Now, it’s my turn.

A smile. An encouraging word. A thoughtful gesture. Each day people interact with us, help, and make our day a bit brighter and full. This is especially true in the Writing Community.

Take a second to think about writers you know, like the critique partner who works with you to improve your manuscript. The writing friend who listens, supports and keeps you strong when times are tough. The author who generously offers council, advice and inspiration when asked.

So many people take the time to make us feel special, don’t they? They comment on our blogs, re-tweet our posts, chat with us on forums and wish us Happy Birthday on Facebook.

There are so many amazing bloggers and writers out there that it was hard to select just one, but honestly I knew who it had to be, HIldie McQueen. She is an amazing person, always ready to lend a hand, write a note of encouragement, or provide a shoulder to cry on. In this hectic world there are only a few people that maintain the gift of recognizing when others need something, Hildie has that gift. She is always ready to help in anyway, without question. Thanks, HIldie. You are a truly special person. I love ya, WBFF!

Go check out HIldie’s blog and her amazing books here.

Do you know someone special that you’d like to randomly acknowledge? Don’t be shy–come join us and celebrate! Send them an email, give them a shout out, or show your appreciation in another way. Kindness makes the world go round. 

Becca and Angela have a special RAOK gift waiting for you as well, so hop on over to The Bookshelf Muse to pick it up.

Have you ever participated in or been the recipient of a Random Act Of Kindness?  Let me know in the comments! You never know what might happen… 

Eilis, What inspired you to write your first book?

The very first book I wrote, I wrote when I was sixteen. It had elements of paranoia, the downfall of society, a doomed romance, fantasy, humor, and a bittersweet ending. It was terrible, but I was hooked.

How do you come up with titles?

I have a terrible time with titles. The one for my first novel, The Sleeper Awakes, had six earlier titles, all of which were variations of twilight or sleep. For Introducing Sonika, it was a nod to the comic book titles, since the heroine is the daughter of super-heroines who comes back into the family business. Of course, for my sci-fi romance, Echoes of Passion, my editor told me I had to change the title, because the original one wasn’t sexy or romantic. So I had to come up with ten others, and that’s how Echoes of Neotia Prime became Echoes of Passion. I still like the original one, but that’s how things go.

The only title I have ever truly liked was for my very first novel, the one I wrote when I was sixteen. Titles are terrible things!

Are things that happen in your books based on reality?

In some cases. For STATIC SHOCK, I used my own personal reality. I’ve always had a love-hate relationship with electronic and mechanical devices. They end up not working or doing something unexpected that has someone who has to try to fix it stare at it, mystified, trying to figure out what happened, or what I did that would have caused it. I always assumed I was just unlucky – brand-new tape recorders fail on me (twice), hair dryers melt (once), three computers die on me (three in three months), car alternators have be replaced more frequently than normal (three), the electrical system of cars can just fail (just once!), and watch batteries wear out very quickly, just to name a few examples – but then I found out that people with a heightened electromagnetic field will sometimes have this happen. Now, for STATIC SHOCK, I had to wonder: What if people with this (dis)ability were a recognized subspecies in a world of tomorrow? Especially in a world more and more technological? They would not be welcome in a lot of places, right? And STATIC SHOCK was born.

What book are you reading now?

I just saw the movie “John Carter,” which is based on “A Princess of Mars,” the novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Good movie, so I was curious enough to get the original work. It’s a fun story! I recommend both the book and the movie.

What are your current projects?

I’m working on a story about a guy who slips into and out of the dreamlike state of a woman in a coma, who’s been accused of aiding in a moblike hit, but she can’t remember – but then, she’s in a coma! Sort of a challenge, actually.

Can you share a little of your current work with us?

Here’s something from STATIC SHOCK:

I glanced up at the gigantic digital clock on the university’s neurosciences complex. I had work to get to. If I made the walk lights to cross the street, I wouldn’t be late for my assignment—but I couldn’t count on it.

I could, however, arrange for it.

There wasn’t a sky bridge connecting this side of the campus with the applied sciences complex, and it so happened the street that ran between those two parts of the university saw a lot more traffic than the surrounding streets. Sometimes, pedestrians who wanted to cross had to wait as long as five minutes before the lights changed. Anyone who had to cross when it was raining could be soaked by the time the lights changed.

Considering how many pedestrians jaywalked at this crossing, it was a minor miracle no one had been killed yet. And as far as I was concerned, it wasn’t going to happen today, either. At least not to me.

I looked up at the traffic lights.

A moment of discord shot deep through my mind as I focused. A low buzz tickled the back of my throat as the timer that controlled the lights and the “walk/don’t walk” signs clicked and flashed, but it was at a gut level that I sensed the power feeding into the simple timed system. I closed my eyes for a moment, reveling in that familiar sensation of the electricity I could connect with. In this way, electricity wasn’t my enemy; it was an ally.

The traffic lights blinked once, then went out of sequence. Unless you were watching closely or you knew what to look for, it wasn’t noticeable. I didn’t have to look around to know the other traffic lights up and down the street weren’t affected. It was only this one I was in sync with, the one I controlled right now. All the other lights could flash green, but this one would flash …

Red. Green. Yellow. Red. And it stayed red.

The pedestrian light flashed “walk.”

“Aces,” I whispered. Maybe I couldn’t lock down my abilities the way I was supposed to, but I could play with the traffic lights. And I was good at it.

I hurried across the street. A glance at the clock told me I had two minutes till my appointment. Once I crossed, I looked back to see the traffic light click back into its usual routine, with no one the wiser.

I couldn’t wear a watch, but I could control traffic lights for a few minutes. I could live with that.

I had to hope Ran Owata would think it was a handy talent if—when—he found out.

I didn’t want to have my brain cut into if he didn’t.

My assignment took more time than I expected, even though it was a simple problem I was asked to consult on—electrical power was leaking out of what should have been a closed system. It wasn’t hard to determine what the problem was, but I still had to track down where the problem was in the wiring and make a recommendation on how to fix it. It was boring work, but it paid the bills.

By the time I made it back to the crosswalk, it was rush hour and the sleet had turned into a cold, hard rain. Waiting for the light to change meant I was going to get soaked.

Shoving wet hair off my face, I tried to estimate how long it had been since the last time the walk sign had flashed. Reaching out, not intending to influence the traffic light pattern—yet—I tried to figure it out by the feel of the electrical patterns coursing through the wires and cables.

Crap. The light had changed right before I got to the crosswalk. I’d be waiting a while unless …

“It’s either do it or drown,” I muttered as the rain ran down my face.

I closed my eyes and, just like that, I turned the traffic light, as if I had flicked a switch.

The walk light flashed. I knew it, I didn’t even have to look to confirm it. I started to cross …

And had to jump out of the way when car tires screeched, water splashed, and a car horn blared. Next thing I knew, I was sprawled on the sidewalk, drenched.

A car door slammed, followed by the splash of footsteps. “Are you all right? Don’t move,” a voice said.

“I’m okay,” I muttered. I wiggled my shoulders; no problem there. I might be sore later, but not now. “What happened?”

“You didn’t look both ways before you tampered with the traffic lights, Ms. Muir. And you did, right?”

Shit. I knew that voice. I pushed my hair back and looked up. Damn it.

Ran Owata, looking annoyed. Son of a bitch. It was not my day. “I was getting wet waiting for the light to change.”

“And you’re real dry now, aren’t you?”

Raindrops splattered across my nose. I wiped the moisture away with my jacket sleeve. “So I’m not a genius. Was anyone hurt?”

“Depends. Can you get up?”

“I’m fine,” I said. This was my life. Of all the times for the light-changing trick to work against me, it would have to be in front of the new director of the Geller Institute. The one with the lobotomy fetish.

Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?

Plotting can be a challenge when you have the start, you have the end, and you have some highlights along the way, but filling in the necessary details in the middle when you don’t have a clue – now that’s a killer. So I write individual scenes, and then I use a little literary glue to connect the scenes and make them cohesive.

What were the challenges (research, literary, psychological, and logistical) in bringing one of your stories to life?

For The Sleeper Awakes, I had to find inspirations for the properties of waterfire, which is a naturally occurring phenomenon that plagues an area in which the heroine finds herself in, and she finds out that she somehow knows how to control it. It can’t be controlled by water or by fire, and it engulfs everything it touches, so it’s a bit of a problem, as you might think. I had tornadoes in mind for part of the world building, but it wasn’t until I saw the news reports about the persistent tornadoes in the Midwest this year, many years after I wrote Sleeper, that I found out how close I got it. Except waterfire, in some ways, actually has a mind of its own.

Firsts Loves Blogfest                                                             

Today, I’m participating in Alex J Cavanaugh’s First Love Blogfest. I’m suppose to share my first book, song, movie, and love with you. I bent the rules just slightly, but since when have I ever followed rules.

The first movie I ever fell in love with was Star wars. It was so exciting to stand in the long line outside the theater with my mom and sister. I was only seven, and my mom couldn’t believe I had begged to go see it for the tenth time. Right then I decided I wanted to be the first woman astronaut in space. Okay, Sally Ride beat me to that, but I’ve been a die hard fan ever since.

Love song. Okay, I’m breaking the rules a little, but I have to share the song that my husband and I danced to on our wedding day. It’s our song.

The first book I ever fell in love with was The Outsiders. It’s the first book that ever made me cry.

Going to break the rules again on my first love, sorry Alex. But, I’m going with my ultimate love, which is my husband. None of the others count.

I’ve been reading a few books for the upcoming vlogs next month. I’ve finished the first two books of the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy, and Asylum Lake. You’ll have to wait until next month to find out how I felt about them.

The vlog will be about books that both Julie Helligrath and I enjoy. This is not designed to be reviews, but sharing what we liked, disliked, learned, and thought about books we are passionate about. We will not talk about any books that we didn’t enjoy, unless it is a book gone viral and it is surrounded by controversy. Authors work too hard to get negative feedback.

Have you read a great book lately?

NEW RELEASES                                   

HOT! HOT! HOT! Recently released books and stories. Check them out.

It’s said love can change a person. Medusa wasn’t always a monster…

Medusa is ruled by duty, to her Titan father and the Goddess Athena. She’s no room for the tenderness her warrior guard, Ariston, stirs. When Olympus frees her from service, her heart leads her into the arms of the guard she loves… and curses her as the creature with serpent locks.

Ariston goes to war with a full heart… and dreadful foreboding. He learns too late of the danger Medusa faces, alone, and a Persian blade sends him into the Underworld. But death, curses, nor the wrath of the Gods will keep him from returning to her.

Poseidon will use Greece’s war to get what he wants: Medusa. He does not care that she belongs to another. He does not care that she will be damned. He is a God, an Olympian, and she will be his.

After the war with Earth, bioengineered humans scatter across the Backworlds. Competition is fierce and pickings are scant. Scant enough that Craze’s father decides to hoard his fortune by destroying his son. Cut off from family and friends, with little money, and even less knowledge of the worlds beyond his own, Craze heads into an uncertain future. Boarding the transport to Elstwhere, he vows to make his father regret this day.

For a slave, hope is a dangerous thing.

Margaret Rousseau dreams of freedom from a life of servitude. When a mysterious woman saunters into the servants’ tavern promising the impossible, Margaret dares to hope she could win the heart of the one man she has secretly coveted since she first wore a corset…

The Prince.

Margaret desperately grasps for the opportunity to change her bleak destiny by placing faith in a woman who is not as forthcoming as she seems. Blinded to the stranger’s dark motives, Margaret surrenders herself to gain her heart’s desires.

But her choice may bring forth a darkness that could destroy all she holds dear.

Russell Leonard is a centuries-old Guardian who’s lost faith in his purpose. So when he’s charged with procuring the first female Guardian in over two centuries, he can only hope it’s the red-headed beauty who’s been haunting his dreams for months. And if it is, he intends to claim her as his. But when he finds his dream woman, Annabelle is mute and bears no Guardian’s Mark.

He soon realizes she’s been tainted by an ancient evil. Russell must somehow release the secrets trapped within this delicate soul to help her tap into the only weapon powerful enough to silence a millennia-old demon—her voice.

Saari Mitchell attends a Tueri conference in Las Vegas, Nevada to strengthen her bonds with Dhelis Guidry and Brogan Vincent—and see if they can make their three-sided relationship work. But when Saari and her vampire brother Mag’s lives are threatened, her trip to paradise soon becomes a surreal fight for survival.
Dhelis and Brogan’s psychic abilities are no help in finding Saari. Desperate to save their mate, they call in favors from the psychic and preternatural community, but the information leads only to more questions. Is the threat against Saari personal or part of a larger plan that threatens every human and Tueri’s existence? 

Crimson Sunrise is the second novel in the Tueri Fated Souls Series

Have a great weekend!!

First, I have to mention the entertaining and fun blog posts by Heather M. Gardner. She took us on a magical adventure following Stormy the Gnome all over the place. It kind of reminded me of a Flat Stanley project I worked on with my son. I miss Stormy. *sniff*

Second, Joshua brought us all kind of Geekdom with his assortment of vintage t-shirts. I still want the Firefly or Millennium Falcon ones. Yes, I can connect with my inner geek with the best of them.

Third, I was mesmerized and in complete amazement at Rusty Webb’s artwork. I mean OMG, you have to go look at his A-Z posts, NOW. You will be SO jealous at how talented he is.

Fourth, I have a special place in my heart for Jay Noel’s blog. I love all things Steampunk, so his blog rocked the challenge for me. An entire month all about Steampunk. You can’t possibly go wrong with that!

Fifth,  I learned so much from Stephen Tremp and M. Pax’s blogs about science, and Laura Eno’s about mythological creatures. Nothing like a little bit of education during the challenge.

Lastly, Alex J Cavanaugh for his paying it forward. I love that concept, and he did a great job shouting out about his fellow bloggers. Thanks, Alex!

Did you participate in the challenge this year? If not, are you going to try it next year? What blogs stood out to you during the A-Z challenge?

Only I write on a keyboard.  Rats.  I don’t even get to pen my dreams.

Anyway, reading the interview, I remembered we were both plagued by huge imaginations.  Yes, I used the word plagued.

One of my favorite stories about big imaginations comes from Jodi Thomas, a wonderful romance writer who tells a story about the night she realized she was different, a freak of nature, not of this world.  She was trying to get her kids to bed, but they wouldn’t go down, and yeah, trying to get kids to sleep is the most exhausting thing in the world.  I’d rather mine coal.  Anyway, Jodi finally got so frustrated, she said to them, “If you can’t sleep, just do what everyone does.  Tell yourself a story.”  Well, her husband heard this, pulled her aside, and said, “Jodi, not everyone tells themselves stories before they go to sleep.”

Right then, Jodi Thomas knew she was in trouble.  Or blessed.  Depending on the day.

I was the same way, and I think Ciara was, too—tortured by the huge imagination crammed into our skulls.  For example, I always had to clean up my room before I went to sleep.  Yes, my whole life.  My mother’s friends would look at my room, scratch their heads, and whisper to my mom, “Your son, his room, it’s so clean.  It’s not natural.  Is he worshipping Cthulhu?”

No, I wasn’t worshipping the Devil.  I simply had no choice.  If I didn’t clean my room, I’d wake up in the middle of the night, and I would see things.  Vile things.  Horrible things.  My shoes would morph into zombie rats from hell.  Jeans left on a chair would slouch into a corpse, or a demon, or the actor Liev Schreiber.  I love Liev Schreiber, but not in my room at night, on my chair.  So my wonderful imagination forced me to clean up my room every night.

I also have to avoid haunted hotels.  I can’t stay in quaint little hotels with a “history.”  Because I will be awake all night wondering what kind of horror will come out of the darkness to eat me.

Thank you very much, big imagination.

But like Ciara wrote in the interview, when I write novels, I get to throw my big imagination something to chew on.  And it goes to town.  Like a rottweiler at a weenie roast.

Back in 2010, I was talking with a literary agent, and she suggested I write an angel book.  Vampires were out.  Angels were in. But I was iffy on angels.  I mean, that whole hierarchy thing, and fallen angels, and blah, blah, blah.

But then, boom, my head latches onto an idea.  I get a scene.  I get another scene.  I know, I’ll put my story in a small, dying Colorado town.  And my heroine, a damaged girl, well, she has to run drugs after her parents are killed.  And she has a little brother who wakes her up every morning at 4:45 to ask where his mommy and daddy are.

Oh, the heartbreak.  And then an angel and a demon come to her, but she can’t tell the difference, even though she is falling in love with one, in lust with the other.  And the angel?  He’s an atheist.

I loved that.  My angel is an atheist.  That’s so freakin’ cool.  I love my debut novel The Never Prayer. Ain’t gonna read many books like it, my friends.

So little by little, this side-show-freak-show head I have, gets a story, gets characters, and I put together a book.

It’s been said that the mind is a wonderful slave, but a terrible master.  And that is true.  If I don’t give my head something to chew on, it will chew on me.

In June, Julie and I will be running some vlogs on a few books. First up, Asylum Lake by RA Evans. Next, 50 Shades or Grey. Come on, you know you want to find out what all the news is about. Last, I hope we’ll be able to report on Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers.

Also, we’ll be doing some movie vlogs. on Prometheus and maybe Avengers. We were suppose to go see Raven, but I had to cancel due to kitty illness.

I’ll confess that I had a post set for today, but in my typhoon of activities I set it to post in June. Well I’ve got my next one covered. See, I’m not behind, I’m ahead of the game.

Time. Yep, that’s what I’m insecure about right now. How do you keep up with everything? I should do better, and cut down on mistakes. I try to organize with calendars and task lists, but sometimes life gets in the way. Oh well, I guess I just pick myself up, apologize for letting some of my blogging friends and family down, and get back to work. We all make mistakes, right? We all get overwhelmed at times, right?

Even knowing that, I still feel guilty. You see, I have the most amazing friends and writing buddies that deserve so much more than I’ve been giving. I hope they still know how much they mean to me, and that I’ll make it up to them.

So, I guess I’m not so insecure about getting caught up, I think I’m more insecure that I’m letting my friends down.

Does that make sense? Do you ever feel like you don’t give enough to others, or that you can’t finish everything that needs to get done in a day?

Kendall Grey is a whale advocate and all proceeds from her Just Breathe trilogy will be donated to whale education.

Here is Kendall talking about what inspired Just Breathe and sharing a little whale education with us.

Blurb:

Strangers in reality, inseparable in dreams…

After years of suffocating under her boss’s scrutiny, whale biologist Zoe

Morgan finally lands a job as director of a tagging project in Hervey Bay, Australia. Success Down Under all but guarantees her the promotion of a lifetime, and Zoe won’t let anything—or anyone—stand in her way. Not the whale voices she suddenly hears in her head, not the ex who won’t take no for an answer, and especially not the gorgeous figment of her imagination who keeps saving her from the fiery hell of her dreams.

Gavin Cassidy hasn’t been called to help a human Wyldling in over a year, which is fine by him. Still blaming himself for the death of his partner, he keeps the guilt at bay by indulging in every excess his rock star persona affords. That is, until he’s summoned to protect Zoe from hungry Fyre Elementals and learns his new charge is the key to restoring order in the dying Dreaming. He never expects to fall for the feisty Dr. Morgan…nor does he realize he may have to sacrifice the woman he loves to save an entire country.

Zathura wasn’t an award winning film, but I loved it. My boys watched it for the first time the other day, and I was shocked. I didn’t remember the curse words until my little one gasped and put his little hand over his mouth. The middle child said, “oh, they shouldn’t say that.” Of course, in my house, if you say stupid the kids will call you out for it.

It is a cute little flick, but don’t expect academy award winning performances. Still, it has a definite charm.

Here’s a little glimpse at the movie:

Have you ever seen Zathura? Do you recognize the sister in the trailer? 

And this brings us to the end of the A-Z challenge. Woot! We made it!!!

I’m celebrating for TWO reasons today.

1) I am going to make it through the challenge. Yes! I did all the letters of the alphabet, and only messed up once!

2) I can’t believe the amazing support on the free download of Rise From Darkness yesterday. When I did this post, I was at #291 on Amazon. Woot! Thanks for all your blog posts, Facebook shouts, and Tweets. You guys rock!

If you didn’t get a chance to download today there is still time. Just make sure to make it over to Amazon by midnight tonight, or click here.

Okay, I’m going to celebrate the best way I know how. I’m gonna dance! Turn up your sound and start shuffeling.