Friday Five for May 31, 2013

1. A busy week for me. I'm getting ready for a trip to visit my family in Canada. We leave this afternoon! It seems to take forever to get all those little things that need taken care of before you go done. And usually I always forget one thing. I've made lists this time. Hopefully I won't be forgetting anything.

2. I'm excited to have my very own blog-sitter come over here next week. The wonderful Annalisa Crawford will be here to greet you on Monday with the first stop in her THAT SADIE THING blog tour.

3. I'm still struggling with finding my protagonist's voice. She has a catchphrase, though. She says "Oh my god!" a lot. So much can be conveyed in different tones with that one phrase.

4. My husband introduced me to a little game called Tiny Tower. It's so addictive. I'm glad he takes his iPod with him to work so I'm not tempted to play it at home during the day. I called him at work yesterday to ask if pork chops were good for dinner... and to make sure he built a new residence floor for me.

5. Fantastic new release! Milo James Fowler's IMMATERIAL EVIDENCE is now available.

Blurb: The vault door never opened. The bank went into lockdown in less than a minute. Yet the security footage was unmistakable: a hundred silver bars had simply vanished.

Ever since the city’s most dangerous crime boss put a price on his head, private investigator Charlie Madison has lived as an exile in Little Tokyo. But now an old friend and police sergeant has lured Madison back into the city to hunt down an invisible criminal—if he can.

As Madison makes his clandestine return, high-profile people start disappearing. And when federal agents swoop onto the scene to take matters into their own hands, they offer Madison a deal he can't refuse—as long as he agrees to work with them. With Japanese freedom fighters and refurbished killing machines threatening to take the world to the brink of nuclear holocaust, the United World government needs all the help it can get.

Embroiled in an unimaginable mystery, one private eye must rely on his wits to solve a case where the evidence is immaterial, and the odds are stacked high against him at every turn.

You can purchase IMMATERIAL EVIDENCE here!

If you could spare a few seconds, please send out a tweet:

A detective with a price on his head; an invisible criminal with nothing to lose: IMMATERIAL EVIDENCE http://musapublishing.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=6&products_id=596

 
Debut novella from Milo James Fowler -- a future noir detective story: IMMATERIAL EVIDENCE http://musapublishing.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=6&products_id=596 

Have a great week! 

Wicked Wednesday - the fine line of writing a strong heroine

One of the aspects of paranormal romance novels that I love is the strong female protagonists that kick butt. I like women who know their own minds and can take care of themselves. She doesn't necessarily have to be a supernatural creature or have powers. It's so much fun when a human gets thrown into a paranormal situation.

Yet one of the biggest problems to writing a good, strong heroine is sometimes authors fall on the other side of the line and make her an unlikable bitch. You need your readers to adore your protagonist, to root for her. I've set aside books because I didn't like the heroine. She had too much attitude, lack of heart, or was too detached.

Here are five tips to writing a kick butt woman that readers will love:

1. She may have a strong facade, but she needs to be vulnerable at times. Maybe her family makes her a softie or she's insecure about love. Give her vulnerabilities your readers can relate to.
2. She may be aggressive and ruthless, but don't let her be mean. Let her heart show through.
3. She might know who she is and what she wants, but there's always room to grow. For a story to be successful, the protagonist needs to have some personal growth. Maybe she was wrong about something she was so certain about, or what she wanted was suddenly taken out of the picture and she has to find her way again.
4. She should challenge the hero and possibly save him in the end, but not emasculate him. She should help make him a better person just as he should help her do the same. This will create a stronger bond and make for a better romance.
5. Being strong doesn't necessarily mean being physically strong. Her strength could come from her compassion and her drive never to give up. Let her strength shine through with how she deals with conflict.

What tips do you have for writing strong female characters?

Teaser Tuesday with Heart Sick

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• 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!

I was in need of something out of my usual genre. And wow, did I find it. HEART SICK is the first book in Chelsea Cain's Archie Sheridan and Gretchen Lowell series. A crime thriller with a female serial killer, and Gretchen is as frightening as they come. The book hooked me immediately with the first short chapter. I was blown away.

Here's your teaser:
Archie doesn't know for sure that it's her until that moment. There is a dull bloom of warmth in his spine, his vision blurs, and then he knows that Gretchen Lowell is the killer. (page 1)

Review for Passing Time

Passing Time: Nine Short Tales of the Strange and Macabre

Nine dark fiction stories that may just give you nightmares.

A man lives to regret Passing Time. A father will do anything to save his son in Expiration Date. An author finds out her worst nightmare is back in The Devil’s Song. A woman gets more than the claim fee when she takes out vampire insurance in Luna Black.

In Dining in Hell, the Death Valley Diner becomes the wrong place to stop.

A serial killer wants to add another file to his collection in The Vegas Screamer. In Eating Mr. Bone, an undertaker could meet an unfortunate end. A con man meets his first ghost in Land of the Free. And will truth finally be set free in The Letter?

 

My review:

Passing Time is a wonderfully written collection of dark and eerie tales. Each story has its own way of gripping your soul. Some are short and intense, and others lure you down a long twisted path. You're left wondering about your own mortality, what you would do for love, and what terrifies you the most. As a writer, I was particularly paralyzed by "The Devil's Song."

My two favorite stories were "Expiration Date" and "The Vegas Screamer." The first takes place in a future where cloning is possible. You never have to lose someone you love. The second frightening tale is about a serial killer that has a chilling collection. Though each story has a strong and unique voice, this one stood out with its Stephen King feel.

I can't wait to read more from Ellie Garratt.

Book Links

Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk

Goodreads

Facebook

Meet Ellie Garratt

A life-long addiction to reading science fiction and horror, meant writing was the logical outlet for Ellie Garratt’s passions. She is a reader, writer, blogger, Trekkie, and would happily die to be an extra in The Walking Dead. Her short stories have been published in anthologies and online. Passing Time is her first eBook collection and contains nine previously published stories. Her science fiction collection Taking Time will be published later this year.

Great stalking places:

Website | Amazon | Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter

Friday Five for May 24, 2013

1. The blog tour for THE ORACLE & THE VAMPIRE went wonderfully. Thank you again to all my fine hosts and readers. One more book left in the 13th Floor series. I can't believe I'm almost at the end! I've really loved writing this series. Such fun stories. (Sales tidbit for you: THE ALPHA is still selling more than any of the other books, even the new one. So far, the "werewolf" tag trumps the "vampire" one.)

2. The protagonist in THE GHOST isn't speaking clearly yet. I know where the story is going to go, but I'm pulled between having Chiharo's personality the same as when she died or having some wisdom from all the years she's spent as a ghost. I've been calling her the Wooden Girl. Since she still feels stiff to me. Her love interest has a powerful personality already. He wants to curse a lot too.

3. Yesterday was my son's last day of preschool. We're now officially on summer break. Yikes! I know he'll miss school, but I think I'll miss it even more. I keep telling myself the summer will go fast, and then he'll be going three mornings a week starting mid-August. An extra morning for me to write! Yay! Yet I have to survive the summer break first.

4. Thank you so much to all the teachers out there. You have such a big influence on our lives and our children's lives. Teachers are so under-appreciated. An especially big thank you to my son's teacher. She made his first year of school the best!

5. The long weekend is coming up here in the US. Yay! We have absolutely nothing planned at all. I'm really, really looking for to it. Have a fabulous weekend, folks!

The winners of The Oracle & the Vampire giveaway

Thank you to everyone who entered the giveaway!

It was a fantastic tour and it couldn't have been that way without you.

Now on to the winners!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congratulations to the winners!

I've already sent you emails.

Join me again in July for another chance to win the entire 13th Floor series!

Wicked Wednesday - the details of a kiss

It's the moment in all stories with a romance that we wait for: the first kiss. It might not be the individual's first kiss or the couple's first kiss, but it's the reader's first one, and it needs to be worthwhile. We can add a little magic into it with the supernatural, maybe some paranormal pheromones, but the kiss itself should be believable.

Here are some facts about kissing that will help add realism to your intimate scenes:

- 66% of people close their eyes when they kiss.
- The lips are 100 times more sensitive than the fingers.
- A substance 200 times more powerful than morphine is produced when kissing giving the feeling of euphoria.
- Two-thirds of kissers tilt their heads to the right.
- In some studies, men are more particular about women they kiss than women they have sex with.
- The majority of people rub noses while kissing.
- Though customs vary around the world, 90% of people kiss.
- 63% of men do not like to kiss women wearing lipstick.
- Nearly half of both men and women do not like nibbles or biting while kissing.
- The number one turn-off is bad breath. Couples are less likely to kiss right after a meal or first thing in the morning.
- Men are more willing to forgive and teach a bad kisser than women. Women are more likely to break off a relationship if they've experienced a bad kiss.

Also, don't underestimate the emotional side of the kiss. It's far more important than the physical.

What's your favorite literary kiss?

The latest 13th Floor series giveaway is still going on. You can be the first to own the entire 13th Floor series! Click here to find the giveaway.