Monday, December 30, 2013

LOVING TAINTED


TaintedTainted by D. Hart St. Martin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Reading this book has been one of this years highlights for me....I've had a pretty crappy year. :-P I don't have much time to myself, as most don't, but I looked forward to those little moment when I could just sit and read this beautiful story. ...Like when I'm warming my car. Should have just taken a few minutes, I'll sit and read a bit...an hour and a half later...I'm pretty sure my car is all sorts of warmed up and I'm still reading, wasting gas, but it's so worth it. LOL

Tainted is the second book in the Lisen of Solsta series, and by reading them in order you'll get all the amazing benefits of knowing each and every character that much better and appreciating their growth and all the subtle nuance. HOWEVER, Tainted is also a great stand alone novel. It has an easy flow and beautiful imagery. You'll find yourself sucked into the world Hart builds and expands around you. Her imagination is astonishing. For just one example: In this series the people of this world have pouches, like kangaroos. In the first book I thought that was an interesting change, but now in the second book it seems so fantastic a thing. I wish I had one! Could you imagine as a parent (male or female, since in this series both have pouches and can hold their child) touching, caressing, holding the miniature hand of your developing baby while their still growing inside you!? Like I said, Amaz-balls!

Definitely buy this book! You will not regret it.

View all my reviews

Saturday, December 7, 2013

DREAM CAST FOR RAINA KIRKLAND MOVIES

It may very well be every author's dream to one day have their babies made into moving pictures.  I know it's mine.  I made some promises too.  Like, I promised my brother, Max, that if my books ever got a movie deal, part of the deal would be that his band would get to have songs on the soundtrack.


Max is the fellow, middle right.  That's my big brother. ^_^ I'm very proud of all of my siblings, ranging in age from 15 - 34, 6 brothers and 2 sisters. Sadly we are scattered in the wind.

Anywho, I also have some cross-my-fingers, dream team for casting as well:
Raina
Nick (Nil)
Damon

Alistair
Katie
Michael
Seth
Tristan
Anna
Mato



 Well...a girl can dream, can't she?

And here are some places in the Paranormal Washington series:








Friday, November 29, 2013

PARANORMAL PRINCESS

When  'MAGIC’ isn’t enough of an explanation for you, writing fantasy can be hard as balls.
The only way I can allow a mythical creature into my books is by making them as real as possible. Take vampires for example…

              Chapter 21 from FATAL RETRIBUTION, The First Raina Kirkland Novel:

“Vampire blood is dark red, almost black, and the cells are crowded and deformed.  When the disease is introduced into a living host, it quickly spreads throughout the body through the circulatory system.  It violates every organ, changing their purpose or consuming them entirely.  The stomach develops a smooth, thick inner wall that no longer produces acid.  The small intestine is shortened and redirected to the heart, where it does somewhat the same job as a human heart.  The lower bowls are seemingly recycled by the body, as is excess fatty tissue.  This gives the vampire a leaner appearance.  The lungs are in good working condition.  Though, they seem to have the capacity to hold a great deal of oxygen, allowing the vampire to hold his breath for an extended period of time.  Their bones are denser, heavier and stronger.  The disease seems to affects the host’s ability to produce heme, a key element in hemoglobin.  This causes a severe case of Porphyria, normally a genetic malady.  Porphyria has many symptoms, but vampires only suffer from one, sensitivity to light.  The light sensitivity is amplified to a deadly degree, causing the vampires to burn through and through.” 
~*~
It's always a bit of a challenge to write fantasy for me mainly because I don't believe in such nonsense. Angles, demons, gods, devils, vampires, werewolves, mermaids...nah, I can't make myself even consider them...but I want to image a world where they're real and human and possible, so I have to make them possible. Gods are aliens from another planet, who have advanced to the point of interdenominational space travel.  Their minds are so advanced that they can manipulate matter on a microscopic level...but they have a weakness in their pious arrogance. Angles were created by the gods as servants.  They are sentience energy who can use that energy to create tangible illusions and manipulate matter to a lesser degree.  When gods and angels are cast out of the minority party, they are branded devils and demons... as for mermaids and other mythical creatures...well, that would be Earth A History:

Chapter 40 from GRAVE OMEN, The Third Raina Kirkland Novel:

             And, then there was Earth, a tiny, insignificant planet, a grain of sand in an ever expanding desert.  Life on Earth answered only to the chaos of nature, and it prospered.   But as beings of intelligence evolved, Earth gained the attentions of the gods.  These creatures: fish, reptiles, birds and mammals intrigued the gods.  They had unique qualities; most notable was their capacity for strong emotion. The gods joined them for a time and they learned of fear, anger, jealousy, lust, love, loyalty and greed.  They were as children in their understanding and self-control.  The gods became petty, lustful creatures.  They mated themselves with the Earthlings and in doing so created new life forms, half god and half animal.  These creatures were called humans; not completely animal, but not completely god.
             “Now, the gods had minions called angels, created by the gods for the mere purpose of servitude.  They were stoic creatures of pure energy.  The angels cared nothing much for life forms until they witnessed the creation of the human race.  Humans were as flawed as any other animal, yet held inside them a piece of divinity, a whisper of something greater.  The angels fell in love with them, and many of them mated with the humans.  What came of these unions were new races of humans, varied and terrible, monsters capable of great feats of power: witches, elves, fairies and so on.

~*~
I know I'm not brilliant.  I'm certainly no scientist...but I try to satisfy
           
              

Sunday, November 17, 2013

ZOMBIE BOOK. CHP 5

THE
ZOMBIE
BOOK
Zombie Book One
By Diana Graves

Copyright © 2017 Diana Graves
All rights reserved.
Kindle Edition
License Statement
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Amazon.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Disclaimer
This book is a work of pure fiction.  Characters, places and incidents are creations of the author’s imagination, and any similarity to people, living or dead, businesses, events or places is purely coincidental.
Acknowledges

To Erin, my best friend.


If you haven't read chapter one, click HERE

Chapter Five:

  JENSEN stood as I moved into the room.  My hand was still tight around Derek’s arm.  Jensen was giving everyone his best ‘good old boy’ smile, but between the fear in my eyes and Derek and Pane’s new hostile postures, Karen seemed to have gotten the clue that something wasn’t right, because before anyone could say another word she pulled a gun out from a cabinet and pointed it at Jensen.
“Hey now,” Jensen said with a voice just dripping with patronizing fret.  His sandy-brown hair was a mess and his clothes were ripped and bloody from fighting the zombies, yet he still exuded authority, like his father. 
Everything about him, from his height to his handsome face, from his likeable voice to his kind brown eyes told you to trust him, to follow him.  That would not bewise.  He was a sociopath. Just for shits and giggles he liked to get you under his control and then push you to the point of your death or the death of your blood innocents.
I watched him take a father under his wing once.  He came off all ‘brothers in arms’ bull shit, swapping horror stories.  But he quickly turned the man against his wife and kids.  I watched Jensen poison his mind with thoughts of male dominance and the innate evil of women, and spoiled children.  The man came into the church a loving father, scared for his beautiful family, who had made it this long in our devastated world, and within a couple of weeks he was whoring his wife out to Jensen and the other men, to rape and beat as they liked.  He sent his two sons to Finn’s room to learn to be men. What he did to his little girl was too monstrous to think about. I wasn’t a religious woman, but to me, he was the devil.
Jensen didn’t look scared, even with a gun pointed at him.  He looked calm and almost amused. “Let’s just all calm down,” he said, playing the reasonable one.
“Karen, put the gun away!” shouted Will, as he stood up beside Jensen. 
Gerald said nothing and he made no obvious move, but his right hand was tucked deep between the couch cushions.
“Step away from the couch, Mister,” Karen said.
“Or what?  For what reason do you point your gun at me?” Jensen asked, and his voice and face said two things that his words didn’t.  They said that she was being a stupid woman and he was in charge here.  He was the sort of person who was always in charge, even in a stranger’s home.
“Don’t push me boy.  I know trouble when I see trouble.  I’m no fool.”
“You didn’t have a problem with me earlier,” and he turned and looked right at me.  “Has she been telling lies?” he asked them, referring to me with an incline of his head in my direction.
“We saw the bruises you gave her,” said Derek.
Jensen ignored him. “Did they tell you, Karen, that she tried to kill one of your men, Gerald here?  They told me they had to knock her out, because there was no reasoning with her. You can’t trust what she says. I was just defending myself from this mad woman. I don’t blame her, though. People are losing their minds out there.”  
Karen didn’t look my way.  Her eyes were glued onto her target. “That true?” she asked no one in particular.
“Which part?” I asked.
“Did you try to kill one of my boys?”
“Yes. I’ve learned to kill first when it comes to both the living and the walking dead.”
     “You see?  She is out of control,” Jensen said.
     “Men like you taught me that,” I tried to say calmly, but I couldn’t stay calm. He was trying to manipulate them and I’ve seen him do it too often not to know that it works, it fucking works every time!  “Men that rape, men that kill, men that think the chaos we’ve been thrown into gives them license to do whatever sick and evil things that come into their morally deficient minds!” I yelled. “You and your father are disgusting monsters!
Jensen threw his hands in the air, as if my outburst proved his point. Shit! Did it?  Arrogance was painted so thick on his face, the fumes made me sick. He gave me narrow dark eyes and the room seemed dimmer for it.
     “You see!” he roared, and he sounded so like his father. He was trying to hide it but his face was distorted and discolored by his anger.
He moved closer to me but Karen moved up to him with her gun.
“Hay! Gun, remember?  Everyone, calm the fuck down!”
     Christopher sat up on the couch, finally unable to sleep through our yelling. When he looked up and saw Jensen standing over him, he let out a blood curdling scream. Truth from the lips of babes...
     Gerald finally let us know what he was palming between the cushions as he brought his hand up and pointed a tiny gun at Jensen’s head. 
     “Take the baby, Will,” Gerald said, and Will cautiously bent down and grabbed Chris.  He fought him like mad, screaming and kicking and squirming, but he managed to get to me.  Will let go and Christ ran into my arms and buried his little head in my neck.
     “Look, I don’t know what bad blood you two have, but one of you is staying and one of you is going, and I think you know which is doing which,” Karen said.
Jensen smiled wide.  It was a scheming smile. He looked around the room, not at the people but at their resources. Shit. “I think that’s best.  I’m sure I can find my way back to my people, no problem.”
Karen waved her gun toward the entrance and Jensen walked around the couch. He flashed angry eyes my way and started on down the hall toward the hatch with Karen at his back.  
“You can’t let him go or he’ll bring back the others,” I said to Pane.
“WAIT!” shouted Pane, and he began running after Jensen. “Wait, he can’t go!” 
 Jensen started to sprint for the hatch and Karen stood her ground and shouted at him, “Stop or I will shoot you!” but she didn’t and he kept running with Pane at his back and gaining on him.  The guy could run!  Jensen reached the hatch first but it was no use to him.  He climbed the steps and found the handle stuck and the door immobile and Pane tackled him down.
I looked to the dining table and found Will behind a laptop. “It’s locked,” he said.  “He’s not going anywhere.  Now will someone kindly explain to me what’s going on?” he asked with flared nostrils and a creased brow.
I watched the hall, where Derek had joined Pane in holding Jensen while Karen loomed over them with her gun held loosely in her right hand.  There was no way Christopher was going to calm down enough for us to talk with Jensen here.  Thankfully, Gerald went back to the bathroom and grabbed Derek’s utility belt.  He ran down the hall and with a long brown straw, he blew a tiny arrow at Jensen. It hit him in the cheek and he fell asleep instantly, just as I had.  The three men carried him to a storage room and tide him to a support column so we could talk in peace in the dining room.
I told them what kind of man Jensen was and what type of place I just escaped from.  “I’ve encountered a lot of horrible people in the past few years, but nothing like Finn’s church. It’s a place of violence, rape, cannibalism and torture. Pane was right to stop him from leaving.  If you let Jensen go, the first thing he’d do is tell Finn that he found a place in need of spiritual cleansing…which is be bull shit for kill us all and take your resources.”
“No wonder you tried to kill me,” said Gerald.  He and Will were fresh from the showers and looking much more relaxed out of their zombie killing gear. Will was wearing a flannel shirt and jeans while Gerald was sporting a Star Wars T-shirt and pajama bottoms.
“It has been a long road of ass holes that brought me here,” I almost smiled; not because what I said was particularly clever.  It’s just been a long time since I’d seen Christopher eat so heartily.  Sure, the church had its big feasts every couple of days, but it was human meat.  I couldn’t let him eat that, and the food their garden yielded was sickly. No, we were half starved the entire time we were there. But now he sat on my lap eating his fill.  I hadn’t taken a bite just yet-I always let my boy eat first- but it smelled amazing; hearty potatoes, veggies, spices and chicken broth.
     “So,” began Derek.  “What do we do with him?  He can’t stay, he can’t go.”
“I have plans for him,”Karen said into her bowl of soup.
   
THE ZOMBIE BOOK RELEASE DATE OCTOBER 20TH 2017




Friday, November 15, 2013

Prologue for Deadly Encounters (Raina Kirkland Book 4)

I'm thinking about adding this prologue to the forth book in the Raina Kirkland series, just to get some background out there without slowing the story down.  What do you think? SPOILER (reveals information from book 2 & 3)

PROLOGUE
Nick was a rambunctious toddler.  Stories of his mischievous actions were still told and retold at family gatherings, always followed by hearty laughs. He was adored, what with his great big brown eyes and untamable red hair.  Unlike his studious, quiet older brother, Tristan, Nick was a wild child; bare foot and loud. That was until his baby sister was born.  He was calm around her.  She was his double, same crazy red hair, same big brown eyes.   He looked at little Raina with such wonderment and love.  She was the smallest person he’d even seen and he instantly felt the need to protect her.  He guarded her well from anyone or anything that could harm her or make her cry.  He even gave his own mother a stern word or two for being late for Raina’s feedings.

“Bad Mommy,” he would say with the cutest furrowed brow and grimace.

And at night, Nick would get out of bed and watch her sleep.  Peering in on her through the bars, he’d reach his tiny hands in and stroke her back ever so gently.  In fact he was doing just that the night Raina died.

A monster came to Raina’s window as Nick stroked her back.  The great beast blocked the moonlight from lighting the room and Nick looked up, startled to see it leering in with hungry eyes and malicious intentions!  Nick cried out.  He grabbed at his baby sister, but she was too heavy for him to lift and he was too short to pick her up and out of the crib.  She was trapped!

The monster broke the window and Nick and Raina screamed frightfully.  Scared beyond reason, Nick ran out into the hall as the monster advanced on Raina. Nick screamed and screamed for his mommy and daddy.  But Daddy was gone on a fishing trip with Tristan.  Even though Tristan, being an elf and all, refused to fish. Mommy was home though!  He banged his body against her bedroom door, scratched at it and eventually she did open the door.  Tall and elegant, young Anna picked up her screaming child.

“What’s wrong?!”

“Ray-ray!” Nick yelled over and over again.  Anna walked with Nick in her arms down the hall to Raina’s nursery, but there was no monster.

“She’s fine,” Anna said as she walked to the crib, but she could not deny the feeling of dread building in her gut.  For each step she took closer to the crib the less sure she was of that statement. Together Nick and Anna looked down on the baby.  Raina’s eyes were closed, lips parted, body very still. Anna adjusted her hold on her son to get a free hand. Shaking and scared she lowered that hand to her baby’s mouth, but she felt no breath.

“No,” Anna said.  She could feel panic taking hold, but she managed to set Nick down gently, before grabbing at her baby.  At the feel of her lifeless limbs something in Anna broke. “RAINA!”

“Ray-a okay?” Nick asked.

Anna grabbed her baby up into her arms, wiggling her limbs, patting her face, trying to wake her up. She held her close in her arms. “Come on baby, get up, wake up, wake up!”  Being a witch, her mind raced through what magic she knew, but there was no spell that could bring her baby back from the dead…and not be a rotting living thing…

Anna held her tight to her, bouncing her gently to the sounds of Nick’s cries.  Confused and scared, Nick never left his mommy.  He held onto her legs.  He wanted to hold Raina too, but he knew Mommy wouldn’t let him.  He cried himself to sleep at Anna’s feet instead.

When Raina’s body began to feel stiff in Anna’s arms, Anna set her down in the crib. She knelt down to her son and did something she told herself she would never do.  She prayed. Out loud, Anna begged the world, the universe, any creature in all of creation who could bring back her daughter.  She made bargain after bargain, promised anything and everything to whoever, whatever.  Until her voice was spent and her eyes could cry no more, she bartered her life away for her daughter’s, but no one answered…

With the sun rising through the window and reality setting in, Anna had given up.  She began making a list in her head of what she needed to do.  She had to keep her mind busy, or she’d break down again and she couldn’t do that.  She had no more tears, no more strength for it.

“I need to call the police and then Dan.”  She imagined telling her husband that their baby had died.  What words could she use?  What reason could she give him?  She looked up and the window was broken, but nothing in Raina’s room was disturbed in the slightest. “How did this happen?” Anna asked.  She looked down at her son, sleeping on the floor.  She shook him awake. “How did this happen!?”

Half awake, Nick pointed weakly at the broken window. “Monster,” he said.

“Monster?” she said softly. As Anna stared out the window the sun rose and shined into the room, making it too bright for her mood. But something was off.  The light was growing brighter and brighter still, until Anna couldn’t look at the light any longer.  She and Nick both looked away and hid their eyes from the light coming in.

“Mommy!” Nick called out.  He climbed into her lap and wrapped his arms around her neck. 

There was a sound that could not be identified, a smell they could not recognize, a presence too hot, too bright to stand.  Anna shielded her son from the heat as they tried to run out of the room.

“STOP!” called a voice too loud to bare. Anna and Nick fell to the ground, holding their ears in pain, but they did stop.  With their backs to the presence, they winced when it spoke next, though its words were softer. “You beckoned me?  You spoke of a deal?”

Anna slowly turned toward the creature.  The creature had taken a human form of a woman with long dark hair and red eyes.  She was well over seven feet tall, muscular and nude. Though the look and sound of her was pleasant, her very presence was a strange alien thing, breathed in unspeakable power that Anna feared like nothing else! She couldn’t even speak, but she didn’t have to.  The alien knew her and Anna knew that she knew her.  She could feel the thing searching her mind, penetrating every private memory, every dark corner. It knew Anna better than Anna and it knew what Anna would give for Raina’s life, what any mother would give for the life of their child.

The woman shaped alien stepped up to the crib and picked up the small baby.  Raina’s body looked even smaller in the hands of the alien.

“I am Melpomene, a muse god.  It is within my power to bring Raina back.  She is not long dead.  Give me your son-.”

Anna looked down at Nick for only a second before letting go of his tiny hand.  Nick trembled at her side, too scared to move.

“Don’t fear me,” the creature said, as though that was such an easy request for a small child to grant. “If you want your baby sister back, come here Nicholas.” Slowly Nick approached Melpomene. “Take this appendage…my hand” He did and its flesh was hot in his, but not scalding.  “You love her most in this world.  Call to her.”

“Ray?” asked Nick quietly.

“Yes, call her name.”

“Ray-a! Ray-a! Ray-Ray!” he called to the baby in the god’s hands.  “Wake up, Ray-Ray!”

“Good, she hears you. Now give her a kiss.”

Nick didn’t question it.  Anna did, but she kept her thoughts to herself. The god bent down to the toddler and held the baby out to him.

“If you kiss her, you will give her a part of yourself.  Do you understand?  She will have a part of you inside her and you will feel bound to her. You will be her most loyal friend and protector.”  Nick nodded, though he didn’t truly understand then the gravity of his actions.  He leaned in and kissed his sister on her forehead. A bite of static electricity hit his lips and he jumped back a little, putting his hands over his mouth.

The god smiled. “And now that Raina’s with us again, I must repair her.  I too will give her a kiss, though through my kiss much more will be transferred.  My kiss will give her a piece of me as well, but it will also restart her heart and heal her body.”

Still Anna could not bring herself to talk, but she didn’t have to.  Melpomene knew her mind, she saw the question on Anna’s lips. She wanted to know what the details of their bargain were.

“Our bargain is simple, Annabella Selena Kirkland.  Raina is ours, our daughter.  I am destined for banishment for the great deeds I’ve done.  Raina will be an extension of me left behind; she will be my vessel on Earth.”

The god stood tall and brought the baby’s body in close.  Anna looked on in utter fear as the god kissed her baby’s tiny lips, but her heart leaped as Raina began to move!  At first just a little, but soon her arms and legs were kicking in full strength, her cries were loud.  Her wild red locks changed to sleek dark auburn hair. Her eyes turned a deep red color and what natural magic she might have wielded was all but gone, replaced with something a tad more alien.

Nick stretched his arms up, begging to hold his sister.  The god bent down and handed her to him and he held onto her tight.

 “Keep her safe, Nicholas. She needs you.”

Nick was too young to really understand what the god was talking about, but those two sentences would stay with him.  They would play over and over again in his subconscious, shaping his life. 


Tuesday, October 1, 2013

REVIEW FOR GRAVE OMEN!

6556211http://the-book-diaries.blogspot.com/
's review
Sep 24, 13

bookshelves: adulton-my-kindleparanormalarc-for-honest-review
Read on September 24, 2013

ARC for Honest Review

This is going to be hard to review without giving anything away. I liked it. This book showed Raina moving forward and becoming more of a nurturing role. I liked seeing her in a relationship with Damon, it grounded her and gave her some stability which she desperately needed. There are many changes in her life and questions of who and what she is, thus depressing and causing doubt about herself. I like Raina's character, she has such a fierce protective side even for people who treat her like dirt, she has morals and is so self sacrificing. Great qualities to read in a character. I like that there is a bit of a love triangle forming, spicing things up a bit and forcing Raina to see she needs to stop settling. There is a lot going on in this book, and the mention of a lot of side characters so beware and take notes. No one is as good as they seem, everyone is hiding something which makes you wonder who can she really trust. As a whole, the book was great, the detailed background can slow you down a bit, but the suspense,mystery, romance and action are well worth it. I am now sitting here, anxiously waiting to see where Raina is going in the next one. More Alistair please :)!!!



Monday, September 16, 2013

WHY I WRITE

I am a self taught writer.  Throughout grade school I earned terrible marks in English and writing.  It wasn't until I attended university that my literary talent blossomed, but even now I struggle.  My spelling is atrocious, my sentence structure needs improving and my punctuation leaves something to be desired. So why the heck do I write novels?  What gives me the gull to put my books out there at all?

It's not just that I have a story to tell; I'll tell you that much.  As one great writer once said, "Making up a story isn't writing; it is merely mental masturbation." Hart St Martin    Raina's story has been plaguing my mind since I was 16 years old.  Though, at first she was a comic book and her name was Cory. For the last 14 years it's been her voice in my head, visions of her life in my dreams.  She demands her story be told.  I simply do not know what I would do if I couldn't write it and share it with the world! So, no, having a story to tell is just part of the reason I'm an indy author. (cheesy grin)

It's not just because I have mommy issues. My mother was a very hard working single mother.  Sometimes she worked as many as three jobs just to live paycheck to paycheck with three kids. When she was home she always escaped her hard life in a book.  I remember being jealous of those books.  They had more time with her than me and they helped her better than I ever could.  I was just another mouth to feed, just another obligation, another bill...but, maybe if I wrote the books she escaped to, it would be as if she were with me. But, that's not the reason.  That's just part of the reason. (sad face)

It most certainly isn't because I have an overactive mind, though that I have. My mind is constantly racing with ideas: problem solving, over thinking, coming up with knew ideas and innovations.  Writing gives this fevered mind direction.  If I didn't write I'd go mad! But, again this is just part of the reason. (cross-eyed)

I'm not a writer because I 'm crazy imaginative, though I totally am.  I hate myself something fierce, but if I can give myself just one compliment it's that.  Ever since I can remember I've drawn, painted, carved, molded, created stories in my mind.  Imagination, CHECK....but that's just part of the reason I write. (wink)

It's not just because I crave challenging activities.  As a kid and teen I felt stupid.  I knew my family didn't really expect much from me.  I felt that they expected me to become a pregnant teen, quit school, work at fast food and maybe turn to substance abuse or something...so I did the exact opposite.  I kept my legs closed and my head in the books.  I promised myself that I'd earn a degree (through, I really wish I could afford a master's degree).  My measly B.S. degree makes me feel inadequate. In short, I feel like I have something to prove.  I'm not dumb.  I don't make irrational life choices.  I'm a hard worker.  I strive for a career.  I'm more than you think I am, but I'm still not good enough...So, I write.  I challenge myself to do the one thing I couldn't do as a child, and I write every single day of my life. Just another part of the reason I write. (determined scowl)

I have the story, I have the mental issues, I have the brain power, I have the imagination and I have the drive, but the icing on the cake, the one thing that ties it altogether and makes writing possible.  I have the support.  My husband, my siblings, my aunts and uncles and grandparents and friends; they all believe in me.  Without them I'd be lost.  I'm bipolar, so that means that for a couple weeks I'm on top of the world...and for a couple of weeks I literally  hate everything about me.  I need love and support to go on and they give me that, and I can't thank them enough.

Sentence structure, punctuation, spelling typos; these can be fixed easy-peasy.  It's called editing...The other shit, they can't be fixed or faked or added in later. Yes I'm not perfect by any means, but I'm trying to be.








Monday, September 9, 2013

The Book Diaries: Fatal Retribution

The Book Diaries: Fatal Retribution: Fatal Retribution Author: Diana Graves Adult Book (Amy's Review) 4 out of 5 Stars Synopsis Someone is selling vampirism on...

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AMERICAN GODDESS



American GoddessesAmerican Goddesses by Gary R. Henry
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I can't believe I let this book sit on my kindle for so long without reading it. It was probably one of the most enjoyable books I'd read so far this year; suspenseful, empowering, thrilling and just delicious all the way around. I don't want to go into it the story because I tend to give away too much, but suffice to say the two leading ladies are excellent role models and they are brilliantly three dimensional. You feel like you know them personally; their emotions feel real. Definitely worth your time to read. *****

View all my reviews

GRAVE OMEN IS OUT!

Hum, this is a bit of a late announcement, isn't it?  Last month I published Grave Omen, the third book in the Raina Kirkland series.

Living in a world of myths and legends, of supernatural beast and gods, Raina Kirkland has spent the last eight months searching for the vampire whose blood runs through her veins, but her search for her maker is halted when she receives a call from an old friend.

Large sums of people are being kidnapped at random, stripped naked, caged and set on fire! The Ethereal Investigation Department calls on Raina and other bounty hunters for assistance. 

However, between the case, a wedding, family drama and her newly discovered medical condition, Raina can't see the storm approaching until she is in the eye of it.

That awkward moment when you realize someone is trying to kill you.

At the moment Grave Omen is only available electronically through kindle devices and apps, but I'm currently working on the paper back version.  I'm also formatting a three books in one called, Paranormal Washington, which will have the first three Raina Kirkland books, for the convienience of new readers.


Wednesday, July 31, 2013

NEW SLEEK COVERS

Grave Omen is merely days away from being published and all three books get  sleek new covers!

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

GIVEAWAY!

Hey all!  I've designed three bookmarks.  One bookmark for each Raina Kirkland novel; Fatal Retribution, Mortal Sentry and the soon to be release, Grave Omen.  I hand crafted the bookmarks myself and will be giving them away in a raffle.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sunday, July 7, 2013

My Novels are Certified Organic

Oh crap...I don't think I'm unique in that my stories, my characters evolve sometimes on their own.  Often times characters surprise the hell out of me.  Example: Fatal Retribution was supposed to have ended after Mark died.  The bad guy was dead, the end...Nope.  I was so very shocked when Raina found his cousin waiting outside the hospital and the story went on for several more chapters...

Often times I put myself in a corner, plot wise, and I have no idea where the story is going, I just know that it feels right.  For instance, up until I actually wrote it, I had no idea Raina was a demigod!  I was like, WTF!!! And until I wrote the third novel, Grave Omen, I had no clue why Raina's mom kicked Nick out at 16 years old...But none of it was forced.  It was all organic.  It just happened.  One minute Raina's consoling her mom, and the next her mom starts talking and my fingers are moving a mile a minute over the keyboard, my eyes are wide with shock.  It's exhilarating and scary and nerve wrecking.

When I write a novel, I sit down and I make a list of questions that need answers, events I think must take place and how those questions' answers should fit into and around those events.  Then I do a butt load of research and scene design and character developments and all that jazz...Sometimes I'm pleasantly surprised by the answers that appear organically...but sometimes I'm pissed.  I fight it.  I cry about it even, but in the end truth is truth and the story must be told.

I'm not sure what the point of writing this blog was...I guess I just needed to vent my frustration on the whole process because I'm currently putting together the 4th book and a character I've fallen in love with, totally and madly in love with, has surprised me in a very bad way.  I'm scared and heart broken, but there is no other answer to the questions.  It's only logical.


Thursday, July 4, 2013

Fractured (Lisen of Solsta)

Fractured: Lisen of SolstaFractured: Lisen of Solsta by D Hart St Martin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I love authors who create whole new worlds and fill it with new beings and cultures. It's the height of creativity. Lisen is a wonderful three dimensional heroine who is torn from earth, the only life she's ever known and forced to her home world, Garla. There she must learn the culture, rule the people and come to terms with not only the loss of her Earthly life, but her Earthly body as well. It's a terribly descriptive, imaginative and intriguing book. Well written with great flow. Highly recommended for lovers of fantasy!

View all my reviews

Monday, June 17, 2013

FATAL RETRIBUTION IN SPANISH

I've wanted to write the Raina Kirkland series in other languages for some time now, but I'm not fluent in any language other than my own.  If any of this doesn't makes a lick of sense, please let me now.
Una fantasía romántica paranormal:
Raina Kirkland es una bruja sin magia y un elfo y sin gracia. Ella vive en un mundo maravilloso que es paralela a la nuestra en todos los sentidos, excepto por un detalle fantástico. Cada historia jamás contada, cada monstruo, cada dios, cada demonio es espectacularmente real!
Aun así, Raina parece vivir una vida sin complicaciones hasta el día en que su familia es víctima de una ola de infecciones de vampiros no autorizadas. Sin seres humanos de supervisión del gobierno son cada vez aterrorizar asesinos sedientos de sangre en todo el noroeste del Pacífico.
Raina está saliendo en su cuenta como una mujer cuando ella se da cuenta de que la policía ya no se puede confiar para detener esta tendencia increíblemente violenta, y se involucra en un espectacular viaje que la lleva a su punto de ruptura y más allá.

"La venganza es un acto de pasión, venganza de la justicia. Las lesiones se vengó; crímenes se vengaron."
~ Samuel Johnson

CAPITULO PRIMERO

Me senté en la cama con un nudo en el estómago, mientras que el hombre que se hacía llamar mi padre gritó a través de mi teléfono celular. No estaba enfadado, ya que continuamente me recordó. Simplemente estaba preocupado por mi bienestar.
"Te amo, Raina. Usted sabe eso! ", Gritó. ¿De verdad lo sé? Hace diez años, finalmente aceptó que yo no tenía un padre. Tuve a un hombre que a veces era un padre cuando era conveniente para él. "Yo no creo que usted debería anunciar sus diferencias. Es peligroso! "él gritó.
"¿Quieres decir que es vergonzoso. Lamento haber arruinado tu barbacoa el fin de semana. "Yo lo que no lo sentía. Me puse mis ropas ceremoniales aquelarre sólo para reventar sus chuletas. Aun así, no fue mi culpa que sus amigos tomaron problema con mi elección de ropa. Si quería jugar papá no iba a hacer más fácil para él. Tenía una bruja para una hija. Necesitaba estar de acuerdo con eso y lo hizo a sus amigos.
"No todo el mundo tolera a los no-humanos, así como yo. Te quiero, pero ... "
"Pero, yo no voy a ser invitado a más de sus barbacoas, ¿verdad?" Él no dijo nada y yo sabía que tenía razón. Se avergonzaba de lo que era. Yo era la sorpresa no bienvenido después de un matrimonio fracasado. Él y mi madre se casó cuando fui concebido, pero se divorció antes de que yo naciera, me hizo su hija bastarda de decisiones. Como una bruja y un elfo en parte, yo no era lo suficientemente humano para él aceptar, pero a diferencia de mis hermanos mayores, que nací demasiado tarde para aprender a amarme a mi pesar.
"Yo realmente no tengo tiempo para hablar. Tristán debe llegar en cualquier momento y yo no he terminado de embalaje ", le dije.
"Te amo", dijo por enésima vez antes de dejar que se vaya. Me pregunté cuál de los dos estaba tratando de convencerme de eso, porque él no me estaba engañando.
"Bueno, maldita sea", suspiré y miré por la habitación. Mis paredes verdes estaban casi ocultos por completo detrás de un gigantesco collage de fotos. Las imágenes varían en la materia, de la gente que amaba y admiraba, a la arquitectura impresionante, con edades cementerios, cielos impresionantes, montañas, etcétera.
Tres días el valor de la ropa y todo mi equipo de camping se amontonaban en mi cama, a la espera de ser envasado. Mis hermanos y yo se dirigían al monte Rainier esta noche para un viaje de campamento de fin de semana para celebrar el nuevo trabajo de mi hermano mayor en Vamps, una empresa de alquiler de entretenimiento vampiro. Su lema es: "Los vampiros, empeine de tu parte." Pegadizo, ¿no? Su orientación es de hoy. No podía esperar a escuchar lo que pasó.
Acabo de terminar de empacar cuando oí mamá entrar por la puerta principal. El sonido de las bisagras chirriantes de la puerta y la fragancia de especias dulces fueron todos los signos habituales que mamá estaba en casa. Incluso con la puerta de mi habitación cerré podía oler el jazmín y especias. Ella y mi tía Flora era dueño de una tienda juntos llamada "The Natural Kitchen." Fauna elaboradas pociones y galletas recién horneadas mamá. Por lo tanto el olor delicioso.
Reajusté mis gafas por costumbre, no es necesario, antes de salir de mi habitación. Los elfos no suelen tener mala vista del ojo. Supongo que puedo agradecer a mi padre humano para que uno. La única parte de mí que parecía remotamente elf-como era mi pelo largo y liso, que brillaba como chocolate rico veteado de ámbar rojo. Era tradición elfo nunca cortar el pelo. Mamá era todo acerca de la tradición. Le irrita a ningún extremo que yo mantuve mi corte de pelo corto en la parte de atrás y sólo dejó el frente crecer sin obstáculos. El color de mis ojos, sin embargo, claramente revelado mi sangre bruja, una caoba rica, más rojo que marrón.
Encontré mamá en la cocina con el sol de la tarde las inundaciones a través de las ventanas, por lo que las sombras de altura. Una recipiente de incienso de bronce sentado en la mesa de comedor de roble. El humo se elevaba en un elegante baile, llenando la habitación con el rico aroma de cedro. Plantas de hoja desbordaron de cestas de metal que colgaban desde el techo alto y una gran lámpara de araña de hierro forjado colgadas directamente sobre la mesa. Mamá coincidía con la cocina bien. Ambos eran exóticos, tanto afectado por el gueto violenta en la que residimos.
Mamá estaba sentada a la mesa con un broche de oro sostenido entre sus delgados labios de rubí que ella consideraba su siguiente movimiento. El mortero de mármol negro se sentó frente a ella. En ella era una pequeña porción de hierbas recién trituradas mezclado con aceites. Usando su delgada varita, dibujó un pentagrama en el aire. Observé en silencio mientras ella recogió las hierbas en un pequeño frasco verde. Puso el broche de oro en el vial, así y lo cerró con un tapón de corcho. Con cuidado de no arrastrar las largas mangas de su vestido largo de color rojo en el mortero, se inclinó hacia delante y cogió un trozo de cuerda de cáñamo.
"Mamá", le dijo tranquilamente cuando ella había terminado.
Mamá volvió hacia mí con una sonrisa. Sus ojos se juego con su pelo largo, negro como el ónice pura mezclada con oro. Todas sus características sugeriría que ella sea un elfo, pero a sus curvas le delató otra cosa. La otra cosa era la mitad bruja. Para tener toda la atención del sus grandes ojos negros siempre fue un poco inquietante. Así que fue una buena cosa que no sucede a menudo. 
Cada movimiento era elegante como ella se puso de pie y me alcanzó. En sus manos tenía un collar con un pequeño frasco verde. Lo reconocí como un talismán de protección. Era su diseño original que llamó slan. Slan intensifica su respuesta de lucha o huida ante el peligro. Mis hermanos y yo les llevaba a menudo cuando éramos niños. Ató el vial alrededor de mi cuello y me dio una gran sonrisa conflictivo, lleno de preocupación y amor.
"¿Qué pasa con el frasco?", Le pregunté.
Ella ignoró mi pregunta. "Me gustaría que dejar su cabello solo, Ray," dijo ella. Metió su labio inferior en un puchero mientras jugaba con mi pelo.
"Si yo tuviera a mi manera yo estaría luciendo un corte pixie. Ahora, ¿qué pasa con el frasco? "Fue este tipo de acosar que me dieron ganas de encontrar un trabajo de verdad y salir por mi cuenta. Me gradué de la universidad hace un año, y yo todavía estaba trabajando a tiempo parcial en la cocina natural. Patético.
"Anoche mencionaste que Nicholas podría estar pasando con usted y Tristán," dijo ella.
"Bien, ahora esto tiene sentido", le dije mientras me pasé un dedo por el largo vial en forma de lágrima. Nick era mi hermano mayor, el segundo de Tristán, y era una especie de hombre sombrío. Nunca se sabía lo que podía sacar de su bolsa de trucos, literalmente. "Um, podrías hacer otro? Tristán también invitó a Michael. "Mamá se estremeció al oír el nombre de Michael. Alrededor de un año más que yo, Michael era niño el amor de papá con su amante entonces, ahora ex esposa, Rachael.
"Usted lo hace", dijo, y me dio su muy pesado libro de las sombras. "Está en la página 23." De inmediato puse el libro de vuelta con un golpe sordo.
"Va a ser tan poderoso si lo hago?", Le pregunté, aunque ya sabía la respuesta. Mamá se encogió de hombros y salió de la cocina.
Suspiré con frustración y me senté en la mesa. Todos los materiales estaban allí. Sólo tenía que seguir las instrucciones, y espero que tenía el talento y la magia de llevarlo a cabo. El hechizo se hizo para un período de cuatro brujas nivel y yo no era ni siquiera el nivel tres, más como una y cuarto. Podía ocultar un grano o cambiar los colores de las uñas, pero no demasiado más. De los tres, Nick fue el creador de problemas, Tristan era el chico de oro y yo era el que nadie. Estábamos híbridos brujas elfos, también conocido como brujas chuchos comunes. Nick tenía toda la magia, Tristan tenía toda la gracia elfos y tuve nada de eso. Yo estaba llano-Jane, además de mi de vez en cuando la capacidad de leer las emociones de las personas. Yo era un empático débil. Fue mi salvación, pero no acababa de hacer para ser una mala bruja orina.
Las instrucciones para el slan talismán fueron escritos en Flegen, un lenguaje hecho de que mamá enseñó sólo a mí ya mis hermanos a leer. El libro sería inútil en manos de otra persona.
Apreté las hierbas en un polvo fino en el mortero. La corteza del árbol de Rowan ha demostrado ser difícil de aplastar. Tuve que poner todo mi peso sobre la mano del mortero para romper en pedazos un poco más pequeñas de madera. No había manera de que me entiendo tan bien como madre lo hizo. Esperemos que no afectaría el hechizo.
Después de haber terminado el talismán de Michael, me limpié los materiales y llamé a Tristán. Eran casi las tres y se le hizo tarde. Marqué su teléfono celular y salió de la habitación de comedor para el ambiente más privado de mi dormitorio.
El teléfono sonó tres veces antes de que Tristán le respondió: "Sí".
"Hey, es Raina. Cuando vienes de nuevo? "
"Estoy en la recolección de papá a Michael. Es Nicholas allí? Se supone que nos vemos en la mamá ".
"No, él no está aquí."
"Bueno, los dos nos fuimos a su apartamento hace unos diez minutos, por lo que debería estar allí pronto. ¿Le pidió a mamá que hacer un poco de pan de jazmín para nosotros? "
Pan de Jasmine era la firma la receta de mamá en la cocina natural. Se calmó y tranquilizó la mente. Fue el aperitivo perfecto después de un largo día de trabajo, y me había olvidado de preguntarle a traer algo de casa. "Um, déjame ver si mamá recuerda?" Mentí. Salí de mi habitación y por el corto pasillo. Mamá estaba sentada en el sofá, fumando en su pipa hierba mientras ve las noticias.
"Hola, mamá. ¿Sabía usted trae a casa un poco de pan de jazmín? "Le pregunté.
Ella me miró con su cara arrugada en sus pensamientos. "No lo sé. Ir a buscar en la nevera. "Maldición.
Corrí a la nevera. Odiaba hacer promesas y luego no mantenerlos. Como ya he hecho mi camino a través de la casa en la que jugaba con la idea de hornear un pan en el poco tiempo que tenía, pero cuando abrí la nevera Sentí una oleada de alivio. "Sí, lo recordaba."
"Cool", dijo Tristán. "Te veré pronto. Michael todavía está consiguiendo listo para ir. Oye, ¿te importaría si nos llevamos a lo largo de Katie? "
Fue amable de su parte para hacer. Katie era nuestra la mitad hermana, y en realidad nunca se llevó bien con los demás. Era toda pompa y remilgada y yo era áspera y torpe. Era bonita en tonos pastel con un kilo de maquillaje en su rostro. Estaba jeans y una camiseta con un chip en el hombro. Sin embargo, este fin de semana no era sobre mí y mi rencor contra un adolescente presumida. Si Tristán le querían allí, entonces él podría tenerla.
"No me importa", mentí. "Hasta pronto".
"Sí," dijo antes de terminar la llamada.
No me molesté en lograr que todos los materiales de volver a hacer un talismán Katie slan también? Ella no lo aceptaría. Era una buena chica cristiana, por lo que sería un desperdicio de materiales y tiempo.
Después de colgar el teléfono, me pongo el pan de jazmín en una de mis maletas y las puse en la puerta principal.
"Hey Mama", le dije antes de dejarse caer en el sofá. Envolví mis brazos alrededor de ella y apoyé la cabeza en su hombro. "¿Cómo se pone al día con mocosos odiosos?" Al igual que mi hermana, he añadido en mi cabeza.
"Yo no", dijo, sin apartar los ojos de la televisión.
"Yo tampoco", le dije. Cómo me hubiera gustado que fuera cierto. Raina, el mal culo, no toma la mierda de nadie, sí a la derecha. El sueño.
Quince minutos más tarde, alguien llamó a la puerta, al ritmo de una vieja balada de rock. Me levanté para conseguirlo y moví la hoja de metal, revelando una mirilla. Como había sospechado, era Nicholas. Su rostro estaba oculto, pero me gustaría reconocer que el pelo rojo loco en cualquier lugar. Abrí la puerta con una sonrisa amplia difusión a través de mi cara.
"¿Qué pasa hermanita", se preguntó a modo de saludo. Él se acercó a abrazarme, me con una sonrisa diabólica. Él tenía veintitrés años con el bebé bien el pelo rojo y permanente cabecero. Tenía grandes ojos marrones pastoso de nuestro papá y una cara en forma de corazón. Él se ve tan inocente como un cachorro, si no fuera por esa sonrisa socarrona de él, con los labios llenos largos que eran naturalmente rojo. Nicholas fue Goth en una especie de cliché manera, todo negro esmalte de uñas y piel sintética. Hoy no fue la excepción. Estaba lleno de Nick, que llevaba todo negro, como cualquier precie mago oscuro.
Mamá se puso rápidamente. "No voy a tener un brujo en mi casa!", Gritó.
Era más alta que Nicholas, por lo que tenía para mirar hacia ella para darle el mal de ojo, pero no había magia detrás de él. Podría haber estado enojado con mamá, pero su sonrisa nunca falla. Mamá y Nicholas habían estado en desacuerdo entre sí durante siete años, mucho antes de que él comenzó su website artes oscuras. Nadie sabía por qué comenzó su rencor, o por lo menos, nadie me estaba diciendo.
"Cálmate, Ann," dijo Nick. "Voy a estar esperando afuera." Estaba mirando a mamá mientras me habla. Torpe!
"Um, voy a estar en un poco, está bien," dije antes de cerrar la puerta.
Mamá volvió a sentarse como si nada hubiera pasado, a excepción de la rabia que irradia de ella. Yo no sabía qué hacer para hacerla sentir mejor, así que me agaché y le di un abrazo tranquilizador. Ella me abrazó con fuerza.
"¿Tiene el vial Slan", preguntó.
"Sí," dije, y saqué de dentro de mi túnica verde.
"Buena chica. Te quiero. "
"Ditto", me dijo y tomó mis maletas.
"Ten mucho cuidado, Raina."
"De ninguna manera", le dijo en broma. Ella me dio la mirada mamá y yo sonreí.
"No seas sarcástico. Las personas poco inteligentes se esconden detrás de sarcasmo ".
Asentí y salí por la puerta principal. Pues bien, este campamento había tenido un gran comienzo. Vaya, más sarcasmo. Maldita sea, tengo que ser tonto.