For Readers

Guest Blogger and Author Margot Vesel Rising

My name is Margot Vesel  Rising, a composer and author. A few years ago after church every Sunday, a group of widows went out for lunch. Some of the women were exchanging books with each other.  I finally asked what they were reading. They said romance novels. I asked if they wouldn’t like to read stories about people of our own age. They agreed that they‘d enjoy that. That is when I seriously started to write with a purpose.

Having composed for years, I decided to use part of my life as a composer for WHIRLWIND. That was followed by Whirlwind II and BEYOND THE WHIRLWIND. All of them were about an older woman composer and her romance. I followed with other books about younger women, but I found it was easy to put older people along with the younger ones. My thought was that there would be something of interest for everyone.One by one, I published nine novels through iUniverse.  When Books To Go Now accepted ORPHAN ON MY DOORSTEP, I was thrilled that I didn’t have to spend one cent on it. It is now an eBook. It has more than one story in the novel, and I hope people enjoy it as much I have enjoyed writing it. (By the way, the orphan is not a child, but a young woman who grew up in foster homes.)We all need to have some reason to write a book, even if it just an idea for the plot. My mother wrote poetry in Germany and many of them were published.  After learning the language, she started to write again. The year before she died, a publisher accepted several of them to print in his next book of poetry. Unfortunately, his wife wrote a month later that she had to return the poems. Her husband had been diagnosed with terminal cancer and they closed the publishing company immediately. I felt bad for Mother; but two years after her death, I wondered why I couldn’t write a novel around her poems. I enclosed a few of my own (really nothing compared to Mother’s poetry) and POETIC JUSTICE was created. I composed my music as Margot Vesel , (my name at that time.) I try to use Margot Vesel Rising when the novels concern music.I valued the editor of Books To Go Now who read my book and made suggestions for corrections. It is wonderful to have someone read the words I wrote. Self-publishing companies like iUniverse don’t read or edit them unless you pay them to do it. The cost has gone up so much, I can’t afford to publish any more with them.I can only hope that ORPHAN ON MY DOORSTEP is read by many and enjoyed. Please feel free to connect with Margot on FacebookOr Check out her books on Amazon! 

“Casual Day at the Crazy House,” Where It Came From, and a Cool Giveaway by Helen W. Mallon

A very warm Thank You to Danica Winters for hosting me today!I'm thrilled to announce the release of my new short story!

In 2007, I decided to break from work on my novel and write a new short story.  Problem was, I had no ideas…I tried doing writing exercises, but the results were lame and embarrassing.  Embarrassing I could work with, but lame has to be left alone to nurse its sore leg.  I tried not caring, but that only reminded me that I wasn't writing.Some ingredients were already in place: I wanted a character who used the old-fashioned Quaker plain speech; I wanted to question liberal white racial attitudes, but not in a heavy-handed way. (There's a line of dialogue in "Casual Day at the Crazy House" that someone actually said it to me. Anyone who correctly identifies it will receive a previous story, free.)Then we went to the movies: The Darjeeling Limited, (directed by Wes Anderson), a study in privilege if there ever was one.3 brothers tote very expensive luggage across India in search of their estranged mother. Photo courtesy of: http://emmab90.wordpress.com/2010/04/04/the-darjeeling-limited-2007/The only direct relationship between the movie and "Crazy House" is that two of my characters are Indian.  I  didn't make the connection until several drafts into the story.  I didn't watch it and think, Wow, Indian characters would make this piece!  I hijacked them without realizing it.The actual inspiration was murky, but I left the theater with a solid idea in place: What if the father in a family suddenly moves into the bathroom and won't come out?  It's a quirky, Wes-Anderson-y idea.My conscious mind, which had been grinding away, took a vacation during the movie. The unconscious, often the smarter sibling, was free to soak in the movie's fantastic imagery.*Bloggers: Anyone who re-posts this blog will receive a free copy of  "Casual Day," but please send me your link:  hmallon@navpoint.comEnjoy this excerpt from "Casual Day at the Crazy House""Dad?” He didn’t move. I noticed his bald spot was getting bigger. “Dad. I’ve got a question?”“Everything changes,” he told the window. Then he turned. “Ah, Livvie.” His smile looked like it hurt.I gave him the Cheezits. “My thanks. Have a seat.” The chair Dad offered visitors was the toilet, but I never sat there. He slept in what used to be a large, old-fashioned bathtub before he moved his bedding in here. He kept clean in the freestanding shower, which otherwise held a rack with extra clothes.“Cheezit?”I shook my head. Dad sat on the bathtub’s edge, munching and sad. “You’ll graduate soon.” He sounded like I had stage three cancer.“Ye-ah…”"How’s that English seminar going? Seaver still as sharp as when I had him?”How would I know? “Maybe.” Dad used to take me out, comparing restaurants. Then poof. Last October in the middle of roast lamb and vegetables, he stood up white-faced and gasped— as if he’d suddenly remembered something—knocking over his chair. He straightened it and left the room. Mom went right on with her story about a stray bat in the Assisted Living wing where she worked....Within a week he had moved into the bathroom. There, thanks to wireless and his cell, he continued running his company. Nobody seemed to think all this was as weird as I did. “The energy in the house is imbalanced,” Mom had said, pushing out a laugh. Gammy got an inward look. “There always was more to him. Give it time.”Purchase HereWhen you're stuck for a story idea, how do you handle it?  A random commenter will receive a copy of my story, "You Say You Want a Revolution"The Next Big Thing! "Casual Day at the Crazy House" http://ftheeiwasateenagequaker.wordpress.com/

Exciting News...

My newest work, The Vampire's Hope, is to be released September 11, 2012!   I am so glad to bring this work to your e-book reading shelf.  This novella has been an incredibly fun pet project as it has taken me over a year from start to publication.  I've always loved Vampires and couldn't resist the urge to write a Vamp book for all of my loyal fans.  I hope you enjoy The Vampire's Hope as much as I have.In The Vampire's Hope, Ellie Smith, an emotionally stunted dancer, finds more than she bargains for after her human life is taken by the vampire, Master Liam.Once inside the Vampire’s underground lair, the Keres Den, she meets Ian, an immortal Viking warrior, who is infiltrating the soulless prison. As Ellie begins her training, she learns that the dark tunnels around her are filled with even darker secrets.As the truth of her existence come to light, she is faced with a choice—does she let her past dictate her future, or can she begin to feel again?Excerpt from The Vampire's Hope:

CHAPTER ONE

 

The couple in front of her stood under the bar’s lopsided mistletoe, their lips pressed against each other in a gesture of Christmas spirit.  On the man’s lapel was a white rose, smashed against the woman’s full breast. The sight made Ellie Smith laugh.  Ellie was the same age as the two lip-locked party goers, yet they were so much younger.  They wore the white rose of hope—probably hope for love that would undoubtedly turn bad, or hope that the holidays would bring them the gifts of eternal bliss… those naïve fools.The couple parted and their cheeks glowed with the pink twinges of arousal.  The sight was more than she could handle and she looked away.  They were luckier than they knew.  They probably did not have any idea what it was like to be without a bed for the night, without a home, without purpose, and without hope.To her left a thick-set, redheaded man approached.  His shoulders were erect and he walked with a stride that conveyed power.  Catching Ellie’s eye, he smiled the grim smile of subtle manipulation.  Whatever he wanted, he wouldn’t get it from her.  A blonde man with an arched smile stepped out from behind the threatening redhead and sat down at the table.  “Hello, Elpis.  Welcome to The Ravena.”  The way he said her name made her skin crawl.  The blonde waved his hand at the rows of booze and the surly bartender.  “I hope you like the bar.”The bar was like any number of others, just another stop in her constant travel through the dark world of the forgotten.  “Thanks.   I have no idea how you know my given name, but I’d rather you called me Ellie.”“Sorry, Ellie.”“Are you the owner of this place?”  The blonde motioned to the dangerous-looking redhead behind him.  She knew she should fear them, but there was nothing inside of her heart.  “I need a job.  Are you hiring?  I can dance.”The blonde laughed. He looked over his shoulder at the red-headed man.  “She doesn’t have a clue.”He turned back to her as if he had said nothing to the man who was clearly his boss. “My name is Ian.  And this is Master Liam…”  He pointed at the rigid redheaded man. “What are you after?”The club’s music filled the silence between them.  Ian smirked.  “Master Liam would like a dance.”Ellie gazed over Ian’s blonde hair and his features—his eyes were the same blue as the sea, and his face was wide and rugged.  He looked like a portrait of a Viking.  Master Liam extended his hand in a silent command to dance.  She looked back at the handsome Viking.  Liam was a threat, but so was Ian.  Was it better to go after a powerful man who she wasn’t attracted to in hopes of getting a job, or was it better to forget her chance of getting hired and stay with the handsome Viking?  For once Ellie wondered what it was like to feel something—anything. If she was normal, would she blush? Would her lust move her nearer to him?  Instead, she only felt the dull emptiness inside of her breast.  Was there truly life without emotion?  Ellie slipped her hand into Master Liam’s. He led her to the dance floor, but she could sense Ian’s eyes upon her.Master Liam moved in a stiff, archaic way and his hands never strayed from her waist.  Not that she minded.  It was nice not to be groped.  What kind of dancer would Ian be?She looked back at her table.  Ian stared at her with a hunger in his eyes. She dropped her gaze.  If he wanted her, he didn’t act the part.Master Liam said nothing to her as she looked up into his face.  His eyes were filled with lust and they slowly danced their way to the farthest recess of the dance floor.  His cold hands forced her head back and she stared up at the ceiling.    He pushed her against the wall.  He slowly bent down, taking each movement in his own unhurried time.  He inhaled and blew his chilled breath against the skin of her neck.  He wasn’t the man she wanted, but a job was a job—however she had to get it.  Liam leaned in, and instead of kissing her lips, he pressed his face into her neck and caressed her skin with his icy lips.  She drew in a breath and her pulse quickened.  His teeth pierced her skin, and she started to shriek, but his hand clamped down over her opening lips.  She struggled but as he drained her, weakness won.  A fire burned where his teeth dug into her flesh.  Acid filled her veins.With her last thought, she envisioned the white rose on the stranger’s lapel.  No emotion, no hope…