The Color of Water~

Well peeps, I've finally gone and submitted my latest novel, The Color of Water, to a publisher. It's been a long time coming!  I think the original idea for the story hit me back in 2010 while visiting the North Carolina coast. I've been working on it off and on ever since, but this last year I told myself: "Enough! This will get finished and get out there!"

If you haven't guessed, it's a paranormal, young adult tale with pirates, and ghosts, and a bit of romance. Beaufort, North Carolina - one of the three oldest towns in North Carolina - is the setting. It's perfect because the town's history and plentiful ghost stories provide a deliciously gothic, Southern location.

 

 

I don't want to give too much away since I'm currently querying it, but if I find that no one wants to publish paranormal stories right now, I'll self publish. I've worked too hard to let stuff languish unseen anymore. I write to be read. :) So stay tuned, dear reader!  The best is yet to come~

 

 

a day of rememberance~

Memorial Day always reminds me of my grandmother, who was a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps in World War II.  She grew the greatest gardens, so grandma...these are flowers in my garden for you.  Love you forever~

Cover Reveal – PREDATOR by Janice Gable Bashman and Giveaway

Welcome to the Cover Reveal for

PREDATOR by Janice Gable Bashman

presented by Month9Books!

Be sure to enter the giveaway found at the end of the post!

"Predator is a fast-paced, creepy page-turner! Bashman had me at the opening sentence and she's still got me. I want more!"

Nancy Holder, New York Times Bestselling Author, The Rules

The hunt is on!

Sixteen-year-old Bree Sunderland must inject herself with an untested version of her father’s gene therapy to become a werewolf in order to stop a corrupt group of mercenaries from creating a team of unstoppable lycanthrope soldiers.

When Bree went with her scientist father to Ireland, she thought it would be a vacation to study bog bodies. She never expected to fall in love with a mysterious young Irishman and certainly never expected to become the kind of monster her father said only existed in nightmares. Dr. Sunderland discovers that lycanthropy was not a supernatural curse but rather a genetic mutation. When they return home, her dad continues his research, but the military wants to turn that research into a bio weapons program and rogue soldiers want to steal the research to turn themselves into unstoppable killing machines.

Bree’s boyfriend Liam surprises her with a visit to the United States, but there are darker surprises in store for both of them. As evil forces hunt those she loves, Bree must become an even more dangerous hunter to save them all.

Predator gives the werewolf legend a couple of new spins by introducing the Benandanti (an actual folkloric belief that certain families of Italy and Livonia were werewolves who fought against evil), as well as a modern scientific approach to mutation and the science of transgenics.

Title: PREDATOR
Publication date: October 14 , 2014
Publisher: Month9Books, LLC.
Author: Janice Gable Bashman

Janice Gable Bashman is the Bram Stoker nominated author of Wanted Undead or Alive and Predator. She is managing editor of the The Big Thrill (International Thriller Writers' ezine). Janice lives with her family in the Philadelphia area, where she at work on her next novel. Visit her at janicegablebashman.com.

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Cover Reveal – King of the Mutants by Samantha Verant and Giveaway

Welcome to the Cover Reveal for

King of the Mutants by Samantha Verant

presented by Tantrum Books/Month9Books!

Be sure to enter the giveaway found at the end of the post!

Can one boy stop a nefarious plot to turn kids into super-mutants?

Maverick Mercury enjoys his life as the sideshow attraction known as “Gator Boy” at Grumbling’s Traveling Circus and Sideshow.

His freakish mutations are the result of some billionaire geneticist’s experiments gone awry. But life as a mutant is about to get worse, as Maverick uncovers a plot to kidnap kids, turns them into super-mutants, and sells their powers to the highest bidder.

Now, Maverick is on a mission to find the mad scientist who may have created him and destroy his sinister plans!

Title: King of the Mutants
Publication date: October 21, 2014
Publisher: Tantrum Books/Month9Books, LLC.
Author: Samantha Verant

Samantha Vérant is a travel addict, a self-professed oenophile, and a determined, if occasionally unconventional, French chef. Over the years, she’s visited many different countries, lived in many places, and worked many jobs— always on the search for the one thing that truly excited her. Then, one day, she found everything she’s been looking for: a passion for the written word and true love. Writing not only enabled her to open her heart, it led her to southwestern France, where she’s now married to a sexy French rocket scientist she met over twenty years ago, a stepmom to two incredible kids, and the adoptive mother to one ridiculously expensive Bengal cat. When she’s not trekking from Provence to the Pyrénées, tasting wine in American-sized glasses, or embracing her inner Julia Child while deliberating what constitutes the perfect boeuf bourguignon, Samantha is making her best effort to relearn those dreaded conjugations.

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Please Welcome Chapter Book Author Melissa Moraja~

Today, I've invited Melissa Moraja to the blog for an interview about her and her Wunderkind Family chapter books. Welcome to the blog, Melissa!  

Can you tell me a little about your writing journey? How you got to this point?  

Truthfully, I never planned on being a children’s writer. It happened by complete accident. I was on maternity leave from IBM and while my three kids were napping (they were all in diapers and only 15 months apart), I thought I’d try to paint a mural of Madagascar in what was soon to become my kids playroom. I have always wanted to be an artist, but was guided by my high school art teacher to get a business degree first. I did and then found it hard to leave the corporate financial success. Going back to painting the mural. As I was painting, a drop of paint splattered onto the floor. I ended up doing an ink blot of it. As I stared at it, I saw it come to life. This green ink blot became my first children’s character – Splatter! That same day there was a double rainbow in Chicago. It was my oldest son’s excitement as he pointed to it that gave me the idea of where Splatter lived. From there, I started to create friends and family for Splatter. And after about six months, I had created Splatter and Friends and their story. For some reason, I showed it to a friend of mine and he connected me with a licensing agent for Pokémon and Wiggles. He said, “This is such a fresh idea and what the market needs.” He then encouraged me to brand the characters by making them into children’s books. I then spent years learning how to write, illustrate and publish a children’s book and in 2009, I had self-published my first two Splatter and Friends children’s picture books.

But that was just the beginning of a career I never foresaw. In 2008, as I was writing a self-help book, I had included a story about how my husband had all the time in the world to kill this stupid fly in our house, but didn’t have time to read a book to Jake (our oldest child who was five years old). The more I read the story, the more I started to think that it would make a cute children’s chapter book. So I began learning everything I could about how to write, illustrate and publish a children’s chapter book. In 2009, my first proof arrived. And when I showed it to my twins (Josh and Madison who were now five years old), with big smiles, they both asked me when I would write and publish their book. As their mom, I had to create a book for them, about them, just like I did for their older brother. This is when my career as a children’s writer truly began. I took their strengths, their quirks, their beliefs and incorporated all of it into a fictional story that each of them told growing up as a Wunderkind. That is the uniqueness of the Wunderkind Family children’s chapter books. Each story is told by one of the extraordinary Wunderkind siblings. Every child, every person has their own perspective on what happened. And each one of the Wunderkind Family siblings gets to tell their story from their point of view.

As I continued to write and illustrate, I found that I loved what I was doing. I have never been happier. And I’ve found my passion in writing and illustrating has encouraged my kids and their friends to write, illustrate and read.

Can you give me an idea what your book series is about?
Josh and the Gumshoe News Crew ‘The Super Secret’ is the fifth book in the Wunderkind Family children’s chapter book collection. The Wunderkind Family children's book series is a collection of humorous, fantasy stories, each told by one of the four whimsical Wunderkind sibling characters, about what it’s like growing up as a kid with extraordinary abilities in an unusual, yet charming family in the small town of Boring Brook. (Target age: 6 – 12 years old).

In ‘The Super Secret’, Josh Wunderkind, the middle-child sibling, finally discovers his super Wunderkind ability. Every Wunderkind that has existed was born with an extraordinary ability, unique from every other Wunderkind. Josh, however, was the only Wunderkind sibling that didn’t know what his special ability was, until one day a mammoth-sized bird hit him smack on the face with a glob of neon green bird poop. triggering his superhuman Wunderkind ability and leaving him with the responsibility of caring for a baby falcon he named Max. Josh soon realizes that being superhuman isn’t all fun and games. And his previously simple life becomes even more complex when his two siblings and a couple neighborhood friends persuade him to lead a super crime-solving, neighborhood news team—the Gumshoe News Crew. In this story, Josh not only learns more about his ability and how to use it, but also responsibility and leadership. This story if filled with many funny moments and illustrations that share Josh’s humorous life.


Do you have any particular themes in your writing that you love?

I love writing stories that teach kids about themselves. Each of us have been blessed with certain strengths and these stories encourage kids to discover and develop theirs. All of my stories encourage self-awareness, self-confidence and perseverance. In ‘The Super Secret’ Josh is discovering his strengths and how to use them. He also is learning about what it’s like to have responsibility. I also stress that it’s okay to make a mistake. That is the primary theme in Madison Wunderkind’s stories, even Madison’s guardian angel isn’t perfect. Every Wunderkind Family story share’s how each person learns, grows and perceives differently.

Is there anything else you’d like readers to know about you or your book? 


All of my books were written and illustrated with the help of my oldest three children. They helped me come up with the story that they wanted to share with the world. They chose their theme, what they wanted to teach, and what they wanted to include. They even chose their extraordinary ability, which is also based off of their real life strengths. They created their fictional character, strengths and growing moments. Every title and every word was reviewed by them before it ever went to publishing (as well as a professional editor). But in the end, I let them be the final decision-maker on what was to be taken out, changed or added. For they were the one’s telling their fantasy, fictional life. In fact, I told them that one day they can take over writing their Wunderkind Family story.



Thank you so much for the interview! If you'd like to find Melissa or her books on the web, check out the links below.


Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/The-Super-Secret-Gumshoe-Wunderkind/dp/0989829324

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-super-secret/id839988029?mt=11

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/madison-and-ga-melissa-perry-moraja/1114926342?ean=9780989829335


Website: http://www.melissaproductions.com

Blog: http://www.notyourordinarypsychicmom.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/melissaproductions and http://www.facebook.com/thewunderkindfamily

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/melissaprod

 

 

 

To all the Mothers~

I usually post a poem someone sent me about all the kinds of mothers in the world for Mother's Day. Here's a link to it if you want to read it. It'll make you cry.

Moms do a lot. Much more than most fathers ever will. (Sorry guys, but for the vast majority, its true.) Many moms do a lot of superhuman stuff you'd never dream of until you become one. Other mothers do less, but the trick is we're all doing the best we can.

Sometimes that doesn't seem like much, but mothers are humans after all. We do have faults some days. Some of us have faults on many days.

I hope all moms get to do something they enjoy today. I hope to plant some flowers~

Cover Reveal – Curse of the Granville Fortune by Kelly Hashway and Giveaway

Welcome to the Cover Reveal for

Curse of the Granville Fortune by Kelly Hashway

presented by Month9Books!

Be sure to enter the giveaway found at the end of the post!

Find the fortune, break the curse!

The hunt is on for an ancient treasure tied to nine-year-old J.B.'s family history. He's been having visions that make him sweaty, lightheaded, and certain he’s turning into some kind of freak—or worse, going insane. But things are worse than he imagined. The visions stem from a family curse. An ancient ancestor was accused of stealing the massive Granville fortune, and now J.B.’s entire family will suffer.

To break the curse, J.B. must find and return the Granville’s stolen property. But he's not the only one searching for the treasure. As he sets out on his journey through a dark and foreboding forest, he'll battle his worst fears and fight terrifying creatures along the way. And when he meets two others who share the missing pieces of his visions and suffer from the same curse, the three soon realize they need to work together to break the curse before it's too late.

Reading is a thing of magic. It has allowed me to enter into worlds I never would have known. I’ve cried, laughed, and been scared right alongside my favorite characters. And my hope is that one day kids will do the same for my characters. I want kids to see that reading is one of the greatest gifts. Luckily, my daughter already agrees with me!

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Happy Friday and a sweet Month9Books cover reveal~

Welcome to the Cover Reveal for

Tracy Tam: Santa Command by Krystalyn Drown

presented by Month9Books!

Be sure to enter the giveaway found at the end of the post!

Tracy doesn’t believe that Santa can deliver all of those presents in one night with out a little help from science. A flying sleigh can only be powered by jet engines, and Santa’s magical abilities can only be the result of altered DNA. In order to test her theories, she sneaks onto Santa’s sleigh and ends up at Santa Command, the place where a team of humans monitors Santa’s big night. When Tracy attempts to hack into their computers, she accidentally introduces a virus to their system. As a result, three states get knocked out of sync with the rest of the world. Before the night is over, Tracy has to fix time and help Santa finish his deliveries. And she has to do it all with Santa’s magic, which she doesn’t believe exists.

Title: TRACY TAM: SANTA COMMAND
Publication date: October 22, 2014
Publisher: Month9Books, LLC.
Author: Krystalyn Drown

Krystalyn spent thirteen years working at Walt Disney World in a variety of roles: entertainer, talent coordinator, and character captain. Her degree in theatre as well as many, many hours spent in a dance studio, helped with her job there. Her various other day jobs have included working in zoology at Sea World, as an elementary teacher, and currently as a support technician for a website. In the evenings, she does mad writing challenges with her sister, who is also an author. Krystalyn lives near Orlando, Florida with her husband, son, a were cat, and a Yorkie with a Napoleon complex.

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