Saturday, October 31, 2015

Author's Advice by Antuan Vance

Thank You Antuan for stopping by to give some amazing advice to some aspiring writers! 

What is your advice for those who want to write? 
If you want to be a writer, find people who are writers and/or readers, make them your friends, and don’t let go. Hold on tight! Read a lot. Build yourself a network of editors and writers. Go to conventions in your area. One of the hardest things for some of us is networking and marketing. It’s good to start early; because it’s not easy to get people to read your work and give you pointers. Join a group. Join a club. You’ll have an opportunity to see other people’s work. It’s an excellent idea to pair up with another person. Start your career reading other people’s work and giving them feedback.

Another piece of advice is to start putting together plots for various stories. Put together a queue of stories. If you can’t get one story off the ground for whatever reason, it’s great to have about a bunch of other great story ideas in your pocket. You’d be amazed how you could later link one story to another and boom; it’s as if you tripped on an idea land mine and found yourself covered in genius.

Also, don’t lose hope and don’t be afraid to reach out to other writers. We’re all in this together. We’ve all been there.

Thanks for stopping By Antuan! 

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Author Corner With Cj Fosdick's

Welcome to Authors Corner with Cj Fosdick



Before we get started here is a little bit about her: 

Cj Fosdick’s writing career began in Milwaukee, Wisconsin after winning her first writing contest at age ten. Since then, she has flourished in tropical Minnesota with fiction and non-fiction published in local and national publications and in three short story anthologies, while giving horseback riding lessons on her mini-farm for 15 years. Her recent novel from The Wild Rose Press is a time-travel mainstream historical romance titled The Accidental Wife. She is an award-winning member of RWA, Women Writing the West, The Historical Novel Society, and a devoted Outlander fan.

Now on to the Interview!!! 



Why do you write Cj?

Because I have to...like breathing…and reading…

What made you decide to sit down and actually start something?

Ideas and perceptions always flowing. Big impetus came when a contest judge told me the short story I entered begged to become a novel. It took 6 months to add 80,000 words and less than a year to see The Accidental Wife in print by Wild Rose Press.

What genre are your books? 


 Mostly historical, but I love to mix the genre with mystery, romance & adventure. Some of my short stories have been contemporary.

What draws you to this genre? 
 Always been a history buff, and loved costume dramas on TV or at the movies. Reading historicals is like armchair time-travel. The past enlightens the future.

Where do your ideas come from? 

 Reading good books in genres I love, traveling to historic places, researching eras and colorful people, and observing friends, family, newsworthy characters in the burlesque of life.

What are your ambitions for your writing career? 

 Best Seller status? At least writing ten more books, maybe a movie or series?

Which writers inspire you? 

Diana Gabaldon, Diana Gabaldon, Diana Gabaldon. While writing my novel, I took breaks when the muse was slowing down to read at random from any of her Outlander books. I met her at two HNS (Historical Novel Society)Writer Conferences, the most recent one in Denver in June. I was going to read from my novel but developed laryngitis and she graciously offered to read my excerpt. She’s very accessible, very intelligent, and oozes talent. The wonderful Starz TV series of Outlander has boosted her book sales. She’s currently #1 on Amazon, a worldwide best selling author in 42 countries with 26 million books sold in all. My heroine—even in the dedication of my book.
Do you have any advice for other authors on how to market their books? 

 Acquire reviews, tweet, network with other authors online or at writer conferences. Try to book appearances with book clubs. Blog, write a newsletter, post on facebook. Use every opportunity to become visible. Plan a book sale, book launch, keep business cards and print copies on hand. (I once sold 2 copies in a restaurant after being asked for directions.)
What are your thoughts on good/bad reviews? 

 Good reviews are a perk to writing…and marketing. The one bad review I had was from a clinically depressed woman who said she “couldn’t get into it.” I knew her, and she confessed she only read a couple chapters. It was pretty ego-deflating and I reacted badly by emailing her. She blamed herself, but didn’t retract the review. I didn’t think it fair that anyone reading 16 pages out of 345 should be ethically able to review—or would even want to, but this apparently happens to other authors. As long as a bad review doesn’t pan the writing or plot, I don’t think it hurts book sales, especially if all other reviewers loved the book. We can’t control the reader’s mindset or preferences and challenging their opinion is useless. Best to just develop a thick skin and forget the bad reviews and celebrate the good ones with wine and chocolate!

Do you have a strategy for finding reviewers? 

 I asked some avid readers to review my book, asked a couple authors who’s books I liked if they would write a review or even swap reviews, snagged a Goodreads reviewer, also encouraged people who commented they loved my book to write a review, and sought reviews from multiple age groups who read the book.

Did you do a press release, Goodreads book launch or anything else to promote your work and did it work?

 With another author, I rented a room at our Athletic Club, offered wine and snacks, book and gift baskets, and 60 people showed up by invitation for a book launch party. This was very expensive, but semi-successful. Sending a press release to our local paper was less successful, but I did get a couple paragraphs in the paper. Getting bylines about my book in a local magazine after writing a couple humorous features helped me with visibility. Emailing, Facebooking and tweeting may have helped, but when I offered the eBook for sale at .99, sales shot up dramatically on my Amazon author’s chart. 

What advice would you give to aspiring writers? 

 Persist! Read the best in your chosen genre(s), then work toward emulating, equaling and even surpassing your favorites. Try to write something every day, whether it is 100 or 1000 words, even if you think its trash. Check out the webinars that are offered—especially on grammar, attend writer conferences, build an email and Facebook following, join a local writers group and/or National groups like RWA, WWW, HNS, MWA, subscribe to writer magazines and enter contests offered to see how unbiased judges (not family or friends) perceive your work. Persist!


How can my readers discover more about you and you work?

Email: Falorac@gmail.com
Website: http://www.cjfosdick.com
Blog: on website http://caroljfosdick.blogspot.com
Facebook: Cj Fosdick (from Rochester, MN.) http://www.facebook.com/cjfosdick
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Falorac13
Amazon Author Page: http://amzn.to/1DSYNiI
Goodreads: http://bit.ly/1HfPWJ1
The Wild Rose Press: http://bit.ly/1IGjUrF



Make sure you Check Out Her Work!!

Monday, October 26, 2015

Book of the Week "The Vanished Knight"

The Vanished Knight



The entity living inside Callan’s soul orphaned her at age eleven. By the time she’s sixteen, it’s ensured her being shunted from one foster family to another.

Her thirteenth foster assignment should be routine. Except... it's not. A psycho in medieval armor kidnaps her and she ends up in a magical world. There, she accidentally discovers a secret her parents had kept until the day they died.

Both actually came from this magical world, but left before Callan was born. To cover their tracks, they’d lied about everything. Even who they really were.

Driven to find out where she comes from, Callan’s trapped in a race for life and death. Walking away isn’t an option, but if she stays too long, the entity will find its next victim.

In this world where secrets are sacrosanct and grudges are remembered, finding the truth will be near impossible. Especially when Callan has her own homicidal little secret to deal with.

One with a taste for destroying her life.

Make Sure You Show the Author some Love and Check out their Work!!!! 

Thursday, October 22, 2015

Showing Trait's "Addictive"

Addictive 

Definition: a predisposition to becoming unhealthily dependent upon a substance, practice, person, habit, or other Intangible. 


Possible Causes: 
Genetics
Drug or Alcohol
Low Self-esteem and insecurity
A mental disorder  
An Extreme level of Passion 
Poor coping Skills 
An unexpected trauma or devastating loss
Abuse 
  

Associated Behaviors and Attitudes: 
Playing video games for long periods of time without breaks 
Calling in sick to work or school so one can focus on the object of one's addiction. 
Having no willpower or ability to resist one's addiction 
Being secretive or untruthful about how much one indulges in the addicting behavior or habit.
Taking foolhardy risks
Needing instant gratification   
Living in denial 
Being overly preoccupied with time when one is not indulging
Feeling alienated from other people or society 
Desiring privacy
Developing an eating disorder 
Paranoia
Disruptive sleep or insomnia 

Associated Thoughts: 
"Mark better show up with the stuff. I'm crawling out of my skin" 
"I don't care how long it takes- I'm staying up until I knock Chrackshot28 out of the top spot" 
"It's just a little shopping to relieve stress. I can't believe he's asking me to give it up"

Associated Behaviors and Attitudes: 
Agitation
Fear
Elation
Desire
Shame
Overwhelmed
Paranoia

Positive Aspect:   
Addictive characters can show great focus, attention,and dedication for certain activity or desire. 

Negative Aspect: 
Addictive character allow their need for gratification or relief form emotional pain to push them into unhealthy dependencies. 
They tend to hide their addiction from others to avoid interference and judgement, even though in their own mind, they don't believe that they have a problem. 

Overcoming this trait as a Major Flaw:  
To overcome they must hit rock bottom. The first step is to admit they have a problem and have the desire to change. 
Though the support of friends and family a strong addiction program with mentoring, avoiding trigger and responding to relapses with grace and forgiveness, the character can learn to cope with and over his addictions. 

Traits in supporting Characters that may cause Conflict: 
Devout
Innocent 
Needy 
Persistent
Proper
Pushy
Volatile
Responsible 


For More Help in figuring out Traits for your Characters make sure you check out The Negative Trait by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi 

Saturday, October 10, 2015

Writing Prompt



Time To Write!



Today’s prompt, write a short story involving a family and their fight over the map that leads to a magical treasure. It does not matter the length but I hope you all have fun writing and if you take it somewhere let me know I would love to read them.

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Author's Corner with Antuan Vance

Welcome Back to Authors Corner 

This week My Guest is Antuan Vance who is the Author of “The Catalyst” 


I am very excited to interview Antuan, he has become a great friend through Twitter. 

The Power of Social Media People, now let’s start this interview! 


So Antuan, why do you write?
It is what I was born to do. Since I was a kid, I was fascinated by stories of heroes and villains, comedies and adventure. I watched movies, read comic books, and played with action figures, creating unique stories and characters. Writing is a part of that. In poetry, I can express myself in a way I normally can’t around others. In novels, novellas, and short stories, I can create a new world, or one with some semblance to this one, and entertain myself and someone else the way other stories entertained me. So, I guess the basic answer would be, I write to entertain both myself and others.
When did you decide to become a writer?
I am certain of two things: one, I was born a romantic; two, I was born a writer. The moment I had a grasp of grammar and storytelling, I began to write. I started writing poetry at age nine or ten. I began my first poetry collection at age eleven. I can’t remember the exact age I started writing my first superhero story. However, I knew even when I was a kid that writing would be a major part of who I am and what I did.
What genre are your books?
My first novel, The Catalyst, and the rest of the books in its series, are action/adventure and science fiction. The novel I’m currently working on is a coming of age, Christian teen drama. Most of my early novels are going to be science fiction.
What draws you to this genre?
Science fiction is my life. I started watching Star Trek: The Next Generation when it first came out. I watched Star Wars, ET, Back to the Future. Most of my childhood, teenage years, and adulthood I’ve spent watching, playing games, or reading science fiction. Science fiction is the way my mind works. It’s how I see reality. It’s one of the things that’s made me a forward thinker. It even affects my spiritual life. I can see God through the spectrum of science: astrophysics, quantum physics, biology, astronomy, etc.
Give us an insight into your main character.
The Catalyst has three main characters. John Rider is number one. He’s a very spiritual, biblical man. Right and wrong govern him, but what sets him back in this story is his “paranoia”. He doesn’t trust but a handful of people because of the nature and numbers of the enemy. But, where he lacks in numbers, he makes up in tech resources and wisdom.
Where do your ideas come from?
The only answer that comes to my mind is God. Grace. I can have a basic conversation with someone and find a story can be formed from any scenario. Someone can say he/she drove to the market to buy a carton of milk. I take that and think, “Oh cool. What if you went into the market, got the milk, entered the parking lot, and witnessed a woman being abducted? Oh, and on the abductor’s escape path, he sees you, you see him, and you both recognize each other; but you’re not sure from where. Worst off, a day later, you get a letter in the mail from the abductor telling you to keep your mouth shut, or else. Now you’re part of the police investigation.” I hope this doesn’t deter you from having a conversation with me. Hahaha. My story ideas are not always grim. You could have come across someone incredibly attractive, flirted, exchanged information (or not), and days later, bumped into that person again and started something. Being able to grasp story ideas swiftly is a gift from God. Being able to formulate a story and piece things together so easily, that’s grace.
Do you work to an outline or plot or do you prefer just see where an idea takes you?
I usually have a story in mind, a reason for things to happen, and a projected outcome. I put together a flexible outline and then write by the seat of my pants. The Catalyst went in a very different direction than I had originally intended for it. I busted that outline wide open. John Rider wasn’t a major player at first. It was originally supposed to be about Abbey, Levi, Violet, and Jeremy.
How do you think you’ve evolved creatively?
Hmm. I can see things a whole lot clearer than I used to. I had a lot of blockage. I held myself back a lot. I used to suffer from a lot of writer’s block, as I did more thinking and formulating than actual writing. Now, I hit the page. Much of my writer’s block isn’t there as it used to be because I’ve learned to press on. Pushing and not waiting for inspiration has opened my mind to a lot more. I’ve learned a lot and researched more. Having an open mind helps. Aging, wisdom, experience, and reading expands your mind to the possibilities, improving creativity.
What is the hardest thing about writing?
Oh. You used the word “the” about hardest thing. There are so many hard things about writing. In the process itself, one of the hardest things was finding the time to write and overcoming/avoiding distractions. Sometimes, the hardest part of writing is properly prioritizing your time. If you have a full-time job in addition to writing, you have to sacrifice other things to get your writing in between work, cleaning, and eating.
What was the hardest thing about writing your latest book?
Distractions were my biggest problem. Once I focused and pushed myself to meet a deadline, I was in the zone. I wrote about forty thousand words in a month. I was so proud of myself. You should have seen me when I made it to one hundred thousand.
Tell us about the cover and how it came about.
For ‘The Catalyst’, the cover was the simplest part of the project. I had a few ideas for graphics for the cover and inside the book. I passed those ideas on to my big brother, who has always been the artist in the family. I was the writer. He was the sketcher, painter, and graphic designer. He agreed to do the cover. I later changed my mind about having graphics inside the book. He sent me some samples. I gave him my thoughts. He revised. In the end, we had ourselves a finished project. I’m glad he did it. I’ve received some great feedback about the presentation.
Do you think that the cover plays an important part in the buying process?
Yes. I hate to say it; but I judge a book by its cover. A lot of people do. We’re visual people. However, a story with a great premise, positive reviews, and a well-written excerpt will go a long way, even if a lot wasn’t invested in the cover.
How successful has your quest for reviews been so far?
Not great. Not great at all. I am in a desperate and dire need for reviews. Not having them is killing my sales. I tell you: you never realize how important reviews are until you need them. I’ve spent most of my life not writing reviews. I wish I could go back in time and write a review for everything I read. However, I know; if I wrote them now, I wouldn’t do the stories justice. I’m hoping, pleading, praying for positive reviews.
Do you have a strategy for finding reviewers?
Unfortunately, no. This whole process is relatively new for me. I’m not the greatest networker. I know very few people. Most of the people I know don’t read or are so busy that they don’t have time to read. So, I reach out to the internet to strangers who aren’t invested in my writing. I’m not quite sure how I’m going to find reviewers; but I will. Be it the Lord’s will, I most certainly will.
What are your thoughts on good/bad reviews?
Good reviews sound heavenly. I want as many as is humanly possible, preferably pointing out favorite characters and scenes (without spoiling the suspense for others). Bad reviews are not wanted. If you want to write a bad review, I would strongly encourage you to write whatever pros you can find first. After which, be gentle and precise. Saying, “It was so awful; I lost my mind and strangled my firstborn” is vague and unhelpful. Speak specifics and quote examples (if it’s possible). It’s best to offer constructive criticism (written constructively, instead of destructively) and suggestions for improvement.
Where do you see publishing going in the future?
I see a lot more indie publishing in the future. The process is faster. You can write your novel, edit it, and publish it quicker through indie means. Traditional publishing is a long, slow process. Not to mention, traditional publishing requires extra steps and people. Publishers insist upon the middleman (agents). No one wants to be a small voice in a big crowd just to find someone who can knock on a locked door for you. That’s what it feels like trying to get an agent. (That’s also what it feels like when you’re marketing your book.) Indie publishing is walking to the door, opening it, and walking out with a finished product in your hand.
I also think big bookstores are going to budge in the not too distant future. They’re not supporting local writers who print independently. The more publishing becomes digital, and people spend less time physically in the stores, they’re going to make concessions and start letting local indie writer’s books into their stores. Excited indie writers will pull in more local bodies, book signings, book release parties, and other events.
Is there anything else you would like to add that I haven’t included?
“John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt! His name is my name, too! Whenever we go out, the people always shout, ‘There goes John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt!’ Lah lah-lah lah-lah lah-lah laaaah!”
How can readers discover more about you and you work?
My first and best suggestion is to get in touch with me on Facebook and Twitter. Interact with me. Ask questions. Have a conversation with me. I’m no longer teething; so, I’ll try my best not to bite.
Website: https://www.antuanvance.com
Blog: https://www.antuanvance.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/antuan.vance.author
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/antuanvance
Amazon Author Page: https://
www.amazon.com/author/antuanvance
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/antuanvance


Thank You Antuan for being a part of this! Make sure to show him some love and check out his work! 

Monday, October 5, 2015

Book of the Week Ella Bandita and the Wanderer

Hello Again!!! 

This Weeks book of the week post belongs to Montgomery Mahaffey who is the author of "Ella Bandita and the Wanderer!" 







They were fated to collide, Ella Bandita and the Wanderer. This complex fable about a predatory seductress and an adventurer frozen in grief explores the darkness of the human heart and the allure of erotic obsession over love. The story begins when an outcast young woman tries to kill herself. Yet a sorcerer intervenes with a last chance to change her destiny. But she must be his lover and give him her heart to transform into the immortal Ella Bandita. All his life, the Wanderer hears stories about Ella Bandita, the ruthless thief of hearts. But he never believes she lives and doesn't recognize her when they meet. Driven by lust, he follows Ella Bandita into a battle of wills that threatens to destroy him. The Wanderer wants nothing more than to avenge himself on a woman he loathes, the vagabond seductress who stole his heart.


Make sure to show her some loves and check out out her Books!