Page Turning Books

His name is Farden.
They whisper that he’s dangerous.
Dangerous is only the half of it.

Something has gone missing from the libraries of Arfell. Something very old, and something very powerful. Five scholars are now dead, a country is once again on the brink of war, and the magick council is running out of time and options.

Entangled in a web of lies and politics and dragged halfway across icy Emaneska and back, Farden must unearth a secret even he doesn’t want to know, a secret that will shake the foundations of his world. Dragons, drugs, magick, death, and the deepest of betrayals await.

Welcome to Emaneska.

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre –  Epic Fantasy

Rating – PG-13

More details about the author & the book

Connect with Ben Galley on Facebook & Twitter

Website http://www.bengalley.com

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How do you feel about self-publishing? Very positive indeed.  I think it’s such an exciting innovation.  I know there’s some stigma still attached to it, and that when some people hear “self-publishing” they think “vanity publishing” and have visions of boxes and boxes of unsold books cluttering up their garage!  But with digital publishing and print-on-demand options, that really can be a thing of the past.  And why wait until a publisher gives you “permission” to publish your work?  Many great writers had their work regularly rejected by publishers before making it big.  If you’re a writer and want to be read, life’s too short to wait for someone else’s permission. It’s possible to get your work out there.  I think the writers who are serious about it will do it.  But it’s not the soft option – it’s still hard work.  And of course, you have to figure out and manage the process yourself, which in itself can be a challenge.  But it’s a challenge that’s so worth it!  I’ve written about the process of writing and self-publishing on my blog: http://www.cormackcarr.com/2013/06/16/how-i-wrote-and-self-published-my-first-book-part-1/

Do you find the time to read? I make the time to read.  I think it’s vital for writers; it helps remind us of what good writing looks like! In fact, I often have several (too many) books on the go at once.

What is your favorite quote, by whom, and why? I love the W.H.Auden quote: ““You owe it to all of us to get on with what you‘re good at”.  That sums up my philosophy really.  For better or worse, here we are.  The gift we can give back to life is what we’re good at, whether it’s writing, wallpapering, studying chemistry or doing accounts.  There’s something we can do in a way that’s not quite like anyone else.  How To Find Your Vital Vocation (http://www.viewbook.at/vitalvocation) – my first book – is about helping people to find out what that is.

When did you first know you could be a writer? I don’t really remember ever not being a writer, but I think I first realised that other people would want to read my work when I was at school, and teachers and other pupils said they enjoyed reading my stories.

What inspired you to write your first book? I wanted to share what I’d learned about finding and building an “ideal career” with other people.  I’d moved from work that made me unhappy to work that made me very happy indeed, and I discovered that the process itself was simple.  That’s not to downplay how difficult things are out there in terms of the employment market, of course.  But even given those difficulties, there are ways to maximise your chances of finding and getting your dream job, and my book outlines how to do this.  I started writing a blog to promote my career coaching practice, and that developed into a very successful online membership site for job-hunters and career-changers, and then into my first book – How To Find Your Vital Vocation (http://www.viewbook.at/vitalvocation).

Did writing this book teach you anything and what was it? Yes – get started.  In fact, start before you’re ready. I realised I could wait around for years waiting until I had the confidence to write my first book. Then I realised that writing that book would be the thing that would give me confidence, and I got on with it!

Can you share a little of your current work with us? I’d be glad to – in fact, you can download quite a substantial extract of my first book – How To Find Your Vital Vocation – from my website: http://vitalvocation.com/vital-vocation-the-book-download-your-free-sample/

How did you come up with the title? The book is based on the premise that we all have a “calling” – a voice inside us that’s telling us what we’re most suited to do.  That suggested “vocation” to me, and I came up with “vital” because when we find that calling, it makes us fell alive.  I actually used the title for a website first – http://www.vitalvocation.com – which was originally an online coaching membership site for job-hunters and career-changers.  Then I turned it into a book.

Who designed the cover? The cover was designed by Jane Dixon Smith of JD Smith Design.  She did a terrific job.  She also handled all my interior formatting, and she was endlessly patient with me as I muddled my way through my first self-published book.  Some writers worry that hiring a professional cover designer will stop them from having an influence on the look of their own book, but the opposite is true.  Jane and I generated some options between us, and I narrowed things down to a couple of favourite ideas for her to work up.  I had the final say – along with some help from my blog readers, who voted on which cover option they liked best.

Who is your publisher? I am – I’ve set up my own imprint, Albus Press, which is the vehicle through which I publish How To Find Your Vital Vocation (http://www.viewbook.at/vitalvocation).  I’ll publish more under this imprint, and who knows – maybe one day I’ll publish other writers too.

Ready to choose or change your job? Stuck in work you hate? Think the career of your dreams is beyond your reach?

IT’S NEVER TOO LATE TO FIND YOUR VITAL VOCATION

If you don’t love your work, you deserve better – and with this book at your side, you can get it. A lively and potentially life-changing guide,How To Find Your Vital Vocation sets out a simple-to-follow yet profoundly effective process that will take you step-by-step from wherever you are now to a working life based on your most cherished dreams.

LEARN HOW TO:

• Hear the inner call that’s telling you what will make you truly happy
• Rediscover your gifts and use them to build a perfectly-tailored career
• Identify and overcome the obstacles that stand between you and your ideal work
• Create powerful networks to help you find great jobs that are never advertised
• Find out what it takes to become an entrepreneur of the future
• Maximise the impact of your job applications
• Ace every interview
• Attain reward levels that will help you thrive – even in this tough economy!

Put yourself in charge of your career – once and for all. Packed with valuable insights, powerful exercises and illuminating self-coaching questions, How To Find Your Vital Vocation will help you chart a practical path to a fun and fulfilling livelihood. In this comprehensive resource, expert career coach Brian Cormack Carr shows you how to find your passion and purpose and finally start doing the work you were born to do.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING:

“Too many of us have gone about finding our livelihood in a haphazard way. Before long, we become a statistic in a job dissatisfaction survey. Happily, it doesn’t have to be that way and Brian Cormack Carr proves it. If you think that work should be about more – much more – than just a way to pay your bills, this book is the roadmap you’ve been looking for. Work with How To Find Your Vital Vocation for a short time and you’ll be working at your real work for a long time.”

~ BARBARA J. WINTER  Bestselling author of Making a Living Without a Job

“Warm, witty and wise. I highly recommend this book. Brian knows his stuff and How To Find Your Vital Vocation is a breath of fresh air.”

~ GRACE OWEN  Executive coach and author of The Career Itch

“I appreciated the step-by-step nature of Vital Vocation. It made finding a new career that much easier, and I’m still amazed at how well it helped me clarify what I wanted to do with the rest of my life.”

~ DAVID  Member of the Vital Vocation Online Coaching Programme

“Vital Vocation helped me focus after I had spent too long panicking and going nowhere. Now my part-time hobby has grown to a full-time occupation and I’ve finally given up the day job that was making me sad!”

~ STEVEN  Member of the Vital Vocation Online Coaching Programme

Buy Now @ Amazon & Smashwords

Genre –  NonFiction / Careers

Rating – G

More details about the author

Connect with Brian Cormack Carr on Facebook  & Twitter

Website http://vitalvocation.com/

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10 Things You Didn’t Know About Becoming a Published Author

by Heidi Garrett

It’s more demanding than you think it will be. I knew self-publishing would be hard, but almost a year into to, I’ve found myself declaring in the past few weeks that it’s even harder than I thought it would be. And it is, but it’s also totally worth it.

Creating typo-free books isn’t as easy as it looks. Prior to publication, we have several beta-readers, a professional editor, and myself read the manuscript again and again. We do automated spelling and grammar checks. Invariably, things fall through the cracks. The worst is when you inadvertently create a new error while correcting an existing one.

Book covers can be challenging. Whether you hire a professional artist or go the D-I-Y route, creating an image that expresses your story through image, while visually connecting with readers is no easy task.

Pushing yourself to write will make you a better writer. As someone who wrote privately for many years, I was not a forceful writer, in that I never forced myself to write. I’ve been surprised that sitting down and forcing myself to write, no matter what else is going in my life, has made me a better writer and allowed me to produce some of my best writing.

Writing and finishing more books will make you a better writer. My writing has improved with each completed book. Writing and re-writing the first fifty pages of my manuscript stunted my growth as a writer.

Readers will make you a better writer. Readers respond to a book in a different way than other writers do, even if they are also writers. Readers respond directly to character and plot. Readers will tell you what they love and hate about your book. They will help you learn your strengths and weaknesses as writer.

Setting and committing to deadlines can overcome writer’s block. By setting deadlines—and committing to them—you will be forced to write (see #4). By setting deadlines —and committing to them—you will learn that you are truly a writer.

You will have the opportunity to meet many incredible people, you would, otherwise, not have met. Now, we’re getting to the really good stuff. By publishing, the size of my world has increased exponentially. I have met wonderful, fascinating people from all over the world. This makes me incredibly happy.

Readers who love your books will mean more to you than you can ever imagine. It’s hard to connect with each other beneath our skin. Writing and reading books allows us to do that. It’s part of the magic. Hearing from and connecting with  readers who “get” your story is amazing.

The entire process is a spiritual journey. Writing the book, figuring out how to market it, connecting with readers, it’s all an opportunity to grow as a person, to expand your worldview, and to discover deeper levels of truth. That’s pretty spiritual stuff, if you ask me.

In the Enchanted World, true love’s first kiss is magic.

Nandana’s Mark, Book 1: When two half-faeries–Melia and her younger sister–are cursed under dreadful circumstances, true love’s first kiss is the remedy.

The Flower of Isbelline, Book 2: Nothing but true love’s first kiss can save Melia’s younger sister from blind ambition and ruin.

The Dragon Carnivale, Book 3: Melia must choose the freedom she cherishes or true love’s first kiss–and a relationship that promises to secure her place in the Whole.

The Queen of the Realm of Faerie is a fairy tale fantasy series that bridges the Mortal and Enchanted worlds. The main character, Melia, is an eighteen-year-old half-faerie, half-mortal.

When the story opens in the first book, Melia is troubled by her dark moon visions, gossip she overhears about her parents at the local market, and the trauma of living among full-blooded faeries with wings–she doesn’t have any.

As the series unfolds, the historic and mystical forces that shape Melia’s life are revealed. Each step of her journey–to find the place where she belongs–alters her perceptions about herself, deepens her relationships with others, and enlarges her world view.

True Love’s First Kiss is a compilation of the first three books in this ongoing series.

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – Fantasy

Rating – PG

More details about the author

Connect with Heidi Garrett on Facebook & Twitter

Blog http://www.heidigwrites.blogspot.com/

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Becoming A Better Writer

by Kathleen Shoop

In thinking about how to write fiction and become a better writer, I think the most important thing is to study. One type of studying that’s valuable is to collect examples of writing you love. Pull together a pile of romances that make you swoon, thrillers that have you checking every closet before bedtime, historical fiction that forces you to google a certain era just because you have to know more about it. Then, take a closer look, pull apart a section of a book where the author brings setting to life, makes characters walk off the page, or twists a plot so tight you can’t put the book down until you finish it. Study every little bit of what works and what doesn’t work. Then take a deep breath and go write your own story. After you get a draft written, study your own work in the same way you did the pros. What are you trying to do? Why isn’t it working? Where is it working? Duplicate the valuable stuff and make it develop the way you want it to, not the way someone else wants to see the story progress…unless you’re totally off base—in that case, find beta-readers you trust so you know whether you’re off base or it’s just a matter of preference. Not always a very clear answer!!

So, try these tips to make yourself a stronger writer:

1. Write two hours a day no matter what,

2. Give your work to trusted readers and LISTEN to them.

3. Talk with readers about which components of their feedback need to be applied and which go against the goal of the book.

4. Read work that’s similar to yours and that sells very well (yes, pick the book you know yours is better than even though that book is flying off the shelves). What is the author doing that makes her work so irresistible? Don’t dismiss a bestseller as crap that only dumb, mindless people read and so it’s not valuable. There is value in every bestselling book and it’s a writer’s job to know what that value is. Is there some element of this book that should influence your writing? Even if the answer is “hell no,” you should know exactly why that’s the answer.

5. Read work that you don’t necessarily love but is beautiful and well done in the eyes of others. Yes, pick something the highbrow folks have ordained as great. Choose a classic or a type of writing that the world is inhaling even if you aren’t. Again, there’s huge value in work like that…study what this author does to garner such high praise—is there any part of it that would deepen your own work?

6. Meditate with Madhu Wangu’s mp3 called Meditations for Mindful Writers—it will transform your writing process and you will write more and more layered stories, you will learn to access your voice every time you sit down to work.

7. Observe everything around you and note the stuff that moves you.

8. Take breaks from thinking about your work—the answers that were evading you will show up when you least expect it.

9. Finish a book and do something with it—submit to agents, publish, whatever, but move on…

10. Study more and write the next one.

Five authors contribute five novellas to this romantic collection set over centuries, in one home on the Albemarle Sound.

Home is where the heart is…

One stately residence on North Carolina’s Albemarle Sound. Five stories of heart-warming romance. Told against the backdrop of the Civil War, the loss of an unsinkable ship, the patriotic zeal of the second world war, the heart-rending conflict of Vietnam, and the thrill of modern day Nascar, Jamie Denton, S. K. McClafferty, Kathleen Shoop, Marcy Waldenville, and J. D. Wylde deliver a variety pack of poignant, sexy, and sweet.

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – Romance

Rating – R

Connect with the authors on Facebook

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Why Social Networks are the Keys to Good Networking

by Kim Cano

*At first I was reluctant to get involved with any form of social networking, being reclusive and all, but as a new author thought I’d better do it. Twitter was the easiest to figure out, and they have a nice little tutorial that shows you what to do. Facebook was confusing because you have your personal page and author fan page, but just like anything else, the more time you spend on it, the easier it gets to use.

Once I took the social media plunge, I discovered there were so many benefits. I met an author friend and her and I chat and exchange marketing ideas all the time. Much better than bending your poor family and friend’s ears on a topic that’s of no interest to them. I’ve connected with readers on Twitter, and I have to say it feels amazing to have someone write you and say they liked your book. One woman told me she got it for her birthday and loved it. I’ve also met fellow animal activists from around the globe and made a variety of new friends.

I also met my writing mentor through an author group I belong to, and reading his books and following his advice has been really helpful.

After meeting a lady on twitter, and chatting with her, she invited me to be a guest on her blog. A reviewer I met gave me a wonderful review for my first book and posted it on her website. I could go on and on with examples like that. There are so many reasons to use social media, whether you’re traditionally published or Indie. Just jump in and do it. You’ll be glad you got started.

And speaking of getting started. Don’t wait until your first book comes out, like I did. Sign up and begin networking now, that way you’ll know more people and potential readers when your book launches.

On a cold Valentine’s Day in Chicago, Amy White, a young widow who lost her husband to cancer, visits the cemetery and makes an unsettling discovery: a bouquet of fresh daffodils lying in front of her husband’s grave.

Curiosity grows into obsession as Amy searches for the stranger who left the flowers, while keeping her activities a secret from her live-in mother and seven-year-old son. The search leads to an unusual friendship that transforms her world and redefines her life.

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – Women’s Fiction

Rating – PG

More details about the author & the book

Connect with Kim Cano on Facebook & Twitter

Website http://www.kimcano.com/

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Why Independent Publishing Rocks

by Brie McGill

WWGD? What would Gutenberg do, if he could log onto Amazon and cruise around for books? (Other than, of course, be redirected to amazon.de to make a purchase.)

Love them or hate them, ebooks have dramatically reshaped the publishing landscape. I’m a diehard fan of the portable, apocalypse-proof hardbacks, but ebooks speak more to my budget. I only have Kindle for PC, but it has made me want to buy a reader, because I’ve since read a mountain of amazing texts not available in the local big-name bookstores.

When I finished writing my first book, Kain, I attempted to publish traditionally. I vowed to snag an agent. My manuscript was so polished I had to wear sunglasses to read it; I sleuthed the internet for tips like my life depended on it and spent nearly as much time crafting my query as I did my entire novel. I was ready to go!

A girlfriend of mine self-published. It was incomprehensible to me, doing all that marketing by myself. Plus, I didn’t have the guts to go out there, into the wild, all alone, with no one to back me up. And, wasn’t there a rumor that self-publishing “tarnished” one’s reputation, making it more difficult to snag an agent in the future? It’s the rumor that says, “An agent will see that you have self-published, give you the hairy eyeball, and say, ‘Well, why didn’t you come to me in the first place?’”

No one wants the hairy eyeball.

Bubbling with great enthusiasm, I launched a buck-wild querying bonanza. I found every appealing agent in every applicable genre for my book, studied their websites, studied their credentials, studied their blogs, toiled, sweat, and pored night and day over sending them the most graceful personalized introductions on the planet.

One, three, six, seven months later, that swathe of rejection letters came pouring in. It broke my heart, studying all those blogs, only to receive a “dear author” in return.

Now, I’m not railing on agents–I can only imagine the immense amount of work and pressure that comes with the job, wheeling and dealing with the big names. Agents receive something like 200 unsolicited emails every day. That many emails would drive me INSANE!

But this brings me to my point: right now, the publishing landscape is crazy. Bookstores are closing; a smaller environment means increased competition, with less agents willing to take on new authors.

Too bad for new authors!

To persist in an endeavor that would only bring certain heartache felt like clinging to a whimsical boyfriend who was never truly pleased: I sucked it up and went indie.

My neck was on the chopping block: it was up to me to secure my edits, without the help of the time-tested professionals. But I retained creative input on my cover. I stopped worrying about whether or not I needed to censor myself–writing queries felt like a dreadfully stuffy process, and I was not in my element. I realized I look better in my homemade robot suit than a blazer, slacks, and tie.

Traditionally published or not, there is no guarantee any author is ever going to make enough money to quit his day job–but the difference with independent publishing is, no longer do authors require the permission of someone else to at least try.

Ultimately, the entire process of me putting myself out there was rewarding, because it generated an incredible sense of self-empowerment. I started a project, set a goal, and saw it through every step to completion. I didn’t sell a lot of books my first month–I’m still quite new to the scene–but I did manage to pay my telecom bill, which was more than a stack of rejection letters ever did for anyone. I’m not famous, but a few total strangers chose to read my book of their own free will–my little old book, among so many others!–and they loved it.

If you love writing and have the burning need to share your stories, rain or shine–self-publishing might be for you. It takes guts to venture out into the wilderness all alone, especially the first time. But resonating with a readership, however small, is an incredible feeling–especially when it’s your heart and your magic, nothing else, that made it grow. I have so much to communicate and I want to share it now!

And I can. What would Gutenberg do?

Counting days is irrelevant in the life of a well-to-do man, unless he counts the days passed in total service to the Empire. Salute. Submit. Shut up and scan the wrist. Therapists armed with batons and brass knuckles guide the derelict along a well-beaten path to Glory.

When human experiment Lukian Valentin escapes the Empire to save his crumbling sanity–through a grimescape of fissured highways, collapsing factories, putrescent sewers–he realizes the fight isn’t only for his life, it’s for his mind. Torturous flashbacks from a murky past spur him on a quest for freedom, while the Empire’s elite retrievers remain at his heels, determined to bring him home for repair.

Lukian needs one doctor to remove the implanted chips from his body, and another to serve him a tall glass of answers. Lukian attempts a psychedelic salvage of his partitioned mind, gleaning fragments of the painful truth about his identity.

A scorching, clothes-ripping rendezvous with a mysterious woman offers Lukian a glimpse of his humanity, and respite from his nightmarish past. It also provides the Empire the perfect weakness to exploit for his recapture.

To rise to the challenge of protecting his new life, his freedom of thought, and his one shot at love, Lukian must reach deep into his mind to find his true identity. To defeat the Empire, he requires the deadly power of his former self–a power that threatens to consume him.

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – Sci-Fi/Steamy Romance

Rating – R (18+)

More details about the author

Connect with Brie McGill on Facebook & Twitter

Website http://www.sexdrugsandcyberpunk.com/

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When and why did you begin writing? My best friend and I began writing a book together in middle school.  It was about a kid who had to hop dimensions looking for colored keys.  Highly influenced by the basic Nintendo games at the time.  I remember one thing from this book and one thing only: I remember the main character noting that he knew that he was in Japan because all of the trees were so small.  Banzai style.

How long have you been writing? I’m 35 now… I started writing when I was twelve… so… uhmm.. can you give me a calculator.  I’m a dentist and a writer, not a mathematician, dammit!

When did you first know you could be a writer? I always knew I could do it.  I just get distracted waaaaaay to easily. I would start a novel, get bored, turn to video games, watch TV… start another novel a couple of months later.  The whole delayed gratification thing really dissuaded me.  Write a novel.  Spend months editing it.  Spend months looking for an agent.  Wait a year to see it in print.  It wasn’t until the eBook revolution when I knew that the waiting was minimal that I kicked myself into gear.

What inspires you to write and why? The need to tell stories.  The need to quiet the voices in my head.  The need to share my ideas with the world.  Or with anyone who will listen.

What genre are you most comfortable writing? I love writing psychological horror.  But I get bored without some action.  So I’ve pretty much morphed into a horror/supernatural thriller writer.  I don’t like zombies.  Or vampires.  Or sex for the sake of sex or violence for the sake of violence.  Or serial killers.  I will use these things to enhance a story, but not as a basis for a story.  In that regard, I definitely gravitate more towards the Koontz/King camp of horror (though I don’t even know if it would be called horror today) instead of the Clive Barker camp, though I loooooove Barker’s books.  Weaveworld may be second favorite book ever, after Neil Gaiman’s American Gods.

What inspired you to write your first book? I wrote and finished my first book when i was a senior in high school.  It sucked.  I lost my brother to an asthma attack when I was eleven and he was nine.  I was there when it happened.  And I think I used writing back then as a way to explore my feelings on death and dealing with death.

Who or what influenced your writing once you began? Just reading.  The more I read, the more I wanted to write.  And the more bad stuff I read, the more I said to myself: if this crap can get published, then why not me?

Who or what influenced your writing over the years? Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Peter Straub, Clive Barker, Jeffery Deaver, Lincoln Child, Douglas Preston…. Star Wars books, playing Dungeons and Dragons, reading Dungeons and Dragons books, playing Magic the Gathering… during my late teens and early twenties, I probably read more epic fantasy than anything else, and that was a great influence in regards to mythology creation

What made you want to be a writer? The desire to work in your pajamas.  Though as a dentist who wears scrubs every day, I pretty much work in my pajamas now.

What do you consider the most challenging about writing a novel, or about writing in general? Staying off the internet.  Off of Facebook.  I’ll admit, it was easier 20 years ago before the internet and Windows and computing in general was what it is today.  I have a very short attention span.  The instant gratification of screwing around on the internet is sometimes a real big distraction.  Sometimes I wonder how much more I would get done with just a typewriter.

This is the second edition of the book, and the errors noted in several of the reviews have been corrected.In the Fall of 1955, the state of Nevada used the electric chair to execute a prisoner for the first time.

It was also the last time.

Molly Blackburn, nicknamed Jane the Ripper by the Las Vegas press after killing eleven men while posing as a prostitute, was strapped to the chair without incident. The switch was flipped.

Everything after that went horribly wrong.

Since that day, a copycat Jane the Ripper has appeared almost every decade in a different city, mimicking Molly’s choice in victims as well as her methods of murder. She kills eleven men then disappears, never to be found. The similarities between the bodies left behind each decade is uncanny. As if they are all the victims of the same murderer, not a copycat.

But that’s impossible, of course, because Molly Blackburn is dead, her execution witnessed by a dozen people.

FBI Agent Jack Shaw, the lead investigator in the Jane the Ripper cases since the seventies, finally catches a break in 2009 when the intended fifth victim manages to turn the tables on the newest copycat . Everyone believes that the horror has finally ended with her capture. Shaw is not so sure, though, wondering if someone else will take up the mantle and kill seven more men to complete the cycle. But when no more bodies with her distinctive markings show up over the next two years, Shaw allows himself to believe that maybe he has seen the end of the Jane the Ripper murders.

As it turns out, what he thought was the end was only the beginning.

His hunt will take him across the country, and even when he thinks he’s finally discovered the truth, he quickly learns that not everything is as it seems.

That not every monster is created equal.

That the nature of good and evil is not as black and white as he has always believed.

That not everything that is broken can be put back together.

That not every fractured soul can be saved.

When blood, smoke and ashes rise, no one comes out the same on the other side.

Blood, Smoke and Ashes is a 115,00 word supernatural thriller that also contains the first half of my crime/thriller novella “I Never”

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – Thriller / Horror

Rating – PG13 bordering on R

(Horror with some violence / Some sex, not overly graphic)

More details about the author

Connect with Bradley Convissar on Facebook & Twitter

Blog http://bradleyconvissar.blogspot.com/

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Why did you choose to write this particular book? Over the years I have come up with several ideas for books, but this particular story and these particular characters are by far the ones that were most fully developed.  When I used to daydream about writing, this book would be what came to mind.  By the time I actually sat down at the computer and typed it out, I had a beginning and end written, along with some middle portions.  The main scenes were already played out in my head, I just had to connect them into something cohesive.

What was the hardest part about writing this book? With me being employed full time, devoting the necessary amount of time to writing the book was difficult.  In order to write when I got home, I had to not do something else.  So priorities got shifted.  My husband and I work almost entirely opposite schedules, so the amount of time we spend together is minimal, especially on the weekends.  We eventually settled into a routine: on weeknights, I usually don’t do much writing or marketing; I go to town Thursday night through Sunday afternoon doing author stuff.

Did you learn anything from writing this book and what was it? I learned that I do have the motivation to make my dreams come true.  Never in a million years would I have imagined seeing my book for sale on websites, or me having a website, or actually coming up on search engines for something I created.  Sure, there were bumps in the road getting there and more than a few tears shed, but in the end I got to accomplish something I never thought I would.  And I will continue to do this and learn from the mistakes that I made along the way.

How do you promote this book? Right now, of course, I’m doing a blog tour which is a really massive undertaking.  I do have my own website, aliciareneekline.com, where I blog about my book and my writing process.  I am still learning the ins and outs of social media.  I had a Twitter account before, but never did anything with it.  When I was in the early stages of beta reading and formatting it, I fired it back up and started promoting my author self.  I’ve found that other authors, especially those who have experience in the self-publishing arena, are usually more than happy to help out if approached in the right way.  The same can be said for book bloggers – by some stroke of luck, people are slowly finding out about my book and mentioning it, posting links to my blog, etc. without me even knowing it’s going on until it’s already been done. 

Will you write others in this same genre? Absolutely.

Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp? There are so many things that you could take away from my book, but I never intended to be preachy or to stand on my soapbox for 103,000 words and pontificate.  I think throughout my book there are undercurrents of many characters being so afraid of loss that they fail to see everything they truly have.  When you live your life so guarded, you never really get to experience the joys that come with expressing unadulterated emotions.  If certain characters had just admitted their feelings for one another from the beginning, the whole thing would have ended much differently.

How much of the book is realistic? I think the entire book is grounded in reality.  The places I write about are real; the locals probably know exactly where the joyride in the Mustang scene takes place or what exit off of the interstate I’m referring to that Blake lives near.  None of the characters are super rich or famous, they could very easily be real people that you know.  There’s no suspending disbelief here.

Have you included a lot of your life experiences, even friends, in the plot? Yes and no.  I did not model any of the characters after friends or people that I know.  I did, however, include references to certain interests that I have in my book:  I’m a huge hair and makeup fan, I used to work in a mortgage department at a bank, I now work in the insurance industry, I have an autographed Red Wings picture hanging in my house.  In order to ground things in reality, I had to write about certain things that I knew.  It would be nearly impossible for me to write about an astronaut living in Russia because I would have no idea what I was talking about.  But the plot twists and turns are purely fiction.  Except for the joyride part: my friend and I took that same stretch of interstate in her dad’s Camaro one night, but I was too chicken to drive anywhere as fast as I had Lauren drive.  It just would have been anticlimactic to have her doing ten over the speed limit.

How important do you think villains are in a story? I don’t know that villain is an appropriate word in every circumstance, but I do think that a good conflict is important to drive story.  Writing and reading about people that are always happy and never disagree is overwhelmingly boring.  I wouldn’t really classify any of my characters as villains.  If we are using the term loosely and not as the twirl your mustache and laugh evilly as you tie a lady to the railroad tracks, I would say that the case could be made that both Eric and Matthew are villains, or at the very least antagonists.  Neither one is entirely good or bad.  They are both flawed and have made mistakes.

When everything she ever wanted turns out not to be enough…

Lauren Jefferies is on the verge of having it all. Hard work and determination have culminated in a promotion that promises to put her on track with her upwardly mobile boyfriend Eric. High school sweethearts and together for ten years, they are young enough to have their whole lives ahead of them, but old enough to have established themselves as forces to be reckoned with.

The news should be cause for celebration.

But taking the job means moving two hours away.

Instead of planning their reign as an up and coming power couple, they find their already tenuous relationship further damaged by their conflicting opinions. Eric doesn’t want her to leave. Lauren refuses to back down. In the end, she packs her things and heads up north to her new life, the abstract promise of figuring this all out later hanging between them.

Lauren settles into her new routine quite easily, thanks largely in part to her fast friendship with her roommate Blake. Blake’s companionship comes in a package deal with that of her older brother Matthew. One night over dinner, an innocent conversation leads to the discovery that the three of them have more in common than they’d ever imagined.

Ashamed of his role in the thread that ties them together, Matthew begins to withdraw. As Lauren devises a game plan to ease his torment, Eric inadvertently pushes them together with his selfish actions.

Lauren’s relationship with Eric continues to flounder. The distance is an issue, but Eric’s indifference does nothing to help. Every bright spot in their courtship is countered by darkness and bitterness. More often than not, Matthew is there to pick up the pieces that Eric leaves behind.

Prior to meeting Matthew, Lauren thought she knew what she wanted. Now that she’s just about to obtain everything on her list, she’s left to question if she ever really knew what that was.

Buy Now @ Amazon & Smashwords

Genre – Romance / Chick Lit

Rating – PG13

Connect with Alicia Renee Kline on Twitter

Website http://aliciareneekline.com/

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Things aren’t going well for Prince Pistachio. Just as his grandpapa dies and revolution sweeps the kingdom, the bratty young lad is betrayed by his most loyal servant and sent into exile.

Lost in the woods with only an adventurous rabbit to accompany him, Pistachio’s courage is tested time and again. While his only goal is to find a way home,along the way he might discover a thing or two about himself.

Pistachio the Tyrant is written by Elvis Deane, with cover art and illustrations by Samantha Turnbull.

Buy Now @ Amazon @ Smashwords

Genre - Children’s Fantasy

Rating – PG

More details about the author

Connect with Elvis Deane on Facebook & Twitter

Website http://impossibilia.com/

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THE LAST LINE. THE LAST WORDS. THE LAST CHANCE.

Ifferon is one of the last in the bloodline of the dead god Telm, who mated with mortal women, and who imprisoned the Beast Agon in the Underworld. Armed with a connection to the estranged gods in the Overworld and a scroll bearing Telm’s powerful dying words, he is tasked with ensuring the god’s vital legacy: that Agon remain vanquished. Fear forces Ifferon to abandon his duty, but terror restores his quest when the forces of Agon find his hideaway in an isolated coastal monastery.

Weighed down by the worries of the world, but lifted up by the companions he encounters along the way, Ifferon embarks on a journey that encompasses the struggles of many peoples, the siege of many lands, and discoveries that could bring hope to some—or doom to all.

An epic fantasy set in a world replete with its own lands, races, languages, history and mythology. An immersive and lyrical tale with flawed and mysterious characters. A page-turner right up to the last page.

Enter the world of Iraldas.
Answer the Call of Agon.

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – Fantasy

Rating – PG

More details about the author

Connect with Dean F Wilson on Facebook & Twitter

Website http://deanfwilson.com/

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Have you developed a specific writing style? I’m still experimenting, to an extent.  I’m starting to play with points of view a little, just to see where it gets me.  But overall, I think my writing style is one that I’ve been told is easy to read, not overly cumbersome or wordy.  These were things I disliked in other books I’ve read, so I knew I wanted to avoid becoming that type of writer.  It just doesn’t suit me.  I prefer a quick pace and I think my writing reflects that.

How did you come up with the title? Originally, I wrote the story under a different title, Shadow Man.  It didn’t quite resonate with me and it wasn’t until I had nearly completed the first draft that I decided to rename it.  I found that my original title didn’t reflect the struggles my main character was facing.  Given the setting of the story, Redwood Violet just had more meaning for Katie, the main character.  I just researched the plants and flowers in the Redwood Forest and found that the Redwood Violet conveyed strength. It could grow in adverse conditions.  That appealed to me greatly.

Can you tell us about your main character? Katie Reid.  She’s in her late twenties and just beginning to build her life and her career.  She has a boyfriend, a good job and lives near the beach.  Not a bad life at all.  She’s still naïve but is learning the ways of the world.  And it isn’t until she discovers a very dark secret that she begins to transform.  We see Katie become desperate, hardened by the harsh realities of her past.  That desperation turns to obsession until the girl she thought she was is replaced by someone neither her boyfriend nor her family recognize.

Did you learn anything from writing this book and what was it? Personally, I learned a great deal about myself and my perseverance.  But not only that, this book required a fair bit of research, which I must admit, I thoroughly enjoyed.  A friend of mine, whose husband was a high-ranking police officer for twenty years, read the story, just to confirm that my references to police procedure were accurate, or at least, mostly accurate.  I’m sure I took creative license on a few things.  That part was very exciting for me.

How do you promote this book? Ahh, the million dollar question.  This is something I do struggle with.  It is increasingly difficult to get noticed amongst the thousands of other books available either online or in brick and mortar stores.  I suppose I don’t promote the book insomuch as I try to develop relationships through social media to let people get to know who I am.  If they like me, maybe they’ll read my book.  I’m pretty active on Goodreads, which I truly enjoy.  Of course, there’s Twitter, but I rarely promote my book there.  Again, I try to put myself out there so people can get to me as an author.  I suppose my next step is getting involved in blogging a little more and following some of the other bloggers out there.  It’s something that’s constantly evolving and I hope to gain a better grasp of as I publish more novels.

Katie Reid is living the quintessential Southern California life. A dream job and her college sweetheart, Spencer top it all off. However, she can’t seem to shake the terrible dreams that have been tormenting her nights these past few months.

After seeking help to find relief from the exhausting effects of these dreams, it becomes apparent that Katie is dealing with something much deeper and much more sinister. Her only solution is to delve into a past that no one wants her to remember.

With the horrific discovery of a dark secret kept hidden for years, Katie is drawn into a world mired in evil and lost innocence. And only with the help of Detective Marshall Avery will she be able to channel her pain and anger.

But, will he be able to contain Katie’s desire for vengeance that has begun to unravel her perfect life?

The first in a two-part series, Redwood Violet will keep you firmly in its grip and refuse to let go!

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – Mystery  / Thriller / Suspense

Rating – PG

More details about the author

Connect with Robin Mahle on Facebook & Twitter

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Chapter Two: “Soldiers of Christ”

By the time they had gotten to the eighth grade, Joey and Mick were no longer a duo, there was a third member of their entourage, Johnny Toussaint, or as he was sometimes called, Johnny Two Saints or Johnny T.

Johnny wasn’t one of the original gang. He had suddenly appeared among them in the fall of their sixth grade year. Now, having to integrate oneself into a group where the factions have already formed is difficult at best, but in Our Lady of Lourdes school yard, there was no place to hide. Without a gang, without someone to watch your back, Johnny had as much chance for long-term survival as a canary in a room full of starving cats.

Johnny T’s second problem was he was dark in a sea of pale Irish faces—even darker than the southern Italians and Sicilians. So, he stood out which, when you got no one to back you up, is never a good thing in Our Lady of Lourdes school yard.

Then, there was the English problem—Johnny didn’t speak it very well—in fact, he didn’t speak it at all.

Cast adrift in a sea of first, second and even third generation immigrant kids, speaking unaccented English—unaccented, that is, to a working-class New Yorker’s standard—was a necessary pedigree. Even the Irish kids right off the boat lost their brogues by the second grade. But, Johnny T didn’t just speak accented English; he really didn’t speak anything much resembling English at all.

The final blow came his first day in the sixth grade at roll call.

In Parochial school, the good sisters insist on using “formal” Catholic names, not street names. So, Joey Simon was “Joseph Simon,” because Joseph was a saint and the foster father of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Mickey Dwyer was “Michael Dwyer,” because Michael was an Archangel, beloved by God. So the entire sixth-grade class quickly learned that Johnny T’s formal, catholic name, pronounced according to the good sister’s south-end Boston accent, sounded like “Jean Mary Baptist Two Saint.”

This was seemingly the final nail in Johnny’s coffin. Not only was he a boy with two girl’s names, he was named “Two Saint.”

Then, as if matters couldn’t possibly have been made worse, the nun announced that Johnny and his family came from a place in the Caribbean called Haiti.

Now, the sixth-grade scholars of Our Lady of Lourdes elementary school, despite having studied geography since the fourth grade, had only a dim understanding about the Caribbean and had no idea about a place called Haiti. Some of them knew that at one time, and maybe still, the Caribbean had been infested with pirates. But, Johnny “Girl Names,” who was kind of dark, skinny and runty, didn’t look like no pirate to them.

Some of them knew that the Caribbean was a place where rich people went on vacation. But, Johnny “Two Saint” obviously wasn’t rich; rich people didn’t live in the parish. And, they certainly didn’t send their kids to Our Lady of Lourdes parochial school.

What they did know was the Puerto Ricans, who were moving into the upper west side of Manhattan by the thousands, came from somewhere in the Caribbean. And, the Cubans, who were buying up houses and apartment buildings all over Corona, were from somewhere in the Caribbean. They also knew that both Puerto Ricans and Cubans tended to be dark… some were actually Negroes… they had strange sounding names, and they didn’t speak English very well, if at all. They had heard their fathers and uncles refer to these people as “spics.”

Therefore, by the inescapable logic of the Our Lady of Lourdes school yard, the new kid, the outsider, was at least a spic, maybe a nigger, as their fathers and uncles had also said.

All this took less than an hour to process and spread throughout the school. Johnny T didn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of making it through his first week in the school yard.

Except for Mickey Dwyer, and by necessary association, his best friend, Joey “the Jew” Simon, intervening.

THE VIOLENT SEASON is an epic, expansive collection of heroic short stories centered on the gripping experiences of three young men and their families during the Vietnam War. The book presents a ‘coming-of-age’ narrative that begins in the lush river valleys of upstate New York and on the streets of New York City and provides an insightful perspective of youth and innocence plunged into the crucible of war.

As well, it transcends the “good guys, bad guys” portrayal of human conflict by presenting its readers with a depiction of good people, Americans and Vietnamese, caught up in unthinkably grim and difficult circumstances. THE VIOLENT SEASON celebrates the resilience of the human spirit and its ability to triumph over the horror and tragedy of war.

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – Literary / Historical Fiction

Rating – PG13

More details about the author

Connect with Raymond Gleason on Facebook & Twitter & Linked In

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The Key Peninsula floats quietly through time in Puget Sound but exists more like an island in the hearts of her residents. Descendants of the first peoples and pioneers mingle with newcomers washed ashore from distant cities in these stories of small town life in a community too small to have a town.

Young homeowners grapple with the depredations of heartsick woodpeckers. Anarchist loggers nail indignant poems to roadside trees. Shamanic gardeners work to heal a damaged world one lawn at a time. Deceptively simple stories with deep feeling.

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – Fiction / Short Stories

Rating – PG13

More details about the author

Connect with Ted Olinger on Facebook

Website http://www.woodpeckermenace.com/

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The Widow (La Viuda) is ninety-two years old. She lives in a house filled with photos and coins, jewels and a sable coat. Aware that her memory is failing but burning with desire to record the story of her life on paper, she hires Gabriela, a nineteen-year-old Mixteca from Mexico. Gabriela is one of the few survivors of a massacre and treacherous journey to El Norte. Gabriela and the Widow is a story of chaos, revenge, and change: death and love, love and sex, and sex and death. Gabriela seeks revenge for the destruction of her village. The Widow craves balance for the betrayals in her life. In the end, the Widow gives Gabriela the secret of immortality.

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – Women’s Fiction

Rating – PG

More details about the author

Connect with Jack Remick on Twitter

Website http://jackremick.com/

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