Hello all! Thanks for popping into to check out my blog! Sadly, I have given up on Blogger. There are too many annoying things about it and I've officially lost my patience.
So, please update your bookmarks and trek on over to my new blog space: http://shaunagranger.wordpress.com/
Thanks!
Friday, July 5, 2013
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Photo tour stop 4: Fire!
Hello again! I hope you all are enjoying your little trip through my fair city! Today, we're taking a turn for the darker side of the series. Today I will show you the places that exist in the fourth book: Fire. (Just click on the pictures to see enlarged versions.)
In the beginning, Shay is atop a hill, overlooking Ventura. She's been meditating and desperately trying to glean any energy she can from the hillside. Atop this hill is a massive cross that marks the area where Spanish Monks used to reside. Here is that hill and the view.
In the beginning, Shay is atop a hill, overlooking Ventura. She's been meditating and desperately trying to glean any energy she can from the hillside. Atop this hill is a massive cross that marks the area where Spanish Monks used to reside. Here is that hill and the view.
You can see, people were getting married there that day. What a lovely place for a wedding.
And this is the view from the top of the hill:
Kind of appropriate that there was so much June Gloom that day. Since the book takes place in the winter, you get a better sense of what it should look like in the book
A few more pretty views of the hill:
I wanted to give you some awesome shots of the coastline where Shayna tests out her new-found flying abilities to help in the car crash, but alas, there was so much construction going on, none of the shots were usable.
But, moving right along! We get to see the beautiful Majestic Ventura Theater:
The view from the balcony (I'm sure we all liked the balcony scene ;) ):
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Photo tour week three: Water
In the very beginning we are brought on a dawn patrol surf session with Shayna at her favorite break: Surfers' Point
Dawn at the beach is a wondrous, beautiful thing.
(click the image to see a larger version)
Each of these were taken at Surfers' Point and gives you an idea of the changing moods of our beach. |
River Mouth, where fresh water meets the sea. |
So many beautiful beaches in our county, I just wish we were lucky enough to get seashells :). Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this installment!
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Photo Tour for Air: Book Two in the Elemental Series
Welcome to week two of our photo tour! Today I'm featuring the real life locations that inspired many of the places in Air: Book Two.
First up the shopping center with the movie theater and cafe where we first meet Jeremy and his invisible friends.
Then of course we have our favorite bookstore...
Which turns into a rather scary place when an unstable Jeremy looses his cool...
And then flees by jumping off the exterior balcony.
Unfortunately a lot of the other locales were made up. Much of what happened in this book were in private homes and then of course, in the Shide. None of which I could photograph.
Monday, June 10, 2013
Excerpt: Secret for a Song
Hello my lovelies! Today I'm very happy to share with you an excerpt from my friend, S.K. Fall's latest release! This is a slight departure from my normal work featured on my blog, focusing mostly on Paranormal and Fantasy, but I am so excited about this New Adult Contemporary story, I wanted to share it with you. So, without further ado, here is the excerpt!
Drew waited with me as I stood on the sidewalk outside, letting the snow dust my head and shoulders.
Drew waited with me as I stood on the sidewalk outside, letting the snow dust my head and shoulders.
“You look good in
snow,” he said.
I laughed, my cheeks
heating up as I tipped my head back to look at him. “Are you drunk?”
He stepped in
closer, blocking out the streetlight that glowed orange in my eyes. “Maybe just
a little tipsy.” He smiled. “I really meant what I sang in there.”
“Which part?” My
words were just a breath, curling into the air.
He brought his head
down to mine, so our noses were almost touching. “I’ll tell you a secret, I’ll
sell you a secret for a song,” he sang softly; the same song from the bar.
“Someday I’ll tell you, and take you back home where you belong.”
I wasn’t one of
those girls who cried at every emotional thing they saw or heard; I’d never
been that way. That might’ve explained why, when the tears cascaded down onto
my cheeks, I felt with my fingers to see what the hell was going on with my
eyes.
“Hey,” Drew said,
catching one of the tears with a fingertip. “Are you okay?”
I opened my mouth to
say I was, but all that came out was a sort of sob-whine, and more tears. Drew
responded by putting his free hand around my waist and covering my mouth with
his.
I’d like to say that
in that moment, I kept my head. That I remembered that I was lying to him, that
my entire existence in his life was only because of a huge untruth, and that I
intended to extricate myself from him and the rest of the group. I’d like to
say that I stopped the kiss.
But in that instance,
the only thing I felt, the only thing that mattered, was how hard I was falling
for Andrew Dean.
I was falling for
this scared, lonely, broken, brave man who sang songs about secrets, who lulled
me into a whole new universe using nothing but his voice. I wanted him, all of
him, and I pretended that I belonged. It was the biggest lie I’d told up to
that point, and for someone whose entire life was carved out of lies of
different colors and shades and shapes, that was saying a lot.
Buy links:
Visit S.K. Falls:
Bio:
A huge fan of spooky stuff and shoes,
I enjoy alternately hitting up the outlet malls and historic graveyards in
Charleston, SC where I live and imbibe coffee. My husband and two small
children seem not to mind when I hastily scribble novel lines on stray limbs in
the absence of notepads.
Since no writer’s biography is
complete without mention of her menagerie of animals, you should know I have
one dog that doubles as a footstool, a second that functions as a vacuum
cleaner, and a cat that ensures I never forget that my hands are, first and
foremost, for pouring cat food.
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Photo Tour of Earth: Book One in the Elemental Seires
Hello my lovelies! Today is the first installment of the photo tour of the real life places of the locations featured in the Elemental Series! First up: Earth. Mind you that I'm just showing your real places. I did make up some places, pulled them right out of my imagination. Like the high school - that place was an amalgamation of all the high schools in the district, so no pics of that.
Unfortunately when June 1st rolled around, Ventura decided to be very literal about June Gloom. It had been sunny and warm and pretty for weeks until June 1st, so some of these pics look a little dreary and I'm sorry for that.
So without further ado!
The Oak Ash and Thorn, featured in all five books was actually based on Journey Home, our local metaphysical shop. I have been going to this shop since I was six years old. Sadly, the exterior isn't the prettiest.
And you'll recall when they were finished with their meal they took some food to go for their friend and lookout, Byron. This is Byron's bench and beyond that, the first place we see the trio cast their first spells of the series.
And though the reason the three are seeking out the cause of the disruption of their quiet town and looking for someone performing blood magic, the drive down the coast to the first location is always beautiful.
(Many car companies film their commercials along this stretch of road.)
Later, the trio goes on the hunt for the guy causing all the ruckus in town, performing blood magic and trying to lure girls into the woods.
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
Be sure to check out The Spellbound Scribes blog!
As many of you know, I contribute to another blog, The Spellbound Scribes. We took a quick hiatus to revamp our blog and retool our thinking. But it is back up and we hit the ground running!
Be sure to follow me and my fellow Scribes to read some awesome creative and informative posts. You'll find flash fiction, story in the round, posts on writing craft, plans for world domination, things that go bump in the night, pretty much anything you'd like to see from a group of Paranormal writers.
Labels:
Flash Fiction,
reading,
Urban Fantasy,
Writing
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