SKIN DEEP! NEW Release from T.G. AYER

There is something seriously delicious about the release of a new book, and that long awaited anticipation of getting your nose stuck between the pages.

Well – today you can. Welcome to the new world of T.G. Ayer. As part of the release, this amazing writer has provided us with a bit of an excerpt, and even the first chapter to whet your appetite.

So, without further ado – check out this beautiful book, and go buy yourself a copy if it sounds like it’s something up your reading alley. (I highly recommend it!)

Amazon:
Skin Deep

Add to Goodreads

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EXCERPT:

“The cold cocking of guns set my body on fire.

It also did something worse. With mortal fear gripping me, my imminent Change wasn’t taking second place anymore. My body churned the fear and my Panther grasped at the visceral power of the adrenalin in my veins.

I ran.

A gunshot echoed around the garden, the sound ping-ponging off the aging brick walls of the surrounding apartment buildings.

I gasped as a blast of searing pain slammed into me.

As a bullet buried itself deep within my shoulder.”

DESCRIPTION:

Panther Shape-shifter Kailin Odel just wants to be normal. Leaving her clan, and her Alpha responsibilities, to live with her grandmother in Chicago had been the best thing for her. Only then did she discover her ability to track and kill the soul sucking undead creatures called Wraiths. Now she protected the humans, and had something to be proud of.

But, when she discovers the body of a murdered shape shifter, Kailin has to come to terms with the reality that her own kind are just as vulnerable as the humans.

The closer Kailin gets to the killer the more she has to face the intricacies of her people. When the time comes can she accept who and what her real purpose is?

Want to know more? Here is the first Chapter:

CHAPTER 1

Icy pain sliced through my bones, the muscles of my arms, and the flesh of my back. My spine and thighs rippled, shifted. Changing.

Damn. Too fast.

I spared a rueful glance at my new leather pants. And ran faster.

Had to make it to the Rehab Center a few blocks away. I ran, my speed super-human, my need super-charged, covering ground fast enough to make it to safety before my Panther took over.

I took the corner of the street behind the Center at breakneck speed, and headed for the nearest of the gaping holes pockmarking the rusted fence.

The wind changed before I stepped off the curb. My ears peaked and I skidded to a halt, panting slightly, my backpack thumping against my side. The scream of tires on blacktop echoed on the night air, shattering the silence as it grew ever louder.

Closer.

Followed in tandem by the whining wail of sirens. A battered sedan scorched down the street, suspended on the turn on only two wheels. The angry whip of charred rubber spiked the air. Horizontal again, the car jumped the curb and skidded sideways, avoiding a collision with the fence by mere inches.

I shrank into the shadows at my back, expelling a long, stale breath. My Panther, still confined within my body, bucked and jerked, craving release.

I let her surface.

A little.

For now, super-sight would be welcome. Unlike the ability to run like the wind while still in my Human skin, tapping into my Panther’s sight required a partial transformation—a risk I needed to take as my gut screamed danger.

Adrenalin surged, different again from the calm fervor of my wraith hunts. I blinked. Heat nipped at my corneas as I released my Panther sight—enough to give my eyes feline vision.

Sight, which sliced deep into the black nothing hugging the sidewalk, transformed my eyes into a solid Panther emerald. For the moment, plain old Kailin Odel was back to being Kailin of the Clan Panthera.

My cat sight adjusted, focused. The blackness surrounding the darkened vehicle changed depth and color, became lighter, clearer.

Someone shoved the rear door open, and I cringed as it creaked and complained. The occupants remained shrouded in the shadows of the vehicle’s interior. Something large, long and heavy hit the ground with a dull thunk. Then the sedan revved as unseen sirens drew closer, louder, and it spun around and skidded off the curb.

The battered car roared off, a police cruiser close on its tail with sirens screaming blue murder. It didn’t take a genius to figure out the parcel had to be awfully incriminating, for them to chuck it into the garden in such a flaming hurry.

My nostrils twitched at the stench of exhaust smoke, and my heart thumped as I waited to cross the street. I flicked a furtive glance at the dull red glow of taillights disappearing into the darkness. A breeze skimmed the sidewalk, ruffling my hair, and I hurried across the street as the sounds of sirens faded in the distance. I paused a few meters from the bundle, released my Panther’s nose and sniffed. Whatever I’d expected to scent on the air, it wasn’t the tang of copper drifting toward me—strong, rich and intoxicating.

Blood. Fresh blood. A luscious odor, laced with tendrils of the familiar.

I moved closer, my mind warring with my emotions. This was no bundle of rags, or some stolen junk those thugs had thrown away, but a living being. The blood surely meant the person now lying on the sidewalk needed medical attention.

I stood over the bundle, the cloying odor of the blood filling my nostrils, and hesitated in a moment of doubt and fear.

Now or never.

I took a deep breath and crouched beside the silent form. My hand quivered as I reached out and touched the scratchy, ragged fabric covering the shoulder of the silent figure. At first it resisted my tug, stiff against my touch, but one more gentle urging turned him toward me.

I gasped, my throat closing on the sound. My heel caught as I pulled away, and I staggered backward as hot horror burned through my veins. The face glistened, bloody and mangled. Raw muscles and ligaments lay exposed, bare. A low moan of horror echoed around me. Chills streaked up my spine when I realized the stricken sound had originated from my own throat. The familiar richness of him clouded my mind, clogging my throat and drugging my senses.

A Skinwalker.

My throat spasmed, silencing a shriek as he stared at me. His breath whispered—shallow, irregular, the sound ragged as he labored in his final moments. He gripped with desperation to the disappearing threads which held him to this mortal earth.

His face held my gaze, and somewhere behind ribs of ice my heart clenched, threatening to implode. My own face stared back at me, reflected from within eyes as blue as oceans. Eyes filled with excruciating pain and desperate fear. He didn’t speak, just studied me for a few moments with those glorious eyes.

Recognition. Gratitude. Relief.

Then… release.

Life flickered and sputtered out of his beautiful eyes—eyes unable to close even after his soul departed his mortal body. Eyes stark and ghastly within a face flayed of every inch of its skin.

Mere seconds had passed, although I would have sworn it had been hours. Screeching tires again interrupted my horror, and the sedan skidded beside me before I could do much more than scramble away from the body. The killers had managed to lose the cops, and now they’d returned to retrieve the body.

They hadn’t bargained on having a witness.

The cold-cocking of guns set my body on fire.

It also did something worse. With mortal fear gripping me, my imminent Change refused to take second place anymore. My body churned the fear and my Panther grasped at the visceral power of the adrenalin in my veins.

I ran.

A gunshot echoed around the garden, the sound ping-ponging off the aging brick walls of the surrounding apartment buildings.

I gasped as a blast of searing pain slammed into me, as a bullet buried itself deep within my shoulder.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

I have been a writer from the time I was old enough to recognise that reading was a doorway into my imagination. Poetry was my first foray into the art of the written word. Books were my best friends, my escape, my haven. I am essentially a recluse but this part of my personality is impossible to practise given I have two teenage daughters, who are actually my friends, my tea-makers, my confidantes… I am blessed with a husband who has left me for golf. It’s a fair trade as I have left him for writing. We are both passionate supporters of each other’s loves – it works wonderfully…

My heart is currently broken in two. One half resides in South Africa where my old roots still remain, and my heart still longs for the endless beaches and the smell of moist soil after a summer downpour. My love for Ma Afrika will never fade. The other half of me has been transplanted to the Land of the Long White Cloud. The land of the Taniwha, beautiful Maraes, and volcanoes. The land of green, pure beauty that truly inspires. And because I am so torn between these two lands – I shall forever remain cross-eyed.

 

CONTACT DETAILS:

tgayer.com

tgayer@xtra.co.nz

 

Lest we forget…

Lest we forget… those who fought for us, and those who died fighting.
Today is the day of remembrance for our ANZACs. Every New Zealander stops on this day to pay tribute.

Today is a day of love.
Today we remember.
Tomorrow we live.

Today is a day of celebrating the life we now live because of those who fought for us.

 

Characterisations…

I have been reading a lot recently, as well as watching lots of different things, and what really intrigues me is characterisations. What traits or characteristics do authors pull from themselves and those they love around them to build their characters?

Every author wants to create the perfect characters – because by doing that, they then hope that everyone will love that character, just as much as the author does. Naturally we want our characters to have the best of the best characteristics and traits – after all – they are our creation, and in some way, we are playing ‘god’ with our books. We are the creators of these worlds. Some authors set the characters up to have no flaws, lots of money, perfect features, etc etc, and therefore a reader can then feel the character is a bit ‘plastic’. Fake. False. They have thoughts about that character of – ‘how unrealistic; no body acts like that,’ and so on.

The author can become quite baffled by this sort of response, and in turn, they utter such phrases as: ‘How can you say those things?’ ‘This character is amazing – obviously you have no idea what you’re talking about.’ ‘They are the perfect creation!’

And if you really really get down to the nitty-gritty of the matter – perfect characters are boring to read. Who the hell wants to read about perfect people all the time? The world is not full of replicas of Ken and Barbie.

By writing flaws into characters it can enhance interest in your plot, character drivers, and if you really hit the nail on the head – you can create someone that everyone adores and loves – regardless of the flaws that you weave into them.

Nobody is perfect. No one. We love those around us who have flaws, so make sure that you let your characters have flaws as well. Let them even flaw themselves with their own flaws and working through the issues. That’s what makes them believable. That’s what gives the book depth with character plots.

Give your characters strengths, but more importantly – give them weaknesses.

Lance Armstrong – Far from flawless. Definitely an interesting character that one could write.

 

2013 Progress

For a long time I have felt that there hasn’t been much active progress happening in my life, even though there is.

I have to remind myself that I am a new-ish mother, who works full time, tries to write, raise our daughter, and also be a wife who has a household to run. There are certain things though that need to give a little when I’m active or focused on something in particular. This is a juggling game that I seem to get quite good at sometimes, and not so much at others.

At the moment, I’m pretty focused on my best friend’s wedding, and getting organised for that at the end of this month. It’s a damn scary thought imagining him getting married, but in the same breath, I’m just so damn pleased for him – and the fact that the woman he loves is ready for her ‘happily ever after’ with him. I can’t wait to get down to Queenstown, near where the wedding is, with my little family, and have a few days down near where I grew up. Some places are just better to be absorbed within. There is no point talking about the fresh mountain ranges, the glistening rivers, the miles of grassy-rocky valleys, or the glaciers. There is also no point in talking about the enormous lake that has been described as a giant sleeping in the Southern land. This being the same lake that reflects the landscape and therefore utterly immersing you within it. No…. That is a magical place that one must visit themselves and revere within its beauty. A surreal place that I’m looking forward to introducing our daughter to.

Work has started again on Venetian Nights. At the moment I am reading through everything I have written so far, and adjusting parts of the storyline and my planning. I’m pleased with the progress to date – and feeling more and more excitement to get this project back on track. One day I would love to go and experience Venice in all it’s glory. In the meantime, I just have to use my imagination of what it’s like in reality, and hope that I’m on the mark. I do know some wonderful people who have spent time there though, and they will definitely let me know if I’m going off-track or not.

Car hunting continues! Perhaps we will have a new one this coming week – but perhaps not. It’s a complete pain in the ass, but a necessary evil. My mother in law has been a wonderful help by loaning us one of her cars to tide us over, but the time has come where we need to be settled with our own things again, and time for her to have her car back. But I will be forever grateful for all her help! We couldn’t have done it without her.

And now, I must fly again. Its Sunday night here, and I have to prepare for the Monday-it is onslaught tomorrow. Our office is in upheaval at the moment, so things should be a bit of entertainment.

Au revoir, and goodnight.

 

 

Lucky Number ‘13

And so we see another year out, and welcome another year into our lives. Every New Year starts out with a wealth of positivity and dreams of good fortune. I am no different in the hopes and dreams of my endeavours. And so, I lay before you all – a list of thirteen goals and objectives that I hope to meet or obtain for this 2013^th year. No – these are not resolutions, because I am not one to make resolutions… but these are the things that I would like to accomplish this year.

Whether they happen or not is a different story, and you can be sure that it’s a story that I will one day tell.

Some of these objectives are biggish, and some are a lot smaller. But regardless of size, they are still progress.

So here are the Lucky Thirteen for the 13^th year:

1. Write Venetian Nights. Currently 5k into it, and I can’t wait to get this highly charged thriller out to readers.
   

   Draft working cover

2. Renew my commitment to Parchment Place. Everything lapsed in 2012 due to the arrival of Abigail, but 2013 is the year to re-establish my blogging drive.
3. Read a minimum of 50 books (I managed to get through 52 in 2012 – but I did read a big chunk of those while on maternity leave!)
4. Buy a new car (Somebody smashed into me in 2012, and wrote ours off…. Actually, my husband and I wrote both our cars off within three weeks of each other.)
5. Read, review, and make a few decisions about the Talent Trilogy, and decide what work takes priority.
6. Put together my graphic design portfolio, and do the odd piece of work for people in that field.  
7. Publish, or secure a contract to publish a piece of my longer work.
8. Clean up my email accounts, and unsubscribe me from stuff I never read. All it does is clog up my virtual world.
9. Take Abby overseas – preferably to Bali, but anywhere will do. (I’m feeling the need of a Balinese holiday this year)
10. Make it through my best friend’s wedding with Abby in tow, and me as the best man. (Yup – you did just read that correctly.) And also make it through my Mum’s wedding in April.
11. Teach Abby all that I can possibly teach her, and have fun doing it.
12. Let go of Mediterranean Dreams. Seriously.
13. And lucky number 13 – Win the lottery.  (You always have to chase after something a little unrealistic, but something that could potentially be real… right?)

So there you have it. That’s the 2013 list…

Now let’s see how much of that I can actually achieve. (I can’t believe that it has actually taken me 6 days to get this post up on my blog! – but at least it’s there.)

And to launch the year off – I thought that I would share Abby’s favourite new song with you all. Quite appropriate, I think! 

 

 

Inner Zen

A to Zen – Click for a great read

It’s amazing how our internal thought processes seriously effect how we write, what we write, and when we write. Writing is a completely cathartic process, whether we know it or not. (I know that there are many stories of writers out there who are alcoholics, drug addicts, etc etc… but those a a few out of many. And perhaps writing wasn’t enough to actually help those people… perhaps they needed a bit more of something.)

I am a true believer that our bodies and minds will heal themselves through a series of motions, if we allow it. I didn’t know that this was happening years ago when I first turned to writing, I was writing my way out of some pretty emotional issues that I was having due to my parents breaking up.

Little did I know the process of turning to my inner worlds and writing them out would lead me to writing a number of different books and stories. I always knew that I had them within me – I just didn’t realise that I had the potential to access them, warp them, process them, and churn them out into a readable format. This process of creativity is truly amazing.

Over the past ten weeks I have been living more of a holistic lifestyle. Yes – this does mean daily meditation, a mixture of yoga, pilates, and walking… and I’m eating differently. I cannot be bothered putting rubbish into my system anymore. I have absolutely had enough of it. So I have actively persued to change my lifestyle for the better. And I feel better. Much much better.

I consider writing and creativity to be a very major part in this holistic process. Writing and delving into my inner worlds throws me into a very zen-like trance, and there are often times that I am amazing by what I come out with.

So I say this here and now – find your Inner Zen Mode. This may be through meditation, writing, or some other form of other creative outlet (because we all have one). But whatever you do – you need to find it. It’s an incredibly important factor in your life, and you need to pay attention to it. I don’t know how I would get through my life at the moment without turning to it.

Of course there are days that you’re gonna have that are a bit rubbish… but hopefully if you can delve into your ‘Inner Zen Mode’ – they will only be moment – not whole days.

Finding your Inner Zen Mode is good for the soul. And your soul will thank you for it.

 

 

 

Some days are better than others…

Some days really are better than others. So here is a quick update of my news over the past couple of weeks:

Since I have been back at work, I have been trying to settle in. Some of my colleagues say that it doesn’t even feel as though I have been on leave for six months. There is only one new person at the ooffice… but a few of the old staff have left, so I miss their presence.

I also miss Abby! But she’s having such a great time in care, that I really needn’t of worried like I did. But I do feel as though I’m missing an appendage of sorts. I’m pleased that she did have a good routine already set in place, and that with the help of my Mother in Law – we taught her how to take a bottle. She seems to be happy as to be away from me during the day.

Abby has been the utter centre of attention for everyone as we have had lots of family visiting over the past couple of weeks. Was really lovely to see them all, and for them to finally meet Abby for the first time. I can’t believe she is now five months old already! Motherhood is sweeping by very fast.

I had my very first car accident yesterday morning… What a great start to the week! A chap was pulling out of his driveway, and didn’t see me driving past, and smooshed my passenger doors with the nose of his great big Mercedes. So this afternoon I have to go and pick up a rental car to tide us over while ours gets fixed. (What is really annoying is that we only just sold my husbands car on Sunday, so I could have been using that!)

I have started catching the train to work, and each time I feel utterly elated at the amount of writing work I am accomplishing again! After 6 months of basically having a break from it, I am now immersing myself into my writer’s world for at least an hour per day. And it is FABULOUS! I’m smashing through my editing during my dedicated train time. Feels amazing.

One of my Critique partners has moved to China, so that’s a bit tough. Gonna be awesome for her – and it will start to feel a bit better when she’s back up and running online again.

Another Critique partner is about to release her next book, which is exciting!

Anyway – I better get back to the Evil Day Job (which is actually going quite well) and earn my keep.

P.s. Can’t wait to get this damn book off my desk and onto the desks of publishers.

 

Having a little faith…

Something is once again stirring within me. I would like to say that it’s the ‘writing bug’… but it feels as though it’s more than that. It’s more like a primal urge that is getting my creative juices flowing again. The fact that our new daughter is starting to sleep now is probably another thing that is prompting this change within me.

Many things have been circulating through my mind over the past six weeks. What projects I need to complete, what books I need to edit, and what books I need to plan. Believe me – the list seems to be continuously growing. I guess that is what creative people do though– they constantly generate and process new ideas. I know that there are many things that I really need to complete before I start the next new thing.

In January this year I started writing Tijuana Nights. I hadn’t been writing properly for a long time due to my addled pregnancy brain… and I loved writing it. I loved sinking my teeth into new territory, and exploring old and new ideas that I had been stewing on for a long time. And then I had to stop that project because I need to give birth to our daughter.

The other day I was talking to a friend, and she was telling me about her book success. Then she turned around and said, ‘I just know Talent will make waves in YA once you are ready to put it out there.’ Yet another project that I need to complete. I really need to complete this one. It’s been hanging around for far too long. Besides – there is going to be a lot of editing and rejigging once I finish writing the trilogy. All that aside – it was really lovely to hear my friend say that about those books. Really lovely. She has faith in the trilogy.

I also need to do one last edit on The Mediterranean Source. Some readers may remember that I did a really big edit on it in November last year. Well – after that I sent it out to a couple of readers and they provided some seriously valuable feedback on the book. This is the last lot of feedback that I think I will incorporate into the book before submitting it out into the world. But yet this is another task that I need to set my mind to completing.

But I have faith. I have faith that I will finish off these things. I also have faith that whether or not they are ever published in the future, I know that I will be happy within myself just for being tenacious enough to get through these enormous projects. And I also have faith that one day in the future… my daughter may just pick up one of my books and read it. Whether or not she enjoys it will be another story all together.

 

The Seven Deadly Sins of Prologues

Reblogged from Kristen Lamb's Blog:

To prologue or not to prologue? That is the question. The problem with the prologue is it has kind of gotten a bad rap over the years, especially with agents. They generally hate them. Why? In my opinion, it is because far too many writers don’t use prologues properly and that, in itself, has created its own problem. Because of the steady misuse of prologues, most readers skip them.

Read more… 1,504 more words

I am one of those people who often write prologues, and then I end up editing them out. I am also one of those people who hate reading them, unless they are done really well. Epic fantasy novels often have amazing prologues. Young Adult novels – I could probably pass on. A damn good thriller often has a damn good prologue… And after reading Kristen Lamb’s blog this morning – I agree with her on almost every point – so I thought that I would repost her blog to serve as a good reminder to all of us writers. There are 7 deadly sins with prologues, and there is damn good reasoning behind them. Take heed… pay attention.

 

How to Effectively Use Twitter for Authors

Reblogged from WordServe Water Cooler:

We all know that as successful authors we're expected to market ourselves and this includes social media sites. Most find Facebook easy to use, but I've seen several authors confused or disheartened by Twitter.

I used to be one of them. For basic Twitter use, including #hashtags and follow back explanations, check out 8 Twitter Tips for Authors at the Blogging Bistro's site.

Read more… 429 more words

I came across this blog yesterday, and for the first time in a long time - I logged back into Twitter. I must admit - I have been a bad little tweeter. Actually - I have pretty much linked in everything I can to twitter, and have basically ignored it. But it really is an extremely good tool for writers and readers. It's a great place to connect. You can join 'chats' and meeting new people through those is really valuable. I just need to learn to refocus on it, and use it more effectively. So ... to start me off - I found this little blog post, which is an awesome place to start. We shall see how I go!