Authorpreneur Dashboard – Ali Cross

Ali  Cross

Become (Desolation #1)

Science Fiction & Fantasy

Sixteen-year old Desolation Black wants nothing more than to stay in Hell where it’s cold and lonely and totally predictable. Instead, she’s sent back to Earth where she must face the evil she despises and the good she always feared. When Desi is forced to embrace her inner demon, she assumes her choice has been made—that she has no hope of being anything other than what her father, Loki, has created her to be. What she doesn’t count on, is finding a reason to change—something she’s never had before—a friend.

Book Bubbles from Become (Desolation #1)

The Truth About Hell

In the Desolation series, Hell is Helheimer, one of the Nine Worlds of Norse mythology. I pictured something like Dante's Inferno, but where the fires burn ice cold. The dead are tortured by their wants, eternally hungering for what they can't have.

Illustration in Writing

Recently a reader on Wattpad commented on this line, telling me it was beautiful. Often I feel insecure about my writing, but now and then ... well ... I think this line is beautiful, too. I hope you like it!

Elario, the Ancient Priest

This is my first ever book bubble! I wasn't sure where to start, so ... here I am at the beginning! And ya know? I'm happy to be here. Elario plays this very small part and is never mentioned by readers, but ... he's very special to me. Elario is thousands of years old. He was a servant in the Tepenac Empire, a civilization that existed in the Mexico area eons ago. He met a Gardian of Asgard, a god to him, an angel to Christians, who charged him with the task to watch for the child. His sole task was to be ready to receive the baby , the woman who would be carrying her, and to utter the prayers that would aid her in her quest. He has performed his duties. He has waited and prayed and prepared. And here, at the start of Become, the time has finally come.

Desolate (Desolation #2)

Science Fiction & Fantasy

Where darkness lives, all will become desolate. It’s been two months since sixteen-year-old Desolation Black chose Earth over Hell and her friend Miri over her eternal love, Michael. Desi goes through the motions of life: school, training, remaining vigilant against the forces of darkness, but her dreams are full of the choices she wishes she could change. When she’s injured by a strange demon, old temptations arise, and the lines between good and evil blur. Desi discovers those choices aren’t so final after all. And this time, the power of love—for a friend, for a lover—may not be enough to save her from the darkness that lurks within.

Book Bubbles from Desolate (Desolation #2)

The Lure of Darkness

In Desolate, the darkness is creeping into Desi's soul. Teasing and drawing out her secret desires for power and control--even in the smallest of moments.

Foreshadow of Darkness

These opening lines to the second book in the Desolation trilogy give you a pretty good indication as to what you can expect from the story. Desi's at rock bottom and for her, the light is scarier than the dark.

How "My Immortal" by Evanescence Inspired Desolate

It's probably no surprise that gothic music like Evanescence makes often looped through my playlist while I wrote the Desolation series.

In particular, the feelings expressed in this song defined the second book, and I think really informed this particular scene.

Here's a portion of the song's lyrics, matched with a scene in which Desi is really feeling Michael's loss and the deep pain his absence, and yet constant presence in her heart, causes her.

"My Immortal"
I'm so tired of being here Suppressed by all my childish fears And if you have to leave I wish that you would just leave 'Cause your presence still lingers here And it won't leave me alone

These wounds won't seem to heal This pain is just too real There's just too much that time cannot erase

Destined (Desolation #3)

Science Fiction & Fantasy

Choosing is a bad idea, because Desi always makes the wrong choice, and sometimes there are no do-overs. Certainly not this time, when all has been lost and Desi can’t even save herself, let alone her friends. For Desi, the hardest thing is letting someone help her, to accept their sacrifice on herehalf. But that’s exactly what she’ll have to do in order to save the worlds from Helena’s destruction. The goddess of Helheimer, long imprisoned by Desi’s father, Loki, is free at last, and she’s bent on reclaiming what once was hers. The nine worlds will be drawn into war, over Hell, over Earth, with innocent humans as meaningless collateral. While Michael and the Gardians of Asgard, along with the golden-armored Valkyrie, lead the battle for freedom, it’s Desi who holds the destiny of all the worlds in her hands. Can she set aside her doubts, once and for all, and claim the gifts that are hers to bear? Can she accept the sacrifice that is made for her and Become all that she was created to be? Her final choice will define not only her future, but the fate of humankind, forever more.

Book Bubbles from Destined (Desolation #3)

Hope

I'm a huge believer in hope. I live by it. Like it's my motto or something. Because usually hope leads to happiness, better times, good things. But sometimes hope just leads us on to heartbreak.

When Would You Give Up on Your Forever Love?

For Michael, who's already waited for Desi for millenia, he won't give up now. He believes...should you?

To Be Loved by a Father

I was four when my dad left us. After that, I saw him maybe a couple times a year, if I was lucky, until my teens.

When I was twenty-one, Dad called me, out of the blue. I had this brief, crazy hope that NOW maybe he would love me. NOW maybe he would be my dad. I do think he tried, but it just didn't come naturally to him and it was too little too late. He died not long after, leaving me with so many "what if's."

What if my dad had loved me? How might my life had been different?

In the Desolation series, Desi has a similar relationship with her father, Loki, aka Satan. In this scene she gets that tug on her heart, the one that makes you think and hope ... maybe THIS time he will love me enough to put me first. To choose me.

I have a different take than most on the Loki/Lucifer myth ... If I said more it'd be major spoilers though. I hope you enjoy this sample!

Jump Boys: SOS

Children's Books

The jump across the multiverses was supposed to be easy. But when a miscalculation sends thirteen-year-old twins Jayce and Val Jump into another dimension, their reality splinters. They discover a girl who holds the key to time itself and the boys make a promise to her dying father to protect her and the secret. But mechanical malfunctions plague their small ship, terrifying space pirates chase them across time and space, and betrayal waits for them at home. If they ever make it home.

Book Bubbles from Jump Boys: SOS

Because School Drama

Jace might be willing to take demerits over death, but he just barely convinced Val, his twin brother, that they had to accept the dare. Boys. Demerits today, the danger of space--and potential death--tomorrow!

Write What You Know!

The main characters in Jump Boys are so clearly based on my own twin boys that it caused a bit of hurt feelings!

Jump Boys: SOS is the first "real" book I wrote. I'd written a "practice" novel already, but this is the first book I edited, revised, queried, published ... all that jazz.

I wanted to write something for my boys, so naturally, the main characters are twins. Jayce is obviously Charlie, tall and on the quiet side, but he's a "river that runs deep", even if he doesn't say much.

Xander is Val so completely that when Xan read the beginning of this book he was a little miffed. Oops!

Thankfully he read on and discovered that Val is a pretty dang cool guy--even if Jayce gives him a hard time. (And vice versa!) Val is brilliant and confident and willing to do the hard things.

I love my boys with all my heart. Like, with a passion that's almost scary. And I love Val and Jayce, too. Can't wait until I can get to work on the second book ... !

Personal Demons (Desolation Diaries #1)

Science Fiction & Fantasy

The Desolation Diaries #1 What happened after the story ended? A Desolation Novella What do you do when your past comes back to bite you in the ass--with very sharp, pointy teeth? James thought life was good--living in Paris with Miri, not a single bad guy in sight. Until the goddess Hel came to reclaim him.

Book Bubbles from Personal Demons (Desolation Diaries #1)

When a Man Loves a Woman

Sometimes girls have no idea the impact they can have on a man.

Team James

I wrote the character James as a foil for Desi. He was to bring out the bad in her, to shine a light on her right to make choices. He was to be her mirror.

But he became so much more than that.

Almost from the very beginning, James had life. And my readers seemed to feel the same way as time and again I received letters asking to know more about James. I'd fallen in love with him, too, so I was happy to comply. That's why I wrote the Desolation Diaries--to tell the story of what happened to James and Miri after the Desolation Series ended.

In this excerpt, James has gotten away from Helena--the goddess of Hell, but he knows she's returned for him .... and she's not the kind of woman to take no for an answer.

The Seer (Desolation Diaries #2)

Science Fiction & Fantasy

She's always been the one protected, shielded from the darkness in the world. But Miri wants to be as capable and strong as Desi and James. She wants to control her visions so they can actually be of use, actually give her friends an advantage over the dark. When her visions reveal an enemy fixated on James, Miri must face the evil alone, and risk everything to do it.

Book Bubbles from The Seer (Desolation Diaries #2)

#JamesandMiri

Miri and James have a true love, and their story is so beautiful...sometimes I forget I wrote it. :)

Writing Miri and Romance

I didn't think I could write romance. And I wasn't sure I could write Miri, having never written from her point of view before.

This novella, then, was a happy surprise for me because not only is it from Miri's point of view, but it's also pretty much pure romance!

This excerpt is from the beginning of The Seer, and shows Miri busily preparing for James to get home so she can surprise him with a work of art she's been working on. It's basically her heart on canvas so it's a BIG deal.

And just in case you're wondering ... it IS a romance, but Miri is also a SEER. You can imagine that a vision is going to have to mess it all up. :P

Tattered Dreams (Desolation Diaries #3)

Science Fiction & Fantasy

Miri has seen Akaros’ return—and James’ death. But James has been to Hell and back and refuses to let Akaros rob him of his future with Miri. Desi might not be there to save him this time, but James is determined to save himself. A Desolation Novella.

Book Bubbles from Tattered Dreams (Desolation Diaries #3)

Neither Demon nor Angel

What are you, if neither Heaven nor Hell wants you?

Reminders ...

I came on here to pick out a bubble for you. My goal is to have at least one bubble from each of my books. I thought, "What the heck am I going to say about this book?" And I wasn't sure so I skimmed through and found this.

It's romance again, people!

And it makes me want to write a romance!

Or maybe I just need to write more of James and Miri because I love THEM. THEY are ROMANTIC.

This novella probably could have/should have been three time its length so I could have explored the romance - and the thrill of the scary demons - a little more. But it's a fun, wild ride as it is.

The Swift

Children's Books

The night eleven-year-old Pete planned to shoot the winning goal in the championship hockey game was the same night his dad was lost at sea. Now, eight months later, his mom still cries all the time, his beloved grandfather, stricken with Alzheimer’s, can’t even remember him, and they’re about to lose their crappy old house to the bank. To make matters worse, his twin brother Henry blames Pete for all of it. After all, they were a family of fishermen—if Pete had gone to help on the boat instead of to the game, their dad might still be alive. While searching the attic for stuff they can sell, Pete finds a battle-torn ship-in-a-bottle. When he and Henry show the bottle to their grandpa, the three of them are transported back in time—on board the very ship that’s going down. Battling pirates and the raging sea, the boys must learn to work together to help their grandpa save his past. If they don’t, they won’t have a future to return to.

Book Bubbles from The Swift

The Night Pete's Dad Died

Middle grade fiction is tricky to write. You want the fun, the farty, the fantastic, but it's also a time of profound growth and profound feelings. I think it's often overlooked in favor of the angsty teens and the gleeful children. So writing about something like a gale, and the death of a parent ... that's hard. It's maybe not "popular." But it's life. It's truth. And I, for one, like to write about those things. Sometimes in life bad things happen. Kids experience bad things, too. I write for them, for what they might be going through and for what might yet BE. Because while they are bad things, there are always, always, good things, too.

Frozen Souls

Teens

Sai Luk is more comfortable with the dead than the living. For 900 years, he’s been shepherding souls to Valhalla and keeping company with souls; careful not to let anyone breach the walls around his heart. As a sixteen-year-old slave girl, Elpi Moros found her soul mate among the Jin's vast army. For the briefest moment, they knew happiness. But when Sai is killed on the battlefield, she drives a knife into her heart, unable to face a lifetime without him. She’s been escorting souls to the underworld ever since, enduring an eternity with a broken heart. Destiny drove them apart, but when they're both given missions in Kayville, Oregon, their love draws them together. With competing assignments and dueling destinies, will Sai and Elpi choose to honor their masters, or their love?

Book Bubbles from Frozen Souls

Sai Luk

Sai was a shaman in Northern China before the Jin invaded and destroyed the Laos Dynasty in the early 1100's. He looked to the spirits of ancestors to add to his wisdom and help him guide his people. He had no way of knowing that he would one day be helping them find their way home.

Blood Crown

Science Fiction & Fantasy

In this science fiction romance, androids have claimed power over what remains of the human race. They rule without remorse. They are the Mind and humans exist only to serve them. But it wasn't always so. Before the android uprising, select droids, called Servants, were pivotal in engineering a new human race with nanotechnology enhanced DNA. The Blood Crown theorem was to be humanity's crowning glory and the key to their survival in deep space. But Serantha, Daughter of the West, was the last female to receive Gifts from her Servant and when the Mind mutinied, she was hidden away, and presumed dead. Without Serantha there is no hope of the Blood Crown being realized so Nicolai, Son of the East, abandons his crown to join the rebel forces. He might not provide the future for his people he had once dreamed of, but he will not go down without a fight. When Nicolai discovers Sera among a small compliment of kitchen staff, everything changes--but Sera's Gifts were never completed and she is ill-equipped to face a legion of androids determined to wipe her, and every other human, out of existence. Their only hope is the Blood Crown--but even if Serantha and Nicolai can realize their potential it may be too late to save mankind.

Book Bubbles from Blood Crown

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