Dark warriors of might...

Mel is a hardened vampire warrior sworn to hunt and kill demons in the dark streets of Vancouver. But he's burdened with a new assignment: find the meaning behind the Vampire Prophecy. Having no faith in the gods and their empty words, he believes there's no truth to the ancient legend until he meets Breeana, a human woman who bears the mark of the prophecy and resembles the mysterious woman haunting his dreams. When a vengeful demon spies Breeana in his arms, she is marked for death. He must take her from the world she knows until he can eliminate the threat. But the real danger is the role Breeana must play in fulfilling the prophecy and the intense feelings she brings out in him. Mel is forced to choose between his obligations to his kind, the world, and the woman he loves. Does he have the courage to let the one woman who could heal his wounded heart and soul go, or will he risk her life and bind her to him for all eternity?
Small warriors of light...

Veterinarian, Dr. Breeana Spencer yearns for love and companionship, but the disappointment of failed relationships has left her bitter. She now finds solace in romance novels. But when she meets a mysterious stranger, she's drawn to him by a connection so forceful it shatters all reason, leaving her incapable of resisting him. Yet there's more to him than smoldering good looks and a rock-hard body. As she's drawn deeper into his danger-filled world, she learns she's part of an ancient vampire legend. Breeana fears her future is no longer hers and will not include Mel. As their enemies close in, desperate to destroy them both, she must fight to convince Mel her place is at his side. A  life-altering choice is before her—one that will take all her courage and love to make. 
Sitting down the Small warrior Brenda Dyer I learned a little more about what motivates her and her series.
MP-In Love’s Prophecy, Breeana escapes into romance novels, what writer can you always turn to for an escape?

BD-I have many authors whom I turn to for escape from my husband, kids, bills, and housework.

I'll name a few here: J.R Ward, Alexandra Ivy, Karen Marie Moning, Larissa Ione, and Sherrilyn Kenyon. Also I have found some fantastic new-to-me authors.

MP-Besides vampires, what would your favorite paranormal creature be?

BD-Werewolves. I love their raw animal side, LOL. Really, can't get any more animal than a werewolf.

MP-Tell us a little bit about yourself?

BD-Where to start…well I'm funny—at least I think I am. I'm a wife and mother of two teenage boys. We live on a hobby farm with chickens, two miniature horses, a rabbit, cat, and a dog. Oh and a tree frog.

I love the TV show Supernatural and I'm a HUGE fan of The Lord Of The Rings—I even have action figures, lol.

MP-What are all the genres you write in?

BD-The main genre I write is paranormal romance, but I also write horror, featuring zombies. I have a short story called Zomboro Virus published.

MP-Do you have any works in progress you’d like to share?

BD-I'm working on book 2 in The Prophecy Series. It is called Prophecy's Child. 
Thank you so much, Michel for having me on your blog today. I had a blast!
To purchase her books click on the link Amazon:   Smashwords:   All Romance e-books:    Barnes And noble:

Follow Brenda at 

Official website

Facebook: 

Twitter: 

I wasn’t going to get into the whole Hunger Games issue that’s hitting the all the blogs but when I read “Kk call me racist but when I found out rue was black her death wasn't as sad..”   Really!  That deflates her quality as a character to pull at your heartstrings.  She was twelve-years-old.  If the death a twelve-year-old doesn’t make you sad I think you have bigger issues that need to be addressed with someone who works with sociopaths.

Now to my initial warning.  In Chrysalis I have black characters.

I know.  It’s shocking.  Since I don’t come right out and say the race of each character I’m warning you now that some characters in Chrysalis are BLACK. Shocking I know, but it’s true.  The web is alive with people that were “shocked” that characters in the movie the Hunger Games were black.  My question to them is why?  Did you not read the series? 

Due to time constraints I haven’t read all of the Hunger Games, I’ll admit that, but I did read most of it or at least far enough in to read that some kids were dark skinned.  You take that phrasing in a world where people are so sheltered due to the way their world was broken apart by war and why would they say…this person was African-American.  There was a reason that Native American’s called Caucasian people pale faces.  They had never seen them before and they used a way to describe them that made since.  It seems common place to call some one white, Asian, black, etc, but if you were in a society that for generations had never mixed and the history of your world had been destroyed what would you call someone that looked different then you.

Let me tell you what my son did when he came home from school at age three and said he liked his brown and his white teacher.  It took him a few months of being in school to not only learn that his teacher wasn’t brown she was black and that he was too.  Although if I were to describe his skin tone I’d probably go with a dark olive color or tanned, but since his father is black he is.  According to our society.  Not the society that the world had created at the time of The Hunger Games.  Look at Othello.  He’s simply called the dark Moor, but we all knew that Lawrence Fishburne was the right choice for the part?  He wasn’t called black, just dark.

In Chrysalis the first line is “The chocolate colored skin on his clean-shaven head glistened with sweat from football practice.” Spoiler alert!  I don’t say Oscar’s black, but chocolate is a universally known product that has a distinct color to it.  Lets head back to the Hunger Games, the main characters didn’t know what chocolate was until they went to the city so using it as a way to describe someone’s skin tone wouldn’t be natural.

Back to Chrysalis.  Ellie’s best friend, Kelly, is described as having mocha colored skin while her boyfriend, Max, is said to have skin the color of dark honey.  Shoot the fact that Rue was described as dark skinned made me think of Nye from The Frozen (by the way …there are black people in that book too).  Nye is described as obsidian in shading his skin so dark.  But to Katniss who’d never seen a person darker than summer tan little Rue would seem dark.  I give the author credit for using phrasing that was appropriate for her characters.  If Susanne Collins would have come right out and said Rue and the other tribute from sector eleven were black as opposed to dark skinned with brown eyes she would have compromised her characters and her book.

Just to keep it straight in Chrysalis, Oscar, his father Mr. Jeffreys, Sharyn, Mia, Max and Kelly are all black.  And because like every race they have various shades…just take it from the pasty white girl Ellie.  They are not described as black people or African Americans (that’s a different soapbox for another time).  They are described for the beautiful shades that they are.

I didn’t go into Lenny Kravitz character Cinna because I didn’t have vision of Cinna in my mind anyway and Lenny can walk around naked (and he has…oh music pick) and I’m fine with it.   And really the comment that the girl dying wasn’t as sad was more the focus of this blog.

To follow the initial article that set me off click here.

To follow another blog that hits even more to the point on race in fantasy books check out Tricia Drammeh.

And since I brought up Lenny Kravitz…enjoy.  I know I will.

Although I write romance, I have a young son and I can appreciate the adventures of Percy Jackson, Harry Potter and now Jake West.  When I set forth to do interviews of other authors I wanted to open it up to all types.  I would consider myself a newbie to the romance genres, I only started reading them consistently about six years ago.  I read all types of books, I just want a story to fall into.  With that said ... this is my interview with M.J. Webb.

MP-Tell us a little about Jake West and his newly found responsibility.

MW-Jake is an ordinary fifteen year old schoolboy from the historic city of Lichfield in England.  He lives a pretty unremarkable life by anyone’s standards until the day that he and his best friend, Ben Brooker, help to clear out Jake’s grandfather’s attic. When they stumble upon an old chest, they find an intricately carved wooden box hidden inside. It has no hinges and they can see no way of opening it.

Jake’s hand passes over the crest embossed on top and it opens to reveal a magical light, a gateway to other worlds. But, the boys have now alerted everyone to its survival and they have set in motion a sequence of events which will place their future, as well as the future of us all, in great danger.

Jake learns of his destiny from his grandfather, the very person who had tried his utmost to shield him from it by faking his own death. Harry West was the last of the Keepers, guardians of the stones and wielders of the greatest weapon we have in the fight against evil. He had buried this secret along with all evidence of the Keeper’s existence, in order to save his family from the pain it had brought him. But now he has no choice. He has to confide in his young grandson and prepare him for the fight of his life.

Ferocious warriors dispatched by an evil, wizard King are coming for him, they will not stop until he is dead and they have the stones. When the time comes to face them, Jake and Ben escape from a deadly pursuit by taking the only option they have and entering the light. They emerge in a strange, mystical land, in the middle of a civil war, but the box is damaged and it will no longer take them home.

The boy must become a man in an instant. He must fulfill the prophecies and save an entire world. The adventure of a lifetime has begun but the stakes have never been higher.

MP-When writing an adventure that takes place in a mythical land is it harder to keep track of the world or freeing because you don’t have people say that’s not what the land is like there?

MW-The big advantage is the lack of time needed for research. This was crucial for me as I have a full time job and two small children; I needed to maximize every hour I had because I genuinely did not know when I would next have the opportunity to write. When the whole concept is drawn from your imagination, it is uniquely liberating and anything is possible. I would write with loose plans in mind but then I found that more often than not I would rip up my plans when the mood took me, going off on a completely different tangent altogether. How great is it to be able to do that?

In short, I think it was far easier writing about a fictitious place and I am in awe of those who write contemporary, accurate, descriptive novels. 

MP-How do you think Jake’s adventures are relatable to your book’s young readers?

MW-Honestly?  I have reviews and comments from lots of teenagers who loved the first book. Some have even said that they preferred it to King Harry (Potter) and I have been asked to go into several schools. The gratifying thing is that my known readers range from eight (I find that amazing) to seventy-three. I have over fifty reviews from a wide cross section of the public and that is fantastic. There are strong elements of humour in both books as well as plenty of excitement and adventure. They also have central themes of loyalty, friendship and sacrifice. I think most young boys will want to be Jake or Ben, and I know that in the sequel at least, most young girls will really relate to Princess Zephany. After all, the two main characters were written for my children.

MP-I know there’s a third book in the works, but do you have any other works in progress outside of Jake’s world?

MW-Ha ha…  Are you kidding?  My time is so severely limited at present that I have to book a writing session in with my wife (or rather, ask for permission). If and when I retire, I would love to explore other genres and works, but I think for the present I have more than enough on my hands with Jake West and his adventures (which, by the way, have only just begun!). I have an idea with the final book which will open up all sorts of possibilities.

MP-Tell us a little about yourself and your writing style.

MW-I am an immensely proud forty-something father of two and husband to one. I live around two hundred yards from the house I was born in. I have been away but I came back because I love the people of my home town and my family and friends mean everything to me. I have worked for the UK Government for almost twenty years, though I have had a variety of jobs which have given me invaluable experience of people from all backgrounds.

I write as I think the everyday person wants. I try not to overcomplicate matters as I’m mindful of my target audience. The language is easy to understand and the story is moved along at a fair rate of knots. I try to make the dialogue as realistic as possible and place myself in the character’s shoes. I take the view that, if I am excited by a passage, then my readers will be too. If it bores me, it is discarded on the first edit.

I write long hand and type up afterwards because that is by far the best edit. After that, I probably edit again nine or ten times until I am happy, depending upon how many dinner hours at work I manage to secure free from other tasks



When fifteen year old Jake West and his best friend, Ben Brooker, help Jake’s grandfather clear his attic of the junk he’s collected from his years of travelling, the boys discover an old chest containing a beautifully carved wooden box.  The box contains a set of five mysterious stones which possess unlimited powers. Together they are the greatest weapon we have in the eternal fight against evil. But when they erupt to emit a bright beam of light, it sparks an epic journey which will lead Jake into a dangerous world and to the discovery of some strange family secrets.

The future of this world and countless others lies in the hands of a fifteen year old boy. If he can’t protect the stones........?

 To follow JAKE WEST click on his name.

 

            Please excuse all grammatical errors in the this blog…I send this message out with love to my buddy Rob who nicely said, “If you’d like me to look at your blogs before you post them I will.”  

                
            I’ve made no bones about the fact that I’m grammatically challenged.  I can blame it on a thousand things, but the truth is I’m a numbers person.  At work no one can stand credit accounts because they can’t understand them.  I on the other hand work backwards in my thinking because I’ve always loved zeroing out accounts that have a credit balance. 

            There are no acceptations to the rules when it comes to numbers.  Patient accounts need to be zeroed.  All the money dispersed to the correct line to close the account.  Then all is right in the world.

            Words on the other hand.  Have rules like i before e except after c unless you’re talking about science.  In fact I’m sure there are words I use that follow that rule, maybe receipt, but truthfully I always spell that word wrong and auto correct saves me.  I do know I’m not supposed to end a sentence with a preposition but the phrase “Screw off, mister.”  Isn’t as forceful as “Screw off!”  Or you could replace screw with something that rhymes with truck and have the same effect. 

            As someone who won speech competitions growing up I thought I could write like I spoke.  See above reference to prepositions.  I figured I had the story there and an editor, agent or publisher would clean up my-words-no-good.  Oops.  Guess not.

            After almost two years of ‘self-editing’ I finally bit the bullet and hired an editor.  It was an interesting experience, but I got a deal with the first publishing house I sent the ‘edited’ book to so it had the desired effect.  The editor I chose helped with verb tense and punctuation, since I seem to be afraid of commas.  She hated clichés…obviously since earlier in this paragraph I put “bit the bullet” I didn’t listen too much. 

            Sadly she also took out my contractions.  I spent about thirty hours putting them back in over the last few days.  Fiction verses non-fiction writing I guess, which was her background (hey poor authors can’t afford to be choosy).  There were other things I had to put back in or take out that I added after the initial editing. 

            Now I’m going through the rounds of editing with my publisher.  Outside of the day of recontracting, I’ve learned to hate the word THAT.  It seemed like such a small word.  It never hurt anyone…but me.  At least nine hours of my life were spent reviewing and removing the word.  I may never be the same. 

            The positive thing I’ve found I agreed with almost every editing comment my publisher’s editor gave me.  And between the two editors I’ve found tools to use moving forward.  The more that my editors teach me the less they have to do.  I guess it is like my job.  If people in the front end do their job right, there is very little to do on the back end.  It does make the book easier to read and I love that she’s going to help my book shine.  So maybe I did get what I wanted in the beginning.  Someone to help with my-words-no-good.

Uta has written a different kind of paranormal book.  Yes there is a strive for redemption, but unlike in most paranormal books the redemption come as the scores get settled.

In Immortal Link Fifteen-year-old Catholine Keenan gets raped in her room by one of her brothers’ friends. Fearing the news could send their unstable mother to a mental institution, the siblings swear an oath to never tell. Her two older brothers promise Cathi to help her through the trauma, but the secret and its aftermath is slowly destroying their lives. Cathi hides behind a shield of dark, baggy clothes and plots revenge, but every time she encounters her smug attacker, she panics and runs the other way. During the month of October she works as a tour guide at the Old Jail Museum. Several members of the infamous “Molly Maguires,” a group of coal miners named after one of her ancestors, were hanged in the jail more than a hundred years ago. Cathi has the feeling that the spirits are trying to tell her something.

A new neighbor moves in next door. Through Stella, who is kept prisoner by her own secret, Cathi is able to accept her shamed body and she confides the rape to her new friend. Together they come up with the perfect plan for revenge. 

MP-Tell us a little about your background

UB-I was born and raised in Germany and married an American soldier who was sent to fight in the First Gulf War six months after our wedding. After his return we were stationed in Louisiana from 1992-94 and have lived in New Jersey ever since. Because I am an avid reader, I learned the English language so well that I do all my writing in English. During the day I work for Rutgers University which I enjoy tremendously, then write at night and on weekends.

MP-Usually characters in paranormal books are dealing with their immortality and some great sin they feel they have committed, in a way they are impenetrable.  In your book, Immortal Link, the main character has to deal with being assaulted.  Please explain your motivation.

UB-Catholine Keenan and her family grew entirely in my imagination, but the rape of a young girl and her two older brothers’ promise to take care of her really happened. I heard about it by accident. I have no idea how the boys took care of their sister or how the girl dealt with the aftermath; I only knew that the mother found out years later from a counselor. He told her that the way the children coped with something so devastating was superhuman. That was ten years ago.

Then, one evening in March 2010, I felt an urge to write about that family. An hour later I had what would later become Chapter 3 of my then untitled book, with no clue where it would go or how it would end. All I had was this terrible crime and three teenagers left behind to deal with it.

What started out as a YA novel about the aftermath of a rape turned into a paranormal story once I chose the setting of Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania. I am not saying a ghost wrote it, but it sure felt like it at times. Whole scenes were “dictated” to me. I went along and was stunned to discover an ending I had no intention of writing when I began “Immortal Link." It certainly includes plenty of immortality and sin from the town’s past.

MP-How many people have contacted you positively about your book helping them? 

UB-Mothers and teens alike, but not because they are abuse victims and ‘enjoyed the revenge.' They just loved the story. My hope is that "Immortal Link" will be found by readers who can personally relate to what happened to Catholine and find some sort of direction and closure, because not only does the main character get her revenge, but she learns how important it is to talk to the right people and get help immediately. Keeping this horrible crime secret was not the answer, and nearly cost her brothers their lives or at least their future.

Despite its dark topic, there is a lot of hope and help woven between its pages, complete with a most satisfying outcome.

Is it your hope to help girls that are holding in their abuse? Yes, that is predominantly why I wrote "Immortal Link - You hurt me, I'll hurt you more." Find the right person to confide in and ask for help reporting the crime. Revenge should never be the answer, but let's be realistic. We are only human and if someone does us wrong, we want to see that person pay for it. The question is, how far can we go before we become criminals ourselves? It would be great if Catholine could take revenge for all the sexual abuse victims out there with her incredible retaliation that goes back over a hundred years. My readers could move on with their lives, knowing that karma or the police or God will take care of their attacker sooner or later.

MP-Do you think having your own teenage daughter has helped you with the current slang? 

UB-Absolutely. She is my best critique partner and beta reader, because she enjoys telling me, her mother, where my writing sucks. Or that a teen would never say or do that. Sometimes she gives me the answers, but she also lets me figure some things out on my own by counseling me through a scene. Additionally, I attend Public Speaking and writing classes at a community college where I am surrounded by teens. My next YA novel, "Skinny For Just One Day," borrows several Facebook dialogues from my classmates who gave me permission to use their 'off-the-wall' bantering. You just can't make some of their stuff up.

By the way, the hand on the cover reaching for the real handprint of Alexander Campbell in the Old Jail in Jim Thorpe is my daughter's. We were granted artist's rights to go into his closed-to-the-public's cell by the owners who read and approved the book.

Follow Uta at 

www.utaburke.com

On Facebook

Buy "Immortal Link" in paperback on Amazon or for your Kindle

On Saturday it'll be exactly one month until Chrysalis releases.  Freaking out?  I'm not freaking out, why would I be freaking out?  Once Chrysalis is out I have about one month to push that then The Frozen starts up.  Yep one month to Chrysalis, four months to The Frozen.

Okay, I just threw up a little in a little in my mouth.  It's fine in theory to have my books read by some awesome beta readers and writers groups.  It's another thing to have it available to everyone.  What will they say?  Will they love Oscar and Ellie like I do?  Or will Kiri and Nye from The Frozen be the fan favorite.  

I'm too attached to Chrysalis.  That I'll admit.  But it's my baby.  I poured myself into it.  It's my first born so I want to protect it and make sure no one hurts it's feelings.  

The Frozen on the other hand is my fifth book, technically and you know how it is ... as they say in the movie Parenthood.  "By the third kid you let them juggle knives."  Not saying I don't love The Frozen.  Really, I had a feeling that The Frozen would have been picked up first because of the reactions I got from it over Chrysalis.  But here I am hoping to not be crushed by my love of Chrysalis.  Both books are written in two drastically different styles and voices, I think.  With The Frozen you have three voices where with Chrysalis just one.   The Frozen has stronger language and content.  Chrysalis shows a first love bloom.

Now as I look into places to do a type of book signing or maybe a party on release day we all know that it's just a distraction that I put out there.  It's all downhill from here.  Final edits.  Quick change to the cover art.  And few guest interviews and blogs.  All in an attempt to share my baby.  Be gentle with her.  Because it feels like this baby is riding an pinewood derby car going a hundred miles an hour with only egg foam to protect her.

Ashlynne Laynne has always had a soft spot in her heart for vampires but grew tired of the garlic fearing, sun loathing creatures of old. An avid horror movie fan, she tends to enjoy media and music that is of a younger, more eclectic nature. This was the catalyst for her writing The Progeny. The vampire/witch pairing is unique and different when most books pair them with werewolves. The infinite possibilities, for such a wicked couple, intrigued her. There is no shortage of romance, steam and surprises in The Progeny. These books are for adults and contain adult sensuality and themes, but minimal profanity. She likes to think of Ascher and Shauna as the damned version of Romeo and Juliet. 
Ashlynne lives in North Carolina with her husband and teenage son.

MP-In Progeny Ascher has to walk the line, as a writer have you ever felt you needed to walk a line? 

AL-No. I actually love to ride the fine line between erotica and romance. I’ve never been one to conform, so I’m comfortable letting my work define itself without placing too many labels on it.

MP-Do you think you’d turn this into a series and if so would you include another paranormal creature? 

AL-The Progeny is the first book of The Progeny Series. Book two, Blood Bonds, is coming in June. I’m currently working on book three. I think vampires and witches are quite enough for one series!

MP-Is this a self-published work or do you have a house you’re connected with?

AL-Novel Concept Publishing is the home to my Progeny Series.

MP-Would you say this book is an akin to the True Blood series? 

AL-I think any vampire series is going to have like attributes to others but I really strived to make The Progeny something truly special and unique. I wanted my couple to be unforgettable.

MP-Do you have any future project that we can look for? 

AL-Blood Bonds will release around June. The third installment is in the works and has no release date.

                                                                                                The Progeny

“No fate other than the one I choose.” The timeless creed, and tattoo, bore by the Rousseau’s— a vampire clan with the purest bloodline of any vampire family. Out of this clandestine group came one who was different, yet the same: Ascher - a half-bloodling— half- human, half vampire.

             Ascher questions the purpose for his existence and which world he truly belongs to: the human world or the vampire world. Two months from sealing to Ursula— a prearranged union to a woman he abhors — he’s at his wit’s end. He knows if he calls off the sealing, the Romanian clan will strike with deadly force, but he cannot see eternity with a cold empty shell of a woman like Ursula.

             Just when he thought life was complicated enough, he meets Shauna— a beautiful, bi-racial human Wiccan — and immediately develops an unshakable attraction to her. She makes him feel alive and vital despite his origins and Ascher makes a decision that turns his immortal world upside down.


To purchase The Progeny click here 

            One of my favorite lines in all my books is from Chrysalis.  Ellie is talking to Oscar about how he isn’t what she thought he’d be.  That he didn’t fit into the stereotypical guy mold.  And Oscar replies, “I’d rather be the exception than the rule.”  

           Why do we as people try to be the rule?

            When I had finished Chrysalis and The Beam it’s sequel I went to a writers forum with a couple of readings and a q and a session with published authors, publishers and agents.  They discussed everything about being published and I was amazed that they pushed being the rule. 

            “If you are trying to be the next Stephanie Meyer or J.K. Rowling you’re going to be disappointed because they were exceptions.” I’m paraphrasing because it’s not like I was taking notes. 

            They told of how going the self published route will make it so no traditional publishing house will take you serious and the pit falls of going with an indie publisher.  Ironic, because one of the publishers on the panel wasn’t the most traditional publisher, they’d been around since the nineties and to the big houses they would be considered indie.   Hmmm.  I guess they could have never foreseen John Locke and his one million sales, but then again when he queried I guess he didn’t look like he followed the rule.  They didn’t see the exceptional because they all said they would have tossed Stephanie Meyer’s submission without looking at it because it was a YA book with 160 thousand words.  (At the time Chrysalis was at 120 thousand, guess it would have been overlooked too.)

            The funny thing is, I never heard of J.K or Stephanie going to a writer’s workshop to find out how to get published or what to write.  They just did it.  They didn’t follow the rules, they followed their heart.  Although I looked at other “classes” at this forum of writers that would help me learn what to do to make my book a success I thought about what they had said.  Sure they didn’t want to encourage people by telling them it’d be a cake walk to get published, because it isn’t, but they also weren’t drawing out the best in them either. 

            Instead they were creating a set of bougie writers.  Ones that didn’t write for the fun and enjoyment, but ones who had to find a deeper message in everything thing they write.  It took me four books in the Chrysalis series before I found a deeper hidden meaning in them and if my readers don’t ever find it I’m not going to be hurt.  I don’t write to preach an agenda, I write to create an escape for my readers. 

            There are plenty of rules to follow … here’s a few I’ve heard and I bet you’d look in any best seller and see broken.  1. No two characters can have the same first letter in their name.  2.  You can’t have two paragraphs in a row that start with the same letter and absolutely not the same word.  3.  Vampires can’t be sparkly.  4.  You must have a social message.  5.  Black guys can’t be named Oscar (HA)  6.  Teenagers can’t have sex.  7.  You can’t have a paragraph with just one sentence.  8.  All dialog has to have a tag.  9.  A young adult or middle grade book can't be over sixty thousand words.  10.  Really anything goes, but ...

            Okay numbers three and five weren’t from a writer’s rulebook, they were from my son, but you get my point.

            Why shouldn’t I be exceptional?  Why should I shoot to be the rule?  If you reach for the sun and miss you’re still among the stars right?  If I set my goal to just get published then what am I really achieving?  If I set my goal to sell ten thousand books so I can be listed as a best seller am I over reaching?  Or am I pushing myself to be exceptional? 

            My husband always says “I’d rather struggle all my life then live on my knees.”  I refuse to be the rule and accept that I can’t be more than I am. 

            Every book starts out the same with a single keystroke or stroke of a pen to paper.  If you as a writer limit yourself by believing the rules and not pushing yourself further you are not only doing a disservice to yourself, but your readers as well.  To all my exceptional writers as we reach for the sun, if I miss, I got dibs on the first star on the right.

 Katherine Wright is on a mission. After her family’s name is smeared in the rodeo world by false accusations of drugging, Katherine struggled to keep the family ranch, the Flying W, afloat. Now with a bull who promises to be the next champion, she's heading back to the world of cowboys and bucking bulls. But nothing could prepare her for the untrusting looks from the pair of hot, twin riders she encounters. Offered an exchange of one ride for another, Katherine finds she's risking more than her family name.  She’s risking her heart.

After Koby McGuire is stomped and gouged by a bull, he and his twin brother, Keith claw their way back into the top of the rodeo circuit. Catching wind that the Flying W ranch is attempting a comeback, Koby sees a chance at a bit of payback to the family he blames for his injuries. The last thing he expects was Katherine Wright.

Keith has always shared everything with his brother from the rodeo to women. So when Koby ask him extract a bit of payback, Keith half-heartedly agrees. Unfortunately, the other half of his heart belongs to the object of his twins’ vengeance.

 With their worlds permanently connected by the twin boys Katherine's carrying, the three must find a way to overcome the attitudes and anger that keeps them at odds. However, a rival bull breeder would rather see Katherine fall beneath the hooves of the bull he knows is prime breeding stock than fall for the charms of the twin riders. Will all hope for the three lovers be crushed in the arena or is this one rodeo they're destined to win? 


I sat down with J.L. Oiler who's upcoming release will be available today.
M.P.-As a paranormal writer, what’s your favorite paranormal creature to work with?

J.O-Must be the animalistic side of me, but I really enjoy werewolves.

M.P-What do you find more satisfying, full-length novels or novellas?

J.O.-I am not much for fluff and unfortunately find when writing Full Length I end up with Fluff. My personal favorite would be the Novella. Just long enough to get the whole story with no extra cushioning.

M.P.-When anthologies come up do they inspire you or do you have short stories squirreled away?

J.O.-I would say both. I always have a story idea jumping around in my head but there are times when someone comes up with a unique theme and it charges my creative energies.

M.P.-With almost a dozen titles to your credit, has inspiration increased?

J.O.-Yes, I find the more I write the more stories I have buzzing around to come out. One story seemingly inspires another.

M.P.-Do you think that you would ever start a series?

J.O.-I already have in the planning stage a sequel to Between 3, Dead Force Rising and the first book in a new series

Bio:

JL Oiler grew up in the mountains of West Virginia where she still lives with her husband and children. She is a graduate of Fairmont State University in Fairmont West Virginia, and holds a Masters degree from Ball State University in Muncie Indiana. She always possessed a passion to create stories to entertain her friends and family, but life led her on a variety of paths before she found the opportunity to return to the dream of writing stories to share.

JL currently has stories with Rebel Ink Press and Silver Publishing. She enjoys the Erotic Paranormal genre, but has dabbled in other areas of romance as well. Her first release came in January of 2010, since that time she has had multiple individual releases as well as the opportunity to work on several anthologies.   She can often be found chatting about upcoming events or releases on facebook . 

To follow J.L. click here