Exit Stage Left by Catherine Russell 💕 Guest Post, Book Tour & Gift Card Giveaway 💕 (Vampire Romance)

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Megan O'Day seems to be navigating the unpredictable relationship with Geoffrey Drake, her centuries-old vampire guardian angel, rather well. But then his past suddenly rips him from her, forcing her to face the unknown future alone in the gripping sequel to The Stage.

Still bound to Geoffrey through the power of the Link despite his unexplained absence, Megan's mind is flooded with his haunted memories. While she relives the darkest moments of his previous life, she discovers his attachment to a woman who bears a striking resemblance to her.

As she questions Geoffrey's love for her, she strikes up a dangerous alliance with Geoffrey's brother, Alexander, who is also a vampire. She hopes that he will help her find a way to rescue Geoffrey: instead, he seems to be awakening new emotions and desires within her.

As the past and present collide, Megan struggles to fend off Alexander's dark seduction. Is Geoffrey truly beyond the reach of her love forever? If not, what must be sacrificed to bring them back together again?

How to handle negative criticism. 

This can be a very touchy topic, especially for authors who are quite sensitive, however, if you are an ultra-sensitive writer, then you’ve probably chosen the toughest, all-consuming, most open-minded hobby yet one that is ruled by what some folks consider archaic rules and guidelines. Having a Webster’s Dictionary and Thesaurus is not enough by a long shot. You need to have skin as thick and durable as leather, able to withstand the dreaded red-pen-of-corrections from many editors and that doesn’t even cover what the public may say…or worse, not say about a work that you’ve poured your heart and soul into.
There are many types of negative criticism in the world. The ranting member for the unknown public for instance. This is the John Doe that can either write a glowing, gushing, love-filled review for your first born or…the Bloody Mary of the internet that just guts-out your latest volume of a series. Both however can be useful for an author at any stage in their career, whether newborn or over-the-hill-waiting-for-the-grave-marker. You can’t please everyone all the time, its’ impossible. So please your characters, make them real in your eye and they will become real to the world.
As a rather well-known songwriter once said, “Haters gonna hater” no matter how much practice, rewriting, and editing you do. Take their sour words with a huge grain of salt. The public can be very fickle, loving a topic, genre, or author one minute then blink and you’re a thing of the past, a one-hit-wonder. However, don’t ever forget, you created it. It came from your head, your heart and soul, no one else’s.
My first editor, Elisabeth Knottingham, once told me something like this: “Just as an example of what you’ve accomplished, say a thousand people put pen to paper to start their story, only 500 get those first few sentences out. Then out of the 500, 250 actually get a whole page. Out of the 250, 100 might get a chapter. That 100 might produce 10 who actually get 2 chapters. 5 might get a whole story and attempt to submit it, while only 1 has the whole package, story, submission and a publisher that says yes. You did this, be proud of it.” That’s music to a self-published author’s ears who then eventually got picked up by a traditional publishing house.
Along the way, I learned many things. Being so new to the industry, one where many authors and writers have English compositional backgrounds and degrees in literature, I had none of those to guide me. However I had two things in my favor, gut instinct and I believed in my story, in myself. Those two factors helped me weather many an editorial session with my editing team, which I had never had before when I self-published, I couldn’t afford the service prices for editing support.
I took all their advice, both harsh and good, to heart. I did my best not take it personally, that they were helping me, guiding me to help grow and blossom my characters, my story to the absolute best it could be. And I’m forever grateful for them.
Even now as I’m flushing out my fourth book in The Stage Chronicles, I’m still learning and always will. Don’t ever stop learning as this is an ever-changing world, always evolving into a new and wider universe.

Good evening to all of you. I wanted to share the inspiration behind the sequel, “Exit Stage Left”. This music is a bit darker, more severe than the first list. But it all has to do with the emotional environment of the second storyline. There’s more conflict, pain and sorrow yet strength and perseverance of Megan and her friends. When they loose hope, they find strength in seeking out the answers from unlikely sources. I’ll let the music speak for itself. One quick note: “Good Day to Die” by Godsmack and “E.T.” by Katy Perry were very influential in making the horrors real, as was “Wraith”, “Ethereal” by Criss Angel as well as “Awake” by Godsmack. Yes, it’s a long list…but so worth every note, every word, every riff. This music moved me in a way none has before. Check it out…if you like them, great. If not…well that’s cool too.

1. “Good Day to Die” by Godsmack : The Oracle Deluxe Edition
2. “E.T.” by Katy Perry: Teenage Dream
3. “Toccata” by David Garrett: Rock Symphonies
4. “Time” by Criss Angel: MindFreak
5. “Cadence of Her Last Breath” by Nightwish: Dark Passion Play
6. “Drumming Song” by Florence + the Machine: Lungs
7. “Haunted” by Evanescence: Fallen
8. “Taking Over Me” by Evanescence: Fallen
9. “Ethereal” by Criss Angel: MindFreak
10. “Wrait” by Criss Angel: MindFreak
11.”Cosmic Love” by Florence + The Machine: Lungs
12. “The Revenants” by Midnight Syndicate: The Dead Matter
13. “Awake” by Godsmack: Awake
14. “Switchback” by Celldweller: Celldweller
15. “Serenity” by Godsmack: Faceless
16. “Vivaldi vs Vertigo” by David Garrett: Rock Symphonies
17. “Dogs Day Are Over” by Florence + the Machine: Lungs
18. “I Believe You” by Celldweller: Celldweller
19.”Kings and Queens” by 30 Seconds to Mars: This is War
20. “Broken Open” by Adam Lambert: For Your Entertainment
21. “Iris” by The Goo Goo Dolls: Dizzy up the Girl
22. “Devil Inside” by INXS : The Best of INXS
23. “Uninvited” by Alanis Morrissette: The Collection
24. “Sleepwalker” by Adam Lambert: For Your Entertainment
25. “The Howling” by Within Temptation: The Heart of Everything
26. “The Only Exception” by Paramore: Brand New Eyes
27. “Say You’ll Haunt Me” by Stone Sour: Audio Secrecy Special Edition
28. “Dying” by Stone Sour: Audio Secrecy Special Edition
29. “Paralyzed” by Criss Angel: MindFreak

I began to hear a sound as they were speaking; a small child’s voice, whispering to me. Her high pitched voice, singing a lullaby and I recognized the notes. It was Greensleeves, the same one my mother had sang to me when I was a child. Without thinking, I walked forward, ignoring them as they reached out for me.

“Megan, stop!” I heard them say yet I went in. Suddenly the room was full of sunlight. It was a child’s nursery, with light blue walls and soft white curtains at the lovely double sided windows that opened on to a huge oak tree, whose branches reached out to the window’s ledge. A small robin sat on the limb, singing. I turned to see toys and stuffed animals around the wooden floor that was covered with a multicolored throw rug. Shelf after shelf of books and nick knacks were all around the walls. Then I saw her in the corner, slowly moving back and forth in the rocking chair, holding a doll, gently stroking its hair. She looked up and I saw eyes, one green and one blue. Her light brown hair was tied up with a yellow ribbon, and she wore a pale blue dress with lace and bows. Her legs had the familiar white tights that I remembered as well as black Mary Jane’s on her little feet.

“Hello there,” she said, smiling sweetly.

“Hello. Who are you?” I asked walking toward her, still looking around, totally amazed at what I was seeing, experiencing.

“Well, I’m you of course.” She said, coyly. She jumped up and reached out for my hand. She looked at the cute little tea set on the table next to her.

“Will you join me for some tea with my dolly?” She asked in her little voice, so sweet and innocent. There was something I was supposed to be doing, but what was it? I couldn’t remember. Wasn’t there someone with me, right before I saw her? No, I must’ve of imagined that. Where else would I want to be besides here?

“Yes, I’d love to. Would you like me to pour?” I said, sitting down and crossing me legs as she sat in the little chair beside me.

   

Catherine Russell was born in Tacoma, Washington and raised in a small town just south, South Hill, Puyallup. At the time South Hill was a heavily wooded area and far off the beaten path. Growing up she had the forests as her fantasy world along with the wild animals. She lived with her parents and an older sister. There are a few similarities from her own childhood that have carried over in to her first novel, “The Stage”. As a child, she did have a small dog named Toto, whom she would quite frequently roam the woods with. Her childhood home still stands, and is still nestled in the woods even though South Hill has undergone an extreme makeover since she lived there. She enjoyed hours of day dreaming and playing in the woods, which in turn fed her fantasy world of make believe.

   

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