Author Spotlight: Karolyn James

Today we are spotlighting author Karolyn James in celebration of her new bookrelease.

Her new book Buried Notes was released today and is the fourth one in "The Brothers of Rock" series. Enjoy!

Jess is caught off guard when a sexy stranger buys her a cup of coffee and asks her to sit with him. He's mysterious, nice, and even though he says the right things at the right time, Jess can sense that there's something hidden about him.
*
As Johnnie sits across from the beautiful woman, he can't believe she doesn't recognize him. Everyone does. It comes with the territory when you're the lead singer of one of the hottest bands in the world, Chasing Cross. With one more show to go before taking a small break in touring, it feels like luck is on Johnnie's side. That is, if he can find a way to tell Jess who he is, without scaring her off.
*
After her best friend begs her to come to a concert, Jess finds herself standing in the middle of a crowd. The lights are off, music begins, and the crowd erupts in cheers. She doesn't know much about the band, but that's all about to change. When the lights come on, Jess can't believe her eyes. The lead singer of the band is the man from the café.
*
Plucked from the crowd during the show, Jess makes her way backstage. The encore may have ended on stage, but the real show is just about to begin. Johnnie's passion quickly turns to romance but the more time he and Jess spend together, the more things get complicated. Johnnie has a big decision to make about himself and the band, testing his loyalty and love for the music, and when Jess's dreams start to come true, she starts to realize that true love exists, but it's not always an easy path to take.

Rockstars expect women to show up at their hotel room, but when a woman shows up with an infant and tells Davey he is the father, his world is turned upside down. 

*
Anna is a teacher and part-time waitress, desperate to make enough to pay off debts left to her by an ex-boyfriend who made her life a living hell. When her boss schedules her for an extra shift, he tells her it's her job to take care of a special guest... lead guitarist of Chasing Cross, Davey. The second Anna meets eyes with Davey, she feels something she's wanted for a long time. But with someone famous? That's impossible. Besides, Davey is there with a date.

*
When Davey returns to the restaurant, sans date, he asks to see Anna. She doesn't understand what he would want with her. He is a man with a big heart, kind eyes, and the true power that only a real rockstar could have. Then Anna learns the truth of Davey's life, from his haunted past to his rocky present. Still, she longs to be part of his future. But when Anna's own past turns potentially deadly, life and love suddenly collide in a way that could hurt everyone and leave someone dead.

When Danny boards the private jet for his father's funeral, he knows he isn't just going back home to settle the estate.

*
He is going to back to find her... the girl who loved him, the girl who understood his family problems, and the girl he left behind to chase his dream of becoming a rockstar.
*
Liv Cryers is stuck in Bakersville. Literally. She came back hoping to find peace inside her empty heart, but now she's forced to care for her ailing father who doesn't remember her most days. She's tired of being forgotten. The sounds of her past seem so far away...
*
When rockstars come to town, crazy things can happen...

Finally exposing a secret to his band after years of hiding, Chasing Cross bassist, Chris, confesses that some years ago, during a wild night, he ended up marrying someone. It was supposed to be a no-big-deal kind of thing, with a stipulation... if one of them fell in love or wanted to get married to someone else, they would divorce.
*
Chris has been served divorce papers, and it should be easy to just sign them, but he can't. His heart won't allow it.
*
Becky loses her mother to breast cancer and realizes that life sometimes really is too short. She finds the ring she received from a sexy rockstar the night she secretly married him. The memory should have been fun, but after being pushed into a corner to stay married while that rockstar's band took off, Becky can't do it anymore.
*
She sends divorce papers and waits... and waits... and weeks after sending the papers, she wonders what's taking so long...
*
In a journey that forces Chris to step back in time to find his future, he knows he needs to find Becky - his wife. He isn't sure what he'll find, but he knows he wants the truth.
*
Was it love back then? Or just a crazy night with a rockstar?

//Amazon// Barnes & Noble//


Karolyn James has been published over 100 times, reached bestseller lists on Amazon, and writes in both romance and erotic romance. Her two newest series are the romance hit, Brothers of Rock, and the erotic romance series, Rock Her Curves.

Twitter: @KarolynWrites
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/KarolynJamesAuthor
Blog: www.KarolynJames.wordpress.com
Mailing List: tinyurl.com/KJSignup

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Author Spotlight: Past, Future, Research, and Imagination: Historical vs Science Fiction

Past, Future, Research, and Imagination: Historical vs Science Fiction

by Anne E. Johnson

The signature on my emails and the profile on my Twitter account say I write “Historical and Science Fiction.” To some, these may seem like opposite genres. Historical fiction is about places and times that actually existed. Even characters and events might be drawn from factual research. Science fiction, on the other hand, is about futuristic worlds that can only be imagined. Right?

Not always, as it happens. Historical fiction can require a great deal of imagination, and lean more heavily toward fiction than history. On the other hand, science fiction can require a great amount of research, and I don’t mean just about science. And, while I’ve never tried it, it’s even possible to combine historical with science fiction (as the steampunk sub-genre often does).

Some historical fiction is so thorough in its use of fact, that author really is turning true history into fiction. A good example of this is Debra Brenegan’s novel Shame the Devil. Brenegan did scholarly research that could have led to a nonfiction biography of early feminist writer Fanny Fern. Instead, Brenegan wrote a “novel,” but it’s really a way of bringing the biography to life as fiction. She imagined the exact words spoken by the characters, but nearly every scene is based on research.
Alternatively, for my historical novel A Kiss at Vespers (due out July 19), I did basic research about Britain and Ireland in the early Eleventh Century, finding out things like what the Vikings were up to, which towns were central to trading, and how Irish monasteries were constructed. But all the details are invented. There was no St. Luran’s monastery on the east coast of Ireland at that time, and if there had been, I doubt they would have let a woman stay there, even after she’d been shipwrecked! I decided to let the needs of my story outweigh the force of the historical documents.

Research for science fiction can be just as intense. An excellent recent example is Debris Dreams by David Colby. That’s a near-future story about a teenaged girl living near the moon, and having to defend it by fighting in space. Colby did meticulous research about the physics of that scenario, in order to give a realistic picture of what life would be like if you’d never been to Earth but could see it. Many science fiction (and fantasy) authors also do thorough research about military organizations and the history of warfare and weaponry.

In complete contrast are the books of my Webrid Chronicles, Green Light Delivery and Blue Diamond Delivery. Everything in them is made up: the species, the environment, the physics. Factual research would have done me little good. However, just like in writing historical fiction, the science fiction author has to be consistent. Only, instead of checking everything against research, she checks against the details of her own made-up worlds. It’s important to keep copious lists!

* * * You can learn more about Anne E. Johnson at her website. Purchase Green Light Delviery and Blue Diamond Delivery at Candlemark & Gleam, on Amazon, or on Barnes & Noble. Purchase A Kiss at Vespers at MuseItUp publishing.

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{Author Spotlight} "When I'm not writing" by Shannon Dermott

We wanted to know what Shannon do when she is not writing so we asked her to write a guest post about it! 

When I'm not writing by Shannon Dermott

When I’m not writing I can be found with my family, shopping or reading. And oh, how I love to read. But I don’t often have the time to.

When I do have a chance to read, I’m reading books by some of my favorite authors.

One of them is Nancy Straight. Both of her “new adult” series Destiny and Touched are two of my favorite. Her stories are innovative and unique. I love the way she weaves romance and action to keep your heart pumping. I won’t say more because I don’t want to spoil anything but I will say that they are really worth picking up.

Another favorite author of mine is Charlotte Abel.  She has an edgy young adult series called Channie named after the main character. This series is funny and sexy but still YA.  She also has a “new adult” series that begins with the novel, River’s Recruit. Another world rich series that is so imaginative and interesting, I read through the night.

One more series that I’m dying to read is the final book would be the Significance series by Shelly Crane. The book is Independence.  Oh my goodness, this series is so good. Sweet but on the edge of your seat kind of good. The final book has been released, but I haven’t yet had the time to read it. However, I have it on good authority that it is really good. It tops my list as the next book I will read.

After the holidays and I finish Angel of Mercy, I will be picking up a book.

Everyone dreams of that first kiss. Of that magic moment when your lips finally meet those of that special person you’ve waited your whole life for. A little awkward, a little scary, a little hot and every bit amazing. We speculate that the whole world will shake and time will just stop. No one, however, ever imagines that kiss to bring Death himself knocking. Sixteen year old Mercy Moore's life just got more complicated. The kiss that originally could have meant she would finally have a boyfriend now was the kiss that could have very nearly ended his life. A small detail her mother conveniently never told her will take her life for an abrupt u-turn. Dating, no love, was now completely and utterly impossible. And the boy well, that boy would never be the same.But life, however cruel, goes on. Far too soon for her taste, Mercy finds herself at a senior party with the elite students of her school and her best friend. And of all things, playing a stupid game that could very well mean the death of someone in that small room. If it were not for her best friend, the hottest guys in school, and a small need to fit in, she may have been able to escape the disaster that was to come. Her worst nightmare, her personal curse, her very  life, only gets dangerously worse.

More information about Shannon Dermott:

Shannon's webpage
Shannon on Twitter - - @Shannondermott
Shannon on facebook
Shannon on Goodreads
Shannon's blog

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{Author spotlight} On completing a series by Michelle Madow

This week We have a really interesting guest post by the lovely Michelle Madow! 

Guest Post: On Completing a Series

Hi! I’m Michelle Madow, the author of the Transcend Time Saga. The series starts with my debut novel, Remembrance, which was published on July 25, 2011, and continues with the short bridge story Vengeance, which was published on December 8, 2011. The final novel in the series, Timeless, came out on November 20, 2012. This is my first finished series, and writing and publishing it has been such a wonderful journey.

Writing the final book in a series was definitely harder than writing the first book. Since it was the concluding book, I had to amp up the adventure and the stakes for the main characters. Remembrance all took place in Pembrooke, New Hampshire, the small town where Lizzie, Drew, and Chelsea live and go to school. They dealt with challenges in their relationships, especially with the added magical element of reincarnation. In Timeless, there is more magic in the story, since I introduced witchcraft and time travel. I needed the proper balance between the fantasy elements and the contemporary elements to make the book believable to the reader. Of course, one must always suspend disbelief while reading about fantastical elements such as witchcraft and time travel, but I do believe that I achieved the balance I was aiming for. 

Another important aspect of completing a series is to ensure that there are no loose ends. I hate when I’ve devoted myself to reading a series, and then it’s the end, and it’s “left up to the reader’s interpretation.” I get so annoyed at that! I didn’t invest myself into characters and a story only to not know how it all ends! I promise you that there is a concrete end to Timeless, so you will not be left hanging at the end of the series. 

Writing the Transcend Time Saga has been an incredible experience. It’s amazing to share this story with the world, and while it’s sad to say goodbye to these characters who I’ve invested myself into for the past few years, I’m also looking forward to moving on to new projects in the future. 

Thank you, and I hope you enjoy the Transcend Time Saga!

TIMELESS, the third and final part of the Transcend Time Saga by Michelle Madow, released on November 20, 2012. The Transcend Time Saga is about a high school student named Lizzie who has been reincarnated from Regency Era, England, but doesn’t realize it until she meets her soul mate from the past and he triggers her memories to gradually return. The series began with REMEMBRANCE (published July 25, 2011), and continued with the short story VENGEANCE (published December 8, 2011). The series has sold a significant number of copies so far, and has received much praise from reviewers.

Quotes from Reviewers about TIMELESS

"The combination of time travel, magic, and love makes Timeless an unforgettable page turner!"-For Those About to Read

"Timeless had great twists, particularly towards the end. For something inspired by a Taylor Swift song, Michelle has come up with a great series!"-Addiction to Words Reviews

"Just when I think I know what to expect, Michelle throws me a curveball! It was spectacular. And marvelous. And a little bit daring, which is what makes Timeless stand out so much!"

-Sparkles and Lightning

Purchase links:
REMEBRANCE: Amazon | B&N | book depository | ibookstore | kobo
VENGENCE:       Amazon | B&N | book depository | ibookstore | kobo
TIMELESS:         Amazon | B&N | book depository | ibookstore | kobo

For more info about Michelle Madow and her books go to;

Twitter:  @michellemadow

Blog of Michelle Madow

Official website

Facebook personal

Facebook fanpage

Goodreads

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Author spotlight: Excerpt from Word and deed by Susannah Noel

Welcome to the last week of this month´s Author spotlight with Susannah Noel. 

Susannah wanted to share with you an excerpt from her latest book word and deed.

Excerpt from Word and Deed book 2 in the wordless chronicles

Riana Cole had infiltrated a Union stronghold before, but she’d forgotten how nerve-wracking it could be.

It had been almost three months since she’d done anything so risky.

Her heart raced as she entered through the double glass doors into the spacious lobby of the Exhibition—as sleek and sanitized as all Union buildings with the requisite decorative waterfall cascading down one wall.

Connor walked in front of her, looking masculine, attractive, and rather un-Connor-like in the charcoal gray uniform of a Union guard and not wearing his glasses.

Without hesitation, he strode toward the welcome desk and barked out that he’d been ordered to escort a Reader to the Book Room.

He made sure to sound less than enthusiastic about his task.

Riana stood quietly behind him, relieved when the bored attendant behind the desk glanced at the ID Connor flashed and gestured toward the metal detectors all visitors had to walk through.

The official name of the museum was the National Exhibition of Union History, but everyone just called it the Exhibition. It housed art and artifacts from the past, all selected and presented in a way to support Union values rather than to encourage appreciation of the objects in their own right.

The Exhibition was almost always empty, and Union officials weren’t displeased with that fact.

There were two armed guards near the metal detector—a normal display of power for any Union building.

Riana kept her eyes down, trying to remember how she would have acted in this situation when she’d actually been a Reader.

Just three months ago. She’d lived a different life.

“What’s your business?” one of the guards asked Connor as they approached.

“Escorting her,” Connor replied gruffly, giving Riana a disparaging look. “She’s a Reader and needs to look at an old book. Sent by the supervisor.”

The guard was not particularly interested in a mission so irrelevant. He waved them through the metal detector without further questioning.

Connor stepped back to let Riana go through first. When she hesitated, he put his hand on her back to guide her in.

It wasn’t a gentle nudge – it was closer to a shove. Even though she knew Connor was playing a part, she didn’t have to fake a scowl of annoyance over her shoulder.

The second guard snickered as they walked through the security station and into the Great Hall of the Exhibition.

Connor slanted her an apologetic look as they entered the huge airy room, which was lined with gleaming glass cases of artifacts and supported by stainless steel beams.

The hall was silent as the grave.

Since there was no one around, Riana risked a tiny smile which was answered by Connor’s blue eyes.

Both of them knew where the Book Room was located, so they made their way to the public elevator and ascended to the fourth and highest level of the building.

They walked through an empty hallway to the back corner of the floor where the Book Room—more like a Book Closet—was located.

Books, of course, would not get pride of place in today’s Union. They were only kept here at all as archaic reminders of a past they’d long since left behind. If they’d pressed the large red button on the wall, a disembodied voice would provide a slanted history of books, emphasizing how much trouble they had led to in times gone by.

They didn’t press the button.

Instead, Connor quietly shut the door so no random passerby could see what they were doing.

After finding no security camera in the room, they both started scanning the shelves to locate the particular book they’d come here to read.

“What a waste,” Riana murmured, running her hand over the spine of a beautiful leather-bound collection of early post-Cataclysmic poetry. “All these amazing books that no one bothers to even look at anymore.”

“Try not to think about it.” Connor smiled at her, causing lines around his eyes to crinkle. He was wearing contact lenses, since Union guards didn’t wear glasses. He obviously didn’t like them, since he kept blinking a lot more than normal.

Riana wasn’t sure she liked them either. He didn’t really look like her old friend of so many years.

“Do you know what the book looks like? What size and binding?” he asked.

“It was slim and leather bound. Maybe a dark red or brown. I can’t remember it very well.”

She and Connor had been working on their translation project for the last three months. They’d made some significant progress in translating the coded version of the Old Language found in the mysterious book so many people had risked so much for. But they still weren’t very far along.

Yesterday, they'd had a lucky break, finding that the book’s first section appeared to quote briefly from a philosophical text they knew was available in full in the traditional Old Language they both could read.

Riana’s grandfather, Marshall Cole, had owned a copy. About half of his library had ended up in the Exhibition when the Union had confiscated his belongings at his death.

If they could look at that book and get a copy of the quoted passage written in the Old Language, then the comparison would greatly help their translation of the coded language.

Riana felt familiar shivers of excitement at the presence of all these books, some of which used to be her grandfather’s. The feeling was old-fashioned and sentimental in a culture like theirs in which reading was obsolete—replaced by voice recordings, images, and symbols—and in which excess emotion was frowned upon.

Riana didn’t care what the rest of the world did. She loved books, and she’d loved her grandfather.

 “Here it is,” Connor said after searching for about five minutes. He pulled a tall, thin volume off the top shelf. She walked over and peered at the pages as he flipped them.

It took them a few minutes to find the page with the quotation they needed and then another few minutes as Connor meticulously copied out the words.

Soon, however, he replaced the book on its shelf, and Riana felt a surge of excitement. Their mission hadn’t been particularly dangerous—certainly not as dangerous as many of the Front’s normal activities. But there had been some risk involved, and now they had nearly accomplished it.

“Oh look,” she said suddenly, catching a glimpse of a familiar book on a lower shelf. “This one was my grandfather’s too. I loved this book.”

She leaned over and pulled out the vinyl-bound storybook, scanning through the illustrated pages of the simple fables. “He used to read the stories to us at bedtime. My favorite was about a frog who lived under a lily pad.”

Connor smiled—warm, almost tender—and for a moment they shared a moment of perfect understanding and appreciation.

Then he said, “We need to go.”

“Right.” She replaced the book and fell in step with him as they left the Book Room.

They didn’t speak as they descended on the elevator, and they’d almost reached the lobby when they both jerked to a stop at the sudden blaring of an alarm.

She should have known this trip was going too smoothly.

They’d been caught.

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Author Spotlight: Guest post by Susannah Noel

As part of Author in the spotlight our featured Author is doing a guest post for all our readers today! Enjoy!

************************************************************************

As a reader, I can never decide which kind of hero I like best. 

Sometimes, I prefer the traditional alpha hero—powerful, handsome, always in control, with a weakness only for the heroine. But then I’ll read a great book with a different sort of hero, and I’ll change my mind and decide the best heroes are those slightly outside the norm, maybe a little geeky, not always master of the room, but still strong in all the ways it counts. 

Writing Word and Breath was a great opportunity to explore both kinds of heroes and compare how they think and act with the same woman. 

Mikel is my traditional alpha-male. As a Soul-Breather, he’s naturally the most powerful person in any room he walks into, and he has all of the typical characteristics of an alpha-hero, including the way he gradually softens as he falls in love. 

Connor is also a hero of the series—but definitely not a typical alpha. He’s a book-nerd, slightly clumsy and unassuming. He has also been in love with Riana for years without ever pursuing his feelings. 

I’ve had some readers tell me they prefer Connor and others tell me they prefer Mikel. I’m always fascinated by which hero will end up more popular. 

Here’s a short excerpt from the first time the two characters meet. 

*** 

Mikel didn’t like Connor at all. 

He wasn’t disposed to like bookish sort of men anyway, and there was something about Connor’s quiet, self-deprecating manner—and the way everyone else still looked at him like he were someone to respect and admire—that bugged him. 

His real aversion might have more to do with what he sensed between Connor and Riana. 

Riana and Mikel had come together to the basement of a grungy drugstore where they were holding the illicit meeting. Everyone else was already present when they walked in. 

Tava he’d already met and respected. Kelvin had been one of the armed men in his apartment the previous afternoon—a competent man if not a particularly articulate one. Donn and Posen were unknown quantities, both men holding low-level positions for the Union in offices they might need to access to find Jannie Cole. 

But Connor he’d disliked immediately. As soon as he’d seen the look Riana and Connor exchanged. 

It wasn’t a romantic look or a passionate one. It wasn’t even a particularly happy one. But it revealed a history between them, a bond that went farther back than he’d expected. A knowledge and trust that was so ingrained as to be unconscious. 

She knew Connor and trusted him in a way she’d never trusted Mikel. 

And Mikel was evidently petty enough to resent Connor for that. 

It was a surprising part of his nature he’d never suspected before. He wished he’d responded in another way. 

But there it was. 

He didn’t like Connor. 

And Connor was obviously in charge here.

Guest author: Susannah Noel
Part of our Spotlight feature
Blog:
 http://susannah-noel.com/ 
Amazon buy link:
http://www.amazon.com/Word-Breath-Wordless-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B008UM8XRM
Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15813110-word-and-breath
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/SusannahNoelAuthor
Twitter:
  https://twitter.com/SusannahNoel1

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Author Spotlight: Guestpost by Susannah Noel

10 Reasons to Read Word and Breath

1. Word and Breath is a book for book lovers—all about the power that books possess for us and what happens when books are denied. 

2. Soul-Breathers are a new paranormal creature with some very fun and fascinating powers.

3. One of the heroes is on the geeky side but still manages to be adorable. 

4. The bad guy—or at least one of the bad guys—isn’t really so bad after all. You might even end up liking him. 

5. The main character isn’t perfect. She’s like a normal person—starting off a little weak and scared but ending up growing as the story continues. 

6. The story is told from multiple perspectives, so you can get into the minds of four different characters and really get to know them. 

7. The setting is an urban, dystopian world, so it combines characteristics of both dystopian books and urban fantasy books. 

8. There’s a kind of love-triangle, for people who like them, but hopefully it’s not an annoying one. The central relationship conflict for the heroine is being torn between one man who shares her ideals and another who’s claimed her emotions, and that conflict will end up determining her fate, not just her romantic choice. 

9. There’s quite a bit of action, with the main characters nearly always in danger of their lives. But it’s not one action scene after another. There’s a lot of character development and romance too! 

10. All of the characters are—consciously or unconsciously—searching for something that matters in a world that tells them nothing really matters. I think a lot of us can relate to that search. 

Riana has learned how to stay out of trouble. She spends her days studying written texts in the government’s Office of Readers, and she spends her nights taking care of her sick sister. She always—always—follows the rules. Despite her low profile, she has mysteriously become a target. Someone has kidnapped her sister. Someone else is trying to kill her. And someone has sent a Soul-Breather to beguile her out of her secrets.

Her help comes from the mythic leader of an underground rebel movement. A man who used to be her friend. A man who has silently loved her for years. He disappeared from her life without a word, and now he expects her to trust him again.

Then there’s the Soul-Breather, a man who can taste her spirit with only a touch. He makes her feel things she’s never experienced before, but she doesn’t know if the feelings are real. Hired to deceive and betray her, he offers to help her instead.

Without both men, she can’t rescue her sister. And she can’t discover the world-changing knowledge—buried in her memory—that has made her a target in the first place.

Guest author: Susannah Noel
Part of our Spotlight feature
Blog:
 http://susannah-noel.com/ 
Amazon buy link:
http://www.amazon.com/Word-Breath-Wordless-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B008UM8XRM
Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15813110-word-and-breath
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/SusannahNoelAuthor
Twitter:
  https://twitter.com/SusannahNoel1

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Write like the wind, edit like an architect

We have the pleasure to enjoy a wonderful guest post by Robin today! We hope you will all like it and this is the perfect read for all of you who hope to become an writer one day! 

ENJOY

WRITING ADVICE, ROBIN STYLE

Write like the wind, edit like an architect. That is what a dear friend, mentor, and great Author, Aaron P. Lazar once told me.

As a child, I read anything I could get my hands on and I loved writing and telling stories. But as I grew older, I found less and less time to read or write. I missed these activities, but I was busy raising my children and attending to other responsibilities

After I grew older, writing became less of a priority, and was subsequently put on the back burner for many years while I raised a family. As my children grew to adolescents, I once again found time to read and I even started penning short stories.

One cozy winter day, my teens were at school and I became consumed by the urge to read. I picked up a book a friend had given to me, poured a cup of coffee, and snuck away to my little corner. Disappointment quickly set in when it became apparent I could not even get through the first chapter. I grew completely frustrated and closed the book. I had no idea what the plot was supposed to be, and the writing was horrible. The author had mixed tenses, and in one loooooooong paragraph, the author changed POV’s three times. I had no idea which character was speaking at any given point. I didn’t know much about the technical side of writing at the time, but I knew enough to understand the book was fatally flawed.

Determined not to let anything get the best of me, I waited a few days and picked up the book again. After thirty minutes of reading ad re-reading, I slung the book across the room. My husband asked me what was wrong. I told him about the writing and how even I could write better than that garbage. Evidently, he took me seriously. He calmly asked what I was waiting for. I just laughed, and told him I was not a writer anymore. However, that day he planted a seed, and the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to try it.

Eventually, I sat down at the computer, and started writing what I loved to read—FBI suspense/thrillers. I admit, it took a few minutes to get the creative juices flowing, but once I did, the pages started filling up.

After a few days, it all suddenly came to a screeching halt when I realized I did not have a clue about the technical side of an FBI agent’s career. I had not done an outline, or character sheets, or research, or anything. (Mistake # 1.) Readers tend to frown when the book their reading does not seem realistic, even though it is fiction.

Again, my husband said, “Get on the internet. I know you know how to do that. You’re on it all the time.” After giving him the evil eye, I went to work on to the internet. It did not go well to say the least. I was lost in this huge mass of information, and did not know whose advice to follow.

 I decided to search for authors who wrote in my same genre. From there I looked at their work and biographies, and I contacted the ones who seemed to have the most in common. I told them I was new, and asked for advice, and to my surprise, several were happy to oblige.

I continued writing, and as soon as I finished the manuscript, I started querying agents. (mistake # 2) I had been so anxious to be the next great author, I did not take the time to edit my novel. It was so full of grammatical errors no one would touch it. I queried more than sixty agents and all of them ended with rejections.

I was about to give up (mistake # 3), until I met a great friend, John Francis, also a writer, and he suggested I write some short stories and offer them for free on various sites to get my name out there. I joined several writers’ sites, met more great people, and began implementing what I had learned. The next thing I knew, I had a blog, a mentor, beta readers, an editor, and almost two thousand new friends on facebook.

I know, I know, you are asking yourself what does all of this has to do with me? In short, this is what I have learned. First: you need to figure out what kind of writer you want to be, and then you must do research on the subject, and lots of it, before you even think about starting your novel. Second: you have to figure out who your characters are and develop them, because if you do not, you will end up with a poorly written book. Third: make time every single day to write. Whether it is thirty minutes, an hour, or five hours. It is not as important what you write, but the fact that you write something every day. The only way to become a better writer is to write. The fourth and final thing is always finish what you start. There is no better feeling in the world than when you type those final two words…the end.

Oh, and I also want to add; when you become successful—and you will as long as you never give up—please don’t ever forget what is was like when you were a newbie. You will meet people along your journey that will remind you of where you were at one time or another. Take time to help them in some way, even if it is only giving them a little advice. Remember, writing is all about enlightening or entertaining the world, it is not about how much money you can make.

Thank you so much Robin for that awesome guest post!

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AIS: Building character by Robin P Waldrop

Guest post by Robin P Waldrop 

BUILDING CHARACTER PROFILES

There are times when we have a minor character enter a scene and we need to know about them right away. They’re only in the scene a few seconds so we judge them by their physical appearance and the one or two lines they might say, then they’re gone.  So we just stereotype them. The tall skinny man waving a newspaper screamed, “Look out!” Or the busty blonde in the tight sweater asked, “Do you have the time?” We are all familiar with these types of characters. We’ve seen them in tiny, but effective doses.

Our main characters have to be much more complex and fleshed out. They need to have complex personalities, complex strengths, hidden pasts, ones they might not even know exist. They have to have endearing qualities so we can bond with them, maybe even sympathize with. Building these types of characters is what makes for a mesmerizing read.

When I decide on the type of character I want, I find a picture that represents how I see them and then I build from there. I use a character sheet and answer some questions, ie…height, weight, build, hair/eye color, where they were born, their age, likes and dislikes. This part is essential. Even if these things are never mentioned in the book the author knows the answers and that’s how they’re able to make a one-dimensional character turn into an intriguing realistic person their readers either fall in love with, or hate more than anything (ie…the antagonist).

There are many ways to build character profiles and every author approaches the subject differently. The bottom line is a good author will not only fool the reader into believing the character is real…they’ll fool themselves into believing it, too. 

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Thank you so much Robin for that great guest post. We love having you in our Author in the spotlight month!

I love when I read a book and I feel like I know the character and sometimes it really feels like the person is real, like a best friend during the time I spend inside the book with the character. The best books are written in a way that you can really feel the like and dislikes the characters have even though it isn´t exactly written, you still knows it because the author is that good at making the characters to become alive. So Robin I agree with you as an author, a great author, you really need to fool not only us but yourself as well!! This is such a great advise to all aspiring Authors out there!

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Author In the Spotlight:When the Going gets tough by Jessie Lane

When The Going Gets Tough

Remember that phrase? When the going gets tough, the tough get going. But what is the measure of being tough? Who do you see and think, “Wow, they’ve got a will made of granite. Unbreakable.”

Do you assume it’s the guy who looks as if he’s spent half of his life dedicated to the gym and has muscles on top of his muscles? Or do you look at the quiet, slight slip of a teenage girl sitting in the Oncologist office, and realize beneath her pain she holds more determination than a whole gym full of muscle bound tough guys?

When Kay, the main character from The Burning Star, is diagnosed with a fast moving terminal cancer, her world stops. Being only seventeen years old, Kay is devastated when the Oncologists tell her that she will not live long past her eighteenth birthday, which is just months away. She watches as her Mom refuses to accept the doctor’s diagnosis and starts making plans to find a miracle cure. Kay battles with her emotions as she does her best to comfort her mom. She regrets not living her life to its fullest and the missed opportunities she had to be more of the person she always wanted to be. She never planned on being the quiet girl in the corner reading a book. She wanted to live the adventure. Experience that once in a lifetime love. Not just imagine what it was like through her favorite characters in the books she’s read. Now she has to plan the best way to say goodbye to her mother.

Out of the blue she meets Ryan. An inhumanly hot guy who saves her from an animal that suspiciously looks anything but normal. But after Ryan assures her it’s just a rabid dog and then blows her away by asking her, Ms.-Completely-Awkward-Around-All-Hot-Guys, out on a date, she sees her opportunity to live a little before she dies. Maybe even experience her first kiss. Then the insane happens. Her cute satellite installer guy, Nick, also asks for her phone number. Suddenly the girl who had her life before her but didn’t live at all is now the girl who has a timestamp on her future but is cramming all that she can into that life.

When her first date with Ryan goes horribly wrong, and a chain of unbelievable events unfolds, Kay finds out that there is more going on in her life than her cancer. Now she’s surrounded by the fact that things she believed were only fairytales or myths in books are real. Ryan is trying to convince her that she’s something that she’s not, and her mother has secrets so big, that it could blow her whole world apart. And when the going gets tough, Kay gets going.

Kay takes on all of her new obstacles head on. She never lets the protective, but pushy, Ryan and Nick tell her what she should do, or how to do it. This is her adventure, and she’s going to live it. But halfway through her journey to everything she never dreamed would be possible; she finds out that there might be a miracle cure for her after all. With new hope on the horizon, Kay will do anything to find a cure. But will she live long enough to find it?

Now who’s tough?

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