Someone is winding up the “Clockwork Doll House”
Posted: November 16, 2018 Filed under: Book Review, Books, Fiction, Mystery, Speculative Fiction, Steampunk, Stories, Suspense, Young Adult | Tags: Clockwork Dollhouse, Jordan Elizabeth, Murder Mystery, mystery, Steampunk, YA, Young Adult, Young Adult Fiction Leave a comment
Clockwork Dollhouse, by Jordan Elizabeth is a short steampunk tale which may give readers the chills. Robert has many secrets, but Jane’s clockwork dollhouse sees and reveals things Robert would rather stay hidden. But what is really going on? Who’s winding the dollhouse after all these years and setting the stage? Is it Ainsley, his niece, the ghost of his dead sister, Jane, or is the dollhouse haunted? And can it be stopped before the truth comes out?
A brief story which captivates. Clockwork Dollhouse is a tale of murder unraveled in short fiction format. Perfect for YA audiences. I give it five quills.
Kaye Lynne Booth does honest book reviews on Writing to be Read in exchange for ARCs. Have a book you’d like reviewed? Contact Kaye at kayebooth(at)yahoo(dot)com.
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Halloween: Scary, but Fun
Posted: October 31, 2018 Filed under: Dark Fantasy, Dystopian, Fiction, Gothic, Horror, Paranormal, Reading, Speculative Fiction, Stories, Thriller | Tags: Dead Man's PArty, Facebook event, Ghost Stories, Halloween, horror, marketing, Scary stories, Short Fiction Leave a comment
People love to be scared, especially within a safe environment. That’s why the horror genre will always be popular. Sitting around trying to scare one another by telling ghost stories or urban legends is a passtime enjoyed and induldged by young and old alike. It’s one of the reasons Hallowen is a favorite holiday for many, with haunted houses and ghost stories and a monster around every corner.
But telling ghost stories to pass the time on a stormy night isn’t any type of new passtime. In fact, two hundred years ago, on a damp and dreary night, Mary Shelly’s Frankenstien was created on just such an occassion, when a challenge was issued to see who could invent the best scary story. Today’s monsters may be digitally enhanced, but we still enjoy sharing their stories, searching for an inkling of fear or a rush of adrenaline to get our hearts pumping.
That’s why I hope you’ll all drop in and join in the fun at the Sonoran Dawn’s Dead Man’s Party today on Facebook, where myself and other authors will be reading scary stories, playing games and holding giveaways. Many of the authors from the Dark Visions anthology, which I reviewed this past month, including Writng to be Read team member Jordan Elizabeth, and AtA panel member, Dan Alatorre, who compiled and produced the anthology which climbed up the ratings for best horror anthology rapidly following its release. I gave the anthology five quills and it is well worth the read. I’m excited to be reading a few of their stories for them, as well as my own The Haunting of Carrol’s Woods, and can’t wait to hear the audio recordings of the other’s stories, too. I hope you will join us. It may be scary, but it will be fun.
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Writing for a YA Audience: Do ghosts really cast no shadows?
Posted: October 17, 2018 Filed under: Books, Fiction, Paranormal, Stories, Writing, Writing for a YA Audience, Young Adult | Tags: Ghost Stories, Jordan Elizabeth, Paranormal, Writing for a YA Audience, YA, Young Adult Fiction Leave a comment
Anyone who knows me knows I’m obsessed with ghosts. Recently at work, someone drew a house on a whiteboard and everyone added something to the picture. I added a ghost screaming from an upstairs window.
Writing a short ghost story has always been a fun activity for a rainy afternoon. After compiling two steampunk anthologies, I decided to take a turn compiling one on ghost stories. I imagined it sitting on the shelves of local gift shops; the cover would show a ghost girl floating down a hallway of peeling wallpaper and cobwebs. With this in mind, I reached out to my critique partners, author friends, writing workshop attendees, and writing club members. They had a year to get me a short story or two. I wrote a few, and as stories trickled in, I put them together in a word document. We brainstormed ideas for a title and settled on “Ghosts Cast No Shadows.”
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
Once I had a selection of almost thirty stories, I submitted the manuscript to the publisher. The majority of the stories were accepted, but a few were rejected, and I had to break several hearts by telling writers their story didn’t make it in.
After the list of accepted stories was finalized, it was time for editing. Each story went across the desk of an editor twice, followed by a once-over with a proofreader. The proofreader was a different editor who could come into the anthology with new eyes. With the editing process over, we got to work on a cover. We’d originally submitted a worksheet of cover ideas, but the publisher felt a different style would be in order. The talented Eugene Teplitsky put together the current cover depicting a man haunted by his past and plagued by death. Ghost books, they felt, were too involved with Halloween. They wanted our anthology to be marketable year-round. This strategy meant we would need to change the title. “Ghosts Cast No Shadows was shortened to “Cast No Shadows.”
The book was in place and the release date was set for October 6, 2016.
We organized a cover reveal and blog tour for the release. Reviewers offered their services to help spread the word. I tentatively set up signings for the end of October through December. I had to hurry because my son was due October 18 of the same year. I didn’t want any of the release buzz to fall through the cracks. (I also naively assumed I would feel up to doing a signing despite just having a baby.)
The book came out to meet with rave reviews. (You can read Kaye’s review of the book here.) The blog tour sparkled. While the ebook sold, the paperback remained unavailable. My son arrived earlier than expected, and in no way did I feel like doing a book signing. They were postponed to the spring. Because of technical difficulties, the paperback still wasn’t available in the spring, and the signings were cancelled until further notice. When the paperback did release a year later, we were all set to push it.
The group of us who live locally (listed in order as they appear in the picture above: Elizabeth Zumchuk, Joan O. Scharf, Tracina Cozza, Jordan Elizabeth, Jeremy Mortis, W. K. Pomeroy, and James McNally) did our rounds wearing matching CAST NO SHADOWS T-shirts. The libraries welcomed us and in front of audiences, we talked about what inspired our individual stories and read the first pages. We sold copies to eager readers. Every October we do our rounds again. We stand together in our shirts with the books open in front of us.
It feels so mysterious to stand in front of an audience telling the story of a ghost who wanders dilapidated hallways seeking a future she will never find.
Interested in reading CAST NO SHADOWS? The book is available on Amazon or you can get a signed copy off Jordan’s official website.
Jordan Elizabeth is a young adult fantasy author. CAST NO SHADOWS is her third anthology published by Curiosity Quills Press. Jordan can be found wandering the empty houses and shadowed woods of Upstate New York searching for ghosts.
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Dark Visions: A Horror Anthology You Won’t Want to Miss
Posted: October 12, 2018 Filed under: Book Review, Books, Dark Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Paranormal, Speculative Fiction, Stories | Tags: Book Review, Dan Alatorre, Dark Visions, horror, Short Fiction 27 Comments
October is the month for scary things, and a horror anthology filled with spine chilling short stories from over thirty authors is the perfect read for the season. The release of Dan Alatorre’s compilation of Dark Visions anthology is October 15th, and you won’t want to miss it. In addition to a wonderfully original and entertaining prologue, and his own story, “The Corner Shop”, Dan has lined up a slew of writing talent to include in this tomb of short horror tales.
Not only does this anthology have a very cool cover, (Check it out above), but it also has some very well crafted short fiction, some that will stay with you in times to come. These shorts cover a wide spectrum of horrors; nightmares, voodoo, vampires, apparitions and spirits, and even demons. The stories found here prey upon your inner fears, making brief little ditties from the stuff of nightmares.
None of the stories I read from this collection would rate less than three quills, meaning even the mediocre stories are pretty good. Among my favorites are “The Devil’s Hollow”, by Adele Marie Park; “Road Kill”, by Ernesto San Giacomo; “Behind the Leather Apron”, by Alana Turner; “The Bloody Dagwood Tree”, by Dabry Farmer; and “Ice Cream”, by Geoff LePard.
Not to say that other stories in this volume are not noteworthy. Many of these stories will keep you awake at night, including: “The Haunting of William”, by Robbie Cheadle; “Nightmare”, by Lori Micken; “Swimming”, by Frank Parker; “Lucifer’s Revenge”, by Christine Valentor; “What If”, by Geoff LePard; “Ghosts of Tupelo” by Sharon Cathcart; “Where the Black Tree Grows”, by M.D. Walker; “The Right Time to Move”, by Jennifer Ruff; “The Stranger”, by Allison Maruska; “The Storm”, by J.A. Allen; and “Spirit Lake”, by Sharron Connell.
I may be difficult to please when it comes to short fiction, because I like my stories to feel complete and often short fiction fails on those lines, but most of the tales in this collection did not fail to satisfy. Most of them were also a little creepy, which is essential when it comes to horror. And, did I mention it has a really cool cover? Put all of that together, and I give Dark Visions five quills.
Kaye Lynne Booth does honest book reviews on Writing to be Read in exchange for ARCs. Have a book you’d like reviewed? Contact Kaye at kayebooth(at)yahoo(dot)com.
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“Kissed by Literature”: A YA collection of short fiction
Posted: August 31, 2018 Filed under: Book Review, Books, Fiction, Paranormal, Speculative Fiction, Stories, Young Adult Leave a comment
Like many authors, Jordan Elizabeth started out writing short fiction, and in Kissed by Literature, she offers us a generous sample of paranormal and speculative shorts. The trouble in writing short fiction comes in making the story feel complete, with a beginning, middle and end, using a minimal number of words. It’s not an easy thing to do, and while there are stories included that feel a little rushed in the pacing or end abruptly, as can only be expected in a collection of shorts of this size, those that do feel complete hit the mark and give readers goosebumps. Among them, my favorites include House of Sixty Bells, a ghostly mystery solved; Satin, a tale of paranormal friendship with ulterior motives; and Lock the Door, the story of a husband’s guilt following his wife’s murder.
A delightfully eerie collection of paranormal and speculative stories, I give Kissed by Literature four quills.
Kaye Lynne Booth does honest book reviews on Writing to be Read in exchange for ARCs. Have a book you’d like reviewed? Contact Kaye at kayebooth(at)yahoo(dot)com.
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Writing for a YA Audience: CLICK YOUR CONVERSE HEELS TOGETHER
Posted: August 15, 2018 Filed under: Books, Stories, Writing, Writing for a YA Audience, Young Adult | Tags: Converse Sneakers, Details, Writing, Writing for a YA Audience, Young Adult Fiction Leave a comment
When I write contemporary young adult stories, I draw on my own experiences growing up. A huge part of my childhood involved wearing Converse sneakers. Okay, you’re probably thinking that’s a sad childhood, but bear with me. I was always obsessed with shoes. I liked the old-fashioned ankle-boot style. I liked the shiny Mary Janes. I hated regular sneakers. They weren’t cute enough. I endured sneakers only for gym class.
In Junior High, I started seeing the other children wearing Converse sneakers. They came in all sorts of patterns and colors, and they went over your ankle. They were unique, and even though almost everyone had a pair, everyone had a DIFFERENT pair. Some kids even wore mismatched sneakers or used fancy laces. I went home to tell my grandmother I just had to have my own Converse sneakers. (If you aren’t familiar with Converse sneakers, you have got to check out their incredible selection.)
She took me to the coolest sneaker store in the mall (I don’t remember the name of this wicked awesome store) and got me…a pair of knock-offs. They were black and came below my ankle. I fell in love with them because they had a side-pocket. I wore those sneakers until they fell apart.
In the meantime, my grandmother and I went to the nearby outlet mall. We would go once or twice a year. At their shoe store, I saw a beautiful array of colorful Converse sneakers. She bought be an official, high-top pair. They were black with white pinstripes. I wore them so much they started to fall apart…so now I don’t wear them much to preserve their life.
After that, I got a pair each time we went to the outlet mall. I even got a pair that reached up to my thighs! I now have twelve pairs altogether in my collection. Converse is still my favorite brand of sneaker.
Why am I talking to you about my Converse obsession? Well, Converse sneakers were a huge part of my childhood, from shopping for them to wearing them almost every day. I loved wearing them to gym class with fishnet stockings. I always write about my young adults wearing Converse because that’s what I wore. I didn’t realize how prevalent the brand featured in my writing until an editor called it to my attention. I went back through my writing and almost every girl character has a pair at one point in their individual stories!
If you were writing about shoes, what shoes would you mention? What shoes are most important in your life?
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
Jordan Elizabeth is a young adult fantasy author. Her latest book, a post-apocalyptic novella entitled ROTHAM RACE, released July 14th fron CHBB. If you’re wondering if it features Converse sneakers, you will have to read it to find out.
You can connect with Jordan via her website, JordanElizabethBooks.com.
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“Brave New Multiverse”: A Short Story Collection
Posted: July 20, 2018 Filed under: Book Review, Books, Science Fiction, Screenwriting, Stories | Tags: Book Review, Brave New Multiverse, Jeff Bowles, Science Fiction, Short Fiction, Short Stories, Short Story Collection Leave a comment
Brave New Multiverse is a collection of unusual and unique short stories by Jeff Bowles, in which there is never a dull moment. You may be amazed, amused, confused, or even a little disgusted, but you will not be bored with any of the stories in this collection.
Bowles combines the craft of short story with screenwriting to create an experimental writing style that somehow works. His descriptive power is phenomenal, if a bit graphic. The worlds he has created may be strange and difficult to define, but they are also different from worlds encountered by any other author. In Itsies, ids are called itsies and you don’t got to love them, even if they wear a teddy bear suit. In The Many Deaths of Lazarus Lad, comic book heroes never ever die. In Detective Robot and the Murderous Spacetime Schism, robots and gorillas are detectives solving the case of the deceased dropping from the sky. In Donald Carmichael’s Brave New Multiverse: A trip to five very odd ‘verses’, where nothing is as it appears, or is it? And in Snip, Snip: where they take bigotry to new levels and have hang ups about testicles.
His characters are as diverse and unique as the worlds he’s created, and he pairs them into unanticipated couplings: Gorilla Todd and Detective Robot, an investigative team that can solve the crime, even in the face of the dead falling randomly from the sky; Donald Carmichael and Max, who don’t know love until it reaches out and bites them in the ass; Lazarus Lad and his egocentric dad, who know no other life; Nelson and Jay, who just wanted to help their injured pooch; Tug and Petunia, rude and obnoxious itsies, who may even be dangerous, belonging to Tom and Pamela, who don’t know the meaning of tough love.
Want to explore strange new worlds which you’ve never encountered before? Take a trip into any one of Jeff Bowles’ stories from this collection. I give Brave New Multiverse five quills.
Kaye Lynne Booth does honest book reviews on Writing to be Read in exchange for ARCs. Have a book you’d like reviewed? Contact Kaye at kayebooth(at)yahoo(dot)com.
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“Undercurrents”: More Than Just a Collection of Tales From the Deep
Posted: February 2, 2018 Filed under: Book Review, Books, Horror, Stories | Tags: Book Review, Monsters, Sea Monsters, Short Fiction, Short Stories, The Deep, Undercurrents Leave a comment
The twenty-three stories in Undercurrents are all about the mysteries of the deep, but beyond that they are as varied as it gets. Master story telling weves tales about monsters who dwell in the ocean depths and send chills down your spine. The monsters featured range from those of legendary status to those of the fantasy realm: krackens; sea dragons in Guardian of the Sea, by Kristin Luna; sirens in The Old Man and the Sea Siren, by Steve Pantazis; fairy horses in In the Water, by Jessica Guernsey; mermonsters in All Yours, by Melissa Koons; and the underwater cat in Underwater Cats, by Mary Pletsch – to those that are unidentified, as in Cold, Silent, and Dark, by Kary English; or spring from the recesses of the human mind, to inanimate objects as innocent as a pair of bookends in Bookend, by Chris Mandeville.
The points of view presented are varied, as well. As a reader, I was allowed to glimpse through the eyes of both hunted and hunter, getting the unusual P.O.V.s of things like a kracken in The Kraken’s Story, by Robert J. McCarter, a siren in The Siren’s Song, by Aubrey Pratt, a dragon in The Sea Dragon’s Tale, by Nancy D. DiMauro and a puffer fish in Mandala, by Jody Lynn Nye.
The stories in this collection explore more than just the waters of the deep. Sea Wind, by Kevin J. Anderson explores the idea of losing a brother to the sea. Four Billion Years of Solitude, by Alex P. Berg explores the oceans of distant planets. Eat Me, by Lauren Lang explores a revelutionary weight loss system involving antipods harvested from the sea. Songs to Sing and Stories to Tell, by L.D. Colter explores saying good-bye, and Lure, by Joy Dawn Johnson explores the connection between twins, and Sea Dreams, by Rebecca Moesta and Kevin J. Anderson explores the ties between friends. To Become, by C.J. Erick explores facing the unknown, while In the Garden of the Coral King, by C.H. Hung explores facing one’s own fears, and A Marsh Called Solitude, by Gregory D. Little explores self-sacrifice and altruism.
My personal favorites include Teens Teach Tech, by Terry Madden, where a teen tries to help an old woman face her fears of the past; Heroes of the Russian Federation, by Chris Barili, where an experimental bio-weapon escapes and goes out of control; and High Seas Burning, by Lee French, where the real monsters are of the human variety.
Best of all, all proceeds from this anthology go to the Don Hodge Memorial Scholarship to help students without the financial means to attend the Superstar Writing Seminar, a seminaar that addresses the business end of writing. The Superstars have been putting together anthologies, along with seminar attendees since 2015. Undercurrents is the fourth anthology to result from the Superstar Writing Seminar. In more ways than one, the Superstar Writing Seminar is quite special and the recipient of a scholarship is fortunate indeed.
News of this seminar was exciting to me because so many writing courses or workshops focus on the craft of writing and ignore the fact that there are some business skills required in order to be a successful writer. I’ve heard many authors gripe about not realizing they had to have marketing skills as well as writing skills, or complaining about the time they must put into marketing that could be used to write instead. The line-up of Superstars who offer their expertise include Kevin J. Anderson, David Farland, Eric Flint, Rebecca Moesta, James A. Owen and Brandon Sanderson. Each year they have additional guest instructors, chosen from the creme de la creme of the publishing industry. They all share their knowledge and expertise during the annual seminar, which is held in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Well-crafted stories fill this anthology exploring the ocean depths and the depths of the human mind in Undercurrents, an anthology created by master story tellers. I give it four quills.
Kaye Lynne Booth does honest book reviews on Writing to be Read in exchange for ARCs at no charge. Have a book you’d like reviewed? Contact Kaye at kayebooth(at)yahoo(dot)com.
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“Doctrine of Indecency”: A Good Variety of Stories
Posted: January 26, 2018 Filed under: Book Review, Books, Dark Fantasy, Erotica, Fiction, Paranormal, romance, Science Fiction, Speculative Fiction, Stories | Tags: Anthology, Book Review, Doctrine of Indecency, Erotica, Short Stories Leave a comment
The trick to writing erotica is being able to write a fully developed story line and add just the right amount of erotic imagry to create a story which both entertains and arouses readers at same time. There is an almost poetic art to it, a delicate balance. A balance few of the stories found in Doctrine of Indecency: 18 Coveted Tales of Lust, edited by Virginia Lee Johnson and Kat Mizera, manage to achieve. Most of the stories, while not of the exceptional variety, were not bad stories and some were quite entertaining.
I must give kudos for the variety of the stories contained within this erotic anthology. There seems to be something for everyone. Some stories stretch genre boundaries, including tales of erotic horror, such as A Cabin… Somewhere, by Kyle Perkins; the paranormal erotica of Wings of Change, by Cee Cee Houston; the anti-hero erotica of Revenge, by Virginia Lee Johnson; the speculative erotica of The Succubus’s Sin, by Taylor Rose; and the science-fiction erotica of Suicide Mission, by Lila Vale; or Lunar Gets Some Loving: A Purian Empire Short, by Crystal Dawn. There are also those that are geared more toward the traditional erotic story lines which explore various sexual preferences such as the three-way fun of Apple Bite, by A.R. Von; or Welcome to the Dark Side, by Erin Trejo; the military erotica of Deployment – Dalliance, by E.J. Christopher; the grocery store erotica of Fruit, Veg. & Starfish, by T.L. Wainwright; the swingers erotica of 3, by Eden Rose; the S & M erotica of House of the Rising Sun, by L.J. SeXton; the stranger erotica Delayed Ecstacy, by Tiffani Lynn; and there’s even a tale of social media erotica in Yearning for Desire, by Amanda O’lone.
My three favorites: Pleasure Bite, by Brianna West is well written vampire erotica and Dangerous Desire, by Samantha Harrington is hot and steamy, yet has a decent plot. I’ve been doing a lot of playing with POV, so I was especially drawn to the stories which used mutliple character POVs. While Inferno, by Kat Mizera uses multiple POVs with some skill, Pepper’s Play Pen, by Mia Sparks uses multiple POVs and is crafted with expertise.
The variety of stories included is commendable, but since none are exceptional, nor are any terrible, but of more average quality, I give Doctrine of Indecency three quills.
Kaye Lynne Booth does honest book reviews on Writing to be Read in exchange for ARCs at no charge. Have a book you’d like reviewed? Contact Kaye at kayebooth(at)yahoo(dot)com.
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Starting Off the New Year with YA Author Jordan Hallak
Posted: January 1, 2018 Filed under: Books, Fiction, Gothic, Interview, marketing, Speculative Fiction, Steampunk, Stories, Writing, Young Adult | Tags: Author Interview, Gothic, Jordan Elizabeth, Jordan Hallak, Steampunk, Young Adult Fiction Leave a comment
I’m pleased to be able to start the New Year off with a YA author who I have interviewed for both my Book Marketing -What Works? series this past year, and my 2015 Pros and Cons of Traditional vs. Independent vs. Self-Publishing series. I’ve reviewed many of her novels, (Escape From Witchwood Hollow, Cogling, Treasure Darkly, Victorian, The Goat Children, Runners and Riders, The Path to Old Talbot, Wicked Treasure, Kistishi Island)as well as collections featuring her short stories, such as Darkscapes, Cast No Shadows, Under a Brass Moon, Chronology.
If you’re feeling a little confused right now, that’s okay, because all of the interviews and reviews were done for an author named Jordan Elizabeth, and in the very early reviews she was booked as Jordan Elizabeth Mierek. However, she’s starting off 2018 as Jordan Hallak, and we’ll hear an explanation for the different name soon. In addition to being the author of at least ten young adult novels and countless short stories, Jordan is a wife and mother, as well as often having a day job on the side. She runs a tight juggling act to keep it all balanced and still manages to craft some quality stories which are all quite entertaining. Join me in giving a warm welcome to Jordan Hallak today, on Writing to be Read.
Kaye: You’ve had a change to your last name. It threw me off and might throw of readers who know your work under the name Jordan Elizabeth. Were you recently married?
Jordan: I got married over a year ago, but I didn’t change my name right away. I still write as “Jordan Elizabeth,” but little by little I’ve been altering Mierek to Hallak. The most recent thing I changed was my name for my gmail account. Even though I signed things as “Jordan Hallak,” people were getting confused who Jordan Mierek was. I was getting documents for work to the wrong name!
Kaye: What are your secrets for juggling writing with family?
Jordan: Haha, I haven’t mastered it yet! Most nights now I’m too tired to do more than scroll through facebook. When I push myself, though, I have my husband watch the baby for an hour and I do all my writing. Once the baby goes to bed, then I do my marketing because it isn’t as emotionally draining. Writing leaves me breathless.
Kaye: Other than the last name, what do you think will be different for you in 2018, and why?
Jordan: My marketing budget is a lot different for this year. I’m only going to be using what I make off royalties. This might ruin my marketing plan, but we’ll see. 2018 is the first year where I won’t have a full time job starting out.
Kaye: What’s in store from Jordan Hallak in 2018?
Jordan: Other than my goal of landing a full time job, I want to write more novels and work on my marketing techniques. I usually fly by my seat for the year, but this time I want to concentrate on planning out all my marketing events. I’ve heard that’s better, so we’ll see.
Kaye: Is there anything unique or unusual about your writing process?
Jordan: I can’t plan. I start writing with a general sense of where the story will lead. If I try to plot, the book becomes a chore. It never follows the written storyline anyway.
Kaye: What is the working title of your latest book?
Jordan: My newest book will be Secrets of Bennett Hall. It is going to be a steampunk Gothic. I’ve always been entranced by Gothic novels, and I love the steampunk genre, so I decided to blend the two and see how it came out.
Kaye: How do you decide the titles for your books? Where does the title come in the process for you?
Jordan: The titles always come at the end. I usually call the book by the main character’s name as I’m writing, and then I see how it feels when I’m all done. Secrets of Bennett Hall started off as Adelaide. Adelaide is the main character who moves to Bennett Hall to work as a governess. Secrets from the past – both her past and the estate’s past – return to haunt her. Secrets of Bennett Hall had more of a Gothic ring to it.
Kaye: In my review of Runners and Riders, I identified the book as a part of your Treasure Chronicles Apparently, this isn’t the case, as it is the first book in a series of its own. Would you like to share how that came about?
Jordan: Runners and Riders features the same world as in the Treasure Chronicles. I called it a “companion” novel because of that, but it was mislabeled as a novella in many places. It is a full-length novel, and it was getting a lot of heat for being “misleading.” People who hadn’t read the Treasure Chronicles weren’t willing to give it a chance. It will now be book one in Return to Amston, with Secrets of Bennett Hall being book two. Secrets will be in the same world again, but with a new cast of characters.
Kaye: So, tell us a little about this second book in the Runners and Riders.
Jordan: Joseph from Treasure Darkly will make an appearance. Remember him as Amethyst’s spurned lover? I always felt bad about how things went down with the two of them and I wanted to give him his own story. As I started writing about Adelaide, he just fell into place as her love interest, and they are perfect for each other. He deserves a sweet, but strong, girl like Adelaide. In the novel, Adelaide loses her teaching job in Hedlund and finds a new position as a governess. Once she arrives at Bennett Hall, she meets its handsome occupant – Joseph – as well as some shady figures. People in the village warn her about the darkness on the estate, but it isn’t until she sees the Villain lurking in the forbidden wing that she begins to believe the rumors.
Kaye: A lot of your books are of the steampunk genre. What is it that appeals to you about steampunk?
Jordan: I love the nifty inventions paired with corsets and long skirts. I am obsessed with corsets and long skirts. You should see my closet!
Kaye: Most of your work has been published through Curiosity Quills Press, but it sounded like you might be striking out independently. Will this second book in the Runners and Riders series be independently published?
Jordan: Secrets of Bennett Hall will be published by Curiosity Quills Press. I haven’t decided to go the self-publishing route yet, but I might someday. I know people who have left their publishers to try self-publishing with great results. For now, I like having a publishing house behind me. The support I get has been awesome. I’m currently published by Curiosity Quills, CHBB, and Clean Reads.
Kaye: When will Secrets of Bennett Hall be available?
Jordan: Secrets releases January 30.
Kaye: What is the biggest challenge of being a writer?
Jordan: It is so hard to get your book out there. I know people are sick of me always talking about my books, but that’s the only way to spread the word.
Kaye: What’s the most fun part of writing a novel or short story? What’s the least fun part?
Jordan: The best part is actually writing it. I become lost in the setting and the characters become my best friends. I have an awesome time visiting this new world. The least fun part would have to be the marketing that comes after. When you have to push people to review and when you have to pay for ads, you start to doubt if your writing is worth it. Then you write a new story and remember how much it is worth it.
Kaye: If writing suddenly made you rich and famous, what would you do?
Jordan: I wouldn’t worry about money anymore! I would be happy being a stay-at-home mom and full-time writer. There would be a lot of traveling. I need fresh fodder for my stories.
I want to thank you, Jordan, for joining us on Writing to be Read to start the New Year off right. I wish you the best of luck in 2018, and I know Secrets of Bennett Hall will be a huge success.
Until next time, I want to wish you all a Happy New Year!
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