Introducing Arjay, writer and magician

Posted on October 31, 2017 by Michelle Garren-Flye

I’m lucky enough to have a very special guest today. Arjay/R.J. Lewis has won awards for his screenplays and is the author of three novels. He is also an accomplished actor who has appeared on Broadway, in film and on television. And he’s a professional magician who I’ve actually seen in action, so having him on my blog today to help me celebrate the release of Movie Magic is a tremendous event for me.

Before I get to Arjay’s actual interview, though, I’d like to give you a little background about how our paths crossed this past August.

I’d been looking forward to the first week of August for the better part of a year. We all had because we were going as a family on a cruise to Alaska. That doesn’t happen every day, right? Little did we know what that cruise had in store for us.

R.J. Lewis, magician, in action on the Ruby Princess. This is from the kids’ fair, not the show we saw earlier in the week.

On the second day of our cruise on the Ruby Princess, all three kids went off to do their own thing, my husband had a meeting, and I decided to use the afternoon to write. I sat on my balcony looking out at the water speeding past and began a new novel, which I’d already titled in my head, Magic at Sea. I knew it was silly to write this already. I have plans to write the next Sleight of Hand novel during National Novel Writing Month. Magic at Sea would be the one after that one. But I write what I write when I write it and always have, so I began Magic at Sea, created characters I fell in love with and started the quest to get them together.

A few hours later, my daughter came back from her youth club glowing and chattering about her afternoon. “There was a magician and he picked me to help him. And I don’t know how he did it. He told me to hold the ball in my fist and he held one in his hand and then it disappeared and I opened my hand and it was there!”

I couldn’t help but smile. I have a working knowledge of some simple magic tricks, so I have an idea of how it was pulled off. But I also know most of the magic is in the presentation, so I figured this guy must be pretty good, especially when she said, solemnly, “I think it was real magic.”

No way was I going to kill that. Especially when my teenage sons joined us for dinner, also talking about the same magician and a trick he did with a big penny. “He was hilarious!” said the middle one.

Understand that I collect magical experiences, all starting with that magic carpet trick when I was a little girl. I hired a local magician for one of my kids’ birthday parties. I’ve seen David Copperfield and Mac King and Penn & Teller. I never pass up a chance to see a magician in action. It’s kind of my thing. So naturally, I asked, “What’s his name?”

“R.J. something,” my oldest said. “He’s going to be in one of the lounges this week.”

His name, as it turned out, was R.J. Lewis, and he had two shows scheduled in the Explorers’ Lounge. We got there in time to stand in the back for the first one. I could tell it was very good, even from that distance. So when the lounge emptied out from the first show, my kids and I got right up front for seats for the second, and ended up thoroughly enjoying it.

He kicked it off with a song sung in a splendid baritone voice. He continued with some card tricks and even called my middle son up to help with one of the better performances of the Chinese linking rings that I’ve seen.

At the end of the show, R.J. introduced us to the fact that he is also a writer whose book The Muse would be out later that week under the author name Arjay Lewis. How cool, I thought. A magician who’s also a writer. And I write about magicians. Maybe I should introduce myself.

So…I approached him, half intending to do so. But I chickened out and just took the signed postcard he offered and told him we’d enjoyed his show. I decided, in my usual introverted way, to read his book and then tweet him if I liked it.

I did like it. I read most of it on the plane ride home. The Muse is a dark, twisted, addictive journey through the lives of some pretty compelling characters. I recommend it to my horror fanatic friends.

And that’s the story of how I met Arjay Lewis. Now that you know who Arjay is and how I met him, I hope you’ll join us for the interview that’s coming up in the next hour.

October 31 and magic

Posted on October 31, 2017 by Michelle Garren-Flye

Why do I launch my magic books on October 31? Could be one of several reasons. For instance, did you know on October 31, 2011, the global population reached seven billion for the first time in history? Yep. That day is officially known as the Day of Seven Billion. So, you know, lots of potential readers out there.

But that’s not it.

October 31 is, of course, All Hallow’s Eve, All Saints’ Day or Halloween, depending on your religion or lack of it. It’s a day for remembering the dead. A day for spirits and magick.

But that’s not it.

When I first started out my quest to make magic romantic, I did a lot of research about magicians. I read about magicians and magic through history. I researched different types of magic from illusion to mentalism. I watched videos, old and new. From David Copperfield and David Blaine to Houdini. I found out that Harry Houdini, master escape magician whose water torture escapes still elude much of the magical community, died on October 31.

And that’s it.

That’s it because not only did he die on October 31 but because of a pact with his wife, Bess, to do his best to contact her from beyond the grave, a seance is still held every year on the anniversary of his death. In fact, multiple seances are held. There’s even an online one. Harry Houdini, 91 years after death, is still encouraging people to believe.

That’s what I want to do with my writing. It’s why I started writing about magicians. I love that magicians can help us believe in something beyond ourselves, even when we know there’s a trick. A well-performed magic trick can, even for an instant, help us believe that maybe there’s something more out there.

Speaking of believing: This is the 90th year of the Houdini Seance. Do you believe Houdini will choose this year to contact us?

Plastic fiction: What happens when writers give up on soul

Posted on October 25, 2017 by Michelle Garren-Flye

Three years ago, Ursula K. Le Guin gave an impassioned speech in which she basically implored writers to write what they wanted to write and not what the publishing industry told them to write. She asked that literature in all forms return to being considered an art form. “Books aren’t just commodities,” she said.

I’ve often wondered if I would sell out if someone offered me the opportunity to sign with a big publisher that would basically guarantee my book would be a bestseller with an awesome marketing plan and everything all taken care of—but I had to write a book the publisher wanted with the plot all spelled out for me. Would I do it? Would I sell out? Would I turn out a plastic fiction book with no soul and no art just to gain readers?

I can’t answer that question. I fear I might. It’d probably be easy enough to write if I didn’t have to come up with the plot myself. And I have a respectable backlist now. Surely I should consider that in the equation. If I gained lots of readers with my plastic fiction—readers who enjoyed my style of writing and who would then consume my other books—wouldn’t it be worth it? But then, too, I’d be feeding the plastic fiction industry that has taken over the publishing world and made it more difficult for writers to be the artists they are meant to be.

Not sure you know what I mean by plastic fiction? Oh yes, you do. It’s especially prevalent in my chosen genre at the moment. For a while it was vampire romances (which has now morphed to include werewolves and shapeshifters and lots of other paranormals). I’m not saying these are all bad. I’ve even read a few that are exceptionally good. But those can be hard to find. And then there’s the fifty-shades phenomenon that is reflected in everything from content (way more explicit than just a few years ago) to covers (haven’t you noticed the trend to monochromatic still life since Christian Grey’s silk tie?).

I think the surge in independent publishing has been a reaction to writers trying to avoid the plastic fiction publishing industry. I’m proud to be a part of that surge. I love what I write, and I love publishing my little bits of art. They aren’t the highest quality—maybe they’re made of aluminum instead of gold or silver—but they aren’t plastic, either. I know this because they come from my heart and contain bits of my soul.

Four magicians who’ll make you believe

Posted on September 21, 2017 by Michelle Garren-Flye

Seriously, in today’s world, why would you NOT want to believe in magic? When I started writing the Sleight of Hand series, I knew very little about the stage magicians I was writing about. I found magic entertaining and fun and I always had, so I figured why not write about it? I tried it and the result has been incredibly entertaining for me.

My fourth book in the series, Movie Magic, will be out October 31. I’m planning a day of festivities for its release, but I love this series so much, I decided I should re-introduce my magicians here.

So I started with Close Up Magic. Andre Hawke is the magician hero in this one, and he’s your typical tall, dark and sexy with a family he’s devoted to and protective of. He’s already got a lot going on in his life when Stacey Matthewson, a talented entertainment reporter with a checkered past, shows up. How does he deal with her? With a little magic, of course.

Excerpt: Her chest felt tight and she found it hard to breathe. Was he going to kiss her? Dear God, she felt paralyzed. Was this really just desire or did he actually know enough magic to hold her immobile while he considered whether or not to kiss her? Or did she want his kiss so bad she was willing to sacrifice what was left of her career to get it?

She cleared her throat and fought her way out of whatever spell he’d cast. “I, um, do have another reason—” She reached into her purse.

“Save it.” He dropped her hand. “I don’t talk to the press before shows.”

She couldn’t disguise her astonishment. “How do you know I’m a reporter?”

“Fresh off the plane. I recognize the smell of the soap. Congratulations, you’re the first. This evening, anyway.” He glanced at his watch. “I’m not expecting any more for at least a couple hours.” His glare was sharp. “They probably won’t catch me until after the show.”

Keep in mind that throughout the writing of Close Up Magic, I refused to look up how magic tricks were done. I didn’t want to know. I made up my own magic tricks for the books and tried to imagine ways they could be done, but I didn’t want to spoil the magic for myself.

When I started writing Escape Magic, I figured I better change that. Escape magic is very different from close up magic in that the performer relies on a lot of physical strength and dexterity to accomplish their tricks. I’d been challenged to make one of my magicians a female, and, to my surprise, escape magic lends itself very well to female performers. When I started researching the subject, I was surprised at how many women escape artists there actually are. This led me to create Lady Lydia, a friend of Andre who becomes the love interest of Andre’s brother Tony.

Excerpt: Lydia was not easy to find. He finally located her in a knot of cheering male magicians. She was seated on a table with her legs crossed and her arms bound behind her. A handsome, dark complected man teased her with a wine glass. “C’mon, Lady Lydia! Get loose and it’s all yours.”

Lydia pretended to have trouble with the knot. “Oh, you might just have me with this one.”

The dark man smiled a little lasciviously and leaned on the table so his body half covered hers. “Oh, I really hope so. But give it a try anyway.”

Lydia remained perfectly calm. Tony knew she’d probably already worked her way out of the knot, or at least knew how to, but she gave no indication of it. “How on earth could I possibly—oops!” She held up her hands with the rope dangling from one and gave him a little push away from her. “Did you lose something, Samir?”

“Just his pride.” Tony recognized the little toadlike man who spoke as Phil, an illusionist. He frowned, searching his mind. Had Phil even been invited? Before he could speak, Phil made a beckoning motion. “Everybody pay up.”

“Not the right venue, Phil.” Tony stepped forward as Lydia took the wine from the handsome magician’s fingers. Tony noticed a line of empty wine glasses on the table next to her. It wasn’t the first bet, then. His resolution to put a stop to the illicit activities strengthened into an almost protective resolve. “Lydia.”

She glanced at Tony as she sipped the wine. “What? You want to go next?” She dangled the rope in front of him. At his disbelieving look, she laughed. “Sorry, don’t have any cuffs. You have to bring your own.”

Of course, after all that partying in Las Vegas, I was ready for a change of scenery with my next book. That resulted in Island Magic and its reclusive magician hero Ian Logan. Logan is in a sort of self-imposed exile from magic, but when he encounters an old friend in trouble—sexy and damaged divorcee Rachel Duvall—Logan just can’t help but slip back into his magic ways to help her heal.

“I’ll tell you a secret.” He brushed her hair back and leaned over, his lips close to her ear. “Real magicians never have to prepare—as far as you know.”

A pleasant shiver went through her. A vague memory stirred. Her mother in the kitchen preparing for a dinner party. A good hostess has all her preparation done before the party so it looks like she gets to enjoy everything as much as her guests. She pushed the memory away, knowing it would lead to others where she was the perfect hostess with everything prepared ahead of time. She’d already broken her vow never to cry again once that day. She steeled herself against doing it again.

Lifting her chin, she stepped past him onto the deck. Her hands gripped the white-painted wrought iron railing. His body was solid and warm behind her, but she clung to the cold metal rail as if to keep herself from flying up into the stars. She felt almost certain whatever he was about to do—whatever she was about to see—would surely turn her world upside down.

The tropical sun had set long before. She wondered what time it actually was but didn’t really care enough to find out. Diamonds peppered the velvety black sky, and he wanted her to pick one. She lifted her hand and pointed. “That one.”

He rested his chin on her shoulder, bending his legs so his tall frame molded against hers. She watched his hand the entire time as he reached past her arm, closed his long fingers and brought them back to the glass, releasing the light into the bowl of the wineglass. She stared in wonder at the blue light.

“Did you see a trick?” He smiled at her, offering her the glass, his hand still firmly on top of it.

Finally, we come to Movie Magic. This may be my favorite of the Sleight of Hand books so far. I love the heroine, Sabrina Parker. She’s a plucky, ambitious woman in the Hollywood special effects business. She’s befriended all the other magicians we’ve met so far, using their expertise to create effects for movies that go beyond CGI. But when she needs help on a very special movie, her old friends fail her. They’ve all got projects of their own. What’s a girl to do? Our girl finds Walt Bryson, a sexy, talented children’s magician who lives on the coast of North Carolina. And magic ensues. Magic that involves everything from pirates and Carolina Beaches to the Magic Castle of Hollywood.

She missed the pleasant buzz from the rum. The coffee cleared things up for her too much. Half of her really wanted nothing more than to drink rum and make out with him on this couch in the late afternoon sun while the deck below them bustled with waiters and the other pirates cleaning up from the afternoon. She really wanted to give in to some crazy impulse. She glared at the innocent cup of coffee. “I miss the rum.”

He laughed softly, brushing her hair back from her face, his fingers tangling briefly in the soft curls. “So do I.” His gaze flickered to her lips and she knew in that moment that she wouldn’t need the rum buzz to kiss him. Oh please, just kiss me already. The thought whispered in her heart, and all she could see for a breathless moment was his lips.

He brushed his thumb over her lips, so tenderly her belly filled with a melting fire. But then he backed away with a reluctant smile. “But maybe we don’t need rum, huh?”

All of my Sleight of Hand books are available at Smashwords, Amazon, iTunes, Barnes & Noble and many more of your favorite online book retailers. Pick up one and be ready to believe!

Movie Magic (Book 4) Available October 31!

The one true sentence

Posted on September 3, 2017 by Michelle Garren-Flye

Every now and then I come across something in my writing that strikes a chord. It’s a true sentence. Something I know comes from my own heart and experience. I came across one of those today while doing my “itty bitty” editing on Movie Magic. (That’s the editing that looks at all the “itty bitty” things and tries to find anything at all—a word or letter or typo or whatever—that will jolt the reader out of the story. I never catch them all, but I do catch most of them!)

Anyway, at the risk of giving you all a peek into my own heart, here’s the sentence, spoken by my hero, Walt, to the heroine, Sabrina:

“You know, you leave home thinking you’re leaving everything behind, but what you don’t realize is ‘everything’ includes some pretty good stuff too. The stuff you think will always be there. Like your dad taking you fishing or your mom frying potatoes in the fall. Or laying on your back looking up through the branches of the Christmas tree and feeling like every dream you’ve ever had will eventually come true. Because you’re a kid. Just a kid who doesn’t understand that dreams aren’t reality. And if you want to make magic exist for everyone else, you’ve got to give it up for yourself.”

And there it is. I don’t actually remember the moment I wrote that sentence. I probably wrote it two years ago. I do, however, recognize the homesickness that probably went into that paragraph. The very best writing comes from your own heart, but it’s surprisingly difficult to do. I’m glad I managed it here. And I can’t wait to share the rest of Movie Magic with you!

So Much Magic…

Posted on August 12, 2017 by Michelle Garren-Flye

Since I have just returned to dry land after seven days on an Alaskan Cruise, I am now an expert on all the magical (and non-magical) aspects of cruises.

We’ll start with the non-magical. There are three. The coffee, to me, was the most important. The coffee on a cruise is just…coffee. It is what it is and you either make do or you actively dislike it and make yourself miserable.

But then you see something like this and suddenly coffee is no longer important because the world is magical. It just is.

Juneau magic

The second non-magic thing about cruises is the toilets. As we found out the morning after we set sail when an entire section of toilets on our side of the boat stopped flushing because somebody threw a tissue in one. It didn’t take long to resolve, but until then, you had to go potty elsewhere. But then you look out the window at 10 p.m. and see something like this:

Midnight (almost) sun magic

Side Note: That’s a container ship on the right. One of those enormous things that dwarfs everything—or at least I used to think so.

The only other thing that I didn’t find magical on the cruise was the size of the shower. Tiny. Closet-sized. Impossible to shave your legs while showering. But then you approach British Columbia after a cool, gray day at sea and this sight greets you:

Sunlight magic

Of course with all this magic around me, I was amazingly productive. Seriously. I finished another pass through Movie Magic (coming October 31), and then I got an idea for a magical romance set on a cruise ship and started outlining and making notes…and writing. I say this a little sheepishly because I know it’ll be a couple years before I get this one out. My next magic book, which I plan to write during National Novel Writing Month this year, will tie in to Movie Magic and is tentatively titled Hollywood Magic. (You’ll meet Carole, the heroine, in Movie Magic.) So what the heck am I doing writing Magic at Sea now? Talk about getting the cart before the horse.

In case you’re curious, Magic at Sea will tie in with the adventures of Lady Lydia and Tony Hawke from Escape Magic. I had a lot of complaints about that book. It was my only attempt at a novella in this series, and evidently it didn’t work for a lot of people who wanted more about this particularly passionate couple. So, even though I feel I told their story pretty well (especially for a 99 cent novella), I’m going to pick it up a little more in this one.

But you’ll have to wait. Because before that can happen, I have Timeless, the last book of my Synchronicity series to get through (January 2018?), then Hollywood Magic (October 31, 2018). And then I’ll get to Magic at Sea. And you’ll meet Frankie, Lady Lydia’s protege, and her as-yet unnamed hero.

And just in case you think I’ve forgotten that magic can be found on land as well as at sea, here’s a little bit of heavenly magic perfection I found in Seattle:

Seattle rose magic

I am a Writer

Posted on July 6, 2017 by Michelle Garren-Flye

It’s always interesting to me when people I’ve known for years say, “Oh, you’re a writer?” It’s such an essential part of who I am. But I’m very, very bad at telling people about it, because it’s also a very personal part of who I am. I always sort of hoped that I’d one day have a best-seller and the New York Times would out me, but that doesn’t really seem to be happening, so…

I write romantic fiction of several different genres. I’ve written a coming-of-age romantic mystery (i.e. Weeds and Flowers), contemporary romances (i.e. my Sleight of Hand series) and romantic fantasy (i.e. my Synchronicity series—see below). Three of my books were traditionally published (Secrets of the Lotus and Winter Solstice by Lyrical Press and Where the Heart Lies by Carina Press). I am also the proud author of a book that’s been called “unsettling” and “thought-provoking” (Ducks in a Row).

And there you have it. That’s me. I’ve outed myself. There’s a little bit of me in every book I write. I am a writer. The Synchronicity Series by Michelle Garren Flye-page0001

Behind the times? Catch up on Synchronicity now!

Posted on June 21, 2017 by Michelle Garren-Flye

It occurred to me that many of you may not have had a chance to read Book One of the Synchronicity series yet, so here’s your opportunity. Check out the Amazon Kindle book giveaway here: Out of Time Giveaway.

Giveaways and an excerpt

Posted on June 21, 2017 by Michelle Garren-Flye

I’m expanding my probably ill-conceived time limit for comments. If you comment any time today or tomorrow on one of today’s posts and I still have coupon codes to give out, you’re eligible. In the meantime, here’s an excerpt from Time Being to convince you to read it:

Lost in thought, Kaelyn almost missed the first whispers. The branches of the bushes nearest her were already waving in a nonexistent breeze when she noticed them. She faced them, unafraid and head held high. Everything became very quiet. She raised her chin and spoke. “I am Kaelyn, Queen of the Meti. I am looking for a kinsman. His name is Hunter Drake.”

The whispers started again, grew louder, and Kaelyn waited, knowing there was still a possibility that she would feel the telltale prick of the Little People’s barb in her neck, the spread of their poison through her system. Tamsin would remove the barb if it happened, but it wouldn’t be in time to stop her from experiencing some of its torture. What would they make her see this time? Last time it had been forgetting her father’s death, fighting to return to him. And each time she’d remembered had brought with it a rush of loneliness and fear.

This time would they bring back her baby? Maybe make her feel what it would have been like to hold it in her arms, to hear its cry, her body answering a call she’d never experienced before? Would she be able to return from that anguish? Jack had helped her back the last time, but even he might not be able to bring her back from the new torture she imagined. And maybe this time, she wouldn’t want to come back. She closed her eyes, half anticipating, half dreading the sting of the barb in her neck.

Giveaway: What’s your favorite part of a book?

Posted on June 21, 2017 by Michelle Garren-Flye

Romantic fantasy has opened up a whole new writing world for me. I love the creative license of world building. You could get a god complex from this! I invented a whole new race of people for the purpose of my Synchronicity story. I’m playing with the rules of physics. And I’ve liberally mixed existing mythology with made up mythology.

It’s fun.

And it’s got me started thinking about what makes a good book. Is it the characters? The backstory? The action? The romance? Great dialogue?

What does it take to make a book worth reading for you? Comment below withing an hour and I’ll send you coupon code good for a free copy of Time Being from Smashwords!