Write Words

Introduction

I’m Liz. One of main goals in my life is to write. To inspire. Well, I realized that I can write all day and all night, but unless I get it out into the world I can’t inspire. I love to read blogs. I set time each day to connect with people online. They’ve all given me so much through encouragement, opportunities for guest posts, and their wonderful upbeat outlooks. I wanted to be part of the community.

But this blog isn’t all about me. It’s about stories because that’s how people connect best. Sometimes the stories have high emotions, actually usually they will. My writing is rarely politically correct, but it is authentic. So, the plan, right now is to share some of my writing. 

Sometimes, the posts will be written by me, most times by my characters. At the beginning of each post there'll be a synopsis of the work and character names. You’ll get to know them and they can be your friends, as they’re mine.

This is new. Characters have given interviews and tweeted, but I’m taking this to a whole another level. It’s scary, but I also know it’s gonna be amazing. 

If you want to know more about my blog, novel, and ambitions, please check out this interview with Writers News Weekly. http://www.writersnewsweekly.com/features.php

By reading this blog you’ll be stepping into the world of my mind. Watch out for broken glass. Thank you for sharing this with me. 

Steam Queen Review

The release day is getting so close! Five days... I had the pleasure of reading an ARC of Steam Queen by Jack Hessey. Please read on for the review!

I’d like to begin by saying, I’d never read a Steam Punk book before Steam Queen by Jack Hessey. As a matter of fact, I’m ashamed to admit until I was researching book genres to figure out where my Contemporary Romance fit, I’d never even heard of it.

So, for those who don’t know, Steam Punk is a genre of book which takes place at a time when the railroads were first emerging and the whole world was powered by steam.

Steam Queen defied all my expectations. From the fist page I was captivated with Erica’s struggle to be herself in a world that continually rejected her. She reminded me of Lisbeth Salandar from the Millennium Series, damaged, socially awkward, and seemingly cold hearted. I was enthralled to find out what made her that way. I wanted to cheer every time her humanity showed through. Truly gave her a depth, you might not at first expect.

The plot also moved nicely. I never thought I’d be in a position of rooting for a band of mercenaries, but Jack weaved the story so well, I couldn’t help but be captivated. After reading Steam Queen I’ll be on the lookout for more Steam Punk books. 

 

Monogamy Sucks

Friends, I am so excited to introduce you to George Pappas. He was the first Lazy Day author I 'met' on Twitter before I was contracted with them. Since that day we've been constantly supporting each other in this amazing journey to publication.  Please enjoy this interview about his book MONOGAMY SUCKS.

What is your most recent book? Tell us a bit about it.

 

My most recent book is erotic fiction novel Monogamy Sucks, which is being published as e-book by new digital publisher Lazy Day Publishing on Dec. 1, 2010. My novel is an exploration of a Long Beach, Calif. man’s mid-thirties lust crisis and his ensuing bizarre, but intriguing, humorous journey into the world of swinging and alternative sex. The story is told in the form of a fictional diary by the book’s protagonist Jake Dalmas, who is looking for answers to deal with his growing disillusionment with conventional relationships and monogamy. Along the way, he discovers some misconceptions about swinger lifestyle and new aspects about himself. It is frank, funny and above all – painfully honest.

 

 

*Tell us something about yourself. (Where are you from, what is your background, how long have you been writing or anything we might find interesting about you.)

 

I am a writer, freelance public relations consultant and former journalist who lives in Costa Mesa, Calif. and is a lifelong resident of southern California. Monogamy Sucks is my second novel. I launched the first six chapters of my recent novel on my blog www.monogamysucks.wordpress.com in Summer 2010 after more than 12 years of writing and researching my work. I have been writing fiction since I was 15.

 

What inspired you to write this book?

 

Well, I went through my own mid-thirties lust crisis in the mid to late 1990s that led to my intriguing journey into the world of swingers. I was fascinated with what I found, but I wasn’t intending to write a book initially. Several years later, after telling several close friends about my experiences and receiving positive responses, I decided that I had the makings of an interesting, funny book that could explore and challenge common myths about swingers, swinging, monogamy and fidelity.

 

 

How did you choose the title?

 

My title is the first line of my novel, and it perfectly captures my character’s frustrations with monogamy and conventional relationships, and hints of where his restless heart takes him. I also thought it was a timely comment on the recent spate of celebrity sex scandals involving Tiger Woods and too many other celebrities to mention.

 

What obstacles did you encounter in getting this book published? How did you overcome them?

 

Actually, I was intending to self-publish Monogamy Sucks as I did my first book Letters from Cyberspace. I went through a long drawn process of trying to query agents and publishers for my first book and I didn’t want go through that again. Earlier this year I read an article on the Huffington Post about how a number of best selling books started out first as blogs. So I decided to launch my novel, which was just sitting in my computer, on a blog one chapter a time in May 2010. It was not my intention to bring out my whole novel online, but I never had to worry about that as Lazy Day Publishing contacted me through my blog in July and asked if I would consider turning it into a novel. I doubt if that would have happened if I hadn’t put my novel on my blog and Tweeted about it on Twitter. I even recently set up set up a Twitter account for my book’s protagonist Jake Dalmas -- @jakedalmas -- where he talks about his views on sex, relationships and monogamy in real time. I believe Twitter is an essential tool in promoting my book and novels in general.

 

How did you know you wanted to be a writer? How did you get started?

 

I have wanted to be a writer for as long I can remember. I was an avid reader of science fiction and fantasy novels as a teenager. The books and stories of  Ray Bradbury, Harlan Ellison, Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, Arthur C. Clarke, Frank Herbert, J.R.R. Tolkien really inspired me as did George Orwell’s 1984 and Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five. 

 

In fact, at the age of 15, I hand wrote my first novel. It was 70 pages long!  Ironically, it’s called Jake’s War, which is the name of my protagonist of my latest novel.  I still have a copy of the story. After college, I kind of got sidetracked into careers in journalism and public relations, but I always knew I would get back to writing fiction.

 

Do you have any writing rituals?

 

Well, I like to take a walk before I write in my neighborhood or at the ocean near where I live. Walking clears my head and I become inspired with a lot of writing ideas. In fact, I first came up with the idea for Monogamy Sucks during one of my long beach walks.

 

I also have another writing ritual of giving myself a modest goal of finishing a paragraph or a certain amount of words or pages when I sit down to write. It is a way of tricking my brain as I usually write a lot more that I intended. I learned this from Julia Cameron’s excellent writing resource book Right to Write.

 

How do you come up with the names for your characters?

 

I always liked the name Jake and knew I would eventually use it for the protagonist one of my novels. But I have no specific method of coming up with names for my characters. I usually try out a few and see which name seems to fit a particular character.

 

 

Did you learn anything from writing and publishing this book?  What?

 

I learned a lot about the real people that participate in the swinger lifestyle, what motivates them to seek lifestyle alternatives to conventional relationships, and how the common wisdom about swingers and monogamy is mostly wrong. I also discovered a lot about myself during the journey of writing this book through looking back at events I had witnessed or experienced.  My perspective had become more open and a lot less judgmental and skeptical the more I got to know the swingers I met and wrote about.

 

 

If you were doing it all over again, what would you do differently?

 

I wouldn’t change anything. I probably could have brought out my novel earlier through a blog, but then Lazy Day Publishing wouldn’t have been around yet to publish it. So I really feel this is the right time for my book with the rise of Internet, Twitter and e-books.

 

What types of books do you like to read? Who are your favorite authors? Why?

 

I enjoy novels that take me on a journey and challenge my preconceptions about life. Some of my favorites authors are Henry Miller (Tropic of Cancer, Tropic of Capricorn), Anais Nin (Henry and June, her diaries), Charles Bukowski (Women, Post Office, all of his poetry), Bret Easton Ellis (American Psycho, Less Than Zero), Armistead Maupin (Tales of the City), among others. Each of them bravely explored controversial sexual and societal issues in a frank, unsentimental manner exposing truth and hypocrisy alike.

 

Are you working on your next book? What can you tell us about it?

 

I am currently editing my next book, which has a provocative celebrity angle. I can’t say much more about it except that it is not directly about said celebrity and it focuses on the romantic, erotic adventures of a man in his late twenties.  I also have started a sequel to Monogamy Sucks, and eventually I am looking to turn Jake Dalmas’ erotic adventures into a trilogy of books.

 

What is the best advice you could give other writers about writing or publishing?

 

My advice is for aspiring writers is to embrace the immediacy of the Internet as a beneficial means to expose their work and develop their own audiences rather than wait around to be discovered by an agent or publisher. Don’t keep your novel or book idea hidden in your drawer or computer these days. That’s the future of publishing – do it yourself.  Just look at the explosion of independent filmmaking in recent years. The next best selling writer or literary star more than likely will be found on the Internet and not only in the usual places such as writer workshops or universities or the notorious “slush” pile.

 

 

Who is the ideal readers for your book?

 

Open minded adult readers -- either women or men -- who are looking for a laugh, sexy inspiration and to find out more about what really goes on in the hidden world of swingers.  But really any adult reader who enjoys an interesting, entertaining story told well about sexual and relationship issues we all face, but don’t talk about openly enough in our society.

 

Where can readers learn more about you and your book?

 

Readers can learn more about me and my book on my blog at:

http://monogamysucks.wordpress.com

 

Or on my publisher Lazy Day Publishing’s Web site:

http://lazydaypub.com

 

 

 

Interview with Author Rebecca Dickson

I'd like to introduce you to Rebecca Dickson.  She's a brave woman who turned her pain into inspiration and is releasing her stories on November 1. Thank you for being here with us!

These are some beautifully heartfelt stories. Where do you get your inspiration?

Thank you so much. This book started with a blog or two about former flames. I found it incredibly freeing and healing, so I kept going. The result is a compilation of those stories, some old and some new. The book is for any woman who has ever felt stuck or stifled in a bad relationship. I have this thing about always writing authentically. By that I mean, always from the gut. The book is highly emotionally driven.

 

 

Please share your writing process. Morning? Night? Planner or pantser?

I write whenever inspiration strikes. I never leave the house without a notebook anymore. I seem to think of my best stuff when I’m driving, or in the middle of the night. And I can write any time, literally. I’m hugely inspired by music, and sometimes write simply so I can include a particular song on my blog (ha!). More often than not, I don’t know what I’m going to write about until I sit down to do it.

 

 

What made you decide to self-publish? Can you tell us about the process of not only deciding to do this, but also what you did? In other words, there are so many services out there, what made you chose the one you did?

You know, that is a great question. I knew I wanted to write this as an ebook. I knew it would be hard to break-through as a new author. But I also knew that no one would believe in this project as much as I do. It’s my passion. To me, the only logical thing to do was to publish and market it myself. I’m also fortunate to have a reporting and editing background, which helped not only with content, but design too.

 

 

Can you tell us about any themes you have running through most of your stories?

This book is for any woman who has ever felt stifled or stuck in a bad relationship. The stories are about the thoughts those women have. Fantasies and realities. Love, lust, depression, anxiety, mourning. Financial and emotional worries. How to get out.

 

 

Do you ever feel the writers’ block? How do you tackle it?

At times, it can be difficult to find the right words. But I’m lucky that I have never had a true writer’s block. As a reporter, you’re not allowed to have it. I’m conditioned to write through whatever stumbling blocks my mind presents: Acknowledge the difficulty, and then write anyway. Deadline is paramount. So that’s helped me quite a bit.

 

 

How are you feeling as the date comes closer?

I am simultaneously ecstatic and terrified. Ha. I’m really very excited about sharing my work. I live to write. If others can relate to and enjoy my stories, well, it will be a dream come true.

 

 

What are you doing to promote?

Great question. I’m doing plenty of interviews like this one, all over the Internet. Twitter and Facebook have always been my friends, so that’s helpful. And those who have seen excerpts of the book have been very supportive. They believe in the passion of the words, and have helped spread news of the book. I can’t ask for more than that.

 

Rebecca Tsaros Dickson writes here: http://thinkingtoohard13.wordpress.com

Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Thinking2Hard13

Her new book, I Could Tell You Stories, will be out Nov. 1, 2010. Watch for it on Amazon, Smashwords. 

 

Never Say Never- guest post

Mik Wilkens is yet another author from Lazy Day! She's fantastically optimistic and has a great attitude on life.

Never Say Never

 

There's a word for a writer who never gives up: published. –Joe Konrath 

 

I’ve been writing fiction most of my life. I do it because I love to write; I love the process, where it takes me, and the characters I meet along the way. Besides, when the writing mood strikes, I can’t not write. However, it wasn’t until I was in my late twenties that I started to think about trying to get published.

 

At the time, I had a completed science fiction novel, so I researched how one goes about finding and contacting publishers and prepping a manuscript. By the summer of 1989, I was ready to get started, and I submitted my novel.

 

Back then, everything was done via snail mail, so nothing happened very quickly…not that things always happen quickly nowadays either. So, I waited. And waited. And waited. And kept writing. And waited.

 

Finally, well over a year later, I got a very nice rejection letter.

 

That was in December 1990.

 

I kept writing and submitting my work. The publishing industry got so you needed an agent to get your manuscript looked at by a majority of publishers, so I got one. She shopped one of my novels around for a while, then she went into semi-retirement and let all of her unpublished authors go.

 

I was on my own again, but I didn’t stop trying. And I didn’t stop writing.

 

Over the years, there were times when I told myself to give up. Writing was taking up too much of my precious time, time I could spend doing more “important” things (whatever that means). But then my muse would start pestering me, and I’d begin to write again.

 

At one point, I was fresh off a long and frustrating exchange of emails with an agent who’d come close to accepting one of my fantasy novels for representation, but then decided to pass after all. Days later, I got word of a new publisher that was accepting unagented submissions. On little more than a whim, I submitted the novel to them. Four weeks after sending in the submission, I got an email back from the publisher.

 

I’ve received my fair share of rejections over the years, and I’m used to them. When I see a return envelope or email from an agent or publisher, I give it a quick read to see if there’s any helpful feedback, then I open the spreadsheet I use to keep track of all of my submissions, mark the newest one off, delete the email, and get back to work.

 

However, this email was different. This wasn’t the standard “thanks for the opportunity to read, but I’m afraid we have to pass” rejection. This one said something new:

 

…all deciding parties have read The Silver Cage. They, as well as myself, were very impressed with your manuscript. We at LazyDay Publishing would like to offer you a contract to publish your book. Congratulations! We look forward to forming a very successful and lucrative partnership.

 

And so, in December 2010, twenty years after I received my first rejection letter, my first novel will be released.

 

The moral of the story? Believe in yourself, keep writing, and never give up.

 

For more on the value of perseverance, Google “famous authors rejected by publishers.” It’s quite an eye-opener.

 

Good luck in all you do.

 

~Mik Wilkens

 

Mik’s fantasy novel, The Silver Cage, will be released on December 1, 2010, by LazyDay Publishing.

 Novel synopsis, The Silver Cage:
Life is good for David Conner; he runs his own consulting firm, has plenty of money, and he's just met the woman of his dreams. But his dreams quickly turn into nightmares when he finds himself transported to Lucasia, a magical world where he is the key to victory in a struggle between opposing forces--one sworn to save the world, the other intent on its destruction. If he is to survive, David must learn the rules of this strange new world, master its powerful magic forces, and decide who is friend and who is foe. But is he the world's savior or the cause of its ruin? 

Author Bio: Mik Wilkens has done many things in her life, all of them creative. She's been an illustrator, trophy designer, graphic artist, programmer, multimedia developer, and webmaster. Today, she owns her own business that specializes in website design. 

Thank you so much for being here, Mik! We really appreciate it!

 

Drew in Blue- Guest post

Today, we hear from Drew Doyle of J.M. Kelley's Drew in Blue. Kelley and I met on Twitter around the time I was welcomed into the Lazy Day Publishing family.  We've quickly become great supporters of each other and I can't wait for you to read the interview with Drew. But first, a little bit about him.

Drew Doyle’s done a lot of stupid things in his life, but his biggest mistake by far was not paying attention to the 2% failure rate listed on the back of the condom box. Now saddled with the task of raising a baby while trying to sort out his mess of a life, Drew is in over his head. The River’s View, Pennsylvania gossip mill is watching each misstep as he juggles a price-gouging babysitter, a major case of artist’s block, and a best friend with an opinion to share on every bungled choice he makes. Drew’s feelings for lifelong pal and one-time high school sweetheart Kristina Moser intensify as he witnesses her growing bond with his son and he finally realizes where he belongs. Now all he has to do is convince Kris he’s right … and she’s just not buying it.

 

1. Drew, please tell me about your previous relationship with Kris?

 

What, you want pictures? Kidding. I don’t know where I stored them, anyway. We’ve always been friends, me and Kris. Since we were kids, you know? She taught me how to French kiss. Well, she tried. Nobody told us tongue was involved. Then puberty hit, and suddenly I realized my best friend had boobs, and man, I really liked them.

We ended up dating in high school. Real hot and heavy. Back seat of a car kind of hormone explosions. But I had the attention span of a gnat, and I was an idiot. I dumped her and took this cheerleader chick to the Senior Prom. Kris hated me for it.

Yeah, I was a jerk. Believe me, I’ve heard it a lot over the last couple decades or so. But I was a kid, you know? I didn’t get it. I didn’t get that she was good for me. So I blew it. Never had a relationship with another woman that compared, that’s for sure.

 2. How was it different as you grew?

 

We didn’t speak for a while, right after the break up. She went to college, and I hung around close to home, trying to earn a decent wage to live on. I missed her. Not so much dating Kris, as best friend Kris. It’s probably safe to say she left a pretty big hole in my life. Luckily, in time, she forgave me for being a putz, and when she moved back to town, we learned how to be friends again.

Listen, I’m not going to lie. Kris is easy on the eyes. She’s pretty. She’s got curves to die for. I never got over being hot for her. But she’s my friend, and that’s something I’d never want to screw up. I’ve always needed her around. We work as friends. She keeps my ass in line. She makes me own up to my decisions when I try to buck responsibility for things.

It’s the only honest relationship I’ve ever had, I think. I respect her. She respects me. We’re honest with each other. She became my family. The only thing I have on Earth that I can call my own with no strings attached. That probably sounds cheesy and contrived, but it’s the truth. My life isn’t my life without her in it, no matter what role she plays.

 3. Did your shared love of art keep you together?

 

I think it did. It’s this huge connection we share that nobody else we know can touch.

Granted, if you want me to be straight, I think Kris is the one who’s always loved it. Like really loved it. For me, it’s always been this thing I can do, so I do it. An accident. I suck at practically everything else, but it’s the one thing I’m good at, so it would be stupid to turn my back on it.

But she makes me love it. She gets so worked up about it. Art makes her angry. It makes her sad. It makes her deliriously happy. She’s got this endless passion for it, and I want to be that passionate about it, too.

Plus, she challenges me. And she claims I challenge her. We criticize each others’ work. We celebrate when one or both of us puts out something that’s just killer. It’s like we’re rivals and equals all at the same time.

And it’s ours. It’s like this secret club we belong to, all exclusive and elite. I don’t think I’d ever want to share it with anybody but her.

 

 4. How has your life changed since you got custody of Nick? What made you decide to take on that responsibility?

 

It might be easier to list what’s stayed the same. Actually, there’d be nothing to report. Everything is different. I don’t get to do anything on the spur of the moment anymore. I don’t get to eat, sleep, paint, shop, or get any quality private-time in the bathroom because every freaking move I make centers on Nick.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not bitter about it. Now. Man, I didn’t like it one bit though, when he first got here. How could this little kid, who couldn’t even hold his head up on his own, exert so much control over my life? It was stifling. I nearly gave up several times.

Check that. I did give up. Multiple times.

But I adjusted. You don’t really see it coming, that time when you realize this little crap-puke-and-snot factory is important to you. But it happened. He’s my son. That’s huge. I have a son. I have this huge link to the mortal coil now. I have brought forth life. It’s mind-boggling.

I’m responsible for something now. I have a job, and it’s the most important job in the world, at least in my own deluded mind. He depends on me. He needs me to protect him, to nurture him, and to get him to adulthood in one piece. It still scares the crap out of me, but it feels good.

I think the big change is this: I learned how to love somebody. Not because he could give me something in return. I fell in love with him. He was mine. I was his. I get it now. Love doesn’t have conditions or limits. Real love just is.

 

 5. What role has Kris played in Nick’s life?

 

She’s everything to that kid. She opened up to him and let him in her heart the moment she laid eyes on him. I’m jealous of this maternal instinct she tapped into so easily. Why do women get that ability? Yeah, yeah, I know, it’s that whole bringer of life, Earth mother instinct thing. But I’m jealous of it. I wish I had that when he first came into my life. I had to work for it. She had it hard-wired into her system.

She’s his mother, his auntie, his friend, his nurse, his pillow, his jungle gym. She flips a switch and becomes whatever he needs her to be. They’re so connected. I mean, I’m his biological father, and sometimes I wonder how in the world I’m supposed to figure out what my own flesh and blood wants. But she walks into the room, sniffs the breeze, and she knows. The bond between them, they should construct bomb shelters out of that stuff. It’s rock-solid. Nothing can break through and weaken it.

 6. Has this surprised you?

 

Yes. No. Both? Kris is an enigma to me. Sometimes she seems so completely out of touch with reality. She can barely make it through a check-out line without making an enemy of the cashier. People don’t always get her, and that includes me. Sometimes I wonder if she was raised by wolves. Her social skills are deplorable. She could be the next Ted Kazinski. Yeah, she’d make a great paranoid hermit.

But when she decides something or someone is worthy of her love and attention, watch out. She will run through the fires of hell for them. So seeing her so devoted to Nick isn’t a surprise. But the surprise is seeing how good she is at it. How natural it all is for her. She’s in her element and she shines. She’s a mother. She was meant to be a mother. I never realized that about her until I saw her with Nick.

 7. How has your relationship changed now that Nick is in the picture?

 

I think it’s matured. Of course that means that now I feel like a fourteen year old instead of an eight year old. But that’s still progress, right? I think there’s more give and take. More of a sense of partnership. Not so much romantically, though. Like we both have the same goal of doing what’s best for Nick. We know each others’ strengths and weaknesses and we play off them to get the best results. It’s that whole family thing. We’re not just friends anymore. We’re a family. It’s no longer about looking out for number one.

 7 . Now please, tell me how you’re going to fight for her.

 

I was hoping to win her over with my rugged good looks and my winsome charm.

I think maybe the key this time is not to fight. I mean, I have to tell her what she means to me, and how much I need her, for me and for the kid. I need to show her that I’m in it for keeps, and for the first time in my life, for keeps doesn’t scare the holy hell out of me. I’m used to grasping at straws. I’m used to Hail Mary passes. I’m good at grandiose gestures. But they never got me anywhere, not in the long run. This time, I need to sit still. Let her know how much I love her. So much so that I’ll let her go if I’m not what she needs. I want her to be happy. More than I want it for myself. That’s gotta count for something. Right? 

 

J.M. Kelley is the debut author of Drew in Blue, a contemporary romance. At 35, she is a lifelong resident of Pennsylvania, and has been known to wander local festivals and street fairs with a camera and a notepad, looking for inspiration for the next story. And she usually finds it, unless somebody distracts her with a fresh, piping-hot funnel cake. When she isn't working on her next novel, J.M. can be found cursing her temperamental camera, splattered in paint, or covered in charcoal dust as she flits from one artistic outlet to another.

The email

September 16, 2010 started out like any other day. I had internship hours, signing models up for Greenville Fashion Week in October. It was extremely slow, so I kept trying to check my email on my iPod Touch, but the internet wasn’t consistently working either. That didn’t stop me from poking my email button when I’d been sitting there for twenty minutes and having no one come by. Oh good, I thought as I didn’t get an error message, something’s going right. My heart stopped when I saw the subject line ‘Expectations/Family Saga/Romance/88,830’ –submission response. My halted heart jumped to impossible speeds. With a glance at the sender line, I realized the email was sent from Staci at Lazy Day Publishing…the email I’d been waiting for since I sent in my manuscript three weeks before.

My mind started racing along with my heart. Should I open it? Do I wanna know? What if I’m rejected? Do I want to find that out here with strangers surrounding me? I hesitated for only a moment until my hopeful curiosity trumped my fear.

“Hi Liz,

We have finished reading Expectations, and fell in love with the way you told the story.  Your manuscript is the first one we have accepted with such drama, turmoil and compassion. The way you weave the tale is truly powerful. We at LazyDay Publishing would like to offer you a contract to publish your book.  Congratulations!  We look forward to forming a very successful and lucrative partnership.”

Tears filled my eyes as I read the words again and again. Could an author get a better email? Of course not, I had a publisher who believed in me and my manuscript. Expectations is launching as an e-book on December 1, 2010. I’m a part of a dynamic and amazing set of ‘founding authors’ for LazyDay. You’ll get to meet some of these very talented people in the form of guest posts in the coming months.

Thank you all for sharing this journey with me. I can’t wait to see what’s in store. 

 

Knew the Answer

EXPECTATIONS, depicts the struggle between what we desire for ourselves and our familial obligations. This is personified by Chris and Matt Taylor, identical twins, who are trying to win their overbearing father’s approval and acquire their trust funds. Their best friend and roommate, Aiden O’Boyle, left his family behind in Ireland to pursue a career in dance.

Chris: Alone in the rented photography studio, my thoughts started racing again. I’m insane, right? Of course, I am. Remember how I said I found Meghan, Aiden’s sister? I did.

She’s here in New York. Actually, she’s coming here to this studio any minute. Shit. Again, I’m getting ahead of myself. Through the Google search I found out that Meghan moved here from Ireland six months ago and she’s now working as a model. Or that’s what I gathered from her headshots, which really need to be redone if she wants to get any decent work.

So, why am I insane, you ask? Number one, I set this photo shoot up on a whim, but in doing so I got some very expensive designer clothes and used my connections to get it into a national fashion magazine. Great, right? Phenomenal exposure for both me and the model. Yes, but I don’t know this model. We’ve never worked together and she might not be who I think she is which leads to my other point of insanity…

How do I know this is Aiden’s sister? I mean really know? I don’t. I can’t. Yes, I talked to her and her accent was prominent to say the least, but what kind of proof is that? It isn’t any proof. It would not hold up in a laboratory that’s for damn sure.

Let’s even say it is her. How do I know she’s a good person? How does Aiden know that? Once again neither of us does. Seven years is a long time to be away from someone and still think you know them…

Damn it! I’m crazy. The only thing I thought about when I set this up was taking Aiden’s pain away, or lessening it, but if I got it wrong and she’s not his sister, or  she is and wrecks havoc on his life, that would be worse. The only consolation I could take in all of this is I hadn’t told Aiden first. He has no idea what’s going on, only that I have a shoot with a new model. I was so caught up in my thoughts that I almost didn’t the soft Irish accented voice behind me say, “Chris Taylor?”

I didn’t miss it though. When I turned around and her familiar green eyes met mine, I smiled and asked the question I already knew the answer to, “Yes, and you’re Meghan Cain, right?”

 

Harem Girl 311- Guest Post

Jason Beymer and I connected through Twitter. After talking with him and reading excepts of his novel Rogue's Curse I knew I had to get it and I did, the day after it came out. It was hysterical, just like him. I'd encourage all of you to read this post and then go get the book. Or skip to the bottom and get it now. We'll wait. 

Rogue's Curse is a dark comedy set 2000 years after the Rapture. Doban discovers the talisman responsible for the Rapture and it embeds itself to his skin. Now the entire kingdom is after him. He must turn to the only woman who ever loved him—a woman he once left to die in a tomb—for help. Rogue's Curse has tons of sex, monsters, palace politics, romance, humor and adventure. 

Story Introduction: In Rogue's Curse, King Perlezod maintains a harem of over 350 women, all with unusual gifts that fit his sexual tastes. Here Brianne, Harem Girl 311, makes a desperate appeal to a palace soldier.

Harem Girl 311

 

If I show them, you'll only raise an eyebrow, maybe whistle, then you'll ask to touch them. You're all the same. It's the reason daddy kept me hidden in the barn all my life. But I don't have much choice and I need to get your attention; I need someone to listen to me. So, fine. Here. Get a good look.

 

Oooh, I have three breasts, okay? Whoop-dee-doo. Yes, one of them is smaller than the others. Yes, the nipple is pierced. Don't you know me? Wife number 311. That's my name: 311. It used to be Brianne. But when a girl joins the Royal Harem, you bastards stamp them with a number, then send them into the east wing with all the rest.

 

And these women don't like competition. My first week was tough. I walked through those tall double-doors and the girls formed a gauntlet, each one trying to figure out my "niche." I kept my head down as I passed the girl with one arm, the woman with webbed fingers, the well-endowed dwarf with no teeth. King Perlezod has unusual tastes, huh? They muttered to each other and pointed. Some spit. I wanted to go home, back to the barn where daddy kept me hidden: his freak daughter with three breasts. I'd spent my whole life there, safe. I was stupid to sneak out of the farmhouse, stupid to think people would accept me.

 

Hey, I'm up here. Can you please stop ogling?

 

Anyway, once King Perlezod got wind of my…peculiarity…he ordered you soldiers to add me to his collection. You guys entered the barn, told me I didn't have to hide anymore, and said the king would take care of me. Love me. You gave my daddy a sack of gold and brought me here. I'd replaced some other wife who "disappeared." Apparently harem wives "disappear" all the time. Competition for the king's attention is fierce and bloody.

 

I've been living in the palace a while now, but I've only made love to the king twice. I gave him my virginity, but he didn't care. He just finished up, rolled out of bed and ordered two soldiers to return me to the east wing. I don't like to think about that night, but I put on a brave face. I used to lie to the other girls about it, telling them how much the king loves me.

 

Stupid, right? What? Oh, yes, you can touch them.

 

But I don't talk to the other girls anymore, not since Lady Mumford's arrival. None of the girls gossip like they used to. Everyone's afraid. Why? Why? Do you really have to ask me that? It's because of Lady Mumford! She doesn't sleep in the east wing with the rest of us; she sleeps with the king. And King Perlezod hasn't stepped foot through our doors in weeks. We're all worried, panicked about what he might do with us now that he's in love. I never sleep. Nobody does. At night the girls speak of mutiny; they talk about murdering that bitch. They talk about getting our king back. Tonella scares me the most. She's our de facto leader, responsible for most of the harem wives' "disappearances."

 

I try to keep to myself. I don't want any part of the mutiny. Tell the king that, okay? Tell him I just want to go home, back to the barn where I can hide. Something bad is going to happen; I know it. Hey, where are you going? Get back here! Tell the king I want to go home. Please. Just tell him I want to go home.

Now I'm sure you want to read the whole book? Of course you do and I would be remiss without giving you ample opportunities to do so:

Here's a link to a longer except: http://tiny.cc/vgcsv  

To buy on Amazon go here: http://tiny.cc/6itqq

And from Jason's publisher, Lyrical Press: http://tiny.cc/k2knf 

Follow him on Twitter: http://twitter.com/beerandtv

And check out his blog: http://www.beerandtv.com/

Thanks, Jason! Readers please give him love and remind him how awesome he is!

Hell

EXPECTATIONS, depicts the struggle between what we desire for ourselves and our familial obligations. This is personified by Chris and Matt Taylor, identical twins, who are trying to win their overbearing father’s approval and acquire their trust funds. Their best friend and roommate, Aiden O’Boyle, left his family behind in Ireland to pursue a career in dance.

Matt: I’m so close to Carley. It’s incredible. I’m on a god awful long flight to San Diego. With her next to me. Watching the way her hair falls into her face, I desperately wanted to brush it out of her eyes, but I didn’t.

You know why?

It doesn’t matter what I wanted. I was going to a place where I’d be reminded of that constantly for three days.

So, I did what any sane person would do. I turned away from her, struggled not to smell her fruity shampoo that filled the air in the closed cabin. I fought to keep racing my heart racing a secret as her arm brushed mine. The excitement was stupid and irrational anyway.

I knew that. Of course I did. Didn’t stop the aching in my chest that, unfortunately, wasn’t helped by the gin and tonics I kept downing.

When she placed her hand on my leg, I nearly jumped out of my skin. Shit. What’s wrong with me?

“Do you think your father will meet us at the airport?” She asked quietly.

I smirked before answering without really meaning to. “Not likely. When Chris and I would come home for the holidays from boarding school, he’d just send a car.” I at once loved and hated her for the sympathy I saw in her eyes.

No. That’s not true. Even you don’t actually believe that I could hate her even for a second. God, putting this distance between us would kill me. I’m sure of it.

“But it’s been so long since he’s seen you. I’d think he’d want to do so as soon as possible.” She said retracting her hand from my leg.

I shook my head as much at her words as her actions. No, that just wasn’t the way Robert Taylor worked. He’d move heaven and hell to add another dollar to his billions, but to bond with his sons?

Bond and my father don’t mix. As the plane descended to my personal hell, I handed over the last of my drinks and realized the last of what had any chance of keeping me from turning into ash was gone.

And I continued to push Carley away. Looking at her, I realized she wasn’t going to go easily.

 

Joesph-Guest Post

I'm so pleased to have Adi Alsaid guest post about his new book, Somewhere Over the Sun! Enjoy and Comment!

Somewhere Over the Sun by Adi Alsaid follows Alan, a spirited young writer with a wandering imagination who has discovered that the stories he writes are suddenly coming to life. At the suggestion of his loving father, Alan embarks on a quixotic journey to visit friends and use his newfound gift to write them all happier lives. 

Joesph: I was pulled out of the fictional world and brought into reality without being consulted. Just because it's out of the ordinary and magical didn't give that writer the right to yank me out from the life I was used to. In my humble, apparently fictional opinion, a measly writer has no right to interfere with his characters' lives.

I belong on pen and paper, in a world where I am a protagonist and my life not only has a stated purpose, but is full of meaningful context. The writer was giddy to bump into me in the aisles of a supermarket, his hand stupidly frozen at his mouth, as if he were trying to keep from telling a secret. He stammered, "J-J-Joseph? What are you doing here? I didn't know you shopped at this store. I didn't know you even shopped for groceries. Do pirates shop for groceries? I can't believe I hadn't thought of that. I might have to do some rewrites." 

"I want to go back."

"Back? Back where?"

"You brought me to life and I hate it here. There's nothing fun to plunder, consequences if I do. I need to think of my own dialogue, and I have no idea where to put my hands unless you write me a description."

He seemed thoughtful, and disappointed. "You're not happy here? Everything here is real. You've got freedom. You're no longer subject to my pen and plot twists."

"Just send me back, Alan. This world is like an intense hungover compared the constant buzz I was living in before." I thought of my wife and our child. My bold little son, who could pick up a sledgehammer at the age of two. To think that I would miss his upbringing, miss watching him grow into the person he's meant to be, miss, in fact, the entire point of my story:rescuing him from drowning on his first plundering and realizing that the life of a pirate is not what I want for him. My eyes felt funny and it took me a moment to realize that I was tearing up, which would be way out of character  in my real world, which was better at adhering to a set of rules I was comfortable with. "Just send me back, Alan. Please."

 His writing had been impressively empathetic ever since the first chapter, and it must have come from his actual ability to understand the characters- real or imagined- who were around him. He immediately pulled out a pen from his pocket and patted his pants for a scrap of paper. "I don't know if this will work. I haven't sent anyone into fiction, I don't know if it works that way. I might not have those powers."

I reached out my hand, which he had once described as "extensive and powerful like the sea" and offered it as a writing surface. "You have to try."

His pen lingered for a moment, and while he thought of the words that would send me home, I wondered if anyone was writing this scene, if Alan was a character in some other writer's story. I closed my eyes and tried to imagine a world that far away. Alan's pen tickled and I tried to guess each letter as the ink curved across my hand and then made its way onto my forearm. By the time Alan capped the pen and I felt the last punctuation dot my skin, I was too afraid to open my eyes again and find myself stuck in the real world. So I waited to feel the sway of my boat, and listened hard for the ocean's familiar song.

Author Bio: Adi Alsaid graduated from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas with a degree in Marketing, but spent the majority of his time there reading and writing fiction. Somewhere Over the Sun is his debut novel and was written in Monterey, CA. He was born and raised in Mexico City to Israeli parents whose love and support made this book possible. Adi is usually unsure of how long he will remain at any given address, but chances are he is living somewhere in the northwestern hemisphere. He hopes this book brings his readers even a sentence’s worth of happiness.