Exciting New Series - Nancy J. Cohen

Psst...

Come a little closer - I'll let you in on a little secret...
I was chosen as the preliminary reader for the second book in Nancy's Drift Lord series - and my word - are you guys in for a treat!! Nancy's writing is so easy to read, so real that you forget where you are and what you're meant to be doing. It is all too easy to fall in love with her characters which to me, is the mark of a wonderful writer, whether they be romance or otherwise.

I've been dying to hear how she came up with the idea of her series which is very clever with fantastic world building, and I'm delighted to have her here today to tell us all about it. Welcome Nancy, and thanks for making a stop at Novel Natterings! The floor is yours.

Myth as Inspiration by Nancy J.Cohen

Where do writers get their ideas? This question always comes up during author presentations. My answer is that ideas come from everywhere. They spring from the well of our life experiences.

The idea for my Drift Lords paranormal series came from a ride at Disney’s Epcot theme park. In World Showcase is the Maelstrom ride at the Norway pavilion. Guests board a boat that glides into a dark tunnel which rises up a steep incline. Staring down from the top is a glowing eye. At the summit, the boat sails into a misty forest where trolls appear. These evil creatures cast a spell on visitors to “Disappear…Disappear.”

Suddenly, the boat is whisked backward as though through time. The boat glides past scenes of Norwegian history as this rich heritage is related to passengers.

Never mind the rest of the ride! I loved the idea of evil trolls, and my imagination took flight. I decided I’d write a story based on Norse mythology. The trolls in my series would be the bad guys, except I renamed them Trolleks. Thus I began to build my world. The Trolleks have invaded Earth through a crack in the Bermuda Triangle, a rift between dimensions. Like the trolls of legend, they are tall beings with abnormally large noses, hands and feet. And while the males are ugly, the females may be beautiful creatures who lure men into slavery.

Enter the Drift Lords, warriors from space who’ve been summoned to Earth to save humanity. But the Drift Lords cannot repel the Trollek invasion on their own. According to prophecy, they must join with a select group of Earth women whose special powers can defeat the enemy. However, the Trolleks are not their only concern. Remember the Norse gods? Loki, the evil trickster, is secretly manipulating the Trollek king behind the scenes. Our heroes and heroines turn out to be descendants, respectively, of the warrior god Thor and the All-Father, Odin.

The gift shop at Epcot’s Norway pavilion provided several of my research books and a troll figurine who stands upon my desk for inspiration. Think of my series as Thor meets Lord of the Rings. Using mythology as a model for world building is nothing new. A wealth of stories exists for our writer’s minds to plunder.

The action in Warrior Prince starts in modern day Florida when mythologist Nira Larsen goes hunting for a summer job. Her employment interview turns into a nightmare when a Trollek attacks her. Coming to the rescue is the Drift Lord leader and his squad of hunky warriors. And so the adventure begins. Ancient legends come into play along with myth and magic in this tale that expands across the globe in subsequent sequels.

Where do our ideas come from? They’re out there. We only have to catch them and turn them into our fictional worlds.

<><><> 

 

All commenters during Nancy’s blog tour will be entered into a drawing for a Warrior Prince tee shirt and magnet and a pdf copy of Warrior Prince. Go to http://bit.ly/9ytdvu for a complete schedule of her tour stops.

<><><> 

 

Warrior Prince: Book One in the Drift Lords Series by Nancy J. Cohen

When mythologist and Florida resident Nira Larsen accepts a job as tour guide for a mysterious stranger, she's drawn into a nightmare reality where ancient myths come alive and legendary evils seek to destroy her. To survive, she must awaken her dormant powers, but the only person who can help is the man whose touch inflames her passion.

After a dimensional rift in the Bermuda Triangle cracks open and an ancient enemy invades Earth, Zohar—leader of the galactic warriors known as the Drift Lords—summons his troops. He doesn't count on a redheaded spitfire getting in his way and capturing his heart. Nira has the power to defeat the enemy and to enslave Zohar's soul. Can he trust her enough to accomplish his mission, or will she lure him to his doom?

Author's Bio

Nancy J. Cohen is a multi-published author who writes romance and mysteries. Her popular Bad Hair Day mystery series features hairdresser Marla Shore, who solves crimes with wit and style under the sultry Florida sun. Several of these titles have made the IMBA bestseller list, while Nancy’s imaginative sci-fi/paranormal romances have garnered rave reviews and a HOLT Medallion Award. Active in the writing community and a featured speaker at libraries and conferences, Nancy is listed in Contemporary Authors, Poets & Writers, and Who’s Who in U.S. Writers, Editors, & Poets.

Follow Nancy on her Social Networks:

Website:  http://nancyjcohen.com

Blog: http://nancyjcohen.wordpress.com

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

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Nancy-J-Cohen/112101588804907

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/91508.Nancy_J_Cohen

 

Finding Story Ideas - Anne Ashby

Please help me welcome fellow Kiwi and incredibly talented author, Anne Ashby. Little did Anne know that I was one of her preliminary readers for this book before it was contracted (hehehe) and I was absolutely blown away by the writing, characters and beautiful setting. After reading it, I had to read more of her work. Grab yourself a copy - I bet you'll be blown away too. 

Hi LaVerne, thanks for inviting me to join you today. I’ve been giving some thought to providing an interesting (and possibly helpful I hope) little spiel on some facet of writing and have come up with an idea I’d like to share.

Finding Story Ideas

One of the most frequent things a writer seems to be asked is “how do you come up with ideas?” For me the answer is likely to be an “oh, I don’t really know, they just pop into my head”.  I do find driving is great for me and my muse, swimming too. Probably that’s because my brain is pretty dormant during these times. Luckily, once I think of something it tends to stay with me, so I don’t have to hurriedly drive onto the shoulder, stop and grab a pen, or even more awkward, have a pen and pad beside the pool.

There are so few themes in romance stories and sometimes it feels a struggle to add something fresh and new to the mix. But finding a unique story isn’t so hard if you are open to the suggestions that abound around you every day. Surfing the net will bring you a gazillion ideas, newspapers and magazines heaps more. Song lyrics, TV programmes, talking with people, all add volume to the possibilities. For example, some years ago I read an article that brought tears to my eyes.  About a high flying business woman, it wasn’t until halfway through the article we learned of her youthful angst which this lady dismissed as irrelevant.  However to me it showed her enormous strength of character and I based Kelsey in ‘TIME TO BURY THE PAST’ on this amazing example. Reading of how she’d survived an abusive relationship, the means she employed to protect her child, miscarrying a second child because of a beating that almost killed her as well, finally running away and hiding for years until she knew her partner had died in a gang related incident. The horror of a young teenager needing to deal with such occurrences stuck with me and I wanted to share that even such horror can lead to a happier life. My most recent release ‘WILDERNESS LIAISON’ sprang into being after a walk down memory lane with my mother. We were chatting about a tramp (hike) we’d done along the HEAPHY TRACK some years ago and suddenly Shal and Jodie were the ones beside the swollen river.

                                                                     My advice is to be open to everything around you. I’m sure there are stories being written right now with a sports theme. So many exciting/interesting things have happened in London I’m sure some of them will be blended into stories. Perhaps the girl beside herself with happiness at winning a bronze or the one crying despairingly because she’d only managed silver could spark an idea for your heroine. Avoid the Olympics as a setting though, this will date your story. There are many other events which occur every year, use one of them instead if you do decide on a sporting theme.

But what I wanted to share with you is some great advice I recently read. I wish I had taken the name of the person posting it on-line so I could give her credit but unfortunately I didn’t. However I am going to share it anyway because it struck me as being a wonderful way to search for ideas. Every week this writer reads a magazine outside of her area of interest. What a great idea. You only need to visit the magazine section of the supermarket to see how much variety there now is. A city girl, she spoke of reading an article about a woman farmer that had spurned her into writing a story. Perhaps you might never use that particular idea/setting given in an article, but reading it will give you a greater depth of knowledge and understanding of human nature so your time will never be wasted. Maybe it’s not your hero/heroine but a secondary character who might become a karate expert, a heavy metal musician or a scrap booker. A DIY expert, a joiner or a quilter. The prospects are endless. Get off to the library or magazine shop, who knows what exciting ideas might be lurking within covers you’ve never considered opening before. Your next storyline and/or characters might be patiently waiting there.  Good luck and happy hunting.

Back Blurb

The concrete jungle defines financier Shal Gregory. He thrives on the liveliness and sheer vitality of the fast paced business world. So how does he find himself alone in the thick of the New Zealand bush with a feisty guide who undoubtedly despises everything he stands for?

Jodie Mathieson’s devotion to the wilderness fulfils her. She isn’t prepared for an intimate liaison with a man who clearly does not share her love of the great outdoors. But the sparks between them ignite and soon scare Jodie into flight.

Bewildered but determined, Shal tracks Jodie down and resolutely embarks on a course to convince her that having some differing life goals isn’t enough to keep them apart.

But can Jodie ignore past experiences? Dare she believe him?

Website:                                              www.anneashby.com

Facebook:                                           www.facebook.com/AuthorAnneAshby

Twitter:                                                www.twitter.com/AuthorAnneAshby

The Wild Rose Press:                      http://goo.gl/rl2D2

Amazon:                                              http://goo.gl/Dg08q

GoodReads:                                       http://goo.gl/u2uIj

My Heroine - My Teacher

A couple of weeks ago, I found myself in a reflective mood. Edits were well past on my second book with the countdown to release day truly on. I was close to finishing and submitting another story I was really proud of, and my confidence that I had finally found ‘my voice’ as an author was sky-high. All was right in my world. I was living my dream.

Then I got to thinking about how this had come to be. No-one can achieve their goals without a bit of help along the way. For me, my own personal heroine and who shaped me into the person I am today (apart from my awesome parents of course!) is a woman by the name of Lois Senojak. How cool is that name by the way?

Mrs. Senojak was my last year of primary school teacher. As her name suggests, she was a strong, intelligent, caring teacher – and completely unforgettable. She had a way of teaching that made you want to learn and to earn praise. Her patience was unending, but she was no fool if you weren’t trying as hard as she knew you were capable of. She had a wonderful affinity for music and that year I was in her class, she composed a beautiful song called Seabird. Haunting notes soared and dipped perfectly capturing the spirit of a bird as it wheeled and played with the wind. I’d learnt to play the recorder and we were given the honourable task of playing for the school assembly, accompanied by Mrs. Senojak on the piano. I’m certain we butchered the song, but it was a beautiful moment as she played the notes and smiled proudly over at her incompetent students playing her creation. I still remember the words to this day.

On the last day of school as we were breaking up and I was all excited to get home, Mrs. Senojak asked me to wait so she could have a quick word with me. As it was her, I curbed my impatience to get home (patience still is not one of my virtues) and stayed behind. What she had to say to me has stayed with me ever since. And when doubt creeps in, I will remember it anew.

“Whatever you want to do in this life, you can achieve LaVerne. You have the will and determination to succeed in whatever you set out to do and the talent to see it through.”

Even now, writing it down gives me a shiver and brings tears to my eyes. This amazing woman believed in me so much, she felt the need to share such a moment with me. I am forever in her debt.
I’d thought about this special lady for many years and often wondered how she was doing but it wasn’t until a couple of weeks ago, I thought I’d try to track her down and thank her. Google and the internet is such a wonderful tool! J

With a name like hers, she wasn’t that hard to find, and I managed to get an address. I dashed off a note from the heart saying where I was today, my family situation and my success in finally having one of my life-goals achieved, and how it was all thanks to her. Hoping I had the right person, I dropped it off into the mailbox without expecting too much. A few days later, I received a lovely card which made me want to cry again. I did indeed have the right person, it was such a wonderful surprise to hear from me and she was so happy to learn about what I had achieved. She finished with some more inspiring words about my children which I will treasure and make sure to act on as well.

I’m so glad I had that period of inner contemplation and had the chance to say thank you to a person who helped shape me into who I am today.

What about you? Is there someone from your life – in the past or recent past – who has made such an impact on your life? I’d love to hear about them.

Queen Heather of NaNo!

By now - you've probably heard about my first attempt to write a 50,000 word novel during the month of November. I was successful because of the encouragement of a lovely group of friends who also joined me on this mad adventure. I'm thrilled to say we all succeeded, but one in particular exceeded the challenge by writing over 100,000 words in the month! Impossible you say? I thought so too - so I thought I'd invite that incredible woman on to Novel Natterings to tell you how she achieved this feat. Ladies and Gentlemen - let me introduce you to Queen Heather of NaNo! ;)

In 2011 I wrote 100,000 words for National Novel Writing Month. Here’s a breakdown of my experience, and how I managed such a thing!

Nanowrimo 2011 was my fourth year running to take up the challenge of writing 50,000 words in a month. I have been successful each time, achieving just over my 50,000 word goal in my first and third years, and around 62,000 words on my second attempt. I was impressed with my achievements – I had attempted a novel before, and made it to 50,000 words after 3 or so months of writing – so to achieve the same and more in one month was great. Last year however, I blew those records out of the water.

So how did I do it? I suppose the first question is why did I even attempt such a thing!? Well, in that first week of November my story was flying from my fingertips, spilling out onto the screen. I made it to 25,000 words in week one – half way to the goal in only a quarter of the time. That’s when my partner laid it on me. “Reckon you can do 100,000 words?” He asked. “Sure” I said, “No worries!” And the challenge was on!

And now onto the how. There are many things that helped me reach my word goal last year. One of the things I have learnt doing Nano is that I am a planner. I write more if I have a plot planned out, even loosely; if there are characters sketched out (in words – drawing is not a skill I can claim). It helps if I can sit down and see where I need to go, what I need to write next, even if I sometimes go off the rails (and in 100,000 words I went off the rails many a time).

I also start ‘practising’ about a month or two prior to November. I often find it hard to write stories between Novembers, so I make a point of sitting down each night with the aim of writing 1667 words. It’s not a story, more a stream of consciousness that has a dual purpose of getting my fingers moving and emptying my brain of all the mindless babble that blocks the creative stuff from getting through. As I get closer to November this is extended to 2000 words a night. Over the years, I’ve managed to increase my speed so much that I can actually write 2000 words in half an hour, as long as I keep typing.

So this is how I started Nano. Breezing through week one, following my plot, developing my characters, my fingers flying across the keyboard. Week two was just as easy; my story was telling itself, characters were doing their own thing, surprising me along the way and I reached my new goal of 50,000 words for the week with ease. On one occasion I even had my son writing with me. His story “Duke the Angry Vampire” barely made it to 100 words, but is filled with magic and suspense, and we both agreed it was a great way to spend time together.

I should also point out that I had more spare time for this Nano, than I ever have before. I usually write at night, after the kids have gone to bed, giving me a few hours each night before going to bed myself. This year I had the added bonus of a son in Kindergarten (3 days a week) and a daughter in day care once a week, which meant I had 4 days to myself during the month. My children were also going to their dad’s every second weekend, and my partner was working Saturdays – another 2 days of the month I could dedicate to writing.

Week three I reached the 75,000 word mark, but things were getting harder. I’d reached the end of my story, at least as far as my plot was concerned. Week four and I was convinced my story was over, that there was nothing left to write. Still I sat down, laptop on my knee, and wrote. I was writing during the day too – lining myself up for nomination of ‘Worst Parent Award’ as my children were left to their own devices. When they were home they made their own breakfast and sandwiches for lunch (they are very independent anyway and have actually been doing this for a while, with varying degrees of help), and generally were left to entertain themselves. With no TV in the house that means DVD’s or Computer games. Otherwise they would come and harass me while I was trying to extract that next painfully stuck word from my brain. “You’re not writing again mum!” followed by a big sigh.

But by forcing myself to keep writing, even when I thought the story was over, I found that the story wasn’t over. It surprised me, as characters did things I had neither planned nor expected of them, as my story took on a life of its own, more-so than it had in those first few weeks. I felt I was writing better than ever before. I found the best of the novel came out after I thought it was done. And I am thrilled with that.

All the way through I had the encouragement of friends and family behind me. It made the experience so much easier, and very enjoyable.