Without Me Book Trailer Day 3

The project of creating the Without Me book trailer was placed on hold for a fews days due to my massive sinus infection / really annoying cold. I've been incredibly miserable for the past few days with a stopped up head that feels like a fifty pound weight and a voice like a man. I remained on bed rest for two of the days I've been ill and slept for a total of approximately forty hours but now I'm feelings much better. I actually ventured outside for the first time yesterday and was pleased to know that it's no longer winter and it actually feels like spring again. For the past week we've had a cold spell in the forties in Nashville - why I do not know. But now it's in the 80s again and I'm much happier. (Any ideas why I might have gotten sick? I blame you Mother Nature.)

Anywho, I got out and continued with day 3 of the filming for the Without Me book trailer and I've now finished spelling out all the words! Yay! Now all that's left is incorporating my paper characters that Trent made me and we'll be on our way to Youtube! I suspect this will be a lot of fun. Here's some stills from day 3 to keep you interested.

M.

Jack and Denni

Throughout the course of the 3 books I have planned for The Mind Breaker Accounts series, Jack and Denni have trouble accepting the fact that they love each other. It's seem stupid and ridiculous seeing as it's obvious how they feel, but things always seem to get in the way and make their relationship complicated.

**BOOK 1 SPOILER ALERT**

At first it's the fact that Denni is with Amos that keeps her from acknowledging how she feels about Jack. Then for a split second, once Amos is out of the picture, Jack and Denni are able to have a moment at peace with their emotions. That doesn't last long though. When Avery shows up Jack is faced with having to deal with feelings he never truly put to rest from his past. In turn, Denni is faced with the possibility that she might now be on the other side of the glass. Now she's the other woman. The 1st book is left off with Jack and Denni not quite knowing where their relationship stands. They've had their moment. They said the magical three words and even slept together, but what does that mean when there are more important things on their plate to deal with?

As I'm writing book two I keep in mind the buried feelings both Jack and Denni have and use that to inspire their story. These are some of the songs that have kept it exciting and make me think of them. These are mostly coming from Jack's point of view.


SafetySuit - Never Stop




Shinedown - If You Only Knew




Snow Patrol - New York




M.

Success!

I have so many books coming in the mail for people who have ordered them and are having them sent to my house so I can sign them! This is crazy! I sold 6 copies of the paperback in one day and I've climbed up the rankings on Amazon. Just slightly but still it's something! I CANNOT stress enough how thankful I am for everyone who has bought a copy of Without Me and shown their support! I am amazingly grateful. Here are some pictures from today's signing. Thanks again! Book trailer update coming soon!

M.

Without Me Trailer Day 2

Today was day two of filming for the Without Me Book Trailer. I've already become frustrated and trashed my original idea. Don't worry it wasn't really that great. I'm still working on the stop-motion part of the trailer which will be fantastic when it's finished! The only thing I'm worried about is the fillers between each scene where it spells out what I'm saying. I have a lot of things in my head that seem cool but every time I try to actually do it... it's not. I am still excited though! These are some shots from today's work. Hope you enjoy.

P.S. The paper characters are supposed to be Jack and Denni, illustrated by my lovely fiancé Trent =]

Google Me!

Special Delivery!

I got my book in the mail today! Holy moly this is incredible! The quality of it is fantastic! I can't believe it's actually real. All these years of hard work and it's finally paid off in physical form! Thank you so much to everyone who has contributed and helped me reach this point in my life! This book is for all of you!

P.S. Today is day two of the Without Me Trailer project. I've got some snap shots of what will be included and you can also view my book!

Without Me Book Teaser Trailer

Without Me Book Trailer

I started working on the Without Me book trailer today. It's stop motion so it's going to be a long process. I'm hoping that all the hard work will pay off in the end though. So far it looks great! Here's some pictures of the progress so far and a little freebie my readers might enjoy =]

M.

Book 2 Update

Current work:


Today is a work day. I've removed myself from any distractions and I'm going to be stuck in my office until I've finished what I started. What have a started you ask? There are several parts of book 2 that contain arguments between Liz and other characters. I've decided to focus only on Liz and her confrontations because they are very important to the storyline. A whole day is needed to lay out all of her major peeks and pitfalls throughout the plot of the second book and I need to really figure out why it is she's so angry all the time.

**SPOILER ALERT**

Book 2 teaser:

We know that in Without Me Liz has money. Not necessarily the physical property of money, but she has nice things and that can all be lead back to Cox. He has taken care of the members of his group including Amos. So that must mean that he has done the same for the other two members of MBGM, Nathan and Jack. Now, we don't get to know Nathan until the second book but you are introduced to him as Jack's best friend and band mate. It is almost assumed that he is on the same level as Jack and didn't want to be associated with Cox's money during MBGM, and after moving on refused to acknowledge the idea that Cox was even there for them in any sense. Now that Nathan and Jack are no longer being taken care of we know that as a sign that they are no longer working for Cox. Only Liz and Amos remain loyal to him. But they have a secret weapon. Someone on the inside that is being controlled. Even at the end of Without Me when everything has died down and Cox is taken to jail someone is still out there somewhere, controlling the victim. It's not Amos because he's missing or dead, no one is really sure. It's not Liz because she's one of the good guys now. It can't be Cox because he's been taken to jail and shown the necessary protection against others concerning his control. That only leaves Jack and Nathan. Jack is no longer associated with Cox and couldn't have been given the power to control other Mind Breakers. So where does that leave Nathan. Jack refuses to believe his best friend would betray him in such a powerful way but Liz seems to know the secret. There's a new threat lingering out in the distance and it stinks of betrayal. But don't forget, it's not just the enemy that's looking for them now...

It's Ready Already!

Apparently the paperback version is already uploaded to Amazon! It says it takes 5-7 business days to show up but it's on there now! All you have to do is search my name and both the paperback and kindle versions will show up on my author page! The Kindle version is $2.99 and the paperback version is $11.99! Don't miss out! Thanks again for the support and I'll be sure to give another update on book 2 soon!

M.

https://www.amazon.com/author/meganduke

Paperback version of Without Me

The Kindle version of Without Me has been in the Kindle Store on Amazon for about a week now and so far I've made 5 sales... all from people I know. Yes I know it's only been a week and it takes time for the word to get out, but I'm actually quite confident and not too worried about the Kindle sales. This is because I've been working on Createspace, the other self publishing company that works with Amazon. Createspace will actually print my book as they are order and they will also been seen on Amazon.com. I think going ahead and making the paperback version of my book will allow more people to access it and have the will to get it. I've had question and concerns from people about how to download the Kindle version if they don't have a Kindle and I've had to explain about the app and how everything works. I feel like most people are intimidated by the fact that its an ebook and aren't wanting to get it. So now Without Me will be available in paperback on Amazon for $11.99! It's currently listed at https://www.createspace.com/3849882 but I'll be keeping everyone posted on when it's ready for purchase on Amazon through my other pages as well as this blog. So keep in touch!

M.

The Setting

These are some of the places that inspired me when writing the first book. There were several houses I had to imagine including Jack's, Liz's, and Amos's apartment. I also had a pretty vivid picture in my head of what I wanted to pub to look like even though I didn't go into detail describing it in the book. I googled a lot of places in or around Manchester and came up with a few places that I liked.

^ Jack's house in the south of Manchester. It's one of those English townhouses that are all bunches up together down the road and have brightly colored doors. In the book Jack has a green door.

(This house is in New England)

^ Two houses that when combined resemble what I envisioned for Liz's gigantic home in York, provided by Cox and his wealth.

^ Something along the lines of what Amos and Denni's flat would look like.

^ The actual mall, Trafford Centre, in Manchester that is supposed to be like the one Denni and Jack work at.

^ York railway station.

^ The Bulls Head Pub. An actual pub that I found. I didn't really base my pub on this one. But here's a picture so you can see anyways.

^ Manchester, England

^York, England



All of these pictures were taken of actual places in England. I found them on Google but don't remember where. I'm not using them for anything, I only studied them as inspiration for the settings in my book. The houses and places I describe in Without Me are completely my own and were created from my imagination. These pictures are to show you a similar vision of what was in my head. Hope you enjoy!


M.

Ideal Characters

These are some of my original ideas for actors. I like to have a physical image in mind when thinking of my characters and these were the best people that came remotely close to what I envisioned.

There are two different scenarios here. One is of the six Mind Breakers, including Avery and Denni, that work together throughout the course of the books.

The second is of all the Mind Breakers, including ones that you don't get to meet. I have two different people that seem fitting for Liz and another two for Avery because those were the characters that seemed to be the most complicated. In my opinion.

For Liz I have Clemence Poesy and Bree Turner. They both have the capabilities of capturing Liz's bossy and bitch-ified attitude. It really just comes down to the looks of the character. They're both skinny and pencil thin like I described Liz to be, and they obviously have the hair. I guess it would just have to come down to how they acted in a screen test. Because you know, I take it that far =] I have big dreams people, don't judge me for that.

For Avery I chose Emily Browning and Carey Mulligan. Now before you say anything, yes... they are both very different ages. But I was solely going on looks for this one and trying to get an image in my head. Acting wise I think Emily Browning would nail it because of her younger age and type of actor that she is. She can pull off the innocent puppy dog just as well as Carey but she's a lot younger and can relate to Avery's situation a lot better.


The rest of the cast is as follows:

Denni - Lily Collins
Amos - Tom Felton
Jack - Jamie Bell
Alivien - Bryce Dallas Howard
Nathan - Jesse Williams
Holly - Diane Kruger
Jason - Milo Ventimiglia


Now keep in mind these are all long shots and my IDEAL characters. This would be the ultimate dream =]


M.

It's really here!

Congratulations everyone! Instead of the early release of Without Me only being available to a select few, it is now (CURRENTLY) available to everyone! Please visit my page on Amazon! It is only $2.99 and is well worth the investment I promise! Or maybe I'm biased. Go check it out!

Happy Easter Early Birds!

As a treat to all my loyal followers I have decided to have an early bird release of Without Me this week! The official date for release is April 16th, however, there will secretly be a day this week that it will become available for purchase in the Kindle Store. All you have to do is remain just have loyal as you've already been and keep checking for clues as to when the book might be on my page. You never know what day it might be so keep up to date with my Tweets and posts! If you aren't as excited as the rest of us the book will officially be available on the 16th and you can buy it then. Thanks so much again, as always, to everyone who has been there to support me throughout this entire ordeal! It's been a ridiculous ride but it has been well worth it! Book 2 Update: The second book in The Mind Breaker Accounts does not have a release date yet because it is not finished. I am working heavily on it as we speak and now that Book 1 is published (this week anyways) I am free to talk openly about my books on my blog and let you guys know what's going on in my characters lives in the future. Not too much will be revealed though! You still have to read it! Thanks again! M.

Give Me Love Like Ed Sheeran

Last night Trent and I went to the Snow Patrol / Ed Sheeran concert at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. It was absolutely amazing! Really the only reason I went was because of Ed Sheeran... he is my absolute favorite artist. He's amazingly talented and such a wonderful person. We were able to meet and talk with him after the show. He's such a sweetheart. He took time with all the people that stood in line to take pictures with him and was nice enough to not rush them through. He shook everyones hands and made sure to sign whatever they wanted. The show itself was incredible. Ed sung all my favorite songs and OPENED with my number one favorite "Give Me Love". I about died in my seat when he strummed the first few chords. It was beautiful. He also sang "The A Team", "You Need Me, I Don't Need You", and to my surprise did his version of "Wayfaring Stranger". It was stunning! Snow Patrol was also great. They did an extremely long set and sung most of their songs from their new album but evened it out with some of the old ones too. They played my two favorites : "Run" and "Set Fire to the Third Bar". They were fun to watch live and got the crowd really involved. Ed Sheeran also included the crowd in a sing-a-long several times. In my opinion, it was worth every penny! But hey - Ed is always worth it =]

Official "Without Me" Book Cover Reveal

Without Me will be available for purchase on April 16th in the Kindle Store!