GUEST POST 6 Reasons I Can’t Live Without Writing By Graeme Brown
1. It’s just natural
There’s something about that first coffee, the dark morning, and the song of birds...when stories sing in my head and I enter another world, it feels like I’m truly alive.
2. Balance
I’m also a mathematician and computer programmer, so developing stories keeps me in touch with a whole other part of myself. It’s as important as regular exercise.
3. Fun!
Writing stories—especially fantasy stories—is like making arts and crafts and solving complicated puzzles at the same time. To me, time spent writing is time doing what I love.
4. People would never leave me alone if I stopped
I get lots of comments from friends on my discipline. Those who’ve seen me at my computer every day without fail for nearly two years working on my current novel always ask how it’s going. If I were to just stop they might rush me to the hospital.
5. Stories resolve emotions that otherwise just build up
Like, for example, the other day when I overheard the most annoying conversation...wonderful dialogues are born when a writer decides to turn lemon situations into lemonade. J
6. I have no choice—seriously!
Sometimes it feels like the characters I met one dark morning two years ago are holding me hostage. They’ve got me chained up to a desk, and will not leave me alone until I tell their stories right. I must say, it’s a good incarceration; the view from my chair is wonderful.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Title:The PactAuthor:Graeme Brown
Published:May 2013
Publisher: Champagne Book Group
Word Count: 17,000
Genre:Dark Epic Fantasy
Recommended Age:12+
Synopsis:
Enter the world of Will Lesterall, a boy who’s grown up in the safety of his father’s castle.
Tales of the outside world ruled by warring kings and creatures of nightmare have never seemed a threat, yet on the night celebrating two hundred years of the sacred Pact that has kept Fort Lesterall safe, intrigues ripen, and in the course of a few hours Will is confronted with a choice greater than he can comprehend.
Join an unlikely hero as destiny pulls him into the middle of an ancient conflict between fallen gods and ambitious women, one that demands blood, both holy and wicked, and the power of an ancient fire bound in steel. As swords clash below a watching wood, hope and betrayal war as fiercely as fear and valor.
Whether he lives or dies, Will Lesterall will never be the same.
Amazon | Goodreads
EXCERPT
Excerpt from The Pact by Graeme Brown:
Will felt a hand on his shoulder.
“Lie down,” the woman cooed.
The blade glowed like the moon through its sheen of blood and Will obeyed slowly, feeling the stone’s icy kiss against the back of his neck. He cursed himself in his mind, but the voice had no power. That was your only chance. You’re dead now. There’s no stopping her.
He still shook with grief, his whole body cold. He saw Robin and the fear in his brother’s eyes. The pain. Will wanted to run, but his body wouldn’t move. Finally, he closed his eyes, whimpering, folding up his legs and turning on his side.
He waited and waited, but the moment didn’t come. He waited more, before finally summoning the courage to open his eyes...
About the Author:Graeme Brown has been enchanted by the epic fantasy genre since he was a child, and consequently he started creating his own world with its stories at the age of thirteen. Influenced by writers like J.R.R. Tolkien, Robert Jordan, and George R. R. Martin, he has finally brought the first of those stories to life with his debut title, a short story called The Pact—48 pages that will whisk you away to a dark, medieval fantasy world with gritty realism. When he’s not writing, he can be found exploring number theory problems or writing computer programs, training for a marathon, or unwinding in a yoga hot room. He has also explored other facets of art, both as a hobby and a profession, including vector graphics, pen and ink, classical piano, and web design. He just finished writing the first of many sequels to The Pact, A Thousand Roads.
Amazon Author Page | Twitter | GoodReads | Website
Giveaway Details:
There is a tour wide giveaway. Prizes include the following:
- GRAND PRIZE: One winner will receive 5 surprise fantasy eBooks from Champagne Book Group.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Title: Finding Eve
Author: Rita Bay
Published:September 2013
Publisher: Champagne Book Group
Word Count: 13,500
Genre: Shape-shifter Paranormal
Content Warning: Adult content
Recommended Age:18+
Synopsis:
Nicholas Lyons, chief physician to the Lyons clan of shape-shifters, has mourned the death of his promised lifemate until a rogue shapeshifter reports having seen her at an exotic animal sale. Accompanied by Marie Lyons who is no stranger to the dark side, her new lifemate Anthony, and the imperious Lady Bat, he embarks on a frantic search for Eve through the dangerous world of exotic animal trafficking.
Eve, whose first memories are of recovering from an injury at an isolated animal refuge, has lived through a succession of owners in a world filled with cages and cruelty. When Eve meets Marie at the exotic animal sale, she begins to have flashes of a different life – a life in which she was something other than feline. Her last sale, however, has landed her as prey to exotic animal hunters and the clock is ticking.
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads
About the Author:Rita’s journey began on the Gulf Coast. Over the years, she lived and/or traveled in the eastern US and Western Europe. While juggling family and work, she participated in archaeological digs, earned a black belt in Shotokan karate, prospected for gold and crystals, camped across Europe, and volunteered with the American Red Cross Disaster and Education Services. Rita has worked as a registered nurse, educator and school system administrator. She lives with her family on the Gulf Coast, except when she’s in Atlanta, at least for now.
Rita is published in multiple genres with several publishers including paranormal and erotic novellas (Champagne Book Group – Champagne Books and Carnal Passions), historical novels (Siren BookStrand), and contemporary F/M and M/M novellas (Secret Cravings). She posts random bits of historical trivia about western history and culture on Rita Bay’s Blog at ritabay.com.
Amazon Author Page | Facebook | Twitter | GoodReads | Website
Title: Tower of Obsidian
Author:L. T. Getty
Published:February 2013
Publisher: Champagne Book Group
Word Count: 115,000
Genre:Epic Fantasy
Content Warning: Minor Violence
Recommended Age:13+
Synopsis:
When Kale mac Tadhg is betrayed by his Lord’s men, he is sent on an impossible quest: slay a witch in a tower, and end a people’s curse. Both Kale’s best friend and brother-in-arms Aaron Smithson and former betrothed Aoife of Westgate set out to rescue him, but their journey takes them into the uncharted waters and Northwestern Nordic colonies, to a land cursed and all but forgotten. They begin to realize that there is some truth to old legends. Kale’s rescue comes at a price—for by the time Aaron and Aoife know where to search, like so many before him, Kale is bound to the ancient tower’s fate.
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads
About the Author:L.T. Getty started writing her first novel in junior high, and hasn’t really stopped since. She’s studied kendo, is an open water scuba diver, and has recently taken up archery, and hopes to learn to do it horseback some day. When she’s not writing, she works as a paramedic. When she is writing, it tends to be rather cheeky.
Amazon Author Page | Facebook | GoodReads | Blog
Title:The Queen’s PawnAuthor:R. J. Hore
Published: April 2013
Publisher: Champagne Book Group
Word Count: 91,000
Genre:Medieval Fantasy
Recommended Age:13+
Synopsis:
Young Harow just wanted to stay on the farm for the rest of his life, but his mother insisted he go to school in the City to study to be a priest. Now the City is in flames and he is racing across unfamiliar countryside trying to get the mysterious and sensuous Queen Reginee and her extremely annoying and very spoiled daughter Desiree-Rose to safety.
Of course there is a rebel army on their heels, black wizardry afoot, and sundry and dangerous creatures and villains, monstrous and common, seductive and evil, lurking along the way. If this were not enough for the youth to worry about, the Queen’s amorous chambermaid and bodyguard Mathilde, a smallish giantess, just wants to get him alone.
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads
About the Author:
Ron can be found sailing on Lake Winnipeg when not writing novels or critiquing for an on-line magazine He won first prize for a Canadian Authors Association short story contest for a ghostly love story, but his preference is for longer works including a recent trio of medieval-style fantasies and the Housetrap Chronicles fantasy detective series through www.burstbooks.ca . Supervised by his understanding wife and a large demanding cat, most of his writing efforts continue toward fantasy, with occasional lapses into science fiction and horror.
Amazon Author Page | Facebook | GoodReads | Website
