MEET MY CHARACTER Blog Hop!

I was invited to participate in a blog hop titled: “Meet My Character Blog Tour” by the lovely and talented Regina Kammer – thank you Regina!! This blog hop highlights a main character from an author’s work-in-progress (WIP) or recently published or soon-to-be-published work. Regina Kammer introduced Joseph Phillips from her Historical Erotica, Disobedience by Design, which I am currently reading and thoroughly enjoying! In this book, which takes place mainly in England in 1860, Joseph is a very experienced and quite gorgeous 21 year old American from NYC. Read more aboutJoseph and Disobedience by Design! More links can be found at the bottom of this entry.

The Character from my Destiny Series that I will briefly discuss here is… dun dun dun... LIZZY

1) What is the name of your character?  Is he/she fictional or a historic person?

Her full name is Elisabetta Moretti but everyone calls her Lizzy. She is fictional but please don’t tell her that. She may come after you.

2) When and where is the story set?

The story is set in modern day Sicily, Italy.

3) What should we know about him/her?

Lizzy grows up, the only daughter of a hard working fisherman, in a small Sicilian fishing village some 77 kilometers from the capital of Palermo. She has no mother but she does have a brother that she's never met.

Lizzy becomes a trained thief possessing the paranormal abilities of telepathy and mind control. She's endowed with at least 2 other abilities that are not fully realized until much later. In book 1 Lizzy is a young girl, growing up in Sicily. In book 2 Lizzy is 23 years old, while traversing the Atlantic, aboard a vast ocean liner. In book 2 Lizzy is introduced to her soul mate Vincent. Lizzy, is a stunning Sicilian female of course, who, though well versed in all areas of self defense and other criminal underground activities, is naïve in the ways of love and life.

4) What is the main conflict? What messes up his/her life?

In Book 1 - Lizzy’s main conflict is that she doesn’t fit in. She has no friends as a young child and feels like an outsider looking in. All she wants is to belong… so when she finally finds a place where she does feel a part of - she becomes internally torn because this place is teaching her the prowess needed to be part of the criminal underground. These new skills and new friends come with a price she’s not sure she can pay. In order to truly be a “part of” Lizzy must abandon her father and ultimately relinquish her own integrity.

5) What is the personal goal of the character?

She wants to be loved and accepted for who she is not for what she can or can’t do. She spends a lot of time proving herself and trying to build up a family from a wild cast of characters all imbued with paranormal abilities, who are misfits just like herself.

6) Is there a working title for this novel, and can we read more about it?

The working title is Exquisite Destiny and it is now a projected 5 book series currently being called The Destiny Series. It took on a life of its own and sprouted babies.

7) When can we expect the book to be published?

That’s a good question and I don’t have an answer to that yet. I am currently re-writing book 2. The bulk of Book 2 was written during NaNoWriMo 2013. Book 1 will be written during NaNo 2014. My website will be updated with current information but I’m hoping for Spring 2015 at the latest.

More about the Meet My Characters blog hop!

I was tagged by Regina Kammer who introduced the dashing young Joseph Phillips in her Meet my Character Blog Post.

Regina Kammer is a librarian, an art historian, and best-selling, multi-published writer of erotica and historical erotic romance. She has been published by Cleis Press, Go Deeper Press, Ellora’s Cave, House of Erotica, and her own imprint, Viridium Press. She began writing historical fiction with romantic elements during NaNoWriMo 2006, switching to erotica when all her characters suddenly demanded to have sex.

You can follow Regina on:

Twitter-@Kammerotica

Her website and blog

I’ve tagged Kayla Hampton and Maya Goode who will be posting their blog spots on August 25^th

Kayla Hampton has always been fascinated by the dark and sexy creatures that live in our dreams (or nightmares).  Bringing these characters to life in her books is what she wants to do when she “grows up”.  When Kayla is not writing passionate stories of love and war, she loves spending time with her husband and daughter on the Canadian West Coast. 

Follow Kayla:

Website: kaylahampton.com

Blog: http://kaylahampton.com/blog

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KHamptonBooks

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kayla-Hampton/208367729335283

Maya Goode is a short story author, novelist, and poet. Raised by an amazing mercurial woman who shared neither blood nor race, she lives on the edge of identities and writes deeply honest stories about the human journey. She is an alumna of Dominican University of California and resides somewhere between mountains and the ocean. Her first novel, Remigium Rising, will be published in Spring 2015. You can visit her at www.mayagoode.com

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

Google Plus https://plus.google.com/+quotidianlight
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/user/quotidianlight

Reading...

If you’re a writer, chances are good that you’re also a reader. If you’re a writer who doesn’t read… this is like when you’re doing improv and instead of your partner saying “yes and” they say “no”. The buck stops here. Insert the screeching sound of a needle on a record player for those of you young enough to remember turntables.

I am a voracious reader. I read every single day. I read fiction and I read non-fiction. The reason I’m writing on this blog topic is to motivate. Maybe that’s the goal of all of my blog topics. They do say each author has one motivation/story that she/he tells over and over in every book. My character’s motivation is the same in my 2 novels, though they are very different characters. My “motivation” in each of my blog entries has been the same = motivation. I guess what they say is true. It’s how you arrive at it that’s different and isn’t the journey the key, not the destination?

In order to write a specific genre you must read that specific genre. Simple yes and true. If you’re a sci-fi writer, you need to read sci-fi. If you’re a mystery writer, you need to read mysteries. Every successful author will also tell you to write what moves you, not what you think may sell. That is sage advice as well. If you write for a specific market or trend that’s not really what you’re interested in: 1. It will show and your voice and passion will be flat. 2. By the time you’re ready to publish, the trend will have changed. 3. Every other wanna-be author has already tried to break in to that “hot new trend” and now the market is overly saturated with say: “the next 50 shades” and no agent or publisher or reader (if you’re self published) wants to read book #256 with the exact same premise as book #255.

Write what you know, read what you love - but the key words here are “write” and “read”. You don’t have time to read but you want to be a writer? Make time. Stop watching TV and read instead. Whatever it takes or it’ll never happen. Once it becomes a habit you won’t be able to stop. I’ve been reading before sleep for more years than I can remember and now I can’t, or don’t want to, sleep without doing it. Personally I change genres. I love reading a few different ones so I skip around. From sci-fi to fantasy to chicklit to regency and more. I also get CDs of books at the library and listen to books while I drive. Thus I am always “reading” at least 2 fiction books at a time.

I also read writing books, I love reading books on “how to write”, “what to write”, “when to write”, “why to write”. I have a list of my favorites which I may copy down and post here sometime. These books are not only motivators to write, they contain practical, useful knowledge. Chances are if you’re reading this blog now, you’re a reader as well as a writer, which is wonderful! Now go out and change the world (in a good way)!

NaNoWriMo

Thanks to NaNoWriMo (National November Writer's Month) I wrote my novel in a month! And since I wrote, scrapped, rewrote and scrapped again I really did have to start from scratch.

I do realize NaNo did not write my novel for me but because of NaNo I did it! Finally, it's done - well it's not really done yet but the first draft is in the can. Do I look different? Not really. Do I feel different? Most definitely! I feel accomplished. I feel like I can do anything now, even bungie jump if I so choose.

In October I had never heard of NaNo but all of my complaining was finally heard and two women in particular told me of the challenge and I boldly accepted. Actually they pretty much made me promise I'd try and made me promise to stop complaining.

Locking myself in the house for the month - not at all - I hammered out 50,000 words. The truth of the matter is that I went on with my full life. I worked full time (overtime actually), I kept up with my insane exercise routine, I saw my friends, I walked my dog.... Where then did I eek out that extra 2 hours a day that I didn't have before NaNo? At night when I got home from my long, tired, busy days.

I am up at 6am (or 7am) and out of the house by 8:30am to return at 10 or 11pm - most days of the week. When I got home I sat down and cranked out 2,000 words. What did I used to do when I got home? Watch TV shows I love, read, play with the pets, cook. I gave my nights up for the month of November and all I did was write.

There was a fun writing group formed that met at the local coffee shop one night a week where a guy named Ken stood over me my first night in attendance (without my knowledge) and then I heard his voice "what are you doing?" I looked up from google, confused. "I'm researching." He shook his head, "you can do that later, after NaNo, after November. In November all you do is write. If you don't know how to describe something you write 'describe place here' and move on." Thank you Ken. I honestly don't think I would have finished the 50,000 words if you hadn't told me that and then looked over my shoulder occasionally to make sure I was "just writing".

Is it finished and ready to be published? Not yet. I have a critique partner or two, I have a massive support group, I've moved on to my next book and soon - the rewrites will begin. Rewriting and editing and more of the same. Call me crazy but I love that part!