Sorchia's Universe

Leave a comment for a chance to get a Free Copy of this week’s featured book, Prophecies of the Mayan Undead by Fiona McGier. How did she dream her way out of writer’s block? Oh, and there are vampires! When a character talks directly to the author, you have to listen! by Fiona McGier I’ve always maintained that I get my best ideas for books from my dreams. I’ve woken up with entire story arcs–the details of the story unfold as I write them. I often have characters talking in my mind, showing me scenes of their lives, or the conversations they have. They especially like to do this when I’m in the shower–or driving long-distance on a highway. I’ve even gotten used to the abuse they give me when I don’t have time to write. Sometimes they yell at me, demanding that I write their stories immediately.  Sometimes they pout and go quiet on me, which isn’t a bad thing when I’m uber-busy and can’t get any time to write. But I’ve never had a character talk directly to me until my experience

Do you keep a journal? Author Susie Black tells how her journal became the spark for a mystery series. How a Daily Journal Became a Novel by Susie Black Before I became an author, I was a sales exec in the ladies’ swimwear industry. During my career, I kept a daily journal. I documented all the quirky, interesting, and yes, sometimes quite challenging people I encountered and the zany situations I often found myself in. The daily journal is the foundation of all my writing. I have often been asked if my writing style is that of a plotter or a pantser. In other words, do I plan the whole story out or do I write it with no game plan in mind just by the seat of my pants? My answer is neither. My writing style is a hybrid. I plot the beginning and the end of the story, but I give the characters free rein in the middle and let them take the plot wherever they want to get to the end. The result is I often end up with a story quite different than the one I originally envisioned. The characte

If the past year and a half has taught us anything, it’s that people are weird–sometimes in a sweet and charming way and sometimes not so much. We’ve been stressed out and we’ve dealt with other stressed out people, so let’s ratchet that up with a psychological thriller. Take a peek at Encounter by Alana Lorens and tell me what is scarier–vampires and ghosts or real people. You’ll find a code to get a copy of Encounters for only 99 cents. Be sure to check out two chances to get free books. Act fast- The Magic is Everywhere Giveaway ENDS June 15. What Scares you the Most? by Alana Lorens I’m the first person to acknowledge that I love stories with a psychological twist, a real gut scare. Many times those stories take place with a malevolent spirit, a fantasy boogieman or other ethereal hoodoo. But, to me, far scarier is human nature and the things we humans will do to each other.             In ENCOUNTER, everyone starts out with good intentions and behavior. The lawyers are going to a

I grew up on a farm about ten miles from town. No phone and limited TV reception. BUT we had shelves and shelves of books. My mom and my sister read to me until I was able to read on my own. Since then, reading is my reward to myself at the end of a busy day or on long summer weekends. As a writer, I know how important the accumulation of reviews is–and how nice it is to see a good review. Many people have been generous and kind by writing reviews for me and it’s time I reciprocate. Below are my reviews for May. I use Amazon and NetGalley’s 5-star scale and probably won’t review a book I can’t give at least 3 stars. To me a 3 means the story has problems, but is interesting enough to read (My teacher-brain kicks in when I write 3s and I give a lot of advice which may or may not be useful); a 4 usually means the story is interesting but something distracting keeps it from being perfect, and a 5 means my head nearly exploded with how good this book is. Something about the story will ling

Tiger’s Last Chance author builds a wonderful world where rabbits shift into terrifying, toothy monsters!! Read all about Christina Lynn Lambert’s shifter world and her latest release: Tiger’s Last Chance . Scary Rabbits and Other Strange Creatures by Christina Lynn Lambert When I was writing my first book a few years ago, my oldest daughter who was about ten at the time, was reading Bunnicula by James and Deborah Howe. She loved the Bunnicula books so much that she asked me to write a scary rabbit into my series. So, for my daughter, I created the rabbit shifters which are viewed by the other shapeshifters with a mix of awe and fear. The rabbit shifters can appear as harmless rabbits but they can also morph into bony fur-covered skeleton looking creatures with teeth like a bear trap and fur full of projectile needles. Though the rabbit shifters look scary, they’re usually pretty decent people. They don’t like to be touched by anyone while in rabbit form and won’t hesitate to get mean

A witch–a PI–and plenty of noir! Read about the genesis of The Raven Tales by J. B. Dane in this week’s Novel Magic.  About Marked Raven–Book 2 of The Raven Tales by J. B. Dane As this is the second book in the series, let me fill in a few blanks. Way back in the late 1980s (you know, the Jurassic Age before home computers were common), a character walked into my muse’s office. It’s situated in my head, naturally. He said he was fictional and that he’d gotten yanked out of a book into the real world. My muse told him to take a seat. As I was deep into spinning romantic comedy and historical romance and still unpublished, he ended up sitting there for decades. Probably read all the magazines more than once from cover to cover. Then the 21 st century struck. I’d now been published for over a decade and had recently suffered through a bout of clinical depression where I couldn’t think my way out of a paper bag. The doctor told me that was because clinical depression shuts down the part o

Novel magic features Rise of a Storm Warrior by M. Garnet. See Murial’s recent post– How to be an Author . Hey, and while you are browsing posts, check out my latest– Dialogue Tags from Hell in which I rant about a minor annoyance to the point of absurdity. Maybe it’s a sign of a return to a semblance of normality when I have time to gripe about editorial stuff instead of–you know–the Apocalypse and the End of Times. Below, you will find a Fantasy Freebie I like to call the WitchFest. A bunch of on sale or totally free witchy books–but snap it up because this offer ends on June 15. Did you want more–OK. Check out N.N. Lights May Giveaway–many, many books to win. This giveaway ends May 30. Rise of the Storm Warrior by M. Garnet One thing is always a fact about the rich world known as the Storm Planet, life is never boring. A new Warrior rises up to help a Royal Lady, stop a war, and save a small child. He is a lazy young man who is forced into greatness. All he wants to do is live off