You guys are the best! When I woke this morning, I saw Going Under (The Oracles of St. Ambrose) hit two bestseller lists on Amazon for Kindle. Thank you so much for all the support and for spreading the word.
As my husband always says, “What’s your book about?”Thief of Hope is a fantasy novel that features a pickpocket whose life becomes entangled with the commoners’ fight against an oppressive society, a would-be king’s bid for the throne, and the strange and dangerous magic of the faery folk.
Um, I think the first book I ever wrote was when I was about 10. It was a mash-up of Star Wars and GIJoe and my own ideas (now you’d call it fan fiction). It was hand printed on three ring notebook paper because that was back in the dark ages before computers. I don’t remember much about the story, only that there was a kid and his family and something about saving the country from the bad guys.
Plaid
My book was published by a small independent publisher (Crescent Moon Press). Of course I wanted to land one of the big ones, but things just didn’t work out that way and I’m quite happy with my publisher. There are downsides, like not being able to get my book in bookstores, but I think I have a lot more author support than I’d get at a larger publisher, plus we have a really supportive community of authors.
I’m working on Thief of Destiny, which is a sequel to Thief of Hope.
I like writing with music. No snacks because they are too distracting and messy, but in fall and winter I do like a nice cup of tea. Right now it’s too horrendously hot to even think about tea.
Not specifically, but a lot of my characters have an element or two of people I know. Or of myself.
Black with a white pattern.
I could never choose just one! I love J.R.R. Tolkien of course, who is really the master of fantasy, and another choice is Ray Bradbury because I love his writing style. His use of language was brilliant.
I just finished Wolves of the Calla by Stephen King, which is book 5 of the Dark Tower series. I can’t believe I’ve never read the series before. I’m loving it and trying very hard not to read any spoilers.
Well, my book is fantasy so sadly I can’t visit any of the places I’ve written about. Wish I could! Some of them, at least. I did partly visualize some of the town of Last Hope based on a trip to Edinburgh, Scotland, with its wonderful and sometimes creepy medieval streets.
I have two great critique groups who help me get the book into shape, along the way and afterward.
“Not with haste” by Mumford and Sons. I love all of their songs but this one in particular makes me think of my book.
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Certainly!
Excerpt from Thief of Hope
The shuffling footsteps faded, and the whispers trailed away, replaced by the chirping of crickets. Sydney scanned the tall trees. The captain had said wizards had been executed here. Somehow she knew an unknown and sinister presence remained in this accursed place.
She yanked on the ropes binding her until her wrists were raw and bleeding. Her heart pounded in her ears, and a bone-chilling stillness spread across the forest. She gazed up at the bare limbs above her.
I can’t die like this.
Her breath grew shallow, and tears blurred her vision. She turned her head, the tree bark rough against her cheek. The reek of decomposing leaves permeated the air. The stench of death.
Shadows lengthened in the fading sunlight. Orange and violet streaked the sky. The air grew colder. Her stomach ached, and her tongue felt thick in her mouth. Defeated, she slumped against the tree, unable to contemplate a slow and painful death by starvation or exposure.
Dusk arrived too quickly. An eerie howl echoed. Her head snapped up, all her senses alert. The beasts would be hungrier this time of year. Not for a girl all skin and bones. She hoped. Terror seized her. In desperation, she strained against the blood-slicked ropes.
Her aching muscles tensed at the soft rustle of leaves. In the deepening shadows, a four-legged shape moved back and forth inside the tree line. When the beast crouched, a pair of bright yellow eyes gleamed from the shadows.
At least Edgar had died for his beliefs. If only she could have done things differently. If only she’d been strong enough to follow his example. Edgar had taught her never to cry, and now his voice resonated in her mind: “You must be strong to survive in this world, Sydney. I have faith you’ll make the right choices.”
“You were wrong, Edgar,” she whispered. “I couldn’t be what you wanted.”
Warm tears slid over her cheeks. The rustling grew louder. She closed her eyes, hoping for a quick end.
“You’re in quite a predicament, aren’t you?”
Sydney’s eyes flew open. An elderly man stood at the edge of the tree line. A dark blue cloak, mud-splattered and frayed at the edges, draped his medium build. His shoulder-length white hair and unkempt beard were matted with sticks and leaves. Bright blue eyes and a thin nose lent grace to his craggy countenance.
“It’s hardly polite to stare with one’s mouth open,” he said. Though deep, his voice was crisp and clear. His smile broadened, and he winked at her. “It also invites flies.”
Her gaze darted to where the wolf had been. It was gone. She wiped the tears from her face on her shoulder. “Who the hell are you?” Her voice was as raw as her wrists.
The lines on his face furrowed. He moved closer. “Hmmm, I expected a more welcoming greeting from you, Sydney.”
“How’d you know my name?”
“I know many things. Knowing how to find you is among them, although I’d hoped we’d meet under different circumstances.”
Sydney studied him. The face, the eyes…. Something familiar, but she couldn’t figure out why. “How’d you get here?”
He chuckled and leaned on a long wooden staff. “We have much to discuss, my dear, but the forest is no place for conversation.” He crooked a finger in her direction. The ropes binding her dropped to the ground. She kicked at them with her feet. Magic. It had to be. The stranger moved, reaching for her.
“Don’t touch me.” She slid to the ground. Setting her teeth against the pain in her cramped leg muscles, she rubbed her calves through the thin fabric of her breeches.
She fingered the ropes at the base of the tree. Her muscles tensed. “What are you?”
“Why must I be anything? Perhaps I am merely an old man who has taken an interest in your welfare and saved you from certain death.”
A wizard.
Cindy Young-Turner has always been an avid reader and became fascinated by mythology and Arthurian legends at an early age. She quickly decided she enjoyed creating her own worlds and characters and set to work writing her own stories. She believes genre fiction can be just as well written and valuable as literature. The universal themes of love, hate, revenge, and redemption are present regardless of whether our characters live in the distant future, on other planets, or in fantastical realms.
http://www.cindyyoungturner.com
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Sydney, a street urchin and pickpocket in the town of Last Hope, has managed to evade the oppressive Guild for years, but there is no escaping fate when she’s sentenced to death for associating with the resistance.
After she’s rescued by a wizard, Sydney is forced to accept that magic—long outlawed throughout the Kingdom of Thanumor—still exists, and the Tuatha, a powerful faery folk, are much more than ancient myth and legend. When the wizard offers a chance to fight the Guild and bring Willem, bastard prince and champion of the Tuatha, to the throne, Sydney embraces the cause as a way to find her own redemption.
But Sydney’s fear of the Guild, distrust of authority, and surprising connection to the Tuatha threaten Willem’s success. Can she untangle the strange threads that entwine her life not only to the fate of the kingdom, but also to Willem himself?
“Thief of Hope is NOT written like a typical debut novel. The world is written perfectly, the scenery is beautiful, the characters are vivid and fresh, and the battle scenes had me holding my breath with anticipation and worry!”—justagirlgeek, 5 stars
“A lot of fantasies sort of gloss over some of the more unpleasant truths, but “Thief of Hope” told it like it really could be, and provided a great adventure in the process.”—K. Sozaeva, 5 stars
Synopsis
Alex had everything when he was with Madison. But the darkness within him wouldn’t go away.
After two years apart, he returns to Pelican Bluffs and to the girl he never wanted to leave. Madison wants to give their love another chance, but Alex can’t fight fate.
He is what he is.
Ruined. Crazy like his mother. And Madison deserves so much more. When his secrets spill out into their small town, Alex has a choice to make. Hide away in the darkness forever, or let love in.
Author Q&A
Tell us 3 fun facts about yourself.
1. I’m half Chinese; my father’s family immigrated from Shanghai in the 1940’s2. My father’s a glider pilot, so when I was a kid I spent a lot of weekends hanging around the airport and flying planes.
3. I’ve got more names than you can shake a stick at. I was born Emily Mary Mah and my Chinese family gave me the name Shi Yue. Then when I married my husband I got the last name, Tippetts, so I can do a lot of different pen names and still have them be my real name.
What book are you currently reading, and in what format?
Hardwired by Walter Jon Williams, as an ebook. I’m going to serialize it for him so I’m reading to find the best places to break each episode.
Do you have a book that you read over and over?
The Bible and the Book of Mormon, but I assume you mean a novel. When I was a kid it was King of the Wind by Marguerite Henry. Nowadays I never find time to re-read a book, though!
Is there a book you know you’ll never read?
The rest of the Twilight series. It just isn’t my kind of thing.
You’re deserted on an island. A genie appears and gives you six wishes. You can’t wish for more wishes, and you can’t wish to be home. You can only wish for three specific items and three people to have with you. What are your wishes?
A computer with magical internet access so I can keep writing. A study home to live in that won’t require a whole lot of maintenance. A boat and fishing equipment.
The people are easy. My husband and two boys!
If you could time travel, where would you go first and why?
To the future, past when I can expect to live naturally, simply because there’d be no other way for me to find out about it.
What are you currently working on, and when can we expect to see it for sale? (title if you have it and a synopsis)
The title is Break It Up and it’s a new adult romance. Kyra Armijo (whom some readers will know from my Someone Else’s Fairytale series) gets the chance to work on a documentary about the chart topping boy band, Triple Cross. As part of the job, she goes on tour with them in Europe where she strikes up a romance with one of the band members. Since she assumes it’s all an act on his part, she doesn’t bother to tell him about her racy past, which would destroy him if the tabloids found out. Things get awkward when she realizes he’s being sincere, and even more awkward when one of the other band members tries to compete for her attention.
Excerpt from Love in Darkness
“We have to break up,” I hear myself tell her. I’m standing on the rocky beach, my back to the crashing surf. In front of me is Madison, gazing up at me with pure pain in those ice blue eyes. Behind her is the rugged rock wall of the cliff face.Her hair is pulled back in a simple ponytail and the breeze stirs the wisps that frame her face. The air is cool, but not cold. “I know myself, all right?” I explain. “The moment you move on, I won’t be able to take it. So I’ve got to let you go.”
“Don’t do this.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Take it back. Please. Alex, I don’t want to break up.” Her eyes are wide, like clear, crystal pools.
“And I need you not to write to me,” I say.
“Why?” Now she claps both her hands over her nose and mouth as if to hold back pain or tears, or whatever it is shining from her gaze.
It takes every ounce of my control not to back down. I have to stop kidding myself and finish this. “Because, I don’t want to know the moment you move on. I just… I need you to give me space.”
“You’re going to Japan. That’s not enough space for you?”
“I’m sorry, all right.” I back away, stepping carefully on the rocky beach. “But it’s not like we were ever going to last.”
“Why not?”
That, I should think, is obvious. Because the two of us together makes no sense. She’s beautiful and popular and has guys lining up around the block for a chance to be with her. I’m a high school dropout with a criminal record and no future. She should be embarrassed to be with me. Eventually we’ll both have to grow up. At least I’ll have the memories.
As I turn away, I hear her scrabble behind me, then the rapid beat of her boots against the stony ground. “Alex, wait.” Her tone is anguished.
I set my jaw against the pain, like I’ve stitched my own heart with a silk thread and am now yanking it hard enough to tear the organ. I keep walking.
She grabs my hand, her supple fingers wrapping around my palm. “Stop.”
I stop, but I don’t turn.
It doesn’t matter because she darts around in front of me and puts one arm around my waist. The other hand she slides up my back to grasp my shoulder. Her soft curves fit against my body. It’s how she always holds me, and I can’t endure it this time. I bow my head and just let the tears fall.
“Alex,” she whispers, touching her forehead to mine, that soft breath against my lips. “Don’t, okay? You promised you’d never hurt me.”
At that I let out a sob. Forget saving face. She knows me for who I am anyway and now she’s wiping away my tears. “Listen,” she says, “you need me not to distract you from your mission, fine. But I’ll always be here for you, and when you come back, I’ll be waiting.” She strokes my cheek with the backs of her fingers and leans up to press her lips against mine.
I don’t want to kiss back, but at the same time, I can’t resist. She runs her fingers through my hair and the kiss goes on and on until I’ve got both arms wrapped tight around her and I’m drinking in her essence, liquid fire that pools in my core. I have to stop this.
But when I do, she doesn’t let me pull back. She leans in and looks me straight in the eye. “I’ll wait for you. I don’t care if you don’t believe me. Let’s not end things with a fight, okay? Let’s end it on a good note for now.”
“Goodbye, Madison.”
“Bye, Alex. For now.”
“I love you.” I don’t mean to say it, but it slips out, my whisper barely loud enough for me to hear it myself.
Madison’s chin snaps up. “What?”
I shake my head, willing her not to press me.
“Alex-”
I start to pull away but she reels me back in, not by force, but with her gaze. Her eyes beg me not to leave. She puts one arm around my waist again and slides her other hand up my back. “It’ll be all right. Everything will be all right,” she says.
Available from:
About E.M. Tippetts
Emily Mah Tippetts writes romance as E.M. Tippetts and science fiction and fantasy as Emily Mah. She is a former attorney with degrees in philosophy, politics and economics from Oxford University and business law from UCLA. These days she lives in New Mexico – the place where she grew up – with her family.
She also designs book covers and formats paperbacks and ebooks for her company E.M. Tippetts Book Designs.
Blogger Book Fair is upon us again. I love to host new authors here on the blog so you guys might discover stories and worlds you might not otherwise have found. This week, Life in Words will host three fantastic ladies. I’ll ask my usual questions, and the authors will share excerpts of their current works.
Emily Mah Tippetts writes romance under the name E.M. Tippetts and science fiction and fantasy under the name Emily Mah. Originally from New Mexico, she now lives in London with her family. Before she was a published author, she was an attorney who specialized in real estate, contracts, and estate planning, especially literary estate planning.
Her most recent pro publications have been her science fiction and fantasy short stories in magazines like Black Gate, Analog Science Fiction and Fact, and the anthology, Shanghai Steam.
Get to know her beforehand by visiting her website, following her on Twitter, and adding her on Goodreads.
Cindy Young-Turner has always been an avid reader and became fascinated by mythology and Arthurian legends at an early age. She quickly decided she enjoyed creating her own worlds and characters and set to work writing her own stories. She won her first writing contest at age twelve, a local contest calling for stories written in the style of Edgar Allan Poe.
Cindy believes genre fiction can be just as well written and valuable as literature. The universal themes of love, hate, revenge, and redemption are present regardless of whether characters live in the distant future, on other planets, or in fantastical realms.
Some of her favorite authors/books include (and this is hardly an exhaustive list): JRR Tolkien, Ursula K LeGuin, Octavia Butler, HP Lovecraft, Edgar Allan Poe, Jack Kerouac, Ray Bradbury, Diana Gabaldon, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Anne Rice (primarily the first three books of the vampire series), Neil Gaiman (especially the Sandman series and Neverwhere), Charles Dickens (Oliver Twist, of course, helped inspire her fascination with pickpockets), and the Harry Potter series.
Get to know her beforehand by visiting her website, following her on Twitter, and adding her on Goodreads.
Allison knew God called her to be a writer when she was only twelve years old. At the time, she had no idea how God was going to use her gifts and radically change her life in the process. Allison was also twelve when her father was diagnosed with cancer.
It was a long two and a half year battle with cancer before Allison’s father, Preston, went home to be with the Lord. Allison was only fifteen and, like the rest of her family, was completely devastated.
Grief is not a condition, but a long process that never truly ends. Little did Allison know that God had a purpose in the midst of the pain and sorrow. A large part of her heart died on January 21, 2008. But on April 4, 2008, God brought that part back to life. “Forget Me Not” was born.
Now, Allison is blessed to be able to share her words with the world. It took four long years and countless rejections from literary agents and publishers before Forget-Me-Not was given its wings to fly. On April 6, 2012, Allison signed a contract with Martin Sisters Publishing, LLC and once again, God drastically transformed her life and continues to bless her beyond her wildest dreams.
Get to know her beforehand by visiting her website, following her on Twitter, and adding her on Goodreads.
It’s that time again! Sydney Logan’s latest novel, Mountain Charm, is on the way. She took some time out of her crazy busy schedule to answer my usual questions and share an excerpt from the book. As you might imagine, I’m a big fan of any book that takes place right here in the south. No one does it better than Sydney–the magic, the friendship, and the sweet romance all add to up a delicious little book. Want to know more? Read on!
Mountain Charm is about twenty-one year old Angelina Clark. As a young girl, she cast a love spell (as all the women in her family do at the age of thirteen). At the time, she was thrilled to perform the ritual, but she’s had to grow up very quickly after the death of her dad. Now, she wants nothing to do with witchcraft and definitely doesn’t believe in magic or the spell.
The story opens on her twenty-first birthday, and she encounters a reporter named Dylan who has come to town to write a story on her family. Sparks fly! She struggles with her attraction to him because she’s afraid his feelings are manipulated by the spell. He works hard to convince her otherwise. It’s a story very much based on faith, family, and first love, and there’s even a little magic thrown in.
I remember the first thing I ever submitted for publication. I think I was twelve and it was one of those “Get Published” ads that used to be advertised in magazines. The story was called “Hope,” and it was about a bird. That’s honestly all I remember about it.
Plaids
It never crossed my mind to publish at all until my publisher approached me. They’ve allowed me to self-publish a few things, so I really have the best of both worlds.
I’m working on a short story and my third novel.
No rituals. It has to be quiet or at least be instrumental music. I don’t drink coffee or tea, and I snack way too much on junk food when I write.
I incorporate pieces of several people into each of my characters. Lessons Learned’s Sarah was me in a lot of ways.
Blue and white
This changes all the time, but right now, Jeanette Grey. I’ve really fallen in love with her writing style.
Healing Faith by Jennyfer Browne. She’s a friend and a new author who writes Amish romance.
So far, I’ve written about the mountains, which is where I live. I make up the town names.
I use pre-readers while writing. Once the book is finished, I submit to my lead editor and my editing team (there are three) read the manuscript and make a plan of action.
Landslide by Fleetwood Mac
Website: http://www.sydneylogan.com/2013/06/buy-books.html
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Sydney-Logan/e/B0096LZK90/
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/sydney-logan
TWCS: http://ph.thewriterscoffeeshop.com/authors/detail/41
“It’s your birthday?” Dylan asked.
“Yes, and it was blissfully uneventful until you showed up.”
“Beautiful and infuriating,” Dylan muttered. “Look, Angelina, I was just given this assignment yesterday. I don’t have a clue about Appalachian magic tricks or devil-worshipping or whatever it is you do up in these mountains, but I have a story to write. Just let me interview you and your mom, and I’ll be back on the interstate before you can say abracadabra.”
Instead of pointing out just how ignorant he sounded, Angelina decided what he truly needed was a strong dose of fear.
“Actually, I do have something you need to see. A family heirloom. Wait here?”
Excited for any useful information, Dylan’s eyes lit up and he nodded enthusiastically. Once again, those good manners kicked in, and Dylan opened the door for her.
Angelina raced inside the house. She hadn’t touched it in years, but she still remembered where her father kept the key to the case. She grabbed what she needed and quickly made her way back out to the porch, letting the screen door slam behind her.
Dylan jumped out of his chair. “What the hell?”
Angelina lifted the rifle and pointed it straight at him. He didn’t need to know the safety was on—or that the chamber was empty.
“This is a Remington, passed down from my father and his father, also known as an Appalachian magic wand. Just watch. It’s going to make you disappear.”
Angelina thought it was almost comical, hearing him curse and watching him leap off the porch. All the commotion caused her dog to chase after him, which only made Dylan sprint faster until he reached the sanctuary of his vehicle.
“Are you insane?” Dylan yelled.
“I tend to get a little crazy when someone trespasses on my property. Leave my family alone and don’t come back!”
He slammed the door and had to do some fancy maneuvering to get around her car, but within seconds, the only sounds Angelina could hear were Dylan’s squealing tires, her dog’s noisy bark, and her mother’s hearty laughter.
“True love and sweet whispers, till death do us part;
Send someone to love my Appalachian heart.”
At the age of thirteen, Angelina Clark followed in the footsteps of her ancestors by casting an Appalachian love spell, which promised she would blossom into a beautiful and gifted woman who would find her true love. A young Angelina had been thrilled to participate in the sacred ritual, but through the years, her father’s untimely death and her mother’s failing health have shaken Angelina’s magical faith to its core. As her twenty-first birthday approaches, she refuses to practice her supernatural gifts and no longer believes in the love charm.
That is, until Dylan Thomas arrives on her front porch.
Dylan, a Nashville writer, travels to the mountain town of Maple Ridge to unearth the family’s supernatural secrets. While her clairvoyant mother is convinced that Dylan is her daughter’s soul mate, Angelina refuses to see the nosy reporter as anything more than a nuisance.
Despite their constant bickering, sparks fly.
Dylan admits he feels strangely drawn to Angelina and is in no hurry to leave Maple Ridge or publish his magazine article. Fearful that his emotions are being influenced by the spell, a stubborn Angelina struggles to fight her own budding attraction to the reporter.
The two inevitably grow closer just as her mother’s health begins to deteriorate, and Angelina is faced with the possibility of selling the family’s music shop to pay the mounting medical expenses. Desperate to help the woman he loves, Dylan explores his own family tree and finds support from an unlikely source. Can he finally prove his love is real—spell or no spell?
A story filled with love, friendship, family, and just a hint of Appalachian magic, Mountain Charm will leave you spellbound.
Sydney Logan is an Amazon bestselling author and holds a Master’s degree in Elementary Education. With the 2012 release of her first novel, Lessons Learned, she made the transition from bookworm to author. Sydney has a very unhealthy obsession with music, and her iPod is filled with everything from Johnny Cash to Eminem. She is also the author of two short stories: “Mistletoe Magic,” available exclusively on Amazon Kindle, and “Stupid Cupid,” which is featured in the Romantic Interludescompilation. When she isn’t reading or writing, she enjoys playing piano and relaxing on her front porch at her home in East Tennessee with her wonderful husband and their very spoiled cat.
Her second novel, Mountain Charm, is slated for a summer 2013 release.
Visit Sydney’s website at www.sydneylogan.com.
jennifermbarry.com 