Today I am so pleased to welcome M.D. Neu to Joyfully Jay. M.D. has come to talk to us about his latest release, The Called. He has also brought along a great giveaway. Please join me in giving M.D. a big welcome!

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Guest Blog: What Inspired You?

Given that The Called is the second book in my The Calling series, the inspiration was simple. I wanted…no needed to finish the story.  When I write, especially something like The Calling and I had several character and plot pointes I had to cover. As I wrote The Calling, I understood that by the end of the book, I was only going to be able to tell half the story. Which is why the story ended the way it did. The very last chapter wrapped up the first half of the story. The ending became the intermission if you will. So, The Called, literally picks up right at the end, in fact the very last part of the ending chapter in The Calling, became the first chapter of The Called. I wanted the reader to feel as if they had just put the book down for the night and they were picking it up again the next day.

What was great about being able to continue this story and knowing that there would be a sequel, was that I didn’t need to shoe horn planned characters into the first book, that weren’t going to make an appearance until later into the story. This gave me the ability to flush out more of the secondary characters and tertiary characters so they come across as more authentic and real. Have the strong characters who people care about add weight to the second book, and raises the stakes when something happens, or doesn’t go to plan, which of course happens… there would be no story if everything went perfectly.

The other bit of inspiration for writing this story was being able to explore more of the relationships. In the first book we get introduced to all these characters and we see a little about their relationships and how their world works. Now we get to take a deeper dive, basically we get to see what happens once everyone stops being nice and polite for the sake of the newness. Now that everyone has been around you get to see relationships as they really are. Also, character personalities start to come through. People who you thought were one way, may be completely different once the mask of civility comes off.  That was a lot of fun to play with. Especially since, several of these characters have been around for hundreds of years, so you know there is baggage and history there.

The final note I want to share about The Called, is that even though this story wraps up the duology, these characters are amazing and it is possible we might revisit this world at some point. If you love the characters as much as I do, they come out again in a different adventure and story. You never know when and how inspiration will strike with this amazing cast of character.


Blurb

the called coverThe world is changing quickly for Chris now that he’s part of the Immortal Community. With the events of his past finally behind him, he’s still having visions and true magic is gradually taking hold in our world. There are new challenges that the Immortals must face, but Chris is still new and has no real standing in the immortal community.

Learning that nothing in the Immortal community is what Chris thought and now having to face new threats, how will his new world unfold? Old enemies must work together and longtime friends may not be trustworthy. Who is lurking in the shadows? Why are they here? What does this mean for witches, immortals and humans?

Can Chris’ visions even be trusted given recent events, and how easily his mind is manipulated? With Juliet, Amanda, and Kirtus by his side they have to prevent the immortal and witch community from being exposed. Can they trust the local witches that are there to assist them? Can they trust their fellow Immortals? New friendships are made, and longtime alliances are called into question. How will The Called defeat these latest threats, and what does it mean for our world?

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Bio

M.D. Neu is an international award-winning inclusive queer Fiction Writer with a love for writing and travel. Living in the heart of Silicon Valley (San Jose, California) and growing up around technology, he’s always been fascinated with what could be. Specifically drawn to Science Fiction and Paranormal television and novels, M.D. Neu was inspired by the great Gene Roddenberry, George Lucas, Stephen King, Alice Walker, Alfred Hitchcock, Harvey Fierstein, Anne Rice, and Kim Stanley Robinson. An odd combination, but one that has influenced his writing.

Growing up in an accepting family as a gay man he always wondered why there were never stories reflecting who he was. Constantly surrounded by characters that only reflected heterosexual society, M.D. Neu decided he wanted to change that. So, he took to writing, wanting to tell good stories that reflected our diverse world.

When M.D. Neu isn’t writing, he works for a non-profit and travels with his biggest supporter and his harshest critic, Eric his husband of twenty plus years.


Giveaway

M.D. is giving away a $20 Amazon gift card with this tour. To enter, follow the Rafflecopter link below. 

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