Kari Nichols's Thoughts on Writing as Personal Therapy @TheKariNichols #HistFic #Romance

Why Writing is a Form of Personal Therapy

I use writing as therapy for several reasons. First, it’s the one thing that I can always count on to calm me down no matter what else is going on in my life. When I put all my concentration into the lives of my characters, I don’t have to worry about what’s happening in my own life. I guess it’s my own little escape from reality.

Second, if I’m really upset or excited about something, I can funnel those emotions into my work. I enjoy taking the excitement of good news and using that enthusiasm to connect with a character that is experiencing a similar situation (and the same goes for when I’m feeling sad or angry). Finally, when I’m able to see the fruits of the hard work that I’ve put into my novels and short stories, I have the most incredible sense of accomplishment and relief.

When I write, I feel like I’m developing as a person. Creating worlds and characters stretches my mind and forces me to grow to new heights to attain the next level of mastery I need in order to develop a unique story.

“We stand united, Family of Immortals. Plagued by life. Cursed by the hand of God …”

Rogue was born into an immortal family whose wealth is marked by a trail of blood. But when he meets the unnervingly familiar assistant of his next target, an unexpected rush of emotions begins to unravel his carefully laid plans.

Lissie lives a mundane life filled with work … and little else. She hasn’t taken a risk since she moved to New York City after college—seven years ago. But when the mysterious Matthew McCloud walks through the door of her office, she finds herself diving head-first into a whirlwind romance she never saw coming.

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Genre - Urban Fantasy, Contemporary Romance, Historical Romance

Rating – PG-13

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Connect with Kari Nichols on Facebook & Twitter

Website http://karinichols.com/

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#Excerpt from 'Night's Favour' by Richard Parry @TactualRain #AmReading #Fantasy #Thriller

“We’ve got the prints back.”  Elliot banished the serenity with practiced ease.

Carlisle looked up from her computer — fucking thing — and gave her partner a stare.  “Prints?  From what?  The meticulously clean van?  Or from inside the bar with the ten thousand other prints?  No — you’ve got good news, I can see it from your face.  Something from the shotgun?”

Elliot’s smirk was almost unholy.  “You work too hard.  Maybe you should just take the rest of the day off.  Shoot some pool.  You’re clearly not made out for the long hours of real police work.”  He had a manila file, CONFIDENTIAL in faded red ink blocked out in capitals on the front.  He tapped on it with a finger.  “Leave this one to us.”

“You’re just sore you lost the bet.”

“I didn’t lose the bet.  It’s just been… deferred.”

“Deferred my ass.”  The murderer had been meticulous enough to stack the bodies in a single location, but had left two things out of place.  One, a body impaled on an elephant — sans head — and two, a severed hand.  The body had printed easily, ex-military records describing a man better off dead.  Sealed file, no name, but the memo from Defence had described an SAS officer deployed into Afghanistan, then dishonourably discharged.  The only thing longer than the crimes against noncombatants was the list of heroic missions.  The memo had politely suggested they contact Ebonlake Associates, a private security contractor known to pay good rates for men with moral flexibility.

It was on her to-do list.

No, the bet was all about the hand.  Elliot thought it had simply been misplaced, that they’d find a matching right hand, or maybe an arm.  Carlisle didn’t think so — the killer was too particular.  Forensics had done a pretty good job of assembling near complete cadavers from the remains, only a few pieces still out of place.  Smart money was on the hand belonging to someone who got away.

So far Carlisle was in the lead.  The hand hadn’t matched any of the bodies.  Sure, it was possible that it was all that remained of someone, but the killer hadn’t seemed to take trophies.  Complete corpses remained, albeit disassembled.  It wasn’t conclusive, but it wasn’t looking good for Elliot.

“Prints from the hand on the sidewalk.  Valentine Everard, works in computers.  Haven’t been able to track down his boss yet.  Everard’s on file — we got him for DUI a couple years back.”  Elliot flipped a page in the file.  “Here it is.  Vehicular homicide.”

“Let me guess.  He’s not turned up at the hospital yet?”  They’d thrown up nothing but dead ends at the ER when they called from the scene, the staff harried and unhelpful.  Yes, they were sure that they’d have noticed someone coming in without a hand.  Of course they’d call if something turned up.

“Nada.”  If anything, the smirk grew wider.  “So why’s a guy missing his left hand not turn up to the ER?”

Carlisle turned off her screen, grabbing her jacket from where it hung in a crumpled mess over the back of her chair.  “The only reason I wouldn’t go to the hospital is if I’d just killed twenty guys.”  One arm through her jacket sleeve, she scrabbled around the clutter on her desk for a notebook.  “What I don’t get is why you’re so happy.  This is only going to prove that I’ve won the bet.”

Elliot nodded.  “I just took your view, opened an office pool.  I might lose to you, but I’m going to win against — so far — five other fine detectives.”

“Even if you lose, you win?”

“Yep.”

Valentine’s an ordinary guy with ordinary problems. His boss is an asshole. He’s an alcoholic. And he’s getting that middle age spread just a bit too early. One night — the one night he can’t remember — changes everything. What happened at the popular downtown bar, The Elephant Blues? Why is Biomne, the largest pharmaceutical company in the world, so interested in him — and the virus he carries? How is he getting stronger, faster, and more fit? And what’s the connection between Valentine and the criminally insane Russian, Volk?

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Genre – Action, Thriller, Urban Fantasy

Rating – R16

More details about the author

 Connect with Richard Parry on Facebook & Twitter

Website http://www.rage.net.nz

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#AmReading - SUMMONED by Rainy Kaye @rainyofthedark #Paranormal #GoodReads

I sit with a start. I’d fallen asleep naked on the living room floor. Fantastic. I scramble for my clothes and phone. The phone clock reads 2 A.M. The hum in my brain says I need to get rolling.

I pull on my boxers and stumble toward the hallway. “Syd?”

She enters the living room from the kitchen, wearing a camouflage t-shirt hanging halfway to her knees. My camouflage t-shirt.

I point at her. “Take that off.”

Admittedly, she looks good in it, but this can’t happen. None of this wearing my clothes shit. One night stands shouldn’t wear my clothes, not even on the second night.

The fact the one-nighter is on round deux might indicate I have a problem. I don’t have time to deal with it right now. Phil needs to die.

She frowns and looks down at herself. “I thought we could squeeze in one—”

“No. No time for anything else.”

She glances at me. “Want me to take you to the airport?”

“No, thank you,” I say, sharper than I intended, but I know what’s coming. Of course, Syd doesn’t, and I’m just being a jerk and insensitive to her feelings or whatever. She isn’t supposed to have feelings, though. Not about me. Not about this. “Get out.”

She quirks her lips, and then stalks into the living room and changes. She seems to have to bend over a lot for someone replacing a single item of clothing with another.

She catches me staring as she straightens her dress and gives a taunting smile. I force a scowl, turning for the hallway. No time for her nonsense. Even if I wanted—which I do.

She comes up and slides her arm over my shoulder.

I start to protest, but she steps around to my front and presses her lips against mine. Her hand goes to the back of my head, and her tongue slips into my mouth. I deepen the kiss. My hand slides under her dress.

The hum kicks up. A reminder.

I pull away and nod toward the front door. She rolls her eyes, pushing past me. My gaze follows her as she crosses the living room and plucks up her purse.

“Stop calling me, Syd.”

With a sly glance over her shoulder, she says, “Let me know when you get back.”

She blows me a kiss and leaves.

I consider going after her. Maybe I could drag one more hour out of my brain.

Thirty minutes?

I shake my head. Time to focus.

Time to kill.

Twenty-three year old Dimitri has to do what he is told—literally. Controlled by a paranormal bond, he is forced to use his wits to fulfill unlimited deadly wishes made by multimillionaire Karl Walker.

Dimitri has no idea how his family line became trapped in the genie bond. He just knows resisting has never ended well. When he meets Syd—assertive, sexy, intelligent Syd—he becomes determined to make her his own. Except Karl has ensured Dimitri can’t tell anyone about the bond, and Syd isn’t the type to tolerate secrets.

Then Karl starts sending him away on back-to-back wishes. Unable to balance love and lies, Dimitri sets out to uncover Karl’s ultimate plan and put it to an end. But doing so forces him to confront the one wish he never saw coming—the wish that will destroy him.

Summoned is represented by Rossano Trentin of TZLA.

Find out more at http://www.summonedtheseries.com

Author Bio

Rainy Kaye is an aspiring overlord. In the mean time, she blogs at <a href=http://www.rainyofthedark.com>RainyoftheDark.com</a> and writes paranormal novels from her lair somewhere in Phoenix, Arizona. When not plotting world domination, she enjoys getting lost around the globe, studying music so she can sing along with symphonic metal bands, and becoming distracted by Twitter. She is represented by Rossano Trentin of TZLA.

GIVEAWAY http://www.rainyofthedark.com/summoned-tours-giveaways/

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More ways to connect with Rainy Kaye 

Author Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/rainyofthedark

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GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20624580-summoned?ac=1

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Cover Design: Kris Wagner https://www.facebook.com/digitalgunman

Model: Adam Jakubowski https://www.facebook.com/LadyJakubowsky

Photographer:  Marcin Rychły https://www.facebook.com/karrdepl

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Richard Parry's #WriteTip for Believable Characters @TactualRain #AmWriting #Fantasy

You ever seen one of those villains in a movie that cackles with glee, rubbing their hands together at the downfall of the heroes?  Just being a bit of a dick?

The thing is, people are dicks all the time, but only super rarely do they wake up in the morning and say to themselves, “You know, it’s Tuesday: I’m going to be a dick today.”

If we start from there, it gives us our first hint on how to make our characters more real.  Start with them being human, and having human drivers.  People are “evil” or “good” because they want to achieve a set of outcomes that we perceive — through our own lens of morality — to be good or evil. Hitler?  Giant dick, right, I know.  But he didn’t wake up wanting to be a dick: he wanted to change the world and put Germany at the top.

When I write my stories, I start with the people.  I need a motley cast of people, good and evil and the run in between, to tell the story with.  They’re the stars of the show, and they need to have motivations for getting up in the morning.  Those motivations need to be real.

I try and start with my characters wanting to do the right thing, whatever that might mean for them.  In Night’s Favour, Val’s idea of the right thing is no more or less advanced than putting one foot in front of the other, going through the motions.  He drinks himself to sleep, lives on cheap take-out, and has just one friend.  Elsie’s view of the right thing is to save her daughter’s life, and in the process change the world with a revolutionary new medicine.  Which one of them is good, and which one is evil?

The consequences of their actions and how we interpret them makes them believable.  Val’s just an ordinary guy who gets the chance to be less ordinary, to change it all.  If you were him, what would you do?  Elsie’s needs for her daughter trump all others.  If you had a daughter who was dying, is there anything you wouldn’t do for her?

Good and evil is subjective, but it’s the motivations that make people in stories real.  They become our heroes and villains, our saints and sinners, because of how we see them.  We relate to them because, on some level… Well, we understand where they’re coming from.

Valentine’s an ordinary guy with ordinary problems. His boss is an asshole. He’s an alcoholic. And he’s getting that middle age spread just a bit too early. One night — the one night he can’t remember — changes everything. What happened at the popular downtown bar, The Elephant Blues? Why is Biomne, the largest pharmaceutical company in the world, so interested in him — and the virus he carries? How is he getting stronger, faster, and more fit? And what’s the connection between Valentine and the criminally insane Russian, Volk?

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – Action, Thriller, Urban Fantasy

Rating – R16

More details about the author

 Connect with Richard Parry on Facebook & Twitter

Website http://www.rage.net.nz

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Absolution (The #Vampire Alliance) by Angela Louise McGurk @Angela_McGurk #Paranormal #Romance

Eve Blakethorn can barely remember what it was like to be unaware of the vampire world around her. Many years have passed since she met the stranger, the man who saved her life, gave her the world and promised her immortality. Unfortunately for Eve someone in power had not wanted her to have the world. Within days of her marriage her life is shattered. Everyone Eve cares for, vampire and human, is taken from her and she is left alone to fend for herself in a world she neither understands nor fits into.

How can she hope to survive her dark and lonely existence while still plagued by the horrors she witnessed when her husband died? How can she avoid becoming prey to the monster who stalks her footsteps, the devil she has long suspected to be the one who brought about her husband’s downfall?

Desperation drives her every move, leading her into the darkness where monsters wait. Can Eve discover the truth about how her world came to crumble and who was really responsible? Is there another stranger out there capable of bringing her some sense of peace? And just what is the vampire government, The Senate, hiding in the dark tunnels under the city?

Praise for Absolution*: 

“I enjoyed every chapter haven't stayed up so late for a book in so long I just couldn't put my phone down. Great book.”

“Wow! It's a nice change to read something in the vampire category with a more mature storyline. Your story was interesting and had me captivated from the beginning until the end. It was beautifully written, and falling in love with with the characters was easy. Great job absolutely loved it!”

“I have thoroughly enjoyed this book! I think this has been one of the most original, mature vampire stories I have ever read... The lives of your vampires are fully realised, their abilities are believable, and the twists in your story are sublime.”

*All comments are from readers.

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Genre - Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance

Rating – R

More details about the author

Connect with Angela Louise McGurk on Facebook & Twitter

Blog http://angelamcgurk.blogspot.co.uk/

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