Going Thru Hell by T.J. Loveless
Publication date: October 1st 2013
Genres: Fantasy, Mythology, New Adult

Synopsis:

KYLIE RIPPONS is a SpongeBob pajama bottom wearing, Dodge Ram 1500 4×4 driving, USDA certified klutz, coffee-addicted mortal, seeking a normal life despite the constant harassment of gods and the ability to braid time.

Kylie sees actions and consequences as bright, shining timelines in her head. Born with the power to gather the strings and braid them into a new chain of events, she is the weapon of choice for many pantheons in their never ending wars. But using the ability requires fuel, and for a mortal, it means a piece of her soul.

One Mesopotamian goddess, the only forsaken Valkyrie, and a rogue, immortal, Berserker ally with Kylie. Constant harassment forces the group to take drastic action, and go on the offensive. She must braid time to save friends, and herself, as the gods drive them into situations in which she must choose: braid time, save her friends, and lose pieces of her mortal soul, or become slave to the pantheon of her choice.

Deception by an old friend sends Kylie fleeing to her parents’ home, where she hid her son, Riot. She’s too late, the gods found Riot and hold him hostage. Searching for him, Kylie experiences the most devastating betrayal of all.

Kylie faces her worst nightmare: kill a friend and permanently hide Riot, leaving him motherless, or become a slave in exchange for his safety, leaving her soulless and insane.

If only the gods allowed for personal choice.
 

EXCERPT:

The headache started, pounding to the rhythm of my heartbeat. I silently begged to faint, but the power demands payment. There is no credit card or forgiveness for changing the strings of time. It doesn't care I only braided a mere twenty minutes. The ledger must always remain in the black.
“Hey, good looking,” a masculine voice called.

Bloody hell. I glanced around, hoping someone else pulled up and captured the guy's attention. No such luck. The truck and Ferrari remained the only two cars at the pumps. I cursed silently while ignoring him. The earthy smell surrounded me, filled with green things, sun and a summer's breeze. 

“Do you ignore everyone?”

I jumped. I turned to find a tall, muscular, handsome male. Long brown hair streaked with various shades of silver, and a well-trimmed gray beard carted streaks of brunette, giving the impression of a mature man. He wore a black, faded AC/DC t-shirt, shabby blue jeans and black boots. His ice blue eyes caught my attention and held it.

The last one disappeared, leaving Aki to stand in the middle, turning slowly, the image of a grizzly bear superimposed over his form. He fell forward, hands out to catch himself. Blood splashed upwards in a graceful and grotesque arc, covering his upper body and face. He sat on his feet, sword laid carefully over his thighs, chin resting on the massive chest.

“Do not mock me,” his voice low and tight.

“Mocking you? Me? Nooo. I genuinely disdain you and all you stand for.” The threads vibrated, the need to braid becoming almost impossible to resist. The secondary ability rushed to the surface of my skin.

Come on, you big bastard, touch me, I thought.

“Do not doubt that I will hurt you for such disrespect!” Spittle landed on my cheek.

“Can't disrespect what I never respected in the first place. Thought you guys were supposed to have a superior intellect.” My palms began to melt the plastic ties. 

Come on, come on, before I lose control.

His hand wrapped around my throat and squeezed. My wrists popped apart and I grabbed his forearm, the power sliding over him as the heat from my palms burned his skin. He jerked, but it was too late.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18489614-going-thru-hell?ac=1

Purchase:

--Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FJZ46O2?ie=UTF8&tag=httpwwwgoodco-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00FJZ46O2&SubscriptionId=1MGPYB6YW3HWK55XCGG2

--B&N: www.barnesandnoble.com/w/going-thru-hell-tj-loveless/1117011509?ean=2940148468349

--Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/363134

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AUTHOR BIO:

T.J. Loveless has been reading and writing stories since the fourth grade. She writes predominantly in the Spec Fic genres. A former copy/content editor at a small pub house, she now freelances at Cliffhanger Editing.

She lives with The Writing Zoo, a Hubby who prefers her mood when writing, and a teenager who loves to tells stories of her mother on the floor trying to visualize "legs all akimbo" and how Writing Momma has long, often yelling, conversations with the computer screen.

Author Links:

Website: http://tjloveless.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/tjloveless3

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7142612.T_J_Loveless

Where I Fit In

When I began writing Going Thru Hell, I had a little bit of a conundrum. One, I am far from girlie. Oh, granted, I do love a great pair of boots. But put more than a cowboy heel on it and I’ll break a leg. Dresses and I don’t get along. I have make-up, I’m just not sure where. My hair has two styles: Long and in a ponytail, or short and pulled back with a headband. I quit coloring it and let the gray stand out loud and proud. Okay, okay, more like lazy and why bother.

Two, writing about a woman who loves all those things proved to be impossible. I couldn’t relate in any way. My idea of dressing up is a pair of slacks, a long blouse two sizes too big, and sandals that might, or might not, match. I’ve been known to wear shoes of two different shades of brown. I don’t pay enough attention.

Kylie steamrolled her way into my head, pacing, impatient, full of ideas. She wanted at least one fancy outfit, and I spent three days researching Barney’s of New York, and calling all my fashionista girlfriends for advice. But for the most part, I based a good bit of Kylie on my own personality. 

I love pajamas and fuzzy slippers. Fun cartoon pajama bottoms make me feel good. I can actually coordinate jeans and t-shirts with one of five pairs of Sketchers. 

And after reading tons of books with sophisticated femme fatales, I wanted to do something different. So I created Kylie to be as klutzy as me. The fall out of bed in the morning? Yep, I do it at least once a week. I did once cause severe rugburn on my face after one particular fall and slide on new carpet. I also gave her my addiction to caffeine. Mmm … coffee. Especially a large mocha latte, with an extra espresso shot and a few pumps of raspberry flavoring from The Paramount Café downtown.

I prefer trucks to cars, they seem to last longer. A bit of a confession: I’m on vehicle number fifty-eight. You read that right. I’ve put more vehicles in the ground than I like to admit. Trucks/SUVs seem to last at least a little longer.

Neither Kylie, nor I, have a brain-mouth filter. Often when I speak, whatever is in my head just voices itself.

But there is where it ends. I’m a people person, an extrovert. I laugh often, and don’t brood. I don’t back away from a fight.

I think, as authors, we all interject a bit of ourselves into certain characters. Sometimes the bad guy, most often the good guy. It’s fun, and helps keep us connected to our own imaginations. Not to mention, if you already know the character, it makes it easier to write.

Besides, it’s fun to make family and friends call me up and go, “I remember the time you did that!”

Inspiration

Inspiration comes to all of us from places we never saw coming. An incident, eavesdropping, people watching, our own experiences.

The biggest inspiration for Going Thru Hell came from watching a band of mustangs in Rock Springs, WY. Hubby, Filly (my teenaged daughter), and I used to go to Wild Horse Loop at least once a month and try to find one of several bands that call White Mountain home. Our favorite was a band filled with red and blue roan mares. It’s a medium sized band of mustangs, about eight mares total. They’d been led for a long time by a big bay stallion getting up there in years.

We’d heard the stallion died a few days before one particular late spring visit on White Mountain. The band was stallion free, and far from the bachelor bands. A band of mustangs can survive without a stallion. While the common myth is the stallion rules all, the truth of the matter is the lead mare does all the work. The stallion is basically for protection and breeding.

Sometimes, a stallion comes along, and acts like a male lion taking over a pride – they kill the youngest foals. And that is what started the incident which inspired Going Thru Hell.

The stallion trying to take over the band was a big chestnut. The lead mare, a red roan, recently foaled a little blue roan colt. The stallion made a lunge for the colt. The fight was on.

One of the hardest things to do when watching nature, is to let it run its course. The three of us sat in the back of the truck, watching, wincing, and cheering the lead mare. The stallion took chunks from the mare, fought her tooth and hoof. But don’t think she didn’t land quite a few blows of her own. She tore chunks from his neck, kicked and lacerated his sides, chased him off time and again.

Ten minutes later, both were heaving, sweating, but neither giving way. The little colt was hiding behind an older filly, watching. The stallion tried to go around the lead mare, making a play for her foal. The lead mare landed a kick to his jaw, and we could see she shattered it. The stallion took off.

The lead mare sustained serious injuries, limping, bleeding, but she spent twenty minutes calming the colt.
We returned a month later, the colt doing just fine, and a young gray stallion had taken over the band. When the colt wandered too far from the band, the new stallion gently steered him back to the herd.

The lead mare never stopped limping, and her scars were huge. But I heard she foaled a gray colt this spring.

It was that incident which really pushed Kylie and her story to the front of my imagination. She talked loudly, and made it very clear she’d do anything for her son. She’d take on the powerful, no matter the scars she’d have to bear. Her story had to be told.

I’ve found inspiration everywhere. But that one is probably my favorite.

Interview Questions:

Tell us a little bit about Going Thru Hell.

Going Thru Hell explores parenthood, and the family we create. What would we do? Would we kill? Die? Lip service is one thing, having to actually make the decisions another. I constantly heard, while writing the book and sending pieces to beta readers, “I’d die in an instant for my child.” So would I. But you can bet your sweet bippy I’ll try to find a way for everyone to survive first, I want to watch my kids grow up, explore their world, I want to be there for their triumphs and failures. If the only way for them to survive was my death, take me now. And that is the constant question the MC, Kylie, asks herself.

Where did you get the idea for Going Thru Hell?

As with a lot of the books over the past two years, the spark for the idea came from Wild Horse Loop outside of Rock Springs, WY. We’d head up there, and watch the bands of mustangs for hours. One incident involved an older stallion and a lead mare with her new foal. The band’s stallion died a few days earlier, and the new one was sniffing around. A stallion sometimes kills the very young foals, and the lead mare fought the stallion. She was bleeding, limping, breathing heavy, but not once did she allow that stallion near her foal. Three days later, they found the stallion dead from the wounds, and a new, younger stallion in charge of the band. The foal survived. The lead mare never stopped limping.

What type of research did you have to do for GTH?

Tons of research! Oh my gosh! I had to call a cousin in Hawaii, he’s an astrophysicist, to learn more about the fourth dimension, and if it was feasible. I also contacted an old professor to talk genetics, and then spent months looking for a dragon goddess, and the real mythology of several forgotten gods. My Google history would have likely landed me in the looney bin LOL

What genre is GTH?

Adult Contemporary Fantasy. It was really the only way it would work.

Why did you choose that genre?

I write mostly in the Spec Fic genre, although I have a dark Contemporary Fiction I’m working on. I love playing with mythology, using the old stories, not what is taught today. It’s fun to come up with a new twist to old ideas.

What actors would play the characters in your novel?

Oh! This one is easy! Kylie played by Genevieve Padalecki, Aki played by Anson Mount (so yummy!), Alicia Coppola is definitely Anahita, and I always see Brunhilde played by Emma Stone. 

If Going Thru Hell had a theme song, what would it be?

My friend, Joey Francisco, handed over the Kylie’s song: Immortal by Eve and Adam. It is the perfect fit, and of course, now I have every album LOL

How long did it take your to write your novel?

When Kylie took over my imagination, it didn’t take long to get the rough draft out – approximately two weeks to write 66k words. I already knew the story, it was just a matter of typing it.

What is your favorite type of scene to write?

Definitely the action scenes. I used to be a Correctional Officer at a Men’s Maximum Security Unit, and it’s easy to write violence when you had to live through it.

If you could meet one author, dead or alive, who would it be?

Margaret Mitchell. I’ve gone through seven paperback, and one hardback, copies of Gone With The Wind, three VCR tapes (now I’m just dating myself), and two DVDs. She wrote Scarlett, and the entire cast, with such realism. They were flawed, making bad decisions, trusting at the wrong times, trying to survive a horrific moment in American history. She didn’t flinch showing they were human, with all the foibles and strengths inherent in all of us.

When did you decide to become a writer?

I’ve been dabbling for years. But early in 2012 we moved to Wyoming, and the opportunity presented itself to really dig into learning to write properly. I took that opportunity and ran with it.

How can readers follow you and learn more about your works?

Website: http://tjloveless.com/
Blog: http://queenofpaddedroom.blogspot.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/TJ-Loveless-Author/129753790413808
Twitter: https://twitter.com/tjloveless3
Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/pub/t-j-loveless/45/25a/274/
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/teejwrites/boards/
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0046VUI0Q
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/tjloveless
Book Links: Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FJZ46O2  B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1117011509?ean=2940148468349
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/363134
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/TJLoveless


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