COVER REVEAL DAY!! Hunted by LIZ LONG *spoiler.... it's awesome!*

I'm so excited to have Liz on the blog today and participate in her cover reveal! I'm so excited to see it, as well! Be sure to add it to your goodreads TBR. It comes out MARCH 20th!!! {Seriously. Can't. Wait!}
~Kelly

~*~*~*~*~*~~**~**~*~*~*~~**~*~~*~*~*~*

Hi everyone! Thanks so much to those special authors and bloggers helping me with today's cover reveal. I'm so excited to show off the new cover. It always makes the upcoming release a little more real for me, you know? Anyway, I hope you love it as much as I do. HUNTED is Book 3 of the Donovan Circus Series, with more adventure, romance, and chaos that will lead to murder. In case you haven't read it, you can run away to the supernatural circus and start with Gifted for just 99 cents on Amazon, B&N, and iBooks! You can visit this page to learn more about the 3rd book in the series and what to expect - or worry about!

 

Back Cover Synopsis

Lucy Sullivan finally belongs with the gifted Donovan Circus. Members are finding their rhythm, even the new folks from the Grayson Circus who joined after the last attack. Lucy feels like a trusted leader who can win the gifted battles and prevent humans from discovering their existence. When tragedy strikes camp, a distraught Sheffield sends Lucy and her gifted team to hunt down the enemy – Alex, a Chameleon with a wicked ability for war. He’s out for blood and won’t stop until Lucy and her friends are dead. This time, it won’t be Lucy’s gift that is tested – it will be her morality. To save her circus, the price will be greater than she ever expected. This time, she will lose someone she loves. And it will change everything.

About Liz:

Liz Long is a ridiculously proud graduate of Longwood University with a BA in English. Her inspiration comes from action and thriller genres and she spends entirely too much time watching superhero movies. Her fabulous day job as a social media strategist includes writing for a publishing company in Roanoke, VA.

All titles, including the Donovan Circus Series, A Reaper Made, and Witch Hearts, are available at Amazon on Kindle and paperback.

To learn more about Liz, visit her website: http://lizclong.com.

Goodreads | Website | Twitter | Facebook

How to Write Good Guys You Love | Writer Tips

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What keeps a good guy from being a bland guy?

I don't know about you, but my favorite characters are villains...

I'm sure that says a lot about me. 

We won't go there...

Think about it.

Can you name more villains or good guys?

(I know which one I can name more of and it ain't the good guys)

If you picked villains you are (right) like me. Why is that? Why are villains more memorable than the good, moral, law abiding folk? For me, the villain is the character who is most human-- the one with the flaws, has the motivation (be it getting 'revenge' or world domination) and yeah, usually the most entertaining. 

But your good guys don't have to be boring. They don't have to be the moral high towers who can't even barb with the bad guys because "That's not what good guys do"

www,hexder,com 

How can you keep your protagonist interesting in your novel? Let's take a look...

5 Ways to Make Interesting Good Guys

1) Make him/her imperfect.

Just because someone is 'good' doesn't mean he/she is perfect. Flaws give humanity to any character. None of us are perfect and your protagonist won't be either.

2) Give him/her a weakness.

Superman has Kryptonite.

I have chocolate.

We all have weaknesses. 

Weaknesses up the stakes and gives the reader a reason to care. Plus it leads to internal struggles beyond the 'bad guy'.

3) Give him/her some good comeback lines

Sure, bad guys are fun and all and say the best lines ever-- but don't forget your protagonist. Even heroes have a sense of humor.

4) Give him/her a moral compass

...but Kelly you just said.

I know what I bloody just said ;) Even imperfect people have morals. Everyone (well most everyone) has something in this world that they will not do-- and usually THAT is the thing villains pick up on and try to force him/her to do (evil things). 

Push your good guy to the breaking point

Have someone addicted to chocolate? Lock him/her in a bakery and watch the internal struggle fly. Anything to keep the conflict churning.

5) Help them help themselves

There is a difference in sitting back and letting everything happen to you-- and getting up and trying to stop it. Frodo could have easily sat back and either tossed the ring or just given it to Gollum and been done with it. That would have been a very short story-- and an incredibly boring book.

Have your good guy get in on the action. Don't just let the bad guy run all over him and don't just have him/her react to things around them and not be productive in solving the problem.

As with the villain, the good guy should be layered. Make him memorable by making him complex.

www.pinterest.com

I love hearing from you! To prove it, every comment I get in January will go into a hat. One person will be randomly chosen to win either a 1st chapter critique from me (no grammar edits. Just content) OR a free meme made especially for you.

GOOD LUCK!

~*~My internet dwellings ~*~

AMAZON

YOUTUBE

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

TUMBLR 

TSU 

How to Write a "Good" Bad Guy (A post all about Villains!)

The winner of the #oneword2015 meme is Jaci. Congratulations!

SUBSCRIBE to my Youtube channel for lots of video updates: Kelly Martin: no... the other one

~*~*~*~

What do Darth Vader, Norman Bates, and the Wicked Witch of the West all have in common?

They, of course, are the villains in their particular stories. We all remember them, but why? What is it about their particular characters makes them memorable?

I love writing villains. I think they are one of the best parts of writing, only I like to write a villain who doesn't think he is the villain.

Let me explain...

Let's take Darth Vader...

starwars.com

Just a guy trying to protect his wife

*

Norman Bates

wikipedia.org

Just a guy who loves his mother

*

Wicked Witch of the West

empireonline.com

A woman who just wants her shoes back

*

They are all compelling. They aren't 'bad' in the sense of being horrible or evil {well, maybe the wicked witch}, but their circumstances make them SEEM bad.

Let's keep going.

David from The Lost Boys

fandommania.com

Just wants a family

*

Magneto (Xmen)

20th century fox

Fights for equality (and actually in Days of Future past, the future he predicts is the future that happens so he's actually right and SO THERE Charles... ummm... sorry)

*

And let's not forget every writers' favorite villain...

memegenerator.com

*shivers*

Personally, I love villains who-- if you wrote the story from THEIR point of view-- would be/could be the hero.

Magneto wants equality and will do anything for it. {a heroic trait}

Darth Vader is so scared he'll hurt his wife that he literally kills her. {maybe not heroic, but he does want to protect her. Protecting the ones we love... very much a "good guy" quality.}

Of course, there are some villains who are just evil for the sake of being evil and mean-- or even to gain power.

Scar from The Lion King

Cruella from 101 Dalmations

Chucky

Jafar from Aladdin 

I have written both kinds of villains. 

*Kendra from BIG is BEAUTIFUL was just mean. I'm sure she had her insecurities, but mainly, she was just a bully who liked to pick on Brittany for fun.

*Mr. Dodsworth in Betraying Ever After believes he is the hero. He thinks he deserves to do everything he's done and will do anything to get what he feels he is owed. You can really see that in Cloaked in Red in the Forbidden box set. If you ever want to read a bad guy who is really bad, but believes he's the good guy-- read that book!

AHEM..

What that in mind, here are my

Top 6 ways to write a compelling villain:

Mwhahaha

1) Make him more than "one note" Most people aren't mean overnight. Give him/her a reason. A personality. Layers.

2) Understand what made him/her the bad guy in the first place? What is his relationship to you protagonist?

3) Write a paragraph/short story based on your villains point of view. Or rewrite a scene you already have, but flip the pov. Why is your villain doing what he/she is doing? They always say there are two sides to the same story. Can you understand your villain's motivation?

4) Be careful of cliches. *insert mustache twirl*

5) Give him a motive-- make him passionate about his motive. Okay, so he wants to blow up the moon... why?

6) Avoid "Scooby-Doo"-- villains who always tell how/why they did what they did at the end. That can take away from your book and some of your suspense. How can you avoid that in your book?  How can you sprinkle in little clues throughout?

Who is your favorite villain? Is it someone who is flat out 'evil' or is someone who has a complex back story and who thinks he/she is the good guy? Let me know in the comments. 

I love hearing from you! To prove it, every comment I get in January will go into a hat. One person will be randomly chosen to win either a 1st chapter critique from me (no grammar edits. Just content) OR a free meme made especially for you.

GOOD LUCK!

~*~ FOLLOW ME :) :)  ~*~

facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KellyMartinAuthor {extra videos}

twitter: https://twitter.com/martieKay {where I spend my GOTHAM and SLEEPY HOLLOW nights}

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tsu: https://www.tsu.co/martiekay {where I spend a lot of time }

One Word: 2015 {drum roll}

Have you ever tried to cook, talk on the phone and referee your kids so they a) don't kill each other or b) wake up their daddy?

Not only are you frazzled and irritated, but nothing gets your full attention despite your best efforts (currently, I'm working on a blog post, fighting with my computer, and listening to my kids bicker... ah... ) At the end of your mental anguish (going back to the food analogy) you have food to eat [hopefully], but it usually isn't our best attempt-- Edible-- probably-- but not our best effort.

That's what happens when our  mind races and we try to do too much in our lives at one time-- even our social media lives-- yeah, those are real too. {I talk to way  more people online than I do in real life daily... how sad is that? Or is it normal-- maybe it is the new normal...}

I like to think it is.

 

For me, I have facebook, twitter, tumblr, pinterest, tsu, youtube, and instagram: kellymartin215

 (I think that's it)-- and do you know what? I love them all! I could spend hours and hours on each one (#confession -- I have)

 -- Yes, I linked my social media links to this post--it is a sickness, I tell ya... ;)

 

 



Let's keep going with the confessions *breathe* As long as I've been writing this post, I've thought about youtube video ideas, how my tsu share contest is going, my newsletter-- and have watched people walking outside my window...

 

{I'm sorry I'm not giving you my full attention. It's not you. It's me... I promise. I have a problem.}

 

 

That's where my one word for 2015 comes in.

 [See... there is a point.]

 

Every year, I pick a word I want to try to focus on for the year and try to be a better person because of it. Last year, my word was "Let Go" Let go of all the anger and bitterness and jealousy... (did I actually admit that...)

 

Did I succeed? Ummmmmm... I like to think I've grown as a person.

 

SOOOOO-- What is this year's word? If you've read this far, you need a hug **HUGS**

 

It is something I really need help with (as evidence by this blog post-- no-- not curing my parentheses obsession. Some things can never be broken.)

 

Ahem...

 

My word for 2015...

 

is...

 

 

Yeah.

 

What does that mean to me?

FOCUS on one project at a time

FOCUS when someone is talking to me

FOCUS on my writing goals for the year

FOCUS on my health

FOCUS on my faith

FOCUS on my family

 

As I read that back... that is a lot of focusing and it might actually defeat the purpose of the world focus... ;)

 

One month at a time.

One day at a time.

One step at a time.

 

 

**What's your #oneword for 2015? Leave a comment and let me know. One commenter will win a custom made #oneword meme for your blog or facebook page (or just to share). Winner will be announced on next Monday's blog post where I'll discuss writing/reading about one of my favorite things:

*stay tuned*

 

 Be sure to subscribe to my youtube channel to learn more about my one word

{vlogs updated Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays}

 

Have a great day!!

Be excellent to each other!

 

 



Good-bye, 2014!

It has been a epic year for me-- and it all thanks to you guys-- the readers.

I've had 8 books/novellas release this year... EIGHT... that's like, five more than the year before-- and a few more than I intended ;) . And do you know what keeps me going?

You!!

I thought I'd do a 2014 post recap. It will have everything I've learned/done over the year (well, not everything ;) ) And no, it won't all be about books (I did discover 1D after all ;) )

My Top 10 Things of 2014 (in no particular order)

1. Betraying Ever After: A Shattered Fairy Tale came out. My first non-YA book.

2. UTOPYA! (Nashville writer's conference)

3. My youtube channel (which has been a dream of mine for about 3 years, but I've been too chicken to start it)-- Be sure to subscribe!

 

 

4. I found One Direction (I know... I know... I'm the last person in the world who has listened to them. I'm so ashamed)-- This is my favorite 1D song. I may blast it in my car...

 

 

5. I got to be in a book with Rachel Van Dyken, Nadine Millard, and Kristin Vayden! (seriously cool!) You can get it here...

 

 

6. My first hair cut in 18 months... I mean... yeah!

 

 

7. Over 3,000 facebook likes!

 

(I can't get a good screen shot... blah!)

 

 

8. Epic Rap Battles of History (beware... language!)

 

 

9. Chats with my author buddies (Leah Sanders, Wendy Knight, Angela Schroeder just to name a few). They keep me on track :)

 

10. YOU!

 

(insert your picture here...)

 

You have made 2014 more epic than I could ever imagine so thank you!!

 

What's in store for 2015? Well... that's another post ;)

{If you are a writer and want some writing goals, check this out... http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brooke-warner/52-thingsideas-for-writer_b_6396948.html?utm_hp_ref=books&ir=Books }

 

 

If you like what you see here, please subscribe to my newsletter and my youtube channel. I post new videos at least once a week-- and as for newsletters-- well, I won't spam your box.

 

~*~Follow the Awesome Rainbow~*~
facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KellyMartinAuthor
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tumblr: martiekay.tumblr.com
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Raif and Me: Part 6

It's Monday again! So that means it is time to continue the adventures of Raif and Tabitha. If you want to catch up, here are the links to the other parts written by Wendy Knight, Leah Sanders, and myself.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5

 

~*~*~*~

Raif wanted to be far away when she woke up. He needed to not be in the room with her. It was difficult enough to watch her sleep, so peaceful.

          His.

          Not his.

Not. His.

She belonged to part of this body they shoved him in—if that made any sense. It didn’t to him. All he knew was he woke up and he wasn’t himself. He wasn’t anything—and he was everything.

Memories that weren’t his came into his mind from time to time: walking on the beach, kissing on a ferris wheel, laughing at a movie, making out in the backseat of his car.

He loved her.

She loved him.

And then he died.

Or… something like that.

He didn’t know her. Not really. And truthfully, back then, she didn’t know herself either. The first time she turned into the Phoenix—it scared them both.

Then the Collective came and recruited her.

He (the other him) told her not to do it, but she wouldn’t listen. She was scared. She wanted to save the world.

She picked the wrong side.

He woke up in Linoge Headquarters. They treated him well. Gave him assignments and a gun. Gave him a purpose which was more than one could ask for in the afterlife.

And then they sent him out to learn how to pretend to be human. He stunk at it. That’s where the routine came from. People, most people, thrive on routine. He thrived on chaos—on helping the cause.

The Collective sent Tabitha to stop him because they thought she would bring out the humanity, the true humanity, in him. They didn’t think he would hurt her. They thought their past would keep him from finishing his job.

They thought wrong.

 

QUEEN by Heather Gray

Back Cover Blurb:

You can't hide from the past.

Queen's world was shattered, and she was banished to a foreign land. Years pass before she dares to return, but what she finds is of little comfort. Greed and dishonesty have festered and grown in her absence. Embittered and cynical, Queen trusts few people.

 Owen pursues a clandestine investigation and finds himself working side-by-side with a veritable ghost, an agent few have seen, a master of disguise known simply as Queen.  He craves her trust…but then uncovers a secret from his family's past that could destroy her.

 Queen once sought refuge in America and now seeks it in disguise. Owen has always found his refuge in God, but will his faith be strong enough for the challenges ahead? Can he convince Queen to stop hiding, or is he doomed to become her most hated enemy?

Excerpt:

"I don't want him knowing what either of you look like. You need to leave until I get him back to the inn."

"It's not safe."

"The situation is a disaster, but he's safe. I trust him."

Owen listened to the voices. The first was Isadore/Iola. Thankfully, she'd dropped the horrible screech she'd been using as part of the barmaid act. The other belonged to a man. Older, he guessed, but he couldn't say by how much.

"I don't like it. This isn't part of the plan."

A woman's voice, also older. Isadore/Iola's parents?

The voices talked some more in a hushed whisper, then a door opened and closed.

"You can stop pretending to be unconscious, Mr. Loring."

"How do you know my name?" Owen sat up, his movement slow. He winced at the pain while taking in his surroundings. He was on a pallet in the main room of a small cottage. His hand explored the source of his discomfort and found a tender lump on the back of his head.

"I make it my business to learn things about people." She stood near the front door, not very far away in the smallness of the room. Her frizzy red hair looked as if it might take flight were it not held down by the small linen cap that was part of her uniform at the inn.

"I'm at a disadvantage, then, because I'm fairly certain I don't know your name. Isadore. Or should I say Iola?"

A kind of tired silence was her only response, and Owen decided to go for the jugular.

"Maybe it's Queen?"

Her hissed intake of breath told him he'd hit the mark.

"I stopped to visit Peter on my way here. He mentioned you two went fishing."

She smiled then, and the lines of tension eased from around her eyes. "Peter never mentions anything on accident."

Owen stared, puzzling out her words. "You didn't go fishing, did you?"

A quick shake of the head. "But you and I appear to be fishing in the same pond."

Peter had always been a sly fox. He'd told Owen, but the younger agent hadn't listened.

"Nobody's seen you in these parts for a long time."

She tipped her head in agreement. "Four years."

"Where have you been?"

"Does it matter?" She frowned at him.

"You told someone in this room that you trust me. So trust me now. Tell me what's going on."

"Where do I start?"

"Your name would be a good place."

Her mouth again stretched wide, her eyes crinkling at the corners, and light danced in the blue orbs. "Let's stick with Queen for now."

Author Bio:

Heather Gray authors the Ladies of Larkspur inspirational western romance series, including Mail Order Man, Just Dessert, and Redemption.  She also writes the Regency Refuge series: His Saving Grace, Jackal, and Queen - plus contemporary titles Ten Million Reasons and Nowhere for Christmas.  Aside from a long-standing love affair with coffee, Heather’s greatest joys are her relationships with her Savior and family.  Heather loves to laugh, and this theme is prevalent in her writing where, through the highs and lows of life, her characters find a way to love God, embrace each day, and laugh out loud right along with her.

You can find Heather online at http://www.facebook.com/heathergraywriting, http://www.twitter.com/laughdreamwrite, and http://www.heathergraywriting.com.  She can also be found most days at The Inspired Inkpot, a street team, prayer group, and all around awesome place to hang out - http://www.facebook.com/groups/theinspiredinkpot.

 

 

Buy Links:

Amazon US –  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00P8ACR1C/

Amazon UK – http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00P8ACR1C/

Barnes & Noble – http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/queen-heather-gray/1120679916

Kobo – http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/queen-21

Smashwords – http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/490805

iTunes – https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/queen/id937948777

 

Where to Find Me:

My Website – http://www.heathergraywriting.com

Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/heathergraywriting

Google+ – https://plus.google.com/+Heathergraywritingnow

Twitter – http://twitter.com/LaughDreamWrite

Pinterest – http://www.pinterest.com/LaughDreamWrite