Tag: paranormal

Six Sentence Sunday

On By Stephanie IngramIn Six Sentence Sunday, Writing9 Comments

I’ve really enjoyed participating in Six Sentence Sunday. If you’ve never heard of it, I suggest you click on the link and be sure to sample some of the other participants as well. You won’t be disappointed.

Over the last four weeks, I’ve shared snippets of my current work-in-progress titled Ghosts Don’t Wear Silk Stockings. I’ve gone back and forth quite a bit trying to decide whether I should continue with this or switch gears for a couple of weeks and test the waters with something new.

I have another project that I’m pretty excited about, although it’s still in the early stages. As a matter of fact, it doesn’t even have a title. At this point, I know my characters and I have a hazy idea of the general plot and even still, I have high hopes that this will expand into a three-book series. Well, we shall see about that, won’t we?

Anyway, enough of my rambling on about it. Let’s get to the good stuff, shall we? Without further ado, I present to you my “six”, a brief exchange between my two main characters (Sarah and Nathanial) about the true nature of their relationship…

***

When she turned back to face him, he was seated in the chair and looking out at the darkened landscape as though he’d been that way the entire time. The slight sting of loss resonated deep inside.

“We were enemies,” she said plainly. The words weren’t meant to hurt or challenge. She meant no recourse, only to state the simple fact out loud for her own ears to sample and taste.

“We still are,” he said getting up and moving from the room.

***

I hope I’ve tempted you enough to return next week for more. Until then…

And Baby Makes Three?

On By Stephanie IngramIn Writing10 Comments

No, I’m not pregnant. Don’t get excited. However, I am talking about baby-making today. Well, okay sort of, in a roundabout way…

Earlier this year, I finished my second novel. Eager for my beta readers to praise and congratulate me on such a witty and amazing creation, I quickly sent them the first twenty chapters. I smiled as I waited, ready for them to tell me how brilliant I am. Well, I guess you could say I was in for a bit of a rude awakening. They didn’t hate it but they weren’t exactly in love with it either. It became increasingly clear as I considered the feedback that something in the story was not working.

When I appeal to beta readers, I like to get a range of opinions because I know not everyone will love or hate the same ideas. I’m okay with varying opinions. What I pay attention to are the recurring thoughts, especially when those thoughts aren’t all “hip, hip, hurray”. If someone even hints at a specific part of the story causing an imbalance, I pay close attention. They might not be able to pinpoint exactly why they feel this way but the fact that something is amiss means that I need to re-evaluate what I’m writing.

So, I did what every self-respecting writer does. I crawled into a corner and cried, licking my wounds methodically waiting for my beta readers to tell me they were only kidding, that they loved it really.

Ummm… yeah, beta readers? Are you still out there? You still love me, right? It’s getting kind of lonely over here.

I’ve stewed in frustration trying to come up with a way to “fix” my creation. I even asked my software engineering husband what he would do with the story even though I know he hasn’t the foggiest. I finally let him go back to the safety of writing code after watching the sweat breaking out along his forehead. I was making him nervous.

My story sat for several months until I finally decided that gosh darn it, even I am bored with promoting the same old, same old. I published The Between World almost a year ago. It’s time for something new before I reach a point when even I can’t take myself seriously as a writer anymore. I’m supposed to be the professional here and it’s my story. Time to roll up the sleeves and get to work.

The good news? I’m (finally) making progress. There was one subplot that I didn’t like so it shouldn’t have surprised me when it wasn’t well received by the beta readers. I’m writing what is essentially a lighthearted, fun story but I’d created a subplot where the sister is suffering from domestic abuse. There isn’t anything the least bit funny about that! It was dragging the story down and I knew I needed to drop it, but I was having trouble parting with so many chapters, especially after I’d already cut the entire ending.

What does this have to do with baby-making? I’m glad you asked! It occurred to me that if I simply changed the situation so that the sister is still “struggling” but not with something quite so dire, then I could rewrite rather than simply dump. I’ve settled on a situation in which the sister and her husband are desperately trying to have a baby but for whatever reason, it’s not happening. I figure this can lend itself to all sorts of uncomfortable and even comical situations for my main character who attempts to seek refuge at her sister’s house after her apartment burns to the ground.

So, the question I pose to you today as I brainstorm possibilities is what is the craziest thing you have done (or heard of doing) to get pregnant? It doesn’t have to be personal experience. It could be some wacky wives tale that you’ve read about or know of a friend buying into. On top of that, have you ever been caught in the middle of a horrifying baby-making experience that you wish you could wipe from your memory? Please share anything and everything. You never know what will find its way into my storyline…

Oh, and just for the record, the baby-making idea was my husband’s. See, he is a genius after all.

Until next time, happy writing!

Six Sentence Sunday

On By Stephanie IngramIn Six Sentence Sunday, Writing7 Comments

Hip, hip, hurray for another Six Sentence Sunday! For the past few weeks, I have been sharing snippets of a work-in-progtess titled Ghosts Don’t Wear Silk Stockings. (Next week I will switch to something new.)

Flash forward – Brianna’s world is falling apart. She’s lost contact with Greer, her ghost friend, and she still hasn’t come to any resolution in regards to Dan. Can she trust him? Hoping to find answers, she appeals to the creepy old woman who runs the bookshop where she first met Greer. She doesn’t have any reason to believe this woman can help her, but desperation is leading her down a dark path…

***

“I’m sorry,” Brianna said, “I didn’t realize you were closed.”

“Don’t be silly. I’ve been expecting you,” Emily said gesturing for Brianna to enter the dimly lit bookstore. Brianna hesitated before crossing the threshold and shoved her hands into her pockets trying to overcome the overwhelming chill that rattled her bones when she walked through the door. The place felt like death, she thought. She couldn’t get the thought out of her head even as she turned around to look at the ancient woman.

***

Thanks for stopping by. See you next Six Sentence Sunday. 🙂

Books, Books, Books

On By Stephanie IngramIn WritingLeave a comment

I hadn’t planned on doing a Saturday blog post but under the circumstances, I think it is warranted. Author Christina McKnight has been gracious enough to feature my book on her blog, especially in light of my free promotion running this weekend.Thank you, Christina!

I highly recommend that you check out her blog HERE (it’s pretty nifty) and if you like books of the paranormal variety then make sure you follow. Her book titled “Only in Her Dreams” is scheduled for release this December.

And… if for some reason this is the first you’re hearing of my weekend promotion, check out The Between World on Amazon. You can download it free for a limited time.

Happy Weekend! Join me tomorrow for Six Sentence Sunday when I share another snippet from “Ghosts Don’t Wear Silk Stockings”.

Those Who Walk Unseen

On By Stephanie IngramIn Uncategorized1 Comment

Here is another one originally posted by me on blogger waaayy back in January of this year. (Why does that feel like a lifetime ago?) I didn’t realize how much I like this post until I recently re-read it. Maybe it’s just that I like thinking about all those unanswered questions? Even though I wrote this post in January, I’m still working on that second novel. Gosh darn it, why is it taking so long? I should have that thing published and in your hands by now, surely! 😉

***

Last week I wrote an entry about life existing in other parts of the universe. This is an exciting possibility. But what if we didn’t even have to leave the planet in order to find other forms of life beyond those that we’re already so familiar with finding from day-to-day? What if gates to “other worlds” really existed right in our own backyard?

Science fiction likes this idea. “Portals” take characters from one world to the next in an instant. It’s a convenient way to get around the physical limitations of building a spacecraft that will enable us to travel the universe within the astronaut’s lifetime.

I’ve always had a fascination with the “unseen” and the possibilities that could exist. Have you ever seen a ghost? Some claim they have. Is it so improbable that the energy that makes up our existence could not echo even long after our earthly form has turned to dust? Do ghosts have the capability for rational thought and control over their own actions? Maybe. Maybe not. Why are some of us more sensitive to this energy than others? And anyway, what really happens when we die?

So let’s assume we don’t want to accept that ‘ghosts’ are some remnant of human life. What if, instead, we choose to believe that there is essentially a world of beings that can walk in our world unseen? Maybe they keep trying to contact us but for whatever reason, our minds are closed to their existence and we continue to look the other way?

Surely, there will be a few of us that come into contact with these beings even if later we question our sanity. Maybe some of us believe that our lives were touched by the intervention of a guardian angel that watches over us? I like to think that we are all interconnected in ways that we can’t begin to understand and there is a lot to our world that remains unseen. The rest of you probably just think I’m a little loony. That’s okay, too.

However, if you’ve read my book, you already know this is a premise that I love to explore. Yalen comes from a world that exists in tangent with our own but that we aren’t the least bit aware of … except for those rare exceptions. I had a lot of fun thinking about new possibilities for guardian angels. My next book will have some fun with demons.

What do you think about the concept of life existing unseen amongst our own?