Writer's Rant

Have you ever had one of those moments when you want to write and NOTHING comes to mind? No, I'm not talking about writer's block I'm mean when you have everything set up in front of you and your fingers are itching to start typing and...nothing! You re-read what came before and still...nothing. So you take a deep breath and glance through notes and whatnot and still...nothing. Those are the annoying moments in every writers life. >sigh< My time is now, sadly.
See, I have two manuscripts in the works and neither are liking me very much at the moment. As I am not caring for them either honestly. Having submitted Twin Flames: Soul Memory a week ago I have to get moving on Twin Flames: Soul Destiny and it's just not moving...I'm missing something and until I can figure out what it is I'm stuck forever in the morose syrup that is writer hell. I also have a demon on my back and that one is Twin Flames: Soul Damned. <-----Nice title, huh? Sorry, it was the best I could do and honestly, I think it fits the hero and heroine to a 't'. It's also one of those things that just is a fact of life. Trust me, knights in shining armor and prince charming aren't real and for those of you who have been lucky enough to find either, I can bet you aren't entirely thrilled about every little thing they do. That's the point behind the Twin Flames Series. For all their perfectness they are -after all- only absolutely perfect for the one who is their mirror image and exact opposite. Whomever they may be. >grin<

My wonderful sister-in-law has been lecturing me on getting something written and sadly, she's right. >groan< Don't tell her I said that. You don't know what she's like. No, she's not horrible, but who doesn't enjoying knowing they are right about something they've been talking about? Yeah, that's what I thought. Eventually she'll find out, because that's just the way things happen. Although, I swear someone is spying on me and telling her what I say. I can feel it! >laugh< But seriously, she is right. I am a writer and that's what I do...I write. Even when nothing is coming to the forefront of this mass called a brain I am compelled to write...hence I am here ranting on about nothing, honestly.

But more about Twin Flames: Soul Damned...I enjoy a challenge. However, this particular one has me worried. Because it's not easy. It's damned hard and I want to do the couple involved justice. Don't get me wrong, what I write is fiction, but sometimes I fashion characters from people I've meet or know personally. That's where the justice comes in...it would just flat out suck majorly if I didn't get the hero and heroine accurate, ya know? So some challenges are easier then others...this is the other I just mentioned. >smirk<

As for Twin Flames: Soul Destiny...that is the final installment of Jairo and Joy. With this one they will have their present, past and future all wrapped up into a nice little package. Plus, I may just add a bright red bow to the top just because I can. >snicker< I'm to the end with them and I think that's what has me stalled out. In a sense I will have written them complete in a way I hadn't done before. Mind you, I have people that have read through Twin Flames: Soul Memory and they are waiting for the next one to finish them. Oh the words 'the end' are right there...so close and yet, so freakin' far away it's insane! >laugh< But seriously, I have plenty of time for the third book and even more time for the fourth one, but I'm sitting here with lots to do and get done and nothing is happening. That is just rotten.

So, since I have ranted and just babbled about nothing at all maybe this is what I needed to clear out the clog that blocked up this writers pipe? >chuckle< Anywho...hope ya'll find this entertaining and enjoyable and if I've made you laugh then so be it. I don't mind in the least. At least one of us is happy at the moment. As for me...I'm off to see what I can accomplish. I really do need to focus and get something done.

Wish me luck! Cause I sure need it. :)

Name Changes

A friend of mine said I come up with the most interesting and uncommon names. Even if she has trouble pronouncing them, she says. Honestly? Commonly known and used names aren’t a fave of mine. Actually, I detest using common names for any of my characters. Which for Joy and Jay is insane, because here are to so commonly used names it’s funny, and those are the names of my two characters.

The story behind Jay and Joy’s names…when I started Twin Flames: Soul Bound earlier this year it was to be a short 7000 word entry for a contest. I just wanted to write it that was all. And the main characters were fashioned after two real life people. So I took the first two letters of their names -birth names- and went with it. A lot of times I’ll rewrite a story twice -to as many as ten times- because the names aren’t right. Whether it’s the heroine’s name or the hero’s, names will stop my story telling ability in its tracks. When that happens I dig out the baby name books -yes, I have like six different ones as well as list from the internet and jotted down names that I’ve heard somewhere but they aren’t in the books or on line- and start my search. Once a name catches my eye I add it in to the space left behind by its previous owner and start reading. If it works I’m off and running. If not *sigh* back to the books and lists to find another one. More often than not my problem only runs into either the male or female characters, not both. Only once has it been both main characters -which killed the manuscript halfway through- as of this posting. *grin*

Recently I had to change ‘Jay’s’ name to his birth name. Because -I guess- readers aren’t fans of names being so close…aka Jay and Joy…confusing…only one letter different. Funny thing about that? The only time I’ve done names that close are when dealing with twins and even then it’s not when they are together in a story. *laugh* I won’t name names but it was my content editor that brought it to my attention. Now, not too long ago I was told -by other writers- not to pick names that were hard to pronounce. I have to laugh at it, because I chose ‘Jay’s’ name for the strict purpose of avoiding having to change it. *snicker*And I ended up having to change it anyway. I am SO glad I give each of my character’s two names. *laugh* To me it makes them more real life. I don’t go by my birth name and most of my friend don’t either. Hell, I bet some -again I won’t name names- hate the ones they were given at birth so prefer nicknames. *grin* I know many who aren’t a fan of the name their parents bestowed upon them.

I am so glad I give my characters a birth name as well as a nickname.

Couples: Jay and Joy & Tarrinaysa & Nickolai

Hello everyone. *waves* Since I’m horrible when it comes to talking about myself I’ll talk about my characters. Hopefully you will eventually meet them all in their own stories. Some have been written already while others are in the works and still some are just ideas flittering around in my cluttered brain. *laugh*

First off…

Jay and Joy, my first ones -Twin Flames: Soul Bound- with a contract through MuseItUp Publishing. Jay Silverthrone is an Alpha male for only one female and that’s his divine mate Joy Lyons-Morgan. Jay is a tattoo artist and a hybrid from the island country of Calanthia (another one of my creations). Yes, he can change his forms into those of animals, four to be exact. One is the extinct Dire-Wolf the other three are of the feline variety, a black panther, Siberian tiger and a cougar respectively. He’s a quiet man and hard to get to know. Only a select few have the opportunity to be counted as his close friends and those are of his siblings and a couple friends he grew up with. He’s stubborn when something -someone- has his interest and they are spending too much time thinking things over. He is also very loyal to those of whom he calls friend. Normally he jumps right in with both before fully contemplating if the choice is a good one or not, until he hears Joy’s voice on the other end of the phone. Then the cool confident male he’s always been vanishes which leaves him strumbling around in the uncharted territory of Twin Flames. Joy Lyons-Morgan is an Alpha female who will only ever submit to one male and that’s her divine match Jay Silverthorne. She’s a waitress at a local club with dreams of opening her own dance club. She’s lived her life in the vastness in the state of Wyoming. She is a hybrid of a different variety in a family of non-shifting mortals. It’s a secret she fears being found out. Her entire life has been spent in the shadows of her true identity all while pretending to be someone she’s not for the sake of safety. She’s an outgoing extrovert who keeps everyone at arms’ length for her protection as well as her own sanity. Only a couple have ever been allowed close enough to her to know what she’s thinking and believes. She’s stubborn and cautious when it comes to decisions being made. Cool and collected when it pertains to emotions, control is her thing. Not over people but over herself. Mastery is what keeps the animals at bay and locks her to the non-shifting human world. However, all that changes when Jay whispers her name across the phone lines. Leaving her to wonder and try to figure things out without a manual as a guide.

This couple has three books dedicated to their Twin Flame relationship, a present, past and future. Since Soul Bound is their present, the others fall in line from there. Soul Memory is their past and the third one -is still unnamed as of yet- is their future.

Tarrinaysa and Nickolai are the very, VERY first -and oldest- of my creations. They’ve been fluttering around in my creative mind for YEARS. I put the emphasis on ‘very’ and ‘years’ because they’ve been there from the first moment I started telling stories to my younger siblings and cousins. They are the basis of the -monster- series I’ve created. Without them there is nothing for the others to follow. Tarrinaysa D’Orian is a Fey Princess who becomes the Immortal Fey Queen and eventually the Living Goddess. A deity of ancient times her pantheon is so old all others followed in their lead. She carries three souls, giving her a duality others don’t have. The dormant soul of a God-Killer, the ancient soul of a goddess -Tarrynaysa Ambrozia, the Ancient Goddess of Life, the Beginning and Ending- and finally the new young soul she was born with making her a member of The First Ones -the Fey- created to populate the Earth.  In modern times she’s known as Tarrin Dorian, billionaire who owns and operates exclusive dance clubs around the world. She’s been a Fey War Lord and brought entire countries to their knees and the brink of extinction by her sword and now she’s a fashionista with the proper decorum that irkes the rulers of the world. She doesn’t bend to anyone…even the one who divinely matches her in every way. Nickolai D’Lyons was born Wolf Hunter the destined divine mate of Tarrinaysa who by her blood becomes the Delphian Prince of legend and myth. He too carries the souls of three beings in his form. One the dormant soul of a God-Killer another the ancient soul of a god -Teran Ambroze, the Ancient God of Life, the Beginning and Ending- and finally the young soul he was born with making him a member of the Fey-kin. In modern times he’s known as Nickolai D’Lyons, a force to be reckoned with when it comes to native people’s rights and protection. By his youthful arrogant words he turned his back on Tarrinaysa and wed not one but two human females and set into motion events that still haunt Tarrinaysa almost eleven thousand years later. The second human-bride utter a damnation that ‘all who carry the blood of the hunter of the wolf shall never remain in human form’, creating The Cursed Ones, those now known as the Eudorian and Calanthian people, Shape-Shifters and Hybrids. All he wants now is to correct the wrongs he personally did to Tarrinaysa. But first he has to get her to remain in one place long enough for him to be able to put his desires into play.

This lovely couple -I use that term when I actually like them, at the moment I adore them, but when I start writing about then again I won’t *snicker*- has given me fits that would make a weaker person stomp and scream or rant and rave while pulling their hair out at the roots. I love them to death. I really do and want their story told to one and all. Because of them I have this series of stories that catch people’s imagination and leave them waiting for more. Or so I’ve been told, I’m not tooting my own horn I’m just relaying onto you what I’ve been told by most of those who’ve been privy to what I’ve written over the years. *grin* Now you have to understand, the ancient god and goddess are twin siblings -keeping with the tradition of inter-sibling-marriage with the deities- which has made many cringe in horror that I would even consider putting something like that in a story. However, I don’t write a romance between Tarrynaysa and Teran, but Tarrinaysa and Nickolai. That doesn’t seem to stop those who want to know more about the god and goddess screaming about incest being morally wrong. It’s the ancient souls within Tarrinaysa and Nickolai that are the siblings, not the couple themselves, just their souls. I’m not condoning it, but I did utilize it in the creation of my series. If they can’t handle it, then they don’t have to read what I am calling the Books Series -Book One: Tarrinaysa the Beginning, Book Two: Creation of a New Race, Book Three: The Birth of Nickolai and book four has no title at the moment I just call it Book Four: Modern History- in which it’s only in the beginning chapters -of Book One: Tarrinaysa the Beginning- that their relationship is brought into light. I will point out the Book Series are NOT romance, but fantasy. It’s what they say, the beginning of it all of everything. The first and most ancient creators of Earth and the events that transpired to bring about what eventually becomes Twin Flames: Soul Bound and all the others. Someone kept telling me I needed a starting point for the deities, well the Book Series is just that, their starting point. *grin*

Since my mind is now running with ideas -at the moment of course- I’m going to stop this post here. I think that’s the way I’ll do the posts about my characters, popping in two couples at a time. Maybe one time will three couples. *smile* We shall see.

~Alix

UnEdited Excert From Twin Flames: Soul Bound

She opened her eyes as a flash of lightening lit the room. Something heavy lay across her and dark strands of hair covered her face. Brushing at them she turned her head and froze.

It hadn’t been a dream.

Trying to settle the flurry of emotions Joy attempted to slide out from under Jay and realized they were still connected. She swallowed a moan as her traitorous body responded to the sexual fissure bouncing around her nerve endings.

“Where are you going?” his voice was gravelly, as if he’d yelled for long periods of time. 

“I need to get up.” Shoving his chest with both hands, she ignored the sizzle of awareness that jarred her system. She needed to get away so she could think. “Please Jay.”

He mumbled something she couldn’t understand but shifted. The friction the movement caused jolted through her body.

“Still want me to get off you?” Jay smiled that pulse racing, lopsided grin and for a millisecond she almost reconsidered.

“Yes please.” Joy kept her gaze locked with his, refusing to back down. She needed space.

“As you wish, baby.” She felt the tremors that shook his body as he pulled away. Her eyes rolled closed as she bit back a heart wrenching cry of separation. “You okay?”

“Fine, I’m fine.” Opening her eyes she pushed into a seated position and scooted to the edge of the mattress. “Get some clothes on. We need to talk.”

“As you command, m’lady.”

Joy snorted and reached for the robe draped over the chair. Shoving her arms in the sleeves she shook her head and started toward the bathroom.

“I’ll wait here until you’re done.”

“Just get some clothes on, Jay.” She closed the bathroom door and leaned back against it.

This wasn’t happening. Jezzaray said none of her family was expected to visit until after the Fourth of July and Joy could use the cabin until then.

Well, your brother is lounging naked in the only bed here, Jezz. What now?

She should’ve known something would work against her getting the silence she required to figure out what to do with Jay and here he was lying between her thighs. Now what?

Breathing in a deep breath, she cleaned up and splashed her face with cold water thankful she had thought to connect the generator before the storm took out the electricity. She caught her reflection in the mirror, brushing her dark blonde tresses back she spotted where Jay’s teeth had scraped the side of her throat.

Now I look like a teenager with a hicky. Grabbing a hair tie she wrapped it around the long strands, securing them at her nape. Hands on her hips, she glared at the image.

Would there be an argument? Joy wasn’t in the mood to quarrel. She hadn’t gotten an opportunity to think about what she was going to do with their connection. Knowing Jay, he’d want a definite answer from her concerning them. She hadn’t come to a conclusion yet.

She knew about ‘reading’ a person had read a few herself. This was different. The type of person she was brought up to be made it hard for others to get a good ‘read’ on her. She, herself, preferred to keep people at arm’s length unless she invited them closer. Something she rarely, if ever, did.

Living her life as a human and doing what they did to learn about each other kept what she was and what she could do invisible. For generations hiding in plain sight was beat into her family. None can have knowledge of the animal in their bloodline, no witnesses. The fear bred into them from a time long ago kept her silent. It didn’t matter what was being said and accepted in the modern era, secrets were still unspoken.

Yet, Jay knew her in a way her family didn’t. He was privy to things she hadn’t told anyone, not even her best-friends. In vivid detail he recited her memories back to her, clearly.

Did he know about the secret she hid from everyone?

It was as if he was inside her mind and body. There was no separation of the two. Could he already possess the information about her genetics? That Joy was a hybrid and actually changed forms into not one animal but two?

Was it probable they were connected in every way?

Were they really one person, one entity, two halves of the same whole?

Inhaling she opened the door. The time for answers had come. It was now or never.

Ramblings at Late Nite

I am sure by now ya'll have figured out that I'm horrible at posting here. *grin* Sorry. But I thought since I was up and nothing was brewing inside my brain -concerning writing that is- I'd drop in here and possibly get rid of the crap that is clogging up my brain cells.

Real life tends to have a negative effect on my creativity *sigh* which is never a good thing for a writer slash author. You know, I don't think I'll ever get used to having that tagline or title attached to my name. That's how new it still is. *chuckle* By the time any of these posts are actually read by readers and followers hopefully I'll be better keeping a blog up. I am working on it. However, I now understand why writers/authors of old locked themselves away from the world and wrote. It's easier...sometimes. *snicker* But this is the digital age and nothing -no one- is hidden for long. If ever at all.

My Content Editor emailed me on Monday so I have a timeframe of when things will start moving forward. Still not sure how to feel about that one. I know I should be excited and jumping for joy. But it's more of a 'okay, more work to do'. Of course not in a bad way. As long as I'm moving forward I'm good -and happy- it's when things get stuck that I start slipping. *smirk* I am only human after all. And as much as many people would love to convince you otherwise, I'm not wonderwoman or superwoman. *sigh* Such is the reality of that which is me, Alix. *laugh* I have my failings and shortcomings just like the next person. Mine just tend to be well hidden. I am an oddity in this world and I don't mind in the least. *smile*

Recently I finished the second book in my Twin Flames series and started on the third. Soul Bound was supposed to the only one about Jay and Joy. However, a close friend pointed out it would be a good thing to add another book. Giving them a past and a future. Besides what there is in Soul Bound. I shook my head and refused...see where that got me? *laugh* Before Soul Bound was even contracted by MuseItUp Publishing I had already started on their second book. Could've really smacked my sister in law for that one. *chuckle* Instead I forged ahead and was determined to get it completed even as I waited for news on Soul Bound. Then a few weeks later while I was getting ready to start work on the chapter 11 of what is now being called Twin Flames: Soul Memory said sister in law mentioned again about it being a good thing to break Soul Memory into two books and leave this one with a major cliff hanger. *jaw drop* So...Soul Memory ended at the end of chapter 8 and the rest of the chapters went into what now has no real name attached to it. It of course will be Twin Flames: Soul...something or other after 'Soul' but that is still in the works. I only have 5 chapters in so it's still playing out. Maybe I'll call it Connection? Or Reconnection? Can't use ReBound because many see that and think negative. I'm sure I'll come up with something that will catch people's attention. Fingers crossed, right? *laugh* I will, I always seem to be able to do that. *smile* Now, that third one will be the final for Jay and Joy. Their past, present and future wrapped up in a nice red bow and I can move onto another set of characters that have been tormenting me since I started writing the thrid book...you know, I REALLY need to find a name for that one. *laugh* Can't keep calling it the third one. It gets boring after a while. Nope, no names. Can't do it, not yet anyway. It has to be approved of by my own twin flame. *smile* Than I might even let them take over and post here like I did Joy. I'm nice like that.

I have also been searching through all my really, really, REALLY old manuscripts to see if I can clean any of them up enough to catch a publisher's eye. Yeah, they're that bad. *laugh* However, that hasn't stopped me before. It just means I have to work harder at making them readable. Ick! That's the scary shit. How in the world did I create a good idea and not be able to write it out the right way? *chuckle* I've learned that much over the years. So I'll just forge ahead and put them together and make them publishable. I can do that. Done it before.

Okay, since I've offically dropped every thought from my head I'm heading off to see what more trouble I can get into. *snicker* I'm good at getting into trouble. I don't even have to go looking for it these days, it finds me! *laugh* So enjoy lovey and don't worry, I'm not always this...random. Honest.

~Alix

My name is Joy

Hello everyone! *wave* My name is Joy Lyons-Morgan. A character created by the innovative Alix. She gave me access to her blog here so I could just chatter on about whatever caught my fancy. *laugh* If she only knew the trouble I could cause with unlimited access like that! *snicker* Since Alix wrote my story I figure I could give you all a little bit of background on myself. Ready? *raises eye brows*

First of all, I'm not human. At least not in the sense you think and/or believe. I'm a hybrid of sorts. In part a mythological creature thought not to have ever existed. *smirk* Well, people, I exist as do many others like myself. We live among you. Safely ensconced in your communities. We're like you in many ways. Which helps us to hide out in the open. *shrug* It's easier now in modern times then when my ancestors roamed the lands. Science is a wondrous thing...well, when it works hand and hand with insisting my kin aren't real. However, that is also its draw back. How can I say I exist when science says I don't. *sigh* One of the lingering questions that are tiresome at best. Maybe I should just give you the basis of who I am and leave the tech stuff to those who have the IQ for it? *clears throat* That's something I don't have, by the way. An IQ high enough to answer questions like that. *chuckle* I'm smart, just not THAT smart. *smile* Here's my intro...remember one thing...keep your mind open. If you can think outside the box to anything is possible then all is comprehendable.

I have lived my entire life between the worlds of those living and non-existence. Straddling the lines of what is real to everyone and what's real to me. A Hybrid I learned to be ‘normal’ like everyone else. Distant family members of mine were hunted and killed as witches and were-wolves, so hiding was a way of life. Silence is my friend and open honesty my foe. Certain areas of learning were taught by grandmothers who spoke of myths and legends. Tales of bygone eras and stories of unrealistic love coveted by all and found by a select few. It was my mother with whom the struggle began and continued throughout much of my life. To have the wholeness I sought, according to her, I had to marry within the Christian church a God-fearing man and bear him children. It felt wrong to me. Everything she spoke of as being real and the right way wasn’t true for me. I felt like I was lying and pretending. I locked part of myself away from the light it needed to grow and only survived, I no longer lived life. Until I heard his voice on the other end of the phone. I had a decision to make and no one could aid me in this. Only I knew the truth and what was right for me. Even as many thought it was selfish and inconsiderate I had to follow my heart as well as my soul.

Now, I know you're asking following your heart is understandable, but your soul? *laugh* Yeah, it's not the soul most religions speak of though. This is a part of you, the deeper part of who you are underneath the skin. The piece of you that makes up who you truly are. Example: I'm stubborn in a way I will continue to fight something if I think it's wrong. I won't bow to peer pressure or to a 'fad'. I am also determined to a point I don't easily bend. Sometimes even when I'm given proof I need to do it another way, I will continue to try other ways before I finally cave and admit I'm doing it wrong. These aren't bad traits, although they can be annoying at times. *chuckle* Just ask Jay. He knows full well about both of those. I used them against him...often. Each of us know what we are deep within. Only you can find those answers, that's what I had to do for me.

So since I have left you some answered questions I'll now leave you with just one more. *grin* Do you know who your Twin Flame is? Can you feel them? If you can, you're a lot closer then many other people are right now.

I'm off to annoy Jay now. *smirk* Alix is tapping her foot waiting patiently for me to finish. *shakes head* I'm sure I'll be back on.

~Joy Lyons-Morgan