Category: Writing

“Her Name is Lola Vencent” is full of hints…

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HNILV
Concept for cover of “Her Name is Lola Vencent”

 

 

I have some very good news today: I just finished the draft for “Her Name is Lola Vencent”, the second book in the “Valentine Apart” series! I will release it next month, along with book three, “Jo Fuentes: The Black Queen”. So, what’s so special about “Lola Vencent”? It’s full of hints.

This book will reveal how Lola met Val’s father, Vincent. It will also be the first time, Victor Entienne, Veronica and Victoria’s father, will be featured as a character, and not just a memory. Plus, you’ll learn about how Lola met Allan and Mac Avery, and how she and Barbara O’Riley joined the Syndicate.

I’ve probably said too much here! But I’m sure you’ll enjoy this book. “Her Name is Lola Vencent” will be available this March.

http://www.woolastonentertainment.com

The Dark Side of Valentine

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“I’ll kill you myself. I’ll kill you in the most violent way I can think of.”

valentine4cover

 

If you’ve read the books in the Valentine series, you may have noticed, the story started out with mild violence, which progressed as the story continued. Yes, bullets have been fired and people have been shot. In fact, a few people have died. In a story involving a girl who carries a pair of handguns and is friends with a lot of hit men and hit women, there has to be some sort of body count.

The Val Entienne you have come to know in the previous books in the series, is going to change in book 4. She’s a little darker; she has to be. Now more than ever, Val wants to protect her family, and this time, the threat isn’t an assumed one. This time, the threat is very, very real. Rafferty has made it clear, he wants Val dead.  So, it’s kill or be killed.

You can expect a few deaths in this part of the story. Not to include any spoilers, but keep an eye on Val’s demeanor, from here on, because it’s going to change.

 

Websites For Publishing EBooks

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If you’ve read my previous blog posts , you know I’m practically a “Create Space Cheerleader”. I use Amazon’s Create Space to publish my books, in both paperback and EBook form. However, I also respect the idea, that some writers may want to choose another source to publish their words, and there’s nothing wrong with that. So, I have conducted a small search, and I have found other sites, which offer EBook publishing services, or services which permit authors to publish their work online.

Blurb.com

http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/ebooks/new

Blurb offers a service which will help you publish, sell and distribute your EBook.

Jukepop.com

http://www.jukepop.com/Home/Welcome

This site lets you publish your book, one chapter at a time. You can give your readers free access, or ask readers for a donation, which will unlock other portions of your book. You can find some of my work here.

Rokdo.com

http://www.rokdo.com/

This site is similar to Jukepop. You can publish a book one chapter at a time.

Bookbaby.com

https://www.bookbaby.com/

They offer an EBook publishing service, for a fee.

Of course, there are plenty of other services available. I posted the ones I’m familiar with. And, I must add, I DO NOT recommend Xlibris publishing.

I hope this helps.

New Books Coming Soon!

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Even though this is only the first month of the new year, I’m happy to report I have made a lot of progress, where my upcoming books are concerned. I started four manuscripts last year, just before NaNoWriMo. Within the past seven days, I completed three of them! I have one left, and it should be finished by the end of this month. SO, good news: three manuscripts ready to enter the editing phase. Bad news: three manuscripts ready to enter the editing phase! Editing will be tedious, but its necessary.  I’m looking forward to releasing new books this year.

Sample from “Valentine 4” (coming soon!)

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. “Interesting,” Kelly said.  “Would you like Jo to shoot her for you?”

“I could,” Jo said.

Veronica came back into the living room. “What?” she said.

“Or one of us could do it,” Mac said.

“I’d be glad to do it,” Lola said.

“Why don’t we draw straws?” Jo asked.

Val looked around at the faces of her friends, laughed. “Oh my God,” she said. “All my friends are killers. How did that happen?”

Sample from “Jo Fuentes: The Black Queen” (Valentine Apart Series)

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          “You know, I read about you, before I came up here,” Jo said. “I read all about how you like to sleep with young women who get speeding tickets in your town. And I read all about that little incident involving the under aged driver, who didn’t want to sleep with you in order to get out of a ticket. I also read about the massive number of complaints that have been filed against you, for sexual harassment, misconduct, and racial profiling. Black suspects and Latino suspects being questioned by you and beaten by you. It seems like a lot of the men and women in your precinct don’t like the things you’ve done.”

            Rennick laughed nervously. “So, you think you know about me?” he said. “Right now, a speeding ticket is gonna be the last thing you have to worry about!” He turned to leave, and placed his hand on the doorknob. When he tried to turn it, it wouldn’t open. He tried it again, and again, but it still wouldn’t open. “Hey!” he shouted through the door. “Dowd! Michaels! Open this damn door!”

            Dowd and Michaels could see their chief through the small window on the door to the interrogation room. They looked at him, then turned away from the door.

            “Hey!” Rennick shouted again. “I said open this damn door! I know you can hear me!”

            Dowd and Michaels ignored him. So did every other officer who walked by.

            “You think they locked me in here, with you,” Jo said. She raised her hands, and placed them on top of the table, just as Rennick turned to face her. “But that’s not it. The truth is, they locked you in here with me.” She stood up from the table, and walked around it. Before Rennick could draw his gun, she had him in a choke hold.

Reading Books Within Your Genre

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If you’re a writer, then there’s a very good chance you’re also a reader. How can you not be? Over the years, I’ve spent a lot of time reading books which contain the subject matter I want to write about. For example, while working on Our Lady of Righteous Rage, I drew from my own personal experiences, and I also read a lot of books about punk rock; the history of it and punk rock as a culture. Reading books within the same genre you’re planning to write for, can be very useful. If you want to write books about paranormal romance, I suggest reading books in that category. This can help you gain insight into what’s popular in that genre, and what readers may be looking for. If you’re going to write science fiction, then you may want to read science fiction. Plus, you don’t have to stop at books, alone. I can’t begin to tell you the number of issues of Alternative Press , Rock Sound and Rolling Stone Magazine I’ve collected over the years.

At the same time, I believe reading should be a pleasurable experience.  I read books in certain genres for research purposes, as well as for fun. I like to see how other writers present similar stories and characters.

Feminism in W.E. Books

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Valentine

                         Haverdy  Oyama , Val Entienne &   Amy Edwards

 


Thinking about W.E.’s 22 anniversary, I can’t help but think about the primary part of W.E., which is the books. Thinking about the books, led me to think about the characters in them. When I was a child, I gravitated towards books with stories about female characters who weren’t afraid to do whatever the male characters did. I was never a big fan of stories about princesses. I was a bit of a tomboy, so stories about ultra-girly characters didn’t interest me.  When I started writing, my female characters were bold, brave, and they weren’t afraid to do any of the things the male characters would do.  The definition of feminism is the advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of political, social and economic equality to men.  I didn’t want to create female characters who were “damsels in distress”.

 

Take Haverdy Oyama of Fortune’s Wing, for example. Haverdy is a tomboy, through and through.  She wears her hair short, like a boy, and she even wears the boy’s uniform to school. When her brother and his friends find themselves fighting monsters created by the Winged Seven, Haverdy has no problem picking up a sword and running head-first into danger.

Val Entienne of Valentine is equally as brave.  Despite her pink hair, when her father needs help, she’s a regular “ride or die” kind of girl. She arms herself with a pair of handguns and drives all the way to California to rescue him. She gets caught in a gunfight on more than one occasion, but she doesn’t run and hide.

Even when some of the guys in her life doubt her abilities and her talent, Amy of Our Lady of Righteous Rage learns to play the guitar and become a rock star.  She’s also a firm believer in the idea that girls can do anything boys can do.  And the person behind the concept for the retail store in the series, the “Urban Collective”, is Vanessa, another female character.

Should the sword-wielding hero always be a boy? Certainly not.  What about the gun-toting Patron Saint? The badass guitarist? I enjoy creating female characters who succeed in male-dominated situations. In Fortune’s Wing, all of the girls are ready to stand with Fortune and fight. In Valentine, it’s Val the members of the Syndicate are afraid of.  The female characters in the W.E. books have demonstrated the meaning of feminism and redefined what it means to be in a “woman’s place”.

http://www.woolastonentertainment.com

Woolaston Entertainment’s 22nd Anniversary!!!

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Hello, everyone! Welcome to the Monday Blog. This is the first blog for the month of December, and it’s also the 22nd anniversary of Woolaston Entertainment. This month, I’ll share information about W.E.’s books, artwork, and comics.

The birth of W.E. began with the creation of the very first character, Vanessa Vance, who is currently one of the characters featured in the Our Lady of Righteous Rage series. I had been working on several characters since the Summer of 1994, but I hadn’t drawn any of them yet. The image featured here, is the very first drawing I ever made of Vanessa, or any other character. Drawn in December of 1994, I used charcoal and water color.  Vanessa’s design has changed over the years. I finally found a design I liked in 1999, and I have pretty much kept the same design for Vanessa since then.

Aside from the Our Lady of Righteous Rage series, Vanessa also appeared in the sci-fi series I wrote, Enos, and several individual books as well.

Next week, I’ll share some info about the WE books, both published and unpublished.vv1994