I’m here to celebrate this day with you even though I’m a Kiwi from New Zealand. I checked out exactly what Independence Day means to Americans and discovered the 4th of July 1776, was the day history was made as the United States declared its independence from Great Britain. I love that you celebrate this day with parades, shows, games, sports, bonfires, bells and all sorts of other whistles. And the 4th of July is right in the middle of your summer months. Wow. The perfect time to do so.
Although, with it being the middle of winter Down Under, I’m trying to ignore the rain, sleet and snow, and visualize a summer’s day so I can really get into that festive mood.
Hmm, I’ve almost got it.
Nope.
Let me just crank up the heater a little bit more.
No, still not working.
I’ll just shut the curtains so I can’t see the frost covering the ground.
Yep, done. 🙂 I’m there.
Happy 4th of July everyone! Have loads of fun. And to continue the celebrations, if you leave a comment WITH YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS you can go into the draw for a chance to win an ebook copy of PROTECTOR. Simply let me know what you’re doing this 4th of July since I’ve never celebrated one before. 🙂 Also, the winner will be chosen on July 9th 2013, and I’ll contact you via email to organise your prize.
PROTECTOR
To love and protect…across worlds.
Eighteen-year-old Faith Stryker is prepared to leap out into the unknown world beyond her home shores of New Zealand to experience life. Only she never expected to encounter Magio, a planet with two warring countries, where its people reach adulthood at eighteen by coming into their strength and prophetic abilities. Only after Faith discovers she’s a Halfling–thanks to her warrior father she’s never met–does her own skill of forethought develop.
Peacio’s Prince Davio Loveria is sent to the young Faith Stryker by his grandfather, but not all goes as planned. Davio discovers Faith isn’t just a Halfling, she’s also his soul-bound mate–an intense relationship he cannot, nor will not, give up.
With two wars now waging…one of land and the other of the heart…can the young lovers find their place in the world?
Keep hopping–You can find the complete list of participating authors right HERE.
Also, and only if you wish to, please consider “liking” my Facebook author page. For your convenience the link is just over on the right-hand sidebar. 🙂
If you’d like to add Protectorto your TBR list, here’s the link for Goodreads. Or it’s on the sidebar as well.
And for those keen on checking out Protector’s trailer on YouTube,it’s just below–>
Book Trailer:
Thank you so much for dropping by, and I wish you and yours a wonderful day.
Are you LUCKY IN LOVE? We romance writers love to bring our characters into a new world of love and romance. There’s nothing quite like having our heroine meet her hero in a chance encounter, then tossing in all sorts of issues to see if she’ll turn the moment into something more.
I’d love to hear if you’re lucky in love? Did you meet your hero by chance? Or are you still looking out for that one moment when he’ll arrive? Perhaps you’re a romance writer and you dream of turning your heroine’s lucky moment into the best one ever? Hey, and maybe you’re even one of those heroes who grabbed that chance and ran with it? because guys, I haven’t forgotten about you.
Flex those muscles, and if you leave a comment WITH YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS you can go into the draw for a chance to win an ebook copy of PROTECTOR. The winner will be drawn using Random.org on 19th March 2013, and I’ll contact you by email to organise your prize.
But that’s notall… Your comment also drops you into the grand prize draw of the hop (prizes are featured below–and they are amazzzing), so make sure you don’t miss out. It just takes one comment on this post WITH YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS to get you into BOTH DRAWS. 🙂
PROTECTOR
To love and protect…across worlds.
Eighteen-year-old Faith Stryker is prepared to leap out into the unknown world beyond her home shores of New Zealand to experience life. Only she never expected to encounter Magio, a planet with two warring countries, where its people reach adulthood at eighteen by coming into their strength and prophetic abilities. Only after Faith discovers she’s a Halfling–thanks to her warrior father she’s never met–does her own skill of forethought develop.
Peacio’s Prince Davio Loveria is sent to the young Faith Stryker by his grandfather, but not all goes as planned. Davio discovers Faith isn’t just a Halfling, she’s also his soul-bound mate–an intense relationship he cannot, nor will not, give up.
With two wars now waging…one of land and the other of the heart…can the young lovers find their place in the world?
And for those keen on checking out Protector’s trailer, here it is.
Book Trailer:
NOW WHAT ARE THOSE PRIZES?
We have TWO grand prizes. Almost 300 authors are sharing Lucky In Love themed blogs, and you as a reader can go to EACH blog and comment with your email address and be entered to win. Yep, you can enter almost 300 times!
1st Grand Prize: A $100 Amazon or B&N Gift Card (International)
and 2nd Grand Prize: A Swag Pack that contains paperbacks, ebooks, 50+ bookmarks, cover flats, magnets, pens, coffee cozies, and more! (US Only)
Keep hopping–You can find the complete list of participating authors right HERE.
Also, and only if you wish to, please consider “liking” my Facebook author page. For your convenience the link is just over on the right-hand sidebar. 🙂
If you’d like to add Protectorto your TBR list, here’s the link for Goodreads. Or it’s on the sidebar as well.
Thank you so much for dropping by, and I wish you and yours a wonderful week.
I can’t think of anything better than the following three quick tips which I’m never without as I write. At times it’s about heading back to the basics, and making sure the foundation of our work is steady and good. So, get ready. Here are three precious little gems to instantly improve your writing.
SENTENCE LENGTH
Oh yeah. When writing we can get so carried away with getting our words out, that our sentence length drags. My favorite thing, is to read my sentences out loud, particularly when a paragraph doesn’t look quite right. Try it. If you do, you’ll soon find yourself chopping long sentences right down.
There are so many benefits to this. Did you realize shorter sentences ensure the pace of your book picks up? Were you aware your reader becomes more heavily engaged when that occurs? It makes total sense, right? Shorter sentences allow for a quicker pace, and as a writer that’s one of our goals, to ensure our reader keeps turning those pages.
TELLING AS COMPARED TO SHOWING
This can be an issue, and one we’re not even aware of. What to learn is, don’t tell your reader what your character is thinking, but show them with physical reactions. Even add more dialogue if necessary to accomplish this.
Here’s a short but sweet example of moving a sentence from telling to showing. To set the scene, the hero has lost consciousness after a hit to the head. He now awakens.
TELLING:
“I’ve been out for twenty minutes?” Confusion took him.
SHOWING:
“I’ve been out for twenty minutes?” He scrubbed a hand over his head, wincing as he struck a lump. “Did someone hit me?”
Switching to showing is about finding those words of emotion, and as you see above with the word “confusion,” nipping it out and showing with something else.
OVERUSE OF ADVERBS AND ADJECTIVES
Never forget you want your reader to be immersed in your story. You don’t want them thinking too hard by the “overuse” of adverbs and adjectives. What do I mean by this? Here’s another sweet little example.
OVERUSE. Can you spot the “unnecessary” adverb or adjective in the following sentence?
Jack stepped away, quietly propping his back against the wide trunk of the tree.
If you got the word “quietly,” you’re so right. It should read–
Jack stepped away, propping his back against the wide trunk of the tree.
Keep an eye out for any “overuse” of adverbs. In the example I’ve used, Jack is quietly propping his back against the tree. How else does one prop themselves against a tree except quietly? “Propping” is a casual, restful motion, so in this case the adverb “quietly” is clearly not needed when “propping” explains it all. Don’t get me wrong though, adverbs definitely have a place where it’s necessary. Just remove those ones you don’t need so your sentences can free up and flow smoother.
Now for a bonus. I’m going to share with you a new excerpt from PROTECTOR, my young adult/fantasy/romance. Check out the scene below. It’s all about showing and not telling. To set the scene, my hero is in the heroine’s bedroom, and her best friend comes charging in. All completely innocent of course. 🙂
The door flew open and slammed against the wall. Yeah, that was Silvie, all right.
“Ten minutes is enough you two. Now break it up,” she admonished as she stormed toward the bed, red-gold curls flying about her face. “Let’s remember we still have a villain to unearth and apprehend.” She turned, giving Davio a fierce glower. “What do you think you’re doing on my best friend’s bed? Get off. Off. Off. Off.”
“Yes.” He pushed himself to his feet and pulled me up to stand beside him. “Except, in the future, Silvie Carver, you will remember not to storm into the room the way you just did and disturb us. Correct protocol is that you knock and wait before addressing a prince.”
Silvie didn’t seem to care as she reached past him and gripped my wrist. She scowled at him and tugged me toward her like a mother bear protecting her cub. “Well, lucky for me, Davio Thy-prince Loveria, I do not have to observe your correct protocol. We are on Earth, you see, not Peacio.”
Hmm, and all this from the girl who’d told me just days ago that I needed to get laid.
I almost smiled.
.
I hope you enjoyed that peekaboo excerpt, and if you still want more, then just below are the links to grab your copy of Protector. 🙂 So, what did you think of these three quick tips? Leave me a comment and let me know. I love hearing from you.
For that romantic heart of yours, I’m bringing you a special excerpt from my new release PROTECTOR, and one I’ve never brought out before.
It’s all about the first kiss. These are a tender and exciting moment in a romance novel, whether they range from sweet to off-the-charts hot. Two weeks ago the Young Adult Bookworm Blogger reviewed Protector and gave the first kiss between my young heroine and hero a “Swoon Award.” In light of that honor, how could I not share this young couple’s very first delicious kiss with you on this most special of days.
Here it is…
“So, now what do we do?” I snuggled, discovering my need of him intensifying just as his obviously was. I watched the play of sunlight dancing through the window, crossing his face and highlighting his strong jaw and his mouth.
“Someone harmed you. Zac, Viv and Belle are just three members of the team I keep quite close to me. No one else will ever get through all of us to you again. But there will be rules. To ensure your safety I want you to–”
“Hold on.” I cut off his words by pressing a finger to his lips. Ooo, so soft. And what was with my fascination with his mouth?
His brows drew down, his forehead furrowing deeply. “Are you still not feeling well?”
“Oh, I’m more than well.” Then I slowly grinned and leaned in. “It seems I want more than your protection. I want you to kiss me.” That was the complete and honest truth.
That comment stopped him dead cold.
Then he inhaled, slowly, the sound so sweet as his breath stuttered a little. “Kiss you?” he murmured, his eyes now turning a melting hue of delicious brown.
“If you want?” I somehow managed to shrug my shoulders like it didn’t matter.
“I want to.” Then he closed that last little gap and there was nothing but his warm lips against mine. Every sound around me vanished as my world centered and became only him.
He had come to me at the first sign I was in trouble–no man had done that in my life.
My soul lifted and my heart soared.
Desire flared, and he pushed me against the soft comforter. He surrounded me, my mind captivated as we shared breath and a moment like no other.
My first kiss.
* * * *
I hope you enjoyed, and if you want to pick up your copy of Protector for a special read, or to give as a gift, the links are just below. 🙂
HEARTBREAKERS. Yeah, we romance writers love these bad boys. There’s nothing quite like taming the wild one, and we grin just thinking about how we’re going to turn him into a heartthrob and the man our heroine needs him to be.
I’d love to hear if you have a heartthrob in your life? Or are you still looking for him? Perhaps you’re a romance writer and you dream of turning your heartbreaker into the best hero ever? Hey, and maybe you’re even one of these heartthrobs? because guys, I haven’t forgotten about you.
Flex those muscles, and if you leave a comment WITH YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS you can go into the draw for a chance to win an ebook copy of PROTECTOR. The winner will be announced on 12th February 2013, and I’ll contact you by email to organise your prize.
But that’s notall… Your comment also drops you into the grand prize draw of the hop (prizes are featured below–and they are amazzzing), so make sure you don’t miss out. It just takes one comment on this post WITH YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS to get you into BOTH DRAWS. 🙂
PROTECTOR
To love and protect…across worlds.
Eighteen-year-old Faith Stryker is prepared to leap out into the unknown world beyond her home shores of New Zealand to experience life. Only she never expected to encounter Magio, a planet with two warring countries, where its people reach adulthood at eighteen by coming into their strength and prophetic abilities. Only after Faith discovers she’s a Halfling–thanks to her warrior father she’s never met–does her own skill of forethought develop.
Peacio’s Prince Davio Loveria is sent to the young Faith Stryker by his grandfather, but not all goes as planned. Davio discovers Faith isn’t just a Halfling, she’s also his soul-bound mate–an intense relationship he cannot, nor will not, give up.
With two wars now waging…one of land and the other of the heart…can the young lovers find their place in the world?
We have THREE grand prizes. Almost 300 authors are sharing Heartbreaker themed blogs, and you as a reader can go to EACH blog and comment with your email address and be entered to win. Yep, you can enter almost 300 times!
1st Grand Prize: A Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet (International)
2nd Grand Prize: A $100 Amazon or B&N Gift Card (International)
3rd Grand Prize: A Swag Pack that contains paperbacks, ebooks, 50+ bookmarks, cover flats, magnets, pens, coffee cozies, and more! (US Only) And here’s the cool pic of the actual swag.
Keep hopping–You can find the complete list of participating authors right HERE.
Also, and only if you wish to, please consider “liking” my Facebook author page. For your convenience the link is just over on the right-hand sidebar. 🙂
If you’d like to add Protectorto your TBR list, here’s the link for Goodreads. Or it’s on the sidebar as well.
And for those keen on checking out Protector’s trailer on YouTube,it’s–> here.
Thank you so much for dropping by, and I wish you and yours a wonderful week.
PROTECTOR
