777 Writer's Game

Happy Wednesday, everyone! Today, I'm playing a game because I was tagged by my friend, and co-conspirator, Kelly Risser, in this post on her blog. She's asking me to post seven lines from a page ending in the number seven from my work in progress. I'm also supposed to tag seven other authors. Well, this couldn't be more perfect if we'd planned it. Why? Because our work in progress is titled "7." Fitting, don't you think?

So, here are seven lines from page seven:

It wasn’t long before he was chuckling along with her. Once their mirth died away, he asked the question that had been on his mind since Elizabeth mentioned it. “Might I ask what became of the thieves caught in my workshop?”

She smiled. It wasn’t warm, and her eyes were two pieces of rock in her face. “I had them hanged. No one steals in my kingdom and is allowed to keep their life.” 

And, as a little teaser, here's the character talking with Queen Elizabeth:

His name is Sir Thomas Russell. Because we haven't revealed the cover! It's coming, so keep your eyes open. I know, I know, we're the worst kind of evil. You'll be seeing this gentleman again soon, too. *grin*

Be sure and read Kelly's post, then come on back here, and tell me what you think we're doing this time around.

Oh, and the swag! Let me tell you, it's special and, like the book, it's unlike anything you've seen before. As a bonus, anyone can get one!

I'm going to tag: +BJ Sheldon , +Amy Evans ,  +Christina Marie Mitchell , +Christina Mercer , +Heather Topham Wood , +L. K. Evans , and +Kelly Martin . Enjoy the fun, ladies!

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Fractured Glass Wins Another Award and Moves to More Platforms

Happy Tuesday, everyone! I hope you all had a super fab holiday weekend. Today, I'd like to tell you all about yet another fabulous award won by Fractured Glass and give you all a couple of links. Ready? Get your coffee, get comfy, and let's get going!

Here's the info:

Amazon Kindle: $2.99
Smashwords: $2.99
Barnes & Noble: $2.99
Paperback: $14.99

Blurb:
****Award-Winning Finalist in the "Fiction: Cross Genre" category of the 2015 International Book Awards****

****Award-Winning Finalist in the "Young Adult Science Fiction" category of the 2015 Reader's Favorite Book Awards****
 
What if other worlds existed alongside your own? What if you could travel through them and truly escape reality?

Sloan and Harley Glass were born moments apart; but, despite their differences, the sixteen-year-old twins couldn’t be closer. They’ve held their tongues each and every time their mother has uprooted them—often moving across the country with little notice. They’ve learned to accept change. But what is Mom running from?

They discover they’re travelers—half-descendants of those who can traverse an entire universe of parallel worlds known as fractals. When the past catches up, Harley is kidnapped and taken to one of those distant worlds. Now, Sloan must garner her courage and find a way to rescue her sister. Traversing the worlds isn’t the hard part; it’s surviving the elements and the creatures lying in wait to destroy everything in their path.

Will the Glass sisters be able to save the fractal worlds from the kidnapper, or will everything fracture and crumble around them?

See all the Reader's Favorite Award winners here.

We're also working on a new novel. Something else that's never, ever been done before. See my post about it here.

What about you? Have you broken the mold or done something different? Tell me about it!

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Stealing Plots

Happy Friday, good people of the blogosphere! I hope you all had a fantastic week and are looking forward to the long weekend. Perhaps you want to use that time to craft new book ideas. Well, you've come to the right place! Today, I'm going over how you can steal plots from real life to craft novels. Intrigued? Then grab those pens and notebooks and let's get going!

If you remember the posts I did on plot ideas (part one and part two), you'll know I'm a huge advocate of using things you see/read/hear to inspire you. Well, let's look at life for some inspiration and see exactly how that works.

Situation one: You're sitting, watching the news, and a story comes on about terrorists on a train and three heroes who leap in and save the day (anyone remember this?). That's an awesome story, right? Those men have been talked about often since that day.

Situation two: Friend one calls you, sobbing. Her husband was part of the Ashley Madison scandal, and your friend has discovered he's had multiple affairs. Her life is ruined, and she tells you all the warning signs she saw but ignored as you try to make her feel better.

Let's break down and re-work both situations for awesome plot ideas, shall we?

Situation one: What if the terrorists were vampires and the heroes were slayers? Or, what if they were all women instead of men? What would've happened if it were some kind of plot to get rid of a different terrorist who was planning to bomb the train, and the men sent to stop it were thwarted by the "heroes" who thought they were doing something good?

Situation two: What if the husband wasn't cheating, but he'd been doing some kind of recon mission for the CIA or some secret organization? All the "warning" signs weren't what they seemed, but the wife has no way of knowing because she doesn't know he's a spy/assassin. That's a whole different story.

It's not the situation that matters; it's the details you want to store away in your brain for the book you can write with these ideas that are important.

What caused those men to react? What were they thinking? What did they see?

What were those "warning" signs your friend is talking about? How did her husband act? What excuses did he use to get out of the house and meet up with those women?

All these questions can be answered by watching interviews or asking questions. Be the sleuth. Be creative. Bend the world to fit the story you want to read, and write it.

Whether you're a paranormal, contemporary, fantasy, dystopian, contemporary, murder mystery, or other genre author, you can make your story and characters feel more real to your reader when you use real-life situations as the basis.

So, this weekend, my challenge to you is to take something you see on television or hear on the news and turn it into a plot for a novel in your genre.

Post them below! Let's see how creative you can be!

Well, that's all for today, folks. Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Fight for Your Write - #UTOPiAcon 2016 - Why You Should Attend

Happy Thursday, everyone! This is my official blog post for Utopia for the month of September. I get the honor of posting about the GoFundMe campaign organized by Amy Evans and Heather Hildenbrand. SO EXCITING! Ready? Grab a cup of coffee and let's get going!

I know you all saw the blog hop I posted yesterday with the amazing prizes. If you happened to miss it, you can check it out here. But let me tell you a little more about this fundraiser and why it means so very much to the people who organized it.

I had an interview with Amy on Tuesday (listen here). She talked about visiting Utopia for the first time, and she had a few inspiring things to say about it. Here's one quote that struck a serious chord with me:

"I wanted to be on the side of the fence with people who were psyched and passionate—not ones who were afraid to make mistakes."

And that's what Utopia gives each and every attendee. It's not a place; it's a mindset. That's why so many folks throw themselves into the conference headlong.

Another one of the attendees said:

"I always wondered why I didn't fit in with the other horses in the world. Then, I went to Utopia and realized I'm not a horse; I'm a unicorn, and this is my herd."

That resonates with me, too, because I felt the exact same way when I attended the first year.

Here were these people who understood me and my quirks. There was no judgment. I was embraced from day one because of my differences, not in spite of them.

There are three words to describe the con:

Education - Inspiration - Collaboration

Everyone who visits absorbs that drive and knowledge to make a change, do more, be more, and jump off the cliff with their eyes closed, trusting the others to give them wings.

It's because of everything you see above that Amy and Heather created the GoFundMe campaign. You can help someone change their stars by showing support for the conference.

Plus, there are prizes! Here's what you get with a $10-$49 donation (copied from the site):

"For a $10-$49 donation you will get five free ebooks. Authors include Tammy Blackwell,Stacie Marie Brown, SM Boyce,M. Clark/Mary Ting,  Amy Evans, Lila Felix, Heather Hildenbrand, Nikki Jefford, Katie M. John, Elizabeth Kirke, Patti Larson, Carlyle Labuschagne, Jo Michaels, Casey Peeler, Bella Roccaforte, Kallie Ross. MORE DONATIONS ARE COMING EACH DAY."

Yes, that says FIVE free e-books! What are you waiting for? $10 for five books? Go already!

In addition to the GoFundMe campaign, there are limited edition tees on sale. This is an effort by Indie-Visible and Whit & Ware. See the post about why they were created here. All proceeds go directly to the conference so it can be the most epic ever. These shirts are only available for a limited time, so you need to get your hands each one as they're released. The one right now has just SEVEN days left!

Here's the link to the current one "Lift as You Climb."

If you don't have tickets to the conference yet, you should get yours today. It will change your life.

Get tickets here!

Be sure and visit the other official bloggers this month to find out more about the tees, campaign, and see how the founder of Utopia, Janet Wallace, reacted to the news of this campaign creation.

Here's the schedule:
Week 1: Jo Michaels and Maria Pease
Week 2: Shana Benedict and Delphina Miyares
Week 3: Toni Lesatz and Ren Reidy
Week 4: Ashley Bodette and Kathryn Grimes
Somewhere during the month, we have our amazing book tuber, Christina Marie, who'll be hosting an AWESOME giveaway! Keep an eye on her channel for that!

What do you think? Are you coming to hang out with the rest of the unicorns, or do you prefer to be a horse?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Utopia Go Fund Me Blog Hop - Without Utopia, I Never Would Have

As we jump into the FIFTH year of the amazing UtopiaCon, we want to giveback to the organizers who have given so much inspiration and support to us. A conference of this magnitude­­of this level of MAGIC­­is not cheap. Over the past few months, we’ve learned that organizers, friends, and even family have come forward and given from their own personal funds in order to help move Utopia forward another year and we want to pay them back. We want to FIGHT FOR OUR WRITE and do our part to help.

This year especially, we'd like to make sure they  go into planning sessions with an extra boost to it's bottom line. So if you've ever been touched by Utopia, or if you love any of the authors, bloggers, or readers who have, please take a moment to give a few dollars.

This will insure the inspiration continues.

We hope you'll be led to give from the heart, but to sweeten the deal we have some MAJORLY EPIC incentives! In addition to what you’ll get from the Go Fund Me organizers (see the donation page to read about those), you’ll also get entered to win any one of these amazing raffle prizes listed in the rafflecopter below!

Prizes like this one:

And in order to help convey the magical sense of community Utopia has instilled in its attendees, I want everyone to know that...

WITHOUT UTOPIA I NEVER WOULD HAVE....

There is no purchase or donation necessary to enter to enter the drawing, but we encourage you to give even just $10 in order to help move us toward our big goal. And don’t forget, every donation of at least $10 earns you free books!

How to enter:

1. Go visit #UtopiaLove’s Go Fund Me page and make a small donation (this isn’t necessary, but we would be so jazzed if you did this first! AND this earns you an automatic prize based on your donation level. Check your email to collect.)
2. Click through any one of the rafflecopter entry methods. Complete the necessary item and get entered for all of the raffle prizes listed below.
3. Click through to the list of other participating authors & bloggers to read how Utopia has changed them!

That’s it! Thanks!

Participating Blogs:
Karen Hooper
Kallie Ross   
Susan Burdorf
Jo Michaels 
Carlyle Labuschagne 
Shantella Benson
Shelley Custer
S.M. Boyce 
Komali da Silva
PK Hrezo
Elisabeth Kauffman
Patti Larsen
Michaela Mills
Ginny Gallagher
Liz Long
Raine Thomas
Stacey Marie Brown
Heather Hildenbrand
Amy Evans

Here's an amazing giveaway for you all!

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Jo Michaels on the Indie Pub Podcast

Happy Tuesday, everyone! Today, I'm pointing you to a couple of things going on over on the Indie Pub Podcast. If you're ready, get your clicking fingers warm, and let's get going!

Over the last month, the IPP has put out interviews with several folks with topics ranging from:

Editing Process - with Kallie Ross

Publishing Options - with Chelsea Fine

Book Reviews - with Heather Hildenbrand

Facebook Marketing - with Rick Mulready

But today, they went live with my interview! If you've ever been stuck in a rut with your blog, wondering how to monetize it, or just need a fresh kick in the pants to get your blog going, you'll want to listen to this one!

Blogging - with Jo Michaels

We talk about how a blog can help expand your circle, where to get ideas, what to blog about, and why you should blog. Get on over there and grab a listen!

Did you learn anything? What was your favorite part?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

New Release - For the Memory of Dragons

For The Memory of Dragons

Dragons of Eternity, (Book 2)

By Julie Wetzel

This is a Crimson Tree Publishing Title

Release Date: August 31st, 2015

Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance, Science Fiction

What do you do when a dragon crash-lands in your backyard?

That's the question Terra's faced with when one of these creatures plows down into her cornfield. Should she help out the hunk of a man the dragon turns into, or turn him over to the trigger-happy 'authorities' that have come looking for him? The deciding factor—he has no memory. Giving him up just doesn't seem right… at least until she knows the truth of who he is.

Alex has forgotten a thing or two—his name being one of them—but he knows there is something important that he needs to remember, if he could just get his battered brain to work properly. A little rest might help, but there's no time for that when the bullets start flying.

Now he has to follow the few clues he has to discover who he is, and why people are trying to kill him. But that's the easy part. The hard part will be keeping his hands off the lovely lady helping him.

Amazon  Goodreads   iBooks

Julie Wetzel is a mother of a hyperactive red headed boy, and what time she’s not chasing down dirty socks and unsticking toys from the ceiling she's crafting worlds readers can get lost it. Julie is a self-proclaimed bibliophile and lover of big words. She likes hiking, frogs, interesting earrings, and a plethora of other fun things.

Webpage | Amazon | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

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