Guest Author: Elizabeth Mueller

Please welcome Elizabeth Mueller today as she talks about the characters in her upcoming release, Darkspell, and also take a glimpse into the writer behind the story.  Let's start with a few questions and don't forget to enter Elizabeth's super, wonderful contest for prizes a little bit out of this world.

How do you select names for your characters and do any of those names have a special meaning or origin for you?

I love the name Alex. In my opinion, it has that sexy, rugged feel to it. As for Winter, it feels fragile, beautiful and light. I do what feels right as I write.

You write YA. Are you hoping to provide a momentary escape or do you hope your readers receive something more from reading your novel?

I’m aiming for both! Though our trails weigh us down to the point of devastation, there is always hope. Always. I just love the freeing emotion of triumph after hardships.

Tell us something about your villain and what makes him or her interesting?

Ooh, the villain. He is a twisted, evil thing that shapeshifts into a demonic creature. He rules by magic and great power. Nothing stops him from hunting Winter down once he discovers her secret. Or had he always known?

Most readers want their heroes and heroines to take the high road. Can you give us an example from your novel where this happens?

Alex is forbidden to form a romantic relationship with Winter because of his obligation to his coven and her. He respects both, but can’t help his love for her. I show it through his obvious conflict that only appears to Winter as anger.

Writing for publication can be an uphill battle and often frustrating especially for someone as busy as you. How do you motivate yourself and what kept you going until you sold that first book?

My love for writing and the therapeutic escapism it provides me is potent enough for motivation. Going back over and over for revisions can be trying, especially when I would like to see results and get moving to the next book.

I would have to say that it is my sense of purpose. It feels like the right thing to do, to get my first book published. Getting there is a drive for me like waking up. It’s an integral part of who I am. If I stop, it would be like giving up on being a mother to my four children.

I won’t do that.

Can you give us a blurb about your novel and tell us when we can purchase it.

Winter Sky believes she is everything ordinary . . . until she is kissed by Alex Stormhold.


As seer of Stormhold Coven, Alex is sworn to be Winter’s protector against the darkness that hunts her. Violently thrust into a magical realm she always thought impossible, she stumbles upon a disturbing secret of her own.

Will love prove thicker than magic?

Darkspell’s release date is fall of 2011! You can keep up at my website. Here are the places where you can buy my books in the near future at: Amazon.com, the TreasureLine Books online bookstore, Barnes & Noble ebook and paperback, ebooks: B&N, Amazon Kindle, Apple iBooks, Borders, Diesel, Sony, and Scrollmotion.

You will be able to order/reserve a personalized copy through my website soon!

Please join me in my celebration for Darkspell’s fall release all July long! A pre-book launch party if you will. Click here for details.

Thank you for visiting today, Elizabeth.  I hope all my followers will take time to enter the contest.  Leave a comment here and on Elizabeth's blog.

Droughts

Large parts of the country are suffering from devastating droughts causing irreversible damage to this years' crop of fruits and vegetables.  Here in the northeast USA we had way too much rain in the spring but the last two weeks have been rather dry. I'm doing some watering nearly every day to help my plants survive though I'm leaving the poor lawn on its own.  I'm doing the minimum of care needed to keep my greenery alive during this minnie drought.

Writers sometimes enter droughts also.  Sometimes the muse abandons them or perhaps the world sticks its relentless turning into the time a writer sets aside to be creative.  Hopefully the drought lasts only a short time

Fix It and Forget It

I really enjoy blogging though I've had trouble commenting on some of my favorite blogs while I'm working on the old desktop. Blogger keeps insisting I have to sign in over and over again on any blogs that require verification letters.

I try to prepare the blogs for an entire week ahead of time, usually on Saturday or Sunday, and then schedule them.  Each day then I can spend time visiting other blogs and not worry about creating posts for my own.  I don't always get the entire week ready, especially if I have an event occurring I will want to post about.  But I do love when I have three or four blogs all ready to go.  It reminds me of my beloved crockpot. I fix them up and then forget them until the hour they're cooked and ready to consume.

Do you prepare multiple blog posts ahead of time? Do you use a verification code on your blog?

Visions During the Mindless

Most of us have chores we do where our minds are free to wander while our bodies do work.  Running, well slow jogging nowadays, has always been a time when my thoughts bounce randomly about.  Especially in the winter when my feet are more likely to be striking the unchanging surface of the treadmill rather than dodging traffic. 

This summer I've been doing most of the mowing on our acre plus lawn with a push mower as our tractor works in fits and spurts.  I love the exercise but I really like the mindless chore where my mind can work over problems in my writing, plan dinner and dream about making it big so I can hire someone to mow the hilly parts of the back lot. 

Two days ago I did some baking while the kids and my husband were all at work.  The house was blessedly quiet and I couldn't resist pulling out some receipes I'd saved to try.  Once everything is mixed together, I realized baking was one of those chores I only needed a part of my mind to do.  Some of my thoughts turned to the grim spector of my laptop sitting all alone in a repair shop but mostly I worked through my writing plans.

Vacuuming, laundry and other household chores are other pursuits I can do with half a thought.  Gardening and washing the car are some other outdoor activities that give me lots of time to think. 

I tell myself these mindless tasks are actually time spent on my writing.  What chores or activities do you do with half a thought for what your muscles are doing? 

Back to Work

The appliance repairman saved us.  With my boys home from college for the summer, we have six people filling the clothes hampers.  The very nice and efficient repairman took care of my washer problems in less than thirty minutes.  Somehow one of my headbands floated where it had no right to be and got stuck in the pump.  He took care of it though the headband didn't survive. It was my favorite one.  Still a small price to pay for getting the washer running.

And I took the laptop to the repair place.  They're going to call me in 3-5 days with a diagonisis.  Even if they can't fix it, they're sure they can save my data.  The helpful man who took my information said because I had a black screen instead of a blue screen, it might not be a crash but a virus.  Little beasties. I have a security program I paid good money for and I'm going to be unhappy if it failed me.

Still the blogging is going okay on the desktop and I'm working on another project off a zip drive so I'm not completely stalled out. 

If my cheap laptop isn't worth fixing, I'm thinking of what I'll replace it with.  Financially, I hoped to make it last one more year and then replace it with a MAC.  The repair shop had used MAC's for sale.  My first laptop was a MAC and I've wanted another one but the cost is prohibitive for me.

Are you a PC or a MAC?  How about some pros and cons for both?

Melt Down on Two Levels

I don't usually post a lot of personal stuff on this blog, but today is the exception. First I'll start with an apology to all my blogger friends I haven't visited yesterday or today or probably tomorrow.  I'm working from my ancient desktop Dell computer and for some reason every time I try to post a comment on a blog it asks me to sign in again and again and again. I can't figure it out unless it's blogger going berserk and if it is, it just tops off the last two days.

Yesterday I went about my morning chores while all kinds of plans lined up in my head.  First thing on the list was a visit to Barnes and Noble with my daughter.  The B&N isn't far away but it's on the other side of the city so it means dealing with a lot of traffic including a major road construction project near the store.  Usually we only visit there on weekends when hopefully the roads resemble a path to somewhere more than a parking lot.  But I am a school teacher which means I'm off for the summer and can go in the middle of a week day. Can't be too much traffic, right? People are at work.  So I started a load of laundry and we set off for the bookstore armed with over $50 in gift cards.  Apparently everyone working had a travel day because they were all on the road but we made it to the store with only a few frustrations.

We spent a lovely hour with our coffees and teas, found some books by authors new to me.  Fun times.  We fought the traffic home again. I intended to finish the laundry but when I opened the lid I found it still full of water.  No agitating, no, spinning and no pumping the water out.  Some of you offered your sympathy when I had trouble with my dryer over the winter so feel free to give a little more.  Called the repairman and tried not to think of how much this would cost. 

Actually I felt a little freedom, knowing I couldn't do any laundry. So I sat down to work on that WIP.  Turned on the old(seriously old) laptop and it appeared to be starting up. But no, it gave me a black screen.  What the heck?  Restarted.  Black screen.  Restarted in safe mode.  Black screen.  Black to match my mood.  Of course I had all my documents backed up except the one I was working on.  Grrrr.....

So the two most used machines in our house, my laptop and the washer, took the crash and burn route today. I'm going to try to keep up on my blog and visit my friends but difficulties may arise.  My washer and dryer are on the second floor, right outside the bedroom, and my laptop lives on the first floor.  Somehow the combined catastrophes didn't melt down the house though my temper nearly created some flames. 

What was your worse computer quirk?  What machine can't you do without in your house? Do you work from more than one computer?

Happy 4th

And I am happy.  The economy is slamming most of us and too many of my former students are in foreign unfriendly places.  My profession, teaching, is under attack by many politicians as usual when money gets tight. My children are facing challenges I never had to and I worry they may never be able to afford the physical comforts to their future children that my husband and I provided for them. 

But I still feel like I live in a great country with more opportunities than any where else in the world. My son and I watched a soccer game where the USA women trounced Columbia.  My son had watched the women play before and said our ladies are mostly faster and stronger than their opponents.  But what other country provides the opportunity for their young women to start at an early age and compete at any level they can manage?

So happy birthday, USA, I love ya.  Thanks to those who work to keep her strong and growing.  Thanks to our wonderful friends at our borders and across the big pond for having our backs when we really need you. Happy July 4th to all.