Blogger of the Year Nominee: J.F. Jenkins

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talented nominees and
Welcome the final of five special
interviews with our 2011
Book Boost Blogger of the Year Nominees!

Today, we welcome nominated author J.F. Jenkins to the blog. We chatted with her recently and asked 21 questions, here's what she had to say...


TBB: How and when did you become a professional author?

JJ: It happened February of 2011. I suppose technically it started in December of 2010, but February was when the book was released by my publisher. In December, I had entered a pitch contest for Astraea Press. It was something I had done on a whim with a story I had written several years ago. They liked the concept and asked for a manuscript. They liked that too, and from there we began the publishing process. Needless to say, I'm glad I took the risk because they're a great place to be involved in. A lot of great opportunities have presented themselves.


TBB: What do you find to be the most difficult aspect of writing a book (the creation/concept, writing, achieving publication, sales/promotion, etc…)?

JJ: Sitting down and actually writing it from start to finish. Starting is pretty hard too, but it takes real devotion to go at it day after day. A lot of times I can start, but I don't devote my time to getting through the whole story.


TBB: Which of your books is your favorite and why?

JJ: My yet to be released Science-Fiction novel Battlefield. I love writing in that universe because it's sarcastic and pays tribute (and pokes fun at, kindly) to a lot of the stories I read growing up. It was a lot of fun to write and the character interactions are priceless. After all, it's not every day you get to explain to a super hot alien why it's not okay to teleport into a shower.


TBB: If you had to describe that book using ONLY ONE word what would it be?

JJ: Witty.


TBB: Looking back on your writing career thus far, if you could change one thing, what would it be and why?

JJ: I would make sure to take my time with my first book. I'm pleased with it, but I do admit to be caught up in the rush of getting published. I wanted it to happen so badly that a few things got missed until after the fact. They're minor, but my inner perfectionist will always notice them.


TBB: Is there a message imbedded into your stories you hope readers will get? If so, what is it?

JJ: There is almost always a message in my work. Usually it's not something I'm intending to do. Faith is a usually a key element in all of my work whether it's faith in oneself, a peer, or a higher power. Another thing I always try to show is that the hard part eventually gets easier. And of course the whole: don't sacrifice what feels right in your heart just to be like everyone else.


TBB: What has been your favorite fan letter or fan comment ever?

JJ: I got a card once from a fan, and it was totally unexpected. It was before I even got my publishing deal. She wrote to say thank you for the goodies I had sent her, and told me she was proud of all the hard work I'd done.


TBB: What is your top writing career goal?

JJ: To eventually write an epic musical. And next year I'm planning on writing a total of one million words.


TBB: Give me one quote (from yourself/by yourself) about being a writer.

JJ: "It's hard to be an author and have a social life.
Not only do you have to interact with all of the people
in the real world, but you have to deal with
all the one's floating around in your head.
It's a writer thing."

TBB: What do you dislike the most about being a writer?

JJ: Getting emotionally attached to my work. It makes it very hard to read some reviews, and kill off necessary characters.


TBB: What other author would you most like to meet & have lunch with?

JJ: Stephen King. He's interesting and weird, but I'd love to talk with him. Otherwise I would go have lunch with my writer friend. We made a pact to one day go to England together, and we are going to make this happen!


TBB: Who, in your life, is your biggest source of inspiration and why?

JJ: My mother because she can do about five million things at once and not bat an eye. I wish I could be so good at multi-tasking.


TBB: What is your favorite breakfast food?

JJ: Breakfast sandwiches. I can't get enough of them.


TBB: What is your worst habit?

JJ: Chewing on things. It could be a pen, my fingers, my lip, food. I just need to chew on something.


TBB: What song lyrics get stuck in your head most often?

JJ: “Can't you hear that boom-badoom-boom boom-badoom-boom”. I almost wrote it into my manuscript once. I blame it on the kiddo's obsession with pop music.


TBB: If someone wrote a biography about you, what should the title be?

JJ: The Most Boring, Average, Person on the Planet.


TBB: If you were a t-shirt, what slogan would appear on you?

JJ: "Meh."


TBB: Favorite place to visit?

JJ: Ohio. I know that sounds kind of lame, but I have family out that way and the places we go are always so interesting. I'd love to get a house out that way for my “writing” house and put my grandfather's typewriter in it. Then I could be old school.


TBB: Favorite time of year (or fave holiday)?

JJ: The spring when we get some crazy storms, the cold weather feels warm, and the ice along the curb is fun to crunch. Oh, and I love the sight of the trees blossoming.


TBB: If you were a cartoon character, which one would you be and why?

JJ: Jessica Rabbit. She's smoking hot, but has a soft spot and followed her heart to marry the funny guy who treats her right instead of the hot/rich sleazy one. And she has one of my favorite movie quotes ever: “I'm not bad. I'm just drawn that way.”


TBB: What is your least favorite interview question to be asked?

JJ: Outide of being asked for an author photo, it would be: describe your book for us. Writing a synopsis is hard. I never feel like I can make my books sound interesting enough. While I could just copy and paste my book blurb, I feel like that's cheating.


TBB: Thanks for joining us today, J.F. and congrats on your nomination. We enjoyed getting to know you better and appreciate your appearance at the blog in 2011.


If you'd like to learn more about J.F. Jenkins and her books, visit her on the web here:


http://jfjenkinswrites.wordpress.com


And don't forget to pick up a copy of Vala Agendas, click cover to purchase:























Be sure to come back and vote for one of our 5 nominees starting February 1st through February 13th (see poll on side panel of blog--available tomorrow)! Blogger of the Year & Book Bundle Winner Announced February 14th!


Contest Time:


Reminder: The nominees will be counting on your votes to win the Grand Prize and one lucky commenter will receive a gift pack with a book from each nominee (donated by The Book Boost).


So, leave a comment or question for each nominee to increase your odds of winning! Winners announced on Valentine's Day 2012!




**Winners for Book Boost prizes are drawn the first week of the following month and posted in the Recent Winners box in the right hand side of the blog. Check back to see if you are a winner and to claim your prize! Please leave your contact information in your blog post!**

She Bonded Me With Science Guest Blogger: Greta van der Rol

Welcome author Greta van der Rol
to the Book Boost!

She's here to discuss five books that made a difference in her life and here's what she had to say...


It's one of those questions you're asked A LOT when you write. Who influenced you? Which books did you love? The truth, of course, is there are so many. But I'll list five books I've loved. Did they influence me? Yes, they did.


The Lord of the Rings – JRR Tolkien

I loved this book. After resisting the impulse to read it I decided to give it a whirl. I was hooked, sucked in and totally oblivious to everything until I'd finished it. Then I read it again. And again. And again. I loved the depth of the novel, the history of Middle Earth, the wonderful detail of all those different races, right down to inventing languages. Perhaps that's an influence on me.


Jingo – Terry Pratchett

I adore Terry Pratchett's books, any of them. I've picked this one because it epitomizes what I love about his work. It's a story about a mysterious island that rises from the sea and is promptly claimed by two countries, who come to the brink of war over it. The true nature of the island is discovered when it is inspected by submarine. As it happens, an incident involving a suddenly appearing island did take place, so it's based on a true, historical event. And the submarine in the story was invented by one Leonard of Quirm. He (of course) is based on Leonardo da Vinci who is up on the highest pedestal I can put him on. And he did invent a submarine. Pratchett tells fantastic stories based on fact. I love that.


The Foundation Series – Isaac Asimov

This is another man whose work I devoured. The Foundation series is just one example of his remarkable Science Fiction. Here again, though his story is set in the far distant future, one of the reasons it works so well is that he learned from common old Earth history. What happens to Empires when they decay? Even his psycho-history is eminently plausible. Even a cursory study of historiography (the study of the study of history) will show you that events such as revolutions usually follow a predictable pattern. Psycho-history just takes the idea one step further. And although Asimv was a scientist and his stories are, for the main, based on scientific principles and knowledge of the day, he still had 'planet-hopping', or space opera, in many of his books. Including the seminal Foundation series.


The Thrawn Trilogy – Timothy Zahn

These three books were, I think, the first venture into the Star Wars extended universe. They were released in the 1990s, not so very long after Return of the Jedi was screened. I was a Star Wars junkie, so what's a girl to do? The books are set in the immediate aftermath of the fall of the Emperor (quite literally, as you'll recall) on the new Death Star. I reviewed the books in detail on my blog but suffice to say here, Zahn gave Star Wars depth. Like Asimov, he learned the lessons of history. What would happen when a dictator falls?

If you'd like a recent comparison, look what happened to Yugoslavia after Tito died. There is wholesale disintegration, warlords arise and the remaining fragment of the decapitated body fights back. And yes, I adore Thrawn. He's smart, ruthless, calculating, clever. You might find a hint of Thrawn in some of my admirals. But only a hint.


Slow Lightning – Jack McDevitt

It took me some time to get into this book because it has a prologue and I don't read prologues. In this case, as I discovered, that was a mistake. Never mind. When I got past the slow start (having not read the prologue) I was soon gripped by a spooky mystery about a cataclysmic event thirty years in the past. The books becomes totally gripping as the two main characters steal a spaceship and head for the belt of Orion to find out what happened out there 30 years before. The book has incredible detail in settings and grounding in made-up history. You care about the characters and the science is (for me) utterly believable. The tension ratchets up in such a way you're not sure if this is a horror story or just science fiction. Either way, it's a great read.


So there you have it. A quick analysis will no doubt show I love stories with depth, with believable science and believable history. And a compelling character or two and a great, absorbing, plot help as well. That's what I try to write.


A Note from the Book Boost: Greta, thanks for sharing your inspirational books with us. I'm not really up-to-star-date on the Sci-Fi genre but this gives me a great introduction. Please tell us more about your latest book.


Blurb:

He will use force if necessary to remind her of her place…

Autocratic, aloof, Admiral Ravindra wants to use the strange alien female and her gifts in his battle against an unknown force threatening to annihilate his worlds. Born to rule, a man of wealth, power and privilege, he will have what he most desires.

She will use courage and independence to carve a new future…

Morgan Selwood is a Supertech, bioengineered from birth to stand against the horrors of the Cyber Wars. Her abilities and appearance are the stuff of legend, exactly what the resistance needs to throw off the yoke of millennia of oppression. Caught in the crossfire Morgan must choose sides.

Together they will face a threat beyond imagining.



Excerpt (edited for content):

Morgan and her companion, Jones, have tried to escape from the alien ship, and failed.


The ship jolted sideways hard enough to have her staggering against the hatch. Those fighters were firing and the shields were beginning to fail.

“F75 stand to or be destroyed.”

“You’ve got to be kidding,” she muttered, forcing her muscles to move.

The ship jolted again, from the other side this time. The whole squadron had caught up. The ship was surrounded.

“One last warning, F75.”

Her shoulders sagged. Jones stared at her, ashen faced. Sayvu implored with her eyes, the pupils dilated so far the yellow rim was barely visible.

“Sorry, guys. It’s over.” Morgan returned to the pilot’s seat. “Acknowledge.”

Sayvu followed her and leaned against the bulkhead, trembling, arms wrapped around herself.

“They’ll torture us. You don’t know what they’re like.”

Morgan swallowed. No, she didn’t. She fired a short burst with the forward thrusters to slow the ship down. But any other move was suicide. “Even if I fix the drive, in this configuration I can’t go to shift-space. There are too many of them and they’re too close, they’ll distort the matrix. We could end up anywhere.” And she’d already done that once in Curlew, thanks all the same.

“You will set this course to return to Vidhvansaka. Any deviation and you will be destroyed. We have missiles trained.”

A short burst of transmission transferred the coordinates. Morgan fed them in.
Jones squeezed into the bridge behind Sayvu. “Can’t you disable the fighters or something?”
She snorted under her breath. Idiot. Wave your magic wand, Supertech. “I’m a Supertech, not a magician.”

Sayvu seemed to have shrunk. But no tears. Maybe they didn’t do tears.

Shuttle F75 settled in the airlock, the bay doors closed and atmosphere began to fill the void around the ship. Jones and Sayvu returned to the crew quarters.

Morgan stayed in the bridge. Now the race was off and the adrenalin had drained away she felt cold. Afraid. They’d be wanting to chat with Sayvu, she expected, to find out how she’d organized their escape. Assuming, of course, they didn’t already know. She and Jones… maybe they’d overstayed their welcome. They wouldn’t kill them. Would they? The best bet was probably the university professors. Despair hovered over her shoulder, a thick, dark mantle ready to smother her. So close.

The status panel flashed pressure equalized. The bay’s internal door opened and a dozen armed troopers marched in.

Déjà vu.

She rose and went to meet them.

Want More Greta?

Visit her on the web here: http://www.gretavanderrol.net

Pick up a copy of her book today! Click here.

The Domino Effect with Guest Blogger: Laura Kaye

Win a copy of North of Need and
chat with award winning author
Laura Kaye today at the Book Boost!

She's here to chat about lessons learned and here's what she had to say...


Five Lessons Learned from Writing My First Series


I’m so glad to be here at The Book Boost today! It’s hard to believe it’s been almost three months since my contemporary fantasy romance North of Need, the first in the Hearts of the Anemoi series, released. The Anemoi were wind gods the Greeks associated with the seasons and the weather, and the mythology offers a wonderful basis on which to build a series: there are four brothers, the mythology deemed one a repeatedly jilted lover, and another evil and unlucky. All were fathered by a powerful storm god who didn’t always treat them so nice. There’s just so many good stories in all that!


Now, book two (West of Want, releases in April) is totally done; I’m writing book three (South of Surrender); and I’m learning some invaluable lessons about writing a series that I’m not sure I would’ve learned any other way than just, well, writing one. This list is a work in progress, but here’s what I’ve learned so far:


1. Plot out the series arc.

I know some of you just made a face. I would’ve, too, because I hate plotting. I almost feel it steals some of my creative mojo. BUT. In a series, it’s more critical than ever. Across three or four or five books, you must have a continuous and consistent world. You must have a conflict that emerges in an early book and carries through, building in each book, and leading to some ultimate big conclusion that will be satisfying for that final book and for the series.

The conflict of each individual book must be, in part, specific to the story of that book, and contribute in some way to the overarching series conflict. All of this represents a lot of moving parts, and knowing some of them from the beginning will make the writing easier and the read that much more compelling.


2. Separate voices.

In a typical romance, there is usually one hero and one heroine. Generally, it should be easy to keep their character voices separate and distinct. It’s harder in a series, where you have multiple characters. For example, in my series, I have a minimum of five main male characters and four main female characters, plus a number of secondary characters, too, mainly male.

Sticking with the guys for a minute, they can’t all sound the same. I’m kinda fond of a male character saying, “Aw, hell,” but it wouldn’t be believable that all four brothers say this. They have to have different personalities, different motivations, different favorite phrases, different cadences to their speech. This distinctiveness is even more important because, since you’re writing a series, earlier characters will often reappear in later books, and some readers will sit and read all the books in the series back to back—both will highlight any laziness in this area. You therefore need a sense of these distinct characterizations and separate voices for them from the beginning.


3. Unique…everything.

For the same reason each book in the series requires a unique voice for the characters, it also requires unique plot elements. One hero drives a motorcycle and wins his woman over in part by taking her on a thrilling and romantic night time ride? No one else can do anything like that. The bike thing is that hero’s, and the romantic night time ride thing is that couple’s.

You have a heroine with a terrifying phobia she at some point will have to confront? She’s the only one who gets that conflict. You have a hero who needs to practice sexual domination because of some past trauma? Again, that plot element has been used and is now done. You get the idea. Each book needs totally unique elements while tying into a shared world. It can be tricky, and knowing some of these elements in advance helps.


4. Conflict resolution.

Here’s another tricky one. Each book must both resolve the specific conflict of the individual book, and further develop the overarching series conflict without resolving it. The first is critical to giving your reader the feeling that the couple featured got a satisfying happily ever after that resolved their issues, the second is critical to maintaining the tension in the overarching series and bringing the reader back for more.


5. What kind of series?

There are two kinds of romantic series to consider: 1) each book in the series features a new couple, and 2) each book in the series features the same couple getting incrementally closer each time and/or fighting the forces keeping them apart or trying to tear them apart.

An example of the first would be my own series or, to name an absolute favorite *grins*, J.R. Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood series: Wrath, Rhage, Zsadist, Butch, Vishous—they each get their own romantic plotline in a separate book.

An example of the second would be Stephenie Meyers’ Twilight series: each book features Bella and Edward, and each one throws a new obstacle at them that tries to keep them apart or from finding a true happily ever after. Both have challenges.

In the first, the issues of uniqueness and distinctiveness pose challenges—the more characters your series has, the more creative you need to be to make each separate and believable. In the second, you have to find plausible conflicts that keep them apart, maintain your readers’ belief that the couple should have and can have the happily ever after book one seemed to promise, be sure not to frustrate your readers by having them behave in questionable ways while separated, etc.

If you’re a writer, what have I missed? What lessons have you learned from writing series? If you’re a reader, what do you especially like or dislike within a series?


A Note from the Book Boost: Thanks for joining us at the Book Boost, Laura. I've known you a long time (at least since the Book Boost first launched over two years ago) and I'm really happy to see you reaching such a grand level of success with your books. So incredibly proud of you. This series sounds phenomenal. I like both types of series. As long as the "old" characters make a reappearance here and there to let us know how they are doing, I'm a happy camper. Hope you'll come back in April and tell us more about the second installment.


Blurb:

Her tears called a powerful snow god to life, but only her love can grant the humanity he craves...

Desperate to escape agonizing memories of Christmas past, twenty-nine-year-old widow Megan Snow builds a snow family outside the mountain cabin she once shared with her husband, realizing too late that she's recreated the very thing she'll never have.

Called to life by Megan's tears, snow god Owen Winters appears unconscious on her doorstep in the midst of a raging blizzard. As she nurses him to health, Owen finds unexpected solace in her company and unimagined pleasure in the warmth of her body, and vows to win her heart for a chance at humanity.

Megan is drawn to Owen's mismatched eyes, otherworldly masculinity, and enthusiasm for the littlest things. But this Christmas miracle comes with an expiration—before the snow melts and the temperature rises, Megan must let go of her widow's grief and learn to trust love again, or she'll lose Owen forever.

Want More Laura?

Voted Breakout Author of the Year in the 2011 GraveTells Readers’ Choice Awards, Laura is the bestselling and award-winning author of a half-dozen books. Hearts in Darkness is a finalist for the EPIC eBook Award for Best Novella, Forever Freed won the NJRW Golden Leaf Award for Best Paranormal of 2011, and North of Need, the first book in the Hearts of the Anemoi series, was named GraveTells’ Best Book of 2011 and won their 5-STAR Gold Heart Award, and won Sizzling Hot Read of the Year at Sizzling Hot Books. Laura lives in Maryland with her husband, two daughters, and cute-but-bad dog, and appreciates her view of the Chesapeake Bay every day.

Visit her on the web here: http://www.laurakayeauthor.com/

Follow her on Twitter here:
http://twitter.com/laurakayeauthor

Pick up a copy of her book today! Click here.

Contest Time:

Leave a question or comment for Laura and be entered to win an e-copy of North of Need.

**Winners for Book Boost prizes are drawn the first week of the following month and posted in the Recent Winners box in the right hand side of the blog. Check back to see if you are a winner and to claim your prize! Please leave your contact information in your blog post!**

Scaling Back the Stress with Guest Blogger: Olivia Starke

Chat with author Olivia Starke
today at the Book Boost!

She's here to share her low stress methods to getting healthy in the new year and here's what she had to say...


The first day of January marks the start of a new diet for many people. There are countless eating plans to choose from, new ideas for fad diets, new exercise gadgets with big promises—it’s enough to make your head spin. I’m not a fitness or health professional, but I’d still like to offer a few common sense tips I’ve learned over the years to help those on the diet roller coaster.


* Throw out that cursed scale! This is an ugly little mechanism that can set you up to fail. We are more than the numbers that little needle points to, and depending on bone structure, natural amount of muscle weight, and fluctuations in monthly water retention, you can yo-yo. Seeing the needle creep up five pounds could simply be water from stress or hormones.

Comparing yourself to a ‘national standard’ can be equally disheartening. What works better is going by how your clothing fits. If your jeans are still tight after 3 days then adjust your eating/exercise.


* It takes ONE WEEK to gain fat. If you overindulge one day—or even two, all is not lost :) And don’t beat yourself up, just increase exercise, and maybe eat some more veggies for a few days to make up for it.


* Pay attention to your natural eating cycles. There are days in the month I want to eat everything in sight, and I accept this as normal for me and I don’t obsess over it. I usually end up eating less after, and it balances itself out. I also allow myself to put on a few pounds in winter—again I’m just following my body’s rhythms.


* If you’re craving a decadent dessert, grab a cookbook and find a wonderful recipe to make it yourself. Creating it, then serving it beautifully plated allows you time to get that craving under control so you’ll eat smaller portions. Plus, you’ll probably avoid the guilt of indulging when you’re involved in the creation. I keep baking supplies readily available, including common substitutes for baking such as cinnamon apple sauce for oils and eggs.


* Fall in love with hot salsa! Healthy, fat-free, and low calorie, you can pair it with most main dishes, and the spicier you can take it the better. It helps cut down on your portion size, plus you’re getting some veggies in the trade off. In the evenings if you get a salt craving, instead of potato chips grab some tortilla chips and salsa.


* Try a new workout—even if you think you’ll hate it. I personally abhor riding a bicycle, yet I love spin class after I finally gave it a shot! Don’t sell the idea short, you may find a new passion. I also discovered I love running—its meditation time for me.

Fitness isn’t one size fits all and it’s up to you to find what works best for your personality. Our bodies are amazing creations and I hope you’ll find your best way of honoring it :)


A Note from the Book Boost: I'm totally with you on the salsa! I'm a salsa fanatic. Good stuff. Thanks for sharing your tips with us and please tell us more about your newest release.


Blurb:

Ashley Adams signed up with the 1NightStand service in hopes of stirring up some cougar passion in her lackluster life. When she meets tall, dark, and oh-so-sexy Justin, the sparks fly.

But something deeper lies in their magical connection, something she isn’t prepared for. Will a casual one-night stand change her life forever?

Want More Olivia?

Visit her on the web here: www.authoroliviastarke.com

Follow her blog here:
http://romancingthepentoday.blogspot.com

Pick up a copy of her book today! Click here.

Diamonds are a Diva's Best Friend with Guest Blogger: Dawn Chartier

Win a Tivoli Heart Necklace
and a copy of Diamonds from
the tantalizing & talented, Dawn Chartier
today at the Boost!

She's here to chat about diamonds and divas and here's what she had to say...


The other night I watched the Golden Globes and found myself entranced with the actresses, or shall I say, with what they were wearing. Mostly, because of my novella, Diamonds, which recently released and I figured it would be a fun to pick out dresses that I thought my character, Holly would look great in.

Holly is a self-made millionaire, and I knew she would be glued to the television watching who wore what. She’d know all the designer names for the clothes, shoes, jewelry and clutches, and so would her closest friends (Moe, Karen and Staci). More than likely they were having a girl’s sleep-over party, and drooling over the hot actors too.

So in honor of Holly and her buddies, here are a few dresses I picked out that I think they would like to wear.

The first dress is a black beaded lacey number designed by Bruce Oldfield. I thought it was a pretty antique little number that would look good on Holly’s friend Moe.


Now the second dress I picked out isn’t because of the glamorous leopard and lace so much, but it is because of the stunning 74 year old woman wearing it, Jane Fonda. Jane is still a knock-out.







And here is Reese Witherspoon’s strapless Zac Posen dress with a sparkling diamond bracelet. Reece looks so happy, and she reminded me of Holly.



And then we have Sofia Vergara. I chose her because she is not your average skinny-mini. No, Sofia has sexy curves and knows how to use them. I love this teal blue gown designed by Vera Wang, and the $5 million worth of diamonds/jewels by Harry Winston that Sofia is wearing isn’t too shabby either. (Vera’ nice. lol)


Speaking of diamonds, did you see all that bling! The earrings, bracelets and necklaces. Wow! Some of the dresses even looked like they were made of diamonds too. Who do you think wore the best dress or the worst dress?

So, anyone who answers the question will be put into a drawing for a Tivoli Heart Locket Necklace and a copy of my novella, Diamonds. If you didn’t watch it, it’s easy to look it up. Just Google Golden Globe Awards. Good luck.

Thanks for having me, Kerri!


A Note from the Book Boost: Thanks for joining me, Dawn. You know how much I love to host you at the Boost. Forgive me for chopping off the heads of your actresses above but I had my reasons (LOL). Best of luck on this new release and I love the premise of the story. Even though I can't win the necklace (boo hoo for me), I happened to have loved the dress that Sarah Michelle Gellar wore. It was a sweeping, blue tye-dye number that her little girl loved and she wore it just because. I thought it was unique and adorable. She received bad reviews from the fashion folks but I don't think they know what they are talking about more than half the time. I say, "You go Buffy Momma!"


Blurb:


Self-made millionaire Holly Charleston has come a long way since her homeless days. Sometimes, she believes life would have been simpler before fortune and fame. With every man she meets imagining dollar signs, she yearns for the one man who sees the real Holly. A mysterious wealthy stranger may be the one, but she must control her sexsomnia and trust issues if she hopes for a real chance at love.

Professional thief Drake Davenport is ready to begin an honest life. However, his last assignment leads him to steal the heart diamond necklace from a woman known as Ms. Frost. But Holly guards her heart close and her assets closer. Once Holly thaws to Drake's seduction attempts, he finds himself in a position of protecting her from a hired mercenary or living the life he believes he earned. Drake realizes the challenge of stealing the diamond is nothing compared to the challenge of stealing Holly's heart.

Want More Dawn?

Visit her on the web here: www.dawnchartier.com

Pick up a copy of her book today! Click here.

Contest Time:

Leave a comment for Dawn about best and worst dressed to be entered to win a Tivoli Heart Locket Necklace (pictured at the top of the blog post) and a copy of her latest novella Diamonds!


**Winners for Book Boost prizes are drawn the first week of the following month and posted in the Recent Winners box in the right hand side of the blog. Check back to see if you are a winner and to claim your prize! Please leave your contact information in your blog post!**

Blogger of the Year Nominee: Leslie Langtry

Win a Book Bundle from our
talented nominees and
Welcome the fourth of five special
interviews with our 2011
Book Boost Blogger of the Year Nominees!

Today, we welcome nominated author Leslie Langtry to the blog. We chatted with her recently and asked 21 questions, here's what she had to say...


TBB: How and when did you become a professional author?

LL: When I got the first check addressed to “Leslie Langtry.” Someone actually paid me to make up stuff. Maybe technically, it was when I signed that first contract with the publisher. But seeing actual money for words I’d written, that was the clincher.


TBB: What do you find to be the most difficult aspect of writing a book (the creation/concept, writing, achieving publication, sales/promotion, etc…)?

LL: Promotion. Not public appearances or signings (I like that stuff) – but getting the word out there. I’ve never been very good at tooting my own horn. It’s like the horn has a mouthpiece the size of a dinner plate and is coated in lemon juice – and I have chapped lips.


TBB: Which of your books is your favorite and why?

LL: Probably ‘Scuse Me While I Kill This Guy. It was my first that sold, the first in the series and I wrote it just for fun. I do love all my books – each one has at least two scenes that if I could cobble them all together from all the books, would make one perfect book. Okay, so it wouldn’t make a lot of sense – but the book would be funny.


TBB: If you had to describe that book using ONLY ONE word what would it be?

LL: Funtroversy.

People have told me that my books are funny and controversial (I guess because they kill people). Funtroversy.


TBB: Looking back on your writing career thus far, if you could change one thing, what would it be and why?

LL: I probably would’ve started earlier. I didn’t start writing a novel until I was 38 and sold my first book a week after my 40th birthday. But then, maybe that’s a good thing. It could very well be that I wasn’t even remotely interesting until I turned 38.


TBB: Is there a message imbedded into your stories you hope readers will get? If so, what is it?

LL: Assassins need love too. Actually, my main goal is to make people laugh. If they can escape and laugh a little, then they get what I want them to out of the experience.


TBB: What has been your favorite fan letter or fan comment ever?

LL: At a signing in Michigan, these two really, really cute, young guys came over and made a huge fuss over me. I was signing with a couple of gorgeous romance authors so I was very flattered that they ignored them and were fawning all over me. Then one of the guys says, “I’m so excited you’re here! My Mom LOVES you!” The other guy nodded and said, “She really does – she loves your books!”

I will take what I can get.


TBB: What is your top writing career goal?

LL: I’d like to write all the books I have summarized in my head. That may actually be impossible. Hitting the lists would be nice, but mostly I just want to take all the stories swirling between my ears and share them with people.


TBB: Give me one quote (from yourself/by yourself) about being a writer.

LL: "When you are a writer – you’re never really alone…
in your head."

TBB: What do you dislike the most about being a writer?

LL: Not being recognized instantly in HyVee. Sorry, actually, it’s the isolation involved with writing. It would be fun to work on a book with another author someday. I’m not really sure how that would work – but it would be fun to bounce plot twists back and forth.


TBB: What other author would you most like to meet & have lunch with?

LL: John Scalzi (author of Old Man's War – read it!) and Libba Bray (Beauty Queens - read it!). I think we could be BFF’s.


TBB: Who, in your life, is your biggest source of inspiration and why?

LL: It would have to be my mom. She sacrificed a lot for us when we were kids and I’m lucky to have inherited her wacky sense of humor. I hope I inspire my kids like that some day. Right now I’m lucky if they do more than grunt toward me.


TBB: What is your favorite breakfast food?

LL: If I’m cooking - Chocolate Fudge Pop Tarts, toasted, with a glass of milk.

If someone else is cooking – French Toast with real butter, scrambled eggs with extra sharp cheddar, hashbrowns and very large Mimosas.


TBB: What is your worst habit?

LL: Procrastination. And unfortunately, my kids inherited it from me – which is kind of like karma, right?


TBB: What song lyrics get stuck in your head most often?

LL: “Mah Nah, Mah Nah,” from Sesame Street. If someone even says something close – like “phenomena,” I immediately respond with “Doo doo, de doo doo.” That might also qualify for worst habit.


TBB: If someone wrote a biography about you, what should the title be?

LL: The Things She Did For A Klondike Bar


TBB: If you were a t-shirt, what slogan would appear on you?

LL: “Make me some cake, and no one gets hurt.”

I really like cake.


TBB: Favorite place to visit?

LL: Disney World. I’ve been 3 times to DW and once to Disney Land and I want to go back over and over again. It’s like being on another planet – and I find that very satisfying.


TBB: Favorite time of year (or fave holiday)?

LL: Favorite holiday – Thanksgiving. It’s the only holiday that’s exclusively about food. I like to eat. At the end of the day, the house is clean, smells like turkey, and we have a fridge full of leftovers. Sheer bliss.


TBB: If you were a cartoon character, which one would you be and why?

LL: Archer from Archer. I’m like his twin. Except that I’m older and have breasts.


TBB: What is your least favorite interview question to be asked?

LL: What’s your writing schedule like? Because I literally have no idea from day to day. Some days I can write normally, other days I’m scrawling a sentence on the back of a bank deposit envelope outside of my kid’s trumpet lesson.


TBB: Thanks for joining us today, Leslie and congrats on your nomination. We enjoyed getting to know you better and appreciate your appearance at the blog in 2011.


If you'd like to learn more about Leslie and her books, visit her on the web here:


http://www.leslielangtry.com/


And don't forget to pick up a copy of Paradise By The Rifle Sights, click cover to purchase:























Be sure to check back for our last nominee interview on January 31st with J.F. Jenkins!


Contest Time:


Reminder: The nominees will be counting on your votes to win the Grand Prize and one lucky commenter will receive a gift pack with a book from each nominee (donated by The Book Boost).


So, leave a comment or question for each nominee to increase your odds of winning! Winners announced on Valentine's Day 2012!




**Winners for Book Boost prizes are drawn the first week of the following month and posted in the Recent Winners box in the right hand side of the blog. Check back to see if you are a winner and to claim your prize! Please leave your contact information in your blog post!**

An Insider Chat with Author Joya Fields Today @ The Boost!

Win a copy of our Book of the Month
Beneath the Surface
& chat with author Joya Fields
today at the Book Boost!

We recently chatted with featured author Joya Fields and here's what she had to say...


TBB: Welcome back to the blog, Joya.

JF: Thanks so much Kerri and The Book Boost for hosting me to chat about my debut novel, Beneath the Surface, a romantic suspense.


TBB: More about your amazing novel in just a moment, but first...please tell us a little more about YOU. Where are you from?

JF: I was born and raised in Maryland, and still live in the weather-crazy state. We get every type of weather: blizzards, ice storms, heat wave, tornadoes, hurricanes, and more recently, earthquakes.


TBB: Tell me about it. I'm in Alabama and we are under a Tornado Watch as I type this post! No joke. Do you have a story behind the when and why of how you began writing?

JF: I began writing as a child. We weren’t allowed to watch much TV, so my two sisters and I read a lot of books. When we ran out of books, I’d tell them stories. I wrote some stories and gave them away as presents, too. To this day, my sisters are two of my biggest supporters.


TBB: This is great! I have an older sister but we are not close. Although, my parents buy all my books (even the kinky ones--oh no!). How did you come up with the title for this book?

JF: Super question! I usually struggle with titles for books. For some reason, this one came to me quickly and it fit. Brooke is an underwater archaeologist and spends a lot of time under water in the book. She also has a lot of turmoil and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder issues she’s dealing with. So, Beneath the Surface ties into being underwater, and Brooke’s need to deal with concerns that are brought to the surface when events unfold in the story.


TBB: I love it! I recently wrote a sort of ocean-themed novella and the original title was Seascapes and Dark Capes! LOL It has since been renamed. Seeing as most writers are also avid readers, what book could we catch you reading right now?

JF: I’ve recently discovered Tess Gerritsen and I’m obsessively reading her backlist. That’s the great thing about finding a new-to-you author. You can read their current work, and then tear through their backlist until the next book comes out.


TBB: I recently had the same discovery and went on a Tess Gerristen reading frenzy. Ice Cold is my fave of all the Rizzoli & Isles books to date. When you're not reading Tess, what are your current writing projects?

JF: Wow, thanks for asking this question because I’m really excited about a ghost story trilogy I’m working on. I’ve never written paranormal before, but the characters begged me to write this story. It’s about a haunted Baltimore apartment building and features all sorts of interesting ghosts who interfere in the lives of the residents. These aren’t scary stories. The ghosts are not out to get anyone. They are actually helpful ghosts who are trying to accomplish something, and trying to help the residents in some way. I’m having such a great time writing these.


TBB: You know you're talking to a HUGE paranormal fan here, don't you? Can't wait to hear and see more on this new trilogy. You'll love writing the genre. Do you have any advice for other writers just starting out in the biz?

JF: Keep writing, keep reading, and keep submitting. Give yourself permission to be sad about a rejection if you get one, but only for an hour or so. Every “no” you receive gets you closer to a “yes.”


TBB: As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

JF: LOL. A writer. My grandmother was an artist, and she fully supported any sort of art, including my writing. We’d sit for hours on her front porch swing and she’d ask me to tell her stories well into the night. Often, my stories didn’t make a lot of sense. I remember one story was about my sisters and me traveling via paddle boat from the Inner Harbor to Hawaii. But my grandmother never interrupted or corrected me.


TBB: I'm sure your grandmother is very proud of all you've accomplished and I hope you keep more great stories coming our way! Thanks for joining us today and please leave us with some more details about your latest book.

JF: Thanks again for hosting me today! :)


Blurb:

She’s fighting to stay independent—he’s determined to protect her no matter what…

Brooke Richards survived the earthquake that took her parents and most of her leg, but she needs time to regroup. A trip to Florida for a state-of-the art prosthesis and to visit her best friend Linda seems ideal. But the trip turns traumatic when Brooke witnesses Linda’s boat disintegrating in a fiery explosion.

Police Officer Garrett Ciavello believes the blast was intentionally set to hide something Linda found on a dive. When Brooke offers her expertise in underwater archaeology, Garrett accepts her help with the investigation. But since his fiancée’s death years ago, Garrett has become overprotective, and as they are drawn to each other, Garrett realizes he will risk anything to keep Brooke safe.

Brooke is fiercely independent. Garrett is fiercely protective. Will they heal each other’s wounds and find a killer…before it’s too late?


Excerpt:

For the first time since the accident, Brooke forgot about her leg. Forgot about all she’d lost and focused on the way Garrett made her feel.

She knew she needed to stop him. She should find a way to resist the temptation to be with him. But for a few minutes, she could enjoy the taste of him, the feel of him, couldn’t she?

He dropped his hands to her waist and softened the kiss before trailing a line of kisses down her neck. A weak cry slipped from her mouth. “Garrett,” she whispered.

She should stop this now before it got any more intense.

He lifted her chin and forced her to meet his brown eyes, smoky with desire. Heat spiraled to her middle and she caught a whiff of his sawdust scent.

“I…I can walk you back to your own room before I head to mine.” His voice broke as he whispered.

She swallowed hard. She couldn’t do this right now with him. Too many obstacles stood in their way. But as she looked in his somber eyes, she realized none of those complications were bigger than her need for Garrett.

“Let’s go to your room,” she said, her voice shaking. She moved her hands inside his shirt and ran them over his tight abs and chest. Heat soared through her body at the feel of him.

“Together…”

Want More Joya?

Visit her on the web here: http://joyafields.com/

Follow her on Twitter here:
http://www.twitter.com/joyafields


Pick up your copy of her book today! Click here.

Contest Time:

Leave a question or comment and be entered to win an e-copy of Beneath the Surface.


**Winners for Book Boost prizes are drawn the first week of the following month and posted in the Recent Winners box in the right hand side of the blog. Check back to see if you are a winner and to claim your prize! Please leave your contact information in your blog post!**

Timeless Travails with Guest Blogger: Pauline B. Jones

Win a $15 Amazon.com Gift Card &
meet author Pauline B. Jones
today at the Book Boost!

She's here to discuss her journey into research of a fictional science and here's what she had to say...


“Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.” Carl Sagan


Research. Authors either love it or hate—and sometimes they love and hate it at the same time.


When I wrote Out of Time, I did an incredible amount of research on World War II, B-17 Bombers, life in England during WWII, the Navy SEALS, I talked to veterans of the war both on the ground and those who flew—well, the list was long and the data to sort through ended up more than hip deep. It was fascinating, wonderful and exhausting.


And I did not expect to need to research the fictional science of time travel. Cause it's fictional, right? Or is it?


There are those who believe time travel is possible. In fact, Stephen Hawking wrote an article on how to build a time machine. It wasn’t written when I wrote Out of Time, but I read it later with great interest (because my characters persist in traveling through time).


But back when Out of Time was an idea, I did need to figure out how my character would travel into the past. I wanted it to be scientifically based, so it would involve a machine or invented device of some sort.


I did a basic web search on time travel and found there were many who believed actual time travel is possible (there were several interesting plans for building time machines for sale on eBay, for instance). I also found that the fictional ways characters travel through time are as varied as the authors who pen the novels. Everything from portals and machines, to paranormal jewelry and portraits.


What I learned from writing Out of Time, and several other novels that involve time travel is that your fictional science can be “hard” (i.e. rooted in “known” science) or “soft” (which I suppose means rooted in imagined science). Imagined science sounds less dubious perhaps than “made-up,” but that’s pretty much what soft science is, or what I think it is. Your mileage may vary (and in Sci-Fi, there is a lot of varied mileage!) Where time travel fits in, well, I couldn’t say. I know my time travel is totally made-up (i.e. unapologetically soft).


So how does a writer take the known, and the unknown, and combine it in a mix that allows the reader to suspend disbelief and travel through time with your characters? Or stay with any plot to the end?


Albert Szent-Gyorgyi said, “research is to see what everybody else has seen, and to think what no one else has thought.”


Isn’t that basically what writers of all genres do? They start readers with the familiar, the “known” if you will, then they take them on a journey that tries to feel fresh into a new “unknown.” You can be wildly successful at it (think JK Rowling’s Harry Potter) or not. (I’ll let you fill in this blank with your personal failures because reading is personal. What works for one person, doesn’t always work for another.)


One of the dangers of research—even the fictional sort—is getting too tied to what you’re learning. It was very easy to get caught up in “what really happened” in World War II, so easy that it tied my characters hands and actions. I pulled back from my research a bit and realized that like life, each soldier and pilot had a personal story—and point of view—within the wider story of the war. So even “the way it was” wasn’t the way it was for everyone. That allowed me some latitude to let my story happen—that and the fact that it was and is a story.


Out of Time is fiction, not non-fiction.


So that would be my next research (and writing) lesson: your fiction needs to feel real, but it isn’t real. It should feel “true,” but it isn’t actually “true.” (Small humor moment here: Chinese Ban Time Travel in books and movies because some of it is “totally made up.” Yeah.)


So, don’t ever forget that you’re writing a story, you’re telling a tale, not a treatise on whatever research item has caught your attention. If you’ve never read a book and thought, wow, that author did a lot of research, feel lucky.


Because I am not a scientist (or even the first cousin of one), I was thrilled to my toes when an Amazon reader wrote about another of my novels (Steamrolled): “This book is really quite amazing to me. The synoptic blurb is entirely accurate but only begins to touch the lovely mix of weird and romantic with reasonably credible soft Sci-Fi." (Did you see that high school science teachers? Reasonably credible soft Sci-Fi. Feel free to feel guilty for misjudging me.)


Contrast that with this Amazon reader review about Out of Time: “So many writers have problems with time travel, leaving large gaps and holes in the plot. Readers finish the stories saying, "But what about...?" These issues have been avoided in this case by not explaining in detail how the process works. And that leaves the reader with the joy of simply becoming immersed in an interesting and suspenseful story.”


I don’t post these to toot my own horn but to show that for at least two readers, the differing approaches that I used in both books succeeded. Both readers were able to suspend disbelief and become immersed in the story.


This was the gift that authors gave to me when I was a young reader, a gift my favorites still give me as a reader. And this is the gift, the goal of my writing.


Good, solid research—even when it involves made-up science—is just one of the tools we use to tell our tales. Don’t under—or over—estimate its importance and you’ll be on your way. I’ll finish with one last quote, from JRR Tolkien: “There is nothing like looking, if you want to find something. You certainly usually find something, if you look, but is not always quite the something you were after.”

Happy research hunting and Happy New Year!


A Note from the Book Boost: Thanks for sharing your travails of research with us, Pauline. I love to read about time travel and have penned one novella with a little backward visit through time myself (re: The Mystical Kilt). Your book and research sound great and thanks for joining us today! Please tell us more about your book.


Blurb:

What happens when a twenty-first century woman on a mission to change the past meets a thoroughly 1940s man trying to stay alive in the hellish skies over war-torn Europe?

Melanie “Mel” Morton is an adventure reporter, who lost her grandfather in World War II. With no family left, she’s all about doing her job and finishing her grandfather’s biography.

Enter Jack Hamilton, sexy octogenarian, genius/scientist and former WWII bomber pilot.
What he tells Mel sends her on her craziest adventure yet—straight into the past to save her grandfather’s life—and change Jack’s future, if she doesn't accidentally end it.

All Mel has to do is outmaneuver the entire German army--and not fall in love with Jack.

Unfortunately, eluding the German army is the easy part....


Excerpt:

“Can we talk while you pack?” Jack asked. “We really are almost out of time. Your SEAL gig ran long.”

He wouldn’t get an argument out of her on that point. Her producer had been hiding from her since she got back. He smiled and she found herself smiling back. What was she doing? Her smile faded.

“What am I supposed to be packing?”

“Some of your grandmother’s clothes from the late thirties, and some of your own stuff. Enough to last until you jump.”

“Jump?” Her brain latched on that word like glue. “The one thing the SEAL gig taught me is that I don’t like jumping. It’s too much like falling.”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

Mel’s eyes widened. “You want me to go on that last mission, the one where you got shot down! You want me to jump into Occupied France with you?”

“Yes.” He looked sorry, but there was also an “and” hanging in the air between them.

“What?” she asked with suspicion. What could be worse than jumping into Occupied France?

“You also have to jump out of a plane at high altitude again. Into the vortex my machine will create. Time travel requires velocity, you see.”

She didn’t see, and yet, in an awful way, she did. “Velocity? And how do I achieve this velocity?”

“By jumping into the vortex without a parachute.”

Mel felt her jaw drop and heard something rather whimper-like come out the opening, as her thoughts spun into one clear certainty. When her head was down, she should have kissed her tush goodbye.

Want More Pauline?

Visit her on the web here: http://www.paulinebjones.com

Pick up a copy of her book today! Click here.

Contest Time:

Answer the following question by leaving a comment for Pauline and be entered to win a $15 Amazon.com gift card.

What’s your favorite use or misuse of research in a novel? (Real life doesn’t count, I’m afraid.)


**Winners for Book Boost prizes are drawn the first week of the following month and posted in the Recent Winners box in the right hand side of the blog. Check back to see if you are a winner and to claim your prize! Please leave your contact information in your blog post!**

Blogger of the Year Nominee: Patricia Pellicane

Win a Book Bundle from our
talented nominees and
Welcome the third of five special
interviews with our 2011
Book Boost Blogger of the Year Nominees!

Today, we welcome nominated author Patricia Pellicane to the blog. We chatted with her recently and asked 21 questions, here's what she had to say...


TBB: How and when did you become a professional author?

PP: Years ago when Romance writers were new on the scene, I read a book I thought was awful. Arrogantly, I said, “Even I could do better than that.” So I tried it and suddenly realized I wanted to be a writer. First book never got published. The second one did. I’ve gotten better since. Like anything, the more you do it, the better you get.


TBB: What do you find to be the most difficult aspect of writing a book (the creation/concept, writing, achieving publication, sales/promotion, etc…)?

PP: Nothing comes easy for me. I start with an idea that changes maybe a half dozen times until I feel it’s just right. Once I have my characters, everything flows and then the hardest part, getting it published.


TBB: Which of your books is your favorite and why?

PP: Fire’s Tender Kiss. Strong characters, I like their reaction to each other and as the story went on how their reactions changed.


TBB: If you had to describe that book using ONLY ONE word what would it be?

PP: Strength.


TBB: Looking back on your writing career thus far, if you could change one thing, what would it be and why?

PP: I wouldn’t have listened to my first agent. That started the ball rolling in the wrong direction, check out the blog (for which I'm nominated) to see what I mean.


TBB: Is there a message imbedded into your stories you hope readers will get? If so, what is it?

PP: Sorry, no particular message. My books are pure escapism, solely for entertainment.


TBB: What has been your favorite fan letter or fan comment ever?

PP: The best comment I ever had was being compared by a reviewer to Kathleen Woodwiss. I loved her work.


TBB: What is your top writing career goal?

PP: To make money and lots of it.


TBB: Give me one quote (from yourself/by yourself) about being a writer.

PP: Here’s my favorite quote on being a writer, sorry it’s not from me, its anonymous. It goes like this… “All you have to do to become a writer is put a piece of paper into a typewriter and stare at it until blood forms on your forehead.” Every writer gets days like that.


TBB: What do you dislike the most about being a writer?

PP: The insecurity. When I put in six or eight hours a day on a job, I know I’m going to get paid. Doing the same as a writer, you’re constantly hoping for the best.


TBB: What other author would you most like to meet & have lunch with?

PP: Stephen King, slightly odd, maybe, but I like his sense of humor.


TBB: Who, in your life, is your biggest source of inspiration and why?

PP: Can’t say I have one particular source, except prayer.


TBB: What is your favorite breakfast food?

PP: Mostly I prefer to eat something that was left over from the night before, especially pasta or chicken.


TBB: What is your worst habit?

PP: Putting things off. I work hard to correct that.


TBB: What song lyrics get stuck in your head most often?

PP: Usually a love song, often an oldie and simply the last one I heard.


TBB: If someone wrote a biography about you, what should the title be?

PP: Determined


TBB: If you were a t-shirt, what slogan would appear on you?

PP: "Never Give Up!"

TBB: Favorite place to visit?

PP: New Orleans, I love the flavor of the place.


TBB: Favorite time of year (or fave holiday)?

PP: Christmas. Lots of hard work, but it’s worth it. Big family, lots of people, noisy and fun.


TBB: If you were a cartoon character, which one would you be and why?

PP: Garfield, because I’m very sarcastic and love to sleep.


TBB: What is your least favorite interview question to be asked?

PP: Don’t hate it but it’s my least favorite question. “Where do you get your ideas?”


TBB: Thanks for joining us today, Patricia and congrats on your nomination. We enjoyed getting to know you better and appreciate your appearance at the blog in 2011.

If you'd like to learn more about Patricia and her books, visit her on the web here:

http://www.patriciapellicane.com

And don't forget to pick up a copy of One Wicked Naked Lady, click cover to purchase:
























Be sure to check back for our next nominee interview on January 24th with Leslie Lantry!


Contest Time:



Reminder: The nominees will be counting on your votes to win the Grand Prize and one lucky commenter will receive a gift pack with a book from each nominee (donated by The Book Boost).


So, leave a comment or question for each nominee to increase your odds of winning! Winners announced on Valentine's Day 2012!




**Winners for Book Boost prizes are drawn the first week of the following month and posted in the Recent Winners box in the right hand side of the blog. Check back to see if you are a winner and to claim your prize! Please leave your contact information in your blog post!**

Act Your Age with Guest Blogger: Widdershins

Welcome Eternal Press author Widdershins to the Book Boost!

She's here to discuss "timeless" fiction and here's what she had to say...

MAF-Lit

Mature Age Fiction. Never heard of it?

Well, glad you dropped by because I’m going to wax not only lyrical but eloquent on the subject.

MAF includes stories of all genres with…wait for it…main characters over the age of forty! Main characters who do all the stuff main characters do in all the other genres, but do it with more than four decades of experience under their belts. What a concept!

Let's face it, ‘baby boomers’ are the fastest growing demographic in the western world, and rumour has it, most of them learned to read… books even! And the books were…printed on paper! And an astonishing numbers of them are computer literate too! That means they can use e-readers! Be still my beating heart.

And you know what else? If you asked them to really think about it, I bet they’d embrace a genre that embraced them…that reflected their lives, the sunsets and sunrises witnessed...the wisdom and foolishness that comes with age...the passion and drama that is tempered with knowing that, all things considered, they’ve probably been alive longer than they’re going to remain alive.

So, this is what I propose. Alongside YA, Kid-Lit, Chick-Lit, Chuck-Lit (Chick-Lit for guys), and Anything-Goes-Lit, we now create MAF-Lit!

The cult of youth surrounds us, classifies us, tells us what to buy and why and who for. It actually doesn’t matter what age we are. It tells us what to watch, listen to, and defines a list of behavioral ‘shoulds’ that could easily fill a 1000 page tome with a font you’d need a magnifying glass to read.

It informs our politics, who we should vote for–or not…oh hell, lets just acknowledge that it’s all pervasive.

Maybe I oughtn’t be so quick with the ‘all’ in that last sentence. But the stuff does stand out. And, do things that stand out get our attention? Indeed they do.

Now, we edge our way towards the topic at hand, MAF-Lit.

I write genre-within-a-genre fiction (Lesbian Sci-F/Fantasy). I write about lesbian characters, within the Science Fiction and Fantasy genre. There are a few lesbian authors who do this, so I don’t quite have this unique niche all to myself. That’s O.K., I’m in very good company.

What does irk me about a majority of the stories out there is the dearth of main characters/protagonists who are older. There are secondary characters who are older. Such as...the advisor–Gandalf–who’s older than dirt, as the expression goes. The parents–Mr. and Mrs. Weasley (etc...)-or the villains (a noticeable number of villains). Another manifestation of the cult of youth perhaps?

Good=youth and Bad=age?

I don’t know about you, but here’s what I am going to do. Whenever I come across a SF/F story that has at least one main character over the age of 40, I’m going to post about it on my blog. Start a revolution. Create a new genre.

If you can think of any, or in any other genres, post them in the comments here, or on your blog if you have one.

Spread the word. MAF-Lit is here to stay!


A Note from the Book Boost: Thanks for joining us today at the blog and you have my vote! I'm only a short distance away from the over 40 crowd and I totally want to read about others in my "condition". :-) Please tell us more about your book!


Blurb:

The Mortal realm came into existence when the Gallery, an assembly of corridors that weave, web-like between planets and dimensions, time and space, was created. Now three not-so-ordinary women must save the Gallery from its ultimate destruction.

Unfortunately, mortals are notoriously stubborn so a cunning Goddess must manipulate them to do her bidding.

Unfortunately, she’s not very good at it, and not even the Reweaving of Time can stop the annihilation of the Mortal Realm. Sometimes a woman just has to do it herself.


Excerpt:

Chalone stalked around the Hall of Lights, glaring at it, daring it to look any different. Her thoughts marched around the venerable building faster than she did. Of course it wouldn’t look any different. She didn’t know what she was thinking, imagining something wrong with the Hall. She should be getting ready for Vian’s Circle.

Vian. Her heart thumped in her throat and she deliberately turned her thoughts away from a flood of memories. She. Would. Not. Cry.

The Hall wasn’t a small building though its appearance could be deceiving. In a thunderstorm it looked massive and ominous, at other times it looked ridiculously small. It could easily embrace thousands or seem crowded when it was almost empty. Even though it was ancient beyond reckoning, it looked unscathed by the passage of time or weather. The translucent walls gleamed with swathes of light reflected from the Portals inside, just as they always had, so Chalone wrapped her fortitude around her and walked through the open archway into the Hall.

She ducked around a small group of travelers just returning from somewhere deep within the Gallery. They chattered excitedly until one of them spotted her. They sensed they might have a captive even famous audience to tell their story to and veered toward her. Even on her best days she wasn’t good at spontaneous conversations with groups and fortunately, before she embarrassed herself, Dajah the woman on duty, skillfully intersected their trajectory and herded them toward the exit. Chalone flashed a quick smile and turned back to her investigation.

The Hall’s familiar ordinariness continued to set her teeth on edge with a dissonance she could almost taste. She looked at the ceiling high above. It was the same vaulted dome it had always been. She walked around the Hall toward the far end. The walls between the irregularly spaced Portals looked the same soft shade of white they always had. Nothing spoke to her of any wrongness. At a loss as to what to do next, she walked around and around the Hall, resolving nothing.

Dajah pithily suggested she stop pacing because she was making her dizzy and would eventually wear a hole in the floor. Chalone heeded the unspoken threat and sat on the circular bench in the center of the Hall. She leaned back on the huge granite outcrop that served as a backrest and stared absently at the Portals. She groaned in exasperation, but quietly, in case Dajah heard.

Muttering to herself, she shuffled a few meters along the bench to her right. Nothing. She shuffled around until she reached the far side of the bench, still looking at Portals and seeing nothing. She stood up and slowly walked toward them, glancing out of the corner of her eye, letting her instincts find what her mind refused to.

On either side of each of the Portals, two crystal columns were positioned to stabilize the opening and keep them firmly anchored to the same physical place on the planet, in direct contradiction to the physics involved. Swirling between the columns, the Portals shone in a kaleidoscope of muted colors.

The explanation of why these two blatantly incompatible forces, the mystery of the Gallery and celestial physics, were able to co-exist without ripping reality apart was one of Chalone’s early academic triumphs. Her meticulously documented investigation caused a sensation among researchers who’d tried to account for the phenomenon previously. She delivered her findings at the university in Esparber, and thereafter, a certain fringe of academia pointedly boycotted her infrequent lectures out of spite. Sadly this would have had a more dramatic effect had she been aware of, or cared about their opinions.

The light from one Portal shone on her face, as though challenging her to enter. When a hand lightly touch her sleeve, she nearly jumped out of her skin.

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