Monday, June 29, 2015

Ghost of Death *shivers* and IWSG

You all know how I love my ghosties, so I'm thrilled to have Chrys Fey here today with a guest post in celebration of her new release, Ghost of Death!

It's also (almost) Insecure Writer's Support Group Day so I'm going to combine the two. Gotta have some good stuff (Chrys's new release) along with my same old insecurities!

My last few posts for the IWSG have been about the lack of time, the stress of not writing, and lots of studying of the craft. And so nothing has changed. It's a slowing down and learning year for me. I've given myself permission. Right now I'm taking the James Patterson Master Class (we received a copy of his outline of Honeymoon! Eeep! It's 27 pages long and I can't wait to dig in.)

But moving on...

For more information on the Insecure Writer's Support Group, click on the link.

 
Ever give yourself permission to take a step back?
 
How's your writing going?
 
***
 
And now on to the best part of this post,
 
Chrys Fey!


I love to watch ghost movies, specifically ones about real ghosts...not poltergeists or evil entities. Real ghosts are the kind of ghosts I also like to write about, like Jolie Montgomery in Ghost of Death, my newest short story. For fun, I am sharing my top ten favorite ghosts from fiction.

My Top Ten Favorite Ghosts:
1. Casper
2. The Grey Lady (Harry Potter)
3. The Ghosts from A Christmas Carol (Past, Present, and Future)
4. Sam Wheat (Ghost)
5. Susie Q (Played by Amy Jo Johnson)
6. Penny Halliwell (Charmed)
7. Barbara Maitland (Beetlejuice)
8. Ellen Rimbauer (Rose Red)
9. Samara Morgan (The Ring 1 + 2)
10. Bloody Mary


QUESTION: Do you have a favorite ghost?

 
Title: Ghost of Death
Author: Chrys Fey
Genre: Supernatural/Suspense
Format: eBook Only
Page Count: 41 (short story)
Release Date: April 22nd, 2015
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press

Blurb:

Jolie Montgomery, a twenty-one-year-old woman, wakes up in an alley next to her corpse. She has no memories of her murder or the night she died. She didn’t even see the killer’s face before he or she took her life. Wanting justice, Jolie seeks answers in the only way a ghost can...by stalking the lead detective on the case.

Avrianna Heavenborn is determined to find the person responsible for a young woman’s death. She gets closer to the killer’s identity with every clue she uncovers, and Jolie is with her every step of the way.

But if they don’t solve her murder soon, Jolie will be an earth-bound spirit forever.


Book Links:

Excerpt:

            With the sound of her mom’s grief wafting up to her, Jolie came to terms with her present state. I’m dead and now my mom knows it. She eyed the door in front of her. She hadn’t yet walked through a door, but if her hand could pass through metal then she knew she could move through wood.
     If I have to be a ghost then I’ll be a damn good one. All across the afterlife I’ll be known as the Ghost of Death! And I’m going to start by walking through this damn door!
            She would’ve taken a deep breath to brace herself if she could have, so she mentally pumped herself up instead. You can do it! Easy-peasy. Nothing to it. And she took a step forward. Solid matter slipped around and through her form. On the other side, a familiar site confronted her: a black and white bed, the bright green shag carpet in the middle of the room, and a white desk.
            Stepping up to her desk, Jolie eyed her ancient desktop computer, the one she used before her dad gifted her with a laptop when she announced she was accepted to the local university. Wanting to send out the first ever tweet from the afterlife, she pushed the button to bring the device to life, but her finger poker straight through it. Resigning to her Twitter-less fate, she moved toward the full-length mirror hanging on the wall. She saw nothing. Not even a shimmer in the air hinted at her presence.
            Being a ghost sucks!


Also Available:


Blurb:

Detective Reid Sanders doesn’t believe in the supernatural, but when he’s faced with a crime scene that defies the laws of nature, he has no other choice but to start believing. And solving a magical murder involves working with a witch.

Liberty Sawyer embodies the look of your classic evil witch, so, it’s no surprise when she uncovers the murderer is a witch that she becomes Reid’s number one suspect. If she can’t convince him otherwise, more people could lose their lives to dark magic, including her.

Book Links:


BIO:

Chrys Fey is the author of Hurricane Crimes and 30 Seconds. She is currently working on the sequel to Hurricane Crimes that’ll serve as book two in the Disaster Crimes series.

When Fey was six years old, she realized her dream of being a writer by watching her mother pursue publication. At the age of twelve, she started writing her first novel, which flourished into a series she later rewrote at seventeen. Fey lives in Florida where she is waiting for the next hurricane to come her way.

You can connect with her on Facebook and her blog, Write with Fey. She loves to get to know her readers! 


Author Links: 
Facebook / Blog / Website / Goodreads

Thank you all for visiting and hopefully commenting. ;)


Wednesday, June 3, 2015

IWSG, Nightmares and Backworlds


It's the first Wednesday of the month and that means it's Insecure Writer's Support Group day. If you want to join this awesome group, go HERE. Thanks to Alex Cavanaugh for hosting this monthly event and a big shout out to all who help make this event happen every month.

Also, welcome to what has become my monthly blog post. Sad, but true, it seems. I don't want to post if I can't comment and return visits. And since I've had to prioritize, if it's a choice between working on my next novel and blogging, then the novel writing wins. I know you can all relate.

When I win the Time Lotto, I'll do more blogging.

So on to my insecurity. I'm actually feeling pretty good about what I'm doing. I've read several books on craft recently and have a couple of outlines started. I need to get more organized and combine what I've learned into something that works best for me. I've actually started writing, because whichever outline version I use, they start out the same. Beginning the writing process has eased my anxiety about not getting any writing done.  I feel good about it, so it's all good!

How's your writing life going?

 
Even though I'm not getting a lot done, I know some awesome writers who are!
Check these out:
 
Precipice
by M. Pax
 
 
In the far future, humanity settles the stars, bioengineering its descendants to survive in a harsh universe. This is the sixth book in the science fiction series, The Backworlds. A space opera adventure. 
The Backworlds hang by a Quantum string, a thread about to snap. Annihilation is coming if Craze can’t stop it.
The genocidal alien he had trapped breaks free, destroying a ship belonging to the Backworlds’ oldest enemy, the Fo’wo’s. The murderous alien wants to overtake the galaxy. The Fo’wo’s want another war.
The Backworlds’ best chance to survive is to overcome a century of hate and forge an alliance with the Fo’wo’s. Because of his history with the alien, Craze is recruited to represent his people. Now he’s the most hated man in the galaxy.
The looming war will be a holocaust unless Craze can stop it, knowing salvation comes at a price. 
 
Sounds awesome, right? Well, here's another interesting bit from the main character, Craze:
Question: What is the most expensive drink in the Backworlds?
Craze:  Hot chocolate. A tiny bar of chocolate can buy you a spaceship in the Backworlds. Not a top of the line deal, but a working spaceship all the same.
 
Buy links: Amazon / B&N / iBook / Googleplay / Smashwords / Kobo / Other
 
And,
 
Once Upon A Nightmare: A Collection
 
 
A monster hunts us. After hibernating for a decade, it’s ravenous. We long to stop this nightmare, but the end of the road is far. There is no waking up once a legend sets its sights on you.
Disappearances every ten or so years make little impact on the small town of New Haven, Virginia. Hikers get lost. Hunters lose the trail. Even when a body is discovered, the inhabitants’ memories last about as long as the newspaper articles.
No one connects the cases. No one notices the disappearances go back beyond Civil War times. No one believes a legendary monster roams the forests in Southwestern Virginia.
I don’t either until the truck breaks down on an old mountain trail. Cell phones won’t work in this neck of the woods. It’s amazing how much a person can see by starlight alone. So what if we can’t feel our fingers or toes as we hike toward the main road. How many more miles left to go?
Crrraaack!
Hear that noise?
I'm shivering already!
 
Purchase Once upon a Nightmare: A Collection by Cherie Reich at Amazon.
 
 
 
How's your writing going?
 
Got any good book recommendations to share?