Tag: ya

YA Indie Carnival

YA Indie Carnival: Name that Tune

We’re cranking up the calliope for this week’s YA Indie Carnival while we talk about the music that inspires us. But first, a disclaimer…

I was a mass communications major in college. Part of my course study was a stint in the university’s tiny radio studio where the radio waves were all mine for one hour every Thursday night. It was the best. I played whatever I wanted. I love music, but I’m really not choosy. There’s a format type called “middle of the road” which is typically top 40 stuff that everyone likes. Well, my fellow classmates teased me that my style was more “all over the road”. I’d play country and hip-hop, showtunes and metal. I loved it all.

So that’s the reasoning behind my wild list below. Some are old favorites while others are newly discovered. These are the songs that have inspired me over the past months when I lock myself in the office and write…

Faith, Hope and Love – Beckah Shae (from the Midnight Child book trailer)

Wicked soundtrack – Original Broadway cast

Haunted – Taylor Swift

Hard to Handle – The Black Crowes

Sexy and I Know It – LMFAO

Bella’s Lullaby – Taliesin Orchestra

Dirty Little Secret – The All-American Rejects

Somebody’s Heartbreak – Hunter Hayes

Pour Some Sugar on Me – Def Leppard

We Found Love – Rihanna

Beautiful Liar – Beyonce & Shakira

Evacuate the Dance Floor – Cascada

Set Fire to the Rain – Adele

Proof that I’m a creative person. Who else would put Adele and Def Leppard on the same list?

Midnight Child, YA Indie Carnival

YA Indie Carnival: Kiss & ______

This week’s Indie Carnival is all about Kiss and Tell. No doubt, my fellow indies have posted kissing scenes from their brilliant works. They are a very talented bunch, so be sure to check them out.

I posted my kissing scene excerpt too. This is an excerpt from my newest novel, Midnight Child, which releases TODAY!

But you know what? I’m all about the mystery of romance and I’m just a tiny bit mischievous. Therefore, I’ve strategically placed blanks in the excerpt to leave you guessing. Muwahaha!

If you want to make a game of it, put your guesses for the blanks in the comment section for everyone to see. Keep your mind out of the gutter and remember that these books are appropriate for pre-teens as well as teens (as should be anything posted in the comment section or else it will be trashed). If you want a peek at the answers, read the full excerpt. Enjoy!

Excerpt From Midnight Child (Midnight Guardian Series, Book 3)

“You take me back. Take me back,” she screamed.

She pounded against _____’s chest, while he stood calm and still. Her eyes were _______ and her cries more like _______.

“Take me back,” she repeated over and over yet he remained ______.

She grabbed his hand and tried to mimic the motion of opening a threshold. Without his will behind it, her attempts were useless.

“Take me back,” she demanded again.

He turned her around without a ______ and pointed up to the _____ above. Green and blue _____ danced in the sky above the water. It resembled the ________ _______.

Keira wiped a ______ hand across her eyes as her breathing slowed back to normal. The sky was magical and ________ and beautiful. ______ brushed his warm hands over her shoulders and down the _______ of her arms.

He leaned to her ear and whispered, “_____ _____ with me.”

Keira closed her ______ and ________ed.

Brun softly kissed her _______.

She _____ slowly to face him as he put a _______ on the side of her ______. It was ______ and flushed from anger. He closed his eyes and lowered his _____. He could feel the _______ of her breath on his lips. Then, for the second time in her young life, Keira ______ed Brun Gammen, high prince of the Mogdoc Empire.

Wow, that was fun. Now for the rest of the carnival…

1. Laura A. H. Elliott author of Winnemucca & 13 on Halloween, Book 1 in the Teen Halloween Series 2. Bryna Butler, author Midnight Guardian series
3. Heather Self 4. T. R. Graves, Author of The Warrior Series
5. Suzy Turner, author of The Raven Saga 6. Cheri Schmidt, author of the Fateful Trilogy
7. Rachel Coles, author of Into The Ruins, geek mom blog 8. K. C. Blake, author of Vampires Rule and Crushed
9. Patti Larsen, The Hunted series and The Hayle Coven series 10. Amy Maurer Jones, Author of The Soul Quest Trilogy
11. Dani Snell’s Refracted Light Reviews 12. Fisher Amelie, author of The Understorey
13. M. Leighton, Blood Like Poison Series, Madly, The Reaping 14. Kimberly Kinrade, Bits of You & Pieces of Me, Forbidden Mind
15. Madeline Smoot, Missing, Summer Shorts, and The Girls 16. Cidney Swanson, author of Rippler
17. Gwenn Wright, author of Filter 18. TG Ayer
19. Melissa Pearl, Author of The Time Spirit Trilogy 20. Heather M. White, author of The Destiny Saga
21. Roots in Myth, PJ Hoover 22. Courtney Cole Writes
Midnight Child, YA Indie Carnival

YA Indie Carnival: Cover Love

This week’s carnival topic is Cover Love. Can you judge a book by its…you know the old song and dance.

First off, I have a group of three to recommend. These are three awesome covers that turned out to be three awesome reads. I bought them for their covers, but recommend them for the story inside.

Second, are three books whose covers have driven me into a frenzy. I’ve gotta read’em.

Third, is a special sneak peek at the cover for Midnight Child, Book 3 of the Midnight Guardian series which debuts in February.

3 Covers to Love with Stories to Match

Fairy Metal Thunder by J.L. Bryan
It’s the story of Jason who’s crushing on fellow bandmate Erin. Trying to impress her, he steals some magical instruments from the fairy realm. A lovable good guy, unexpected danger, and a concert that brings the house down…literally. Rock on!
Every Last Kiss by Courtney Cole
Long before the indie carnival pulled into town, I came across this book on Amazon. I was entranced by the cover and the story is equally intoxicating. Charmian, the handmaiden and confidant of Cleopatra, must sacrifice everything to set destiny straight just as she has done in every lifetime before and since.
The Reckoning by M. Leighton
This is a chilling and creative story. Carson’s transformation into a reaper and the drama and adventure that unfolds makes this a real page-turner.

Three Covers that Look Awesome…Can Hardly Wait to Read

Callum & Harper by Fisher Amelie releases Christmas Eve The Blue Stocking Girl by Gwenn Wright coming soon Existence by Abbi Glines releases December 13th

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Midnight Child, Book 3, Midnight Guardian YA Series

Midnight Child, Midnight Guardian series, YA Indie Carnival

YA Indie Carnival: Fiction Pie

pie photoThis week at the YA Indie Carnival, the authors are serving up Fiction Pie and giving up their own special recipes for plotting great stories.

With Book #3 of the Midnight Guardian series currently in development, I’m often asked if this will be it…the final one. It’s been a fun series to write and I’m pleased to say that #3 will definitely not be the last one.

I had originally planned it to be a 6 book series. Well, that’s not exactly true. When I released Of Sun & Moon and people asked me how many there would be I would say 4 or 5. I didn’t fine tune the 6 until I began writing Whispering Evil. And although I have planned 6 books (taking the story to Drew’s second vox), Ann and Katie’s timelines have been plotted to the third vox (9 books) just in case I can’t let go.

My time traveling characters have certainly made plotting more complicated. Since Ann and Katie travel back in time, their reality isn’t linear like the other characters. I also quickly realized that not only did I need to keep track of them in time, but I also needed to keep track of them separately. They even have their own Excel spreadsheets with their trips, ages, physical description and emotional concerns at the time of their trip all matched up against points in the linear plot of the whole series. Whew!

Anywho, time travelers aside, here’s my basic no-bake recipe for a great plot:

  • 1 strong female mixed with a dash of special ability
  • 1-2 villains you love to hate
  • 1 bunch of friends, super and non
  • 2-4 interesting locales
  • pinch of mystery
  • stir in unexpected twists
  • season with drama to taste
  • Simmer with a heaping tablespoon of bad boy hottie until boiling and serve

Collect more fiction pie recipes from these other YA Indie Carnival Authors. BTW – My favorite non-fiction pie is banana creme.

1. Laura A. H. Elliott author of Winnemucca & 13 on Halloween, Book 1 in the Teen Halloween Series 2. Bryna Butler, author Midnight Guardian series
3. Heather Self 4. T. R. Graves, Author of The Warrior Series
5. Suzy Turner, author of The Raven Saga 6. Darby Karchut, author of GRIFFIN RISING
7. Lexus Luke 8. PJ Hoover, Author of SOLSTICE, Blogging at ROOTS IN MYTH
9. Cheri Schmidt, author of the Fateful Trilogy 10. Rachel Coles, author of Into The Ruins, geek mom blog
11. K. C. Blake, author of Vampires Rule and Crushed 12. Patti Larsen, The Hunted series and The Hayle Coven series
13. Courtney Cole, author of The Bloodstone Saga 14. Amy Maurer Jones, Author of The Soul Quest Trilogy
15. Dani Snell’s Refracted Light Reviews 16. Fisher Amelie, author of The Understorey
17. M. Leighton, Blood Like Poison Series, Madly, The Reaping 18. Abbi Glines, author of Breathe and The Vincent Boys
19. Kimberly Kinrade, Bits of You & Pieces of Me, Forbidden Mind 20. Madeline Smoot, Missing, Summer Shorts, and The Girls
21. Cidney Swanson, author of Rippler 22. Nicole Williams, author of Eternal Eden, Falling Eden
23. Gwenn Wright, author of Filter 24. TG Ayer
25. Melissa Pearl, author of Golden Blood 26. YA Fantasy
Top 10 Lists

My Top 10 Favorite Love Triangles

After a week of whining to friends and family, I finally convinced someone to go with me to see Breaking Dawn. In honor of the victory, I’m posting My Top 10 Favorite Love Triangles (YA Book Edition). It was really hard to narrow them down, so if you have any additions, post a Comment.

10. Erin, Jason, Zach in the Songs of Magic series by J.L. Bryan

Jason is so completely lovable. There are hints that Erin may not be as perfect as he thinks she is. Her boyfriend, regional male model Zach, cracks me up with his “important” gigs like for Uncle Otto’s Authentic German Pizza.

9. Jack, Peter, Alice in the My Blood Approves series by Amanda Hocking

Is love about the body or soul? Alice meets Jack. She starts falling for his sense of humor and kindness. Then she meets Jack’s brother, for whom she’s feels an overwhelming physical bond.

8. Jolie, Sinjin, Rand in the Jolie Wilkins series by H.P. Mallory

Vamp or Wizard? Rand and Sinjin are equally hot, equally powerful, and equally mysterious. Jolie’s no slouch either.

7. Stefan, Damon, Elena in the Vampire Diaries by L.J. Smith

When attraction threatens to pull apart brothers, drama ensues.

6. Edward, Jacob, Bella in the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer

I know what you’re thinking. You whined to see the movie then you placed them all the way down the list at six? Really? Yes, really. While I love the movies, I wasn’t exactly gaga over the books which I read before I saw the movies. And this list is based on the books…hence the six. In its favor, I think there is something very insightful about the idea that the perfect person for you may not be your soul mate.

5. Mercy, Adam, Samuel in the Mercedes Thompson series by Patricia Briggs

It’s a choice between the past and present…a second chance or moving on. She’s chosen, but I can’t help but think that nothing is permanent. Forget Mercy, I’m in love with Samuel.

4. Claire, Shane, Myrnin in the Morganville Vampires series by Rachel Caine

Okay, so you caught me. This isn’t exactly a love triangle…yet. The hints are all there and it seems inevitable. Do you love me for my mind or body? Does it make a difference if one suitor is wicked deadly and mad as a hatter? When it all hits the fan it will be amazing.

3. Katniss, Peeta, Gayle in the Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins

He may need alot of saving, but I always routed for Peeta and you can’t convince me otherwise.

2. Sookie, Eric, Bill in the Southern Vampire series by Charlaine Harris

It’ll be allright, Sookie. I’m torn between them too. Two powerful vamps who need a partial fairy to bring out the human in them.

1. Keira, Colby, William in the Midnight Guardian series by yours truly

It’s my list, so did you expect otherwise? I love writing for these characters. If love is a fire, is it better started by a spark or embers? Do opposites attract?