Guest Post – Author Deborah Rix

 

Deborah Rix 

I have heard other authors say that they ‘hear voices in their head’ and that is how they write their books: the characters are telling their stories. Not being a writer myself, that concept has always intrigued me. 

When some people hear voices, we get them medical attention, others end up becoming writers. Does this happen to you? How do you come up with your stories?

I started writing in an attempt to gain control over some part of my life, because most of it was wrapped up in red tape from the building department at City Hall. You can’t tell building permit issuers what to do, they won’t listen. I needed my characters so that I could tell someone exactly what to do, and they’d do it. While I pretended at control in a delusional act of self-preservation, my characters ended up telling me exactly what they were going to do and I’d better not try to stop them.

I’ve heard other writers describe this, but I was still completely astonished when my fingers seemed to be typing of their own volition. My daughter heard me gasp as I stared at something I’d just written and wanted to know what was wrong. “You won’t believe what Charlie just did!” was my answer. True story. I found that dialogue became easier as I went along, because what came out was them “talking in my head.”  Not as if they were beaming in from outer space and I needed to wear a tin foil helmet to stop the mind control, that would be crazy. I would imagine the character, as though I was in conversation with them, and watch their face and body language. And then they would speak and I would write down what they said. That’s not mind control, not at all.

Thanks for inviting me to your blog.

About the Author:

Deborah Rix’s favorite position for reading a book is head almost hanging off the couch and feet up in the air with legs against the back of the couch. She’s been reading too much from Scientific American for research and ideas and needs to get back to some fiction. She has a long standing love of science fiction, some of her favorite authors include William Gibson, Philip K Dick, Kurt Vonnegut Jr, Douglas Adams, Iain M Banks. A bit old school.

Deborah enjoyed a successful career in entertainment publicity, live music promotion and event management. Which means she slogged through muddy fields for music festivals, was crammed into concert halls with too many sweaty teenage boys and got to go to Tuktoyaktuk (that’s in the Arctic Circle) for a Metallica concert. She lives with her family in Toronto, Canada, where she is the proprietor of The Lucky Penny, a neighborhood joint in Trinity-Bellwoods.

External Forces is her first novel.

Visit her website at www.DeborahRix.com.

Connect & Socialize with Deborah!

TWITTER | FACEBOOK | GOODREADS| YOUTUBE

About the Book:

External ForcesTreason, betrayal, and heartbreak.

A lot can happen to a girl between her first kiss and her first kill.

It’s 100 years since the Genetic Integrity Act was passed and America closed its borders to prevent genetic contamination. Now only the enemy, dysgenic Deviants, remain beyond the heavily guarded border. The Department of Evolution carefully guides the creation of each generation and deviations from the divine plan are not permitted.

When 16-year-old Jess begins to show signs of deviance she enlists in the Special Forces, with her best friend Jay, in a desperate bid to evade detection by the Devotees. Jess is good with data, not so good with a knife. So when the handsome and secretive Sergeant Matt Anderson selects her for his Black Ops squad, Jess is determined to figure out why.

As her deviance continues to change her, Jess is forced to decide who to trust with her deadly secret. Jess needs to know what’s really out there, in the Deviant wasteland over the border, if she has any hope of making it to her 17th birthday. Because if the enemy doesn’t kill her first, the Department of Evolution probably will.

Purchase External Forces from Amazon

Discuss this book in our PUYB Virtual Book Club at Goodreads by clicking HERE.

 

GIVEAWAY

GRAND PRIZE: Winner will have a minor character named after them in Acceleration, the second book in The Laws of Motion Trilogy by Deborah Rix. PLUS: 1 (One) WakaWaka Power – a solar powered charger and light, 1 (one) Limited Edition EXTERNAL FORCES Black Ops Beanie, and 1 (one) signed copy of External Forces.

The fine print: Grand Prize winner will have a minor character named after them in the forthcoming book, Acceleration. The winner can choose a name other their own as long as it is mutually agreeable with the Author, Deborah Rix. That means nothing obscene, stupid or ridiculous, as decided at the sole discretion of the author. Winner agrees that the gender, race, physical description, sexual orientation or any other characteristics of the character are at the sole discretion of the author. Winner agrees that the character may suffer some sort of gruesome downfall or may be a heroic figure in the story, it is at the sole discretion of the author what the role of the character will be and to what extent the character will be part of the story. The author assures the winner that it will be a real character in the story and part of a sub-plot or major plot.

Terms & Conditions:

  • By entering the giveaway, you are confirming you are at least 18 years old.
  • One winner will be chosen via Rafflecopter to receive the Accelerate Your Power Grand Prize.
  • This giveaway begins November 4 and ends January 31.
  • Winner will be contacted via email on Monday, February 3, 2013.
  • Winner has 48 hours to reply.

Good luck everyone!

ENTER TO WIN!

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****All images and text were provided by Pump Up Your Book****

Release Day Launch & Giveaway for Rachel Van Dyken’s Elect!

We are pleased to help spread the word about ELECT, the hot new book from Rachel Van Dyken’s Eagle Elite Series! You’ll want every book in this amazing New Adult series!!

 

Elect

 

ELECT Synopsis:

Nixon Abandonato made his choice. And now he has to pay the price. Tracey is the love of his life, but being with him has made her a target of his family’s enemies. The only way to keep Trace alive is convince the world she means nothing to him.

Trace Rooks has fallen irrevocably in love with the son of her family’s sworn rival, and she knows in her bones nothing can tear them apart. Until Nix suddenly pushes her away and into the arms of his best friend… But Trace isn’t ready to give up on a future with Nix–and if he won’t fight for them, she will.

In the end, a sacrifice must be made. A life for a life. For what better way to cover a multitude of sins than with the blood of a sinner . . .

Excerpt:

I woke up with a killer hangover. My fault. Grumbling, I took a shower and went downstairs to get some breakfast before I went over to the Space to see if Phoenix would change his tune.

“Hey.” Trace was sitting at the table eating some toast.

“Hey.” I waved. Idiot. She was sitting right in front of me.

Her eyes didn’t leave mine. I was frozen in place and could literally hear every beat of my heart in the silence.

“You’re wrong, you know.” She stood and walked toward me. “About a lot of things—everything, actually. And you’re an ass.”

“I—”

“I’m talking, you’re listening.” She smirked and grabbed the front of my shirt and pushed me toward the pantry. She slammed me against the door, pretty forcefully, I might add, and then opened it and shoved me in. I mean, I could fight her but I was too damn turned on and curious to do anything except stare at her.

“I. Want. You.” She took off her shirt. What the hell? “Only you.” Her jeans were next.

The pantry immediately became my number one favorite spot in the house.

Facing me in nothing but her scandalous white lacy underwear, she whispered in my ear. “This. What you see? What’s in front of you, it’s not just about me wanting you. I want all of you. I want to be vulnerable with you, exposed. But you have to let me…maybe the reason I don’t want to open up that part of myself to Chase is because he isn’t you, Nixon. He doesn’t have this.” She placed my hand on her bare skin right above her breast. Shit, I was slowly dying inside. Did she even realize what the hell she was doing to me?

“He doesn’t have our history, our past, our drama. I love him, you’re right. I love him so damn much that I can’t imagine life without him. But he and I—we aren’t this. So tell me, Nixon. Tell me if you want me to forget. I’ll forget what we have, if that’s really what you want. If you want me to jump into his arms without looking back, I will. But know I’ll hate you forever for giving me up.”

“I’m not,” I interrupted her. “You can’t give up something you never had.”

She slapped me hard across the face. “You promised, Nixon. You promised me.”

I kissed her hard on the mouth, clenching her wrists in my hands as I pinned her against the door. “You’re right,” I growled and pulled away. “And I’m sorry for hurting us, for hurting you, but Trace…next time you trap me in a closet, in nothing but your underwear. I will take advantage of you. I’ll screw you until you forget your own name. Don’t play with fire, and don’t mess with me. I’m still terrible for you; he’s better, and I stand by what I did. Now move out of the way before I truly lose control and steal your virginity next to the damn Cheerios.”

She crossed her arms over her chest and glared as I sidestepped her and walked out of the pantry and directly into Tex.

“Whoa!” Tex looked at my face and then lower. His smile widened. “Taking care of business in the pantry or Mrs. Butterworth just make you horny?”

“Shut up.”

“It’s cool! She’s naked, I get it!” Tex called after me, while I raced back up the stairs, grabbed my phone and keys, and then ran out of the house. Away from Trace, away from everything.

 

Author PhotoRachel Van Dyken’s Bio:

Rachel Van Dyken is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestselling author of regency and contemporary romances. When she’s not writing you can find her drinking coffee at Starbucks and plotting her next book while watching The Bachelor.
She keeps her home in Idaho with her Husband and their snoring Boxer, Sir Winston Churchill. She loves to hear from readers!

 

 

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Links:

Website: http://rachelvandykenauthor.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RachelVanDyken

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RachVD

ELECT Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18210033-elect

Rachel Van Dyken Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4882127.Rachel_Van_Dyken

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*****All images in this post provided by KP Simmon from InkSlinger.*****

Mommy Couldn’t Find Her Eyelashes Book Spotlight & Giveaway

Image from Pump Up Your Book

Image from Pump Up Your Book

 

Title: Mommy Couldn’t Find Her Eyelashes
Author: Mary Jane Fizer
Publisher: iUniverse
Genre: Biography/Memoir
Pages: 110

Purchase at iUniverse

No one knows how unpredictable first graders can be better than a first-grade teacher. In Mommy Couldn’t Find Her Eyelashes, retired elementary educator Mary Jane Fizer shares excerpts from written papers and some of her favorite amusing and poignant conversations with her first-grade students, providing an unforgettable glimpse into the innocent, often uncensored minds and imaginations of children.

Fizer relies on more than forty years of experience in a classroom environment to offer a diverse compilation of funny sayings and heartfelt moments she experienced with her students. From the student who said he wanted to be both the President of the United States and a forklift operator to the boy who announced that he needed to see the nurse because he thought he had head lights, Fizer recalls the unpredictable moments of every day she spent in front of a classroom serving not only as a teacher, but also as a role model, stand-in mother, and a source of information who had to somehow find a creative answer to every creative question.

Mommy Couldn’t Find Her Eyelashes is a delightful collection of quotes from children that encourages all of us to find the pure happiness in every day—even when we are all grown up.

Pump Up Your Book and Mary Jane Fizer are teaming up to give you a chance to win a $25 Amazon Gift Card!

Terms & Conditions:

  • By entering the giveaway, you are confirming you are at least 18 years old.
  • Two winners will be chosen via Rafflecopter to receive one $25 Amazon Gift Certificate or Paypal Cash.
  • This giveaway begins November 11 and ends November 22.
  • Winners will be contacted via email on Monday, November 25, 2013.
  • Winner has 48 hours to reply.

 

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MCFHE Blog Tour

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Becoming Alice Book Spotlight & $25 Giveaway

 

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Title:  Becoming Alice

Author: Alice Rene

Publisher: iUniverse

Genre: Memoir

Pages: 284

Click here to purchase at iUniverse

 

“Strongly recommended a deftly written memoir that will hold the reader’s rapt attention from beginning to end.”
-Midwest Book Review

“Her ability to authentically capture the bewilderment and pain of dislocation through a child’s eyes – including the disharmony in her immediate family – makes for engaging reading that will resonate with young adults everywhere.”
-Beth B. Cohen, Ph.D., author of Case Closed: Holocaust Survivors in America, 1946-1954

Six-year-old Ilse watches Nazi soldiers march down her street in Vienna, Austria. It is the beginning of an odyssey that will take her to Riga, Latvia, and finally to Portland, Oregon. Becoming Alice chronicles her Jewish family’s harrowing escape and struggle as immigrants to fit into the American landscape. The added problems of growing up within a troubled family cloud her childhood and adolescence.

Ilse changes her name to Alice. Not until she moves into a boarding house in Berkeley, surrounded by girls from a patchwork of cultures, does she make peace with her true identity. Becoming Alice brilliantly showcases Rene’s triumph over adversity, identity crisis, and the sometimes debilitating power of family ties.

 

Enter for your chance to win a $25 Amazon Gift Card!

Terms & Conditions:

By entering the giveaway, you are confirming you are at least 18 years old.

Two winners will be chosen via Rafflecopter to receive one $25 Amazon Gift Certificate or Paypal Cash.

This giveaway begins November 11 and ends November 29.

Winners will be contacted via email on Monday, December 2, 2013.

Winner has 48 hours to reply.

 
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Ex Umbris: Step Into the Light; Book Spotlight and Giveaway!

Image from author's facebook page

Image from author’s facebook page

Title:  Ex Umbris: Step Into the Light

Author:  Gregory Peterson

Published:  February 28, 2013 by BookBaby

Genre:  Science Fiction, Fantasy

Click here to buy Ex Umbris: Step Into the Light from Amazon.com

 

 

 

 

Synopsis

Ex Umbris is a story that follows Arro, an angel of death tasked by the Fates of ancient Greece with bringing a small girl’s life to an end. When Arro becomes fed up with the constant death that consumes his life, he goes on the run with the very girl he is supposed to kill. Both learn from each other and a wide array of characters from various mythologies and religions. Arro must learn to stand up to his masters while vowing to protect his new friend. With an army of angels of death on their trail, Arro disobeys orders from the Fates, and seeks guidance from other outcasts from mythologies around the world. (Taken from Amazon.com)


Preface

Since the beginning of time I have known one thing. Death. Death is all that defines my kind. The torture of this knowledge runs deep within my veins. We were created for that one morbid purpose. We have always been here, lurking in the shadows. Every creature’s biggest fear. We have gone by many names: reapers, death bringers, angels of death. Every culture knows and fears us. Gods and religions have come and gone, but we remain, ever vigilant of our duties. We serve death, culling the flock when called upon. To say one does not fear death is a lie, a lie almost as dreadful as myself. I lie here in the darkness awaiting the next calling. Waiting, thinking, yearning for release.  The darkness bites at me like a winter frost. My limbs are numb. I do not know how much time has passed since I was last released into the night. Days…months…years. I hear the writhing and growling of the others, restless as I am with this torturous existence. This cold, dark hell in which we were born unto.

I can feel it in my bones. The rage in me grows little by little. Release will come soon, and I will perform my duty with deadly precision. The gathering of the souls will commence. The ones chosen by our masters will be brought to their knees, their souls harvested. Such is the way of life. Life for all mortals. A life in which I would give anything for. Release from this torture. I crave it. I am unlike many of the others who have embraced this cold existence, reveling in the culling. The path they walk has delved them into a maddening bloodlust. They create unique and disastrous ways to kill, relishing each soul as a trophy. Our kind has fallen from grace over the years. We were once proud, understanding of our role. We are a dark necessity on an otherwise bright world. How far we have fallen.

The cold night air calls to me. My whole body shudders in anticipation. The shadows surrounding my body writhe in the darkness. I need to stretch my wings. As my vision turns from black to red, I lick my lips in anticipation. I do not take joy in killing. Not yet anyway. That is a darkness I hope to never experience. I do what I must, as it is the way of things. The hunt and kill is the price I must pay for one night, one night of freedom. Soon enough, I will stretch my wings and soar under the moon. The bite of the cold night air against my skin is invigorating. I will collect my souls and return to the void where I make my home. Waiting. Thinking. Hoping. One day. One day I will step into the light. This is my existence and that small shred of hope is all that I possess.

The time for dreams is done now. I will spread my wings and join the night sky. I will hunt my targets and fulfill their destiny. These unfortunate souls have completed their journeys on this world, and I must keep the story moving. The call is placed. Their voices fill my head, echoing throughout my skull. It is time.


About the Author:

Image from Goodreads

Image from Goodreads

Gregory has always enjoyed reading and writing. Since he was very little, he would read books on Greek and Egyptian mythology. Focusing his degree in cultural Anthropology,Gregory used his background to write Ex Umbris: Step Into the Light. Gregory also has many works of poetry published, and is currently working on a sequel to Ex Umbris. Gregory has also acted and written many short films. He also won the “Best Use of Character” award for the New Hampshire 48 Hour Film Project for his work on the short “Anatomically Incorrect”. Gregory has always been interested in mythology and ancient religions from around the world and plans on incorporating more cultures and stories into the second Ex Umbris book.

 

Connect with Gregory!

Facebook     Goodreads     Greg’s Blog


GIVEAWAY

Greg is giving away 5 Kindle copies of Ex Umbris:  Step Into the Light!

Terms and Conditions

You must be 18 years old to enter.

This contest runs from October 31, 2013 to November 15, 2013.

The winner has 48 hours to reply.


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