On Character Creation by Henry Mitchell – Guest Blog and Giveaway

February 21, 2022 By 9 Comments

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Henry Mitchell will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

On Character Creation

I am convinced that I don’t create my characters. I firmly believe they existed with their own lives and stories before we ever met on the pages of a first draft. They all seem to resemble people I know, but they always have some surprising quality I never expected when I began to write them. One shouldn’t rush one’s characters as they begin to reveal themselves. If you will allow yourself time to get to know them, with all their gifts and flaws, they will show you the story you are trying to write.

The first character in a new story, at least, the one I begin with, is a place. I do a lot of scene setting in the first draft, which gets pruned mercilessly in succeeding iterations, but that is where I find my character. What sort of setting is this? What sort of place? What kind of character would be living here? What would they be doing in such a place as this? Where will they find their pain and their joy?

Once you see your first character, you just follow along and try not to interfere. They will show you where to go, where the story lies, what are the issues that lead to crisis and resolution. Don’t put words into your character’s mouth. Listen to them. Befriend them, even (and especially) the ones you don’t particularly like. They will tell you what they need to do and want to say.

Over five novels and two collections of short stories, I’ve acquired a little company of characters who travel with me from book to book, answering to different names and wearing different costumes according to the occasion, like a touring theatrical troupe. Readers are sometimes surprised to recognize them from a former encounter in an earlier story, and greet them like old friends -which they are.

An adult fairytale about a girl who might know how to fly, a neurobotanist who might be a dragon, an innkeeper who might be a machine and a politician who might be the antichrist.

Millicent McTeer grows to adulthood in Ashton, an Appalachian tourist town, convinced she knows how to fly. With a new president in power, the life Millicent knew changes. The government has spies on every corner, coercing citizens to follow the new order. As the country descends into anarchy, Millicent is drawn into political activism by her professor and becomes an exile.

In the Laurel Creek Containment District, separated from the chaos of the Atlantic American Republic, she finds a new life. As she develops her unique abilities and leads the exiles, incursions from the outside world threaten to destroy the tranquil life they have built together. Will Millicent reclaim her reality and discover the peace that has eluded her?

Enjoy an Excerpt

“Do you have wings, Dad?”

“Sure I do. Runs in the family.”

“So, why don’t you ever fly?”

Joshua shot her a convincingly wistful glance. “Grownups aren’t allowed to fly in this country, Angel. Otherwise, on special occasions, like birthdays, I just might.”

“That would be showing off,” said Millicent, affecting her mother’s stern expression.

“I suppose it would, but that didn’t stop you trying, did it?”

Millicent couldn’t summon a proper retort, stared intently at the road ahead.

Joshua rescued her from silence. “Anyway, grownups can’t fly, except on airplanes. It’s the law.”

“Then, I don’t want to grow up,” declared Millicent. “Ever.”

“I truly hope you don’t,” said her father, watching the truck in front of them turn without flashing a signal. “I hope that when you become a woman grown and strong, you are still my little girl inside.”

Millicent found no more words to say over the next two blocks until they turned onto McTeer Street. Ahead, she could see Hillhaven, the inn that had been run by their family ever since her great-grandmother Alice inherited it from her employer and life-long friend, who had no family of her own to whom she could pass it on.

“Will you always be my dad?” Millicent asked, gazing up at her father, who kept his eyes on his road.

“I’ll always be your dad, Angel,” he said. “Ever and ever amen.”

That sounded to her like an impossible promise. “Even when you are dead and gone?” she asked, using a phrase she’d overheard from one of the guests at the inn.

“Nobody’s ever dead and gone, Angel.”

About the Author:Henry Mitchell reads and writes in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina.

He has written five novels and two collections of short stories.

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The Last Keeper by J.V. Hilliard – Spotlight and Giveaway

February 2, 2022 By 1 Comment

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. J.V. Hilliard will be awarding a $10 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

A young boy’s prophetic visions.

Blind at birth, Daemus Alaric is blessed with the gift of prophetic Sight. Now, as a Keeper of the Forbidden, he must use his powers of the Sight to foil the plans of a fallen Keeper, Graytorris the Mad.

An elven Princess with a horrifying secret.

Princess Addilyn Elspeth travels from Eldwal, the magically hidden home of the Vermilion elves, to begin her life as a diplomat to the human capital of Castleshire. During her journey, she stumbles upon a mystical creature foretelling ill tidings. A terrifying force of evil.

Daemus’ recurring nightmare vision threatens to catapult him into a terrifying struggle that will leave the fate of the Keepers—and the realm—hanging in the balance. Daemus and Princess Addilyn must set out to face the menace that threatens their very existence. Will the entire realm fall to its knees?

The Last Keeper is the first book in The Warminster Series. With gripping, epic action and heart-pounding adventure, you’ll love this new adventure series.

Enjoy an Excerpt

He watched as an ethereal figure emerged from the mist, hovering over the water’s surface and meandering closer to him. It was a man, hunched and cloaked, his eyes hidden by greying bandages stained with blood—familiar, but only from his dreams. His face seemed to twist and change from night to night, growing darker and more haggard, though Daemus knew it was the same man each time. He always seemed unable to sense Daemus and was certainly unable to see him. Yet when the man was near, Daemus never felt safe. He looked like terror and death and emptiness. It was all Daemus could do not to scream.

As though tied to the same puppeteer’s strings, both Daemus and the man grew still at the same moment. Distantly, Daemus registered that something new was coming. His dream had never taken him this far, and that knowledge was terrifying. He didn’t want to know what would happen next.

His mind moved sluggishly, as though he was being slowly trapped in hardening amber. Perhaps the fog itself had clouded his mind when he was breathing it while desperately seeking his way. Panic crept up his spine, his eyes diluting as the fight-or-flight response kicked in. The man was so close that Daemus could smell the tracks of fresh blood crawling down his cheeks. It smelled of rusted swords and the bile of ruptured organs.

The man raised his head, his bloody countenance impassive, his robed arm reaching out for Daemus. It weaved through the air mere inches in front of him, as though the blinded man was looking for a stitch in the fabric of reality. Somehow, he seemed to be unaware of Daemus’s presence, though his gnarled finger was so close to the young man’s face that Daemus could see the dirt caked beneath the beds of the nails.

Daemus tried to move again, but his body refused to obey his mind’s desperate commands. He swallowed, his dry throat savoring the precious saliva, and fought back the tears that threatened to overwhelm him.

He opened his mouth and screamed.

The shrill sound ripped through the silence like a bell ringing in a sleepy village. Daemus’s hands flew up to his face as though to force the sound back in, but it was too late. Daemus knew in that moment that he’d made a fatal mistake. The figure had been unaware of him… until then.

The stranger turned.

“Finally,” he said with an evil cackle. “You’ve come for me, Daemus Alaric.”

Daemus opened his mouth to scream again, but the mist was sweeping back down from the mountains and swallowing up everything around them. Even the blinded man was no exception, and he melted away from Daemus along with everything else. Darkness overcame him, swirling into the blackness of unconsciousness as the stranger’s harsh laughter continued to echo in his ears.

About the Author:

Born of steel, fire and black wind, J.V. Hilliard was raised as a highlander in the foothills of a once-great mountain chain on the confluence of the three mighty rivers that forged his realm’s wealth and power for generations.

His father, a peasant twerg, toiled away in industries of honest labor and instilled in him a work ethic that would shape his destiny. His mother, a local healer, cared for his elders and his warrior uncle, who helped to raise him during his formative years. His genius brother, whose wizardly prowess allowed him to master the art of the abacus and his own quill, trained with him for battles on fields of green and sheets of ice.

Hilliard’s earliest education took place in his warrior uncle’s tower, where he learned his first words. HIs uncle helped him to learn the basics of life—and, most importantly, creative writing.

Hilliard’s training and education readied him to lift a quill that would scribe the tale of the realm of Warminster, filled with brave knights, harrowing adventure and legendary struggles. He lives in the city of silver cups, hypocycloids and golden triangles with his wife, a ranger of the diamond. They built their castle not far into the countryside, guarded by his own two horsehounds, Thor and MacLeod, and resides there to this day.

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Magical Mountain by Asmaa Jamil – Spotlight and Giveaway

January 25, 2022 By 6 Comments

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Asmaa Jamil will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Magical Mountain is the first book in a four-part fantasy series, Kingdom of Treasures. The book retells the story of Cinderella from the fairy’s perspective, giving readers insight into a classic fairytale from a fresh viewpoint. Keeping things interesting, Magical Mountain also borrows plot and character elements from 1001 Arabian Nights (Two Sisters Who Were Jealous of Their Younger Sister). However, the story fosters its own exciting adventure as it focuses on the fairies and the story following the marriage.

In this tale of love, family, and betrayal, readers get a glimpse into what it means to be a true female hero from the fairy and human perspectives. In doing so, Magical Mountain veers from traditional fairytale conventions, in which men typically fulfill the hero role. The women in the story demonstrate what real courage and strength look like. In the end, the female characters prove to the reader that fighting with heart pays off.

Enjoy an Excerpt

“We are talking of marriage, my dear sisters. Think grand, not some merchant who is here today and gone tomorrow. No disrespect to Father,” Avina said, with a gleam in her eye.

“No, no,” Bren and Rella chorused.

Avina wore a satisfied smile. “He was a great merchant, and he wanted us to marry well. So, I ask my dear younger sisters: Who would you want to have as a husband, and why? For me, I want to have the King’s baker as a husband.”

“Why?” Bren asked.

“A baker is never in the frontline of war, and I could eat the best bread and cake in the land.”

Bren and Rella looked at each other and burst into laughter.

Avina smirked. “Well, let’s see if you can come up with something better.”

“I would be very content to marry the King’s head cook. I could feast on delicate stews, as well as bread!” Bren exclaimed.

Rella laughed so hard that she held her stomach, and Avina scowled because she was upstaged.

“It seems that our youngest sister has a better idea. Tell us what you would want, since you find our choices so amusing.”

“Very well! Since we’re making grand wishes, we should aim only for the best. I wish to marry the King himself. I would then have the best food and the best bread in the kingdom.”

Fairy Lexi muttered her magic word, “Souhait,” and then she twirled her magic wand in a circle, and then gold stars appeared.

About the Author:Originally from Northern Iraq, Asmaa Jamil was born into the Chaldean Christian ethnic group before moving to the United States, where she grew up. Leaving the corporate world not long ago to focus on her writing full time, Asmaa draws on her experiences living and working in several different countries to influence her creative process. While abroad, Asmaa learned about other cultures and their unique traditions, a key role in her development as a writer.

Asmaa Jamil holds an MBA in International Business, a PGCert in Management Information Systems, and an MLA in Near Eastern Languages. Her two decades of professional experience in retail, wholesale and entrepreneurship brought her extensive cultural insights, working with diverse international teams in Asia, Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and North and South America.
Raised in a family of storytellers, Asmaa always felt inspired by the power of a narrative. Specifically, she found that family stories were the most captivating, as they speak to audiences of all ages with ease. Not to mention, Asmaa likes that family stories foster opportunities for household gatherings and traditions.

Her first book, titled Magical Mountain from the Kingdom of Treasures series, explores influential female character roles. Outside of writing, Asmaa Jamil enjoys reading history and visiting historical sites around the world. She also has a fascination for connecting the old with the new, demonstrated through her storytelling. When it comes down to it, Asmaa is happy with a cup of coffee, great conversations with loved ones, and of course, good food.

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Create a Playlist for Your Books by Deborah A. Bailey – Guest Blog and Giveaway

January 20, 2022 By 6 Comments

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Deborah A. Bailey will be awarding a $40 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Create a Playlist for Your Books

Usually when I write I always have music in the background. They include songs that might remind me of certain characters or give me a feeling. For instance, a romantic song would put me in the mood for writing a romantic scene.

What I’ve started to do lately is take some of those songs and put them into a playlist for the book. That way I can share the songs so that readers can hear them too.

But though I use Spotify for my playlists, YouTube is also a good place to create a playlist. The plus about using that platform is that it may also include music videos.

How easy is it to create playlist? Very easy! Just create a playlist then start adding songs to it, then share the link. Even if you continue to find songs to add, you can. Listeners will have access to the playlist even as you’re adding (or removing) your music.

What should the playlist include? Any music that fits the mood of your book. Do you have favorite songs or artists that relate to your story? Add them. I’ve found a few songs that sound as though a character could’ve written the words. Or they describe the action in a certain scene or chapter. Those are the songs I usually listen to as I’m writing. So of course, I make sure they’re included in the final playlist.

The important thing is to set the mood for your reader/listener. Music has been called a universal language. I think it’s a wonderful way to give your readers something special that they can enjoy while they’re reading your book.

Check out the Spotify playlist for Blood Red Moon. Happy listening!

Out of the ashes, a new beginning…

When his family and most of their kind were destroyed by the Guild, Derek inherited the position of Vampire Lord. Alchemists held the keys to creating portals to other worlds, knowledge they passed down to phoenixes. Their utopian society was crushed when the Guild invaded, intending to unlock the powerful secrets phoenixes possess. Lovers Derek and Avani met the night their city was sacked and after the city succumbed, they were lost to each other.

Love will be resurrected in blood and fire…

Having lost her memory, Avani became a protégé of the Guild Master, conditioned by magic to believe shifters and vampires were evil. Eventually, she was made Seeker, tasked with finding the Vampire Lord in order to gain access to phoenixes.

When Derek finds Avani, he neutralizes the magic that’s kept her from remembering who she is. However, the Templars have almost certainly made a pact with the enemy of all supernatural creatures, in order to gain access to the portals. Only a phoenix can save the world from utter ruin now, but that was precisely the asking price…

Enjoy an Excerpt

“You’re thinking about the Guild, aren’t you? They don’t deserve your thoughts, or anything else.” Derek was standing next to the tub, undressing.

How had he known? Could he read my thoughts? Another thing I’d heard that vampires could do. As if in response the stabbing pain increased, like something within me was fighting to get out. Each stab cut deeper and deeper and I doubled over.

The water was shut off. I felt pressure on my back, moving me forward. Then splashing as Derek joined me in the tub. He sat and braced his legs on either side of me. He put his arms around me, holding on as I shivered.

His presence surrounded me like the water. A vampire. My enemy. A dangerous predator who I’d been taught to fear and hate.

Derek pulled my hair back and bared my neck. Soon he would sink his teeth into me to save me. Or he would have his revenge for what we’d done to his people. Maybe that had been his plan all along. I’d be less trouble dead.

In the cooling water, his touch melted me as he glided his tongue over my neck. The pain in my chest slowly subsided. Not gone but not dominant anymore. My body was becoming attuned to him. My gasps of pain lessening as my breathing matched his. In and out. In and out. Steady. Deliberate.

The Vampire Lord and the Seeker. Finally, together at last. But not in the way I’d always thought we’d be.

About the Author: Deborah A Bailey’s Paranormal & Science Fiction Romance novels include suspense, a bit of mystery and a lot of romantic heat.
Her short stories have won awards from the Philadelphia Writers’ Conference and have been published in US1 Magazine and the Sun and are included in, Electric Dreams: Seven Futuristic Tales. She’s the author of non-fiction books, and articles for various online publications.
Visit her site https://dbaileycoach.com/brightbooks for more information and subscribe to the newsletter so you’ll be the first to find out about giveaways, book launches and sneak peeks.

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The Descendants by Destiny D Hawkins – Spotlight and Giveaway

January 14, 2022 By 5 Comments

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Destiny D Hawkins will be awarding a $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Fail the tests and become a slave. Display defectiveness and be put to death.

Monroe Academy was built to separate the weak from the strong. Pass the biyearly leveling and be released into society upon graduation. Fail to be promoted and be stripped of rank and forced into servitude. That was a rule that applied to all but Rayah Bardeau. A student of Monroe Academy, branded as a Null because of her absence of Lighter energy.

With her mother standing as a slave in her place, Rayah was given until the age of twenty to make level six, but at nineteen-years-old and with only eight months until her twentieth birthday, she was only a mere level one. The same level she’s been since she was ten. With the stress of her upcoming test, the loss of a friend, and the constant wrongdoings towards her, Rayah could only dream of escaping from Lytonia, and escape she did. Only, when she awakened in her dorm, she couldn’t distinguish if she had only dreamt of meeting Soren, a wild and adventurous defect in the Wild Lands, or if she had somehow used her Lighter Form to get there.

But only the elite ― the most powerful of Lighters ― could tap into their Lighter Forms. Right? And what was the dark energy she used when she and Soren were attacked by Depleters? Was Rayah really as powerless as she thought? Was she a defect? And if she used dark energy, could she call herself a Lighter at all?

Bestselling author Destiny Hawkins brings you the first installment of a gripping dark fantasy where a powerless girl must survive in a society that doesn’t accept the weak…or the defective.

Enjoy an Excerpt

Gone. One minute Tristan was here, and the next he wasn’t. Only two days ago we watched the two moons rise, and it was only two days ago when we almost kissed, but this morning he was taken away from me, and I will never see him again. Once a student was made into a slave, it was forbidden for them to ever see their friends or family again, and that was exactly what Tristan was going to be transitioned into in only a few hours. They were going to strip him of his rank, disregard that he was born into the vex class, and put a collar around his neck that could kill him with the push of a button.

This morning two officers marched into Tristan’s dorm and dragged him out. I stood there, shocked, as he kicked and screamed, begging for a second chance. He was a level five vex, which would have been alright if he hadn’t turned twenty today.

At the age of twenty, a student of Monroe Academy was to be tested on their lighter abilities and hopefully advanced up to level six. Ever since Tristan was enrolled ten years ago, he’d never had trouble leveling up, but this time he struggled to get his powers to strengthen. This time, the council didn’t believe him strong enough to earn a level six patch, and now he had to serve his nation in another way. He had to serve the high class vexes and ensure their happiness. The happier the people, the lower the chances of there ever being chaos in our world again.
At least that’s what we were taught.

About the Author:Destiny Hawkins is a multi-genre author with a dark imagination and a love for magic.

She enjoys working on her graphic designing business, Vibrant Designs LLC, writing, listening to music, reading, and of course watching some anime! Her favorite genres to read and work in are Fantasy, LGBT, Paranormal, Romance, Dystopian, Sci-fi, and young adult.

Destiny loves creating stories and building worlds that both teach and entertain! When writing she sticks to her slogan: Where beauty can be found in darkness.

Get ready for The Unbroken, Book Three of The Descendants Series!

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A Character Interview – Pelagia by Steve Holloway

January 10, 2022 By 10 Comments

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. One randomly chosen winner via rafflecopter will win a $50 Amazon/BN.com gift card. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Enjoy a Special Character Interview

“Marcia…Marcia! Five minutes to air!” the show’s host stood in the control booth of the radio station, looking over the shoulder of his producer.

The producer reluctantly pulled her gaze away from me, as I sat in front of the lights of the studio. I could see her hands resume their rapid adjustments of the control board.

“Focus, Marcia. Professionalism.”

She gave my host a sheepish grin. “Yep, got it. Sound check, transmission check.”

With one last glance at monitors, the host stepped into the studio, stretched out his hand. “Ready for the show, Lorenzo?”

“Yes,” I said, taking his hand, “Looking forward to this.”

He sat across from me and adjusted our mikes. Marcia caught the host’s gaze and gave a countdown with her fingers. 3…2…1, then pointed at him. On air.

“Good morning Pelagia! Steve Holloway here, your favourite marine biologist. Today we are broadcasting live from the heart of the Blue Frontier of our planet: Pelagia South Pacific. It’s a beautiful day here in the ocean territories. The show is beaming from Marcelli Ring, that seamount settlement you’ve heard so much about. And our special guest for this show is seamount citizen, Lorenzo Romero. Welcome Lorenzo.”

“Thanks, Steve. Glad to be here with you and the audience. My friends call me Renzo.”

“Renzo, then. You grew up here, right?”

“Yes, born and raised here in Marcelli Ring.”

“It is a delightful place, I especially love the marine protected area in the centre of the Ring.”

“My sister helps manage the marine reserve; I’ve spent my life exploring it.”

“Fascinating. Now, I hear you talk with dolphins. Can you tell me about that?”

“Yes, I work with a pair of dolphins – Lucca and Tazia. It is part of the Human-Dolphin project here in the Territory. I’ve been working with this pair for two years now; developing communication so we can function well as a team is quite the cross-cultural challenge.”

“You can actually talk with these dolphins?”

“Yes, I wear a communications interface which allows us to interact on a basic level. However, we’ve built such a rapport over the past two years that a lot of our communication is non-verbal. They generally treat me as a member of their pod.”

“Wow, part of their pod?”

“Yes – one of the family, if you will. If you think about it, dolphins live in a very different world than ours. They know only the sea and move in three dimensions, with predators and dangers unlike those we face above water. So, they have highly refined senses humans don’t have. This means their day-to-day reality is much different than ours. To communicate with them I have to experience the world from their point of view…as much as I can.”

“It seems like it’d be hard to find common ground…uh, water?”

“Yes, it has taken the first year and a half to understand them. It’s meant a lot of time in their world, remaining underwater long enough to experience what they face day after day. Of course, the almost one hundred years of research of dolphin communication helped jumpstart me; I stand on the shoulders of intrepid scientists of the past. The communications interface is one example of the fruit of that research.”

“So, what do you and your team of dolphins do?”

“Where should I start? Well for one thing, we work with the fish farmers out on the Rise – the mariculture or ocean farming part of our settlement. Dolphins are expert at herding fish, so the sea farmers work with them to bring in the fish harvest in the mariculture plots. The farmers give the dolphins part of the catch as a reward.”

They dolphins also help us monitor the health of the farms — oysters, seaweed, and other species that are being grown above the seamount. We’ve mounted cameras on dozens of dolphins, who then systematically inspect the mariculture plots.”

We also work with a team of the Pelagic Rangers. Dolphins are excellent sentinels with their keen senses. They also excel at reconnaissance.”

“But certainly they don’t bear weapons.”

“Of course not. Dolphins feel a kind of horror at harming, much less killing humans.”

“Unfortunately, we humans have not been as queasy about killing dolphins in the past. Glad those days are gone. In fact, your work has changed perceptions of dolphins worldwide.”

Marcia held up one finger. Steve glanced at her, “OK, one minute remaining. One last thought you want to leave with our audience?”

“The intelligence of the dolphin is an invaluable window to see and better understand our Pelagic world here in the territories. I feel privileged to do what I am doing. In my experience dolphins seem to enjoy working with people as much as people like working with them. It benefits both species.”

“Thank you Renzo for being with us, that’s all we have time for today. Can you return for another interview? I believe we’ve only scratched the surface here.”

“Sure, I’d be glad to. Thank you, Steve, and thank you to all those listening in.”

“And a big thanks to our producer, Marcia, giving our viewers another journey to the Blue Frontier.”

Marcia gave the ‘cut’ signal across her throat, then scribbled on a paper and waved it for me to see. It looked like it had her phone number.

Former special forces agent turned particle physicist Ben Holden is on the run.

The New Caliphate will stop at nothing to get their hands on his wife’s scientific research, which is believed to hold the key to unleashing chaos in the West and advancing their cause.

But in reality it’s Ben’s biometrics that have the potential to unlock the information they so desperately need. Within the oceanic world of Pelagia, in the year 2066, Ben finds sanctuary among the sea settlers of the South Pacific Pelagic Territory, but his respite is short-lived.

Enjoy an Excerpt

He lifted the hatch and placed it onto the deck, then pulled himself up and lay flat near the bow. The coolness of the storm awakened his senses. Rolling onto his back, he paused under the deluge and allowed the rain to stream into his mouth, gulping down the water.

Thirst barely slaked, he slithered to the edge of the boat. The wind now lashed his wet body. He shivered, staring into the night, allowing his eyes to adjust. He spotted the island, a dark fleeting promise glimpsed through a break in the squall.

Looking back, he saw a silhouette climb out onto the side of the boat. Adrenaline shot through him. The man was just a few metres away, clinging to a rail as the boat rolled under them, but still looking towards the stern. Ben inched closer to the edge of the bow, willing himself to be a shadow.

Holding the safety rail, Ben swung himself over the side with the roll of the boat. He hung for a moment, suspended above the sea. Large, deep breaths. Each time the boat tipped his feet dipped beneath the waves. On the third tip, he released his grip, slipping below the surface noiselessly.

As he surfaced, he heard the man on deck shouting into the water in Arabic, “Cut the rope!” There was an answering shout from the water that was lost in the roar of rain.

Ben kept to the shadow of the bow rocking above him. After a minute, that seemed like an eternity, the man climbed back into the stern cockpit. Ben slipped below the water.

About the Author:Steve Holloway grew up on the beach cities of Los Angeles and has always loved the sea. This passion led him to gain a degree in Aquatic Biology from the University of California Santa Barbara; a background which opened many opportunities for him in researching, developing, and engaging with mariculture activities around the world.

Steve and his wife have lived and travelled in many countries over their forty years of marriage, successfully raising three kids in exotic locations in the process. They have always engaged with the people and cultures they live among.

Currently Steve lives in England and consults for a Christian charity in areas of research, leadership development, adapting to new cultures, social enterprises, and mariculture projects. Currently he is consulting for a Indo-Pacific mariculture project – a social enterprise – growing sea cucumbers, a delicacy for the Chinese market.

Steve has always loved books and writing. The story of Pelagia reflects three of his passions: science, the sea and the narratives of faith. The background, in his words:

“I have for many years believed that settling the open sea was within our grasp, and even more accessible than space as our ‘next frontier’. So through the last ten years or so I have been thinking just how this might happen, what would be needed, where people would settle, what kind of livelihoods they might have on the open sea, beyond the EEZs of terrestrial countries. My son Adam told me about what would become a key component of Pelagia, Biorock or seacrete, because of his experiments with it. Many discussions with other scientists, engineers and others helped to begin to fill in the gaps and the concept of the Pelagic Territories, similar to the unincorporated territories of the early US, and what geopolitical contexts they would find themselves in.”

Steve finds any excuse to get into the ocean: sailing, diving, swimming, or just poking around tide pools.

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On Writing a Trilogy by Floor Kist – Guest Post and Giveaway

January 6, 2022 By 8 Comments

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotion. Floor Kist will be awarding a $30 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

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Hello reviewers at Long and Short Reviews, thank you for hosting my post on your site. You must really love books if you’ve been reviewing them for the past 14 years!

Hello everyone, thank you for joining me here. Long and Short Reviews asked me about writing a trilogy or a series.

Readers seem to like series a lot. They grow to like your characters, and they appreciate the world setting you created. This isn’t only true for television, but also for novels. In the science fiction genre, I prefer, I like the Vorkosigan saga by Lois McMaster Bujold, the Alex Benedict Novels and Priscilla Hutchins novels by Jack McDevitt and the Foundation novels by Isaac Asimov.

McDevitt and McMaster Bujold write their books as stand-alone novels with some of the same characters, but with the same protagonists. Asimov’s Foundation novels started out as a trilogy and are more sequential. McMaster Bujold also wrote two novels that happen in the Vorkosigan world, but without her main character.

The Thinking Machine Trilogy, I’m working on, is also a sequential series. It starts in part one and goes on until the end of part two. I would suggest that writing stand-alone books gives the author more room for a new story than having to write the next step in a longer story.

On television, some series manage to combine single episodes that also include longer storylines dealing with individual characters of use an overall story arch that pops up throughout each episode. I’m told that the television series Babylon 5 started this way of working. And especially in a world of streaming TV this seems a proven concept.

I didn’t explicitly choose to write three sequential novels. I just figured that science fiction has a history of trilogies. So, when you write sci-fi, you write a trilogy. I’m not sorry I did, but I did take the time to think on part two. Here’s why.

It’s not unusual to see sequels that don’t do what they should. And I’ve wondered about that. How come, if you like the characters, a story about those characters doesn’t captivate you like the first time? And I believe it has to do with the ‘freshness’ of the characters. In the first book, each character is introduced. It’s their new interaction that makes the story sparkle and move ahead the way it does. That freshness disappears in the next book. And it needs to be replaced with something else.

In “Can Machines Bring Peace?” protagonists Kazimir and Mizuki fall in love. This is something that wasn’t in my outline. And it really surprised me that they did. It surprised them too by the way! But how their relationship starts and grows should be new and fresh. And is it possible to keep this going in part two?

Would they get married and have kids? No, the premise of part one would never allow that. Would they break-up? Given the situation in part one, this would be a serious possibility. But that felt gimmicky to me. And I don’t think my readers would like that. Is there a way to make their relationship grow in an interesting but different way than in part one? In the outline I have ready for part two, I think I’ve found a way, but I’ll be sure when I’ve done the writing.

The same goes for Kazimir’s sister Kira. In part one, she’s been hiding in her room for six months because something bad happened to her. And we see her grow confident enough to leave her room. What happens to her in part two? Does something bad happen to her that makes her go back to her room? Naaah. Too gimmicky. There is a reasons Kira left her room, and her character developed into someone who wouldn’t go back. So, how does she grow?

I would say that writing part two of a trilogy is the hardest one to write. There is a lot that can go wrong. And I hope I got it right.

Can a machine bring peace? Or are humans built for war?

450 years after Earth was bombed back to the Stone Age, a young diplomat searches for lost human settlements. Kazimir Sakhalinsk narrowly escapes an exploration mission gone wrong and searches for ways to make future missions safer for his people. A festival introduces him to the Marvelous Thinking Machine.

A machine Kazimir believes can change everything

For his admiral it’s nothing more than a silly fairground gimmick. But Kazimir is convinced. Convinced enough to go against orders and build one of his own. Convinced enough to think he can bring peace. Convinced enough to think humanity is worth saving. What if he’s wrong?

He asks his hikikomori sister, a retired professor filling her empty days, the owner of the festival machine and the admiral’s daughter for help. Will that be enough?

Enjoy an Excerpt

Kazimir hears the beep-beep response to his beacon. The plane is overhead! His breath shortens as he peers through the night. Standard protocol states the plane will land at a safe landing zone within a kilometer radius of ground zero. If Kazimir can find the right direction, he may actually have a chance. There! The shape of the plane against a clouded moon is a beautiful sight. He is afraid to smile, but can’t help himself.

He follows it, stumbling over the thick roots of the trees. Quickly, he looks up.

There she is again. No. ‘That’s… that’s… black flag.’ That means the others are dead.

Standing against the tree, he retches. Cold sweat forms on his forehead and his back. He shouldn’t have left the settlement. He could have saved them. No. He would be dead too. Kazimir gags and coughs. He spits out the sour taste, and wipes his chin. ‘Yuck.’

He looks up, trying to control his breath. The twin rudders and the nose turret machine gun nozzle give the Ki-2 light bomber away. Kazimir has only seen it in the hangar of the Ryūjō. He remembers the pilot telling him about the 500-kilogram maximum bomb load. All headed towards the settlement.

The ground trembles with the explosion. Kazimir sees the red and yellow clouds grow against the dark sky. Seconds later, he hears the wheezing sound of the dropping bombs, followed by the roar of a thousand dragons. Sound travels at three hundred meters per second, so he must be about 300 meters away.

The hot blast wave that follows knocks him down. He hits his head on the root of the tree. ‘Stupid tree.’ He feels a sharp pain. Warm blood dribbles into his hair. Its metallic scent reaches his nose.

Sounds of the explosion die down.

About the Author: Floor Kist lives in a Dutch town called Voorburg with his wife, two sons, two cats and their dog Monty. He is currently deputy-mayor for the Green Party and an AI researcher. He’s concerned about current divisive public and political debates. But he’s also interested in how AI can be used to resolve society’s big issues.

This is his first novel. He’s been carrying the idea about a story about AI bringing peace for a long time. The Covid-19 lockdown in the Netherlands suddenly gave him time to actually write it.

Website | Blog

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Winter Blogfest: S.M. McCoy

December 31, 2021 By 9 Comments

This post is part of Long and Short Reviews’ Winter Blogfest. Leave a comment for a chance to win Blood Crescent Book one is available immediate for those that sign up for the Newsletter. Book two Blood Rebirth and Blood Crescent will be given to runners ups, and grand prize winner will be given the whole series, including the recently released Blood Queen, book three. Available in PDF/MOBI/and EPUB. .

Going PROS with your New Year’s Resolutions

With a new year approaching, we prepare our many doubts and insecurities to come out from their not so hidden dark places in our mind to flog us for what we haven’t accomplished, or wayward goals left dusty in the wake of 2021. Is it that our goals are so out of reach? Is it that I am incapable of following through on my New Year’s resolutions?

To that I answer a resounding, no!

Stand up my fellow writers, grab the author next to you, and help pick them up from the dirt they’ve found themselves in, along with yourself. It’s common to let the doubt monsters reign free this time of year, recounting everything we “haven’t” done, but this year will be different. You are going to take a moment to count what you HAVE done, and then re-evaluate how you frame your goals for next year.

Is my goal out of reach? It’s more likely that you created a goal that takes time to reach, and the fact that it might not be condensed into a single year makes the goal daunting, and more difficult to maintain your momentum.

Follow the PROS!

PLAN, REFRAME, ORGANIZE, SPECIFICS

Yup, I just made that up, but it works.

What is your goal? PLAN for it. I want to finish my book.

REFRAME: It’s okay if it takes me longer than one year to do that, I’ll take one step at a time.

ORGANIZE: Create a spreadsheet, and then tell EVERYONE your goal so that you feel obligated not to be  a liar to yourself or others, you’d be surprised how motivating that is to not want to let others down. We think so little of ourselves sometimes that it takes that extra outside force to get us going. That’s okay.

SPECIFICS: Goals are hard to reach if your goal is too broad. Narrow it down to steps. I want to finish my book becomes I need to write 70,000 words, then edit those words before December 2022, by creating 30 minutes once a day at 9pm after the kids are asleep, or 5am before the kids wake up to work on my goals. No kids? Adjust that insert to whatever may distract you.

You’d be amazed how much you can get done in a focused 30 minutes a day. Create that habit.

Be graceful with yourself, but also remind yourself why you’re doing it! This should be something you enjoy, not a chore.

Trust me when I say you’ll definitely finish your goal sooner than you thought possible, and all it took was consistency, and allowing yourself to breath. Goals are hard to accomplish when there is too much pressure, and when you aren’t specific enough about how to accomplish your goal.

Take this time to write down your goal on a sticky note, and get as specific as possible. Need multiple sticky notes? Do it!

Broad to specific goals. Give yourself the time to accomplish that goal. Stick to your plan.

I will write 70,000 words to finish my story. How? Everyday at 9pm, after the kids go to bed, I will spend at least 30 minutes sitting at my keyboard ready and prepare to write.

Remind yourself, it’s okay if all I wrote was 30 words. Do not go back and edit until you’ve reached your goal marker. THEN, create a new goal.

Before you know it, you’ve finished your goal and making new ones.

Happy Holidays! Share your specific goals for 2022!

If you like fresh new takes on vampire lore, auras, witches, and heart felt journeys of self discovery then you’ll enjoy the completed Divine Series.
This isn’t your typical vampire paranormal fantasy. The BookLife Prize said, “The writing is descriptive and enjoyable… echoes of the Twilight series and Harry Potter, (though) the characters and scenario are wholly original…the author provides enough mystery and suspense to keep readers turning pages.”
A slow burn romance wrapped in a darkly enjoyable dive into the supernatural realms. A missing mother. A dangerous predator. A mysterious magical legacy. Can Chrystal uncover the secrets of the council before the bloodline runs dry?
Another reviewer said: “This book frustrated me on so many levels, mainly because I was making my own scenarios and started liking some of the characters, only to realize nothing is as it seems, or at least how I thought it would be. That’s mostly why I liked it so much!”— Lilly’s Book World
If you hate insta-love but enjoy world building and the gray zone of who’s good and evil then the Divine Series is for you.t

Stevie Marie is the author of young adult paranormal fantasy and the Divine Series. Born within the apex of another universe, where magic flows like leaky faucets, and forged from the fires of the Underrealm she dug her way to Earth and reluctantly participates in human society, secretly returning to her home world to relay the stories of her monsters, and the troubled love of her characters. When she isn’t writing she’s crafting clothing in her sewing room, cuddling her tiny humans, or pretending to adult by managing a different kind of book called accounting in the rainy city of Seattle, Washington.

Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter

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Winter Blogfest: Tegon Maus

December 21, 2021 By 4 Comments

This post is part of Long and Short Reviews’ Winter Blogfest. Leave a comment for a chance to win .

Christmas the Way I Remember It

I remember every Christmas was the same… dozens of people at my parents house standing around talking… just talking.

The table was always festive and beyond gorgous, set with a prestine stack of plates and a mound of siverware. My mom always had it covered with a mountain of food… glazed ham, roast beef, turkey… all the cookies, pies, cakes you could ever hope to eat and no one touched a thing… not a single potato chip. No music, no alcohol, no one even sat down… they just stood around and just talked.

By 2:00 in the afternoon, my grandfather closed the store and made his way to my parent’s house.

When he came in… no one spoke, no one moved. Grandpa always sat in the same chair… no other when he came to the house. At the moment he sat down my mother would hand him a beer.

Every year was the same… he took it… took a sip and said ‘Merry Christmas’ raising the bottle.  At that moment the room exploded into music, dancing, laughter and cheerful voices, food and drink… all at the same instant… a gala that would last well into night.

Now it was Christmas… Grandpa said so.

After 27 years as a newspaper man, Peter Anderson’s career is slipping away, at least it was, until he stumbled upon the story of a lifetime. Sent to do a fluff piece about lights in the night sky over Arizona, he discovers far more than he ever expected when he comes upon a mysterious young woman held prisoner in a basement. After helping her to escape, she disappears before he can learn the truth about who she is or where she came from. His search for her leads him back to the lights in the sky and leaves him with more questions than answers. The only thing he knows for certain . . . the only thing he can count on are the two words offered repeatedly by his friend and guide . . . “IS BELT.”

 

About the Author:

I was raised pretty much the same as everyone else… devoted mother, strict father and all the imaginary friends I could conjure. Not that I wasn’t friendly, I just wasn’t “people orientated”. Maybe I lived in my head way more than I should have, maybe not. I liked machines more than people at least I did until I met my wife.

The first thing I can remember writing was for her. For the life of me I can’t remember what it was about… something about dust bunnies under the bed and monsters in my closet. It must have been pretty good because she married me shortly after that. I spent a good number of years after inventing games and prototypes for a variety of ideas before I got back to writing.

It wasn’t a deliberate conscious thought it was more of a stepping-stone. My wife and I had joined a dream interpret group and we were encouraged to write down our dreams as they occurred. “Be as detailed as you can,” we were told.

I was thrilled. If there is one thing I enjoy it’s making people believe me and I like to exaggerate. Not a big exaggeration or an out-right lie mine you, just a little step out of sync, just enough so you couldn’t be sure if it were true or not. If I can make people think “it could happen,” even for a moment, then I have them and nothing makes me happier. When I write, I always write with the effort of “it could happen” very much in mind and nothing, I guarantee you, nothing, makes me happier.

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The Abandoned by Jake Cavanah – Spotlight and Giveaway

December 17, 2021 By 2 Comments

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Jake Cavanah will be awarding a $10 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Once an uninhabited island off the California coast, the government used Morple to quarantine minorities during the sonoravirus pandemic from 2030 to 2045. At its conclusion, Morple became the country’s fifty-first state. This is where sisters Robin Karros’ and Ariana Jackson’s tragic journey began. As two of the first children officials checked into and raised in a state-run program responsible for inflicting severe abuse on Morple’s youth, they shared hardships that strengthened their bond. After a social revolution put an end to the program and freed them, Robin and Ariana went their separate ways. Now that it is 2089 and each has achieved prosperity, their paths intersect after spending the latter portion of their lives apart. Even though it goes against protocol, Ariana reestablishes a relationship with her older sister and integrates with her family. In doing so, she risks her marriage and husband’s business interests, but it causes her to realize she must make up for her life’s biggest mistake. It soon becomes apparent the fate of Robin, Ariana, and others has been more intertwined than they ever could have imagined.

Enjoy an Excerpt

NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: I chose this because it reveals Robin has experienced hardship in her life without giving too much detail, and because it ends with her saying “persistence prevails,” one of Robin’s best attributes and a theme.

Robin wiped her hands on her apron before reaching out to hold Jimmy. As she situated him in her arms, his eyes widened as far as they could and gazed up at the beautiful mystery woman. When they locked eyes, Robin became nostalgic. Memories of Jonathan around this age were some of her fondest. Robin had just been released from the state’s custody and was on her way towards winning her fortune that served as her escape from a bleak future Morple designated to certain members of society. Bobby Karros had just entered her life and embraced her and all the baggage she warned him about, the first sign of his admirable character she fell so hard for.

“He is such a good baby, but I feel like his daddy’s absence is already affecting him,” Taylor said.

Despite their current differences in class, Robin and Taylor seemed very alike.

“Well Taylor, you’re doing a great job,” Robin said, unsure if she should pry on what happened to Jimmy’s father, “The fact you’re here shows you are seeking the necessary help for the benefit of not only him, but for you, as well. Be proud of yourself.”

“His daddy was so excited when he was born, just ecstatic. Then when Jimmy was about six months he was just gone. I haven’t seen him since, and that was six months ago. Life wasn’t always kind to us, but I thought Jimmy and our relationship outweighed the bad. I guess I was wrong.”

Taylor’s tears fled down her face, drying up on her mask. It was clear she needed someone to talk to, and Robin made herself available to her. She didn’t expect to come across someone who on the surface appeared to live in a different reality than Robin, but really, their paths seemed to be quite similar.

“Jonathan, my son who Jimmy reminds me of, was four when his stepfather went missing. Sixteen years ago. One day I came home, and he was just gone. Nowhere to be found. Jonathan and my youngest son Moe were both crying in their rooms, petrified, but the authorities and I couldn’t get any information out of them. Moe was just a baby, and Jonathan’s brain development is behind for his age, so they couldn’t help us out, but it was obvious something horrific happened. It’s hard for him to process things, but by looking in his eyes I could tell he saw what happened. Whatever occurred that day was clearly a traumatic experience for them.

“But unfortunately, we’ll never know what happened. All I could do was to keep being the best possible mother I could be. That’s what my boys needed, so that’s what I did.”

Robin gathered from Taylor’s facial expression she was not expecting them to have much in common. Ever since getting her life together, Robin was regularly met with skepticism and surprise by those she shared her life experiences with. She didn’t boast or even acknowledge it, but she knew her impressive physique and natural beauty were the reasons others assumed her life had always been a breeze. One of Robin’s primary goals was to serve as a symbol of hope for women like Taylor, which is one of the reasons Robin dedicated so much of her time to helping the likes of Taylor out. If a little girl who suffered unimaginable amounts of trauma could grow up to be what Robin was, then anyone could.

Including Taylor.

“Doesn’t it anger you why he left?” Taylor asked.

“It angers me he isn’t here, yes, but I’m not sure if he left. Coming home to find my boys crying the way they were tells me something worse happened, but I will probably never know for certain. All I can do is focus on the now and keep pushing forward. If there’s one thing Morple has taught me, it’s persistence prevails.”

About the Author:

Jake Cavanah is passionate about writing imaginative stories that include messages he wants readers to apply to their own lives, utilize to better understand others, or both. If after reading his work people find themselves more capable of seeing particular situations they encounter from another perspective, he accomplished his goal.

When Jake is not writing he is reading, golfing, playing tennis, cooking, or enjoying the company of his dogs Murphy and Sophie with his girlfriend Scout. Aside from becoming a full-time author, one of Jake’s main aspirations is to move to Oregon and start a family.

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