Why we chose our werewolves

All throughout history, Hollywood movies and literature werewolves are always portrayed as blood thirsty killers who kill anything and everything in their path. We did our research looking at the origins of werewolves, the folk lore from England to early American old wives tales. Did you know you could tell if a human was a werewolf if they had a uni brow? or an excessive amount of hair on their chest and back? Thats just one of the tales we heard. There is also mythology of a blend where if you wear the pelt of a wolf you can change into a wolf but that is a skin walker. Not the same thing. But some liken it to being a werewolf just the same.

We decided since we loved wolves and they were such graceful creatures we wanted to do something that hadn't really been done before. We wanted a werewolf who could not only transform into a werewolf but control it as well. The person had the ability to be a human, a werewolf and also a wolf as well. The nice thing about fantasy and fiction you can tweek it to work how ever is best for your story. The person could still be bitten to be turned or born a werewolf. They had perfect control over themselves and knew who and what they were doing.

We still had it where even in an apocolyptic world they still kept their identities a secret and didn't go blabbing all over the place. Humans are still humans and often times kill or experiment on what they don't understand.

There is a disease called Hypertrichosis (werewolf syndrom) where the body grows an excessive amount of hair all over the body. There are varying degrees of it, from localized to all over the body. It can either manifest itself at birth or show up in later years. We didn't want to indicate that this was the reasoning behind our werewolves.
 
Due to our werewolves being a different species and there genetic code being different from humans they were immune to the zombie virus. They can still be killed but due to the zombie virus being man made and only for human genetics, it doesn't affect a werewolf. They can still be killed but not turned into a werewolf. We just liked that idea much better when talking about fantasy and our story.
So if you are interested in doing a story and changing up an age old myth or wives tale, do your homework, and see if it is possible to come at it from a different angle or a new idea. So get creative and find new ideas and new stories to tell!

Extreme frustration (You have been warned)

I guess today is a day of frustration. I want to promote our book, but since it is being redone, I really can't. There isn't a place to send people to look at any progress, there isnt' a book cover to show people, there isn't much of anything except my word that we are editing it and I don't know when it will be done. I know editing takes time, and patience. which I seem to be getting short of. We have been working on it since last August and I am concerned if this is a normal amount of time for editing or are we extra stupid and don't know squat? I should be tweeting, but what do you tweet? its in the body shop? its getting made over? I am so limited on what I can do. I want to do something besides promote others with their books. Does this even make sense to anyone? Is there anyone out there who understands this problem and gets what I mean? I am working on other stories. We finished book two for Kai's Journey. And now its at MKSP waiting to be decided upon whether or not they will take it. but its in  a long line of manuscripts to be gone through so it could be awhile. In the mean time, I wait. I get on facebook, I go from site to site. I get on twitter, retweet a few tweets, I am in a couple of groups and we tweet each other out. I put up the book, but I don't think anyone really pays it much mind. everyone by now knows its the old one and the new one is coming out, sometime. Some might thing a writers life is unencumbered by frustration when, at least in my experience, its been pretty liberally doused with frustration. Maybe its because I come from a background of no clue as to what I am doing. No education of any kind in book writing, marketing, publishing, or promoting.
I have learned everything on the go. I keep running into people who say it takes an education to do it properly, and you need this degree and that degree and so on. I don't have any of that, What I do have is determination. I will keep going. But sometimes I think in the back of my head, there are hundreds of thousands if not millions of other people out there who are doing the same exact thing as me and they aren't getting any further ahead. Are we all deluding ourselves into thinking we will make it somehow? Maybe not JK Rowling or Stephen King make it, but at least to be able to sell a fair amount of books every month. Say, a hundred a month? Right now I would be tickled at 10 a month. I play the lottery. I don't win anything big, just play the same set of numbers every week. I don't plop down a paycheck or anything, if we are really tight on money, I skip a week or two. but otherwise I do play it. I always figure you can't win if you don't play. But millions of others also play, they also dream. I wonder if its the same with our writing, I love the writing experience, the creating stories, talking to Charlie about ideas and plot lines. But I fear that like the lottery its just a dream that may very well never be realized. Yes, I am one of those day dreamers. I dream of becoming rich, of buying a house, going on a trip with the family. of telling some family members who finally decide I am worthy to be a part of their family to kiss off. yeah, a bit of anger issues there. Sorry, not perfect. Do I believe in myself? Not really, but I do believe in my son. And because of that I push on and keep going. Even if I do get frustrated and wound up in knots over it at times. Would I love to have the education to know what the hell I am doing? heck yes! I would be a fool not to. but I don't so there is no use crying over what you don't have. All I can do is use what do is use what I do know and what I have learned and move on from there. But this whole limbo thing has got me all tied up in knots and has left me feeling very frustrated. Maybe I should take a page out of Cassidy Frazee's book and just keep writing and ignore the where the hell is my acceptance letter and why can't I promote yet business. She just writes. I don't see her on much except for the blog and a few times on facebook, but otherwise the woman just writes! O.k I think I have vented enough for one day, Have a great day all and remember, even if you do get frustrated, don't give up and keep moving forward even if it does feel like you are on a treadmill going nowhere fast.

Our interview with Dee Louis Scott!

 

 

Dee Louis-Scott is retiring from 30 years as a Federal employee. She has an adult daughter Autumn and is experiencing life as an empty nester. It has been 20 years since her mother’s death. The life lessons learned from her mom have been both powerful and inspirational. They have guided her throughout her life.  Dee now lives in Raymore, Missouri.

My Mom, Mattie Pearl Fisher, always told me to believe in the magic. The magic meant miracles. These miracles of life can be big, small and everything in between.  

This book is a journey through the events in her life. There are also the life lessons gained from those events.

My Mom was born at a time in history when being Black and female was a double curse. You had to look very hard to find any human or legal rights.  Mom stood her ground.  She was confident and fierce, always pushing forward, striving to do things she wanted to do. Mom turned a deaf ear to those who thought they could dictate her life.

My Mom’s story is very powerful and inspirational; her spirit tenacious and infectious.  Mom encouraged all women she met to never settle for less than they deserved.

Let the tenacity of one woman inspire you to the greatness you were created for.

 

You can stay connected with Dee Louis Scott!

Main website and social media

www.mattiefisher.com

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Believe-In-The-Magic/320814708005546

https://twitter.com/Believe_N_Magic

http://tenaciouslife.wordpress.com

Where to buy

Book is available through my main website www.mattiefisher.com in PDF form. My website also at Amazon for print and kindle versions. http://www.amazon.com/Believe-Magic-Tenacity-Mattie-Inspire/dp/1937801225/

 Excerpts From Believe in the Magic

From Supernatural and Unexplained chapter.

Mattie was born a Caulbearer.  The Caul or Face Veil is a thin, filmy membrane, the remnants of the amniotic sac that covers or partially covers a newborn’s face immediately after birth. Some believe "caul children” have the ability to see behind the veil of life and death. It’s thought they can communicate with the dead and intuitively “know.” This was true for my Mother. 

Mattie’s mother and stepfather were cotton sharecroppers. They raised cotton on the plantation of white landowners back in the 1920’s. The sharecropping system was a financially oppressive one. The landowner assumed chief supervision of the farming operations and also retained legal rights to all the crops. Sharecroppers brought only their labor to the bargaining table to create income. The family often asked the landowner for credit keeping them bound financially. Mattie’s family seemed to be in a perpetual cycle of debt.

Even as a child Mattie knew this system was not right.  She would rebel against picking the cotton. One day when she was only 12 years old, her anger at her stepfather and the unfair system finally all came to a head. From Ahead of her Time chapter

This was hardest thing I ever had to do. Holding her hand, I took a deep breath and asked, “Mom are you fighting because you’re a fighter? Or, are you fighting for Crystal and me? I know you’re tired.” I paused, took another deep breath, and dug deep down in my soul. “Mom if you’re tired and you want to go, it’s okay. I’m strong like you. Crystal and I will miss you forever but we will be okay. Do what’s best for you.”

“Mom, it hurts so much to see you like this. I don’t know what else to do.” Then a Bible verse came to mind. It was the first Bible verse she taught me when I was a little girl. Holding her hand again, I closed my eye and began to recite the 23rd Psalm aloud. From Sunset chapter

 

1.     What makes this book different from others in your genre?

What makes my book different is not only do you get true great inspirational and motivational stories you also get some life lesson. Those life lessons are either what my mom Mattie Fisher told me or what I believe she would want others to get from her life stories. This book is part Chicken Soup for the Soul part prescriptive lessons and a lot of MAGIC. I have not come across anything with this exact format.

2.     What’s the story behind the story? (What inspired you to write your book?)

My mother would tell me stories about her life from time to time.  The older I got the more intrigued I became.  One day I decided to just start a journal.  The journal would be for my daughter so she would really understand who her grandmother was and what she went through to ensure both my daughter and I would have a better life.  After I read over some of the stories I just knew that more people need to hear these. Thus began my journey.

3.     What hope can you give to others in turmoil?

I hope I can give others the “Knowing” that anything and everything is possible and no situation is impossible to overcome.

4.     Did you find healing in writing this story? Can you give an example?

Yes I found healing and understanding. In writing the chapter “Run Get out Now” I had to relive domestic violence. In “Broken” I had to deal with a tragic death.  The first thing I had to do was face those situations. After I faced it I was able to look into my life and see how these events affected me and my relationships.  What I could do moving forward to correct some issues. I talk a little more in depth in the “Epilogue’.

5.     What was your favorite chapter to write and why?

This is hard because I have two favorite chapters for totally different reasons.  “Ahead of her Time” because I am so proud of what mom was able to do.  It felt so good to put it on paper for the whole world to see. Also “The Supernatural and the Unexplained” I enjoyed.  I really went back amd did research to find the “names” for the things she was experiencing. Along the way I found answers for myself of some events that happen to me.

6.     What was your most difficult chapter to write and why?

Again this is a hard one. Three chapters were hard for me to write. The one I cried through was Sunset. It was the longest and took me many starts and stops to finish it. I relived losing my best friend. The mistakes I made in turning over her care to someone else.  Also it was longing and hoping that I was creating something with this book she would be proud of.

7.     How is growing up today different from Mattie’s era?

I talked about this in the Life Lesson of Ahead of her time. When you think about not only the racism but the sexism of that era is amazing what she accomplished as a Black woman. Women issues like the right to body integrity; to vote; to hold public office; to work with fair wages or equal pay; to own property; to enter into legal contracts; and to have marital, parental and religious rights. All of which we take for granted today. Then you add to that the civil rights for black Americans that really didn’t take hold until the 1950’s and I am amazed by the tenacity and strength she had to fight oppression.

8.     You speak about supernatural events and abilities in your book, do you believe in the supernatural or is this just a way to make your book more interesting?

No dealing with the supernatural and unexplained has always been and still is a part of my life. The gifts though in different forms were handed down to me and my daughter. My daughter, just to name a couple of things, saw auras around the human body as a child and as a she grew she would dream events before they happen. I sometimes see spirits and hear them move often. We have just learned to live with it.

 

9.     Are you planning on writing another book anytime soon? If so can you tell us a bit about it?

One of the chapters in my book dealt with health of my mom and her family. Though neither I nor my brother inherited the same issues, I wanted to find an natural way to deal with health. I have been studying Ayurveda philosophy. The philosophy of Ayurveda teaches a series of conceptual systems characterized by balance and disorder, health and disease. Disease/health results from the interconnectedness between the self, personality, and everything that occurs in the mental, emotional, and spiritual being. To be healthy, harmony must exist between the purpose for healing, thoughts, feelings and physical action. I want to develop a lifestyle program around this philosophy.

 

10. How can reading this book help others?

What I want others to get from this book is what I know my mom would want. To inspire woman of all age to never give up and know that you can do and be whatever is in your heart. Never settle and know that you were created by greatness for greatness.

PTSD

Some people might think that PTSD is only for people who have been in a war situation. Its also if you have experienced a traumatic event in your life. It can be a car accident, it can be from an abuse, or it can be from other things as well.
I have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Back in 2000 when I worked at F & M Bank as a teller we had a robbery. I was the teller the robber came to. I kept working even after that day. didn't take any time off. Had my three little visits to a shrink that was allowed by company policy. But a few months later we had another incident where a car with four young people came up to the drive up wanting to cash out of state checks with out of state phony I.D.'s. I knew they were phony because they were obviously tampered with military id's. I was going to tell them we can't do it due to bank policy when I saw one of the young men get out of the car and run into the building. I knew right then and there it was going to get bad if we didn't cash those checks. There was only the two of us in the bank at the time so I cashed them. I called up to the main office and talked to the manager there and told her what happened and gave my two weeks notice. I just couldn't do it any more. Since then I have bounced from job to job. Haven't been able to hold on to one since then for any great length of time. The longest one was two years. This week has been a bit of a sticky wicket. I am working as a cashier at a local store that has us watching Computer Based Learning modules. One of them is about Robbery. I thought I could watch it. I have been doing pretty good lately. I thought. I can actually watch a tv show with a robbery in it and not have a panic attack. Its been over 12 years I figured I would be alright. I was wrong. I was watching it and they showed a scenario in where a woman demanded money. I started tearing up and my hands started shaking. I just couldn't watch it any more. I lost it. I take meds for vertigo that is caused by the PTSD. So yeah, I am not as over it as I thought. I haven't slept much since then either.
I just want to return to some sort of normalcy. I just don't want to be a victim. Everyone says, don't be a victim but they never really tell how to NOT be a victim. I am doing my best but right now, its coming out in no sleep and when I do fall asleep I jump when I wake. So today I got something to help me sleep. No not booze or some of those pills that can be highly addictive. Just a natural herb to help me sleep. I hope it works. Why am I saying all this? Because I want to let others know, its alright to not have a perfect past and its things like this that helps bring out good stories and helps the writer heal themselves in a way. At least for me its theraputic. I have talked to shrinks and thats all that ever happens. I talk, they "listen" and thats it. They don't suggest doing this excersize or that, just talk. I have talked about stuff till I'm blue in the face. It hasn't helped. I still have panic attacks if I am in an overly crowded area. Banks can be very bad for me too. I hate going in to them because I just feel very trapped and like at any time an idiot is going to walk in and do something stupid. I hope that soon I can get back to something akin to normal soon. I don't want to take as long as it did the first time. Well I hope this helps one person at least. If nothing else it has given me a way to vent. Thanks for listening.

The Big Blog Hop!

We have joined the blog hop and are thrilled to answer the questions to give you a better idea of who we would like to work with if we had an unlimited resource of money and all the dreams came true!

Writers dream. Now it's time to dream BIG.

(Charlie and I write are a writing team who have published "Kai's Journey" so some of these answers are his and some are mine as well as some being a combination of both of ours. So read on and enjoy the interview!)

You have the opportunity to hire anybody as your cover artist. If you write children's books or books that are heavily illustrated, who would you get for the interior artwork?

Charlie; I would like to have John Jude Palencar who did the illustrations for Eragon.

Wendy; I would like to work with John Rocco who did the illustrations for the Percy Jackson series.

Who would you co-write your next novel with? What genre? Why?

We both really enjoy working with each other on story ideas and working out story lines. If we could work with anyone though, I think we would love to work with a few different people just to get their take on how they work and how they come up with their ideas. Christopher Paolini for Charlie because he is a big fan of his works and has since he was in school. We both would like to work with Rick Riordan because of the way he writes which we both love how he does the norm and writes in a style he likes. I would love to work with Stephen King not because of just who he is but also because I would like to just visit with him and see how he comes up with his ideas. How much time he works on his stories, markets, promotes and all the rest. Christopher and Rick are both Young Adult genres which is our genre. Stephen King is a horror writer but he also dabbles in a few other genres too.

 Your publisher wants to do an audiobook version of your novel and they're not sparing any expense. Who do you think can narrate your masterpiece?

We had both thought about this and we think that James Marsters who you may know from Buffy the Vampire Slayer as Spike. He has the right kind of voice we feel to carry the book and make it come to life.

 They're really going all out! Your novel is getting a full soundtrack. Who should compose it? If your novel uses a lot of songs, list your compilation here.

I think we would like to use Howard Shore who did the music for Lord of the Rings Trilogy. He did an amazing job with it and we would like to see what he could do with our book.

 Congratulations! Your novel is being turned into a major motion picture. As the creator of the original work, you get to pick the director.

We would like Peter Jackson. What he did for L.O.T.R. trilogy was amazing! We think it would be fun to see what he could do with ours.

 The director has some ideas on who to cast, but you get to cast one character. What role/character is it and who portrays them?

We would like to have John Rhys-Davies to play Boris. We think with his voice and his stature he could carry that role very well.

 You've been hired to write a novel based on a preexisting character or franchise from another medium. Which character or franchise is it?

We would like to write a novel on the character Draco and get a better backstory on how he came to know so much about the knight’s code in the movie “Dragon heart”.

 It's the anniversary of your favorite literary character's debut. You've been hired (yay, work!) to write an anniversary novel. Who is the literary character?

I would write a novel about Allanon from the Shannara series by Terry Brooks. I think he could have a great story just on his life and adventures alone. I realize he was key in the stories but I think he could be more than a supporting character.

Head on over to our next bloggers place at:

Writer's Got Talent: Win Free Books

Writer's Got Talent: Win Free Books:     I am proud to announce that authors in The Writers Network are beginning to create offers on fReado with their books on Auction.  You...

Writer's Got Talent: Win Free Books

Writer's Got Talent: Win Free Books:     I am proud to announce that authors in The Writers Network are beginning to create offers on fReado with their books on Auction.  You...

Writer's Got Talent: Win Free Books

Writer's Got Talent: Win Free Books:     I am proud to announce that authors in The Writers Network are beginning to create offers on fReado with their books on Auction.  You...

We are in the 5th and final round!

     We are in the 5th and final challenge for Writers Got Talent! I am still in the game! would you please go to this link and click on Recommend and also Pin It if you have a Pinterest account? This would be for Kai's Journey by Charles Siefken and Wendy Siefken. Just scroll down the page until you see Kai's Journey. It would really be appreciated! I can't thank you all enough for all of your support! Thank you! Just follow the link here http://www.writersgottalent.com/
Would you please pass this along to your friends as well? thank you!

Again, thank you all for your continued support and help in this contest! Keep the votes coming and let others know about this contest! In March there will be another round of Writer's Got Talent for season two! if you have what it takes and are craving to learn more. Go to the website and join up in March! Watch for further details as the time draws near.

Wow, we are still in the contest!