Salem's Daughter by Stephen Tremp

Thank you Susan for hosting me on my Salem’s Daughters Blog Tour. This post I’m spotlighting a particular character named Madelyn, one of the thirteen disembodied witches inhabiting the bodies of cute little kitties that terrorize a bed and breakfast called Murcat Manor. 

Madelyn is the youngest and a very shy girl (compared to the twelve extroverted witches) and has a different and unique gifting. She’s a genius with an incredibly high IQ. Black circles of fur around her eyes look like thick rimmed glasses giving her a nerdy look. She uses tablets and laptops when Bob and Debbie Stevens sleep to research science and technology, helping explain some of the witches magical abilities and increase their gifting. Here’s Madelyn explaining to her sisterhood: 

“With Bob’s touch screen devices, I can touch and swipe and move to any site. And I can key in words. It’s difficult, but I can do it. I punch in the first few letters, and the computer completes the word or phrase—and most of the time it gets it right, just what I wanted. This information age is nothing short of amazing.” 

This is important to the coven as the other twelve, originating in Colonial America in the early 1700s, never progressed past elementary school and had no desire to educate themselves during their previous five lives. 

Understanding E=MC2 is a cinch for Madelyn. She helps Esther, another witch, employ a new trick; creating energy bursts from water vapor in the air. Esther had always been able to cause small explosions but never understood the incredible potential she had. Madelyn teaches her to focus on converting hydrogen from water molecules in the air into helium and energy is released. The result is much smaller than an explosion, but still another very effective toy to help terrorize the guests at Murcat Manor. 

Madelyn also benefits herself from access to the Internet. As the story progresses, certain people begin to make connections that there’s more to these thirteen lazy cats than meets the eye. The witches are locked in numerous deadly battles with these characters and often it’s Madelyn who use logic, not magic, to defeat those who challenge the cats and their mystical powers. 

Madelyn is one of my favorite characters in Salem’s Daughters. It was a challenge to develop her since she doesn’t have an ability like the others, but after much perseverance, I think I ended up with a real winner with the nerdy introvert. 

Short Blurb: A four hundred year old evil is unleashed when the daughters of those killed during the Salem Witch Trials find a new generation of people to murder at a popular modern-day bed and breakfast. 

Stephen Tremp writes Speculative Fiction and embraces science and the supernatural to help explain the universe, our place in it, and write one of a kind thrillers. You can read a full synopsis and download Salem’s Daughters by Clicking Here. 

Nerdy Me Hard at Work Writing Salem's Daughters

Stephen Tremp posts weekly blogs at his website Breakthrough Blogs. 

Next Stop: Tuesday October 13th Stephanie Faris for How I Use Kids in Salem’s Daughters. To kill, or not to kill. That is the question (and that's not really me hahaha).

Interesting Things Abound

Today I have lots of tidbits. Let's start with the cover reveal and pre-order link for Stephen Tremp's upcoming release, Salem's Daughters, a paranormal mystery. A couple of my favorite genres there. Congrats to Stephen.

In more book news, some twitter link led me to this article at the Digital Reader about Walmart actually carrying a self-published book. As many of you know, chain stores like Walmart and Target sell a lot of physical books. It's always good for an author's sale to have their work on those shelves. Great news for indie authors.

If you walk into a book store, you know they have all the highly publicized books right up fronts, often with their own displays. Huffington Post but together this list of The 9 Most Talked-About Books of 2015 (So far). I'll probably read one of those for sure, maybe two.

As a charter member of IWSG, I found this post amusing and also pretty much spot on. It really is a kind of a pick up as it lists Four Things Writers Can Stop Stressing About Right Now. Does the list make sense to you.

Another interesting note was the Smithsonian Article about how scientists are excited about all the artifacts they're finding as ice melts in Yellowstone. Apparently, there are so many things appearing that they can't keep up. Ice preserves things like wool, animal hides and other things that they can't learn about from fossils.

On a fun in the neighborhood side of things, we had a rabid raccoon in the backyard. By the time our friend arrived with his gun to shoot it, the poor thing had staggered into a brush-filled woodland area beside our property and we couldn't find it. Now we're keeping an eye on all the wildlife that make their homes around us. Lots of groundhogs, a few skunks, squirrels, and the domesticated ones that often roam free. My youngest son once had to get rabies treatment for a dog bite. I wouldn't want anyone to have to through that.

I'm getting back to editing this week, a part of writing I used to dread but now it's my favorite part. My goal is to get two more books to my publisher by the end of the year so there's lots to be done.

Are you reading or have read any of those 9 books listed by Huffington? Did that article about stress relieve your mind on anything? Do you even buy books at stores like Walmart or Target? Even had a run-in with a rabid animal?

Survive and Thrive BlogFest

The blogfest is meant to bring awareness of disease prevention and early detection regarding medical conditions that may be averted or treated if caught in the early stages. Our desire is to motivate people to go in for early screening, and if a condition is caught early and treated, then our world just became a little better place to live.

The topics are wide open. You can post about a particular cause you support. Or you can share a personal or family experience that is near to your heart. What’s great about this Blogfest is you can inspire people to take care of themselves and their loved ones early enough to make a difference in their lives.

Hosted by

Stephen Tremp http://stephentremp.com/

Alex J. Cavanaugh http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com/

Michael Di Gesu http://writing-art-and-design.blogspot.com/

L. Diane Wolfe http://circleoffriendsbooks.blogspot.com/

I waited in the car at the middle school for my 7th grade son, James, to finish basketball practice. He walked out of the school rubbing his the middle of his chest. I questioned him about it and he confessed to having chest pains at times during practice and had experienced them months before when playing football.  After a visit to the family doctor who did and EKG and offered no answers, we ended up at the cardiologist. The doctor shook my son's hand, looked him up and down and said he knew what was wrong with my son. After an ultra-sound, his diagnosis of a form of Marfan syndrome was confirmed. People with Marfan syndrome often die early from heart conditions that result from this connective tissue disorder. If I hadn't noticed my son rubbing his chest, he might never have been diagnosed until the worst happened.

Though it doesn't happen often, the sudden death of a young athlete usually makes headline news. Almost all those deaths are a result of some type of cardiac failure. The majority of those cardiac incidences are hypertrophic cardiomyopathy which is a condition where the heart muscle thickens. Many of these deaths could be prevented by EKG screenings done before play is permitted such as is required in some other countries like Italy and Israel.  An abnormality on an EKG would then require further testing. On the other hand some physicians group claim there are too many false positives that would prevent healthy athletes from participation.  No one argues with the cost of these screenings, only the necessity. 

Young Hearts for Life is an example of a program that promotes and performs cardiac screening for your athletes. According to their website, sudden cardiac death claims 60 young people per week. These victims are most often male and participants in football or basketball.  I know many of my fellow bloggers had children who are or will someday participate in sports. Does their school and recreation organization require cardiac screenings? Read what other parents think about it.

James at the Broadmoor

The loss of a loved one hurts more than can be said. When it's a young person, perhaps a physically fit athlete, it is especially heart wrenching and so often preventable. As for my son, James, he has some life-long restrictions but he's a very healthy person. He has participated in track and field, baseball and cross-country since his diagnosis. He runs nearly every day, 10-15 miles, and lifts weights though he's not to ever lift more than half his body weight. He recently graduated from Penn State as a golf professional and is employed at the Broadmoor Resort in Colorado Springs, the number one golf resort in the country for 2014. Every year he has an ultrasound on his heart and aorta and as long as his blood pressure stays down he's med-free. Not all parents have been as lucky as me. Is this a cause you could get behind?

We often think about health screenings as we age but there are tests we should insist on for our young people.  This blog hop was a super idea. Please read the other blogs and find some great causes to support and perhaps some health advice you should listen to.

Have you ever had an EKG? Do you know a young person with a heart problem? What health screenings to you believe are essential?

IWSG: July Version

Welcome to this month's IWSG post. This supportive group was started by that energetic writer and musician, Alex J. Cavanaugh. And now the group is supported by a blog all of its own and a Facebook page. Find the entire list of participants in the hop here. Try to visit a few new friends this month.

In this sometimes lonely business of writing, most of us develop online friendships with other bloggers. I can't imagine doing this without the support of the blogging community. How do you select the bloggers you follow and visit often?

I can't highlight all the blogs I love here but I'm going to give a few examples of blogs I visit numerous times per week and why.

Some blogs have a little bit of everything such as Alex J. Cavanaugh's blog. Movie reviews, promotion, support of other writers, occasional music stuff and links to other interesting sites. I almost always click on a link I find in his posts.

Some blogs have content that I find very interesting. I love science and Stephen Tremp feeds my curiosity with the variety of facts he puts together on his posts.

Some bloggers have a lot of craft advice and I learn something every time I visit. Such as Anne R. Allen's blog or L. Diane Wolf who keeps me updated on the latest industry news.

Some bloggers impress me with how supportive they are. If you want to make a friend who will appreciate your friendship in return, visit Robin. You haven't known blogger love until you appear on her Here's to You Thursday.

One of my ongoing goals that I'm not even close to reaching is to break into the short story market. Shannon Lawrence posts links to all kinds of short story markets once per week. Recently I've been sharing them with my daughter who is considering sending out some of her writing.

Then there are the blogs that make me laugh. I just enjoy them. These bloggers just have an entertaining way with words. There's Pat who prepares his posts about two light years ahead of time. Mark Koopmans gives a delightful insight into being a stay at home dad. Ivy amuses me in so many different ways I can't describe them all and she's my heroine in couponing savings. Then there's my friend, Ava Quinn, former Possum Queen. I still haven't tried those recipes.

Those are just a few of the blogs I follow and as you can see, it's for a variety or reasons. Most of them are loosely connected to writing though not all the posts are about writing. I couldn't stay active in the blogging world if the blogs I frequent weren't entertaining and fun.

What do you look for in the subject matter of blogs you decide to follow? Do you enjoy a variety or do you stick with one subject? Is there a blogger that makes you laugh? Have you visited more of the IWSG bloggers?

Stephen Tremp: Science And The Supernatural, or E=Mc2

It's my great pleasure to introduce Stephen Tremp today as part of his blog tour for Escalation. You don't want to miss this one. I certainly didn't. Please read my review on Amazon along with lots of others and you'll be convinced. So take it away, Stephen.

What Is Your Why? Can you define a platform you can build your brand on? For my platform, I want to help bridge the gap between science and the supernatural in order to help explain the universe and our place in it. For my brand, I want people to associate wormholes and portals between our four dimensional world and other dimensions that most likely exist, with me and my books.

I can think of no greater division between people than science and the supernatural. All too often, both parties draw a line in the sand that might as well be as wide as the Grand Canyon, then take separate sides and shout out just how ignorant each other are. 

Let’s explore this a little deeper.

Little Johnny won’t go to sleep. He’s sure there is a monster under his bed. Little Susie cries out in the middle of the night. She knows she saw a creature in the closet. Your crazy aunt Edith swears she sees angels protecting you and the rest of the family members.

An over active imagination? Unfounded fears? Flashbacks? Maybe. Maybe not.

Since man has walked this Earth, people from every culture claim to have seen, heard, and even touched beings that can only be described as not of this world. We live in a four dimensional universe of up and down, left and right, back and forth, and time. At least, that’s all we can perceive with our five senses.

But what if there are more dimensions? Certain scientific theories seem to support and even predict such things in a most elegant way. And there could be a whole lot of wonderful, strange, and terrifying beings that live there. Well, if so, no worries. At least they’re there and we’re here. Right?

 Excerpt from Escalation: The Adventures of Chase Manhattan, after an encounter with good and evil beings not of this world:  

“If angels and demons are hyper-beings, creatures that exist in extra dimensions, then they can manifest themselves as angels of light. Perhaps they can easily roll right out of additional dimensions of hyperspace as light, or pure energy. Then they convert to mass in our three-dimensional universe as a being we can perceive with our five senses.”

But how can they do that? Albert Einstein was way ahead of his time. E=MC2. Equal means the same. Energy and mass times the speed of light squared are the same thing. So once again, an angel or a demon could step back and forth between dimensions at will (as long as they have authority to do so). Energy to mass, or a physical being that can be seen, heard, smelled, and touched. Then from mass right back into energy and poof, they’re gone just as quickly as they appeared.

So perhaps those monsters or angelic sightings we saw as children were more than imaginary. Kids. Their innocent minds are not as polluted as ours when it comes to viewing and perceiving the world we live in.

Stephen Tremp is the author of the Breakthrough series. Together, Breakthrough, Opening, and Escalation follow the lives of the unlikely participants from innocence to a coming of age through sacrifice, betrayal, passion, lust, unconditional love, and hope. Escalation will appeal to fans of modern-day science fiction, paranormal, action, horror, and even romance.

Stop by Stephen's blog and find more of his insightful thoughts on science and our future.

And to download Escalation: The Adventures of Chase Manhattan At Amazon

Thanks, Stephen. So readers, do you think there are other dimensions? If so, what will we find there? Have you checked out Stephen's blog and followed his tour?

 

 

 

2014 Wormfest

What an exciting Monday. Let's start with Stephen Tremp's kickoff for his Escalation blog tour. He's visiting Alex J. Cavanaugh today and will appear here later this month. Good luck to Stephen.

This week is also National Wormhole Week. The Wormfest blog hop is hosted by Stephen Tremp, Alex J. Cavanaugh and L. Diane Wolfe. This years science theme challenge is to name one technological advance that you believe will greatly benefit mankind and also one that might set humanity back. Find the full list of participants on any of their blogs.

I didn't even have to think about this one as a former educator. Each year more and more educational opportunities become available online. It's wonderful. Probably most of you attended a traditional school like I did. We had a choice of three foreign languages at my old high school. Today I would have hundreds of choices. Your little school doesn't offer a certain science class, go online and find it. Attend college online. My son has done all his master's work online. It's convenient, saves money and seems of infinite possibilities. The advantages to online education are too numerous for a short post.

Many, maybe even most high schools, already offer some courses online or an entire cyper curriculum for their students. Some have hybrid learning courses where they meet with an instructor some classroom meetings but most learning is with their computers. For the properly motivated eager learner, these type of learning environments can be great. But the unmotivated student often needs the presence of an actual teacher to offer encouragement and guidance. Not all students will have equal access to all the educational options no matter how much we vow to make that happen. Could the future of educational as an online entity create a gap between the best and brightest and even the average student? Will the important social skills learned in schools become a thing of the past? How far will technology go in limiting personal interaction?

I think we're already within the educational wormhole. Good or bad? What do you think?

I hope you'll share your wormhole thoughts this week. Remember to visit Stephen Tremp and follow his blog tour and the Wormfest. Also visit L. Diane and Alex J.

Oh, How I Miss You, Stephen

Another clever idea from some of the wonderful, ambitious bloggers in my sphere of cyberspace. Alex Cavanaugh, Andrew Leon, and Matthew MacNish organized this blogfest where one can mention a blogger they've missed or would miss if they should drop out of this strange blogging life.

I don't remember how I first met Stephen Tremp, but I immediately began following his blog for a number of reasons. First of all, he often writes about science, sharing facts in ways anyone can understand without oversimplifying things. Also, he writes action filled suspense which I like to read. Add to that how Stephen is a very generous, kind person. He's also a committed family man and that's a fine quality in a person. I've missed Stephen's blog posts a lot lately. His blog moved around for a bit and somehow I kept overlooking his new residence when I visited blogs and I would only find him on occasion. I think I have finally put his blog back on my sidebar, I think, and removed his old address. I've missed him, but I'm not missing him anymore.

Did you check out the other participants in this blog hop? You might meet some people you want to never miss again. Do you know Stephen?

Get Healthy Blogfest

Thanks to these great bloggers who are hosting this Get Healthy blogfest. I'm hoping to learn a lot and you can too. Visit any of the hosts and find full lists of participants there.

Alex Cavanaugh
Stephen Tremp
L. Diane Wolfe
Michael Di Gesu

To be a successful writer, you have to spend hours with your butt in a chair unless you're lucky enough to have one of those desks that set on your treadmill. I still want one of those. Especially when you're on a deadline, personal or set by someone else, you'll find yourself relatively immobile for long periods.

I like to jog for my main workout though I'm much slower than I used to be. When I was younger, jogging meant five miles in about forty minutes, but it takes me a lot longer now.  My jogging now is rather pathetic but I enjoy it. The problem with slower paces is the lower level of intensity. Orthopedically, I just can't run like I used to. Too many knee surgeries, so I have to find different ways to keep the intensity up. I do that outside by heading for the hills. Up hill is so much harder than level, whether jogging or walking. But at my pace, I still need to spend a lot of time out there to get the workout I used to get by going faster. Being a writer, I don't always have that hour or hour and a half I need to get a good workout.   The answer, intensity. I can't go faster, so I climb those dang hills.  On the treadmill in bad whether, I really crank up the height angle so I burn a lot of calories.

Time limits on your workout = increase your intensity. You can burn more calories in a shorter period of time.

Do you make changes in your workout when time is short? Do you have a helpful hint to stay healthy? Have you changed how you work out as you get older or do you still go as hard as you did years ago?

National Wormhole Day

Thanks to Stephen Tremp and Laura and Luanne at Bards and Prophets for putting together this neat little fantasy jaunt. Each post is a short plan of what you would do if you could step through that wormhole to any place and time. Would you go forward or backward? Would you try to change something?

I guess I've watched too much Doctor Who, but I would be afraid to go back and time to change something. You know changing one little thing in the past could have big repercussions for our present despite how tempting it might be. So I would go to the future.

First of all, I really, really have always wanted to go through the Stargate. I really believe there is life on other worlds and I want to see them. So for my Wormhole day trek, I want to go one thousand years in the future where I can experience some travel to other worlds or at least learn about them. I want to know. And if I pick up the cure for some diseases while I'm there, I'll bring that back too. Perhaps the answer to the world energy needs and a way to end poverty and have world peace. The only way mankind will survive that long is if we've overcome those issues.

So where would you go? Want some ideas? Visit other bloggers for Wormhole Day.

I'm Susan

Thanks to Stephen Tremp, Elis Fallson, Mark Koopmans and C.M. Brown, today is the day to reintroduce myself to my blog readers and followers. The idea behind this bloghop is very sensible. Not many followers have been with a blog since the very first day. When one starts a blog, usually that first post is an introduction. Any introduction only a few people see so followers generally get to know a blogger in bits and pieces thereafter. So here's a quick roundup of who I am.

I am published in epic fantasy and fantasy romance. I write romance under the pen name Susan Kelley and fantasy under my real name, Susan Gourley. My day job is as a high school health and PE teacher and as I remind everyone at every opportunity, this is my last year before retirement. I have two wonderful stepsons, three sons and a daughter. One son attends Penn State and my daughter is at Boston University. I love writing, reading, running, baking, needlework, jigsaw puzzles and family time most of all. I grew up in a large family on a dairy farm. If I write something about cows or baling hay, you can bet I know what I'm talking about. I'm pretty sure I can do the whole survival thing if that TV show, Revolution, come true. Enough about me. Go visit more blogs.

In staying with my hopes to give something back to people who have helped me along the way, I would like to mention my friend, Misty Simon, has a new book out, What's Life Without Sprinkles? If you like some laughs while you're reading, read one of Misty's books. Check out the great reviews she received on Amazon. I'll be telling you more about Misty and a blog project she's starting later this month. Some of you will be interested :)

Don't forget about A to Z sign up starting this Wednesday. I'll be on there the first day.

Do you need to reintroduce yourself? Signing up for A to Z? Like some laughter with your reading?

Writers4Writers

I thought and thought about it. Should I join another blogfest or bloghop. I figured I shouldn't with all the balls I'm juggling right now.

But Writers4Writers is too great an opportunity to pass up. In today's publishing realities, the best way to make sure readers find your books is through word of mouth or in this case, word of social media. Some very generous people have taken the time to organize this and help out with book exposure.

The kick off star is Nancy S. Thompson promoting her book, The Mistaken. Take a moment to check out this thriller. Love the cover.

Take a moment to like the Writers4Writers facebook page and see if it might be something you want to be part of.  Want to join, go to Stephen Tremp's blog and check out the linky list. I hope you'll take the time to tweet or post on facebook about Nancy's book. Let's make this work.

What do you think about Writers4Writers? Joining? Have your own promotional efforts going? What's working for you?

Not So Fun, But Getting Lots Done

Wow, has the past week been productive. My niece designed a great cover for Book #3 in The Futhark Chronicles. I have the edits done on Beneath the Mountain. I intend to have it Amazon and Smashwords before the end of the month.

Original Art work
by
Gayle Bower

I participated in two blog fests and met some great bloggers as well as visited lots of old friends.

I sent a query to my romance publisher, New Concepts today for the 81K futuristic romance I finished a few days ago. Yesterday I polished up my synopsis for it.

Today I'll be working on my blurbs for Stephen Tremp's blurb critiquing exercise on Wednesday. I need three of those pesky things by the end of them month. I had to send one in for First Dragon already but I know I can improve it with a little help from my blog friends.

On the home front, I'm almost done crocheting my daughter's college blanket. I made one for all my boys and they still use them on their beds. This one has taken me a long time because I had so much writing to do.

Then just to make sure I sit around to write and crochet, I had some knee surgery last Friday. I may have mentioned how hard I've been working out for the last year. About a month ago, those downhills started to really hurt my knee. Doc cleaned it out for me so I'm limping around, trying to stay off of it so it heals. Perfect excuse to sit, write, read and crochet.

So what's the best excuse you ever had to sit still and work on a project? Are you participating in some of the cool blog fests going around? Is everyone at your house ready for the start of school?

Shaping Up

I might have shared a few months ago that I had finally worked my way back into shape. A few orthopedic issues had sidelined me for over a year but all was good. It is hard work at my advanced age. I remember the days of not working out for months and then deciding to pick it up again and go out on the road for five miles. That was 'back in the day.'

But I'm not writing today about physical fitness. I'm writing about writing. I recently received my third book back from my wonderful personal editor and decades old friends(she's much younger than me) and worked to fix all the things she marked for me. Did I tell you she's wonderful. No, I won't share her with you. I'm now waiting to get my artwork from my cover specialist, Gayle. Gotta love those young people who are magicians on their computers. It's all shaping up.

My WIP is coming along like a race horse. It's already at 23K and I hope to have it finished by the time I return to teaching at the end of August and send to New Concepts Publisher, my romance publisher.

 For both Beneath the Mountain, Book #3 of The Futhark Chronicles and for Heart of Stone, I'm going to have to come up with some one-liners and attention grabbing blurbs. I don't hate writing blurbs as much as I dread writing a synopsis, but I don't enjoy. Tada ......

Stephen Tremp to the rescue. Stephen, a success author and promoter, is running a blogfest in August for blurbs. I'll be able to get feedback for my blurbs, read lots of other examples of blurbs. I learn by studying examples. I'll get those blurbs of mine in shape. You can sign up to be part of it.

So how is your writing shaping up recently? Are you going to check out Stephen's blurb fest? Are you good at writing those blurbs?

No Excuses

Nearly a year ago, I was cleared to work out again after some serious ankle surgery. I gave myself a 'no more excuses' lecture on getting back in shape. And I followed through and am nearly at my goal of being physically fit (for my age).

Now I need to do the same thing with my writing.  Some of my writing friends are busy promoting their recent works and making a huge splash.  Take Stephen Tremp over at his Breakthrough Blog. I missed his big push on Monday but I wanted the chance to mention him here.  I loved Breakthrough and have his second novel, Opening, on my TBR.  I'll be getting to it before his third novel, Escalation, is released this fall. 

Others of my friends have been promoting their books through conferences and panel presentations like Cate Masters.  Check out some great info she shares on her blog about things she's picked up at said venues.

Alex Cavanaugh somehow keeps his very busy blog fresh and interesting while working on his third novel and dares to post his progress on this sidebar. 

I could list even more of my blogger friends who make no excuses.  They have day jobs, families, active blogs and busy online presences, and still get their writing done.  So my motto for the next few months is no excuses. No excuses.

Any excuses you can do away with?