Bloodlust book blast and guest post by author Nicole Zoltack

Today, we have a guest post by my good friend Nicole Zoltack, author of the newly-released Bloodlust (along with a host of other novels). Nicole has offered to tell us a little about creating conflict between the heroine and hero of the story. And she's even offered to share an excerpt from her new novel.

By the way, how amazingly wonderful is this cover? I love the fact that is shows a woman who looks as though she has just come from battle.

When writing a romance, regardless of whether it’s contemporary or historical, fantasy or paranormal or not, there is always going to be conflict between the heroine and hero. And when the heroine and hero are different races that hate each other, talk about conflict!
Barbarian-Princess Ivy hates that she needs goliath Lukor’s help to find an interpreter for trollish coded messages. Plenty of back and forth and arguments and tension, even battles between them. How can these two ever get together? You’ll have to read Bloodlust to find out! 

Excerpt:
   Grinning, he peered over his shoulder at her. "Enjoying the view from back there?"
   Her tanned cheeks burned. "Your backside leaves a lot to be desired." She quickened her pace to be only an inch behind him.
   She was used to leading. That she needed him must irk her something fierce. He smiled again. Irking her was quickly becoming a favorite pastime.
   As they walked around the base of the mountains, the teal grass melted away to blue bushes and sand. Her strides were just as long as his, but she moved quicker, and soon was a step ahead. Her shield bounced on her back. So tantalizing. He could reach out and snatch it.
   But she'd hunt him down. Probably could outrun him. He'd never make it back to   Ordisium in one piece.
   The shield though. He never thought barbarians used a defensive weapon. True, it did have a spike in the center, but it still struck him as against everything he knew about barbarians. Regardless, if it should be sent back to Barbadia without its owner, war was all but assured.
   Once they bypassed the last of the mountains, he halted. "Time for a meal."
   "Let's press on."
   "The Spirit Realm is not a location to traverse during the dark hours."
   Her small eyebrows rose in perfect arches. "Why would we bother to go that route? The    Smog is a desolate place, yes, but it will be quicker—"
   "Not if you know a certain route through the Realm." He was asking her to trust him.     When he didn't trust her either. And had given her no reason to trust him.
   After a tense moment, her hand resting on her hilt, she nodded. "I'm hungry anyhow." She sniffed. "I think I smell your cousin nearby."
   A pig was not far from them. Snorting, cowardly creatures, how could she compare a warrior to such a timid animal? The insult had him unleashing his axe before conscious thought.
   Her sword met his weapon, a spark flying from the joint metal. With a shrug, she scampered off into the small spattering of nearby trees.

Fun giveaway: 

Oh, and the first ten people who email (Nicole.Zoltack@gmail.com) proof of purchase of BLOODLUST will be gifted another one of Nicole's stories. Spread the word about this and you might win another novel!

Desperation…

Barbarian-Princess Ivy is unwilling to allow her father to provoke the other races into war and forms an unlikely alliance with Lukor the goliath to save her people from utter destruction.

Betrayal…

Unbeknownst to her, Lukor blames the barbarians for murdering his sister and plans on sabotaging her goal.

Bloodlust…

Almost despite each other, they grow to respect each other on their journey to decode secret messages from the trolls. But nothing Ivy can do will prevent the war as her father is blinded by Bloodlust and incites it himself. Not even killing him and becoming Barbaroness can stop the tide. And when Bloodlust claims Ivy, forcing her to kill everyone in her path, she must make a choice to destroy even Lukor, who she may have started to fall for and him in return.

Add it on Goodreads. Buy it at Amazon, B&N, and Kobo.

Author Bio:

Nicole Zoltack loves to write in many genres, especially fantasy romance. When she's not writing about knights, superheroes, or zombies, she loves to spend time with her loving husband and three energetic boys. She enjoys riding horses (pretending they're unicorns!) and going to the PA Renaissance Faire, dress in garb. She'll also read anything she can get her hands on. To learn more about Nicole and her writing, visit her blog.

Tweet

My Writing Process - Blog Tour #mywritingprocess

I was asked to join in with this blog tour by Lizzie Koch, so here are my answers to the questions given.

1)     What am I working on?

This question could take me some time to answer, but I will try and be brief.

I am writing the 28 Day Challenge as blog posts currently. The posts will be done in about 4 or 5 days and then I will need to start editing it and shaping into a book for publication. It's a non-fiction book about health and fitness.

I am also working on some children's picture books. I have several written that I am still fine-tuning, and I've recently been bombarded with ideas for several more. My muse has been very active lately.

I am running the Chapter Book Challenge in March, which begins tomorrow, so I will be writing more of my chapter book called "The Day My Shadow Tried to Kill Me." It's a busy month for me, but I am usually able to fit my writing in at the same time as I coordinate all of the author guest posts and prize give-aways during the challenge.

I have written several novels during NaNoWriMo, but during NaNoWriMo 2012, I wrote a novel that was over 100,000 words. It's called "Prophecy Girl" but that is just a working title and will change by the time my editing and revising is complete. It's the novel I plan on focusing my editing on in the near future.

I will be writing another non-fiction book on the month of April during the challenge I am running called Blog Your Book in 30 Days. It's still being researched so I don't want to go into too much about it yet.

There are other writing projects I am working on at the moment, but the above writing projects are the ones I will be focusing most of my energy on in the near future.

2)     How does my work differ from others of its genre?

Gah! Awful question for me! I am not sure how it differs! At the moment, it differs because it isn't published yet.

I think I tend to write stories full of hope. It is very difficult for me to put my characters in seemingly desperate situations, but I am working on changing that about my writing, not getting rid of the hope, but making it appear as if the hope is lost, at some point, when it is really there all along.

3)     Why do I write what I do?

This is a little bit complicated to explain because I write so many different types of books, and I have a different reason for writing each type.

For my health and fitness books, it comes down to the fact that, having been morbidly obese once upon a time and overcoming it, I know what it is like to be struggling to live a healthy lifestyle and to be struggling with weight issues, health issues, self-esteem issues and the like. I know what it is like to feel weak and unhealthy. I guess, having overcome it, I just want to help others do the same. 

The 28 Day Fitness Challenge was designed to make fitting fitness into your daily schedule easy to do, and it also helps increase your daily fitness so that, at the end of the challenge, you will find yourself stronger and more fit than you were when you first started. At the time I started the challenge on my Skinny Dreaming site, I also had fallen into not-so-great fitness habits, so it was also a way to get myself back into a daily fitness routine. It's freely available on the website for anyone to use, but I know that sometimes people find having the whole challenge in their hands where they don't have to go searching for it easier, so I'm turning into a book.

For my children's books, from the picture books to the chapter books and middle grade books, I write them because I love children. (I'd have to love children to have had seven of my own, right?) I love the sense of fun that children have and the fact that they are so easy to convince that magic is real.

For the record, magic IS real. I don't care that science can explain most things. For example,the miracle of birth: If you have ever seen the birth of a newborn infant, you'd feel the magic too and know it was real. Nothing will convince me otherwise.

For my novels, it just simply comes down to my love for stories. When I read stories, I sink into them and experience them through the words on the page, and I always feel the urge to create my own stories, to create my own worlds and characters to share with others. There is never a time when I am not feeling the pull to write, as if the stories in my mind are really floating in the air around me with whispy fingers that are constantly reaching out and tugging at me.

4)     How does your writing process work?

I would really, really love to say that I have an outline and a firm plot in mind when I write, but sadly, it wouldn't be the truth. I write best when I am winging it. I start with an idea, sometimes not even a fully formed one, and I start writing. There are times when I am just as surprised by where the story takes me as anyone reading it would be. 

I would also really like to say that I have a set schedule for when I write and some sort of plan for how I go about my editing and revising, but I don't, which is why I have many finished first drafts and very little writing that is ready to submit anywhere.


Here are threeof my friends who will be posting the "My Writing Process" blog tour posts on the 24th. Please go and visit their blogs.  Their posts will go up on March 3rd.

Melissa Gijsbers Khalinsky - Melissa Gijsbers is an Australian author and blogger. She has had flash fiction stories feature in a number of anthologies, including Teapot Tales: a collection of unique fairy tales.  When she’s not writing or coming up with ideas for stories, she’s running around after 2 active boys and working in the family business. You can find her online at www.melissagijbers.com or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/melissagijsbers

Ashley Howland - Ashley Howland lives in Adelaide, South Australia with her husband Ross, two daughters, Maddy and Aijay, her spoilt Labrador, Stitch. Her girls inspire her every day to write children’s books and the dogs often provide the material. Ashley also works as the curriculum manager for Labs ‘n Life. This requires random extra Labradors to appear in their lives and of course in Ashley’s stories. You can find more information about Ashley and her books here: http://ahowland.org/

Cecilia Clark - Cecilia Clark’s short stories have featured in several publications including The Book of The Tribes, a tribute to Clive Barker’s Cabal/Nightbreed, Steve Dillon Producer (August 9 2013) Teapot Tales; a Collection of Unique Fairy Tales, Melusine Muse Press (August 10, 2013) and ezine AntipodeanSF at http://www.antisf.com.au. She writes flash fiction for competitions and is a winner in the 2013 NaNoWriMo April Camp. Cecilia Clark is a member of the Federation of Australian Writers and Romance Writer’s Australia. Her author page can be found at Amazon.co.uk author central. She currently resides in Warrnambool Victoria Australia. Her "My Writing Challenge" post will found here: http://ceciliaaclark.blogspot.com.au

Tweet

Advertising - Writer's Reveal February 2014

This month's Writer's Reveal topic is "advertising."

I'm really not a fan of advertising. I don't like watching advertisements on the television. I don't like getting advertisements in my e-mail inbox. I don't like those advertisements that show up on Facebook. I really, really hate SPAM.

How then, am I supposed to "sell" my books? If I don't like advertising, then what am I supposed to do in order to insure that people hear about my books or find out about my blog posts?

Honestly, I have no idea. I post about them on my blogs, but,as they are my blogs, my readers expect to read about my books from time to time. I have links to my books or my blogs in my e-mail signature.

I might mention my books and blogs to my friends sometimes, on Facebook, Twitter and in real life, but I make sure not to mention them too often. After all, I have the friends that I have because I LIKE them, and, I hope, they like me. The only way for this mutual like to happen is for us to know a lot about one another and to share things with each other. I share about my interests, about my family and about the things that make me ME. I share about my life more than I share about my books.

I share my friends' books and blog posts, because I know that they probably encounter the same difficulties with this whole "advertising" thing that I do. And sometimes, they share my books with their friends, or they share my blog posts.

But this "advertising" thing? It's not really for me.

What's your answer to the subject of advertising and how to get the word out about your writing?

*****

And now, with that topic dealt with above, I am going to "advertise" two writing challenges that I run, one in March and one in April.

Chapter Book Challenge (ChaBooCha)

Write a first draft of an early reader, chapter book, middle grade book or YA novel in the month of March, from March 1st through March 31st. Learn from guest posts by prominent authors and agents in the KidLit industry and get the chance to win a variety of each week.

Blog Your Book in 30 Days

Write the first draft of your book by blogging each chapter. (Actually posting it to your blog is voluntary). Write a chapter a day and finish your book in the month of April. Learn from daily blog posts on the topic and get the chance to win one of several prizes offered during the challenge. The challenge runs from April 1st through April 30th.

28 Day Fitness Challenge

28 days of fitness challenges for you to follow. You can choose either beginner, intermediate or advanced level. The fitness challenges increase in intensity every day. Officially, the challenge started on February 5th, 2014, but you can join at any time, and, until March 5th, you will be eligible to win prizes. You can start at the beginning level and, after the first 28 days, you can start over again at the intermediate level and so on. The challenge will be available in book form sometime in the near future.

*****

And while I am "advertising" my challenges, I would also like to share my friend Melissa's new project, Writing Prompts (for writers).

Blog Post Writing Prompts

Weekly prompts for blog posts to share on your author blog.

 ***** 

Find the Writer's Reveal topic covered in other Writer's Reveal blog posts at these blogs:

• Melissa Writes
• The Wolf's Den
• A Parenting Life
• Ghostnapped
• You Learn Something New Every Day
• Have a Laugh on Me
• J.F. Gibson, writer

Tweet

"Suddenly Sorceress" by Erica Lucke Dean - REVIEW

If you remember when I shared a bit about Erica Lucke Dean's new book, "Suddenly Sorceress" in an earlier post, I promised a review once I got around to reading the book. I'm all for keeping my promises, so here is the review.

Suddenly Sorceress is written in a genre I love reading. I've already read Erica's book that was released previous to this one, To Katie, With Love. It didn't have the paranormal aspect that I enjoy in my stories, but I loved it anyway. It was funny and charming and not easy to put down once I started reading. I knew that Suddenly Sorceress would be equally charming.

And I was right!

I picked up the book to take with me on the bus journey to take the kids to school. I didn't manage to start reading it on the way, but I finally found the time to read it on the way home from the school drop-off. I sat on the bus reading the story and became so engrossed in it, I almost missed my bus stop!

When I got home, I fully intended to set the book aside for a while and get some of my writing and blogging done, things I had been planning to work on for the day. But I was enjoying the story so much that I was reluctant to put the book down. I kept telling myself that I would read "just one more chapter" and then set it aside to get some work done. Yah, well, I kept telling myself that until I finished the book!

All in all, it took me about 3 1/2 hours to finish the book, and that with pauses to make myself coffee and lunch. I only get stuck into a book like that when it's really, really good.

Ivie is a funny and relatable character, and I did not see the cute twist at the end of the book coming at all! The story is full of humor and shares some very steamy sex scenes. Erica has brought her characters to life on the pages of her book and given them some crazy circumstances to surmount. I loved every minute of reading Suddenly Sorceress.


Tweet

Love Bites -the Anti-Valentine Blog hop - Hungry

This is a quickly-written flash fiction piece I have written for the Love Bites: The Anti-Valentine Blog Hop.

Read the other entries here: http://40somethingundomesticateddevil.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/love-bites-anti-valentine-blog-hop-2014.html

Hungry

700 words

Joni checked her lipstick one more time in the mirror just before leaving. It was bright red, a colour that she rarely wore, but tonight was special and she wanted to look her most glamorous.

Jenny and Clara hadn't believed it when Dustin walked over to their table and asked her out. They were the ones who always got the attention from hot guys. Joni was always the one being left out. But the guy they'd all been making surreptitious glances at, hoping he'd look their way had wanted Joni, not model-perfect Jenny and not exotically beautiful Clara, but Joni.

She straightened her cherry red dress, grabbed her keys and left for the restaurant. She didn't really know much about him, other than that the intense look he'd given her as he asked her out had made a warm feeling spread through her.

Arriving at the restaurant, Joni hesitated. This place wasn't the classy restaurant she had expected. She'd followed the directions and found it was fairly far outside of town. It looked a little dim and dingy to her eyes. Maybe he'd chosen this place because of the food.

Shaking off her misgivings, Joni entered the restaurant, looking forward to seeing Dustin. This was one Valentine's Day that she wouldn't have to spend alone. She spotted him as soon as she entered. He was sitting at a table near the door and he stood up when he noticed her.

"Please, take a seat," he put his arm on the small of her back, gently guiding her to her seat at the table across from him. "I'm so glad you could make it." His voice was husky and deep and it sent little excited shivers through her.

Joni noticed other girls like her in the room at various tables with their dates. They all seemed a little on the plain side. Many of them were as petite or even tinier than Joni. Their dates were all as attractive and virile looking as Dustin. That's when she felt the first flutter in her stomach that suggested something wasn't right. The men all looked at their dates in a way that brought to Jodi's mind her neighbor's dog when the neighbor went out overnight and forgot to feed it. Their look was hungry.

"Umm, I think, I think I need to go use the ladies’ room," Jodi hesitated over her words. Surely her gut feeling couldn't be right. There wasn't anything sinister going on here, but her instincts were screaming at her to get out, and she intended to follow her instincts.

"Don't be too long," Dustin crooned. "I'd like to order. I'm really hungry."

"You go ahead and order for both of us," she smiled. "I'll be right back." She speed-walked to the restroom. Yes! The window was large enough to climb out.

As she wriggled herself out the bathroom window, she chided herself internally for being paranoid. This wasn't the first time she'd left a date this way because of a sense of unease. There was the time she'd ditched the basketball player and he'd later been brought up on rape charges by another girl. There was the time she'd run out on a date with that guy she met at work; he'd been fired for sexual harassment of one of her other co-workers. And, of course, there was the time she'd declined a date with a guy who just creeped her out for no apparent reason. He was currently in jail for murdering his family.

The next morning, after a good night's sleep, Joni was watching the news. It didn't surprise her at all to find out that the restaurant she'd ditched Dustin at was in the news. It did surprise her to find out that the women at the restaurant were found half-eaten. The whole scene had been a massacre. No men were among the victims. The authorities were saying it appeared as though a pack of wolves had attacked.

Joni's mind turned back to the sight of the men in the restaurant, looking hungrily at the women who sat at the tables with them. She shuddered. It really wasn't so bad spending Valentine's Day alone after all.

Tweet

Winter Nights Scavenger Hunt (hosted by Glitterary Girl media)

Glitterary Girl is hosting an on-line scavenger hunt. you have to visit the blogs that are taking part in this scavenger hunt in order to find the things on the list and gain extra entries for the prizes. the details are below, including the participating blogs. Use the Rafflecopter link  below to enter.

SCAVENGER LIST
Cute White Puppy in a Cup
Leaves with the word LOVE cut into them
Dish of Colorful Candies
A Pencil with a note that says "You Make My Heart Glow"
Heart shaped pocket watch hanging in the trees.

TO SEE PHOTOS OF WHAT THESE IMAGES LOOK LIKE, GO TO THE MAIN PAGE FOUND HERE: Gliterary Girl

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

I am also hosting a give-away for this scavenger hunt. Comment on this blog post and you will be entered to win a copy of Teapot Tales: A Collection of Unique Fairy Tales. (winner will be chosen by a random number generator on February 15th.)

Every blog that is taking part in this scavenger hunt is also offering a prize to give away, so go visit them all. Click on the "link-up" link below and you will be shown the other participating blogs.

An InLinkz Link-up

Update on February 15th, 2014: winner Announcement: 

bn100 has won the copy of Teapot Tales. 

CONGRATULATIONS!  

Expect an e-mail within the day.

Tweet

"Minstrel" by Marissa Ames

Marissa Ames is a friend of mine and a while back, she asked me to beta-read her book for her. I absolutely loved the book and read through the night so I wouldn't have to put it down and walk away from the fascinating world and characters that she had created. That book was "Minstrel." Minstrel was released in Kindle format last October and was soon followed by the release of its print edition in November.

I was relieved, if I'm honest, to find out that her book was so enjoyable and well-written. There have been times when I'm asked to beta read for someone and their book is far from ready for publication. It was a great pleasure to be able to tell Missy how much I adored her book.

Here's the official review I posted on Amazon:

"Minstrel is an epic story in a medieval setting from a world that exists only in the unlimited imagination of Marissa ames. Her world-weaving abilities are powerful. Liam is believable and likeable, and it is easy to find yourself rooting for him from early on in the story. This story is full of twists and turns and suspense that will have you biting your nails. So many times, the story finds Liam in situations that seem impossible to escape, and yet Marissa scribes the story in such a way that his survival is completely plausible and believable. Once I started reading Minstrel, I stayed up all night to finish it because I wasn't ready to leave the world that Marissa so expertly created."

Here's the official book description for Minstrel:

"Arriving in the royal city of Cynegil just after the good king’s death, Liam and his traveling troupe face arrest for entertaining during a time of mourning. The new king, Riordan, offers them a choice: play for the court as he demands or be punished for the crime. With little recourse, they acquiesce. While the troupe entertains within the hall, Liam witnesses the dissension between the king and his twin brother, Shamus. When Shamus enlists Liam to record the kingdom’s history from his own viewpoint, the king becomes suspicious. And when Liam becomes involved with Molly, the mysterious redheaded washerwoman, and Tristan, the royal soldier with a deadly secret and a skill for causing unfortunate accidents, his life becomes even more complicated. As the kingdom staggers beneath drought, famine, and conflict, Liam and Shamus must flee Cynegil with prices on their heads. Will they survive their journey or will they become just another ballad to be sung?"

And here's a bit about the author:

"Crossing genres, Marissa Ames writes fantasy fiction and blogs for multiple venues, including a national poultry magazine. Her debut novel, Minstrel, begins the medieval-based fantasy series of Tir Athair. She is currently working on Vassal, the second novel in the Tir Athair series, and collaborates with many worthy writers on diverse anthologies. Marissa has written stories since age 8, instilling her lifelong fascination with medieval history into her work. In her real life, she manages a day job, a husband and two teenage children, and an entire urban farm just a mile south of downtown Reno, Nevada, in the United States. You can follow her blog."

And the really great news is that Missy has penned a short story set in the same world as Minstrel. You can purchase Darrion today in Kindle format.


Even more good news is that Marissa Ames is one of the contributing authors to the anthology "Jingle Bells: Tales of Holiday Spirit from Around the World," contributing her short story "Thomas's New Coat." Proceeds from this anthology go towards funding the Chapter Book Challenge.


*****

The Grammarly link at the top of this post is a paid advertisement. I only allow advertising of things that I like or am interested in.

Tweet