Guest Blogger Robynn Tolbert and Star of Justice

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Born in Kansas and born again at age six, ROBYNN TOLBERT wrote stories for her own amusement for the next thirty years. When a job as a foster care caseworker became too stressful and a career with a floral trade magazine became too comfortable, her thoughts turned to writing an actual book. Success led to success, and she completed a second novel and started her third. Robynn, aka Ranunculus Turtle, lives in Kansas with a clowder of cats, a patient dog, and a garden.

STAR OF JUSTICE
by Robynn Tolbert
Published by Splashdown Books

ABOUT THE BOOK

She joined the knighthood for the scholarship program.

A thwarted assassination attempt drags Caissa Ocren into a secret war between elemental spirits and dragon worshippers. More accustomed to solving puzzles than wielding swords, she undergoes a crash course in survival from a mercenary minstrel, a shape-shifting druid, and a legendary spirit warrior.

An ancient book may hold the answers she seeks, but understanding requires the memories of a wizard. With time against her, Caissa faces the hardest lesson of all – how to serve when the cost is her life.

Readers, buy your copy of Star of Justice today!

AND NOW A WORD FROM OUR FEATURE AUTHOR

I wrote Star of Justice about eight years ago, when my day job instituted a “summer hours” program. Work an extra hour four days a week and get four hours off on Friday. Excellent, but what to do with those four hours? I had no friends. I had no internet. I had no cell phone. I decided to write a book. I’d started lots of books in college—twenty years earlier—so that wasn’t a concern.

I wrote four hours a day every Friday. I enjoyed it. I’d never finished a book before, you see. Started lots of them, but finish? No. This one I thought I could finish, if I just kept plugging away.

A month passed, and one of my dogs was diagnosed with congestive heart failure. Didn’t know dogs could get that until he did. We started the various medications to ease his discomfort and prolong his life. Writing became a way to avoid listening to him cough.

Another month passed, and Mom was diagnosed with precancerous cells in her remaining breast. She’d had a breast removed because of cancer years earlier, so we were watching for it. The surgery was scheduled for early November. I would drive out to her farm every Saturday and read her the pages I’d written during the week. It became important to finish the book before that surgery date. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I wanted her to know I’d completed one book, just in case.

I wrote every minute I wasn’t at work or in bed. My back hurt. My eyes hurt. My head hurt. I gained weight: a lot of eating takes place in my story, and it’s rude to let people eat alone.

The dog’s coughing worsened. Mom’s surgery date loomed.

The day before she went in, I finished the book. I like to think I finished it well. Mom certainly enjoyed it.
Her surgery went splendidly, and she came out with two new breasts created using her own tissue (a technique called a tram-flap, but that’s another story). My dear dog Wicket took The Long Step once I understood that his congestive heart failure would kill me before it killed him (it nearly did that winter when my over-stressed immune system broke down and left me vulnerable to every contagion that crossed my path). I put my finished book into the proverbial drawer and moved on with my life.

Looking back, those things that seemed determined to knock me off course were the very things that kept me on the path to completion. Ultimately, they set me on the path to publication.

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Thank you, Robynn, for sharing with us today.

Guest Question: What trials have unexpectedly helped you achieve your goal?

ENTRY RULES Readers, leave your email address (name at domainname dot com/net) along with your answer to the question for your chance to win a FREE eBook copy in the format of your choice of the book featured above. If you do not answer the question, and your email address isn't provided, you will not be entered.

This week, the contest is open to anyone worldwide.

Guest Blogger Caprice Hokstad and Blood and Brine

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

CAPRICE HOKSTAD,  spends most of her time dreaming up other worlds to live vicariously in. Her first half-million words were lavishly spent on the fantasy setting of Byntar (where her published Ascendancy Trilogy novels are set). Caprice lives in a mobile home in southern California, but regularly stares at her simulated aquarium screensaver. Her ultimate aspiration is to live in the first undersea colony, Atlantica, currently being built off the coast of Florida. She is assured they will have electricity and internet and that there will be room for her laptop, so she can continue to write. At that point, she may change her screensaver, but no promises.

http://caprice.splashdownbooks.com (blog)
http://Latoph.com (commercial fiction)
http://UnderseaAdventure.net (fan fiction)

BLOOD AND BRINE
by Caprice Hokstad
Published by Splashdown Books

ABOUT THE BOOK

Book 3 in Ascendancy trilogy

What should be a season of rejoicing over Duke Vahn's newly-recovered son is overshadowed by fear of an uncertain future. Vahn's brother, King Arx, expands the war with neighboring Ganluc, while enemies at home seek to shatter the Rebono dynasty forever. Strained relations between royal twins harden into cold suspicion and treasonous accusations while a deadly plague sweeps across the land.

As the royal bloodline is torn asunder, two races, the Elva and Itzi, discover that only together can they stop the plague and restore their unraveling kingdom.

Readers, buy your copy of Blood and Brine today!

AND NOW A WORD FROM OUR FEATURE AUTHOR

My publisher asked me to be a guest blogger here after she heard of the opportunity. She’s big on “getting your name out there.” I’m with a small press and it’s a struggle to find an audience. Those who have read my books have said good things, but the trouble is finding people interested in reading. But back to why I’m here.

Being the dutiful writer I am, I agreed for the sake of marketing, but I really didn’t know what in the world I was going to write about. In fact, the whole idea made me panic big time. I am not good at non-fiction nor do I have any “expert advice” to dispense or “special knowledge” to endow. So I checked amberstockton.com to see if I could figure out what her readers might be interested in.

Then I found it. I gasped out loud. There’s a fan fiction link! The minute I read the confession about how many people visited the fanfiction page, I knew what I would write about.

I, too, write fanfiction.

Yes, I know there’s a stigma. By some perceptions, writing fanfiction places me in the category of black sheep. Some have told me I shouldn’t admit to it in public. I know some professional writers who use pen names which they guard as if they’re secret-agent identities. It’s a big, dark secret they write fanfiction.

I do use a pen name, but it’s no secret. Fanfiction.net forced me to choose one, but I lay claim to it on my blog very openly and I have told my fanfiction readers my real name on my profile. I like using a pen name to keep my genres separate, not because I am ashamed. The fact is, I have more fanfiction readers than readers of my original fiction.

Fanfiction writing is nothing to be ashamed of. About eighteen years ago, three novels in the fandom I write for were published by a Big Six publisher in New York. Not just trade paperback, but “pocket” books that ended up in airports and grocery stores as well as the bookstores. These three books are now out of print, but I found them used. Two out of the three I can truthfully say, “I could do better than that.” And actually, I have done better than that. I have written two novels I would submit to these folks for consideration as authorized if I could. I’m just eighteen years too late.

My point is those other four authors who got published (one book has two authors named) were no different than me. None of the three books are authored by the man who created the original characters and background, including the book that is simply a novelization of the pilot screenplay (which was written by the creator)! So if others got paid to write novels when they were not the creator, how am I or any other fanfiction writer inferior? If the show hadn’t gone defunct, I would be submitting for authorization. If my reader’s comments are any indication of quality, I think I’d have a pretty decent chance, too.

Writing fanfiction isn’t easy (see http://amberstockton.com/fanfic.html for a good description of why) and I think I’ve made a case for it being respectable. Now if I could just figure out how to make it pay…

* * * * *

Thank you, Caprice, for sharing with us today.

Guest Question: Do you read or write fanfiction and if so, do you hide it? If not, why not?

ENTRY RULES Readers, leave your email address (name at domainname dot com/net) along with your answer to the question for your chance to win a FREE eBook copy of the book above via a coupon code for the download. If you do not answer the question, and your email address isn't provided, you will not be entered.

This week, the contest is open to anyone worldwide.

Guest Blogger Diane Graham and I Am Ocilla

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

DIANE GRAHAM lives in the mountains of eastern Oklahoma with her husband and five children. She is an avid reader and lover of all art forms that encapsulate imagination and goodness. She has been a waitress, a car saleswoman, a real estate wannabe, and had grandeur dreams of growing up to be a mom. Never in a million years did she expect to be a writer, but children do this awesome thing with a person's imagination. Now she can't stop writing. You may find out more about Diane at http://www.dianemgraham.com or on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/dianemgrahamauthor.

I AM OCILLA
by Diane Graham
Published by Splashdown Books

ABOUT THE BOOK

Open your heart and mind to the simplicity and complexity of a name. I know only my name. Beyond that is confusion, a void where fantasy and reality swirl together. Fairies, Giants, Elves, Dwarves, ancient Keepers, and...Dragons? A dark soul threatens the Five Kingdoms, but I am powerless to stand against it, overwhelmed by phantom memories, broken and lost.
Somehow, I must live. I must find my purpose.
There are friends to love and battles to fight.
I know my name. Perhaps that is enough.
I am Ocilla.
This is my story.

Readers, buy your copy of I Am Ocilla today!

AND NOW A WORD FROM OUR FEATURE AUTHOR

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.-- Jeremiah 29:11 (KJV)

My very favorite part of being a writer is not writing at all. It is the stuff before the writing and the stuff between the words. It is the dreaming. No one ever thought I’d be a writer, but they did think I pondered a lot. Isn’t that the biggest part of writing? The dreams that catapult into your mind and plants itself in the membrane of your existence? It weaves in so deeply that no matter how much you try to think of other things, it always manages to sneak back to the center, dancing a silly jig or sticking its tongue out in a dare. A challenge presents itself to me like a jigsaw puzzle on a rainy day. Every time I walk by that table, I hunch over to fit one more piece, only this puzzle has no box and I have no idea how beautiful the picture will be until I am done.

That is what writing a fantasy is like for me. I write with a Christian worldview because just like the story, Christ is weaved into my soul. It wasn’t something I set out to do a certain way. It just happened that HE kept placing things in the stories I wrote that screamed to the world that I am His. Or maybe it doesn’t scream to the world, but it was like an anvil over my head when I first realized it.

I suppose it is like that for all Christians when they embrace the gifts God gives them. There is a level of joy you can only attribute to Him. A sureness that you are doing exactly what you are made to do.

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Thank you, Diane, for sharing with us today.

Guest Question: Do you have one thing you can do that you know is a blessing from God...a gift?

ENTRY RULES Readers, leave your email address (name at domainname dot com/net) along with your answer to the question for your chance to win ONE of TWO FREE eBook copies of the book above. There will be TWO winners this week! If you do not answer the question, and your email address isn't provided, you will not be entered.

This week, the contest is open to anyone worldwide.

Welcome Fred Warren and The Muse, Writing a Sequel

Please interact with our guest authors by answering the question they provide. IF there is a book giveaway, your response will also enter you in the drawing for a free book.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR


When he's not writing, FRED WARREN works as a government contractor in eastern Kansas, providing computer simulation support for Army training. He’s written 26 short stories published in a variety of print and online magazines, and his first novel, The Muse, debuted in November 2009 from Splashdown Books. It was a 2010 American Christian Fiction Writers Carol Award finalist for book of the year in the speculative genre.

Fred married the girl who should have been his high school sweetheart, and has three kids, three dogs, and a mortgage. You can find him online at http://frederation.wordpress.com.


THE MUSE
by Fred Warren
Published by Splashdown Books

ABOUT THE BOOK

Stan Marino needs a muse. He's written himself into a corner...again. A shot of inspiration is all he needs to finish his story ...where is he going to find it? What Stan doesn't know: Inspiration has found him. And it's about to take over his life. Ripped from reality, he must lead a band of lost souls in a life-or-death battle with a merciless enemy. Stan has found his muse, but will he survive it?

Readers, buy your copy of The Muse today!

AND NOW A WORD FROM OUR FEATURE AUTHOR

Writing the Sequel, or, You're Probably Going to Want Some Milk With That Cookie

One of my family's favorite books is If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, by Laura Numeroff. A mouse comes to visit, and a little girl gives him a cookie, which of course requires a glass of milk to wash it down, which sets off a cascade of other requests that get bigger and bigger until they take over the entire house. It's the story of our life. If my daughter has track practice, they're probably going to want a case of juice boxes to go with it, and so on, ad infinitum.

When I wrote my first novel, my goals were modest. I was a short-story writer. I wanted to challenge myself to write a story longer than 8000 words. When I passed 10,000 words, I was ecstatic, and the writing got easier once I'd broken through that mental wall. After I finished, to my great surprise, I had something in excess of 50,000 words that I thought somebody else might actually want to read, once I'd cleaned it up. To my even greater surprise, one of those somebodies wanted to publish it.

Then I discovered that when somebody publishes your book, chances are, they're going to ask you to write another. Sure, nowadays it's common for people to write with visions of seven-volume epic franchises dancing in their heads, but that never occurred to me. I'd met my goal, written my novel, and now it was time to get back to my beloved short stories, right?

Wrong. It wasn't just my publisher asking. Friends, relatives, strangers who had enjoyed the book--people had expectations. So, okay, I thought. I can write a sequel. I've got an idea that will work, and I've already done one of these, so it won't be very difficult.

It turned out to be a lot harder than I figured. Here are some speed bumps I encountered on the way to finishing the manuscript for my second novel.

You Can't Go Home Again - I knew my characters cold, I thought--their personalities, fashion sense, favorite ice cream flavor, everything. The only problem was that time had passed since the first story, and they'd grown. Everybody was five years older. They were living with the consequences of their choices in the original story. Their problems and ambitions were different. I had to get to know them all over again. This led quickly to the realization that my audience was also different. I couldn't write the second book assuming everybody had read the first. I would have to orient new readers to my universe without boring the loyal folks who were familiar with it. I had to catch up with the original cast and introduce interesting new characters. I had to revisit the old stomping grounds, but I also needed to take my characters, and my readers, to places they'd never been before.

Couples Skate - Writing the first novel was like free-skate time at the roller rink. I could go wherever I wanted, at whatever tempo I enjoyed, getting as crazy as my imagination (and the limits of good form) would allow. The second book was a couples-skate session that joined me with a lovely but demanding partner named Backstory, and we were going to skate at her pace. I had to link the sequel with what had come before. I had to be consistent with the facts and events I'd already established. My universe had rules now, and I had to obey them. What happened in the first story determined, in part, what could and would happen in the second.

Revenge of the Self-Editor - I learned a lot writing my first novel, and it was only natural that I'd want to apply that knowledge to the second. I certainly hope my growth as a writer will be reflected in this new book. Unfortunately, knowing more also made me more inhibited. Writers talk endlessly about the perils of self-editing, and I'm a first-class offender. It's very difficult for me to write more than a few sentences without going back and tweaking them. Part of my success with the first novel was in suppressing this tendency, getting the words onto paper with reckless abandon. Now I found myself with a whole new database of problems to beware and a catalog of weaknesses in the first story to avoid in the sequel. My self-editor re-emerged with a vengeance, and it was harder to beat him down because I was invested in the story. It was more important to me this time to get things exactly right.

Despite all the new challenges I hadn't expected, I pressed on and finished the manuscript a couple of weeks ago. It took me about twice as long as it did the first time around. I've still got a long way to go—editing, critiques, rewriting—but I'm happy with the story and optimistic about its potential. Yes, there will be a third novel. At the end of Ms. Numeroff's story, the mouse wants another cookie. If you write two novels, chances are, somebody will want you to write one more.

* * * * *

Thank you, Fred, for sharing with us today.

Guest Question: You can answer as either as a writer or a reader--What do you think is the most difficult challenge for an author to overcome in a sequel?

ENTRY RULES Readers, leave your email address (name at domainname dot com/net) along with your answer to the question for your chance to win a FREE autographed copy of the book above PLUS a copy of Fred's next book, The Seer, releasing later this year. If you do not answer the question, and your email address isn't provided, you will not be entered.

This week, the contest is open to US/Canada residents only.