Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Teaser Tuesday - 11/27/12


Photo credit: Devon Monk's website

Still working on the Allie Beckstrom series. NaNo is definitely cutting into my reading time this month.

WARNING: The synopsis may contain some spoilers for the earlier books in the Allie Beckstrom series.

Allie Beckstrom’s lover, Zayvion Jones, is a Guardian of the Gate, imbued with both light and dark magic and responsible for ensuring that those energies don’t mix. But Zayvion lies in a coma, his soul trapped in death’s realm. And when Allie discovers that the only way to save Zayvion is to sacrifice her very own magical essence, she makes a decision that may have grave consequences for the entire world.

The rules for Teaser Tuesday are:

  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
  • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
  • Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
  • Then hit up Should Be Reading to add your link.

And the teaser:

The first in line was Truance, bearing a curved sword that looked like a scimitar.

We hit her with everything we had.

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Teaser Tuesday - 11/20/12


Photo credit: Devon Monk's website

Since the last book in Devon Monk's Allie Beckstrom series came out this month, I've been rereading the rest of the book before diving into that one. I love this series. The world she built, especially the rules for magic, is so wonderfully complex and knitted together perfectly. I highly recommend it.

WARNING: The synopsis may contain some spoilers for the earlier books in the Allie Beckstrom series.

Allison Beckstrom is committed to her work tracing illegal spells. Now, there’s an apocalyptic storm bearing down on Portland, and when it hits, all the magic in the area will turn unstable and destructive. To stop it from taking out the entire city, Allie and her lover, the mysterious Zayvion Jones, must work with the Authority-the enigmatic arbiters of all things magic-and take a stand against a magical wildstorm that will obliterate all in its path...

The rules for Teaser Tuesday are:

  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
  • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
  • Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
  • Then hit up Should Be Reading to add your link.

And the teaser:

Instead of attacking, he stood there, breathing hard, his hands clenched into fists in front of him, head tipped down so that I could not see his eyes.

But it was the smell of sweet cherries that told me exactly what was going on. Blood magic.

Monday, November 12, 2012

I'm Thankful for My Readers

*sigh*

It's been a really long couple of weeks, guys.

I knew I was missing this bloghop as it was happening, but between the no power, the traveling, and now the no internet at home thing, I couldn't seem to buckle down enough to write anything. So I'm going with the better late than never philosophy, especially since this I have some amazing people who deserve to be thanked. So... it's not creative, but since I missed the judging part anyway, I'm going with the laundry list-style thank yous here.

First and foremost, K.S. Lewis. She's been my CP, cheerleader, Writer's Block Anonymous sponsor, therapist, and many, many more things in the ten years we've known each other. She's awesome, and she never tells me to shut up or stop whining, and she listens to me complain all day about my MC and all her idiosyncrasies, and I'm pretty sure she's read Capitoline Hill about four or five times all the way through. I seriously couldn't ask for a better CP.

Next, my newest beta reader, Vikki. With impeccable timing, she emailed me a few weeks before I finished the latest round of edits on CH, just about the time I was starting to wonder where I could find a set of fresh eyes to read it through for me. And then she read it in about three days and sent back emails full of capital letters and exclamation points. She's listened to all of my most recent ideas and offered wonderful advice that I've completely ignored when my pinball-machine mind bounces to a new story, and I always feel really good about my writing after I'm done talking to her.

Tedra: I met Tedra through one of Falling for Fiction's Beta Mixers. She read through CH with a fine-tooth comb, sending me back four separate documents full of comments. She even caught the continuity errors that no one else noticed (really big ones too; I felt pretty blind for not seeing them). I really appreciate all the time she put in to helping me make it the best book it can be.

And last but not least, my family. They've all (with the exception of my brother, who's waiting me to send him the latest version) read CH and offered their comments, critiques, and opinions, and I appreciate each one so much (even when I argue with them!).

And thanks to everyone who's read/reading my blog, and who's supporting me as I look for agents, and who will hopefully get a chance to read this book! Thank you guys so much for everything!

Monday, November 5, 2012

Hurricane Sandy

As many of you know from my A-Z Blogpost last year, I live in New Jersey. And as many of you know, New Jersey was just ravaged by a massive storm that left many people homeless or powerless. So if I've missed your emails/tweets/blog posts lately... well, I have a really good excuse!

All things considered, my family was very, very lucky. We lost power for six days (it came back yesterday), but we spent three of them in another state on a vacation that we'd planned a few months ago. And we still don't have internet access. Other than that, we had no flooding and no major damage to the house or cars. Inconvenient, yes, and expensive to replace the food we lost, but nothing compared to the people who lost so much more.

Several towns within walking distance of mine were hit much harder. Houses were washed off their foundation; someone's porch wound up in the middle of the highway. Trees fell on roofs, cars, and electrical lines. People are still without power and likely will be for awhile longer.

I honestly can't begin to describe the devastation. I'm sure some of you have seen pictures on the news. Magnify that by about ten when you realize the restaurant they're showing is one you ate at just a couple weeks ago... and now it's gone. Or when your friends on Facebook are talking about waiting in line for food and clothing donations because they can't get back to even check on their homes until the streets become safer. There was a mandatory 7:00 curfew every night because the traffic lights were out and driving was unsafe. Also because people were looting (fortunately, we didn't see that in my neighborhood). There's a National Guard command post set up down the block from me, and I'm hoping to go over there after work this week to see if I can volunteer.

Obviously part of the takeaway from this is to be grateful for everything you have and try not to take it for granted. It's amazing what just not having electricity for six days felt like, let alone any of the other things that people are lacking right now, especially as the weather is getting colder and the holidays are coming up.

If you're able to/interested in donating to the relief effort, Governor Christie set up a relief fund. Donations can be sent to:
Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund
PO Box 95
Mendham NJ 07945-0095

The Red Cross is always a good option too.

Jen Malone is doing a charity auction, where the proceeds go to the Red Cross relief effort as well. Check it out at: http://www.jenmalone.blogspot.com.au/2012/10/kidlit-community-giving-back-to-benefit_31.html. She's auctioning off some critiques!

And if you're in the area and find yourself able to volunteer, check out NJ 101.5's website where they have volunteer opportunities listed for many of the most devastated cities and towns.

I hope everyone who was affected is doing okay. Please let me know if there's anything I can do to help you!



P.S. The odd fringe benefit to having no power is that I actually managed to keep up with my NaNoWriMo word count. I definitely didn't expect that, but apparently the key to focusing on writing is to have no electricity and therefore no distractions.