Book Brouhaha

The adventure continues with Uxel's second book!  I'll be honest: this series has my inner geek feeling all warm and fuzzy.  I focused more on the world-building elements of Muzik Chronicles with this installment.  This is something I've toyed around with on the blog but I've yet to really flesh out and put into use until now. Book 2 continues Uxel's training as a tuner which has been a ton of fun to write.  I had to really mentally explore what  a tuner was and how she could use these powers in a "real world" application.  Like it's one thing to say that you're a wizard but the coolness factor really all boils down to the nuts and bolts of a wizard fight scene.  How do tuners do battle? Well, Uxel has to figure out the answer to that question as well....

Summary:   Steven has some serious trust issues and has done some serious drinking at the bar.  Emily, his girlfriend, has unknown whereabouts and won’t respond to any of Steven’s alcohol-fueled and accusatory texts. George Packard, an ex-government engineer and fellow bar patron, claims to have the solution: a machine that promises to link the couple in a permanent, unconventional way. Steven isn’t sure that Emily will agree to his selfish designs. Though, if they truly are soul mates, Steven’s sure he’s allowed to take some liberties ... Review: **Warning: May contain spoilers** An engaging story that gets to the point just a little too late and then ends just a little too soon.  The writing style does pull you in, however.  Gordon has a fun way of making her characters endearing. As the summary suggests, a mad scientist offers a heartbroken man an unconventional solution to his problem.  The thing is that the solution has been "don...

I know there's really no straight answer to this. I'm just thinking out loud. So aside from blogging and announcing new releases on FB, I did absolutely no (ZERO) promotion for my work in 2013. No blog interviews, no chatting with people on Twitter... nothing. It's now 2014 and I'm thinking maybe I could up things a little more. So I've gotten more into scheduling FB and Twitter posts. Nothing spammy and no life-improving quotes. It's still "me" just scheduled out instead of blasting all my random thoughts into Internet space all at once. I figure it takes minimal effort and it couldn't hurt. No one wants to like a FB page that has absolutely no content on it. I mean, I wouldn't so why would others? So my question is whether or not it's worth it to go beyond this level of effort? My books sales are slooooooooowly increasing due to most of my energy being put into writing. So I figure it makes sense that I should put off more socia...

For a couple of years now I've been writing stories for a serial-style blog called Muzik Chronicles .  It's nerdy and my mother comprises 30% of my audience but I enjoy writing it.  It's a nice change of pace and it gives me a chance to world build in a way a story won't allow.  All this world building has finally led to me branching out into longer story ideas.  "Longer" meaning it's a novelette and not a 200 word blog post. And so... I give you Uxel Herum! I've invented a system of powers called the Tuning System.  The Tuning System is to Muzik Chronicles as the force is to Star Wars.  Tuning powers are kind of a combination of music, acoustics and martial arts.  It's pretty cool, if I do say so myself.  Uxel is a tuner in training.  This five book series will follow her as she goes from an overlooked fruit merchant to a hardcore chick.

Summary: George and Chloe are High School sweethearts nearing the end of their senior year with a serious problem. The adorable, inseparable couple that everyone sees smiling and holding hands is a façade. Behind George’s doting ways and charming smile lies a jealousy and paranoia so deep it drives him into a blind rage that is best kept under wraps. When Chloe announces she is moving to California for college George unravels and there is no stopping the rampaging, possessive beast that lives within causing him to do terrible, terrible things. Will George be able to take control of this inner monster before it destroys everything good in his life or will he be a slave to it just as his father was? This is a story of young love and fear, affection and abuse, sunflowers and suspicion, innocence and blood. Review: A modern spin on "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall."  While engaging enough, the story lacks the psychotic depth necessary to give the ending some punc...

I've been struggling (good struggling) a lot with my writing "voice" of late.  It's such a crucial element to a good story and yet it's not something you think about right away when you first dabble in writing. I've been reading a book that was recommended to me called Creating Short Fiction  by Damon Knight.  He talks about how there are several stages of development for a writer.  The first stage is always very conceptual.  An author thinks of interesting concepts and little else.  Like a really good opening line or scene with no plans for how it could actually unfold into a fully developed plot. I think if I had read that when I first started publishing my stories I would have totally denied it.  My stories were perfect back then.  Any reviews that said otherwise was an affront on my genius. I think if I had read that by my second year of writing/publishing I would have acknowledged the truth of it and been embarrassed.  Like I shoul...

Summary: He had long suspected that he was being plagued by demons. So begins the tale of the man from Mecca, a man unsure of his place in the world. Cast off by family and shunned by members of his own tribe, he longs to find meaning in his tortured existence. But his grip on reality has been slipping away. The man who has been appearing to him, the one who calls himself Jibrayil, claims to be an angel of God. But this being could just as easily be a demon of Hell. Or even a hallucination created by his own fevered mind. Even more perplexing is Jibrayil’s assertion that he is destined to be the highest prophet of God. Review: A compelling but simplistically told story of faith.  Faith, much like politics, has a lot of facets.  It's a hairy combination of culture, experiences, education and personality.  Which is really why I think it's so interesting for people to study.  As much as we would all love to have ONE answer to everything it wouldn't be ...