November 2011 Blog Posts (200)

You’ll find our World of Ink Tour is the perfect way to get your books, products or services out in front of the buying public and build your platform as a writer, illustrator or expect in your field.

Our target market comes naturally to us because children, parents and teachers are logging onto the computer daily looking for a safe…

How Characters Drive Plot

Following is an excerpt from Character Development from the Inside Out by Scott Morgan, Copyright 2011 and published by Open Door Publications, Lawrenceville, New Jersey.

I understand what people mean when they refer to plot-driven versus character-driven stories. They define “plot-driven” as something like a mainstream thriller, such as a James Patterson story, whereas they define…

On Wednesday afternoon, Janice Campbell of Words Matter Week interviewed John Kremer. The topic was anything and everything about book marketing. It was a great interview with at least 10 takeaway, do-it-now ideas for any author or publisher. You can listen to it here:…

When I hear there is a possibility that some rural Post Offices might be forced to close I think back to my father walking to the Post Office every day. I've written about this sad possibility. I hope you'll take a minute to read it because closing Post Offices affects us in so many ways besides the obvious!

Here's where you can find the…

A Different Kind of Hero

I write a short story series about an atypical hit man. Atypical in that he does things you least expect from a professional killer. And it is this unexpected, unanticipated quirk in the man's personality which I…

I have my wife hooked on these things, these little novels around this time of year. Melody Carlson is beginning to become a tradition here at Casa de Gelati. My wife reads the story and then tells me to read it. I know I will enjoy it so I do and did, then my daughters form a line and the book goes from one to the other till they have all read it. Pretty good mileage on this novel.

What is not to like? The cover just rocks, the content is just as good if not better which is a true…

Blog Talk Radio’s World of Ink Network Show: Stories for Children withhosts VS Grenier, Kris Quinn Christopherson and Irene Roth will be chatting with award-winning authors Natasha Yim and Gretchen Maurer.

Natasha Yim’s current book, Cixi, The Dragon Empress and Gretchen Maurer’s current book, Mary Tudor, “Bloody Mary” are two of the six books…

I have been reading a lot of death and mayhem lately so I was lucky enough to dig this out of the reading pile and get to it. Just the cure for a respite from cars blowing up, end of the world scenarios and terrorists, unless of course you count nice old ladies coming into bookstores terrorists; they come in all shapes and sizes you know.

Dan Walsh delivers a very twist on a classic theme and does it with a very nice deft touch and plenty of panache. These are not words I usually get…

Seeking Christian authors to submit poems, short stories or creative essays that explain the meaning of Christmas for inclusion in a Christmas E-book.   Visit http://freechristmase-book.blogspot.com to view the submission guidelines.  Deadline:  November 15,…

Since a monster surge of traffic ate my website's generous November bandwidth in less than 12 days (crimefictionbook.com), I've no choice but to make this extremely important announcement right here, right now. I need your full attention. This could be the most significant few sentences of your entire life. One that will blow everything you thought about being human on this planet out of the water.

Yes, that's right. Santa is real.

And not in some "he's real in our hearts,…

http://www.amazon.com/Real-Housewives-Hell-Carol-Itoh/dp/1615725091/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1321235460&sr=8-5

So many impediments to getting the writing done.  Writers moan about lack of time, lack of inspiration, distractions.  Here's another one to add to the list: kids spilling freaking yoghurt on the keyboard!  Had to clean the rotten thing, unless I wanted it to smell like Satan's effluvium and have a dozen repetitions every time I pressed the '8' key.  So I did what every good woman does.  Cleaned up after the kids.  I also cursed them, as I damped a cloth with white vinegar, wrapped it around…

Hey, another busy week of interviews has us going Monday through Saturday this week with plenty of incredible authors to listen to and learn from. Here are the days, times and lineup of authors:

Monday – Angelique LaFontaine and Paul Guthrie- 5pm EST

Tuesday- Les Edgerton- 6pm EST

Wednesday-Heath Lowrance-4pm EST

Thursday- Angel  Zapata-4pm EST

Friday-Frank Duffy at 6pm EST and then at 7pm EST The Mayor and Deputy Mayor of Book Town

Saturday-starting…

Reading a book you already know the ending of before you start I think lends to a bit of trepidation. I had a little bit. I mean I have read other novels by the author, enjoyed his style, enjoyed the substance, have had many good experiences so why not right?

I have to say he nails this, from the first page to the last, he struck every chord, hit every note, and made a recount of events seem as real and visceral as if I was there, watching it all unfold in my face. The tales of…

                                                                            Fame

                                                                                              copyright by Morgan McFinn

        Picked up a magazine today with a…

There was an abundance of kids on Lafayette Avenue to hang with but most of the families forbade their children to have anything to do with me. I was seen as a thoroughly bad influence to most of the parents on that block. There were a few exceptions, the Schlegel family being the most notable. That family will always have a special place in my heart.



The…

Tanya Contois will be releasing “Wicked Little Lies” with Trestle Press Tuesday November 15,2011. Here is a synopsis of the story and her biography:

“Jocelyn has just turned 18 but instead of having the big celebration she was looking forward to for so long she finds out that not only is she not fully human but the people who raised her aren’t her real parents. Instead…

All the good advice given in books on how to write fiction is applicable to writing historical fiction. 

Writers must enjoy writing even when they encounter obstacles.  This is particularly true of writing historical fiction.  Historical novelists require a profound interest in all things historical.

The historical novels that I read more than once sweep me into the activities and ‘mind sets’ in a way which I enjoy. 

When writing historical…