It's not all fun and games

I was reading one of my favorite blogs, Truth In Fantasy by the amazing Anne Marvin and I was inspired to write this post. She does a fantastic job finding some real truth in our favorite fantasy books.

My goal in writing is to have fun writing fun books to read. That is not to say there are no lessons or themes in my books that I want my readers to take away. Here are a few of the main themes you will find.

Friendship and Teamwork:  We can't do it all alone, nor should we. Without friends life would soon bury us chin high in trouble and stress.

Choices: We make choices in our friendships and our hardships. Some of these choices are not easy and sometimes it is not clear what the best choice may be. We have to trust our gut and use good judgement when it comes to some of the choices we make. If you make choices based on what you believe to be true and just then generally you can say that you have done your best to do the right thing.

Diversity: Being different is what can separate us from the crowd.  It would be a pretty dull world if everybody was the same.  Sometimes those differences are what make us unique and special. My son is handicapped and I recently wrote a Young Adult book called Norma Jean's School of Witchery. One of the characters is a witch in a wheelchair. I wanted her to be a strong character and she will play an even more important role in the sequel.  My first two books feature characters with a different sexual orientation than the norm. I think it is important that even fantasy reflect the differences we see in the real world.

The fight against corruption and evil: Many of you know I am an advocate for those that I believe have been falsely accused or unjustly convicted by a criminal justice system that is far from perfect. You will see these themes in my books, themes that go beyond the standard good versus evil.

Family: In our digital world it seems that family relationships suffer. Let's not forget how important family can be to us.

I want you to enjoy my books and have fun with them. It doesn't stop there.

Amazon Author Page

Excerpts from Jade by Rose Montague

Excerpts...From Jade by Rose Montague

1. "I held the dagger up and the light of heaven shone forth, brilliant, seeking every shadow and filling it with that light. Other than Emily, the rest had turned their eyes away from it. She was stronger in her magic and I could tell she was fascinated by the dagger. I withdrew my dagger from my right boot sheath, a close copy I had found, very similar in design and replaced it in my boot sheath with the Sicam Tenebrarum."

2. ""Nice tattoo," he said, I looked at my arm and in the same place where the little dragon had been when I went to London Jane's party, was now a pentagram tattoo, perfectly formed. Looking at the TV again and smiling he asked, "Your doing?"

"Maybe so," I said, smiling as he pushed buttons on the remote, to no avail.
"Mayberry will just have to do," he replied, setting the remote back down on the bar."

Amazon Link Jade

Excerpts from Jane (Three J'amigos Book 2)

Two excerpts from Jane by Rose Montague:

1 ."It was an old beat up two-tone Dodge Monaco but we were

not complaining. There was plenty of room in the back seat and
Caryn had told us we had a several hour drive before we made it to
Seattle. It was a spur of the moment thing for them to come down
and Caryn said she just wanted to give Rae a feel for a universal
portal as part of her early education as a witch.

As we drove the radio softly played Somebody Loan Me a
Dime.

“That’s weird,” said Caryn. “The radio in this thing hasn't
worked for years.” She turned knobs and pushed buttons but the
song stayed on.

I looked at Jade. Rae sat between us, handing Jade handfuls of
the second bag of chocolate espresso beans. She was attracted to
Jade’s power and was having a good time. Jade just shrugged as
she crunched. I didn’t think it was her doing.

The song changed to She Caught the Katy and Caryn asked
over her shoulder, “What are your plans in Seattle?”
Jade swallowed and answered, “We’re on a mission from God.”
Then she took another handful of beans from Rae and stuffed
them in her mouth.

I slowly banged my head on the window, thinking okay, why
not?

“We’re chasing the Devil,” I said."

2. "In that brief moment I could tell the remaining two were just
a few steps behind me. I leaped at the approach wall, planted my
feet near the ceiling, and pushed outward with my legs, curling
into a ball with my hands at my ankles drawing the last two
daggers from my boots. The last vamp was quick enough to have
slashed his sword as I flew back past him and sliced me all the way
across my back from the right shoulder to my ass. In one more half
twist, this time landing in a crouch, I had raised the two daggers
in front of me in a crisscross and caught his sword lunge straight
at my head. Directing it upwards, I rose, stepped into his body
and ripped his throat out with my fangs in a quick, snake-like
strike, body pressed against him. I had not counted on him having
a dagger as well and he managed to leave it in my side before
he fell to the floor, blood pumping out of his jugular. Leaving one
of my daggers in his heart on his way down, I threw the last dagger
at the vamp that followed, causing him to pause as it thumped
hilt-first against him. I so needed to take knife throwing lessons if
I ever got the opportunity."

Book 1: Jade  Amazon link Jade

Book 2: Jane  Amazon Link Jane

Don' miss the wedding!
(or the funeral)

Cover Reveal: Fractured Hearts (Shattered Lives, Book Three)

It's a pleasure to announce a cover reveal for Rissa Blakeley's new book

Fractured Hearts (Shattered Lives, Book Three)

Blurb:

"The demons taunted. Feeling imprisoned by the voices in his head, Henry feared he would never be free from their reign. With no regard, he raised the bottle to his lips and relished in the blackness welcoming him like an old friend. 

After a child went missing and Henry was unable to aid in the search, he knew it was time to clean up his act. With Gunther’s help and determination, Elaina worked to get Henry back on track to a healthier, more sober lifestyle. 

The guilt from the actions of Gunther’s past continued to weigh on him, but through Quinn’s encouragement, he allowed himself to start the healing process. Their steamy relationship tested Quinn’s resolve and their future together. She faced a decision which would close the door to one life, opening another that was full of promise."

Fractured Hearts has a release date of April 27th, 2015 and is available for pre-order here:

Amazon Link

You can find more of Rissa's books on her author page:

Amazon Author Page

Excerpt #2 and Teasers, Norma Jean's School of Witchery

A presidential election.
A witch with a target on her back and a magical arrow.
A shadowy government agency made up of witches with unusual abilities.
A game called Witch Pong.
The Mighty Thor?

See how it all comes together in a school you will never forget.

Amazon Link (paperback)
Amazon Link2 (eBook)


Excerpt #2:

"Pyro is not a word you say around witches. The history of witches with pyro was a subject to be
avoided. My research indicated a pyro's power usually manifests at a very early age, normally around
six or seven years old. It was almost always a female witch and it was always trouble. Many years
ago, these children had been killed out of hand, then in the fifties lobotomized. More recently, they
were kept in fireproof cells at institutions and kept so doped up they really had no idea what was going
on.

The pyro ability in older children was extremely rare. The case of the girl they had called “The
Flame” was an interesting one and I spent an hour looking in various books for references to her case.
It was believed that she was a late bloomer like me and didn't come into her power until her early teens.
She had some level of control compared to the younger ones. When she failed to control herself and
burned down an apartment building resulting in dozens of deaths, she had gone on the run. The Witch
Council had sent a team of witches after her, chasing her around the globe for several years before
catching her and killing her in a fight full of magic and fire.

Instinctively, I knew I always had the pyro ability."

Who knew chapter titles could be so fun?

I didn't title my chapters with Jade or Jane. I decided to give it a try with Norma Jean's School of Witchery, Book One: Jewel and I loved it. I titled them before I wrote the chapter and found it helped me focus and set the tone for what I was about to write. I discovered I was less likely to go off the reservation and get bogged down with other ideas that used to drive me crazy and require me to completely change my outline.  I will be doing this for all the books in the Norma Jean's series.  Here are some of my favorites with a few comments.

Chapter One: A Dark and Stormy Summer
Snoopy would be proud. It set the humorous tone I wanted as well as helped me concentrate on the introduction to my novel.

Chapter Three: Magic Carpet Ride
I love a good "road trip" and had fun with this in Jane.

Chapter Five: Class Warfare
Many of my chapter titles when taken out of context can have another meaning other than the one intended for the book. Or sometimes even both meanings apply.

Chapter Eight: The Arrow of Time
Here is a good example of the double meaning. Not only does it have one of those science references (Google it if you are interested), both precognition and a real arrow come into play in this chapter. My cat (pen named Katniss) helped me big time with this one.

Which leads to,
Chapter Eleven: This Girl is on Fire
There you go, Katniss.

Chapter Thirteen: Fifty Shades of Green
Wonder where that one came from?

Chapter Sixteen: My Fairy Godmother
In this case we are talking Jill, the Winter Queen of Faerie

Karma is a Witch is another chapter I really enjoyed. Jewel is dealing with an ex boyfriend in that one.

The last chapter is called Beside Still Waters. It is just perfect which echos the ending of the book. To find out why, you are going to have to read the book. Coming in just a couple of weeks now.

If you are a writer and have not done the chapter title thing before, give it a try. You might have as much fun with it as I did and find it helps you with your writing at the same time.

Excerpt from Norma Jean's School of Witchery

A presidential election. A witch with a target on her back and a magical arrow. A shadowy government agency made up of witches with unusual abilities. A game called Witch Pong. The Mighty Thor?

See how it all comes together in a school you will never forget.

Excerpt:

"“Dispel the dark, bring the fire, light this candle, I so desire,” I
said, this time doing as she had instructed, visualizing an air
bubble at the bottom of the lake and letting just a little magic seep
inside before sending it shooting to the surface emerging just as I
finished the spell and pointing the index finger of my hand right
at the tip of the candle.
The entire candle burst into flames this time, shooting several
feet in the air. I took a step back instinctively noticing that it was
not just the candle on fire but the metal table as well, both the top
of the table and the legs were covered in flames. Thick black
smoke from the melting paint was starting to mix with the flames
and I heard a loud thump and a couple of screams."

ETA: It's now live!
Buy it at Amazon
Now Free with Kindle Unlimited ♥
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