Tuesday Recommendation: PAST DUE by Elizabeth Seckman (Comment on this post for a chance to win a SIGNED copy!)

Hi friends!


For today's recommendation I'm going with Elizabeth Seckman's PAST DUE. Before I picked up this book, I had started three books, only to stop reading all of them a few chapters in. It was rather frusturating and I was beginning to think that perhaps the problem wasn't the books, it was me.

But then I picked up this book.

Now, I'm not usually a romance reader. Sure, I like romance in my books (who doesn't). But, I rarely read a book whose premise is based around romance. (I thought I would never write one either but then Cassie asked me to write a collab with her and out came a YA Contemp Romance. :))

PAST DUE was a fantastic book, and I'm not just saying that because Elizabeth is a fantastic lady. All of the characters were so well developed and every time I thought I knew how the book would end, something happened and I'd ask myself, "Where's she going with this now?" And the story would weave in such an emotional and perfect direction I'd think, "Of course! This is the way it had to be!" And then something would happen and I'd be back to wondering where the book was headed again.

So here's the premise for PAST DUE. Trust me, you'll love this one.

Jenna Austin is a young, widowed artist raising a teenage son on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. As the costs of living in paradise rise, she struggles to make ends meet. Life isn't easy, but she manages.

When her car breaks down, she trudges on. She assumes life can't get any more complicated than it is. But it can...

Chance brings her nose to well-formed chest with Tres Coulter, the handsome, affluent aid to Governor Hunt. Jenna and Tres share a history; they also share a love they thought long lost. Their lives are about to be altered forever as the deceptions of the past transform the very foundation of the present.

The price of happily ever after may be too steep to pay once the past comes due.

Comment on this post for a chance at winning a SIGNED copy of PAST DUE!

What I learned at LDStorymakers

1. How amazing everyone is in person! It's been a week now, things have settled into place inside my crazy brain. And I'm still a bit blown away by who I got to meet and hang out with and talk writing for three days with. What a life we live!

2. How hard it is to sit in classes as a grown up! I am fairly certain I have ADD or ADHD. I was hooked for a few minutes in every class, then...well, lots of other things would enter my brain and lead me around and around and around. I'd come back to the speaker and pick up a thing or two and then some other brilliant (at least it felt brilliant for a second) idea would pop into my head and I'd be off task again. Three of the five classes I attended were very helpful, giving me things to think about while writing, ways to improve pacing, and hopefully some useful editing techniques. But still, sitting in class was more of a challenge at times than writing an entire manuscript. And I'm a teacher expecting my seven and eight year old students to sit still and learn from 7 hours a day. Hmm...

3. One class was on writing action with Sheralyn Pratt. There were twelve great points she discussed and presented. I like me a numbered list of things to do when writing, sheh had that. Here are the key ideas she believes to help strengthen an action scene:
1. Do what you write--walk through the motions, act it out, make sure it's possible
2. Use your verbs--stronger the better
3. Avoid passive verbs at all cost
4. Use dialogue strategically
5. Every sentence should move the action forward
6. Read other writers
7. Give it tension (don't make it easy)
8. Foreshadow the protagonist's successes or failures
9. Keep it tight in the scene, but let it breathe between
10. Have stakes
11. Keep it in real time
12. Keep it primal--instinctual/intellectual

4. Story Turns taught by John Brown was excellent as well. He believes that pacing is based and built around using turns.These turns raise questions for the reader and keep them needing to read further in order to answer them. To read more about what turns are and how to create them in your writing, visit John Brown's site HERE. I will have this in the back of my mind every time I write.

5. Advanced World building with Paul Genesse was interesting. He was very dynamic and his main message is to treat your world as if it is a character. Write it that way.

6. And again, meeting all the people I've "met" here in the writer world was AMAZING!

I look forward to using what I learned when I get to start writing again. I sure hope to go next year!

Did you attend LDStorymakers? Or another conference this year? What is something you took away from that experience?

Friday Spotlight-Brandon Ax (Author of Elemental!)

Today I'm spotlighting Brandon Ax, author of Elemental. His book sounds fantastic! Take it away, Brandon.

Tell us about yourself in 35 words or less—GO!
Wow, no pressure...lol. Okay, I am a writer, a father and a husband. I am slightly nerdy, but I am also 6'4 so I rarely get picked on for it. My darkest secret is(You did say 35 or less right? Oh well, maybe next time.)

I'm nerdy too but I'm only 5'4 and I don't get picked on either. ;)

When did you start writing?
Honestly since I was old enough to understand how. I wrote a book in first grade about my cat and one about a unicorn, my mother still has those. I guess I got really serious about it around the age of fifteen and started creating my own world to write in, several horrible stories later I started to get the hang of it.
That's awesome your mom still has your first stories. 

What is one pearl of wisdom you've learned along your writing journey?
Oh so many pearls. Hmm. I guess my favorite saying is, becoming an author is not a sprint it's a marathon. The only way to achieve this goal is to put in the time and the amount of time needed is different for each person.
Love that!

If Hollywood turned your life into a movie, what would the title be?
Nice question. Let's see. Cutting your way to the top: A Brandon Ax story? I have a hard enough time titling my books.
Haha, I like it!

Tell us a little bit about your book and what inspired you to write it.
Well, there are nightmares, demons, Elementals, but mostly it is a book about Sophia. It is about a girl who struggles with abandonment issues and with finding where she belongs in the world. I worked hard on making her seem as real and flawed as I am myself. There is love, violence and all the other goodies we like in an Urban Fantasy book, or any other book for that matter, still I hope it pulls on your emotions as well. I really set out to write about a strong female character that was real and someone of both genders could relate to. Plus the idea of people controlling the elements always intrigued me, who doesn't wish they could throw a fireball every now and then.

You had me at fireball! I love that you set out to write a strong female that both genders could relate to. They are my favorite characters. Can't wait to read this!

Description:
Sophia's mother disappeared when she was six, leaving behind a broken father and sleep disturbed by silent terrors. Now twelve years later, the nightmares that plagued her youth have suddenly returned.

With dark creatures occupying her nights and a sense of restlessness consuming her days, all she wants is to finish school and get out of her small town as fast as possible. Everything changes when she is confronted with the realization that the shadowy beings from her dreams are real. The truth of this reality hits hard when someone she loves is killed. It would seem that anyone in their way is disposable.

A mysterious boy named Aiden enters her life bringing with him all sorts of complications. They're drawn to each other, but their connection brings Aiden right into the path of her half-demon nightmares. With her father and several new friends put in the cross-hairs, Sophia must decide whether to let the shadows take her or stand her ground and fight. As the school year steadily moves closer to an end her decision may come with the cost of her life or worse—the lives of those she cares about.

Here are the links to purchase the book:

Kindle eBook

Trade Paperback

Here are a few places you can find Brandon as well:

Writer's Storm: Brandon Ax

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