guest author

An Oldie but a Goodie: The Lost Chord by Lyndi Alexander

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

The Lost Chord came out in April of 2018. The book took some time to find a publishing home, but finally landed at Dragonfly Publishing, Inc. where it has done well. I was happy to have the book come out in April, because that is Autism Awareness Month—and so is April 2023!

The Lost Chord has a unique heroine, in that she is on the autism spectrum. The inspiration for Bee Warrick is my own daughter, Tasha, who is autistic, and approaches much of life from a very different perspective than we do.  In the story, Bee is 15 years old, an imaginative young lady who spends a lot of time in her own world. She doesn’t realize that her “world” is actually made up of  spots in several different universes, and she has been travelling among them her whole life.

As one who suffers with Sensory Integration Disorder, she is overly sensitive to loud noises and often stims by running her hands through bins of rocks, feeling sand on her fingers, etc.  She is very educated about rocks and crystals and will eventually choose a talisman gem for each of the travelers commensurate with their chakra.

Corydon Briggs: Cory is 17, a minor athlete who plays on the varsity football team for his school on our Earth, in Universe E, but he’s no star, never will be.  He’d rather play in the marching band, but his brother, six years older than he, died as a rising football star so he is pressured to live up to Stan’s standard by his firmly middle-class parents.  An avid reader of sci-fi and fantasy, he’s moved on to online video games where he can become a hero, a role he believes he can’t hold in real life.

Devlynn Kayne: Devlynn comes from B Universe, where the black race has privilege and whites do not, and she is a black girl of 16. She is a star student, bound for higher education in the sciences, perhaps medicine someday. She shuns extracurricular school activities, concentrating instead on her after-school business designing web sites, which has made her quite a bit of money. She thought she had her whole life planned out before her—until she meets the quest for the Chord.

Hana Moss:  Hana is essentially a wild child, having been raised by a single dad who’s an artist and musician in the desert in Universe F. They’ve pretty much kept to themselves. She’s home schooled and never had siblings, though she has many friends through the Netlink, their version of the internet. She’s had an eclectic upbringing and has created a “family” from a number of pets, a couple of wolf-dogs and a small wildcat, but also an iguana, a tarantula and a tank of salt water fish.

Maxian: Max is tall and thin, bookish, and comes from Universe A. His eyes are startling blue, with a vertical pupil like a cat’s, and a light coat of fur that can almost pass for body hair, a trait developed by his people to compensate for the fact his planet is further from their star than Earth, with less light and heat.  He is reckoned at 8 revolutions by the ways of his people, but in Earth years would be about 18. Max’s gift is perfect pitch, and is honored among his kind for his ability to sing the Stories, the verbal history handed down from generation to generation. He carries a set of wooden runes carved into wood, and uses them to divine his choices.

The Conductor: He is the raison d’etre of the journeys of these children, coercing, teaching and leading them into position to fulfill the prophecy to unite all the “notes” or “keys” into the lost chord. A former professor of music, before music was banned on his homeworld in Universe H, he has the secret information passed to him by Ruane Alm that can heal the universe by bringing together the lost Chord.

See the book trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRTzaB5rUKo

This story was actually written for NaNoWriMo, so unlike my usual pantser mode, I needed to work the plot, characters and settings out before November 1, since I only had 30 days to complete it. I did finish on time, which I’m proud of. 😊 Probably half of my published books have started this way. I find that ticking deadline quite an inspiration.

I hope that this book opens a window into the world of how someone on the spectrum thinks and perceives, and shows that even though they may not approach life as we do, that they have unique and valuable gifts to share.

Lyndi Alexander always dreamed of faraway worlds and interesting alien contacts. She lives as a post-modern hippie in Asheville, North Carolina, a single mother of her last child of seven, a daughter on the autism spectrum, finding that every day feels a lot like first contact with a new species. Follow Lyndi’s journey at her website: Lyndi Alexander’s Worlds of Fancy.

A poisonous wave is spreading disease and discord across the eleven known universes. Seven special people, known as Keys, must strike the Lost Chord in order to restore the balance. Among those Keys is Bee Warrick, an autistic teenager from Earth who has traveled between the realms for years without realizing it.

Can Bee help the Conductor find the other Keys before a bitter enemy strikes the wrong chord and shatters the universes?

New Release: Revamped by Shirley Goldberg

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

Revamped is a paranormal comedy/romance and my first participation in a multi-author series. What a great experience writing the Mortar & Pestle series with six other authors by my side, metaphorically speaking.

Chelsey asked how I came to write Revamped, in part because it’s a departure from writing humorous women’s fiction.

The idea was a group effort. We were all on Zoom, gathered around our computer screens discussing writing and marketing, when someone popped the question. “Why don’t we write a series together?” It took almost a year in the making, but here we are, having released all seven books. Sydney Winward, who wrote Selkie, the first book in the series, did our beautiful covers.

In order to meet our deadline, I put aside the novel I was working on to draft Revamped. I am somewhere between a plotter and a pantser, and for the first time had to create a world and work within a deadline. This meant interviewing writers on how to go about world-building, asking questions, reading other vampire books. It was not easy to find energy vampires in the literature. How many did I find? Zero.

I always begin writing a new book by first planning out the characters and the interpersonal relationships essential to the story. Why do people come together? How do they uncouple and what leads to that decision? Creating a world in which paranormal characters live is less interesting than their personal stories within that world. When I set out to write Revamped, I wanted readers to relate to my characters, even if they’d never read a paranormal story.

Dante, the vampire, is different from the usual people Sophie meets in her sphere of friends and family. Finding that special person no matter how different he or she is from ourselves is what’s important.

I’d like to introduce readers of Chelsey’s blog to an unusual vampire. As a special treat, I interviewed Dante Allegretti, my main character.

Dialogue with the Vampire  

      Shirley: I have a few questions for our readers. They’re curious.

      Dante: I suppose they want to know about my special powers.

      Shirley: Not really. They want to know what it’s like to date a vampire.

      Dante: [eyes widen] I don’t talk about being a vampire. Not openly.

      Shirley: The thing is, I wrote a whole book about you so it’s no secret, not anymore. For instance, one reader would like to know if you would suck on her neck. You know, take a little taste.

      Dante: That’s ridiculous. First of all, I’m not that kind of vampire. I’m an energy vampire. Meaning I get energy from people by depleting their resources. Bored people are especially easy targets, but angry men run a close second.

      Shirley: Men in particular? Why is that?

      Dante: Their negative energy and muscle mass make them vulnerable.

      Shirley: Do you still drain people’s energy?

      Dante: I’ve stopped living that life. I attend DE meetings––that stands for Dis-Energy––two or three times a week. It’s not easy, but my energy sobriety is important.

      Shirley: Anyone who dated you would have to respect the work that went into your lifestyle change.

      Dante: I don’t want to be thought of as a vampire. I’m a normal guy with issues like anyone else. With a few differences.

      Shirley: So, it’s a daily challenge, right?

      Dante: Absolutely. I don’t hang around with other vampires. Very few people know I’m a vampire, only a few close friends.

      Shirley: Are you still at odds with your family?

      Dante: I don’t think that will ever be resolved. [Swipes a hand through his hair.] You want to know something?

Shirley: Of course.

Dante: Energy vampires don’t have much fun. You can’t hang out with regular people. It’s too tempting and how can you look yourself in the face if you’re draining your friends.

Shirley: That sounds gross, using your friends.

Dante. Yeah, that’s why I never had friends. Until I met Groucho, my best friend. But I knew the second I met him he was a vampire.

Shirley: What is it, a sixth sense?

Dante: Sort of. When it comes to friends, you’re limited to the few energy vampires around and no one wants friends who literally suck. That’s why I rejected the whole lifestyle. I’m thirty-six and I’ve just begun living. I feel so lucky.

Shirley: So, what advice do you have for women interested in dating vampires?

Dante: Don’t do it.

Shirley: Sort of a dead end, isn’t it?

Dante: Unless you’re with a man who promises to give up that way of life.

Shirley: Can you tell me more? What was the most difficult part of changing?

Dante: I’ll tell you that every little and big thing in my life changed. If I told you more, I’d be spoiling the read and besides, telling is boring.

Shirley: Well, thanks, Dante. Do you know if Groucho will be in the sequel?

Dante: Since you’re writing the books, you’ll have to answer that one, won’t you?

Shirley Goldberg is a swing and salsa dancer, novelist, and former ESL and French teacher who’s lived in Paris, Crete, and Casablanca. She often writes about men and women of a certain age starting over. Her website http://midagedating.com offers a humorous look at dating in mid-life, and her friends like to guess which stories are true. Her Starting Over series can all be read as standalones starring women and men in midlife who learn a thing or three about new beginnings. Revamped, A Vampire Comedy, is the story of an energy vampire with one good friend and a family who embarrasses him. Revamped is part of the Mortar & Pestle series by seven authors that debuted in March.

Interested in the Mortar & Pestle series? Here is a link to the FREE prequel: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/3vhm7opc1r

Shirley’s characters believe you should never leave home without your sense of humor and she agrees.

Vampire Dante Allegretti hates his sucky life. Born into a family of energy siphoners, he’s desperate to reinvent himself as a fun-loving normal guy rather than a crowdsourcing parasite. To stop the draining urges, Dante resorts to grinding alternative meds in an ancient Mortar & Pestle, not knowing it contains magical properties. 

Enter wisecracking thirty-year-old Sophie Arley, who lives with her clingy parents. Working three jobs and craving independence, she’s come back strong after a breakdown crashed her cozy world. So when the weird, hot guy she just met-cute asks Sophie to the movies, she agrees.

Sophie won’t spoil their magical connection by mentioning her heartbreak. And Dante dreads telling Sophie about his dark side. Will the power from the Mortar & Pestle guide them to their happily ever after despite the secrets and lies? 

New Release: The First Born Son by Kaia Misk

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

A cross between The Sopranos and The Proposal, Frankie Renzi and Sofia Ciambetti’s story of love, forgiveness, power, and wealth culminate in The Firstborn Son. As an heiress, Sofia becomes prey to those who want her money once her father dies. Once she admits to herself that no one can protect her like Frankie, the madness begins between those who want her safe and those who want her fortune. 

Inspired by real people, characters drove this story. One was a mix of my uncle and an Italian tailor I knew. Another encompassed many of the matriarchal women in my family’s prior generations. My father’s love of cars, and his decree that all his children know something about them, inspired the chase scene. Colorful in life, these people demanded a written presence. It was easy to create them and build a story around them. Something fun, but exciting. 

I did not do a lot of research for this book, but rather created a story using places I knew such as a wretched onramp to the Parkway and Sofia’s apartment with a balcony toward the street like something in Pittsburgh’s Shadyside community. 

As my first novel, the editing process was new to me. For that reason, the book took at least one year to write. However, my writing became cleaner after the experience. I’m well into the next book in the Renzi Series called The Second Son. It is Joey Renzi’s story and his character is dear to me. Those who have read The Firstborn Son are anxious for more. Thank Heaven!

For more about The Renzi Series listen to my upcoming podcast appearances on the Ya Jagoff Podcast to be recorded on April 8, 2023, and Indie Reads Aloud Podcast on April 13, 2023 at 7:30 p.m.

Kaia Misk is a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, otherwise known as a “Yinzer.” Her parents grew up across the street from each other in a small town where most people worked in the steel mills. Their Italian and Slovak families were a strong part of her childhood which included foods, holidays and religion. Several of her characters are based on her family members and other Pittsburghers. 

Kaia has a background in legal and technical writing including training manuals, training presentations and legal documents. She is also an excellent tailor and patternmaker. Her IMDb page lists her work on two full-length films as a costumer.

She is particularly inspired by the Hat Squad books of Karen Rose and Joe Lansdale’s novels, although her first love was Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky. She follows numerous other authors and reads every day. She currently lives in suburban Pittsburgh with her Norwegian Elkhound, Boss.

To purchase The First Born Son and follow Kaia’s writing journey, check out her website: Kaia Misk, Author

Becoming a ruthless mob boss like his father is the last thing Frankie wants, but when Sofia’s father is gunned down, Frankie must become the very thing he loathes to protect the woman he loves. Sofia was a devoted girlfriend to Frankie, until he stood her up and she questioned his fidelity. Now that she’s alone and rich, mafia suitors slither around her. Marriage to him might be her only hope. They try to rekindle their love amidst a mob war. But can a hasty marriage withstand what the Mafia has in store?

An Oldie but a Goodie: Flight Path by Lisa Wilkes

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

Hi, I’m Lisa Wilkes. I am an author, flight attendant, licensed social worker (LMSW), and animal rescuer. I live in Florida with my spouse and a handful of adorable rescued furbabies. I often joke that I run a mini zoo but, with each passing year, it seems to get less mini! Which is fine by me.

Flight Path is my debut romance novel, published by The Wild Rose Press in 2020.

Callie Schneider, the book’s free-spirited protagonist, doesn’t simply march to the beat of a different drum, she breaks out dancing. And singing. And grabbing a partner to join her as she twirls around.

This whimsical stewardess believes tethers are for boats and roots are for trees. In Callie’s fast-paced, jet-setting world, freedom is the key to happiness. Although her apartment is located in San Francisco, her true home is someplace among the clouds, cruising at a speed of 40,000 miles per hour toward the next amazing destination. Callie is a daydreamer, a creative soul with dreams as wild as her layover in South Florida last month.

Speaking of that overnight, there are a few details Callie can’t remember. It’s not her fault she partied big; her long-time buddy was working that airline trip, and he’s the absolute best bad influence Callie’s ever known. When repercussions from that evening come back to haunt Callie, she is forced to make an uncomfortable decision. One that could cost her everything.

Flight Path is a tale of unexpected love. It explores the power and authenticity of romance—even for those who dodge every relationship, for fear that it might curtail their independence. This whimsical novel reminds us that freedom and love are not mutually exclusive; when pursued with equal fervor, they tend to complement each other quite nicely.

Flight Path is my first published novel, but not the first book I wrote. My previous books (all 12 of them) remain unpublished. I found it nearly impossible to break into the literary industry. Mountains of rejection letters take a toll on a person, even a fiercely optimistic individual like myself. For a few years, I was shattered. My heart had broken one time too many. I lost all hope in fulfilling my childhood dream of being a published author.

Then, in late 2018, I penned Flight Path. I was in grad school at the time and managed to finish the entire book during winter break. Writing a full-length novel in one month is unusual for me! This storyline had been brewing in my mind for ages. I decided, why not? Might as well give this silly writing dream one last shot. I figured if I could return to graduate school in my mid-thirties, with a spouse and a full-time traveling gig and a home full of rescue animals, I could do anything. So, I sucked up my pride and continued chasing that crazy ambition I’d fantasized about since youth.

Flight Path was inspired by my experience in the aviation industry, along with a detailed dream I had while living in Lower Pac Heights, an iconic neighborhood in San Francisco. This was my first novel featuring a flight attendant. I wanted to give the world a glimpse inside the life of a professional traveler. In addition, I aimed to inspire those who break the mold, the ones who believe that life is meant to be savored and enjoyed and appreciated. Risk-takers, daydreamers, and mavericks could revel in this tale of dazzling, breathtaking love…found in the least likely of places.

When it comes to my novels, I’m a planner. I let the concept ruminate in my head for months before setting pen to paper. I outline each novel, although occasionally my well-laid plan is scrapped in favor of an alternate ending. When I write, I become obsessive. Full-throttle mode doesn’t begin to describe my writing style. Books take me anywhere from four to six months to complete, with Flight Path being the rare exception.

On March 31, 2023, my second novel, Mid-Flight was published. Although this book features a different flight attendant, Lexi Brennan works at the same airline as Callie. There are a few obvious similarities between the two books, although Mid-Flight’s plot and genre deviate significantly from those of its predecessor. Mid-Flight is set in 2037/2038. This dystopian thriller/romance hybrid depicts love in a chilling, post-apocalyptic setting. It is a story of loss and redemption. It is also a tale of love’s amazing ability to transform us all.

100% of my royalties from the first week of sales for Mid-Flight, March 31st through April 6th, will be donated to Rags to Riches Animal Rescue, Inc., a 501(c)(3) here in Tampa.

Rags to Riches is one of the amazing nonprofits I partner with on a regular basis. They take on the hard cases, never turning down a chance to save an animal in need. I hope to start my own nonprofit someday. In the meantime, I am thrilled to help by contributing my time, energy, and resources to existing charitable organizations. After all, my books are meant to be inspiring, to elicit an emotional response from readers eager to explore worlds unknown. What better way to spread joy than by using those same books, written with a lot of grit and even more heart, to benefit the people and animals who need it most? So, that’s what I intend to do.

You can follow Lisa Wilkes on her website: Books by Lisa Wilkes

Amazon: Lisa Wilkes

Instagram: Lisa Wilkes (@travelisa1984)

Lisa’s animal rescue Instagram page: furever-luvd_fosters-n_flights

Flight Path and Mid-Flight can both be purchased on Amazon.

Flight attendant Callie Schneider doesn’t remember much about her wild South Florida layover. Her one night stand with sexy stranger Andrew was great, but a relationship is the last thing on her mind. Her life, a blend of global adventures and dazzling nights, is already perfect. Repercussions from that night threaten her carefree lifestyle and she is forced to reevaluate what is truly important. Will a bi-coastal romance filled with surprises she could never imagine finally bring her down to earth?