Category Archives: Book planning

Thoughts about works in progress and how they develop. Back stories that may be interesting to the readers and some of the character development.

blog, Book Promotion, Meet the Authors

Say Hello to Kimberly Iverson

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Wrapping up my trio of quick interviews with writers featured in the big Speculative Fiction giveaway on Instafreebie, I’m pleased to introduce Kimberly Iverson, the fantastic lady who is hosting the giveaway and a pretty awesome author.

In line with my unplanned trend of featuring west coast authors, Kimberly fits right in, hailing from near Seattle, Washington. She is a prolific writer with numerous books in several genres, such as the Dark Illusions, Dynasty of Moirae, and Guardian of Life series. If you’re looking for some good reads, check out her books. Now to the chat:

LW: Please tell us about the book that you’re featuring in this amazing giveaway and what inspired this story.

KI: I’m combining these two because this is a multi-part answer for me. They go hand-in-hand. By that I mean that Hope of the Future was two different books. The first book that I wrote was inspired by simply the idea of what would happen (mind you, I was very young for this idea – 12 to 16, I think) if in the future, humans kept other humans as pets. The other idea I had was similar to that, but I wondered what would happen if women could no longer bear children, but because they were so desperately afraid, their bodies changed and prevented it? What would happen if that had such repercussions that even generations down the line, that was so ingrained it changed humans? Next thing I knew, when I was editing the second book, which was Hope of the Future, I felt it was lacking, and a friend offered me a tip, which then led me to remember the “Future Story” I had from when I was young. I removed about 90% of that story, and combined the other 10% into the first Hope of the Future. After that I thought of humans living longer and the rest came to light.

LW: Awesome. I love it when something that didn’t work out long before becomes relevant in a new project and can be incorporated. Nothing is ever lost when writing. But when you sit down to write, what is the one thing that you absolutely have to have?

KI: Water. That sounds so odd, but I can’t. I can go without music, without sitting at the desk, without pretty much everything except…water. I will even drink coffee or hot chocolate, sometimes green tea (Arizona Green Tea with Honey is what I love the most), but I will always have water. I was a mermaid in a past life, I’m sure.

LW: Very interesting and maybe you were a finned-female in the past. While you’re sipping on your water and plotting, do you slip any secrets in your books that only a few people will find? (Drop a hint, I’m a Pisces myself, so no secrets among fishies, right?)

KI: I do! But then…if I told you, they wouldn’t be secrets now, would they? For those readers like myself who love books so much that unless they truly hate it, they’ll read it again, I have little secrets in the majority of my books. Some are obvious, some come through double-entendres, but most you have to pay close attention to the stories and all my books to find.

LW: Guess I have a lot of reading to do, but that’s okay. I’m intrigued. What is your process for choosing names for your characters?

KI: This depends on the person and story. Many times the name is there. There’s no other name it could be. Like with Hope. She is the epitome of the term so for me, her name couldn’t really have been anything but Hope. When I struggle, I may make one up, grab one out of thin air, or do what I did back when my mom bred Shih Tzus when I was young. Go to the baby name books. Nowadays it’s baby name sites. I research the pronunciation, the terms, what the name means, all of it. Some names go through a few changes before it’s settled. Like Ronin in Hope of the Future. Not sure how many names that man had before I chose Ronin.

LW: I hear that! You try out a few then one day a name just clicks. Actually I’ve done that with my pets when naming them. And with that thought in mind, what’s your favorite paranormal creature and why?

KI: Has to be the werewolf. I think it’s because I grew up seeing them a lot. I watched planet of Body Snatchers and zombie movies, but I was always drawn to werewolves. My love of wolves in general could be a clue, and that I constantly dream about them, but I am also drawn to Beauty and the Beast and I think that contributes. Their strength, power, and presence. That they could be beast or human. Walk in day or night. To me, they have a lot of the great attributes of vampires without the desperation for blood so they are in many ways still alive and can LIVE like a human.

LW: Definitely cool characters those wolves. I thought maybe you’d go for a sea creature. When you have time to relax and read, who are your favorite authors?

KI: My favorites are always the people who make me forget everything. I start reading and then I’m late to bed because I thought . . . just a few more words, annnndddd I’m five chapters in. Those people are: Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Michael Crichton, Anne Rice, Keri Arthur, George R.R. Martin, and J.K. Rowling. I only just read Harry Potter for the first time in 2015 so I was late to that game, but I love it. I also recently read Alianne Donnelly’s Wolfen and that story sucked me in.

Thanks very much for taking the time to do this and for hosting this great giveaway. You can learn more about Kimberly’s work on her website and forum:

Speculative Fiction Writer & Occasional Paranormal Romantic
kimberlysueiverson.com
Come by the new forum!
kimberlysueiverson.boards.net

So, those of you who haven’t read anything by Kimberly Iverson yet, this is a great opportunity to pick up a free copy of Hope of the Future and maybe find a new favorite author. By the way, she’ll be releasing two more books in the next few months.

Just click the picture for the link to the giveaway page where you’ll find over 80 books for free downloads, including one of mine and my short story as well. Hurry. This giveaway ends on March 4th!

blog, Book Promotion

Speculative Fiction Giveaway

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Good day, fellow book readers…

National Read Across America Day is March 6 and the celebration is starting early.

My science fiction adventure novel, O’Ceagan’s Legacy, is part of a big speculative fiction giveaway hosted by author Kimberly Iverson.  It is live as of today, so hurry over to pick up some great reads for free.  It will vary by author, but most of us are asking for a sign up to our mailing list in order to download. My short story, The Wizard’s Gift is also featured in this giveaway.

I also ask, nay- beg, you to consider writing an honest review of my book if you download and read it. You can post your review on Amazon, Goodreads, Instafreebie, or any other location you prefer. Reviews are very important to a writer.  In order to get exposure from sellers, such as Amazon, Apple, or other books sales sites, you need to have reviews. The more positive ones, the better, but I just ask for your honest opinion.  Please consider writing one or at least rating the books you read.  Thank you.

Follow this link to the giveaway:

In the next few days, I will be posting short interviews with three of the writers participating in this giveaway, including Kim, so look for those.

Don’t waste time.  Get to the page above and grab some good reads!  Happy reading, my friends.

Book Promotion, My musings, NaNoWriMo

Read “Funeral Singer” for free!

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Two years ago, on November 1st, I participated in NaNoWriMo – National Novel Writing Month – for the first time and completed my novel, Funeral Singer: A Song for Marielle, which I went on to rewrite, edit, and publish in September 2015.  While I’ve written other novels, this was the first one that I published and it is the first novel of the Funeral Singer series.

As I begin my third NaNoWriMo writing frenzy, I am celebrating by making the Kindle version of Funeral Singer FREE for the first five days of November.

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Available FREE from November 1 through November 5, 2016 at Amazon – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B014QXQKSM

Gillian Foster is an energetic, bright young woman in her mid-twenties, who is trying to build a career as a musician and singer while paying the bills with a dog-grooming job. She’s pretty, sassy, and a hard worker.  With her band, Spicy Jam – Ferris and Digby, musician pals from college – she plays parties, fairs, events, and clubs whenever she get a booking. When an accidental fall results in a concussion that triggers a paranormal talent, things begin to change.  While singing at a funeral, she suddenly can see and talk to the deceased in an ethereal graveyard without missing a beat on her performance.

Convinced she is having hallucinations, she looks for a physical reason for the problem. While she won’t tell her bandmates or the handsome doctor she’s started dating, she does confide in her best friend, Janna, who believes in all things paranormal. As Gillian gets more jobs to sing at funerals, she encounters more deceased who need her assistance. One of these clients needs more than an assist to the next life.  She demands that Gillian find her murderer. Can Gillian find the man and what will she do if she does?

While I don’t have many reviews on Amazon for it, the ones I do have give it a 4 1/2 star average rating.  A few of the comments about the book:

  • I liked this story very much. It’s very well written and has great character development. The author just made Gillian’s journey easily comprehensible. The use of two point of views (Gillian’s and the detective’s) paid off well. The suspense that was build kept me intrigued despite the plot being a bit foreseeable. – Amazon Reader Coral Fang
  • I’ve been reading this book as what I call my “lunch time book” but yesterday, I couldn’t stand the suspense any longer and read it straight through although I must admit, my curiosity got the better of me by chapter 18 and I swiped to the last two chapters, read the ending , then went back to where I left off. I once read that a good book or movie is defined by the ending whether one cares about what will happen to the characters when it’s done. “Funeral Singer: A Song for Marielle…” gave me that feeling and therefore I recommend this book to anyone and everyone and can’t wait for the next installment!!! – Amazon Reader Cindy Western
  • This is what a book should be, well-written, well plotted, with engaging characters. It was a privilege to visit this world. – Amazon Reader PRBC

If you enjoy a suspense story with a paranormal twist, here’s your chance to take Funeral Singer for a test drive. If you’re on Kindle Unlimited, the book is available there also, even after the five day promotion.  Find the book here.

Don’t forget that if you sign up for my mailing list, you will have a chance to win a $25 Amazon gift card in my quarterly promotion.

Back stories, My musings

Preserving the Past

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When I went scouting around the cemeteries in the Reno, Nevada area before writing my Funeral Singer novel, I spent some time on the outside of one near the University of Nevada Reno campus. The cemetery appeared run down, forgotten, and forlorn with crumbling or missing monuments, no greenery to speak of, and a general feeling of utter neglect, particularly on the south side of the bluff that overlooked the city. A dirt road ran between this side and the other side where the monuments were newer and a smaller section to the northeast that flaunted a Nevada state historic marker.

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Grand Army of the Republic Cemetery in Reno, Nevada.

This is the Old Hillside Cemetery that dates back to the 1800s and is the final resting place of many of the early settlers and prominent members of the community in the Reno-Sparks area. But is it final?

Now the owner and a developer plan to exhume the bodies, relocate them, and possibly build student housing or some other dwellings on the property. This has caused an uproar with the relatives of people buried in the south section, who see this as disrespectful of their ancestors and for some, a violation of what they hold sacred. According to this article in the Reno Gazette Journal, the plan the developer proposes is to re-inter the bodies on the northern side.

Monument in the Pythian Cemetery.
Monument in the Pythian Cemetery.

However, there are over eight hundred remains in the south side and I don’t believe they have enough room to move them. The other cemeteries are the Pythian Cemetery, which is maintained well, and the Grand Army of the Republic Cemetery, which holds the remains of eight-two Civil War veterans from Nevada.

Before I learned all the details of the cemetery, I decided to include it in the second Funeral Singer novel, A Song for Menafee and began researching it further. I learned that the cemetery was willed to the University, and the authorities had hoped to build student housing on the site, but they soon realized the hurdles of trying to clear and move the graves would be more than they wished to endure. They sold the cemetery to Sierra Memorial Gardens and the new owners fenced the property and began to clean it up some. From my perspective, it provided the ideal location for my book. Shortly after I published in August, 2016, the issue blew up with the plan to move the bodies, clean up the property, and then decide how it would be used.

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Confederate trench honors the fallen in anonymity.

For me, it struck a discordant note. In my research, I’d taken a trip to the Shiloh Battlefield, a national monument and cemetery that preserved as many graves from that battle as they could, including discovering and marking the several burial trenches where the Confederate dead, the losers at Shiloh, had been interred in mass. I’d felt a sense of connection with these people from the past and their history. Other cemeteries that are hundreds of years old also honor the dead and provide a link. Yet here, in my city, in a cemetery not even one-hundred-fifty-years old, people want to dig up some of the founders of the city and move them to a different place breaking the connection, and the energy, that exists in the burial ground.

Ghosts have been sighted at the Hillside Cemetery, or so many people report. Whether you believe in such happenings or not, there is an energy at burial sites that you can feel. For me, I’ve encountered enough odd events to make me think that ghosts are quite probable. From that standpoint, you can move the bones, but that doesn’t mean the spirit will go with them. Someone living in an apartment in a building constructed on the site may still encounter paranormal activity. Would you want to live there?

Book Promotion

New “Funeral Singer” book releasing on Sunday!

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A Song for Menafee

Releases on August 28th in both Kindle and paperback on Amazon.com.  You can still pre-order to be among the first to get the book for your Kindle.

About the Heroine:

As a musician, Gillian Foster hopes to make a career of it, but so far, she’s settling for local gigs with her three-piece band, Spicy Jam, in her hometown of Reno, Nevada.  By the way, she tells you to pronounce her name with a “g” sound like gill, rather than the British way with a “j” sound like Jill. Most people get it wrong.

Following a gig at a wedding, an accident occurred, she hit her head, and after she healed, she discovered she had a new “gift”.  On being asked to sing at a funeral, she  found herself in an ethereal graveyard, face to face with the newly departed soul and singing praises of the deceased’s life as she escorted the spirit to the exit gate and into the tunnel of light that led to the next plane. She assumed the whole incident must have been a hallucination. Only it didn’t stop happening and she found herself in demand to sing at funerals.

In A Song for Marielle

In Funeral Singer: A Song for Marielle, one of Gillian’s “clients”, a preteen girl, enlists her aid in finding the man who brutally murdered her. As Marielle’s spirit guides her through the events via visions seen through the child’s eyes, Gillian questions her health and her sanity while pursuing a serial killer. She’s in the wrong place more than once and draws the attention of Sheriff’s Office detectives, Egan Moss and Dave Hernandez.

Book Two is A Song for Menafee

Returning in the second book of the series, A Song for Menafee, Gillian is now more used to the “spirit escort” task, as she’s come to think of it, but her gift also appears to be expanding in its scope. While leading an accident victim’s soul to the gate, she detects another spirit nearby watching them, but he disappears before she can approach.  She’s made a promise to the soul she just escorted to help his son, who is a student at the University of Nevada in Reno and underfunded for his education.

This connection carries her to an encounter with the spirit from the cemetery, a lingering soul with a Civil War history, a possible treasure, and a mystery in his past. The ghost is the triple great grandfather of Thomas Willits, the young man she agreed to aid, and he needs her to assist him to put his spirit at ease. Seeing a way to help both Thomas and the unsettled ghost, she agrees to a quest that will lead her and her best friend, Janna, across the country to Tennessee.

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One of the mass burial sites at Shiloh Battlefield.

Moss and Hernandez keep in touch as she’s a witness slated for the trial of the serial killer from the first book, but Moss, the skeptic, seems to be coming around as he seeks her assistance with another case.  Her band mates are unaware of her new gift and almost everything that’s happened to her in the past few months, but there is tension growing there as they plan to record an album.

If you enjoyed Funeral Singer, I think you’re going to love A Song for Menafee.  If you haven’t read Funeral Singer: A Song for Marielle yet, I definitely suggest that you read it first as the second book builds on it.

A Song for Menafee releases on August 28, 2016 on Amazon.com.  It is now available for pre-order for the Kindle.  The paperback will release on the same date. If you are on Kindle Unlimited, the book will be free to subscribers. Visit my book launch page for more information and a short book trailer.

Please feel free to share this with anyone you think might enjoy my books.  I rely on my readers to help me get the word out, so I appreciate anything you do to help me.  Thanks.

If you haven’t signed up for my mailing list and would like to get notified by email when I have a newsletter or book release, please sign up via the box at the top of the right hand column.