Monday, July 30, 2012

Monday Musings: Olympic Blog Relay & Happenings


Today I have the privilege of guest posting on  Nicole Singer's Blog: Write Me A World for her Olympic Blog Relay: Ignite the Fire.

Have you been watching the Olympics this past weekend? I've caught bits and pieces in between all the work I have to do around the house on weekends. These athletes are so motivational. I hope you enjoy my guest post and find some inspiration to do something you may have been putting off that you know will get you closer to your goals.

Thanks, Nicole! She has an impressive list of guest bloggers over the next two weeks, so be sure to check them out. Here's who you can expect to see:
Holy crap, I'm the first guest post! No pressure.

This Week in Happenings

I had my first live interview about a week ago and it got posted as a podcast over the weekend. Check it out at Vic Caswell and Emily White's blog: Pod People - YA Lit & Loving It. I was so nervous to do the phone interview, I'm not going to lie. But it's great practice for the future. Thank you, Vic & Emily for the interview!

Provex City received a wonderful review from Laura McQuillen @ Kick Back & Review! I get giddy with each new good review that comes back. Thanks, Laura!

Wednesday is the first Wednesday of the month, which means it's time for the Insecure Writer's Support Group. Also, I have an interview with Julie Flanders @ What Else is Possible? for her Books Column talking all about Provex City...with a slight mention of SUSY Asylum. Don't worry, I'll remind you on Wednesday. :) Thanks, Julie!

On Friday, I will be posting my third Flash Review. I had the opportunity to receive an ARC of Amy Saia's YA novel The Soul Seekers. And Amy will be here to answer a few questions of mine. Put The Souls Seekers on your Goodreads TBR list and check out Amy's blog!

Also on Friday, I will be at the SCBWI Summer Conference in Los Angeles. I had the pleasure of going two years ago and it was amazing. I can't wait! And the Hyatt Regency, only a few miles from Beverly Hills, isn't a shabby place to stay.

How was your weekend?


Monday, July 23, 2012

Spread the Word About The Backworlds Book 2!


I'm excited today to be participating in the official launch of Stopover at the Backworlds' Edge. Congratulations, Mary, on your new book! Links are listed below so you can get a copy for yourself.

The Backworlds Book 2 is Out!

The sequel to The Backworlds is now available. Craze and his friends continue their adventures in Stopover at the Backworlds’ Edge. See what role chocolate plays in the galaxy this time.

The interstellar portal opens, bringing in a ship that should no longer exist. A battleship spoiling for a fight, yet the war with Earth ended two generations ago. The vessel drops off a Water-breather, a type of Backworlder thought to be extinct. She claims one of Craze’s friends is a traitor who summoned the enemy to Pardeep Station. A betrayal worse than his father’s, if Craze lives to worry about it.

Available for all ereaders from:

iTunes and Kobo will be available shortly.

If you haven’t read The Backworlds yet, it’s available as a free read from many outlets. See HERE for links. [http://mpaxauthor.com/the-backworlds-series/backworlds-the/]

Inspiring the words M. Pax writes, Mary spends her summers as a star guide at Pine Mountain Observatory in stunning Central Oregon where she lives with the husband unit and two loving cats. She write science fiction mostly and has a slight obsession with Jane Austen. Mary blogs at http://www.mpaxauthor.com/blog/


Thank you for reading and please help Mary in spreading the word available for all ereaders. Now, I'm going to take the rest of the week off from posting so I can catch up on a few things and I'll see you back here bright and early Monday morning. Have a great week!

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Friday Flash Fiction: Under Sally's Watch


Today's flash fiction is my entry for Candilynn's Follow My Lead Contest. The prompt given is the picture below.


Under Sally’s Watch

The explosions in the distance look like fireworks. Lindi is perched upon her window sill, overlooking the violent festivities. She calmly combs the knots in her wavy, chestnut hair with her callused fingers and makes a wish.  

Marcus is out there somewhere, fighting to hold them back, and her wish is that she’ll be able to see him again. He’s been gone for three days, but she has faith in her brother’s skills. He’s taught her everything he knows—like an older brother should. At least he left her in Sally’s protective hands.

The quakes from crashing buildings shake her high-rise apartment tower. The panic of hopeless pedestrians fills the street below. But she has no intention of running. The sweat across her brow and beading along her forearms is from the summer evening heat, and nothing else. In her favorite dark tank top and faded shorts, she waits like an owl scanning for mice, eager to swoop down at the perfect moment and extend her experienced talons.

When the first soldiers reach the street below, she knows it is time to step away from the window. Lindi hops down from the sill, the wooden floor slippery under her bare feet. She snatches the Savage 110 BA sniper rifle leaning against the wall, kneels before the window, and takes aim. Gazing intently into the telescopic sight, Lindi finds her first target. He is young, probably on his first tour, in way over his head.

“Steady, Sally,” she says, exhaling slowly while grazing the trigger.

Lindi fires one shot and he goes down with an arch of blood outstretching before him. Thinking of how Marcus is out there somewhere, she scans the street for her next target.

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Hookers & Hangers Blog Hop: Hangers Edition



Hookers & Hangers Blogfest, July 16th & July 18th, presented by Falling for Fiction.

We all know how important the first and last lines are in every chapter. This blogfest will hopefully get your HOOKERS and HANGERS polished making it impossible for readers to put down your book and leaving them begging for more!

On July 16th, post the first sentence from each chapter.

On July 18th, post the last sentence from each chapter.

Post as many as you like!

We will be judging everyone’s first three HOOKERS and first three HANGERS. We’ll each pick two winners (MOST ENTICING HOOKER and MOST IMPOSSIBLE HANGER) making a total of ten winners! Winners will receive a 10 page (double spaced) critique and a Friday Spotlight on FFF! 

Here are a few of my chapter hangers from my newly completely first draft of SUSY Asylum (The Lorne family Vault Series, Book 2). I'll start it off with the song that goes with my number 1 for both posts.

  1. Desiree closed her eyes, let go of the railing, and instantly felt her weightless body slide back and take flight.
  2. Desiree pulled TJ into her like it was the end of the world and there would be no tomorrow.
  3. All I knew was I only had a few seconds left before everything went black and I lost more time, one more way I was at the mercy of Alexandria Lorne and her asylum.
  4. “TJ, please turn around; I’m coming out,” Desiree said with as much confidence as she could gather and slowly opened the door.
  5. “The voice in my head tells me we’re in the right spot,” I said and led the way into the closest building—Building 4C.
    Click on the picture at the top of the post to see the other bogs participating in this hop, and pay them a visit. Thank you, ladies of Falling for Fiction! I hope you've enjoyed this sneak peek into the sublime world of SUSY Asylum.

    Monday, July 16, 2012

    Hookers & Hangers Blog Hop: Hookers Edition



    Hookers & Hangers Blogfest, July 16th & July 18th, presented by Falling for Fiction.

    We all know how important the first and last lines are in every chapter. This blogfest will hopefully get your HOOKERS and HANGERS polished making it impossible for readers to put down your book and leaving them begging for more!

    On July 16th, post the first sentence from each chapter.

    On July 18th, post the last sentence from each chapter.

    Post as many as you like!

    We will be judging everyone’s first three HOOKERS and first three HANGERS. We’ll each pick two winners (MOST ENTICING HOOKER and MOST IMPOSSIBLE HANGER) making a total of ten winners! Winners will receive a 10 page (double spaced) critique and a Friday Spotlight on FFF! 

    Here are a few of my chapter opening hooks from my newly completely first draft of SUSY Asylum (The Lorne family Vault Series, Book 2). Enjoy!
    1. There were still blood stains on the concrete where he had taken his last steps and collapsed.
    2. Anna was a great girl and I think she really liked me, but every time I closed my eyes to kiss her, I pictured Desiree.
    3. Desiree’s plan to turn me into a born-again Lorne was underway—and I couldn’t tell if the idea was brilliant or insane—but she was committed to it.
    4. I sat silently on Desiree’s empty bed while her mother and sister slept soundly, with no idea I was in their house.
    5. The icy hands holding me under the water felt so real, not metaphorical hands, but real hands, which were then pulling me up.
    Click on the picture at the top of the post to see the other bogs participating in this hop, and pay them a visit. Thank you, ladies of Falling for Fiction! Come back Wednesday for the Hangers portion of this blog hop!

    Friday, July 13, 2012

    I've Hijacked Tossing It Out for Friday the 13th!


    Happy Friday the 13th, everyone! It is a glorious day to be hijacking Arlee's blog @ Tossing It Out. And as I've been saying all week, I have a (hopefully) nice surprise awaiting you there. It is not my typical flash fiction, but still fiction related. Not to mention the title announcement of the second book in The Lorne Family Vault series. Please check it out and enjoy! :)

    Your regularly scheduled flash fiction will reconvene next Friday, when I will be posting my entry for Candilynn Fite's July edition of Follow My Lead.


    Wednesday, July 11, 2012

    WoW: A Royal View on Back Story



    Today I opened On Writing to page 229...


    The most important things to remember about back story are that (a) everyone has a history and (b) most of it isn't very interesting. Stick to the parts that are, and don't get carried away with the rest. Long life stories are best received in bars, and only then an hour or so before closing time, and if you are buying.
                                            - page 229, Stephen King's On Writing
    Back story can help create 3-demensional characters and help to brighten the colors on the canvas of your literary masterpiece, but it doesn't propel the story forward. Make sure the back story is important and relevant to the primary story.

    In my second book, I wrote a large chuck of back story that reveals a major insight into who one of the main characters is and why she acts the way she does. To make the story flow faster, I took this chuck of back story, broke it up into small bite-size pieces, and sprinkled it throughout the book. I think--I hope--it will ultimately be an effective device in keeping readers' interest and pique their curiosity.

    Don't forget to visit me at Tossing It Out on Friday for my hijack of a guest post and big Book 2 reveal. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to writing. I'm so close to finishing my WIP!

    Monday, July 9, 2012

    Monday Musings: Accidents & Happenings

    I commute an average of two hours a day, 45 minutes to work, 1:15 home, if I'm having a good day. I've done this for six months now, and it started out being terribly long. But over the past few months, I've come to embrace it because it gives me two hours a day to read (audio books and text-to-speech on my Kindle).

    With six lanes of heavily congested highway traffic at all hours of the day, I've seen my share of accidents. But since I've been doing this extended commute, I am caught in extra traffic due to accidents daily, whether its on my side of the freeway, or on the opposite side causing drivers to slow down and gaze upon the carnage.

    Last week, I was caught in a three car accident. A fire engine and several police cars completely blocked traffic to help clean debris and make room for an ambulance. The three cars were smashed together to make one long Frankenstein-fused vehicle. Once I was allowed to pass, within five miles of driving, I witnessed two cars collide on the opposite side of the freeway, sending several more cars into the concrete center divider and others to shoot out to the shoulder. Two days later, I passed a five or six car crash, with one of the cars flipped upside-down. People ran through traffic trying to help one another. No emergency vehicles had yet arrived.

    Seeing these things every day is helping to mold a new perspective. I am very small in this great big world, but I can have a significant impact on many people's lives, for good or bad. Accidents may be a strange place to find inspiration, but the world is a strange place. And perhaps, I'm a strange person.

    This week in Happenings

    Candilynn @ My Writerly Musings has announced her July Follow My Lead flash fiction contest. Be sure to check it out and submit some fiction of your own. I'll be submitting mine on Friday the 20th. Why not this Friday for Friday Flash you ask? Well...keep reading to find out.

    James Anderson has just begun a new Friday theme: Ask the Editor Fridays. Have an editorial question you've been dying to ask? Send James an email and your question could find itself in his next post.

    On Friday, I'll be with Arlee Bird @ Tossing It Out for one of his Hijack My Blog posts. It is an extra special post for me because I'll be announcing the title of The Lorne Family Vault, Book 2. I'm so excited to share it and I hope you enjoy my post. It won't quite be my usual flash fiction, but I hope you find it entertaining. :)

    What else is happening this week? Would you like to share? I'd love to spread the word.

    Friday, July 6, 2012

    Friday Flash Fiction: The Shutter House



    The Shutter House

    Every picture fell off the walls. The entire house came to life from the shaking. All of the earthquakes Tony had felt since moving to Southern California didn’t prepare him for this level of force and destruction.
    He ran to the girls’ room, holding his hands in front of his face while dodging knick-knack projectiles. Lights sparked from above and rained down in showers of fireflies as he charged down the hall. The doorway to his daughters’ room loomed ahead. The sound of their desperate cries reached his ears, cutting through the roar of the house shuttering in its foundation.
    Tony found his two young girls huddled together on the floor beside their bed. Their toys and books fell from shelves, posters peeled off the walls, and the bed rumbled like an object possessed.
    “Daddy, what’s happening!” his youngest cried, her head on the shoulder of her older sister.
    “You’re okay, I’m here.” Tony skidded to a stop and dropped to his daughters’ side, wrapping his lanky arms around them both.
    “I want Mommy!”
    Tony’s heart sank, though he understood his petrified daughter’s response. The world was collapsing around her and she didn’t understand why. His thoughts went to his wife who had recently left for the store and prayed she was safe.
    The quake’s fury was unrelenting. Tony collected his daughters, his youngest in his arms, and his first born at his side. They ran down the crumbling hallway. The only things left on the walls were cracks streaking from ceiling to floor like gaping wounds.
    They rounded the corner into the entryway and crashed through the front door. Tony led them to a safe distance, dropping to the grass in the middle of the front lawn. Nothing would hurt them out in the open air as the buildings collapsed around them as the shaking—
    There was no more shaking, the earthquake over. Tony looked around and saw no one else exiting their houses. No fallen trees. No damage of any kind for as far as he could see. He looked back at the house, with a daughter clinging to each arm, just in time to see the front door snap from its hinges and fall forward like the house was inviting them back inside. 

    Wednesday, July 4, 2012

    Insecure Writer's Support Group Wednesday



    Happy 4th of July, everyone! And happy Insecure Writer's Support Group Wednesday. Thank you again to Alex J. Cavanaugh, the creator of the group. The first Wednesday of every month is dedicated to this group of supportive writers. If it's something you're not familiar with, then please click on Alex's link above for more information and to sign up!

    Provex City has been out for a few months now and I'm a few short weeks away from finishing a draft of the second book in the series. I've spent the past month writing with a fury to get this book done. Today, I'll be passing the 100,000-word mark and I'm estimating I have 10-15K more to go.

    Now I'm getting scared again. This book will be taken from my sole possession and given to others to read. Dear God, the horror! The honor! And the inner conflict! On Provex City, I let my wife read chapter by chapter as it emerged hot from the printer. On this book, I've kept it mostly to myself, only sharing a few key plot points. I thought it would be easier this time, but I think it's harder. The expectations are higher. I should be a better writer. It has to be better. No pressure.

    I'm in talks with Vic @ Sketcher Girl Studios for the cover design and I can't wait see how she makes my vision come to life! Also, I've decided to announce the title for Book 2 in my guest post for Arlee @ Tossing It Out on July 13th (Friday the 13th!). I'm planning on a character post, so it won't be me hijacking Arlee's blog, but an extra special guest (not Oliver). Hopefully, he'll be cordial.

    So I'm excited of what's to come, but also petrified of how it will be received. Hopefully good, but it's not the end of the world if it's not. I will keep writing no matter what. Persistence and determination will win out in the end. These are my insecure thoughts for the moment, and now that moment has passed. Time to get back to writing. Book 2 isn't going to finish itself. Have a wonderful (and safe) holiday.

    Monday, July 2, 2012

    Monday Musings: Living Things & A Versatile Award


    Any Linkin Park fans out there? Their fifth studio album, Living Things, dropped last Tuesday, and I downloaded it that morning. It has to be one of the shortest "full" albums I own, clocking in at just under 38 minutes. Due to some backlash from  their last album, A Thousand Suns, this album was supposed to be getting back to their earlier stuff. I don't feel they succeeded in that. The tone of their music sounds closer to their last album then their first few. But to me, that's a good thing because A Thousand Suns is my favorite Linkin Park Album. It has a lot of versatile musicality, a nice change from their structured Nu Metal sound from Hybrid Theory. I think Living Things complements A Thousand Suns, like Meteora complimented Hybrid Theory. Yeah, that was kind of like a SAT question. The more I listen to the album, the more I enjoy it, despite it's lazy length. I just wish they would compose an album that clocked in at over an hour long.

    Also, I received The Versatile Blogger Award from Jennifer @ donniedarkogirl. She’s a new member of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group. If you have not yet checked out her blog, then I suggest you do. Thanks, Jennifer!



    THE RULES:
    1. Nominate 15 (I'm sorry, but I don't follow all the rules) others for the award and inform them with a comment on each of their blogs.
    2. Create a post for the Versatile Blogger Award.
    3. In the same post, thank the blogger who nominated you in a post with a link back to their blog.
    4. In the same post, share 7 completely random pieces of information about yourself.
    5. In the same post, include this set of rules.

    7 Completely Random Pieces of Information About Me:

    1. My first concert was Metallica on their Reload tour.
    2. I started wearing glasses in the fifth grade.
    3. I broke my arm on a Friday the 13th.
    4. I met my wife online.
    5. I’ve moved 10 times.
    6. I love to play ping-pong, and I’m actually fairly good at it.
    7. My longest relationship before my wife was 3 months (and my wife and I have now been together over 6 years)

    I am picking 2 worthy people to pass on this award. Enjoy!

     
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