Thu, 13 May 2021 23:33:02 -0400WeeblySun, 30 Apr 2017 04:59:15 GMThttp://martinapalladino.com/blog/blog]]>Sun, 30 Apr 2017 03:32:56 GMThttp://martinapalladino.com/blog/chapter-20Our last post included eight chapters. I write less as the story develops so I don't give anything away. So let's discuss this chapter a little--like a couple sentences, hahaha.

​This one is Demonica's chapter. Here, we learn more about how evil this character is, what she's done, and what her plans are. If I continued, I would give some really good spoiler alerts 'out of the bag,' so, no can do, lol.

​Chapter 21--Back to Tink and the predicament she finds herself in. This is the other chapter that has an awesome illustration in it, which was hand-painted/drawn by Samantha Erin Dube. Find her on Instagram at samantheriinart.

​Chapter 22--In this chapter, a group of people search for someone. That's about as much as I can share here, sorry.

​Chapter 23--The search continues, and then things get, let's just say, very confrontational. This chapter ends, or pauses this story, as 'book one' ends, but it also introduces something very sinister, and someone possibly quite evil and manipulative may enter the scene, or not. Things wind up with a very unexpected conclusion of sorts, and so the story goes dormant, for now...

​Ok, not quite yet. There is a mind-blowing epic series of cliff-hangers, one from each of the five characters who narrated this story thus far.

So there you have it! 

Both versions of MARTINKA and TOMMY are published, DEMONICA, book three, is just weeks away from publication, and the censored version just a few weeks from there. Get your copy today using Amazon Prime, or visit my webpage at:

www.outskirtspress.com/martinka
www.outskirtspress.com/martinka-newadult

www.outskirtspress.com/tommy
www.outskirtspress.com/tommy-newadult
​
www.outskirtspress.com/demonica
www.outskirtspress.com/demonica-newadult

​Thank you for inserting yourself in my tangled web of magical realism! 
​For now, my friends, dream on...]]>Mon, 24 Apr 2017 20:10:23 GMThttp://martinapalladino.com/blog/chapters-12-13-14-15-16So as I edit and rearrange these chapters, chapter 11 is Tink getting ready for 'the ball.' Chapter 12 is now the annual meeting. So let's move on to chapter 13. 

​Chapter 13 is that ball that Tink has dreamed of attending, pretty much, since she was a little girl. Just like Cinderella needed to leave the ball by midnight, Tink needs to be out of there as well by a certain time, in order to get away from Tommy, his family, and hers. In less than an hours time, Tink is no longer in the US.

​As we move to chapter 14, we switch characters and hop into Derek's head. This is an awesome chapter; it's the first time we 'hear' from Derek. His personality just shines through his words, although I did not say in a good way. He is selfish, self-centered, egotistical, manipulative, and just plain old evil.

​Derek reflects back to the day Tink first arrived, gives us his take on all that has happened since until he brings us up to speed--present time. He then continues to get into the real 'meat' of this story. The major plot basically revolves around him and his plans. I won't get into all of this; it would be giving a lot away at this point. What I love is his take on everything. As he is so cocky, so full of himself, what's cool here is that there are things that we, the readers, now know, that he does not.

​By the time we move to chapter15, something I can tell you is that Derek is now in Australia. Here, some of the coolest stuff happens. Moving on...

​Chapter 16--we now hop into Tommy's head. Tommy, his family, and the ninjas are given devastating news.

​Chapter 17--we are now back in Tink's mind. I am now, obviously, being more evasive regarding what is going on, so as this chapter is outrageous, I cannot comment on it, sorry.

​Chapter 18--now we hop on over to Demonica's head. Love this chapter too; she recalls back to when Derek left the US and went home to Australia. She discusses how this alter ego was 'born,' what Derek has been holding over her head for years now, and what she intends to do. She gives her take, from her perspective, about what went down in the last few chapters, and gives us a glimpse of how powerful she truly is. 

​Chapter 19--'head-hopping' back to Tommy. He is so overwhelmed and devastated, that he just wants to find a way to end his existence. This one has a 'hot & steamy' section, but as this chapter ends, Tommy leaves the US.

​There are four chapters and an epilogue left, so we'll just stop here for now.

Until next time, dream on...​]]>Sat, 08 Apr 2017 02:27:42 GMThttp://martinapalladino.com/blog/the-new-chapter-elevenWe are just weeks away from the launch date of MARTINKA!!! So exciting! Through my final edits, some things have changed a bit. We started with 26 chapters and now finish with 23.  There were a few short chapters, so some were combined. There are now also two amazing interior black/white illustrations drawn by Samantha Erin Dube. One is in chapter 11 and the other is in chapter 21. Samantha Erin is a very talented artist and can be reached on Instagram at:  samanthaeriinart. I thought about posting the two drawings, but decided it would make it all the more awesome to wait until the book launches.

​So chapter 11, this is a fun chapter. Tink gets ready to go to an event that she's dreamt of her whole life. What is fun here, is that there is a meeting prior to the actual event, and it's at this meeting where Tink has her "coming out" of sorts. She is introduced as a leader of her people and is challenged by someone. Here, we witness some pretty awesome magical skills Tink possesses, and she "wows" everyone in the room.

​This chapter was especially fun to write. Even though this is a fictional story, different realistic issues are addressed throughout the book. Here, we see an empowered Tink, now all grown-up, confronting a bully from her childhood. Of  course, she handles things in a magical way, which is not real, but with a twist. What I take away from that scene is her strength, self-confidence, and fearlessness. You would never tell a child to handle things the way Tink did, lol, but in our world of, all things fantasy, it's poetic justice, with perhaps a hint of revenge, lol. 

​The other fun part, for me, is the actual building description, outside, as well as inside. I want the reader to envision exactly what I see in my mind, so it's all about detail, detail, detail. The meeting room alone is pretty cool, but as everything in this book connects to something else in some way, the outside of this building has four specific towers built at very specific times, and named appropriately. 

​Once the meeting ends, we move on to the main event in chapter 12. And just because Tink came back to the US for this one event, we are just getting started. This event is not the climax of this book, but it is pivotal, a stepping-stone to what happens next. This is where we start to travel outside of the US. Get ready... the decision Tink made becomes her reality in the next chapter.

​I will be posting more often now, so we can wrap up this book just before its launch.
Til then, dream on...  
]]>Tue, 10 Jan 2017 01:39:50 GMThttp://martinapalladino.com/blog/chapters-ten-and-elevenAs we begin chapter ten, we find Tink returning to her uncles' house, alone. This, and the next are very melancholy chapters. In this chapter, Tink reflects to some very specific times, sad times, along with the recollection of the one person who has been everything to her since she was 12 years old. She has to bring herself to say goodbye, for now, but is having difficulty doing so. It is a short chapter, but it prepares us for chapter eleven.

Chapter eleven is a tear-jerker. If you are a sensitive sap, and feel for others easily, get the tissue box. It is not the biggest tear-jerker in this book, we'll save that for the last chapter. But here, she not only needs to say 'good-bye' temporarily to that person I mentioned above, but also to Tommy. These are the shortest chapters, but packed with tons of emotionally draining stuff. I must admit, it was sad to write chapter eleven. And even though I know how things progress, I did not envy Tink one bit here.

At the end of this chapter, Tink composes herself and starts to get ready for the event which brought her back to this country in the first place. She slowly brings herself out of that overwhelming inner sadness and wills herself to enjoy the night she's dreamt of since she was a little girl.

Chapter twelve is Tink's 'Cinderella' moment.
So I will leave you with this short blog for now, until next time, dream on... 
]]>Tue, 06 Dec 2016 01:09:10 GMThttp://martinapalladino.com/blog/chapters-eight-and-nineHere we go!

Up til now, there were the much-needed back-stories, well, not all of course. A lot of -- getting to know new characters -- and all that. We will certainly keep on meeting new people, and explore more back-stories as we go on, including traveling to different lands, but here is where we get to the part of the book where we start to understand some things, as well as why Tink makes a life-altering decision. This is something which she sees as necessary--you know, for the greater good. But the thought of the possible consequences makes her feel trapped, as if she had no choice but to make that choice which will inevitably turn her world, along with everyone else's, upside-down.

As chapter eight begins, Tink is awakened by Derek. He suggests that they meet later that day, but she is uninterested to say the least. So Derek starts taunting her with the idea that she may end up responsible for the death of someone close to Tommy if she does not agree to meet him, and how Tommy will ultimately blame her. Intrigued, Tink agrees and later meets him when and where he wants. What happens next is unexpected. Derek shares something with Tink that figuratively 'blows her away.' He lets her in on what he's been up to for years, and what will happen if she doesn't agree to 'his' new terms. He decided that the deal they made just the day before just wouldn't do. Good thing Tink has mastered that proverbial 'poker face,'--so on the outside, she seemed cool and collected, but on the inside, she was on fire and anxious.  

Tink thinks fast and summons her 'pet.' What happens next is fantastically awesome! Tink shows us a glimmer of what she is made of, and surprisingly, she still makes the decision, that choice which will change everyone's future. But she does this with one very specific goal in mind. As we originally said, Tink weeds out the wicked, and keeps an order/a balance within all of the world's species in mind. So she agrees to Derek's new 'revised' deal, only Derek has no idea that she not only knows the truth, but that (in chapter nine), she has done something that he will not be aware of at all--some very cool stuff! She isn't alone in chapter nine, she has someone with her. But once this chapter starts to wind down, she needs to use her magic to undo what's been seen. 

The end result leaves Tink alone once more, as if the events of that day never happened. She agreed to leave the country, to fly solo on this in order to try and fix a potentially fatal outcome for mankind. This would be the first time she has taken on a mission alone. In the past, she always traveled and fought side-by-side with her ninjas...until now.

These two chapters go hand-in-hand, and I, of course, skipped over a bunch to give you an idea of what is going on without really telling you anything, lol. 

The next blog will also include two chapters, ten and eleven. These are not long chapters, as all others have been. But they are significant.

So until then, dream on...]]>Tue, 08 Nov 2016 00:15:47 GMThttp://martinapalladino.com/blog/chapter-sevenWow! It has been a while hasn't it?  Ok, back in business...

So this chapter picks up with that 'just around the corner' that I mentioned in my last post. As Tink's mother is being suspiciously discreet, she has no idea that Tink is following her. And where she leads her is that 'whole new world.' Tink is stunned for a few reasons. First of all, she lived in that castle--back when, but had no idea this place existed...and secondly, just moments before, she realized that her mother was someone she really never knew, only now, when she thought there would be no more surprises, she came upon this woman in another light altogether. The only way for Tink to follow this woman was to avoid being seen; no worries there, Tink was prepared for situations such as this.

But as invincible as Tink seems at times, she was caught off-guard, and her mother did something that Tink accidentally, well, wrong place and all that--let's just say that Tink's mother found her. But what happened next was also somewhat unexpected, given the scene we just witnessed 'upstairs.' Tink was 'overpowered,' in a sense, and this is where we have our next sex scene. In the last blog, I mentioned that each sex scene was specifically created to depict a different emotion/behavior. This one is all about helplessness and control. Tink found herself in a crazy haze, and how this scene ends may surprise you.

Once that scene ended, there was a confrontation of sorts. And the outcome was interesting as Tink thought quickly and decided to use this situation to her advantage. The rest of that 'visit' went well for Tink; secrets and lies began to grow. But what this visit did for her was--it gave her insight to her past in a way she never expected, She learned more about her mother in that short visit than she ever knew, which she used to further herself and her abilities. She already knew she was not fond of her father, so, nothing new there. 

She did, still, have many questions about her life and the people in it. She wanted to feel whole, complete, and acquiring piece by piece of those proverbial 'puzzle pieces' of her life and putting them together, made her feel that she was on her way to understand who or what she was. Well, Tink was patient, and knew all would come together, as planned.

We end this chapter with Tink coming back to present day in her thoughts. And the thought of Derek, along with the deal she agreed to, disgusted her; at some point she fell asleep. But her sleep was brief, and she was awakened by Derek.

In chapter 8, we get into the 'meat' of this book; the plot, the excitement, the intense anxiety. This chapter lays down the foundation for so much. Action-packed is a good description, but the best chapters are yet to follow.

Until next time, dream on... 
]]>Mon, 07 Nov 2016 23:12:47 GMThttp://martinapalladino.com/blog/free-contest-for-writersThere's a 'New FREE Contest' for writers of Fantasy and Science Fiction taking place right now... 
​http://tinyurl.com/jymslez Judged by agent @mike_hoogland, via @chucksambuchino
]]>Mon, 19 Sep 2016 13:13:49 GMThttp://martinapalladino.com/blog/chapter-sixAhh...chapter six. In this chapter, Tink goes back in time as she recalls her abduction as a ten year old child. She shares her fear, as well as her need for revenge. She also fondly remembers her 'Guardian Spirit Witch' who she has put up on a pedestal, the one who came to her in Tink's darkest time of need. She shares with us what she, as a scared little girl, endured--some of her scariest punishments while in captivity...or were there more that we don't find out about at this time?

She also thinks about Tommy and the fact that his appearance is exactly as she imagined it would be in person. Then she wonders, as she has over the years, why she has been forbidden to have a relationship with someone who is a supernatural being, such as a vampire. There certainly is a reason for this, but for now, you can think of your own reasons for this. May be fun to see if you are right once that reason is revealed.

Tink continues to recall again back to her '10 year old self'' and what it was like when she returned home after quite a long abduction. She lets us know how others reacted and where she ended up. I can tell you this, she was hidden away in what I refer to as a 'protective exile.'

She then jumps to the age of 15 and describes her 'visit' with her parents. She reveals to us what she thinks about these people and what they were like with her when she lived with them. This is one of my favorite parts of this book. Tink accidentally finds out one of the most important secrets about her life that she was not at all aware of. This is also where we 'experience' our first sex scene. There are five in total in this book, but when I adapted this to a New Adult novel, these five scenes were removed for obvious reasons. As this is a story that can stand alone without explicit sexual content, the story remains the same. Each of the sex scenes in this book represents a different type of emotion/feeling/behavior. For example, this sex scene is created out of anger and dominance. As we've not had a scene like this yet, it seems to come out of left field as it is just not mentioned, it is detailed. 

Once this scene ends, and while we are still in shock over what we've just read or 'experienced,' the characters don't just take a break and, say, go to sleep. Quite the contrary. This scene leads to, and opens up a whole new world; a world which we had no idea was 'just around the corner.' The chapter ends, but in chapter seven, we begin, still with Tink narrating. Let's say that Tink not only found out some important information just moments earlier, but she now learns something about her mother that she also never expected. 

Keep in mind, everything is always connected in one way or another. 
​Until next time, dream on...
]]>Tue, 09 Aug 2016 02:39:40 GMThttp://martinapalladino.com/blog/chapter-fiveOk, on to chapter 5--back to Tink. As with each chapter, there is a 'repeat of action' as we digress and lead up to a scene we've already experienced through somone else's eyes. This chapter begins with Tink starting her day, leading up to that meeting with the 'bad boy' vampire later at her uncle's house. Tink not only looks forward to a specific event, which is why she came to the States in the first place, but she is also apprehensive about that 'meeting.' She has no idea what she is in for and dislikes to be surprised or caught off-guard. We now experience this meeting as she sees it, only in a more condensed version, and then the smug and cocky bad guys leave.

Within minutes, Tommy and his family show up and a whole new scene and dynamic begins. Everyone on his end is surprised to see Tink, just as she is to see them. At this point, no one knows who 'knows who' so keep track as the connections are presented. Tommy tries to find out what Derek's demands were; Tink hopes to avoid discussing any of this with Tommy so she tries to leave, except Josef stops her. One thing leads to another and that old familiar 'chaos ensues' phrase fits in perfectly here. Fast-forward, Tommy and his family leave...unhappy.

As the day began calmly, it ended as anything but. Since that guy. Derek, announced his demands earlier, Tink was filled with anxiety and intense inner conflict over what she agreed to. If she didn't respect her uncles as much as she did, she may have handled the entire situation so very differently. Now she felt trapped, but didn't show it.

So when Tommy and his family showed up, as surprised and happy as she was to see him again, she felt even worse knowing that the event she was looking forward to would now turn out differently; so very differently from what she imagined just a few hours earlier. 

Things got messy and heated, and Tink felt it was all her fault. Maybe she shouldn't have come back to the States just yet; maybe she was to blame for all that happened since she arrived. Would it not have been amazing if she saw Tommy, shared an instant connection with him, and drove off into the sunset as they seemingly do in fairytales? Perhaps she's read far too many of those instead of living in reality and experiencing a normal life. So now whose fault would that be? Should we blame her parents, her uncles, the ninjas that sheltered and raised her, or possibly the blame for the life she ended up living falls entirely in the lap of that demon witch that abducted her. Or could we say that fate has something to do with how things turn out and what about events or occurences that are said to be "preordained?"  I suppose that we may start to find out some of these answers...in time, piece by piece, like a jigsaw puzzle.

So as we are laying out the scenes, getting to know some of the characters and how they are connected, get ready for chapter 6. This one is good! Tink narrates the next ten chapters before Derek takes over. You will get to know more about her background, her parents, the home she was born in, as well as how selfless she is, and why she walks away from the one man that she dreamed of one day finding. Don't be a 'speed reader,' you will need every piece of information you read in order to 'connect the dots' later.

Until next time, dream on...

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