Tuesday, July 30, 2013

New release: "Untold Promise" by Caitlin Hensley

Today I am once again hosting the wonderfully talented Caitlin Hensley, to help her spread the word on he latest release, Untold Promise.



Untold Promise is book two in Caitlin's The Inhuman Chronicles series. Here's the official summary:
Haily Long’s life has been turned upside down. As she struggles to make sense of her new status as teenage witch, she experiences a series of psychic dreams about a man with a knife, whose one goal seems to be butchering her on a cold metal table. On top of that crisis, eccentric British vampire Luke wants to teach Haily witchcraft, her boyfriend Nathan is acting weird, and her annoying housemate Jake is acting weirder. Also, it seems very possible that Haily is seeing dead people. Secrets are uncovered, friendships are betrayed, and the psycho with the knife is closing in for the kill. It’s up to Haily to decipher her visions before it’s too late…

And now, Caitlin happily answers some questions for us!

When did you first get started writing? When I was very young, I scribbled on sheets of notebook paper and called it writing. So I’ve been a writer for almost all of my life, really. But it was only recently that I really got serious about it and decided to start publishing.

What genres have you written so far? Fantasy, paranormal, post-apocalyptic, and paranormal mystery.

For you, what’s the hardest part of writing? Sometimes writing the ending of a book can be tricky. I don’t want it to be too cheesy, so I really work to make sure it’s as perfect as possible.

Do you ever base characters on yourself or people you know? Not usually, no. But sometimes I take the first and last names of people I know and blend them together to create names for my characters.

Did you have to travel much for your latest work? Only in my imagination. :)

If you had to choose, who would you consider a mentor? I took a writing class a few years ago that was taught by a local author, and she was such an inspiration to me and the rest of the class. I think that if I had to choose, I’d pick her to be my mentor.

Your favorite genre to read? I love just about everything YA, actually.

What do you do when you’re not writing? Read, clog (which is a type of dancing, by the way), take care of my dog, watch TV, spend time with my family, hang out with friends. Never a dull moment for me!

What’s the title of your latest book? Untold Promise. It’s book two of The Inhuman Chronicles.

What genre does Untold Promise fit into? Paranormal fantasy with a touch of romance.

Can you share an excerpt with us? Okay, sure. Here’s a snippet from chapter twenty-one:

I shake my head, struggling to a sitting position. Blood thunders behind my forehead. “I think something’s wrong.”

Nathan tenses. “Like what?”

“Everything just feels wrong. I can’t explain it.” I carefully pick up the pendant and caucus charm by their chains and stuff them in a pocket. Through the fabric of my jeans, the pendant still blazes with warmth.

“Maybe it was just a—” He breaks off, raising his head. His eyes lift to the door.

“What’s going on?” I ask, a bad feeling twisting my stomach.

Before he can reply, the door to the office bursts inward with a splintering crash, slamming into the wall behind it. I stumble to my feet. Nathan swears colorfully, and I echo him inside my mind.

In the doorway stands a figure clothed in black leather, from his boots all the way to the mask-hood covering his face and hair. And he’s holding Tera with her arms pinned behind her back.


Are you working on any other books right now? At the moment, I’m working on edits for a book that takes place after a nuclear war. I also have several other finished books that I plan to polish up for publishing sometime in the near future.

Where can people go to find information about your books? Blog // Facebook // Goodreads // Amazon Author Page


Of course, I gotta tell you a little bit about Caitlin herself...



Caitlin Hensley has been telling stories since she learned to hold a pen, and is pretty much obsessed with writing. She’s the author of The Inhuman Chronicles, as well as the novelette Together Alone. When not typing frantically on her laptop, she’s usually dancing, catching up on reruns of her favorite TV shows, or getting lost in a great book. She lives with her family and a slightly nutty Chihuahua in rural Oklahoma, where she often stands outside watching the clouds for signs of tornadoes that might veer her way.

~*~

Now that you know all about this amazing book, don't you just want to go out and buy a copy?! Head on over to Amazon to get yours! 

I want to buy Untold Promise!

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Sneak peek!

I know it's been a while since I've posted. Been busy working on Two Evils, my spy thriller/action adventure novel. Here's a little snippet to intrigue you:




Fifteen minutes later, they had confirmation that Wainright was not home—he was at Georgetown University Hospital with his family, where his daughter was in labor with his first grandchild. 

“And no, I will not take you there,” John added as he’d relayed the information from Rex. 

“Kiss my ass, Courtney. Do you really think I’m so inconsiderate as to interrupt a family waiting on a baby?” Billie asked with a sneer. “Give me some fucking credit for having common decency.” 

“I’m almost surprised you even know what that is,” he countered, his voice laced with sarcasm. “I already tried to tell you this could wait until tomorrow.” 

She crossed her arms over her chest and stared at him pointedly over the top of his car. “Oh really? Eddie Lamacek had a bad reaction to the experimental drugs—” 

“You say that as if you already know what happened,” John broke in. 

“—killed two people, and injured a third before he was taken down,” she went on as if he hadn’t interrupted. “When the rest of the team went into the wind in the aftermath of that goat fuck, the first thing Wainright did was try to find me, the only person on the planet even remotely qualified to track these men down. That tells me he’s afraid the same thing will happen to them—which also tells me that if there is even a possibility of there being a repeat of what happened with Eddie, you’re going to want me to find them and find them fast, preferably before the bodies start piling up. You have three men who are already trained to kill who might potentially have a psychotic break, and you don’t know where they are. 

“Now you think on that, Agent Courtney, and then you tell me this can wait.”

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Writing...or not.

The other day, I posted a comment on a fellow author's Facebook page (her personal page) about how I wished I had her productivity level -- she's been writing for years and is still publishing things she wrote as far back as 2010, not to mention is always working on something new. As the discussion went on, I mentioned that a recurring problem I experience are periods where I really want to write (because the writing goes on in my head all the time) but just can't bring myself to do it. I just don't feel up to it, or just don't feel it. I said there have been times I have even opened up a file intending to work on something, but once the pages were in front of me, I just couldn't do it.

I'm not entirely certain why this happens, but I have my suspicions. After all, I suffer from occasional bouts of depression. I also suffer from anxiety, and like everyone else who works, I suffer from job-related stress. There's also stress going on in my personal life, either created by myself due to a general sense of unhappiness with my life, or because I am at odds with my dad, whom I currently reside with.

The friend I was talking to said to me (meaning well) that if I didn't have time to write when my life was hectic, then I wouldn't be able to do it if I had all the time in the world (these are not her exact words, but the general meaning). At first this didn't quite make sense to me, because my problem really isn't time management. I have no real problem making/setting aside time to write. So I let it go. But after thinking about it, I began to see that she's not entirely right. So I discussed the matter with another friend, who said that she could see where the first friend was coming from. The second friend I spoke to said that some of the best known writers admitted to creating some of their best works during dark or tumultuous times in their lives. 

Okay, sure... but that's not me. That's just not how I work. When I am greatly depressed or angry or stressed out, I could have ideas popping into my head every second, but that doesn't mean I'm going to be able to get any writing done. I just don't work that way -- or rather, my brain doesn't. I can't bring myself to be creative when I am emotionally or even physically drained. This is something the second friend acknowledged. She said that she knows that everyone's creative process is different, and that not everyone is going to feel like being creative when things are not even in their lives. She noted that she's aware of my being unhappy with certain aspects of my life and how that could lead to me just not feeling like working on a story no matter how much I might want to.

The odd thing is, having had these conversations, I've been feeling somewhat more energized in regard to my writing. Over two sessions I wrote nearly 4,000 words. I'm planning on getting more written over the next few days. I don't know if this is me recognizing that one or both of my friends is right, or if it's me trying to prove one or both of them wrong. I'm just glad that I'm being productive. That's what really matters.

Monday, July 8, 2013

Four More for "Fire Born"

How wonderful! Fire Born got another 4-star review! A great big thank you to reader Donna Standish!

"A roller coaster ride."

Thursday, July 4, 2013

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Today is Independence Day here in the U.S., the day our country was born 237 years ago. 



It's also the 237th birthday of Chasing Shadows' heroine, Saphrona Caldwell. Help me celebrate both these momentous occasions by grabbing a copy for your Kindle,  Nook, Sony eReader, or computer ebook reading app via Smashwords

Or if you prefer the feeling of a physical book in your hands, Chasing Shadows is available in print too! I like to read old school!