Skhye Moncrief's... 

OTHER WORLDS & REALITIES
  • World Build like an Anthropologist & Geologist
  • The Craft of Writing, HEAs, Writing Resources, Guest Authors 

 

Praise for Skhye:

  • SKHYE'S RAMBLINGS (2011) noted 1 out of 10 inspiring websites for creative writers by WM Freelance Connection with an actor/film producer & Write101.com.
  • "Wonderfully raw, deliciously erotic...One seriously-talented author!" COUGAR ~PearlG"
  • "In a long time, I haven't seen characters so well-developed as in this e-book. Engaging...characters so easy to relate to and love." COUGAR ~Lourdesatkinson
  • "Once Moncrief wove her written magic, I was spellbound & entranced..." NOR Top Pick ~Erona Diane Hill 
  • "Moncrief was VERY inspired!" FERAL FALLOUT ~Mary's Naughty Whispers 
  • "FERAL FEVER was INCREDIBLE...teddy-bear alpha males..." ~MaryP
  • "Sizzling sex & action that will keep the reader turning pages." Resurrecting the Beast ~Candy
  • "The love story...is woven seamlessly into a tale filled with lots of action & hot shifter sex." COUGAR ~Candy
  • "Moncrief seamlessly blended earth religion, new-age mysticism, paranormal events, shape-shifting rogue spies, & a who-dunnit-twist." FERAL FASCINATIONS ~LynnMarie
  • "You're replacing O'Connor as my favorite e-book author." COUGAR ~MariaA

                                                                                                 

Skhye's Ramblings...

Copyright Infringement: Author Names...Huh?

Now, we just have to face the fact that we're all screwed in some way...Do you have the same first name as a famous singer? Yes? Because you can be sued! This is as sad as Paypal choosing what we can read in the great Paypal Book Banning of 2012. Look out, authors, someone is striking the proverbial match again. ;P It's almost as if all books are back in that old steel can, facing a good torching. And this time it all starts with the name two people chose for their child...Is Adele Dubois the romance writer infringing on Adele the singer? What's ironic is that the author was born/named before the singer. 

Crazy. Crazy. It's always something! Isn't it? Geesh. Now's the time to stand up and tell Sony to stick it where everyone informed Paypal was a good place to tuck that fluffy feather one often wears in his hat. If you're up to shaking a proverbial picket sign, leave a comment at the article link above. ~Skhye


Why D.X. Luc wrote TOUCH OF THE GODS

***Well, I finally seem to be getting focused once again.  That feat required a whole lot of decluttering the garage, attic, closets, cabinets, etc. Well, how else are you going to find anything you've ratholed away to pack for a move? *rolls eyes* It's true. I'm a ratholer! I know. That's not even a word!!! But it sure comes in handy ;P And, hopefully, focusing with writing will be my new positive behavior. But who can grumble about throwing away all that swag I had a terrible compulsion to buy? Um, my husband used to say I had enough of it to keep us warm through nuclear winter!!! (Scary. But females are hard-wired to forage and gather. I just have a weird grocery list!) 

So, who's my big guest today? D. X. Luc, another author I met since signing on with my latest publisher. So, let's see if she reveals any great points about publishing or Greek gods in her introspective jaunt down memory lane! ~Skhye


 

Why I wrote Touch of the Gods: The Wager


I wish I could sit here and say I came up with the idea. And that it was because of some great mystical prophecy to write for the gods of Greek myth. Sadly, this wasn't the case. My eight year old daughter, Trinity thought up this idea.


True story.


But after she came to me with the simple hopes that one day Hephaestus would find love, the story took off. I had to first think about the plot. I knew Hephaestus would finally be divorced from his wife, Aphrodite, Goddess of Love, yet there needed to be more. He needed to find his true love woo her and finally live happily ever after.

The rest of the plotting came from watching a poker tournament late one night and the light bulb went off. What if there was a bet that took him on his journey to earth? And of all the gods to place the wager, it would be Ares, God of War, and Eros, God of Love. The age old question “Is all fair in love and war?” would come into play.

In the beginning, the book was to be a novella, but something felt off and I actually deleted everything. When I went back into reworking my story, it took off, still in a similar direction, but different as well.

Fighting, drama, comedy, hot sex, and a love story of the ages is all readers will find in this book. I loved writing this tale and hope those that read it, will agree as well.

On a side note: I did come up with the title by myself! That counts too! ~D.X



Buy link: TOUCH OF THE GODS

DX online:

***D. X., I love how you recalled those pivotal ah-ha moments when the lightbulb went off! Sometimes, it's like blinking Christmas lights for moi. I suddenly see all these lights when before I simply had a dead chain after one point...Love the poker-game moment too. I've had a few watching, of all things, Modern Marvels. Or something equally geeky. But when you write futuristics and have always had a thing for how's-that-done or how'd-they-do-that, you tend to nucleate toward documentaries like THE HISTORY OF CONCRETE! lolllllllllll

And isn't it funny how if you "delete" a wip then go back and rewrite it that you write something more solid and fleshed out? It's like ditching the mangled stuff and rewriting it while weaving in all the goals, motivations, and conflict makes for an awesome reading experience. Sounds like you have a great story here. And based on the reviews posted at Amazon, oh boy, everyone buy a copy today! ;P Thanks for sharing, DX. And best of luck with this new gem's release. ~Skhye

Amazing Dropping E-reader Costs!


Flipping through the sale ads in today's newspaper, I was a bit stunned. Basic e-readers are getting cheaper every week. Well, I haven't looked in a few. But today, you can buy a basic Kindle for $39.99 (with special offers--i.e. by purchasing a Kindle Fire at $199.99). WOW! Do you have someone you'd like to buy a gift for? Maybe a teen? Mother's Day is May 13th. This is a deal!!! Heck, my basic Kindle was at least $99. I get the feeling it was more...

And the Nook Simple Touch is $79.99 at a few different stores today. I'm looking at the Best Buy ad with both e-readers at these low prices. ;P Some people are probably saying they can just read a story on their phones. Well, I want my gizmos!

And don't worry about expensive cover costs. The Nook Simple Touch Reader B&N Quote Covers are $14.99 at Best Buy too! It looks like a good day to knock out some Mother's Day shopping. Swing by Best Buy. ~Skhye

Romance Trading Cards Bonanza: Request Yours!

CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF ROMANCE-TRADING-CARD RAIN!!!



It's time to shower the world with bits o' paper. But while wearing a smile! ;P
(I love love love The Big Bang Theory! Sheldon's such a hoot! He must be because he's a TEXAN!!! Lordy, Skhye's rambling again...) Back to the chance of rain...



Don't worry about the weather or the cards. These cards are loaded with hot guys among other interesting things for romance readers! Better still. They're FREE. And they're guaranteed not to muss a hair on your head! So, what do you have to do to receive a bit o' this magic rain? 

  1. Check out my romance trading cards at my website.
  2. Shoot me a request at skhye@skhyemoncrief.com (here through the email link or at my website by clicking E-mail Skhye among the buttons) and be certain to tell me which cards you already own to avoid receiving duplicates.
  3. I'll send you 3-4, depending on my stock of cards. While supplies last! I could run out of cards.

***I am working on new cards. Most will be cover cards because my amazing cover artist has done such an awesome job! I can't stand the thought of violating these images! Psst, Erin is inexpensive and needs a lot to keep her busy in her nesting stage of the last few months of her pregnancy. So, pester her for cover art!

AUTHORS: Give your cards away this weekend too...here!!!
SHOUT FROM THE ROOFTOPS: I'm opening this weekend up for authors with romance trading cards to post the link to their cards/website and instructions in how to request their cards here. So, collectors, stay tuned. You never know who else is giving cards away! Let's work on that old adage--When it rains, it pours! For romance readers, that is. ;P

HAPPY WEEKEND and enjoy the shower! ~Skhye

E-book Page Count: How long are e-books anyway? #amreading #booklook #bookbuzz

"That e-book novella just needed to be longer!" ~Reviewer

Have you ever heard a reviewer say that about one of your novel-length e-books? Can you imagine someone telling you to make an epic-length novel longer? 



What about getting enough story for the cover price? That's another gripe I see in this type of review over at the Kindle store, especially among the 99-cent books! After editing reviews for a review site and reading many reviews of friends' books, I've noticed that readers really don't realize e-book length varies based on the formatting choices of the individual who formatted the books. Remember, not every book goes through a publisher these days! If you don't write or format e-books, you're probably not in the know about this subject. So, what in the heck does page count mean in e-books? 



No, you aren't dreaming. You simply can't take the number of pages noted in an e-book at face value. 

How to determine e-book length:
Locate the book you wish to purchase or review at the following Fictionwise, Smashwords, or ARE. I chose these sites because they always note the word count of a book. However, I've noticed the word count noted is from cover to cover instead of just the actual body of the story. My FERAL FEVER is approximately 110,000 words. It pops up 11K+ in word count around the internet. Well, that's because a computer is noting word count in our story documents, including all the story's pertinent details (chatter) before & after a tale! But what's 1-2K words in an epic-length novel like FERAL FEVER? However, that small number of words could be a deal breaker when the length of a story is based on the reported page numbers if a story's formatting is misleading! 

What does Word Count Mean? 
My publisher notes their word count at their site. Now, this means that word count can vary from publisher to publisher. But Romance Writers of America (RWAfollows this same breakdown...

Epic Novel = 100,000 words and up; 400 pages and up (double-spaced)

Full Novel = 80,000-100,000 words; 320-400 pages (double-spaced)

Mid Novel = 61,000-79,000 words; 244-316 pages (double-spaced)

Category = 40,000-60,000 words; 160-240 pages (double-spaced)

Novella = 20,000-39,000 words; 80-156 pages (double-spaced)

Short Story = 9,000-19,000 words

Note how NOVELLA ends at 40K-word stories. *wink* I tend to write mid-length novels these days because the ole subconscious has got the feel of mid-length pacing and pulls one off whether I want to or not. But, on occasion, I write full or epic-length novels given the story requirements when it comes to the number of heroes I'm writing (multiple or not) and how to work out their "romantic growth" via their "character growth". Yep, I said that about romance (romantica or not). If there is no character growth in romance, the story falls short for me. And if a romance lacks "romantic" growth, the story reads like erotica. THAT'S what reviewers mean by "This just read like erotica!" in a review. ;P So, for 99 cents, you might be getting more than you thought. 

Check out the story length (word count) at the few sites I mentioned earlier and see what you've been reading! Do the numbers suddenly make sense in the amount of time you've invested in a read? I bet you'll be thinking "That's why it took me so long to read that book!" or "No wonder that story read so fast!" Page count in e-books is not a standardized word count across the publishing industry these days. So now you can rethink you get what you pay for with e-book length...Me, I don't buy a book if I can't see how long it is via the word count. 

~Skhye

Hippity H0p: Skhye's Stop on the Hoppy Easter Blog H0p!



Watch out! All sorts of crazed bunnies are hippity hopping for romance from now through April 8th!!!

Welcome to the HOPPY EASTER BLOG HOP!



Who needs the Easter bunny? With all sorts of prizes up for grabs, your basket will be overflowing with goodies...



So get hopping over to the
Main List of Participating Blogs to sniff out all the prizes to be had! But don't leave before entering to win my prize...

Skhye's Prize:
an autographed paperback copy of
FERAL FEVER


***Warning: Multiple sex partners (heroine winds up with 5 mates!).

Read
Chapter 1 and blurb/reviews.

How to Enter:
  1. Leave a comment to this blog post, explaining whether you'd be happy to be the bunny chased by 7 Tiger Lords or simply pursued by just one. And, yes, you want to be caught! So, what's a Tiger Lord, you ask? First, growl. You must growl just a little--rag it out like a tiger. Then paint some stripes all over your body. No body fur. Nope. Just supple flesh with stripes. And muscles. Who wants a scrawny lord? And be prepared to be mated. Mating is extremely important. Not to mention, each Tiger Lord you allow to catch you becomes your mate! Now, you can be choosy because the female does the choosing. *wink* And it's easy to be selective when each Lord has his own little personality quirks. So, think big hunky striped guy bulging in all the right places (um, muscles!!!) with a whole lot of mating on his mind before you answer the question to enter to win by midnight CST, April 8th, 2012.
  2. Subscribe to this blog to learn who the winner is. I post the winner as the final comment to the blog post after randomly selecting the winner from all those who commented correctly on this blog. How does this help me? I have chronic health problems that sometimes make contacting winners difficult. The fact you're subscribed and learn the winner's identity (possibly you) is helpful in that you can be certain to contact me from your end if you win while I work to locate you from my end. This is important because my email to a winner has wound up trashed by the winner's spam filter before...So, lurk long enough to learn the winner's name!
I'll post the winner's name April 9th or 10th. Sometimes, I get really busy and distracted. ;P We're moving overseas!!! I might not announce the winner until the 10th simply because of my unruly schedule.

Good luck! Grab that Easter basket. And happy hunting down all these lovely prizes. After all, where else are you going to seed your future with love and happily ever afters? ~Skhye



News & WRITING LINKS: for readers & writers~

Well, I need a week off. I think I'm going to skip Blog Town until the Easter blog hop. *sigh* Vacation wore me out (5 days forced march at Disney World to a person with Lyme and various other lovely associated syndromes is like--as my husband summed it up---like taking an 84-year-old grandmother with a walker to shuffle around Disney World). By the way, I walked quite a bit without a complaint. It was the standing AFTER riding bumpy rides like Space Mountain that threw me around like a slingshot's stone that left me sitting out standing in lines (the painful part of life after back surgery if you set those nerve bundles yelling at you to stop whatever you're doing) with the kiddo and husband. Throw in the stress of my internet NOT working forever, my computer crashed from that Root Kit Virus (damn you, creator of that curse), and everyone coming to visit because we're moving overseas (oh, there's been many many an appointment involved with that too since I returned home from vacation) and you can imagine how this pooped out 84-yr-old-wannabe body says it's outta here! Blah blah blah. Skhye doth rambleth too much.

SKHYE'S CONDENSED RAMBLES:


FERAL FASCINATIONS was reviewed...
"Whew! What a ride! I absolutely LOVED this book. The world building is fantastic, the characters are very realistic in spite of the science fiction, and I loved how even the secondary characters had a part to play. Those who read this book are really going to love Strakar, he is a totally loose cannon in my opinion, and I’m hoping he turns up in future books, or maybe even his own, hint, hint, hint. Oh, and the love scenes are smokin’! Overall this is one of the best scifi adventure erotic romances I have had the pleasure to read. I am really looking forward to the rest of the books in this series!" 5 cups
~Regina,
CoffeeTimeRomance


And check out the Coffee Time Romance blog! Lots of news there!!!

MY LATEST WINNER:
Congrats, June Manning, who won 
my latest contest and an autographed paperback copy of WERESCAPE 3: BEAUTY & THE BRUTE (one of the books Paypal banned for awhile--post 1 & post 2, just in case you've missed out on all the dirt). June and I have already connected. So, all is well!

ONLINE WRITING GIZMO: FREE
ProWritingAid works like AutoCrit's editing wizard... These are especially helpful in finding repetive words in cover blurbs and query letters. ;P

Amazing Cover Artist
You can't go wrong with Erin! She's inexpensive and determined to make unique cover art. Here are the two sets of covers she's made for me. Her link is on both pages of cover art...
  1. Werescape
  2. CyberOps
  3. Another cover she made for me--ANCIENT MUSINGS
Okay, I'm off to find a happy place to pretend I'm on vacation...Since authors have good imaginations, I bet it will be an awesome place! ;P ~Skhye



Kick-arse cover artist: new WERESCAPE covers (books 4-7)



Well, after I learned the great Paypal book banning killed my Werescape series, I decided to take things into my own hands and had covers designed to sell the next few Werescape tales myself wherever I could. FYI, I did not receive the rights back to the first 3. Thank goodness the books are now available online because the book ban was lifted. But I had invested time and money in covers for Books 4-7. So, I will be releasing the series from now on my own (edited by friends I have in the industry, of course)--just to cover my tail in case Paypal loses its mind again. Not to mention, I can't seem to do much writing with everything entailed in moving overseas. However, this Werescape project is keeping my nose clean! Or I'd probably be depressed that I'm doing nothing toward writing new stories.

So, I'd like to share my covers with everyone...






Um, isn't there a NATIONAL LOVE MY COVER ARTIST DAY?
Because, I'd have to share the love with
Erin Dameron-Hill! Want amazing covers at low rates and an artist with an awesome personality? Just in case you are hesitant, check out the covers she's made for me. 





Don't you just love muscles? I've always had this affinity toward muscles enhanced with dirty smears. Okay, maybe not feces. But everything else that looks like grime fits the bill of big sweaty muscled guy...I found the background image last year, thinking it would work for Werescape trading cards. Then the covers I received from my publisher looked nothing like my chosen background. Oh well. I suppose that's the way of things. But Erin captured the essence of my vision: post-apocalyptic grunge something-or-another with a touch of military due to the evolution of the Werescape over the 50 years after the alien invasion of Earth. And, boy oh boy, Erin's awesome! Um, and, weeeeell, patient. *evil cackle* So, CONTACT ERIN TO HAVE COVERS DESIGNED EXACTLY THE WAY YOU WANT THEM MADE. Seriously, I'm extremely picky, and she never once cyber-smacked me! Promise. *wink* ~Skhye

Skhye Moncrief's March Booty & Elusive Beasties

 

18 & OLDER BOOK BLOGGER GIVEAWAY HOP

Oooooooo! March 22nd (tomorrow) is one of those days again...FREE STUFF ALERT! Throw in 18 & OLDER and you know my post will have a touch of naughty. Be warned!!! And, well, it should rain free stuff in March because there's a whole lot of luck involved with St. Patrick's Day.

Let's thank Getting Naughty Between the Stacks and Bitten by Paranormal Romance for organizing this awesome event.

Now, here's the links to the end of the rainbow, just in case you didn't catch a Leprechaun and need to locate the 101 pots o' gold. Aye, that's 101 participating blogs! *wink* So, here's your first glimpse of the loot...



SKHYE'S touch o' NAUGHTY:
Before I get into blog-hop particulars, I thought I'd demystify one of the world's great mysteries...What's worn under the kilt?


(Many thanks to Andrea's mom for spotting the legendary beastie and snapping a photo! This particular creature is as elusive as Nessie!)

BEER, ANYONE? Okay, so kilts are Scottish. *rolls eyes* Scots were once Irish! Attitudes stem from somewhere, right? And you probably don't want to know about the Scots-Irish or Presbyterians. *snort* {Skhye really needs to get out of the house more!} But, um, don't you just love plaid? I believe this subspecies is almost blackwatch--but the resolution is a tad poor. I'm not complaining or anything. Geesh! And, am I the only person wondering what these guys are thinking? Look at those expressions. Methinks someone had the audacity to ask them what they wear under the kilt! And just in case you don't think kilts should be in the mix with St. Patrick's Day, check out this other touch o' naughty.

Anyway, back to luck, luck, luck...



The Dirt About The Pot O' Gold:
THE 18 & OLDER HOP runs between March 22-25. You must enter to win each participating blog's prize following the instructions at each blog (posted by each blog owner). Just the standard old hop dirt, right?

Skhye's Prize:
An autographed paperback
copy of WERESCAPE 3: BEAUTY & THE BRUTE (Werescape e-format availability-- currently the only Werescape available in e-format on NOOK due to the Paypal scandal! However, Werescape 1: COUGAR is once again available in e-formats at All Romance E-books! Werescape 1 & 3 are now available at the Kindle store! All 3 books are available at NCP. Of course, books 1 & 2 are still available at Fictionwise.)



More about BEAUTY & THE BRUTE:
Read Chapter 11 naughty excerpt, & read all about what in book 1 got the series banned in The Great Paypal Book Banning!

REVIEWS
"I tend to treasure the first book of a new author (new to me) that makes me want to continue reading. It's hard to like one of their other books more than the first. Beauty and the Brute comes quite close in challenging my philosophy. Hands down this is a five star book but if I could give Cougar (book I) an extra half star I would. Brutus, from this book, won me over. I loved him. The author has a way of giving her hero strength and vulnerability. Let's not forget the sex. Moncrief has no inhibitions when it comes to her "were" character's sexual tension and sexual gratification. Very few authors touch on were-animal sex but Skhye does it with great sensuality and gives the reader a yearning for more." ~Suzy Ivy (originally posted at Amazon)

"Lots of action and sex hot enough to melt its pages...Ms. Moncrief draws a vivid picture of a love that grows in spite of everything that tries to destroy it." ~Candy, SensualReads.com

How To Win Skhye's Prize:
Weeeeell, tell me if you'd like to find a kilted hero in the Werescape as a comment here to this blog post starting today--a day early. I've been thinking about having one a kilted hero. But way too many stories are bumping around inside my head. I keep telling myself not to conjure up any other heroes... So, just fill me in by midnight March 25th to enter to win my prize. I'll post the winner on the 26th or 27th. I'm having some technical difficulties with my internet--so, don't panic! I will return with bells on even if that involves the use of some duct tape. *wink* And please subscribe to this blog. I have a difficult time contacting winners because of my chronic health issues. Throw in I'm moving overseas (not to Ireland or Scotland, dabnabbit!) and keep learning I have yet another handful of appointments...Ugh! It's like they multiply exponentially like dust bunnies! So, it behooves you to lurk long enough to learn who wins just in case I type in the winner's email addy wrong or my message gets axed by his/her spam filter. I post the winner's name as the final comment to a contest post. The winner will be announced on this blog post's chatter thread!

So, may the luck o' the Irish be with ye! After all, 'tis March. ~Skhye

Online Writing Tool: evaluate your wip with a free gizmo~

It's one of those LUCKY days!



And, looky! Here's a cool place to plug some of your manuscript into: ProWritingAid
. You can analyze a piece of your writing and measure your progress toward eliminating the testy weeds hiding in your story's garden without worrying about having a plant guide to go by. *wink* [Um, I do hope someone will tell me if I start to sound too retarded...You know, like what happened with Rachel Ray! I just can't watch her shows anymore. *rolls eyes*] Anyway, hop over and see what the magic mirror reveals. You just never know whether you'll find your garden full of burrowing rodents or lovely daisies!


Can you tell I've been dealing with gardening lately?

As for online editing tools, I found another one years ago. Try AutoCrit. You can crunch 800 words for free. I highly recommend it for giving repetitive words the axe in a query synopsis! Of course, there's that site that makes you keep typing no matter what or your words disappear...Um, I can't even remember it's name because I don't need that kind of help. I could use a nanny and a clone machine. There are too many things going on with our move to Australia to allow for much writing progress on new books on my end though. But I will endeavor to prevail without the self-inflicted torture of my story vanishing word by word with some crazy software that makes me type every couple seconds! ~Skhye

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