Monday, August 29, 2011

Book Spotlight: COLORS by David Berardelli

COLORS
by David Berardelli
paranormal suspense

After trying to help the victim of a hit-and-run, a young woman finds herself seeing odd colors around people when they're charged with emotion. As she probes deeper into the hit-and-run murder to help bring justice to the old woman and find out more about her strange new visionary power, a DEA cop comes to her rescue. She soon realizes someone very powerful wants to keep her quiet ... permanently. Can her gift keep her and those around her safe, or is she destined to end up dead like the old woman she tried to help?


EXCERPT

The old woman lay in the bed, her withered face strangely peaceful, her glazed gray eyes focused on Lindsay standing in the doorway. A little frightened, Lindsay followed the doctor in. He went over to the cluttered row of monitors beeping softly from the long shelf bolted to the wall behind the bed.
Lindsay dreaded hospitals. Fifteen years earlier, as a little girl, she’d visited her grandmother in this same building. Granna could barely see or talk, but wanted to hold Lindsay’s hand. Lindsay took it, shivering at its coldness, its frailty. Granna tried talking, but in the middle of her sentence closed her eyes and went limp. Lindsay was afraid Granna had died. She was also afraid that since she was holding Granna’s hand, she would also die. She put Granna’s hand gently back down on the mattress and backed up quickly, knocking over the food cart. The accident woke Granna and brought in two nurses, an orderly, and a nurse’s aid to see what had happened, turning Lindsay’s panic into a huge embarrassment that gave her nightmares for weeks.
The old woman’s hand raised a few inches, gesturing for Lindsay to come closer.
Lindsay felt so sorry for the poor soul. This lady might have been on her way to church to find shelter for the night. No one should be struck by a car and left to lie in the gutter amongst the tossed food wrappings and cigarette butts.
It just wasn’t fair. She wasn’t always an old woman. At one time, she was a little girl. At one time, she was Lindsay’s age. She’d probably had a husband and kids. Who knew what happened to turn her into someone no one cared about? Who knew what injustices, what horrors, this poor old lady had endured to turn her into the broken creature living her last agonizing moments in a hospital bed?
Hesitantly Lindsay took the old woman’s offered hand in hers. It was just as cold as it had been earlier, when she lay beside the busy highway. But right now Lindsay felt a strong, fast pulse. It pumped through the woman’s brittle veins with bursts of energy from reserves that probably hadn’t been used in a long time.
“You’ve ... finally come ... for me,” the woman whispered weakly.
Lindsay could hear sharp clicking sounds in the woman’s throat. They sounded wet, almost bubbly, in her labored breaths. The old woman was probably hallucinating. Best agree with whatever she says and make her last moments pleasant.
“Please ... come closer...”
Lindsay bent, forcing herself to ignore the woman’s sour breath, the urine smell emanating from beneath the sheet, and the dirt and sand in the damp matted hair. The woman’s eyes were now very clear. They closed, and she smiled, showing yellow teeth with some missing. “Thank you ... for coming back,” she whispered.
“You shouldn’t be alone,” Lindsay replied. “Everyone else–”
“They have ... all gone.”
Confusion, obviously. It was no wonder. Her head had whacked the pavement, cracking her skull and causing major trauma and possible swelling in her brain. Lindsay could only imagine how hard it was for the poor soul to think coherently.
The doctor remained watching the monitors. He must have sensed Lindsay’s gaze. His slight grimace told her the worst.
“Are you in a lot of pain, ma’am?” Lindsay asked.
“I am ... at peace.”
“Is there someone ... someone I can–”
“They’re ... all gone.”
“I’m so sorry...”
“Everyone is happy. I will be with them again. I might even see Mikka again.”
Mikka. Her husband? I need to find out her name, who she is. Where she’s from. If she has anyone. She has to have someone. She can’t really be all alone.
The old woman began staring at Lindsay as if seeing her for the first time. Confusion and fear cast shadows over her ancient features.
My God... She’s going away...
“Is ... everything okay?” Lindsay instantly realized how stupid that question was. “I mean, is there something I can do?”
No reply. The old woman tilted her head as if she was listening to something. Or somebody.
She’s hearing voices. There was brain damage.
“Ma’am?”
“I must ... give you something...”
Lindsay choked down the sob filling her throat. This poor soul had nothing, yet wanted Lindsay to have something. There was no one else. She’d even said so. Maybe she kept a trinket or a memento from her childhood, and wanted Lindsay to have it for helping her. But it wasn’t necessary. Besides, Lindsay would feel funny accepting such a gift from someone she didn’t even know. “You don’t have to give me anything.”
The veiny gray eyes narrowed. “Yes. I do.”

Blood and Sunlight Blogxtravaganza Countdown

Only two more days left! If you haven't emailed us to win a free ebook copy of Blood and Sunlight and enter for the free print copy drawing, DO IT NOW BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!

penumbrapublishing@gmail.com

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Paranormal Wire's Tuesday Tips and Tidbits...

From Paranormal Wire guest post...

TUESDAY TIPS AND TIDBITS – Mr. M, the Self-Published Author’s Worst Best Friend

Who is this mysterious Mr. M everyone keeps saying you, the self-published author, simply must meet? Maybe you’ve already got a significant other in your life, and you don’t want any demanding complications from some smarmy dude everyone’s all gaga over. Well, everybody needs friends – especially the author who self-publishes a book. And every single self-published author who wants to sell books needs to be very close friends with Mr. M. He’s the person when it comes to book marketing.

Oh! There’s that dreaded ‘M’ word – marketing. Go ahead, you can say it out loud without fearing Freddy Kruger’s going to come flying out of the bathroom mirror or your bedroom closet and rip your face off – or whatever thing it is you fear, that you subconsciously have told yourself will happen if you even say that dreaded word.

There’s nothing to be afraid of except fear itself – as long as you take a realistic approach to marketing. And if you’re an author who’s thinking about or has already decided to self-publish, then good ol’ Mr. Marketing is going to have to become a familiar acquaintance. No, more that that. Mr. Marketing is going to be your very favorite friend, good buddy, best pal. Mr. Marketing is going to go everywhere with you ... to work, to school, to your mom’s house for Sunday dinner. He will even go on dates with you, whether you’re single or doing the married ‘date night’ thing. Mr. Marketing is going to camp out in your apartment, or house, or basement hovel, or wherever you call home. So you might as well keep a spare set of PJs and an extra toothbrush for Mr. Marketing, because he is going to be the last face you see before you close your eyes at night, and the first face you see in the morning when you stare blandly off into space over your cereal bowl. Mr. Marketing is going to be your second shadow from now on, so get to know him as well and as quickly as you can. That is, if you want to sell more than ... say ... five copies of your book. Total. For however many years you have your book out there for sale.

And let me tell you, Mr. Marketing is not an easy guy to get to know. He’s quirky, unpredictable, and fickle – and he loves to play practical jokes. What do I mean? Well, you know that awfully-written teen-slasher romance some gal in your writers’ group self-published five months ago? Yeah, Mr. Marketing’s going to make that an astounding bestseller (at least a bestseller in the awfully-written teen-slasher romance genre). And just to make things more interesting, Mr. Marketing will ignore your repeated pleas for some kind of recognition – any kind, good or bad – for your book that hasn’t sold any copies in the last three months, despite the all the book blogging and promotion flogging you’ve been doing. The fact that you’ve given up your bed for Mr. Marketing and have taken to sleeping in the chair with your laptop means nothing. If left up to Mr. Marketing, all your hard work at self-promotion could end up producing zero results. So take Mr. Marketing’s advice, but don’t leave it up to him to make the magic happen. That’s your job – and yes, you did sign up for it when you decided to publish your own book.

You’re probably saying right about now ... Mr. Marketing sounds like a real demanding pain in the rear, like one of those pesky distant relatives who comes to visit and then never seems to want to leave. And really, who wants to go to all that extra trouble to befriend some self-absorbed snark like Mr. Marketing? Why doesn’t he just go make a nuisance of himself somewhere else? Who the heck would even want a despicable scoundrel like Mr. Marketing for a friend, anyway?

Well, you, for one. Not because he’s a likable guy, but because he knows people. And he knows stuff, like how to make connections with your readers, how to get the word out about your books, and how to meet real people whom you can call real friends. Mr. Marketing is the type of guy you have to study. Sometimes he gives up his secrets grudgingly. But once you figure out all his little quirks and plans and shortcuts, you can be well on your way to becoming an author who sells tens of thousands of copies of your book, rather than ten ... period.

And the truth is, Mr. Marketing doesn’t really care whether you like him or not, because he has many, many, many other writers out there just begging to be his friend, promising to do anything if he’ll just show them some of his winning secrets. Mr. Marketing doesn’t need you at all. You need him. But there are a few important things to remember before you open your door wide and invite Mr. Marketing in...

MAKE FRIENDS AND INFLUENCE PEOPLE. Mr. Marketing’s number-one secret that self-published authors need to know is ... drum roll please ... how to make friends and keep them. How to meet influential people who can help you on your quest to be a successful author – and actually get them to help. In short, how to get in good with the right kind of friends in the book and reader business. To do that, you need to follow Mr. Marketing’s example and network. (Sorry, there’s another nasty term nobody wants to use.) I don’t mean just go to writing conventions and pass around your business card or a collection of writing samples on a CD to a bunch of strangers wandering around. I mean really meet and talk to people. Learn to schmooze and be a pleasant partier. Practice the gift of gab but know when to shut up. Never say bad stuff about anyone to anyone, because Mr. Marketing, with his quirky sense of humor, will make sure it gets back to the wrong person, pronto. In short, be you, but make sure you are always the best you can be.

MODERATION. While Mr. Marketing may be camped out in your living room, don’t let him take over your life. Another of Mr. Marketing’s most important secrets is that successful authors have a life outside their writing ... a life they share with family and friends. Maintain a balance between work and play, and work and life. Maintain a good work ethic. Take care of your health. Take care of your family. Take care of your day job to keep food on the table and a roof over your head. In the merry-go-round of life, don’t fall off the carousel horse as you grab for the brass ring.

PERSPECTIVE. Another important thing to remind yourself of periodically is to keep things in perspective. Self-promotion is not always about you, and it’s certainly not always about your book. People are constantly bombarded by infomercials and ads, and they tire quickly of repetitive sales pitches. If that’s all they hear from you, they’ll stop listening. If you want to attract a reading – buying – audience, make sure what you have to sell is something they want to buy. If Mr. Marketing teaches you anything at all, it’s that blogging, tweeting, facebooking, conferencing, book signings, and all that stuff is not about the book or about you ... it’s about life, about the connections life offers, about what you have to offer your readers. The key is to turn things around so you can answer one question and answer it well when prospective readers ask, “What’s your book got for me?”

GIVE AND YE SHALL RECEIVE. Be a good friend, and you will have good friends ... friends you can count on when the chips are down, friends who will tell their friends about you and your book. Friends who know friends who might give you some newsworthy exposure or in some other way boost your chances of getting the word out about your book. Team up with other like-minded authors to share the burden of promotion. Treasure and respect those professional bonds, because you never know when something surprising and good will come your way.

And finally, just be a good person. Think positive. Treat others as you would have them treat you. And treasure the people in your life who make your life worthwhile. Enjoy your life and don’t take anything for granted.

WRITE A DAMN GOOD BOOK. After all the hype and promo and sales pitches are done, at the end of it all better be a really good book. Otherwise everything Mr. Marketing can do for you will be wasted.

There are many things that are necessary to make a book good. Good editing, good cover, good marketing approach. But for your book to be great, it should have a life of its own, a life that sprang from the essence of what is important to you. This is what should be in your book. Whether it’s humor, horror, romance, children’s bedtime stories, or nonfiction, your book should be personal enough to mean something to you. If it does, chances are it will mean something to the people who read it, who will tell others to read it, and then like a chain reaction, you will have marketed your book.

This will happen only because you put what was important to you in your book, and you believed in yourself and your book. If you believe in you – in your book and your ability and perseverance to make your book a success – you’ll do what it takes to make your book the best it can be, what it needs to be to fulfill its destiny in the world of reading and the lives of your readers.

If Mr. Marketing teaches you anything worthwhile, it will be that – and that’s what will sell your book!

Pat Morrison, Penumbra Publishing

Sunday, August 21, 2011

WEEK #4 of BLOOD & SUNLIGHT Anniversary Blogxtravaganza

Counting down to week #4 of our BLOGXTRAVAGANZA (yeah, go ahead, try to say that real fast three times) for Jamie Wasserman's vampire novel BLOOD AND SUNLIGHT! All this month the ebook version is on sale for 99-cents at Amazon.

Don't miss your chance to get a free copy of the ebook for yourself or a friend - follow this blog and email us at penumbrapublishing@gmail.com so we can send you a free download code from Smashwords.com to get the ebook in any format you like.


That will also enter you in our end-of-event giveaway of a free print copy of the book, which will be announced Thursday, Sept. 1.

Remember, ya gotta follow this blog and email us. We won't keep or sell or spam your email, just need to know where to send your ebook free coupon or to contact you if you win the free print copy.

OK, so go ahead ... you know you want to do it ... BLOGXTRAVAGANZA - say it three times real fast!

Friday, August 19, 2011

DARWIN'S CHILDREN Bewitching Book Tour

Author NATASHA LARRY blog tour event - Check the following dates and locations for Natasha Larry's BEWITCHING BOOK TOURS blog tour promoting her debut book, DARWIN'S CHILDREN, the first in her new young-adult paranormal series.

8/17 7:30 radio interview @ Romance Radio
8/29 guest post @ Pocket After Dark
8/30 @Fang-tastic Books
9/1 interview, giveaway @ www.backofthebookreviews.com
9/2 interview @ http://jacqpaige.blogspot.com/
9/2 Close Encounters of the Night Kind @ www.closeencounterswiththenightkind.blogspot.com
9/3 guest post Mysterious Books @ http://mysteriousrose.blogspot.com/
9/4 review Braintasia Books @http://www.braintasiabooks.com
9/5 @ The Write at Home Mom
9/5 interview @ Dark Angel's Writing Tools

Monday, August 15, 2011

eWorld – eGads!


Eddie’s Take on Technology
by Robert J. Wetherall

Despite its pervasiveness in our lives, the little E is still in its infancy. In twenty years, we’ll wonder how we put up with such a complicated, unpredictable, frustrating amalgam of computers and clouds as the Internet exists today. My good friend, Eddie Salinski, celebrated writer and welder, weighed in on this very subject while picking dandelion greens near his trailer last weekend.

“Think of the Internet and all its trimmings as a wee little babe,” Eddie told me. “Cute and cuddly as all get out, but blessed with all kinds of baby baggage: Smiling at you one moment and then burping and spitting up the next. Lulling you with that adorable baby Winston Churchill smile, until you discover it’s just passing gas. That’s the eWorld in a nutshell.”

Eddie tromped through his garden in knee-high mudders, with a kettle wrapped in his left arm. “It’s just beginning to crawl, and we’re still naively intrigued with the newness of it all. Horror of horrors, should we get left behind. So we’re texting, twitting (or is it tweeting?), blogging, liking, posting, and poking like crazy. And making sure that we’re grabbing our share of space on a zillion sites that immerse us in whole universes full of information and nonsense.”

Eddie paused to swat at a horsefly the size of a Kindle that was circling his thin gawky neck. “Now, don’t get me wrong. I think all this eCommotion is great,” he continued. “I do all of my writing on a laptop these days, but sometimes I miss the simplicity of pencil and yellow legal pad, or my old Remington and Wite-Out. Things were slower then, and it seems I had more time to actually think about what I was writing, rather than just slamming it into the magic box. But I think I’m maturing a bit, too.”

“How so?” I asked as he grabbed a swatch of greens and put them into a kettle.

“I’m cutting down on my eStuff a bit: First off, I quit Facebook and Twitter. That saves me a ton of time better spent writing or just lying on my backside and smelling the flowers. I’m not texting any more, either. I mean, who cares that I ran out of vanilla while mixing up a cake this morning? All those giddy gadgets work for some folks, but as for me, they have a strictly limited place in my little world.”

Eddie picked up his kettle of greens and headed for his trailer. “Join me for chow?” he asked as I followed at his heels. “I’ve got a big chunk of ham and some spuds to go along with these greens.”

“So you’re not tossing out your laptop?” I asked as we entered his modest dwelling.

“Not on your life,” Eddie said. “The Little E has its place. I’m just going to enjoy it in a bit more moderation. When it’s all grown up, I might jump in a bit deeper.”

As I drove home later, I pondered Eddie’s words. My stomach happily rumbled with the remains of dinner, and I made myself a promise. Eddie’s birthday was just a few months off. When the great day arrived, I’d present him with a new iPad.


Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Two new science fiction releases

Peacekeepers, Book 10
America's Galactic Foreign Legion series
by Walter Knight
science fiction military political humor


Blue is not Captain Joey R. Czerinski’s favorite color – especially not to wear in the New Gobi Desert on planet New Colorado. Blue doesn’t blend with dust and dirt – it’s a beacon inviting terrorists and insurgents to take potshots at him and fellow legionnaires newly assigned as ‘peacekeepers’ to control hostilities between the spiders and scorpions. But whoever put Czerinski in charge of keeping the peace in this volatile area certainly didn’t think things through. A paranoid psychopath interested only in personal gain is not the best babysitter to keep two warring alien factions at bay.

With the rise of two new terrorist leaders – one scorpion and one spider – things heat up in a hurry with the threat of nuclear detonation. But there’s always a profit to be made even amid the bombings and riots – even if somebody has to take a dive to fix the fight. And as long as Pizza Hut and Taco Bell keep their doors open, everybody’ll be happy ... at least for a while.

An old foe makes another showing and scares the bejesus out of Sergeant Green and everyone else in the hallowed tunnels of the Legion’s armory and detention dungeon. Czerinski and his band face dangers, and sometimes those dangers get the best of a few. Death in war is an inevitability, but the trick is to keep on laughing at Death and going about the business of being the craziest bunch of soldiers this side of the galaxy! Laughter is truly the best arsenal in the tenth installment of the seriously screwy military space saga gone wrong. 

Available now in ebook and print - recently ranked #1 in Kindle's political humor section!


The McKenzie Files (Book 1)
by Barry K. Nelson
science fiction military adventure


The United Protectorate is under attack by the Brelac, a bloodthirsty reptilian alien race bent on destroying humanity. A dark alliance between the Brelac and the Vendetta, a separatist organization, looms over the Protectorate. The Brelac's onslaught brings forth the creation of the genetically engineered humanoid weapons called Reploids. Reploids are identical copies of real humans captured, killed, cloned, embedded with powerful psionic abilities, and programmed to serve the Brelac. They are untraceable and blend into human society so believably, the Reploids themselves do not know they are clones.

Colin McKenzie, part of a military team sent to a remote planet to investigate and capture a downed Brelac ship, turns on his commanding officer in an attempt to protect a shipwrecked band of Brelac soldiers. But he is captured and reprogrammed - along with two other arrested Reploids - to serve the government they were originally created to destroy.

The balance is upset when a weapon powerful enough to bring the Protectorate to its knees is about to be unleashed - and the Protectorate's only hope of stopping it is the three Reploids.


Available now in ebook and print

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Author Natasha Larry - Darwin's Children 'Bewitching Book Tour' Schedule

Follow author Natasha Larry as her debut novel, Darwin's Children, makes the rounds in the 'Bewitching Book Tour.' Here's the schedule of planned events...


August 17 - at 7:30, Romance Radio interview recording
 
August 29 - guest post at Pocket After Dark topic: writing paranormal/fantasy YA

August 30 - Fang-tastic Books
 
September 1 - interview and giveaway, Back Of The Book Reviews

September 2 - interview
September 2 - Close Encounters with the Night Kind.
 
September 3 - guest post Mysteriousbooks Blog url:
 
September 4 - review, Braintasia Books

September 5 - The Write at Home Mom, being a writer and mother
 
September 5 - interview at Dark Angel’s Writing Tools

Blood and Sunlight - One Year Anniversary Extravaganza (week 2)

It's the second week in August, and the summer's flying by - but boy what a hot one it's been! Hope you've all been having some fun in the sun.

Folks who don't particularly like the sun are vampires. They're more creatures of the night, preferring cool and dark places to do their worst.

For author Jamie Wasserman, it's been a year since his debut novel, Blood and Sunlight, came out of the shadows and into the light. To celebrate, we're hosting a month-long anniversary extravaganza. We'll be giving away daily a free copy of the ebook, plus and a chance to win a print copy at the end of August. Plus, the ebook will be on sale at Amazon for just 99-cents all through the month of August.

To enter for your free ebook copy and a chance to win a print copy, just follow our blog and email us at penumbrapublishing@gmail.com with your mailing address to enter. (Don't worry, we won't keep your info or sell it or give it away or send you spam - honest!) If you've read the book already but would like to give it as a gift, you can still enter.

A tidbit you may not know is that Jamie contacted Romanian photographer, Diana Barbu, to get permission to use one of her images in the front cover. The image is a retouched self-portrait of the photographer and creates a stunning visual impact!

Good luck and don't miss this chance to own a copy of this fantastic vampire tale from a promising new horror-paranormal author.

Get the Kindle version for 99-cents!

TUESDAY TIPS AND TIDBITS - Why IT isn't finished, and how to finish IT

Broadland Suspense, The Blue Lady
GUEST BLOG AT PARANORMAL WIRE...

One of the hardest things for a beginning author to do is finish that first book and get it ready for publishing. There are several camps on this issue, some of them taking approaches that thwart progress and make IT, the book, unlikely to ever get published...

As long as I work on IT, I’ll still be writing. Some authors are born fussers. They fuss with something and can’t leave it alone. They’re obsessive about fixing every little perceived error. They wake up one morning and have an epiphany – my book’s just not good enough and needs completely revamped – so they start over from scratch and rewrite it. They do this so many times, the book doesn’t even resemble what they originally started with. Why? Because they can’t let go of their baby, their heart and soul. They’ve put everything they have of themselves into it, and they just can’t bear for it to leave their hands and their realm of control. Because once a book is sent out to an agent or a publisher for consideration, the author gives up control of the book’s fate. The author puts the book in the hands of strangers, hoping it will be well received, but the author has no control over how the book will be received, except to do the very best to make it the very best it can be. A part of the fear of letting go is the fear that failure will result. If the book receives rejections, those are perceived as the book’s failures. So these authors never let their little darlings leave the nest and just keep working and working and working on them. In that respect, the book is never done.

A good remedy for this situation is to set a goal for submitting the book and following a step-by-step plan. Once a goal is set outside the realm of actually writing the book, the book can move from a perpetual work in progress to a project that is ‘making the rounds.’

I’m so sick of IT, I just have to stop working on IT. A lot of authors run into problems with their stories and don’t know how to fix them. They write themselves into a corner and can’t find their way out. Or they’ve gone over their story so many times, trying to fix this or that problem pointed out by different critique groups and friends and first, second, third, or fiftieth readers, they don’t even recognize their story anymore. And they just have to stop working on it because they have gone so far off track, they’ve lost focus and interest in their book. The only thing they can do at this point is put it away and forget about it. So ... the book is never finished. It’s a sock-drawer victim.

But in time, and with a lot of courage and forethought, a sock-drawer victim can be rescued to become a sock-drawer survivor. It takes a strong writer with perseverance and the will to beat the book in order to dig in, rework it, and finally finish it. However, many authors just do some tinkering and make this kind of book passable so they can simply type ‘the end’ and say they finished it. Often, they’ve gone over their work so many times that the obvious typos and gaping plot holes simply disappear in front of their tired and disinterested eyes. So, although the book may be technically finished, it also may not be anywhere near ready to publish. The best approach for this is to finish it as far as the writer can go with it, then put it away for a short time, two weeks or a month, and take it out again to look at it with fresh eyes, with the objective of polishing it for submission to an agent or publisher.

I can’t stop thinking of new things to add to IT. This type of writer is so enthusiastic about writing, he is flooded with ideas and can’t write fast enough to get all the stories out of his head. Before one book is finished, more ideas form and make their way into a book they have no business invading. This type of writer may actually start two, three, or four different stories at the same time and be so distracted by his own ideas that he can’t focus long enough on any of his projects to finish even one before beginning yet another.

For this kind of writer, a structured writing approach may be beneficial. Plotting and planning may seem boring but actually are necessary steps to keep the flighty writer on track.

I did all I could, but IT didn’t work out. This type of writer has a tendency to cave at the first sign of difficulty and doesn’t understand or want to acknowledge the concept of goal-setting and progress-planning. The idea of writing a book may seem intriguing but at the same time daunting, so this writer tells herself she’ll try it. She’ll give herself an unrealistic deadline to piddle around with writing, coming at it hesitantly from different angles, but never really do any serious preparation to develop writing skills. She wants everything to be insanely easy so she doesn’t have to roll up her sleeves to dig in and get her hands dirty. In the end, nothing substantial comes of her writing venture, and her self-imposed deadline for success expires without her finishing anything that can be called a book. So she feels perfectly justified in letting the whole exercise fade away into the distant memories of all her other feeble attempts at accomplishing something ... anything.

What this writer needs to succeed and to actually finish something is guidance, perhaps in the form of a step-by-step plan. This writer may benefit from attending some writing seminars or enrolling in a one-to-one novel-writing classes where an outside taskmaster keeps her on track.

So, which one are you? Maybe you resemble one or more of these typical wannabe-an-author descriptions. And maybe you have some problems not touched on here. But whatever reason you may have for not finishing your book or for not carrying it through to the logical conclusion of publishing, know this. There are millions of writers out there who dreamed of writing a book and managed somehow to see their dreams through to the end. They finished what they started and got it published, good or bad, big publisher or self-published. With the right mindset, the right preparation, and the right perseverance, you can too.

Pat Morrison, Penumbra Publishing

(PS - KUDOS on the new look. I liked the old blog art, but also like the new color scheme!)

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Sentence Sampler #5

Lucifer laughed, shook his head, and warned them, “Come with me while you can. What you’re asking for is more than a revolution, it’s a question ... a denial...

ANGEL'S ORACLE
Gary Bolick
Southern Literary Historical Fantasy

Angel, Mississippi's one claim to fame is an unusual natural phenomenon known to the local blacks as Moses' Rock, and to everyone else, Angel's Oracle. The singing rock nestled in the ground deep in the back woods is rumored to be the source of the Four Winds - Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. Almost everyone in Angel has a story to tell about the Oracle, and many believe it holds mystical secrets to be revealed and heard only when the wind blows.

But a hard-working albino white man in 1959 has a special history with Angel's Oracle. And over a three-day Easter weekend, he comes to realize many things, the least of which is that he fits in better with the ‘coloreds’ than he does with his own ‘white folk.’

With gritty realism and wondrous mysticism, Angel’s Oracle focuses on the microcosm of Angel, Mississippi – America from 1859 to 1959 to the present. Angel’s Oracle tells the story of free will, race relations, religion’s influence on capitalism, the love of one brother for another, and the power of myth, religion, and history to shape love and hate, and to sway man toward failure and redemption. It is a lesson hard won and not easily forgotten.