Liz Meldon

Day One

November 10, 2015 Liz Meldon2 Comments

This is…perfection. If you aren’t following this blog, do it. DO IT NOW.

Wake up. Feed cat, dog and goldfish. Tell 10-year-old daughter that she will get her allowance *next week*. Why? Because Mommy’s a writer, honey. Asks me if I’m famous. Awkward silence ensues.

Now, off to work!

Spend morning reading advice book from best-selling YA author on how to plot character arcs, both emotional and action. Review the *pivot points* in my draft. Realize that I forgot to have enough of those, and in fact, have no idea who some of these people are. Problem!

What do they even look like? No idea. Fortunately, it is now lunchtime. Warmed over chili makes me groggy. Need nicotine gum to get my juices flowing.

Actually write a few pages! Things are rolling along when ambushed by burning desire to check email. I have a new policy of only doing this in the morning and evening. Laughable. Nothing from agent. But…look. A video on platform-building…

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#weeping

November 10, 2015 Liz MeldonLeave a comment

Can I just…

Thank you to all my authors and readers and errybody who has been sharing the author interviews this month. This is a fairly new blog, and I’m so thrilled to have everybody here. Seriously. I’d bake you brownies and feed you if I could. But there’s a screen in the way.

So just settle for my gif-hugging.

Author Interview: Nikolas Rex

November 10, 2015November 9, 2015 Liz Meldon1 Comment

Attention fantasy fans! Nikolas Rex is on deck today carrying on with my author interview month. If you’re looking for a new author to creep, he’s someone I recommend!

When did you know you wanted to write?

I always loved reading my whole life, but my freshman year in high school was when I discovered that I also loved to write.

What was your first experience with writing?

My first experience with writing was quickly jotting down details of an amazing dream I had. Later that day, when reading what I had written, I wasn’t fully satisfied with what I had jotted down, as the memory of the dream was much cooler. So I filled in the details as best I could, creating pieces here and there and it morphed into a cool little short story which I actually entered into a local short story contest. I didn’t win anything, and sadly lost the short story, but the memory is still there.

Where do you generally do most of your writing? Is there a specific room that has been dubbed “The Writer’s Cave”?

I have no “Writer’s Cave” to speak of, though having an office would be nice. I mostly write on my laptop wherever I can find a decent enough chair, desk space, and wifi (gotta love Pandora Radio for music to set the mood).

What medium do you use to write? Desktop? Tablet? Pen and Paper?

My medium of choice when it comes to writing? Laptop. However, I’m never without a pen and notebook. Always have to be able to write down my thoughts and ideas whenever they come to mind.

What’s your preferred genre to write in?

My preferred genre to write in is Fantasy. I love reading a good sci-fi (I’ve read Ender’s Game fifteen times in my life, now) but don’t think I’ll ever be able to write a good sci-fi since so much science is involved (a good sci-fi involves at least psuedo-science-y stuff in my opinion).

Here’s a spot to pimp one of your writer friends… GO! (Or to gush about a recent fave read)

A friend of mine recently gave me ALL the Dresden Files books by Jim Butcher to read. Magic meets Detective. They’re pretty good so far, I’m on the 4th one now.

Wielder of the Flame:
On a far distant planet, a war fought with magic sends an enchanted sword hurtling through time and space to land on Earth, mysteriously linking the fates of both worlds, together. A young man named Marcus, whose only wish is to escape the bullies from school by running through a nearby park, instead stumbles upon a strange black cat that motions for him to follow it. The cat leads Marcus to an enchanted grove, wherein, at its center, lies that very sword, half-embedded in stone.

Marcus chooses to withdraw the blade and takes the first step on an unexpected but magnificent adventure that changes his life forever. He awakens to find himself in a place called Lyrridia, a realm of swords and magic. Along his path to uncover the reasons for his arrival in this new world he will make friends, fall in love, battle foes, and come face to face with his destiny.

Grab your copy on Amazon today!

Nikolas Rex resides in Washington State with his wife and two daughters. He is currently pursuing a B.A. in Digital Technology and Culture at Washington State University Tri-Cities and a minor in Fine Arts. He has a deep love for the written word and a passion for design. Aside from writing fantasy, his other hobbies and interests include sketching concept art, reading fantasy and science fiction, spending time with his family, and playing low-fi board games.

Follow Nikolas online!

WriteroftheFlame.com

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

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Nikolas-Rex/e/B010P3V7OE

DeviantArt: http://draconicparagon.deviantart.com/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8442823.Nikolas_Rex

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/nikolaskrex/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/nikolaskrex

Google+: https://plus.google.com/+NikolasRex/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikolaskrex

Author Interview: Rosanna Leo

November 9, 2015November 9, 2015 Liz Meldon5 Comments

I’m thrilled to have the wonderfully talented author Rosanna Leo on my blog today! I first found Rosanna‘s work when I was just getting Maenad off the ground. In fact, I’m pretty sure I was still writing it, and I happened upon an author who wrote something quite similar to what I was playing with: gods in the modern world. I devoured all three of her god-centric pieces, and have since moved on to her most recent release, Night Lover, which is fantastic so far.

Super excited to have her here, so please give your full attention to the lovely Rosanna Leo!

Where do you generally do most of your writing? Is there a specific room that has been dubbed “The Writer’s Cave”?

I do have a writing cave, and it’s known in our house, as “Spare Room.” (Very Narnia, isn’t it?) It really is just the spare bedroom, so there’s a bed there if I grow especially weary, or if I need to bash my head against pillows. However, I also write in the kitchen sometimes. Lots of light and lots of snacks. The snacks are not particularly conducive to writing, but they keep me happy.

Any advice for writers about to be published?

My advice to writers about to be published is this: get yourself ready for a wild ride. There is no feeling in the world quite as special as seeing your first book published. The others are special, too, but the first one brings forth emotions you won’t expect. Embrace them. Be ready for highs and lows, however. As exhilarating as it can be to see your name in print or digital print, there are stresses as well. Bad reviews, looming deadlines, keeping up with family and job. All these things can bring you down. Try to keep it all in perspective and stay on an even keel, while enjoying the blissful moments as much as possible.

Tell me about your debut novel. Looking back, what are your feelings toward it now?

My debut was a fun paranormal romance called For the Love of a God. This is the book my heart wrote. Would I write it exactly the same way now? Perhaps not, but I don’t regret the lessons learned. Besides, writing is a constant learning process. Writers improve with each book, with each paragraph. I still get lots of emails from readers who say they love that book, and that taught me something. If you believe in a story, others will, too. I am extremely proud of where and how I began and For the Love of a God is part of that story. In many ways, I wouldn’t change a thing.

Tell me a little about your upcoming release.

My current release is another paranormal romance, and this one is called Night Lover. Featuring a classical soprano heroine, her dishy conductor and a naughty incubus, it explores the themes of grief, faith and redemption. Set against the backdrop of a music festival at an English country manor, it features the music of Mozart, a bit of Regency passion and foul murder. I’m so excited to share it with readers.

What are you most excited about with this upcoming release?

I’m eager to share Night Lover because, at its heart, it’s about old-fashioned romance. It’s a story I’ve had in my head for over ten years and it’s taken a long time to bring to life. I’ll be very excited to see what readers think about it, and hope they fall in love as I did.

Here’s a spot to pimp one of your writer friends… GO! (Or to gush about a recent fave read)

I’m so glad you asked me to pimp a writer friend! I would love to let everyone know about historical romance author Jessica Cale. She writes books set in post-Fire London and I have fallen in love with her characters. Make sure you check out her books Tyburn and Virtue’s Lady!

Canadian soprano Renata Bruno is tired of waiting for her big break. Unfortunately, her boss, the conductor of a chamber ensemble, sees her as little more than background material. When she learns of an opportunity to sing solo with a different troupe in England, she knows she must seize it. Especially when she hears the group is to perform Mozart’s Requiem, her favorite work.

As soon as Renata decides to make her move, a strange, sultry presence invades her life. She begins dreaming of a man, one who makes love to her, bewitching her. It isn’t long before her night lover leaves startling proof of his nocturnal presence, making her doubt her senses.

To compound her discomfort, she learns her new conductor is the college boyfriend who broke her heart years ago. As Renata grapples with old hurts and renewed passion, she must also fend off the increasingly fervent advances of her night-time visitor. She realizes she is under the influence of an incubus, a sexual demon.

It becomes harder to resist the incubus when she learns he has a name and had a tragic history. The more she discovers about his past, the more she realizes they are linked in more ways than one. Renata begins to rediscover love and her sense of faith, but will it be enough to save her night lover from an evil curse? And will it destroy her in the process?

Excerpt:

When I saw the face in this painting, I gasped, feeling as if someone had punched me in the gut.

Him.

It was the portrait of a man, much in the style of a Gainsborough painting. Full-length, it displayed the man in Regency dress. Tall Hessian boots reached up over his pants, accentuating his height. A waistcoat peaked out from under his soft blue riding coat. I looked up to the face above the coat, clean-shaven and somehow boyish with its round features. His hair was the color of honey and quite curly, with long sideburns travelling down his cheeks. Although he bore a fashionably serious countenance, his blue eyes smiled.

It’s him.

The man from my recurring dream, the man from the theater mezzanine in Toronto. I blinked several times, not believing my eyes.

I couldn’t move. I returned the stare of the man in the portrait. A friendly face, it still managed to unnerve me. The artist must have been a master because its subject seemed to be looking right at me. His pale eyes bore into mine. As I continued to gaze at my dream man, other objects in the background began to blur. The portrait frame and the wallpaper behind him dissolved into nothingness. I could only make out the man, and his gaze seemed to issue me a challenge, daring me to look back at him. My head swam. My tongue grew thick. Pain shot through my stomach and I clutched it so I wouldn’t keel over.

Lizzy came out of nowhere and bounded up behind me. “What’s up? Ooh, he’s cute.” She, too, had noticed the portrait. She also saw how intently I stared. “Hey, are you okay?”

“No.” I couldn’t look away from him, couldn’t stop myself from raking my gaze over every painted inch. “It’s him. The man from my dream.”

“Yeah, right.” She frowned.

Finn walked up to us and put a hand on my back, oblivious to my shock. “So you’ve found the lord of the manor.”

“Huh?”

“Hugh Dawlish, scion of Dawlish Manor. The women in the ensemble love this portrait because they think he’s, ah…easy on the eyes. So, shall we rehearse?”

I let him lead me away, but I couldn’t stop looking back at Hugh Dawlish’s portrait.

He was real. Not a wraith from my imagination.

Real. And dead.

Lizzy elbowed me. “You look like you’re going to pass out.”

“I’m fine.”

As we left the room, I looked back once more. The eyes of Hugh Dawlish followed me. I shivered.

A slight smile played on his lips.

Buy Night Lover on Amazon and Kobo!

Rosanna Leo is a multi-published, erotic romance author. Several of her books about Greek gods, selkies and shape shifters have been named Top Picks at Night Owl Romance and The Romance Reviews.

From Toronto, Canada, Rosanna occupies a house in the suburbs with her long-suffering husband, their two hungry sons and a tabby cat named Sweetie. When not writing, she can be found haunting dusty library stacks or planning her next star-crossed love affair.

A library employee by day, she is honored to be a member of the league of naughty librarians who also happen to write romance. Rosanna blogs at www.rosannaleoauthor.wordpress.com

Follow Rosanna on:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Rosanna-Leo/e/B007X5P4I8

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5826852.Rosanna_Leo

Tsu: http://www.tsu.co/RosannaLeo

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/rosannaleo/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rleoauthor1

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/LeoRosanna

Author Interview: Kristi McManus

November 9, 2015November 9, 2015 Liz MeldonLeave a comment

Mondays are popular author interview days! I have three amazing authors with me today, and I’m really excited to introduce Kristi McManus to my blog! She’s a fellow fanfiction veteran who is working on breaking into the more “original” publishing world. She’s a lovely individual, and I’m really happy to have connected with her through this process.

Take it away, Kristi!

What was your first experience with writing?

The first real experience of writing I can remember was when I was 10, and in the 5th grade. Our class was given the assignment of rewriting a fairy tale. No parameters or restrictions were given, and I was immediately thrilled at the chance to give a new twist to an old tale. I chose Little Red Riding hood, and while the story line remained the same, my rewrite offered the story from the perspective of the wolf. That he was a kind and misunderstood soul, who was unfortunately mistook for a predator.

My teacher was quite impressed with the story, so much so that the school had a printed copy made for the library, as well as featured readings of it during assemblies periodically through that year. I remember at the time thinking that i had found what I wanted to do, even at that young age.

Did you enjoy writing in school?

I have always enjoyed writing in some form. I used to joke with my colleagues in university that I would rather write an essay or paper a million times over than take an exam or lab any day. Even while doing my studies in nursing, I was still writing. My sophomore year, I wrote a sci-fi drama entitled Control. Every night once my homework and assignments were completed, I would turn to writing as my outlet. I have had a deep rooted love for writing for as long as I can remember.

Any advice for new writers?

Just write. There are no rules, no boundaries and no limits to what you can write or where your mind can take you. If you have an idea in your mind that just keeps nagging at you, start writing. Write a little one day, or alot the next, just do it. Even JK Rowling came up with the Harry Potter series while on the train, and used her time to put those ideas on paper. It is the easiest and hardest thing you will ever love!

If your two main characters had a “ship name”, what would it be? (Example: Brangelina, Clintasha, Bellamort etc.)

Oh Lord lol. Ive had readers give me a few ship names for various books I have written. My first popular fan fiction was of Niall Horan (One Direction) and Dylan Page, and the ship name Nylan began to circulate.

The series that really started to get my noticed was the Through the Dark series, another AU fan fiction featuring Harry Styles and Aubrey Smith. Haubrey was born of my readers and their love of the characters. So much so, what was originally written as a single instalment quickly became a trilogy.

Have you ever experienced any sort of “fandom” hype around your writing?

I have had some die hard readers, yes. Ones who vote, comment and promote my works better than I do myself. Their dedication and love of the little stories from my head are why I write as much as I do, and I love hearing how they react to the events. In terms of a ‘fandom’ I definitely havent reached that sort of hype, but I love and appreciate anyone who takes the time to read my work.

Here’s a spot to pimp one of your writer friends… GO! (Or to gush about a recent fave read)
There are so many excellent writers on Wattpad I am so thankful that I found the site. The variety of genres and talent is endless, and if I didn’t ever have to actually take part in life and adult on a regular basis, I would be holed up in my room reading endlessly. Just browse Wattpad for five minutes, and I promise you will find something you fall in love with.

Afterlife (trilogy)

Secrets.

It was a fairly simple topic that provided a broad spectrum of opportunity. It was a subject that could be taken in a million different ways, depending on how you wanted to direct it.

This was the challenge Lane faced. To find a subject that embodied this topic, something captivating and enticing, something that would draw the audience in. And then, be able to justify her choice.

By a random meeting, a simple click of a camera, Harry became that choice. His eyes were what drew her in, the knowledge that the eyes were the gateway to the soul, and the guardians of ones secrets. But he wasn’t going to concede to wishes easily, and certainly wasn’t going to let her in. He was hostile, mercurial, and completely captivating. Despite their time spent together, and their forming friendship, she always felt at arms length.

Then something changed; something she never expected. She fell for him. But now, they are both making plans to move on with life after college, and in their cases, to the opposite sides of the world. Is it too late for them to finally come together? And is Lane ready to face what Harry is really hiding?

*Afterlife will be a Wattpad Featured Story as of November 9, 2015*

I am a Registered Nurse by trade, but avid reader and enthusiastic book lover all my life. My preferences are broad, ranging from the young adult blockbusters such as Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins to The Headmasters Wager by my emergency room colleague Vincent Lam. My own writing experience lies in the online and social media realms, hosting various popular One Direction fan fictions and other stories through Wattpad and Archive of Our Own. I find the online world of fan fiction to be a new, exciting avenue of reading, and I have encountered captivating and enthralling stories that engage a new generation of readers. My writing is inspired by this new path in literature, finding a dedicated online following of my own.

Catch up with Kristi on twitter, Wattpad, and her personal website!

Author Interview: James Benmore

November 9, 2015November 8, 2015 Liz MeldonLeave a comment

And the author interview train keeps on chugging! Today I have the very punctual and very polite British author James Benmore!

James works with characters from a classic tale and adds some phenomenal twists to keep things fresh and awesome.

Without further ado, welcome James!

Tell me a little about your upcoming release.

I’m currently hard at work on the third instalment of my Dodger series, a trilogy of novels that follow the continuing adventures of Jack Dawkins, the Artful Dodger from Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist.

The first book, Dodger, was released in the UK in 2013 by Quercus and was really well-received. It told the story of how Dodger returns to London from an Australian penal colony six years after his arrest in Twist and discovers the city to be a much more dangerous place than he remembers it from his boyhood. Fagin, Nancy and Bill Sikes are all dead and he is in a race-against-time to discover a lost jewel or face deadly consequences.

The second book, Dodger of the Dials, was released last year and in that Dodger is trying to advance himself in an increasingly savage criminal environment. He makes an alliance with a bigger crook who calls himself Weeping Billy Slade and soon comes to regret it. Before long, he’s in the condemned cell of Newgate prison thinking up plans of escape.

Dodger of the Revolution, which will be available in the Spring 2016, sees Jack head to Paris on a high-stakes thieving job where he gets caught up in a local uprising. In some ways its Oliver Twist meets A Tale of Two Cities so its a case of Double Dickens!

What was the first scene you plotted for it?

I’m a huge admirer of Charles Dickens and far be it from me to assume I could improve upon his great works. However, I got the idea for an early scene of the first book while reading Oliver Twist in a hammock in Thailand about ten years ago. I was thinking about how much I loved the Artful Dodger because he was that wonderful mix of being both funny and villainous, sweet but sharp. But I was a bit disappointed that Dickens had removed such a fun character from the story before the final act. Jack is arrested for pickpocketing and packed off to a penal colony in Australia for five years. This means that he misses the dramatic and bloody end of the book where Bill Sikes kills Nancy, is then hunted to his own violent death by an angry mob and then Fagin is hung in Newgate prison. And this struck me as very sad because, even though those characters were all very much the criminal contingent of the book, they were also Dodger’s family and I imagined how horrified he’d be if he returned from abroad five years later and discovered all that. Who would he blame? My money was on Oliver Twist himself who, after all, was the root cause of all that destruction.

So it was that thought – that it would be dramatic, funny and a little sad to view the world of Oliver Twist from Dodger’s slightly warped perspective – that inspired me to write the rest of his story.

What are your biggest fears about this release?

I was always a bit worried that people would think that it was impertinent of me, a debut novelist who nobody has heard of before, to try and follow in the footsteps of Charles Dickens, a giant of English literature. But my books are written out of a great love and enthusiasm for the criminals that Dickens created in Oliver Twist, many of whom are among my favourite fictional characters ever. Hopefully, my readers will want to return to the rotten and crooked streets of Victorian London with the irrepressible Dodger as their guide.

What was Jack Dawkins wearing to his Halloween party this year?

Even though they didn’t have Halloween in Victorian London they did have a lot of masked balls in great mansions. I imagine that Jack Dawkins would like to slip into one of these as if just a masked guest and end up leaving with pockets full of jewellery he’s picked from wealthy party-goers. He would do all this wearing the mask of a jackdaw, the thieving blackbird that his own name is surely a play on.

What time of day are you most productive when it comes to writing?

I’m a night owl so I’m up til the early hours of the morning writing most days. I find it easier to focus on the words and the story in the dead of night.

Here’s a spot to pimp one of your writer friends? GO!

There is a fantastic book called `Rus Like Everyone Else’ by Bette Adriaanse which is being published in December by Unnamed Press. Its about, among other things, a panicky postman who suddenly realises he owes a fortune in taxes, an elderly woman obsessed with soap operas and stealing hand creams , an agoraphobic man who is invited to meet the Queen and whole bunch of other dysfunctional characters whose lives intersect. I was on the same creative writing course with Bette some years ago and read an early version of this and it was one of the funniest, most unique things I’d read. Keep an eye out for it!

London, 1850s.

After five years in an Australian penal colony, the Artful Dodger returns to London in search of a hidden fortune. Unaware of the fate that befell Twist, Fagin and Sikes, Dodger revisits the criminal underworld of Dickensian London to seek out his old comrades, any of whom might possess the key to the treasure.

He finds the city a changed place from his youth: with law and order upheld by a new police force, Fagin gone to the gallows, his old gang scattered and danger around every corner.

Snag your copy on Amazon!

Two years on from the events of Dodger, Jack Dawkins is back as top-sawyer with his own gang of petty thieves from Seven Dials. But crime in London has become a serious business – and when Jack needs protection he soon finds himself out of his depth and facing the gallows for murder.

Grab the second book on Amazon!

James Benmore studied literature at the Open University and has since completed an MSt in Creative Writing at Oxford University. He won the AM Heath prize in 2010 for best work of fiction by a writer graduating from Kellogg College. His short stories have been published in various anthologies. He lives in London.

Catch up with James on Twitter and Instagram!