Winter romance with a twist

I've released a winter anthology of four short stories -- all romance; two with a paranormal edge. For those who prefer sweeter stories -- ie, no sex scenes -- these are parked right in your comfort zone. ;)

Snow Kissed
a romantic anthology
(c)2012 Meg Allison

Only $0.99!

Four short stories of romance set in the cold winter months…

Winter’s Kiss
A Christmas Eve blizzard brings a stranded motorist to Jake Blackthorn’s garage. Or has fate brought them together?

Spirits of Christmas
(a Sentinels story)
Her first Christmas Eve as a married woman, Camille Bryant finds herself alone and uncertain. What will the future bring for her and her new husband, Ian Spain? Maybe the spirits can tell.

Gwen’s Resolution
(a Harris Grove story)
Gwen Josephs is tired of acting the lonely spinster—especially on New Year’s Eve. She’s taking her happiness and her future in her own two hands. Maybe a little small town magic will do the rest.

Charmed
Nora is psychic, but doesn’t believe in romance or the magic of Valentine’s Day. Then an old flame asks for romantic advice, and she begins to think she may have been too hasty.

For Kindle 

For Nook

Smashwords

Happy Holidays!

Meg Allison
http://www.megallisonauthor.com

The Next Big Thing

I've been invited by my friend, Tori Scott, to participate in the Next Big Thing blog series.

What is your working title of your book?

 
I'm currently working on two books, but the one that's almost done is titled: At Second Sight.

Where did the idea come from for the book?

The book is one of my series, The Sentinels. The idea came to me from a secondary character in my first Sentinels novel, Dream Walk. I knew Samantha Bays deserved to be a heroine in her own right -- she's smart; feisty; and has some unusual gifts. While contemplating her story, I discovered her hero: a graphic artist with the ability to draw the future.

What genre does your book fall under?

This novel is a paranormal romantic suspense, like the rest of the Sentinels stories.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

I would cast Russel Wong as my hero, Nathan Toshio Quinn. I'd probably cast Amy Adams as my heroine, Samantha Bays. 

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

When Samantha's dream-lover walks into her life, they must unmask a serial killer before Samantha becomes the next victim.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

I plan to submit it to Samhain Publishing, which published Dream Walk. We'll see what happens at that point. :)

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

Let's just say, it's taken a while to get this far. But I've been working on other projects intermittently, including the Sentinel's novel, BROKEN, which I self-published.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

Some recurring characters from my Sentinels series make an appearance in At Second Sight. You'll also get to meet some of Samantha's five brothers -- all of them who would make wonderful heroes in their own stories.  :)  I already have an idea brewing for her oldest brother, the good-looking homicide detective, Adam Bays.

To continue The Next Big Thing blog tour, visit A. Catherine Noon's Blog and see what she's working on. :)

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

Summer stretch

Writer's are similar to athletes... except that we spend the majority of our time sitting on our butts. We have to. Have you ever tried typing while walking, running or working out on a treadmill? Not easy. Actually, it's a good way to get hurt.

The way we're similar, however, comes into play when we work on our craft. An athlete has to stretch their muscles... to push themselves just a little harder and further in order to improve their game. Writers need to do the same thing -- only the muscle we stretch is more cerebral.

If you have a favorite writer, you may notice, from time to time, that their stories sound a little stale. I can't tell you how easy it is to get in a rut. I find myself leaning toward a very specific type of heroine, for example. I've also noticed that there are certain plot devices I tend to favor. That's all well and good -- as long as I don't let my stories get boring. I don't want you to think I simply change the location and character names to create a new book. Who'd want to read it? Not me.

This summer I'm shaking things up a bit. I did this once before when I turned a would-be, somewhat standard romantic suspense into a paranormal romantic suspense. That turned out very well, btw. ;) Now I'm finishing book two, and stretching those writing muscles all the way. This hero is not my typical alpha.

So far, so good, but what I can I possibly do to get a better work-out? How can I stretch my writing muscles just that much more?

I think I've found the answer: Steampunk. No, not because it's all the rage, but because I love the genre... have even before it earned such a special designation. Remember Wild Wild West? Sexy. Funny. And oh-so cool. ;)

So now this new idea is percolating. One featuring a feisty bounty hunter and her shifter prey. Steampunk style, naturally, with funky goggles, gadgets and corsets. Not to mention those steam-powered machines. Yeah, this should be fun. And a challenge, which is the best way to give the gray-matter a work-out.

I take what I know I can write... and add something new to the mix. Another level to the plot. Another element to the story. Something that makes me work for just the right mix. Sometimes it's frustrating. Sometimes I'm overcome by the urge to bang my head on the keyboard or nearest wall. I frequently have to step back; take a breath; ask my resident consultant for some plot ideas; etc. But it's the best way I've found to keep my muse from losing the spark.

Now if I could only come up with a good way to exercise my butt, as well. ;)

Blogging today...

At Beyond the Veil...

Come take a peek. :)

Obsessively counting words

"Let him that would move the world, first move himself." ~Socrates

Believe me, I am trying. ;)

I'm in the middle of my next novel, another paranormal romance, and the writing isn't going as quickly as I'd like. After each session, I found myself checking the word count. It's adding up...slowly. Very slowly.

It's not that I need a particular number of words. I just know what the minimum count has been for my other novels. DREAM WALK was the longest I've had published to-date -- over 95k words. This novel needs to be at least 85k for it to be complete. You get a feel for these things after you've written a few stories from beginning to end. ;)

But lately I haven't been able to get into my writing zone. That means the words are coming at a snail's pace when I need to be working more along the lines of a cheetah. Well, I suppose I should be glad my episode of writer's block is over. Just have to keep things moving along.

Coping with rejection

It seems the complete story of Gabriel Bonnett and Beth Murphy will have to remain a mystery to Sentinels' fans. Unfortunately, my editor wasn't impressed with draft two of the book.

Like most writers, I've experienced my share of rejections. It still stings a bit, but you learn to cope and move on. You have to -- the only alternative is giving up. But what do you do once that "no thanks" letter couched in apology arrives? How do you deal with your disappointment? The self-doubt? And just what the hell do you do with the thousands of words you've written and now seem to have been a waste of your time?

This time around it hasn't been quite the dilemma that it once was. Honestly, after a certain period of optimism, I was somewhat expecting the R -- shorthand for 'rejection letter' in this business. I'm not sure why... but somewhere along the line I lost faith in this particular story.

And no, it wasn't a "nice" R with loads of compliments and such regarding the strengths of the story. By the tone and what was said, there didn't seem to be even one thing that appealed to her about Gabriel and Beth's romance. Pity. I really like those two characters.

Do I take it personally? Um, a little...but not deeply. I think the big problem here was I had reworked it to death. It lost any spark it might have had in the beginning. It wasn't the story I really wanted it to be. Also, it really might have been better as the first story -- or later in the series. Pre-quels are a very tricky animal. So maybe that's part of why I'm not taking this R quite so much to heart as others.

That, and previous experience. BTDT, as the t-shirt says. ;)

Still... here comes the self-doubt. Although I'm over 11k into the next Sentinels book -- now bumped up to that coveted #2 spot -- I stutter to a halt when I begin to write a scene. Am I making the same mistakes with Samantha's story as I did with Gabriel's? Are my character's goals, motivations, and conflicts (GMCs) as clear-cut and riveting as they need to be? Does their relationship have enough spark...a strong chemistry? Is the action paced well? Fast but not too rushed?

Yes, self-doubt can be a crippling thing when it comes to writing. It brings your muse to a screeching halt. It makes your hands freeze over the keyboard and your thoughts shut down as if someone hit a switch. It can also turn you into a chocolate-guzzling lump, sitting in front of the television watching all day marathons of NCIS...

But I digress. (ahem) What I really want to know is: How do you deal with rejection? How do you tame that demon self-doubt and send him back to Hades where he belongs? Please share ... I have another book to finish.

Free story

My short holiday story is now up and available for download. It's a sweet, somewhat ghostly tale -- and a sequel of sorts to DREAM WALK.

I hope you enjoy Spirits of Christmas. :)

Contest!

Beyond the Veil

Dream Walk released!

Dream Walk is now available!

Come check it out!

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. ;)

Do you want it? Do you really? ;)

Dream Walk will be released in two weeks. You can now read TWO excerpts! One on my website, the other excerpt on Samhain Publishing's website. Enjoy!

It's up!

So? What do you think? (GGGGG)

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) ;)

SOLD!

I am thrilled to announce that I've sold my third novel to Samhain Publishing!

This one is a paranormal romantic suspense set in Savannah, GA.

DREAM WALK
Book One/The Sentinels

Some nightmares are deadly real.

Camille Bryant is a gifted medium being slowly driven insane by terrifying dreams. Then she is forced to accept help from a Sentinel -- a mysterious warrior of her race.

Ian Spain is a dream walker who can enter and manipulate others' dreams. His specialty -- vanquishing demons. But he finds Camille is much more than she seems at first glance; her tormentor no ordinary apparition. Is he strong enough to win this battle?

As the body count rises, their powers and courage will be put to the test in battle as old as time. Winner takes all.

Wintry anthology

Winter Wonders
(anthology)

This month from
By Grace Publishing!

Featuring four wintery stories:

Gwen's Resolution
By: Meg Allison

Gwen sets out in the cold, snowy wonder one New Year's Eve to keep her sole resolution: she refuses to let single-hood spoil her fun anymore. But when fate takes her by the hand she comes face-to-face with the one thing she thought impossible—love.

Snow Kissed
By: Cindy K. Green

Today is one of those days Logan Reilly wished he’d stayed in bed. Not only does he have to deal with the annoying Winter Wonderland Carnival, but his close friend, that whimsical lover of snow, Holly Armstrong, was leaving town forever. The question is why didn’t she tell him and why today of all days does he realize he loves her? Can he change her mind and make her stay?

Smuggler of the Heart
By: JoAnn Carter

Disheartened and tired, Samantha Warren returns to Vermont during the winter break. Her passion for history rekindles after finding an old smuggler’s chest hidden in her grandparents' attic. Will she be able to return to New Jersey without her heart being smuggled like the chest once was? Or is it already too late? '

Maybe Forever
By Muncy G. Chapman

When Marcy Mayfield gives shelter to a near-frozen man during the worst blizzard of the season, her tender heart rules over her sensible head. But what if this stranger turns out to be the escaped prisoner reported loose in her area?

a FAMILIAR blurb...

Familiar
A short story by, Meg Allison
AFTER DARK anthology ~~ Sep. 28, 2007
By Grace Publishing

Sometimes things can be too FAMILIAR.

Penny Brown returns home to West Virginia hoping to get a fresh start.

But a ghost in the kitchen and prophetic dreams make her homecoming feel a bit spooky. It doesn’t help that she’s falling in love again. Could it merely be déjà vu?

***Stop by tomorrow for a short excerpt!***

Writing contest!

Romance Junkies is having its annual Writing Contest. I was bored and managed to talk myself into entering. Twice. Oy!

Anyhow, the first entry is up this week. Title: DREAM WALK. Yes, I used another name because that's what they ask us published folks to do. LOL! If you have a chance, drop by and read the entries and VOTE!