Maria G. Cope's Blog

Happy Monday, y'all!

As some of you know, Night Moves will be released in late March (sooner if the editor pushes it back to me with the go-ahead). I will be giving away Night Moves for free to the first fifty or so people who comment on the post the day it is released. This is the reason I am not doing a pre-order for the book.

There will also be a giveaway for items mentioned in the book that are specific to Mason and Allie's story.

Thank you from the depths of the sea to the top of the clouds to those who have stuck with me, been patient with me, and took time out to write me the sweetest messages. I don't think y'all could ever know how much your support means to me.

WHERE I'VE BEEN AND WHY: 

I know it's been a full year since Night Moves was supposed to be released, but when I got sick last January, it took a lot of out of me. On top of that, I fell into a pretty deep depression because the reason I got sick is because my lifestyle was just plain crap. I never smoked or drank or anything like that, but I was overweight and unhappy and stuffing my face with all the food in the history of food PLUS all the energy drinks in the history of energy drinks. I have dramatically changed my diet, dropped seventy pounds, in a new job with minimal stress and am happier than I've been in a very long time. I think this change is reflected in my writing, as well.

WHAT'S NEXT:

A new website is coming soon where you will be able to order hard copies of Bottom Feeder, Lowlife, Night Moves, and the other books as they become available.

Because I've had so much time to write and reflect, the next installment in the Steel Hippios series is close to completion and will be released this summer.

We Wish You AMerry Blissmas...

MERRY BLISSMASA Last Riders Holiday NovellaJamie BegleyReleasing Dec 11th, 2015Young Ink Press
Naughty

What can I say? I’m not a nice person. When I walk by, people call me a slut, and I’m okay with that. I believe in calling a spade a spade. I am a slut.
With the holidays approaching, I miss belonging to The Last Riders. Drake’s keeping me warm, but he wants more than I can give. He wants me to trust him, to believe he can protect me. Doesn’t he know Santa put me on the Naughty List long ago?

Nice

What can I say? I’m a nice guy and have always done the responsible thing.
Bliss is everything I shouldn’t want, but it’s hard to resist a woman who stopped believing in miracles. She wants to be back with The Last Riders, whom she considers her true family. Doesn’t she know it’s Christmas, and miracles do happen?


a Rafflecopter giveaway

"I was born in a small town in Kentucky. My family began poor, but worked their way to owning a restaurant. My mother was one of the best cooks I have ever known, and she instilled in all her children the value of hard work, and education.Taking after my mother, I've always love to cook, and became pretty good if I do say so myself. I love to experiment and my unfortunate family has suffered through many. They now have learned to steer clear of those dishes. I absolutely love the holidays and my family puts up with my zany decorations.For now, my days are spent writing, writing, and writing. I have two children who both graduated this year from college. My daughter does my book covers, and my son just tries not to blush when someone asks him about my books.Currently I am writing five series of books- The Last Riders, The VIP Room, Predators MC, Biker Bitches, and The Dark Souls.All my books are written for one purpose- the enjoyment others find in them, and the expectations of my fans that inspire me to give it my best.”
  Website  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  | Goodreads

We Wish You AMerry Blissmas...

MERRY BLISSMASA Last Riders Holiday NovellaJamie BegleyReleasing Dec 11th, 2015Young Ink Press
Naughty

What can I say? I’m not a nice person. When I walk by, people call me a slut, and I’m okay with that. I believe in calling a spade a spade. I am a slut.
With the holidays approaching, I miss belonging to The Last Riders. Drake’s keeping me warm, but he wants more than I can give. He wants me to trust him, to believe he can protect me. Doesn’t he know Santa put me on the Naughty List long ago?

Nice

What can I say? I’m a nice guy and have always done the responsible thing.
Bliss is everything I shouldn’t want, but it’s hard to resist a woman who stopped believing in miracles. She wants to be back with The Last Riders, whom she considers her true family. Doesn’t she know it’s Christmas, and miracles do happen?


a Rafflecopter giveaway

"I was born in a small town in Kentucky. My family began poor, but worked their way to owning a restaurant. My mother was one of the best cooks I have ever known, and she instilled in all her children the value of hard work, and education.Taking after my mother, I've always love to cook, and became pretty good if I do say so myself. I love to experiment and my unfortunate family has suffered through many. They now have learned to steer clear of those dishes. I absolutely love the holidays and my family puts up with my zany decorations.For now, my days are spent writing, writing, and writing. I have two children who both graduated this year from college. My daughter does my book covers, and my son just tries not to blush when someone asks him about my books.Currently I am writing five series of books- The Last Riders, The VIP Room, Predators MC, Biker Bitches, and The Dark Souls.All my books are written for one purpose- the enjoyment others find in them, and the expectations of my fans that inspire me to give it my best.”
  Website  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  | Goodreads

First off, new blog posts are going to be coming more often. Not daily, but about twice a week. Book reviews, blog tours, and excerpts from Night Moves will be up over the holiday season (can I get an "Amen" from the congregation for school holiday breaks?). 
Now . . . on to the good stuff. 
When I began writing Lowlife, I knew Jackson and Maddy would be part of the new series and we would see their relationship develop through the eyes and experiences of the other characters. My mind is constantly changing on what I want to write for the Steel Hippios MC, but there are certain things that remained consistent. One of those things: Maddy and Jackson were not going to get their own book. 

I know. I know. So then I thought: What about a novella? 


Okay. I was digging this idea. Some of you were digging this idea. I thought: Yes! I will do this! 

However, I wasn't happy with that plan, either. So now? *sigh*

Maddy and Jackson are getting a full-length novel. Although the first book in the series hasn't even been released, Maddy and Jackson's book will be the final book in the Steel Hippios novels. My plan (for now) is to complete the series by the end of 2016. 




Also, since y'all have been so supportive and given me such amazing feedback, throughout the Steel Hippios series I will be doing giveaways for item(s) you read about in each book of the series. The items will come from local shops in my hometown or Etsy shops whose owners are from my hometown. Why? Because, although the town names are fictional, the series takes place in my home county. The giveaways will be anything from a t-shirt, a book, a piece of jewelry, photography, or a combination. I'll mostly stick to Facebook page posts, but will also be doing giveaways on Instagram (@maria_g_copeauthor) and Twitter (@pardonmynaivete).  



WHAT I'M LISTENING TO:

If you haven't read Lowlife, and would rather not have spoilers, I'll just warn you now . . . this contains some spoilers. Not enough to ruin what happens, but enough.

I've been getting a lot of questions as to why I did the "fast forward" thing towards the end of the book. Two reasons. The first is because Maddy cut herself off from everyone, as did Jackson. 

The second and main reason is this: The timeline will be gradually filled in during the upcoming series. Though the series will not solely focus on Jackson and Maddy, their stories will be told. Maddy's skills will be put to use. Jackson's time before he shows up in the bar will be explained. Violet, Michael, Agent Mace and Will have appearances later in the series. A lot of  things will be explained during Wall's story. 

The reason I did this is not to leave y'all hanging. 

Which leads me to another question about backstory and scene setting. 

I don't like to do backstory, which is why you notice I didn't do much of it in Lowlife. I didn't want y'all to be bored to death, essentially, re-reading the same thing over and over again. There are authors that I absolutely love and buy every single one of their books that do pages and pages and pages of backstory that I end up skipping through. 

This is also the reason I don't take pages to describe furniture, wall colors, etc. I do this at times, but not often, and usually when it adds to the mood. Why? Because when I'm telling a story out loud, I have never once had someone ask me if the couch in the room was leather or floral, or if the floors were Brazilian Cherry or  Southern Chestnut. 

Backstory and scene setting are not bad things, but doing too much of it just isn't my style.

The main question I get about the new series is what it's going to be about and if it is going to be new adult, adult, contemporary romance or erotica. Well. It's going to be a mixture of them all. I'm going for a cross between Jamie Begley and Kristen Ashley, though honest to Cheez-its, not too many authors can write a steamy scene like those ladies. 




Currently Listening To:

I’m unsure as to where to start, so I will just begin somewhere.

I knew where Maddy and Jackson’s story was headed, but I felt like it needed something different. Since this is going to be the last Bottom Feeder novel (though not the last you will see of the characters, but I’ll talk about that later), I wanted all the unanswered questions answered. I didn’t change everything from the original story, and the ending doesn’t change, but the means to get to the ending did. Why? I wish I could tell you something exceptional happened. Like maybe I had epiphanies in the form of dreams and rainbows and unicorns and maple bacon donuts. Truthfully, I had a lot happen in my life and in my job (yes, I have a job outside of school and writing) that changed me. I mean, completely changed my outlook on a lot of things. I work in healthcare so I won’t break any HIPPA violations to say what happened. I will say that I had to step back and rethink about everything in my life. Everything I want to do. Everything I will do. This leads me to the next thing.

I had so many issues with the schmublisher that extended past what I told anyone. I didn’t want to write anymore. At all. To say that I was disheartened and beyond angry are massive understatements. I’m not angry anymore. As a matter of fact, I’m thankful. I like doing my own thing (though having an editor provided to me was going to be nice to catch grammar errors, but I’m working on finding a company I trust) and not worried about someone telling me what kind of characters I cannot have. With that said, after Lowlife is released, my next goal is to start a small publishing company for authors like me who want the independence of a self-published author without all the stress of formatting, finding someone trustworthy to make their own covers, editors, beta readers, promotions and everything else that comes along with releasing a book. I'm still in nursing school, but I no longer work full time. This project is in the research stages, but I am hoping by the time East Saint is released, it will be released under my publishing company. Now . . . here are a few sample chapters to, hopefully, hold y'all over until its release.

Note: Since the excerpt is so long, I have included the link to my blog. Just scroll past the first part to get to the excerpt.

http://lions-and-lambs.blogspot.com/2...

I wish I could tell all of you I've been doing great things during this absence. The truth is, I've been trying not to let me emotions drift over to y'all. I have shut out friends, family, and my book nerd family. Why? I will try and keep this as light as possible, but things are about to get a little dark.

After my husband's return home from Afghanistan, the mental and emotional toll his transition took on both of us was not a good time.  This was not our first, second, third, or fourth time apart, but the transition back to "normal" was the worst. I began working 16 hour days and the only thing I did at home was sleep.  This was intentional. For a while I dug myself into a pretty deep depression that I hid from everyone . . . including my husband.  I won't go into detail, but just know that everything is good on the homefront now. I just needed a few mental slaps to the back of the head to wake up. That, and one of my very best friends announcing she was bringing another tiny human into the world. I can't be Emo Auntie Maria. There are books and weird things I have to introduce to the aforementioned tiny human and I can't do that while crying in my depression hidey hole.

Most of you know I work in the mental health field, mainly with our military. Sometimes the job takes its toll on me. Sometimes my patients remind me that I'm doing something good, something worthwhile. Most of them unknowingly sent me a life preserver when I was drowning in eyeball-deep self-pity. Not to mention I have amazing co-workers that remind me there is life outside of work. There is someone who will never read this that made a huge impact on my attitude and my outlook. You are missed every single day, C. I wish you would have known just how valuable your life was to those who knew you even a short time.

Then there's what I like to call "The Book Thing". Yep, the whole ordeal with the schmublisher (thank you T.A. Brock for introducing me to this word) really made me want to Hulk Smash a Buick and cry about it over . What I've decided to do is continue with self-publishing. Yep, that means grammatical errors and all.  I don't have an official release date for Lowlife now. I'm re-editing since the schmublisher put their bad vibe cooties all over it. Who knows? Maybe I'll just publish the entire thing here in segments. Meh. Probably not. Maybe. Regardless, Lowlife is coming soon. I just don't have a date yet.

First, thank you all so much for the amazing feedback. Y'all have had me in tears with your kind words and constructive criticism. I know I say it to everybody, but it really does mean the world to me that someone who has taken the time to read my book will also take the time to leave me feedback on it, as well. My feels are on overload and I love it! 


Second, those of you who follow me on Twitter know that I recently lost six chapters to Lowlife. How? I don't know. I wrote them, I saved them, I plugged my flash drive in a different computer than I normally use and they were gone. 






I was crushed. Crushed, I say! But I re-wrote the chapters and they came out better than the ones that were deleted. Crisis averted. 





Some of you know that I've been steady querying publishing companies directly (the few companies who allow direct querying, anyway) and I've had a few interested and one definitely wants to sign me. Exciting, right?!?!? Yes! Oh my sweet goodness, I can't even deal with this much excitement! 



However, they have asked that, for now, I put off the release of the sequel until I sign the contract. My mindset is still, and will always be, very much "Independent Author" so I will not put off the release too long. That was one of my stipulations to which they have agreed. So now it will be March 24th instead of Feb 25th. 






Don't hate me. Don't riot. I'm going to give y'all a couple of sneak peek chapters this week. I promise. I will also be doing some flash giveaways starting this week on Facebook, Goodreads, and Instagram. But only if y'all forgive me for having to put the release off for another month.  

JacksonI punch the steering wheel and roll out a string of profanities that would make the Hells Angels blush.  I watched her call person after person, knowing that most people are either working or at Summerfest tonight. I was certain to be somewhere on the contact list. I did not even merit a last resort because she called Beraz. I tighten my fists on the steering wheel at the knowledge I drove her back to him. Every day my life is a boring repeat of the day before: PT, work, barracks. When Maddy is around, none of the repetition matters. I’ll take any day, any situation, as long as she’s involved. I cannot get her out of my head. And I screwed up again. I am an idiot.I start the car. Before I put it in drive someone opens the passenger door and slides in. First instinct: Punch the bastard in his face and kick him out of the car. I draw my fist back and begin memorizing his face in case he gets away. When I focus on the beady eyes, I realize who is sitting beside me. “Howyadoin, son?” Cordell smiles. “Cordell,” I greet through clenched teeth.  “Didn’t your mama teach you it’s not nice to avoid phone calls, boy?” he laughs. He tilts his chin to Maddy’s vacated seat outside the café. “I see you two have become pretty good friends.”What are the signs of a nervous breakdown? Are symptoms involved or does one just snap when they reach a breaking point?“Cordell,” I say slowly, patiently. “I’ve had a shitty night. If you could just get down to whatever you are here for, that would be great.”“That’s what I like about you, boy. You cut through the crap and get down to the bottom line.”  Just as he says this, a black Cadillac pulls into the parking space to my left, so closely that I would not be able to open my door if needed. Another pulls in on the right, but not too close. A third and fourth car pull in front and behind the Barracuda. Larry Duvall is in the car closest to Cordell. The bastard gives me a mock salute when I look at him.“Maddy has . . .” Cordell pauses. “She has caused a lot of problems for me this past year and, frankly, she’s got to go.”“What’s that got to do with me?” I try to stay calm. Every instinct screams at me to kill this man with my bare hands.  “You are going to be the one to do it,” he says matter-of-factly.  “No.”“It’s your life or hers, son. You choose. Either way, hers is ending.” He shifts in his seat and continues. “Once you commit to a deal with Cordell Carrington, you’re in until I decide you’re out. You will do this, son, and you will do it when, where, and how I tell you. I don’t make idle threats.”Somewhere in the middle of pissed off and panic, my training to keep a straight face in the middle of stress kicks in while I pick which route to take.“Didn’t you tell me the day we made our deal that if you have to kill someone you’ll do it yourself? What happened to that?” Sarcastic smartass route. “Or what about one of your flunkies? Better yet, you can get old Larry over there to beat the hell out of her and rape her again before he kills her—you know, for old time’s sake. Or maybe just as a little addition to your fucking show of who’s the biggest asshole.”  Cordell’s fist slams against my nose. I wipe the blood on my shirt but my gaze never leaves his face.He furrows his brow in confusion as my words sink in. “Why did you say that? About Larry?”I scan the parking lot and map the quickest escape route. Cordell is probably packing heat in his waistband but I don’t care at this point. My plan is to ram the car in front of me and peel out of here. If I can get far enough ahead of them, I should be able to crash into an empty building near one of the police stations. If I make a large enough scene, Cordell will be placed under a spotlight. This will give me time to warn Maddy.While the wheels are turning in my head, I say, “Don’t play stupid. You know Larry abused her. You know what he did to her all those years, beginning at the ripe old age of ten and ending when she started to mature and he wasn’t turned on by her anymore. You fucking know he beat the hell out of her every chance he got. You were in the house during some of those beatings, so don’t to tell me you didn’t know.”“He ra—” Cordell’s face turns ghost-pale, the tough act deflating from his body. He shakes his head and says almost inaudibly, “I didn’t know that.”“Well you do now,” I say, gripping the steering wheel and readying myself to screech out of this parking lot before Flunky One and Flunky Two know what’s happening. Myrtle can outrun a Cadillac any day of the week.Cordell lifts his head and glances at Larry Duvall, who waves and smirks. “She never said anything,” Cordell says. He doesn’t seem to be talking to me at all. “I loved Maddy once. I knew she would find out one day, but I never thought someone would send her . . . evidence.”  I want to tell him that his current wife sent Maddy those disks. Not that I care so much about CC since she is the one responsible for putting Maddy in this situation, but I know she wants to keep CC out of Cordell’s path of destruction. I keep my mouth shut. For now.“I’ll be seeing your real soon, boy.”  Cordell opens the car door.Just for good asshole measure, I add, “He’s probably moved on to your real daughter now.”
I wait less than two minutes before leaving the parking lot.  Dialing Maddy’s number, I say a quick prayer to whoever’s listening and make my way back to Fort Bragg.  




Copyright © 2014 by Maria G. Cope
All rights reserved.  No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, distributed, stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, without express permission of the author, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages for review purposes.
This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to any person, living or dead, or any events or occurrences, is purely coincidental.  The characters and story lines are created from the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.  

Today's author interview is with the amazing, very patient (with me, at least!) Jocelyn Stover.  Stay tuned for a review of her Wanderer series!


Jocelyn Stover


1) Top 5 authors and/or books? 
Anne Mcaffrey is who taught me to love fantasy in high school. Harry Potter Series is a favorite as is The Hunger Games. I love anything fantasy with a unique spin.2)  Do you prefer eReader, Hardcover, or paperback?  Why?
I love the smell of real books so I prefer paper or hardback. But use eReader for convenience.3)  Do you have any pet peeves?  What are they?Long list of pet peeves, starting with people who try to board an elevator first without letting the people inside get off. 
4)  During the writing process, do you start at the begininng, middle, or end?I outline everything then write start to finish. If I see a future scene in my head I jot a few notes down so I remember when I get there.
5)  What's next for you? 
I am almost done with a contemporary romance set in the medical field (which is where I work.  I'm an infectious disease pharmacist). Hoping to have out February 2014.  It rides the line between New Adult and Adult and has a lot of character development.
Jocelyn's Wanderer series can be found here and here .  
Out of Reach by Jocelyn Stover


Gwen Cohen has aspired her whole life to reach her current position of project manager at Preston-Ward Pharmaceuticals, but when she stumbles upon a dirty little secret everything changes. As she struggles with the reality of evil and her own powerful legacy, she gets pulled farther from the world she knows and closer to the one she can’t deny. 
Eyes finally open, Gwen struggles to unlock the dormant magic within herself before it's too late. The lines between love and desire, and duty and commitment become exceedingly blurred and the ultimate choice to be made may not be between right and wrong but the head and the heart.


A Step Away by Jocelyn Stover


“Time...such a cruel mistress of fate. What we do with ours can either enrich our lives or destroy them, and we mortals never seem to have enough. The right time, our time, was too little and over much too quickly.”

When Gwen turns her back on a set of smoldering amber eyes in favor of a crystal blue pair, her plan is to sever all ties with the Wanderers. Her goodbye is short lived; however, when the investigation into Preston-Ward Pharmaceuticals reveals a powerful sylph has escaped. When Gwen is drawn back into the Wanderer brotherhood for her own protection she discovers she can no longer bury her feelings for Kade or ignore the growing gulf between her and Ben. As the unrelenting hunt for their ancient enemy heats up, Gwen’s attempt to straddle two worlds becomes tedious. She must choose, but when nephilim mysteriously begin to disappear her time may be up.



FIND JOCELYN 

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