post during the tour, I found the
music she used on her playlists very moving, opening a doorway to my
imagination, sparking my passion to write.
I immersed myself in the music of bands
like: Lincoln Park, My Chemical Romance, Radiohead, Muse, Blue October, Jack’s
Mannequin and many more stimulating my inspiration to write. I still like to plug the headphones in and
shut myself off to the rest of the world, listening to music when I write my
stories. It seems to be a trigger to my
imagination.
When writing the first book in the series,
He Came For Me, I would dream large segments of the
story. These I would note down to use as
I ventured forth. I remember one time,
waking in the middle of the night, feeling elated, having found the title of
the book. Unfortunately, by the time I
woke in the morning, I had lost it. To
this day, I have no recollection of what it was.
So now, when I have these inspiring
moments, I make sure that I write them down!
Imagery also plays an important part in my
writing, as I tend to visualize the scenes in my head, in a movie type style
before writing them. I received an email
from a reader recently, informing me how my writing style seems to allow her to
visualize the story as though she was watching a movie. Of course it was nice to hear!
At present the novel I am working on which
is to be titled T.I.N.T was inspired by an image I found on the web, as part of
a challenge on a blog site. The image is
a distorted room, full of ghostly figures, where the walls are filled with
art. I was so empowered by this image it
seemed as though the whole storyline formed in my mind from the first time I
viewed it.
To sum up, I suppose my inspirations come
from different sources, a combination of the books I read, music and images I
see, as well as my dreams.
Thanks once again for having me here today,
Nick. May I leave you and your readers with a question? What inspires your writing? Is it one of the above or are you inspired to
write by something totally different?
(I suppose that is really two questions.
Lol)
BLURB: He Came For Mine,
Book Two in 'The Protector Series'
Fending for herself for almost two years,
Jazz worries she will never see Sebastian again.
A new man enters her life, but he holds a secret.
Will Jazz trust him?
~~~~
Sebastian discovers an ancient ritual which must be performed
on the Chosen One's son before his first birthday, or he will die.
He returns to Earth to find Jazz in the arms of another man.
A man he knows very well.
A man he does not trust....
A long-time lover of Fantasy Novels Carolyn
decided to put pen to paper and create her own. Many years spent helping high
school students write their assignments from years 8 to 12, has given her the
experience to forge ahead with this dream! She lives on the Sunshine Coast in
Queensland, Australia and shares some of the wonders of this area with you in
this book.
Carolyn is married with two teenage, almost
adult children, one studying at University the other in the senior years of
High School.
She enjoys reading and
writing and spending time relaxing on the beautiful beaches she lives close to
walking her King Charles Cavalier, named Toby and swimming.
You can contact Carolyn here:
http://booksbycmbrown.blogspot.com.au/
Well Carolyn, I'm very jealous that you could dream large parts of your book! I've only had useful ideas from dreams a couple of times - most of the time it's gone after I wake up. I would say what inspires me could be anything - a fragment of conversation or glimpse of a character. Some ideas seem to come out of nowhere. I also think we need inspiration throughout the whole writing process, and for me that would be trying to get the story down the way I want it to be told.
Congrats Carolyn! OK, your turn - what inspires your writing?
Friday, 22 February 2013
CASSASTORM by Alex J. Cavanaugh Cover Reveal!
It's here!
CassaStorm by Alex J. Cavanaugh
A storm gathers across the galaxy…
Byron thought he’d put the days of battle behind him. Commanding the Cassan base on Tgren, his only struggles are occasional rogue pirate raids and endless government bureaucracies. As a galaxy-wide war encroaches upon the desert planet, Byron’s ideal life is threatened and he’s caught between the Tgrens and the Cassans.
After enemy ships attack the desert planet, Byron discovers another battle within his own family. The declaration of war between all ten races triggers nightmares in his son, shaking Bassan to the core and threatening to destroy the boy’s mind.
Meanwhile the ancient alien ship is transmitting a code that might signal the end of all life in the galaxy. And the mysterious probe that almost destroyed Tgren twenty years ago could be on its way back. As his world begins to crumble, Byron suspects a connection. The storm is about to break, and Byron is caught in the middle…
Release date: September 17, 2013
Science Fiction - Space Opera/Adventure
Print ISBN 9781939844002
E-book ISBN 9781939844019
Many will need no introduction to the famous Ninja Captain, but for those who don't know him, he's a dude who spends most of his non-writing time bigging up others, providing a launchpad for their news, organising bloghops, and somehow being frequently first to comment on many of the posts of the 1000+ bloggers he follows!
Hats off to the Ninja, this is a fitting cover for what sounds like a very dramatic ending to the Cassa trilogy, and here's a little more info if you need it...
Alex J. Cavanaugh has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and
works in web design and graphics. He is experienced in technical editing and
worked with an adult literacy program for several years. A fan of all things
science fiction, his interests range from books and movies to music and games.
Online he is the Ninja Captain and founder of the Insecure Writer's Support Group. The author of the Amazon bestsellers, CassaStar and CassaFire, he lives in the Carolinas with his wife.
Congrats, Alex, and I hope everyone has an excellent weekend!
Wednesday, 20 February 2013
She Said What?! Bloghop
This mega fun bloghop is to celebrate the two year blogoversary of Michelle Wallace and one year blogoversary of Elise Fallson, two very cool and talented ladies that I'm glad to know. Congrats to them both. I couldn't resist joining in with this!
All we had to do was add captions to the following comic strips and work in the following bonus words for an added challenge: twist, cheek, buzz, honour, grey, champagne, tango, vomit.
Simples, right?! Here is my attempt:
Panel 1:
M: Hurry up E, the champagne's getting warm!
E: Well you had a cheek to fly off without me with that dragon about. Anyway I'd rather drink Tango.
Panel 2:
M: Ouch, drinking too much of that stuff has given me a buzz in my head.
E: Never mind that, I'm about to vomit! When I said I wanted to hang out this wasn't what I had in mind.
Panel 3:
V: Hey Dragon, just flying in to honour our weekly poker game. Hey, what's going on with those two chicks and that balloon?
Panel 4:
V: Well, another rescue attempt goes spectacularly wrong.
Panel 5:
M: Good thing that pond is there for a happy twist to this tale of woe.
Panel 6:
E: I think I gave a frog a heart attack.
M: Oh. Never mind, they say algae does wonders for the complexion!
Panel 7:
Dragon: Poor V. What about our game? My afternoon will be very grey now.
M: Oh well, only 57 miles to the balloon repair shop! Better get going...
Don't forget to visit Elise and Michelle to check out the linky list of other entries!
All we had to do was add captions to the following comic strips and work in the following bonus words for an added challenge: twist, cheek, buzz, honour, grey, champagne, tango, vomit.
Simples, right?! Here is my attempt:
M: Hurry up E, the champagne's getting warm!
E: Well you had a cheek to fly off without me with that dragon about. Anyway I'd rather drink Tango.
Panel 2:
M: Ouch, drinking too much of that stuff has given me a buzz in my head.
E: Never mind that, I'm about to vomit! When I said I wanted to hang out this wasn't what I had in mind.
Panel 3:
V: Hey Dragon, just flying in to honour our weekly poker game. Hey, what's going on with those two chicks and that balloon?
V: Well, another rescue attempt goes spectacularly wrong.
Panel 5:
M: Good thing that pond is there for a happy twist to this tale of woe.
Panel 6:
E: I think I gave a frog a heart attack.
M: Oh. Never mind, they say algae does wonders for the complexion!
Dragon: Poor V. What about our game? My afternoon will be very grey now.
M: Oh well, only 57 miles to the balloon repair shop! Better get going...
Don't forget to visit Elise and Michelle to check out the linky list of other entries!
Monday, 18 February 2013
Cover Reveal: "1304 - The Harbinger" by Christine Rains
Title: 1304 – The Harbinger
(The 13th Floor series, #4)
Author: Christine Rains
Genre: paranormal romance
Release date: March 13th, 2013
Blurb:
Meira Harper loves both her jobs: talking about beautiful shoes and
fetching souls for Zeus. But the Thunder God threatens the harpy's loyalty to
her job when she receives the call to bring the soul of gorgeous Sam Wright.
Meira pleads with her boss to let him live. Zeus agrees, but Sam must fight for
his life. If Sam can win three challenges, he can keep his soul.
The gods never play fairly, though, so Meira needs to find ways to
help Sam with the challenges. She cannot outwardly cross her master, but she
refuses to let the man she loves lose his soul. They haven't even had a chance
to start a life together.
Sam's soul is on the line. Meira's will be too if she's caught, but
that's a risk she's willing to take.
Author
Bio:
Christine Rains is a writer, blogger, and
geek mom. She has four degrees which help nothing with motherhood, but make her
a great Jeopardy player. When she's not writing or reading, she having
adventures with her son or watching cheesy movies on Syfy Channel. She's a
member of Untethered Realms and S.C.I.F.I. The 13th Floor series is her first self-published
series. She has five novellas and eighteen short stories published.
Thursday, 14 February 2013
Love... The Second Time Around Celebration
*** If you're looking for my guest post from Christine Rains, you can find it here. ***
I'm running late today but I finally got my entry ready for this timely blogfest hosted by J.L. Campbell, to celebrate the release of her new novel, Retribution.
Here's the details courtesy of Joy:
I'm running late today but I finally got my entry ready for this timely blogfest hosted by J.L. Campbell, to celebrate the release of her new novel, Retribution.
There is no restriction as it pertains to form or genre. Stories can be fact or fiction. Use your imagination, make them attention-grabbing.You can use something that's pre-written.
Somewhere in there, you must tell the reader why the couple broke up and why they feel compelled to get back together.This can be done from any of your characters’ point-of-view.
The word cap is 500.
Indicate on your blog post, by the relevant badge, whether you’re in the fact or fiction category.
There will be voting and prizes, so it’ll be a reader’s choice situation, where you get to choose your favourite anecdote/poem/refection/story. The best piece of fact and fiction—as determined by your vote—will receive a $10.00 Amazon Gift Card, so that’s two prizes.
In the event of ties, there will be trusty bloggers standing by to help with a tie break decision. If we cannot decide on a winner in either category, prizes will be divvied up between the best two entries and the loot (meagre as it is) shared. Stay tuned for further information.
Well, following my recent trend of trying as many new genres as I can, this is my first foray into the romance genre. I'm not even sure if this qualifies for the requirements, but here is my story of 499 words:
A Second Chance
The
second I saw her, my mind flashed back to that giddy, golden week.
I’d
come to this nondescript town for the annual work conference. Nothing exciting.
A weekend of arid shop talk and meeting up with colleagues from around the
country, most of whom had the charisma of a stuffed sheep.
Stepping
off the train, I went into the tiny shop before heading on to the hotel. A
method of delaying the inevitable, even by just a couple of minutes.
She
was serving a customer when I walked in. She didn’t see me but I saw her. And
panicked. I shuffled over to the newspaper rack and pretended to study it,
stealing another furtive glance to confirm this truly was my long-lost love.
But
I didn’t need confirmation.
I’d
been seeing that angelic face in my dreams for the past twenty-three years, the
way her long chestnut hair swept to the side, occasionally tumbling into those
wide brown eyes. When she smiled, she seemed to glow.
It
was probably stupid, when you thought about it. We were just kids, on holiday
with our parents. At first it seemed those parents had made a poor choice of
resort – full of snotty eight-year-olds – but in hindsight it was a spectacular
decision. We were the only two teenagers there. She initiated the conversation,
which was just as well as there would have been no contact if it was left to
painfully shy me.
We’d
spent the week hanging out, talking about our home lives and various
dissatisfactions, and gradually she’d coaxed me out of my shell. I was
mesmerised by her. I’d always felt pretty awkward talking to anyone, and
avoided speaking to girls if I could. But it was different with her. I actually
began to relax, and felt like I was on cloud nine.
But
there was no kiss. I was still too shy for anything like that. And we parted
ways without her knowing how I felt. I mean, what if she had freaked out?
I
took my paper up to the counter, although I seriously considered just walking
out. After all, she might not even remember me.
She
looked up as I approached, and I saw her face again properly for the first
time. The years hardly seemed to have touched her, and just like before it was
those eyes that I was instantly drawn to.
I
looked down again and placed the paper on the till.
“Hiya,”
she said.
“Hello,”
I mumbled.
“That’s
forty-five pence, please.”
I
sagged, rooting around in my pocket for the change. So she didn’t remember me.
Not that surprising. I was a forgettable person in general.
I
handed her the money and that brief skin contact sent a jolt through my whole
being. She put it in the till, frowning, and then looked up at me again.
“Simon?”
We
met up for drinks and caught up after work that night. And for once I was glad about
going to the conference.
*
Head over to Joy's to read more entries! You still have time to enter, and voting will open tomorrow.
"1303 - The Dragonslayer" Blog Tour
*** If you're looking for my entry for Love... The Second Time Around, you can find it here. ***
Today I welcome back author Christine Rains as part of the tour for the latest in her excellent 13th Floor series. She's talking about villains again and they don't come much bigger than that featured in The Dragonslayer.
Today I welcome back author Christine Rains as part of the tour for the latest in her excellent 13th Floor series. She's talking about villains again and they don't come much bigger than that featured in The Dragonslayer.
GOVERNOR RANDALL WHITTAKER
We've seen the trickster in The Marquis and the brute in The Alpha, but The Dragonslayer brings forth an antagonist ancient and wise. A
villain that might be admirable if he didn't occasionally raze villages and eat
people.
Dragons still exist. They've taken on the
form of humans and moved into powerful positions in our society. Movie stars,
designers, and politicians. They're in every nook and cranny, pulling the
strings, and building their empires. Once upon a time, dragonslayers would rid
the world of these monsters, but nowadays if anyone tried to kill a beloved
celebrity, they would end up on the FBI's most wanted list.
Governor Randall Whittaker is an old
dragon. He has an eye for detail and a hunger for maidens of the rarest kind.
The citizens of America love him. When he runs for president during the next
election, every poll says he'll win. He's never slipped up and let anyone know
he's a fearsome creature from legend.
Yet somehow Xan has discovered Whittaker's
true nature. The dragon doesn't rage or go on the hunt. Confidence isn't
something he's lacking. He knows the dragonslayer will eventually come to him.
And if Xan doesn't come soon enough, there are ways to hurry him along. Just
pull the right string and you can make anyone dance.
The evil genius is one of the most
frightening of villains. You might out-smart a brute or slip something by a
cocky trickster, but what can you do against great intelligence? You best hope
that luck is on your side.
What do you think makes an awesome villain?
Title: 1303 – The
Dragonslayer (The 13th Floor series, #3)
Author: Christine Rains
Genre: paranormal romance
Release date: February 13th, 2013
On
the rooftop of neighboring building, dragonslayer Xanthus Ehrensvard fires at
his target, Governor Whittaker. How he missed the shot, he doesn't know, but
fleeing the scene, he picks up an unwanted passenger. Gorgeous reporter Lois
King saw Xan's face, and she believes it's the story to make her career. Except
he can't let her walk away knowing what he looks like. Xan has to show her the
Governor is a bigger threat to the world than he is.
Xan knows dragons never went extinct. They evolved with human society, taking on mortal forms, and slithered their way into positions of great influence and power, just like the Governor. But it's no easy chore proving to someone that dragons still exist, and even more so, they're disguised as famous people. Xan must convince Lois or find another way to silence her. An option, as he gets to know her, he likes less and less.
After all, dragonslayers are no longer celebrated heroes but outlaws. Just as the dragons wish it. But this outlaw must make a plan to slay the dragon or risk its retribution.
Xan knows dragons never went extinct. They evolved with human society, taking on mortal forms, and slithered their way into positions of great influence and power, just like the Governor. But it's no easy chore proving to someone that dragons still exist, and even more so, they're disguised as famous people. Xan must convince Lois or find another way to silence her. An option, as he gets to know her, he likes less and less.
After all, dragonslayers are no longer celebrated heroes but outlaws. Just as the dragons wish it. But this outlaw must make a plan to slay the dragon or risk its retribution.
Author
Bio:
Christine Rains is a writer, blogger, and
geek mom. She has four degrees which help nothing with motherhood, but make her
a great Jeopardy player. When she's not writing or reading, she having
adventures with her son or watching cheesy movies on Syfy Channel. She's a
member of S.C.I.F.I. The 13th Floor
series is her first self-published series. She has four novellas and eighteen
short stories published.
Purchase Links for The Dragonslayer:
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)