tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4050757294444958022024-03-12T23:54:09.615-04:00Reading My AddictionQuality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.comBlogger734125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-405075729444495802.post-49901117032756662132015-05-02T09:30:00.000-04:002015-05-02T09:30:00.618-04:00Inside the Mind of An Author with Mike Hartner @MHartnerAuthor #HistFic #Romance #AmWriting<b>Inside the Mind of An Author</b><br />
<br />
In the Darkness
brought on by a closed room and narrow stairs, I slowly ascend to the
top and push the attic floorboard to the side. This stairwell,
conveniently hidden in a second floor wall, has been very dusty and full
of cobwebs. I’m really not sure what to expect when I go into the
attic. I have, however, heard strange noises.<br />
<br />
Climbing
up into the attic, into the mind of this author, I look around. The
walls are cluttered with post it notes, and most of them had small
symbols and some writing. There were papers that had fallen to the
floor, and the whole area looked like an old bomb shelter.<br />
<br />
I’m
immediately dodging the many different children who are running around.
The voices that each one uses to taunt the others are all different.<br />
<br />
I stop one of them. His name is James.<br />
<br />
“Are there any others around?”<br />
<br />
“Oh, there are plenty.”<br />
<br />
“Where are they?”<br />
<br />
“Sitting in a corner of the filing room in the back. They’re waiting for their opportunity to come join the fun.”<br />
<br />
“What are they waiting for?”<br />
<br />
“Why,
everyone knows that they’re waiting to be heard. Not all of us
characters can be heard at the same time. Sometimes, he listens to
three or four of us for a short time, and sometimes he listens to one of
us for a long time. But, we’re all here. Waiting for our chance to
be heard.”<br />
<br />
“So why are you three out here running around?”<br />
<br />
“We’ve
already been heard. He’s concentrating on us right now, and it’s our
chance to play and rest while he figures out what he wants us to do
next.”<br />
<br />
“How many are in the back room?”<br />
<br />
“The
last I checked, the room was crammed, and the waiting list was endless.
Lots of voices like us want to be heard. We want to tell our
stories.”<br />
<br />
James escaped from my vision and went back to running around.<br />
<br />
When
I saw them return, I also saw them carrying long sticks, using them as
play swords. I beat a hasty retreat from the mind of this author.<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/IJames.jpg" href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/IJames.jpg"><img alt="IJames" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-41780" data-mce-src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/IJames.jpg" src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/IJames.jpg" height="200" width="130" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">James Crofter was ripped from his family at age 11. <br data-mce-style="color: #000000;" />Within a year the prince was a pauper in a foreign land. <br data-mce-style="color: #000000;" />Is nature stronger than nurture? And even if it is, can James find the happiness he so richly desires? </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy Now @ <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/I-James-Eternity-Book-2-ebook/dp/B00MQHIG0Q/ref=la_B009VJQBEA_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1409891856&sr=1-5" href="http://www.amazon.com/I-James-Eternity-Book-2-ebook/dp/B00MQHIG0Q/ref=la_B009VJQBEA_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1409891856&sr=1-5" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre - Historical Fiction, Romance</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – PG</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Mike-Hartner/e/B009VJQBEA/" href="http://www.amazon.com/Mike-Hartner/e/B009VJQBEA/" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Connect</b> with Mike Hartner on <a data-mce-href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mike-Hartner-Author/368690356556759" href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mike-Hartner-Author/368690356556759" target="_blank">Facebook</a> & <a data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/MHartnerAuthor" href="https://twitter.com/MHartnerAuthor" target="_blank">Twitter</a></span></span></div>
Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-405075729444495802.post-52667831426610202602014-12-16T07:00:00.000-05:002014-12-17T05:25:01.823-05:00PM Pillon's Thoughts on Writing Style, Life Stories & Perception @PMPillon #WriteTip #AmWriting #SciFi<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;">Our
writing relies on our perceptions, leading us down a bright or dark
path if that’s how we see the world but and are infinite in variety. For
instance in Dostoyevsky’s case appreciating and writing about appalling
privation because he himself experienced it as a starving writer and
Solzhenitsyn also as a state prisoner. Who can fail to be moved by the
young man’s utter destitution in Crime And Punishment, or the Gulag
convict fussing over his boots without which he would be a dead man
walking?</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;" /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;">However,
there are also cases of a writer’s life being a stark contrast from her
or his writing, such as Guy de Maupassant who wrote beautifully and
auspiciously even as he lived a life of depression and ultimately wrote
as his epitaph: “I have coveted everything and taken pleasure in
nothing.” </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;" /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;">We
are a sum of our parts and at the same time we are a continuum,
experiencing myriad states of life most often without even realizing it,
with all aspects such as memories morphing into differing levels of
appreciation. We forget most events and remember only a fraction, and we
sometimes wish the two would transpose and we could forget that
pedestrian remark dad made and instead remember something he said about
mom when she was ill. If every single memory is still somewhere in our
brain, until and unless a method for total recall is discovered we are
forced to play with the cards we’re dealt; trudging through life with
limited recollections that we can mine for our writing. A week ago I had
a dream that I recognized as being a basis for a entire book as my
previous books have been, but within seconds I forgot it and it’s
clearly gone for good.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;" /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;">If
we’re writing about a man whose girl friend has left him or vice versa,
it helps to have some memories under our belt about amorous
relationships. Writing blind about events with which we have no
experience can still work if we have learned about them from observation
or stories we heard from others, but it’s more problematic because more
care must be taken to attain plausibility.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;" /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;">And
ultimately our writing style will likely be the decider, such as the
case of William Faulkner who gave up trying to mimic or emulate others
and just wrote in his own consciousness stream and prose based on his
experiences that eventually earned him universal praise and a Nobel
Prize for Literature.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/TheRealityMaster.jpg" /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div id="outer_postBodyPS" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; text-align: center;">
<div id="postBodyPS">
<div style="margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">His celestial companion was waiting for him</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Precariously
climbing a sea-side cliff near Big Sur, ten-year-old Joey Blake was as
yet unaware that near his grasp was an object, so odd, mysterious and
alien to earth that it would change his life forever and the lives of
countless others in the next few astonishing days. Reaching up as far as
he could for a handhold it was just there; it had subconsciously lured
him, occupied his mind, and made him find it. It was like he was meant
to see and discover this object of unimaginable power … the power to
change reality.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Time travel and more</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This
young adult series of sci-fi fantasy novels begins with The Reality
Master and continues through four other exciting and amazing stories
about time travel and mysterious alien devices. Joey and the reader will
face dangerous shadowy criminal organizations, agents of the NSA,
bizarre travelers from other times and even renegade California bikers
and scar-faced walking dead.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 10px;">
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">- Vol 1 The Reality Master</span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">- Vol 2 Threat To The World</span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">- Vol 3 Travel Beyond</span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">- Vol 4 Missions Through Time</span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">- Vol 5 The Return Home</span></span></b></div>
</div>
</div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy Now @ <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Reality-Master-PM-Pillon-ebook/dp/B00GTWX4CO" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre – Science fiction, Fantasy, Young adult</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – G</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a href="http://www.amazon.com/PM-Pillon/e/B00ASAMQVI/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Connect</b> with PM Pillon on <a href="https://facebook.com/pmpillon" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Facebook</a> & <a href="https://twitter.com/pmpillon" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Twitter</a></span></span></div>
Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-405075729444495802.post-30410825766405138232014-12-03T12:00:00.000-05:002015-01-05T06:16:36.989-05:00John E. Wade II on How "Glimpses of Heaven on Earth" is a Timely Read #Gender #Inspiration #TBR<div class="p3" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="s2">I very much enjoyed writing<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Glimpses of Heaven on Earth</i>,
as an inspirational read that I hope gives its readers some interesting
thoughts to contemplate. The book includes quotations and essays on the
following topics: peace and security, freedom, democracies, prosperity,
gender harmony, racial harmony, spiritual harmony, ecological harmony,
health, and moral purpose and meaning. This is a follow-up to my prior
book,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>How to Achieve a Heaven on Earth</i>, which is a collection of approximately one hundred essays on these same topics.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="p3" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="p3" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="s2">In this newest book,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Glimpses of Heaven on Earth</i>,
I invited four essay contributors to my prior book to join me in
collecting inspiriting quotations. Each of the five co-authors—Charlotte
L. Piotrowski, Daniel Agatino, Michael Nagler, Martin Rutte, and
I—wrote brief commentary to follow the quotations in each chapter. I
think the group did a good job of finding quotations on all of these
topics from leaders and thinkers throughout time and across the globe,
which was an exhaustive by interesting project. You will find some
familiar favorites, such as quotes from Mother Theresa and Mahatma
Gandhi, and also some that may be unfamiliar. I can imagine starting off
each day by reading a sampling of quotes from each chapter. After all,
we are all seeking to make some kind of order in the chaos of life, and I
find this book very helpful in that quest.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="p3" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="p3" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="s2">Because
of the range of topics, there truly is something of interest for
everyone. I enjoyed reading about net-zero buildings in Martin’s
commentary on ecological harmony. And I think readers will be intrigued
by my predictions of everlasting life in the chapter on health. I want
to note that we did not shy away from today’s hot topics, such as racial
and gender issues, making for a very timely read.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="p3" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="s2">All
in all, our writing styles are easy to read and the content is easy to
follow, although I had to read Michael’s commentary about peace and
security twice before it really sank in. As the founder for the Metta
Center for Nonviolence, Michael is an expert in this field, and I found
myself wanting to know more about his beliefs and practices. In addition
to other books on the topic of nonviolence, Michael provides all sorts
of other helpful material on his website:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a data-mce-href="http://mettacenter.org/" href="http://mettacenter.org/"><span class="s3">http://mettacenter.org/</span></a>.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span>I also has several comprehensive websites, one that specifically focuses on the topic of heaven on earth:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://www.heavenonearth.org" href="http://www.heavenonearth.org/"><span class="s3">www.heavenonearth.org</span></a>. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="p3" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="p3" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="s2">This
book would make an excellent gift for someone experiencing change in
their life, going through difficult times, changing jobs or schools, or
for someone who enjoys being inspired to create a better life for
herself and others. I can imagine giving this book as a graduation or
retirement gift as well. Truly, anyone would benefit from reading this
short, but impactful, book.</span></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Glimpses-of-Heaven-on-Earth.jpg" href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Glimpses-of-Heaven-on-Earth.jpg"><img alt="Glimpses of Heaven on Earth" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-42087" data-mce-src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Glimpses-of-Heaven-on-Earth.jpg" src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Glimpses-of-Heaven-on-Earth.jpg" height="200" width="130" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Editor
and author John E. Wade II has compiled a spiritual guide of invaluable
insight for finding peace and meaning in life while making the world a
better place for all. Along with co-authors Charlotte Livingston
Piotrowski, Daniel Agatino, Michael Nagler, and Martin Rutte, this
collection of enlightening essays and inspirational quotes from renowned
thinkers and leade</span></span>rs throughout history provides the intellectual tools needed to live a more harmonious life.<br />
<br />
Buy <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Now @ <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/GLIMPSES-HEAVEN-EARTH-Quotations-Insightful-ebook/dp/B00LOYGN3O/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=8-1&qid=1405439205" href="http://www.amazon.com/GLIMPSES-HEAVEN-EARTH-Quotations-Insightful-ebook/dp/B00LOYGN3O/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=8-1&qid=1405439205" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre - Inspirational</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – G</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&field-author=John%20E.%20Wade%20II&search-alias=digital-text&sort=relevancerank" href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&field-author=John%20E.%20Wade%20II&search-alias=digital-text&sort=relevancerank" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="font-weight: bold ! important;">Connect</b> with John E. Wade II on <a data-mce-href="https://www.facebook.com/jwadeii?ref_type=bookmark" href="https://www.facebook.com/jwadeii?ref_type=bookmark" target="_blank">Facebook</a></span></span></div>
Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-405075729444495802.post-18569265997306252142014-11-29T12:00:00.000-05:002014-12-05T09:38:05.415-05:00Rik Stone Shares Practical Writing Advice Writers @Stone_Rik #AmWriting #Authors #WriteTip<div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Open Sans'; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;">The
truth of the matter is a full length manuscript is nothing more than an
expanded short story. And a short story is a blown up account of
something that interested you over coffee, or in a pub, or a musing on
the way to work, a joke, an anecdote, a newspaper article, an idea of
what you might have done if you’d won the latest lottery (we’ve all been
there). The source is endless. But whatever it is you come up with, it
should have a beginning, middle and an ending. Obvious maybe, but having
a complete idea of what you want before putting pen to paper is
important.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Open Sans'; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;">The
Story: A writer formulates a tale from a basic idea and helps it grow;
no one sees every word, line, or chapter of their text in the preamble
of thought. At some point it might take on a life of its own where you
feel your hand is merely being guided, but that can’t happen until
you’ve made a start. Write your idea down in its simplest form. As I
said, it needs a beginning, middle and an ending. Beginning; Tom falls
for Mary and she likes him too. But Mary is seeing a boy called Harry.
Middle: Harry is a bully and Mary has been afraid to break up with him
for as long as she can remember. Tom is no hero but feels compelled to
be with Mary. Ending: Tom is forced to stand up to Harry. Things go
wrong; Harry gives Tom a good thrashing. But this gives Mary the
strength to dump Harry and go off into the sunset with Tom… Not a
blockbuster in the making, I’m sure, but you can see where I’m going.
Those few short sentences provide a skeleton to put flesh on. Now you
have your own idea written down, think about it before going further.
It’s better to rearrange the bare bones before you have to start pulling
flesh out the way to get at them.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Open Sans'; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Research:
Okay, the words flowed, your ideas were brilliant – but were they
accurate? Unless you’re writing something like Sci-fi or fantasy there
is a high probability that your narrative will incorporate real events –
make sure what you write is correct else the reader will lose belief in
your ability: try to use more than one source to verify your work.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Open Sans'; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Patience
equals quality: You finish your tale, great, you’re excited, the world
of readers must see it, and they must see it now. Nope! From my own
standing, you must complete at least 4 drafts – up to you, but that’s my
unwritten rule. Done it, good, but you’re not finished. The work should
be edited by a pro, and that even goes for the pro editor who writes;
it is too easy to overlook your own mistakes. You’ve got it back from
your editor – rewrite. Do not look at it and say they were wrong. They
might be, but their interpretation is how they understood your written
word, so if they didn’t get what you meant then you probably didn’t make
it clear. Accept the criticism, that’s what you paid for.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Open Sans'; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Finished:
Not yet, you’ve rewritten the book and you love it. It couldn’t be
better. So how come it isn’t finished? Well, it might be, but you’ve
just messed about with work that has been professionally edited and the
quality might have taken a dip. Pay out to have it copy-edited/proof
read. The few extra pennies you spend will be worth it.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Open Sans'; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Done it all? Great, you’re finished – good luck with the next steps.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Open Sans'; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Open Sans'; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><img src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Birth-of-an-Assassin.jpg" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Open Sans'; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Set
against the backdrop of Soviet, post-war Russia, Birth of an Assassin
follows the transformation of Jez Kornfeld from wide-eyed recruit to
avenging outlaw. Amidst a murky underworld of flesh-trafficking,
prostitution and institutionalized corruption, the elite Jewish soldier
is thrown into a world where nothing is what it seems, nobody can be
trusted, and everything can be violently torn from him.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Open Sans'; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Buy Now @ <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Birth-of-an-Assassin-ebook/dp/B00DIFVC3S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1382547441&sr=8-1&keywords=rik+stone" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Amazon</a>, <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/birth-of-an-assassin-rik-stone/1115953870?ean=9781783010998" style="text-decoration: none;">B&N</a>, <a href="http://store.kobobooks.com/en-gb/books/birth-of-an-assassin/-ykZ9LomEEqWVVtGlJrG-A" style="text-decoration: none;">Kobo</a> & <a href="http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/rik+stone/birth+of+an+assassin+28ebook29/9960214/" style="text-decoration: none;">Waterstones</a></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Open Sans'; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>Genre - Thriller, Crime, Suspense</i></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Open Sans'; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>Rating – R</i></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Open Sans'; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>More details about <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Rik-Stone/e/B00DP4R3OY/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Open Sans'; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Connect</b> with Rik Stone on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rik-Stone/602289653148840" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Facebook</a> & <a href="https://twitter.com/stone_rik" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Twitter</a></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Open Sans'; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Website <a href="http://rik-stone.simdif.com/" itemprop="url" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://rik-stone.simdif.com</a></b></span></div>
Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-405075729444495802.post-39407471806299064262014-11-27T08:30:00.000-05:002015-01-04T05:57:13.715-05:00LUCIFER & THE INDIGO KIDS by Lord Ra Krishna EL @Lord_Ra_Krishna #Excerpt #Poetry #TBR<i><b>Geronimo... (and the ones with religion) </b></i><br />
<br />
Dear Geronimo...<br />
My Great, Great grand Father<br />
<br />
They took you from us<br />
And our people were slaughtered...<br />
<br />
They didn't break your spirit<br />
You passed it unto me<br />
<br />
And I will spark the movement<br />
As soon as I get free...<br />
<br />
They hunted and chased you<br />
I clearly remember<br />
They would have never caught you<br />
They're lucky you surrendered...<br />
<br />
They tricked you and stole your land<br />
and we even have the audacity to celebrate Thanksgiving...<br />
<br />
They used you for mascots<br />
the Red Skins <br />
and the Chiefs <br />
<br />
Your great land was stolen<br />
By the ones with religion...<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIRwW8_7KEHMjQtkM6kvV57Lo1SnoNYCMQwudQn8reYKVW31BKfev-I5xxcPXCl-XUj8G64XySoepcBpWu8BU3XLwvMvcy2hJQe38FEThlbbyayABwNHhTXJFToLym0KCElbycVCWbaj4M/s1600/10543606_799244456762857_1951121046706555738_n.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIRwW8_7KEHMjQtkM6kvV57Lo1SnoNYCMQwudQn8reYKVW31BKfev-I5xxcPXCl-XUj8G64XySoepcBpWu8BU3XLwvMvcy2hJQe38FEThlbbyayABwNHhTXJFToLym0KCElbycVCWbaj4M/s1600/10543606_799244456762857_1951121046706555738_n.png" height="320" width="225" /></a></div>
<br />
"This
“new age” book of poetry reflects the diverse views and philosophies of
it’s author Ra Krishna EL. It’s an intimate, humorous and thought
provoking group of poems intended to evoke strong emotion. To quote the
German philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche, this style of poetry can be
called “Zukunfts poesie“ which translates into “Poetry of the future”,
where truly original ideas are presented thru poetry. Also known as post
Nietzschean poetry.<br />
<br />
It’s subjects include society, pop
culture, love, religious dogma, God and the new age of Aquarius. This
book was written and published during the false incarceration of its
author in Chicago’s notorious Cook County Jail, the largest jail in the
country."<br />
<br />
Bu<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">y Now @ <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Lucifer-indigo-kids-Last-Prophet-ebook/dp/B00L3VL7E8/ref=sr_1_1_title_1_kin?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1406567843&sr=1-1&keywords=lucifer+and+the+indigo+kids" href="http://www.amazon.com/Lucifer-indigo-kids-Last-Prophet-ebook/dp/B00L3VL7E8/ref=sr_1_1_title_1_kin?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1406567843&sr=1-1&keywords=lucifer+and+the+indigo+kids" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre - Poetry, Philosophy</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – PG-13</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&field-author=Lord%20Ra%20Krishna%20EL&search-alias=books&sort=relevancerank" href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&field-author=Lord%20Ra%20Krishna%20EL&search-alias=books&sort=relevancerank" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="font-weight: bold ! important;">Connect</b> with Lord Ra Krishna EL on <a data-mce-href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lord-Ra-Krishna-El/729737850380185?ref=hl" href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lord-Ra-Krishna-El/729737850380185?ref=hl" target="_blank">Facebook</a> & <a data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/Lord_Ra_Krishna" href="https://twitter.com/Lord_Ra_Krishna" target="_blank">Twitter</a></span></span></div>
Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-405075729444495802.post-34307254582129550692014-11-12T09:30:00.000-05:002014-11-12T09:30:02.235-05:00#Excerpt from WITNESS TO MY HEART by Loni Flowers @LoniFlowers #AmReading #Romance #TBR“Do you know how great that bathing suit fits you?” he commented.<br />
<br />
I
was surprised by the unexpected compliment. “Thanks. It’s definitely
not the bikini I should have been wearing, according to Caroline.”<br />
<br />
“You can see just as much in a bra and panties, which I’ve already seen.”<br />
<br />
“Only the bra,” I corrected him.<br />
<br />
“Personally,
I’ve always preferred a woman in a one-piece. The way it molds to the
skin… perfectly outlining every delectable curve on her body. There’s
only one thing sexier than that.”<br />
<br />
“Oh yeah? And what is that?”<br />
<br />
“Nakedness.”<br />
<br />
When
I didn’t respond to his answer, Max plucked my empty bottle from my
hand and set both bottles on the on top ledge of the pool behind my
shoulder as he moved in closer. “Shall I get you another?”<br />
<br />
I shifted back a bit. “No, I’m good. I hope you’re not trying to get me drunk so you can have your way with me?”<br />
<br />
He
took another step closer. “You accepted the beers. I didn’t make you
drink them, or ask you to get in the pool. And I would never force
myself on a woman just to get what I want.”<br />
<br />
“Is that
because alcohol makes it so much easier for you?” I retreated another
step and my back reached the tiled side, indicating I had nowhere else
to go.<br />
<br />
“The alcohol means nothing; and the fact that
you brought it up tells me you’re trying to find an excuse. What I’m
trying to figure out is: do you want me more right now? Or that day I
pushed you against the wall? Or was it when you came out of the bathroom
last night, dressed in a tight, little tank top and shorts?”<br />
<br />
My
heart started racing at his sudden forwardness, but I couldn’t let him
get to me. “I see the decent conversation we enjoyed tonight has ended.
Now you’re full of delusional assumptions.”<br />
<br />
“Your eyes give you away.”<br />
<br />
As soon as he said that, I stared into the water. There was only about an inch of space between us.<br />
<br />
“And so does your breathing. I affect you more than you realize, or will admit.”<br />
<br />
“You’re so full of yourself. I just met you. I don’t even know you.”<br />
<br />
“I’m only stating the facts. You want me and you can’t even admit you do.”<br />
<br />
“I do not! I’m not sure what gave you that idea.”<br />
<br />
“The
gaze in your eyes, your increased breathing, your mouth, hell your
whole body reacts to me when I’m around. I can even smell it on you!”
Max raised his arms and put them on each side of my head as he gripped
the ledge with each hand. Water trickled down his arms and dripped back
into the pool. “When I’m this close, your body sends out pheromones and
signals, like it is calling me. Your hands find their way to my skin…
like now.”<br />
<br />
My hands were pressed against his chest.
Like a magnet, they were drawn to him over and over again without any
forethought on my part. Closing the gap between us, Max pressed his body
against mine and I found it hard to resist the moan that nearly escaped
my mouth.<br />
<br />
Leaning down, his lips barely brushed mine
when he spoke. “And right now, you’re wondering what it would feel like
to have my lips tasting yours. Possessing you. But I won’t take what I
want, Abi. So, tell me… what do you want?”<br />
<br />
<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Witness-to-my-Heart.jpg" href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Witness-to-my-Heart.jpg"><img alt="Witness to my Heart" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-41881" data-mce-src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Witness-to-my-Heart.jpg" src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Witness-to-my-Heart.jpg" height="200" width="130" /></a></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
Keep
a low profile. That's what Abigale Peterson was supposed to do,
especially when the person she was being protected from was one of the
world's worst crime lords. After seven years in the Witness Protection
Program, she felt no safer now than she did when she was seventeen.
Revenge was rarely forgotten when it came to a professional criminal
like Zerilli.<br />
<br />
Low profiles meant no social life and definitely no love life.<br />
<br />
Paranoia
and lies became daily habits, going against everything Abigale believed
in, but they kept her safe. They kept everyone safe.<br />
<br />
Until
a house fire puts her out of that safety and into the arms of a
stranger. Max Smith is sexy, smart, and has major attitude. He’s the
only one who seems to get her. He calms her fears and comforts her from
her nightmares. But he also sees right through her lies.<br />
<br />
Before
Abigale can stop, she’s in too deep; confiding too much and breaking
the one rule she promised herself to uphold: Never fall in love.<br />
<br />
Bu<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">y Now @ <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Witness-my-Heart-Loni-Flowers-ebook/dp/B00MLN4IFW" href="http://www.amazon.com/Witness-my-Heart-Loni-Flowers-ebook/dp/B00MLN4IFW" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre – Contemporary Romance</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – R</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Loni-Flowers/e/B00JOF1XYO/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1" href="http://www.amazon.com/Loni-Flowers/e/B00JOF1XYO/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Connect with Loni Flowers through<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="https://www.facebook.com/AuthorLoniFlowers" href="https://www.facebook.com/AuthorLoniFlowers" target="_blank">Facebook</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>&<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/LoniFlowers" href="https://twitter.com/LoniFlowers" target="_blank">Twitter</a></span></span></div>
Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-405075729444495802.post-22240849913205762342014-11-12T07:30:00.000-05:002015-03-13T01:04:54.321-04:00Hank Quense on Using Scene Settings to Develop the Rest of the Story @hanque99 #AmWriting <br />
<b>Why choosing your setting is important</b><br />
<br />
A
setting for a new story is one of the earliest attributes I assign. I
need the setting on order to develop the rest of the story design
elements. More about the story design elements later. There are two
separate types of setting in a story. One is the overall setting such
as a Medieval kingdom or Victorian London or an alien planet. The
second type of setting is a subset of the overall setting and this
second tip is used in scenes. Thus, scenes set in Victorian London
could include a private men’s club, a private home, the docks on the
Thames, and the London Bridge. All of these are readily identified as
part of the London overall setting. It is an essential requirement of
the story that the scene settings be consistent with the overall
setting. For instance, if the scene on London Bridge includes modern
automobiles, the reader will have a difficult time suspending belief.<br />
<br />
In
other words, choosing a setting limits what the writer can do and it
also limits the characters. Likewise, a character in the Medieval
kingdom setting can’t use Kung Fu to disarm an opponent. Using
Victorian London as the story setting will require research in order to
write convincingly about it. However, since no one is alive who lived
during that era, the author has a bit of leeway in describing the
setting. That’s not true if the writer uses a modern setting. If the
writer gets the details wrong, some readers will call him on the
mistakes.<br />
<br />
I live outside New York City and I love to
visit Central Park. I’ve used the Park as a scene setting in a few
stories. In one story, the climax took place in the Park at a spot that
includes Cleopatria’s Needle, an Egyptian obelisk. The story called
for characters to be dropped off on the east side of the Park (5th
Avenue) and go through the Park to get to the obelisk. To ensure
accuracy, I went to the Park and walked the route my characters would
take. I also took pictures to ensure I wrote the details correctly.<br />
<br />
If
you haven’t been to Central Park, don’t try to use it in a scene, it’s
unique. In similar fashion, don’t write about San Francisco’s Chinatown
unless you’ve been there and are familiar with the area.<br />
<br />
I’ve
written a number of scenes in a fantasy city called Dun Hythe. I
picture the seaport as resembling Quebec City. This city has two parts
called the Lower and Upper towns. The Lower Town is along the St.
Laurence River and extends back a few hundred yards. The Upper Town is
atop a rock palisade a hundred feet or more high. My Dun Hythe is
constructed similarly and I have photos to took while in Quebec so I get
the details correct.<br />
<br />
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<a data-mce-href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Moxies-Problem.jpg" href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Moxies-Problem.jpg"><img alt="Moxie's Problem" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-42271" data-mce-src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Moxies-Problem.jpg" src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Moxies-Problem.jpg" height="200" width="130" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
Do
you enjoy untypical coming-of-age stories? Well, you won’t find one
more untypical than Moxie’s Problem. Moxie is an obnoxious, teen-age
princess who has never been outside her father’s castle. Until now. The
real world is quite different and she struggles to come to grips with
reality. The story takes place against a backdrop of Camelot. But it
isn’t the Camelot of legends. It’s Camelot in a parallel universe. So,
all bets are off!<br />
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13.3333339691162px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: auto; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
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<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Buy Now @ <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Moxies-Problem-Hank-Quense-ebook/dp/B00MK5UA80/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1409836365&sr=1-1&keywords=hank+quense" href="http://www.amazon.com/Moxies-Problem-Hank-Quense-ebook/dp/B00MK5UA80/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1409836365&sr=1-1&keywords=hank+quense" target="_blank">Amazon</a> &<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/448914" href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/448914" target="_blank">Smashwords</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Genre – Fantasy, Sci-fi</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Rating – G</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>More details about <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Hank-Quense/e/B002BM76IE/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1" href="http://www.amazon.com/Hank-Quense/e/B002BM76IE/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Connect with Hank Quense through<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="https://www.facebook.com/StrangeWorldsOnline" href="https://www.facebook.com/StrangeWorldsOnline" target="_blank">Facebook</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>&<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/hanque99" href="https://twitter.com/hanque99" target="_blank">Twitter</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13.3333339691162px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: auto; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<b style="font-weight: bold !important;">Website <a class="in-cell-link" data-mce-href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://hank-quense.com/wp/&usd=2&usg=ALhdy29hrxwzFyEMQY_AGYyT9ew6gPqByA" href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://hank-quense.com/wp/&usd=2&usg=ALhdy29hrxwzFyEMQY_AGYyT9ew6gPqByA" target="_blank">http://hank-quense.com/wp/</a></b></div>
Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-405075729444495802.post-61016373453979463762014-11-11T09:30:00.000-05:002015-01-21T03:53:19.887-05:00A LIFE LESS ORDINARY #Excerpt by Victoria Bernadine @VicBernadine #AmReading #ChickLit <div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Manny
laid in bed, staring up at the ceiling and waiting for sleep. She
plucked restlessly at the blanket and wished she could relax. Tomorrow
was Steph’s first staff meeting. Today she’d reacquainted herself with
everyone in the office then spent the rest of the day with Manny being
briefed on the details of the work of the branch and any current issues
she’d need to resolve within the next few days. That meant Manny’s own
work had been delayed, and tomorrow it would be delayed again–and Manny
would have to leave early in order to meet Rebecca and Daisy at the
lounge for drinks before heading to the club.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Manny
took a deep breath and slowly let it out. It wouldn’t be too bad, she
staunchly told herself. Steph was young, energetic, and had a shrewd
intelligence almost obscured by the cleavage-revealing shirts, short
skirts and a figure that could stop traffic–and probably did. Manny
wondered if Craig truly understood what he’d gotten himself in for by
promoting Steph rather than Manny.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Cleavage and legs.</b></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">She mentally rolled her eyes at Harvey’s dry, cynical tones.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i>Maybe–but that’s not really fair to him, is it? He’s not a bad guy.</i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>But he is just a guy.</b></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i>She
does bring a new perspective–a new way of thinking about things. She’s
not a bad choice–and I can’t argue with Craig’s idea that shaking things
up could make things better.</i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>And where does that leave you?</b></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i>No worse off than I was before.</i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>And no better.</b></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i>If you’re not going to be helpful…</i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Harvey
glanced down at his suddenly ruffled shirt opened to the middle of his
muscled chest and skin-tight breeches. He glanced back at her with a
ruefully amused smile.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Watched the Ice Pirates again, did you?</b></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i>Oh, shut up–it’s a classic no matter what anybody else thinks!</i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>I’m
just sayin’–if I was real and regularly wore pants this tight, I’m not
sure I’d be of any use to you. If you know what I mean.</b></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Manny
groaned and shook her head, and Harvey blinked out of existence. She
wondered when she’d managed to lose control of a figment of her
imagination–one she’d eventually felt compelled to name after an
invisible rabbit.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">She groaned again, rolled over and pulled the covers over her head. It was going to be another long day tomorrow.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Complete with dancing.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/ALifeLessOrdinary.jpg" /></span></span></div>
<div id="outer_postBodyPS" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; text-align: center;">
<div id="postBodyPS">
<div style="margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For
the last fifteen years, Rose “Manny” Mankowski has been a very good
girl. She turned her back on her youthful fancies and focused on her
career. But now, at the age of 45, she’s questioning her choices and
feeling more and more disconnected from her own life. When she’s passed
over for promotion and her much younger new boss implies Manny’s life
will never change, something snaps. In the blink of an eye, she’s quit
her job, sold her house and cashed in her pension, and she’s leaving
town on a six month road trip.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">After
placing a personal ad for a travelling companion, she’s joined in her
mid-life crisis by Zeke Powell, the cynical, satirical, most-read – and
most controversial – blogger for the e-magazine, What Women Want. Zeke’s
true goal is to expose Manny’s journey as a pitiful and desperate
attempt to reclaim her lost youth – and increase his readership at the
same time. Leaving it all behind for six months is just an added bonus.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Now,
armed with a bagful of destinations, a fistful of maps, and an
out-spoken imaginary friend named Harvey, Manny’s on a quest to
rediscover herself – and taking Zeke along for the ride.</span></span></div>
</div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy Now @ <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AMJBOSQ" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Amazon</a> & <a href="http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/299257" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Smashwords</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre – ChickLit, Contemporary Fiction</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – PG-13</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Victoria-Bernadine/e/B00AN2VS5G/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <b>Connect</b> with Victoria Bernadine on <a href="https://twitter.com/VicBernadine" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Twitter</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Blog <a class="in-cell-link" href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://victoriabernadine.wordpress.com&usd=2&usg=ALhdy2_NZu0iup6n2vJwBd--NRvslbSPnw" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">victoriabernadine.wordpress.com</a></b></span></span></div>
</div>
Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-405075729444495802.post-30298499581535588642014-11-07T12:00:00.000-05:002015-01-18T02:03:04.138-05:00Cheryl Rice Shares How #Poetry Was an Outlet for Sorrow @RiceonLife #AmReading #Women <b>Why Writing is a Form of Personal Therapy</b><br />
<br />
If
someone asked me what three things I’d take if I were stranded on a
desert island I would say, my dog Gracie for love and companionship,
dark chocolate as my drug of choice, and a very large, spiral bound,
unlined journal with an attached Paper Mate InkJoy pen for therapy.<br />
<br />
Writing
has always been a safe haven for me. Through it I have found a
sanctuary of comfort, clarity and sanity. I remember writing my first
poem, which I spelled “pome,” in Mrs. Hilderman’s second grade class. It
was about a mouse with tickly prickly whiskers. Mrs. Hilderman chuckled
when she read it and gave me the ultimate compliment when she hung it
with a clothespin on a strand of twine that stretched the length of her
classroom supply closet.<br />
<br />
It didn’t take long for my
poetry to grow in depth and drama as I grew into my awkward adolescence.
Most of it was fairly melodramatic and maudlin but it provided a needed
outlet for the loneliness and longing that suffused my days. My
grandfather used to take fistfuls of poems that I had written into the
bathroom with him and emerge with tears in his eyes and arms wide open.
“Sherry,” he would say (my grandfather was the only person in the world I
let call me anything other than Cheryl), “Please don’t tell me you’re
as sad as these poems. I can’t bear it. Come here. Let me give you a
hug.”<br />
<br />
While my poetry served as an adequate outlet for
my sorrows at the time, it was the daily journals I kept throughout most
of my life that served as my gateway to self-knowledge and eventually
self-compassion. In my late twenties I kept a journal addressed to my
imagined future husband. It was a way for me to feel a hopeful
connection to my eventual life partner and also to clarify for myself
who and what I wanted in a partner. It’s amazing how many of the
qualities and even characteristics – like being a lawyer and having two
sisters – my real-life husband shares with the imaginary man I wrote to
all those years ago.<br />
<br />
Writing became most therapeutic
for me in the wake of losing my mother. When I was mired in
unprecedented grief I could bring my sorrow and anguish to the page
without worrying I was burdening anybody else. I would write my feelings
of course, but I also would write letters both to my mom and from my
mom to me. I even wrote a letter from me to my unborn child. I cried as I
wrote many of these letters but that cascade of words and tears
provided tender comfort and healing to my wounded heart.<br />
<br />
Another
powerful writing experience was when I gave myself permission to write
in an unlined journal. At first I was reticent and kept trying to write
in straight imagined lines – as if someone would strike my hand with a
ruler if my words weren’t straight. But once I got over that I found the
experience quite liberating. I could write in circles, I could turn the
page on its side or upside down, I could add drawings if I liked. The
freedom was indeed therapeutic as it lessened my self-imposed rigidity
and broke me free from rules I didn’t even know I had been following –
ultimately allowing for a catharsis and clarity I hadn’t even known I
was seeking.<br />
<br />
Writing was even therapeutic for me when I
was actually in therapy and wanted to take what I was learning in
sessions deeper. I wish I could say my journal didn’t talk back but the
amazing thing is it did! It would offer a fresh realization – like maybe
it wasn’t my fault that I couldn’t heal my father – or some much needed
self-compassion when I was grieving my mother.<br />
<br />
So, yes
– I’m sure that if I was indeed stranded on a desert island I’d find
meaning and a therapeutic sanctuary in my journal. I may even discover a
way off the island.<br />
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13.3333339691162px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Where-Have-I-Been-All-My-Life.jpg" href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Where-Have-I-Been-All-My-Life.jpg"><img alt="Where Have I Been All My Life" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-41809" data-mce-src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Where-Have-I-Been-All-My-Life.jpg" src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Where-Have-I-Been-All-My-Life.jpg" height="200" width="130" /></a></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
Where
Have I Been All My Life? is a compelling memoir recounting one woman’s
journey through grief and a profound feeling of unworthiness to
wholeness and healing. It begins with the chillingly sudden death of
Rice’s mother, and is followed by her foray into the center of
mourning. <br />
<br />
With wisdom, grace, and humor, Rice recounts
the grief games she plays in an effort to resurrect her mother; her
efforts to get her therapist, who
she falls desperately in love with, to run away with her; and the
transformation of her husband from fantasy man to ordinary guy to
superhero. In the process, she experiences aching revelations about her
family and her past—and realizes what she must leave behind, and what
she can carry forward with her.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
Bu<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">y Now @ <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Where-Have-Been-All-Life/dp/163152917X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1405965204&sr=8-1&keywords=where+have+i+been+all+my+life%3F" href="http://www.amazon.com/Where-Have-Been-All-Life/dp/163152917X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1405965204&sr=8-1&keywords=where+have+i+been+all+my+life%3F" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre – Memoir</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – PG-13</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Cheryl-Rice/e/B00J5OWIGQ/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1" href="http://www.amazon.com/Cheryl-Rice/e/B00J5OWIGQ/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Connect with Cheryl Rice through<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="%20https://www.facebook.com/yourvoiceyourvision " href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-admin/%20https://www.facebook.com/yourvoiceyourvision" target="_blank">Facebook</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>&<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/RiceOnLife" href="https://twitter.com/RiceOnLife" target="_blank">Twitter</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="font-weight: bold ! important;">Website <a class="in-cell-link" data-mce-href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.yourvoiceyourvision.com&usd=2&usg=ALhdy2-KsIroKPbTLpqZOg7K5rhGXAchzg" href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.yourvoiceyourvision.com&usd=2&usg=ALhdy2-KsIroKPbTLpqZOg7K5rhGXAchzg" target="_blank">www.yourvoiceyourvision.com</a></b></span></span></div>
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Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-405075729444495802.post-50552137409479070022014-11-06T09:30:00.000-05:002014-12-19T03:51:00.415-05:00@KirstenWriter on the Ingredients for a Satisfying Reading Experience #AmReading #TBR #Suspense<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Eeek! She’s Gonna Crash! The Joys and Perils of a Towering TBR Pile</b></span></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">By Kirsten Mortensen</span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The leaning tower of Pisa? Ha. That’s nothing. You should see my To Be Read pile!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I
can’t help it, I guess. I love books so much, and I’m interested in so
many different types of books and so many authors, that I always end up
buying more books than I could possibly read.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And,
to make it worse, I’m one of those people who reads multiple books at
once. At any given moment, I’ve got a half dozen books piled up next to
my bed with bookmarks stuck in them. I’ve got another half dozen in my
Kindle that I’ve started, then set aside.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But
you know what? I’ve made peace with it. I know that some of the books
in my TBR pile will remain unread on the day I breathe my last.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And is there anything wrong with that!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">No, I say!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Oh,
sure, it’s satisfying to finish a book. It’s like finishing any
project. You close the cover—or click past the last page on the
e-reader—and sit back, and you get this marvelous feeling of
accomplishment. Even aside from the pleasure of a well-realized plot,
there’s a sense that you did it. You completed the journey. You crossed
something important off your to-do list.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But
I’m also of the opinion that guilt is never a very helpful emotion. So
why torture yourself needlessly if you have books you don’t get to? Or
books you start but don’t finish?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">They
still serve a purpose. Maybe that indie title you bought helped push a
book onto a best seller list. Maybe the classic sitting on your shelf
will one day spark the interest of a young family member, and start him
or her on a reading journey.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And in the meantime, having a generous TBR pile is a bit like having a well-stocked pantry.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">No
matter what you’re in the mood for, chances are you’ll find the exact
book you need at that moment. You have all the ingredients on hand for a
satisfying reading experience: your own personal library, there for the
sampling.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So to me, my leaning pile of to-be-reads is never a burden. It’s a blessing—it’s a towering stack of riches.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">How
about you? Do you ever feel anxious or stressed about your TBR pile? Or
does the pleasure of knowing you have plenty of books in your reading
queue make you feel good?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/darkChemistry.jpg" href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/darkChemistry.jpg"><img alt="darkChemistry" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-41412" data-mce-src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/darkChemistry.jpg" src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/darkChemistry.jpg" height="200" width="130" /></a></span></span></div>
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<h1>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A woman's worst nightmare</span></span></h1>
<h2 data-mce-style="color: #cc6600;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Drugged by something...that makes her think she's fallen in love.</span></span></h2>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">All Haley Dubose has ever known is beaches and malls, clubs and cocktail dresses.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>But now her father is dead.</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And if she wants to inherit her father's fortune, she has to leave sunny Southern California<br />for a backwater little town near Syracuse, New York. She has to run RMB, the multimillion dollar<br />chemical company her father founded. And she has to run it well.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Keep
RMB on track, and she'll be rich. Grow it, and she'll be even richer.
But mess it up, and her inheritance will shrink away before she gets a
chance to spend a dime.</span></span><br />
<h2 data-mce-style="color: #cc6600;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Donavon Todde is her true love. But is it too late?</span></span></h2>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">He's RMB's head of sales – and the more Donavon sees of Haley, the more he's smitten.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sure,
she comes across at first as naïve and superficial. But Donavon knew
Haley's father. He can see the man's better qualities stirring to life
in her eyes. And Donavon senses something else: Haley's father left her a
legacy more important than money. He left her the chance to discover
her true self.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Donavon has demons of his own.</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b> </b><br />He's
reeling from a heartbreak that's taking far too long to heal. But he's
captivated by this blond Californian, and not only because of her
beauty.<i> It's chemistry.</i> They're right for each other. But has
Donavon waited too long to woo this woman of his dreams? Because to his
horror, his beautiful Haley falls under another spell.<i> Gerad's spell.</i></span></span><br />
<h2 data-mce-style="color: #cc6600;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A web of evil.</span></span></h2>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Gerad
Picket was second-in-command at RMB when Haley's father was alive. And
with Haley on the scene, he's in charge of her training. But there are
things about RMB that Gerad doesn't want Haley to know.</span></span><br />
<h2 data-mce-style="color: #cc6600;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And he must control her. Any way he can.</span></span></h2>
<h1>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Romantic suspense for your Kindle</span></span></h1>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Will Haley realize that her feelings are not her TRUE feelings?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Does Donavon have the strength left to fight for the woman he loves?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Will the two of them uncover Gerad's plot to use RMB pheromones to enslave the world?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And even if they do – can they stop it?</span></span><br />
<div align="center">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="center">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy Now @ <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Chemistry-Kirsten-Mortensen-ebook/dp/B00KEYP3QI/" href="http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Chemistry-Kirsten-Mortensen-ebook/dp/B00KEYP3QI/" target="_blank">Amazon</a> &<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/422146" href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/422146" target="_blank">Smashwords</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre – Romantic suspense</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – PG-13</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Kirsten-Mortensen/e/B001JP7X50/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1" href="http://www.amazon.com/Kirsten-Mortensen/e/B001JP7X50/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
<div align="center">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Connect</b> with Kirsten Mortensen through<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kirsten-Mortensen-Writer/195344590544496?ref=hl" href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kirsten-Mortensen-Writer/195344590544496?ref=hl" target="_blank">Facebook</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>& <a data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/Kirstenwriter" href="https://twitter.com/Kirstenwriter" target="_blank">Twitter</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Website <a class="in-cell-link" data-mce-href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://kirstenmortensen.com/&usd=2&usg=ALhdy29OlqrTvuWJGs0Xbb3RDK_7VviC8A" href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://kirstenmortensen.com/&usd=2&usg=ALhdy29OlqrTvuWJGs0Xbb3RDK_7VviC8A" target="_blank">http://kirstenmortensen.com/</a></b></span></span></div>
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Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-405075729444495802.post-22298693846575120902014-10-31T11:00:00.000-04:002015-02-27T13:06:58.961-05:00K S Ferguson on What Readers Want From a Hero #Fantasy #WriteTip #AmReading What makes a hero? According to bestselling thriller author John
Sanford, a hero has to be handsome (or beautiful if female),
intelligent, and successful. Think about your favorite books. Does that
description apply to the characters you liked most, the ones you were
thinking about weeks, months, or even years after you put the book down?<br />
<br />
Writers
are warned to stay away from clichés. If all main characters meet
Sanford's description, won't they begin to seem like boring,
cookie-cutter characters? How do writers address the diversity of
problems characters encounter if the main characters are all alike?<br />
<br />
River
Madden, the main character in Touching Madness, has schizophrenia.
Because of his homelessness, he's not under the care of a doctor or
receiving medications that miraculously make him 'normal.' He's small,
thin, and a dedicated pacifist. While he's able to keep himself fed by
selling sketches on the street, he's not what society would consider a
success story. He's the antithesis of what Sanford says readers require
in their heroes.<br />
<br />
But readers love River. He's
frequently described as 'vulnerable.' His mental illness is not the
whole of who he is. It's a complicating factor. He's able to cope with
it because he has high intelligence and a self-deprecating sense of
humor about the difficulties the schizophrenia causes.<br />
<br />
If
readers require handsome heroes and writers want to sell books, then
shouldn't writers eliminate gay characters, minorities, the handicapped,
the mentally ill from their lists of potential heroes? A literature
professor once told me that it was the writer's job to hold the mirror
up to society. Is a world peopled by nothing but handsome heroes an
accurate reflection? What about you? Do you enjoy stories about
characters who aren't beautiful people?<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Touching-Madness.jpg" href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Touching-Madness.jpg"><img alt="Touching Madness" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-41637" data-mce-src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Touching-Madness.jpg" src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Touching-Madness.jpg" height="200" width="130" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Light
bulbs talk to River Madden; God doesn't. When the homeless
schizophrenic unintentionally fractures a dimensional barrier and
accidentally steals a gym bag containing a million dollars, everyone
from the multiverse police to the local crime boss—and an eight-foot
tall demon—are after him. Can he dodge them long enough to correct his
mistakes and prevent the destruction of three separate dimensions? If he
succeeds, will the light bulbs stop singing off-key?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy Now @ <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007H9QPLA" href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007H9QPLA" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre – Contemporary, Urban fantasy</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – R</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&field-author=K%20S%20Ferguson&search-alias=digital-text&sort=relevancerank" href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&field-author=K%20S%20Ferguson&search-alias=digital-text&sort=relevancerank" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Website <a class="in-cell-link" data-mce-href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.ksferguson.net&usd=2&usg=ALhdy28uYLnWK2puPbkhz-G_C7dYRTpoBw" href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.ksferguson.net&usd=2&usg=ALhdy28uYLnWK2puPbkhz-G_C7dYRTpoBw" target="_blank">http://www.ksferguson.net</a></b></span></span></div>
Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-405075729444495802.post-8334634211932045032014-10-28T11:00:00.000-04:002014-12-09T08:33:44.563-05:00Ultimately, People Will Think What They Think, Says @AmyLewisAuthor #Life #Grief #Memoir<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Integration: Inviting all parts of yourself to the dinner table</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I
am a chameleon; I’ve known for a long time. I sit across from someone,
even a stranger, and within 60 seconds I can unconsciously read them and
magically transform myself into what they want/expect/need me to be.
This can make dating a nightmare when the day comes that they realize I
am not that person. But otherwise, I don’t see this quality of mine as a
problem. It’s allowed me to have a wide range of life experiences that
have added flavor, texture and profound wisdom to my life. I no longer
get confused about who I am, nor do I feel victim to my experiences. In a
mystical way, I know I am none of these things and at the same time all
of them. Being so open with my identity has led me down a lot of
different winding paths – some open and expansive, some muddy and full
of holes and some complete dead ends. I have been an athlete, a mental
patient, a porn producer, a scholar, a self-mutilator, an abused wife,
an actress, a widow, a divorcee and a single mom; I’ve made enough money
to put me in the 1% club at times, and I’ve also lived in poverty.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Inside
It’s taken me a long while, but I’ve gotten to a place where I don’t
judge my past or the more socially unacceptable experiences I’ve had.
But I feared others would judge me, so I did a lot of hiding
publically, keeping too many secrets, separating my life and friends
into compartments. Social media became a bitch; I needed too many
profiles to encompass my whole life, so I rarely participated. The
truth, of course, was no one<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>really</i><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>cared;
I wasn’t a celebrity and most people were probably too caught up in
their own self-contained dramas. Still, it takes courage for quiet girls
like me to say to all of your contacts – this is who I am. This has
been my life. Having just published a memoir I am very in touch with the
courage it takes to share your story that at times may be raw and
puzzling to those you know.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ultimately
people will think what they think, the only judgments that matter are
my own. And I’ve had a lot of judgments about myself, about the dark
moments of my life. I’m learning to let those go. It takes a lot of
time. I want to sit at a giant dining table and feast with all parts of
me – the parts that look so gorgeous and the parts that look desperate,
ugly and afraid. All parts of me are invited to this luscious, colorful
feast that I call my life.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/whatFreedomSmellsLike.jpg" href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/whatFreedomSmellsLike.jpg"><img alt="whatFreedomSmellsLike" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-41176" data-mce-src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/whatFreedomSmellsLike.jpg" src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/whatFreedomSmellsLike.jpg" height="200" width="130" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Diagnosed
with Borderline Personality disorder, Amy struggled with depression and
an addiction to sharp objects. Even hospitalization didn't help to heal
her destructive tendencies. It took a tumultuous relationship with a
man named Truth to bring her back from the depths of her own self-made
hell.Amy's marriage to dark, intriguing Truth was both passionate and
stormy. She was a fair-skinned southern girl from New Orleans. He was a
charming black man with tribal tattoos, piercings, and a mysterious
past. They made an unlikely pair, but something clicked. During their
early marriage, they pulled themselves out of abject poverty into wealth
and financial security practically overnight. Then things began to fall
apart.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Passionate
and protective, Truth also proved violent and abusive. Amy’s own
self-destructive tendencies created a powerful symmetry. His sudden
death left Amy with an intense and warring set of emotions: grief for
the loss of the man she loved, relief she was no longer a target for his
aggression.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Conflicted
and grieving, Amy found herself at a spiritual and emotional
crossroads, only to receive help from an unlikely source: Truth himself.
Feeling his otherworldly presence in her dreams, Amy seeks help from a
famous medium.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Her
spiritual encounters change Amy forever. Through Truth, she learns her
soul is eternal and indestructible, a knowledge that gives Amy the
courage to pursue her own dreams and transform herself both physically
and emotionally. Her supernatural encounters help Amy resolve the
internal anger and self-destructive tendencies standing between her and
happiness, culminating in a sense of spiritual fulfillment she never
dreamed possible.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">An amazing true story, What Freedom Smells Like is told with courage, honesty, and a devilishly dark sense of humor.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy Now @ <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/What-Freedom-Smells-Like-Memoir-ebook/dp/B00JTHDCSC/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=&qid=" href="http://www.amazon.com/What-Freedom-Smells-Like-Memoir-ebook/dp/B00JTHDCSC/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=&qid=" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre – Memoir</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – PG-13</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Amy-Lewis/e/B00KERPYYQ/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1" href="http://www.amazon.com/Amy-Lewis/e/B00KERPYYQ/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Connect</b> with Amy Lewis through <a data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/AmyLewisAuthor" href="https://twitter.com/AmyLewisAuthor" target="_blank">Twitter</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Website <a class="in-cell-link" data-mce-href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.WhatFreedomSmellsLike.com&usd=2&usg=ALhdy2-u-DEq6B2o3ZSLOwj9JWZOYB9gHA" href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.WhatFreedomSmellsLike.com&usd=2&usg=ALhdy2-u-DEq6B2o3ZSLOwj9JWZOYB9gHA" target="_blank">www.WhatFreedomSmellsLike.com</a></b></span></span></div>
Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-405075729444495802.post-32601544128258004722014-10-28T08:00:00.000-04:002015-01-13T11:17:57.986-05:0010 Things You Didn't Know About Sophie Kinsella by Madi Brown @Madithe1brown #MustRead #ChickLit<b>10 Things You Didn't Know About Sophie Kinsella</b><br />
<br />
<i>SK
(Sophie Kinsella) is easily the SJP (Sarah Jessica Parker) of Chick
Lit. She's written over a dozen novels, with each of her works
centering around strong female characters that modern day women love to
read about. If she's extremely fashionable, enthusiastic about her
career, and if she still holds a place card for family and friends then
we're all in aren't we? Many of us have read her books in one sitting,
but what do we really know about Sophie Kinsella the woman? Well---as I
soon found out, this author is just as interesting as the
multidimensional characters that she creates. Here are 10 facts about
Sophie Kinsella that you probably didn't know:</i><br />
<br />
1) Sophie Kinsella <b>once considered writing a thriller.</b>
Yes, it's true. And if her agent hadn't told her that what she'd come
up with wasn't dark or gritty enough, then we may have been able to
judge for ourselves.<br />
<br />
2) Sophie Kinsella <b>admits that she can relate to all of the characters that she's concocted in her best-selling Chick Lit books.</b>
Once, while she was nursing her baby, she opened up the door for her
mailman---and her shirt was unbuttoned! It was a Becky Bloomwood moment
that she'll always remember.<br />
<br />
3) When asked what profession she saw herself in if she wasn't an author, Sophie Kinsella revealed that <b>she'd be belting out songs as a singer of course</b> ( after all, she did study music at New College Oxford).<br />
<br />
4) <b>It takes Sophie Kinsella nine months to pen a novel.</b>
She breaks it up into two stages. The first phase involves coffee, and
sitting down, planning and taking notes. The second phase involves total
isolation where it's just Sophie writing like a mad woman to speaker
blowout-blaring loud music.<br />
<br />
5) One of Sophie Kinsella's books <b>(Sleeping Arrangements) was adapted into a musical</b>. It premiered in London on April 17, 2013.<br />
<br />
6) Someone has been really busy in between books. <b>Sophie Kinsella has five kids; </b>four
boys and a girl. Is anyone else thinking what I'm thinking?
How-in-almost-Brady-Bunch name does she find the time to write?<br />
<br />
7) Guess who's <b>hooked on eating nuts and having packets of them</b> wherever she goes? Sophie Kinsella.<br />
<br />
8) <b>Life imitated art on an instance when Sophie went out Christmas shopping</b>. She loaded her baby stroller up with so many bags that there wasn't any room for the baby.<br />
<br />
9) Sophie Kinsella has a<b> customized pen for all of her author book signings.</b> She keeps it stored in gold bubble wrap.<br />
<br />
10) Who knew? <b>Sophie Kinsella anonymously sent a novel that she'd penned to her own publishing house under a different pen name.</b>She remained tight lipped about doing so until her book, Can You Keep a Secret was published.<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/truthaboutemily.jpg" href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/truthaboutemily.jpg"><img alt="truthaboutemily" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-41632" data-mce-src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/truthaboutemily.jpg" src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/truthaboutemily.jpg" height="200" width="130" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"If you LOVE New York, if you’re a
name-dropping, fashion fiend careerist; fed up with serial dating,
plagued with a thirst for sex, then you’ll totally stalk me for what
I've penned.” - Author, Madi Brown</span></span></h2>
<h3>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Description</i></span></span></h3>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">29-year-old
Emily Greene looks the part, but she’s still working on becoming a
modern-day woman. Not that she’s one to back down from a challenge, but
living as an eternal work-in-progress wasn't exactly the goal that she
had in mind. It’s a harsh but true realization---the idea that that time
isn't on her side, and the notion that wanting to have it all, doesn't
mean getting it. The verdict is in; with zero prospects for a
relationship and a stalled blogging career, Emily has every reason to
believe that she’s been living a life too humdrum for her own good.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Making
the change won’t be easy. She’ll have to do whatever it takes; start
dating like a man, become more selective about which RSVP's she accepts,
and work even harder at getting her dream job.The payoff’s huge; a
modern twist on a storybook ending, but gains don’t often come without
risks. In the here and now Emily just may be forced to choose...It’s got
to be one or the other----the profession that she’s always wanted, or
the love that she’s never had.</span></span><br />
<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">˃˃˃ Praise for Madi Brown & </span></span></h3>
<h3>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">her debut novel, The Truth About Emily</span></span></h3>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"The
added depth of character promises complexity but wraps everything in
the saucy cloak of Emily's evolving personality and newfound beliefs
about life, love, and the real nature of happiness. And this is where
The Truth About Emily outshines many competitors, making it a
recommended read for those seeking more than a standard romance novel." <i>- D. Donovan, eBook Reviewer, Midwest Book Reviews</i></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"This
book has just about anything a girl would love to read about. If
there's anything Emily Greene has is ISH and lots of it, oh the
ending... This book is a total keeper, just anything about fashion to
relationships to friends and family." <i>- Y. Sanchez, G</i></span></span><i>oodreads</i><br />
<br />
B<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">uy Now @ <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Truth-About-Emily-Madi-Brown-ebook/dp/B00MNIL5TW" href="http://www.amazon.com/Truth-About-Emily-Madi-Brown-ebook/dp/B00MNIL5TW" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre – Contemporary Women's Fiction</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – PG18</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Madi-Brown/e/B00MNMD2ZS/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1" href="http://www.amazon.com/Madi-Brown/e/B00MNMD2ZS/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Connect</b> with Madi Brown on <a data-mce-href="https://www.facebook.com/Madibrown.combooksandblog" href="https://www.facebook.com/Madibrown.combooksandblog" target="_blank">Facebook</a> & <a data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/Madithe1brown" href="https://twitter.com/Madithe1brown" target="_blank">Twitter</a></span></span></div>
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Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-405075729444495802.post-49120828857664478692014-10-25T11:00:00.000-04:002014-11-26T12:32:47.259-05:00@KimberlyShursen on What Indie Writers Should Not Do #WriteTip #SelfPub #IndieAuthors <div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Five Things “Thou Shalt Not Do” as an Indie Writer</b></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">B<span style="font-family: inherit;">y </span>Kimberly Shursen </span></span></b><br />
<b><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Author <span style="background-color: white;">of<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></span></i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">Itsy Bitsy Spider,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Hush,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>and<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Lottery</span></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Oh
the ups and downs in the life of an author. You’ve released your first
book, and finally it reaches 29,000 on the Amazon rankings. Your stomach
is doing continuous somersaults. Suddenly, the novel soars into the top
fifty books in your genre. OMG! Is there any sweeter feeling? And then
wham, it plummets to 298,000. Hang on, my friends, as we all know this
gig is an unending exciting, yet many times torturous roller coaster
ride.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Raise
your hand if you want to give up. I’m waiting … that’s what I thought.
No hands up. Once you’ve given birth to a plot, and created characters
you swear you know better than your own mother, there is no escape.
You’re hooked.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The
pitfalls, however, are many. Starting with your first novel, avoid the
dangers of being what many refer to as ‘just another indie author.’
Believe me, I’ve fallen into the pits, and will go to any length to
avoid that frightening, dark abyss again.</span></span></div>
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<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Do not employ a friend to be
your editor. Let me reiterate: Don’t do it! Save a friend, and avoid the
reviews that, even if the book is well edited, might come back to drive
a wedge between your friendship. Employ someone who has a proven and
successful background in editing in the genre you write. Check their
references, and ask them to edit at least one chapter before you start.
Even after all this, send that edited chapter to someone else to review
before you commit.</span></span></li>
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<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Do not tell another author you
will trade reviews; a five-star for a five-star. These are easily
spotted, and hold absolutely no merit. In fact, I have heard that an
overall four-star review holds more merit as readers will believe the
reviews are honest.</span></span></li>
</ol>
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<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Never</i><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>respond
to a bad review. Hit a pillow repeatedly, throw several glasses across
the room, or bite down a bullet as it is what it is; even if it isn’t
factual or true. Read it once and never read it again.</span></span></li>
</ol>
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<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Do not underestimate a “street
team.” I started a street team a year ago and they are indeed “the wind
beneath my wings.” There are only fourteen of us that make up the Hush
team. And it is a hush<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>team</i>.
No one shares anything we discuss, and the page is totally private. The
purpose for starting the Facebook page was duo fold; they shout out
news about my books, or book signings, or interviews, and we share what
we wouldn’t share with our regular social network friends. We value
friendship before my work. We all know, however, that if someone else
shouts out our praises, their words hold more merit.</span></span></li>
</ol>
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<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Do not tell everyone you have
written the next greatest American novel; not even your best friend.
Humility carries more clout. You write because that’s what you do.
Period. Finish your first novel and make the next one even better
putting to use comments from reviewers, authors, friends, and even
enemies. Find two or three beta readers willing to read your book and
then compare notes. Suck in every piece of advice you hear or read and
then apply it.</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></li>
</ol>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Publish
your book, sit back, draw in a breath, and say, “I’m a damn good
writer. Even if I’m never well known, and at times people nail me to the
cross with reviews, I am a damn good writer.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/hush.jpg" href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/hush.jpg"><img alt="hush" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-41080" data-mce-src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/hush.jpg" src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/hush.jpg" height="200" width="130" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Soon
after Ann Ferguson and Ben Grable marry, and Ben unseals his adoption
papers, their perfect life together is torn apart, sending the couple to
opposite sides of the courtroom.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />Representing
Ann, lawyer Michael J. McConaughey (Mac) feels this is the case that
could have far-reaching, judicial effects -- the one he's been waiting
for.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />Opposing counsel knows this high profile case happens just once in a lifetime.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />And
when the silent protest known as HUSH sweeps the nation, making
international news, the CEO of one of the top ten pharmaceutical
companies in the world plots to derail the trial that could cost his
company billions.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />Critically
acclaimed literary thriller HUSH not only questions one of the most
controversial laws that has divided the nation for over four decades,
but captures a story of the far-reaching ties of family that surpasses
time and distance.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>***
Hush does not have political or religious content. The story is built
around the emotions and thoughts of two people who differ in their
beliefs.</b></span></span></div>
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<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b> </b>EDITORIAL
REVIEW: "Suspenseful and well-researched, this action-packed legal
thriller will take readers on a journey through the trials and
tribulations of one of the most controversial subjects in society
today."</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Katie French author of "The Breeders," "The Believer's," and "Eyes Ever To The Sky."</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy Now @ <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Hush-Kimberly-Shursen-ebook/dp/B00HZKBGW4/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1404820465&sr=1-1&keywords=hush+and+kimberly+shursen" href="http://www.amazon.com/Hush-Kimberly-Shursen-ebook/dp/B00HZKBGW4/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1404820465&sr=1-1&keywords=hush+and+kimberly+shursen" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre – Thriller</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – PG-13</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Kimberly-Shursen/e/B00C7ZBTIS/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1" href="http://www.amazon.com/Kimberly-Shursen/e/B00C7ZBTIS/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Connect</b> with Kimberly Shursen through <a data-mce-href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kimberly-Shursen-Author/286879094678995" href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kimberly-Shursen-Author/286879094678995" target="_blank">Facebook</a> and <a data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/kimberlyShursen" href="https://twitter.com/kimberlyShursen" target="_blank">Twitter</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Website <a class="in-cell-link" data-mce-href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.kimberlyshursen.com/&usd=2&usg=ALhdy2-uex70LjIEkr9CbwWbuB4zDHIOKw" href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.kimberlyshursen.com/&usd=2&usg=ALhdy2-uex70LjIEkr9CbwWbuB4zDHIOKw" target="_blank">http://www.kimberlyshursen.com/</a></b></span></span></div>
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Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-405075729444495802.post-38320748802122656492014-10-24T12:00:00.000-04:002014-10-24T12:28:43.051-04:00@MargaretWestlie Shares an #Excerpt from ANNA'S SECRET #AmReading #Historical #Mystery<div class="Bodyparagraph" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-CA">Angus
trudged toward home after accompanying Sam to his own gate. The moon
had risen and the countryside around was a shifting panorama of shadow
and light. Presently he reached his own gate and stood for a moment
gazing across the fields that were his farm. It’s a shame that this
land’ll likely grow up in trees when we’re gone. I regret not having a
son. I have no one to leave my property to, and the fields that I
stopped farming two years ago are already going back to woods. I had
thought to leave it to young Donald, him being my closest relative after
Ian, but I don’t know anymore, the way he’s behaving. The gate clicked
shut behind him and he started down the lane, his pace quickening as he
caught sight of the soft glow of candle light from his kitchen windows.
He could picture Mary there, darning a sock or hemming a winter shirt
for him and humming one of the old songs, and he felt warmed by it. He
slipped quietly into the candle-shadowy kitchen and stood for a moment
watching her work. She sensed his presence and looked up from her
mending, and smiled.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="Bodyparagraph" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-CA">“You’re home, then,” she said with satisfaction. </span><span lang="EN-CA">…</span></span></span></div>
<div class="Bodyparagraph" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-CA">Mary looked at him keenly. “What’s troubling you?”</span></span></span></div>
<div class="Bodyparagraph" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-CA">Angus
met her bright gaze. “I was just thinking about all the unhappiness
that Anna’s death has caused us, and we’re no nearer to finding out who
did it than the day it was done.”</span></span></span></div>
<div class="Bodyparagraph" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-CA">“Did you see Ian this evening?” Mary picked up her work again.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="Bodyparagraph" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-CA">“No,
but I saw the work of Donald, and it wasn’t good.” The chair squeaked
as Angus shifted his position. “D’you know that young rascal paid Little
Rory and James tuppence each to tie up Catherine’s cats together by the
tails and hang them over the clothesline?” Indignation filled his
voice. “The poor beasts were that frantic by the time I got there to
free them! They’ll never be the same again.”</span></span></span></div>
<div class="Bodyparagraph" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-CA">“Oh,
dear-o! And she always made such pets of them. They were like her
children. She’d have them in the house and everything. She’ll be
heartbroken if they were hurt. </span><span lang="EN-CA">… </span><span lang="EN-CA">I wonder where Donald got four pence to give away? I didn’t know Ian paid him.”</span></span></span></div>
<div class="Bodyparagraph" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-CA">“Well,
that’s just it, where did he get the money? I’m wondering myself if I
should tell Ian about this. He’s got enough to contend with now. What
d’you think, Mary?”</span></span></span></div>
<div class="Bodyparagraph" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-CA">Mary
considered this in silence for a few moments, her hands idle in her
lap. “It’s true enough that he’s got his hands full, but he can’t remedy
the situation without all the facts. I don’t think it would be a
kindness to keep this from him. It may be something that needs nipping
in the bud. Donald may be heading for some real trouble that perhaps
could be prevented if his father knew.” She took up her mending again,
and settled her glasses more firmly on the end of her nose.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="Bodyparagraph" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-CA">Angus
looked across at her as she bent her grey head to her task, her
work-roughened hands always so capable, neatly hemming a patch on his
trousers that would make them serve another year. A great love for his
wife filled his heart and he leaned over and kissed her wrinkled cheek, a
rare expression of caring from an undemonstrative man. “You’re a good
and wise woman, Mary,” he said.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="Bodyparagraph" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-CA">She smiled back at him. “And I’m married to a good man.”</span></span></span></div>
<div class="Bodyparagraph" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-CA"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div class="Bodyparagraph" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-CA"><img src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/annasSecret.jpg" /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Anna
Gillis, the midwife and neighbour in Mattie’s Story, has been found
killed. The close-knit community is deeply shaken by this eruption of
violence, and neighbours come together to help one another and to
discover the perpetrator. But the answer lies Anna’s secret, long
guarded by Old Annie, the last of the original Selkirk Settlers, and the
protagonist of An Irregular Marriage. Join the community! Read Anna’s
Secret and other novels by Margaret A. Westlie.</span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy Now @ <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IEEXUMO" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Amazon</a> & <a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/418795" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Smashwords</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre – Fiction, mystery, historical</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – G</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Margaret-Westlie/e/B00HZRKK10" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <b>Connect</b> with Margaret Westlie on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/margaretwestlienovelist" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Facebook</a> & <a href="https://twitter.com/MargaretWestlie" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Twitter</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Website <a class="in-cell-link" href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.margaretwestlie.com&usd=2&usg=ALhdy29ilE1Iu2yMnk-3FJ1ZhE-qq3C3Qg" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://www.margaretwestlie.com</a></b></span></span></div>
Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-405075729444495802.post-62095595125767623402014-10-14T08:00:00.000-04:002014-10-23T10:03:07.568-04:00@MarcADiGiacomo on Marriage & Saving Someone's Life #AmWriting #AmReading #Thriller<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">10 Things You Didn’t Know About Marc A. DiGiacomo</span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">1) I am a real New York Police Detective (retired) who worked for a small town.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">2) In A Small Town was my first published work but it isn’t my first story.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">3) I am a huge fan of the band Pearl Jam, In A Small Town, is a shortened title of one of their songs.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">4) I have saved someone’s life.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">5) I have a dog named Lola, she’s really sweet, sometimes.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">6) My favorite time of year is the fall.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">7) My favorite NFL team is the Miami Dolphins.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">8) Unlike Matt Longo, I can never remember any of my dreams.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">9) I married my high school sweetheart.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">10) I can eat an entire watermelon, as long as it’s perfectly sweet.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
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<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13.3333339691162px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: auto; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a data-mce-href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/backintown.jpg" href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/backintown.jpg"><img alt="backintown" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-42265" data-mce-src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/backintown.jpg" src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/backintown.jpg" height="200" width="130" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
The
small town of Hutchville, New York is turned upside down. No longer is
it the quaint, sleepy, suburb of New York City. Detective Matt Longo is
back on the job and embroiled in his latest nightmare. Further
complicating matters is the revelation of his partner’s corruption and
organized crime ties; Donny Mello has left a bitter trail of lies and
deceit. With his kid brother and newly promoted Detective Franny Longo
by his side, will Matt be able to put his past behind him?<br />
<br />
Special
Agent Cynthia Shyler, (F.B.I.) has been reassigned due to her meeting
with Matt Longo. Will this move complicate their relationship? Or will a
new stranger in town spin a web that entangles the entire Hutchville
Police Department, especially our most seasoned detective, Matt Longo?</div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000;" style="color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy Now @ <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Back-Town-Small-Series-Book-ebook/dp/B00KWE2PK2/ref=pd_sim_kstore_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=18M6XPX181RWK0SA250N" href="http://www.amazon.com/Back-Town-Small-Series-Book-ebook/dp/B00KWE2PK2/ref=pd_sim_kstore_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=18M6XPX181RWK0SA250N">Amazon</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000;" style="color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre – Thriller</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000;" style="color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – R</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000;" style="color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&field-author=Marc%20A.%20DiGiacomo&search-alias=digital-text&sort=relevancerank" href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&field-author=Marc%20A.%20DiGiacomo&search-alias=digital-text&sort=relevancerank" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000;" style="color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="font-weight: bold ! important;">Connect</b> with Marc A. DiGiacomo on <a data-mce-href="https://facebook.com/MarcADiGiacomo" href="https://facebook.com/MarcADiGiacomo">Facebook</a> & <a data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/MarcADiGiacomo" href="https://twitter.com/MarcADiGiacomo" target="_blank">Twitter</a></span></span></div>
Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-405075729444495802.post-1644387497860557112014-10-11T09:30:00.000-04:002015-03-15T01:47:11.696-04:00Craig Staufenberg Shares His Pet Peeves of the Publishing Industry @YouMakeArtDumb #AmWriting<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Pet Peeves of the Publishing Industry</b></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I’m
annoyed by how nice everyone in the publishing is. Really. I’m sure
there are some rude people, but I haven’t encountered them. Only nice
folks, and that makes it hard to dislike the publishing industry as a
whole. It’s much easier when you see “publishing” as this monolithic
beast with a stranglehold on creativity, especially your own creativity.
But that’s just not the case.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Which means there are two realities you have to face about publishing.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">One,
that it’s not out to get you. It’s not prejudiced against you. If it
rejects you there are reasons for doing so, and not because the people
are mean, jealous and spiteful.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Two,
the publishing industry is trying to do something very, very difficult.
Namely promote art, entertainment, and creativity, all while still
keeping the lights on. Anyone who has tried to support themselves via
their creative output knows how difficult this is. Now multiply that
difficulty—think about trying to support an entire company, or even an
entire industry, on creative work. It’s insanity, and I’m surprised
publishing companies have been as successful as they have.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Really,
think about it for a second. We’re not talking about selling widgets
here. We aren’t talking about the success of an industry that sells
bathroom cleaner. There’s nothing predictable about books. As long as
the bathroom cleaner works, and as long as you market it, then you’re
going to do alright. The same can’t be said about books. Even if a book
is good, and even if you market it, there’s no guarantee it’s going to
sell enough to warrant its investment. Now consider the fact bathroom
cleaner companies don’t have to reinvent their product hundreds of times
a year, and publishing companies do, and you see it’s sheer madness
this whole industry works at all.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">OK,
it’s not a perfect analogy. The way publishing company’s sell their
back catalogue and the works of established authors operates a lot like
selling widgets. Pretty reliable. But still, publishing is trying to do
something very challenging—balancing the demands of art and commerce,
which have, as Linds Redding noted in his must-read post, always been
strange bedfellows. Especially since publishing companies need <i>hits</i> to
thrive and not merely survive, and these companies are completely
unable to predict what the next hit is going to be. No one predicted
Twilight. No one predicted Fifty Shades of Grey. Or Harry Potter.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In
fact, when it comes to the book trade, the only people who have an even
harder time than publishing companies are the authors themselves. While
publishing companies are able to spread their bets across a large
number of different books a year, even an ultra-prolific author isn’t
going to crank out more than a few. The odds a publishing company will
hit a home run on any given year is much higher than the odds a single
author will.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Which,
I suppose, is my biggest pet peeve of the publishing companies. They
survive, while many, if not most, of their authors who fail. An author
can spend their whole life writing books that don’t do spectacularly
well, and that author could easily live a lower compensated, less
comfortable, and less protected life than the employees and owners
running the publishing companies. Publishers take on much smaller risks
than authors. Publishers make small financial gambles, while authors bet
their lives. Yet publishers have much higher upside than authors.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Bear
in mind, this is an institutional issue. No evil genius thought this
up. It’s how pretty much every large creative industry operates—from
books to movies to music. But we’re not powerless here. And I’d like to
see a publishing industry where the authors themselves are better
rewarded, or at least better protected, than the companies that publish
them, as the authors, always, are putting much more on the line.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/The-Girl-Who-Came-Back-to-Life.jpg" /></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When
you die, your spirit wakes in the north, in the City of the Dead.
There, you wander the cold until one of your living loved ones finds
you, says “Goodbye,” and Sends you to the next world. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">After her parents die, 12-year-old
Sophie refuses to release their spirits. Instead, she resolves to travel
to the City of the Dead to bring her mother and father’s spirits back
home with her. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Taking the long pilgrimage north
with her gruff & distant grandmother—by train, by foot, by boat;
over ruined mountains and plains and oceans—Sophie struggles to return
what death stole from her. Yet the journey offers her many hard,
unexpected lessons—what to hold on to, when to let go, and who she must
truly bring back to life.</span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy Now @ <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Girl-Who-Came-Back-Life-ebook/dp/B00JQRR0JM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1402517344&sr=8-1&keywords=craig+staufenberg" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre – Middle Grade</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – PG-13</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Craig-Staufenberg/e/B00J4CHMX8/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Connect</b> with Craig Staufenberg through <a href="https://www.facebook.com/YouMakeArtDumb?ref=hl" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Facebook</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/YouMakeArtDumb" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Twitter</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Website <a class="in-cell-link" href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://craigstaufenberg.com/&usd=2&usg=ALhdy2-DrQ3iDj9YlxIz66ffrjCdBEDC8Q" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://craigstaufenberg.com/</a></b></span></span></div>
Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-405075729444495802.post-36652316976175633892014-10-11T07:00:00.000-04:002014-12-20T03:48:04.748-05:00DOUBT - INSIDE/OUTSIDE by @JennyHayworth1 #JehovahsWitness #Abuse #AmReading<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Imagine
that someone you love dies. You no longer can see them, speak to them,
or touch them or have any literal experience with them except within
your mind and heart. This is what being disfellowshipped or
disassociated from the Jehovah’s Witnesses means to those who are cut
off. They are treated as if they are dead to those remaining in it.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When
I was an active member of the Jehovah’s Witnesses and believed a
hundred percent in it, I had always believed what had been taught to us
from the platform by the elders and in <i>The Watchtower</i> magazine (published twice a month by <i>The Watchtower</i> Bible and Tract Society).</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I
believed that when baptised Jehovah’s Witnesses decided (because they
had bad hearts) that they no longer wished to be Jehovah’s Witnesses,
they would say to the elders that they no longer wished to be known as
Jehovah’s Witnesses. It was a totally voluntary process, I was taught,
and it occurred because these people wanted to do things that were
condemned by Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Bible and so no longer wanted
to continue being known as one. It was a voluntary separation on their
part from the organisation even though they would realise it would cause
enormous pain for their families.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Since these people knew that by choosing a lifestyle contrary to one Jehovah God wanted them to lead (as set forth by <i>The Watchtower</i> <i>Society</i>),
they knew their families would have to cut them off in obedience to the
scriptural direction given by the Apostle James on how to treat those
who left the fold. This was to treat them as if they were “dog[s]
returning to [their] vomit” as the scriptures put it.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The
families would not be allowed to speak to them, eat with them, or greet
them. In fact they were instructed to treat them as if they were no
longer living. If their families did associate with them and didn’t
repent for it after being given the opportunity to do so by loving
elders who would try to turn their hearts back to obedience to God’s
way, they also would be disfellowshipped.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The
elders saw disassociation as a choice made by a baptised person even
though both—disassociation and disfellowshipping—were treated in exactly
the same way. Disfellowshipped ones might have just made a mistake and
need to be punished for the behaviour in which they had engaged. So they
were often seen as not having <i>bad</i>hearts but as having been led
astray or needing to be shocked into realising the seriousness of their
actions. People could, however, commit any disfellowshipping sins, and
if they were expressing enough remorse or contrition they might not be
disfellowshipped.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Talks
were constantly being given from the platform about all the things one
could be disfellowshipped for including fornication, adultery,
homosexuality, and any sexual conduct considered “Unclean” or classified
as “pornea.” Also idolatry and celebrating worldly holidays (birthdays,
Christmas, Easter, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Halloween) were
considered disfellowshipping offences, as they were all pagan in origin.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">However,
when I asked the elders why witnesses like myself could wear white
wedding dresses and wedding rings, both of which were pagan in origin,
and asked who picked which historical customs were allowed to be
practised and which weren’t, they could not give me an adequate answer.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We just had to be obedient to the direction of <i>The Watchtower</i>,
and if they changed their understanding because of a “light” from God
in the future, we would be told. But in the meantime, we had to be
patient, be obedient, and wait.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">My
major doubts had surfaced while being reprimanded in New Zealand about
going to worldly counsellors for my children when they disclosed their
sexual abuse. I had not received counselling from anyone, and this had
not helped me. I knew deep inside myself that I had to get help for my
children other than just what the elders would provide. I didn’t want my
beautiful children to experience the extreme guilt and fear I had
experienced because of the abuse by Pop and all that flowed from it.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I
could not see how elders who were not trained as counsellors in any
way, shape, or form and had no formal education on sexual abuse victims
and how to counsel or treat them could have been better than trained
professionals. Also I could not see how, if someone broke the law of the
land by sexually abusing a child, only the elders and not the judicial
system should have dealt with him or her. I had scriptures quoted at me
at the time saying God appoints elders, so they are his representatives
on earth and not some worldly judging system that does not understand
the ways of God’s people.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Again
I could not see how, if police were not involved, the guilty person’s
just saying sorry to the elders would stop it from happening again or to
someone else. Who was accountable? If a member of the congregation
murdered someone, he or she had to go to the police and to court. Why
not those who committed sexual abuse and rape? Why were these lesser
crimes? Why did they not warrant criminal inquires?</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When
in Wellington, New Zealand, and taking the children to see the
counsellor, I had been disturbed by what I had seen happening in our own
congregation, where Leonard was involved as one of the elders. A young
girl disclosed past sexual abuse that had happened to her, committed by a
witness male friend who had worked for her father. She had stated he
had come into her room and raped her a few years previously, when she
had been about thirteen years old. Now that she was sixteen years old,
she had disclosed it.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The
accused had previously been married and had two daughters. The
daughters had disclosed sexual abuse, but they were still young, only
five or six years old. The ex-wife had gone to the police and was taking
the children to see the same sexual-abuse counsellor I was taking my
children to.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">She
didn’t know me, but I knew her as the two children had been at the
meetings with their abuser on access visits up until the disclosures had
been made. His ex-wife had been disfellowshipped, and he had remarried,
and his new wife was only seventeen years old and pregnant with their
first child. He had apparently written a letter of confession to the
elders. The police had requested to interview the head elder, known as
the Presiding Overseer of the congregation the accused attended. The
Presiding Overseer had come to our house to have an urgent meeting with
Leonard, who was then the Secretary of the congregation, and the
Treasurer. These were the three main elders in each congregation who
dealt with these matters.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As
the Presiding Overseer was leaving the house, he said the letter had to
be destroyed at all costs, as he had spoken to a solicitor and it was
up to the prosecution to prove guilt—he did not have to supply evidence
that would incriminate the accused. He also spoke about how he believed
that the confidentiality of a confession to elders should be considered
the same as the Catholic Church did it, and no elder should therefore
have been forced to tell a policeman or court what had been disclosed by
a member of the flock to him.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">He
was saying if the letter was found, the brother would most certainly be
found guilty (he had pled not guilty in court) and would spend a long
time in prison. As he was very repentant and had promised not to do it
again, and had responded to the counselling of the elders, they needed
to protect their flock.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It sickened me to listen to them talk. I instinctively thought, <i>but
what about protecting his children and his unborn child? What about
the children from the congregation who went to his house?</i> The young
girl had been counselled by the elders not to say anything to anyone.
She came in distress to see me one day after arguing with her witness
mother, with whom she had a volatile relationship, and said he had been
made to apologise to her, so it was all meant to be okay now.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I
knew from my own experience as an elder’s wife and from visiting other
elders and their wives that rarely was anything kept as confidential as
the congregation was repeatedly told it was. I knew that within a few
days, every one of the elders and their wives would know what had been
said and discussed, and all who were close to them as friends would be
told. There was no confidentiality, in my experience. I didn’t want what
had happened to my children and any disclosures I made to be dinner
talk around people’s tables. I couldn’t bear for that to happen. So I
just knew I had to go outside the congregation.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The
most important reason, though, stemmed back to my childhood fear and
memories. Hearing the talk given from the platform when I was a child
about the scriptures in the Old Testament that said if a woman was raped
in the field and didn’t cry out, she was guilty of adultery and was to
be stoned to death, frightened me enormously. I had frozen when Pop
abused me. I had been unable to move due to fear at times when I was in
the bath, in the cupboard, or under the bed. During what had happened on
the tennis court, the leadenness in my legs prevented me from moving,
and the fear up tight in my throat and chest meant I was unable to
scream or make a sound; I had a total inability to fight back as I was
immobilised by fear.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I
had spoken to Amy and Ben’s counsellor, and she had been quite
forthcoming in explaining that children can fight, flight, or freeze.
And abusers often picked those they felt would not fight back but would
freeze or comply for many varying reasons, but it certainly did not mean
the children wished it to happen.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">At
the time of Benjamin and Amy’s being abused, there was a case getting
media coverage involving a woman in the United States, where a man had
been found <i>not</i> guilty of rape due to the fact she had made him
use a condom in the middle of raping her. Some of the local elders said
this showed willingness and compliance. The woman had awoken to find a
man on top of her, who she did not know, with a knife held to her
throat. She had condoms in her drawer. When she realised he was going to
rape her, she begged him to put on a condom as she was so frightened of
getting HIV or another venereal disease. He put it on. Then he left
afterward. She went to the police, and it had gone all the way through
to trial. He was found not guilty because of the condom use. I was
outraged.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I
thought, here was a woman having enough wits about her to protect
herself in any small way she could, even in the process of being
violated by a stranger with a knife, and because she didn’t fight him,
as she wished to survive, and he complied and wore a condom, it was
taken as consensual? I was horrified. Many Jehovah’s Witnesses I
associated with agreed with the court finding as it concurred with the
biblical teaching we’d had drummed into us.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Another
case was also in the media of a woman who did not scream or resist as
the man had broken in and had a knife, but she had a young daughter
asleep in the bed next to her. So she lay quietly and did what he said,
as she was terrified if her daughter woke up she also would be assaulted
or otherwise hurt. The man left, and because the woman had not
screamed, the issue of consent arose. I argued vehemently with the
elders that surviving was the most important thing, and no one in their
right mind could think she gave consent when it was a stranger with a
knife held to her. They kept parroting the scripture, though, as if they
were unable to think outside the box.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Even
when discussing this same issue with my friends, Lisa and Matthew, I
would get frustrated. Matthew said if someone broke into his house, and
his wife didn’t scream, he would wonder why. Lisa replied instantly that
of course she would scream. I put to her that if she were so terrified
she couldn’t run or make any noise, would that mean she consented? She
couldn’t give an answer except to say she <i>would</i> scream, and it
wouldn’t happen that she wouldn’t. And then they said God wouldn’t have
put that in the Bible if it were not reasonable.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I
was upset and angry, to say the least. I could not believe that, as
scientific evidence clearly showed, a person has no control over his or
her physical reaction to fear. So why would God punish people for that? I
repeatedly said to the elders that I didn’t believe in a God that
treated people like that, and that <i>The Watchtower</i>’s interpretation of those scriptures must have been wrong.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">One
day an elder came to the house and lent me a few books and magazines he
had in regard to biblical questions I had raised. I read them, but they
gave me no new answers that satisfied me—nothing besides what I had
already found out through studying the society’s literature myself. I
had them for a while and then one day put them in Leonard’s briefcase
for him to give to the elder at the next meeting. I rang the elder to
let him know Leonard would be giving them back, as I was not attending
many meetings at that stage. I felt like I would be a hypocrite if I
continued to go door to door, trying to convert people to a faith with
some doctrines I no longer accepted. I also was spending my time trying
to cope with my marriage issues and my own emotional state.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The
elder asked me if I had found the magazines useful, and when I thanked
him for giving them to me but stated they had not answered my queries,
he enquired if he would see me at the field service group that Saturday.
I said no and said that as I no longer went witnessing, I no longer
considered myself to be a witness. He went quiet and asked me to repeat
that statement. As we were repeatedly told from the platform, if we did
not go door to door then we were not witnesses for Jehovah. I again
stated to the elder that as it had been months since I had been in field
service, I did not consider myself a witness anymore.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The
conversation ended pleasantly enough, and I thought no more of it. At
the time I didn’t realise this innocent phone conversation, which had
taken only two minutes, would alter the course of my whole life.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">If I had known, I might have paid more attention.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/insideOutside.jpg" /></span></span></div>
<div id="postBodyPS" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">***Award winning book (finalist) in 2014 Beverley Hills International Book Awards***</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Jenny
Hayworth grew up within the construct of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, which
she describes as a fundamentalist cult-like religion. She devoted her
life to it for over thirty years. Then she left it. The church
“unfellowshipped” her-rendering her dead to those family and friends
still committed to the church.Hayworth is a sexual abuse survivor. The
trauma changed her self-perception, emotional development, trust, and
every interaction with the world.</span></span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Inside/Outside
is her exploration of sexual abuse, religious fundamentalism, and
recovery. Her childhood circumstances and tragedies forced her to live
“inside.” This memoir chronicles her journey from experiencing comfort
and emotional satisfaction only within her fantasy world to developing
the ability to feel and express real life emotion on the “outside.”</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It
is a story that begins with tragic multigenerational abuse, within an
oppressive society, and ends with hope and rebirth into a life where she
experiences real connections and satisfaction with the outside world.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Those
who have ever felt trapped by trauma or circumstances will find
Inside/Outside a dramatic reassurance that they are not alone in the
world, and they have the ability to have a fulfilling life, both inside
and out.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Foreward
Clarion Review – “What keeps the pages of Hayworth’s life story turning
is her honesty, tenacity, and sheer will to survive through an
astounding number of setbacks. Inside/Outside proves the resilience of
the human spirit and shows that the cycle of abuse can indeed be broken”</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Kirkus
Review – “A harrowing memoir of one woman’s struggle to cope with
sexual abuse and depression while living in – and eventually leaving –
the Jehovah’s Witnesses”</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Readers Favourite 5 Star Review – “The book is an inspiring story for those who are going through traumatic times…”</span></span></div>
</div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy Now @ <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Inside-Outside-Womans-Recovery-Religious-ebook/dp/B00I08IY3E/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=1-3&qid=1390284848&tag=booaremag-20" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre – Memoir</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – PG-13</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Jenny-Hayworth/e/B00HWV6K8Q/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Connect</b> with Jenny Hayworth on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jenny-Hayworth/201860833330961" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Facebook</a> & <a href="http://twitter.com/JennyHayworth1" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Twitter</a></span></span></div>
Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-405075729444495802.post-13933036189383089972014-10-09T09:30:00.000-04:002014-12-10T07:32:06.539-05:00A Day in the Life of Author Mikey D. B. @mikeydbii #AmReading #Dystopian #Thriller<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It
all begins at five in the morning. I wake up, make a protein packed
breakfast and watch parts of documentaries while I eat. I’ve watched
documentaries on Hitler, Bigfoot, social media conspiracies, economics,
magic, and basically anything I can find on Netflix that interests me at
the time. Anyway, after I eat/watch I finish getting ready for my day
and then make the drive to work.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sometimes
these drives to work are the best part of my day. Anytime before six
in the morning, the roads are desolate, the mornings are cool, sun is
usually rising, and it is just a good time to ponder about things.
There’s something about seeing a fresh new day begin that I love. Maybe
it’s because all the angry, muckiness of the world is still asleep. I
don’t know, but early mornings, as hard as they are to get up for, are
some of the best things to experience.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So,
after my morning drive, I head into my day job which consists of a lot
of heavy lifting and calculations of length. I work at a labeling
manufacturing business where I coat and die cut the various labels for
our clients. You’d be amazed at how heavy paper is. In rolls of 10,000
feet and sometimes more, these things can be up to two hundred pounds.
For the most part, I like my job. It’s a keep-to-yourself kind of job
and me being the anti-social one I can be, it gives me the opportunities
to listen to music and podcasts. In fact, a lot of my research for
books happens in my eight hour shifts at work. I download a set of
podcasts I think will be relevant to what I’m trying to write, and then I
listen to them. I really can’t ask for a better time because after I
get off work, my day doesn’t have a lot of wiggle room.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">After
my shift, which ends at about two in the afternoon, I bust my way on
over to the gym. My workouts are pretty intense, two mile runs at
least, three to four mile bike rides and then a half hour of heavy
weights. I’m really trying to get ready to compete in a triathlon, so
my workouts have to be pretty frequent or I’ll never train my body the
way it needs to be.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Now
this is where it gets kind of crazy. I’m a high school football coach
as well and practice starts at 4:30. So I have just enough time to work
out, rinse off, and get a quick bite before heading over to the school
to yell at kids. I love it! The sport, the atmosphere, the kids, the
other coaches I work with. It’s one of the best opportunities that I’ve
had come across my way. I was hesitant to take on the responsibility
at first, with the craziness of my writing and work as it is, but it’s
seasonal and I couldn’t pass up the chance to get back into the sport.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Practice
lasts until about seven, I get home at about eight, eat, and maybe get
some writing in. Mostly though, I’ll wind down and watch an episode of
the office with my wife or we’ll just talk and read together. The
evenings, like my mornings, are a chance for me to think, process what’s
happened in the day. Maybe write them in my journal if I have enough
to say. After or before the hustle and craziness of the day, it’s in
these times when I’ll turn to my scriptures to get guidance, peace, and
reassurance (or chastisement—it all depends on what my attitude has been
that day).</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">After
having wrote this, I realize how packed my day is. I think the
important thing, no matter how busy we are, is we need to make sure we
have our priorities in the right place. For me, it’s: God, Family,
Country. I know if I put God first, that’ll only strengthen my resolve
to take care of my family, and if I know my family is taken care of, I
know I can then make decisions to take care of my country and community.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Saga-of-the-Nine.jpg" href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Saga-of-the-Nine.jpg"><img alt="Saga of the Nine" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-41059" data-mce-src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Saga-of-the-Nine.jpg" src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Saga-of-the-Nine.jpg" height="200" width="130" /></a></span></span></div>
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<div id="postBodyPS">
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Change
affects everyone and it is no different for Jackson. Living in Area 38
for as long as he can remember, he knows of no better way to exist than
under the tyrannical rule of Christopher Stone, son of Stewart Stone
from The Nine of The United Governmental Areas, aka The UGA. This all
takes a dramatic turn when Jackson finds a red, metal box buried in his
yard, filled with illegal artifacts—journals, a Bible, CDs, etc.—that
are from a man of whom he has no recollection of: Mica Rouge.</span></span></div>
<div id="postBodyPS">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> The
year is 2036 and Mica, unlike Jackson, does know of a better way of
life but is torn apart as he sees his country, The United States of
America, crumbling from within by group known as The Political Mafia.
The Mafia has infiltrated levels upon levels of governmental resources
and it is up to Mica and a vigilante group known as The USA Division to
stop them and their dark Utopian vision. To their demise, and at the
country's expense, The Division fails and has no choice but to watch The
Constitution dissolve and transform into The UGA.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In
a final stand, having not given up hope, Mica and what is left of The
Division, give one final fight in Colorado, or better known as Area 38.
However, all is lost as The Division is betrayed by one of their own,
Stewart Stone. Mica is left with no choice but to hide in exile, leaving
what little history he can of himself and the great United States of
America, with his wife, long time friends, and newly born son in hopes
that they will one day finish what he could not.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Jackson,
having found this legacy twenty-seven years later, decides to start the
war that will end The Nine, and he with an outcast group known as The
Raiders, begins his fight with Christopher Stone in Area 38. Filled with
betrayal, unity, despair, hope, hate and love Area 38 follows both Mica
and Jackson in their attempts to restore what they believe to be true
freedom, and where one fails, the other rises to the seemingly
impossible challenge.</span></span></div>
</div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy Now @ <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Saga-Nine-Mikey-D-B-ebook/dp/B00I3I8R9W/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1391036693&sr=1-1&keywords=mikey+d.+b." href="http://www.amazon.com/Saga-Nine-Mikey-D-B-ebook/dp/B00I3I8R9W/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1391036693&sr=1-1&keywords=mikey+d.+b." target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre – Dystopian Thriller</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – PG13</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&field-author=Mikey%20D.%20B.&search-alias=digital-text&sort=relevancerank" href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&field-author=Mikey%20D.%20B.&search-alias=digital-text&sort=relevancerank" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Connect</b> with Mikey D. B. on <a data-mce-href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mikey-D-B/193122724228568?ref=hl" href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mikey-D-B/193122724228568?ref=hl" target="_blank">Facebook</a> &<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/mikeydbii" href="https://twitter.com/mikeydbii" target="_blank">Twitter</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Website <a class="in-cell-link" data-mce-href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.mikeydb.com&usd=2&usg=ALhdy29rFXKoKCy5nHRPTeDOI1JD41dROQ" href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.mikeydb.com&usd=2&usg=ALhdy29rFXKoKCy5nHRPTeDOI1JD41dROQ" target="_blank">www.mikeydb.com</a></b></span></span></div>
Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-405075729444495802.post-56272121399178480832014-10-03T11:30:00.000-04:002014-12-11T10:22:54.622-05:00S.A. Snow on Everyone Struggles With Procrastination @BooksbySnow #Scifi #Erotica #WriteTip<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Beware the Procrastination Demons</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Have
you ever heard that poem the Jabberwocky? It’s one of my favorites. I
even wrote a short story around it once, to an extent. “Beware the
Jabberwock, my son! The jaws the bite, the claws that catch!”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Jabberwock is procrastination.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I
honestly do not believe in writer’s block. I simply think it’s a form
of procrastination and people just don’t know to get around it. They
become so good at it that they can’t figure out which way to even start.
Well, the news flash is in!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Put
your fingers on the keyboard, pick up that pen and just start going!
You can’t edit a blank page, you can’t share a story that hasn’t been
written. Procrastination is that little voice in your head telling you
that you can’t do it, and the fact of the matter is, you are the only
person in the way of yourself.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Stop
putting the blame on someone else, stop finding excuses (there’s a
saying I’m going to share...excuses are like armpits; everyone has two
and they both stink!), and get your butt in gear and write that story!
It’s important. It matters! It’ll make you feel good!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Everyone
struggles with procrastination. Know you are NOT alone. I have issues
with it, and so does the next person. The trick to avoiding it is
finding out how to motivate yourself. Sometimes I use websites like
Write or Die by Dr Wicked in order to motivate me (and yes, I use the
Kamikaze level where it deletes your writing if you don’t write fast
enough), I use accountability partners, friends who are allowed to yell
at me, and sometimes it’s as simple as just scheduling the time to write
at the same place/same time during the day every day.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Find
what works for you. And sometimes, when the Jabberwock is really after
you, you might need to try something new. Sit in the bathtub with
pillows and lock the door. Go outside to the park and only bring a
notebook, pen and the last two lines you have written. Go to Starbucks
with a writer friend, put in headphones and stare at the computer vowing
not to talk to your friend. Hide under the covers on your bed with the
laptop on your lap and type away. Take your laptop to your car, park in a
lot where there is no wifi and pretend you ran out of gas and are
waiting on AAA to come to your rescue in their big white truck.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Be
creative in your ways to avoid procrastination, and you’ll find your
creativity won’t stop flowing. You’ll have slain the Jabberwock with the
very bite and catch it dealt you.</span></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/AcrossWorldsCollision.jpg" href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/AcrossWorldsCollision.jpg"><img alt="AcrossWorldsCollision" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-40725" data-mce-src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/AcrossWorldsCollision.jpg" src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/AcrossWorldsCollision.jpg" height="200" width="130" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Jane expected six months undercover to be hard; she expected it to be lonely and bleak. She didn’t expect to find love. <br data-mce-style="color: #000000;" /><br data-mce-style="color: #000000;" />Jane
Butler, a CIA operative, is assigned the task of infiltrating the
Xanthians and determining if they’re a threat to humanity. Going
undercover as a Xanthian mate, she boards the transport ship and meets
Usnavi—her new mate. After spending six days traveling through space,
Jane is ecstatic to explore the Xanthian station and soon sets out to
complete her mission. The only problem? Usnavi—and the feelings she is
quickly developing. <br data-mce-style="color: #000000;" /><br data-mce-style="color: #000000;" />Fumbling
their way through varying sexual expectations, cooking catastrophes,
and cultural differences, they soon discover life together is never
boring. As Jane and Usnavi careen into a relationship neither of them
expected, Jane uncovers dark secrets about the Xanthians and realizes
she may no longer be safe. When it becomes clear she’s on her own, Jane
is forced to trust and rely on Usnavi. Simultaneously struggling with
her mission, her feelings for Usnavi, and homesickness, Jane faces
questions she never imagined she would have to answer.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy Now @ <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Across-Worlds-Collision-S-Snow-ebook/dp/B00MANJM2M" href="http://www.amazon.com/Across-Worlds-Collision-S-Snow-ebook/dp/B00MANJM2M" target="_blank">Amazon</a> &<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/435337" href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/435337" target="_blank">Smashwords</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre – Blended Science Fiction, Erotica</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – NC17</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/S.-A.-Snow/e/B00MARDKL2/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1" href="http://www.amazon.com/S.-A.-Snow/e/B00MARDKL2/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Connect</b> with S. A. Snow on <a data-mce-href="http://www.facebook.com/booksbysnow" href="http://www.facebook.com/booksbysnow" target="_blank">Facebook</a></span></span></div>
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Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-405075729444495802.post-59965342307721263662014-10-02T10:00:00.000-04:002014-10-02T10:00:02.298-04:00Erin Sands on Having a Second Chance at #Life @TheDunesBook #NonFiction #AmReading <div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>Confessions of a Time Traveler</b></span></i><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What
if you had a chance to do it over again? By “it”, I mean your life.
What if you could go back in time and make a different choice? Right a
wrong. Say “yes” instead of saying “no” or vice versa. Would you do it?
I’m not offering, I don’t really have a time machine; just a very vivid
imagination and a wisdom born from lessons learned the hard way. So
indulge me for a moment while I take a ride back in time, ten years ago
to be exact and find that younger version of me, sit her down and give
myself the advice only the future me could provide.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Eat Better</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As
cliché as it may sound, the first thing I would tell myself is, “You’ve
got to eat more vegetables, preferably raw. I know, I know, you’re in a
season where you can eat a cheeseburger everyday, three times a day and
it has no affect whatsoever on your weight or immediate well-being but
trust me it will. Ten years from now when your hormones change and
things slow down you will wish like heck that you started eating
healthier sooner. So take my advice and do it today”.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Save Money</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ten
years ago, a great pair of shoes had just as much importance as my
rent. Ten years later, I know better. The second thing I would tell
myself is to save money. “No matter how hard it seems, no matter what
budget you may be on at the moment, each week, every pay check, put away
some money. Gaining discipline over your finances will be an
immeasurable help to you in the future and for years to come”.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Be Fearless</b></span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The
lesson that I would absolutely impart to my younger self is to never
let fear motivate any of my decisions. “Don’t say “yes” to something
just because you’re afraid you will never get the chance again. Don’t
say “no” just because you’re afraid of what might happen. Follow your
joy and let peace be your guide. When you pursue your passion and walk
in your purpose, you will not go wrong”.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Seize the Day</b></span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ten
years ago my goal was to be fluent in Spanish. Ten years later, I still
have that same goal. The reason why I’m not fluent in Spanish is
because I kept putting it off for some day. Some day I will have more
time, some day I will find the perfect teacher. Some day never came. I
would tell my younger self that “some day” is not a day of the week and
anything that is worth experiencing is worth making time for. Seize the
day!</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Then
I would give myself a hug and say, “Hey, even though you’re learning
some lessons the hard way, your future is bright. You married a great
guy, you wrote an awesome book and that was just the beginning…”</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a data-mce-href="http://bit.ly/1pwryZK" href="http://bit.ly/1pwryZK">http://bit.ly/1pwryZK</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/dunesfinalSB.jpg" href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/dunesfinalSB.jpg"><img alt="5DmkII_2226" class="aligncenter wp-image-40866" data-mce-src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/5DmkII_2226-198x300.jpg" src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/5DmkII_2226-198x300.jpg" height="193" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="127" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Born
in Cincinnati, Ohio and raised in the Bay Area of Northern California,
Erin grew up with an innate love for dance, theatre and the written
word. A graduate of Loyola Marymount University, Erin began her career
in the arts as an actress and choreographer. After booking several
notable roles in television and film, Erin began to use her gift of
writing in blogs featuring political and social commentary, as well as
developing content for theatrical use.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Although<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>The Dunes</i>,
is a divine departure from Erin’s previous writings it is by far her
most cherished work to date. “I wrote The Dunes initially as self
therapy because I needed to release some painful experiences and
disappointments from my past. I had this thirst to walk in the complete
fullness of life with joy as my constant companion. I had no idea what
effect it would have on other people. But when I saw people read it and
be released from fears that had held them back for years…when I saw
people forgive and be able to walk in the freedom forgiveness
brings…when I saw people commit and serve and how those things opened up
new opportunities in their life, I was just humbled. Humbled by the
awesome power of God and humbled that I had been allowed to go along for
the ride”.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When asked<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>why</i><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>she
writes, Erin pauses and reflects on the truth of her heart. “I write
because although I am only now beginning to truly love the process, I
have always loved the outcome. Like a composer, words become my notes. I
string them together in song eliciting the response of my reader,
grafting a picture of my soul. Where besides the written word can you
effect change so utterly and so succinctly? What besides the written
word can pierce the universal collective mind? Everything begins with a
thought, but it isn’t until that thought is articulated in written word
and those words passed down can life changing movement happen. It must
be written, it must be expressed on tablet, and when it is, we all
become greater, whether the writing be genius or fatuity, it has evoked
thought and debate. Why wouldn’t I want to be apart of that phenomenon?
Why wouldn’t I want to share my story, give my testimony…add my paradigm
to the mix? Whether it is a novel, a poem, an essay or an article, it
is humanity visited. An insight into a new or sometimes shared truth.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><b>In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God and the word was God.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></b>And with that I live my life”.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/dunesfinalSB.jpg" href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/dunesfinalSB.jpg"><br /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Dune.jpg" href="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Dune.jpg"><img alt="Dune" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-40719" data-mce-src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Dune.jpg" src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Dune.jpg" height="200" width="130" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">If there was a journey that could masterfully change your life in seven revelations...would you take it? <br data-mce-style="color: #000000;" /><br data-mce-style="color: #000000;" />In
life, sometimes the kernels of wisdom and the richness of revelation
can be found in the most innocent of stories; and so it is with The
Dunes. Join one man and one woman in an exquisitely simple yet
remarkably profound journey as you discover with them that the mountain
you must climb in order to live the abundant life of your dreams is
located squarely within your heart. <br data-mce-style="color: #000000;" /><br data-mce-style="color: #000000;" />Illuminated
in seven revelations; The Dunes carries the reader on a journey to not
only examine the obstacles that are holding them back in life but to
conquer and over come them as well. With each revelation The Dunes
intimately calls on the reader as the journey companion to face a
challenge…a dare if you will that requires an uncompromising commitment
to change. In the family of faith-based self help books, The Dunes
stands alone, simultaneously taking the reader from fiction to life and
back again, equipped with a tailor made journal for the readers inner
most secrets and reflections. The Dunes is part allegory, part testimony
and part journal, but the best part is the healing it offers your
heart. When you’re ready to step out of your comfort zone and step into
the miracle of your life…The Dunes awaits. <br data-mce-style="color: #000000;" /><br data-mce-style="color: #000000;" />CAUTION:
Readers of this book are subject to significant changes for the better.
Side effects may include frequent smiling and enjoying life in every
season.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy Now @ <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Dunes-Release-Fears-Restore-Renew-ebook/dp/B00KO43L2Q/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=8-1&qid=1403131233" href="http://www.amazon.com/Dunes-Release-Fears-Restore-Renew-ebook/dp/B00KO43L2Q/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=8-1&qid=1403131233" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre – Non-fiction</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – G</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Erin-Sands/e/B00M5ZWIM6/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1" href="http://www.amazon.com/Erin-Sands/e/B00M5ZWIM6/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Connect</b> with Erin Sands on <a data-mce-href="https://www.facebook.com/thedunesbook" href="https://www.facebook.com/thedunesbook" target="_blank">Facebook</a> &<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://www.twitter.com/thedunesbook" href="http://www.twitter.com/thedunesbook" target="_blank">Twitter</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" data-mce-style="color: #000000; text-align: center;" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Website <a class="in-cell-link" data-mce-href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.thedunesbook.com&usd=2&usg=ALhdy29-Z7bqviUDISeSGG7sYWToCfcGIg" href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.thedunesbook.com&usd=2&usg=ALhdy29-Z7bqviUDISeSGG7sYWToCfcGIg" target="_blank">www.thedunesbook.com</a></b></span></span></div>
Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-405075729444495802.post-37833536789877923682014-09-16T11:30:00.000-04:002014-09-17T18:01:31.079-04:00Lights Over Emerald Creek #Excerpt by @ShelleyDavidow #AmReading #SciFi #YA<h1 style="background-color: white; line-height: 40px; margin: 10px 0px; text-align: left; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
<span style="background-color: magenta;">The Phonecall</span></span></span></h1>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">‘Hi this is Lucy.’</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">‘Lucy,
it’s Jonathan. So glad you’re there.’ The roundness and beauty of rocky
hills and misty lochs sounded in his voice. It was a young voice, but
had an edge of manhood about it. He wasn’t a boy.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Warmth seeped from the top of her head, into her heart.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">‘That’s nice of you to call,’ she said, desperately casual. ‘What time is it there?’</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">‘It’s
almost seven,’ he said. ‘But I’ve been up for hours.’ She liked the way
he rolled his ‘r’s. ‘I can hear the sun in your voice,’ he said.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">‘Really?’ she laughed. ‘But it’s been raining all day!’</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">He laughed too. ‘I can still hear it. It must be warm there.’</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">‘Yeah, sticky and hot. But I want to know everything. Is this going to be expensive for you?’</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">‘Not at all. In fact I have this calling card that’s a really good deal. I can call you cheaper than I can call my neighbours.’</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">‘What
does it look like in Scotland today?’ Lucy said, nervously winding a
pipe of hair around her finger and then sticking the end into her mouth.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">‘It’s
grey, and it’s freezing. The Firth of Forth is foaming and frothy, and
beating the land into shape, fed by the cold North Sea. The clouds are
low and dense. People are really grumpy as they huddle against the wind
and drag themselves to work. But I’m lucky … I’m all bundled up in my
pyjamas listening to cheesy eighties music in my grandpa-slippers,
drinking hot tea and talking to a girl with a beautiful sunny voice on
the other side of the world.’</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Lucy felt herself blush.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">‘What’s Australia like today?’</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">‘It’s
hot. Probably thirty-four degrees. That’s Celsius. Humid too. Been
raining all this time. From my window I can see two Kookaburras — I gave
them names a while back — Kevin and Evan. My dog Jaffa’s at my feet.
The hills are green outside and … I don’t know …’ she laughed. ‘Is this
small talk and should we get to the point?’</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Jonathan laughed too. ‘If you like. Kookaburras. I can hardly imagine.’</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">‘Yeah,
sometimes if you give Kevin a juicy bit of sausage outside our kitchen
and you time it right you can gently stroke his back as he eats. You
have to be fast though. Sneak in a cuddle before he turns his beak on
you.’</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">‘I’m jealous,’ Jonathan said. ‘Well, I wish I could see you Lucy. No chance of Skype?’</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">‘Nope.’</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">‘Maybe
it’s better you don’t see me anyway, I’m as pale as an albino earthworm
after months without sun. But I’d like to see you, if I could.’</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">‘Well, that wouldn’t be fair, would it?’</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">‘I suppose not. Would you send me a picture? Email it?’</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">‘Only if you send me one at the exact same time,’ she said smiling. ‘Whether you’re an earthworm or not.’</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/LightsOverEmeraldCreek.jpg" /></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Lucy
Wright, sixteen and a paraplegic after a recent car accident that took
her mother’s life, lives in Queensland on a 10,000 acre farm with her
father. When Lucy investigates strange lights over the creek at the
bottom of the property, she discovers a mystery that links the lights to
the science of cymatics and Scotland’s ancient Rosslyn Chapel.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But
beyond the chapel is an even larger mystery. One that links the music
the chapel contains to Norway’s mysterious Hessdalen lights, and beyond
that to Saturn and to the stars. Lucy’s discoveries catapult her into a
parallel universe connected to our own by means of resonance and sound,
where a newly emerging world trembles on the edge of disaster. As
realities divide, her mission in this new world is revealed and she
finds herself part of a love story that will span the galaxy.</span></span></div>
<h2 align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 40px; margin: 10px 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span class="s1"><a href="http://haguepublishing.com/sample/LightsOverEmeraldCreek.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Sample & Purchase Links</a></span><span class="s2"> </span></b></span></span></h2>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre - Young Adult SF</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating - PG</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&field-author=Shelley%20Davidow&search-alias=digital-text&sort=relevancerank" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="line-height: 1.5em;">Connect</b><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> with Shelley Davidow on </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ShelleyDavidow" style="line-height: 1.5em; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Facebook</a> & <a href="https://twitter.com/shelleydavidow" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Twitter</a></span></span></div>
Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-405075729444495802.post-53433019204560306422014-09-13T09:00:00.000-04:002014-12-14T04:23:49.447-05:00Pendelton Wallace on Studying Other Authors #WriteTip #SelfPub #AmWriting<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Practical Advice for Beginning Fiction (or other genre) Writers </b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Read,
read, read. You need to know your genre. If you’re writing about
zombies and vampires, what kind of mythology has already been created?
Look for common threads in other works in your genre. Get to know what
the reader expects, then excite and thrill them. Exceed their
expectations.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Study other authors; find out what makes
their stories successful. If you’re writing Romance novels, then read
the leading authors in that genre. If you write horror, read everything
Steven King has written. Learn from the experts.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I
really admire Elizabeth George. I try to write character driven
thrillers as she writes character driven mysteries. This goes against
the grain. Most thrillers are plot driven and all action. If you read
The Da Vinci Code, you will notice that there is no character
development in the entire novel. The characters are the same at the end
of the book that they were at the beginning. I want my characters to
have an arc and to grow and develop as a result of the situations they
are placed in. But I got this from reading many, many thrillers and
consciously deciding what I wanted to do.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Be
disciplined. Create your writing time and environment, then stick to it.
I write every morning, seven days a week. It’s my most creative time. I
get up, make coffee and sit down at my computer. After a couple of
hours, I get up, make breakfast, then go back to work.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When
I was working, I got up at 4:30 every morning and wrote for two hours
before I went to work. I produced a prodigious amount of work.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Don’t
let life’s little detours stop you. We all have them. I sometimes have
temporary road blocks, but I always get back to work as soon as
possible. As I write this, we are six miles off of Cape Colonet Mexico,
heading north for San Diego.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Before we left La Paz, the
bearings on the drive shaft on my boat burned out. We spent two long
hard weeks repairing them and getting ready for the voyage. I got no
writing done during this period.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">However, as soon as we were off shore and headed north, I started writing everyday again.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sometimes
you experience hardships. I can’t tell you how hard it is to type when
the boat is heeled over and I keep sliding away from the keyboard. But, I
keep writing anyway. I have to maintain my discipline.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Find
a writers’ critique group. I can’t over emphasize the importance of
having peers review your work. They find all sorts of little (and big)
problems with your writing that you might miss.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Look hard and find a group of people who can help you. I was in two critique groups before I found the right one.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The
first group was a group of ladies that were hobbyist and beginning
writers. They didn’t want to say anything negative. They were very nice
people, but they weren’t helping me. I needed to hear what was wrong
with my writing.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The second group included a woman who
was brutally honest. She tore me to pieces and I went home thinking I
would never write again. After three or four days, I finally admitted
that she had a point and I needed to re-work that piece.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The
problem was not her criticism, but how she gave it. I always valued
what she had to say, but she said it in such a mean way that it was
crushing.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Finally, I was lucky enough to fall in with a
group of writers who were all better than me. I listened and learned,
contributing what I could. They really made me a writer.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Be
persistent. Never give up. Never stop trying. So what if an agent
rejects your work? That’s only one person’s opinion. Until you have
twenty or thirty rejections, just keep going. When you reach critical
mass on rejections, then it’s time to stop and think about what you’re
doing. What can you change to make your work more appealing.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But for heaven’s sake, don’t give up. Keep at it.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Let me leave you with a little story.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As
I was preparing to make my epic voyage south to Mexico, I decided that I
needed to read John Steinbeck’s The Log of the Sea of Cortez. Steinbeck
is one of my favorite authors and I was surprised that I hadn’t read
this book yet.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Finding the Log was not easy. Your
corner bookstore probably doesn’t carry it. While I was searching for a
copy, I discovered that Steinbeck wrote a book about pirates, A Cup of
Gold. That’s right, one of my favorite authors wrote a pirate tale about
Captain Morgan and I never heard of it.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I increased my search parameters and eventually found both The Log of the Sea of Cortez and A Cup of Gold.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I
eagerly read A Cup of Gold and learned an important lesson. It was
Steinbeck’s first book, and it was awful. If he could start out with a
book this bad and still become John Steinbeck, then there is hope for
all of us.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Keep at it. Work hard every day. Learn. Grow. Get better at your craft. Success does not come to the faint of heart.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/hacker.jpg" /></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">If Clive Cussler had written Ugly Betty, it would be Hacker for Hire. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Hacker
for Hire, a suspense novel about corporate greed and industrial
espionage, is the second book in a series about Latino computer security
analyst Ted Higuera and his best friend, para-legal Chris Hardwick. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The
goofy, off-beat Ted Higuera, son of Mexican immigrants, grew up in East
LA. An unlikely football scholarship brought him to Seattle. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Chris,
Ted’s college roommate, grew up with a silver spoon in his mouth. His
father is the head of one of Seattle’s most prestigious law firms. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ted’s
first job out of college leads him into the world of organized crime
where he faces a brutal beating. After being rescued by beautiful
private investigator Catrina Flaherty, Ted decides to go to work for
her. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Catrina
is hired by a large computer corporation to find a leak in their
corporate boardroom when the previous consultant is found floating in
Elliot Bay. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ted
discovers that Chris’s firm has been retained by their prime suspect.
Now he and Chris are working opposite sides of the same case. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ted
and Catrina are led deep into Seattle’s Hi-Tech world as they stalk the
killer. But the killer is also hunting them. Can Ted find the killer
before the killer finds him? </span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy Now @ <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Hacker-Hire-Ted-Higuera-Book-ebook/dp/B00KH3Z53W/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1405401192&sr=1-1&keywords=Hacker+for+Hire" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre – Mystery, Thriller</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – R</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&field-author=Pendelton%20Wallace&search-alias=digital-text&sort=relevancerank" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Connect</b> with Pendelton Wallace on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/penn.wallace" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Facebook</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Website <a class="in-cell-link" href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.pennwallace.com&usd=2&usg=ALhdy2-lvi4hquGvTx3TTco7IMaVQe7wYA" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">www.pennwallace.com</a></b></span></span></div>
Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-405075729444495802.post-1745169403202745802014-09-11T11:00:00.000-04:002014-12-05T09:27:31.697-05:00The Dangerous Writing Mind of Roland Hughes #Dystopian #AmReading #AmWriting<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I
must warn you, my mind is a dangerous place. My friends have been
hearing that since we were teenagers but it wasn’t until I started
writing novels that they began to realize it was just a joke.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As
a writer/author one question gets asked countless times. I has many
different wordings, but it is the same question. “What lead you to
write this story?” “What was going through your mind as you wrote this
story?” “How did you come up with the idea for this story?” The
wording doesn’t matter, it is the same question no matter how it is
phrased. What they are really asking, even if they won’t admit it is
“How can I (or my readers) write a story like this?”</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Most
author interviews I’ve read seems to indicate they become calloused
from this question and toss out the same response no matter how it is
phrased, like a politician with talking points. In the past I have been
innocent and tried to actually answer the way it was phrased in a
politically correct manner. Nobody wants to hear the honest answer.
The honest answer is “You can’t because I certainly didn’t.”</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Shocked?
It’s true. I didn’t get a writing degree, create an outline, or follow
any rules other than grammar and spelling. The character chose to tell
its story. I wrote it down as best I could then fixed a few things.
Quite honestly, if you wish to become a writer you just need to be
adequate with spelling and grammar, able to hire professional editing
and, most importantly, listen to the character.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">If
you are not a writer and reading this I fully understand if you are
shaking your head. It defies what most people are told when they are
young, but it is the truth. If you want to know how to be the kind of
author who gets some good/great reviews on their work the honest answer
is “you cannot be told.” There is no response or set of rules one can
provide you with. There is no formula to creating something nobody has
ever thought of before. There is no college course you can take or
degree you can get which will make you an author who gets good/great
reviews no matter what admissions tells you when you are handing over
your money.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">You can learn all you need to know by reading two short stories in a single book. The book is <i>Skeleton Crew</i>. The first short story to read out of it is <i>Ballad of the Flexible Bullet</i>.
This simple tale explains in detail what the mind of a writer is really
like and where stories really come from. If you don’t believe that
after reading it then either switch to non-fiction writing or choose a
new line of work.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The second story you need to read (and in this order) is <i>Word Processor of the Gods</i>.
This one story tells you everything you need to know about every story
you will ever write. Your mind and story are both free to travel as far
as they wish if and only if they keep a tether to that subset of things
which define humanity.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Fornit Some Fornus</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/johnSmith.jpg" /></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“John
Smith: Last Known Survivor of the Microsoft Wars” is one big interview.
It is a transcript of a dialogue between “John Smith” (who, as the
title of the book implies is the last known survivor of the Microsoft
wars) and the interviewer for a prominent news organization.</span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy Now @ <a href="http://www.amazon.com/John-Smith-Known-Survivor-Microsoft/dp/193973200X/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=&qid=" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Amazon</a> & <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/john-smith-roland-hughes/1102176003?ean=9781939732002" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">B&N</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre – Dystopian Fiction</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – PG</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1?ie=UTF8&field-author=Roland+Hughes&search-alias=books&text=Roland+Hughes&sort=relevancerank" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Website <a class="in-cell-link" href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://johnsmith-book.com/&usd=2&usg=ALhdy2-70oxuHXvWgcvombsi9GJmpfL5eA" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://johnsmith-book.com/</a></b></span></span></div>
Quality Reads UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216387289293473067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-405075729444495802.post-64680498461924628522014-09-10T10:30:00.000-04:002014-10-30T11:01:14.330-04:00@KentBurden on What You’re Going to Write & How to Decide #NonFiction #Wellness #AmWriting<div class="Body1CxSpFirst" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">I
often get the question “how do you decide what you’re going to write
about?” it’s a pretty valid question, unlike someone who writes fiction I
don’t have to come up with a story or a plot I just have to come up
with a subject, but what subject? As a health and wellness expert my
choices are endless, exercise, stress reduction, weight loss, nutrition
and all the sub categories that go along with healthy living. But how do
you decide what to spend your valuable time and energy writing when we
all know that some books will sell and some won’t. How to chose a topic
that people will want to buy and will be something I want to delve
deeply into. I’ve written 7 books (and counting) and I’ve chosen
subjects based on key word searches, surveys, market research and a coin
flip. But sometimes a topic just chooses you.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="Body1CxSpMiddle" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"> A
few years ago while working at a high end California spa, I was
sitting at my desk in my office reading a popular men’s magazine (I was
on my break– I swear) when I came across an article that said new
research proved that sitting for extended periods of time increased your
risk of getting diseases like diabetes, heart disease obesity and
certain forms of cancer and that doing 30-60 minutes of exercise a day <i>wasn’t enough to counteract the damage that sitting did. </i>The
article even claimed that as far as negative health effects were
concerned, sitting was just as bad as smoking! To top it off it stated
that people who sat more during the day were heavier than people who
moved around and spent more time standing during the day <i>regardless of how much they exercised.</i></span></span></span></div>
<div class="Body1CxSpMiddle" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">I remember sitting there feeling like I had just been kicked in the crotch by Chuck Liddell. This is <i>not</i> what
they had taught me in my six years of college. It’s not in the
literature they give you for your personal trainer certification and <i>no one</i> was
talking about this at fitness conferences. This had to be complete and
utter bull s#!t. So I did some research myself and what I found shocked
me, and the deeper I dug the more I began to think this new discovery
might just have merit.</span> </span></span></div>
<div class="Body1CxSpMiddle" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">The
first thing I did was go back through my records. As a trainer you
always have clients that trouble you. They work hard in their sessions,
say their doing all the things you tell them to do on their own, insist
they are sticking to their diet program, but never can get to the goal
weight loss they set or they can’t seem to get their blood work numbers
were they need to be. I always chalked it up to the “they think they are
but there not syndrome”. Many people fool themselves into thinking they
are doing things that they aren’t actually doing, you’ve seen it. The
person who says they eat healthy but over the course of the day eats 20
mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups from the office candy dish and then
scarf down half a quart of Ben & Jerry’s Chunky Monkey Ice Cream
while watching Game Of Thrones just before bed. But maybe I was wrong,
maybe they had been doing everything I had been telling them to do but
what I was telling them to do just wasn’t enough. Low and behold when I
checked all of my trouble clients had jobs like accountant, lawyer,
software designer and author all jobs that had them sitting all day
long.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="Body1CxSpLast" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">I
called a couple of the researchers that had been quoted in the article
and came away with the distinct feeling that this was big. I mean
the-sky-is-falling big. This was when I decided I HAD to write the book.
I pulled together all the research I could find, I talked to all the
major players in the field. I collected opinions on how best to
counteract the deadly effects of prolonged sitting, then created
movements that could be done anywhere (even in the office) so people
could discover new ways to be healthy. For me the hardest part was
figuring out how to make all these facts and medical research
interesting enough to actually read. <b>The bottom line is I was on fire!</b> I
needed to spread the word and get these simple, effective tools into
people’s hands. That’s how my book, “Is Your Chair Killing You? A
Healthier You in 8 Minutes a Day” was born. No market research, no key
word searches and no coin flips. It also happens to be my bestselling
book so far. Things that make you go hmmmmm.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="Body1CxSpLast" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div class="Body1CxSpLast" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"><img src="http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Chair.jpg" /></span></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sitting
for extended periods of time is as bad for your health as smoking
cigarettes. And exercising for 30-60 minutes a day isn’t enough to undo
the damage from extended periods of sitting. Is Your Chair Killing You
reveals shocking new research showing that sitting for long periods
greatly increases your risk of developing obesity, heart disease,
diabetes, stroke and cancer. Our bodies were designed to move constantly
over the course of the day, but most of us sit for hours a day at work
and at home! Fitness and wellness expert and award-winning author Kent
Burden has created brief, simple movements you can incorporate into your
daily life to combat the damaging effects of sitting. These simple
movements, done standing for 1-5 minutes each hour will burn calories,
energize and refresh you, and you won’t even break a sweat; you’ll even
improve your back pain. This book is a how-to for weight loss and
disease prevention. Read this book–you’ll be healthier in as little as 8
minutes a day.</span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Nominated for the Dan Poynter Global Ebook Awards and won honorable mention at the Los Angeles Book Festival</b></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy Now @ <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Your-Chair-Killing-You-ebook/dp/B007OLYMZW/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Genre – Non-Fiction</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rating – G</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>More details about <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Kent-Burden/e/B001K8U9HA/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">the author</a></i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Connect</b> with Kent Burden on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/kent.burden.3" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Facebook</a> & <a href="https://twitter.com/kentburden" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Twitter</a></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
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