CONTEST: Choose My Inspiration Round 3

Round 2 of the “Choose My Inspiration” Contest was just awesome. Once you guys put one of these studs in the lead, he stays there. Here is the winner from Round 2:

Stud #7

Round 2 Winner: Stud #7

Stud # 7 advances to the FINAL ROUND in a few weeks along with our Round 1 winner–Stud #5.

Round 1 Winner: Stud #5

Round 1 Winner: Stud #5

Now, it’s time for Round 3!

In case you’re just joining the contest, click here for the rules and the winner selection process that will take place during the FINAL ROUND.

Last week, I discussed that the new series I’m working on, the one which you readers will be choosing my inspiration, will be a set of three novellas. Today, I want to let you know that like the Provincetown Series I’m currently working on, this new series will also be a destination series. But where will that be? Well, you’ll just have to keep coming back to find out! I’m such a tease, aren’t I? šŸ˜‰

But enough of that. I know you’re chomping at the bit to see the latest studs in my stable, right? Well, here are the five new hotties who want you to vote for them. The theme for this week is COWBOYS! Who’s ready to ride?

Don’t forget to click on the pic to see bigger…images. šŸ˜‰ Additionally, please remember that in order for your vote to count, you must click on the radio button corresponding to your hunk below the images and then click on the vote button. Only votes cast in this manner will count toward choosing my inspiration. šŸ™‚

Which of these 5 guys would you want to be a main character in my upcoming series? (Round 3)

  • Stud #14 (38%, 39 Votes)
  • Stud #12 (24%, 25 Votes)
  • Stud #11 (13%, 13 Votes)
  • Stud #13 (13%, 13 Votes)
  • Stud #15 (13%, 13 Votes)

Total Voters: 103

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Meet the Men of Moral Authority

Mark Bryan

Mark Bryan

Hi, everyone. My nameā€™s Mark Bryan. Have you noticed how seriously fu–, um, fouled up our country is right now? Yikes! I almost messed up on that one. Weā€™ve all gotta watch our language, you know? I donā€™t know about you, but Iā€™m not looking to violate the moral code of purity with profanity. Who needs a moral violation right now? I sure donā€™t! Iā€™ve got enough on my plate with trying to finish grad school and working. I donā€™t need the moral foot patrol complicating my day. I just want to be left alone. Thatā€™s why I do my best to fly under the Moral Authorityā€™s radar and be the perfect little citizen Uncle Sam is always telling us to be. Speaking of Uncle Sam, whatā€™s with all these new moral awareness posters going up everywhere? Itā€™s getting to where you canā€™t even walk down the street without Uncle Samā€™s beady eyes following you. If I have to stare down that bony, accusatory finger of his one more time, I donā€™t know what Iā€™d do. Maybe join those ā€œdomestic terroristsā€ in the Human Rights Campaign. Yeah, right. Like thatā€™ll ever happen. Iā€™m no one special, but I hope to be someday. I want to make a difference. Change this country. But attacking it like the HRC isnā€™t going to get me anywhere but killed. I have to be smarter than that. We all do. If we want to stay alive. And I donā€™t know about you, but thatā€™s exactly what I intend to do.

 

Isaac Montoya

Isaac Montoya

Hello. Iā€™m Isaac Montoya. Lots of people these days are saying that America might be in trouble. That our golden moral age is being threatened by the HRC and their terrorist attacks against moral law. What do I think? I think change is coming. Itā€™s an eventuality. Speaking like this could get me arrested for breaking the moral code of loyalty, but itā€™s time for different voices to be heard. Not just the voice the government thinks they give us. At the same time, though, we have to be careful. Being too brash leads to a stay in moral prison. Or worse. Like those containment camps Iā€™ve been hearing about. I definitely donā€™t want to wind up there! Thatā€™s why itā€™s important to work within the system. Or at least appear that way. Thatā€™s all that really matters in America now anyway. As long as you appear to follow the rules, youā€™re left alone. And when Iā€™m left alone to my own devices, well, lots of things can be accomplished.

 

Samuel Pleasant

Samuel Pleasant

I bid each and every one of you a good day. I am Samuel Pleasant, the Supreme High Chancellor of the Moral Authority, the august branch of government responsible with the moral direction of our great country and its citizens. Iā€™ve heard many rumblings in recent weeks, if not months, about this Human Rights Campaign. They attack moral law, so they claim, to bring true freedom back to America. To silence the voice of moral law that they feel is a faceless, oppressive tyrant. That couldnā€™t be further from the truth. I, and the other High Chancellors, stand before you, unmasked. You know us. And our families. Like any other public official, we have nothing to hide. The HRC does. They operate in the shadows. Using fear and chaos as weapons. Against truth and morality, their tactics will not work. I know many Americans fear that change is coming. But do not fear the change. I ask you to embrace it. For change is coming. Itā€™s just not what the Human Rights Campaign thinks it will be.

Follow Mark, Isaac, and Samuel into the pages ofĀ Moral Authority on sale May 22, 2013 from Wilde City Press.

Moral Authority 2nd Edition

CONTEST: Choose My Inspiration Round 2

Round One of the “Choose My Inspiration” contest started with a blast. Though the competition was tough, here is the winner from Round 1!

Round 1 Winner: Stud #5

Round 1 Winner: Stud #5

Stud # 5 captured the hearts and, um, inspirations of the majority of the voters. Although Stud #2 got close, our Stud #5 never once lost the lead. Ā He will now proceed to the final round in a few weeks.

Now, it is time for Round 2.

For those of you unfamiliar with the rules for this contest, click here. You’ll learn all you need to know about the process and how a winner will be chosen.

Also, as most of you know from last week, readers are choosing the inspiration for one of the main characters of an upcoming series currently being developed. While I’m still not ready to divulge too much information about the new series, I will tell you this. This new set of three books will be novellas.

Okay, enough of my rambling. Let’s get to the brand new set of five studs vying for your votes this week. Don’t forget to click on the pic to see bigger…images. šŸ˜‰ Additionally, please remember that in order for your vote to count, you must click on the radio button corresponding to your hunk below the images and then click on the vote button. Only votes cast in this manner will count toward choosing my inspiration. šŸ™‚

Which of these 5 guys would you want to be a main character in my upcoming series? (Round 2)

  • Stud #7 (32%, 25 Votes)
  • Stud #8 (23%, 18 Votes)
  • Stud #10 (21%, 16 Votes)
  • Stud #9 (17%, 13 Votes)
  • Stud #6 (8%, 6 Votes)

Total Voters: 78

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Read All About It: Newspaper Clipping from the Future of Moral Authority

From the Washington Post, March 5, 2050

The Fourth Branch of US Government, the Moral Authority, Turns 35 Next Month

Sarah Palin after her 2008 presidential election win

Sarah Palin after her 2008 presidential election win

Washington D.C., March 4 (AP)ā€”Plans are being finalized in our nationā€™s capitol as the country prepares to celebrate the anniversary of the newest branch of American government, the Moral Authority. Thirty-five years ago next month, the 44th President of the United States, Sarah Palin, made history for more than being the first woman to occupy the Oval Office. Former President Palin, and the constitutional amendment she helped push through Congress, added a moral branch to the executive, legislative, and judicial branches that helped found our nation.

Though a very vocal minority publicly opposed the creation of a moral branch of US government, the Moral Authority has been heralded a success by a majority of American citizens today.

ā€œThe Moral Authority is the best thing that happened to this nation,ā€ says Ruth Monroe, 86, who plans on attending the celebrations that begin on April 6. ā€œBefore the Moral Authority, you couldnā€™t even watch television without seeing something scandalous or inappropriate. I donā€™t have to worry about what my grandchildren are watching anymore.ā€

In fact, thanks to the Moral Authority, media violence and pornography have ceased to be issues of contention between concerned citizens and First Amendment advocates. The American Moral Code of Conduct has made such hotly debated issues moot.

ā€œI respect what the Moral Authority has been able to accomplish in such a relatively short span of time,ā€ says President John Ellis Bush, Jr. ā€œDue to their pioneering efforts in moral law, some of the most terrible offenses in human society, such as murder, rape, and assault are virtually nonexistent.ā€

The Moral Authorityā€™s success, however, extends beyond its effect on violent crime. With strict adherence to the moral code of care, the Moral Authority, through a series of lifestyle legislation, has freed the country from unhealthy lifestyle choices, such as obesity, smoking, alcoholism, and homosexuality. As a result, there has been a sharp decline in diabetes, high blood pressure, and cancer. Additionally, with the abolishment of homosexuality coupled with the AIDS cure discovered in the last decade, STDā€™s have been virtually eliminated as a social disease.

Recent HRC attack on NYC Moral Police Department

Recent HRC attack on NYC Moral Police Department

It is because of all these successes that the country is excited about the month long celebration. However, there are those in the nation who feel differently. The Human Rights Campaign, who have been dubbed as domestic terrorists by most media outlets and government officials, vehemently oppose the Moral Authority. Recently, the HRC has been linked to several smoke bombings of moral police departments as well as a rash of breakouts from moral prisons around the nation.

Supreme High Chancellor of the Moral Authority, Samuel Pleasant, plans to address the nation next month as part of the festivities but also in part to answer the recent concerns being raised about the HRC. Speculation abounds that as part of his speech S.H.C. Pleasant plans to unveil further legislation aimed specifically with dealing with the HRC. However, when asked, S.H.C. Pleasant had this to say: ā€œAlthough I am not able to provide specifics at this moment, American citizens should rest assured that the Moral Authority has this situation well under control.ā€

Follow the rest of the headlines on May 22 in

Moral Authority 2nd Edition

CONTEST: Choose My Inspiration Round 1

Okay, so here’s what I’m thinking. My Provincetown Series forĀ Dreamspinner is plotted and planned out. Well, for the most part. The first bookĀ When Love Takes Over comes out August/September, and a novella spinoff of the P-town seriesĀ Chasing the SunĀ comes out October/November of this year. TheĀ last two books of the series will be out at the beginning of 2014. So like I said the P-town series is pretty much locked and loaded.

But it’s time to plan my new series, which I won’t go into too much detail about. Just yet. However, while I was looking for inspiration for my new MCs, I had an idea.

Why not let the readers be a part of the process?Ā That’s when I came up with the idea for this contest.

The Process

Every week during the month of May, I will do a post where I share pictures of five hot guys who have, um, sparked inspiration for me. All of you will be given the chance to vote for your favorite picture. The voting will stay open for one week.

I will tally up the votes and announce the winner of the previous poll when I open up the following week’s poll, which will contain, you guessed it, five more sinsperational pictures.

During the first week of June, I will then do a post with the four lucky winners from the previous weeks. That’s when the bloodbath shall begin. Readers will vote for the guy they think should be my muse for my next book, and the picture with the most votes will win!

How much fun will that be?

But that’s not all. With every contest, there must be a winner! That winner will be determined during the FINAL ROUND.

The Winner

During the final round, while the final four hotties are battling it out for your votes, all you need to do to enter is leave a comment on the FINAL ROUND post. From those commenters, a winner will be chosen, and that winner will get to name one of the main characters of the new series.

Not only do you lovely readers get to help choose my inspiration, but one of you will get the chance to name a character and see that name used in a book.

So, without further ado, let round one begin! (Click on the thumbnails to see each man in all his glory) šŸ™‚

Which of these 5 guys would you want to be a main character in my upcoming series?

  • Stud #5 (31%, 22 Votes)
  • Stud #2 (28%, 20 Votes)
  • Stud #4 (15%, 11 Votes)
  • Stud #3 (14%, 10 Votes)
  • Stud #1 (11%, 8 Votes)

Total Voters: 71

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How a Final Exam Restarted My Writing Career

Many of you know that I teach college English, and this week is finals week. Cue the fanfare and confetti because in just a few short days, I will be on summer vacation and pounding my computer keyboard as if it were hot, sweaty man flesh. It will definitely be time to

celebrate.gif

But as I sit here today, I canā€™t help but think of an important final exam that occurred a couple of years ago.

While my students were taking their final and I was updating Facebook (because thatā€™s what I do while they are taking their two-and-a-half-hour final!) I started thinking, and as Gaston says in Beauty and the Beast, that’s

Gaston from Beauty and the Beast

Lost of things were happening in our country at that time. I was extremely worried about the direction we were headed. Iā€™m not going to get all political on you, so donā€™t worry. But I started thinking: what would happen if the ā€œmoral majorityā€ took power and got everything they wanted?

So, I started a little writing exercise. You see, I hadnā€™t written in years. I had abandoned writing for my career in higher education and to focus on my family.

But at that moment inspiration struck.

Inspiration strikes me with rainbow stars :)

Inspiration strikes me with rainbow stars šŸ™‚

I had to do something with it or I was going to explode right there in front of my students. So while they worked on analyzing poetry, I imagined a nation where morality became prescribed. Because basically, thatā€™s what I felt some people wanted. They wanted everyone to share their values and their beliefs whether they did or not.

Who decides which one is which?

Who decides which one is which?

I then drafted The Moral Amendments of the Constitution of the United States of America.

In that document, I created a fourth branch of government, one that was responsible for overseeing the moral character of its citizens. That fourth branch of government became known as the Moral Authority.

Once that new branch of government had been created, I made the Moral Authority get to work.

A year after the amendment that created them, the Moral Authority helped pass another constitutional amendment known as The Definition of Marriage, which stated: a marriage between one man and one woman was the only legal domestic relationship that would be valid in the country.

Naturally, that started a political firestorm in the America of my imagining. States that had previously allowed gay marriage were forced to abide by the law of the land. This created such a backlash among the gay community. The country was then forced to deal with angry Americans rioting against the new law. Therefore, a new amendment was passed two years later, where homosexuality was abolished. Being gay was now a criminal offense just like drinking alcohol had once been during Prohibition.

What? No more rainbows too?

What? No more rainbows too?

This created an uproar in my future America. Citizens started to revolt, claiming that the Moral Authority was overstepping its boundaries, so the Moral Authority enacted another amendment two years after abolishing homosexuality to quell the rising tide of unpopularity that threatened to remove their power. They established a Moral Code for all citizens. Everyone was expected to do as the government dictated by following prescribed standards of care, fairness, loyalty, respect, and purity in their relationships with others and within their daily lives. A new moral law force was created to uphold moral code, and a new armed forces division was created to serve as a moral army. They were dubbed the K3, and their purpose was to deal with domestic moral terrorists, who sought anarchy through breaking moral law.

The fist of moral order

The fist of moral order

Needless to say, I was exhausted after creating this new America, and my students still hadnā€™t finished their exam. Now, however, I needed to do something with that new America. I couldnā€™t just let it sit there. I needed to populate it to show what could happen if individual rights were continually stripped away by government interference.

And during that final, approximately three years ago, I once again reclaimed my passion for writing, which turned into my novel Moral Authority.

So as I prepare for finals this year, I think back on that momentous day in my life. I have come a long way since I started scribbling out a dystopian America. I now have two published books under my belt and three more set to be published this year, one of those is the second edition of Moral Authority.

Moral Authority 2nd Edition

I canā€™t wait to see what I come up with next during these final exams. Stay tuned!

The Gifted One: Blog Tour The Final Stop–Fallen Angel Reviews

It’s hard to believe, but today marks the final stop on my blog tour forĀ The Gifted One.Ā It seems as if I just started the tour yesterday, but it’s been a wonderful journey. I’ve met some great folks along the way and all my stops have been extraordinary. I want to thank all of my hosts and all the readers who came out to see what I was up to.Ā 

For my final appearance, I’ll be at Fallen Angel Reviews, where I’m interviewed about my writing career. I also share some writing advice as well as upcoming projects. If you’re interested, click here, and if you leave a comment at FAR, you’ll be entered to win a free copy ofĀ The Gifted One. This is the last chance you have to enter, so make sure you stop on by.

 

The Gifted One: Blog Tour Detour #3–The Novel Approach

For my third and final detour on my blog tour promotingĀ The Gifted One, I’m over at The Novel Approach with the fabulously scrumptious Lisa. We have a good time drinking cocktails, ogling half naked men, and having a blast. We chat about angels and demons, seventh sons, and upcoming projects.

There’s also a giveaway just for visitors to The Novel Approach.Ā All you have to do is leave a comment, and you’re entered to win. Just like that. So if you want to read about our hijinks, click here, and you’ll be swooshed away to the Novel Approach. You’ll be glad you came.

The Gifted One: Blog Tour Stop #8 Babes in Boyland

I’m so excited to be at Babes in Boyland today for the penultimate stop on my blog tour. Naturally, I had a blast. Who wouldn’t love hanging out at boyland with all the babes? I know I enjoyed it a great deal, and I even left with a souvenir. Somehow one of the hot guys found his way into my luggage. I don’t know who tied him up and placed him there, but I’m not looking a gift stud in the mouth. I will look other places though!

The interview I did at BiB was one of my best yet, if I do say so myself. The questions were a lot of fun. I talk about howĀ The Gifted One is different from my last releaseĀ 3 as well as some of my future projects. If you want to stop on by, click here and leave a comment. If you do, you’ll be entered to win a free copy.

The Gifted One: Blog Tour–Stop #7 Joyfully Jay

I’m super excited because I continue my blog tour over at Joyfully Jay. The folks over at Joyfully Jay have been super sweet to me, and I love them bunches. Jay even wrote a great 4.5 star review ofĀ The Gifted One, which she posted yesterday. You can read the review by clicking here.

Today, I’m blogging about seventh sons, which as you Ā may know, is one of the subjects ofĀ The Gifted One. I talk about the mythos behind the seventh son, and what makes such individuals so special to both heaven and hell. If Ā you’re interested, you can click here to read my post.

Thanks to everyone who’s been following my blog tour. I’ve been having tons of fun!