The Murderer

On Marlie’s first day of moving onto the Queen Charlotte Islands, her car has a flat tire. All her belongings are stuffed in the trunk on top of the tire changing equipment. Once removed, they don’t fit back into the trunk, but a passing islander stops to help change her tire and as the sky opens and rain threatens to soak everything, he offers to bring the excess belongings to Masset for her.

Here is the scene that follows (taken from the novel “Marlie”)

*****

“Okay, you go sit in the car and I’ll take care of the rest.” When she nodded, Brent grabbed a few things from the roadside and walked to the back of his truck. She was right behind him with an armful of odds and ends.

Brent opened the canopy door and as she shrieked, he whirled around. “Oh my God! You killer!” Her face was contorted into a mask of horror.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“You murderer! How could you kill that sweet little thing? Give me my stuff.” She tried to grab the bags from his hand but dropped what she was carrying. They both bent to pick the things up and bumped heads.

“What the hell’s the matter with you?” Brent stared at her in disbelief. The popstar image was fading fast and she was looking more like one of those angry protestors he’d seen on TV.

Her hazel eyes were huge as she glared at him. “You killed that helpless animal.”

“Yeah, I shot a deer. So what? I eat venison.”

“Is that even legal?”

“Lady, what planet did you beam down from? Of course it’s legal. Everybody eats venison here.”

“Not everyone! Not me!” She picked up her things and stomped back to her car but there was no place to put anything. She threw him a disgusted look, frowned, shook her head. She opened the back door and punched and pushed and shoved her belongings, desperate to cram her things into the Corolla’s back seat. No room. She squeezed out a growl of frustration, and looked back at Brent again. Her shoulders sagged and that’s when the tears came.

He blew out a long breath. “Look. Nothing is going to happen to your stuff in the back of my truck. The deer won’t do anything to it. You don’t even have to think about it being there. We’ll load up and you can follow me to Masset.” He waited and she appeared to mull that over. It was taking too long. “Oh, piss on it. This was a mistake. I’m leaving. You can wait for another car to pull over to pack your stuff to Masset for you. I don’t need this shit.”

She wiped her eyes with the back of her wrist and sniffed. “No wait! Yes, okay. Would you please bring my stuff for me? I guess I have to trust that you won’t take off with my belongings.”

“Have to trust me?! Jeezus you’ve got some bloody nerve. What the hell would I want your stuff for?” Brent turned to get into the truck.

“Please.” She closed her eyes and pulled herself up straight. “I’m sorry. I do need your help. If you could take some of my things in your truck…. I do trust you.”

“This is the only road that goes up or down the island, so you won’t lose sight of your boxes.” What does she think I’d do with a bunch of ladies’ clothes? Christ! What a loonie! How did I get myself mixed up with this nutcase?

“Of course. You’re right.”

“Where in Masset are you headed?”

“The teachers’ trailer court,” she said.

He straightened up and inhaled a long slow breath through his nose. Oh man. One of those! “That explains a lot.”

Find MARLIE on amazon and smashwords.

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Soul Swallowers

Diana Peach has done it again! Her new novel, Soul Swallowers, is available now on Amazon.

 

Ms. Peach’s skill at world building is to be admired. It is like being drawn into a detailed painting as we enter the scene she sets for her new fantasy novel, “Soul Swallowers.” As the title suggests, the characters have the option of swallowing the soul of someone who dies. They are then influenced by the deceased’s morals, skills, and beliefs. This can be a good thing if the swallower chooses wisely. Unfortunately, swallowing the souls of evil people, or swallowing too many souls can have disastrous effects. The plotline sets up political power struggles while telling several parallel love stories. Emotions around love, hate, fear, and pleasure are the same no matter if we read fantasy or a reality-based story. Peach has a wonderful way of pulling the reader in to empathize with the emotions of the characters in her novel. It’s what kept me turning pages and had me reading until 3 in the morning. Soul Swallowers is a wonderful start to a new series.

You can find Soul Swallowers on amazon.com

Don’t miss out!

The Superpower of Attitude

I’d like to introduce my guest, Diana Wallace Peach, author of several novels and now author of her first children’s book. Diana has a wonderful attitude towards life, which I’m happy to let her share with you.

Welcome Diana.

My daughter wasn’t a morning person as a three-year-old. Instead of simply picking out her clothes for the next morning, she’d wear her outfit to bed. Anything to avoid the ordeal of dressing in the morning. Mornings were miserable and teary, and they set the tone for a miserable, teary day.

One morning we sat on her bed, and I suggested that we use her superpowers to change her day. Well, that intrigued her. So together we said the magic words. “I’m going to have a great day.” We said it over and over again, louder and louder, and guess what? She had a great day. Was her routine different than any other ordinary day? Probably not, but her attitude had gone through a transformation.

The power of magic is alive and well with kids. Kisses for ouchies, magic fairy dust for good dreams, a glittery wand to help wake up, or using superpowers to summon a good day… they work. We adults don’t call it magic, we call it psychology or the power of positivity or an “attitude adjustment.”

When I worked as a mental health counselor with the wee ones, we often focused on choices, on deciding what kind of day we wanted and making it happen. We devised all kinds of strategies, including magical ones, for managing feelings and behaviors, for getting along with others and having fun. That’s a tall order for some adults, imagine if you’re only three.

Grumpy Ana and the Grouchy Monsters is about the power of attitude, about looking on the bright side, and deciding to enjoy the day. Nothing changes in Ana’s life to move her from grumpiness to smiles, except her outlook. It’s a message that serves our children – in the books we read to them, in the way we communicate, and by modeling healthy attitudes in our own lives. Happy Reading!

Grumpy Ana Goblyn is sour, dour, and cranky. Her lips droop in a frown. She’s bored with every place and person in her friendly town. With the help of her father, she builds a spaceship and travels to a soggy planet where she meets her perfect monster playmates. But there’s a problem! The monsters see her grouchy frown and think she’s a monster. In this children’s space adventure, Ana discovers that her attitude affects her happiness, and she can change it if she chooses.

Here are a few sample pages from Diana’s wonderful book, “Grumpy Ana and the Grouchy Monsters.”

About Diana Wallace Peach

Wallace Peach is a writer of grown-up fantasy and science fiction, but she’s also a grandmother who treks to the Gnome Forest, hunting rainbow gems with grandson Revel. They keep an eye out for purple baby dragons skritching in the Dragonwood and gather gold buried around the magical tree of mystery.

Grumpy Ana and the Grouchy Monsters is her first children’s book. More to come!

Connect with Diana:

Website/Blog: http:// mythsofthemirror.com

Book Blog: http://dwallacepeachbooks.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DWPeachBooks

Twitter: @dwallacepeach

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7068749.D_Wallace_Peach

Links to Grumpy Ana and the Grouchy Monsters:

Amazon.com:  https://www.amazon.com/Grumpy-Ana-Grouchy-Monsters-Childrens/dp/1975723945

Amazon.co.uk: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Grumpy-Ana-Grouchy-Monsters-Childrens/dp/1975723945

Amazon India: https://www.amazon.in/ Grumpy-Ana-Grouchy-Monsters-Childrens/dp/1975723945

 

 

Ever Been at your Wit’s End?

Lori Virelli says she’s just an ordinary woman, but don’t you believe it. In her writing she makes everyday life extraordinary, filled with dramas of people’s lives in fiction and nonfiction. You will relate to her characters and find inspiration in the outcomes of the stories.

Lori has been blogging for five years and we have “followed” each other for four and a half of those five years. Bloggers come and go, dropping in and out, but Lori and I continue to be buddies.

I’m honoured to host Lori Virelli here today. I’m grateful that fate brought us to each other’s blogs.

Now that she has published her first novel, I feel that I have something to crow about: Lori’s novel Whit’s End.

Lori says she has enjoyed my blog posts and my novels, but today I hope you will click on her amazon links and enjoy her novels. I did that some time ago and have not regretted it. When you read Whit’s End, you’ll find yourself thinking, “Oh, that character sounds just like ‘so-and-so,’” someone you may know in your own life.

Lori finds human behavior fascinating. She says:

“Two people can react differently to the same experience. Two people who grow up in the same household may come away with quite different perceptions of what they have experienced. Perhaps our genes are programmed to respond in our own unique ways, and that’s part of what makes us individuals. This is why I like writing from two perspectives, to show how each person responds to, and handles similar situations in different ways.”

In Whit’s End, Meg and Ava Whitaker are married to the dysfunctional Whitaker brothers and each handles their marital problems in a different way. Their efforts to cope in their marriages only seem to make matters worse, until, just when the women are at their “Whit’s End,” other men come into the picture. How will each of the women react to the temptation of another man? Where will their actions lead them? Will they “jump ship”? Will that solve their problems? Read Whit’s End to find out.

Lori is the author of short stories published in the magazine Angels on Earth – Dogs and the Women Who Love Them, and in her anthology, Home Avenue, about growing up in 70s in the suburbs of Chicago.

And psst! If you want a treat, click the link to her book, Whit’s End.

For a peek into Lori’s view of life in Chicago in the 70s, click on her link to Home Avenue.

Home Avenue – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LPJ9YDI

Whit’s End – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N77QY32

Lori’s Lane – http://loreezlane.wordpress.com

Lori is currently working on her second novel. Please leave a comment and say hi.

Desert Camping, Hot Love

While camping in Mexico’s Baja Peninsula, I noticed a woman sitting alone in a van parked near the beach. I never saw her get out of her vehicle. She sat in the driver’s seat most of the time, listening to audio tapes and chain smoking cigarettes.

The beach was beautiful, the sun shone every day, the water was clear and inviting, the place was a paradise. Why would she not get out and inhale that fresh air, go for a walk or a swim, or enjoy this little bit of heaven? I certainly did.

It puzzled me and I wondered what her story was. Her plates said San Diego. I mulled over many scenarios. Why was she alone? Why did she never get out of her van? Was she trying to kill herself with the first and secondhand smoke in the enclosed vehicle?

The seeds  of a novel were germinating in my head. A California girl comes to Baja alone. But why? I would make her health-minded, young, and beautiful. Yes, the character was taking shape in my head.

She would need to find a love interest, but who would be down here on his own and why? Men come to Baja alone, looking for … something ….

Each of the characters had good reasons for being on the run, but would that interfere with them starting a new relationship? What if the attraction was so strong, they couldn’t resist?

But what if their past troubles are coming after them? Will the new lovers stick together? Will they panic, split, and run to escape their pursuers? And what about that drug runner who is out for revenge for a slight on the road?

Life could be so perfect, if only those nasty people from their past weren’t coming after them.

For a gripping story of love and suspense wrapped up in a Baja adventure, why not spend a big $2.99 and download Orion’s Gift from amazon.com or smashwords.com today?

Cover design for Orion’s Gift is by Anita B. Carroll. Thank you, Anita for a great cover image. You can contact Anita at anita@race-point.com

Think You’re Done? What about the Extras?

I’ve seen very little written about the “front matter” of a book. It’s not enough to slave for months (sometimes years) to write a book. Just when you think you’re in the clear, the book has been copy-edited and is clean, clean clean (if not, contact Anneli Purchase), and will be published soon, you realize you have to face all the writing for the front matter of the book – the part before the story begins.

You need to have a title picked out. That in itself can be a nightmare. You may think you’ve got the perfect title thought out and then you type it into the search space on amazon only to find there are already 18 other books listed by the same title. Back to the drawing board.

Then there is the matter of copyright. That is the least difficult. Once you tell the world that the following is your work and yours alone, your work is considered your own. In Canada you send  the information about your book (title, number of pages, subject area, date of publication, etc.) to Library and Archives Canada, and you will receive the exact information that is to appear on the copyright page, including an ISBN.

Next, the dedication of your book. Who would be flattered to have your work dedicated to them? Who is deserving of the honour of being named  in the front matter of your magnum opus? 

Then come the acknowledgements. Very important! Don’t forget to thank those lovely people who were your main support throughout the struggle of writing this wonderful book, those “without whom this book would never have been written.” But maybe you can think of some more original way to say it.

Unless you have a prologue, the front matter is basically done, but there is one more headache waiting for you. Two actually. You need to come up with a cover description – a paragraph telling the reader what your book is about. The trick will be to make them want to take the book home and read it. You will also need to make a shortened version of this enticing description for advertising purposes, in some cases for a flap jacket, or maybe next to the book cover image on the amazon page where your book is for sale.

And of course this all assumes that you have a cover image for your book already prepared. (If not, call Anita B. Carroll.)

When all is done, you can relax at last. Ha, ha. Just kidding! That is when the work begins. This is the part most authors would love to do without – the marketing. But whole books have been written on that subject alone and I won’t try to tackle it in this post.

Do you judge a book by its cover? Part Two

My guest today is Anita B. Carroll, the wonderful lady who designed the new cover for my novel, The Wind Weeps. Anita will explain what is involved in designing book covers and if you are in the market for a book cover, you can’t go wrong by checking out her qualifications, her portfolio, and her very reasonable prices.

Here’ s Anita:

How important do you think your cover design is? Is it worth it to spend the money on a professional designer? That’s a good question and you would expect me, a designer, to push for hiring a pro.

However, when you look at the facts, the question really is, can you afford not to hire a designer?  I welcome you to read an article I wrote for KOBO Writing Life, where I show the effect the cover designs have on the book sales, in numbers:  http://kobowritinglife.com/2013/11/22/weve-got-you-covered-friday-lets-talk-numbers/

Selling a book is an art form in itself, and there are some important areas to factor in to not only help reach your target readers, but most importantly to increase your book sales.  Selling your book will probably be the biggest challenge you are going to face, and what it really boils down to is the packaging, delivery, and the value — which I talk about in more detail in this blog post:

http://race-point.com/2015/03/03/authorbranding/

Some samples of my work:

From behind the scenes of a cover designer

I thought it might be interesting to talk about how the cover design process works and what to look for in a cover designer.

The cover design process is probably a lot more in-depth than you might think. Just like writing a manuscript for your story, designing a high quality cover that is a true representation of your story, takes time, research, and patience.

Every cover designer’s process, is different.  I come from a background with website User Interface Design and Development with focus on product development, which is also known as brand identity. So in my world, to design for a product, you have to fully understand it and for me the best way to do just that is to read your story.

After reading it, I will have a set of questions for you which will help ensure we are both on the same page and your vision and expectations are met.

Once we finalize the concept, I begin searching for stock imagery or do a custom photo shoot, which I present to you for  final approval. Once we settle on imagery I begin designing and do send off a cover sample to you for your review to give you a chance to give me any edits/tweaks. Once the revision is complete, so is the cover design.

The whole process can take anything from 24 hours to 2 months. It varies from one cover project to another.

Here are some tips to keep in mind for finding that right cover designer:

1. View their online portfolio. Make sure the designer’s design style fits your vision. Understanding the difference between an illustrator and a digital manipulation designer is helpful.
2. Provide your designer with ample time. The more time you give the designer to work on your cover, the better it will be. This gives us time to really think the design through and create a much more involved design.
3. If you have something specific in mind provide samples. Pictures are always better than descriptions, especially when it comes to colors.
4. Know that you don’t have to know what you want. We are trained and will help you brainstorm great ideas. The more specific you are, the more restricted we feel and you could stand to lose out on a great concept, since we always will work our hardest giving you what you want. Always.
5. And lastly, keep in mind the cover design does not have to be literal, but focus more on the emotion the imagery represents.

Best of luck!

About the cover designer:

Anita B. Carroll, at Race-Point.com is a Visual Design provider with over 18 years of creative professional experience, and produces high-end quality cover creations for both print and online mediums including custom photography.

Anita works primarily with self-published authors in addition to freelance for publishing companies.

Learn more about Anita (http://race-point.com/about-2/ )and view her cover works. http://race-point.com/portfolio/

Get a quote:  http://race-point.com/quote/

Do you judge a book by its cover?

They say, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” I used to believe and follow that advice. I’ve read some excellent books that came “in a plain brown wrapper.”

Years ago, when most hardcover books came in  plain cloth or hard paper covers, not illlustrated, a discerning reader had to look for a synopsis on the inside of the flap jacket  to decide whether the book might be more interesting than its cover.

When paperbacks came out, covers of the classics and non-fiction books were still plain. Then a new kind of paperback with illustrated covers hit the market. Yes, there were a few good books among these, but many covers were associated with a lesser quality of writing or cheesier topics. Often a cheap photo or drawing attempted to lure a reader into buying.

Times have changed. Now that everyone is a writer, the market is more competitive and since most authors want to realize some sales now rather than 100 years after their death, they resort to a flashy advertising campaign. And it works!

Put a boring plain cover next to a flashy modern one, and it’s no contest. The eye, and hand, are almost always drawn to the flashier cover. Of course, in the end, the real test still lies in the text between the front and back covers of the book.

Anita B. Carroll has helped bring me into the modern age of competitive book covers. With her amazing imagination she has created a new cover for my novel, The Wind Weeps.

After reading the book, she said it had the same suspense as the movie Sleeping With the Enemy starring Julia Roberts. I was so pleased that she found it to be a page turner.

For the novel, The Wind Weeps, I had thought of book cover images with a stormy ocean,  a desperate young woman, perhaps a boat … but none of these images conveyed the terror that is also a part of this love story. Andrea’s husband brings her orchids. Perhaps orchids could feature in the cover? But the cover image can’t be too rosy (sorry for the pun). It is also a dark story – the kind of darkness that makes you want to turn the page, looking for the light.

In the end, I told Anita, “Just forget my ideas and see what you come up with.”

She really came through for me. I was shocked at first because it was so different from what I expected, but she has captured all the elements of the story. The delicate orchid, the tears dripping from it into a desolate ocean; love gone wrong. The red sky symbolizing (for me) pain and fear, and the dark, rough ocean symbolizing Andrea’s remote isolation and desperation.

Here is Anita B. Carroll’s amazing creation for The Wind Weeps. This novel is available at all amazon outlets, and at smashwords.com

If you are looking for someone to design and create your next book cover, why not give Anita B. Carroll a try?

Anita’s  contact information:

www.race-point.com