The Absolute Truth about My Muse—as Far as You Know

@JordanDane

 

Every time someone asks me about my muse, I lie. (If you write fiction for a living, is it really lying?) I tell some people it is my two rescue dogs Taco and Sancho or I blame my weirdness on my peculiar rescue cats. There are days these aren’t lies exactly, but they’re not entirely the truth. Today I’m finally coming out with the truth, as best I can figure this out. My muse is a seven headed hydra with a flying horse body. There, I said it. And it looks something like this.

The flying horse comes from my love of anything HORSE. That love turned me onto reading as a kid in elementary school. I read every book in my school library that had a horse in it. I love westerns, but my favorite horse book was a fantasy with a flying one. I actually worked to buy my first horse and ended up with my family owning several. Noble creatures.

 

The first good-looking hunk (head) on the left is actor Eric Etebari who played the dark assassin, Ian Nottingham, in the short run TV show on TNT, Witchblade. I became so enthralled with his character of a noble assassin that I wrote fanfiction on the show for six months. When the show got cancelled, I could have shriveled up and forgotten about my writing, but it was the best thing that could have happened to me, as I look back. I made up my mind to write original stories after that.

 

Next to Ian Nottingham is Zig Ziglar, motivational speaker who flipped a light bulb over my head when he said that he wrote his non-fiction book doing it a page a day. I thought, “Hell, I could do that” and made up my mind to try. Zig isn’t a motivational speaker for nothing.

 

Next to Zig is Robert Ludlum (RIP), the master of espionage thrillers who wrote the Jason Bourne series and many other great spy novels. He amazed me with his style and pace. Even as a reader, he struck me with his amazing talent and still does when I replenish my writer’s soul by rereading books of his from my personal library. He made me a crime fiction author for life.

 

The Cyclops dude represents my crazy family. It takes a village to raise a writer and I was no exception. I still call my mom everyday and read her what I write in its raw form. My siblings are all very supportive. And my husband is my number one fan, but not in a creepy way like Kathy Bates and he axe. (In the book Misery by Stephen King, she used a turkey carving knife. Read it and you will never see Thanksgiving the same way again.) My husband clears the way so I can focus on my work every day and is my brainstorming partner when I need a level head.

 

The Grizzly bear is my memory of Alaska where I lived for ten years. My heart is still there. Whenever I get lonely for it, I contact friends I have who still live there, but I can also write about it. My books EVIL WITHOUT A FACE and ON A DARK WING are set in Alaska.

 

The dangerous looking woman on the right is my love for strong empowered women in the books I write. Even when these women have incredible emotional baggage, like my bounty hunter Jessica Beckett in my Sweet Justice series, they find a way to survive and thrive. Creating the right man to deserve them is a bonus.

 

But perhaps the most important muse is the one who reminds me why I started writing in the first place. The central woman with a book in her hand is YOU. With every book I write, I start a circle (my journey), but that journey is only half complete. It takes a reader to take that trip with me and complete the circle. Hearing from my readers, especially in the wee hours of the morning via email, can absolutely lift me to a higher place. No lie.

 

So as you can see, I am surrounded by my muse every day and it’s a seven-headed winged horse Hydra. Did you really think my muse was a puppy? Pffftt. Wiggly puppy tails and the smiley faces of my rescue dogs feed another (no less important) part of my soul, but my writing muse is a beautiful magnificent beast.

 

What about you? Do you have a hydra of influences in your closet…maybe wearing a jet pack?

Get Immortalized in a YA Book!

As part of the fab "2012 Authors are Rockstars" virtual tour hosted by Fiktshun and Two Chicks on Books, I am offering a contest for TWO book giveaways PLUS a unique prize on my tour stop host, Sarah's Books & Life blog. By commenting on the blog, tell me what name you'd like to use as a possible character in my YA novel CRYSTAL STORM, book #2 in my HUNTED series--the psychic power you'd like to have--and convince me that I should pick YOU. Use your imagination. My cast of teen characters can be innocently good or wickedly bad. Contest will end when the month of August does. Check Sarah's blog for deets!

Winners for the two books generously provided by my publisher Harlequin Teen will be randomly picked and can chose either IN THE ARMS OF STONE ANGELS or ON A DARK WING. You can enter as many times as you want.

Good luck!

Very Cool Stuff

Lots of really cool things happening as 2011 closes. Here are a few:



IN THE ARMS OF STONE ANGELS made Bookurt's WOOT LIST for 2011. To earn that honor, according to Bookyurt, it has to amp Katie up, geek her out, and leave her ridiculously happy. Katie summed up by saying, "This book took me by storm. I didn't think any YA paranormal could surprise me at this stage, but did this book ever--and wow it packs quite a punch. I've already re-read it twice."


Jen at Fictitious Musings named IN THE ARMS OF STONE ANGELS & ON A DARK WING as "Most Deliciously Awesome Reads of 2011"


Emerging Novelists recognized IN THE ARMS OF STONE ANGELS as WINNER of the Best Young Adult Novel of 2011


Booktwirps named IN THE ARMS OF STONE ANGELS as RUNNER UP "Best of 2011" in the Paranormal category.

DARK WING Tour Starts Tomorrow - Dec 19!! WOOT!!!

The ON A DARK WING Virtual Blog Tour kicks off December 19 and ends January 2, followed by a live chat on January 5 at 7:00 PM EDT when winners will be announced.


GRAND PRIZE: Jordan Dane is giving away a Kindle Fire to one lucky person!!! Contest rules will be posted at YA Bound on December 19, the start of the book tour, using Rafflecopter.


PRIZES: Ten blog stops along the tour will be hosting giveaways for signed copies of ON A DARK WING with a secret gift from character Abbey Chandler. Rules for each giveaway will be posted on the blogger's site using Rafflecopter.


WINNERS will be announced at the live chat with Jordan Dane on December 5, so make sure you're there! Special thanks to YA Bound for hosting the tour. YA author Trisha Wolfe is AMAZING!

ON A DARK WING Tour Schedule Announced!

On Dec 19 through Jan 2, 2012, the fabulous YA debut author Trisha Wolfe of the YA Bound blog will host my ON A DARK WING virtual book tour. We had over 50 blogs wanting to host a stop so we will have a BLAST tour format. My dark angel will be everywhere. Be on the lookout.


Here is the LINK for the tour schedule. Check out all the great blogs and tour stops planned. We'll have loads of reviews, character interviews (including one with Death), the inspirations behind the book, Dream OADW Film Cast and plenty of excerpts from the book, plus sneak peeks at my upcoming Crystal Child series with Harlequin Teen. There will also be a LIVE CHAT hosted by YA Bound at 7:00 PM EDT on January 5th to announce the winners of the grand prize and the giveaways. What a way to kick off 2012!

For book giveaways, my character Abbey Chandler will be sending a SECRET gift with each book. Shhh! She's not telling anyone what it is, not even me. Only the winners will know when they get the package. (She's such a drama queen.)

And the grand prize is named GRAND for a reason. Stay tuned for that. Announcement coming soon!

I love you guys!

Virtual Book Tour - YA Style (How to Create Advance Buzz)

I wanted to cross post my KILL ZONE article on Virtual Book Tours - YA Style here on my YA blog, but the comments amassing on my other blog are making that link more valuable. If you want to read about my Virtual Book Tour experiences for my upcoming tour for ON A DARK WING (Harlequin Teen, Jan 2012), please click HERE.

Sign Up for ON A DARK WING Virtual Book Tour

YA Bound is hosting the virtual book tour for Jordan Dane's ON A DARK WING with Harlequin Teen. Release date is Dec 27, 2011. SIGN UP IS OPEN NOW!


There will be a totally awesome grand prize plus plenty of book giveaways (a special gift will come with every book from character, Abbey Chandler).


For details, visit http://www.yabound.blogspot.com until the tour sign up ends on Oct 30th.

Cover Reveal & Virtual Tour Announced - ON A DARK WING

By Jordan Dane





As part of my cover reveal announcement for ON A DARK WING, I want to let everyone know on TeenShiver that the lovely Trisha Wolfe (talented author & avid YA blogger at YA Bound) will be hosting my virtual tour exclusively, along with the support of Harlequin Teen. Stop by YA Bound on Tuesday Oct 4th to see how you and your blog can be FEATURED on our tour.


Now show TeenShiver love to the Angel of Death. Post him, share him & tweet sweet nothings in his ear.

He’s listening.

From the first moment I saw him on my mountain, he mesmerized and controlled me. Now the danger of being with him oozed from every pore of my body, yet I had to come. Nothing could have stopped me from seeing him.


“You asked who I am,” he said. “Look into my eyes, Abbey. You tell me.”


~Abbey Chandler (staring into the eyes of Death) – ON A DARK WING (Harlequin Teen, Jan 2012)

ON A DARK WING Sneak Peek Teasers

I updated my YA website for my second book with Harlequin Teen – ON A DARK WING. I also just learned it will be released in January, 2012. I’m so excited about this book. It’s set in Alaska, where I lived for years.

Abbey Chandler and Death have unfinished business that started on the day her mother was killed in a tragic car accident, a tragedy the girl had a hand in making. And Death has never forgotten.

I’ve posted the book summary that will be on the cover, plus I have an excerpt sneak peek. Since I can’t post the cover yet, I included images of the story at the top of the book page that I picked just for you.

My Next Book with Harlequin Teen - Sneak Peek

My next YA with Harlequin Teen is ON A DARK WING, a paranormal suspense novel set in Palmer, Alaska. I lived in Anchorage for ten years and still feel like Alaska is home. DARK WING is scheduled for release in 2012. Here’s a sneak peek:

On a Dark Wing
Harlequin Teen (2012)
ISBN 978-0-373-21041-1

The choices I had made led to the moment when fate took over.
I would learn a lesson I wasn’t prepared for.
And Death would be my willing teacher.

Five years ago Abbey Chandler cheated Death. She survived a horrific car accident, but her lucky break came at the expense of her mother’s life and changed everything. After she crossed paths with Death—by taking the hand of an ethereal boy made of clouds and sky—she would never be normal again.

Now she’s the target of Death’s Ravens and an innocent boy’s life is on the line. When Nate Holden—Abbey’s secret crush—starts to climb Alaska’s Denali, the Angel of Death is with him because of her.

Abbey finds out the hard way that Death never forgets.