Mare's Place: Writer’s Wednesday, Feb 29, 2012 with Rachel Fira...

Mare's Place: Writer’s Wednesday, Feb 29, 2012 with Rachel Fira...: Quick Reminder before start Writer's Wednesday: Don’t forget to tune into Catz Radio and catch the Scot and Mercy Show. Click link on the... You can visit my webpage @ www.rachelfirasek.com or find me on twitter or facebook.

Allison Pang On Sequels

One of the things I worry most about the release of A Sliver of Shadow is hoping it doesn’t suffer from “Second Book Syndrome.” You see it in trilogies a lot, I think. The first book starts off with a bang…and then the second book comes out and it’s good, but it’s lacking something or it feels muddled, or maybe the author has lost some of the original voice. And then the third book comes along and ties all the bits and pieces together and hopefully ends on a high note. (And maybe leaves a few threads open for another story…just in case.)

Part of this is probably just the nature of trying to write story arcs that will keep people’s attention, without getting too convoluted. As an author I don’t want to confuse people, but I also want to keep the plot at a decent level of complexity.

It’s an interesting balance, though. Wrap that second book up too neatly and people might not be too interested in picking up the third. Leave too much open and you run the risk of losing people when the third one comes out. (Particularly if there’s a gap of a year or more between books.)

I’ll admit I’m a child of the epic fantasy genre. Most of what I read has story arcs that can span many volumes – A Game of Thrones, Wheel of Time, etc. I’m used to a long, slow build, and tendrils of plot that may be mentioned in Book 1…and then not mentioned again until Book 7…but have a massive impact by Book 10.

It’s one of the things I struggle with when I’m writing the Abby series. Although it’s UF, I tend to think big and I’ve needed to learn to cut back on some of the extraneous plot threads. Which is probably for the best, frankly. Extraneous stuff can be fun for the author to write and think about, but if it doesn’t drive the main plot forward? Then it’s not really needed. (Plus then we can write little one-offs or novellas that allow us to explore those secondary characters or ideas in a little more depth than we might have otherwise in the novel. Even coming from the Abby stories – I’ve got some shorts in mind that deal with how Abby got her iPod for example…or maybe what Brystion is doing in his spare time when he’s not with Abby…or Phin on a date with a hedgehog…the possibilities are rather endless, given the world I’ve got, and there’s quite a bit I don’t get a chance to touch on.)

So, what I want to know is what are your pet peeves when it comes to second books? Which books/series do you think does it right? What is it about those books that makes it work for you?

Just when her new life as a TouchStone – a mortal bound to help OtherFolk cross between Faery and human worlds – seems to be settling down, Abby Sinclair is left in charge when the Protectorate, Moira, leaves for the Faery Court. And when the Protectorate’s away…let’s just say things spiral out of control when a spell on Abby backfires and the Faery Queen declares the Doors between their worlds officially closed.


The results are disastrous for both sides: OtherFolk trapped in the mortal world are beginning to fade, while Faerie is on the brink of war with the daemons of Hell. Along with her brooding eleven prince Talivar and sexy incubus Brystion, Abby ventures to the CrossRoads in an attempt to override the Queen’s magic. But nothing in this beautiful, dangerous realm will compare to the discoveries she’s making about her past, her destiny, and what she will sacrifice for those she loves
 
 
 
 

A marine biologist in a former life, Allison Pang turned to a life of crime to finance her wild spending habits and need to collect Faberge eggs. A cat thief of notable repute, she spends her days sleeping and nights scaling walls and wooing dancing boys….Well, at least the marine biology part is true. But she was taloned by a hawk once. She also loves Hello Kitty, sparkly shoes, and gorgeous violinists.




She spends her days in Northern Virginia working as a cube grunt and her nights waiting on her kids and cats, punctuated by the occasional husbandly serenade. Sometimes she even manages to write. Mostly she just makes it up as she goes.

Find Allison here: http://www.heartofthedreaming.com/about/
Add A Sliver of Shadow to your GoodReads list HERE!

Page Flipperz: The Last Beginning - Rachel Firasek Book Review

Page Flipperz: The Last Beginning - Rachel Firasek Book Review: Well its sad to see such a wonderful series come to and end. The Three book series *The Curse of the Phoenix's * was a wonderful series and ... You can visit my webpage @ www.rachelfirasek.com or find me on twitter or facebook.

Okay, everyone knows that Ronda Tutt from QueenTutt's World of Escapism won my trailer a few days ago. I'm happy to launch her new site video. It's pretty graphic, so be warned. :)

Laura Kaye, Author: Author Rachel Firasek on Why She Writes Paranormal...

Laura Kaye, Author: Author Rachel Firasek on Why She Writes Paranormal...: Welcome fellow Entangled author Rachel Firasek ! See below for Rachel's giveaway! Now, take it away, Rachel... Why I Write Paranormal Roma... You can visit my webpage @ www.rachelfirasek.com or find me on twitter or facebook.

Naughty After Dark Blog Hop Winner

Okay, the winner is.....

Ronda Tutt!

Woot!!! She'll be receiving a trailer designed by yours truly. If you didn't win, stay tuned, there will be many more ways to get on board. :)

Hugs,

Rachel

You can visit my webpage @ http://www.rachelfirasek.com/ or find me on twitter or facebook.

Snowdrop Dreams of Books: The Last Beginning by Rachel Firasek

Snowdrop Dreams of Books: The Last Beginning by Rachel Firasek: The Last Beginning ( CURSE OF THE PHOENIX - Book 3) by Rachel Firasek Publisher: Entangled Publishing Length: Novella Release Da... "This series has been absolutely amazing. Great characters, interesting story lines for each of the phoenixes and romances like no other. In this third and final installment of the Curse of the Phoenix series more of Osiris' story comes out and there is finally a glimpse at his emotional side. I was wondering if we would get to see this" You can visit my webpage @ www.rachelfirasek.com or find me on twitter or facebook.

Castles & Guns: Guest Author Rachel Firasek

Castles & Guns: Guest Author Rachel Firasek: Coach or Pumpkin? I’ve been in a reading frenzy lately and it is my inspiration for this post. This is probably going to be a reader and wri... You can visit my webpage @ www.rachelfirasek.com or find me on twitter or facebook.

Cover Reveal: Inbetween by Tara Fuller

COVER REVEAL

INBETWEEN (Kissed by Death, #1) by Tara Fuller (August 7, 2012)

Blurb:

Since the car crash that took her father’s life three years ago, Emma’s life has been a freaky—and unending—lesson in caution. Surviving “accidents” has taken priority over being a normal seventeen-year-old, so Emma spends her days taking pictures of life instead of living it. Falling in love with a boy was never part of the plan. Falling for a reaper who makes her chest ache and her head spin? Not an option.

It’s not easy being dead, especially for a reaper in love with a girl fate has put on his list not once, but twice. Finn’s fellow reapers give him hell about spending time with Emma, but Finn couldn't let her die before, and he’s not about to let her die now. He will protect the girl he loves from the evil he accidentally unleashed, even if it means sacrificing the only thing he has left…his soul.

Paperback Available for Pre-Order from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Inbetween-Tara-Fuller/dp/1620610833/ref=lh_ni_t

Add to your Goodreads TBR: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13055677-inbetween

Excerpt:

Chapter 1

Finn

Sometimes Emma made me feel so alive, I almost forgot I was dead.

Almost.

I sank down onto the side of her bed, amazed by the blazing wildfire that swept through me whenever Emma was near enough to touch. I took a deep, unneeded breath, and settled down on my side next to her. The mattress didn’t sink. The springs didn’t groan with the weight of an extra body. The distance between us was an impossible void. Inches that might as well have been miles. Miles that left me wanting in so many ways that I ached.

Even the sun couldn’t resist her. Its glowing rays caressed her skin, and stained her hair the satiny color of summer wheat. Before I knew what was happening, my hand followed their lead. Cells ignited. My skin burned, screaming with the agonizing need to touch—

“What do you think you’re doing?”

I jerked my hand away just as Easton melted up from the polished hardwood floor beneath the window. Like an oil slick coming to life, he unfolded his long, shadowy legs until he was just an ink blot against the square of tangerine sunrise behind him. His violet eyes pinned me like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

Which, I kind of was.

“Nothing,” I lied.

“Yeah, looked like nothing.” He strolled across the room accompanied by a wave of sulfur and smoke, the black serpent tattoo on his neck glinting. “What were you planning to do, recite her poem? I swear to God, if you were still alive I’d confiscate your man card.”

I ignored the barb and scrunched up my nose. “Jesus, Easton. Don’t they have a shower somewhere between here and the afterlife?”

“Screw you. You didn’t just have to tow somebody’s grandpa to Hell.” He brushed something chalky and grey off of his cloak and a shudder worked its way down my spine. God only knows who or what it belonged to. “Besides I wasn’t the one about to feel up a sleeping human.”

“I wasn’t—”

“Save it.” He waved his hand. “We have work to do. I don’t have time for your useless obsession with the human today.”

“Will you please stop calling her that?”

“What?” Easton glanced up from Emma’s vanity, where he’d been inspecting the various lotions and bottles like he was on some alien planet. Then again, Easton had been dead for something like four hundred years, so all of her stuff probably was sort of alien to him.

“The human. You make me sound like a freak. It’s not like we’re a different species for God’s sake. We were humans, too, or don’t you remember that far back?”

“Were. Past tense.”

We could have gone back and forth like that for hours, but the call came. It always did. It started in my bones—a cold so cutting that it sliced through me like a machete. When I looked up, Easton’s jaw was clenched, his muscles taut and ready. He slowly closed his hand around the handle of his scythe that burned black and softly smoked at his side. I flexed my fingers as the icy ribbons of death worked their way through each one of my limbs.

“Can you take this one for me?” I asked. “You’re already going to be there, and I just got back—”

“No,” Easton said. “Hell no. I have my own job to do. I can’t keep covering for your sorry ass. Besides, you’re already on thin ice with Balthazar. Don’t push your luck, Finn. Just keep your nose down, collect your souls, and thank the Almighty that you don’t have my job. Now let’s go.”

“Yeah, but…” My eyes returned to Emma. Sleeping. Perfect. Safe.

“For the love of God. She’ll be fine, you pansy.” Easton clamped a hand over my shoulder and dragged me from the bed.

“How do you know?”

He shrugged. “I don’t.”

With that he vanished, consumed in a flash by the keening wails of the damned. The screams beckoned. Clawed at me from the inside out.

Rule one as a seeker: Death doesn’t wait for anyone.

And it sure as hell wasn’t waiting for me now.



 So what happens when the cutie waiter we had for lunch walks up on this?

He grins, winks at me and watches my D2 blush profusely. It is a moment that you will probably see pop up in one of my books somewhere down the road. :) My life is never dull.

BittenbyBookLust: Author Interview & Giveaway

BittenbyBookLust: Author Interview & Giveaway: Check out my Author Spotlight here to discover the Curse of the Phoenix Series With the release of the third book in the Curse ... You can visit my webpage @ www.rachelfirasek.com or find me on twitter or facebook.

Naughty After Dark Blog Hop

***Please ignore the state of my blog. I'm in the process of switching over from another site***

Okay, this is brilliant and such a fun hop for us. I thought long and hard about what I wanted to do for a giveaway and yeah, I could give away one of my books, but that's almost like cheating. So, today, I'm going to give away a trailer.


If you have a blog and are not an author, I can create one like I did for the awesome reviewers over at Samsawesomness.blogspot.com



Or, I can create one for authors like this one I did for Tiffany Truitt's, Chosen Ones.



We can make them as vanilla or as smexin' as you want. :) Turn up the heat for a fun conversation piece on your blog. Woot! So, here's what I want to talk about today:


What's the most naughty place you've ever stroked your significant other. And yes, that's open for interpretation, depending on how bold and brave you are. I'll go first:


I stole a quick feel of my hub's jewels at my son's christening. Okay, technically it was right before we went in the church, but since it was on holy ground, he still thinks I'll burn in Hell some day. He's probably right, but it was worth the red blush that rose to his cheeks. :) Tag, you're it.

Testing

I'm redesigning my blog (again and hopefully for the final time. I've switched all my feeds over and this is mostly a test for my sake. :) I'll be releasing my lovely new and improved website soon. And yes, hopefully, I'll be satisfied with it. I hope you'll join me this week with lots of love and fun across the blogosphere. :)