Dear Reader, I will be away from my beloved blog for a few days, visiting family and having a bit of quality time with my husband. I’ll be back before you know it. In the meantime … thanks to a recent guest post on TwinDaddy’s Stuphblog by my favorite dilettante, Helena Hann-Basquiat, I’ve been reminded of my favorite Star Wars type movie. I say “type” because I was never much of a Star Wars fan. (Well, back in the day, I was very happy to plunk down a few dollars to watch a young Harrison Ford be sexy in a surly sort of way. Now, not so much.) Anyhoo, for your viewing entertainment:
A great post on SEO from Cate at CommuniCATE. If you don’t know what SEO is, read her post. If you do and think you should jump on the SEO bandwagon, read her post. Since I’ve read her post, I’ll just say I wish I did have an attic in which to write (at least, an attic not filled with fluffy insulation :) )
Some years ago bioethics professional Dr. Sigrid Fry-Revere had a harrowing experience with her six year old son. He developed kidney cancer. He might have very well needed a kidney transplant in the immediate future. And he might have died because he could not find a donor organ.
Believe it or not, there is a serious shortage of kidney and other organ donors in the US.
Fortunately her son is alive and well today, is now a hale and hearty 16 years-old, having survived this ordeal smashingly.
But this experience, the terror of it and the discovery of the drastic shortage of organ donors to meet a huge US need, people with failing organs of all kinds, seared and galvanized Sigrid Fry-Revere to research in incredible depth, not only the US organ donor system, but how other countries handle this need.
Profoundly surprising to her, she found that of all…
I learned last night that Yesterday Road is one of the twelve finalists in the literary category of Indie Author Land’s contest: The 50 Self-Published Books Worth Reading (2013/14). Now it’s time to vote for the winner in each category.
I need lots of help here, kids. There are a couple of formidable titles on the literary list, books that received many more nominations than mine did, but I think we can make a good showing if we each get just about everyone we know to vote. See, you get five votes in each category, and, diabolical fiend that I am, I’m assuming the counter sees each computer it tags with a cookie as a different person. So vote from home. Vote from work. Vote from your phone. Vote from your mom’s computer. We want an army of voters to put Yesterday Road over the top!
Let’s show what a great community of writers and bloggers we are by supporting Operation Mallory, a project set up to help author Stephen C. Spencer who is battling cancer. Please read Rosie’s post for more details. Or you can go directly to 90 Days Novel at http://www.90daysnovel.com/2014/04/operation-mallory.html
BEYOND EVENTIDE: BOUND is Now Available! Book 2.5, and the sixth overall release in the highly rated House of Crimson & Clover series, is now available across most major retailers.
In honor of Charles Yallowitz’s birthday, I’m making this post sticky so it will be the first post anyone sees when they come to my blog. And if you really want to celebrate with Charles and his friends, do more than read this post. Buy the books! I’ve read the first in the series, Beginning of a Hero, and it’s great action-packed, fantasy fun!
The magical adventure continues after Luke Callindor and his friends recover from their battles in Haven.
Nyx still has nightmares about casting the genocide spell in Hero’s Gate. Every night her heart is gripped by the sensation of hundreds of goblins dying by her magic. By the request of Lord Highrider and Duke Solomon, she is returning to fix the damage she caused. With Luke Callindor and Sari by her side, Nyx is ready to face the vengeful goblins and opportunistic thieves that plague Hero’s Gate. Yet, there is a darker threat that was born from her violated magic: The Krypters.
It is another action-packed, character driven story that will reveal one of our heroes has been lied to for their entire life.
Wondering what you’re in for? Check out the praise earned by the first three installments of this high fantasy series.
“I greatly enjoyed the vivid characters, the gripping plot, and the refreshingly unique writing style (present tense). ” – kdillmanjones
“One of the things that won me over was the bouts of humor. Especially in the beginning. “This is not possible! I am a Paladin!” I thought I was going to die with delight.” – C.N. Faust
“Nyx is such a strong personality. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know her and more of the other characters, new and already known, with the rich tapestry of Windemere unfolding in between intense actions scenes and moments of kindness and budding friendships.” – Danielle Taylor
“Almost like the Harry Potter series. The books start out so young and innocent, but by the last book – watch out!” — Momto4Booklover
“One of the things I love most about this series are all the characters! They are developed so well that I feel like I know them personally. Even the newly introduced characters fit in immediately.” – BarbBookWorm
“Let’s talk about action. The author creates interesting action sequences with believable use of fantasy elements. He is very creative. There are also good sections where the characters stretch out and we get to know them better.” – Donald L. Mitchell “Music Lover”
Author Biography:
Charles Yallowitz was born and raised on Long Island, NY, but he has spent most of his life wandering his own imagination in a blissful haze. Occasionally, he would return from this world for the necessities such as food, showers, and Saturday morning cartoons. One day he returned from his imagination and decided he would share his stories with the world. After his wife decided that she was tired of hearing the same stories repeatedly, she convinced him that it would make more sense to follow his dream of being a fantasy author. So, locked within the house under orders to shut up and get to work, Charles brings you Legends of Windemere. He looks forward to sharing all of his stories with you and his wife is happy he finally has someone else to play with.
IT’S HERE! Yes, THE Memoirs of a Dilettante Volume I is available for your reading pleasure at Amazon! And Helena is cooking up an idea for what may be The. Best. Contest. Ever.
Drum roll please! The Home Fire is finally here! Whew! What a long road to publication this little book has had! First written nearly three years ago, it sat-alone and forgotten-for months and months before I began re-writing it. Then came the always fun editing stage, cover design, formatting, and publication date (okay, so maybe not exactly in that order).
So I am very glad I am finally finished with this book. It is a good feeling, to reach a finish line, for sure. Now, I can only pray that no mistakes will be brought to my attention, giving me reason to do any more work on this book. As much as I love each and every one of my books, I only want to have to re-write them once. Don’t get me wrong, spending time with the little bundles of joy is a wonderful thing…unless I’m editing for the…
There’s a lot you have to get your head round as an aspiring writer: rules for structure, characterisation, style, voice, language, how to keep up motivation, how to get things done and on how not to get things done. I could go on. And on. In fact, I have. I’ve been posting on The Path weekly for over a year and still haven’t run out of things to say.
And, yes, that’s just the writing part. After you’ve actually written something, (book, script, poety collection) there’s a whole new ballgame to learn the rules to: do I go straight to a publisher? If so, which one? Do I need an agent? Should I do it myself? If so, how do I get an audience, edit to professional standards, get cover art sorted, promote, market, cover printing costs?
No, don’t cry. It’s going to be ok. It will. I promise. Why? Because, if…
Marie at 1 Write Way 