If I’d never heard of me would I read my book? by David McCracken – Spotlight and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. David McCracken 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.

NOTE: The book is on sale for only $0.99 (or read for free on Kindle Unlimited) at Amazon!

If I’d never heard of me would I read my book?
Definitely, I would read it! Finding it mentioned somewhere, I’d think. “That’s an intriguing title. Fly Twice Backward: Fresh Starts in Times of Troubles.” I’d wonder what it could be about. We’re sure are in “Times of Troubles,” now, needing “Fresh Starts.” Reading the book’s description on Amazon, I’d quickly see impressive excerpts from reviews, with words like “masterpiece” and “classic” and high reviewer ratings, mostly 5’s. I’d also see “intolerant strains of the major religions” implicated in problems. This looks like a widescale defense of reason, along with attention to the personal side of the problems that greatly concern me, like ignorance and global warming, along with a teaser about one problem “I don’t dare to change”. Getting on into the blurb, I’d notice the lure of the birth family alive again and later ones gone perhaps forever, and the mention of knowledge to make the main character very wealthy. Sounds like material for fresh starts, along with doing something about worldwide problems.

A diverse and intriguing worldwide cast of characters is outlined, their descriptions raising questions only hinted at, one an ally who develops essential psychic powers, and “familiar-looking corrupt politicians, religious leaders, and corporate czars,” as well as “an ancient force in the background, promoting greed, violence, hate, and fear.”

Reading the Look Inside, I’d see the account is rich in the details of the family and the time, and a lure of other exotic characters. I’d also see the main character has human problems of trying to figure out whether this is real, what happened, and how to convince his family of it.

Would I read it? With a click of the Buy Now button, I’d have it downloaded and ready to be read eagerly!

You wake back in early adolescence, adult memories intact, including ones that could make you very wealthy now. Your birth family is here, alive again, but your later families are gone, perhaps forever. What has happened, what should you do about coming problems like violence, ignorance, pollution, and global warming? You realize one key connects most, the fundamentalist strains of all the major religions, disdaining science, equality, and social welfare. You see that there are some things you can change, some you can’t, and one you don’t dare to.

Fellow idealists help you spend your growing fortune well–such as an artistic Zoroastrian prince in the Iranian oil industry, a rising officer in the Soviet army working to find a way to destroy his corrupt government, a Bahai woman struggling against Islamic brutality, a Peruvian leader working for a liberal future, and a snake-handling Christian minister, grappling with doubts, sexuality, and destiny. They are supported by an ally who develops essential psychic powers. The group faces familiar-looking corrupt politicians, religious leaders, and corporate czars, but there is an ancient force in the background, promoting greed, violence, hate, and fear.

This exciting, emotional, thoughtful, humorous, and even romantic sci-fi novel weaves progressivism, music, movies, and literature into a struggle spanning the globe. Vivid characters propel the action back up through an alternative history toward an uncertain destination. Experience the unique story and its novel telling.

Enjoy an Excerpt

Waiting for breakfast, reading the Sunday paper at the table, I realize Mom’s not heading for the kitchen: Oh, oh! It’s church day. Mass. Fasting. Acolyting! What’m I going to do about that?

“Mom, am I supposed to serve today?”

“Of course!”

“Well, I can’t. I have no idea how to do that anymore. I guess we need to call Padre and tell him I’m sick.”

“No, David, we’re not playing that game today!”

“Mom, I hate to say this now, but I have no choice. I don’t know how to serve, so I can’t do it, and, frankly, I’m not ever going to do it. I’m an agnostic, a Unitarian, actually.”

She’s slamming the pots I washed and put in the drainer last night as she puts them into the cabinet under the counter. “That’s ridiculous. You don’t know enough to be an agnostic.”

Fortunately, Dad has come in and heard this exchange.

“Nev, whether his story is true or not, or he knows enough or not, he has a right not to go. He was old enough to be confirmed, so he’s old enough to choose. I’ll serve in his place.”

“Lie about being sick, on Sunday?”

“Mom, it’s a temporizer. I can’t reveal to him why I’m not going to today, much less why I’ll never again do it, and I know you wouldn’t want me to be open about it. I might not even be here next Sunday.” I chuckle. “Maybe I’ll have fallen back to age four, with Dad off in the Navy!” What a sharp look I get!

“We need a few days to sort this out, Nev.”

About the Author: David McCracken was born in Louisville, KY, in 1940. Raised mostly in Winchester, KY, he now lives in Northern Virginia, with his third and final wife. He has three children, two stepchildren, and six grandchildren.

After three years in the U.S. Navy following a lackluster academic start, he graduated from the University of Kentucky in 1963, in Diplomacy and International Commerce. He then worked as a Latin American country desk officer in the U.S. Department of Commerce until he returned to school to earn an M.A. in Elementary Education in 1970 from Murray State University, having always been intending to teach. Eventually realizing his children qualified for reduced-price lunches based on his own teaching salary, he studied computer programming at Northern Virginia Community College and worked as a programmer until shifting back into elementary teaching.

He began working on what became Fly Twice Backward in 1983 and finally finished it in 2019! At 79, David strongly doubts he’ll be doing another novel of such scope and complexity, but is preparing to work on a children’s science fiction novel with a progressive bent, being a devout progressive in politics and religion, as well as a lover of learning.

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My Publishing Journey by Bryon Vaughn – Guest Blog and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The author will award a $50 Amazon/BN GC to one randomly drawn commenter via Rafflecopter. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

My Publishing Journey

My journey to publishing my first novel, Neurogarden, was long and circuitous. It began in the 90’s while I was studying English Literature at the University of California at Berkeley. I devoured the canon of lit like a wild animal, Chaucer, Dante and Shakespeare to Salinger and Nabokov. I read the deep cuts, too, not just the most popular. I wanted to learn it all, and the vigor of youth does have its benefits.

I studied creative writing under well-renowned professors, poets and authors like Gary Soto, and Maxine Hong Kingston. All the while, I practiced my craft writing short stories in my favorite genres: science fiction, fantasy and horror. Back then, the only way to get published was to print and bundle up your work into a manilla envelope, complete with a return postage if you wanted your manuscript back. Each story would get sent to a magazine editor to spend weeks or months on a slush pile, with a terse, “Thanks, but not for us” typewritten form letter. I would then send it to the next editor. Rinse and repeat.

After nearly a year with no success, I was so starved for something to keep me from scrapping the whole endeavor, the day I received my first hand-written rejection letter was like a gift from the heavens. It still said “no,” but somebody took the time to write it out, and the final word, just above the signature was “Onward!”

This went on for many years, and while I had some success with getting my stories published, it was clear to me that this was not going to be my career. I was paying my bills with a job in technology, raising a child with my wife, and though I can’t remember exactly when it happened, I stopped writing.

I locked the dream of sharing my stories with the world into a box deep inside my brain, and got on with the life that I was building. It wasn’t until one evening in class at Columbia University over twenty years later that the box burst open, and the muse returned. That old feeling of having a story that simply must be told seeped from it, flooding the synapses of my mind and triggering my old creative self. I started Neurogarden the next day.

Nearly one year later I had a polished manuscript ready for the world to love, tear to shreds, or more likely something in the middle. Remembering the traditional road to publication, and the effort it took to get to this point, I knew that self-publication was the route for me. It didn’t hurt that I have spent the last six years helping my wife publish and market over 30 romance novels. I was confident that I could make a go of it in the very competitive indie author publishing space.

We will see how this all turns out, but as I type this, I have regained that optimism that youth and education afforded me back at Berkeley, and I have every reason to believe that this is only the beginning of the next leg of my journey. Onward!

Where can you run when there is no place to hide?

Brenna Patrick is a brilliant technologist specializing in neural-cognitive functions and AI. She has cracked the code to solve one of the most troublesome problems in the field, and turned that into the multi-billion dollar NeuralTech Corporation.

Working quietly with the U.S. Department of Defense, NeuralTech is poised to leapfrog the competition with a revolutionary system for tracking people, starting with the world’s most wanted terrorists. But there are only so many terrorists in the world, so who’s next?

When a pair of Columbia graduate students, Jenny and Leo, stumble on the dark secret of NeuralTech’s success, it kicks off a tense game of cat and mouse. As they fight to defeat the powerful forces arrayed against them, nothing less than the fate of humanity hangs in the balance…

NEUROGARDEN is a roller-coaster ride of a thriller, one that will have readers pondering the nature of memory, and of reality, long after they’ve read the last page.

Enjoy an Excerpt

Every morning for Brenna Patrick began with a hot shower and a hotter cup of Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee in the same oversized mug she had stolen from a cabinet while studying at Oxford. Some poor British sod probably spent days looking for his ever so clever black-and-white yin and yang mug, and now, here, it played a part in the daily rituals of the world’s most renowned expert on artificial intelligence.

Halfway through her coffee, Brenna’s usual routine of morning news about the weather or the latest political storm was interrupted by a story on the previous day’s event at NeuralTech.

“According to sources, yesterday, in an impressive display of technical wizardry, the notorious Ethiopian strongman, Azim Dibaba, was eliminated by the U.S. military in partnership with NeuralTech. Stay tuned for exclusive video footage from the NeuralTech facility coming up after the break.”

With a dismissive wave of her hand, the television powered off, and she downed the last of her coffee. Explicit rules about keeping cameras from the Observation Deck were put in place to stop this kind of leaked footage, not so much to keep it a secret, but to control how the message was released. There was no way NeuralTech would have built such an elaborate display of lights and gadgetry if the world was never going to see what they were doing. The fanfare was all a show, a carnival for the masses to distract from the visceral heart of what they were witnessing. Hell, they used to run the ops from a small conference room in the basement of NeuralTech HQ with two laptops and an iPad. The spectacle was created for virality, but she wanted the first glimpses to be better than some shaky cell phone video from a reporter behind glass.

About the Author:Ever since reading Douglas Adams back in my formative years, I have had an interesting relationship with humor, science fiction, and technology. My first computer was a TI-99/4A, so yeah, I’m old, but only until scientists have cracked the code on transplanting our brains into shiny new vessels.

My body may be showing signs of wear, but I’m keeping my brain tight.

When I am not dreaming of far off worlds and writing, I am living a semi-normal life working in New York City, and watching movies with my wife and her spastic cat, Moss.

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A Day with Barb – Behind the scenes…by Barb Jones – Guest Blog and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Barb Jones will be awarding a $15 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.

A Day with Barb – Behind the scenes…

What’s a typical day with me like? Well, how about getting up at 4 AM, regardless of the day of the week it is. The first thing on the agenda is 20 oz of ice cold water, followed by an intense 1.5 hour long work out. In addition to being an IT Senior Level Consultant and an author of Blood Prophecy series, I am also a Fitness Trainer, Nutrition Coach and Master Life Coach. Each comes with a unique set of certifications that I maintain. My workouts vary as I never exercise the same muscle group. Then, it’s off to work till about 5. I work remote, so I don’t have to drive anywhere. What about eating? Simple. I live and eat healthy and allow myself balance with sweets! Really – I can’t be expected to give up chocolate, can I?

Once the work day is done, and I am ready to relax – I enter my cave. This is where I will religiously do the following: work on my family tree for about an hour, prepare for upcoming fitness training sessions with clients, followed by working on all things related to Blood Prophecy. This not only includes fan email, looking at what happened via social media but writing. This is where I really sit down and relax. Sounds pretty straight forward, right? Well, let’s dive into it more. If you noticed, I tend to write like I am really just talking to you about my day. That’s what is relaxing to me. Come enter my world!

What do I do when I write? This is probably what everyone wants to hear, right? Well, let’s start with my office area. The music that I listen to is Nickelback. I can’t really write listening to anything else. I love to use my voice recognition software about half of the time. I use that only when I know exactly what the scene is going to do, or if I need my hands to mimic out a fight scene, for example, and I want to capture it. Otherwise, I will either type or put pen to paper. On some nights, I can write a lot while on others, just a scene or two. The reason it varies is because I write what I feel at that time. I have sticky notes all over the place with ideas, thoughts and more. I’ve even been known to have a story idea while on a date of all things!

When I am done for the day, I usually get another small workout in using my home equipment and then it’s dream time. A lot of my ideas for the books come from dreams, so going to sleep is work for me as I hope to create the next amazing scene or even an idea for the next book!

When the darkness was compelling and the heart knew no bounds, was there really a right choice? With Michael’s life hanging in the balance, Amber had a choice: save her star-fated love or keep on the crusade to unite the magical community. For Amber, her fate was sealed even before her birth and it was her destiny to fight the great battle ahead of her. But, when it came to her heart — her friends, her great love — Amber’s torn. Not only was she the Queen, but she was a human in every sense of the word. She was vulnerable. And so the very people — Chloe and Michael — that gave her strength, quickly became her weakness. It wasn’t her fault she loved too much, was it?

Nevertheless, the Tall Dark Man had set a plan in motion that could threaten the very existence of the Blood Prophecy. Would he gather his dark forces and succeed in destroying Amber once and for all? Or, would she assemble her powerful friends and save the world?

Enjoy an Excerpt

Malakai, Seattle, Present Day

With the betterment of both Michael and Rae, Malakai was glad that they were well and fine; nevertheless, he needed some time to decompress. All the magical commotions that had occurred were too overwhelming for him. He needed some sort of release.

He enjoyed the brisk jog in the park, as he cut through the sharp wind of the cold night. But this did nothing to lift his spirits. He was happy that Amber’s smile finally met her eyes. That was all he’d ever wanted for her: happiness, that’s it. There was nothing more he could ask for—she was his priority. Yet, in the back of his mind, as in his heart, he couldn’t help but believe the ancient legend that he’d heard so long ago was the certifiable truth, as it was written in Eschmun’s scroll.

…her fate is tied to the true alpha of the wolves. A blood drinker will stand formidable, but it is the nature of the child to call upon the true alpha and bring him to the queen’s inner heart.

Could this be the truth? he often wondered as he traveled the world collecting artifacts and evidence supporting this notion. Yes, he’d crafted a reliquary, quite accidentally, and people assumed it was to keep the magic insulated, away from the humans. But that wasn’t the case, at least not for him. He so wanted to believe, just from the sheer fact that it was said in the scroll. But Malakai was a man of logic, driven by cold hard data. Although wanting to romanticize that his destiny was tied with Amber’s, he needed confirmation. He wanted validation for the strong emotions he was feeling.

About the Author:I was born in Hawaii, a place rich with culture and storytellers. As a little girl, scary tales about vampires, werewolves, angels, demons, and witches were my favorite kind — much to my mother’s dismay.

The scarier, the better.

My love for the supernatural never went away, even after moving to Seattle, far from Hawaii’s majestic beaches with unusual colors. Nothing compares to the landscapes of Maui, Lanai, or Oahu. But somehow, Seattle stole my heart anyway. It became the place where my love for stories took on a new form, in a book of my own: The Adventures of Little Arthur and Merlin the Magnificent. This book is for kids who love stories, just like I did.

Then I had an idea while sleeping.

One night, my mind began to work overtime. In a dream, I saw a unique storyline involving all the races and an epic battle of good versus evil. It was a modern day plot with a three thousand year old prophecy, The Blood Prophecy. I finished the first book in 2014, The Queen’s Destiny. Two years later, I released The Queen’s Enemy. The last book in the series, The Queen’s Ascension, released on August 17, 2020.

Today, I live in Florida with its beaches and sunshine. But I’m still a Seattle girl at heart. And so all my stories take place in the Northwest.

I always keep to my roots when I write.

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A Few Things That Most People Don’t Know About Me by Olga Werby – Guest Blog and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Olga Werby & Christopher Werby will be awarding two signed books to a randomly drawn winner (US only) via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

A Few Things That Most People Don’t Know About Me

I guess I should start with the fact that I was born in Russia. I lived in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg) until I was thirteen and a half. I came to America as a refugee. So I have some affinity for the place my story takes place in and its culture, its language…its smell, its light, its trees, its flowers, its architecture, its temperature… I have find memories of the White Nights and days when the sun never fully rose above the horizon. I left when I was already a pretty formed human and I had to make myself fit into a new place that was very foreign and scary, in many ways. I also didn’t really speak any English when my family arrived in New York City. I couldn’t even write my name down on a piece of paper in school. So the idea that I now use English as my primary language of telling fiction is crazy! I don’t think it would be possible if not for the Internet, my external brain and linguist. Add to that that I’m dyslexic and you can see how improbably the idea of writing and publishing books is for one like me. Yet, here we are.

But there’s more. My family, from both sides, had suffered incredible damage at the hands of the Russian government and during the WWII. But for this novel, Twin Time, I focused on my grandmother’s story, who lived an extraordinary life…mostly in secret. She was born into a wealthy (and titled) family just after the 1917 revolution. But she lived in a relatively small town and politics takes time to drift into the rural areas of the country. Years after the revolution, her life hadn’t changed much until one night, when a former student from her grandmother’s orphanage knocked on the door of their estate and told them to run. You see, the boy they raised and educated became a cop in the newly formed Soviet Union. He came to warn the family that was kind to him that the powers in charge were coming to burn down their house and kill everyone inside. So my grandmother, who was just a child at the time, and her family got on their horses and ran, leaving all of their possessions behind.

They ran for years, scattering into the four corners of the world. Eventually, my grandmother, her brother, and their mother met up in Moscow at a home of a former nanny. She gave them shelter. By then, the family was destitute. My grandmother remembers waiting for her mom to come home from work one evening. She waited for many hours and then went to the train station to find out what could have happened. Her mother was standing alone by the tracks. She went blind from hunger and couldn’t find her way home.

The nightmares didn’t end there. In May of 1927, British police made a bust of Soviet trade delegation in London. Under the cover of diplomatic immunity, the All Russian Co-operative Society was spying on the British, stealing some top-secret documents. For this, the men of ARCOS were expelled and diplomatic relations between the nations were dissolved for several years. The Soviets had to retaliate, of course. Shortly afterwards, they rounded up all British citizens living in Moscow and shot them. That was my family—my grandmother’s father was a British citizen. Fortunately, my grandmother, her brother, and her mother survived. Unfortunately, my grandmother had a very un-Russian last name (we have no idea if it was Lee or Leigh or Li or some variation there off—the spelling in Russian is all the same). To run from the authorities, my grandmother married an officer in a Soviet army and gained a very ordinary last name. She never talked about her family. Ever! What we learned about her past we learned when we did an interview in her late 80’s in a safety of my living room. And even then, she kept telling us that walls had ears and some things are just best forgotten.

For those who are interested in learning more about the ARCOS affair, please visit Wikipedia.

Some of the backstory of Twin Time is actually the story of my grandmother’s childhood. She lived in a similar pretty wooden house. Her family was the pillar of their community. Just like in Twin Time, there was an orphanage and a little church. I tried to incorporate as many details as I could into my story from my grandmother’s memories of her childhood. And of course the historical facts as presented in my story are all accurate.

My professional career took me from getting degrees in Math and Astrophysics (remember, I really didn’t know English back then and couldn’t go into fields of study that required solid control of language) to getting my doctorate in education. As a kid with learning disabilities, I am very interested in cognitive differences. I diagnosed my first case of autism about twenty-five years ago. That child was non-verbal. Since then, I’ve come across many families that had children with “differences”. It is extraordinary difficult to raise a child who is different in this (or any other) country. Twin Time gave me a way of talking about autism and its costs to the family and friends. The time travel device opened up the possibility of giving a child with autism a voice. Again, everything you will read in Twin Time is carefully researched. When I discuss autism and family dynamics and therapies, I draw on actual research. For those who might think that I’ve meant to make anyone in Sasha’s family evil, that’s not true. There are no bad guys here really, there are just victims of circumstances and fate.

I did want my book, my story to have a happy ending. I wanted to show the possibility of love even in dire situations. And I wanted for my readers to love Sasha as much as I did. But to learn what happened, you’ll have to read my story.

One final thing, when my grandmother died, about a decade after my grandfather’s death, she insisted that her ashes were scattered in a different ocean from my grandfather.

Here is my grandmother’s portrait from the era of this story:

Alex and Sasha are twin sisters, physically identical down to their freckles. But the resemblance is only skin deep—Sasha is profoundly autistic, while Alex is not. Sasha can’t communicate and acts bizarrely, and the family revolves around her and her intense needs. Yet the aged, wealthy, and mysterious Aunt Nana seems to have a particular interest in both girls. Offering a helping hand, she encourages the family to move to San Francisco to be near her. And when the young twins discover a tunnel in Nana’s tool shed, it leads them on a journey across the world and back 100 years in time. The tunnel is a pathway to the Firebird Estate, the home of their ancestors, located in rural Russia at the beginning of the twentieth century. Even more remarkable, through the effect that twisting time has on cognition, Sasha is not autistic when she’s at the Firebird Estate. Now, growing up in two strikingly different times and places, the twins must face their separate destinies among the ravages of the incipient Russian Revolution. Can they save their families on both sides of the tunnel? Can they simultaneously stay true to their own hearts, to each other, and to the people they left behind? Each sister must face her own personal challenge—but only together can they discover their own future within their family’s past.

Enjoy an Excerpt

“Alex?”

“Dad?” There was noise on the line. Alex heard the sirens of emergency vehicles. She had a sick feeling, making her hand tremble as she jammed the cell phone harder against her ear. “Dad!”

“Alex, honey, there was an accident.” Alex’s father sounded all wrong. “I need you to get to Mills Hospital on the Peninsula right away. Okay?”

“Dad? What’s going on? Is Sasha all right? You’re really scaring me.”

“There was a fire. Aunt Nana has been taken to Mills. Can you get someone to drive you? Mom and I will meet you there.” There was more shuffling, and Alex heard someone tell her father to move. Alex’s father shouted something back, but it was muffled and she couldn’t understand what was being said. Then the line went dead.

Alex held the phone in front of her, hoping to get more information from the mute device. Her legs felt weak as she tried to stand. She needed to borrow a car. It was midday, mid-week, and everyone was in class. Alex had been about to go as well. She was minoring in Russian Literature, and her teacher didn’t make late arrivals welcome.

Her roommate’s keys were on top of her desk. And then they were in Alex’s hands–her subconscious mind had made the decision before she had. She would text an explanation later.

At this time of the day, UC Berkeley was at least an hour away from San Mateo–the small town on the San Francisco Peninsula where Mills Hospital was located. It would be at least an hour before Alex knew what was really going on.

She ran out the door.

About the Author:Olga Werby, Ed.D., has a Doctorate from U.C. Berkeley with a focus on designing online learning experiences. She has a Master’s degree from U.C. Berkeley in Education of Math, Science, and Technology. She has been creating computer-based projects since 1981 with organizations such as NASA (where she worked on the Pioneer Venus project), Addison-Wesley, and the Princeton Review. Olga has a B.A. degree in Mathematics and Astrophysics from Columbia University. She became an accidental science fiction indie writer about a decade ago, with her first book, “Suddenly Paris,” which was based on then fairly novel idea of virtual universes. Her next story, “The FATOFF Conspiracy,” was a horror story about fat, government bureaucracy, and body image. She writes about characters that rarely get represented in science fiction stories — homeless kids, refugees, handicapped, autistic individuals — the social underdogs of our world. Her stories are based in real science, which is admittedly stretched to the very limit of possible. She has published almost a dozen fiction books to date and has won many awards for her writings. Her short fiction has been featured in several issues of “Alien Dimensions Magazine,” “600 second saga,” “Graveyard Girls,” “Kyanite Press’ Fables and Fairy Tales,” “The Carmen Online Theater Group’s Chronicles of Terror,” with many more stories freely available on her blog, Interfaces.com.

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Buy the book at Amaon.

Other Selected Book Links on Amazon:

Harvest
Becoming Animals
Suddenly, Paris
The FATOFF Conspiracy
Lizard Girl & Ghost: The Chronicles of DaDA Immortals
Coding Peter
Pigeon
Fresh Seed
Good Girl
God of Small Affairs

Balancing Life and Writing by Dimitrius Jones – Guest Blog and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Dimitrius Jones will be awarding a $25 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.

Balancing Life and Writing

Most writers don’t write full-time, though I’m sure we’d like to. Instead, we find time in our busy schedules to craft our novels, articles, scripts, etc. Essentially, writing can be considered a second “job” for many of us, and it can take up a lot of our free time.

So, how do even manage to get it all done? Is it even possible? The short answer is yes, but it’s easier said than done. We don’t just have jobs keeping us busy. We have social obligations, children, and life’s little hiccups that occupy our time as well. Trying to fit writing into our daily routine can seem like a monumental task.

Luckily, it doesn’t have to be, and below are a few ways you can start balancing things out.

Set a Schedule

Set specific times during the day where you’re going to write and adhere to it. If you’re only going to write for an hour, for instance, start on time and stop on time. Careful planning helps avoid unneeded distractions, and it’s also important to be realistic with your scheduling.

For example, do you need a few extra minutes to decompress after work? Will you need a bigger window of free time in case your kids need help with their homework? Factor in those little things so that you don’t end up having to readjust mid-writing session.

Give Yourself Time Off

Most of us are used to having two days off a week, and I’d encourage anyone to hold onto that as much as possible. It’s tempting to get writing done on your days off, but it’s also important to make sure you give yourself time to relax and enjoy your free time.

Be Consistent

In order for something to become a habit, it needs to be done continuously right? Once you start making time for writing, stick to it. It will feel like a chore at first, but that’s where your passion will kick in. Once you sit down and start typing, more than likely everything else will fall into place. The hardest part about writing is just getting started. Once you get that part down, it’s smooth sailing.

Try New Things

Speaking of off days, use those days to go out on a nature hike, start a new hobby, or even try your hand at a new recipe. It’s not only a good way to feel accomplished and renewed. It’s also an effective way to stay inspired to write. You’ll find that something as simple as switching up your routine can lead to a new story idea.

Many in the world of Austyria dream of becoming heroes, gaining classes like Mage, Knight, and Beastmaster. With the power granted to them by the powerful Alrelics, they can level up and accomplish extraordinary feats.

The citizens of Hollo village long for a hero to save them from the malevolent Gate, which disfigures all who see or try to enter it. Lex dreams of becoming a Soldier and leaving his cursed village with his friends, Bibi and Ariel, but his class designation ceremony devolves into absolute disaster. Within days, he’s forced to embark on a journey that will change his destiny forever.

To save his friends, Lex must uncover the mysteries of this mysterious doorway, while keeping his scornful heart in check before it consumes him utterly.

Enjoy an Excerpt

Oedorius notices the commotion and stalks towards us, the other guards following closely behind him. Soon, he reaches us, and Ariel’s soft whimpers have become loud, wailing sobs. Oedorius calmly stops and stares down at her, and I’m certain I see a glint of amusement in his eyes.

“You are Ariel Branderford?” he asks.

“You’re not taking her.”

I blink, and Lex is between Ariel and Oedorius, his arms spread out to bar his approach. I position myself in front of Ariel, still crouched on the floor, and Oedorius sighs before sheathing his sword. He considers us for a moment before glancing back at one of the guards.

“Kent. Be quick.”

“Those who would defy the hands of time, be hidden from its eternal grasp. Hold!”

My body shivers as I leap to my feet. No! Not that spell! I race towards its source, hoping I can at least knock the spellcaster off balance so it won’t have a chance to be fully cast. As I near Oedorius, time begins to slow, and it feels like I’m trying to run underwater. I frantically try to shake myself in order to move faster, but it’s too late.

I become frozen in mid-air, everything around me moving as it should. Lex stands beside me still as stone, his hand stretched out as if to block the spell from hitting him. Maybe he meant to say something, but neither of us can say anything now.

Oedorius bends down and shakes Ariel’s shoulder. “Get up, girl. You’ve caused more than enough trouble. You will come with us, or we will kill you now.”

About the Author:Dimitrius Jones was born and raised in West Texas, much to his eternal annoyance. Despite this, he first picked up the pen at the tender age of six. His first masterpiece was a page-turner was about dolphins that used eye lasers to kill a hurricane. From there, his life took a few twists and turns, but he always found his way back to his trusty notepad.

His next few projects include a self-help book for those who suffer from low self-esteem as well as a full-length fantasy/romance novel to be released sometime in the future. Dimitrius has always, perhaps unsurprisingly, been inspired by the mystery, tragedy, and wonder of fairy tales.

His goal in life is to constantly inspire, amuse, and shed light into the corners of life we didn’t know were right in front of us.

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LASR Anniversary Scavenger Hunt: In His Dreams by Annie Harland Creek


Thanks for joining us on our 13th anniversary scavenger hunt! There are two ways to enter to win and it’s easy to play– first read the blurb below, then answer the question on the first Rafflecopter. You might win a $100 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC. Follow and visit authors social media pages on the second Rafflecopter and you’re entered to win another $100 Amazon/BN GC!

When Dreamcatcher, Serena, is summoned to assist a traumatized warrior with his nightmares, she soon discovers that the depth of his despair, can transcend the ethereal barriers that divide their worlds. The impossible becomes possible, but his pain; so real, so raw, threatens to bring her world crashing down around her.

Fin Wyght’s nightmares are transformed into beautiful dreams with the sudden appearance of the lovely Serena, but, are they merely dreams, or a wicked temptation sent to drive him insane with jealousy?

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LASR Anniversary Scavenger Hunt: Phantasia: A Bad Day On Olympus by Efthalia


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Torn apart by separate missions, can their love survive an impending apocalypse?

Demigod ex-cop Carissa Alkippes is hellbent on clearing her father's name. But when she's sidetracked into saving Zeus' life, she's forced into a dangerous mission to locate missing deities. To find them, she must face a horde of bloodthirsty demons.

Xen Lyson shouldn't dwell on Carissa when he's supposed to be stopping demons from feasting on humanity. But the sexy vampire worries her solitary journey to Olympus will put her in grave danger.

And with absent gods causing devastating natural disasters, he must trust her father, Ares, to keep her safe.

With every mortal sphere at risk, Carissa races to retrieve a magical codex believed to hold the key to defeating her enemy. And when Xen discovers the true source of the threat, saving both humans and gods will put his own immortality in jeopardy.

In between battling Titans, gods, missing keys, and baklava can Carissa and Xen summon the power to conquer the sinister foe and return to each other's arms?

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LASR Anniversary Scavenger Hunt: Perception by Katja Desjarlais


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The Kaius vampires have long relied on Mikhail’s empathic skills to help maintain the peace. Incessantly pummeled by the vibes of his bloodline, Mickey teeters along the narrow wall separating his emotions from those of his hauntmates. Preoccupied with preserving the harmony of the haunt, he's never been drawn to a woman…until now.

Audra Verdi, a psychologist pulled from the bloodslave quarters, finds herself straddling a thin line herself—between the ingrained ranks dividing the vampires from the women in their sphere. She fights to survive and establish her place in a world she's determined to change. The sensitive vampire intrigues her mind…and her heart.

When one of their own is captured by human authorities, Audra joins the hauntmates on a cross-country rescue mission. Will she find the real Mickey underneath all the swirling feelings or will the archaic customs of vampire society send her running?

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LASR Anniversary Scavenger Hunt: Only One Summer by K.M. Daughters


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Summer Layton’s prophetic dreams tell her that a friend from her past, Vinnie Carlucci, is in trouble. Soon she learns that the FBI has suspended him from duty, after he is framed for a crime he swears he did not commit. Being a high-powered, no-nonsense defense attorney, Summer takes Vinnie on as a client, but damning evidence against him continues to mount.

When unexpected sparks fly, Summer and Vinnie find themselves entangled in more than a fight to get his job back. If Summer fails to prove his innocence, she’ll lose the man she loves…and he’ll lose his freedom.

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LASR Anniversary Scavenger Hunt: Enchanted Knight by Keith W Willis


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Revenge… Dark magic… Murder…
Looks like this time the bad guys really mean business.

A storm is coming, borne on the wings of prophecy, and Morgan and Marissa stand squarely in the path of the tempest.

They should be preparing to celebrate a joyous wedding. Instead, Marissa struggles to master her newfound powers, while Morgan becomes enmeshed in an unwelcome alliance to repay a debt of honor.

As multiple cryptic prophecies unfold, the indomitable pair find themselves facing power-hungry wizards, treasure-hunting pirates, a wrangle of dragons, and an enigmatic woman driven by forbidden magic and revenge.

When Morgan vanishes under suspicious circumstances and Marissa’s power unexpectedly falters, the lines between enemies and allies swirl and blur like deadly Thundermist. With threats closing in from all quarters, Marissa’s only hope to save her enchanted knight lies in taming the wild magic she never wanted.

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