Long Time, No See - #LynnCrain #Back2Writing #MysticRealms #ProtectorsoftheEarth

Yeah, yeah, yeah – I haven’t been here in forever – and I apologize. It’s hard getting back to life and writing then adding school on to it. LOL! Yes, I’ve been very busy and I have been productive. As in writing productive. Hopefully, you all will find some great stories here today!

I have been doing anthologies recently because it seems the easiest way to get back into writing. And that would be true if I were writing new content. No, the story that’s coming out hasn’t been published before but it’s something I’ve been promising a long, long time. I’m finally getting my Protectors of the Earth underway and my first story will be appearing in the Mystic Realms anthology.

This anthology has twenty-one amazing authors and twenty-one amazing stories. And my Protector story is one of them. Once the anthology period is over, I will be releasing it as a single and the first story in that series.  But right now, this is all about the anthology and it’s amazing stories. It is currently on pre-order and I’d love you all to get it at this amazing price.

Anthology Blurb:

What goes bump in the night? What causes you a fright?

While the answers for each may vary, I promise that these stories will not leave you wary.
From vampires and demons to shifters and creatures that you’d never suspect, this set will leave you breathless in the best possible ways.

So, don’t be afraid. Come, step inside our realm. Allow the mysticism of romance in many shapes and forms fall over you like a veil of sweet, soothing, spine tingling comfort.

We promise… you won’t be sorry.

Avenging Aingeal – Urban Fantasy - Lynn Crain

Story Tagline:

Bound by vengeance, she is humanity’s one hope…

Blurb:

Aingeal Cochran is on a mission to save humanity from itself when suddenly she’s staring head-on at her forgotten past. Lukas Everhard must bring her up to speed regarding the real enemy before allowing himself to love her completely. In learning about her past and mission, Aingeal realizes the best is yet to be and she will do anything to protect those she loves. For Lukas, Aingeal is the mission.

Excerpt:

Arching an eyebrow, I stared at him. No one in this facility could begin to hold a candle to me and I knew it. Worse, they knew it. “Whatever gave you the idea any one could kick my butt? Cause I know you can’t.” I sat there and listened to his buddies all crack up as Jonathan’s ears turned red. Now this was something I could really get into.

“Ever heard of Lukas Everhard?” The flash of puppy-like adoration almost made me lose it right then.

“You’re joking right? Everhard?” I couldn’t contain myself any longer and laughed so hard tears flowed from my eyes.  That would be the day.

“You’re just a bitch who won’t know what hit her.” His face took on a hard edge and if I hadn’t been so bored, I might have backed away.

“And you’re just an ass who will.” The orb bobbed in my hand as I stood, dangerously close to being thrown when something huge grabbed my wrist.

“You know the rules here. No fighting in the mess hall.”  The object didn’t remove itself from my body.

I whirled furious, jerking my arm away, energy in both hands now and was stopped short by the man who stood before me. I was not a small woman, yet this man dwarfed me.  Slowly, my gaze moved from his chest to his wide shoulders to his face and stopped there. Ice blue eyes stared at me without one bit of emotion attached to the look. He’s one cold cookie. I blinked rapidly almost as if I had been hit in the gut. This man was not going to take my crap in any way, shape or form. While I might be able to fool Darien somewhat as I had learned since I had arrived, I would never be able to fool this one.

Then there was the fact I felt more aware of him sexually than I had been with anyone else. Ever. There was a charisma about him which made me want to throw myself into his arms and beg to be taken.  And it was more than his physical appearance because if truth be told, this man looked good…the best I had ever seen…again a rarity for me to note. It was as if he were palpable under my hands even though we weren’t touching. My crotch tightened once more and I shook my head to clear my errant thoughts.

“Told you.” A snide voice commented somewhere off to my left.

I turned to look at my accuser, electricity leaping to my hand yet again. Some days I couldn’t control it at all. This could be a problem.

Stepping in front of me, the big man’s forefinger jabbed my chest in a hard push. “You. Me. In the sparring room immediately.”

I watched as he walked out the door, all predatory-like and with more purpose than I had seen anyone in this place have since my arrival. I eyed everyone else and realized it wouldn’t matter what I said, they were going to see if their man could best me. Sighing, I also knew I had brought this on myself. Vowing to make his fall gentle, I shook my head and followed him down the main corridor, wondering if I should even bother to introduce myself. I ran up to walk next to him and before I could even start, I was cut off by his raised hand. 

“Don’t bother. I know who you are.” He kept his eyes straight forward.

Frowning, I watched him for a minute. “Yeah, but I don’t know who you are, now do I?”

He stopped in front of the sparring room door. “And that should make a difference how?” Shoving it open, he waved a hand. “Ladies first.”

“As if I’d fall for that one,” I muttered more to myself than anyone.

Scowling at me, he shook his head. “Look one of us has to go in first. The door isn’t big enough for us to go side by side.”

“Fine,” I said through clenched teeth. This would end bad, I could feel it in my bones.

You can get my Avenging Aingeal and all the other wonderful stories in the Mystic Realms anthology by pre-ordering your copy today at one of the sites listed below.

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

iTunes

Kobo

Last but not least, in celebration of this wonderful anthology, we’re doing a Rafflecopter  with all the authors giving away one of their amazing stories for you to have a chance to win. The best part is that there are 21 prizes and 21 chances to win.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I hope that all of you will check out this fantastic anthology and get your copy today. Again, I do promise to try and not be so neglectful. I think I’ll just try for at least once a week…what do you all think?

And how about those covers? I’d love to hear your comments!

Thanks for dropping by and see you soon!

Lynn

What’s In A Name?

Recently when I started a new series called ‘Protectors of the Earth,” I understood all of the stories in the series are about people who have the ability to use elemental power. You know what I’m talking about: Earth, Wind, Air and Fire.

It’s the stuff of legends. Think about the movies you know which use this type of force. Well, all the Star Wars movies use some type of elemental power. In them, it’s called the force and one has to be attuned to it before they can use it. Another story, The Fifth Element is very science fiction in nature but when it actually came to saving the world, they went back to the four elements. Then there’s one of my all time favorites, The Lord of the Rings series. If they don’t use elemental power and magic, I don’t know who does.

If you are fans of manga and anime, then you’ve seen plenty of elemental magic. Some of my favorites were Avatar, Naruto, InuYasha, Pokemon, and Sailor Moon. I could watch all those cartoons for hours. Also, Final Fantasy was based upon elementals. When I was designing this whole series, I really took into account just how Avatar was put together as it’s such a great story of the elements.

The whole concept is rampant in books and has been for years. Fantasy is strewn with those who can use elemental powers, some for good, some for evil. Some of my favorite stories have been based upon a Dungeons and Dragons type worlds. DragonLance was one of my favorite readings of all time. All nine books. LOL!

So, now it’s my turn to create fantastic characters and the first thing I realized was I had to name them for their element. Rather it was the second thing as I had the whole first book done before I had even planned the rest. What was strange is the fact the characters in the first book told me their names. I had had the heroine down as a one-liner for almost a year and every day she yelled at me for not doing more.

Something told me I needed to get this series into high gear. So I finish the first story in record time and realized there is a whole lot more to the story. I decide then it’s time to take the plotting class which I’ve talked about in previous blogs. Once there I knew if I were ever to finish this series, it would have to be plotted meticulously and simultaneously.

So, I start with the second book and before I know it, I have the basics for each of the subsequent stories. Then come the names. After lots of thought, I decided to do something I’ve never done before and actually name the characters for what they were going to be. I looked up names and pondered if I would actually name someone that. Believe me when I say some of them were very strange looking and sounding at first.

Still, I have in my possession eight of the coolest sounding character names one would ever find. The second book is called ‘Playing with Fyre’ and the heroine is Endellion Fyre. She’s nicknamed Endy. The hero’s name is Haydn Keegan. Every word has something to do with fire which is their element. Endellion actually means fire soul. How cool is that?!?

I then took it one step further and went to a website called ‘How Many of Me’ which tells you just how many people in the world have any given name. Very cool tool for an author. I loved the fact there are only 18 Lynn Crains in the US. But I really loved the fact there is only one or less person who is named Endellion Fyre. Uniqueness is a great quality for a character. People tend to remember unique.

Your character’s name is one of your novel’s or story’s greatest assets. Sometimes the characters scream out their names loudly and they will drown out anything you might say or want to say. If they allow you to plan things out, try naming them for who they are, what they do, what they like or what ever floats your boat. Make sure they like it and you like it. You will know what a character’s name should be because it will feel right.

I went through at least three to five name choices for each of my elemental characters. I’d put the names together and let them roll, or not roll, off my tongue to see if my people were meant to have that name. Once everything clicked, my characters not only had a mission they became real to me in a way that still has me in its grip.

Now that each of them are firmly planted into my mind, I have to finish the stories. From time to time, I’ll give you all glimpses into this new and fantastic world I’m creating.

See you all tomorrow!

Lynn