M.J. Moores talks about Final Year and Shadow Phoenix: Episode 1

Welcome to this week's author MJ Moores!

MJ Moores began her career as an English teacher in Ontario, Canada. Her love of storytelling and passion for writing has stayed with her since the age of nine. MJ relishes tales of adventure and journeys of self-realization. She enjoys writing in a variety of genres but speculative fiction remains her all time favourite. MJ runs the emerging writers’ website Infinite Pathways where she offers editing & publicity advice as well as platform building opportunities. Now that her sci-fi adventure series The Chronicles of Xannia is complete, MJ is focusing her time on three new projects: The Flawed Attraction Romances, DEMON Tales, and Shadow Phoenix.

Tell us about your life outside of writing.

Beyond sitting somewhere writing or typing out my latest book or doing edits and revisions, writing is still a central part of my life. My “day job” is an editor. I freelance and I’m acquisitions editor for Love Knot Books, a division of DAOwen Publications. I also do a lot of volunteer work for the Writers’ Community of York Region (I just happen to be the Chair of the Board at present and I’m helping with their writer’s conference and book fair). I get out to a variety of book events and signings over the course of a year, keeping my weekends fairly busy. That being said, I am also the Crossing Guard at my son’s school, the driver who brings him to Karate and Guitar Lessons, and his go-to 2^nd player for video games. In whatever free time I happen to stumble across, I have been known to devour books, buy books, reorganize my extensive library, pet my cat, kiss my husband, and hug my son 😉.

Do you have a work in progress?

Always! It’s true. Since the age of nine I’ve always had a writing project on the go. Currently, I’m involved with three major ones: Shadow Phoenix (a Victorian Steampunk Superhero serial), the Flawed Attraction Romances (a novella series of new adult romantic suspense stories), and DEMON Tales (a paranormal urban fantasy novella series where Men in Black meets Supernatural).

This is a first for me, though. Until November 2018 I was writing one series (The Chronicles of Xannia), one book at a time. Now that Xannia’s story is done, there’s so much I want to do. If you can believe it, I’m not writing any more than I ever did (the Chronicles’ books ran between 114K-125K words each), I’m just portioning my writing out differently. Each Flawed Attraction romance runs about 40K-50K words; each Shadow Phoenix episode averages out around 10K; and a DEMON Tales story slides in around 20K. This allows me to put out 1 suspense novel, 2 urban fantasies, and 4 steampunk serials a year in the same time it took me to write one epic sci-fi novel.

Was there a person who encouraged you to write?

Definitely. While it was my grade four teacher who first inspired me to write adventure stories (she once assigned a short story project that I turned into a 10-chapter middle grade novel called the Enchanted Jungle Figure… I was kind of enamoured by Indiana Jones as a child), it was my mother who always asked me about what I was writing, who edited my dyslexic scribblings, who encouraged me to read excerpts aloud to her friends, or got me to let my friends read said adventures. Whether I was writing fiction or one-act plays for the Sears Drama Festival (in high school) or working on my debut novel (Time’s Tempest) in college and university, her enthusiasm never waivered. Love ya, ma!

Five years from now, where do you see yourself as a writer?

Wow, it’s hard to think past the next few months. My ideal would be writing full-time and actually earning a living at it. Right now, it doesn’t pay the bills… in fact, it only just keeps me in books (my own and others). As a mainly indie author, I am exploring how to get my work visible and in the hands of eager readers. A lot of the workshops and conferences I attend, and articles I read online, deal with book marketing and author branding. I know pretty well what I should be doing but I never give myself time to do it because my other “jobs” come first.

What are you working on now?  

If we’re talking strictly drafting (and not revising or plotting) then I’m working my way through Shadow Phoenix Episode V: Lairs, Caves, & Credenzas. Eight episodes will be released over 16 months; so far, I’ve published up to Episode III: Oubliette (which came out last month). Next month will be Episode IV: Mettle and Bone. I’m really loving this serial. It allows me to publish what is equivalent to a long short story (9K-12K words or 5-7 chapters) that is self-encapsulating story-wise but has a broad enough over-arc to pull readers from one episode to the next. Writing about the Victorian era is a ton of fun – especially when I get to use all of the old-timey curse words.

The story follows Louisa Wicker, a bastard of high birth cursed to live between the worlds of the well-to-do and the working class. The night she saves her employer’s life, nothing is the same again. Not only is she recognized for her brains (yea!) but she uses her employer’s invention to help save the common folk harried on the streets at night. The blend of steampunk and gaslight technology in this alternate timeline really forces me to use my own noggin’ to not only remain true to the era and the genre but the potential scientific advancements that came out of the Age of Invention. Whoever said writing genre fiction was easy, wasn’t doing it right 😉.

FINAL YEAR ~ A Flawed Attraction Romance

Graduation can be killer…

Beth pushes beyond her comfort zone to prove a sociology thesis. She turns a chance meeting with a known player into a personal experiment on first impressions. Weaving herself into casual meetings with the guy reinforces her assumptions… until she’s no longer the one pursuing him.

Jeremy’s only serious relationship is with his studies as he competes for the coveted post-grad theoretical chem spot with Dr. Young. When the campus goes into lockdown and everyone is evacuated to the stadium, his habit of “fun only” friendships turns into a curse.
Can he trust a skittish girl he’s known for ten days to help him find his not-so-theoretical chem project or will her assumptions about him keep her at arm’s length?

Final Year – a fast-paced romantic suspense that keeps you guessing at every turn.

Buy it HERE

SHADOW PHOENIX ~ Episode I: Answering the Call

A young maid is catapulted into an inventor’s explosive world the night his experiment goes awry. Torn between the life she should have, and the one she ended up with, Louisa finally sees a way past her curse—as long as her mouth and her choices don’t get her fired first.

A steampunk vigilante superhero serial of electric proportions
An Amazon "Short Read"

Buy it HERE

Website and other links to MJ's social media pages.

http://mjmoores.com

https://facebook.com/AuthorMJMoores

https://twitter.com/AuthorMJMoores

Round Robin Blog Fest

And we're back!

Welcome to another issue of the Round Robin Blog Fest for September 2019.

Our question this month is:  

In designing your plots, what do you rely on most:  Personal experience, imagination, or research?

A great deal of my plots and writing come from a combination of personal experience and imagination, with a dash of research to make sure I get my facts straight.

We all have those "what if" moments in life. What if I'd gone back to school instead of simply changing jobs? What if I stopped writing for good? What if I took a chance and did something I always wanted to do? I find that allowing myself to ask what if can lead to a great story.

In my current work in progress, an A.J. Cadell Mystery, my main character is presented the opportunity to take a chance. When she almost chickens out, her roommate asks, "What would the main character in your novel do?" No brainer. Alison takes the leap and her life is changed forever, with a few hiccups along the way or it wouldn't be a very interesting novel.

My Gilda Wright series came about while I was a receptionist at a karate school (a job Gilda does in the books). I was also training in goju-ryu karate, just as Gilda does. The difference was I ended up with injuries and so on that changed my life. The plots for the Gilda series came from a combination of all three. I had the personal experience of being a karate school receptionist who trained in karate. I used my imagination to come up with the stories. I researched (both for the books and for my own training and job) the information used in the books when it pertains to karate, mixed martial arts, and jiu jitsu as well as finding just the right location for the novels. I ended up with a fictional town along the shores of Lake Erie based on a similar town called Dunkirk.

My Wild Blue Mysteries was inspired by being a stranger in a small town, much like Katie Mullins ends up. When I moved here, I joined a writing group and found some great local places to write and walk. My imagination took the series to odd places with the writing group as well as those crazy what ifs. As for research, since I used my new hometown as the main setting, I had to get to know the area a lot better. While some places are made up, some are real places with great features that I love.

Glitter Bay Mysteries features a small vintage boutique and a tea house. Personal experience? I love little second hand shops, but that's as far as I go. My imagination and a lot of research went into All That Sparkles. I've never really been a clothing or jewelry buff, but found some things online that intrigued me. Since this was only the first of the series, I need to do more digging to see what Laken and her sister Sage find next.

Thanks for hanging out with me to read my answer to this month's question.
Below is the list of other authors participating, I hope you check them all out!

Margaret Fieland 
Victoria Chatham 
Skye Taylor 
Beverley Bateman 
Dr. Bob Rich 
Diane Bator 
Connie Vines 
Anne Stenhouse  
Rhobin L Courtright 

The Start of Something New

Now that my nest is empty and it's just me & the cats, I have a bit more time to focus on my writing and would love to devote more to my blog as well. One of my ideas is to start promoting my fellow authors. Once a week for now which will stay up for a few days at a time. I don't have a huge blog reach yet but hope to develop that with a little help from my friends. Right now, I'm sorting out the basics but plan to start with my first author at the end of September or early October.

In the meantime, I thought I'd start with some fun stuff about my own Gilda Wright Mystery series. Sit back, relax, and enjoy. If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment!

Q) Where is the real Sandstone Cove in the Gilda Wright Mysteries located?

    My fictional town of Sandstone Cove is based VERY loosely on a larger town along the shores of Lake Erie called Dunkirk, New York. The shoreline and layout of the town was exactly what I needed for my little town (although I certainly modified the basic map to become Sandstone Cove!)   

    I was also inspired by a photo I cut from a magazine years ago of a log on the beach that has become Gilda's "thinking place" and her usual meeting place with Fabio, her police officer friend. This version I took on the shores of Georgian Bay.

Q) Is there really a Café Beanz?

     Yes, there is, but with a different spelling. They use Beans. I found it purely by accident in Barrie, Ontario. I haven't been inside yet, but it's on my bucket list!

     My version of Café Beanz is a little deli-style cafe that serves sandwiches and soups for lunch and several kinds of coffees and teas. It's based on the old 50's style diners but modernized in colors and textures. Along with Happy Harvey's, Beanz is one of the hubs of Sandstone Cove.

Q) What kinds of coffees do your main characters drink?

      Gilda's favorite all time drink is a latte with cinnamon and chocolate curls.

      Mick loves a "double-double" as we call them in Canada, coffee with two milk and two sugar.

      Marion takes her coffee hot, strong and with a little milk.

      Razi and Kane are both tea drinkers. Green preferably.

      Thayer and Fabio, the police officers Gilda has often had to deal with, love their coffee. Thayer takes his black. Fabio prefers to mix it up a little bouncing between coffee to lattes.

Q) How did Happy Harvey's come about?

      Happy Harvey's Hangover Hut wasn't the place to go if you had a hangover, more like if you were in desperate search of the means of one. A glorified, tiki-infested liquor and convenience store, Happy Harvey's was owned by Happy—no one had ever called him Harvey—a seventy-year-old man who'd become disillusioned with retirement. He was also one of Gilda's good friends.

      Sometimes ideas just pop into my head and I have no idea where they came from. Happy Harvey's was one of them. I combined my love of the tropics with a local convenience store run by a man who wasn't afraid to be a little different. Happy is one of Gilda's supporters and cheerleaders who lets her know what's on his mind and will happily give her both advice and a bottle of wine from time to time.

Q) How did you become interested and learn about karate and other martial arts?

     Writing a martial arts based series was years in the making, ever since my ex-husband and kids started karate and Brazilian jiu jitsu classes. All three of my boys earned their first degree black belts and taught classes all through high school.

      I was a Karate Mom for about 6 years before I started working at the martial arts school and began my own training. I had to stop as a blue belt in Goju-Ryu karate due to health issues then huge changes in my life. One of the parts of training I enjoyed most was helping instructors at self-defence courses we did at local schools for elementary to high school. At one high school, we were actually in lock down after a teenager from another school came in and stabbed a student in the hallway. It was very sad to see the kids so calm because this happened at least once per semester. Most students were very grateful for an option to deal with the bullies.

    Aside from training and self-defence courses, I ran the front desk, rewrote the school's karate manual, and worked on Black Belt grading information packages for the students.

Q) Who are Gilda and Mick based on?

      My kids used to call me Gilda when I worked and trained at the school. Aside from that, Gilda and I have very different lives. Gilda is a young, single woman who is protected by a well-known bookie, has a best friend who is a 9-1-1 operator, and is surrounded by strong, handsome men, and chaos.

      I am a middle-aged—gulp—woman who is protected by a blue-eyed cat, surrounded by kids, laundry, great friends, and...of course...chaos.

     My senseis used to argue about who Mick, Gilda's love interest, was based on. In truth, neither of them were, but it made for a few giggles while people speculated!

     As for Marion... Like Gilda, I had great friend at the school I trained with who earned her second degree black belt. She's my strength and keeps me going when I have days I want to give up. While she is no Marion, I would love for Marion to develop

and become more like her.

Q) Writers are always sitting and working. How do you get any exercise?

      I used to keep active trying to keep up to my 3 teenage boys who are now grown and off to college and real jobs!

      I tried to get into running, but I discovered I have back issues which were made worse by the jarring and impact then fell and damaged my knee. That was the end of running and karate.

      To keep busy these days, I walk and do yoga. The best yoga classes are the ones we do outdoors near my instructor's swimming pool in the summer. This year, trying to get back into things after a lot of major changes in my life, I've started a Beginner yoga class to rekindle the passion.

      The best part for me as a writer, is I always seem to find inspiration for my books while on walks, in classes, and so on. My mind is in writer mode 24/7.

Q) What's next for Gilda Wright?

I am hard at work on the next Gilda Wright Mystery, Dead Without Shame, coming out in spring 2020.  Here's a short blurb about the book:

    Once more, Gilda considers leaving the karate school to work for her friend Happy (no one has ever called him Harvey). When three men rob Happy Harvey’s Hangover Hut killing the woman at the front counter, Gilda is stunned to think that could have been her. Was this a mere robbery, or does someone have a vendetta against Happy, including his good friend Gary del Garda? The evidence keeps piling up while both her mother and another karate instructor come to town bearing secrets that may cost Gilda the life she loves in Sandstone Cove.

So where can you find my books?  Well, here's a start...

Amazon                            Books We Love, Ltd. 

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/dianebatorauthor/?ref=settings

Goodreads

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7179945.Diane_Bator

Linkedin

https://www.linkedin.com/in/diane-bator-35b63418/

Smashwords

https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/bator