On A Related Note

Sometimes I find pictures that remind me of my characters, and as they appear I will post them here for your opinions. If you agree with my selections, let me know. Likewise, if you don't like my choices, tell why not. I'm open to discussion.

For my first choice - Devon:

The clothing is wrong, he should be in leather pants and a linen tunic, but here is our hero, waiting beside the lake for a clumsy 16 year old acolyte to follow the wrong set of tracks. Waiting under the tree for true love to awaken, Devon only wants to see Vivienne again.

So, what do you think?

On a Related Note...

Starting Today -

I am participating in Carrie Ann's Blog Hop titled "Autumn's Harvest". More than 200 authors and bloggers are sharing their musings on fall. Each one has a prize available, including FREE books, so come along. WARNING: Not all sites are suitable for children, so watch out!

Hope over to www.blonde-not-dumb,blogspot.com to join the celebration of the harvest!

What do you love about Autumn and Fall? What does it remind you of? What about reading? Do you think it's a good subject to read? Tell us your favorite Autumn stories! Well, we authors are ready to share our favorite Autumn stories and why we love snuggling in the cold. *wink* Starting on Friday and ending on Nov 12th, over 200 Authors and Bloggers will share their favorite things about those sexy men we know and love.

And while we do that, we are EACH doing a giveaway. Yep. There will be over 200 giveaways on each blog hosted by that Author or Blogger.

But that's not all....

We have THREE grand prizes. You as a reader can go to EACH blog and comment with your email address and be entered to win. Yep, you can enter over 200 times!

Now what are those prizes?

1st Grand Prize: A Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet

2nd Grand Prize: A $50 Amazon or B&N Gift Card

3rd Grand Prize: A Swag Pack that contains 10+ paperbacks, ebooks, 50+ bookmarks, cover flats, magnets, pens, coffee cozies, and more!

The Nature of Insecurity

Book Two of the Guardian Stories is ready for the last edit before submitting, oh happy day! This story has been up and down on my ladder of attention for most of this year. Now all I need is to work my way through my fabulous editor's suggestions and Vivienne will be ready to continue her adventure across the Kingdoms in search of Devon and her enemies.

Becoming a writer has been a dream come true in many ways. Perhaps the most drastic change has been in my relationships with other people. I have never been the most gregarious one in the group. Now as I find myself writing and promoting, I've made friends with other writers around the country. I admire each of them, not just because they are living their dreams and writing, but they all seem so confident about their abilities.

Big confession time here people: I have always been insecure. There are a variety of reasons, some of which are environmental, others are organic. When in college I found out "Speech Class" meant to give one, not just write one, I dropped the class rather than face my fear of public speaking. Even now, giving speeches or being on a question and answer panel requires days of mental preparation.

I used this crippling sense of unworthiness when formulating Vivienne. Born into a man's world, asked to complete a hero's quest, daunting tasks for anyone, much less a woman whose sense of self-worth is crippled and weak. Only as she grows in experience will confidence begin to mature. Much the way I feel as I navigate the oceans of literature.

Identifying with characters is important. If we don't feel their struggles then we cannot adequately tell the story to others. One of the things I insist in all my personal book choices is a good story line. I call it "The Well Told Tale". The characters I spend the most time listening to are the ones with which I feel the most in common. Such as Vivienne.

What other elements are required for a story to grab your attention? I'd love to know what entices other readers. Leave your thoughts and let's start a discussion on elements. Every story needs them, what happens when they don't meet your expectations?

COMING ATTRACTIONS: Fall Blog Hop!

Coming Soon - Autumn Harvest Blog Hop


Join us November 9th - 12th as we blog hop with our friends from Carrie Ann's Blog Hop. Right now they are doing an "Alpha Male" hop. If you want to read several fantastic writers blogging on their ideal male characters!

But later this week, I'll let you in on the struggles I'm having working out the backstories in Book Two - "The Price for Redemption."

Writing, Writing, Writing...

I just wanted to post an update on what's going on both in my world and Vivienne's. Since we are busy working on book three, Vivi wanted everyone to know what's coming in book two. She is so very thoughtful that way.

Book Two, "The Price for Redemption" is almost ready for submission. I was content with how things were progressing, but at Vivienne's insistence, we sent the story out to the fabulous Greta van der Rol, my editor for "Catalyst - Guardian Rising" for a sanity check. She made some excellent suggestions and so another month was spent revamping. After the final sanity read, it will be off to the publisher.

I must confess book two is my favorite of the first trilogy. First and foremost, Vivienne finds she has more power than she imagined. Alone, separated from Devon, bereft of Minnlin and his plans, she must rely on Theirran to help her reach the Valley of the Pinnacle Library. But that poses its own set of problems.

Theirran is no gentleman. A known womanizer, a warrior with the heart of a poet, he exudes sex from every pore. Never married but certainly never alone unless he wishes it, Theirran is the opposite of his loyal and loving younger brother. His actions tend to be reckless, his adventures extreme. Will long miles across the emptiness of the Central Plains guarding Devon's wife teach Theirran responsibility or will the challenge of the unobtainable woman bring out his brash and roguish side?

Vivienne is alone, still weak from pneumonia contracted during the long winter trek from the Citadel to Pitaq in the Northern Territory. Knowing only she must find the Library ahead of Sauk and Sionn, she turns to Der and the other generals of the North and West for aid in defeating their enemies. But something still isn't right; there are too many things that make no sense. Such as how Sauk always knows where to find her, if the information is secret then who is the traitor? Who has betrayed her? How deep does Sauk's treachery run?

Stay tuned for more insights into Book Two!

The First Rebellion, pt.1

For thousands of years, the Druids maintained the peace among all the Kingdoms. Most people were still struggling to build new lives on the reconstructed surface of the earth. They only brought out from the Sanctuaries the basic information needed to create gardens, build homes, and form new towns. Instructions for sanitary facilities, drainage facilities, even governmental structure were all released piece by piece by the Druids. But eventually a movement began to sweep across the lands, wondering why the keepers of the knowledge were reluctant to give the people wider access to their history.

Inside the Druid centers, the same debate was being carried out. As select students and Masters began to open more and more of the past, it became apparent some of what they were discovering was being hidden from the wider population. Soon the whispers and secrets began dividing the centers. Stealth became the order of the day. Acolytes were selected not for their talents but for their ability to ferret out information.

Soon whispers among the druids began to speak of a library, of books that contained more information than anyone could imagine. But the location was supposedly a deep secret. The druids who maintained this library were members of a closed society. Outsiders were unwelcome, no acolytes from the Five Kingdoms were admitted to their center. The more these stories were told, the more people began looking for this library.

Four thousand years past and the whispers grew stronger. Soon people began to claim this story was no myth, that they had seen the building for themselves. Soon the governments of the Kingdoms began pressing the Druids, asking and then demanding these books be released to the growing human populations. Each demand was met with the same answer. "No, we will not give potential harmful information to the land which could bring about another destruction."

Five hundred years before Vivienne's birth, during the reign of her ancestor King Padrik, an acolyte entered the Druid Fortress. Bright, ambitious, driven to learn all he could from the Druids, this young man was given special permission to study more than one talent. Obviously gifted in Mysticism, for his second talent he chose War Craft. The young man's name was Minnlin.

Given permission to enter the history section of the Druid Fortress, Minnlin used his intelligence to learn the location of the hidden Pinnacle Library. When he was certain of his information, when he had learned all he could, Minnlin started gathering other disgruntled druids to his cause. As their numbers swelled, they approached the Master Druid. Their demand was the same as before: open the library. Denied once again, the dissenters took the ultimate step.

They rebelled against the established Druid Order.

So, What About the Ghosts?

First of all, let me say I do believe in some form of life after death.  The laws of physics tell us energy cannot be created or destroyed only changed. The human brain runs with electric waves of energy. If our bodily energy cannot be destroyed, then upon death it must change. In Catalyst - Guardian Rising the dead return to visit Vivienne in spirit, using their physical forms to identify themselves to her.

Vivienne can see the death easier than others because she can see residual energy in all forms. Attunded to the vibrations of the dead, she speaks with them on a frequent basis. They have provided her with companionship and support since she was sixteen years old. For her, seeing and speaking with ghosts is normal.

Other people can see these assembled ghosts if they possess one of three abilities: 1) if they are master level druids; 2) if they are closely connected to the spirit such as family; or 3) they have the ability to accept that life can exist on more than plane of reality.

Mediums often say they are bombarded by spirits in their everyday activities, wanting them to pass along information to their loved ones. So I removed that barrier, allowing Devon and Vivienne, along with others as needed, to interact with their ghosts as though the dead were still living. They pass along the information Vivienne needs to complete her journey as Guardian.

Ghosts cannot see everything. They can only report on what they have been assigned to watch. Hana and Katarina watch over Devon and Vivienne personally. While forbidden to carry message between the two lovers at first, the women spirits keep our hero and heroine reminded they are not alone with their burdens.

Reave and Minnlin are different. Both were Master Druids, and thereby exposed to more information on the status of the other Kingdoms. Minnlin also had the advantage of being a time walker. In his extensive travels it is not unlikely to say he had run across his own legend more than once. Knowing he would die before Vivienne completed her assignment allowed for him to travel ahead of his personal timeline while still gifted with that ability.

So our ghosts are helpful but they are not infallible. As events continue to move away from expected norms, their vision may or may not be as helpful to Vivienne as in the past. But she will see them as a harbingers of bad news; this opens her eyes to the necessity of depending on the living more than the dead. much to Minnlin's consternation.

William Shakespeare often used the spirits in his works to show  a catalyst for action, an
insight into character, and augments the impact of many key scenes. I have attempted to use my ghosts in the same manner.