Showing posts with label Supernatural. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Supernatural. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 21, 2017

Book tour: THE ONE APART by Justine Avery!


The One Apart
by Justine Avery
Genre:Fantasy, Supernatural Thriller

Only one obstacle stands in his way of enjoying a normal life. He remembers—every life he's lived before.
Tres is about to be born... with the biggest burden any has ever had to bear. He is beginning again—as an ageless adult trapped in an infant body.
He and his teenage mother face life filled with extraordinary challenges as they strive to protect, nurture, and hide how truly different he is. But Tres alone must solve the greatest mystery of all: who is he? The answer is linked to the one question he's too afraid to ask: why am I?
In his quest, Tres discovers that all is considerably more interconnected and dynamic than he could ever imagine—and fraught with far more danger. He cannot hide from the unseen threat stalking him since his birth.
Life as he knows it—as all know it—is in peril. And Tres is the only one aware.




Justine Avery is an award-winning author of stories large and small for all. Born in the American Midwest and raised all over the world, she is inherently an explorer, duly fascinated by everything around her and excitedly noting the stories that abound all around. As an avid reader of all genres, she weaves her own stories among them all. She has a predilection for writing speculative fiction and story twists and surprises she can’t even predict herself.
Avery has either lived in or explored all 50 states of the union, over 36 countries, and all but one continent; she lost count after moving 30-some times before the age of 20. She’s intentionally jumped out of airplanes and off the highest bungee jump in New Zealand, scuba dived unintentionally with sharks, designed websites, intranets, and technical manuals, bartered with indigenous Panamanians, welded automobile frames, observed at the Bujinkan Hombu Dojo in Noba, Japan, and masterminded prosperous internet businesses—to name a few adventures. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree that life has never required, and at age 28, she sold everything she owned and quit corporate life—and her final “job”—to freelance and travel the world as she always dreamed of. And she’s never looked back.
 Aside from her native English, Avery speaks a bit of Japanese and a bit more Spanish, her accent is an ever-evolving mixture of Midwestern American with notes of the Deep South and indiscriminate British vocabulary and rhythm, and she says “eh”—like the Kiwis, not the Canadians. She currently lives near Los Angeles with her husband, British film director Devon Avery, and their three adopted children: Becks, Sam, and Lia. She writes from wherever her curiosity takes her.
Avery loves to connect with fellow readers and creatives, explorers and imaginers, and cordially invites you to say “hello”—or konnichiwa.



Follow the tour HERE for exclusive excerpts, guest posts and a giveaway!






Wednesday, September 6, 2017

Guest post: CHRISTOPHER DRAVEN, author of HUNTED!

Today we have an awesome guest post from Christopher Draven, author of Hunted, and the upcoming Confessions!

GUEST POST:
A Male Author’s Method of adding in convincing Romantic Themes / Storylines

Without a doubt, writing romantic elements into my novels is a challenge. While I wouldn’t say I’m a complete failure in the romance department, it is the hardest stuff for me to write. It can take me an entire day to write one scene of dialogue between two ‘entangled’ characters. In comparison, the words teleport onto the screen when I’m writing an action scene or some aphoristic dialogue that drips with snarky humor.

Building romantic elements in an Urban Fantasy/Supernatural Thriller is a core component to creating three-dimensional characters. Relationships like those between Karin and Harry, and Merry and her harem of male sidhe, are not plotlines I’m eager to read. Getting to the good stuff – the action, magic, and defeating the villain – are delayed when we are forced to deal with some new lover’s spat.

However, my journey into authorhood has taught me those ups and downs are a vital component of the story. Without the ‘entanglement of feelings’ between Karin and Harry, there is no payoff in her saving him, or him saving her. If there is no connection, then the drama of the story stays stagnant – if the person being saved is always a stranger.

With the relationship moving between ups and downs, the stakes of the game change. That adds complexity and layers to the character’s motivations. The characters transform into someone worth relating to on a deeper level.

Developing this aspect of my craft has been a challenge. In writing the Jonathan Harker novels, I received positive feedback from readers about the relationship between Jonathan and Clover. The credit for this success goes to a fool-proof way of writing convincing romance themes and/or storylines. It is an approach that relies heavily on other people to help keep me in line.

Here is my approach:

•    The first step is understanding the progression in the relationship. As an author, I spend a lot of time outlining the story, what scenes are coming up, and what surprises I have for readers along the way. The relationships between your characters need to be part of that outline.

You need to take the time to figure out how the action would impact the relationship(s). This ensures your characters don’t  stagnate.

Karin loved Harry from the start, but he did a lot of things that scared her. She never left his side, but the love factor rose and fell based on her experiences with Harry.

•    When writing the scene, channel the physicality into something emotional.

In Hunted, I included a scene where Jonathan is leaning on Clover. He feels her against him, but it isn’t only her physical body that feels good. He discovers he can rely on her. He can give in and let her help him. An awareness the hero could let someone else be in charge, even if for that moment, began as physical stimulus but ended as emotional.

•    There are a lot of senses attached to romance. Remember that showing your readers is preferable to telling. By engaging more senses, you are pulling them in and painting a more romantic picture.

Touch, taste, smell, sight, and sound are the usual standby senses writers use. However, think about other options – we humans are reported to have over twenty different senses.

Try using some of these other options to spice it up:
Emotions, Time, Pressure, Heat, or Balance.

•    Finally, and this should just be a standard part of your process, ask for feedback. I’m lucky enough to have two very accomplished editors. No matter how good you are, every author needs an editor who gives tough love. Far too many writers have fallen by the sword of their own ego. If only they had asked someone for feedback before publishing.

Writing romance full-time is not in my future. It is a genre that requires a lot of study and finesse to do well. However, I do feel that any author should consider the human element when writing in Urban Fantasy/Supernatural Thriller. It’s easy to focus on saving the day, but sometimes it’s nice to add a few lines on who makes it worth saving.


ABOUT THE BOOK: 
Slinging Spells with Broken Ribs Isn't Easy 


Jonathan Harker, mage and life-long demon hunter, wakes to find himself tied to a chair and severely wounded. His captor, a demon in service to a summoner who wants Harker alive.

Armed with impossibly powerful magic and a gang of demon toughs, the summoner has snared Harker in a deadly trap. Nothing is ever easy, and being new in town has left Harker with few allies. However, with help from a Fortune-Teller named Clover and a self-described "Kitchen Witch" named Momma Dee, Harker fights back.

To prevail, Harker must walk unprepared into a pit of demons and black magic - and come out alive on the other side.

Get your copy from Amazon.com today!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Got my start as a technical manual and instructional material designer for Corporate America.

Eventually they gave me a team to manage. One day I had enough, reclaimed my soul, and left to follow my passion.

AUTHOR'S WEBSITE:

FIND CHRISTOPHER ONLINE:


Happy Reading!
~!~ Amanda, Novel Addiction ~!~

Friday, February 27, 2015

REVIEW: "Outcast" by Robert Kirkman

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. 

Type: Graphic Novel, Comic Books, Demons, Exorcisms, Paranormal, Supernatural, The Demons are Coming the Demons are Coming!

About the Book: Kyle Barnes has been plagued by demonic possession all his life and now he needs answers. Unfortunately, what he uncovers along the way could bring about the end of life on Earth as we know it! [Description from Netgalley.com]

My Review: Wow, this comic book had be obsessively flipping the pages, eager to find out what happened next. Maybe it was my obsession with the show Supernatural, or maybe that I studied a lot of early American history (and the witch trials that went along with it), but I find the idea of demons of possession fascinating. Scary as all get out, but fascinating.

Kyle is an Outcast, and he doesn't know what that means, but he knows that his blood can force demons out of a possessed person. And as one could guess, the demons are not too happy that he is aware of his abilities. I cannot wait to see where this series goes. I probably wouldn't have picked it up on my own, had they not sent it to me to review. But I would have definitely missed out on the start of something great. Can't wait to read more!

Cover Lovin': This cover doesn't give the reader much idea of what is going on, but it's certainly something that would grab the reader's attention if they saw it on the shelf.

Recommendation: For fans of darker comics and graphic novels. Kirkman is well known for his Walking Dead comics, so I'm sure fans of that would be happy to cross over to a new series as well.

Final Rating: FOUR out of FIVE stars (4/5). This is dark, creepy, and scary, but oh so good. I can't wait to see where this goes, and what an Outcast can really do!


Happy Reading!
~!~ Amanda at Novel Addiction ~!~