FIVE CORNERS, THE MARKED ONES, by CATHI SHAW

I was really excited to get to host this tour today.

When I read the synopsis I really wanted to know more.

I thought this represented a good book to introduce to

our younger audience…I hope you agree.

From Goddess Fish Productions, we bring

Author Cathi Shaw and

Five Corners, The Marked Ones

We also have a insightful Guest Post today,

so be sure and read through even if you're

not an author, you might find some of

behind the scenes info interesting.

Ms. Shaw is also offering a terrific 

GIVEAWAY

so make sure you enter your name,

the more you comment the better your

chances of winning!

Thx as always from PLP.

BLURB:   

Growing up in a sleepy village untouched by distant wars and political conflicts, it was easy for Thia, Mina and Kiara to forget such horrors existed in the Five Corners. That is until the dead child is found; a child that bears the same strange birthmark that all three sisters possess. A Mark their mother had always told them was unique to the girls.

Kiara’s suspicions grow as their Inn is soon overrun with outsiders from all walks of life. Strangers, soldiers and Elders who all seem to know more about what is happening than the girls do.

After Mina barely survives an attack in the forest, the sisters are faced with a shattering secret their mother has kept from them for years. As danger closes in around them, the sisters are forced from their home and must put their trust in the hands of strangers.  With more questions than answers, Kiara finds herself separated from everyone she loves and reliant on an Outlander who has spent too much time in army. She doesn’t trust Caedmon but she needs him if she has any hope of being reunited with her sisters and learning what the Mark might mean.

EXCERPT:

"It's not a dream this time, Thia."

"I know," she admitted in a whisper. "But how is this happening?"

Teague shook his head at her, his hair falling forward over his forehead. "I know you're shocked. I was, too, when I first saw you. Then I realized that what we thought were only dreams, were just forays into a different reality." Excitement lit up his features. "A reality that, at times, feels more real than this one, don't you agree?"

Thia opened her mouth to deny what he was saying, even as a dozen memories burst to life in her head.

For the first time Thia noticed he was taller than in her dreams. Not as tall as her sisters but certainly taller than she.

He looked down at her, his eyes unreadable in the fading afternoon light.

And yet the essence of him was so familiar. Before she could stop herself Thia instinctively reached out to touch his forearm, wanted to feel the warm muscles above his gloves, to reassure herself that he was real.

Teague jerked away before she could reach him and Thia felt an inexplicable sense of hurt flood through her.

"I'm real, Thia," he whispered aloud, his breath stirring the hair on her forehead. "But you can't touch me. I can't explain right now but please don't try."

Writing Tips

There are a few tips I’ve learned over the years if one wants to be a writer. Most of them are just based on common sense but others might be surprising. So here’s my list of tips (in no particular order):

1. Write every day. I’ve said this elsewhere but I think it doesn’t hurt to repeat it. Do I write every day? Probably not but I at least try to. Some days I just need a break or life interrupts my writing plans. But for the most part I am working on several writing project each day.
2. Write down your ideas as they come to you. Ideas rarely come at convenient times. Do what works for you – carry a notebook, download a dictation app, have your laptop with you at all times – whatever it is that allows you to record ideas immediately, do so. 
3. Revisit your idea log. Don’t just write down the ideas and think you’ve done the job. Be sure to revisit that list of ideas on a regular basis and follow up with the good ones. Some of your ideas might just be garbage and you can ditch those ones but for the most part at least attempt to transform your ideas to writing before discarding them.
4. Work on several projects at once. Seriously. Just make sure you do finish them. I find that by working on a few different projects, I tend to stay fresher with each of them. 
5. Find a place that you are comfortable writing in. Writing spaces are especially important for most writers. That doesn’t mean that you have to have a fancy book-lined study, it means you have to have a place that is conducive to your own writing style. I have a wonderful home office but I almost never write there. I like to write on my living room sofa or at my kitchen table where I can be doing several things at once.
6. Discover what it is that lets ideas flow for you. Even when I’m in a good writing space, sometime I hit a rut in my story and I come to a screeching halt. One of the things that kick starts my work when that happens is to take a nice soak in a bubble bath and work out the story that way. Another thing that I often do when I hit a rut is to bake, cook a meal or clean my kitchen – usually talking to myself while I’m doing it as I imagine the story playing out. So figure out what you need to do to get those ideas flowing and then get back to your story and write them down!
7. Talk it out. There are times when I just need to talk a plotline out. I’m lucky in that I have my writing friend, Rochelle Dionne, who will listen to any story idea I have and give minimal feedback (minimal because she knows I'm in the creating stage). I also bounce storylines off my 16-year old daughter, Caitie. She has great insight – the only problem is that sometimes she doesn’t want me to ruin the story for her (so for Finding Refuge – the second book in my Marked Ones series – she wants me to not tell her what is happening).
8. Don’t wait to hear back from queries before starting the next book. Remember, rejections are business decisions. Rarely do they have anything to do with the quality of your work. It just means that your book really isn’t right for the agent or publisher at that particular time.

I’m sure I could go on all day listing writing tips but these are ones I live by. 

AUTHOR INFORMATION:

Cathi Shaw lives in Summerland, BC with her husband and three children.  She is often found wandering around her home, muttering in a seemingly incoherent manner, particularly when her characters have embarked on new adventure. In addition to writing fiction, she teaches rhetoric and professional writing in the Department of Communications at Okanagan College and is the co-author of the textbook Writing Today.

Twitter: @CathiShaw

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheMarkedOnesSeries

Tumblr: http://themarkedones.tumblr.com/

Buy links for book: 
PUBLISHER:   http://ink-smith.com/product/five-corners-the-marked-one/
AMAZON:   http://www.amazon.com/Five-Corners-The-Marked-Ones/dp/1939156246/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1391810627&sr=8-1&keywords=FIVE+CORNERS+CATHI+SHAW
BARNES AND NOBLE:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/five-corners-cathi-shaw/1117922571?ean=9781939156242

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