Busy

How are you all? I've been busy so this is a quick update before I head back to it.

I've decided to publish Janalya myself so get ready to meet his guy.

And I'm also working on a new story. These things are involved.

So much going on in my head that it might possibly explode, although I hope not because that will be painful and messy.

So forgive the short post and I'll see you all again next month.

Marie

www.mariegodley.moonfruit.com

Easter

Going to splash photos all over this blog post in the hope that there is something for everyone.

 

 

 
 

 

Whatever you're doing this Easter - have fun,

Marie



www.mariegodley.moonfruit.com

 

The Pick-Up Artist

Today I've invited Chris Hill along to chat about writing and his new book.

Welcome Chris.

Thanks for inviting me along to your blog Marie, it’s a pleasure to be here!

Let's great straight in with some questions: When did you start writing?

I’d say I started writing after a fashion in my early teens - just scraps in school exercise books and so on. I gradually became more serious about it until I developed to the point where I was producing proper short stories which were good enough to enter into competitions and I entered lots of those over time. I lost way more than I won of course but it was a great way of practicing as a writer. After that I moved on to novels though I had three finished before I managed to find a publisher for my first one.

 You won a Bridport Prize award for your writing. Was that an important step for you?

In some ways it was yes. As you know it’s quite a big short story and poetry competition, one of the bigger ones in the UK and I won it with my story The Runner which is about a man who tries to win the affection of his son by beating his ex-wife’s new boyfriend in a half marathon.  They get tens of thousands of entries for the Bridport so it was a real surprise to win. I remember it was quite a posh prize giving with dinner and VIPs and a speech from the esteemed author Kate Atkinson who was the judge that year and who said some very kind things about my work.

It was some years ago and it didn’t lead to any big breakthrough in terms of agents and publishers flocking to sign me up. But what it did do is give me a boost of confidence. I thought I must be on the right track if I was able to win something like that so I persevered and I do think that dogged determination is one of the best things a writer can have on their side.

Your new novel is The Pick-Up Artist. Where did the idea come from?

Well, the first thing was just that I wanted to write something quite light and funny. My first published novel Song of the Sea God (published by Skylight Press) was a literary novel and quite dark. It does have jokes in it, I don’t think I could write anything which didn’t have some humour, but it is essentially fairly serious. It’s a kind of creepy fairytale about a curious figure who washes up on an island off the north of England and tries to persuade the local people he is a god.

And I wanted my new book to be a complete change of gear, something fun and not too heavy. So I wrote a romantic comedy.

The Pick-Up Artist is about a shy young man who’s unsuccessful with women and seeks the advice of a web community called The Pick-Up Artists, who claim to use psychological techniques to help their members appeal to the opposite sex. It’s fair to say it doesn’t go as well for him as he might have hoped. I suppose it’s a story about a weak man and some strong women. The women in the book are the most interesting characters in it I think. They are big and rude and funny.

 

 

You attended the Lyme Literary Festival to launch your book. What did you have to do? Was it fun? And was it like you thought it would be?

It was great, a really fun event. My publisher Magic Oxygen laid the event on at the festival to launch the books they had coming out this spring, including mine, and also to present the prizes for their Magic Oxygen Literary Prize for short stories and poems. I was one of the judges for the prize so it was a pleasure to meet some of the winners. 

At the event I had to talk a little from the stage about my new book and answer some questions about it. For the rest of the time I was signing copies at a table and meeting readers which is always a real pleasure. I also met some people I had only known through social media before so that was great.

There were lots of book lovers at the event which is what you need really. I have appeared at literature festivals before and had different experiences, some good, some bad. The worst thing is if you turn up and there’s nobody there - they’ve not put it in the programme or bothered to promote it and nobody knows you are on. I’ve sat in a few empty rooms! So this was great and a really nice way to launch my book.

 

Anything else the readers should know?

I suppose it’s interesting that I’m a man writing a rom com. There aren’t that many of us about - so I’m told. I sort of fell into it and we will see how this book goes before I work out whether I will do it again. The publisher say my book is ‘lad lit’ and I’m not really sure I like that label as it sounds ‘laddish’ and I don’t think my book is that really. I wanted it to appeal to women readers at least as much as men and I am grateful to find that, so far, it seems to be doing just that. Readers of the book who are women are telling me that they have found it interesting and amusing to read a book where the ‘dating game’ is described from a male perspective. Some have even told me they have found it an education!

 

Tell us where to find out more about you?


You can find me on my website here http://www.chrishillauthor.co.uk
My twitter handle is @ChilledCh
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/chris.hill.3726
And what about your book?

 

 



The Pick-Up Artist was released in February 2015 by Magic Oxygen Publishing, you can find it on Amazon 

 Thanks for your time Chris, I'm sure the readers will enjoy your book.

Thanks Marie.

Chris Hill- Bio

Chris Hill is an author from Gloucester in the UK whose new novel The Pick-Up Artist is published by Magic Oxygen Publishing. 

Chris works as a PR officer for UK children’s charity WellChild and spent more than 20 years as a journalist on regional newspapers.He lives with his wife Claire, their two teenage sons and Murphy, a Cockapoo.

 

The Pick-Up Artist is the story of a young man’s attempts to find a girlfriend using techniques developed by an online community who claim to use psychological techniques to appeal to women. Chris’s first novel Song of the Sea God,  published by Skylight Press is a literary novel set on a small island of the coast of England where a strange figure washes up and tries to convince the local people he is a god. It was short listed for the Daily Telegraph Novel in a Year prize and won the efestival of Words award for Best Literary Fiction novel. Chris has previously had some success as a short story writer including winning one of Britain’s biggest story awards, The Bridport Prize.

 

Once again, I'd like to thank Chris for joining me here today and thank you for stopping by.

 

Marie

www.mariegodley.moonfruit.com

 

 

 

Demon's Touch

Jennifer Loiske was going to come in and talk to me today, but it seems she's busy wrestling with a storyline, so she's sent Shannon and Ian instead. Now bear with us because Shannon is a bit upset, I'm sure Ian will calm her down though.

“I can’t believe she did it again,” A young girl said to her twin brother.

“Did what?” The boy asked without lifting his gaze from the phone he was playing with.

“This,” the girl waved her hand in the air, “Made us do all the hard work.”

The boy laughed. “She is busy trying to save our father, you know. Researching the ancient ways of magic and doing her best to find a loophole from the agreement signed with our father’s blood.” He glanced at her, “Give her some credit, will you.”

The girl crossed her arms and huffed. “Fine.”

“Hey,” the boy touched her cheek gently, “we’ll be fine. Besides, you like chatting with people. Especially with the readers.”

She offered him a careful smile. He nodded encouragingly. The light crept into her eyes. He was right. She did enjoy meeting new people. And after all, chatting was way better than fighting.

“Okay, here goes,” she grinned and started. “My name is Shannon McLean and this,” she pointed at the boy, “is my twin brother, Ian. We are the main characters in McLean Twins series by Jennifer Loiske. It’s a paranormal series for teen and young adult readers and its success has surprised us all. Yep, Ian and me, too.  The plot is unpredictable, the suspense makes the readers bite their nails off, and the magical part…what can I say? Couple of months ago I didn’t believe magic existed but now, now I can do wonders just by snapping my fingers.” Ian punched her lightly.

“But it’s true!” Shannon grinned, “we’ve harnessed the forgotten magic and we’re literally 

learning new things every day. Sometimes,” she swallowed, “sometimes I’m afraid what will happen when we reach the full potential of our magic.”

“Really?” Ian was surprised.

Shannon nodded. “In this series, anything is possible. And truth be told, I’m not sure if Jennifer even knows how this series is gonna end. Anyway,” Shannon went on before Ian could notice how scared she really was, “here are a couple of excerpts from BLACK DIAMOND, Book One in McLean Twins series, and from, DEMON’S TOUCH, Book Two in McLean Twins series. I hope you’ll enjoy them. Oh, and like Ian said, Jennifer is currently writing the final part, BLACK COVEN, so stay tuned. The ride will get pretty wild before the story ends.”

 

An Excerpt from BLACK DIAMOND:

She stared at the forest for a long time but there was no more light. Not even a dim one. Oh my God, she thought. Maybe they were hikers and had been captured by Connor or Robert, or even by some more horrifying person. She felt hot tears burning her eyes. She wanted to run into the forest and help them, but what could she do? She would only get herself hurt or worse and she had no idea how to help those poor people.

“I'll go there tomorrow,” she whispered. “I promise. Just hang on in there.” She heard a quiet voice behind her door and froze. “Who is it?”

“Lily,” a quiet voice whispered. “Please, let me in.”

Shannon moved the bureau away and opened the door. Lily stood there holding a bag in her hands. She slipped into the room and glanced around. When she decided it was safe she opened the bag and showed its contents to Shannon. The bag was full of food. Not nicely packed food but messy food that looked similar to what had been served at dinner.

Shannon gasped. “Ew! You cleaned my food! Why did you do it?”

Lily shrugged. “I don't want him to hurt you.”

“Who? Who would hurt me? Connor? Robert?” Shannon asked, stunned.

Lily looked out of the window and shivered. She couldn't answer and Shannon didn't want to press her.

“Thank you,” Shannon said and smiled.

Lily smiled, too. Shyly. “You can't throw it away. They'll know and they'll make you eat it.”

“But it's poisoned!” Shannon yelled.

“No, it's not.” Lily took some of the food out of the bag. Slowly, she put it in her mouth and ate it. “You see. It's not poisoned. It's just food, and if you don't eat you'll lose your strength.”

“So?” Shannon didn't care anymore.

“Then they'll get you, too.” Lily was obviously scared that she had said too much.

Shannon touched Lily's narrow shoulders. “Is that what happened to you?”

Lily shook her head and sniffed. “No. I came here of my own free will. Whatever happens to me is my own fault.”

“I came here willingly, too.”

“Yes. But you didn't know. I did and I still came.” Lily looked at Shannon's wide eyes. “None of this is your fault. He shouldn't have allowed you to come. He shouldn't.”

Shannon was confused. She had no idea what Lily was talking about but it made her more scared than ever. This place was seriously bad and these people, including her dad, were wacky. And that was putting it nicely. And yet somehow she felt sorry for them. Well, not for Robert, but for Lily and Simon, and maybe a little bit for Connor, too. She wanted to run away. To leave and never come back, but she knew she couldn't. She literally couldn't, and if she ever found a way to escape she wasn't sure that she would. There had to be a way to help them. There had to!

She took Lily's hands in hers. “I'll help you. Whatever it takes, I'll help you. You have my word.”

“No! You don't understand! There’s no way to help me or the others. We’re in this because we wanted to be! Help yourself and run!” Lily said desperately.

“No, you're not. Maybe you were at first, but you can't seriously say that this is what you want. Can you?”

Lily looked at her sadly and shook her head. “No. But I'm in too deep. Nothing can save me. Trust me.”

She showed her palms and Shannon saw the locks move again. She touched one of them and in that second it changed into a black diamond.

Lily gasped sharply. They both stared at her palms. Lily's eyes got wider. “Oh no! You're the one! Your life is in danger here! You need to run away. Now, before he finds out about this!”

“What do you mean? I'm not going anywhere!” said Shannon stubbornly.

The black diamond seemed to spin round, and the lock on the other hand seemed to change shape into a black skull.

Lily screamed. And then came the wind.   

 

 

An Excerpt from DEMON’S TOUCH:

Simon narrowed his eyes. They had to be joking. He could feel the magic all over him, and if he could feel it, they should, too. The place practically seeped magic. He shook his head and opened his mouth, a sharp opinion of what he thought about their empty-head, we-don’t-know-anything-about-magic game on his tongue. Right next to where Shannon and Ian sat was a small path that led straight into the woods. Behind the trees he could see a roof, and somehow he just knew it was Elowen’s house. He closed his mouth and stared at Shannon. She should’ve sensed at least something, but no. She just whined and leaned on her brother, looking completely clueless. Simon shook his head again. “I can’t understand why you don’t see it. This place is like the freaking center of earth magic!”

Shannon and Ian looked at him like he had lost his mind.

Simon cursed. “Elowen must’ve put some kind of shield around the house. Look, I can see that you’re both tired. I am, too. But please, trust me on this.”

Shannon formed a questioning ‘o’ with her mouth and frowned.

“A spell,” Simon snapped.

“Huh?” Shannon looked at him as if she’d heard the word ‘spell’ for the first time in her life.

A vein throbbed on Simon’s temple and he muttered something that very much sounded like a curse. He inhaled slowly before nailing Shannon with his intense, demanding gaze. “A spell would be nice now. Shannon, why don’t you, I don’t know, like ask the wind to blow a bit harder or just wish the house here. Maybe it’ll clear your mind and open your eyes.”

Shannon blinked.

Simon gritted his teeth. Right then, right there, Shannon didn’t look the least bit like a crazy-talented teen witch but exactly what she was: a thirteen-year-old little girl. He knelt down in front of her. “Shannon, something weird is happening in here. Something that for some reason has no impact on me, but obviously does something to you. It makes you weak and insecure, and so out of yourself. You need to snap out of it.”

“But-”

He took her hands in his and looked straight into her eyes. “Humor me, okay?”

“Okay,” Shannon breathed and reached for Ian’s hand.

A dim light glowed from their hands when they touched each other, and they felt the familiar recognition as the magic flowed between them, entwining around their fingers and absorbing power from their bond.

“Are you ready?” Shannon asked.

Ian nodded.

Shannon turned to Simon. “Simon, don’t look. I’m not sure if my magic is good for you.”

Simon did as she asked, turning his eyes away from their glowing hands. Although he didn’t believe Shannon could ever hurt him. Not even by accident.

Shannon smiled hesitantly. “I’m not sure what to do.”

“Trust yourself,” Simon encouraged. “You have a natural talent and this spell should be child’s play for you.”

“True.” Ian smiled wickedly. “And if something goes wrong, I’ve got your back.”

“Thanks,” Shannon said dryly. “Okay, here we go.”

“Air, clear our minds. Earth, open our eyes. Water, restore our strength. Fire, light our path. What was hidden is no more. What was locked is now open. Reveal your secrets and show us what we’re looking for.”

Not the best spell she’d ever made, she had to admit that, but it didn’t seem to matter. A light wind started to blow, bending the trees and opening the thickets. The path next to them became visible to them all and the fog in Shannon’s mind vanished completely. She wanted to rub her eyes. Finally, she could see what Simon had seen the whole time. The miracle Elowen had so skillfully hidden from the mundane world. Her jaw dropped open.

“No way!”

Ian inhaled sharply, too, before laughing out loud.

Shannon took a step forward, hesitated, and stepped back. There was a huge white house surrounded by a high stone wall in the middle of the woods.

“Shall we go in?” Shannon asked.

“Sure.” Ian shrugged but none of them made a move towards the house.

They scanned the sight in front of them, their gaze stopping on a black iron gate, which looked as if no one had passed through it in years. Maybe it’s just another one of Elowen’s tricks, Shannon thought, examining the gate closely, as why would Elowen have sent them there if they could not enter? Surely it was just a gate and they were being paranoid, as nothing indicated danger. And yet there was something so out of the ordinary in the place that all of her instincts were urging her to leave. She narrowed her eyes, focusing on the details.

The gate was skillfully made, its metal bars tied into all kinds of Celtic knots, and its sides decorated by nature with ivy and other climbers that spread from the gate onto the wall. It looked ancient and Shannon wouldn’t have been surprised if someone claimed it had been made by elves hundreds of years ago. At that point she was ready to believe anything. The gate also looked very closed, with no keyhole visible anywhere, and she sure wasn’t gonna climb over the wall. She was staring at the gate, wondering if she should make another spell, when suddenly they heard a grating noise.

The gate opened slowly, revealing a beautiful, well-taken care of garden with flowering cherry trees and tulips. In the center of the yard was a wild black horse, and astride it was a boy who looked like a fairy prince.

 

That's great you two. Thanks so much for coming in. Why don't you go off to your studies whilst I give the readers the relevant links and info on Jennifer. Good luck!

 

Well that went all right in the end - now where was I? oh right - yes, information on Jennifer:

 

 

 

 



 Author bio:

Jennifer Loiske lives in Finland in Naantali, which is a small sunny town on the southwest coast. She is a Teen/YA paranormal fiction author, with four exciting series available worldwide. McLean Twins series for teen readers, Immortal Blood series for mature young adult readers, Blood Hunters series, also for mature young adults, which is a follow up for Immortal Blood series and is created by the readers’ requests, and The Shape Shifter series for anyone age 16 and up.

Jennifer’s stories are full of creatures of the night. Vampires, demons, witches, shape shifters…but even if they are mostly fiction you can find a hint of a truth in every story. Jennifer loves to research so every time she gets an idea of a new story she does a crazy Google session looking for places, old myths, names, folklores, magical items…anything that could spice up her story and make it more real for the readers. Jennifer is also part of Authors For Charity, an international author alliance, and team member in Epilepsy FI magazine. She has a soft spot for people in need and anything furry.

In her spare time you can find her roaming in the woods with her two dogs or walking on a beach road, headphones on, a focused expression on her face, whilst her mind is developing wild plots which will make her readers to bite their nails off.

If you want to keep up with her latest news click on these links:

https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJenniferLoiske

https://twitter.com/jenniferloiske

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5821849.Jennifer_Loiske

https://jenniferloiske.wordpress.com

http://www.amazon.com/Jennifer-Loiske/e/B0054QIXPY/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1

https://fi.pinterest.com/authorjloiske/

And the links so that you can get these great books:

For Black Diamond go to http://authl.it/1ax

For Demon's Touch go to http://authl.it/2mf

Thanks to Jennifer for sending Shannon and Ian along today - it was interesting - I hope you get your plotline sorted.

And as always, thank you to my readers for joining us here.

Marie

www.mariegodley.moonfruit.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How Cruel Winter will help Spring

Keep reading!!

     Blurb

After reuniting with Jeremy, the path of love still never seems to run smoothly for Kelsey. When tragedy strikes the couple, will it tear them apart, or will it bring them closer together. As the year closes, as much as she loves him, as much as she needs him, will it ever be enough to keep them together?
A winter filled with love and steaming passion that soon turns into a winter of cruel acts which out of their control, of misunderstanding and of heartbreak. She lost him once and getting him back took almost everything she had in her. Will she be strong enough to endure what lies ahead of her and if she is to go it alone, will she survive?

There is a message from the author that I would like to share with you today:

·       From today, all royalties for Cruel Winter will be donated to Spring, the charity who supported my brother and his partner in the loss of their child. The book is dedicated in her memory, if you are planning on getting either the e-book or paperback from today, let me know when you get it, so I can set the royalties aside. I would also appreciate it if you could spread the word Thank you .

 

   http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/reader/B00LI9V8AS/ref=sib_dp_kd…

 

      Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoy the book and can help a charity at the same time.

 

Marie.

 

2015

Happy New Year everyone. I hope you're all keeping safe (especially as many places are experiencing some interesting weather).

Have you made any resolutions? - decided this is going to be the year you .....
Whatever you decide on, I wish you the best of luck with it.

It only remains for me to post this next picture in the hope that it brings a smile (it made me smile, but then I'm weird!)

Take care,

Marie.

www.mariegodley.moonfruit.com

Happy Christmas

Wishing all my readers, fellow authors, friends and family a Peaceful and Loving Christmas xx

I hope that 2015 is good to you,

Marie xx

www.mariegodley.moonfruit.com