Writer's Block Ballet

Writer's block. There, I've spoken the dirty words. Forgive me.
A month ago, I thought I finished the complete draft of Struck, the paranormal horror novel I've been working on. In spite of my initial happy dance however, my characters tell me that the ending just...isn't...right.
So into the Otherworld it goes. One chapter, weeks of writing, deleted with the click of a button.
I trust my characters. Yes, yes, I'll rewrite their stupid ending, but I'm at a loss right now. I know my epiphany will come while cleaning my fish tanks, practicing my ballet, or brushing my teeth. Doing something mundane. But for now, I'm quite mad at them.
Weeks of writing, deleted.

Do any of you have moments like this?

*insistent tap on your writerly shoulder*
"Yes, hello. The other characters and I have decided to inform you that we don't like the ending you wrote. At all. Oh, and that thing you made us do in Chapter 5? Yeah, that's garbage as well. What were you thinking?"  

I can't be the only author who gets bossed around by their characters.

Anyways. My lead antagonist isn't speaking to me, and the ending is kind of up to him. As much as I threaten and cajole, he mocks me with his silence. I've considered baking him cookies, but he'd probably see right through that.
So, writer's block it is.
What to do in a situation like this? I've known some writers that let it roll off their backs like water. I've known others who are thrown into a fit of despair.
For me, it means more time spent on my ballet. I figure if I manage several hundred relevés, I will be in so much pain, that the ending won't matter. Or my paranormal demon will take pity and tell me what I need to do with him.

But for now, I'm still waiting. Excuse me while I work on my pliés. A couple hundred or so should do it.

Musa Publishing: Musa Publishing Announces Deal With Author Gary K....

Musa Publishing: Musa Publishing Announces Deal With Author Gary K....:  Musa Publishing, an independent digital-first publisher, has announced today that they will publish Who Wacked Roger Rabbit? by author ...

A Shift in Perspective.

It's been awhile and time for a post here. I've decided to make posts a bit more casual. The reason why I've found blogging such a challenge, is that I've looked upon each post as something to be researched, edited, and re-edited. To death.
No more, I just don't have the time.
I've been working on finishing my next novel while tying up Between, which is due to come out on December 14th. I've just received my cover art and it's finally hit me, "Oh my god, I have a novel coming out!"  I have no idea why this hadn't occurred to me before: the writing, the editing...the re-editing with a professional editor. Hmm, that should have been my first clue. As I go into line edits here pretty soon, the "not so fun" part of writing will be at the top of my check list.
The promoting. Yep, that bad boy.
I know few writers who like promoting. Gone are the days where we could sit in our writerly cave, write what the voices in our heads tell us to, and have somebody else publish and promote our drivel. With the onset of self-publishing, small presses, ebooks and the like, it's a dog-eat-dog world out there. Short of stripping down naked and running through the nearest mall waving my book over my head, I have no idea how to garner the attention I need to make Between a hit. I've been told to blog my fingers off, set up local interviews, join reader/writer groups, and discuss that I have a book coming out with anybody who will listen. And a plethora of other things I can't even imagine doing. You know, generally be a pain in the butt.
My favorite.
Not.
Anyways, onto the next leg of my journey. If you see me making a fool of myself blogging, interviewing, or bothering some stranger on the street who has merely asked for directions, forgive me, for I am new at this.

Between
Coming December 14th from Musa Publishing.
Mark it on your calenders. 

Genre: adult paranormal fiction.

Tagline:  How far would you go to redeem yourself?

Blurb: 

As a young girl, Lucinda was able to see spirits, a gift that didn't come without its problems. Now, a dedicated young veterinarian, she is committed to the idea that every life can be saved.

After a devastating accident, Lucinda tries to escape her past by moving to a small town. There, she meets a newcomer and feels an immediate connection with him. But there is another mysterious stranger to the small town, one that stirs within her a mixture of unease and desire.

As Lucinda is drawn into a bitter tug-a-war from the forces around her, she is likewise pulled into a dangerous twist of past and present events. Forced to make difficult choices, she finds that the two men are locked in not only a battle for her life...but a battle for their salvation.

Lip service for Between will be appreciated. I will send anyone that chooses to give me lip service a puppy. Your puppy is in the mail.

(Please no hate comments about sending puppies via postal mail. That was a joke. I realize that puppies don't fit into envelopes. They pee way too much and it would just get messy.)

Musa Publishing: Welcome to the Family!

Musa Publishing: Welcome to the Family!: We're excited to have our newest author with us today to discuss her life and soon to be released debut novel with Musa Publishing. Please g...

Shadow Figures

I thought I'd write today about shadow figures. I've been putting it off at the risk of sounding like a loon, but I figure I've talked about so many other paranormal things in my blog--I'd give this topic a go.

I discovered there was such a thing called shadow figures about six months ago. I was watching a program on television and the subject of shadow figures came up. The description gave me the chills. Further reading on the topic left me speechless because it related to several experiences I've had in the past. Experiences I've shrugged off as "weird stuff" because "weird stuff" just happens and there's not a thing you can do about it.

For those of you that haven't heard of shadow figures, they are supernatural shadow-like humanoid figures that, according to believers, are seen in the viewer's peripheral vision. They are often reported moving with quick, jerky movements, and can move through walls or mirrors. They are believed to be evil and aggressive in nature, although a few people consider them to be a form of guardian angel.
Common characteristics reported by those that have seen shadow figures are:

• Male
• Usually seen in a trench coat/cloak
• Usually have a hat, fedora or top hat
• Usually very tall
• No facial features
• They have a sinister aura
• Extremely fast
• Silent
• Seem to have mass
• They can move through walls

There seem to be two classifications of shadow figures.

• Bedroom Invaders or Sentinels: They stand in corners of rooms and watch you.
  
• Omens: They are associated with bad luck, or death. They are attached to people or families. Omens may show up in your bedroom.

About fifteen years ago, my husband and I were renting a duplex while we attended university. I would wake in the middle of the night and see a man walking through our closed bedroom door and around the foot of the bed. He would walk up to my side and stand there, looking down at me. He would continue to stand there while I screamed. I thought somebody had broken into the house. When my husband would turn on the lights in a panic, the man would disappear. This happened several times. I'm a very light sleeper, so I have serious doubts that I was dreaming. A neighbor told us that our duplex was built using old timber from a barn that had been dismantled in the 1920's. My thoughts were that we had a ghost in our house. A very persistent and sinister one.
In retrospect, the characteristics of this figure give me pause for thought. Male, moving quite swift, no facial features, a sinister aura, wearing an overcoat and fedora. Now, I am unsure whether it was a ghost, or a shadow figure.
A year ago, I had another experience. I was lying in bed, trying to sleep (insomniac) and out of the corner of my eye, I saw a very tall male figure rush across my bedroom and disappear into the wall. Again, no facial characteristics, a very sinister feeling to him, tall and moving very fast. And the one detail that stood out? He was wearing an overcoat and fedora. The following week, I received a letter that my step-father had died of a stroke the very night I had seen this shadow figure. Coincidence? Perhaps. But I slept with a light on for quite some time, and I don't scare easily.

What are your thoughts on this phenomena? Crazy talk? Ghosts? Or something else? 

Winner of the Coffin Hop

Thank you everyone for stopping by and participating in the Coffin Hop!

 Winner of my Prize drawing, a $5 gift certificate to my publisher, Musa Publishing, and an ecopy of my novel BETWEEN, to be released on December 14, 2012 is.....(bone-rattle please)

Gina!!

I will contact you via email

Welcome to the Coffin Hop

Prize drawing just for stopping by and following my blog OR Liking my Author Facebook Page:

A $5 gift certificate to my publisher, Musa Publishing, and an ecopy of my novel BETWEEN, to be released on December 14, 2012.

Be sure and leave your contact info in the comments section! 
Prize winner will be announced on November 1st

*Please visit other Coffin Hoppers for more chances to win cool prizes.

*Coffin Hop Art by RL Treadway

Journey into the Paranormal
by Clarissa Johal

People often ask me how I began writing in the genre of paranormal. I’m not brooding or scary or running off to join the latest séance, which I think is what they expect. And my silly sense of humor oftentimes gets me into trouble, especially with my two daughters. The topic of paranormal has always interested me. As a kid, we moved almost yearly. It seemed we were always living in older places and with those older places, came a ghost or two. Now, before you chuckle and roll your eyes (or not) let me tell you, I walk the line between skeptic and 100% believer. On the surface, I may be rolling my eyes with you, but inside, I believe in a plethora of things I won’t even begin to discuss until I’ve known someone a very long time. I know what I’ve experienced, and I know what my rational mind tells me. Believe me, there’s a lot of arguing in my head over those two things. But we are a collection of what we’ve experienced in our lifetime.

When I was 10-years-old, we moved to an island and lived for several months in an old house. I’m an insomniac and have been since I was a kid. Consequently, being awake while the rest of my family slept was nothing new. One evening, and after hours of tossing and turning, I decided to get up. While I sat on the couch trying to figure out what to do with myself, I heard singing in my ear. It was as if a woman was sitting right next to me singing Time in a Bottle. The song was popular at the time (and yes, that dates me) but I didn’t know the words. At that point, I did what any kid would do if they weren’t compelled to run away screaming--I politely sat and listened until she finished. Afterwards, I went back to bed and proceeded to have the worst nightmare. I dreamt that I walked into our bathroom and found a naked, young woman wrapped up in a shower curtain in our bathtub. She was blonde, had a bullet hole in her head, and was quite dead. It was graphic for a 10-year-old, I never watched television and rarely had nightmares. I had it for weeks until we finally moved. Each time, it became more intense--it had gotten to the point where she was clawing her way out of the tub and trying to speak to me through the shower curtain. Needless to say, I was a bit of a wreck by the time we moved. Years later, I found out from my parents that there was indeed, a murder at that house. They didn’t elaborate, but I always wondered of the details.
Parents, tell your kids these things ahead of time, because if they ever experience anything, they will always wonder.

So, back to the genre of paranormal. I began writing fantasy fiction when my kiddos were younger. It's what we were reading at the time so it made sense that I would choose that genre. While working on the second installment to my Pradee series, I was interrupted by two characters that truly didn’t fit into fantasy fiction. I kept setting them aside, but they would return, stronger than ever. Finally, I gave up and began working on BETWEEN, a story of the paranormal. While Pradee took me ten years to complete, I had the rough draft of BETWEEN finished in several months and a year after that, the full novel was complete. Six weeks after I submitted, Musa Publishing offered me a contract.

The novel I’m working on now is paranormal/horror. I have to say, I’m hooked. I love presenting this genre in new and interesting ways. Now, I know what you’re probably going to ask me: Do I write of my experiences or make stuff up? I’m a writer and I write fiction. I know the difference between fiction and real life. However, some of the best fiction is when a writer “writes what they know” and a little of what I know creeps into my novels from time to time. I hope you will enjoy reading them.

BETWEEN 
by Clarissa Johal

How far would you go to redeem yourself?

Blurb:

As a young girl, Lucinda was able to see spirits, a gift that didn't come without its problems. Now, a dedicated young veterinarian, she is committed to the idea that every life can be saved.

After a devastating accident, Lucinda tries to escape her past by moving to a small town. There, she meets a newcomer and feels an immediate connection with him. But there is another mysterious stranger to the small town, one that stirs within her a mixture of unease and desire.

As Lucinda is drawn into a bitter tug-a-war from the forces around her, she is likewise pulled into a dangerous twist of past and present events. Forced to make difficult choices, she finds that the two men are locked in not only a battle for her life...but a battle for their salvation.

 
BETWEEN will release under the Thalia imprint of Musa Publishing on December 14, 2012.

Clarissa Johal has done everything from working as a veterinary assistant and vegetarian chef to volunteering as a zoo-keeper aide and swimming with six foot sturgeons. Writing has always been her passion. She shares her life with her husband, two daughters and every stray animal that darkens the doorstep. One day she fully expects a wayward troll to wander into her yard, but that hasn't happened yet. 

Author website 
Amazon Author Page
Facebook 
Twitter