Letter #3: Open Letter Series to the Characters in my Head

My Dearest Ellie,

Sitting side-by-side on the funeral home steps we mourned the loss together. You grieved for your friend and I for her story that I thought I’d lost forever. We sat there together, you and I, thinking that all hope was lost. Until one day you told me to start over. This time I would write about our loss. With you by my side I did just that. Each word and and phrase added one on top of the other until one day I stepped back and saw that there was hope after all. I had my book and you had your second chance.

My dearest Ellie, I know our story, was a trying one. The long road to hope was peppered with loss and  you feel like a failure for sharing your weakest hour with the world. Now that time has passed, do you see that the journey only made you stronger and that you will be a light of hope for others? Someday, someone will read your grief and your pain will touch their heart. They will feel less alone and recognize that you are brave and so are they. That is your gift, Ellie, to the readers and to me.

I could not have started this journey without you. Next month when I have to sit down and write the two hardest words, The End, I will have your bravery to see me through. 

Love always,

Your Creator, KM Hodge

Ps: Dear Readers, if you would like to know more about the story behind my writing the first book in my Syndicate Series check out my Blog article: Eighteen Years of Suspense. Yes, it did take me eighteen years to finish! 

Check out my new series: Open letters to the characters in my mind.

Letter #1: To the whole cast
Letter #2: To Jason (Syndicate Series) 
Letter #3: To Ellie (Syndicate Series) 
Letter #4: To Alex (Syndicate Series)
Letter #5: To Katherine (Syndicate Series)
Letter #6: To Susan (Summer of '78)
Letter #7: To Vi (Book Cellar Mystery Series)

Want to know when my books will launch? Want to know how you can get an Advanced Reader Copy? Sign up for my mailing list.

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Cover reveal "In The Blood" by R.L. Martinez

We are delighted to bring you our second cover reveal. In The Blood by R.L. Martinez is a fantasy about two sisters willing to do whatever it takes to keep each other alive.
The Warrior The war may have ended, but a new battle begins for disgraced prisoner-of-war, Ottilde Dominax. Dreams of her witchbreed twin are visions of death and betrayal. Driven by their grim warning, she escapes her captors and races across nations to save her sister. But she may arrive too late… The Witch As one of the hated and feared, Lady Oriabel Dominax has kept her healing magic secret while she cares for her family's struggling estate. But the arrival of a new lord hiding secrets of his own, the discovery of a dark and addictive magic and threats from a cruel blackmailer push her closer to disaster. Through it all, the Witch’s Tree calls…    

About The Author

Being a stay-at-home mom is probably the hardest job Robin’s ever had (and that’s after working at places like Goodwill, MCL Cafeteria, and Captain D’s). Her house is never clean! No matter how many dishes she does or toys she picks up, her two little ones come right behind her and make a whole new mess. Anyway, this is the first time she hasn’t had some sort of job outside the home since she was fifteen. Kinda scary! Now that her kids have both started all-day school, she can fling herself into the stories that constantly swirl inside her head. One of the main reasons she writes is to read books that she wishes other people were writing. She lives in Oklahoma with her husband, two small sons, two naughty canines, and a mouse-killing cat. Website Twitter

Cover reveal of James L. Weavers thriller Poor Boy Road

I am pleased to bring you the cover reveal of Poor Boy Road by James L. Weaver, a pulse pounding thriller following a mob fixer as he returns home for the first time in sixteen years.

As a mob enforcer, Jake 'The Fixer' Caldwell is in the dark business of breaking kneecaps and snapping bones. But each job sends him one step closer to turning into the man he swore he’d never become - his violent and abusive father. Leaving the mob is easier said than done. When his boss offers a bloody way out, Jake has no choice but to take it, even if it means confronting ghosts of old. Arriving in his Lake of the Ozarks hometown, Jake has two things on his mind: kill ruthless drug lord Shane Langston and bury his dying father. What he doesn’t expect is to fall in love all over again and team up with his best friend Bear, the Sheriff of Benton County, to take Langston down. Racing through the countryside searching for Langston, the web of murder, meth and kidnapping widens, all pointing toward a past Jake can’t escape and a place he never wanted to return - Poor Boy Road.

About The Author

James L. Weaver is the author of the forthcoming Jake Caldwell thrillers, Poor Boy Road and Ares Road. He makes his home in Olathe, Kansas with his wife of eighteen years and two children. His previous publishing credits include a six-part story called “The Nuts” and his 5-star rated debut novel Jack & Diane. Author note: a handful of those who’ve rated it are actually not related to him! His limited free time is spent writing into the wee hours of the morning, playing parental taxi cab to his kids’ sporting endeavours, and binge watching Netflix.
  
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Letter #2: Open Letter Series: Dear Characters in my head.

My Dearest Jason,

I took the long road in loving you. We both know it’s true. You and I are too much alike, the closest to me that not everyone sees. Jason, you are my failings, my bitterness, my drive and the part that makes it hardest to choose joy. But you are the one I turn to when I need to bend an ear. The one I ask advice from and in the end you are the one I hold most dear. You understand my passions and taste my bitter failings because they are your own.

I share these stories with you, they are ours. Well except for when Sally took over, but we both know she was right about the ending—though they (the readers) don’t know that yet. They don’t know the whole of it and I am anxious to share it with them. But we must wait. I know we don’t wait well. We tap our feet and glance at our watch. The time will be here soon enough and before we know it, everyone will know your story—our story.

Until then, sit with me and tell me the rest of the tale. We are so close to the end that I can taste it. The ending is clear but not the path to get there. Hold my hand one last time and walk with me, show me the way.

Love always,

Your Creator, KM

Dear readers, I hope you have enjoyed the second letter in my open letter series. Every Wednesday (October-November) I will be posting an open letter to one of my characters. In December I will be kicking off a letter series between two of my characters: Katherine and Ellie (Doc).

For more open letters to the characters in my mind:

Letter #1: To the whole cast
Letter #2: To Jason (Syndicate Series) 
Letter #3: To Ellie (Syndicate Series) 
Letter #4: To Alex (Syndicate Series)
Letter #5: To Katherine (Syndicate Series)
Letter #6: To Susan (Summer of '78)
Letter #7: To Vi (Book Cellar Mystery Series)

Want to know when my books will launch? Want to know how you can get an Advanced Reader Copy? Sign up for my mailing list.

An Open Letter to the Characters in My Head.

My dearest cast of characters,

It’s nearly a year to the day that I decided to not give up on you. The day I committed to tell your story. The story you wanted told, regardless of how sad it was or how hard it was for me to write. And my loves it was sad, sad enough to make this stoic girl cry.

I didn't have high hopes for us back then. I just wanted to tell your story and share it with others. That seemed a hard enough task. You might recall that my expectations at the time were low. I would find myself telling friends and family that I would be happy if only 50 people read it. Now, less than a year later, thousands of people have taken a chance on you, on us.

Ellie, our elegy, flawed and rife with new writer failings has been met with acceptance and forgiveness.  I tried to tell your stories well, but I know I failed you all over and over again. So now I sit at the keyboard and try to clear up the gaffs, the failings of not knowing. So that readers don't have to turn a blind eye in order to hear your bittersweet words.

I know in a few months I will find myself once again standing at the beginning with you. This time around, I’m not frightened that you won't be loved because I know you will be by some. More people will hear your experiences and will feel like they aren't alone because your tragedies so closely resemble their own. I will once more get emails, text and Facebook messages from readers, who say that they mourn your losses and share your joys alongside us both.

Our time together is drawing near to the end. I know that when the time comes to close the chapter on your stories that we will rejoice and weep together. Because of you, I will never be the same. You’ve changed me and continue to change me for the better. For that I am forever grateful.

Love always,

KM

PS: Readers if you want to know more about my publishing adventures and the story behind this letter check out my blog post: Partnering with Evolved Publishing.  Stay turned each Wednesday for a new letter. 

Want to read more letters: Check out my new series: Open letters to the characters in my mind.

Letter #1: To the whole cast
Letter #2: To Jason (Syndicate Series) 
Letter #3: To Ellie (Syndicate Series) 
Letter #4: To Alex (Syndicate Series)
Letter #5: To Katherine (Syndicate Series)
Letter #6: To Susan (Summer of '78)
Letter #7: To Vi (Book Cellar Mystery Series)

Sign up for my mailing list to learn more about my characters and their stories.

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It's Storming in the Land of Hodge

It's time to come clean, ya'll. So I'll just come right out and say it: I've got a new series coming out (Book Cellar Mystery Series)!! The first book in the series, "Walker Texas Wife" can be found on Goodreads. Make sure you add it to your to be read shelf and mark your calendar for February 1, 2016. 

As you might have noticed I am not alone in this endeavor (I got hitched y'all!) I am so excited to announce that I  have partnered up with my dear friend and sweet romance writer, Melissa Storm. Yeehaw! Melissa writes real fiction for real women. Her stories are bitter sweet, hope in the darkest hour tales, with true-to-life characters that stick with you long after you put her books down. I love all of her work  (one of her original super readers) and am so thrilled to be working with her. 

Now some of you may wonder what this dark, thrilling suspense writer is doing with a sweet romance writer like Melissa Storm. Thought we may seem like an odd pairing, we both feel perfectly matched for each other. We will bring together the best of both of our worlds to create a perfect storm for our readers. The team of Storm and Hodge will bring you thrilling tales of suspense with a aching sweetness that will have you glued to your kindle. Read us, if you dare! 

ABOUT BOOK #1 "Walker Texas Wife"

(Cover by Mallory Rock )

Their lives are perfect… if only from the outside.

At first glance, the residents of Herald Springs lead charmed lives. But behind the dazzling smiles and inside the large brick homes, they all have their secrets. Most are harmless, but then again Annabeth King never did quite fit in.

This newest neighbor is harboring a special secret of her own, one that could prove deadly. Will the members of the “drink and gossip” club figure out what Annabeth’s working so hard to hide before disaster comes knocking?

With Storm’s signature bitter-sweetness and Hodge’s thrilling intensity, Walker Texas Wife offers a fast-paced, addictive romp that fans of Desperate Housewives and Pretty Little Liars will find themselves falling hard and fast for. This debut in the new Book Cellar Mystery series will leave you wondering: just how well do we know our neighbors after all? Coming February 1, 2016.

ABOUT AUTHORS 

K.M. Hodge grew up in Detroit, where she spent most of her free time weaving wild tales to spook her friends and family. These days, she lives in Texas with her husband and two energetic boys and once again enjoys writing tales of suspense and intrigue that keep her readers up all night. Her stories, which focus on women's issues, friendship, addiction, regrets and second chances, will stay with you long after you finish them. When she isn't writing or being an agent of social change, she reads Independent graphic novels, watches old X-files episodes, streams Detroit Tigers games and binges on Netflix with her husband. She enjoys hearing from her readers, so don't be shy about dropping her a line.Learn more about her and her current projects on Facebook, Twitter and Google+.  You can sign up for new release emails at: The Land of Hodge. 

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Melissa Storm is a mother first, and everything else second. She used to write under a pseudonym, but finally had the confidence to come out as herself to the world. Her fiction is highly personal and often based on true stories. Writing is Melissa’s way of showing her daughter just how beautiful life can be, when you pay attention to the everyday wonders that surround us.

Melissa loves books so much, she married fellow author Falcon Storm. Between the two of them, there are always plenty of imaginative, awe-inspiring stories to share. Melissa and Falcon also run the business Novel Publicity together, where she works as publisher, marketer, editor, and all-around business mogul. When she’s not reading, writing, or child-rearing, Melissa spends time relaxing at home in the company of her three dogs and five parrots. She never misses an episode of The Bachelor or her nightly lavender-infused soak in the tub. Ahh, the simple luxuries that make life worth living. Learn more about Melissa’s business at www.NovelPublicity.com. Learn more about her other author alias at www.EmlynChand.com. Learn more about her life on Facebook, Pinterest,Twitter, or Google+.