The Next Big Thing

Thanks to Misty Simon for tagging me for *the Next Big Thing*! Check out her website at: Misty Simon


What is your working title of your book? Riordan's Song

Where did the idea come from for the book? I love the power of music and wondered what would happen if music really was magic.

What genre does your book fall under? Young Adult Fantasy

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition? Possibly Ann Hathaway for the heroine. Not sure about the hero - Hugh Jackman?

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book? A young musician whose voice has the power to heal, hurt, or control the minds of men is on the run from a despotic ruler and searching for sanctuary.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency? Hopefully represented, but we'll see....

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? A few months, but rewrites have been taking forever!

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre? Mercedes Lackey's Bard series or Maria V. Snyder's Poison series.

Who or what inspired you to write this book? My love of music and magic.

What else about your book might pique the reader's interest? Magic, music, and mayhem - what's not to like!

What's Out There...

I had a question the other day about what other books I've published and realized I don't have them all listed here. So... here they are as well as links where to buy them. :)

DANGER ON XY-ONE

Aleksia Matthews is an asteroid assayer who would like nothing better than to be left alone. Her life is soon turned upside down when a band of ruthless pirates attack her ship. She manages to escape, but fears the worst for her brother. Ali swears revenge. Although well-trained by Fleet Security, she knows she can't do the job alone. When she literally runs into a stranger, Jason Cole she knows she has met the perfect partner — in more ways than one.

Special agent and Bounty Hunter, Jason has spent the past year tracking the pirates who killed his brother Zack and Zack's family. He's always one step behind, too late to help the victims. There are never any survivors — until now. It is up to him to keep Ali alive and out of trouble until the gang can be captured, and maybe longer.

Available from:

Ellora's Cave Blush

THE SHAPE OF LOVE - paranormal anthology

Who's To Say What Shape Is Normal...
Join three voluptuous women as they open their hearts and minds to possibilities beyond the normal...and straight into the paranormal.

Who's Your Alpha? by Vicky Burkholder
Sunny Clark always thought she was the only shape shifter in the town where she grew up. But when she returns for her high school reunion, she is shocked to find that nearly the whole town can turn into one thing or another. Including her teen crush, David Maxwell.

After a challenge for position in the pack, where Sunny defeats the town's Alpha female, the real question becomes does David only want the new Alpha female, or has he always wanted Sunny just as she is?

Out of the Storm by Misty Simon
Sarah James' quiet, almost solitary life changes when she rescues a wet, bedraggled cat out of a raging storm. But he always seems to disappear without explanation, only to return at the oddest times. Is he really lost, or does he have a secret life outside her apartment walls? Trenton Cutlass has been forced to roam ever since he was cursed into the form of a fat, tabby cat after dusk. No one has ever taken him in...until Sarah. Suddenly, breaking the curse is more important than ever, or he'll have to abandon the lovely Sarah forever.

Sheltered by Victoria Smith
Drugged and lost after escaping a deranged kidnapper, Dane Masters is stuck as his hereditary alternate form. While wandering the streets on four wobbly paws, he's taken in by vet tech Izzy Burnett. Once he has regained his strength, and his memories, Dane realizes he has found his predestined mate. But will he have time to convince Izzy before the kidnapper turns killer?

 Available from:

Aaron's Books

Draumr Publishing

AKASHAN'TE

Although this YA fantasy is no longer in print, there are copies available at Aaron's Books.

Rowyn of Cotswold has eyes as black as midnight, bone-white hair, and powers that go beyond anything the world has seen in centuries. Raised by her aunts, she knows nothing about her powers until a fateful day when she returns home to find everything and everyone gone.

A cryptic note and a magical box direct her to the fabled city of Akashan’te at the six sister stars. The fate of the entire world rides on her ability to find the city before conjunction.

A giant of a man, Daniel is determined to guard her and love her no matter what the outcome. On their journey, they encounter friends who benefit from Rowyn’s abilities, enemies who will stop at nothing to control her, and love that will last a lifetime and beyond.

Available from:

Aaron's Books

Memorial Day - in memory of my father

This is part of a chapter from my father's memoirs. It's from 1944, he was 18 years old and in France.

In WWII, I was working with an infantry outfit in a little village outside of Orleans and the Germans were acting up a little bit. We were walking down a narrow street and the Germans opened up with machine guns. Most of the section ducked into a doorway on the opposite side of the street and I ducked into one on the other side. The door was locked and I couldn’t get in and all I was doing was standing pressed up against the door and the bullets were nicking pretty close. I decided that maybe I could get across the street to where the other guys were hiding. The street wasn’t that wide, probably no more than an alley, but it was still open. I got jammed up against the door as hard as I could; took my helmet off so it wouldn’t fall off; got my rifle clutched tight, put my head down and took off across the street. I wasn’t planning to stand there and open the door, I was planning on going right through the door. Just as I got to the door, it opened and I through the room and into the wall on the other side of the room. Here my buddies had seen me through the window and knew what I was doing. They stood there looking at me on the floor and laughing and asked me “What’s the matter? Didn’t you think we’d open the door?”

Close to the end of the war, we were staying in an old chateau. Rumor had it that it had belonged to Napoleon’s daughter at one time. The Germans had been in there and when they got kicked out, we moved in. Written on the one wall was something in German that took my eye. I couldn’t read German so I wrote it down and got someone to translate it later. It was from a German soldier and said: “To the American soldier who reads this:  May we never meet on the battlefield and may you return to your home victorious and I to mine alive." 

Writing Retreat

I am going on a writer's retreat and I can't wait. Five days of nothing but writing, mingling with other writers, writing, eating, writing, relaxing, and, oh, did I say writing?

It's a retreat my local RWA group takes every year - this is our tenth year. About fifteen of us go and we have a blast. Yes, it is a long weekend of intensive work, but we also find time to socialize, party, have fun, and generally enjoy ourselves while putting out amazing amounts of productivity.

We stay at a campground that has a "hotel" on the grounds so we have all the comforts of home - and don't have to cook! They do all the meals for us. One thing we don't have in our rooms is TV - which is just as well since many of us would probably tend to use it to catch up on our favorite shows (though we can do that with our computers). We also do not have WiFi (or any other kind) of connectivity in our rooms - only in the lobby of the hotel. So no email, no surfing the web, no nothing.

Just days of writing. Brainstorming with other writers. Having immediate support when we're stuck with a word or scene. It is nirvana.

This year, I have two manuscripts I'm working on - an epic fantasy and an urban fantasy - my goal is to have them both plotted out and scenes ready to go by the time I'm done. I also plan to edit a third ms I've finished but needs work. Lofty goals, but I'm hopeful. :)

Can you tell I'm excited about this? We all are. My little crit group, all five of whom are also going, has been preparing for this for weeks. We have everything we're going to work on ready to go and we're packing up our pages and red pens and plotting sheets.

So my suggestion is to you... plan your own writing retreat. It doesn't have to be four or five days like we do - it can be just a day, or even a few hours. Get together with other writer friends and start writing. Or editing. Or brainstorming. Anything to get the writing juices flowing and have fun!

See you all next week! Oh, and keep an eye on my Victoria site - I've got a new "Chosen" story coming out on May 25th that I know you'll love!

A new PRIME TIME

In the writing life, we all hit bumps and snags now and then. I hit one this past December when my previous publisher closed. Though I received the rights back to two of my three books I had with them, I was concerned if I'd be able to sell them again. After all, they'd already been published and most publishers don't want to touch that. With fingers crossed and hopes held high, I sent a letter off to my current publisher. And they responded in the positive. And not only that, but because both had already been edited and received rave reviews, they would get pushed through the process.

Then that snag. Yes, they'd been edited, but my editor pointed out some glaring errors that my previous publisher had missed. So I went to work fixing plot points, dialogue, and confusing issues. We worked fast, but we worked really hard and, voila, a new and vastly improved book emerged. And now, the new PRIME TIME is available! In its original condition, Prime Time received 4 stars from Romantic Times Magazine, 5 cups/lips/etc. from other reviewers. The original version was good. The new one is so much better. And it's available in formats to fit all e-readers or your computer as well as trade paperback
I give you - PRIME TIME available from Captiva Press:

BLURB:
When the super hot man in the moon comes calling, all you can do is melt.

In the dark corners of the Lunar habitats, Deena has safety and friends. In the light—danger lurks. To find those responsible for the death of her parents and the disappearance of her friends, she must join those who work in the light—if they’ll let her. After all, they’re Techies. Jake has every advantage of a Techie. Head of an elite security force investigating the Utopia drug, he is certain the pushers are the Porters. He needs to find a way to integrate with those who work in the dark, but Techies aren’t welcome. Deena and Jake must put aside their differences and work together against a common enemy—a threat to both Techies and Porters. Along the way, they discover love doesn’t care where you come from, and evil has a long reach.

Reviews:
From Romantic Times Magazine:, 4 stars: Burkholder voyages to the moon sometime in the future and builds a world with an intricate, well-defined, two-tiered social order. Everyone has a common goal, to locate a drug that can render all parts of society powerless if put in the wrong hands -- and the wrong hands seem to have acquired it. A compelling read.
Summary: Deena is a Porter, considered the lower class in contrast to the upper-class Techies. When she first meets Jake Parsons, the new cook, he looks a mess: outfitted with multicolored hair and bright blue shorts. He's also a Techie, and soon Deena is recruited to unearth the distributors of the drug, Utopia.

Deena is seeing double when Jake's twin, Sean, joins the hunt as they travel the vents behind the walls looking for answers.
From All About Romance: If Prime Time is ever made into a movie and Vicky Burkholder endorses it, I will be among the first in line to buy those high priced tickets. This tale is a rollicking ride of suspense, romance, and good Old West flavor that doesn't stop till the last line.Reviewed By Nancy Louise
Coffee Time Romance: Astounding! Miss Burkholder has outdone herself with this book. A real page turner. Deena and Jake are made for each other! The world the author created is stunningly realistic and pulls you in. A definite must for lovers of sci-fi action books!

Happy New Year?

Today is the first day of the new year - and a new decade. I hope the coming year for you is a great one.

As for me, my new year started off with a couple of challenges - namely, the flu, and the reversion of rights of two of my favorite books - Akashan'te and Prime Time.

There's not much I can do about the flu but get through it. As for the books, when I'm alive again, I will shop them around an hopefully find a new home for them. Both books received great reviews (4 stars from Romantic Times Magazine and 4 & 5 ratings from multiple other reviewers). Unfortunately, Cerridwen Press is being rolled into its mother company of Ellora's Cave and these two books do not fit that area. My other Cerridwen book, Danger on Xy One, will be rolled over to EC so if you're looking for it, take a look there.

In the meantime, exciting things are happening at Captiva Press, my new publisher, and I look forward to a great new year with them there.

So HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL!!! May it be all you hope for and more.

At the end of the year...

As part of my job working in a bookstore, I have to read books - yeah, I know. A real hardship. LOL. In addition to reading them, I have to write up a blurb as to whether or not I liked the book. This actually is a bit harder for me. Though I have extensive experience as a reviewer, I always find it difficult to give a book a less than stellar rating, though I do when I feel it is necessary. I find this so difficult most likely because, as a writer, I know the amount of hard work that goes into writing a novel. It is not an easy task and to have someone write that your work was less than incredible can hurt.
Yet, I do so. Not often, but it happens.
I also keep a record of all the books I read and write up. I just looked at my spreadsheet for this year. In my mind, I was a real slacker, not believing I was reading enough, but when I checked my spreadsheet, I saw that I read and reviewed sixty-eight books this year. That's more than a book a week. I know for certain that there were weeks when I barely read (thanks to deadlines and other issues). Now, granted, some of those stories were children's books - quick reads - but the large majority of them were full length novels. Whew. That's a lot of reading. And it doesn't include the ones I read just for fun.

In addition to reading and reviewing these books, I also critiqued several full length novels for friends and crit-partners. In fact, I just finished one this evening - a 407 page fantasy novel. A really good story that I hope gets published. This is just one of several I did this year. And then there's my own writing. In both this, and my alter-persona, I wrote several stories this year - and got a couple of them published. I also had some freebies out through Gloaming Gap.

So even though I feel like I didn't do nearly enough this year, I actually did a lot more than I thought I did. Guess it's a good thing I like to stay organized with spreadsheets!

But all this is to say, though there have been low points, it's been a good year overall writing wise and I'm looking forward to keeping the motivation going in the new year.

Keep writing!