J.M. NORTHUP's BLOG

Thursday, September 18, 2014

Meet My Character - ISLA

SOUL SEARCHING's short story EMERGENCE


This is an interview with the fictional protagonist from my
erotic romance and SciFi short story,
EMERGENCE
This is an entertaining way to introduce you to the main character while telling you more information about 
my new release,
SOUL SEARCHING

1) What is your name? Where are you from?
My name is Isla and I am an Earthling.
2) When and where is your story set, Isla? 
It happens in my bed chambers during the witching hours (midnight to 3:00 AM), but it flows into the next day as well.
3) What should we know about you?  
Well, I thought I was just an ordinary young woman until this charismatic man appears in my bedroom.  He ignited passions in me I never knew before and tells me who I really I – who we all really are!  I learn that I am special despite my common ancestry with other humans and this changes my life forever!
4) What is your personal goal?  
To embrace the truth revealed to me and to try to fulfill my destiny!
5) What is the main conflict? What messes up your life?  
The main conflict is that I am drawn to this stranger, who someone isn’t a stranger at all.  I don’t want to give into the desires that I feel or the impulses he inspires.  This causes me terrible hardship, which was all for naught since I succumb in the end anyways.
6) Is there a working title for your story, and can we read more about it? 
Yes.  The title of my tale is EMERGENCE and it is a part of SOUL SEARCHING, a novella of poetry. It is available now through Amazon’s Kindle store.  It’s an exclusive eBook that is reasonably priced!
    Thank you, Isla.  I appreciate you sharing with us!




Want to read more Character Interviews?
Here are links to other author's participating in my
MEET MY CHARACTER BLOG PROMOTIONS
:

Just click on their name to be redirected to their interview posts

The Work-In-Progress Blog Tour

FELINE FASCINATIONS:
The Adventures of Boris and Olga

 
I was invited to take part in this Work-In-Progress Blog Tour
by my friend and colleague, Autumn Birt!
Autumn currently has her novel,
Available for FREE as an eBook at Amazon!

My current WIP is my middle grade collection of stories.
It is told from the perspective of Boris (a cat) and the adventures he has with his feline sister, Olga.  This book is not only entertaining, but educational. There are stories about milking cows, crop fields, migration, medicine, and so much more!   It is meant to help children to see life with new eyes, while making them laugh with funny cat antics!

There is a full cast of characters that include:
        • Charlie - the dog brother
        • Betsy and Ellie Mae - the dairy cows
        • Gus - the "nutty" squirrel
        • Charlotte - the cousin horse
        • Pearl - the "scared-y cat" neighbor
        • Zeke - the mallard duck
I like to challenge myself with new things.
I have a Young Adult series, A New Adult psychological thriller, and an erotic scifi short story romance included in a book of poems already published.
As my nephew is too young to read any of these,
he asked me to write a book that he could read as well.
Hence, my WIP!

I plan to have this project completed by the end of the month and released in October 2014 - just in time for you all to buy a copy for the children 6 to 13 years of age in your life for Christmas!





These are my nominations to carry the challenge onward:



Sunday, September 14, 2014

NEW RELEASE by author J.M. Northup

SOUL SEARCHING Including The Short Story EMERGENCE

J.M. Northup , Simone Beaudelaire 


Book Description

 September 12, 2014
The poetry of Soul Searching asks profound questions while exploring the human emotion of love gone wrong, struggles of today, and hopes for tomorrow.

Included in this novella of poetry is the short story Emergence - erotic romance with a dose of science fiction blended in:

Though she has never met him before, Isla knows who this strange and compelling man is. As resistance turns into submission, the origins of the human race, and Isla herself, are revealed. Drawn to the mysterious man with an undeniable magnetism, the emergence of the truth changes Isla forever.

The book contains adult material and is not suitable for those under the age of 18.

Thursday, September 11, 2014

My Interview with Ron Richards

You Wrote A Book About A Duck Decoy?

I wanted to introduce you to one of the new authors
with the independent publisher,
CREATIVIA
My friend and colleague, Ron Richards!
Ron is a charming and hilarious man.  His love for his family and the simple joys that life has to offer is just a refreshing blessing in this technologically controlled world of ours.  I admire his closeness to nature, his commitment to family, and his respect for the waterfowl he hunts.
Not everyone is in support of hunting, but everyone will love his new book,
HERONK!
I am pleased to have Ron in the "hot seat" and I just know you will be glad he took the time to allow me to interview him!

My Interview with Ron Richards
Thank you for taking the time to allow me to interview you.
I am really excited about your new release, HERONK and I look forward to reading it.  It sounds like it will be a really fun read!
·         As I do in all of my interviews, I would like to begin by asking you to describe yourself.
o   You will find me a jolly overweight grey to bald headed “distinguished looking” (aka OLD) man who has a fishing pole, a shotgun or rifle, or a steering wheel in his hands most of the time.  Married to the same wonderful woman for 47 years after going steady for 6 years, starting at age 16, and still madly in love.  Two great kids and wonderful “kid in law” who provided us two wonderful grandangels.
·         What motivated you to become a published author?  What did your journey entail and what advice would you offer to a new writer looking to publish?
o   In the beginning I had Big Dreams of writing a timeless novel.  Then I decided I’d really just like to write a book and get it published….and then….I realized I would have to self-publish as no one was interested.  I did self-pub and it was a tiny success.  I did end up in the black. 
o   As to Heronk specifically, it all started on a day in a duck blind when nothing much was flying and I was a bit bored.  I was hunting alone and found myself talking to the decoys floating in the river in front of me.  As I realized what I was doing, I got to thinking……”What if a decoy could talk.”  Especially an old decoy that had been around and floated a few different rivers for a few different owners.  I had a pen with me and my checkbook…when I got done with writing “notes” that day, I was out of checks and deposit slips both.  Sadly, in a move or two, I lost my “notes”.
o   I heard about Creativia and Miika was kind enough to take on the project. 
o   New writers have to be prepared for failure.  But that isn’t the end.  Keep firing and hope you find a company as good as Creativia to make your dreams come true. 
·         Looking back, is there anything you would do differently if you were able to do so?  If so, what?
o   I wouldn’t change a thing.
·         I read that you wrote HERONK because you are an avid waterfowl hunter.  Does that mean ducks specifically or what different kinds of birds do you hunt? 
o   I hunt about anything that flies and is legal game.  But my passion is waterfowl hunting.  Ducks and geese are the primary birds that I hunt.
·         You have said that you wrote your debut novel because there weren’t many novels about your passion, waterfowl hunting.  What led you to find such a passion for waterfowl hunting?  How did you originally get involved in the sport?
o   I suppose it was a combination of things that fueled my passion.  The fact that you have to decoy and call the birds into range.  Decoy “setting” is almost an art.  Calling is one for certain.  It is much easier to scare them away than to call them closer.  Building blinds is a work of love.  And finally, watching a good dog retrieve a bird is such a great feeling.  Especially if it is your dog and you have spent hours training him to do just that.  My Dad and older brother got me started in hunting and I just evolved into a waterfowl hunter.
·         You mentioned that you used to read books about waterfowl hunting and that you really missed reading them.  Can you share with us what books you read and which ones most influenced you?  I realize this is a loaded question and can be answered in a couple of ways, so I am specifically interested in knowing the following:
1.      Which books interested you as a reader?
o   Robert Ruark’s “The Old Man and the Boy” series in magazines and in book form.
2.      Which ones encouraged your love of the sport?
o   Robert Ruark’s “The Old Man and the Boy” series in magazines and in book form.
3.      What books or authors inspired you to write your own story?
o   I really think the fact that there are no more Robert Ruark type stories.  Almost everything written today about waterfowl hunting is a “how to” book.  I wanted to write an “I was here and I did this” book.  An entertaining book.
o   Gordon MacQuarrie’s waterfowl hunting books probably inspired me to write more than anyone else’s.  He was such an amazing author.  Anyone would enjoy his books…his humor is just the best!!!  His pathos and ethos are remarkable.
·         I read that you said your story was based on your own personal experienced from growing up along the Platte River.  Does your lead character, Gustav speak on your behalf or does he get entangled in some of the same adventures that you personally had or do you mean that the environment is the setting in which you were raised?
o   Yes.  (LOL)
·         Can you tell us a little about your youth?  What is your favorite memory from growing up along the Platte River?  How has the area you lived in changed since you were a kid? 
o   As a kid we were free to roam along the river without having to pay much attention to whose land we were hunting on.  No one really cared as long as you did no damage and kept the gates closed.  Today, almost the entire Platte River from the Wyoming border to where it enters the Missouri River is either owned or leased by hunters. 
·         You made a remark that your novel had a little “Kentucky Windage” in it.  Can you tell us what that means exactly? 
o   To me, Kentucky Windage is that story that might be true and based on facts, but dimmed by memory.  Or, it might be a little white lie based on truths and facts.  Or, it might just be a big fat lie.
·         Where do you see yourself in five years? 
o   Sitting in a duck blind with my son, grandson and granddaughter, listening to their chatter, while I prepare a three bypass breakfast on the cookstove in the blind.

Thank you so much for your time!
It has been a pleasure to speak with you and I wish you great success!

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

MEET MY CHARACTER - DAKOTA

Meet Dakota from The Fears of Dakota Series

 
This is an interview with the fictional protagonist from my
YA / New Adult series.
This is an entertaining way to introduce you to the main character while telling you more information about the books,
A RIPPLE OF FEAR and FEARS OF DARKNESS

1) What is your name? Where are you from?
My name is Dakota and though I was born on a military base in Spokane, Washington, I was raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
2) When and where is the story set, Dakota? 
Our story begins in Minnesota and that is where the book A RIPPLE OF FEAR takes place.  However, we are forced to find a new home in the mountains in FEARS OF DARKNESS.  Eventually, we end up in the Wasatch-Uinta Mountains in Utah.
3) What should we know about you?  
My parents are a little different than most.  My dad is a S.E.R.E. instructor for the US Air Force and my mom works for the Veterans Affairs.  I guess some might consider them to be “doomsday preppers” of one kind or another, but in truth, they’re just survivalist.  They enjoy living off the land and have taught their naturalistic views to my older sisters, Georgia and Carolina and me.
 I two wonderful best friends, Chris and Rae and we are very close.  Though Rae is more like a sister to me, Chris is the love of my life!  In A RIPPLE OF FEAR I struggle with trying to transition from friend to lover and in FEARS OF DARKNESS, I cannot imagine living without him!
4) What is your personal goal?  
I just want to go to college, marry Chris, start a family, and enjoy life.  I just want to live in peace and be happy.  Isn’t that what everyone really wants?
5) What is the main conflict? What messes up your life?  
People are so afraid of the unknown and they think they see signs of the end of the world or society everywhere they look.  They become frightened by interpretations of doomsday prophecies and terrorist activities.  The advent of the “doomsday preppers” doesn’t help and when a solar flare knocks out sections of the global power grid, making it impossible for people to access banking or purchase goods, some people jump into action, implementing their doomsday plans as though it really is the end of the world!  It throws America into chaos and war ensues, changing everything about my life.
6) Is there a working title for your story, and can we read more about it? 
Yes.  A RIPPLE OF FEAR is Book One and FEARS OF DARKNESS is Book Two in this young adult/new adult suspense thriller and romance series.  Both of the novels in The Fears of Dakota series by Creativia author, J.M. Northup are currently available in both ebook and paperback editions!

Thank you, Dakota.  I appreciate you sharing with us!

Want to read more Character Interviews?
Here are links to other author's participating in my
MEET MY CHARACTER BLOG PROMOTIONS
:

Just click on their name to be redirected to their interview posts

BLOG HOP with Sisters in Crime

Want To Take A Blog Hop?

September Sisters in Crime SinC-Up for Bloggers!
A friend and colleague of mine, Robin Murphy invited me to partake in the September Blog Hop hosted by Sisters in Crime!
This is a linking of blogs and blog posts that answer one or all of the questions I have answered below.  It is a great way to introduce readers to some awesome writers, books they love, and authors who inspire them!
ENJOY!

·                     Which authors have inspired you?
·                     Which male authors write great women characters? Which female authors write great male characters?
·                     If someone said "Nothing against women writers, but all of my favorite crime fiction authors happen to be men," how would you respond?
    • That’s stupid!  LOL
    • Half the time you don’t realize that the writer is using a pen name and they aren’t who or what you think they are anyway! 
    • Plus, a lot of genres cross and blend so there are a lot of good novels that are classified as something else which are fantastic crime novels!  I love Charlaine Harris, for example J
    • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_crime_writers
·                     What's the best part of the writing process for you? What's the most challenging?
    • The best part for me is creating a story.  I like to invite the characters and to see the movie play out in my head.  It is a wonderfully artist expression that I enjoy sharing with others!
    • The most challenging is making sure that I have accurate depictions.  I want to make sure that my descriptions are correct and that the logistics is right.  I mean, the effects of someone being shot by a musket opposed to an SKS are quite different!
·                     Do you listen to music while writing? What's on your playlist?
    • I do not.  I usually write in silence, absorbed in the story and research for the stories I write.
·                     What books are on your nightstand right now?
·                     If you were to mentor a new writer, what would you tell her about the writing business?

    • First, always write for yourself!  If you write in order to please an audience, then you will fall short.  You have to write the story that lives inside you and express it the way it feels right.
    • Second, there's a lot of self-promotion required if you want to publish.  Whether you're Indie or not, you have to immerse yourself in social media in order to connect with readers and reviewers alike.  Smartphones are invaluable tools! J
  
The next author in the blog hop to check out is my friend and colleague, Elizabeth N. Love

NORNS TRIAD PUBLICATIONS' BLOG