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What inspired me to write Moxie’s Problem
I
first developed a version of the Moxie character more than ten years
ago. Originally, she was the protagonist in a short story. The story
never sold, nevertheless I loved her character and I was determined to
get her to star in a story.
I developed Moxie’s character for a novel that would include Moxie’s development from a spoiled brat to a formidable woman.
While
I was writing Moxie’s Problem, it occurred to me why I couldn’t sell
the short story. The problem with the short story was that Moxie was a
whiney, obnoxious, teenage brat. Not a good choice for a protagonist.
The difference between Moxie in a short story and Moxie in a novel is
this: in the novel there is room for Moxie to grow, to learn important
lessons and to change. These changes can’t be pulled off in a short
story, there simply isn’t room for such complicated issues. So, Moxie’s
Problem really is about Moxie growing up and facing a reality that is
quite different from life in her father’s castle. Part of Moxie’s
learning experiences occur when she is escorted by three apprentice
Knights of the Round Table. The knights don’t care about her nobel
birth, a shocking revelation to Moxie, and they ignore her commands.
This forces Moxie to reflect that people outside the castle think
differently that the nobles who attend her father’s court. Once she
starts to examine issues like this, there is no stopping her from
observing other facets of life outside the castle. This leads her to
realize she isn’t trained to do anything except exist and possible give
birth, but always under the supervision of an adult male, either her
father or a husband. Moxie finds this situation repugnant and she
develops a plan to become independent.
That last
sentence is a recap of the novel from Moxie’s perspective. Another main
theme is the development of Percivale, one of the apprentice knights.
And then there are the subplots that revolve around Camelot. The
struggle between King Artie and the Saxon warlord Hengist for domination
in British football is one such delightful subplot. Another is the
Knights of the Round Table (KRT Inc.) a for profit organization that
has money problems. Still another is Merlin delving into the Magic of
the Mind using ink blots on pieces of parchment.
With all these unique subplots going on, Moxie’s Problem really was a joy to write.
Do
you enjoy untypical coming-of-age stories? Well, you won’t find one
more untypical than Moxie’s Problem. Moxie is an obnoxious, teen-age
princess who has never been outsider her father’s castle. Until now. The
real world is quite different and she struggles to come to grips with
reality. The story takes place against a backdrop of Camelot. But it
isn’t the Camelot of legends. It’s Camelot in a parallel universe. So,
all bets are off!
Genre – Fantasy, Sci-fi
Rating – G
In my early forties, I began
going through what is culturally referred to as “the change”. It is a
time in a woman’s life when her hormones rebel against the norm and
fluctuate, causing considerable emotional and physical discomfort. It is
followed by my all-time favorite, the mind-boggling hormonal weight
gain, which is not precipitated by bad eating habits or a lack of
exercise. It just appears on your body uninvited. Yeah, it’s a fun time
all around and to put it bluntly, I was not happy. My stomach, which had
once been flat, was now a pudgy soft playground of goo. My vocabulary,
which had once been vast, was now caught up in a perpetual hormonal
brain fog, and I despised every moment of it. I hated the weight gain, I
loathed the lack of clarity and I detested the private summers. All I
wanted was my old body back, immediately.
My
husband and I love live music, so we are often out and about supporting
local or touring bands. Such was the case the night we found ourselves
at The House of Blues in Hollywood, jamming to The Gap Band in concert. I
would love to tell you that I was completely present for every glorious
moment of that night, but I wasn’t. I spent the bulk of the evening
inside my head, hating my body, hating perimenopause and lamenting about
how things used to be. Every woman who walked in with the waist I used
to have fueled the conversation in my mind of all I had lost, as well as
musings of what I could possibly do to get it back again. I felt like
it would not be until I somehow got things back to the way they used to
be that I could enjoy my life and fully live again.
But
here’s the thing, while I was waiting to “live again”…life was
happening. Around me, joy was flowing through the air like oxygen. But
instead of partaking in it, I chose to fixate on something that, in that
moment, I had no control of. I was standing next to my husband, a man
who loves me and my body just the way it is: we were surrounded by good
friends and perfect strangers, all cheering, singing and dancing to The
Gap Band’s old-school hit “Party Train” and I missed it. Life was
happening, and I wasn’t there! I was in my head preoccupied with
self-pity.
I was so focused on a tomorrow that is not promised that I let the now that was given slip away unappreciated.
Born
in Cincinnati, Ohio and raised in the Bay Area of Northern California,
Erin grew up with an innate love for dance, theatre and the written
word. A graduate of Loyola Marymount University, Erin began her career
in the arts as an actress and choreographer. After booking several
notable roles in television and film, Erin began to use her gift of
writing in blogs featuring political and social commentary, as well as
developing content for theatrical use.
Although The Dunes,
is a divine departure from Erin’s previous writings it is by far her
most cherished work to date. “I wrote The Dunes initially as self
therapy because I needed to release some painful experiences and
disappointments from my past. I had this thirst to walk in the complete
fullness of life with joy as my constant companion. I had no idea what
effect it would have on other people. But when I saw people read it and
be released from fears that had held them back for years…when I saw
people forgive and be able to walk in the freedom forgiveness
brings…when I saw people commit and serve and how those things opened up
new opportunities in their life, I was just humbled. Humbled by the
awesome power of God and humbled that I had been allowed to go along for
the ride”.
When asked why she
writes, Erin pauses and reflects on the truth of her heart. “I write
because although I am only now beginning to truly love the process, I
have always loved the outcome. Like a composer, words become my notes. I
string them together in song eliciting the response of my reader,
grafting a picture of my soul. Where besides the written word can you
effect change so utterly and so succinctly? What besides the written
word can pierce the universal collective mind? Everything begins with a
thought, but it isn’t until that thought is articulated in written word
and those words passed down can life changing movement happen. It must
be written, it must be expressed on tablet, and when it is, we all
become greater, whether the writing be genius or fatuity, it has evoked
thought and debate. Why wouldn’t I want to be apart of that phenomenon?
Why wouldn’t I want to share my story, give my testimony…add my paradigm
to the mix? Whether it is a novel, a poem, an essay or an article, it
is humanity visited. An insight into a new or sometimes shared truth. In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God and the word was God. And with that I live my life”.
If there was a journey that could masterfully change your life in seven revelations...would you take it?
In
life, sometimes the kernels of wisdom and the richness of revelation
can be found in the most innocent of stories; and so it is with The
Dunes. Join one man and one woman in an exquisitely simple yet
remarkably profound journey as you discover with them that the mountain
you must climb in order to live the abundant life of your dreams is
located squarely within your heart.
Illuminated
in seven revelations; The Dunes carries the reader on a journey to not
only examine the obstacles that are holding them back in life but to
conquer and over come them as well. With each revelation The Dunes
intimately calls on the reader as the journey companion to face a
challenge…a dare if you will that requires an uncompromising commitment
to change. In the family of faith-based self help books, The Dunes
stands alone, simultaneously taking the reader from fiction to life and
back again, equipped with a tailor made journal for the readers inner
most secrets and reflections. The Dunes is part allegory, part testimony
and part journal, but the best part is the healing it offers your
heart. When you’re ready to step out of your comfort zone and step into
the miracle of your life…The Dunes awaits.
CAUTION:
Readers of this book are subject to significant changes for the better.
Side effects may include frequent smiling and enjoying life in every
season.
Genre – Non-fiction
Rating – G
Things You Didn’t Know About Author Loni Flowers
What is it about me that you probably don't know already? I'm a very open person, so I really had to dig deep for these.
I'm the only one in my family to have Asthma.
I
grew up with severe asthma when I was a child, but every time I had an
attack and my parents took me to the hospital, I was be fully recovered
by the time we arrived. We could never show them proof asthma attacks.
It turned out the calmness of the car ride was a good trick to relieving
an attack. It wasn't until my teenage years that a car ride wouldn't
fix my problems and I was finally able to prove to a doctor my lungs
weren't "normal." And worse, the seasonal weather changes are usually
the main cause of an attack. Sucks!
I'm allergic to most dogs and house dust.
Weird
right?! When I was five, my mother became obsessed with birds. At one
point we had 20 different types. I know that sounds like a zoo or
something, but it never felt like we were "the crazy cat lady" type.
Most were small birds, but we had a couple really large birds too. Among
the asthma flare ups, I would also break out in hives around my eyes
and they would spread all over my body. My eyes would swell shut and
itch like crazy. Test results confirmed I was allergic to dogs and house
dust. This basically included any animal that didn't have hair similar
to a human (like a Poodle or a Yorkie). I could still pet them and be
around them, but I always had to wash my hands afterwards or else the
eyes would swell shut and hives would spread. Fun times! We ended up
getting rid of all of the birds but a few.
I had plastic surgery on my ears when I was about 7 years old.
Yep,
cosmetic surgery to be exact. My ears stuck out like Dumbo the flying
Elephant. Go ahead. Laugh. I know you want to, and it’s alright. It is
funny...now. But even in elementary school, children are cruel and I was
picked on for it. So my parents took me to a wonderful doctor, William
P. Magee Jr. who had just started a charity while I was in his care. You
may have heard of it: Operation Smile. Their charity has done more than
200,000 free surgeries for children and young adults who suffer from
cleft lips, cleft palates and other facial deformities. So I pretty much
got worked on by a rock star surgeon and have the best, most beautiful
ears ever!
I competed professionally in horse shows when I was about 10 years old.
My
family are animal lovers, if you can't already tell from the previous
facts. At one point in my childhood, we owned seven horse. They are
loving, friendly, beautiful animals. I was a natural, or so my parents
and trainer said, when it came to riding and the ease of the sport
allowed me to compete effortlessly in Equestrian riding. I entered basic
classes, but I will never forget my first horse show. There were about
twenty other competitors and all were adults except for about three
children, including me. During one show you compete in three rounds and
can win a ribbon and points for each round. Points are added up after
the three rounds and a overall winner is names. I walked out of my first
show with 2- first place ribbons and 1- second place ribbon earning me a
Champion ribbon for my overall class. My mom was so excited and I was
like, "What the heck does all this mean?!" I learned pretty quickly and
by the time the showing season was over for the year, I earned Reserve
Champion (2nd place overall) in point standing for the entire show year.
Pretty awesome for a first-timer!
I know, I know. I’m so dang
interesting it’s a bit hard to handle. Just kidding. I think most people
find the whole ear surgery thing the most interesting. And despite my
asthma and allergies, I will always have pets. I don’t ride horses
anymore, but it was a part of my childhood I will always remember. I had
so many great times when it was just me and my pony, Coco, enjoying a
Big Mac and fries. Yes, she ate what I ate.
So that’s a bit about me. What is something not many people know about you? Please share!
Keep
a low profile. That's what Abigale Peterson was supposed to do,
especially when the person she was being protected from was one of the
world's worst crime lords. After seven years in the Witness Protection
Program, she felt no safer now than she did when she was seventeen.
Revenge was rarely forgotten when it came to a professional criminal
like Zerilli.
Low profiles meant no social life and definitely no love life.
Paranoia
and lies became daily habits, going against everything Abigale believed
in, but they kept her safe. They kept everyone safe.
Until
a house fire puts her out of that safety and into the arms of a
stranger. Max Smith is sexy, smart, and has major attitude. He’s the
only one who seems to get her. He calms her fears and comforts her from
her nightmares. But he also sees right through her lies.
Before
Abigale can stop, she’s in too deep; confiding too much and breaking
the one rule she promised herself to uphold: Never fall in love.
Bu y Now @ Amazon
Genre – Contemporary Romance
Rating – R
I knew something was up when I found Jane already sitting
on Jean’s family-room couch, coffee mug in hand. They each took a turn
sharing their concerns and offering up evidence of my “disordered
eating” as if they were reenacting a scene from an ABC Afterschool.
Though I knew their hearts were in the right place, I was furious. They
just don’t get it, I thought. If they did, they wouldn’t ask me to eat.
They would know how much aliveness there is in hunger—how light and
strong it makes me feel. If they got it, they would understand how
connected this was to my mom and, more specifically, to not having my
mom; in fact, they should applaud me for finding such an elegant outlet
for my grief.
I pleaded, “I’m fine.” (I’m not.) “Back
off.” (Please don’t.) I assured them I had it under control, but I
didn’t. And, though I couldn’t admit it, I was starting to get scared.
Every time I reached my stated goal weight, I set a new one before I
stepped off the scale. I had reached ninety-nine pounds and was now
going for ninety-five, maybe ninety. Yes—ninety sounded better.
My
friends gave me an ultimatum: either I would tell David what I was
doing or I would go to an eating-disorders clinic within the next week;
otherwise, Jane would call David herself. A voice inside me cried out,
Please don’t make me eat. Being hungry is all that is feeding me.
Where
Have I Been All My Life? is a compelling memoir recounting one woman’s
journey through grief and a profound feeling of unworthiness to
wholeness and healing. It begins with the chillingly sudden death of
Rice’s mother, and is followed by her foray into the center of
mourning.
With wisdom, grace, and humor, Rice recounts the grief games she plays in an
effort to resurrect her mother; her efforts to get her therapist, who
she falls desperately in love with, to run away with her; and the
transformation of her husband from fantasy man to ordinary guy to
superhero. In the process, she experiences aching revelations about her
family and her past—and realizes what she must leave behind, and what
she can carry forward with her.
Genre – Memoir
Rating – PG-13
Authenticity is the writer's watch word. If you're describing a
location like Chicago or Los Angeles, you'd better get the Starbucks at
the right corner of the intersection. Intend to sink a nuclear sub? Make
sure you mention all the right switches and buttons on the control
panel. If you don't, readers will let you know that you screwed it up.
David
Morrell, author of Rambo and over thirty other bestselling thriller
novels knows this rule. That's why he's attended the FBI defensive
driving course, knife-fighting school, and spent months learning to sail
a boat.
Of course, David Morrell can afford to spend
the time and money on research to ensure that his details are authentic.
The rest of us merely mortal authors aim a little lower.
In
my contemporary fantasy, Touching Madness, hapless hero River Madden is
both schizophrenic and a dedicated pacifist. (Think about it—would you
give a deadly weapon to someone who hallucinates?) But being a pacifist
doesn't excuse River from facing physical danger.
River
needs to 'get the goods' on a local mob boss and his drug lord
supplier. He convinces the criminals to rendezvous with him in an
abandoned factory under the pretext of making a drug buy. River's plans
never go quite like he intends. I needed a contingency plan that would
allow him to escape without turning to violence once things started to
go wrong.
That's when I thought about smoke bombs
(possibly because my brother got suspended from high school for a few
days for lobbing one onto the football field at half-time). According to
dozens of YouTube videos, they're dead simple to make, requiring only
stump remover, newspaper, string, and an empty soda can. It was exactly
the kind of home-made solution River would use. For the sake of
authenticity, I thought I better try it out.
Really
good smoke bombs aren't as simple as they seem. To get the necessary
billowing clouds of smoke I wanted, I needed to get the air holes just
right. And I needed a mass of bombs all going off at the same time.
Fuses were an issue. Cotton string just isn't that flammable. Throwing
them was a joke. I could barely get ignition when they were sitting on
the ground in ideal conditions. In the end, I ditched the smoke bombs.
But
all was not lost. I had a very authentic experience convincing the fire
department and my neighbors that I was only a harmless writer and not a
terrorist. I'm sure I'll use that conversation in a book someday.
Light
bulbs talk to River Madden; God doesn't. When the homeless
schizophrenic unintentionally fractures a dimensional barrier and
accidentally steals a gym bag containing a million dollars, everyone
from the multiverse police to the local crime boss—and an eight-foot
tall demon—are after him. Can he dodge them long enough to correct his
mistakes and prevent the destruction of three separate dimensions? If he
succeeds, will the light bulbs stop singing off-key?
Genre – Contemporary, Urban fantasy
Rating – R
SK: I ask again, what was the truth according to John Smith?
JS:
Later in life, when people were counting the number of wells and
starting to not buy the “dead Dino” story, scientists made an even more
ludicrous claim. They claimed the jungle and forest, which covered all
of the land during the age of the dinosaur, was also decomposing and
creating large pools of oil.
SK: Why was this so ludicrous?
JS: Admittedly, plant and animal life will share some mineral content, and all things will create some kind
of goo when they reach that liquefying stage of decomposition.
However, I do find it a stretch that both would end up creating crude
oil, no matter how much heat and time were applied, unless crude is a
very tiny subset of minerals that survive decomposition.
Eventually,
scientists started claiming crude was caused by decaying plant and
animal life. I guess fish never played into the formula. Scientists
really had no choice. They had to explain to an increasingly skeptical
public why some crude was yellow and some black. Some crude was
fast-flowing liquid and other crude was a solid brick.
SK: I ask again, what was the truth according to John Smith?
JS:
Crude oil is decomposing humans from earlier cycles. Each cycle lasts
an unbelievably long time, as far as human life is concerned. Humans,
by and large, have a need to build communities. As the cycle
progresses, these communities become cities of a massive scale. When
the earth shifts and heaves its continents around, these cities are
buried deep in a matter of hours, if not seconds. They are buried deep
without air or the nutrients needed for bacterial decomposition.
The
steel eventually reverts back to iron and carbon; the concrete, to
limestone and sand. I’m not certain what happens to the glass other
than the fact it is crushed into pieces so tiny one wouldn’t notice them
coming up with the drilling mud. The humans and their pets,
though—they are crushed and eventually, the heat of the earth cooks them
into crude.
SK:
That is a disgusting thing to say. We have one of those oil sites
oozing stuff out of the ground near our city! People use it for all
kinds of things.
JS:
Humans are useful in a variety of forms. Have they invented a product
called petroleum jelly yet? It’s kind of greasy, helps cuts heal and
looks a lot like animal fat.
SK: Oh! I cannot believe I’m being forced to sit here and listen to this!
JS: Do you think I’m the first to point something like this out? I suppose you have never heard of cannibalism either?
SK: Another disgusting tale to frighten children!
JS:
Oh no. It was real and existed in various forms around the globe.
Even in large cities, where everybody claimed it never happened, you
would see the occasional news report that someone had been arrested with
pieces of humans in their fridge or freezer. There was even a movie
about the earth running out of food and governments taking it upon
themselves to make cannibalism palatable to the masses.
SK: I simply cannot accept the premise anybody would believe such a story.
JS:
The story became a legend. They would simply herd people to different
areas of each city. One area would be selected for recycling. The
people would be processed and turned into little food squares of
“Soylent Green.” There were lots of different colors of food squares
made from the various forms of food still available but there wasn’t
enough to go around.
“John
Smith: Last Known Survivor of the Microsoft Wars” is one big interview.
It is a transcript of a dialogue between “John Smith” (who, as the
title of the book implies is the last known survivor of the Microsoft
wars) and the interviewer for a prominent news organization.
Genre – Dystopian Fiction
Rating – PG
Why Book Covers Are So Important
Unless
you don't have eyes, people are visual. If there's a handsome guy
sitting across from me during my daily commute on the train, I'm going
to look. If I'm away on vacation, I'm going to appreciate the beautiful
sights around me, because I know that I'm there to relax. If my mom
bakes one of her yummy peach cobblers, I'm going to feast on it with my
eyes first, and then I'm going to devour it. In the world of books, book
covers work in the same way. There are probably millions of them out
there, but most readers are only looking for one title. Just think, your
book cover is going to be the very first thing that a buyer will see.
If you're suddenly feeling the pressure of of just how important a book
cover really might be, then continue to read on.
“I've
penned a stellar novel. People are going to love me once they read what
I've written.” Plenty of authors are probably thinking the exact same
thing. But how are you going to let people know about this stellar body
of work that you've just created? I'll tell you how. You're going to
have a fabulous book cover that will make your book stand out from the
rest. And don’t worry, I get it. Writers aren't book designers, but
here's where you bring in someone to help with bringing your vision to
life. Outsourcing can be your new best friend.
How to Find a Book Cover Designer That Fits Your Needs
I'm pretty infatuated with the book cover for my debut novel, The Truth About Emily,
but it wasn't a one step process of knowing what I wanted straight
away. It started with me doing research. Think about your storyline or
nonfiction topic. Jot down some ideas so that you have a place of
reference to pull from. Do you have a title already? Great. If you do,
then keep that in mind too, because it's another source. Now go online
and begin looking at other people's book covers. Are they popular
authors? Ask yourself what it is, if anything, that's drawing your eyes
to it. How do you feel about the colors, the images, the font style, and
the font size? Also, check out some of the books that you've previously
purchased; specifically on the strength of its book cover. What caused
you to click on buying it? Next up, what you want to do, is take all of
that information and keep it somewhere safe. We'll come back to it.
Now
you'll need to find yourself a competent book cover designer. Fiverr
(an online company that will do almost any task for you for $5.00) has
loads of people on there who can assist you for a bargain, but just
remember that most of those people specialize in quantity over quality.
By this, I mean that you might end up with a book cover identical to
someone else or it may have an appearance that looks manufactured. This
isn’t to say that there aren’t some gems on there, but you'll have to
diligently seek them out. As for myself, I chose to go with a
freelancer. I was drawn to the element of selection in having access to a
host of talented designers with exceptional portfolios and being able
to make a choice based on a price that I’ve set. My final winning pick
was Gavin Pledger, Creative Soutions King).
By
now ,you’ve found yourself a book cover designer (as far as the work
contract is concerned, make sure that you add in how many times they’re
willing to revise. Negotiate a flat fee). The first thing that they’ll
want to know is what creative direction you’d like them to go in. This
is when you whip out the notes that you’ve been compiling for your
project. It’s your starting point. Don't be afraid to let them know what
works for you, and what doesn’t. A really good book cover designer will
be as excited as you are in getting right!
"If you LOVE New York, if you’re a
name-dropping, fashion fiend careerist; fed up with serial dating,
plagued with a thirst for sex, then you’ll totally stalk me for what
I've penned.” - Author, Madi Brown
Description
29-year-old
Emily Greene looks the part, but she’s still working on becoming a
modern-day woman. Not that she’s one to back down from a challenge, but
living as an eternal work-in-progress wasn't exactly the goal that she
had in mind. It’s a harsh but true realization---the idea that that time
isn't on her side, and the notion that wanting to have it all, doesn't
mean getting it. The verdict is in; with zero prospects for a
relationship and a stalled blogging career, Emily has every reason to
believe that she’s been living a life too humdrum for her own good.
Making
the change won’t be easy. She’ll have to do whatever it takes; start
dating like a man, become more selective about which RSVP's she accepts,
and work even harder at getting her dream job.The payoff’s huge; a
modern twist on a storybook ending, but gains don’t often come without
risks. In the here and now Emily just may be forced to choose...It’s got
to be one or the other----the profession that she’s always wanted, or
the love that she’s never had.
˃˃˃ Praise for Madi Brown &
her debut novel, The Truth About Emily
"The
added depth of character promises complexity but wraps everything in
the saucy cloak of Emily's evolving personality and newfound beliefs
about life, love, and the real nature of happiness. And this is where
The Truth About Emily outshines many competitors, making it a
recommended read for those seeking more than a standard romance novel." - D. Donovan, eBook Reviewer, Midwest Book Reviews
"This
book has just about anything a girl would love to read about. If
there's anything Emily Greene has is ISH and lots of it, oh the
ending... This book is a total keeper, just anything about fashion to
relationships to friends and family." - Y. Sanchez, Goodreads
Genre – Contemporary Women's Fiction
Rating – PG18
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