Tuesday, 24 July 2012

On Spotlight: Meradeth Houston


Today I'm handing the reins over to Meradeth Houston, the author of Colors Like Memories. I'm currently reading her book, and really enjoying it. I will post the review as soon as I finish. All I can say is this story is fantastic and addictive. 

Before I leave, I'd like to introduce this lovely lady and wonderful writer to you.


 A bit about Meradeth Houston:

Meradeth’s never been a big fan of talking about herself, but if you really want to know, here are some random tidbits about her:
>She’s a Northern California girl. This generally means she talks too fast and use "like" a lot.
>When she’s not writing, she’s sequencing dead people’s DNA. For fun!
>She’s been writing since she was 11 years old. It's her hobby, her passion, and she’s so happy to get to share her work!
>If she could have a super-power, it would totally be flying. Which is a little strange, because she’s terrified of heights.

And now a guest post from Meradeth.

Writing as Catharsis

First off, thanks a million for hosting me, Cecilia! I’m so happy I stumbled across your awesome blog J. I was sitting at my computer attempting to find something fun to write about and I started thinking of why I started writing in the first place. There are two main things that got me putting pen to paper: it was fun, and it let me escape from the real world for a while. The same things keep me going now, and I’ve kind of become addicted to the release that writing gives me—that escape is a really wonderful thing!
Most readers know that feeling of being sucked into a book where the whole world just disappears and the written world becomes so real you can taste and touch it. It’s my absolute favorite thing about a good book: getting to live it with the characters. For writing, especially a first draft when the words are really flowing, it ten times better. Everything goes away and I’m there, watching my characters act, do what they need to, and sometimes completely surprise me. It’s incredible.
I kind of feel like I’m some kind of junky, describing my drug of choice J. I promise, it’s all harmless fun!
I’m certainly no expert in the subject, but this escape, and the ability to lose yourself in something fun, engaging, and totally new, is healthy. It’s so hard to find the time to do something like that as an adult (I mean, honestly, who has the time?), and even more difficult to find something that gives you that kind of release. It’s different for everyone (something I’m regularly reminded of by my family, who can’t understand why I like sitting in front of my computer even on my day’s off). Once you have something that makes you happy (when it’s not, well, drugs) it makes everything a little better. And it makes the time you devote to it completely worth it—we all need our mental health, right?
At the very least, that’s my thoughts on the subject! What do you do that makes you happy? That makes the world just a little brighter for you?

A bit about the Colors Like Memories:


Julia has a secret: she killed the guy she loved. It was an accident—sort of.
Julia is a Sary, the soul of a child who died before taking her first breath. Without this 'breath of life' she and others like her must help those on the verge of suicide. It's a job Julia used to enjoy, until the accident that claimed her boyfriend’s life—an accident she knows was her fault. If living with the guilt weren't enough, she's now assigned to help a girl dealing with the loss of her mother, something Julia's not exactly the best role model for. If she can't figure out a way to help her, Julia's going to lose her position in the Sary, something she swore to her boyfriend would never happen.

Available from MuseItUp Publishing. 













Friday, 20 July 2012

Friday Fantastic Feature: Ella Medler






Happy Friday! I'm pretty excited to have Ella Medler, the author of Blood is Heavier and her recent release, Martin Little, Resurrected.
 
About Ella Medler

 I live in Cornwall with my husband and our two teenage daughters who regularly threaten to never leave home (must be my cooking).

Together, we care for a large assortment of pets, some small enough to fit in a fish tank, and some capable of causing you significant injury on impact.

I was born in Transylvania but got chucked out due to my inability to grow fangs and reluctance to sleep in coffins. I studied economics to masters level, and qualified with 93.5% (damn good, considering I really wasn't interested). I wanted to be an archaeologist, travel the world, scrape around in mud and live in squalor. Unfortunately, my mother won that argument, and so, after refusing a teaching post (I never did like school), I started work in business development consultancy roles, where I met my husband, the lucky so and so. The rest is history. If you’re reading this, you’ already know the end of the story.

 Martin Little, Resurrected is a quirky and original novel which seamlessly blends the daily irritations of contemporary life in Britain with an unusual and unexpected setting. The storyline is action-packed, moderately thought-provoking and relentlessly funny. In order to rescue the girl with whom he has fallen in love despite his better judgement, Martin has to set aside his snobbish hang-ups and inhibitions and work together with his newly acquired friends, a gang of lawless misfits whom he despises. The plot thickens and picks up pace as the loop of officialdom trips them up and the law threatens to catch up with them. Through all this, Martin has to stay one step ahead and find help where it doesn’t seem possible in order to earn his friends’ and his own freedom. Essentially a light-hearted journey of discovery and self-improvement, the many dizzying twists and heady surprises make this story an engaging read and a real crowd pleaser with universal appeal.














Hi Ella, It's great to have you here with us. Please tell us a little about yourself.

I live in Cornwall with my husband and daughters. I like to smile, laugh and talk a lot, and that is reflected in my writing style: I prefer to put fun into my stories, and all of them tend to turn into full-length novels.

Martin Little, Resurrected. Which genre does it belong to? 

It’s a contemporary fantasy, a lighthearted social satire. I have purposefully kept away from the all-too-common wizards, vampires and werewolves and chose to make fun instead of our current lifestyle, customs, behavior and silly society habits such as excessive bureaucracy and extremes in general.


Do you plot a story or just write as the story comes to you?

It depends on the genre. When I write fantasy, I prefer to trust my characters to carry the story forward. They do a brilliant job, and I am only too happy to provide the necessary twists – my brain is never idle. When I write suspense/thrillers I have a well-determined plot. I think the genre requires it. The new genre I’m trying out this year is paranormal romance – yes, it does have vampires in it – and I’m finding this one completely different; I’m still adjusting to it, though my co-author, Kristie Drennin Haigwood is doing a fine job of showing me the way.
What book title are you currently promoting? Blood is Heavier – a thriller about a man who is trying to protect his family. This is part one of a trilogy. The second one in the series is due out in December and the last one in 2013. I am making it free to download until the next book is out, so if I were you, I’d get it now.

Martin Little sounds like a fun character.. How did you come up with his character  and his name?

I’m a people-watcher. I created the character by gathering together a lot of my observations about men. It’s quite uncommon for a female author to write in first person from a male point of view, but I think being different is a good thing. Judging by the reviews I received from male reviewers especially, I got it right. Once I had the character, I looked for a name that would suit him best: Martin because it’s not a particularly ‘hip’ modern name, and Little because he imagines himself as being ‘of little importance’ in the universe in general.

Are you working on any other project at the moment?

 Yes. I am co-writing a series of paranormal romance books in collaboration with Kristie Drennin Haigwood, the first of which we hope to release this year. I am also working on the second in the Martin Little series, Martin Little Takes Epic Action, and the sequel for Blood is Heavier. And I plan to release a non-fiction Author Resources book in September. Apart from that, most of my work is going into my daily blog which is getting a little overcrowded – I am planning to split it into several strands so that the many Author Spotlights I organize and the book reviews can have a dedicated page, and the book series I work on can each have their own ‘home’, too.

What book are you currently reading?

In the last week I have read two: Cemetery Street by John Zunski, and Unauthorized Access, by Andrew McAllister, which I’ve finished about an hour ago. They were both good reads; both got five star reviews from me.

What do you do when you are not writing?

I edit, or read, or play with my dogs. Or I murder a keyboard. I left it a bit late in life, I know, but I started piano lessons this spring. It was something I’ve always wished I could do, and I got tangled into a half-bet discussion with an old piano teacher who insisted anyone could learn, at any age. Not sure who’s winning the bet at the moment, but I’m not giving up. She’s not wearing earplugs, so I’m taking that as a good sign.

Where can readers and fans find you online?

You can reach me by simply leaving a message on my blog http://ellamedler.wordpress.com/
I’m on facebook and twitter, too, with links from my author website  http://www.ellamedler.com/

Blood is Heavier is free to download from:

Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/158896
and (soon) Barnes & Noble.


Here’s a link to my author page on Amazon, where you can see all my books http://www.amazon.com/Ella-Medler/e/B007FVQTFW/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1

Martin Little, Resurrected is available from
Barnes&Noble




And in pretty much every other format you can think of.

Thanks, Ella!

Monday, 16 July 2012

Catching up


Catching up....
My weekend was fantastic. I managed to send some chapters from my current WIP to Kelly Hashway, my lovely editor and a Godsend. Everytime she returns the edited chapters with a email saying she's looking forward to read the next chapters in my story, I feel elated. As a writer, it feels good to have someone cheering you on, and always open to discussing about your work, troubleshooting. Kelly's book Touch Of Death will be released in 2013. I'm looking foward to that. :)
Reaper's Novice was previously published as short story - about 5000 words - for about a month. Due to some complications with the publisher I pulled the story , rewrote it to its proper novel length and now I'm editing it, hoping to publish it soon. Can't wait to introduce Ana (The MC) to you, shareher world with you.

On Friday I received luggage tags from Norwegian Cruise. I'm not sure if I ever mentioned that I will be going for a 10 day cruise in August?  On 17th August, I will be flying to Barcelona, 18th will be the boarding date. It is a Mediterrenean Sea cruise. It's a girls only trip. :) I'm really looking forward to my summer trip.

How was your weekend? What are you looking forward to this summer?

Sunday, 15 July 2012

STORM blog tour


 Book Title: Storm
Author: Bernard Lee DeLeo
Source: Blog Tour







Book Blurb

The FBI blackmailed Storm Crandall; but only after Storm hacked their database. At sixteen, she’s under cover at a high school, looking for clues involving five missing girls. Besides computer skills, Storm has game in the magic department. A sect of the Temple of Set soon finds out power comes in many guises.
With two FBI agents posing as her parents in the city of Warren, Ohio, Storm finds love, allies, and tragedy in her hunt for answers. By fulfilling her end of the bargain, Storm can buy her way out of spending the days until her eighteenth birthday in a juvenile detention facility.
Storm’s FBI handlers discover their young charge can do more than type fast. Their first encounter with the creature behind the disappearances shows the agents they need Storm for far more than information gathering as a high school spy.
Teaming up with an enigmatic young man attending classes with her, Storm begins unraveling a horror no one anticipated. When the case morphs from serial kidnapping into a supernatural witch hunt, Storm and her friends, under the guidance of the FBI agents, scramble to stay alive while tracking down monsters, both human and inhuman.

Review:

This story had an interesting plot, the pacing was well done as well.
Sixteen year old, Storm is a computer whiz and works for the FBI after being arrested for hacking their database. At the begining of this book, she is enrolled in a new school, working undercover on a case where five girls have gone missing. She meets Logan who comes to her rescue when she is being bullied by three students, and later on meets other girls in her class. During her investigation she finds out who is responsible for the kidnappings, and so 'Storm together with her friends and the FBI agents work together to solve the case.

The author did  a great job of providing enough details to create vivid images in the story. The characters well done and believable.  What didn't work for me was the predicatability of the story. It would have been nice to see Storm being challenged by the events, maybe lose something/someone close to her to create more conflict, make me care more about what is happening to her. Janet was tough/acted tough. A little background, maybe a small paragraph while on her POV would have helped to know why she acted they was she did.

I recommend this for fans of action-packed supernatural stories.


Saturday, 14 July 2012

Release Day: Hollywood Ever After by Sasha Summers

Today is Sasha Summer's Hollywoord Ever After book release, and I'm really excited to be a part of it. Hollywood Ever After, published through Inkspell Publishing is the first book in the Red Carpet Series.  Hollywood, love and happy ever afters... Below is the blurb, enticing as the book title itself. 



Book Blurb:

Happy Endings are for fairy tales. Or the movies. Not for real life. At least, not in Claire’s life. Even though she’s starting over, she knows better than to want too much this time. But when she falls, literally, into the strong arms of Hollywood’s ‘it’ boy Josh Wiley, Claire’s in for some surprises. Her plans for rest and relaxation are forgotten as one incredible night with Josh becomes two… And her heart begins to want him as much as her body. Will two kids, one bastard ex-husband, and Josh’s juggernaut career mean the end of their affair? Or can Claire find her happy ending after all?





To know more about this awesome author, please hop over to: www.sashasummers.com

Other books by Sasha:

Medusa, A Love Story (Book 1, Loves of Olympus a fantasy romance series), Available Now ~ ~ For the Love of Hades (Book 2) - January 20133

Hollywood Ever After (Book 1, Red Carpet Series contemporary romance) coming July 14, 2012 ~ ~ Hollywood Holiday - winter 2012

Galileo's Holiday part of the 2012 Carina Press SciFi Holiday Anthology - December 2012

Twitter Facebook Goodreads LinkedIn Pinterest

InkSpell Link: http://www.inkspellpublishing.com/1/post/2012/03/hollywood-ever-after-cover-reveal.html

Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/Hollywood-Ever-After-Sasha-Summers/dp/0985148330/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1341495273&sr=8-1&keywords=hollywood+ever+after

B&N Link: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hollywood-ever-after-sasha-summers/1110208518?ean=9780985148331

Book Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rg6oWKVGwlg

Friday, 13 July 2012

Friday Fantastic Feature: Cover Art Designer Najla Qamber



Hi Friends! Today I'd like to introduce you to a very talented , lovely lady, Najla Qambar. She is responsible for designing the cover of Truly Madly Deeply You, capturing the couple on the cover exactly as I had imagined them. I call her Midas on Heels. Everything she touches turns to.... well... gold. :D Without further ado, let's get a little bit up and close with Najla.



Hey Najla, so great to have you here with us. Please tell us a little about yourself.

Cece! :D I'm so happy to be here. About myself? Hmmm...! I think I'll just put it in 5 points below! :D 

- I have a huge passion for design (Design Blog) and books (Book Blog) (my bookshelf is filllllllled!)
- My dad's Persian and my mom's Filipino. :D (Power to the Halfies!)
- I'm 7 months away from graduating with a B.S. Degree in Business Informatics
- I write reviews for a Bahraini local newspaper (Daily Tribune)
- I'm a workaholic (Cece, knows this!)

Oh, I do know, and from your art work, I say being workaholic is a good thing, It's all worth it. :)  What kind of designing do you do? 

I do all kinds of designs (branding, cover design, illustrations, vector art, tshirt designs, stationery, bookmarks, etc) except minimalism, annnndd... some typography. I'm pretty sure there are more that I don't do but I can't think of anything at the moment. 

What got you into designing? 

My first intern job got me into designing. I actually started out photo-manipulating on deviantart.com as a hobby, which then got me a job at a branding company where they trusted me enough to do some designs which then awakened my passions for design! How I got into cover design, is a whole different story. :D

You currently live in Bahrain, to me it sounds/looks exotic from books I've read or photos I've seen.  Tell us a bit about Bahrain.

Haha, ya, you can say that it is a little bit exotic. Bahrain is part of the GCC in the Middle East. We are a little bit off the coast of Saudi Arabia. 
Bahrain right now, is the best home I can ever get. Even better than the Philippines sometimes. Life here is good, its open (sort of) and hot! Its a desert with lots of reclaimed land. But its still an extremely small country. It takes an hour to get from one point of the country to the other.

 Where do you get inspiration from?

Most of my inspiration comes from deviantart.com, or by asking Uncle Google. :D Also! If I have the money I buy design books with lots of wonderful designs to look from. 



Where can you be found on the web? 




Join me at my design blog for authors and bloggers who need a new book cover or a blog layout at affordable prices!



DeviantArt Gallery 




Cover Gallery (Not up-to-date, but it has most of the covers)




DA Portfolio





Book Blog


Thank's Cece for having me! It's an honor to be part of your blog. You are awesome!


Oh, you are very welcome Naj! It was great to sip  tea and  nibble biscuits while chatting with you. :D 


Wednesday, 11 July 2012

Facial Quirks

Lately I have been obsessed with hunting down facial quirks - discreetly staring at faces on the street and in the train and tram, and also searching for articles on the net. One might wonder why. I promise you it's not because I enjoy scaring fellow pedestrians and commuters, though I have to admit these quirks make for interesting and memorable features.

I have been searching for different things that would distinguish my characters in the story I am working on. Something that will make them memorable.

I found this article written by John Yeoman at Writers Village on Character Signatures character signatures. Impressive. Writers Village is an absolute writer's dream.

Some of the facial quirks which coul make a face memorable :

  • A mole anywhere on the face (my daughter has slightly below the left eye on the cheek) We call it a beauty spot. :D  

  • Gap between the upper front or lower teeth : My mom and my sister have the gap. Also reminds me of Anna Paquin from True Blood

  • Different eye colour - reminds me of Katsa from Kristin Cashore's Graceling

  • Crooked nose

  • Dimpled chin.

  • Dimpled cheeks - I have one on the right side. It shows up when I smile, so I tend to do that alot..haha my daughter has one on the left side.

  •  A wide smile sort of like Julia Roberts'

  • Full lips, think lips

  • Big eyes cast in thick lick lashes -  Reminds me of my son.  Sometimes when I'm applying makeup, I envy him for having such lush eyelashes.


  •  Big, intense eyes -  My daughter has such eyes. Sometimes when she looks at me, I have to avert my gaze. It's as if she can see right through me.

  • Scars - Thanks, Diane.   
  •  Slightly lopsided smile - Thanks, Kelly



Oh, my left ear is pointed at the tip (not as extreme as an elf's though), and the right one is rounded at the tip.  Guess I  ear gene my dad. :D  That is part of facial quirk, I think.

Do you have facial quirks, know someone who has one or two? Or maybe you could mention a couple to add to the list?

It will be great hearing from you.  Please comment below, and I will add on the list above. Might come in handy for anyone in need. I realised it was not easy finding these on the net. Oh, here is an article in Glamour magazine. If anyone is interested. There are about 104 comments mentioning individual quirks.

Happy Wednesday!