Indie Author Showcase: Tamara Rose Blodgett

For about the past week, I have had something akin to the super flu. So, for several days, I have looked and felt like this guy...

Eat two brains and call me in the morning.

Since this week has pretty much seen me stumbling around our home in boxer shorts with a fistful of medication and a chest glistening with Vicks VapoRub, I haven't been able to focus on the final preparations for my new novel "Children of Aerthwheel."

I had hoped to make it available by August 22, but that may not be happening now. At the very least, it will be the middle of next week before I am comfortable with casting "Children of Aerthwheel" out into the vast digital void. I think, as I am only 29 and have no kids, this is the closest I've ever felt to driving my first born child to college. It's scary, liberating, and overwhelming all at the same time.

But enough of that.

On to the showcase!

Author Tamara Rose Blodgett lives in Alaska and is a paranormal enthusiast..She also has experience as a journalist. In addition to the book described below, she has also published the paranormal romance "The Pearl Savage." Her newest novel, "Death Speaks," will be available in September.

And now, from the author herself...

Author: Tamara Rose Blodgett

Book Title: Death Whispers

Genre: Young Adult

Your Book in 1000 Words or Less: Death Whispers, a Futuristic Paranormal tale of friendship, romance and government intrigue, explores the life of fourteen year-old Caleb Hart, "normal" teen and corpse-raiser...

Caleb has the most rare of the paranormal powers, Cadaver-Manipulation (aka corpse-raiser). In this world of the future, with Brain Impulse "pulse" Technology's wide-spread use and influence keenly realized, routine school inoculation has expanded to include a pharmaceutical cocktail, which once administered, unlocks the genetic potential for paranormal abilities. Using this small window of puberty, teens who have the genetic propensity find themselves manifesting extraordinary gifts; some of which garner the full attention of our government. Caleb must camouflage his new "talent" during the mandatory eighth grade Aptitude Test so that he remains undiscovered while establishing choice for his future. However, events beyond his control systematically reveal Caleb and his friends, which force them to fight for their freedom. In the midst of this struggle, his girlfriend's father battles to reassert his abusive dominance in her life while a couple of "peer enemies" thwart his efforts of secrecy at every turn. In the explosive climax, Caleb must protect his friends, and Jade, the one he loves...at all costs.

From the Back Cover
Caleb can't seem to stop the accidental zombie raisings, the science experiments are killing him and road kill has taken on a whole new meaning. Add in the two dudes dogging him at school and he's about to explode.
When he finally gets the courage to ask Jade out things start going his way...until her dad starts stalking her and the government starts stalking Caleb. How does he defeat them, get the girl and shake the jerks that are making him miserable?

Book Link: Death Whispers (The Death Series)

Author Website: http://www.amazon.com/Tamara-Rose-Blodgett/e/B004UNVT8K/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

Something Unique About Your Writing Process: A 'thinking-out-of-the box' paranormal enthusiast who believes there's a 95% chance zombies do not exist; but loves to write as if they do... I'm from the Seattle area originally and have worked as an online journalist in the past. I believe young males have a specific way of talking and try very hard to capture that in my books. In my spare time I'm a [reluctant] serial-re-modeler, project-slave and big-time, in-my-pants reader (surprise!). I do a great deal of day-dreaming about impossible scenarios and events, writing books to capture them in stories for you~
Side note: Gnomes should be exterminated.

Indie Author Showcase: Keith Robinson

Before we get to the showcase, I have news!

The Kickstarter project for "Children of Aerthwheel" expired yesterday without being successfully funded. This does not, however, mean the book won't be published. Of course it will see the light of day. I'll just have to work harder to get print copies into the hands of booksellers and reviewers. I'd hoped to have a website that acted as a sort of companion piece to the novel; I can still do that, though it won't be as seamless and it won't be as interactive as I'd originally planned.

Truthfully, I was disappointed when the Kickstarter project hit the wall. Yet, I'm not discouraged. That project, like everything I've done up to this point, was simply an experiment. Had it worked out, I would have been overjoyed; but I can take that "failed" experience and learn some things. As an indie author, I will never count myself as defeated. I will always look at my experiences as opportunities to learn and adapt. It's a skill I like to apply in my daily life, too.

I recently heard a rather wise man say, "Failure is not trying." As long as I put my heart and soul into whatever I'm doing, I will never fail. Every movement made is a motion forward. Even when things seem depressing and the world appears to be at odds with your very existence, you have to try. That's what being an indie is all about. And I will never stop trying.

Okay, enough of the motivational mumbo-jumbo! It's time for the Indie Author Showcase... back for good, this time!

Today's featured author is Keith Robinson. In addition to the book featured below, he has written three sequels and is planning the fifth novel in the series. If there's anything I like more than an indie author, it's a hard-working indie author! Originally hailing from England, Keith has lived in the United States since 2001. When he's not writing, he is a website designer, a collector of books, and a fan of fantasy and science fiction.

And now, from the author himself...

Author: Keith Robinson

Book Title: Island of Fog

Genre: Fantasy for readers 9+ (suits adults too)

Your Book in 1000 Words or Less: A lonely, foggy island is home to eight families. Twelve-year-old Hal and his friends have always wondered what happened all those years ago on the mainland, that unseen place Out There beyond the fog, and after an astonishing discovery in the woods the children are more determined than ever to find out what their parents are hiding. But their lives are turned upside down when Abigail reveals her closely guarded secret. According to her, the children are slowly changing into monsters! Are they freaks of nature, or subjects of a sinister experiment?

Each child reacts differently to his or her unique monstrous transformation; after all, one may feel proud to be a dragon, faerie, or centaur, but who in their right mind wants to be a sadistic manticore or cowardly harpy?

ISLAND OF FOG is a story of intrigue and conspiracy. The reader follows Hal Franklin as he struggles to accept that he and his friends are something more than ordinary children, and that their parents have been covering up the truth the whole time. With their trust shaken and the unexpected arrival of a strange woman from Out There, the children hide their frightening shapeshifting abilities and pretend nothing is wrong.

The story continues in LABYRINTH OF FIRE and MOUNTAIN OF WHISPERS. The fourth book, LAKE OF SPIRITS, is due Summer 2011.

Book Link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/098439060X (or signed copies from http://www.unearthlytales.com)

Author Website: http://www.unearthlytales.com

Something Unique About Your Writing Process:  I wrote ISLAND OF FOG organically and it took absolutely ages. I enjoyed what I wrote, but it took me in the wrong direction so I had to change a lot of it. Subsequent novels have only taken 4-6 months because I plan them with chapter summaries (just a paragraph each). But I rarely complete my summaries; as long as I have about half done, including the last few chapters, I can fill in the rest organically. For me it's like printing a map of how to get to your destination; you're aware of the route and where to make important turns, but you have no idea what you're going to see along the way.

Indie Author Showcase 16: Nancy Holzner

Greetings, writers and readers! I'm trying to get the author showcase up and running smoothly again. I somehow turned into that blogger who promises content, then disappears for a time (only posting sporadically and incoherently). That won't be happening anymore.


Today's featured author is Nancy Holzner. She writes out of New York and offers an intriguing mystery novel below. Be sure to visit her blog because she also writes paranormal / urban fantasy and has several other books available.

And now, from the author herself...

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Book Title: Peace, Love, and Murder

Genre: Mystery

Your Book in 1000 Words or Less: Finding a corpse in the trunk of your cab is a rotten way to start the day. For Bo Forrester, things go straight downhill from there. The cops are asking a hell of a lot of questions. The murder weapon turns up too close for comfort. And the attractive woman giving him the eye turns out to be Trudy Hauser, a cute-but-crazy deputy dead set on arresting him for murder.

Bo returned to Rhodes, an upstate New York college town, hoping to reconcile with his parents, gentle hippies who couldn't accept his decision to join the Army at eighteen. Twenty years later, the commune where he grew up is a subdivision and his parents are long gone. Pondering his next move, Bo takes a job driving a cab. And he has no clue how the bullet-riddled body of art philanthropist Fred Davies ended up in the trunk.

Now, he can't turn around without bumping into Trudy-it's not her case, but that's not slowing her down. The local cops, suspecting robbery as the motive, are right behind her. When Davies's beautiful widow asks Bo for help, he can't say no. Starting his own investigation, he plunges into a world of privilege, corruption, and high-stakes greed. A lot of people had reason to want Davies dead: a flirtatious art history professor with a taste for booze and men; her insanely jealous, ex-felon husband; the business partner with a secret addiction; and an avant-garde artist who proclaims that murder is the ultimate art form.

As the body count escalates, Bo must combine the skills he learned as a soldier with the values he grew up with on the commune to flush out a vicious murderer-if he manages to stay alive that long.

Book Link: Peace, Love, and Murder (A Bo Forrester Mystery)

Author Website: www.nancyholzner.wordpress.com

Something Unique About Your Writing Process: I almost always end up writing a whole new first chapter, so now when I start a new project, the first words I type are "Chapter 2."

Indie Author Showcase 13: Melinda Clayton

Today's Indie Author Showcase features wife, mother, psychotherapist and writer Melinda Clayton. In addition to having written the book featured below, she also published and contributed to the anthology "Passionate Hearts".

And now, from the author herself...

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Book Title: Appalachian Justice
Genre: Historical Fiction/Commercial Fiction
Book in 1000 words or less:

Billy May Platte is a half Irish, half Cherokee Appalachian woman who learned the hard way that 1940s West Virginia was no place to be gay. As Billy May explains, "We was sheltered in them hills. We didn't know much of nothin' about life outside of them mountains. I did not know the word lesbian; to us, gay meant havin' fun and queer meant somethin' strange." In 1945, when Billy May was fourteen years old and orphaned, three local boys witnessed an incident in which Billy May's sexuality was called into question. Determined to teach her a lesson she would never forget, they orchestrated a brutal attack that changed the dynamics of the tiny coal mining village of Cedar Hollow, West Virginia forever. Everyone, from Gerald Smith, the elderly owner of Smith's General Store, to Sue Ann Leary, the spoiled daughter of the town's only doctor, to Corinne Pruitt, Billy May's childhood friend, was affected by the event in ways they could never have anticipated.

Thirty years after the brutal attack, living in solitude on top of Crutcher Mountain, Billy May discovers the hideout of a young girl - a girl who just happens to be the daughter of one of the boys who attacked Billy May so long ago. No one knows better than Billy May the telltale signs of abuse, and she must quickly make a decision. Will she withdraw into the solitude in which she has lived since the horrific attack, or will she risk everything to save the girl from a similar fate? Billy May's choices will once again change not only her own future, but the future of Cedar Hollow as well, and certainly the future of the young girl.

Billy May tells us her story in her own words, as she lays dying in a hospice in Huntington, West Virginia in the spring of 2010. "From the top of my mountain, I seen that girl runnin'," she remembers, "and I understood even then that my decisions might very well be the death of me."

Book link: Appalachian Justice

Author website: http://authormelindaclayton.xanga.com

Something unique about my writing process: I'm a licensed psychotherapist, and I like to draw upon those experiences in my writing.

Indie Author Showcase 11: James Everington

Happy Monday to you all!


Today's Indie Author Showcase features James Everington, a writer from Nottingham, England. He specializes in dark, supernatural fiction. According to the author, his work tends to be ambiguous and unexplainable.The work featured today is a short story. Be sure to jump over to his blog where he has been posting some notes about the origins of his own short stories; I always find it fascinating to discover the kernels of reality behind an author's fiction. James offers such gems in his most recent blog posts.

And now, from the author himself...

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Book Title: Feed The Enemy

Genre: Literary/Psychological

Your Book in 1000 Words or Less: A short story about a woman attempting to flee London due to a terrorist threat. Her husband, who works for the government, encourages her to leave. But as the day goes on it becomes apparent he has his own reasons for wanting her out the way, and the real source of her fears might be closer to home...

Book Link: Feed the Enemy

Author Website: http://www.jameseverington.blogspot.com/

Something Unique About Your Writing Process: I mainly write short stories, and I'm interested in blurring the boundaries between so-called 'literary' fiction and so-called 'genre' fiction. Influences are people like Shirley Jackson and Ramsey Campbell.

Indie Author Showcase 10: J. Robert Kennedy

Today's Indie Author Showcase features J. Robert Kennedy. I think a quote from his own website seems to sum up the writer perfectly: "J. Robert Kennedy wrote his first story when he was five... Everyone in it died." If that doesn't get your attention, you've got ice cubes where your heart should be.

In addition to the work described below, J. Robert Kennedy has also published short fiction, as well as a novel called "The Protocol", which was published through Lachesis Publishing. Be sure to visit his website for news and more information about his work.

And now, from the author himself...

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Book Title: Depraved Difference (A Detective Shakespeare Mystery)

Genre: Mystery/Suspense

Your Book in 1000 Words or Less:
Would you help, would you run, or would you just watch? When a young woman is brutally assaulted by two men on the subway, her cries for help fall on the deaf ears of onlookers too terrified to get involved, her misery ended with the crushing stomp of a steel-toed boot. A cell phone video of her vicious murder, callously released on the Internet, its popularity a testament to today's depraved society, serves as a trigger, pulled a year later, for a killer. When emailed a video documenting the final moments of a woman's life, entertainment reporter Aynslee Kai, rather than ask why the killer chose her to tell the story, decides to capitalize on the opportunity to further her career. Assigned to the case is Hayden Eldridge, a detective left to learn the ropes by a disgraced partner, and as videos continue to follow victims, he discovers they were all witnesses to the brutal subway murder a year earlier, proving sometimes just watching is fatal.

Depraved Difference is a fast-paced murder suspense novel with enough laughs, heartbreak, terror and twists to keep you on the edge of your seat, then knock you flat on the floor with an ending so shocking, you'll read it again just to pick up the clues.

Book Link:
Depraved Difference (A Detective Shakespeare Mystery)

Author Website:
http://www.jrobertkennedy.com

Something Unique About Your Writing Process:
I don't plan what I write. I prefer to start writing, and see where it goes. This turns the writing process into a reading process as well; I don't know where things are heading when I start. I remember writing Depraved Difference and killing a character I had expected to have survive. I actually shed a tear! If I had planned out the book from beginning to end as some do, I never would have had that experience.

Indie Author Showcase 9: Lee Emerick

All sorts of behind the scenes business going on right now. I wish I could explain it all more clearly, but it will have to wait for a time. I can assure you, though... it does not involve ninjas. So put away those throwing stars before you hurt yourself. Plus, why are we talking about throwing stars?

Today's Indie Author Showcase features one Lee Emerick, a man after my own heart due largely to his self-professed fascination with zombies! Lee published his first novel, "Super Nova", in 2009. He went on to write a sequel ("Mechanical Jihad") as well as a third novel entitled "Extinction Theory". Be sure to check out Lee's website for more information about his work!

And now, from the author himself...

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Book Title: 20 Years After The Zombie Apocalypse

Genre: Post Apocalyptic Horror

Your Book in 1000 Words or Less: Harriette Madyson is the last woman alive. Twenty years ago her world came to an end when a zombie plague engulfed the population of Earth. At the tender age of seven she found herself in a nightmarish situation where the dead literally returned to life. Left with little to use and nowhere to hide Harri now finds herself stalked across the frozen desolate landscape of North America pursued by the former love of her life. All that she has to keep her going is the hope that she can make it home to die in peace.

Book Link: 20 Years After The Zombie Apocalypse

Author Website: http://www.leeemerick.co.uk

Something Unique About Your Writing Process: The style of the book flashes back to various points of the main character's life as she relives her past in the present. I focus more on the psychological aspect of how it would feel to be in the situation such as helplessness and despair, rather than just random action and violence.

Indie Author Showcase 8: Tominda Adkins

 Before we get to the Indie Author Showcase today, I have two things I'd like to mention.

First, please remember that I'm pledging the rest of the month's profits from my ebook "Prismatica" to American Cancer Society's Relay For Life charity. I want you to read my book. But most of all, I want to give Relay For Life a good chunk of cash at the end of the month. Slap the Amazon or Smashwords link in the sidebar to help.

Secondly, I've discovered (via the blog of indie author Zoe Winters) an incredible website called Zen Habits. You can find quick snippets of information about creativity, motivation, serenity, organization... it really is a garden of ideas. I urge everyone to visit this blog when you have time. Bookmark it. And return frequently.

Today's Indie Author Showcase features Seattle-based writer Tominda Adkins. She's been writing since she was twelve years old and she offers a printed novel that sounds fascinating. Give her some indie author love and show some support for what looks to be one innovative story, which is the first in a series. Indies authors unite!

And now, from the author herself...

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Book Title: Vessel (Book I: The Advent)

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Your Book in 1000 Words or Less:
"They're divine. They're almighty. They're about six thousand years late.

They're the Vessel, five living gods born to smite an ancient anomaly of death. That's what beloved pop legend Jesse Cannon is saying anyway--after claiming to be a Vessel himself. It's enough to make his long-suffering assistant Jordan hand in her two week's notice. She might not survive one week, however, because Jesse's divine vision is no myth. Something is stalking them both, and it's not a crazed fan . . .

Advent brings the fledgling deities together (on a tricked-out tour bus, of course) for the ride of their immortal lives. Unearthing the Vessels' calling will take them from the banks of a forgotten Nile tributary to a Toronto truck stop, from the set of Oprah to the gates of Hell and back. Along the way, they must survive not only one another, but flesh-eating tentacles, water gun assasins, prehistoric priestesses, undead groupies, powerful hangovers, cut-off jeans, and one very fed up celebrity assistant.

Gird your loins: this is urban fantasy. No pet panther or tribal tattoo required."

Book Link: Vessel, Book I: The Advent

Author Website: http://www.readvessel.com

Something Unique About Your Writing Process:
I tend to write key scenes out of order, and let my characters sort of connect them organically. It's not as if I make it up as I go--it's just a matter of asking myself how Characters 1 and 2 manage to get from Point A to Point B. The results are usually way more entertaining and realistic than if I attempted to write from start to finish.

Indie Author Showcase 7: Arthur J. Sines & Kenneth Wayne

It's a Twofer Friday! 

Before I get to our double feature, I have to ask you all to help with my Relay For Life / American Cancer Society fundraiser. I'm extending the pledge date to the end of the month. That means we have another week to raise money for the charity. Think about loved ones who have been touched by cancer; I think that's about the only motivation you need.

So please. I want you to read my books; but even more, I want to raise a good chunk of money.

One other thing... you might notice a Facebook widget on the scrollbar to your right. Slap the "Like" button on that widget. It's pretty simple. And that part is free, too!

On to the showcase!

Today, I'll be showcasing two different authors. Be sure to check out work by both writers. We indies have to stick together and support one another.The best way to do that is through commenting, reviewing, and spreading the word. So hop to it, readers and writers! Let's spread the word.

The first author is Arthur J. Sines. It doesn't look like he has an author site to promote here, so I'll just let you read about his work below. And keep scrolling for the other showcase afterwards.

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Book Title: BlackMail: The Beginning
Genre: Science Fiction

Your Book in 1000 Words or Less:
The Third Party, or The Party for short, is a ruthless organization of spies and saboteurs. Their goal is to subtly craft and direct the world into a utopia, a place with no crime, no hate, and no prejudice. A place where nationality no longer exists and all people coexist peacefully, the true Marxist dream.

One of The Party's best agents, BlackMail, is being assigned to train a new recruit. The Party has high hopes for their new agent, Jade. But shortly after her training begins The Party assigns them to a critical mission that threatens their existence. But things go terribly wrong and it leaves BlackMail questioning what The Party really stands for.

Her discovery will propel her down a road she never thought possible, and forever change her life. And it will propel Jade down the path of The Third Party.

Book Link: BlackMail: The Beginning (Agents of The Third Party)

Something Unique About Your Writing Process:
I wrote and edited this book over a very long period of time. It had at one time spawned an entire site dedicated to helping unpublished authors get their work out. That didn't work, but fortunately amazon caught on and that dream is realized here. 

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The second author in today's showcase is Kenneth Wayne. He was raised on the American West Coast and has spent a few decades in Asia. Kenneth has under his belt five novels, dozens of short stories, a novel-length travelogue, and two ESL text books. He also runs the eTLC, (Electronic Text & Literature Cloud), which is an archive that only features authors who are not backed by major presses. So when you're done here, go check out his archive and find some new weekend reading material!

And now, from the author himself.

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Title:  Clip

Genre:  "Kafkaesque" thriller

Your book in 1000 words or less:  Imagine you’re watching a video posted on the Internet and catch a glimpse of yourself in it. The only thing is, you were never in the place where the clip was shot and you don't know any of the people in it.

Charles is an expatriated American living in Japan who spots himself in a sex video that has gone viral. Initially, he dismisses it as a fluke. His apprehension fades after a Japanese barmaid is convinced that he was in the clip and enthusiastically accepts his offer to spend the night with him.

His new-found fame wanes when a supervisor at work watches Charles in a job-related video and notices that Charles’ facial expressions momentarily take on those of a different person. After this incident, Charles is convinced that his video “flukes” must be explained.

His journey to discover the truth reveals: a former porno starlet with a “unique” talent; the couple from the viral video wants him to join a secret cult; the CIA is involved somehow; people with blue auras are important; disappearing people complicate things; a Russian gambler at a Korean casino with an agenda; and inter-dimensional reptilian aliens behind it all.

CLIP is a Kafkaesque thriller, which implodes into haunting 21st century veracity.

Book Link:  http://www.amazon.com/Clip-ebook/dp/B004NIFN7U 

(or) http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/42946

Author Website:  http://www.etlc.info

Something Unique About Your Writing Process:  Driving my family crazy as scribble away instead of devoting my time to day-trading or some other more "practical" pursuit.