My BROKEN inspiration...

This past week I released my second full-length paranormal romance, BROKEN.  It's my 'unofficial' second book in my series, The Sentinels. Unofficial, because I intend to market the rest of the stories with Samhain Publishing where the series first found a home.

BROKEN was a hard sell in many ways, the hardest being that it is actually a pre-quel. It occurs some time before its predecessor, DREAM WALK. Yes, there's method to my madness. While you can read them in any order, BROKEN does give away at least one important part of the first story. But it's also a story that needs to be told in order to understand an element that will crop up in the last two novels. :)

No. I'm not telling. You'll have to wait and read them to find out. ;)

Where did the story title come from? It originally had a different name, but I had to change that. I like to pick titles that have a double meaning, if I can. Sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn't. With BROKEN, it worked beautifully. Both the hero and heroine are 'broken' spirits, particularly the hero. They find each other at a dark moment in life and then proceed to overcome obstacles -- internal and external -- with each other's help. Isn't that how relationships should be?

As with most of my books and short stories, this one has a very definite soundtrack and one all-encompassing theme song. Enjoy:

 

To read more, click on any of the above links. Or you can buy BROKEN (a Sentinels novel) now at Amazon.com , Barnes&Noble , or Smashwords.

 

~~Meg

Back to the grind

BROKEN is done and submitted. I'm really proud of myself, actually. This is the shortest length of time I've taken to write a full-length novel -- a little over 94k in around five-six months. I had hoped to finish more quickly, but it is a personal best, and one I hope to improve on for book three.

But after working non-stop on BROKEN, and dealing with personal issues, my brain was pretty well-done. Fried. I needed a respite.

Now my little break is over. I've done some reading, some goofing off in front of the idiot box (aka television), and have managed to get rather bored with it already. So my muse is telling me it's time to get back to work. Just as well since I have characters demanding their stories be written.

In the past I have found the best way to 'forget' about a submission is to jump right into the next project. At this time, there are two projects calling to me. One is a paranormal novella, working title: INTO THE RUSH. It's a bit different from my current series and para world, but I really like the characters and their situation.

Then there's that third Sentinels story, AT SECOND SIGHT. This one follows one of my DREAM WALK secondaries into a little danger and romance of her own. The poor girl needs both, believe me. She's been alone and bored for far too long. ;)

One down, three to go...

Finally. I finished BROKEN, the second book of The Sentinels. I think this is the fastest I've ever written a full-length novel -- about 87k in around four months. IF I can keep myself working at this pace, I'll actually be able to do more stories in a shorter amount of time. Yeah, that's almost like saying: "What else could go wrong?"

Anyhow, I'm halfway through with the polishing phase. Trying not to overthink the plot or second-guess myself too much. It's difficult, however. Had some bad news on a personal front this week. Creativity, drive and determination have taken a big hit -- but I'm fighting to keep going and not let myself wallow or fret.

Again, easier said than done. :\

It's in the cards

Years ago people used to say: "Write what you know." The philosophy was if you didn't have an intimate association with the subject -- or a PhD on it, anyhow -- you shouldn't write the book.

Well, that's a bit limiting, don't you think? If we all went by that advice, I can tell you at least half the secret agent; billionaire; cowboy; time-travel; and vampire romances would disappear from existence. Especially the latter.

We can't stick to what we know, but we can learn enough about a subject to write credible stories. Say it with me now: research. Have I mentioned I really don't like this part? :P It takes so much time away from the fun stuff of creating worlds, manipulating characters, etc.

For my current wip, BROKEN, I discovered there's a crucial scene involving my heroine having her future revealed by a friend. Until I got to this point in the story, I hadn't realized just how vital this scene will be. When I first mapped out the book, it was only a stepping-stone to the next scene, but now...things have changed.

I've had some small experiences in my former life with Tarot cards, but not enough to write a believable reading. Sure, I could try to fake my way through it -- after all, everyone has their own style and there are hundreds of different decks of cards these days. But I just know someone, somewhere, would notice if I goofed. And they would, understandably, complain. Or even go so far as to write a bad review or, worse yet, never buy another book from me! All this because I stepped outside my comfort zone without a net or a clue.

So, I bought a book that explains the basics. Hopefully I can draw enough from that -- and long-ago memories -- to create a plausible scene. My heroine needs this guidance; she needs a wake-up call, to be honest. And who better to give it than the best friend with her own special gift? ;)

Almost done... on to the next murder, a little mayhem, the black moment and our Happy Ending.

Theme song

Do you have a theme song? A song that represents your mood; your life?

Each of my books has one...some even have an entire soundtrack. :) I need music to inspire me; to open that flood of images and words that become a novel or short story.

For my paranormal series, The Sentinels, the soundtracks include some of the same songs: My Immortal, Everybody's Fool, and Bring Me To Life, all by Evanescence. The story I'm working on now is titled: Broken. Its 'theme' is the song by the same name...by Seether featuring Amy Lee, to be more precise. I really love her voice. The song is dark, haunting and very much sets the mood for the novel. If I could, I'd give each reader a copy of it along with the book. :)

Check out the video -- it's interesting.

Back to my soundtrack...it helps me keep in the mood and on-target when I'm working on a certain book. And it kind of helps drown out the household noise. (aka: the kids) ;)