Donald J. Amodeo's #WriteTip on Taking Charge of Your #Book Cover @DonAmodeo

In the world of traditional publishing, authors typically have little say over what goes on their cover. While this may sound scary (it certainly did to me), there’s a good reason for it. Most writers have a poor grasp of graphic design. Yes, there are exceptions, but even with all the great tools we have at our fingertips today, browsing indie bookshelves often means having to sift through a sea of bland and amateurish cover art. An eye-catching...

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Fool for Love by Merry Farmer @MerryFarmer20

Chapter Four The Majestic rose up out of the water in its Liverpool dock with all the glory of its name.  Amelia held one hand to her hat and stared at its iron sides, its two dun-colored funnels and three tall masts.  The ship was a strange thing to her, a mixture of old and new, progress with hints of the past.  It had sails that could be unfurled in a pinch, but with its powerful new engines, the ship could cross the ocean in a...

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Jennifer Cornet – What to look for in a Critique Buddy @J_Cornet

What to look for in a Critique Buddy If you are a writer, one of the first things you will discover is that it is easy to find people willing to tell you your writing is awesome. You pass your work out to friends and family and all you receive back are glowing reviews and pats on the back. Now tell me, how helpful is that really? If everything is great, how can you improve? The hard truth is although nice things are great to hear, they don’t help...

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Boys, Books & #Author Ben Woodard @benswoodard #YA #Mystery

Boys and Books   I grew up almost living in the local library. Reading was my escape and the library was my portal. I loved boy’s adventure stories and have been amazed at the reports that say boys don’t read. Some articles have said that they do read, but not many novels. They like magazines, comic books, and some nonfiction, especially if it’s gross or violent. But why not novels? Everybody loves a good story. Maybe the type of story is the...

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Doubt (Among Us Trilogy) by Anne-Rae Vasquez @write2film #amongus #YA #paranormal

Kerim’s hand found its way to her knee. Cristal leaped up from her seat, and her arms were flailing up to push Kerim away, which knocked Gabriel sideways as he was just entering the room. The tray of coffee mugs slipped from his hands onto the table and sent boiling coffee onto Kerim’s lap and her computer. “Hey! Take it easy, man!” Kerim cried out. “What the hell are you doing?” Gabriel shouted. He reached out and grabbed the box of tissues...

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#Author Peter Clenott Shares Some Cover Love @PeterClenott #YA #AmReading

Cover Love Back in the old days when I started to write, there were no computers (at least no workable ones for writers). There was no social media, there was no Amazon, no eBooks, no Create Space. The books I enjoyed you could actually hold in your hand, turn the pages, and when you were done you could find the proper place on your book shelf. By author. In alphabetical order. By genre. Whatever. It was always there, my growing collection. My personal...

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Jade Kerrion – Vampires through the ages @JadeKerrion

Vampires through the ages When asked to name the first vampire novel, many people immediately cite Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897.) The first known vampire novel, however, was The Vampyre, written by John Polidori in 1819. Early vampires were creatures straight out of nightmares—pale and gaunt with sharp fingernails and long incisors. They could adopt more human appearances when they chose, but their essence remained unchanged. They were monsters,...

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#Fantasy Author RJ Blain Talks Relaxing, Writing & Movie @rj_blain #AmWriting #AmReading

How do you write – lap top, pen, paper, in bed, at a desk? I write my first drafts with a pen in Moleskine journals. (I’m picky like that.) My current pen of choice is a Swarovski crystalline pen – I have three of them, and one of them has a USB memory stick built into it. Once I finish the draft by hand, I transcribe it into the computer, doing a great deal of editing work at the same time. Then I work at my desk on my desktop computer, or I load...

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Brian Bloom & the 10 Things You Didn't Know About ... @BrianB_Aust #Conspiracy #Thriller

10 Things You Didn’t Know about The Last Finesse Coincidentally with when I finally started to understand about nuclear energy, I also focussed on the fact that visionary people typically “loved” my first novel, Beyond Neanderthal and practical people typically could take it or leave it. The Last Finesse was conceived as a story about nuclear energy. It was aimed at and crafted to appeal to this latter group. The more nuclear-related information...

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