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There Are No Losers in NaNoWriMo

11/30/2013

It’s day 30 of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), and while I’d hoped to have written closer to 40,000 words (the NaNoWriMo goal is 50,000) I ended just short of 33,000. Of course, the day is not over and I’ll probably have another 500-1000 words to add to the count before the stroke of midnight, but it suffices to say I did not “win” this year’s contest.

Here’s my final breakdown:

I enjoyed participating in the event. It was a great motivator to log in each day and see where I stood. The site’s programming allows writers to take a critical look at daily goals, offering an average daily word count and a suggested daily word count for those determined to finish those 50,000 words before December 1. I wish there were a site like this one that helped writers to keep track of personal monthly goals year-round, because it's that helpful.

To those who did “win,” congratulations. Finishing 50,000 words in 30 days is a real accomplishment. It is a goal that is not beyond most writers’ grasps, but no matter who you are, it takes discipline, persistence, and dedication to reach. To those who feel you have failed by falling short, look instead at the word count you did finish—you’re that much closer to completing your current book. 1000 words a day is nothing to scoff at. Even 500 will get you to the finish line in a matter of months. We all have our limitations, whether they’re personal struggles, health issues, or just hectic lives. Cut yourself whatever slack you’re due. If you have the drive, you’ll get there.

No matter what, just keep writing.

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Guest Excerpt: VAULT OF SECRETS by Hawk MacKenney

11/26/2013

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Today, guest author Hawk MacKenney is here to share an excerpt from his recent release, Vault of Secrets. Hawk will be giving away a $20 Amazon gift card to one random commenter, so be sure to leave a comment for your chance to win.

Excerpt:

Predawn risers were at Duke’s breakfast diner in booths and at tables. The aroma of fried eggs, pancakes, grits, bacon and country ham filled the air. Gray caught Craige up on Sedgewicke’s autopsy reports—chronic degenerative heart condition, sky high cholesterol and arterial disease.

“His heart wasn’t what killed him. Got us a crafty one here,” Gray sighed. “CDC Atlanta verified Fred’s gas chromatography runs on the poison.” Handed Craige the folder.

Craige’s eyes zeroed to the big, bold word—ACONITE. “Lethal dose of aconite in Royce’s tissues,” Craige said. “Gives the how but not the way it was slipped to Sedgewicke.” He looked through the rest of the toxicology report. “Not very original. Rome’s Julio-Claudian's treacherous family of brigands was in some ways a lot more honest than most of us and far more sophisticated with aconite. They called it wolfsbane and used it often. Wife of old Octavian Augustus, a determined old dowager, the Empress Livia, it was rumored to be her favorite method for eliminating rivals. She kept her supplier on call. Augustus wouldn’t eat anything except food prepared by his own slaves. Livia wanted her son Tiberius to succeed to the purple. She was afraid Augustus meant to be rid of Tiberius, so she dusted her husband’s figs with the bane. People do get away with murder and simple makes for better odds.” Craige glanced at the next page. “This gone beyond your office?”

“Only CDC,” Gray said. “Your crack about possible killings we don’t know about keeps troubling me.” He scratched his wiry mustache. “Marshall’s suicide, Sedgewicke murder, two women dead, the Stanley break-in.”

Craige closed the folder, his face stony serious. “I’ve never done, what I’m about to do. Ask you for a favor...”

“No…” Craige’s monotone hardness surprised Gray. “But I gather that’s about to change.”

About the Novel:

Vault of Secrets is a compelling tale of intrigue, murder, deception and redemption that leads retired Navy SEAL/part-time private investigator Craige Ingram in search of the connection between seemingly random murders and a banking conspiracy. Working with the local homicide investigator, who just happens to be a former Navy buddy, Craige Ingram's attempts to protect a lonely widow and solve the case before another person dies are only thwarted by a psychotic killer whose motivation is based on pure pleasure. The instincts and skills Ingram and his buddy acquired as Navy SEALS are tested to their limits.

About the Author:

With postgraduate degrees and faculty appointments in several medical universities, Hawk MacKinney has taught graduate courses in both the United States and Jerusalem. In addition to professional articles and texts on chordate neuroembryology, Hawk has authored several works of fiction.

Hawk began writing mysteries for his school newspaper. His works of fiction, historical love stories, science fiction and mystery-thrillers are not genre-centered, but plot-character driven, and reflect his southwest upbringing in Arkansas, Texas and Oklahoma. Moccasin Trace, a historical novel nominated for the prestigious Michael Shaara Award for Excellence in Civil War Fiction and the Writers Notes Book Award, details the family bloodlines of his serial protagonist in the Craige Ingram Mystery Series… murder and mayhem with a touch of romance. Vault of Secrets, the first book in the Ingram series, was followed by Nymrod Resurrection, Blood and Gold, and The Lady of Corpsewood Manor. All have received national attention. Hawk’s latest release in the Ingram series is due out this fall with another mystery-thriller work out in 2014. The Bleikovat Event, the first volume in The Cairns of Sainctuarie science fiction series, was released in 2012.

"Without question, Hawk is one of the most gifted and imaginative writers I have had the pleasure to represent. His reading fans have something special to look forward to in the Craige Ingram Mystery Series. Intrigue, murder, deception and conspiracy--these are the things that take Hawk's main character, Navy ex-SEAL/part-time private investigator Craige Ingram, from his South Carolina ancestral home of Moccasin Hollow to the dirty backrooms of the nation's capital and across Europe and the Middle East." -- Barbara Casey, President, Barbara Casey Literary Agency

For more about Hawk MacKenney and his work, visit his website. Vault of Secrets is available through Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

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Guest Excerpt: LUCKY SEVENS by Cynthia Vespia

11/25/2013

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Today, guest author Cynthia Vespia is here to share a little about her recent release, Lucky Sevens. Cynthia will be awarding an eBook copy of one of her backlist books to one randomly drawn commenter, as well as a Grand Prize of a T-Shirt (US ONLY) to a second randomly drawn commenter during the tour, so make sure to leave a comment for your chance to win.

Excerpt:

Copyright © 2013 Cynthia Vespia
All rights reserved.

Predict, prevent and protect. The same words he’d learned as a Navy SEAL bled over into his job as head of security very well. But as Luca “Lucky” Luchazi stared down at the body of his friend and former mentor Charles Vega he didn’t feel as though he’d honored those words at all.

More than a dozen police vehicles converged on the scene. The black and whites of Las Vegas Metro were scattered everywhere. Their flashing light bars washed everything in red drowning out the mix of neon colors that came from the casinos neighboring Lucky Sevens.

Charles had come to Vegas in its infancy and built his empire from scratch. Even while the others came crashing down to make way for the new mega resorts with their elaborate designs and theme park style attractions, Lucky Sevens remained standing as one of the last legendary casinos on The Strip.

Lucky had always admired the old man for remaining true to his ideals even when the casino was taking a pounding in the pocket book. Now he was nothing more than a sack of meat splattered all over the sidewalk.

Personnel from the county coroner's office had also responded to the scene, but not soon enough. The vision of good old Charlie lying with his robe open exposing his wobbly bits to the world, and lying in a pool of his own blood, would haunt Lucky for the rest of his days. Even now as they draped him in plastic and wrapped him up tight for his last ride all Lucky could see was the blood. He’d witnessed his fair share of death during war but this time it was different. This was Charlie. He’d been like a second father to Lucky ever since he set foot in sin city. So when he overheard two Metro officers disrespecting Charles’ death with their blown out theories Lucky set them straight.

“Hey ease up,” Lucky said walking in between the two officers. “I never thought you were the type to spread gossip, Mel.”

Lucky had known Mel Harrison for many years. They'd done favors for each other multiple times. Harrison was the only guy on Metro that Lucky held any respect for. He'd always assumed the feeling had been mutual.

“Sorry Lucky, I know how much Charlie meant to you.” Harrison motioned to his partner. “Get the coroner over here to finish up.”

Harrison put a reassuring hand on Lucky's shoulder and the two officers went on about their business. Lucky let them walk. He let them scrape Charles Vega off the sidewalk like road kill. He just stood there as a blast of hot wind rolled in off the desert and struck him like a blow dryer on high speed.

Damn weather had turned on a dime. What were they calling it? El Nino? Something Spanish – go figure. Name somewhat brought to mind hot sand beaches and girls in Brazilian cut thongs.

There would be questions about Charlie's death, inquiries, maybe accusations but then they’d put everything to bed wrapped in a nice little bow. To the police, the papers, and the tourists (who even now posed for pictures in front of a real life Las Vegas crime scene) it would all be dusted off as just another gambling related suicide.

For Lucky the question would gnaw at his insides for eternity.

How could he have let this happen?

About the Novel:

Luca “Lucky” Lucazi is a man who lives for the job, until the job starts to threaten his life. A former Navy Seal, Lucky is ideal as the head of security for Lucky Sevens Casino. But when major names at the casino start falling victim to deadly and suspicious "accidents" Lucky must fight his way through a cast of eccentric characters only Las Vegas could spawn, and his own battle with alcoholism, before his lover Brooklyn - the sweethearted stripper - becomes the next victim. But when Lucky faces off with illusionist Christopher King, endowed with real magic powers, will his luck finally run out?

About the Author:

Cynthia Vespia, "The Original Cyn," has a background as a certified personal trainer; licensed private security guard; award winning video editor, and graphic designer. But the creative outlet of novel writing has always remained her first love.

Today Cynthia continues to write character driven suspense and fantasy novels. With a plot pace to stir the adrenaline and keep the pages turning, Cyn likes to refer to her novels as "Real life situations that you could find yourself in but hope to God you never do." In her spare time she enjoys reading, movies that involve a strong plot/characters, and keeping active through various forms of martial arts and fitness.

For more information, visit her website. Cynthia is also on Facebook and Twitter.

You can find her books at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

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Excerpt: NYMROD RESURRECTION by Hawk MacKinney

11/19/2013

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Today, author Hawk MacKinney shares a little about his new release, Nymrod Resurrection. He will be giving away a $20 gift card to one random commenter, so be sure to leave a comment for your chance to win.

Excerpt:

For years I'd used the old house for everything from a hay barn to a tractor shed. The split shake roof was next to nonexistent. Rafters and studs rotten and termite honeycombed from subflooring up. Termites long gone, courtesy of nearby mounds of fire ants. The hackberry tree off its back porch looked solid until that hail and windstorm. A blue-white crack of lightening split through its rotted heartwood, toppling the trunk across what was left of the wobbly canted bricks of the chimney. The storm cleared leaving the shaky stump of the fireplace and knobby chimney jutting up out of a tumbled pile of bricks. Bright sunshine slashed across pearly teeth in a decomposing skull; the neat bullet hole bull’s-eyed just below the hair line.

It wasn’t long before Lucky was pawing at the back door. Yelping that peculiar excited bark I've learned not to ignore. The last time it was a possum with her litter. "Okay, come on...show me what you found."

He gave a sharp high-pitched yip. Pulled away for a few yards. Stopped, looked back, made sure I was following. Then took off across the soy bean field toward the airstrip. Stopped ever so often. Looked back, checked to make sure I was still coming with him. He disappeared over the top of the low rises behind the hangar. When I topped the rise, I saw the storm damage to the old house with Lucky up on the tumbled chimney’s pile of bricks—tail wagging, looking down. Getting closer, I spotted what had gotten him so riled. Pieces of field mouse chewed cloth poked out from under the bricks. After pulling back several, it didn't take an expert to recognize the mildewed remnants of clothing sunk against desiccated skin gnawed down to gleaming cheek bones. I left Lucky to guard. Hurried back to the house. Brought back my digital camera. Photoed the body, the surrounding area, the smears of hydraulic fluid on the runway and grass with the matching set of wheel marks. Each set in landing gear positions, adding up to a pair of choppers. We'd stumbled into the muck of someone's cockamamie conspiracy, and someone was already on my case. I called Gray before I called the local sheriff.

About the Novel:

Investigating an unlikely murder, Ex-SEAL and part time PI Craige Ingram discovers an officially sanctioned assassination. His investigation quickly stirs beyond the dirty backrooms of the nation’s capital with more killings across Europe and the Middle East. The dead woman is somehow connected to stolen artifacts from a time before Babylon. As he probes apparently unconnected clues, he locks horns with an enigmatic enticing secret agent with her own agenda and her own way of doing things. Craige faces train wrecks and deadly assassins doing business with a rich mercenary selling biotoxins, rare stamps, deadly nerve gases, and smuggled nuclear material to the highest bidder. As Craige peels away at the shadowy Operation Nymrod, he finds an elusive power-hungry dead-set mind – a driven obsession with a frightful arsenal of bioweapons ready to fulfill ancient prophecies with a very personal Armageddon that makes the monstrous last day of the twin towers of the World Trade Center pale in possibilities.

About the Author:

With postgraduate degrees and faculty appointments in several medical universities, Hawk MacKinney has taught graduate courses in both the United States and Jerusalem. In addition to professional articles and texts on chordate neuroembryology, Hawk has authored several works of fiction.

Hawk began writing mysteries for his school newspaper. His works of fiction, historical love stories, science fiction and mystery-thrillers are not genre-centered, but plot-character driven, and reflect his southwest upbringing in Arkansas, Texas and Oklahoma. Moccasin Trace, a historical novel nominated for the prestigious Michael Shaara Award for Excellence in Civil War Fiction and the Writers Notes Book Award, details the family bloodlines of his serial protagonist in the Craige Ingram Mystery Series… murder and mayhem with a touch of romance. Vault of Secrets, the first book in the Ingram series, was followed by Nymrod Resurrection, Blood and Gold, and The Lady of Corpsewood Manor. All have received national attention. Hawk’s latest release in the Ingram series is due out this fall with another mystery-thriller work out in 2014. The Bleikovat Event, the first volume in The Cairns of Sainctuarie science fiction series, was released in 2012.

"Without question, Hawk is one of the most gifted and imaginative writers I have had the pleasure to represent. His reading fans have something special to look forward to in the Craige Ingram Mystery Series. Intrigue, murder, deception and conspiracy--these are the things that take Hawk's main character, Navy ex-SEAL/part-time private investigator Craige Ingram, from his South Carolina ancestral home of Moccasin Hollow to the dirty backrooms of the nation's capital and across Europe and the Middle East." -- Barbara Casey, President, Barbara Casey Literary Agency

For more about Hawk MacKinney and his work, visit him at his website. His books are available through Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Don't forget to leave a comment for your chance to win a $20 Amazon gift card. For more chances to win, stop by Hawk MacKinney's other stops listed through Goddess Fish Promotions.

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NaNo No-No

11/16/2013

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I guess you could say I’ve been in sort of a writing slump. Even though I did finish another novel earlier this year (The Private Sector, a loose prequel to World-Mart) the thought of starting another felt so daunting. This past year has provided many hurdles, some of which I never imagined I’d personally face. I focused on writing short stories, keeping my commitments small, and I had no plans for another novel anytime in the immediate future.

I’d noticed in a handful of reviews that there were World-Mart readers who wanted to read more about the crumbled society I’d left them with. While I’d purposely slammed them into a brick wall at the end as a social and political statement, some felt it wasn’t right that I’d left them in the dark where I had. I hadn’t considered what might happen in the aftermath, and I felt I’d shared what I felt most important.

Recently, one of my sisters read World-Mart and offered similar criticism, adding, “I wish I knew what happened to George.” That got me thinking. Was it right of me to leave readers to assume he too would soon die? What if George’s story didn’t end there?

I’ve never participated in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) before, and with sound reason. Some years ago, I’d written 50,000 words in one month, and it was an exhausting experience I hoped never to repeat. However, the closer it got to November 1, the more World-Mart began to eat at me. It did need a sequel, I decided, and NaNoWriMo was going to help me along with that.

Logging 50,000 words by November 30 isn’t my priority. I’m neither exceptionally young nor exceptionally healthy, and I don’t plan on ignoring those factors. Still, I’m writing, even if it’s 500-1000 words per day. I’m holding to my own personal goal: write this book, and in a timely manner that fits my limitations. I’m currently at 19,100, and the month is half over. Still, NanoWriMo has given me the kick in the pants I needed to tackle this new project.

The author "stats" dashboard is a great resource. It keeps up not only on your word count but also estimates the average word could you'll need in order to reach 50,000 words by November 30. Even more, if you've been straggling (like I have) it will estimate the date on which you'll reach that goal at your given pace. That alone is a surprisingly effective incentive to add at least a little progress each day, even if 50,000 words by the 30th s a bit beyond your current reach. It's definitely helped me.

So, World-Mart fans, the aftermath is coming, and I’m writing it with you in mind. It’s not going to be finished in a month, but hopefully it will be worth the wait.

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There Are No Losers in NaNoWriMo

Guest Excerpt: VAULT OF SECRETS by Hawk MacKenney

Guest Excerpt: LUCKY SEVENS by Cynthia Vespia

Excerpt: NYMROD RESURRECTION by Hawk MacKinney

NaNo No-No

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