Cover Reveal : CATCH ME WHEN I FALL by Vicki Leigh

It’s cover reveal day for Vicki Leigh’s CATCH ME WHEN I FALL! Lots of awesome stuff going on, including a giveaway! But first, here's a special message from Vicki:

And here's what CATCH ME WHEN I FALL is all about:

Recruited at his death to be a Protector of the Night, seventeen-year-old Daniel Graham has spent two-hundred years fighting Nightmares and guarding humans from the clawed, red-eyed creatures that feed off people’s fears. Each night, he risks his eternal life, having given up his chance at an afterlife when he chose to become a Protector. That doesn’t stop a burnt-out Daniel from risking daring maneuvers during each battle. He’s become one of the best, but he wants nothing more than to stop.


Then he’s given an assignment to watch over sixteen-year-old Kayla Bartlett, a clinically depressed patient in a psychiatric ward. Nightmares love a human with a tortured past. Yet, when they take a deep interest in her, appearing in unprecedented numbers, the job becomes more dangerous than any Daniel’s ever experienced. He fights ruthlessly to keep the Nightmares from overwhelming his team and Kayla. Soon, Daniel finds himself watching over Kayla during the day, drawn to why she’s different, and what it is about her that attracts the Nightmares. And him.


A vicious attack on Kayla forces Daniel to break the first Law and reveal his identity. Driven by his growing feelings for her, he whisks her away to Rome where others like him can keep her safe. Under their roof, the Protectors discover what Kayla is and why someone who can manipulate Nightmares has her in his sights. But before they can make a move, the Protectors are betrayed and Kayla is kidnapped. Daniel will stop at nothing to save her. Even if it means giving up his immortality.



CATCH ME WHEN I FALL will be available on October 23, 2014 in both paperback and e-book formats from Curiosity Quills Press. For more information, visit the book’s Goodreads page.



Now, there can’t be a cover reveal without a giveaway, right? Lots of authors stopped by and donated some fantastic books to help Vicki celebrate. You don’t want to miss out on these! Here’s what you can win:

• An e-copy of CATCH ME WHEN I FALL by Vicki Leigh
• A submission package critique (query+synopsis+first chap) from Vicki Leigh
• An e-copy of HEIRS OF WAR by Mara Valderran
• Two query+first chapter critiques from YA author Emily Stanford
• A full manuscript critique from YA author Emily Stanford
• An e-copy of WITHOUT BLOODSHED by Matthew Graybosch
• A paperback of DESTRUCTION by Sharon Bayliss
• An e-copy of KIYA: HOPE OF THE PHARAOH by Katie Teller
• One query+first chapter critique from YA author Katie Teller
• An e-copy of DARKNESS WATCHING by Emma Adams
• A copy of DESCENDANT by Nichole Giles
• An e-copy package of EVER and EVADE by Jessa Russo
• A signed copy of DIVIDE by Jessa Russo
• A copy of UNHINGED by A.G. Howard

Enter the giveaway below for your chance to win! All prizes will be accompanied by a Dreamcatcher swag package from Vicki Leigh.



Thanks for stopping by!

About Vicki:

Adopted at three-days-old by a construction worker and a stay-at-home mom, Vicki Leigh grew up in a small suburb of Akron, Ohio where she learned to read by the age of four and considered being sent to her room for punishment as an opportunity to dive into another book. By the sixth grade, Vicki penned her first, full-length screenplay. If she couldn’t be a writer, Vicki would be a Hunter (think Dean and Sam Winchester) or a Jedi. Her favorite place on earth is Hogwarts (she refuses to believe it doesn’t exist), and her favorite dreams include solving cases alongside Sherlock Holmes.



Vicki is an editor for Curiosity Quills Press, a co-founder of The Writer Diaries, and is represented by Sarah Negovetich of Corvisiero Literary Agency.



You can find Vicki at her website and blog and on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Google+, YouTube, and Goodreads.

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Falling in Love with your Characters and #writemotivation Update

So, I am now 23,000 words into "Stone Of Unity" (a.k.a WIP#1) and I am starting to experience a phenomena that a lot of writers experience. What I'm talking about is developing an emotional connection with my characters. Like I said, it isn't a unique experience. J.K. Rowling mentions becoming emotionally distraught over the death of Sirius Black. At the time, I thought it was an odd "author thing". I mean, I've felt sad when a character dies (in the case of Harry Potter, it was Dobby), but really the thought of getting completely distraught over a character just sounded weird. Well, I don't find it so weird any more. While I was lying awake in bed one night, I had a brilliant flash of inspiration on WIP#1. As soon I thought it, I started getting really upset. Then it hit me. I was emotionally connecting with my characters. I really didn't want to have one of my good guys betray someone that trusted them wholeheartedly. I know it sounds weird and neurotic, but it is true. I'm mad at one of my characters now. I don't want to write the chapter (which I am now currently doing). I don't want to hurt this innocent, trusting person, but I know it will make the story better. I know, it's weird, but true. If I could stop, I would, but I can't. I've hit that point with writing where it is my preferred activity. It trumps computer games, TV, and even reading at times. Yes, it is weird. I blame all my #writemotivation friends. They are evil and are contributing to my writing obsession.

Speaking of #writemotivation...Goal update!

1. Finish Chapter 4 of WIP #1 and start on Chapter 5: Yeah, blew this one out of the water.
2. Blog at least once a week: Yup and sometimes twice!
3. Write at least 30 minutes every day (more is better!): Stumbled a couple times with this, but even when I didn't get actual writing done, I was still working on writerly stuff. I give myself a 98%
4. Cheer on everyone else!: Yup! Love this part!
5. Do my best to not get distracted by WIP #2 as it is insidious and evil.: Nope, still quiet, had some other ideas floating around, but nothing big enough to distract me.

Well, that's all I have for today.

'Till next time.

World Building

No matter what genre of story you are writing, it needs a place to be.  A world.  An environment.  A milieu (I realise that I'm being a little pretentious using that word, but I can't help it). This can be as simple as a small room, to as complex as a galaxy spanning empire.  Irrespective of the style, you still have to put the story somewhere.  A story, unless you are really talented and creative, won't do very well in a formless void.

Some genre's, like historical fiction, already have world pre-made in which they exist.  This doesn't mean there is less work involved than a complete fantasy world, however.  In historical fiction, you need to research the time period you are writing in in order to maintain authenticity.  In a fantasy/sci-fi setting, you may not have to do as much research, but you have to create every aspect of the world(s) you are working in.  Otherwise, you might run into inconsistencies that will really annoy your readers.

If you want an example of inconsistencies in a science fiction setting, pick up a copy of The Nitpicker's Guide for Classic Trekkers by by Phil Farrand.  In it, he breaks down the original series and points out all the inconsistencies in the science and universe of Star Trek.  Of course, this just covers the television series.  One can only imagine what has happened with the book series.  Unless you are working with a group of authors on a massive world, like Star Trek, Star Wars, or the Forgotten Realms, your world is your own.  You won't be able to blame inconsistencies on other writers.

Before you panic and think that you have to spend hours world building, it isn't necessary to create your entire world before you can start writing.  However, it's probably a good idea to have some idea of the environment your characters are going to live in before you start writing.  Some of it you can create as you write, while some you'll have to preset.  Of course, things can change as you write, so don't feel that what you have set at the beginning is set in stone.

'Till next time.

Perchance to Dream

I heard somewhere that Stephenie Meyer came up with the idea for the Twilight Series in a dream.  I realize some of you may have just thrown up in your mouth a little, please bear with me.  Sparkly vampires and vanilla plots aside, what I really want to focus on is the concept of dreaming stories.  I would be surprised if more writers don't do this.  That is, take a concept from dreaming and make it into a story.  I know I have a few ideas rattling around in my skull that I originally dreamed.  Of course the flip side of that is, just because you are an aspiring writer and had an awesome dream, doesn't mean it will make sense when put to paper.  In the case of Stephenie Meyer, she probably should have left the sparkly bit out.  Just my opinion, mind you, but that is what people seem to focus on the most.  Of course, she did make gobs of money on the story. Her books were on the best seller list and are probably still in the top 100 sellers on Amazon.com.  Movies were made for all four books and there was even one movie parody.  It also spawned a whole slew of books involving teenage vampire romance books that seem to have cluttered up the science fiction/fantasy section of your local bookstores.  I didn't intend to spend so much time on Ms. Meyer, but oh well.  It happens.  We take a shower, wipe off the smut, go on with our lives and try to forget the horror and shame.

As for dreaming stories, it does happen.  Our subconscious mind is unfettered.  The filters we put into place are gone.  Of course, we lose continuity and any sane perspective, but if we parse out the gobbledygook, sometimes we can find a kernel of a story.  Before I started seriously writing, I had a dream that I thought would make an interesting story.  I haven't done much with it because I realized that at least one of the characters in my dream may have been a little too similar to the Gunslinger from Stephen King's Dark Tower series.  If I want to seriously write this story, I'm going to have to change him.  I could just barrel on and ignore the similarities.  A simpler solution, but I would hate to get on Mr. King's bad side.  I am a big fan of his and would hate to annoy him (that and he's kinda scary).

The story is still in its infancy (see above), but the gist is this.  On one side we have an empire/country that is heavy into mechanical things (maybe a little steampunk in their concept).  Either way, they are all about the machines (possibly dwarven made?  cliche yes, but still).  On the other side, we have another country/race/empire that is all about magic and nature, etc.  Both sides are at war, etc.  At the heart of it all is something called "the Unity Stone" which was made with both magic and machine at is supposed to bring peace to the land.  A knight of the mechanical world and a sorceress of the magical realm have to put the two pieces together.  The dream involved their meeting.  It didn't turn out well for either party.  Bad guys on both sides of the war have altered the stone and it doesn't work the way it was supposed to.  Just the basics on the dream, but that was what it was.  The more it tumbles in my brain, the more it starts to feel like a real story.  We'll see.

Till next time.