Author: MCD

I'm a writer. I also bake. And knit. A lot. My novels are available anywhere ebooks/paperbacks/audiobooks are sold online. Find more info on my blog: http://www.madebymeghan.ca

Categories
publishing self-publishing writing

Love Lies Bleeding FREE via amazon #kindle

My novella, Love Lies Bleeding, can be downloaded for free today and tomorrow (Oct 27 & 28) via your Kindle reader or app. If you do grab it for free over the next two days, I would love to hear what you think of it … the novella in itself is a bit of an experiment for me, as it is the first time I have attempted to translate one of the my screenplays into narrative form.

Genre: Horror/Comedy/Romance

Synopsis: Pamela just wants to reunite in the afterlife with her dead fiancé, Grady. Problem is, Grady was a secret agent, and his coded emails have infuriated both his employers and his enemies. They need Pamela alive. So, instead of her planned suicide, she is kidnapped by black ops agents, tortured by mobster warlords, hunted by a psychotic killer, and chased by zombies … all necessary evils in order to ultimately walk into the sunset with her true love.

WARNING: Love Lies Bleeding is a darkly comedic, bloody romance about love conquering all, even death. This is NOT a young adult novel. It contains graphic violence, nasty language, and more than a little bit of flesh eating. There are no soft kisses, soulful stares, or moonlit rainstorms.

The novella is approximately 28,000 words, and currently followed by a twelve-chapter excerpt from the novel, After The Virus.

Links: Amazon US & Amazon UK & Amazon Germany & Amazon France & Amazon Spain & Amazon Italy & Amazon Japan

My favourite quotes:

“Denial was Erwin’s friend, and favorite vacation spot.” – Chapter 4, Love Lies Bleeding

“I can’t figure out what we are playing at, good cop, bad cop, concerned nutritionists …” – Phil, Love Lies Bleeding

“Don’t worry dear. Be a good girl and you never have to find out what’s in the crate.” – Mr. Doyle, Love Lies Bleeding

“I’m just looking to match this empty shell to my departed soul.” – Pamela, Love Lies Bleeding

“I need help. Or at least directions. I’m being chased by a psycho … killer, though given the day I’ve been having I could be wrong about his intentions.” – Pamela, Love Lies Bleeding

I hope you enjoy the free read!!

Categories
reviews writing

A review of Blackheath by Scott Fitzgerald Gray

Blackheath – An Elathien Solo Mystery by Scott Fitzgerald Gray & Quinn Hamilton

Synopsis (via Amazon): In the great Free City of Yewnyr, the Blackheath Refuge is home to the victims of the most powerful magic in the Elder Kingdoms — those wounded in body and mind by dark mana, ancient curses, and the hunger of the undead.

When an invisible killer is unleashed within the refuge, the brash investigator Elathien Solo must contend with indifferent authorities, a spurned lover, and a young patient’s terrible secret as she searches for the truth.

And even as a dark conspiracy of murder and madness unfolds around her, Elathien is forced to cope with the still-raw scars of the time she herself spent as a patient within Blackheath’s walls…

FOR MATURE READERS

My thoughts: I really liked this story. I find it has stuck with me the next day – this rarely happens for me – and I am looking forward to more instalments in the Elathien Solo Mystery series.

Caveats: I picked up this book on a day I was seriously under the weather. It took me about four chapters to get wrapped up in the story … I was struggling with vocabulary and the formal tone of the writing for a bit. The writers had me actually looking up words, including arcane, which I was pretty sure I knew the definition of (I did), and rereading bits of information at the beginning. But around chapter four I stopped doing so and just let the story unfold for me.

I came to really like the main character, Elathien — though I have no idea if I am pronouncing her name correctly in my head — she is brilliantly flawed (I love that in a character), fearless and fearful, powerful but restrained with that power (intriguingly so) with a dark, dark past.

I don’t think I have ever read this blend of genre before – a fantasy/mystery – but I quite enjoyed the meshing of the magical dark fantasy world with the more classic mysterious medical-facility plot structure.

The main mystery of the story was nicely interwoven with the mystery of Elathien’s past with just enough of an intersection between the two to keep it interesting but not overly contrived.

Also, I must say I did enjoy the extremely tasty (!!) SEX scenes, which are explicit, but not shockingly so.

I give it a solid 4 stars. You can currently find the ebook at Amazon for FREE, though I am not too sure for how long.

*Disclosure note: I know Scott Fitzgerald Gray. He edits my writing. I have no idea who Quinn Hamilton is, except he she (how about I do a little research before post, hey?) co-wrote this novel and I liked what I read.

——————————–

EXCERPT

Elathien was forced to take a step back as Nerani turned on her suddenly. A dark strength had worked its way through the girl, giving her the tone and disposition of a different person. The thought set Elathien on edge as she called up the cantrip of detection, the incantation barely a whisper.

“She knew all their names,” Nerani hissed, pushing closer. “She knew what they did, what they needed, how they lied. She wouldn’t have told, but their fear blinded them. Made them not believe her. So I felt how long it took her to fall. How her legs broke, her spine shattered when she struck the ground. I felt her bleed to death in the dark…”

There was no magic in her. No sign of the possession or enchantment that Elathien would have sworn she was seeing, no sign of Nerani’s thoughts or actions controlled by some outside force. With a sharp cry of pain, the girl pushed past her, stumbling toward the laboratory door.

Which was open now, Elathien saw.

The white light from the corridor beyond pushed up against the pale glow of Elathien’s spell-light, shimmering along a boundary like oil and water settling slowly against each other.

The door had been closed when Nerani stepped away from it. A thousand things could have explained it opening, from the most minor incantation to a loose latch and a breath of air from the corridor beyond. Elathien felt a chill twist through her all the same, rising from the base of her spine as Nerani turned to her.

“They killed Irandis,” the girl said. “You wanted to know.”

“What?” Elathien’s voice caught as she spoke. “I wanted to know what?”

“You wanted to know why I came here. To Blackheath.”

Nerani’s steps were steady as she made her way down the corridor, bare feet silent on the stone floor…

Categories
publishing self-publishing writing

Love Lies Bleeding free — today & tomorrow — via amazon #kindle

My novella, Love Lies Bleeding, can be downloaded for free today and tomorrow (Sept 29 & 30) via your Kindle reader or app. This is the first time I have offered any of my books for free, so it will be interesting to see how the free days go. If you do grab it for free over the next two days, I would love to hear what you think of it … the novella in itself is a bit of an experiment for me, as it is the first time I have attempted to translate one of the my screenplays into narrative form.

Genre: Horror/Comedy/Romance

Synopsis: Pamela just wants to reunite in the afterlife with her dead fiancé, Grady. Problem is, Grady was a secret agent, and his coded emails have infuriated both his employers and his enemies. They need Pamela alive. So, instead of her planned suicide, she is kidnapped by black ops agents, tortured by mobster warlords, hunted by a psychotic killer, and chased by zombies … all necessary evils in order to ultimately walk into the sunset with her true love.

WARNING: Love Lies Bleeding is a darkly comedic, bloody romance about love conquering all, even death. This is NOT a young adult novel. It contains graphic violence, nasty language, and more than a little bit of flesh eating. There are no soft kisses, soulful stares, or moonlit rainstorms.

The novella is approximately 28,000 words, and currently followed by a twelve-chapter excerpt from the novel, After The Virus.

Links: (available via all 6 stores): Amazon US & Amazon UK

My favourite quotes:

“Denial was Erwin’s friend, and favorite vacation spot.” – Chapter 4, Love Lies Bleeding

“I can’t figure out what we are playing at, good cop, bad cop, concerned nutritionists …” – Phil, Love Lies Bleeding

“Don’t worry dear. Be a good girl and you never have to find out what’s in the crate.” – Mr. Doyle, Love Lies Bleeding

“I’m just looking to match this empty shell to my departed soul.” – Pamela, Love Lies Bleeding

“I need help. Or at least directions. I’m being chased by a psycho … killer, though given the day I’ve been having I could be wrong about his intentions.” – Pamela, Love Lies Bleeding

I hope you enjoy the free read!!

Categories
cats excerpts On My Desk Today personal reflection writing

From this week’s writing:

I am currently in the middle of writing the first draft of The Seer of The Wastelands, which is the direct sequel to Spirit Binder, and will be hopefully released this December. Here are some bits from this week that struck me as tiny pieces of gold among the dull, serviceable rock of the first draft.

Monday:

Jose stepped toward Ema. “You underestimated me, Seer,” he growled.

She shook her head sadly, “No, you underestimated the wolf.”

He glanced back at the wolf, it regained its feet with a shake of its head. A nasty cut sliced through the thick pelt of its broad shoulder.

“A second blow with finish the beast.”

“Not from your sword.”

He turned back to her, holding his bloody sword aloft. “And why not this sword?”

“Because its wielder is already dead.”

“What — ” He stumbled, and looked, rather belatedly, down at his leg. It was bleeding profusely. “But I heal,” he murmured, confused.

“Not this,” Reyes snarled, and stabbed Jose through the heart from the behind.

Tuesday:

Reyes snickered. “Let the Seer do her tricks if our host requests it. I wouldn’t personally believe a word out of her mouth.”

“A man like you wouldn’t want to believe in anything beyond himself,” the Rancher replied, calm but forceful.

Reyes narrowed his eyes as he bared his teeth in a grimace of a smile. “We are your guests,” he growled, and then rose to leave the room.

Wednesday:

As he came to his finish he whispered, “Ema,” into her neck, and she realized it was the first time he’d called her by her given name. Later, when she cried his name again and again as his fingers brought her over the edge of bliss and beyond, she understood the need to name the source of that utter pleasure, that moment of utter freedom … no matter how fleeting it was …

Thursday:

“Get out of bed, Seer,” Wyn snapped.

“They will wait,” she murmured.

“You knew they would come,” Jared said, something dangerous not well-hidden in his tone.

“Yes,” she whispered, and he moved away from her.

“You knew they were coming when you came to me last night?”

A door click indicated that Wyn had retreated into the hall.

“Yes,” she answered, pulling up the sheet to try to dampen the chill that surrounded her now.

Friday:

“We are well met, Jared Null,” she whispered. “All will be well.”

“You are dismissed, Null. Run along after your friends,” the corporal sneered, and Ema suddenly hated him for his prejudice toward the mercenaries, even though his attitude was typical and expected.

“Ema,” Jared said, her name a quiet and desperate sound that seemed to explode from his chest painfully and without intention.

She closed her eyes and repeated, “We are well met.” Then she turned away.

Categories
On My Desk Today personal reflection self-publishing writing

Hmmm, bon bons …

I just exchanged the following series of texts with Michael:

Me: Finished the final pass on LLB*. It’s pretty clean. Only minor corrections needed. I should be able to upload it tomorrow.

Michael: Fantastic baby.

Me: Yeah!! Happy.

Michael: You should be. You’ve been working really hard this year.

Me: Really? Seems like playing. You work hard!!

Michael: Still. It’s not like you have a secretary taking diction while you lounge on the sofa eating chocolate. Oops. I hope I didn’t just give you any ideas for the future.

Me: Hmmm, bon bons…

Michael: Crap. Now you’re going to work twice as hard if you have that dream in your sights.

Me: Maybe I could dictate while knitting. Or doing Pilates. Maybe someone could just follow me around and record my every word. How riveting would THAT be??!

Michael: I’ve created a monster.

———

*Note: LLB refers to my soon-to-be-released novella, Love Lies Bleeding.

Categories
publishing writing

Goodreads Giveaway – Spirit Binder in Paperback

Enter to win a paperback copy of After the Virus from September 10 – 21, 2012.

Accepting international entries.

ENTER HERE

AUTOGRAPHED COPY!

“With magic and spells, blood ties and unknown enemies, Spirit Binder is dark, fun fantasy read that can take you away to another world.” – 4 stars, Headshot Heather, http://doubleshotreviews.com

“[Spirit Binder] is a fairly fast-paced novel, moving very quickly and endearing the characters to the reader’s heart as it unfolds. I truly enjoyed all the characters  . . . and found the entire premise of this novel to be quite unique and very interesting.” – 4 stars, A Book Vacation, http://bookvacations.wordpress.com

“I love when things are different and fresh . . . you’ll be totally shaken up with all the things this poor girl has to go through . . . and yet again, she’s my hero . . . and then there’s Hugh and Ren! I read [Spirit Binder] in one sitting, and no it isn’t short, but it’s so good. I would classify it more on the fantasy side, with a dystopian feel.” – 5 stars, Maghon Thomas, http://magluvsya03.wordpress.com

Synopsis: Theo woke severely injured, covered in blood, and missing ten years of her life.

Just to complicate matters further, Theo was born under a prophecy; one that has rabid followers with three different interpretations, all of whom are willing to sacrifice her in order to fulfill it.

Not knowing if she can trust the stranger she’s betrothed to, the warrior visiting her dreams, or even her own mother, Theo tries to piece together her past only to find that her present is far more dangerous.

It’s the power of her own blood that scares her most of all. This is a responsibility Theo never wanted, and a destiny she cannot deny, “All because of a prophecy she was trying not to believe in, but kept fulfilling.”

Keywords: fantasy, dystopian, magic, romance, post-apocalyptic, prophecy, destiny

Categories: Fantasy – Magical, Paranormal, Romance

ENTER HERE

Categories
blog photography vancouver

Post No Bills

I discovered this amusing series of photos while walking down West 4th Avenue in Kitsilano on July 28, 2012 – yes, I’ve been remiss in posting it.

An entire block is under construction between Yew and Maple (??) and some brilliant person posted these photos on the plywood wall built between the sidewalk and the site. I’ve included my favourite “Bills” in the photo series above, but there were easily 20+ photos (if memory serves).

Thank you for the laugh, Anonymous Vancouver street artist … a tip of the blog to you!

Categories
blog writing

Top ten posts of all time …

On a whim — just right now — and perhaps spurned on by this blog post over on Mr. asperger today, I clicked through my stats page to see my top viewed posts of all time. The top ten, disregarding the “home” (#1) and “about” (#3) pages, was very interesting.

A gardening post takes the top spot (after the home page): All the baby plants, written back in May 2010, but then no other gardening posts make it onto the rest of the list.

The next two highest viewed posts are knitting related, les Abeillies, Knitter’s Loom, and knitting reappears further down the list two more times with, Knitting FOs & Yarn Bombing. That’s four posts in the top ten. This is due to the popularity of the subject matter, I think. These posts often come up in specific google searches.

Interestingly, the more personal marketing style posts/pages take spots #4 and #5 respectively with Spirit Binder – book cover reveal and the page for After The Virus.

Baking only occupies one spot in the top ten with Chewy Gooey Chocolate Cookies, which is also interesting because I did a bunch of baking posts early on in conjunction with my web series, SiftingRealities, but not one of them makes the top ten … in fact, of those posts, the next highest ranked one is … #23 … with Zombie Gingerbread People.

Suicidal Bananas — a funny, joke post inspired by The Bloggess — holds the #9 spot.

And, an actual personal — say insightful — post? Only one makes the top ten, That line you feed yourself, and the next one is WAY down the list … no wonder I rarely write them!

So all the pretty pictures or pictures of cats I like to post? It looks like no one is really interested in seeing those at all … the top one ranks #22, with a Conversation with Leo.

Does this mean I will change the way I post … say post more about gardening? I seriously doubt it. I seem to post based on how I feel, what I see, or what I am working on …

What about you? Take a look at your top ten posts of all time, will you change the way you blog based on that list?

Categories
blog personal reflection publishing reviews self-publishing writing

Insightful blog posts?

I don’t write insightful or instructive blog posts.

I read a lot of blogs. I follow all the news about filmmaking or publishing or writing – whatever I happen to be interested in that day – but I don’t write them. It doesn’t really occur to me to share my opinion on such things as self-publishing, or buying book reviews, or ebooks in libraries, or the latest controversy. I twitter or facebook the posts I find most interesting and then shut down my browser and focus on writing whatever I am working on …

It has just occurred to me this morning that perhaps this is odd. Is it odd that I am not more “opinion-ly” active? Is it odd that I while I appreciate other people’s opinions, and use their blogs to keep myself vaguely informed, I don’t offer any of my own insights in return?

It’s not that I don’t have opinions on what makes a good story (structure) interesting (action) and engaging (kick ass characters), but that I rarely think to share them beyond a few guest blog posts, etc. It’s not that I am not trying to figure out how to position myself in the market and get more readers’ eyes on my books. And it’s not that I don’t have any experience to bring to the table, though most of that experience is in independent filmmaking in Canada and screenwriting.

To me writing is intense, all-encompassing.

At first, it is just about getting the story out of my head with as much focus as possible, and yet also being free enough to let the character or plot take me where it will within the structure I’ve provided. I often feel utterly empty after a few hours of writing on this level. Devoid of opinion … or even complete sentences.

Then, the next drafts are about making sure that each beat rolls into the next smoothly … with just enough information but not too much.

Then, editing. Is this word the right one? Is it simple enough that anyone will understand what the character feels or thinks, but complex enough to encompass everything I am trying to say or imply?

I write my heart, my fears, my dreams, and my aspirations into each story. All cloaked in the fictional world I’ve envisioned. I laugh … I cry … I fall in love – just a little bit – with scenes I had no idea I was going to write.

I don’t try to be insightful.

I see the story. I write it. I refine it as best I can.

And, at the end of the day or week, that is all I have. Just whatever words have made it on to the page.

I have nothing else to give, but these stories or movies. No opinions or insights, no matter that I would love to write engaging and interesting blog posts. I guess I have nothing much to say about anything else other than whatever story I am constructing.

Unless it’s a picture of a cat attempting to impede my writing, I have been known to snap a few of those. Such as: Leo in the blueberry box, Darby sleeping on a manuscript, or cats ruling the world. But I have a feeling those posts don’t count at all … not on an “insightful” level. My Facebook friends seem to like these posts the best though, and honestly so do I.

I guess this makes me kind of boring.

Sorry about that.

Maybe you’ll find one of my books or films more interesting … that is always the hope.

Categories
publishing writing

Goodreads Giveaway – After The Virus in Paperback

Enter to win a paperback copy of After the Virus from August 27 – September 7, 2012.

Accepting international entries.

ENTER HERE

AUTOGRAPHED COPY!

“After the Virus sucked me in and didn’t let me go – the writing was great, the characterisation excellent and the plot kept me on the edge of my seat.” – 4 stars, Kat from The Aussie Zombie, http://theaussiezombie.blogspot.ca

“Hold onto your hat! Prepare to enjoy a wild journey of the good, bad, and ugly after an apocalypse.” – 5 stars, Susan Frushour, Goodreads/Amazon review

“Bad guys become good, worse guys stay bad and humanity fights for what’s right. What more could I ask for? Oh and then Doidge added zombies. Bottom line, I loved [After The Virus]!” – 5 stars, Suzie Ivy, http://badluckdetective.com

Synopsis: After the virus decimates 99.9% of the world’s population, and all traces of humanity along with it, Rhiannon and Will are forced to move beyond their past fame, fortune, and personal demons to rescue a mute girl from the clutches of two warring cults.

Keywords: post-apocalyptic, dystopia, survival, zombies, suspense, thriller, horror, love

Categories: Horror, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Action-Adventure, Fiction

ENTER HERE