Blue Moon Deleted Scene

For anyone who takes notice of my FB page, you might remember I mentioned about sharing some deleted scenes from Blue Moon.

Well, I decided to listen and let you have them. I’m giving you one (which is actually two).

Before I do, let me reassure you that you don’t have worry. These aren’t scenes that would show a different outcome to that which you’ve read in the published version of the book. They are simply scenes that are now hinted at having happened because we removed them to move the story along faster (for good reason–heh).

Oh, and sorry to any hopefuls, but these aren’t ‘intimate’ scenes.

p.s. these have not been professionally edited.

Okay, here goes. Remember near the beginning when Jem and Sean manage to wangle a day to themselves? Well, those scenes were originally shown … and here they are:

~~~~~

TOY STORE SCENE

‘Big’ didn’t even begin to describe the store; gigantic would have been far more fitting. In my younger years, kids were lucky if they had one of those pathetic electronic ping-pongy-tennis games for the TV. The toy store had so many consoles, it made my head hurt.

Sean unfolded his arms from around me and picked up a board game. “We should get this for us.”

“Why?” I smiled. “You hate sitting still.”

“It’s supposed to be freezing soon. It’ll be something to do indoors.”

“Baby, I can think of way more fun things to do than a board game.”

He laughed, repositioning himself at my back. “I’ll bet you can.”

Sean’s six foot three height allowed his chin to rest atop my five-seven frame. With his arms folded around my chest, his breaths warming my neck, his body heat sifting through my clothing, we hobbled our way through the mass of toys.

“What does Ben like?” asked Sean.

I shrugged. “I know he liked sports—I’ve played with them in the garden.”

“It’s too cold for outdoors. We’ll find the boys’ toys.”

As soon as we rounded the corner to the boys aisle, Sean’s arms released me. I peered at him over my shoulder, smothered a laugh at the shine in his eyes as he picked up one box, and then another. He went the whole length of the shelves, studied the action figures, the miniaturised racing tracks and scale-sized cars to accompany them, the train sets, too.

“Look at this.”

When he stuck a pointed hat on his head and waved a wand about, my laugh snorted out.

He put it back, picked up a remote control fire engine, played about with that. I watched him move from the fire engine to a trunk-sized box of bricks. “These are cool.” He stuck a few together, waved them at me. “It’s enough to make you want kids yourself, isn’t it?”

I stared at him. Had he intended it to sound as it did? He spotted my expression, put the bricks back with a frown, and disappeared round the corner.

I turned to scour the figures. Gaze falling on an unusual set, I picked them up for a closer look, hummed and harred over which to get. At Sean’s chuckle I looked back to see him whizzing back round the corner on a skateboard. He almost knocked me over with his outstretched arms, as he brought his newfound wheels to a halt.

“You’ll get us kicked out,” I said with a giggle.

“I’ve got to get one of these. Dad bought me one when I was about ten, but it was rubbish compared the ones they’ve got in here.”

“Get it then.” I smiled. “I found these for Ben. Poppy will laugh her socks off when she sees them.”

He stepped from the skateboard, took the box from me. His gaze went from the one in his hand, to the others on the shelf, before he burst out laughing. I’d found a range of werewolf action figures.

He grabbed some more. “Perfect.”

BISTRO SCENE

The bistro Sean chose for lunch held few patrons. Cosy summed up the dimmed lighting, the dark-wood panelled walls, the yellowed black and white framed photographs that adorned the generous lounge. The offered seats in an enclosed corner of the room added a romantic element to it all.

“You want some wine, Jem?”

“Just juice.” Skimming over the menu, I lowered my voice. “I don’t want to fall asleep before the hunt.”

He smiled before turning as the waitress sidled up with pad and pen in hand. Sean ordered an orange juice and lemonade, a rare sirloin. The woman wrote it all down and looked to me.

“Salmon. But can I get it with potatoes and stuff, instead of salad, please?”

She smiled. “Certainly.”

“Potatoes and stuff?” Sean chuckled when we were alone.

“Well, she seems to know what stuff is.”

His long legs stretched out beneath the table, wrapped around mine. “It’s been good, getting out for a bit.” We didn’t get anywhere near enough time to ourselves. “We should do it more often, now Dad isn’t panicking so much over backup for the two of us.”

I smiled. “Yeah, we should.”

I never complained about Nathan’s concerns about me going out alone—or Sean’s. They weren’t unfounded. Sean and I never questioned Nathan’s worries over the two of us being out together either. As the first female werewolf, bitten by Sean two centuries before, bound to be reunited by a spell my mother placed on us at the time, I—we—tended to be well known, thanks to werewolf history. If another pack saw us, figured out who we were, past experience told us their curiosity alone could bring trouble—though, I didn’t quite understand their fascination with me. Thankfully, since eliminating the pack who hoped to keep me for themselves back in August, we hadn’t come into contact with any other outside wolves.

We remained quiet for a while. Constant conversation had never been a requirement for our relationship. The waitress didn’t even speak when she brought our drinks—probably thought we were making gooey eyes at each other … which, I guessed, we were. At the arrival of our food, we broke focus only long enough to be polite before our eyes reconnected.

We watched each other a lot. I liked to watch him eat. The pronouncement of tendons in his arms with each stab of the fork, every slice of the knife. The way he studied each individual item on his plate as though what he ate next was the most important decision in the world. The satisfaction on his face as the flavours pleasured him. I imagined he got the same enjoyment from watching me, because he always did it, too.

I smiled. “Want some of my stuff?”

He reached over, speared a chunk of broccoli with his fork. It disappeared into his mouth before he attacked his chips. After ramming in enough to render him incapable of speech, he stabbed some more, stretched over to feed them to me.

He finished first, as always, smearing the last of his chips in his bloodied meat juices. As he chewed the last mouthful, he settled onto his elbows. A smile played on his lips, his eyebrow twitched. “Rabbit or badger, tonight, Jem?”

I lowered my gaze as my body gave a small shudder of excitement at the thought. “Fox.”

“You have to wait for them to begin breeding again.”

Considering my alternatives, I returned to studying him. “What would you recommend?”

“Depends how hungry you are.”

“It has nothing to do with hunger.” I shrugged. “If you like rabbit, you simply eat more.”

His smile widened. “Badger, then.”

“Why?”

“Their meat is richer. Rabbit is sweeter.”

“How can meat be sweet?”

He shrugged then smiled when I offered him my last potato.

~~~~~

Th-th-that’s all, folks!

(to clarify, Ben is Poppy’s son)

See you Friday for the first Caged #FreeviewFriday

Liebster Blog Award. Have you been nominated?

So … I got nominated for a Liebster Blog Award. The nominator (which makes her sound kinda tough) is a very lovely lady named Sheryl Winters—you should go check her out and say hi. Anyhoo, as it’s been a while since I’ve had a nomination come my way, I figured I’d play along.

Here’s how it goes:

* Each nominee must answer the 11 questions.
* Create 11 questions for the next nominees to answer.
* Link back to who nominated them.
* Choose 11 people and link them in your post.
* Go to their page and tell them.
* No tag backs!

Got it?

Good.

So, here are my Q’s:

01. What makes your day brighter?

Mr B. The Mini-Me’s are kinda rocking, too. But there’s just something about Mr B stepping into the house after he’s been at work all day that makes it feel warmer.

02. Your goal for 2013?

Goals. Schmoals.

Okay, I’ll be sensible. My 2013 goals are: A) not have everybody hate me for Ethan’s novel when that releases. It was tough to write. It was tough on him. Folk seem to have high expectations for his story and I hope it lives up to them. B) finish writing Holloway Pack 4. It’s nearly done. I’m so close to the finish line. But my muse is dragging his feet and in need of a swift kick up the butt. C) Have a go at my first ever YA. I have the ideas and openings jotted down for around 7 at the moment, but one of them is speaking louder than the others, so I hope to have time to adventure into that. D) if I manage to get that done, then I also have the beginnings of a plot (I know, plotting! From moi!) for a paranormal erotic romance that I might explore a little deeper. E) get fitter and healthier than I currently am. I’m sick of feeling bleh. I want to feel ROAWR!

03. What do you like to write about?

O_O

O_o

o_O

And aside from that, anything that happens to be swirling in my head, at any given time.

04. What is your biggest pet peeve?

Outside of writing: constant negativity. In writing: POV breaches and present tense words in past tense writing.

05. Do you have any hobbies? (other than blogging)

You ever heard of reading? Yeah, that.

I book blog for a hobby, too (see button in yonder sidebar =>>). Bake. Walk (though not enough lately). Watch a film now and then with Mr B. Girlie nights with a good film with the Mini-Me. Winding up The Boy about puberty and girls.

06. Beer or Wine?

I rarely drink. Mostly it’s because I don’t really like the taste. But some may argue that drinking is dangerous for me because I already act slightly intoxicated, anyway, when sober.

07. Favorite breakfast?

Toast.

If I’m feeling adventurous: sliced bananas on toast.

08. Dog or Cat?

Ach. I have both. My pooch kinda rocks my socks, though—even if she is the naughtiest creature alive.

09. Muffins or Cupcakes?

Ach. How am I supposed to choose? Though, it does depend on the muffin. And it does depend on the cupcake. If cappuccino, I’d say cupcake.

10. Autumn or Spring?

Ach. I like both. Spring because it brings colour and flora to the landscape and atmosphere after winter steals them away. And autumn because of its rustic beauty and welcoming fragrance, which just makes me want to suck those breaths in long and deep. No, it’s a tie.

11. PC or Apple?

Dude! Only folk richer than me own Apple Mac’s. O_o

~~~~~

And that’s it. My 11 Q’s answered.

Now, for my 11 Q’s to you.

1. What is your favourite genre to read?

2. You’ve just won a competition and the prize is any pair of shoes in the world of your choice. Describe them.

3. Which fictional character would you most like to meet and why?

4. The zombie apocalypse is upon us. Undead beings are beating at your door, slobbering over your freshly-cleaned patio windows, and you’re barricaded into your living room. Sticking to truth, what’s the most useful item you have to help you swing your way out of this somewhat precarious situation?

5. I’ll never understand why mashed potato is considered a signature dish for a certain chicken restaurant in the US, so if you couldn’t have both, but had to choose, which way would you swing? Chicken or mash?

6. What is your most favourite accent in the world *cough* British *cough*?

7. If you could visit any fictional land (created world/situation/etc) from any book of your choosing, which world/situation would choose to play witness to and why?

8. Slippers or socks? No, they’re NOT the same!

9. Favourite James Bond actor? Why, what’s so special about him, then?

10. Best (in your opinion) special effects for a werewolf film to date? (to the US folk out there, film = movie. )

11. And last but not least: Head into your mobile (mobile = cell phone *snicker*) scroll through your ‘favourites’ list of numbers, find the number that you dial the most … Who is it? Can I have their number? ‘Cause they must be pretty cool if you ring them all the while, right?

What d’you mean I can’t have it?

Hmmm, okay then, how about: What topic are you’re planning to write (or blog) about next?

~~~~~

Okay, are you ready? Because it’s time for the list of 11 nominees. Here goes:

Danielle Shipley

Keri Lake

Alex Nader

Katherine Skye

Karen Y. Bynum

Brooke @ The Cover Contessa

Meghan @ Happy Tails and Tales

Vanessa Jane Chapman

Lola @ Lola’s Reviews

Danielle @ Known to Read

L.S. Murphy

~~~~~

It’s all yours.

Vlog Post: Keri Lake on Soul Avenged and the Sons of Wrath

Now, I make no secret of the fact that I’m a big fan of writer buddy Keri Lake’s latest novel Soul Avenged, so when she announced that she’d made a vlog, I natural asked permission to share it, too.

In case you have no idea what Soul Avenged, book one in the Sons of Wrath series, is, take a peek below.

Passion is blind in vengeance and love …

Ayden’s suburban home was invaded by a pack of Lycans.

The brutal attack is the only memory she carries of her former life.

Now, one motive burns in her soul:

KILL THEM ALL.

The Sons of Wrath—a brood of vengeance-dealing warrior demons—band with Ayden to hunt the Lycans on Detroit’s most deadly feeding grounds.

Kane Walker should’ve been her easiest kill.

Unfortunately, the newly bitten Lycan has something she wants—clues that may finally lay her past to rest. To reach them, she must be willing to submit to the sensual pleasures awakened by his touch.

Time is running out.

In seven days, Kane will become what Ayden despises most. She can halt his transformation but the antidote requires the ultimate sacrifice. As the beast takes hold, Kane becomes more of a threat.

Ayden must choose between her lust for revenge, or surrender to her enemy and discover a horrible truth.

Sons of Wrath

Never gamble with vengeance

AND if I still have your interest … watch on.

 

See? Like I said, this one is defo worth checking out.

Off you go.

And whilst you’re there check Keri’s Website out, too, and watch out for an upcoming readers vote she’ll be running for the cover model of book two in the Sons of Wrath.

The Next Big Thing! Who’s Game then?

Ooooookay then. You’re invited here today because, once again—thanks, Kastil—I have been tagged in the very popular blog hop: THE NEXT BIG THING!

The deal is, you answer the questions about your latest WIP, and then nudge other people into joining in to keep it rolling. And whilst I kinda considered not playing, because … well, because I’m still working on the same project I was when I did the last one, I’ve decided to come up with the goods anyway. Who knows? Maybe this time I’ll be a little more accommodating.

Here goes ….

1. What is the working title of your book?

Okay, so maybe I can’t be more accommodating in this area. Because my WIP is still Holloway Pack 4, and I still have no intention of revealing the title or MC(s) until the contract is in the bag and the announcement for that made. Sorry.

2. Where did the idea come from for the book? 

As stated the last time, I realised so far through writing Caged who the MC would be for book #4, and it didn’t take me long to figure out who the other MC would be (because, yep, this is the first Holloway Pack title that will contain two POV’s in one book)—and as soon as I had those identified, the conflict arrived right alongside.

3. What is the genre of the book?

It borders on being urban fantasy, though I suspect it leans more toward PNR.

4. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

As always: Nooooooooo fricking frackin’ idea. I don’t see my characters visually beyond hair colour, eye colour, and build. When I write/read them, they are more of a presence to me. And not just my characters, but those written by others that I read, too. Unless it’s blindingly obvious due to an image being on the cover, or an eye colour being mentioned so many times we’re hit upside the head with it, I can rarely tell you what a character looks like by the time I reach the end of whatever book I’m reading. I only know these details for my own characters because I write them. Otherwise, I just remember what I loved about the characters—and it usually has zilch to do with how they look.

5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Ach. I can’t even remember what I wrote for this the last time—and I’m naff at this kinda stuff. Naff at taglines. Naff at blurbs. But here goes: When you believe in something enough, even the forbidden, you will do whatever it takes to achieve it, no matter the costs. Totally crap, but you get the gist.

6. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency/publisher?

Published by Indie pubber J. Taylor Publishing, who all the preceding Holloway Pack titles are contracted to.

7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay tooooooooooo looooooooooooooooooong!!!!!

Still working on it. Will have it in the bag soon.

8. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

As I’ve said before: Hopefully none.

9. Who or what inspired you to write this book?

100% the two MC’s. And my fans. Since writing Caged, I’ve wanted to provide my readership with a title for each of my male pack members. That’s what the next few Holloway Pack books are going to be all about.

10. What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

Did you see the mention of ‘forbidden’ above? Some things are forbidden for good reason. Because they’re just plain wrong. It only takes one to disagree with that opinion, and it’s enough to start a war.

Aaaaaaaaaaand that’s it for me.

So now I’m nominating YOU to have a play. Yes, yes, you’re supposed to tag X amount of friends to take their turn next, but truth is, my pals are probably sick of me tagging them. So instead, I’m leaving it up to you. Your choice. Play, don’t play—it’s up to you. But if you do, don’t forget to leave a link in the comments here so I can come check you out.

Bastardisation.

Of the English language, I mean.

In case you haven’t noticed, I have quite a few American writer buddies. In complete jest, discussions of their bastardisation of the English language have taken place between us, with their digs over my uses of ‘whilst’ and ‘arse’ and ‘judder’, and mine in return about how they only lose letters from their words in hope of using less energy when speaking them … but it would appear said American friends are no longer the biggest bastardisers of them all**.

Yep, I now have bigger fish to fry.

And that bigger fish comes in the form of my 15 year old son—and possibly other teenagers, too.

You see, during a conversation with my son one evening, whilst (<<slipped it in ) I was being my usual witty self, my son responded with: “Heh, LOL.”

O_o

Yes, rather than bothering to laugh when he found what I had to say amusing, the actual sound: loll came out of his mouth.

My response pretty much went along the lines of: “Oh, my God! You did not just LOL at me!”

For some reason, he then found me even funnier.

Damn, people! What is happening to the youth of today?

To make matters worse, ‘Essex speak’ is spreading like a viral wildfire, and infecting a whole lot of areas other than those for which it began, too.

O_O

Of course, I think I shall 100% blame X-Factor contestant Rylan Clark (I love you really, Rylan; you’re a hoot). I’m pretty sure he has started a nationwide trend set—possibly promoted in part by how taken a certain judge was by it all.

Because all over my Christmas break, any time I mentioned that my son had Maltesers when I didn’t, or sweeties when I didn’t, or [insert confectionary of choice] when I didn’t (what? I didn’t have hardly any edible goodies over the break!), his response was: “Are you jell, Mum?” Or, on occasion: “Jelly?”

I can only imagine what on earth is going to bleed into speech next.

Who else has noticed the higher invasion of ‘text talk’ and regional slang in speech?

**Disclaimer: no offense is intended by this blog post. It was written in a light-hearted manner, and I hope it will be taken as such.

Christmas at the Beach.

I’ve been pretty absent through most of December, mostly due to organising the Blue Moon and Make Believe Blog Tours. I also pretty much dropped off the face of the planet over Christmas. Well, that’s because I spent Christmas away, at my Mother-in-Law’s, over yonder on the west coast of Wales, where said MiL doesn’t have Internet. I didn’t switch on my laptop once whilst there, though that could have been due to Mr B exhausting me with treks around shops and walks on beaches, followed by the MiL filling me up with home-cooked meals until I could barely move except to fall into bed. And on top of those, the pooch came along and kept me on my toes.

To be honest, I was a little concerned about taking the dog, because our last one couldn’t handle the travelling and would be off her food during the stay, as well as refusing to eat for a couple weeks afterward any time we tried to take her. But I needn’t have worried, because aside from being somewhat unhappy with the icy sea winds, Lunar settled right in at ‘Nanny’s house, and I think Mrs B senior, might even have been a wee bit sorry to see her leave.

Anyhoo, I thought I’d share (now I have my Internet back) a little of where we took the pooch, and exactly what she thought of it. Sorry I couldn’t figure out how to get these vids on my blog, but I’ve posted links to them, and hope you’ll get a small smile out of them.

Oh, and for goodness sake, don’t listen to my horrible voice. I sound somewhat …. [insert choice phrase here]. O_o

 

This was the pooch’s very first time at the beach. Right before I took these, she’d met a couple Japanese Akitos (sp?), and ran around chasing them before letting them take a turn. Very cute and funny.

This was the pooch’s second trip to the beach. Broad Haven is an absolutely gorgeous place to visit, with the Bosherton Lily Ponds just around the corner, resulting in a river flowing down the beach from there and leading to the sea. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get around the lily ponds, because excessive rain had caused floods. The short clip below should give you an idea of how bad the weather has been.

And here are a few pics of our beach trips, too.

Broad Haven beach on approach.

Ah, yes, where the River runs to the sea at Broad Haven. Only a couple years back, me and Mr B jumped this to climb the rocks on the other side. Amazing how nature can alter stuff, eh?

The fam on the bridge that divides the beach from the lily ponds. If you look real close, you might be able to see Lunar hiding from the wind in Mr B’s jacket.

This was Tenby beach on Friday. The winds were seriously bitter and swept the sand across the beach in waves. Not sure you can see that in the pic.

And finally, what the pooch thought of those seriously strong winds. If it looks like she’s howling and looking pretty distraught, that’s because she is. Evidently, she’s a fine-weather beach dog only.

Anyhoo, that’s me.

How was your Christmas?

JUDGE JULIE: THE RESULTS!

Now you may remember waaaaaaaaaaay back at the beginning of November, Judge Julie once more hit the blog for the start of NaNoWriMo, when three seriously insane authors decided to go head to head toward the finish line.

Well, the results are now IN!

Apologies, but I am a little late posting them, due to being booked up last week for the Make Believe Blog Tour.

Before we go to the results, however, let us just recap on the rules of the game.

The prize goes to the author with the HIGHEST word count at the end of November SANS starting word count in their chosen WIP.

Prize is $1 exactly to be forwarded by each of the LOSERS!

And LOSERS! must write a blog post bowing down to the greatness of the one who BEAT THEM!

So, here are the finishing stats for each contestant.

~~~~~~~

NAME: JOCELYN ADAMS

NOVEL TITLE: RAISING WINTER

START WORD COUNT: 5237

FINISHING WORD COUNT: “Geez, no idea. I know I made it over the 50k, but not by how much.” o_O

TOTAL WORDS WRITTEN FOR NANO: Over 45k, maybe even over 46k, but one can’t be sure. O_o

~~~

NAME: EMI GAYLE

NOVEL  TITLE: PERRY ROAD

START WORD COUNT: 12738

FINISHING WORD COUNT: 63943

TOTAL WORDS WRITTEN FOR NANO: 51205

~~~

NAME: L.S. MURPHY

NOVEL TITLE: FULL COUNT

START WORD COUNT: 0

FINISHING WORD COUNT: 37827

TOTAL WORDS WRITTEN: 37827

~~~~~~~

Which means the winner is ….

Congratulations, Emi!

Bad luck, Jo & Linda. Please pay up before I send the heavies round. And I shall be expecting some bowing down blog posts reeeeeeeeeeeeeal soon.

Meet Lunar, the Lune (or is that Loon) of the Belfield’s!

WARNING: Today’s blog post will most likely include a mishmash of random blathering amongst pictures containing cuteness galore.

You have been warned!

Let me start by taking a moment to pay my respects to Lil-Lu.

Li-Lu was our Staffordshire Bull Terrier, and she very sadly passed about a few weeks ago at age 10 & ½. To say I was devastated was an understatement. At the time, both I and Mr B decided no way were we ready to have another pooch yet. And we even talked about altering up our favoured breed when we did. But what we hadn’t taken into account was the ‘emptiness’.

If you’ve never had a dog in your life, I’ll understand if you don’t get this. If you have had a dog in your life you will get this straight away.

You see, Mr B & I have lived in our home since November of 1993 when we bought it together. By early January of 1994, we had our first dog. A Staffordshire Bull Terrier. A year later we added a mongrel to the household. And soon after that, our pooch count went up to three. In the summer of 2002, we only had the Staffie left. Her name was Zoe. At that point, Zoe was 9 1/2, and she seemed a little doddery on her legs. Well, me being me, I couldn’t bear the thought of being without a pooch. I also couldn’t bear the thought of trying to ‘replace’ Zoe and the new doggie not living up to the standard set by her predecessor. I figured it would be easier if we had a dog already who had won us over in her own right. So when I went out to a friend’s house one day, whose dog just happened to have had pups that were ready to leave, I kinda turned up back home with a pup in tow and a ‘Ta-da! Guess what I bought?’ greeting to my man. (He is a very understanding bloke. *nods head* which is probably just as well).

So, as you’re probably guessing, the new pup was Li-Lu. Having a pup in the house seemed to add life to old doddery Zoe, and she went on to run about the garden with her new friend and went on to live another few years. Having Li-Lu there at the time made her death—whilst it hurt like hell—a little easier to bear.

We didn’t have that luxury this time around. To make matters worse, our decision to not get a new pooch right away didn’t seem to be working out. Because dogs create such a presence when they live with you, they become a piece to your puzzle, a part of your team … when they’re not there anymore, a huge gap is created. One that doesn’t belong there. And one that your heart yearns to fill.

So, we gave in.

Yesterday evening, Mr B came home with our new family member. Her name is Lunar (I’m sure you can figure out where the inspiration came from ). She is another Staffie. And I’d like to introduce her to you. See below.

This is how she looked at me when introduced. Not sure she was too impressed. Don’t worry, though, I’m kinda growing on her.

Yeah, this is her trying to convince my pillows are her pillows. Will be needing to set her straight on that one. O_o

Ah, yes, in her own bed. And we thought it looked way too small when we bought it. Silly us.

This one was actually taken with her in my lap. I’m hoping she kinda likes to sleep there, you know, with it getting kinda chilly and all–I could use a hot water bottle. :pCan I just get an Aaawwwwww?

Yeah, yeah, I know, I’ve been a bit snap happy with the camera (and trust when I say I didn’t post all of them), but she’s worth the airtime, right?

So this is Lunar? How about you guys? You have any special creatures in your lives?

Judge Julie! Yup, it IS that time of year again!

You may recall, I’ve donned my judging hat a couple times now to oversee the stiff writing competition that a certain couple of authors like to entertain us all with.

First time, it was just for kicks.

Last year, it was to push themselves through NaNo even faster than ever.

This year, they’re using NaNo as the boost again, but this time there’s a new spice to add to the flavour.

Yep, because a THIRD contestant is stepping up to the starting block, convinced she can knock the two-times-winner off the podium.

So, who wants a peek at this trio of insane nutters then?

Look below.

Yes, at the gates, we have:

Jocelyn Adams:

Reigning Champion and author of many titles including the Lila Gray Trilogy.

Emi Gayle:

Reigning LOSER Runner-Up and author of The 19^th Year Trilogy.

L.S. Murphy:

Newbie who has no idea what she’s letting herself in for and author of contemporary romance A Reason to Stay and YAPNR Reaper.

We’ll also be changing up the guidelines a little bit.

You see, in the past, the winner has been whoever hit their 50k (per NaNo rules) mark first.

THIS YEAR, it is whoever has the highest word count at NaNo’s end, sans any starting word count for their WIP’s that have already been declared.

Also in the past, the LOSER runner-up has been forced obligated to send chocolate to the winner, as well as blog about their ineptitude and the fact they lost to this person who is more awesome than themselves.

Whereas, THIS YEAR, the prize at stake is …. $2. Yep, each of the LOSERS runners-up will each be forced obligated to forward $1 each to the AWESOMEST WRITER winner.

To clarify, here are each of the contestants deets:

NAME: JOCELYN ADAMS

NOVEL TITLE: RAISING WINTER

START WORD COUNT: 5237

~~~

NAME: EMI GAYLE

NOVEL  TITLE: PERRY ROAD

START WORD COUNT: 12738

~~~

NAME: L.S. MURPHY

NOVEL TITLE: FULL COUNT

START WORD COUNT: 0

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And here is a list of MY rules that MUST be obeyed:

At November’s end, all three contestants shall submit TO ME (oh, the power) their manuscripts for validation.

Final word counts shall only be approved upon confirmation of an actual story and not a craptapular repetition of words or phrases just to make word count.

Winner shall be officially announced beginning of December.

LOSERS!!!!!!! Runners-Up will also be required to blog in early December bowing to the winner’s awesomeness and admitting their defeat to the world as well as cough up the goods pay their dues.

Cheating shall be snickered at highly discouraged and may result in lots of private laughter disqualification, dismemberment, and public disgrace.

Ladies, your time started at one minute past midnight this morning, so …

Let the madness commence!

Good luck! You’re gonna need it.

How about you guys–how are you ramping up NaNo this year to make it more fun?

Tagged Again: The Next Big Thing!

I was recently tagged by a good friend of mine, Keri Lake, to participate in this fun blog hop, in which I’m supposed to talk about my next big project.

O_O

This means I’m now in a bit of a pickle. Coz my next big project is the one I’m currently working on, and although I’ve made some noise about it, most things about it are contained in an airtight storage container with a pretty strong lock on the lid.

However, I’m going to give it a go, and we’ll see how that plays out, I guess.

Before you read what I have to say, though, be sure to pop to Keri’s Blog and check out her post in the hop—especially because the project she’s chatting about is one I’ve had the chance to read and it seriously kicks a$$.

Okay, onward.

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What is the working title of your book?

Here is where we hit hitch number 1, ‘cause 1) it ain’t no working title; and 2) I ain’t telling until my contract is signed. Though, I am willing to tell that it’s Holloway Pack #4—does that help?

Where did the idea for the book come from?

Like all my ideas: from my head. Okay, the idea for this actually started formulating partway through writing Holloway Pack 3, and as soon as I realised who my main playing characters would be, I had full clarity on the main conflict of the tale.

What genre does your book fall under?

Urban fantasy with a side helping of PNR.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

Noooooo freakin’ frackin’ idea. I’d be stumped if ANY of my titles got picked up for the screen and I was asked my opinions on casting.

What is the one sentence synopsis of your book?

When all odds are against you, there’s only one choice left: rebel—nah, just kidding. I’m not giving you the synopsis; it’d give too much away.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

Neither. I deal directly with the Indie publisher who publishes my titles.

How long did it take to write the first draft of your manuscript?

Dude, I been near damn workin’ on this mos’ the year and I ain’t nowhere near bein’ finished yet. It’s drivin’ me jiggity juggernuts. Though, in my defence, I’ve had a lot to deal with this year.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

Hopefully, none.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

Well, as I never expected Holloway Pack to extend beyond Darkness & Light, and then Blue Moon, and then I definitely thought Caged was it, I’d have to say, 1) my characters; and 2) my readers.

What else about your book might pique the readers interest?

Um … it’s a little f’d up. Will that do?

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Okay, I’m now supposed to nominate five folk to fall into line and take the plunge into litererary-self-exposure. However, in my usual grumpy fashion, I’m not going to tag anyone specific because I know how everyone has a lot going on. Instead, I’m going to say, this was a lot of fun to do, and if you want to play, DO SO! And feel free to come back and link your post in my comments below so I can come check it out.

Thanks for reading.