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What’s a Story Molecule? Trailing Kaiwulf by Kayelle Allen #MFRWauthor #Scifi @MelissaSnark

Kayelle Allen 07/17/2014 Character Insights 2 Comments

Like me, my friend Melissa Snark likes the TV Tropes website. What are tropes? They’re devices and conventions that a writer can reasonably rely on as being present in the audience members’ minds and expectations. On the whole, tropes are not cliches. The word cliched means “stereotyped and trite.” In other words, dull and uninteresting. The TV Tropes site isn’t about that. It’s about the creative use of these mega-themes.

The Periodic Table of Storytelling is a site that makes good use of these themes. By putting together all the basic tropes and assigning them a range of colors and letters, it’s possible to create a “story molecule” using the themes of the story.

Melissa had an idea. Why not take the TV Tropes website and figure out how to apply its amazing concepts to her own story? She hit upon an even better idea. Why not invite other authors to do the same thing? Adding icing to the cake, she contacted the TV Tropes site and asked if they’d like to take a look. They did, she did, and a group of us got together to share the idea of creating a story molecule.

Mine is the last one in the series, so I’m doing my best to make it awesome. I hope you’ll check it out. The book I’m featuring is Trailing Kaiwulf. Why not head over there and take a look? It’s amazing what she put together. Click here: http://is.gd/kaiwulf_molecule

Find an invisible man in another dimension? All in a day’s work at TRAIL.

Travel to a godforsaken planet on the outskirts of space. Check. Hold intrusive military types at bay. Check. Find an invisible man in a different dimension. Check. Finish out the vacation TRAIL yanked you back from to do it? Easier said than done.

Yanked back from their first vacation in ages, Jee and Dane get handed a top priority mission. The pay is better than any they’ve earned before as agents for the Trace, Rescue, and Identification League. With this much money, they might not need jobs. They’re the best there is, and the item, person, or secret hasn’t been invented that these two can’t recover. Until now.

Locating this quarry might be a bit past even their considerable skills. After all, how do you find an invisible man in another dimension? And who, exactly, is footing a bill this steep? Certainly not the archaeologist in charge. The military wants to get involved, but they have no monetary stake either. So who — or what — is behind the request to trail Kaiwulf?

Excerpt https://books2read.com/com-trailing-kaiwulfAmazon https://books2read.com/com-trailing-kaiwulfThis is a Trace, Rescue, and Identification League story.
Download the official TRAIL Facebook cover and other goodies: https://books2read.com/com-trailing-kaiwulf—
Learn more about the Periodic Table of Storytelling
http://designthroughstorytelling.net/periodic/

How to Create an Immortal Hero: The Writing Process Tour #amwriting

Kayelle Allen 03/24/2014 Fallen Empires 1 Comment

pietas-beta-courtroom — Pietas Before the Tribunal (Beta)

This blog tour is different from most. A writer is tagged for the position, and she or he then tags three others to take part as well. Each shares some aspect of the writing process. . I don’t often write about writing on this blog. I reserve it for story-oriented posts. But this was a chance to show a “behind the scenes” look at what I do, and I couldn’t resist it. My post will be on creating an immortal hero.

My sponsor for this leg of the tour was Denys? Bridger. You can find her at this spot. http://fantasy-pages.blogspot.com

We’re supposed to answer these four questions about our writing processes.

1) What am I working on?

I’m creating a science fiction book about the king of my immortals, the Sempervians. The full title is Bringer of Chaos: the Origin of Pietas. The character is known as the “bad boy king” and he is an anti-hero. While he is the protagonist of this story, he is not a good guy at all. I wanted the book to give background into his character, because in an upcoming book, Surrender Trust, I want readers to understand his motives. He will definitely be the villain in that story, but he is not all bad. I have a soft spot for him, much as I hate to admit it. No one is all bad, including Pietas.

2) How does my work differ from others of its genre?

It will be illustrated. This is not a comic book or manga, but a book with an image for each chapter. I’ve included a sample for you. The art is by my son, Jamin Allen. You can find his work at Nimajination Studios. What you see here is a beta version – a rough draft for me to approve placement of characters and design. It has a great deal more work to be done, but I am excited to share this much.

3) Why do I write what I do?

I’ve loved science fiction since I was a little girl. My parents always had these types of books and I would pick them up and read them. I remember the cover of one in particular. It showed people looking up at the sky, which had been peeled back to reveal the world was nothing more than a cage. The concept fascinated me. My books all have a hint that the world as we know it is not what we assume it to be. The Sempervians have molded human society to fit their needs. Because they never die, they manage to sway political power in the direction they want to go by using influence over long periods of time. They have made alliances with humans (the Chosen) who assist them, in return for protection, power, and wealth. In my Tales of the Chosen series, one Chosen — Wulf — discovers what it is that he is being protected from. The discovery shocks him — and he will have to decide in future books whether he wants to continue assisting the Sempervians, or whether he will take a stand against them. How do you stand against immortals who secretly run the government? That’s what Wulf will have to find out.

4) How does your writing process work?

I can get an idea for a scene or a book from anything. My imagination has never been lacking. I carry a notepad and pen with me everywhere. My computer has an ideas file that’s chock full of things. Once I have an idea, I work on jotting down notes and making it coherent. It must have a beginning, middle, and end. I don’t start writing until I have a synopsis. Otherwise, for me, it’s just writing, not producing. I prefer to write when I know where I’m going. I will jot down enough to understand what I wanted to say when I look at it later, but I learned long ago not to start writing as if it were a real book. Ideas are ideas. They are not books. It saved me a lot of time once I realized the difference. I keep extensive notes for my scifi series, so an idea for that goes in my system. Currently, I use a mixture of MS Word and Excel. However, I pin images to boards on Pinterest too.

Whatever I write, I try to keep my readers in mind. I want them to understand the aspects of the story, and to enjoy the characters.

For another take on this tour, check out Mona Karel.

Character Insights: Meet Pietas | the immortal bad guy you love to hate #scifi

Kayelle Allen 03/20/2014 Character Insights

For Women Only

For Women Only is Erotic Science Fiction Romance, and Multicultural. Khyff is a master of pleasure with a tortured soul. Mehfawni falls for Khyff, and wants to redeem the man her people destroyed. The problem is, his fragile trust could be a response of love and a healing heart — or a ruse for revenge.

The antagonist of the book is Empress Rheyn Destoiya, who manipulates Khyff to gain power. Destoiya’s brother, Pietas, plays a small but crucial part in the story. These two are immortal, and manipulating humans is part of a role playing game they created called Peril. Let’s take a look.

Warning: this book contains smokin’ hot sex, humor, and angst. This combination has been proven addictive. Author assumes no responsibility for the reader’s battery consumption in adult toys while reading this book.

Palace District, Conqueror’s Palace

When her brother bowed and insisted she go first, Empress Destoiya smiled. Good. Pietas should be worried. She entered the empty foyer and took the door leading to the elevator for her private rooms. Inside it, she leaned her back against the corner, feet out, arms folded, blocking him from coming anywhere near her.

Pietas draped the black velvet cape around his shoulders and raised the hood. “I suppose you’ll be glad to see me go.”

“You still have a flare for understatement, I see.”

He faced the doors. “You have no more than fifteen years left on your current role in Peril. Most of the players outside the empire are through their games already and want reassignment. If you like, I could summon them here. It would help you, and keep them out from under my feet.”

Pietas had used the role-playing game Peril to end the boredom of immortality. They’d played tor thousands of years, each game forty years in length, scattered all across the galaxy. Unlike a human role-playing game, the Sempervians lived their roles in real time, always in character except around each other. Luck had awarded her two turns as a Ruler, and she’d ended her forty-year reign as Destoiya the Great by faking her death, and then in a coup, reclaimed it as Destoiya the Conqueror, the unacknowledged daughter of the Great. No one had suspected the twenty year old upstart of being the eighty year old deceased monarch.

Destoiya touched his shoulder. “There haven’t been more than twenty of us together anywhere in a thousand years. Why now?”

He turned toward her, but the darkness of the hood hid his face. “Don’t tell me you couldn’t use the support.”

“Oh, I could.” She brushed at lint on her black uniform. “It would nearly guarantee a win.”

“Then you want them?”

The doors opened, and Destoiya brushed past him. “Follow me.” They went through several doors, all opening with the touch of her palm on a panel. The next door scanned her retina. A long hallway led to a red door.

They reached the chamber. Destoiya turned back to Pietas. “Will accepting extra players change any of my rules, goals, or assignments?”

He made a simple, negating gesture. “No.”

“Will penalities be added?”

“No.” He pushed back his hood.

“How will their powers be decided? Will they have to roll for them, or can they use their natural abilities?”

Pietas unhooked a bag of dice and jingled it before her. “Pick one and roll it.”

She ignored the bag and withdrew a coin from her pocket. “I prefer a yes or no answer.”

He rolled his eyes, and with a sigh, returned the bag to his belt. “Call it.”

“Heads they use natural. Tails they roll.” She flipped the coin into the air.

Pietas caught it. “I feel generous. Tell me what you want and you may have it.”

“Why should I believe you?”

“I told you, Sister. I feel generous.”

Destoiya folded her arms. “The last time you said that, we lost a war. What are you up to?”

“Do you want them to roll for abilities?”

“No. Natural.”

Pietas extended his hand, and she held out hers. He placed the coin on her palm. “They’re yours.”

—
For Women Only goes out of print in June 2014, so grab it now. It won’t be re-released until the fall, in a new format. Bringer of Chaos will be released later this year.

Are you attending EPICON 2014 Conference for #Authors #Readers #EPICorg

Kayelle Allen 01/07/2014 Kayelle Allen

EPIC

Announcing some great opportunities to meet authors, readers, publishers, and for authors to share their books, brand or platform at the Electronic Publishing Industry Coalition Conference (EPICON) in March 13-15, 2014.

Advertise in the Conference Program

Grab some of the attention for your service, platform, website or new release by advertising in the 2014 EPIC Programs. Market yourself to our over 200 conference and luncheon attendees. PLUS, after the conference, the program will be placed on EPIC’s website to get you even MORE exposure! Advertising space is limited. Ads will be accepted on a first-come first-served basis. Placement is dependent on providing suitable content and payment by February 24, 2014.

Please visit http://epicorg.com/epicon.html and visit the Ad Rates to see the relative ad sizes and other information.

Goodie Bags Items

Share your promo material with 200 attendees. Sorry, no non-bound paper materials accepted. If you have questions about the items you would like to send, please contact Sabrina York. For details and shipping addresses or to ask questions about the items you would like to send, contact Sabrina York at sabrinayorkhrhATgmailDOTcom with EPICON in the subject line.

Swag Table Items

In addition to goodie bag items you can send items for the swag table which will be displayed all weekend in the registration area. For details and shipping addresses or to ask questions about the items you would like to send, contact Sabrina York at sabrinayorkhrhATgmailDOTcom with EPICON in the subject line.

Door Prizes/Gift Baskets

Get special attention by donating door prizes or gift baskets. Items will be displayed all weekend and given away throughout the conference. Donors should be sure to attached a business card and, in the case of a basket, a list of the items Please let us know what you are sending and how you would like it shared. For details and shipping addresses or to ask questions about the items you would like to send, contact Sabrina York at sabrinayorkhrhATgmailDOTcom with EPICON in the subject line.

DEADLINES

Deadline to receive items and ad materials: February 24, 2014. Advertising space is limited. Ads will be accepted on a first-come first-served basis.

ABOUT EPIC

EPIC, the Electronic Publishing Industry Coalition, was incorporated in 1998 to provide a strong voice for electronic publishing. Once an authors’ organization, EPIC has expanded to include hundreds of professionals from all facets of the electronic publishing industry: authors, publishers, editors, artists, and others. Our members work together in a unique collaboration to further the industry.

EPIC is not a publisher, but aspiring authors are invited to look at our member publishers. Check out “Our Members” for listings of our author, publisher, and other industry members.

ABOUT EPICON 2014

It’s all about the relationships…

Authors and authors.
Authors and readers.
Authors and publishers.
Authors publishers and the media.
Authors, publishers and the digital world.

This exciting conference includes fabulous workshops covering business and craft; opportunities to network with industry professionals; social events to see old friends and make new ones; opportunities to connect with readers at eFiesta!; and a gala eBook Awards Banquet.

Special features include San Antonio River Cruise, ghost tour of the historic–and haunted–Menger Hotel, great food, fun, all in the center of beautiful San Antonio, Texas, March 13-15, 2014.

Questions? Email epicon@epicorg.com

An Alien’s View of #Christmas #scifi

Kayelle Allen 12/21/2013 Humorous Stories 2 Comments

An Alien's View of Christmas A few years ago I saw a comment about the oddness of Christmas that has stuck with me. It said, “At what other time of year do you sit in front of a dead tree and eat candy out of your socks?”

Too true. We see Christmas cards of cute guys wearing Santa outfits while holding puppies. There are cards with our kids on them, or our grandkids. Pictures of decorated trees. Snow-scenes. Snowmen, in fact — snow families. St. Nicholas, aka the Jolly Fat Man. We spend money we don’t have to impress people we don’t like. Christmas is a bit odd in that way.

Now, imagine if you were an alien and had never experienced a twenty-first century Christmas before. You arrive on Earth on December 24, 2013 in North America. Your arrival was purposely quiet. Your mission is to observe and report back without being noticed. What would you say in your report?

Population: extremely heavy in rural and shopping areas, while places of apparent business seem abandoned by comparison

Advertisements: Profusion of advertising featuring a fat, graying man in a red suit trimmed with white fur, oddly mixed with what appears to be ads for exercise equipment for a “fit new year”. Same man appears on street corners ringing bells, and on thrones in places of business. People bring children to him. Cannot determine if this is a deity or a patron of sales. Suggest second trip in different season to observe.

Security: Armed and unarmed uniformed police everywhere. Extreme attention at places of commerce, and on items which appear to be small plastic cards. These are often shown before leaving with purchases, although no currency seems to change hands. Perhaps the items being removed from places of business can be recalled by the “cashier”, and the cards are merely ID.

Food: Lavish meals are being planned, with images of huge cooked birds on platters. High attention is paid to crooked red and white “canes” often decorated with attached items. Pastries in the form of small biscuit-shapes are seen everywhere. Most are decorated or festooned with icing and sprinkles. Perhaps these are the reason such attention is paid to “fitness equipment.”

Space travel: Confusingly, there are multiple images of outer space travel displaying advanced ships and alien contact, yet these all seem to be works of fiction.

Weaponry: Debates ongoing over “gun control” while civil wars are taking place throughout the world. Pockets of war interspersed with areas of peace. Most weaponry is primitive compared to ours.

First Contact: So-called UFOs are discussed everywhere. Population seems open to first contact, while government is apparently opposed to same.

Potential for Colonization: Wait another century
—

What do you think? What types of items did I miss that the alien would have reported?

Happy Holidays to you and yours, no matter what planet you call home.

Tribute to William C Hinkle by David M Beske #RIP

Kayelle Allen 07/06/2013 Kayelle Allen

Today’s post is in honor of my late brother-in-law, William “Bill” Hinkle.

Bill passed away on June 6, 2013

Poem by David M Beske

(read as part of Bill’s eulogy)

To my friend

William Clyde Hinkle

He had a very special way

Of brightening up your darkest day

Gentle and kind

Yet firm and strong

Painting “William C Hinkle” by Thomas Finley

A superstar person

I can?t believe that you?re gone

Working with you

Indeed was a pleasure

Seven years as my foreman

You were more like a mentor

I truly will miss you

Wow what a great friend

Someone I could talk too

Again and again

But now that you?ve left us

Far far behind

The Lord must have a plan

You were one of a kind

We?ll keep you close

In our hearts my dear friend

Until I see you in heaven

Take Care

The End

Sincerely,

David M. Beske

Cherry Hinkle, Bill’s widow, is an author and ufologist well-known for her extensive research. She and Bill spent many hours researching and visiting sites. The couple lived in the Las Vegas area and the desert was often cruel to plants, but Bill was famous for bringing them back from the brink. After his death, a simple willow stick included in a spray of flowers at his funeral sprouted a green sprig.

Kayelle Allen is an award-winning, multi-published author. Her heroes and heroines include badass immortals, warriors who purr, and agents who find the unfindable–or hide it forever. She is known for unstoppable heroes, uncompromising love, and unforgettable passion.

Did You Know There’s an #EarthDay Anthem? #EcoChallenges

Kayelle Allen 04/19/2013 Kayelle Allen 35 Comments

The beauty of our world

Earth Day began in 1970 and was the brainchild of Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin. It is an international holiday to promote conservation and concern for the environment.

The “Earth Day Anthem” below satisfies these requirements for a universal song associated with Earth Day. Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” melody is already the official anthem of the European Union (in that case purely instrumental without lyrics), the melody is widely recognized and easily performed, in the public domain, and originally composed for voice.

Earth Day Anthem

Joyful joyful we adore our Earth in all its wonderment
Simple gifts of nature that all join into a paradise
Now we must resolve to protect her
Show her our love throughout all time
With our gentle hand and touch
We make our home a newborn world
Now we must resolve to protect her
Show her our love throughout all time
With our gentle hand and touch
We make our home a newborn world

credit: Wikipedia
—

Drated: an abandoned world

Conservation is a prevalent theme in many science fiction stories about the future, with films like Soylent Green, Children of Men, and Avatar. Each warned of consequences for not controlling the environment. Whether it’s recycling, reading eBooks, planting a garden, or taking part in Earth Day activities, each of us can play a part. Whatever the future may hold, one thing is certain — we can each take responsibility for our surroundings and do our part to make the world a better place. Pictured: Drated, an abandoned world in the Tarthian Empire (from books in my Tarthian Empire series).

This is part of the Earth Day Hop with JustRomance.me If you came along from a different route, you can click here to begin. http://justromance.me

2013 Goals: Beginning a New Cycle

Kayelle Allen 01/21/2013 Marketing for Romance Writers 6 Comments

I’m reblogging this post, which I shared with Dariel Raye on her blog, Musings of an Independent Artist.

—

Dariel asked me, “On a scale of 1-10, 10 being the highest, how would you rate the attainment of your writing goals in 2012? Did you have goals? What will you change for 2013?”

My answer: Looking back, I set five specific goals for 2012, and met only one of them. However, I give myself a 5. I met the first because I made it a top priority and worked at it daily. I set aside the second goal for other priorities. I abandoned the third and fourth because I found better plans to follow. I completely forgot about the fifth one because I didn’t go over my goals periodically, the way I have in previous years. I won’t make that mistake in 2013. I set a new set of objectives for 2013 back in December 2012, and have already accomplished two of them. I am tweaking the list, and will be adding back the item I had forgotten.

2013 is shaping up to be a successful year for me as a writer, a person, and as a wife, mother, and grandmother. For example, my husband and I are working through a workbook by Dr. Gary Chapman called The Five Love Languages, and together, we’re reading Life Code: New Rules for Winning in the Real World by Dr. Phil McGraw. Both of these are making a difference in our personal and professional relationships.

I have short stories scheduled in two anthologies so far, and expect to complete a long awaited sequel. I’m excited by the future I see.

Okay, shoe on the other foot. What are some of your goals this year?

Today My Husband Won’t #poetry

Kayelle Allen 01/05/2013 Kayelle Allen 2 Comments

My husband and me, 2011.

Today My Husband Won’t

By Kayelle Allen

Today, my husband won’t leave his socks on the floor, or miss the hamper.

He won’t pull out a towel and mess up the way the others are folded.

He’s not going to run over the newspaper as he comes down the driveway.

He won’t leave the garage door open, or back the car into the grass on that tight corner.

My husband won’t watch the early news instead of talking to me.

He won’t ignore the family for a ball game.

He’s not going to fall asleep watching the late news.

There won’t be a magazine or book open in his lap.

He won’t complain about traffic on the freeway tonight.

He won’t sing off key in the shower.

He’s not going to putter around in the garage.

He won’t work overtime and end up being late for dinner.

It won’t be because he’s a perfect husband.

Nor because he’s turned over a new leaf.

Today, my husband won’t do any of these things…

Because my husband is now in Heaven.

I miss him.

Hug your husband today.

—

My husband is alive and well. I wrote this because I try to keep in mind every day that my spouse, like me, has a finite number of days on the earth. I want to enjoy every single one of them with him, while he’s here. Never take your loved ones for granted. We have only this moment, right now, right here. Hug your husband. Think twice about complaining about what he says or does. You have so few moments together. Make each of them count.

Autographs for Your eBooks @evanjacobs #amreading

Kayelle Allen 11/03/2012 Book Specials

Many people have autographed books. An author’s signature can increase the monetary value of a book (especially for first editions and certain authors), and it can add a great memory as well. With the advent of ebooks, that went away. After all, what would you do? Get the author to use a permanent marker on your ereader? That dilemma caused devoted reader Evan Jacobs to rethink that entire thing.

Evan was attending a reading and when it came time to sign books, he had a Kindle in his hand and no way to get an autograph — so he decided to make one. Originally, he called it Kindlegraph (Evan worked for Amazon) and it was based on the sales information available publicly through the company. I interviewed him earlier this year on Romance Lives Forever. He has since opened the platform to encompass Nook, Kobo, and all other forms of ereaders.

How’s it work?

Readers create an account, search for their favorite authors, and click a button to request an authorgraph. If they are in the system, it sends the request right away. If they are not, when the author signs on, the request will be waiting for them. Then, they create a special signature / autograph unique to that book or reader, and send it via the Authorgraph system. The reader who requested it receives a notice that a file is available for them to download, they accept the file, and appears on their ereader. Ta da! That’s it.

Can authors sign up?

Sure thing. All you do is go to http://authorgraph.com and click on “Authors – Sign Up” and then follow the prompts. It’s a matter of adding your books. Once you get a request, you can create a “live” signature by drawing your name with your mouse or tablet, or you can pick one of several hand-written fonts.

Is it free?

It is free to create an account (for readers and authors), and it’s free to request or make one. If your ISP charges a delivery fee for your Kindle, there might be a fee for the authorgraph. Check before downloading.

Can I get one from _______?

You can get one from any author who cares to sign up. Just go request it. Your favorite author might already be listed. If they are not, they can easily join.

All this was born from the fact that one reader was disappointed at not being able to get an autograph. That’s amazing. Instead of letting the disappointment get him down, he figured out a way to fix the problem. Now, no one else has to be disappointed either, and with Christmas coming, there’s no excuse not to get yourself that cool new ereader you’ve been wanting. So what are you waiting for? Go grab those authorgraphs!

You can get mine here: http://authorgraph.com/authors/kayelleallen