I Travel With Hemingway

I travel a lot with my job. It isn't a complaint, it is a statement of fact. Honestly, I love it. I love seeing new places, meeting fans, and going to conferences.

Sometimes it gets lonely for a writer with introverted tendencies to be on the road so much, but what is a girl to do? I came up with a solution a few years back when I was bored at my day job. I would take Zombie Matt Nathanson (see picture below).

(He's a handsome devil)

 

We went everywhere together



 

But his hard plastic heart was cold and he takes up too much room in my luggage. Long story short, he replaced me. *tear*



 

Since him I have tried out others, but they never seem to work.



(The judgmental gnome, Bender)

But then I was at a conference with friends in Florida and I found the perfect travel companion. Ernest Hemingway. He is cool, he likes a good time (take notes, Bender, take notes), he is soft and flexible, and he understands a writer's life.

 

Sometimes he insists that I should bull fight and he craves rum and danger, but if he gives me too much trouble I just put him in my purse.

 

(Hemingway and author C.G. Powell)

(Hemingway and me visiting his home in Key West)

(Hemingway and author Tawdra Kandle)

 



And finally Hemingway doing what he does best. Epic Shit.

 

I am sure there will be more adventures of Liz and Hemingway to come (but I won't promise anything. Once I catch up on sleep, I might wonder what in the hell I was thinking.)

 

-Liz

Femi's Guide to the Abyss

Femi’s Guide to the AbyssHello! Femi here. I have the pleasure of being your tour guide today.

Liz asked me to take you on a tour of the Abyss because she is enjoying the beach and left us here in the damn snow. Nevertheless, I’m the coolest species she knows and my life as a bounty hunter means I know the dirt on everyone.  So hold on and follow me.

Oh, keep your hands and feet inside the vehicle at all times. Lots of things here bite and sometimes you won’t like it.

The Abyss is a world that is overlapping with your world. It houses everything your legends and mythology talk about, plus some more. I, for example, am a Sekhmet. No, I’m not the lioness headed goddess, just a descendent of pure awesomeness.

The abyss has all types of fae (often more trouble than they are worth), demi-gods (avoid them at all costs), elves (a little stuffy, but generally nice), hobgoblins (tricky devils), ghosts (don’t make eye contact or they will haunt you for ages), and way too many to name them all. Then there are the creatures who live on the cusp, basically the people who live in both the human world and the Abyss. There you have your witches, vampires, jinn, and guardians.

Liz told me (she’s bossy) to talk about guardians, jinn, witches, and elves because that’s what she writes about, but I don’t take orders from anyone, especially not bossy writers.

Instead I am going to tell you about my book that is coming up in the fall. Shhh don’t tell. 

When Femi left the sanctuary of her homeland, she vowed to never play by anyone’s rules but her own.  Descended from the feline goddess Sekhmet, she becomes the only bounty hunter of her kind in a world teeming with other supernatural creatures. However, the job suits her. She sets her own hours, works alone, and she selects which bounties she takes—until she receives an order to look into the most dangerous case of her life.

An outburst of violent werewolf maulings threatens to shred the fragile veil between the human world and the supernatural world of the Abyss. One single scratch from these feral creatures, who were thought to be extinct, could turn any being into a blood-thirsty, rabid beast. Forced to team up with a human detective who knows more than he should about the supernatural world, she claws her way through the political subterfuge and blatant lies that have been fed to the people of the Abyss by an organization that no one knows exists.

To stop the attacks she will have to cross a line that could crack the foundation on which her world was built. With this case, curiosity may, in fact, kill the cat.
 
Sounds good, right? Well, it was fun hanging out with you, but I have bounties to catch and asses to kick.

Later!
Femi

Character Interview: Holden

I did this interview a long time ago for a blog tour I was doing back when I released Choices. I just realized I didn't have it on my blog. So I am posting it now. I will probably do a later interview with Holden and Olivia. If there are any other characters you would like to see interviews with let me know in the comments and I will add them to the rotation. :-)

Hello, everyone!

I am the author of the Guardian Trilogy, and today I’m bringing you a conversation between me and one of the main characters in the books, Holden Smith. Unlike everyone else, Holden flat out refused to do a guest post for me—

Holden- Because all of your ideas were stupid.

They were not. You could have written something about your favorite moment as a jinni.

Holden *silence* *crickets chirping*

Right, well that one could have been better.

Holden- I rest my case.

I’ll have you know I wrote you into this story, I can write you out of it too.

*Holden assesses me* Please, a few sweet words and you’re putty in my hands.

*Looks away to hide the fact he might be right*

Holden- Besides, you haven’t always shown good judgment. You created Quintus too. What a tool.

He’s not so bad. Quintus is a very nice, very old guardian. He always means well.

Holden- He’s a tool, Liz, a tool.

He is not. Stop getting me off point, you’re the reason I need an editor. Tell me how you feel the second book, Choices, went.

Holden- *sighs a long suffering sigh* Better and worse than expected. I mean you **** ** **** **** *** (redacted)—and that sucked—but life went on. I got a promotion—

And made a friend.

Holden- *looks at me disgusted* I don’t have friends.

Hmmm agree to disagree. Do you still love Olivia as much as you did in Secrets?

Holden- As strange as it is and despite everything she has done, I think I love her even more. I hate all of these stupid feelings by the way. I was much better off when I didn’t have them.

Nonsense. You will thank me later for them.

Holden- Hmm, we’ll see about that. Anyway, the promotion turned out not to be a terrible thing. Sometimes a disgusting thing, but not a terrible one.

So where do you think you are headed in book three?

Holden- Shouldn’t you know.

I know. I just want to see what you think.

Holden- Maybe you will finally let me kill Quintus. Fingers crossed.

Maybe I will.

Holden- Really?

I guess you’ll have to wait and see.

Snickers Caramel Apple Pie

It's a snow day!

Not that I get snow days since I work from home, but since the rest of my city has taken a snow day I decided to take the morning off from writing and bake while the possible 8 inches (8 inches?!?!) of snow drifts silently to the ground like the whole world (at least my world) is being wrapped in cotton. 

Anyway, on to the recipe and pictures. I haven't tried the pie yet. It is currently chilling (like cooling not like laying around watching television) in the refrigerator. My expectation for the pie is it will be sweet enough to kill me, so I already have adjustments to the recipe in mind for next time. 

Snickers Caramel Apple Pie

1 pie shell (I bought mine because I couldn't take the time to make one)

2 snickers bars or 15 mini snickers

3 green apples

Caramel sauce

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 tub of cool whip

2 oz of cream cheese

I baked my pie shell according to the instructions on the package (400 degrees for 10 minutes) and cool. Cover the bottom with coarsely chopped Snickers bars, but keep some behind for the top. Then chop 2.5 apples in bit sized pieces and add them to the pie and drizzled caramel over the apples. Mix the can of condensed milk, cream cheese, and whipped cream together (I did this while the pie was baking them put it in the refrigerator until I was ready for it). Cover with the cream mixture and refrigerate for 2 hours. Garnish with remaining Snickers and thin apple slices then drizzle with caramel. 

That's it. It was very simple and hopefully delicious. 

Stay warm and happy reading!

Liz

My friend Tawdra Kandle has a new release!

Releasing tomorrow, February 5th, on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Smashwords. . . UNDENIABLE. This is Rafe's story--what happened after The King Series ended. . .

For Rafe Brooks, running from a broken heart means losing himself in alcohol and women. Lots of women, none of whom will remember him, since he has the ability to manipulate their minds and make them forget. Numbing the pain works until he meets an irresistible redhead with secrets of her own. She offers him the opportunity to join forces with an organization that will use his powers for good rather than his own amusement. Jocelyn rocks his world with her unapologetic passion and makes him believe for the first time he just might survive heartbreak. When a mission takes the two of them undercover to infiltrate a commune with suspicious activity, they discover it's just the tip of a plot to cause world-wide anarchy. Hiding their extraordinary powers and real identities is crucial to staying alive. For Rafe and Jocelyn, when life is uncertain, love is undeniable.

Come back tomorrow for the links on release day, and join us for a Twitter party Wednesday February 5th at 9 PM EST (#Undeniable). And now the reveal: this gorgeous HOT cover designed by the ever-talented Stephanie Nelson of Once Upon A Time covers.

Follow Tawdra here: Website/Facebook/Twitter/Pinterest/Tumblr