Category: the Pursual

FFJ’s Freebies, March 27, 2018

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Hope the week is going well?

Today’s freebies are brought to you by The Pursual, Book 1 of The Nome Chronicles –

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Neith and Invier are madly in love, yet destined for an unhappy ever after.

Given his family’s low ranking, Neith revives a long-abandoned competition – the Pursual. The prize is the girl and an alliance with her influential family.

Entered into the competition without his consent, Invier becomes suspicious of Neith’s motives. Still, he must win, or see his love married to a rival. The mysterious deaths of competitors, the discovery of dark secrets, and a growing rebellion mean that nothing will come easy.

Will the competition meant to bring them together pull them apart? Delve into this young adult dystopian to find out.

Now $2.99. Get your copy today. Also available at these stores.

Look on for this week’s freebies.

Continue reading “FFJ’s Freebies, March 27, 2018” →

FFJ’s Freebies! March 19th, 2018

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It’s another week of freebies for ya!

Take a peek at this curated collection. It hosts a good selection of genres I hope you’ll enjoy.

Be sure to point a friend to the page and stop by next week for more!

Oh, and don’t forget to pick up my book, The Proem. It’s free everywhere!

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Look on for this week’s freebies.

Continue reading “FFJ’s Freebies! March 19th, 2018” →

Nome Insignia

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For those who’ve read my Nome Chronicles books, you know that symbols are a big part of the series. Each family in the Group of Twenty has a symbol that represents them as well as their multiple business brands.

I’ve shared the symbols at the back of the ebooks for The Pursual and The Paladin. I’ve also shared with my subscribers (have you subscribed yet? You’re missing out, if not!). An example of an insignia is on the cover of my books as well. That one belongs to Nome Reffour, Neith’s family.

So, would you like to see the rest of the symbols? I created each and every one myself, though a few had to be thrown in the bin because as someone mentioned, a few of my symbols reminded them of kitchen/home appliances. *lol*

Continue reading “Nome Insignia” →

The Nome Chronicles is nearing an end …

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It’s been awhile since I updated this here blog. Naughty of me I know but there’s been so much going on. *sigh*

If you follow me on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, then you know I survived Hurricane Maria. It hit the island I live on as a Category 5 storm. A weather gauge located two miles from my home recorded 225 mph winds during the weather event.giphy

Scary! Anyway, all that to say – there’s been a good reason.

And now, I’ve finished writing The Paragon, Book 3 of The Nome Chronicles. Three edits down and it’s been sent to beta readers. Here’s the cover – preview-2017-268-ff-john-b03-4.jpg

It’s a beauty, right? Fine. I know I’m biased but my subscribers were very helpful in getting it to this point. I’m waiting for the final version from my designer. This book will be published in January 2018 and I can’t wait! By the way, let me know if you want to be on my launch team. You’d get a free early copy of the ebook. All you have to do is provide proof of having bought

For some reason, I’m sad but excited for the end of this series. It was a very ambitious project. I originally had ten stories I wanted to publish – three full novels and seven short stories. I have drafted/written/published the following stories in the series

  1. The Proem
  2. The Pursual
  3. The Paladin
  4. The Paragon
  5. The Pact
  6. The Pairing
  7. The Premiere
  8. The Pith
  9. The Pegasos
  10. The Phalanx

I eventually had to put a halt to The Pact (intended to be a story about the origins of Nome society from the perspective of one of Invier’s ancestor), The Pairing (a story about Lance Singer, Enyama Damil and Adaora Opitz’s complicated and hilarious love triangle) and The Pith (what happens in between The Pursual and The Paladin – didn’t happen because I thought it best to just put that story into The Paladin).

The Premiere has a cover and has been started but I’m not sure when it’ll be released. The Pegasos … I’m not sure of. It’s the story of Torin, the soldier who becomes Invier’s friend in book 2 – The Paladin. I have no idea whether this story really makes sense for the universe though I’m itching to write it. I also have no idea what sort of cover it would have as I can’t put a girl in a pretty dress on it. 😆

And as for The Phalanx, I wanted it to be a story in the future that shows what becomes of the artificial intelligence soldiers that play a key role in the series.

Maybe I’ll get to write these additional stories someday. I truly hope so. But for now, I’m working on two new series.

The first, coming February 2018, is The LegionBorn trilogy. It’s an urban fantasy series with an interesting take on celestial beings and the humans who just happen to get caught up in their battles. Lucifer has a twin brother whose son might be the subject of a prophecy that could spell the devil’s downfall. As you can imagine, family ties mean nothing as Lucifer wants his nephew dead. Immediately.

The second, coming April 2018, is The Excelsia series. I’ve been working on this universe for almost five months. It combines my love for strong female young adult characters but is set in space. Think a young girl in a universe that’s controlled by powerful corporations, religious zealots and underground elements all in a quest for control of the future of humanity.

And that’s it for now. Let me know if you are interested in joining the launch team for any of the upcoming books I’ve mentioned. I’m looking for folks willing to read an early version of each book and leave their honest reviews when each of the books are launched.

Till next time, (4).jpg

#writinglessons: Wonder Woman

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I recently watched the Wonder Woman movie and …

The movie was very simple – no complex plots to decipher – and it was just long enough. It had action, a tiny amount of romance (you could have missed it if you weren’t paying attention), a big bad and lots of chuckles brought on by interesting characters and situations.

What stuck out for me?

I like that at all times, Diana reacted as expected given the cultural difference between where she came from, Themyscira, and World War I Europe. Her home only has women and warrior women at that, so of course, she’d be confused by having to wear heels and not being allowed to engage in significant discourse simply because of her gender.

And that comment about secretaries?

 

hahaha! No, I won’t spoil it for ya.

That consistent behavior from the character made it easy to stay glued to the story and not get distracted by other aspects of the movie, such as wondering how exactly that truth lasso works. As a writer, I must remember that a character’s reactions must make sense given the surrounding circumstances. They must react to the world and the people around them the way we all expect them to unless there’s a good and digestible reason for that not to be the case. If not, we end up with readers who are unable to suspend their disbelief and enjoy the story.

For instance, a beta reader pointed out that the emotional reaction of one of my characters in The Paladin was shocking and that threw her out of the story.  I therefore had to go through the book and make sure to plant clues that help explain the outburst when it finally happens. Failure to help readers digest such intricate parts of a tale can lead to disappointment and disbelief later on. And when that happens, the reader is more apt to put down my book for another one which is no bueno.

Another part of the movie I liked was how (semi-spoiler alert!) there were at least two obvious big bads but at the end of the movie, they switched things up and it was good. I will say, I suspected the eventual big bad though – the benefit of being a sneaky writer who likes to surprise readers, hehe.

Anyway, this tactic kept viewers (like myself) guessing all the way to the end and that keeps their interest. Obscuring the big bad in the story is a tool I used in THE PURSUAL and it was so rewarding to have readers declare their shock. The surprises were not obvious but made sense. I can only hope I successfully repeat such a feat in another book in the future.

If you are wondering whether or not to go see Wonder Woman, I say do it. Get some popcorn, a fizzy drink and enjoy a good time.

Check out my other posts in the #writinglessons Series –

  1. #WritingLessons from Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens
  2. #WritingLessons from Nollywood
  3. #writinglessons from Independence Day Resurgence
  4. #writinglessons: Mike & Dave Need Dates
  5. #writinglessons: Star Trek Beyond

Till next time, (1)

Enter The Dark YA Fantasy Book Giveaway!

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There are 10 books up for grabs to a luck winner of The Dark YA Fantasy Book Giveaway. Some of the included books are hardbacks while others are paperback copies of novels from great authors!

I’m honored to have my book, The Pursual, included in this wonderful giveaway. Other participating authors are –

  1. Melanie McFarlane, author of Summoner Rising
  2. Rebecca Jaycox, author of The Other Inheritance
  3. C.K. Dawn, author of Cloak of Shadows
  4. Audrey Grey, author of Shadow Fall
  5. Gwynn White, author of Queen of Extinction

Three additional authors are donating books from other well-known writers –

  1. Eliza Nolan is donating The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco
  2. Jennifer Bardsley is donating Caraval by Stephanie Garber
  3. Marta Kaitids is donating A Shade of Vampire by Bella Forrest
  4. Megan Crewe is donating Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare

 

There’s no reason to delay, click HERE to enter today! Good luck!

The Multi Indie Author Sale Event

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My first book, THE PURSUAL, is one of over 150 ebooks in the Multi Indie Author Sale Event.

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100+ authors have one or more of their books on sale for $.99 or FREE for this two-day event. (There are a few listings under the British pound £). Some may be on Amazon only or on other sites. Watch this short video for the names of the participating authors.

While the authors, in good faith, tried to ensure the sale prices were up in time for the event, sometimes the book sites have a delay in changing the prices. So please double-check that the book is either $.99 or FREE before you click to purchase. The organizers of this event are not responsible for any books failing to be listed at the sale prices during the event.

For more fun, join us on Facebook on April 19th and 20th for author takeovers and contests! https://www.facebook.com/events/1347821225278586

Want a chance to win a $100 Amazon Gift Card? Check out our Rafflecopter from 4/15/17 to 4/20/17. Click here for Rafflecopter

#ThePursual got a blog review!

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My first book, The Pursual, is now out and getting some nice reviews. I didn’t think to seek out blogger reviews but now that it received one from the Butterfly Mentions blog, I think it might be time to work on that.

Thank you, Butterfly Mentions for the kind review and assessment of the book.

Mosey on over to the blog to get a look at the review.

The Pursual can be found on Amazon here and to purchase at other retailers, please click here.