"I am ready to meet my maker. Whether my maker is prepared to meet me is another matter."
-Winston Churchill

Monday, February 4, 2013

GFP Guest Blog & #Giveaway - Seven Point Eight by Mare Harbon


Okay, I'm a sucker for covers...Seven Point Eight ROCKS!! Please enjoy this guest post from author Marie Harbon today, touring with her book over at Goddess Fish Promotions. Marie is also giving you a chance to win some really cool prizes so be sure to leave a comment with your name and email.

Tips For Writers

A story follows what a character wants, what she’ll do to get it, and what costs she’ll have to pay on the way. The journey of your character is paramount, as your readers will track what she learns, the decisions she makes, and how her life changes as a result. This is the essence of myth – which is a journey leading to oneself. Myth relates to all stories, not just fantasy. You can use a physical journey as the basis for this, even if it’s only from one side of a city to another. A good example of a journey is in ‘Stand By Me’, when four boys walk on an adventure to see a dead body. Along the way, they discover a lot about themselves.

Flow is one of the most important elements of a good story. Ensure ease of reading for your audience, so that they’re not jarred by complex language or names that are difficult to pronounce. They’ll just substitute gibberish instead, and the human eye singles out difficult words. While you believe you’re being clever, most likely, your readers will find it a turn off.

Another key element is pace. A slow plod will cause the reader’s interest to decline, although it allows for greater detail. A hectic pace will take the reader on an adrenaline saturated rollercoaster ride, although it will exclude detail. This pace is perfect for suspense, whereas a slower pace is more appropriate for literary fiction, as it allows character development and analysis. Most genres strike a balance between the two.

My third key element is emotion. This is what really drives your story, not your flawless prose or your technical genius. Readers must feel what is happening to your characters, be joyful in their successes and tearful in their heartache. They must travel the journey by your character’s side, and care what happens to them. Make your reader feel excitement, tears, triumph, disgust, annoyance, and laughter.

Some authors give strict technical advice about the use of adverbs, semi-colons and prologues, to name a few. Excellent flow, pace, and emotion trumps technical factors, because readers don’t pick up a book to check out how many adverbs an author used. They read to be transported to another world. Perfect technicalities cannot mask a lame and pointless story. Many of Amazon’s best sellers are not works of technical genius: they merely take the fantasies of readers, translate them into words using the authors’ hearts and souls, and sell them back to the world.

What are the ingredients of a good story? Make a wish list of everything you’d like to see in a book or film, what interests you passionately, what entertains you, and the themes that capture your imagination. Choose some key elements that naturally intersect, and build your vision from there.

Don’t neglect the depth of your story world. It’s not necessary to describe everything down to the trees and the soil, but you should seek to capture an evocative snapshot of your world. Sometimes a bold metaphor can perform this job more effectively than a whole paragraph of description.

Play around with ‘what if’ scenarios. If it can happen, then let it.

When developing your lead character, remember, he/she must drive the action. This character doesn’t have to be instantly likeable or perfect. Sometimes, the most fascinating characters are those who are challenging, complex, and make mistakes, just like us.

Don’t develop one character and neglect the dimensionality of your supporting cast. Where relevant to the story, allow them to express themselves, without sidetracking. See all your characters together as part of an interconnected web, who interact, and affect each other’s emotions and decisions.


AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Marie Harbon has worked in both the retail and fitness industry. She has a degree in sport and fitness, and taught group exercise for several years, delivering aerobics and Pilates. For two years, she delivered BTEC sport courses and has also instructed dance and sport with children.

Marie is a member of Nottingham Writers Studio, Her future plans include not only completing the 'Seven Point Eight' series, but involve writing YA, children's and adult books, short stories, novellas and scripts.

Aside from writing, Marie is a self-confessed fabric geek and purveyor of beautiful, often ostentatious bags, bustiers and clothing. She lives in the town of Eastwood, Nottinghamshire, which is in England.





Twitter - @marieharbon


BLURB:


Seven Point Eight:

'The Truth Will Set You Free'
In the second instalment of the Seven Point Eight series, the legacy of the OOBE project weighs heavily on the conscience of Dr Paul Eldridge. Tahra Mamoun needs to muster all her courage and venture back into the alternate dimensions of reality. Through a series of challenging, surreal and frightening experiences, she comes to comprehend the destructive power she can yield and must face her own demons in the process.
Paul continues his quest to understand the ancient knowledge of the cosmos, while dark forces seek to hijack his research to further a secret agenda. With their lives in jeopardy, Paul and Tahra confront their enemies against an international backdrop featuring the pyramids of Giza and the peaks of Switzerland.
Meanwhile, Sam and Ava endeavour to uncover their past, even though it may irrevocably change their lives.

In a tale of courage and tragedy, love and betrayal, their lives are interwoven around the demons of one man, Max Richardson, who'll stop at nothing to achieve his objectives.

Written in the style of a TV series, Seven Point Eight draws together quantum physics, psychic powers, alternate dimensions, time travel, past lives, ancient wisdom and conspiracy in a soap opera for the soul.

It’s the ideal read for lovers of sci-fi, contemporary fantasy, paranormal, metaphysics, ‘Lost’, ‘Fringe’, ‘Touch’, and Dan Brown books.





Titles included are
Eternal Island (Book 1 in the Eternal Series) by K. S. Haigwood & Ella Medler

Blood is Heavier by Ella Medler
The Transient by M.W. Russell
Betwixt by Melissa Pearl
Foundling Wizard by James Eggebeen
Paradox: The Angels Are Here by Patti Roberts 
Paradox: Progeny of Innocence by Patti Roberts
Accountable to None by Ashley Fontainne
Card Tricks by Jon Messenger 
Struglend Tales by Jan Jacob Mekes
Book of Curses by L.D. Hutchinson
Soul Sisters by Janiera Eldridge



Marie will be awarding a free copy of Seven Point Eight: The First Chronicle via Smashwords and a 12 ebook swagbag including, sci-fi, fantasy, paranormal and YA titles to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour.

January 21:  Racing To Read

January 22:  Books Amour
January 23:  Sandra's Blog
January 25:  Rogue's Angels
January 29:  BadBarbsPlace
January 30:  Bunny's Review
January 30:  STOP 2  Hope Dreams. Life... Love 
January 31:  The Write to Read
February 1:  The Cerebral Writer
February 4:  Immortality and Beyond
February 5:  Wake Up Your Wild Side
February 7:  Andi's Book Reviews
February 8:  Books and Other Spells




Goddess Fish Partner

6 comments:

Nightly Cafe said...

Thank you so much for stopping in today Marie :) Love the cover and the post was fantastic!

Goddess Fish Promotions said...

Thank you for hosting today.

M_Nark said...

The series sounds interesting -- and your future plans are certainly ambitious! Thanks for introducing me to the series. I'm a fan of the genre :-)

mnark111 AT gmail DOT com

Michelle Cornwell-Jordan said...

Great advice for writers! Thanks for sharing and I wish you well on your tour:)

Michelle

Pit Crew

Unknown said...

Wow! I love the cover! And her looks! She is so unconventional!

Teddy Rose said...

I love the red hair and dread lock. Cool! I hope it has been a great tour experience for you!

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