Author: staceyjaine

Stacey Jaine McIntosh is a USA TODAY Bestselling Author who hails from Perth, Western Australia where she resides with her husband and their four children. While her heart has always belonged to writing, she once toyed with being a Cartographer and subsequently holds a Diploma in Spatial Information Services. When not with her family or writing she enjoys reading, photography, genealogy, history, Arthurian myths and witchcraft.

Busy as a Bee

Posted on by staceyjaine in Anthologies, Epeolatry Book Reviews, Stacey Jaine McIntosh, The Eldritch Series, The Horror Tree, Updates

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Yep. I’m still around. Just haven’t written anything since Wednesday. Been just a tad busy. However, I do have a valid reason for being so busy. I’ve been writing.

Yes, I know… I can hear you saying: But don’t you write daily? I do. And for those of you who don’t know. Yes, I write everyday. I aim for 300 words. Why such a small amount? Well, I have four kids and a husband, and a house to take care of.

Plus, I have a couple of small freelance writing gigs on the side. As well as coordinating a team of book reviewers and writing author interviews on behalf of The Horror Tree.

I’m also gearing up for the release of Twisted II which is happening in July 2018. The 13th to be exact, so if you haven’t already please purchase a copy of the first installment of the series. It contains two short stories, Red and The Summer Girl, that connect to The Eldritch Series, of which I’m currently writing Book 6.

My short story, The Wild Hunt which will appear in Twisted II is also connected to my novel series.

I’d love to say that with all this work I have going on, I’ve become a little more organized, but I’m just not sure I have. Granted, I manage to somehow catch up each week. So, maybe I am becoming better organized. One can hope, I guess.

Now, if only I could get enough time to finish reading the latest book on my TBR pile, life would be all the better for it.

 

Character Profiles : Tristan Lyons

Posted on by staceyjaine in The Eldritch Series, Zooey

Continuing on with these because they’re fun… Next is Tristan.

(Image of Charlie Hummel, courtesy of Google.)

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Basics
Full Name: Sir Tristan of Lyonnese aka Tristan Lyons (mortal world) (Later King of the Winter Court)
Nickname: None
Race: Fey
Gender: Male
Age: ~400 years old in 2011
Birthday: Unknown
Place of Birth: Arcadia

Physical Appearance
Height: 6ft4in
Weight: 185lbs
Body Type: Average
Skin: Pale
Eyes: Grey
Hair: Blonde
Scars: None
Tattoos: None

Family Relationships
Mother: Isabelle
Stepmother: Elesa
Father: Meliodas
Half Siblings: TBD

Social Relationships
Marital Status: Married
Spouse: Zooey
Child: Leo
Stepchildren: Fox, Ever and Rue

Character Profiles : Zooey Donovan

Posted on by staceyjaine in The Eldritch Series, Zooey

I haven’t done one of these in forever. So, I decided to go back to the beginning and share Zooey with you. She’s first seen in The Winter Princess aka Book One of The Eldritch Series.

(Image courtesy of Google. I wasn’t very original with this one, I’m afraid. Zooey = Zooey Deschanel)

largeBasics
Full Name: Zooey Marie-Margaret Donovan aka Princess of the Winter Court (Later Queen)
Nickname: Zoh, Zee and Salinger
Race: Half breed Faerie
Gender: Female
Age: 17 as of 2011
Birthday: 9 September 1994
Place of Birth: Knox, Maine

Physical Appearance
Height: 5ft5in
Weight: 122lbs
Body Type: Average
Skin: Pale
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Black
Scars: None
Tattoos: None

Family Relationships
Mother: Annan
Father: Patrick
Siblings:
Andrew “Drew” Patrick Donovan
John “Jack” Francis Donovan
Ethan Alexander Donovan
Zackery Christopher “Kit” Donovan

Social Relationships
Marital Status: Married
Spouse: Tristan & Robin
Children: Fox, Ever, Leo and Rue

What Makes Paranormal Romance, Paranormal?

Posted on by staceyjaine in fae, faerie, paranormal, Stacey Jaine McIntosh, Writing

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What makes Paranormal Romance, Paranormal?

Well, there’s no real hard and fast rule, so to speak, but there are a few elements that should be included.

Magic. Paranormal Romances, by nature, blend the real with the mysterious. It’s for this reason, and this reason alone that I love both writing Paranormal Romance and reading it.

In fact, I once began a story with the definition of magic, because it seemed to capture the essence of the story. So, what is the definition of magic? The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines magic as the power of apparently influencing events by using mysterious or supernatural forces.

Now, not all Paranormal Romance stories has magic. In fact, Paranormal Romance can be defined as a sub-genre of both romantic fiction and speculative fiction. Paranormal Romance blends romance together with themes from speculative fiction genres such as fantasy, science fiction and horror.

As a writer of Paranormal Romance, I often find myself looking for some ‘thing’ that hasn’t been done to death. Of course, I write about Faeries and Werewolves, which has been done to death, sadly. However, I have put my own spin on things.

Immersing my own characters into a world inhabited by supernatural creatures, such as faeries and wolves. There’s the odd vampire thrown in but that’s purely because I wanted to round things out a little.

I’ve been enamored by faeries since I started delving into Celtic Mythology. I fell in love with Welsh myth, soon after diving further into my family tree and I wanted to bring the Arthurian Legends into modern times. As well as untangle Morgan le Faye from the web that had been spun, linking her to both The Morrighan and Queen Mab. So, over time I set about creating three very different characters. It wasn’t easy. But with time, I accomplished it, and I believe, I’ve done a good job in capturing the very essence of these characters. Characters, which I will share with you, in more depth, in a later post.

For now though, I’ve leave you with one question? What is your favourite supernatural creature? My favourite are faeries.

 

 

Down the Rabbit Hole

Posted on by staceyjaine in Indie Author, Stacey Jaine McIntosh, Writing

7B651C74-3D1E-4BCE-AA29-BB7D1213D6C9I had another post planned for today, but it will have to wait until later.

I wanted to discuss something I stumbled upon yesterday, that threw me down a rabbit hole searching for as much information as I could.

That rabbit hole was Faleena Hopkins’ trademark on the word cocky.

I was and still am blown away by it all.

Now if you’re an indie author, as I am. You put your heart and soul into your stories. I can be a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to my novels. That’s why I’m so slow at putting them out. Short stories it seems are easier to get down on paper but harder to sell. Royalties can be hard to come by. Reviews even harder at times. You have to bleed for your work. And this kind of action hurts authors everywhere.

This author has trademarked a common word. One that appears in the dictionary. One which other authors have used on book titles and are now being slapped with cease and desist orders. Amazon is apparently being Amazon and removing titles, or so I hear.

i find the entire situation scary. I’ve never planned to write a series with the word cocky in the title but it does set a dangerous precedent not just among Romance authors but other genre authors as well.

And, despite knowing that there’s a high chance it will get thrown out. I worry, as I am want to do, that it won’t. And in the case that it doesn’t, this action will surely snowball, and then where will it end?

Wrapping Up April

Posted on by staceyjaine in Stacey Jaine McIntosh

I challenged myself this month.

First with Camp NaNoWrimo by trying to write 25,000 words throughout the month. I failed. Sadly. Although I did manage to put my fingers to the keyboard and write something each day, so that’s a win in a small way.

Second, was a photo challenge over on my instagram page. I succeeded in that I managed to make 30 posts, one a day relevant to the daily prompt and posting with the aid of the #campnanocampout hashtag. It wasn’t always easy to find relevant images but I persevered.

Third, was a personal one, mostly. Job hunting is hard. And it hit me that I’ve been viewing my writing like more of a hobby than a business, and I really want it to be a business. I want not only to share my writing with others, but I want to earn money from writing. When I was asked as a teen what I wanted to do as a career it was either work in some capacity with horses (I had my heart set on the police force, as I was too tall to be a jockey… but both my physical abilities and my maths skills let me down) or be a writer. And as I can make one of those happen, I’m going for it. I’ll try not to bombard everyone with blog posts and emails and such, but it would mean a great deal to me if you would join my newsletter. You can sign up here: Click Me to Sign Up!

 

Blog Schedule Update

Posted on by staceyjaine in Stacey Jaine McIntosh, Updates

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So, you might have noticed I’ve been more active on my blog over the past month. That’s because I’m trying to establish a blogging schedule, and I think I’ve settled on one that works. Finally. It’s only taken me a year to get the hang of updating monthly, so I figured now was the time to kick it up a notch.

There will be new blog updates from me every Monday. With additional content by way of author interviews and book reviews at random every month.

I’m also in the middle of creating some new content and pages for my website, so if things change slightly you know why.

With all these intended changed I’m hoping to make my webpage and blog a much more friendly and interactive place to hang out.

Please feel free to drop me a comment or like and let me know what you’d like to see in the coming months. I’d love to hear from you.

 

Finding Time to Write with Four Kids

Posted on by staceyjaine in mum of four, Parenting, Writing Advice

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I started my author journey in 2012. Many people didn’t understand why I wanted to write or how I could enjoy it. Writing can be a very solitary pursuit. One that could take you away from more, dare I say it, mundane tasks.

So, naturally if writing takes me away from every day mundane tasks, one would assume that it could quite easily take me away from my children. Not so. And, it doesn’t have to. It took me quite a few years, early on in my writing journey, before I even got published – when my kids were babies – to find the balance. However, I can successfully say, with the utmost confidence, that I have found a way to both write and be present in my kids lives. Now if only I could find a way to both write and keep on top of all those mundane household tasks that often fall to the way side while I be mum to my kids, I think I’d be set.

Now my kids are twelve, ten, nine and seven and parenting is a bit more challenging now than when they were babies, but I found some things that work for me, and keep me from feeling too overwhelmed.

Here’s five tips I employ in order to write around household chores and FOUR children.

  1. You have to make time for yourself and your writing. Write when the kids are in bed at night. Or get up early and write while every else is still asleep.
  2. Write everyday. I cannot stress this enough. Even if it’s only 10 words. Write!
  3. Get your kids involved with the household chores. That way you’ll have time to write.
  4. Use a schedule, and stick to it!
  5. Get enough sleep! A grumpy mum is no good to anybody, let alone your kids.

I hope you find these tips as helpful as I have!

Withholding Nothing Cover Reveal

Posted on by staceyjaine in Stacey Jaine McIntosh, Stuff

⭐️⭐️⭐️COVER REVEAL⭐️⭐️⭐️
Woot woot! Today’s Victoria Bright’s 27th birthday and her cover reveal!
Title: Withholding Nothing
Genre: Erotic romance
Release date: March 29, 2018
Photographer: Eric Battershell Photography
Models: Xavisus Gayden Ifbb Pro and Sarah Arevalo Gayden
Cover designer: Laura Hidalgo with Beyond DEF
Blurb: The girl code “Chicks before d*cks” should include that no friend can steal another friend’s boyfriend—or marry them.
When Ashton Carter’s “good idea at the time” revenge plan lands her in hot water, she never expected to see her ex again—especially in court. A few thousand dollars in damages later, she snags a job as a phone sex operator and seeks out a roommate to help fund her “stay out of jail” expenses. Having a roommate should’ve been helpful—except when they turn out to be the hot, yet douchebag mechanic working on her car.
When Ashton learns that her new roommate has been the sexy phone sex caller, lines begin to blur between real life and fantasy. It was supposed to be a no-strings-attached situation; neither of them were ready for love again. When a surprise visit from an ex shakes their forming foundation with an ultimatum, Ashton is forced to face the truth of her feelings and make a choice. With her budding relationship and livelihood at stake, Ashton has to untangle the lines of reality and fantasy in a last ditch effort to protect her heart.
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