Standing at the front of my classroom Wednesday morning, I made eye contact with one of the middle school students seated in a desk. She smiled sweetly and pushed her glasses up higher on her nose.

“Erika?” She asked.

I walked through the center of the room and dropped to my knees near her desk.

“I don’t understand what I am supposed to do right now,” she added, glancing at her assignment.

No, I’m not a teacher.  But I am working really hard to become a Young Adult presenter, and last week I delivered a workshop on Character Development for the Greater Kansas City Middle School Writers Conference. Incredibly honored with the invitation, I faced three classes of 20 middle school students from a mix of schools. I delivered my workshop I wrote on best friend relationships and creating characters that stick. It was really great to feel all that young writing energy, and to see where their minds wandered to solve the scenario with their partners.

“Ok,” I said, glancing over her assigned scene worksheet. “Let’s see, you’re character B. I see you’ve already completed all the questions and created your character. Here’s your assigned scene.” I pointed to the picture of the beach she was supposed to drop her character in and proceeded to read the beginning of the scene. “This is your situation. Now you’ve got a place to start the suspense. Here’s a sample intro sentence to get your mind going if you choose to use it. What else are you confused about?”

“I don’t know. I’m just confused,” she answered.

“Tell me more.”

“Oh, well,” she smiled and I knew her wheels were turning from the sparkle in her eye. “Don’t worry about it. It’s not you. I just get confused about almost everything.”

She chuckled. I chuckled, walking back around the classroom.
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Laney McMann, fellow author with J. Taylor Publishing, is set to launch her second book Torn in the Fire Born Series. If you like Young Adult reads, you’ll love this series.

When can you get it? September 8, 2014

Take a Glimpse at the Back of the Book:

Find Max.

That’s all Layla cares about. Not healing from the Fomore attack. Not finding answers to how she survived a fall that nearly killed her. Nothing will stop her. She will find him. She’ll even pair up with an overbearing Fallen Angel who’s hell bent on making everything harder than it needs to be if she has to.

Protect Layla.

For Max, nothing else matters. Not the bruises covering his body. Not the pain radiating from his broken bones. Not even his hands tied behind his back. He will find a way to save Layla, and the Fomore will pay if they’ve hurt her.

Every. Single. One of them.

In the second installment of The Fire Born trilogy, a new breed of villain looms—one Layla and Max will never suspect, and this killer has nothing to lose. Better yet, with Max and Layla’s deaths, victory is in the grip of the enemy.

Will Max and Layla find each other in time, or is it already too late for them both?

Thanks for stopping in today. Have a lovely rest of your week. 🙂

Have you ever had a day in your whole life, where you find yourself needing a little quiet space? Some way to center yourself from all the commotion around you? Have you ever woken up, had that cup of coffee and still, your energy level  just isn’t there?

When I find myself heading down one or all of these rocky paths, there’s only one thing I can think of that gets me back on track—

Characters, reading, and rereading some of my all time favorite books. It’s the best way I know how to calm my mind and generate new emotion. I can disappear into an imaginary vacation without straining my wallet. And it’s not the plot that drives my escape. I am in love with stories of great character, relatable characters, regardless of whether or not I see life as they do.

So today, I’m reposting my top ten all time character list I shared on a blog with Lola’s Reviews back in December. Most of these characters stem from the YA genre since I read what I’m writing myself. All of them are my favorites.

So Here it is … My Top Ten Character List

1. Claire: The Main Character in The Morganville Vampire Series. A quirky sixteen-year-old girl, highly sheltered by overprotective parents, she’s brilliant. She tested out of the remaining high school years, a Physics genius. The character arc in the first book Glass Houses, blew my mind.  I believed her story. I also feel like I watched her grow up in the series through her Urban Fantasy challenges. Plus, the plot in the book was incredibly creative. Physics and vampires? Wow. I loved it. And I loved every quirky character in the series.

2.Willow: The Main Character in L.A. Weatherly’s Angel Burn Series. I am a fan of angel books.  Willow, by far, topped all the other leading characters in the angel books I’ve read. She’s a girl who doesn’t mind a little car grease on her hands, and can get under the hood and know what to do, well, yeah, amazing! Plus, she is an altruist, a lover of all things people and nature, and a girl with a heart of gold and an incredible backstory.

3. Cole: Maggie Stiefvater’s Shiver Series. Reading his character voice for the first time in Linger, taught me the value in motive and character arc. His strong identity showed me the importance in making all characters different in a book, and not just acting different in body language, but sounding different, reflecting the unique needs and wants.  I loved his rough edges. I loved his constant battle between life and death, and of course, the hope Maggie gave me for him.

3. Daphne: The Space Between by Brenna Yovanoff. A child from Fallen Angels, she’s a half demon half human girl. Strong. True. She says things with impact. She’s burdened with fear for who she is, knowing someday she’ll experience her true demon power and is terrified she’ll hurt a human. She doesn’t want to hurt anyone, and a demon feeling that way? Wow. She also never experienced being loved and so she, in turn, is afraid of loving anyone. Her story is one of the best and truest character stories I’d seen in a long long time.

4. Rose: The Vampire Academy Series by Richelle Mead. I loved her strong no nonsense attitude. She’s a girl with a fighting soul and heart because she knows of no other life than survival mode. A protector of the elite, she covers her emotion with thick layers of skin. I loved when the layers peeled back and showed us how people aren’t always who they seem to be.

5. Joshua:  Hereafter, by Tara Hudson. He was the love interest, and any character who defies what is normal because they’re so comfortable in their own skin, is a great character to learn from. After his near death experience, he woke up haunted by his attraction to the girl who saved him. A dead girl, who no one else could see.  He doesn’t care how people see him talking to himself, and even kissing the air. He loves her. He’ll do anything to help her find out the truth.

6. Jo: Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott. As a thirteen-year-old girl, Jo was the first character I ever remember relating to. I bonded with her voice and I couldn’t stand what happened to her towards the end, unable to finish the book. Years later, I made amends with it. I even watched the movie and loved it. Here’s an excerpt so you can see why too (http://xroads.virginia.edu/~hyper/alcott/lwtext.html):

Really, girls, you are both to be blamed, said Meg, beginning to lecture in her elder-sisterly fashion. You are old enough to leave off boyish tricks, and to behave better, Josephine. It didn’t matter so much when you were a little girl, but now you are so tall, and turn up your hair, you should remember that you are a young lady.

I’m not! And if turning up my hair makes me one, I’ll wear it in two tails till I’m twenty, cried Jo, pulling off her net, and shaking down a chestnut mane. I hate to think I’ve got to grow up, and be Miss March, and wear long gowns, and look as prim as a China Aster! It’s bad enough to be a girl, anyway, when I like boy’s games and work and manners!

8. Patch: The love interest in Hush-Hush, by Becca Fitzpatrick. Sexy, dangerous, I get his bad side. I get his character ARC, too, and I love how he grows in the four books in the series

9. Orual: Till We Have Faces, by C.S. Lewis. Again, she’s a strong girl who doesn’t want to fit into the norm. She has a story, being the underdog and sort of the ugly duckling next to her beautiful sister, and I loved how she fought to be heard.

10. Everafter: This is all time pick-me-up movie. Whenever I’m blue, and I need to switchover fast, I plug in my old VHS tape and watch Drew Barrymore play the best rendition of Cinderella. Sweet, honest, she’s true to herself.

…And I am also just a fairy tale girl at heart. :0)

Happy Monday all. May your week shine bright.

     Happy Friday, all! To celebrate one of my favorite days in the week, I’m announcing the release of a new book: Released From The Darkness, by Gabrielle Arrowsmith. I must say, the cover looks spectacular. Below, you’ll find a brief description of the book, a small excerpt from the inside pages, and also an author biography. At the very bottom, you’ll also find a way to win some  great free stuff. Thank you for joining me today and taking a peek at this spine tingling hot release. 

…And here it is…

Title:  Released from the Darkness
Series:  Concealed in the Shadows, Book 2
Author:  Gabrielle Arrowsmith
Published: February 14th, 2014 by Clean Teen Publishing
Word Count:  approx. 91,600
Genre:  Dystopian
Content Warning:  Mild Violence and Romance
Recommended Age:  14+

Synopsis: Through bullet or flame, she will fight to be free.

Two young seeksmen are dead, and Sydney blames herself. The only way to get her sister back from the county’s clutches while also preventing more deaths was to offer her own life in exchange for Evvie’s freedom.

She expected a dreadful end, but nothing like the prison in which she wakes. Agonizing county life is redefined in Neo-Necropolis, new city of the dead, which lies beneath the earth. Worse than being allegedly deceased, is the false identity Sydney is forced to assume where Evvie, Sheridan’s captain, and Crewe never existed.

Sydney alone knows the magnitude of the county’s evildoings inside, outside, and now below. At only eighteen, the responsibility to defend freedom falls solely on her tried and tested shoulders – a burden that requires desperate action when a catastrophic revelation upends the world as she knew it.

The people Sydney cares for are more vulnerable than ever. Though she’s buried underground and monitored by county agents, she must escape this new captivity. Maybe it’s time to fight fire with fire. Sydney has proven her courage in facing their weapons, but can she trigger her own?

Check Out An Excerpt From The Book:

“Who is this?” I ask, hoping for an answer other than the one snaking in my heart.

“That was a nasty thing you all just did. I’m afraid you’ve really upset order this time.”

No shadow of doubt remains. It’s him. “Good, you should be afraid,” I say, feigning courage.

He laughs. “Spirited one you are, Sydney, but you’ll learn yet. I am not afraid for me or for my county, I am afraid for you and – more specifically – for your town,” he says, biting into what little hope I still hold.

What am I supposed to say to him? Evvie is in Sheridan. I can’t allow him to do anything to the town that could hurt her or anyone else, but I also won’t cower and beg a belly-ridden snake. “What do you want me to do?” I ask, inviting him to help me find middle ground between our polar worlds.

“I want you to feel the same chaos you’ve sicked upon me,” he says with a spike of heat in his relaxed demeanor. “Drive fast, but I cannot promise you that your town and loved ones therein won’t already be ash.”

Amazon | GoodReads

About the Author:

Gabrielle Arrowsmith was born to her loving mother, father, and older brother on August 16th, 1988. She grew up in the small town of Ham Lake, MN enjoying reading, writing, playing soccer, acting in school plays, playing piano, and adventures with her brother and cousins.

Gabrielle’s high school years were very well-rounded and challenged her time management skills. She studied diligently, enabling her to graduate near the top of her class and earn an AP Scholar with Distinction recognition for her success in college-level courses and exams. She was seen as a leader in both the National Honor Society where she was elected vice president and on her soccer and track teams which each appointed her as captain. Between soccer and track seasons, Gabrielle acted in enough school theater productions to be inducted into the Thespian Society. During her senior year, she earned the Triple A award for performance in academics, athletics, and arts.

From 2006-2009 Gabrielle attended the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, MN where she earned a degree in Elementary Education. She played collegiate soccer for the Saints, held two work-study positions, acted in three theater productions and volunteered often. She was on the Dean’s List every semester and graduated summa cum laude.

Since 2009, Gabrielle has enjoyed teaching third through sixth graders in various school settings. She has recently transitioned to substitute teaching in order to pursue her passion for storytelling through both writing and acting. She also continues to enjoy playing and coaching soccer.

To find out more, please visit the official event page at Juniper Groves Book Solutions.

Amazon Author Page | Facebook | GoodReads

Clean Teen Publishing Links:

Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter

 Enter The Rafflecopter to Win Some Great Gifts:

There is a tour wide giveaway. Prizes include the following:

• Reader’s Choice of any Clean Teen Publishing eBook and a bookmark swag pack

Giveaway is International. Please click the following  Rafflecopter giveaway link and sign up.

Thank you! Have a blessed and happy day!  Erika 🙂