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27 February 2013

A Challenge or Fifty


What a year it's been so far. It seems that the universe has decided to throw a challenge or fifty in my direction! However, being the stubborn person that I am I've decided to roll with it. On days where I feel frustrated or some other equally unproductive emotion, I will endeavor to throw it into the writing. A true writer never wastes a strong emotion whether it be negative or positive. So though I may be flying below the radar some days, I am chipping away at edits for The Fury and occasionally working on other works in progress. Watch this space.




14 February 2013

Sisterhood of the Travelling Blog - Round Four

It's time for the fourth and final round of Sisterhood of the Travelling Blog! Please join me in welcoming Tracey Steinbach to my blog today and enjoy reading an excerpt from her latest work in progress "Pretty Please." This week you can find my entry on Ashley's blog (Click here)



Excerpt From Your Current Work In Progress
Why Did You Choose This Excerpt, Does It Mean Something To You?
Is There Something Specific About This Scene That Made You Want To Pick It?


I wrote this passage today and I love it! An experienced author friend spent 3 hours of her Saturday with me on Skype, brainstorming. She and I talked about adding this scene and now that I have, I am tickled with it. So, I wanted to share.


“Thea washed up and started to turn off the lights in the garage. She had one quick stop on the way home. When the doors were locked, Thea climbed into her car and drove two streets over. She parked around back because she absolutely did not want Gwen to see her car there. Thea walked around the building and in the front door. The motion sensor that caught Thea’s entrance gave a cheery jingle then went silent. Mr. Kennedy walked out from the back hallway still wearing his jeweler’s glasses. “Hi Thea! How are you, dear?"

Thea really liked Mr. Kennedy. She could have probably bought Gwen’s birthday present at any of the stores in the mall and she’d have loved it but Mr. Kennedy had always been good to Thea and she respected him. “I’m great, Mr. Kennedy. How are you?”

          “I’m old and worn out, I’m afraid. Mrs. Kennedy will be looking to trade me in any day now.” He winked at her, grinning.

            Thea chuckled. “She better watch out. If she puts you out, I may switch sides and snatch you up for myself.”

           He cackled with delight before pulling out a drawer under the display counter. He pulled the small box and receipt out and set them on the counter in front of Thea. “Last payment, Thea. Your lady will surely be excited.”

         Thea shook her head. She pulled her wallet out and handed him her debit card. “Its for Gwen’s birthday. She’s the only lady in my life, Mr. Kennedy.”

          He handed her the box, tilting his head. He seemed to be considering her before he spoke. The teasing from a minute ago was gone when he spoke. “Gwen, huh? I always liked that girl. I’ve never seen two people closer than the two of you, other than me and Mrs. Kennedy.”

             Thea took the box and thanked him. She opened the lid and looked at the ring inside. “Gwenny will love this.” She looked up as she closed the lid, again. “Gwen’s been my best friend forever. I don’t imagine that will change anytime soon. At least, I hope not.” 


Some of Tracey's other titles include:

Her Christmas Tree (Click here)
Gray and Harrison (Click here)
Cassie’s Choice (Click here)






6 February 2013

Sisterhood of the Travelling Blog - Round Three


Welcome to Sisterhood of the Travelling Blog round three! This week I am hosting Torie N James, talking about her goals for 2013. You can find my entry for this week on her blog. 


Sisterhood of the Traveling Blog, Part Deux, Week 3…here we go!

My goal for 2013 is a two part dealio. I have plans to finish ‘Timeless Night’ by February 16th, which incidentally is also my birthday! Originally, I’d intended to finish the book by the end of December last year, but it was no go sitch due to some unforeseen circumstances.

I have a horrible habit of NOT finishing what I start and if I had a dime for every story I’ve begun and never finished, I’d have a helluva lot of dimes, trust me. I’ll get so far and then either my interest wanes or I drive myself crazy with a million other ideas and get so far off the mark of my original plot, that it falls apart. This time is slightly different. I’m so very much in love with my characters, I find myself dragging my feet because I’m not ready to let them go. But go they must. This will be my debut novel, my baby and I couldn’t be prouder of what I’ve done so far. Whether I go on to be in the big leagues or not, I will always continue to write as long as I can. It makes me happy and it was what I was born to do, I have no doubts there.


Also, I have the major honor of working with two amazing ladies, Stacy Moran and Ashley Nemer, on a soon to published poetry book courtesy of XoXo Publishing. Check us out at:  




Progress update on The Fury

Just a quick update for those of you who are waiting for book two in the Therian Secrets series. I've finished writing The Fury now and it's shaping up well. Currently it's going through a series of edits and getting a good polish. I've been given great feedback by the beta readers and can't wait for this book to make it to print. I'll post further updates as they come to light.

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3 February 2013

Quotes from THE MERCENARY

I thought I would share a few pictorial quotes I made for my facebook author page. These are from - 
The Mercenary.








And then this awesome piece was made for me by Soxie Weston:

1 February 2013

Sisterhood of the Travelling Blog - Round Two!


Welcome to Round TWO of Sisterhood of the Travelling Blog!
Many apologies to followers and to Stacy for the delay in posting this entry. I landed myself in the hospital unexpectedly and had no internet. All is well now, so please join me in welcoming author Stacy Moran, and read all about her characters and how they work for her.
You can find my entry on Stacy's blog - there is a link at the bottom of this entry.





Lessons, learned…
Stacy Moran

Developing a character

When I read a book, what keeps me reading is a connection to the central characters. I want to feel something for them within the first couple chapters and be drawn into their life. This is the biggest struggle and the most fun about writing for me. As a writer, I want readers to feel compelled to follow my characters’ journey and remain loyal to them until the end of the story.

Most readers including myself want someone charismatic who is filled with intrigue and personality. We as readers and writers do not want a generic hero. We want someone who we can relate to, someone perhaps we can see ourselves as being. We want to fall into a world of fantasy and dreams but it becomes difficult to escape from the real world if we cannot relate to the main characters.

Developing a personality can be difficult at first because there are thousands of traits to consider. Will they be friendly, distant, rude, arrogant, kind, humble, boisterous, or greedy? Most characters will only have a few of these characters. I personally bond to characters that have flaws and struggles to overcome. The so called perfect characters are boring and do not hold the reader or the author’s attention.

I spend a great deal of time developing a character, making sure they are not too perfect or follow a cookie cutter storyline. No one will become invested in two dimensional heroes or want to follow a cliché story. The characters must have flaws, real flaws.

My favorite part of writing is the research, the backstory of my world

Where does the character come from? What are their struggles? In my case, are they human or some other being? Are they a villain or a victim? Do they have a family or is their family dead? These are just a few questions that you will have to ask yourself when you are working on your character’s back-story. Most of the time once you decide on a location and their race the rest of their history unfolds.
A twist of fate is always helpful when writing a story. This usually becomes a character’s drawing power. The backstory is greatly influential in their personality throughout the story.

For example discovering why a man’s family is dead could determine why they are on a journey of vengeance. Or a man searching for redemption from a past sin is another way to use backstories. I want to give my characters a reason for doing what they are doing. In Blood Myth, Zakah has a control fetish and his sex life is more of a Dom/Sub lifestyle but once you get to know him you learn why he is drawn to this kind of relationship. I am a firm believer in balance in life so in my writing I work hard to keep balance. The characters flaws and strengths need to be believable or your readers will think it is just an odd story.

Creating Demons

Creating physical obstacles for our characters to face are great and fun to read but what keeps me committing and wanting more is when they must face their own personal demons. As a reader and author I want more than the traditional adversary. I want to feel the individual’s struggle as a reader and as an author I want to hit the personal chord within the reader.

I do not mean to suggest we cure all struggle and clear up all problems with our characters but I want to make sure my audience can see a way for them to overcome their demons. We ourselves have to face our demons at certain points in our lives, and to read and take some form of escape that helps to reinforce our resolve to face these demons helps to connect the hero to the readers on an intimate level.



Finally, throughout my journey practicing my craft of writing I have become more critical of the things I read and write. This blog is a reminder to me of things I mistakes I have made in the past or things I need to remember when creating a new world, hopefully others can benefit from my mistakes.

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