Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Interview with Jeff LaFerney

We have author Jeff LaFerney here with us at Writer's Rendezvous this week talking about himself and his writing. Drop a comment below and you could win a free ebook of one of his titles!


Loving the Rain


Tell us a little bit about yourself. What do you write? Why?
I am a married father of two who teaches junior high English full time.  I write a series of suspense/mysteries about my two heroes with parapsychological abilities.

If you could be any one of your characters, who would you choose?
I would be Clay Thomas.  He’s a morally good man who wisely controls the use of his gifts and unselfishly uses them to help other people.

What is your creative process like? Do you need music to write? Silence?
I can write in practically any environment, but at my desk is the most comfortable with distractions closed off and music down low.

What is a guilty pleasure of yours?
I like popcorn with lots of salt and butter and Mountain Dew to wash it down.

What inspires you?
Smiles from others and words of encouragement inspire me.  I like to know that I’ve made others smile, but I also appreciate it when others lift me up too.

What is one of your worst pet peeves?
I really don’t like certain grammar errors:  Examples are “I seen it…it don’t matter…I’ll read them books…I don’t have none.”

Describe what a perfect day would be for you.
My perfect day would have to be 24 hours long without rest necessary so I could accomplish more than usual.  I’d read, write, play, laugh, watch a great movie, spend time with my closest friends, and spend some quiet time alone.  I’d eat my favorite foods, watch my son score 30 points, talk for a while with my daughter, and…

If you could bring any fictional character to life, yours or anyone else’s, who would you pick?
My favorite character of all time is Edward Pierce from Michael Crichton’s The Great Train Robbery, but he was actually not fictional, so I’d say Spenser from Robert B. Parker’s series.

If you could shape-shift, what animal would you turn into and why?
My vision of Heaven includes large, wild cats as pets, like lions, tigers, panthers, etc.  I want one.  Of those, I think I’d want to be a cheetah because they’re so fast.  :)

Where can we find you and your work around the web?
Author page on facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jeff-LaFerney/139308736084156
Webpage with links to my books:  http://jefflaferney.com/
Amazon page:  http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Jeff+LaFerney
Publishers website with links to purchase my books:  http://www.worldcastlepublishing.com/home.html

Sunday, July 22, 2012

Check these titles out!

 

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Gordon Force only had two weeks to go on his job. He was going to be working with his brother Dallas in keeping their alpha safe. But he had a favor to fulfill, a shop to visit and only a question or two to ask. He never expected four kids, two goofy aunts and his mate to walk into his life.

Alexis Dark was hiding. Her brother-in-law was a real piece of work and she knew he'd killed his wife, her sister. But no one wanted to believe that he had done it. The marks on the body were too consistent with that of an animal not a human they'd told her. Well she knew better.

When Gordon went to her house to speak to her again she met him at her door smelling like soap, shampoo and oh so lovely sex.

She closed her eyes to the almost purr of his voice. It was hypnotic and the most soothing thing she'd ever heard in her life. When she found herself pressed against him she looked up into his eyes suddenly very afraid and very needy.

"Don't," she said as he lowered his head to hers. "Please, don't."

"Too late." He brushed his mouth over hers once then pulled back to look at her again. "Christ, it's you." This time when he took her mouth, it was to devour her.



 

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 Sydney was nothing if not direct. She was a captain in the military and had been sent on another assignment. Being in the Army was her life. She was one of Cain's sisters. On a fateful mission, Sin was injured and left for dead but it wasn't how the stars were aligned for her life to end. She had been shot 5 times on her right side, once in the right shoulder, and in her belly. The outcome didn't look good for her. Once recovered as best as she could be, she went to stay at one of Cain's and Alyssa's homes to decide what was left of her life and what she should do.

Payton Cooperider was a detective and a good one at that but someone wanted him dead and would do anything to make that happen. He'd been shot in the gut and was now waiting for the lights to go out on his life when he made a phone call for someone to come to his rescue. While in the hospital, plans were made between him and his mother for him to go to Ohio to recuperate. His mom's cousin, Thomas Miller had made arrangements for him to stay at one of Cain's homes to get well while an investigation was going on for his attempted murder.

After out running late at night, Sin stopped an intruder and managed to hurt her knee again. Back at the hospital she has her first encounter with her new roommate, Coop. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

But someone is still out to get Coop and Sydney has a high price over her head. How are they going to be tied into each other's lives? Will Coop still want Sydney when he finds out that she can't give him what he wants?

Join us in the third installment of the Waite family.

 

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 Kathryn Broussard has managed her life with dignity and an I know you have feelings, but I'm coming through anyway attitude. She exudes confidence and control over the land much as a reigning queen rules her court. Her main focus-Grace, her daughter. Although grown, Grace depends on her mother's razor sharp decision-making ability for everything. All is well in the land of dysfunctional mother-daughterhood until the unthinkable happens. Kathryn dies. With her mother now gone, Grace is forced to manage her own life for the first time. And Kathryn must find a way to maintain control of her daughter, even though unusual circumstances from the "Other Side" present a fair share of obstacles to overcome.

A mother's love, however dysfunctional, is a force to be reckoned with.

 

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The choices that you make today are the ones you will live with forever. As I drive through many different cemeteries you will hear the voices of those behind these stones. Some are old and worn while others are just beginning to fade as the memories of those teens whose names are on the stones. Bad Choices are made when teens become despondent, feel all alone, do not fit in or even just want to become popular at any cost to themselves or others. The ground is flat and filled with mold and mildew on some of the plots and stones while others are covered with moss. The newer graves that have just been dug have no bushes or grass as the occupants have just arrived and their graves have yet to settle. Get in the back seat of the limo and join the driver and find out just why each of these teens wound up behind the many different stones in the many different cemeteries you will be visiting. Bad Choices: we all make them but some are more costly than others. Open the door the driver is waiting and maybe you won't wind up as a face behind the stones. 

Monday, July 16, 2012

Hot new titles to sizzle your summer!

 

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A cursed lineage. A secret magic. A destiny that neither one of them could have predicted.

When Elkliss Keep is rampaged by her sinister Uncle Simeon, Lysandra lost everything she had ever known or loved within a heartbeat. Destiny catapults her into a life she could never have foreseen; a life filled with an unquenchable desire for a man, whose aloof people harbor a secret almost as dangerous as her own.

When Aiden first sets eyes on Lysandra, the beast inside will not be fulfilled until he possesses her. He soon he realizes that Lysandra could be the one true mate that would make his cursed life easier to live.



   

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Immerse yourself in the thrilling adventure of a young woman who is thrown into an ancient mystery that forces her to question everything she knows about her life and her family.

A powerful, secret organization.

An audacious scheme.

Questionable loyalties.

And the priceless talisman of Charlemagne.

Josie Ersman escapes a life of deception in America to make a fresh start in Germany. But she soon finds that her new world is more dangerous than the one she left behind.

Her German employer plans to clone Charlemagne, the greatest medieval king, and install him at the head of the European Union. But there is an age old secret concerning who is buried in Charlemagne's tomb. Will they attempt to clone the magnificent monarch or an evil imposter?

Through no choice of her own Josie finds herself at the center of their bold experiment and a lightning rod for danger. She turns to an exciting Englishman, who has ties to her employer and its adversaries. Their attraction is immediate and undeniable, but can she trust this enigmatic man?

With peril at every turn and enemies chasing her from country to country, across continents, Josie uncovers clues that will solve the twelve hundred year old mystery of Charlemagne...a puzzle that has ramifications for every person living on the European continent.

Long Live the King is a suspense-filled novel that will keep you guessing until the very last page!


 

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In the not too distant future a young woman bears witness to the end of her world.

Earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions rock the planet, reducing cities to smoking rubble, burying entire islands and coastlines beneath cataclysmic waves.

Religious fervor and human evil erupt and entwine, becoming a maelstrom of madness in the days after, bringing with it the horror of apocalyptic war.

As a population in the depths of despair struggles to overcome insurmountable odds, can a single glimmer of hope flare into a beacon for the survivors?

This is her tale...the world is ours...and now, it's STORY TIME.

   

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A ragged band of vampires are cutting a bloody path of destruction from Alaska to Washington State! As frost turns the leaves gold and paints the high mountain treetops silver, hundreds of hunters arrive in Swan Valley for their annual deer hunt. What they don't know is an outcast band of vampires have arrived, as well. Raphael Goldhawk, king of the high vampire council, has decreed the taking of human life unlawful. Raul Stannard, an ancient enemy of the half-human king, is determined to overthrow the council, even if it means the exposure and eventual annihilation of the vampire race. Four people, a Ferry County forest ranger (Roger Atley), an Indian spirit-walker (Harley Truefeather), and a young married couple (Brian and Holly Jensen), are about to be caught up in an ancient power struggle, and in a love affair as old as time itself. This novel combines ancient history with modern times, in an epic show-down between good and evil, love and hate. Grab your camping gear and hold on tight! It's time for DETOUR TO DUSK!

   

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Bruno returns to his pack only to find utter devastation. The woman he loves is all alone and there is an evil creeping in the darkness of the forest. Being a God fearing werewolf, he takes it upon himself to confront the evil and drive it back to hell.Serena’s heart is tied to an outlaw. All her life she has been an outcast. Evil is tormenting her and the pack. Her only hope is her motorcycle riding, biker werewolf, Bruno. Together they will face their nightmares and goodness will prevail.

Monday, July 9, 2012

Interview with Bret Jordan


 We have Bret Jordan with us today talking about his work and his life. Drop a comment below and have a chance to win a free ebook copy of his story The Haunted Brothel! 


 


WR: Tell us a little bit about yourself. What do you write? Why?

 B: In elementary school, more years ago than I would like to count, I picked up a book my grandmother had read to my grandfather. He was a quadriplegic, so I imagine books and movies filled in the time on some very long days. The book was The Hobbit. I was hooked on the first page. Once I’d read The Hobbit, I devoured The Lord of the Rings and then anything I could get my hands on. My love of books started out with Fantasy, then Science Fiction, Horror, Westerns, just about anything I could get my hands on. I often read during lunch, after school, before bed, I took every opportunity I could get to immerse myself in another world. By the time college rolled around I wanted to be a writer, unfortunately life took my in a different path for several decades. I made a living by programming computers, married a wonderful woman, and had four daughters before I decided to tackle writing again.

I began with short stories of horror submitted for e-zines, and anthologies. As I wrote my new stories became more involved and longer, and they slowly took on a fantasy element as I got back to my childhood roots. Today I write fantasy stories with a twist of horror, and often a bit of romance.

WR: If you could be any one of your characters, who would you choose?

B: Several years ago I wrote a story about a druid who has an affair with a dryad. It was a short novella length story that had a sad ending. A year after writing the story I returned to the druid and dryad’s world and gave them a daughter named Shaylee. She was a young girl on the brink of womanhood. Unlike other women her transition from child to woman brought about an unexpected change as her dryad side emerged. Shaylee: Druid’s Daughter was a sweet tale about change, people, friends, and magic. This story was followed a year later by Shaylee: Druid’s Staff. Shaylee is a young adult in this tale and she is coming into her own as far as her powers are concerned. Writing about Shaylee over the last few years was like watching a child grow up, and she is a character that I have a soft spot for. She is a troubled girl, but centered and ready to deal with whatever comes her way. Of all the characters I’ve written about I think Shaylee is the one I would choose, not only because of her special abilities, but because of her personality, and her desire to overcome any challenge that comes her way.

WR: What is your creative process like? Do you need music to write? Silence?

B: My stories begin with notes scratched on everything from paper napkins to receipts. I like to think about a story for a good while and make sure all the pieces fit before I start. My notes and initial ideas aren’t set in stone, but they give me a solid foundation to start with. Once my notes are taken and the story has a solid form in my mind I begin the rough draft on my iPad. Each evening I write a thousand words or so and when I’m ready to call it quits for the night I send the document to my computer to add what I’ve done to a rich text file. Months later, when the story has completely written on my iPad and transferred over to my computer I begin to go back over it. I add ideas that I jotted down while writing - I often think of details later that I have to go back and fill in. I also do what editing I can and make sure the story has good flow. I repeat this process several times until I’m satisfied the story is what I want it to be. Once I’m a happy camper I button it up and send it on to the publisher.

While writing I’m one of those guys who has to be completely focused on the story. No background music for me. I try to time my writing for when the kids are in bed or otherwise occupied, so things are as quiet as they can possibly be. 

WR: What is a guilty pleasure of yours?

B: I’m not sure how guilty I feel about it, but I suppose if I had to say I had a ‘guilty pleasure’ it would be beer. I like dark beers, such as Guinness. I like having a beer or two while watching a movie, or reading a book.

WR: What inspires you?

B: Of all the questions, this one is probably the most difficult. It’s not because I’m hard to inspire, it’s because I can be inspired by darned near anything. Driving in the car and listening to music might bring on a stray thought that gives me inspiration. Mowing the yard might get my brain working toward an inspiring story idea. I suppose the common theme here is doing something that is monotonous so that I can crawl inside my head and just think.

WR: What is one of your worst pet peeves?

B: You know how, when your driving your car, and the passenger reaches over and changes the radio station? That would probably be my worst pet peeve. I don’t mind if someone asks to change the station before they do it, but it’s just darned rude to do it without asking. I think this pet peeve comes from when I worked construction and car pooled with another guy. He not only changed the radio station to music that I absolutely hated, but he went through my glove compartment, and just generally fiddled with everything he could. I kept my cool and just fumed until one day he reached over and honked my horn at a girl he didn’t know as we were passing. At that point I had no choice but to say something…and I remember saying a lot.

WR: Describe what a perfect day would be for you.

B:A perfect day for me would be a day where I ride my motorcycle a couple of hour to the lake and meet up with my family. At the lake I would take a hike with the kids and read a good book under a tree. That evening I would sit by a campfire with my wife and enjoy a few beers while visiting with her and the kids.

WR: If you could bring any fictional character to life, yours or anyone else’s, who would you pick?

I’m sure nostalgia is playing harder here than anything else because I’ve got three names in my head on this question: Allanon from The Sword of Shannara, Gandolf from The Lord of the Rings, and Duncan Idaho from Dune. All three of the characters were introduced to me in my earliest reading years and they seem to have stuck the hardest. Of the three I would have to choose Allanon. He’s a mysterious, brooding druid and he’s been with me so long and I’ve read the books so many times he almost feels like a family member now. LOL

WR: If you could shape-shift, what animal would you turn into and why?

B: I think I would turn into a hawk. Having the ability to fly would be awesome, and they look so noble and strong, like they could stand up to anything and come through it unscathed.

WR: Where can we find you and your work around the web?

B: Many of my books are available through the Amazon.com, Barnes and Nobles online, Smashwords, and through purplesword.com and dopamalovibooks.com. If you check out my website at bretjordan.com you can find links to all my books in the writing section of the site. I’m also on facebook at facebook.com/bret.Jordan.

Monday, July 2, 2012

Whimsical Publications' Author of the Week: Destiny Booze



About Destiny: Destiny Booze grew up at a campground in Virginia where her childhood was full of hard work. There was also an element of excitement as she met a large variety of diverse people with widespread tales about fun and adventure. She grew into a young lady with a very active imagination.

Destiny attended Virginia Western Community College for two years. Her writing career began as a community journalist, yet creative writing was always her passion. In May of 2009, she released her debut romantic suspense novel, Altered Beginnings.

Other titles by Destiny Booze: Predetermined Endings (2009), The Curse of a Mind (2010).

Destiny resides in Botetourt County, Virginia with her husband, son and house full of pets where she strives to be the best wife, mother and writer that she can be. Her family is always priority number one. Other things of great importance to her are friends, and YOU, the readers!

Find her here: http://www.destinybooze.com/


And check out her book Altered Beginnings!
 
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The headline in the small town newspaper read Girl Missing, Presumed Dead or Worse.

Leigh Lawson returned to Nags Head, North Carolina after four years with a huge shock. That big and bold headline was about her! Everyone thought she was dead!

The truth was that she was doing well. While gone, she had gotten clean from drugs and worked hard to get her
bachelor’s degree in engineering. With her life back on track, she returns home in hope that she will receive a warm welcome. Instead, she gets the townsfolks' disdain.

Everyone hates her, everyone except Jason Altarez, an ambitious and resilient reporter with his sights locked on
Leigh. He chases her with oozing charm and romance, but does he really want her or is he after his next story?

Leigh’s life soon spirals out of control when the police recruit her for an undercover assignment. They want her to go back to the life of her troubled teenage years, back into the drugs, and help them to bring the local drug supplier to conviction. It may be Leigh’s only chance to redeem herself with her family and friends. If she can complete this one assignment, the town will forgive her. The only problem is that she needs to figure out how to stay alive in the process…

Jason is her continuous partner through it all, proving his dedication to her as he struggles to keep her safe. Leigh
wants to believe he is a man of his word. She wants to believe that her heart isn’t completely foolish for falling for him, especially when she discovers evidence that Jason may be working for the very drug dealer that Leigh is trying to have arrested. Will he betray her in the end or will he demonstrate the most romantic notion of all – that love at first sight truly exists?

Sci-fi Goodness....Check these titles out!

 

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What would you do in a world where everything is legal and the laws in place don't protect anyone but the rich? What would you do if you could be bought and sold on a whim? What would you do if your sister was kidnapped by a vicious cult of raiders? If the option to genetically splice your body to become stronger, faster, or more intelligent were available, would you use it? What makes a human a human? Where are the lines?

Several decades after a nuclear catastrophe rocked the globe only two bastions of civilization stand secure on the planet. Amongst the technology and the relative peace and serenity, though, lies a darkness that is kept anything but secret. The government allows the rich to victimize the poor and large corporations to kidnap people like guinea pigs for their experiments.

Two corporations seek to overthrow the governments and reach for global domination. Meanwhile, three unlikely heroes are seeking change, each one for their own purpose. Can they stop the change that is to come before it is too late or will they fail, dooming the earth to slavery at the hands of these evil corporations?

When the government finally intervenes, will it be for the benefit of all humanity, or just themselves? Whose side would you pick? Who will win?

 

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Soon to be a motion picture...

It's the near future hell of global warming and the world is burning up. Nicole Sky can't take it anymore. The water rationing, the stifling heat, her frazzled parents arguing in the other room . . . . It's all too much for her, and she runs outside to escape her misery. It's no better outside. Smoke from uncontrollable fires billows in the air. Sirens wail in the distance. Lawns are dead from lack of water. Nicole finds a tree to take shelter from the blazing sun when a strange, nearly featherless bird scratches on the ground nearby, revealing a gold pocket watch buried under some scattered twigs. Nicole soon discovers that it's no ordinary watch. The watch face has odd symbols on it and sixteen blue buttons instead of a clock face and hands. Fired with curiosity, Nicole presses one of the strange buttons and a blue light engulfs her. Before she knows it, she's no longer on Earth but instead on a strange world of twin suns and mist-like alien flowers. Nicole is scared and disoriented, but it's cool, and it's such a relief to her, to be freed from the oppressive heat of Earth! She's curious, so she begins to explore. And when Nicole encounters a magnificent flaming bird a phoenix she knows that there is quite an adventure ahead of her. Soon she meets Lily, a sweet-natured, purple-furred alien, who reveals their whereabouts as Lunara, a planet far from Earth. Together, they set out for adventure but are soon caught in a terrifying storm. A flash of lightning guides them safely to a small cottage called The Various Doohickey Place. The establishment's shopkeeper Madam Banda has dark secrets of her own. Venturing off on their journey once again, Nicole and Lily are beset by the Omenra, an evil race of aliens bent on galactic conquest. Led by General Malkior Taggerath, the Omenra send an assassin on Nicole's trail. She and Lily are saved from certain death by shadowy Diu of the Airioth rebel faction. Diu soon reveals that it was he who left the gold watch, a teleporter called the Galactera, back on Earth. But even more, he informs Nicole that Earth is in grave danger in just one month, the Terranova, an Omenra-engineered weapon of mass destruction, will destroy her home world. After learning of the war between the Omenra Empire and the Airioth rebellion force that is tearing the galaxy apart, Nicole and her newfound allies set out on a quest to collect four enchanted artifacts mystical crystals with the power to destroy the Terranova in which dwell the enchantments of water, air, fire, and earth. Now, chosen by fate, guided by destiny, and driven by a prophecy in which she does not believe, Nicole must embark upon a perilous journey, ally with a dangerous force, and unravel the secrets of the Galactera to find a way back home. Because Earth has a deadline.