September 2011 Blog Posts (189)

The preparations for leaving now came, as they received the final command.

They would kill and eat and strike the doorpost, with the blood of the Passover lamb.

They all gathered inside to await the moment, as death would pass through the land.

The death angel would claim all the first born, but Gods people were safe in His hand.

In the camp of the enemy the dead lay scattered, for none could escape the kill.

Those who were under the blood…

I’ve seen the commercials; a young child is telling a story as the computer automatically types it, fueling an imagination-laced story. The commercial makes it seem like anyone can be a writer. But by definition, what is a writer? I believe the term will soon be obsolete. Why? Because with speech recognition anyone can sit at a computer and talk into it, but it takes an artist to tell a story that fascinates. I do believe that soon millions of people will call themselves writers…

by Michael Marshall

http://www.amazon.com/Killer-Move-Novel-Michael-Marshall/dp/0061434426



You have a nice, ordered life. For the most part, you control your destiny. You have dreams and seek to fulfill them. Then one day, you wake to find you don’t have control, someone…

I'm delighted to announce the release of my latest novel, the Victorian Murder/Mystery, Behind Closed Doors. Also, due to the generosity of my publisher, Sonar 4 Publications every paperback copy sold will carry a…

Okay now, I want to see a show of hands.  Who out there has ever, or knows somebody who has tried a new diet?  After losing maybe ten to twenty pounds, you get sidetracked and the diet goes the by and by.  Here’s the part I find most interesting.  Within a short time, you regain the pounds you lost plus add five or ten extra as a door prize.

In this article I will show you two things.  The first is why you can’t keep the weight off and the second is something you can do about…

How to critique a Novel or Short Story

As the recipient of many critiques and assessments of my work I have sometimes been dismayed by a critiquer’s comments about my novels and short stories.  On the other hand, on occasions, a critiquer has been too full of praise instead of suggesting improvements.  The best critiques have been a balance between the positive and the negative.

I belong to three online critique groups and Watford…

Combine a love for rip-roaring adventure with care for the environment and you have a thoughtful and intriguing work, Tiptoe through Tasmania (ISBN:  978-0-9832791-0-5), written by an experienced author, Janice Anderson, who is as much into fostering a love for especially the endangered species on our planet as she is into getting youngsters enthralled by reading. The first in a series of Around the World Adventures, which is aimed at encouraging awareness of especially the most…

Fiona Ingram’s earliest story-telling talents came to the fore when, from the age of ten, she entertained her three younger brothers and their friends with serialized tales of children undertaking dangerous and exciting exploits, which they survived through courage and ingenuity. Haunted houses, vampires and skeletons leaping out of coffins were hot favorites in the…

Tal Yanai was not happy with his reality as a child and teen. What he was creating in his life was not in alignment with what he wanted in his heart or what he knew and deeply felt was possible. As a struggling student, he was considered a troublemaker in school. In tenth grade, he was diagnosed with dyslexia, which explained his learning difficulties…

LaNiyah Bailey is a 6‐year‐old author with a message for children like her – just because you are bigger than other kid, that doesn’t mean that people have the right to bully you.

In her debut book, Not FAT Because I Wanna Be, LaNiyah details the struggle of Jessica, a fictional girl who has an underlying medical issue that causes her to gain…

To read or not to read, that is the question here. I mean Mexico; it is used many times in many ways in novels and not all of them good. I had trepidation and was a bit uneasy. Stuart Gustafson put that all aside very quickly for me. How? Why? I mean, really? Yes to all three. As you will see in the synopsis Stuart is a world traveler, has seen most of the globe, has flown many,many, many miles. My point is he was able to put that in print. He was able to convey to me what he saw while he…

I count myself among the many fans of Jim Butcher. I love Harry and missed him quite a bit, constantly wondering when the next piece of him was coming out, when was my need to read going to be met. Finally I was lucky enough to get this novel in my hands and I burned right through it, devouring every page, enjoying each and every one. I am not going to bore you with platitudes of this author’s ability, many of millions already have. I am just going to add my voice to the thunder he deserves…

Our individual aspirations all play a part in making us who we are. Most have imagined lives of incredible richness and success, wanting to claim their stake on earth as part of their individual plans. How we visualize, and drive toward attaining these desires ultimately determines how quickly they become reality.



Those of us who make strides in the…

    Danny’s spirit came into my life when my daughter and I were shopping at the FT. Lauderdale Swap Shop, in 1996. I knew Danny, he gave me an engagement ring my senior year in high school. This is a short excerpt.

 I looked for the vendor; he was behind the booth and had his back to me. He slowly and deliberately moved…

I am currently looking for some authors who have books coming out next year and would like me to organize a blog tour. I not only gather up bloggers for your specific genre but I will make a banner, and send out a online press release about your book and the blog tour. Please contact me at

I am also helping new authors in a variety of different ways, to help promote your…

When I finished reading this I heard “Welcome to the Jungle” by Guns and Roses blaring on my XM/Sirius boombox, very fitting. This was my first read on a David Levien novel and it will not be my last. The character he has created in Frank Behr is nothing short of amazing and satisfying. He is fractured yet looking to seal the cracks kind of hero that had me enthralled the entire read. The code of ethics that Levien has instilled in him is simple, strong and unbreakable. It seems nothing…