A Decision is Made

*takes a deep breath*

OK. I've decided to go ahead and publish my first novel through BookSurge, a subsidiary owned by Amazon.com. I figure it can't hurt any, giving my book a little 'push' as it were. Plus, I'll be listed along side the heavy hitters on Amazon as well. And that's a good thing.

So now I'm faced with decisions. What do I want on the cover? What colors do I want? What font? What size book? I am assured by my personal assistant that the process is relatively painless. I can only hope.

But now I'm a little nervous. This book is my baby. My private story. My hidden fantasy. It's a part of me that I must let go of to send it out into the big scary world. I hope I can pry my fingers from the edges of the pages and do it. It's one thing to let friends, family and coworkers read your stuff; you know you'll always get it safely back. Once it's out in the real world, the comfort of control is gone. I hope I can do it. It's like a double-edged sword. I want to publish it, but at the same time, I'm not totally sure I do.

*shrugs*

My wonderful brother-in-law has offered to do the illustration for the cover. He is a wonderful artist and I can't wait to work with him on it. He owns a software company that writes programs for novelists and screenwriters. You can visit his site here: http://www.screenplay.com

*takes another deep breath*

I guess I'd better get going on my editing. I've finally a deadline to meet.

Stories from the Myst: Daughter of the Air - Copyright 2008

"Daughter of the Air" is my second completed paranormal romance novel, finished in 2007 and copyrighted 2008.

Keirah is the headstrong daughter of Alagoran Sinclaire, Chieftain and Laird of the Clans of Carragh Tuir in the Southern Celtic Isles. Their home, called the Citadel, holds a strategic position on the cliffs of Carragh Tuir and have enjoyed relative peace due to their centuries old alliance with the Avalar, a race of fierce winged warriors. The Citadel is also the training ground for those young women who are selected to become life mates of the Avalar men. When Keirah is finally visited by nightly visions of a warrior who desires to claim her as his life mate, she is thrilled at the news...until she tells her parents and learns of a dark secret that has been kept from her.

Toryn is the son and heir to the throne of Albion, King of the Avalars. Ruggedly handsome, cocky and arrogant, Toryn is a strong and proud Warrior of his people, leader of all the Avalar Warriors. He has refused to claim his life mate as the gods have dictated, but a turn of events now has her as his obsession. When Toryn finally comes to claim his mate, a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse ensues, unknown gifts and talents are uncovered, and a dangerous enemy long thought to have been dead, arises.

The Clan of Sinclaire and the House of the Avalars must put old grudges aside and fight together against a common foe. As things heat up between Toryn and Keirah, so do the betrayals and intrigue around them. In order to be victorious in battle, Keirah must come to terms with what and who she is...for it is upon her that destiny has laid its hand....and the lives of those she loves.

Stories from the Myst: The Sagittary - Copyright 2007

"The Sagittary" is my first complete novel. It concerns a woman, Tessa Chiron, who works in a New York City university as a researcher. Her speciality is Mythology...her expertise and love is Centaurs. One day, a mysterious package arrives at her door containing a letter, an old journal and a beautiful golden necklace. The letter is cryptic in its message and Tessa figures out that she is to wear the necklace in order to see the contents in what is an otherwise empty journal. When she does, all hell breaks loose in her life.

Visited at night by a masculine, sexy voice in her dreams, she is lured into taking on a task that will help save a world she cannot see, nor imagine. The voice in the dream takes on the visual shape of a horse, to which Tessa suspects is more than what it appears. After making a life altering decision to leave all she knows behind, she follows the request that is put to her by completing a theft that she would never have thought possible.

Darien, strong and ruggedly handsome, is the Stallion of the Heard of Centaurs, the leader for the last of his kind. They are dying out because the statue of their Goddess and protectress was stolen years ago and removed from their world. Since then, their numbers have been dwindling and only Darien, with the knowledge of his race, can figure out a way to save them. He searches the worlds and finds their saviour in the form of a human woman. Being able to sift through time, going forwards and backwards through the human years, he finds and falls in love with Tessa. Determined not only to use her to return that which was stolen, he also wants her for his own--to become his mate, his mare--to help quell his insatiable sexual appetite. But the Gods themselves have more in mind for them both and together they take on the task of Poseidon himself to save them all.

Welcome into the Mysts....

*takes a deep breath*

*lets it out slowly*

*considers the blank parchment upon the table*

*ponders where to start *

*bites tip of quill*

*puts quill back into inkpot*

*wanders off into the mysts to think*

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A beginning is never easy for it sets the tone for what will follow. I have never, other than in my regular schooling, have taken a writing class. I am told that I have a natural ability to relate a story. Descriptive, funny, animated. At any one time, I have some sort of scenario going through my mind. At one point, I had to start putting it down on paper...it just felt right. That original story is still unfinished and I feel terrible about it. My characters are frozen in time, unable to continue until I deem it ready to do so. Because in the world of books, the writer is god. We have the power to create, the power to direct, the power to kill. So until I am ready, frozen in time they will stay.

But it is not from lack of wanting to finish that original story. It is because my muse has been whispering to me...giving me ideas that I can't ignore. If I do, she will stop speaking to me. And where would that leave me? I get scenes, flashes of dialog, glimpses of actions. My characters do not speak to me, but rather show me. How many times have I been at work to have a wonderful line of dialog suddenly show up in the middle of reading contracts? How many times has a delicious love scene shown up during computer upgrades? I grab for the nearest sticky pad and jot down notes furiously. These make their way home to a folder where they are cataloged into some sort of order. Eventually they form a story.

I don't seek to become the next J.K. Rowling but only to have my stories read by others who enjoy the same types of tales that I can tell. So far, according to friends, family and co-workers, I'm doing well. One day I will get that story finished. And one day, I will see it in print. Until then, I will continue to listen to the whispers of my muse and continue setting them down to paper. Because only in written form will they come to life. TMS