Jason T. Graves

March 5, 2013March 5, 2013 Monica La Portablood roses, indie authors interview series, indie giveaway, indie life, jason t graves, original YA vampire novel, the same eight questions, YA vampire novel, YA vampire novel giveawayLeave a comment

Jason T. Graves

Today, I’m pleased to have on my blog author Jason T. Graves who playfully accepted to answer my eight questions. His Blood Roses is an original and intriguing take on vampire and biblical mythologies with multiple twists and turns. Enter the great Indie Giveaway for a chance to win a copy.

1. When you were a kid you wanted to be…?

Honestly? I wanted to be an astronaut… I always was a bit of a space case.

2. The first book you read was…?

I have no clear memory of this, but it was probably Go, Dog, Go by P.D. Eastman. I still love that book, although my kids keep stealing it from me. The first novel that I read was Melor, King Arthur’s Page by Catherine Owens Peare.

3. You discovered you were quite good at writing when…?

I have written fiction for 35 years, but never finished anything beyond a few thousand words. Writing my Master’s Degree thesis in 2011 taught me the discipline to sit down and write a large body of work, and rewrite, and rewrite. It was shortly after graduation that I started working in earnest on my first novel, which I finished in 25 weeks and published in 2012. I am uncertain if I am “good” at writing, but it makes me happy and people enjoy reading what I scribble.

4. As a reader, your favorite genre is…?

I don’t have a favorite, although I favor science fiction, fantasy, and historical fiction. I read pretty broadly—as time permits—in both fiction and non-fiction. A writer friend inadvertently introduced me to urban paranormal erotic romance, which was an eye-opening experience.

5. No, really, what’s that title you’re hiding in your kindle…?

The Daemon Whisperer by Candice Bundy. It’s a great read, so long as you’re not squeamish about blood and sex.

6. You write…?

Whenever I can, on whatever topic seizes me at the moment. I am a disordered writer in many ways. I’m quite certain I’d be a greater success at this endeavor if I could be more disciplined about writing a certain number of hours every day (and recognize that social media doesn’t count).

7. The praise about your writing you like the most is…?

“When is the sequel coming out?” is always a good one. It’s a nice vote of confidence that someone likes your stuff enough to spend more money on it. Also, having my work compared to well-known authors is thrilling, but it is a lot to live up to.

8. What’s next…?

The sequel to Blood Roses is Morning Stars, and it is scheduled for release in late summer 2013. If people like the first book, they’ll like Morning Stars even more. The plot is tighter, there are new people and places, and things just get weirder and more beautiful.

I am also working on a paranormal thriller/horror novel set in the forested mountains of North Carolina, a dark and gritty near future urban thriller/romance, and a children’s novelette. That should keep me busy this year, although I have fans clamoring for more about Gretchen Thyrd, the heroine of my On the Bridge novella. Having too many ideas is a tough problem to live with 😉

About Jason

I live in North Carolina with my family and a menagerie of small animals. When not spousing, parenting, and teaching, I listen to the voices in my head and write down what they say. I think that cheese is one of the top ten things ever created by humans.

Where to find Jason and his novels

http://jasontgraves.com Website

https://cleverfoilhat.blogspot.com Blog

https://www.facebook.com/Gravesbooks

https://twitter.com/JasonTGraves

https://goodreads.com/cleverfoilhat

Blood Roses on Amazon: http://goo.gl/YwkKA

On the Bridge on Amazon: http://goo.gl/Ww7jq

Elisa Nuckle

March 4, 2013March 4, 2013 Monica La Portadominant race, elisa nuckle, indie author interview, indie books giveaway, indie giveaway, scifi novella author, talking about writing and readingLeave a comment

The sun shines over Seattle and its suburbia, birds sing on trees, and I’m pleased to start the week by interviewing Elisa Nuckle, the author of Dominant Race. For a chance to win her scifi novella about genetically altered humans, enter the Indie Giveaway.

1. When you were a kid you wanted to be…?

A musician or a pro volleyball player. Then I started reading like crazy and started writing at around 11 and knew I didn’t want anything but that. Been actively pursuing a career as a fiction writer ever since.

2. The first book you read was…?

Oh gosh, that’s a tough one. The one I remember that had the most impact was Julie’s Wolf Pack by Jean Craighead-George. From there I started gobbling up chapter books really quickly.

3. You discovered you were quite good at writing when…?

I liked writing journal entries. When I was 11 I figured, hey, why not make a fanfic of this one anime I like? A year later I hand wrote, in bright pink gel-pen, 50 pages of a fantasy story involving shapeshifting lion-wolf-ish creatures from another world. Haha.

4. As a reader, your favorite genre is…?

Fantasy. As a writer, I’ve found myself leaning more towards science fiction, which surprised me at first. I still do both, but right now more scifi than fantasy.

5. No, really, what’s that title you’re hiding in your kindle…?

I admit I read some romance books I wouldn’t want to name because, well, the people I know would embarrass me about it to no end. Haha.

6. You write…?

Science fiction and fantasy. Sometimes they have heavy romance subplots, other times it’s pretty bleak.

7. The praise about your writing you like the most is…?

I think the fact that a reader once told me I could make them care while still making it an easy read was a good compliment.

8. What’s next…?

Dominant Race is the book available in this giveaway. Its sequel, New Fate, is almost finished. Then I plan on tacking the third and final book in the Modified Trilogy. Afterward, on to my fantasy series!

About Elisa

Elisa Nuckle is a twenty-something aspiring fantasy and science fiction novelist. It’s always been her dream to chase ideas down and put them into concrete words. Currently, she’s undergoing enlightenment at a community college in Houston, Texas, and plans on getting an English major in the hopefully-not-too-distant future.

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Sharon Sant

March 2, 2013 Monica La Portafascination with the night sky, guest blog post, indie giveaway, sharon sant, sky song, the story behind the story of a novel, what inspired an author to writeLeave a comment

I am pleased to have Sharon Sant on my blog today. Her debut novel, Sky Song, is one of the great books in the Indie Giveaway and it could be yours! The second book in the series, The Young Moon, is soon to be released, so hurry up to read the first. But now, have a little taste of it and read what inspired Sharon to write the Sky Song Trilogy

Sky Song

An unknown past. An unwanted destiny. A fight for survival.
A strange-eyed boy with no memory of his true identity or real parents, Jacob could have no idea of the mortal danger he has been in every day of his fifteen years. Now that danger has found him and suddenly he doesn’t know who he can trust and what is real anymore. All he knows is that his new identity is almost as terrifying as the peril unleashing it has brought. Caught in the universal power struggle of an ancient race of beings and a destiny demanded of him that he does not want, he must fight to protect his own life and everyone he holds dear. But when the time comes, will he be strong enough to make the sacrifices that saving them will demand?

Sky Song – How a tiny idea can grow into a complete trilogy.

Sky Song started off as a younger children’s tale about a girl whose dad watched the skies every night for something. I don’t even remember now what sparked off the initial idea. Sometimes it can be a throwaway comment, a song lyric, a seemingly innocuous thing. Only the other day an idea came to me from a random comment made on Twitter!

The little girl in my story didn’t know what her father watched for, but it soon became clear to her that whatever it was, it didn’t belong to the world she was familiar with. As I thought about it, though, the idea seemed to morph independently, into something completely different. I started to think about what could come from the starry heavens. My first answer was aliens, but, for me, that was too obvious. Then I got to thinking about all the various belief systems that have stuck with humanity over the years of its evolution, and the one recurring theme was that the stars are linked with our destinies. But what sort of destiny could come from the sky? Cue aliens again! And what would you do if your destiny called but you didn’t want it? That’s the story at the heart of Sky Song.

As I worked the story out in my head, the little girl became a fifteen-year-old boy named Jacob. Then came his friends and family. They had to be awesome, ties so strong that there would have to be a really compelling reason for him to accept his new life. So I built him a near-idyllic childhood and a perfect school record with amazing friends and devoted family. Then I made him fall in love before I dropped the bombshell. When you see a story begin to show its shape like this, it’s so exciting, and the story of Sky Song from there almost told itself. It’s at times like these when being an author rocks!

The tale became more and more complex and epic as writing progressed and pretty soon I knew there would have to be more than one book to tell it. So The Young Moon (release date March 8^th 2013) followed, then Not of Our Sky shortly afterwards (release date TBC). I plan for the entire trilogy to be available by summer 2013.

To find out more you can catch up with me on my website: www.sharonsant.com or on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sharonjsant?ref=hl

Friend me on Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6888220.Sharon_Sant

Tweet me on Twitter: @sharonsant

Or you can find out more about the books themselves on Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sky-Song-The-trilogy-ebook/dp/B00B0CQWV8/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1362222379&sr=1-1

Friday Snippet #34

March 1, 2013March 1, 2013 Monica La Porta#FridaySnippets, a snippet every friday, artrage painting, cactus drawing, excerpt from a new adult novel, mediterranean landscape, new adult story set in Rome Sicily Seattle, sicilian inspired drawing1 Comment

In the middle of an awesome blog giveaway, while writing guest posts, and studying how to market my books, my father called and asked me why I didn’t post a snippet last Friday. I forgot. So, in his honor, here is a piece from a novel set between Rome, Seattle, and Pantelleria. I’ve been rewriting this manuscript for the last four years, and hopefully soon I’ll decide it’s finally ready to be sent to my editor.

From Her Book:

One day, after lunch, I noticed that Giulia had left pencils and papers by the stone bench facing the sunflowers’ row.

“Do you still paint?” I asked. We were drinking espresso under the pergola.

“I come here mostly to paint. I’ll show you my latest drawings.” Giulia went inside only to reappear a moment later with a thick stack of papers. “Here, take a look.”

I leafed through the drawings, mostly black and white representation of the view from the house, a few of them architectonic details of the dammuso itself. A column, the archway, terracotta vases. “They’re beautiful.”

“Pantelleria is beautiful.”

“Do you still paint?” she repeated the question for me.

“Not like I used to.” My eyes went to the capers flowers cascading from the trellis, their alien shapes begging to be sketched.

“Let’s do it.” As if reading my mind, Giulia passed me colored pencils and paper.

We spent the rest of the day walking around, looking for objects to immortalize. The night came and I had filled several sketch pads with prickly pears cacti and bright yellow broom fields.

The morning after, Giulia found me in the kitchen, still drawing. The first light of dawn had woken me up and I had gone downstairs for a cup of espresso. The sea framed by the wooden window was picture perfect. “I had to draw this.” I smiled at her.

“What do you think about touring the island on my Vespa? There’s plenty of interesting spots.” Giulia went to the moka to fill her cup.

“At one condition.”

“Which is?” She turned to look at me.

“Only if you let me drive.”

“All yours.” Giulia tilted her head toward the dusty-pink Vespa anchored to the wall just outside the kitchen door.

I removed the chain and the rusty lock and straddled the seat. “Are you coming?”

Giulia got a bite out of a succulent persimmon, wiped her mouth on a napkin, and followed me outside. “Let’s get off of the beaten path.” She sat behind me and we left. “I’ll show you a place where tourists never venture.”

“Cool.” I followed her direction and drove the Vespa unhurriedly, toward a winding road that looked more suited for goats than wheels. “Are you sure?”

“Park here and we’ll go down by foot,” Giulia instructed me.

I stopped the Vespa under a tree and I secured it to its trunk.

“Be careful where you walk, the gravel on the road is treacherous.”

She hadn’t finished saying it that my flat-soled espadrilles slid on the gravel and I fell on my butt. Giulia looked at me and started laughing. “Care to help me?” I couldn’t help to laugh all along. It felt good.

Storm Dancer by Rayne Hall

February 28, 2013March 2, 2013 Monica La Porta#indiegiveaway, dark epic fantasy blurb, great cover, storm dancer by rayne hallLeave a comment

I’m pleased to have on my blog author Rayne Hall, the creator of the polarizing character of Dahoud. Read the following post to understand why I can’t wait to read Storm Dancer or simply be mesmerized by the great cover*. Then, enter the Indie Giveaway. Storm Dancer is one of the books you could win.

WOULD YOU TRUST THIS MAN?

Dahoud is a troubled hero with a dark past. As a siege commander, he once razed, raped and killed… and he enjoyed it. Now he needs to atone.

He has sacrificed everything to build a new identity and a life of peace, and he devotes himself to protecting women from harm.

But Dahoud is not alone. Inside him lives a devious demon, a djinn that demands he subdue women with force. It torments him with pains and tempts him with forbidden desires.

When the women in Dahoud’s life repay his kindness with betrayal, his hard-won control over the djinn breaks.

Would you dare an alliance with this man? Could you forgive his evil past? Could you trust him with your freedom, with your life, with your love?

Storm Dancer is a dark-epic fantasy novel. It deals with dark issues and may not be suitable for young readers.

Don’t forget to enter the Indie Giveaway for a chance to win this book! a Rafflecopter giveaway

*Dahoud, art by Paul Davies and Erica Syverson. Copyright, Rayne Hall.

Indie Giveaway

February 25, 2013February 25, 2013 Monica La Portaenter to win 11 books, enter to win 3 paperbacks and a $20 Amazon gift certificate, indie giveaway, international book giveaway20 Comments

Welcome to the Indie Giveaway! Eleven talented indie authors have banded together to offer you the chance to win two great prizes. The first haul is 11 ebooks. The second is three signed paperbacks and a $20 Amazon gift voucher. Fantastic prizes? I think so! The giveaway is open from midnight GMT on the 25th February until 11:59pm GMT on the 11th March and there’s loads of ways to gain entries.

First, check out the authors and their books below:

blog hop version 300 pixels Sky Song, by Sharon Sant: An unknown past. An unwanted destiny. A fight for survival.

DR cover 300x225px Dominant Race, by Elisa Nuckle: Lilia, a genetically altered human called a modified, and her allies must choose: help a tyrannical government in the business of killing their kind, or defend someone in the business of killing everyone else?

Earth Angel, by Ruth Ellen Parlour: Earth Angels of Eardecia, fighting against their chosen destiny, discover a secret the God’s never told and use it against their sworn enemy.

GraveyardShiftCover4Hop Graveyard Shift, by Angela Roquet: Lana Harvey is a reaper, and a lousy one at that, but when Grim promotes her to a high risk assignment, all hell breaks loose…

Blood Roses FULL cover_Rev B_300dpi (198x300) Blood Roses, by Jason Graves: Madeline and Marissa Owen are identical twins who, with their paper-white skin, look a lot like vampires… well, sometimes, looks can be not at all deceiving.

scironsmall Sciron, by David Rashleigh: History, mystery, ghosts and a touch of romance in a Lancashire town.

STORM DANCER cover reduced 300 pixels Storm Dancer, by Rayne Hall: Dahoud fights to save the woman he loves from the evil inside him.

thepriest_200px The Priest, by Monica La Porta: Love doesn’t look at skin color/social status/gender. Society can’t restrain our hearts.

tvf200 The Violet Fox, by Clare Marshall: The Violet Fox is Cinderella meets Robin Hood with a dash of The Little Mermaid.

Torched_300 Torched, by Andrea Lynn Colt: When cheerleader Rose Whitfield is framed for arson, she sets out to clear her name and take prime suspect Paxton down hard—not necessarily in that order.

Trinity Trinity, by Clare Davidson: Three unlikely companions set out to restore a trinity of gods, which was destroyed a millennium ago.

And now for the giveaways! Both are open internationally.

Giveaway one: A fantastic haul of 11 ebooks! a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway two: 3 signed paperbacks and a $20 Amazon gift voucher a Rafflecopter giveaway Good luck!

Monday Drawing #15

February 18, 2013February 18, 2013 Monica La Portaa drawing every Monday, didlr drawing, drawing on a Wacom tablet with Corel Painter, finger drawing on my htc phone, moonlight drawing, nocturnal landscape, painter, red flowers against dark drop, tree and moon drawingLeave a comment

Today’s Painter’s drawing is yesterday’s didl, which in turn was my personal take on a picture I saw on facebook. Can’t we always be that original, can we?

Moonlight Enchantment

Moonspell

Friday Snippet #33

February 15, 2013 Monica La Porta#FridaySnippets, discarded nanowrimo project gets new life, small excerpt from a YA fantasy story, the behind the story of a short story6 Comments

Today, the sun is shining and I went for a 2 hours walk with Nero. More of a slow procession than a real stroll, but he was in the mood for sniffing at the same leaf for more than it was appropriate and I had my kindle with me. All in all, it was a success. As I feel it was the rest of this eventful week.

For this Friday’s snippet, I have decided to post a small excerpt from the original version of Linda of the Night. As I said in a previous post, Linda’s tale was written as a bedtime story a father narrated to his daughter in my fantasy, Magical Glasses. Erratic at best, Magical Glasses was my first Nanowrimo project. I finished it at 56k words and never looked back at it. Until I remembered the story of the ugly girl who lived isolated from the rest of the world because of her hideousness. This is how Linda’s tale was introduced:

“Today, I was walking through a dusty street crowded with stalls selling all sorts of things, when I saw an old, older than old, ancient lady with a face full of wrinkles, so many of them that it looked like she had a spider web on her face. She looked at me and asked if I wanted to hear a story.” Dad paused to let Luce make her usual comments.

“And you said yes.” Luce laughed.

“And I said no!” Dad laughed too and then waited for her reply.

“Why?” Luce seized one rosette without noticing. Mom caressed her hand to relax her fingers.

“Because you should never say yes the first time a bruja offers you something. They always, always, want something back from you.”

“So, what did you do?”

“I asked her directly what she wanted for the story, and then I said yes.” Dad loved the dramatic pauses and sometimes Mom complained out loud he overused them, but Luce could never have enough.

“What did she ask that you said yes?” Luce mangled another rosette. This time Mom let her be.

“The ancient bruja asked me to tell her a story in exchange for her tale.”

“What story?”

“I told her the story of when I saw you for the first time. I described the joy I felt when you held my finger with your little hand. I told her that I’d travel to the end of the world for you.”

“What did she say?”

“She said that a love so big deserved a gift.”

“What gift?”

“She told me the most beautiful story…”

Linda of the Night, genesis of a cover for a short story

February 14, 2013 Monica La Portacollaboration between cover artist and writer, cover reveal for short story, from picture to book cover, genesis of a cover, how to use painter paint.net photoshop to create a coverLeave a comment

Blessed be Skype and the abundance of technology that makes possible for people living thousands of miles apart to work on a project as if they were in the same room. Three days ago, I didn’t have a finished cover for Linda of the Night, my short that went live only a few hours ago. Linda was a long time in the making project, but only recently I decided to send it to Amy Eye, my editor, to have it polished for publishing. Last Friday, I contacted my cover artist, Alessandro Fiorini. I had already sent him some material to work on, but working by email can be frustrating. Especially when the person you are corresponding with is nine hours ahead of you. Three days ago, we connected through Skype and Alessandro shared his desktop with me so I could watch as he worked on the final version of the cover. I was able to give immediate input and cut considerably the waste of time between steps. In less than one hour, we finished the cover.

From picture to final product:

Everything started as my weekly exercise in practicing patience: aka working with Painter. I received the software as a gift for Christmas and I still struggle with it. Monday, I decided to play with one of my daughter’s pictures.

First, I gave the picture a dreamier look with Paint.Net by altering the balance of the luminosity. I probably tinkered with it some more, but I can’t remember all the steps I took.

Then, I used the altered image as a canvas and painted on it with Painter. I used a mix of oil colors and airbrushes.

I went back to Paint.Net, applied the ink sketch filter, and then tinted the whole background in a flesh tone I picked from the image.

Having a sudden inspiration, I cropped the eyes to make them stand out.

Knowing that Alessandro is quite busy, instead of sending him several emails explaining what I had in mind for the cover, I worked on my idea with Paint.Net and sent him examples instead.

Finally, on Tuesday, early afternoon in Redmond and late at night in Marsciano, Alessandro and I started working on the final stages of the cover. The following images were all created by Alessandro in one fruitful Skype session. The whole process lasted the whole of one hour. Not bad, ah?

First try

Second try

Third try

You already know my final pick

Linda of the Night: a sweet short story

February 14, 2013September 8, 2013 Monica La Porta99 cents short story, beauty is relative, fairytale style short story, feel good short story, love is blind, ugly duckling gets the prince short story, valentine's day sweet short storyLeave a comment

Happy Valentine’s Day, everybody.

My first short story is out. Linda of the Night, is a sweet, fairytale-style love story. It’s a piece I wrote—in a shorter and more children’s book prose version—during my first Nanowrimo and it was part of a longer novel. Originally, Linda’s tale was narrated by a father to his daughter as a bedtime story. The whole 56k words project was soon forgotten, but there was something about this character, at the time nameless, that made me think of resurrecting her story more than once. Eventually, I did.