The Hangover Within a Hangover

Don't get too excited just yet, I'm talking about book hangovers. The kind that causes severe emotional distress and leaves you stuck in the author's world, aching and unwhole. I know that's what every reader thirsts for, but it still manages to stun us when we finally close the book on that final page.

Well, Stephen King managed to deliver a double whammy with Wizard and Glass.

Again, I know I'm like... a decade late to this party, but one of my resolutions was to discuss every book I read this year, not just the indies, (although the indies will get extra special treatment.) So here it is. My thoughts on Wizard and Glass.

I touched on this briefly in my Other Worlds post when I had just started Wizard and Glass, and was still mega happy that I had finally finished the train ride. That part of me is now whole. In my late teens, I was left hanging off the most horrible cliff anyone could imagine, and there was no comfort to be had for years. I’m pretty sure King’s cliffhanger has reached legendary status by now because even non-readers are aware of the hiatus after The Waste Lands. 

And then my excitement turned to “WTH am I reading?!?” just a few days afterwards because King went off on a tangent for like... THE WHOLE BOOK!! Debra wasn’t happy. Where did Suzanna, Eddie and Jake go? They were the ones I wanted to read about, not Alain and Bert and the dinky little town of Hambry. So day after day, I plugged in my ear buds and loaded up audible, suffering through Roland and Susan’s love story and barely able to tolerate it. Until I wasn't just tolerating it anymore…

By that I mean, King drew me in, again, and my tolerance turned to acceptance, then to curiosity, and finally morphed into obsession. What took me months to get into, I ended up finishing in a rush and was unable to put the book down.

Then the story ended… but the book didn't. I was suffering Hambry hangover, and I still had a couple chapters left to go when I was suddenly back with Roland’s ‘New York’ ka-tet. I had just enough time to get all cuddled up with them, AND THEN the book ended.

Blargh!

There you have it. Hangover followed by hangover. It’s a rough life for a reader sometimes.

I have eased my suffering by starting Wolves of the Calla, but it’s read by George Guidell, NOT Frank Muller who read the previous three books. Why you do this to me, Penguin Audio? I might have to find the time to read the book myself since I got so used to Muller’s Eddie Dean. Guidell just can’t pull off the accent as well. We’ll just have to see what happens there.

Now, I have to apologize for the lack of post last week. Things were going along wonderfully as far as edits go, but a monkey wrench got thrown into the works by way of a stress headache last Thursday. Set me a little behind, but I’m back at it now. Working on a few projects, which I know those eagerly awaiting part three probably don’t want to hear, but it helps with the burn out factor. Don’t worry though, The Phoenix Curse remains my primary focus now and will be until it’s finished. The other couple projects I have are just stress relief. :)

Also, for the Sherlock fans out there, Season 3 is out and it is absolutely smashing!! The game is on, people!

Happy New Year!

I'm back!

I hope everyone had a wonderful, wonderful 2013 holiday season! We've made it through another year, woohoo! The family and I spent New Year's Eve playing board games and having fun. At 10 till midnight, I realized I'd forgotten the eggnog and we had to improvise. The internet is truly an amazing thing. I pulled off a recipe, whipped up the creation and voila! Holiday eggnog. Wonder if a new tradition was just born?

Now, I have a few people out there waiting on paperbacks. I'm expecting my first shipment to arrive around the end of this month and I'll start shipping in February. Just a little update on that.

Also, I'm happy to report that it feels like I have a solid grip on things again. I haven't felt this way since before we decided to put our house up for sale. We're finally all settled after the move, I feel pretty settled in at the new job, my wrist is almost back to 100%, and I've been able to hit my daily goals for the past couple of weeks. You know what that means? I'll probably be sending my manuscript off to the editor by MARCH! That's a huge leap from what I had originally expected.

So, wishing everyone the best this year. Remember, it's up to you to make it all happen! I'll leave you with some poetry I wrote ages ago, written sometime during those horrible high school days. Maybe it wasn't ALL horrible.

Time passes, year by year.

Friends who go, new friends to meet.

And so on, life floats slowly by

Making memories, forever sweet.

                                                    d.r.johnson
                                                    circa 1994

Post Christmas Post

Ahahaha, I crack myself up.

Maybe this is a little too true.

But I know, I know. If you actually made it past the goofy title and are now reading my post, you deserve a prize. Unfortunately, all I have left are free digital copies of After - Part One.

Okay, I'm sorry. I'll stop and get on with the news. Luckily for me, I actually have news to share!

First off, I now have my edited manuscript of part one, just emailed back to me earlier this week. Now it's time to reformat the eBook, reformat the paperback, redo the paperback cover, then get everything uploaded. Good times! It's a lot of checking and double checking, but at least the eBook should be uploaded by next weekend. No promises on the paperback. I still have issues when I start fooling around with the cover. It's not exactly cake for me right now, I just need a little more practice.

That being said, the preliminary ideas for the After - Part Three cover art are beginning to form! Green is the theme this time around. I'll be saving the reveal for this one until I send the manuscript off to the editor.

Not to get your hopes up too early just yet. The rewrites for After - Part Three are coming right along, but it's still way to early in the process for me to have an idea of when it will be published. I'm still shooting for 'before spring.'

Okay, one more productive day of the week, then I'm going to enjoy the weekend. Maybe finish up my Minecraft storage room, among other creative things I should be doing... ;)

Last Day!

As of this post, there's only 16 hours left to pick up After - Part Two on sale. Not sure when there'll be another sale, so you'll want to grab it now!

I hope everyone's holiday festivities are glorious!

Other Worlds

Artwork by luke314pi 

Go then. There are other worlds than these.

It's been a while since I've done a review, but not for lack of reading... or - more truthfully - listening. I just haven't had time to curl up with a book lately, so my audible account (read wallet) has been getting a workout. I don't always do reviews on the mainstream books I read, they don't need them like us indie's need them, but I'd still like to talk about what I've been reading.

I've been on a huge Stephen King kick lately, as you may have guessed by the epic quote above. If you don't know what's its from, it first appeared in The Gunslinger, the first book in The Dark Tower series, and became a running theme throughout the books.

The Dark Tower series aren't the only books I've been listening too lately. I started with 11/22/63, a novel dealing with a worm hole that spit the main character out around the time of JFK's assassination, introducing the main conflict of the book. 11/22/63 was the first King book I've read in a long while. I think the one before that was Carrie a couple years back and then Rose Madder probably at least ten years ago. A very long stretch to go without reading a book from one of my 'favorite' authors.

Anyway, back to 11/22/63. I actually picked up this book at the same time a friend began her re-read, and as soon as I cracked it open (loaded it up on audible), I was drawn back in time. It was just so familiar. My friend said it best when she said, "It's like talking to an old friend."

This book really has a bold line drawn down the middle, separating it into two very distinct halves. The first half had me captivated, and I found I was listening to it every chance I could get as it built to its crescendo. It was a wild ride and gave me the story I craved. Once it was over, I still had the bulk of the book left to go and was wondering, where the hell do we go from here?

And the book changed... I lost interest for a while and didn't pick it back up for a few weeks. Final verdict, I would recommend this book for any King fan, along with those that like a good, gritty horror story thrown in with a solid time-travel backdrop... on the first half alone. It was excellent.

But here's the trap I fell into. The main character makes a visit to Derry in the last 1950s. All King fans should know what happened in Derry back in the late 1950s.

Pennywise...

So that's when I totally got sucked back into King's universe. The main character Jake actually meets a young Beverly Marsh and *beep beep* Richie Tozier. Anyone else visualizing a young Seth Green right now?

Artwork by raulman

King wasn't done blurring the lines yet. The main character actually has a run in with Pennywise's essence. It tries to bait him into the old ironworks, but Jake is having nothing of it. He nopes right the hell out of there, but the damage was already done. King had opened the closest doors inside my mind, and I was faced with my deep-seated psychological fears I thought buried long ago.

Kiddos, Stephen King corrupted an entire generation, leaving so many of us terrified of white-faced clowns. Slenderman doesn't hold a candle to Pennywise.

And then I purchased It on audible and began to listen. I had no idea how deep those claw marks in my psyche went, but after looking up old It movie clips on YouTube and reliving Georgie's excruciating death again, I was reminded why I stopped reading King. Because he friggen terrified me. Thus I was reminded why King is still one of my favorite authors. He is the master. 'Nuff said.

It segued into The Dark Tower, because this one I had left unfinished. Wasteland was the last that was published the first time I started reading the series, and many know there was a long hiatus between this book and the fourth book, Wizard and Glass, that wasn't published until six years later. I was off King by then, so never picked it back up until now.

I am thoroughly enjoying this read. I just finished up Wasteland and have finally started on Wizard and Glass and I finally know what happened with that damn train!! Ugh, talk about a cliffhanger. I was hanging for YEARS. I am aware of The Turtle mention in 11/22/63 as well as the references (origin?) of Pennywise in this series. I can't wait to get there!

And that is a very long update on my reading life right now, and a small tribute for this man that has created an entire universe that has webbed through all of his books and so many of his readers lives. It's awe inspiring. Words just can't describe the admiration I have for this man and his ability to put all his stories on paper.

Cheers, Mr King! Your story telling is truly exceptional and I am so thankful you have shared it with the world.

Only 2 Days Left!

Only two days left to pick up a digital copy of After - Part Two for only 99 cents!

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! I'll be back tomorrow with a real update.

Sale!

Is everyone excited and ready for the holidays? I'm definitely ready to sit down and relax a bit with the family. I hope everyone's plans for the holiday season are going well!


I'd also like to tell everyone that After - Part Two will be on sale through the week for only $.99. Don't wait! Grab it today! Remember you can always gift a copy to anyone as long as you have a valid email address for them.

On Sale Now!

Also, if you're new to the series, After - Part One is currently free with no end in sight! -- Although I do not think it will stay free if you 'gift' it, so watch out on that one.

If you're a paperback reader, After - Part Two is ready for purchase in print AND the matchbook feature of Amazon should allow you to download the ebook for free after you purchase the paperback. I haven't tested this out myself yet, so not sure how it works exactly.

That's all for today! Have a splendid weekend!

The paperback has released!

Woohoo!

Get the paperback today!

Just in time! After - Part Two has been released in paperback. I just got my proof yesterday and approved it for the masses. I ordered mine in the matte finish, and have to say I didn't much care for it. Going back to the good ol' glossy and I have a few on order for Christmas gifts. Crazy good news, right?

I did opt in for the matchbook program for part two, but was informed it would take 2 to 5 days for it to link up, so for those of you who already purchased the ebook and was waiting to get an awesome deal on the paperback, sorry. Just a few more days to wait on that.

After - Part Three is going to be... fun... So much has changed since I wrote the first draft so I'm having to correct time lines and other fun things.

Did you know Ali had a bow at one point during the creative process? She never used it (Katniss she is not) and she only carried it around with her to for kicks. Freaks don't care much for fashion, so the whole idea got kicked to the curb. Let's face it, we are ALL better off that way.

I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season! I still have some shopping to do. What the heck was I thinking playing reddit Secret Santa? I have no idea what to buy a complete stranger that lives halfway across the country. :(

Idea's anyone?

It's Live!

The professionally edited copy of After - Part Two (ebook) is now live! Woohoo!

I'm very pleased with how it turned out, so if you haven't grabbed your digital copy yet, it's all ready for you!

I know this is just a quick post, but I wanted to get the news out ASAP.

So Many Things

Can I breathe yet?

*gasp*

November was nothing but a blur. The publishing of After - Part Two, the surgery, the new job, selling the old house, moving into the new, Thanksgiving and NANO! It was all just too much. I'm surprised I didn't pass out from exhaustion at some point.

But now NaNoWriMo is behind us for another year! All of us wrimos have a fresh pile of jumbled words that we get to shake and wring out to see what will become of it. My regret was that I didn't get to participate in the NaNo festivities AT ALL this year. Pretty much if it wasn't house, job, or sleep related, I was typing (or, at times, speaking). It's the only way I could make it happen.

This year, I finished on the.. 28th? I can't even remember. Like I said, blur... but I know for the past couple of days I've taken the time to relax. Played some games with the family, watched some shows, and just let my brain dissolve into mush. Actually, I don't think I had much control over that last action. My brain pretty much checked out on me on its own. Like, I'm having one of those pull up to a stop-sign and sit there while waiting for the light to turn green kinda days.

So, what now?

Well, I have a few goodies to reveal. I think I've already mentioned this but I'll say it again. I have an editor! Not sure how excited everyone else is about it, but I am totally ecstatic. The really good news is that she's already finished with the part two edits, and you can expect them to be live on Amazon by this weekend. If you've already purchased the book, that's okay. I'll be requesting a push from Amazon to update all the other downloads, but I have been warned that it may take up to a month for this to actually go through.

Now that I have my professionally edited manuscript, formatting will begin on the paperback this week. I am hoping that I can have this available so that orders can make it to their destination by Christmas. Don't you know someone who would just love a paperback of After - Part Two as a stocking stuffer? *cheesy grin*

One last thing before I vamoose. If the editing news wasn't exciting enough, then hopefully this will leave you bouncing with anticipation. After - Part Three has now been compiled and is begging for the rewrites to get underway. You may have noticed the availability date being pushed out to the Spring of 2014. Remember, that is a tentative date, and I am going to do my best to get the third installment of After to you before then!

Toodles everyone! I'll be back to my regular schedule soon!

Looking back

So, the sale on the house closes tomorrow and we turn over the keys to the new buyer. (Also, this just so happened to be the same day the lease house became ready so we have ONE day to move, but that's another story.)

I've been so busy with getting things ready and the rush of it all happening so fast that all I've been doing is looking forward. I'm VERY excited to be making this leap as my husband and I begin our preparation for buying the house that we want to spend the next 20+ years in.

Today it finally hit me that I only have a very short time left in the house that's been my home for the past 5+ years. I'm just really not sure what to feel right now, but I know part of me doesn't want to let it go.

We aren't moving because we don't like the house. I actually love it, and I've spent these past few years making it mine. It fit perfectly for a little bit, but the family is growing. Yes, it's a small house, but that's not the bad thing about it. It's the location. Unfortunately, we just aren't in the best school district for little boy and we want to make sure we give him the best start that we possibly can... So, we move.

But I'd like to take the time to look back, just for a little bit. I'll never forget the day I got the call we'd closed on the house. It was May 3rd, 2008. Jesse's and my wedding day.

Jesse and I got married in our apartment. I didn't want a big white wedding, just something small and intimate that only close family and friends could attend. I spent the morning hiding in the bedroom while Jesse and his brother arranged all the furniture into isles, so I didn't see the work they'd done until it was time. I didn't even get to see the preacher that morning until I walked out.

So there I was, anxiously waiting for the bridal march to start playing while my daughter stood ready to escort me out to my husband-to-be... and my phone rang.

I didn't answer it of course, but after we said our vows and danced barefoot to The One by Gary Allan, I found time to check my voice mail.

It was the Realtor, letting us know we had closed on the house and where we could go pick up the keys. After our little reception dinner, the whole family drove over to our new house, still in wedding attire. It was magical and one of the best days of my life.

So I'm truly sad to see it go, especially now that we've been unearthing all these memories while we've been digging out the closets and packing it all away. I still remember how weird it felt to sleep there that first night, and now tonight will be our last night there.

But, in the end, it's just a house and my home will always be with Jesse, wherever we are.  My life isn't perfect. Anyone who says that theirs is is lying. But I will say this. My life is everything I wanted, and much more than I expected. I can't say if there is or isn't a God out there somewhere, but I do feel truly blessed and, although I don't say it enough, I cherish it all.

Now that I got all that out, I only have one thing left to say... Goodbye, House. Thank you for all the wonderful memories. I will miss you.

Unscheduled Post!

Just a real quick, unscheduled post.

I recently met with Michael Garza over at Goodreads. He hosts a blog dedicated to some really creepy stuff called What Horror Looks Like, so all you horror buffs should swing by there and check it out. It's one of the blogs I follow regularly, and I have to admit some of the topics and books he posts about has made me squirm. It's good stuff.

He also does a few author interviews and I'm very pleased to announce that mine went live tonight! You can read the whole interview here.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend and I'll be back next Thursday!

Stitches!

Oh my goodness, the stitches came out today! Now, for those of you that have ever had stitches before, this may not be a surprise. For me, however, when the Doc pulled them and I saw my skin open up and the... whatever beneath, I shoved my hand at him and told him to PUT THEM BACK IN!

I was just so not prepared for this whole ordeal. Not that I regret doing it, though. I'm glad I did and I'm nearly back to 100%. Typing, mouse clicks, lifting some things, but don't ask me to turn a door knob. For some reason, that motion still gets me.

Even though the pain has slowed me down a little, I've still managed to stay ahead of the game for NaNo, although not by much. Hopefully I'll be able to stick to my current trend for the rest of the month. 50k words added to The Phoenix Curse isn't bad! Keep in mind, my precious super fans, I'm already done with the first draft for After - Part Three! Rewrites are difficult though, but I'll be diving right into it once NaNo is finished.

Also, After - Part Three will have something very special that the first two releases lacked... an Editor!! That's right! I'm in the market for one right now, and both part one and part two will be worked over. The release of part two has pulled in enough extra income for me to be able to finally indulge in this important step of becoming a real author. Sooooo excited about this!

So that's my very fun news for the week! Remember, After - Part Two is finally available, and if you're just hopping on board, After - Part One is available for free!!

Happy Thursday!

Hello everyone!

Here's an update for the past week. We (hopefully) have a buyer for the house, so that's great news! Going to wait in the car in the Sonic parking lot while the house is being shown is getting really old. Of course, that means we'll be moving soon... like... quite possibly REALLY soon, but then all this hassle will be behind us for awhile.

Next up... the recovery! It's going. Some days are okay, some has more pain than others. I'm able to type for short periods of time, so I have been keeping up with my daily NaNo targets, but I've also been using Dragon to help me along. It's only been one week, so I hope I'll see some major improvement over the next few weeks. The good thing is, I was able to do something about this before my nerve damage got really bad and there's hardly any numbness in my fingers at all.

I'm still a wimp and can't open any of my drinks unless I get creative, and then I normally end up wet somewhere. Oh well. That'll pass soon, I'm sure.

Well, to end my short post, if you missed it, After - Part Two is available on Amazon now! Woot!

Now that's it's getting colder, you've got a nice book to cuddle up with, righto?  :)

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!! See ya next week!

Recovery and Nano

So, I made it through! WooHoo! I'm not exactly loving this, though.

Last Thursday, I had my carpal tunnel surgery. So far, other than I can't really used my right hand for much of anything yet, the hand hasn't bothered me. I did not have the best reaction to the anesthesia though. Ending up sleeping the rest of the day when I wasn't throwing up. Worst. Halloween. Ever.

But I'm a trooper. I still got up on Friday and went to work AND made it through the whole day. I didn't accomplish a whole lot, I will admit, but it was my last day at my old job anyway and I was just tying up some loose ends.

That was the first day of NaNo, and that night I busted out the old microphone and loaded up Dragon and got to work. I still haven't been able to pull ahead yet, but at least I'm keeping up. I will have the next two days all to myself, and I'm hoping I can really lay some tracks down. As I've fleeting mentioned in some of my past posts, we are selling our house. It went up on the market on Thursday (what a day!) and we've already got offers, so keep you fingers crossed! We might be moving soon.

That will cut into a lot of Nano time, but I'm a fighter. Not gonna let that stop me! The book is still set in the TPC world, so I'm eager to keep writing.

Also, I AM typing this right now. Amazing, huh?? I would post a pic of the incision, but it's pretty gruesome. When I took the bandage off, I was not mentally prepared to deal with the wound. Ugh, so creepy. Looked like a shriveled zombie hand. The stitches don't come out till the 14th, so the next couple weeks are going to be interesting. Hell, this whole month is going to be interesting.

LASTLY for today... If you missed it, After - Part Two is now available on Amazon. Help me spread the word! I am so thrilled!

I should be back to my regular posting schedule this week. Sorry I got off track for a bit there. :)

After - Part Two

Happy Halloween!!

What a wonderful Halloween it is. So my surgery is today, and this is the last post I'm sending to you with my crippled hand. I'm nervous and excited! I'm hoping everything goes well and I recover quickly!

Also, I was up past midnight last night, doing my final read-through of After - Part 2. It was around 12:30 when I pressed the save button, tears in my eyes. It's finished. I hope I never get over that joy of completing a story.

And then it took forever for Amazon to get it listed, well, felt like forever. :)

Its finally here and I am so happy!

After - Part Two

And The Race Is On

Hey everyone! I've been missing, I know, I know, but it's for a good cause! I have pretty much been devoting every extra minute I have to making sure After - Part Two gets released in time! I will be working all night tonight on it, and I'm not super 100% sure that I'll be hitting the publish button tomorrow, but I'm damn sure going to try. The good news is, it will be out in a day or two becausseeee.....

I'm having my surgery on my wrist on Thursday, so I have to publishing it before then. Really, it's not that big of a stretch since I'm so close to being done. So exciting!

Also! Off the Beaten Path is on SALE right now! $.99 through Halloween! If you haven't grabbed it yet, better get it now!

Whew... Okay, short and sweet. It's back to polishing! My next post will be the announcement that After - Part Two is up, so be sure to give my Facebook page a like if you haven't yet. I'll be sure to post the link there as well!

Vacation!

So, short post today but I'll tell you what I'm doing.

I took today and tomorrow off so I can sit home, work all day, and play like I'm a full time writer! So here I go! Totally diving right into my manuscript right now. Let's see how I do without anything or one here to distract me!

I will come back to update if anything exciting happens, but it's pretty much just working out a few scenes for the final polishing. I just have 2 chapters to go!

A List of Winners!

I am sorry I didn't get around to listing the winners earlier. I had two giveaways going on at the same time, and both ending while I was traveling! What timing!

First, I'll list the Off the Beaten Path winners. This was the bigger give away. A special shout-out to Angela Roquet for orchestrating this all!

Grand Prize winner of bound book $10 Amazon card: Felicia T.
Triple winners of 2 $5 Amazon cards and Off the Beaten Path ebook: Tanya J. and Amy H.
Double winners of $5 Amazon card and Off the Beaten Path ebook: Teresa E.
Winners of Off the Beaten Path ebook: Tiffany M., Seth C., Kirsty E., and Tiffany K.
Winners of $5 Amazon card: Clare T., Jackie B., and Rose W.

And the two winners of the first edition paperback of After - Part One, which included a rockin' The Phoenix Curse pen (and not so rockin' key-chain) are...

Elizabeth C. and Nate A.

Thanks everyone for signing up, and for those of you who won, I hope you enjoy all the gifts!

Congratulations all!!!

Off the Beaten Path: Monica La Porta

Today's guest is Monica La Porta, author of Priest, the first book in The Ginecean Chronicles. She contributed Home Wet Home for Off the Beaten Path. Before we get to her inspiration for that, let's start with Monica’s Bio.

Monica La Porta

Monica La Porta is an Italian who landed in Seattle several years ago. Despite popular feelings about the Northwest weather, she finds the mist and the rain the perfect conditions to write. Being a strong advocate of universal acceptance and against violence in any form and shape, she is also glad to have landed precisely in Washington State. She is the author of The Ginecean Chronicles, a dystopian/science fiction series set on the planet Ginecea where women rule over a race of enslaved men and heterosexual love is considered a sin. She has published the first three books in the series, The Priest, Pax in the Land of Women, and Prince at War. She also wrote and illustrated a children’s book about the power of imagination, The Prince’s Day Out. Her latest published short, Linda of the Night, is a fairytale love story celebrating inner beauty. In her free time, she likes to build miniatures, sculpting, and painting. She also likes to go walking with her beloved beagle, Nero.

The Ginecean Chronicles is a very interesting series. Here's a more in depth blurb on Priest.

Mauricio is a slave. Like any man born on Ginecea, he is but a number to the pure breed women who rule over him with cruel hands. Imprisoned inside the Temple since birth, Mauricio has never been outside, never felt the warmth of the sun on his skin. He lives a life devoid of hopes and desires. Then one day, he hears Rosie sing. He risks everything for one look at her and his life is changed forever. An impossible friendship blossoms into affection deemed sinful and perverted in a society where the only rightful union is between women. Love is born where only hate has roots and leads Mauricio to uncover a truth that could destroy Ginecea.

Monica has some more intriguing stories on the table. Here's a little taste of those. For more updates, you'll have to follow her blog here.

I am writing Notturno, a fantasy novel set in a world where people are divided between nocturnals and diurnals. At the same time, I am also working with my two editors on three different projects. Two are companion books about the story of Gaia & Elios, a girl and an alien thrown together by fate and Etruscan findings. The third is Marie’s Journey, the final installment in The Ginecean Chronicles.

Here, Monica talks a little bit about how Home Wet Home came about, her short story featured in Off the Beaten Path.

The inspiration for Home Wet Home came from my fascination for anything aquatic. When I was a kid, I used to spend hours reading about the lost city of Atlantis, and I tried, without much success, to establish a colony of sea monkeys in a jar.

We all have those fun little stories of how our writing comes about. Here's one of Monica's from when she was writing Priest.

In 2010, while I was writing Pax in the Land of Women, two characters, Rosie and Mauricio, came to life. I fell in love with them and thought their story deserved to be told, but Pax was already on its way to completion, and there wasn't any space left in it for them. November came along and with it Nanowrimo, the one month extravaganza where authors pledge to the insanity of writing until they drop. It was perfect timing and I immediately jumped at the opportunity to write 50,000 words around the slave and the President’s daughter.  During those thirty days, my husband and I settled on a nice routine, where he played Red Dead Redemption and I sat by him on the couch and wrote The Priest. To this day, I can’t read a word from The Priest without humming the songs from RDR’s soundtrack.

And now we'll finish up with all of Monica's contact info.

Blog: www.monicalaporta.com
Twitter: @momilp
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ginecea
Amazon Author page
Goodreads

Mailing list: http://bit.ly/worldsinwords

Well I hope everyone enjoyed the blog tour and all the featured post! I know I enjoyed working with all these talented authors on the Off the Beaten Path anthology. It has been a blast and a learning experience! I'm so glad I was able to participate and make some new friends along the way.

I'll be taking a brief break from blogging, so there will not be a Tuesday post this week. I will be back Thursday with the news I knew everyone has been waiting for.

Have a wonderful week!