Author Love: J. Keller Ford

MASSIVE welcome to my fellow Make Believe author, J. Keller Ford.

I met Jen (virtually) on a writing site quite a few years ago, and have stayed in touch since so I’m very excited to have her on my blog today and for the opportunity to introduce her to you.

So, Jen, tell us a little about your story—and how does it relate to the prompt given for the anthology theme?

The Amulet of Ormisez is a story of love between brothers, love between husband and wife and the sacrifices both spouse and brother must make to save the one they love. 

The first three words that popped into my head when I saw the prompt were blood (the dress), sacrifice and purity (the snow).  As the castle was in shadow yet surrounded by snow, I knew the person inside must be pure of heart as well, but troubled, hurt.  The woman had to be his savior, but not without some sort of sacrifice on her part.  After two months of staring at the prompt, the idea for the story finally came to me.  Within three weeks, The Amulet of Ormisez was born.   

Love how each of us have been inspired in different ways. What can you tell us about the book that the blurb doesn’t tell us? Preferably without giving the entire plot away?

I am a fantasy writer.  As soon as I saw the prompt with a castle, my heart leapt for joy.  Any chance I can bring fantasy elements, including creatures, to a story, I’m happy.

What about the characters? What three words best describe your MC? How about the supporting cast?

My main character, Elton Fletcher, is a warrior, compassionate and committed.

His brother, Cayden, is arrogant, malicious and confused.

Cayden’s wife, Marsalí, is mysterious, resentful, yet merciful.

Marsalí’s handmaiden, Felicity, is temperate, loyal and noble.

Which character from your story would you most like to meet?

Elton Fletcher.  He’s so incredibly kind-hearted, empathetic and would do anything to protect those he loves.

He sounds adorable. 

Have you ever read a book more than once? If so, what was it?

I’ve read lots of books more than once.  I’ve read Great Expectations at least four times.  I recently finished Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix for the fifth time (it’s my favorite out of all the entire series).  I recently finished The Fault In Our Stars for the second time.

Now for some randomness:

Paranormal or dystopia—which do you prefer?

That’s a hard one because I like both.  I do have to say that most of the books I’ve read lately are dystopian so I’m going to go with that one.  It is subject to change at any moment, however. 

Coastal walks … or extreme sports?

Coastal walks, hands down.  What’s not to love about the Gulf beaches of Florida?

I’m with you.

Cats or dogs?

I have an assortment of both.  There is no way I could choose between them.

Yep, I’m with you again. 

E-book or print?

PRINT!  PRINT! PRINT!  E-books have their place, but I love the feel of a real book in my hand.  When I stumble upon really old books, I’m elated, as if I’ve just stumbled upon a piece of history.  As an author, I like the idea of signing books. No matter how hard one tries, an author can’t sign an e-book.  In addition, you can gift real books over and over again whereas you can’t do that with e-books.  Finally, as an author, reading my published book on a screen is no different than reading my final, unpublished manuscript on a computer screen.  Digital is digital.  They all look the same whether in draft or final. The only difference is one has a cover and an ISBN# and the other doesn’t.  Call me old fashioned, but this gal plans to cling to the tangible ‘written’ word for as long as I can.  :)

For some reason, your answer doesn’t surprise me, hehehe.

And finally … in no more than three sentences, tell us why we should read your story? What about it will grip us by the shirt scruffs and drag us along for the ride? 

The Amulet of Ormisez is a tragic tale of betrayal entrenched within a story of boundless love, devotion and selfless personal sacrifice.  It’s a story filled with hope and a promise that no matter what evil threatens our lives, true love will see us through and conquer all.  Last, it is a heart-wrenching reminder of what we can achieve if we only take the risks and believe.

Sounds awesome! Let’s take a look at Jen’s blurb for The Amulet of Ormisez:

There is only one way to save Elton Fletcher’s brother from an insanity-ridden death.

After years away from home, fighting for his people, Elton returns to discover his only sibling, Cayden, possessed by greed and malice, and responsible for malicious, unthinkable deeds. Cayden, though, isn’t the only one afflicted by the Amulet of Ormisez, and Elton finds himself in yet another battle, where the price of failure could be his own life.

Sounds very cool, eh?

Thanks for stopping by. Feel free to catch up with J.Keller Ford on Twitter, Facebook, Website, or her Blog, and say Hi! 

Don’t forget to call back tomorrow for a ‘chat’ with Lynda R. Young.

Scheduling the Make Believe Blog Tour!

If you were about a fortnight ago, you’ll likely have seen my post about scheduling the Blue Moon Tour. Well, this week, I’m scheduling stops for the Make Believe Tour. And so, yet again, I’m ‘calling all bloggers!’

Make Believe is NOT a Holloway Pack novel, nor does it contain a Holloway Pack story. It is an anthology, with an alluring array of short stories by six different authors–which means the reader will get six totally different tales for their money. If you’d like to know a bit more about Make Believe, you can find details on its page HERE!

And here are the blog tour details:

I am looking for blogs to host tour stops between these dates:

• December 3rd – January 3rd

The post will need to be one of the following:

• Author interview
• Character interview
• Guest post
• Post a Review
• Other – if you have a better idea, feel free to hit me with it

Please note: the tour stops do NOT have to be just for me. As the anthology contains stories by SIX authors, participants are more than welcome to arrange stops for just ONE or ALL SIX of them–whatever best suits the post you’d prefer to host. Maybe you’ve read the blurb and connect better with one blurb than the others, and so have questions or post ideas for that particular author? That’s fine. Simply specify in the sign-up form which author that is, and we’ll try our best to accommodate that. However, please be aware that I’m not responsible for the other anthology authors contacting you once your request and details have been forwarded to them.

The Tour Page for Make Believe is already live. As soon as requests come in and are confirmed/scheduled, I shall try my best to keep that updated–though, please try and remember, keeping track of what six people are booking, rather than just myself, is going to be more difficult than I’m used to.

So if you’re interested in signing up and participating in the tour, please complete THIS FORM, and I, or one of the other authors, will get back to you as soon as possible. The sign-up form can also be found at the bottom of the Tour Page.

Cheers in advance.

Lovely Perdiness, All For You! #MakeBelieve

Now, y’all may remember last week I did a giveaway for a (digi) signed Blue Moon cover or poster in exchange for a comment?

Well, this week, I get to do that aaaaaalll over again. But this time, a teensy comment could get you a signed Make Believe cover.

Which means ANYBODY (that means everyone) who comments will receive a signed digital copy of the Make Believe book cover! But wait! Because you get a choice. Yup, you can either receive a non-personalise book cover signed by ALL of the contributing authors OR you can receive a personalised cover signed just by me. Sup to you.

Once you’ve left a comment I’ll simply pop it along to you in an email for you to do with as you wish. Print out, set as desktop for moments of random gazing, post to your FB wall … once it’s yours, it’s yours.

So, let’s take a look at the goods:

OR:

Perdy, no?

And here’s all’s you gotta do:

Leave a comment answering this question: If you were the woman in the red cloak, what would be in your basket?

Giveaway ends midnight Sunday July 29th.

Off you go!

Oh, and don’t forget to add Make Believe to your Goodreads TBR pile.

COVER REVEAL: Make Believe Anthology

You might recall, around 10 days ago, I announced that my short story, ESCORT TO INSANITY, had been contracted for the MAKE BELIEVE anthology.

Well, the time has come to share the cover and blurb.

Here’s the cover:

It’s so pretty. LOVE the red against the white.

Aaaaaaaaaaaand here’s the blurb:

Sacrificial Oath by Terri Rochenski

An impetuous act unwittingly makes Alesuela the fulfillment of the Sovereign’s Blood Oath to their Goddess. In five days, she’ll be forced to make the greatest choice of her life: become the virginal sacrifice already promised, or force the man she loves most to die in her place. 

With an impossible choice in front of her, she searches for ways to undo the oath, and in her quest, finds not everything in her life is as she expects.

The Amulet of Ormisez by J. Keller Ford

There is only one way to save Elton Fletcher’s brother from an insanity-ridden death.

After years away from home, fighting for his people, Elton returns to discover his only sibling, Cayden, possessed by greed and malice, and responsible for malicious, unthinkable deeds. Cayden, though, isn’t the only one afflicted by the Amulet of Ormisez, and Elton finds himself in yet another battle, where the price of failure could be his own life.

Birthright by Lynda R. Young

Christa can mask the pain and hide the scars, but running from a birthright is impossible. 

She’s tried to escape her grief by fleeing to a small town in Florida. Much to her frustration, the locals think they recognize her even though she’s never been there before. To make things worse, a man named Jack spouts outrageous theories about her.

Both spur Christa to bolt, to start fresh yet again, but there’s something about Jack that intrigues her enough to stay. The only problem? Someone else wants her to leave, and they won’t stop until she’s dead.

Petrified by Kelly Said

A mysterious storm has replaced summer with winter, devastating crops and smothering Castle lands in snow.  Prince Sterling August stands alone as a leader, lost in personal grief as well as a desire to help his people but with an inability to do either. 

The answers he needs await him, but without Lochlyn, a woman who’s just as isolated as Sterling, he’ll never see what stands before him, cloaked in illusion.

Last Winter Red by Jennifer M. Eaton

Emily is a Red, a woman whose sole purpose in life is to produce offspring. When her husband dies and leaves her childless, she risks her life and forsakes the safety of Terra—a disease-free city born after the nuclear holocaust. Beyond its boundaries, she knows, survives a man with whom she can be properly paired.

The Outside, though, holds secrets the government struggles to keep, and what Emily discovers on her quest for a mate will change her life forever.

Escort to Insanity by J.A. Belfield

From a charity auction, to a stroll in the park, to the craziest night of her life. Nicole Harrington can’t help but wonder how a simple event went so drastically wrong.

Of course, the male escort she booked is wholly to blame. Not only charming but shrewdly intelligent, Benjamin Gold drags Nicole into a platoon of unimaginable problems—ones from which she’ll have to find the courage just to survive.

Yeah, mine’s the crazy sounding one.

Well, what did you expect?

So, whatcha thunk? Like?

MAKE BELIEVE will be available December 3rd.

Pssst, if ya wanted to add it to your Goodreads in the meantime, all’s ya gotta do is click on the link.