Alice: A Memoir VBT

Blurb:

Few, if anyone, could have had a life like Alice Gilmore. It was almost unbelievable yet carried on under the cover of a respectable middle-class existence.

You might strongly disapprove of what she did, but Alice was determined. She overcame insurmountable obstacles to keep the love she longed for.

Her single-minded fight to live out her love makes a gripping, riveting story that one eminent literary person called ‘staggeringly readable’. It is shocking. Her methods will upset some, but are you with her or against her? Your decision.

This is no misery memoir. It’s a story told with joy, wit and fervour – the astonishing story of the overwhelming love Alice Gilmour was determined to live out.

Excerpt:

I am going to tell you our story, my darlings. It is really only for you three and one other (you know who) but I can’t help hoping that the world will read it, which is why I shall probably publish it. But not for some years. When you’re fully grown up and have flown the nest. God knows what they will make of it, the world I mean, whoever they are, but I am not suggesting that any rules or taboos should be changed by our story, or new rules made. Leave all that alone. Our story, perhaps I should say my story, just is. You could tritely call it the exception that proves the rule. Perhaps that is just what it is: unique. I doubt that but it is certainly extraordinary. I have carefully chosen those words. Any old event of yawning banality is called ‘amazing’, ‘fantastic’, ‘unbelievable’, ‘fabulous’ in our current jargon. Whatever else people may call my story it is certainly extraordinary.

It is, above all, a love story, an all-consuming love story, though I have never felt consumed by love, rather continually renewed. But isn’t that what love should do to you? Consume you and renew you constantly like the phoenix. And it brought with it another constant emotion: fear. And pain. The fear of pain. The fear of the pain of losing it, this wonderful state. The word love doesn’t fully express what I/we felt. Another word that is more or less totally debased.

What would we find under your bed?

Dust and anything that needed storing that I didn’t have room for elsewhere.

What was the scariest moment of your life?

I was driving a car in the USA when I first went to live there and in a rural situation a school bus pulled up in front of me, red light flashing. I pulled out to overtake, not realising that the school bus red light meant that I must stop to  let children cross the road. As I passed the bus a boy ran out from behind it. He was quick witted and stopped dead as I just swished past his nose missing him by nothing. There were shouts from behind and I looked in the mirror. The boy was clearly all right, staring after me, and the bus driver was furious so I just kept going. There was no point in my stopping to explain I was a foreigner. I said it was a rural setting so I was going at more than the urban speed limit. I still wake up at nights, or am brought to a dead halt every time I see a US school bus stopping, lights flashing. I was 100% in the wrong and my life would have been wracked with guilt and completely different if I had hit him, probably killing him, to say nothing of the effect on him and his family had he been so unjustly killed.

Do you listen to music while writing? If so what?

Now that I’m back in the UK I often have Radio 3 on in an adjoining room so that it is background. In the USA I would have in the kitchen a player or an appropriate radio station that played serious music of many sorts. Occasional jazz and popular music OK but never rock ‘n’ roll or contemporary pop of any sort.

What is something you'd like to accomplish in your writing career next year?

A novel that is widely praised and widely read, in that order. Prizes? Yes, I don’t really care and don’t think a first novel from a middle-aged should win any prizes, except New Writer ones of course. Come to think of it leave those for younger, needier, more ambitious writers than me (I? Me? Me, I think).

How long did it take you to write this book?

Years for the first part, as I lived it. Then in a rush, only weeks, after my husband was murdered and I needed to have it done before events blew my cover.

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Author Bio and Links:

If you want to know about my life and background read this book. I can scarcely add to what I have written about myself in there. I earnestly hope that the rest of my life is too uneventful to even consider writing anything else, I am no novelist. The life I have described was full enough and rich enough for me. God knows what I would come out with if I had to invent. If you find you need a good chef I shall consider anything not too energetic – which rules out most jobs in the kitchen.

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Lessons from the Set VBT

Blurb:

Lessons from the Set: A DIY Guide to Your First Feature Film, From Script to Theaters is a step-by-step filmmaking guide that takes a cinephile’s “Do It Yourself” approach to low-budget indie film production and distribution. This book will offer you some valuable, practical insight into the process of making a commercial feature film on a low budget and releasing it to theaters – whether you’re starting with $1,000 or $1m.

Lessons from the Set will guide you through the process of writing, planning, directing, producing, marketing, and releasing your first feature film. You’ll learn how to overcome writing challenges and improve the quality of your screenplay, how to make $0 budget short films and perfect your craft, how to plan your film, master filmmaking tools, and set the stage for your upcoming shoot.

This book is peppered with life-saving tips, tricks, and filmmaking techniques that will save you a lot of time, money, and energy on set, in pre-production and in post. You’ll learn how to release your film to theaters, how to tackle festivals and win awards, how to handle press and get reviews, execute marketing efforts, and approach the filmmaking process with both an artistic soul and an entrepreneurial mindset. Lessons from the Set was designed to give you all the tools and resources you’ll need to complete and release your film successfully in any market and help you set the stage for a prosperous career as a full-time indie filmmaker.

Excerpt:

Movies are the amalgamation of artistic talents and technical know-how, coming together to tell a story through moving pictures, and, while technical know-how is readily available, it is the artistic talent that’s a little harder to come by. And above all other talents, in my opinion, is the ability to write that will ultimately make the difference between success or failure in this business. Think about it: how many bad movies with big budgets are being made every year? And how many of those big-budget films are made by amazing technicians who’ve mastered the visual arts? Almost all of them, but it seems that the one thing that’s missing from these films is the great script, and that’s because good screenwriters are hard to come by.

It takes real courage to jump through a glass window while your whole body is on fire; it takes real patience to work with actors; it takes a lot of energy and creativity to light a scene and a really good eye to maintain it on camera; it takes a great ear to handle a mix and an amazing skill to masterfully paint a face. But above all else, the process of writing takes everything from you. It takes time, it’s personal, and it can be very emotional, and without it nothing else really matters. Every single artist and technician who works on a movie set is working for the sole purpose of realizing the written word and putting it on the screen for the world to see. The script is the film’s blueprint, it’s the holy grail, it’s the beginning of all things – and it’s the art that I think you should spend the most time mastering. The better you get at writing, the better you get at making movies and the greater your chances of success in this industry.  Now, there are many great directors who aren’t writers, and that is an approach you can take, but I think that much like everything else in the DIY world, if you know how to do it yourself, you’ll save yourself a lot of time, money, and resources. The journey you take to “prove yourself” as a competent director won’t hinge on mere chance, personal connections, or the need to secure someone else’s screenplay.

Tell us about Lessons From the Set:

I decided to write a comprehensive filmmaking guide that takes a cinephile’s “Do It Yourself” approach to low-budget indie film production and distribution. It is peppered with filmmaking tips and tricks, as well as valuable, practical insight into the process of writing, directing, producing, and distributing commercial feature films on a low budget.  This book will teach you how to write, direct, produce, and release your film to theaters, tackle festivals and handle press, create a marketing plan, get reviews, and approach the filmmaking process with both an artistic soul and an entrepreneurial mindset. I wanted to write a filmmaking book which detailed my approach to writing, directing, and producing my own work, as well as the steps I take to distribute and market my films.

Where Can We Learn More?

You can follow me on Instagram @ushermorgan or visit my website at  www.lessonsfromtheset.com

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Author Bio and Links:

Usher Morgan is an award-winning screenwriter, film director, producer and studio executive residing in New York City. Morgan started his career in book publishing and later became involved with film production and distribution. He produced his first documentary film The Thought Exchange starring David Friedman and Lucie Arnaz in 2012, followed by his directorial debut, the award-winning short film Prego.

Morgan’s first feature film, Pickings was released to AMC theaters on March 2nd, 2018 and made its way to VOD in August of 2018. His directing style is influenced primarily by film-noir and spaghetti westerns. The Los Angeles Times calls Usher Morgan, “a talent to watch”.

www.LessonsFromtheset.com

www.ushermorgan.com

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Buzz: The Ultimate Guide to Book Marketing Book Blast

Blurb:
Congratulations, indie author!

You’ve finished your book—now all that’s left is to get it out into the world. Unfortunately, for many authors, it’s that step of the process that’s the hardest. Marketing is seen as something to be feared, dreaded, and outsourced as much as possible—a daunting task that will leave you drained.

But fear not! The team at Wise Ink knows a thing or two about how to sell your book. And they’re here to tell you everything.

Buzz is the indie author’s ultimate guide to marketing effectively, inexpensively, and excitingly. Within its pages, you’ll find answers to the questions on every writer’s mind:

• What does it really mean to “market” my book?

• How do I best reach my specific audience?

• What are effective ways to promote my book via social media?

• Do I really need to be a public speaker?

In addition to this, the Wise Ink marketing team has provided sample content calendars, email promotions, a marketing starter kit, and more to ensure you’re prepared to get out there and sell your book.

Marketing doesn’t have to be a horror story! Let Buzz teach you how to take your book to its maximum potential



Excerpt:
How do I best reach my specific audience?

You will hear us say this over and over again, as it is one of the Ten Commandments of book publishing: Know thine audience!

Think carefully about your “ideal” reader. What do they do in their spare time? Where do they normally purchase things? Where do they go for information? And most importantly, what are some unique and organic ways to get your book and message in front of them?

Hopefully, by the time you begin marketing your book, you will have already thought through these things carefully. Still, it’s a good idea to refresh your memory. Also, be concrete in how you determine your market demographics. Go deeper than the standard questions around gender, age, education, and geographic location. Those are just places to start.

When describing your ideal reader, be specific with the details that matter, such as how much time they have to read, how they might use your book day-to-day, and how they generally make recommendations to others. Another thing to do is segment your readers into three specialized subgroups—communities that align with each reader’s professional identities and personal aspirations. This helps you dig even deeper into the psychology of how to sell your book smartly and where it makes the most sense to spend your time. As an example: To market your business book, you might segment your readers into millennials and recent grads, aspiring entrepreneurs, and motivational speakers. If you've just published a sci-fi thriller, your subgroups might include fans of the popular sci-fi series Black Mirror, sci-fi writers who frequent fan-fiction sites, and people who attend conventions like WorldCon.

How does your ideal reader obtain information? Blogs? Magazines? Newspapers? Ads? What social media sites do they frequent? Be as specific as you can here. These are the places you will want to target in terms of marketing.

Where does your ideal reader shop? Think beyond bookstores. Are they frequent travelers? (Maybe they shop in airports a lot.) Do they have stores they tend to gravitate toward? Make a list of these places, and find connections there to share your book with.

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About the Authors: 
Roseanne Cheng is a former high school English teacher and author of two young adult books, The Take Back of Lincoln Junior High and Edge the Bare Garden, which won the gold medal for young adult fiction at the Writer’s Digest Self Published Book Awards and the Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards. She now works as Marketing Director at Wise Ink Creative Publishing where she holds the secondary title of “Author Therapist” and has the pleasure of helping authors create plans to get their work into the world. When she’s not reading a book or practicing yoga, you can probably find her hanging out with her hilarious husband of ten years and their two ridiculously awesome kids. Follow her on Twitter.

Dara Beevas believes that books can save lives, open doors, and build bridges. As co-founder of Wise Ink, she encourages authors to share powerful stories that ignite change, tolerance, and growth. She has been involved in the publishing community for fifteen years, acquiring manuscripts, managing projects, and creating marketing and sales strategies for authors and publishers. She’s helped more than four hundred authors publish their books. She is the author of The Indie Author Revolution and co-author of Social Media Secrets for Authors. When she’s not busy pushing the envelope in this crazy world of publishing and networking with inspiring entrepreneurs, she’s traveling and enjoying her husband Tomme’s delicious Jamaican meals with her daughter Genesis. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram.

Wise Ink Links:Website    |    Facebook    |    Twitter    |    Instagram    |    Pinterest

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The Young Adult Writer's Journey VBT

Blurb:

Finally, an all-inclusive book on young adult fiction must-do, don’t do and how-to. If you want to write a young adult novel, you need to read this book first. Coauthored by an award-winning YA author and an acquisitions editor, both experts on kids and what they like to read, this encyclopedia contains all you need to start or improve a career as a YA fiction author.

From an examination of the market, genre and its sub-genres, to mechanics and the business, everything is at your fingertips. This amazing writer’s resource is written in a relaxed and interesting style, with plenty of contemporary references and examples for clear understanding and easier application.

Excerpt:

Most writing classes for Young Adult fiction and Middle Grade tell you the duty of your book’s opening is to hook your reader and to catch the interest of an agent. The truth is, that’s only one of the purposes of your opening. Too often we forget that, as Frank Herbert said in Dune, “A beginning is a very delicate time.”

When writing for young adults, you should know where you’re going, just as when you write adult fiction. Plot construction for stories with universal themes is the same in any genre. There is a plan, a plot, a diagram you can follow to create a satisfying read. Just as with painting, every artist who uses the same subject will create a different and unique work of art. So, using a basic outline to be sure you write a story that resonates to the inner psyche of readers is not a bad idea. 

Some may argue that modern stories can’t demonstrate enough diversity when trying to fit the entire world into a single format such as The Hero’s Journey, but iconic success stories like Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings, the Harry Potter stories and more don’t seem to mind. They’re hardly the same stories, are they? Do they seem like boring knockoffs to you? Millions of fans and dollars later...they are still growing their fan base. Lucas even spoke of Star Wars and the incorporation of Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey and appeared in his Bill Moyer’s series.

Janet, thanks so much for stopping by. How did you get started writing?

 I’ve been an avid reader all my life. I was helping one of my kids do a report and realized how much I like writing, doing research, and creating. I decided writing a book should be easy. I mean I’ve read so many. So, I wrote the biggest historical romance novel ever written. It had everything in it but the kitchen sink and was a thousand pages long. Once I’d written It, I had no idea how to get published. I joined RWA, went to conferences, attended workshops, volunteered, and through that ended up a newspaper reporter. Weird, I know. I was a reporter for ten years and writing every day, receiving criticism, some constructive, some not so much, taught me to be a much better writer. After I retired, I wrote a Cracker Western called Alligator Gold and it was published by Pineapple Press, a Florida small press. From there, I wrote romance and adventure fiction, then started writing young adult fiction. I love YA. Kids are amazing. They make the best characters.

What was the inspiration for your book?

My publisher asked me to write a How To for Young Adult fiction after the first book in my series, The Vagrant Chronicles, received four prestigious awards. I asked her to partner with me in the writing because she has knowledge of marketing and the industry I do not possess. Between us, we produced a complete package covering all aspects of writing a book for young adults and even New Adult fiction.

What’s a genre you haven’t written in yet that you’d like to?

I’d like to write more historical  fiction, but not yet. I have too many ideas and too much work in front of me right now.

Are there any genres you won’t read or write in? Why?

I’m not a fan of horror, though I wrote two horror shorts for a Halloween anthology published by Tell-Tale Publishing. My two, were more like Goosebumps than real horror, cute, involving teens or middle-school kids. I’ve read a lot of Stephen King, but to me, horror just isn’t all that horrible.

What are you up to now? Do you have any releases planned, or are you still writing?

Tell-Tale Publishing just put out my second book in the Vagrant Chronicles, Mutant. They also released an adult adventure fiction/thriller book called Valley of Golden Mummies. Both are available on amazon.com and at Tell-Tale Publishing. Elizabeth and I are partnering on a fantasy New Adult series called Beauties and their Beasties. We are in the editing process for the first book Annabelle and the Jackal.

Alright, now for some random, fun questions. Favorite color?

Viridian (I’m an artist, too)

Favorite movie?    

Rock-n-Rolla

Book that inspired you to become an author?

Shogun by James Clavell

You have one superpower. What is it?

I’m very intense.

 

You can have dinner with any 3 people, dead, alive, fictitious, etc. Who are they?

I’m an introvert so three invisible people.

Last question: Which of your characters are you most like and how/why?

Annabelle from Elizabeth’s and my last book, Annabelle and the Jackal. In literature, I’d say Lisbeth Salander from Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

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Author Bio and Links:

Daughter of a Colonel, Janet Schrader-Post lived the military life until she got out of high school. She lived in Hawaii and worked as a polo groom for fifteen years, then moved to Florida where she became a reporter. For ten years she covered kids in high school and middle school. Kids as athletes, kids doing amazing things no matter how hard their circumstances. It impressed her, and it awed her. “How wonderful teens are. They have spirit and courage in the face of the roughest time of their lives. High school is a war zone. Between dodging bullies, school work and after school activities, teens nowadays have a lot on their plate. I wrote stories about them and I photographed them. My goal was to see every kid in their local newspaper before they graduated.”

Janet love kids and horses, and she paints and writes. Now she lives in the swampland of Florida with too many dogs and her fifteen-year-old granddaughter. She started to write young adult fiction with the help of her son, Gabe Thompson, who teaches middle school. Together they have written a number of award-winning YA novels in both science fiction and fantasy.

Elizabeth Fortin-Hinds knows kids well. She spent decades teaching teens and adults to write and improve their reading skills. As a literacy expert and certified coach, she helped both teachers from elementary to secondary and preservice graduate students learn to improve reading and writing instruction. She has taught at both the secondary and graduate level, everything from rhetoric, essays, and thesis statements, to poetry, short stories, and how to write a novel. She has learned to use both sides of her brain simultaneously, but enjoys the creative side the most, learning to play piano, draw and paint, and find time for her own writing since retiring from her “day” jobs. 

A “true believer” in Joseph Campbell’s The Hero with a Thousand Faces, mythic structures, she uses that lens when considering manuscripts for Tell-Tale Publishing Group, a company she founded with some friends from her critique group a decade ago.

Wise Words Publishing, an Affiliate of Tell-Tale Publishing Group, LLC

We are a small press, a traditional publishing company bringing you the best in E-books, print and audio books to feed your body, mind and spirit.  Our cutting-edge fiction includes old favorites and edgy speculative fiction for today's eclectic readers.  Our stories will grab your attention and take you on a fast, exciting ride that will leave you breathless. WW, our affiliate, publishes select literature under our Cosmos Imprint and nonfiction titles under our Ivy Tower Imprint. 

Founded in 2009, in Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Our company motto of "excellence in creative entertainment and learning, " informs our artwork, manuscript selection, editing and publishing. 

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Our Secret Powers: Telepathy, Clairvoyance and Precognition Blurb Blitz

Blurb:

Is the paranormal normal?

Many readers will be surprised when learning that reputable scientists, among them several Nobel laureates, have claimed that telepathy is a reality. Their curiosity will increase when reading that Cleopatra’s lost palace and Richard III’s burial place were recovered by means of clairvoyance. And some will think it to be science fiction when finding out about Stargate—the espionage program where the American military and CIA engaged in the development of psychic spies!

Simonsen, a Norwegian historian of ideas, introduces an array of entertaining paranormal tales from history, archaeology, anthropology and psychology, and presents scientific research that has provided fascinating results. He argues that the stories we hear about telepathy, clairvoyance and precognition ought not to be dismissed as superstition

In step with spiritual and occult traditions, the author suggests that consciousness is not limited to our own head. Rather he thinks that all humans (and perhaps all living beings) are linked together in a “Mental Internet.’ Via this network we may exchange ‘telepathic emails’ with friends and family and make clairvoyant ‘downloads’ of information.  Thus perhaps what we usually call ‘supernatural’ is completely natural but little understood communications via this Mental Internet?

Our Secret Powers gives us a engaged and entertaining analysis of a controversial subject and would make an excellent travel companion.

"Superb survey of the paranormal... Although serious in content, it is written in a light, often humorous, style which is a delight to read. As someone who has myself made a lifelong study of the paranormal, I cannot recommend it highly enough." ~ fantasy author, Herbie Brennan

"Simonsen describes his book as "A travelogue from the twilight zone,"but he is far too modest. Our Secret Powers is a sprawling work, meticulously researched, in which the author deftly, and with engaging wit, pulls together the various strands of "psi"--telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition,telekinesis, and healing--and presents them for our consideration." ~ Pulitzer-prize winner, Teresa Carpenter

Excerpt:

Based on this idea, we launch a quite simple model, called the “Mental Internet.” The basic metaphor here is that somewhat in the way our computers are linked together via the Internet, the ‘consciousnesses’ of all humans, and perhaps all living beings, are linked together via some sort of Mental Internet. Consciousness, like the Internet, is—on some level—something that we are all doing together; it is networking. And telepathy is the communication that drives this network.

I therefore invite the reader to engage in a little thought experiment throughout the book: namely that an Internet Model of consciousness may have some relevance. Galileo once invited the Inquisition to look through his telescope in order to see what he himself had seen. But, as we know, the inquisitors were not very keen on having their horizons expanded and instead muttered murkily of ‘the work of the Devil.’ However, I take it for granted that the reader has a radically more open attitude than those darkened souls, and I am therefore confident that my invitation will be well received.

I find it intriguing to think that our everyday perception of Space and Time may, in some respects, be merely a mental frame, a habit. And therefore it might be possible to think outside the box in a more radical way. The proposed thought experiment about a Mental Internet allows for this, and telepathy can then be considered as the ‘emails’ sent and the ‘downloads’ made  via this mental network. Many phenomena that otherwise would appear inexplicable will in light of this model fall quite nicely into place. More (much more) about this later!

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Author Bio and Links:

Terje G. Simonsen is an author with a Ph.D. in the History of Ideas. He has increasingly focused his attention on the esoteric and occult traditions and on paranormal phenomena, as telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition, telekinesis, healing etc. Recently he published the highly acclaimed Our Secret Powers, based on his extraordinary knowledge within this field. Elegantly and with great personal wit and insight, he discusses parapsychological phenomena such as telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition. 

Simonsen has had his work praised by several of the world’s most renowned experts on the paranormal: The bestselling parapsychologist, Dean Radin, chief scientist at the Institute of Noetic Sciences, says: ‘As an encyclopedic introduction to the psychic side of the fascinating but puzzling domain known as the paranormal, there is no better choice than Our Secret Powers.” And Stanley Krippner, expert on hypnosis, shamanism and altered states of consciousness, former leader of two departments in the American Psychological Association, says: “This is an outstanding book and it deserves all the attention it can get. Not only is Our Secret Powers a book for all seasons, it is a book for all reasons!’”

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You Taste Like Whiskey and Sunshine VBT

Blurb:

There's an evil queen, a demented father, some amateur boxing and a trailer park story. Even a silver fox makes an appearance. Why wouldn't that entice you?

If you are looking for something different from the rest of the books out there, something that might make you question your sanity then you will love this book.

Excerpt:

Mom? Are you reading this? Maybe you should have a drink first. Can we get a rum and coke over here? She’s gonna need it...

A lot of people have asked me throughout this process, why I would want to write this book. There are a few reasons why I decided to completely expose myself for the world to see, but certainly one particular moment comes to mind. During a heated argument with my ex-husband, post-divorce, he blurted out that he thought I was incapable of loving another human being. It’s one of those things you hear that is so shocking to you that the argument just ceases. I was speechless, I didn’t know what to say. Normally I would have chalked it up to the fact that he was in fact a disgruntled ex because it wouldn’t be the first time we got down and dirty in an argument, but this time I didn’t. I never forgot that comment, mainly because I wondered for years if it was true. There was just something about the way he said it that made me wonder if I was really that irrevocably screwed up. So, I decided to delve into my past, for my sake as well as my daughters, to find out why I walked out on a relationship that everyone thought was perfect.

A Day in the Life of an Author

Many people in my life have wondered what an author does throughout the day. I’ll warn you ahead of time, there is no glamour involved and sometimes I’m on the cusp of cabin fever, but at least I can make my own schedule. My schedule can change to fit my needs at a moment’s notice. If I want to go and visit friends, I can do that because my schedule is never set in stone.

My ex-boyfriend used to look at me with judgment as his alarm went off at 7 am and I just nuzzled deeper into his warm and suddenly vacant pillow. I’m not much of a human being in the morning and that’s usually because I’m up writing until two or three in the morning. I’m fairly certain my boyfriend thought that I was having a Stephen King marathon on Netflix and eating Lindt chocolates all day and he would only be half right.

Typically, I start the morning slowly; caffeine is the only thing that gets my eyes to stay open for long. I don’t even change out of my pj’s unless I have errands to run or have to drop my daughter off at school, so I’m not going to lie, there are days where I lounge around in my comfy clothes for a full day. Don’t judge! I turn the kettle on to make tea and I often spend the first part of my morning journaling and manifesting the things that I want in my life. It’s a great way to start the day because it puts you in a positive mood right away. From there, I get on my laptop and check my emails, start some social media posts and then it’s time to get creative, which is my favorite part of the day. Sometimes, it’s even hard to get out of that mood when my stomach starts to growl and the laundry starts to pile up.

I wasn’t always like this though; I used to get up at the break of dawn, hating my life because I despised mornings and my job. But one day I decided to work on my passion and you know what, it all worked out. Now, I write and blog with you wonderful people. It took a lot of hard work and a belief that I could do anything to accomplish it, but here I am holding a tea and in some of the warmest comfy clothes that I own.

As much as I love being an author working from home can be a pickle at times because it takes discipline to make it work. I have to constantly keep myself motivated, otherwise, the next thing that I know I’ll be bathing my pet gecko or sitting out on my porch drinking champagne. Seriously, these things have happened! Another problem I have is not going stir crazy because writing all day can be a lonely task. Depending on if my muse is working effectively that day, I can put a solid five hours of writing in, so that can make for some pretty lonely hours. I’m typically home alone for long hours and if the radio is not at least playing I feel a little kooky at times. What typically happens is that I will play episodes of Law & Order: SVU in the background, so it’s like I’m hearing people around me at all times. Yes, I know it’s weird, but it works. Plus, I get awesome inspiration for my thriller novels.

At the end of the day, I have a pretty awesome job and I’ve never once regretted for a moment to follow my heart and my passion. I couldn’t imagine doing anything else but clicking away on my laptop in my comfy clothes. The best any of us can do for our lives is to follow our passions and do what we really love. If any of you are thinking of taking the plunge and doing what you love, I support you and can attest that happiness is on its way to you.

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Author Bio and Links:

Kimberly spend her days writing about serial killers and playing on her blog while trying not to get sucked in by her Facebook notifications or get into the whiskey decanter (just kidding...kinda). Check out her blog.

WHAT MAKES THIS BOOK AWESOME?

If you are looking for something different from the rest of the books out there, something that might make you question your sanity then you will love this book.

Seriously! The comedic and sassy perspective will make you see things differently, and you may even find yourself laughing out loud. It's a good story and one that I truly believe needs to be told. Period.

It’s dark, raw and takes you to a door that keeps all my innermost secrets. I hope that the book makes you laugh, makes you cry, and inspires you to be the best version of yourself.

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Revision is a Process NBtM

Blurb:

A first draft holds the possibility of what will be a great story. Revision turns that rough diamond into a spectacular gem worth a reader's money and time.

Writers are individuals but to be a producing writer means creating a system to revise and polish a work so the reader thoroughly enjoys the story. REVISION IS A PROCESS is a guidebook for writers and authors that shows how a simple 12-step process can be tailored to eliminate the most common and chronic maladies of writing genre fiction. This valuable guidebook contains secrets, tips, practical advice, how-to's, and why-to's for taking the frustration out of self-editing.

Excerpt:

From Section 9 - Said is not Dead

         

One of the most controversial aspects of writing dialogue is the use of said as a speech tag. Some think using said is pedestrian and boring, others pepper every line of dialogue with said for fear the reader won't know who is speaking. The fact is that said is nearly invisible to a reader. However, overuse is a common problem, so delete as many as possible without jeopardizing clarity or use beats. (Revisit the Oubliette example on the previous page. Said was not used. Beats were.)

In your review to minimize using said, watch for LY or ING ending speech tags like: "Drop dead," she said dramatically. That tells (and does so poorly). Instead show with a beat: "Drop dead." The anger in her voice was unmistakable. You should avoid such tags as "Of course," he said knowingly (which has an ING and an LY). You may catch the LY and ING tags in the passivity check, which is discussed in Section 11. However, don't mistake the ING words when they're necessary, such as "Oh, that dialogue speech tag has a participle added to it," Marsha said, squinting at the underlined word on the page.

Yes, that's right, squinting is part of a participle phrase, which can be useful in speech tags.

Background of the book

Okay, I will admit it. I began writing as a Pantser, one who writes by the seat of their pants. I also fell for all the rhetoric about BICHOK (Butt In Chair Hands On Keyboard) and let it all flow out as it may.

Of course, that led to extremely messy first drafts wrought with all kinds of problems that had to be fixed or manuscripts ended up in the closet because they dead-ended. Overhauling a completed draft drove me crazy.

Out of such hair-pulling frustrations, I shouted "There has to be a better way!" Not only did I want a better way to overhaul a manuscript but I also sought accurate advice on streamlining the process of telling a story. It's not enough to write well, it's a matter of telling a story well from the get-go.

So I went on a six-month binge of reading and studying all the how-to books I could borrow from the library and buying some that dealt only with revising. That flood of information was an eye-opener. It led to me realizing there were actually ten categories of how writers generate stories. And I was not a Pantser but a Foundation type of writer. (If you're interested in knowing what the 10 Types of Writers are, request a free copy).

Knowing that the story "dump" I get has everything I need to know about a story led to my establishing a Project Bible for all my writing projects. Such knowledge means I answer all the pertinent story questions before I write, netting me the broad brush strokes of the plot, characters, etc. Which means I do not have to overhaul an entire story or, worse, begin a story only to have it dead-end.

However, just because I turn out better first drafts doesn't mean I'm home free. There will always be elements that need looked at, evaluated, rewritten, or checked for. So I came up with my Master Revision Cheat Sheets.

In 2015, at my Writers Cheat Sheets Blog, I did a twelve-part series on the process of revision, going from the Big Picture items to the Final Checks. At the end of the year, I promised my readers to put the series in a book. REVISION IS A PROCESS—HOW TO TAKE THE FRUSTRATION OUR OF SELF-EDITING was published in April. However, in this guidebook, I not only added more information, I included a Revision Master Cheat Sheet checkoff list.

One thing every writer needs to keep in mind, and which I constantly stressed in REVISION IS A PROCESS, is that revision is a process. It's about not reading through a story a million times trying to find and fix things but searching for specifics and fixing them (and only them) before moving on to the next item to check for.

Do you have to do all twelve steps of the process? Of course not. After all, some things you know you did right from the onset. However, other things you know you need to check so an editor won't waste their time pointing out the same things a million times. Having a revision process also means your book is less likely to have errors that will turn off readers, editors, and agents.

Now, for you Pantsers, I have a question for you— How many times, on average, would you say you go through a draft to get the words right and sort the story out? Then add to that the number of times you go through the work to polish the grammar and punctuation. Please share your findings with a comment.

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Author Bio and Links:

Catherine E. McLean's lighthearted, short stories have appeared in hardcover and online anthologies and magazines. Her books include JEWELS OF THE SKY, KARMA & MAYHEM, HEARTS AKILTER, and ADRADA TO ZOOL (a short story anthology). She lives on a farm nestled in the foothills of the Allegheny Mountains of Western Pennsylvania. In the quiet of the countryside, she writes lighthearted tales of phantasy realms and stardust worlds (fantasy, futuristic, and paranormal) with romance and adventure. She is also a writing instructor and workshop speaker. Her nonfiction book for writers is REVISION IS A PROCESS - HOW TO TAKE THE FRUSTRATION OUT OF SELF-EDITING.

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