Thursday, March 31, 2011

Award!

Hey Lovelies! I'll be posting tomorrow too with some pretty awsome exciting news! HOWEVER there is more good news, this blog of mine has recieved an award! I want to take a second and thank the love Rainy for giving me the award!! THANK YOU!! :)



Rules: Post the award and the rules on your blog.

List 3 things you would change if you were overlord.

List 10 blogs you think are worthy of world domination.

Leave them a message in their comment sections with a link saying you chose them.


3 things I would change: (oh feel the power!)

There be a common sense level test before people can drive.

Computers didn't get slow, and always work like new.

That you couldn't get salmonella from eating cookie dough, brownie batter, and cake batter!


I award. . .











Check these blogs out!!

~Ottilie

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Family Ties in 2 days!!

Hey Everyone! So I'm doing a little better, and keeping busy. I'm currently suppose to be working on a 10-12 page paper, but I have been working on it all day and decided I wanted a break. Good news is Family Ties is on sale starting friday!! It really feels not that long ago that I sent in the query letter for it, now my baby is about to released! I really can not wait to hold the final product in my hands, it is a beyond a feeling of accomplishment, for me, it is like a dream. I really love doing this and i can wait to capture it again. It feels like my first book being published! For those who do not know, my parents got to see End of the Line before me because they opened my package. I was not happy poor Ryan when I was dating him got an ear full. I had them promise to at least let me be the one to open this. Also End of the Line is being edited by Sam who had done a review and offered to help when I told her I was going to make a second edition since I didn't care for Xlibris and so had canceled my services. Then the editor, Jenn who did Family Ties has volunteer her service since we've become friends from this. I can not be happier that they have offered to help me! I really appericate it and can not wait to get that all started! I am considering though adding a scene to make the wait worth it. I am hoping to go through it when I have more time (hopefully soon!) to go through and see where I can add it seen without it sounding force or not necessary. I'll keep everyone updated! :) ~Ottilie

Monday, March 28, 2011

Duchess...

Hey Everyone,













Sorry this will not be my usual upbeatness. I thought the bad part today would be losing the top of a belly ring. My mom called me today between classes to tell me that our almost 12 year old Golden Retriever, Duchess was put down. She had a good long life I know, and when she turned 11 last year she hit the wall with her health. She had arthetist, she was blind and deaf, her kidneies were failing, and right before she died we found out she had nose cancer.



She had made herself the third child in the Weber household. We got her as a small puppy when I was nine, she was potty trained at the same time as my sister, she stole my 9 year old cousin's binkie when she was a baby, she was in halloween pictures, and was there when we brought home our two cats Maximus and Ella. Whom she never did like. She was there when I was ten and we moved from Tinton Falls to Wall. The friend I needed while I adjusted to the change. Duchess was there when my ex broke up with me and I needed someone to hug. She was our spazzy puppy.

That's Maximus she's sitting on...

Duchess was a monster of a puppy. She chewed the wall off like in the scene in Marely and Me. She use to follow my grammy's 23lbs cat around the kitchen when we first got her. I can remember taking her for a walk when she was really litttle through the beginning of a heavy rainstorm which she was not happy about. She loved long walks, chasing bunnies, and stealing food. My sister once dropped a half of a cheese sandwich and it never reached the ground. Duchy loved begging for cold cuts when my mom made sandwiches. She was great with little kids and would just lay there for my really little cousins to pet her in with their baby hands. One time watching TV the characters were playing with a dog squeeky toy and she was racing around the house looking for the toy. Another time when I was dating my ex she went to him first before me. Then there was the time she was going crazy wanting food and sat on our male cat Maximus.


Sorry for this whole post, I just needed to vent. We always joked she was the third child in the family. She knew she was the baby and would look for my parents when we called them mommy and daddy. She would sit in my mom's office while she did work, under her desk during thunder storms. While she took up half the couch while watching TV with my dad in the basement.


RIP Duchess Weber May 9, 1999 - March 28, 2011

~Ottilie

Saturday, March 26, 2011

~Award~


My blog was voted for an award!! I feel so honored and really appericate it!! Thank you Deborah!! You all should check out her blog! It is pretty and she has a book coming out in like a day! She is a total sweety! Now the rules are I tell you 7 things about myself then nominate 7 other bloggers! Now what details should I spill...
1. My favorite kind of apples is Granny Smith
2. When things go missing I blame trolls, opal when objects go missing. when more personal stuff go missing gregor is to blame
3. I was tested for dyslexia in first grade because my teacher could not figure out how I could not read.
4. I have 5 first cousins (that my family talks to) the oldest being 9 years old to the youngest being almost 2. I love them very much and they make me excited to spend time with them and to one day have a family of my own.
5. For those who read Nightshade, I am a Ren supporter, not a Shay
6. Growing up I spent a lot of time with my Grammy, she and I use to watch Shirly Temp movies together, play cards, do arts and crafts and she made all my halloween costumes for years!
7. My touchy feely side is new to me, it took till the end of high school for me to be okay with hugs.
7 Lovely blogs you all should check out!
Again Thank you Deborah!
~Ottilie

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

End of the Line

Hey Everyone!
Despite the bad weather today I've gotten a few happy news today. Part of which is because I saw a test grade I wasn't sure how I did. BUT I digress! Since I have been starting to get Family Ties out there for people to know it was coming out April first, that her older sister needed a little love. The blog Welcome to my Life did a review on End of the Line!! Which she gave 5/5 stars! I could not believe it and I'm beyond words with excitment that she enjoyed this story so much!! I've been preparing myself for the bad reviews that might come because lets face it, with each book has it's good and it's bad reviews. So when I recieved this amazingly good review it brightens up even this cold and rainy day!

I know Aaron (the main male lead) is ansty for his own interview so I'll probably be doing that within the next couple of months. You see I canceled my services with Xlibirs so End of the Line will be out of print for a little bit. I am recieving help from a two volunteers to touch up on the grammar for a new and improved End of the Line! Sorry in advance for the inconvience, it is still available in e-reader format, though if you wait a little longer the grammar will be fixed and part of me wants to do something else to make this a little more special for the inconvience we'll see though!
~Ottilie
PS the review again is Welcome to my Life you should check out her blog!!

Monday, March 21, 2011

11 days Family Ties!!



Hey Lovelies!


I'm a little bubbly, because I was invited in a new fun group on Goodreads and someone brought their 4 month old puppy to class tonight! For those who don't know, I have a 11 year old Golden Reteriver so it was fun to see such an adorable puppy!! Don't get me wrong I love my puppy! Back to my real train of thought! ELEVEN DAYS TILL FAMILY TIES!!!!!! I can not believe that it is almost here already I remember sending the query letter in the fall!! Time really flies! So to prepare more for it Abby is poking me to insert the sample here for you all to get a taste! If you like the sample so much and can't wait to order your own pretty copy of the book click the book tap at the top of the blog and click sample under Family Ties!





SAMPLE

The alarm right near my head was buzzing loudly. While keeping my eyes closed I swatted at the button to turn off the awful noise. It was summer and I was getting so sick of waking up to this sound. I should be a crime for a teenager to hear the alarm in the summer. It was the end of week one of work. Opening one eye, I looked at the evil, laughing, red numbers on the clock just to make sure that I had to get up. I rolled out of bed, knowing I had to attempt to get ready for work. I stood up and did a full body stretch as I tried to wake up, but the sleep was still heavy, swarming in my mind. I pulled out my dress shirt that was tangled up in my bed sheets and slipped my arms through the long white sleeves, keeping things neat didn’t last long. Let me just tell you, not being fully awake while doing a lot of buttons equals a very bad idea. It took a little longer to button the stupid dress shirt than it should have. Nor was I about to tell anyone how many times I had to redo some of the buttons to get it right.

I shuffled the sheets around a little more to find my black skirt off my bed and slipped it on, pulled it up around my hips then checked to make sure my shirt looked fine. I clipped on my red bowtie and red cummerbund, hating how I looked. However, no matter what I put on or what I thought of what I looked like, my bed hair was surely going to be zero to no help. Looking around the floor for my shoes that I needed, I couldn’t wear just any other shoes for work. I had to wear black nice shoes. Finally I found them. Grabbing my shoes, I went down the stairs realizing that I was the most functional person in my house at the current moment, that’s disgusting. My dad was at work, Mom and Josh didn’t have to be at work for a little while so they were sleeping just a little longer. Every last second of sleep counted. I was completely and utterly jealous.

I hopped off the stairs and waltzed into the bathroom and started to brush my hair. Taming the beast of what is called my hair. My brown hair that was curly and never wanted to be controlled. I managed yet another morning of tying it into a ponytail with some shorter strands escaping to hang in my face. After other morning routine stuff, I walked out the door with a yawn and waited for Cory in front of the gate. I dropped my shoes on the ground then slipped them on.

“Hey,” I spoke quickly as he got closer, with his hands in his pockets.

“Good morning, Abby.” His voice sounding a little more awake than my own, I wanted to hit him.
“Please don’t tell me you just put good and morning together,” I whined.

My family all think once I hit college I was going to get addicted to coffee because of my charming personality in the morning.

He gave a short laugh as I hopped over the fence. I didn’t have enough energy for the jump, but I really wasn’t awake enough to bother trying to open and close it. I could not wait for my dad to fix it. Though I did suggest to just taking down the entire fence since it was a lost cause it seemed, and we weren’t little kids anymore. We knew not to just walk aimlessly in the street.

“Your mother must be proud.”

“I really don’t feel like bothering with the fence right now,” I snapped, rolling my eyes.

It wasn’t like anyone could see anything with how I leapt over.

Cory and I were walking as the sun was getting brighter; the sky was that clear robin egg blue color without a single cloud. The weather was warm already and it was only going to get hotter as the day went by. It was sad on this beautiful summer day, a day that I have been thinking of since the winter coat had to come out of the closet, that I was in a new form of containment. Work. I was going to be stuck inside instead of going to the beach and feeling the warmth of the sun on my face. I missed the freedom and sense of becoming alive again while being outside on days like this.

We finally reached the corner where we have to cross the busy street then we would be at the country club. Cory and I waited a minute till the side we were on had a green light. That meant that that side couldn’t turn right so we just hurried across the street before the light changed again. I walked into the back door, which is what our boss prefers us to use instead of the front door, before Cory and into the kitchen where Lucy, one of the chefs, started to get ready for the day. She’s the head chef. She turned around when she heard the door open.

Lucy was of average height and weight, but her personality and features weren’t anything of average. She had dark brown skin with black, tight curly hair that she kept in a bun because it was a kitchen law. She had chestnut brown eyes with flacks of lighter brown in them. She was also one of the most stubborn and spunky spirits that has ever faced the earth, and we here loved her for it. Her sarcasm was a work of art that I admire. She’s an inspiration for me. She spat in the food of the men who wouldn’t leave me alone the other night, she did things like this if she hated the table. All of the waiters knew this, and yet she was still able to keep her job; it was epic.

“Morning darlings, I have a cinnamon roll for each of you over there. I made some extra,” she spoke as she fiddled with some of the food with her back turned to us.

I smiled as I took one off the plate and leaned against the counter to watch Lucy at work. I couldn’t cook for my life. I found a way to burn Easy Mac in the microwave, so watching someone who could make the finest foods that anyone has ever tasted at work fascinated me. I took another bite of my breakfast, enjoying it. She made this fresh this morning, I could tell. Cory and I haven’t worked here long, but she treated us like her children since we were the youngest here. She was still waiting for her boyfriend of four years to pop the question to her. As much as she is sarcastic, she is very caring and protective over the people close to her and whom she worked with.

“So babies are you ready for a long day of work?”

“I am, but whether Abby is awake enough I think is the question,” Cory spoke, shoving the last bite of the cinnamon roll into his mouth as I stuck my tongue out at him, which he just did the same back to me.

“I’ll be fine, just give me a few minutes to wake up.”

END OF SAMPLE hehehe I hope it was a nice little tease of taste!

~Ottilie

Saturday, March 19, 2011

lifes little oops!

Hey!
So I really can not get over the mistake I just did! I really wanted cookies and I'm home alone at school. As I was craving chocolate chip cookies, who doesn't?! I had to pick up milk anyway and I had the other ingredients so all I had to pick up chocolate chips. So I get home and put my pj pants back on and start getting things ready. I have the butter out to start to soften, and I poured out the flour only to realize not only did I still not have vanilla extract, but no eggs!!! I swear I always manage to do something screwy when I cook cookies by myself. I swear if I tell my friend Ryan this he may never let me cook them without supervision. So I googled and searched (0nly if I put this much effort into studying for my test Monday!) and I noticed yogurt. I have vanilla yogurt so I figured worth a shot to make up for the 2 ingredients I forgot! May I add, one container of my yogurt actually worked! They are light and tasty! And no guilt about salmonella when eating the dough!! Got to love life's little oops'! I wouldn't mind doing that again! I'm hoping to use this for my one story Runaway, with the main characters in it, it is going to be hopefully amusing to all! I'm hoping I'm not the only person so easily amused!! So if anyone forgets eggs when making chocolate chip cookies, vanilla low fat yogurt works just nicely, and if you just want the dough and don't want to end up sit it also works!
~Ottilie

Thursday, March 17, 2011

FAMILY TIES PRE-ORDER!!!

EEEEE!!!
So Lovelies Family Ties is now available to be pre-ordered for Paperback!! I wasn't expecting that, it is early! To pre-order click Family Ties and you will also be able to read a small section of it also!! I will also post the link for the sample on the Books page under Family Ties!! Family Ties comes out April 1st (no this is not a joke!), but you can choice to take advantage of it.
Happy Readings!
~Ottilie

Sunday, March 13, 2011

moving along!

Hey!
So last night when I was suppose to be doing homework (it's end of spring break...) I started to get End of the Line in the new format for when I switch self-publishing companies for it. I also sent the email to Xlibris that I wanted to cancel services with them, so that should be given a fun email this week if they actually check their email. I'm not really holding my breath that it only takes one email for them to finally respond. So there will be a gap that End of the Line will not be in print format, but it still will be available in e-reader format. Sorry for the inconvience, but good news is that End of the Line will be much cheaper! I will have more control over the price, and as an avid reader myself along with being a poor college student I will be reseasonable with price! End of the Line will be kept as .99 cents, and 14 people recieved it free during the e-reader week on smashwords. They were being sold pretty quickly which I was happy about. I haven't recieved the reviews yet, but I'm hoping that people are enjoying it. I'm hoping when I change companies though for End of the Line that I can keep the cover, I will try to do that though. I adore that cover, and people seem to like it. When I was putting it in format it was a tad longer.

Playing around I was curious and was putting Project US in the same format that CreateSpace wants it was almost 400 pages, but I also it in the format as Family Ties and it was a little more then 100 pages shorter. It's interesting how that all works! Oh for those who are following my tweets and or on facebook when I mean I'm fixing a character's personality it is Rachel in Project US who I feel might be my weakest female character and so I'm toning down her crazy a little just so people don't put down the book quickly before the plot starts to really show! I can't expect Nick to carry all the weight! I'd feel better knowing I didn't have a weak female 'lead' character also. It is bad enough I have trouble explaining this plot to people without wondering if people are going to think I'm nuts!

Though I hope others are getting excited like I am for Family Ties coming out in a couple of weeks!! We are down to WEEKS!! I can't believe it!! I adore that cover also even though my parents don't seem as thrilled as me (lame!). Though my family keeps asking me different senarios then asking me if I would still teach, it's all very odd.
~Ottilie

Thursday, March 10, 2011

The Converging!





The final segment of Converging horror trilogy by George Straatman

The Converging: Closures in Blood is the concluding volume of George
Straatman’s epic Converging horror trilogy. Though rooted firmly in the horror/
supernatural thriller genre, Closures in Blood is a skilful weaving of intense action and
compelling drama that will stand as a fitting finale to this dark and richly imagined tale.
After apparently vanquishing the demon, Cynara Saravic…the now-immortal
Elizabeth Simpson returns to America to begin a desperate search for the only man she
has ever loved and the one person who can grant her absolution for the sins she has
committed while under the demon’s dark thrall. Abhorred as an abomination by both
Heaven and Hell, Elizabeth must run a deadly and insidious gauntlet to find David
Stillman, unaware that she has become the catalyst for an apocalyptic war between
good and evil. Pursued across a dying America by legions of religious fanatics and
satanic assassins, Elizabeth is forced to turn to her avowed enemy…a dark mistress
who represents her only hope of eluding her relentless pursuers and finding some
sense of closure to the dark nightmare of her life…and a hope of personal redemption.
Populated by a cast of dark and richly detailed characters, Closures in Blood is a frenetic
rollercoaster ride into darkest depths of the Converging universe…a place where the vile
and the righteous will find a grim measure or resolution in the explosive conclusion to
this master work of dark horror.

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS FOR CLOSURE IN BLOOD

What are the primary themes of this final segment?

As the title would imply, the novel’s plot revolves around putting a measure of
closure to the story elements that have bridged the trilogy. By the conclusion
of this novel, all of the primary characters who have populated the world of the
Converging will have found a sense of resolution by the novel’s closing page.
In addition to this, the story deals with the protagonist’s search for personal
redemption and atonement for her culpability in Cynara Saravic’s twisted tapestry
of evil.

Is there one common theme that ties the three segments of the trilogy
together?

This is first and foremost, a horror trilogy and its roots are fixed deep in the dark
soil of the supernatural thriller genre, but really, the story transcends the genre
to become more of an intense drama about one woman’s thirty-five years search
for a degree of normalcy after the foundations of her life have been eradicated by
cataclysm events. Elizabeth’s painful and often tragic journey is really a metaphor
for perseverance and a sustained belief in the compelling power of hope. The
horror elements merely serve as a vehicle through which this story is told.

How long did it take to complete the full Converging cycle?

The full cycle took twenty-five years to write from the first moment I took up a
pen and began the first page of the original novel until the moment I decided that I
was happy with the end product of Closures in Blood. The characters of the story
become constant companions of sorts…who I’ve come to care about and develop
an emotional attachment to.

The first two novels were characterized by intense and dark horror…that
could often be considered disturbing…does this atmosphere prevail in the
final installment?

Most definitely…I’ve attempted to infuse the novel with a pervasive sense of
desperation in which Elizabeth’s search for David Stillman is undertaken against
a frenetic background of terror and incessant pursuit. The central concept of the
Converging has always been about a wide array of forces coming together at one
juncture in time with catastrophic results and Closures in Blood is fraught with
this element. I wanted the story to unfold like an avalanche…or more correctly,
a convergence of avalanches…all coming together with a brutally violent
finality. Every character in this novel is much like a piece of an intricate jigsaw
puzzle…the commonality of each of these pieces is Elizabeth Simpson, who
serves as the lens through which they are all focused…with extremely explosive
results. This novel certainly serves up the most diverse collection of characters of
the series…and this diversity adds to the volatility of the plot.

Was there a single facet of this story that would stand out as the most
difficult to write?

The segment of the story that dealt with the teenage runaway, Cassandra Jasic
was perhaps one of the most difficult that I’ve ever written…the scene in
which she reveals the story of the abuse she suffered as a child was difficult to
write…and equally difficult to read. Ultimately, horror is an emotional response
and Cassandra Jasic’s hellish ordeal goes a long way toward justifying the depth
of psychosis she demonstrates in the story. The tone of segments such as this
one is critical…an author has to be attuned to the need for presenting this type
of material in a way that does not make it gratuitous or even worse…appears to
condone the actions being depicted.

With the conclusion of this series, is there any one character with whom you
feel most connected?

Though I’ve enjoyed all of my characters immensely and feel a strong affinity for
each, I would say that Elizabeth Simpson is the individual for whom I have the
most empathy…I often reflect on the things that she endured over the course of
the three novels and I’m suffused by a profound sense of sadness. Cynara Saravic
presented me with the most perplexing technical challenges as a character, but

Elizabeth Simpson is the one who resonates emotionally through the trilogy…her
closure is, for me, the most emotionally poignant.

Are the any specific moral concepts contained within this final novel?

It would be difficult to write a two thousand page story without inculcating some
personal philosophy into the fabric of the story…The story is violent and bloody,
but beneath this, there resonates a subtle judgment on the nature of this violence.
The story also holds an implied statement on the nature of seduction and the way
that an individual’s personal prejudices can ensnare them into accepting things
that both dangerous and illogical. This subtext is most clearly demonstrated by
the characters of Gregor Ingram and Contayza Prowzi, whose inherent prejudices
allow them to be deceived into seeing Elizabeth Simpson as the ultimate
manifestation of evil.
Elizabeth Simpson takes center stage in this novel and it is through her that
I have implicitly conveyed my own personal view on violence and moral
integrity…Through all of her travails and loss, Elizabeth retains an inviolable
sense of dignity and grace and vehemently refuses to succumb to the more primal
urges that drive many of the novel’s other characters…she comes closest to
representing my own perspective on the treatment of violence in art.

With the conclusion of the trilogy…have we seen the last of Elizabeth and
Cynara?

As mentioned earlier…this cycle had a twenty-five year creative life. In that time,
I have transitioned from a horror novelist to a fantasy novelist…a genre with the
broadest creative potential. Still, it would be impossible to invest so much creative
and emotional energy into characters such as Cynara and Elizabeth and not have a
strong bond with both. The Converging as a concept has definitely run its course,
but I have tinkered with the idea of writing a novel that tells the story of the
demon Cynara Saravic and her life through the years between her disappearance
in 1850 to her appearance in the fictitious town where the first novel takes place
in the 1970s. As for the trilogy’s primary protagonist, Elizabeth Simpson, I have
developed a plot outline for a novel that would take place some years after the
events chronicled in the epilogue of Closures in Blood. Both of these notions are
in the formative stages and whether they will germinate into full novels, only time
will tell. My primary focus over the next few years will be on development of my
fantasy cycle – Journey through the Land of Shades.

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3046802.George_Straatman

Finally, here is a direct connection to my sales page on Sony

http://ebookstore.sony.com/search?keyword=george+straatman

The trilogy is also available on Kobo, Barnes & Noble, Apple and Smashwords

he can be contacted through Facebook under George Straatman

he can be contacted via e-mail @ geolouicewind@yahoo.ca

Guest Author

Hey!!
My spring break is nearing an end and I'll be back in classes Monday...not too happy about that. However on better news a fellow blogger had me/End of the Line as a guest author today! You should check out his
blog! You should check out the Interviews/Reviews page, the link is also posted there and I updated it a little. When Sam is done doing a review and or when others want to I will leave the link to their blog on that page!!
~Ottilie

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Cover revealing!!!


HEY!!!
I didn't expect to get the cover today considering the email yesterday and my blog post this morning but TADA!!


I don't know what it is excatly, but there is something that keeps my eye to it and I'm hoping that will be the case for others!! Doesn't that big leering branch remind anyone else of the trees from the swamp in Snow White? The yellow flowers are fun and bright! Now brings the I can't wait to see the full final product in April!!!
~Ottilie

keeping busy!

Hey Everyone!
I feel like I'm just one of those people who feel the need to keep themselves busy, even if it is with random stuff. One of my quirks I was noticing when I bought Blue is for Nightmare at the closing Borders by me that it was the newer cover. I was searching online to make sure I could get the newer style covers for the other books online or whatever when I got that far, I can. I was also noticing I have so many books to read this summer! I have a slight addiction to books, as the ladies I talk to on Goodreads puts it, 'literary junky'. The term is so true! Along with it is very amusing. I also am planning on finishing part 2 of Pirates this summer!! I even have my friend Taylor to sit on my case a little to make sure that it gets done! I am on a mission, also a little curious on how it will end myself, I normally have an ending in my when I first start writing. This one though I have a couple of different directions I can go. However along with the bunch of books I WANT to read, I might be taking a class online this summer, economics, ugh just typing that my stomach turns!

For book process update! I know I'd said that I would be showing the cover for Family Ties last week, I am sorry that I did not. I have not seen it yet myself! My friend Ryan was laughing via facebook at my ansty-ness! If one could glare via facebook I would have done it to him yesterday! He lives in Long Island hence why I would have to do harm via facebook. I emailed BCP yesterday, trying not to sound pushy or mean considering through email words can be read many different ways. I'm purely just very interested to see what it looks like! BCP says it is almost done, but he's not in love with the cover yet. It's a comfort to know that they want to make sure it is just right without rushing! There is care going into it!

List of wanting to read and own:
-The Golden Spiral
-Unearthly
-Blue is for Nightmare
-Hunchback of Notre Dame
-East of Eden
-City of Bones
-Outlander
-The Ladyship's Companion
-Perfect Chemistry
-Prophecy of the Sisters
-Wildwood Dancing
-Academy 7
-Vampire Academy
-White Cat
(no specific order!)
Then there is so many others I want to read, but don't know, because if you notice, most of those books are part of a series! There are several stories I'll probably be working on as well! Though it can't be long now till summer!! I drove by Belmar and Spring Lake beaches yesterday!! Moving water! There was no snow or anything! For those who are not from Jersey, the snow from our several couple of feet snow storms just recently melted, and we can finally see grass! I love the beach and have been going since I was 6 months old, I'm currently going through beach withdrawal so I can not wait till I can start going again! Spring is almost in the air!
~Ottilie

Sunday, March 6, 2011

FREE End of the Line!!

Hey!
So I was trying to sign End of the Line up for smashwords free e-reader week, but I was having trouble getting it in, but now it is FREE from March 6-12!! I must be crazy but if you use smashwords, iPhone/iPod Touch, and on Aldiko for Android phones then you can download End of the Line (my frist book) for FREE!! If you don't look at End of the Line you should defiently check out the other books that on sale in there! Even though I'm just the author, it's a free copy of End of the Line what is it that you got to lose? You get to read a Young Adult adventure of seven people ranging from 17-6 trying to stick together to survive.

Asteroids came crushing down at Earth at unbelievable speeds, killing off most of the world as a group of six children ranging from six to seventeen stick together to survive lead by Lauren and Aaron. Even though the two didn’t know each other at school they stay together to find food, shelter, and cover from Dean Manson, a free man from prison who seeks revenge on Aaron. As the two try to stay alive, and hide from this powerful man, many things come their way, starvation, illness and even falling in love with each other as the two try their best to deny it. It is when Dean Manson finally figures out how to get back at Aaron is their emotions finally clear...

~Ottilie

Thursday, March 3, 2011

genres and movies

Hey lovlies!
Tonight my close friend Taylor and I were talking about books tonight. I'm planning on making her read Matched this summer, I enjoyed it, more so because I thought that the author did an amazing job then the book, but that is because I'm not really for distopia books. However from a writing point the author did an amazing job. I was telling taylor that I learned that the author of Matched, Ally Condie, has the same agent as Stephenie Meyer. I am not one to bash authors so please do not take what I'm writing about to be harsh. Her and I were talking about how we are hoping the world doesn't hope from one obbession to another, vampires to distopian books.

She had mentioned that they are making Hunger Games into a movie as well. I had heard that Vampire Academy into on as well so I guess it truly will be a battle of genres. It's jsut sad that people find these nitches and just find books that fit that model to keep the public happy, why can't we just explore everything. I made a joke to my friends once i guess a year or two ago that if I wanted my writing to pick up pace, I had to publish a vampire book. I talk to all these aspiring and independent authors on Goodreads and it is sad that there are so many people who write and have these tales, but are not getting noticed because their book is not the latest obbession. Don't get me wrong some of the authors that are getting the buzz defiently deserve it!! They should be singing from the mountain tops with excitement!! I know I would be!

However, you know the rumors that girls are asking their boyfriends why can't they be like edward cullen, I kid you not when I worked at a the Rec. Center at Montclair I had a guy tell me his girlfriend got up caught with the obbession and and literally told him he needed to be like a fictional character. I do not blame Stephenie Meyer at all, or hold her accountable for that. I'm not an edward fan, and please don't ask "does that mean you are on team jacob?" it does not, I prefer rougher men, currently Ren from Nightshade is catching my eye. Yes as a single female I do read books and swoon at fictional males, how could I not with some of these guys written?! However when you break up with a person whom you've been dating for awhile because he is not like a fictional character, I'd go see someone.

I'm sensing a turn from vampires to distopia books/movies. Don't get me wrong when a book turned into a movie done RIGHT is awsome. I made a joke that could help End of the Line and if I time it right help sweep up Project US (if my publishers like it). Part of me was like ahhh yay people reading my stuff!! Then a part of me is like oh god, picking up in a public freenzie...I'll let the two little mini me's in my head battle that out if it actually happens...

To be a successful author does one have to write what society is creating? Or do authors write what they please and just pray that someone will read their work?

Sorry for those who listened to my babble. I just needed to get that out of my head. Please do not think less of me for that rant if it made any sense at all.
~Ottilie

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Character Corner

Hey! So on Twitter and Facebook I've been mentioning that I had a small little surprise coming up!! I thought it would be fun to get to know the main characters a little bit before Family Ties comes out. I hope you all enjoy it more then it makes me sound crazy.


I sit in a chair crossing my legs looking at Abby and Cory. I push some hair behind my one of my ears as I feel Abby’s and Cory’s eyes on me.

Me: “So, you two must be pretty excited about the upcoming release of your story?”

Abby: “Well I was kidnapped, so book release verse being held against my will, you can tell it is hard to tell which sounds more like fun.”

Cory turns to look at his shorter friend. Blinks a couple of times before opening his mouth, he gives a small laugh.

Cory: “That is her way of saying yes we are excited to have others read what we went through that one summer. You said it yourself that your friends have not really read our tale.”

Abby grumbles: “Stupid Rachel and Nick hogging up the glory…”

I raise an eyebrow.

“Abby, darling I love you very much. I love your spunk and your humor will win people’s hearts!” I say quickly, I love Project US, others will meet Nick and Rachel hopefully sooner rather then later.

Abby smiles.

Abby: “Well I mean I am fabulous, I can’t speak though comparing Nick and Cory.”

Abby looks up at Cory, smirking and he slowly started to beam. Cory’s one hand dropped finding hers close to him, interlacing their fingers at their sides.

Me: “I know there are some things I’d like to say about the upcoming tale, do you guys have anything you’d like to say first?”

Abby slaps her free hand hard against Cory’s mouth.

Abby: “Don’t you say anything Cory, you’ll get over excited and spill too much!”

I shift around…wanting to spill myself…

Abby: “So, what can I say that will keep this fun for me, not give too much away, and still get people to want to read the story?”

Abby looked up at the ceiling, looks deep into thought.

Cory: “We are just like ever other teenager in New Jersey who thinks there town is no-wheresville. Abby and I here just get a waiter job in the town’s country club. This one decided to ruin my summer and get herself kidnapped-“

Abby pulls her hand out of Cory’s and slaps him upside the head.

Abby: “Yes I purposely planned on getting kidnapped and-“

Me waving my arms around in the air: “AHHHH shhhhh!!!!! Abby don’t spoil anything! Let the readers find out on the first of April!!!”

Abby crosses her arms over her chest while smiling: “Fine!”

Me: “Cory you have anything else to say?”

Cory shaking his head: “Nah I’ll wait till the reviews are in.”

Abby starts to open her mouth so I quickly speak.

Me: “Well that was a fun first Characters Corner!! This was an interview with Abby and Cory the main characters from Family Ties, be sure to check it out in April!!”

Family Ties
Abby was raised with not nursery rhythms by Mother Goose, Fairy Tales, or Asepses Fables, but narratives of her Great Grandmother, Emma. Emma has the dream life that got past down to the family as a story or so Abby thought. During one of the hottest summers in a long time in New Jersey Abby and her best friend Cory are working at a restaurant in town while their peers go to the beach to have fun. All the two do is work and Abby keeps thinking she rather be doing something bigger then her town and be out of the sight of her overprotective family. Abby learns after she is kidnapped that she has to be careful for what she wishes for, because it might come in a form she may not be expecting…

~Ottilie
P.S. HAPPY 2 YEARS END OF THE LINE