Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Blog Tour: Just For Fun by Rosalind James


Contemporary Romance
Date Published: 12/8/12

    
What if the person who broke your heart turned out to be the only one who could mend it?
 Nic Wilkinson is a responsible, organized, disciplined rugby player at the top of his game. Emma Martens is a sometimes-scattered, often-emotional, and always-broke would-be designer with a big chip on her shoulder where Nic’s concerned.
 They have no history together, except one perfect week. Nothing in common anymore, except the most important thing of all.
 Getting together again would be messy. Complicated. Scary. And, just maybe, worth every risk.



EXCERPT

“Mum!” Zack burst in through the front door. “It was brilliant!” He kicked his shoes off impatiently, dropped his rugby boots next to them before struggling out of his jacket. Nic followed him in, grabbed the jacket and hung it on the brightly painted rack next to the door when Zack would have dropped it on the floor.

Emma reached out for a hug that, Nic saw, the boy was still willing to give his mother, at least here at home. Her eyes met Nic’s as she looked over her son’s head. How did she always look so soft? So . . . pettable? She was wearing another sweater, that was all, he told his troublesome libido. Another light, lacy one, prettily trimmed once again. A pale pink cardigan with pearly shell buttons, edged in cream, over a long stretchy top and leggings. She looked like an invitation to cuddle. Like the best blankie ever.

“Can Nic stay for dinner, Mum?” Zack asked excitedly, offering a welcome distraction from his wayward train of thought. “He could help me tell you all the things we did. We’re having spaghetti!” he told Nic. “It’s really good.”

“Can’t, mate. Sorry,” Nic put in hastily at Emma’s instinctive shake of the head. “But I’ll have a glass of water, if one’s on offer.”

“Sit down,” Emma told him. “Please.”

Nic slipped off his own shoes before heading to the couch with Zack. “Cheers,” he said as she came back from the kitchen to hand each of them a glass, then took her own seat in a small armchair next to the couch, the only other option the little room offered.

“You look tired,” she said abruptly. “And bruised. Are you OK?”

“Just a bit confused on the sleep schedule, still,” Nic admitted. “I took a wee pill on the flight home, but it never works that well.”

“It’s a long way, Mum,” Zack put in. “South Africa’s really far.”

Nic took a long drink of the cold water, looked around for something to set the glass on. “Coaster?”

“Just put it down,” Emma told him.

“Don’t want to spoil this,” he said, looking more closely at the coffee table. The simple rectangle had been transformed into a forest of ferns, with native birds peeping out from underneath fronds, perched in trees. The parson-throated tui making a meal of red fruit, the colorful, stumpy takahe on the forest floor, tiny fantails darting overhead.

“You can’t,” Emma assured him. “It’s all enamels. Everything in this house is pretty indestructible.”

“Did you find the ruru yet?” Zack asked him, leaning forward.

“Don’t tell me,” Nic said. “Let me look.” Zack watched him eagerly as he searched and finally pointed triumphantly to a notch in a tree where the owl blended into the bark. “There.”

“You did this too, eh,” he asked Emma. “Nice.”

“I did everything. That’s my decorating theme. Things I made.”

“I like it,” he assured her. The warm colors of the lounge seemed to cocoon them. Two walls were a rich caramel, the others a warm yellow. She didn’t even paint every wall in a room the same color, he realized. Well, at least in the kitchen it was all the same. Purple. He wondered what color her bedroom was. How it looked. And found himself wishing, against every better impulse, that he could see it.




Rosalind James is the author of the Kindle bestseller Just This Once and the three subsequent books in the Escape to New Zealand series. She is a former marketing executive who has lived all over the United States and in a number of other countries, traveling with her civil engineer husband. Most recently, she spent several years in Australia and New Zealand, where she fell in love with the people, the landscape, and the culture of both countries.
Visit www.rosalindjames.com to listen to the songs from the books, follow the characters on their travels, watch funny and fascinating New Zealand and rugby videos, and learn about what's new!

Contact Links


Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Blog Tour: Desert Flower by Angela Scott


Upper YA - Women's Fiction
Date Published: 1/21/2013

Bodies have a canny way of finding Samantha Jean Haggert—the first, the dead body of her mama; the second, a naked man in the middle of the Arizona desert. For Sam, dealing with one dead body in her lifetime is more than unfair. Two is downright cruel.

Seven years after running from West Virginia, Sam's now a young woman of nineteen, trying to put the pieces of her life together with the help of her family—Jacob, Boone, and Laura. But the naked man in the desert spirals her world out of control, resurrecting past hurts and revealing old secrets. It also pits against one another the two men who vie for her heart: Carson, her friend, her first kiss, and the one man who knows everything about her past and loves her despite it; and Turner, the stranger who knows nothing, but who excites and frustrates her all at once.

When bad choices made as a child lead to more bad choices as a young adult, Sam finds herself at a crossroads, forced to face her demons head-on if she plans to have any future at all—with Carson, with Turner, or with anyone. But fixing the wrongs of the past takes time, and learning to forgive one's self is damn near impossible.

Visit old friends in this harrowing sequel to Desert Rice, in which award-winning author Angela Scott brings back the characters so many readers have loved. 


My Review
Angela Scott has gone outside of the norm by switching up her Genre a bit from the first in the series to the next. It's great for any of the more mature readers who enjoy Young Adult Books. We got to meet Sam and have now grown with her to see what becomes of her after Desert Rice has ended. But not just right after, in the future when she is grown up and faced with new dilemmas.

I truly enjoyed everything about Desert Rice and was blown away how this one has outdone the first. Sam now has to choose between two men and come to terms with a huge decision she made in the past. 

I think the Love Triangle is done amazingly. Usually you can tell who the woman will end up with and I think I have only been seriously back and forth a couple of times ever. I was completely undecided myself on just what would happen. Definite page turner! 


Buy Links 
Amazon


I hear voices. Tiny fictional people sit on my shoulders and whisper their stories in my ear. Instead of medicating myself, I decided to pick up a pen, write down everything those voices tell me, and turn it into a book. I’m not crazy. I’m an author. For the most part, I write contemporary Young Adult novels. However, through a writing exercise that spiraled out of control, I found myself writing about zombies terrorizing the Wild Wild West—and loving it. My zombies don’t sparkle, and they definitely don’t cuddle. At least, I wouldn’t suggest it.
I live on the benches of the beautiful Wasatch Mountains with two lovely children, one teenager, and a very patient husband. I graduated from Utah State University with a B.A. degree in English, not because of my love for the written word, but because it was the only major that didn’t require math. I can’t spell, and grammar is my arch nemesis. But they gave me the degree, and there are no take backs.
As a child, I never sucked on a pacifier; I chewed on a pencil. I’ve been writing that long. It has only been the past few years that I’ve pursued it professionally, forged relationships with other like-minded individuals, and determined to make a career out of it.
You can subscribe and follow me on my website, where I blog obsessively about my writing process and post updates on my current works. I’m also on Twitter and Facebook, but be forewarned, I tweet and post more than a normal person.
Twitter: @whimsywriting



Monday, February 25, 2013

Blog Tour: Hannah's Voice by Robb Grindstaff


Contemporary/Literary
Date Published: 1/15/13

When six-year-old Hannah's brutal honesty is mistaken for lying, she stops speaking. Her family, her community, and eventually, the entire nation struggle to find meaning in her silence.

School officials suspect abuse. Church members are divided—either she has a message from God or is possessed by a demon. Social workers interrupt an exorcism to wrest Hannah away from her momma, who has a tenuous grip on sanity. Hidden in protective foster care for twelve years, she loses all contact with her mother and remains mute by choice.

When Hannah leaves foster care at age eighteen to search for Momma, a national debate rages over her silence. A religious movement awaits her prophecy and celebrates her return. An anarchist group, Voices for the Voiceless, cites Hannah as its inspiration. The nation comes unhinged and the conflict spills into the streets when presidential candidates chime in with their opinions on Hannah—patriotic visionary or dangerous radical. A remnant still believes she is evil and seeks to dispatch her from this world. 

Hannah stands at the intersection of anarchists and fundamentalists, between power politics and an FBI investigation. All she wants is to find her momma, a little peace and quiet, and maybe some pancakes. 

One word would put an end to the chaos if Hannah can only find her voice.


My Review:
Hannah's Voice is a wonderful and unique story about a girl who is put through some insane circumstances. Robb Grindstaff gives us Hannah's inner thoughts at multiple ages and I found myself so submerged in her life. 

Hannah's story has a way of gripping the reader from the beginning and it makes it very difficult to take any breaks until you know exactly how everything will unfold. 

This is without a doubt one of the most thought-provoking and deep stories I have read so far this year! 


Buy Links 

In addition to a career as a newspaper editor, publisher, and manager, I’ve written fiction most of my life. The newspaper biz has taken my family and me from Phoenix, Arizona, to small towns in North Carolina and Texas, and from seven years in Washington, D.C., to five years in Asia. Born and raised a small-town kid, I’m as comfortable in Tokyo or Tuna, Texas. I now reside in a small community in Wisconsin where I manage the business operations of a daily newspaper. The variety of places I’ve lived and visited serve as settings for the characters who invade my head.
I’ve had a dozen short stories published in several print anthologies and e-zines, and several articles on the craft of writing fiction. My first novel, Hannah’s Voicedebuted January 15, 2013, and two more novels are in the works for 2013-14.
I also edit fiction and non-fiction books for authors from around the world. It helps that I’m fluent in five languages: U.S. English, U.K. English, Canadian English, and Australian English, plus my native language, Texan.


AUTHOR CONTACT INFO:
Twitter: @RobbWriter


GIVEAWAY


Saturday, February 23, 2013

Blog Tour: Evol by Jess Wygle



Thriller

“I will do whatever it takes to keep us together. Nothing can keep us apart. You’re mine now.” She’d love him just as he loved her. She had to. She didn’t have a choice.

In love and happily living the life she always dreamed of, Venna Caldwell doesn’t know she is the object of a secret obsession. Until one night when she’s home alone and her stalker finally acts on his fantasies, dragging her into a sadistic nightmare that she barely escapes. Running for her life, from a man who will never stop hunting her, Venna reaches out to her estranged half-brother, grasping desperately at what little hope she has left. How far will she go to keep out of the clutches of the unrelenting monster that's hungry for her?

With her ability to grab the reader by the shirt collar, Jess Wygle delivers a fast-paced and intensely psychological thriller that will make you think twice about the people around you .

My Review:
Now this is a Thriller! Usually only watching a scary movie can evoke the kind of fright that this story did. Amazon job by Jess Wygle in creating a novel that feels so real to the reader. 

The writing was superb and the attention to detail was part of the reason everything seemed so real. 

Jess manages to take the reader through a barrage of other emotions besides fright and they will find themselves submerged in the world and feeling every single things that happens to Venna. 

Buy Links 

Jess Wygle is a short story author and novelist. Her titles include Keep it Safe, Evol, Not Alone, Long
Awaited, and Where’s My Accident. Primarily writing thrillers, she has included non-fiction and romance
in her repertoire.

Jess is married to her husband, AJ and has a young son named Landon. She’s also mother to a one-year-
old red fox lab. This self-proclaimed movie buff has a knack for photography. She’s currently enrolled
at a local college studying education and has plans to teach English at the high school level as she works
her way up the bestseller list.

You can visit her blog at jesswygle.blogspot.com.
Twitter: @jcwygle
Facebook: Jess Wygle
Instagram: jesswygle
BookRix.com username: jesswygle



GIVEAWAY

BookRix and Jess Wygle are giving away a $25 Amazon Gift Card and eBook Copy of Keep It Safe to one lucky Winner from this stop!  ENTER BELOW! 




The largest Giveaway will begin on February 25 - BookRix and  will run throughout the entire tour. This will include a $100 Amazon Gift Card, Keep it Safe, 3 Other Books from BookRix authors,  and physical Swag.

BookRix Between the Lines

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Blog Tour: Enslaved in Shadows by Tigris Eden



Paranormal Romance
Date Published: January 29, 2013

A man's Past leads to his Future......

Agent Stone of the Shadow Unit's job is simple, most days. Work in the Shadows, police his own Kind.

When an unwanted assignment turns out to be his darkest fantasy from the past, Draven can't help but be conflicted by the memories of the past and his responsibilities in the future. But his decision has been made.

The Heart of a woman is Tested........

Jes can't let the tall dark agent back into her life.
How can she trust any man after what she's endured? Years of abuse have broken her down and she doesn't have room for more. The man she turns to for help hasn't abused her physically but he's tormented her emotionally. A past betrayal left her scarred, but also brought her life.

Can she accept him into her heart and trust him again?

One will survive and adapt, the other will realize hearts can be mended even if it’s a bit too late.

The road to forgiveness sometimes only brings more pain. Unexpected events set their lives on two separate tracks leading to one outcome. Lives will be changed and an emotional battle to save their souls will leave them both trapped and enslaved in their need for one another.

EXCERPT

“Stop trying to bait me.” She stepped away from him to the other side of the elevator. Gabe had a wide smile on his face as well and stood with his hands behind his back teetering on the soles of his boots. The elevator dinged and the three of them stepped inside facing the front. As the doors began to close a very angry Draven was peering at them through the glass of the conference room he didn’t look happy at all.
“You know if you tell him,” Jesminda said under her breath. “I will see to it personally you and your man parts meet with a very dear friend of mine.” Let him read that from her mind and see if he still wanted to open his mouth. She looked him straight in the eyes, amber darkened to deep orange.
“Careful, you might find I quite enjoy a dose of pain with my pleasure. You, dear handling my junk bring nothing but salacious intentions to my brain and its receptive pleasure neurons.”
What was with these guys and their subtle and not so subtle come-ons? You would think they’d never been in the presence of a female before. She knew that wasn’t it. Royce tilted the corners of his mouth. The bastard was way too full of himself for his own good.
“I had a very up close and personal relationship with my father so the term bastard does not apply.”
Jesminda grinned.

Photobucket
My name is Katina Jewel Hernandez pen name Tigris Eden. I am eternally 29 years old. I love to write, read, and listen to music, watch movies, and travel. My biggest goal right now is to be waited on hand and foot. Possibly a group of hot cabana boys, maybe two or three door men, a butler and personal chef and driver, for now. I adore oatmeal crème cookies and long walks to my pillow. I’m pretty laid back and I love to laugh.
 I’m an ex-military brat, and have been to a number of wonderful places. I’ve been writing for as long as I was able to put pen to paper. I use to write music and play flute. So if it wasn’t music notes jumping at me to be put on paper it was words. True story: When I was growing up in Germany my father and I watched a lot of musicals. Sound of Music, Annie…. You name it I’ve watched and probably know the words by heart. Anyway, I thought life was a musical and my first day of school I sang the entire day. Whether it was hello, my name is Katina or can I go to the restroom. Two years later I was asked to write about my very first day of school. When I wrote my story the teacher didn’t believe me, told me I was a big story teller. So I’ve been telling stories ever since, whether it was with music or words.
 I live in Cypress, Texas with my Husband LL and my boys Darryl Joseph and Andrew and a newly acquired puppy name Kastor. When I’m not writing, I’m balancing payroll taxes, moving state wages, or answering that age old question. “Why don’t my wages in box 1 equal what’s on my pay stub. 

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Blog Tour: Sophie's Run by Nicky Wells


Contemporary Romance
2nd Book in the Rockstar Romance Trilogy


Her famous star remains her rock while life takes her on a little detour…
Who says that the road towards true love is straight and even?  Sophie is certainly discovering that it is anything but.
 So she has finally found the man of her dreams!  Well… she knows who he is, even though she hasn’t actually quite met him yet.  But she misses her opportunity, and then her life goes crazy.  Rock star and ex-fiancé, Dan, keeps getting in the way of her new romance—even if he is just trying to be helpful.  A fire, an impromptu mini-trip with Dan, and a dreaded wedding later, Sophie is still struggling to meet the love of her life.  Then, just as she is getting it together with her perfect man, best friend Rachel commits an act of unspeakable betrayal.
 Sophie has had enough.  Confused and distraught, she decides that it is time for radical change.  Surprising herself and shocking her friends, she embarks on a secret journey eventually gets her life back on track.

My Review:
This is the Sequel to Sophie's Turn and I really felt like things were kicked up a notch! 

Nicky Wells does a wonderful job of continuing the series and bringing the reader through new situations and a whole bevy of emotions! Cliffhangers kill me, but I am okay with waiting for this one because I just adore the characters! This is a series that just seems to stick with me. I am right there with Sophie all the way through!




Rock On! Nicky Wells writes fun and glamorous contemporary romance featuring a rock star and the girl
next door. She recently signed her work with U.S. publisher, Sapphire Star Publishing. Nicky loves rock
music, dancing, and eating lobsters. When she’s not writing, Nicky is a wife, mother, and occasional
teaching assistant.

Originally born in Germany, Nicky moved to the United Kingdom in 1993, and currently lives in Lincoln
with her husband and their two boys. In a previous professional life, Nicky worked as a researcher and
project manager for an international Human Resources research firm based in London and Washington,
D.C.

Visit Nicky on her blog where you can find articles, interviews, radio interviews and, of course, an
ongoing update on her work in progress, the second and third parts of the Rock Star Romance Trilogy.
You can also follow Nicky on Twitter and find her on Facebook. Nicky is a featured author on the
innovative reader/author project, loveahappyending.com and has joined the Romantic Novelists’
Association. Nicky also has author pages at Sapphire Star Publishing and, of course, Goodreads.
Website
Twitter Handle: @WellsNicky
Facebook 
  
Links to Buy 

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Blog Tour: Writing Scary Scenes by Rayne Hall


Non Fiction - Writing Craft
Date Published: 7/06/12

Are your frightening scenes scary enough? Learn practical tricks to turn up the suspense. Make your readers' hearts hammer with suspense, their breaths quicken with excitement, and their skins tingle with goosebumps of delicious fright. 
This book contains practical suggestions how to structure a scary scene, increase the suspense, make the climax more terrifying, make the reader feel the character's fear. It includes techniques for manipulating the readers' subconscious and creating powerful emotional effects. 
Use this book to write a new scene, or to add tension and excitement to a draft.
You will learn tricks of the trade for "black moment" and "climax" scenes, describing monsters and villains, writing harrowing captivity sections and breathtaking escapes, as well as how to make sure that your hero doesn't come across as a wimp... and much more.
This book is recommended for writers of all genres, especially thriller, horror, paranormal romance and urban fantasy. 


Review:

So let's be honest, we've all read a few "Scary" or "Horror" Books that didn't fit in their genre and were not anywhere near scary enough. Books are a lot like movies in that way. Readers who enjoy the genre want the THRILL just the same as those who enjoy Scary Movies. So if you are an author looking to write your own Scary or Horror book, this is a great tool! 

Rayne has practical advice and tips that will help even the newest of authors better their work and enhance the scenes meant to frighten or thrill the reader. 



GUEST POST


WRITING CRAFT: IS YOUR HEROINE A WIMP?

Readers don't like wusses.

Heroes – male or female - may be frightened, but they may not be wusses. Often, the difference lies not in their actions, but in the words you've used.

You may have created a spunky, heroic, brave heroine, but the reader still perceives her as a wimpy wuss, because you've unwittingly used certain phrases which signal “wimp” to the reader's subconscious. I call this the Wimp Effect.

It's best to avoid those words, or at least, to use them sparingly.


The Wimp Test

See how your hero performs in your manuscript. Every time your protagonist does one of the following things, she or he gets one Wimp Point.

* Sighing, exhaling, breath taking. Each time the protagonist heaves a sigh, sighs deeply, takes a deep breath, inhales, exhales slowly etc, that's one Wimp Point.

* Shrugging. Shrugs may be intended to convey arrogance or indifference, but they also signal weakness. One Wimp Point for each shrug.

* Hesitation. Each time the protagonist hesitates, however good the reason, that's a Wimp Point.

* Visceral responses to minor triggers. Visceral responses to real danger are great! But if the protagonist shudders, trembles, jerks and gasps at something harmless like the sound of a banging door, this gets a Wimp Point.

* Indulging in negative-passive emotions. It's ok to feel sadness, grief, loss, worry, anxiety, helplessness. However, these should be dealt with quickly. The protagonist should experience them, but not dwell on them. Each time such an emotion is described for more than one sentence, it gets a Wimp Point.

* Tears. Each time the protagonist weeps, spills tears, wipes a tear from his eyes, gets moist eyes, or has a tear sliding down her cheek, earns one Wimp Point.

* Thinking. Thoughts should be very short or implied in the action. Whenever the protagonist thinks for more than one sentence, that's a Wimp Point. If he thinks aloud, or holds conversations with himself, the Wimp Points double.

* Nervous habits. Each time the protagonist bites or chews lips, cheeks or nails, clenches fists or teeth, freezes, gulps, swallows, clears a throat, drops a jaw or stares in disbelief, that's one Wimp Point.

* Tries and attempts. Each time your protagonist tries/attempts/endeavours something, that's one Wimp Point. When he tries something in connection with an emotional response (He tried not to shudder. She tried to suppress a groan. He couldn't stop himself trembling), the points double.

* Feeling. Every time the word “feel” is used  (He felt xxx, Feeling yyy, she did zzz) earns one Wimp Point.

* Finding themselves. Every time the protagonist finds himself in a place or situation (He found himself in a dark alleyway), or finds himself doing something instead of doing it (He found himself shaking all over. She found herself staring at a house.), this earns one Wimp Point.

* Involuntary actions. Each time she does something involuntarily/unconsciously/instinctively/ without meaning to/against her will, gets one Wimp Point.

* Each time the protagonist's body parts (instead of the protagonist) do something (His legs stepped forward. His hands took the weapon.Her eyes watched the rat.) gets one Wimp Point.


How Much is Too Much?

How many Wimp Points has the protagonist earned? Aim for no more than three in the scariest scene, and no more than ten or fifteen in the whole book, although it depends on the genre. Romance can be allowed a little more; thrillers fewer. Females are allowed a few more points than males, but not many more.

Some writers accumulate a dozen Wimp Points in a single paragraph, and are surprised when readers think their heroine is a wuss.

Here's an example of how a paragraph with many Wimp Points might read:

Henry Hero stared in disbelief at the dark river, and couldn't help himself swallowing. He found himself shaking involuntarily. Part of him whispered, No man has ever crossed this water alive. Go home while you can. Another part of him yelled, Just do it. Be the First. He chewed his lower lip, hesitating. A cloud crossed the sky, making him shudder. Then he took a deep breath to steady himself, and exhaled with a sigh. I have to do it, he told himself. The Delectable Damsel needs me. His feet stepped towards the shore.

Or how about this:

Captain Hero stared at the starship's monitor, disbelieving, and swallowed.
That's the end, part of him said. There's nothing you can do.
Another part of him said, Don't just stand there. Do something.
The first part of him replied, It's hopeless. In thirty seconds, this ship is going to blow up in a ball of fire. The second part continued, But how you use those thirty seconds matters.
He found himself trembling against his will. He chewed his lower lip and heaved sigh, wondering how he should spend the final moments of his life.
Without meaning to, he found himself looking at a pretty crying yeoman.
His legs walked towards her. He hesitated for a second, then he took a deep breath. His arms stretched to pull her close, and he found himself hugging her.
Part of him said, It's against the rules to make love to a member of his crew, but another part of him said, It doesn't matter any more.
He couldn't stop himself sighing deeply. Duty comes first, he told himself.
He took a deep breath to steady himself. Then he swallowed, and returned to the console.

Would you enjoy reading about such wusses? Your readers won't either.

SOME WIMP POINTS ARE OK

Each of the “Wimp Effects” is ok on its own, if it happens just once. A single sigh, a single swallow, a one-off burst into tears are fine.

It's when the Wimp Points accumulate that they become problematic, and they accumulate quickly. Novice writers often have twenty or more Wimp Points in the first chapter, because their characters shrug and sigh constantly. This establishes their protagonists as wusses before the scary action begins.

The hero Odysseus weeps several times in Homer's famous ancient epic The Odyssey. Does this make him a wimp? Definitely not. The weeping shows him as a sensitive human, and it works because he doesn't do anything else to earn Wimp Points. He doesn't sigh, shrug, inhale, exhale, bite his lips and clear his throat. If he did all those things on top of the weeping, he would come across as a wuss, no matter how many cyclops and monsters he defeated.

It also depends on the character. A timid character is allowed the occasional Wimp Point, but not many.

Examples:

Spunky person: She halted. (0 Wimp Points)
Timid person: She hesitated. (1 Wimp Point)
Wimpy wuss: She hesitated, chewing her lips, and heaved a deep sigh. (3 Wimp Points)

Spunky person: She braced herself. (0 Wimp Points)
Timid person: She swallowed and braced herself. (1 Wimp Point)
Wimpy wuss: She swallowed. Then she took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and braced herself. (4 Wimp Points)


How to Avoid the Wimp Effect

Wherever possible, cut down on Wimp Points.

* Delete sighs, shrugs, inhales, exhales, lip biting, cheek chewing, swallowing etc.

* Don't let your protagonists do a lot of thinking, and never let two parts of their psyche engage in a conversation.

* If the plot demands that the protagonist hesitates, express it with different words (He halted. He paused. He waited)

* If the protagonist tries to do something, express it without the words try/attempt/endeavour. Instead of He tried to pull it out write He pulled at it with all his strength.

* Describe negative-passive emotions intensely but briefly.

De-wimpifying your manuscript can be fun. Enjoy the process.

Questions?

Which wimpy habits have invaded your writing? Tell us about them. If you have questions, please ask. I'll be around for a week and will reply.  I love answering questions.

Rayne Hall
Rayne Hall has published more than forty books under different pen names with different publishers in different genres, mostly fantasy, horror and non-fiction. Recent books include Storm Dancer (dark epic fantasy novel), Six Historical Tales Vol 1, Six Scary Tales Vol 1, 2 and 3 (mild horror stories), Six Historical Tales (short stories), Six Quirky Tales (humorous fantasy stories), Writing Fight Scenes andWriting Scary Scenes (instructions for authors).
She holds a college degree in publishing management and a masters degree in creative writing. Currently, she edits the Ten Tales series of multi-author short story anthologies: Bites: Ten Tales of Vampires, Haunted: Ten Tales of Ghosts, Scared: Ten Tales of Horror, Cutlass: Ten Tales of Pirates, Beltane: Ten Tales of Witchcraft, Spells: Ten Tales of Magic, Undead: Ten Tales of Zombies and more. 
 https://sites.google.com/site/raynehallsdarkfantasyfiction/
Twitter: @raynehall