Why Do I Write?

I just recently received word that Passion's Vision is a finalist in Reader's Favorite. When I read the notice I remembered a blog post,"Why do I write?" that I wrote a short time back. I was actually thinking of this book when I wrote that post.

That character that just would not follow the plan was, of course, New Moon. New Moon appears again in Raven's Passion and briefly in Passion's Price, but I am seriously considering writing another page in the life of New Moon and Panther...Just for the fun of it.

Why do I write?

Is it because I have nothing else or anything better to do? Nope. My life is full, filled with all the wonderful and colorful challenges that make life worth living. It is merely because I have to?

Maybe I am compelled to write because I need a way to express my creativity? I don’t know about that.

I do know that very little is more fun to me than developing characters of such strong and opposing personalities it would seem impossible for them to mesh. Then I test their resilience, determination, resistance to accept change and any other test I can think of by dropping them into a scenario that will force them to grow or lose what it is they want most in their life.

I do plot out my stories. I have a nice outline to go by to keep me on track; I research the history, if it is set in a real life historical time, and then let my characters take over. Some of them will follow the path I have carefully laid out for them. Some of my characters will fall by the wayside to be replaced by bigger, bolder, or sweeter, less complicated souls. What really excites me is when one of my characters refuses to fit in or conform, but rather strikes out on their own to blaze a path that leaves me breathless with anticipation.

Of course, everything I am talking about is about imagination. We all have it. We all used it when we were children. It is what helped us to develop “Passion” for our future. It is where we got a glimpse of what we wanted to be when we grew up, our “Vision” for our future. We played and made games of the imaginary lives we would someday live and explored all the “Promises” that life would hold for us.

Then we reached an age where we realized there would be a “Price” to pay for the choices we make. Some of us analyze those choices and decide which ones are worth the price. Some of us ramble along and just experience what life offers us. Some of us throw it all to the wind, pay whatever the price, and never look back. We all have a path to walk, decisions to make, sacrifices to weigh. It is all a part of life. And what a life it can be!

Write it down! Let your imagination go wild! Become a child again and explore what makes life worth living to you. White stories about adventures you have had, adventures you wish you never had, but best of all write about adventures that you wish you had. Then maybe you too will experience what gives a writer the need to write.

Remember, It takes Passion to bring a Vision to Life.

Sign up for Free Giveaway of Raven's Passion on Goodreads

Raven’s Passion is now live on Amazon. I am so excited about the 5 star review it received from Readers’ Favorite.

Raven's Passion is a story of the coming of age of a young man and the girl who loved him in an age where ones very survival depended on their honor, their strength, and the village.

I did not know when I started writing Native American Romance that I would enjoy it as much as I do. But I struck out on the path, and what a journey it became. When I researched Cherokee culture for my Passion’s Series I was drawn in by its richness from the games, to the spirituality, and the love of nature and all creation. A good example of how even their games held a high place in their society and preparation for life is the game of stickball. Raven's Passion opens with a game of stickball. My intention was to show the reader the intensity and passion in the game as well as the intensity and passion driving the young warrior, Raven Cloud.

A major part of my research for the Passion's Series came from a book written in that time period by one of my husband’s ancestors. The game of stickball, also called “The Little War” was a favorite sport. This simple game was not simple. It brought villages together, was used to teach team cooperation, bravery, agility, and brute strength. The winners and the most accomplished players won respect and great honor. There was no such thing as “cheating”. From what I read in this old book, the game made football seem tame. If someone were injured in the game, or even killed, there would be no retaliation.

The game could last for days but when it was over there would be a celebration. A blanket would be laid on the ground. Anyone wanting to participate in the dance describing the memorable plays would deposit an offering to be given to villagers that were in need. The rewards earned by the players were comprised of honor and respect for their prowess, and experience that would aid them on the hunt and strengthen them for war. Their generous gifts to the needy endeared them to the villagers as well as bringing them honor for being providers and protectors of the people.

It was truly a time in history when ones very survival depended on their honor, their strength, and the strength of the village.

I look forward to many entries in the Giveaway for Raven's Passion. 

Breaking Down by Calista Smith

Breaking Down by Calista Smith
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

FIVE STAR
A Beautiful Coming of Age Story by
Breaking Down by Calista Smith is a beautiful love story, but also a coming of age story.

Raquel, nicknamed "Rocky" is an average teenage girl dealing with a not so average past. Her best friend Natalia helped her to overcome the experience. Because of Rocky’s parents divorcing, she and her mother re-locate, causing her to attend a new school for her senior year. This is the year Rocky will live up to her nickname. Fortunately, Natalia will be attending the same school and will be a loving support for Rocky, even if she doesn’t realize it, as she travels the uncertain terrain of self-awareness, self-respect, and reliance.
Rocky falls in love with Dante, a gorgeous, popular fellow who is fawned over by every girl in school.
I enjoyed following the emotion growth of these two as they faced the challenges before them. By the end of the book, I was both wiping tears and cheering Rocky’s strength as she stood by her decisions.
Ms. Smith has impressed me with her story telling ability. Breaking Down is well crafted, insightful, and totally absorbing. I look forward to reading every book in this series. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys YA as well as any parent that has forgotten what it is like to be young and in love.








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Only 3 days left!

The giveaway for Passion's Vision will end 6/22/14.

You can read the Prologue at  http://www.maryadair.com/Passion_s_Vision.html

Download Raven's Passion Free 0n June 2, 2014

http://www.amazon.com/Ravens-Passion-Passions-Mary-Adair-ebook/dp/B00KMYA6UI/

Raven's Passion will be offered FREE for one day only...6-2-14
Don't forget to download your copy.

Passion's Vision 5 STAR Review by Readers' Choice

As you know Passion's Vision is being offered on a free giveaway at Goodreads and I have been waiting, hands wringing, for this review to be posted. When I uploaded my new cover for Passion's Vision all but 2 of my reviews for Passion's Vision were sucked into the black hole of cyberspace. This left me very concerned that my giveaway would suffer due to no reviews. So getting a good review was very important to me.

Well I am doing a happy Dance!!! Please, do not try to envision that. Instead just take a look at the review.

I hope many of my friends and fans will sign up for the review. It is being offered to usher in the publishing of Raven's Passion, which will be featured in a giveaway next month as well as a countdown sale as soon as it is up and running on Kindle.

Well enough talking, here is the review:

Reviewed By Bil Howard for Readers’ Favorite

Love has a strange way of drawing together individuals that seem to not only be extremely unlikely to meet, but are diametrically opposed to ever create a bond. Passion’s Vision by Mary Adair explores this truth as the female warrior, New Moon, struggles with a destiny that has been revealed to her in a vision of man whose “hair is the color of the river’s clay and whose eyes are the color of a summer sky.” Having lost her husband, she has sworn to belong to no other man, regardless of the will of the Great Spirit. James Fitzgerald is the embodiment of New Moon’s vision and she knows it the moment she lays eyes on him; however, she will not easily give up her determination to belong to no other man. As James carries out the task that had been given to him by King George, bringing Cristoph DuPrey to justice, the deeper conflict of the heart of the two warriors rages in full force. Passion, duty, language and culture struggle with each other as destiny tumbles them forward like a cascading river.

In Passion’s Vision, Mary Adair has not only captured the essence of the struggle that was taking place as white men and natives struggled to advance their own visions for the new frontier, but it also digs into the deeper struggles of the heart. The stubbornness of the mind and determination may hold fast to what is believed to be the best course, but chemistry, desire and passion often have a way of continuing to assail the heart until it gives in. Mary does an excellent job of telling both of these stories and of drawing the reader into a deeply emotional response to the characters involved. Passionate, realistic and intense, Passion’s Vision will draw you in with an irresistible desire to bring the two protagonists together as you become enmeshed in the struggle along with them.

Readers' Favorite 5 Star Review of Passion's Price

I am so happy to receive this review from Reader's Favorite.  If you have a book you need reviewed you should go to the Reader's Favorite site. The review is free unless you want to get it back right away. If you are in a hurry there is a fee. They are have a Book Award contest. The deadline is June 1 so if you want to enter you need to do it now.


Reviewed by Faridah Nassozi for Readers' Favorite
                                         Passion's Price 

Golden Dawn left her home, a Cherokee village called Chota, and travelled to England to look for her childhood friend and the love of her life, Raven, whom she had last seen 10 years ago. The Great Spirit had warned her that Raven was in danger and she knew it was her obligation to save him, if it was the last thing she did.

When she reached London, however, to her disappointment Raven was already engaged to a woman who was not ready to give him up without a fight. Raven's fiancée was, however, not the only one standing in the way of Golden Dawn’s happy ever after. Raven was consumed by a desperate need to find his biological father and make him pay for abandoning his mother. This filled him with anger that was so deep it was reaching self-destruction. Dawn firmly believed that she and Raven
belonged together and was determined to save him from himself and from others who wanted to harm him.

In Passion’s Price, Mary Adair used a combination of a masterfully created plot and a selection of vibrant characters to write an amazing story that will give any fan of the historical romance genre a thrilling reading experience. The combination of characters - a beautiful Cherokee girl living in London but determined not to give up her native ways, a man with a consuming anger who was engaged to a devious woman while his heart belonged to the Cherokee girl, and two very
loving and equally mischievous grandmothers and others - produced a definite page-turner.

Dawn's free-spirited lifestyle was like a breath of fresh air to the people in London. She was a girl so beautiful, so
stubborn and so determined to get what she believed was rightfully hers that she survived her stay in London on her own terms.

I loved reading Passion’s Price and cannot wait to read Mary Adair's next book, Passion’s Promise.

 Passion's Price is available at Amazon in kindle format now. It will be available in print in a few days.

5 STAR Review of Raven's Passion by Michelle Stanley for Readers' Favorite.

I have received a review on my newest story, Raven's Passion. I am thrilled by the review and was amazed at how fast I received it back.

                                       

Review: 

Reviewed by Michelle Stanley for Readers' Favorite

Raven’s Passion is a wonderful young adult book written by Mary Adair. Raven is raised by his adoptive parents. He is a confused, temperamental young man who does not know who his white biological father is, and feels like a misfit with the Cherokees. He does his best to adjust, but the taunts of some Indians always remind him that he is a half breed. Raven’s adoptive father, Red Panther, is a good role model, but Raven yearns to know his father. 

When Indians are abducted by ruthless men, Raven and a war party search for them, encountering challenges along the way. Raven faces these battles with courage while fighting his own personal battle. 

Although Raven’s Passion has a setting in the untamed western frontier, the story is one that many young adults will find interesting. It deals with issues that today’s younger generation often faces. One of these is the burning desire to know the biological parent who has been absent from their lives from birth. 

I thought author Mary Adair did well, creating characters who were so realistic with their problems. She skillfully displayed how people lived in the past, while making the different personalities and feelings of the characters connect with the

reader. I am impressed with the quality writing I have seen, as well her expertise on Indian history. This is the first book I have read from Mary Adair, but do intend to read more from this author.

Raven's Passion is now available at CreateSpace and will be available in three days at Amazon.

Giveaway at Goodreads for Passion's Vision

Passion's Vision is the first book in my Passion's Series.  Next month Raven's Passion, the next book in the series will be publish.  So, in honor of the publication of book 1.5 I am doing a giveaway of Passion’s Vision this month and in a couple of weeks, I will start the giveaway for Raven’s Passion.

Passion's Vision in a Historical Romance taking place in the Appalachian Mountains of South Carolina in 1734.  This was a period of tremendous turmoil and violence in American history.

New Moon is a warrior.  She and her husband fought together in many battles.  Now she mourns the death of her husband whose life was taken by a white man.  Her spirit is troubled by the vision of a white man soon to arrive in her village.  Is he the one?  Will she finally answer the blood cry?  

James Fitzgerald is an agent in King George's court.  He is commissioned to blend into Dancing Cloud's village and uncover and botch the plans of a French agent creating discord and bloody conflict between the settlers and the Cherokee.  These two warriors from different worlds meet and clash.  Soon it is revealed their survival depends on their ability to overcome their differences and defeat those who seek to destroy them both.  Their growing love will demand nothing less than total surrender.

Good luck in the giveaway.  I hope you win a copy and love the story.  The next giveaway will be for Raven’s Passion which picks up a few years after book one.  

Gabe Kincaid by Best Selling Author Caroline Clemmons

Another great story by Caroline Clemmons I loved this book. I am a fan of the of all the Kincaid books and this did not let me down.

Katie Worthington comes from a good family and is used to a life of plenty. She returns home from spending time with her best friend to discover her grandfather dead and the murders still in her home. When she is locked in her room to await her own murder, she does what any red blooded heroine would do. She escapes out the window and joins a traveling circus. I adored this part!

She poses as Dorothy Duncan and starts out at the circus doing odd jobs. The cards are in her favor and she soon finds she has the opportunity to be a fortune teller. For this role, she assumes the name Majarani Shimza, Mystic of the East. She immerses herself in this role, she evens covers her beautiful hair with a black dye to better look the part, and is good at.

It is good she covered her tracks so well because she has been framed for her grandfather’s murder. Then the unthinkable happens and she fears that her past is closing in on her. This is when she meets Gabe Kincaid. Gabe is strong, upright, and of course, he is gorgeous. But most important, he is with the Law.

Will Gabe discover what she is hiding? Would he believe her if she told him all or would he follow the letter of the law? If you are a fan of the Kincaid Stories this edition will not disappoint. Many of my beloved characters from past stories were in this story as well. I personally love stories with strong family ties and highly recommend Gabe Kincaid