SFFSat - June 30

Welcome to another SFFSat, where a bunch of us post snippets from our written works and shoot the breeze.  Thanks also to everyone who stops by and leaves awesome comments.  Much appreciated.

Today, I'm happy to announce the release of the Ring of Fire Short Story Sampler Vol. 1. My short, To Catch A Marlin: Purged in Fire is featured, along with shorts from seven other talented and amazing author's. The sampler is available on Kindle in both ebook and paperback.

For those out of the loop, To Catch A Marlin is a futuristic cat and mouse tale between Special Inspector Pedroni and the vigilante Jax Marlin, who just happens to be a super sexy woman with ninja skills.

In this scene, from Purged in Fire, Jax picks a fights with a known criminal of the nasty variety. Don't worry, she's Jax -- she'll be alright.

She turned, twisted, deflected another blow, brought her leg up and around his neck and squeezed. She heard him gag. Pushing down with her leg, she brought his head to the floor, reared up and slammed a fist into his sternum. His body jerked from the pain. She released him quickly, spun around, punched under his jawbone and heard a crack as his teeth snapped together. His head shot up from the impact and he let out a pained moan. Unrelenting, she planted another blow in his ear. Immediately, disorientation took effect and Moor’s eyes went wide and unfocused. He staggered and slumped to the floor, struggling to get his bearings. For good measure, she punched him in the other ear.

If you're interested in participating in next week's SFF Saturday, stop by their sign-up blog which is open every Wednesdays.  And don't forget to follow the rules and use the #SFFSat hashtag.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cheers!

Brain Farting

This has nothing to do with brains — or farts, but everything to do with catchy titles.

See, I made you look. Mission accomplished!

So, yes. Catchy titles. How many of us have been drawn to buying a book, simply by the title? Some titles literally grab you by the eyeballs and you think: “Cool.” Cover art also helps but that’s another story.

Other titles are pretty much run of the mill and self-explanatory.  Then there are those titles that are catchy and have the wow factor, but like this post, you find out after buying it, has nothing to do with what the title suggests.

I’ve tried with my books, to give the title something of what the book is about. Admittedly, I like catchy titles — and quirky ones too. My current WIP is called To Catch A Marlin. Catchy, isn’t it? Of course, it has nothing to do with fish, but everything to do with a character called Marlin. Another WIP I recently completed is called, aptly, Bengaria’s War. I struggled with this one since various catchy titles came up. But in the end, I chose a one that pretty much explained it all. The lead character, Bengaria, is in a conflict with both herself and the powers that be. Oh, and there’s a war.

When I wrote The Lancaster Rule, the working title was once the staid and cringe-worthy, Time Flies.  It even had a variant, which was even more cringe-worthy: Tempus Fugit. (Gag!)  I owe The Lancaster Rule’s catchiness and somewhat classy title, to a friend who after having read the hideous first draft, thought it suited the book.  She was right!  Later on, The Master Key and The Eternal Knot were spawned (all on my own, thank you very much) and both suited the contents in the book.  They were still catchy, but also self-explanatory.  While The Master Key may have been used elsewhere and a pretty generic name for books, I thought it fitting, considering what the book was about.  At one point I was tempted to call it The Genetic Key, but that would’ve been obvious about what the story arc was all about. In the end, I stuck with The Master Key.

So, what motivates me in coming up with titles?  I really can’t say.  Some of them just sort of materialize organically, other just zap into my brain and I think: That one for sure!

Others sort of cogitate and formulate inside my brain, twisting and turning with variations until several vacuous thoughts spew out. Hey, wait, I am talking about brain farting. Ha!

Anyways, right now, I’m working on a few short stories as well, and the challenge is to keep them fresh and catchy at the same time, without them sounding dull.  These shorts are from the To Catch A Marlin tale, just in case you were wondering.  So, you can imagine the amount of brain farting I’m doing…

What is it you do to come up with a catchy title?  Do you have a certain ritual you perform?  Do you meditate on it?  Does it form organically as the story gets written?  Do you use working titles to keep the motivation going?  I’d love to know.

Cheers!

SFFSat - June 23

Welcome to another SFFSat, where a bunch of us post snippets from our written works and shoot the breeze.  Thanks also to everyone who stops by and leaves awesome comments.  Much appreciated.

Today, I'm revisiting another WIP from the To Catch A Marlin tales. This is a short story, subtitled The Necromancer of the Avon.

For those out of the loop, To Catch A Marlin is a futuristic cat and mouse tale between Special Inspector Pedroni and the vigilante Jax Marlin, who just happens to be a super sexy woman with ninja skills.

In this scene, Pedroni, who is investigating the gruesome ritualistic murders on board the Avon, is about to enter his cabin on a military escort cruiser.  He finds a surprise in his cabin.  And no, Jax did not commit a 'crime' in this one.

Jax Marlin waited for him in his tiny room; she stood with one hand on her hip and a look of disdain on her exotic face.  In fact, she looked a bit peeved.

Pedroni blinked, certain she was an apparition and briefly wondered if his obsession with her had affected his vision.

She accosted him in her maddeningly perfect British accent, “How is it you always manage to get in my way?”

“How is it you’re here?” he countered and slid shut the door behind him firmly.  She was real all right, and looked even more appealing when furious.  He felt ridiculously naked standing before her in just a robe, and so, resisted the urge to close the front up securely.

“Forget how I’m here,” she took a step closer, still fuming.  “I thought you were busy in Spain, where I left you a breadcrumb—where I thought you’d still be.”

“I got called in—it does happen when you’re a cop, you know.”

If you're interested in participating in next week's SFF Saturday, stop by their sign-up blog which is open every Wednesdays.  And don't forget to follow the rules and use the #SFFSat hashtag.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cheers!

SFFSat - June 16

Welcome to another SFFSat, where a bunch of us post snippets from our written works and shoot the breeze.  Thanks also to everyone who stops by and leaves awesome comments.  Much appreciated.

Today, I'm back to my WIP, To Catch A Marlin. I'm happy to say that the first draft is complete, and now I'm diving back into it for an encore. I'm hoping to send this into the hands of beta's before the middle of the month.

For those out of the loop, To Catch A Marlin is a futuristic cat and mouse tale between Special Inspector Pedroni and the vigilante Jax Marlin, who just happens to be a super sexy woman with ninja skills.

In this scene, Jax has 'infiltrated' into a baddies lair...it's pretty self-explanatory.

A thick-necked aide opened the door with a scowling frown, which didn’t improve his sour look in the least. To wipe his features clean of it, Jax rammed a fist right between his eyes. He staggered backwards in surprise. Before he could recover, she braced her hands on the doorframe, hoisted herself up, and kicked him in the jaw. She heard a crack, his jaw breaking, and as he crashed to the ground, a spew of blood flew out his mouth.

Turning back to face the door, she nudged the sentry droid she’d been holding upright earlier, out the way—it slumped sideways before shackling out into three pieces. Jax closed the door, and with purpose, marched across the spacious living area the Bacchus House’s penthouse suites offered its privileged guests, and tackled another lackey who darted out the plush kitchen with a butcher’s knife. He launched it in her direction; she tipped her body sideways before catapulting herself towards him in a forward flip, then did a half-skip bounce before a long-jump leap.

As she soared through the air, she pulled out her auto-cuffs and flung them at the man.

If you're interested in participating in next week's SFF Saturday, stop by their sign-up blog which is open every Wednesdays.  And don't forget to follow the rules and use the #SFFSat hashtag.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cheers!

THE ETERNAL KNOT is BOOK OF THE MONTH

Great news! THE ETERNAL KNOT has been voted BOOK of the MONTH over at Long and Short Reviews.

I just wanted to share my thanks and appreciation to all those who voted, and thought the book deserved to be book of the month.
My ETERNAL thanks!!

Cheers!

SFFSat - June 09

Welcome to another SFFSat, where a bunch of us post snippets from our written works and shoot the breeze.  Thanks also to everyone who stops by and leaves awesome comments.  Much appreciated.

Today, I'm still keeping with The Eternal Knot (final in the Lancaster Trilogy) which was rated Best Book by Long and Short Reviews. (Voting for Book of the Month is over and I'm waiting for the results -- to those who voted for me, I so appreciate it. Thank you!!)

In this scene, Josie and her husband are in a huge medical shuttle, heading home after some 'adventures.'  Josie is pretty banged up (of course, what's new with that) and they are having a little conversation about their future.

"Well, I'm luckier to have you." Josie smiled smugly. "And I can't wait to get home and start behaving like a proper wife."
        "Fern hit you really hard on the head, didn't she? I'm sorry, did you just say you're going to behave like a proper wife?" John blinked, feigning incomprehension.
        "No, she didn't. And yes, I am." Josie grinned despite the crippling pain that shot up her leg. "Besides, I have to."
        "You do?"
        "I do. What do you think all that shouting from Simon was about?"
        "He was concerned for your well-being. Staying in bed to rest is not an unreasonable request, considering you've just been battered to bits and then some." John shook his head wearily.

If you're interested in participating in next week's SFF Saturday, stop by their sign-up blog which is open every Wednesdays.  And don't forget to follow the rules and use the #SFFSat hashtag.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cheers!

Vote for The Eternal Knot (Book of the Month)

So, after a minor bungle -- it happens in the tech world -- the voting guidelines for Book of the Month didn't go live over the weekend at Long and Short Reviews website.

Don't worry, I've been assured that it is live today!  So, click HERE if you'd like to vote for The Eternal Knot.  And if you do, let me just express my gratitude and appreciation!  Thanks in advance!!

Cheers!

PS: If you'd like to read the review before you vote, HERE it is.

SFFSat - June 02

Welcome to another SFFSat, where a bunch of us post snippets from our written works and shoot the breeze.  Thanks also to everyone who stops by and leaves awesome comments.  Much appreciated.

Since The Eternal Knot (final in the Lancaster Trilogy) received a very cool review and was rated Best Book by Long and Short Reviews, today I'm going back to a snippet from it.

In this scene, Josie has just discovered that maybe she is not as alone as she originally thought. Informing her of this alarming news is my favourite character, Loeb, the trusty assistant, while her husband, John tries to comfort.

Loeb squirmed. "Quite. She makes mention of a man she met, a random dude, she calls him."
"But how? She must've been like close to seventy when she went to sleep again. She had Brandon in her forties or something. But her seventies...won't her bits have...you know...menopaused?"
"Josie, with modern science, you can continue to function normally well into your eighties." John's sobering voiced calmed her somewhat. He noted her near emotional reaction; it disturbed him. "Go on, Loeb."
"She'd conceived about five years prior to her sleeping. She had the child, a girl, and placed her in a home. She then tracked the girl for nearly twenty years, while she slept. There are some gaps in the tracking, but she resumed again after another twenty years. Her latest search ended when the girl would have been roughly sixty years of age."
Josie sat listening, biting her bottom lip in concentration. "Who is this girl then?"

If you're interested in participating in next week's SFF Saturday, stop by their sign-up blog which is open every Wednesdays.  And don't forget to follow the rules and use the #SFFSat hashtag.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cheers!