Book Tour and Guest Post; Nerve Damage by J. L. Meyers
Nerve
Damage
by
J.L. Meyers
Genre:
Psychological Thriller
A fatal car crash. The sole survivor. And the dark hooded stranger that wants her dead.
When
a terrible accident—not
accident—stole
my parents’ lives, my whole perfect life changed. My memories are
hazy, and there are scars on my wrists. I’ve been locked away for
my own protection…until I prove my sanity, until
I lie. There
was no hooded figure on the road that day, no one standing over me as
I lay paralyzed watching my parents burn.
I
am Cassidy Lockheart…20-year-old orphan.
Determined
to free my caged mind, I find myself far away on an unexpected trip
to help return my forgotten past. The snow was part of my life
before, but now it’s like a blank slate, until an avalanche changes
everything. But I’m not alone. These other ‘lucky’ trip winners
may not be the strangers they pretend to be. And my hooded attacker…I
see him everywhere.
Is
this real? Or delusion caused by head trauma?
Either
way, I’m being watched. I can sense it. I can feel it.
Someone is after me; maybe they’re after us all. The avalanche was
no accident. It was staged to deliver us to this abandoned place. A
place where the walls whisper dark secrets of a sinister past…a
past no one can escape. Trapped, this snow won’t let up…it won’t
let us leave. My lost memories hold clues, but they’re buried so
deep, polluted and twisted in my every waking nightmare. What is
real? I don’t have the answers. But I need them. Time is ticking
and if I don’t figure this all out soon it will be too late.
The past is coming for us all…and it wants blood.
Warning
- This book contains some graphic scenes that are only for an adult
audience.
Psychological
Thriller / Horror
"Think of the tension of Silence of the Lambs combined with the horror of Carrie and you have Nerve Damage. This is a psychological thriller that won’t let you put it down, yet you are almost too scared to turn the page!”
Diane
Richmond (devoted bookworm) ★★★★★
This
chilling tale from J.L. Myers is a suspenseful and twisted addition
to other great psychological thrillers from the likes of Sarah A.
Denzil, K.L. Slater, and Dot Hutchison.
Jessica
L Myers' vivid imagination and quiet demeanor as a child led her to
the imaginary worlds of books. Even at a young age, her love for the
supernatural was prevalent, with her first loved books being R.L.
Stine’s Goosebumps series. Following that she took an interest in
other non-fantasy fiction, including Virginia C. Andrews series
Flowers in the Attic.
In
her teen years, Jessica spent many school hours writing poetry and
dark short stories and took up sketching some of the terrifying
things that came from the graphic night terrors she’d grown up
with.
As
an adult and after meeting the love of her life, Jessica got married
and started a small construction business with her husband. With the
birth of her son, Jessica suffered PPD and found escape in her books
and their fantasy landscapes. It was at this time that her need to
write flourished. In 2009 the decision was made and the first words
to her New Adult Paranormal Romance novel What Lies Inside were
written.
When
Jessica isn’t immersed in writing about extraordinary characters
with dangerous abilities and deadly obstacles to overcome, she likes
to spend time with her two kids and husband, curl up with a good
book, or watch anything and everything supernatural.
Follow
the tour HERE
for exclusive excerpts, guest posts and a giveaway!
What inspired you to write this book?
I got the inspiration for Nerve Damage years ago,
actually soon after I started my first novel, What Lies Inside. I used to get
into thriller and horror movies quite a lot(though not so much horror
anymore—seems I’ve gotten squeamish with age!). Having grown up and dealing
with mental illness throughout my life, the idea of writing about someone with
issues that led them to do horrible things became the backbone of this story.
With what I’ve seen in life, we don’t always become who we intend to be, and
circumstances of upbringing shapes all of us in different ways, some good, and
(for the not so lucky) others in bad and irreparable ways.
This story follow the life of three people and not all
of them are lived in the present, but
What can we expect from you in the future?
Many, many more books with strong and flawed
characters, amazing heroines who will fight to protect and save all they hold
dear, complicated heroes who are not always or even mostly what we expect,
villains you hate but who are so much more than black and white characters with
pasts that drive their actions, and plots that are so twisted you won’t know up
from down or dark from light…at least that’s my aim. How you all receive what I
write is entirely your journey!
Who is your hero and why?
This story doesn’t have a black and white hero. The
main character, Cassidy, is dealing with her own trauma and pain and once
thrown into this unexpected chaos of the stalker’s plans, she is overwhelmed by
her own past and the one she strives to unravel as the dangers she and everyone
around her are facing. Cassidy is the perfect hero for this story, and I won’t
give too much away, but without the help of another character, she would be
lost to stopping the rampage of the dark hooded figure that is set on getting
revenge.
What book do you think everyone should read?
Hands down, Game of Thrones. It is simply an epic
masterpiece.
What kind of world ruler would you be?
Absolutley Daenerys Targaryen from Game of Thrones.
She is strong willed and powerful, honest, a fighter who has survived more than
any person should, and above all she rules with a strong moral compass…though I
must admit, now that I am watching the new season of Thrones, I am not so sure
my support for her is as iron strong as it used to be. I guess only time will
tell!
Describe your writing style.
I am an absolute plotter. I must admit, with my first
novel I did begin by sitting down with an idea in the back of my mind, which I
then just continued to write as ideas came to me. Now I like to know who my
characters are, what they want most, and how each story will end. I take time
now to create the skeleton of each of my stories, starting with my rough ideas
and characters which I then mold into a scene-by-scene setup with a rough
layout for who appears in each scene, what actions they will take, and then
what the conclusion will be to lead me on to what happens next.
What makes a good story?
Staying away from cardboard cutouts and giving your
readers characters they can like, love, hate, and even loathe, and who they can
related to on a human level, even if the characters themselves are far from
human. Having real characters is only part of the equation. Moving each
character through a story in a meaningful way that is both riveting and
powerful is the next step. There must be conflict, triumph, actions, reactions,
and, above all, consequences for every move along the way.
???Each and every character must have a role in the
plot that helps to drive the story forward from one conflict to the next. What
drives a character through each story, whether their intentions are good or
bad, must have an impact on the plot and
What do you do to unwind and relax?
With a glass of moscato I like to park it on the couch
and kick my feet up to read or watch anything and everything paranormal,
fantasy or thriller. If I’m not catching up on The Vampire Diaries (yes, I know
it’s finished. I am so behind in watching hours!), re-watching Game of Thrones,
then I’m burying my nose in a good book (nowadays my smart phone with the
Kindle app).
I’ll admit it’s not easy to find time to write when
you are a parent. Between school runs, washing, cooking, cleaning, and
entertaining a 3 year old, I do somehow manage to find time. Early morning is
quieter at home, and afternoon sleeps are a good time, and if I set myself
daily goals I usually find that I can achieve them.
What made you want to become an author and do you feel
it was the right decision?
I have always loved reading and books. In school I
started writing dark short stories and poems to pass the time in classes,
though my real need to write flourished when I first became a parent. Suffering
postnatal depression, I rediscovered my love for reading and books, but I felt
like I needed more than to read someone else’s words and live in their created
landscapes. I needed a purpose and something that defined me. And many of you
many not understand this, especially with a beautiful new baby that I truly
loved from the moment he arrived), but I needed an escape, a way to get out of
my head and the emotions that seemed to have a hold of me. Writing was my way
to finding myself, to working through my own demons, past and present, and to
becoming a better person and parent. Many women feel that they lose themselves
when they become mothers, and for me, writing was my way to rediscovering who I
was and who I wanted to be. All that said, yes, becoming an author was the
right decision for me, and I hope you will all agree when you get to know me
and my characters!
A day in the life of
the author?
I know you all
probably expect the life of an author to be some glamorous lifestyle of sitting
in a picturesque setting while whittling away the hours with endless magic
flowing from your fingertips to your keyboard. Well, sorry to burst your
bubble, yes writing and being an author is wonderful, but if you are like me
and live in the real world, unfortunately family and normal life play a huge
part in your day too. So, without further rambling, here is a day in my life in
a nutshell J
Wake up. Check
emails. Get eldest child ready for school and do school run. Feed youngest and
dress. Do washing and tidy up. Thank God for cartoon and get some writing done
(either on sofa or bed). Break for playtime with 3 year old. Hang out washing.
Answer a few emails or check social media for actions needed. Have lunch. Grab
a short writing break. Break for outside playtime. Get ready for 3 year old’s
sleep (this seriously takes longer than you might think!), write like the wind
for the next 2 hours, have break when eldest child comes home and assist where
needed, do any research, marketing, correspondence, check to do list and make
sure I didn’t miss anything.
Advice you would give new authors?
Keep
at it and you will succeed. Writing is only half the journey, finding your
audience is at least half the battle. Make sure you spend time creating your
stories but don't forget to put yourself out there and interact with your
current and potential readers. If you don't go looking, they might not find
you!
What are you currently reading?
What are you currently reading?
I am currently reading Fated, the second
book in the Marked Series by T.L. McDonald, a fellow indie author who is worth
a look at if you haven’t heard of her.
How long have you
been writing?
Officially, I have
been writing for 9 years, though my first book wasn’t published until 2013.
What is your writing
process? For instance do you do an outline first? Do you do the chapters
first?
My writing process
starts with my ideas for the plot and characters. Then I do an outline,
detailing a single sentence for what happens in each scene from start to
finish. This is not a definitive setup, and more often than not new ideas and
twist and turns take shape as I write. I will even have whole new scenes come
to light that are crucial to the telling of my story. I try not to get too
perfectionistic (but hard as I’m a perfectionist!) with my first draft, as
after that I have a step-by-step process for revision of the full book. My
revision usually takes me as long as the first draft did, and sometimes even
twice as long or more. First draft is for me to have fun and get my ideas out,
the revision process is for all of you, so that I am making sure that what I
have written and what I later publish is worthy of your reading eyes and
delivers a compelling and interesting story that, at the least, entertains you,
but that hopefully leaves you with something so much more.
Can you tell us a
little bit about the characters in Nerve Damage?
Nerve Damage, despite
my intentions to write a simpler book after my 4-book Blood Bound series, was
quite complex. It is a psychological thriller that delves into the dark
recesses of the mind in that of human action and intention.
Cassidy, the main
character from which much of the story is told, is a newly created young adult
orphan. After losing her parents in a terrible car wreck, her mind is not her
friend. Her memories of the day of the accident paint an entirely different
picture that day, leaving her believing that the ‘accident’ was not quite so
accidental. After surviving and after what she thinks she saw, Cassidy isn’t
sure what is real or not, but she can’t shake the feeling that she’s being
watched…and hunted.
The rest of the
characters have their own pasts and their own problems, and with the events
that have them trapped together, they will soon come to learn that they are
somehow connected and that them being brought together is no accident at all.
Throughout the story,
you get to meet and get to know another character—the killer. A number of
scenes are shown from their perspective, and, fair warning, they are vivid in
detail and actions. Plus you will also meet a character from a past, a child
that is intricately weaved into this story in ways that will ripple throughout
the story from start to end in irrevocable and haunting ways.
Do the characters all come to you at the same time or do some of them come to you as you write?
My main characters
are usually pretty real to be by the time I start to write. With plotting out
my stories, I need to know who they are and what motives them. Secondary
characters may only exist in a role or action they must achieve before the
writing begins. These characters may change names, gender, whether they are
goodies or baddies, and they can even become obsolete or meshed with other
characters by the time I get through my revision.
What kind of research do you do before you begin writing a book?
What kind of research do you do before you begin writing a book?
To be honest, I try not to do too much research. If I
am writing about a certain time or era, I like to know what things looked like
and how people lived. With fantasy and paranormal genres, there is much more
room to create without needing a whole lot of backstory or history, though that
said, once you create a world and the creatures that dwell within it you have
be sure of how everything works and what rules your world operates by. A little
off course on the question here, but breaking rules that you’ve established
your world by is a big no-no.
Describe yourself in
5 words or less!
Imperfect
perfectionist
Do you have any
advice to give aspiring writers?
Giving up is the only
way to fail. Have an go and you may even surprise yourself!
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