Today, I'm featuring guest, A. M. Dunnewin, talking about advice to new writers and her new fantasy romance release, The Benighted.
If you're
starting out as a writer, there are 5 things you should know
by A. M. Dunnewin
5. You
should know that life is filled with inspiration. You can pluck a storyline
over coffee with a close friend, or people watch at the local night club. The
ideas will stare at you while you listen to music, watch a movie, or read a
book. Life really is filled with endless opportunities, so if you ever get
writer's block, just take a deep breath and look around you.
4. You
should know that despite life being all inspiring, the muses are shady. They
will do whatever it takes to either drive you crazy with enthusiasm that gives
you insomnia, or they'll simply vanish at the most inappropriate time. You can entice
them all you want, but at this point in your career, you probably already know
to use the caveman method: bash them on top of the head and drag them back to
your desk by their hair.
3. You
should know that when you're a writer, everyone's a writer. Or trying to be a
writer. Or thought about being a writer. Or felt like being a writer because of
a past life that's come back to haunt them. Whatever the excuse is, the
competition will come out of the woodwork. They'll say it's easy, that everyone
else is doing it, that what you're doing isn't special. But always keep in mind
that talk is cheap. What separate the boys from the men are the ones who say their writing versus the ones who
are actually writing.
2. You
should know that the best way to exercise writing is by reading. Reading
teaches us not only about sentence structures, but about plot developments and
character traits. If you need to figure out how to write a scene, see how other
authors wrote them. Broadening your reading not only broadens your mind but
your art.
And last but
not least…
1. You should know that even if you wanted to
stop writing, you couldn't. If you've caught the writing bug, there's no
stopping you. So keep writing, keep plotting, keep experimenting. The only
failure in life is to stop what you love doing.
Title: The Benighted
Author: A.M Dunnewin
Genre: Fantasy Romance
The King was dead. His body was found slain in his room, only months
after his son had been brutally murdered. Skylar Mandolyn, his daughter, has
now become the last heir to the throne. But instead of becoming Queen, she was
imprisoned for helping in the escape of Sir Harlin Brien,
her knight who was framed for the King’s murder.
Confined to darkness, Skylar's captors have given her no choice but to yield to a new kind of enemy: a domain that has advanced in both technology and warfare. It's only when she refuses that the prison uses other means of persuasion. Though unmerciful, the whip lashings and isolation can't suppress her memories. She's forced to face again both her brother's death and her father's emotional decline, though even the darkness can't hide the deceptive hands that have tormented them all. Advisor turned adversary, Cross Lutherus has brought the ancient bloodline to its knees, and Skylar is the only Mandolyn left to feel his wrath.
With two kingdoms on the brink of war, and the end of her life drawing near, Skylar's only hope is in the person who haunts her the most – Harlin, the knight who was sworn to protect her. His presence surrounds her when the darkness screams louder than the prisoners, when Death smiles a faceless grin in between the cracks of the stone. And it's his strength she embraces just as the tremors start to rise from the deep, crawling up through the prison's walls to terrorize the benighted realm and all its souls.
The mystery was never how Harlin escaped. It is how he will return.
Confined to darkness, Skylar's captors have given her no choice but to yield to a new kind of enemy: a domain that has advanced in both technology and warfare. It's only when she refuses that the prison uses other means of persuasion. Though unmerciful, the whip lashings and isolation can't suppress her memories. She's forced to face again both her brother's death and her father's emotional decline, though even the darkness can't hide the deceptive hands that have tormented them all. Advisor turned adversary, Cross Lutherus has brought the ancient bloodline to its knees, and Skylar is the only Mandolyn left to feel his wrath.
With two kingdoms on the brink of war, and the end of her life drawing near, Skylar's only hope is in the person who haunts her the most – Harlin, the knight who was sworn to protect her. His presence surrounds her when the darkness screams louder than the prisoners, when Death smiles a faceless grin in between the cracks of the stone. And it's his strength she embraces just as the tremors start to rise from the deep, crawling up through the prison's walls to terrorize the benighted realm and all its souls.
The mystery was never how Harlin escaped. It is how he will return.
Author Bio:
A. M. Dunnewin inherited her love for mysteries and
thrillers from her family, which motivated her to pursue a B.A. in Psychology
with a minor in Criminal Justice. Although her stories cover a wide range of
genres, she primarily writes historical fiction and thrillers. An avid reader
at heart, she's also a passionate collector of both antique books and graphic
novels, and has been known to search for stories in the most random places. She
lives in Sacramento, California.
Links
My blog: http://amdunnewin.wordpress.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/A.M.Dunnewin)
Twitter: http://twitter.com/AMDunnewin)
Goodreads: (https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5405098.A_M_Dunnewin).
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/A.-M.-Dunnewin/e/B007321LV0/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1395615354&sr=8-1
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/A.M.Dunnewin)
Twitter: http://twitter.com/AMDunnewin)
Goodreads: (https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5405098.A_M_Dunnewin).
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/A.-M.-Dunnewin/e/B007321LV0/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1395615354&sr=8-1
Book Excerpt:
"Don't be
disheartened, Princess," Kingston continued, pulling her attention back to
him. "You're just another tool when it comes to the games of men."
Her hand tightened
around the metal that wrapped around her knuckles, still hidden from view. "Is that what you think?" she
growled.
"It's what we all
know."
Skylar took one last
look at his unmarked face before she backhanded him with her fist, the brass
knuckle slicing across the side of his face. He screamed from the shock of the
force, and from the pain that trailed along right behind it.
"How does that
change feel?" she asked before using that same fist to punch the other
side of his face, impacting his teeth through his cheek and smashing passed his
nose. Taking a step back, Skylar surveyed Kingston's bleeding face and the wild
fear that sparked in his eyes when he stared back, pain and panic-stricken.
"You cannot stop
what has to come to pass!" he shouted, using the sound of his words to
regain his confidence. He had begun to fall forward, his equilibrium working
against him, until Harlin grabbed him by his collar and pulled him back.
"You're right,"
she falsely agreed, grabbing him by his jaw and bending close to his face.
"If they ever let you speak again, let your comrades know that they will
get change." She struck him with the brass knuckle before he could speak,
making him wail.
"Let them know,"
she continued before striking his face again, "that killing my brother
wrote their own deaths!" She rammed the metal hard into his face now, his
screams choked out from the impact that was cracking his jaw bone. "I am
the change they will forever regret!" Each following word rose higher in
anger, and in between each word she struck him. "Because I. Will. NOT.
YIELD!"
The guard was
semi-conscious and bleeding by the time Skylar stepped back again and realized
what she had done. She could almost see herself, fading into the rain that was
pouring down around them, her hood long thrown off, steam rising from the
burning adrenaline that had made her sweat. The grey-green world washed away
down the prison walls, the cold stone surfacing just enough to be recognized.
But despite the phenomenon, he was still there watching her. She gasped to say
something to the hazy figure that was Harlin, still standing behind the guard,
still keeping him upright.
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