Wolves’ Gambit #MFRWhooks

Meet Lori Grenville from Wolves’ Gambit. She was the runt of the pack, but is determined to not let her size get in the way of her life’s mission.

Excerpt

She didn’t have time to shift. Instead, Lori threw herself to the ground and rolled. The wolf missed, but swiveled on its back paws, bunched its muscles, and prepared for a second attack. Without a weapon, she could only hold it off for a few seconds.

So she did what any human would do. She screamed. Only she dropped the pretense and screamed with her mental voice. The sound of a rabbit’s dying scream. The shrill, high-pitched cry for help didn’t need to be aimed at only one person. It would wake everyone within range. There’d be a lot of headaches in a very short time.

The wolf stopped in its tracks and shook its head. That was all the time Lori needed. A metal snow shovel had been left leaning against the building after the last snow months ago, and she grabbed it. She gripped it in both hands and swung.

Her aim was true. The shovel thudded against the side of the wolf’s head and it staggered. But Lori knew of a more vulnerable spot. She adjusted the direction of the next swing. The awkward angle resulted in a less forceful blow, but still, she hit the tender nose.

The wolf snarled, its teeth glistening, and leaped.

She whirled out the way and swung the shovel at the same time. The blade met the wolf’s front haunches. A cracking sound sent a chill down Lori’s spine. The wooden handle was breaking. She’d only get one more hit. It had to be a good one.

The wolf heard it too. Out of reach of her makeshift weapon, it paced, tongue hanging from its mouth. Left to right, right to left. Only Lori’s eyes followed it. She watched for the telltale signs. The tightening of muscles, the focusing of the eyes, a lowering of the head. The wolf was toying with her. Her heartbeat kept pace with the wolf’s steps. Too fast.

But where was the guard? He’d had time to come to her rescue. Was this one of Carlson’s men? She’d been a fool to trust him. He was just another pack leader. Take advantage of those less powerful and discard them when they are no longer useful.

She wondered how sharp the edge of the blade was. Sharp enough to rip through flesh? There was no time to check. She needed to stay alert for every twitch.

The charge happened in the blink of an eye. One second he was on the ground, the next flying towards her. She didn’t wait. With a loud cry, she held the shovel straight in front of her like a lance and ran to meet the attack.

Blurb:

Wolf-shifter Lori Grenville was rescued from near-slavery and a brutal pack leader by the Free Wolves. To pay back the favor, she’s dedicated her life to helping others in the same situation, leading shifters to safety and a new start, risking her life in the process. She’s faced down alphas and has no qualms in undermining pack structure.

Now she’s challenged with the task of restoring an alpha to his rightful place. If she gets it right, she can stop a war from ripping apart two packs and spreading across an entire state. If she fails, she’ll be among the first to die.

There’s still the option of walking away and letting the Jaeger and Destin packs destroy each other. That means she’ll fail in her original mission of rescuing the daughter of the Jaeger alpha before the girl is forced into marriage for political gain.

Lori hasn’t failed in a mission yet. This one may be the exception.

Although Wolves’ Gambit is the third book in the Free Wolves urban fantasy/paranormal series, each book can be read as a stand-alone. And, for the first time, Lori’s story is on sale for 99¢.

Buy Links:

Apple

Kobo

Nook

You can find more about the Free Wolves series HERE


Reviews- Love ‘Em or Leave ‘Em #OpenBook Blog Hop

October 7, 2019

Do you read your book reviews? How do you deal with bad or good ones?

Good reviews from readers are like nectar from the gods. And about as hard to get!

Truth is, I’m convinced that readers just don’t like to write reviews. No matter how much they like (or dislike) a book, taking the time to write a review is time they could use to do something else. So it’s high praise when a reader not only takes the time, but gives you a good review.

Yes, I read every one. Even the not-so-good ones.

The good ones are what help keep me motivated to write. To know that someone enjoys my books is the praise I seek. The reassurance that I’m doing something right.

Sure, I’d like to be a world-renowned author, but that hasn’t happened yet. So I’ll take what I can get.

And that includes the “bad” reviews. Although I can’t say I’ve received any. What I consider a bad review is one written by someone who didn’t really read the book. I’ve heard horror stories about those- reviews attached to the wrong books, reviews where the person has problems with downloading the book that have nothing to do with the author’s work, reviews that downgrade a book before it’s even been released! I have none of those.

I do have reviews where the reader didn’t like the book for one reason or another. I’ve read books I didn’t like, even by big name authors. It happens. If they’re fair, I’ll read them as see what I can pull from them as a lesson to help my next book be better. ( I have made edits to a book based on a review)

But since we’re talking reviews, I’ll share a few snippets  of the good ones:

For The Marquesa’s Necklace: I read this one straight through-it was really good–I have no idea where I saw this first but I am certainly glad I took a chance and bought it–now I have to go look into Book #2!!

For Her Ladyship’s Ring: First I would like to say I am a great fan of Mary Higgins-Clark
mysteries. I have now added this author to my favorites list. Like the Marquesa’s Necklace, it was very difficult to put down for life’s interruptions. The suspense was great, and so many surprises at every twist and turn. I love Ms. MacLayne’s style and ease of reading. Now it’s time to order book three of the series via Kindle. I personally prefer books I can hold but once again do not wish to wait two days for the third installment!

For Wolves’ Pawn: The author of this book did something very unexpected in this new novel. She took a shifter book and the customary male alpha, but gave us a no non-sense female heroine that gave as good as she got in the different antagonistic scenes. Smart, funny, sassy, and the ability to improvise in different situations. I was also happy to see that there was definitely romance, but not page after page of sex scenes that normally bore me to tears, and have to quickly skim through before we get back to the story. All in all, I give this book an A+++. 

And one more, for Wolves’ Knight: This fast-paced paranormal is a breath of fresh air. Action packed and full of amazing female characters, I loved reading a book where the women were more bad ass than the men! Great plot and intriguing characters. Highly recommend!

See anything there that interests you? You can find out more about my books elsewhere on this web page.

Before I close, here’s a meme I pulled off another site today. It seems to fit.

 

That last one – say hi and be kind- seems to fit a lot more than supporting writers. Now I’m going to go find out what the other writers on this hop feel about reviews.

October 7, 2019

Do you read your book reviews? How do you deal with bad or good ones?

Rules:1. Link your blog to this hop.
2. Notify your following that you are participating in this blog hop.
3. Promise to visit/leave a comment on all participants’ blogs.
4. Tweet/or share each person’s blog post. Use #OpenBook when tweeting.
5. Put a banner on your blog that you are participating.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter


To Read or Not to Read #IWSG

 
October 2 optional question:
It’s been said that the benefits of becoming a writer who does not read is that all your ideas are new and original. Everything you do is an extension of yourself, instead of a mixture of you and another author. On the other hand, how can you expect other people to want your writing, if you don’t enjoy reading? What are your thoughts?
 
The awesome co-hosts for the October 2 posting of the IWSG are Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Mary Aalgaard, Madeline Mora-Summonte, and Ellen @ The Cynical Sailor!
 
Full Disclosure: I am a reader. I’ve been a reader since I first figured out the meaning of those weird shapes in books. I used to read a book a day. I love to read. I’ve slowed down, but I still read. I can’t imagine not reading.
 
Now, I have made the decision to not read books in the same genre I am writing in. That satisfies my need to keep my books fresh and original.  But I write in two different genres, so I can trade off, and there are plenty of books  still out there that I can read.
 
And the concept of ideas being all yours- I can’t fathom it. My ideas are a conglomeration of things I read, things I see, people I talk to … you get the idea. Sure, I try to put those ideas together in a new-to-me way, but I don’t downplay the influence of the world around me. After all, we all know there’s nothing new under the sun.
 
I find no shame in building upon the legacy of our ancestors. Sure, the language has changed and vocabulary shifted, but isn’t that what we, as authors are still doing? Sitting around a campfire and telling our stories?
 
So, read on, fellow authors. 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Combating Writer’s Block #OpenBook Blog Hop

September 30, 2019

How do you move past writer’s block?

It happens. I’m sitting there staring at the screen and the words won’t come. I know where I want the story to go, but I don’t know how to get it there.

Writer’s Block. What’s the cure?

It was worse back in the days when I wrote poetry. There would be days when the words flowed without effort and then weeks when the words vanished. But poetry was a passion and I understood the ebb and flow. I had other creative outlets to fill in the voids. Until I realized that it had been a year since I’d written a poem and I panicked.

At the same time, I was involved in classes for a very logic-driven career field, and I think the right and left sides of my brain were at war. The left side was winning.

That’s also about the time when I first tried my hand at writing a book. The first one stunk, but it was a learning experience. And I got hooked. It also appears that both sides of my brain contributed to the effort and allowed the words to come. 

That’s not to say I still don’t go through brief periods of being blocked.

Image by Pexels from Pixabay

Sometimes I just don’t know where the story wants to go. And sometimes the stories don’t want to go where I want them to. We’ve talked about this before.

But with my stories, I have a different way of dealing with the dreaded writer’s block. I go back and edit. Normally I don’t do any major editing in one of my works in progress until I’ve completed the first draft. Why put a lot of work into editing something I may get rid of in the end?

But minor editing helps to clear my mind and reminds me of where the story is going. It puts me back in touch with my characters. It helps me see what is going right and what is going wrong. And that, in turn, helps me see where the story is going so I can get back to writing.

So far, I haven’t had to deal with not having ideas for my next book. I’ve got enough ideas tumbling around the back of my head to last for several years. Heck, I’ve got a whole new series I’d like to start. Or two. Maybe three. 

The other thing that can help me is reading. Sometimes getting my mind off my own story and into someone else’s is what it takes. A vacation, of sorts. Because I think my love of writing developed from my love of reading, it’s not so much a break as it is a reminder of what got me where I am in the first place.

So, there you have it. The two major things I do to break writer’s block. Or three, if you count totally changing what I write!

Now join me, please, as I head to the tiles below to find out how the other authors on this hop combat writer’s block. Don’t forget to leave a comment if you are so inclined!

September 30, 2019

How do you move past writer’s block?

Rules:1. Link your blog to this hop.
2. Notify your following that you are participating in this blog hop.
3. Promise to visit/leave a comment on all participants’ blogs.
4. Tweet/or share each person’s blog post. Use #OpenBook when tweeting.
5. Put a banner on your blog that you are participating.

 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

 


Outtakes #OpenBook Blog Hop

 

September 16, 2019

What did you edit out of your most recent book? (or another book…let’s see those outtakes!)

I didn’t expect much from the two smaller bedrooms, so I wasn’t disappointed by the plain, utilitarian beds. Those rooms would come to life with the right accessories, a floral bedcover in one and stripes in the other. What I wanted to see was the master bedroom. We’d torn out a wall to combine two rooms into one and make it more of a suite. That had been Jake’s idea, back before his arrest.

The first things that caught my eye were the intricately carved wooden headboard and footboard. Truthfully, there was no way not to see them. The king size bed and matching nightstands dominated the space. Two upholstered chairs graced one corner of the room and an empty bookshelf was placed nearby. Two dressers, matching the bed, lined a second wall. The room was lit by natural daylight streaming in from the large window. Once we added light brown bed coverings and curtains, it would be just what I’d imagined during construction. Perfect for Eli.

I glanced over to see Jake taking off his shoes. ‘Should we try it out?”

I wanted to, but not with Jake. I frowned.

“Not like that, Angel.” He sprinted across the room and leapt onto the bed, landing with a soft thud, barely bouncing as he hit.

It looked tempting. But I’d been cleaning most of the day and hadn’t changed my clothes. I wasn’t going to get Eli’s mattress dirty before he had a chance to use it. But to placate Jake, I walked over and pushed on the bottom edge. My hand sank into the surface and stopped at the perfect depth and I imagined how it would feel if I let it support my whole body. I need to upgrade my own mattress.

“When are you moving?” Jake asked, catching me off-guard.

I had a reviewer mention that Harmony’s relationship with Jake was uncomfortable. My answer was yes, it was supposed to be. And that was after I’d cut the above scene from The Contessa’s Brooch, the fourth book in the Harmony Duprie Mysteries. (By the way, it’s unedited, so you may find errors.)

If you’ve hung around with me for very long, you know I’m a “pantser” when it comes to writing my books, not a plotter. That means I write by the seat of my pants. Which results, on occasion, with me going down the wrong path in my writing. Like in my current work in progress, where I cut over 20,000 words, basically starting over again at the 8000 word mark. (I’m back up to close to 22,000 words now, if you are interested.

It also means I listen to my characters when I write. I’m telling their story. Which also means that sometimes what I plan is wrong. Here’s another outtake, this one from The Baron’s Cufflinks. 

“Eli,” I called, “can you see Jake?” The strobe light shone in my direction every few seconds, blinding me on each pass.

I almost missed his answer in the cacophony of sounds. A siren wailed n the distance, adding to the confusion. “No,” he yelled, “not yet.”

Damn it, I’d hoped Jake would be able to jump out of the car as soon as it came to a stop. “Got any other ideas?”

“Not knowing who’s in all these other cars.”

Good point. “I’ve got an idea.” It was silly, but it might give Jake a chance to hop out of the car.

“Be careful.”

Eli knew me better than that. I reached into Dolores, and grabbed my shoes. “Harmony?” Eli asked.

“Going for the surprise factor. Cross your fingers.” I figured the chances of my plan working were low, but I didn’t have another plan.

Before I could talk myself out of it, I stood, in between flashes of the strobe light, and threw my shoe at that dangling hand,. And missed. Then hurled the second shoe at the windshield. And hit the hand instead. But the gun didn’t drop to the ground. Damn it. Well, it had been worth the try. I wasn’t crazy about those shoes anyway.

“Any sign of Jake?” I asked, ducking back down.

Was Eli laughing at me?

While that scene was fun to write, it didn’t work. But I used part of it in the final story.

Harmony isn’t the only one to object to what I’ve planned in my books. Tasha, from Wolves’ Knight, didn’t like what I’d planned for the romantic subplot and let me know it. Here’s a scene I got written before she changed my mind.

He said we. Tasha liked the sound of that. Her rule was fast fading away. “If you want to sit for a while, there’s a bench near the top of the waterfall.”

“I’m right behind you.”

The spray of the falling water made the cool air even chillier, and Tasha zipped her coat up part way. The bench was nothing more than a large old log that someone had sliced the bark from to create a flat area. It was low enough to the ground that Jaime had to rearrange his long legs several times to get comfortable. They sat side by side for a long while, not touching, and not saying anything. Yet the silence seemed natural to Tasha.

A patch of sky was visible through the trees, and she was watching the clouds skimming past the stars when a red streak flashed by. She pointed upward “Did you see that?”

“What?” Jaime asked, inclining his head towards hers to see what she was showing him.

“A meteor. It’s gone.” Tasha turned her head to find his barely an inch from hers.

“That’s okay. I found something else to look at,” he murmured. Then he closed the gap between them and lightly pressed his lips to hers.

Surprised, it took her a second to react, and by then he’d pulled away. “Sorry,” he said.

“Don’t apologize. It was nice.” Actually, it had been more than that, but Tasha wasn’t going to tell him. Not yet.

“Just nice?”

One side of her mouth rose. “I don’t know. Let’s see what happens if we do it again.”

This time she was prepared for the meeting of their mouths. And yes, she decided, the second time was definitely better, especially as she had the chance to return the gesture. “Hmm, better,” she said when the kiss ended. Much better. He tasted just like his musk aftershave and his kisses stirred a part of Tasha that she’d neglected too long.

“Practice makes perfect?” he asked with a grin, wrapping one arm around her waist.

“Let’s find out.”

Spoiler alert: This scene didn’t make it into the final edits for a reason—but I won’t share the reason and ruin the fun!

So, yes, I do a lot of cutting while I’m writing my books. In the end, that makes for a stronger story that is more true to my characters. (If you’re interesting in the books I’ve mentioned, start here to find out more: http://www.pjmaclayne.com/

Don’t forget to follow the links below to get outtakes from the other authors on the hop!

September 16, 2019

What did you edit out of your most recent book? (or another book…let’s see those outtakes!)

Rules:1. Link your blog to this hop.
2. Notify your following that you are participating in this blog hop.
3. Promise to visit/leave a comment on all participants’ blogs.
4. Tweet/or share each person’s blog post. Use #OpenBook when tweeting.
5. Put a banner on your blog that you are participating.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

 


Finding a Place to Write #IWSG

 
September 4 question – If you could pick one place in the world to sit and write your next story, where would it be and why?
The awesome co-hosts for the September 4 posting of the IWSG are Gwen Gardner,Doreen McGettigan, Tyrean Martinson, Chemist Ken, andCathrina Constantine!
 
There’s this little lake I know, not exactly in the mountains, but in the high plains. The altitude is about 8000 feet. It’s got a wonderful view of several mountain ranges, depending upon which direction you look. On a normal days, there’s at the most, three or four people there- more cows than people, but they are on the other side. The cows, that is.
 
Ducks, geese and the occasional seagull swim on the lake’s surface. Along the shoreline, songbirds play hide-and-go-seek among the bushes. Their songs mingle with the lowing of the cattle.
 
There’s not an electric plugin to be had, so once the battery on the laptop is dead, it’ll be writing with pen and paper. The nearest town, population under 600, is fifteen miles away. 
 
But to sit there in the shade of one of the few trees (or bring my own) and write! No distractions, no cell phone service, no internet, no one bothering me. That would be heaven.
 
So I’m not going to tell you where it is. You know the song…you call someplace paradise, you kiss it goodbye. I’m not ready to for that.
 

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Have Some Fun :)

Do you like jigsaw puzzles? Here’s a quick one just for fun.

(Hint-if you want to start from scratch, choose the dotted linebottom left and hit restart.) 

 

And here’s what it should look like when you are finished. Enjoy!

 

 Thanks to jigsawplanet.com, the source for this. 


Giving Up on a Book #OpenBook Blog Hop

 

Aug 26, 2019

Why would you, as an author/reader, abandon (stop reading) someone else’s book?

As I mentioned in a comment a few weeks ago, I take pride in reading  completely almost every book I start. Almost is the key word here. Every now and then, I run into a book I just can’t handle, it’s so bad.

I won’t be naming any names. Most of them are wiped from my memory. But because of the bad books I’ve run into, I’m pickier about what books I buy. I’ll even take the time to read the reviews for freebies to escape my pet peeves.

The first and biggest reason is bad grammar. Typos, words spelled wrong, the wrong form of a word used, incorrect punctuation. Sure, a few errors here and there happen, even in books by traditional publishers. But when I pick up a book that has several a page, it makes it hard to slog through the entire story. If it’s a terrible, horrible,  no good, very bad book, I’ll erase it from my ebook reader. (Thanks, Judith Viorst)

Next up would be boring characters and a boring plot to match. Ever run into a book where you ask yourself why the author even bothered to write it? The characters are flat and nothing happens. The main characters go to work everyday and that is somehow an existential crisis. I’ve never read one of those books the whole way through.

 

How about unrealistic story line? Let’s say in the story it takes an hour to get from point A to point B and you know in real life it would take three or four. Or it’s a mystery and the author has no idea of police procedure. I’ll let one instance pass, but if the book is full of similar mistakes, I can’t finish it.

What do I do with really bad books? It’s easy to get rid of an ebook. It’s a little harder to get rid of a paper version. I feel guilty passing it on to a charity and inflicted the pain on someone else. And it breaks my heart to put any book in the garbage. I have to weigh the end results and usually the garbage can wins.

I did a quick poll on Twitter to see what would cause other people to stop reading a book. I only got a few responses, but the clear winner—or is it loser?—was bad editing.

I’m curious-what’s your number one reason for not finishing a book? Even if it’s already been mentioned, feel free to chime in. Consider the comments section as an informal poll. I suspect there will be a lot of repetition in the blog hop posts this week.  But I’m going to go check, anyway. Follow the links below to join in.

Aug 26, 2019

Why would you, as an author/reader, abandon (stop reading) someone else’s book?

Rules:

1. Link your blog to this hop.

2. Notify your following that you are participating in this blog hop.

3. Promise to visit/leave a comment on all participants’ blogs.

4. Tweet/or share each person’s blog post. Use #OpenBook when tweeting.

5. Put a banner on your blog that you are participating.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter


SpillingInkShow

 

I was recently honored to participate in the Spilling Ink podcast, where we discussed our books, writing, and life in general. By the way, I hate my camera setup, and I’ll have to change it up the next time I participate in one of these. Anyway, it was great fun to do. Many thanks go to Jason LaVell and Katie Salidas for the opportunity.

And I apologize, but there must have an issue with my internet connection which ended up making my voice garbled. (LAG!)