Cindy Young-Turner

Snowzilla and a progress update

Well, here in Maryland we have survived Snowzilla, the blizzard of 2016, with close to 32 inches in my backyard. I’m from Massachusetts and I love snow, but even this is a bit much all at once! It’s hard to say when we will be completely dug out–and more importantly, when the kids will be back in school! I hope I’ll be able to enjoy the snow once I rest up from all of the shoveling.

I’m also excited to share a bit of a writing update. In my last post I mentioned that I have finally broken the writer’s block that plagued me for much of last year. And I can proudly say that progress is continuing! I’m still in rewriting mode, which is rewriting with quite a few additions. I just finished working on a chapter that I had wanted to revise for ages and it never seemed to turn out right. This time I feel like it worked. Next up is a key chapter featuring the new character I’ve added. It feels really good to be writing again. Maybe soon I’ll share some excerpts.

Stay warm and dry out there!

Happy New Year’s Eve!

It’s almost time to say good-bye to 2015. There were good things and bad things this year. In terms of writing, it was a bit of a struggle. The year started off positive on the heels of my self-publishing debut and I had fully intended to finish Thief of Destiny and get it out there for the public. But sometimes things happen for a reason, and after months of spinning my wheels and spiraling into the despair of not writing, I think I see the light. I finally put out a call for help to my wonderful critique group and decided to sit down and write an actual outline. Well, more of a summary because yes, I’m still twitchy about outlines. My writer friends encouraged me to think outside the box and that’s what I did. And I came up with a new approach that was an idea I had a while back but didn’t think it should be in this book. Surprise! I believe it’s going to work and I’m easing back into retooling what I’ve written so I can get to the end. I’m making a promise to myself that I WILL finish the book in 2016, hopefully sooner rather than later. With any luck it will be worth the wait!

More importantly, the events of this year have taught us that we are a global community and more than ever we need to find compassion and understanding. Hug your loved ones. Call a friend you haven’t talked to in a while. Learn about someone whose culture you don’t understand. We’re all in this together.

Oh, and go see Star Wars: The Force Awakens. It was like an early Christmas present for this Star Wars fan.

Here’s to 2016. Follow your dreams!

We stand together

I will have some writing progress updates soon, but right now I need to digress and hop up on my non-author soapbox. The attacks in Paris last Friday were heartbreaking. Too many innocent people lost their lives. But we shouldn’t overlook the attacks in other parts of the world, like Lebanon and Iraq, and the staggering amount of suffering that has been caused by so many conflicts. In this day and age, we are truly “one world.” We can’t close ranks and think that this is not our problem. I’m afraid I don’t have any answers or solutions. No, we can’t let the terrorists win, but we also can’t lose sight of our common humanity and our compassion. Here in the U.S., we seem to be divided more than ever, when we need to stand together.

As the holiday season approaches, please think of the world around you and your fellow human beings. We can make a difference. We need to make a difference.

“Any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind.”
–John Donne

A fan awakens… the new Star Wars trailer is here!

It was as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in joy:

Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer

This voice certainly did!

When I first heard about Episode VII, I was cautiously optimistic. Star Wars shaped my childhood. I had many of the toys–and still do, although they are well loved and sadly not in the original packaging. But I was definitely burned by the abominations that are known as Episodes I-III. So much wasted potential.

The excitement has been building for the new movie, though. I think the actors will actually have a chance to act this time. I felt more real emotion in the new trailer than I did in the climax of Episode III. I felt like the child who couldn’t wait to see Return of the Jedi to find out whether Darth Vader really was Luke’s father. And I am counting the days until December 18! Christmas may be coming early for this Star Wars fan!

New release: Amoven: Prophesy by Nancy M. Griffis

If you are a werewolf fan, you’ll want to check out the latest release from Nancy Griffis, Amoven: Prophesy! What a gorgeous cover! I’m excited to be part of the blog hop in honor of her release.

Well hello there everyone! My name is Nancy M. Griffis and I’m the proud new author of Amoven: Prophecy. Cindy’s awesomely hosting my blog hop today!

Amoven: Prophecy is available now in ebook and print from all major online retailers. (Get your copy on Amazon)

I say “new” author of Amoven, but I’ve been working on the book for a longggg time. The gist of the novel didn’t change from the first draft to the last, but I had the hardest time letting go. It’s been through the hands of two different editors four times and even though they both loved it, I just couldn’t make myself pull the trigger.

I don’t normally feel so protective of my books, but this one seems to be the exception. Some books are like that. Usually, I write a book, edit it, send it to an editor, rewrite it a third time and boom! It’s good to go. Not so with Amoven. Despite the fact that the novel was essentially done a couple of years ago, it took a while for me to decide to publish it myself.

Amoven: Prophecy is about a family of wolf shapeshifters from San Digeo, CA. The McTavish Clan is small by Amoven standards with only four adult siblings–Jim, Daniel, Simon, and Sandy–and Simon and Jim are ‘mere’ humans, looked down on by many Amoven. The McTavish Clan fell out of favor generations ago and Daniel wants to restore the Clan to its rightful place at the head of the Council that rules their people.

To accomplish such an ambitious goal, Daniel is tackling the one thing that threatens all Amoven: the devastating decline in birth rates. While not as exciting as hunters on a killing spree, it’s just as deadly to their ultimate survival. Daniel’s arranged a Conclave with most of the North American clans to take place at the seat of Amoven power in the Colorado Rockies and this is where our story starts.

Having so many Alphas in one place is practically asking for a bloodbath, but Cole Bishop is just the Amoven to keep them in line. Grandson to Lauren Bishop–the woman who’s held power as head of the Amoven North American Council for almost one hundred years–Cole has a spine of steel under his manicured, indolent appearance. Publically, he can do nothing but support his grandmother and her backwards, anachronistic prejudices. Secretly, he does all he can to help Daniel McTavish in his goal to become head of the Council.

It’s not until the end of the Conclave that things get crazy. Someone tries to assassinate Daniel. Simon has visions of Amoven past despite being human. Sandy mates with a man from a powerful clan to spite her brothers. One of the Councilmembers abdicates his seat and bequeaths it to Daniel in the form of a prophecy that shows him as the key to Amoven survival or doom… and that’s all I can say without going into major spoiler territory.

I hope you love this book as much as I do! I am working on the sequel now, but don’t have a release date just yet.

Thanks so much to Cindy for having me!

You can find me online at www.nancygriffis.wordpress.com, @nmgrif, and www.facebook.com/nmgriffis. You can email me at nancymgriffis@gmail.com.