Research, research, research!

Hello! I'm sorry it's been a while since I've updated. My new work schedule doesn't give me a lot of free time lately. I promise I'm still here! Still hard at work on the third installment of the Amethyst Chronicles and on Jackson Gray's origin story. I hope to have information on one of them soon.

Today I want to get something off of my chest. Books are a gateway to another world. You can be anything in a book. Go anywhere. It's an escape from everyday life and means to expand your imagination. And what is a big component in allowing us to do this?

The details. Little things that may not exactly add to the plot but make you feel like you are immersed in the book. It sets the tone, the environment and helps you visualize. A good book can really make you feel like you are there.

It takes work for the author to put the reader in the story. Definitely not an easy task. I know I've researched information for a single line that would never appear anywhere else again, but it was an important detail that would add to the scene. But lately I've been reading some books that I think either the author got lazy with the details or thought they didn't need to research.

Research is important! I can't stand it when authors will make up information or will just put something down. Even in sci-fi, almost all of what I write has some scientific merit or thought behind it.

Liza O'Connor is the perfect example of an author knowing how important the details are. I love her sleuth series and the painstaking additions she puts in blows my mind. I'd love to look at her file or search history. I can clearly picture running around London with Vic, being on a boat with Jacko, or listening to a snarling baby. I can't wait to read her sci-fi series. (been sitting on my app, I promise I will get to it soon!). She goes to great lengths without hitting the reader over the head with the information.

I won't call out an author who I feel lacks where Liza strives. But let's just say I won't be reading them again. Period.

Books are fun. The writing is hard. If I have to stop reading to look up something to see if that could be probable or not...then I doubt I will pick the book back up. I typically don't leave reviews if that's the case. Sometimes I wonder if that's a good thing. Can the behavior be corrected if the author doesn't know? But I don't want to create bad blood between me and another author either. Hmm...something for me to think about, I guess.

Happy release day, Jennifer Gadd!

Today marks the release of Cat Moon (Were Children book one), a new YA paranormal series from Distinguished Press. Get it this weekend for $.99 here, Join us Saturday on Facebook as we celebrate with fun games and prizes all day. Win free books. Find a new author to love. Great times! RSVP Here.

Emma has big problems. She has no family and no home. She wanders the streets of The Warren, scavenging for her next meal and trying to keep warm. Haunted by the memory of a mother she barely recalls, Emma dreams of being a part of a real family. She is helped in her search for belonging by an assortment of eccentric characters: a friendly shopkeeper and his cranky uncle, the nice woman who runs the local mission, a ditzy cat lady, and a good-natured prostitute with a drinking problem.

 

Her biggest obstacle, however, is that every full moon, she turns into a feral cat! Emma is one of the Were. She and those like her are ruthlessly hunted by the captain of the Were-Guard, whose religious zealotry makes him especially dangerous. When the sinister Bram Fitzwilliam enters the picture to assist the Guard, Emma is in more danger than ever. Before she finds what she’s looking for, Emma must find a strength and courage she never knew she had. Her journey will teach her that dreams don’t always come true the way you want them to, that people aren’t always what they seem, and that real families can be chosen.

Let's find out more!

Five Facts about this Book:

1. I got the idea for the book when all the vampire books exploded onto YA fiction, and I wanted to do something different.
2. I finished the rough draft at a Borders in Overland Park, Kansas. I hope that’s not the reason they went bankrupt.
3. The story was initially vetted by my younger daughter and her best friend, and after they read it, they created a role play game based on it.
4. All of the herbal medicine lore in the first book is researched and accurate (but not intended to take the place of advice from your medical practitioner.)
5. My own daughters’ names are Rachel and Margaret.

 

Five Things About Emma

1. She isn’t sure, but she thinks she’s about twelve years old.
2. She learned to read a very early age. She can’t really remember not ever knowing how to read.
3. The shift back and forth from human to animal mind causes sporadic memory losses, so she doesn’t know if her memories are real or imagined.
4. She has a deep moral conscience, but homelessness has made her do things of which she is ashamed.
5. For all her street smarts, she is essentially naïve and innocent.

 

Author Bio:

Jennifer L. Gadd is a life-long reader and writer who holds a deep interest in writing quality literature for children and young adults. She writes mostly science fiction and fantasy, as well as hi-lo books for struggling readers. Her favorite authors are Charles Dickens, George Eliot, Jane Austen, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Agatha Christie, Candace M. Robb, Ellis Peters, and Anne Perry. She has lived in Texas, Illinois, and Alaska, and currently resides in Kansas City, Kansas, where she is a reading interventionist at an urban middle school.

 

 

First podcast with Jennifer Gadd

Two weeks away from her debut novel, Jennifer L. Gadd speaks with me about all things Cat Moon, children's novels, and why elementary teachers seem to have perfect handwriting. Listen here.

Synopsis:

Emma has big problems. She has no family and no home. She wanders the streets of The Warren, scavenging for her next meal and trying to keep warm. Haunted by the memory of a mother she barely recalls, Emma dreams of being a part of a real family. She is helped in her search for belonging by an assortment of eccentric characters: a friendly shopkeeper and his cranky uncle, the nice woman who runs the local mission, a ditzy cat lady, and a good-natured prostitute with a drinking problem.

Her biggest obstacle, however, is that every full moon, she turns into a feral cat! Emma is one of the Were. She and those like her are ruthlessly hunted by the captain of the Were-Guard, whose religious zealotry makes him especially dangerous. When the sinister Bram Fitzwilliam enters the picture to assist the Guard, Emma is in more danger than ever. Before she finds what she’s looking for, Emma must find a strength and courage she never knew she had. Her journey will teach her that dreams don’t always come true the way you want them to, that people aren’t always what they seem, and that real families can be chosen.

Find Jennifer at:
https://twitter.com/fionnabhar
https://www.facebook.com/jlgadd
http://jennifergadd.wix.com/jenniferlgadd
https://jenniferlgadd.wordpress.com/
http://jlgadd.tumblr.com/

Gods of Probabilities

 

Meet Zousan

Meet Zousan, aka, Zeus:

 

Gods age much, much slower than us. Zousan looks to be in his thirties, but he’s over thirty billion earth years old. Oh course, he doesn’t judge his age by earth rotations. That would be silly. Truth is, he categorizes his life in three segments slots: his years growing up in the space academy,  the years of misery under his tyrannical and unreasonable father’s thumb, and his years of freedom when he burst forth into a newly created multiverse, finally in charge of not just his life, but his entire crew.

In short order, he discovered leading a bunch of Gods was a pain in the ass. But one of his staff, he adores. His daughter, Athena. She was just a child when they burst through and honestly, she was his sole captivation over the next few billion years. (I’m using earth measurements since we never adopted the Universal time measurements of space.)

 

Athena has grown into a beautiful talented young woman, an artist of the highest caliber.

However, this piece of art disturbed him.

 

Here’s an excerpt from The Gods’ of Probabilities where he discusses this particular art:

Excerpt

From early on, his creative daughter spent most of her time making artwork from space particles. At first they were clumsy splatters, but as she matured so did her designs. Recently she had created three plumes that looked far too much like a man’s privates to suit his liking.

Since he’d threatened all his male crew with a one-way trip through a black hole sans ship if they messed with his daughter, she shouldn’t have a clue what lay beneath their uniforms, especially not ones standing so firm and tall.

He intended to discover which of his worthless crew he needed to return to his father with a note saying, “Great job! This loser you insisted I take onto my ship defiled your beloved granddaughter and you are thus fired from all grand-parenting duties.”

For the next million years, he spied on his daughter. Upon finding no worthless men sneaking into her room, he tried another technique: honesty.

He called her in and asked her what she thought her pretty columns represented.

Athena blushed and suddenly found great interest in her hot cocoa.

“Sweetheart, I’m not trying to embarrass you, but I do need to know who showed you something that inspired you to make three of these.”

She breathed in deeply. “The computer.”

“Then none of the crew has touched you?”

“No, but that has to change. I am a young woman now, and I have needs.”

He so regretted opening up this can of worms.  “Wow! Look at the time. I have a meeting with my crew...”

 

The Gods of Probabilities

By

Liza O’Connor

 Blurb

The Gods require a time shifter to ensure the Path of Light reigns during the final collapse of possibilities. To speed the process of finding an Oceanic with the specific talents needed, God DNA is induced in several batches of Oceanic eggs, resulting in a generation of brilliant tiny blue Oceanic children.

One charming boy named Drogan has the ability to manipulate quantum reality in ways that will strengthen the Path of Light. Only trouble is that his gift runs a high probability of killing him and wiping out the Path of Light for good.

While the bureaucratic Gods will try to assist, in Quantum all possibilities not only can, but do happen, so the future is never certain.

 

 

Sales Link

Amazon

About Author

Liza is a multiple genre author of 15 novels. A Late Victorian Series, The Adventures of Xavier & Vic, plus a spinoff, A Right to Love, is an ongoing series.    A Long Road to Love is a humorous Contemporary Disaster Romance series (5 books). She has two single books. One is a humorous, bad boys contemporary novel with ghosts, called Ghost Lover, the other is Untamed & Unabashed, a spinoff from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.

Now, she’s rolling out her Science fiction series (with romance & humor) called The Multiverses. The first four books are slotted for last half of 2015.  In addition she hopes, if she hasn’t dropped from exhaustion by then, to re-release a sometimes humorous/suspense thriller called Saving Casey. It’s the story of a middle-class old woman who dies and wakes up in a trust-fund teen’s body with no choice but to turn around Casey’s life, despite the many bridges the teen has burnt.

Liza would love to know: What’s your favorite genre?

Social Networks

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT

LIZA O'CONNOR

Investigate these sites:

Liza's Blog and Website   Facebook   Twitter

 

 

 

Happy Father's Day!

I am very fortunate to have a very special relationship with my father. Words cannot express how grateful I am for him. But I will certainly do my best.

 

 

My father has always been there for me growing up. He taught me how to throw a baseball. He introduced me to my love of science fiction and my dislike for horror genre.

Dad showed me how to properly maintain my car. Not only can I change the oil and the tire, I can replace the thermostat, alternator, and flush the radiator. I can diagnose several problems now and talk intelligently to the mechanic. That alone has saved me thousands of dollars.

 

 

This is one of my favorite photos of my parents. This was of their wedding day. Two images had merged into one. My parents showed me how to love. I have a happy and healthy marriage after watching him and Mom for the 18 years I had before Mom passed away in 2000. For a long time, he had a picture of her by his bed and would tell her goodnight and he loved her. He showed me what it's like to truly love someone more than anything. I always saw her reflected in his eyes.

 

 He taught me to be colorblind, to treat others how I wanted to be treated. It's okay that people have other beliefs than I do. We're all the same in the eyes of God. Someone's race, religion, or sexual orientation has no barring on my personal life, so why worry about it? Why should that be a deciding factor in how they are received? We're all humans. We should treat each other accordingly.

 

I loved watching movies with Dad. From horrible sci-fi B-movies to Indiana Jones to Cinderella. He always instilled a sense of fun and adventure in everything. Dad also showed me how to be tough. We discovered about a year or so ago that we both have very similar stories about when we broke our noses. I still don't regret never having my nose reset.

And this is just one of my favorite photos with my brother Wayne. We like to duplicate this every Disney trip.

I need to get this in a frame. We did this at Disney in a little kiosk at Pop Century hotel. I really love it. Dad is one of my best friends. He is someone I can tell anything to. I love our long talks about everything and nothing.

My wedding day. This was one of the best pictures taken, in my opinion. Daddy is walking me down the aisle and looking like he can barely keep from crying. I may be married now, and definitely not so little, but I will always be your baby girl. You are the greatest man I've ever known. I hope I can be one-tenth the person you are. Always kind, always putting your family first. Determined, hard working, strong ethics and unshakable faith. I love you, Daddy. Today, tomorrow, and forever.

Happy Father's Day.
 

Shifters Gone Alpha boxed set

Shifters Gone Alpha: Shape shifter Romance Boxed Set

 

When it comes to love, it doesn't take long for shifters to go alpha. This boxed set of NEW stories from bestselling authors shows how there's nothing a shifter won't do for their mate's pleasure. 

Her Alpha Mate by Michele Bardsley 
As the Fire Pack alpha’s wife Alice Mason will do anything ensure the future of her wolf pack and the ancient bloodline of her husband. Even if it means she must sacrifice her own life… 

The Bear Witch Project by Renee George 
Bears and witches are natural enemies, so when bear shifter Ty Wasape meets curvy witch Solange Tremaine at an Osage casino, he is naturally torn between killing her or making her his mate. 

Her Destiny by Brandy Walker 
Selena has a new job, new home, and new friends; to include a cat she calls Felix. When her life is threatened Felix, aka Malcolm, comes to the rescue bringing her into a world she never knew existed. 

KnightForce 1 by Sydney Addae 
La Patron’s rebel problem needs correcting before the cops get involved. Asia, Angus and Tyrese, arrive in the Rocky Mountains to prevent more deaths and keep humans unaware Shifters live next door. 

Darkness Rising by Lisa Carlisle 
Antoine Chevalier is a gargoyle shifter living in Paris. When he's attacked by rogue vampires, he's forced to abandon his identity and must recreate himself in a world now filled with darkness.

Her Dragon’s Soul by Julia Mills 
Find mate…check. Bond with mate…check. Exorcise demon taking take over mate hence saving dragon kin and the world…oh crap, not again. Can't a dragon catch a break? 

The Gathering: Homecoming by Ellis Leigh 
Join the trio from The Gathering as they navigate their new life. Blasius and Dante must make their mate Moira feel welcome, but their mountain girl has trouble finding her footing on marble floors. 

Wolves at the Door by Skye Jones 
Brooke is studying the wildlife of a remote Scottish area. What she finds shocks her. Sexy alpha, Drew, seduces Brooke. They spend the night together, but Drew wants more. He wants Brooke as his mate. 

Domlen’s Way by Solease M Barner 
Domlen's handsome, sexy, smart and a Dominate. He will ensure you are satiated, satisfied, sore and pleased. You will only have to submit to Domlen's Way to get the attention of this dragon-shifter. 

Rescued? By the Wolf by Cristina Rayne 
When Rogue lion shifter, Tori, jumps into the truck of an annoyingly hot wolf shifter she mistakes for human, lifelong hostilities and self-restraint are tested as they flee from the lions in pursuit. 

Spring Mates by Lynn Tyler 
Mating season. The time when a young man’s heart turns to creating a permanent bond with the one he loves. At least, in theory. 

Breaking the Storm by Sedona Venez 
One curvy fae witch. One smoking hot ‘Rock Star’ wolf shifter--and a curse that threatens their burning love. 

Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00YARJN5C

Amazon UK - http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00YARJN5C

iTunes - https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/shifters-gone-alpha/id998380863

B&N - http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/shifters-gone-alpha-michele-bardsley/1122004111

Kobo - https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/shifters-gone-alpha

 

The Unraveling cover reveal

Welcome to the cover reveal for The Unraveling, Volume One of The Luminated Threads by Laurel Wanrow! This is a steampunk fantasy romance with new adult-aged characters and themes. The Unraveling ebook is on preorder for a special preorder price of only .99 cents from Amazon! A print paperback edition also features this beautiful cover artwork by the talented Craig Shields, www.craigshields.co.uk.
The Unraveling releases June 23, 2015.

About the Book:

In 1868 England, the competition to control agriculture is fierce…

…and nobody says no to Derby’s industrial magnate.

Except Annmar Masterson. The nineteen-year-old rejects his improper advances and instead takes an advertising position on a farm. She discovers the isolated valley is home to gifted species—including animal and plant shifters—who hide their lives from the rest of England. The blue threads only she sees on their clockwork machinery prove her heritage is rooted with theirs, but their world is so different that Annmar doesn't know if she'll ever belong.

Shapeshifter Daeryn Darkcoat blames himself for the death of his mate and swears he won't be responsible for another pack. But when the farm he loves falls victim to an endless run of strange pests eating the crops, he joins the hunt, taking charge of an unruly team of predator shifters. In the midst of the battle, Annmar stirs feelings he can’t resist.

As Annmar becomes entangled in the fight against the pests, and with Daeryn, she discovers her magic might help…if she can learn to use it properly. If not, she’ll be forced to leave the people she has come to care for and become what she fears most: nothing more than another cog in the magnate’s gears.

THE UNRAVELING is a full-length novel, approximately 350 pages, for readers 18+ (new adult and older).

Please note: This is volume 1 of a three-part serialized novel. Volumes 2 & 3 will be published in 2015 to complete THE LUMINATED THREADS, a steampunk fantasy romance. To be notified of these releases, sign up for Laurel's Newsletter.

Preorder from Amazon for the special price of only .99 cents! 

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About the Author:

Laurel Wanrow loves misty mornings, the smell of freshly dug earth, petting long-haired guinea pigs and staring at the stars. She sees magic in nature and loves to photograph it.

Before kids, she studied and worked as a naturalist—someone who leads wildflower and other nature walks. During a stint of homeschooling, she turned her writing skills to fiction to share her love of the land, magical characters and fantastical settings.

When not living in her fantasy worlds, Laurel camps, hunts fossils and argues with her husband and two new adult kids over whose turn it is to clean house. Though they live on the East Coast, a cherished family cabin in the Colorado Rockies holds Laurel’s heart.

Visit her online at www.laurelwanrow.com.

To be notified of new releases: Laurel's Newsletter

Twitter @LaurelWanrow | Author Facebook Page | Goodreads | Pinterest 

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Giveaway:

One (1) winner gets a $10 Amazon gift card, and two (2) winners get paperbacks of The Unraveling by Laurel Wanrow (US/CA/UK)

Ends June 10, 2015

a Rafflecopter giveaway
This event was organized by CBB Book Promotions.