ENSLAVED by R.C. Murphy Book Spotlight

 

Thank you for joining our blog hop! Don't forget, it goes all week long. For each day’s blog, you can check Just Ink Press's Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/JustInkPress. All commenters on the page will be entered into a GRAND PRIZE drawing at the end of the week and the more you share (i.e. Twitter, Facebook, etc.), the more chances you have to win copies of FOUR eBooks: The Dracove by NL Gervasio, Gods & Vampyres by NL Gervasio, Nemesis by NL Gervasio, and of course, Enslaved by R.C. Murphy—a $20.46 value. So be sure to say hi, drop the links to your shares on our page, and let all of your friends know!

 

ENSLAVED

 

by R.C. Murphy

Enslaved

The gods are flawed . . . and they make awful parents.

Deryck knows first-hand the cruelty of the gods. Three thousand years after his birth, he is still trapped, forced to service humans as an Incubus—unable to choose whom he sleeps with, and living a life completely devoid of love. There is no out for him. No hope. Or so he thought.

Shayla McIntire spent five years getting her life back on track after the accident claiming her husband’s life. She is content to a nice, boring, subdued life free of the abuse she suffered before. Her friends are worried. They want her to find the man of her dreams and move on.

Little do they know, the Powers That Be have decided the man of Shayla’s dreams for her. There’s just one hitch, he’s enslaved to the gods and it will take power she doesn’t know she has to free him. Deryck isn’t the only one hoping Shayla will free him, though.

* * * * *

Excerpt:

 

Even a gym located in a small slice of lands occupied by the gods and other beings of legend smelled like stale sweat and soggy socks. No amount of cleaning by invisible butlers could erase the scent. Under the lemon-fresh cleaners, it lingered, trapped in the nooks and crannies after centuries of males working themselves to exhaustion.

Not that the sons of gods needed to pump iron to stay fit, but they needed a hobby aside from plowing females. 

Deryck stood at the head of a weight bench, his mind only half focusing on his task. Other things occupied his mind. Things he knew better than to consider around anyone else, lest he accidentally say or do something to betray his thoughts. He shifted his feet closer to the bench to remind himself where he was. It didn’t work to banish her from his mind. 

Below him on the bench, Wolfrik slowly raised and lowered about four hundred pounds of iron weights. The veins on his forearms bulged each time he pushed the steel bar above his chest. His arms wobbled. The bar clanked loudly against the brace.

“If you’re going to be as useless as men’s tits, you might as well step aside, Deryck,” Wolfrik grunted and tried to set the weight down on the braces again, with little luck.

“Shit.” Deryck grabbed the bar and jerked it onto the brace before it fell and crushed Wolfrik’s chest. The injury wouldn’t kill him, he healed too fast, but it would irritate his mentor. 

Wolfrik sat up and stretched his left arm across his chest. “About time you came back.”

Deryck handed him a glass of water. “I didn’t go anywhere.”

Wolfrik shook his head. “Don’t try to fool me. You haven’t been with us in weeks. Sure, your body makes its way back to the compound, but each time you are called to the Inbetween, more of your mind stays behind.”

Fear tightened Deryck’s gut. Did Wolfrik know the truth? “I apologize. I will try to be more attentive when we’re working out.”

Wolfrik sized him up. His gaze drifted to Deryck’s tattoos. “Is it true what the others are saying, have you taken a regular caller?”

Deryck shook his head. “I swore when I began this life, I would not and I will not break that vow. They may use my body, but no one woman will own me.” Inwardly, he cringed. One female in existence could make him break his vow. It was an impossible dream, though.

“You’ve been taking more frequent calls, then.” 

The lie Deryck had ready stuck in his throat. Wolfrik had been his companion and guide in the compound for nearly three thousand years. True, he’d outgrown the need for a mentor early in his service, but occasionally he needed someone to go to and lay down all of his frustrations. He needed someone to give him a shake and remind him why it was useless to rage and argue against their nature. 

“No. I haven’t been taking more calls from females on the Inbetween. Many times when I leave the compound, I’ve been . . .” Deryck took a deep breath. “I’ve been transported to the human realm. The reason is unclear, but I—” He was unsure if he should reveal Shayla’s part in things.

Eyes wide, Wolfrik grabbed Deryck by the scruff of his neck and dragged him to a vacant room filled with all manner of sporting equipment.

“Have you been drawn to anyone, a female you constantly appear around who pulls you to her no matter how far away you are?” Wolfrik whispered.

Deryck’s stomach dropped. He needed to know more. “Yes. I swear I did not try to go to the human realm. Will I be punished?”

Wolfrik shook him. “Yes, you will, but only if you are caught before you complete the ritual.”

“I don’t understand.” 

“There is only one reason an incubus is called to the human realm. You’ve found her. She can free you.”

* * * * *

Buy ENSLAVED on Amazon:

 

 

 

Author Bio:

 

R.C. Murphy spends her nights writing urban fantasy novels and a slew of short stories for her blog, The Path of a Struggling Writer. By day she is a not so mild-mannered housewife, wrangling vampires, demons, and various other nasty creatures. R.C. has joined forces with fellow writers, artists, and actors to form the Zombie Survival Crew where she reviews movies, TV shows, as well as penning articles on important survival skills.

Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Zombie Survival Crew | Just Ink Press

 

I want to write for "The Walking Dead" and other strange Ideas

There. I said it. I want to write for that show. Amazing, fantastic show that it is, the only way I'd ever get even a smidgen of a shot at being a part for it would be as a writer. I mean, I have already written my own zombie-ish acpocalypse and I have ideas for others, so why not put them to good use? Because it's the only way if I'm going to get to be on this show.

I can't act.

I ain't no stunt woman.

Camera's confuse me on the best of days.

The idea of directing anyone is laughable, my own dogs don't listen to me, why would anyone else?

Okay, maybe they could dress me up as a zombie, but that's a one shot deal.

So, here we go. I could send them ideas. Like maybe killing off Carl. (Was that my outside voice?) And I'm not the only one who thinks killing him would be a good idea.

Or how about some top less shots . . . of the men.

 
 
 
 





  Now don't act like you ladies don't watch the show. My neighbour, who is in her fifties loves it, most of the women I know watch it and LOVE it. In fact, I know several women who have *ahem* expressed interest in seeing the above men with less clothes. I don't know if it would work on "The Walking Dead" but damn, why not ask?

Feel free to leave a comment on the character you'd like to see "more" of, who knows, we might just get lucky. (Yes, the pun was intended)

 

Zombies, #Zombies, Everywhere!

Zombies, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways . . .

1.       BEST video games ever are all about the zombies. Now I’m not going to list them but I will give you a link if you want to go and scan through a bunch, I mean like PAGES. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_zombie_video_games On a more personal note, my favorites are Resident Evil 4 and *drumroll* . Plants Vs Zombies ;p

2.       Your grossness comes in a plenitude of varieties which for any good zombie-it is necessary—rotting skin, slimy fingers, puking blood, sagging flesh, eating brains, slurping intestines, heads twisted the wrong way, limbs twisted the wrong way, eyeballs hanging out, eyeballs missing, flapping tongues (eek that’s one that always gives me the shivers), and last but not least nasty breath. Okay, maybe that last one is a guess, but you have to admit it’s highly likely.

3.       Zombie speeds can vary greatly and that makes them freaky. One minute they’re shambling along and you can easily outrun them, the next they’re faster than the fat kid diving after the bowl of candy. I personally love a fast zombie, far scarier, far more likely to eat those horrid neighbours that play loud music all night and shoot fireworks at your animals. Not that I have any personal experience with this. I’m just saying.

4.       It doesn’t matter how many zombie movies are done, they just don’t lose their appeal. I mean, even if the movie is HORRIBLY done (now admit it, there are a few of those) we still watch it. So while we might jeer and throw popcorn, we can’t stay away. Must. Watch. Zombies.

http://youtu.be/9dodWjF1uW8

 Side note. My "zombies" in  “Sundered, A Zombie-ish Apocalypse” are fast, hunt in packs like wolves and came about by way of a weight loss shot gone very, very wrong. Throw in some good old fashioned love and you’ve got yourself a new twist on the Zombie trope.

Why your Novel bites, and Not in a Good way

Okay, if you know me, you know that I don’t pull punches. I don’t like it when people tell me I look nice when I know it looks as though I just crawled out of a sewer pipe. I hate it when people say that my writing is “Just great!” with that falsetto high pitch we all know means they are trying not to offend. It doesn’t help us improve ourselves when people placate us about how we look, or how we write.


So how do you figure out if your novel sucks and how can you fix it? Here are a few pointers I’ve picked up the hard, expensive way. Now pay attention, I’m only going to say this once!


-You have 90% narration, 5% flashbacks and 5% dialogue. Okay, let’s be honest, it takes a freaking MASTER to keep the attention of a reader with this kind of breakdown. MASTER, not NEWBIE. And if you’re reading this, even if you’ve got several books out, you’re a NEWBIE, just like me.

Up your dialogue people! Every time you step into narration and flashbacks, you SLOW your reader down. Way down. Might even put the book down. So try, really, really hard to “up” your dialogue. Turn that narration into a CONVERSATION.


-Your Characters all get along and float through life. Okay, conflict is #1 in a story. Who the hell cares if their lives are perfect? Mine isn’t, I sure don’t want to read about someone who has a better life than me. Readers want a story to show them just how BAD life can get and how the hero deals with it. Look at every chapter, if there isn’t some sort of conflict, put something new in. Maybe the evil stepmother we all thought was dead comes back to life as a zombie. Or maybe the husband who ran off with the sister was really poisoned and now needs to be rescued! The possibilities are endless regardless of the genre, so make your characters SUFFER!


- You are getting complaints in your reviews of TYPOS! Please, please, please get at least one editor to go over your book! If you can’t afford an editor, there are ALWAYS options. Beg another author, do a swap with them and give them an “edit” on their book while they do the same for yours. But dang, there is a reason you can’t get reviews, or that the reviews you do get are 3 stars at best (not including family and friends in this of course because we all make them give us 5 stars ;p).


Typos, dropping plot threads (e.g. A character shows up in chapter 1 but then never again and yet they seemed important, that is a dropped thread), and general issues with your “baby” (that I won’t go into here for sake of space) can be VASTLY improved by having someone in the industry do a pass. Not just your mom or your best friend. Someone who will tell you the truth, even if it makes you CRY!


-Last and final way to improve your book. Learn your strengths and play to them. I write FAST PACED, high octane books that always center on the power of relationships between loved ones. That is MY strength. I can’t write police procedurals, I’ve tried. I can’t write children’s books, the kids get nightmares. Figure out what your STRONG points are. Maybe you have a knack for building tension in scenes to the point of making people grip their books/Kindles in a white knuckle grasp. Build on that. Write emotional scenes so strong you bring tears to people’s eyes? Go for it! Full force on your strengths will make your book stand out from the crowd.


Don’t try to be something you aren’t.


In conclusion, in this shifting world of self publishing going head to head with the traditional publishers, we HAVE to stand out from the rest. Not because we are the best of the worst, but because we are the best of the best.

*Side note* Your chance at $150 in Amazon Gift cards ends Jaunuary 31st( I've extended the deadline)- for more details check out this post here.

Some love and ENDORSEMENT for Indie Authors



October Winner



I am looking for a few good Indie authors who want to participate in a FREE promo event.

Maybe that's you eh?



If you haven't noticed, the last few months I've been doing Indie Cover Art Polls. It's very simple. You say you want to be in on the poll, I'll let you know what month you are going to be in.

November Winner



Then I put up your cover art, a blurb and a link along with a bunch of other authors. Then you get your friends, tweeps and complete strangers to vote for your book and its beautiful/interesting/crazy/wild cover.

The winning author gets to be hosted on the other authors blogs for a single post. And 1 winning commenter gets to win a copy of EACH of the authors books. Pretty cool huh?



December Winner



Each Poll has so far gotten over 1000 hits each, plus a TON of comments. Out last poll had over 200 comments, many of which were where the commenters were excited to go and purchase a bunch of the books. Yay!

So, if you're interested in getting you book and its cover in one of the next Cover Art Polls (Indie Authors Only Please) contact me at motionsrider@yahoo.ca.



 

Why Your Cover Sucks, AND it's killing your sales

Harsh, I know, but the truth often stings us in our most sensitive bits.


You know, right in our babies, our books, our belief that we have the BEST cover art EVER.


And, it's all a lie.


Now, you have to realize this has ZERO to do with your cover artist. That's right, zero. This problem has to do with YOU (and by you I mean me too) not being able to give your cover artist something to work with.

For instance, my book, Sundered, originally had a very cool cover. This one, right here.

It took TALENT to produce this cover, something I do not have. What I also didn't have was an understanding of what I would NEED to have on the cover in order for it to sell to my MARKET.

This book cover is great, but it really doesn't sell to my market, which is ZOMBIES and monsters. Much as there is a romance in the book, that is just a bonus.

It took some advice from Carolyn McCray, bestselling Kindle author and her Optimization Workshop to set me straight.

What I learned blew my mind. NO, really it did. As proud as I was of Sundered's cover, it wasn't helping me sell my book. It was scaring away potential readers because the book cover said one thing (erotic romance apparently ;) while the blurb said Zombies, Monsters and high action. A contradiction that scared readers off.

So I took Carolyn's advice and had a second cover done. Again, a talented artist, but THIS time, I knew what I was looking for. Zombie, monsters, freaky looking.  I knew my market better, understood what my readers were looking for and I gave it to them.

Now, what did the cover change do for me? It increased sales by 800%. Yes, you read that right.  Because now, what I show my potential readers and what the blurb says MATCHES.

All because I finally had someone tell me the truth. My cover art sucked because I didn't recognize my market and wasn't able to then give the ideas to my artist and it was KILLING my sales.

So, now that you see the two covers together, both by VERY talented artists, what do you think? Which one would you buy?

"Dauntless" book Launch & a Short Story to boot.

Tomorrow, October 31st, is the big day, the release of Dauntless, the third and final instalment of the Nevermore Trilogy and I’m just a tad bit excited. Okay, I’m -over -the -top -nearly - peed- my- pants- excited!


To help Dauntless shoot out of the starting gate, I’m asking that those who are waiting oh so impatiently for it, to please purchase it between 6-7pm PST to help with the Amazon rankings. This will help me be seen by even more readers, something every author wants and hopes for.

After the writing journey I’ve been on so far (looking for an agent, found an agent, agent is too busy for me, floundered on my own for a bit, now self publishing while agent is in the wings) for me this is a big accomplishment to see a full trilogy published and doing well.

I feel it’s in large part because of YOU my readers. How so? The feedback has been phenomenal, the reviews are 99% 4-5 stars and were not talking just one or two reviews. We’re talking 60+ reviews between the first two Nevermore books, Sundered and Bound. That has given me the encouragement I needed to continue pursuing self publishing.

I wouldn’t be here without my readers and supporters and I want to find a way to thank you. I thought about money and jewels, fast cars and exotic vacations . . . And then I realized what you would all want.

A new story from the Nevermore World.

Tomorrow in conjunction with the release of Dauntless, I have a short story called “No Way Safe” that will be published in the e-zine Forever Nocturne.

The short story follows Annie and Dustin, a brother sister duo as they face packs of insatiable Nevermores, a gun toting crazy woman in a bright purple muumuu and the very daunting task of surviving in that deadly world on their own. Though the short story will leave you hanging (you aren’t really surprised are you?) you will get to see the culmination of Annie and Dustin’s journey in Dauntless.

Again, thank you for all your support and reviews. It is for YOU that I write my stories and I love hearing that you get swept away in them and care about the characters as much as I do. You are the best. =)

Happy Reading!

Interview with zombie guru Jesse Petersen

First of all I want to thank Jesse for coming on my wee little blog and sharing some of her writing experience with the rest of us who are still working on the journey!

1. Jesse, how long have you been writing?

I started writing full-time in 1999, though I'd always wanted to be a writer. Luckily I had a supportive spouse with a good job who wanted me to follow that dream. I sold books under a different name in a very different genre for years, but then I got the idea for the "Living With the Dead" series and was very excited that readers have been very enthusiastic!

2. Has it always been zombies for you or is there another monster(s) you'd like to write about?

I really love zombies. I suppose if I had an idea for some other monster I would write it. It's all about a story that interests me and works.

3. Have you ever done like Stephen King and scare yourself so badly with your writing you couldn't sleep at night?

I write with a funny, sarcastic, snarky tone. So I don't scare myself very often.

4. What's the best thing you've ever done for yourself as an author to help you with your writing and selling of your books?

Really, authors have very little control over what happens to a book once it goes out. I just try to write the best books I can and see what happens. I'm now independently publishing some work, too and I do like that I can instantly see my sales and try to tailor my promotions based on what I'm seeing as sales go up or level off.

5. How long did it take you to find your agent and sell your Married with Zombies to a publisher?

I already had an agent when I wrote MARRIED WITH ZOMBIES. Actually she encouraged me to finish it as she thought it was sellable. It was about 2-3 weeks from when it went out to when it sold. There was an auction, it was very exciting.

6. Would you ever consider doing as so many traditionally published authors are and going to an e-book format and self publish?

That's exactly what I'm doing now. EAT SLAY LOVE comes out from Orbit, which is awesome and I love them. Then in August, I'm releasing IN THE DEAD: Volume 1, a collection of short stories set in the same world as the Living With the Dead series, but not following the same couple (Sarah and David). I'm also independently publishing under my other name. I am just in love with publishing this way. I think there are huge advantages to it (and of course there are many advantages to traditionally publishing, too.

7. What do you think the next big trend will be in the urban fantasy/horror genre?

I don't really worry about trends. I write what interests me and what excites me. Especially now that I'm self-publishing, I just don't have to think about "the next big thing" as much.

8. What's the best piece of advice you could give to up coming authors?

Write a lot, edit a lot, learn a lot and don't jump the gun when it comes to submitting to traditional publishers or deciding to publishing themselves. A good, strong book is your best advocate as a writer, both to editors/ agents and readers.

For more about Jesse and her Zombies, be sure to check out her website,

http://www.jessepetersen.net/