BE BRAVE. BRAVERY LEADS TO ADVENTURE BY EJ HINZE.

Being brave is one thing, but just one thing can lead to something extravagant.

Sometimes a choice can be given to you in life, and whether you choose to take that chance is up to you. As you think about this chance you think about the positives but you also think about the negatives. Sometimes the negative outcomes can override the positive ones and that makes you want to back down from the opportunity.

But the truth of the matter is you never know what’s going to happen. For all you know one of the positive outcomes that you thought of, or didn’t even think of could happen.

I guess most people try to think realistically, being a fan of realistic writing and stories myself I can see where people come from. They think realistically about chance and not about dreams or what could be.

Also a lot of the times realistic is negative. People tell you the negative sides to what you’re doing and just tell you; “Don’t to take the chance; the life you have now is content so keep it.”

But even they don’t know what could happen if you do take the chance and you don’t either.

As a writer I don’t like to think realistically. I like to think of the positive outcomes of a situation and the negatives but generally I’ll listen to the positives and just do it. Sometimes the chances I take end up with a negative outcome but you know, at least I can say I did it and twenty years later I can look back on my choices and not say “What if I had done that, maybe things might have been different” because I took the chance.

Also, taking chances lead to great stories ideas for new or in progress stories. I could get little ideas I can work into a plot or small ideas that turn into something really big.

My dad and I are about to take a huge chance by moving far away from the rest of our family. My dad has a lot of negatives that could possibly happen with this situation but also a lot of big positive and he’s choosing to ignore the negatives and go for it. I admire him for that.

The option to go is troubling me a little, don’t get me wrong. I’m starting my first year of high school very shortly and I have an abundance of wonderful friends that I will be leaving behind and my extended family. But at the same time this move opens up so many new wonderful opportunities and adventures.

This whole thing is just one big adventure that I could either say “I’ll go for it!” or look back a few years later and say “What would have happened if I would have done that?” and I don’t want to do that.

This adventure could also open up so many new story ideas and things to write about.

So for all I know this could have been my better option to move instead of stay where I am and live my life in the same time. At least my life will have a bit of variety.

But in all seriousness, I have a lot of adventures coming towards me within the next few years and I am excited yet scared at the same time. But you know, I’m brave and interested. And when you’re brave, adventure always follows.

Blog by EJ Hinze 

and picture provided by EJ Hinze

OPEN YOUR MIND TO A LITTLE MYSTERY, BY DAWN MILLER

 

Everyone needs a little mystery in their life and if you are a lover of the genre than life’s mysteries are all around you. As a writer, the inspiration for your latest whodunit is everywhere. All you need to do is look around and open your mind to the possibilities.

As a runner, I am out early every morning taking advantage of the quiet streets in my small town. A few corners down from me I have often seen one or two bottles sitting on the curb as if waiting for a couple to come down the street, have a seat and share a drink.

Sometimes the bottles are filled with water or sometimes another type of juice. I have often wondered why they were there and who left them. 

As a mystery writer, the simple, benign act elicits intrigue. Most people probably wouldn’t even notice except of course the person who lives on that corner.

When I was out for my Sunday morning run last week, a fellow runner who has completed both the Boston and New York Marathons more than once and who last year competed in her first triathlon lapped me as usual.

As I was finishing my run, I watched her run down to the corner, pick up one of the bottles and proceed on her run. Mystery solved and a simple one at that. She lives a couple of houses down, leaves the drinks when she is out training and retrieves them when she needs to. 

I was pleased to finally have the little mystery solved, but a little disappointed at the same time. It was a bit too ordinary. My vivid imagination had come up with a couple of different scenarios which were more interesting than a way to keep fluids available for a long run.

Who leaves their cars overnight in a mall parking lot and why? Was there a light in that empty house on the corner?  

Simple nuances can bring about a plot line or even supply you the twist you were looking for in your latest mystery.

A writing professor of mine once said to keep an idea file for whenever writer’s block came calling. It was back in the day before computers, so he was referring to cutting out interesting stories from the newspaper.

My updated interpretation is to jot down notes of those weird questions or benign interactions because you never know when one might come in handy in a short story or a novel.

The bottle one popped up in one of mine, but I changed the setting to one of my favorite spots-the ocean. Instead of placing the water bottles or the curb, I put them on a bench along a stretch of boardwalk and changed the water to a bottle of wine with two glasses.

When my newest character amateur sleuth and newspaper reporter, Rainer Donovan finally discovers solves her mystery it doesn’t leave her disappointed.

At Midnight Frost Books you will find many mysteries, romances and other stories which will wet your appetite for adventure. Just take a walk inside. You never know where the journey will lead you.

Thank you for this interesting post,
Thanks for Reading,
Celeste and Patricia

SOUL FIRE'S AUTHOR, LILLIE J. ROBERTS...

Hi, my name is Lillie J. Roberts. I'm a wife and mom to three with a wild Westie who is sure he's human too.

 

 

I'm a new author here with Crimson Frost Books / Midnight Frost Books as well and I couldn't be happier! Before I submitted with CFB/MFB, I investigated what kind of publisher they were going to be. I mean, that's just smart business, and while writing is an art and a big part of my life, getting a book published is a business. Through my investigations, I discovered that Patricia Bates and Ciara Lake were not only authors themselves, but astute business women. I knew that it was going to be an awesome adventure, and that's how I found myself here, happy to help support a new publisher and happy to be a part of their venture.

Now that I'm here, I've found myself in the company of some wonderful authors. Tara Mills (http://www.taramillsromance.com) and Jane Hunt (www.jolliffe01.com/) are a just couple of the new authors now part of the CFB/MFB family and great story tellers. If you have a chance, check out their websites, pick up one of their books. It's going to be a good, satisfying read that will leave you asking for more. I know, I've had the opportunity to check out a few of the books coming from CFB, and I'm waiting for more. :) 

That leaves me to talk a little about myself. I've written my whole life, but didn't even think about having something published until I entered a flash fiction contest and received an honorable mention, and I was competing with real authors who already had books published! I was shocked! That led me to write my first book, which seems like a long time ago now. I've had a personal blog for several years, I love reviewing books at Tink's Place (http://myblog2point0.blogspot.com/) and my author website is at Lillie J. Roberts (http://lilliejroberts.wordpress.com/) where you can find out more about what I've got going on in my writer's life. I can also be found on facebook (I'm addicted) @ Lillie J. Roberts-Dottie Taylor (https://www.facebook.com/LillieJRoberts). I'm also on Twitter @ Lillie J. Roberts/Dottie Taylor.

My new book, Soul Fire, will be coming out from the YA/Fantasy imprint of Crimson Frost Books, Midnight Frost Books. It's the first YA book I've written, but it won't be the last. It was too much fun writing it.

Here's a little about the story: 

Soul Fire tells Rena Langley's story.  

Rena's always suffered from nightmares, but this summer, the nightmares are worse than ever before, monsters fill her dreams. Into her life walks Petrov DeForest, tall, dark, and oh so cute with amazing blue eyes, and he claims to know the reasons for the nightmares. Rena's destiny is as the Soul Seeker, reborn throughout time and an Earthbound soul to help the lost. The monsters from her nightmares are real, the Soul Eaters, they exist on the plane of Reflection, but have crossed to the Earthbound plane in a bid for her soul energy. But, she can bring an end to monsters, the Soul Eaters, if she can learn to control her ability, her Soul Fire. If she can't, the monsters will win again. With the help of Petrov, her German shepherd named Random, and detective Ben Foster, they seek out those who hope to take her and those close to her. Can they survive the monsters? Or will this lifetime end like so many have before?

Patricia and I appreciate your blog entry and we look forward to seeing Soul Fire Published.
Thanks for Reading. 
Celeste and Patricia

LOOK AT THIS FANTASTIC COVER. THE STORY IS EVEN BETTER!

WOW, THIS IS GORGEOUS. TAKE A LOOK AT THIS COVER! EVE'S THIEVES, A MARVELOUS BOOK, SOON TO BE AVAILABLE TO YOU AT MFB!

KITTYMAN LAKE, ON THE UPCOMING OPENING OF MIDNIGHT FROST BOOKS!

"Goodness me, I've run out of good books to read.  Imagine that.  So, I am waiting for Midnight Frost Books to open their doors.  I can't wait to read their collection of goodies.  Now, I'd better rest up and get a catnap!"
Kittyman Lake, Ciara Lake's friendly feline!