Tuesday, June 26, 2012

New cover comission by Phatpuppyart !

Yay-  I had a new cover comissioned by Phat Puppy Art!  Their work is so awesome!  I have chosen one for book 2 already as well!  I am so excited to get book 2 completed and out there-

Have a fantastic week-


Michele :)

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Hot beaches, cold drinks and freedom from monotony

June 22, 2012

It's the end of June and Washington State, true to form, is cold and rainy.  Rain is coming down in buckets and grey clouds cover the sky.  Little kids are playing in mud puddles and the cat is asleep under the umbrella on the deck.  This would be a superb day to be at work! 

I am a person inspired by moods and weather tends to set the stage for a mood.  Here in Washington, most people take crazy pills (oops!  Antidepressants) to cope with the endless supply of rain.  It is great if you have a significant other that you can enjoy the fire with- nothing like spending the day doing nothing and yet everything ;)   I typically don't get dressed on these type of days until late in the day and then go out to find something fun to do- With Seattle a hop, skip and a jump away there is typically some indoor event going on. 

This would seem like the perfect time to write.  There is no possibility of doing any fun summer activiity and all your friends are home too (probably not dressed either) and being creative on how to make this dreary day fun and exciting.  Sometimes a cat tucked under the covers and a good book is enough.  Regardless- it is a day away from work and the drama that goes on in the world of the working woman.

Fantasy becomes a part of life for Washingtonians because you have to have a great imagination to endure 364 days of rain a year.  ;)    The truth of the matter is that my imagination is at it's best when it is sunny, breezy and the convertible is calling my name.  It's a battle of the practical me and the over the top "let's have fun" me.  I prefer the scenario #2 me.  So, when I am in the #2 frame of mind then my writing soars-  Crazy things come to mind and my imagination runs wild...  Just an FYI, I was a bit of a wild child back in the day. 

It's been awesome working with bloggers and people in the world of books.  I never realized how many truly wonderful people there are in the world.  The emails I receive are off the wall and literally make my day.  Sometimes I sit at work on my iphone reading them and tears streaming down my face.  I think a few of my co-workers think I am slightly out of my mind lol.  They don't have a clue that I am doing books now and I hope to keep it that way.  Can you imagine your co-workers or people at school reading your private fantasy life.  They truly would think I am out of my mind ;)    I hope to leave the job one day and write full time.  I daydream sometimes about that phase in my life.  I can see it all now- telling my supervisor goodbye and blowing kisses to the co-workers-  There are some great people there but always an undertone of drama which I personally find..... You get the idea -  The "gossipers" are my favorite.  We all battle the traffic (it's epic some days driving an hour on 1-5 with crazy drivers who are all trying to get to work- those of you who don't drive yet or the novelty has not yet worn off will understand some day) to scream into work at the appointed time-  After all that stress and sweat to get there we wait a half hour for the computers to warm up-  Then I have the job of listening to whispering at the cubicles next to me for an undisclosed amount of time (I will take the 5th on this one).  The droning on of the whispering literally drives me out of my mind.  So, I am buying songs on itunes and have an earbud growing out of my head.  We work on endless stacks of paperwork all day until we feel like a rat on a wheel and finally we get to fight the traffic from Seattle for an hour to get home at 7:30 pm.  Barely shower and get a few hours of sleep and I wake up at 5:00 am to do the entire scenario again. Some nights I dream about the drama at work and imagine what it will feel like to write full time.  To kiss the gossip girls goodbye and wave audios to the co-workers-  In my dream I always leave a sum of cash for the "coffee club" (we would all be dead without that jolt of java every day) and the birthday club (we all go out on people's birthdays but secretly people hate each other lol).  This dream is what keeps me working from the morning until way into the early morning on my days off-  It's like a man in the desert who knows the oasis is just over the next hill-  I tell myself "one more day-week-month-year"  ....  "Give me liberty or give me death"...

So to all of you in bloggerland-  Keep pushing forward for one day we will be laying on a beach somewhere, sipping a tropical drink and enjoying the freedom to enjoy life-  Just a few more days and it will be another weekend-

Michele :)


Happy Summer!

Underworld is part 2 of the Dark Passage Series. Peel back what we know as reality and there is an unseen world that is just waiting for you to enter. The way through the veil has been closed for many centuries but the terrors of war have unleashed great evil and the two worlds are merging. There are a chosen few who will walk the way of the dead and discover the secrets that are hidden deep within. Weapons of mass destruction are unleashed on society as world leaders face off to establish a one world government. Ivy & Jen are forewarned of the events to come and are hidden away in an underground bunker when chaos erupts. While they wait for word of when they are to come out of hiding, they explore the ancient caverns below the old house. They stumble upon the Book Of Prophesy they learn that they are to embark on a journey through the underworld to find the hidden location of the Tree Of Life that holds the secret of releasing the world from the evil that has overtaken it. In the process of finding the tree they discover the terrible secrets of the underworld. Nothing is as it seems, and they must find the answers or risk eternity on the Darkside; beyond the veil of humanity. One of the girls learns she has a powerful connection to this realm and faces the decision of embracing her humanity or accepting her rightful place in this world.

Get a free autograph of Dark Passage for your Kindle Ebook @ Kindlegraph.com

Thanks to everyone who read the book! Thank you so much for all of your feedback- There are many awesome blogs that have featured Dark Passage and I will compile a list and put them up asap. I would encourage you to check them out- they are all excellent and well worth following. Great group of people- ** ## I am going to post chapter 1 of book 2 soon- BOOK 3 is completed ;) I am working on a new series as well- I am really excited about the new series and will put out a free sample soon!

I write from my heart- using bits and pieces of various people I have worked with over the years as a counselor and social worker. In the stories, people can overcome tragedy and perhaps have a good outcome; while in life they may have had a tragic end. It's healing somehow, to write about the tragic souls I have known- they live on in the characters and are released from the hidden corners of my mind. Someone wisely told me once "write what you know - the ink on paper will act as poison draining from your soul".

Friday, June 8, 2012

Underworld- Book 2 of the Dark Passage Series to be released soon

Peel back what we know as reality and there is an unseen world that is just waiting for you to enter. The way through the veil has been closed for many centuries but the terrors of war have unleashed great evil and the two worlds are merging. There are a chosen few who will walk the way of the dead and discover the secrets that are hidden deep within.

Weapons of mass destruction are unleashed on society as world leaders face off to establish a one world government. Ivy & Jen are forewarned of the events to come and are hidden away in an underground bunker when chaos erupts. While they wait for word of when they are to come out of hiding, they explore the ancient caverns below the old house. They stumble upon the Book Of Prophesy they learn that they are to embark on a journey through the underworld to find the hidden location of the Tree Of Life that holds the secret of releasing the world from the evil that has overtaken it. In the process of finding the tree they discover the terrible secrets of the underworld. Nothing is as it seems, and they must find the answers or risk eternity on the Darkside; beyond the veil of humanity. One of the girls learns she has a powerful connection to this realm and faces the decision of embracing her humanity or accepting her rightful place in this world.

A cover is being comissioned and details are being finalized....