Guest Posts

When we welcome someone else to the site to share their thoughts on all things books and writing

by

IAM Guest Post…Why I Read Indie Authors

Guest Feature

Guest Feature

Today’s guest post about why she reads indie is by Adrianna Stepiano, author of the Memoir of a Mermaid series.

———————————-

Recently, I was carrying on a perfectly random conversation with a woman at a dollar store. The conversation began while we were standing in front of a bin of $1 books–mostly novels. In her opinion, the books were not worth reading, her reasoning was based solely on the price of the book. She said as she carelessly tossed the paperbacks around, “Nope, wouldn’t be nothing good, they’re a dollar.” She let out an annoying laugh, she smelled like cheap perfume (perhaps a past purchase from the dollar store), and chomped on a wad of gum.

Really, I didn’t want to look up at her, I didn’t want to talk to her, I didn’t want to try to change her mind–but, in the bin full of books, I saw names, and those names belonged to authors, and those authors deserved more. More of what though? Money? Nah, most authors don’t care about money. They deserved to be “worth reading”, no matter the price of their book, or the store it was being purchased at.

What they didn’t deserve, was a double negative–or maybe it was a triple negative, I wasn’t sure. I took a deep breath and I said, “Anything.”

She said, “Huh?”

I elaborated, “..wouldn’t be anything good.”

Of course, she didn’t catch on to my correcting her, and instead mistook my words for an agreement. “Yeah, there ain’t nothing good in there.”

This is the type of narrow minded thinking that causes so many indie authors grief. (Just so you’re completely in the loop, I am an indie author.) Can you believe that many people have refused to read my book because it was not traditionally published? It’s true. They put my book in a ‘bin’, much like the overlooked dollar bin. The reasoning is this, “Indie authors tend to not know how to write, or they’ve been rejected by the publishing industry.” I tell you, that is absolutely not true.

I read, a lot. I read indie, I read traditional published books, I read blogs…really, I’ll read anything. However, I won’t read past the first few lines if the piece, book, post has been poorly written. The thing is, I don’t care ‘where’ it came from, I care about how it is written, I care about how interesting it is, I care about all the right things. That, in truth, is why I read indie, I simply do not discriminate.

—————————-

Want to know more? Check out the links!

www.memoirofamermaid.com

by

IAM Interview…with author B B Shepherd

Guest Feature

Guest Feature

Today’s guest author is B B Shepherd and we’re featuring her YA novel Bronze (The Glister Journals) later this week. The first feature is her interview, so let’s meet her! 

———————————-

 What is you favorite way to spend a rainy day?

 When I don’t have to be out in it, I love to be able to watch it out a window, curling up with a favorite book and cup of tea, maybe some Romantic era music on in the background. I’d probably be cuddling with my cat, Buu, too.

You’ve found a time machine on your driveway this morning – where are you going to go in it?

A TARDIS I hope!  With David Tennant inside? (Sorry, sidetracked . . .)

I would love to go back to Regency England. It’s my favorite historical period. I’d like to explore the countryside as well as London and take lots of notes for a future novel. Can I take a camera as well?

It’s your fantasy dinner party – who are your guests?

I thought this would be an easy one until I really thought about it, and I could have gone in a completely different direction, but here goes: Jane Austen, Neil Gaiman, Amanda Palmer, David Bowie, C S Lewis, J K Rowling, Claude Debussy, Gabriel Faure, Pierre-August Renoir, Albert Einstein, Robert Downey Jr. and Ellen DeGeneres.  And my closest friends, of course. I think that would make for a pretty interesting and entertaining party. Can you imagine Jane Austen and Amanda Palmer in conversation? LOL.

If you could have any superpower, what would you choose?

I’m not sure if it’s a superpower, but I’d like to fly. I used to have dreams of flying all the time when I was growing up, which is very strange—I’m terrified of heights!

One food you would never eat?

Horsemeat. It would be like eating a human being to me. The same goes for dog or cat.

What are you working on at the moment – do you have any other books in the works?

I am working almost exclusively on the second Glister Journals novel, but I’m constantly adding to notes on the last two books in the series and write ideas for other projects when I get them. My next, after the series is finished, will be a historical romance.

What has been your most rewarding experience since being published?

It is a thrill every time I find out someone likes Bronze, especially if they write a review expressing their thoughts on it. To have others “get” it, on any level, is extremely satisfying. When they like the characters I’ve created, it’s as if they like me too. Because of that I’ve made some very special friends and I hope I get to actually meet them one day!

If you could jump in to a book, and live in that world which would it be?

That’s a really tough one, but my favorite world is still Narnia.

When you were little, what did you want to be when you “grew up”?

Oddly, I don’t remember ever wanting to be anything in particular when I was little. At thirteen I had decided I wanted to be an animal conservationist in Africa. I kind of lost interest in future plans through my middle teen years—my attention became pretty equally divided between music, books, horses, and boys!

How did you know you should become an author?

I’ve written in one form or another all my life, but I had begun writing short stories for myself as a form of escape after losing my mother. When an idea I’d had forever seemed to take on a life of its own and began evolving into something bigger than I had ever imagined, I decided to go for it. It became something of an obsession and still is! The characters became so real I had to constantly write to get them out of my head! (Oh dear, that sounds slightly psychotic, doesn’t it?)

Aside from Writing: Come back later this week to check out an exciting excerpt from the opening pages of Bronze and remember to enter the MASSIVE book giveaway here on the blog, where you could win books by all our featured authors!

—————————-

Want to know more? Check out the links!

Series website: http://www.theglisterjournals.com/

Author’s Goodreads page: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4984592.B_B_Shepherd

Indiebound: http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780982893609

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0982893612

by

Tony’s Review: The Sacrifice, Charlie Higson

5/5

Everyone over the age of 14 has been consumed by a virus that essentially turns them into zombies. Only the children are immune…for now, maybe.

This is number four in what Charlie Higson is now planning to make a seven book epic, and there’s a sense of things being set up for the later books, especially in the later chapters. There’s a change in the behaviour of the adults, for good and bad – the good guys get an ally, and the bad guys get a leader.

This is a book without fault. There isn’t a single wasted character or event, no matter how minor, and all the strands of plot tie up at the end and then leave room for more books (apart from DogNut, who I’m sure will appear in Book Five or somewhere down the line…).

What’s getting hard after four books and a gap of a few years between them, is to get the timeline sorted out. Events in this book overlap events in the other three, and it’s hard to remember who all the characters are in the previous books and their ‘status’ in this one. But that’s a minor niggle.

Higson goes to lengths to point out that the monsters inside – the children who decide to lead the children – are as dangerous as those outside. There are shades of Lord of The Flies in Ed and Little Sam and the situations they find themselves in, and I think the comparison is a worthy one.

This is not a book for the squeamish. A nine year old boy gets flogged, anyone can die (and they do), and the fights against the adults are long, bloody and vicious. It doesn’t go into extravagant details, but it doesn’t shy away from them either. Be warned: This is the book Stephen King would write if he wrote YA.

The real star of the show are Little Sam and the delightfully batty (or is he?) The Kid, who talks like Alex from A Clockwork Orange but is sharp as a sat-on-box-of-pins. Sam’s grim determination to find his sister and then The Kid is one of the underlying themes of the book – and there are so many: dictatorships, loyalty, sacrifice, friendship, not judging people by their appearances, rebuilding society. Everything is packed in there, but nothing feels rushed or thrown in. This is a book carefully constructed to make you think and reconsider, and I’m already hungry for the next three sequels.

by

Cover Reveal…In Your Dreams by Amy Martin

One of our favourite YA books in 2012 was Amy Martin’s debut, In Your Dreams. Today it launches with a new cover and we’re revealing it here…now! 

CoverImage - InYour Dreams

Sixteen-year-old Zara “Zip” McKee lives for three things: basketball, books, and bailing out of tiny Titusville, Illinois, where the junior high and high school are in the same building and everyone’s known everyone else since birth. But when Kieran Lanier moves to town and passes out on her desk on his first day at school, Zip’s life gets complicated in a way she never dreamed.

Kieran has narcolepsy, and although he sometimes struggles to stay awake, he has no trouble capturing Zip’s heart and trusting her with his most guarded secret–he sees bits and pieces of the future in his dreams.

But just when Zip thinks that maybe she can handle having a boyfriend who sees things before they happen, her budding relationship with Kieran gets a jolt when Kieran’s parents reveal that his sleeping disorder is not what it seems and may be putting them in harm’s way. And when Zip begins to have unsettling dreams, she must decide if she can live with knowing the future in advance when she’s afraid of what might happen.

———————————

Author Biography

Amy Martin wrote and illustrated her first book at the age of ten and gave it to her fourth grade teacher, who hopefully lost it in her house somewhere and didn’t share it with anyone else. Not counting that early experiment in self-publishing, In Your Dreams is Amy Martin’s first Young Adult novel.

A native of St. Charles, MO, Amy currently lives in Lexington, KY with her husband and a ferocious attack tabby named Cleo. When not writing or reading, she can usually be found watching sports, drinking coffee, or indulging her crippling Twitter habit (and, sometimes, doing all three at once). You can follow her on Twitter at @ThatAmyMartin.

——————————————

You can read our 2012 review of In Your Dreams here and an interview with Amy here. 

——————————————————————–

Want to know more? Check out the links!

Twitter: @ThatAmyMartin

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6472261.Amy_Martin

by

Writing 101…Anatomy of a Scene

Words are the stock and trade of every writer, but some authors get too caught up in their own words. When you’re writing out a scene involving any sort of character action at all — even when it’s talking — you also have to work out the logistics. If you can’t put yourself inside of every scene and picture exactly what’s happening, you’ve got a real problem.

 


Get Back Inside the Box

The environment the characters live in is just as important as the characters themselves. Your characters are only extraordinary or special when compared to everything else around them. How they move is just as relevant as how they think. That’s why you’ve got to think about your books three-dimensionally, not just the way they read on the page.

Just about every room in the world is shaped like a box. Some boxes are bigger than others, some substantially so. Some are elongated so they’re more rectangular in shape. Some are enclosed with walls made of plaster, others with windows of glass. Put yourself inside a room with your characters. In that room, you’re the only thing that doesn’t take up space.

Envision each scene as you write them, and see yourself and your characters inside that box together. In most cases they will be standard human beings who must stand upon the ground, so remember that. Is there also furniture in this room? Maybe they’re going to have to move around it to get to one side of the room or the other. Are there other people in this room? Where are they standing? What needs to happen so that the characters may complete the actions the scene requires?

You’ve always got to think about their actions. If you have two characters who are supposed to be talking at a party, don’t have them standing and shouting across the room at each other. Don’t allow me to picture it playing out this way. Explain to me where they’re at in relation to the rest of the party. Are they in a corner, by a window? By the buffet table, off to the side? Maybe they stepped out onto the balcony, or into a back room.

If you can’t picture it as it’s happening, you’ve got to change the scene until you canpicture it. That’s the only way I’m going to be able to picture it as the reader, and I want to picture every single scene.

 

———————————————–

This post originally featured on Jade Varden’s author blog in 2012.

———————————————–

Author Jade Varden is a regular guest contributor on Aside From Writing. The Writing 101 features originate from her own blog  at http://jadevarden.blogspot.co.uk where you can see more of her thoughts on writing, as well as her own books. Her debut novel Justice and sequel The Tower are available now! Read our review of Justice here.

by

Cover Reveal…Shatter Silence by Ron C. Nieto

Shattered Silence - Cover Reveal

Keith never believed in Happily Ever After, at least not for someone like him. However, that’s exactly what it feels like when he has the love of his life by his side.

Alice fought everything she was, everything she thought she wanted to be, just to save him. When the nightmare blew over and the both of them were left standing, she thought she’d get her shot at happiness.

But how long can bliss last when everything they hold dear starts to crumble around them? Can they truly be free of a hatred that’s been alive for centuries?

The song has been played and, in its wake, the silence shatters

If you’d like to preorder this book, grab some cool swag, brag about having a scene written for you or just be part of the project, there’s an IndieGoGo page where you can get all that and more! Follow the link below and check out what you could get, perks start from just a dollar!

IndieGoGo Button

Silent Song Cover

Alice had it all… By day, that is. By night, she had a secret she would never admit. Not even to herself. Except, if she doesn’t acknowledge it, it might be lost forever. It would be easy to let go—if the price weren’t his soul.

Psst! If you want to buy Silent Song, consider claiming it as a perk instead!

Add to GR

 

Author Pic

 

About the Author

Ron C. Nieto is a fantasy and romance author who has been writing in her secluded fortress for the longest time. Recently, she had a talk with her cat and decided that she should share her creations, because it was selfish to hoard them all for herself.

 

Want to know more? Check out the links!

Author Website | Twitter | GoodReads

by

Cover Reveal…After Summer by Hannah Harvey

After Summer

After Summer – Release 1st March 2013

 

 We’re really excited to be hosting a cover reveal feature today for author Hannah Harvey – her new book After Summer will be released on the first of March and you can find out all about it here! 

———————–

The Blurb – Everything changes for Arianna when she loses one of her best friends in an accident, suddenly everything that felt happy and safe, is no longer there, and she can’t handle it.

It used to be Ben, Summer and Arianna, always together, and now it’s just Ben and Arianna left, and she needs to escape.

After Summer’s death she pushes Ben away, cutting of her connection with who she used to be, but she can’t keep running forever, not when the past is always ready to catch her up, especially since it’s more than just Summer’s death that she’s running from.

 

Full Synopsis

After Summer is a young adult fiction novel, set in a fictional beachside small town in America. It centres around Arianna, an eighteen year old who has just graduated high school. All her life Arianna has had a plan in place, but after her best friend Summer dies, she finds it increasingly difficult to live up to the expectations.

She has secrets, and throughout the novels she’s battling between what she wants, and what she thinks others want for her.

Most of the story is told in third person, though there are a few journal style letters incorporated.

After Summer is a book about discovering who you are, through many trials of growing up. It delves into loss, love, expectations and a fear of asking for help, even when you know you need it.

 ———————–

Excerpt:

‘Don’t lecture me Ben I can’t deal with that tonight.’

‘I expected more from you.’ He sighs.

‘That’s the whole issue though,’ Arianna shouts, ‘so many people expected so much from me, by the time I was about thirteen my whole life had been mapped out, and I felt like if I changed even one thing, I’d be letting everyone down! I was drowning in expectations. After Summer died I just couldn’t do it anymore, but that Arianna, the one I used to be, she was so tied down by all of that, so I had to become someone new.’

‘And cut everyone out of your life? I know it’s not just me, you hardly talk to Alex anymore, you’re withdrawn around your parents, you don’t talk to my parents anymore, all of your friends were dropped, you don’t talk to Kate, and she says that Fletcher has been trying to contact you but you won’t talk to him either. I don’t understand it, you had a great life and sure I know things weren’t perfect, but you had a support system of friends and family, and you pushed them all away. What’s so horrible about the life you had planned?’

‘Nothing’s horrible about it,’

‘Then just explain to me what you’re doing? Why you’re acting like this prom queen type of girl.’

‘Maybe because I am the prom queen,’ she shrugs noncommittally, ‘I like who I am now, I have a big group of friends, I have money, I don’t have to worry about being labelled a nerd, I actually have a varied social life that consists of more than staying at home, or going to the arcade. I don’t have to care,’

‘About anything,’ he finishes for her, ‘that’s the biggest problem, you used to care about things and people, but now you don’t, or you pretend you don’t.’

‘I didn’t come here to talk about myself, so if this is the way the nights going then I’ll leave now.’ She snaps back angrily.

 ————————-

About the Author: Hannah has had a keen interest in writing for a long time, starting out writing short stories when she was young. As she got older she started taking her writing more seriously, and writing longer pieces, but it wasn’t until taking part in and completing NaNoWriMo, that she decided to pursue her writing. Her first novel ‘How I Got Here’ was released in the summer of 2012.

Want to know more? Check out the links!

Authors Website: www.thebooktower.webs.com

Amazon Authors Page: www.amazon.com/author/hannahharvey

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/bookish92

 

by

Writing 101…Sell More Books

It is a truth universally accepted that a reader in possession of a good book must be in want of another good book, and as a self-published author this is the mantra you must adopt. After your book is written, and published, and promoted, there’s only one thing left to do: write more. Want to sell more books? Then start writing more books.

You’re Only As Good As…

What’s your favorite song right this minute? What was your favorite song, one year ago on this day? Do you even remember? Most people probably won’t, for one simple reason: there’s always something new. There’s a new singer to hear, a new food to try, a new show to watch, a new book to read. No matter how remarkable or fantastic your book, eventually it will be eclipsed by another. Just ask J. K. Rowling, and 10 millionTwilight fans, how quickly the tide of the MTV movie awards can turn against you.
Unless you write a book that becomes the basis of a religion, or come up with something wildly popular like the 50 Shades trilogy, chances are darned good that your book won’t be self-sustaining. You have to promote it constantly, and after just a few months it’s already going to be old news anyway. The best way to keep your books, your brand, fresh is by offering more.
So, you’ve just got to write more books. In this business, you’re only as good as your last book…and even that isn’t going to last too long. People are always looking for what’s next, so in order for you to keep your name out there and keep readers interested you’ve got to give them what’s next.
  • Don’t take breaks from writing. When you’re done with a book, great! Drink a glass of champagne, high-five your friends, pat yourself on the back, and start thinking about your next project. Get to work on it immediately. If you need time to rest and relax, give yourself a week between books. No more. It’s time for what’s next.
  • Don’t stop promoting. Continue to promote all your old books. Re-releasethem with new covers and new extras; make them fresh and exciting again. Do this in-between promoting whatever your next book project is.
  • Don’t forget to tell your fans and reviewers. Whenever you have a new book coming out, make a big deal about it. Tell all the people who have reviewed you in the past. Offer them free books, tell them you’ve got something else they’re going to like. Do cross-promotions so your existing fans know you have something brand-new for them. “Did you like Red Heat? Then you’ll love my new book, Cold Wind.”
  • Don’t fail to use your new books to get new fans. There’s no way your last book appealed to everyone you wanted to target. Try again with this new book. If you gain brand-new readers, they might go back and read some of your older books while they’re at it.
If you’re only as good as your last book, then make that work for you. Make it work by producing new books and changing your reputation. If your work is very high-quality, well-written and well-edited, you will gain new readers and sell more books. Writing more books will make you more legitimate as an author, and will show that you’re committed to your craft. Readers like that, and they like having a lot of reading options. Give it to them, and you’ll sell more books.

———————————————–

This post originally featured on Jade Varden’s author blog in 2012.

———————————————–

Author Jade Varden is a regular guest contributor on Aside From Writing. The Writing 101 features originate from her own blog  at http://jadevarden.blogspot.co.uk where you can see more of her thoughts on writing, as well as her own books. Her debut novel Justice and sequel The Tower are available now! Read our review of Justice here.

by

Writing 101…Ask Three Questions…

Writing a book is incredibly difficult. Writing a great book is practically impossible. When you sit down to write yours, ask and answer three questions. If you break writing down to its simplest form, you’ll find it’s really not so difficult after all. Master the basics, and all the rest is just polish.
Three Questions
Every novel, no matter how thick or complicated, revolves around three specific questions. Ask them, and make sure you know the answers, when you’re writing yours.
  • Who?
Every novel needs at least one main character. Juggling more than one main is hard, but it can create a very rich and engaging story. Make your main character(s) interesting and identifiable, and your readers will enjoy finding out about them.
  • Where?
 Every book has a setting. Research yours to make it real and rich on the page. Readers want details. What’s the weather like? What are the buildings like? What do the rooms look like? Good descriptive writing paints a picture without taking over the entire book — remember that no one wants to read your rambles about the way the curtains hang. Strike a good balance, and use the detail to add to the story instead of allowing it to swamp the story.
  • What?
You don’t have a book if you don’t have a plot. Stuff needs to happen in your book. Allow the readers to get to know the characters through specific events. Readers want to be put inside the story; they don’t want a story told to them. Use plot to make your book happy, funny, exciting, sad — any emotion you want to evoke.
If you can answer three questions, you’ve got what you need to start writing a book. It’s the idea and the imagination that matters. Mechanics will come later, after lots of editing and hard work. Once you’ve found your three answers, the really hard part is already over.

———————————————–

This post originally featured on Jade Varden’s author blog in 2012.

———————————————–

Author Jade Varden is a regular guest contributor on Aside From Writing. The Writing 101 features originate from her own blog  at http://jadevarden.blogspot.co.uk where you can see more of her thoughts on writing, as well as her own books. Her debut novel Justice and sequel The Tower are available now! Read our review of Justice here.

by

Guest Post…MANfiction Dialogue

Is that so, Mister Chumley Warner?

Is that so, Mister Chumley Warner?

At the heart of any good novel is dialogue. Depending on the type of novel you are writing, and the type of reader you want to connect with, this will lead to how much dialogue you place in your novel, and where you place it. For the MANfiction author, you want authentic, masculine dialogue. You don’t need a lot of similes and metaphors. You need a few one-liners, and plenty of zingers, that hit with the force of a Mack truck slamming into a brick wall. Even if you have a neutral name, there should be no question in the reader’s mind that your character is all male.

 Extended scenes of dialogue are okay, as long as they serve a higher purpose, and move the story along. And don’t forget to tell your reader where the characters are, unless you have the character talking to himself, which creates a whole other set of issues. You don’t want to skip on the details of the other character in the scene, even when that character is female.

 Placing your main character in precarious situations and being forced to talk his way out of them is okay. But it needs to be believable. Just as too many scenes with your main character punching his way out, despite the level of his adversary, might seem a bit far-fetched. In MANfiction, your character needs to bleed, even if it’s only temporary. It brings out the human aspect that much more.

 Little idiosyncrasies in speech patterns go a long way to distinguishing your main character from every other in fiction. So don’t overdo it. Spend some time listening to men talk and interact. In the end, you’ll be glad you did, and your story will improve because of it.

Robert Downs is the author of Falling Immortality: Casey Holden, Private Investigator. A sample chapter of his MANfiction mystery debut, as well as other interesting information about the author, or his main character, can be located at his website http://RobertDowns.net
——————————–

Falling Immortality

Falling Immortality

 

Falling Immortality

Casey Holden, former cop, current PI in Virginia Beach, VA, screens his clients the way he screens his women, based on whichever drop-dead gorgeous woman happens to waltz through his door first and manages to hold his attention. So when Felicity Farren, widow-at-large, struts into his office asking him to solve the two-year-old murder of her husband Artis, she intrigues him. When Casey starts digging, he learns the murder isn’t what it seems to be and he doesn’t have a big enough shovel to unearth the truth. And to top it all off, his former rival at the police department, Greg Gilman, is determined to disrupt his investigation. Casey’s challenge is to learn what really happened to Artis, and why Gilman can’t seem to remove his head from his butt. And he’ll need all of his wits to complete the task.