Six Sentence Sunday 12/30

I've been thinking all week about what six I should use. Finally, I decided I'd pick six from one of my oldest MS's, Dancing in the Athenian Rain. I first wrote it when I was seventeen, and it has been through one rewrite since then, and I'm about to start another rewrite on it soon, after some awesome feedback from Leigh Statham. This is a story that has held my heart since the very beginning, and has remained as my favorite MS over the years.
So, on to the good stuff! Eighteen-year-old Donna, who is the epitome of an Aussie stereotype in appearance - sandy hair, blue eyes, splattering of freckles across her nose - wakes up to find herself in Classical Athens where she stands out like a sore thumb. She doesn't know a lick of the language and only has a vague understanding of the culture from her high school history classes. The locals call her an "Amazonian Warrior" because of her strange appearance and speech. She is at risk of being put to death for this, until the young nobleman and soldier, Peleus, steps in...

I scurried toward the window and he rushed after me, grabbing me by the waist. “No, no, Amazon.”

I struggled against him, but he held me tighter the harder I fought. I soon began to cry, and stopped fighting. His arms loosened, but he held me up as I cried out of pure desperation. He lifted me and sat me back on the bed as I cried into my hands. 

Why Do You Write?

This is part of a blog hop I was tagged in by Aeriela Bronson. So to answer the question, why do I write?
Well I just want to. I've always dreamed up fanatical alternate realities, and my first story Iwrote was when I was twelve, and that story which was around 25,000 words turned into a four book series I wrote in my early teen years. Since then I just wrote down all my daydreams and such. During my 9-12th grade exams where we were crammed into the freezing cold (mid year) or sweltering hot (end of year) school hall, I would do my exam, and instead of leaving when I was done I'd sit and write down my daydreams. I lived a busy life with being involved in several sports, church, school and state choir, plus all the insane school work my "academically selective" high school forced us to do and of course my vice, boys, so the few minutes at the end of my exam time slot was a perfect quiet time to do something I enjoyed but rarely had time to do.
So now I have a kid I have 2-3 hours each afternoon of quiet time to write and I love it! After several years of not doing any, since having my little one, nap times have given me the opportunity to get back into it. I started by typingup old ones as I hand wrote all of them up until recently, then I finished unfinished works, then I worked on old ideas that never took. ie. the Kiya series.
So, I love doing it. While I drive and walk and everything else I do, I run my characters around with me, letting them talk to me and keep me company and also give me adult conversations in my head (not out loud, I'm nto completely crazy) when I only have a two year old to talk to.


So if you want to do this, just send me your link and I'll attach it at the bottom of this post!

Now,
1. go post your answer to “Why do you write” on your own blog.
2. Link to my answer and
3. then leave a comment linking to your blog post.
4. Copy and paste these instructions to the end of your post so more people can join our fun!

Six Sentence Sunday 12/23

Today I'm going to post six from my current WIP, Deceptive Cadence. Cadence, the MC has been sent back eleven years earlier to be fourteen again. She is at a school dance with her best friend, Geri, and Geri dares her to dance like a Britney Spears video clip for five bucks. So she does, and catches the attention of a bad boy who she never interacted with in her previous timeline...

I spun and saw a guy from the grade above us pull back and smirk at me. Behind him his friends burst out laughing.

I grabbed Geri’s arm and blushed. “Let’s go somewhere else.”

“Hey, where you goin’?” he called after me. “We just barely got started!”

The Next Big Thing

I was tagged for this blog hop by Aeriela Bronson. So since I'm not one to really go on much, I'm just going to tell you this is going to have 2 stories: One which is signed and one which I'm looking at maybe querying soon.

HERE ARE THE QUESTIONS -  Ten Interview Questions for The Next Big Thing:

What is the working title of your book?

- Kiya: Hope of the Pharaoh

- Branded

 

Where did the idea come from for the book?

- Ancient History class in high school. We were studying the late 18th Egyptian Dynasty and I was just fascinated with all the people.

- This one started with an English short story. We were given a picture of an open field with canola's in full bloom. It was beautiful and serene, so I threw dead bodies in it and made a twenty-something girl who is being hunted fall into them. HA! My teacher thought I was a sadist and sent me to see the school councilor.

What genre does your book fall under?

- NA Historical Romance

- NA Suspence Romance

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

- Ahh... the only actor I can actually see in this as a movie is Djimon Hounsou - 

Here's the thing, he'd only play like a ten second role at the very beginning as the Nubian soothsayer! But, when I wrote that scene I totally pictured him as the character.

But... now that I'm googling African male actors (Egyptians were dark skinned so the actors would naturally have to be of African descent) I think this man, Joe Morton, looks similar to how I pictured Ay according to the statues and art work which I found of him.

Also now that I'm looking, this particular picture of Rose Byrne screams Mordad.

So, I know that's not my biggest characters, Naomi/Kiya, Malachi, Akhenaten and Horemheb, but I just kind find anyone whom I think matches them.

- Now for Branded. For Ali, the MC I think Teresa Palmer would work really well. She's naturally pretty and can kick butt when she wants to, and Ali's Aussie so naturally an Aussie actress is necissary.

 

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

- Naomi is taken from her Hebrew home in the place of her sisters and becomes a wife of the Pharaoh Akenaten, where her life becomes a fight to stay alive.

- Her country has been invaded, and Ali finds herself the target of the conquering General after she escapes a death sentence right under his nose.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

Kiya is being published with Curiosity Quills.

Branded is still up in the air, but I won't self-pub

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

Oh... hmm... both of them probably about a month from start to finish once I stopped throwing the ideas around in my brain for several years.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

Ah Kiya? I'm not really sure.

Branded is definitely comparable to the Tomorrow When the War Began series in a NA format.

Who or What inspired you to write this book?

- Ah... my Ancient History lessons...

- I have no idea actually. I'm just secretly violent.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

- Kiya has a lot of passion and love on many different levels, romantic, family, respect. It's very human.

- Branded makes you question what you see around you, and makes you see that not everyone fits a stereotype and a hero can come from the most unlikely of places.


And I tag....

Darci Cole

Ryan Dalton 

Christi Cluff Gray 

Trisha Schmidt 


And a late post from one of my Aussie comrades which will go up on the 2nd - Cassandra Page

Dating Game Blog Hop

I will be featuring Naomi and Malachi from my NA Historical Romance soon to be published with Curiosity Quills - Kiya: Hope of the Pharaoh.

Tells us about a memorable experience you shared together.

Naomi - When we first met, I was surprised and relieved to find another Hebrew in the Egyptian palace. But I think I may have frightened him when a Queen of Egypt ran her hand through his hair.

Malachi - I never would have guessed a Hebrew woman would be the greatly anticipated Queen Kiya. But even shaved and with the heavy Egyptian makeup smeared down her face from her tears, she was still beautiful to me.

What would your character do if the one they wanted was terrified of their feelings and pushed them away?

Naomi - I think I would be heartbroken. My feelings for Malachi gave me hope when times got rough.

Malachi - Considering we both had to because our feelings meant death, I had to be very patient and understanding about the possibility of unreciprocated feelings.

What is one of the roadblocks standing in the way of you getting together?

Naomi - I'm married.

Malachi - She's married to the Pharaoh.

 How would how would your characters describe the other person, using only one word at a time?  

 Naomi - Oh...

Malachi - Courageous

Naomi - My...

Malachi - Smart

Naomi - Holy...

Malachi - Virtuous

Naomi - HOTNESS!

Malachi - Seriously? That's what you're going with?

Naomi - What? You're incredibly good looking.

Malachi - I just... never mind.

What was the first thing your main characters noticed about each other?

Naomi - His hair. Since mine was shaved off I couldn't help touching it since it was so similar to how mine had been.

Malachi - Her courage. She walked out on the Pharaoh because she didn't want to share his bed with three concubines. She could have been killed for that.

Thanks!

Thanks to everyone who dropped by today and for all the new followers! Thanks you guys for making me feel so loved!

Just a little update: We have a goal date to have Kiya: Hope of the Pharaoh released by. So be ready, by the 30th of April 2013 my baby should be on the shelves loving the world.
I've also been assigned a cover artist, so sometime before the end of the year that should be in process too! So a great big thanks to the Curiosity Quills team for all their support and hard work! <3

And You Are...? Blog Hop

1. How many speeding tickets have you gotten?
Just one... remarkably.

2. Can you pitch a tent?
Sure can! Old school and dome.

3. What was your worst vacation ever?
 I can't think of one.

4. What was the last thing you bought over $100?
A laptop... which I promptly broke three weeks later :-(

5. We're handing you the keys to what?
My own airplane.I need a free pass to Australia! I need to go home every once in a while

6. What was the last meal you cooked that made even you sick?
My husband usually cooks... so ah... I think fish fillets. But we went out for our anniversary earlier this year and we were both so sick from food poisoning the next day that we had to have someone else watch our kid.

7. Fill in the blank: Oh my gosh! Becky, look at her butt! It is so big. She looks like  ____?
The moon lander would get it confused for the moon and land on it.Yeah I couldn't think of anything better.

8. What was your first car?
A '97 Mitsubishi Mirage. Great car. Speedy car... it's remarkable I didn't get more than one ticket, because after I crashed it I simple bought the 2002 model. So much fun in one little car... I'd still have it if I lived in Aus :-(

9. Your best friend falls and gets hurt. Do you ask if he/she's okay or laugh first?
It depends on if he fell with style or not, but I think either way I would laugh because I know he would laugh at me.

10. What's the worst song ever?
Oh man there are too many!I'm pretty anti country though.

Six Sentence Sunday 12/2

This is from my MS Branded. It's where the MC meets the character I designed specifically to counter the antagonist, the General. She's talking to him while being held naked waiting for the General to arrive...

. “So, since we go way back, why don’t you let me go? Say I overpowered you or something.”

He shook his head as he gazed at his feet. “No, I like staying alive.”

“Is that why you joined them? You filthy traitor.”

Six Sentence Sunday 11/25/12

Today I'm going to post an excerpt from my current WIP Deceptive Cadence. I'm going to do two books for it, and it's about a 25yo woman, named Cadence, who's husband and daughter are killed in an earthquake and she is sent back to being fourteen to try to save them. So, here's a little bit from the beginning!

He beamed. “I knew that would interest you. Would you like to go back several years with the knowledge that you have and redo events which you regret?”

He had my complete attention. “Of course.”

“Well then, here’s your chance.”

Winner

The winner of my IOU giveaway for the Black Friday Blog Hop is BLHmistress. Congrats, and I'll email and keep you posted with the details.

Black Friday Blog Hop

Black Friday Blog Hop

I don't have much to give away, but I can offer a copy of my first novel a NA historical romance "Kiya: Hope of the Pharaoh" when it comes out. Call it an IOU. I will choose it randomly from the comments. I'll put all the names in a hat.... the old school way!

Being Australian, I haven't really experienced much in the way of Black Friday. My first year living in the US I didn't even know it existed, and my second year I wondered why so many of my friends were talking about going to Walmart at midnight and waiting in line until 3am! I had also given birth about a week earlier so hitting the stores was not on the top of my "To-do" list.
Last year thought, my family was over for my little girl's first birthday. My sister came along too and seeing all the great bargains advertised she decided to combine it with an awesome exchange rate and spend some money. So, we went to Walmart at 10pm, managed to avoid a fight which had a gun involved, and she bought a few items she wanted.
Then we had to wait for the other stores to open at midnight. We hit Jack-in-the-box for a sugar boost, and chilled out until we decided it was time to jump in a line. Lines are definitely the main event on Black Friday. Once we were in the store, she only took a few minutes to pick some things out, but then we were in another line for about two hours. By the end I was about to pass out, being an old fart now I have a kid, so we headed home so I could get a few hours sleep before my child woke me.
I think I'll just stick to online Black Friday sales for a while.

My Favorite Commercial right now!

This one is awesome! I think it's pretty self explanatory, and Disney did a great job with it. Props to them. Enjoy!