Special Guest on Schedule: Jacci DeVera and Queen of the Hollow

“Queen of the Hollow”

So what’s going on here?

To have taken so long to come to light, “Queen of the Hollow” is short. Really short. Too long to be flash fiction, not long enough for novella status. I wanted it to be longer, I truly did, but sometimes you just have to let the story make the decision. Actually - and please don't tell anyone - especially my publisher - but that’s what I always do. The stories and the characters make my decisions for me.

Plotter? Pantser? If forced into a corner, I’d have to go with Pantser, hands down. Excel spreadsheets and I have a hate-hate relationship. I looked into various and sundry approaches for story-telling like free form, balloon, spider webbing and even the snowflake method, but I finally had to come up with my own description I call Char-Lab (pronounced “care lab” for you obsessive articulators out there), and stands for “character collaboration.”

Which pretty well sums it up. I collaborate with my characters on what happens next. I will may have an idea or The Situation, and then I’ll find a character in my head who lends herself to this idea, and then I put the character and all her friends into The Situation. The characters either go and do things, or talk through things, and I generally just listen. I may have an idea of where a story needs to go, or how it needs to end, but the really good stories never end up where I thought they would when I started.

Whenever the end of the book looms, then I might have to tie aforementioned characters down so I can get to The End. Because they are normally not real happy about that. And really, who can blame them? The End usually means, well, the end for those characters. They continue living in an endless loop within the pages and never get to adventure beyond that single tale, or experience growing in other directions. So I promised them I would try to have “Queen of the Hollow” the first book in a series. We took a vote and decided we all really liked the name High Lonesome for the series. It also happens to be the (fictional) West Virginian town in which their stories take place.

Below is the blurb and a short Excerpt from it. (A short excerpt for a short story.) I hope you enjoy!

~*~

Calla is a young shifter, the only female within miles of High Lonesome, her small town in southern West Virginia. Her mother has managed to keep her safe from the bounty of mountain lion males in their hills, but now Calla finds herself alone, without a protector, and the moon is full.

Haben hasn’t been able to get close to Calla since their meeting right around Valentine’s Day a year before. When he shows up at her house, he finds the wounded spit-fire determined for him to keep his distance - despite his instinct to keep her safe.

Calla has to trust an outsider in Haben or fight off every male mountain lion between here and Charleston with just her wits and a shotgun. With sheer numbers against her, the stakes are higher than she knows. And when the fight is over, she has to face the last cat standing as he succumbs to the raging Heat himself.

~*~

Excerpt

She wouldn’t lie down. She told him she had no idea if she’d be able to get back up or not. Which was true. But she wouldn't put herself in that position of submission with a tom here so close and her in her Heat cycle. That was just asking for trouble.

He kept his attention on her injuries, on wrapping them securely, on looking for her a crutch or a cane to help get up the stairs. She focused on his eyes and his lips. His eyes were the most beautiful she’d ever seen. They’d been dark brown in the store. Here they were the color of creamy caramel and it made her heart beat in her ears every time they met her gaze. His lips were dark and shaped with a stern current underneath, which looked positively suckable when he bit the bottom one in concentration. She wondered if maybe God had made them so dark so his teeth would shine all the more white when they flashed a quick smile. She bet his teeth were long and sharp when he shifted.

~*~

Video trailer bonus:

https://animoto.com/play/01RUpzJgluC1GRKazaQLeQ 

~*~

facebook.com/jacci.deverahttps://twitter.com/jacci_deverawww.JacciDeVera.com

Available on Dark Hollows Press

Amazon.com

GoodReads

All Romance

October 29th, 2015

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Jacci DeVera 

www.jaccidevera.com

Western Paranormal Romance Writer

Cover Reveal: Living the Dream by Celia J Anderson (@celiaanderson1) #romance #suspense

Cover Reveal: Living the Dream by Celia J Anderson (@celiaanderson1) #romance #suspense

Living the Dream will be released by Tirgearr Publishing on the 15^th July. Pre-order yours here: http://celiajanderson.co.uk/books/living-the-dream/

Blurb:

When dreams and reality crash and mingle, escape can be the hardest challenge of all.

Longing to get away from her troubled marriage, the opportunity to cross America by train seems like a dream come true for Vita Craythorne. But charismatic travel agent Moriarty Miles has other ideas; by replacing their mutual friend Jack on the trip, Vita has unwittingly set herself up as a guinea pig for Moriarty’s mind-blowing and potentially dangerous virtual-travelling project. His plan is to give clients the holiday of a lifetime without ever having to leave the comfort of their own homes. It’s exciting. It’s time-saving. It’s innovative. Maybe this trip is just what Vita needs? That is, if she can avoid becoming trapped inside her own, miraculous dream world.

Author Bio:

After years of searching for the perfect job, I think I’ve finally found it in teaching, especially since changing to part-time hours to leave more space for writing. Let’s face it, where else do you get paid for reading stories, playing with glue and paint and making small people laugh? Over the years I’ve child-minded very contentedly, taught cycling proficiency (forgot to mention at the interview that I was still learning to ride a bike, but they found out quite soon), stamped books in a library, sold second-hand maternity clothes, dabbled in mental health care, to name but a few of my jobs.

When I’m not marking books or writing, I spend far too much time on Facebook talking to other, much cleverer writer people. I also blog as part of The Romaniacs online writers’ group. These are the ladies that make me laugh and keep me sane when I think I’ve run out of steam. My ultimate dream is to have children’s books published too.

The rest of my non-writing time is taken up with running Upstage – a children’s drama group – cooking, eating and walking off the damage. I live with my husband and deranged cats in South Derbyshire but, sea-starved in the depths of the Midlands, I can often be found striding over the Quantocks or wandering happily around Brighton visiting my two daughters and pretending to collect ideas for my next book.

Website: http://celiajanderson.co.uk

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CeliaJAndersonAuthor

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/celiaanderson1

I'm Blogging Today at Rex Robot Reviews

This Must Be Blogger's Paradise

http://rexrobotreviews.blogspot.com/

For the past two weeks, I've been blogging here and blogging there. I've discovered a slice of heaven in various book-related blogs where we've stopped and plan to recap next week.

Today, I hope you'll join me at Rex Robot Reviews. Even if you can't stay for a bit, try to cruise through. You'll see why once you click here: http://rexrobotreviews.blogspot.com/.

A book lover's paradise, Rex Robot Reviews--like so many of the other blogs we've visited--is reader friendly. They have that little extra something too. Go on, click the links and follow me. This is a book worm's paradise.

Hugs,
Destiny

We Just Keep Getting Better and Better with Age

Somethin’ ‘Bout a Sunday is growing and we can’t wait to see you grow with us! You’re invited to join us today as we welcome some very special guests from Sensual Treats Magazine.

Find out what goes on behind the scenes at Sensual Treats.

Drop by our group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RomanticSuspense_/ and chat with the editors and staff of Sensual Treats Magazine or visit them on the web at: http://www.sensualtreats.webs.com/

It’s Sunday and we’re chatting it up. The only thing we’re missing is you!

Come on over and say hello: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RomanticSuspense_/ Destiny Blainewww.destinyblaine.com

Moongypsy Authors Chat Today at Somethin' 'Bout a Sunday

We have a very special group in the house today over at Somethin' 'Bout a Sunday. Moongypsy Press authors are taking over the group and they'd love it if you came over to chat with us at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RomanticSuspense_/.

In case Moongypsy Press is new to you, take a tour of their website. Discover Moongypsy Press books and authors. Take the time to find out more about this brand new publisher and see why so many readers are interested in Moongypsy Press: http://www.moongypsypress.com/.

It's Valentine's Day and a lot of folks are home today. If you don't have plans for this romantic holiday, then join the Moongypsy Press authors for a book chat. You'll find plenty of romance and suspense at Somethin' 'Bout a Sunday.

Hugs!
Destiny