Kari Nichols on Making Friends Through #Twitter & ROGUE @TheKariNichols #AmReading #HistFic

What else do you do to make money, other than write? It is rare today for writers to be full time…

My husband and I own a wedding photography business—Cottonwood Studios. Please check out our work! http://www.cottonwoodstudiosworldwide.com

What other jobs have you had in your life?

I started my photography business just five months after my college graduation. So besides photography, I was a camp counselor at two summer camps for kids, and I worked at Qdoba while I was in college.

If you could study any subject at university what would you pick?

Oh my. I’ll never go back to university. I absolutely hated school, and I already have the degree to show for my labors!

If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?

This answer is different depending on what time of the day you ask me, but right now I would have to say Paris. Tomorrow morning, I would probably say the Amalfi Coast. And tomorrow at lunch, Marseille. Basically anywhere in Europe!

How do you write – lap top, pen, paper, in bed, at a desk?

I always write on my laptop—sitting on my couch with my feet propped up and a pillow behind my lower back. I almost always have in headphones with music. Depending on what I’m writing, I switch between classical soundtracks (Dario Marianelli and Michael Giacchino are my favorite) and indie music (Matt Corby, Bon Iver, Daughter, The Middle East, and Gregory Alan Isakov are just a few of my favorites). I’ll often feel inspiration when I’m out and about or when I’m lying in bed, so I make sure I have an app on my phone where I can jot down my ideas right away.

Where do you get support from? Do you have friends in the industry?

I have made so many friends through Twitter. There are so many other indie authors to connect with. They provide encouragement when I need it, and they have a wealth of information to help with everything from blogging to marketing. I’m in awe of the amazing relationships I’ve formed through social media. I also have several friends from college who are published authors that have helped me along the way.

How much sleep do you need to be your best?

Eight or nine hours is the sweet spot, but that rarely happens.

Is there anyone you’d like to acknowledge and thank for their support?

YES!

 

Caleb—my wonderful husband who reads my work and gives me honest feedback without hesitation every single time I ask him.

 

Melissa—my mind-blowingly generous editor and one of my closest friends. She makes my work SO much better than it is when I first write it.

 

Julia—the incredibly talented proofreader who transformed Rogue into a finished book. She is the best at what she does.

 

Carin—an incredible woman who taught me the true meaning of character development.

 

Hayley—the first person to make me feel like a real author. She interviewed me for her blog, and I finally felt like I was worthy of calling myself an author. She’s also helped me immensely with my marketing strategy

 

Alexia—one of the most encouraging persons I have ever come into contact with. She is always asking me how things are going, posting about me on her blog, and Tweeting my book to help promote it.

 

Stacey—my wonderful design friend who gave me invaluable feedback while I was designing Rogue’s cover. Without her input, the cover would have looked very different (and not nearly as beautiful).

 

I also have a list of about fifty incredible supporters who helped crowdfund my first novel. Without them, Rogue would simply be an unfinished book without a publication date.

Every writer has their own idea of what a successful career in writing is, what does success in writing look like to you?

A successful career in writing is a career where I can write the books I want to write. If people love what I’m writing enough to fund my future novels, I’ll consider myself a success.

Tell us about your new book. What’s it about and why did you write it?

I wrote Rogue because I felt like there weren’t any other stories like it, and if I wanted to read it, I would have to write it myself.

 

The Plagued Trilogy is about a family of immortals who hire themselves out as assassins. Rogue follows one of the grandsons of the first immortal. He’s living in New York City, planning his next assassination. But when he meets the eerily familiar executive assistant of his next target, his life is turned upside-down.

“We stand united, Family of Immortals. Plagued by life. Cursed by the hand of God …”

Rogue was born into an immortal family whose wealth is marked by a trail of blood. But when he meets the unnervingly familiar assistant of his next target, an unexpected rush of emotions begins to unravel his carefully laid plans.

Lissie lives a mundane life filled with work … and little else. She hasn’t taken a risk since she moved to New York City after college—seven years ago. But when the mysterious Matthew McCloud walks through the door of her office, she finds herself diving head-first into a whirlwind romance she never saw coming.

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre - Urban Fantasy, Contemporary Romance, Historical Romance

Rating – PG-13

More details about the author

Connect with Kari Nichols on Facebook & Twitter

Website http://karinichols.com/

KS Ferguson on Proposing a New Book Category #AmWriting #AmReading #Fantasy

Do you read fantasy? Which kind? Back when I started reading fantasy—just before the invention of the printing press—fantasy was all wizards with staffs and cloaks, kids with magical objects that allowed them to fly to the moon, or crazy professors making trips to the center of the Earth. I don't recall there being separate sub-genres. If there were, the librarian didn't tell me about them.

Now days, sub-genres seem to multiply faster than rabbits. You've got your epic fantasy, your sword-and-sorcery fantasy, steam-punk, dark, superheroes, and urban, just to mention a few.

I just have to ask—why urban? I mean, isn't that a tad discriminatory? Is an urban setting somehow superior to a suburban setting? No witchcraft going on behind those perfectly trimmed hedges? No summoning of demons from the sinkhole that's just opened in the back yard?

Don't get me started on rural settings! No one thinks it would be amusing if the shape-shifter hero morphed into a dairy cow to blend into the herd or gored the baddie to death? No possessed pocket gophers taking over the town? If pocket gophers aren't a creation of the Devil, I don't know what is!

When I wrote Touching Madness and published it, retail sites insisted I classify it according to their prescribed list of genres. Because it involves traveling to alternate realities, it might fit the fantasy alternate histories category. But it's not about a single alternate reality.

Touching Madness isn't epic, sword-and-sorcery, or steampunk. It's sort of urban fantasy. But it isn't strictly confined to an urban environment. While River spends most of the book in Centerville, Kansas, important chapters see him in a Raptor military camp, snowy winter woods, and an underground compound of unknown origins.

So in keeping with current trends, I'm proposing a new category: contemporary, alternate-dimension-hopping-magic-advanced-technology-and-demons fantasy. What do you think? Will it catch on at Amazon?

Light bulbs talk to River Madden; God doesn't. When the homeless schizophrenic unintentionally fractures a dimensional barrier and accidentally steals a gym bag containing a million dollars, everyone from the multiverse police to the local crime boss—and an eight-foot tall demon—are after him. Can he dodge them long enough to correct his mistakes and prevent the destruction of three separate dimensions? If he succeeds, will the light bulbs stop singing off-key?

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – Contemporary, Urban fantasy

Rating – R

More details about the author

Website http://www.ksferguson.net

Madi Brown on Fabulous #Book Covers for Your Book @Madithe1brown #AmWriting #Wwed

Why Book Covers Are So Important

Unless you don't have eyes, people are visual. If there's a handsome guy sitting  across  from me during my daily commute on the train, I'm going to look. If I'm away on vacation, I'm going to appreciate the beautiful sights around me, because I know that I'm there to relax. If my mom bakes one of her yummy peach cobblers, I'm going to feast on it with my eyes first, and then I'm going to devour it. In the world of books, book covers work in the same way. There are probably millions of them out there, but most readers are only looking for one title. Just think, your book cover is going to be the very first thing that a buyer will see. If you're suddenly feeling the pressure of of just  how important a book cover really might be, then continue to read on.

“I've penned a stellar novel. People are going to love me once they read what I've written.” Plenty of authors are probably thinking the exact same thing. But how are you going to let people know about this stellar body of work that you've just created? I'll tell you how.  You're going to  have a fabulous book cover that will make your book stand out from the rest. And don’t worry, I get it. Writers aren't book designers, but here's where you bring in someone to help with bringing your vision to life. Outsourcing can be your new best friend.

How to  Find a Book Cover Designer That Fits Your Needs

I'm pretty infatuated with the book cover for my debut novel, The Truth About Emily, but it wasn't a one step process of knowing what I wanted straight away. It started with me doing research. Think about your storyline or nonfiction topic. Jot down some ideas so that you have a place of reference to pull from. Do you have a title already? Great. If you do, then keep that in mind too, because it's another source. Now go online and begin looking at other people's book covers.  Are they popular authors? Ask yourself what it is, if anything, that's drawing your eyes to it. How do you feel about the colors, the images, the font style, and the font size? Also, check out some of the books that you've previously purchased; specifically on the strength of its book cover. What caused you to click on buying it? Next up, what you want to do, is take all of that information and keep it somewhere safe. We'll come back to it.

Now you'll need to find yourself a competent book cover designer. Fiverr (an online company that will do almost any task for you for $5.00) has loads of  people on there who can assist you for a bargain, but just remember that most of those people specialize in quantity over quality. By this, I mean that you might end up with a book cover identical to someone else or it may have an appearance that looks manufactured. This isn’t to say that there aren’t  some gems on there, but you'll have to diligently seek them out.  As for myself, I chose to go with a freelancer. I was drawn to the element of selection in having access to a host of talented designers with exceptional portfolios  and being able to make a choice based on a price that I’ve set. My final winning pick was Gavin Pledger, Creative Soutions King).

By now ,you’ve found yourself a book cover designer (as far as the work contract is concerned, make sure that you add in how many times they’re willing to revise. Negotiate a flat fee). The first thing that they’ll want to know is what creative direction you’d like them to go in. This is when you whip out the notes that you’ve been compiling for your project. It’s your starting point. Don't be afraid to let them know what works for you, and what doesn’t. A really good book cover designer will be as excited as you are in getting right!

"If you LOVE New York, if you’re a name-dropping, fashion fiend careerist; fed up with serial dating, plagued with a thirst for sex, then you’ll totally stalk me for what I've penned.” - Author, Madi Brown

Description

29-year-old Emily Greene looks the part, but she’s still working on becoming a modern-day woman. Not that she’s one to back down from a challenge, but living as an eternal work-in-progress wasn't exactly the goal that she had in mind. It’s a harsh but true realization---the idea that that time isn't on her side, and the notion that wanting to have it all, doesn't mean getting it. The verdict is in; with zero prospects for a relationship and a stalled blogging career, Emily has every reason to believe that she’s been living a life too humdrum for her own good.

Making the change won’t be easy. She’ll have to do whatever it takes; start dating like a man, become more selective about which RSVP's she accepts, and work even harder at getting her dream job.The payoff’s huge; a modern twist on a storybook ending, but gains don’t often come without risks. In the here and now Emily just may be forced to choose...It’s got to be one or the other----the profession that she’s always wanted, or the love that she’s never had.

˃˃˃ Praise for Madi Brown & 

her debut novel, The Truth About Emily

"The added depth of character promises complexity but wraps everything in the saucy cloak of Emily's evolving personality and newfound beliefs about life, love, and the real nature of happiness. And this is where The Truth About Emily outshines many competitors, making it a recommended read for those seeking more than a standard romance novel." - D. Donovan, eBook Reviewer, Midwest Book Reviews

"This book has just about anything a girl would love to read about. If there's anything Emily Greene has is ISH and lots of it, oh the ending... This book is a total keeper, just anything about fashion to relationships to friends and family." - Y. Sanchez, Goodreads

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – Contemporary Women's Fiction

Rating – PG18

More details about the author

Connect with Madi Brown on Facebook & Twitter

The Girl Who Came Back to Life by Craig Staufenberg @YouMakeArtDumb #MG #Fiction

SENDING

When you die, your spirit wakes in the frozen north, in the City of the Dead, and waits there until someone comes along to Send you to the next world by telling you a simple and heartfelt “Goodbye.”

This single word, spoken by someone who loves you, releases your soul from this world and lets you finish your journey to the next life. The City of the Dead is difficult, dangerous, and expensive to reach. You must join the steady stream of mourners who pour north at all times to Send their loved ones, unwilling to let their dead wander forever through the cold.

When you die, your spirit wakes in the north, in the City of the Dead. There, you wander the cold until one of your living loved ones finds you, says “Goodbye,” and Sends you to the next world. 

After her parents die, 12-year-old Sophie refuses to release their spirits. Instead, she resolves to travel to the City of the Dead to bring her mother and father’s spirits back home with her. 

Taking the long pilgrimage north with her gruff & distant grandmother—by train, by foot, by boat; over ruined mountains and plains and oceans—Sophie struggles to return what death stole from her. Yet the journey offers her many hard, unexpected lessons—what to hold on to, when to let go, and who she must truly bring back to life.

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – Middle Grade

Rating – PG-13

More details about the author

Connect with Craig Staufenberg through Facebook and Twitter

Website http://craigstaufenberg.com/

@HJLawson1 on Happiness, Writing & Motivation #AmReading #AmWriting #YA

Hayley Lawson is the author of War Kids. She has written a young adult contemporary novel set in Syria; a story about the Syrian Civil war though the eyes of children.

She was born in Lancaster, England. Growing up in a single parent household with five other siblings; was hard, and also character building.

As a young child she found a passion for drawing, and continued this into adulthood, graduating from the University of Central Lancashire, England with a BA(Hons) in fashion design.

At aged twenty seven, Hayley and her husband packed up their belongings for a lifelong dream to move to California. Her American dream was complete with the birth of her daughter. Her love for traveling, continued after the birth of her daughter traveling around America with the family, and the best travelled dog.

A new job position opened up New York, and the family decide to relocate to Long Island, NY, which is where she currently resides.

On August 21 she was moved by the images of the Syrian conflict, and embarked on an unlikely journey of writing her first novel.

What scares you the most?

Car washes

What makes you happiest?

My daughter's laughter, and when she plays with her dad. That, and sunshine and a cocktail.

What’s your greatest character strength?

I will never give up.

What’s your weakest character trait?

I will never give up.

Why do you write?

I have always found people and places interesting, now I have found a place in writing to share them.

Have you always enjoyed writing?

No, writing terrified me for a long time. My teacher when I was seven told me if you got a pound for every spelling mistake he would be a millionaire, in front of the whole class. I have very bad dyslexia and from that day I never shared any written work, other than emails.

What motivates you to write?

Mainly to get everything out of my head, and I think people will find the stories interesting. I found them very interesting to research, but also heart-breaking.

What writing are you most proud of?

My first book War Kids, I have a bad memory, when I read it after final edits were completed I was surprised how good it was.

All profits from the book will be going to the save the children charity.

When fourteen-year-old Jada wakes up in a hospital, the last thing she thinks is that her life has completely changed forever. But when the very real civil war forces her to flee from every open space, she must use the firearm skills her father taught her to reunite with him and protect herself. Armed with a single gun and a key to an unknown locker, Jada crosses Syria on a journey with a group of children called the Fearless Freedom Fighters. With the leader, Zak, they mount a plan to rescue their fathers while they try to cope with the merciless murders of their families. As Jada and Zak lead the group together, love blossoms, but with soldiers hot on their tail, they need to stay vigilant in the face of war.

Reviews from wattpad

Very interesting story, very powerful. I can really feel the emotion...Peter

This book really touches my heart because there is so much truth is in this book. The detail is so brilliantly displayed, its beautifuly written. There are pretty intense chapters, its good... scrap that its excellent. Loe the work ...although I am upset. I know this is a fictional story, but I just can't help but feel extremely bad for all the lost lives especially the innocent and young ones...Saddy

A REMARKABLE BOOK, DEMANDS TO BE READ Goodreads review from Joe Eliseon

Buy Now @ Amazon | Smashwords | CreateSpace

Genre - Young Adult 

Rating – PG-13

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Saga of the Nine : #Area38 by Mikey D. B. @mikeydbii #Excerpt #Dystopian

Standing up from the cover of the shadows, Mica heads forward calculating and planning each step and breath he takes.  He slows the surroundings down and takes in every sight, every sound, and every smell he can.  As he feels the leather armor on his body and the weight of his weapons in his hands, he knows he’s got this.  He can do this.  He must.

“Hey!  Whatcha doin’?!”  A thug notices Mica’s advancement but is unintimidated by the approaching tweeker.  “Yo!  I axed you a question.”  He pulls out a Glock 21 from his pants and flips off the safety.

Forty-five caliber, Mica is very familiar with it.  Mica stops and so does every gang member present, watching for what happens to this old vagrant.  Mica’s right hand slides on top of the whip and unclips it.  “What are you doing here?” he demands.  He knows how stupid it sounds, but he has to stall and distract them while he finalizes things.

“Doin’ business.  Now git!”

Mica doesn’t move.  The thug takes three steps forward, chambering a round in his gun.

“Did you hear me?  I said--”

Three steps was all Mica needed.  In a flash the whip is out and slicing the back of the thug’s hand open.  He yelps and drops the firearm immediately.  Gun shots rain in from the twenty-seven others, but Mica is behind an SUV before a single trigger is pulled.

“Who is that?!  He with you fools?” one gang banger shouts.

“Ain’t no way!  He’s with you!”

This is exactly what Mica was aiming for: confusion.  The prime situation would be if they started fighting amongst each other, but that’s doubtful.  They might damage their merchandise if they do that.

“Protect the product!”  Seven gang bangers huddle around the five hostages as one of the kids begins to cry.

“Shut up!”  And without warning he kicks the kid.

“Hey!!”  Mica stands up from his hiding spot, throws a knife with all his might at the terrorist.  With a thud, the blade finds its mark in the meat of the thigh.  A retaliating barrage is shot in Mica’s direction, but again he’s long gone from that spot.

“Let’s get outta here!”  A gang member cowers at the thought that he could be next.

“It’s one douche--” but before he can finish his petty logic, he’s clocked in the back of the head by a cane and Mica is able to easily take out two others with the same weapon before he is gone and they are shooting at his shadow.

An eerie silence falls, over the moans and groans from the injured.  The wind blows leaves across the asphalt and nobody moves for seconds at a time.  A startling hiss cracks the silence as one of the SUV’s groans under the lack of support from its flat tire.  Investigating, the gang finds no one.

“What the hell man?”

“Shut up.”  The leader whispers and listens but hears nothing but whimpers and scattering leaves.

Without warning a News Van’s alarm goes off.  First one, then two, until all of them blare in the early morning hours and every gang member is disoriented by the obvious diversion.  Out of nowhere, the middle gang banger is whipped in the throat and drops to his knees.  Not a single shot is fired as Mica breaks the various limbs of the thugs trying to stop him from running off again until only a select few stand in between him and the kids.  They cautiously approach Mica with the realization that this is no old bum.

Mica unexpectedly throws his cane, cracking a gang banger’s skull on the far left, as the remaining thugs advance without caution but full of fear.  Mica pulls out two mini-clubs from off of his back and goes to town on their hands, knees, jaws and any part of their body that gets in the way or tries to cause harm.  Mica is only hit once, and that comes from a wild swing with a bat to his ribs.  He slams the mini-club into the thug’s collar bone and easily knocks him out.

With the car alarms still blazing in the background, Mica knows he has to hurry.  He hears the sirens from the police and Mica scrounges for his weapons and quickly approaches the kids.  They cower at the sound of the unknown man approaching.

“Hey, it’s okay.”  Slowly Mica lifts the canvas bags off of each of their heads.  “Are any of you hurt?

All timidly shake their heads.

“You’ll be fine.”  He kneels down, looking into the eyes of a little girl.  Her eyes red and cheeks flushed, Mica wipes away one of her tears.  “The good guys are on their way.”  He would say more, but there is a flash of white light from behind him.

Change affects everyone and it is no different for Jackson. Living in Area 38 for as long as he can remember, he knows of no better way to exist than under the tyrannical rule of Christopher Stone, son of Stewart Stone from The Nine of The United Governmental Areas, aka The UGA. This all takes a dramatic turn when Jackson finds a red, metal box buried in his yard, filled with illegal artifacts—journals, a Bible, CDs, etc.—that are from a man of whom he has no recollection of: Mica Rouge.

 The year is 2036 and Mica, unlike Jackson, does know of a better way of life but is torn apart as he sees his country, The United States of America, crumbling from within by group known as The Political Mafia. The Mafia has infiltrated levels upon levels of governmental resources and it is up to Mica and a vigilante group known as The USA Division to stop them and their dark Utopian vision. To their demise, and at the country's expense, The Division fails and has no choice but to watch The Constitution dissolve and transform into The UGA.

In a final stand, having not given up hope, Mica and what is left of The Division, give one final fight in Colorado, or better known as Area 38. However, all is lost as The Division is betrayed by one of their own, Stewart Stone. Mica is left with no choice but to hide in exile, leaving what little history he can of himself and the great United States of America, with his wife, long time friends, and newly born son in hopes that they will one day finish what he could not.

Jackson, having found this legacy twenty-seven years later, decides to start the war that will end The Nine, and he with an outcast group known as The Raiders, begins his fight with Christopher Stone in Area 38. Filled with betrayal, unity, despair, hope, hate and love Area 38 follows both Mica and Jackson in their attempts to restore what they believe to be true freedom, and where one fails, the other rises to the seemingly impossible challenge.

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – Dystopian Thriller

Rating – PG13

More details about the author

Connect with Mikey D. B. on Facebook & Twitter

Website www.mikeydb.com