Julieus: God of Creation

Upon the creation of the world, stones collided and exploded. The God of Creation, Julieus, sprang forth from the explosion, fully formed. He is said to have shaken the dust from his robes, looked about the barren land, and covered everything in sight with gold.

Where the Goddess Kristana built the natural world, Julieus created material items, decorating the land with marble and gemstones. He was the one to inspire the First People to build grand buildings in honor of him and the material items he so greatly valued. As such, he takes great pride in the beauty of things, and surrounds himself with splendor.

The God of Creation is best known for the shimmering, glass-like stones that surround the Wishing Tree in the Forest of Luas. They reflect the Wishing Flowers on the branches, thus reflecting the beauty of Kristana’s creations—so they may be forever remembered together.

His direct descendants are the tradesmen, those that create material things to better the world around them. He is celebrated during Mramur, a holiday dedicated to the material, and people often craft elaborate items in his honor during this time.

Like his precious gemstones, however, Julieus can be cold. He values justice above all else, and is quite rigid with his decisions.


Buy the first book in the Anastasia Series

Princess Anastasia Piliar's life takes a sudden turn when she is unceremoniously reunited with her home world after ten years. There, she must reacquaint herself with her people, her world, and the magic that surrounds them.

But war is brewing. The magical protections around the royal city are being pushed to their limits. The monstrous beasts that murdered Anastasia's grandparents, and caused her family to flee, have returned and are wreaking havoc on the realms.

There is a tremendous power inside Anastasia, which could be the key to saving the realms.

If only she understood what it was.

Buy it on Amazon here.

Get the eBook!

Book Spotlight: Double Life

By: S. Usher Evans

For my first ever book spotlight, I’d like to introduce you to the captivating world of Razia. By day, she’s a droll scientist that studies and records planets. By night, she’s the galaxy’s only female pirate, and a damn good bounty hunter. Of course, she struggles with proving herself in a man’s world, while trying to balance her day job. What ensues is an enthralling tale about a young woman going after what she wants most in the world, while slowly building herself along the way.

So, I first discovered this book at Florida SuperCon almost four years ago. I was looking at releasing my own book at the time and was scouring the author tables for advice about what to do.

Enter: S. Usher Evans.

She talked with me for about an hour, detailing how she went from having a sturdy day job, to pursuing her dream of being a full-time author. (Spoiler: she’s been incredibly successful at it. Check out her website and her books here)

Of course, after our lengthy conversation, I wanted to buy one of her books. And she directed me to Razia. I had been going through a tough time with books then, finding a lot of YA work dull and predictable. So, when she told me the protagonist was in her early twenties, and therefore not subject to falling into the tropes and clichés of YA, I was sold.

Some sci-fi novels are difficult to comprehend, are dry, and plain. This is not the case for the Razia series. Sush’s writing is descriptive and enjoyable. The characters are relatable, the world is imaginative, and everything feels attainable. You can understand exactly what the characters are doing, though their technology is foreign to us. The banter is witty; the dialogue reads like real people having real conversations. Nothing is stilted.

This series is a great read. But if sci-fi isn’t your thing, Sush has an incredible array of books to choose from, in a number of different genres. Give her a chance. You will not be disappointed.

Advice About Conventions

Back in August, I participated in my very first ComicCon! Ever since I self-published my first novel (check out Call Me Anastasia!), I’d wanted to sell my work at a convention. After reading some blog posts about conventions, and speaking to a few indie authors at Florida SuperCon, I made sure I was completely prepared.

What I forgot:

FOOD. Bring some food with you, outside of granola bars. It’s a long day and unless you have someone along with you that can go get you something, you’re going to be starving.

Plan raffles and giveaways beforehand, so you don’t look like a putz scrambling around. I found I garnered a crowd by offering a free copy of my book at two separate times throughout the day. It made people stop and look at my booth. Plus, everyone that entered gave me their email, which will come in handy when I eventually get my mailing list together. Those people could turn into your trusted followers! Keep track of them.

Have a grab-bag of things to write inside peoples’ books when they ask you to sign them, again, so you don’t look like a mindless putz. Ideas: “I hope you enjoy!” or “Keep writing!” or something that pertains to the content of your novel.

I had someone ask me who I was and what I was selling. They didn’t realize I was an author, and my name wasn’t visible on my banners, as they were behind my table. Some conventions will provide you with a banner, showcasing that you’re an author. If not, be sure to put it up yourself. That way, when people walk by, they know exactly who you are.

What I did:

I made sure I packed all my books, and got my banners and accoutrements packed in the car beforehand. 

I made myself a thermos of coffee and a bottle of water. Though the convention was only one day, I knew standing, smiling, and conversing with people all day would be exhausting. And I brought my author mug, which earned me a couple chuckles.

If you have a special tablecloth or something, make sure you iron it beforehand. There’s nothing worse than a creased tablecloth. It makes your display look hastily thrown together and not professional. Same goes for your banners. Make sure they’re not wrinkled.

Bring some knickknacks to decorate your table—as long as you have the room. Don’t crowd your table, but also don’t make it cluttered. There’s a fine middle ground.

Make sure you have a “booth babe” or someone with you so you can escape—I mean, use the restroom in peace. Same goes for eating breaks. Plus, these people tend to help sell your books, and can attest to the quality/relate to the potential readers.

Order some jazzy book stands and make your display look nice and neat. Need some inspiration? Check out indie authors’ instagrams. They usually post photos of their booths online. And because they’ve done it before you, they know what works and doesn’t work.

I was told that as a vendor, you should never sit during a convention. You need to be extroverted and open to draw people in. If you sit, or seem like you’re closed off, people will treat you as such. Therefore, wear some comfortable shoes and hunker down for the long haul.

Greet EVERYONE. It can get tedious after a while, especially when the same four people continuously walk past you. However, a guy told other people that I was the nicest person at the convention, which drew in customers. I also had a young woman tell me that she finally stopped at my booth because I greeted her and complimented her on her shirt. It costs nothing to be kind.

Overall, it was a great first convention. I really connected with some great people, and I earned some loyal readers. Plus, three months later, someone recognized me by one of my books, remembering me from the convention!

Friday Blogs

Happy Friday!

The best day of the week, in my opinion, will be a little different from the rest of the blog topics. A few years back I got this nifty little book full of writing prompts. And now you, my dear readers, get to, well, read them.

Each week, I'll post a different prompt and my response to it. Feel free to write a story of your own and send it to me via the contact page! I'm still building my website and working out the kinks, but I do hope to be able to post your prompt responses here, too.

As always, happy reading and writing! And have an epic weekend!