WRITER WONDERLAND
  • Blog
  • Romance Rocks
  • Goddess Fish Tour
  • About

Should Adults Read YA?

7/24/2014

4 Comments

 
Picture
There have been several series of YA books that netted thousand, even millions, adult readers. YA often gets the same disrespect as romances do. People who read popular YA titles often do so at their own risk. Many adults regard them as immature, not quite ready to handle mature fiction. This ridicule comes from people who aren’t readers and don’t understand the compulsion to read.

Writers often have the same disrespect for YA too. Most of their attitude centers on earnings and success. The reasoning goes parents have to buy books for their children and are less likely to buy with abandon for their offspring than they would for their own consumption. There is also the issue of writing about what you know.

Picture
 S.E. Hinton, the teen author who penned The Outsiders, certainly knew the angst of teens, but she wasn’t a male or a gang member. All those books about vampires, polyamorous unions, and billionaires probably weren’t personal experience tales either. This is where imagination plays a major part.   

With the success of the Twilight, Harry Potter, and The Hunger Games series, many would be authors have started penning their own YA book. Why read or write YA stories?


·         Some of these stories are amazing. Why limit yourself? I occasionally read to young children. I found myself caught up in The Family under the Bridge, a middle grades book about a homeless family. Even after the children went to lunch, I was still reading.

·         Most YA books have the protagonists facing a challenge, an experience that changes the way they view life. It would be great if we had these experiences when we all were teens, but many have them much later in life. This epiphany occurs often after children, a betrayal, a loss or other momentous occurrence allowing the reader to identify with the story.

·         The young love element often attracts jaded adult readers. Who doesn’t like to remember the magic of first love? Social media is a tool that allows people to reconnect with their first love or reassure themselves that he or she isn’t as hot as they once were. Still, most people want to experience the rush of the initial attraction when everything was new.

·         The PG nature of that love. YA genre traditionally includes cuddling and kissing. Any bedroom action happens off screen, so to speak.  Readers who don’t want to delve into regular romances that now offer sexual acrobatics worthy of Cirque du Soleil or enough people coming through the bedroom to populate a sitcom, YA fits the bill.

·         YA books often address hard issues in understandable ways. The Hunger Games addressed topics such as society and class, sacrifice, and identity.

·         Good YA books often empower the readers allowing them to think they can make a difference similar to the protagonist.  Bad YA books just portray teens as self-absorbed mean girls.

·         One YA author explained to me that people enjoy YA books because it takes them back to that special time in their life. As an adult with adult problems, there is an appeal to go back to the teenage world. Although, some of the problems YA heroes face aren’t the ordinary ones. Consider the later Harry Potter books, Harry wrestles with life, death, and losing one’s soul.

·         Many YA books becomes movies. The Fault is in Our Stars is a tearjerker of a book and should be a tissue-worthy movie. People who never ever read the book, will go to the movie, and then decide to read the book.

·         Many parents also read YA books before allowing their child to read them to check content.

·         My old school often assigned summer reading books. A common sight was mothers paging through the assigned books while waiting for their child to finish football or volleyball practice.

·         Teachers and librarians read dozens of YA books to pick the right ones for their limited educational budget.


Picture
Then there is the question of why do writers write YA. The reasons can be as numerous as why people read YA. In the end, I don’t think great books really should be pigeonholed under one specific genre. I was surprised to discover The Hobbit under the YA category. J.R.R. Tolkien, an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, probably never thought he was writing a book for middle grades or teens. He was simply writing from the heart.

4 Comments

Legally Undead Review Tour

7/22/2014

2 Comments

 
Picture
Legally Undead, available May 27 from World Weaver Press


Blurb:

A reluctant vampire hunter, stalking New York City as only a scorned bride can.

Elle Dupree has her life all figured out: first a wedding, then her Ph.D., then swank faculty parties where she’ll serve wine and cheese and introduce people to her husband the lawyer.

But those plans disintegrate when she walks in on a vampire sucking the blood from her fiancé Greg. Horrified, she screams and runs--not away from the vampire, but toward it, brandishing a wooden letter opener.

As she slams the improvised stake into the vampire’s heart, a team of black-clad men bursts into the apartment. Turning around to face them, Elle discovers that Greg’s body is gone—and her perfect life falls apart.

Picture
MOVE OVER BUFFY *****

Margo Bond Collins’ Legally Undead is a fun romp through legal and undead world. It has the tongue in cheek humor that made Stookie Stackhouse famous and the action that propelled Buffy through years of vampire slaying. Best of all, it had the decisiveness and wit of Margo Bond Collins.

Elle’s upcoming wedding takes a turn for the worse when she discovers a vampire draining her fiancé. She does what any gutsy female would do and attacks the fiend with a letter opener straight through the heart. With the fiend’s death, a clean-up crew burst through the door acquainting Elle with the legal arm that quietly tidies up the mess the undead leaves behind.
Her former life fades as she tries to stay ahead the Undead, because now she’s a marked woman. Elle has to learn a new skill set for survival and deal with the entry of two interesting men into her life.

I’ve always enjoyed Margo Bond Collins’ books, but I think this is the best one yet. I received this book as a gift.

Picture
About the Author

Margo Bond Collins is the author of a number of novels, including Waking Up Dead, Fairy, Texas, and Legally Undead (forthcoming in 2014). She lives in Texas with her husband, their daughter, and several spoiled pets. She teaches college-level English courses online, though writing fiction is her first love. She enjoys reading urban fantasy and paranormal fiction of any genre and spends most of her free time daydreaming about vampires, ghosts, zombies, werewolves, and other monsters.

_____________________________________________

Connect with Margo

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/margobondcollins

Email: MargoBondCollins@gmail.com

Website: http://www.MargoBondCollins.net

Blog: http://www.MargoBondCollins.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MargoBondCollin  @MargoBondCollin

Google+: https://plus.google.com/116484555448104519902

Goodreads Author Page: http://www.goodreads.com/vampirarchy

Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/MargoBondCollins

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/mbondcollins/

Be sure to add Legally Undead to your Goodreads bookshelves: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18366353-legally-undead


2 Comments

The Not So Entitled Writer

7/19/2014

5 Comments

 
Picture
Think writing is hard now. Try using a typewriter.
A recent article by Kait Nolan talks about writers feeling entitled. Feel free to read the entire article. Ms. Nolan makes several good points about a writer expecting a publisher to accept her work no matter what. The life of the entitled writer includes waking up, writing a book, and expecting it to be a best seller overnight. Her friends promote, review or whatever she needs help doing. When her friends don’t fulfil their assigned roles, she’s peeved and goes online to gripe.

Okay, I’ll accept some authors do behave similar to demanding toddlers. Currently, due to small press and self-publishing more people than ever before are publishing books with big dreams of being the next E.L. James or Stephen King. Most are unaware of the entire process of making it big never happens as fast as they’d like. Most of the time, it never happens at all.

Picture
The one thing I disagree with Ms. Nolan is writers helping one another. There has been some words thrown around about writers not helping each other. I’ve helped several authors and other authors have helped me. I think guidelines need to be specified how to help others and how to help yourself. First, realize to help others takes time. It takes time away from your writing and your family. I am guilty of promising too much, then staying up late at night to get it done. Only to have the author not only not thank me, but even criticize my efforts. (This has only happened a half dozen times.)

It is unrealistic to expect big name authors to help aspiring authors, but every now and then, some do.  They have thousands of such requests. They have legal obligations to promote writers within their publisher’s stable. There’s also the possibility that the author who wants promotion isn’t quite ready for publication. Famous writers also have deadlines, book signings, conference appearances and a life.

Picture
Why help others? Most people help with the expectation of others helping them.  This doesn’t always happen, but the majority of the time it does. When someone does a cover release for me on her blog, then I am naturally obligated to do something in return.

Here are a few ways authors/writing groups have helped me.

·         Publisher knowledge via an online or local writing group. I joined Novel Sisterhood, which is free, and received incredible support. I was also in RWA-related groups whose purpose was to educate and help the aspiring writer to get published. My RWA dues ran around $200 considering all the groups I belonged to, but worth it.

·         My local writing group, Crossroads Romance Writers, helps me hone my craft, but also serves as a cheer team to get me through the rough patches.

·         Conferences are a great way to meet other writers, publishers, and even agents. By attending conferences, I networked, developed new friends, and was even invited to present at future conferences.

·         Critiquing each other’s work is a valuable service. Many writers only want praise for their first attempt at writing. There is a happy medium between recognizing what is good and what could be better. Keep in mind, this is a two way street. It is helpful to see how other writers construct a story.

·         Being a positive social media friend is a great way to get more of the same.

·         Occasionally, friends review my book, but not always, because it’s not something they read or time issues. I have hundreds of books I’m going to review, but average only about six a month.

·         Attend workshops presented by published writers. I’m not much on reading books on the craft, but I’ll do workshops since they are more hands on.

·         I get most of my valuable promotional ideas from published authors. These ideas can come from social media, FB groups, workshops, or even face-to-face conversations.

·         Guest blogs posts on other writers’ sites, especially after I initially hosted them on my site.

·         Sprinting or page accountability to another author keeps me writing.

·         Groups such as 2 Friends Promote, Rave Reviews Book Club or ASMSG are for promotion.


Even as I wrote my list, I realized the one thing all my help had in common was effort on my part. I didn’t get to sit back while a crew of authors worked for me. If you really want someone to work for you, then you need to hire an assistant.

Those with the entitlement attitudes will alienate people. My reviews are fair and usually favorable. I’ve even refused to review books I couldn’t do a semi-favorable review for, but still, a few writers attacked when their review wasn’t glowing. One even threatened suicide if I didn’t remove two sentences in my review that she didn’t like.

I remembered the author’s name and watched her alienate other writers and writers’ groups. Not good form, demanding people promote you, and then designating how to promote. Any help is always a gift, often an undeserved one.

Picture
LORI FOSTER RAGT is a conference not to be missed. This conference is Lori Foster's way of helping other authors. Click on photo for link.
Growing up, I understood the concept of reciprocity. It was broken down into the simple saying I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine. Joan Stewart, The Publicity Hound owner and marketing genius, stated in a tutorial that you have to offer something free before you get anything back. You don’t always get something back immediately either. Ms. Stewart demonstrates this philosophy by offering endless free publicity tips in her newsletter.

When someone has helped me, I thank the person, but try to do something helpful in return. A handwritten note to the librarian who shelved my books can help give my pen name a positive association.

Sometimes what looks like entitlement is a publisher or publicist pushing an author to invite everyone they’ve ever met on Planet Earth to a FB event. Some start the invitation with a disclaimer. No writer owes you help. If you help others first, they will be more likely to help you. Often help isn’t immediate or comes in the form you want. Don’t ever lower yourself to backbiting or complaining about a lack of help.  It not only gives you a bad rep, sometimes it gets you kicked out of writing/promotional groups, but it  can dry up any future help too. Don’t be an entitled writer. Instead, be a grateful author.

Picture
5 Comments

PEARSEUS TOUR STOP

7/15/2014

4 Comments

 

Please note that the book will be priced at 99c for a limited time (normal price: $2.99). You can download it on http://amzn.to/1wbajhP.


Yesterday’s crimes. Tomorrow’s retribution.
Blurb:
In the third book of the best-selling Pearseus series, the incessant scheming of the various players and their nebulous puppet-masters has brought about major change. Cyrus is now the new ruler of the Capital, struggling to fight Jonia’s revolt along with his own demons. Gella strives to keep abreast of Teo’s devious plans in order to end the war with Jonia. David returns to the First in an effort to overcome his loss of the Voice. Lehmor’s struggle to reunite with Moirah brings him to uncharted territories, where the enigmatic Iota play with minds, senses and the future of the entire planet.
Old foes and unlikely new friends appear as invisible forces continue to pry humanity apart. Masks drop to reveal the ultimate truth: on Pearseus, everyone has their own agenda. And they’ll stop at nothing to achieve it.


What people say about Pearseus:

“He simply tells a story of corruption, people struggling as pioneers seeking to do with what they have...  The measure of this book is that the triumph is not a textbook description, but a sense of a living struggle.”
“A cross between Game of Thrones and Dune”
“Astonishing, intriguing, thoughtful”
“It will be hard to put this book down long enough to eat and sleep, never mind doing responsible things like going to work and taking care of the kids”
“[It] hits on those big archetypal themes of invasion, loss, leadership, death... and high tech. It gives the reader plenty of material for discussion.”
“Warning: May cause loss of sleep, lowered work productivity, and missed meals”

Nicholas C. Rossis bio:
Author. Avid reader. Web developer. Architect by training, holder of a PhD in Digital Architecture from the University of Edinburgh.
Nicholas loves to write.  Mad Water, the third book in his epic fantasy series, Pearseus, was just published, while his first children's book, Runaway Smile, is currently being illustrated.  He has also published The Power of Six, a collection of short sci-fi stories.
He lives in Athens, Greece, in the middle of a forest, with his wife, dog and two very silly cats, one of whom is always sitting on his lap, so please excuse any typos in his blog posts: typing with one hand can be hard...

Book links:

The Power of Six: 6+1 Science Fiction Short Stories can be found on http://amzn.to/1kKVduI
Pearseus: Schism, Book 1 in his epic fantasy series is available on http://amzn.to/1aDgXDA
Pearseus: Rise of the Prince, Book 2 in his epic fantasy series is available on http://amzn.to/1jlXLj6
Pearseus: Rise of the Prince, Book 2 in his epic fantasy series is available on http://amzn.to/1jlXLj6
Pearseus: Mad Water, Book 3 in his epic fantasy series is available on http://amzn.to/1kPDVvT
You can also read Books 1 & 2 (special edition) on http://amzn.to/RqjNbU and
Books 1 to 3 (box edition) on
Also available: Tao Te Ching  (translated into Greek) on http://amzn.to/1ovrc4n


Web presence:

https://twitter.com/Nicholas_Rossis
http://www.nicholasrossis.me
https://www.facebook.com/NicholasCRossis
https://plus.google.com/+NicholasRossis
https://www.goodreads.com/nicholasrossis
4 Comments

Rave Reviews Book Club Recruitment Day

7/14/2014

23 Comments

 
Picture
Chasing the Author Name Recognition Rainbow

Are you a new or an aspiring author? Maybe you’ve been writing for a while, but can’t get readers or reviewers to know you even exist?  It is frustrating, especially now when there are millions and I did say millions of authors on the scene. What sets you apart? Talent and originality isn’t enough. Even great book covers won’t sell your books if no one sees them.

Maybe you, like me, have spent hundreds, even thousands on book promotions, publicists, or whatever promotion trend that comes around with nothing to show for it, but an empty wallet and a handful of receipts that might not even help at tax time.

In the end, my best author advice has always come from other authors who made themselves guinea pigs for a particular plan. If something worked for them, then it could work for me. I credit Author Bridgitte Goosen with convincing me to join. Even though we are only cyber friends, she’s always been honest, helpful and friendly.  Her tales of what Rave Reviews Book Club did for her convinced me.

What has Rave Reviews Book Club done for me?

·         It’s widened my audience base and exposure.

·         My website visits jumped from 450-600 a day to 4-6,000, which is a big deal.

·         Increased Twitter traffic and followers

·         Increased Facebook fans & friends

·         Introduced me to other like-minded authors

·         Sold books

Did you catch the last one?  I’ve experienced a definite upswing in sales and am looking forward to reviews too. Did I mention that members would review your books too? It’s all good at a miniscule price. I don’t want to mention what I’ve spent to get a whole lot of nothing in previous promotion attempts because it would depress us both.

This is the real deal if you’re serious about promoting. Usually, when people say that, they  go on forever before revealing an astronomical price tag. Currently, Rave Reviews is having a special sale for authors. It’s only $15 (USD) to join. This is per year.

I imagine as an author, you’ve tried things that didn’t work.  I remember standing in the rain at a local Arts Friday trying to interest people in coming inside the book tent. All I got from that venture was a cold. You can enjoy the Rave Reviews Book Club from the comfort of your home by doing what comes natural to an author, reading. Even the name tells people that you as an author have something special to offer. After all, your book and name has already received Rave Reviews.

Interested? How could you not be? Join here by clicking on this link. Rave Reviews Book Club

23 Comments

Christoph Fischer Interview

7/13/2014

3 Comments

 
Picture
Tell us about yourself.

I am an indie writer in my mid-forties ( my prime!).  I am proud to have survived my youthful foibles and extravagancies and now content I have settled down with a husband and three dogs in the country side to plant peonies and write to my heart’s content. I am German but lived half of my life in the UK. If you watch TV then you can imagine me as a cross between Monica from “Friends” and Sheldon from “Big Bang Theory” (minus the genius of course), although I aim to be more like Joey and David Fisher from “Six Feet Under”.

What was your first book?

Funny you should ask that. I am finally re-writing the very first book I wrote (without publishing) with the possibility of finally putting it out there. It is called “Conditions” and is a contemporary drama about mental health and is set at a country funeral. Around the age of 16 I did have to go to an awful lot of funerals in my family and the dramas and revelations that can occur during those events have always shocked and fascinated me.

What is your favorite genre to read? To write?

I keep changing my mind about that, in both writing and reading. For reading, I never used to think much of crime or science fiction but I have read some very good work in those genres over the last year and am beginning to develop a taste for it. Comedy and drama are still high on my list.

As for writing, I love to write new material and explore new genres. I just finished writing my very first thriller and really enjoyed it.

Your writing has a lyrical quality, almost poetic. What has influence your writing style?

Thank you very much. I read so much different materials and like such a variety of authors and styles that it would be hard for me to name one that influenced me most. I like Lionel Shriver’s sharp and painfully honest writing, Armistead Maupin’s warm tones and Henry Miller’s passion. I fear my books are nothing quite like any of their styles, though.

Many of your novels are set in different periods. How do you research them?

I read a lot of history books and novels set in the periods to get dry facts as well as a feel for the period. Before writing “The Luck of the Weissensteiners”, I must have read 50+ books and looked up lots of sources on the internet. With my other novels it was a little easier. Admittedly I did not travel abroad to search the local archives but I made sure I was confident I got it right before using any data or information in my books.

I find though that even in contemporary fiction precise research is required and the tiniest detail can cost you a lot of time to investigate.

Why did you pick the periods, you did?

Curiosity.
“The Luck of the Weissensteiners” was the product of research into my own family history which goes back to Slovakia in the 1930s and 1940s. I wanted to know more what happened or might have happened to my family, which inspired the novel.

A lot of books I read during my research about WW2 mentioned the famous Golden days of Vienna before WW1 and the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Out of curiosity I began to read books set in the era and history books about that time and came up with the story for “Sebastian”.

German history lessons stopped with the end of WW2 so “The Black Eagle Inn” was my own research project into how a Nation with such shame could recover and become a new and modern country.

I wrote another (yet unpublished) novel about Finland and its history, also out of curiosity.

What makes a protagonist interesting?

Contradictions. Everyone has more sides to them than one and people are capable of change. I like it when characters surprise me, both in real life and in fiction.

What is the best thing about being a writer?

Writing the first draft. It is exciting and full of possibilities.

What is the worst thing?

Waiting for the editors to get back to me with feedback and rewrite suggestions.

Pantser or plotter?

Mostly Pantser

What do you see the direction of your future writing taking? What can we expect next? Give us a little taste.

I guess more drama. I have a few novels ready in draft form so another historic war epic is definitely in the making and a few more contemporary dramas. I have just given my first psychological thriller to my crime-fiction-loving partner who surprisingly approved of it so maybe one day I will publish that one, too.

Just for fun

Cat or dog person?

Dog

Favorite food?

Right now I quite fancy a Tomato and Mozzarella Salad but I am hiding some Haribo sweets on my bookshelf.

Favorite book?

Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts

Favorite movie?

Murielle’s Wedding / Groundhog Day

Favorite vacation destination (you just have to want to go there)

Japan



Picture
Time To Let Go:

Time to Let Go is a contemporary family drama set in Britain.
Following a traumatic incident at work Stewardess Hanna Korhonen decides to take time off work and leaves her home in London to spend quality time with her elderly parents in rural England. There she finds that neither can she run away from her problems, nor does her family provide the easy getaway place that she has hoped for. Her mother suffers from Alzheimer’s disease and, while being confronted with the consequences of her issues at work, she and her entire family are forced to reassess their lives.
The book takes a close look at family dynamics and at human nature in a time of a crisis. Their challenges, individual and shared, take the Korhonens on a journey of self-discovery and redemption.

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Time-To-Let-Go/257989361049799?ref=hl

On Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21947533-time-to-let-go

On Amazon: http://bookShow.me/B00K9G8M8W

 

The Luck of the Weissensteiners (Three Nations Trilogy Book 1)

In the sleepy town of Bratislava in 1933 a romantic girl falls for a bookseller from Berlin. Greta Weissensteiner, daughter of a Jewish weaver, slowly settles in with the Winkelmeier clan just as the developments in Germany start to make waves in Europe and re-draws the visible and invisible borders. The political climate in the multifaceted cultural jigsaw puzzle of disintegrating Czechoslovakia becomes more complex and affects relations between the couple and the families. The story follows them through the war with its predictable and also its unexpected turns and events and the equally hard times after.
But this is no ordinary romance; in fact it is not a romance at all, but a powerful, often sad, Holocaust story. What makes The Luck of the Weissensteiners so extraordinary is the chance to consider the many different people who were never in concentration camps, never in the military, yet who nonetheless had their own indelible Holocaust experiences. This is a wide-ranging, historically accurate exploration of the connections between social location, personal integrity and, as the title says, luck.

On Amazon:  http://bookshow.me/B00AFQC4QC

On Goodreads: http://bit.ly/12Rnup8

On Facebook: http://on.fb.me/1bua395

Trailer: http://studio.stupeflix.com/v/OtmyZh4Dmc/?autoplay=1

B&N http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-luck-of-the-weissensteiners-christoph-fischer/1113932211?ean=9781481130332

Sebastian (Three Nations Trilogy Book 2)

Sebastian is the story of a young man who has his leg amputated before World War I. When his father is drafted to the war it falls on to him to run the family grocery store in Vienna, to grow into his responsibilities, bear loss and uncertainty and hopefully find love.
Sebastian Schreiber, his extended family, their friends and the store employees experience the ‘golden days’ of pre-war Vienna and the timed of the war and the end of the Monarchy while trying to make a living and to preserve what they hold dear.
Fischer convincingly describes life in Vienna during the war, how it affected the people in an otherwise safe and prosperous location, the beginning of the end for the Monarchy, the arrival of modern thoughts and trends, the Viennese class system and the end of an era.
As in the first part of the trilogy, “The Luck of The Weissensteiners” we are confronted again with themes of identity, Nationality and borders. The step back in time made from Book 1 and the change of location from Slovakia to Austria enables the reader to see the parallels and the differences deliberately out of the sequential order. This helps to see one not as the consequence of the other, but to experience them as the momentary reality as it must have felt for the people at the time.

On Amazon: http://bookshow.me/B00CLL1UY6

On Goodreads: http://ow.ly/pthHZ

On Facebook: http://ow.ly/pthNy

Trailer: http://studio.stupeflix.com/v/95jvSpHf5a/

B&N http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sebastian-mr-christoph-fischer/1115243053?ean=9781484156001

The Black Eagle Inn (Three Nations Trilogy Book 3)

The Black Eagle Inn is an old established Restaurant and Farm business in the sleepy Bavarian countryside outside of Heimkirchen.  Childless Anna Hinterberger has fought hard to make it her own and keep it running through WWII. Religion and rivalry divide her family as one of her nephews, Markus has got her heart and another nephew, Lukas got her ear. Her husband Herbert is still missing and for the wider family life in post-war Germany also has some unexpected challenges in store.

Once again Fischer tells a family saga with war in the far background and weaves the political and religious into the personal. Being the third in the Three Nations Trilogy this book offers another perspective on war, its impact on people and the themes of nations and identity.

On Facebook: http://ow.ly/pAX3y

On Goodreads: http://ow.ly/pAX8G

On Amazon: http://bookshow.me/B00FSBW2L6

Trailer: http://studio.stupeflix.com/v/mB2JZUuBaI/

 

Short Biography:

Christoph Fischer was born in Germany, near the Austrian border, as the son of a Sudeten-German father and a Bavarian mother. Not a full local in the eyes and ears of his peers he developed an ambiguous sense of belonging and home in Bavaria. He moved to Hamburg in pursuit of his studies and to lead a life of literary indulgence. After a few years he moved on to the UK where he now lives in a small hamlet, not far from Bath.  He and his partner have three Labradoodles to complete their family.

Christoph worked for the British Film Institute, in Libraries, Museums and for an airline.. ‘The Luck of The Weissensteiners’ was published in November 2012; 'Sebastian' in May 2013 and The Black Eagle Inn in October 2013. He has written several other novels which are in the later stages of editing and finalisation.

Website: http://www.christophfischerbooks.com/

Blog: http://writerchristophfischer.wordpress.com/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6590171.Christoph_Fischer

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Christoph-Fischer/e/B00CLO9VMQ/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Christoph-Fischer/e/B00CLO9VMQ/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_2?qid=1400301014&sr=1-2

http://www.amazon.de/Christoph-Fischer/e/B00CLO9VMQ/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_2?qid=1400301014&sr=1-2

 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CFFBooks

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/christophffisch/

Google +: https://plus.google.com/u/0/106213860775307052243

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=241333846

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/WriterChristophFischer?ref=hl

All Facebook links:

http://www.facebook.com/WriterChristophFischer?ref=hl

http://www.facebook.com/TheLuckOfTheWeissensteiners?ref=hl

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sebastian/489427467776001?ref=hl

http://www.facebook.com/TheBlackEagleInn?ref=hl

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Time-To-Let-Go/257989361049799?ref=hl


3 Comments

Into the Darkness Release Day

7/11/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
Blurb:

Vampires and Witches: are they mythical creatures or something that walks amongst us every day without our knowledge? 

To Raven, a twenty-five year-old, extremely sheltered woman, they are nothing more than something to be read about in a book. To Dragon, an eight hundred-year-old vampire, they are a way of life. 

Raven truly believes she is going mad. Erotic dreams fill her nights, causing her to question her sanity by the light of day. They lead her into a world she never knew existed and a heritage that can only be found in nightmares. 

Dragon wants nothing more than to own the mortal soul of the beautiful Raven, a woman who can make his ancient scars disappear, proof that she is far from mortal. 

Together they seek out the dark heritage of her past. What they find is much more than either of them bargained for. A destiny lies at her doorstep, one that could bring her salvation and an eternity at his side. Or, it could seal her fate and rip her from his world forever.

Excerpt:

Raven awoke with a start. A single candle penetrated the darkness engulfing her. Her body began to tremble as she assessed her strange surroundings. She smelled Dragon; he was close. Her body hummed its need for him. What happened tonight? Where am I?

Tremors overtook her, remembering the events of the night. What had she become involved with? Vampires? Witches? And who were they trying to fool? Moreover, for what purpose?

Dragon’s heady scent filled her senses, drawing again her craving for blood. If she was the daughter of a vampire, as Tristan would have her believe, then why did she not have fangs?

The urgency of her desires, more apparent as the wetness between her legs dampened her skin, became an irritant. Damn him, even now she craved the pleasures Dragon stirred in her.

She tried to move from the bed, but Dragon’s strong arm wrapped about her waist, holding her in place. Well, that explains why I can smell him so strongly.

“You told me you wanted to spend the morning with me,” he grunted in her ear.

“That was before I knew you were a vampire.” Her angry words caused him to release her.

Rolling to his back, he slid an arm under his head. “I’m sorry, Raven. I should have told you.”

“There is a great deal you should have told me. Do you think for one moment I believe you or Tristan are these . . . these fictional creatures? Do you suppose for one moment I believe I am the daughter of not just one of these imaginary characters, but two as well?”

Dragon remained relaxed, his breathing even, his demeanor calm. His relaxed posture in her bed, as if her words held no more import than a vague breeze, infuriated her.

“Are you listening to me?” The demand in her tone was harsher than she had ever used.

He lit a lamp on the table beside him, illuminating his face. “Are you done ranting?”

“Ranting! You make fun of something that frightened me so gravely and you have the audacity to say I am ranting.”

Dragon’s hand came to her cheek. Instantly, need replaced anger. She wriggled to ease the yearning between her thighs. Her breasts felt swollen, aching for his touch.

Yet she resisted. “Stop it, Dragon. You know what affect you have on me.”

Dragon withdrew his hand, rising so the sheet fell, exposing his bare chest. Shifting away to fight off the tremendous urge to ravish him, she choked out, “I want answers. Now.”

“Raven, I have never lied to you, nor have I ever made sport of you. And I meant it when I told you I love you.”

“You’re saying that you and Tristan are vampires. And I thought I was the crazy one.” She turned away in disgust, even as she sensed the pain her words had caused him. She pressed a hand to her chest to ease the pressure she felt there.

When her eyes flickered back to him, a shocked gasp escaped at the sight awaiting her.

His mouth was open. And he had fangs. In his mouth.

Fangs.

“Touch them!” he demanded.

She recoiled.

“I said, touch them!” He grabbed her hand, forcing it to his open mouth. The sharp points of his fangs pricked her finger.

Raven ripped her hand from his grasp. “Stop, Dragon! You’re frightening me.”

“I smell your fear. Look deep inside yourself. Fear is not the only emotion that drives this craving for the taste of blood. Your lust for me is stronger.”

Shock overwhelmed her anew as she studied his eyes. She could read the stream of mixed emotion pooling in their deep, darkened depths. His voice sounded in her ears, yet his lips never moved.

“See, you do hear me. Can a mortal woman hear what a man says within his head?”

Dragon rose, naked, from the bed. Raven gritted her teeth against the glorious sight of him. Every muscle, chiseled to flawless perfection. The heat between her legs grew uncomfortable. Damn you for making me want you, even now.

Crossing the room to a small wooden table, he poured a drink into two glasses. It looked dark and smelled rich, inviting. Her mouth watered, a consuming sensation. He came back to stand beside the bed, shoving a glass at her.

She eyed it suspiciously. “What is it?”

“Proof.”

The scent of the liquid aroused her, but she held her ground. “What is it?”

“Drink it!” Dragon’s tone was dark and furious, his eyes glaring at her.

“And if I don’t?” She ripped the glass from his grasp and slammed it on the bedside table in a show of defiance.

Dragon gulped the contents of the glass in his hand, then yanked her from the bed. His mouth crashed down on hers, the drink still rich on his lips and tongue. Unable to control herself, she clung to him in desperation, devouring his mouth. The sweet taste of the liquid fueled a sudden fire within.

Dragon pushed her away. Her hands reached for the glass he had brought her and she drank down the warm, soothing liquid in one large draught. She didn’t care if he watched her, as her tongue licked at the remnants clinging to the corners of her mouth.

His anger seemed to rise with each drop she took in. Now he taunted, “I believe it is you who needs to answer my questions. Mortal women do not crave blood, my dark angel.”

Raven’s hand went to her mouth as her stomach lurched. Dragon grabbed the chamber pot as the contents of her stomach resurfaced.

“You bastard!” She cursed him, even as her taste for the liquid returned in much greater force than before.

“How much more proof do you need, Raven? Your hunger for blood is as deep as any vampire I know.”

Picture
Author Bio

Reading and writing have been J.J.'s passion her whole life.  Starting out with being the poet, everyone came to in high school to get that "perfect" poem for his or her boyfriend/girlfriend.  She spent her weekends locked away in her room, curled up on her bed, writing short stories for only a selected few readers.

She has been happily married for 28 years to her trucker husband.  She is a mother of three, grandmother of three; a lover of dogs, cats, and fish. 

J.J. started to pen historical romance as a hobby when her youngest child was a year old, creating the Acceptance Series.  She got serious about her writing career joining Romance Writers of America and Indiana Romance Writers of America moving on to help start Crossroads Romance Writers in 2014.  She penned her first paranormal romance, Into the Darkness, in 25 days, taking herself beyond her comfort zone and just giving the characters free reign of their story.   

Since taking herself out of the outside working world, she has dedicated her life to her writing and her writing world and raising consciousness for Domestic Violence Awareness.  

Author Links:

Website:

http://definingjjdevine.weebly.com/

Blog:

http://definingjjdevine.weebly.com/ramblings-of-a-writer.html

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/JJDevineAuthor?ref=ts&fref=ts

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/JjDevine2010

AMAZON KINDLE


0 Comments

Never Once Upon A Time

7/11/2014

0 Comments

 

Synopsis

You’ve always hated her, but you might not know the whole story. . .

Edith may not be brazen and enchanted like her twin sister, Ember, but in a world of dying magic, perhaps her simple desires are enough.

After a Selection Banquet gone awry, Edith is left without a suitor or a plan. Befriending a little white fox and occupying herself with a philanthropic project outside castle walls, Edith soon rebuilds morale and musters enough courage to reach out to her estranged twin sister.

But Ember’s been harboring an evil secret - and thwarted love and jealous can turn acts of merit into classic tales of wickedness in this new twist on an old tale.


Excerpt

“Away with you! Or I will scream as if I’m being murdered.” Gretchen’s voice grew shrill.
The fact that the word “murder” was in a small child’s vocabulary scared Edith more than the threat itself. “I will go, I will go,” she said hurriedly. Edith decided to leave her cape and make a run for the Wood. Secrecy was more important than the shawl and gifts, so she decided to make a getaway and hoped abandoning the cape would perhaps serve as a reason to return. Whether or not she wanted to brave such a return was still up for debate.
“Father and Mother will be walking up the same pathway you took to come here. To avoid them, you must go a different way or stay parallel and concealed in the forest beside it. Unless you want to bump into them?” Her tone was sarcastic. “I’m sure after yet another futile day of hunting and foraging for squirrels, they’d love to see you.”
Edith didn’t acknowledge Gretchen. Instead, she ran headlong toward to forest’s edge for fear of what might happen if Ember discovered that her most hated rival was at her cottage. When she reached the edge of Elfin Wood, a curious pull behind Edith’s ribcage had her look over her shoulder for one last glance at the dilapidated cottage. She saw her nephews standing at the window. Rune was waving profusely, hands full of the cookies Edith had made. Dash, whose eyes could be seen peeking happily from under the hood of his aunt’s cape, blew kisses with razzleberry tart stained hands. Edith clutched her chest and stepped into the tangled brush of the Wood.

Buy Links
Amazon Paperback  
Kindle 


About the Author

Meredith Jade was raised in a small town by parents who taught her to love reading. From the moment she could hold pencil to paper, she wrote. After graduating college and traveling abroad teaching English in Uttaradit, Thailand for a year, she came home. Writing was that home. Her writing has a range of inspirations, all a result of her voracious reading as a child and young adult. Anything from Victorian Literature to bird watching guides to NY Times best sellers have served as an agent for her imagination. Never Upon a Time is her first novel.


Connect with Meredith

Email: meredith.jade7@gmail.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Meredith-Jade/648465681892404?ref_type=bookmark
Blog: http://thereaderproject.wordpress.com
Twitter: @meredithjade

Fabulosity Reads Book Promotions is a book touring website that promotes authors and their precious works to an extensive audience using blogs, twitter, Facebook and other Social Media, with the aim of introducing them to an appreciative readership.
They offer a diverse range of both complimentary and affordable products to help the reach of your book go that much further.



0 Comments

Struggles of the Women Folk Tour Stop & Giveaway

7/4/2014

2 Comments

 


Genres:
African American fiction, 
historical fiction, 
women's issues.

Themes:
 family dynamics, 
romance, 
perseverance
                                                                                                                     
"Struggles of the Women Folk" is based on fictional characters created from stories my grandma shared with me when I was child.  It is the story of Georgie, a young Black girl in the South during the 1940s. I hope that you can appreciate her pain, suffering and betrayal as you travel with her on highs and lows you won't anticipate. This is the story of the power of a woman's courage, love, strength and faith that exists within each and every one us, whether we know it or not..

Excerpt
“Morning country bumpkins,” she said, same as usual.
“I don’t know why you have to be so rude to us every morning! What makes you think you so much better than us? How come we always gotta wait for you every morning? We workin in the same shop, doing the same stuff. Why you think you so much better than us?” I said as Miss Hazel and Sharon looked at me wide eyed.
“Look at you! Need I say more?” Regina smirked.
“No, you don’t need to say more, but I sure can. Like how you and Mr. Anderson been breaking dem springs on dat bed upstairs almost every night. Iz dat why you think you better than us? Cuz you up dere spreading your legs for dat white man?”
“Shut up!”
“No, you shut up! I don’t want to hear nothing else outta you! Not one more mornin! You just common! Messing round with somebody else’s husband foe a few nice dresses. I know your kind.” I didn’t know why I was so mad at her, but I just wanted to snap her head off.
“Shut up! That’s a lie.”
“No it ain’t. I hears yawl almost ever night.”
“You just sayin that cuz you jealous.”
“Jealous! Jealous of what? You ain’t got nothing I want! You mean, and ya nasty and common on top of it!”
“Just say one more word and I’ll . . .”
“You’ll what? Girrl, you really don’t want no parts of me. You take one more step and that’ll be your last! I’m sick of you!” Before I knew it, I was within arm’s reach of Regina. I had every intention of beating her down to the floor.
“Okay girls, that’s enough,” Miss Hazel interrupted. “Regina and Sharon, why don’t you go back up to your rooms for a minute.”
What? Why we gotta go? She’s the one causing problems,” Regina said as she began to make her way up the stairs. I guess she could see from the look on Miss Hazel’s face that she better not push it.
“I’m sorry, Miss Hazel,” I said after they left. “I’m just tired of her picking on me and Sharon all the time. Plus I miss my momma, and . . . and I don’t feel good.”
“I know it must be hard being so far away with no family around, child.” No one had called me child since I left my momma in Virginia. I missed her so much. I missed Donnie so much. I felt so lonely.

“You know, everybody has a story. Things aren’t always as they seem,” Miss Hazel said. “Regina has a story to tell as well. That don’t make it right for her to act the way she been acting, but she’s had her troubles too.

About The Author

Image of T. M. BrownInternationally recognized story-teller with a past that provides lots of material to write from!
*1st book, "A Life Not My Own", kicks down the secret door that Tina had worked so hard to lock away her insecurities, heartache and fears.
*5 STAR rated Just Between Us - Inspiring Stories by Women. TM's short story is a continuation of "A Life Not My Own", providing just a tad more about her life as a young adult (not captured in my first book). Expect the unexpected...
*"Struggles of the Women Folk", is based on fictional characters with a storyline created from stories that her grandmother shared with her as a child.
*Military service: 7 years - Enlisted
*Formal Education
*Master of Science Degree in System Engineering - Regis University - Denver, Colorado
*Undergraduate Degree in Psychology - University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC)

Visit http://author-tmbrown.com/ and tm.brown35@yahoo.com

Get it now on:
AMAZON
SMASHWORDS


BARNES AND NOBLE

Fabulosity Reads Book Promotions is a book touring website that promotes authors and their precious works to an extensive audience using blogs, twitter, Facebook and other Social Media, with the aim of introducing them to an appreciative readership. 
They offer a diverse range of both complimentary and affordable products to help the reach of your book go that much further.

Code for Rafflecopter: a Rafflecopter giveaway scrip
2 Comments

June Newsletter

7/2/2014

1 Comment

 
Picture
June is almost over and it’s past time for my June newsletter. It’s been a big month with the Lori Foster Get Together and my favorite season of the year. If you guessed summer, you’re only half-right. Gardening season is the other half. Gardeners are optimists because they expect something to come from a little tiny dried up seed. I am also a clearance plant shopper. The neglected plants huddle on the stand, very often their blooms long gone, gradually drying up since no one bothers to water them. Most people see a half-dead plant. I see something that just needs a little love. The pink rose is a Queen Elizabeth Rose I rescued from the clearance table. The lilies were late blooming this year due to the long winter. I hope all of you have thawed out from the polar vortex. My solemn promise to myself is not to complain about the summer heat.

Lori Foster’s Readers and Authors Get Together was amazing. First, if you haven’t met Lori Foster, she’s a real person as opposed to a celebrity. Her husband, Al, worked extremely hard making everything a success. It was fun eating meals with readers and just hanging out. SCP, my publisher, had a game room where readers were winning extravagant baskets and gift cards. All you had to do is show up. In you live anywhere close to Cincinnati or Ohio you might consider going next year. You don’t have to stay in the hotel. Fifty dollars gives you the right to all the meals and events.

There were no cover models walking around, but author Tricia Andersen and I had our pics taken with one of Lori Foster’s cover models. I will admit he was a bit on the flat side. There were over 300 gift baskets in the raffle to raise money for an abused children’s shelter. The RAGT raised over $17,000 for a very good cause. I’ll be there next year and hope to see a few of you too.

Picture
Tricia Andersen and Flat Cover Model
The Inheritance, my wounded warrior tale, is officially finished and sent in to the publisher. I’m off to finish off Exposed, a cougar romance, and edit Act Your Age, a sweet romance. I now have a street team page. Fellow author, Jean Joachim, designed Morgan’s Book Mavens FB page. Like it and you’re on the street team. If you retweet my embedded tweets you’re on your way to being July’s street team member winner.

Laura Haines is my newsletter winner for June. She wins a $20 Amazon card. I’m asking all winners to contact me @ morgankwyatt@juno.com. If I don’t hear from the selected winner, I’ll draw again until I find a newsletter reader winner. (It is a bit like you have to be present to win. J) I have two free book winners who need to contact me with their picks from my backlist on www.morgankwyatt.com.  The winners are Rayna Scherer and Liza Ozborn.

Upcoming blog hops on Writer Wonderland include Secret Cravings Publishing Backlist Blog Hop on July 12-13th. Make sure you read July’s newsletter with details about the Kindle Fire Giveaway or $229 Paypal card, whichever one appeals to you.

Enjoy your summer. What could be better than reading a paperback while floating in the pool?

1 Comment

    ​

    Picture

    Only .99 Pre-order

    Christmas Cozies

    BOOK THREE

    Archives

    March 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    July 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    February 2021
    December 2020
    September 2020
    May 2020
    March 2020
    January 2020
    June 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    August 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    November 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    July 2012

    Categories

    All
    Abraham Menard
    Atty Eve
    Bitten By Romance
    Cathy Maxwell
    Celebrate Freedom Blog Hop
    David Caruso
    Dorien Kelley
    Emergency Call Series
    Emergency Calls Series
    Free Book Sites
    Fun Summer Reads
    Harry Potter
    Historical Romance Blog Hop
    Historical Trivia
    Incognito
    Interracial Romance
    Joan Stewart
    Johnny Depp
    J.R.R. Tolkien
    LaNora Mangano
    Lindsay Downs
    Marcus Aronson Interview
    Mature Romance
    Michael A. Rothman
    Perfect Stranger
    PJ Fiala
    Prizes
    Realistic Characters
    Reciprocity
    Scarlett O'Hara
    Secret Cravings
    S.E. Hinton
    Street Team
    Sylvia Hubbard
    Teresa Gallagher
    The Fault Is In Our Stars
    The Hunger Games

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.