Joss Whedon

Joss Whedon is a pretty impressive person for writing so many strong female roles. Personally I grew up watching Buffy the Vampire slayer which first turned me onto the fighter aspect that a girl can be perfectly fine taking care of herself. Then of course I became fascinated with vampires and that led me to my second fascination the amazing female writer Anne Rice and her vampire chronicles.

Joss Whedon had a way of not only creating the perfect mindset and addictive strong female characters but also the personal flaws in the character that are actually relateable and realistic for them.

I love the male characters he creates also. Many seem to only give power to one gender however he has proven both can be strong mentally and physically while carrying a lead role without canceling out the other. He makes it work as a partnership and this is only one of the amazing things that makes him a great writer!

Joss Whedon is best known for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Avengers, Angel, Toy Story, Much ado about nothing, The Cabin in the woods, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D and so many more!

My life in a polite nutshell

I was asked to describe my life in a nutshell. I thought about it for a second and responded, "very cramped." I'm pretty sure that wasn't the response they were looking for.  It's never actually easy to sum up your life since there are so many things that could be shared and other things not so much.

First I want to mention that I am a mom of three wonderful children (Brent 17, Savannah 14 and Aaron 2 1/2) I am spoiled by them and also they stretch my imagination actually giving me a world to create in. I am fortunate to have a husband (Justin Dine) who is very supportive with my writing and I do my best to give him the same favor. I feel compelled to write and there are times I am fully passionate about writing. I also love to read. The best advice I was ever given by an author who said if you want to become a great writer then you need to become a great reader first.

I was limited to what I was allowed to read but then I think it shaped my personality and helped in other ways. Pretty much my parents were simply being careful to what I was exposed to at different ages and I'm thankful for that. Now that I'm a parents I know it wasn't easy and even I try my best to shield my children from some things. My parents were ministers, actually still are however I admit I do not follow the same religious beliefs anymore. While I grew up I was very fortunate to have protective parents, sometimes a little only so but they did what they felt best to keep me safe and for that I'm thankful. I had a normal childhood and was allowed to be a child not having to grow up before my time. Not all my friends that I had grown up with had this option so I consider my childhood very precious. I loved reading when I was younger and spent so many hours reading that pretty much books became my friends. I still prefer to read a book rather then socialize so I still work at forcing myself to become more outgoing. I used to write stories all the time and was a chronic daydreamer. I inherited that from my parents and sense of adventure from them. 

The simple fact that I became a writer really wasn't surprising. I loved reading when I was little and I still do. I also loved writing. I always had a book to read and my parents were very supportive in the way of providing all the paper or pencils I needed. I had several favorite authors and because of those it helped me with the stories I enjoyed writing. I do tend to read the same that I write. I always thought about how I would do something different and then it went from there. I created my own characters and then after time my characters felt as if they made themselves. Story lines were always running through my head since I was a chronic daydreamer. I had a teacher tell me once to stop daydreaming, that the daydreams would never help me in life. Actually they have and not simply for writing novels but I've found daydreaming gave me a reason to write. For me it was also a form of therapy not that I aired dirty laundry from my life but it certainly hadn't prevented me from it either. Many of my characters like/ dislikes and experiences have come from my own life which as I feel made them more human even though they are vampires.

I've found if I don't have too many distractions I can get a lot done and it helps to stay mentally focused in my writing. However life isn't always like that. I've had several jobs during this time, raising 3 children all makes life very interesting and incredibly busy! With all of our pets there are a lot of distractions and I admit I am very easily distracted. A fly, a frog on my window, phone ringing, background noise made by the kids or my youngest who was 2, during most of my writing time he loved to scream and test his vocal range. Working 3rd shift took the most out of me however like most if writing is your passion you will find the time for it. I've always heard actors during an interview they didn't want something to fall back on or most likely that would happen instead of an acting career. I see it this way for writing; I've burned through so many jobs trying to find something I really loved doing even though a couple times I found something I enjoyed only to find out their intent of hiring me was temporary. Writing is the one thing I love doing and spend most of my time doing and always at some point going back to it and I intend on making it my career. I love seeing someone work hard to make their dreams come true and it's what I intend on doing even if it takes a while which is quite realistic in this business.

I enjoy goofing around and love to look for an adventure. Exploring and going for walks at night under a full moon with my family is what I prefer doing. Depending on what mood you find me in I'll either be really out going and ready to take charge or if I'm tired I'm more relaxed and very laid back. Rarely do I get upset or angry however there is one person on this earth that can still get me angry faster than light. But that's not what I like to concentrate on; I prefer to live as drama free as possible. I don't like yelling or arguing and when I hear it I naturally tune it out and there are those out there who when I see them it brightens my day and I love getting my hugs from them, yes >>>>Emily<<<< I'm mentioning you especially for that one! There are people I keep thinking others are missing out not knowing. I've met so many wonderful people and they were great for so many different reasons. Sheila for one has almost an electric charm to her that when she smiles you can't help but instantly be in a great mood! Brenda has such a kind heart, Robyn and my cousin Ashley for their sheer determination and I could go on listing everyone I know and for the reason I was thankful for knowing them. I feel the same way about my characters I write about and I have the same connection with them as I do everyone I meet. You never know when I get to know you might end up in one of my books!

I'm pretty easy to get to know, I love taking to anyone if they are willing, I don't believe in having just one best friend and the best gifts I've been given are a book, cocoa and a Smore. See I told you I wasn't picky!

Writing the Vampire books

I have a long history of not finishing what I start. I've had several art projects I would start and several books started but never finished. I was always amazed if I finished reading a book. One of the books I had been reading and the exact chapter title had said, "do you finish what you start." I ended the book there and haven't found it again since. So the simple fact I finished 7 and a half books, I feel pretty accomplished and since it is my verbal baby I am very happy with my writing. I only hope others will enjoy it the way I have.

I hadn't planned on writing this story again. the first time I had written this was years ago except due to computer glitches and other problems I didn't have it saved so I would have to start again from the start. Instead I had started to read more books again which to this day I love to do and it's the most relaxing for me. After not writing for several years my husband wanted to sit down and write for a while, at least for fun. We sat at the kitchen table across from each other and I could hear him typing away on his Acer and i wasn't typing yet on mine. I had ideas but this one story kept coming back to me but I felt depressed over the times I had lost it. So far it totals at least 6 times. He gave me a thumb drive to make sure I would not lose it this time and I haven't yet. It took me 3 months during the summer to write the story out again and this time write all 7 and a half books. Three years later I wrote Mortal and 2 other books that have not been published yet but will be later on.

When I first started with my Family Secrets series I had no idea that it was going to be this long. At first all I had were 2 people who fell in love under abnormal circumstances and several situations that would keep them apart. That had been all I had to go on. When I wrote the story the characters came to life for me. I dreamed about them, daydreamed and felt they breathed real life. They created their own likes and dislikes to the point they took on a whole new life of their own and the story kept following like this. Originally I had thought about going in another direction however I felt this was the way they would do things based on their own natural inclinations so I let the story flow. When I finished I realized how long it had turned out to be. Even though the 8th book is still being worked on right now. I had decided to divide the story into smaller sections so each book is roughly 95,000 words or more. The third book is a little larger along with a few others later on.

The first book in the series helps set up the rest quite a bit so it is a little slower however each book you get into the more detailed and more situations present themselves. I couldn't help but get excited as I went over reading the books again and I have to say so far the 3rd and 4th books are my favorite. It's not that i don't care for the earlier ones however its where the story really begins to shift and get more detailed. At the beginning your getting to know the McAllister family and starting to delve into their world, the second book digs in even deeper with Jacobs family history and then it explodes into the 3rd book which brings so much more to life and more starts to make sense.

I really wanted to put across a family who had been accepted by society and who was happy with their lives until someone very evil and did not care for others would come along and change everything. To see how a family would act under dire circumstances and survive each century especially knowing if she was given the chance to kill them she would. The midnight madam cared for no one other then herself. I always liked the concept of vampires having more control over themselves especially when they have lived for so long. It's not as if they are being controlled by magic or the moon the way werewolves would be. I wanted to see their natural personalities and abilities to become larger then life.

When I had originally decided to end the family secrets series I was half way through the last book. I had left it there knowing I would go back to it when I felt it had the right ending. I admit I had thought about continuing however there really wasn't much more I wanted to continue with the family even though I've found myself addicted to certain family members. This is when I decided to write a few side books to family secrets. One that would take it in a very different direction.

I have so many story ideas written down that I can't wait to get started on and many stories started waiting to be finished while several are already written and waiting for their day to be published. I've really enjoyed writing the Family Secrets Series that I look forward to each book coming out and for everyone to read.

So far the only writing rules that I have for myself is to enjoy what I'm writing and if it gives me a reason to research I love it even more however I always love whatever is imagined.

Family Secrets Series: All 8 books

As each book is published there will be a date added to either announce the release date or when it's available and will replace the minor teasers I've left for everyone. I hope you enjoy and I can't wait for all of them to be available to everyone.

Book One: Secrets of the Night: Available now

Imagine if your family was extremely close and you find out one day that the reason your life was changed forever was because an evil person had a vision, one that involved your family and changed them in order to stop the vision from happening to their benefit. This happens in the Family Secrets series. The first book starts off with Charlie and Sophia and how everything started to change and the midnight madams vision started to come true.

The McAllister family has been secluded so long because they had been changed into vampires by the midnight madam. No longer a major part of society they withdrew into the safety of their mansion. The woman who changed them, the midnight madam was their father's mistress and no matter how hard they tried they could not get rid of her. However her vision never changed, somehow the family still had what she wanted. 

Sophie became obsessed with the estate and questioned why so many would be superstitious of it. She eventually winds up far more involved then she thought possible falling into their lives in a way she could never separate from it.

From Charlie's point of view: 

Forbidden love during an era of witch trials, even though those occurred in 1692 the fear of the supernatural still put fear in others a century later or rather quite a huge part of my life. We were not that much different from others, other than the ground could not hold us. Our life could have happened in almost any century except we still would have faced those who feared the unknown. We preferred seclusion except eventually everything comes out. Our love seemed doomed from the beginning. Such a small town everyone knew everything that went on, along with all the nasty secrets regardless if they were correct or not. The choice was made for me as a child; it certainly wasn't anything any of us would have chosen. Knowing what I do now I wouldn't change anything, otherwise I wouldn't be where I am. I never would have assumed my heart could die twice and still force me to keep going on but it has. However is death really forever?  I had made a promise that was just too difficult to keep; far too many secrets my family fought to hide that no longer could be kept in. All of our lives were now affected and none could avoid what was to come.

No matter what century, love and life never seem to get any easier. It always feels as if there is an eternal struggle just to live even though my life was quite different from others. First starting with the fact I wasn't mortal. I had never been an obsessive personality until I had seen this one person, without even knowing her I couldn't stop thinking about her.

Book quote:

Sophie's point of view:

[I wasn't sure if my new condition I would be able to cry but without very little hesitation the tears came almost as heavy as the rain outside. Wiping the tears from my cheek my hand looked bright red. I wasn't sure what to think? I found myself just not caring, wasn't I already dead or had I imagined the whole thing? Leaning over the bucket resting my hands on either side of my head closing my eyes trying hard to rationalize all of this, I could hear the tears as they pooled in the bucket. I may have cried but they were no tears of mine they were tears of blood.

Last I had remembered had been that I had not felt well and talking to Charlie. That he had told me that I was passing and I was actually aware of it, my daughter had been placed in the pram not far from my bed. If he had only known my last breathe I would have breathed had been a panic of leaving my daughter. If he had only known my last wish I had changed and wished to be around I truly thought I died. I could have still been with Charlie my love and my daughter. However one choice had remained the same I had hoped for Nichole to have a chance at a normal childhood still. Now I had no clue what I was doing. Would I ever see him again? Would I ever see my daughter again?"]

Book Two: Obscured Darkness/ Available now

Sometimes reunions can introduce you to the most unusual company in the most unique way. From the day that Sophie permanently changed my life nothing seems to surprise me anymore. I finally get my daughter back and find my long lost sister only to find out I may lose all of it in one shot to another’s hatred of our kind. Subjecting my family and friends to battle for their lives and those of others, I could only hope that century after century we won’t have to fight so hard just to exist. Sadly we cannot always hide in the shadows while there are those who live to hunt us. Two demon hunters we will never quite see the same again while I feared my daughter's possible death. The midnight madams Doctor is now looking for us.

Finding out my entire life so far has been a lie should bother me much more than it has, sadly I haven’t had time to really let much of it set in, after all when you have an entire town beating on your door demanding your death or demon hunters after you threatening to take away your entire existence. It’s a little difficult to get upset with those who only tried to protect you.

Book quote:

[Watching my foster parents they were always affectionate. Always touching, hugging each other. I could picture them being extremely old and wrinkled and him chasing after her and her loving being chased as she did now. You could tell they were in love. From the way they spoke to each other, never a harsh word or action. The way he cared for her and the very simple personal things she did for him.

I knew they had a lot of patience when they raised me. Even though at this point I really didn't need to be raised I was just being handed down from family member to family almost like an heirloom, just a living one. And at times I still felt like a child. As my first set of foster parents did as they inherited me, not knowing what exactly they were getting into. They just knew they loved and respected who they believed to be my parents. People who lived quietly and had kept to themselves other than when people needed help they were the first to offer. Living very modestly it never looked like they had anything; they never seemed to want anything and certainly never expected anything from anyone.]

Book Three: Phantom Mist: Coming soon September 12, 2014

Never thinking it was possible for their family to grow any larger then it was, Charley watched as his grand-kids grew and his daughter struggled with keeping her own family safe from the world around her, mainly the midnight madam as she kidnaps his grandchild however this little girls dreams were not merely dreams, they have opened the families eyes to far more than they thought was possible. One where a demon hunter becomes more important in her life than anyone would have ever felt comfortable with until they find out who he truly is, the secret he's been hiding from his own family and now the McAllisters, he's already been a part of her life far more than they were ever aware of. Life as a demon hunter, dreams that are not truly just dreams but an image into another part of their own world and the ever present fear of a family member having no control over it, fearing sleep setting them-self on fire while sleeping. The midnight madam's vision begin to show up.

Book quote:

[Jacob ran over to the intimidating man who was harming me and as soon as he could, knocked him off his feet. I could control myself again; I jumped up so fast that I ripped apart from my dream knocking myself physically from my bed. I could see the blaze was still surrounding me, as I slightly turned Lucian was there with a bucket of water throwing it at me dowsing me until the fire was completely out. I just sat there on the floor and shuddered with a shocked expression dripping wet. Apparently I began making loud noises and shaking in my sleep that drew Lucian to my room. Then he watched as blood dripped from my hands and shoulders unable to wake me as the fire erupted from my body.]

Before I end up giving away too much for the next few books I'll have only a quote directly from the book, description will be added later.

Book Four: Hailstorm: September 12th, 2014

Book quote:

[“If you want you can start I just want to take a quick peak down that hallway. I’ll be fine and I’ll catch up I won’t take long.” The others decided to stand outside and wait for me while I went and looked. Being careful to work my way around the table there was a small space just small enough for me to fit. For once being tiny in size and short benefited me. As I squeezed into the confined space I passed through and was able to stand up on the other side. There was one large room with steps leading down. The glow was coming from down there. There was a child’s music box in the room except it was closed and not playing anymore. The room instead of being square like the main house had been, it was more of a circular shape room. Almost an afterthought or add on. There were a few personal effects in the room except it had looked just as abandoned as the rest of the home. Looking at the steps closer it looked more chiseled. No wonder no water from the swamp was leaking in here. They must have built it up on a rock to start with.

The steps were not that great but enough for each foot to step on and a small opening going down in. Following the odd glow I reached the bottom where the roots of a tree slowly worked some of its roots into the rock while some of it rested in the softer clay side. Stepping closer I could see the rope tied around the bottom of the tree. It was almost like it was marking it or a reminder of some sort. Not sure why someone would want to dig all the way down here to put a tie on the root of a tree. The space down here was so cold I wished I had my jacket on me still. I swear it felt like I was in the arctic I could see my breath. Kneeling down I reached for the glowing object hoping I was not going to find something that clamped down on my hand or would bite me; I pulled out this round small solid stone ball looking thing, odd place for it. If Beth had known this was down here she would be excited over it even if it wasn't a shiny object.

As I pulled it out I could feel an odd prickly wet feeling running along my fingers, through my hand and all the way up my arm as I pulled it back towards me and away from the tree base. Then without realizing what was happening, a huge flash of green light shot right past me and filled the entire room."]

Book Five: Changing Tides: book release for 2015

Book quote:

[The protection chants had still been in place as Sophie had tested them however she had found she could also manipulate them. Word of the vampire lord became much stronger letting others know he planned on taking over the shade city only to control the portal. If the portal could have been closed it would have been however no magic seemed to affect it. At first many had been nervous having vampires in and out of the city however it had only been our family as they knew we were there to help protect them.

Charlie had decided it was time to collect information to find what others new about the vampire lord and what he was planning on doing with the portal how it would affect us and the humans of the earth. As we had found he had been grabbing others changing them without their consent leaving many unguarded and tutored in the ways of living as a vampire.  The vampire lord had been one of the midnight madams many creatures she had created. Only he had been changed as a mere human eventually getting away from the lady no longer wanting to be controlled but wanting control for him now. With her gone there was nothing to stop him as he wanted control over the shade city.]

Book Six: Howling Winds: Coming soon

Book quote:

[The trail ends here for some reason for a short distance she walked with him then stopped here and the trail completely ends she transported him somewhere. Why would she risk coming back here unless he found her or figured out where she would go?” there was no sign of a struggle, no blood or anything to suggest that she opposed to being there with him and both trails were the same as in age for time. Now that there wasn't anything to follow or hints since they could be almost anywhere we both turned and headed back where we were supposed to meet up with Charlie. While we had waited I called Rose to find out what else was going on at home.]

Book Seven: After Dark  Coming soon

Book quote:

[Jacob started coming to only he had found himself not in a specially enforced room with no lights the way Lucian had. He woke up lying in a soft fluffy bed in a room that had red velvet on the walls with black accents all over the room. For a second it seemed like a dream Jacob had remembered bending over to grab something for Lucian and next thing he’s in this room? How could this be and where did Lucian go? His head throbbed so much he wouldn't have been able to contact Lucian if he had wanted to. The pain hurt so much he could hear his own buzz in his head confusing him. Looking straight up I was positive I had hit my head harder than I thought as I looked Katherine, the midnight madam directly in the face until the blur had finally gone except she was still stood there.

“I would offer you an ice pack but I prefer to see you in pain. It’s much more enjoyable for me that way. Besides its better I keep you both separated that way I can have fun with both of you and give a bit of individual attention if you will, so don’t ever say I didn't give you something.” Walking away from me she had a rather strange smirk on her face.]

Book Eight: Her Soul    Coming soon

The final book in the series where everything comes together, the truth will be known and who will be left. Or will it? (Still being written and not finished.)

Center One Books Author Interviews

A reminder about our author interviews coming this Saturday, June 29th from 1-9:30 Eastern Standard Time. Hashtag is  #c1books We will be interviewing S.P Cervantes (Secrets of Shadow Hill: Always and Forever) Ashley Chappell (Alice Will) Ronda Paige (Patience's Love) Benjamin Epstein (Captive of the Orcs) Rebekah McClew (Family Secrets series and Mortal) and Eric Buffington's book soon to be released (The Exile)

We look forward to everyone joining us! If you are looking for a application to use to follow the chat we like using twubs.com http://twubs.com/c1books

Vampires vs. Stephanie Meyers.

I was watching twilight tonight and starting thinking about this. I’ve watched movies like Nosferatu, the lost boys, Buffy the vampire slayer, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Blade, Underworld, interview with a vampire and Salem’s Lot. I’ve liked each of these for different reasons. The television series Buffy because it was different, he had more of a natural human side. The vampire world wasn’t as organized as it is in Underworld and Blade.

I agree that bloody terrifying vampires have their place except it’s nice to read something different otherwise it becomes too common, besides I will admit I like change. Stephanie Meyers made her own version of the vampires and their sparkly-ness accomplishes that. They are still human while having the powers most vampires acquire. Usually I prefer the book over the movie except this time it’s a toss-up. There were parts that the movie did better however parts I liked in the book itself.

Yes she does get overly descriptive, especially over areas she’s already described or points she’s made. One example that sticks in most people’s minds is how the vampire’s bodies sparkle and how cold they were. But then look at her target audience, its young adult which likes description, they like certain things, especially when it’s important to be pointed out again. How often have you talked to a friend and found them telling you the same thing again? It’s just something that happens. Yes she could have cut her book down a lot and not lost the sense of the story. Again, it was meant for a younger audience and simply accepted by a wider audience. Personally I didn’t find it that amazing however no one was forced at gun point to see the movie or buy her book. She sold enough of each to earn its title.

If you were disappointed there wasn’t gore or the old fashioned style vampirism then you were expecting something from this series that never was there to begin with. This series was never about gore or the complexities of being a vampire. It was a teenage romance with a vampire who is permanently in a teenage body and obviously hasn’t grown past that.

It was worth the try and I did enjoy the twilight series books. Obviously there were many parts that I would have personally changed or explored certain areas that the author had not. She did do a great job at creating characters and their behavior, keeping them consistent for their age group. I would read her books again however I would also still read Anne Rice or several other authors for their versions of vampires. I personally have my own style, not completely original but they are characters who speak to me and that’s more important than anything else. If others like it then it’s a bonus. Stephanie Meyers accomplished that.

Ghostwriting, Author and Co-Author

I’ve been asked about this several times about ghostwriters. Why would a person want to work hard on a project only to give all of the rights and creativity to another person? I have several friends who ghost write for a living.

A ghost writer can make a pretty good income and they handle work from either very small articles ranging 50 to 3 thousand words. Projects ranging from magazine articles, scripts, blogs, speeches and Novels. When you hire someone to ghostwrite for you, yes you are paying for the copyright to the written word, the entire product that they produced for you. You can do anything you want with it, even make changes to it and copyright it through copyright.gov 

I’ve seen ghostwriters charge anywhere from $5/hour or a flat fee from $40-$20,000. It all depends on what is involved with the work being commissioned. Being a ghost writer can be rather lucrative depending on how many contracts you’re able to commission. Many well-known authors will have someone unknown write a novel or other piece for them. 

Some authors do not like the idea of taking the credit for another’s work so they will have either a credit/ mention of the writer’s name. Some will go as far to put the other person’s name as a co-author. 

Currently I’m working on my first co-authored novel which has been very interesting and fun. I love the chance to collaborate with another creative writer.