A Year in Review - 2013

I swear I've tried to start this post at least ten times, but each time, I go blank. It's difficult to sum up a year in any form, let alone pithily. So take this as my disclaimer...I'm not sure where this post is going, but it's necessary.

Cheers to 2013!

This has been an incredible year for me on all levels, personal and professional. My husband and I are happily settled in Alaska. We bought our first house this summer and I still have moments when I realize that I can paint the bathroom any color I want, that the garden will be mine, and that we're truly living out a dream that started six years ago in Oregon. We and our animals (including our newest addition, Loki) are all healthy, happy, and safe. We have fantastic, exhausting, fulfilling jobs. Our families and friends are safe and healthy and enjoying life. God has blessed us beyond my wildest dreams.

2013 was also the year that one of my childhood dreams came true. With Red Moon's release from Escape Publishing, I became a published author and discovered that there are other people out in the world who are interested in sharing my characters' stories. Every day that I wake up, I thank God for all of the amazing people who helped me get to this point. And even if my "other" job (a.k.a. The Mortgage Paying Job) has been more intense in the past three months than I expected, even if it's taken the majority of my energy and has made it difficult for me to keep up with my writing, I could not ask to have a minute of this past year changed.

It has been hell on wheels, but it's made me stronger than I ever believed I could be.

Maybe that's why I'm not terrified of listing my resolutions for this next year. For the first time in my life, I am at a point where I will not beat myself up every day for not reaching my dreams. I've already crossed those lines, so from this point on, everything is gravy. Some of you reading this may scoff at that sentiment, wonder why I don't want a movie deal or to sell billions of books or be interviewed by someone famous. Don't get me wrong, that all sounds great, but it's not necessary for my happiness. And if it were, I don't think I would ever be able to appreciate the happy, comfortable life I've been blessed to create.

So...without further ado, my list of resolutions...

1. Finish Connor's story, Blood Moon, and get it to my amazingly patient beta-readers. This book has been weighing on me and while I'm excited to finish it, it's going to be hard to say goodbye to Connor. He's come a loooooooong way.
2. Start and finish my next novel of The Republic, which first appeared in Lace & Lead. I've been kicking around an idea for a while, but I'm getting some well-needed motivation to put it in motion.
3. Continue working on my new Seeress series. New adult fantasy with  no idea where it's going. But the antagonist looks like Benedict Cumberbatch, so I'll never be bored.
4. Work on two novellas I've had sitting around. They're both fun writes, so they'll be my "downtime" writing.

Hopefully I'll be better about updating this blog (I swear, once my other job calms down, it'll get better!), but I'm so grateful for all your support. Have a very Merry Christmas and an incredible New Year!

Now landing...Lace & Lead

Lace & Lead is available today and I'm so excited to share this story with you! I know I've talked about the way this story came together in earlier posts on this blog, but I'm still shocked that this story is now in print. So if you're waiting for Connor's story to come out, try this little story for a change of pace. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Breathtaking action, startling originality and polished story-telling combine in this futuristic Sci-Fi novella about a rough mercenary, a pampered daughter, and the lies they both believe. 

Blue-blood Emmaline Gregson survived one of the most brutal mining accidents ever recorded in the Republic, but she's never been in a firefight. So when unknown assailants circle the family estate, the only man she can rely on is Peirce Taggart. A former Lawman turned mercenary, Peirce has a simple job: protect Emmaline until her father can collect her and sell her to sex trafficker Richard Stone to pay off his debts. But when Arthur Gregson tries to cheat his way out of the contract, Emmaline seizes the opportunity to hire Peirce for herself, regardless of how crude, dangerous, or appealing he may be. Given the chance for redemption, he promises to help her escape both her father and Stone. But Peirce soon realises that hiding her in his apartment until the storm has passed may be more dangerous than looking down the barrel of a gun...

Purchase Links:

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/lace-lead-novella/id712018036?mt=11

Amazon (Kindle): http://www.amazon.com/Lace-Lead-novella-ebook/dp/B00FB3MWN4

Amazon.co.uk (Kindle): http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lace-Lead-novella-ebook/dp/B00FB3MWN4

Kobo (read on Desktop, eReaders, Tablets, Kobo, Android and iPhone): http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/lace-lead-novella

Barnes & Noble (Nook): http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lace-lead-ma-grant/1117036865

ebooks.com: http://www.ebooks.com/1438039/lace-lead-novella/grant-m-a/

JB Hi-Fi Now Books: https://books.jbhifi.com.au/Book/356663

First Lines: Jennie Jones

Today's visitor is my soul-sister from Australia!

Jennie Jones

Jennie Jones is hard at work on The House at the Bottom of the Hill, a sequel to her Escape Publishing hit The House on Burra Burra Lane. I can't wait to read the next book about Swallow's Fall!







Jennie's favorite first lines comes from Sara Donati's Tied to the Tracks:

"Summer in Georgia, sweet and ripe and heavy with heat at a quarter to nine in the morning."

Always one to look under the surface, Jennie's reasoning for this line:

Well, I know from the back cover blurb that this is going to be a modern, grown-up love story and the first line puts me instantly into the ambiance and mood of the setting. It’s a slow morning; there’s a heat wave and everything about this place is welcomed and loved. What can happen to disturb this?

Keep up with Jennie's releases:
Author webpage
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads

Learn more about the plans for Swallow's Fall:

I’m working on a follow up to my debut novel The House on Burra Burra Lane. Book #2 in my rural/country-town series is entitled The House at the Bottom of the Hill and introduces two new characters as the heroine and hero. We renew acquaintance with some of the Swallow’s Fall townspeople from book #1 and discover a few new and slightly eccentric members of newly formed town committee who are about to give the heroine and hero a number of problems they didn’t foresee. 

First Lines: Kendall Talbot

We've got another Escape Artist joining us today!

Kendall Talbot

Kendall Talbot's first release Lost in Kakadu was released with Escape Publishing earlier this year. She's a true adventurous spirit and it shows in her writing.







Kendall's favorite first line comes from Garvis Graves's book On The Island:

"I was thirty years old when the seaplane T.J. Cullahan and I were traveling on crash-landed in the Indian Ocean."

Why this line, you may ask?

I love survival stories and this sentence gets the story off to a cracking start.

Be sure to check in on Kendall to hear about her adventures and future stories:
Author webpage
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads

If you don't know about Lost in Kakadu:

When a small plane crashes into an ancient Australian wilderness the survivors think they’re lucky to be alive…until rescuers never come. ‘Lost in Kakadu’ is an action adventure novel set in Kakadu National Park where two unlikely people prove just how attractive opposites can be. Fate brought them together, but they’ll need more than luck to escape Kakadu alive. Could the letters of a dead man hold the key to their survival?

First Lines: J.M. Bray

Today's author is an Escape Artist who's going to be making a big splash with his November release!

J.M. Bray

J.M. Bray's debut release Tearing the Shroud will be available with Escape Publishing on November 1st. It's high fantasy with a twist of romance, and some wicked twists that will keep you on your seat.

His favorite first line comes from William Goldman's classic The Princess Bride:

"This is my favorite book in all the world, though I have never read it."

The reason this is J.M.'s favorite line?

To me, this line is an implied promise. That can be a dangerous thing, and though it isn’t my favorite book of all time, it does deliver an unforgettable story. The sentence made me wonder why. What would make the story so special? As I read it, my mind’s voice extends the words ‘in all the world,’ admittedly it’s also in Peter Falk’s voice. Strange that they changed the line in the movie, isn’t it? In general, I prefer my romances on the sweet side and this feels like the opening of a fairytale, which again, the story delivered.

Keep track of J.M. Bray and his releases:
Author webpage
Author blog
Facebook
Twitter

Want to know more about his debut release?

Tearing the Shroud centers around Vincent, a third year college student in San Diego, CA in 1984. Like most young guys, he’s trying to step into adulthood and break away from his parents. He’s even falling in love for the first time…then he starts to have visions. They warn of a coming evil from an unseen Realm. He can try to stop it entering his world, but only by letting a warrior’s spirit from that Realm possess him.

First Lines: Stefanie London

Today's guest is a newly published author and another up-and-comer!

Stephanie London

Stefanie London's first published erotic short story will be coming out in an anthology from Cleis Press. She's also hard at work submitting fun, flirty, contemporary romances which you'll probably see on a shelf near you soon!




Her favorite first line is found in Janet Evanovich's One for the Money:

"There are some men who enter a woman's life and screw it up forever. Joseph Morelli did this to me - not forever, but periodically."

As a writer with great voice, it makes sense that that is what she looks for:

I think it really sets up the voice of the main character, Stephanie Plum, and it shows clearly that the relationship between Stephanie and Joseph is not a smooth one. 

Keep up with the whirlwind that is Stefanie's new career:
Author webpage
Facebook
Twitter

And here's the news about her newest project:

I’m working on a story about a headstrong ballerina and a commitment-phobic CEO who embark on a fake marriage. It’s a friends to lovers story with lots of spark and sizzle, these two can’t keep their hands off each other! This story is a follow on from my first manuscript, which was about a ballerina and a football player. If you can’t tell, I love writing about dancers. 

First Lines: Melinda Lane

Today's guest is an up-and-comer you need to be on the watch for!

Melinda Lane is an unpublished author who's got several projects going (I'm lucky enough to have read them, and let me tell you, I can't wait to see them in print!). She's an entrant of this year's So You Think You Can Write with "The King's Choice," and is also working on a historical based around the French Revolution.

Melinda's favorite first line comes from Lynn Kurland's Stardust of Yesterday:

"Damn you, man!" Kendrick of Artane exclaimed. "Have you no idea who I am?"

Melinda's love of character is responsible for her love of this line:

Rather than a description, you are plunged into the dialogue, the action.  This line says so much about Kendrick, who is actually the hero—the first line of the book, spoken by the hero just sets so much for what follows and what you start out knowing about him.  

Watch for great things to come from Melinda:
Author webpage
So You Think You Can Write

Want to know more about Melinda's French Revolution tale?

Severus Huntington, an English spy in Revolutionary France, is torn between his conscience and his duty as the Reign of Terror begins. Accustomed to his solitary life, he believed relationships were something he could not have. When he comes face-to-face with an Englishwoman in Paris, he finds new purpose and unexpected love.

Catherine Williamson, an Englishwoman stranded by the Revolution, is shocked when a mysterious Frenchman rescues her and returns her to England. Certain she will never see him again, she is shocked when he arrives in London and she soon learns that all is not as it seems.