I’ve had a lot of work going on with Splitter for his books and blog tour, but my role in that is mostly done until he gets his next draft done. The few other projects I’ve gotten in between then and now are done, with the exception of the sci-fi piece. The sci-fi piece has a lot of potential, but it does need revised a fair bit before I’d call it shelf-worthy. I will probably need a few beta readers for it as well, so if anyone is interested please let me know.

So, I’m in the market for a few new pieces to work on in the upcoming months. Depending on the length, I would ideally like to take on another 2-3 projects for March/early April. I work mostly with Indies, and in any genre, though I prefer fantasy and paranormal.

For more information,  please see my services page.

Today I’m happy to announce our guest is from two of the books I’ve edited in the past year, The Reluctant and The Willing, by C.S. Splitter. Though he was unable to make it himself – I hear he’s busy with a blog tour – Splitter has been kind enough to send Tiny in his place. While these books follow Tom Crayder around, Tiny has been making a name for himself in them as well. He comes up with interesting ways to help Tom in some sticky situations and is always good for a laugh.

I hear he has a cult following online, too.

So, with that, here’s Tiny!

TK: Welcome Mr. Johnson, or should I call you Tiny or Hoss? Tell us a little about yourself.

Tiny: Hi Tricia!  Splitter said I should come talk to you.  Sorry I’m late but I was starving so I stopped off at the doughnut shop.  I got crullers!  Want one?  No?  OK, more for me.

Just call me “Tiny.”  Everyone does.  Well, Jake and Tom call me “Hoss” but that’s really some fat guy on an old T.V. Western show with that guy from Little House on the Prairie and Commander Adama.

TK: What do you do for a living?

Tiny: I like computers, but I work on just about anything with a circuit board.  I’m what you might call an “independent contractor.”  People need stuff done with electronics and I make it happen.  Most people don’t understand what I do, but it’s pretty much second nature for me.  Jake calls me a savant.  I don’t know what that means, but I am thinking it has something to do with being a modern day superhero.

TK: I hope you don’t wear tights. Speaking of Jake, how did you end up working with Jake?

Tiny: How did you know about that?  I, ummm, I’m not sure how much I can say here.  My uncle belonged to a club that Jake runs and when I got into some…trouble…with another member, Jake took me in.  He’s a really cool guy and his old lady, Donna, is da bomb!  She’s like a really hot mom to me—that doesn’t sound right, does it?

TK: No, not quite…. Anyway, have you known Tom for a while?

Tiny: Crash?  He’s my f’ing hero!  He saved my life once and he was really cool about it.  I don’t even think he was scared at all.  I was scared, but only a little.  We ended up landing in a cow pasture and, well, after that I ran because some people think I did things that I really didn’t.  It’s complicated.

Just a few months ago, I helped Tom and this DEA agent track down some really bad dudes, but don’t say anything to Jake.  He wouldn’t mind me helping Tom, but none of us are really down with the whole DEA thing.  Jake calls them “business obstacles” but this one was cool.  Good looking too!  She was a little touchy about some stuff, but I wouldn’t mind giving her the third degree if you know what I mean…

TK: I think I get your drift. Speaking of interesting, you have an interesting sign by your house: “Trespassers will be shot. Survivors will be shot twice.” Is it safe to assume you’re proficient with guns then?

Tiny: That’s just for show.  I don’t mess with guns anymore since—well, I don’t mess with guns anymore.  Jake says I have a problem keeping my “booger hook off the bang switch.”  Everyone says that guns don’t kill people but, I swear, sometimes they just go off.

I put the sign up because I don’t like surprises and unexpected visitors are the worst kind of surprise.  Even if they are friends, I like to at least have some time to clean the house properly.  I can’t stand a dirty house.

What does O.C.D. mean, anyway?

TK: I’ll take your word for it that you are, though I like a clean house also. Wait, doesn’t Jake own a bike club? You’re a rather hefty guy – do you ride a bike?

Tiny: Momma always said I was “husky.”  I am working on the weight thing, though.  I do yoga and Pilates and I’ve cut back on the sweets.  I’m down twelve pounds as of this morning and it’s only been six months.  Pretty soon, I won’t have to do addition to know my weight, but right now I am one spin plus 130 pounds.

You sure you don’t want a cruller?  They are delicious!  Eclair?

Anyway, my bike broke last month and I decided to get rid of it.  A spring popped and cut my left cheek.   Don’t bother looking for the scar, it’s not on my face.

Jake said I was dangerous on a bike anyway so he got me a three wheeled motorbike and it rocks!  It’s got a trunk and everything so now I installed a cooler.  I can have a cold Red Bull anytime I like!

TK: That’s, uh, great! Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Tiny: Aw, I try to not think about stuff like that.  I’m a live-in-the-moment kind of guy.  My yogi gave me these books on Eastern philosophy and I am really digging them.  Jake wants me to read this Sun Sue lady so I can take on more responsibility with the motorcycle club, but I haven’t gotten to her book yet.

It’s all about military tactics anyway.  I don’t see what that has to do with club business.

TK: Is there a women that’s caught your eye?

I met this really cool chick online.  She’s from Nevada and she likes to cyber.  Cute too.  I want to go see her, but flying is hard for me for obvious reasons.  I think making me buy two seats is discrimination.  Maybe Tom can fly me out there one day…how far can his plane go?

I am hoping she comes to see me soon.  We have to get together somehow.  I offered to give her a place to stay if she came out here, but she keeps finding excuses not to come.

Women…

TK:What’s your favorite:

Band?

AC/DC!  I like old rock, just check out my shirt.  See?

I also like hip hop because I love to dance and that really gets me going.

Car?

I just bought a 1968 Pontiac GTO!  It’s almost done.  The whole dash is going to be touch screen displays!

Tom just shakes his head when I talk about my car.  Something about tradition and American Muscle.  He hasn’t seen it finished though.  And he is not borrowing this one…

Food?

Yes, please.

Oh!  You mean my favorite food to eat?  I’m not picky.  In the finer establishments, I like to check out their hot Italian cold cuts.  Tom introduced me to those.  At home, I eat a lot of Hotpockets.

Actually, I switched from Hotpockets to Lean Pockets.  They’re OK, but you have to eat twice as many to get full so it’s a little expensive.

Computer Program?

Skype.  Definitely Skype.  You can use cameras on there, you know.

Video Game?

I rock at Call of Honor.  I love playing commander and calling in artillery strikes on mouthy twelve year olds who think they own the server.  It’s educational too and has come in handy in the past.

TV Show?

Nowadays, I would have to say Biggest Loser.  I have sent them a tape and hope to get on there some day.  I hope they call me before the yoga and Pilates kick in because I would be playing for keeps and the skinnier I get, the harder it will be to win.

I like a lot of old shows too.  Tom made up a whole list for me that he thought I would like starting with Bonanza, MASH, and Three’s Company (Janet was hot!).  The good news is that I don’t have to wait for them to come on T.V..  They are available on the ‘net for people like me who know where to look.

TK: Thanks for stopping by today Tiny! It was good to get to know you a little better. Hope to see you around soon!

Tiny: Cool.  No problem.  If you see Splitter before I do, remind him that he owes me dinner from that Super Bowl bet.

Are you gonna finish that eclair?

Thanks again to Tiny for stopping over! Now for a little about Splitter’s books:

Tom’s problems are not unique. His business is failing and his wife has to work too many hours to make ends meet. He is under some rather large financial pressures and wants more from his marriage and his life.

He finds his respite in the air as a private pilot. Unfortunately for Tom, he is behind on payments for his plane and is forced to take odd jobs from a local crime boss. Tom is no criminal, but the errands he is running are just slightly on the wrong side of the law and the money is almost good enough to allow him to make his plane payments.

Just as things begin to come under some semblance of control, he meets a woman who just might represent the adventure he seeks. He soon discovers that appearances, and beautiful women, can sometimes be deceiving.

Action, adventure, suspense, and thriller in one story told with a liberal dose of humor.

True friends help you hide the bodies.

How far would you go to protect your friends and family?

Tom Crayder is the All-American guy next door with a business, a wife, a son, a mortgage, and an expensive hobby. He is also a politically incorrect, wisecracking, operative working for a shadowy organization dedicated to administering justice outside of a broken system. Not even his wife knows of his other life when she finds herself unwittingly involved in a drug war.

Strap in with Tom as he navigates his way through the strata of a drug cartel. Lock and load with Lorena, a hard hearted assassin, as she lends her deadly skills to Tom’s fight for his family.

Sit back to watch Tom and Lorena figure out how to work together without killing each other. Join the rest of the cast from “The Reluctant (Crayder Chronicles)” as they pitch in to track down the hitmen that threaten their associate.

Some mysteries are solved. Some questions are answered. Some live. Some die.

The Reluctant and The Willing just came out in print form, in addition to the ebook formats available and can be found at Amazon.

Just another band geek in a plaid shirt to pass in the halls. Until the music started.

Grace is in grade 10 when she meets Ben Butler, who is two years older than her and convinced he’s loved her forever. After they meet, Grace is the target of mysterious attempts on her life, has frequent trips to the hospital to have some secret medicine, and overhears her mother talking to her aunt about her in a strange fashion. Her parents and even her friends seem torn between liking and disliking Ben, but ultimately Grace decides for herself if she loves him or not.

While filled with Greek mythology references and mysterious attacks, not much happens in this book other than Grace deciding she loves Ben. Much like Grace, the reader is left confused, wondering what is going on and who this girl is in the fight between the gods. Things are set in motion that we never see the resolution to, presumably because they are in book two.

Grace Awakening sets the stage for the (ultimate) conclusion in the war between the gods that want to save Grace and the ones that want her dead. Full of music and poetry, the characters are all painted differently with realistic qualities, yet leaves the reader asking, “Who -is- Grace?”

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Mother told me: No, the Moon is made of nothing but broken dreams; its color is the blood she’s seen spilt.

Serafay is a child born of two world yet belonging to none. Raised in isolation by her mother, she thought she was content in her quiet life by the sea. Her mother, a Sualwet (water people) who was experimented on by the Erdlanders (land people), would go out and forage, bringing Sera back books and other trinkets as well as news about the war between the two races. Safe in her cove, Sera didn’t know she was missing anything.

Until she saw Tor.

As they become friends, Sera’s world is torn apart and she is forced to rely on the very people who tortured her mother for her survival.

Told in serial format, Two Moons of Sera drags you into a world similar yet unlike our own, filled with war, love and friendship. With a lush world and full characters, Tyler creates a stunning start to her serial.

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Because everybody knows that the leaves on the Krephiloff Tree had three points. But they also had four points too.

Kriffle of the Triplifer tribe is preparing to take over his father’s position as leader of their tribe. He struggles to get to the Fleedenhall due to all the leaves clogging up his home. Leaves in his broth, leaves burying him at night while he sleeps, leaves everywhere! Kriffle knows he must win this debate and get elected so that his side of the Tree can use the Shears.

Kriffle knows the leaves on his side of the Tree have three points. In his frustration, he drags his protesting rival, Fargeeta of the Quadrigon tribe, over to his side of the tree. Fargeeta then takes him to her side, showing him the impossible: four-pointed leaves! But even after he finds out that the other side’s leaves have four points, he has a hard time getting anyone to listen to him, and so Kriffle and Fargeeta vow to get to the root of the issue.

Don’t let this cute story fool you – there’s much more going on under the surface. Gould does a wonderful job creating these characters that even children will love, and their parents can dig deeper for satirical layers reminiscent of Dr. Seuss – with less rhymes.

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Win a Kindle Fire and Amazon Gift Card

How? Easy peasy. Head on over to winwithebooks.com or the Facebook fanpage and follow the directions on the Rafflecopter. Check back daily for 50 extra chances to win.no purchase necessary

Congratulations to Chris from Ohio who won the Kindle Fire in December!

No one saw the soft, white missile.

Leftover Shorts contains three very different short stories, all three of which are told with a different underlying theme.

The Marshmallow War was my favorite, extolling the experienced old-timer over the hardheaded, long-winded new-bloods. The “Fang of Five,” long-time researchers at Merryman Marshmallow Corporation, organize themselves to take on the department head and newer members of the development team. In the end, market shares were up over 500% and team members were down 4 people, including Mr. Department Head. Richly told, you may never look at a pink marshmallow the same way again.

Peripheral Witches deals with the tricks our minds can play on us if we let them. Miriam declares that fairy tales are bogus and is then haunted by witches for the rest of the afternoon. While entertaining, I feel this was the weakest of the three stories, though still well-written.

Parson’s Song is the last in the book. It tells the tale of Billy Parson, violin player and robber, who is born on the wrong side of midnight into a superstitious town. Filled with quick snapshots of poor Billy’s life and death, it was also loosely based on the legend of MacPherson’s Lament.

If you’re looking for some quick, entertaining reads, Leftover Shorts is the dish to pick up.

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In “Letters of A Bipolar Mother,” Alyssa Reyans tells the story she’s never been able to tell her children: of how she lost them in a battle with her own mental illness. she shares with them – and the world – what the mind of a woman suffering bipolar depression looks like, how the darkness she battled on a daily basis almost won, and how, years later, she found the courage to claw her way out of the abyss.

Covering a span of five years, Alyssa Reyans shares both her pain and strength in a struggle against an incurable illness that many women today also share.

And now, here’s Alyssa!

First I have to give a very big thank you to Tricia for allowing me to visit today. I’ve only recently ventured into the blog kingdom so I’m still trying to figure my way around. I appreciate her trusting me with all of you. In my first guest blog, I spoke about a few pieces of writing advice that you don’t read on the writer forum, or in writer magazines. I spent countless hours searching forums on commas, periods, POV, voice etc but in all that time no one ever told me I was going to turn into a headless chicken.

I know, right? It’s not something you expect to happen after you publish your book, but it’s true.  It’s only been 2 days since I put my little memoir out there and I’ve already got feathers. I had no game plan beyond hitting the publish button. Which is very important if you’re a first time word doodler like me. I don’t call myself a writer. I like the term word doodler because that’s what I feel like I do. I doodle words instead of pictures. Which is probably why I’m turning into a headless chicken running around trying to figure out to promote my book before somebody fries me up into a chicken nugget.

Also if you, like me, have a fear of PUBLIC speaking, this fear will carry over into the internet. You think because you’re safe at home in your pajamas, sipping a latte, and eating bon bons. (Ok I made the bon bon part up I don’t really even know what a bon bon is but it just sounds yummy, doesn’t it? Lol) But even though you’re safe at home, the first time you have to get out there on your promotion tour, that butterfly in the stomach feeling is going to appear .  However fortunately for me I have awesome friends like Jenn, who is great at putting together blog tours. Official or unofficial ones. Thanks to her and people like Tricia, I’m able to be a little more human and little less headless chicken. So I’m pretty sure it’s almost safe for me to go into KFC but I’m going to wait a week or two before actually attempting it.

As a special thank you to Tricia and all of you for allowing me to take over, my book, Letters From A Bipolar Mother, is free today on both the Amazon US and Amazon UK sites. If you’d like to get a free copy please head on over and get one. Thank you for your support. It’s difficult putting yourself out there but it’s even more difficult when it’s such a personal and sensitive topic like mental illness and the loss of your children. Also if you’d like to join my mailing list, those who join between now and the launch of part two in my series Chronicles of A Fractured Life, will receive a free ecopies of all remaining books in the series.

Thanks for stopping by, Alyssa! And everyone please go check out this book that Alyssa has kindly made free for today and sign up for her mailing list.

I’m completely stealing this post from Splitter. This is EXCITING news!

I know a bunch of people want print copies and I cannot thank you enough for the support you have shown me.

The books are due to be released through Amazon on February 14^th, but I just found out that I can make them available on CreateSpace (an Amazon company) NOW.

As a “Thank You” to the people who have given me that support, I am going to go ahead and offer them early through CreateSpace to my friends on Facebook and people that follow my blog and Twitter.

Plus, there is a discount code which can be used for both books on CreatSpace to receive $1.00 off each book:  VZ3KMHHA

Direct links:
The Reluctant
The Willing

The list prices on the books are $8.99 and $9.99 respectively.  Yes, they are less expensive than most trade paperbacks on the market and we did that on purpose.  We make the same on them (without the discount coupon) as we do on the $2.99 eBooks.

If you were waiting for a print copy, there you go.  Hope you enjoy!

Splitter (& Tricia)

The clouds enveloped my mind, leaving nothing but silence.

Allie Taylor has spend 28 years thinking she was human and, despite being adopted, leading a normal life. She holds down a job as a waitress, working with her best friend, Cass, and has a good relationship with her brother, Jon. Even though she takes care of her mother ever since her father died, her life was more mundane than anything. Except for the drawings and images that she can’t get out of her mind. And the Mono Man, who she finds out is Revik, who has started to follow her around. And the beating she gives her ex, that she didn’t even know she was capable of…

Allie’s world, though similar to our own on the surface, hides a deep secret – the seers. A race of beings with mental powers so powerful that most are enslaved, the seers are feared by the mere humans – including Allie, even after she finds out she’s one of them. Now, she must fight for not only her life and that of her family, but also of the entire human race.

Andrijeski spins a marvelous tale, filled with action, excitement, good guys vs. bad guys, magic and beautiful prose. Allie’s world is familiar yet not, and her process of accepting who and what she is – with help from Revik, prostitutes, her brother and others – is a fascinating journey sure to please.

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