The Next Big Thing Blog Hop

Hey all! I am so excited to be included in this extraordinary blog hop. I was tagged by two amaze-ballz authors Niecey Roy and Lisa Rayns both asked me to participate on the day I got huge news. So of course I said hell yes. I decided to tag 5 *ahem* yes, FIVE but these woman are awesome writers who I stalked until they spoke to me lol and I hope you check them all out next week (December 12.) Monique O'Connor James, Inger Iversen, RJ Garson, RaShelle Workman, and Diana Nixon.


What is the working title of your book?
The working title is Death Knows My Name. I love that title but it may have to change. I know frowny face.

Where did the idea come from for the book?
One day I was walking my dog and it was 2am because that is when I got off my butt every night to finally give Neelix his walk. It was dark, it was scary and I heard footsteps behind us. I was terrified but every time I turned to look all I saw was leaves blowing across the street. Rationally I knew the scrapping sounds was the cause of the "footsteps" effect but I still hauled Neelix's butt home and started writing the already forming story on edge still afraid that whoever it was had followed us home. The story has evolved a lot since that night but it still has that core idea.

What genre does your book fall under?
Ha. Paranormal Romance because I can't write anything else.


Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

Eric would be played by Being Human, The Mortal Instruments and Hobbits' Aidan Turner. He was who I pictured while writing. He is Eric.

Mayne I haven't given as much thought. lol Me? A taller me. I really don't know. But if Aidan is Eric, I can't see anyone but me with him. lmao. But gun to head?  Jessica Rich (the one in Green) or Ariel Meredith. I have a list of potentials but the closest fit is Jessica or Ariel.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Yeah if I could do it in one sentence I wouldn't need 3 CPs and an editor. LOL but I will try: Mayne St LeClair always believed Death was after her...He is but for what exactly?

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
:-) Death Knows My Name was just offered a contract to be published my SoulMate Publishing last week. I was happy to sign it and send it back. I was dancing I was so happy.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
Well, I was about done with 1st draft A when my desktop crashed. It was all lost. I was discouraged so it took me a while to rewrite what I could remember and make up what I couldn't. I was devastated at first but it ended up a better story than it would have been. All together it took maybe a 1 year from Draft A to the 1st draft that turned into DKMN now.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
Any other book with a heroine that you want to bitch slap at times, will work. Mayne is stubborn and immature at times. Ha!

Who or What inspired you to write this book?
Well, I started writing because I saw the Prophecy movies. Prophecy 2 made me write my first book (unpublished)- a lot of Death Knows My Name characters are from that first book. To me writing is therapy it is how I work through things. I make characters experience them (in spades) and make them deal with the issues. When they pull through it helps me do the same.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

I mean if you are like me, you are looking for characters that reflect your generation. I'm 29 and I was constantly looking for someone who reflected how I speak to my friends and people. It seems inappropriate the way my friends and I speak to one another but it is real. I would find books that come close but nothing really fit. Those of us are born in the early to mid 80's are a truly free generation. We are at that point where are parents think we should have it together and crap. We don't we are still big kids who are thinking "crap what now?" Even if we have kids of our own we are still like "Whaa? How did I get this old? I was just 21 yesterday!" lol. If you feel that way then you will love Mayne and her friends.

I have to say a huge thanks to Niecey Roy and Lisa Rayns for thinking of me. I will also give a poke to all of you next week to check out my 5 picks for the next big thing! XoXo

The Dreaded Triangle- Introducing Samuel.

Say Hi to Samuel

I make no secret that I hate love triangles. I have even gone so far as to not buy books or lem a book because it involved a triangle. So how did I find myself writing one? It is simple. It was meant to be a plot device. I didn't mean for Shayna or in fact myself to fall for Samuel. I went into this knowing that Shayna was always meant to work things out with Yeshua. I didn't know how but they really would. I just needed a small obsticle. "Hey! How about an older guy." My brain said excitedly. "Oh he could be an important male figure in Yesh's life." My brain piled on. I should have told my brain to shut up. But I thought it was a great idea. I knew I was in trouble when Shayna laid eyes on Samuel and he locked eyes with her then smiled. I gulped. Oh boy. We are in huge trouble. Huge, huge, huge trouble. Yeshua sort of faded in our minds and Samuel was so shiney and bright and perfectly damaged. Just what a girl like Shayna needed after all that she has been through. I even noticed Yeshua, graciously taking a step back. Bowing out except, I know Yesh. I wouldn't count him out just yet. Neither should Samuel.

Learn more about Part-Time Reaper here: Hijacked!

Thankful for NaNoWriMo

Hijacked!

Hey all, I’m Shayna and I have been hijacking Casse’s thoughts so I decided to take over her blog as well. *waves* I am her new TextNovel project. She insist on calling it Tag em n Bag em. Yuck. I will see if I can change that.

So why am I here anyway? Just to share a little background story to make you anxious to read MY full story.

HERE IS ME. A regular girl

I had a regular guy...hot guy at that.

This happened...I know don't judge!

Then he disappeared. Gone. I was all:
 

Then I was like,

Turns out he had a great reason for disappearing. A year and a half later her came back with an excuse and a cat as his peace offering. Keep the excuses gimme the cat!

I also had a crazy lot happen while Yesh was gone, I found out I am a reaper! So you are thinking:

WRONG! I'm more like:
 

Now I know why Yesh gave me a cat named Scythe while smirking. So though I am a reaper, well part time reaper I still have High School to finish and an ex boyfriend who ditched me after sex to deal with. I'm pretty much the same girl...HER.

But if you see a hot jerky guy followed by Me and of course Scythe (because every Reaper HAS to have one mine just has to be cuter than the rest) I am sorry.

After Dain was Reborn and Akila Remade...Reawaken with Darkhan.

Darkhan

Reawaken will have three different POV’s. I decided this very early on because The Reborn and The Remade doesn’t really give the HEA or even the HFN ending of the main couples in the story. Bonnie and Dain in The Reborn, Akila and Marco in The Remade. I just felt that they deserve to get their ending in their words and in their heads. The POV’s will be Dain, Akila and…Darkhan. You have no idea who he is yet. I barely have an idea but he has been beckoning to me very stoically since a third through The Reborn. He is very mysterious but he seems willing enough to tell his story and I am a bit afraid to let him into my head and heart. His pain is crippling and very tangible. I can feel it just by thinking about him.




I think you will like him, I know Akila sure does ;-) *spoiler alert* lol I can’t wait to get to his story The Reawaken (It’s mainly Darkhan’s tell so The Ruined and The Shattered still fits but…I wanted a positive just like the rest. I cross my fingers I can SPIN his tragic tell into a positive.) We still have a long way until Darkhan can win your hearts so enjoy the end of The Reborn and The Remade will be ready soon. I hope!

No rest for the slacker

Hey all, I know it looks as if I am slacking since I have not updated my blog in awhile but actually a lot of work is being done.

1. After a shit load of form rejections I decided to redo my query letter and it seemed to have worked, it's still too soon to tell but I have received  request for a partial and a request for a full. I also received a rejection with and invitation to revise and resubmit. See no form rejection. I would consider the new query letter a success...kinda.
2. I am in the 2nd week of a Fast Draft. Fast Draft: 5k words a day for 14 days. So Remade is about half done. yay.
3. The Reborn is being edited and fleshed out and can be found on both Textnovel.com and WattPad.com
4.I decided on the name of the 3rd book in the Reborn series...I think. I will know for sure when I plot it out and write the first chapter. But all this will wait until after Remade is finished and after When Lily's Fall is re-plotted. When Lily's Fall is book two in the DKMN world and has been rewritten and deleted at least 3 times as DKMN is revised. lol

See no slacking here.
Casse

What inspired The Reborn Series *deleted scene*

A lot of people ask me how do I come up with the stories I write. I get my ideas from so many places. I already shared with you how Death Knows My Name was inspired by the movie Prophecy II. I guess it is time to share what inspired The Reborn series.

About a year and a half ago [edit: Wow more like closer to 2 years ago!] I use to be a huge blog surfer. My book blog roll was massive. Reviewers, writers, anything book related I was there. One day while I was surfing the Deadline Dames and they do this meme type thing called ROD ( Readers on Deadline) where they post a picture and us readers get inspired and write a little flash fiction. Well, I did get inspired and my flash fiction (which I did not even enter to the contest) turned into an entirely new animal.

I posted the fiction chapter by chapter on Textnovel.com (was huge into textnovel back then and the story even got editor's choice.) When I came to the end of my flash fiction one devoted reader demanded that it not stopped there. I also did not want to say goodbye to Tara and Dain, so I obliged.

That one ROD picture inspired a whole new world that includes two prequel short stories (both available now on Smashwords.com for free) and 3 novels (coming soon...I hope!)

The opening scene I wrote for the picture that was the initial first thing I wrote for the world, didn't even end up in the final version of Reborn which I am currently editing one last time (I hope. But 1 turns to 3 so quickly.) and then querying. *fingers crossed*

But I am deciding to post the cut prologue below and the picture. Also don't forget to download your copies of Lord of Requited Love and The Life That Ends here for free!

Forever- By Michelle Monique (click pic for her page)

Deleted Scene

I shouldn't be here. I know I shouldn't, yet, here I am. Sighing heavily I ran my hand through my hair which was a little damp from the sweat on my brow.

“Why are you here Dain?” I murmured to myself. That's right, I am a glutton for punishment. I can't have her. I shouldn't even want her since I had been purged not even a century ago, but I do.

Tara sat under the knotty oak tree, her dress flowering around her like the petals of the prettiest flower on earth. By God she was breathtaking in this light. The moon shined down it’s silver light over her skin and shone off her nutmeg colored hair. The wind blew slightly and tangled in the strands as it tugged at them softly. The stirring of the breezed brought her soft scent to me and I shivered remembering the taste of her mouth and the feel of her skin on my lips and tongue.

I sighed. No, that was another lifetime. Centuries ago. I couldn’t remember that now. Not with the danger it would now bring. We were the reborn they wouldn’t allow us to be together again. Only once and we had already lived that chance.

They had purged us both. Me more than once but unless they purged my soul and replaced my heart it would never last. My love for Tara was branded on my soul and my skin would never forget her touch. Not in this lifetime or my next. Damn-it we had a family together, though I shouldn’t remember them either.

Tara lay back on the grass eyes focused on the stars, mouth set in a soft pillowy pout. Oh to touch those lips once more with mine, to take them gently between my teeth teasingly and sooth away the sting with the tip of my tongue.

But this time they had screwed us. I turned away. Tara was a Fifty-six years old women and I was but a boy at Sixteen years old. Maybe in the next lifetime. I walked away with a longing heart.

I feel guilty about how mean I am...to fake people.

I just finished The Reborn 1st draft and though I did follow mostly the direction I wanted to go in I did one major change that is making me have to go back and rewrite book 2's opening. I mean that is no big deal, it sucked anyway. The main issue is I totally just screwed 2 characters over. On the upside the couple of characters I was supposed to screw over lucked out...for now at least.

One character, damn I feel like a bitch for what I'm doing with him. He is going a place that is going to take a miracle to dig him out from. Not sure if I can save him!

His poor heroine, he is going to put her in purgatory then drag her through hell because of one tragic mistake.

In the next book (the one I have to re-write the opening to) one guy's jealousy can cost him everything while another girl's past is haunting her and the one person she loves more than life just won't let her shake it. Can't he see that she has changed? He can't and makes her question if he even knows who she is anymore...the girl she was then has nothing to do with the woman she is now! If he can't see that...is he the man for her?

Oh and book 3...talk about dark places.

Oh the angst I putting these teens through. Sorry characters!



Cut or uncut?

I am okay with rejection. Or at least that is what I told myself. I would say, “oh they aren’t rejecting my work they just don’t like the query.” Until, I got my first full MS rejection…in form letter. Ouch. I know, acquisition is purely subjective, right? One person didn’t like it doesn’t mean that nobody will like it. Still it is hard to hear without a bottle—I mean glass of wine. Dratz, why did I give up drinking this week again?




Dejectedly, I even thought of giving up writing. “I suck.” I told myself…“I suck I suck I suck.” It was like a sulking pout as I wallowed in my bed. I was ready to throw in the towel, at least on adult paranormal. Maybe I could work on my YA novel?…



Then, I decided maybe I could look into fixing the pacing of chapter one like EVERYONE has been saying could use help. I think it’s effin perfect but if everyone is saying it…



But guess why I was so reluctant to cut scenes from chapter one, besides it being effin perfect? Because you pull one string and then you have to go chapter by chapter and rework it. The more you cut the more you have to rework and the more you rework…Yes! The more you have to cut!



I just cut one of my favorite scenes that shows Devon and Mayne’s friendship…but it’s about ERIC and Mayne so…it is gone. Maybe I will stick it in Devon’s short story? No… *wipes tear*

The sea of No

The picture's artist.

Well, the beginning of the year I decided it was time to take a dive and go swimming.  For a writer that means start querying. Yes, if you are also a writer your heart probably started racing at the thought.  The dread, the excitement, the vigilant email watching, and the pending heartbreak.




Querying is like dating.  All those rejections in search of someone who will: see you, ‘get’ you, then love you enough to marry you and say “Yes, I want to share this journey with you. Yes, I believe in you.”