Bloods Voice Book Blitz!

Title: Blood’s Voice

Author: Áine P Massie

Publisher: Geas Publishing

Series: House Millar, #1

Genre: New Adult, Paranormal, Romance

Length: Novel

Anya Millar had no memory of her life or an instruction manual on how to navigate the insane world of humans, biting, and reality. Instead, Anya has had to learn to navigate the world of love, life, and sanity while avoiding those that would see her dead or enslaved.
Anya must come to terms with who she is and her missing past, Nicholas must win back the object of his eternal love while dealing with new cravings in his silent heart, and Declán must learn to destroy the very creatures that he has unequivocally given his heart and blood.
This is the ongoing journey of Anya and Nicholas, human loving vampires and the human they love, Declán. What makes it all more complicated is that they are abominations in their own world and Declán is a natural born vampire hunter called a Guardian.

Buy Link:
Purchase eBook: Geas Publishing | Amazon | ARe | Barnes & Noble | iStore
Purchase Print: Geas Publishing | Amazon
Signatures: Authorgraph or Bookplate

Giveaway:

Áine will be giving away one eBook of BLOOD BOUND plus a $5 Gift Card from Amazon or ARe to one luck winner! In order to win you need to fill out the Rafflecopter form below.

Rafflecopter link:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Excerpt:

Just then, he seemed to have registered Declán unconscious in my arms. “You bound him? I thought you said you weren’t ready for that. Wait. Why isn’t he moving?” “Nicholas, stop. Yes, I did the binding, but he is moving a bit. He’s still breathing.” He visibly relaxed some.

“But why is he unconscious? Are you sure it’s that and not the daze like I was in at first?”

“He moved afterwards. He spoke to me for a minute, and he even was able to touch me. I fear this all became too much. He collapsed. What do I do now?” The last part was more rhetorical, really. “Will he be okay?”

“Anya love, if that’s what you did then he will be fine. He just needs time. He is only human after all. His mind and body needs time to adjust and accept what all just happened. For now, he needs sleep.”

“Fine, but when he’s safely in his bed, you have to tell me why you came when you did, and why you were so wild. Agreed?” I wasn’t going to delay Declán’s rest, but Nicholas was going to talk.

To follow along on the tour check out these links!:

Before: Harlie William - http://harliewilliams.com/
After: Romance Book Craze - http://romancebookcraze.blogspot.com/

Thankful

I started on this journey in the not too recent past,

I didn't know how long this endeavor might last,

I wrote a book, took a chance, gave it all I knew.

And before I realized, all my dreams were coming true.

To get to write the stories that live inside my head,

To bring to life, build the tale, the pages that were read

to get to share the characters I have grown to care for,

and that others love them too, I couldn't ask for more.

Every day is a new adventure of romance, trials and strife,

and everyday I cherish more that God has given me this life.

I've met amazing people who in books find the same joy,

like a child on Christmas morning unwrapping their new toy.

I am so thankful you see, to each and every one,

 The encouragement and support, they all mean a ton.

I can not imagine life without this task given to me,

And if I did not have to pay the bills I would write for free.

I can not say it enough, all the thanks I give to you,

Each and every reader who took a chance on someone new.

From the very depths of my heart I say in a humble voice,

Thank you so very much for making my books your reading choice.

In thanks to all those wonderful readers out there,

Happy Thanksgiving,

Quinn

Interview with Samantha Young

Hey all you readers and writers! Emma Michaels here to introduce our guest author of the day:

Samantha Young!

Hello Samantha and welcome to The Writers Voice!

Do you outline? If so how closely do you follow it?

I do outline. I do plot outlines and then chapter summary outlines. I stick pretty close to the outline but usually I end up changing or adding things along the way. The only outline I stuck pretty true to was my outline for Slumber.

Has being a novelist changed the way you read and appreciate novels?

Definitely. I know now how much hard work goes into the smallest things and how difficult it is to come up with something truly refreshing. It’s also made me really appreciate those writers who have clearly researched and put effort into their work.

How much do you draw from your own life when constructing your main character?

Sometimes I draw from things that have happened in my life or my family or friends to give the character a background I can easily build their character upon. Plus I’ve always been pretty independent and have gone ‘my own way’, even as a teen, as did most of my friends, so these traits can usually be found in my mcs. I think it’s good for teens to have strong heroines to look up to.

How do you get to know your characters? Do you write out a bio, they just come to you or do you have certain facts you always decide on first?

I always write out a background history for my characters before I start writing. That way I can get to know them and see how they would logically have been affected by what has happened to them in the past and in the present. From there I build little character quirks into their personality.

Do you tend to reach the word count you want exactly, overshoot or undershoot? How does it effect your editing?

I don’t go into a novel with a word count in my head. I tend to write novels that are about 80,000 to 100,000 words long so I expect to always hit around that. I wouldn’t edit anything out or in just to hit a word count target. I edit until the story itself feels right

To all our readers out there, thank you for following The Writers Voice and happy reading!

Rhiannon Paille and Emma Michaels chat on all things writing

Emma Michaels: The number one comment readers have about surrender is the uniquely original story line, what would you say inspired the more unique aspects of Surrender?

Rhiannon Paille: Mythology. I'm very driven by age old stories, and I fashioned SURRENDER after those old stories. The entire basis of The Ferryman + The Flame is the idea that this is a lost myth, something that our ancestors or elders tried to have erased. Anything that was banned, erased, burned, purged from the universe itself, has to be good right?

When you asked me to review Owlet, you made a valid point about asthma and flawed teenagers. What made you choose asthma specifically?

Emma Michaels: I have lifelong asthma and throughout school and the slow crawl towards adulthood it became a serious impediment, not as much because of the limits on me physically but because of the lack of understanding from those around me. P.E. teachers wouldn't understand and would force me to run or threaten my grade and I knew what was going to happen but had to risk it anyways, So I would run and within 20 minutes be in the ER with the teacher apologizing for not having believed me because she saw me try my very hardest and the outcome. Then of course, new teacher the next year, same welcome to the class. It hurts having the limitations, but it hurts more feeling so alone and so unique in a way that feels more wrong than right so much of the time.

The Great Oak in Surrender has captivated readers, they want to know more about the great oaks tie in to the story and ability to choose a person's life path. Will it affect future novels? Is there any fun behind the story info you might be willing to share?

Rhiannon Paille: The Great Oak is akin to mythology's Tree of Life, which is rumored to exist in Avalon, which is what inspired me to create Avristar. In later books I mention how human culture has changed and I draw all the lines together between the first book and the last three books. Without going into a lot of spoilery details, the first three books exist around 7000BCE and the last three books exist around 2010CE. So, While the Great Oak plays a part in the first, fourth, and fifth books, it's more of an archetype. For the first three books Kaliel and Krishani feel cursed by the tree, but the Great Oak is one of those impartial omnipotent creatures. Hahaha I'm sure Kaliel in the later books would compare the Great Oak to a Magic 8 Ball. 

 Iris can't remember her life, but everyone around her seems to know who she is. Was the amnesia part of your original plan for Iris's story?
Emma Michaels: Yes and no. I wrote the entire Society of Feathers series, then went back and decided to rewrite it including what I had learned. The amnesia was added when I went back and realized that certain things that happened in Iris past are not things any young girl's mind would be able to properly cope with. It really came down to be it being more realistic for her to have chosen to have forgotten because of events revealed in book two, than for her to have been able to live with what happened without finding a way to face the truth.

There are so many stories and versions of what elves could be. Have elves always interested you? If not what sparked that interest?

Rhiannon Paille: I can see how Iris wouldn't be able to accept some of the things that happened to her when she was a kid and then magically go back and be reintroduced to it without having amnesia. It was a good add to the revisions! Actually there are two types of elves. The ones you just mentioned at the short ones, that were mistaken for dwarves in some stories, and midgets in other stories. It gets really sticky when you begin to pull apart the myths out there. The Elvens (which are NOT elves btw) are often mistaken for the Frost Giants or the Fir Bolgs who were trying to take over Ireland before the Tuatha De Danann descended from the sky and drove them out of Ireland. My interest comes from culture, my own personal roots being that my ancestors were all from those regions. My ancestors were all Viking Warlords, Kings of Norway, Dublin, Kvenland, Sweden, etc. etc. They then migrated to Iceland, and later to Canada. Mythology from that region has always fascinated me, as it fascinated Tolkien. Me and him use the same Elvens. But I also added feorns (half wolf, half man, but not werewolves), centaurs (half man, half horse) shee (12inch faeries), fae (human sized faeries), gargoyles (stone during the day, bat-like at night), and humans.

We're gonna write books here Emma with this interview! What originally sparked your interest for a Society of Bird-People?


Emma Michaels: It is a bit difficult to describe. I tend to look at everything around me and see something a different from what everyone else sees (or so I am told) so the smallest thing can change me entire perspective. In this case, I have always been fascinated by ornithology, especially since an illustrator of a text book was kind enough to give me a free signed copy knowing I liked it but couldn't afford it. From that day on the book has always meant a great deal to me. When I was about 16 or 17 I had a dream about a girl flying and a part of an owl becoming a part of her. I have always had dreams about flying whenever the strong Santa Ana winds would come through my hometown Los Angeles. It really just grew from there, I started to see traits of birds in those around me.

Rhiannon Paille: It's stuff like that that makes people think us writers are all insane you know ;)


Emma Michaels: I know. But in the words of Lewis Carrol, "We're all mad here." :P We really are going to write books here in this interview :P Surrender has been called "vibrant", "epic", "beautifully written fantasy", "full of magic" and "extraordinary" how did it feel when you got your first review? How did your readers reactions to your novels effect your future choices when writing?

Rhiannon Paille: Hahaha AND she asks me loaded questions! Honestly? I was really happy with my first review because it was from a fellow indie author whose book I loved, and she called my book a Classic! And then I began getting other reviews from other bloggers and not all of them were as positive. Some of them didn't like my book, some of them didn't think I knew how to write (okay that might have been true) but the one thing I did want to avoid was having readers influence my future books. I've seen others do it, SM Reine is doing it right now with her Seasons of the Moon series, where she polls people on facebook about what should happen in the next installment. Cool idea, but it's not for me. I had a full story arc for The Ferryman + The Flame in my head before I began and actually before SURRENDER originally dropped in 2011, I had the first drafts of JUSTICE and VULTURE already finished. I like being ahead of the game. It helps me let go of the people who tell me that despite doing six years of work, my book is crap. (you know who you are anonymous reviewer.)

I really liked Falcon, but everyone complains about insta-love between characters (I'm a guilty member of the insta-love club) What do you have to say for yourself?


Emma Michaels: Lol, very good question. You have no idea what you stumbled upon but I have been waiting for someone to ask this one! I am not a fan of following fads, the interesting thing that is going to happen throughout the series is that as you see their past unfurling you realize it wasn't insta-love at all. In fact, it was quiet the opposite. The thing is. Iris is the person that taught Falcon what love was and his not forgetting that was what was able to reforge that connection. Iris trusts him but it was trust it took him years and years to earn, she just doesn't know it yet and once she finds out we will see where the story goes from there. :P

Fate seems to have a huge part in your novels. Do you personally believe in fate or having a path that is already chosen?

Rhiannon Paille: Yes and no . . . I believe in Destiny, not Fate. Destiny is a destination where as fate is a detour. The Great Oak is more like a personality test, like those fantastic career tests we all had to do on the antiquated computers at high school. The ones that spit out job matches based on our answers. There are a lot of other factors that make up what Kaliel and Krishani's destiny is, and frankly I haven't even revealed their destiny paths in the first book. I'm also going to add that humans have free will, while Elvens aren't known for that. Elvens are known for their dedication to duty and responsibility, they are less likely to fall off a prescribed path. But then you have to look past Kaliel and Krishani being physically Elven and understand that Kaliel's soul is a Flame and Krishani's soul is a Ferryman. That trumps. It's like Iris being a human but having a bird soul.

You have other creative influences, like video editing and sketching. How has that shaped you as a writer? Do you sometimes sketch out your ideas before writing them? (I can't draw so I'm fascinated by people who can.)


Emma Michaels: Great answer! And yes, I tend to lean towards just about every and any creative outlet that has to do with visual stimuli. I actually drew Iris (previously named Serenity), Falcon (previously named Darien when I drew him) and then Jarem and Roger. It actually does really effect my writing when I draw a character or work on a digital design piece. The main reason being that I have a pretty terrible memory span and have a lot of reasons I need a creative outlet. When I do a piece of art or write about something I know for sure it is something I am emotionally invested and even if I don't remember exact details of what I felt while making the piece I always remember the emotion when I look back at the image. It is like each line is a piece of the memory I can't seem to reach and seeing the images brings it back together again.

What do you hope readers will take away from your novels? What is it you want to inspire them to feel?

Rhiannon Paille: *cue the evil laughter* Writing The Ferryman + The Flame was a bit like therapy. The nightmare lived inside my head for a long time before I managed to get it out onto paper. I wrote it in third person limited for the sheer fact that I don't think I could have written it in first person (a bit too personal that way) so I did it to separate myself from the characters a bit, but I still wanted my readers to live inside the nightmare with me. Sure, this book begins in a utopian paradise, but all paradises have some fatal flaw, not to mention, my paradise is populated by one Flame (who could cause the apocalypse) and one Ferryman (whose job is to follow death) The Ferryman + The Flame is a disaster waiting to happen. I invite everyone to come experience the nightmare for themselves.

And my last question for you Emma (even though I can think of a million more) What do you like most about being a writer?


Emma Michaels: There is one thing that has drawn me to writing me entire life, even if I never thought of it as a career until recently, it is the feeling of writing, that pull towards it that takes you over and all you want to do is create. Every time I see a blank notebook it fills me with this send of impending creativity, like it is a book waiting anxiously for someone to allow its words to appear to it can finally be shared with the world. It is like a force I couldn't hold back if I wanted to and when I let it take me over, it feels like complete freedom. As someone with such a confusing personal history and so many limitations in my life, there is a LOT I would give up for those moments of freedom. I want to get to keep having that feeling for the rest of my life when I sit down to write. :)

Stop by www.yafantasyauthor.com or
http://www.facebook.com/RhiannonPaille
to find out more about Rhiannon Paille and her amazing series!

Holidays with your characters

It's Thanksgiving here in the U.S., the day when we all eat too much and then get ready to shop like fiends. Well, I don't do the Black Friday thing. I do participate in the Thursday eating though.

It occurred to me one day that I don't usually think about what my characters do for the holidays. I'm participating in a holiday promotion coming up and I had to write a holiday themed post about some of my characters from Surfacing. I had never actually given much thought to what these characters did during Christmas or what their favorite Christmas memories were.

For the promo, I wrote about Mara and Josh's (from Surfacing) favorite Christmas memories. It gave me even more insight into their characters and the history that has made them who they are to think about how they've spent their holidays. And it was fun to write about my characters during the holiday season.

So what about you? Do you know how your characters spend their holidays? What foods do your characters hope to see on the holiday table?

Bringing Realism to Your Novel

Bringing Realism to Your Novel

I was recently doing an interview with my friend for a school project of his. He thought it’d be cool to interview the author who was only nineteen and who was home-schooled for most of his life. I didn’t think much to it, willing to help my friend for his college project. In that interview he asked me a lot of basic questions, “What inspired you to write?” “Were there any challenges to writing your first book?” all that stuff. But there was one question that really made me think, one that made me go…“Huh, that’s really true!”

It started from him asking, “Is there anything you wish you could have expanded more on in your book?” I answered by saying there was a character I wish I could have played with more. In Dehumanized there’s a character named Frederic Stinson, a Frenchman who barely spoke any English and dies early in the book. I told my friend that I regretted not being able to expand on his character more before he left, not letting the reader know more about this mysterious man who was Ryan’s cellmate in Dehumanized, and my friend’s follow-up question made me really think:

“But don’t you think it brings a certain kind of realism to your book by not expanding on this character?”

I didn’t know how to respond at first. I thought for a second and was ready to say no, but then I really thought about it. After about two minutes of thinking, I came up with the conclusion that, yes, it does bring realism to my book to not explain this character more so than necessary. Because the book follows Ryan Zachery and his journey to freedom, and since it’s about him and from his point of view we only know what he knows. He only knew so much about Frederic, so naturally we only knew so much as well. Since there was a language barrier between the two, Frederic couldn’t share his story with Ryan or us, leaving him a very mysterious character. Obviously there are ways I could have told Frederic’s story – as a writer there are many tools at my disposal – but at the time I didn’t feel the need to, and now I’m glad I didn’t. It really does bring a certain kind of realism to the book to not explain every single character Ryan comes into contact with. The same goes for every novel. When you’re following a main character you only know what they know, not what everyone else knows. In real life do you just somehow know the background of everyone you come into contact with? No. You have to learn their stories by having them tell you, and so if they can’t or won’t tell you you’ll never know.

A good book is full of well-developed characters, but there’s room for a character that is mysterious and stays that way. For Dehumanized, Frederic Stinson is that character, and will continue to be throughout the sequel(s?).

-Michael Loring.

Excerpt from my untitled WIP

I ran to my car while digging around in my bag for my keys. After finding them, I dropped them on the ground. I bent down to pick them up and when I straightened back up I realized that Tristan was leaning casually against the car parked next to mine with a lazy grin on his face.

“So you’re ditching school? I didn’t peg you as the type of girl to do something like that.

I shot him a dirty look. “And how do you know what type of girl I am? You’ve never met me before today.”

He just shrugged his shoulders. “I know your type. There have been girls like you at every school I’ve gone to.”

I didn’t even bother responding to that. Instead I just stuck my key into the door and unlocked it. I sat in the driver’s seat and tossed my bag onto the backseat. I slammed my door and jammed the key into the ignition and turned. I sped off without even a glance back at Tristan. I was fuming. How dare he make assumptions about me like that? I turned the radio on and flicked through the stations until I found a song by my favorite singer Joan Jett. I sang along, determined to forget about my strange day. I turned onto the road that lead to the lake. I knew no one would be there which is exactly why I wanted to go there. I needed some time alone and the lake was one of my favorite hideouts when I needed alone time. I pulled into the parking lot and parked my car. I opened my door and took a deep, calming breath to help myself relax. I zipped up my jacket and sat down at a picnic table that was close to the water. I wished I had thought of bringing bread with me because there were always ducks at the lake.

Killing the Ones We Love: an Author's Perrogative

So, it went something like this: I got into bed, kissed my husband goodnight, and closed my eyes. Then, as I am prone to do, I started writing. (In my head, of course).

Within minutes, I was in tears. Now, you have to know me to understand the significance of this. I don't generally cry unless I'm at a funeral or someone takes the last brownie when I really, really, really wanted it. So for me to just break down in tears as I'm trying to fall asleep had my husband in a panic.

"Are you pregnant?" he asked.

"Good Lord, no."

"Did Faith take the last brownie again?"

"Not if she knows what's good for her."

After a long pause, he ventured, "Did someone die?"

"No," I sniffled. "But someone's going to."

You see, I had just realized that the next day, I was going to kill a character who had been with me for six books. Six. Just the thought had my heart breaking. You should have seen me while writing the scene. The words "hot mess" come to mind.

I wonder, does every author go through this? Well, surely not every one, since I've read more than one series where so many characters die that I wonder why the author included any people in the first place. But do most authors truly grieve like this when they kill someone off?

In my mind, they should. If an author isn't emotionally invested in his or her characters, how can their readers be? Thus, I feel we should all have a grieving process for when this sort of thing comes up in our books. If you have one, I hope you'll share it with us!

As for me, I bake brownies.

How do you work through character deaths?

10 Weird Things About KaSonndra Leigh

Hello Readers and Writers,

     Today, I'm going to shake things up a bit and do something fun and different. Instead of blabbling on and on about technique, etc. in the way that I usually do, I'm going to share a few funny tidbits with you all. Okay, so what's this all about? Another author friend of mine inspired this post. It's something she does on a regular basis on her author website. I get to reveal 10 weird things about me. And you get to go: "Yeah, see, I knew that KaSonndra chick was odd." LOL
     So are you ready? Here we go:

Ten Weird Things About KaSonndra Leigh:

1)       I always considered myself to be a Goth girl and still do. Want to see how bad my obsession with my past life is? Head over to http://pinterest.com/alestasia/the-goth-girl-i-ll-always-be/ and check out all of my fascinating black, white, and red pics galore.

2)      I had a crush on Frodo in LOTR. What girl didn’t? Even if they won’t admit it. Dark hair, gorgeous blue eyes, brave aura: what the heck is there not to like? Never mind that I probably tower over him.

3)      I still have a cassette player in my truck. I specifically ordered it to have one when I bought it. Giving up my old Ike and Tina Turner collectibles wasn’t an option. I still haven’t found them on CD or mp3 yet.  **sighs**

4)      I talk to my flowers. Sometimes they answer me back. And then those answers become great stories for you all to read. My grandmother taught me all I needed to know about gardening. I miss her terribly.

5)      I get sea sick on ferry boats. Riding across the way to see the Statue of Liberty with my best friend made me sick. I’m pretty sure that in a past life I was one of the people on the Titanic. I’ve never taken a cruise and probably won’t ever do it.

6)      I chew my cuticles and the skin around my fingers when I’m writing. It’s a thinking process. I can’t help myself. I’ve tried everything to stop it. I even tried using that stuff that turns bitter when you taste it on your fingernails. Well, guess what? I started liking the way it tasted, so I stopped using it. I know…strange.

7)      I generally tend to fall for the fictional bad boy instead of the good guy. That bad habit has probably carried over from some of my real life ordeals. Okay, so I love bad boys. That’s why I get so many emails from readers telling me how they feel conflicted about my characters. Some of them even say that they prefer the bad boy character more. This is a good thing. I’ve done my job well when something seems so real that people get so emotional. Better to have conflicted over cardboard character comments any day, right?

8)      Physics was my favorite subject in high school. I didn’t care for English much at all. Horrors!

9)      I’m a human phone book. I can remember phone numbers after seeing them once or twice. I remember all of my childhood numbers and even some of my friends I used to hang out with.

10)   I have a Nook instead of a Kindle…don’t ask. LOL

Thank you for stopping by the Writer's Voice today.

Yours in Prose,

KaSonndra Leigh

I pretty much live online. So you can catch me in more weird acts at:

Author website:  http://www.kasonndraleigh.com

Twitter:  http://twitter.com/kasonndraleigh

Facebook:  http://facebook.com/kasonndraleighbooks

Facebook#2:  http://facebook.com/kasonndraleighbookspage

Pinterest:  http://pinterest.com/alestasia

Tressa Messenger - Protector

Tressa Messenger

Author

by Devyn Dawson

   Recently, I had the opportunity to meet Tressa, the author of Protector.  The first thing that struck me about Tressa was her easy way of talking.  Although Tressa's book Protector has been out for a while, the virtual networking is new to her.  All of the authors on this blog have fumbled through our first year and have learned from one another.  Some of us were led by other authors, and some of us had a instinct as to what to do next.   I hope everyone will give a warm hello to Tressa, and stalk her daily.  Be sure to enter the Rafflecopter to win a copy of Protector and a $5.00 gift card to Amazon.

BIO - I am a small town girl with big dreams. I grew up in a small coastal community called Pamlico County; in the town of Reelsboro North Carolina. Growing up in such a rural area there wasn't much to do, so I developed a wide fantasy finding solace in writing poetry and songs. After high school I left my little secure coastal town to discover other parts of the country. It was a sad and lonely time, but also a fun and exciting time in my life. I had too many emotions to process so I started to put it all down on paper. That became the start of my first novel, which I have yet to finish. My first complete novel entitled Protector was a dream come true, although I found out during the process, at 31 years old, I am dyslexic. Reading was always a struggle throughout my life and finding out why has really made a difference in me and my writing. It was such a wonderful and daunting process but I have succeeded in doing something I never thought I would do. I have 3 novels published, Protect, Protect Me and Too Close To Home and 2 more on the way. Writing is such a passion of mine and will continue to be whether I become successful with it or not.

1.   Who is your dream cast if your book were turned into a movie?  Hmm, good question.  I’ve actually thought about it often.  There a re a lot of beautiful people to choose from.  Anna-Marie- Minka Kelly, Alessandro- Ben Barnes or Taylor Kitsch, Marquis-Chris Hemsworth, Michael-Chad Michael Murray, Dylan-Ed Westwick

2.  What is your playlist for your book? The whole Evanescence album, Anywhere but Home. 

3.  If I were a fly on the wall when you’re writing, what would I discover about you?  Me sitting on my couch in my PJ’s with my lap top on my lap sipping coffee and watching House Hunters International.  I’m most creative in the mornings.

4.  What is the latest book you’ve read?  Dean Koontz, False Memory.  I was trying to get motivated to write my own creepy story.

5.  When a reader finishes your book, what is their reaction?  Example - “I didn’t see that coming”  or “Swooning”. “F’ing amazing”  lol I get that a lot

6.  If you were a bird, what kind would you be?  I think a Humming bird.  I love flowers.  So much so I have various types tattooed on my body.  Humming birds do well

7.  What was your inspiration for Protector?  I really have no clue.  I wanted to write something, but had no clue what. My husband told me to simply start writing, so I did.  It morphed and changed a few times during the process.  My whole life I have loved vampire movies and books so there was no surprise I wrote a book about them.

8.   When you go to an amusement park, do you gravitate to the roller coaster or shopping?  Neither really.  I’m petrified of heights and the shops are usually too expensive.  I love to people watch.  I will watch my family having a good time and that is enough for me.

9.  What’s the best advice about writing you’ve ever been given?  To buy the series Writing Essentials by Writer’s Digest.  They have helped me so much and I tend to re-read them as a refresher.  I get asked questions all the time and the best advice I give is, do it for yourself.

10.  What can we expect from you over the next year?  The 3^rd in the Protector series, Protect Us, will be published as well as a few more.  I intend to write a screen play for Protector so a friend, who has a small movie studio, and I can turn it into an indie film.

Where can we stalk you?

Twitter - tressamessenger
Facebook - Tressa Messenger 

Anna-Marie has spent her whole life in love with the boy across the creek. When Anna-Marie’s boyfriend, Dylan, dies under mysterious circumstances it drives her into a deep depression. She desperately clings to his memories for solace.

After reports come out of a second mysterious death, Anna-Marie climbs her way out of despair as she throws herself into a search for the assailant, who is callously tearing so many lives apart. During Anna-Marie’s search, she has a chance encounter with a mysterious man who flips her world upside down once again. Alessandro Pierre appears just as normal as the next guy, but he is far from it.

The further Anna-Marie digs into a world she isn’t quite prepared for; she gets caught up in a deadly game from her worst nightmares and eventually learns that it is her own world as well.

Interview With Victoria Simcox

Have you ever cut a scene out of one of your novels that you wanted to keep? Why did you do it? Can you tell us about it?

Yes, a few times. In my last book, The Black Shard, I started to write a scene about Raymond—Kristina's former pet rat—stowing away in the hold of the ship. It involved a sentimental conversation between him and Kristina. As I was writing it, it just didn't sit right with me, and so I cut it.

What was the trigger for your first novel? Your aha moment that sprouted its idea?

 I was watching a Harry Potter movie in the theater when I got a vision of my main character walking down a street. The snow was falling as she was heading to her school bus. That was my inspiration and I went home and started writing.

Is there one novel in your life you love to re-read? Do you continue to learn from it every time you re-read it?

 I'd have to say 'The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe.' I've read it probably 4 times and it's always an exciting adventure to me.

How do you know that your plot will hold the weight of your novel? Do you write more plots that novels then pick and choose?

 I just write and the story comes to me.

Is the way you structure your novels a choice or does it come to you organically?

Totally organic.

Have you ever used or gotten ideas for dialog from conversations you have overheard or had with others?

Yes.  A lot of what I write comes from past situations, whether it be conversations, or observations.

For current giveaways and reviews, check out Victoria's personal blog @ www.victoriasimcox.blpgspot.com

 

Intro Post - Author J. Bridger

I'd like to thank Emma for letting me join the team before I start. I'm excited to be contributing regularly to The Writer's Voice, and can't wait to engage with everyone. So that said, here we go.

I was trying to think about how best to introduce myself and I guess I'll start with the basics. I've been writing  for about eight years, but I started with Buffy the Vampire Slayer fanfiction and then to sharing short stories with friends from real life and online. I published my first novel, a young adult paranormal novel about werewolves and shapeshifters called  Shifted Perspective, in August and am working on a series of Christmas stories from that same universe for release this December.

I have a variety of interests in writing. I do love horror and my own site, Publishing the Paranormal, does look at horror movies and books, but I have to confess that, even at twenty-eight, the largest passion of mine continues to be young adult books. I started really getting into them when I was in that age bracket with K.A. Applegate's Animorphs and Everworld series. I think it stuck with me even as I got older, and I went from Animorphs to the Daughters of the Moon and the Cirque Du Freak series. I think that most of  what  has drawn me to Young Adult, has been that love it shows for the paranormal and for humanizing those with unusual abilities and histories. Yes, I did once long ago have a Sweet Valley High phase (what can I say, I'm a twin), but it's always the preternatural elements in YA that draw me back.

I was reading a lot of that before it was necessarily the coolest thing out there, and it makes me happy that there's been such an explosion in it over the last seven years. It's like this amazing smorgasbord of supernatural goodies. If you love vampires, you know you're more than covered by works by Smith or Meyer. Werewolves have their part to play too and not only as second fiddles but in their own right. I still say, even if it's fifteen years old, that Klause's Blood and Chocolate sets the gold standard for lycanthropic drama. You have angels in Hush, Hush and tragic witch love stories and struggles in the Beautiful Creatures series. There are demons, mermaids, and dystopian horrors. There's really no limit to what the YA genre is now offering and if you have a passion or a supernatural element that you love, I am pretty confident you can find it out here.

The best part to me is that paranormal YA really can explore the world in a way that contemporary can't . it almost always comes back to the questions of "What does it really mean to be human?" and "Where does that line between good and evil lie?" It goes larger than life, creates metaphors that crystallize these esoteric struggles, and captivates us all the way.

That's why I say Viva Young Adult and I can't wait to see what the future brings!

J. Bridger Interview

 Give a warm welcome to J. Bridger who will be having her first official post as a The Writers Voice team mate tomorrow! But first, here are a few fun tidbits about her and her novels!

What would you like for readers to take away from your novel/novels? 

I’d like for them to take away a different perspective (no pun intended). I strive to be quirky and different but to also have an edge of pathos in my works. I hope my readers get an appreciation for that. 

What part of your first novel did you find hardest to write? 

The beginning. It’s my first original novel, and I had to work so hard to shut off my inner critic. I think once I got into trusting myself and the work, it got easier, but it was a tough stretch to start. 

Was there ever a moment when you wouldn’t trade what you do as an author for the world? What was that moment for you? 

My first review on Amazon was amazing. I loved knowing that someone out there that I’d never met had been touched by my words. I wouldn’t trade that for anything, even on days with bad reviews! 

What makes you feel like you’re reading or have read a truly amazing book? 

Those stick with you. I know I’ve read an amazing book when a week or a month later, I’m still agonizing over the characters and their struggles as if they were flesh and blood friends. 

Is there one book that has had an impact on not only your writing, but on you personally? 

I really loved The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. It taught me at a young age that politicians, even if they’re supposed to protect us, are often making back room deals that we should be worried about. 

Tell us something most people don’t know about you! 

I’m extremely flexible and can do splits, which helped me a ton as a field hockey goalie. 

Thank you for stopping by and we look forward to finding out more about you tomorrow! 

 

Guest author LM Preston!

Give a warm welcome to our amazing guest author 

of the day LM Preston!

What would you like for readers to take away from your novel/novels?

All of my novels have a similar theme, we are not perfect, we may not be strong, but in trying we can overcome great odds.

What part of your first novel did you find hardest to write?

All of it, lol! Okay, I had a really hard time writing action scenes and would have to make my kids act them out for me to see if the moves were natural.

Was there ever a moment when you wouldn’t trade what you do as an author for the world? What was that moment for you?

The moment when being an author is something more precious to me, is when a young teen reader tells me that they want to be a writer too. And while a school visit, one of the students told me they already had the first book in my series and wanted to know when the next one was coming out.

What makes you feel like you’re reading or have read a truly amazing book?

When I'm so engulfed in the novel that I feel as though the characters are my friends.

Is there one book that has had an impact on not only your writing, but on you personally?

The Maximum Ride series. I love the formula of action James Patterson used in this book and realized that it's the way I enjoy writing also.

Tell us something most people don’t know about you!

I sleep with the covers over my head because I thought I saw ghost when I was little and then after reading tons of horror books as a teen and young adult, I think things do go bump in the night.

Thank you for stopping by 

The Writers Voice!

One Author, Two Series, who knew?

                                                        

Cassie Tate, Elfin Series                                             Sally Morgan, Grey Wolves Series

I’m 36,000 words into the first book of my new series and I’m terrified. Yes, you heard me, I said terrified. The Grey Wolves Series is my first series ever. It’s the first books I've ever written in my life, the first characters that I wrote and grew to love and think of as friends and the first series that readers have grown attached to. It’s not over yet, there are still more books to come in that series, but I decided to go ahead and start a new one. I had all these ideas swirling around in my brain and it’s messy enough up there I decided I better clean house and get some of them down on paper- so alas we have the Elfin Series.

I was working on it today and my husband called me about lunch and I bit his head off. He was like what’s the heck Quinn? My response…my book sucks. Yep, that’s all it takes to put an author in a head biting mood. To read what you've written and go man that sucks. I just kept comparing it to the first series and worrying about others comparing it to the first series, and to each character and to blah, blah, blah. It’s enough to drive a person crazy, and my husband is pretty sure I past crazy a few exit’s back so what’s next for me? Yeah, that’s what I’m worried about lol. So I emailed a friend and sent her what I have of Elfin so far and I was like “hey, be brutally honest with me, no matter how painful it might be, I need to know if this sucks.” FYI all you BETA readers, when an author says be honest, they really mean it. I’m blessed to have very honest readers. I don’t want someone to tell me they like what I wrote because they don’t want to make me mad or don’t want to hurt my feelings. By all freaking means, to keep me from putting out some crap and plastering my name on it, smiling like an idiot and printing out a bunch of copies said crap- hurt my feelings! Stomp my heart out, if it’s going to make me a better writer.

That said she sent me back an email that really helped me clear my head and helped me see that at this moment in time, everything I write that isn't in the Grey Wolves Series is going to seem like crap…to me-hopefully it isn't  It’s very challenging to say the least, for me as a new author, to attempt to write two series at the same time. I want to make sure that I put out the best books I can no matter the series. I want people to pick up a book with my name on it and know that I've given 110% every time I sit down to write and I pray that that 110% is worth every bit of their time.

Am I still terrified, hell yes! But, maybe a little more excited now as well. Excited to embark on a new journey with new characters. Excited to explore a new romance with new emotions and most of all excited to bring a new impossible world to life.

                                                                                                                                                

30 Days + 50,000 Words

I always look forward to November each year because it's NaNoWriMo time! If you've spent any time following the writing community through blogs or Facebook or Twitter, you've probably heard of it by now. If not, NaNoWriMo is National Novel Writing Month, which is a crazed push to write 50,000 words in 30 days.

I've been doing NaNoWriMo since 2001. There were some years when I took a break from it because of conflicting deadlines, but I love to participate when I can. I usually like to write my first drafts quickly anyway, and the energy of the forums helps motivate me even more. I like knowing that so many other people are doing it at the same time.

I had a great first four days, but I can feel things slowing down a bit as I head into the middle of the book. Middles are usually the murky part for me as I try to figure out what’s supposed to happen. But I’m currently at 12,502 words, so I’m very happy that I pushed myself to get ahead right at the beginning. I usually do start out getting ahead and then slow down later in the month.

I usually advise not to think too hard or obsess when doing NaNoWriMo. Just focus on getting the words out. Once you have a basic frame for the story, you can go back and make it pretty later. But one thing that helped me get ahead was that I knew what I needed to write for these early scenes. I’ve always been a complete pantser. I would always write my books without knowing what would happen in them. I’m still a bit of a pantser, but I’ve learned how to make outlining work for me. I don’t outline the entire book and I don’t make myself stick strictly to it, I can change my mind when the need arises (I’ve already changed my mind on some things in this book). But for the first few scenes, I knew exactly what needed to happen and so I wrote very general outlines on the index cards in Scrivener. I'm working on the last book of my Swans Landing series, which takes place about two months after the end of Submerging. The beginning was pretty easy since it follows the events of the end of Submerging. But now I’m getting into the parts where the characters have been reunited, everyone who wasn’t present in book two now knows what happened, and so the book is flowing into its own storyline and new events. Which means things get a lot murkier and my writing will probably get a bit slower. But I have the NaNoWriMo community out there whenever I need some motivation! That's the best part of the challenge.

I also recommend this ebook for tips on how to increase your daily word count: 2k to 10k: Writing Faster, Writing Better, and Writing More of What You Love by Rachel Aaron. Or read her blog post on the topic.

For the rest of the book, I know the major events that need to happen and have the general outlines for them written in Scrivener, but I’ll fill in the scenes between those events as I write. Hopefully, the next 37,498+ words won’t be too difficult!

Are you doing NaNoWriMo this year? If so, how did you do?

Making Trailers

Michael Loring

When I was first being published, one of the things I thought would be really awesome to do is have a trailer made for Dehumanized. I've seen a lot of other books with such amazing trailers, and I had hoped that I'd get one as well. Unfortunately my publisher said that book trailers were a dying marketing tool, and I was saddened by this. The publishing world is changing at a fast rate, even for those who self-publish, and we all must adapt. But, really, when have I been good at conforming?

I'm sure a lot of authors wished for a trailer as well for their books, but were unable to have one made for a multitude of reasons. It sucks, it really does, but I'm about to explain how you can finally have that trailer you've always wished for! (Cue overly-excited salesman voice)

Let me first explain how I ended up finding this way of making trailers. It was a few weeks ago when I got the idea of making my own trailer for Dehumanized, and I began to look into how I could do it with my very, very, VERY limited tools and budget. I found websites that did trailers for you, but their costs ranged from around 250-1000 bucks, and that's just not worth it. Trust me. So, I did what I normally do when I can't figure something out: I pleaded for someone on Facebook to help me, and who was the person to answer the call? Emma Michaels of course! Always the superheroine. She had made her own trailer for her new release, Owlet (which you should so check out!) and I knew that if anyone could make a trailer for me, it was her. But, as we were discussing what kind of effects and imaging we could use for the trailer, she showed me this website a friend of hers used to make a trailer for their book. I'm not exactly sure what she said when explaining it, but the words "free" and "easy to use" were used so I was sold instantly!

So, I went and looked at the website to see how it all works. And let me just tell you, this website is the best! It's slightly limited, but what it does have is freakin' AWESOME! It's absolutely free, and does most of the work for you! How can you not love it?

The website - Animoto.com - offers unique styles for your video, a list of videos and pictures you can use in your trailer royalty free, and gives you the choice between a pre-set list of songs or a song of your own choice that you can download easily onto the server. You can upgrade and pay for the extra-cool stuff, but when it's for free you can make a thirty-second long, professional-style video that takes only as long as you do to make it. Once you've downloaded the song you want to use, chosen whatever video or pictures you would like (you can also download your own pictures or videos), typed in the text that will be featured, and arranged everything in the order you want it to appear in, you can preview your video and then produce it. For me it only took two minutes for it to be finished, and when it was done it was absolutely PERFECT!

I seriously recommend everyone use this sight if they have no other choice, because it is the perfect tool to use for making your very own, personalized trailer for your book or any other project you have out or in the works. Don't believe me? Check out the trailer for Dehumanized:



Hopefully that was enough to convince you.

Good luck everyone on making your own trailer!

-Michael Loring.

www.michaelloring.com

Animoto.com

Interview with Inara Scott

 

Hey all you readers and writers! Emma Michaels here to introduce our guest author of the day:

Inara Scott

Hello Inara and welcome to The Writers Voice!

Is there anything you’d like to go back one year and tell yourself?

That’s a big question. This has been a really emotional year for me—my first book hit the shelves, I had to transition from a full time day job to writing full time, and there were definitely some big ups and downs in the publishing world. I guess I would say the same thing I still tell myself: Change is inevitable. Be gentle with yourself. Cherish the people around you who fill your days with love.

Who are the writers who've inspired you the most?

I return a lot to David Eddings (a fantasy author) and Anne McCaffrey (sci-fi/fantasy). Their books inspired me to want to create magical worlds filled with clearly defined, larger-than-life characters. Eddings in particular is a master at creating unique characters; McCaffrey created people I wanted to live with, know, and be. I also have to mention Meg Cabot, because it was after reading The Princess Diaries that I became inspired to write YA. Meg is my hero.

Was there ever a time you felt like giving up? Why didn't you?

Somehow, my parents instilled in me what is probably an inappropriate sense of self-confidence. (LOL) When I don’t succeed at something right away, rather than giving up I tend to focus my attention on figuring out what I did wrong, so I can do it better the next time. I was like this when I was querying agents – the rejections became like a game, and I was determined to keep improving my writing (and my query letter!) so the next letter that hit my box would be a “please send more” rather than “thanks but no thanks.” The tough thing is, I do believe there are things in life you just can’t fix and make better. For example, in high school, I really wanted to be a singer, but I just didn’t have the talent. I took lessons and sung in the school choir, tried out for musicals and performance ensembles, but I never really got particularly good. Eventually, I shrugged and moved on, realized singing wasn’t my gift and that was okay. There’s power in the confidence to keep going and power in knowing when to quit. The hardest thing in the world is figuring out which way to go.

Who is one person in the past or present who you felt was truly visionary?

Martin Luther King, Jr. I have this quote from him on my desk, and it really guides the way I try to live my life: “I have also decided to stick with love, for I know that love is ultimately the only answer to mankind's problems. And I'm going to talk about it everywhere I go…For I have seen too much hate.”

J.K. Rowling and other authors are known for the ‘Easter eggs’ they hide in their books. Do you have any Easter eggs in your stories?

I’m afraid I’m not quite clever enough to do that – maybe someday when I get the writing part down, I’ll have room in my brain to plant a few inside jokes!

When you were growing up, what did you want to be?

A writer. Or a veterinarian. Or a mermaid. I still have hopes for that last one…

To all our readers out there, thank you for following The Writers Voice and happy reading!