Today’s tryst through the blog-o-sphere during my merry jaunt on a fantastic virtual book tour takes me to The Writing Room 101 with a very fun and thorough interview with yours truly 😉 And on Mamma Bear Musings you’ll find Debra Mauldin’s official book review (this is Debra’s site) which I posted on Infinite Pathways yesterday.
I’m having a blast with this tour and I can’t wait for Saturday’s book launch at Chapters/Indigo in Brampton.
Today started off with a bang as I shared a book review of Time’s Tempest on my aspiring writers website Infinite Pathways. This was followed up with a character interview of the protagonist Taya on the sci-fi book site GODMODE. It’s a short interview – check it out if you have a spare moment 🙂
Last night was a lot of fun as my book Time’s Tempest was included in the launch of a new collection at my local library. Called “Read Local Caledon” the collection is made up of writers who live within or just outside of the town of Caledon’s boarders. We get a special spine label and a place on the front page of the website.
The authors being celebrated each had half a table in the main room to meet n’ greet the public and sell a few books. It was a wonderful evening full of smiles and laughter… even at the very end of the evening when coffee flew from a cup and landed on my book display! Luckily it only ruined a bunch of business cards, a few flyers, and one book… and since it was a library rep who belonged to the offending coffee, the book in question was immediately purchased with apologies.
At the time it didn’t even dawn on me that all the books I had on display might have been ruined for one simple beverage spill… I laughed it off but later wondered how might I have reacted had the worst happened?
I honestly don’t know… I think I probably still would’ve laughed and then cried on my drive home. No author wants to see their ‘baby’ disfigured but more importantly, when you’re on a tight budget every book with a mark or stain becomes one less you can sell.
Here are some pictures from the event 🙂
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I didn’t know I had a shy bone in my body until I was 11 years old.
Now, that’s a long time to be around and not know something like that about yourself. So, how did I find out this little nugget of wisdom? By attending a new school for the first time in my life.
I went two week without speaking to anyone other than the teacher and no one showed any kind of interest in me – at all. I was the outsider. In my old school, no matter how many times I moved to a new house I had my foundation set in stone – my Grandmother’s house was “home” and my elementary school an extension of that and I was the kid everyone knew.
So imagine being ripped from the life you’ve always known and tossed into a strange place where there were no footings, only quick sand. I learned a lot about myself marooned at that new school (and the next one I attended prior to high school). I am both strong and weak; smart and naive, loving and spiteful, shy and bold.
It’s hard enough for a girl to go through puberty at such an early age and deal with all of these conflicting sides to my personality but in a strange environment with hostile peers it became a nightmare. Let’s just say there were moments of glory (as lead in the school-wide Christmas Play) and moments of despair (wondering if I should just run away).
My main character in Time’s Tempest, Taya, faces whether or not she truly knows herself and how the events of her childhood helped shape the woman she became – be it for good or bad.
This fluctuation in knowing yourself and self-discovery do not just happen at puberty. Throughout our lives we grow and change and often it happens without our knowledge – one day we’re just different: high school, break-up, marriage, death of a loved one…
However, I must say that all throughout my life the one think that’s always remained the same is my contradictory nature 😛
What about you? Do you have a constant?
For anyone who’s been waiting for the official online launch of Time’s Tempest, today is the day 😀
Just head to your favourite AMAZON retailer (.com/.ca/.uk/etc.) and you’ll find both the print and e-versions of the book.
If you’re a fan of print and prefer Barnes & Noble then they also have copies available for purchase.
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A Few Notes:
Two day’s ago I attended my first local book event called Bookfest run by the Vaughan Libraries.
It was a fantastic day for sun and books!
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My virtual book tour is expected to be as equally impressive as my physical one.
Check out my EVENTS page for tour stops all this month
and into the early days of November.
If you’re interested in winning a free copy of Time’s Tempest and a limited edition print version of The Lost Chapters then follow me on my blog tour and gain new ballot opportunities at every stop. The giveaway draw will take place on November 3rd.
Now is the time – celebrate Time’s Tempest with me 😀
M.J.
I’m beginning to think it’s a prerequisite for authors to have split personalities.
Not the official diagnosis but the conceptual one.
I was just thinking about how terribly I’ve been procrastinating on one particular job all this week – every time I think of it, I see a looming and daunting task that I just want to run away from… and effectively have been by doing other things instead of it.
My protagonist, Taya, does not procrastinate.
So how does a master procrastinator get inside the head of a doer?
Well, my OCD handicap just happens to be organizational – I have a need (not an unhealthy one) for everything to be in its place. I orchestrate events (or just simply plan going out of the house) down to the last minute of detail.
Consider how much I have accomplished in this past week – how organized I am with my coming blog tour in October, dealing with book reviewers and author membership sites to help get the word out about me and my new book. I write fresh content for my writers website Infinite Pathways nearly every day, I just finished one edit for a Victorian Mystery writer in Canada and I’m about to conclude another manuscript edit for a Contemporary Supernatural Horror writer in Australia. I’ve accomplished more in one week than many authors manage in a month or even a year sometimes.
So, even though I procrastinate – I’m a doer, like Taya. I understand the drive and the need to achieve something in a day.
As writers we can’t help but include a little bit (or more) of ourselves within our writing and our characters. Personal experience is what brings flat words on a page to life and the more honest we are the more real our work becomes.
And there you have it: on top of being a jack-of-all-trades, I can’t even keep my identity straight… No wonder Taya nearly looses her mind – I can’t even keep my own straight – lol!
Do you have a split side to your personality?
Uncovering Truths – Time’s Tempest Lost Chapter 4 is now available for free download!
[The Gauntlet: Lost Chapter 1]Â Â Â Â [A Probationary Effect: Lost Chapter 2]Â Â Â Â [The Platinum Hall Debacle – Lost Chapter 3]
Now that Dezmind knows the truth about his past, he’s breached the Talian Compound in search of the key to his future. Dealing with the common citizens of Xannia’s largest city, Darzeth Prime, makes his search for the lost child difficult at best, impossible at worst. How much is he willing to risk to fulfil his destiny?
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In my previous blog I touched on the ideas of fate, destiny and truth. These ideas are the fundamental thrust behind the main story Time’s Tempest.
Some citizens believe the government will handle the ensuing environmental crisis while others believe the government is only hiding the truth from the people.
One son of a high-ranking Council Member of the elite race of the Talians believes he knows the truth and leaves the safety of the Government Compound to prove his theories.
His first mission, as an impressionable 18 year old, is to find the lost child… for he’s certain his future, hers, and the state of the planet depend on it.
*Â Â Â Â *Â Â Â Â *
So, the question then stands… Do I believe in a pre-ordained or genetic destiny?
Quite frankly, I’m a fence sitter. There are days when I could swear my episodes of deja-vu come from dreams I dreamt in days past, and there are times I wonder at the puppetry the average citizen faces in the hands of the government. I’d like to think our destinies are wide open and susceptible to change with our independent choices… but on the other hand, how much freedom do we really have? Is it all a delusion? Is our genetic make-up as big a factor as some claim it is? Are we constantly trying to overcome our genes to achieve what we want to get out of this life?
Heady stuff, eh?
I started out by writing a story about a man with a vision and the woman who would set him straight… a quest, a journey, an adventure in a new land – but it became so much more.
I hope you will join me on this journey October 1st, when Time’s Tempest comes available for purchase in print and e-book.
Let’s raise a glass to diversity and the promise of tomorrow 😀
Author MJ Moores