giveaway – Page 3 – Sincerely Karen Jo

Hello my fellow book lovers and welcome to my stop for the Marked Beauty Blog Tour. If you’re new to my blog, welcome to Sincerely Karen Jo. Today I have S.A. Larsen share her ideas and techniques for awesome world building. Happy reading lovelies!

The World of … (World Building)

Establishing Your Story Grid

by S.A. Larsen

World building is an essential part of any fictional tale. It gives your story legs to stand on and an arena to flourish in. It can even become a character itself.

Constructing a story’s world is much like walking through a supermarket and honing in on specific ingredients that when brought together create an unforgettable meal. You still see the other cans of soup and the jars of pickles, but these particular pieces fit into your puzzle that contribute to your story problem, character development, and themes. The best mixtures, I’ve found, are the ones that play a duel or even a triple role, enriching the world, challenging a character, and pressing the story forward. But in order to do that your world must have a grid – specifics that are constant and foundational, giving the reader a steadfast platform to walk on.

So, how do you build it so they will come . . . and stay?

Ask yourself real-life questions and come up with structural answers that will serve as your building bible and your grid.

What is the world like? Is the environment harsh? Even though your story world is mostly set at a playground behind an elementary school where it always rains, you need to decide what it looks, feels, and smells like, and keep those constant. You need to establish a sense of place for the reader.

*A note about the senses: When I begin reading a fictional story, one of the first things I notice are the different smells. Why? It’s just my thing, I guess. Although I can’t literally grasp on to the sweet aroma of the warm, sticky bun the character is devouring or inhale the briny scent wafting in from the open sea, I can image both. A rich story world touches the five senses, guiding the reader deeper into every aspect without becoming distracting. And if you toss in some supernatural element you can really have fun with these. But remember it must be plausible and ground the reader more soundly into this world. If it doesn’t, you probably shouldn’t use it.

What are the story world’s necessities – What do the people eat? How do they prepare their food? Do they have special customs or rituals? What language do they speak? Is it a free world or are limitations in place? Elaborating on these will set the feel for your world. Your characters will become that more believable as you walk them through scenes incorporated with these details.

Develop the world’s outer dressings – How do the people dress? What type of transportation do they use? What are their living quarters like? Where do they work, and what type of work do they do? What are their schools like? Where do they do their shopping? How do they stay connected and communicate? Answers to these types of questions should give you a visual of what the world looks like at a glance. It will also add layers to your characters, molding them into three-dimensional forms that will only enhance and deepen the world you’re creating.

Inner Dressings – Are there prejudices in this world? How do people feel about their world at the story’s onset? What would they like to change? What is their moral code and how does that affect interpersonal interaction? Answers to these types of questions should give you a view of the hidden desires and fears of your story world.

*This one is interesting because for some characters their inner dressings will probably change by the end of your story. That’s their character growth. But establishing the demeanor of your story world at the beginning is vital to showing this eventual character transformation.

Are there magical elements in play? If so, what are they and what is their scope? How are they limited? Who can use them? And if some characters can’t, why not? Defining rules for these elements will only make the world you’re creating stronger, bolder, and more plausible.

What happened before the story began? What is the history of this world? Of its people? (People could refer to a family or a clan or a group in a school.) Establishing backstory is an important ingredient to expanding your world building. It gives it reality, blood and sweat-equity. And this is a great place to use your world building as a character. It can be a ton of fun. Different characters will have unique reactions to the world before you began this story world.

How did the history of this world alter it for the present? Are their social or environmental issues to explore? If there was a natural disaster, how do those people live differently now? Does it show in their attitudes and belief systems?

There are many other elements we could explore here. But the main point is that the reader must be made aware of the sights and sounds, the rules and geography, and even the history of your world. And if you’re writing a tale where otherworldly or supernatural elements come into play then your world building needs even more structure. Readers must have a guide when they enter a new story world, and you are it.

Marked Beauty

S.A. Larsen

Marked Beauty Cover

Publication Date: October 2017

Publisher: Ellysian Press

Add on Goodreads

Buy Chapters | Amazon | B&N | Kobo | iBooks

Uncovering hidden secrets can sometimes kill you . . . or worse, steal your soul.

Anastasia Tate has a secret. She can feel the emotions of others through their life energy auras. Not a welcome gift for a teenager. Especially when a sinister presence begins stalking her.

Viktor Castle also has a secret. He’s tasked with protecting humanity yet cursed by an ancient evil to destroy it.

After Viktor saves Ana’s life, her abilities grow stronger. Drawn together, she senses Viktor has answers to lifelong questions. Only he shuns her at every turn, knowing he has saved her only to put her in more danger.

As Ana struggles with her attraction to Viktor, he tries everything to bury his unexpected feelings for her. But they must find a middle ground. For only together can they combat the dark forces threatening both their lives . . . and their souls.

About the Author

S.A. LARSEN is the author of the award-winning novel Motley Education, the first book in a fantasy-adventure series for middle grade readers. Her work has appeared in numerous local publications and young adult anthologies Gears of Brass and Under A Brass Moon by Curiosity Quills Press. Marked Beauty is her debut young adult novel. Find her in the land of snowy winters and the occasional Eh’ya with her husband of over twenty-five years, four children, a playful pooch, and three kittens. Visit her cyber home anytime at www.salarsenbooks.com.

Follow and Connect with S.A. Larsen

Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Blog | Goodreads

Blog Tour Giveaway: One (1) winner will receive a $25 Amazon Gift Card (INT)

markedbeautybloggiveaway

Join the Rafflecopter giveaway

Release Party Giveaway: What better way to celebrate a book birthday then by a giveaway! There are many ways to enter, which you’ll find below. You can win an iTunes, Amazon, or Starbucks gift card, an authentic Vera Bradley Little Crossbody in Cobalt Tile, an assortment of bookish swag, and even a KINDLE Fire HD 7″! The giveaway runs from release day, October 17, 2017 to December 5, 2017. Winners will be announced via social media December 7, 2017.

markedbeautyreleaseparty

*No purchase necessary to win*

However, if you have read Marked Beauty or purchase it and read you can earn extra entries by posting a review on any major online retail bookstore and Goodreads! All the information you’ll need is in the form below.

BUT there’s more…

FOR WRITERS! – Writers who enter can WIN a first five pages critique!

Join the Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule

MB_Teaser_2

Thanks for reading lovelies. Hope you enjoyed this post and don’t forget to leave your comments down below.

Sincerely Karen Jo

The Billionaire’s Ex-Wife
Leslie North
(The Jameson Brothers, #1)
Publication date: October 19th 2017
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Sam Jameson always gets what he wants and what he wants is his ex-wife.

Sam views the world in black and white—a strong attitude that’s earned him billions in the business world and an ex-wife in the real world. Sam wants is to choose his own future, but to do this he must pass a test set out by his older brother, and CEO: onboard his wayward brother, Eddie. Sam accepts the challenge but isn’t sure what to think when he learns that the woman he’d love and left is part of the test too.

Trinity Jameson is a fixer. It doesn’t matter if it’s ugly furniture or an ornery employee, Trinity has the touch and she’s spent most of her life helping others achieve their best potential. But when her ex-husband comes back to town to prove he’s got a heart, Trinity makes a decision: She’s not going to fix his problems for him—no matter what his smoldering blue eyes ask of her, she’s going to say “No.” She’s determined that he’ll fix his own mess this time.

Before Sam landed in New York, his goal was to leave the city just as fast. But when Trinity saunters into the room looking better than ever, his desire begins to shift. He realizes that what he really wants is what he can no longer have: Trinity. Sam has no trouble stoking their physical fire, but hot sex isn’t going to be enough to heal the hurt he’d caused long ago. Sam isn’t going to be dissuaded by her new found emotional wall. He helped her build it, and now he’s going to knock it down.

Goodreads / Amazon

—

EXCERPT:

His favorite suit was wrinkled. It didn’t matter if there was only one: the wrinkle was there, leering up at him like a lopsided, mocking smile.

Sam Jameson shook out his sleeve, but the minor imperfection remained. Minor, he thought to himself in consolation. A wrinkle that wouldn’t smooth was the least of his problems today; still, it lingered in the back of his mind as much as it lingered on the otherwise crisp fabric of his suit.

Sam distracted himself by gazing about the familiar waiting room of the New York office. He missed the East Coast more than he could express, and he wasn’t an expressive man by nature—but even he could appreciate the familiar, sanitized smell of the office, the classic wooden furnishings, and the precision of the New York City skyline just outside the high window. The L.A. office always smelled like someone was secretly giving manicures in the staff kitchen, and the West Coast skyline was…quirky. Slipshod. Obscured by a permanent haze and decidedly not up to code.

L.A. was to blame for Sam’s current predicament, of that he had no doubt. Who the hell lodged a complaint about “annoying perfectionism” and took their business elsewhere? Apparently L.A. clients did. Sam blamed the strange holistic culture that had seized the West Coast—the culture of “mistakes are successes that haven’t happened yet”, or whatever inane philosophy Californians liked to paste on the bumpers of their hybridized cars—but his older brother William didn’t see things the way he did. That was partly why Willian was CEO, and Sam was COO, of Jameson Advertising Agency: it wasn’t just a matter of age, but perspective…or so their father had once explained it.

If only Sam could give William a momentary demotion and make him see things from his point of view. This move to onboard Eddie was a mistake. More than that, it was far below Sam’s paygrade—but even he wasn’t so callous as to say as much out loud. He had learned early that when it came to family, talking in strictly business terms wasn’t exactly smiled upon.

But surely even William could see, from his lofty vantage as CEO, that bringing Eddie any closer in the family business was a mistake. Their father had certainly thought so. The youngest Jameson simply wasn’t cut out for more than wining and dining clients.

Inviting the family screw-up back into the fold didn’t seem like a wise move to Sam—but who was he to protest it? He would get in, do the job to a more than acceptable degree, and get out, the same as he always did. William wouldn’t be able to argue with the results, and then Sam could get the hell back to L.A. and move onto better things.

The door opened and Sam rose, applying one last swipe to the wrinkle. He raised his gaze, expecting to find Eddie’s lopsided grin and ridiculous eyebrows waggling a greeting.

Instead, it was his own ex-wife he found staring back at him.

“Trinity.” He hated how out of practice he suddenly sounded saying her name out loud. Not a day had passed since their separation that it didn’t enter his head on a repeating loop, always in threes: Trinity. Trinity. Trinity. “What are you doing here?”

His ex-wife blinked her gorgeous doe eyes like he had her caught in a crosshairs. Obviously his presence in the room wasn’t a surprise to her, but maybe seeing an estranged spouse in the flesh shook her as much as it shook him.

Author Bio:

Leslie North is the pen name for a critically-acclaimed author of women’s contemporary romance and fiction. The anonymity gives her the perfect opportunity to paint with her full artistic palette, especially in the romance and erotic fantasy genres.

The truth of the matter is she loves her fictional persona, Leslie North, more than her normal, day-to-day persona! Her bestselling books focus on strong characters and particularly women who aren’t afraid to challenge an alpha male. Inspired after years of travel, her stories are set all over the world, from the tough streets of Russia to the beautiful beaches of the middle east.

Leslie fell in love with romance when she first picked up a scrappy, dog-eared romance book from her local library. She began writing soon after and the rest, as they say, was history. She now lives in a cozy cottage on the British coast and enjoys taking long walks with her two Dalmatians, George and Fergie.

She LOVES reader feedback, and if you have any comments, don’t hesitate to contact her via e-mail: leslie@leslienorthbooks.com.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

GIVEAWAY!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sexy beauty couple