Pitch Wars Mentor Post!

OHAI I WANNA BE YOUR MENTOR!!!

-or-

Totally Professional Pitch Wars Mentor Bio/Wishlist

Hey, Pitch Wars 2014 peeps!

What. Is. Up. I am SO stoked for Pitch Wars this year. Pitch Wars is super close to my heart, mostly because this is the contest that got me my publishing contract for NEVER, NEVER with Spencer Hill Press. It's an amazing contest where you get to meet unbelievably awesome people, become part of a community, and get a real shot at finding an agent or editor. That rocks, right? And you probably already know that, which is why you're here. So let's get this thang started by me pimping myself out and telling you why you want ME to mentor you.

SECTION 1: YO! PICK ME! -or- Hello. My Resume.

So. The bio. I'm from Colorado, where I live with my husband, two little boys, and two awesome hound dogs. I am represented by the fabulous Bree Ogden of D4EO Literary, and my debut novel (did I mention that? Ya know? My Captain Hook POV Peter Pan retelling, NEVER, NEVER that you can coincidentally conveniently find out more about right HERE? Did I? Okay cool) is coming out in September of 2015 from Spencer Hill Press.

I taught writing classes for a couple years, and I'm in the middle of getting a bachelor's degree in Writing, so that's kinda fancy. Plus, I just started freelance editing, and I've been beta-ing and CP-ing for peeps for quite a while.

You want me if you want to get a DETAILED crit. I'm gonna go in-depth into your manuscript, and figure out where it shines (and I'll tell you everything I love. I love to freak out over amazingness in a manuscript), and where it could use work, on a major plot/character/world level as well as in the little things. My specialty is character and relationships, and I'm good at making those suckers deep. I'm also a total grammar freak, and will be going in looking for those things as well. I'm constructive, and I love to make you feel good about the things that are working in your ms, but I'm also a Candor, and I'm gonna tell you what needs to be done on a surface level as well as in-depth to get that MS in SHAPE.

I've been pretty successful in the past with contests; they are my bread and butter. So I'll be able to help you not only to get your ms shining, but also to sharpen that pitch.

Further, EVERYONE who submits to me is gonna get personal feedback. Might be in-depth, might be just a line or two, but you're gonna get feedback for sure.

Cool? Cool. Let's not talk about me anymore. Let's talk about BOOKS.

SECTION 2: WISHLIST, BABY! -or- Things I'd Like to Find in My Inbox

I'm mentoring YA and NA this year. There are a few things that transcend what I want in each genre, things I want to find no matter what:

*Passionate characters: I want characters that care about something, someone, characters with stakes.

*Give me diversity, guys! Of all types. Diversity is awesome and stuff.

*Did I mention characters? I want to care about your character. That's it. Make me care and we're good.

Now, down to the nitty gritty.

Let's talk about genres I want, then we'll break it down into some more specifics in separate category-wants.

GENRES I WANT:

*Realistic (And a million sub-genres of this): I'm into Contemp right now, in a major way. So I'm gonna prefer realistic stuff, generally. Within that big genre, I'll probably love a lot of stuff. Thrillers, straight-up contemp, psychological horror (character-driven), geek fic (yeah I just made that up, but I love ALL THINGS GEEKY), survival stories, retellings.

*Fantasy: I'm in a fantasy phase right now--I'm very much into it. But I AM going to be super picky here. I'll do fantasy if it's a retelling, magic realism or a VERY character-driven, close POV fantasy like Game of Thrones, Graceling, Anansi Boys, American Gods, Vicious, the show LOST, or a realistic fantasy/sci-fi like Jurassic Park or Outbreak or, ya know, that kind of stuff.

*Retellings: Hi, I'm Brianna, and I have a retelling problem. I love them hard.

GENRES I DON'T WANT:

* I love sci-fi. Like LOVE it. But for this particular contest, I'm not looking for it. (Unless it's barely sci-fi, as mentioned above.)

*No hard sci-fi OR fantasy, especially distant POV, dryer-voiced, etc.

*Paranormal

*Genre Mystery

*Light NA Contemp Romance

*Cancer stories (Personal issues. Can't do cancer stuff. If your story has a strong cancer A plot or subplot, PLEASE don't sub to me. If I decide to mentor your project, then figure out halfway through someone is dying of cancer or has recently and it's a big thing, I'm gonna be unhappy. And cry. And not in the way you want me to.)

Now, let's break it down further. Specifics by category and books/movies I love/would kill to see. Please remember, I am only mentoring YA and NA. If your ms is MG or Adult, awesome, but sub to one of the amazing MG or Adult mentors! Thanks!

YA

In YA, I love extremely dark to extremely light and everything in between. (I know. So helpful, right?)

In anything, dark to light, I love geek fic, foodie stuff, the arts, and travel/bucket list stories.

--On the Lighter Side--

*Funny, awkward, cringe-worthy, embarrassing stories. YES, PLEASE.

*Romance! Not a MUST in all YA subs, but if your book is light/funny, I, like, 99% need romance.

*Fave stuff like this: Easy A, Mean Girls, How to Love, anything Sarah Dessen, The Beginning of Everything

--Middle of the Road--

*Gray, between dark and light, with HEART.

*Characters I fall in head-over-heels love with

*Fave stuff like this: Eleanor and Park, Jellicoe Road, The Breakfast Club, Friday Night Lights

--The DARK Side--

*Very dark comedies, a la Fargo, Grosse Pointe Blank, Heathers, The Big Lebowski. 

*Dark and twisted antiheroes or flat-out villains. Oh my gosh. I LOVE VILLAINS. Send me ALL the villains. Like Breaking Bad.

*Psychological Thrillers, like Dangerous Girls.

*I don't care if there's romance or not. 

*Less abuse/bullying/sad dark, more crazy WHAT JUST HAPPENED freaky dark

NA

Most of what I want in NA is dark. Like, crazy killer dark rather than abuse, similar to YA. This list is gonna be similar. There is SOME light stuff I'd be VERY interested to see in NA though. 

--The Lighter Side--

*Geeks. Bring on the GEEKS. I play D and D, I cosplay, (you can find photo evidence of this on Twitter ;)) I game, bring me anything geeky and I will LOVE IT OK.

*Foodie Stuff. Especially in NA. Culinary school? UH YES.

*The Arts: Give me something set in film school, a dance company, an orchestra (I'm a musician, and have been in orchestras. I can totes help with this.), anything like that. (But oh man please film school.)

--THE DARK SIDE--

*Lots of repeats from the YA list to come here*

*Psychological horror/survival: Especially, like, something in an abandoned ski lodge or something. Or the wilderness.

*Give me screwed-up, disillusioned characters in dark situations, like True Detective. Freaking Rust Cohle. Freaking True Detective.

*Weird stuff. I want bizarre, dark, weird, awesome stuff.
*Stuff where the setting is crazy, atmospheric. Think Louisiana swamps, Alaska, that kind of thing.

*Very dark comedies, a la Fargo, Grosse Pointe Blank, Heathers, The Big Lebowski. Anything the Coen brother would do, I WANT THAT YESTERDAY.

*Dark and twisted antiheroes or flat-out villains. Oh my gosh. I LOVE VILLAINS. Send me ALL the villains. Breaking Bad kind of stuff? AW YISS.

SO, that's about it! Any questions at all, let me know! Find me on Twitter and @ me (@briannashrum) and I'd totally love to answer any questions you have! 

Let me be your 

Yes. I did just intend to subtly imply that if you pick me, you can become Darth Vader.

HAPPY PITCH WARS.

(Head here for more info on how to submit!)

And back to your previously scheduled programming. Or, ya know, bloghopping.

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GIVEAWAY in Honor of We Need Diverse Books

SO, have we all heard of "We Need Diverse Books?" Here. Let me link you if you haven't. Check it out, yo. http://weneeddiversebooks.tumblr.com/post/83943947418/we-need-diverse-books-campaign

Back? Excellent. Cause I want to give you free stuff. In honor of this campaign, on May 3rd, I will be buying a couple diverse books I have never read.

ARISTOTLE AND DANTE DISCOVER THE SECRETS OF THE UNIVERSE by Benjamin Alire Saenz 

-and-

POINTE by Brandy Colbert.

So, I figured, I'll be reading these books for the first time, and I want YOU to read with me! I'll be picking 3 winners, and giving away ARISTOTLE AND DANTE to one, POINTE to another, and one of my favorite diverse books, OCD LOVE STORY by Corey Ann Haydu, to another. Sorry, international peeps. This giveaway is only for those residing in the U.S., because postage, and because I have no clue how to give away ebooks...Enter below and check back on May 3! #WeNeedDiverseBooks

ADDENDUM: If you are chosen to win a book you already have, you are welcome to choose a different one of the three to receive. For instance, if you are drawn to get OCD Love Story, but you already own it, I would be happy to get you Aristotle and Dante or Pointe instead. :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Can We Talk About Consent for a Second?

So. Let's talk about consent. Cool?


Just fyi, TRIGGER WARNING HERE.


This post is gonna deal with some frank stuff, involving sexual harrassment, assault, rape. So. Forewarning.

Still here? Okay. So, we've been teaching our toddler son about the idea of boundaries lately. Obviously not like, "Hey, 2 year old, you ever wanna make out with a girl and she says no, you back off, yo." Because that would make no sense whatsoever to a 2 (almost 3) year old. But about things that are like, "Kid, don't put your hand over my mouth. Don't jump on my back. Don't squish your baby brother's tummy until his innards beg for mercy."
"Awww, but why not?" he asks.
"Because," we tell him, "you need to ask before you put your hand over my mouth or jump on my back. You need to ask before you squish your small sibling with enthusiasm. We are people, and you ask, and when I say no, you say, 'Okay.'"
The two year old responded with, "I hafta ask before I put my hand on you mouf, move you arm, push you foot, or squeeze Baby Brother?"
Yup. Pretty much. My two-year-old gets it. So why can't the adults?

This whole thought process started with this stupid GoT Episode Seen Round the World. (GoT SPOILERS AHEAD.) I'm not gonna delve into it too deeply, because likely, you have heard of it. There are some fabulously written articles on it upon which I cannot improve. Basically though, after what was very obviously a rape scene in the show in every sense of the word, the director came out saying that it was, in fact, consensual...by the end.

Um. What? The justification here is that Cersei wraps her legs around the guy at one point (let's just forget about how she is saying NO the whole entire freaking time.)

So. Consent. Consent is NOT:

1) The word No. Even one no means....drumroll....no.
2) But s/he kissed me! Obvs. s/he wanted to bone! Nope. Still not consent. Someone can want to kiss a person one minute and change their mind the next. For any reason. Literally any reason is acceptable. Someone can not want to kiss someone for any reason at all and that's IT.
3) Being drunk. Listen. If someone is totally drunk (not talking a little buzz here. I am talking unable to consent.) and you are not, you don't get to sleep with them. Sorry. No sex for you. Deal.
4) GoT SPOILER------------Cersei freaking wrapping her legs around Jamie after he had already initiated sex without her consent.
5) Dressing in a provocative way....She was TOTES asking for it. Cause she was standing there with BOOBS. Don't. I can't even discuss this it's so unbelievably ridiculous.
6) Saying no, but you can tell s/he secretly wants it. Nope. Nopenopenope.

Consent is someone wanting to do whatever it is you want to do, being fully capable of consenting to it, and you mutually agreeing that, yes, this is something we are both into.

This stuff is important. I have read stats that say 1 in 4 or 1 in 6  (depending on the study) women experience some sort of sexual assault in their lifetime. I don't know the stats for men, but they do experience it too, fyi.

I have never experienced sexual assault. I have, however, experienced sexual harrassment. I have a very vivid memory of being 13 years old, fresh from homeschool, entering a public school in the middle of 8th grade. There was this one guy, also in the 8th grade, who was super hot. Popular, charming, on the football team...anyway, he started kind of paying attention to me. Flirting, winking, talking to lame, nerdy, wears-shirts-with-puppy-dogs-on-them ME. I was SO excited.

Then one day in this bio class, miracle of miracles, we were grouped together. He started talking with me all cute and charming with his bedroom eyes and bad-boy YA love interest lopsided smirk. SCREW BIOLOGY. I'm gonna flirt. WITH A BOY.

But then, the conversation got weird. He started talking about what I'd done with a boy (hint: nothing. Ever.), how I liked it, did I like them long and hard, did I like to go all night....a bunch of super vulgar stuff that got more and more vile the longer it went. When the conversation went there, I asked him to stop. To please be quiet. Then to shut up. (Something I never said. I was the most innocent 8th grader on the planet.) I may have even called him a dick. I don't know. What I do know is that the stuff he was saying to me was making me shake, scaring me, and that I made it as clear as I possibly could that he NEEDED to stop. Bad enough that the second he left the table his best friend and another boy at the table, eyes wide, looked over at me and said, "I am SO sorry. He isn't usually like this. But this is messed up. I'm really sorry," and when he got back and started in on me again, both of them told him to knock it off. He didn't.

I left the classroom. My best friend (who was a dude) was waiting outside my class, and I clearly remember walking up to him, trying to keep it cool, and saying, "Hey, man, I had the worst--" then just bursting into tears in the middle of the hallway. Like, weeping, gasping tears. I told him what happened and he was PISSED.  Rightfully.

I told my mom but begged her not to tell my dad because I didn't want Gary to get in trouble. (What the crap?) The next day, I walked to bio like I was walking the Green Mile, knowing I was in for another scary, vile hour, but he was packing up all his stuff and moving to a different class because he had been forced to switch out of mine. Mysterious.

I don't know, to this day, who told the teacher what happened. I suspect, though, that it was either my best friend or his. Whoever it was, THANK YOU FOREVER.

I should have told. I should have walked out. I didn't because he was hot and popular and cute, and I was the nerdy new girl. One of the only devoutly Christian people I knew, and what if I got made fun of for being lame? Too religious? Too conservative? Too sensitive? What if he thought I was a loser? Ugh, this is pissing me off just writing about it. 

I hope he learned that you can't just control people like that. Which, by the way, is what rape, sexual assault, harrassment, is about. It's not about sex. It's about domination and humiliation. What I dealt with that day was not even close to rape. It wasn't even physical. Girls get harrassed all the time. But even ifit wasn't physical, the root is the same. The guy got off on embarrassing me, scaring me, on putting me in a mostly powerless situation...I wasn't asking for it in my puppy shirt and too-flat hair and face with not enough makeup to cover my acne. Just like the girl who wears a short skirt and low cut top isn't asking for it. Just like the guy or girl who gets black-out drunk at a party isn't asking for it.

That harrasssment should not be normal. Should not be something nearly every girl experiences. A couple steps further, assault should.not be COMMON. 

People are PEOPLE, not objects to spout off your sexual fantasies to, or force into acting them out with you. And consent doesn't just  mean it "becomes consensual by the end." It is consensual from the beginning or IT. IS. ASSAULT. Always. Every time. The end.

So I'm calling it out. And by teaching my sons to respect people, respect their wishes, be considerate of other people's feelings, to ask permission before jumping on someone, to stop when someone says stop, I'm doing what  I can to make sure that girls aren't harrassed on the subway, on the sidewalk, in an 8th grade classroom, in a bedroom, and that when a non-consensual sex scene is shown on TV, whether or not it was rape is not a freaking question.

The Underdog Moments

Hey all!

It's been a while since I blogged. Life's been...a little crazy. BUT HI I MISSED YOU!



So today I've been thinking. There are a couple big, huge, remember-it-forever moments in an author's life. You get an agent, you get a book deal, you publish your first book. Those are the days all of Twitter explodes and gives you huge congrats and life is wonderful and all unicorns and rainbows and YAYYYYY! And whenever we get those moments, we should totes celebrate them. Cause they are HUGE and IMPORTANT and you should revel in your day.

But, ya know, I have always been a fan of the underdog. Who (apart from Barney Stinson) didn't root for Ralph Macchio in The Karate Kid? I'm Team Damon in TVD because (apart from being Ian Somerhalder) he's the underdog. (Somehow, Ian Somerhalder is the underdog. I know. What?) And seriously if this moment from Rudy:



doesn't make you cry, you have no soul.

So tonight, I wanna talk about those moments. The Underdog Moments. The moments that mean everything but go unnoticed by most everyone, that don't come with cake and confetti and parties. But they are the moments that mean the world.

For me, as a writer, here are mine. (In chronological order, not order of importance)

1) When I first decided I wanted to write a book.

I remember vividly walking out of The Hunger Games movie, and going O_O OMIGOSH I HAVE THE BEST IDEA EVAR. And...you know what? I'm gonna freaking write it. Cause maybe it'll suck. But I CAN write a book and I am going to.

2) Finishing that book.

Yeah. Typing "The End" on that first book ever (or any book really) is huge. And so important. And it feels awesome. That, my friends, is a moment.

3) The first contest I ever made it into.

Sometimes, I miss entering contests. I mean, it's agonizing, but in a "Hurts So Good" kinda way. I've been rejected from contests, and that was lame. Really, just mustering up the courage to ENTER a contest is a moment. But this one is one I won't forget.

My first book was a YA cyberpunk called "Corrupted," and I entered into a couple contests, the first being Pitch Madness, held by the fabulous Brenda Drake. And Erica Chapman picked it out of the slush. And I will NEVER forget the feeling when I found I made it in. That someone liked my book. Erica, dude, thank you so much for making me believe in myself and giving me one of my best moments as a writer ever.

4) Giving my book to my first beta (now CP) ever...and she actually liked it

Ok peeps. I cannot stress the importance of CP's enough. For my first book, I didn't have any. So...gonna rewrite that sucker. But by my second, I had discovered them. And the lovely Nazarea Andrews offered to read my book. Never had anyone who wasn't A) related to me, or B)an agent I queried with Book #1 read anything I'd read. So that was freaking terrifying because she was awesome and OH NO WHAT IF I SUCK WHAT IF MY BOOK SUCKS WHAT IF SHE SAYS I SHOULD QUIT WRITING FOREVER




But, she said none of those things. Cause that's mean. In fact, she liked it. She had critiques, of course, but she really liked it. That. Meant. Something. Nazarea, I LURVE you.
 PSA: Get a CP. Get a beta, It's terrifying but worth every bit of the risk.

5) When I Tweavesdropped on someone who said I'd given them a book hangover

This was a huge one. Someone I hugely respect on Twitter beta'd my book, and talked about it to someone and used that phrase. And I died.

Summer, I can't even. Giant flying tackle hug cause you'll never know what that meant to me.

And last,

6) When someone wrote fanfic for my book

This one made me cry. Like real tears. Cause man. One of the best moments of my writing career. EVER.
Darci, -insert giant heart cause blogger won't let me write one-
Here's the thing.

It's easy sometimes to get caught up in someone else's published book, or deal, or agent news, or TV deal, or whatever. Or to read a bad review and wanna go drown in chocolate and wine. But sometimes, it's those little moments, those small things that meant EVERYTHING to you, that really matter. And sometimes, all you need is to remember that little tweet someone wrote about your book, or the fanfic or character sketch or...whatever those moments are for you, when you get into a funk, I hope you can remember them. Cause they mean something.

And keep giving, cause you never know when you might be giving someone one of their Underdog Moments.



I'd love to know what some of YOUR Underdog Moments are. Comment 'em below!

If Ever There Was A Totally Unlikable Antagonist, That Guy Is Cancer...

Hi guys. So. This is my dad.



Not the one in the wedding dress-that's me five years ago. (Look how adorable and young I was. 18. Dawww. Now, look back at my dad.) He is not a tiny guy. Note the broad shoulders and such. And if he wasn't wearing a jacket, you'd be like, "Woah. Look at those muscles." And they are Hard. As. Rocks. Basically, whenever I had boyfriends in high school, they would come in, and be like this: -_- Then they'd see my dad and be like this: O_O I think I have some exes who are actually STILL a little afraid of him, and I've been married for five years (tomorrow, actually, will be five years.)

Anyway, I'm super close to my dad. SUPER close. Probably because we're basically the same person. He's a tough, strong guy. Healthy, active, in his 40's. Never gets drunk. Doesn't smoke. No drugs. Nothing. And yesterday, we found out that he has cancer. So that sucked,

5 tumors on his liver. 5. One that's BIG. That's not good.Today he goes in for a biopsy and we'll find out if it's colon cancer that spread to the liver (HOPING that's not it. Cause that's no good. That would mean Stage 4.) or if it's primary liver cancer. Feels weird to be hoping that anything is any kind of cancer. But that's the one we're hoping for, cause it's easier to treat/cure. Stage IV colon is still possible to survive. Just, well, we'd very much like the higher odds, if possible.

So the thing is, yesterday freaking blew. It kind of felt like, not even real. My entire family is extremely close, and we're just sitting there blinking, like What? How is this possible? Are we gonna go, like, get one of those ribbons now? And start doing cancer walks and stuff? It doesn't feel real.

I very rarely have nightmares. But when I do, the one I've most frequently had throughout my life is about my dad dying, cause it's like one of my biggest fears. And those dreams are so awful because they feel real. And I went to bed thinking about cancer, and woke up thinking about it. (Strangely, I didn't have my recurring stress dream last night. I actually dreamt about this guy:



Which was certainly preferable. (I really did dream about Tudors-style Henry VIII. Jonathan Rhys-Meyers version. Which was kind of weird. *shrug*)

Anyway, I still woke up thinking about cancer. Cause my dad and I, we like the same movies, root for the same sports teams (except in baseball. I just can't make myself give a crap about baseball.), and whenever I tell him a book idea, he's like "That's awesome! You know what you should do with this scene?? And he's ALWAYS right. Seriously, in Never, Never, the one chapter that pretty much every single beta reader/CP I had commented on or said "This is so perfect! Whoa, I didn't see that coming!" was completely my dad's idea. (So, reader friends, pray about this if you plan on reading my stories. They're better when my dad is around. I promise.)

So yesterday we were basically all just freaking out and panicking and then researching allllll the things and alllllll the hospitals and allllll the doctors, and yeah. And all these possibilities start racing through your head. Like, what if he dies? What if they give him no time and he dies? He'd better be able to meet Elias when he comes at the end of November. And if he dies, what the crap am I gonna tell my 2 year old son, when he keeps asking "Where Poppy go?"

I can't handle that. I can't. I'm not ready to lose my dad. So screw that. None of us is ready for that. So we're gonna do everything we possibly can to beat this thing. Everything any doctor says to do. And beyond that, we're praying hard. We've got lots of people praying. That would be rather nice of you, dear reader, if you're the praying sort, by the way. We've seen impossible things happen because of prayer. Impossible things. And we're Christians. Ones who truly care about their faith, all of us. And it would be super awesome if God was like "Ok. You're right. Not his time yet." If He doesn't say that, well, it's not in His plan, and we will just figure out how to deal with it.

But right now, we are hoping and praying and gearing up to fight whatever we find. Cause SCREW. CANCER. Cancer is that kid who gave you swirlies every day at school and didn't even have, like, a screwed-up childhood to justify it. Cancer is that little fox-guy from Dora who swipes everything and then doesn't even take it; he just hides it to be mean. Cancer is the guy who shot a bunch of people in Aurora for no. freaking. reason. THAT'S cancer. The ultimate unlikable antagonist. The mustache-twirling, evil-for-the-sake-of-being-evil and ruining everyone's day butt hole. A likable antagonist can win, and we're cool with that. But NOT this guy. Screw that. They say every antagonist is the hero of his own story. Well, pray about everything if you would, and rec a doctor, or whatever. Cause Cancer does not get to be the hero of anyone's story. Nope.

Guest Post by Rachel O'Laughlin- Coldness of Marek Blog Tour

Hello lovelies! I've missed you all in this little blogging hiatus I've had going. But what better way to return to cyberspace than to host the awesome Rachel O'Laughlin! A fantabulous author and all around great person. (Who decided to include some Damon gif's in this post, which should make all of us love her even more. Cause come on.) She's here to give some rockin stuff away AND talk about my all-time favorite thing: Anti-heroes. Sit down, people. Here. Have some popcorn.

Guest Post: Anti-Heroes: Good Guys With Issues

I’m uber thrilled to be guest-posting on Brianna’s blog today! She just happens to be a person I admire and love, and is also the author of a novel featuring THE BEST Young Adult anti-hero I have ever had the honor of reading. For real.

I love rogues. Not when I meet them in person, but when I see them in fiction? Instant love. Why do I love them so? Maybe because they’re all bad boyish and clothed in black and generally swoon-worthy? Um, it probably is the main reason, but then I would have to end this blog post right now, so I’m just gonna ignore that. I also love old movies. I could watch Jimmy Stewart forever and ever. At a young age I also discovered Errol Flynn — wait, does anyone else in my generation actually recognize that name? (Okay, I admit it, I’m a dinosaur in a mid-twenties body. Or I could be a Salvatore, in which case all of this should make complete sense.)

ANYHOW, Errol Flynn acted in a string of movies based on the adventure novels by a long-forgotten writer named Rafael Sabatini, best known for SCARAMOUCHE and CAPTAIN BLOOD. (The movies were not very true to the books, I might add.) Sabatini filled his pages with alpha-in-their-own-mind-sometimes-total-jerk lead characters, and frankly, that doesn’t sound appealing, does it? These dudes had issues. They had dark obsessions, anger management problems, control freak tendencies, struggles with addictions. They could be very hate-able, and sometimes very lovable, but they always had their dark side.

Agatha Christie, another writer whom I love, made use of the anti-hero every chance she got. Her typical setting is a murder mystery, but in some of her stories we’re actually hoping the sleuths do NOT uncover the murderer, because the suspect is a better person than the one who got offed. Her anti-hero is often someone quirky and damaged, but when it all shakes out, they were doing the best they could to fix a broken situation, and something went wrong. They were the hero of the moment, even if they hadn’t always been one.

Since I love them so much, I shouldn’t have been surprised when my main character hit the page as a completely misguided and selfish being. I really wanted to write a heroic character full of strength and morality. No lie, I truly did. I fought it for awhile, in revisions, trying to make Trzl lovable and dear. She just wasn’t. And DANG. I LIKED HER THAT WAY. That’s who she is, and that’s who she has to be in order to do the things she does.

As writers, though, why the rogues? Why the disrespectful, stubborn, chip-on-their-shoulder rebels? Why can’t all main characters be good-hearted and honest?

We all have baggage, experiences that make us who and what we are. Anti-heroes have various reasons for living the way they do, too. Their actions may be more violent or more cruel or more unsavory, but haven’t we all done little awful things that weren’t okay? Anti-heroes take that to the next level. They explore what inside of us could be horrible if we didn’t keep it in check. But they have one thing in common: they have integrity. Whatever their moral code, their brand of honor, their version of ethics — they set standards for themselves, and they uphold that standard as best they can, even if they slip now and then.

It’s that streak of selflessness, that moment of heroism, that line they will not cross no matter the circumstances that makes my heart beat fast. Therein lies a glimpse of redemption. It gives us a connection to people we might see as wrong, evil, or delusional. Their stories are different from the truly heroic sort, but they are a sampling of humanity, and I’m infatuated with them. Because they’re damaged. They’re hurt and haunted. They’re real.

And totally worthy of story.

 

Book Info:

 

COLDNESS OF MAREK

Epic Fantasy
The First in the Serengard Series
Release Date: August 6, 2013

Serengard has been under Orion rule for centuries—centuries of insufferable adherence to laws and traditions that its people no longer believe in. Raised by her scholarly grandfather in the fiery southern city of Neroi, Trzl is dedicated to turning the monarchy into a free society where knowledge is king and no one has to be subject to the whims of an Orion.

As the rebellion escalates, her choices have an eerie impact on the revolution at large, elevating her to a position of influence she has only dreamed of attaining. But there are downsides to her new power that entangle her in a dangerous web of emotions, appearances and alliances. Even as she plays to the attractions of Hodran, a rich nobleman who wants to aid her cause, she is drawn to Mikel, a loyalist farmer who hates the rebellion but just might be winning her heart.

By the time Trzl realizes she is in too deep, she has an infant son and a dark mess of betrayal and lies. She runs to the furthest corner of the kingdom in hopes that she will be left alone with her child, but she has created too many demons. A figure she once trusted will take her captive in the chilling Cliffs of Marek, throw her back into the political upheaval she helped create, and leave her at the mercy of a man she never wanted for an enemy.

Author Bio:

 

Obsessed with all things history, Rachel O’Laughlin grew up writing adventure stories and only recently fell in love with fantasy as a genre. She lives in New England with her husband and children, grows roses and tweets often. She adores lattes, The Fray, long drives in the country, and any dark story with a good twist. Coldness of Marek is her first novel.

 

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17968606-coldness-of-marek

Website: http://rachelolaughlin.wordpress.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/rachelolaughlin

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/r.k.olaughlin

Rachel O'Laughlin

Writer of  some things epic and some things fantasy.http://rachelolaughlin.com

http://twitter.com/rachelolaughlin

http://www.facebook.com/r.k.olaughlin

 

Where to Buy the Book:

 

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Coldness-Marek-Serengard-Rachel OLaughlin/dp/0984919414/

Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/Coldness-Marek-Serengard-Volume-1/dp/0984919414/

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/coldness-of-marek-rachel-olaughlin/1107918434?ean=2940148509899

Signed from Author: http://rachelolaughlin.wordpress.com/novels/coldnessofmarek/

 

 

And nowwwwwwww, a shiny giveaway!!!

 

Rachel is giving away a couple signed paperbacks of Coldness of Marek and some swag! This giveaway is open to U.S. and international residents, though if you live outside the U.S., the prize will be 3 ebooks  of Coldness instead. So, get entering, peeps!

 

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/093a0d0/" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sooooooooooooooo, to round this whole thing out. Buy it. Read it. Damon and I are.

 

 

 

Cover Reveal for THIS LOVE!!!

Hey folks! So, I'm SUPER excited to get to reveal the cover for This Love, a great read by one of my amazing CP's. (And the cover is awesome, in case you were wondering ;-)

This Love

By

Nazarea Andrews

Mel Stevens of The Illustrated Author created the cover art.

She wants a summer job and a ride to a wedding.
He wants an assistant and a distraction from the mess his life has become.
They didn't know they needed each other.

Avery Emili needs two grand. Two grand and a plane ticket--her sister is counting on her to get to Jamaica for the wedding. But the semester is over, and tutoring college freshman and high school students has dried up until the fall.
Atticus Grimes needs help--the messy split with his wife left the twenty-eight year old professor scrambling to keep things together as the semester winds down. Now he's got a research grant he has to actually do research for and all he wants to do is drown himself in a tall bottle of bourbon.
When Avery sees his ad for an assistant, all she's thinking is a summer job. But as they spend time together, in the office and out, both of them begin to realize something is there. Something that can't happen--he's a professor and she's a student. And both of them have histories, pasts that won’t let go. Can two broken people pulled apart by expectations find a way to be whole?

 

Coming JUNE 2013

Add it to your to-read list on Goodreads!

About the Author:

Nazarea Andrews is an avid reader and tends to write the stories she wants to read. She loves chocolate and coffee almost as much as she loves books, but not quite as much as she loves her kids. She lives in south Georgia with her husband, daughters, and overgrown dog.

You can follow her on Facebook and Twitter.

 

Enter to win an ARC of This Love

a Rafflecopter giveaway