Gemini Rising Guest Post and Excerpt

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Gemini Rising by Jessica O'Gorek
YA Paranormal Romance/Sci-Fi
Date Published: 4/13/2013

Book Description:
Angry at the human race and its methodical destruction of her resources, Mother Earth recruits souls who have just left their bodies to serve Her, and turns them against humanity. A powerful, rising force proceeds to carry out Mother Nature’s plan to systematically destroy towns, cities, states… and eventually, the world. Amidst the chaos, a forbidden relationship between a human girl, Violette, and Onyx, a lead Gemini, begins. They will both find themselves in the middle of a revolutionary war that will either save, or destroy our world.

BUY LINKS
Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Gemini-Rising-Ethereal-Jessica-OGorek/dp/0925776254
Barnes and Noble - http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/gemini-rising-jessica-ogorek/1116142763?ean=9780925776259

Excerpt:
Onyx walked very fast to the girls’ room. He had forgotten about the very basic human necessity of the bladder to empty itself every so often. He almost didn't make it. It was a relief to finally go, and he even remembered to wash his hands when he was done. He was going to lie on his cot and regroup from the harrowing experience he had just had. On his way to the room he didn't speak to anyone; didn't look up at anyone either. The excitement of being around Violette and touching her had turned his eyes to a golden fire and he needed to cool off. He finally reached the bedroom and immediately lay down on the cot and closed his eyes, hiding them behind the crook of his arm.
That was a really stupid and insane thing to do! He should never have touched her! He could not do that again and survive this mission. He literally wanted to devour her. It was a terrible feeling, one that he never before felt for a blasted human. Why her? Why now? After fifty years of normal Gemini culture and training, this mortal was bringing him to his knees. She was literally intoxicating to be around. He wanted to possess her and keep her for himself. To be inside her would probably kill her because of the enormous friction and desire he felt when near her. Humans were fragile, and Violette was no exception. He did not want to hurt her, couldn't stand the thought.
To see her face hurt had angered him deeply. He planned on finding this bishop and messing with him a little. Yes, that would be fun, scaring the bully, make him doubt his own sanity. He would pay for hitting her, pay immensely. If he’d done it to Violette, he’d probably done it to others.
“Eleanor? Are you asleep?” Violette’s voice caught him off guard, and he jumped a little. Odd, he hadn't sensed her coming. He hoped his eyes were their normal color again.
"No, not asleep just resting." He moved his arm from his face and looked at her. He wasn't sure how much longer he could do this without blowing his cover and accidentally killing her out of sheer impatience to have her.

Guest Post: HOW TO IDENTIFY YOUR WRITING PROBLEMS

First, what constitutes a writing problem? Let’s make a possible list of what some authors may consider a problem with their trade.

Punctuation, grammar, run-on sentences

Confusing dialogue or plots

First and third person switching

Past and present tense

Writers block

Double negatives

Repetition of words or ideas

Too many adjectives

These are just typical issues but there are many more and the problems will vary based on the author, the audience and the genre. If I write in the YA genre, I can get away with using phrases like OMG or BRB, not so in adult fiction. Younger children’s books have tons of repetition as it helps them learn.

Now, here are some solutions in no particular order that I have found helped me tremendously in some my writing, the clarity of it and the pace of it. Since I write YA I have to keep my reader engaged and the action has to happen fast to do that.

Read what you’ve written out loud. Do this while you’re writing your book if you’re not sure about a line. Do this when you edit your book too, you will catch all kind of errors and flow issues you wouldn’t have otherwise. Try using prose and expression when you do this as it will give you practice for when you are reading excerpts to thousands of people or a class of 10 people. It is very important to at least read your dialogue out loud.

For punctuation, try matching the comma, the semi colon, or whatever you’re having trouble with to examples of its use, not the definition of the punctuation itself. Try understanding the “idea” of the mark and not just its rules.

For writer’s block- I only have a few ideas for this one. Take a break and do not force yourself to write. If it’s forced, whatever comes out will not be worth the time you spent writing it. At least, that’s how it is for me. There are some times when I will not write for a whole year! I will read, learn more, edit what I’ve written and because I’ve given that part of myself a rest, I come back totally reenergized.

Adjectives: A writer’s best friend and worst enemy. What is wrong with this sentence? “Longingly, he looked into her eyes and deeply sighed; a profound sense of need crept into his inner psyche and riddled his heart with loneliness.” How many ways can you say the guy is in love and lonely and sad? Three! “Longingly, sense of need, loneliness” Too many descriptive words! Try it like this and still get your point across just as well. “He looked into her eyes and a profound loneliness battered his inner psyche.” That is intense enough and to the point enough that the reader gets it.

That’s all that’s coming to me for now…

Feel free to contact me, I am always happy to help!!! 1geminirising@gmail.com


Author Bio:
I was born in Chesapeake, Virginia on April 19th, 1979. I was raised within the American Indian religion and was taught great respect for the earth and all its living beings. Powwows, sweat lodges, vision quests, you name it, I’ve done it. I was the weird kid who would confront kids on the playground in elementary school when they squished a bug. I would very sincerely tell them what they were doing was morally wrong and then I would pray for the bug to come back as a butterfly in its next life.

​I grew up admiring my father, Barry Weinstock, as an author. He took me around the country to different places so he could research and write his Wilderness Survival books. One of his greatest works, “The Path of Power,” was written with a great medicine man, Sunbear. When I was twelve I started hand writing novels. My first one was two thousand pages. My dad always encouraged me and would rave about my writing. He gave me the confidence I needed to keep writing and follow my dream. My daughter, who is twelve, is currently working on her first novel. I hope to continue the legacy.

Website: http://1geminirising.wix.com/geminirising
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jessica-OGorek/306913389429972
Twitter: https://twitter.com/GeminiRising1
Blog: http://geminirising1.blogspot.com
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17738490-ethereal-fury