Saturday, June 29, 2013

Hello World!

 
Once again, I want to thank Sallie Lundy-Frommer for guesting on the blog! She did a great job!

For the past couple of weeks I've been working on The Sheep Eater while she's had your attention. I didn't know that a body needed to have skills in order to use a word processor, but by gum, I found out differently!

Never ever never try to take a formatting shortcut if you're in the middle of a large document. You'll find yourself spending hours and hours of fixing your time saving efforts. I think I'm back up to speed now, sitting at over 52 thousand words. With any luck, I might get done with this manuscript before they put me in "the home."

My next major activity is going to be attending the Pacific Northwest Writers Association conference at the Hilton in SeaTac, WA July 25-28. I always get some great insights when I go to that thing. My dad will be with me, too. We usually have a great time together.

In mid-August I plan to head for Wyoming and Montana to do a bit more research about the Shoshone for this current manuscript. Again, my dad will be going. He just wants to do a road trip in his RV. This is as good an excuse as any! Besides, we might just get to drop in on that grandson of mine and spoil him for a day or two.

Speaking of such things, I recently discovered that my youngest is expecting twins in February. Sensory overload!

Before I sign off, I would like to wish our friends to the north a Happy Canada Day on the 1st of July (It doesn't hurt to butter up my Canadian publisher). Right now I think she's working from an inflatable raft tied to a tree near Calgary somewhere.

And if I don't get the chance to say so beforehand, I hope all of my American friends have a great 4th of July.

Gary



Saturday, June 22, 2013

It Is My Distinct Honor To Introduce Sallie Lundy-Frommer As My Guest Today!


It’s a treat to guest on Gary Eddings Blog today.  I’m looking forward to sharing so, I guess I’ll start by telling you about myself, like where I was born and where I call home?

I was born on a farm in the rural South to a family of migrant farm workers. In fact, my family is huge.  Some might call it a clan.  I’m the youngest of 10 children.  Yup, I have six brothers and three sisters.  And yes, holidays are a zoo. Anyway, at an early age, my family moved to the urban Northeast. No more running in the cotton fields for me….:-)  I now live in the suburban Northeast with my husband and a large assortment of plants. I don’t have any children but as you can well imagine, I have tons of nieces and nephews.  As for my education, I was the first in my family to go to college.  I hold bachelors and masters degrees in Human Resource Management. 

What was your inspiration for Yesterday's Daughter?

Since the idea for Yesterday’s Daughter came to me in my dreams, there wasn’t any person or event that I can identify as inspiring me to write this book.  I just think that the years of reading paranormal romance novels and seeing movies with supernatural characters motivated me.




For those who are unfamiliar with your novel, Yesterday's Daughter, how would you introduce it?

It’s a story about searches, a search for identity, a search for the truth and a search for a life mate.  Grace is alone and lonely, an escapee from the foster care system and its abuses.  In the years since making her escape, Grace has made a life for herself that is little more than existence.  She can’t have any real friends.  No one can get close to her or they would notice her peculiarities.   She must keep her strange behavior secret to stay safe.  If anyone knew, she drank blood or was allergic to sunlight she’d end up locked up.  Grace doesn’t know how or why she is the way she is, she only knows her differences began in puberty.  And then there’s Malachi who has been searching for his life mate for decades even though she is believed to have gone into the Void.   Nevertheless, Malachi searches on, alone in his belief and determination to find the one woman born with whom he’s to share his near immortal existence. 

 Your storyline for The Harvesters & the Guardians is so unique, what research did you do to come up with the finished story?  Or, was it a fantastical idea?

Maybe I shouldn’t admit this but I didn’t do any research for the characters, neither the Harvesters nor the Guardians.  They are as they came to me in my dreams.

What are the Pro’s and Con’s to being an Indie Author?

As an Indie author, I’m the boss.  I’m in control of every decision, every word…:)  But I’m on my own in terms of marketing.  I don’t have the “machine” behind me that traditional publishers provide their writers for social networking, trade shows, appearances, everything.  It’s just me and it can be very overwhelming at times. 

 




 

What has been the most interesting comment (or review) about your book?

I once received a really bad review in which the reader complained that Yesterday’s Daughter was not erotica.  I laughed; Yesterday’s Daughter is definitely NOT erotica. In that same review, the reader said she felt the story was too much like those written by J. R. Ward (The Black Dagger Brotherhood.)  I laughed some more….:)  I’m a huge fan of J. R. Ward, but my little book isn’t even on the same plant as the BDB series. 

Who is your favorite Author?

Some of my favorite authors are Jean Auel, Charlotte Bronte, Jane Austen, Christine Feehan, Sir. Arthur Conan Doyle, Jeaniene Frost, Dee Henderson, Larry McMurthry, Nalini Singh, George Shuman and Jhumpa Lahiri.

Some readers complain that there are an awful lot of vampire novels out there these days. I'm sure you knew that already, so what made you decide to enter the crowded genre in which you are working.

There was no conscious decision to write a vampire novel.  Now my subconscious, that’s a whole other story.   Is there a shrink in the house?   Honestly, sometimes I wish Sapphira and Malachi’s story were different because so many people think that if you write a vampire story, you’re just trying to be another Stephenie Meyer. 

But, I had to write the story the way the characters revealed it to me in my dreams and while I listened to their conversations.  When writing Yesterday’s Daughter, I felt like a secretary to Malachi and Sapphira, writing their story as they told it.  I didn’t write a vampire story to jump on the fang train.  I wrote a vampire love story because it was inside me.

What three words would you use to describe Yesterday's Daughter?

Suspenseful, Engaging, and Romantic

How did you think up of the concept for the book?

I guess the only way to describe it is to say, the book just came to me.  It started in my dreams and progressed to the point where I was hearing conversations between characters when awake.  The dreams and conversations came in snippets and brief glances.  I’m one of those people fortunate enough or not so fortunate, depending on how you look at it, who remembers their dreams.  After waking, I’d think about the glimpses Malachi and Sapphira had shown me, mulling them over and over.  When the characters began to encroach on my waking hours to the point where they couldn’t be ignored.  I began to write, to give them a voice.  In short, the concept of Yesterday’s Daughter was a seed deeply planted in and grown from my dreams.

What did you enjoy the most about writing this book?

That’s easy to answer.  I enjoyed the suspense, trying to figure out what would happen next.  I know it sounds hokey, but I was on a roller coaster ride like any other reader.  I didn’t know what would happen next, until the characters revealed it to me. 

Which character reminds you most of yourself? And why?

I’d have to say that Voreece is the character that best reminds me of myself because he’s not a feature character.  He’s part of the supporting cast, but he plays an important role in Malachi’s life and is steadfast and loyal.  That pretty much describes me.  I know if you were to ask friends and family about me, they’d say that I’m a dependable and committed friend, sister and daughter.  And I have no desire to be the focus of the spotlight.  I’d rather flourish in the shadows.

What is something readers would be surprised to learn about Yesterday's Daughter?

I think it will surprise readers to discover the reasons for the actions of the lead betrayer.  His reasons are both contemporary and ancient.

 

Buy Links:

Createspace.


Amazon paperback:


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Smashwords link:


BooksaMillion


 

Contact Links:

Sallie’s Blog:           http://yesterdaydaugher.blogspot.com/

Sallie’s  Website:  https://sites.google.com/site/yesterdaysdaughter/

Sallie’s facebook fanpage:


Sallie’s Personal facebook page:


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Friday, June 21, 2013

Don't Forget!

Sallie Lundy-Frommer will be my special guest tomorrow, June 22nd, to talk about her latest book. Please stop by!

Gary

Monday, June 17, 2013

Reminder

This coming Saturday, the 22nd of June, Sallie Lundy-Frommer will be my guest here, blogging up a storm about what work she is involved with in the literary field. Don't miss it!

(I'm just praying I can get it posted without screwing it up!!!)

Gary

Friday, June 7, 2013

Hot Diggity!


I am pleased to announce that Champagne Book Group has offered me a contract for my novel, "Hollow Point," set in Suquamish, Washington on the Port Madison Reservation. Its projected release date is January 6th, 2014 as an e-book and is the second of my novels to be published by Champagne.

I'll send out reminders from time to time!

Gary

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Meth Is Killing Kids On The Port Madison Reservation

There's one Tribal Officer that can do something about it, but he has no idea how until he meets an unlikely gathering of allies that show him. Keep an eye out for Hollow Point coming out in the not-to-distant future. It will rip your heart from your chest on the trail to finding answers.

Gary