Saturday Series: WIP Joy Questions Pt. 4


Welcome back to the Saturday Series! Let's keep this going.

16. Some sights to see in your WIP.

Beaches, palaces, mountain ranges, woodland beaches!

17. Some sounds to be heard in your WIP.

Airship propellers, crystal swords clashing, underwater trauma! (Wait, what?)

18. Some scents smelled in your WIP.

Ocean water, pine, winter air, burnt things!

19. Some tastes/flavors shown in your WIP.

 Sour, tangy, sugary sweet, gamy, spicy!

20. Some touches/textures experienced in your WIP.

Cast iron, splintered wood, wool, sativa*, roughspun cotton**!


I was going to add 21, but these were the senses, so, I'll leave them be. See you next week!


(*Hemp (wearing, not smoking), **Jeans)

Fast Five and Express Yourself Friday


Happy Friday!!

Today is brought to us by the Cover Girls, Dani and Jackie, who host Fast Five Friday and Express Yourself Weekly!


For this week, they asked us for 5 habits and routines.

1. I bite my cheeks until I can taste copper.
2. I also pick scabs (gross, sorry, but they itch).
3. When I'm writing, I play online games in between.
4. (Just did it as I type) I bite my hangnails.
5. I hitch my glasses up even when they're not on my face lol.


They also asked us: Where would you consider the most romantic place to vacation?

Call it cliché, but I think Paris would be. The sights, the music, the art. I'd like to summer there and find a boyfriend. lol That would be nice.

What about you guys?

Wednesday Words: Am Revising, But What To Read??



Happy Hump Day!

As you know, I'm currently revising, so I haven't started reading another book yet. I have a whole bunch on my e-Reader, though, and a few books in my room, so by next week, I should be working on one of those...I was part of this e-book list last year that showcased a bunch of free books and e-books that cost next to nothing, and I just looked at that list...Good Lord, does that go on forever.

I think my next book will have to be Octavia Butler's Parable of the Talents. I didn't really like Parable of the Sower, but as one of my favorite authors, I feel I should finish the series. Maybe more happens in the second book, too.

I'll definitely decide by next week...I think...

A Change with Tuesday

Happy Tuesday!

So, as I normally do, I got bored. This time, it was with writing flash fiction. I also began revising my WIP full force, so I want to focus on that for a few days. I have a beta reader in waiting, and I'm sort of contemplating entering the DVPit Contest Beth Phelan is hosting in April, so I want this project to be polished and "approved" by then.

SO (I say "so" a lot), I'll probably be checking in on Tuesdays just to clear my head and annoy y'all that way. Fun times.

If you did read any of my Tales, I certainly thank you. Some of them were phoned in, but I wanted to stick with it for as long as possible. I guess it's now time to move on from it.

Or, hey, maybe I'll find something else to do on Saturdays. I'm really enjoying doing Saturday Series. We'll see, because those would DEFINITELY need to be scheduled ahead of time.

Saturday Series: WIP Joy Questions Pt. 3

These are not only fun, but they certainly get my brain thinking, and because I schedule them, I don't have to wake up to do them. Eyyy...Back to the questions. haha

11. A favorite line about emotion from your WIP.

He gazed around at the quarters still being doused in water by work hands and lost his breath at the thought of Ghuli* being in the grips of pain, in the midst of everything before his eyes.

12. A scene you deleted but you love anyway (sadness!).

There was a battle scene that inevitably didn't make sense per location. The crew was chased down by a Trollic version of the coast guard, and a fight ensued between Laris, Cyan and a paratrooper. He starts strangling Laris, basically breaks Cyan's face, and doesn't notice Brodie shooting at him with a bullet that turns him to stone. The imagery was great, but I realized they wouldn't have run into the guards in the direction they were going, so NIX.

13. A piece of feedback that made you smile.

My friend's mom (an early beta reader and #1 fan lol) said the story is too short, and she wanted me to expand on a lot.

14. How do you want the target audience to be affected by this story?

I want this to be something they'll love, and that they'll read more times than once, and cosplay at conventions!

15. Is there an animal you love in your book?

When I was a kid, I used to have dreams about a white tiger protecting me or that I'd escape on. I actually had one before I started writing this story, so I incorporated white, stripeless, tiger-like beasts I call leonines into the story that protect Ghuli at times.




*This post occurred before I changed Ghuli's name to Jonnie*

Wednesday Words: Moving Forward


Happy Hump Day, peeps.

Today, I'm talking about writing, and sadly, when to move on without your critique partner. As I had mentioned during IWSG, my CP fell on some hard matters in her personal life, so she couldn't get to my manuscript. I wanted to be patient about it, but at the same time, I want to finish revising this story. I don't want to let time or an opportunity that might arise this year pass. And a fellow writer wants to beta this piece. I thought things were looking up for the MS last year, and if it weren't for this CP, I would've been highly disappointed. She brought up so many issues I didn't see, and for that I'm so grateful. I hope to use her notes to continue revising and get The Crystal Bearer* into that eager beta reader's hands!

I say this to say, know what's best for you. You definitely don't want to hurt feelings, but don't hold back when your heart is telling you to go forward. It's your book, and it's okay to think of yourself when it comes to it.




*This post occurred before I changed the WIP title.*

Saturday Series: WIP Joy Questions Pt. 2

*This post occurred before I changed the WIP title and Ghuli's name to Jonnie*


I started this series last week to answer some questions about my WIP, The Crystal Bearer, so let me dive right in to the next few questions!

6. A character you'd be best friends with and why.

I would probably get along best with Andyrsn. He's a very chill guy with a silly streak.

7. The very first idea or inspiration you had for this WIP.

It was a dream I had that featured an all white bedroom with a black street light in it. The lights changed from red, to yellow, to blue, and metal monsters started flying past my window. I army-crawled out of the room, accidentally tripped two people who were running by, and we all ran to this wicker room with a trap door. One of the guys fell from the ladder before securing the trapdoor, so I ran up to unlock it, saw a monster standing right over us, and locked the door as quietly as I could before climbing down, and we ran down a dark hallway. <-- This became the opening scene to my story in the first draft.

8. A favorite line from your WIP about a character.

“We’ve been worried to death about his well-being, but I’m sure he’s been sipping honeydew tea and telling that stupid story about his immunity to faerieflies.”

9. A favorite piece of description from your WIP.

A white stone temple sat atop a hill amidst a forest. The rising sun lit it against the waning shade below and made it seem a hopeful beacon to Ghuli as she made her way up the cobblestone path.

10. A favorite line of dialogue from your WIP.

"I don't want anyone else dying for me."

Fast Five Friday x2


Happy Friday!

Fridays are open for a few things for me, one of them being Fast Five! This was created by the Cover Girls, Dani & Jackie, and it helps us learn quick-fire things about each other.

Last week, they wanted to know our 5 favorite places to eat. Mine are:

1. The Greene Turtle
2. McDonald's
3. TGI Fridays
4. Cheddars
5. Taco Bell

This week, they want to know 5 acts of kindness that can do wonders.

1. Surprising someone by paying for their meal, gas, or toll.
2. Being friendly no matter how your day is going.
3. Smiling.
4. Listening to listen.
5. A hug.

Have a good weekend!

Wednesday Words: A Madness So Discreet by Mindy McGinnis



Hump DAY!

I set most of my Wednesdays aside to share with you all the books I'm reading at the time. I'm excited about this one, because I've had it for a couple of months but am strict in my book reading order.


Mindy McGinnis, acclaimed author of Not a Drop to Drink and In a Handful of Dust, brings us this dark thriller, A Madness So Discreet. I'm loving it so far, and this cover. GORGE!

There are 384 pages in this book, and Random was kind enough to give me an early page this time, page 32. So, let me find a line to share with you all.

Heedson came through the door, rolling his shirtsleeves up to his elbows. Grace cried out, whatever hard-earned word she'd been trying to form lost entirely as she scraped the sheets into a pile to cover her nakedness.

The scene before it was a hard one to read. Mindy's a genius writer! I love her work.

Reading anything good today?

Tuesday Tales: Waterfalls



Tuesdays are the days I have set aside to work on flash fiction to get my mind working on writing. As I'm working on revising my WIP, The Crystal Bearer, these short-short stories are set in its world, Teorre.

I looked through Tumblr and found Flash Fiction 365. I might use a few of these. #128 is waterfalls, and I think I can come up with something for it.


Waterfalls

Taryn climbed down the rocks of the wall beneath the castle and perched patiently until Lissi could catch up to her. The sisters had the first day of the green season off for the first time, and they could not wait to leave the castle to swim under the waterfalls. In the snow season, the water froze where it fell, making natural slides into the icy lake below for the braver baysprites to plunge into, but Taryn and Lissi remained fearful of their companions’ wintry escapades and instead waited for the weather to break and the water to move once again.

The sun shone down on the clear water of Royalos’ Rockpool Lake. The roar of the falls grew louder and louder until the sisters could see them mirroring each other in the cove. Mist rose into the air as the water above fell to churn the water below, and Taryn squealed with delight. Lissi looked around until she found the hidden path to the first waterfall.  Taryn followed her, and they sat along the ledge to reach their feet out to the plummeting river above them. The water splashed on their toes, still cold from the snow season, but the green season never got much warmer.

Lissi was the first to jump. She balled her red locks into a bun at the top of her head and stood. She looked down at the water with wide eyes, then shared a smile with Taryn. The sisters counted, and at three, Lissi leapt off of the ledge, arms spread wide, through the waterfall and downward into the lake. Taryn waited for her sister to call up to her with a whistle before she stood and prepared herself to follow. Her legs shook with the anticipation of the fall, but she would do it. She counted, one…two…three, and jumped, arms overheard and hands coming to a point, to dive through the waterfall. Taryn arced downward and closed her eyes at the sensation of gravity pulling her down into the lake. It looked much darker from above than it ever did. As the water caught her, Taryn closed her eyes and curved upward to make a graceful arc below. She resurfaced and met Lissi’s wide smile. They squealed and laughed at each other, teeth chattering with cold. But it was already decided silently between them.

They were going to climb out and jump again.





*This post occurred before I changed the WIP title.*

Saturday Series: WIP Joy Questions Pt. 1


*This post occurred before I changed the WIP title and Ghuli's name to Jonnie*




(A post on Saturday, what??)

RA Black posted these questions on her blog, and I thought it would be an awesome thing to do for my WIP, The Crystal Bearer! But as I also like to be short and sweet, I'm going to break these up over the next few weeks.

Answers for questions 1 - 5.

1. Describe your story as   Ghuli   meets   Andyrsn  .

Ghuli had not only just been forced from the only home she had ever known by a rampaging metal army, but then she was shipwrecked and lost everyone she loved overnight. Andyrsn and his brothers found her washed up on shore, and this actually begins a cycle of the two of them saving each other.

2. Why you love your protagonist.

Ghuli is in that awkward 17-year-old phase of her life where she tries to hold onto childhood, but she inevitably grows up before our eyes on paper. She's also a very sweet girl who just wants to be happy.

3. A side character you love and why.

Cyan is my favorite side character. He's a hard-ass with a soft spot when it comes to Ghuli, and he will do anything to protect her. I loved getting to write in some vulnerable moments for him.

4. Why you love your antagonist.

She's a broken creature with some pretty good reasons to wreak havoc, though normal people wouldn't act on the urges. I don't want to give too much away, but we do get to see she had a redeeming side once upon a time.

5. You hope someday your book gets a review that says...

"I've been waiting forever to read a book like this, and Debra delivered!"


If you're a writer, I think you should give these questions a go! They really make you think. :)

Friday, February Fifth: The Whereafter Cover Reveal



You don't know how excited I am to be a part of this. I came down with a bad cold when I was supposed to be a part of the Thereafter Cover Reveal, so I'm so glad to be healthy this time around!

Terri Bruce, with the help of Enchanted Book Promotions, is revealing the cover to the 3rd book in her Afterlife Series: Whereafter. Here is the book blurb. *squeals*


How far would you go to get your life back?

Stuck on an island encircled by fire and hunted by shadows bent on trapping them there forever, Irene and Andras struggle to hold onto the last vestiges of their physical selves, without which they can never return to the land of the living. But it’s not just external forces they’ll have to fight as the pair grow to realize they have different goals. Irene still clings to the hope that she can somehow return to her old life—the one she had before she died—while Andras would be only too glad to embrace oblivion.

Meanwhile, Jonah desperately searches for a way to cross over to the other side, even if doing so means his death. His crossing over, however, is the one thing that could destroy Irene’s chances of returning home.

Too many obstacles, too many people to save, and the thing Irene most desperately wants—to return to her old life—seems farther away than ever. Only one thing is clear: moving on will require making a terrible sacrifice.


And now without further ado, here is the cover after those obligatory "wait for it" dots......

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Okay, that's enough.



I need to know if my guess is correct on who that gent is, but look at Irene. Slaaay! I'm so excited for Terri. Eek. Go ahead and add this to your Goodreads! I know we're in for quite a ride!

IWSG: Where AM I?

Brought to us by Alex J. Cavanaugh,
sensei and founder of the Insecure Writer's Support Group.



Well, I'm totally behind the ball today.

I was actually coming here extremely late in the day to do my weekly Wednesday Words and then noticed the people I follow were posting IWSG posts, and "Oh, crap."

First of all, happy happy February, all! I hope everyone who is doing contests this year has a great time. I don't plan on joining you this year.

At the moment, my WIP is at a standstill. I think this is a test of patience, because something has always happened when I trade it for critiquing. Either the match is HORRIBLE, or the person on the other end suddenly takes forever to get back my chapters. The last time it happened, the person didn't really have much of an excuse, so I broke off the match. This time, unfortunately, my person is going through some really serious personal things, and I can't abandon her. We've hit it off extremely well, and I want us to keep going until she says she just can't.

Speaking of said WIP, however, my mind will NOT let this sequel idea GO! I truly believe in not working on a sequel if you don't even have an agent for the original, and I had goals in my head that this book would be a one-stop-shop, and I'd be on another story. How did this happen?!

So I'm all aflutter right now. Someone save me.

Tuesday Tales: First Breakfast

*This post occurred before I changed the WIP title and Ghuli's name to Jonnie.*



Happy Tuesday!

These are the days I set aside to try to get my brain working with some flash fiction. As I pine for publication of my MS, The Crystal Bearer, I have set the stories in its world, Teorre. Using another prompt from 30 Flash Fiction Prompts, let's see what I can do. 25: Write a story that takes place over breakfast.



First Breakfast


The Crystalline Princess and her First Lt. Watchman were still sleeping when the Sprityn Prince awoke. The eyes of four Sprityn handmaids stared at him through a crack in the door, and they hurried in as he stirred. Prince Laris sat up and shook his head.

"No, no. I am not your Prince here, my dears. I am your lady's watchman. You need not serve me." They looked confused and a little chagrined, but they nodded and bowed. "Howbeit, I would like to prepare breakfast for Lady Ghulien and Cyan."

Their bright green eyes lit up again, and they pulled Laris out of bed and out of his room. They snuck around the northern corridor behind the bedrooms so that the two weren't disturbed. They weren't yet granted any time to themselves after the Commanding Watchman Aleksandyr's death. Laris knew this would be a hard day for them, the first full day in their new shelter.

After coating most of himself with flour and egg shells, Laris let the handmaids push him around the kitchen and instruct him on small tasks while they handled the rest. Soon, the corridors smelled of freshly cooked bacon and flat cakes, fried eggs and honeyed scraps. Laris took trays of food to the West Parlor and set them on the table. He was pouring peach nectar when the hulktroll Cyan walked in groggily from the southern corridor. He looked down at the spread and blinked.

"Good morning, Cyan," Laris said with a smile. "Sit. Have some food."

"I'm not hungry yet," Cyan mumbled, though he sat. After another moment, his eyes slid towards the pile of bacon on his plate, and he plucked a strip to chew.

Laris smiled to himself and looked up as the young Princess peaked around the corner. "Good morning, my lady. Come, come."

Ghulien hesitated, but she sat across from Cyan and stared at her plate for a time. Cyan's hunger must have found him as he began to eat more enthusiastically. Laris sat as well and started to cut into his flat cakes, watching Ghulien as she pushed her honeyed scraps around the plate. For a time, Laris thought she would let her food get cold, but he had an idea. He carefully took Ghulien's plate and began to move the food around. Honeyed scraps in two rows along one edge of the plate, an egg beneath each row. Bacon curved slightly at the opposite edge of the plate, and flat cakes off onto a separate plate, except for one small triangle between the eggs. Then, he returned her plate.

Ghulien paused, then smiled at the face Laris had made with her food. As she started to eat, Cyan looked to Laris with a grateful smile, and the three ate quietly together.