This Blog Has Moved!

I have relocated my blog to WordPress. Lots of reasons. I was bored. I want to participate in Triberr reblogging and comment syndication. Their themes are just prettier. 

Anyhow, most of the major links on this blog now redirect to their counterparts on the new site, but just in case one doesn't, you can now find me at: http://wendysrusso.wordpress.com.

Hope to see you there!

#SixSunday - Circle of the Butterfly #4

Last Week, Liasneh's box opened, releasing butterflies into Erik's throne room, and revealing a dead child laid to rest with wild flowers. This next six happens roughly at the same time, hundreds of miles away. The point of view belongs to Erik's son, Prince Briar, who along with two of Colette's guardians, is following the path of destruction left by Liasneh's men through a region called "The Ruby String." The three were sent into the woods simply to punish the prince for embarrassing his father. The rumors weren't taken seriously by Erik's court; Briar and the knights weren't expected to find anything.

---

Death waited for them beyond the veil of smoke.

The wind shifted, Briar dug in his heels, and his horse charged deeper into the burning woods.

It was neither bravery nor desire on his part; he'd never been accused of having much of the former, and the latter he reserved for carnal delights. Anticipation pushed him between the smoldering trees and into the clearing moments before a comet crossed behind him, spooking his horse.

The prince pushed up from the ground just enough to spit out dirt and watched with awe the ring of fire chasing a flurry of leaves along the tree line.

He followed the flame until his eye fell on Shannen standing with her arms outstretched, eyes cast skyward, balanced upon the village well in the eye of the storm.

---

Please check out the other talented writers participating in this week's Six Sentence Sunday. These are some of my favorites: Sarah Ballance, Krystal Wade, Monica Enderle Pierce, Siobhan Muir, Sarah W., Pippa Jay, Kelly Seguin, and Steven Montano.

Cover Reveal: The Neumarian Chronicles - Weighted, by Ciara Knight

Weighted
Prequel to The Neumarian Chronicles (coming 2013)
by Ciara Knight

The Great War of 2185 is over, but my nightmare has just begun. I am being held captive in the Queen’s ship awaiting interrogation. My only possible ally is the princess, but I’m unsure if she is really my friend or a trap set by the Queen to fool me into sharing the secret of my gift. A gift I keep hidden even from myself. It swirls inside my body begging for release, but it is the one thing the Queen can never discover. Will I have the strength to keep the secret? I’ll know the answer soon. If the stories are true about the interrogators, I’ll either be dead or a traitor to my people by morning.

Available in August 2012.
Add Weighted to Goodreads shelf!

Evolution Thursdays: Kate Evangelista

When Kate Evangelista was told she had a knack for writing stories, she did the next best thing: entered medical school. After realizing she wasn't going to be the next Doogie Howser, M.D., Kate wandered into the Literature department of her university and never looked back. Today, she is in possession of a piece of paper that says to the world she owns a Literature degree. To make matters worse, she took Master's courses in creative writing. In the end, she realized to be a writer, none of what she had mattered. What really mattered? Writing. Plain and simple, honest to God, sitting in front of her computer, writing. Today, she has four completed Young Adult novels.

Kate can be found at the following places online: Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon

Lovely readers, meet Kate! Kate, lovely readers.

First of all, I would like to thank Wendy for inviting me over on her blog today. It's a pleasure. *waves at everyone*

Thank you for coming, Kate! What gave you the idea for Taste?

The main idea for Taste came from the practice at the school I used to teach at. In the afternoons they would ring this bell that signals to the students that they should all move to the guardhouse to wait for their parents to pick them up. Of course, there was a practical reason for this, but my brain started thinking of something else. Like: what happens at night in this school? So, the Night Students were born.

Do you recall the first scene you wrote?

The first scene I wrote was Phoenix waking up in the library to the tolling of the school bell. I knew from the very beginning that it was how the story would start.

And that scene is killer! How about a scene that you loved but ended up cutting?

Definitely. It was a scene that involved Phoenix and Luka. Very romantic. Sadly, I couldn't keep it. Sigh.

Oh...I have a soft spot in my heart for Luka. And I usually have an a-ha moment, where an insignificant detail becomes something really important. Did you have a moment like that? Will it spoil the plot to tell me what it was?

Yes, I had several of them while writing Taste. I can't share them here because it would spoil too much of the book. Safe to say, when I write, I usually don't know what happens next until I start a new chapter, which is why most of my aha moments are spoilery. *laughs*

Are you surprised where the story took you? Or if ended up where you planned, were you surprised how you got there?

That's the thing about Taste. I already knew how it would end from the time I started writing it, so it was just a matter of connecting point A with point Z.

I understand that. Finally, what story idea is sitting in the class right now, raising his hand madly, begging you to call on him?

So many. The situation brings me back to my teaching days when everyone wanted to answer the question. But I'm thinking of trying a contemporary YA romance. I've never written one of those yet.

Thank you for joining us for Evolution Thursday, Kate! Everyone, I admonish you to go directly to Amazon and buy this book. It's seriously in my top five favorite books ever.



Come back next week for Evolution Thursday. Shannon Eckrich is going to tell us all about "The Other Side of Forever."

Cover Reveal: Denied, by Kinley Baker

I don't think I can explain how excited I am for this book! It's a sequel of Ruined, which I highly recommend that you add to the top of your To-Be-Read list, if you haven't already!

DENIED
SHADOWED LOVE, BOOK TWO
By Kinley Baker
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Publisher: Crescent Moon Press

When invaders brutally massacred the women and children of the Varner, Caleb witnessed loss and destruction on a scale few can comprehend. As the leader of a race on the brink of extinction, his only hope for survival is gaining acceptance into the Shadow Shifter Kingdom. Struggling with new customs, he meets Tabitha, a woman who challenges his limits.

Refused the right to join the king’s guard because of her gender, Tabitha must be stronger than the men to prove she deserves to be the first accepted female Warrior in the kingdom. She believes Caleb will help improve her abilities, until she learns her goals conflict with the foundation of his culture.

When the realm is attacked, Tabitha and Caleb must come together not only to fight, but to find the strength to win against an evil with the potential to destroy everything they revere most--including each other.

Add DENIED as To-Read on GoodReads!

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#SixSunday - Circle of the Butterfly #3

In last week's six, Liasneh outed Sister Colette's secret to the king and his court. A birthday might seem a little thing, but the Kelmarine have celebrated Colette's birth on the winter solstice for thousands of years. Combine that with her advanced age, and the "summer baby" fact is more than simply shocking; it's an explanation of sorts for why a woman who's supposed to be immortal isn't.

I'm skipping ahead here a bit. After a tense conversation about defiance of the gods, Liasneh plunges her sergeant's sword into the box. She offers the ominous display as a birthday gift to her dear sister, and leaves the way she came, through a ring of blue smoke.

---

Colette pulled against the knights that held her back but couldn't free herself. The top of the box split, then the walls unfolded and fell to the floor with a series of bangs that silenced the room. Thousands of butterflies fluttered up into the air, revealing Liasneh’s gift as they cleared the space.

[A guest of the king's] young daughter, Princess Vanessa let out a blood curdling scream.

A little girl in a white dress, five years old, perhaps six, lay upon a cloud of wild flowers. It would have been a lovely wake for a soul so young, if not for the massive blade pinning her to the floor.

---

This is the last six I'm posting from the prologue, so I'll explain. Twelve Oracles are needed to destroy Liasneh. The little girl would have been the twelfth.

Please check out the other authors at Six Sentence Sunday. Some of my favorites are Sarah Ballance, Krystal Wade, Monica Enderle Pierce, Siobhan Muir, Sarah W., Pippa Jay, Kelly Seguin, and Steven Montano.

Writers! Participation in SSS is straightforward. Submit a link to the host site between 6:00 pm Tuesday and 11:59 pm on Saturday. Post a six sentence excerpt on your blog by 9 am Eastern (US) on Sunday.

#Reblogging @rainyofthedark

Guest Post: 3 Reasons Your Villain Should be Both Scary and Endearing (via Rainy of the Dark)

Any great storyteller knows that they key to an exciting narrative is the creation of conflict. When you’re writing a suspenseful or scary story, this conflict often comes in the form of a villain, either real or fictionalized, that must be defeated or brought to justice. Pick any crime or suspense…