Cloud Nine Girl

Recently I’ve been engrossed in the study of plot and structure. I came across a fantastic online site called How To Write A Book Now.  I searched through articles on plot outlining. There were eight awesome questions to consider. The best questions I’ve come across in along time.

I finished the eight steps and moved on to the second article on climax and endings. The author of the article asked quite honestly, will your ending be happy or sad?

I hadn’t thought about whether or not sad could be a possibility. Delving deeper, I read about four historical ending styles and why each one might be picked. The bottom line? Change. Will your character change to meet the goal of the book and meet every requirement to succeed? Or, will the climax solidify every fear and pattern from the past and cause your character to stick to their guns?

My boyfriend said it best in a discussion we had not long ago: “Change for a person is one of the most difficult things to do.” I’m talking about hardcore internal change where a person is asked to review their history and perceptions about life. Where we come from. Why we do the things that we do. And in my writing journey to make fiction feel more real, I’ve learned the more detailed background I can create for my character, I can achieve my goal and breathe life into paper.

Personally, I agree with the concept of change. Looking back at my own past, I had to learn a hard lesson three separate times because of some form of change I didn’t make within myself.

So now? I write for happy. I aim to share my deep lessons in my characters and push them to make difficult choices. Hopefully I can instill some sort of faith or hope in my readers. People do fall.  Characters will also fall in my stories, but in my mind I will always give them the chance to grow. What can I say, where there’s hope there’s light in my eyes.

What about you? Do you tend to pick happy or sad?

Last thought: Happy Wednesday, all, wherever you are. May you find that light of hope in you. 🙂

~Erika

P.S. Here’s the link to that really great website.

“Imperfections are not inadequacies; they are reminders that we’re all in this together.”  ― Brené Brown

Recently I’ve been reading a different sort of book where themes of perfection and ideologies for the world squelch all the beautiful grays of possibility. It’s not a theme unique to the writing world, but what is unique, is the craft in the story. Purposeful lines cross out thoughts and fragments left in the writing, a technique I haven’t seen before. I have read stories where grammar reflects the culture and world in the book. Gertrude Stein rocked this strategy in Three Lives.

To be honest, I didn’t think I’d like the style. I thought it would disrupt the flow and image in my mind as I read. But I got over it quickly. It’s a lovely strategy, and though I still find myself skipping over those crossed out lines and rereading them with an exasperated sigh at myself, I always go back. I realize now it’s because I’ve been taught to honor perfection, a little too much.

I remember being a kid myself, thinking if I disagreed with others in general, I might be punished in some way. Maybe shunned by my friends, yelled at by those I loved, and even in high school I’d read an essay I’d written after it had been graded. Glowing red pen inked notes in the margins. Disappointment swelled in my throat. All those marks over MY words. All those red crossed out lines, suggestions for better words I should have used instead.

I’m thinking about imperfections today, because this book really has me thinking about life. Especially since I’m in the realm of Public Relations where most of the job responsibility is making image look perfect. I’m also thinking about my role as a mom and raising my kids to the best of my abilities. Not to mention relationships I care about, and finally, delving deeper, straight into my heart.

My Point Today? I wish I would have learned so much younger how imperfections can be, well, sort of awesome. They make us more human and open to those connections with others. We can’t always get away from certain circumstances, but we have the ability grow and change with knowledge gained through experience.

Lastly, can you guess the title of the book?

It’s pretty awesome…

…It’s called Shatter Me, by author Tahereh Mafi.

Maybe you should give it a try.  🙂

I love Fridays, and I can’t think of a better way to celebrate my favorite day than to share the love for a new YA book by a newly discovered author on my part. Milayna, by Michelle K. Pickett, is an awesome YA book right up my favorite topic lane—Angels, and the war between the good guys and the bad ones. Plus, Milayna reminds me of favorite books by authors Cynthia Hand and Becca Fitzpatrick, with an amazing sparkle of newness on the subject, and that is something difficult to do. So without delaying your curiosity any further, here it is…

 Title: Milayna
Series: The Milayna Series, Book 1
Author: Michelle K. Pickett
Published: March 17th, 2015
Publisher: Clean Teen Publishing
Genre: YA Paranormal Romance
Content Warning: Adult language and violence
Recommended Age: 16+

Synopsis: It’s hard being good all the time. Everyone needs to be bad once in a while. But for seventeen-year-old Milayna, being good isn’t a choice. It’s a job requirement. And it’s a job she can’t quit. Born a demi-angel, Milayna steps in when danger and demons threaten the people around her, but being half angel isn’t all halos and happiness. Azazel, Hell’s demon, wants Milayna’s power and he’ll do anything to get it. But he only has until her eighteenth birthday, after which she becomes untouchable.

With the help of other demi-angels, Milayna thwarts the trouble Azazel sends her way. Fighting by her side is Chay. He’s a demi-angel who’s sinfully gorgeous, and Milayna falls hard. But is Chay her true love… or her nemesis in disguise?

When she learns of a traitor in her group, there’s no one she can trust… not even the one she loves.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | GoodReads

Excerpt Three from Milayna by Michelle K. Pickett:

I sat at the kitchen table, eating a sandwich and talking with Muriel on the phone, when the vision hit. My stomach clenched; I gagged on my sandwich, ran to the sink, and spat it out.

“Milayna?”

“I have to go. I’ll call you when it’s over.”

     Who is it? No one is here for me to protect. Oh, geez, maybe it’s a neighbor. Or the red rugrats are coming. Then what do I do?

“I’ll be right there.” She slammed the phone in my ear.

My stomach roiled, and my mouth was filled with the rancid taste of stomach acid. My breathing came in gasps, like I was running. My head and heart pounded in time with each other like a pair of drums. The sound bounced through my head.
I heard Muriel come in the back door just as the first of the vision appeared.

     Mom’s building. She’s leaving work, walking to her car in the parking garage.

“Call my mom,” I said.

“What’s the number?”

I jumped when I heard Chay’s voice. “Speed dial two on my cell. On the table.” I pressed the heels of my hands to my eyes and focused on the vision.

     The parking garage is dark. I see our car. I smell damp cement and exhaust fumes.

“I’m here, Milayna,” I heard Muriel tell me.

My breathing grew faster. My heart beat so hard it hurt, and I rubbed my chest with my hand.

“Your mom is on the phone, Milayna,” Chay said quietly. I could barely hear him over the blood rushing behind my ears. “She wants to know what’s going on.”

“Has she left work?”

“No.”

“Tell her to call a cab. Don’t go into the parking garage. It’s dangerous.”

     Sulfur. Coughing. Hobgoblins.

“Wait! It’s not her. The vision hasn’t changed.”

     The smell of sulfur is stronger. Red high heels.

“Red high heels. Tell her to look for someone wearing red high heels… and… and… red nail polish. I see her fingers. She’s holding a black notebook. “

A force jerked me forward, and I screamed. Tears pushed behind my eyes. I tried to pull away, but it squeezed my wrist so hard it was painful. I tried to jerk away. But I couldn’t. I tried, I really tried, but it was too strong. Much stronger than me. So big, too. How could we do it? How could we win against something like that? I jerked again and again, but it held me easily.

     A manhole cover moved to the side. The hole is open. A gray face… horns.

“Oh, shit, it’s disgusting,” I choked.

The wood-like horns curled back from its face and were so long they almost made a perfect circle on each side of the gray demon’s head. The smell of burning flesh wafted off its skin. Smoke and ash billowed around it. Its large, jutting bottom jaw didn’t align with the top and it couldn’t get its mouth to close all the way, so saliva and remnants of its last meal dripped from its mouth. Its large, gray forehead was bare but for three circles in the center. The circles were in a line. Their sides touched but did not overlap. A line with a slight curve extended from the center of the middle circle. It almost looked like the picture of a cherry on a Vegas slot machine.

Its unblinking, black eyes stared at me. A reflection bounced back to me. But it wasn’t me I saw reflected in its eyes. It was the woman in the parking garage. Her face was twisted in pain and horror. Her mouth was open as if she were trying to scream, but no sound came out.

About the Author:

Michelle is the bestselling author of the young adult novel “PODs.” She was born and raised in Flint, Michigan, but now lives in a sleepy suburb outside Houston with her extremely supportive husband, three school-aged children, a 125 pound “lap dog,” and a very snooty cat.

Red Bull or Monster Khaos are her coffee of choice, and she can’t write without peanut butter M&Ms and a hoodie. A hopeful romantic; she loves a swoon-worthy ending that will give her butterflies for days. She writes across genres in the young adult and new adult age groups. She loves to hear from her readers.

Michelle signed her new young adult contemporary novel— Unspeakable, with Clean Teen Publishing in 2014.

Amazon Author Page | Facebook | Twitter | GoodReads | Blog

Clean Teen Publishing Links:

Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter

 My Review: 3 Stars
Milayna is the main character in the story with a beautiful name and a spunky beautiful attitude on the inside and out. Born of a human mom and an angel dad, her gifts are maturing the closer she gets to the age of 18. Plagued with life altering visions for everyone around her, Milayna is destined to help others before terrible and sometimes unnatural events are about to occur to harm them. The visions also have a consequence for Milayna. They wear her down and leave her vulnerable to the bad forces, the demons who feed off angelic power.

The Good.
Author Michelle K. Pickett did an excellent job juggling a handful of unique characters. I loved meeting all her friends and of course her potential love interests in her life. The best part? Author Pickett rocked the dialogue. The words and phrases matched each unique personality.

The Great.
Compelling and Forward Driven Action. Author Michelle K. Pickett built the tension up even when the point of action revolved around her visions. I cared about each person Milayna seemed destined to save. The visions also built on each other, giving me new experiences the further I progressed in the book. One other positive note revolved around the absence of flashbacks, which is good in my opinion. Sometimes I find myself questioning books with lengthy flashbacks whether or not the author truly picked the right place to start the story.

A Few Challenges to Note.
The reason I’m giving Milayna 3 stars is two-fold. First, as I started to read Milayna, I struggled with the way characters were introduced. If the MC (main character) knows the person they are staring at, I want to know the name too, right away. To me introducing characters is not just about a face, but the association of both the picture with the name. The second part worth mentioning is some scene development. I could have used more description in the swimming pool area and the football field. But that’s just me and I’m only one reader.

The Giveaway:

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

• Signed print copy of Milayna, a $20 Amazon gift card, a “Guardian Angel” personal alarm, & bookmarks
• A bookmark swag pack, winner’s choice of any Clean Teen Publishing eBook, and a $15 Amazon gift card.
• Signed print copy of Milayna and bookmarks

Giveaway is International.
Don’t forget to enter the contest to win by clicking this Rafflecopter link.

For more information about the Milayna book tour, visit Juniper Grove Book Solutions. The official blog tour page is here. Happy Friday, all, and thank you so much for joining me today.

~Erika