Just Romantic Suspense Guest Blog Tomorrow

Just wanted to let you all know that I'm guest blogging tomorrow on the Just Romantic Suspense website: http://www.justromanticsuspense.com/

Stop by and say hello to me if you get a chance, I'll be there Thursday AND Friday! One commenter will get a free copy of Lucky's Charm.

And mark your calendar, I'll be participating in the Goddess Fish Blog Tour this October!

Q&A Thursday with Joseph Christiano

Today's Q&A is with fellow Wild Child Publishing Author Joseph Christiano!

Enjoy & Comment.

What is the worst thing you’ve written, how did you learn or know it was bad, and what did you learn from it?

I wrote a short story when I was 13 years-old.  What more do you need to know?

Why did you start writing and when did you decide to go professional?

I wrote on and off all through my teens.  I didn’t get “serious” about it, though, until maybe five years ago.  I didn’t so much decide to go professional as I was lucky enough to find a publisher who allowed me to go professional.

Do you write in more than one genre? Which ones and which do you like the best?

I like to stay in the horror/suspense genre because that appeals to me as a reader.  I’m a huge fan of genre mash-ups.  Military/horror, or scifi/crime noir, that kind of thing.  It’s the literary equivalent of “Your chocolate is in my peanut butter!”  As long as they taste great together, why not put two different tastes together?

   

Do you read other author’s books when you’re writing? If so, do you read the same genre or something different?

I’m always reading.  For fiction it’s usually horror/suspense but not always.  I’m always up for something well-written.  Unless it’s paranormal romance.  Sorry, but that’s been done to death.  For non-fiction I prefer history and maybe a biography if it’s about someone I find fascinating.   

What is the most difficult part of the entire writing process for you? Queries, pitches, editing..etc

The whole thing is difficult!  If it wasn’t everyone would do it.  I guess my least favorite part is coming up with a killer idea for the story after it’s finished with the editing process and is being readied for publication.  I’ve said, “Oh, man, I should have done that!” a few times.  

If you could have the same type of career as any author currently publishing who would it be and why?

That’s a loaded question.  There are too many variables on which to base my choice.  Do I want financial security?  Fame?  Fans?  The satisfaction of having created something that will (hopefully) outlive me?  All of the above?  Too tough to answer. 

Author’s Bio: I have been a lifelong reader of both fiction and non-fiction.  My favorite genres in fiction are mystery, suspense, horror, and science fiction.  My non-fiction affinity is for history books.  My favorite and most influential authors are Stephen King, Alan Moore, Harlan Ellison, Richard Matheson, Stan Lee, Edgar Allan Poe, Agatha Christie, Neil Gaiman, and Michael Jan Friedman (who used me as a character in one of his Star Trek novels).

My premiere novel, The Last Battleship, was published by the fine (and intelligent) folks at Wild Child Publishing in March 2012.  My second novel, Moon Dust, is scheduled for release December 2012 by Crescent Moon Press.

 

In 1944, the battleship USS Louisiana is torpedoed and sunk by a Japanese submarine. There is a single survivor. Four decades later, an expedition embarks to locate and document the wreck. The Louisiana's sole survivor, Ensign Robert Sayles (retired), along with his daughter, Jill, are honored guests of the expedition.

But things begin to go wrong aboard the research vessel Hailey Rose. Several crewmen are found murdered, and the ship's radio and engines are sabotaged. The pain from wounds Robert Sayles received in his escape from the sinking battleship return to haunt him. With a fierce South Pacific storm bearing down on them, the Hailey Rose's survivors must find a way to repair their vessel and contend with a murderer in their midst. A murderer with direct ties to the night the last battleship was sunk.

Is it Robert? Or is it... something else? And will they survive...The Last Battleship?

Visit Joe online: https://www.facebook.com/#!/JosephJChristiano

Irene Peterson Talks About Vampires...

I’ve about had it with vampires.

I’ve been reading about them and their supposed charms for a long time.  Everybody got the idea that vampires were wonderful when Anne Rice published her famous interview with them book and after the movie with the ever gorgeous Brad Pitt, vampire novels became all the rage.

But not for me.  Call me queasy.  The vampire book series by another author, one of the first to jump on the bandwagon, made me sick.  This author’s idea of the vampires making love was to have them slit open a bit of chest and allow the lover to feed on the blood when they were doing it.  UGH!  If that floats your boat, well, fine, but ICK!  Think about it.  You get to feel a cold dead guy’s hand on your nice plump warm body and then you have to cut yourself and suck blood? Dead guy’s blood?  And this is sexy?

So, after years and years of reading vampire related stories, someone asked me to guest on her paranormal blog. I called it something along the lines of How to Kill a Vampire and in it I outlined all the various ways throughout time that have worked to dispose of the walking dead.  I did plenty of research because, unlike the mythos that has been changed thanks to television and the cinema, I wanted my mythos to be the truth, the actual way of killing off deaders and keeping them dead.

The stakes have to be made of a certain wood, though in the long run, any wooden stake will do as long as it reaches its mark.  The head must then be severed.  Dead vampires do not sparkle, but they can reunite with their severed heads if the heads are left near the neck or the heads are not buried between the vamp’s legs.  Better yet, bury the vampire’s body under a waterfall, body facing down, not up, so if they should reanimate, they will dig down into the earth instead of up into freedom.

There are also so many things a vampire cannot do: can’t cross running water, can’t stand garlic, can’t walk on sanctified ground, cannot venture through a ring of salt, and most important of all, they absolutely cannot tolerate sunshine.  They will burn to a crisp if exposed to sunlight and no blanket or sunscreen can prevent that.

With all this knowledge building up in my brain, it seemed inevitable that I write a vampire story.  Only I decided to make this a true vampire story in which the undead stinks of rotting flesh, it cares nothing for humans other than a source of food and it lies.  I came up with a man whose job it was to dispose of vampires, came up with a Latin name for him and had him work for an Archbishop. 

Dead Dreams features Jim Ryan, a man whose own parents died because of vampires, raised at first to become a priest, but whose innate anger causes him to be chosen to do away with vampires.  His job title is Lignarius which is Latin for “one who works with wood” and “one who fixes things”.  His little quirk is that, in order to do his sacred job, he feels that he has to remain pure of heart and body and mind, so, at his age, he is still a virgin.

Of course, I needed to make his life more difficult when he runs into the vamp he has just decapitated.  

Purchase Dead Dreams: http://www.amazon.com/Dead-Dreams-ebook/dp/B008O64HC4

Visit Irene Online: http://www.irenepeterson.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IrenePetersonAuthor 

Teaser Tuesday with Cherie Reich

Today's Teaser Tuesday is from Author Cherie Reich.

Enjoy & Comment!

Book Description: A Fantasy Short Story Collection

Follow five women from Foxwick in this five-story fantasy collection.

A bard will lose her head, if she doesn't find the correct notes. A dragon seer must decide whether to betray her dragons or her fair kingdom. An assassin will journey to the Shadowlands to destroy Death. Twins are selected for the Mage Game, and a princess will journey to Valdale in search of the sorceress who can save Foxwick.

Women of Foxwick Information 

Excerpt of Women of Foxwick from the short story “Dragon Seer”

With a table-sized cloth draped over her arm, Vesta tiptoed toward the wounded moss-colored dragon. The creature whimpered, and tendrils of smoke escaped from his flaring nostrils. He stomped his feet, nearly bumping against the trees. Black blood oozed from the wound where the short spear punctured and remained in his forearm. Vesta glanced toward her cottage, but she could barely see it in the nearby valley. Perhaps she should’ve brought some water to clean the dragon’s wound. Oh, well. She had no time to go back.

Get it out, Vesta. It hurts. The dragon’s words vibrated through her mind.

“Calm down, Attor, and let me help you. It’s your own fault, you know.” She grasped the spear in two hands. “Close your eyes. I’ll pull it out.”

It’s not my fault. He squeezed his eyelids shut. Be quick. Count to three.

“Who raided Donal’s flock?”

He snorted.

“Okay, one . . . two . . .” She dug her heels into the ground and yanked on the spear. “. . . three.” The spear loosened and popped out. The momentum forced her backward, and she fell on her behind.

He opened his eyes and peeked at the wound. It’s bleeding. Fix it.

“Don’t be so bossy, mister.” Dirt coated her dress, and she brushed it away as she stood. A breeze brushed against her uncovered head. She yanked her cloak’s hood over her hair. If anyone saw the violet strands . . . . Then, she fastened the cloth over the wound. “There. All better.”

Maybe.

“Don’t be so dubious. It’s unbecoming.”

His belly rumbled from laughter.

“And why were you in Donal’s fields? I thought we agreed you would track game in the forest.”

But sheep taste better.

“You’re just lazy. Other dragons are happy to hunt for their food instead of snatching a free meal.”

What do you know of other dragons? We all love easy meals. His forked-tongued darted out and licked his lips. He eyed her like a juicy morsel.

She shook her head and laughed. “You wouldn’t dare.”

Wouldn’t I?

“Nope.” She patted his paw. “Who would tend your wounds otherwise? Besides, my kind is even rarer than dragons.”

 Purchase Links: Amazon US / UK / DE / FR / ES / IT  Smashwords  Nook  Kobo  iTunes

Author Bio: A self-proclaimed bookworm, Cherie Reich is a writer, freelance editor, book blogger, and library assistant living in Virginia. Her short stories have appeared in magazines and anthologies. Her e-books include a horror novelette titled Once Upon a December Nightmare, a short story collection with authors Aubrie Dionne and Lisa Rusczyk titled The Best of Raven and the Writing Desk, the futuristic space fantasy trilogy Gravity, and The Foxwick Chronicles, a series of fantasy short stories. She is a member of Valley Writers and the Virginia Writers Club.

Author Links: Website  Blog  Twitter @bookworm0753  Facebook  Goodreads

Guest Blogging!

Come see one of my favorite excerpts today on Cherie Reich's blog! http://cheriereich.blogspot.com/2012/09/promo-and-excerpt-luckys-charm-by-jenn.html?spref=fb

Writing Wednesday...with Joeseph Christiano

I would love to make this a regular thing, so let's try it! We'll start off Writing Wednesday with a guest post from Joseph Christiano. 

A Penny’s Worth of Free Advice
By Joseph J. Christiano

Author of The Last Battleship and Moon Dust

It takes a certain amount of arrogance to be an author. After all, who in their right mind would think strangers would care to read a story you want to tell? The very idea is preposterous. I’m no exception. I’ve been published twice (well, once. My second novel is scheduled for December.) and here I have the nerve to offer advice. An author’s ego knows no bounds. Hence, my helpful tips to authors.

I. Don’t be an author. Seriously. It’s a lonely profession. And unless your last name is King, Grisham or Rowling you won’t be able to quit your day job.

II. Patience is a virtue. It can take months, sometimes a year, to hear back from a potential publisher or agent. They’re busy with other would-be and professional authors. Checking your email every fifteen minutes will accomplish nothing except to turn you into a chain-smoker or an alcoholic. Or, if you’re very lucky, both. They’ll get back to you. Eventually.

III. Be prepared to kill your children. No, not your actual, flesh-and-blood children. (This is where being a chain-smoker comes in handy.) I don’t even mean your favorite character in the novel. You’ve written what you feel is the best scene in the whole manuscript and the publisher hates it with genocidal fury. Maybe they’ll let you rewrite it but most likely it’ll have to go. Be ready.

IV. Their house, their rules. Every publisher and agent has their own set of rules about what they will and will not accept in a manuscript, and they vary wildly from one to another. I had a potential publisher tell me I could not have more than four POV characters in my manuscript. It did not matter that there were around thirty characters. I was allowed to get into the heads of four of them. Good luck trying to flesh out the other characters if you can never reveal their motivations or what they’re thinking.

Another potential publisher told me they loved the manuscript but I had to ditch the lesbian sex scene or the deal was off. I was at a loss. I had no memory of writing such a scene. They directed me to it and I had to reread it very carefully. No lesbian sex. The two women in the scene did not so much as hold hands let alone get down and dirty. In fact, there was no dialogue to suggest there would be sex. One of the characters implied she was interested in the other and she wasn’t even herself when she said it. Didn’t matter. Rewrite it.

Some publishers and agents want to be the only one considering your manuscript. If you send it to anyone else and they find out about it, that’s the end. So be prepared to wait (See: #2) while they decide whether or not to take you on.

There are more examples but you get the idea.

V. Read. Then read more. And when you’re done reading, read some more. It helps if you read novels in the same genre that interests you as an author, but it’s not necessary. Just read.

VI. Learn your craft. I committed nearly every sin of which an author is capable of making when I wrote my first novel. I thought I knew what I was doing and it turned out I was wrong. I got very lucky and found an agent who took pity on me and helped me whip it into shape. Don’t count on the same thing happening to you because it probably won’t.

VII. Research potential publishers and agents. Most of the time a simple Google search will tell you what you need to know. There are a lot of scam artists more than willing to tie you to a lengthy contract while they try to milk you for everything you have. There are websites out there that can help you. You’ll be very excited when that first contract offer comes your way. Don’t get so excited you forget to check the background of the publisher/agent. There are plenty of sad authors out there wishing they had not signed that contract.

VIII. Be persistent. You’re going to receive rejections and they’re going to be generic form letters. Don’t get discouraged. Lots of successful authors were turned down left and right. I could wallpaper my house with rejection letters had I saved them. I found a publisher. You can, too. Don’t give up.

IX. Get ready for the following sentences from people in your life: 1) You should write about (fill in the blank). 2) I’d like to be an author but I don’t have the time to write. 3) If I give you a story idea can you write it and we’ll share the byline? 4) My life story would make a great novel. 5) Can you loan me some cash?

X. Network the hell out of yourself. Facebook, twitter, blogs, your own website. Don’t count on the publisher to do all the heavy lifting when it comes to PR. Call your local paper or television station. Talk to the manager of your nearby bookstore and ask if you can schedule an in-store signing. You might have written the best novel of the past fifty years but if people don’t know about it they can’t buy it. Get the word out.

There you go. Tent helpful tips to get you started on your journey. No need to thank me. If you hit it big, a check with a lot of zeroes made out to me will be sufficient thanks.

About Joseph: I have been a lifelong reader of both fiction and non-fiction.  My favorite genres in fiction are mystery, suspense, horror, and science fiction.  My non-fiction affinity is for history books.  My favorite and most influential authors are Stephen King, Alan Moore, Harlan Ellison, Richard Matheson, Stan Lee, Edgar Allan Poe, Agatha Christie, Neil Gaiman, and Michael Jan Friedman (who used me as a character in one of his Star Trek novels).

My premiere novel, The Last Battleship, was published by the fine (and intelligent) folks at Wild Child Publishing in March 2012.  My second novel, Moon Dust, is scheduled for release December 2012 by Crescent Moon Press.

Find Joseph on Facebook

Goddess Fish Blog Tour Coming in October!

Join me on the Goddess Fish Blog Tour this October. You can win a $10 Gift Card from Wild Child Publishing and each blog will have an ebook giveaway of a backlist ebook!

Blog stops will be posted soon!