Princes and Heroes from Animated Movies

If you're a regular visitor to this blog, you may be aware of the upcoming release of the second novel in the Creepy Hollow series, THE FAERIE PRINCE. Woohoo! Less than two weeks to go! And you may also know that in celebration of this release, there will be a blog fest of sorts, where you get to tell everyone who your fave fairy tale prince/hero is and why (any day between May 30th and June 2nd, although May 30th would be best).

To get you thinking about some of the possible candidates, I've found some pictures of princes and heroes from animated movies.

Prince Charming (Cinderella) | Aladdin (Aladdin),

Mr. Incredible (The Incredibles) | Prince Eric (The Little Mermaid) 

Woody (Toy Story) | Hercules (Hercules)

 Prince Adam/The Beast (Beauty and the Beast) | Li Shang (Mulan)

And, uh, did you know that many of these princes and
heroes have had "makeovers" as underwear models?! 

Yeah, they're looking pretty hot and hunky!

And what about the less traditional heroes, like Shrek and Sulley?

 

So many to choose from! 

Please join in and tell us who your favorite is on May 30th!

(or between May 30th and June 2nd, if you can't do May 30th!)

Morgan Media Will Be Launching Very Soon!

Oops, it's been almost two weeks since I posted something here! But I do sort of have an excuse ... I've been busy, busy, busy. Not only am I launching a book this month (which means the past couple of weeks have been full of editing, proofreading and formatting), but I'm also

<cue big announcement>

launching my own business!

Yup. Me = business woman. In pajamas! It's the best kind of business woman, in my opinion (although my auditor friend does like to tell me that one of the things she loves about her job is dressing up in smart suits).

Anyway, a few of you know about this business venture; most of you don't. It's called Morgan Media (an author services business), and it's something I've been planning for over a year now. Last year I didn't have enough time to get it going (teaching and writing put enough on my plate), and the past few months this year have been spent slowly organizing things while also writing The Faerie Prince. So now is the time!

Launch week is May 20th to May 23rd

Next week I'll be highlighting different services offered by Morgan Media on different blogs from Monday to Thursday. Book covers, book trailers and more. Please come by next week to check out those blog posts! For now, you can visit the website, "like" the Facebook page, and "follow" on Twitter.
Please, please "like" and "follow"! I promise to follow back ;-)

Find Morgan Media in the following places online: 

Website | Facebook | Twitter | DeviantArt | YouTube

Adverbs & Cliches in a Nutshell, by Jessica Bell

Too many adverbs and clichés in your writing? 
Jessica Bell has just the fix for you!

Writers constantly have rules thrown at them left, right, and center. Show, don’t tell! Stop using so many dialogue tags! More sensory detail! More tension! Speed up the pace! Yada yada yada ... it can become overwhelming, yes? I used to feel overwhelmed by it all too. In fact, I still do sometimes. It’s hard enough to get the words on the page, let alone consider how to put them there.

In Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird, she says that in order not to be overwhelmed, a writer needs to focus on short assignments. She refers to the one-inch picture frame on her desk and how that little picture frame reminds her to focus on bite-sized pieces of the whole story. Basically, if you focus on one small thing at a time, the story will eventually come together to create a whole. I believe the same applies to learning the craft of writing. If writers focus on one aspect of the craft at a time, the process will seem less daunting and piece by piece it will come together.

My name’s Jessica Bell, and my own struggles with feeling overwhelmed inspired me to write the Writing in a Nutshell Series of pocket-sized writing guides. So you can learn to hone your craft in bite-sized, manageable pieces. In the first book of the series, I focused on demonstrating how to transition “telling” into “showing.” In Adverbs & Clichés in a Nutshell: Demonstrated Subversions of Adverbs & Clichés into Gourmet Imagery, I deal with another of the most common criticisms aspiring writers face: to absolutely avoid adverbs and clichés like the plague. But see, right now, I just used one of each. I also used a couple in the first two paragraphs of this post because they come naturally, and we utilize them frequently in everyday speech. But in fiction, too many adverbs and clichés weaken your prose. It’s considered “lazy writing,” because it means we don’t have to show what’s happening.

If your manuscript has too many adverbs and clichés, it most likely means that the emotion you felt while writing it is not going to translate to the reader in the same way. So how exactly can we approach the subversion of adverbs and clichés? For starters, play around with simile and metaphor when you’re trying to convey emotion, and for action, use strong verbs to show it happening in real time.

The key? Think smaller details rather than the bigger picture.

Need some help and inspiration?

In Adverbs & Clichés in a Nutshell: Demonstrated Subversions of Adverbs & Clichés into Gourmet Imagery, you will find thirty-four examples of prose which clearly demonstrate how to turn those pesky adverbs and clichés into vivid and unique imagery. Dispersed throughout are blank pages to craft your own unique examples. Extra writing prompts are also provided at the back of the book.

“Jessica Bell's latest pocket guide, Adverbs & Clichés in a Nutshell, will inspire you to leave bland behind and pursue your creative best. With force and clarity, she demonstrates how adverbs and clichés hobble vibrant writing. She then marks a course toward unique expression and provides workouts that will help writers at every level develop a distinctive voice.” ~Laurel Garver, freelance editor, author of Never Gone and Muddy-Fingered Midnights

Purchase links:
Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon Ca | Kobo

Bio: The Australian-native contemporary fiction author and poet, Jessica Bell, also makes a living as an editor and writer for global ELT publishers (English Language Teaching), such as Pearson Education, HarperCollins, Macmillan Education, Education First and Cengage Learning.

She is the co-publishing editor of Vine Leaves Literary Journal, and the director of the Homeric Writers’ Retreat & Workshop on the Greek island of Ithaca.

For more information about Jessica please visit:
Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook

Trying on my Photoshop Hat with Some Digital Photomanipulations

So ... in case you don't know this about me, I play around on Photoshop in between writing to give my mind a break. I love it. It's so much fun to take raw materials and put them together in a new and artistic (I hope!) way. I get some stock pictures from DeviantArt as well as stock image websites, and today I even used some of my wedding photos!

Anyway, here is some of the random stuff I've done :-)
You can click on any of them to enlarge them...

Model: faestock

Model: b-e-c-k-y-stock

 

Model: faestock | Background: needanewname

Meet the Cover of Juliana Haygert's NA Contemporary Romance, BREAKING THE REINS

Available in August 2013

Add on Goodreads

Horses, mansions, tea parties, and lies are twenty-year-old Hannah Taylor’s life. To others, her family and her relationship with Eric is perfect. But she knows the truth. She lives it.

After a fire takes her grandma’s life and kills her horse, Hannah’s immaculate life spirals out of control. Her father disapproves of her decision to run her grandma’s ranch instead of focusing solely on learning the family business; Animal Control brings her Argus, a mistreated horse that she can’t turn away even though she’s not ready for another horse; and her boyfriend, Eric Bennett, a world famous polo player, becomes possessive and authoritarian. Despite her best efforts to disguise it, Hannah grows wary of him.

Then, Leonardo Fernandes struts onto the polo scene. A cocky rookie with a messy life of his own, he’s drawn to Hannah and isn’t afraid of showing it, even when Eric makes it clear she is his and he’ll do whatever it takes to keep it that way. Hannah suffers for Eric’s jealousy. The abuse only gets worse when Leo steals the title of best polo player in the world from Eric.

But the title isn’t enough for Leo. He wants Hannah too, and she can’t deny her attraction to him either. Somehow, she must find a way to break free from abusive Eric before he breaks every bone in her body.
 

AUTHOR BIO 

While Juliana Haygert dreams of being Wonder Woman, Buffy, or a blood elf shadow priest, she settles for the less exciting—but equally gratifying—life of a wife, mother, and author. Thousands of miles away from her former home in Brazil, she now resides in Connecticut and spends her days writing about kick-ass heroines and the heroes who drive them crazy.

Author links:

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter