Guest Post: Inspiration by Stacy Nash

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Today, Stacy Nash is here to discuss her inspiration! But first a bit about her book!

    Forget Me Not Anamae is drawn into a world which shatters everything she knew to be true. Since her mother vanished nine years ago, Anamae and her father have shared a quiet life. But when Anamae discovers a brooch identical to her mother's favorite pendant, she unknowingly invites a slew of trouble into their world. They're not just jewellery, they're part of a highly developed technology capable of cloaking the human form. Triggering the jewellery's power attracts the attention of a secret society determined to confiscate the device - and silence everyone who is aware of its existence. Anamae knows too much, and now she's Enemy Number One. She's forced to leave her father behind when she's taken in by a group determined to keep her safe. Here Anamae searches for answers about this hidden world. With her father kidnapped and her own life on the line, Anamae must decide if saving her dad is worth risking her new friends' lives. No matter what she does, somebody is going to get hurt.

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Praise for the Book

"Forget Me Not is a tension-fueled, adventurous and brilliantly written novel that shows the dangers and powers of a controlling environment . If you are a fan of George Orwell’s classic “1984″ you will LOVE this book." ~ Heidi, Amazon "I thoroughly enjoyed this debut novel by Aussie author Stacey Nash. The tension, the twists and turns throughout, the web of intrigue – all had me glued to the pages." ~ Brenda Telford, Goodreads

"Find a comfy spot to read Forget Me Not by Stacey Nash, I devoured this story in one sitting. I’m not sure what I was expecting when I picked up the novel, however, I did enjoy the story. Technology, betrayal, and battle all shared equal parts in this debut novel." ~ Amazon customer

“I love the new world Stacey has created here which is right up with any other speculative fiction I have read. If you love a good conspiracy theory story, you will love this.” ~ Emmaly, Mundie Moms blog.

Remember Me An exciting new adventure from Stacey Nash, set in the world of The Collective. When all is lost, she must remember... Anamae Gilbert managed to thwart The Collective and rescue her father, even though his mind is now a shell. Determined to stop Councilor Manvyke hurting her family again, she's training to become an active resistance member and falling hard for resistance fighter Jax Belfry. But things never sail along smoothly - Manvyke wants retribution and Anamae's name is high on his list. After a blow to the head, she awakes in an unfamiliar location unable to remember the last few weeks. She can't believe the fascinating new technology she's seeing. She's the new kid at school, and although weapons training comes with ease, something feels off. Why does the other new kid's smile make her heart ache? And why does her gut tell her to run?  

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Inspiration by Stacy Nash

As a writer, inspiration is important. Almost as pivotal to the writing process as motivation or dedication, inspiration is a funny thing. A bit like motivation; sometimes it’s there just waiting for us to grab hold of it and other times it’s not and as writers we find we have to drag it from deep inside of us. I’ve experienced both of these scenarios. I recently wrote a story that had been close to my heart for years, but when I sat down to start drafting there was no inspiration for the plot or the characters. Sure I had a great concept, but all the pieces didn’t fall together and for a little while it kind of felt like I was forcing them. Needless to say the story wound up in my bottom drawer where it will stay until inspiration strikes. Other times, like with my recently published series, not only did the idea for the concept, and plot arrive at once, but so too did the characters. Because I love the type of science fiction seen in the TV shows like Fringe and Agents S.H.E.I.L.D I drew a lot of inspiration from there, which I combined with my love of urban fantasy. This made the series a real mix of advanced tech sci-fi in a setting secluded from public knowledge, just like must urban fantasy stories. I’m pretty sure it’s not a genre, but I like to call my books urban sci-fi.

This wasn’t the only inspiration or its main source. I’ve spent many years not only fascinated by conspiracy theories, but debating about them with my father. 

Is the Da Vinci code real? What about crop circles? Big Foot a hoax? Maybe Nessie exists. 

My favourite conspiracy theory is the illuminate and this is where I drew my inspiration for the secret society in the Collective Series, called the Collective. In my books the Collective are a secret organization who not only suppress the knowledge of highly advanced technology from the general populace, but they use it to shape world events in a way they believe is best for all mankind. This also is done behind closed doors, without society realizing that they are not only the puppets, but also play things of the Collective. Yes, I essentially wrote a conspiracy theory YA. Forget Me Not has a lot of adventure, a good dose of danger, and a bucket load of romance, because everyone loves a little love! 

I find stories like this, that have plenty of inspiration, easier to write.

 

  Author Stacey Nash Stacey Nash writes adventure filled stories for Young Adults in the Science Fiction and Fantasy genres. She loves to read and write books that have a lot of adventure, a good dose of danger, a smattering of romance, and KISSING! Hailing from the Hunter Valley in New South Wales, she loves nothing more than immersing herself in the beauty and culture of the local area.

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  Blog Tour Giveaway $25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash Ends 11/30/14 Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.   a Rafflecopter giveaway

Interview with Marilyn Almodovar, Author of Fissure + GIVEAWAY!

Happy Tuesday, folks! It's a beautiful day for an interview! What do you think? Luckily, Marilyn Almodovar has stopped by to answer some questions about herself and her newest YA paranormal novel, FISSURE.

Fissure by Marilyn Almodóvar
(Chronicles of the Interred #2)
Publication date: May 20th 2014
Genres: Paranormal, Time-Travel, Young Adult

Baxter Jacobs just survived the worst Sweet Sixteen in history: buried in a coffin, hunted down by
assassins, and losing almost everything that mattered to her. She’s ready for some normalcy, but “normal” won’t play any part of this Time Bender’s future.

Now that the immediate threat is over, Baxter learns just how much the English Council expects of the newest Interred. The pressure has her seriously considering her uncle’s offer to take her to New York, especially since she thinks it will keep her Healer, Jack, from overusing his abilities. Knowing the New York Council’s ranks are filled with beings using dark powers, however, makes her hesitate.

Before she can choose, the decision is wrenched from her. Fissures in Time result in a new battle with an old enemy. Someone she thought she’d lost reenters her life, and she’ll discover a web of lies woven into the fabric of Time…lies only she can unravel. Baxter will have to use her growing abilities to try and reveal the truth, even if it forever changes the reality she knows.

There are lies in the fabric of Time only she can unravel.

            

Welcome to We Do Write, Marilyn! Tell us a bit about yourself.

I’m a Young Adult author, and I’m also mum to two boys. Currently I live in Florida, where I escape the heat by writing about winter and England. I’m a bit obsessed with Doctor Who, and everything Stephen King. And I’m great at baking. Or at least, I like to think so.

How long have you been writing?

I’ve been writing since I was 12, but I didn’t really think about publishing until I was in my mid-thirties.

Tell us about FISSURE. What’s the story about?

Fissure is the second book in the Chronicles of the Interred series. It follows Baxter Jacobs, a sixteen year old girl who, shortly before her birthday, discovers her mother has been keeping many secrets...among them, the fact that her family is Magical. Baxter’s adapting to being a Time Bender and everything that it entails.

How did the idea of the story come to you?

Thanks to the Florida heat. In the middle of a very hot winter, I found myself longing for a cold English winter, and one of the characters, Declan, came to mind then. From then on, I became a bit obsessed about him and the other characters that suddenly appeared in my mind. 

Do you have a critique group/partner or beta readers, or do you self-edit?

Usually I email my friend Lindsay first, and let her read through everything. We’ve been friends for a long time, so I trust her input. Once I’ve finished writing and editing as much as I can, the book goes to my editor, and then once everything is ready, it goes to beta readers, who do an amazing job by pointing out what needs to be clarified and letting us know if there’s anything else that needs to be checked. 

Are you a plotter or a pantser?

I’m a pantser, through and through. 

What’s the hardest part of writing for you?

Reining in my characters. Sometimes they want to go their way, and many times, well, that’s not where I want to go. I do listen to them 90 percent of the time.

If you could have any super power, what would it be?

I would love to be able to bend Time like Baxter. It would be quite awesome, and I wouldn’t have to wait for The Doctor to show up and take me in the TARDIS with him.

What's the weirdest thing you've googled?

I could tell you, but I’m sure that the English Council of Magical Beings wouldn’t approve. 

Finish this sentence: If I'm not writing, I'm probably ... 

Playing the Sims… or on Facebook, or RP’ing.

And finally, where can people find you and your book online?

You can check out my blog at www.marilynalmodovar.com , follow me on Twitter @LynAlmodovar . My books are available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble, as well as Indie Bound. 

AUTHOR BIO:

Marilyn Almodóvar is the author of a series of YA paranormal novels. Born in Ft. Huachuca, Arizona, Lyn is a lover of words whose reading tastes range from Victorian novels to the books of Stephen King. Her favorite past-times have always been reading and writing, two activities that let her escape to other worlds.

It was this love that propelled her to choose Theater and French as majors in University, with a minor in English Victorian Literature. Lyn lived for almost a decade in England followed by three years in France before returning home to the States. A self-confessed citizen of the world, she is fluent in English, French and Spanish, with basic knowledge of the Italian language.

Lyn could happily exist breathing the clean air of Narnia, trapped in a cupboard under the stairs with Harry, fighting alongside Captain Jack Sparrow, doing an internship in Torchwood, or traveling around time and space with the Doctor…as long as she can have Mr. Spock, Captain Kirk and Captain Mal as companions.

Lyn currently lives in Central Florida with her French husband, English-born eldest son, and French-born youngest son. Her debut YA Novel, Interred, was published by Iambe books on 01/22/2013.

              

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Book Blitz: The 13th Descent by Ky Lehman

Happy Monday, everyone! Today we're joining the book blitz for The 13th Descent by Ky Lehman. Check out this young adult paranormal romance.

The 13th Descent by Ky Lehman
(Rosefire Trilogy #1)
Publication date: August 30th 2014
Genres: Paranormal Romance, Young Adult

ONE CHOICE CAN MAKE AN IMMORTAL HUMAN. BUT WHAT CHOICES NEED TO BE MADE TO GO BACK AGAIN?

The revolutionary year following Serenay “Ren” Avalon’s eighteenth birthday could rival Clark Kent’s entire adolescence. After her mother and her grandmother were killed in a car bomb explosion at the heart of their sleepy hillside town where nothing extraordinary usually happens, she discovers that her mother is actually alive and in hiding, her long lost father is a Father, and her best friend, who turns out was once an Archangel, has taken a gargantuan step back in his evolution to live on Earth with her for the past thirteen lifetimes. And besides being the only one in her immediate circle with a serious case of past life dementia, she learns that during her first lifetime, she was married to one of the greatest teachers history has ever known who is now the gorgeous lead singer of a hot new rock band taking the world by storm, and who is keen to meet up with her again in the twenty first century.

As Ren realizes that the powerful family name she bears also brings with it the promise of an unnatural death, she is reminded that it has always brought hope to people on both sides of the veil, human and Tor. As the world draws closer to being completely shrouded by the dark cloaks of her age-old enemies, the Bloodstones, she now, more than ever before, has to draw strength from her origins to protect her family and their ancient truth from this global force responsible for torturing and killing centuries of her ancestors. As she struggles to unearth who she was, who she is, and who she chooses to be, as well as the expectations of her first mortal love and the heavenly love she has always guiltily denied, she has until midnight on the Solstice find a way to bring light to a compromised heart and to a world on the brink of perpetual darkness.

This first book in The Rosefire Trilogy is a reminder of how the choices we make in the throes of love, loss, hope, and adversity are what makes the divine human, and the human divine.

AUTHOR BIO:

KY LEHMAN is a novelist, a children's author, a teacher of swimming and water safety, wife to her high school sweetheart and the proud mother of their three very tall sons. She lives in the Yarra Ranges, Victoria, Australia with her husband and their children where she is currently writing the second book in The Rosefire Trilogy, The 13th Rising.

Interview with Brendan Murphy, Author of Beyond the Gloaming

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Sebastian and the Hibernauts: Beyond the Gloaming 

 It is Easter, 1973 and twelve year old Sebastian Duffy has some serious self-esteem issues. He is beaten by his parents, bullied at school, steals from his friends and still mourning the death of his brother. To cap it all, strange things have begun happening around him and he is finding it hard to distinguish dreams from reality. After a nightmarish assault, he wakes in the Gloaming, a shadow world inhabited by ghosts. There to greet him is Porrig, a creature from Hibercadia, a magical realm crafted from Celtic dreams. Inhabited by Fir Bolg, Tuath and Milesians, it has been overthrown by brother gods from another dreamworld. One brother, Phobitor, is a tyrant and even the Tuath, who took to their underground sidhe millennia ago, are concerned. Sebastian discovers that he alone can save Hibercadia by finding an enchanted spear. Teaming up with the Hibernauts—a mercurial sorceress, an orphaned druidess, a taciturn warrior, a snuff-sniffing leprechaun and a lovelorn poet—he embarks on a fantastical quest, but can he succeed when he is yet to find his magical potential or even his courage, and half the realm is bent on his destruction?  

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  Beyond the Gloaming from Kaleb Lechowski on Vimeo.

Hi , Brendan! Welcome to We Do Write. 

Thank you, it's wonderful to be here.

Tell us a bit about yourself.

I grew up in Sheffield, England, with dreams of becoming a writer. After studying medicine in London and psychiatry in Manchester, I moved to Melbourne, Australia in 1999. I'm a consultant psychiatrist and associate professor at Monash University and write widely on youth mental health. I live with my wife, Katrina, and our children, Sebastian and Violette, in a sprawling property built for the composer, Dorian Le Gallienne. We share our garden with a mob of kangaroos, a wombat, two possums, any number of creepy crawlies, and some very feisty kookaburras. I play soccer for the local team, and love laughing, reading, yoga, northern soul, and time with family and friends.

How long have you been writing?

Since I was nine years old. I wrote a lot as a child including a fledgling fantasy novel that came to nothing, utter bobbins the lot of it. After slaughtering poetry as a teenager, I buried myself in academia for years before resurfacing in an artists commune in Italy in 2005 where I began writing again, initially stream of consciousness stuff after reading Ulysses, which I burnt, and then autobiographical stuff, again playing with form and consciousness in the context of trauma and pre-cognitive memory. This necessity of reflecting pain through immediacy dredged up a lot of stuff for me. As luck would have it, rather than thrusting me into woeful catharsis, it led me to writing a book on the history of soccer; I’d been pretty ordinary at it at school in Sheffield and the city was the home of football, possessing the oldest club in the world in any code, Sheffield FC. Called From Sheffield with Love, it was published in England in 2007. After that, I turned to the current fantasy series I’d been plotting for a number of years.

Tell us about BEYOND THE GLOAMING. What’s the story about?

It is Easter, 1973 and twelve year old Sebastian Duffy has some serious self-esteem issues. He is beaten by his parents, bullied at school, steals from his friends and still mourning the death of his brother. To cap it all, strange things have begun happening around him and he is finding it hard to distinguish dreams from reality. After a nightmarish assault, he wakes in the Gloaming, a shadow world inhabited by ghosts. There to greet him is Porrig, a creature from Hibercadia, a magical realm crafted from Celtic dreams. Inhabited by Fir Bolg, Tuath and Milesians, it has been overthrown by brother gods from another dreamworld. One brother, Phobitor, is a tyrant and even the Tuath, who took to their underground sidhe millennia ago, are concerned. Sebastian discovers that he alone can save Hibercadia by finding an enchanted spear. Teaming up with the Hibernauts—a mercurial sorceress, an orphaned druidess, a taciturn warrior, a snuff-sniffing leprechaun and a lovelorn poet—he embarks on a fantastical quest, but can he succeed when he is yet to find his magical potential or even his courage, and half the realm is bent on his destruction?

How did the idea of the story come to you?

As a child, I escaped into the magical world of books. It was this – this rare and noble alchemy compressed between the covers of a children’s book – that I longed to recreate. I’d been dipping in and out of Celtic mythology for years and wanted to write a book based loosely upon it. I began to construct Hibercadia – the world my characters inhabit – through developing its geography, language, politics, history etc. The storylines came easily and I had six books plotted out before I had begun on the first. I wanted to write a rip-roaring adventure series like the ones I had loved a as child, but I also wanted to portray a number of other things: the loneliness of childhood trauma; how children deal with grief; the soothing power of dreams and dissociation; the external forces acting on the moral and psychological landscape of a child turning teenager, and dislocation as therapy: what would happen when you removed a child from a vicious home life and placed them in a nurturing, but potentially more traumatic environment. The book is not only an homage to Celtic mythology, it’s also an allegory of the Irish troubles; I had grown up through much of it in the 1970’s, and my grandfather had been a lieutenant in the Irish Volunteers - later to be renamed the IRA - in the Easter Rising, in 1916.

Do you have a critique group/partner or beta readers, or do you self-edit?

The book has been through five major drafts. I do self-edit to a point, often after leaving the current version well alone for a few weeks, but the novel has also been through the hands of several beta readers and, more importantly three editors. I cannot overstate the importance of good editors.

Are you a plotter or a pantser?

If I had to pick one, I'd say a plotter; Hibercadia was realised over a number of years and took a lot of concocting. The framework for the plots are also developed well in advance, though I apply some hybridity once I am actually writing a book, pantsing my way through some of the more complex story arcs. It is an utter joy when you pants your way to an elegant solution.

What do you absolutely have to have nearby when writing?

Tranquility

If you could have any super power, what would it be?

Curing my dying father

What's the weirdest thing you've googled?

Tough one. Maybe 'if a barn owl and a tawny owl had a scrap, who'd prevail?' I even got an answer, albeit an equivocal one: 'Far from certain, although tawny owls are much heavier, barn owls are far more agile and their long legs and talons would provide formidable opposition.' What a hoot.

Finish this sentence: If I'm not writing, I'm probably ... 

Plotting

And finally, where can people find you and your books online?


I have an author website at brendanmurphyauthor.com  while Beyond The Gloaming has its home at hibernauts.com . The book is available as paperback or ebook from many online retailers including Amazon (Kindle or paperback) Barnes and Nobel (Nook or paperback), The Book Depository (paperback), The Apple Store (iBook) and Kobo (ebook).

Praise for Beyond the Gloaming

 I cannot say just how much I have enjoyed this book; you are a very accomplished writer with a wonderfully rich imagination. Your use of the English language is amazing and your ability to create the many different speaking styles in the book and to maintain them is remarkable. You have an incredibly inventive mind and readers will come to love the many wonderful creations in this novel, it is jam-packed with the most wonderful and inventive characters; new, exciting and beautifully realised. ~The Oxford Editors  

 An imaginative epic...an intricate and fully realised fantasy world with a big cast of likeable characters that are charming, well drawn and endearing, with wonderfully apt names. The depth and breadth of your high-voltage imagination, and the richness of the world you create is very impressive. ~Sam Mills, author of Blackout, The Boys Who Saved the World, and The Quiddity of Will Self


  Author Brendan Murphy Brendan Murphy was raised in Sheffield, England, with dreams of becoming a writer, and has written every day since he was nine years old. After reading medicine in London and psychiatry in Manchester, he moved to Australia in 1999. He is an Associate Professor at Monash University and has written widely on youth mental health. His nonfiction work on the development of football in Victorian society, From Sheffield with Love, was published in 2007. He lives with his wife, Katrina, and their children, Sebastian and Violette, in a sprawling property built for the composer, Dorian Le Gallienne. They share their garden with a mob of kangaroos, a wombat, two possums, any number of creepy crawlies, and some very feisty kookaburras. In 2013, he was signed to Assent Publishing for a six-book deal. Beyond the Gloaming, the first Sebastian and the Hibernauts adventure, will be published by Assent imprint, Phantasm Books in 2014.

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  Blog Tour Giveaway

 $25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash Ends 11/28/14 Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

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Excerpt of Illusion by S.M. Boyce + #GIVEAWAY

Illusion by S.M. Boyce 

(The Grimoire Saga #4) 

Publication date: November 4th 2014 

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult

The final chapter in the war for Ourea ends with blood.

Kara Magari is an icon. A hero. The people love her. The royalty tolerates her. She has everything—an army, allies, and a close circle of chosen family. They believe she will end the war, and they shouldn’t. She’s as scared as they are. She just can’t show it.

The war she accidentally started ends with a final battle that will either save or enslave her people. She will do anything to win—until she learns the cost of victory.

Braeden Drakonin is afraid of what he’ll become when he takes over his father’s kingdom—that much authority can change a man. But his father has already tried to kill him more than once, and it’s time to end his reign. Braeden’s armies are ready. His strategy is foolproof. His generals are waiting for the order to attack. It’s only in the final seconds before the battle begins that he realizes he missed one crucial detail—the traitor.

            

EXCERPT:

He looked at her—really looked at her, with a gaze that almost stole the smile from her face. She held on, despite his scrutiny. She’d successfully killed Niccoli this time. She absorbed a Blood. She would bring Niccoli’s remaining guild to its knees. Andor—of all people—couldn’t shake her.

His boots thumped against the floor as he came closer. Every slow step chipped away at her smirk. He knelt on the mattress and leaned in, setting a hand on either side of her head. His fingers stretched against the wooden headboard in her periphery, but she never broke eye contact.

He inched closer until the world blurred around him. He was turning this on her, calling her bluff. Maybe he knew her seductions were always a tease, that she never followed through. Perhaps he even figured she imagined Michael on the face of any man who invaded her space, who got too close.

Focus.

“What are you up to?” His breath rolled over her cheeks.

She grinned, letting the joy of her plan wash through her. “It’s quite elaborate.”

AUTHOR BIO:

S. M. Boyce is a lifelong writer with a knack for finding adventure and magic.

If you would like to receive an email alert when Boyce's next book is released, sign up here:

http://www.smboyce.com/newsletter/ (Your email address will never be shared, and you can unsubscribe at any time.)

Word-of-mouth is crucial for any author to succeed. If you enjoyed this novel, please consider leaving a review at Amazon, even if it's only a line or two. Your review will make all the difference and is hugely appreciated.

                 

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Happy Book Birthday: The Retribution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

Today we're celebrating the launch of THE RETRIBUTION OF MARA DYER by Michelle Hodkin. I'm itching to get my hands on this trilogy. Check it out!

It had to end sometime, but Mara had no idea it would end like this. Experience the mind-blowing conclusion to the New York Times bestselling Mara Dyer trilogy.

*The entire first print run will be signed by the author, Michelle Hodkin.*

Mara Dyer wants to believe there's more to the lies she’s been told.
There is.

She doesn’t stop to think about where her quest for the truth might lead.
She should.

She never had to imagine how far she would go for vengeance.
She will now.

Loyalties are betrayed, guilt and innocence tangle, and fate and chance collide in this shocking conclusion to Mara Dyer’s story.
Retribution has arrived.