Author in the Spotlight: P.J. MacLayne

Please tell us about your writing. Can you explain the title without giving too much away?

The title of my nook is Wolves’ Pawn. It’s the story of a lone wolf-shifter who gets caught in a power struggle between the aging pack leaders of two feuding packs.  But a pawn isn’t as powerless as some people think.  And Dot McKenzie, my main character, knows how to stand up for herself. She has more of a problem with accepting help when it is offered.

What was your journey as a writer?
I remember getting an award for an essay I wrote in the sixth grade, and I don’t believe I ever stopped writing after that. I gravitated to poetry in high school and still write poetry on occasion, and try to incorporate what I learned as a poet into my fiction. I wrote a novel for National Novel Writer’s Month a few years ago, and got addicted! I suspect that first novel will never see the light of day, but I feel like each successive book I write gets better. Wolves’ Pawn is the first one I was happy enough with to release.

Whom do you see as your ideal reader?
Someone with an open mind. Age and sex aren't important, although I suspect my writing appeals more to females, but I do touch on some tough subjects. There’s no graphic description of sexual acts in the book, but it is definitely PG-13. Hopefully I've included enough action scenes to satisfy my male readers even though the main character is female.

What advice can you give to aspiring writers?
Write! Every day, if possible. It doesn't even have to be good.  The exercise of getting your thoughts from your brain to paper—or the computer screen—will help you develop your skills. And read as much as you can from a variety of authors and genres. If you pay attention to how other authors do things, it will help you to develop your own style. Don’t be afraid of criticism, as long as it is offered in a helpful manner. That’s one way you can grow in your skill level. But don’t be afraid to reject criticism that is mean-spirited. No one will ever satisfy everyone.
And those ideas and scribbles you rejected today? A year or two from now, they might be the beginnings of something great. Don’t be afraid to try.

Where can our readers find a copy of your work?
Wolves’ Pawn is currently only on Amazon as an eBook. I hope to get a print version available soon, and I eventually expand the distribution to other booksellers. The link to buy it for Kindle is http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HVDD1G4 (US).


And finally, as an author, do you have any quirks or habits that help you write better?
I have lots of quirks. Whether they help me write better or not is debatable. I think the one that does help me as a writer is that I like to watch people, and listen to them when they think no one can hear them. It’s interesting to hear only one side of a conversation and try to figure out what the other person is saying. It might be a phone call, it might be a conversation in a busy restaurant that I only get bits and pieces of through all the background noise. It’s all potential material for my next book.

Thank you for being my guest today. I wish you the best of luck with your writing. 



 Bio:  I’m a computer geek by day and a writer at night. I grew up in the rolling hills of Pennsylvania, and much of my writing is set there. I currently make my home in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains and think I must have been a mountain man in a previous life.

Double Delight Tuesday

Good morning all!

I'm done with winter joy and more than ready for summer warmth. This year must be one of the worst winters I remember. And we had some memorable ones. 

Though there's a tiny note of the Spring in the air, there's still light when I leave my job at 5 in the evening, the perpetual snow and ice is sucking the living light out of me. So much so, that I wasn't in a mood for Manly Monday. 

And I had these two fine gentlemen lined up for it. So this week I decided to to mature. 

Let me know your pick. 

Cute and playful OR

Serious but pleasing? 

Hope your Tuesday as well as the rest of the week goes splendid. 

Just heads up, I'll be starting a new feature on this blog. Book reviews and discussion. Meaning, I'll read the book, review it and send you some questions about the book. If this interests you let me know and I'll get in touch with you. 

Goddess Fish Promotions Through the Oracle's Mist by Aedan Byrnes

PLEASE PICK 5-6 QUESTIONS MOST PERTAINING TO YOU
Please tell us about your writing. Can you explain the title without giving too much away?

Through the Oracle’s Mist is a story about the things we value and the choices we make. It is a love story through time and trials when there is everything at stake to lose and nothing left to give. The mist is the connective tissue between the lives. The title was a fan choice when they were given the opportunity to name the book.  They did a great job. It’s a perfect title!

Whom do you see as your ideal reader?

I have such a diverse audience.  It is a romance readers’ book to be sure, but I think the history and the other components in it make it a solid choice for readers across multiple genres and from various audiences as well.

When you have time, what would we find you reading?

You could truly find me reading just about anything. Right now I’m reading Moss’ Dreamgates; Exploring the Worlds of Soul, Imagination, and Life Beyond Death. I recently read the Landmark Thucydides which is a comprehensive work on the history of the war between Athens and Sparta, and I nearly always have the comprehensive Edgar Allen Poe lying close by.

What advice can you give to aspiring writers?

There is so much advice out there and all of it is great. This is a reprint of my answer to this question from an interview a year or so ago, but I think it is still the best advice I can give.

 BEGIN. Whatever you do or don’t do after that, Begin. There is no ‘THE END’ without ‘In the beginning’. I’ve talked to many folks who are trying to start and the question is always “How?” The answer is, keep it simple. Pick an image and describe it, take a word and make a conversation, choose a voice and write a monologue. Can’t come up with it? Try picking a character you love and write a story for them that hasn’t been told. I am not advocating plagiarism here… I am saying tell the side you have never seen. Choose a villain you love to hate and tell the love story that you’ve never heard. Choose the good guy from the television show and write about his wild and rowdy night on the town. Write something that you would never see for this character as it is completely against their nature as you know them. Once you can do this then start coming up with your own characters and the stories that go with them, but don’t kill yourself and burn out before you get started trying to take on the 300 or 500 page novel from scratch with nothing else under your belt.

     The 50 Shades of Grey series that came out by EL James started as fan fiction for Stephanie Meyer and her Twilight saga. Does it seem like it’s the Vampires and Werewolves Meyer wrote? I have no idea, I haven’t read them, but what I’m saying is that the idea developed by piggy-backing on something else that was out there…it was a place to jump off from. We all need to find the end of the pier and jump into the deep end somewhere. Just take a few laps in the kiddie pool first.

     Writing isn’t re-inventing the wheel. It’s finding new ways to tell the same stories we’ve been reading all along. There aren’t a thousand new genres that come out every year….there are a thousand books though that do and they fall into the established genres. And this is the next big step... Once you can honestly put a string of words together to complete a thought, once you can take a mental image of a character and breathe life into them, you have to decide what they are going to do and this will determine the genre you write in. Maybe there will be more than one, but probably best to start with just one. And there is nothing wrong with starting small. It’s like writing essays….in middle school they were a page, in high school we went from 3 to 5 to 10 pages and in college we went from 15 – to hundreds for thesis work. Allow yourself the time to grow. I would say to you, remember you have to crawl before you walk before you run. Always be answering the most important question about your work and your words; “And then what?”

     Whatever path you take, remember that you have to start. Dreaming is that voice inside telling you that there is something there but it can’t do it without you. There’s magic in dreaming and stories too. No matter how good the dream though you still have to get up and take up the pen to tell the tale or it is only ever a dream. There’s a song out that is more an analogy for life, but the key line is an absolutely perfect observation statement for this….Natasha Beddingfield says, “Today is where your book begins, the rest is still unwritten.” I say, “You are the only one who can change that.”  Begin, and then don’t ever give up.

Where can our readers find a copy of your work?

You can purchase book I, Through the Oracle’s Mist through these sources:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Through-Oracles-Mist-Vengelys-Series/dp/1935970186/ref=tmm_pap_title_0

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/379575

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/through-the-oracles-mist-aedan-byrnes/1117497870?ean=2940045449298

To connect with me you can find me at:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AedanByrnes

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/#!/aedan.byrnes.7?fref=ts

https://www.facebook.com/#!/AedanByrnes

And finally, as an author, do you have any quirks or habits that help you write better?

I have lots of quirks. Do they help me write better?  I don’t rightly know. I tell myself the tales and refine the language in my head for a long time before I take up the pen and start writing. I think that the story comes out very quickly this way because I’m not creating at this point, I’m just the scribe. Once that is done, I will transfer it to the computer, which is where my personal language quirks get ironed out (hopefully…don’t ask my editor) and the formatting gets set up so it can be sent out to the beta readers who can tell me if I’ve over or underdone parts of the telling. Once those have been fixed, it’s off to the editor who hopefully falls madly in love with the words and sends me smilies, or if not sends me my ‘to do’ list to get it right and ready for press. Does this process make me better?  Again, I don’t rightly know…but, it’s what works for me so far.

Thank you for being my guest today. I wish you the best of luck with your writing.

Thank you so much for having me here.  I look forward to the post!

Aedan will be awarding to one randomly drawn commentator a journal from his CafePress storefront, a charm and leather bracelet made for the story and a custom cover shepherd hook style bookmark made by Stone Soup Designs for Through the Oracle's Mist.  The bracelet leather colors and the journal cover may differ from the photo.

Follow the tour and comment; the more they comment, the better their chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here: 

http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2013/12/virtual-book-tour-through-oracles-mist.html

Man up against the winter

Another Monday and if you weathered the kind of weekend as we did here, you are most likely in a great need of some eye candy.

Not that I want to be reminded of all that snow that came down, and it still falling on and off, but could't resist this picture. Who wouldn't want him to shovel your driveway? And get creative with it. 

But if you rather enjoy something more warm and cozy, then I hope this Superman will do the job. 

 Today's post is short and shirtless, but I hope your Monday and the rest of the week goes smooth. 

Black Opal Books Author Spotlight - Julia Joseph

Please tell us about your writing. Can you explain the title without giving too much away?

I write Young Adult Paranormal novels with elements of Romance.  The entire reason I write is to try to help young people.  I was a teacher for nine years, and I watched my students struggle with lives that were more horrifying and more difficult than most of the adults’ around them.  My overwhelming instinct was to help these kids.  But how on earth could I show them that devastation in life didn’t have to translate into a devastating life?  Writing was my answer.  In The Broken, every character is just that—broken—and trying to live their lives with the faith that it can get better.

What are your future writing goals?

The Broken is the first novel in a series of three.  I’m currently writing the second instalment, and I’ve toyed with writing a second trilogy that takes place twenty years after the final book in the first one.  As the long-time spouse of a soldier, I am also considering writing a novel detailing just how agonizing—and beautiful—military life can be.

When you have time, what would we find you reading?

I am an avid reader and have a degree in Literature.  I’ll read just about anything you pop into my hands.  My favorites include books such as Biblical Literacy by Joseph Telushkin, classic Julie Garwood novels like Saving Grace, the Dark-Hunter series by Sherrilyn Kenyon (dare I say I love Styxx more than Acheron now?!), and anything by Zora Neale Hurston.  I am very much an equal opportunity reader—if it’s good, I’ll devour it in hours.  (Oh, and of course, I loved the Harry Potter series and Inheritance cycle as well as The Host by Stephenie Meyer—but not the movie…dear Heaven, not the movie!)

What do you learn from your writing?

I’ve learned from my writing that I’m not nearly as smart or as fantastic a writer as I thought I was…

Who has been your biggest supporter?

My biggest supporter early on was my mother.  She told me at age sixteen that I was born to be a writer.  She passed away while I was writing The Broken, and I owe so much of it to her.  Before she died, I told her that I was finally writing that book she’d been pestering me to for over a decade.  In her broken speech (she was dying from a benign brain tumor) she said simply, “It ‘bout damn time!”  I still miss her every day, and, since her death, my husband has attempted to take over a small part of her cheerleading role in my life.

How are you promoting your work?

You can find me on:
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/juliajosephauthor?ref=hl
My website:  www.juliajoseph.net
Twitter: @JuliaJoseph7
My blog: http://juliajosephauthor.blogspot.ca

What advice can you give to aspiring writers?

All I can say is, “Write.  Write!  Write.”  Finish that first book.  Work at getting it published.  Then learn how to market yourself.  (And, when you figure out that last one, will you please teach me how to do it?)

Where can our readers find a copy of your work?

Black OpalBooks
Amazon.com
Barnes & Noble

And finally, as an author, do you have any quirks or habits that help you write better?

I must have my music.  I cannot write without my music!  I’ve also found, curiously, that I work better in public places.  If I’m at home alone with my computer, I just tend to surf the Internet without purpose or I fall asleep.  Busy public areas energize me and, along with my music, actually help me to focus.

Thank you for being my guest today. I wish you the best of luck with your writing. 

BLURB:

Born into a family of Guardians—extraordinarily gifted humans who fight demons to protect mortal souls—seventeen year old Rose Kazin shows no signs of being blessed with the supernatural talents her family has used for generations to fight demons.  When she and her father figure, an age old celestial Warrior, are horribly wounded in an ambush, Rose awakens to find a younger Warrior, Ouriel, has volunteered to stand in as her protector.  She rails against his presence, but Ouriel seems interested in only one thing—teaching Rose how to protect herself from the demons she was never supposed to fight.

Manly Monday - Tired of winter edition

Good morning all!

Hope everyone had a productive weekend. I managed almost everything. The house is cleaned and even the kids got bath this time around. Just joking of course.

But I'm not joking about the winter. As I saw on a Facebook, the winter has two stages. The colorful festival of lights during the Christmas season when we all sing Fa-la-la-la-la-la-la... and deep cold bucket of suck from January to Spring.

Good thing we can always warm up with a nice cup of whatever hot drink you like and Manly Mondays that keep us toasty for the week.
So let's start warming up with a beach boy. Mmmm..... I already forgot what was I going to say.

And if you're facing another stressful day or perhaps even the week, here's a stress relief. Try it it, really does work. 

Didn't I tell  you? Hypnotic, isn't it? 

I have to leave you now, but you feel free to stay and enjoy. Don't forget to leave a comment so that I know you visited. I'm looking forward to reading them all. 

Goddess Fish Promo - Obsessed With Me by Eve Robi

Eve will be awarding a set of Obsessed with Me eBooks to five randomly drawn commentators during the tour, and a $20 Amazon Gift Card to a randomly 

drawn host.

BLURB:

   

Tarago Jakobus was 6’4”, intelligent, extremely wealthy with a Midas touch. He was also openly racist, politically incorrect and a chauvinistic pig who told offensive jokes. He loved to party and was used to women vying for his attention. So when his eyes fell on Tanin, he expected her to just melt into his bed and be grateful that he even looked her way.

   

To his utter surprise, she was totally unimpressed with his wealth, thought he was an uneducated buffoon and publicly rejected him. Of course he was shocked and humiliated by her response.

But no woman had ever turned Tarago down before, and he found her fascinating. He became obsessed with her and decided to win her over his way – destroy all that is precious to her, so that she would have no choice but to need him. If that didn’t work, he’d switch to plan ‘B’ – take away her freedom and throw her ass in jail. And being the absolute bastard that he was, he did.

  

Obsessed With Me is a modern-day love story.

EXCERPT

‘Vyf, open the door!”

“No! You are a baboon. I’m not coming out of here.”

Silence.

“You have to kick it down and I’ll bet you a cent you can’t do it, so fuck off, Tarago!”

I hear laughter around him, so obviously everyone has come to see him tame me. Mff.

“Ay yay yay yay!” he says.

Then there’s silence.

Outside, I hear murmuring. What now? I get on the ground and peep under the door. Lots of shoes. I back away and resume my seat on the edge of the bathtub. What the hell’s the nutcase up to now?

About ten minutes later, I hear a strange sound. Like a buzzing. The sound suddenly gets loud and the door starts to shake. What the hell? Fear snakes through me. Then I see the blade – the nut job is using a chainsaw to cut through my bathroom door!

Stunned, I paste my hands over my mouth and watch the door almost disappear before my shocked eyes. When the hole is big, Tarago looks at me through goggles and grins.

“Tarago, you are mad,” I whisper. “Truly, you’re a fucking psycho.”

After a slight bow, he hands the chain saw to someone, puts his hand through, and opens the door from the inside.

I shrink back.

He walks over, scoops me up, and walks toward the party.

“Not the pool, Tarago! Not the pool! It’s midnight.”

He keeps walking.

“Okay, fine, I will get you a drink, okay? OKAY?”

The bastard throws me in, then pummels his chest.

I am so angry I can barely speak.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 Eve Rabi lives in Sydney Australia, but was born in South Africa.

She is the author of 20 books and is known for her kick-ass leading ladies, her alpha males and her ability to make you cry and make you laugh as you fall in love.

She loves music and cannot live without it.

She also enjoys dancing, (was a Latin dance instructor years ago) and keeps her kids in line by threatening to bust a Zumba move in front of their school assembly. 

Stalk Eve Rabi online:

Blog:  http://everabi.wordpress.com/

Website: http://everabi.wordpress.com/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/eve.rabi

Twitter: https://twitter.com/EveRabi1

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/everabiauthor

Amazon buy link: http://www.amazon.com/Eve-Rabi/e/B005HXX1C4

Buy link for Obsessed with Me:

http://www.amazon.com/Obsessed-Me-rejected-destroy-ebook/dp/B00CT1TMG6

(This is a two-part series and neither books are stand alone. Both books are currently available for purchasing)

Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better their chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here: 

http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2013/12/virtual-excerpt-tour-obsessed-with-me.html