@EileenMaksym on Social Media & Her Favourite Things in Life #Paranormal #YA #Giveaway

How often do you write? And when do you write?

I try to write every day.  I'll admit it doesn't always happen, but I do try!  I write in the afternoons, after dropping my husband off at work and before picking my kids up from school.  I sometimes try to write when I'm at home, but it usually doesn't work.  Either the kids are vying for my attention, or they're in bed and all I want to do is veg out and watch Netflix.

Do you have an organized process or tips for writing well? Do you have a writing schedule?

I find that breaking things down into bite-sized chunks helps me a lot.  I aim to write a thousand words every day, and I do it in 200 word sprints, with brief breaks in between for checking email and browsing Twitter!

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

As hard as it is, I love doing it.  There's that moment when you're reading over something you've written and you're surprised that it's actually pretty good.  I live (and work!) for those moments.

Have you met any people in the industry who have really helped you?

Paul McComas really inspired me to get serious about my writing and encouraged me to put my stuff out there.  And the great people at Booktrope have really helped me as a newbie in publishing.

What do you hope people will take away from your writing? How will your words make them feel?

Writing is always a collaboration between the writer and the reader.  What my readers take away, how they feel, is entirely dependent on the individual reader, and I love hearing back from people on how my writing has affected them!

What’s your favorite meal?

There's a tiny tapas restaurant in Cambridge, MA called Dalí. True to its Spanish surrealist namesake, it is imaginative, passionate, and bizarre.  The walls are gold melting like wax, the tables are strewn with rose petals, and the waiters sport dramatic mustaches.  Almost as notable as the decor and atmosphere is the food.  Tapas are small dishes of various sorts that are meant to be shared. A dinner of tapas consists of five or six of these dishes.  It's an intimate experience for two, and when we lived in Boston, my husband and I would go on our anniversary.  The last time we were there, they sat us in an intimate alcove separated from the rest of the dining room by a curtain of beads.  We drank sangría and shared tapas of olives, marinated white asparagus, quail wrapped in bacon.  It remains my favorite meal ever, by far.

What color represents your personality the most?

Green.  Green can have so many shades: bright emerald when I'm happy and excited, deep forest when I'm engaged and concentrating on a project, drab hunter when I'm feeling sad and need quiet, alone time.

What movie do you love to watch?

I love movies, so this is a tough one!  I think the movie I enjoy watching every time I see it would be The Princess Bride. It's fun and clever, and even though I know it by heart I discover new things and am reminded of old things I love every time.  It's like rereading a beloved book. (Incidentally, The Princess Bride by William Goldman is a book everyone should read!)

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

Like most things, they are good in moderation.  I have to be careful not to let Facebook and Twitter (and Pinterest, and Tumblr, and...)  take up all my time, but they are very important parts of my life!  They keep me connected to my friends and family, help me discover new and interesting things, and allow me to engage my readers!

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

I love what I do right now!  But if I were to be a certain kind of writer, I would be a travel writer.  I have always had a very strong sense of wanderlust, and I would love to share my experiences of new places and cultures.

 

Tara Martin – exceptionally accomplished neurobiology major with a troubled past. Steven Trent – confident political science major with an irresistible attraction to Tara. Paul Stratton – history major who is able to hear spirits. Together, they make up the Society for Paranormal Researchers at their prestigious New England University. When they’re not in class or writing papers, the three friends are chasing their passion….ghosts.

When the group learns of a local retired couple trying to sell a house they claim is haunted, they decide to investigate. As the clues unfold, a familiar spirit interrupts their investigation and Tara finds her life in danger. Can her friends save her before it’s too late?

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Genre – YA paranormal, NA paranormal

Rating – PG-13

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Connect with Eileen Maksym on Facebook & Twitter

Website http://eileenmaksym.wordpress.com/

   

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Doubt (#AmongUs Trilogy) & How It Fell Into Place @Write2Film #Paranormal #AmReading

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

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

How did you come up with the title?

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

Can you tell us about your main characters?

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

How did you develop your plot and characters?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Who designed the cover?

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

How do you promote this book?

We’re currently doing a book launch tour online and at live events. Fortunately, the Raindance Book Festival on November 9^th was a perfect venue to launch “Doubt”.  The festival provided us the platform to have a live event attended by hundreds of people which we UStreamed to our fans all over the world.  On our book launch day, we connected with other authors at the festival and exposed our book to a lot of attendees. 

Currently, we are marketing “Doubt” to book review bloggers and social media sites; Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, our blog, GoodReads, Amazon, Kindle groups, etc. We also are hosting giveaways on our blog, GoodReads and Library Thing.  We are really excited to be doing an Orangeberry Book Blog Tour, which starts on Dec 30^th with over 25 blog stops. 

During the tour, we are scheduling more giveaways, interviews and social media events.  Recently, we did a KDP Select free day where almost 6000 people downloaded my novella “Truth Seekers” which is Part 1 of the full novel “Doubt.” It is like a ‘Try before you buy’ approach. If readers like the novella, we know they will purchase the novel Doubt for the whole story.

Will you write others in this same genre?

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

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

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

How much of the book is realistic?

Ummm…the time travel part.

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

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

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

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

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

Harry Doubt, a genius programmer and creator of the popular online game 'Truth Seekers', has a personal mission of his own; to find his mother who went mysteriously missing while volunteering on a peacekeeping mission in Palestine. His gaming friends and followers inadvertently join in helping him find her; believing that they are on missions to find out what has happened to their own missing loved ones. 

During Harry's missions, Cristal and the team of 'Truth Seekers' stumble upon things that make them doubt the reality of their own lives. As they get closer to the truth, they realize that there are spiritual forces among them both good and evil, but in learning this, they activate a chain of events that start the beginning of the 'end of the world' as they know it.

Doubt is Book 1 of the Among Us Trilogy. Among Us is a book series which delves into the world of the supernatural and how it intersects with the everyday lives of seemingly ordinary young people as catastrophic events on earth lead to the end of times. 

Among Us weaves the theme of a young man and woman, who while not fully understanding their 'abilities', are drawn together in their desire to find out the truth about the world they live in which is similar to themes used in J.J. Abrams' TV shows Fringe and Lost.

What readers have to say...

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

A good, clean read for any age.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Genre - Young Adult, Paranormal, Science Fiction, Thriller

Rating – G

More details about the author

Connect with Anne-Rae Vasquez on Facebook & Twitter

Website http://amongus.ca

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#Fantasy #Excerpt The Curse Giver by Dora Machado @DoraMachado

Excerpt 2.  End of First Chapter 
 
The scent of pine turned acrid and hot. Cones crackled and popped. The fire hissed a sinister murmur, a sure promise of pain. She didn’t watch the little sparks grow into flames at her feet. Instead, her eyes returned to the back of the crowd, seeking the stranger’s stare. She found him even as a puff of white smoke clouded her sight and the fire’s rising heat distorted his scarred face’s fixed expression.
The nearing flames thawed the pervasive cold chilling her bones. Flying sparks pecked at her skin. Her toes curled. Her feet flinched. Pain teased her ankles in alarming, nipping jolts. Dear gods. They were really going to burn her alive.

Lusielle shut her eyes. When she looked again, the stranger was gone from the crowd. She couldn’t blame him. She would have never chosen to watch the flame’s devouring dance.

A commotion ensued somewhere beyond the pyre. People were screaming, but she couldn’t see through the flames and smoke. She flinched when a lick of fire ignited her shift’s hem. A vile stink filled her lungs. Her body shivered in shock. She coughed, then hacked. Fear’s fiery fingers began to torment her legs.

“Come and find me,” she called to the God of fire.

And he did.

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Genre – Fantasy/Dark Fantasy

Rating – PG-18

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Website http://www.doramachado.com/

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#Excerpt - The Curse Giver by Dora Machado @DoraMachado

* * *

Lusielle waited until the lady and her bodyguard left the room before she stole out of the bed. She stood up slowly, testing both her feet and her balance. The soles of her feet protested slightly as she pressed them to the floor, but then went numb. She tried taking a step.

The jars and bottles crowding the nightstand wobbled when she steadied herself on the table. She spotted an open jar. A quick whiff revealed the presence of cat’s claw, mixed with high quality fats and scented with lavender’s extract and a touch of calendula to ward off the festering. Upon further inspection, she recognized several kinds of aromatic oils to promote quick healing and the laudanum tincture that was most likely responsible for her drowsiness.

The lady’s healers had used nothing but the best ingredients. No wonder her burns were almost healed.

Dragging the linen sheet around her body, she shuffled towards the ornately framed mirror leaning against the far wall. It was a shock to see her reflection in that long, gilded mirror, disheveled, gaunt and half-naked, like a frail, helpless fool.

Lusielle found the sight alarming, because with the exception of the small hand-held mirror her husband used to supervise her when she shaved him, Aponte Rummins refused to allow mirrors in his house. He thought mirrors spoiled women, aiding in the corruption of the feminine virtues he appreciated best—modesty, obedience and humility. Vanity, he’d often said, was a woman’s blight, and he intended to protect Lusielle from the sins it engendered, including pride, arrogance and wantonness.

Ten years she had lived under Aponte’s rule. Ten lost years she would never get back.

Until today, Lusielle had never had the time or the means to examine her body in front of a full-length mirror. Releasing the crumpled sheet, she found her legs too long, her frame too thin and her feet bound in clean bandages. She also spotted a dressing covering her back.

After undoing the knots, the bandages dropped to the floor. Then for the first time she looked—really looked—at her back.

A few crooked welts snaked between her shoulder blades, marking the trail of the lash. Her skin was still red, but it was healing in the spots where the braided whip had broken through. A messy bruise surrounded the mending wound midway down her back. Craning her neck, she spotted the darker pigmentation beneath the bruise, the faint but even outline of what looked like a small pair of butterfly wings imprinted at either side of her spine.

The gods protect her. Her body indeed wielded a mark, just like the lady said!

She suppressed a rush of fear and forced herself to think. Just because she bore a mark didn’t mean that everything the lady and her bodyguard had said was true. Lusielle might come from a modest family, but she was no ignorant wench. She understood that every cauldron cooked a different mix, more so if it entailed the mighty highborn. For reasons she couldn’t yet comprehend, the Lady of Tolone wanted Lusielle gone. Thus the boots and the gold coins.

On the other hand, why stay and run the risk that the lady was right on any count? The most compelling fact supporting the women’s warning was obvious. Her rescuer was a highborn lord. He had no reason to offer Lusielle his protection and no motive to save her life. She could be of no value to him, as she wasn’t highborn and she didn’t command a ransom.

Her husband had repudiated her. Her town had turned her out. Orell had tortured her. The magistrate had condemned her to death. Under the circumstances, it didn’t seem so far-fetched that when it came to her, the grim-gazed lord had no other purpose but sport.

Nothing good could come from staying with these people.

She sensed the danger all around her. Sure, she couldn’t exactly go back home, but staying put offered more risks than advantages. She didn’t understand the Lord Brennus’s actions and she couldn’t even begin to fathom the lady’s motives, but she knew one thing—she had to trust her instincts. She had to leave.

But where could she go?

Lusielle knew she had to have a sound plan if she was going to survive. The last few weeks—no, the last ten years of her life—had taught her a brutal lesson. At sixteen, she had become an orphan and a bride. At twenty-seven, she was equally helpless and sentenced to die.

Despite her best efforts and sacrifices, she was still alone—as helpless, weak and vulnerable as she had been the day her parents died.

She wiped a stray tear from her eye. No more of that. She was done grieving, and she was tired of submitting and conforming.

She was determined to turn disaster into opportunity. To do so, she was going to have to carve out a spot in a world that had thus far refused to make space for the likes of her. She must go to the only place where she might have a chance to survive and maybe even thrive. It entailed a long and dangerous journey with no assurances, and yet it was her best—nay, her only—chance. She just had to figure out how to get there.

Her eyes fell on the money Tatyene had given her, the three gold coins glinting atop the pile of clothing on the bed. They offered a good beginning.

She donned the soft linen shift and put on the ruffled blouse and the brown skirt. She rolled the woolen hose over her bandaged feet and up her legs, then put on her boots, lacing them loosely. Because of her rescuer’s care, she’d had precious time to heal, and thanks to the healers’ efforts, her feet were mostly mended.

No excuses. This had to be done.

A quick look out the window confirmed that the rain continued to fall. She had no choice but to steal one of the oiled leather mantles she found conveniently hanging on a peg. Her eyes fell on the tray of food standing in the corner. Her stomach grumbled. After downing a bowl of broth in one long gulp, she crammed a buttered roll in her mouth and stuffed her pockets with a bunch of grapes and a few slices of ham. She would have to eat the rest on the run.

She went to the door, but hesitated at the threshold. She had a plan and she intended to follow it. But what if this Lord Brennus was simply a nice man, the last one remaining in this cruel, crazy world?
She recalled how well he had cared for her throughout their journey. Had it not been for him, she would surely be dead. Even her lips remembered his kiss’s generosity. After enduring Aponte’s harsh mouth, she fancied she could easily distinguish cruelty from kindness and voracity from honest passion. No, despite the lady’s warning, she couldn’t think of the lord who had rescued her as mean, vicious or brutal.

What if he had seen through the injustice that had befallen her? What if he had been the only person—highborn or not—willing to help her in the face of that injustice?

The risks were too many to ignore and the danger was too real to forget, but the Lord of Laonia had saved her life and even as she fled him, she didn’t have to join the ranks of the ungrateful.
Lusielle retraced her steps and rummaged through the desk. Although there was no parchment in the drawer, she found a quill and a little pot of ink. She jotted down a few words on her unlikely page and then made for the door.

She slipped out of the chamber into the corridor. She had no idea which way to go, but she had to find a way out of the seed house. Voices and lively music echoed from below. A carved stone banister overlooked the main hall. She peeked between the railings.

The Lord Brennus sat on a high-backed chair next to the Lady of Tolone across from a fire roaring in the massive hearth. He sipped from a gilded horn, listening to the lady’s chatter but staring at the fire with a sullen expression.

Lusielle could tell that he had recently arrived from whatever foray he had undertaken as his boots were wet and muddy. He was still wearing his greaves and his muscled breastplates, impressive leather-and-bronze chest armor strapped at the shoulders and embossed with swirling vines.
The music began. The tall, gaunt man who had accompanied the lord during their trip came into the chamber and joined some of the warriors who had ridden with them on the way to Tolone. She recognized their faces from her journey’s hazy memories.

Other people loitered in the great hall, the lady’s servants and retainers, talking, gaming and eating from the trays on the tables. The lady’s fierce-looking bodyguard stood behind her chair. Even the guards wearing Tolone’s colors seemed to linger in the hall, until a couple of them got up and headed for the stairs, reminding each other loudly that it was time to make their rounds.

Lusielle froze as the guards mounted the first few steps. She wasn’t sure, but she thought that the lady had spotted her, hiding behind the railings.

Without delay, the lady rose to her feet and announced that she was going to dance in ringing tones. Every eye in the room fell on the stunning woman, including those of the guards, who paused on the stairs to watch their mistress.

Lusielle crept down the hallway. She didn’t really trust the Lady of Tolone or anyone else for that matter, but she was determined not to waste her best chance to escape.

Award-Winning Finalist in the fantasy category of The 2013 USA Best Book Awards, sponsored by USA Book News

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Genre – Fantasy/Dark Fantasy

Rating – PG-18

More details about the author and the book

Connect with Dora Machado on Facebook & Twitter

Website http://www.doramachado.com/