"Eternal Night" by Jade Kerrion: Excerpt and Release

"What makes Kerrion’s writing so compelling is the beautifully flawed characters that find themselves in unexpected relationships...these kind of character level conflicts make Kerrion’s writing so deliciously addictive."— Noor A Jahangir, Author of The Changeling King “Everything you want in a great story. Love, intrigue, action, betrayal, and understanding.”—Ch’kara Silverwolf, Author of Daughter of Light and Dark Alone for a millennium, since a human murdered her beloved consort, Ashra, the immortal icrathari queen, rules over Aeternae Noctis, the domed city of eternal night. Her loneliness appears to be at an end when her consort’s soul is reborn in a human, Jaden Hunter, but their reunion will not be easy. Icrathari are born, not made. If Ashra infuses Jaden with her immortal blood, he will be a vampire, a lesser creature of the night, a blood-drinker rather than a soul- drinker. Furthermore, Jaden is sworn to protect his half-sister, five-year-old Khiarra. She is the child of prophecy, destined to end the eternal night and the dominion of the Night Terrors—the icrathari and the vampires. As Ashra struggles to sustain her crumbling kingdom in the face of enemies without and treachery within, Jaden fights to defend his sister and unravel a greater mystery: what is the city of eternal night, and how did it come to be? E-books available at Amazon / Amazon UK / Apple / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / Smashwords Paperbacks available at Amazon</ a> / Amazon UK / Barnes & Noble / Book Depository

 

READ AN EXCERPT

With Tera beside her, Ashra strode forward. A wall of vampires parted to reveal the other two icrathari, Siri and Elsker. A dark-haired human slumped at Elsker’s feet, his wrists cuffed behind his back. Ashra stifled a chuckle. Surely Tera was overreacting; the human was by far the weakest creature in the chamber. Tera knelt down, wrapped her fingers into the human’s hair, and pulled his head back. The human’s face was handsome enough—the slash of his cheekbones accentuated his perfectly proportioned, sculptured features—but taken as a whole, he was not compelling enough to justify the fuss. Ashra shrugged. “You’re wasting my time, Tera.” Apparently undeterred, the icrathari warlord shook the human hard. His eyes flashed open. They were brilliant green, the exact color of the emerald ring Ashra wore on the index finger of her right hand. His gaze was unfocused, and the reflexive narrowing of his eyes matched the clenching of his jaw, hinting of wrenching pain. Tera looked up and met Ashra’s gaze. “Taste his soul.” Ashra recoiled, her upper lip curling in disgust. She had no desire to taste a human’s soul. Over the centuries, humans had grown weak, their small lives consumed by superstition and fear. It was better to live on the edge of perpetual starvation than fill her hunger with the pitiful excuse humans called a soul. “Go deep,” Tera said. But why? Ashra’s brow furrowed. She glanced at Siri and Elsker, but the two icrathari shrugged, apparently no more clued in than she was. She looked back at Tera. The icrathari warlord known as Ashra’s Blade was the epitome of calm understatement. If she was so insistent, she must have had a reason. Ashra knelt beside the human. Without flinching, she placed her hand against his muscled abdomen. It was bloody, his flesh ripped by a vampire’s talons. The man tensed at her touch, and his eyes flared wide with agony when her soul- sucking powers leeched into him. His breath came hard and fast, his chest heaving with the effort as he twisted in Tera’s unyielding grip, trying to break free. Ashra’s eyes narrowed. The human was weakened—tapped into his life source, she waded through his dazed thoughts and shivered from the echo of each spasm of pain that wracked his body—but still, he fought Tera on the physical plane and Ashra on the psychic dimension, denying her access to his memories and to his soul. She frowned and slammed her will against his, tearing an anguished scream from his throat, but still, his will did not crumble. Askance, Ashra looked at Tera. “Did you taste him?” Tera nodded. “It wasn’t hard the first time; he didn’t know what to expect, but apparently, he does now and is doing a fine job of fighting back.” Was that grudging respect she heard in Tera’s voice? “Does his soul really matter?” The icrathari nodded again. Ashra’s shoulders shifted with the motion of a silent sigh. His resistance left her with little choice. She leaned forward and glided her lips over his in a whisper of a kiss. Human myths spoke of succubi and incubi—demons that, with a touch, could stir lust in their unwilling victims. All myths were based in reality. The maddening beauty and soul-sucking powers of the icrathari had spawned the legends of succubi and incubi. With a touch, the icrathari could lure their victims into a state of sexual ecstasy, bending the will and baring the soul. The human tensed against Ashra, resisting the intimate contact. She almost recoiled. Had the centuries dulled her innate powers? Surely she had not forgotten how to lure a man. She closed her eyes and remembered love. As always, Rohkeus’s fine-featured face—those beautiful gold-flecked green eyes, so unusual for an icrathari, and teasing smile—came to the fore. With a dreamy half- smile, she deepened the kiss, driving the memory of love before her like a sharpened stake. At last, the man relaxed, succumbing to the kiss. She leaned into him, heedless of his crimson blood staining her white gown. He was warm, feverish even. Just skimming over six feet, he had more than twelve inches on her, but his physical strength, compared to hers, was puny. She was well aged; over four millennia old, she was the oldest of the icrathari and the strongest. She could have broken his neck with as little effort as a human child snapping a twig. Her hand trailed across his muscled torso. He made it easy for her to be gentle. His body trembled as if he longed for her. His mouth was hungry for her kiss. He arched up against her, as if craving more. His need was like a living creature, wild and aching for her touch. Eyes closed, Ashra shivered. Only one other person had desired her as much. And he was dead. She forced her way through the memories of pale bodies tangled upon cool silk sheets. When her soul-sucking power leeched out, it found no opposition. Images of the human’s life rewound in a blaze of vivid sights, sounds, and sensations. Ashra looked up at Tera, her smile little more than a barely perceptible curve of her lips. “He fancies himself the protector of the child of prophecy. Was she among those taken tonight?” Tera nodded. Ashra chuckled, the sound without humor. “It’s a pity her genetic heritage wasn’t sufficiently superior to prevent her from being culled.” “There’s more. Go deep.” She pushed past the blackness at the start of his memories, expecting deeper darkness. Instead, the colors shifted into shades of ochre and gray. Memories, older than his body, resided in his soul; memories of an Earth long since lost to them— a planet surrounded and nourished by water; images of tall buildings glistening beneath a benevolent sun, and of thriving cities filled with the bustle of humans; memories of quiet and intimate conversations beneath a silver moon, the same silver moon that now graced Malum Turris with its light, though a thousand years older and viewed only from beneath the protection of the dome. She saw herself as he must have seen her, a much-younger icrathari, still hopeful for the future, never realizing that the Earth they had all known and loved was irretrievably lost. Had she ever looked that vulnerable? Had her smile ever been so beautiful, so filled with love as she looked upon— “Rohkeus?” Oh, blessed Creator, was that stricken whisper her voice?

~*~

E-books available at Amazon / Amazon UK / Apple / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / Smashwords Paperbacks available at Amazon</ a> / Amazon UK / Barnes & Noble / Book Depository Connect with Jade Kerrion at: Website / Facebook</ a> / Twitter / Amazon

Hanging out With Author Ingrid Law

Maybe you've heard of Ingrid Law. She wrote the books Savvy and Scumble. She recently came to my library and among other programs, put on  a writing workshop. It was such a pleasure to meet her!

Happy Reading!
-Melly

AfterLife by S.P. Cloward: Ten Pieces of Advice I Would Tell the "Teen" Me

AfterLife by S.P. Cloward will be free on Amazon from April 8 through 10!

Synopsis

AfterLife

Prior to recorded history, a small genetic mutation occurred that created a race of humans now found among every civilization in every corner of the globe. Unrecognizable to the rest of mankind but living among us and dependent upon humans for survival, this race is known as Mortui; those whose spirits do not sever from their bodies when they die. They are the source of all living dead legends.

At the time of his premature death, Wesley Lohmann discovers he belongs to this select group. Wes' transition plunges him into the center of a struggle between those who seek to coexist peacefully with humans and those who wish to use and rule them, a struggle that carries over into the treacherous world of dreams. The delicate balance human and post-human societies have maintained for millennia is threatened by a recent scientific discovery that offers Mortui the hope of returning to human life, and human sensation, but at a terrible cost. As he struggles with new and past relationships and tries to find meaning for his continued existence, Wes discovers within himself the true meaning of being alive.

AfterLife transcends the typical zombie or vampire genre and audience to present a plausible explanation of where such stories come from in an unsettling but believable way. Even those who usually shy away from this type of science fiction are falling prey to the “what if” question that makes this book so unique and is attracting readers who typically enjoy other types of fiction.

 

Ten Pieces of Advice I Would Tell the "Teen" Me:

1. Yellow is not your color. Don’t try to pull it off.
2. Don’t waste so much time trying to find a haircut you like. By the time you figure it out, you’ll be losing your hair and it won’t matter anyway.
3. Read for pleasure. Books are fun when you don’t have to write essays about them.
4. Learn to get out of your comfort zone from time to time. The earlier you learn to do this the more you’ll enjoy life.
5. Take care of your back. Good posture doesn’t seem important now but it will effect on you in the future.
6. Learn to play a musical instrument. It’s something you’re always going to wish you had learned to do and it’ll be easier to do while you’re still young.
7. The world is not as big as you think it is. The older you get the smaller the world becomes.
8. The “unpopular” crowd outnumbers the “popular”one. Become friends with people who can be your true friends during the rough times in your life. Having few good friends that care about you is more important than having tons of friends that disappear when you need them most.
9. Don’t focus so much on what others think of you. It doesn’t matter.
10. The sky is blue. Some people might tell you from time to time that it’s a different color but you should never believe them.

Happy Reading!

-Melly

Guest Post Title: Facades and the Truth with author Jade Kerrion

Do you have facades? I do. I have a façade that stays pleasantly sociable at large gatherings even though I would rather be at home lounging in my comfy clothes. For some other people, the difference is even more pronounced. The “me” at work might be diametrically different from the “me” at play.

In Earth-Sim, in a world when image enhancers can be employed to remove freckles or straighten a broken nose, facades are more than just the personality you display to the world. It can also literally be the face you display to the world, and Jem Moran is a girl with two faces.

If you use a façade, can you still identify the truth? That’s the question that Jem has to contend with as she wavers between the two faces that she wears—one famous and the other unknown…one beautiful and the other not. The reason for her façade is legitimate, but the facades create complications for Jem (and lots of fun, too, but mostly just lots of complications). How do you know if love is love if the “you” isn’t real? Can the person who fell in love with one version of you eventually accept and love both versions? And what should you do when the façade you prefer isn’t the “real” you?

In writing Earth-Sim, I wrestled with the idea of facades and their impact on the truth. I managed to stump myself on the very first question: what is the difference between a façade and a facet of your personality The determining factor, I think, is “Is it real?” A façade is ultimately false, and when destroyed, reveals the truth beneath. A facet, on the other hand, is just a different way of perceiving the same thing. Cut diamonds, for example, have facets. If worn for a long time, facades can become comfortable—just like your favorite pair of denim jeans. At that point, they may have integrated so fully into the person that they become a facet—just another way to perceive the same person.

How does this apply to my novel? Earth-Sim takes readers on a frequently whimsical and occasionally irreverent romp through Earth’s history as seen through the eyes of the two students and android assigned to manage our planet. In a way, Earth-Sim, too, has multiple facets.

On the one hand, Earth-Sim deals with serious life themes that include coming to terms with our true identify in spite of the facades we display to the world. The novel highlights the value of strong cross-gender platonic friendships, and wrestles with the difficulty of maintaining them. It emphasizes the fact that we all bring something of value to the table, and celebrates the diversity of approaches in dealing with problems.

On the other hand, Earth-Sim showcases Earth’s history in a seamless blend of popular culture, science, and religion. Fact and fiction fit together into a jigsaw puzzle that explains the extinction of the dinosaurs, the ten plagues of Egypt, and the Black Death. Did you want to know the truth about the Loch Ness Monster, the city of Atlantis, and that flying boy with the red cape? That’s in Earth-Sim as well.

For a moment, I was tempted to ask the real Earth-Sim to please step forward, and then I realized, it’s sometimes just better to sit back and enjoy all facets of a book—or a person—for what it, he, or she is. I hope you enjoy Earth-Sim.

Earth-Sim (Blurb)

What reviewers are saying: 5 Stars! “What a fantastic book by Jade Kerrion, it grabbed me from the very first page...Ms Kerrion's writing is exciting and well paced to keep you wanting to know more…”

Jem Moran has a reputation to prove and a secret to protect. The prestigious world simulation program seems the answer to both her problems, but only if she can succeed in spite of her partner, Kir Davos, and the uncooperative human beings who populate her planet. From the Great Extinction to the Renaissance, from world wars to intergalactic treaties, Jem’s conflict with Kir will shape Earth’s history, and their opposing management styles will either save or doom our planet. Either way, you finally have someone to blame for the shape our world is in.

Buy Links (e-books)

Earth-Sim: Amazon / Amazon UK / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / Smashwords

Buy Links (paperbacks)

Earth-Sim: Amazon / Amazon UK

Author biography:

Jade Kerrion unites cutting-edge science and bioethics with fast-paced action in her award-winning Double Helix series. Perfection Unleashed and its sequels, Perfect Betrayal and Perfect Weapon, have been described as “a breakout piece of science fiction” and drawn rave reviews for their originality and vision. Her novel, When the Silence Ends, is a Young Adult spinoff the Double Helix series. She is also the author of Earth-Sim, a whimsical and compelling view of Earth’s history through the eyes of the two students assigned to manage our planet.



Connect with Jade Kerrion: Blog / Facebook / Twitter

Guest Author: Lisa April Smith

           
                     About Lisa April Smith
    Author Lisa April Smith lives with her husband, He-Who-Wishes-to-Remain-Anonymous, in Eternal Playland, Florida, a delightful spot just off I-95. Ms. Smith describes Eternal Playland as "a little piece of level heaven with occasional dampness, where the bugs are plentiful but respectful, and even the smallest strip mall contains at least one pizza place and a nail salon."
    Before discovering a passion for writing, Ms. Smith sold plumbing and heating, antiques, taught ballroom dancing, tutored, modeled, designed software and managed projects for IBM.  She returned to college multiple times to study anthropology, sociology and computer science, in which she holds degrees, as well as psychology, archeology, literature, history and art.
    Combine widely diverse interests with a love of travel and a gift for writing page-turners and it’s easy to understand one reviewer’s unbridled praise for Exceeding Expectations, “She (Ms. Smith) has a brilliance for conveying characters, and the intellectual capacity to place them in historical settings that sparkle with glamorous detail . . . that make it fun to read . . . ” But it takes much more than lush settings, an eye for detail and a love of history to write a page-turner. Read what another reviewer said about Exceeding Expectations: “Lisa April Smith . . . has woven an intriguingly rich tapestry of delightful well-developed characters into a perfectly balanced plot bursting with riveting mystery, crimes of the petty and the horrible sort, suspenseful twists, and romantic tension complete with love scenes that sizzle and pop. . . Clearly, this author has, and wishes to share with her readers, what the French call joie de vivre  – not simply the joy of life – but an all-encompassing appreciation for every facet of life.”

Exceeding Expectations

    It’s 1961 and Palm Beach socialite, irresistible rascal and devoted father Jack Morgan encounters genuine danger while staging his suicide to shield his beloved daughters from disgrace. Next, meet his daughter Charlotte (Charlie), an over-indulged 23 year-old struggling to cope with the traumatizing loss of her beloved father, her sister’s resulting mental breakdown and the discovery that she’s suddenly penniless. Fortunately Raul, an admiring young attorney, appears to offer assistance. As terrified as she is about daily survival, Charlie soon realizes that she has to learn what drove her father to kill himself. With Raul’s much needed ego-bolstering, the drive of necessity and unforeseen determination, Charlie finds a practical use for her annoyingly lean 5’ 11” frame. In time, this career finances her hard-wrought independence, her sister’s costly treatment and an emotional eye-opening journey to Paris.
    Jumping back in time to romantic pre-WWII Paris, readers meet young Alan Fitzpatrick – aka Jack Morgan – lack-luster artist and expert lover and the bewitching girl who will become the mother of his children. Not even Charlie’s relentless detective work will uncover all Jack’s secrets, but in a fireworks of surprise endings, she discovers all that she needs to know and more:  disturbing truths about her father, her own unique talent, crimes great and small and a diabolical villain.  

Thank you for stopping by, Lisa. I understand that you’re going to give the inside story on   Exceeding Expectations.  
A:  Thank you for inviting me, Melanie. Delighted to be here.  A playful title for the story behind the story could be titled “The Man Who Inspired Two Books.” I seem to follow a pattern of being inspired by a person that I find intriguing. With Exceeding Expectations, several years ago, television and newspapers were reporting a story of a Palm Beach socialite (ironically named Fagan) arrested for kidnapping his daughters eighteen years earlier, when they were 2 and 5 years old. The primary reason that it had taken eighteen years to find Fagan was that he had successfully reinvented himself. As William S. Martin, a handsome widower with two young daughters and no apparent means of support, Fagan had met and married a wealthy Palm Beach widow. After their divorce, another affluent woman agreed to wed and maintain his family’s plush lifestyle.
    Friends and neighbors interviewed, reported being shocked to learn that Dr. Martin, the charming handsome member of Mar A Lago Country Club was not the man he claimed to be. He hadn’t been a CIA agent. Nor was he entitled to use the title “Doctor.”
    His neighbors were probably also shocked to learn that his only apparent means of support was his wealthy Palm Beach wife, his 2nd wealthy Palm Beach wife. Now, those of us who live in Florida know that Palm Beach isn’t for folks with a measly million bucks. Think Chanel and Louis Vuitton. Rolexes and Rolls Royces, or in Matin’s case, a Bently and a candy-red Ferrari. And when our little patch of Paradise turns uncomfortably warm, Palm Beachers migrate to their equally-fashionable, equally luxurious residences in cooler climates. Now add the cost of maintaining and educating two privileged young ladies. Nannies. Tutors. Private schools, which they attended. College. First-class travel. Designer clothes, shoes, handbags, sunglasses. Designer everything.
    But the one thing everyone who knew Martin agreed on was that he was an undeniably devoted father, who drove his girls to and from school and attended every swim match and school event in which his daughters participated. Yet throughout, what had to be, humiliating criminal proceedings, Wife No. 3, loyally stood by him, emotionally and financially.
    Saddest of all to me, his daughters steadfastly refused to meet their mother, a research scientist at the University of Virginia, who had for spent 18 years, including hiring private investigators, trying to find them. I asked myself, was Fagan/Martin simply a loving husband and father bent on protecting his daughters from an unstable mother as he insisted, or a handsome conman? I found myself thinking that there was an even juicier story behind this headline-grabber and set out to create one. With my hyper-active imagination in overdrive, I began with a few core facts. A man with an invented name and history, twice married to wealthy widows, living in Palm Beach, playground of the mega-rich and famous, and involved in a crime. Two adoring daughters unaware of their true identities. A townhouse off Fifth Avenue. A sprawling estate in Virginia. Romantic Paris in the years prior to WWII. A riveting past for Jack Morgan. A full-blown range of challenges and hard-wrought triumphs for his traumatized daughter Charlotte (Charlie).      

Q. You’ve convinced me I have to read Exceeding Expectations. But you titled your article “The Man That Inspired Two Books.” Can we expect a sequel?

A. Absolutely! The sequel – Paradise Misplaced – just came out. While it can stand alone, I believe readers will enjoy both books more if they read Exceeding Expectations first.
                                                                  
Buy Exceeding Expectations on Amazon.com
Buy Exceeding Expectations on BarnesandNoble.com

For more about Lisa, her books, and upcoming projects visit her website: http://www.LisaAprilSmith.com.
Lisa April Smith can be contacted at WriteLisa(at)LisaAprilSmith(dot)com   
Follow her on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/LisaAprilSmith
Friend her on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/LisaApril.Smith

Book Signing with Ellen Hopkins

It's no secret that I absolutely love Ellen Hopkins' writing.  So I of course I jumped at the chance to see her speak a few weekends ago at the Durango Public Library.  I had a great time- she even signed my Kindle cover (going to start asking authors to sign it so I'll have a whole collection).  If you get the opportunity to see her speak, I really suggest you do.  She is amazing!!

Happy Reading!
-Melly

Interview with Preeti Gupta

I'll Put 3 Chips on God is your first book, how did you get your start as a writer?

Well, my writing was pretty juvenile at first.  I had written short articles for local newspapers before, so I wasn’t a complete novice.  However writing a book is much more challenging.  There is more opportunity to ramble on and not be clear and concise when trying to make a point.  I tried writing my first draft almost three years ago, and it was awful.  I made another attempt a year later.  Then one day, I was reading a book that was written very naturally, with a lot of humor, and I realized that the “voice” of the author was similar to the “voice” in my head.  No, I was not a crazy person, what I mean is that the way he wrote was the way I thought.  And I realized that if I simply write whatever I am thinking, without trying to formalize or alter it too much, I can communicate much better.  So that’s what I did, and voila! . . . the words started flowing.

 

How did you come up with the title?

I have no clue – it was the first or second title I came up with, so it happened so fast that I don’t remember what triggered it.  I’ve had to labor over the choosing of a name for my other startups/projects, so I’m not sure how I came up with this one so easily.  Maybe God sent it to me (if there is one!)

How do you think your writing has inspired your readers?

I don’t think I’ve presented anything that hasn’t been discussed before, but I think this book will appeal to the skeptics out there.  This is a Spirituality book for those who normally don’t read Spirituality books.  Some people prefer to be in a classroom when learning.  Others like online self-study.  There are those who respond better to visual aids.  Certain concepts take time to “click” with people, and sometimes it happens because of a certain way they are presented.  I think I’ve discussed these ideas in a way that might “click” with those who are not currently being drawn in by the material already out there. 

 
Can you share a little of your current work? If not, can you tell us what your current project is?

My current project is getting the book out there, into the hands of as many readers as possible.  I also have a day job as a Financial Planner.  Other than those two projects, I have nothing else I am working on, because firstly, I need to recover from the 18 long months of writing and publishing the book, and secondly, I will only write more if the first book is appreciated.  I know people advise authors to continue writing to better their craft, but for me, this was a one-time urge to say some things that had been brewing in my mind for years.  I’ve gotten my thoughts out of my system, and only if people want me to expand on them will I undertake another book project.

What are you currently reading?

Actually I usually finish a book within a day because I’ve got this bad habit of not being able to stretch out a good book over a period of time.  If it’s good, I must finish it immediately.  Sometimes I’ll even have to read the ending to a book, just to spoil it for myself so I can get back to work.  But I’ll still go back and read the book eventually, it’s just that I won’t have the itch to ignore all of my other tasks and focus on it exclusively. 

So I’m not reading anything currently.  However the last book I read was a biography of Marilyn Monroe.  I love reading biographies of famous or accomplished people, such as celebrities, entrepreneurs, people who underwent hardships and survived, politicians, and anyone who has gone through experiences that were extraordinary.  It’s always inspiring to learn about people who’ve excelled at what they do.

Happy Reading!

-Melly

Meeting Author Conrad Storad!

 I got to meet a very interesting author this week, Mr. Conrad Storad.  Storad writes fun non-fiction books for kids- and yes!  They really are fun!  I picked up a copy of Lizards for Lunch and Don't Call Me Pig!  But shh...they're Christmas gifts, don't tell!

Happy Reading!
-Melly

Interview with Jessica Lave

Jessica Lave is a freelance writer with experience writing everything from sales copy to full-length novels. When she isn't writing, she enjoys yoga, going to the movies, and reading crime and horror novels. Her new book is a fantasy mystery novella entitled A 21st Century Fairy Tale, now available on Amazon. Visit her website at www.JessicaLave.com to learn more about her writing style and books.

What is the first thing you remember writing?

In second grade, we read a different version of "The Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf" using javelinas instead of pigs, and a coyote for the wolf role. I really liked the idea of doing my own version of another story, so I went home and wrote probably four or five of my own little versions, replacing the main characters with different animals. I had just seen the movie Anaconda and so one in particular used anacondas and jaguars as the characters. 

The first original story I remember writing was a few years later when I was eleven--it was about a girl and her friend who get transported through time and get to discover all these ancient artifacts and civilizations like the lost city of Atlantis. 

What is your inspiration/motivation for writing?

I just love to write. I really can't explain why. I love telling stories and creating conversations and coming up with funny lines or descriptions of things. I would say it's more of a compulsion than anything else. I just have too much going on in my head that some of it needs to be written down!

Tell us about your books.

Realistically Yours is the novel I wrote for NaNoWriMo last year (National Novel Writing Month), and when I finished it, it was the first one I really felt was good enough to keep working on. So I did. I read through it and edited it for several months until I finally published it through CreateSpace in April 2012. It's a modern story, and I think the topics and themes that run throughout the book will really resonate with a modern reader.

A 21st Century Fairy Tale is my first attempt at a fantasy/horror type of story. More often than not, my stories tend to focus around relationships and friendships, and this one does that too, in its own way, but it also has that element of fear and suspense to it. The characters are small-town people and the story follows them as they try to figure out what brand of evil has just arrived in their little town, and how a bunch of ordinary Joes can possibly fight that evil. I really tried to bring technology into the story because that's something that hasn't played as big a role in previous monster/fantasy stories--how a modern group of people can use technology to their advantage against a force that was around long before anyone even conceived of such technology.

If you could meet any author, you would it be?

I actually got the chance to meet one of my favorite authors, Elmore Leonard, earlier this year. He came to a bookstore to do a signing for his new book, Raylan, and I got the chance to listen to him speak and get a book signed. 

Beyond that, I'm still hoping Stephen King will come out this way. That would be a really great experience.

What are you currently reading?

Currently, I'm working my way through a few books. I just finished The Green Mile and The 50 Megaton Tweet, and I'm reading Through the Looking Glass, a Henry James compilation of short stories, 1984, Nixonland--which I have unfortunately managed to misplace--and a few others that I started reading a while back and haven't finished. I've put the Elmore Leonard and Stephen King on hold temporary because I read them too quickly, but I'm hoping to get back to them by the end of the year after I catch up on these other ones.

Find out more about Jessica's books!

Realistically Yours

A 21st Century Fairy Tale

Guest Post from Author Emily Devenport

THEY SAY YOU SHOULD WRITE WHAT YOU KNOW -- 

AND I HAVE ALMOST NEVER DONE THAT

Guest Post from Author Emily Devenport

One of my favorite movies about writing is I REMEMBER MAMA, the story of a working-class family who face the trials and tribulations of daily life under the guidance of a strong and resourceful mother. Mama knows her daughter wants to become a writer, so she sends a letter to her daughter's favorite author and asks if she'll give the girl some advice about how to get started as a professional. Mama also mails a story for the author to critique, so daughter is terrified she's going to say, “You're a no-talent bum! Give it up!” Instead, the lady tells her she has a gift, but she's writing about places she's never been and people she doesn't know well. “Write what you know,” says the author. She explains that when you write what you know, you do so with confidence and authority.

It's great advice, even if you write speculative fiction. For instance, if you don't know much about the daily activities of the President of the United States, it's not a good idea to make him your POV character. If you're not a PhD in Physics, it's hard to write from the POV of a rocket scientist. It's more productive to take your own life skills and experiences and translate them into the world you're creating. This is why people you've known often end up as characters in your books.

But regardless of what sort of fiction you write, sooner or later you're going to run into uncharted territory. Very few of us can write about spaceships, aliens, vampires, princesses, assassins, serial killers, monsters, and/or nuclear explosions based on personal experience. Even if you're making up your own world, from top to bottom, you often have to do some research to figure out how certain things are going to work.

For instance, I'm about halfway done writing a YA fantasy titled The Order Of The Dragon, and I've reached a point where I'm going to have to learn something about horses. Horse aren't just picturesque background creatures in the story; they have turned out to be a critical plot point. So I've purchased a bunch of books (many of which are the For Dummies variety), and I've been asking my horse-savvy friends all sorts of odd questions. In yet another project, I'm going to need to find out about Navajo sur-names, and what family names are likely to be shared among clans who can inter-marry. There's no phone book for that kind of thing, so I'm just going to have to track down a friendly expert and ask the right questions. To some degree or another, every single one of my novels is about things I don't know.

When you interview experts in a particular field of knowledge, that's known as pursuing a primary source. When you look stuff up in books, you're using a secondary source. But if you write speculative fiction, sometimes there really is no expert to ask. The example I can think of for this is writing about aliens. Who's to say what these folks might really be like? Yet, readers will have opinions about it. If your aliens are too enigmatic, readers may say that they felt the characters weren't developed well enough, or they couldn't relate to them. If you make them too Human, they may scoff that the aliens weren't believably alien. The aliens who are the most compelling in stories are the ones that find a balance between those two poles, and you're the one who's going have to decide where that is.

That's the bottom line. When you write a novel, you're going out on a limb. Even if you are a PhD in physics, some readers will argue that you got it wrong. Your elves may not be enough like the Tolkien elves to satisfy some people; your vampires may not be enough like Lestat, or Edward, or even Barnabas. Ultimately you have to commit to being the god of your fictional universe, and take the flack once your book has been published. Flack is not fun, but it is inevitable. All you can do is try to get it as right as you can.

So the lady writer from I Remember Mama gave excellent advice when she said you should write what you know. That's where you should always start. But if you're really going to spread your wings and write speculative fiction, you also need to find out how to write what you don't know. It's an act of courage. But like most skills, even courage gets easier with practice.


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Synopsis for SPIRITS OF GLORY:
One morning the people in the North woke up and the people in the South were gone . . .

That's the first thing every child learns on the colony world of Jigsaw. But for one girl, knowing about The Disappearance is not enough. Hawkeye wants to know why.

That's why she spent half her life researching The Disappearance. And that's also why eight Neighbors show up on her doorstep, demanding that she accompany them into the Forbidden Cities ruled by the Southern gods to speak with the Spirits of Glory. Everyone thinks Hawkeye is an expert on Neighbors, these almost-humans who move, talk, and think as if they were born inside one of the Time Fractures. But she can't imagine what they want to ask the ghosts of their ancestors, or why they need her to go along. The Southern gods caused every human inhabitant of the Southern cities to disappear overnight -- what else might they do?

But the Northern gods say Hawkeye should go and her curiosity won't let her refuse, even though she's going into more danger than she can imagine. Pain and puzzlement wait along the broken interstate, along with scavengers who want to kill them all. Questions only generate more questions as they move farther and farther South, right into the heart of the Disappearance, until Hawkeye's questions have all been answered.

Even the ones she was afraid to ask.

Biography for Emily Devenport:
 I've been published in the U.S., the U.K., Italy, and Israel. My novels are SHADE, LARISSA, SCORPIANNE, EGGHEADS, THE KRONOS CONDITION, GODHEADS, BROKEN TIME (which was nominated for the Philip K. Dick Award), BELARUS, and ENEMIES. Look for my new novels, THE NIGHT SHIFTERS, SPIRITS OF GLORY, and PALE LADY on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads, Kobo, Sony, Apple, and Smashwords. I'm married to artist/writer Ernest Hogan and I live in Arizona.

Here is my blog

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