GIVIN' UP THE GHOST & NEVERLOVE COVER REVEAL

Mystery and mayhem teamed with heartache and overcoming. Follow PIP here.

It's that time folks, the moment Gwen and I have been so excited for.  Well, one of the moments.  This Indie publishing adventure has been one thrilling moment after another.  So here they are, our covers for GIVIN' UP THE GHOST and NEVERLOVE by Gwen Gardner and Angela Brown, respectively.



Corona Zschusschen

Friend or Foe?

Murder victim Bart Bagley is not content to merely roll over in his grave. He wants his murderer caught and he wants teenage ghost whisperer, Indigo Eady, to help him.

It becomes obvious that Bart’s temper lead to more than one disagreement, but is it enough to want him dead? With nothing but a cold trail and a hot list of “friendly” suspects, Indigo and her friends race to find the killer before they become the next victims.

Indigo Eady is not clumsy. At least, that’s what she keeps telling everyone. Can she help that the overactive spirit community of Sabrina Shores causes her psychic abilities to short-circuit? It’s unfortunate that her cute new friend Badger is often on the receiving end of her mishaps. At times, she is positively hazardous to his health. Even so, sparks start to fly in more than one direction...

Heather McCorckle of CP Designs

For seventeen-year-old Abigail, one rash decision leads to an unexpected chance for redemption. At V'Salicus Academy, a unique institute where she trains to become an agent of heaven, she struggles with the pain of her past, the changes of the present and accepts a loveless future until her path – and heart – crosses with Basil’s.

Basil's off-chance slip of the tongue binds him to a life of servitude to the Devourer, the master of hell. His existence has no upside until a chance meeting with Abigail brings new perspective.

Keeping the truth of their present lives from each other brings disaster when secrets are brought to light and the life of Abigail’s mentor is put on the line.

Can Abigail and Basil save her mentor and salvage their love amid the chaos? Or will they lose it all, destined forever to NEVERLOVE?



About the authors:

Haunt me: FB, Blog, Goodreads

Gwen Gardner

Running, writing and reading are my favorite things.

I am also a dreamer.

Have you ever told yourself that "some day" I'm going to travel or write or whatever it is that you are passionate about but can't do right now for whatever reason? You can go for years and years and keep telling yourself that "some day" you'll do it. Too often "some day" never comes. But mine did. I am a former Administrative Manager and Vice President of a successful swimming pool plastering company - until I woke up one day and realized that my "some day" had arrived. I quit my job, moved to the mountains and began to write. Crazy, I know. But even crazier? Is when you get to the end of your life and realize that your "some day" is too late. Life is much too short for that! So the adventure has begun.

GIVIN' UP THE GHOST is a YA paranormYA cozy mystery, the first in the Indigo Eady series, due out October 8, 2012.

Haunt me FB, Blog, Goodreads

Angela Brown

Reading and writing have been lifelong passions. It was around the time I gave birth to my forever-love, nicknamed Chipmunk, that I really took writing seriously. After all, how could I teach my child to follow her dreams if I hadn't tried myself?

As a YA fantasy/sci-fi reader and author, I favor the magical, mysterious, the darker side of life...even harbor a secret fright for things that go bump in the night.

NEVERLOVE is a special project spawned from a blog-challenge-turned-blog-opera, the Abby and Basil affair. It is the first in the Shadow Jumpers series and due out October 8, 2012.

Thank you EVERYONE for sharing in our cover reveal.  Please feel free to share with others as well :-)

QUESTIONS FOR #GUTGAA MEET AND GREET

Hello my fellow Gutgaans. I'm so excited to participate in Deana Barnhart's Gearing Up To Get An Agent as a first round judge. I love meeting new people so please leave a comment saying hello. Click here to continue with the blog hop.

Time for the meet and greet.

-Where do you write?

My writing desk is in the corner in my bedroom.

-Quick. Go to your writing space, sit down and look to your left. What is the first thing you see?

I have a window to my left and another to the front. I stare outside when I’m daydreaming or having difficulty with a scene. There is a large oak tree which houses squirrels and pigeons perch on the window ledge. It’s is very relaxing.

-Favorite time to write?

I enjoy writing late at night when the kids are asleep. There is something velvety about the night. Sometimes, I’ll sit on the balcony stare up at the sky. I love when the moon is full overhead. It’s very inspiring and sparks my creativity.

-Drink of choice while writing?

I like a cup of coffee with sugar and hazelnut creamer.

-When writing , do you listen to music or do you need complete silence?

I listen to music. I love Pandora. I have several stations set. There is my new Bollywood station (I love Indian music), Pop/RB station, my Within Temptation/Avenge Sevenfold station, and Opera Station.

-What was your inspiration for your latest manuscript and where did you find it?

My latest manuscript was inspired by a short story I wrote in college. After my daughter was born it evolved into a bedtime story, QUEST FOR THE GOLDEN APPLE. I decided that it needed more attention during NaNoWriMo and QUEST evolved into a full MG. I lovingly call it my Goonies in the Hood fantasy adventure, and the characters are absolutely adorable. I gush about them here and here.

-What's your most valuable writing tip?

I put off writing when I had my children. I thought I didn’t have enough time to devote to learning my craft and raising little ones at the same time. I didn’t realize that by writing a few hours a day, I would be so much further along in reaching my dreams. So, I say to find the time, heck, make the time to write—even if it’s only fifteen minutes a day. Don’t look back at your life in 10 years and regret the time you’ve lost.

40 WEEKS OF ME- Week 5, Language

I wish I was a polyglot.

I keep hoping that my parents are right and that if I try real hard I'll finally become fluent in another language. Then I remind myself that if it hasn't sunk in after 40 years, chances are good (not impossible) that the most I can aspire to reach is  bi, possibly trilingual status before I leave this world.

So where does this leave me. I am a mini polyglot. Micro, minuscule, barely worthy of whispering the name. I know how to say thank you in seven languages. It's always good to be polite, especially if you're lost in Mexico (spring break in San Felipe was a little crazy during my college days). I can get by with rudimentary Spanish. Enough so I wouldn't starve and could find el bano if I had to pee.

Okay, I speak Spanish a little better than that, but most native speakers find my attempts hilarious. I am stubborn, so I keep trying even in the face of abject humiliation.

Because of my Creole roots, you'd think my father would've taught me French so I could at least communicate with the family elders, but he didn't. I think this is fairly common in many families. Unfortunately, this is the reason Louisiana French Creole is in danger of dying out.

My dad is fluent in French, Spanish, and Korean from when he was stationed in S. Korea. He spoke Creole to coomunicate with French military officers when they were stationed together in Saudi Arabia during the Gulf War. So, French Creole is my second language to work on getting fluent in

To be considered a polyglot, you have to be fluent in four languages. Sticking with a romance languages would be the smartest move to achieve success. Italian should come next; however, I'm more fluent in Korean.

Let me clarify that by saying that I understand quite a bit of Korean now (all of my K-dramas are paying off). I'm also learning to read it. It's easy to memorize Hangul, the Korean alphabet if you put it to song. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star works for memorizing the consonants. Unfortunately, my  ability to wrap my tongue around pronouncing the words correctly is sadly pathetic. 

I am leaving Japanese fluency to my daughter. If anyone in my family has the ability to take after my father's innate language skills, it is her. At least she knows the difference between Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji without having to Google it. 

ARANG AND THE MAGISTRATE

As you know I have a thing for ghost stories. This is a cute one.

Source

ARANG AND THE MAGISTRATE (아랑사또전; Arangsatojeon) is a 2012 South Korean series that I'm watching on HULU. It appears to be based off of a folklore about a vengeful spirit in the Joseon era refuses to cross over until she reveals the circumstances of her murder.

Chased by "ghost-busters" who take out any ghost who messes with a human, Arang stumbles across the magistrate. The one person who can actually see the dead, but wishes otherwise.

Given this is a mystery, I can't divulge much more or I'll ruin the suspense. There are only four episodes on Hulu as of the completion of this post, but I've already gotten hooked by the humor in this romantic/comedy.

The Magistrate is played by Lee Jun Ki, and the adorable but kind of scary ghost is played by one of my favorite actresses, Shin Min Ah. If she looks familiar its because she played the Ninetailed Fox in My Girlfriend is a Gumiho.

GEARING UP TO GET AN AGENT (GUTGAA) SURPRISE

I bet you're wondering about this #GUTGAA that's being bandied about the internet. Whenever I read the word, I think of some exotic dish.

In a way, that's what it is. A feast for writers who are ready to query/pitch their darling projects to agents and editors from small publishing houses.

Deana Barnhart is putting on a month long extravaganza beginning on August 31st. To participate you must first signed up HERE.

You can find the schedule of activities HERE

You can find me... yep, I'm participating in this as well. That's the surprise part of this post. I'll let you see what I'll be up to for yourself HERE.

So, get your query ready and let's get this party started!