Fiona J.R. Titchenell's Official Homepage
  • Confessions of the One and Only Fiona J.R. Titchenell (That I Know of)
  • About
  • Novels
  • Short Stories
  • Events
  • Review Archive
  • Review Policy
  • Links

Cover Reveal and Giveaway: The Theft of Sunlight

6/25/2020

0 Comments

 

Congratulations to Intisar Khanani, author of Thorn and The Sunbolt Chronicles, on her upcoming book, The Theft of Sunlight!

Today we get to see the newly revealed cover and have a look inside. There's also a giveaway at the bottom of this page for $25 to spend at The Book Depository. I'm a little late posting this, so hurry and get your entries in! But first:


Picture

About The Theft of Sunlight:


I did not choose this fate. But I will not walk away if I can make a difference.

Children have been disappearing from Menaiya for longer than Amraeya ni Ansarim can remember. When her best friend’s sister disappears, Rae knows she can’t stay silent any longer. She finds the chance to make a difference in an invitation to the palace.

But Rae struggles to fit in with the lords and ladies of the court. Instead, she finds unexpected help in a rough-around-the-edges thief named Bren who always seems to have her best interests at heart. Soon even Bren can’t help her, and Rae must risk her life and well-being to face an evil that lurks in the shadows of the darkest hearts.


Retail links are not yet available, but right now you can add the book on Goodreads, so you don't lose track of it.


A Peek Beneath the Cover:


I wait, listening for the sound of someone entering the house. Anything to indicate I need to hide what Niya’s doing. I can hear a woman calling to her children somewhere in the distance, and the general sounds of the town: a wagon creaking its way down the road, chickens clucking in someone’s backyard, and, faintly, people calling Seri’s name.

I swallow and glance back at Niya.

She looks up. “It’s not working. I don’t know if it’s me or . . .”

“Here,” I say, catching the end of one of my braids. “Try my hair. See if that works.”

Niya takes the bit of hair I snap off and bends over her bowl again. I grip my skirt with my fists and hope, hope that it’s Niya’s magic that isn’t working, and not . . . not that Seri is truly beyond our reach.

“It’s working,” Niya says, her voice flat. I look down to see the leaf has turned, the silver needle glinting brighter than it should as it points straight toward me.

I raise my eyes to Niya’s. Seri isn’t just missing. She’s somewhere even magic can’t find her.
​

She’s been snatched.

Picture

About Intisar Khanani:

​
Intisar Khanani grew up a nomad and world traveler. Born in Wisconsin, she has lived in five different states as well as in Jeddah on the coast of the Red Sea. She first remembers seeing snow on a wintry street in Zurich, Switzerland, and vaguely recollects having breakfast with the orangutans at the Singapore Zoo when she was five. She currently resides in Cincinnati, Ohio, with her husband and two young daughters.
 
Intisar used to write grants and develop projects to address community health with the Cincinnati Health Department, which was as close as she could get to saving the world. Now she focuses her time on her two passions: raising her family and writing fantasy. She is the author of The Sunbolt Chronicles and Thorn. 

Website
Goodreads
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter

​

Giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
0 Comments

Giveaway and Sneak Peek of Dragonfly Nightmare, by Erin Richards

9/11/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture

Today I get to share a sneak preview of Erin Richards' new YA Thriller, Dragonfly Nightmare, which hits shelves today!


(Click here to order)

There's a giveaway at the bottom of this post, where you can win dragonfly swag and a gift card, but first...


Excerpt from Dragonfly Nightmare:


Murky light ghosted the darkening woods. Twigs crunched underfoot. Birds took flight, wings flapping into the twilight sky. Ice prickled at the base of my spine. A stick snapped to my right. I swung toward the sound, meeting more trees swaying in the breeze cutting through the woods. The sensation of someone stalking me joined the eerie crawl now a biting wave across my shoulders. Another twig snapped loud and disconcerting, booming in the dead silent woods. Where had all the animals and birds vanished to?

“Someone’s trailing us,” I whispered, peering out the corner of my eye, not wanting to give any indication we’d noticed the noise. Guards up, we increased our pace. Logan’s defensive moves repeated in my mind from start to finish. I fought to keep my arms at my sides rather than form the positions he’d taught me.

A shadowy shape streaked from one tree to another to our left.

“Who’s there?” Logan demanded.

I curled against his side and he took my hand in his. Sweaty palm or not, his hand comforted me as he sought his own degree of comfort.

No answer. No big surprise.

Something zoomed within a foot of our heads, a whisper of air in my ears. An arrow stuck out of a tree to my left. Another arrow whistled, piercing the next tree to my right. Unable to hide my fright, I yelped, staggering against Logan.

“Duck.” He pushed me down, covering me with his body. A third arrow whizzed by, well above our heads, and struck another tree. The archer deliberately missed in an apparent attempt to scare the bejeezus out of us. His aim hit the center of each tree trunk.

Trees and bushes rustled as the archer fled toward the lake. My instincts kicked in, and I bolted in the direction the mysterious archer took, jumping over rocks, scrabbling through lashing branches.

“No! Don’t chase.” Logan’s low-voiced shout stopped me cold.

One lesson in self-defense was not a death wish in the making. I halted so fast, I stumbled against a tree, scraping my upper arm against the jagged bark. Logan caught me against him before I took a header into a half-dead, thorny bush that could use my blood in a resurrection ritual. Steadying myself, I clung to his arms, willing my heart to dip below stroke zone.

He inspected my scraped skin, picking out bits of bark.

“Well, rock my world,” I said, attempting to lighten my anchor of fear.

“Let’s check out those arrows. Could’ve been a random hunter who wandered out of bounds.”

“No, Logan. It was a lunatic campground director who needs to visit a padded cell.” I stepped to the side. Part of me wanted to stay near him to feel his body heat forever. The other part needed to visit her own padded cell and beat my head against the walls.

“Taking it a bit far, don’t you think?” Determination fed his stride to the tree, and he wrenched out the first arrow by the time I reached him.

“Do I have to spell it out?” I retorted to his ass end, marveling at the strength hidden beneath his pale lankiness. “Dante Amadori’s hiding something. Freak flags are flying high. It’s not my paranoia.” I stamped my foot on a branch, pulverizing it into the ground. “It’s not my imagination. They’re not tricks campers are playing on other campers.” I kicked a sugar pinecone into the forest, launching my anger with it. “Don’t I have a right to be wary?” Say what? Why’d that come out? I vowed never to say anything like that to Logan, at least not until I called him on the carpet. “Never mind,” I added. “We’re reporting this to Martina and Dante.”

Logan stepped to the second tree and yanked the next arrow out. The muscles on his arm popped. I licked my lips. Who was this Logan Montgomery? Where had the scrawny geeky boy I used to know gone? Was he hiding behind the shell of the here and now geek?

He turned to me, holding the arrows in his fist, a scrubbed mask on his usually descriptive face. “You have a right to a ton of things.”


Picture

About Dragonfly Nightmare:


To be a normal teenage girl.
To forget about the past.
To fall in love for the first time.
Is that too much to ask? 
 
Sixteen-year-old Allie Bailey just wants a break—a break from her overly-protected life. And Dragonfly Meadows summer camp is the answer. A summer away from her parents in the California Sierras with her best friend is exactly what she needs. 
 
But once at camp, Allie notices that things are a little off. Paid excursions are cancelled and staff is replaced with shady new people. When the camp's founder goes "missing," Allie starts to worry. Unable to let it rest due to her past, she starts to investigate, enlisting the help of Logan Montgomery, her best friend's older and adorably geeky brother.
 
When hauntingly familiar flowers appear in Allie’s cabin, she’s not sure what to think—has her past caught up to her? Yet, after Allie stumbles across a murder conspiracy and chases down the truth, she becomes a target. Pushing through her paranoia and fear to find strength, it's up to Allie to save herself and the campers from a deranged killer before it's too late.


Click here to place your order!
Picture

About Erin Richards:


Erin Richards lives in sunny Northern California. She writes young adult fiction and adult romance, where you’ll typically find her characters in peril, whether based in reality or a contemporary fantasy setting. Magic, murder and mayhem are all in a days’ work! In her spare time, she enjoys reading, photography, and re-landscaping her backyard, even though she hates digging holes…unless she’s burying fictional bodies! Erin also confesses to a fascination with American muscle cars…and reality TV shows. Keep up with Erin’s latest news, exclusive content, and giveaways and subscribe to her Newsletter.

You can also find her on her blog, on Facebook, on Twitter, and on Goodreads.


a Rafflecopter giveaway
0 Comments

Fear, Serial Killers, and L.K. Hill, Author of Street Games

9/5/2016

0 Comments

 

Today, L.K. Hill joins me to talk about the release of her new thriller, Desolate Mantle, book two of the Street Games series, which hits shelves on September 13th!


Click here to preorder!

Naturally, I asked her what scares her and how it influences her writing. This might be especially fun, considering that the Street Games books are about serial killers...


Why Serial Killers Fascinate Us So


Good morning and thank you so much, Fiona, for having me!

Last weekend I watched an old, classical religious movie with my dad. He proceeded to tell me about the actors in it (most before my time) and their other work. Apparently many of the actors also did a lot of horror films.

That made me smile. It’s an observation I’ve made many times, though. Often the people who are the most traditional, sentimental, religious, family oriented (and you know, vanilla?) are the same ones who are drawn to the darkest kinds of stories. One question I get a lot is some variation on, “What’s a nice Christian girl like you doing writing about serial killers?”

My answer: “Erm…reasons?”

I’ve always been fascinated by serial killers, and I’m not the only one. So what is it about them that captivates us? There are some who say it’s the macabre nature of our society. It appeals to the darkest parts of us. Others say it’s a drama factor. Our lives just don’t have enough of it these days and we thrive on the hype.

Those could both be true, but I think the fascination goes deeper than simple morbidity. Human beings are fascinating creatures. Rich and complex and most are basically good. Here are three reasons I think the minds and deeds of the most twisted individuals in society continually fascinate us:


  1. They’re evil. End of story. We’re told so often not to judge, which is usually a good thing, but it can blur the lines of who we are, what we should stand for, and what we should fight. I think the idea of something that’s evil through and through, that we can fight against without hesitation, is appealing sometimes. It creates a refreshing catharsis, and we just want to see evil vanquished, no matter what it takes.
 
  1. We need to understand them. Killers are human beings too. We need to understand how creatures just like us became so evil while we didn’t. Our basic curiosity as a species drives us to figure out motivations. And serial killers present an especially tantalizing enigma.
 
  1. They make us feel passion. Like empowerment. Yup, I said it. Serial killer stories can give us empowerment. If we (living vicariously through our characters) can defeat a serial killer, we can do anything. It gives us more hope and faith in our own lives. Let’s face it: not all real life killers are caught, so it’s a relief to read stories where they are. (Don’t knock escapism. It gets us through the day sometimes.) On the flip side, if the killer isn’t caught, the passionate emotion changes to tragedy, or perhaps obsession. My point is that they make us feel passionate emotions. Human beings yearn for that.

If you’re into the kind of emotional roller coaster ride that makes you fascinated by serial killers, you’d like my new book, Desolate Mantle. It’s the second installment of a crime fiction series, which makes it unique. (Most crime fiction novels are stand-alones.) It deals with a woman searching for her missing brother, a cop with a super-tragic past, and an elusive serial killer. Damn, that’s my kind of story. Which is why I love writing it.


Picture

About Desolate Mantle:


In the most dangerous city in the country, one controlled by the sadistic Sons of Ares gang, Kyra Roberts recently crossed paths with detective Gabe Nichols. She dismissed any liaison with him as impossible, but telling him the truth may prove inevitable...

Walking the Slip Mire nightly, dressed in her disguise and trying to infiltrate a homicidal gang, Kyra sees plenty of things she can’t explain. When she begins to suspect a serial killer might be at work, she decides to approach Gabe again.

Gabe has plenty to keep him busy: a bizarre missing persons case, a new development in his brother’s cold case, a new neighbor, and the grisly murders that are a nightly ritual in the Slip Mire. When Kyra shows up unexpectedly, he jumps at the chance keep her around, but it’s harder than he bargained for. She’s not an average source any more than she’s an average Mireling. Gabe wishes she would be sensible about her own safety.

Their partnership crumbles, but when things become even darker than usual in the Slip Mire, they’ll need one another get survive a hellish situation. If they can’t work together to shoulder their burdens, they’ll find themselves utterly alone. In Abstreuse, it’s not a matter of not coming out of the darkness, but of being absorbed by the darkness itself…


Click here to preorder!
Picture

About L.K. Hill:


L.K. Hill is a novelist who writes across three genres. Her crime and historical fiction are written under her initials, L.K., while her scifi/fantasy and dystopian are written under her full name, Liesel K. Hill. She lives in northern Utah and comes from a large, tight-knit family. She plans to keep writing until they nail her coffin shut. Or the Second Coming happens. You know, whichever happens first. ;D


You can find her on her blog, on Facebook, on Twitter, on Pinterest, on Tumblr, and on Google +.


0 Comments

Guest Post By Niuhi Shark Saga Author, Lehua Parker

8/30/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture

Today, I've got Lehua Parker here with me to celebrate the release of the re-edited new editions of her Nene Award-nominated Niuhi Shark Saga!

Along with the new, island-y covers you see here, these new editions of her Middle-Grade-to-Young-Adult series have additional content and brand new discussion guides.

So, naturally, while she's here, I'm asking her my favorite question, "What scares you, and how does it influence your writing?"


Shark Bait


Picking up The Niuhi Shark Saga, you’d think I was afraid of sharks. It’s right there in the title of the series. In the books people get stalked by sharks, bit by sharks, and die because of sharks. As an island kid growing up in the ocean during the 1970s—the premier Jaws era—it would make a lot of sense.

But sharks don’t scare me.

Being alone and misunderstood does.

You don’t have to be Sigmund Freud to figure out the sub-text of The Niuhi Shark Saga. I grew up a part-Hawaiian, but perpetually sunburned haole-looking girl in Kahului, Maui. From kindergarten through fourth grade, I was the only person with blond hair and blue-eyes in the entire school district, including the staff.

This didn’t change until my family moved to Kalama Valley on Oahu, where in 5th grade at Kamiloiki Elementary there were more kids who looked like me. But nobody spoke Pidgin, which I thought was the language of school. You can imagine my surprise when my teacher, nose in the air, told my mother I needed remedial English lessons and she was recommending me for Resource, which was code for special ed and not in her classroom. I didn’t need English lessons. I just needed to speak as I spoke at home at school.

The shock on Mrs. Goo’s face when I switched mid-sentence from Pidgin to perfect English was almost worth the hell of being in her class.

Almost. I won’t say more, except that when you’re a kid, being good at sports is crucial to overcoming prejudice. That, and a great right hook.

Consequently, a lot of my fiction involves a character that is isolated from others, usually for a reason he or she has no control over. In The Niuhi Shark Saga, Zader is isolated because he’s allergic to water. He’s the weird kid that others put up with because of his popular surfing star brother, Jay.

In One Boy, No Water, Zader fears being left behind if Jay and Char Siu get accepted into Ridgemont Academy for ninth grade. Without Jay around, there’s the real possibility that Zader will be the Blalah’s perpetual punching bag. But as the story progresses, Zader discovers that Jay needs him too, and that being different can be a source of strength.

In One Shark, No Swim and One Truth, No Lie, Zader and Jay learn that anything they love can be taken away. Because of love, Zader sacrifices himself and travels the world alone, wary that he will turn into the monster everyone thinks he is. Jay becomes consumed with revenge, loses his golden boy status, and has to humble himself and learn from others before he can find peace in the ocean again. Both Zader and Jay reject what others think are their destinies, and prove that family are people you choose and not necessarily related by blood.

The Niuhi Shark Saga takes place in modern Hawaii where all the Hawaiian myths, legends, and gods are real, but under the radar of most humans. It’s my hope that readers come away with a deeper understanding of island life than what’s reflected in Hollywood movies and shows like Hawaii 5-0.

And there are sharks. Did I mention the sharks? Monster-sized Niuhi sharks, with mouthfuls of teeth, all-consuming hunger, and extra-sensory perception. They are apex predators without a lick of human remorse or conscience.

Oh, and Niuhi sharks? They can appear in human form. Unlike Jaws, if a Niuhi shark is interested in you, even on land, you’re not safe. There is no bigger boat.

Sleep tight.


About the Niuhi Shark Saga:

Picture

In Hawaii, thirteen-year-old adopted Zader Kaonakai Westin is living in his brother Jay’s shadow.
 
Jay Kapono Westin is popular—a good student and a surfing star, almost guaranteed a spot at prestigious Ridgemont Academy next year. Zader, on the other hand, is the weird kid allergic to water who sits above the beach and sketches all day.
 
A favorite target of the bully Blalahs, Zader relies on Jay to keep him safe. But Zader has secrets, like the frightening Man with Too Many Teeth and his friendship with Dream Girl, a mysterious girl who haunts his nights. Uncle Kahana seems to know more about Zader’s past than he’s sharing, especially about his water allergy and inability to eat rare meat or seafood.
 
When Jay has a shark scare that keeps him out of the ocean, things are set in motion that forever change their destiny. It’s going to push Zader, Jay, and their friend Char Siu beyond their limits to solve the Niuhi Shark Saga.
 
In a world where Pacific myths and legends come to life, fans of Disney’s Moana and Lilo & Stitch, The Karate Kid, and the Percy Jackson series will love The Niuhi Shark Saga trilogy.
 
This newly revised third edition contains new content and a discussion guide.


Click here to order!
Picture

In Hawaii, things are looking up for adopted fourteen-year-old Zader Koanakai Westin. He’s headed to Ridgemont Academy in the fall with his brother Jay and friend Char Siu. The Blalahs have moved onto new targets, Jay’s surfing again, and with Uncle Kahana’s help, they’ve figured out how Zader can join them on the beach and on the reef at Piko Point.
 
Not bad for the weird kid with the water allergy.
 
But Zader has questions he can’t let go. Like who his birth parents are, who is The Man with Too Many Teeth, and how did Dream Girl’s imaginary lei end up in his bed? Who are the Niuhi, and if the Uncle Kahana’s Hawaiian legends are true, even out of the water, is anyone ever safe?
 
It’s going to push Zader, Jay, and Char Siu beyond their limits to solve the Niuhi Shark Saga.

This newly revised second edition contains new content and a discussion guide.


Click here to order!
Picture

After jumping into the ocean at Piko Point, life will never be the same for fourteen-year-old Zader Kaonakai Westin, the adopted boy allergic to water.
 
Zader’s answers to who his birth parents are only leave him with more questions. When confronted by The Man With Too Many Teeth, he’s given an ultimatum:  take away what’s most important to his brother Jay and live in exile from his Hawaiian family or watch as The Man with Too Many Teeth murders Jay.
 
Zader’s decision leads him on an adventure to discover his Niuhi family, how his art can change the world, and how family is defined by more than blood.
 
Devastated by his loss, Jay’s anger burns white-hot. This time it’s going to take Uncle Kahana, Nili-boy, and the Na Koa Wounded Warriors to get Jay back into the water.
 
Their alliance fractured, Jay, Zader, and Char Siu must work to reunite their family. After all, when Hawaiian gods are involved, destiny is not always what it appears.
 
This edition contains additional content and a discussion guide.


Click here to order!
Picture

About Lehua Parker


Lehua Parker is the award-winning author of the MG/YA Pacific literature magic realism series, The Niuhi Shark Saga: One Boy, No Water; One Shark, No Swim; and One Truth, No Lie.
 
Originally from Hawaii and a graduate of The Kamehameha Schools, Lehua is an author, book doctor, public speaker, and business consultant. Trained in literary criticism and an advocate of indigenous cultural narratives, Lehua is a frequent speaker at conferences and symposiums.
 
Now living in exile on the mainland with her family and assorted dogs, cats, and horses, during snowy winters she dreams about the beach.

You can find her on her blog, on Facebook, and on Twitter, and learn more about The Niuhi Shark Saga here.


0 Comments

Guest Post: Johnny Worthen on Finishing The Unseen Trilogy

7/25/2016

0 Comments

 

Last week, I shared my early review of David, the final installment in The Unseen trilogy by Johnny Worthen, which will be released at long last on August 16th!

(You can preorder it here)

This week, I get to welcome Johnny Worthen himself back to my blog to celebrate! As a fellow author of series fiction, and having yet to see publication of a final installment myself, I knew exactly the question I had to ask today...

How does it feel to be finishing The Unseen series and saying goodbye to the characters?


Releasing books is always an emotional event. One of my coping mechanisms has always been (not surprisingly) to write about it. I’ll be posting “Letting Go of David” on my blog when it gets closer and I feel the full emotional impact. Probably next week or the one after. It’s coming. I can feel it building up.

Until that critical mass outburst, I can at least say that this book does indeed feel different from my others. I wrote the Unseen trilogy many moons ago. I had the entire series written before the first book, Eleanor, hit the shelves back in 2014, so the process of creating the series is now dim and colored by its success. It’s been a part of my life for a long time now, my claim to fame, my best-seller, my most talked about. Those are the feelings that are beginning to bubble up, but in the meantime, I have to say that reading the series again as I have, I feel the ending of the series as a fan would.

Just outside my control, beyond my recollection of creation, I read these characters as old friends and rejoice in their triumphs and mourn their defeats. 

Change. It’s all about change. The theme of the series. The painful but necessary evolution of character and idea and lives. Survival at cost, affection at debt. Experiencing the end of the arc carries me through the gambit of emotions as I hope it will others. 

Eleanor’s adventures in David are different from the previous books’. A necessary adaptation, as is only proper. Eleanor’s changed. The world has changed. The hated are loved, the loved have betrayed. 

It is a bitter-sweet ending. A culmination of the promises made throughout and the direct descendant of first chapter of the first book. The rise, fall, and rise of a broken, flawed, suffering girl, inhuman, lonely and lost.


This series always stirs me, has been known to bring me to tears. David is no different. Having an ending now only sharpens the edge. But it’s all good. An ending is change and change is inevitable. And if Eleanor has taught me nothing else, it’s that change though painful and terrible, can be noble.

Picture

About David:


"You and no other."Flames and blood – the story of Eleanor's existence.

How can she recover? How can she go on? How can she stay away?

Eleanor survives, it what she does. But at what cost? She learns her past and sees the terrible and tragic history of her kind, the wreckage of fear and necessity spread across generations of innocent lives. It is enough to show her she is toxic, a cause of pain and destruction. For everyone’s own good, she will disappear forever.

But first, one last visit to Jamesford.

The sleepy Wyoming town mourns their lost child. The unremarkable girl who in life wanted only to be ignored is a celebrity in death, a tourist attraction, a legend. A mystery.

But not everyone thinks she’s dead. While some wait in hope for her return, others wait in ambush.

Click here to preorder!
Picture

About Johnny Worthen


“I write what I like to read,” says Johnny. “That guarantees me at least one fan.”

Johnny Worthen is an award-winning, best-selling author, voyager, and damn fine human being! He is the tie-dye wearing writer of the nationally acclaimed, #1 Kindle best-selling Eleanor, The Unseen. Among his other excellent and very read-worthy titles are the adult occult thriller Beatrysel, the award-winning mystery The Brand Demand, and the genre bending comedy-noir The Finger Trap. And of course the continuation of The Unseen Trilogy, with Celeste and David.

Trained in stand-up comedy, modern literary criticism and cultural studies, Johnny is a frequent public speaker, teacher and blogger. He’s an instructor at the University of Utah and an acquisitions editor for Omnium Gatherum, a publisher of unique dark fantasy, weird fiction and horror.

You can find him on his homepage, on Facebook, on Twitter, and on Goodreads.


0 Comments

Guest Post + Sneak Peek at Skin, by Brenda Corey Dunne

6/6/2016

0 Comments

 
Welcoming back author Brenda Corey Dunne to celebrate the release of her YA paranormal new release, Skin! The book is already out and available...
Here!
She's already answered my favorite question, "What frightens you, and how does it influence your writing?" So for the release of Skin, I'm asking,

What made you want to write about Selkies, and what makes Skin different from other Selkie stories?


I’d love to have a deep, intensely personal story to answer this question, but sadly my answer is far from it. I’m really not sure where the selkies came from. Prince Edward Island is incredibly beautiful—windswept and lonely red sand beaches with absolutely nothing beyond for thousands of miles, quaint villages, lobster suppers in old wooden churches…I could envision a story set there, and I wanted to write a magical creature story…and well, vampires, werewolves and angels were all taken. Selkies are a relatively unexplored magical creature—half-human, half-seal creatures that lure unsuspecting humans to a watery grave—and what better place to plop them down than a beautiful beach in eastern Canada?
 
Plus, seals are really cute.
 
As for how Skin differs from other selkie books…I actually have never read another selkie story. Have you? I watched a movie once about selkies, but it was very vague, and nothing like Skin. I did do a few searches as I was writing, but when I went searching all I found were books with covers featuring half-naked women that didn’t look anything like what I imagined as a selkie. I envisioned a strong, mysterious, dark-eyed guy with curly hair, and a confused dark-eyed girl in an average North American high school. I thought they’d look like everyone else when they took off their skins, except for being attractive. (Really, if you’re going to be a magical creature, attraction is pretty important.) I envisioned that they’d take off their skins in a transformation that boggled the mind but looked natural.
 
I guess if you’ve read one, you’ll have to read Skin to make your own comparisons. :)


And what's that? Why yes, we do get a sneak peek...

 
The moon is so bright outside it’s casting shadows in my room, bathing everything in grey, dim light. I walk to the window, touch the photo still pinned to the wall, and look out at the beach. My hand falls, and my thumb slides to Dad’s ring, twisting it around and around and around.

It’s as if there’s a huge, lunar spotlight in the night sky, shining on the waves and blowing grasses. I have an urge to go out and walk in the waves. I can almost hear voices in the crash of the water—comforting voices—but Mom would have a hissy-fit if she found out I’d gone to the ocean alone. I sit down and sip my water, watching.

There’s someone walking along the beach, and I’m sure it’s Sam. His hair and the smooth way he walks—that lithe, almost animal stalk could only be him. Whether it’s real or a trick of the light, I think he might be naked. He’s carrying something in his arms— maybe it’s his clothes—but he walks into the waves with whatever it is like he’s going for a moonlight swim. He goes deeper and deeper until I only see the blink of his head. That too disappears beneath the waves.

I don’t see him resurface.


Picture

About Skin:


With a name like Ocean, you’d think moving to Prince Edward Island would be simple. But since seventeen year old Ocean crossed that huge bridge to the land of red sand, her life has been far from normal—it’s been downright dangerous. Trouble seems to follow her everywhere, and she’s got the bruises to prove it. 
 
And then there’s her mysterious neighbour, Sam...who seems to know more about her history than she does herself. When Ocean finally steps into the salty waves with Sam, she realizes that her life has been based on a lie, and that she is missing something...something she never knew existed. 
 
Her skin.


Click here to order your copy!
Picture

About Brenda Corey Dunne:


Brenda Corey Dunne grew up in rural New Brunswick, Canada. She originally trained as a physiotherapist and worked several years as an officer in the Royal Canadian Air Force before meeting her Air Force pilot husband and taking her release. She has two other published novels, Dependent (2014) and Treasure in the Flame (2012).

Brenda is represented by Frances Black of Literary Counsel. She currently resides on the Pacific Coast of Canada, but home is wherever the RCAF sends her hubby, and she’ll be moving to the Washington, DC area in the summer of 2016. When not writing, working or taxiing her three children she can be found either in the garden or on the beach with a book in one hand and a very, very large coffee in the other.

You can find her on her blog, on Facebook, on Twitter, and on Instagram.


0 Comments

Guest Post: What Scares Jenniffer Wardell, Author of Dreamless?

3/28/2016

0 Comments

 
Today I get to welcome back Jenniffer Wardell, to celebrate her upcoming release, Dreamless!

Which happens to be available for preorder here :)

Jenniffer's previously shared her most embarrassing fictional crush, and discussed the challenges of writing traditional heroes compared with often more interesting sidekicks, but somehow, I've never asked her my favorite question of all.

Time to fix that!

So, Jenniffer, what scares you, and how does it influence your writing?



Navigating Life Like A Writer

By Jenniffer Wardell


Nearly everything makes me anxious.

I mostly hide it in my day-to-day life, but nearly every second of my life there is something I'm either 1) panicking over, 2) pretending isn't happening (because the thought of it makes me panic) or 3) preparing for meticulously in the desperate hope that I can plan for every contingency, and thereby somehow create a magical (and so far theoretical) situation where I don't have to stress about something. This is, add you might imagine, extremely tiring.

Even fiction can make me anxious, so invested in the stresses the characters are going through that I feel like I'm going through them myself. I'm one of those reprehensible souls that check the endings of books before I start reading, because I can't deal with falling in love with a character just to see them die. I know the uncertainty is supposed to be exciting, but I mostly just find it stressful.

On the surface, writing seems like the perfect solution to someone who wishes they could control everything. But the reality is that there's only so much you can control, even in fiction, because if you've written them right a character will insist on doing certain things whether you want them to our not. You can arrange a situation so they only get certain choices, but if they're determined to make things harder for themselves there's not much you can do to stop them. If you try, the story falls flat.

But somehow, watching my characters trip their way into one disaster after another has brought me a deeper comfort than the fantasy of control ever could have provided. Their lives are harder than mine could ever be, often with their own lives or the lives of others on the line. At the very least, they're left to deal with Major Peril (TM) while the most I ever run into world probably fall somewhere in the vicinity of Mild Disaster (TM).

Even better, they're no more competent then I am. Fairy tales are traditionally full of noble, wise heroes, the line of person that we all aspire to be. I, however, write fairy tales for the person I am, which is someone who means well but is really kind of a wreck. Generally, we never get to be heroes.

But somehow, novel after novel, I watch my characters survive whatever I throw at them. No, more than that - they actually save the day, stepping up to the plate and facing their worst fears for things they consider to be more important. No matter how scared they are, they never let it overwhelm them.

They give me hope. If they can make it through evil sorcerers and horrible curses, then I'll probably survive housing troubles or downturns at work. I may not be able to stop myself from worrying, but with their help I can worry a little less.


Picture

About Jenniffer Wardell

Jenniffer Wardell is the arts, entertainment, and lifestyle reporter for the Davis Clipper. She's won several awards from the Utah Press Association and the Utah Headliners Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. She currently lives in Layton, Utah.

You can find her on her blog, Chasing Thoughts Like Butterflies, on Facebook, and on Twitter.

Picture

About Dreamless


For most princesses, a sleeping curse means a few inconvenient weeks unconscious followed by a happily-ever-after with their true love. Seventeen-year-old Elena's curse, however, was designed without a cure, which means that she's getting a century-long nap for her 18th birthday whether she wants it or not. After years of study she's still no closer to finding a cure, even with the help of an undead godfather and an enchanted mirror-turned-therapist. With only a year until the deadline she's learned to accept her fate. Sadly, there's one prince who doesn't seem to have gotten the memo and who’s continually trying to activate the curse so he can be the one to wake her up again. Only slightly less annoying is Cam, her new bodyguard and former childhood acquaintance who disagrees with Elena at pretty much every turn. When the curse threatens to come early, however, they both realize that fate is a lot more complicated than they'd ever imagined.

Click here to preorder!
0 Comments

Guest Post: Kristy Acevedo, Author of Consider

11/29/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture

Today I'm welcoming another brave newcomer to the blog, Kristy Acevedo, whose YA Sci-Fi debut, Consider, is coming this April!
You can already pre-order it here :)
In the meantime, she's agreed to answer my favorite question...

"What scares you, and how does it influence your writing?"


I tend to be afraid of taking risks when it comes to important decisions. My childhood was filled with enough chaos, so I never wanted to add more problems to the mix. I will research something to death before making a decision. Writing fiction, however, allows me to take all the risks I want and examine the consequences from a safe distance.


Alexandra Lucas, the seventeen-year-old main character in my debut sci-fi novel, Consider, has to make a crucial decision. She must decide whether to follow the media, her friends, or her family's advice in dealing with an apocalyptic prophecy. How do you make a personal, life-altering decision when there is contradictory evidence swarming around you?

Consider examines the consequences of choice, how hard it can be to know what to believe, and how hard it can be to trust your instincts. It's all about whether or not to take a leap of faith, and if you do, what happens to people you love who make different choices. How do you say goodbye and let go?

It's a breakthrough book for me symbolically because releasing my debut book into the world also feels like a type of leap of faith. I'm taking a risk by finally putting my work out there. Scary, but also super exciting.

Picture

About Consider:

As if Alexandra Lucas’ anxiety disorder isn’t enough, mysterious holograms suddenly appear from the sky, heralding the end of the world. They bring an ultimatum: heed the warning and step through a portal-like vertex to safety, or stay and be destroyed by a comet they say is on a collision course with earth. How’s that for senior year stress?

The holograms, claiming to be humans from the future, bring the promise of safety. But without the ability to verify their story, Alex is forced to consider what is best for her friends, her family, and herself.
To stay or to go. A decision must be made.

With the deadline of the holograms’ prophecy fast approaching, Alex feels as though she is living on a ticking time bomb, until she discovers it is much, much worse.

You can read the complete first chapter here,
And preorder your copy here!
Picture

About Kristy Acevedo

Kristy Acevedo is a YA author, high school English teacher, and huge Star Trek, Doctor Who, and Harry Potter fan. When she was a child, her “big sister” from the Big Brothers Big Sisters Program fostered her love of books by bringing her to the public library every Wednesday for seven years. A member of SCBWI and The Sweet Sixteens, Consider, her debut novel, was one of three winners of the 2015PEN New England Susan P. Bloom Children’s Book Discovery Award. She also founded the Monthly Twitter Writing Challenge in 2014.  She lives in Massachusetts with her husband, two daughters, and two cats.

You can find her on her website, on Facebook, on Twitter, and on Goodreads.

0 Comments

Guest Post: Vicki L. Weavil, Author of Crown of Ice

11/15/2015

2 Comments

 
We've got another wonderful guest this week, brave enough to agree to answer my favorite question, "What scares you, and how does it influence your writing?"

This answer gives me the jeebies too.

So without further ado, I'm handing things over to Vicki L. Weavil, author of the already available YA fantasy, Crown of Ice!

Things That Go Bump in Your Head:
How My Own Fears Influenced Crown of Ice

I know what truly scares me, and it isn’t the idea of ghosts or ghouls or creepy, crawly, critters. Now, I admit I’m not particularly fond of snakes, and spiders are only okay as long as they keep their distance, but neither one terrifies me. I’m not overly concerned with chain-saw wielding strangers, either. (Fortunately, I’ve not encountered such beings except on film).

Nope, it’s not anything outside of my own mind that scares me—it’s losing my mind.

Not in the sense of going mad, although that’s scary too, but more in the case of losing my mental abilities due to injury, illness, or age.

I have seen this happen with older relatives, and it is terrifying to imagine it happening to me. I hate the thought of losing my ability to think, to question, and to communicate. Some people claim I wouldn’t be aware of how much I had lost, but I’m never quite sure that’s true. When my brilliant father’s mental abilities were severely affected by a head injury, I had this sense that somehow, deep down inside, he was deeply frustrated with his inability to think and communicate. It was as if he was trapped inside his own body; lost in a mind that had always served him well, but now had betrayed him. A truly tragic situation.

So when I wrote Crown of Ice, and had to create a terrible fate looming over my protagonist, I didn’t make it death, or even pain. I created the wraiths—former Snow Queens who failed in their mission to recreate a magic mirror by their eighteenth birthday and were stripped of their minds and wills. Immortal, they can’t even know the peace of death. They are simply mindless spirits, endlessly reliving their last terrible moments and haunting the castle where their former master, a mighty sorcerer, lives.

For my protagonist, Thyra Winther, this is a fate worse than death. She’s a brilliant young woman who cherishes her ability to think and reason, as well as her free will. The fear of failing to reconstruct the mirror—and thus becoming a wraith—drives her to do whatever she must in order to survive. It’s truly Thyra against the world (and against magical forces). Because the thawing of her heart is a danger to her entire existence, she must decide, over the course of the story, what she is willing to sacrifice for friendship and love. This is the deeper, inner conflict driving the book to its conclusion.

So, it’s quite true—I used something that scares me to torment and terrify my protagonist.


Picture

About Crown of Ice


Thyra Winther's seventeen, the Snow Queen, and immortal, but if she can't reassemble a shattered enchanted mirror by her eighteenth birthday she's doomed to spend eternity as a wraith.

Armed with magic granted by a ruthless wizard, Thyra schemes to survive with her mind and body intact. Unencumbered by kindness, she kidnaps local boy Kai Thorsen, whose mathematical skills rival her own. Two logical minds, Thyra calculates, are better than one. With time rapidly melting away she needs all the help she can steal.

A cruel lie ensnares Kai in her plan, but three missing mirror shards and Kai's childhood friend, Gerda, present more formidable obstacles. Thyra's willing to do anything—venture into uncharted lands, outwit sorcerers, or battle enchanted beasts—to reconstruct the mirror, yet her most dangerous adversary lies within her breast. Touched by the warmth of a wolf pup's devotion and the fire of a young man's desire, the thawing of Thyra's frozen heart could be her ultimate undoing.


Click here to order your copy!
 

Picture

About Vicki L. Weavil


Raised in the shadow of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Vicki L. Weavil turned her early obsession with reading into a career as a librarian. After obtaining a B.A. in Theatre from the University of Virginia, she continued her education by receiving a Masters in Library Science from Indiana University and a M.A. in Liberal Studies from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She is currently the Library Director for the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. She is a member of SCBWI and is represented by Fran Black of Literary Counsel, NY, NY.

Vicki’s debut novel, CROWN OF ICE – a dark YA retelling of H. C. Andersen’s “The Snow Queen” – was published by Month9Books in 2014. Two companion books, SCEPTER OF FIRE and ORB OF LIGHT, will be released in 2016 and 2017.  Her YA scifi, FACSIMILE, will be published in spring 2016, with a sequel, DERIVATION, following.  An avid reader who appreciates good writing in all genres, Vicki has been known to read seven books in as many days. When not writing or reading, she likes to spend time watching films, listening to music, gardening, or traveling. She lives in North Carolina with her husband and three very spoiled cats.

You can find her on her blog, on Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, Pinterest, Tumblr, and Instagram.

2 Comments

Guest Post: Mia Siegert, Author of Jerkbait

11/8/2015

0 Comments

 
Today I get to welcome some fresh blood to Confessions of the One and Only F.J.R. Titchenell (That I Know of), author of the upcoming YA thriller, Jerkbait. It's coming in May, but you can already...
Preorder it here!
As a first timer here on the blog, she has graciously agreed to answer my favorite question. So without further ado,

What scares you, and how does it influence your writing?


A lot of people get scared by traditional monsters and demons, but the real monsters I fear are humans. There are people who show no remorse, sadists who enjoy hurting others. To me, there's nothing more frightening than thinking about what humans are capable of because they're palpable and the same as us. While we might not be able to see certain creatures, we all have images in our heads of truly awful people, and envisioning what could either happen to us or what we're physically capable of absolutely petrifies me. So... naturally, I write about it. 

I don't like to write about comfortable things. I never have, although more recently my work has shifted to the thriller side instead of very experimental, literary fiction. I like to write about the people who scare me and scenarios that are out of a character's control. For Jerkbait, I needed to go to a dark, horrifying place to write a story that deals with gay teen suicide and online predators, especially as the novel originated as semi-autobiographical. There's a story that one character, Heather, shares about a hanging and a house sale--this was something that my ex-bestfriend told me that has haunted me since I was sixteen. 


Picture

About Jerkbait


Even though they're identical, Tristan isn't close to his twin Robbie at all—until Robbie tries to kill himself. Forced to share a room to prevent Robbie from hurting himself, Tristan starts seeing his twin as not an NHL prospect, but a struggling gay teen who is terrified about coming out in the professional sports world. Trapped together in their claustrophobic room, Robbie suggests they run away with "Jimmy2416," a guy Robbie has talked to online for months but never met. Tristan must decide whether to tell his parents about Robbie's plan, losing his twin's trust forever, or go on a journey that will put their lives and innocence in jeopardy.

Click here to preorder!
Picture

About Mia Siegert


Mia Siegert received her MFA from Goddard College and her BA from Montclair State University where she won Honorable Mention in the 2009 English Department Awards for fiction. Her debut Jerkbait (a YA coming-of-age thriller) will be released May 2016 by Jolly Fish Press. Siegert has been published in 
Clapboard House, Word Riot, The Limn Literary & Arts Journal, as well as a few other small presses. 

Siegert currently works as an adjunct professor and a costume designer. She enjoys training horses and watching hockey.

You can find her on her website, on Facebook, and on Twitter!

0 Comments
<<Previous

    Get updates & coupouns from
    Fiona J.R. Titchenell:

    Subscribe

    * indicates required
    Interests

    Search This Blog:

    Support Fiona J.R. Titchenell and get exclusive content:

    Picture

    Find
    ​Fiona J.R. Titchenell:

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    Archives

    November 2022
    October 2022
    December 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    March 2021
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    December 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013

    Categories

    All
    Aliens
    Announcement
    Blog
    Books
    Children's
    Comics
    Confessions
    Contemporary
    Couples
    Crafts
    Crushes
    Dragons
    Dystopian
    Fantasy
    Free Fiction
    Games
    Gender Issues
    Guest Posts
    Guests
    Guilty Pleasures
    Hero/Villain Pairs
    Historical
    Holidays
    Horror
    Humor
    Hunger Games
    Hunger Games
    Lists
    Literary Rants
    Lost
    Love
    Love Triangles
    Metafiction
    Movies
    Music
    Musicals
    Na
    Nonfiction
    Parents
    Reviews
    Romance
    Romantic Gestures
    Sci Fi
    Sci Fi
    Shakespeare
    Short Stories
    Steampunk
    Theater
    Tragedy
    Tv
    Twists
    Vampires
    Witches
    Writing
    Ya
    Zombies

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.