Front Yard: How to Get the Writer’s Flow and Keep It!

front yardFirst, can I squee at the Once Upon a Time season finale? It’s my guilty pleasure, what cantumblr_inline_n5h7s5FpSi1qgf4wj I say, but I loved it.

The Hook and Emma stuff was great. Hook being all jealous of his old self kissing Emma was played so well, for laughs but to also show us how Hook has changed, so much so, he hates the idea of his old self smacking on Emma! Their kiss at the end melted my bones 🙂 I was kinda irritated with how they twisted Regina once again, getting her romance messed up, this time by Emma instead of Snow. I mean, she did jail, and possibly kill Marian, did she not?

I started watching Fringe on Netflix and I’m surprised I haven’t watched it before. I’m only on season one (can’t binge watch too much with my third book to finish). While it definitely has an X-Files vibe, J.J. Abrams (is he like taking over the world of Sci Fi or what?), Orci and Kurtzman have created an original premise with tapping into alternate realities and experimentation on people. And of course, we have Denethor, Steward of Gondor, as Walter (John Noble), and Pacey (Joshua Jackson) as Peter. What more do you need? John Noble is great as the nutty Walter. I definitely like the Altered States aspects and am looking forward to seeing some of the alternate universe stuff.

So The Flow…

I suffer from constant writer’s block and flow issues. A while back, when starting the second book in my necromancer series, I sat down and expelled the first ten pages of the book. It was truly amazing. I have yet to repeat such a feat. Now, the inspired moments tend to produce about two to three pages, but I’m not complaining.

What is the flow? In this podcast from the Accidental Creative, Steven Kotler (link to podcast below) describes it as an optimal state of consciousness where the self vanishes and creativity is amplified. In typing those ten pages, I felt like I was dictating words flashing past my brain. I think many writers would describe the flow in the same way, just dictating. Somehow, when the flow happens, we’ve deactivated the frontal cortex which controls the pesky and sometimes nasty inner critic.

But is the flow something that happens by chance, the ship passing in the night, or can we trigger it somehow? Well, good news. The answer is yes! (according to Kotler) Continue reading

Special Guest Pamela Turner talks about her Exterminating Angel!

Today’s guest is Pamela Turner talking to us about her new release, Exterminating Angel. Check out the lovely cover below and excerpt!

AuthorPhoto_PamelaTurnerPlease tell us a little bit about yourself. Hobbies/interests? When did you start writing?

Hello! My name is Pamela Turner, and I’m a NTSB addict. Oh, wait. That’s not right. Let’s try this again. Paranormal/Dark Fiction author, whose secret weapon is invisibility and the power to charm cats 🙂 Hobbies/Interests include aviation (I took a few flying lessons), Tarot, photography, videography, old abandoned buildings, cemeteries, and yes, the NTSB.

How did you get the story idea for your current title?

Can’t say exactly what sparked the idea, but it was what would happen if an archangel unwittingly unleashed a demon upon a city? I wanted to write a character who was so devoted to duty, he didn’t care how he achieved it, only to find out he’d made a horrible mistake and had to deal with the consequences.

What has been one of your favorite characters to write?

Lucifer. In Exterminating Angel, he’s a mentor-type of character who cares deeply for his friends, but still manages to annoy them by working on a need-to-know basis. He’s not evil and is sincerely concerned with saving the city’s inhabitants. As for souls, he doesn’t bother. Souls don’t pay the bills. 🙂

What are your favorite movies?

 Casablanca, Santa Sangre, Dementia-13, Children of Paradise, Ashes and Diamonds, Three Colors – Red, Three Colors – Blue, Dolls… Really, almost anything by Wajda or Kieslowski.

Do you listen to music while writing? If so, what?

 To be honest, I can’t write with music. Too distracting. But I do have songs that inspire my stories. These include songs by Blutengel, Within Temptation, E-Nomine, etc. – European symphonic metal, gothic, and dark wave. 

What books/authors have inspired your writing?

Stories and television shows like Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Thriller, Night Gallery, Twilight Zone, and One Step Beyond. The Alfred Hitchcock suspense anthologies played a significant role in my writing suspense. I remember two stories in particular. One about a hardened executive who’s paralyzed, and his tears save his life. The other, about a young woman, traumatized by rape, who cried “That’s him!” to her husband when they were searching for her assailant. I don’t remember if he killed the man, but he certainly attacked him. The story was made all the more poignant when the woman then pointed to another man and cried out, “It’s him!” That and stories by Ida Chittum in her collection, Tales of Terror, particularly “The Haunted Well,” “The Twisting Wind,” and “Vision of Roses.”

What themes do you like to explore in your books?

 I like to explore the issues of good and evil and twist preconceived notions. Obsession and vengeance also seem to be common themes throughout my work.

What is next? Any new titles we should be looking for?

I’ve written a spin off to Exterminating Angel called Hell on Earth and another angel paranormal, The Judas Dilemma. That, plus Serpent Fire, the second book in my Angels of Death series. They’re still works-in-progress.

They all sound great! Thanks for stopping by today 🙂

Exterminating Angel Blurb:Exterminating Angel, Pamela Turner

Making a deal with the Devil is the least of his problems.

Zaphkiel, a chain-smoking, hard-drinking archangel, never intended to unleash the sun demon upon the city. Bad enough his boss wants him dead, and this recent crime is the perfect excuse. The timing couldn’t be worse. Somehow, Zaphkiel’s executed lover, Caliel, is alive and reincarnated as Sean. Zaphkiel is thrilled to be reunited with Caliel again, but will his lover feel the same when he learns Zaphkiel’s darkest secret?

Hired by Lucifer, Sean wants nothing more than to fit in. But how can he compete when the Devil’s friends include archangels and a Tarot reader, and he was born without special abilities? Or so he believes. The Tarot hints there may be more to him than he realizes.

Recruited by the Devil to find the two pentacles sun demon Sorath plans to use to destroy the universe, Zaphkiel and Sean find themselves pawns in a game of power and control. If the archangel gives his boss the pentacles, Ophaniel will overlook his crime. But Zaphkiel knows he can’t trust either Ophaniel or Sorath, and the deal he’s made with the Devil could cost him not only his life, but also the lover he believed gone forever.

M/M sexual practices, occult themes, some violence, graphic descriptions.

Buy link:

http://www.kensingtonbooks.com/book.aspx/30226

Excerpt: (Please note contains language and some graphic imagery)

Zaphkiel could see why people called Eastern Cemetery haunted, given the high grass and overturned, broken tombstones. Clouds obscured the night sky, perfect cover for their midnight excursion. “Sense anything?”

“Something. But it’s weak.”

Zaphkiel recoiled at a bloody deer’s head jammed atop an obelisk. “What the fuck?”

Raziel drew a sharp breath. “Assholes.”

What sick mind would do this? Easy to say Satanists. More likely dumb-ass kids pretending to be devil worshippers.

Neither voiced the possibility Kurt might also be responsible. Continue reading

Red the Were Hunter release and Goodreads Giveaway

I’m excited to be featuring Rebekah’s Ganiere’s new release, Red the Were Hunter, and who wouldn’t with such a vibrant cover! Check out the excerpt and click here to enter the Goodreads giveaway.Rebekah Ganiere, Red the Were Hunter, werewolves, Fairelle

Blurb

What if you were the key to an ancient prophecy that would begin to heal your lands, but fulfilling your destiny meant you had to turn your back on everything you’d been taught to believe in?

Redlynn of Volkzene, member of the Sisterhood of Red, is heartbroken to discover another  girl kidnapped and her best friend slain by werewolves. Defying the head of her order, she sets out to kill the beast she believes responsible.  The King of the Weres– But there are worse things in Wolvenglen Forest than the wolves.

Adrian, reluctant heir to the throne of Wolvenglen, and his band of wolf brothers are bound to protect the humans; especially the Sisterhood. Finding Redlynn unconscious in his woods, awakens in him a passion he’s never before experienced and a protective instinct that has him ready to turn on his own men. Problem is, a female is the last thing Adrian needs complicating his life.

But all is not as it seems in Wolvenglen Forest and to save the missing girls before time runs out, Redlynn and Adrian must move past their inner demons and learn to trust each other. In the search for vengeance however, sometimes you must give up what you desire most.

Red The Were Hunter won 2nd Place in the Hook, Line and Sinker Contest and is a current finalist in the Great Beginnings Contest.

Amazon Link

Excerpt

Another girl had been taken. One moment the small village of Volkzene was silent, with Redlynn drifting off to sleep to the rhythmical sounds of her clock ticking; the next a scream pierced the night.

Redlynn leapt from her bed, grabbed her sword, and tore out to the street. People in their nightclothes, brandishing torches and lanterns, filled the village center.

“Where are they?” she called at the nearest neighbor.

“Cantrel’s.” The woman ran for the safety of her home.

Anya! Redlynn sprinted toward the south edge of the village. Her best friend was on guard alone at the Cantrel’s hut. Breathing hard, the cold night wind whipped her wavy, red hair into her face and raised goose bumps on her skin. The sound of her blood pumping in her ears drowned out the buzz of the village folk.

“Anya,” she screamed. “Anya, where are you?”

Redlynn charged through the crowd gathered outside the hut. “Move,” she yelled. The other members of the Sisterhood and villagers backed away at the sight of her.

The smell of blood hit her. She stepped over the threshold, the horror slapping her with force. Her heart faltered and a cry escaped her lips.

“No-o-o-o!” she screamed. “Anya!” Continue reading

Eternal Tuat has Arrived!

June and July are filled with some great new releases and I’m excited to be featuring some of them. I had the pleasure of getting a glimpse of Eternal Tuat, which features the story of Bagsu, one of the villains of VS Nelson’s Sekhmet’s Guardians series. It’s a great, heart-wrenching story. Check out the link to VS’s website, or click here to enter the giveaway for a free book or a $25 Amazon gift card.EternalTuat3d

Bagsu, his name alone strikes fear in the Guardian Nation.

What can cause one twin, destined to take his father’s place as a priest turn evil and lead a crusade to dominate the human race while the other fights to save mankind?

Finally, secrets are revealed when Bagsu leads us back in time to the land of New Tuat. Experience first hand what really happened to Bagsu and Gabriel long before they became immortal, when twin brothers were the best of friends.

AMAZON

Excerpt:

Lying beside Nefer, my body aches for her sweet embrace. I am torn between desire and blissfulness. To take her into my arms, to have her kiss upon my lips, to feel the joys of our flesh united together is tamed by the pure innocence sleeping peacefully beside me.  I know she is tired and worthy of a full uninterrupted night’s sleep. I take refuge in knowing there will be many nights to come where I can indulge in my erotic fantasies, for she will be with me for all my days to come.

Like I have so many nights before, I find myself lying awake contemplating my life. I laugh quietly at the answers I have received on my reflections; they are so different than they have been in the past. No longer are my thoughts filled with grander or a future designed by others. Looking around, I see the simplicity in what I have and what makes me truly happy. The rich furnishings I have always possessed are replaced with a tattered roof and a straw bed on the floor. A drink of spring water fills the emptiness of my stomach and the woman sleeping next to me fills the void in my heart.

Quietly, I get up and step outside where I fall to my knees under the star lit sky. I look up and like a child, the tears flow down my cheeks, cleansing what is left of my emotional soul. Like a snake that is shedding its skin, I bare myself to my ancestors and thank the Gods for this great revelation; I need nothing more than I have right now. For the first time in my life, I feel complete; totally and unequivocally complete.

V.S. NelsonAbout VS:

Being a Native American woman and a Scorpio, author V.S. Nelson has always had a fondness for history, mythology, the occult, and the unexplained events which have occurred on this world we call home. It was no wonder she found herself writing a paranormal series.

Raised on authors like H.G. Wells and Jules Verne and coming from a long line of oral storytellers, Ms. Nelson work has been defined as innovative and fresh. She will take you by the hand and lead you into the depths of her imagination as if you are sitting next to her on the couch one minute and alive within her fantasy world the next.

She has always enjoyed reading stories with strong relationships and happy-ever-after-endings and it is reflected in her work. Even her commercial fiction, Sins of a Man, the Memoirs of a Mafia Hit man, is layered with romantic elements. I’ve heard her say she is in love with love more than once and that too is echoed in her stories.

Landing in Arizona, after an exciting teaching career, which took her to the Middle East for several years, she lives in Arizona where she spends most of her time making love to her computer while writing, editing or researching, seven to ten hours a day. The days she’s not writing, you will find her with her critique partners, attending or presenting a workshop or at a RWA (Romance Writers of America) meeting. She’s extremely active in three RWA chapters in addition to her other associations.

Check out the first three books in the series on VS Nelson’s Amazon page.

Author website:               http://www.authorvsnelson.com

Author blog:                    http://www.authorvsnelson.com/blog/

Facebook: (author)         https://www.facebook.com/authorvsnelson

Facebook: (series)         https://www.facebook.com/SekhmetsGuardians

Twitter:                           https://twitter.com/AuthorVSNelson

Blood and Magic: New Release and Giveaway

I’ve woefully neglected my blog so what better way to renew my blog vows than feature a new release from Ann Gimpel! I love the beautiful cover. Even better I have an excerpt after the blurb and check out the cool trailer. And don’t forget the giveaway 🙂

Ann Gimpel, Blood and Magic, Paranormal, RomanceMagic didn’t just find Luke Caulfield. It chased him down, bludgeoned him, and has been dogging him ever since. Some lessons are harder than others. Luke survives by embracing danger and upping the ante to give it one better. An enforcer for the Coven, a large, established group of witches, his latest assignment is playing bodyguard to the daughter of Coven leaders.

Abigail Ruskin is chaperoning a spoiled twelve-year-old from New York to her parents’ home in Utah Territory when Luke gets on their stagecoach in Colorado. A powerful witch herself, Abigail senses Luke’s magic, but he’s so overwhelmingly male, she shies away from contact. Stuck between the petulant child and Luke’s raw sexual energy, Abigail can’t wait for the trip to end.

Wraiths, wolves, and humans with dark magick attack. Unpleasant truths surface about the child and Abigail’s well-ordered world crashes around her. Luke’s so attracted to Abigail, she’s almost all he can think about, but he’s leery too. In over his head, he summons enforcer backup. Will they help him save the woman he’s falling in love with, or demand her immediate execution?

Amazon

Rafflecopter Giveaway $25 Amazon Giftcard

Excerpt:

…It wasn’t Luke but a long, drawn-out shriek that brought Abigail thumping back to consciousness, her heart hammering triple time in her chest. Eyes wide and staring against the darkness, she warded herself just in time. Strong magic battered her. She tried to sense Luke, but that was the problem with wards. They protected by forming an impenetrable barrier and corralled her magic inside.

Whatever was pummeling her seemed to have given up. She risked chinking enough of a hole in her warding to send a tendril of magic outward because she needed information. When it came, it terrified her so badly, her heart stuttered. Dark things surrounded them: wraiths, mad wolves—those who’d been turned to serve the other side—and humans who’d sold their immortal souls for forbidden knowledge. Had the girl rallied them? How could she possibly be that powerful? Luke didn’t seem to be anywhere. Abigail hoped he’d concealed himself out of harm’s way, because the two of them couldn’t make the slightest dent in the dark horde outside. The stagecoach rocked and she realized someone was climbing onto the roof. Throat so dry she could barely breathe, she mended her warding.

The books. That’s what they want… Let them haul the miserable things out of here. She knew she should risk heaven and hell to keep such knowledge out of dark hands, but Abigail didn’t see how throwing her life away would alter the outcome. She heard voices speaking the Satanic tongue, and then dragging sounds as someone transferred the trunk to the ground. Luke shouldn’t have bothered to put it back up top, she thought grimly. Continue reading