Inside the Mind of Michael J. Webb – Michael J. Webb @mjwebbbooks

Inside the Mind of Michael J. Webb

Someone once said, “Inside every fat book is a thin book trying to get out . . .”  I can’t help myself–I write “fat” books! I’ve tried to write books under one hundred thousand words, but no matter how hard I try, I just can’t seem to lose the weight.

My very first novel started out at over two hundred thousand words–and became a trilogy. I’ve tried writing short stories and they turn into novellas.  I’ve tried novellas and they turn into full-blown novels. I’m a hopeless lover of deep characterization and back story, lots of action, and page-turning plots, something nearly impossible for me to do in less than one hundred thousand words.

I’m a storyteller at heart, and I love entertaining readers with pulse-pounding action, flawed–but intriguing–characters, and fascinating plots that have my readers asking, “How did he come up with that?”  My tagline is “stories that ignite imaginations and stir souls…”  I like to get people thinking about the world they live in from a very different perspective than they are used to, especially as it relates to the realm of the spirit, angels and demons, and the intersection of the biblical, scientific, and historical disciplines.

There is an ancient battle being fought around us on an hourly basis in the realm of the spirit.  It regularly manifests in the natural, terrestrial realm, yet few people really understand the true nature of the battle. Hence, many perish for lack of knowledge.  Like Toto in the Wizard of Oz, I love pulling back the curtain and exposing “the wizard” for who he is–a short, balding, fat man from Kansas!  That’s not to say the wizard doesn’t have power, he does.  But with the proper weapons of warfare we may lose a few battles, but we ultimately win the war.  I like to think that in some small way my stories have the potential to function like the red pill Nero took in The Matrix—we awaken and discover just how deep the rabbit hole is.   Once that happens, like Nero, we are accountable for our knowledge.

Nevertheless, while all of my suspense thrillers, including Infernal Gates, have the purpose of provoking my readers to examine their belief system, at their core I hope they are simply good stories; the kind that keep you turning pages long after the sun goes down and make you wish there was more to read once you’ve finished.  My heart is to figuratively serve up a ten course meal with each new story I tell, and leave my readers hungry for their next serving.

Don’t get me wrong, there is definitely a place in this world for short stories, novellas, and novels under a hundred thousand words. I just won’t be writing them anytime soon.

Ethan Freeman, ex-Special Forces Ranger, wakes up to discover he is the sole survivor of a fiery commercial airline crash that killed his entire family. His nightmare is only beginning when he becomes the FBI’s prime suspect. Only Ethan knows he’s not a cold-hearted murderer, but he has no idea what happened to him--and why he alone survived.

He finds an unlikely ally in Sam Weaver, the NTSB Chief Investigator. An ex-military pilot, Sam senses Ethan is innocent. She tries to remain dispassionate in her investigation of the crash even as she finds herself attracted to the man who may be America=s worst homegrown mass-murderer.

Neither Ethan nor Sam realize that shadowy spiritual forces are at work which will alter their lives forever.

A monstrous evil, imprisoned since the time of the Pharaohs, has been released by The Nine, a sinister group of powerful men and women who believe they are the direct descendants of the Anunnaki, ancient Sumerian gods. The demon they have unleashed intends to free The Destroyer from The Abyss, the angelic prison referred to in the Book of Revelation, and unleash a worldwide reign of terror and annihilation.

Facing impossible odds, time is running out for Ethan and all of humanity as he is drawn into an ever-deeper conspiracy--millennia in the making--and learns that he is the key to stopping The Nine. Will he overcome his deepest fears and find reserves of strength he never knew he had as he confronts pure evil in order to save himself and an unsuspecting world?

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Genre – Christian Thriller, Fantasy, Adventure

Rating – PG-13

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Connect with Michael J. Webb on Facebook & G+ & Twitter

Website http://www.michaeljwebbfiction.com/

GIVEAWAY

The author is giving away the following prizes -- mailed directly to the winner’s email address from Amazon.com.

PRIZES:

5 Kindle copies of Infernal Gates http://amzn.to/18HrDjY

5 Kindle copies of The Oldest Enemy http://amzn.to/RWyv4c

5 Kindle copies of The Master’s Quilt http://amzn.to/Z2SJQS

10 Things You Didn’t Know About Becoming a Published Author – Pepper Winters @PepperWinters

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

This is a good question and I’ve learned a lot along the way.

Tears of Tess is my debut book and I went into this completely clueless, but now I feel like I know a bit more and would like to share a bit of what I learned.

A 9-5 day isn’t existent when you’re a writer. I never stop thinking about writing, plotting, editing. It’s never ending

1. Good days and bad days are constant and it’s hard to ride through the ‘’I suck, what am I doing days’’
2. Start promotion WAY before you’re ready to publish. This is vital to get the word out before your book is published
3. Drink caffeine. Lots of caffeine.
4. Get a team of wonderful Beta Readers to help point of plot holes as you’ll want to patch those up before the reviews come in.
5. Don’t read bad reviews. Ban yourself from Goodreads. I thought I had thick skin, but reading some so-so reviews can tear your heart out.
6. Make sure your manuscript is in the best possible condition (edited, formatted) before pressing that published button.
7. Just because you’re published it doesn’t mean you can relax. In fact, I’ve found I work harder now than I did before as I have ‘’fan mail’’ and social media piling up while trying to write.
8. Write everyday. Even if you don’t want to. If you can’t write on your current story, start another. Just keep writing.
9. Once you’re published it’s a full time job to keep the buzz and interest about your work. Run giveaways, and interact with your fans.

Hope that helps!

Tess Snow has everything she ever wanted: one more semester before a career in property development, a loving boyfriend, and a future dazzling bright with possibility.

For their two year anniversary, Brax surprises Tess with a romantic trip to Mexico. Sandy beaches, delicious cocktails, and soul-connecting sex set the mood for a wonderful holiday. With a full heart, and looking forward to a passion filled week, Tess is on top of the world.

But lusty paradise is shattered.

Kidnapped. Drugged. Stolen. Tess is forced into a world full of darkness and terror.

Captive and alone with no savior, no lover, no faith, no future, Tess evolves from terrified girl to fierce fighter. But no matter her strength, it can’t save her from the horror of being sold.

Can Brax find Tess before she’s broken and ruined, or will Tess’s new owner change her life forever?

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Genre – Dark New Adult Contemporary Romance

Rating – PG-18

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Website http://www.pepperwinters.wordpress.com/

“EL PROMO” – Colin Falconer @colin_falconer

“EL PROMO”

OR: HOW TO SELL YOUR BOOK IN LATIN AMERICA AND HAVE A BLONDE IN A BLACK BIKINI PIN YOU TO A PSYCHIATRIST’S COUCH ON NATIONAL TELEVISION

Colin Falconer

(Isabella)

Everything you’ve ever heard about Mexico City is true. The city contains roughly the same population as the whole of Australia and twice as many cars as people. One day walking in the streets of El DF is equivalent to smoking a pack of forty cigarettes.

I was there for a week a few years back to promote a book I had written about the conquest of Mexico. My American publishers had not promoted it at all, so I was bemused to arrive and discover it had been a bestseller in Latin America for weeks.

The central figure of my story was a Mayan princess called Malinche, Hernan Cortes’ lover during his ‘entrada’ in the early sixteenth century. My book speculated about her life, her motives, her role in the defeat of the Aztecs and most especially, the precise nature of her relationship with the great conquistador.

Well. You wouldn’t think the Mexicans would care anymore, would you? The woman has been dead for half a millennium and her name is almost unknown outside of Mexico.

But they do care; they care a lot. It was why almost every newspaper and magazine in the city wanted to talk to me.

They care so much, in fact, that at times I was being interviewed by three journalists at a time because there was not enough time to schedule everyone.

Not all of the journalists liked the book; halfway through one interview a journalist threw his manbag at me and stormed out of the office.

I didn’t read the review but I got the impression that I wouldn’t be able to use any quotes on the cover of the reprint.

My interpreter for the duration of my stay was a very attractive young woman by the name of Beatriz, publicity director for the large publishing house that had bought Spanish rights to my book.

When I was invited onto a popular daytime television show she only found out half an hour before my appearance that she would be required to accompany me in front of the TV cameras as my interpreter.

She had never been on television before and was very nervous, especially as the show’s host was the notorious Victor Trujillo, Mexico TV’s shock jock. Her husband was away on business in Guadalajara and she was afraid that he might see the program; she was also nervous that her mother, a very strict Catholic who disapproved of our host, might also hear about it.

Victor’s particular schtick was to have his guests lie down on a psychiatrist’s couch while he sat behind them and asked them personal questions, like a therapist. Sometimes he would have a blonde in a red leather bikini stride onto the set and sit on his guest’s lap to distract them – so really, it was more like a kinky interrogation session than a sombre literary interview.

Fortunately Beatrix had warned me about this.

So when the blonde came on set, I was prepared. When she flirted, I flirted back. Now I had Victor on the back foot.

Disappointed at not catching me off guard, he raised the stakes. He brought on his second surprise – a male model with a six pack (make that twelve) in a bulging g-string who came and sat on Beatriz’s lap.

I don’t know who was more surprised; my blushing interpreter or her husband, watching from his hotel room in Guadalajara.

On the way back to the car afterwards Beatriz was busy fielding phone calls from her mother and her other half. After she hung up the phone she told me she would not be acting for any more Australian authors. I protested that it really wasn’t my fault but she told me I was a no-good gringo and I could get my own lunch. So there.

Wow, this was really working out well.

The next morning I woke at six o’clock to the sound of bugle and drum, as the Mexican flag was raised in the Plaza Major. It is a big flag, a monster that takes a dozen soldiers standing at arm’s length to furl and unfurl.

I spent the morning with more journalists (no man bags thank God) and then Beatrix took me to an early lunch and invited me to sample one of the local delicacies, chilli chicken in chocolate sauce. It tastes exactly like it sounds, like chicken covered in spicy chocolate sauce.

She then drove me back to the television studios for an interview that was to be syndicated throughout Latin America, South America and the US. I was happy enough with this but did not discover until a minute or so before we went on air that it would last for the better part of an hour.

I also discovered that my interviewer, who could speak perfect English, would instead ask me the questions in Spanish, and these would be relayed to me through my earphones by an interpreter – at about a split second delay.

If you’ve never had this experience you do not appreciate how disconcerting this is. You have no idea what to do with your eyes for one thing; if you look at your interviewer’s face, the lip movements are out of synch with what you’re hearing and you end up staring at your interlocutor like an imbecile and going “Huh?”

Or if you look away and just concentrate on what you’re hearing through your earphones you look like someone who’s lived with their bedridden mother all their life and has lost any ability for social interaction.

To compound my panic the chocolate chilli chicken I had eaten for lunch had come back to haunt me. Montezuma had decided to take his revenge on the latest author to slur his name and not only could I not look my interviewer in the face – I also began to sweat, wriggle and cross and uncross my legs every few seconds.

I survived the interview with seconds to spare. Was it Beatrix’s revenge? I suspect so.

All in all, my author tour of Mexico was a chastening experience. Oh, and I got mugged. But hell, it’s Mexico. Doesn’t everyone?

Would I go back and do it all again? If I could get another book on their bestseller; lists, you bet. I’m a writer – it’s okay to be shameless.

But next time I’ll pass on the chilli chocolate chicken.

She was taught to obey. Now she has learned to rebel.

12 year old Isabella, a French princess marries the King of England - only to discover he has a terrible secret. Ten long years later she is in utter despair - does she submit to a lifetime of solitude and a spiritual death - or seize her destiny and take the throne of England for herself?

Isabella is just twelve years old when she marries Edward II of England. For the young princess it is love at first sight - but Edward has a terrible secret that threatens to tear their marriage - and England apart.

Who is Piers Gaveston - and why is his presence in the king’s court about to plunge England into civil war?

The young queen believes in the love songs of the troubadours and her own exalted destiny - but she finds reality very different. As she grows to a woman in the deadly maelstrom of Edward’s court, she must decide between her husband, her children, even her life - and one breath-taking gamble that will change the course of history.

This is the story of Isabella, the only woman ever to invade England - and win.

In the tradition of Philippa Gregory and Elizabeth Chadwick, ISABELLA is thoroughly researched and fast paced, the little known story of the one invasion the English never talk about.

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Genre – Historical Fiction

Rating – PG-13

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Website https://colinfalconer.wordpress.com/

Author Interview – Sebastiana Randone @sebasti29567440

When did you first know you could be a writer?
About ten years ago, after having written an essay and showing it to friends, I was encouraged to pursue this as an avenue for expression.
What inspires you to write and why?
I have an overactive imagination and having met many interesting people in my life, I feel I have much material of which to invent from.
What genre are you most comfortable writing?
So far it is the paranormal romance genre. Despite this genre largely revolving around vampires (which do not interest me), I am drawn to it by my fascination in ghosts, the occult, mystical forces and beliefs. Not as religious practice, but for artistic procurement, given the rich imagery and theatricality that comes with these spiritual idioms.
What do you consider the most challenging about writing a novel, or about writing in general?
Creating flowing and comprehensible sentences, that are interesting and grammatically correct.
Did writing this book teach you anything and what was it?
There have been numerous lessons. The main insight is that less is better.
To a person who loves detail, it is a difficult pill to swallow. I do now realise however, that if I want to sell enough books to cover costs etc (particularly in the USA) I will have to do away with the lyrical style and words that have more than 2 syllables.
My latest book is set in New York 1989, so the language is much simpler. 
Do you intend to make writing a career?
I will continue to write regardless of financial gain, because I fill a need and motivation to.  Whether I can survive of it remains to be seen. 

Buy Now @ Amazon & Smashwords

Genre - Historical, Fantasy, Romance

Rating - PG-16

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Author Interview – Merry Farmer @merryfarmer20

What other jobs have you had in your life?  I’ve had a lot of typical admin jobs to make money, but I’ve also been a hairdresser, a teacher, and an actress at the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire (a long, long time ago).

If you could study any subject at university what would you pick?  Well, I have two bachelor’s degrees in History, one with a co-major in Education, and a master’s degree in Theater right now.  If I had my way, I’d go back and get a master’s degree in History and teach on the side of my writing.  Actually, I think that’s very likely for my future.  I already teach history classes online for my RWA chapter, so….

If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?  I’m not convinced I would want to live in one place, actually.  I prefer cooler weather to warm weather, so no tropical climates.  With the exception of India.  One of my best friends is Indian and she’s promised to take me home with her someday.  I feel very drawn to the Hampshire region of the UK and to the maritime provinces of Canada.  Maybe I lived there in past lives?

How do you write – lap top, pen, paper, in bed, at a desk?  I used to write with a pen in spiral-bound notebooks.  As soon as I realized that it takes five times longer to type out handwritten work, I invested a lot of time in learning to type.  Now I type so much faster than I write by hand that it just makes sense to write on a computer.  I split my time between my desktop and my laptop.

Where do you get support from? Do you have friends in the industry?  I have made so many truly wonderful friends in the romance world through the Romance Writers of America.  Some of my go-to supporters and friends are Eliza Knight, Callie Hutton, Ella Quinn, Tracy Brogan, Ashley York, and several others who aren’t published yet.  Too many to name, actually.  Having other writer friends is invaluable, both in terms of friendship and networking.

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Genre - Western Historical Romance

Rating – R

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Website http://merryfarmer.net

Secret Words (Secret Dreams Book 1) by Miranda P. Charles @MirandaPCharles

Love touched the core of their heart unexpectedly

But how do they fight those who believe they weren’t meant to be?

When Jasmine Allen met Kane Summers in the unlikeliest of places, she wasn’t expecting the swift and immediate attraction she felt for him. But Jasmine had a secret she wasn’t at all comfortable sharing with anyone, least of all, the hunky guy who was literally sweeping her off her feet.

Kane Summers was a sucker for damsels in distress. When he found himself wanting to protect Jasmine Allen in more ways than one, the instant chemistry they had for each other hit him squarely in the chest. But Kane’s life was complicated, and he wasn’t totally free to act on the fascination he felt for her.

Kane and Jasmine were fighting a losing battle to stay away from each other. But circumstances – and certain people – beyond their control were very much intent on keeping them apart.

How could they find their way past secrets and malicious intents to nurture a love that, if given the chance, could last a lifetime?

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Genre - Contemporary Romance

Rating – R

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Website http://mirandapcharles.com/

Peter Simmons and the Vessel of Time by Ramz Artso @RamzArtso

Peter Simmons thinks he is an ordinary boy, before he is abducted by a man with certain special abilities, learns of his inescapable destiny, befriends immortals and becomes famous wordlwide. Why? Because Peter Simmons is mankind’s last hope for survival.

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Genre – Young-adult, Action and Adventure, Coming of Age, Sci-fi

Rating – PG-13

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Website http://ramzartso.blogspot.com/

J.L. Myers – My Publishing Journey @BloodBoundJLM

My Publishing Journey

When I started writing What Lies Inside, I had always intended to follow the path of traditional publishing. Honestly I had no idea of knowledge of how self-publishing even operated or how I would go about it. So I kept writing and completed my novel. Once it was finished I tried to revise it myself, with no educational knowledge of how to do so. After that I tried my luck and sent out a few queries and sample chapters to agents in my genre. The waiting was torture and of the few I’d sent to and received replies from, although they were encouraging, none of them were interested in taking me on.

During the waiting time (because I’m the least patient person you’ll every meet) I began doing research, wondering if my lack of experience was holding me back. That was when I came across Holly Lisle’s writing and revising courses. Having already written the entire novel her ‘How To Revise Your Novel’ course was absolutely prefect. The taught revision of my novel began that day for a course that delivered an in-depth lesson every week for around 5 months. This course along with Holly’s involvement and honesty changed my life. It gave me the tools to be able to turn what I had originally created into a finished and polished book that I was proud to have created and was confident in sharing.

Holly’s course also opened my eyes to the possibility of self-publishing. Holly herself was a traditionally published author for many years and has now taken the self-publishing route by choice. Knowing both sides she provides personal experience and the pros and cons of each option.

From everything I learned, I decided to take my future into my own hands instead of waiting hopefully for an agent or publisher to taken me on. This was also      the right decision for the Blood Bound Series as I didn’t want to get represented, then have and editor demand I remove the main things that made me write this story in the first place, or decide that my intended series needed to end into two books or even one.

After the decision was made and Holly’s course was completed it was time to source an editor, proofreader, get the cover professionally made, have the eBook formatted, the website created…and finally create an account on Amazon to publish my book. Being self-published all of these things are now in the author’s hands, and while you can hire people to help, which I did and recommend if you can afford it, the processes are still long and require a lot of input and attention for you. All the time, sweat and tears involved, I’m glad I self-published and having now done it I definitely wouldn’t change a thing.

Amelia Lamont never asked to unleash her inner vampire

Amelia’s normal teen world is shattered when a terrifying nightmare awakens the monster inside her. A newfound, insatiable thirst for blood that leads her to drain the school quarterback is only the beginning; she’s horrified to discover that her family and best friend Kendrick have been harboring the secret all along. And is the strangely alluring boy who seems hell-bent on curbing her murderous, blood-filled desires a friend, or foe?

To escape detection Amelia and her twin brother Dorian are forced to move to a new town, and the challenge of a new, exclusive high school where nearly every classmate smells like prey. Including the irresistible Ty, who seems hauntingly familiar, yet darkly menacing …

Amelia’s disturbing dreams and entanglement in a web of forbidden romance render her increasingly powerless against the chilling lies and secrets of vampire power struggles. And, as she soon discovers, vampire politics mixed with outlawed love can be a lethal cocktail.

Falling in love may just cost Amelia everything: her friends, her family…even her life

Move over Twilight, True Blood and Underworld! J.L. Myers’ first book in the Blood Bound series will have you swooning for more!

Warning – This book contains some language and sexual situations.

YA/ Vampire/ Paranormal Fiction

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Genre – YA Paranormal Romance

Rating – PG-13+

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Connect with  Jessica Myers on Facebook & Twitter

Website http://bloodboundnovels.com

Quality Reads UK Book Club Disclosure: Author interview / guest post has been submitted by the author and previously used on other sites.

Author Interview – Tami Urbanek @tamiurbanek

Tell us a bit about your family
My family is a different sort of family. My father is a medium and I grew up learning much about spirituality, ghosts, and ‘the other side’. His controversial teachings caught the attention of the NBC Today Show, Time Magazine and other media sources.
I’ve never felt it necessary to read books on spirituality because it was taught to me as I was growing up. It was taught through example, love, and general discussions. I also passed this onto my own daughter as she was growing up.
I’m thankful for my childhood, especially as I began to develop my own medium abilities. I knew I could talk to my family and understand how it all worked or why certain things would happen.
How do you work through self-doubts and fear?
In the past, I’ve had to work past a lot of fear. Fear around ghosts, fear around ridicule, and fear around my daughter making painful life-long choices. Each fear that surfaced, I had to do something with it. A lot of times, I would try to deny the fear and push it aside. That is until the fear was in my face and I could no longer deny it. I had to confront the fear and stop giving it control over my mind. If my fear says I shouldn’t do ‘that’, then I do it anyway. That is confronting the fear.
It’s the same with self-doubt. I have to identify from where the doubt is coming and address it face forward. If I deny the self-doubt, it just gets stronger. In addition, the more respect I have for myself, the less self-doubt I have. Strong self-respect, a self-knowingness, and positive pride cannot reside with self-doubt. They are opposites.
How did you develop your writing?
As a child, I always loved writing stories. A story would enter my mind and I would immediately go to my notebook and begin writing down whatever story plot was entertaining me at the time. I loved doing that until I took a creative writing class in community college.
I allowed the instructor to determine my self-worth about my own writing ability. So I stopped writing in a creative fashion. As I worked towards my degrees in Special Education and Public Administration, I only wrote in an academic format. That was safer for me and I was good at it after writing so many college papers.
Even after I stopped working as a teacher, I wrote articles for newsletters and a local free paper. My writing style continued to be very academic. When I began writing my memoir, I had to shift from academic style to creative style so that my story would be interesting to read.
I had an editor who assisted me in this process of writing good dialogue, paying attention to redundancy, and structure. I improved my creative writing style through practice. I didn’t take any classes. I just wrote my story and then edited and re-wrote it so many times that now I know how to write in a creative way.
Tell us about your new book. What is it about and why did you write it?
My book is my memoir-Loving Conor; A Clairvoyant’s Memoir on Loving, Bonding and Healing. I work with the public as a medium/clairvoyant, but my story is less about that and more about my daughter and her son, Conor.
The story began when I was eighteen years old and in an abusive marriage. I walked away from my marriage at nineteen, with a month-old baby, and no money. I continued to make painful relationship choices until I turned twenty-two years old and I realized my pattern. I met my second husband who continues to love and support me in my work.
The story moves quickly to my daughter’s teenage years in which her anger profoundly develops toward her biological father and also her desire for older teenage boys. My daughter’s anger was expressed in different ways and my anxiety level was high much of the time during her teenage years.
At the same time, my medium abilities were developing when my daughter was around age thirteen and fourteen. In one of the chapters, I explain how it developed and some of the people I approached in a public setting who had a ghost attached to them.
When my daughter was around age fifteen, she fell in-lust with a boy of age twenty-one and who carried similar personality characteristics to her biological father. She became pregnant at age sixteen and we found out just how traumatized and angry the soul of her unborn child was. With my medium abilities, I had to help him begin healing his anger while he was still in spirit form-before birth. We talked with him while he was in spirit form. I had no idea if what we were doing would work. But this is how we came to love Conor. Did it work? Read it to find out! Also, my daughter writes her perspective at the end of the book too.
When you are not writing, how do you like to relax?
I am the type of person who has to have relaxation time. I can’t say for certainty when that developed, but I’ve been that way a long time. I relax differently depending on where I’m at and what time of day it is.
I like to relax through reading, listening to music from the 1940s and 1930s, drinking wine, taking walks, exercising/hiking, taking naps, watching music videos, and meditating. It’s not difficult for me to relax. I especially like low-key mornings. I’ll have my ‘old school’ Big Band Swing music on, drinking my coffee, and I’ll be on my computer. Or on a weekend evening I’ll have ‘old school’ Jazz playing, enjoying a Grey Goose martini or Kendall Jackson chardonnay, cheese and salami or crackers.
Relaxation is very important to me-just as important as my work. Balance.
What are you the most passionate about? What gets you fired up?
When I see or read about parents physically punishing their children or I read comments in which people say children need to be punished more gets me really fired up.
People have a misperception that punishment teaches respect. Like attracts like and like teaches like. Most people can agree that we learn by our parents’ examples more so than their lectures. We learn by what we see, feel, and experience. Punishment teaches punishment. Respect teaches respect. Consequences teach respect for outcomes. Punishment teaches how to hide so not get caught and it teaches the cycle of punishment.
Most people who were consistently punished as children continue that cycle as an adult. For some, it’s a major issue and for some not as major. Self-punishment is a synonym for self-judgment, self-sabotage, self-denial, and allowing others to control you on some level.
We can raise our children to be respectful by creating strong boundaries, offering respect, and delivering consequences without the energy of punishment or judgment. It just takes a lot more work and involvement.
What is your greatest strength as a writer?
I think my greatest strength is taking the time to write. But, that wasn’t always the case. I had to have my inspiration. A strong desire had to be there and then I always had time to write and edit my work.

Broke, with a month-old baby, nineteen-year old Tami Urbanek walks away from an abusive marriage only to find herself wallowing in anxiety and confusion, wondering how she will survive. At the time, she had no idea that the journey in front of her would guide her so far away from fear of financial survival and instead would push her into the realm of healing and spirituality. As the daughter of internationally renowned medium, Hossca Harrison, Tami seeks the assistance of her loving parents and a spiritual teacher named Jonah. With their help, she begins to understand herself and her daughter, whose adolescent path of destruction threatens to tear apart their relationship. As Tami’s own clairvoyant abilities surface, she is challenged with the task of helping not just her daughter, but the child that her sixteen-year old daughter is carrying: a child whose painful past life still haunts him and which must be resolved before his birth. Told with humor, insight and honesty, Tami’s story challenges readers’ minds as it touches their hearts, and when the last page is turned, it is a story not easily forgotten.

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Genre - Memoir

Rating – PG-13

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Quality Reads UK Book Club Disclosure: Author interview / guest post has been submitted by the author and previously used on other sites.

Author Interview – Christoph Paul @ChristophPaul_

How do you write – lap top, pen, paper, in bed, at a desk?
Phone and computer. My handwriting sucks. Either desk, café, or when I am really tired I write in bed which I call ‘Prousting’ it
Where do you get support from? Do you have friends in the industry?
This one guy on Twitter with a really offensive AVI tells me nice things about my books here and there.
How much sleep do you need to be your best?
I will say this, it is rough if I got less than 5 hours to write well.
Every writer has their own idea of what a successful career in writing is, what does success in writing look like to you?
I’d be happy to like “Modern Family”. Influencing culture and getting paid for it.
It is vital to get exposure and target the right readers for your writing, tell us about your marketing campaign?
I am a believer that a great marketer always wins in the climate we are in so I try to do what is best even though I think marketing is BS. I am learning as I go. I am a fan of guerilla marketing.
Tell us about your new book? What’s it about and why did you write it?
“Great White House” is very simple. A Sharknado on The White House. If you don’t think that is awesome I feel bad for you….why not that write that if you get the idea?

Great White Sharks Attack the White House!

The Federal Government is behind on its loans and Chinese President Xi Jinping wants his money. Having brought members of the China Task Force together in the White House for a meeting, Jinping, with the help of weather control and PETA, unleashes genetically modified great white sharks in an effort to force President Obama and the C.T.F. to make the tough decisions on how to meet the dear communist’s commands.

Can the C.T.F. escape the wrath of Red China and the great white killers, or will Obama be forced to disband the government and bring the country to brink of anarchy?

Paul and Thomas (the writers of G.W.H., not a folk group) have weaved a wicked tale of governments run amuck in this “grindhouse” novella. With elements of “South Park” meets “Sharknado” meets “Olympus has Fallen” meets “White House Down” meets other movies/TV shows featuring charismatic black presidents, G.W.H. illustrates just how far politicians can be pushed as they work to survive the horror of the ocean’s greatest murderers. America has bills to pay and China’s “loan sharks” are ready to collect that debt in blood.

These sharks don’t see Red or Blue—they are equal opportunity eaters.

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – Fiction, Humor

Rating – PG-13

More details about the author

Connect with Christoph Paul on Facebook & Twitter

Author Interview – Chris Myers @CMyersFiction

If you could do any job in the world, what would you do? Write or travel or be a fulltime student.

What is your favorite color? Sky blue.

What is your favorite food? Southern cooked green beans.

What genre are you most comfortable writing in? Young adult and thrillers.

Do you have to travel much concerning your book(s)? I took my daughter to Plymouth, MA to research DATE WITH THE DEAD.

Have you started another book? I usually have 2-3 going at the same time.

How much of the book is realistic? Most of it’s made up, but there’s always a bit of truth and satire in probably everything I write. For example, Drew’s suicide is based on an actual happening.

Sixteen-year-old Jolie Livingston's closest and only friend Drew is this really hot dead guy, and it bites that the self-absorbed princesses at school cannot even see him. That's right she can communicate with the dead. It's the living she has trouble with. She and her mom inherited this awesome crib in Plymouth, MA. It's quite a step-up from the homeless shelter in New Orleans, but there's a catch. They can't afford the past due mortgage, so Jolie's working on that.

She starts a ghost hunting business called Ripsters. Somehow she's managed to recruit Brittany, a glamour SAP smothered in pink, and a techie allergic to ghosts. Brit actually thinks he resembles the R&B singer Chris Brown. All that pink has clouded her vision. They both have special talents Jolie's hoping will be useful to their venture. Right now, they're working for a family in need of major therapy due to a dead guy with a hole in his head.

AWARDS Top 100 semi-finalist of 2009 Amazon Breakthrough Novel 2008 Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Gold Contest Finalist for Ripsters

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Genre - YA Paranormal Mystery, Romance

Rating – PG-13

More details about the author

Connect with Chris Myers on Facebook & Twitter

Website http://www.chrismyersfiction.com

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Author Interview – Chris Myers @CMyersFiction

Last book I purchased? I can’t tell you because I wish I could return it. I get most of my books from the library unless they’re self-published. To me, those are usually reasonably priced.
When and why did you being writing? My Catholic school published my first play in second grade. I wrote songs and short stories in high school.
Have you started another book yet? Yes. I’m writing Lennon’s Hope, the third book in the Lennon’s Girls Trilogy.
What do you do to unwind and relax? Run, watch a movie, a long hike in the mountains.
Why do I write? Because it’s better than talking to out loud to the voices in my head.
How do I write? Sometimes a laptop but most times on a desktop with two huge monitors.

Sixteen-year-old Jolie Livingston’s closest and only friend Drew is this really hot dead guy, and it bites that the self-absorbed princesses at school cannot even see him. That’s right she can communicate with the dead. It’s the living she has trouble with. She and her mom inherited this awesome crib in Plymouth, MA. It’s quite a step-up from the homeless shelter in New Orleans, but there’s a catch. They can’t afford the past due mortgage, so Jolie’s working on that.

She starts a ghost hunting business called Ripsters. Somehow she’s managed to recruit Brittany, a glamour SAP smothered in pink, and a techie allergic to ghosts. Brit actually thinks he resembles the R&B singer Chris Brown. All that pink has clouded her vision. They both have special talents Jolie’s hoping will be useful to their venture. Right now, they’re working for a family in need of major therapy due to a dead guy with a hole in his head.

AWARDS
Top 100 semi-finalist of 2009 Amazon Breakthrough Novel
2008 Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Gold Contest Finalist for Ripsters

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre - YA Paranormal Mystery, Romance

Rating – PG-13

More details about the author and the book

Connect with Chris Myers on Facebook & Twitter

Website http://www.chrismyersfiction.com

The Pat O’Malley Historical Steampunk Mystery Trilogy by Jim Musgrave

Here are all three suspenseful mysteries in one book!

Forevermore, the first mystery, was a #2 bestseller in Amazon’s Historical Mystery category. It has received outstanding reviews from readers, and it establishes Pat O’Malley as a detective sleuth par excellence. The second mystery, Disappearance at Mount Sinai, continues the development of the characters amidst an excellent caper. The third mystery, Jane the Grabber, plunges O’Malley into the middle of the Steampunk world, and it marks a turning point in the novels to come.

Forevermore Synopsis:

“Musgrave mixes accurate history with a spell-binding plot to create an amazing who-done-it! Watch for more Pat O’Malley Mysteries.”

In post Civil War New York City, Detective Pat O’Malley is living inside Poe’s Cottage in the Bronx. O’Malley is haunted by Poe one night, and the detective finds a strange note. As a result, O’Malley decides to prove that Edgar Allan Poe did not die in Baltimore from an alcoholic binge but was, instead, murdered. O’Malley quickly becomes embroiled in a “cold case” that thrusts him into the lair of one of the most sinister and ruthless killers in 1865 New York City.

Jim Musgrave’s “Forevermore” is a quick read in four acts that will keep your mind razor sharp trying to solve the mystery of Poe’s murder. Pat O’Malley must first find out how to become intimate with females before he can discover the final clue in this puzzle of wits, murder and romance.

Disappearance at Mount Sinai Synopsis:

What if the anti-Semites, racists, and terrorists wanted the final revenge following the Civil War? How do you stop them from committing the worst atrocity?

It’s 1866 in New York City. Civil War Vet and Detective Pat O’Malley’s biggest case returns him to the deep, dark South to search for the kidnapped wealthiest inventor and entrepreneur in America. But the widening gyre of anti-Semitism and racism pulls him down into the pit of hell itself. Disguised as an Oxford England Professor, O’Malley infiltrates the anti-Semites’ group and travels with his partners, Becky Charming and his father, Robert, down to a Collierville, Tennessee mansion.

At the crux of this case are a Jewish father and his five-year-old son, Seth. They have developed a unique bond that relies on Jewish folklore and a belief that they are Mazikeen, half-angel and half-human, born from the loins of Adam’s strange female cohorts during the 130 years he was banished from the Garden. Will O’Malley find Dr. Mergenthaler before it’s too late? What does this world-wide eugenics group have planned for the mongrel races? Read Jim Musgrave’s Disappearance at Mount Sinai, the second mystery in the series of Pat O’Malley Mini-Mysteries.

Jane the Grabber Synopsis:

What was it like before women were given rights to determine their own destinies? How was abortion and birth control used in the 1860s? What happens to a society when the last sexual taboo is permitted? Find out in the third mystery in the Pat O’Malley Historical Steampunk Mystery Series, Jane the Grabber.

Buy Now @ Amazon @ Createspace

Genre – Historical Steampunk Mystery

Rating – PG13

More details about the author

Connect with  Jim Musgrave on Facebook & Twitter

Website http://contempinstruct.com/Forevermore/

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Author Interview – Dianne Worrall

Every writer has their own idea of what a successful career in writing is, what does success in writing look like to you?

For me, a successful writing career makes a connection with someone and inspires action by making life easier or solving a business problem.  The writing style is also very important. I aim to reach people through a very accessible, easy-to-read style as opposed to an academic transcript

What it is about:

My current best selling title is Accountability Leadership: How Great Leaders Build a High Performance Culture of Accountability & Responsibility.

Accountability Leadership is for those leaders who are tired of living in hope that employees will follow through on expectations.

Great business leaders understand that acceptance of greater accountability and responsibility leads individuals, teams, and entire organisations back on the path to success. But with the evolving nature of 21st century business, economics, and the growing sector of misunderstood knowledge workers, the practical steps that go into creating an accountability culture have become more muddled than ever.

Many organisations have seen temporary improvements, implementing traditional systems of accountability in an attempt to drive high performance in the workplace—only to quickly revert back to their old ways, or worse. With Accountability Leadership, you will discover how to use the new science of accountability to create a high performance culture of accountability and responsibility.

Why did I write it?

Extract from my author bio athttp://amzn.com/e/B002CI2B8M

Over the course of her career, Di has developed a personal and professional mantra about what she sees as the number-one issue that makes or breaks leadership performance today: Accountability for outcomes, performance, and results.

That mantra goes like this:

“The degree to which you have developed the capacity to hold your organisation and its people accountable for the delivery of results is directly proportional to your capacity to either build–or haemorrhage–value from your organisation.”

…An Early Accountability Lesson Becomes a Catalyst for Change

In her first senior executive post, Di managed to turn a difficult accountability lesson into an opportunity for change when it became clear that the failure of her executive team to hold one another accountable was setting their entire organisation up to fail on its delivery of a major business initiative.

Having no intention of letting the project go bad, Di led her fellow executives through specific actions to improve personal accountability throughout the leadership team. As a result, she managed to turn a pending loss into a remarkable profit.

“Accountability was something we couldn’t delegate,” she says, recalling the initiative. “Much to our surprise, employees in our respective divisions started to intuitively follow suit, modelling our new behaviours.”

Inspired by that early experience, Di developed an enthusiasm and thirst for knowledge relating to the “new rules” of high accountability (you can read more about these in her new book, Accountability Leadership), and has devoted her findings and expertise to enterprise transformation and change efforts ever since.

Sometimes it’s so hard to keep at it – What keeps you going?

I have a network of peers and editors who I build into my schedule to keep me on track with big writing projects. To supplement my books, my regular schedule of blog posts and newsletters keep my followers and subscribers up to date.

Have you met any people in the industry who have really helped you?

Marketing and publishing gurus – Brian McFall, Ryan Deiss, Steve Harrison, Christopher Guerriero, Brendon Burchard.

What do you hope people will take away from your writing? How will your words make them feel?

Inspired to do something different and motivated to take action

Accountability Leadership Saves Tech Company

In 2005, HCL Technologies was in trouble.

The Delhi-based IT firm was losing market share, as competitors grew by 50% annually.

By 2009, HCL’s president, Vineet Nayar had turned the company around, nearly tripling annual revenues and doubling market capitalisation despite the recession.

Nayar accomplished all this through a top-down culture of accountability, beginning with the leadership qualities of himself—the CEO—and other senior managers.

The Rules Of Accountability Have Changed

Great business leaders understand that acceptance of greater personal accountability and responsibility leads organisations back on the path to success.

But with the evolving nature of 21st century business, the practical steps that go into creating a high performance culture of accountability have become more muddled than ever.

Many organisations have seen temporary improvements, implementing traditional systems of accountability in an attempt to drive high performance in the workplace—only to quickly revert back to their old ways, or worse.

Accountability Leadership Will Teach You:

• What it really takes to lead a high performance culture of accountability
• Why so many of today’s employees avoid personal accountability and responsibility like the plague, and how to reverse that trend
• How to sustain great performance through inspiring feedback, feed-forward and follow-through
• What an accountability plan is, how to create one, and why it’s considered the “secret weapon” behind successful business transformation

Filled with real world case studies and straightforward, easy to digest research, Accountability Leadership offers practical solutions that are direct, engaging, fast, cost-effective, proven, and easy to implement...

Immediate, Concrete Solutions You’ll Take Away From This Book Include:

• How to transform the “dark side” of accountability into a positive force for change
• Why carrots and sticks no longer work—and what they’ve been replaced with
• How to create compelling consequences that inspire people to perform at their best, and achieve the ultra productive workstate known as “flow”
• Crack the code of high accountability conversations, turning confrontation into a productive and positive opportunity

Accountability Leadership Also Sheds Light On Topics Like...

• How negativity bias covertly sabotages your feedback loop with your employees
• The optimal ratio for positive to negative comments in feedback
• The right amount of autonomy to give employees—without overdoing it
• What lack of recognition is really doing to your workforce (hint: it’s staggering)
• The surprising biochemical effect of praise, and why it cannot fail

Plus, You’ll Also Receive A Special Bonus

Reader’s can claim an exclusive 20-minute podcast interview with top-rated thought leader Marshall Goldsmith, sharing his powerful experiences and groundbreaking ideas on coaching for accountability leadership—absolutely free.

A Personal Message From The Author

Accountability is arguably the number-one issue that makes or breaks leadership performance today. Yet most of us were never taught this critical skill—not by our parents, teachers or business leaders.

The good news is, accountability can be coached.

The ideas in this book draw from extensive research and 25 years experience working with executives to improve performance through high accountability.

These ideas work.

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre - Business, Leadership, Workplace Behaviour, Human Resources, Executive Coaching

Rating – PG

More details about the author

Connect with Di Worrall on Facebook & Twitter

Website http://www.diworrall.com.au/

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George Bernstein – On Doing Research

On Doing Research

by George Bernstein

Non-fiction writers are constantly challenged with getting the facts right. That usually requires a lot of research, especially if you’re dealing with a subject on which you are not already an expert. Nothing denigrates a work more than faulty or bogus data.

Of course, if you’re writing fiction, your imagination is allowed to run free, so accurate details aren’t prerequisites, right?

Wrong! Nothing bugs readers more than seeing information that is totally out of sync with the real world… unless you are writing fantasy or sci-fi. Even little things like descriptions of locations that don’t jive with physical reality can draw critical comments on a writer’s web site or the multitude of writing blogs that span the internet. Of course, you can intentionally change the description of a location and give streets bogus names if you think it necessary for the story you’ve developed. Just be sure you state that fact in the Foreword or Acknowledgements.

Occasionally you’ll find your imagination actually coincides with reality. That’s when getting the facts straight really count. When I began writing my first novel, Trapped, in 1990, I imagined a physical condition for my protagonist, Jackee, as physically comatose but fully sentient, locked in her head. Only her mind and her eyes worked. It wasn’t until several years ago that I heard of “Locked-in Syndrome,” which is exactly the condition I envisioned. When Trapped won TAG Publisher’s  “Next Great American Novel” contest in 2012, and I was on my way to getting published, I figured I‘d better do some research on the condition, to lend reality to her story.

Thanks to Google, I found a plethora of articles on the syndrome, including many vignettes about real people in Locked-in Syndrome. I even discovered the medical terms for the parts of the brain affected. It took several days of digging and sorting to accumulate what I needed, and then several more days to incorporate it into the story without making it look like a “data dump.” I was happy with the results, and I’ve received many comments from doctors, including two neurologists, complimenting me on the accuracy of my work. That makes you feel great about a job well done.

In my second novel, A 3^rd Time to Die, launched in June of 2013, I was faced with a more difficult research task. This romantic suspense deals with past lives and rebirth. I’d read several books on the subject by Dr. Brian Weiss, a leading proponent of the subject. In A 3^rd Time to Die, two lovers are brutally murdered in the 17^th Century. Their souls are reborn in the 19^th Cerntury, again finding love together… and are again gruesomely murdered. Now they are back in the 21^st Century… and so is their killer.

My protagonist is eventually hypnotically regressed into those past lives, so I decided reading about how it was done wasn’t going to cut it for me. I found an associate of Dr. Weiss’ who hypnotically regressed me… into NINE lives of my own. I had my doubts of the reality of the condition, but wanted to see what it was like. This, you may think, is going a bit “overboard” for research, but it was a life-changing experience. I’ve found that good research is often fulfilling and mentally expanding, but this went beyond. And it gave me a clear understanding of how regression actually works, the actual mechanics the therapist uses to take you back… back… back into past lives.

Here’s an interesting personal antidote. When I was twelve, my dad brought home a bow and a big straw bull’s-eye target. My only experience with a bow was Western movies, but I set up the target in the back yard, strung the bow (how did I even know how to do that?), paced off about 100 feet…and started shooting bull’s-eyes! I seldom missed that center black circle. Once, while practicing, a big crow flew over, probably 60 feet high. I instinctively put an arrow in him. A week later, while “hunting” in a nearby forest preserve, I flushed a ringneck pheasant, and knocked him down with a quick shot. Then a rabbit, dodging through the brush. I don’t know how I did it, I just DID IT, without thinking.

The point of this little tale is, during one of my regressions, I found myself in Lincolnshire Forest, shooting game for a 16^th Century English duke… a regular Robin Hood. An interesting and provocative side-light to doing research for a novel.

Frankly, I’m usually reluctant to do much research. It can be time consuming, and often frustrating. I’d rather rely on my imagination. But, if you’re a serious writer, the time will come when it’s a necessity to lend the feeling of reality to your tale. I’ve written two novels in a series featuring a troubled Miami homicide detective. In the first, he’s chasing an elusive serial killer. Now we all know quite a bit about these guys, with all the TV detective shows, but I needed to know more details of who they are, how they think, and what can motivate them. Again, plunging into Google, I found loads of information, including the complete minutes of an FBI symposium given by their BAU division (Think “Criminal Minds” on TV). While those two novels are yet to be published, I’ve now got a storehouse of info on how to make these guys seem real.

Research can be complex, like regressing into Past Lives, or simple, like learning about the streets and demographics of a city you’re writing about but have not visited. Whatever, good research helps separate the professional novelist from the common amateur.

Sometimes, it can be down-right fun! Just don’t forget the “Disclaimer” in the front matter of your book, stating this is a work of fiction, and you may have taken liberty with facts to meet the demands of the story.

 

Ashley Easton rescues a badly abused horse, deciding to return to show jumping, the passion of her youth. The animal gives unquestioned love, something lacking from her husband, Keith. But when Ashley begins to compete, she is terrified as the show course seemingly changes into an old forest and the jumps appear as real walls, fences and trees. Her thoughts spill through her head in elegant French. As she attacks the fences with an unfamiliar, fearless abandon, she begins winning every competition.

Craig Thornton, an avid horseman, happens upon Ashley’s first competition, entranced as he watches her jump her horse, Injun. Mystically drawn toward each other, it’s as if they knew the other…but from where? After several missed opportunities, they finally meet, becoming fast friends, their love of jumping horses a mutual bond.

Ashley seeks therapy to address a strange terror swamping her whenever she’s intimate. During hypnotic regression, she’s stunned to find herself in two apparent past lives, first in the 17th Century, on a fox hunt as the fearless French horsewoman who fills her head while jumping, and again, 150 years later in Philadelphia, a shipping tycoons daughter. Both times she is fulfilled by glorious romance, followed by the terror of their brutal murder while making fervid love in a forested glade!

The doctor says these are figments of her subconscious, but he’s shaken, knowing the truth. He realizes those were real past lives, and their killer may be lurking again, nearby.

Ashley and Craig soon discover more than friendship. As these two newly rediscovered lovers struggle to free themselves from broken marriages, others plan to fulfill a 300 year-old legacy of death.

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – Romantic Suspense

Rating – PG13

More details about the author

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Indiestructible is Packed With Insight – Alex J. Cavanaugh

Indiestructible is Packed With Insight
by Alex J. Cavanaugh
Indiestructible: Inspiring Stories from the Publishing Jungle is a great compilation of insights from authors who’ve already taken the journey. Many of the contributors are indie authors who share their experiences with that particular path. This book is for all writers though, whether traditionally or self-published.
Though I have a small press backing my books, I’m still responsible for a lot of the marketing. That worried me at first. I had no idea what I was doing and feared utter and complete failure. (Does book promotion scare anyone else?) Fortunately other authors were willing to assist and offer suggestions. As time progressed, I started to get a handle on the marketing thing.
In Indiestructible, I outline the four ingredients to successful book promotion:
Involvement
Support
Leadership
Consistency
While most of my efforts have been online, those four things apply in any situation.
Indiestructible is packed with insights about the indie publishing jungle. Armed with the knowledge supplied by the other authors in the book, a writer can start the journey with confidence and concrete plans.
Are you ready to take that first step?
CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE INDIESTRUCTIBLE
100% of proceeds will be donated to BUILDON.org, a movement which breaks the cycle of poverty, illiteracy, and low expectations through service and education.
Contributing authors:
Alex J. Cavanaugh <> Angela Brown <> Anne R. Allen <> Briane Pagel <> C.S. Lakin <> Ciara Knight <> Cindy M. Hogan <> D. Robert Pease <> Dawn Ius <> Emily White <> Greg Metcalf <> Jadie Jones <> Jessica Bell <> Karen Bass <> Karen Walker <> Kristie Cook <> Laura Diamond <> Laura Pauling <> Laurel Garver <> Leigh Talbert Moore <> Lori Robinson <> Melissa Foster <> Michael Offutt <> Michelle Davidson Argyle <> Rick Daley <> Roz Morris <> S.R. Johannes <> Stephen Tremp <> Susan Kaye Quinn
About Alex J. Cavanaugh:

Alex J. Cavanaugh has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and works in web design and graphics. He is experienced in technical editing and worked with an adult literacy program for several years. A fan of all things science fiction, his interests range from books and movies to music and games. Online he is the Ninja Captain and founder of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group. The author of the Amazon bestsellers, CassaStar and CassaFire, his third book, CassaStorm, will be released September 17, 2013. Find him on Twitter.

Need motivation and inspiration to self-publish, or sign that contract with an interested small press? Have you done all the research you can, but still feel ambivalent about the idea? “Indiestructible: Inspiring Stories from the Publishing Jungle” brings you the experiences of 29 indie authors—their passions, their insights, their successes—to help you make the leap into indie publishing.

This is not a how-to guide. This is the best of the indie tradition of experienced authors paying forward what they’ve learned, giving you information to help you on your journey. The personal essays in this book will leave you itching to get your work into the hands of readers and experience, first-hand, all the rewards indie publishing has to offer.

100% of proceeds from “Indiestructible” purchases will be donated to BUILDON.org

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre –  Non-fiction

Rating – G

More details about the author

Connect with Jessica Bell on Facebook &  Twitter

Blog http://thealliterativeallomorph.blogspot.com/

Author Interview – April Bostic

Is your family supportive? Do your friends support you?

Yes, my family and friends are very supportive. Even some of my co-workers. Most of them know I’m an author.

Do you plan to publish more books?

No. The Howling Heart is my last novel, and A Dark Scandal will be my last short story.

What other jobs have you had in your life?

I work full time in the IT field. I work from home, so it’s very convenient and lessens my daily stress.

If you could study any subject at university what would you pick?

Graphic design. I’m an amateur, but I’d love to be a professional in the field.

If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?

California

How do you write – lap top, pen, paper, in bed, at a desk?

Laptop

Paige Donovan is an ambitious college graduate who aspires to reach the top of the corporate ladder. She's climbing fast when she's given the promotion of a lifetime at a prestigious fashion magazine in New York City. Her bright future comes to an unexpected halt after news of her father's death. She inherits his old cabin in the Colorado Rockies, and just when she thinks her luck couldn't get any worse, she has a car accident in the mountains and awakens in the small, remote community of Black River.

Soon, she's engulfed in the mystical world of Varulv--wolves descended from 13th century Scandinavia and blessed by Norse gods with the ability to appear human. Paige is desperate to return home, but she never expects to fall for her rescuer, Riley Gray, a charming young werewolf from England who offers her an alternate future with his pack.

Now, she must choose between the career she's always wanted and the love she's always dreamed.

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – Paranormal Romance

Rating – Adult

More details about the author

Connect with April Bostic on Goodreads

Website http://www.aprilbostic.com/

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Author Interview – Brad Cotton

What book should everybody read at least once?

This is just a tricky way of asking what my favorite book is, isn’t it? I don’t know that there’s one book I would recommend to everyone. Just like I couldn’t recommend one band or one movie. Every recommendation would surely be followed with “buts” and “howevers”. Having said that — Catcher in the Rye.

Are there any books you really don’t enjoy?

Poorly written books. I can’t get past poor grammar, sloppy story, or cardboard characters in print.

What do you hope your obituary will say about you?

Today Brad died, which is good only because this is his obituary.

How did you develop your writing?

Funny enough, I practiced writing in the corporate world. I was once a copywriter for advertising agencies. I had the knack to tell a story, but it took me a long time to read enough, (and write enough bad advertising), that I could properly convey the technical quality I was after. Writing a good line or paragraph takes practice. I can’t say I’ve hit the perfect sweet spot yet, but I’m getting closer.

Where do you get your inspiration from?

Everything. I think writers are just observers, or critics, of life. I take mental notes of conversations I have, of people I see, of moments in a day that derive something “new”. I think originality is the best thing a writer can offer. If something feels new and interesting to me, I get the inspiration to write it down. If after a while the novelty wanes, I throw it away. After a while, I have a collection of cool ideas, lines, words, names… anything!

What is hardest – getting published, writing or marketing?

Yes, those are the hardest.

Best friends Duncan and Ray run a successful bookie business in Phoenix. Outgrowing the life they began in college, the late twenty-something pair set out on the road with a plan to never return. Their trip takes them cross-country with eventful stops in Las Vegas, Omaha, and Niagara Falls. Along their journey they meet several colorful characters and even agree to bring a pretty young girl named Ruby along with them for the ride. Landing in Boston to run an errand for an old friend, the travelers begin to lay roots in an attempt to forge for themselves the life they’d always hoped for. Easier said than done. As romances begin to burgeon, and one of their lives is put in danger, the group quickly discovers that where they are may indeed have little effect on who they are.

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – Contemporary Fiction/Literary Fiction

Rating – R

More details about the author

Connect with Brad Cotton on Facebook & Twitter

Website http://www.bradcotton.com/

Author Interview – Vadim Babenko

Who is your publisher? Ergo Sum Publishing is my own imprint. After getting two earlier novels published by major Russian houses, I decided to switch to self-publishing and have never regretted my decision. It takes a lot of resources and effort to create a perfect, professional-looking book and then market it on your own. But if one can do that, I see no reason to give away rights to a book to some other party. Now, finally, there are channels such as Amazon.com which can bring books to the attention of the widest-possible audience while bypassing the traditional “middlemen.” It’s a publishing industry revolution, no less, and represents an exciting time for writers.

What was the hardest part about writing this book? I think the most difficult part of writing any novel is maintaining the required level of energy and concentration for several years it takes to complete it. SEMMANT wasn’t different in this regard.

Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp? Of course, and there isn’t just one. To simplify greatly and make it very short, I’ll say it as it appears on my website: “Never tamper with love!”

Have you included a lot of your life experiences, even friends, in the plot? I did include some, but not much.

What are your goals as a writer? To express in proper words everything I have to say, and to put all my energy into that.

Do you have to travel much concerning your book(s)? I do travel a lot regardless of my books. And I write only about those places which I know really well.

What books have most influenced your life? “War and Peace” by Leo Tolstoy; the poetry of Alexander Pushkin and Joseph Brodsky; “The Castle” and short stories by Franz Kafka.

His crafty plan results in a deadly threat. Her hopes keep her locked in a vicious circle. They parted ways, supposedly forever. But will they be able to live apart?

Elizaveta, an attractive Muscovite, experiences a series of odd events: she is followed; she receives anonymous calls, flowers, and gifts. The culprit is her former lover, Timofey. He now lives far from Moscow and has a flourishing business, but a serious threat emerges when the daughter of a local mafia boss wants to marry him. Timofey knows his life is at risk if he says no. He creates a cunning scheme to save himself by staging a sham marriage with Elizaveta playing a primary role. Masterfully manipulating her feelings, Timofey persuades her to come visit him in his small town, but things soon take a dramatic turn.

A seemingly romantic journey becomes a struggle for survival. Timofey and Elizaveta confront real danger when they least expect it. Love and deception reveal their essence when the best of intentions come into conflict with each other. The protagonists try hard to achieve their goals, but, in the end, each of them finds something much different instead. Illusion, ultimately, proves stronger than reality. And coincidences are often not so random after all.

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Genre – Literary Fiction

Rating – PG13

More details about the author

Website http://www.vadimbabenko.com/