Official Launch of Galaxy Nomads: Chronicles of the MacKenzie Clan

Today is the official launch of Galaxy Nomads: Chronicles of the MacKenzie Clan!

Join me at MPax's blog for an interview with Ryder MacKenzie that shares his unusual traits.

Cover Design by artist Retta Stephenson HERE.


Or you can get your copy of this ebook at Amazon or Smashwords today!

Galaxy Nomads

Chronicles of the MacKenzie Clan

The MacKenzie clan is forced to flee from the devastating destruction of a supernova and is challenged to a ruthless game of survival. When all seems hopeless, a new generation arises to battle their worst enemy in a unique battle of wits. Will the MacKenzies survive betrayal, pirates and wormholes to the outer quadrants? Here they find a new race of people on the Patchouli planet where the female is Alpha. They learn wisdom from the mystics and seers on their jaunt through the universe and from across the galaxy two brothers are reconciled to each other. They experience love and hate in the Merridian sector when a prince is abducted and must be rescued before a cruel cousin steals the throne. An epic read that will send you spiraling at warp speed through all the MacKenzie generations.

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Genre: Science Fiction/Adventure

Word Count: 95,410

Cover Art: Retta Stephenson

Cover Reveal: L.G. Keltner's "A Silent Soliloquy"

L.G. Keltner's new novel, A Silent Soliloquy, is in a Science Fiction/Dystopian genre.

The release date is July 6, 2015.

Cover art by Devross.

Length: 28,000 words

TIPPIE was created to be a weapon.  By all appearances, she's an ordinary girl of 18, and she uses that to her advantage in her work for The Facility.  What no one sees is that there's another girl buried deep inside.  She can't speak or control the movements of the body she inhabits.  As TIPPIE's silent passenger, she can only observe.  She uses the details she learns from TIPPIE's work to reconstruct the stories of other people's lives.  It helps her feel a little more connected to the world she can only watch.

When TIPPIE's work leads her to David, a young man with a haunted past and information that The Facility wants, TIPPIE uses her skills to earn his trust.  The silent girl beneath the surface knows that TIPPIE is only going to hurt him, but she can't help but feel for him.  Those feelings only grow, but she knows all too well that TIPPIE's work will soon come to an end.

L.G. Keltner spends most of her time trying to write while also cleaning up after her crazy but wonderful kids and hanging out with her husband.  Her favorite genre of all time is science fiction, and she’s been trying to write novels since the age of six.  Needless to say, those earliest attempts weren’t all that good. 

Her non-writing hobbies include astronomy and playing Trivial Pursuit.

You can typically find L.G. lurking around herblog, on Twitter, or on her Facebook page.

Pre-Order Links:

Amazon US

Amazon UK

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This Wednesday, June 17th, is the official launch of my new novel Galaxy Nomads: Chronicles of the MacKenzie Clan. Come and celebrate with me!

Flashback Friday - Seven Basic Plots

Welcome to Flashback Friday! Instead on re-inventing the wheel, I'll be sharing some of my favorite posts. Today I'm bringing back a post made on December 20, 2012 which I titled: Seven Basic Plots.

"Everything worth writing has already been written." This is an old saying that will undoubtedly turn out to be only partially true. Many scholars agree that there are only so many plots that can be written. Although the number varies greatly, depending on who you ask, perhaps the most well-known list of plots are the seven types of conflicts.

• Man vs. Nature
• Man vs. Man
• Man vs. Environment
• Man vs. Machines/Technology
• Man vs. The Supernatural
• Man vs. Self
• Man vs. God/Religion

If this is it, then where do we fit in? Why do we write? Because the beauty lies in the details. The number of different characters that can be written is infinite. And each character will handle the same conflict in an entirely different way.

Each setting that a writer creates challenges these characters in different ways. Unless you go about to consciously copy a novel, it won't be the same as the one before it.

We have to remember that when we write, it's not an exact science. There is the thrill of deciding how to tell the story we want to tell. That's half the fun!

If you truly believe in your story, then it's worth writing. What do you think?

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Attention: The official launch of my new book Galaxy Nomads: Chronicles of the MacKenzie Clan is coming June 17th! Celebrate with me at mpaxauthor.com.

So You're Beginning A New Story...

Right now you have a scrap of an idea bouncing around in your head. You ask yourself: what should I do next? Some people grab the seat of their pants and start writing. They can always come back later and tack on more at the beginning.

For me, I like to outline my idea. That way I can do research as I go, throw out those parts that don't work right and re-arrange the ideas to make a logical flow of content. I use 3x5 cards (sometime 5x8) for my outline. They usually work not only for the outline, but for character interviews. They help me keep track of the players in the story.

Another thing I've tried lately is using a mini-recorder. I tape my thoughts about a story at different times during the day. This works to catch subtle ideas that I wouldn't necessarily see when I'm working at writing them down on paper. When I play the recorder back I can also develop new plot ideas and new twists and turns while I'm listening. This has helped me on my latest story idea, a sequel to my new novel Galaxy Nomads: Chronicles of the MacKenzie Clan.

How do you begin a story? What tricks of the trade do you like best? Can you add your own ideas to these?

Writer's Block?

Have you sat at your computer or writing tablet and stared at a blank page for the longest time, saying: "I'm stuck!"? Maybe you really are stuck, but be careful of those nefarious intrusions that creep in to become excuses not to write.

The phone- Just as a new idea pops into your head it rings and you need to deal with the latest crisis with a friend or neighbor. Unless you're expecting an important call, let it ring.

The door- This is another taskmaster. Who is it and how important is it? Decide to accept the UPS package, but then get back to work. Tell your neighbor you are working right now; this is your time to shine.

Housework- If you have set a block of time aside to write, let it go. It will still be waiting for you when you have finished creating your story.

Children- This is a tough one, depending on their ages. If they are young, schedule your writing time during their nap time or while they are at school. You can explain to older children about your work schedule and unless it's an emergency, they should work on their homework or hobbies. It's not always perfect, but they should coincide.

It's easy get side-tracked with all kinds of things that seem important at the time. How important is your writing? Perhaps a new schedule will help get you un-stuck and writing freely once again. Try it for at least a week before deciding it doesn't work. Keep an open mind and a positive attitude. See what happens!

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Watch for the official launch of Galaxy Nomads on June 17th. More about this to follow later!

IWSG - Monday - Find Your Character's Voice

Welcome to the Insecure Writer's Support Group for June. We are meeting on the first Wednesday of the month, but I needed to post early. I hope this doesn't confuse you. This group is hosted by Alex J. Cavavaugh and you can visit the main website HERE. This is a bloghop so visit other members from the list at the website.

Find Your Character's Voice

You can find a character's voice by asking questions. Ask more questions than what does he/she look like. Nat Russo has an excellent post on his website: "How Do You Find A Character's Voice?". Here is an example of his questions:

• Who are you?
• What do you care about most in the world?
• What really ticks you off?
• If you could do one thing and succeed at it, what would it be?

Nat's interview questions make you realize the whole person. When you are finished asking questions, you may not write everything in your story, but your character, good or bad, is well rounded.