Paranormal Romance

Never Give Up, Never Surrender!

| Casey Wyatt

I saw an interesting quote on Facebook by John Rodgers – “You can’t think yourself out of a writing block, you have to write yourself out of a thinking block.”

Once again, I find myself at odds over the story for Mystic Storm. I don’t why Zephyr’s book is such a challenge, but there is no way I’m not delivering this book.

First off, I’m not suffering from writer’s block (honestly, I don’t believe in it), but I’m having what I think of as “organizational” issues. The book is plotted out and I’m proceeding according to my plan, however, I seemed to have strayed off the path.

How does that happen?

Easy.

I often let the story wander in other directions as I delve deeper into my characters. As a result, there are portions of the timeline that have been skewed. Rather than stopping completely to fix it, I’ve decided to re-read what I have, take notes, then keep on trucking.

Why?

Because the end is not changing. It’s only how I’m getting there that might differ. If I stop right now and try to fix the book, I know it’ll stress me out and I might never finish Mystic Storm.

Since I know there are people out there who would like to know what I did to Zephyr at the end of Mystic Ink, I can’t leave them hanging. Not to mention, I have Devlin’s book – Mystic Hero – waiting in the wings.

So, if you’re spinning your wheels on a plot, might I suggest skipping over that part and moving on? I’ve found that it’s much easier to keep writing and deal with it later because as John Rodgers suggests – the issue may solve itself, but only if you keep writing!

How does everyone else cope when the story is off kilter or not quite right? And do you agree with John Rodgers?

And if you have a free moment, visit the Scribes. I’m interviewing Gerri Brousseau about her debut novel – A Pirate’s Ransom.

Zephyr visits this lighthouse on his walks through the streets of Stonington Point, CT.

I’m Dreaming in Ink!!

| Casey Wyatt

Today, I’m being interviewed at Dreaming in Ink! Please stop by and say hello.

Here’s some ink to stare at. Not mine, but my Hubby Scar’s cool dragon tattoo.

Vampires on Mars! Do you need to know anything else?

| Casey Wyatt

Thanks for being patient everyone. The Undead Space Initiative is now available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Enjoy!

Stormy Weather

| Casey Wyatt

Finally. It’s Friday! It’s always tough to get back into the groove after a week of vacation.

It’s funny how 5 minutes on my work laptop can dissolve every ounce of tranquility.

Anyway, I wasn’t totally idyll last week. After completing the first draft of Misfortune Cookie and sending it off to my first readers, I moved onto Mystic Storm (Zephyr’s book) and Redemption (Galen’s book).

So far, Zephyr continues to resist me. Galen, on the other hand is being more cooperative. The only problem, Redemption is the next book after Ascension, which I still have out on submission. Normally, I wouldn’t spend time on Galen’s book, but he’s been itching for completion since I started in it in January 2010. Plus, he’s so much fun to write. I’ll miss him when the book is done (maybe that’s why I’m still working on it).

I have a theory that Mystic Storm is harder because it’s the next book in a published series. I admit there’s a small shadow of concern in the back of my mind. I don’t want to disappoint people who enjoyed the first book. I know I need to forget all that, but sometimes it’s hard.

I am happy to report I’m over the 30,000 word mark and that seems to be the “sweet spot” for me in my writing. I believe it takes me about 30,000 words to get into the groove of the story. At last, Kalli and Zephyr have come into their own and the story I’ve plotted seems to be flowing more smoothly. Yay!

Does that happen for anyone else? Is there a magic amount of words you need to get on the page before you know your characters?

If you have time, please stop by and visit me at the Scribes where I’m talking – Hootsuite!

Until we meet again next week, I’ll leave you with an image from my photo collection from Stonington, CT – Zephyr’s home.

This is the building that’s the inspiration for the Gallup Inn – Zephyr’s hotel/day spa.

It’s Official – Vampires Live on Mars!

| Casey Wyatt

Hey everyone!

The Undead Space Initiative is on sale now at Pink Petal Books!

Once I have the Amazon and B&N links I will post them.

Here’s a brief excerpt:

Jonathan spoke first. “We’re leaving.” He left me alone in the hallway with Ian.

“Charity—”

“Cherry. Only Jonathan gets to use my real name.”

“Fine. Apologies.” Ian stepped close enough that I could see flecks of gold in the blue of his irises. “I haven’t been able to get you out of my mind.”

Stunned, I moved back. Ian had no idea how many men had said those exact words to me over the years. “There must be something in my ears. Did I hear you correctly? Are you trying to pick me up at a time like this?”

A slow smile crept across his lips, revealing pearly white fang tips. “Right. I bet you hear that all the time. What I should have said was I’ve been having these dreams—”

With a snort, I threw my hands up. “Okay. Stop right there. I don’t want to hear about your sick, twisted fantasies.”

Ian opened his mouth, no doubt to deny it, when his cell phone chirped. “Got to take this.” He turned his back to me and spoke low enough so I couldn’t hear him. Not that I planned on eavesdropping. I could care less.

Why should I stand around waiting on him? The family needed evacuating. I threw open the prop room door and the room was…empty?

What the fudge?

No tunnel passage existed in the prop room.

“I bet you’re wondering right about now, where is everyone?” Ian said from behind me.

I whirled around and slugged him.

Thanks for your support! Happy Reading!

When Good Cookies Go Bad

| Casey Wyatt

Finally, I’m ready to share the scoop on my latest book. But first, a bit of back story. Radiance was the very book I ever attempted to write way back in 1997. Being a brand spanking new writer, I had no idea what I was doing. I spent years and years writing scenes with no rhyme or reason.

Eventually, I set it aside out of sheer frustration and moved onto other stories. Because Radiance was the first one, it’s always bothered me that I never finished the story.

I know, I know. There’s a reason those first books stay in a box under the bed. But I couldn’t let her go.

Last year I began the process of re-imagining the book. I chucked out virtually the entire plot and went back to my heroine and what I loved best about her. I titled the new version, Devil’s Advocate and got to work plotting. And promptly became snarled in a tangled mess.

My first thought was – I will never get this story right. I took a break and started plotting Zephyr’s book and dealing with Galen’s mess.

Then in 2012, after a mental head slap, I realized that the story was too big. I needed to step back and break it down. So Devil’s Advocate became book 2 in a three book series.

Mind freed, I spent April plotting book 1. In May, I began writing. It was slow going at first, then my friend Susannah Hardy issued one of her famous writing challenges, this time in the form of writing sprints. By June, I was on fire banging out 2,000 – 3,000 words a day. I finished the last week in June and the first draft has been cleaned up, ready to send to my valued first readers.

So, I present to you Misfortune Cookie!

Most of the time a family’s secrets should remain just that – secret. Reformed party girl and retired socialite Radiance Ashworth is happy to remain in obscurity, enjoying her idyllic life away from her greedy, backstabbing family. That peace is shattered when she inherits the Ashworth fortune and a nasty supernatural legacy. Now, Radiance is expected to chase escaped souls and return them to the Hereafter. Refusal is not an option and she vows to play along until she can find a way to break the family curse.

She doesn’t have to navigate the supernatural world alone. Luca, sexy, confident, and so damn tempting, is happy to guide her – if she’d only accept his help.  She quickly learns how much she needs his assistance just to stay alive, when a Jiang Shi – a vengeful
Chinese spirit – starts systematically murdering the city’s elite businessmen. While the Jiang Shi proves to be a formidable opponent, Radiance finds the growing attraction between her and Luca to be even scarier. She’s determined to be free of him and the curse. Luca has other ideas and won’t stop until he’s captured her body and soul.

Thanks for your patience!

Also, I’m over at the Scribes today where I answer the question – What’s Love Got to do With it.

60 Inches of Glory!

| Casey Wyatt

Well, it finally happened. A moment that I wished for and dreaded at the same time – our big screen television died. I admit for the last few years, I’ve had a serious case of TV envy. Everyone around us was upgrading to sleek, thin paneled models while we still had a big behemoth projection box. But there was no way we were going to buy another TV as long as the old one worked.

Then, a few weeks ago, the TV started acting up. I knew the symptoms. We’d had this brand before and it showed signs of imminent demise, the non-operable kind. I could barely contain my glee, but remained silent since I know Hubby would not be receptive to any TV replacement overtures.

When we bought our 50″ TV a mere eight years ago, it was not quite cutting edge HD, but it was better than what we’d had before – a 36 incher. A few years ago, we switched to ATT Uverse and started using the lone HDMI port and our picture got even better.

Earlier, I mentioned dread – that would be the cost of replacing the television. Well, we had to bite the bullet. The old TV died on a Sunday and there was no way I was missing all my favorite programs.

After cruising around our town comparing  features, prices, and the amount of HDMI ports, we purchased a new 60 inch HDTV at Costco. For good measure, I bought a blue ray player and Hubby added a sound bar.

Woohoo! We plugged that baby in and connected all the new toys and HOLY CRAP, we spent the entire day glued to the television. The picture quality was so incredible and different from what’d been watching that I thought my brain would overload.

The real mind freak moment came when we played a blue ray copy of Thor. We meant to watch just a few minutes for comparison purposes, but that didn’t happen. Two hours later and with copious amounts of drool (that would be mine – hello, shirtless Chris Hemsworth), we collectively realized that we’d re-watched the entire film.

And I awoke from my HD induced stupor and thought – crap! I haven’t written a thing today. Agggh!

After a week of – wow, look at that picture – I’m finally back on track. I completed the first draft of my new book. And surprise, it’s not Mystic Storm. Once I have the blessing of my excellent beta-readers, I’ll share more details.

In the meantime, in case you missed it –  here’s the cover to The Undead Space Initiative coming soon in July! I’m very excited to share this book with everyone.

And if you haven’t stopped by the Scribes today, I’d love it if you’d visit and join in the discussion  – Sex and Zero G.

Who else loves their TV set? If not, what is your dream/favorite gadget?

I’m so Pretty – Beautiful Blogger Award

| Casey Wyatt

Yay! It’s Friday. Don’t forget to visit me at the Scribes for  – I am Not A-MUSEd!

Sabrina Garie has awarded me The Beautiful Blogger Award. Thank you Sabrina!

As most of you may have guessed, there are rules.

Rule #1 – I must share 7 things. Today, I’m going to be different and share fun facts and a secret or two about my characters. Let’s face it, you all must be sick of hearing about me!

Rule #2 – Pass this award to 7 bloggers. More on that later.

From Mystic Ink:

1. Devlin Ward has a potted plant. It’s name is Medusa on account of its snake-like fronds. He would never, ever admit that to anyone
since the real Medusa would not be pleased. And we all know what happens to men who make her angry. Let’s just say it’s not the kind of rock hard Devlin would enjoy.

2. Nix is the most independent of the fifty daughter’s of Nereus. She is adamant about earning her own money and making her own way in the world. Her Uncle Memphis fostered her independence by taking her on as an apprentice in his tattoo shop.

From The Undead Space Initiative:

3.  Cherry Cordial doesn’t like enclosed spaces. Once, when one her fellow vampires jokingly trapped her in a dark closet, she dumped dead fish in their beds for a week.

4. Jonathan, Cherry’s maker, first noticed her because of her beautiful singing voice. It was her rebellious spirit that made him turn her into a vampire. Later, whenever he’d complain about her sassy attitude, Cherry would remind him, “Tough cookies. This is what you signed up for. Don’t blame me that I have big mouth and know how to use it.”  Cherry would like to remind you to get your minds out of the gutter. She’s a stripper, not a whore. Just saying.

From Ascension:

5. Kyra was recruited into the FBI by her boss, Terence Lange after she beat him and hundreds of other veteran sharpshooters at a
regional competition. Lange is inherently distrustful of magic, but does trust Kyra. Both of their understanding of supernatural phenomena are about to be shaken up.

6. Valerian is a stickler for rules and order. Clutter drives him crazy and he can’t stand salt and vinegar chips. Galen uses this information to annoy Valerian every chance he gets. While the two are friends, Valerian is also Galen’s superior, and Galen’s cheekiness often gets him into trouble. Not that Galen would have it any other way!

And from my WIP:

7. This isn’t a character fact per se, but my latest WIP has something to do with fortune cookies and evil spirits. Don’t worry Mystic Ink fans, I am still working on Mystic Storm (Zephyr’s book), but I opted to complete this book first since it was flowing faster.

Seven Beautiful Blogs:

1. Writing Secrets of 7 Scribes – Stop by and say hello. We’re friendly, fun and love to dish about all kinds of topics.

2. Meggan Connors – She makes me laugh with her honesty and self-depreciating humor. I love Edinor and her travels. You have visit her blog to find out who or what Edinor is!

3. Janna Shay – Kind and generous, Janna always makes me smile. She’s also an incredibly supportive and I do appreciate it!

5. Marian Lanouette – A great blogger who shares great advice. Plus, she is one sexy lady. Have you seen her Facebook photo? Her debut novel – If I Fail –  comes out in September.

6. Leia Shaw – Whether she’s blogging at her own site (The Paranormal G-spot) or at Nights of Passion, she always has something interesting to say.

7. Julia Rachel Barrett – C’mon, did you think I wouldn’t pick the lovely Julia? Julia blogs every day and it’s always worth reading.

To the recipients of the Beautiful Blogger Award – go forth and share the beauty!

And feel free to share your favorite blog (s) with me! 

Ta Da! Cover Reveal!

| Casey Wyatt

It’s official! I have the cover for The Undead Space Initiative by Lex at Winterheart Designs! Thank you Lex!