Tag: MuseItUp (Page 2 of 6)

Meet Erin Rhew Author of The Prophecy

August 23, 2013 / Katie L. Carroll

I’m super excited to welcome Erin Rhew, author of the forthcoming YA fantasy The Prophecy. I have had the pleasure of reading it, but I haven’t posted my Goodreads review yet (I’m waiting until a little closer to the November release). I will tell you it will be getting 5 stars! Welcome, Erin!

What inspired you to write The Prophecy?

At the time I started writing The Prophecy, I’d been reading and watching a lot of Game of Thrones and stories of Arthurian legend. I don’t know that they inspired the story, per se, but they definitely influenced the feel and time period of the world.

What books had the most influence on you while growing up?

Growing up, I loved Charlotte’s Web. I wanted to name a child Charlotte because I loved it so much. LOL! I also enjoyed most books by Judy Blume and Beverly Cleary. As I got older, I fell in writing love with Shakespeare. I prefer the depth of his tragedies though I traditionally like happily ever after endings. My favorite Shakespeare plays are Romeo and Juliet and Othello.

At what moment did you truly begin to feel like an author?

I think I started to really feel like an author when I began doing interviews and people started to “know” me. I’ve always defined myself as a “writer,” but the definition “author” feels like it comes more from the outside. The moment someone buys and reads The Prophecy, I will truly wear the “author” label…and proudly. 😉

You’re a bit of a grammar nerd. What is your biggest grammar pet peeve?

Awwww…you’re sweet to say “a bit.” I’m a major grammar nerd. 😉 I’d say my biggest grammar pet peeve, that spazzes me out the most, is less and fewer. If a quantity can be counted, always use fewer, with the exception of time, money, and distance. Don’t you love the English language—that ALWAYS do such and such just with this exception? LOL! The checkout lines at Wal-Mart, Target, and similar stores should read “10 items or fewer.” I get a nervous tic every time I see “10 items or less.”

What is your favorite literary love triangle?

I’d have to say Tessa, Will, and Jem in The Infernal Devices series. Tessa never reduces herself to the whiny, sniveling, torn girl, and I love that. Will and Jem are both upstanding, and I honestly had trouble choosing between them. Cassandra Clare set the bar very high for a good love triangle.

If you could have one superpower, what would it be?

I’m super nosey, so I’d like to be invisible. If I had a dime for every time I said, “I’d love to be fly on that wall,” I’d be rich. Invisibility would give me the power to do that without having to turn into a yucky fly! 😉

The Prophecy excerpt:

Even though she knew she had no chance to escape now, Layla shoved the Elder with all her might. The blow sent him flying into the baker’s door, which splintered under the force, and she darted forward. The Vanguard soldiers moved to block her.

“We are all Vanguards,” she pleaded. “Please let me go.”

For a moment, they hesitated. Layla used the opening to slip around them. She ran as fast as her legs would carry her, but they proved to be too slow. Within moments, the soldiers leapt upon her, knocking her to the ground. Wrenching Layla up by her hair, they dragged her back to the Elder, whose face now bled from his encounter with the baker’s door.

“I see you’re going to be trouble.” He brushed the dirt off his robes. “You can’t escape your destiny, girl.”

About the Author:

Erin Rhew is an author and fitness trainer. Since she picked up Morris the Moose Goes to School at age four, she has been infatuated with the written word. She went on to work as a grammar and writing tutor in college and is still teased by her family and friends for being a member of the “Grammar Police.” In her free time, Erin enjoys acting, running, kickboxing, and, of course, reading and writing.

Find Erin on her website, Goodreads, Facebook, and Instagram.

Mary Waibel on her new YA Charmed Memories

August 19, 2013 / Katie L. Carroll

A big welcome to Mary Waibel and her newest twist on an old fairy tale Charmed Memories. I loved Mary’s Quest of the Hart and can’t wait to read Charmed! Welcome, Mary!

When I finished writing Quest of the Hart, Trevor, Kaylee’s brother, kept hounding my thoughts. He insisted he had a story to tell, and was adamant that I tell it.

After several starts and stops, I had a rough draft that had nothing to do with a fairy tale (like Quest did), but made me keep thinking of The Prince and the Pauper. It was a case of mistaken identity. Two identical girls who disappeared at the same time, one is found but has no memories of her past, so which one is she.

Several drafts later, with a few (hopefully!) unexpected twists and turns, Charmed Memories was born.

Prince Trevor has always placed duty to his kingdom above the desires of his own heart. But when his betrothed is lost at sea, he finds himself torn between honor and love.

After four years of searching for the missing princess, he begins to secretly long for Lady Bri, the Woodland Guide he works with each day. But the law says he must marry a princess, and Bri is barely a noble.

When Trevor learns that Bri shipwrecked at the same time and place as the princess, he begins to believe he has finally found his bride-to-be. But his happiness is short lived. Bri has no memory of her past, and the princess wasn’t the only girl who disappeared from the ship.

Desperate to prove Bri is his princess, Trevor unwittingly places the two of them in grave danger. Buried in Bri’s memories are deadly secrets someone wants kept from the light of day, and learning who she is may cost more than either is willing to pay.
Purchase Information

Mary lives with her husband, son and two cats. When she isn’t twisting fairy tales, she enjoys reading, playing games, watching hockey, and camping. Her debut novel, Quest of the Hart, and the companion novel Charmed Memories, are available from MuseItUp Publishing and other major retailer.

You can find Mary at:

http://marywaibel.blogspot.com

https://www.facebook.com/authormarywaibel

@mewtweety14 (twitter)

Meet Margay Leah Justice Author of Sloane Wolf

August 16, 2013 / Katie L. Carroll

So my big news of the week is that I’m on Twitter now (@KatieLCarroll). I’m working on organizing who I follow and figuring out the best way to use it, but I’d love some more followers. But enough about me, let’s give a warm welcome to fellow Muser Margay Leah Justice, author of Sloane Wolf, as she discusses beginnings.

Beginnings

by Margay Leah Justice

The story begins in a small New England town where a little girl with a big imagination learns how to put words on paper. From the first moment the girl picks up a pencil, she beholds its magical powers and her eyes light up with wonder. With just a few strokes of her hand, she is able to transfer the words swirling around in her head onto a piece of paper. A story! She can write a story. So she does. Many years later, she is still beholding the wonder of the words swirling around in her head making their way onto paper, only now it is through the magic of computers, not pencils. And the “paper” is sometimes virtual or neatly gathered into a nice cardboard binder with a pretty picture on the front and not the blue-lined medium of her youth. She is a writer.

So began my humble journey. From my imagination to my reality, it all began with a love of words – and the desperate desire to get them out of my head and onto paper. Long before I realized that there was a word for what I was doing – writing – I put pencil to paper and let my imagination have free reign. Whether it was in pictures or words, I felt compelled to put it on paper. Everywhere I went, I carried a notebook and pen. Every place I visited, I hoarded brochures that inspired my imagination. My favorite place to hang out was the local travel agency whose employees indulged my habit of collecting pamphlets advertising trips to faraway places. I was always planning, researching, writing and rewriting. For me.

In the beginning, I wrote for my own pleasure. Even my friends and family had to fight to get a peek at what I was doing. It was a private thing and I didn’t want anyone sharing in it. Perhaps I was afraid that they would get an intimate glimpse into who I really was as a person and wouldn’t like what they saw. Perhaps I was afraid that they would laugh at me because I really didn’t have the talent to write. Or maybe I was just stingy and wanted to keep it all to myself. Whatever the case, I didn’t start out thinking that I was going to publish some day. I just wrote because I was driven by some unknown need to do so. It wasn’t until junior high school, at the encouragement of my English teacher, that I began to realize I had some talent for this. If an English teacher thought I had promise, then surely I must – right?

Still, I kept my writing mostly to myself. My friends and family still had to fight for a peek at what I was working on, even when I was half-heartedly sending out submissions to publishers. I think, in the beginning, I sent them out expecting to be turned down to justify my suspicions that I wasn’t good enough to be published. With that knowledge in hand, I could go back to writing for my own pleasure and stop the nagging of others who thought I should publish what I wrote. For me, then, writing was still a very intimate thing that I wasn’t ready to share with the world for fear of exposing myself to it – and coming up short. After all that time, I was still worried that I wasn’t good enough.

In the beginning, I didn’t have the confidence in myself – as a person or a writer – to pursue the dream in earnest. It did smolder in the back of my mind, a little ember lit by my first feeble attempts at getting published, but it didn’t begin to burn up my misgivings until I’d learned to believe in myself. I realize now that I had lived in something of a cocoon back then and didn’t have enough life experiences behind me to instill the confidence I would need to pursue this career. And one thing I have learned on this journey is that you need a lot of confidence – in yourself as well as what you write – in order to achieve any level of success. If you don’t believe in yourself, who will?

So it begins with a dream. It is sustained with belief. And it is achieved with perseverance. Whether it is an epic tome or just a flash, it all begins with the same things: A blank page, a big imagination, and you.

Sloane Wolf blurb:

For more than a hundred and fifty years, the gray wolf has failed to roam the hills of Massachusetts, leading to the belief that they are extinct. But with a spattering of sightings across the Berkshires, the legend of the gray wolf comes to fruition. The product of that legend, Micah Sloane will go to great lengths to protect his kind from the threat of outsiders, who seek to exploit the legend for their own interests. One thing he didn’t count on, however, was finding his soul mate in the company of such men.

From the first time she predicted a stranger’s imminent death when she was little more than a child, Shiloh Beck knew she was different. Wishing to cultivate her gift, her parents made the fateful decision to enroll her in a private school for paranormally gifted children. Unbeknownst to them, the school was just a front for a research facility simply called the Institute, whose secret board members weaned gifted children from their families to exploit their gifts. Shiloh has spent the better part of her life trying to escape the Institute and reunite with the family she was told had abandoned her.

From their first meeting, Micah and Shiloh share a connection that goes beyond the normal to bond them in a way that love alone cannot. But before they can build a life together, they must deal with the fall-out when the legend of the wolves collides with the men behind the Institute.

Sloane Wolf can be purchased at the MuseItUp bookstore, Amazon, Smashwords, and other e-book retailers.

About the Author:

Descended from the same bloodline that spawned the likes of James Russell, Amy and Robert Lowell, Margay Leah Justice was fated to be a writer herself from a young age. But even before she knew that there was a name for what she was doing, she knew one thing: She had a deep and unconditional love for the written word. A love that would challenge her in times of need, abandon her in times of distress, and rediscover her in times of hope. Through her writing, Margay has learned to cope with every curve ball life has thrown her, including the challenges of single parenting, the harsh realities of living in a shelter, coping with the diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis, and the roller coaster ride of dealing with a child who suffers from bipolar disorder. But along the way she has rediscovered the amazing power of words.

Margay currently lives in Massachusetts with her two daughters, two cats, and a myriad of characters who vie for her attention and demand that their own stories be told. In her spare time, she is an avid knitter, knitting her way through a stash of yarn that almost rivals her tbr pile! For about Margay see her author blog, the Moonlight, Lace, and Mayhem blog, Twitter page, or Facebook page.

Stuart R. West Author of the Tex, The Witch Boy Series Weighs in on Females in YA

August 12, 2013 / Katie L. Carroll

Stuart R. West, whose second book in his Tex, The Witch Boy series Tex, And the Gangs of Suburbia released last month, is guesting on the blog today. He was inspired by my Females in YA posts and decided to add his voice to the discussion. Welcome, Stuart!

$Tex and the Gangs of Suburbia 200x300$ Katie’s been going on at great lengths about strong feminist characters. Bravo.

Here’s a new perspective.

I’m a guy. And a writer. My young adult series, Tex, The Witch Boy, has a male protagonist, told from his narrative viewpoint. I actually set out to write a YA series of books that teen boys could enjoy. I know I would have liked them back in high school, but then again I’m slightly biased.

Here’s the deal, however. The series turned into something different from what I first envisioned. They’re still cool for guys, but…another writer, a female, told me I’m a highly feminist writer.

I said, “What?” She told me the strongest characters in all of my books are female (she’s read all of my books, YA and adult thrillers). Huh. Set me to thinking (and that’s a dangerous thing).

After much contemplation, naval-gazing and fear, I thought about it. She’s right. All of the female characters in my books are the strongest personalities.

In “Tex, The Witch Boy,” my protagonist is a teen male witch. But he’s sorta’ introspective, rarely ready to take action unless forced into it. Slacker. He’s almost the “damsel in distress.” The female characters carry the action.

Tex’s friend (potential girl-friend), Olivia is a warrior. Small and fiery, she single-handedly takes down the scariest bully at Clearwell High. And when the principal and police start questioning people about the murder of a school bully, she’s mighty angry she’s not considered a suspect. Sexist, she rants!

There’s Mickey, Tex’s witch mentor. Stereotypically a daffy ol’ woman on the outside, she has moves that would frighten the whiskers off of a mouse. Hm. Think she does that, maybe.

In the second book, Tex And The Gangs Of Suburbia (just out!), I introduce my favorite character yet. Elspeth. I’m not going to give away who (or “what”) she is. But she takes no prisoners, stands up for her rights against sexist idiots, puts people in their places. She sorta’ threatened to derail the second and third Tex book ‘cause she’s so strong. Being no fool (and frankly, a little afraid of her), I listened. She gets her own follow-up book next year.

Just finished an adult thriller set alternately in 1935 and 1969. My female writing mentor told me one of the major characters is a role model for early feminism.

Okay. Point is I’m a guy writer. But I’d be foolish not to pay tribute to the better sex. Duh. The strongest people in my life are female. My wife’s a brilliant college professor who tolerates no foolishness. My daughter is amazingly adept at reading people. My mother is a master manipulator (not sure if that’s a bonus or not). I can’t count how many female friends I have who give better advice to me, and frankly, can handle stress better than we men.

My dude friends (illiterate, beer-swilling, football watching cro-magnons) don’t even care that I’m writing. And they’d be especially angry that I’m a “feminist” writer. Doesn’t matter. They’ll never read my books, anyway. I’m not afraid to tell the truth. Guys have more physical muscle. But women are the real warriors.

$Tex The Witch Boy 200x300$ Super special AmazeBalls Deal! Act fast, hit up the MuseItUp website, and you can buy both the Tex books for the price of one! My publisher’s going cray-cray! But don’t tell her and buy! Our lil’ secret!

Tex, The Witch Boy on Amazon: (.99 Special!): http://www.amazon.com/Tex-The-Witch-Boy-ebook/dp/B00B3U5OWU/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1374849079&sr=1-1

Tex And The Gangs Of Suburbia on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Tex-Gangs-Suburbia-Witch-ebook/dp/B00E5RWBGA/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1374849134&sr=1-1&keywords=Tex+and+the+gangs+of+suburbia

BLOG: http://stuartrwest.blogspot.com/

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/stuartrwestwriter?fref=ts

Meet SS Hampton, Sr. Author of Better Than a Rabbit’s Foot

August 5, 2013 / Katie L. Carroll

I am very honored to welcome SS Hampton, Sr., a veteran and fellow Muser. He is the author of the short story Better Than a Rabbit’s Foot and is talking about writing and emotions. Welcome!

Emotions—Pen to Paper

You know, writing might seem to require a split personality at times—no, I am not referring to writers with multiple pen names, which can be confusing enough.

Imagine writing an intensely emotional scene with one eye caught up in the scene and the emotion, while the other is coolly evaluating the magically appearing words and deciding whether the scene truly belongs in the story and if it is faithful to the emotions associated with the scene. And those thought processes are taking place at the same time. Sure, when you’re in the editing phase you can be logical and methodical, but when writing, is the emotion there that you can feel and relate to, and is it making its way into your manuscript? Or, are your carefully chosen words there but are empty and fail to convey the intensity of the emotions to the reader?

It can be difficult to do, I know.

As we all know, the best source for emotional inspiration is our own experiences—some wonderful and positive, some terrible and negative.

For example, do you remember how you felt the first Christmas with a brand new baby? Do you remember how the tiny eyes looked at the flashing lights and glittering tree ornaments? Maybe the baby was old enough to reach out a tiny hand toward the tree. (Curiosity in children is such a wonderful thing.) When my children were old enough to walk at Christmas they wanted to play with the shiny balls hanging from the tree almost as much as the family cat did. And we had to keep an eye on the baby as much as on the cat.

So, close your eyes for a moment. Replay those scenes. What emotions come to mind? What words would you use to describe that scene? Warmth? Joy? Love? Happiness? Do you feel warm all over? Are you smiling? Do you feel good, feel happy, regarding that memory and similar memories? Jot down what comes to mind and how you feel, before you forget.

However, there is always a reverse to the coin—sadness and anger. And when remembering these, it might be best to take a breather once the writing is done. These are powerful emotions too, just like love and happiness, but they are negative emotions.

Do you remember hearing of the death of a loved one, a friend, or someone you happen to know? Do you remember what emotions went through you? Shock? Sadness? Rage? Perhaps there was a proverbial “cold chill” that really did race through you, startle you, and make you tremble? Were your hands cold, clammy? Yes, it really is true that word of sudden death will send a cold chill through you. If woken up from sleep, you will find yourself wide awake. And later, in the quiet of the day or night, you will think of your own mortality. Someone you knew, close or not, who was once a living, breathing human being with dreams and hopes, is now gone—lifeless. Death comes for us all sooner or later, but upon receiving such news you will find that shadow uncomfortably closer to you.

As before, close your eyes for a moment and replay such scenes. Jot down the memory of emotions and physical sensations.

And more so than above, once you have finished writing scenes of sadness and anger, close the lid on such a Pandora’s box, take a break, take a deep breath, and enjoy the little things in life around you.

By the way, even if you’re a reader instead of a writer, you be sure to enjoy the little things in life around you too.

Better Than a Rabbit’s Foot blurb:

Sergeant Jerry Stanton is a young soldier serving in the War in Iraq. He is a gunner on a gun truck nicknamed “Lucky Bear,” one of those tireless workhorses that escort supply convoys from camps in Kuwait to destinations scattered throughout the war-torn country. In the early morning hours before a scheduled mission, a dust storm howls across his camp and threatens to bring convoy operations to a halt. Worse, the camp receives word that a gunner from his company was killed by an IED while on a convoy mission. Unlike most soldiers, Jerry doesn’t carry a lucky charm, but upon receiving news of the death of the gunner, he begins to mull over/ponder the merit/virtue of a good luck charm—only, what would work for him? Perhaps mail call will provide the answer.

You can purchase Better Than a Rabbit’s Foot at the MuseItUp bookstore, Amazon, and other ebook retailers.

Excerpt:

“People like a happy ending.”

Sergeant Jerry Stanton, an M4 Carbine slung across his chest, glanced at the dark form that trudged alongside him in the hot, early morning darkness. It was all the darker for the dust storm howling across the small camp, a dusty and sandy convoy support center, CSC, a mile south of the Iraqi border. He placed his hand over the tall styrofoam coffee cup from the messhall that was open at all hours to serve those about to head out on a mission. He felt the itchy dust filtering down his back, along his arms, and coating his fingers.

In spite of his short time deployed to Kuwait, he had learned that dust storms were worse than sand storms; they were hot and itchy while the sand storms stung exposed skin and chilled the air. Breakfast was good but tasted flat, more due to the question of whether their mission would be a go or no-go because of the storm that roared out of the midnight darkness hours before.

“What?”

“People like a happy ending,” the soldier repeated. He was a gunner from another gun truck as the squat, venerable M1114 HMMWVs, which were never meant to be combat vehicles, were called. He held up a rabbit foot that spun frantically in the wind and added, “I like a happy ending. Especially now.” They rounded the corner of a small building, actually a renovated mobile home trailer with a covered wooden porch lit by a bare electric bulb. The gunner pointed to a small black flag, suspended from a log overhang, flapping furiously in the wind.

“Oh shit.” Jerry sighed as a cold chill raced through him.

“It’s been there for an hour or so,” the soldier said as he enclosed the rabbit’s foot within both hands and brought it up to his lips as if to kiss it. He glanced at Jerry. “I’m not superstitious, but still, I mean, there’s nothing wrong with having a lucky charm. You know?”

“Yeah.” Jerry nodded as he watched the twisting flag. “I know.”

The soldier looked once more at the black flag and then walked toward the shower and restroom trailers beyond which were the air-conditioned sleeping tents they called home…

About the Author:

SS Hampton, Sr. is a full-blood Choctaw of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, a divorced grandfather to 13 wonderful grandchildren, a published photographer and photojournalist, and a member of the Military Writers Society of America. He is a veteran with prior service in the active duty Army (1974-1985), the Army Individual Ready Reserve (1985-1995) (mobilized for the Persian Gulf War), and enlisted in the Army National Guard in October 2004, after which he was mobilized for Federal active duty for almost three years. Hampton is a veteran of Operations Noble Eagle (2004-2006) and Iraqi Freedom (2006-2007). On 1 July 2013 he retired from the Army National Guard with the rank of Sergeant First Class. His writings have appeared as stand-alone stories and in anthologies from Dark Opus Press, Edge Science Fiction & Fantasy, Melange Books, Musa Publishing, MuseItUp Publishing, Ravenous Romance, and as stand-alone stories in Horror Bound Magazine, The Harrow, and River Walk Journal, among others. Second-career goals include becoming a painter, and studying for a degree in photography and anthropology—hopefully to someday work in and photograph underwater archaeology. After 12 years of brown desert in the Southwest and overseas, he misses the Rocky Mountains, yellow aspens in the fall, running rivers, and a warm fireplace during snowy winters. In December 2011 in Las Vegas, Nevada, Hampton officially became a homeless Iraq War veteran.

You can find out more about SS and his stories at Melange Books, Musa Publishing, MuseItUp Publishing, his Amazon author page, his Amazon UK page, and his Goodreads page.