As writers we have different ways to describe our muses. For me, I call them the voices. Some characters are stronger than others in my mind. In fact, some suddenly appear out of no where and I suddenly can't do anything but write down their story.
This happened the other night. And when I say night, I mean I was in bed ready to pass out. This is when it usually happens for me. I have to jump out of bed and run to my computer to purge the information that has suddenly flooded my brain. So I jumped up, grabbed my trusty iPad, and started typing.
And happily, this voice belongs to a character I've been trying to figure out for a few months now. I have written her story once before, but it wasn't right. I knew there were holes and issues that needed to be fixed. In fact I even decided that she's not a youngster, but rather just out of high school. This is a big change for the story. Now her voice is coming across loud and clear.
What do you call your muse? Is it a voice in your head like mine? Do you feel the need to write non-stop when your muse visits?
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
A Taylor-Made Life Blog Tour & Giveaway
A Taylor-Made Life Blog Tour & Giveaway
They
lived the life they were given; they loved the life they made.
Cheerleader Taylor Smith
doesn’t want to die a virgin. Unfortunately, if the terminally-ill leukemia
patient doesn't find a lover or a stem-cell match within months, her fear will
become reality. When her cancer mentor is revealed to be a hottie entrepreneur
from California, it seems fate might finally be on her side.
Tech-geek Gavin Taylor has everything he ever wanted, except
someone to grieve for him when he's gone. With his melanoma cancer beyond the
help of his riches, he agrees to participate in a cancer patient mentoring
program where he's matched with a dying teen from Texas. Despite his immediate
attraction, the Silicon Valley whiz intends only to provide friendship and
happy memories to the beautiful, young woman who is determined to win his love.
When it's discovered that his frozen sperm and her harvested eggs
could lead to a cure, Taylor's mother offers to be a surrogate. And Gavin must
decide if he can risk the heart he has never given and a child he'll never know
to a girl he just met.
You can purchase A Taylor-Made Life here:
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/334257
Giveaway: $25 Gift Card to Amazon, a Charm Bracelet, a Crochet Hat, and SWAG for A Taylor-Made Life, and Queen of Jastain.
Giveaway Rules:
Giveaway begins August 1st and will end August 30th 11:59 EST. The winner will be announced by email.
Open to U.S. residents only
We are not responsible for items lost in the mail & have the right to disqualify anyone, at any time.
Personal
information given by the applicant in the giveaway will never be
shared. All information is deleted once the giveaway ends.
Rafflecopter Code: <a id="rc-3670146" class="rafl" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/3670146/" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
<script src="//d12vno17mo87cx.cloudfront.net/embed/rafl/cptr.js"></script>
Rafflecopter Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/MzY3MDE0OTllYmJlMmMzYjVkZmNlOGVkNDNlMzRhOjY=/
Author’s Bio:
Kary Rader is a part-time Twitter sage, stay-at-home mother of three, and slave to the characters and worlds inside her head. Always creative, she's drawn to stories with fantastical worlds and creatures. With a little bit of magic and divine guidance, there isn't anything that can't be accomplished with words. It's the power of words that creates and destroys. Vanquishing evil and injustice while finding eternal love in the process is all in a day's work. With the help of her critique partners and master cartographer imaginary places come to life.
Author Links:
Website/Blog: www.karyrader.com
Website/Blog: www.karyrader.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KaryRader
FB Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/KaryRaderauthor
This
blog tour was hosted by Christine Marie Book Publicity & Promotion.
If you'd like to become a tour host follow this link: http://publicistchristinemarie.wordpress.com/become-a-tour-host/
Christine Marie
Book Publicity and Promotion
http://publicistchristinemarie.wordpress.com/
Thursday, August 22, 2013
COVER REVEAL: Running on Empty by Colette Ballard
What
does it feel like when you die—in those final moments? Do you feel the
physical pain, or just the pain of your regrets? What does it feel like
when you realize you can’t answer these questions because you’re not the
victim?
You’re the killer.
River Daniels lives an ordinary life as a high school junior growing up in the confines of rural Texas until her boyfriend’s brutal attack leaves her both a murderer and a fugitive. When River’s closest girlfriends come to her aid, they make a hasty decision to not only help her, but leave their own troubled lives behind and join in her escape. The girls manage to elude police for months, but with every near-miss, River’s life spirals further out of control, until she finally hits rock bottom. Realizing she must stop endangering her friends and find evidence proving she acted in self-defense, the girls decide to make a risky return to Texas. Her return means more than facing her ugly past, she must also face the one person she was protecting the night her world caved in, the guy she has loved for as long as she can remember.
You’re the killer.
River Daniels lives an ordinary life as a high school junior growing up in the confines of rural Texas until her boyfriend’s brutal attack leaves her both a murderer and a fugitive. When River’s closest girlfriends come to her aid, they make a hasty decision to not only help her, but leave their own troubled lives behind and join in her escape. The girls manage to elude police for months, but with every near-miss, River’s life spirals further out of control, until she finally hits rock bottom. Realizing she must stop endangering her friends and find evidence proving she acted in self-defense, the girls decide to make a risky return to Texas. Her return means more than facing her ugly past, she must also face the one person she was protecting the night her world caved in, the guy she has loved for as long as she can remember.
"Raw, romantic, and suspenseful!" ~ Katie McGarry, author of Dare You To
Cover Designer: Marie Romero
ISBN: 978-1-939392-81-7
Release Date: November 25, 2013
Format: e-book
Recommended for ages 16 and up
Thanks
so much for your interest and we can't wait to share this amazing cover
(and book) with you! If you'd like to request an ARC, please use the
reviewer form on Spencer Hill Press' website (http://www.spencerhillpress.com/reviewers.html) or email editor@tulipromance.com. ARCs are scheduled to go out September/October of 2013 and will be available in PDF and on NetGalley.
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Wanted: One Ghost's Blog Tour & Giveaway
Blog Tour & Giveaway- Wanted: One Ghost by Loni Lynne
She’s a historian with a unique touch—her touch just brought history to life.
Stuck
in ghostly limbo for 238 years, James Addison can't move on to an
afterlife. After being falsely accused of treason and executed, fate's
cursed him to remain an earth-bound specter until he meets a historian
sent to research his past. Distrustful of fate, Dr. April Branford wants
to be taken seriously, but her unique ability to divine history by
touching objects seriously compromises her credibility. Her latest
assignment? James Addison, a legendary colonial ladies' man with a
shadowy past. Without much to go on, she doesn't hold out much hope to
discover the man behind the legend until the day she accidentally
touches him and brings him back to life. With the help of family and
ghosts from James's past, they unravel the truth. But after falling in
love and with time running out, it's hard for April to believe in fate
and a future where forever is now.
You can purchase Wanted: One Ghost Here
****Giveaway*****
$20 Gift Card to Amazon
Giveaway Rules:
Giveaway begins August 19th and will end September 13th 11:59 EST. The
winner will be announced on September 15th on Loni Lynne's Facebook
page.
Open to U.S. residents only
We are not responsible for items lost in the mail & have the right to disqualify anyone, at any time.
Personal
information given by the applicant in the giveaway will never be
shared. All information is deleted once the giveaway ends.
Rafflecopter Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/MzY3MDE0OTllYmJlMmMzYjVkZmNlOGVkNDNlMzRhOjg=/
Author's Bio
Born
in Michigan, Loni grew up all over the mid-west. From Michigan to Texas
and everywhere in between before joining the Navy and meeting her Army
husband. Together they were stationed in Hawaii for four years before
returning to settle close to family in Maryland. Raising two beautiful
daughters, Loni went from being a domestic goddess to a writer and
finally a published author when her husband gifted her with a
laptop,portable hard drive and a membership to Romance Writers of
America for her birthday. He then challenged her to, ‘finish a book by
her next birthday,’ and she did it! A few years later she was blessed
with one of those novels, Wanted: One Ghost, as her debut novel.
Author Links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lonilynne
Wanted: One Ghost Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WantedOneGhost
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LoniLynne1
Website: http://www.lonilynne.com/
This blog
tour was hosted by Christine Marie Book Publicity & Promotion. If
you'd like to become a tour host follow this link: http://publicistchristinemarie.wordpress.com/become-a-tour-host/
--
Christine Marie
Book Publicity and Promotion
http://publicistchristinemarie.wordpress.com/
Thursday, August 15, 2013
Character Relationships
Knowing how your characters know one another is an important aspect of the writing process. Sometimes one character knows a secret about another character. Or they have a secret crush. There are all kinds of little behind the scenes tidbits to know about our characters. As I have been working on preparing for a rewrite of a rough draft I realized there were specific relationship tidbits I needed to keep track of.
I go row by row. In the first row I write what Character A knows/feels about each of the other characters listed in separate columns above. Then I move on to Character B and so on. If a character doesn't know another character I simply put a big X in the box and move on. That happens occasionally.
The process has been eye opening. I have learned new things about some of my characters and have in turn begun to see layers within the story that I had previously not noticed.
How do you keep track of the information your characters know about one another?
Enter my Character Relationship Grid:
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Character
A
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Character
B
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Character
C
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Character
D
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Character
A
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Character
B
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X
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Character
C
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X
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Character
D
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|
|
I go row by row. In the first row I write what Character A knows/feels about each of the other characters listed in separate columns above. Then I move on to Character B and so on. If a character doesn't know another character I simply put a big X in the box and move on. That happens occasionally.
The process has been eye opening. I have learned new things about some of my characters and have in turn begun to see layers within the story that I had previously not noticed.
How do you keep track of the information your characters know about one another?
Thursday, August 8, 2013
Camp Boyfriend Book Blitz!!!
Camp Boyfriend (Camp
Boyfriend #1)
by J.K. Rock
Release Date: 07/02/13
From Spencer Hill Press
Summary from Goodreads:
The summer of her dreams is about to get a reality check.
They said it couldn't be done, but geeky sophomore Lauren Carlson transformed herself into a popular girl after moving to a new school halfway across the country. Amazing what losing her braces and going out for cheerleading will do. Only trouble is, the popular crowd is wearing on Lauren's nerves and she can't wait to return to summer camp where she's valued for her brain instead of her handsprings. She misses her old friends and most of all, her long time camp-only boyfriend, Seth. This year she intends to upgrade their relationship to year-round status once she's broken up with her new, jock boyfriend, Matt. He doesn't even begin to know the real her, a girl fascinated by the night sky who dreams of discovering new planets and galaxies.
But Matt isn't giving her up without a fight. As he makes his case to stay together, Lauren begins to realize his feelings run deeper than she ever would have guessed. What if the guy she thought she was meant to be with forever isn't really The One? Returning to Camp Juniper Point was supposed to ground her uprooted life, but she's more adrift than ever. Everything feels different and soon Lauren's friends are turning on her and both guys question what she really wants. As summer tensions escalate, Lauren wonders if she's changed more than she thought. Will her first big discovery be herself?
by J.K. Rock
Release Date: 07/02/13
From Spencer Hill Press
Summary from Goodreads:
The summer of her dreams is about to get a reality check.
They said it couldn't be done, but geeky sophomore Lauren Carlson transformed herself into a popular girl after moving to a new school halfway across the country. Amazing what losing her braces and going out for cheerleading will do. Only trouble is, the popular crowd is wearing on Lauren's nerves and she can't wait to return to summer camp where she's valued for her brain instead of her handsprings. She misses her old friends and most of all, her long time camp-only boyfriend, Seth. This year she intends to upgrade their relationship to year-round status once she's broken up with her new, jock boyfriend, Matt. He doesn't even begin to know the real her, a girl fascinated by the night sky who dreams of discovering new planets and galaxies.
But Matt isn't giving her up without a fight. As he makes his case to stay together, Lauren begins to realize his feelings run deeper than she ever would have guessed. What if the guy she thought she was meant to be with forever isn't really The One? Returning to Camp Juniper Point was supposed to ground her uprooted life, but she's more adrift than ever. Everything feels different and soon Lauren's friends are turning on her and both guys question what she really wants. As summer tensions escalate, Lauren wonders if she's changed more than she thought. Will her first big discovery be herself?
Excerpt:
“Can I ask you a question?” I’d been dying to ask
him this for years, but the old me had been too afraid.
“Shoot.” He wrapped his arms around
his knees and locked a hand around his other wrist.
I gathered my courage. “Why did you
want to break up every year after camp?”
In the quiet that followed, I traced
the white stitching on the embroidery that outlined Madison’s initial.
When Seth finally answered, his
voice was low.
“It’s easier to end things on good
terms than risk something going wrong during the school year.”
“Why assume the worst?” I’d never
given him reason to doubt me.
“I saw what my dad went through
after my mom left us.” He reached for a stick to shove the logs around in the
dusty fireplace as I marveled that he’d finally admitted what I’d
suspected. When Seth’s mom abandoned
him, she’d left a huge hole. No wonder he had trust issues. Still, we could
have worked through that if he’d given me a chance. Opened up to me like this
before.
“I always figured I’d wait to get serious with
anyone until I was… really sure,” he continued.
“And you were never sure of me?”
His crooked grin made a surprise
appearance, but his tone was dry. “I was hoping this would be the year we’d be
ready to take that step.”
Something inside me collapsed. My
chest felt so tight that for a minute I couldn’t breathe. We’d been so close to
developing something amazing.
“Instead, I showed up with someone
else.”
Outside, the wind rubbed tree limbs
against the cabin, making a squeaking scrape.
“It wasn’t just that.” He put the stick down and
looked at me. Really looked me. “You showed up as someone else. Someone I didn’t recognize with a new look,
clothes, interests.”
I opened my mouth to protest but stayed silent when
I followed his gaze to my trendy sneakers.
“I didn’t know who you were anymore,” Seth went on.
“Since when did you prefer dancing to stargazing, tanning to pursuing your
Aerospace Scholar dreams? That wasn’t the Lauren I knew. Loved.”
I flinched.
Who knew a verb tense could cut as deep as a knife? Seth no longer loved me
because I’d changed.
How ironic that I’d come back to camp to get back to
the things I’d loved, especially Seth. But Matt had stopped that chance and,
suddenly, I was glad he had. What was so wrong with liking dance and astronomy? Cheering and the science
club? The popular and the outsider cliques? The problem was, I hadn’t realized
I could do both, be both. If I’d gone
back to Seth, I would never have learned that.
I looked over at my drying wedge sandals by the
fireplace. They were awesome, even if they had slowed us down. And yeah, I was
the girl who worried about weather-induced hair frizz.
So maybe I had changed. And Seth had a point about
letting my dreams lapse. But why couldn’t he see through the make-up and
clothes to the person who still thrilled at the site of a meteor shower and
drew constellations on her notebook covers?
I laid back, tired of justifying myself. “That
girl’s gone, Seth. I’m different now.”
Seth stretched beside me. His amber eyes searched
mine in the shadows between us, a wistful smile lifting the corners of his
mouth.
“It’s not a bad thing,” he agreed,
his fingers toying with my curls. “I just miss the old you sometimes.”
I closed my eyes and enjoyed his
touch, knowing it wasn’t going any further. After all, he cared about someone
else, someone I’d never be again.
“Sometimes…” I edged a little closer to ease the
empty ache inside. “…so do I.”
About the
Authors
J. K. Rock is the writing partnership of sisters-in-law Joanne
& Karen Rock. Separately, they write adult romance. Together, they dream up
Young Adult books like CAMP BOYFRIEND, the first in a three-book series.
The summer camp stories continue with CAMP PAYBACK (4/14)
and CAMP FORGET-ME-NOT (8/14), plus bonus free novellas in between
stories. Visit http://campboyfriend.net to learn more about the
series and the free prequel novella, CAMP KISS, which you can
download here.
***Author Links***
Author Website / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Goodreads / Karen's
Twitter / Joanne's Twitter / Facebook
***GIVEAWAY***
Grand prize - Signed copies Amanda Ink's SUN, Jennifer Armentrout writing as J. Lynn's FRIGID and JK Rock's CAMP BOYFRIEND. Also included, advance sneak peek copy Laurie Halse Anderson's THE IMPOSSIBLE KNIFE OF MEMORY and Jenny Han & Siobhan Vivian's FIRE WITH FIRE, plus an "I <3 my Camp Boyfriend" tee shirt, friendship bracelets, 'I <3 Camp' temporary tattoos, and a bookmark with the download code for CAMP KISS.
Grand prize - Signed copies Amanda Ink's SUN, Jennifer Armentrout writing as J. Lynn's FRIGID and JK Rock's CAMP BOYFRIEND. Also included, advance sneak peek copy Laurie Halse Anderson's THE IMPOSSIBLE KNIFE OF MEMORY and Jenny Han & Siobhan Vivian's FIRE WITH FIRE, plus an "I <3 my Camp Boyfriend" tee shirt, friendship bracelets, 'I <3 Camp' temporary tattoos, and a bookmark with the download code for CAMP KISS.
Three other winners will receive $10 Amazon
gift cards
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