Thursday, June 11, 2015

Time Captives Trivia

Another Bonus Feature post is coming your way! I'm sharing some random trivia about Time Captives. Some of it you may already know, especially if you know me, but some of it should be new.

  • When I started writing, Jill was the sole point of view character. That changed when I was about halfway through the trilogy. She only has a few point of view scenes now.
  • One of the reasons I decided to write Time Captives rather than any of the other possibilities in my book of plots was because I wanted to write a true fantasy story. I also didn't feel like doing the necessary research for the others.
  • Jonathan Hubbard's name was originally also Joey. Luckily, I decided before writing that it would be too complicated to have two Joeys.
  • At first, Hubbards didn't periodically disappear, one child of 12 years old, every 20 years. Their uncle, grandma, and cousin were supposed to be gone, and so was a random hobo from the 1930s.
  • For a long time, Allan didn't exist, and the family actually had 11 girls and 1 boy.
  • I actually like the name Emily. I know many people I like with that name, and L. M. Montgomery's Emily Byrd Starr is one of my favorite characters, but somehow I have made up two bratty teenagers named Emily.
  • I did a research paper on medieval warfare my last year of school so that I could write fantasy battles more accurately.
  • Many of the Time Captives are named after presidents and First Ladies. I did that so I didn't have to research in order to give them period names. I also used those presidents as jumping off points for developing some of the characters, which is why George wanted to go to sea, Thomas is detail-oriented, and Calvin is quiet.
  • I wrote Time Captives in a variety of odd places including, but not limited to, Walt Disney World, Saint George Island, a hotel in Kentucky where we were staying during a family reunion, a bus on a bus trip to Washington D. C. for Barry Loudermilk's swearing in, beside a classic car waiting for the Independence Day Parade I was in to start, the page bench outside the Senate chamber in the Georgia State Capitol, the house of the family I babysat for, and naturally my own bedroom. I didn't actually write at the Republican Party District Convention. I read through it, because I was struggling.
  • A certain dog attack in book 3 is an extrapolation of a personal experience I had while campaigning door to door. I got a scratch on my left shoulder blade. I'm not going to tell you how bad it is in the book.
  • Jill got her name from Jill Pole in The Chronicles of Narnia.
  • Dragons of Starlight made me feel like I could never write fantasy because my book wasn't nearly as epic and complicated, but The Silver Chair reminded me that straightforward storylines can be just as beautiful and beloved, if not more.
  • Eleanor's hair is inspired by a friend's very curly, pretty, dark red hair, which is why I had to put that her hair should be more curly on the caption of the Pinterest picture of her.
  • Time Captives was originally supposed to be one book called Creighton Hill. I kept finding more and more things they had to do, so expanded it into two books with three parts each. It still kept expanding, and I split it into three books, and ditched the idea of splitting them into parts. 
  • I started keeping track of my word count halfway through Time Captives, due to Month of the Novel. Now I always count up the words when I reach the bottom of a page.
  • I have probably complained more about writing this series than any book I've ever written before. It was just so hard. I'm glad I can finally like it again.
  • Book 2 of Time Captives contains the first conversion scene I have ever written.
  • The world of Calhortea got a major makeover during the writing of Time Captives, losing talking animals, for one, and gaining other species like strytes and elves and merfolk.
  • It is by far the hardest story I've ever written, but also by far the longest, when you put it all together, and I'm so glad it turned out well for all the struggle.


The blog tour continues with these new posts!

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Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Time Captives Character Quiz!

I have a fun surprise for you all today! I'm sure you've noticed all the character quizzes going around the internet. I love them. I really enjoy compiling a list of characters I can claim to be: Rose Tyler (Doctor Who), Kyrin Altair (Ilyon Chronicles), Anna (Frozen), Andi Lloyd (Firmament Series), Robin of Locksley (The Bookania Quests), Eustace Clarence Scrubb (The Chronicles of Narnia), The Twelfth Doctor (Doctor Who)...maybe they're just pointless quizzes, but I really enjoy them, and obviously lots of other people do too, since they keep going around. So I decided to make which character are you quizzes for the Time Captives! Because there are fourteen total Time Captives, and that's a ridiculous number, I made one for the girls and one for the boys. Of course, you can do both. I did. I'm apparently Calvin and Jill. I'm not surprised I got Jill, since I put a good bit of myself in her, though she is sweeter than I am. :)

So here are the quizzes! Have fun! Let me know in the comments who you got. I'd love to see what everyone gets.



 
Here are the rest of today's stops on the blog tour!
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Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Creighton Hill Inspirations

I love finding out about authors' inspirations for their books. I especially like being able to pick out what parts of books were inspired by what. I've decided to tell about some of my Time Captives inspirations as as a little extra for the blog tour. It's almost like doing Behind the Scenes/Bonus Features for a book. Who doesn't love Bonus Features?

The Chronicles of Narnia
Really, probably most everything I write has a Narnian influence. Time Captives would not be portal fantasy without it, and probably wouldn't be fantasy either. Which would mean it probably wouldn't have been written, but anyway. People have said Across the Stars has a sort of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe kind of feel. I think Time Captives (unintentionally) has a sort of Prince Caspian feel.

Tuck Everlasting
The inspiration coming from this book is very specific. This is where the idea of people who cannot change comes from. It serves a very different purpose in my book, but I consider some of the same ideas. 

Return to Gone-Away
I have a list of inspirations. This was on it, but I forgot for awhile why. Then I remembered that I had basically modeled the house Creighton Hill after the Villa Caprice. Really neat big old house, how could I resist? The swamp from the Gone-Away books also served as inspiration for the marsh. 

Pirates & Faith
I wanted to write a pirate story (where pirates aren't the good guys) after watching Pirates of the Caribbean, but it was on hold due to Time Captives. When I read Pirates & Faith, I decided not to wait any longer and toss pirates into the mix. 

Once Upon a Time
OUAT is why I put mermaids in Calhortea. It's also the reason I often tell stories of things that happened to characters in the past as well as in the present.

There are several more inspirations on my list, but they pretty much all apply to book 2, so they'll have to wait. I love them muchly. :)


Don't forget to visit the other stops on the blog tour today!

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Monday, June 8, 2015

Creighton Hill is Here!

It's here! It's finally here! Creighton Hill is here! After a long wait and a lot of work, I can finally share Creighton Hill with you. *does happy dance, which generally means some form of ballet* Below are the purchase links. And because this release coincides with the week of Across the Stars's second anniversary (yes, that was on purpose), it's free on kindle from today through Friday!

And that's not even all. A bunch of amazing blogging friends are helping me to celebrate the release with all sorts of fun and interesting posts all throughout the week! Find all the links to their awesome blogs below!



“No one can mysteriously disappear leaving no trace. It isn’t realistic.”

“You’re right, Emily,” her grandfather said thoughtfully. “It isn’t realistic. However, a good many things happen in this world that are not realistic, things supernatural.”
Emily, Allan, Jill, Joey, and Anna have grown up on their grandfather’s tales of ancestors who mysteriously disappeared from Creighton Hill, the plantation home that has been in their family for centuries. When Grampa’s death forces them to move into Creighton Hill, the truth about the supposed disappearances is the first thing on their minds. Allan, Jill, Joey, and Anna’s, that is. As for Emily, why must they keep at their supernatural hogwash?

Could it be that their family really does just have an unusual history of early deaths? Most people seem to think so. But Grampa’s research has uncovered something different.

When mysterious writing matching descriptions found in ancient accounts begins appearing to the children, they know something’s up. They must find out what really happened to their ancestors, and work together to discover the reason behind the mysterious writings.

Creighton Hill is the first book of the Time Captives trilogy, a tale of faith, family, fantasy, and a fight for truth and freedom. 

Buy Now

Kindle ~ Paperback ~ Signed Copy

Blog Tour Schedule

Monday, June 8th

Tuesday, June 9th

Wednesday, June 10th

Thursday, June 11th

Friday, June 12th

Saturday, June 13th

Monday, June 15th

That's still not all. Because I'm also having a giveaway. First prize is a signed copy of Creighton Hill AND a signed copy of Across the Stars. Because it's the anniversary and all. Second prize is a signed copy of Creighton Hill. Third is an eCopy of Creighton Hill.


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So come and join in the fun!

Thursday, June 4, 2015

Hymns of the West Novellas Cover Reveal

I recently read Faith Blum's book Amazing Grace and really enjoyed it. She will be publishing even more related books soon!

Check out the covers for Faith Blum's three new novellas, I Love Thee, Pass Me Not, and Redeemed. They will all be published this summer! Instead of doing three separate reveals, she chose to do one reveal for all three. To learn how these novellas came into being, check out Faith's blog post today. Read on to see the covers and learn about each of the stories. Don't forget to enter to win the novel that started it all!


I Love Thee
I Love TheeMom and Dad dead STOP Please come STOP Gage Confirmed bachelor, Cole Baxter, finds himself raising his sister's four young children. After one week of leaving his ranch in the hands of his foreman to take care of the grieving, needy children, he has to admit the task is beyond him and he needs help. But hired help won't suffice: those children need a mother's hand. Cole needs a wife. Approximately 17,800 words.

Publication Date: June 26, 2015





I Love Thee Preorder 
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goodreads

Pass Me Not
Pass Me Not (2)Let me at Thy throne of mercy/Find a sweet relief/Kneeling there in deep contrition/Help my unbelief Timothy is at his wit's end. His twelve year old half-sister has run off five housekeepers in almost a year. Since their parents died, she has grown wilder than ever. What can he do? As he looks for a new housekeeper, his eye catches sight of a mail order bride advertisement. One young lady has a younger sister and sounds like a God-fearing woman. Could this be the answer to his dilemma or will Louise run her off, too? Approximately 15,300 words
 



Redeemed
RedeemedMail Order bride seeks wealthy Western man. Write Mona Sommers, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Alexander Granger is tired of his father’s lectures and sermons. It’s time for payback. His plan is to pretend to marry a woman and scandalize his father when he finds out they aren’t really married. Will Mona accept his offer? Can Alex get away with his plan? Approximately 11,600 words.







About the Author
An avid reader, Faith Blum started writing at an early age. Whether it was a story about the camping trip that summer or a more creative story about fictional characters, she has always enjoyed writing. When not writing, Miss Blum enjoys reading, crafting, playing piano, Captaining on the Holy Worlds Historical Fiction Forum and playing games with her family (canasta, anyone?). As a history enthusiast who has been fascinated for years with the Old West, Faith has endeavored to create a clean, fun, and challenging Western story. Faith lives with her family on a hobby farm in the Northern Midwest, where she enjoys the many cats they have. You can find Faith on her Website, Blog, Facebook, and Twitter
 
Giveaway
How would you like your very own copy of the book that started it all? Well, at least started it all for the novellas. Enter the giveaway below and you could win a signed paperback copy of Amazing Grace.
AG

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Or, if you would like another chance to win a signed copy, you can also enter the Goodreads giveaway that is open today through July 2nd!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Amazing Grace by Faith Blum

Amazing Grace

by Faith Blum

Giveaway ends July 02, 2015. See the giveaway details at Goodreads.
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Monday, June 1, 2015

One More Week!

The countdown continues! Just one week left until Creighton Hill comes out! You can even go ahead and pre-order it on kindle now. Amazon will automatically deliver it to your kindle or kindle app on June 8th. And the blog tour will start then, too. It's going to be so much fun. The interviews. The characters were so themselves in their interviews, and the author interviews were a lot of fun. One in particular will be especially entertaining. :)

I put together some desktop wallpapers you can download for your computer. I like the Makilien and Michael Vey ones I have on my computer, so I thought it might be neat to make some for Creighton Hill. Enjoy!


Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Just Two More Weeks!

The countdown is on! Just two more weeks from yesterday until Creighton Hill comes out, two more weeks until the blog tour! There will be lots of fun interviews and guest posts, and I'm especially looking forward to the book reviews, to see what my reviewers think of the book.

But I'm not just here to say how excited I am and continue the countdown. No, I've made the prologue and first three chapters of Creighton Hill available for you to read for free! Here's the link to the PDF. Enjoy!



creighton_hill_1st_three_chapters.pdf
Download File