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Stories behind my books: An Imperceptible Something by Vadim Babenko Our American business developed slowly. The first few years we had neither money, nor experience, nor connections. We made many mistakes but still held out until the quantity of our efforts turned into quality. We caught a break, and quick growth followed. We hired many new employees. They were divided into two, nearly equal, sections: an American part, engaged in marketing and sales, and the Russians, who developed our technologies. Between these two halves arose an intense, sometimes hostile, opposition. Almost the entire Russian part consisted of programmers who had just been taken out of Russia. The whole American side was of sharp, skilled men who had worked in successful hi-tech corporations. These were very polarized communities. The mediator between them was me: I managed all the internal life of the firm, while my partner was responsible for all the external. The marketing and sales boys had no love for the programmers because of their “wildness” – a total lack of the communication skills customary within an American company. The programmers disliked our Americans, sensing their contempt and mockery. I must admit, it was also hard for me to deal with the programmers – by this time I had distanced myself quite a bit from Russian habits and manners. Nevertheless, the situation required it, so I tried my best to reconcile these groups with each other. When enough programmers had arrived to yield some kind of critical mass, I suddenly sensed that my attitude toward them had shifted. I completely and definitely felt that in the Russian part of our firm something imperceptibly bright and lively was recreated and extended throughout: some sort of particularly Russian spirit from time eternal, which had once been so dear to me. I had been sure it had breathed its last, crushed and destroyed under the years of Perestroika’s “re-structuring.” Almost all the programmers were young people who had grown up in the 90s, the years of a terrible decline in everything intelligent and spiritual. Nevertheless, I understood that some important part of it remained – though it was disguised by the veneer of a new age. And then I noticed the two polarized halves were no longer so hostile. An interest arose in each toward the other – on its own; my efforts did not play a noticeable role. As for the programmers, this was natural: having gradually become acclimated, having ceased to hesitate and be frightened, one way or another they began to understand the country in which they now lived. But the Americans also, without having, it would seem, any reason to do so, sought to learn – feeling, as I did, that there indeed was something about the Russian part of the company that was worth getting to know. With increasing frequency they began to ask me questions about Russia, Russian life, culture, and so forth. All the more often, the American and Russian employees conversed together, despite the language barrier. We even started holding Russian parties with plenty of vodka – which became very popular among the Americans… I realized my notions of the country where I had grown up and then left were one-sided and not quite accurate. The animal instincts that had been unleashed at the beginning of the 90s could not suffocate an essential inner force, inherent in the earth and its people. Nevertheless, I was still far from going there again – even for a short vacation. 
His crafty plan results in a deadly threat. Her hopes keep her locked in a vicious circle. They parted ways, supposedly forever. But will they be able to live apart? Elizaveta, an attractive Muscovite, experiences a series of odd events: she is followed; she receives anonymous calls, flowers, and gifts. The culprit is her former lover, Timofey. He now lives far from Moscow and has a flourishing business, but a serious threat emerges when the daughter of a local mafia boss wants to marry him. Timofey knows his life is at risk if he says no. He creates a cunning scheme to save himself by staging a sham marriage with Elizaveta playing a primary role. Masterfully manipulating her feelings, Timofey persuades her to come visit him in his small town, but things soon take a dramatic turn. A seemingly romantic journey becomes a struggle for survival. Timofey and Elizaveta confront real danger when they least expect it. Love and deception reveal their essence when the best of intentions come into conflict with each other. The protagonists try hard to achieve their goals, but, in the end, each of them finds something much different instead. Illusion, ultimately, proves stronger than reality. And coincidences are often not so random after all. Buy Now @ Amazon Genre – Literary Fiction Rating – PG13 More details about the author and the book Website http://www.vadimbabenko.com/
12 Tips to Succeed as a Writer I often get asked what it takes to be a writer. This is not a simple question. There are several things you must do if you want to be successful, and most of them take time, hard work, and patience. If you are willing to commit, here is a list of things that will certainly help you on your way. 1. Be true to yourself. Write from your heart. Sure, vampires and wizards may be all the rage, but don’t write what you suspect the public wants to read. Find your own genuine voice. Never try to emulate an author you love. If you strike out on your own and establish something original (emphasis on original), you will find an audience. 2. Immerse yourself in the craft. No writer is an island. (Except maybe Hemingway, but you’re not Hemingway). Network with writers, readers, publishers, agents, old people, dogs, whoever can help you learn something new about what you do. You’ll be surprised what little tidbits you can glean here and there that will help you be a better writer and storyteller. 3. Read, and don’t stop. This is perhaps the most important one of all. Never stop reading. Read books you otherwise wouldn’t. Read books you’ve already read. Read restaurant menus with a critical eye. Language is an art – master it to the best of your ability. 4. Write, and don’t stop. Writer’s block doesn’t really exist. If you’ve reached a point in your manuscript where you’ve hit a roadblock, write something else. Write a song, a poem, a love letter to your high school crush. Get the words flowing and your mind will no doubt follow. Writer’s block is most often your brain telling you that you’re off in the wrong direction. The solution: change direction. 5. Learn new things. Life is all about knowledge, and so is writing. Learn about science, art, piano making, lawn care, water purification, sneezing, whatever! Knowledge and curiosity are the greatest foundation for writing. You never know where and when inspiration will strike. 6. Throw convention out the window. Use good grammar, structure a proper storyline, make it interesting, and off you go. Don’t feel like you need to follow a formula, and certainly don’t copy someone else’s. Readers are always starved for something new. Make something new. 7. Forget about money. If you’re writing to make a million dollars, or even to make a nice living, you’re not writing for the right reasons. Becoming a better writer should be your only motivation. That, and proving your parents wrong. 8. Share your writing. I can’t tell you how many would-be writers are afraid to let others read what they’ve written. This is a big mistake. If your grandmother wants to read your manuscript, deliver it to her by hand (because she can’t figure out the email machine). Let your friends read it, your boss, other writers, avid readers — anyone willing to read your writing is a great place to start. The longer you keep your writing to yourself, the longer it will take you to become a better writer. 9. Don’t take reviews to heart, but listen to them. All your friends love your book! Well big f’n deal (and no they don’t). Likewise, reviewers are not always right either. Some people will like your book, and some will not. Get used to that idea and embrace it. Crave it. Writing is an art. If your writing provokes the exact same response from everyone that reads it, you’ve done something wrong. Listen to what people say about your writing, and when you start to hear a theme emerging, you may be on to something. 10. Be prepared to doubt yourself. Only bad writers think they’re awesome writers. Have confidence, but know that there is always much to learn. Don’t think so? Read P.G. Wodehouse and see if your language skills stack up. Be the best writer you can possibly be. Make other writers love you and hate you at the same time, because if you’re really, really good, they will. Make that a goal. 11. Be prepared to market yourself. As a new writer, or even as one well established, you will need to do everything you can to help get the word out about your books. Blog, tweet, stand on the corner with a sandwich board and bell – whatever helps. (If you are John Grisham or J.K. Rowling, ignore this one). Be prepared to be your own best advocate and salesperson. And lastly, 12. Whatever you do, don’t ever give up writing. I don’t need to explain this one. 
Best friends Duncan and Ray run a successful bookie business in Phoenix. Outgrowing the life they began in college, the late twenty-something pair set out on the road with a plan to never return. Their trip takes them cross-country with eventful stops in Las Vegas, Omaha, and Niagara Falls. Along their journey they meet several colorful characters and even agree to bring a pretty young girl named Ruby along with them for the ride. Landing in Boston to run an errand for an old friend, the travelers begin to lay roots in an attempt to forge for themselves the life they’d always hoped for. Easier said than done. As romances begin to burgeon, and one of their lives is put in danger, the group quickly discovers that where they are may indeed have little effect on who they are. Buy Now @ Amazon Genre – Contemporary Fiction/Literary Fiction Rating – R More details about the author Connect with Brad Cotton on Facebook & Twitter Website http://www.bradcotton.com/
10 Things I Wish I Knew About Being an Author I Didn’t Know Before By: Samantha Warren 1. No one does it right the first time. Not even Stephen King. The first draft is always crap, and that’s okay. That’s why they invented editing. 2. It doesn’t get easier. As much as I would love to say it gets easier the more you know, the opposite is actually true. The more I learn, the harder it gets. But it’s also more rewarding because you know that you’re putting out the best possible book you can. 3. What worked for the last book may not work for this book. The publishing industry is changing so fast that marketing is a huge challenge. What may have made your last book a big hit won’t necessarily reap the same rewards for the newest book. You have to stay on top of your game, which leads us to… 4. Stay in the know. You have to stay on top of all the changes going on in the publishing world and social media. If you don’t, you’ll fall behind the curve and be left in the dust. 5. Self-publishing is not the devil. Like most people, I used to look down on self-publishing. But it’s really quite awesome. Any mistakes you make are your own, and you can fix them quickly. 6. Yes, you need an editor. I thought I was a good editor, and I am, but when you created the book, you need an extra set of eyes (or two, or three) to help you out. I had an editor once tell me that she cringed every time she heard someone say they liked the control self-publishing gave them because it meant they would be less open to her suggestions. While I don’t think that’s necessarily true, it could be for a lot of people. When an editor gives you a suggestion, take it to heart. Really look at what they’re saying, then decide if it’s right for your book or not. Don’t just write them off because you think you know better. 7. Even bad reviews are good. Bad reviews hurt, and they never stop hurting. When someone says your book sucks and they couldn’t finish it, or puts it in their “OMG make it stop” shelf on Goodreads, you’ll want to cry. But if the reviewer has done their job and actually given reasons for why they didn’t like the book, that review can be very helpful. It will allow you to improve in your next book and continue to grow. Also remember that you can’t please everyone. Not everyone will love your book. Some will hate it. And that’s just the way it goes. 8. You need a professional cover. Unless you have a degree in graphic design, it’s best to hire someone else to do your covers. Sure, you may be able to make a decent enough cover, but a well made cover makes a huge difference. And don’t use 3D models. They look cheesy. 9. Writing is an art; publishing is a business. It’s very hard to separate the writer mind from the publisher mind, but it must be done. Even traditionally published authors have to do a bit of marketing and business work. You have to be able to put your love of your book aside and treat it like a product in some ways. It’s your baby, but your baby is in a very big pageant and you need to realize that once the book is written, you become the coach, not the parent. 10. Just write. It’s so easy to get caught up in the marketing and social media jazz that comes along with publishing, but don’t forget the most important part: the writing. You should be spending more time on writing than promoting. 
She was raised to hunt faeries. He was raised from the dead. *** Aiofe Callaghan comes from a long line of faery hunters. Hired by one of the faery queens, they protect the human world from chaos and destruction. But when Aiofe stumbles through an open door into the land of Faery, she discovers the job isn’t as simple as it seems, and neither is she. Arthur Pendragon spent centuries in blissful nothingness, until the day the four queens banded together to raise him from the dead. Along with his twelve most talented knights, he leads the warring armies of Faery against the greatest enemy they have ever known: one of their own. Can they overcome their differences to confront the greatest challenges either of them have ever faced? Buy Now @ Amazon & Smashwords Genre – Paranormal Romance Rating – PG More details about the author & the book Connect with Samantha Warren on Facebook & Twitter Website http://www.samantha-warren.com/
10 Tips for Becoming a Better Writer By Mark David Major, Co-author of An Infinitesimal Abundance of Color 10. Read in diverse abundance. 9. Always edit out your favorite sentence, part, or passage. 8. Editing is not about achieving perfection but diminishing imperfections. 7. Getting feedback is important but it’s more crucial to learn when you should listen to feedback and when you should ignore it. 6. Shakespeare was always revising his writing. Don’t be afraid to put it out there and revise later. But don’t be sloppy about it either. 5. Write character profiles for yourself to better understand the characters you want to create. 4. It can be incredibly helpful to ‘cast the film’ to better understand your characters. Bonus: because you are a writer, you’re not limited to today’s actors but can cast anyone living or dead, famous or not. 3. Anything can be a source of inspiration: the key is to observe, not ignore. 2. Stop talking about it, just do it already. 1. Write what you love, love what you write, and the rest will take care of itself. 
An Infinitesimal Abundance of Color, written by Mark David Major and beautifully illustrated by Layce Boswell, tells the simple story of a father answering his daughter’s questions at bedtime. Buy Now @ Amazon Genre – Juvenile Fiction/Bedtime and Dreams Rating – G More details about the author and the book
Connect with Mark David Major, Layce Boswell on Facebook and Twitter
Thank you for allowing me to discuss some of my ideas about writing in relationship to my book, Midshipman Henry Gallant In Space.
I love words.
That wasn’t always been the case. My first infatuation was with numbers, in all its manifold forms from algebra to topology. However, with maturity came insight into the elegance and efficacy of words for expression beyond algorithms.
Words elucidate the ideas of great thinkers and leaders from Aristotle to Lincoln. Consider the brief collage, “All men are created equal?” Can you doubt the inspiration of these words? Words shroud us with the emotions of others and bring nature’s kaleidoscopic scenery into view. They let us share experiences both past and present.
Our past is a tapestry, rich with dramatic experiences. Our thoughts and memories are arranged around such experiences. As memories bring the past flowing into the present, we gather words into stories that capture the drama and excitement of real and imaginary events. As such, they help us understand our place in the world.
In 1949, Joseph Campbell wrote The Hero with a Thousand Faces, and argued that myths, spanning all time and all cultures, contain the same basic elements, or ‘archetypes.’
Campbell thought that stories formed a grand pattern he called the ‘hero’s journey.’ The journey begins with the hero hearing a plea for help. When he finally responds, he crosses a threshold into a new realm where he faces great challenges and matures under the tutelage of a mentor. Finally, he becomes the master; committed to changing the world. This story archetype has thrived from the Odyssey, to Star Wars.
The ‘hero’s journey’ is a theater of human behavior; anecdotal but illuminating. In Midshipman Henry Gallant, I present a young man’s heroic journey. He doesn’t travel it along. He has friends, mentors, rivals, and enemies, and one more essential element, romance.
There is beauty in expressing your thoughts. Find your words. Tell your story.
Regards,
H. Peter Alesso
www.hpeteralesso.com
As the last star fighter in squadron 111, Midshipman Henry Gallant is on his way from Jupiter to Mars. With the United Planets’ fleet on the verge of annihilation, he can expect no help as he passes through the asteroid belt and threatening aliens. With so much uncertainty about the aliens’ capabilities and intentions, analyzing the captured computer equipment in Gallant’s possession could prove crucial. The fate of Earth could rest on the abilities of Midshipman Henry Gallant. Unfortunately, it is his abilities that have been much in doubt during his tour of duty.
In an era of genetic engineering, he is the only Natural (non-genetically enhanced) officer left in the fleet. His classmates and superior officers have all expressed their concern that he will not be up to the demands of the space service.
Only bright and attractive junior officer Kelsey Mitchel has shown any sympathy for him. Now as his navigator on the last fighter in squadron 111, her life as well as a good many others, depends of Henry Gallant.
Genre – Science Fiction
Rating – G
Connect with H. Peter Alesso on Facebook
Quality Reads UK
Book Club Disclosure: Author interview / guest post has been submitted by the
author and previously used on other sites.
10 Things You Did Know About Christoph Paul I love cats, (not where you think this is going) like real animals. I really do. I have two cats Khadija and Benito who live with my mom because I couldn’t afford to keep them in NYC. I miss them every day. I request my mom to spend me pictures of them on her phone. My mom is, um…slow, when it comes to using technology. But every once in a while she figures it out. I do love dogs and my goal is not find a loving relationship with a women but to be in place of stability where I could have my own wiener dog. For a male cat lover, I am a really big jock. I am huge Miami Dolphin fan; I get sad or happy by their wins and losses. I am from South Florida and though I never really fit in in there and kind of hate the place I still do and always will love the Dolphins. If I found true love and got married but knew the only way we would win the super bowl is if my wife cuckolded me with Ryan Tannehill…I would let him go to deep so to speak. I am huge Marilyn Manson fan. Even though I wish he would stop music and just do painting and movies. I still love his early work. I think he is one of the most underrated songwriters of my generation. I love romantic-comedies. I really do. I know people read my stuff about me having my girlfriend pretend she is dead so I have kinky ‘death sex’ with her but I am a romantic. People will see that in my next book “At Least I Get You In My Art & Other Poems” I will never teach. People think I should but I really hate school and always will. I rather work at porn store or even the Govt. then teach high schoolers or undergarads….I have done both. Though I would make an exception to teach a class on the book “Sexual Personae”. I want to do a parody rap album and pretend I am Drake’s evil little brother Rake. I am a punk rock pop/blues musician and I am in the new band Moses Moses. It is with this dude who might be the best lead guitar player in New York City…just he is playing drums, and I am playing guitar and singing. But we have one song where he does not play drums but plays lead guitar and it is pretty special. I think the TV show “Homeland” Season 1 was the greatest things to ever be shown on the small screen, but Season 2 and what is going on now is just biggest let down of any piece of art in the history of western civilization. I am a freelance editor and love helping other writers’ stories. I am a content editor as I am sure this already has many errors in my answers. I am hoping to have The Only Prescription Editing and Social Media Services up and running by 2014. I have a huge crush on the actress and writer Lake Bell, I just hope when I semi-famous she isn’t taken I get one date with her. 
Buy Now @ Amazon Genre – Fiction, Humor Rating – PG-13 More details about the author and the book Connect with Christoph Paul on Facebook & Twitter
Dos and don’ts of critique groups
1. Always start with the positive. 2. Always end on a positive note. 3. Do be honest but tactful. 4. Ensure you are using proper English. The Chicago Manual of Style is an excellent reference book used by professional editors. 5. Ensure your work is fairly clean grammar-wise before submitting. 6. Focus on craft for a critique. a. Goal/Motivation/Conflict.
b. Ensure each scene advances the plot.
c. Character arc.
d. Escalating plot. 7. Don’t nitpick. Make your point and move on. 8. Offer to brainstorm with your critique partners. 9. Don’t stay in a group that is overly critical. Writing is subjective. 10. Do look for other critiquers who take their craft seriously and are trying to get published. 
Buy Now @ Amazon Genre - YA Paranormal Mystery, Romance Rating – PG-13 More details about the author and the book
Connect with Chris Myers on Facebook & Twitter Website http://www.chrismyersfiction.com
Leadership: The Ultimate Accountability Leaders have a choice – to lead people toward achievement by ethical means or to lead them toward unethical gain. History has taught us how easily individuals can succumb to the temptations of power, money and greed. The Enron debacle provides a perfect example of unethical leadership and employees seduced and girded by the allure of power and prestige. Followership is a human need, especially in times of economic and emotional strife. Indeed, an article in Medill Reports by Natalie Brunell, October 6, 2011, highlighted a study by Stanford University that demonstrated a troubling possibility: That generous leaders may be regarded as ideal commanders only in situations of limited competition, whereas tough, power-wielding leaders are more desirable in times of hardship. Sigmund Freud explored this phenomenon in is book “Moses and Monotheism”, which he penned on the eve of global conflict in 1936. The book explained that Hitler’s tyrannical behaviour earned him the support of a nation at a time of great emotional and economic need. According to Freud “We know that the great majority of people have a strong need for authority which they can admire, to which they can submit and which dominates and sometimes even ill-treats them”. The ability to persuade and to seduce is apparent in many a successful leader. But that power can also be perverted when the need for ethical leadership is greatest. So often those in power are not held accountable. Many financiers, when the house of cards finally tumbles, walk away chagrined only by the need to keep a low profile at the country club. The mansion in the Keys remains, and a colleague provides a lucrative consultancy position. Many a national leader is able to leave office, passing the shattered ruins of a nation to a new leader who must begin to unearth the harsh realities of economic disaster. The bottom line is that leaders are the ultimate model of accountability. The words and actions of influential leaders set the tone and direction for those who follow. So it’s crucial that leaders take their own responsibility and accountability seriously, as their legacy of consequences – both positive and negative – might just spread a lot further than they think. Post by Di Worrall Award-winning Business Transformation & Strategy Consultant, Best Selling Author, Executive Coach www.diworrall.com.au Find out more about the link between high performance and high accountability in Di Worrall’s #1 Amazon best selling book: Accountability Leadership – How Great Leaders Build a High Performance Culture of Accountability and Responsibility (2013) at http://amzn.to/1cphIpl 
Buy Now @ Amazon
Genre - Business, Leadership, Workplace Behaviour, Human Resources, Executive Coaching Rating – PG More details about the author
Connect with Di Worrall on Facebook & Twitter Website http://www.diworrall.com.au/
How to Make Your Characters Believable Characters are, disputably, the life and breath of any story. Unless, of course, you are purposely wasting paper just to describe things, such as an era or certain scenery. However, these in no way can be considered stories, for stories, as most will stubbornly agree, must be about something. Preferably, beings who think, feel, and live in the harsh environment known as the world, or even other worlds. In stories, there is what happens, and then there are those whom it happens to. The most effective way to connect with readers is when they can relate to the person, or animal, robot, what have you, the story centers upon. Making characters believable is a constant plight for writers. Usually, the easiest tactic to employ is to model the character’s personality after someone they’ve met or know in real life, so that there is a credible reference out in reality. This has been done countless times, and tends to result in character favorites among readers. Characters based on real people always seem to leave an indelible mark, mainly because their realness radiates so strongly. However, what if you create a character out of pure, thin air, with nary an existing relation or acquaintance to mold him or her after? What does a writer do then? The obvious would be to take cues from real-life examples. For instance, how would a regular person react to discovering a seven talon claw sticking out of the bedroom wall? In this day and age, where people are both reasonable and stupid, it could all boil down to the specific personality of the person. A reasonable person might run away, issuing squeals of terror, while a stupid person would unavoidably approach the claw because it looked cool. But the initial reaction of the reader would be to think, “What’s this dude’s problem? Get away from there, you dolt!” It could easily turn into a case of the reader thinking that the author made the character choose to do that in order to create conflict. And while, yes, stories are driven by conflict, and therefore will never be fully realistic, since there aren’t too many adventures occurring on a day to day basis in the world, readers still relate to characters who handle the conflict in a way that they might themselves. By giving your characters all the elements of a real person, such as fears, doubts, confusion, emotions, bodily reactions, it makes them feel authentic and substantial. There are many instances where the author neglects to mention these aspects about a character, and while the character is fun to follow and cheer for, there is always this sense of fantasy that accompanies the reading. Sometimes it is borderline fakeness. Such as an impenetrable cowboy hero, or an extremely clever sorcerer who is always one step ahead of his adversaries. These are engaging characters that can carry a story, but they fail to convey a believable, real quality. In order to construct believable heroes, heroines, foes, monsters, mentors, side-kicks, they have to be multi-dimensional in the same way non-metaphysical folk of flesh and blood are. There must be a competent mix of psychology, philosophy, mentality, emotions, and motivation. On and on. All the real injected into the fake. 
Buy Now @ Amazon Genre - Young Adult Fiction Rating – PG More details about the author and the book
Connect with Emily Kinney on Facebook & Twitter
Turning a World of CAN’T to a World of CAN by Jadie Jones I jumped at the chance to contribute to Indiestructible for two reasons. First, I would’ve killed for something like this when I navigated the waters of querying and publishing for the first time. No, it’s not a how-to guide, but it is a voice—a collection of voices—telling you exactly what you need to hear: you CAN do this, so keep going. Publishing can feel like a world of “can’t”. We’re here to tell you we felt that way, too; that it’s perfectly normal to feel like you’re drowning in a giant ocean without a soul in sight. We’re also here to tell you that you’re not alone. We’re all in that dark water together. Some of us are in phases of our careers where we’ve pulled ourselves up on something that floats. Some of us are finding a paddling rhythm, and others of us have just been dropped headfirst into the icy cold realization that we, at the deepest, most secretive part of ourselves, MUST write … and how do we go about such a thing? On the whole, I have found writers to be one of the most supportive groups of strangers I’ve ever met. We are bonded together by that unceasing desire to put pen to paper and create. And 99.9% of the time, writers are more than willing to help others, be it simply by imparting their own experience, as I’ve done in my Indiestructible contribution, or by promoting covers, beta reading, giving opinions (and we are an opinionated lot,) steering first timers towards services that worked well for them, hosting each other on blogs and other sites, and reading work for review. It’s a tireless, endless cycle of give and take, but that’s true for the industry’s big picture, too. Just because a writer has been around the block one, two, twenty times doesn’t mean he or she doesn’t struggle through a first draft or have a moment where they want to scrap it all together (and sometimes we do. Now for the second reason I signed on for Indiestructible: the cause. Sales from Indiestructible will go directly to BuildOn.org, a NFP organization that works to break the cycle of illiteracy and poverty. Growing up, I sat down in classes with a few kids who came to school hungry or weren’t sure what they’d go home to when the bell rang—if there’d even be somewhere to go. How do you concentrate on learning when you’re stomach hurts or when you didn’t have a bed to sleep in the night before? In turn, how do you gain an appreciation for learning and the knowledge you need to lift yourself out of your circumstances when you’re forced to focus on basic survival? It is a vicious cycle. On a personal note, reading helped me escape some of my darkest days—and I grew up with a roof over my head and food on my table. Teaching people to read not only helps their futures, it helps their todays, and I really, really want to contribute to this cause in any way I can. I hope you do too! CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE INDIESTRUCTIBLE 100% of proceeds will be donated to BUILDON.org, a movement which breaks the cycle of poverty, illiteracy, and low expectations through service and education. Contributing authors: Alex J. Cavanaugh <> Angela Brown <> Anne R. Allen <> Briane Pagel <> C.S. Lakin <> Ciara Knight <> Cindy M. Hogan <> D. Robert Pease <> Dawn Ius <> Emily White <> Greg Metcalf <> Jadie Jones <> Jessica Bell <> Karen Bass <> Karen Walker <> Kristie Cook <> Laura Diamond <> Laura Pauling <> Laurel Garver <> Leigh Talbert Moore <> Lori Robinson <> Melissa Foster <> Michael Offutt <> Michelle Davidson Argyle <> Rick Daley <> Roz Morris <> S.R. Johannes <> Stephen Tremp <> Susan Kaye Quinn About Jadie Jones: Georgia native Jadie Jones first began working for a horse farm at twelve years old, her love of horses matched only by her love of books. She went on to acquire a B.A. in equine business management and worked for competitive horse farms along the east coast. The need to write followed wherever she went. She currently coaches a hunt seat equitation team that competes in the Interscholastic Equestrian Association and lives with her family in the foothills of north Georgia. When she’s not working on the next installment of the Moonlit series, she’s either in the saddle or exploring the great outdoors with her daughter. Moonlit is her first book. 
Buy Now @ Amazon Genre – Non-fiction Rating – G More details about the author
Connect with Jessica Bell on Facebook & Twitter Blog http://thealliterativeallomorph.blogspot.com/
I remember following a discussion thread on Amazon a couple of years ago that addressed the issue~ some said that e-book covers do not matter, but I disagreed. There are so many books to browse on Amazon, Goodreads, assorted book sites, Smashwords, B and N, etc. There is also a lot of competition even getting your own book seen! The BIG houses certainly know that good cover art is vital to the success of a book, and so should the small press and Indie authors. I heard, recently, that there are over two and a half MILLION independent books now, on Amazon alone, so great art is a must! I write, primarily, science fiction and fantasy, so my art is even more important. My publisher does a great job, but I also hire a graphic designer who customizes my art to represent the characters, time and place of my assorted novels. Onio is a quarter Sasquatch male who falls in love with a human girl. As you can see he is quite handsome, tall (about 6’7) and very hairy! Melody is pretty, but she is wearing no make-up… I mean, why would she? She is with a tribe of Sasquatches deep within the Rocky Mountains. The story takes place, mostly, during the wintertime- so there is a snowy background- perfect for the time and place. http://www.amazon.com/Onio-ebook/dp/B00AFC063E/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1354302355&sr=1-2-fkmr1&keywords=Onio+by+Linell+Jeppsen+Kindle+version All of my covers are custom made- Detour to Dusk is one that has a real, live model on the cover, but in the background, there is a tall, winged man. This is a vampire thriller, and the protagonists are huge, evil, winged creatures. The lake in the background is beautiful Lake Christina, in Canada. http://www.amazon.com/Detour-to-Dusk-ebook/dp/B008LFIDQE/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1342354046&sr=1-1&keywords=Detour+To+Dusk+by+Linell+Jeppsen+kindle+edition One of my favorites is the cover of The War of Odds- an urban faerie tale. The girl’s name is Sara, the little sprite is Pollo, and the cat is called Hissaphat. He is a warrior general from the land of the fae. The evil, red eyes in the cave… well, you had better read it and find out! LOL! http://www.amazon.com/The-War-of-Odds-ebook/dp/B00ELOSGX4/ref=sr_1_1_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1376689986&sr=1-1&keywords=the+war+of+odds+edition+by+linell+jeppsen So, you have sweated blood and tears on your new book- don’t cheap out now and put up mediocre art for your opus. Make your novel as irresistible as possible to the millions of readers out there who are browsing for a new book to read! 
In this modern world of science and high technology, in secret places deep under the ground and in the forest primeval, legends still walk the earth and what we think of as myth and fairy tale are all too real. Driving home late one night, Melody Carver, bereft and grieving after the death of her mother, sees a strange creature standing on the lonely road. This being will change her world-view forever, and open her eyes to a reality beyond her imagination. Melody’s chance encounter on that dark and snowy road will mark the beginning of a journey of discovery and wonder that will bring two worlds together in hope and despair. Can one person bridge the gap between the ancient and the modern, the mundane and the magical? An urban fantasy filled with adventure, romance, war, heartbreak and triumph! ONIO! Unlike anything, you have ever read before! Buy Now @ Amazon Genre – Fantasy/Romance Rating – PG13 More details about the author & the book Connect with Linell Jeppsen on Facebook & Twitter Website http://neljeppsen.weebly.com/
Dearth of real human expression by Michael J Bowler One of the main themes of my new novel, Children of the Knight, is the dearth of real human expression between people in this overly technological 21st Century, especially amongst kids and young people. Reading seems to be a lost art form these days, but books have always been and will hopefully continue to be one of the most effective ways to communicate basic human truths. Books take us to places we might never go and expose us to people we might never have met otherwise. Watching characters interact and communicate effectively, or ineffectively, can teach readers valuable lessons, especially young readers. Texting and Facebook messages barely qualify as real communication. As a man from the distant past, King Arthur in my story only knows how to communicate face-to-face, or through the use of human messengers. Even books are rather foreign to him. Despite his initial reticence about even using modern technology, Arthur soon finds himself slipping into the same trap as virtually everyone else in this era––use of texting to try and communicate feelings because that method is so quick and painless. In so doing, he tragically forgets that people need face-to-face interactions, and children, in particular, need personal affirmations of love and support. A text message just doesn’t cut it. Are kids today too removed from real human feelings because they do all their talking through texting or Facebook? It’s easier to communicate in these ways because the other person can’t gauge your sincerity or honesty by looking into your eyes or even hearing the tone of your voice. So if you want to shine somebody on, technology provides the perfect resource. But surely sending someone you love a smiley face can’t hold a candle to actually holding that person’s hand and seeing the smile that basic human contact elicits, can it? And what about the emotion within the human face and voice? Seriously, do all caps really tell you someone is shouting and indicate the tone of that shouting? OF COURSE NOT! Most of how we communicate is through language, but the tone of voice can take the same words and fill them with love or contempt. And what of body language and facial expression? What about looking someone right in the eye? If you get a text that says, “I love you more than life itself,” does that mean anything? If someone tells you that face to face and you’re looking right into his or her eyes when the words are spoken, are you more likely to gauge their sincerity correctly? Of course you are. So much goes wrong for Arthur and his kids in this story because of miscommunication, not only missed text messages, but also because of the reticence of the characters to share their feelings with those they care about. The things we don’t say to each other in life are often the most important, and sometimes in the course of events the opportunity to say something important may only arise once and never again. Or situational circumstances can spiral out of control and there ends up being no time to say those words you wanted to say until it’s far too late. The characters in Children of the Knight learn this lesson in some very harsh, unforgiving ways, and it’s likely been at times a painful reality for many of us, too. I think instant messages and texting are great for communicating insignificant information like what time you plan to meet someone at the gym. But saying “I love you” to somebody for the first time via text or message loses everything valuable those words convey, including the tone, the eye contact, the shy tilt of the mouth into a smile of endearment, everything that makes us human. Likewise, arguing or insulting somebody via text or messaging is idiotic and counterproductive. When we have an issue with someone we need to confront that person and talk it out and reach a resolution, one that both parties can read on the other’s face and in the other’s eyes. We’re not machines yet, so shouldn’t we stop acting like them? As Arthur tells Lance in Children of the Knight, “In this era you have found so many ways to communicate you have forgotten the most important-–face to face.” Books can help model good communication, even if society doesn’t, and the more kids read, the less likely they’ll completely lose the ability to be human. 
According to legend, King Arthur is supposed to return when Britain needs him most. So why does a man claiming to be the once and future king suddenly appear in Los Angeles? This charismatic young Arthur creates a new Camelot within the City of Angels to lead a crusade of unwanted kids against an adult society that discards and ignores them. Under his banner of equality, every needy child is welcome, regardless of race, creed, sexual orientation, or gang affiliation. With the help of his amazing First Knight, homeless fourteen-year-old Lance, Arthur transforms this ragtag band of rejected children and teens into a well-trained army-the Children of the Knight. Through his intervention, they win the hearts and minds of the populace at large, and gain a truer understanding of themselves and their worth to society. But seeking more rights for kids pits Arthur and the children squarely against the rich, the influential, and the self-satisfied politicians who want nothing more than to maintain the status quo. Can right truly overcome might? Arthur’s hopeful young knights are about to find out, and the City of Angels will never be the same. Buy Now @ Amazon
Genre – Edgy Young Adult Rating – PG13 More details about the author and the book
Connect with Michael J. Bowler on Facebook & Twitter
Website http://michaeljbowler.com/
Why Social Networks are the Keys to Good Networking by Alexandra Sokoloff I don’t suppose it’s any secret that networking and promotion is half the job of writing. Whether you’re traditionally published or indie published, a strong Internet presence is absolutely mandatory for an author. It is if you want to make a living at it, anyway. I’ve been a published author for six years now, with nine crime, supernatural and paranormal thrillers out, as well as two non-fiction workbooks on writing. Before that I was a screenwriter for eleven years. I’ve been a professional writer since I was twenty-five years old. I don’t know how to do anything else, so making a living at it is not optional for me. When I switched from screenwriting to writing books I really knew nothing at all about the book business, and even less about book promotion. I’m a pretty quick study, though, in general, and I jumped into the Internet research. And in 2006 it was pretty clear that blogging was the thing for authors to do. Blogging used to be the primary method of getting yourself out there, and if you had a personal blog and participated in a group blog, or several group blogs, well, even better. I did five years on the popular group mystery blog Murderati.com, and I know I benefitted from the professional exposure as well as the lively dialogue and companionship. But lately so many group blogs have shut down, including Murderati, now, and authors seem to be burned out on personal blogging. You no longer hear agents and editors pushing blogging to their authors. It seems the conversation has moved to Facebook. The truth is, writers don’t seem to have enough time to blog any more. It feels like diminishing returns, when there’s a fast and easy alternative conversation on Facebook. The technology has changed. We’re having to reinvent. I hear from a lot of people that Facebook is on the decline but it seems to me that those conversations that used to be had in the comments of blogs, and the large communities of “backbloggers” – a lion’s share of that action has moved to Facebook, and that that aspect of Facebook is growing. When I e-published my crime thriller Huntress Moon last July, it hit the top of all the Amazon mystery/suspense lists and brought me a deluge of new readers. Suddenly my Facebook subscribers jumped from a few thousand to twenty thousand. I have over 78,000 subscribers at this writing. It was clear to me that my readers wanted to engage with me there and I’d better figure out how to do that. But I’d been busy blogging and had spent next to no time with other social media. Again, I had to do some quick catch-up. Blogs are in-depth entities. The joy of a blog is that you can really explore a topic (as well as sometimes do some virtuoso writing), and the comments that follow deepen the conversation, and there’s something compelling about the feeling of that closed, fixed space that a blog is that makes it a sort of virtual salon. People return to their favorite blogs. They’re really like places where you can always find people you know and where other people can drop by and join the party. I love that virtual reality aspect of it. But blogging takes a lot of time, not just for the blogger. It takes actual effort to read a blog, in that you have to go to a particular place to get to the conversation. If the conversation there isn’t what you were looking for, you have to look elsewhere. Facebook is a different kind of experience. It’s all right there in front of you. You throw a topic up there and whoever happens to be passing by on the endless river of “feed” may or may not jump in. You never know who or what you’re going to get. Facebook has tailored a social media experience that is either still a novelty, or possibly more suited to the kind of social media experience that we are looking for – quick, fun, convenient interaction that gives you a buzz of relevance without much work. But I do notice a base of regular commenters coming back to my Facebook page over and over, so there is an aspect of place to it as well, and I try to provide content and conversation for those regulars as well. Some of my posts are funny, random comments or pictures or memes, but I also write longer posts that I often also link to my Screenwriting Tricks for Authors blog (http://www.screenwritingtricks.com) for an even more in-depth discussion for those who want it. I’ve heard that referred to as “microblogging” and I think that’s a perfect description. My Screenwriting Tricks for Authors blog is getting more traffic than ever (though far fewer comments these days), and a great deal of that traffic is for much older posts that are constantly reposted and linked to as people discover the blog and read the accompanying workbooks. It’s a hugely important selling tool for my nonfiction books. But I feel like I’m casting a far wider net with FB than I can with blogging. Any post I make I get comments from people I don’t know at all. It’s a quick interaction that introduces me to a huge number of people who may remember me and the fact that I’m an author, which is the groundwork of all promotion – name recognition. And I enjoy the format of Facebook. It’s so visual – which puts it light years ahead of Twitter, in my opinion. There’s an aspect of improv to it, in that I can always find something fun to say about something someone else has posted. I am, for better or worse, a social butterfly, and I love to have random conversations with large groups of random people. I know, I know, it’s sounding like I’ve just discovered Facebook (“Where exactly has she BEEN for six years?” you’re asking). But it’s only recently that I’ve felt that I can use it properly and that it’s at least for the moment being a form of social media promotion that gives me the most bang for my time. Time being always of the essence – not just for writers, but for everyone who reads them. And that’s why I also think that as an author you have to choose one or two of the social media that you actually enjoy, and don’t worry about the others. We can’t possibly do it all. It took me a while to learn to love Facebook, but now I honestly do. It’s my reward for my hard writing work. And when work is play, you’ve got the best of all world. So today, I’d love to hear what you others to say about it. Do you think blogging has moved to Facebook? Authors, have you had luck microblogging over there? Readers, what are your personal preferences in social media and interaction with authors? And while we’re on it, where does Twitter figure in? If people ARE leaving Facebook, where are they going? I’m really interested in what you all have to say about it. 
Buy Now @ Amazon Genre – Mystery / Thriller Rating – PG13 More details about the author & the book Connect with Alexandra Sokoloff on Facebook & Twitter Website http://alexandrasokoloff.com/
BUM Glue > All about procrastination by Tom Skinner SUPER SAGE The myth that we must have ‘time’ – more time – in order to create: is a myth that keeps us from using the time we do have. If we are forever yearning for ‘more’ we are forever discounting what is offered. (Julia Cameron) FAB FIVE I’d rather clean my toilet. (Find another hobby) I don’t know what to do. (Take a class) No time. (Carve out the time) Stuck. (Baby steps. Do fun bits first) Not what you thought it would be like. (Write for older audience) TIME FOR THE GURU Be idle some days. (Read. Buy stationery. Look at the clouds.) CLICK ME Handy cloud watching tips 
This whimsical mini-monster mash is a solid early reader’s alphabet lesson cleverly disguised as goofy lighthearted wordplay. That’s exactly why ABC: A Mini Monster Alphabet Book for Young and Old is chock full of adorable (not scary!) mini monsters with a love for sophisticated, funny, and odd-sounding names. Kids will enjoy reading along as the narrator of the bonus audio recites Arty names, Bold names, Cute names, Daft names, and 22 other name categories — with each category and its related list of vocabulary word names linked to an individual letter of the alphabet. Buy Now @ Amazon Genre – Children’s Picture Book Rating – G More details about the author Connect with Tom Skinner on Twitter & Goodreads
What Inspired Me to Write My Book By: J. L. Lawson This is a question near and dear to my heart for which I think I can offer some clear understanding in response. Over the last couple decades I have been part of an on-going experiment: Can an Objective Path to awakening produce in an individual the properties and functions of higher centers (those which are responsible for Objective Self-Knowledge and Objective Reason)? The path I speak of involves the removing of all non-verifiable data and emotions cluttering one’s being. In other words, scrapping everything acquired through blind belief, old wives’ tales, the plethora of “they say”, snippets to volumes of information un-vetted and unsubstantiated which through laziness or convenience has populated one’s mind and heart. At the same time carefully building up a verifiable structure of mentation, an inner construction which allows for the assimilation of verified data and verifiable information about oneself and the real world in which one finds oneself. This two-fold endeavor has yielded, for me personally, a far more impartial perspective both of my far less cluttered inner world, as well as clearer perceptions of what is transpiring in our outer world—that place where we all must have our daily existence. So, with our terminology clarified, how to weave such an understanding into a narrative form accessible to others? I chose the medium of metaphor and allegory—those forms which throughout the history of our species have stood the test of time for conveying the deeper meanings of our existence. I began with a simple premise: “What if there were lineages of highly conscious individuals from the most ancient of times and emergent into the present day?” That question, for me, would allow for a presentation both: of what would be the properties and functions of a person with higher consciousness, and also how a regular person could come to such a condition for themselves. It is the latter which, through my protagonists’ interactions with others, could become an accessible path for everyone wishing to gain what they may think they already possess, but clearly do not. It was the follow-up questions, “What would their world be like?” even more importantly, “What would our world be like—the one which we think we know?” that forced me to begin where I did—in the past—and bring the story through the subtly changed present and into a transformed future. Hence the term coined by J. W. Campbell regarding Mr. Heinlein’s epic works: “Future Histories.” Future History, then, according the sense in which I am compelled to use it, means the results of the aforementioned premise to have been realized in practice, extrapolated into real-time for a new view of man’s relationship to, and place within the greater world—even up to the Type III Civilization as envisioned by Kardashev. That lofty arena of such an accomplishment is one which we as residents of the present Earth are no where near even the farthest horizons. Understandably. While our societies, to some extent, and most definitely our technologies have evolved exponentially over the last few millennia, the individual, and resultant collective, evolution of our inner worlds haven’t moved forward even the barest distance by comparison. It is the individual who must perforce begin the personal change. Only then will our collective inner revolution gain the necessary traction to propel us in the directions of the ideals set forth in the allegorical Future Histories as presented in the Donkey and the Wall trilogy and The Curious Voyages of the Anna Virginia Saga. 
The Elf & Huntress is the beginning of a long and winding trail from power to obscurity, from infamy to glory for a naïve lass from the highlands. On a simple off-planet assignment she’s dragged screaming into an underworld she couldn’t have fathomed existed. A scarred and liberated prisoner, she rises to become the feared Captain of the Lascorii Secret Services, avenging nemesis of the vilest pirate plaguing the worlds underwritten by the Seranath Trade Guild, with a hand-picked crew—and one diminutive, rather officious Seranim Guild Agent who learns for herself that Wish is the most powerful thing in the Universe… Buy Now @ Amazon
Genre - Science Fiction/Metaphysical/Adventure Rating – G More details about the author Connect with J.L. Lawson on Facebook
Website http://voyagerpress.org/ a Rafflecopter giveaway
The unfair criticism of self-published authors by Michel Sauret I typically hate when people use the word “unfair” in their argument. It has a childish tone, that of someone who isn’t able to deal with reality and resorts to complaining about it instead. But when it comes to books, self-published authors really do get some unfair treatment. Immediately, book-reviewers, journalists, editors, libraries and even some readers will jump to the conclusion that unless a book was pulbished through the traditional route, it must suck. What other artists get that sort of treatment just because they’re unrepresented? I try to compare self-publishing to things that I know… About three years ago, my wife, Heather, and I started our own photography business. We called it One Way Street Production because of our faith in Christ. We invested our own money (we didn’t go into any debt or borrow money from anyone) to buy camera equipment, computers and editing software, which totaled thousands of dollars. We launched a website that we control and update ourselves directly. We were a self-started business. Our company name was our own. We worked directly for the clients who hired us, not some third-party representative whose existence validated our work. Families and brides who wanted to hire a photographer came to our website and judged our work based on its own merit, not based on who represented us. We didn’t need anyone’s permission to take photos. We simply had to produce quality work and make sure our clients were happy. And yet, in book publishing, most people still believe you must earn someone else’s permission to publish your book. They say, “You have to go through the gate keepers, otherwise you’re no good.” A few months ago, my sister, Marta, who is also my publicist, helped me set up a workshop on self-publishing at a local college. The professor who helped her organize the event was generous, understanding and very supportive. Marta and that professor posted flyers around the college campus in the weeks and days leading up to the workshop. The night of the workshop, Marta was setting up the room about an hour ahead of schedule. I wasn’t there yet, but she told me how another professor from that college had come to the room to tell her how much he disagreed with this workshop. He called self-publishing illegitimate. He called it a crock. He called it no good. That professor was a coward. That’s what I call him. He went to my sister to complain about my workshop instead of coming to me directly. After the workshop, I left him a note with my email and phone number inviting him to talk to me, and I still haven’t heard from him. Not only was that professor a coward, but he was wrong about all of his accusations. The reality is that self-published authors are gaining ground in the book industry. More and more indie authors are gaining the attention of publishers who originally rejected their books. There have even been self-published authors who hit the New York Times, Amazon & USA Today beste-seller lists! Up until recent years, the world of book publishing did hold a different standard. There were gate-keepers in the book publishing world more so than in other artistic pathways. In order to be published, you had to first go through an agent (no publishing house with any sort of reputation would dare to accept a manuscript directly from an author!), then the agent had to go through the publisher, then the publisher had to go through their accountants (in other words, it wasn’t enough for a book to be good, it had to sell!), and then finally the book reached the public! A whole slew of independent publishing houses (small presses) bypassed that formula and often accept submissions directly from the author, but self-publishing has defied even that principle! Self-publishing allows authors to skip the agent, the publisher, the editor, even their accountants and go straight to the public. Self-publishing took the door ram straight through the gate and rushed into the castle uninivited. For that, this form of publishing has left a bad taste in many people’s mouths. And because we’ve barged into the party uninvited, some have resorted to cowardly name-calling and unfair criticism. My take, read first, judge second. 
Buy Now @ Amazon Genre – Short Stories / Literary Fiction Rating – PG13 More details about the author & the book Connect with Michel Sauret on Facebook & Twitter
10 Things You Didn’t Know About Becoming a Self-Published Author by Brian Cormack Carr I self-published my first book How To Find Your Vital Vocation: A Practical Guide To Discovering Your Career Purpose And Getting A Job You Love four days before my 40th birthday. In the first week after its launch, it made the Amazon UK Kindle careers bestseller chart. The process of getting my book written and out in the world has been a lot of fun, and a real education. Here’s some of what I learned along the way: 1. You don’t have to wait for someone else’s permission. Today’s self-publishing options – such as Kindle Direct Publishing and Smashwords (for eBooks) and Createspace (for paperback books) – mean that it’s easier than ever to get your work out into the world. You don’t have to wait until an agent or publishing house decides you’re worthy of publication. If you’re willing to put some real effort into writing, self-publishing and marketing your book, you really can ‘do it yourself’. 2. Self-publishing isn’t the ‘soft’ option.
To some people, self-publishing still has a degree of stigma attached to it – but that’s fading. Nowadays, indie authors have as much of a potential platform as authors published through traditional publishing houses, since they are able to distribute their work through Amazon (arguably the single most important book distribution channel in the world today). The quality of indie books is high – many are almost indistinguishable from their traditionally-published counterparts, especially if they’ve been professionally edited and designed. 3. You need to get professional help if you want to be a professional author.
Assuming your writing is of a high standard, you still need to ensure your book comes across as professional. To do that, I strongly recommend having your work professionally edited (a skilled editor will pick up stylistic glitches even the most talented writer will miss) and the cover professionally designed (self-published books with Photoshop covers generally look awful). Professional help really will give your book the best start in the world, and it’s possible to enlist this help without too much expense. 4. You should set a target and make a plan.
Once you’ve made the decision to write and self-publish your book, it’s a good idea to set yourself a deadline. Ten months before my 40th birthday, I set myself of the target of having written and published my first book by my birthday itself (I hit my goal with four days to spare). I worked back from the target date to establish and calendarize milestones like “get book back from editor” and “source cover designer”, and I also set myself weekly word count targets. 5. Print-on-demand means you won’t end up with a stockpile of books in your garage. Remember the old days when one of the results of self-publishing was piles and piles of unsold books? With print-on-demand facilities like Createspace, that’s no longer necessary. You upload your book file, and when someone wants to buy the paperback copy, one copy is printed and shipped to them from Amazon. Easy, inexpensive – and no storage issues for you! 6. EBooks give you real flexibility. As well as being cheap and easily distributed (to those with e-readers, anyway) eBooks are also very flexible. Decide you want to change something in the book, or add an appendix later? You just upload a new file online through Kindle Direct Publishing or Smashwords and your ‘new edition’ is ready for purchase immediately. 7. You need to start promoting your book before you start writing it. Don’t wait until your book is out there to start building an audience and author platform. Start as soon as you start working on your book (if not before). At the very least, you should have your own author website (easily and cheaply set up through WordPress or Blogger) and a mailing list (using a facility like Aweber or Mailchimp). Start building a readership through blogging, and start capturing email addresses to your list. You’ll be glad of this audience when your book is released. 8. Social media is a self-published author’s best friend.
Another great way to build an audience is through social media. Pick one or two tools like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Goodreads and Google+ and start building your presence and interacting. You’ll make useful contacts and add an important dimension to your author platform, which will help with sales when your book is out. 9. Digital distribution means your launch can be long-term. Because I had built an audience through my website and social media platforms, I was able to generate a spike of initial sales when I released my book in June of this year. But I don’t see my launch as being over. I’m going to focus on promoting my book for several months before starting work on my next project. Because the book is available worldwide through digital and print-on-demand channels like Amazon and Smashwords, I don’t have to worry about it disappearing from bookstores! 10. Once the book is published, the hard work really starts!
Don’t let yourself think that once your book is published, you can relax. Now the real work begins! Get out there and promote it. Write blog articles for your site. Send a bulletin to your mailing list. Post quotes from your book to Facebook and Twitter. Consider going on a ‘blog tour’ (this article is part of my blog tour to promote How To Find Your Vital Vocation). Let the world know it’s there. You worked hard on it – now you need to shout about it. Good luck! BIOGRAPHY: Brian Cormack Carr is a writer, certified career coach and chief executive of BVSC The Centre for Voluntary Action, one of the UK’s leading local charities. He trained in personnel management with Marks & Spencer plc and gained an MA (Hons) in English Literature and Language from the University of Aberdeen. Brian has nearly 20 years of experience in the fields of personal development and leadership, and has helped hundreds of clients, readers and workshop participants to find fulfilling work and a renewed sense of purpose. Website: www.cormackcarr.com Twitter: @cormackcarr 
Ready to choose or change your job? Stuck in work you hate? Think the career of your dreams is beyond your reach? IT’S NEVER TOO LATE TO FIND YOUR VITAL VOCATION If you don’t love your work, you deserve better – and with this book at your side, you can get it. A lively and potentially life-changing guide,How To Find Your Vital Vocation sets out a simple-to-follow yet profoundly effective process that will take you step-by-step from wherever you are now to a working life based on your most cherished dreams. LEARN HOW TO: -
Hear the inner call that’s telling you what will make you truly happy -
Rediscover your gifts and use them to build a perfectly-tailored career -
Identify and overcome the obstacles that stand between you and your ideal work -
Create powerful networks to help you find great jobs that are never advertised -
Find out what it takes to become an entrepreneur of the future -
Maximise the impact of your job applications -
Ace every interview -
Attain reward levels that will help you thrive – even in this tough economy! Put yourself in charge of your career – once and for all. Packed with valuable insights, powerful exercises and illuminating self-coaching questions, How To Find Your Vital Vocation will help you chart a practical path to a fun and fulfilling livelihood. In this comprehensive resource, expert career coach Brian Cormack Carr shows you how to find your passion and purpose and finally start doing the work you were born to do. WHAT THEY’RE SAYING: “Too many of us have gone about finding our livelihood in a haphazard way. Before long, we become a statistic in a job dissatisfaction survey. Happily, it doesn’t have to be that way and Brian Cormack Carr proves it. If you think that work should be about more – much more – than just a way to pay your bills, this book is the roadmap you’ve been looking for. Work with How To Find Your Vital Vocation for a short time and you’ll be working at your real work for a long time.” ~ BARBARA J. WINTER Bestselling author of Making a Living Without a Job “Warm, witty and wise. I highly recommend this book. Brian knows his stuff and How To Find Your Vital Vocation is a breath of fresh air.” ~ GRACE OWEN Executive coach and author of The Career Itch “I appreciated the step-by-step nature of Vital Vocation. It made finding a new career that much easier, and I’m still amazed at how well it helped me clarify what I wanted to do with the rest of my life.” ~ DAVID Member of the Vital Vocation Online Coaching Programme “Vital Vocation helped me focus after I had spent too long panicking and going nowhere. Now my part-time hobby has grown to a full-time occupation and I’ve finally given up the day job that was making me sad!” ~ STEVEN Member of the Vital Vocation Online Coaching Programme Buy Now @ Amazon & Smashwords Genre – NonFiction / Careers Rating – G More details about the author Connect with Brian Cormack Carr on Facebook & Twitter Website http://vitalvocation.com/
10 Things I Wish I Knew About Being an Author I Didn’t Know Before by John Hartnett 1.There actually isn’t a federal law that writers must chain smoke unfiltered cigarettes, drink copious amounts of alcohol, get into fist fights or carouse with strange women. It’s strictly a guideline. In addition, wearing a cardigan sweater while writing is also optional. 2. Every time you are hard at work writing and in that place where the words seem to be flowing from deep within your subconscious, someone in your family will ask you to come down and get the grill going. 3. If you use profanity or write long descriptive passages about lovemaking in your work and your mother is still living, there will be at least one unpleasant conversation where you will momentarily wish she wasn’t. 4. There are worse things than having your work disappear from your computer. Number one is having your list of things that are worse than having your work disappear from your computer disappear from your computer. 5. No matter how strong your teeth are, you can not “eat” your way through a writer’s block. 6. If a studio inquires about the movie rights to your book about the invention of the place mat, never tell them to “get in line.” 7. If people didn’t judge books by their covers, designers couldn’t charge so much. 8. Rejection of an artist’s work is a natural and common occurrence but if your dog digs your stuff, that’s all that matters. 9. There is nothing good that can come from stealing from another author. Unless it’s a power washer. A good one will cost you more than $300 and there’s little point in buying one since you’ll really only need it maybe twice a year. 10. Never purchase a new car on credit with the intention of paying it off with your royalties. 
The Barber’s Conundrum and Other Stories has been nominated for a 2013 Best Indie Book Award by The Kindle Book Review The Barber’s Conundrum and Other Stories is more than just a collection of thirty-seven short literary humor pieces and humorous jokes that will make you laugh. It provides a treasure trove of tips and invaluable advice to help you navigate safely through marriage and relationships, raising kids and to finally understand the more peculiar aspects of day to day living that up until now, had been tossed into a big heap as just another one of God’s mysteries. For example, did you ever wonder why weather reporters continue to stand in the middle of raging hurricanes to tell us what hurricanes are like when everybody else already knows what hurricanes are like? Did you ever wonder why people stop their cars in the middle of the street to let geese walk past even though geese have been flying long before Cro- Magnon Man was in knee pants? Did you ever think that if aliens do exist on our planet, most of them work in customer service? They do! All of that, and more is in the book, so what do you say? At $8.99, you’re guaranteed to receive at least $10.50 worth of terrific advice and life extending laughter, which as we know is the best medicine, and there’s never a co-pay with laughter so you’re up well over $20 already and this is only the back cover. Think of the possibilities to save when you read the whole thing. Buy Now @ Amazon & Smashwords Genre – Humor Rating – PG More details about the author
Connect with John Hartnett on Facebook & Twitter Website http://monkeybellhop.com/
Inspiration Is A Strange Thing! by AFN Clarke Many people have asked me a question that most authors get asked frequently – what inspires you to write? And I am sure there are as many different answers as there are authors! For me from the time I was a child living in and traveling to different places all over the world including so-called “exotic” locations like Hong Kong, India, Iran, Libya, Turkey, Spain and Italy – my inspiration to write was simply the overwhelming desire to fully communicate my experiences of those countries, cultures and landscapes to family and friends. Life was an adventure and so I wrote about it from the time I could form my letters and put pen to paper. As I grew older the inspiration remained similar – to entertain, communicate and inspire by using words to create new worlds in which my readers could immerse themselves and explore for a while. But each book also has its own reasons for having been written and probably reveals as much about myself as it does about the characters and story it presents. My first book Contact started out as a way of coming to terms with the world after returning from combat physically and emotionally wounded. I was lost, angry, sad, wanted the average person to know what a soldier went through day after day waiting for a stray bullet or an explosive device to shatter their life or end it; wanted families of veterans to understand why their loved ones seemed different, distant, and burdened. That it became a bestseller was gratifying, but it was not essential to me. In fact it was greatly unexpected. My inspiration was always the experience with my men and the communities we patrolled, witnessing the strength of the human spirit to survive against all odds. My motivation was the desire to ensure those lives lost and lives torn apart meant something and were not forgotten in the noise of political and religious rhetoric. That maybe politicians would understand the cost of war and not engage in it quite so lightly or quickly. Sadly that lesson seems not to have been learned, as veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan tell me how “Contact” – written so many years ago - still manages to resonate with their experience in recent times. Eerily and heartbreakingly so. Now I only write fiction and I love to write many different genres because each genre provides a new medium of communication. My second book Collisions was inspired by my own unsettling experience of PTSD; An Unquiet American is a politically provocative thriller inspired by my concern over the rise of extreme conservative elements in US politics and the eroding of democratic principles; Dreams from the Death Age and Armageddon are satires which were a blast to write and were inspired by my desire to question some of the absurdities of life today by humorously projecting where we might end up in the future; Dry Tortugas is a more personal novel inspired by my relationship with my daughters. And my latest book The Orange Moon Affair is the first of an ongoing page-turning thriller series inspired by my love of history, intrigue, international espionage and concern about the dangers of unmitigated power in the hands of unscrupulous individuals and groups. They all sound like serious topics for a work of fiction, but I guess that’s because what I’m most passionate about is exploring and making sense of the world around me – seeing things through different eyes and perspectives that expand my vision and push the envelope of my thinking – and doing the same for my readers. So what inspires you? What makes your blood boil or your heart sing? What animates your conversations and makes others take notice? Hold that thought and you may have the seed of your next book, painting, song, dance, social campaign, or career. Inspiration is a strange and personal thing – but without it the world would implode in its own mediocrity. AFN CLARKE is the son of a British MI6 operative, pilot, sailor, screenwriter, father of four who’s lived all over the world, served in the British Army and recovered from the physical/emotional traumas of war. His bestselling memoir CONTACT was serialized in a British newspaper and made into an award winning BBCTV film. He’s insatiably curious, loves heated discussions and has a rascally sense of humor. He now writes fiction of various genres – thrillers (The Orange Moon Affair and An Unquiet American); human drama (Dry Tortugas), humor/satire (Dreams from the Death Age; Armageddon), horror (Collisions) with more coming soon. For more information visit http://www.afnclarke.com, connect on Facebook or Twitter (@AFN Clarke). 
This new expanded edition of AFN Clarke’s bestselling and controversial book CONTACT is a raw, visceral, “no-holds-barred” account of combat from one of the men we paid to kill. When first published it caused a furor for its devastating honesty and chilling revelations. Clarke vividly recounts his experiences of two tours in Northern Ireland (in Belfast and Crossmaglen) as a Platoon Commander with Britain’s elite Parachute Regiment during the blood soaked 1970′s. Soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan comment on how relevant the book still is today, as the dangers, political agendas and religious roots underlying the conflict are eerily and heartbreakingly similar to their own more recent experiences. Clarke takes us to heart of the action. We feel what it’s like to live each day with senses on high alert, waiting to be ripped apart by the accuracy of a sniper or a well-hidden bomb. We enter the private world of soldiers ordered to hold the lines in an ancient quarrel they have little affinity for, but whose consequences are deadly. We experience their emotions, fear, courage, humor, bravado and the anguish of death. This expanded edition continues from where the print version ended, revealing the untold nightmare Clarke lived through having nearly died, with half his insides missing, suffering from PTSD and being expected to return to a “normal life”. A story of the scars of war that affect generations. Of heartache, courage and hope for peace. “I am an ex soldier who served in Northern Ireland during the Troubles and this is an excellent account of what it was like. I only wish we had an officer like Captain Clarke.” pm, 5 Stars Amazon UK“.. its honesty and passion cannot be denied .. Mr. Clarke has sent out a powerful and disturbing early warning signal.” Maurice Leitch, Daily Telegraph. “..a major contribution to our understanding of war and how people act .. Contact is the work of a brave writer.” Kevin Toolis, Irish News. “As a civilian it’s hard to imagine what’s it’s really like to be a soldier in combat but this book opened my eyes. I highly recommend it …” KTHuffy, 4 Stars Amazon USA. CONTACT was reviewed by soldiers who served with Captain Clarke as verification of his recollections. It was first published in the UK in 1983 by Martin Secker & Warburg, was serialized for 5 days in The Mirror and became an instant best seller. In 1984 it was published in paperback by PAN Books, by Schocken Books New York and made into an award-winning BBC TV film. And in 2012 came the expanded ebook edition, which all these years later is still selling strong. Readers outside the UK are invited to visit Amazon.co.uk for soldier’s reviews and comments. AFN Clarke is a full-time author and writes fiction of various genre – fast-paced thrillers (An Unquiet American), poignant human drama (Dry Tortugas), humorous satire (The Book of Baker Series - Dreams from the Death Age; Armageddon; Genesis Revisited), psychological horror (Collisions); and the Thomas Gunn suspense series (The Orange Moon Affair) with more coming soon. Visit the Amazon Kindle Store or afnclarke.com for further information. Buy Now @ Amazon Genre – Autobiography / Biography & Memoir Rating – 18+ More details about the author Connect with AFN Clarke on Facebook & Twitter Website http://www.afnclarke.com/
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