New Author–Pamela Kay Murphy

I am very pleased to introduce the new Living Sword Publishing author, my mom, Pamela Kay Murphy! After everything she has taught me over the years (I wouldn’t be where I am today with my writing if not for her), it’s been so much fun watching and helping her get to the point of publishing, and it’s especially fun to have her published through my company. Her first book, Wooing Sam Walker’s Widow, a contemporary Christian romance, is available in eBook on Amazon and Smashwords right now. In a few weeks it will also begin to show up on other eBook retailers like Barnes & Noble and iBooks. She just ordered her first proof copy of the book so it shouldn’t be too long before the paperback is also available. To find all the information, you can visit her blog here:

http://pamelakaymurphy.blogspot.com/

You can also find her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PamelaKayMurphy

If you like contemporary romance and family relationships, make sure to check it out!

Publishing Website Makeover

With some amazing new templates just added to Weebly, I’ve given my publishing company website a makeover. I’m thrilled with the outcome. It looks far better than it did before. Not only that, but I will soon reveal a brand new author on the website! You can check it all out here: www.livingswordpublishing.com. I will share more information once the new author’s book is ready. :)

Pinterest Inspiration

I wasn’t going to do it. I wasn’t going to get sucked into Pinterest because I knew how much time I could waste with it. However, I did end up signing up and it has become one of my favorite writing tools. I do still end up wasting time sometimes, but the inspiration to discover is endless.

Now here’s a question. Have you ever wondered what celebrities an author might have in mind while they are writing a character? I have, and many of my own characters have been inspired by photos I come across or celebrities I see on TV. I never really considered sharing much of my inspiration before, but Pinterest presents a fun way to do that. So, whether or not you have Pinterest, if you’d like to see a some of my inspiration for characters and settings, you’ll find boards for all of my latest books. And here’s something exciting, that even includes my new fantasy books I’m currently working on. I will continue adding to it as I go through the series. With my inspiration board, you can get little bits and pieces of what it’s going to be like. Just follow the link to check it out.

http://pinterest.com/authormollye/

The Secret New Project

So, after a long absence, I thought it only fitting to fill you in on what has kept me busy, at least in the last couple weeks. I call it secret project just because I’m still not giving away too many details. I mentioned this new project briefly at the beginning of this year. After the worst bout of writer’s block or whatever it was that kept me from writing anything the last couple months, I finally had a breakthrough a week and a half ago and have been writing like crazy. I’ve basically accomplished writing 9 chapters in 10 days. That’s a big thing for me. It’s made me really excited, and I hope to finish book 1 within the next couple months, but then who knows what might come up in the meantime. A release date is still a long, long way off, but, considering this is now my main project, I wanted to share a little bit about it, so I decided to compile a list of fun facts about the series that don’t give too much of the plot or details away. Here it is:

1. So far, I still have the series planned for seven books total. It should stay at that number, however, with this series, I’m not ruling out any major changes.
2. It is another fantasy series. To describe the world in one sentence, I'd say it's ancient Rome set in a medieval world with some somewhat modern society twists.
3. I cover a few modern day issues, which has been and will be quite interesting.
4. This new fantasy world has five races of peoples (one more than I originally had planned), each one very different from the others.
5. The entire series covers a three year period of time.
6. I have my two primary main characters, a girl and a guy, as well as two secondary main characters, both guys.
7. The characters are some of the most flawed and troubled characters I've ever written about, but I love them dearly.
8. This whole monster of a project started with one small spark of an idea for a character who is now the main guy. Everything else has just exploded and grown around him.
9. I'm barely half finished with book one, but I probably have more notes for this series than all of my other books combined.
10. As frustrated as I get and as hard as I've tried at times to write something else, this story keeps pulling me back to it.
11. And lastly, inspiration for this series has come from a huge array of places. That’s part of what makes it so much fun. I never know when something else might come along and add even more to it. Here are just a few of the completely random things that have sparked my imagination and given me inspiration for characters, plots, scenes, or just random little details: DragonQuest by Donita K. Paul, The Mentalist, a commercial for Unforgettable, The Hunger Games, Thor, Non-Stop Music, Future World Music, The Eagle, Unearthing Ancient Secrets: True Gladiator (Science Channel), The Errant King by Wayne Thomas Batson, and Robin Hood.

I very much look forward to sharing this series one day in the future. It’s seriously unlike anything I’ve ever done before. It is stretching my writing abilities in every way possible, which is good, yet can be very frustrating and trying. But I am completely in love with the story. I’ve never followed so many lives and plotlines before. I’ve barely begun and it already feels like I’ve been on a journey with these people. It certainly has the largest cast of characters I’ve ever worked with, each character bringing a unique aspect and view on things. And the craziest thing is, even though I have a general plot to follow, things are constantly changing and growing, and I’m just going with the flow. It’s quite an adventure. Sometimes I look at it and think, what in the world have I gotten myself into? After all, with seven books planned, this is a project that will span the next few years at least. That is a huge undertaking and a little overwhelming. But, when I think of the end result, there is no way I can turn my back on this thing. I’ve come way too far and the characters have way too tight a grip on me to step away from it now. So, whether it takes the next couple years or the next ten, I look forward to someday being able to let others share in the adventure. And don’t worry, I’ll keep you updated along the way. ;)

Courage–Paperback now available!

At long last, the paperback version of Courage is now available. It is showing up on Amazon, and I am also taking orders for autographed copies from my website. Just follow the links!

Amazon
Autographed Copy

An Interview and Update

I have been especially bad lately at updating my blog and responding to everyone I would like to. I’ve had so much going on in the last few weeks. First of all, I was interviewed on a great blog called Virtuous Girlhood. You can see it here:

http://virtuousgirlhood.com/2012/03/interview-saturday-molly-evangeline/

I’ve been so busy lately with both book and personal things. It has taken longer than usual for me to get the paperback version of Courage to the point where it is available. I’ve had to order a few proof copies trying to get the colors right. Blue is notoriously hard to get to print the exact shade you want it. I finally settled on something I’m happy with, so I will hopefully have paperback books available in the next week or two.

Personally, my focus lately has really turned to homemaking. I’ve been having a great time collecting and trying recipes, researching different home remedies, and really getting into different aspects of the home, more so than I ever have before. It is one of my greatest desires to someday marry and have my own home, and I believe God is using this particular time to really prepare me for that. So my focus on that has really cut out a lot of my effort to stay updated on my writing and social networking. But I hope to get back to updating a little more regularly, and hopefully even start sharing some of the interesting and helpful things I’ve been coming across pertaining to the home.

Courage–Book Trailer

I intended to have this done before now, but I’ve been so busy with everything else involved in getting Courage ready for publication. But, now that things have settled down a bit, I have finally finished putting together the trailer for Courage. Enjoy!

Courage–Makilien Trilogy, Book 2