WonHundred Word Wednesday.

Another Wednesday to exercise my writing muscles. These are so helpful to get the brain going in other ways than where it's been. Sometimes I just want to keep going and write a full story from these prompts. Maybe someday I will.

I stared at the flames that had burst out of my fingers. There was no way I could get out of this without an explanation.

                Karl’s eyes widened, then he swallowed and smiled. “I always knew there was something different about you.”

                I blinked. My mouth opened and closed, trying to form itself around the words slamming into each other in my stunned mind.

                “How long have you been able to do that?” Karl asked.

                “Since I was three.”

                He nodded and pulled off his shoes. “Much cooler than what I can do.” He said as he floated above me.

Here are the links to find more from this prompt.

Wendy Knight, Author: www.wendyknightauthor.blogspot.com

Kelly Martin, Author: www.kellymartinbooks.blogspot.com

Alison Woods (Peering Into. . .): http://alisonmillerwoods.wordpress.com/

Jessica Winn, The Distracted Writer:http://thedistractedwriter.com/

R.K. Grow: http://www.rkgtheauthor.com/

Stephanie Worlton's Kreating Krazy blog: http://stephanieworlton.blogspot.com/

Leah Sanders, inklings: http://inklings-leahsanders.blogspot.com/

Jaclyn Weist  http://jaclynweist.blogspot.com

Amryn Scott http://wildscottkids.wordpress.com/

K.R. Wilburn  http://www.krwilburn.com/my-blog.html

Lindzee Armstrong/Lydia Winters http://lindzeearmstrong.blogspot.com

Kat!e Larson http://katesnovelidea.blogspot.com

Miranda D. Nelson http://www.mirandadnelson.blogspot.com/

Angela Schroeder http://angelaschroederauthor.blogspot.com/

Won Hundred Word Wednesday

It's once again Wednesday, and therefore it's time for another

“Would you like fries with that?”

I shook my head. Counting calories wasn’t fun. But I would fit in that prom dress if it was the last thing I did. Jess said that Tamara said that Lisa said that Carrie said that Paul planned to ask me to Prom.

I took my change, and turned to fill my drink when the side door opened. Paul held the door for Melissa. They kissed as the door closed behind her. I turned back to the counter, butting in front of the couple there.

“On second thought, give me the largest you’ve got.”

Now go see what the others have come up with. 

Wendy Knight, Author: www.wendyknightauthor.blogspot.com

Kelly Martin, Author: www.kellymartinbooks.blogspot.com

Alison Woods (Peering Into. . .): http://alisonmillerwoods.wordpress.com/

Jessica Winn, The Distracted Writer:http://thedistractedwriter.com/

R.K. Grow: http://www.rkgtheauthor.com/

Stephanie Worlton's Kreating Krazy blog: http://stephanieworlton.blogspot.com/

Leah Sanders, inklings: http://inklings-leahsanders.blogspot.com/

Jaclyn Weist  http://jaclynweist.blogspot.com

Amryn Scott http://wildscottkids.wordpress.com/

K.R. Wilburn  http://www.krwilburn.com/my-blog.html

Lindzee Armstrong/Lydia Winters http://lindzeearmstrong.blogspot.com

Kat!e Larson http://katesnovelidea.blogspot.com

Miranda D. Nelson http://www.mirandadnelson.blogspot.com/

Angela Schroeder http://angelaschroederauthor.blogspot.com/

Blog tour

WRITING PROCESS BLOG TOUR

I’m participating in a blog tour where authors talk about their writing process. I was tagged by Lucinda Whitney, author of The Secret Life of Daydreams, coming early 2015.

What am I currently working on?

SO many things. I just finished the rough draft of my sequel to Eye on Orion, a YA sci-fi. Working title “Rommader” is the story of the princess from Eye on Orion after she returns to her home planet. I am now making some edits and applying the changes suggested by my Critique Group for my straight on Fantasy called Blue Bloods that I plan to pitch to Tor during the upcoming Storymakers Conference.  I also have ideas for book 3 in the Orion story. I think that will be my next project to actually start writing new words in. I’ve also got some final edits to do before sending to my editor on a Middle Grade fantasy about the lost city of Atlantis that’s the first book in a series of 6 I’m involved in with 5 other authors. I’ve got another fantasy that’s been put on the back burner for close to a year. It’s a twist on the Moses story and I really want to dive back into it again someday. Then there are books 3, 4, and 5 in my Urban Fantasy series Daimon High that I’ve made notes on and will need to get to soon. Plan is to self-publish them since people still love Werewolves and Vampires, but agents and publishers aren’t taking them anymore.

And then new shiny ideas pop up all over the place. But I have to hold off on those.

How does my work differ from others in its genre?

                My books differ in that they come from my mind. No seriously, every book ever written is the same as another book, but different as well. No one can tell the story the same way another can. Just ask a group of friends to join you on a writing prompt and see how differently those stories go.

                For Eye on Orion, it’s technically Science Fiction, but it’s very mild sci-fi. There are people from another planet who visit earth, and they have some advanced things, but it’s still set in the world I live in. Although it’s sci-fi, it doesn’t feel really sciency so I think people who normally wouldn’t pick up a book about aliens, would find mine easy to read and hopefully enjoyable as well.

Why do I write what I write?

                I love make believe. Fantasy and science fiction and magic and elements of things that can’t really exist in the world I live in make me happy. I’ve tried to write contemporary fiction or romance, because I do enjoy reading them but it’s just not something I can do. I started 3 different stories and tried to keep it real world, but all of a sudden: magic, or werewolves, or aliens, or ghosts, or something else pops up and ruins my plans of real world. But I’m okay with that. They tell you to write what you want to read and so I do.  

How does my individual writing process work?

        It’s a jumbled up mess, but it works for me. So here’s my regular process. I write new words in a story that has me by the throat. I write and write and write until I get stuck or can’t figure out a plot point. Then I step back for a bit and go work on a project that needs some editing or tweaking.

Or, I just stop writing or editing and do household projects or yard projects, or vacations with the family to get all the way out of the writing mentality for a moment so my mind has time to rest.

       Then I come back and write more new words until the story is done. When the first rough draft is finished, I go over it two to three times to fix typo’s, take out notes to myself I left in places I skipped to work on something that was working, and I rearrange scenes if they were written out of order. Then I let it sit for a week and come back to it one more time before sending it to my critique group. After they have it, I don’t look at it for as long as possible. Months even. By then, the story is out of my mind, and I can see places where I’d forgotten to add details for the reader. (Sometimes an author knows things so much we forget it’s not in the book and that’s confusing to a reader)

        While that book is being set on the back burner, I pull out other projects that have been sitting and need some revisions. Or I start writing a brand new book again.

Sometimes I have to force myself to stick with a project so I don’t get too many new projects open at the same time. My voice (or the tone the book is written in) is different enough in each story I have to be careful not to work on too many simultaneously so they don’t start to blend together.

                So in a nut shell it’s all over the place, but I’m always working on something.

I've tagged Jaclyn Weist, author of the Luck Series. Check out her blog and watch for her writing process post coming soon. 

WonHundred Word Wednesdays

Once again it's time for a 100 word story

The prompt for this week:

"Today's Horoscope: Your prized possession will end up in someone else's hands" 

I stared at him wondering the best way to get my revenge. Mutilation might work, but I never did like blood. I didn’t own a gun, and again the blood thing. Maybe I could tie him up to the tree then kick the ant pile a couple feet away. I knew of a wasps nest, but I doubted I’d be able to get the two of them together without damage to myself.

He closed the book and looked up. The shock in his eyes at being discovered reading my journal was priceless. Maybe I didn’t have to kill him.

now  go see what the others did. 

Wendy Knight, Author: www.wendyknightauthor.blogspot.com

Kelly Martin, Author: www.kellymartinbooks.blogspot.com

Alison Woods (Peering Into. . .): http://alisonmillerwoods.wordpress.com/

Jessica Winn, the distracted writer:http://thedistractedwriter.com/

R.K. Grow: http://www.rkgtheauthor.com/

Stephanie Worlton's Kreating Krazy blog: http://stephanieworlton.blogspot.com/

Leah Sanders, inklings: http://inklings-leahsanders.blogspot.com/

Jaclyn Weist  http://jaclynweist.blogspot.com

Amryn Scott http://wildscottkids.wordpress.com/

K.R. Wilburn  http://www.krwilburn.com/my-blog.html

Lindzee Armstrong/Lydia Winters http://lindzeearmstrong.blogspot.com

Kat!e Larson http://katesnovelidea.blogspot.com

Miranda D. Nelson http://www.mirandadnelson.blogspot.com/

A new series

THE GATES OF ATLANTIS

I've been fortunate to collaborate with 5 other authors on a fun new Middle Grade Fantasy.

It's about the lost city of Atlantis. And man has it been fun.  So far we've revealed 2 covers, and 4 more to go over the next 4 weeks. I'll share the first 2 here, and keep you posted on the others to follow.  Books are looking to be released July 2014

BOOK 1

Thirteen-year-old merman Exander wants to leave Atlantis to mingle with the humans and explore the world above. Talia, his best friend, wishes she was a guardian of a gate leading to the surface. She'd keep those nasty humans out of her beloved city of Atlantis. When Talia accidentally short circuits a gate, Exander is trapped on the wrong side, getting a crash course in navigating the human world. As Talia fights to help Exander come home, she learns someone is closing the other gates, and it’s destroying the magic of Atlantis. If they can’t convince the magical creatures of the world to save the gates, the destruction of Atlantis will only be the beginning.




That's MY NAME.  Oh I can't tell you how fun it is to see your name on a book cover.











BOOK 2




Thirteen-year-old Colin knew nothing of the magic world until he is bitten by a mischievous pixie. He meets thirteen-year-old Alleya on a secret website devoted to magical creatures. Before he knows it, Colin finds himself thrust into a whole new world.

Alleya has been hidden away from the rest of Atlantis because she’s half-mermaid, half-Atlantian. Her father tries to ease her boredom by getting her a computer and finally allowing her to go to school. She accidentally lets slip a dark secret —the gates to Atlantis are being shut and it's destroying magic. Alleya is exiled to Indiatlantis.
There, she learns mermaids are getting sick because of the lack of magic, and the tunnels are beginning to collapse. Together, Colin and Alleya must find a way to bring back the old magic and fight to save Atlantis.








Watch for more soon. 


Find us on Facebook HERE.

See Mikey Brooks website for more covers.  He's also the author for book 6. Check out his author website here

See Author Jaclyn Weist HERE

Book 3 is by Wendy Knight. Find her blog here.

Book 4 is Juli Caldwell.  Find her blog here

WonHundred Word Wednesday

As a reminder, a handful of writer friends take a prompt and write a very short story of 100 words. The links to the other blogs are at the bottom. Feel free to go visit theirs and if you wanted to write one in the comments using the same prompt I'd love to see it. 

My bachelor instinct had always led me true before. I blame it all on a pair of chocolate eyes. The twinkle of mystery caught my attention. I fought it hard at first, but she reeled me in like a hooked fish.

I swore I’d never settle down, but when she smiled at me, I wanted to be the main one to make her smile. When she sighed at my kisses, I swore no one else would have that joy. Now seeing her walk down the aisle to join me, I knew I had been right to follow my heart.

Now go see what the others have written. 

Wendy Knight, Author: www.wendyknightauthor.blogspot.com

Kelly Martin, Author: www.kellymartinbooks.blogspot.com

Alison Woods (Peering Into. . .): http://alisonmillerwoods.wordpress.com/

Jessica Winn, the distracted writer:http://thedistractedwriter.com/

R.K. Grow: http://www.rkgtheauthor.com/

Stephanie Worlton's Kreating Krazy blog: http://stephanieworlton.blogspot.com/

Leah Sanders, inklings: http://inklings-leahsanders.blogspot.com/

Jaclyn Weist  http://jaclynweist.blogspot.com

Amryn Scott http://wildscottkids.wordpress.com/

K.R. Wilburn  http://www.krwilburn.com/my-blog.html

Lindzee Armstrong/Lydia Winters http://lindzeearmstrong.blogspot.com

Kat!e Larson http://katesnovelidea.blogspot.com

Miranda D. Nelson http://www.mirandadnelson.blogspot.com/

A book Review. The Stone of Valhalla

Welcome to The Stone of Valhalla Blog Tour!

A middle-grade fantasy-adventure by Mikey Brooks.

Don’t forget to check out the GIVEAWAY at the bottom this post

for a chance to WIN a $25 Amazon Gift card and other great prizes!

Synopsis: AKA what the books says for itself.

Aaron was chosen to save their world, but it might come at the cost of losing his own.

Breaking into an old lady’s basement was supposed to reward 13-year-old Aaron with new friends. Instead he finds an enchanted amulet that transports him to another world—one at war with magic. Before he knows it, he is accused of witchcraft and invited to a bonfire—where he’s the main attraction. If that’s not bad enough, a goblin army shows up and toasts the town...literally. The good news: Aaron escapes being charbroiled. The bad news: the goblins are after him. They want his amulet and will stop at nothing to get it. Battling to find his way home, Aaron teams up with a not-so-magical-wizard and learns it’s his fate to destroy the amulet and save this new world. But is he willing to sacrifice his own?

What I thought of it:

This was a fun book. Solid Middle Grade characters and kids will probably love this book. The story started out with Aaron sneaking into a house to steal something as an initiation into a gang. That bothered me, given the fact Aaron seemed to be an intelligent kid. He should have listened to his inner voice and not gone in. But if he hadn’t, then we wouldn’t get to go see the fun world of magic in Valhalla. 

Mikey did a great job with plot twists and doing some unexpected things. I was able to catch on to some of the plot twists, and expected what would happen, but I’m happy to say I was pleasantly surprised on some of the other twists.

Aaron is the chosen one from Earth who was prophesied to come to a different dimension of Earth where there is magic and the setting is medieval to help stop an evil power from getting ahold of the Stone of Valhalla.  There was lots of action and adventure, even some mild violence and SPOILER alert, a death or two, but very manageable for young readers.

It didn’t have me as completely engaged as some books but I still really enjoyed it. Solid 4 stars for adults and more like 5 stars for kids.   

If you are looking for adventure and excitement for younger readers, similar to books like Rick Riordin, Brandon Mull, Tyler Whiteside, J. Scott Savage, or Chad Morris, then check out these books by Mikey Brooks. 

Where to Find The Stone of Valhalla:

Exclusive price for the eBook release is just $2.99! (List Price: $4.99)

And only $9.99 for the paperback! (List Price: $12.99)

On April 12^th 2014 the price will return to the List Price

Kindle | Paperback

Another special offer:

During The Stone of Valhalla Blog Tour

Mikey’s other great middle-grade eBooks will also be set to the low price of just $0.99!

The Dream Keeper:

Kindle | Nook | Kobo

The Dreamstone:

Kindle | Nook | Kobo

You’re Invited to PARTY!!

The online launch party will take place on Thursday, April 10^th at 4pm (MST). The party will run for 2 hours and you’re invited to drop by anytime. The longer you stay the more chances you have of winning prizes! We have slew of eBooks to giveaway, as well as a Stone of Valhalla necklace AND a $25 Amazon gift card! It is hosted by LovingtheBookLaunchParty on Facebook. Just follow this link to join the event: http://goo.gl/Q2Fd3r.

What’s that? Another Party!

That’s right! If you’re local to Utah you don’t want to miss this kickin’ party. We are having a launch party to celebrate the release of this awesome new book. Of course there will be plenty of giveaways there too, but what’s even better are the guest authors! Just check out these fabulous names: J. Scott Savage, Chad Morris, Lisa Mangum, Jenni James, Ali Cross, and many more. The Launch Party is: Friday, April 11^th from 6-9pm at The Viridian Center in West Jordan, Utah. Follow this link for a map: http://goo.gl/dqVc0u

About Mikey Brooks:

Mikey is a small child masquerading as an adult. On occasion you’ll catch him dancing the funky chicken, singing like a banshee, and pretending to have never grown up. He is the author/illustrator of several books including the best-selling ABC Adventures: Magical Creatures and Bean’s Dragons as well as the middle-grade fantasy-adventure series The Dream Keeper Chronicles. His art can be seen in many forms from picture books to full room murals. He loves to daydream with his three daughters and explore the worlds that only the imagination of children can create. Mikey has a BS degree in English from Utah State University and works fulltime as a freelance illustrator, cover designer, and author. As a member of the Emblazoners, he is one of many authors devoted to ‘writing stories on the hearts of children’. He is also one of the hosts of the Authors’ Think Tank Podcast. You can find more about him and his books at: http://www.insidemikeysworld.com/.

The Giveaways!

Enter the giveaway below to be entered to win one of the following prizes:

$25 Amazon Gift Card

The Stone of Valhalla Necklace

Autographed Paperback of The Stone of Valhalla

Autographed 11x17 Poster

a Rafflecopter giveaway

WonHundred Word Wednesday

Here we are again with another week, and another writing prompt.

This one felt odd to me, and I think I was in a weird mood when I wrote it. It's funny how the mood of an author can really color what comes out.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy it.

The prompt was:  "The devil's name was Fred."

Mom never thought I’d amount to much. She kept telling me if I didn’t pull my act together, I’d only serve as a bad example. I wasn’t all bad, but I never made an attempt to do anything worthwhile.

It wasn’t a big surprise when I died and stood in front of the devil himself. He looked tired, and I felt bad for him. “You need a vacation, man.”

Satan perked up and grinned. “Amen to that. I hereby promote you to lord of the underworld. What’s your name?”

“Fred.” I looked over my new kingdom and thought of Mom.

Now go check out the other blogs with the same prompt. 

Wendy Knight, Author: www.wendyknightauthor.blogspot.com

Kelly Martin, Author: www.kellymartinbooks.blogspot.com

Alison Woods (Peering Into. . .): http://alisonmillerwoods.wordpress.com/

Jessica Winn, the distracted writer:http://thedistractedwriter.com/

R.K. Grow: http://www.rkgtheauthor.com/

Stephanie Worlton's Kreating Krazy blog: http://stephanieworlton.blogspot.com/

Leah Sanders, inklings: http://inklings-leahsanders.blogspot.com/

Laura D. Bastian http://www.lauradbastian.com/

Jaclyn Weist  http://jaclynweist.blogspot.com

Amryn Scott http://wildscottkids.wordpress.com/

K.R. Wilburn  http://www.krwilburn.com/my-blog.html

Lindzee Armstrong/Lydia Winters http://lindzeearmstrong.blogspot.com

Kat!e Larson http://katesnovelidea.blogspot.com

Miranda Nelson http://www.mirandadnelson.blogspot.com/