Posts Tagged ‘Fantasy’

Author's Roast and Toast:  Oliver has brought Tuscany to us with Italian dining, drinks and dessert! And of course there's a giveaway. Can't have a party without prizes?  Come join in on the silliness and nonsense at:  http:// authorroastandtoast.blogspot. com/

   Send article as PDF   

Hello Sunday Readers!

I hope you had a fantastic week.

The winner of the Goodreads Giveaway for SOUL TAKER is Mr. Glass! Congratulations!

May 2- May 6: I'm participating with 46 other authors in the Cowboys and Lawmen Blog Hop at KMN Books Blogspot. My post is all about TV shows featuring Cowboys. Do you remember Alias Smith and Jones? The Wild Wild West? And I'm giving away Ebook copies of WANTED AND STORM RIDERS. The Grand Prize is at least a $100.00 gift card to either Amazon or Barnes and Noble. Follow the link to KMN Books here.: http://kmnbooks.blogspot.com/

Now for Snippet Sunday. This is another snippet from Magic of the Loch. Today's snippet is continued from last week: Chapter One #3. Click here to read Chapter One #2. In Chapter One Michaela meets Alan and Hyatt for the first time.

The Wild Rose Press
Kindle
NOOK

Blurb:

Michaela Grant travels to Scotland for a holiday, knowing this vacation is her last. A medical condition threatens her life and any chance of a future—until she meets Alan MacLachlin, a man forced to exist between two worlds.

Alan is the legendary Loch Ness Monster. Once every fifty years he returns to human form in search of his soul mate, the one woman who can break his curse. He believes he has found forever with Michaela, but to claim it he must figure out how to save her life.

Michaela and Alan vow to take what time has to offer, but another threat looms. A sinister shape shifter with a vendetta against Alan is making Loch Ness his personal hunting ground. Now he’s threatening Michaela. Alan must discover who the shifter is and stop him before it’s too late.

******************************************************************************************
Set up for the snippet: Present day, Chapter One. The streets of Drumnadrochit were buzzing with the news of recent sightings of the Loch Ness Monster. Everyone wants to capture his or her own photo of the legendary creature.  The woman, Michaela is renting her cottage from, gave her the directions to where she could rent a boat for a day. Michaela is on the pier, heading toward the boat tied off at the end when a German shepherd, that is chasing a cat, comes barreling down the pier. Luckily for Michaela, Alan saves her from a falling into the loch.

Alan and Michaela exchanged some heated words, leaving Michaela thinking she doesn't care for her rescuer. this is in Michaela's POV.

******************************************************************************************

If she possessed the strength, she’d push him in the loch to cool off his hot temper. Intent on giving him an off-handed retort, her mouth opened only to clamp shut again at the sound of a deep chuckle behind her. Michaela turned her head and glared at the new arrival with the warped sense of humor.

“I’m sorry, for my brother’s behavior,” the man, who stood an inch or two taller than Hot Head next to her, announced with a meaningful glint in his eyes. Michaela became on guard. She found herself far away from the Village Green with two men. One not too pleased for company and the other who looked at her as if she were a yummy treat.

“We arnae goin’ to harm ye," the man said with a chuckle. "Might I remind ye, my brother just saved ye from an unsavory dunkin’.”

******************************************************************************************
Now Michaela has met Alan and Hyatt. Like always, I would love to know what you thought of the snippet.

If you’re a writer (regardless of published/unpublished status) come join us and share a snippet of your work in progress, a new release, or an oldie but goodie.

Participating Authors are listed at these sites: Hashtags: #SPeekSunday #8sunday #snippetsunday

http://sneak-peek-sunday.blogspot.com/

Weekend Writing Warriors for Eight Sentence Sunday

   Send article as PDF   

Soul Taker is up for the Créme de la Cover Contest! If you have the chance, I would sure appreciate your Vote! http://indtale.com/cover-contest

   Send article as PDF   

X is for XOXO or better known as Kisses and Hugs

What magic does a kiss hold? Shakespeare believed a kiss is a seal of love.

A kiss can be filled with passion, tantalizing the senses with secrets. In fairy tales, fair maidens are awakened with a kiss, and wedding vows are sealed with a kiss.

Being a romance author, kissing is a part of the story. Whether the hero or heroine is human, vampire or shape shifter, it’s all about passion overriding caution. The kiss should ignite a bone-melting fire that spreads through the blood with promises of dreams of the future.

Kissing is a part of the romance to find the one.

History of using X

Using the letter X meant as a kiss dates back to the Middle Ages. Most people in the middle ages could not read or write. An X was placed on documents, and the person would place a kiss upon it, to display their sworn oath of sincerity.

Adding the O for hugs—May have originated in North America representing arm circling around a person. The phrase “hugs and kisses’ was a common phrase in the early 1900s.

Legends of a Kiss

In Italy, a woman who kisses the armor-clad statue of Gidarello Guidarelli will marry a wonderful man.

In Ireland, people travel from all over the world to kiss the Blarney Stone. It is believed to give good fortune and the gift of eloquence.

In Germany, it is believed if spouses kiss each morning, they will earn thirty percent more money and will live five times longer than those who do not kiss.

Laws against Kissing

Iowa: a man with a mustache may never kiss a woman in public. Another law states: a Kiss may not last longer than five minutes.

Cedar Rapids, Iowa: it is a crime to kiss a stranger.

Hartford, Connecticut: It is illegal for a man to kiss his wife on Sunday.

Pennsylvania: You cannot kiss a person over 18 years old if you are younger than 18 years old.

Boston, Massachusetts: You cannot kiss in front of a church.

Wisconsin: It is illegal to kiss on a train.

In Colorado, it is against the law to kiss a sleeping woman. It was good thing Snow White and Sleeping Beauty didn’t live in Colorado or their princes would have been arrested.

Scientific Studies:

A kiss speaks your mind and the scientists believe it’s all about dopamine, neurotransmitters—the release of pheromones.  While kissing, chemicals are believed to trigger the need for closeness, giving the hard-wire impression to a woman if this person is the right mate. Gives a whole new meaning to how shape shifters find their mates.

It is also theorized that there is testosterone in men’s saliva, making females relax, happier—hmm, perhaps enticing the woman to want to be with him. And you thought Vampires had power.

Looks like kissing is a potent love potion for men and women. It’s all in the kiss. So pucker up and enjoy the magic.

In my tale The Curse of Tempest Gate, it was all about the kiss...

Do you remember your first Kiss? Was it memorable or were you glad when it was over?

Here's the list to the other A to Z Challenge participants. Have fun hopping!!

   Send article as PDF   

This is the 20th day of the A to Z Challenge.

T is for Time Travel

H.G. Wells lived in a time where thoughts of traveling to the moon were nothing but a fantasy, but he held fast to the belief that we would one day accomplish the feat. He also envisioned that we would accomplish a way to travel through time. Could he have been onto something?

In truth, we are all time travelers now. Time is the rate of change and we are constantly changing. We measure time in seconds, minutes, hours, and years. However, time doesn’t flow at the same rate. In our world time is relative. We live in the three spatial dimensions of length, width, and depth, while time is the fourth dimension. Time cannot exist without space. So space obviously cannot exist without time. Right? The two exist as one in the ‘space-time continuum’. Does anyone remember ‘Back to the Future’? Everything that happens to you, every life event, every moment, involves both time and space.

Einstein’s theory of relativity has proven time travel to the future is possible, but how about the past? Did you know when you glance at the night sky and see the Milky Way we’re looking at a width of 100,000 light-years wide? The distant stars’ light takes thousands upon thousands of years to reach Earth. So when we gaze upon this light, we are actually looking back in time.

If it were possible, would you want to time travel to the future or to the past?

List of My Time Travel Tales:

Creighton Manor (1870 Natchez) 

A Twist of Fate (1814 N.Carolina/New Orleans)

At the Stroke of Midnight (1970 Hollywood)

Lost in the Mist of Time (16th Century Ireland)

Heart of a Warrior (Travel the Isle of Skye in the fantasy short story)

Storm Riders (1800s Western Steam Punk Adventure) 

Books available at: Amazon and other online bookstores.

   Send article as PDF   

This is the 15th day of the A to Z Challenge.

P is for Paranormal Worlds

Paranormal romance touches on themes ranging from horror, fantasy and science fiction while keeping a darker Gothic feel to the story. The characters may range from human to vampires, ghosts, werewolves, shifters, witches, demons and fallen angels. Even time travel, ghosts and aliens may fall under this genre. Paranormal romance is stepping into another world to enjoy the magic of legends—new and old.

Create a Believable Paranormal World

If you’re creating a world from scratch, you’ll need rules for your preternatural beings to follow. Research legends, folklores and mythologies, to help inspire your muse. For your paranormal world to work you’ll want to create a convincing mythology to go with it. You may take an old mythology and expand upon it or you may want to rewrite your own and only touch on some of the traditional lore. Either way is fine.

It’s a great idea to keep a journal of the world you created. This is especially helpful if you’re going to write a series. The rules in your world must be followed. You don’t have state all the rules on page one of your story. You can pace and reveal throughout the tale. The important thing is to be consistent.

Here are some examples to keep in mind for your character building:

Where did they come from?

Do they have powers?

Are they soul survivors of a species?

How have they learned to live among the humans?

What laws do they have?

Do they have an enemy that could destroy them? 

Again, consistency is crucial. Establish the rules and stick with them. Building your paranormal world is the fun part. Keep it fresh and reveal your secrets gradually. It’ll give your characters a chance to grow and it will give the readers a reason to keep reading.

A few of my paranormal tales:

Fallen Angels

   Send article as PDF   

STOP BY AMAZON FOR Wee bit of Magic for St. Patrick's Day!

Lá fhéile Pádraig sona dhuit! Happy St. Patrick’s Day to You!

   Send article as PDF   

Yep, it's that time of the year again. If you haven't voted yet, stop by P&E Reader's Poll and cast your votes!

Thanks so much! I so appreciate the support!!
Don't forget you have to confirm the vote when P&E sends you an email or else the vote does not count.

I'm open to suggestions, too. Let me know about your book(s). You can email me at: kmnbooks @ yahoo dot com (no spaces)
Karen

   Send article as PDF