Saturday, January 15, 2022

Why my readers love Jorge Hernandez ♥️

You might be wondering why people are drawn to the protagonist of the Hernandez series. After all, I've described him as a brutal criminal, so what's the appeal? 

This isn't all that surprising. Even when you watch some of your favorite television shows and movies, you'll notice that the characters that have the sharpest tongues, violent tendencies, and dark sides are sometimes the most fascinating to watch. There's an appeal, and it's because they have the traits that are considered antisocial and go against the grain, sometimes displaying actions and saying words that we may fantasize about but know we can't carry through on them. If we did, we might destroy many relationships, get fired, and maybe end up in prison! 

When I think of Jorge Hernandez, the first word that comes to mind is powerful. The second word is confident. These two traits rarely wane while writing about him. This is what draws other characters to him in the series. This is also what draws readers to this series. In a world where we increasingly feel like it's hard to find our footing on the ground, there's something incredible about reading about or watching a character who is scared of nothing. 

Jorge Hernandez is also solid and loyal, often to the degree where he becomes barbaric to protect his family. As much as people may be disturbed by violence, I think most of us appreciate the undying loyalty this character displays this trait, especially in a world where it has become increasingly rare. 



Sunday, January 2, 2022

My two main objectives as a writer 🧐

When I started writing years ago, my main objective was to create compassion and understanding. I wanted people to understand other people's perspectives and situations with less judgment. I felt like people were cold and cruel as a teenager, so my writing allowed me an avenue to potentially make the world a little kinder.

Of course, that was my objective as a teenager when I still was idealistic about the world and thought it could be a little kinder and more compassionate. These days I'm a little less optimistic and focus more on my second objective as a writer, to make people think.

In my books, I bring up various topics and issues in hopes that people consider the opinions of my characters or the general situations they're to see other points of view. I write about criminals, so my characters have a unique perspective on everything. Some of the topics I bring up are indigenous issues, government, Big Pharma, family issues, and many other things throughout my series to encourage different ideas or thoughts. Of course, there are minor topics that deal more with everyday life too.

Since Jorge Hernandez is the protagonist in my books, the views are through his lens and often are blunt, direct, and harsh. He's not one to pussyfoot around, which may feel like a brick on the side of the head, but that's who he is and how he expresses himself.

I'm sure most writers have more simple objectives, such as to entertain people, and I probably should too. Don't get me wrong, that is in there, but as a writer, I've always had to have something more to keep me motivated, and this is it.



Saturday, January 1, 2022

2021 - My year in review 🎉

Another year has ended and it's time to review what happened in 2021! 


New Books!

Psychopaths Rule the World - June 4, 2021

Loyalty Above All (There are no exceptions) - December 13, 2021

Check out the covers, the synopsis, and read the first chapter! 


Social Media

I joined a couple of new platforms despite the fact that I'm not very tech-savvy and am still learning.

TikTok

Rumble


Media 

We’re All Criminals – The Buzz, PEI February 2021




West Prince author looks back on career so far – West Prince Graphic, September 2021

And of course, My Theme song by Ron Placone, April 2021


Videos and Blogs 

January

Why I'm an author with a social conscience 🌎

     Video
     Blog
 

Why character traits matter 🧐

     Video
     Blog
 

The first paragraph of We're All Criminals ☠️

     Video
     Blog 
 

How did Jorge Hernandez join this series? ☠️

     Video
      Blog 


February

When really bad things happen to your characters 😭

     Video
      Blog 
 

Will the Hernandez children be the future of the crime family? ☠️

     Video
     Blog


March


Secondary characters and how they support the protagonist 😲

     Blog
     Video 
 

Why I love writing about villains ❤️

     Blog
     Video 

Humor in writing 🤣

     Blog
     Video 

Why I sometimes kick things up halfway through my books 🥾

     Blog
     Video


April 



Why Jorge Hernandez constantly corrects how people pronounce his name 🇲🇽

Video
Blog


July


Are your characters RUDE?? 🙀

     Blog
     Video 

Psychopaths Rule the World 🔪

     Blog
     Video 


August 

How Jorge Hernandez always gets what he wants 😱

     Blog
     Video


September

How do I meet my characters 🤝
     Blog 
     Video

October

Why do I pick certain book titles? 📇


   Blog

   Video


November

How much symbolism is in my books? 🧐



     Video
     Blog
 

Why authors need to stop stressing about book reviews and awards 🏆



     Video
     Blog 

 

December

Christmas themes in my books 🎄🎄🎄

     Video
     Blog

Why I don't write warm and fuzzy books 🧸


     Video
     Blog 

Loyalty Above All (There are no exceptions) ☠️


     Video
     Blog 


In 2021, I briefly attempted to create merchandise with my cover images but had difficulty finding companies that were able to create reasonably priced products without crazy shipping costs etc. I'm still looking into it and hope to find a suitable company to work with in 2022.

To learn more about my writing, please go to www.mimaonfire.com

If you are reading this on social media and would like to sign up for my monthly newsletter, please go HERE.

Thank you for all your support and see you in 2022! 


Friday, December 31, 2021

January 2022 newsletter 🌨

 What's the big news out of December 2021? It's time to catch up! 🎄😁📺 


Of course, the BIG news from December is my NEW book, Loyalty Above All (There are no exceptions). This is my 16th book, the 11th book in the Hernandez series. Just in time for Christmas! 

In case you missed it, here's what the book is about: 


The fact that Jorge Hernandez is contemplating ‘doing good’ in the world should be enough to send a shiver down anyone’s spine. He may be living a seemingly legit lifestyle with his family in Canada, but don’t be fooled; this former Mexican cartel boss holds a powerful grip on everything from politics to media, and he’s never beyond getting a little blood on his hands. 

When his daughter Maria steps up to someday head the familia, it is with great pride that Jorge breaks down the lessons that will secure her position in life. Giving her a glimpse into his daily activities, she quickly witnesses the stark view of the criminal mastermind at work. It doesn’t matter if he’s yelling at the prime minister or making plans to take someone down; Jorge does so with a powerful and unapologetic swoop. But how much is he willing to reveal? Is he ready for his daughter to learn about his brutal, murderous side? 

In a world where trust is essential, Jorge teaches her the powerful lesson; Loyalty above all. There are no exceptions. 

You can find this book at all your favorite retailers including Amazon, Chapters, and Apple

I also posted a few videos/blogs talking about my writing:

Christmas themes in my books 🎄🎄🎄


     Video
     Blog

Why I don't write warm and fuzzy books 🧸

     Video
     Blog 

Loyalty Above All (There are no exceptions) ☠️


     Video
     Blog 


I will soon be sending out my year-end review newsletter, which will catch you up on everything you missed from the year. What does that include? All the videos, blogs, new books, and media attention in one newsletter. See last year's year-end HERE


We also can't forget the book birthdays for January!

Different Shades of the Same Color was released in January 4, 2016.

And of course, my first book, Fire was released on January 20, 


Now you're up to date! See you in February! 






Sunday, December 26, 2021

Loyalty Above All (There are no exceptions) ☠️

If you read the back cover description of my latest book, Loyalty Above All (There are no exceptions), you're only getting the prevalent theme in the story. Jorge Hernandez has two nemeses throughout the series; the prime minister of Canada (Alec Athas) and Big Pharma. This book is no different. 

Let's check out the synopsis before I explain what I mean.

The fact that Jorge Hernandez is contemplating ‘doing good’ in the world should be enough to send a shiver down anyone’s spine. He may be living a seemingly legit lifestyle with his family in Canada, but don’t be fooled; this former Mexican cartel boss holds a powerful grip on everything from politics to media, and he’s never beyond getting a little blood on his hands.  


When his daughter Maria steps up to someday head the familia, it is with great pride that Jorge breaks down the lessons that will secure her position in life. Giving her a glimpse into his daily activities, she quickly witnesses the stark view of the criminal mastermind at work. It doesn’t matter if he’s yelling at the prime minister or making plans to take someone down; Jorge does so with a powerful and unapologetic swoop. But how much is he willing to reveal? Is he ready for his daughter to learn about his brutal, murderous side? 


In a world where trust is essential, Jorge teaches her the powerful lesson; Loyalty above all. There are no exceptions. 


The likelihood of Jorge and Alec ever becoming best friends is highly unlikely. Jorge will always have an issue with the man who once had a relationship with his wife, even though it was probably about twenty years ago. Although he insists his frustration with the prime minister is because Canada's leader is too much of a 'pussy', deep down, we know that there's something else that incites his anger. The two men have one heated battle that takes things up a notch in this book. While behind the scenes, Jorge continues to control the Canadian prime minister. 


Jorge's long-standing battle with Big Pharma is also unlikely to end anytime soon. You have to remember that Jorge started his fortune in the cartel. In his eyes, people were getting their drugs from both him and Big Pharma however, the latter didn't have any consequences to their actions, despite both were selling drugs that people used to get high. In his view, they were legalized drug dealers. When he took over the cannabis business in Canada, his battle against the pharmaceutical industry only grew more contentious and remains ongoing. 


I like to keep as many irons in the fire as I can to keep things interesting. This book is no exception. 





Sunday, December 19, 2021

Why I don't write warm and fuzzy books 🧸

When people learn that I'm an author, they're often surprised to learn that I write about violent criminals who think nothing of murdering from time to time. Perhaps I don't give off that crazy vibe as much as I thought I did, or maybe it's because I'm a woman, and generally speaking, female authors are more known for books that fall more on the softer side. It's not something I give a lot of thought to but from time to time, I do get asked why I don't write books that are warm and fuzzy. 

In truth, I tend to read darker, sinister books, so it's not surprising that I also choose to write them. As a writer, it mightn't surprise you that I also tend to write what I see reflected in the world around me, and you don't have to look far to understand why I write about a protagonist that is rich, powerful and isn't afraid to get blood on his hands. This is merely symbolic of the elites that rule our world - thus, my title Psychopaths Rule the World from earlier this year. 

Although I don't write warm and fuzzy books, I tend to show the softer side of characters. To not do so wouldn't be a fair reflection on human nature. Even the most rotten, soulless person has an unexpected sentimental side, just as the kindest person you know may occasionally have a temper tantrum. People are complex, and so are characters. 

Maybe someday I will write warm and fuzzy books. As soon as our world becomes a warm and fuzzy place. 

Any day now. 




Monday, December 6, 2021

Christmas themes in my books 🎄🎄🎄

You wouldn't think that Christmas themes quite fit in with books about criminals, corruption, and murder, but I managed to do it in my 15th bookPsychopaths Rule the World. Not such a stretch when you consider how many psychopaths seem to show up during frantic moments at the mall and of course, family events (we all got at least one in our families!) at Christmas time.


As I've mentioned in previous blogs, I love contradictions in my books, and you don't get much more of a contradiction than murder at Christmas. I will admit that this is a theme I've noticed in other books (usually with a detective trying to find the person who killed the bakery shop victim or something of that nature), but my books tend to be a tad more brutal. For example, in Psychopaths Rule the World, one person is brutally murdered with a very heavy Christmas ornament. There's also a haunting scene at the end of the book that might traumatize you, but let's not get into that right now. 😉

I wanted to get some Christmas in my last book, but it wasn't always easy to work into the story. After all, this isn't exactly a family that bakes cookies, watches holiday movies, or makes snowmen on the lawn. Granted, I do love contradiction, so wouldn't it be fun to see gangster Jorge Hernandez do any of those things?

Of course, you have to give me credit because at least Psychopaths Rule the World has a festive color for the cover♥️