Sunday, July 31, 2011

Sneak Peek - Mimosa Black

Are you desperate to read about Harpies? Who isn't?!  Over the weekend I had intentions of posting a six line sunday, alas time escaped me. So today as kind compensation, I'm posting a short excerpt from "Mimosa Black" which will be out 7th December!

Here's another look at my super hot cover! (Thanks again Dawne`)


In a world where magical creatures are as rare as a spotty teen at a supermarket checkout, being one quarter Harpy shouldn’t be a problem.



Unfortunately for Mimosa Black, this is not the case. Combining her failed marriage, inability to fly, and unrequited crush on her childhood friend, Bo Elliot – Mimosa’s existence is less than idyllic.

Things however, are rarely as they seem. Bo has a secret and when Mimosa falters, his secret is revealed. Yet in their darkest moments, where bad magic lurks, love is never far away. Mimosa and Bo do have a chance at happiness, if they're selfless enough to find it...

Now here's the excerpt!

 

[be warned this excerpt is subject to change during the ongoing editing process!]

On the half an hour drive home, Bo said little. He fumed inwardly and cursed the Floccus Inviolatus for punishing Mimosa for simply being more human than Harpy. He also cursed the fact that she so blindly accepted their words of disparagement.

He took a surreptitious glance at her as they halted at the traffic lights. Mimosa’s head was low, her gaze blankly directed somewhere around her knees. Her mussed long dark hair cast shadows over her face, and Bo felt something in the region of his heart squeeze.

He closed his eyes for a brief moment, wishing fervently that things were different. His hand itched to hold hers, but it stayed resolutely on the steering wheel. He wanted to speak words of comfort, but his tongue remained silent. His lips burned to feel hers beneath them, yet he stayed still and distant, waiting sombrely for the lights to change. It was not Bo’s place to do such things and he knew it never could be.






Friday, July 22, 2011

Skinny jeans - testing the metal.


[photo courtesy: Flickr Creative Commons; Vivianna_love]

I have recently done some thing different. Well, different for me, anyway. I bought a pair of skinny jeans.  I'll be the first to admit that I've remarked on more than one occasion that the skinny jean is a fashion that really should not be revived. So why did I buy them? Well I had a discussion with a friend about doing things that are just a little bit different. Doing something you wouldn't ordinarily do can spice up your life - even it it's just a fairy step like buying a new style of jeans.
Every story is about challenges of some kind. From Cinderella and her struggle to get to the ball, to Harry Potter, a wizard orphan in the midst of a great prophesy. Challenges, tests, and how characters react to them make the story.

I once heard that you should force your characters out of their comfort zone at least three times within a novel. I don't know how many times I 'test' my characters within the average novel, I've never counted and I don't plot so I couldn't say. However, understanding that the central conflict and the smaller subsequent difficulties the characters face within a story are a type of challenge, enables the writer to create believable and interesting reactions to them. This in turn engrosses the reader and creates an engaging read.

In comparison, we organise our real lives to generally be as comfortable and easy as we possibly can. Buying the dishwasher so you don't have to wash up, driving to shops (two minutes away) instead of walking or riding a bike - we have made a cultural habit of avoiding discomfort - maybe that's why we like reading and watching tv so much!

Anyway, that was my thought for day!  - And by the way, the skinny jeans actually look ok :)

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Realms of Fantasy - magazine



Do you like reading fantasy? If you're visiting my blog, chances are - you do!

My publisher is advertising "Magical Gains" in Realms of Fantasy magazine in August :)

Realms of Fantasy is a seriously cool fantasy magazine, in which you can find all kinds of fantasy related articles.
If you're interested in having a squiz,  you can find it here: http://www.rofmag.com/. They're also always looking for submissions of short stories, so if you're a short story writer, you should give them a go. http://www.rofmag.com/contact-us/


Here are some of the other titles that ROF are advertising this August.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Humans and Demons and Elves


Allow me to introduce fellow EP author... Donaya Haymond!


Donaya's novel, "Humans and Demons and Elves" is a YA fantasy - and I have to say, it has a truly awesome cover.


The Elves of North America use dimension-bending magic to conceal their woodland villages from humans, though it fails to protect them from the beautiful-but-deadly Eudemons. Edofine is less prejudiced than many, even befriending an Archaedemon, whose people are known for switching sides in the ancient conflict. But when young Edofine's clan is destroyed, he has only one person to turn to: his cousin Kryvek, who was adopted by humans who established the Official Magics-Humans Institute (OMHI). Will Edofine be able to adjust to human society? Can the OMHI help him despite facing its own crisis? Could he possibly be falling in love with Kryvek’s friend Lira, a half-Elf half-Eudemon working for the OMHI? His life has fallen to pieces, and the reconstruction is full of surprises.


Donaya Haymond, a half-Thai, half-American college student, began writing her first novel at age 13, in 2003. It took until 2008 before she managed to get a publishing deal, but by then she was well on her way, having won several accolades in high school. Her favorite authors are Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, Bill Bryson, Rumi, and James Branch Cabell. She enjoys the sci-fi shows Doctor Who and Firefly, fences sabre with more enthusiasm than skill, and spends an inordinate amount of time lurking about TV Tropes.

Here's an excerpt;
"One more time. You turn these knobs, and water comes out. One knob has hot water and one has cold water. You adjust the amount depending on your preference."



"And then what do I do?" Edofine stood inside the shower, gingerly poking the pipes. He was still in full Elf regalia, complete with dead leaves and grass stains.


"Cover yourself with soap and stand under the water so that it washes off. Do you think you can handle that?"


"You do this every day?"


"Yes."


"What a waste of time and water."


"Way to be sanctimonious, kid. I am merely teaching you how to conform to local hygienic standards. When you live indoors in small apartments, washing frequently becomes very important. Some even enjoy it. I'll leave you alone now to get acquainted with it."


Kryvek was growing annoyed with having to explain these basic things to his cousin. He knew Edofine wasn't being obtuse on purpose, but helping him was like having a child to take care of. Kryvek's stomach growled again and he looked at his watch for the fourth time in ten minutes.


Panic rose in Edofine's throat, which, coupled with his hunger and disorientation, made him worried he might vomit. "You cannot leave me. What if I do something wrong and I scald myself? What if the magic governing these pipes breaks down? Anything could happen."


Kryvek was about to dismiss Edofine's fears, but he saw the hurt in Edofine's drooping shoulders and bowed head and changed his mind. "All right. I'll stand right here in the doorway and talk you through the process. First take your clothes off.” Standing in the shower, Edofine disrobed. Kryvek noted many scars and bruises underneath the grime. “You have to put the clothes outside of the shower, otherwise they’ll get wet.”


“Now turn the hot knob…”


“Aiee!”


“I meant turn it while standing sort of away from the stream of water, so it wouldn’t hit you full force. No, don’t turn it off! Turn on some of the cold!”


“I think you are trying to kill me…”

"Humans and Demons and Elves" sounds like a lot of fun is available now on the EP Website.

Sunday, July 10, 2011

This week...

OK so things are starting to move, with edits pending for Magical Creations and Mimosa Black, I'm going to be a busy chicken. So I'm trying to get myself organised - difficult I know!!

Here's a list of what's on this blog and what and where I'll be this week.

1. I'm up at Donaya Haymond's Dream Masion at the moment, so if you want to check me out go here

2. The first chapter of "Magical Gains" is up for your perusal at D. Renee Bagby Presents First Chapters.

3. On Wednesday, I'll be having Donaya Haymond over to promote her new and very cool book "Humans and Demons and Elves - so please visit and make her welcome!

4. I regularly post at my Facebook Page and cross post to my Facebook Group.

5. Also, on Thursday over at the Dark Side, Eleni will be blogging about one of my very favourite mythological creatures,Harpies (central creatures in "Mimosa Black coming December!) - so please check it out. http://darksidedownunder.blogspot.com/

Enjoy your week!

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Six Line Sunday!

I know it's not sunday yet, but it will be soon so in anticipation of a busy weekend, I'm posting this now! 

For those of you who are unaware, "Magical Creations" release is nearing, October 7th! So to celebrate I'm doing a six line Sunday, with six lines from "Magical Creations" (please keep in mind this excerpt is till subject to editing and may differ slightly in the released novel).

“You’re a dick,” Antigone barked.



“So you keep saying,” Omar retorted.


“Keep your smelly little secrets, why did I bother asking?”


“Why indeed?”


Antigone stared at Omar hatefully, or what she hoped was hatefully, because what she felt inside was much the opposite. She turned her back, she didn’t want to see that handsome face, haunted, hard and full of scorn for her feelings.

"Magical Creations" is  book 2 in the "Magic Series", and is based on the sub-character Omar from "Magical Gains".... if any of my followers, and Lovely Lurkers (I know you're there! Sign up and follow me!) choose to post a comment, I'll throw in an e-copy of "Magical Gains" if you haven't already read it. :)