Novelista

Griffin: Artist's Rendition Epic fantasy has become my sole writing style this year.  My focus: The fifth book of the World In-between Series, Hope .   Beginning ten years after the end of Whispers (Book 4), the story centers around the magical struggles of Berty’s seventeen-year-old niece.  Since she first crossed the portal ten years ago, Hope straddled two worlds—the mundane modern world and the magical world between the portals.  As a Wood Listener, she struggles to find her place in life.  Unbeknownst to her uncle, her parents, and her innocent friend trailing her, Hope stoles into the other side only to find her place fraught with danger. For your reading pleasure: a sneak peek of Chapter 2. Hope climbed the stairs of the quiet outpost.  She figured that not many guards occupied a peacetime outpost, especially one out in the middle of nowhere.  The second door on the left sat open.  She knocked. “Yes?” came from beh...

One of questions I get asked most often is how much of me is in my writing.  Let’s ignore the obvious answer of everything is me since it’s a product of my imagination. We’ll start with the house in The World In-between where Berty first meets Silvia.  The magical Victorian at 727 Oak Street is nowhere near an exact replica of any house in which I have lived or currently live.  Instead, it encompasses all my favorite old house details.  The back stairs, stained glass door, and deep porch are similar to the old house in which I live.  The wood paneling, the beveled glass inner doors, and intact gaslights are additions that give that house its own character.  The best thing about 727 Oak Street, though, has to be the magic. In the series, Berty has an affinity with coffee.  Okay, perhaps it might be more than a simple affinity.  He may need it to start his day most days.  This love of two mugs of morning coffee is something Berty ...

All lined and ready for doors Slowly and surely, this tired, old kitchen is getting a long overdue makeover.  The light wood cabinets with large chrome knobs and chrome trimmed laminate counters were all part of a modern kitchen of the 50s.  At some point in the 90s, someone replaced the gas cooktop and wallpapered the walls, which are now a lovely shade of green. The cabinets had this shabby-ness to them with the varnish on the doors coming off and the oversized chrome knobs rusting.  After a long deliberation about color, the cabinets finally have been painted an off white.  The doors and drawers came off and out for sanding and painting.  Hardware was removed.  Upon first moving in, new knobs matched the newly installed brushed faucet.  The faucet has since ceased operating properly.  The new one is now polished chrome.  The knobs no longer match. At first, chrome pulls and knobs were bought.  They just didn’t do it for ...

Spring marches swiftly.  Robins poke at the grass outside my office window.  I spend mornings writing with the window open.  Chirping and increasing road traffic reverberate around my writing nook.  Although Hope (The World In-between, 5) takes place in the spring, the outside becomes background noise. This one scene sequence constantly plays in my mind.  It doesn’t care if I’m not at that point in the story yet.  My main goal has been to get my characters there.  The scene is a major turning point in the story and in Hope’s character development.  I want to say that I didn’t plan that scene when I first started, but somewhere in my mind, I think I did.  Why else would I have dropped the breadcrumbs? It’s funny.  In my literature classes, we were expected to deconstruct stories, look for meaning, what the author intended, et cetera.  When I walked across that stage and received my degree holder, writing had well taken ...

Love is in the air and the love of books and reading is no exception. Laurel Highlands Publishing reduced prices on all their ebooks for the entire month of February.  This love of reading promotion includes my novels and books with my short stories. As the temperatures drop, curling up with an e-reader or phone under a blanket is time well spent cozy and warm.  Discover some place new to love in one of my books at prices everyone can love. The World In-between Series:   The Dragonlands This short story prequel takes us back to the creation of the Empire during the Age of Dragons.  Learn how the Dragons escaped this world to live in the world in-between the portals. Free   Barnes & Noble , Apple , Kobo , Google Play , Smashwords Price Match at Amazon   The World In-between Book 1 introduces Berty Chase, a newspaper reporter on the verge of nothing special until he meets Silvia.  She brings him into...

Last year, around this time, I tried something new—made plans.  They say that things don’t always go as planned.  Maybe, it could be that I find that life is more interesting when I don’t follow any plan.  Plans, to me, are like outlines for my novels.  I write outlines, then never actually follow them.  I place that sheet or two of paper in my folder and never look at it again.  It always works out better that way.  Since I never looked at last year’s plans after making them, this year, like every other year, I’m not going to bother with plans. What I do have are lists.  Here is a list of my lists: Current Writing Projects Future Writing Projects Editing Jobs Books to Read Games to Play Around the House Projects I’m already about 15,000 words into Hope , Book 5 of the World In-between Series.  For a series where most of the books run about 100,000 words, 15 is a drop in the bucket, but it is shaping up well. ...

I read and read and read.  Reading books on my phone has become one of my favorite non-writing past times.  Using my subscription to Scribd , I read, on average, 4 or 5 books a month. Going through my Scribd Library, I read some great books, some okay books, and some that I never finished.  Here are the 11 best books I read this past year.  I gave all these books 4 stars or higher on Goodreads . No particular order.  I kept series together.  Enjoyed them all. Clockwork Heart (Clockwork Heart, 1) by Dru Pagliassotti Clockwork Lies: Iron Wind (Clockwork Heart, 2) by Dru Pagliassotti Clockwork Secrets: Heavy Fire (Clockwork Heart, 3) by Dru Pagliassotti Calling On Fire (Fire and Stone, 1) by Stephanie Beavers The Watcher’s Keep (The Triadine Saga, 1) by Timothy Bond The Dragon Rises (The Triadine Saga, 2) by Timothy Bond Riddle in Stone (The Riddle in Stone, 1) by Robert Evert Betrayal in the Highlands (The Riddle in Stone,...