November Kindle Vella Blog Hop

Hi Everyone!

I hope that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving with your friends and family and wishing you all a wonderful holiday season.

Here are some great reads to enjoy and unwind with during this busy time 🙂

Genre: Family, Coming of Age

An Operator’s Daughter
 
Finding inner strength to overcome the obstacles of changing living situations and high schools, 17-year-old Ashton overcomes severe anxiety, fights back against sexual harassment, and attempts to rebuild a relationship with her grieving Navy SEAL Veteran father.

When her own budding relationship with a Special Warfare Operator begins to parallel her parents’ love-at-first story, she must decide whether the life she grew up with is the one she wishes to continue living into the future.

Laurie Anne Brandon’s writing draws upon her experiences as a military educational counselor, high school teacher, and years working in television production. She contributes to the Kindle-Vella anthology group called Vellains Florilegium which released a horror anthology, Season 1: Horrors of SinteTek Anthology, in October and will release a collection of short stories with the theme of life after death in December.
 
https://www.amazon.com/kindle-vella/story/B09HGM2GJX
 
Find her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/laurie.brandon.12 (https://www.facebook.com/laurie.brandon.12)

Genre: Sci-fi/Fantasy

Forsaken Beauty and the Etherbeast

Kelsey Josephson

A bookish strongwoman longs for freedom.

A beast searches for a cure.

Together, they’ll break man-made curses.

After her own father sells her to the unscrupulous Ringmaster, Belle thinks she’ll spend the rest of her days performing cheap stunts while the Nuzaran masses gawk at her ether-poisoned body. A chance encounter with a beast by her solitary campfire changes everything. Can they find liberation or will the past consume them both?

I have a deep love for Universal Monster movies, all things related to Nikola Tesla, and iced coffee. The first two things fuel my creativity and the latter keeps me motivated! You can check my other works on my website: https://simplykelseyjo.com/

Genre : Romantic Fantasy

My Time or Yours: King’s Road Season One

By Elizabeth Ash

She crossed time to save him. She wasn’t supposed to fall in love. “I don’t want to leave you,” she whispers, and his eyes swirl with intensity as he gazes up at her. “I’ll be here when you return,” he says. “I promise.” Maybe he doesn’t hate her. Maybe he will forgive her. Maybe she won’t have to figure out how to live without him. She came to stop a war and save a kingdom. Now all that matters is saving him.

I live in the middle of the woods of the Pacific Northwest, where I keep a wary eye out for sasquatch. So far, he hasn’t revealed himself, but the trees around me are the inspiration for many of the forest scenes in my stories. https://www.facebook.com/ElizabethAshBooks/

A Forest of Stolen Memories 

By Callie Thomas

Genre: YA Fantasy/Sweet Romance

Celebration turns to disaster when a mysterious curse goes awry. A reminder that the Sorcerer’s prophecy still plagued the royal family. Roselyn’s memory is suddenly erased, leaving her panicked at the altar. Confused, she flees to the place the prince fears most–the enchanted Mistbrooke Forest. Danger lingers closer than she can imagine, forcing her to seek help from a dark stranger who may be the key to recovering her lost memories. Can she break the curse without breaking her heart?

Author Note:

A lot of inspiration for my forest descriptions comes from the tropical island where I’m stationed: Okinawa, Japan.

** Check out my Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorCallieThomas/

Genre: Romantic Comedy

FAKING IT WITH THE BACHELOR

THE BACHELOR meets MISS CONGENIALITY

After an Army vet who’s looking for love begins falling for the date planner of the reality dating program he’s set to star on, the show’s producers trick the jaded staffer into posing as a contestant for one night to save the show’s tarnished reputation. To keep her job, she needs this season’s star to find love. He needs her to give him her heart to get his happy ending.

What can go wrong when she gets a rose? Then another?

 I have four books out in my Bad Karma Special Ops romantic suspense series. Not only do I write Army heroes, I volunteer at the USO, but not singing and dancing (much.) I have a sense of humor and am not afraid to use it. I’m an extrovert writer and you can interact with me on Facebook and Instagram.

https://www.facebook.com/tracybrodyauthor/

https://www.instagram.com/tracybrodybooks/

Genre: Motorcycle Club Romance 

We Own These Streets 

A deadly accident. A fake identity only known by friends. And a truth that changes everything.

When Victor broke into Iris’ repair shop, she expected a profit raid, not an unknown racer fit for the pro-circuit. But their unintentional attraction provides a chance to get what they both want: a way out. When adrenaline remains the most addictive commodity in a corporate sponsored world, it’s hard to know who to trust and who is trying to sell you something. The race is on, but can they ever stop?

In addition to writing science fiction and fantasy, I always aim to infuse those genres with representation because I think stories become beautifully more complex and truer to life for it. You can check more about me at www.RoseSinclair.com or on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/roseoverchaos.

Genre: Romance

An Italian Christmas

Recently widowed, Casey Hargrove, returns to work in an attempt to get through the holidays without a constant reminder that she will spend it alone. Work isn’t exactly how she left it though. Lucas Santori, an Acquisition Consultant, has been hired to help sell the business. When the business is sold to an Italian company, Casey is offered an opportunity to spend the Christmas season in Italy.

Will her Italian Christmas be the fresh start she’s been looking for?

When I’m not writing, you can find me on my paddleboard or snuggling my chocolate lab. https://www.instagram.com/darling_davenport

Genre: Supernatural/YA

True Vision

Do the past, present, and future exist simultaneously? Is it really possible for Heaven and Earth to intersect?

Marcus Hanes is struggling to cope with the death of his grandfather, when he comes across a few of his vintage belongings. The items are an odd looking compass, a pair of reading glasses, and a journal. For sentimental reasons, he toys with the compass and suddenly finds himself facing in the opposite direction. Upon sharing the experience with his cousins, they discern that the glasses could hold power as well. What they discover next is a level of truth that will alter their existence forever. 

Writing about ordinary people who experience extraordinary things is my passion. To learn more about my other literary works, please visit the link below. https://linktr.ee/MHandy1

Genre: Fantasy

Elianora

Driven by her past to the very edge of the kingdom, Elianora vows to spend the rest of her life atoning for that day when her world was shattered.

But fate, as it turns out, is not done with her yet.

With a soulmate trying to win her heart and the threat of war looming on the horizon, will she be able to cling to her vow of atonement or will she end up taking a path that she never expected?

In addition to writing Urban Fantasy, one of the things I love to do is write fanfiction. You can check it all out here on my blog in addition to my original works.

https://theseekerfiles.wordpress.com/

Genre: Urban Fantasy/Slow Burn Romance A fast pace, Urban Fantasy tale with slow burn romance. Suggested age for reading is 18-up.

I never thought I’d be running the family business alone, but a freak hunting accident left Fenris, my Direwolf companion and me half-dead. Luckily, we pulled through, but my dad he didn’t make it. Now I am searching for the people responsible for his death while digging up the pieces of secrets he kept.

About the author: Adalynd Grayves is the name  and writing darker fiction is my game. When writing my stories, I like to take a pinch of monster, a dash of myth, and add a sprinkle of fairytales into the mix. I’ve been in anthologies in the past, but I’m currently working on publishing my first novel releasing  in 2022 ( official date TBA) and I  have my Kindle Vella serial out and ready to read now.  You can find all my links here:
https://linktr.ee/AdalyndGrayves

October Kindle Vella Blog Hop

Wow, the year is just flying by! I can’t believe that we’re at the end of October already.

So, because we made it through yet another month, treat yourself to one (or more) of these neat Vella stories.

Genre : Romantic Fantasy

Elven Heartbound by Elizabeth Ash

Born of elven magic. Bound to an elven prince.

All her life, Arisanna has been destined to wed the son of the elf king, and now the elves have come to collect. Nothing, however, goes as expected when the elves arrive to claim her. Despite their misunderstandings, Arisanna agrees to wed the aloof elf prince with whom she’s been heartbound since before her birth.

Is the prince as hard as he seems? Or is there more to him than meets the eye?

I live in the middle of the woods of the Pacific Northwest, where I keep a wary eye out for sasquatch. So far, he hasn’t revealed himself, but the trees around me are the inspiration for many of the forest scenes in my stories. https://www.facebook.com/ElizabethAshBooks/

Genre: Urban Fantasy/Slow Burn Romance

A fast pace, Urban Fantasy tale with slow burn romance. Suggested age for reading is 18-up.

I never thought I’d be running the family business alone, but a freak hunting accident left Fenris, my Direwolf companion and me half-dead. Luckily, we pulled through, but my dad he didn’t make it. Now I am searching for the people responsible for his death while digging up the pieces of secrets he kept.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B097DBXGWF

About the author: Adalynd Grayves  is  the name  and writing darker fiction is my game. When writing my stories, I like to take a pinch of monster, a dash of myth, and add a sprinkle of fairytales into the mix. I’ve been in anthologies in the past, but I’m currently working on publishing my first novel releasing  in 2022 ( official date TBA) and I  have my Kindle Vella serial out and ready to read now.  You can find all my links here:
https://linktr.ee/AdalyndGrayves

Genre: Non-Fiction

Building Your Readership by LaShaunda Hoffman

The hardest part about promoting a book is finding your readers.  Inside this book I share 10 ways to start building your readership.  Each episode gives you tips and action steps you can implement after each episode.

https://amzn.to/2Xg1JsK

Hello I’m LaShaunda Hoffman. I’ve promoted books for 20+ years. I started an online magazine – Shades Of Romance and it taught me how to build a readership.  I’m currently working on my first women’s fiction book.  I’ve been enjoying this journey on Kindle Vella.    

You can find me on Facebook, Instagram, Clubhouse and TikTok.

http://lashaundahoffman.com

Genre: Dystopian/Steampunk/Sci-Fi

Beneath Gehenna

After an alert goes out to the paying members of the disaster bunker known as New Eden, residents find themselves trapped between two vastly different worlds: one that preys on trauma and one that creates it. Now, a newly wealthy yet troubled man and his new friends must find a way to live with the Hell they bought or return to the Hell which remains.

https://www.amazon.com/kindle-vella/product/B09CZK57GP

Benjamin ran with scissors when he was five. He now writes, paints, uses sharp woodworking tools and plays with glue. Sometimes he does these things at the same time. You can read more at https://www.bxwretlind.com/ where he writes blog articles focused (mostly) on writing.

Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Forsaken Beauty and the Etherbeast by Kelsey Josephson

A bookish strongwoman longs for freedom.

A beast searches for a cure.

Together, they’ll break man-made curses.

After her own father sells her to the unscrupulous Ringmaster, Belle thinks she’ll spend the rest of her days performing cheap stunts while the Nuzaran masses gawk at her ether-poisoned body. A chance encounter with a beast by her solitary campfire changes everything. Can they find liberation or will the past consume them both?

I have a deep love for Universal Monster movies, all things related to Nikola Tesla, and iced coffee. The first two things fuel my creativity and the latter keeps me motivated! You can check my other works on my website: https://simplykelseyjo.com/

Genre: Fantasy

Fight or Flight: A Cinderella Tale of Court Intrigue

Who doesn’t love a Cinderella story?

However, the stories never tell of what happens after the Prince finds his Bride and Cinderella finds her ‘Happily Ever After’. What should be a happily ever after for Alyssa quickly becomes a game of survival as she tries to navigate a hostile court and those who are eyeing her position next to the prince.

Will she manage to win the game or will the strike of midnight only declare the beginning of her doom?

In addition to writing Urban Fantasy, one of the things I love to do is write fanfiction. You can check it all out here on my blog in addition to my original works.

Home

Genre: YA Dystopian

Death Date

People tell you to live life to the fullest. Take your time. Don’t make rash decisions. I should have listened. Maybe it would have made a difference. Tomorrow is my eighteenth birthday. A day that’s supposed to be special. Eighteen years old means adulthood. Life is just starting. That’s how it used to be, years ago. Before our new society formed. Instead, I face uncertainty. My past sways the outcome. On this birthday, I will receive the most important gift. The gift of the date I will die. 

Death Date | Kindle Vella (amazon.com)

In addition to writing YA Dystopian, I also write YA Fantasy. You can check out more about my projects on Facebook-  https://www.facebook.com/authorbysimpson/ and on Instagram

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Not Your Angel

Two worlds, two wings, and one big problem ex…

With the return of her childhood ex-boyfriend, Silana and her family must stop pretending to play normal and embrace who they really are in order to save the world from a disastrous past love eager for new worshippers. The only problem is that Earth already believes in angels.

About The Authors: Some friendships never die. This co-written story is by two life-long friends! Follow one of the authors on instagram @RoseOverChaos for more bookish friends. https://www.instagram.com/roseoverchaos

Genre: Coming of Age, Family and High School Drama, Romance

An Operator’s Daughter

When jettisoned into dysfunctional family and new high school, 17-year-old Ashton must overcome severe anxiety and fight back against sexual harassment, while attempting to rebuild a relationship with her grieving Navy SEAL Veteran father. She questions whether or not history should repeat itself while seeking her own happiness when her own budding relationship with a Special Warfare Operator begins to parallel her parents’ love-at-first-sight story as told within the pages her mother’s journals.

Laurie Anne Brandon writes based upon her experiences as a military academic counselor, high school teacher, years of working television production and as an alpine ski instructor. She lives with her husband, three cats and golden retriever in suburban Western Washington.

Find her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/laurie.brandon.12

Genre: Mystery/Suspense/YA

The 7^th Whistleblower

Claire, a journalism student at Brunston University has stumbled onto quite a few secrets about B.U.s alumnae. Outing the culprits might not only destroy the guilty, but take down the innocent as well. Travel with Claire Richardson as she navigates a sticky trail of clues that will ultimately force her to choose between what is good and what is evil.

The 7th Whistleblower | Kindle Vella (amazon.com)

Every since I was a young girl I absolutely loved watching Mystery and Suspense movies with my mother. The art of a story unfolding to reveal the larger picture inspires me to create characters whose curiosity pushes them to find the truth. 

Visit my Link Tree for more info on current works @ https://linktr.ee/MHandy1

I hope that you find one of these amazing stories to your taste 🙂

Happy Saturday!

How to Find Your Writing Style – Author Toolbox

 

Now, this may seem like common sense. You already know how to write and you have your preferred methods. Doesn’t matter if you are a pantser or a plotter, you know how to write and you’ve most likely been doing it for some time now. However, you pause for a moment, maybe she’s talking about actual style, like APA, Chicago, or MLA. While I would like to cover the differences and uses of them someday, that is NOT what I am talking about. I am talking about your own personal writing style. Everyone is different and beautifully unique and your writing style reflects that. So I want to dig a little deeper into it and maybe you’ll find something that resonates with you.

 

I was homeschooled along with my 3 brothers from Kindergarten through 12^th grade. This enabled me to find out some unique things about learning styles and how to teach them as my mother put together our curriculum. So let’s start off with the basics. There are three main learning styles: Visual, Auditory, and Kinesthetic.

 

Visual: You learn best by watching and reading. You tend to absorb information through observation, watching and reading and then turning it over in your mind before storing it away to be pulled out at a later time. This is my learning style

 

Auditory: You learn best by listening. You tend to absorb information better that is presented orally, maybe has music, or from watching a video than from reading about it. Many times, auditory people will turn their face away from you or close their eyes while you speak. This is not an insult. In fact, it’s a sign that they are paying close attention and are tuning out other distractions so that they can listen to you fully. My older brother is an auditory learner.

 

Kinesthetic: You learn best by doing. You tend to absorb information best when you can jump right in and participate. Your type of learning is hands on and you’re usually not afraid to join right in with whatever is going on. My middle brother’s learning style was this one.

 

One the other hand, no one tends to be just one learning style, although they do have a primary learning style. For example, I am primarily a visual learner, with a secondary auditory. So when I write, I usually have no problem writing and searching info, but if I have music playing in the background, it helps me focus better.

 

So what does all of this have to do with writing? Well, now that I’ve explained the three types, I’ll share some tips that might help if you get stuck while writing. So for this post, I’m going to keep the focus fairly narrow, although I could go on about this all day. Learning styles are one of my favorite topics 😊 Still, I’m just going to go with character development for the purpose of this post.

 

 

Visual

 

In this case, internet and magazines are your friend. When you create a character, explore names and their different meanings. For example, your character is European, what country do they come from? Look for names that come from that country and a meaning that fits the main characteristic of your character, like strength, bravery, wisdom, cunning, cowardice, darkness, wanderer, etc. Or go onto an internet browser or Pinterest and search for images that draw you in. For example, does dark hair catch your attention more than other colors? Maybe you want to make your character unique, so you look for uncommon traits, like different colored eyes. If there is a place that is a mainstay in your writing, take the time to figure out all of the visual details. Urban or country? Indoors or outdoors? New or old building? Bright colors or earth tones? Work your way all the way down to the small details, like the tread pattern worn on the carpet and the type of bulb in the light fixtures. When you have visual images fully filled out, you can fully visualize how your characters will move through these settings.

 

Auditory

 

Focus on the auditory aspects of your character. Can they sing? What sort of voice do they have, raspy, smooth, dry, smoky, sultry, even, cracked? What sort of music do they listen to? Classical? Heavy Metal because they are going through a rebellious phase or simply because they can lose themselves in it? Indie? Pop? When they walk, what do their footsteps sound like, a smooth tread, a heavy tread, hesitant with a slight drag to it from an old injury? Do they dance as they walk or simply plod along? If you have a main place in your writing, think about it. Do the hinges squeak when the doors open or are they silent? Do certain spots on the floor squeak, a leftover from when cousin George spilled something in that spot? Are you in an urban or country setting? Each place will have their own unique soundtrack to explore. Also, I suggest listening to music as you write. Each character will have their own unique song/soundtrack that will develop as you get to know them better.

 

Kinesthetic

 

Now, you say, how can I possibly turn this into writing? I mean, I’m writing a space opera, how in the world am I supposed to do space things? Or I’m writing fantasy, so where would I find a werewolf, etc? Well, actually, this isn’t as bad as you think it might be, in fact, you’ll probably actually have some fun with this. You get to act. Stuck on how to do character development? Get physical. Find a wall and measure out the heights that you’re thinking about for the different characters and mark them with something removable, like sticky notes. This way, you can alter as needed. Do the heights work together or is there too much of a difference or a similarity? After all, heights that are the same are boring unless you’re trying to sneak into a cloning facility where everyone is 5’7.83” tall and that’s your characters height. Trying to figure out how your character would walk or react in a certain situation? Try it yourself. For example, your character might have a slight limp because one foot is an inch shorter than the other. Find something that is an inch thick and foot sized, then strap it on one foot and try to walk across the room. Your character has a food allergy or will only eat a certain type of food, try cooking with these limitations and get a feel for the flavors. Your only limitation is your imagination. Run wild.

 

 

So I could write about these three styles all day, but in the interest of length, I shall stop here for now. Hopefully these tips helped and please let me know of your own experiences. Happy Wednesday Everyone!!

Facing Your Fears – Author Toolbox

I haven’t been a published author very long, just a little over six months at this point. If you had told me even I year ago that I would have published not one, but two books, I would’ve looked at you skeptically and probably walked away.

Let me share a bit of backstory with you. I have been writing for as long as I can remember. I don’t even remember learning how to read and I know that I’ve been writing for just as long. Now, I can’t look back at my early stories without rolling my eyes and groaning a bit. They were basically one long run-on sentence with very little in the way of grammar. Still, I am fond of those early attempts because they show my love of writing.

However, when I was fifteen, I completed my first novel. It was my pride and joy and I had spent countless hours working on it. Filled with youthful surety and confidence as only a teenager can be, I sent my manuscript out in search of a publisher. Unfortunately, I fell into the trap of a vanity publisher. After waiting months to hear back, I was told that they could indeed publish my manuscript, for the hefty sum of $4,000. Needless to say, I was crushed. Afterwards, I stopped showing my writing to anyone. I didn’t stop writing, but I stopped sharing it with anyone, including my family.

It’s been over a decade since that happened. I set aside my dream of becoming an author and pursued other goals. I finished college, became a librarian and then an entrepreneur, traveled overseas, and even have started the journey to becoming a black belt. But I still felt empty inside, unfulfilled. And despite everything, I never stopped writing. Some stories were good, some not so much, but I couldn’t deny the urge to write. Last year, I got fed up with hiding and decided to go big. I wrote my first novel in just under a month and published it. It was one of the most exhausting things that I’ve ever done, but I had never felt so alive and satisfied.

So now that I’ve practically written another novel in this post, what does all of this have to do with facing your fears? I want to share with you what I’ve learned and hopefully some tricks that will help your overcome your fears.

1) Embrace your uniqueness

Now this may seem patently obvious, but please bear with me. So many times when we’re writing something, fear loves to whisper in our ears. We start to doubt ourselves, what makes us qualified to write something? Who are we to think think that we have something special to say? Why do we think we can put a new spin on something that’s been written about a hundred times before? But the truth is, we can show something new, something unique. People see the world differently. Ten people can see the exact same situation and then tell you ten entirely different versions of the event. No one can see the story like you can. And when you stay true to yourself, that genuineness will draw others to you and your writing. So don’t try to be what’s popular or mainstream. Be yourself and tell your story your way. That’s what people really want to see.

2) Staring down the blank page

For me, the hardest part of any story is starting. You’ve had a story running around in your brain for weeks. Your characters have become your constant companions, whispering their stories into your ear day and night. So you pull out a pen and paper or sit down at the computer and…. nothing. Your characters have fled into the ether and all you’re left with is a gnawing in your gut and sweaty palms. The blinking cursor seems to be growing ever larger, mocking you with the pristine whiteness of the page. This moment can be pivotal, as you can either walk away or gut through it. Don’t give in to the blank page fears, your story deserves to be told. So take a deep breath and shove aside the worries about having the perfect hook and first chapter. All of that will come later. Right now, just start writing. It doesn’t even have to be the story line. Describe a character, write a scenery element, describe one of your characters favorite foods. Once you get words on the page, even if it’s only a handful, the fear of the blank page will magically diminish. Your characters will cautiously creep back and before you know it, they will be as loud and insistent as ever, wanting their story told right.

3) Perfectionism

This is one of the biggest fears of any writer. I can literally tear my work apart, criticize it until I’m to paralyzed, until I can’t write anything at all. In fact, I’m the hardest critic of my work. What you need to learn to do is turn off the inner critic. Instead, just write. Write the whole story. When you reread to clarify the story in your mind, turn off your inner editor and just focus on the story. Instead let the story flow and write until it’s done. There will be time to go back and edit, time to go back and fix all of the small mistakes, but don’t take away the joy of writing by focusing on making it exactly right. That will come later. And truthfully? Most of what seems glaringly obvious to you, other people will not see at all.

Bonus:

Have fun. So many people think that writers are chained to their desks, scribbling or typing feverishly. They are stereotyped as being odd, super introverted, having weird quirks. While this is maybe true for a few, for the vast majority it is simply not. Authors tend to be fully engaged in life, always looking for something new, something that they can take and share with others through their books. They have stories that they want to share because they add color and joy to their lives. So live each day to the fullest, engage with the world around you, because you never know what you will find that will be worth sharing.

I really appreciate being invited to join in this blog hop by Author Toolbox. If you want to learn more check it out here:

To continue hopping through other great blogs in the monthly #AuthorToolboxBlogHop or to join, click here.

 

Also, I would like to share real briefly, I just released the second book in my series The Seeker Files yesterday. If you would like to check it out, you can find it here: In Search of Healing: Seeker Files bk 2

Happy Wednesday Everyone!