Anne-Rae Vasquez and Her Writing Process @Write2Film #amreading #paranormal #ya

Tell us about your new book? What’s it about and why did you write it?
"Doubt" mashes fringe science, corporate espionage and paranormal encounters to catapult you into an out-of-this-world experience.

The Among Us Trilogy is about a group of outcasts (online gamers) who band together to investigate who or what is behind the catastrophic events happening around the world.

When I first started writing Doubt, I was shaping out who would be the hero of my story and I decided that I wanted someone like the late Aaron Shwartz, intelligent beyond his years, courageous and a seeker of truth and justice.  My book Doubt is a tribute to Aaron’s memory and also an inspiration for all young people to uphold Aaron’s determination that all of us can use our talents to help make the world a better place.

I was also inspired by a young documentary filmmaker and activist Harry Fear whose coverage of the conflict in the Middle East was watched by millions on UStream all over the world.

Both Aaron and Harry are real truth seekers, which were my main inspirations for the main character Harry Doubt.

I have taken this same theme of Truth Seeking and applied it to the fictional story ‘Doubt’.

If you could have a dinner party and invite anyone dead or alive, who would you ask?.

I’d invite the unnamed seekers of truth out there… those who gave up their lives to fight for truth and justice.  In addition, I’d invite truth seekers: Aaron Swartz, Harry Fear, Cairn Rodrigues, author of Song of Soltice series, The Book Landers, Heromine Granger, Linus Pauling, and Gene Shoemaker.
And to entertain them, I’d invite John Lennon (my childhood hero), Johnny Depp (straight up good guy and actor), Jeffrey Dawson (good actor), Joshua Jackson (a Canadian actor) and Justin Timberlake and Jay Z (so that they can perform their hit song “Suit and Tie” for me and my kids).   Just realized that they all start with the letter J…. hmmm… coincidence?  My mother always told me that there are no such things as coincidences.

When you are not writing, how do you like to relax?

Watching back to back episodes of my favourite shows… Fringe, Turkish soap operas (yeah, read my last book to find out about that connection), Burn Notice, White Collar, 666 Park Avenue and more…

Do you have any tips on how writers can relax?

Buy your kids tons of games so that they can play quietly in their room.  Kidding!  Take time to spend time with your family.  Work is always there but your family may not be if you ignore them too much.

How often do you write? And what is the process?

I write in spurts.  Then I drag my developmental author into a room where she can rip it apart and massage it or punch me out.  Then we sit and rewrite it and then go through it again.  We let it sit and then visit it again and re-work, re-edit.  When we finally get to a point where we need more input, then we call on our beta readers and my critique partner to give us feedback. We have some that love it and some that hate it and then we go back and try to rework it again.  Finally when it is done, we send it off to professional editors to polish the book off.

Sometimes it’s so hard to keep at it - What keeps you going?

Artists just want to create and that is really all that keeps me going.

What’s your favorite meal?

Mediterranean food is my favourite kind of meals because I love the rich ethnic flavours and spices.

What color represents your personality the most?

Purple or magenta – my developmental editor says that colours have meanings that describe a person’s personality. She just read to me what Purple and Magenta mean and I was a bit surprised at how accurate it was.

If you could do any job in the world what would you do?

I would be a film maker and author.

What are you most passionate about? What gets you fired up?

I’m passionate about being creative.

Are you a city slicker or a country lover?

City slicker. Born and raised.

What’s your next project?

Book 2 of the Among Us Trilogy… and my developmental editor is bugging me to get started.

What would you love to produce in your life?

A TV series like Fringe or more feature films.

How important are friends in your life?

Extremely important but I can count on one hand who my true friends are.

Do you find the time to read?

Always… and I try to squeeze reading in between even the writing.  It is a my way to escape for a few minutes into another world and sometimes I find that a good book can jump start my creative juices.

What is your favorite quote, by whom, and why?

Quote by me:  Writing is emotional. It is baring your soul to the world and waiting for someone to acknowledge and love it, or shun and hate it, or worse be indifferent about it. --- Anne-Rae Vasquez

What’s your favorite place in the entire world?

Vancouver, BC, Canada is the best place in the world. If you have never visited, you should. Enough said.

How has your upbringing influenced your writing?

As you can see I inject a lot of culture in my stories no matter what the genre. I come from a mixed background and witnessed many clashes between both sides of the family especially from the different cultural traditions and way of life. I like to throw my characters into situations where they have to overcome cultural differences to achieve their goals.

How long have you been writing?

I’ve been writing for four decades since I was old enough to hold a pencil.

Did writing this book teach you anything and what was it?

I usually write by myself but I learned that being the Lone Ranger is not the best way to write. Thankfully, when I was writing Doubt, I had my developmental editor by my side. It was mostly a collaboration of minds, although we frequently butted heads. But the outcome, once we ironed things out, was pure magic.  In addition, my team of beta readers participated in missions (in the theme of the book) and also provided further feedback of each chapter. I also worked with my critique partner who helped shake up the story and make it richer.  Finally, the manuscript went through two copy and proof editors to refine the work and polish off the writing.

Have you ever had writer’s block? If so, what do you do about it?

No… never… Yeah right! ; )  I usually bang my head against the wall and then go watch a bunch of TV shows or read a book or cook to get my head back on track.

How did you come up with the title?

Aaron Swartz who passed away in early 2013 and Harry Fear, two young truth seekers were the inspiration for my book’s main character Harry Doubt.  The title Doubt not only is a play on the main character’s last name but also reflects how the characters question the reality of the world they live.

Can you tell us about your main characters?

Harry is a former child prodigy and tech genius. He created the popular online game the Truth Seekers.  His best friend, Cristal is also a talented and intelligent programmer. Her father went missing when she was a child. She senses that there is something different about her but she cannot bring herself to admit it.

How did you develop your plot and characters?

The story mixes social media communications such as text messaging and video messaging as a form of communication between characters as they go on missions to find their family members.

All characters have aliases and avatars, which are displayed as a splash page image at the beginning of the book.  The official website of the book (amongus.ca) also has detailed M.O.’s of the characters so readers can also view and interact with the characters on the website.

The story although geared to young adult/ early adult readers is also entertaining for general readers who are interested in the supernatural, sci/fi urban fantasy, apocalyptic genres with themes similar to the TV show Fringe (by J.J. Abrams).

As a filmmaker, journalist and web design programmer, I tell stories in multiple mediums.  Doubt (book 1 of the Among Us Trilogy) was literally created from an interactive online reality game that I created with the help of my developmental editor (Josefina Rosado).

The official website http://www.AmongUs.ca interacts with visitors allowing them to participate as Truth Seekers following the theme of the story.

I wanted to give readers another way to connect with my story.  Entertainment does not need to be contained in one medium. I believe in telling your story in many mediums. How do we do this?  One way was to entice readers  to participate in the experience of the story as it is being written. Putting Theory to the Test Here was the plan I used for fan recruiting  for my new novel Doubt, Book 1 of the Among Us Trilogy:

1)    Design website for the book series using the theme of the story
(Theme: Truth seekers who are online gamers use the internet to communicate with each other and also hack into global networks to save the world from catastrophic events caused by an unknown entity.)

2)    Entice beta readers to read drafts of the chapters as I write them but only awarding the first 10 who register

3)    Assign characters from the novel to each beta reader.

4)    Provide the beta reader with their assigned character’s strengths, weaknesses, personality traits and physical characteristics.

5)    As more chapters in the book are written, the ten beta readers will be asked to provide input with the incentive that what they write may be included in the next chapter. They will not know until the next chapter is released.

6)    Release each new chapter to the first ten fans as an award for having joined early.

7)    As more beta readers register to the site, ask them to create their own character and post the character’s 3 strengths and 3 weaknesses and 3 physical characteristics on the website.

8)    Entice additional beta readers to complete simple mission assignments related to the story with the incentive that their character may be chosen to be written into the Book 2 and Book 3 of the series.

9)    Give beta readers a Thank you credit on a Thank You page on the site and also on the credit page when the book is published.

10)    When the beta readers pass a mission assignment, a chapter will be released to them.

Using this approach to write Doubt, I also allowed fans to participate and shape the story. This has helped build the fan base and also promote the book launch. The release of the book is November 9, 2013 and because of this approach, Doubt is being featured at the Rain Dance Book Festival in Canada.

Who designed the cover?

Moi. I’m a web designer in my alternate life so graphic design is one of my hidden talents.

How do you promote this book?

We’re currently doing a book launch tour online and at live events. Fortunately, the Raindance Book Festival on November 9^th was a perfect venue to launch “Doubt”.  The festival provided us the platform to have a live event attended by hundreds of people which we UStreamed to our fans all over the world.  On our book launch day, we connected with other authors at the festival and exposed our book to a lot of attendees. Currently, we are marketing “Doubt” to book review bloggers and social media sites; Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, our blog, GoodReads, Amazon, Kindle groups, etc. We also are hosting giveaways on our blog, GoodReads and Library Thing.  We are really excited to be doing an Orangeberry Book Blog Tour, which starts on Dec 30^th with over 25 blog stops. During the tour, we are scheduling more giveaways, interviews and social media events.  Recently, we did a KDP Select free day where almost 6000 people downloaded my novella “Truth Seekers” which is Part 1 of the full novel “Doubt.” It is like a ‘Try before you buy’ approach. If readers like the novella, we know they will purchase the novel Doubt for the whole story.

Will you write others in this same genre?

Yes, I will be writing books 2 and 3 of the Among Us Trilogy in the Young Adult/Teen Urban fantasy paranormal apocalyptic thriller genres.

Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?

I believe that there is a truth seeker in all of us whether we want to admit it or not. Some people will reject the idea while others will open their eyes and embrace it.

How much of the book is realistic?

Ummm…the time travel part.

Have you included a lot of your life experiences, even friends, in the plot?

I plead the fifth.

How important do you think villains are in a story?

In all my stories, I am particularly fond of my female bad girl characters. The evil characters bring the story to life. Seriously, as an author, the best part of writing is writing in the wicked characters. It allows to let loose my dark side <wicked laughter>.

Have you started another book yet?

Yes, in my head <grin>. Actually my developmental editor and I sketched out a storyline prior to writing the first book in the trilogy. So technically, yes I have started the next book but it is still in the early stages of development.  Hoping to work on it more very soon.

Are you reading any interesting books at the moment?

I’m reviewing the soon to be released novel Smokescreen by Khaled Talib. It’s a thriller which involves the Israeli Mossad and the Singaporean government. Think of an Asian style 007 story with a lot of international intrigue and spy action.

What are some of the best tools available today for writers, especially those just starting out?

The internet is rich with resources for an author to hone their writing craft, learn about marketing, and network with other authors and fans.

Do you have any specific last thoughts that you want to say to your readers?

It is because of my readers that I continue to write. Without them, my work is meaningless. Thank you for your support and encouragement.

What dreams have been realized as a result of your writing?

The thrill that readers are enjoying the book and telling me to write book 2.

Do you love shows like J.J. Abrams' Fringe and read books like Cassandra Clare's City of Bones?

"Doubt" mashes fringe science, corporate espionage and paranormal encounters to catapult you into an out-of-this-world experience.

At 21 years old, Harry and Cristal are fresh out of university with their PhD's. Labeled all their lives as being 'weird' and 'geeky', they find true friendships with other outcasts by playing online virtual reality games.

Harry Doubt, a genius programmer and creator of the popular online game 'Truth Seekers', has a personal mission of his own; to find his mother who went mysteriously missing while volunteering on a peacekeeping mission in Palestine. His gaming friends and followers inadvertently join in helping him find her; believing that they are on missions to find out what has happened to their own missing loved ones. During Harry's missions, Cristal and the team of 'Truth Seekers' stumble upon things that make them doubt the reality of their own lives. As they get closer to the truth, they realize that there are spiritual forces among them both good and evil, but in learning this, they activate a chain of events that start the beginning of the 'end of the world' as they know it.

Doubt is Book 1 of the Among Us Trilogy. Among Us is a book series which delves into the world of the supernatural and how it intersects with the everyday lives of seemingly ordinary young people as catastrophic events on earth lead to the end of times. Among Us weaves the theme of a young man and woman, who while not fully understanding their 'abilities', are drawn together in their desire to find out the truth about the world they live in which is similar to themes used in J.J. Abrams' TV shows Fringe and Lost.

What readers have to say...

As a big fan of the show Fringe, this book appealed to me tremendously. The writing was well done, and the way the "supernatural" forces were introduced was great.

A good, clean read for any age.

It was an excellent story that I'm sure both adult and teen urban fantasy fans will enjoy. You don't have to be a gamer or know one to identify with the characters. They're very well developed and definitely feel like people. I would definitely recommend it to a friend and I'm really looking forward to the second book.

...the novel is written in such a languid style, it moves on effortlessly and absorbs the reader into the story completely. Although the story itself revolves around the online gaming industry, one does not have to have an in depth knowledge as it is ably explained and discussed within the plot line.
OMGosh! I just finished reading "Doubt" INCREDIBLE! I couldn't put it down.

˃˃˃ >>> Depth and Substance mashed up with Fringe Science. Will entertain young and old alike.

This book is intended for mature young adults and new adults. Ages 16 to 45 +

˃˃˃ >>Inspired by real Truth Seekers Aaron Swartz and Harry Fear

The main character Harry Doubt was inspired by Aaron Swartz, internet prodigy and activist, co-founder of the Creative Commons and Reddit, and Harry Fear, journalist, documentary filmmaker and activist whose coverage of the conflict in the Middle East was seen on UStream by millions of viewers.

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre - Young Adult, Paranormal, Science Fiction, Thriller

Rating – G

More details about the author

Connect with Anne-Rae Vasquez on Facebook & Twitter

Website http://amongus.ca

Devolution by Peter Clenott @PeterClenott

Excerpt

Chiku couldn’t help stare at the large bulge that was Rebecca’s baby-to-be. It made her reflect upon the gynecological exam Dr. Kessel had just given her. At sixteen, she couldn’t imagine being anyone’s mother, except maybe a chimpanzee’s. Rebecca was only fourteen, an eighth grader back home, a middle schooler. How could she be a mother? Yet even in wealthy well-educated America girls in their mid-teens were getting knocked up all the time, having their babies, and changing their lives in ways unpredictable and permanent. Not Chiku. Boys could go to hell.

“When was the last time you saw him?” Chiku asked.

“Two week. Three week. He ask me how my baby doing. I tell him, fine. He give me twenty francs. He always give me money.”

“And that was it?” Chiku gazed at Tim who was still holding all of the things she had given him from her buried stash. “What about Dr. Fisher? Do you know why he’d be in my dad’s house?”

Rebecca dipped her head in thought then gave out with a startled grunt as the baby inside her gave a hefty kick. “Soon,” she said, “Any day my Abasi.” Then she staggered against Chiku.

“You okay? Maybe she’s coming out now.” Chiku was aghast.

“No. No. He. Not yet. No water.”

“Well, you can’t stand here. You have to sit, Rebecca. In the shade.”

Chiku pulled the pregnant girl into the cooler cover of the banana tree. “You want water? Something to drink?”

Rebecca leaned against the tree rather than risk getting herself into a position from which she couldn’t rise. She panted, holding a hand against her belly, Chiku watching that hand move not of its own volition but due to the child inside raring to get going with life.

Not for me, Chiku thought.

Rebecca said, “I okay.”

“You’re sure?”

“When the water break, then we know.”

“Know what?” Chiku asked.

“That the baby is coming,” Tim said. He placed his hands on his friend’s shoulders. They were trembling as if she were the one about to go into labor. “Honestly, Chiku, what do they teach you in Brookline, Massachusetts?”

“How to avoid reality.”

Chiku took Rebecca’s hand. It was cool and sweaty and on her ring finger she was wearing something that looked awfully familiar to Chiku. “Nice,” she said. “Amethyst. My color. My ring, actually. How’d you get it?”

“Your father give me.”

“Cool. It matches your dress.”

Chiku didn’t care that it was an old ring, one that she had either lost or forgotten some distant time in the past and that probably couldn’t even fit her fingers anymore. She just wondered why her father would have given this particular girl this particular ring.

“I think they kill him,” she said.

“What?” Chiku’s eyes darted from the purple colored ring to the black face of the Hutu teenager.

“They were mad mad.”

“Who?”

“Fisher. Your father. Dr. Kessel. They all mad. And the others.”

“What others?” Chiku asked. “Does Colonel Fundanga know?”

“Colonel Fundanga one of them,” Rebecca said. “I keep quiet. Bad enough in the camp. I don’t want to die.”

Rebecca let out a long breath, took in a deep mouthful of air, and let out her discomfort once again. Then she smiled at Chiku before saying, “They come for you next. You his daughter.”

Buy Now @ Amazon & Smashwords

Genre - Young Adult

Rating – PG

More details about the author and the book

Connect with Peter Clenott on Facebook & Twitter

Website www.peterclenott.net

Eternal Night by Jade Kerrion @JadeKerrion

EXCERPT
Ashra pushed past the blackness at the start of his memories, expecting deeper darkness. Instead, the colors shifted into shades of ochre and gray. Memories, older than his body, resided in his soul; memories of an Earth long since lost to them—a planet surrounded and nourished by water; images of tall buildings glistening beneath a benevolent sun, and of thriving cities filled with the bustle of humans; memories of quiet and intimate conversations beneath a silver moon, the same silver moon that now graced Malum Turris with its light, though a thousand years older and viewed only from beneath the protection of the dome.
She saw herself as he must have seen her, a much-younger icrathari, still hopeful for the future, never realizing that the Earth they had all known and loved was irretrievably lost. Had she ever looked that vulnerable? Had her smile ever been so beautiful, so filled with love as she looked upon—
“Rohkeus?” Oh, blessed Creator, was that stricken whisper her voice?
Ashra pulled back and stared at the human. Her mouth dropped open. Her heart pounded in her chest, its beat erratic. It couldn’t be. It simply couldn’t be—
She looked up at Tera. The other icrathari nodded.
Rohkeus’s soul reborn…in a human.
Ashra threw her head back and laughed, a despairing sound.
Elsker stepped forward. The sole male icrathari was slightly taller than the female icrathari, and dressed in a black silk shirt and linen pants. His silver hair was cropped short, and his light blue eyes were wide. “Rohkeus reborn? That’s impossible.”
Siri shrugged, her red gown shifting around her curvaceous frame. Her silver hair, cut short, framed her face. “Stranger things have happened.” Her pale violet gaze raked over the human. “At least he had the good sense to choose a pretty body.”
Ashra shook her head, the movement jolting her out of her daze. Her prince, her love, reduced to a human? Her slender fingers coiled into fists. Her golden eyes glittering, she pushed away from him, though her body trembled from the loss of his warmth. No, the human was not Rohkeus; he could never be Rohkeus.
Steeling herself against the gasp of pain that escaped from his lips as the anesthetizing effect of her kiss faded, Ashra rose to her feet with sinuous grace. “He is not one of us. Not anymore.” Nothing had been more devastating than losing Rohkeus to a human assassin. To see his soul reborn in that contemptible and weak race was an insult to the person Rohkeus had been.
“Should we turn him into a vampire?” Tera asked.
“Kill him. Set Rohkeus’s soul free.”
Siri seized Ashra’s hand before she could turn away. Siri’s lips, painted the same provocative color as her dress, shaped an O. “You’re not serious. How many people are offered a second chance at the love of a lifetime?”
A second chance? Her traitorous pulse raced even as her lips curled with disgust. “He’s human.”
“We can make him immortal—a vampire.”
Ashra swallowed hard. “But not an icrathari.”
Siri’s gaze fell. “No, of course not.”
“Kill him.”
“You can’t.” Siri stepped forward, placing herself between Ashra and the barely conscious human. “This is amazing. It’s never happened before—a soul reborn.”
“Rohkeus is dead, and I rule Aeternae Noctis.” She turned to Tera. “I told you to kill him.”
Tera hesitated for a fraction of a second, and then she shook her head. “I won’t do it, and neither will Siri or Elsker. If you want him dead, you’ll have to do it yourself.”
E-books available at Amazon / Amazon UK / Apple / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / Smashwords
Paperbacks available at Amazon / Amazon UK / Barnes & Noble / Book Depository
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Jade Kerrion developed a loyal reader base with her fan fiction series based on the MMORPG Guild Wars. She was accused of keeping her readers up at night, distracting them from work, housework, homework, and (far worse), from actually playing Guild Wars. And then she wondered why just screw up the time management skills of gamers? Why not aspire to screw everyone else up too?
So here she is, writing books that aspire to keep you from doing anything else useful with your time.
Her debut novel, Perfection Unleashed, spawned the Double Helix series which has won a total of seven science fiction awards, including first place in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2012 and the gold medal in Readers Favorites Awards 2013. She is also the author of Earth-Sim and When the Silence Ends, which placed first and second respectively in the 2013 Royal Palm Literary Awards, Young Adults category.
She lives in Fort Lauderdale, Florida with her wonderfully supportive husband and her two young sons, Saint and Angel, (no, those aren’t their real names, but they are like saints and angels, except when they’re not.)
Connect with Jade: Website / Facebook / Twitter

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre - Fantasy, Paranormal

Rating – PG-13

More details about the author and the book

Connect with Jade Kerrion on Facebook & Twitter

Website http://www.jadekerrion.com

Robin Hawdon Shares His Favourite Things in Life & More @AuthorDebate #Historical #Detective

What’s your favorite meal? 

All – I love good food.

What color represents your personality the most? 

Oh please.....!

What movie do you love to watch? 

Good ones.

How do you feel about social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter? Are they a good thing? 

Actually I wonder – they have distorted the world so much.

If you could do any job in the world what would you do?

This one.

What’s the reason for your life? Have you figured out your reason for being here yet? 

To progress the world, however slightly. It’s what we’re all here for.

How do you feel about self-publishing?

Ambivalent.

Do you find the time to read? 

Not enough.

What is your favorite quote, by whom, and why?

Bernard Shaw – “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world.  The unreasonable man attempts to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.”

How long have you been writing? 

Forty years.

Did writing this book teach you anything and what was it?

Revise, revise, revise.

What is your greatest strength as a writer? 

Revise, revise, revise.

Who is your publisher? 

SBPRA

Why did you choose to write this particular book?

 It says things I REALLY want to say.

What was the hardest part about writing this book? 

Getting the complex strands right.

Did you learn anything from writing this book and what was it?

Revise, revise, revise.

The questions are always with us. Does God really exist? Are science and religion incompatible bedfellows? Charles Darwin shook philosophy to its foundations with his theory of evolution, yet strangely, he himself refrained from commenting in depth about the religious implications for fear of adding to the furor.

But suppose that he did in fact write down his conclusions as a secret addendum to his seminal work, Origin of Species. And suppose his beloved wife, Emma, who kept her own secret journal, was the only other person to know of this hidden postscript.

The novel Survival of the Fittest is the modern day story of the search for these two hugely significant works. An eccentric and endearing London antiquarian book dealer is hired by an equally eccentric American billionaire to track down the documents for his world famous collection of original manuscripts.

The complex investigation ranges across England, from historic towns and stately piles to prisons and Darwin homes, and involves a series of encounters ranging from the criminal to the romantic and the revelatory. Along the way, it explores the spiritual struggle within the extraordinary Darwin household, and the effects of that same struggle on the creators of the atom bomb and on modern terrorists.

Do we want to know the answer, or will it stir up a hornet's nest?

This dramatic investigation of man's spiritual dilemma occupies the spaces between authors Dan Brown and Richard Dawkins.

About the Author:

Robin Hawdon is one of Britain's most prolific playwrights. His plays have been seen in over forty countries. At any one moment there may be over a dozen productions running across the USA, Europe, and elsewhere. This is his third novel.

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – Detective, philosophy, religion, historical

Rating – G

More details about the author

Connect with Robin Hawdon on Facebook & Twitter

Website http://www.charlesdarwinblog.com

Author Interview - Jennifer Cornet @J_Cornet

How has your upbringing influenced your writing?

-Not really. I think my writing has been more heavily influenced by the latter half of my life. I wasn’t much of a writer or reader growing up. I think much of that developed as I got older.

Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?

-A few years back, I took a job at an engineering firm. Shortly after I started, I was introduced to colleague who was writing a text book. I agreed to help him edit as well as write a sort chapter. I enjoyed the process and I guess it stuck with me because a year or so later I started writing my first book.

When and why did you begin writing?

-Like any job, there are lull periods. There was one such stretch where I went weeks without much to do around the office. I had reached the end of the internet and felt like I might lose it if I have to sit still for another day. So one day, I started writing. I came up with the concept and searched “How to write a novel,” and that was it.

How long have you been writing?

-Most of my life I’ve been a technical writer. It wasn’t until 2012 that I really began my life as a creative writer.

When did you first know you could be a writer?

-Originally I wasn’t planning on ever showing my story to anyone. It was something fun to work on. But after a year of writing and rewriting my story I finally showed it to people. It wasn’t until my friend Heather told me she had stayed late at work one day to keep reading that I realized I could really do this.

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre - Urban Fantasy

Rating – PG - 13

More details about the author

Connect with Jennifer Cornet on Facebook & Twitter

Website http://www.jennifercornet.com/

Quality Reads UK Book Club Disclosure: Author interview / guest post has been submitted by the author and previously used on other sites.

Write What You Like to Read & Other Tips from Fenella J. Miller @FenellaWriter #amwriting #writetip

10 Tips for Becoming a Better Writer

1. Write what you like to read – if you don't ever read contemporary romantic fiction, then don't attempt to write it yourself.

2. Develop a thick skin – part of being a writer is showing your work to other people and being ready to accept criticism and be prepared to change what you've written. Getting stinking reviews, as well as being rejected by agents and publishers, are just part of the life of a writer.

3. Do something writing related every day – all writers need a life away from the computer. Even when you have a full-time job/bringing up a family/other major commitments in your life, in order to be a successful writer you must write something every day.

4. Be prepared to jettison an entire manuscript however long you've spent writing it. Only the fortunate few are lucky enough to have their first book published – most of us have written half a dozen novels which never see the light of day before they produce anything publishable.

Writing is a craft – like any apprentice you must expect to spend time learning to be the best you can.

5. Take your time and don't be in too much of a hurry to send your book off to be read by an agent/editor or publisher. Put your manuscript to one side for as long as you can bear to – reading the book after a gap of time will often highlight what needs to be tightened or removed from a manuscript.

6. Be determined and be resilient. Writing is not an easy profession; I think you have to have an obsessive personality to make it work. Don't give up after a few rejected novels, keep reading and writing until you succeed.

7. Always gets your manuscript proofread by someone else. However good you are, however professional, it is impossible for a writer to see all the typos and missing words for themselves. It isn't necessary to pay for this service – any educated, literate friend can read through a book and pick up things that you've missed.

8. When you are successful be ready to offer your assistance and advice to those behind you on the ladder.

9. Be professional. What you don't know about formatting your manuscript/writing a letter to the editor or agent/social media or promotion can be gleaned from other writers, writers’ associations and from the Internet. There is no excuse for being unprofessional.

10. Remember one person's opinion is exactly that – there are millions of potential readers who could disagree with a negative review. Have confidence in yourself and your work and write what you want to write. Don't jump on the latest bandwagon – stay true to your unique voice.

World War II brings divided loyalties and tough decisions in this page turning drama from Fenella Miller.

Hannah Austen-Bagshaw’s privileged background can’t stop her falling in love with working-class pilot, Jack, but Hannah has a secret. Torn between her duty and her humanity, she is sheltering a young German pilot knowing she risks being arrested as a traitor. Hannah’s worst fears are realised when Jack finds out what she has done and their love begins to unravel.

Will her betrayal be too much for Jack to forgive?

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Genre – Historical fiction

Rating – PG

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Cast in Blood (Morgan Blackstone) by Michelle Rabe @michrabe

NEW ORLEANS SEP 4, 2009

The Assassin’s voice boomed through the closed double doors to the study for the fifth time since he’d entered the room with Morgan’s Blood Sons, almost five hours before.  Marcus cringed as the doors were flung open, and Nicholas strode out, rage radiating from every inch of his six–foot, four–inch frame. Storm–gray eyes landed on Marcus, narrowed to slits, and he stalked past, commanding him to follow with an imperious wave of his right hand. Not wanting to piss the Assassin off more, Marcus bit back a snide comment, and followed him up the sweeping staircase to the mansion’s upper floors.

“Damn it all to hell, Old Man!” Nicholas roared as he began pacing the landing at the top of the stairs. He wanted Marcus to throw himself against his temper to take the edge off.

Ye Gods, Marcus thought, we’ve done this more times than I’d care to count in the centuries we’ve known one another, but this is different. Well, something other than the fact that we’ve barely spoken a civil word to one another in almost two hundred years.

“I take it the boys couldn’t add anything to what we already knew. In spite of the almost five hour interrogation?” Marcus asked, fighting to rein in his own temper, leaning against the banister at the top of the stairs.

“Five hours?” Nicholas stopped moving. He turned to Marcus, meeting his eyes. The other vampire nodded.  “It was really that long?”

“Yes. What’s next, Assassin?” Marcus asked, letting some of the frustration he felt give his voice a hard edge. The last thing they needed right now was for Nicholas to go soft.

“We can’t do anything before the sun sets,” he said, after giving Marcus a long, appraising look.

He’s assessed my well–being and decided I’m not fit for the field. I’ve seen that look too many times before and know better than to argue with him, Marcus thought, trying to work out a logical counter argument.

“I haven’t slept.” Nicholas sighed. “You look like death warmed over and those two are rattled.” He nodded toward the room where he’d left the younger vampires.

“Fine.” Marcus nodded. “I took the liberty of having my staff get us some SUVs. If Morgan’s alive, she’s going to need fresh blood. We’re going to need the extra room.” Marcus was almost certain that he didn’t have to mention that, but the desperate look in Nicholas’s eyes led him to believe that there was no such thing as being too careful in this situation.

“She has to be alive, Marcus.”

“We’ll find her.” Marcus answered, feeling like an ass for lying. We both know that the odds suck. This could be nothing more than trying to find her body. Gods, whoever did this is going to pay.

“I have a very bad feeling about this,” the Assassin muttered, looking through Marcus. Nicholas’s mind was turning over what he knew, making connections and searching for others.

“How so?” Marcus asked, prompting Nicholas to think aloud, knowing it helped him make connections he otherwise missed, and it gave Marcus the opportunity to make a few as well.

“The security footage Danny sent over from the club’s parking lot shows Morgan and her attackers, but never their faces.”

“The club has cameras outside?”

“Apparently one of the human staff had some trouble right after the club opened. Morgan had them installed after that.”

“They could have scoped out the cameras. Not too difficult when you know what to look for,” Marcus muttered, his brows drawn together. “Why didn’t anyone see her being attacked, if it was caught on camera? Why are we just learning about this now? Just because she somehow jacked my mind and knocked me flat on my ever–loving ass.” Marcus’s words sped up as he continued, agitation given voice.

“The footage is stored on massive hard drives but not reviewed unless an incident is reported. Since no one reported her disappearance…” Nicholas’s voice trailed off.

“I have a feeling Morgan will be revising that policy when she returns.”

“If she returns.”

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Genre - Paranormal Urban Fantasy

Rating – PG-13

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Website http://paperbackvamp.tumblr.com/