The Carus Chronicles

  Today, she’ll break free.  Tomorrow, she’ll make them pay Book Specs: Title: Beast of All Series Name: Carus Series, Book Five Publisher: The Wild Rose Press           Editor: Lara Parker Cover Artist: Debbie Taylor of DCA Graphics Theme(s): Shapeshifters, Vampires, Witches, Demons,  SubGenre(s): Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Rating: Spicy (PG13) Page Count: 310 Word Count: 70595 Digital Price: $4.99 Print Price: $16.99 Digital ISBN: 978-1-5092-1004-6 Print ISBN: 978-1-5092-1005-3 COPYRIGHT © 2016 by J. C. McKenzie Blurb: “Two months ago my world collapsed and the beast reigned. Seven weeks ago the SRD captured me. Nine days ago, they injected me with something vile. Today, I break free. And tomorrow? I’ll make them pay.” Badass Shifter Andy McNeilly wakes up from a horrible nightmare, only to discover it wasn’t a dream, and she’s no longer quite so ...

Next week, on October 19th, the 5th and final installment of the Carus Series will release. To celebrate the release of this urban fantasy, full-length novel, I'm running a giveaway! Enter below and make sure to share! The winners will be announced on October 20th, 2016. Don't want to wait, and want to pre-order right now? Here's the buy link:  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01L5TXMMW The Prizes include: - 5 audio copies of Shift Happens - 5 audio copies of Beast Coast - 1 ebook of Shift Happens - 1 ebook of Beast Coast - 1 ebook of Carpe Demon - 1 ebook of Shift Work - 5 ebooks of BEAST OF ALL - 5 ebooks of MOON, MIST & MAGIC a Rafflecopter giveaway

“Two months ago my world collapsed and the beast reigned.  Seven weeks ago the SRD captured me.  Nine days ago, they injected me with something vile.  Today, I break free.  And tomorrow?  I’ll make them pay.” Badass Shifter Andy McNeilly wakes up from a horrible nightmare, only to discover it wasn’t a dream, and she’s no longer quite so badass. Chemically curbed, Andy has lost touch with her feras and beast when she needs them most. Can she regain control of her supernatural abilities in time to reap retribution from her enemies, or will she fall as fodder in a power play for control of Vancouver’s seedy underworld? Excerpt: No feras. No beast. Whatever they shot me with blocked my communication with the animals. Did it prevent shifting as well? I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to call a form and change. Only a headache answered. Dread flittered across my skin. Was this permanent? As the Carus, the genetic throwback to the first demi-g...

In one week, the fourth installment of the Carus Series will release. I enjoyed writing Shift Work and can't wait to hear what readers think of it. To celebrate Shift Work's upcoming release, I'm providing a giveaway! Please enter below and I'll announce winners on Feb 22nd, when Shift Work releases! a Rafflecopter giveaway

On Saturday, I revealed my fancy self-made book trailer and release date for Beast Coast on four wonderful blogs. In case you missed the announcement, here it is: That's right! In less than a month, the second book of the Carus series will be available in electronic and print formats from online retailers World Wide!! I'm thrilled to share this book and hope you enjoy it.

I have a confession to make. I've been procrastinating. Between edits for two contracted pieces, self-editing a pre-submission third piece, writing blog posts and guest blog posts, critiquing other work for my critique partners, dawdling on social media and botching attempts at promotion, I've been playing around with word and making my beloved scent guide pretty. Now I'd like to share! Scent Guide 2014 The scent guide is also available off my website and the side bar on the right of this blog. Enjoy! SCENT GUIDE (http://www.jcmckenzie.ca/uploads/1/3/9/1/13916502/scent_guide_2014.pdf)

Don't know who these men are? But want to?  The first book of the Carus Series, Shift Happens,  is available on Amazon now!

As a part of my promotional efforts, I dabbled in Word and created a media kit for Shift Happens. Please check it out and let me know what you think. It's now available on my website: http://www.jcmckenzie.ca/uploads/1/3/9/1/13916502/media_kit_for_blog_march_31st_2014.pdf You can click HERE to view it in a separate window, click on the link on the menu bar on the right, or look at it below. Media Kit for Shift Happens (2014) If you haven't already done so, please pick up a copy of my debut novel, Shift Happens--Available now on Amazon! Amazon.com  |  Amazon.ca  |  Amazon.co.uk  |  Amazon.com.au OR enter my giveaway for a chance to win one of five copies of Shift Happens. Today is the last day! Winners will be announced tomorrow! a Rafflecopter giveaway

E.E. Cummings dedicated his book of 70 poems, “No Thanks” to well, ‘No Thanks.’     Some argue that rejection is a part of the writing process. Personally, I've always felt rejection hinders creativity. Each and every single time I got my ‘No Thanks’ email from an editor or agent, my will to write and my fragilely accumulated self-esteem would wash away with my tears. So when an editor replied to my full manuscript with, “yada, it’s great, yada, yada BUT …” I braced myself for the inevitable sting of rejection. And it was there. But she returned my manuscript lightly edited and gave me two pieces of advice. Remove as many passive verbs as possible – was, were, could, should, would, etc. She mentioned an easy way to eliminate most ‘was’s is to change ‘was <>ing’ verbs to ‘<>ed’ verbs.  For example: He was walking à He walked Show don’t tell.   Hrmf! I know. I know exactly what you’re thinking with #2. Heard that before? Me ...

This blog post of mine originally appeared on Jo-Ann Carson's Lovin' Danger Blog on October 11th, 2013. (I wish WordPress and Blogger had a reblog button that allowed for reblogging WP posts on Blogger sites - if you know how to do this, please enlighten me). I'd like to thank Jo-Ann Carson for the opportunity to be a guest on her blog. She's a writing colleague of mine, and also happens to be my mother! Her love for books and the craft definitely inspired me to take up writing. *** Humans Are Parasites: In “The Hot Zone,” author Richard Preston makes an argument that hit me hard. He postulates viruses are a part of Mother Nature’s immune system and human are really the parasites. After all, it's only when humans try to delve into uncharted territory or cultivate pristine wilderness, that we are exposed to extremely deadly viruses, such as Ebola Zaire, Ebola Sudan, Marburg Virus and Lassa Virus (to name a few). There are other arguments for why that i...

Welcome to my blog. I plan to discuss all things strange, including my current foray into the world of publishing. A lot of authors are very knowledgeable about the industry, and while I'm no slouch (or at least not a complete imbecile), there's a lot I don't know. A lot! Thank goodness for the power of Google, reference books like, 'The 2013 Writer's Market,' and the sage advice of friends and colleagues. Since I often don't have much to say, or to be more precise, much to say that I feel other people would value reading, I'll end my first blog post with one of my favorite comic book quotes: “Accidents happen. That’s what everyone says. But in a quantum universe there are no such things as accidents, only possibilities and probabilities  folded into existence by perception”  -  Dr. Manhattan