Brietta Tatro - 10 THINGS I DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT SELF-PUBLISHING @BriettaTatro

10 THINGS I DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT SELF-PUBLISHING

After five years of writing and editing and more writing and polishing, I decided to take the self-publishing route. While I cannot say whether or not I chose wisely, I can share some of the lessons I’ve learned along the way.

1.) TO MARKET, TO MARKET: Here’s a little twist on the old tree falling in the forest question: if a book appears for sale online and no one knows about it, does it really exist? In what may have been the cruelest cut of all for an introvert like me, I realized that it wasn’t enough just to write a book, I had to market it as well. Thus began a steep learning curve… part of which is this blog post!

2.) LANGUAGE LESSONS: If you’re not tech-savvy, then you better know someone who is. I know enough to get around online, but when people start tossing out terms like epub and mobi files and metadata and widgets, I panic. It really is all Greek to me. Thankfully, I have a couple of tech-savvy people in my life who have held my hand the whole way.

3.) ISBN: I’ll be honest. This one is still a muddy issue for me. I thought, “One book, one ISBN, right?” Wrong. Evidently, a different ISBN is needed for each platform on which you publish. So one for Amazon, one for Barnes and Noble, one for Kobo and so on (but don’t quote me on this, because I am not an expert). To make matters more confusing, some of these entities have their own internal identifying numbers. See? Clear as mud.

4.) JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER: I’ve always known that people really do judge books by their covers, but for some reason I forgot this when it came to my own. I reasoned that a graphic designer would be too expensive and I could get by without one. When I finally decided to revamp the cover, I did some research and found a graphic designer whose previous work fit my own aesthetic (a big shout out to Streetlight Graphics here!). They created a gorgeous cover that not only pops off the screen, it also tells a story. And it wasn’t that expensive.

5.) “LIKE” ME!… OR ELSE: At the same time I commissioned a new cover, I put in a request for a Facebook banner. For me, creating a FB page was way more daunting than publishing my book online. The act of hanging out my shingle and declaring myself an author felt audacious. Even more daunting was sending out invitations to “like” my page. This scenario was ripe for all sorts of insecurities to rear their ugly heads, but it turned out alright in the end. I now have a lot of fun with my FB page; not only do I use it as a platform to promote my book, I also funnel my literary musings, memes, quotes and blog posts through there. So… “like” me? https://www.facebook.com/AuthorBriettaTatro

6.) TO BLOG OR NOT TO BLOG: I’m not a very disciplined writer and I begged off of blogging for years because I reasoned that if the stars do align and I not only have the time, but the creative energy to write, I should spend that working on my book, not a blog. A compromise was needed. After I placed my book on Goodreads, I noticed they had an option for an author blog. Et voilà, my blog Fierce Bee and Other Falsehoods was born. My posts are used occasionally for promotional purposes, but usually they’re random essays springing from the impulse of the moment. Not only is Fierce Bee an outlet to express myself outside of Echo’s world, it’s also a way to connect with my readers on another level.

7.) HUMBLE TWITTER PIE: Speaking of blogs, I recently recounted my Twitter tale on my blog. For years, I have resisted joining Twitter. As a self-described wallflower, I’m intimidated by Twitter; it’s like Facebook on steroids, a colossal spider‘s web of self-promotion. Then I ran into another author who set me straight. After I loftily declared to her that I would never open up a Twitter account, she solemnly replied that it had been the most helpful tool for marketing her book. Before I could respond, her attention was diverted and I was left standing there… foot in mouth. How did I redeem myself? I went home and set up a Twitter account. Oh how the mighty have fallen. J

8.) MAD WOMAN: In another example of the mighty falling, I was also very much against the notion of advertising. I dipped my toe into the ad waters this month, however, and am coming around to the idea. My budget is small, but I now see how a small ad campaign here and there can be quite helpful.

9.) POSTCARDS FROM THE UNDERWORLD: I contacted that wonderful graphic designer again and asked if they could design a promotional postcard for me. They did and I sent it off to the printer and my order just arrived last week. My plan is to hit up friends with businesses to put some postcards out for their customers to see. I’m also going to visit local middle and high schools and offer to speak about my writing experience to English classes and I will have the postcards to hand out.

10.) IT’S ALREADY AWESOME SAUCE: I encountered this inspired phrase at a recent book club meeting and instantly imagined an old fashioned glass medicine bottle full of magical BBQ sauce. When I start to doubt myself or the path I’ve chosen, I can just conjure up an image of this bottle as a reminder that whatever happens or doesn’t happen with my book, it’s already awesome sauce. The joy is in the journey, not the destination.

On an autumn afternoon, seventeen year-old Echo Tenbrook slips into a woodland park near her Seattle home and unwittingly awakens her ability to perceive the spirit world, setting into motion a chain of events that will lead her across the globe and into a lost world.

When Echo and her younger sister Persephone are lured into a forbidden cave in the shadow of their ancestral Tuscan villa, they find themselves at the mercy of Oca, a witch who has need of Echo’s sixth sense. To save her sister’s life, Echo undertakes a perilous quest to find a magical tree, long since hidden by a dead king. With Oca’s mysterious servant Samuel as her guide and protector, Echo travels across a subterranean sea to an ancient city and beyond, encountering dangerous obstacles and mythological creatures along the way.

The farther she travels into the unknown, the deeper Echo falls under the twin spells of the Underworld and her guide, Samuel. But not all is as it seems. Before Echo completes her quest, she will learn the full extent of Oca’s treachery. With the lives of many hanging in the balance and her own heart on the line, Echo will have to find the courage to confront the darkness that envelops her, inside and out.

Inspired by fairy tales and mythology, Echo in the Underworld is an enchanting adventure story that celebrates the discovery of magic, of things lost and found and of one’s quiet inner strength when all hope seems gone.

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Genre - Young Adult Fantasy

Rating – PG

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Move Pain Out of Your Body by Anne Asher @AnneAsher

THE PELVIS

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As a unit of body structure, the pelvis is like the Grand Central Station for movement, balance and locomotive power. ﾠIt houses the physical center of your body, transmitting the forces of movement to structures both above and below it. ﾠThe pelvis provides part of the hip joints, which as you’ll see, are critical for locomotion, well aligned posture and a healthy back.ﾠ A number of posture specific muscles attach onto and run through the pelvis, as well.

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USE PELVIC POSITION TO HARMONIZE YOUR CORE WORK

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By putting your pelvic bone in a level position right from the start, you set yourself up to address the true underlying causes of most back pain – i.e. core muscles that have ceased to work in harmony with one another.ﾠ This disharmony is generally due to non-ideal, day-in and day-out postural habits, injury, emotional states, and the cumulative demands of life as they pull on your alignment.ﾠ As a result of the disharmony, some core muscles get really strong and/or tighten up, while others become overstretched and/or weak.ﾠ That’s what I mean by muscle imbalance.

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For your reference, check out the picture called "The Centrally Located Pelvis" to see the pelvic bone in its entirety.ﾠ (You'll see this again as we delve further into the anatomy of the pelvis.)

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THE BIG 3 - HIP BONES, TAIL BONE & HIP JOINTS

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Before we can really get started doing core activation techniques, we need to identify pelvic anatomy relevant to your back health.ﾠ This is a topic that can go on indefinitely; for our purposes, though, I’ll introduce 3 areas – I call them “The Big Three” - that I consider key for the beginner.

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#1- Your Big ‘Ole Hip Bones

The first of the Big 3 is an obvious place on the pelvis I call “the Big 'Ole Hip Bones”.ﾠ As the name implies, locating these structures is easy to do.ﾠ They are the solid structures located just under your waist.ﾠ Find them now by assuming an “arms akimbo” position.ﾠ In other words, put your hands on your hips!ﾠ If you feel the big bones under your hands, you’re off to a good start.

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The Big 'Ole Hip Bones are a “landmark” we’ll use when we work the pelvis as a whole unit.ﾠ You’ll refer to these “landmarks” when you do the Pelvic Tilt exercise, as well as the exercises for which a Pelvic Tilt is the foundational movement.ﾠ Examples of such exercises include the Glute Bridge, the Core Strengthening in Prone and the Cat-Cow warm up stretch in the All 4s position. (Instructions are given in Section 3 - Exercise.)

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The remaining anatomical points on or near the pelvis we need to locate to get started with core activation are the tail bone and your hip joints. As I mentioned, these are not the only places on the pelvis to befriend.ﾠ But for our purposes, they may initially provide you with the means for freeing yourself from a stuck way of moving that very often[Anne Ashe1] leads to pain, poor posture, activity limitation, and of course, muscle imbalance.

MY BACK HURTS!How often have you uttered those words? For backache relief, most experts recommend exercise, particularly core strengthening exercise.  This book takes a holistic approach to back exercise and core strength. The first part helps you build a foundation of techniques that may aid in establishing alignment, relieving muscle tension, and activating the highly supportive core abdominal muscles.

You can use this holistic foundation as a standalone pain relief session.

But the book goes much further than that. You’ll learn how to apply the holistic foundation to a generic back exercise program. Weaving in these specialize holistic techniques will likely transform the hackneyed, hum-drum basic exercises you see over and over again into a unique healing and body empowering experience.  You’ll learn how moving with good body alignment may vastly (and quickly) improve your flexibility and functionality.

There are lots of informative pictures and the language is conversational. While you’ll likely learn a lot about how your body moves, it can be easy, and even fun, to master the techniques set forth in this book.

From the Author.  Plagued with injuries and spinal conditions galore, I began using movement as a healing art at a young age. Not only did this approach exceed my expectations for pain relief, but it was interesting and fun to do.  The great results I got from using movement to heal my body inspired me to share my knowledge with others. So once I got my mojo back, I went on to teach; I have helped hundreds of people relieve pain and recover their chosen lifestyles where conventional medicine could not. I continue to evolve my own eclectic blend that weaves together a number of excellent holistic systems including Pilates, yoga, Feldenkrais and others.

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Genre - Non-Fiction, Health

Rating – G

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Michael Dismuke – 10 Tips for Becoming a Better Writer @MTDismuke

10 Tips for Becoming a Better Writer

1.     Never write while operating a motor vehicle or heavy machinery.

2.     The delete key is your best friend, get to know him.

3.     There is no need to light a candle, it’s just a story.

4.     It’s okay if your mom or spouse edits your work, just don’t tell everyone.

5.     It’s not immoral to kill off characters with the likeness and name of friends, family and co-workers, tell them it was somebody else.

6.     If you are unable to hold your breath long enough to finish reading the paragraph, it was probably too long to begin with.

7.     If you had to look the word up in a dictionary, the chances are, so will I.

8.     Naming characters can be fun, but if you wouldn’t name your own child that, don’t even go there.

9.     If you find yourself stuck in the story, have your main character kill everyone, just for fun.

10. Finally, it’s your story, write it the way you want to write it and don’t let anyone else tell you otherwise.

An otherworldly force opens a gate in a remote mountain range in Colorado and unleashes an alien organism into the forest. Once the gate opens, a shield is placed over the entire area blocking all communications in or out of the zone. It then releases a time pulse every 30 minutes locking everything inside the shield into a checkpoint. If anything destroys the gate, everything within the shield is reset back to the previous checkpoint before the gate was destroyed.

The organism is highly infectious and anything it touches mutates and joins the invading force. They become soldiers with a darker will and help spread the infection even further. Survivors caught within the shield try to escape and stop the organism from leaving, but something keeps destroying the gate, resetting time, and changing their fates.

INVASION is the first volume in the Darkness & Daemons series, event 1-10.

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Genre – SciFi Horror

Rating – PG-13

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The Making of a Sensational Best Seller – London Tracy

The Making of a Sensational Best Seller

It should warm every writer’s heart knowing that even if he or she does not obtain an agent, or find a publisher to publish their work, that they can self-publish for FREE and set the world on fire with their sensational work of fiction.

Since “50 Shades of Grey,” there have been other authors trying to copy the style and flavor, by attempting to write even more intriguing porn, but the boom has yet to happen, and the reason is simple. No one really knows what the secret is to sensational success. Even if there was such a formula, every book published would be a sensation, and we know that is not going to happen.

Even if there was a formula, it would probably only work the first time because if it were duplicated, it would no longer translate into a sensation. Case in point: Several years ago, a founder of a nonprofit organization wanted to get the attention of Oprah Winfrey so he paid for a billboard sign a block from where Oprah worked, thinking that she might see it. He was right. She did see it, and he was invited on the show. A month later, another person tried it, paid for a billboard sign and absolutely nothing came of it. You have one time to make your mark.

Back to the subject at hand, based on a book such as “50 Shades of Grey,” I theorize that there are three characteristics of a sensation.

(1) Dynamic lead character. When I say, dynamic, I mean original and eccentric. This is a character like no one we have met before. Think Christian Grey. How many men do you know who requires that his female partner sign a contract before they engage in the sexual act. Like I said, original.

(2) Intriguing story that resonates with millions. Think “Eat, Pray, Love.” How many women identified with the premise of a woman taking a year off to find herself.

(3) Memorable scenes that demand to be shared with the world. Think “The Help.” How could you not tell people what Minnie did to her ex-employer’s pie.

A sensational story is like interviewing for a job by millions of people and having at least one-half of them love and adore you. How hard is that? How do you get that many people to love and adore you? Two words: New and different.

I think about books that come out every day. Most books are seldom read by millions of readers and have a very limited audience, even some best sellers. It takes a very special kind of book to attract millions of readers. And the reason is simple.

Most books are similar to all the others on the market. The stories and characters are basically the same. However, “50 Shades of Grey” gave us something new and different, a character we never met before and water-cooler scenes galore.

If a book cannot deliver new and different, then there is no sensation.

London Tracy is an author, screenwriter and freelance writer. She is the author of “Your Life Story Could Be a Best Seller” and “The Curse.”

From HBO’s hit series, “Curb Your Enthusiasm” comes, “The Curse, a teleplay:” After Larry David quarrels with his lesbian neighbors, he finds himself under a seven-day curse of bad luck.

LONDON TRACY is an author, screenwriter and freelance writer. She lives in Los Angeles.

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Genre – Comedy

Rating – PG-13

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Website http://londontracy.wordpress.com

Laila Ibrahim – My favorite reviews

This is one of my favorite reviews.  It was written by my niece for a school report when she was a Freshman in high school.

Main Course: Honest Reaction

By Rachel Ibrahim

The book, Yellow Crocus, by Laila Ibrahim is one of my all time favorite books. I don’t normally like historical fiction books; I get too bored with them, and don’t find them as interesting as science fiction or fantasy books. I was surprised by how engaging the read was; I could not put the book down because it brings you into the world of the two main characters, Lizbeth and Mattie. I can really feel, and almost experience the feelings and relationship that they have with each other. I would highly recommend this book because it’s a well written, captivating, but easy read that you can let loose in. It’s easy to understand, but is education while still appealing. This 1830’s slavery story is fun, loving, and heartbreaking to any reader.

My favorite thing about this book is how much everything in the book relates to the author, my aunt, Laila. Our families are close, and with them living in Berkley, I get to see her often. This book was a major accomplishment for her and I could just see how happy it made her when it was finally published. Truthfully, I would not have read this book if she didn’t write it, and I do not rate this book based on my relationship with her, or just to make her happy, but I truly did love it, and am glad that I read it. Every time I turn the page, even after reading this book for the 5^th time, I can imagine her writing. Everything in the book reminds me of how Laila is, especially the main character Mattie. They are both inspiring, strong women who fight for what is right, even if society disapproves, and society will never be able to change the mind of my aunt. It’s amazing to see people like that, and by writing this book I think she shares her courage and I could not love her more for the person she is.

In 1837, Lisbeth Wainwright is born to the white mistress of a sprawling Virginia plantation. Seconds later, she is delivered into the arms of her black wet nurse, Mattie. For a field hand like Mattie, her transfer to the big house is supposed to be considered an honor—except that the move tears Mattie away from her beloved grandfather and her infant son, Samuel. But Mattie is a slave, with no say in the matter, and so she devotes herself to her master’s daughter, though she longs to be raising her own child. Growing up under Mattie’s tender care, little Lisbeth adopts the woman’s deep-seated faith in God, her love of music and black-eyed peas, and the tradition of hunting for yellow crocuses in the early days of spring.

As the years pass, Lisbeth is drawn slowly back into her white parents’ world and begins to learn the ins and outs of life for a high-born young lady. Still she retains her connection to Mattie, befriending Samuel and drifting comfortably between the two worlds. She accepts her parents’ assertion that their slaves depend upon them for guidance and protection, yet that notion becomes more and more difficult to believe as she gains awareness of the inequality of life in the big house versus the slave quarters. When, on the threshold of her society wedding to debonair Edward Cunningham, Lisbeth bears witness to a shockingly brutal act, the final vestiges of her naiveté crumble around her. Just twenty-one years old, she is forced to choose between what is socially acceptable and what is right, a decision that will change her life forever.

This compelling historical novel chronicles young Lisbeth Wainwright’s coming-of-age during one of the most difficult chapters of American history. Lisbeth’s powerful bond with Mattie makes her loss of innocence in the face of society’s ugly secrets all the more heartbreaking, and yet it is the courage she learns from her stand in mother that enables Lisbeth to blaze a new path for herself. Yellow Crocus offers moving proof of how the greatest social change often blooms forth from small personal acts of love.

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Genre - Historical Fiction

Rating – PG-13

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Author Interview – A.M. Griffin @AMGriffinbooks #LovingDangerously

How did you develop your writing? I’m a newbie author so I’m still developing my writing style. One day I think I’ll find my “voice” and I’m working hard on getting there—taking advice from critique partners and editors, but I think there’s still so much to learn. I’m hoping I’ll have an “aha” moment. Then everything will finally be right with the world. Author A. M. Griffin has found her voice.

Where do you get your motivation? Seeing my writer friends continue to press forward is a great motivation. There are some authors that seem to not rest at all. I get tired sometimes and I want to take a break, but then I’ll read that a friend has cleaned the house, taken care of kids and finished a book all in one day and I groan, thinking, “If she can do all that, then I better whip my butt into shape and stop complaining.” My husband is also a great motivator. He wants to become a stay-at-home dad, so he’s always pushing me to keep writing and keep going.

What is hardest – getting published, writing or marketing? Writing. Writing takes a lot of thinking and planning. It’s stressful to know what you want to say but hard to find the words some times.

Is your family supportive? My family is extremely supportive. My mother has read my books (although she skips the sex scenes). My father has been begging to read one of my books for a while (the answer is always no). My husband and sisters tell everyone who will listen to buy my books. They are my biggest supporters and the first members of my street team. My children know what I write and are proud of me. I know that I’m very blessed to have my family behind me 100% and I don’t take that for granted.

Do you plan to publish more books? Yes! I have two more books on the way for the Loving Dangerously series, Dangerously His and Dangerously Forever. I have more stories in my head for that series so hopefully the books won’t stop there. I’m also working on a superhuman book that will be included in a multi-author series. I have played with two other books that I would like to finish in 2014. I’m hoping 2014 will be the year of a new series as well as the growth of Loving Dangerously.

What else do you do to make money, other than write? It is rare today for writers to be full time… I am a nurse in my real life. I’ve been a nurse since 1998 so you’d think maybe I’d write about that. Nope! I’m writing about alien invasions and superhumans. Although I’m not writing full-time, one day in the future I hope to make writing my full-time gig instead of a part-time job.

What other jobs have you had in your life? I was the Queen of job hopping back in the day. My first job was at Baskin Robbins. They kept firing me, but I kept showing up to work. When McDonalds opened up across the street I left Baskin Robbins (I’m sure they were very happy) and went to work for McDonalds. After that I worked at a movie theater in the mall. Then I worked as a waitress. That only lasted one day though. I found that I didn’t like waiting on people. I worked for a clothing store, but had zero commission. I like stocking better then helping people pick out outfits. I worked at the campus radio station answering phones. Oh! I almost forgot. I worked as a phone sex operator for a while. Yes, the 900 number girl that horny men would call if they were looking for a good time. I did that while I was in nursing school. I could study and work at the same time. All that was required was some “oohs” and “ahhs”.

Jess hates aliens. After the invasion that destroyed Earth, the extraterrestrial bastards sold her to a brothel as a sex slave. She may have escaped but the old memories and fears still linger in the dark corners of her mind. Supposedly Sonis is just the place for her—somewhere safe, where she can heal and start fresh. She’s almost hopeful…until she meets Rasha, her new boss.

Rasha, captain of the Sonis Royal Guard, is a warrior through and through. He’s huge, sinfully sexy and could have any woman on Sonis—but the woman he wants is Jess. He’s very much an alien and Jess knows she should hate him or at least be wary, but whenever he’s around, she loses control. She tells herself it’s only sex—amazing, mind-blowing sex like nothing else she’s ever experienced—but there’s something about Rasha that shakes her soul. The feel of his skin against hers, the look in his eyes as he touches her—they make her want to believe it’s possible to find love and begin again.

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Genre - Science fiction

Rating – R

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Hidden by Derick Parsons @1_DerickParsons

She attracted attention now in the form of the head of the History Department, Dr. Julian Symons, who hurried across the quad to catch up with her before she reached the door that led up to her second floor office.  Symons was an aging, would-be rake who delighted in his dubious reputation as a ladies’ man and who gave Kate the creeps, not least because she suspected that he started the rumors about his amorous adventures himself.  He was a short man and rather stout, given to wearing pink bow ties and silk shirts with his tweed suits, and just looking at him generally made Kate want to laugh aloud.  Not that she ever would; the funny little man really seemed to believe that he was a born lady-killer, and although she could never like him she hadn’t the heart to disabuse him of his delusions.

‘Katherine, my dear,’ he began in his high, nasal voice, offering her a wide, patronising smile, ‘How delightful to see you!  For a change.  You’re becoming something of a recluse around here.  Why, I go days sometimes without spotting your pretty face.  Not the way to win friends and influence people, my dear.  To say nothing of winning tenure.’

Kate’s lips tightened and she pulled her jacket closed; he did appear delighted to see her, but she didn’t much care for the parts he was so pleased to see.  She nodded and, wishing that he would raise his gaze to eye-level just once in their conversations, said in a neutral tone, ‘Julian.’

He did eventually look up from her breasts, which were in fact quite small and hardly demanded such close attention, and smiled at her slyly before saying, ‘I’m having a little soiree tonight and I was hoping you might grace it with your presence.  Badinage aside, we really don’t see enough of you, you know.’  His gaze dropped again and he said suggestively, ‘And I really would like to see more of you, my dear.’

‘The feeling is far from mutual,’ replied Kate dryly, partly irritated and partly amused by his elephantine attempt at flirtation; he was like a reject from an old Carry-on movie, and impossible to take seriously.  In fact, so labored was his act that she occasionally wondered if he were secretly gay.  ‘College social life leaves me cold, I’m afraid, and although I’m new to teaching I’ve been here long enough for the idea of tenure to fill me with horror.’

Symons raised his brows and cocked his head to one side, reminding her irresistibly of a sparrow looking for breadcrumbs, and looked at her in a pitying fashion.  College life –and particularly tenure- loomed so large in his own mind, in his own life, that he clearly didn’t believe her.  Couldn’t believe her; the college was the center of his universe.  His artificial and rather yellow smile never wavered as he said, ‘Well, come or not, just as you please.  Don’t let my importance on the faculty board influence you at all.’

‘I won’t,’ said Kate even more dryly, and with complete honesty; she wouldn’t, though many would.  She flashed him a brief, perfunctory farewell smile and turned to go, whereupon he said archly, ‘Well, play hard to get if you must.  But remember; the faster the quarry runs, the harder the pursuers chase.’

Why has a beautiful young woman been committed to an insane asylum? What is the truth behind a shadowy past containing drug use, promiscuity and murder? What secrets does she hold that others will kill to keep HIDDEN? These are questions that psychologist Kate Bennett must answer if she is to save her patient’s sanity…and both their lives. But Kate has secrets of her own, and a dark past of her own that will come back to haunt her.

HIDDEN is a thriller, set in Dublin, but it is also a voyage of self-discovery for Kate, as she uncovers not just the truth about her patient but some truths about herself.

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Genre - Mystery, Thriller

Rating – PG-18

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Website http://www.derick-parsons.com/

Emily Kinney – How to Make Your Characters Believable @theshadylady

How to Make Your Characters Believable

Characters are, disputably, the life and breath of any story. Unless, of course, you are purposely wasting paper just to describe things, such as an era or certain scenery. However, these in no way can be considered stories, for stories, as most will stubbornly agree, must be about something. Preferably, beings who think, feel, and live in the harsh environment known as the world, or even other worlds. In stories, there is what happens, and then there are those whom it happens to. The most effective way to connect with readers is when they can relate to the person, or animal, robot, what have you, the story centers upon.

Making characters believable is a constant plight for writers. Usually, the easiest tactic to employ is to model the character’s personality after someone they’ve met or know in real life, so that there is a credible reference out in reality. This has been done countless times, and tends to result in character favorites among readers. Characters based on real people always seem to leave an indelible mark, mainly because their realness radiates so strongly.

However, what if you create a character out of pure, thin air, with nary an existing relation or acquaintance to mold him or her after? What does a writer do then? The obvious would be to take cues from real-life examples. For instance, how would a regular person react to discovering a seven talon claw sticking out of the bedroom wall? In this day and age, where people are both reasonable and stupid, it could all boil down to the specific personality of the person. A reasonable person might run away, issuing squeals of terror, while a stupid person would unavoidably approach the claw because it looked cool.

But the initial reaction of the reader would be to think, “What’s this dude’s problem? Get away from there, you dolt!” It could easily turn into a case of the reader thinking that the author made the character choose to do that in order to create conflict. And while, yes, stories are driven by conflict, and therefore will never be fully realistic, since there aren’t too many adventures occurring on a day to day basis in the world, readers still relate to characters who handle the conflict in a way that they might themselves.

By giving your characters all the elements of a real person, such as fears, doubts, confusion, emotions, bodily reactions, it makes them feel authentic and substantial. There are many instances where the author neglects to mention these aspects about a character, and while the character is fun to follow and cheer for, there is always this sense of fantasy that accompanies the reading. Sometimes it is borderline fakeness. Such as an impenetrable cowboy hero, or an extremely clever sorcerer who is always one step ahead of his adversaries. These are engaging characters that can carry a story, but they fail to convey a believable, real quality.

In order to construct believable heroes, heroines, foes, monsters, mentors, side-kicks, they have to be multi-dimensional in the same way non-metaphysical folk of flesh and blood are. There must be a competent mix of psychology, philosophy, mentality, emotions, and motivation. On and on. All the real injected into the fake.

Milo Hestler is a lonely, unusual, fourteen-year-old girl. She is constantly moving from home to home with her oblivious parents. The only friend she has is her conscience, whom she has named Bob. Her only comforts are cooking and listening to hip-hop.

When her family moves yet again, Milo is bullied mercilessly by her classmates. Such treatment prompts her to travel to Australia for summer camp. During the plane ride, Milo awakens to find the plane deserted and about to crash.
After parachuting into the ocean, she discovers she is near an island. Milo passes out, and upon waking, learns she was rescued by a boy named Simon, who is cute, but can’t speak English. Not able to understand him, she accidentally says yes when he asks her to marry him.

He leads her to a small town on the island, where they locate someone who can translate for them. Milo is outraged to hear that she is engaged to Simon and wants to call it off, but learns that this island has rules that cannot be broken. She must go through with the marriage against her will.

After learning about the trick he played on her, Milo hates Simon, though it is obvious that sixteen-year-old Simon really likes her. What will happen next on The Island of Lote? From her earliest memories, Emily Kinney has wanted to be a writer. She lives in Maine. “This book is just the first of many to come, rest assured.” Publisher’s website: sbpra.com/EmilyKinney

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Genre - Young Adult Fiction

Rating – PG

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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 - Beca Lewis @becalewis

How do you work through self-doubts and fear?

How I work through self-doubts and fear is what I write about.

What’s your greatest character strength?

I am persistent and optimistic.

What’s your weakest character trait?

Sometimes, I am persistent at something it would be best to let go of, and optimistic about something that needs to be seen for what it is rather than what I hope it is.

Have you always enjoyed writing?

Yes, I have always loved writing. When I was growing up I wanted to be a dancer (which I did) and a writer – which I am grateful to say that I am getting better and better at it each day.

What motivates you to write?

I think it is the need to say something. Sometimes it a story, sometimes an idea, sometimes it is something I have learned that I think others would benefit from.

“A refreshing and powerful new look at the results of shifting perceptions to your true spiritual nature.” Alan Cohen, author of My Father’s View

A profound, thought provoking guide to shifting perceptions to reveal what is hidden in plain sight: heaven on earth.

If you are tired of fooling around with material-based thinking that only puts Band-Aids on problems, and if you are ready to choose spiritual perception and the spiritual solution, than Living In Grace: The Shift to Spiritual Perception is the answer.

In this book, I will guide you through powerful-proven-practical-perception-shifting exercises and personally teach you useful tools for shifting anytime, anywhere, and any situation.

You will find yourself restudying the book over and over again because each time your perception shifts you will experience greater insight into Reality.

Living In Grace, provides practical tools like The 7 Steps To Shift and an eight step-by-step system based on the word GRACIOUS, which makes the necessary process of perception-shifting easy to remember and simple to use.

Chapter by chapter, the reader is taken on an inner journey that encourages her to achieve her goals, and in so doing, lead a spiritual life.

This book will be a constant companion for every advanced or beginning student of spirituality. It provides answers about the nature of God, and his children, for every honest seeker of Truth simply and elegantly.

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Genre – Spirituality, Non-Fiction

Rating – G

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Website http://www.becalewis.com

Author Interview – John H.T. Francis @JohnHTFrancis

When you are not writing, how do you like to relax?
I usually do one of two things that may seem contradictory: I either have a cigar with a glass of whisky, on my balcony, overlooking the bay, or I go long-distance running.
How many friends does a person need?
Real friends? People who you can really count on their long-lasting support? A handful. You can have a lot of very positive and lasting relations with a lot of people, but people who know you well under your different facets and will always be there for you when you really need them, people who you can consider to be your extended family, only a few is enough.
What’s the reason for your life? Have you figured out your reason for being here yet?
I define the reason for my life every day, through my actions and my thoughts. I do not consider that the reason for one’s life is pre-defined or fixed. You make of your life what you choose to, within the boundaries of the environment you find yourself in. You should not search for the reason for your life as if it is a treasure hunt; you should rather look at yourself deeply and honestly and ask yourself “How do I want to perceive myself down the road? How do I want to build my identity? What is really, fundamentally important to me?” Be comfortable with yourself and with the life you are building. Most of the time people do not like to make conscious choices about their life so they resort to all sorts of ways to go around it, including selectively looking into their past for reasons for their life.
Have you developed a specific writing style?
I think I did. You can judge it yourself by reading Reflections on Fundamental Matters, but I think I have a pretty distinct style. I guess it was not fully intentional; it came to me as a mixture of intentions, my background, and the nature of the subjects I treat.
What are your current writing projects now?
I write on a continuous basis. There is often something I am thinking or writing about. I like to publish short articles and posts on regular basis, including on my blog http://johnhtfrancis.wordpress.com As for projects of new books, I have a couple in mind but it may still be a bit too early to talk about the details at this stage.
If you could leave your readers with one bit of wisdom, what would you want it to be?
Be honest with yourself, be courageous intellectually, be curious and open-minded, and do not easily waiver.
What are you most proud of in your personal life?
Two things in particular come to my mind: having been independent and self-sufficient since a young age and having been close, supportive, and protective of both my parents in their last days respectively.
Have you ever had writer’s block? If so, what do you do about it?

Of course I have. I think everybody goes through dry spells from time to time. It can happen to me that I lose the train of my thought as if I am walking on a certain road and then suddenly the road disappears from under my feet. To deal with such situations, I usually drop writing for some time and take distance, sometimes for weeks. I engage in physical activities; I watch movies; I read magazines; and I start reading new books. And often, after a while, the ideas come back gushing.

Addressing important questions that have been discussed across many times and cultures, this essay, written in a simple style, seeks to awaken you from the slumber of intellectual complacency. Author John H.T. Francis presents a multi-disciplinary look at prevalent interpretations and fundamental questions of human interest. He tackles many of humanity’s most important and difficult topics, drawing on many fields of knowledge and action, including science, philosophy, sociology, economics, politics, anthropology, and psychology. This study explores history, knowledge, the human mind and psyche, the nature of existence, the phenomenon of life, socio-economic and political dynamics, ethics, religions, and several current, pressing individual and collective challenges. It provides elements of answers and attempts to position subjects of general importance under a new light. Universal in his approach, Francis reaches out to those who are interested in delving deeper into the human understanding.

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Genre - Philosophy, Non-Fiction

Rating – G

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Website http://www.johnhtfrancis.com

Boundless by Brad Cotton @BradCott0n

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.

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Genre – Contemporary Fiction/Literary Fiction

Rating – R

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Website http://www.bradcotton.com/

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A Simple Soul by Vadim Babenko

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

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Website http://www.vadimbabenko.com/

How to Make Your Characters Believable – Johannah Reardon @JoHannahReardon

How to Make Your Characters Believable

The very first book I attempted to write was a disaster. I basically told the story as if I was writing a letter to my mother. I included lots of detail, very little dialogue, and worst of all, my tone was preachy. But I wrote it, and there was some satisfaction in that.

However, when I tried to get it published, I received rejection after rejection. Finally, one editor told me what was wrong with my writing. She said it was too wooden, was full of moralizing, and that my characters had not come alive. This was so devastating to me that I set it aside. It was an extremely busy time of my life anyway, so I felt like, “Oh well, I tried that, but it didn’t work. Time to get on to other things.”

Years later, I read that manuscript again. It only took me a page or two to realize that what the editor had told me years before was spot on. I didn’t even want to read it.

By that time, I’d had experience writing articles and even editing other people’s work, so I’d grown a lot from my first attempt at a novel years before. I began reworking that novel, starting with an entirely different beginning. By the time I was done, I’d improved every single page and learned the following:

Know your characters inside and out.

When I first started writing, I tried to make my characters fit into my mold. My attempt to shove them into that shell so stunted them that they were one-dimensional, dull, and completely inconsistent. So as I rewrote my book, I spent a lot of time thinking about who my characters were and let them guide me. Sometimes, I’d have in mind that a person would go in a certain direction, but when I got to that crossroads, I suddenly knew my character wouldn’t do that because it was not consistent with their personality. In a sense, my characters write their own stories.

Your characters should reveal both good and bad sides.

Bad people can be thoroughly bad in your novel, but good people should have to struggle with being decent human beings. Your reader should feel the angst that your character is going through in trying to do the right thing. And your character can even fall at times and do the wrong thing. It will only make that character more understandable to your reader, because everyone can identify with failure.

I said bad characters can be thoroughly bad, but it can be appealing to have the wicked people in your novel struggle with guilt once in a while about what they are doing. The more human you make the characters, the better. And if a villain chooses to do a good thing at some point, it makes him or her believable, since we are all on both sides at one time or another.

Let your characters feel, not just do.

Finally, don’t just run your characters through all the events of your novel; let us feel what they are feeling. Are they frightened? Tell us what that feels like to each character. Are they astonished? What does that look like in your male character? How is that astonishment different in your female character? Are they overwhelmed? Maybe that makes one character feel like charging in and taking over, but another character wants to retreat.

So the key is to give us insight into what makes your characters tick. If you do that well, we will connect with them and either love or hate them. Because why would you want to read about someone you didn’t care about one way or another?

Ella is a bored, inner-city girl trying to fill the long, monotonous days of her summer vacation. As she keeps a promise to her mother to clean the cellar, she discovers a crumbling brick behind an old trunk. Even though it’s raining outside, sunlight pours through the opening. Intrigued, she chips away at the brick to find the source of the light. To her astonishment, she finds another land beyond her cellar wall, gripped in the freshness of spring.

In the land of Neo, she makes new, unusual friends, discovers breathtaking beauty, and learns of Kosmeo who will guide and direct her during all of her adventures. She discovers Kosmeo has brought her here for a purpose. Princess Onyma must choose a suitor who will eventually rule all of Neo. Many of the citizens of Neo are threatened during this perilous time of choice between good and evil. Can Ella save this beautiful kingdom from disaster? THE CRUMBLING BRICK is told in the tradition of C. S. Lewis’s and George MacDonald’s fairy tales.

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Genre – Fairy tale, Fantasy

Rating – G

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Website https://www.johannahreardon.com

Josh Donellan - YOUR SETTING AS A CHARACTER @jmdonellan

YOUR SETTING AS A CHARACTER

As a child, I was so obsessed with the Chronicles of Narnia that every time I went to a new house I immediately ran to all the wardrobes to check if there was a winter wonderland hiding inside. I remember poring tirelessly over the maps at the front of the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and wondering about which part of Narnia would be the most fun to inhabit. CS Lewis crafted a rich and complex kingdom in those books, and today I’m going to be writing about doing the same thing.

The first step is to think of your setting as a character, not a backdrop. In the same way that you should write a detailed biography of your character which lays out their history, political views, pet peeves, favourite midnight snack etc., you should know the setting of your story as intimately as possible.

I like to write up a lonely planet or Wikipedia style breakdown for my city or setting, listing things like:

1 Population

2 Cultural and religious groups

3 Political preferences

4 Art and culture

5 Crime rates

6 Climate

7 History

8 Miscellaneous details

My forthcoming novel, Killing Adonis, is set in my hometown of Brisbane. I’ve included a few key places that are special to me, bars I love, New Farm Park, the 24 hour Pancake Manor etc. However, most of the story takes place inside a labyrinthine mansion. I wanted to give a sense of the house being almost boundless, without sacrificing accuracy. For example, I didn’t want to have the characters going up to Elijah’s room on the second floor in one chapter and down to Elijah’s room on the first floor in the next, so I drew up a basic floor plan. That might sound pedantic, and readers might not get super excited about you getting those details right, but damn, they are going to be pissed if you get them wrong. I also read a stack of books on Brisbane’s history, the most useful of which was The Mayne inheritance, which actually ended up influencing the history of the Vincetti family in my novel a great deal.

If your story is set in an exotic locale that you are working off from memory, or that you’ve never been to, google earth is indispensible. When I was writing A Beginner’s Guide to Dying in India I had a scene where the protagonist runs out of the streets of Rishikesh, into the mountains and finds a cave. I couldn’t recall off the top of my head if doing that would be feasible within a short run, so I dialed up a satellite image and confirmed it within a few seconds.

You should think of this information according to this iceberg principle, you don’t want to use every tiny bit of research you’ve done because you’ll most likely bore and/or overwhelm the reader, but the depth of your detail is going to come out in every aspect of your writing, how characters move from one place to another, how and where they interact with each other and how they feel.

Stephen Wiltshire drawing Brisbane.

One of my favourite living artists, Stephen Wiltshire, is able to draw incredibly detailed depictions of entire cities that accurately illustrate every facet, flaw and feature. You should aim to do the same thing with your setting; it should be a place that the reader gets to know almost as well as their hometown. Somewhere that they can immerse themselves in, not just a 2D plot accessory.

 

“What’s your favourite song?” If you answered, “Nothing, sir! Music is evil!” then you probably live in the land of Bravura, where the wicked Czar has outlawed music and all artists have been imprisoned or exiled. 

As if that wasn’t bad enough, the Alephs, magical creatures that eat music with their ears, are slowly becoming extinct. Fortunately, Zeb and his best friend Flip are armed with magic, courage and weaponised toffee and they are about to begin their quest to bring back the legendary musician Smokey Waters so that he can restore the land with his Ruckus Music. Along the way they’ll face the Czar’s admonishers, steelhawks, bewilderbeasts and the most fearsome creature of all, the cave-dwelling Ruttersnarl. At least they’ll have an excuse for not finishing their homework…

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Genre - Junior Fiction, Fantasy

Rating – G

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How to Avoid the Rejection Blues by Candice Lemon-Scott @CandiceLSAuthor

How to Avoid the Rejection Blues

The majority of writers will face rejection at some stage in their writing career. I am no different to any other writer and I know all too well just how disheartening and confidence destroying it can be to face rejection. But there are things that I do to help me persevere and the best thing you can learn as a writer is to never, never, never give up. Here are my tips to avoid the ‘rejection blues.’

1. Make sure it’s ready. You only get one shot at submitting to a publisher so make sure your work is the absolute best it can be before you begin sending it out. Don’t send your manuscript off the minute you finish writing it. Make sure you edit, edit, edit and have others give you feedback wherever possible. It also helps to leave your manuscript for a while before revisiting it. You’ll be able to pick up errors or see how it could be improved much more easily.

2. Make a list. List all the publishers that might be interested in publishing your manuscript. To avoid the blues it’s important not to dwell on rejection so if I receive one I strike that publisher off the list and simply resend it to the next one. Resend your work out as quickly as possible. With my novel Unloched, I was so unsure of myself after the first rejection it took me almost a year to resend it to another publisher. That’s a lot of time lost and too much time to think about giving up altogether!

3. Feedback. Be encouraged by any feedback you receive and learn from it. If an editor gives you feedback it means you were very close to having your manuscript accepted for publication. Editors offer invaluable advice that can be used to further develop your work.

4. Ask questions. Though most of the time editors will only send a form letter if your manuscript is rejected, there’s no harm in asking for a reason why. You may not get an answer but for me receiving feedback when I asked helped boost my confidence because the reason for rejection wasn’t to do with me or my writing.

5. Congratulate yourself. If you get through any stage of the selection process, give yourself a pat on the back. There are many stages in the process of a manuscript being accepted so if you make it past any of these you’ve done well and your manuscript obviously shows promise.

6. Keep writing. Don’t stop writing while you’re waiting for a response on the manuscript you’ve submitted. The publishing process is often painfully slow so get on with the next project. This will not only save you losing precious writing time but it will be a welcome distraction if a rejection does land in your inbox.

7. Don’t wallow. It’s easy to get disillusioned if you receive a rejection slip. As writers, we’re often our own worst critics and can be quick to tell ourselves our writing is no good. Don’t let it get you down and result in you giving up. When trying to get my novel Unloched published I received a number of rejections both before and after it was commended in the literary awards. Every time I did, the negative self talk would come it but I would repeat what my novel teacher said, ‘You must finish this work.’ Knowing someone believed in it was enough to keep me going.

8. If all else fails. Break out the wine, or chocolate, and begin afresh the next day.

A boy. A boat. A storm.

One day that will tear a family apart.

Two sisters are reunited, but for how long? Can their fragile relationship survive once the secrets of the past are finally unlocked?

A mother’s dying wish sends twin sisters Lauren and Trina back to the place of their childhood vacations, on the Gippsland Lakes, to restore and sell a dilapidated houseboat. Although the twins were almost inseparable throughout childhood, a wild storm and the events that followed drove the girls apart in their teenage years. Now, ten years later, Lauren and Trina are forced to face each other and themselves as they discover the role their mother played in their estrangement. As the houseboat is gradually stripped bare, so are the lives of these women as the truth emerges.

A story of secrets and betrayal, Unloched takes the reader on an emotional journey through the landscape of the family. Commended in the Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards for an unpublished manuscript, this is Candice Lemon-Scott’s debut novel.

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Genre - Literary fiction

Rating – PG-13

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Adrian Powell - 3 Tips on how to overcome fear when writing

3 Tips on how to overcome fear when writing

If someone would I have told me a few years ago that a children’s picture book would be the first book that I would write I probably would have burst into laughter. Not because I didn’t think that I could actually complete it but because it would have been so far out of my own expectations I would have allowed fear to immediately shoot down the idea. Luckily I believed enough in myself to not only write but publish the book on my own. As humans we have a terrible habit of placing an imaginary box around our ideas thus limiting our immense potential. As writers our imagination is such a vital part of how we create stories we cannot allow fear to paralyze our thoughts. Below are some common obstacles and tips on how to overcome fear and hopefully allow your mind to be free.

1.) Make decisions based off of the good that may happen vs. the bad. “There is nothing to fear but fear itself.” Translation - fear isn’t real. If you really analyze the emotion, fear is based off an act, thought, or idea in the future that hasn’t come into fruition yet. We often think of the worst things that may happen and make decisions accordingly. If you retrain your brain to think of all the good things that may came from acting on an idea you will have the luxury of confidence and positivity on your side which makes for a great recipe for writing a good story.

2.) Don’t be afraid to fail. In order to be successful there has to be some learning points along the way. We commonly misinterpret these points as something bad, giving them the stigma of being called failures. Many people are terrified of stepping outside of their current genre or writing style because they think that they may not be successful. The only way to truly find if your new path is actually going to work out is to go through with it. Even if you are not as successful as you may like, completing the book will give you priceless experiences, more insight and vital information that you can use on the next novel you write. Failure is all a part of success.

3.) Nothing risked = nothing gained. Book tours, print copies, editing, proofreading, illustrators, and many other book expenses can grow to be very expensive. An author can look at these expenses and quickly become discouraged. The fear of not knowing if you will recoup your expenses in future book sales can be enough to delay an author from making the decision to publish. At that point you have to switch from author mode to entrepreneur mode and know that with any new venture there are risks involved. If you are still a little unsure publish a short story before you invest money and time into a complete novel. That way you are able to gauge interest and test the market before making the final financial investment.

Although you may not be able to control when you experience fear you can control how you react to it. Conquering fear will open up many doors for you to be able to mature as a writer and push through every boundary placed in your path of writing success. Now what are you waiting for? Go and become writing daredevil. That is if you aren’t afraid…..

Kenny wants nothing more than to learn how to fly high in the sky like his favorite cartoon character. But with everyone discouraging him, and no one willing to teach him the fundamentals of flight, will Kenny’s dream ever get cleared for takeoff?

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Genre - Children’s Book, YA

Rating – G

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10 Things I Wish I Knew About Being an Author – Michele Kimbrough @Madambition

When I fantasized about being an author, I saw myself sitting on the oceanfront, sipping a tropical drink, happily tapping away on my laptop while the sound of the crashing waves made me feel one with nature.  Quite the contrary in reality.  Writing at the beach is distracting. Aside from sand getting between the keys of the keyboard, the visually delightful (and not so delightful) distractions broke my flow. Sometimes the noise was overwhelming. Then there was the wind, which brought with it its own obstacles.

Here are some things I wish I knew about being an author I didn’t know before.

1. Time is of the essence.  The days of leisurely taking ten years to write a book are gone. I’m not really sure they ever existed, except in my mind. The reality is, there are deadlines, and not just for writing the book. There are deadlines for editing, revising, proofreading, book covers, promotions and market.

2. Reading is fundamental.  Believe it or not, reading creates a better writer. Reading, besides enjoyment, is like research to the writer.

3. Talk is cheap. In other words, do less talking about your story and more writing. When you talk about your story instead of writing it, it’s sort of like letting a little air out of the balloon.  At least for me, the more I talked about my story, the harder it was to write that particular scene.

4. Keep note pad and pen handy.  I could be enjoying dinner with my family when an inspiration or character situation would come to me. I’ve been sitting in traffic when a scene inspiration would arise. In that instance, I used my phone’s voice feature to record the scene before it was lost to my faulty memory.

5. Genre is important.  I wish this one wasn’t true but it is. Not only that, you’d better get the language right. No one is dizzy with desire in Thrillers.  No one’s eyes are darting or walls bleeding in Romance, and you’d better know what a galaxy is if you’re lost in space. Readers know their genres and if you screw it up, you’ll have a huge mountain to climb to redeem yourself.

6.  Authors are stereotyped. Tragically, authors are seen as tormented and fragile human beings. I’m not sure how this came to be, but I wish it’d go away. It’s depressing and generally (hopefully) not true.

7.  Marketing is my job. It doesn’t stop at the conclusion of the book. Marketing begins the moment you decide to write the book and doesn’t end until you retire the book. It’s like raising a kid.

8.  Not everybody is excited that you wrote a book. Most people are impressed at the level of commitment it took to complete a novel. But, I’m neither the first nor the last to have achieved this goal. Perhaps if I broke some literary record, like the most days and books on a bestseller list. Or maybe the most books adapted to screenplay. Ah, a girl can dream.

9.  Reviews are important. Whether you like it or not, your work is going to be critiqued by the general public.  People who use their hard earned money to buy your book, then spend several hours reading your book, have every right to critique your book. It’s a good thing, because if their review is good, other people will take a chance on your book, too.

10.  It’s fulfilling. The process of writing is fun but having a finished product is like nirvana.

Things aren’t always as they seem.

Attorney, Prudence Payne, seems to have it all: beauty, intelligence, love and a sure path to making partner with her law firm. The reality is her boyfriend, James, is unable to commit. She’s dealing with recently revealed family secrets and lies. And, she’s doing it all without her best friend who died a year ago.

Richard Mayweather is a single father raising two daughters. He’s been in love with Prudence since they were tweens, and now he thinks it’s time that she knows it. But when James decides to finally commit, is it too late for Richard? Or will Prudence realize, at last, that the love she’s always searched for has been right in front of her the whole time?

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Genre - Romance, Interracial

Rating – PG13

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Author Interview – Carla Woody

Are you solely a writer or do you have multiple occupations? I view my books and articles as vehicles for my lifework, a way folks can be introduced or as an adjunct to my programs. For more than twenty years I’ve been mentoring people toward conscious living, essentially to realign their lives. In 1999 I founded Kenosis LLC to support human potential through travel journeys working with Native spiritual leaders and healers in Peru, Mexico, Guatemala and the USA; and mentoring programs integrating Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) and sacred world traditions. Then in 2007 I established Kenosis Spirit Keepers, its nonprofit extension, to help preserve indigenous lifeways through various projects. I’ve also been doing conflict mediations since the late ‘80s when most people didn’t know what it was. They thought I was talking about meditation! These days I specialize in family mediations for divorcing parents.

Tell us about your new book? Portals to the Vision Serpent was released on June 17, 2013. It’s a coming-of-age novel—a Hero’s Journey—that takes the reader into the realms of shamanism and the Maya world as a young man searches for his lineage and missing father. The struggles the Maya have to preserve their way of life and the devastations that can come from misunderstandings are an integral part. It’s basically a book about spiritual healing. Readers are likely to see themselves in various ways, the same as reported to me from readers of my nonfiction books Standing Stark: The Willingness to Engage (2004) and Calling Our Spirits Home: Gateways to Full Consciousness (2000).

What can you tell us about your main character? Preston Johns Cadell is a young man who never felt he belonged, like many of us. He feels an ongoing sense of isolation and longing for connection. He doesn’t have strong ties, except to the invisible realm—and he can’t share that with others. He doesn’t really know who he is. The not knowing is painful. He begins to recall memories of early childhood when Mama Luna, a brown-skinned woman, cared for him after his father disappeared, and his mother began her frequent absences. Mama Luna opened him to things his heart calls out for now. But she vanished long ago. The story moves back and forth from childhood to present-day as Preston seeks to resolve his ever-present discomfort, and to discover his origins and path in life. His is an initiation journey, carried by faith, to fill the gaping hole left by not knowing his people, even as they insistently call to him.

Why did you choose to write this particular book? This is a story that has been with me for a long time. I started it about ten years ago but set it aside. It would go away for a long time then visit me again more formed, maybe as Preston himself filled his skin, and my own experiences in Mayalands became richer over the years. Basically, the story wouldn’t leave me alone. When I finally picked it up again in late 2011, it came rushing out in the next several months.

Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp? There are several messages. The first is that it’s possible to be lost and then found, to find ways through inner turmoil and difficult times, to find resolution. So, I consider it an initiation story in the sense of answering an inner call toward healing. It’s also about opting to have a wider perspective than our own and forgiveness.

A very important message is the difficulties that many Native people face, the acts done against them and the lands they value. I really wanted to bring awareness to these issues.

Preston Johns Cadell is tormented. He attempts to outrun discontent and the void in his heart. His mother is hardly around. His father’s origins and disappearance are shrouded by family secrets. His sole remembrance of his father is flying through the stars nestled in his arms.

Any comfort Preston derives is from an unseen advisor who teaches him of the invisible world. Now he is coming of age. Memories arrive from long ago when a brown-skinned woman cared for him. But she, too, vanished. Finding the buried remains of his father’s altar, Preston must answer the draw to his destiny, to discover his lineage–even though he has no idea how or where it will lead him.

Portals to the Vision Serpent is a Hero’s Journey into the realms of shamanism and the Maya world. Interwoven are the struggles of indigenous peoples to preserve their way of life and tragedies that often come from misunderstandings. Through a family saga of dark wounds and mystery, spiritual healing unfolds.

The author donates 10% of profits from book sales to Kenosis Spirit Keepers, a 501(c)3 nonprofit she founded whose mission is to help preserve Native traditions in danger of decimation.

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Genre –  Fiction / Coming of Age / Historical

Rating – PG

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Website http://www.kenosis.net/