My first Self Published short story!

Hey!

So today I have sent my short story "Guilt of the Innocent" over to Amazon to self publish. I'm learning the ropes since my books have previously gone through my publisher, but hopefully I've done a good job. I'm sure people will tell me if I haven't. Anyway, I thought I would post the cover and the blurb!

Rayne Marlow is trying to live a normal happy life. She has a good job, friends and boyfriend who she loves with all her heart. But Rayne has secrets and a tragic past that seems to endlessly haunt and torment her. 

When Rayne’s dreams turn violent and she is harmed by a creature lurking in the darkness, her lover is determined to get answers and cure her once and for all. Rayne must now relive her past, reveal her secrets, believe in her innocence and defeat the demon who is preying on her and intent on dragging her soul into the depths of hell.

Review of Adjusting Journal Entries by Ashley Fontainne

I received this book from the author in return for an honest review.

5 STARS.

As author Ashley Fontainne knows all to well, I’ve been excited to read this book for a long time. I’ve waited very impatiently and when I received it for review, I couldn’t wait to start. 

This series has been nothing short of mind blowing. Nothing is predictable – that is what makes this series awesome. Even when you’re so sure you know what’s going to happen next... NO! Bang! The story twists and leaves you shocked and on tenterhooks, just hoping it won’t be long for the next part of the story to be released. 

Adjusting Journal Entries is the last in this trilogy surrounding revenge, and just how wrong things can go when you try for it. I’m not giving anything away, I know a lot of people are enjoying this series, which is really no surprise, and I would absolutely hate to spoil anything for them. So, I’ll just say, You will not be disappointed. At some points while reading this book, I was sat with my Kindle in my hands wearing such an evil grin, I was so deeply inside this story. I felt every emotion, just like I did with the first two instalments. The ending is perfect and I’m now very content with what happened to each and every character! 

Ashley Fontainne has created three dimensional characters, some you love, others you really love to hate. They have an impact on you, and even after you turn the last page and you know your time with them has come to an end, they live on inside you.

Please Welcome Jessica McHugh!

This post is actually a day late, and I'm so sorry for that. Today I'm hosting Jessica as part of her book tour through Mystic Press and PR. Jessica's books have also been reviewed on mine and my friends review page, you can find the links to them under this post. 

So, everyone, let's get to know Jessica a little better!


MAMAS, LET YOUR BABIES GROW UP TO BE COWBOYS

By Jessica McHugh

My mother thought putting me into Kindergarten early was a huge mistake. Although I was a bright child, I apparently didn’t interact with other kids easily. Instead, I spent hours in my own imaginary worlds. Being anti-social is not something I remember, but I do remember spending a lot of time playing make-believe as a kid. Whenever my family planned an outing, I tried my damndest to wriggle out of it. I wanted to stay home by myself. I wanted to play—and as I aged, I got the feeling my parents were none too comfortable about it. My brothers would tease me relentlessly, and I never understood why.  When I was a pre-teen, my parents even blocked Nickelodeon on our cable because they felt it contributed to my continued “immaturity.” 

At the time of the Great Nick-Blocking, I thought it was stupid. Years later, after hearing my mother’s confession about being tempted to pull me out of Kindergarten, as well as my inability to connect with other kids, I thought, “Hey, she must’ve been seeing something I wasn’t.” But this past year, while using my childhood diaries as research for my YA book, “Darla Decker Hates to Wait,” I realized just how social I actually was—make-believe worlds and all. I wasn’t immature. I was just Jessica. I was having fun. Okay, so my fun in those younger years consisted of pretending I was a unicorn in captivity…or an overworked peasant girl…or a vicious soldier…but what was so wrong with that?

The answer is, and has to be, NOTHING. Look at who I am today. I’m an author who spans the speculative genre, writing fantasy and horror, adventure and science fiction. I write about unicorns and peasant girls and vicious soldiers. I’ve never been diagnosed or suspected as having any shade of mental illness and am generally regarded as a likable person. The truth is, as that girl lost in her own world, I was just a writer in training. I was, and still am, just Jessica. I’m still playing make-believe, and I’m still happier than 70% of people I encounter on a daily basis. 

That’s why fiction is so precious to me. I have to spend 8 hours of my day being an adult. When work’s over, I just want to play. Whether it means writing a novel, editing short stories, going out with friends, or cuddling with my wonderful husband on the couch, I always want to feel that spark of youth, and I believe fiction—art, really—keeps that alight in me. It keeps me playful.

So, Mamas, keep an eye on your babies, but don’t be afraid if their imaginations are a little wild. They might just be writers in training. 

Thank you Jessica for joining us today. It's been great having you here. Lets show people some of your work!

Below are the links to some of Jessica's reviews. 

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=170331049721433&set=a.168599379894600.44960.168569586564246&type=3&theater

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=174482285972976&set=a.168599379894600.44960.168569586564246&type=3&theater

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=172461472841724&set=a.168599379894600.44960.168569586564246&type=3&theater

Promo Graphic for Revelations.... coming very soon!

Please welcome Author Joann H. Buchanan.

I'm excited to welcome Author Joann H. Buchanan to by blog today. Joann is an amazing author with a very vivid imagination. Her writing style, setting and characters draw you in from the first page. It is obvious this author has a very bright future in the literary world. As well as an amazing author, Joann is fantastic person through and through and I'm very honoured to know her and even though we've never met face to face (due to a rather large pond being between us) I'm very happy to call her a friend. She's here today to answer some questions for us as part of her blog tour, she is celebrating the release of her second novel in 'The Children of Nox Series' entitled, The Kiss. 


Lets get started.

Can you tell us a little about yourself?

I’m a mom first and foremost.  Aside from being a write and a mom, I also co-host a show with Erik Shaltis called Just Roll With It on The Shark Radio network on Sunday nights at 10 pm EST. The other thing I do is help set up blog tours through Totes and Notes.  The site is designed to assist bloggers and writers. So often bloggers don’t get enough credit for the work they do.

Other than writing, what else are you passionate about?

I’m passionate about my children and seeing them grow into wonderful adults.

Why made you decide to become a writer?

It’s something I’ve always done. I can’t imagine my life without it. I love writing and all that’s involved. I think it’s like any other creative outlet, it allows us to grow as individuals. I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t write. I think I would be bored…lol.

What brought you to this genre?

The stories brought me to this genre. I didn’t set out to just write a YA book or a romance or anything like that. I let the story take me away and that’s where it landed.

Do you ever suffer from writer’s block? If so, what do you do about it?

 I do and when I do, I read. I also do a writing technique that is called the 5 minute writing technique I learned from Jack Remick. He is an amazing writer, mentor and friend. I’m so grateful to know him and to have been one of the people he helped see the craft of writing in so many different ways.

Where do you get your inspiration, e.g. music, dreams etc

Ok this is going to sound weird, but sometimes it’s music, other times it’s just a simple word that inspires something. Simple observations in life inspire me to the next level. Other writers also inspire me.

Can you tell us a bit about your book?

THE KISS takes off where I AM WOLF left off. The unnatural Jonah has created is now dead. Jonah and Alaynee are planning on getting married. All seems right in Sisters for the Youngling Pack. When Cathy, Alaynee’s mom brings home a stranded girl from San Francisco, strange things begin to happen, threatening to destroy all she holds dear. There is something strange but alluring about Cleo. It’s something that an evil has waited centuries for. Will Cleo be able to use Jonah to release the evil trapped beneath Broken Top Mountain or will Alaynee’s love protect him from the unknown forces at work? Can a kiss really trap a soul?

Describe your novel in five words.

Fantasy , romance, horror, love and laughter.

Who is your favourite character and why?

I love all of them, even the evil characters…lol. If I had to choose though it would be a toss up between Sharron and Cara because both of them have this amazing strength inside them.

Are your characters based on anyone you know in the real world?

Cara is somewhat based on my daughter Carolyne. She has enough compassion for the entire world. She’s the kid who doesn’t understand why kids at school fight and who breaks up arguments on the playground at school. She has a heart big enough to hold the entire world.

If you book was turned into a movie, who would you choose to play your characters and why?

I would love to see Ralph from I AM WOLF  be played by Billy Bob Thornton. He has that edge and is just crazy enough to pull off the part and make it real.

As for the rest, I hadn’t thought about it. I do know that they have to have an edge about them because none of the characters are boring. They are all wild and full of life.

What are your current / future projects?

I’m working on book 3 in The Children of Nox series called Dance of Fireflies. Also I’m working on a book called Dragon’s Eye. The other two projects I’m working on I’m not ready to reveal yet.

Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it?

I learn something from everything I write. Whether it’s the way the words flow or a twist that comes out of nowhere. 

What do you think readers will find most notable about this book?

Wow that’s a good one. I don’t have an honest answer for that one. I think I’ll let them tell me that. It’s so surprising that so many people can read the same thing and get something different out of it. I really enjoy the different points of view from readers.

What would you most like readers to tell others about this book?

That they loved it.

How did you decide on your books Title?

Sometimes they are what starts the story other times it happens through the writing of it.

Is there anything in your novel that would embarrass you if your Dad read it?

No. I don’t regret anything in this book or any other book in the future. My dad is so supportive of me that getting embarrassed wouldn’t happen.

What has writing made you learn about yourself?

That if you have a goal, you can achieve it, all you have to do is keep going and not give up.

How do you react to a negative review of your book?

You can learn a lot from a negative review.  I generally thank them and read them and see if there is something I can learn. Sometimes there are reviewers who take it to a personal level and I don’t agree with that at all. It’s one thing to point out something that perhaps the writer didn’t see or make clear enough. It’s another to just be mean. I ignore those who are just being mean.

If I asked you to include the phrase ‘A day without sunshine is like, you know, night.’ Somewhere in your next book, would you?
LMAO ….I could get Utah to say it as a joke…lol.

Would you consider yourself adventurous?

Sometimes. There are sooo many things I want to do. I just haven’t had the chance yet.

Do you have any advice for other writers?

Keep writing, write every day and always be nice.

Where can readers find you and more about your book(s)? Where can they purchase your book(s)?

http://www.amazon.com/Joann-H.-Buchanan/e/B005PBUGWG/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

And http://www.worldcastlepublishing.com/home.html

And where ever books are sold.

Chocolate or ice cream?

Chocolate.

What is your guilty pleasure?

Eating a snack late at night when the kids are in bed and I can have it all to myself. Rare times but oooooh so good…lol.

If you could have dinner with anyone famous, alive or dead, who would it be and why?

I would like to sit down with David B. Coe and Frank Herbert. They are amazing writers. I would also like to chat with Einstein and find out what made him tick.

Who is you’re favourite fantasy character, either from a book or a movie and why?

Oh toss-up. Can’t pick just one. Daenerys Targaryen from Game of Thrones, because she has this inner strength that is just so cool. Gimli from LOTR because he is so funny and himself in every situation. The Weavers from David B. Coe’s series Winds of the Forelands because they are just way too cool.

Erotica or passionate romance?

Passionate romance, hands down.

If you had a special power, what would it be and why?

I want the Page’s powers from Charmed. I could orb all over the world…no more gas use…lol.

If all hoggles are doddles, and all doddles are woggles, are all hoggles actually woggles?

Er um…whaaaa???lol 

Confessions of a Full Time Chiropractor & Part Time Writer By Corey Sondrup, D.C.

Please welcome Corey Sondrup to my blog today!

     If someone would have told me seven or eight years ago I would be writing books, I would have said that they were insane.  Truth be told, I had an extreme dislike for English, reading and writing of any kind growing.  It wasn’t until I was in my early twenties that I actually finished reading my first real book (children’s picture books excluded).

     I became a fan of Clive Cussler and Dean Koontz.  I read to relax and enjoy myself while attending chiropractic school.  From there, I was hooked on Stuart Woods, Michael Connelly and Anne Rice to name a few.  After being in practice for about nine years, I had my first impulse for possibly writing a book.  At the time, due to my career as a chiropractor, nutritionist and energy healer, I was immersed in health & wellness, nutrition and personal growth.  I thought to myself, a book would be a great way to educate my patients as well as reach a larger audience than what I see on a day to day basis.

     In 2005 I started brainstorming for ideas to write my first self help book Reclaiming Your Power.  At the time, I was not proficient with computers so I wrote by hand on yellow legal pads and had my secretary type my rough chapters into the computer.  After three years I had completed my first book.  After about thirty rejections from publishers and a flaky literary agent I decided to self publish.  I already had an audience with my patients.  I have dreams of hitting big and going on the self help lecture circuit with Wayne Dyer and Deepak Chopra. 

     I have found that the more I write, the easier thoughts and ideas flow.  With my second book, Mastering Life’s Lessons, it only took a year and a half to write.  I have to laugh dealing with rejection after rejection from publishers while at the same time writing self help/personal growth books; the irony.

         So far, I have sold about twelve hundred between the two of them.  I released them on Kindle Select a month ago and for a period of four days, they both hit #1 and #3 in their genres for the free down loads.  That was fun to watch.  Most of my sales come from my office, usually about ten to twelve sales per week and I get all the profit minus the printing cost.

      While I wait with patience on my dream of touring on the self help circuit, I decided I wanted to write a fictional novel in the paranormal/urban fantasy realm (Yes I got bored writing self help books).  I have always been fascinated with vampires, werewolves and the supernatural.  From their, Blood Amalgam; Book 1 was born.  This time, it only took eight months to write.  And I am already half way through Book 2. 

     With the surge and popularity of eBooks, I decided to go the indie route with my Crimson Chronicle series.  If Amanda Hocking can hit it big, why not me?  I am still submitting to agents and publishers (Rejections don’t even faze me anymore).  I am no where near ready to quit my day job, but in the meantime, I am having a ball as a part time writer/story teller.  

New trailer for Revelations

Well, I've had a boost on Revelations (finally) and all is going well. Not much left to write. Then I just need to give it the once over and check I'm happy, then off to my publisher. I've made a different, more in depth trailer to give people a peek at what's to come. What do you think? (I can't get enough of this music!)