Susan A. Royal talks writing, family and her May release IN MY OWN SHADOW (Fantasy Adventure/Romance)!

I'm happy to welcome fellow MuseItUp Author Susan A. Royal to my blog! Thanks Susan for giving us a glimpse into your family, thoughts on writing and your upcoming release, In My Own Shadow, a Fantasy Adventure/Romance. Readers, please leave a comment with your email address to win an ecopy of In My Own Shadow...

 Hi Jenna! Thanks so much for having me. I’m delighted to be a guest on your blog. I signed with MuseItUp for the first time in June 2011, and what a journey it’s been. My life is filled with things I only used to dream about. In short, it’s been a wonderful experience. Along the way, I’ve met some wonderful people. Some of them live on the other side of the world, some on the other side of the country and some in my own little part of the world, but we all have one thing in common. We are wordsmiths. We write about worlds that exist only in our own minds. The voices of our characters speak to us, and we feel compelled to tell their stories.                                                       
     
I live in a 100-year-old farmhouse in a small east Texas town that comes complete with a female ghost who harmonizes from time to time with my youngest son when he plays guitar.  I’ve never heard her, but at sometimes on a cold winter night, I’ve felt the covers moving across the end of the bed as though she’s making sure my feet stay warm. Sounds like a story, right? Some day…
    
I’m married, with three children and four grandchildren who have been wonderful support in my efforts to be a writer. I couldn’t have done it without them. My family is rich with characters, both past and present. I spent my childhood listening to my grandmother’s stories of living on a farm in Oklahoma Territory with three sisters and three brothers and working as a telephone operator in the early 20^th century.  My father shared stories of growing up in San Antonio in the depression, and through her mother’s eyes I was able to experience how it felt to be a teenager during WWII. 
     
My current book, In My Own Shadow, is a Fantasy adventure/romance and will debut May 10, 2013. My first book, Not Long Ago, is a time travel adventure/romance. Both ebooks are available through MuseItUp/Amazon/B&N.  I am currently working on a sequel to Not Long Ago, because my daughter insisted there was still more of Erin and Griffin’s story to tell. She was right.

     Let me tell you a little about In My Own Shadow.

     Talk about the worst day ever! Lara lets her friend Carrie talk her into a blind date, only it turns out the handsome stranger waiting for Lara after work isn’t Carrie’s cousin after all. And, when they’re chased through a portal to another world, Lara realizes Rhys really is out of this world.
     Lyra, her alternate in another dimension, has left clues to the whereabouts of the Book of Secrets that explains the mystery of time travel in Lara’s subconscious.  Or so Rhys thinks. Power-hungry telepaths pursuing them will stop at nothing to get it, even if it means breaking Lara’s mind. To complicate matters, Lara gets tangled up in her feelings for Rhys while exploring her connection with Lyra.
     With Rhys as her guardian, a bear of a man named Azle to guide her, and the spirit of Lyra haunting her dreams, Lara must find the Book of Secrets before it falls into the hands of those who want its power.  Only then can she return to her world safely.
     
I had fun writing scenes between Rhys and Lyra. At first she’s furious with him for ripping her away from a perfectly ordinary existence. Never mind that Rhys has saved her from the crazies in the parking lot and the nut job that appeared at her front door. Everything he says sets her teeth on edge, and sometimes he acts like he can barely stand to be around her. Every time it looks like they’re going to come to an understanding, something happens and it’s back to square one. Your typical love-hate relationship.


Here’s a little sample:
     Rhys seemed to have a hard time answering a simple question. “This is all too
bizarre for words. You can’t…I don’t…” With an unsteady breath, I threw my
hands up, fingers splayed. “You’re out of your mind, and so am I for trying to
make any sense out of this.”
Rhys rubbed his hand across the back of his neck. “I know someone who might
be able to explain things to you better than me. And he can be trusted. I know
where to find him, but it’s a long, hard journey.”
     I raised my eyes to the sky. “Sure, why not? I’ll just cancel my dental appointment this afternoon. No biggie.” Above the trees, the constellations
glittered in the evening sky, but the moon was ringed like Jupiter, and the stars
were spinning. “What’s wrong with the moon…and the stars…?”
     He stared up into the darkness. “We’ve stepped through a portal into an
alternate universe—”
     I snorted laughter. “Sorry, I didn’t bring my passport. I wasn’t planning on
leaving the country, let alone the damn planet!” His blank expression told me
either he didn’t get my joke or else he didn’t think it was funny.

Please comment and don’t forget to leave your email address to be entered in a drawing to win an ecopy of In My Own Shadow. Thanks so much for having me. I have enjoyed it!

Buy link for In My Own Shadow: http://tinyurl.com/bqbxm4l
Buy link for Not Long Ago: http://tinyurl.com/85vgye3
Web Site:  http://susanroyal.moonfruit.com
Blog:  http://ssnroyal.blog.com/

On Jenna Storm's blog today...Author V.S. Nelson chat's with the intriguing ladies of her Eternal Series

I'm pleased to welcome Author V. S. Nelson to my blog today! She's joined by the ladies of Eternal Lovers, Book One in her series. The room's getting crowded so I'm going to bow out and leave them to entice you with glimpses of the (intriguing and oh so sexy) men and the ladies in the Eternal series. Please leave a comment for a chance to win a free Kindle copy of book two.

V: Jenna I want to thank you for the warm welcome. Like always you are such a lady of grace. So many others would have thrown us out for the unannounced intrusion. I’d like to start by introducing the ladies from Eternal Lovers, Book One of the series. Jennifer, would you come forward so I don’t have to shout across the room?

Jennifer, Eternal Lovers

 (A petite brunette who couldn’t weigh more than a hundred pounds soaking wet gets up and sits down beside me. Her smile is warm and friendly but she remains quiet and waits for me to speak.)

V: Jennifer, I thought I would start with you since Eternal Lovers is really your story. What can you tell Jenna’s readers about you and the book?

Jennifer: I guess it all started when I went to visit my best friend Alice, who was in the Chicago area.

(A blond with red streaks in her hair stand, waves her right arm and announces, “That’s me!”
 V and Jennifer both give her a look and she sits back down.

Jennifer: Anyway as I was saying, I was visiting her at a Lake Michigan estate when everything started happening. You see, I’d gone to see her to ask her for her help. I was convinced something was wrong with me. I won’t go into details but I will tell you every man I can into contact with seemed … well, just edible… anyway to make a long story short, I became seriously attracted to Gabriel, the leader of Guardians Inc. Being the big chicken I use to be, rather than act on my feelings I ran. He along with Alice and Raphael followed me back to California and it’s a good thing they did or I wouldn’t be alive today. Everything worked out in the long run and I ended up meeting my real father for the first time. By the way, does Jenna know I’m half Selkie?

V: Guess she does now.

Jennifer: Woops, guess I’ve been hanging around Alice too long.

Alice: Hey, wait a minute! What is that suppose to mean?

V: Ladies, please take it down a notch.

V: I think Jenna’sreaders are getting a good idea of what I have to put up with on a daily basis but I can assure you each woman here and in the series is unique and special in their own way. Alice as you can see is the most out spoken one. She’s known for her love of shopping and sex – the two things that are always on her mind. Sadly the others tease her relentlessly about it. Alice plays a major role throughout the series and keeps us on our toes. She’s lifemated to Mick, the one time lead singer of the Immortals. She met Marie, that red head sitting on your love seat in England. Marie is married to the bands lead singer came over to the states a couple of days after Jennifer arrived. She’s doesn’t look it but she’s been around for over three hundred years. No she’s not an immortal but her mate is so as long as she samples his blood from time to time she will continue to remain as she is.

(Marie smiles and give me a little wave. The blond next to her elbows her and speaks up,)

Kathleen: She may not be, but I am.

V: That you are Kathleen. Meet Kathleen, the first immortal woman we introduce in the series. She’s mated to Bryan the band’s drummer. Sadly when Set’s Legions attacked the band during their last concert at Yankee Stadium she was kidnapped. Thankfully we got her back before the end of book one.
The dark headed Middle Eastern looking lady on the far end of the couch is Jasmine. Like you and me, Jasmine is human. She is introduced to the reader just before Jennifer and Gabe’s wedding and becomes a major player in the series with the introduction of book two Eternal Nights. She now lives on the estate with Ronan, Jennifer’s father.

Not to scare you, but the dog we walked in with is no dog at all. That’s Nowaki, Jennifer’s wolf, who she has had since she was a small child. Nowaki also plays a big part in the series. See that young looking platinum haired woman holding the leash? Well that’s Jessica, Jennifer’s baby sister. Sadly Jessica was forced to share Nowaki’s body for twenty years until everyone discovered she existed. I’m happy to say, with the outcome of Book two, Eternal Nights; Jessica is now mated to Raphael, Gabe’s best friend.

The other two blonds in the room are Allison, a blood born immortal who found herself involved with one of Set’s Legions and Tshering Snow, a dancer from the Himalayas. Both are introduced and play a major role in Eternal Nights.  Book three, Eternal Blades is actually Tshering and Lance’s book so you’ll be see a lot more of her and of course the other women.

I know we’ve taken up a lot of your time so I say good bye to you and your readers for now. I can tell Alice is getting antsy as I promised her we would stop at one more mall before returning to the estate.
On another note, I’d like to mention, since today is release day for book two, Eternal Nights, I’ll be giving a Kindle version of the book away to some lucky person. All you have to do is leave a comment below.

If you would like to know more about the series please visit me and all the characters from the Guardians at any of the following places.

Book Trailer   Amazon  Website  Blog  Twitter  Goodreads Facebook   Authorsdb  BookB 

All of my books are available for purchase in Kindle format, regular print and large print for those with less than perfect eye sight through my Amazon author page. Amazon

Jenna, it’s been fun and I hope you’ll consider having us back again.