Today I am honored to be passing the baton over to celebrate the release of M.J. Moores newest book: Cadence of Consequences. With today being the official release date, I asked M.J. to come up with a jazzy and interesting guest post.
Without further ado – let’s welcome M.J. Moores and celebrate with her on the release of Cadence of Consequences!
Reality in the Midst of Make-believe
A Guest Post by M.J. Moores, Author of Time’s Tempest & Cadence of Consequences
Everyone has hit that low point, you know the one. It might be a life’s low or a skill’s low (like writing or not as the case may be). I had those days in high school of course, but then high school was a bit of a roller coaster ride for most people. I had those days dealing with my husband trying to work through a bad job/company, and I even had those days after giving birth. But honestly, the lowest I ever remember feeling was back in grade 6 and 7 having to deal with a new school, being shunned and then being ostracized for, well, being me.
In the first book of The Chronicles of Xannia, Time’s Tempest, I have Taya (my strong and self-assured leading lady) going through a major revelation about herself – and that was no garden path let me tell you! But just as she thinks she’s got a handle on her life again, in book two, Cadence of Consequences, I take her as low as I possibly can go – and this is a woman who’s dealt with a lot of lows in her early life. Having faced her own mortality and emerging relatively unscathed from that quest, I now put her where I was at twelve years of age – caught somewhere she has to be, not where she wants to be; trapped in a tangle of other people’s expectations and rapidly losing all sense of self…
Now, I don’t set out to write about these difficult things, honest I don’t. Book one was slotted as an amazing quest through uncharted territory and book two was exploring a hidden society and dealing with secrets kept vs. secrets revealed – cool stuff right? But these were just the external journeys that got the blood pumping and the heart racing. Once I really got to know these people, their wants, needs, desires… I found so much of the trials of my own life seeping into the work it was truly astounding. Taya was, after all, everything I ever wished I could be: taller, crazy fit, wicked smart, self-reliant, capable, self-assured – and she could see in the dark!
But she isn’t Superwoman and she’s not invincible. She’s hit the top of her climb and now the coaster is rushing into those lows… the stuff that keeps us awake at night. So you see, it really was inevitable; I had to go there. I had to touch those dark places in my own soul and crack them open for inspection.
What about you? Is there a particular low you can now touch? Have you let it inspire you?
I hope so. 😉
- M.J. Moores began her career as an English teacher in Ontario, Canada. Her love of storytelling and passion for writing has stayed with her since the age of nine. M. J. relishes tales of adventure and journeys of self-realization. She enjoys writing in a variety of genres but speculative fiction remains her all time favourite. Her debut novel Time’s Tempest is currently available in print and e-book with Book 2 launching September 28th, 2015.
Here there Be Dragons! 