Author @JacqPaige Talks About "Following your muse…" | The Alterealm Series Book Tour | Silver Dagger Tours Presents New Adult Paranormal Fantasy

The Alterealm Series by J. Risk is on virtual book tour. The new adult paranormal fantasy stops at the blog with an excerpt from The Witch....

The Alterealm Series by J. Risk is on virtual book tour. The new adult paranormal fantasy stops at the blog with an excerpt from The Witch.

Be sure to enter for a chance to win the giveaway for a signed paperback of The Huntress, e-book of choice by author, or $10 Amazon GC (1 winner each) and follow the Silver Dagger book tour (for other dates see the link at the bottom of the post).

Following your muse…

What drives a writer to sit down and write?  The love of the written word? Creating worlds and characters? For the readers entertainment?

It’s most likely all of those, but for me it’s the never-ending nagging of my muse.  She will literally deprive me of sleep when a plot needs to be jotted down and will not let me rest if there’s a particular scene she has playing over and over in my head.  

I know it’s easy to blame the exhaustion on a fictitious muse … I believe every writer out there has one and will agree that even though they are beyond exhaustion with no time to spare the drive is coming from somewhere inside they can’t identify.  That would be their muse.

I have been asked how I find the time to write as much as I do in addition to being a mother to five and having a full-time 60+ hours a week job at one point.  My answer … I don’t know! And I don’t. I have no idea how I’m able to sit up long past when most of my body has already gone to sleep and write entire chapters.  Does it ever catch up to me? Yes. In those few times my muse is otherwise entertained or resting I’m able to take a nap from time to time. Of course, she is recharged much faster than I am and will wake me when a new idea has formed.

Presently I have a list of plot ideas and characters that are waiting to be written.  If I were to sit down and do nothing but write ten hours a day it would keep me with more than enough to do for the next few years – at least.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining – I love my muse.  I even gave her my middle name and that’s what we see on the covers of my books.  We have a wonderful relationship, I just need an assistant and another set of hands to type with to keep up with her.  I do wish she would learn how to proof read and edit, that would save me hours of stress as I try to get one story off to the publisher as she’s feeding the next one into my brain.    

I may have titled this piece wrong, I don’t follow my muse I hang on tight and hope she stops occasionally so I can eat and sleep.  

I definitely need a clone or assistant…

The start of The Alterealm Series…

When I started writing The Huntress, I didn’t stop to plot it out. I knew the start of the book and the rest just happened on the fly, the story came so quickly I could barely type fast enough to keep up with it. I don’t normally sit down and plot a book before writing, but I do have a general idea of who, what, when and where. With Alterealm I didn’t know any of that.

I didn’t intend to write a series, just a solo story under a new pen name that wouldn’t have any “R” ratings that both new adults and adults could enjoy.  

I sat down to read the story when it was finished and realized I’d just committed to writing at least nine books in the series. There was no way I could write one book when I’d introduced nine dynamic brothers on the pages. I realized I’d created a whole realm of characters, literally.

By book two I had to start a binder to keep each character/name mentioned in it, so I could keep traits, appearances and so many other details straight. (more than once my beta readers and editor have brought to my attention that characters eye colors have changed throughout a book) With each book I bring a new main character in, and that usually comes with secondary characters.  I’m currently writing book six and to date there are eighty characters or names mentioned, whether in passing or appearing more than once. I had no idea one story was going to go this far.

It wasn’t just character facts I had to organize for quick reference, I created an entire world of beings, abilities and items I had to remember. Different realms, porting, barriers, wards, mages, witches, not to mention other beings that aren’t quite human — this is just a small bit of what I had to sort out and keep straight.

My solo story of a bounty hunter waking up in a different realm turned into a series of nine royal brothers from another realm that keep the balance between their realm and ours. It turned into a series with dynamic women of strength that are both compassionate and fierce at the same time. It turned into a series with the most awesome abilities and funniest moments any characters I’ve created have had.

I don’t know where the next four books are going to go, or if there will be more beyond the original nine, but I can’t wait to find out.   

The Huntress

The Alterealm Series Book 1

by J. Risk

Genre: New Adult Paranormal Fantasy

Where all those things that go bump in the night are real and other realities do exist.

What would you do if you woke up in another realm where the residents are beings from fictional tales?

Where all those things that go bump in the night are real and other realities do exist!!

Damariss Maxx just woke up in a world where all those things that go bump in the night are real.

An alternate realm where the residents are beings she thought only existed in fiction.

Will she find the way to keep life normal and simple for those unknowing without losing her own sanity?

All she has to do now is find a way to protect the people in her world from the nightmares that have bleed from this other realm into it and fulfill a prophecy that says she's their huntress queen or doom this other world to a bleak, violent existence.

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The Seer

The Alterealm Series Book 2

Sometimes crazy is all that works…

Different. Weird. Unwanted. Crazy. Afraid.

That’s been the story of Crissy’s life.

A life spent never quite knowing why she has these visions in her head.

And just why she’s so afraid.

Finding herself important and accepted for the first time in her life, the workings of this other realm are confusing, but feel familiar. She’s seen it before, and that feeling may just be home.

Now in a place where she’s understood and loved, Crissy’s visions may just help to tip the balance in the fight between good and evil.

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The Empath

The Alterealm Series Book 3

A century of questions brought no answers, until now.

A century always on the move, never aging and not being able to form relationships, Alona has far more questions than answers. Absorbing the emotional turmoil of others is bad enough, with the headaches, nausea and blackouts, but it is the loneliness that is a never-ending ache.

A bizarre encounter with a crazy-erratic redhead in a nightclub brings her the promise of answers, if only she can open her mind to the possibilities. Life will change in ways she never thought possible, or could ever imagine.

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The Witch

The Alterealm Series Book 4

Doing a favor for your best friend never works out.

Finding a best friend and roommate in Erin, Bethany agrees to use her magic to help a group of Erin’s new friends. But something told her that things were off, and now she’s got to use her powers to get her friend back.

Sharing a small apartment and struggling to survive was far better than being locked away with no word of Erin, and a niggling feeling that the stories she was told aren’t the truth.

Discovering another realm, learning about her powers and making things right, Bethany must make amends for all she did wrong, no matter the consequences.

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J. Risk is a pseudonym used by Author Jacqueline Paige (Multi-published Paranormal Romance author of The Magic Seasons series, The Hidden Senses Trilogy, The Dream Series and more)

I wanted to write a story that would fit into new adult levels as well as adult. Something that was serious with fun elements--paranormal / fantasy that everyone could read and enjoy.

I've decided to use J. Risk as the pen name for this to separate this series from my other writing which is definitely adult reading material.

Jacqueline Paige lives in Ontario in a small town that's part of the popular Georgian Triangle area. 

She began her writing career in 2006 and since her first published works in 2009 she hasn't stopped. Jacqueline describes her writing as "all things paranormal", which she has proven is her niche with stories of witches, ghosts, physics and shifters now on the shelves. 

When Jacqueline isn't lost in her writing she spends time with her five children, most of whom are finally able to look after her instead of the other way around. Together they do random road trips, that usually end up with them lost, shopping trips where they push every button in the toy aisle, hiking when there's enough time to escape and bizarre things like creating new daring recipes in the kitchen. She's a grandmother to four (so far) and looks forward to corrupting many more in the years to come.

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The Witch Excerpt:

I glared at the clear wall. I’d done it all right. The royal guard had called someone when I told him I had news of Leone and now I was standing in a large glass box. I touched it, I wasn’t even sure if it was glass, whatever it was I was surrounded by it. I couldn’t even see out of it, how that was possible to not see through clear glass, I had no idea. I paced around trying not to scream.  I’d already tried magic to no avail. It was blocked in here.

Something changed on the one side of my cube and a man stood looking at me through the glass. Another giant. He had long black hair and haunting grey eyes.  He didn’t look anything like Leone. He just stood there legs apart, arms crossed over his large chest, just looking at me like I was a bug.

I didn’t know if he could hear me or not, but I didn’t have time for this staring contest. “As much as I appreciate being chosen to be part of your display case barbies, I don’t have time for games. I need to find Leone’s brothers.”

He turned his head and then two more men stood there. Twin giants. Holy crap was all I could think there.

“Guys, this isn’t going to help Leone. Find me someone in charge.  Do you guys speak English or is all that muscle blocking off your voice boxes?”  I sighed. No reaction at all.

Two women appeared and then in the span of a few moments ten pairs of eyes were staring right at me. They were talking, but I couldn’t read lips. I looked for any resemblance to Leone. One had the same brown eyes, and another had the same hair color as Leone, neither looked very approachable. The one with the I-will-kill-you-and-not-think-twice aura and same hair color as Leone moved to the side.

“You have news of my brother?”

I actually jumped when his voice filled my cube. I nodded. “Yes.”  I’d found his family.

“Where are you from?”  

I frowned. “Pluto, what the hell does that matter?”

He turned and again I couldn’t hear them.  

“Seriously?”  Reaching into my pocket I pulled out the chain and pendant Leone had said everyone knew was his.  Holding it in my palm, I went over to the wall and slapped my hand against it. All eyes went wide. Oh, they knew that, I thought. “Figured that would get your attention,” I said just in case they could hear me. I stared at the one with Leone’s eyes. “I don’t have time to screw around. Leone needs help. Now.”

The door to my display cubical opened. The guard that had put me in here motioned for me to come out. I did hesitantly, then went where he pointed. Into the space with those ten anxious and angry looking people. Mostly angry.

“Talk quickly,” the big scary one said, then waved his hand for me to speak.

“Oh yeah, you’re definitely related to him.”  My hands tingled, my magic must not be blocked in this room. He was huge and scary as shit. He stepped toward me. I held up my hand, sparks and all toward him. “You stay right there.” I shook my head. “I don’t want to hurt anyone.”

Someone snorted.

A dark-haired man with a scar on his face stepped in my direction. He didn’t look happy at all. “Back off, Scarface. I’m here because I need help.”

I felt this pressure inside my head and raised my hands further making sure all could see the energy sparking from them. “Whoever is trying to mess in my head, knock it off.”

“Look, honey,” A tall man with a baby face and serious eyes held his hands up toward me.

“Stay there, Tarzan, we don’t have time for this.”

“Oh gods. Can she stay? We need this in our lives. I need this in my life.” The tall twin with the goatee said, a big grin on his face.

“Excuse me?” The tall dark-haired woman with drool worthy boots said glaring at him.

He shook his head. “Beloved, for entertainment purposes only. She knew Troy was messing in her head, Rafael is Tarzan, and she’s going to hurt Victor? Come on, it’s awesome.”

My nerves were winding tighter and tighter inside me. Soon I was going to start blasting anyone that moved.