tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24932315517750736962024-02-07T23:57:52.527+00:00Reading Away LifeQuality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.comBlogger737125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2493231551775073696.post-32093925898649630392015-02-04T07:00:00.000+00:002015-02-06T07:07:11.180+00:00JOHN SMITH : Last Known Survivor of the #Microsoft Wars by Roland Hughes #Dystopian #Excerpt <div class="TextBodySingle" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span lang="EN-US">SK: I ask again, what was the truth according to John Smith?</span></b></span></span></div>
<div class="TextBodySingle" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">JS:
Later in life, when people were counting the number of wells and
starting to not buy the “dead Dino” story, scientists made an even more
ludicrous claim. They claimed the jungle and forest, which covered all
of the land during the age of the dinosaur, was also decomposing and
creating large pools of oil.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="TextBodySingle" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span lang="EN-US">SK: Why was this so ludicrous?</span></b></span></span></div>
<div class="TextBodySingle" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">JS: Admittedly, plant and animal life will share <i>some</i> mineral content, and all things will create <i>some</i> kind
of goo when they reach that liquefying stage of decomposition.
However, I do find it a stretch that both would end up creating crude
oil, no matter how much heat and time were applied, unless crude is a
very tiny subset of minerals that survive decomposition. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="TextBodySingle" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Eventually,
scientists started claiming crude was caused by decaying plant and
animal life. I guess fish never played into the formula. Scientists
really had no choice. They had to explain to an increasingly skeptical
public why some crude was yellow and some black. Some crude was
fast-flowing liquid and other crude was a solid brick.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="TextBodySingle" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span lang="EN-US">SK: I ask again, what was the truth according to John Smith?</span></b></span></span></div>
<div class="TextBodySingle" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">JS:
Crude oil is decomposing humans from earlier cycles. Each cycle lasts
an unbelievably long time, as far as human life is concerned. Humans,
by and large, have a need to build communities. As the cycle
progresses, these communities become cities of a massive scale. When
the earth shifts and heaves its continents around, these cities are
buried deep in a matter of hours, if not seconds. They are buried deep
without air or the nutrients needed for bacterial decomposition.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="TextBodySingle" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">The
steel eventually reverts back to iron and carbon; the concrete, to
limestone and sand. I’m not certain what happens to the glass other
than the fact it is crushed into pieces so tiny one wouldn’t notice them
coming up with the drilling mud. The humans and their pets,
though—they are crushed and eventually, the heat of the earth cooks them
into crude.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="TextBodySingle" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span lang="EN-US">SK:
That is a disgusting thing to say. We have one of those oil sites
oozing stuff out of the ground near our city! People use it for all
kinds of things.</span></b></span></span></div>
<div class="TextBodySingle" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">JS:
Humans are useful in a variety of forms. Have they invented a product
called petroleum jelly yet? It’s kind of greasy, helps cuts heal and
looks a lot like animal fat.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="TextBodySingle" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span lang="EN-US">SK: Oh! I cannot believe I’m being forced to sit here and listen to this!</span></b></span></span></div>
<div class="TextBodySingle" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">JS: Do you think I’m the first to point something like this out? I suppose you have never heard of cannibalism either?</span></span></span></div>
<div class="TextBodySingle" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span lang="EN-US">SK: Another disgusting tale to frighten children!</span></b></span></span></div>
<div class="TextBodySingle" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">JS:
Oh no. It was real and existed in various forms around the globe.
Even in large cities, where everybody claimed it never happened, you
would see the occasional news report that someone had been arrested with
pieces of humans in their fridge or freezer. There was even a movie
about the earth running out of food and governments taking it upon
themselves to make cannibalism palatable to the masses.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="TextBodySingle" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span lang="EN-US">SK: I simply cannot accept the premise anybody would believe such a story.</span></b></span></span></div>
<div class="TextBodySingle" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">JS:
The story became a legend. They would simply herd people to different
areas of each city. One area would be selected for recycling. The
people would be processed and turned into little food squares of
“Soylent Green.” There were lots of different colors of food squares
made from the various forms of food still available but there wasn’t
enough to go around.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="TextBodySingle" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div class="TextBodySingle" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"><img src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/johnSmith.jpg" /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“John
Smith: Last Known Survivor of the Microsoft Wars” is one big interview.
It is a transcript of a dialogue between “John Smith” (who, as the
title of the book implies is the last known survivor of the Microsoft
wars) and the interviewer for a prominent news organization.</span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy Now @ <a href="http://www.amazon.com/John-Smith-Known-Survivor-Microsoft/dp/193973200X/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=&qid=" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Amazon</a> & <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/john-smith-roland-hughes/1102176003?ean=9781939732002" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">B&N</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre – Dystopian Fiction</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – PG</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1?ie=UTF8&field-author=Roland+Hughes&search-alias=books&text=Roland+Hughes&sort=relevancerank" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Website <a class="in-cell-link" href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://johnsmith-book.com/&usd=2&usg=ALhdy2-70oxuHXvWgcvombsi9GJmpfL5eA" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://johnsmith-book.com/</a></b></span></span></div>
Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2493231551775073696.post-6190932132822719782015-01-21T08:00:00.000+00:002015-01-21T08:59:53.897+00:00WHAT FREEDOM SMELLS LIKE #Excerpt by Amy Lewis @AmyLewisAuthor #AmReading #Memoir #TBR<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
Every
single item that you buy in life, that outlives you, someone, some
person, has to deal with. Has to pack, has to decide what to do with: to
sell, to donate, to throw away? If you sell it you have to decide how
much to sell it for, maybe even research what similar items go for; you
have to advertise, you have to exchange money, maybe even make change.
If you donate you have to pack up, decide what charity or friend to give
it to, usually you have to bring it to them or arrange to be home when
they come by. You have to make sure it works because you don’t want to
donate something that is broken. If you throw it away you have to lug
it, schlep it to a waste bin and if it’s a lot of things to a dumpsite.
You don’t think about this when you have money in your pocket and want
things.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
Every item in our Vegas house had a memory
connected to it. Now I had to decide what to do with them all. I rented a
huge storage space close to my parent’s house. It was almost as big as
our first tiny slum apartment. All of our stuff had been deposited
there.<br />
<br />
The week after he died, I had gone into our
walk-in closet in Vegas and sniffed every item of his clothing, removing
those pieces that still had his scent and packaging them into gallon
size vacuum packed Ziploc bags. I imagined this was a new use for Ziploc
bags they probably never advertised: preserving the scent of the dead. I
would have taken his clothes in the dirty laundry basket, but my father
had washed them. I cried when I found him in the laundry room trying to
be helpful. I put the zip locked bags of clothes under my bed in my
parent’s guest bedroom.</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13.3333339691162px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/whatFreedomSmellsLike.jpg" href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/whatFreedomSmellsLike.jpg"><img alt="whatFreedomSmellsLike" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-41176" data-mce-src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/whatFreedomSmellsLike.jpg" src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/whatFreedomSmellsLike.jpg" height="200" width="130" /></a></span></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" id="outer_postBodyPS" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<div id="postBodyPS">
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Diagnosed
with Borderline Personality disorder, Amy struggled with depression and
an addiction to sharp objects. Even hospitalization didn't help to heal
her destructive tendencies. It took a tumultuous relationship with a
man named Truth to bring her back from the depths of her own self-made
hell.Amy's marriage to dark, intriguing Truth was both passionate and
stormy. She was a fair-skinned southern girl from New Orleans. He was a
charming black man with tribal tattoos, piercings, and a mysterious
past. They made an unlikely pair, but something clicked. During their
early marriage, they pulled themselves out of abject poverty into wealth
and financial security practically overnight. Then things began to fall
a</span></span>part.<br />
<br />
Passionate and protective, Truth also proved violent and abu<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">sive.
Amy’s own self-destructive tendencies created a powerful symmetry. His
sudden death left Amy with an intense and warring set of emotions: grief
for the loss of the man she loved, relief she was no longer a target
for his aggression.</span></span></div>
<div id="postBodyPS">
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Conflicted
and grieving, Amy found herself at a spiritual and emotional
crossroads, only to receive help from an unlikely source: Truth himself.
Feeling his otherworldly presence in her dreams, Amy seeks help from a
famous medium.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Her
spiritual encounters change Amy forever. Through Truth, she learns her
soul is eternal and indestructible, a knowledge that gives Amy the
courage to pursue her own dreams and transform herself both physically
and emotionally. Her supernatural encounters help Amy resolve the
internal anger and self-destructive tendencies standing between her and
happiness, culminating in a sense of spiritual fulfillment she never
dreamed possible.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">An amazing true story, What Freedom Smells Like is told with courage, honesty, and a devilishly dark sense of hu</span></span>mor.<br />
<br />
Bu<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">y Now @ <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/What-Freedom-Smells-Like-Memoir-ebook/dp/B00JTHDCSC/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=&qid=" href="http://www.amazon.com/What-Freedom-Smells-Like-Memoir-ebook/dp/B00JTHDCSC/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=&qid=" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></span></div>
</div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre – Memoir</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – PG-13</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Amy-Lewis/e/B00KERPYYQ/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1" href="http://www.amazon.com/Amy-Lewis/e/B00KERPYYQ/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Connect</b> with Amy Lewis through <a data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/AmyLewisAuthor" href="https://twitter.com/AmyLewisAuthor" target="_blank">Twitter</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Website <a class="in-cell-link" data-mce-href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.WhatFreedomSmellsLike.com&usd=2&usg=ALhdy2-u-DEq6B2o3ZSLOwj9JWZOYB9gHA" href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.WhatFreedomSmellsLike.com&usd=2&usg=ALhdy2-u-DEq6B2o3ZSLOwj9JWZOYB9gHA" target="_blank">www.WhatFreedomSmellsLike.com</a></b></span></span></div>
Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2493231551775073696.post-83106310325812530872014-11-19T08:30:00.000+00:002014-11-29T13:50:50.534+00:00"Geronimo" from LUCIFER & THE INDIGO KIDS by @Lord_Ra_Krishna #AmReading #Philosophy #Poetry<i><b>Geronimo... (and the ones with religion) </b></i><br />
<br />
Dear Geronimo...<br />
My Great, Great grand Father<br />
<br />
They took you from us<br />
And our people were slaughtered...<br />
<br />
They didn't break your spirit<br />
You passed it unto me<br />
<br />
And I will spark the movement<br />
As soon as I get free...<br />
<br />
They hunted and chased you<br />
I clearly remember<br />
They would have never caught you<br />
They're lucky you surrendered...<br />
<br />
They tricked you and stole your land<br />
and we even have the audacity to celebrate Thanksgiving...<br />
<br />
They used you for mascots<br />
the Red Skins <br />
and the Chiefs <br />
<br />
Your great land was stolen<br />
By the ones with religion...<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkWblLXMSx0tQWRYVRVvlLll1TdY5bl6ovsyPNQ6OrTJOpZuD8IlaLT56foRHo_dKvQ9093Lc1D7qyms-ti6QIZ30SsCLfkjbXTeROSC3kkiu1USKj_5szUHkDMkMbeqrl4X3s7KsWvbVX/s1600/10543606_799244456762857_1951121046706555738_n.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkWblLXMSx0tQWRYVRVvlLll1TdY5bl6ovsyPNQ6OrTJOpZuD8IlaLT56foRHo_dKvQ9093Lc1D7qyms-ti6QIZ30SsCLfkjbXTeROSC3kkiu1USKj_5szUHkDMkMbeqrl4X3s7KsWvbVX/s1600/10543606_799244456762857_1951121046706555738_n.png" height="320" width="225" /></a></div>
<br />
"This
“new age” book of poetry reflects the diverse views and philosophies of
it’s author Ra Krishna EL. It’s an intimate, humorous and thought
provoking group of poems intended to evoke strong emotion. To quote the
German philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche, this style of poetry can be
called “Zukunfts poesie“ which translates into “Poetry of the future”,
where truly original ideas are presented thru poetry. Also known as post
Nietzschean poetry.<br />
<br />
It’s subjects include society, pop
culture, love, religious dogma, God and the new age of Aquarius. This
book was written and published during the false incarceration of its
author in Chicago’s notorious Cook County Jail, the largest jail in the
country."<br />
<br />
Bu<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">y Now @ <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Lucifer-indigo-kids-Last-Prophet-ebook/dp/B00L3VL7E8/ref=sr_1_1_title_1_kin?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1406567843&sr=1-1&keywords=lucifer+and+the+indigo+kids" href="http://www.amazon.com/Lucifer-indigo-kids-Last-Prophet-ebook/dp/B00L3VL7E8/ref=sr_1_1_title_1_kin?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1406567843&sr=1-1&keywords=lucifer+and+the+indigo+kids" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre - Poetry, Philosophy</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – PG-13</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&field-author=Lord%20Ra%20Krishna%20EL&search-alias=books&sort=relevancerank" href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&field-author=Lord%20Ra%20Krishna%20EL&search-alias=books&sort=relevancerank" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="font-weight: bold ! important;">Connect</b> with Lord Ra Krishna EL on <a data-mce-href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lord-Ra-Krishna-El/729737850380185?ref=hl" href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lord-Ra-Krishna-El/729737850380185?ref=hl" target="_blank">Facebook</a> & <a data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/Lord_Ra_Krishna" href="https://twitter.com/Lord_Ra_Krishna" target="_blank">Twitter</a></span></span></div>
Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2493231551775073696.post-79946094144511318892014-11-06T14:30:00.000+00:002014-11-06T14:30:00.871+00:00Mike Hartner on Books He Loves to Read & Writing @MHartnerAuthor #AmReading #Romance #HistFic<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/68/b9/07ce36fb35db0a8bdc0e99.L._V325840144_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/68/b9/07ce36fb35db0a8bdc0e99.L._V325840144_.jpg" /></a></div>
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<b>Who is your favorite author?</b><br />
It’s a close battle between Mark Twain, William Shakespeare, Jules Verne, Alexandre Dumas, and Victor Hugo<br />
<br />
<b>What book genre of books do you adore?</b><br />
Historical Fiction, and YA Romance<br />
<br />
<b>What book should everybody read at least once?</b><br />
The Count of Monte Cristo. By far the best revenge novel in history.<br />
<b><br />Are there any books you really don’t enjoy?</b><br />
Many
books are mood items. I don’t deliberately look for Satanic, or
Halloween books, but vampires and others are an occasional read.<br />
<br />
<b>What do you hope your obituary will say about you? </b><br />
I hope my obituary will show me surrounded by people who love me, and will say that I made a difference.<br />
<br />
<b>Location and life experiences can really influence writing, tell us where you grew up and where you now live?</b><br />
I was born in Miami, grew up in Montana and Saskatchewan, and now live in Vancouver, BC.<br />
<br />
<b>How did you develop your writing?</b><br />
First, by writing poetry, and then by listening to others tell stories.<br />
<br />
<b>Where do you get your inspiration from? </b><br />
My muse. She brings in the lead characters from my books, and gives me the opportunity to listen, transcribe and elaborate.<br />
<b><br />What is hardest – getting published, writing or marketing? </b><br />
More
and more in today’s world, I have to say marketing. Publishing is
going through a Renaissance, where nearly everyone can be published.
But very few books get exposed because not everyone is a good marketer.
And what works for one author or book may not work for another.</div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/IJames.jpg" href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/IJames.jpg"><img alt="IJames" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-41780" data-mce-src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/IJames.jpg" src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/IJames.jpg" height="200" width="130" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">James Crofter was ripped from his family at age 11. <br data-mce-style="color: #000000;" />Within a year the prince was a pauper in a foreign land. <br data-mce-style="color: #000000;" />Is nature stronger than nurture? And even if it is, can James find the happiness he so richly desires? </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy Now @ <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/I-James-Eternity-Book-2-ebook/dp/B00MQHIG0Q/ref=la_B009VJQBEA_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1409891856&sr=1-5" href="http://www.amazon.com/I-James-Eternity-Book-2-ebook/dp/B00MQHIG0Q/ref=la_B009VJQBEA_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1409891856&sr=1-5" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre - Historical Fiction, Romance</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – PG</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Mike-Hartner/e/B009VJQBEA/" href="http://www.amazon.com/Mike-Hartner/e/B009VJQBEA/" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Connect</b> with Mike Hartner on <a data-mce-href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mike-Hartner-Author/368690356556759" href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mike-Hartner-Author/368690356556759" target="_blank">Facebook</a> & <a data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/MHartnerAuthor" href="https://twitter.com/MHartnerAuthor" target="_blank">Twitter</a></span></span></div>
Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2493231551775073696.post-32109309576928842192014-11-04T07:00:00.000+00:002014-11-06T12:15:52.006+00:00WHAT FREEDOM SMELLS LIKE: A #Memoir by Amy Lewis @AmyLewisAuthor #Excerpt #NonFictionThere are certain advantages to being a widow. As a trade- off they are certainly not worth it, but from one who always searches for the silver lining, they are worth mentioning. I sat on the front steps of a run-down Creole cottage, the location of a weekly widow’s group I joined, and talked to Jim, who had lost his wife to cancer two years ago.<br /><br />“In the weeks and months after her death, I experienced a sense of clarity about life unlike anything I had ever known. The lucidity is mixed in with the shock and grief and craziness of the process, but it is not insanity. This gift is true wisdom. But know this. It fades with time. So use it. Use it before it goes away.”<br /><br />There were other advantages as well and many in my group reported the same experiences:<br /><br />Weight loss: Food held little interest or taste for me, and the pounds miraculously began to melt off of me with no effort on my part.<br /><br />The W Retort: The cards, wishes, and calls from loved ones came and then after the first month mostly went away. But I was quick to use the W word whenever I needed it or wanted it to protect me. “Hey my husband just died, get out of my face”. “I can’t possibly deal with your two hundred thousand dollar bill” I told the hospital administrator on the phone. “I was just widowed, you know, thanks to your incompetent doctors.” It was just an insurance billing error they later said. I managed to get about six grand in late tax penalties removed with a finely crafted letter to the IRS utilizing the W word. The distinction of young W even more effective.<br /><br />Fearlessness: Best of all, I simply wasn’t afraid of the things that normally I would be. In fact, nothing seemed to scare me. The typical “bad day” went undistinguished against the backdrop of the worst year of my life. Washing machine breaks shooting out suds that flood the laundry room? Que sera sera. You want to rob me? Ok. You want to audit me. Be my guest. You want to shoot me? That looks just like my husband’s gun. Oh my dead husband, he just died. Let me see that thing. I want to touch it.<br /><br />In the first three months, I cycled between states of unbearable sadness, confusion and anger. The pain smashed into me in waves. I felt reasonably normal and then reality would hit. Most days still felt like a dream state. This can’t be happening. This didn’t just happen. A huge sense of incredulousness hung over me like the first time Truth struck me. Oh no you did not just hit me. Oh no you did not just get sick on me and die.<br /><br />Who are you? And where are you? I missed his touch. How big and muscular his hands were. I missed his ear-to-ear grin and his smell and his face and his laugh and his skin and his tattoos and the way he greeted me each morning: Good morning Mrs. Lewis. I missed how secure I felt with him as CEO of our business. But, I didn’t miss his moods, his fist, his threats, his guns, his jealousy, and his complete domination over me. Day to day life was easier for me as a widow; that I could not deny.<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13.3333339691162px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/whatFreedomSmellsLike.jpg" href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/whatFreedomSmellsLike.jpg"><img alt="whatFreedomSmellsLike" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-41176" data-mce-src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/whatFreedomSmellsLike.jpg" src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/whatFreedomSmellsLike.jpg" height="200" width="130" /></a></span></span></div>
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<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Diagnosed
with Borderline Personality disorder, Amy struggled with depression and
an addiction to sharp objects. Even hospitalization didn't help to heal
her destructive tendencies. It took a tumultuous relationship with a
man named Truth to bring her back from the depths of her own self-made
hell.Amy's marriage to dark, intriguing Truth was both passionate and
stormy. She was a fair-skinned southern girl from New Orleans. He was a
charming black man with tribal tattoos, piercings, and a mysterious
past. They made an unlikely pair, but something clicked. During their
early marriage, they pulled themselves out of abject poverty into wealth
and financial security practically overnight. Then things began to fall
a</span></span>part.<br />
<br />
Passionate and protective, Truth also proved violent and abu<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">sive.
Amy’s own self-destructive tendencies created a powerful symmetry. His
sudden death left Amy with an intense and warring set of emotions: grief
for the loss of the man she loved, relief she was no longer a target
for his aggression.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Conflicted
and grieving, Amy found herself at a spiritual and emotional
crossroads, only to receive help from an unlikely source: Truth himself.
Feeling his otherworldly presence in her dreams, Amy seeks help from a
famous medium.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Her
spiritual encounters change Amy forever. Through Truth, she learns her
soul is eternal and indestructible, a knowledge that gives Amy the
courage to pursue her own dreams and transform herself both physically
and emotionally. Her supernatural encounters help Amy resolve the
internal anger and self-destructive tendencies standing between her and
happiness, culminating in a sense of spiritual fulfillment she never
dreamed possible.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">An amazing true story, What Freedom Smells Like is told with courage, honesty, and a devilishly dark sense of hu</span></span>mor.<br />
<br />
Bu<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">y Now @ <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/What-Freedom-Smells-Like-Memoir-ebook/dp/B00JTHDCSC/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=&qid=" href="http://www.amazon.com/What-Freedom-Smells-Like-Memoir-ebook/dp/B00JTHDCSC/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=&qid=" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre – Memoir</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – PG-13</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Amy-Lewis/e/B00KERPYYQ/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1" href="http://www.amazon.com/Amy-Lewis/e/B00KERPYYQ/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Connect</b> with Amy Lewis through <a data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/AmyLewisAuthor" href="https://twitter.com/AmyLewisAuthor" target="_blank">Twitter</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Website <a class="in-cell-link" data-mce-href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.WhatFreedomSmellsLike.com&usd=2&usg=ALhdy2-u-DEq6B2o3ZSLOwj9JWZOYB9gHA" href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.WhatFreedomSmellsLike.com&usd=2&usg=ALhdy2-u-DEq6B2o3ZSLOwj9JWZOYB9gHA" target="_blank">www.WhatFreedomSmellsLike.com</a></b></span></span></div>
Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2493231551775073696.post-49091994262254416112014-10-29T08:00:00.000+00:002014-11-11T12:29:24.692+00:00Kirsten Mortensen on First, Second or Third Voice : The Power of POV @KirstenWriter #WriteTip #Suspense<b>First, Second, or Third Voice: The Power of POV</b><br />
<i>By Kirsten Mortensen, Author of Dark Chemistry </i><br />
<br />
Like
a lot of authors, I’ve experimented with voice. I’ve written in the
first person. I’ve written in the third person. And I’ve even toyed with
the second person—breaking the 20th Century rule of “no authorial
intrusion.” Because hey, I’m a rebel. Rules are made to be broken!<br />
<br />
So I thought I’d share a bit about what I’ve learned about voice.<br />
<br />
Some
of my insights are similar to what you’ve probably read elsewhere, or
know from experimenting with voice yourself. Certain genres lend
themselves naturally to first person POV, for example. I can’t imagine
classic chick lit (think Bridget Jones's Diary) in anything other than
first person. Ditto for hard-boiled crime fiction, like Raymond
Chandler’s Philip Marlowe novels.<br />
<br />
As a writer, first
person voice can be a kick as a literary device. There’s the fun of the
Unreliable Narrator, for example. The person telling the story
inevitably filters events through her assumptions or prejudices. She may
even lie outright to protect someone else, or to show herself in a
positive light.<br />
<br />
A person narrating a story is also on a
journey. He or she is discovering things, assembling puzzle pieces. Who
committed the murder? Is the handsome boss an unreliable flirt or a
modern day prince? With first person, we readers get to ride along as
the narrator solves these kinds of questions.<br />
<br />
First
person POV can also help make a reader’s experience more sympathetic. I
learned this the hard way. When I first drafted one of my novels (When
Libby Met the Fairies), I wrote it in the first person. But later, I
second-guessed myself and re-wrote the book in third person voice. It
was a newbie mistake: I should have trusted my original impulse, but I
didn’t. Then, when I published the novel, I discovered (to my horror)
that scenarios I thought were humorous came across, to readers, as
humiliating.<br />
<br />
You know the final scene in Brigit Jones,
where she runs out into the street in her tights to chase down Mark
Darcy? Imagine if that scene were done in such a way that, instead of
cheering her on, you got angry at Brigit for debasing herself. Chasing
after a man that way! Doesn’t she have any self-respect?<br />
<br />
That’s
what I managed to do with Libby! So perhaps, one of these days, I’ll
revise that novel again and let Libby tell the story with her voice. But
even if I don’t, it’s still a lesson that I learned, the hard way,
about the power of POV.<br />
<br />
Writing in the third person
gives a writer a completely different set of tools. My latest novel,
Dark Chemistry, is written in the third person. That let me shift points
of view among several characters, including two bad guys, a heroine, a
hero, and the hero’s friend and co-worker. I found that this let me add a
lot of richness and depth to the story. One of my bad guys is very very
creepy—telling part of the story from his point of view let me bring
that out. Using third person also let me show how my heroine, Haley
Dubose, evolved and matured during the course of the novel. She starts
out spoiled and shallow, but learns to value relationships, love, and
commitment more than clubbing and designer clothes. I had a lot of fun
with that, and decided to use third person in my next novel as well.<br />
<br />
So
now it’s your turn. If you’re a writer, what have you discovered by
experimenting with voice and POV? As a reader, do you enjoy first person
or third person more—and why?<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/darkChemistry.jpg" href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/darkChemistry.jpg"><img alt="darkChemistry" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-41412" data-mce-src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/darkChemistry.jpg" src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/darkChemistry.jpg" height="200" width="130" /></a></span></span></div>
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<h1>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A woman's worst nightmare</span></span></h1>
<h2 data-mce-style="color: #cc6600;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Drugged by something...that makes her think she's fallen in love.</span></span></h2>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">All Haley Dubose has ever known is beaches and malls, clubs and cocktail dresses.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>But now her father is dead.</b></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And if she wants to inherit her father's fortune, she has to leave sunny Southern California<br />for a backwater little town near Syracuse, New York. She has to run RMB, the multimillion dollar<br />chemical company her father founded. And she has to run it well.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Keep
RMB on track, and she'll be rich. Grow it, and she'll be even richer.
But mess it up, and her inheritance will shrink away before she gets a
chance to spend a dime.</span></span><br />
<h2 data-mce-style="color: #cc6600;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Donavon Todde is her true love. But is it too late?</span></span></h2>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">He's RMB's head of sales – and the more Donavon sees of Haley, the more he's smitten.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sure,
she comes across at first as naïve and superficial. But Donavon knew
Haley's father. He can see the man's better qualities stirring to life
in her eyes. And Donavon senses something else: Haley's father left her a
legacy more important than money. He left her the chance to discover
her true self.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Donavon has demons of his own.</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b> </b><br />He's
reeling from a heartbreak that's taking far too long to heal. But he's
captivated by this blond Californian, and not only because of her
beauty.<i> It's chemistry.</i> They're right for each other. But has
Donavon waited too long to woo this woman of his dreams? Because to his
horror, his beautiful Haley falls under another spell.<i> Gerad's spell.</i></span></span><br />
<h2 data-mce-style="color: #cc6600;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A web of evil.</span></span></h2>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Gerad
Picket was second-in-command at RMB when Haley's father was alive. And
with Haley on the scene, he's in charge of her training. But there are
things about RMB that Gerad doesn't want Haley to know.</span></span><br />
<h2 data-mce-style="color: #cc6600;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And he must control her. Any way he can.</span></span></h2>
<h1>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Romantic suspense for your Kindle</span></span></h1>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Will Haley realize that her feelings are not her TRUE feelings?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Does Donavon have the strength left to fight for the woman he loves?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Will the two of them uncover Gerad's plot to use RMB pheromones to enslave the world?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And even if they do – can they stop it?</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy Now @ <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Chemistry-Kirsten-Mortensen-ebook/dp/B00KEYP3QI/" href="http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Chemistry-Kirsten-Mortensen-ebook/dp/B00KEYP3QI/" target="_blank">Amazon</a> &<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/422146" href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/422146" target="_blank">Smashwords</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre – Romantic suspense</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – PG-13</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Kirsten-Mortensen/e/B001JP7X50/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1" href="http://www.amazon.com/Kirsten-Mortensen/e/B001JP7X50/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
<div align="center">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Connect</b> with Kirsten Mortensen through<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kirsten-Mortensen-Writer/195344590544496?ref=hl" href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kirsten-Mortensen-Writer/195344590544496?ref=hl" target="_blank">Facebook</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>& <a data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/Kirstenwriter" href="https://twitter.com/Kirstenwriter" target="_blank">Twitter</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Website <a class="in-cell-link" data-mce-href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://kirstenmortensen.com/&usd=2&usg=ALhdy29OlqrTvuWJGs0Xbb3RDK_7VviC8A" href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://kirstenmortensen.com/&usd=2&usg=ALhdy29OlqrTvuWJGs0Xbb3RDK_7VviC8A" target="_blank">http://kirstenmortensen.com/</a></b></span></span></div>
</div>
</div>
Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2493231551775073696.post-85104696059073904562014-10-17T12:00:00.000+01:002014-11-04T16:16:57.710+00:00@KimberlyShursen Shares Tips on Relaxing for Writers & More #AmReading #AmWriting #Thriller <div style="text-align: center;">
<b><a href="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/37/c2/ddb9364ad12b0ad8976fea.L._V352962290_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/37/c2/ddb9364ad12b0ad8976fea.L._V352962290_.jpg" height="320" width="243" /></a> </b></div>
<br />
<b>Tell us about your family?</b>
I am a widow, so my handsome, bright sons are the cornerstone of my
life. After my husband passed from cancer was when I moved from
Minneapolis to the Midwest to take care of my aging mother.<br />
<br />
<b>How do you write – lap top, pen, paper, in bed, at a desk? </b>Everywhere.
It depends on my mood. In the winter months when it’s below zero, I
bring the computer into my bedroom. If it’s 75-80 degrees outside, you
might find me with my laptop on my deck.<br />
<br />
<b>Where do you get support from? </b>Do
you have friends in the industry? I have a ton of friends in the
industry. Many I interviewed when I was first started my website. My
friends live all over the world; Italy, Germany, the UK. I don’t ever
want to lose even one of them.<br />
<br />
<b>How much sleep do you need to be your best?</b>
I don’t sleep well, I’m always thinking, thinking, thinking. I think
this is the lament of most women. If I have five hours of continuous
sleep, I’m good to go.<br />
<br />
<b>Is there anyone you’d like to acknowledge and thank for their support? </b>Katie
French, who is an excellent author, and I have been beta readers for
each other’s books for three years. My books are enhanced by Katie’s
input. We are brutally honest with each other, and that’s what we both
want.<br />
<br />
<b>Every writer has their own idea of what a successful career in writing is, what does success in writing look like to you?</b>
Don’t we all want to be at the top of the New York Times Best Selling
list? I’m no different. I’m not going to try to woo anyone with words
such as “I just hoped and prayed that someone would read my books.” I
want everyone to read my novels and applaud the fact that I am a bold
writer who isn’t looking to “fit it” to what the most popular genre of
the months is, as I’m ready and willing to take a chance.<br />
<br />
<b>It is vital to get exposure and target the right readers for your writing, tell us about your marketing campaign?</b>
I market the first thing in the morning every single day. Marketing
doesn’t have to be about your book, it can be about building a
relationship - one person at a time. I try to seek out people who I find
interesting, and hope they find me interesting too. I have a “facebook
team” that are unbelievable supporters who shout out the word to their
friends whenever I have a release, a book signing, or radio interview.
But make no mistake, this team is about friendship first and not
marketing.<br />
<br />
<b>Tell us about your new book?</b> What’s
it about and why did you write it? Psychological thriller Lottery just
came out this month. Mental illness has always fascinated me. I don’t
think the public really understands that mental illness is just as real
to the person afflicted as the so called “normal” person’s mind. In
Lottery, Caleb O’Toole is described as “Jekyll and Hyde meets Dexter.”
The human mind is fascinating, and there have been instances where we
find that the person next door is not who we thought he/she was when
their dark secret is exposed.<br />
<b><br />If you could have a dinner party and invite anyone dead or alive, who would you ask? </b>My father. He passed three years ago, and I have so much I want to tell him.<br />
<br />
<b>Do you have any tips on how writers can relax?</b>
Exercise. Make yourself work out the kinks of sitting at a computer
writing for hours and days at a time. Set a time, place, and how long
you are going to work those muscles and take a break from the computer.
Your mind, your body, and those closest to you need you to take a
breather. I’m also a golfer and try to get on the course as much as time
allows.<br />
<br />
<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/hush.jpg" href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/hush.jpg"><img alt="hush" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-41080" data-mce-src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/hush.jpg" src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/hush.jpg" height="200" width="130" /></a></span></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" id="outer_postBodyPS" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<div id="postBodyPS">
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Soon
after Ann Ferguson and Ben Grable marry, and Ben unseals his adoption
papers, their perfect life together is torn apart, sending the couple to
opposite sides of the courtroom.</span></span></div>
<div id="postBodyPS">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />Representing
Ann, lawyer Michael J. McConaughey (Mac) feels this is the case that
could have far-reaching, judicial effects -- the one he's been waiting
for.</span></span></div>
<div id="postBodyPS">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />Opposing counsel knows this high profile case happens just once in a lifetime.</span></span></div>
<div id="postBodyPS">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />And
when the silent protest known as HUSH sweeps the nation, making
international news, the CEO of one of the top ten pharmaceutical
companies in the world plots to derail the trial that could cost his
company billions.</span></span></div>
<div id="postBodyPS">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />Critically
acclaimed literary thriller HUSH not only questions one of the most
controversial laws that has divided the nation for over four decades,
but captures a story of the far-reaching ties of family that surpasses
time and distance.</span></span></div>
<div id="postBodyPS">
<br />
<div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>***
Hush does not have political or religious content. The story is built
around the emotions and thoughts of two people who differ in their
beliefs.</b></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b> </b></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">EDITORIAL
REVIEW: "Suspenseful and well-researched, this action-packed legal
thriller will take readers on a journey through the trials and
tribulations of one of the most controversial subjects in society
today."<span style="font-family: inherit;"> <i>- </i></span><i>Katie French author of "The Breeders," "The Believer's," and "Eyes Ever To The Sky."</i></span></span></div>
</div>
</div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy Now @ <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Hush-Kimberly-Shursen-ebook/dp/B00HZKBGW4/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1404820465&sr=1-1&keywords=hush+and+kimberly+shursen" href="http://www.amazon.com/Hush-Kimberly-Shursen-ebook/dp/B00HZKBGW4/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1404820465&sr=1-1&keywords=hush+and+kimberly+shursen" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre – Thriller</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – PG-13</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Kimberly-Shursen/e/B00C7ZBTIS/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1" href="http://www.amazon.com/Kimberly-Shursen/e/B00C7ZBTIS/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Connect</b> with Kimberly Shursen through <a data-mce-href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kimberly-Shursen-Author/286879094678995" href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kimberly-Shursen-Author/286879094678995" target="_blank">Facebook</a> and <a data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/kimberlyShursen" href="https://twitter.com/kimberlyShursen" target="_blank">Twitter</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Website <a class="in-cell-link" data-mce-href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.kimberlyshursen.com/&usd=2&usg=ALhdy2-uex70LjIEkr9CbwWbuB4zDHIOKw" href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.kimberlyshursen.com/&usd=2&usg=ALhdy2-uex70LjIEkr9CbwWbuB4zDHIOKw" target="_blank">http://www.kimberlyshursen.com/</a></b></span></span></div>
Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2493231551775073696.post-5209512986224977172014-10-15T12:30:00.000+01:002015-01-21T09:53:02.261+00:00#Excerpt from WITNESS TO MY HEART by @LoniFlowers #Contemporary #Romance #MustRead“So, how long have you been out of the Army?”<br />
<br />
“A little over a year.”<br />
<br />
“Did you leave when David did?”<br />
<br />
Max
stretched his arm across the back of the bench behind me. “We left at
the same time; but, no, David chose not to re-enlist when his term was
up. I wasn’t given any options.”<br />
<br />
That seemed kind of
harsh. Unless he was fighting or being disruptive—which I could
definitely see—why couldn’t he re-enlist? “Dishonorably discharged?”<br />
<br />
“I guess you could say that.”<br />
<br />
“What did you do to warrant that?”<br />
<br />
“I didn’t do anything.” What is this? Fifty Questions?”<br />
<br />
“It’s however-many-questions-you’ll-answer,” I said nonchalantly.<br />
<br />
“Oh, I see. And can I play this game too?”<br />
<br />
“I guess it depends on what you ask.”<br />
<br />
Max pivoted towards me and his right leg pressed against mine. “Okay, let’s get right down to it. What are you hiding from?”<br />
<br />
My
eyes bulged wide with disbelief. How did he know? I was no different
around him than anyone else. “What? What are you talking about? Who said
I was hiding from something?”<br />
<br />
He smirked with
amusement. “Denial. It’s okay. I get it. Tell me why you were so scared
in the lobby? You never showed that kind of fear towards me before.”<br />
<br />
“You
have no idea what you’re talking about. And I wasn’t scared. I couldn’t
see your face temporarily because of the bright glare from the sun.
When you grabbed me, it startled me.” As if I would confess everything
to him just because he asked. Yeah, right.<br />
<br />
“You know, you can’t ask me questions and expect answers, if you’re not willing to offer up anything in return.”<br />
<br />
He was right.<br />
<br />
It
wasn’t fair. I should have known better than most people how hard it
was to conceal personal facts about your life, and if Max didn’t want to
share his, I should have respected his choice.<br />
<br />
“You’re
right. I’m sorry. I hoped to ask you some basic questions. You know,
favorite color, favorite dessert, dog or cat, what you do for a living…
those types of things.”<br />
<br />
“Well, you haven’t asked me
those questions. But if you must know, I don’t have a favorite color. I
don’t do pets. They’re a responsibility I don’t want or have time for.
And I work for a buddy of mine in St. Louis as a private investigator.
It’s nothing like a full-time career, however, just whenever he needs
me. I don’t need the money, but it doesn’t hurt to get paid doing easy
jobs; and it keeps my mind focused on other things.” His finger curled
around a lock of my hair as he shifted beside me.<br />
<br />
“You forgot one,” I mumbled, enjoying his aimless tugging on my hair.<br />
<br />
“What?”<br />
<br />
“Dessert. What’s your favorite?”<br />
<br />
“Strawberries… and whipped cream, if it’s around. Lots and lots of whipped cream.”<br />
<br />
I
was about to bite into a carrot stick, but stopped with it halfway to
my mouth. His words seemed to drip from his lips. If he had leaned in a
few more inches and kissed me—minus the carrot—I would have let him. He
was only a few inches away, and I caught his eyes flickering from my
eyes to my mouth. My mouth watered, imagining how strawberries and
whipped cream would taste from his kiss. I licked my lips… and ate the
carrot.<br />
<br />
He leaned against the bench with a sly grin. “Does that about answer all your questions?”<br />
<br />
I recovered as best I could and peeked at my watch. “I supposed it’ll do for now. I have to get back.”<br />
<br />
Max stood and held his hand out to pull me up. “Until next time,” he said, walking me to the passenger side of his car.<br />
<br />
Settling
in the seat, I gave him a curious glance, not knowing if that were a
question or a statement. I answered with, “Maybe.” I still wasn’t sure
what to think about Max. He was an asshole one minute, a comforting
savior the next, and pure sex-on-a-stick twenty-four hours of every day.<br />
<br />
<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Witness-to-my-Heart.jpg" href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Witness-to-my-Heart.jpg"><img alt="Witness to my Heart" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-41881" data-mce-src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Witness-to-my-Heart.jpg" src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Witness-to-my-Heart.jpg" height="200" width="130" /></a></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
Keep
a low profile. That's what Abigale Peterson was supposed to do,
especially when the person she was being protected from was one of the
world's worst crime lords. After seven years in the Witness Protection
Program, she felt no safer now than she did when she was seventeen.
Revenge was rarely forgotten when it came to a professional criminal
like Zerilli.<br />
<br />
Low profiles meant no social life and definitely no love life.<br />
<br />
Paranoia
and lies became daily habits, going against everything Abigale believed
in, but they kept her safe. They kept everyone safe.<br />
<br />
Until
a house fire puts her out of that safety and into the arms of a
stranger. Max Smith is sexy, smart, and has major attitude. He’s the
only one who seems to get her. He calms her fears and comforts her from
her nightmares. But he also sees right through her lies.<br />
<br />
Before
Abigale can stop, she’s in too deep; confiding too much and breaking
the one rule she promised herself to uphold: Never fall in love.<br />
<br />
Bu<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">y Now @ <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Witness-my-Heart-Loni-Flowers-ebook/dp/B00MLN4IFW" href="http://www.amazon.com/Witness-my-Heart-Loni-Flowers-ebook/dp/B00MLN4IFW" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre – Contemporary Romance</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – R</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Loni-Flowers/e/B00JOF1XYO/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1" href="http://www.amazon.com/Loni-Flowers/e/B00JOF1XYO/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Connect with Loni Flowers through<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="https://www.facebook.com/AuthorLoniFlowers" href="https://www.facebook.com/AuthorLoniFlowers" target="_blank">Facebook</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>&<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/LoniFlowers" href="https://twitter.com/LoniFlowers" target="_blank">Twitter</a></span></span></div>
Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2493231551775073696.post-42053939467170773682014-10-11T07:00:00.000+01:002014-12-11T15:37:27.880+00:00WHERE HAVE I BEEN ALL MY LIFE? #Excerpt by Cheryl Rice @RiceonLife #Relationships #Memoir“You are resting under a large and lovely maple tree. Do you know that, Mom?“<br />
<br />
And do you also know that Dad already purchased his headstone and had it engraved with his name and birthday and placed next to yours? He’s counting the days until he joins you. Some days it’s like he already has. I wish I knew what to do for him. I can’t tell you how many people came up to me at the shivah [the weeklong mourning period in Judaism during which people offer their condolences to the bereaved] and said, ‘Take care of your dad.’ I’m trying, Mom, I really am. I wish we had talked about this before you died.<br />
<br />
I wish you could have told me how to deal with his sorrow. It seems like he’s trying to be more in your world than mine.<br />
<br />
“Okay, this isn’t working for me, Mom. I’m sorry. I’m sorry you are here, and I’m sorry you are not here. I’m sorry that despite ten years of Hebrew school, I don’t have strong enough clarity or faith to know for sure where you are. And I’m deeply sorry for feeling this, Mom, but I’m sorry you died before Dad.<br />
<br />
“I will keep looking for you. I’m leaving now. Good-bye, Mom.”<br />
<br />
As I walked back to my car, a part of me knew I was engaged in magical thinking and a part of me didn’t.<br />
<br />
<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Where-Have-I-Been-All-My-Life.jpg" href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Where-Have-I-Been-All-My-Life.jpg"><img alt="Where Have I Been All My Life" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-41809" data-mce-src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Where-Have-I-Been-All-My-Life.jpg" src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Where-Have-I-Been-All-My-Life.jpg" height="200" width="130" /></a></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
Where
Have I Been All My Life? is a compelling memoir recounting one woman’s
journey through grief and a profound feeling of unworthiness to
wholeness and healing. It begins with the chillingly sudden death of
Rice’s mother, and is followed by her foray into the center of mourning.
<br />
<br />
With wisdom, grace, and humor, Rice recounts the grief games
she plays in an effort to resurrect her mother; her efforts to get her
therapist, who she falls desperately in love with, to run away with her;
and the transformation of her husband from fantasy man to ordinary guy
to superhero. In the process, she experiences aching revelations about
her family and her past—and realizes what she must leave behind, and
what she can carry forward with her.<br />
<br />
Bu<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">y Now @ <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Where-Have-Been-All-Life/dp/163152917X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1405965204&sr=8-1&keywords=where+have+i+been+all+my+life%3F" href="http://www.amazon.com/Where-Have-Been-All-Life/dp/163152917X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1405965204&sr=8-1&keywords=where+have+i+been+all+my+life%3F" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre – Memoir</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – PG-13</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Cheryl-Rice/e/B00J5OWIGQ/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1" href="http://www.amazon.com/Cheryl-Rice/e/B00J5OWIGQ/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Connect with Cheryl Rice through<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="%20https://www.facebook.com/yourvoiceyourvision " href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-admin/%20https://www.facebook.com/yourvoiceyourvision" target="_blank">Facebook</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>&<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/RiceOnLife" href="https://twitter.com/RiceOnLife" target="_blank">Twitter</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="font-weight: bold ! important;">Website <a class="in-cell-link" data-mce-href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.yourvoiceyourvision.com&usd=2&usg=ALhdy2-KsIroKPbTLpqZOg7K5rhGXAchzg" href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.yourvoiceyourvision.com&usd=2&usg=ALhdy2-KsIroKPbTLpqZOg7K5rhGXAchzg" target="_blank">www.yourvoiceyourvision.com</a></b></span></span></div>
Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2493231551775073696.post-82087395851997777832014-10-03T12:00:00.000+01:002014-12-04T13:57:19.109+00:00K S Ferguson's #WriteTip for Getting Your Scenes & Settings Right - #AmWriting #Fantasy Authenticity is the writer's watch word. If you're describing a
location like Chicago or Los Angeles, you'd better get the Starbucks at
the right corner of the intersection. Intend to sink a nuclear sub? Make
sure you mention all the right switches and buttons on the control
panel. If you don't, readers will let you know that you screwed it up.<br />
<br />
David
Morrell, author of Rambo and over thirty other bestselling thriller
novels knows this rule. That's why he's attended the FBI defensive
driving course, knife-fighting school, and spent months learning to sail
a boat.<br />
<br />
Of course, David Morrell can afford to spend
the time and money on research to ensure that his details are authentic.
The rest of us merely mortal authors aim a little lower.<br />
<br />
In
my contemporary fantasy, Touching Madness, hapless hero River Madden is
both schizophrenic and a dedicated pacifist. (Think about it—would you
give a deadly weapon to someone who hallucinates?) But being a pacifist
doesn't excuse River from facing physical danger.<br />
<br />
River
needs to 'get the goods' on a local mob boss and his drug lord
supplier. He convinces the criminals to rendezvous with him in an
abandoned factory under the pretext of making a drug buy. River's plans
never go quite like he intends. I needed a contingency plan that would
allow him to escape without turning to violence once things started to
go wrong.<br />
<br />
That's when I thought about smoke bombs
(possibly because my brother got suspended from high school for a few
days for lobbing one onto the football field at half-time). According to
dozens of YouTube videos, they're dead simple to make, requiring only
stump remover, newspaper, string, and an empty soda can. It was exactly
the kind of home-made solution River would use. For the sake of
authenticity, I thought I better try it out.<br />
<br />
Really
good smoke bombs aren't as simple as they seem. To get the necessary
billowing clouds of smoke I wanted, I needed to get the air holes just
right. And I needed a mass of bombs all going off at the same time.
Fuses were an issue. Cotton string just isn't that flammable. Throwing
them was a joke. I could barely get ignition when they were sitting on
the ground in ideal conditions. In the end, I ditched the smoke bombs.<br />
<br />
But
all was not lost. I had a very authentic experience convincing the fire
department and my neighbors that I was only a harmless writer and not a
terrorist. I'm sure I'll use that conversation in a book someday.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Touching-Madness.jpg" href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Touching-Madness.jpg"><img alt="Touching Madness" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-41637" data-mce-src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Touching-Madness.jpg" src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Touching-Madness.jpg" height="200" width="130" /></a></span></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Light
bulbs talk to River Madden; God doesn't. When the homeless
schizophrenic unintentionally fractures a dimensional barrier and
accidentally steals a gym bag containing a million dollars, everyone
from the multiverse police to the local crime boss—and an eight-foot
tall demon—are after him. Can he dodge them long enough to correct his
mistakes and prevent the destruction of three separate dimensions? If he
succeeds, will the light bulbs stop singing off-key?</span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy Now @ <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007H9QPLA" href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007H9QPLA" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre – Contemporary, Urban fantasy</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – R</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&field-author=K%20S%20Ferguson&search-alias=digital-text&sort=relevancerank" href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&field-author=K%20S%20Ferguson&search-alias=digital-text&sort=relevancerank" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Website <a class="in-cell-link" data-mce-href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.ksferguson.net&usd=2&usg=ALhdy28uYLnWK2puPbkhz-G_C7dYRTpoBw" href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.ksferguson.net&usd=2&usg=ALhdy28uYLnWK2puPbkhz-G_C7dYRTpoBw" target="_blank">http://www.ksferguson.net</a></b></span></span></div>
Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2493231551775073696.post-57192694830352751132014-10-03T07:00:00.000+01:002014-10-03T17:56:30.086+01:00Craig Staufenberg on Not Liking Tight Deadlines @YouMakeArtDumb #AmWriting #WriteTip #MG <div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<div class="Normal1CxSpFirst" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>How to Meet Deadlines and Remain Sane</b></span></span></div>
<div class="Normal1CxSpFirst" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Normal1CxSpMiddle" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The
simplest strategy is to not set deadlines. This is very easy when
you’re writing the book for yourself and plan on self-publishing. It’s
hard to let a deadline drive you crazy when it’s not there in the first
place. Though then you may run into the creeping dread and anxiety that
comes from not having a clear idea of when the project will be done. Or
even if the project will be done. It’s easiest to not set deadlines when
you’re sure that you’re going to finish the thing—which you can only be
sure about if you have experience finishing projects in the past.</span></span></div>
<div class="Normal1CxSpMiddle" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Normal1CxSpMiddle" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A
better model— you can set a longer hard-limit deadline for the end of
the project, and then avoid creating any little ones. For example, you
can say you want to have your book done in a year. When one year passes
after starting the project, you’re done, and you release the best
version of what you have. Then you just let the year proceed without a
lot of micromanaging of your schedule, or draft completion, or any other
smaller deadlines and milestones. Once again, this relies on some
understanding that you’re actually going to be able to finish the
project, and that you’ll work on it throughout that year. Not a huge
problem when you really love the project, the characters, the story, and
you feel compelled to make the thing. And then, as long as you have a
hard end to the project, you can float around inside that time and feel
certain it’ll get done.</span></span></div>
<div class="Normal1CxSpMiddle" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Normal1CxSpMiddle" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This
is my preferred method. I don’t like rigid structures and tight
deadlines. Other people do. Other people perform great by managing
everything down to the week or day or hour. For me, over-managing the
creative process and setting too many deadlines for myself makes me tone
deaf to my natural working rhythms. I will trick myself with my set
schedule, and I will complete every deadline the night before it’s due.
Maybe if I didn’t have that schedule in place I would have completed
that phase of the project three days earlier. But that deadline sticks
in my head, so instead of following my drive to work on that phase
before it’s due, I tell myself “I have until Sunday” and then I swallow
my interest in working on the project then and there, and end up putting
it off till right before midnight on Sunday.</span></span></div>
<div class="Normal1CxSpMiddle" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Normal1CxSpMiddle" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">All
of this is a fancy way of saying I like to work on my projects when it
feels right to work on them. As long as I keep the project top-of-mind
and continue to daydream about it—and journal a little bit on it
daily—then I’ll have an accurate feel when I’m ready to make a push and
when I’m not. But if I set a firm schedule, I end up working when the
schedule wants me to and not when I, and the project itself, want to put
in a few hours.</span></span></div>
<div class="Normal1CxSpMiddle" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Normal1CxSpMiddle" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This
is a personal thing. A personality thing. If it sounds like mayhem to
you, then you should have a more ordered way of producing your work. And
if you’ve never finished a project before, then the external stressors
of timelines and deadlines and milestones could be very useful for you.
But if you, like me, don’t fit into that style of working, then know
this—it isn’t necessary. It’s a shame that most people who write books
and articles about how to “get things done” tend to be very organized,
disciplined, hardline, schedule-the-process-to-the-minute sort of
people. Not because they’re necessarily better at getting things done,
but because they’re much more likely to write a book on the subject.
This creates a bias where we think these people have all the answers for
everyone.</span></span></div>
<div class="Normal1CxSpMiddle" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Normal1CxSpMiddle" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">They
don’t. Plenty of people get lots of things done while putting only the
lightest reins on themselves. And lots of us both prefer how that
freedom feels,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>and<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></i>work
much better without external or internally imposed restraint. By
accepting that about ourselves, we finish more projects, we produce
better work, and we enjoy our lives more, than we would if we tried to
fit a strict system. So I suppose the secret to not losing your mind
over all these deadlines is simple—know yourself, know how you get
things done, and honor that. More often than not that means being easier
on yourself, rather than forcing yourself into a tighter cage.</span></span></div>
<div class="Normal1CxSpMiddle" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Normal1CxSpMiddle" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And
as a passing note—if you’re worried that you won’t finish your project
if you don’t have a jailer on your back, then I’d suggest you might not
like this project (or writing in general) as much as you think you do.
The easiest way to stay sane while completing a project in a reasonable
amount of time is only working on projects that you love, and working on
them doesn’t feel like a burden.</span></span></div>
<div class="Normal1CxSpMiddle" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/The-Girl-Who-Came-Back-to-Life.jpg" href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/The-Girl-Who-Came-Back-to-Life.jpg"><img alt="The Girl Who Came Back to Life" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-40597" data-mce-src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/The-Girl-Who-Came-Back-to-Life.jpg" src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/The-Girl-Who-Came-Back-to-Life.jpg" height="200" width="130" /></a></span></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When
you die, your spirit wakes in the north, in the City of the Dead.
There, you wander the cold until one of your living loved ones finds
you, says "Goodbye," and Sends you to the next world. <br data-mce-style="color: #000000;" /><br data-mce-style="color: #000000;" />After
her parents die, 12-year-old Sophie refuses to release their spirits.
Instead, she resolves to travel to the City of the Dead to bring her
mother and father’s spirits back home with her. <br data-mce-style="color: #000000;" /><br data-mce-style="color: #000000;" />Taking
the long pilgrimage north with her gruff & distant grandmother—by
train, by foot, by boat; over ruined mountains and plains and
oceans—Sophie struggles to return what death stole from her. Yet the
journey offers her many hard, unexpected lessons—what to hold on to,
when to let go, and who she must truly bring back to life.</span></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy Now @ <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Girl-Who-Came-Back-Life-ebook/dp/B00JQRR0JM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1402517344&sr=8-1&keywords=craig+staufenberg" href="http://www.amazon.com/Girl-Who-Came-Back-Life-ebook/dp/B00JQRR0JM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1402517344&sr=8-1&keywords=craig+staufenberg" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre – Middle Grade</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – PG-13</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Craig-Staufenberg/e/B00J4CHMX8/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1" href="http://www.amazon.com/Craig-Staufenberg/e/B00J4CHMX8/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Connect</b><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>with Craig Staufenberg through<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="https://www.facebook.com/YouMakeArtDumb?ref=hl" href="https://www.facebook.com/YouMakeArtDumb?ref=hl" target="_blank">Facebook</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>and<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/YouMakeArtDumb" href="https://twitter.com/YouMakeArtDumb" target="_blank">Twitter</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Website <a class="in-cell-link" data-mce-href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://craigstaufenberg.com/&usd=2&usg=ALhdy2-DrQ3iDj9YlxIz66ffrjCdBEDC8Q" href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://craigstaufenberg.com/&usd=2&usg=ALhdy2-DrQ3iDj9YlxIz66ffrjCdBEDC8Q" target="_blank">http://craigstaufenberg.com/</a></b></span></span></div>
Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2493231551775073696.post-89813309877759438932014-10-02T11:00:00.000+01:002014-10-13T17:21:10.999+01:00Madi Brown's #WriteTip on Book Covers & Designers @Madithe1brown #SelfPub #AmReading #Wwed<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Why Book Covers Are So Important</b></span></span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Unless
you don't have eyes, people are visual. If there's a handsome guy
sitting across from me during my daily commute on the train, I'm going
to look. If I'm away on vacation, I'm going to appreciate the beautiful
sights around me, because I know that I'm there to relax. If my mom
bakes one of her yummy peach cobblers, I'm going to feast on it with my
eyes first, and then I'm going to devour it. In the world of books, book
covers work in the same way. There are probably millions of them out
there, but most readers are only looking for one title. Just think, your
book cover is going to be the very first thing that a buyer will see.
If you're suddenly feeling the pressure of of just how important a book
cover really might be, then continue to read on.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">“I've
penned a stellar novel. People are going to love me once they read what
I've written.” Plenty of authors are probably thinking the exact same
thing. But how are you going to let people know about this stellar body
of work that you've just created? I'll tell you how. You're going to
have a fabulous book cover that will make your book stand out from the
rest. And don’t worry, I get it. Writers aren't book designers, but
here's where you bring in someone to help with bringing your vision to
life. Outsourcing can be your new best friend.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">How to Find a Book Cover Designer That Fits Your Needs</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">I'm pretty infatuated with the book cover for my debut novel,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><b>The Truth About Emily</b>,
but it wasn't a one step process of knowing what I wanted straight
away. It started with me doing research. Think about your storyline or
nonfiction topic. Jot down some ideas so that you have a place of
reference to pull from. Do you have a title already? Great. If you do,
then keep that in mind too, because it's another source. Now go online
and begin looking at other people's book covers. Are they popular
authors? Ask yourself what it is, if anything, that's drawing your eyes
to it. How do you feel about the colors, the images, the font style, and
the font size? Also, check out some of the books that you've previously
purchased; specifically on the strength of its book cover. What caused
you to click on buying it? Next up, what you want to do, is take all of
that information and keep it somewhere safe. We'll come back to it.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Now
you'll need to find yourself a competent book cover designer. Fiverr
(an online company that will do almost any task for you for $5.00) has
loads of people on there who can assist you for a bargain, but just
remember that most of those people specialize in quantity over quality.
By this, I mean that you might end up with a book cover identical to
someone else or it may have an appearance that looks manufactured. This
isn’t to say that there aren’t some gems on there, but you'll have to
diligently seek them out. As for myself, I chose to go with a
freelancer. I was drawn to the element of selection in having access to a
host of talented designers with exceptional portfolios and being able
to make a choice based on a price that I’ve set. My final winning pick
was Gavin Pledger, Creative Soutions King).</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">By
now ,you’ve found yourself a book cover designer (as far as the work
contract is concerned, make sure that you add in how many times they’re
willing to revise. Negotiate a flat fee). The first thing that they’ll
want to know is what creative direction you’d like them to go in. This
is when you whip out the notes that you’ve been compiling for your
project. It’s your starting point. Don't be afraid to let them know what
works for you, and what doesn’t. A really good book cover designer will
be as excited as you are in getting right!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/truthaboutemily.jpg" href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/truthaboutemily.jpg"><img alt="truthaboutemily" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-41632" data-mce-src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/truthaboutemily.jpg" src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/truthaboutemily.jpg" height="200" width="130" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">"If you LOVE New York, if you’re a
name-dropping, fashion fiend careerist; fed up with serial dating,
plagued with a thirst for sex, then you’ll totally stalk me for what
I've penned.” - Author, Madi Brown</span></span></h2>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Description</i></span></span></h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">29-year-old
Emily Greene looks the part, but she’s still working on becoming a
modern-day woman. Not that she’s one to back down from a challenge, but
living as an eternal work-in-progress wasn't exactly the goal that she
had in mind. It’s a harsh but true realization---the idea that that time
isn't on her side, and the notion that wanting to have it all, doesn't
mean getting it. The verdict is in; with zero prospects for a
relationship and a stalled blogging career, Emily has every reason to
believe that she’s been living a life too humdrum for her own good.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Making
the change won’t be easy. She’ll have to do whatever it takes; start
dating like a man, become more selective about which RSVP's she accepts,
and work even harder at getting her dream job.The payoff’s huge; a
modern twist on a storybook ending, but gains don’t often come without
risks. In the here and now Emily just may be forced to choose...It’s got
to be one or the other----the profession that she’s always wanted, or
the love that she’s never had.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">˃˃˃ Praise for Madi Brown & </span></span></h3>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">her debut novel, The Truth About Emily</span></span></h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">"The
added depth of character promises complexity but wraps everything in
the saucy cloak of Emily's evolving personality and newfound beliefs
about life, love, and the real nature of happiness. And this is where
The Truth About Emily outshines many competitors, making it a
recommended read for those seeking more than a standard romance novel." <i>- D. Donovan, eBook Reviewer, Midwest Book Reviews</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">"This
book has just about anything a girl would love to read about. If
there's anything Emily Greene has is ISH and lots of it, oh the
ending... This book is a total keeper, just anything about fashion to
relationships to friends and family." <i>- Y. Sanchez, Goodreads</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Buy Now @ <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Truth-About-Emily-Madi-Brown-ebook/dp/B00MNIL5TW" href="http://www.amazon.com/Truth-About-Emily-Madi-Brown-ebook/dp/B00MNIL5TW" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Genre – Contemporary Women's Fiction</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Rating – PG18</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>More details about <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Madi-Brown/e/B00MNMD2ZS/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1" href="http://www.amazon.com/Madi-Brown/e/B00MNMD2ZS/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Connect</b> with Madi Brown on <a data-mce-href="https://www.facebook.com/Madibrown.combooksandblog" href="https://www.facebook.com/Madibrown.combooksandblog" target="_blank">Facebook</a> & <a data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/Madithe1brown" href="https://twitter.com/Madithe1brown" target="_blank">Twitter</a></span></span></div>
Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2493231551775073696.post-27667111272257778802014-09-30T11:30:00.000+01:002014-09-30T11:41:15.861+01:00Victoria Bernadine on Her Family, Writing & Personal Traits #AmReading #AmWriting #ChickLit<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>1. Tell us a bit about your family.</b><br />I
have four brothers, three sisters, six nephews and one niece. I,
personally, have never been married and I have no children, unless you
count the cats.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>2. How do you work through self-doubts and fear?</b><br />By
reminding myself that I’m really not as bad as I think – LOL. And if I
get too panicky, then I put what I’m working on away for a while, then
come back to it, and read it over. I usually find myself saying, “you
know, this is actually...almost...kinda…good...” My ego is overwhelming,
I know.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>3. What scares you the most?</b><br />Spiders. And heights. Spiders in high places really mess me up.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>4. What makes you happiest?</b><br />Writing, and cats.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>5. What’s your greatest character strength?</b><br />I’m stubborn.</span></span></div>
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<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>6. What’s your weakest character trait?</b><br />I’m stubborn.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>7. Why do you write?</b><br />I
enjoy it. I enjoy everything about it – even the editing, if it hasn’t
been going on forever. I love creating characters and a world and
situations and events and seeing what happens.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
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<a data-mce-href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/ALifeLessOrdinary.jpg" href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/ALifeLessOrdinary.jpg"><img alt="ALifeLessOrdinary" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-38501" data-mce-src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/ALifeLessOrdinary.jpg" src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/ALifeLessOrdinary.jpg" height="200" width="130" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For
the last fifteen years, Rose “Manny” Mankowski has been a very good
girl. She turned her back on her youthful fancies and focused on her
career. But now, at the age of 45, she's questioning her choices and
feeling more and more disconnected from her own life. When she's passed
over for promotion and her much younger new boss implies Manny's life
will never change, something snaps. In the blink of an eye, she's quit
her job, sold her house and cashed in her pension, and she's leaving
town on a six month road trip.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">After
placing a personal ad for a travelling companion, she's joined in her
mid-life crisis by Zeke Powell, the cynical, satirical, most-read – and
most controversial – blogger for the e-magazine, What Women Want. Zeke's
true goal is to expose Manny's journey as a pitiful and desperate
attempt to reclaim her lost youth – and increase his readership at the
same time. Leaving it all behind for six months is just an added bonus.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Now,
armed with a bagful of destinations, a fistful of maps, and an
out-spoken imaginary friend named Harvey, Manny's on a quest to
rediscover herself – and taking Zeke along for the ride.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy Now @ <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AMJBOSQ" href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AMJBOSQ" target="_blank">Amazon</a> &<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/299257" href="http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/299257" target="_blank">Smashwords</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre – ChickLit, Contemporary Fiction</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – PG-13</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Victoria-Bernadine/e/B00AN2VS5G/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1" href="http://www.amazon.com/Victoria-Bernadine/e/B00AN2VS5G/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <b>Connect</b> with Victoria Bernadine on <a data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/VicBernadine" href="https://twitter.com/VicBernadine" target="_blank">Twitter</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Blog <a class="in-cell-link" data-mce-href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://victoriabernadine.wordpress.com&usd=2&usg=ALhdy2_NZu0iup6n2vJwBd--NRvslbSPnw" href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://victoriabernadine.wordpress.com&usd=2&usg=ALhdy2_NZu0iup6n2vJwBd--NRvslbSPnw" target="_blank">victoriabernadine.wordpress.com</a></b></span></span></div>
Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2493231551775073696.post-40361845642650014702014-09-26T07:30:00.000+01:002014-12-08T08:51:41.036+00:00#Excerpt from MAKING WISHES by Marilyn Holdsworth @M_Holdsworth #WomensFic #BookClub <div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>HOUSEWIFE ELLOREE GETS INVITED BACK TO WORK</b></span></span><br />
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>(from the novel MAKING WISHES by Marilyn Holdsworth)</b></span></span></i></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Elloree’s
hand tightened around the receiver. “I know you have a very large and
capable staff now, Mark,” she said. “Alex Tenner is one of the best, and
I read you stole him from Hallmark just last year.” Mark laughed, the
deep bellowing sound shaking the phone. “You’re right there, but we call
it ‘making an offer he couldn’t refuse.’ Yeah, we’ve got him on our
side now. But between you and me, the guy’s a light-footed ass who
spends too much time thinking with what’s below the belt. No, this
operation needs someone special.”How very like him, Elloree fumed,
pacing the kitchen, still clutching the phone. Today, without warning,
one phone call had transformed an ordinary <span class="aBn">Saturday</span>morning
into something that was anything but. Impulsive, aggressive Mark
Williams had always known what he wanted. And as he phrased it this
morning, “I want and need you to come back to work, El. This project
can’t fly without you.”</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
I wish I’d just let the answering machine pick up the call, she thought,
I wouldn’t have had to talk to him and hear those persuasive words.
Just like that, go back to work. Damn him. But even as she thought it,
she knew she’d made her decision when she’d heard his voice. Still, she
answered carefully. “You know I can’t just come back, Mark. I would need
time.” She hesitated and then added, “Time to talk to Tom. And there
are things here to work out before I could even think of it.” She tried
to sound firm and in control, but her heart was racing with excitement.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Fine, fine; take all the time you need. Call me <span class="aBn">on Monday</span> with your answer.”</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">She wondered if he could detect the quiver in her voice when she promised to call <span class="aBn">on Monday</span>.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For more, please see Making Wishes by Marilyn Holdsworth at: <a href="http://marilynholdsworth.com/making-wishes/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://marilynholdsworth.com/making-wishes/</a></span></span></div>
<br />
<div data-mce-style="color: #222222;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/15/97/44078a95157c0ad8986cb6.L._V393916356_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/15/97/44078a95157c0ad8986cb6.L._V393916356_.jpg" /></a></span></span> </div>
<div data-mce-style="color: #222222;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="color: #222222;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-mce-style="color: #222222;" style="background-color: white; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">As a novelist, I draw on many real life experiences to<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span data-mce-style="color: #222222;" style="background-color: white; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">provide
background for my books. After completing studies in Literature and
History at Occidental College, I became a staff writer on a travel
magazine, and throughout my career I have traveled extensively all over
the world. </span><span data-mce-style="color: #222222;" style="background-color: white; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Because
I love horses, I owned and trained them. I support horse rescue and
wild mustang preservation. Based on my experience with horses and my
research on abuse issues, I wrote Pegasus.</span></span></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="color: #222222;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br data-mce-style="color: #222222;" style="background-color: white; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span data-mce-style="color: #222222;" style="background-color: white; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">As
a descendant of James Monroe, I did extensive research at the James
Monroe Museum in Virginia about him and his wife Elizabeth Kortright
Monroe. I also visited their home, Ashlawn/Highland in Albemarle County.
This resulted in my novel, The Beautiful American. </span><span data-mce-style="color: #222222;" style="background-color: white; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Making Wishes, was based partly on my experiences as creator, owner and operator of a greeting card company.</span></span></span></div>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="49398"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="END"></a><br />
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Making-Wishes.jpg" /></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Elloree
Prince is an attractive, creative young woman who marries a wealthy
businessman, Tom Randall. After courting his bride with unrelenting
determination, Tom moves her into old-moneyed Oak View, where
generations of Randalls have lived for years. Outwardly, Elloree appears
to settle into raising their two sons within Oak View’s stifling social
structure, but inwardly, she yearns for her artistic work. An
unexpected phone call from Mark Williams, her former employer, offers
her the career opportunity of a lifetime, and she must make a choice.
She is torn between her devotion to her sons and her love for her work.
Her decision to return to Wishes, Inc. brings dramatic life changes to
her and the people she loves.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy Now @ <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Making-Wishes-Marilyn-Holdsworth/dp/1481707523/ref=sr_1_3_title_2_pap?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1369262924&sr=1-3&keywords=Marilyn.+Holdsworth" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre - Women’s fiction</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – PG-13</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/beautifulAmerican.jpg" /></span></span></div>
<div id="outer_postBodyPS" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; text-align: center;">
<div id="postBodyPS">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Abby
Long is thrilled when she offers the winning bid for an antique desk at
an auction. With its intricately inlaid woods and elegant style, the
desk is perfect for Abby; it is the gift she promised herself to finally
celebrate her thriving antique business. She has no idea that the
antique desk holds a secret that will lead her on a fascinating,
life-changing journey back in time.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When Abby discovers a hidden diary
stuffed inside a secret compartment in the desk, she can hardly wait to
read the spidery, faded script. As she carefully turns the tattered
pages, she reads the captivating story of two remarkable women from
opposite backgrounds who somehow manage to form an unforgettable bond
against the backdrop of a fledgling America struggling to find its place
in the world. Elizabeth Kortright Monroe, the wife of James Monroe, and
Jasmine, a young slave girl, develop an extraordinary relationship as
they are united by pivotal historic events, political intrigues, and
personal tragedies.</span></span><br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">From
a bucolic Virginia plantation to the bloodied, starving streets of
post-revolutionary Paris, this powerful tale follows the lives of two
courageous women from the past as they quietly influence—and inspire—a
woman of today’s world.”</span></span></div>
</div>
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy Now @ <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Beautiful-American-Marilyn-Holdsworth-ebook/dp/B0080D41BI/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=1-4&qid=1402430694" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre - Historical fiction</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – G</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/pegasus.jpg" /></span></span></div>
<div id="outer_postBodyPS" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; text-align: center;">
<div id="postBodyPS">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Widowed
at thirty, Hannah Bradley is a successful journalist focusing on animal
abuse issues. An accidental meeting introduces her to lawyer, Winston
Caughfield III. Drawn to Hannah’s gentle beauty and fierce commitment to
her work, Win joins her in a fight to save wild mustangs from
slaughter. Together they rescue a badly injured horse with a mysterious
background. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Hannah’s search to discover the animal’s true identity leads
them into a web of black marketeering and international intrigue.
Action packed with crisp colorful dialogue the story propels the reader
to a race against time conclusion. Marilyn Holdsworth delivers a
gripping tale of mystery, adventure and romance guaranteed to hold the
interest and capture the heart. She brings true-life characters together
with real-life issue</span></span>s to create a fast-paced irresistible story.<br />
<br />
Bu<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">y Now @ <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Pegasus-Marilyn-Holdsworth-ebook/dp/B004S2LVYA/ref=la_B006LTHMZK_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1405682556&sr=1-2" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></span></div>
</div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre – Contemporary fiction</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – PG</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Marilyn-Holdsworth/e/B006LTHMZK/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <b>Connect</b> with Marilyn Holdsworth on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/marilyn.holdsworth.7" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Facebook</a> & <a href="http://twitter.com/m_holdsworth" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Twitter</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><b>Website </b> </b><a href="http://marilynholdsworth.com/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://marilynholdsworth.com/</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Blog</b> <a href="http://marilynholdsworth.com/blog/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://marilynholdsworth.com/blog/</a></span></span></div>
Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2493231551775073696.post-71633328997656814682014-09-25T12:30:00.000+01:002014-09-25T13:07:29.259+01:00COPYRIGHT: A NOVEL by Lori Lesko @LeskoLori #AmReading #Authors #AmWriting<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Enjoying your morning, babe?”</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I looked up at Karen and smiled. “Yes,” I said, “The sunrise was so picturesque this morning, the colors were stunning.”</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Karen
motioned for a sip of coffee from my mug, and I obliged as she looked
me over. “You gonna get dressed today?” she asked. She passed the mug
back to me then lifted her knees up to her chest one at a time,
stretching her muscles ready for her jog.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Smartass,”
I replied. It was our long-standing joke. She knew full well I would
have a shower then dress in my typical uniform of comfortable sweats. I
was glad I didn’t have to dress to impress anyone; it was one of the
great benefits of working at home.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“I think I heard some noise from Danny’s room, but little Miss Kira is still sound asleep.”</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“I’ll
go get her. Have fun!” I yelled, as Karen dashed off the porch and
jogged toward the beach, after flipping me the finger first, of course.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As
a writer, I cherished the still, quiet beauty of the sunrise, and would
get up every morning before dawn to meditate while the rest of my
family still slept. I’d sit out on the back porch, breathing in the
ocean air, drinking my coffee, and listen to the pounding waves.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Karen,
on the other hand, usually slept in, but not today. She was due in
Miami tomorrow for a photo-shoot and had to look her best. Jogging kept
her slim, even though she constantly bitched about doing it.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It
was time to play tag team. For my part, I had to make sure Danny and
Kira were up and dressed for school. Easier said than done, especially
when the two of them habitually fought me. I always made their lunches
the night before, so it never became an issue in the morning.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I
tended to Kira first, because she drained the clock of time more than
any other human known to man. I pushed open her door and saw her
blinking at me.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Hey
there, little girl,” I whispered. She wasn’t impressed by my kindness
and pulled the puppy dog patterned covers over her head.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“I don’t wanna…” she said. Time for blackmail. I went and picked up Sammy, her favorite stuffed bunny.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Really?
Sammy wants to get up. Look, he’s already walking into the bathroom to
wash his face,” I said, while bending over bunny’s legs and making him
walk.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Not
without me he isn’t!” Kira yelled, jumping out of bed and running after
me. Works every time, but that’s only because she’s four. New tactics
would have to be discovered when she got older. Contemplating my other
child, I wondered what Danny was doing. Judging from the odor permeating
from outside of his room, there’d be trouble this morning.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Danny, you functioning?” I yelled down the hall toward his door.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Yes, I’m getting ready, Your Highness,” he shouted back.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Thank you, my prince.” I lowered my voice when I saw Kira covering her ears.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“You’re too loud, Mommy,” she pouted.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Sorry,
you’re right.” I knelt down to help her get dressed. “No more caffeine
for me today.” There was something so cute about her that morning. After
washing herself and brushing her teeth, she ran back into her bedroom
and pulled on her new black jeans and a pink shirt. She pretended to be a
young adult with her choice of clothing, which made me worry that she
was growing up too fast. <i>Wasn’t she just born yesterday?</i></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“I’m ready,” she proclaimed.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Wait
a minute, come here,” I said. Kira ran back into the bathroom and
jumped up on the bathroom stool, so she could see herself in the mirror.
I brushed her hair until it was glossy and smooth, and then we both
looked into the mirror and flung our hair over our shoulders. “Hey,
you’re beautiful. You know that?”</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“No,
you’re beautyyyfffall,” she said. We took each other’s hand and left
the bathroom. Kira placed Sammy on her bed, to await her return, and
then we walked down the hall. I knocked on Danny’s door and opened it.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Shit, Mom, I’m getting dressed,” he chided me.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Sorry,
sorry,” I said, averting my eyes and stepping back out of his room.
“You know I can smell it. There’s no use trying to hide it with air
freshener. Last warning.”</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Danny
came over to the door and peered out, dressed in just a pair of jeans.
His long brown hair wildly disheveled. “No more, I promise. I really
mean it this time.”</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“That’s good; otherwise you’ll be grounded for a month. Which means no seeing Alice.”</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“I promise. I’m done with grass,” he said, cracking a smile at Kira and me.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Okay, downstairs in five,” I told him. He disappeared back into his room and Kira looked up at me in bewilderment.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Mommy, why does Danny not like grass?” she asked. I heard Danny laughing in his bedroom.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“It’s a long story, honey,” I said. Karen came jogging upstairs, passing us.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Good morning, all! I’ll be in the shower,” she said, stopping to give Kira a kiss.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“You’re all sweaty, Mommy, yuck!” Kira pulled back.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Yes,
I am, but I love you anyway!” Karen said, laughing. “And you can smell
the pot all the way down on the beach, Danny! You’re on my shit list!”</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“I know, I know,” he called out.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Kira
and I made waffles for breakfast. Correction, I made the waffles while
Kira watched. Danny joined us, still looking a little rough around the
edges, but trying to hide it. He looked a bit smarter in his navy blue
shirt and had brushed his hair. I did my best to make as much noise as
possible, just to irritate him.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We
all sat at the kitchen breakfast bar and had milk and waffles. Karen
appeared, clean and dressed and, as always, in white. White jeans and a
sleeveless white top, showing just enough cleavage to distract me and
cause impure thoughts to flit through my mind. I closed my eyes and
forced myself to focus on the tasks at hand.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Tag,
you’re it,” I said to Karen as I brushed my hand gently across her arm.
“Have a great day guys, I’m off to work. The grocery list is on the
fridge,” I told Karen, and gave Danny and Kira a kiss.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Would you at least try to consider a different outfit?” Karen pleaded.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“No,
but I am going to take a shower.” I smiled and left for the second
floor. I showered and got dressed in a pair of cream shorts and a maroon
t-shirt. It wasn’t worthy of business attire, but compared to my usual
sloppy sweats, it was a step up. I heard the van door close and pull out
of the driveway. That was my cue to go to work.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I
poured myself a glass of lemonade and went to my office, which was my
sanctuary from the outside world. I opened the window and let the sounds
and smell of the ocean seep into the room. Once I felt in sync with my
surroundings, I turned my laptop on and typed a few sentences. In
contrast to the extremely gruesome topic, I played symphony music that
perfectly matched the crashing sound of the waves.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When
typing really fast, I tended to look at the keyboard rather than the
computer screen. After about twenty minutes of typing, I realized that
the keys were floating, swimming before my eyes. I blinked a few times
and tried to focus, but my vision became blurry. I stopped typing and
rubbed my eyes, hoping it wasn’t a migraine forming; I put my glasses
on, and tried to concentrate on the screen. Before I could begin typing
again, pain shot down my spine, making me gasp. Waves of nausea came
over me, and I knew that I would have to stop working until it passed.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">At
that point, the unthinkable happened. I felt a shooting pain travel up
my left arm. Ignoring it didn’t make it stop. I thought to myself, <i>carpal tunnel</i>?
Surely it couldn’t possibly be anything else. I only had a few more
chapters to write and thebook would be finished, I didn’t want to stop
now.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I stood up and felt the pain deepening in my lower back. This never happened with my headaches. <i>What the fuck was going on?</i> I
ignored the voice in my head that told me to dial 911, and I bent over
to perform my usual morning stretches, thinking that would help. When I
lifted my head and stretched out my arms, Karen walked into my office. I
barely recognized her face. The only reason I knew it was her was the
golden haze of her curly perm and the white blur of her clothing.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Babe, are you okay?” Karen asked.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“I
can’t see very well and I feel nauseous,” I replied. My hand reached
for her, and I knocked over my glass of lemonade. It wouldn’t be until
much later that I’d realize the damage that this one motion would cause.
I collapsed onto the floor.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Amber!” my beloved screamed. That was the last thing I heard before the blackness engulfed me.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/copyright.jpg" /></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Amber
Tyler is living every author’s dream: her books are all best sellers
and she writes full time. She has worked hard and is well-accomplished
in her career, and she has the support and love of her beautiful
children and girlfriend. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But the dream soon turns into a
terrible nightmare when her latest manuscript is stolen. She decides to
fight for what is rightfully hers, only to find that the harder she
tries, the easier it all slips through her fingers, putting her career,
her family, and her life in jeopardy.</span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy Now @ <a href="http://mybook.to/Copyright_A_Novel" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre – Thriller</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – PG-13</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Lori-Lesko/e/B009HQ7T98" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Connect</b> with Lori Lesko on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/lori.lesko.7" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Facebook</a> &amp; <a href="https://twitter.com/LeskoLori" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Twitter</a></span></span></div>
Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2493231551775073696.post-66770870367233747772014-09-17T08:30:00.000+01:002014-09-19T17:45:52.298+01:00SUPERHUMAN NATURE by Brandon Overall #AmReading #SciFi #MustRead<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.3em; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Neil
and Bryan spent a couple hours playing games together, gloating when
they won, and calling the other a cheap bastard when they lost. It was
about 8 o’clock by the time Alex came home and joined in on the beer
drinking. It was only a Thursday evening, but no one had any classes
until at least noon the next day, so Thursdays were officially changed
to Thirsty Thursday. The rule was, if you didn’t go to bed without
proving that you were drunk, you had to do the dishes for the whole
weekend. No one had broken the rule in about two months.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.3em; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The
three enjoyed several beers and they each partially enjoyed a glass of
cheap, pre-made Long Island Iced-tea out of a jug they bought at the
store. As he drank, Neil’s tongue began to loosen. He told Bryan and
Alex about the dream and about the weird things that happened to him
that day.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.3em; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Holy shit Hitchenator, you’re turning into Spider-man!” Neil hated the name Hitchenator, but was too drunk to care.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.3em; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“No,
you idiot. Spider-man got bit by a radioactive spider.” Exclaimed
Alex, as if Bryan’s comment was meant to be taken seriously, “I think
Neil would have told us if that happened. Maybe you’re starting to get
schizophrenia and you’re just imagining shit. You should get yourself
checked out.”</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.3em; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“I’m
not crazy, seriously. The shampoo bottle and the water fountain I was
alone for, but the clock thing everyone saw. There’s no way that part
was a coincidence. I almost felt like…like I made it happen.” Even as
he said it, Neil realized how ridiculous it sounded. How could he
possibly make something like that happen?</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.3em; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Haven’t you seen<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>A Beautiful Mind</i>?
It can seem perfectly real and still be a hallucination. Seriously
man, that’s not a good sign. You should really talk to a doctor if you
really think you somehow made all that stuff happen with your mind or
something.” Alex said, and Bryan nodded in agreement.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.3em; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Neil
started to feel frustrated. Of course he wasn’t crazy. Why wouldn’t
they agree with him? His temper started to rise at the thought of his
best friends not believing what he was saying. If they wouldn’t believe
him, who would? All of that talk, and perhaps all of the alcohol, was
starting to give him a headache. He thought back to that dream again,
the one that felt so real…</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.3em; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“I
said I’m NOT CRAZY!” Neil slammed his beer bottle down on the coffee
table, and as he did, he was startled by a deafening sound in front of
him. He looked up, and saw the source of the noise. The screen on the
TV in front of him was completely shattered, and smoke rose from the
back of the set.</span></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.3em; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/SuperhumanNature.jpg" href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/SuperhumanNature.jpg"><img alt="SuperhumanNature" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-29960" data-mce-src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/SuperhumanNature.jpg" src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/SuperhumanNature.jpg" height="200" style="border: 0px none; cursor: default;" width="130" /></a></span></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.3em; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Superhuman
Nature is Brandon Overall's first novel. It was written and published
during his first deployment to Afghanistan as a 2nd Lieutenant in late
2013.</span></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.3em; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Neil
Hitchens was a senior ROTC Cadet in college. He was just weeks away
from graduating and becoming an Officer in the United States Army, until
a strange dream set off a chain of events that would twist his life
into something he could have never prepared for.</span></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.3em; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In
the days following his dream, several strange happenings occurred that
he began to suspect were the result of his own actions. Before long, he
discovered that he had the ability to control the world around him with
his mind.</span></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.3em; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What
started out as an unpredictable ability quickly evolved into an
extraordinary power that had the capacity to change the world. It didn't
take long for the government to find out what Neil could do.</span></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.3em; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">They
knew having such limitless potential on the side of the US Military
could give them limitless political influence, and they would stop at
nothing to get Neil to do their bidding. They would find out what
happens when you back a dangerous animal into a corner.</span></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.3em; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Neil
spent his whole life believing he would amount to greatness, but he
never expected how greatness could corrupt even the most innocent of
minds.</span></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.3em; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy @ <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Superhuman-Nature-Brandon-Overall-ebook/dp/B00FGYIIPY?tag=booaremag-20" href="http://www.amazon.com/Superhuman-Nature-Brandon-Overall-ebook/dp/B00FGYIIPY?tag=booaremag-20">Amazon</a> &<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/361874" href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/361874">Smashwords</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.3em; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre – <i>Science Fiction</i></i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.3em; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – PG-13</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.3em; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Brandon-Overall/e/B00GH862EC/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1" href="http://www.amazon.com/Brandon-Overall/e/B00GH862EC/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.3em; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Connect</b> with Brandon Overall on <a data-mce-href="https://www.facebook.com/SuperhumanNature" href="https://www.facebook.com/SuperhumanNature" target="_blank">Facebook</a></span></span></div>
Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2493231551775073696.post-38122457229450444682014-09-17T07:30:00.000+01:002014-09-19T06:22:09.112+01:00HJ Lawson Shares Her Writing Journey @hjlawson1 #AmWriting #YA #WriteTip<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>A few tips I have learnt on the way to becoming a writer.</i></span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Plan</b></span></span></div>
<ol style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Write an outline of what the book is about, around one – three pages. Start middle & end</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Write out chapter outlines – one sentence per chapter.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Character build – write out simple things; name, age, hobbies, looks, features, education, dreams etc</span></span></li>
</ol>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Write</b></span></span></div>
<ol style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Take your chapter sentence and expand it to a full chapter.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">You do not have to write chapters in order, some are easier, some are more difficult.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Don’t go back over your work to edit it, this wastes a lot of time, and you lose the rhythm – save editing to the end.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Write everyday – even if it’s only 100 words</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The goal is to have first draft of the book completed - it will be very rough, and that’s okay!</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Celebrate that you have written a story!</span></span></li>
</ol>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Edit</b></span></span></div>
<ol style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Leave your book for a couple of weeks.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Then read and review every line.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Then once you are happy, ask people which will be honest with you to read it.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://www.goodreads.com/" href="http://www.goodreads.com/">www.goodreads.com</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>– Beta groups that can help.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Gather all feedback, and review/edit</span></span></li>
</ol>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Professional Editing</b></span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Hire
an editor to review your book, it can start at $400 and depends on how
much editing you need to be done. They send it back to you and you
approve their comments.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Professional Book cover</b></span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">You have to make your book stand out and look professional, check out 99desgins, they offer a great service starting at $299.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Self-publishing and distributions</b></span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Amazon has a company called<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://www.createspace.com/" href="http://www.createspace.com/">www.createspace.com</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>where
you can upload your word document, and they format it into an ebook or
hard copy. They ship the products out and you get a royalty.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Interesting pod casts to listen to is<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://www.selfpublishing.com/" href="http://www.selfpublishing.com/">www.selfpublishing.com</a></span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/photo.jpg" href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/photo.jpg"><img alt="photo" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-41302" data-mce-src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/photo-228x300.jpg" src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/photo-228x300.jpg" height="300" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="228" /></a></span> </div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Hayley
Lawson is the author of War Kids. She has written a young adult
contemporary novel set in Syria; a story about the Syrian Civil war
though the eyes of children.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">She
was born in Lancaster, England. Growing up in a single parent household
with five other siblings; was hard, and also character building.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As
a young child she found a passion for drawing, and continued this into
adulthood, graduating from the University of Central Lancashire, England
with a BA(Hons) in fashion design.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">At
aged twenty seven, Hayley and her husband packed up their belongings
for a lifelong dream to move to California. Her America dream was
complete with the birth of her daughter. Her love for traveling,
continued after the birth of her daughter traveling around America with
the family, and the best travelled dog.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A
new job positioned opened up New York, and the family decide to
relocate to Long Island, NY, which is where she currently resides.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">On August 21 she was moved by the images of the Syrian conflict, and embarked on an unlikely journey of writing her first novel.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/warkids.jpg" href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/warkids.jpg"><img alt="warkids" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-41184" data-mce-src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/warkids.jpg" src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/warkids.jpg" height="200" width="130" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>All profits from the book will be going to the save the children charity.</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When
fourteen-year-old Jada wakes up in a hospital, the last thing she
thinks is that her life has completely changed forever. But when the
very real civil war forces her to flee from every open space, she must
use the firearm skills her father taught her to reunite with him and
protect herself. Armed with a single gun and a key to an unknown locker,
Jada crosses Syria on a journey with a group of children called the
Fearless Freedom Fighters. With the leader, Zak, they mount a plan to
rescue their fathers while they try to cope with the merciless murders
of their families. As Jada and Zak lead the group together, love
blossoms, but with soldiers hot on their tail, they need to stay
vigilant in the face of war.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Reviews from Wattpad</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Very interesting story, very powerful. I can really feel the emotion...Peter</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This
book really touches my heart because there is so much truth is in this
book. The detail is so brilliantly displayed, its beautifuly written.
There are pretty intense chapters, its good... scrap that its excellent.
Loe the work ...although I am upset. I know this is a fictional story,
but I just can't help but feel extremely bad for all the lost lives
especially the innocent and young ones...Saddy</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A REMARKABLE BOOK, DEMANDS TO BE READ Goodreads review from Joe Eliseon</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy Now @ <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/War-Kids-Syrian-Story-1/dp/0692254773/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1408353538&sr=1-1&keywords=9780692254776" href="http://www.amazon.com/War-Kids-Syrian-Story-1/dp/0692254773/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1408353538&sr=1-1&keywords=9780692254776">Amazon</a> | <a data-mce-href="http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/461213" href="http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/461213" target="_blank">Smashwords</a> | <a data-mce-href="https://www.createspace.com/4895612" href="https://www.createspace.com/4895612" target="_blank">CreateSpace</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre - Young Adult </i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – PG-13</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1?ie=UTF8&field-author=H+J+Lawson&search-alias=books&text=H+J+Lawson&sort=relevancerank" href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1?ie=UTF8&field-author=H+J+Lawson&search-alias=books&text=H+J+Lawson&sort=relevancerank" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Connect</b> with H J Lawson on <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22877720-war-kids" target="_blank">GoodReads</a> & <a data-mce-href="https://www.facebook.com/hjlawson1" href="https://www.facebook.com/hjlawson1" target="_blank">Facebook</a> & <a data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/hjlawson1" href="https://twitter.com/hjlawson1" target="_blank">Twitter </a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a class="rafl" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/34cab4e1151/" id="rc-34cab4e1151" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a></span></span>
Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2493231551775073696.post-6450205935458294622014-09-16T12:00:00.000+01:002014-09-19T06:10:39.099+01:00Roland Hughes on Being Unfamiliar with Writer's Block #AmWriting #Dystopian #Fiction<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>What inspired you to write your first book?</b></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A
lack of usable documentation. Software companies, particularly those
who develop large scale libraries for computer programmers, are very
good at producing large volumes of detailed documentation and a pile of
hokey little examples. What I mean by that is the documentation tends
to be expert friendly reference material. They provide a lot of “call
this function with these parameters and it does this” type of
documentation. Where they fail miserably is in providing complete
examples. There was no documentation out there which told someone new
to the product/library “here is how you create a data entry screen which
adds record to a database.”</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Nearly
everyone reading this has went to a Web site and filled out an order
form, or has gotten some form of computer generated bill/invoice in the
mail. What most reading this won’t know is the “how” behind creating
all of the less than sexy programs behind that isn’t really taught.
Designers, artists, and management simply say “We want these graphics
with those fonts to have this look and feel while doing this.”
Developers are left twisting in the breeze when it comes to the “how”
portion of actually achieving that.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>What made you want to be a writer?</b></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Word
Processor of the Gods.” It is a Stephen King story which first
appeared in an issue of Playboy during my teenage years when Playboy was
still considered cool. It later appeared again in “Skeleton Crew” and
was the primary reason I got my hands on a copy of that book. The story
was written early on in what later became known as “The Computer Age”
and it sucked the reader in from the beginning. Those scant few
paragraphs (compared to a novel) really pulled the reader in and took
them to a place where they seriously considered “what if?”</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Did writing this book teach you anything and what was it?</b></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">One
thing which always intrigues me is the phrase “writing this book” being
in a question. I am not alone when I say I didn’t write this book, I
simply recorded what the characters told me. I have seen the same
statement from many other successful writers. When I am working on my
geek book series I actually am writing the book. I’m choosing what
needs to be in it and developing all examples. They are very deliberate
creations. My fiction, and this book in particular, are created
primarily by “watching” and “listening” to the characters as they show
or tell their story to me. My duty is to write it down as completely as
possible.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">That
said, there was a lot of history I had to look up when John Smith chose
to talk about it. Most readers are quite shocked to learn just how
much of the story is actual human history.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Do you intend to make writing a career?</b></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I
intend to make it my last career, audience willing. There is a lot of
truth to that retirement commercial when they ask “shouldn’t retirement
be paying yourself to do what you love?”</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>What is your greatest strength as a writer?</b></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">My
ability to type. That may sound odd, but it is true. I have
encountered so many writers and computer programmers who cannot type.
They hammer away with two fingers and bemoan every day at the keyboard.
Some writers still write on paper and have someone else do the first
keying for them. Others have openly stated they purchased dictation
software so they could speak their first draft instead of having to
manually enter it.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I
was lucky in my IT career. One of the languages I had to work with was
COBOL. Even if you have never used a computer in your life you have
probably gotten a bill or paycheck generated by a system written in
COBOL. If you have heard anything about the language you will have
heard it is the wordiest programming language ever created. We didn’t
have speedy desktops and soft touch keyboards back then. Many of the
keyboards were closer to a manual typewriter than anything the younger
generations would be familiar with today. Typing required a lot of
effort. We morphed the famous French Foreign Legion motto “March or
Die” into the COBOL programmer’s motto of “Type or Die.” It was nothing
to have a single module weigh in at thousands of lines of source. Most
applications (payroll, order processing, etc.) needed dozens if not
hundreds of modules to achieve their task.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Have you ever had writer’s block? If so, what do you do about it?</b></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I
have never called it writer’s block. In truth I am unfamiliar with the
concept. I have periods of time where the characters simply choose to
rest. During those times I occupy myself with various physical labor
tasks which leaves my mind free for them to start talking again.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Another
thing I do, which may sound odd, is change out keyboards. Even when
I’m writing with my netbook instead of my desktop I still use a full
sized keyboard. I keep a stack of spare keyboards I’ve accumulated over
the years. Some are the older “mechanical” or “clicky” keyboards.
Most have different layouts. Each requires a bit of re-learning when it
comes to the size of the backspace and return keys as well as the key
spacing. This tiny act seems to use a different part of my brain which
gets the characters speaking again.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When
I’m between consulting contracts and writing for days on end I will
swap them out a couple of times per week. Some of them are quite
nostalgic for me, like an original IBM PS/2 keyboard and a Chicony
keyboard from the days when they were second only to NCR in quality. It
was a sad day when NCR left the PC market. They still make customized
keyboards for their point of sale systems, or at least I still see
them. Most of you don’t bother to read the little booklet which comes
with a new keyboard, you simply start typing. If you did read it you
would find most of today’s keyboards have a rated life span of around 1
million keystrokes. Point of sale systems can have a million keystrokes
in a year, if not a month. Quality is something most people don’t seem
to care about these days.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Can you share a little of your current work with us?</b></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The
book currently out for first round editing is “Lesedi.” It fills a
large portion of the gap between the end of “Infinite Exposure” and
“John Smith: Last Known Survivor of the Microsoft Wars.” At some point
next year I hope begin work on “John Smith: The Last Gift of Atlantis.”
Some of the characters have made themselves known but others are just
kind of lurking in the shadows. Perhaps they are simply waiting for me
to start telling the stories of the others before they feel confident
enough to come forward.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>How did you come up with the title?</b></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I listened to the characters. This was the story they told.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Who is your publisher?</b></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I self-publish my work these days.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Will you write others in this same genre?</b></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I
plan to write/co-write another “John Smith” book to be the base for a
series. Hopefully I will be able to hand that series off to some young
and talented writer. The fleshing out of a new world rising from the
ashes of the old should really be done by someone who hasn’t lived a
long time in “Earth That Was.”</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>How much of the book is realistic?</b></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A significant portion of “John Smith: Last Known Survivor of the Microsoft Wars” is actual recorded human history.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/johnSmith.jpg" /></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“John
Smith: Last Known Survivor of the Microsoft Wars” is one big interview.
It is a transcript of a dialogue between “John Smith” (who, as the
title of the book implies is the last known survivor of the Microsoft
wars) and the interviewer for a prominent news organization.</span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy Now @ <a href="http://www.amazon.com/John-Smith-Known-Survivor-Microsoft/dp/193973200X/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=&qid=" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Amazon</a> & <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/john-smith-roland-hughes/1102176003?ean=9781939732002" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">B&N</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre – Dystopian Fiction</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – PG</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1?ie=UTF8&field-author=Roland+Hughes&search-alias=books&text=Roland+Hughes&sort=relevancerank" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Website <a class="in-cell-link" href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://johnsmith-book.com/&usd=2&usg=ALhdy2-70oxuHXvWgcvombsi9GJmpfL5eA" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://johnsmith-book.com/</a></b></span></span></div>
Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2493231551775073696.post-10016195029870746262014-09-11T10:30:00.000+01:002014-10-09T15:33:39.574+01:00A Day in the Life of Mikey D. B. @mikeydbii #Dystopian #Thriller #MustRead <div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It
all begins at five in the morning. I wake up, make a protein packed
breakfast and watch parts of documentaries while I eat. I’ve watched
documentaries on Hitler, Bigfoot, social media conspiracies, economics,
magic, and basically anything I can find on Netflix that interests me at
the time. Anyway, after I eat/watch I finish getting ready for my day
and then make the drive to work.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sometimes
these drives to work are the best part of my day. Anytime before six
in the morning, the roads are desolate, the mornings are cool, sun is
usually rising, and it is just a good time to ponder about things.
There’s something about seeing a fresh new day begin that I love. Maybe
it’s because all the angry, muckiness of the world is still asleep. I
don’t know, but early mornings, as hard as they are to get up for, are
some of the best things to experience.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So,
after my morning drive, I head into my day job which consists of a lot
of heavy lifting and calculations of length. I work at a labeling
manufacturing business where I coat and die cut the various labels for
our clients. You’d be amazed at how heavy paper is. In rolls of 10,000
feet and sometimes more, these things can be up to two hundred pounds.
For the most part, I like my job. It’s a keep-to-yourself kind of job
and me being the anti-social one I can be, it gives me the opportunities
to listen to music and podcasts. In fact, a lot of my research for
books happens in my eight hour shifts at work. I download a set of
podcasts I think will be relevant to what I’m trying to write, and then I
listen to them. I really can’t ask for a better time because after I
get off work, my day doesn’t have a lot of wiggle room.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">After
my shift, which ends at about two in the afternoon, I bust my way on
over to the gym. My workouts are pretty intense, two mile runs at
least, three to four mile bike rides and then a half hour of heavy
weights. I’m really trying to get ready to compete in a triathlon, so
my workouts have to be pretty frequent or I’ll never train my body the
way it needs to be.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Now
this is where it gets kind of crazy. I’m a high school football coach
as well and practice starts at 4:30. So I have just enough time to work
out, rinse off, and get a quick bite before heading over to the school
to yell at kids. I love it! The sport, the atmosphere, the kids, the
other coaches I work with. It’s one of the best opportunities that I’ve
had come across my way. I was hesitant to take on the responsibility
at first, with the craziness of my writing and work as it is, but it’s
seasonal and I couldn’t pass up the chance to get back into the sport.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Practice
lasts until about seven, I get home at about eight, eat, and maybe get
some writing in. Mostly though, I’ll wind down and watch an episode of
the office with my wife or we’ll just talk and read together. The
evenings, like my mornings, are a chance for me to think, process what’s
happened in the day. Maybe write them in my journal if I have enough
to say. After or before the hustle and craziness of the day, it’s in
these times when I’ll turn to my scriptures to get guidance, peace, and
reassurance (or chastisement—it all depends on what my attitude has been
that day).</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">After
having wrote this, I realize how packed my day is. I think the
important thing, no matter how busy we are, is we need to make sure we
have our priorities in the right place. For me, it’s: God, Family,
Country. I know if I put God first, that’ll only strengthen my resolve
to take care of my family, and if I know my family is taken care of, I
know I can then make decisions to take care of my country and community.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Saga-of-the-Nine.jpg" href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Saga-of-the-Nine.jpg"><img alt="Saga of the Nine" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-41059" data-mce-src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Saga-of-the-Nine.jpg" src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Saga-of-the-Nine.jpg" height="200" width="130" /></a></span></span></div>
<div data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" id="outer_postBodyPS" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<div id="postBodyPS">
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Change
affects everyone and it is no different for Jackson. Living in Area 38
for as long as he can remember, he knows of no better way to exist than
under the tyrannical rule of Christopher Stone, son of Stewart Stone
from The Nine of The United Governmental Areas, aka The UGA. This all
takes a dramatic turn when Jackson finds a red, metal box buried in his
yard, filled with illegal artifacts—journals, a Bible, CDs, etc.—that
are from a man of whom he has no recollection of: Mica Rouge.</span></span></div>
<div id="postBodyPS">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> The
year is 2036 and Mica, unlike Jackson, does know of a better way of
life but is torn apart as he sees his country, The United States of
America, crumbling from within by group known as The Political Mafia.
The Mafia has infiltrated levels upon levels of governmental resources
and it is up to Mica and a vigilante group known as The USA Division to
stop them and their dark Utopian vision. To their demise, and at the
country's expense, The Division fails and has no choice but to watch The
Constitution dissolve and transform into The UGA.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In
a final stand, having not given up hope, Mica and what is left of The
Division, give one final fight in Colorado, or better known as Area 38.
However, all is lost as The Division is betrayed by one of their own,
Stewart Stone. Mica is left with no choice but to hide in exile, leaving
what little history he can of himself and the great United States of
America, with his wife, long time friends, and newly born son in hopes
that they will one day finish what he could not.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Jackson,
having found this legacy twenty-seven years later, decides to start the
war that will end The Nine, and he with an outcast group known as The
Raiders, begins his fight with Christopher Stone in Area 38. Filled with
betrayal, unity, despair, hope, hate and love Area 38 follows both Mica
and Jackson in their attempts to restore what they believe to be true
freedom, and where one fails, the other rises to the seemingly
impossible challenge.</span></span></div>
</div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy Now @ <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Saga-Nine-Mikey-D-B-ebook/dp/B00I3I8R9W/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1391036693&sr=1-1&keywords=mikey+d.+b." href="http://www.amazon.com/Saga-Nine-Mikey-D-B-ebook/dp/B00I3I8R9W/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1391036693&sr=1-1&keywords=mikey+d.+b." target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre – Dystopian Thriller</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – PG13</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&field-author=Mikey%20D.%20B.&search-alias=digital-text&sort=relevancerank" href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&field-author=Mikey%20D.%20B.&search-alias=digital-text&sort=relevancerank" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Connect</b> with Mikey D. B. on <a data-mce-href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mikey-D-B/193122724228568?ref=hl" href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mikey-D-B/193122724228568?ref=hl" target="_blank">Facebook</a> &<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/mikeydbii" href="https://twitter.com/mikeydbii" target="_blank">Twitter</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Website <a class="in-cell-link" data-mce-href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.mikeydb.com&usd=2&usg=ALhdy29rFXKoKCy5nHRPTeDOI1JD41dROQ" href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.mikeydb.com&usd=2&usg=ALhdy29rFXKoKCy5nHRPTeDOI1JD41dROQ" target="_blank">www.mikeydb.com</a></b></span></span></div>
Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2493231551775073696.post-25767547484874312282014-09-10T07:30:00.000+01:002014-10-15T14:34:04.058+01:00Host Chronicles : The Devil's Offspring (Vol. 1) by D L Cox #MustRead #UrbanFantasy #AmReading <div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Charles
made his way down to the pitch-black basement with no problem. He had
personally designed the makeshift dungeon and had visited every night
for over a decade. There was the sound of growling as he stopped and
reached for a string that hung from a lamp on the ceiling. He pulled the
string and the basement lit up, revealing that he stood between two
cells with small barred windows built into eight-inch thick steel
enforced doors. There was scratching and clawing at the door to Charles’
left. He smiled while removing a key from his pocket and then unlocked
the door. The moment he opened the door, two huge Rottweilers with
flaming red eyes and extremely long fangs jumped on him.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Down,” Charles said calmly, and the dogs stopped jumping on him.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Charles
opened the other door and walked in with the dogs barking ferociously
at his sides. In front of him was a naked beautiful goddess of a woman
with her wrists and ankles chained to the wall, giving her barely enough
slack to take a step forward. Her cream-colored skin was flawless and
her long black hair was silky smooth. She locked her emerald eyes onto
Charles and her piercing gaze nearly made him shiver.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Charles taunted, “Did you miss me, Tess?”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Tess smiled. “You’re going to beg for the devil’s wrath when I get free,” she threatened.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Charles
laughed. “You’re never getting free. Simon’s going to keep you here
forever. The powerless demon trapped on earth that can’t die even if she
wanted too. A lost soul.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/HostChronicles.jpg" href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/HostChronicles.jpg"><img alt="HostChronicles" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-33287" data-mce-src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/HostChronicles.jpg" src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/HostChronicles.jpg" height="200" width="130" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In
this Urban Fantasy, the devil’s daughter, SALEENA, and her reaper
boyfriend, IZZY, elope to earth and seek to overthrow her estranged
brother, SIMON CLASH, as the devil’s heir apparent on earth, but Simon
is head of a powerful conglomerate, and he’s not going out without a
fight. As the rivalry turns bloody, the warring siblings discover the
devil has been manipulating their feud to advance his secret agenda and
is using them as decoys to draw out a sword-wielding champion of
humanity called the HOST, whom must be slain before the devil can
unleash a reign of terror on earth.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Legend
says the Host will emerge when humanity plunges into hopelessness and
despair, and NATHANIEL BRENNER, the young man responsible for delivering
a magic sword to the Host, hopes that is soon. Nathaniel has spent the
last six years searching for the Host to no avail and has recently seen a
drastic rise in demon activity on earth, which he knows could only mean
one thing: humanity is running out of time. Saleena and Simon unite to
save their own hides, but it may be too late—not only for the devil’s
offspring, but for humanity too! The future of humanity hangs in the
balance, and Nathaniel is determined to thwart the devil’s plans and
find the Host.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy Now @ <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Host-Chronicles-Devils-Offspring-Volume/dp/1490916571?tag=booaremag-20" href="http://www.amazon.com/Host-Chronicles-Devils-Offspring-Volume/dp/1490916571?tag=booaremag-20" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre - Urban Fantasy</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating - PG-13</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/D-L-Cox/e/B0081GNVWE/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1" href="http://www.amazon.com/D-L-Cox/e/B0081GNVWE/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Connect</b> with D L Cox on <a data-mce-href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Host-Chronicles/229105260585809?ref=hl" href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Host-Chronicles/229105260585809?ref=hl" target="_blank">Facebook</a> &<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="iamsalihisrail@gmail.com" href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-admin/iamsalihisrail@gmail.com" target="_blank">Email</a></span></span></div>
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Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2493231551775073696.post-16083189464850512772014-09-05T12:30:00.000+01:002014-10-24T17:11:42.968+01:00SA Snow's #WriteTip for Becoming a Better Writer @BooksBySnow #AmWriting #Erotica #SciFi <div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>10 Tips for Becoming a Better Writer</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I
see these things all the time, and I’m not particularly fond of them.
They’re not specific enough to help any author, and I find I tend to
skip over them and skim (if I read them at all). I hope my list is
different, but I give no guarantees.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">1.
Keep writing. I don’t mean this flippantly. Set a schedule, set a goal
and meet that goal. Once you start meeting that goal without an issue,
then up it. Say you start at writing 1,000 words every day or a chapter a
day, once you meet that up it to 2,000 words or two chapters a day. You
can’t be a writer or an author if you don’t write. Writing on a regular
basis also helps stave off procrastination and that thing some people
still think is real, writer’s block.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">2.
Once you have finished writing, find a few good beta readers. (This is
after your first round of edits, of course). Find them, use them, and
LISTEN TO THEM. You may not always like what they say, you may not
always agree, but they are there for a reason. That reason is
perspective. Even if you don’t make every change they tell you to, they
bring up reasons as to why something might to be working.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">3.
Learn grammar. I can’t tell you the number of authors I’ve talked to
who say grammatical rules are too hard to learn. Ummm… no. Just stop
there. If you don’t want to hone your craft, then get out of the room
because I don’t want to talk to you. No master, no best selling author
is going to tell you they were too lazy, too confused, too tired to
learn the basic grammatical rules. It’s simply a matter of character.
Have some, and go study up.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">4.
Read. Read a lot. Read in your genre. Read out of your genre. Reading
gives you ideas (yes, it’s okay to steal in some occasions). Reading
gives you a perspective on where the language is going, how it’s growing
and how it’s declining. It tells you where the audience is and where
other authors are. It also tells you what works, what doesn’t work, and
how to improve yourself.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">5.
Remember those betas? Find an editor. Especially if this is your first
novel. Cough up the money because you absolutely need a professional
editor. They will help you fine tune everything your beta’s missed and
everything you messed up from your beta’s notes. Editors are there for
you to ask questions to. They’re there to help you figure it all out.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
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<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">6.
Talk to other authors. This doesn’t mean about what you’re writing if
you want to be uber secretive, but if you’re having plot issues, need
help finding a good beta/editor, having grammatical problems in your
learning curve, then talk to other authors. They’ve been where you’ve
been or even are still stuck where you currently are. They are the ones
who will support and guide you. I mean, that is the whole point of this
post, right?</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">7.
Take time to edit. It’s not a race to the end of the road. Take the
time to do things properly. It’ll improve you as a writer by teaching
you more about the craft itself, and more importantly, teaching you
about patience. Take time to go through your piece to make sure it is
excellent before submitting it anywhere.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">8.
Know perfection is unattainable. There comes a time when you need to
stop writing and when you need to stop editing. For me this is after the
third round of edits on my own AFTER the editor stage. That means I’ve
usually gone through the piece a total of seven to ten times before I
just need to stop. It’s not going to get better at that point. In fact,
if I keep editing, it’ll probably get a whole lot worse.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">9. Words to avoid: that, just, now, literally, sudden(ly), finally, immediately, start(ed), was/is.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">10.
Learn the 5 basic comma rules (oxford, participle, parenthetical,
compound, introductory phrase/conclusionary phrase). Memorize the 5
basic comma rules. UTILIZE the five basic comma rules.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/AcrossWorldsCollision.jpg" href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/AcrossWorldsCollision.jpg"><img alt="AcrossWorldsCollision" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-40725" data-mce-src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/AcrossWorldsCollision.jpg" src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/AcrossWorldsCollision.jpg" height="200" width="130" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Jane expected six months undercover to be hard; she expected it to be lonely and bleak. She didn’t expect to find love. <br data-mce-style="color: #000000;" /><br data-mce-style="color: #000000;" />Jane
Butler, a CIA operative, is assigned the task of infiltrating the
Xanthians and determining if they’re a threat to humanity. Going
undercover as a Xanthian mate, she boards the transport ship and meets
Usnavi—her new mate. After spending six days traveling through space,
Jane is ecstatic to explore the Xanthian station and soon sets out to
complete her mission. The only problem? Usnavi—and the feelings she is
quickly developing. <br data-mce-style="color: #000000;" /><br data-mce-style="color: #000000;" />Fumbling
their way through varying sexual expectations, cooking catastrophes,
and cultural differences, they soon discover life together is never
boring. As Jane and Usnavi careen into a relationship neither of them
expected, Jane uncovers dark secrets about the Xanthians and realizes
she may no longer be safe. When it becomes clear she’s on her own, Jane
is forced to trust and rely on Usnavi. Simultaneously struggling with
her mission, her feelings for Usnavi, and homesickness, Jane faces
questions she never imagined she would have to answer.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy Now @ <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Across-Worlds-Collision-S-Snow-ebook/dp/B00MANJM2M" href="http://www.amazon.com/Across-Worlds-Collision-S-Snow-ebook/dp/B00MANJM2M" target="_blank">Amazon</a> &<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/435337" href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/435337" target="_blank">Smashwords</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre – Blended Science Fiction, Erotica</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – NC17</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/S.-A.-Snow/e/B00MARDKL2/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1" href="http://www.amazon.com/S.-A.-Snow/e/B00MARDKL2/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Connect</b> with S. A. Snow on <a data-mce-href="http://www.facebook.com/booksbysnow" href="http://www.facebook.com/booksbysnow" target="_blank">Facebook</a></span></span></div>
Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2493231551775073696.post-69502051651830932482014-09-05T09:00:00.000+01:002014-09-06T18:37:21.973+01:00@SMMceachern on Writing to the Storyline #YA #Dystopian #AmWriting<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I
knew absolutely nothing about being an author until after I published.
Yes, I realize that’s a bit like tying my shoes before I put them on,
but that’s the point. If I have hard time putting on my shoes, odds are
I’ll go looking for a different pair, which will probably put a
different spin on what I’m wearing.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For
me, writing by the seat of my pants gives me flexibility. Don’t get me
wrong. I’m not sitting down at my computer banging out whatever pops
into my head (okay, that’s not entirely true…). I do have a plot in
mind. But it’s the journey from the beginning of the story to the end
that holds twists and turns even for me. How is that possible, you ask?
It’s the characters that lead me.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When
I start to write my characters they almost jump up off the page and
introduce themselves. Even the minor characters, like a guard who just
needs to be in the hallway, has to have a story. I’m thinking of my
character in<i>Sunset Rising</i>, Bron Llewellyn. Honestly, she was
just a guard in the first chapter. Why? Because the Pit is guarded and I
had to have guards. I made her one of the “good” guards because even in
a dystopic world, not every single guard is going to be mean, right?
Then I asked myself, why is she a good guard? Why is she sympathetic to
the Pit? By answering those questions, I hatched a subplot that wove
seamlessly into the main plot and spilled into the second book of the
series, <i>Worlds Collide</i>.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I’m
a member of local writer’s group and I’ve talked to authors who create
an outline first and then write to the outline. I’m amazed at this kind
of organization. I wish I could apply it to my Tupperware drawer because
I’d save myself at least 15 minutes every morning trying to find
containers with lids that fit for my kids’ lunches. Then again, if I
could readily match lids with containers, I’d probably make chocolate
pudding more often for lunch. Chocolate pudding isn’t really that good
for them. An apple is better. And an apple doesn’t require a
container.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">You see the logic?</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The
point is, if the story is already laid out for me, I’ll write to the
storyline. I’ll stop asking myself questions—and if I do that, I’ll stop
coming up with answers I didn’t expect. For me, writing by the seat of
my pants gives me the freedom to be creative.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/sunsetRising.jpg" /></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>February
2024: Desperate to find refuge from the nuclear storm, a group of
civilians discover a secret government bio-dome. Greeted by a hail of
bullets and told to turn back, the frantic refugees stand their ground
and are eventually permitted entry. But the price of admission is high.</i></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>283 years later…</i>
Sunny O’Donnell is a seventeen-year-old slave who has never seen the
sun. She was born in the Pit, a subterranean extension of the bio-dome.
Though life had never been easy, the last couple of months had become a
nightmare. Her mom was killed in the annual Cull, and her dad thought
it was a good time to give up on life. Reyes Crowe, her long-time
boyfriend, was pressuring her to get married, even though it would mean
abandoning her father.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">She
didn’t think things could get any worse until she was forced upstairs
to the Dome to be a servant-girl at a bachelor party. That’s when she
met Leisel Holt, the president’s daughter, and her fiancé, Jack Kenner.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Now Sunny is wanted for treason. If they catch her, she’ll be executed.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">She thought Leisel’s betrayal was the end. But it was just the beginning.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>“Sunset Rising” is Book One of a series.</b></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy Now @ <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sunset-Rising-S-M-McEachern-ebook/dp/B009G3ZIO0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1392245268&sr=8-1&keywords=Sunset+Rising" style="text-decoration: none;">Amazon</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre - YA Science Fiction, Dystopian</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – PG-16</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a href="http://www.amazon.com/S.M.-McEachern/e/B009G63UWY/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Connect</b> with S.M. McEachern through <a href="https://www.facebook.com/S.M.McEachernAuthor" style="text-decoration: none;">Facebook</a> & <a href="https://twitter.com/smmceachern" style="text-decoration: none;">Twitter</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Website <a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://smmceachern.wordpress.com&usd=2&usg=ALhdy2_owoBCHrFffIxSalLKJjzTJu8jRA" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://smmceachern.wordpress.com</a></b></span></span></div>
Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2493231551775073696.post-2873330280845924802014-09-04T08:00:00.000+01:002014-11-06T18:13:45.341+00:00Waiting to Live Again vs. Life Was Happening #Excerpt by Erin Sands @TheDunesBook #NonFiction<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In my early forties, I began going through what is culturally referred to as “the change”. It is a time in a woman’s life when her hormones rebel against the norm and fluctuate, causing considerable emotional and physical discomfort. It is followed by my all-time favorite, the mind-boggling hormonal weight gain, which is not precipitated by bad eating habits or a lack of exercise. It just appears on your body uninvited. Yeah, it’s a fun time all around and to put it bluntly, I was not happy. My stomach, which had once been flat, was now a pudgy soft playground of goo. My vocabulary, which had once been vast, was now caught up in a perpetual hormonal brain fog, and I despised every moment of it. I hated the weight gain, I loathed the lack of clarity and I detested the private summers. All I wanted was my old body back, immediately.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">My husband and I love live music, so we are often out and about supporting local or touring bands. Such was the case the night we found ourselves at The House of Blues in Hollywood, jamming to The Gap Band in concert. I would love to tell you that I was completely present for every glorious moment of that night, but I wasn’t. I spent the bulk of the evening inside my head, hating my body, hating perimenopause and lamenting about how things used to be. Every woman who walked in with the waist I used to have fueled the conversation in my mind of all I had lost, as well as musings of what I could possibly do to get it back again. I felt like it would not be until I somehow got things back to the way they used to be that I could enjoy my life and fully live again.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But here’s the thing, while I was waiting to “live again”…life was happening. Around me, joy was flowing through the air like oxygen. But instead of partaking in it, I chose to fixate on something that, in that moment, I had no control of. I was standing next to my husband, a man who loves me and my body just the way it is: we were surrounded by good friends and perfect strangers, all cheering, singing and dancing to The Gap Band’s old-school hit “Party Train” and I missed it. Life was happening, and I wasn’t there! I was in my head preoccupied with self-pity.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I was so focused on a<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>tomorrow</i><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>that is not promised that I let the<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>now</i><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>that was given slip away unappreciated.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/dunesfinalSB.jpg" href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/dunesfinalSB.jpg"><img alt="5DmkII_2226" class="aligncenter wp-image-40866" data-mce-src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/5DmkII_2226-198x300.jpg" src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/5DmkII_2226-198x300.jpg" height="193" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="127" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Born
in Cincinnati, Ohio and raised in the Bay Area of Northern California,
Erin grew up with an innate love for dance, theatre and the written
word. A graduate of Loyola Marymount University, Erin began her career
in the arts as an actress and choreographer. After booking several
notable roles in television and film, Erin began to use her gift of
writing in blogs featuring political and social commentary, as well as
developing content for theatrical use.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Although<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>The Dunes</i>,
is a divine departure from Erin’s previous writings it is by far her
most cherished work to date. “I wrote The Dunes initially as self
therapy because I needed to release some painful experiences and
disappointments from my past. I had this thirst to walk in the complete
fullness of life with joy as my constant companion. I had no idea what
effect it would have on other people. But when I saw people read it and
be released from fears that had held them back for years…when I saw
people forgive and be able to walk in the freedom forgiveness
brings…when I saw people commit and serve and how those things opened up
new opportunities in their life, I was just humbled. Humbled by the
awesome power of God and humbled that I had been allowed to go along for
the ride”.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When asked<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>why</i><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>she
writes, Erin pauses and reflects on the truth of her heart. “I write
because although I am only now beginning to truly love the process, I
have always loved the outcome. Like a composer, words become my notes. I
string them together in song eliciting the response of my reader,
grafting a picture of my soul. Where besides the written word can you
effect change so utterly and so succinctly? What besides the written
word can pierce the universal collective mind? Everything begins with a
thought, but it isn’t until that thought is articulated in written word
and those words passed down can life changing movement happen. It must
be written, it must be expressed on tablet, and when it is, we all
become greater, whether the writing be genius or fatuity, it has evoked
thought and debate. Why wouldn’t I want to be apart of that phenomenon?
Why wouldn’t I want to share my story, give my testimony…add my paradigm
to the mix? Whether it is a novel, a poem, an essay or an article, it
is humanity visited. An insight into a new or sometimes shared truth.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><b>In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God and the word was God.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></b>And with that I live my life”.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/dunesfinalSB.jpg" href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/dunesfinalSB.jpg"><br /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Dune.jpg" href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Dune.jpg"><img alt="Dune" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-40719" data-mce-src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Dune.jpg" src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Dune.jpg" height="200" width="130" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">If there was a journey that could masterfully change your life in seven revelations...would you take it? <br data-mce-style="color: #000000;" /><br data-mce-style="color: #000000;" />In
life, sometimes the kernels of wisdom and the richness of revelation
can be found in the most innocent of stories; and so it is with The
Dunes. Join one man and one woman in an exquisitely simple yet
remarkably profound journey as you discover with them that the mountain
you must climb in order to live the abundant life of your dreams is
located squarely within your heart. <br data-mce-style="color: #000000;" /><br data-mce-style="color: #000000;" />Illuminated
in seven revelations; The Dunes carries the reader on a journey to not
only examine the obstacles that are holding them back in life but to
conquer and over come them as well. With each revelation The Dunes
intimately calls on the reader as the journey companion to face a
challenge…a dare if you will that requires an uncompromising commitment
to change. In the family of faith-based self help books, The Dunes
stands alone, simultaneously taking the reader from fiction to life and
back again, equipped with a tailor made journal for the readers inner
most secrets and reflections. The Dunes is part allegory, part testimony
and part journal, but the best part is the healing it offers your
heart. When you’re ready to step out of your comfort zone and step into
the miracle of your life…The Dunes awaits. <br data-mce-style="color: #000000;" /><br data-mce-style="color: #000000;" />CAUTION:
Readers of this book are subject to significant changes for the better.
Side effects may include frequent smiling and enjoying life in every
season.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy Now @ <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Dunes-Release-Fears-Restore-Renew-ebook/dp/B00KO43L2Q/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=8-1&qid=1403131233" href="http://www.amazon.com/Dunes-Release-Fears-Restore-Renew-ebook/dp/B00KO43L2Q/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=8-1&qid=1403131233" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre – Non-fiction</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – G</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Erin-Sands/e/B00M5ZWIM6/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1" href="http://www.amazon.com/Erin-Sands/e/B00M5ZWIM6/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Connect</b> with Erin Sands on <a data-mce-href="https://www.facebook.com/thedunesbook" href="https://www.facebook.com/thedunesbook" target="_blank">Facebook</a> &<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://www.twitter.com/thedunesbook" href="http://www.twitter.com/thedunesbook" target="_blank">Twitter</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Website <a class="in-cell-link" data-mce-href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.thedunesbook.com&usd=2&usg=ALhdy29-Z7bqviUDISeSGG7sYWToCfcGIg" href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.thedunesbook.com&usd=2&usg=ALhdy29-Z7bqviUDISeSGG7sYWToCfcGIg" target="_blank">www.thedunesbook.com</a></b></span></span></div>
Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2493231551775073696.post-87518941845786911652014-09-02T08:00:00.000+01:002014-11-18T18:11:08.410+00:00THE REALITY MASTER #Excerpt by @PMPillon #AmReading #YA #SciFi<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;">DISCOVERY IN BIG SUR</span></span></span></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;">Joey was unable to discern why he felt apprehension about traveling to Big Sur, which previously had induced nothing but pure joy for him. Frank stayed overnight at Joey’s to make sure they got an early start </span><span class="aBn" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;"><span class="aQJ">Saturday</span></span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;"> morning for the two-hour drive down the coast to Grandpa Karl’s digs. They brought along plenty of camping equipment. Grandpa Karl hated phones, so they weren’t concerned that he didn’t call to confirm he was back from his trip back east. They would manage at his place even if he wasn’t there, sleeping in a tent and shopping for groceries further south along the coast highway. Karl lived in a one-room shack, and although they could all fit on his floor with sleeping bags, it was more fun to pitch a large tent and manage their own schedules. Unlike his life at home where he struggled to get up for school, Joey always jumped up at first light when he was in Big Sur. He loved the smell of moist pines and redwoods, the frigid, misty mornings, being surrounded by forest, within earshot of loudly barking sea lions cavorting along the ocean’s edge. Joey didn’t have to go far from Grandpa Karl’s to where he could watch these exotic creatures, as well as seals and sea otters, gallivanting and floating among the rocks and kelp. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;">Once he even saw Gray Whales passing by as they migrated south to their winter breeding grounds in Baja California. On their way to Big Sur they passed by Carmel where tourists actually pay a road fee just to drive around Carmel looking at the plush homes that they heard celebrities like Doris Day, Clint Eastwood, or Paul Simon lived in at one time. But the drive further down the coast to and along Big Sur is a completely different story from carefully carved Carmel. The winding road is flanked by guard rails that don’t always prevent a car’s plunge down a steep incline and even into the ocean. Just the previous week, a woman had gone off the road and down a steep embankment, and was only rescued two days later because she managed to get to her cell phone and call for help. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;">As Joey contemplated the woman’s plight, he thought of the famous rock musician who was reputed to be a physics genius; found dead in his car long after it went off a road and fell into thick brush. But that accident was far from the coast, somewhere east of LA. There were rumors about the last communications from the musician darkly suggesting his possible assassination because of some great mathematical discovery that he was on the verge of achieving. While pondering this, Joey developed a feeling of cold on the back of his neck; it seemed his body might be communicating a warning to him. What warning could it be? I’m no genius like that rock star. He shook his head and tried to dismiss the thought by looking out the car window at the scenery. Then Frank engaged him in conversation, and he forgot the strange sensation. It was a typically sunny day in the Bay Area when they started out in the morning, but it was drizzling in Big Sur. This was actually ideal from Joey’s view point because the flora looked especially beautiful with drops of rain on it and puddles everywhere, and the moisture brought out wonderful fragrances. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;">Eventually, they turned off the coastal highway, wending their way along the bumpy, pocked private road that brought them to Grandpa Karl’s abode. He drove an ancient 1948 Ford truck that he managed to keep going by scavenging parts wherever he could. Because of this scavenging, there were quite a few auto parts near his shack, enough to ironically mimic a junkyard in the midst of a natural paradise.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;">Many people in Big Sur were essentially bohemians who rebelled against pressure to conform to orthodox aesthetic standards. In this respect, they were like many residents of Bolinas on the coast above San Francisco, a town that is locally famous for its hippie and iconoclastic population, much of which likewise junkyard their otherwise picturesque properties. Bolinas is a beach town that isn’t tree-laden like Big Sur, but Mendocino, a short distance north, sports a mil ion of acres of dense forest. Big Sur residents became the subject of a school report by Joey after the one he wrote about San Francisco. Many of them could be described as relics of the old 60’s counterculture. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">His celestial companion was waiting for him</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Precariously climbing a sea-side cliff near Big Sur, ten-year-old Joey Blake was as yet unaware that near his grasp was an object, so odd, mysterious and alien to earth that it would change his life forever and the lives of countless others in the next few astonishing days. Reaching up as far as he could for a handhold it was just there; it had subconsciously lured him, occupied his mind, and made him find it. It was like he was meant to see and discover this object of unimaginable power … the power to change reality.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Time travel and more</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This young adult series of sci-fi fantasy novels begins with The Reality Master and continues through four other exciting and amazing stories about time travel and mysterious alien devices. Joey and the reader will face dangerous shadowy criminal organizations, agents of the NSA, bizarre travelers from other times and even renegade California bikers and scar-faced walking dead.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">- Vol 1 The Reality Master</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">- Vol 2 Threat To The World</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">- Vol 3 Travel Beyond</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">- Vol 4 Missions Through Time</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">- Vol 5 The Return Home</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy Now @ <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Reality-Master-PM-Pillon-ebook/dp/B00GTWX4CO" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre – Science fiction, Fantasy, Young adult</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – G</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a href="http://www.amazon.com/PM-Pillon/e/B00ASAMQVI/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Connect</b> with PM Pillon on <a href="https://facebook.com/pmpillon" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Facebook</a> & <a href="https://twitter.com/pmpillon" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Twitter</a></span></span></div>
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Mickalia Peckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00019698247961366566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2493231551775073696.post-2793547119573137542014-08-19T11:00:00.000+01:002014-11-09T15:03:19.046+00:00@TheobaldSprague on Writing, Happiness & Failure #AmWriting #AmReading #Memoir <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">How do you work through self-doubts and fear?</span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">QUIET
TIME. I'VE ALWAYS FELT, EVEN AS A KID, THAT FOR THE MOST PART WE HAVE
ALL THE ANSWERS THAT WE NEED BUT WE JUST DON'T KNOW IT OR HAVE NEVER HAD
THE OPPORTUNITY TO PUT THEM INTO WORDS. I DISCOVERED 'QUIET TIME' (NOT
PUNITIVE QUIET TIME!) WHEN I WAS ABOUT TEN FOR THAT IS WHEN I TRY TO
LISTEN TO WHAT IS GOING ON DEEP INSIDE OF ME, AWAY FROM THE NAGGING
NEGATIVE VOICES AND SELF DOUBT. THE ANSWER MIGHT BE AS SIMPLE AS FINDING
A SMILE WITHIN, BUT THAT SMILE HAS GOTTEN ME THROUGH THICK AND THIN FOR
THAT SMILE IS ME APPROVING OF ME!!</span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What scares you the most?</span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">FAILURE
TO REACH MY POTENTIAL REGARDLESS THE ARENA. WHETHER IT'S BEING WITH MY
KIDS, LEARNING SOMETHING NEW OR FACING A DAUNTING TASK. MANY TIMES IN
FACE OF FEAR I MIGHT BACK AWAY AS I'M AFRAID OF A NEGATIVE OUTCOME, BUT
IF I SUMMON UP MY INNER STRENGTH, TRY NOT TO LISTEN TO THE FALSE FEARS
AND GIVE THE SITUATION ALL THAT I HAVE, I STAND MY BEST CHANCE AT
REACHING MY POTENTIAL. IT'S ONLY IN HINDSIGHT THAT I CAN SEE I DIDN'T
REGARD MY POTENTIAL AND THAT'S USUALLY WHEN I'M THE HARDEST ON MYSELF.</span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What makes you happiest?</span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A HAPPY OUTCOME, A BABIES' LAUGHTER, BEING AT PEACE WITH MYSELF AND NATURE AT HER FULLEST AND MOST BEAUTIFUL.</span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What’s your greatest character strength?</span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">THAT'S
A HARD ONE… PERHAPS MY BUILT IN BLINDERS TO OBSTACLES AND THE
WILLINGNESS TO TRY AND PERSEVERE REGARDLESS THE ODDS. OPTIMISM.</span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What’s your weakest character trait?</span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I CAN BE VERY, VERY HARD ON MYSELF.</span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Why do you write?</span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I
HAVE NO IDEA! PERHAPS IT'S TO GIVE VOICE TO ALL THOSE SCENARIOS AND
IDEAS INSIDE OF ME. WRITING ALSO TAKES ME TO A PLACE NOTHING ELSE CAN. I
LOVE THE FEELING OF SITTING DOWN TO WRITE FRO WHAT I THOUGHT WAS AN
HOUR WHEN IT WAS ACTUALLY FOUR!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/TheOtherSideOfIce.jpg" href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/TheOtherSideOfIce.jpg"><img alt="TheOtherSideOfIce" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-38622" data-mce-src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/TheOtherSideOfIce.jpg" src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/TheOtherSideOfIce.jpg" height="200" width="130" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">( <b>TO WATCH THE OFFICIAL HD TEASER FOR "The Other Side of The Ice" [book and documentary] PLEASE GO TO:</b> <i><b>VIMEO.COM/45526226) </b></i></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A sailor and his family's harrowing and inspiring story of their attempt to sail the treacherous Northwest Passage.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sprague
Theobald, an award-winning documentary filmmaker and expert sailor with
over 40,000 offshore miles under his belt, always considered the
Northwest Passage--the sea route connecting the Atlantic to the
Pacific--the ultimate uncharted territory. Since Roald Amundsen
completed the first successful crossing of the fabled Northwest Passage
in 1906, only twenty-four pleasure craft have followed in his wake. Many
more people have gone into space than have traversed the Passage, and a
staggering number have died trying. From his home port of Newport,
Rhode Island, through the Passage and around Alaska to Seattle, it would
be an 8,500-mile trek filled with constant danger from ice, polar
bears, and severe weather.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What
Theobald couldn't have known was just how life-changing his journey
through the Passage would be. Reuniting his children and stepchildren
after a bad divorce more than fifteen years earlier, the family embarks
with unanswered questions, untold hurts, and unspoken mistrusts hanging
over their heads. Unrelenting cold, hungry polar bears, and a haunting
landscape littered with sobering artifacts from the tragic Franklin
Expedition of 1845, as well as personality clashes that threaten to tear
the crew apart, make The Other Side of the Ice a harrowing story of
survival, adventure, and, ultimately, redemption.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy Now @ <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Other-Side-Ice-Treacherous-Negotiating-ebook/dp/B008QD8OTC/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=8-1&qid=1396289433" href="http://www.amazon.com/Other-Side-Ice-Treacherous-Negotiating-ebook/dp/B008QD8OTC/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=8-1&qid=1396289433" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre – Memoir, adventure, family, climate</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – PG</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&field-author=Sprague%20Theobald&search-alias=digital-text" href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&field-author=Sprague%20Theobald&search-alias=digital-text" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <b>Connect</b> with Sprague Theobald on<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="https://www.facebook.com/TheOtherSideoftheIce" href="https://www.facebook.com/TheOtherSideoftheIce" target="_blank">Facebook</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>& <a data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/TheobaldSprague" href="https://twitter.com/TheobaldSprague" target="_blank">Twitter</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Website <a class="in-cell-link" data-mce-href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.spraguetheobald.com&usd=2&usg=ALhdy2-hqap-1OaYQfgpmkVVaj6tZwQK7A" href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.spraguetheobald.com&usd=2&usg=ALhdy2-hqap-1OaYQfgpmkVVaj6tZwQK7A" target="_blank">www.spraguetheobald.com</a></b></span></span></div>
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Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0