Nov 2015 – Immersive fantasy fiction

‘Nuttycracker Sweet’ – a contemporary Christmas romance

Around six months ago I was lucky enough to read ‘The Tethering’ by Megan O’Russell. this fantastic YA fantasy blew me away with its engaging storyline and likable characters. Well, here she is again with another cracker (pun thoroughly intended!)

Nuttycracker Sweet by Megan O’Russell

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Fiery Seas Publishing, LLC

Pre-order/Buy link: http://www.amazon.com/Nuttycracker-Sweet-Megan-ORussell-ebook/dp/B018DDKLR2/

Release Date: December 8, 2015

Book Trailer Link: https://youtu.be/JtCwOu8QT58

Pointe shoes, tutus, and a snowy road trip with the man she hates. What could possibly go wrong?

The plan was simple. Get to Portland, dance The Nutcracker, and don’t murder your dance partner. And most definitely, do not, under any circumstances, fall in love with him.

A snowy road trip strands Elle Grant in a tiny cabin better suited for serial killings than rehearsals for two professional ballet dancers. With no one but the incredibly talented, excruciatingly handsome, and notoriously terrible Zachary Benson and a few taxidermy woodland creatures for company, Elle’s Christmas plans are officially ruined. Can she and Zach learn to like each other enough to dance together? And can Elle get home without losing her heart to the Christmas Cavalier?

About the Author:

Megan is thrilled to be working with Fiery Seas Publishing! Her other published works include Young Adult fantasy novels The Tethering and The Siren’s Realm. Megan is also a featured author in the Athena’s Daughters 2 anthology of women in speculative fiction.

Megan is a professional performer who travels the country living out a thousand lives on stage. Her wonderful husband and frequent dance partner is always by her side.

For more information on Megan’s books, you can visit her website at meganorussell.com

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Nov 24, 2015Nov 24, 2015 by dmcain84

50 Awesome Moments Only Writers Would Understand

I have experienced pretty much all of these (and many of them on a daily basis!)

Nov 14, 2015 by dmcain84

I wrote a book!

As an author, I constantly beat myself up about my work – day in, day out. Why haven’t I finished my work-in-progress yet? This piece isn’t edited well enough. Am I clearly defining the plot/character/location? Why isn’t my book getting as many reviews as other people’s?

I often forget to just sit back and look at what I do objectively. I wrote a book for goodness’ sake!

Do you know how many people yearn to write what is inside their hearts and never manage to actually get it down on paper? Well, I did.

So I say, forget all the stressful hard work and confidence bashing that comes with writing and, from time to time, just sit back and say to yourself – I achieved something incredible.

Nov 9, 2015Nov 7, 2015 by dmcain84

I won the #awethors opening lines competition!

Hooray! I won the #Awethors ‘opening lines’ competition with the first line of my psychological dystopian thriller The Phoenix Project:

“Cold, dark terror trickled through Raven Kennedy’s veins, freezing him on the spot.”

I will now be featured on the #Awethors website and have earned bragging rights 😉

Dark, dystopian thriller The Phoenix Project - soon to be re-released through Booktrope — Dark, dystopian thriller The Phoenix Project – soon to be re-released through Booktrope

Nov 7, 2015Nov 7, 2015 by dmcain84

Secrets of The Phoenix Project

Secrets of The Phoenix Project…

The Phoenix Project was an idea floating around in my head for 10 years before it finally saw the light of day. All the characters, locations and events were gradually built upon to become what they are today. So here are some of the early influences on the novel.

When hunting through my old notes from the very early versions of the book, I found these pictures. I cut them from magazines when I was around 18 years old and for years they were the perfect images for my characters. My ideas have changed somewhat (especially for Khan, who looks far too sweet here!), but the main ideas remained the same.

Alexia, Khan, Kiri and Seraphia

I even tried drawing some of my characters years ago! I have absolutely no talent in drawing so these are not very good – but they allowed me to get a better idea of the characters early on. Alexia and Raven

Raven has also been a mixture of various people – both real and imaginary. I was working on the same character for a long time and he grew and developed into both Vincent Wilder from the Light and Shadow Chronicles, and Raven Kennedy from The Phoenix Project. Therefore, much of Raven’s character is from him. However, parts of him have been based around the following people:

Raven has always had dark hair and intense eyes. The first person I saw in a movie that really looked like my image of him was Billy Crudup as Tommy Marcano in the film ‘Sleepers.’

Then I watched ‘Sunshine’ starring Cillian Murphy, and I loved the intensity of his eyes, and the haunted look he always has about him!

Another good model for Raven is Aidan Turner – especially in ‘Being Human’. I like the darkness of his eyes, (though I think he may be a bit too ‘pretty’ for Raven!)

The closest I’ve come yet to an actor who looks a lot like my image of Raven is Santiago Cabrera as Isaac in Heroes. As a character that deals with mental health issues, Isaac reminded me a lot of Raven and that brooding intensity he has is just perfect!

So, what do you think? If you have read The Phoenix Project why not drop me a line and let me know who you pictured when you were reading the book. Maybe your idea of Raven (or any of the characters) will be very different to mine, but I’d love to know!

Nov 2, 2015Sep 27, 2020 by dmcain84