It's Good to Be Bad by Guest Author Jennifer Chambers

I always preferred Veronica to Betty. Always felt more kinship with Rizzo than with saccharin-sweet, simpering Sandra Lee, and definitely felt a bond to Scarlett O’Hara even though she was bad and most certainly not as proper as the sainted Melanie. I don’t mean to say I didn’t feel for the feminine main characters of those stories. They are all fine.But they’re boring.To a certain extent, they’re supposed to be. Being good all the time isn’t real. Even Sandra Lee had her moments with the delicious John Travolta. Besides, who could forget those “leather” pants she wore in the final scene of the movie? That was fun.It’s why the anti-hero(ine) was invented. We feel great being a little bit bad, and we want the characters we read to be like that, too. Think about Janet Evanovich’s  Stephanie Plum. She is prone to the occasional doughnut, and boy do I like that about her. There are scores of romance heroines that are bad girls with a doughy center. I love to write the characters who have every habit I deny myself or everything deliciously exciting I want to try but am too chicken to, like sky-diving or eating a live cricket. (Ok, I’d never actually eat a live cricket-- but part of me wants to be the avant-garde, world traveler kind of person who would!)It can be a challenge to channel my inner-bad-girl for a YA book. In my soon to be released YA novel The Curious Bookshop, the main character, Anna, is a bookish loner who, as a new kid at school, retreats into books for solace. The bitchy girls aren’t really the “mean girls” of recent pop culture fame, but we start to feel in this, the first book of the Curious Bookshop series, the effect of the mean girl on the heroine Anna, a seventh grader. They don’t get really mean until the next book- but we get a warm up by the way she deals with her stepsisters.Part of the challenge in YA is not making the heroine too boring, as well. “Melanies” aren’t very much fun to read about because they have no fight in them. Nor, of course, do you want anything inappropriate in YA, so sassiness is definitely out. My character Anna instead learns in this book to fight back against the situation she finds herself in. She uses her brain—and she gets the boy at the end too. She learns to use her own strength to solve her problems, and comes into her own; the hero’s journey in small scale. That has been part of the delight in writing a series. Anna is able to become stronger and fight against social pressure the further you get in the books. Maybe not stereotypical “bad girl” behavior, but I felt that at its most subtle bucking the trend can make for a formidable heroine indeed, especially in the hotbed of seventh grade.That is what truly makes the anti-heroine for me: the woman who fights for what she wants. Rizzo, Stephanie, Scarlett- they all went after it with all they had. I hope to make my characters do the same, no matter what genre. Even a YA girl can be a little bit bad.About the Author:Jennifer Chambers is an award-winning author who writes from a kitchen table in a full house in the Northwest. She has written horror, poetry, adult fiction, women’s fiction, and young adult novels. Chambers writes a weekly newspaper column and writes and edits for Groundwaters Magazine. Her work has been in national newspapers and magazines. She has been seen on television and radio.  Recently, her passion is organic cooking, and she is currently researching her latest project combining sustainable agriculture with the food-to-table movement prevalent in the Northwest.Available books and links:Blurb: In Learning Life Again, Maggie McLeod, adult brain injury survivor mentors newly injured teen Sarah as they journey toward health, success, and fulfillment. Their struggle to regain physical and emotional ability after brain injury delves into universal feelings like anger, loss, and redemption. Learning Life Again explores the way we adapt to challenges and how we can learn to heal.Feel Free to Check it out on Amazon!

When a family meets a mall Santa, they begin to wonder if this mall Santa is the real deal.

Check it out on Amazon!  A Zombie horror collection sure to terrify the reader. Suspense and fear run amok as zombies terrorize the living in these tales from the dead side. Four stories from the best in horror fiction.Check it out on Amazon!New York 2090 and the New Prohibition is in full swing with speakeasy joints offering their brew for the thirsty public. When people in search of the bootleg liquor go missing, it's up to a G-man to find them and the brew they've been drinking. Check it out on Amazon! Coming Soon  from Jennifer Chambers:The Curious Bookshop (November, 2012)Imagine yourself an awkward, bookish twelve-year-old girl… and then take that girl and transport her into the body of young Queen Elizabeth the First. The Curious Bookshop combines mystery, historical intrigue and a story about two kids on a quest for the truth.    

Life as a Vampire....A Character Interview

Today on the blog we have the distiguished honor of having the leading lady from The Vampire's Hope, Ms. Ellie Smith.  She has agreed to do an (Character) interview.  I hope you enjoy!  Ellie, please tell us about your family.

Ellie Smith:There’s not a whole lot to tell.  Usual sob story.  Mom threw me on a porch the day I was born.  And well, never knew my dad. 

Some people used to laugh at me when I was in the system—but you know what?  It never really bothered me.  It’s a strange thing, but nothing really seems to bother me…at least not until I was turned Vamp.  Then…well then, Ian opened up a whole new door to the world for me. 

What one word best describes you?

Ellie:  Savvy.

What was the scariest moment of your life?

Ellie: Most would think it was the day I was killed.  But that didn't really bother me, hell I looked forward to death.  The scariest moment of my mortal or immortal life had to be the moment  I thought I would lose my Ian.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Ellie: I sure as hell never thought I would grow up and be a dancer.  (She laughs and takes a sip of her steadily warming beer.)

I never really hoped for anything.  I guess I just wanted to grow up.

What songs are most played on your Ipod?

Ellie: I'm a HUGE Godsmack fan.  Here are my favorite three songs:

1.    Godsmack—Voodoo (My all-time favorite song.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SSUQxGjZZ4

2.     Godsmack—Now Go Away

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9ehGFOnPDs

3.     Godsmack--Vampire

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6KFSphpYAkWho should play you in a film?

Ellie: Have you seen that movie, Girl With the Dragon Tattoo?  It would definitely be that chic.

Morning Person? Or Night Person? How do you know?

Ellie: I’m a frigging Vampire. Really?  I guess my other name should be Mary-freaking-sunshine.

What would we find under your bed?

Ellie: You don’t want to look under my bed.

What is the next big thing?

Ellie: Ian and I have only just begun our story.  Keep an eye out for us.  We’ve had some bad-ass adventures that only need to be written down.You wouldn’t believe what we’ve been up to.

Ellie, thank you for the great interview!

Danica Winters:  I want to take a moment and thank you for visiting the blog.  It is greatly appreciated.  And I had fun doing this interview. 

Thank you for coming to meet Ellie!

Digital Publishing: A Third Option by K.C. Maguire

Not so long ago, the only way to get published was to follow the traditional route - find an acquisitions editor prepared to publish your work or find an agent prepared to convince a publisher to take your work.  Now, many traditional publishers have closed their doors to unagented submissionss.  It’s tough for new writers to find an agent, and having an agent is no guarantee that you will sell your work.One of the reasons the traditional publication route is becoming more difficult relates to the advent of digital publishing.  As digital technology makes publishing and distribution cheaper, it is arguably harder for publishers to turn a profit.  Publishers can’t charge as much for an e-book as for a hard copy, despite having to invest the same resources in editing, formatting, designing and marketing the books.  E-books raise additional concerns for traditional publishers, including the threat of digital piracy – much like the challenges faced by the music and movie industries as a result of digital content production and distribution.  Alongside the threat of piracy, publishers also face new competition from those who self-publish their works online.  Companies like Amazon.com, and Barnes and Noble make it cheap and easy for writers to self-publish, and some of these authors have achieved remarkable success:  for example, the Wool series by Hugh Howey, On the Island by Tracey Garvis-Graves, and the many young adult fantasy/romance books self-published by Amanda Hocking.  While these examples are encouraging, not all new writers will be attracted to self-publishing.  Many don’t have the time or skill to oversee professional-looking products or to manage solo marketing campaigns.New writers can now consider a third option outside the traditional route or the self-publication approach.  There are now several smaller publishers outside traditional publishing houses that have opened their doors to new authors.  Most of them, like Books to Go Now, accept direct (ie unagented) submissions and generally respond personally to query letters.  When they accept a work, they typically publish it as an e-book although some also offer hard copies depending on the agreement with the author.  These publishers do most of the work of a traditional publisher including editing, formatting, cover design and coordinating marketing activities.  They tend not to pay significant (or any) advances, but rather engage in royalty sharing arrangements with authors.While this third option is potentially very attractive particularly for new and aspiring writers, there has been little discussion of it at writers’ conferences which seems a shame and a lost opportunity.  As a new author, I have two stories in process with Books To Go Now, one is already published (Dear John, 2012) and the other is forthcoming (Destiny).  The work on both manuscripts has been extremely professional and the editors helpful and responsive to my queries and concerns, which have been very few.  They also publish a wide range of genres so there’s something for everyone.  If you’re looking for a good romance, sci-fi, horror or adventure story, they’re worth checking out.  And if you’re looking to start a writing career, send them something.  What do you have to lose?

Dear John  

Blurb: Kelly Gilbert must choose between her life as a postal worker trapped in a dead end job to pay off her college debt, and a life of adventure and excitement with a mysterious man who may be hazardous to her health.Kelly has returned to her roots in the Appalachian Mountains while she figures out what to do with her future. A chance encounter with a stranger living in a secluded house on her postal route changes everything. Ignoring rumors of his mob connections, she pursues a friendship with him and is soon embroiled in a game of life and death where the only way to buy back her life could be by staging her own death.Poised to escape to a remote island off the coast of Africa, Kelly must decide whether her partner in crime is the man of her dreams or a dangerous threat. Could he be both? And can he be trusted?Author Bio: K C Maguire is an author of short stories and flash fiction with an emphasis on romance and science fiction.  Her first story, Dear John, was published by Books To Go Now earlier this year.  She has a second sci-fi/romance story coming out soon with Books to Go Now entitled Destiny.  She has published flash fiction pieces, and won several flash fiction contests, in venues such as WritersType, MidlifeCollage, Black Petals Magazine, Delta Women, Six Minute Magazine, Everyday Fiction and Tough Lit V.  She has studied creative writing in the online programs at UCLA and Stanford and is currently completing her first novel, a science fiction adventure-romance.  She is a mother of three based in Cleveland, Ohio.

Find her on Facebook!