THE BLESSING OF STORYTELLING by Cerece Rennie Murphy

SF TRILOGY BY CERECE RENNIE MURPHY

I believe that having a story to tell is a blessing.  Honoring that gift is the reason why I write, but I also believe that a blessing is not complete until it’s shared, which is why I love sharing my stories with you. 

I write just like I read, sampling a little bit of everything.  My stories run the gamut, from a sci-fi trilogy (Order of the Seers) to an early reader children’s book series (Ellis and The Magic Mirror) all the way back to a time-bending historical romance (To Find You).  Although my stories span multiple continents, plotlines, and even languages (Order of the Seers has 7 of them!), my stories are all about one thing – discovering our truest selves and living that life to its fullest purpose. 

Whether it’s a little boy learning to live up to the duties of being a Stonekeeper or two souls desperately trying to find each other through time, each challenge always brings them closer to the person they are truly meant to be which, in my book, is the ultimate happy ending!

 

THE WOLF QUEEN
(Sneak Peek of the cover sketch!)

My latest novel, The Wolf Queen, is no different.  On this journey, my imagination is taking me to an ancient fantasy world where a young woman named Ameenah lives alone in the woods trying to forget the loss of her family. As any good story would have it, her isolation is broken by a chance meeting with a powerful Amir who wants to make her his bride even though Ameenah’s heart belongs to another.  Resisting his attempts leads her to uncover a magical legacy that she must claim in order to fight against the tyranny of the Amir and lead her people to freedom.

Right now, I’m in the thick of world-building, plotting, and planning out the story so that when I actually start writing, all the bits and pieces fit together perfectly.  It is a little intimidating creating a world from scratch, but I am loving every minute of discovery.  

Here’s a super secret peek at the book cover sketch, which is still in progress. 

CERECE RENNIE MURPHY

I don’t expect to be finished with The Wolf Queen before the end of the year, but I will be posting excerpts throughout my writing, so if you’re interested, please visit my website blog and let me know what you think.  https://www.cerecerenniemurphy.com/ 

I’d love to hear from you!  XO - Cerece

Cerece Rennie Murphy fell in love with science fiction at the age of seven, watching “Empire Strikes Back” at the Uptown Theater in Washington, D.C., with her sister and mom. It’s a love affair that has grown ever since...In 2011, Cerece experienced her own supernatural event - a vision of her first science fiction story. Shortly after, she began developing and writing what would become the bestselling Order of the Seers trilogy.  Order of the Seers was selected as one of The Best Kindle Books of 2014 by Digital Book Today.

In addition to working on the 2nd book in the Ellis and The Magic Mirror children’s book series with her son and releasing her 4th adult novel titled, To Find You, Mrs. Murphy is currently launching NARAZU, an online platform designed to deliver the best in indie sci-fi content and comic culture to the fans who love it most. You can visit the new site at www.narazu.com. 

Books, Books, Books

I’m Judith Ashley, author of The Sacred Womens’ Circle series, romantic fiction that honors spiritual paths that nurture the soul and celebrates the path from relationships to romance.

Welcome to Romancing The Genre’s 4^th Blog-O-Versary! I hope you had a  chance to stop by our Mega Global FB Event April 29 and 30. We had an amazing time and celebrated RTG’s reach from the UK to Australia and many points in between.

During the month of May, the Genre-istas will be talking about and recommending great books for your summer reading pleasure and our guests will be book sellers, including librarians and Kobo.

Whatever your reading pleasure, the Genre-istas’ have you covered.

Like historical?

Check out Bronwen Evans and Vivienne Lorret (Regency) Kris Tualla (Norwegian)  Margaret Tanner, Australian/WWI

Like romantic suspense?

Madelle Morgan, Linda Lovely, Robin Weaver or RS with a Latino twist, Terri Molina

Like Paranormal?

Diana McCollum, Sarah Raplee, Nadine Mutas

Like SciFi?

Pippa Jay

Like Westerns?

Paty Jager writes westerns with native American elements
Susan Horsnell from Australia writes American westerns set in Texas.

Do you know reluctant readers? Check out B.A.Binns for contemporary Young Adult (YA) books that feature diverse characters.

Steampunk?

Mae Pen

Military Romance?

M.L. Buchman

Older heroines? Check out Courtney Pierce’s boomer books

What about contemporary?

Marcia King-Gamble writes contemporary with a Caribbean flavor

And Judith Ashley writes contemporary rich with spiritual elements and a touch of the mystical.

Whatever your reading pleasure, you’ll find our authors’ books available through major e-retailers and their websites.

Please stop by on weekends to meet our featured book sellers and learn what you can do to support your local independent brick and mortar book store. 

SCREWING WITH THE INEVITABLE

By Linda Lovely

This month’s blog topic is Death and Taxes—the Inevitable. Since spring has arrived in my neck of the woods and it’s too pretty to spend time expounding on death or taxes, I decided to focus on some of our notions of inevitability and how they can help writers brainstorm.

As authors, we have the power to cancel and/or screw with the inevitable to delight and surprise our readers. Here are just a few “givens” that writers can alter to create new worlds and reader experiences:

• The sun always rises. For the sake of argument, let’s say we wake up one morning and there is no sun. The earth has stopped revolving. Our half of the planet is plunged into perpetual darkness, while the other half bakes under a ferocious sun that refuses to set. Not a bad premise for a science fiction novel that lets us explore how people react when natural disasters change their world forever.
• We age. Or maybe we don’t. Lots of literary takes on ways to reverse this truism—from a pact with the devil to pharmaceutical intervention. Perhaps our hero/heroine finds the fabled fountain of youth, or discovers a way to switch off a gene that allows select individuals (but not all) to stay young forever. What if our hero can elect to stay young, but he’ll have to watch the love of his life become an old woman and die? What if women can bear children in their seventies (State of Wonder by Ann Patchett)?
• Spring follows winter. This one’s almost too easy for a writer to exploit. A new ice age descends. How do we cope? Do scientists try to intervene, and, if so, will their meddling cause an even greater catastrophe for life on earth?
• Eggs and sperms unite to create new life. What if nature quits functioning in this manner? What if women don’t need men to conceive? What if women can be cloned successfully, but male clones don’t survive? How would the world work as women assume power and men become an endangered species?  
• Death is inevitable and ends an individual’s earthly journey. This is perhaps the most popular “inevitable” for authors to upend. Options include ghosts (angry and/or friendly), vampires (who I guess can live forever with an adequate fresh blood supply), and reanimated zombies.
• Romances have happy ever after (HEA) endings. Okay, if you’re a romance writer, this is one inevitable you don’t dare screw with. BUT, when the “black moment” arrives in your book, you can almost convince your readers that an HEA is impossible.

Fiction allows our imaginations to explore wonderful, improbable, and sometimes terrifying worlds. What “inevitable” laws do you enjoy seeing authors commute? Can you think of other “inevitable” premises that can be reversed in books to entertain readers?