Writing

  • How’s Your #NaNoWriMo Going?


    Who’s participating in Nano?

    **waves hand wildly**

    How are things going for you?

    I’m having a blast with nano. We meet on Twitter under the hashtag #NanoBots all the time for sprints. So far, the words have been flowing freely, so I’ve been writing every free minute I have outside my day job.

    It’s funny, because on the nano site, you’re supposed to put in a title and little description on what you’re writing.

    I had neither.

    For this year’s Nano, I am writing the sequel to Forged By Fate. Remember that one? You all helped me find a title?

    Yeah, I often don’t have titles, or even character names while writing books. I just run with it. And during the writing of this sequel, book THREE has popped into my head as well.

    So I’m going to just keep writing as long as the words flow.

    How is your Nano going? Not doing Nano this year? What’s on your plate? Or maybe you’re a reader. Are your favorite authors participating in Nano? What books are you hoping they’re writing sequels to?

  • #CoverReveal: The Crimson Hunt by Victoria Smith


    Cover Image Designed by: Michelle Johnson

    Release Date: November 12, 2012

    Genre: New Adult Science Fiction Romance

    Book Description:

    College junior Ariel Richmond is working on year three of Project Normalcy.

    Her house reeks of keggers past and her bestie is just a slight bit vulgar. But the thing is-they both aid in making life refreshingly uneventful.

    So much for hard-earned mediocrity when Luca Grinaldi appears on the scene.

    Luca’s sudden presence on campus is hard to ignore. Those bright eyes act like a beacon to unsuspecting females, and with features like his, he’s got to be moonlighting for GQ. Luca hopelessly captivates Ariel with his confidence and charisma, but the mysteries surrounding him make him nearly untouchable. And just when Ariel grows close enough to unlock his secrets, a tragic event sends her life in a downward spiral.

    That steady life is no longer an option and allies quickly become scarce. The mysterious Luca seems to be the only one willing to help her-but with that trust comes the burden of his secrets. He has a dark mission of otherworldly proportions, and is willing to sacrifice as many lives as it takes to see it completed.

    Gone are the days of simply maintaining normalcy, and if Ariel isn’t cautious with her trust, so soon may be her future.

    CLICK HERE to add The Crimson Hunt to your Goodreads TO READ list

    Come find Victoria H. Smith online:Blog|Facebook|Twitter|Goodreads

     

  • #Cancer Update


    Most of you know by now, I donate a portion of my proceeds to the American Cancer Society. I thank you all for your thoughts and prayers and your support! Here’s a little update:

    Cancer struck my life with a vengeance November 2010 with the announcement of my Mother in Law’s Cholangiocarcinoma (bile duct cancer) diagnosis.

    She died October 24th, 2011.

    She was my inspiration and the reason I took LYNN as my pen name. A brilliant writer who never pursued publication, she constantly wrote. I found out at my wedding when she read something she’d penned for the wedding specifically.

    Not a dry eye in the church!

    So, I found it fitting she’d read the first thing I ever wrote (bless her heart). Despite how horrible it was (it really was, too!) she was a pillar of encouragement and support. Of course she said it needed a lot of work, but still, she encouraged me to pursue this.

    She got to see my first published book before she died. It’s a memory I’ll cherish forever. I was in Iowa, helping care for her, when my author copies of WASTELAND arrived in Phoenix. While I was sad to miss the newbie author experience of me opening the boxes of my first ever pubbed book, my sweet hubby shared tons of pictures with me as he opened the boxes.

    Then he quick UPSED me a few.

    The day my books arrived to Iowa at my in-law’s house was exactly the right timing. We’d just received some pretty hard news about how her cancer had spread and that the outlook wasn’t promising.

    And then the doorbell rang.

    I got to share the first copy of WASTELAND with her. We shed tears of joy amongst the tears of sadness. But at least she got to hold the book she helped inspire me to write.

    She died less than two months later and hadn’t been able to read the book due to the symptoms of her cancer. She’ll never see another one of my books release, but every book milestone I experience, she’s in my heart sharing it with me.

    Just after Lynn died. A dear friend was diagnosed with uterine cancer (stage 4). She battled through it and is now on a monitor every few months status. Praise God.

    This past May, my Mum–she’s technically my step-mom and is from England, hence the MUM part :)–was diagnosed with non-hodgkins lymphoma. A four-inch tumor in her spine rendered her to a wheelchair/walker. This mountain climber & marathoner battled through surgery, just finished up the last of her chemo and is now facing radiation. She’s gained some mobility back in her legs but has a ways to go.

    It’s a mountain she will summit!

    Over this past summer, a dear friend’s father died less than two months after his cancer diagnosis! That was such a shocker and ripped my heart out. Especially since this dear friend had also lost her mother to cancer over 10 years earlier.

    But, from the sadness good shall rise. We raised over $3000 for the American Cancer Society on our Ragbrai bike across Iowa! It was an amazing experience biking 407 miles in five days. Our next event might be a half-marathon in January…we’ll see how things roll out.

    ~~~~~

    Thank you so much for your support!!

     

  • Title choices…


    You guys helped me brainstorm for a title back on THIS post. I’ve been thinking on them, testing some out…but I think I’ve narrowed the list down.

    So, vote on your favorite below, okay? Feel free to leave any comments with suggestions and reasons why you liked or disliked titles, I love hearing what you guys think:

    For a refresher, here’s the working back cover blurb:

    More Than Ready

    Theo Bradford is a Gatekeeper to Hades tasked with retrieving the evil that seeps out. He’s waited over nine hundred years for his mark to surface on his mate’s body, calling him to her. When it finally happens, a vicious demon he sent to Hades months ago somehow defies the binding vanquish and returns, setting his targets on the female. If Theo can’t connect with his mate, he’ll never gain the strength needed to protect his fated love from the demon’s wrath or defend the Gates of Hades.

    Can’t Fight Fate

    Graduating college in two years was easy for eighteen-year-old genius Sadie Nowland. But explaining the mark that appeared on her shoulder four days ago has her stumped. Then, a mystery man shows up and claims the mark identifies her as his mate, catapulting her neatly laid out life into chaos. The more time she spends with him, the harder it is to deny their connection – a connection her brain can’t comprehend and her body can’t deny. And that primal bond proves more imperative to their survival than either could ever imagine.

    [polldaddy poll=6528230]

  • Genre Favorite Blogfest


    Alex is having another super fun blogfest. He has the funnest blog, you MUST check it out!
    And yes, I did say funnest. **LOL** I always think of Legally Blonde when she says “funner!”
    It just makes me smile.
    ~~~~~
    But…I digress.
    This Blogfest is talking about three things I love:
    Books, Music, and Movies!!!
    The only bugger about this is trying to pick a favorite genre of each. LOL!
    So, here’s my attempt.
    [stextbox id=”custom” color=”ffffff” bgcolor=”1033ee”]Favorite Genre of Movie…[/stextbox]
    ACTION.
    I have some classic favorites such as Commando (Yes, I know, it’s cheesy, but I just love it), First Blood, Terminator and then some of the newer ones like Salt, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Thor, Avengers….So, you see my theme, right? Action, Action, Action! It’s such a rush.
    [stextbox id=”custom” color=”ffffff” bgcolor=”1033ee”]Favorite Genre of Music…[/stextbox]
    YIKES!
    This one was hard. I love the hard stuff and pop…80’s music is huge…but I think I’m going to have to choose the hard stuff. Skillet, Red, Decypher Down, P!nk, Seether. . . But there will always be some classic favorites, too, like Mariah Carey (her older stuff), Whitney, Celine…..
    [stextbox id=”custom” color=”ffffff” bgcolor=”1033ee”]Favorite Genre of Books….[/stextbox]
    PARANORMAL!
    Now that one was easy. Love me anything out of the ordinary with a KICK BUTT heroine!
    [stextbox id=”custom” color=”ffffff” bgcolor=”1033ee”]Guilty Pleasure from any of these three categories…[/stextbox]
    I’d have to go with the Gena Showalter Lords of the Underworld series. **whew** That is INTENSE! I’m so ready for the next one to come out. I’ve lost tons of sleep reading these!
    Okay, that was fun!
    ***Care to share any of your FAVES?***

  • The Next Big Thing


    Fellow CMP author, JR Tague, recently tagged me in this fun The Next Big Thing post about one of her upcoming novels: CLICK HERE to enter the Tague zone! Looked pretty fun, so I figured I’d give it a try. I chose a current work in progress (WIP), so it’s kind of raw, but I’m super excited to talk about my nine hundred year-old Gatekeeper of Hades!

    So here we go:

    What is the working title of your book?

    Funny, I just had a little blog post about helping me pick a title. CLICK HERE if you want to see that one and give your suggestions. So far, my favorite is: Forged from Fate. But I’ll be running another post again to see which of my faves are your faves.

    Where did the idea come from for the book?

    Another funny thing…much like most of my writing, okay…all of my writing, I just started writing. Literally, I was totally not planning to write a novel right then, but I was sitting in my recliner, watching TV, when an opening scene flashed through my mind. I didn’t even do a mind-map, which is about all I do with plotting/planning. I just opened a document, started typing, and 93,000 words later…

    What genre does your book fall under?

    New Adult Paranormal Romance.

    Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

    Oh gosh. I never know what to say to this question. I’m so not good at picking music for my books or actors. But I’ll give this a try. Maybe for Sadie, the heroine, I’d pick Mackenzie Foy. For Theo, I’d have to go with Chris Hemsworth-but he’d have to have black hair.

    What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

    Another thing I’m not good at. I just got the back cover blurb honed down (but it still needs work). I’ve not even attempted a twitter style version of the blurb. So…can I just share the blurb? Maybe someone reading this will give me a good one liner, huh? Oh, and I need a good tag line, too, guys. LOL.

    Here’s the working blurb:

    More Than Ready

    Theo Bradford is a Gatekeeper to Hades tasked with retrieving the evil that seeps out. He’s waited over nine hundred years for his mark to surface on his mate’s body, calling him to her. When it finally happens, a vicious demon he sent to Hades months ago somehow defies the binding vanquish and returns, setting his targets on the female. If Theo can’t connect with his mate, he’ll never gain the strength needed to protect his fated love from the demon’s wrath or defend the Gates of Hades.

    Can’t Fight Fate

    Graduating college in two years was easy for eighteen-year-old genius Sadie Nowland. But explaining the mark that appeared on her shoulder four days ago has her stumped. Then, a mystery man shows up and claims the mark identifies her as his mate, catapulting her neatly laid out life into chaos. The more time she spends with him, the harder it is to deny their connection – a connection her brain can’t comprehend and her body can’t deny. And that primal bond proves more imperative to their survival than either could ever imagine.

    Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

    I’ll shop the story around to a few dream agents once it’s cleaned up and see what happens. If not…then we’ll see. I do have a little super top secret self-pub project in the works right now….

    How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

    Three weeks.

    What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

    Since I’m New Adult, there aren’t a lot of those to compare to, but it’s fairly dark. I’d say a darker version of the Hush Hush series by Becca Fitzpatrick with a mix of Rachel Caine’s Morganville Vampire series. Those are definitely young adult and mine is a bit darker and more intense romantically than those, but it runs along that line.

    Who or What inspired you to write this book?

    I’m not sure yet. I know that sounds strange, but it’s true. It’s usually way after a book of mine is written that I realize what the motivating factor was. For example, my first pubbed novel, Wasteland, I didn’t realize until way after, like a year, that my character David was more than likely inspired by my unemployment stint. Didn’t want to be unemployed, couldn’t change it for quite some time no matter how hard I tried, and it was out of my control. David didn’t want to be a demon, didn’t ask to be one, and really couldn’t change it no matter how hard he looked over the past four centuries.

    So, I bet I’ll find out what helped spark this newest novel someday soon…

    What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

    Anyone who likes a little darkness in their hero will like Theo. He’s rough since he wrangles demons that escape from Hades, so he has to be wicked-strong, tough, and unrelenting…but then there is that sensitivity for those closest to him…especially his mate.

    Who to tag? Gosh, there are so many I could, but I’ll just pick a couple….

    Kendall Grey

    Rachel Firasek

    Kate Evangelista

    Lisa Kessler

    Their questions will be the same as mine above. Have fun with it!!