Sample Chapters!

The prologue and the first two chapters of Mistaken is now available in downloadable PDF via Scribd!

If you enjoy it please contributing to my IndieGoGo Campaign  and sharing it with others!

That's all for now!

Have a great Memorial Day Weekend and don't forget to thank those who have served!

And Then The Real Fun Starts!

Don't mind how sleepy I look!

I did it.... I have let go of Mistaken's draft  and it is on it's way to be edited by a very dear and trusted friend. Normally I would definitely recommend using a professional editor, however my friend Andrea is someone that I feel will help improve and polish Mistaken into its final form. She is very well educated, well-spoken, and an avid reader. If it were anyone else, and if my money situation wasn't what it is currently... I would certainly utilize a more established editor.

But I digress. My point of this post is that after all this time I have loosened my grip on my debut book. I am not going to call it my baby. When I picked up the print copy I made for her... I'll admit I got slightly misty-eyed though.  It feels weird that right now I don't have any of Mistaken  to work on.

Oh... about that.

Now that we know the printing is finally imminent within the next few months, I have been gearing up to promote not only Mistaken, but it's release party. I  have learned a lot from other indie authors and also have some plans of my own. I will be going into detail in the coming blogs, and they will start getting more frequent.

On top of that, I am working on the outline to my next book "Possess" and am getting equally as amped about writing it as I am about releasing Mistaken. 

Despite all this bunch of literary awesomeness, much of my life outside of writing is a bit disjointed. From work issues to illness in the family, life is throwing a lot at my little household right now.  But I am taking it as a lesson. 

When you are going through hell, hold on even stronger to your dreams and make your own luck. Keep your chin up and keep at it. Something has to give eventually, don't let it be you!

Speaking of...I finally passed my laps in derby! Told ya a  little hard work will go a long way!

Meet the Cast: DEA Agent Anthony Luciano

It has been a while since I have done this, and previously I had not planned on revealing another supporting character from Mistaken. However, since re-vamping the plot Agent Luciano has stepped into a more significant role than I had originally planned.

Honestly that thrills me to no end. I'm a big fan of Agent Luciano, and I think you will be too. He is the beacon of all that is good. Or at least he tries to be. He truly takes his oath to protect and serve seriously.

Originally he only showed up in two parts of the story but I found it didn't make sense for him to only appear then. He was almost just a scapegoat for me to be able to say "thats why all that craziness just happened".

While he isn't a main character, his part in Mistaken and the role he plays in Trey's life needed to be expanded on. The more I thought about it, the more it made sense. The events going on with him, run parallel to the events occurring in Trey and Dillan's lives during Mistaken.

He comes to meet Trey and Jamie  before the events of Mistaken take place, and does all that he can to ensure their futures. While he is a tough, stern man, he has a soft spot for the bond of family. In Mistaken, he appears to have no family, but there is times where it alludes to the fact he may have at one time had a family, but lost them in some unnamed tragedy. While his partner looks at Trey and just sees another punk loser,  Agent Luciano sees a kid that needs help. While the events that bring them together are devestating to Trey, Agent Luciano does what he can to give Trey that light at the end of the tunnel. That reminder that the whole world hasn't gone to shit around him. (pardon my french...but yes).

This is why I love Agent Luciano so much. We all need someone like this in our lives. When we lose someone, or when it DOES feel like the whole world is going to hell in a handbasket, it is such a powerful feeling to feel that hand reaching out to you. Despite his own personal tragedies, Agent Luciano always holds his head high. He believes in the good of man, despite all that he sees in his career with the DEA. He believes in the justice system, despite its flaws.  He is a good man.

His only really flaw, at least in my opinion.... He is too trusting.


And that is all you get to hear about Agent Luciano for now (evil laugh).

Don't Beat Yourself Up-- But Don't Let Yourself Slack off

The past few weeks have been interesting. Not in a bad way, but not in a great way either. Yesterday my doctor gave me news that I saw coming...from a mile away. Diabetes runs in my family. I actually had a doctor (not the same one) tell me I have horrible genes.... there is a reason I don't see her anymore! Yes, it runs on both sides of my family, my mom, my dad, my aunt, my grand parents.... blah blah blah... But this also may have been preventable. Maybe not...maybe even if I was taking the best care of myself eventually I would still have a doctor telling me what she told me on Wednesday. There is two ways I could deal with it that probably wouldn't help my situation at all...in fact it would probably hurt it.


I could blame myself for not sticking to a healthier diet or dropping the weight I need to drop and make myself feel terrible for something that I am going to always be stuck with.

I could blame it on my horrible genes... after all, I was probably going to get this anyways...

But you know what I am doing instead? Neither... beating myself up or throwing the blame onto something that is supposedly out of my hands won't help. Instead I am making an effort to stay positive, stay active, and make better decisions about what I eat. Is it going to be easy? NO....but if I want to live and be happy that is what I have to do, right? I have seen Diabetes' effects on the body if it isn't in check...that is not a road I want to go down.

Now, you might be wondering what this has to do with writing...because it totally does have something to do with it!  Amidst doctors visits and my general feeling like crap... I haven't written in a couple weeks either. Let me make that clearer, I haven't been writing more of my WIP, and my blogging has been less frequent. On one end of the stick, I  could get upset at myself for not keeping to goal, which would probably not help me write more. Or I could simply blame my lack of progress on feeling like crap. Well...to a point that is valid, but I am feeling a bit better now that we have figured out what has been making me feel that way. And I am still not writing... hmmm. I've set Friday/Saturday to tentatively get back into it. I've been working on the outline too so that should help.

At some point in both writing and life you have to kick your ass back into gear. You have to learn to persevere. Don't beat yourself up if you don't always make your goals...but don't make a habit of not making them.

-Rayvenne

Tales In Midtown

So a really awesome follower of my blog left a great suggestion to me a few days ago which I am thinking of pursuing. I think it could be good for the blog, but I also think it could be good for my writing. It would also give people maybe some insight into my writing style and intrigue them enough to want to read one of my books.

Then again it could completely backfire and send readers running for the hills...but I'm optimistic.

I have been trying to brainstorm on what exactly I would write about. I hadn't told you one thing about the town in which Dillan resides. It will also be the same town in which Willow (the name of my main character for Apparition)moves to. And more than likely the story after that will be taking place in Midtown. I wanted to connect my first few books in some way.

They will have some similar themes woven into each of them, but will still be separate stories. Will Dillan show up in Apparition? Maybe...but not as a main character. Willow may happen to bump into her at The Ledge (the bar Dillan would frequent with Jamie). Does Apparition take place before or after Mistaken? I don't know that yet either. What I do know though, is that Midtown could hold stories in every alley, in every old industrial building. The people that inhabit this place could be keeping secrets, hiding horrific terrible secrets!

And I am going to start uncovering them here on A Darker World. I am thinking for now, once a week, probably on Saturday or Sunday so I have the time to write it. Depending on how it goes I may do this more often though. So, stay tuned... I will let you know if I am going to start this week or next!

**Edit**

Depending on the ideas that come out, this may or may not be a serial novel/mix of short stories...we will see what develops!

Meet The Cast of Mistaken: Antagonists and Supporting Cast

I was going to do at least one more of these types of posts, but then I realized that some of the big supporting characters and antagonists don't appear right away and for good reasons. After all isn't that part of the suspense? The mystery? (okay...I'm being dork, but seriously...isn't it?)

So today, instead of introducing you to Dillan and Trey's evil nemesis (IF they really exist! MUHAHAHA..ehem excuse me) I thought I would talk about  some of their internal antagonists,  and one of my favorite supporting cast members too.

The one thing I can tell you about the characters that are antagonists in Mistaken is that it becomes apparent early on that Trey may have gotten mixed in with the wrong crowd, and other characters are just two-faced and greedy. I hope that doesn't give too much away!

So yes, Dillan definitely, DEFINITELY has some inner demons to deal with. The most obvious is her depression, living in what happened/as the victim. Early on we see how much she clings to Jamie/anything that reminds her of him. She can't let go. Now I think after being with someone for 9 years it is pretty difficult to accomplish that, but you have to try, and she isn't.  But her inability to "let go" transforms into other parts of her life as well. She can't "let go" of anything anymore. Her inhibitions, her anger, her fears...nothing...

Another inner conflict with Dillan is her feelings for Trey. With him looking exactly like Jamie, how easy would it be to let herself fall for him, and pretend... But that is a terrible idea obviously because just like Jamie, he is a completely seperate person, with different ideas, feelings, likes, and mannerisms.Whether she is truly starting to like him, or whether she is just trying to replace Jamie it is unclear to her.

Now to Trey. We discussed him yesterday and I think that his two biggest inner conflicts are the lies (lies...all LIES!) and his inability to let go as well. Mainly letting go of his mistakes so that he can learn from them. I have literally read scenes with Trey in it and told him to "grow some" out loud. I suppose that was rude of me but I think he eventually listened! Going along with the lies (cues Frau Farbissina again), he starts to have feelings for Dillan which not only conflict with the "don't do your dead brother's chick" code, but also means if he really cares about her that he is going to need to come clean to her.

Now... there isn't a huge list of people in the supporting cast (at least not that I can talk about right now), but there is Dillan's friend Kay.

Kay also met Dillan when she first moved to Midtown. Naturally, going for the same major, they saw each other quite a bit so the friendship just happened.  Needless to say Kay also knew Jamie very well as Dillan's other half, so while she doesn't exactly understand what Dillan is going through it pains her to see her friend in her current state. Many times she reaches out to Dillan even after Dillan pushes her away or blows her off. I think Kay of all the characters in the book has the biggest flaw. She cares way too much! No..it isn't a bad thing at all...but man does it suck when you are that friend. All you want to do is help, but sometimes you have to step back and let your friend go through whatever they need to. Sometimes the best thing you can do is be there for them when they come out of it. 
Kay was inspired by a few people that are very near and dear to me. Originally her part in this story was quite small, but just her being there for Dillan has made her a big part of the story.

Well, I am off to hit my writing goal for the day, then back to bed. Still sick :( Bummer. However I don't know if you noticed but I am STEADILY approaching the halfway mark in my first draft of Mistaken. Four days and counting that I have been hitting my writing goals. I would insert a clip of Stewie doing his sexy party but I already put two youtube videos in this post today..

Oh...what the hell!

-Rayvenne

Meet The Cast of Mistaken: Trey

Thanks so much to the people that commented on Dillan's introduction!  I am pleased to see she was so well recieved. Now the person I am going to introduce you to today is a bit more blurred, as far as if he is good or if he is bad. Honestly, I can't give out too much about him either without giving away the story either. So today I introduce you to Trey, Jamie's estranged twin brother.

Say what? Yes, he has an identical twin! (cue dramatic look) I can give that much away because it is going to be on the back cover of the book.  Speaking of the cover, if some of you have visited my "Current Projects" page, you will have already seen Trey.

Stock Photo Courtesy  David Nanchin

Yep, that blue-eyed suspicious looking guy on the cover is Trey. He is a bit on the scruffier side compared to his brother but still a very handsome.  He has been out of his brother's life since they were both 18, at least for the most part. Ten years later, he makes his way from Portland to Midtown (a fictional East Coast City) in hopes of reuniting and making amends with his brother.

If you read yesterday's post...you all know what happened to poor Jamie. Unfortunately for Trey, he did not get there before his brother was killed. Jamie also never bothered to tell Dillan about Trey either. So rather then finding his brother in Midtown, he finds a very confused and very suspicious Dillan.

One hell of a situation to be in, huh? Right away, Trey is taken with Dillan, but of course finds himself conflicted with the attraction to his dead brother's girl. It also doesn't help that he is NOT being very honest with Dillan for a good while. Trey has been one of those kind of guys that always meant well...but as they say "the road to hell is paved with good intentions." Trey has many skeletons in his closet, but we come to find out quickly that Jamie was even hiding a few of his own from Dillan too.

I think that there are many times where you will want to like Trey, but also be slightly mad at him until he finally grows a pair. Similar to Dillan's conflicts with herself, Trey has problems with himself that he eventually has to face and overcome in order to go from being a bad guy to a hero. In the process of making that transition however, he may have to sacrifice the most.

World, meet Trey!

Meet The Cast of Mistaken: Dillan

Today I thought I would give you all a peek into the world of "Mistaken", my current work in progress, which I have slated to be published in early 2011. Instead of just popping an excerpt up on here, I thought over the next couple days I could introduce you to a few special people that make this story possible. The main characters!

So, today you get to meet Dillan. She is a pretty awesome young woman in my opinion. Yes, Dillan is female, no she doesn't have a last name as of yet, but I am sure it will  come to me at some point. Now I know technically it is bad to first think of what your character looks like, but since I am a very visual person it honestly helps me develop the rest of them, able to get past them only being skin deep. So one of the first things I do when developing my outline is I pick out pictures (thanks Google!) that I think somewhat represent how my characters might look. It is almost like a casting session for a movie (such high hopes, I know! hehe). Anyways... Dillan I have found a bit harder to pin down if she'd look like any one person in particular, but here are a few faces that kind of remind me of her.

I think that Dillan really has that girl next door look, in that she downplays just how beautiful she is. Not everyone appreciates the real depth of her beauty, except the "boy next door". Dillan is 28 years old, a very accomplished Graphics Design Artist who escaped small town life to pursue life in the city. She moved to Midtown for college when she was 18 years old and has lived their ever since. It isn't the best city, and she probably wouldn't have stayed if she hadn't met Jamie.

Ah, Jamie... he rocked her world. They met in the mosh pit at a local music festival called MidFest when they were both 18. From the moment she accidentally gave him a bloody nose (these things do tend to happen when moshing), they were hooked on each other. Part of it could be attributed to the fact that neither one knew many people in town, both new to the area, but there was just something between them. A magnetic pull that was too strong to ignore.

Not being the traditional type, both were happily content to co-habitate. Life with Jamie, while not always perfect, was just right. A year before we come to meet Dillan, her life felt to her, like something out of a fairytale. She counted herself lucky to have the life she now had, and of course Jamie.

Now at 28,  and heading straight for 30, we come to meet a very different woman than before. It only took one day to take the most important thing in her life away from her, and the impact, the hole it left in her  is very visible. With Jamie violently stripped away from her the night of his intended proposal to her, Dillan's view on life and on love has darkened. So much so that she is failing to see she still has people in her life that care about her and genuinely worry about her. She is unable to see past what happened to Jamie and what it has done to her. Once being a bright beam of energy, the life of the party, we now find Dillan as a recluse, nearly despising any human interaction; many times too lost in her own head and in her own grief to pay attention to anyone or anything else.

However, through the course of Mistaken, Dillan somehow manages to find strengths in herself, even though her pain is still very palpable. She is the strength in all of us. When we get pulled through the wringer and we feel we have nothing left, that is when this strength comes out. When you think you can't stand back up, Dillan  comes out in all of us when we take those slow, painful steps and pull ourselves back out of the mud.

Dillan has a very special place in my own heart. She and Mistaken came about a year  after my father was taken from me in a horrific motorcycle accident, when I was still very much depressed and angry with the injustice of the world. It is never easy to lose someone, and it is even harder when it happens suddenly and you find you are out of time to make amends, say goodbye, or at least tell them you love them. In developing and writing Mistaken ( I had previously started and got a good way through, then decided to completely delete and rewrite it) I have found my own inner strengths, and I have been able to finally lift up my head and realize there is still a whole world going on around me.

So without further ado, world, meet Dillan!

In The Beginning...

There was Rayvenne...and this was good.  As an up and coming indie author she decided to make a blog. You see, she is a slight blogaholic and will think of any excuse to blog. Sometimes even to avoid her writing deadlines...not all the time, just sometimes!

Oh alright, enough third person business. So yes I am starting this blog for more professional purposes. More or less anything related to publishing books of mine and the indie publishing industry in general. I hope through my posts you will find useful...or at least entertaining information. I put a little about myself on my About page, but writing truly has been a passion of mine since I was a child. I remember having trouble being able to read, being a little behind my classmates, and by the time I was able to read I was in love with reading! As I got a little older, I decided to try writing on my own and found that I really enjoyed not only creating my little alternate universes, but seeing others enjoy my stories. Throughout middle and high school I kept up creative writing on my own, mostly for the entertainment of my friends. Heading into college I was told I needed a real career... I tried to find passion in nursing...no such luck.

While I will say that I love art, to me writing is also art so I don't find it suprising to be majoring in graphic design as well as working towards publishing my stories. I have found that I am happy when I am creating something, whether it be a story, a work of art, crocheting a beanie with cat ears (yep, I have done this...), I am content to create.

I am hoping to finish my first draft of "Mistaken", my current work in progress, in the next couple months and then start the fun process of going through editing, formatting, marketing, and publishing! Fun! Well it should be an adventure anyways!

-Rayvenne