Writerly Wednesday

Hello everyone, and welcome to another edition of Writerly Wednesday, a meme started by the lovely Erin Danzer.  In this meme, I will be discussing all things related to writing. Whether it’s about my latest work in progress, promoting another author or just giving out advice.

This week, I am excited to announce that I FINALLY finished writing the rough draft of my short story called Hell’s Captive.  To be perfectly honest, I am so stoked and excited that this story is FINALLY done.  I honestly didn’t think it would ever end.  I kept having to put it down, and it was just a very long time in between picking it up again. Well, my muse is back, and she pushed me to finish the rough draft of it this morning right before work.  It is an AMAZING feeling once you accomplish something that you have been working hard on.

Hell’s Captive will be going into a novella along with another short story titled Hell Bound.  The novella will be called To Hades and Back.  If Otherworld signs it, I am going to talk to Lynn, my publisher, about including Murderous Regrets as a freebie, since it is written in the same style as the other two stories.  Plus, it will make the book longer.

I also wanted to announce, that I just hired Regina Wamba to design a book trailer for Prince of Darkness.  If she does a great job (which I am sure she will), I will hire her to do Daughter of Light’s trailer (formerly Stormy Nights) when the time is right.

So now I have the grueling task of editing Hell Bound and Hell’s Captive, but in the end it will be worth it when I am offered that contract 🙂

Happy Wednesday!

30k in the current WIP and a new subtitle

I did it! I FINALLY hit the 30k mark in book 2 of The World Among Us saga, which is presently titled Stormy Nights.  I will be perfectly honest…I don’t think that subtitle fits this book anymore.  Now that I think about it, I don’t think that it really fit to begin with.  It didn’t hit me until the other day when I woke up and realized that I wasn’t writing Stormy Nights…I was writing something else.  Besides, Stormy Nights is soooo cliche lol.  Therefore, I’ve come up with two alternatives for book 2.  In this book, Selene discovers that magic exists as well as other supernatural beings.  Book 2 mostly focuses on Selene and her coming to terms with and accepting all the events that happened in Prince of Darkness (book #1).

So, now that you know a little bit of the background of book #2, I’d like to propose two possible subtitles.  The are as follows:

Princess of Light

or

Daughter of Light

I personally think that Daughter of Light sounds better with The World Among Us, but I want to know what you all think.  I chose those titles, because Selene is Theia’s daughter, and Theia is the goddess of light according to Greek Mythology. Plus, Selene represents all things good.  What do you guys think?  Your input is greatly appreciated!

Thanks guys!

Character Chat #2-Selene learns about Harry Potter!

For this weeks Character Chat, I am happy to have Selene Aysel, who is the protagonist in my book, The World Among Us: Prince of Darkness.  Last week, I had my leading male MC, Damien Wicklin.  For more information about The World Among Us, please visit my publisher’s website at http://www.otherworld.com or visit my new website at http://www.bethannmasarik.wordpress.com.  I am in the process of switching servers, so please pardon the mess. I will be purchasing a domain over the next few weeks :).  Now, onto the Character Chat!

The teakettle whistled loudly as the doorbell rang to my house.  I turned the fire off on the stove, and rushed to answer the livingroom door.  “Coming I shouted,” as I tripped over the carpet.  I had just steadied myself when I opened the door.  My face flushed every shade of red as air got caught in my throat.  Standing before me was one of the world’s most beautiful women…Selene Aysel.

Selene stood at about five and a half feet tall, with beautiful long, fire engine red hair, and emerald green eyes.  Her skin was smooth and flawless, and she looked like a porclean doll. She wore a long, white dress, and her full, red lips smiled at me as she entered my home.

“Ah, Selene!  Welcome,” I said and greeted her with a hug.  “You’re just in time for tea.”

“Wonderful, Beth, thank you,” she said in a voice that was soft and silky.  She escorted herself to the dining room table, and invited herself to sit down while I poured tea in our teacups.

“So what did you want to talk about today, Selene?” I asked as I brought our cups to the table.

“I want to know why you hate me so much, Beth?” she asked as she sipped her tea.

I looked at her, bewildered and speechless.  How could she think that I hated her?  Selene was my most prized possession; one of my favorite characters.

“Hate you, Selene?  Why do you think I hate you?” I asked as I stared at her, confused.

“Then why do you make such terrible things happen to me?  First, I lose Blake, then my mother, and now you’ve made me a witch!” She exclaimed.

I sighed and frowned.  “I don’t hate you Selene,” I tried to reassure her.  “You are one of my favorite characters.  You are the protagonist in the series.  It’s tradition for the writer to make bad things happen to them.”

“I’ve had enough bad things happen to me to last me a lifetime,” she replied while pouting.  “Can’t you make them stop?”

“I wish I could Selene.  Believe me…I really do.  But, some more bad things have to happen in order for the good things to finally take place.”

“How many more bad things?” she asked dreading my answer.

“Unfortunately, Selene, I don’t know the answer to that.”

She let out a humpfh and drank her tea.  I played with my cup, suddenly feeling bad about the things that have happened to her.  Suddenly, it dawned on me; there were other protagonists that have gone through similar, if not worse things then she.

“If it’s any consolation, Selene, Harry Potter had to go through seven books…SEVEN BOOKS, before he finally got his happy ending,” I said, hoping that would make her feel better.

She looked at me like I was insane.  “Harry Potter?  Who is this Harry Potter you speak of?”

“He is a character that another author by the name of JK Rowling created.  She made him wait SEVEN WHOLE BOOKS until he was finally able to be free of He Who Shall Not Be Named.  If you ask me, I think that Harry had it worse than you,” I replied.

“How?”

“Well, for starters, you at least knew your parents, well, your mom anyway.  Harry didn’t.  His parents were killed when he was a baby.  Then, he was forced to live with his nasty aunt & uncle, who treated him like dirt.”

Selene’s mouth hung open as she listed to the story of Harry Potter.  It must have finally sunk into her that I really didn’t hate her after all, because I could almost see the wheels in her head turning.

“Well, I guess you are right, Beth.  There are other characters out there who have it worse then I do.  I just wish that someone would tell me already why my powers were hidden from me for so long,” she said.

“You will find out why very soon Selene.  Trust me,” I said with a smile.

“If you say so,” she said with a shrug and we both went back to sipping our tea.

Well, there you have it folks! That was this week’s character chat.  I hope you enjoyed it!  Please let me know of what you thought  by leaving me a comment below 🙂

Fangtastic Friday #1

Fangtastic Friday, is a new meme that I started.  The purpose is to raise vampire awareness, and to gush over our favorite undead friends (or foes).  For my very first Fangtastic Friday, I thought I would gush about my favorite vampire of all times…Damien Wicklen, from The World Among Us.

Are you shocked that I’m featuring Damien this week? You really shouldn’t be.  I think I’ve mentioned him in every other post so far. LOL. What can I say? He’s my other leading male in my life, and deserves the spotlight. Now, let me tell you a little bit about Damien for those of you who don’t know him or my book.

Damien is the son of Hades & Persephone, and has quite literally been put through hell.  I mean, he breaks the laws that his own family bestows upon him, and I mean he really breaks them. How does he do this?  He does this by falling in love with a goddess, and not just any goddess.  No.  He has to fall in love with the granddaughter of Hades’ arch nemesis…Gaia.

The bottom line is this…no matter what I put Damien through, he is always there.  It’s like he begs for more LOL!  He is the one vampire that constantly haunts me, and bugs me to write the rest of the series.  He appears in a lot of my dreams and nightmares.  He keeps me up at night and talks to me.  He’s a pain in the ass at times, but I love him anyway.

He’s a little hottie vampire prince, and The World Among Us wouldn’t exist without him.  I mean, who wouldn’t want a tall, dark and handsome vampire prince?

So there you have it folks!  My very first fangtastic friday post.  Who is your favorite vampire?  Blog about it on your blog and link to it here so I can comment on your post. Or, if you don’t want to blog, just comment here 🙂