Celebrating Sci-Fy With TWCS: Guest Post T.M. Franklin's More Series

Say NO to REALITY!

This May, TWCS is paying tribute to the SciFy genre in honor of the EPIC Star Wars series and LEGENDARY The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, amongst others...

Hey ya'll I get the spectacular privilege to get to show you a little about my favorite TWCS author T. M. Franklin

She is the author of the More series, and I have a fun little post from her.

Hope ya'll enjoy and will go out and pick up her books today.

I found T.M. a year or so ago during a book blitz and fell in love with her amazing books. Since than I have followed the series and even had the opportunity to be on the blog tour for Twelve, the third book in the series when it came out. Obviously I am hooked hehe :P

So without farther ado here is T.M.'s guest post

Keeping it YA

A lot of people ask why I chose to write the MORE Trilogy as a young adult series. In fact, many say it should really be "new adult" since the characters are in college, but more on that later. As for why I wanted to write YA, it was really pretty simple: I wanted something I would feel comfortable sharing with my sons, who were teenagers at the time.

But what does it take to keep a paranormal romance in the YA realm?

Actually, I believe writing for a young adult audience isn't all that different from writing for adults, especially when you consider that a large portion of YA readers are, in fact, over eighteen. Although YA fiction is traditionally published or marketed for teenagers, a study by Publisher’s Weekly shows that 55% of YA book buyers are over eighteen, with the biggest chunk—about 28%—between the ages of 35 and 44.

After all, look at some of the popular releases lately on the big screen: The Divergent Series, The Maze Runner, The Fault in Our Stars - and The Mortal Instruments has now been slated to become a TV series. What do these stories all have in common? Young characters and a plot that gets us emotionally invested or keeps us on the edge of our seat.

So what makes a YA book? Well the most obvious answer is the age of the characters. Most people say that if a main character is between the ages of 13 and 18, it's a YA book. However, I tend to believe that labeling a story "young adult" is more about the expectation of content. I liken it to a PG-13 movie - you know when you go to see one that you might get some mild violence, kissing, a couple of swear words, whereas with a rated R movie, you'd expect more graphic content. I mean, consider the movies noted above. All are rated PG-13.

That's why the MORE Trilogy is labeled YA, even though the main character, Ava Michaels, is nineteen years old and a college freshman (and Caleb, the hero, is considerable older.)

“You’ve heard the myths,” he said to the tabletop where his fingertip drew absent designs. “The Titans, the Nephilim . . . larger-than-life heroes and villains who fill up your history books. Mythology that’s not so much mythology, if the truth were to be known. We are part of that myth . . . the fairy tales come to life, so to speak.”

“That’s . . .” Ava sputtered. “That’s just . . .” Ava’s head spun as she tried to disbelieve, tried to write off what he was saying as ridiculous, a ploy to distract her from her present troubles. But she found she couldn’t. As incredible as it sounded, she knew—deep down—that Caleb was telling her the truth. “So . . .” Her voice cracked and she cleared her throat, took a sip of her drink. “You’re some kind of . . . gods?”

Caleb chuckled. “Hardly,” he said, shaking his head then running a hand through his hair, damp from the drizzle outside. “We’re really not that different from you. Our scientists have studied our DNA, compared the two races extensively, and we’re really more alike than different. There are just a few genetic quirks that set us apart from ordinary humans.”

“But, where did you come from?”

“That’s the age-old question, isn’t it?” he said with a smile. “Where did you come from? It’s what we all want to know, and nobody does for sure. Most people believe that our race developed alongside yours—with a few evolutionary glitches along the way. Some say we were created like you, but with a little extra pinch of this and that by whoever did the creating.” He winked, and Ava couldn’t help but smile, even in the midst of such a strange conversation.

She tilted her head, studying him for a moment. “And what do you believe?”

“Me?” He sat back in the chair, head falling back on his shoulders as his eyes hit the ceiling. “I think that essentially, we’re human,” he said after a long moment. “Just a little bit . . .” He searched for the right word. “More.”

- MORE, Chapter 8

The MORE Trilogy is a fast-pasted adventure, with a slow-building romance, but steers clear of graphic violence and sexual content, making it safe for young teens - but enjoyable for adults as well.

After all, regardless of their age, all readers want a good story!

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LEGACY OF A DREAMER, Allie Jean, Paranormal

Chantal Breelan is plagued by horrible nightmares too realistic to ignore. Her past has been a mystery, and the foster system isn’t providing any answers. Starting a new life alone at eighteen is a challenge, especially when things that go bump in the night appear out of the shadows, and her dreams begin to breach reality. Darkness surrounds her from all sides, but is it only evil that hides in the shadows, or are the answers to her past lingering just beyond?

ZOMBIFIED, Maggie LaCroix, Paranormal Fantasy

Monsters know their place: vampires are sexy; zombies just decompose.  But Maggie La Croix’s Zombified conjures up an entirely different kind of undead raised by good old-fashioned Voodoo. Take Henri—still gorgeous, over one hundred years after his death. And now a hurricane has set him free from a curse.

Enter Josie, a reporter with her eyes on Henri. But falling for a man without a heartbeat could get her more than a broken heart. It could get her zombified.

 THE SIX, K.B. Hoyle, Fantasy

Darcy Pennington feels like she is an insufferably average thirteen-year-old, but when a change in her dad’s job forces her to attend Cedar Cove Camp, she unwittingly stumbles upon a magical gateway. Along with five other teenagers, she will travel to a world called Alitheia. The “arrival of the Six” was prophesied long ago, but will she have what it takes to save Alitheia?

MORE, T.M. Franklin, Paranormal

Haunted by terrifying nightmares and certain she’s being watched, college student Ava Michaels finds an unlikely ally in Physics tutor Caleb Foster. But Caleb isn’t quite what he seems. In fact, he's not entirely human, and he's not the only one.

Together, the duo faces a threat from an ancient race bent on Ava’s capture, and possible extinction. As Ava fights to survive, she learns the world’s not what she thought.

It's a little bit more.

THE SILVER CRESCENT, Debby Grahl, Paranormal

An ancestor’s tale of betrayal, murder and a stolen fortune in silver leads Elise Baxter to Max Holt’s Victorian inn.

She is reluctantly, though irresistibly, attracted to Max. Leery of loving again, Max lets passion overrule caution, tumbling them into an erotic encounter.

Guided by ghosts and opposed by an evil presence, the couple searches for the treasure. But there are others who will stop at nothing to unlock the mystery of the Silver Crescent.

 THE MEMORY HEALER, Julie Filarski, Paranormal

When Beth Montgomery reluctantly agrees to carry out a psychic assessment of Carrington House, she is transported to another era, where she sees a date on a calendar that fills her with dread.

Back in the present time and sensing an eternal bond with the irresistible Dr Matthew Jamieson, she wonders whether he was once the darkly handsome but unfaithful Samuel Methven. Beth must regress to the tragic events of 1895 to learn the truth.

HUNTED, Lorenz Font, Paranormal

Disease is ravaging the vampire community in New York City’s underworld. Harrow Gates is sick, alone, and hunted. When Pritchard Tack offers him a new beginning, he is in no position to refuse.

Jordan is a young vampire whose only focus is revenge. In her search for her family’s killer, she meets a man who threatens to pull her heart away from her sworn mission. Is love strong enough to override her thirst for vengeance?

MOUNTAIN CHARM, Sydney Logan, Paranormal

“True love and sweet whispers, till death do us part;

Send someone to love my Appalachian heart.”

At the age of thirteen, Angelina Clark followed in the footsteps of her ancestors by casting an Appalachian love spell, which promised she would blossom into a beautiful and gifted woman who would find her true love. A young Angelina had been thrilled to participate in the sacred ritual, but through the years, her father’s untimely death and her mother’s failing health have shaken Angelina’s magical faith to its core. As her twenty-first birthday approaches, she refuses to practice her supernatural gifts and no longer believes in the love charm.

REDEMPTION, Lindsey Gray, Paranormal

Life is for living. Afterlife is a chance at redemption. As the only remaining female vampire in existence, Lily attempts to make her way towards her ever after. But with best friend Becca, new beau Ian, human husband Ryan, Archangel Peter, and a host of demons all standing in the way of Lily's chance at a peaceful eternity, how can she possibly survive?

CONVERGENCE, J.D. Watts, Paranormal

Daniella Rossi is a nineteen-year-old college student who sees the world quite differently than those around her. From infancy, she was aware of the beings that walked among her kind who were not like them, as well as her own personal Guardian who watched over her. Dani always knew she was different, but she never dreamed the full scope of her importance. When a new male Guardian comes to replace her lifelong friend and companion, will Dani be able to accept him as she deals with a world full of the other Children of Creation, Angels, both good and evil?

OBVIOUS CHILD, Warren Cantrell, SciFy

In 2015, Sam Grant is chosen to take part in a contest that will choose the world’s first time traveler. There’s just one problem—Sam doesn’t want anything to do with the contest. Yet his deliberately profane public appearances and sabotaged interviews only boost ratings. Now stuck, Sam must plot how he’ll get out of the contest, or if he should embrace it all and become the most famous person in history.

GHOSTWRITER, Lissa Bryan, Paranormal

Unemployed, with her savings dwindling, Sara Howell thinks things are looking up when she lands a ghostwriting job and rents the affordable island home of her favorite author, Seth Fortner, who mysteriously disappeared in 1925.

Strange things happen, making Sara wonder if Seth ever left. When she finds an old trunk of Seth’s letters, she delves into a world she never imagined, filled with love and a family curse it seems only she can break.

THE STARS ARE FALLING, Michelle Birbeck, Paranormal

Jenny’s life revolves around surviving university, watching the stars, and staring at her housemate, Dale. But as the night sky glows with the light of falling stars, Jenny’s classes and crush seem unimportant. The Stars are retaking Earth, saving mother nature by eliminating the problem. Together, Jenny and Dale can save the world and the human race, but surviving long enough to convince the Stars of that is perilous and may kill them both.

EVERYBODY OUT OF THE LAUNDROMAT, I NEED TO THINK!, 

Phil G. Glenn, Paranormal

When the ordinary life of Virgil Blaine crosses the path of the even more ordinary Doug Coulthard, it sets off a series of extra-ordinary events. Doug Coulthard is a Filing Clerk and the President of the Unpublished People’s Poet’s Party –Political Unit (UPPPPU) where a catastrophe has just happened; two of his long time members have been published. The UPPPPU goes on a recruiting drive by distributing leaflets, one of which finds its way into Virgil Blaine’s pocket. Virgil Blaine, who is a slight poet himself, attends one of the meetings where he meets Forward Slash who offers Virgil Blaine a job. The offer comes with two things Virgil Blaine has never had; a job and a car and on a whim he accepts. The problem is, through no effort of his own, his position is suddenly elevated. Virgil Blaine says the job is ‘messing with his DNA – Deliberate Non-Achiever’ and he misses his old life and so hatches a plan to get it back…

SEBASTIAN AND THE AFTERLIFE, William j. Barry, Paranormal

Sebastian, an average seventeen-year-old boy, has just paid this debt. He awakes in a surreal world somewhere between mortal life and the afterlife, where the Grim Reaper rules and his loyal agents maintain the law. But not all is peaceful in this mystical realm. Axis Red and his soul pirates threaten the future of all who dwell there.

Sebastian soon finds himself at Sapentia, a high school for the departed. There he makes new friends but longs for his lost love, Sarah, who is still alive in the mortal world. Some things are forbidden; some lines cannot be crossed. What will Sebastian risk to be close to Sarah again?

Continue the adventure with Sebastian and the Afterlife Book II - Agents of the Reaper

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