Author: AuthorCMHerndon

Super Secret List

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Okay ladies and gentleman. You found it. The Super Secret List… or else, not so secret since it’s on a public blog post, but, you know, we’ll work with it. It’s a special list, one I think might make many of you, my amazing, wonderful readers, very happy.

It’s the list of upcoming Safe Novels. And characters they feature.

Wait…what? Did she just say that? I know what you’re thinking… “OMG, what? Yes!” This is what you’ve been dying to know since you read the last one. Who is next? Which characters are next? You silently plead that your favorite is on the list. I can, however, honestly inform you that we’re about to have a change up. You thought Cole and his team were the only people to talk about? You thought they were the only characters worth knowing?

Well, of course not, and of course you hope for more than just Cole’s team. That’s why we have Ace. That’s why we have Ace Executive Protection Services. We have many teams. We have many bodyguards. We have more books!

Calm down, calm down, you want the list, that’s why you’re here. Let’s wait no longer. Currently, I do have a list of which characters are next, and some of those have a title to their novels. Here it goes, our super secret list:

 

Safe (Adrian and Mia)

Run (Chet and Eve)

Obsessed (Ro and Tori)

Reckless (Dakota and Raina)

Savage (Ace and Moira)

Unbroken (Bash and Ash)

Super Secret Untitled Safe Novel (Nikolai and Cevanna)

Super Secret Untitled Safe Novel (Charlotte/Charlie)

Super Secret Untitled Safe Novel (Chain)

Wow, what a list right? Allow me to introduce you to some disclaimers as well. Disclaimer #1: List is subject to change at the whim of the lovely author (me). Disclaimer #2: No release date has been set for any of the above novels.

Hope you enjoy this list. Tell your friends but remember, SHHHH! It’s a secret!

Much Love,

C.M.

 

Villains

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There are few things I love more than a good villain. You know the kind, the one that gets under your skin, the one that makes you worry about what he’s going to do next, even that one villain who makes you giggle and want to follow him instead of the hero (Loki anyone?).

I try to include all types of villains throughout my writing. There’s so much to work with, but one important thing about a villain, they have to have a reason. If your villain has no rhyme or reason for what he’s doing, there’s not much point to the story is there? The hero might be trying to stop him, sure, but why?

When writing a villain, there are plenty of paths to choose. Did the hero somehow wrong him? Perhaps in the past? Perhaps it was the beginning of the book when he accidentally broke the to-be villain’s favorite magic wand.

There has to be goals, end games, plot lines to look forward to.

Is your villain unpredictable, is s/he psychotic? Does he simply want power? Was s/he dropped on his or her pretty little head one time too many?

Many villains are brought into light by their craving for power. They want to rule, they want to be the best, they want what they’ve never had before. Other villains exist because they always had power. They’ve never been told they couldn’t have something so they take whatever they want, they fear no consequences.

One of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever heard when it came to writing villains, however, was that almost every villain sees himself as the hero. He’s the one in the right. The hero is standing in his way, stopping him, preventing his ultimate dreams and goals. The hero is in the wrong from his point of view. For this reason, it is very hard to change his mind or make him see otherwise, though many hero’s try to reason their way through it before they ultimately have to fight.

The freedom with writing is that you can create whatever you want. These are all just some pointers to keep in mind when writing your own villains. Why does he want the hero out of the picture or dead? Why is he fighting against the hero?

Happy writing!

Special Release! Excerpt from Impact

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I wanted to thank all of you, my fans, for being patient as I run through edits of the Defiant sequel, Impact. I cannot wait for you to read the next installment in Faelan and Virion’s journey. As a new king, Virion has a lot on his hands, especially with his enemies testing him for weaknesses. I hope you enjoy this little excerpt, though it may leave you begging for more!

 

“Faelan, please don’t. This is our job, to get him to safety, even if he doesn’t want to go. That’s what protocol one is, we get him to safety before it’s too late. There’s a bunker under the palace, in the event of an attack, nothing can damage the bunker and no one but those with the code can get in.” She narrowed her eyes and met his, Aril and Rhoth still clinging to him like they were about to drag him away. “We have minutes, maybe.”

“Fae,”

“Virion,” She interrupted him. She took a deep breath and eased closer. “You go with them if it keeps you safer, I’ll go get your sister.”

“I’m not letting you go get Valaya by yourself!”

“Hush,” Her voice was surprisingly soft and she slipped past Oneo and grabbed his face in her hands. “Protocol one doesn’t apply to me. If anyone can do this, I can, and if anyone can help her, I can. Don’t use your heart in this, use your head, if the Santains get you, it’s over. You know me, all of me, and what I can do. I’ll find her and keep her safe. I promise you. Remember when I told you that you were always safe with me? The same goes for Valaya.”

“But how am I safe if you’re not with me?” It was a poor attempt at getting them to let him go with her, and it didn’t work in the least. In fact, she snorted at him and shook her head. He should say no, but there was no arguing with this woman and his guards weren’t going to wait here much longer. Faelan was his only security to Valaya’s safety. He trusted her guard, but they weren’t half of what Faelan was, she could do this. He had faith in her.

“Be careful,” Tears pricked his eyes as he opened them back up and she kissed him quick and chaste. “I love you.”

“I love you.” She told him. “Get to safety and trust me. I’ll protect her. Everything will be fine.” Faelan said, casting him a smile. Virion stared at her, he had no idea how she could be so confident, but then she was turning and running towards the door. Then his guards started pushing him along again, the Galiseans right behind them. This time, he didn’t fight them as they took him down into the bowels of the palace, a heaviness in his heart that he knew wouldn’t leave him until Faelan was back in his arms.

 

Craving more? Check in with my Facebook C.M. Herndon-Author and Twitter @AuthorCMHerndon for character quotes and other updates!

Much Love,

C.M.

Power of Names

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Names have power.

The name you were given, the name you use, the one nickname your best friend calls you that no one else does. They all have their own unique connotation and meaning to you.

It can determine how other people treat you. Perhaps your name is John and someone meets you. Their abusive ex was named John so they immediately view you a little more negatively than they should. Your name reminds them of darker days.

That’s the kind of power names can have. Power to sway opinions. Power to bring you down, too. Words hurt. If someone calls you ugly, whore, asshole, that name hurts your feelings. Or pisses you off. Giving named the power to not just sway your opinions, but affect your mood, your emotions, the kind of day you’re having.

As an author I spend a lot of time considering names. I research them, I find different meanings for them in different languages. I test how they sound out loud. Naming a character can be quite a task. You have to find a name that helps show who and what your character is. Or perhaps a name that indicates who and what your character will become. It can influence how the reader views your character. A strong, powerful name for the hero. An exotic warrior name for the heroine. Something unique that sets your character apart.

These are the things I take into consideration when naming a character. The same way new mothers and fathers prepare to name their child. How does it sound? How will it fit in with our family? Is it the perfect name? The perfect name is just waiting to be discovered.

What’s Your Advice For Aspiring Authors?

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This is a question encountered often. Writers from all platforms get asked this, including aspiring writers their selves. Now that I am published, I am certainly asked this all the time. It’s quite possibly the most often asked question ever. For authors anyways. Even I asked this question before I was published. People my age, people older than me, people who know someone who “wants to write” have asked me. It’s a big question, and the way it is answered can have a great impact on people.

So, what’s your advice for aspiring authors? Write the damn book. And finish it.

Finish the book!!

I cannot emphasize this enough, nor can I tell you how many people say to me “I want to be a writer, but I can never seem to finish my book.” It sounds obvious, but I lost count of how many people say this or a variation of it to me. You have to absolutely push forward and finish that book.

What do you expect to accomplish without that book? Don’t make up excuses. You don’t have time? Spare 15 minutes of sleep and write. Write on your short 30 minute lunch break while you stuff your face. You can chew and write at the same time. You don’t know what to write next? Just start writing anyways, you can always delete things later, but writing a little might give you some insight to the direction you want to take your story. This applies to writer’s block, too. No excuses. Write and finish that book. Push yourself because only you can.

The other advice I can give is that if you have finished a book and you want to become a published author, re-read your book and then edit it. You are not ready to become published until you edit your book. Why do I say this? Because I thought I was ready until I finally went back and read my novel. After that, I could not believe I was sending out an unedited manuscript to agents for viewing. When I finally sat down and edited, I learned a lot about my writing style, including how to better it. There is nothing more beneficial that you can do for yourself than to critique your own work, but on that note, don’t be too hard on yourself. You’re better at this than you think you are and letting others see and read your writing, getting their feedback, will help boost your confidence in yourself.

Good luck to all my aspiring writers. I did it. So can you 🙂

Much Love,

CM

First Things First

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Hi everyone! Welcome! WordPress is officially my new home on the internet, please bear with me as I learn how to operate it. I try to keep everyone as updated as I can on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads, but now that I have four published novels it is growing increasingly difficult for you, my readers, to keep up with how many books I have, which books go with which series, and so on. Here at WordPress, I hope to be able to keep things a little more organized for all of you. I’ll post updates and all of my books will have a place here. You’ll be able to see the list of books and links to Amazon where you can buy copies, as well as which books belong to which series. I would also like to use this to give everyone sneak peeks at my upcoming books!

I am so excited to continue my journey with everyone and share more stories with you all. Please, feel free to contact me here or on Facebook, Twitter, or Goodreads. As part of this new step in my  journey with all of you, I’d also like to mention the Defiant sequel will release Fall 2016. The next Safe novel will follow it a few months later.

As always, much love!

CM