5 Things You Should Know About Dancing Her Dreams Away

By Alretha Thomas

1. The photo on the cover of the book depicts a young African-American Woman dancing under a disco ball. As the adage goes, please don’t judge the book by its cover. The story in Dancing Her Dreams Away is universal and speaks to the hearts of all women, particularly to those women who have dreams, and those women who were raised without the unconditional love of a father.

2. Dancing Her Dreams Away is not just another book about a young girl who seeks fame and fortune, meets a producer, and gets played. It’s so much more than that and what will be revealed will be earth-shattering.

3. Dancing Her Dreams Away takes place in 1985. There is no World Wide Web, there’s no such thing as Facebook, Myspace, or Twitter.  There are no Blogs or celebrity gossip sites, and the only cable television news station is CNN. Shelia King is a 21-year-old aspiring actress living during this time. She’s raised by her grandmother and they’re poor. Her grandmother is a small-minded, religious woman and Shelia has very little street experience, and is desperate to become “somebody.” I say all this for you to be forgiving of Shelia when she falls head over heels in lust with Gregory the producer. Please forgive her for being taken with his looks, money, and power. Please forgive her for looking the other way so that she can realize her dreams and remember 1985 was more than a quarter of a century ago.

4. Dancing Her Dreams Away is not going to end like you think it is. No matter what you’re thinking, it’s not going to end like you have imagined.

5. Dancing Her Dreams Away is unlike any book you have ever read.

When Alretha Thomas was ten-years-old, her 5th grade teacher picked and read her short story assignment in front of the class – that simple, loving act empowered a new writer. Continuing in high school, her numerous original oratorical conquests on the Speech Team led her to a journalism concentration at USC. Upon graduating, Alretha soon realized that her interest in journalism was not heartfelt. While at the taping of a live sitcom, the producer noticed her and encouraged her hand at modeling. Modeling didn’t mean much to her, but it did lead her to acting and a NAACP Theatre Award Nomination (1993) for BEST ACTRESS. She feels that this acting stint gave her more fuel to write, and particularly, a better understanding of character development. Alretha left acting and began to write full time. Her church gave her an outlet to fulfill her writing desires through their Liturgical Fine Arts Department wherein Alretha penned twelve theatre pieces. This led to full length plays outside of the church including Alretha’s play, Sacrificing Simone (2007) which had a successful run at Stage 52 in Los Angeles and was called “an inspirational crowd pleaser” by the Los Angeles Times and her most recent work, the ground breaking One, Woman Two Lives, starring Kellita Smith (The Bernie Mac Show), directed by Denise Dowse, which garnered rave reviews from critics and audiences. In between plays, Alretha’s first novel Daughter Denied was launched in 2008.

Tags: 5 Things, Alretha Thomas, Dancing Her Dreams Away, Guest Blogger

Title: The Lost
Author: Caridad Pineiro
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Paperback: 352 pages
ISBN: 0446584614
Genre: Paranormal Romance

Adam Bruno is no ordinary millionaire. The heir to an ancient race possessing a dark, powerful magic, he can shapeshift and create energy. His gifts make him a living weapon and have forced him to live in seclusion. But now an inhuman force hunts down Adam-just when he finds someone who makes him feel more human than he ever imagined possible . . .

Home from combat in Iraq, Bobbie Carerra wants only peace, yet soon joins Adam in a terrifying battle against paranormal enemies who hide in plain sight. She’s drawn to his strength of mind and body; he’s attracted to her courage and intoxicating energy. Their scorching passion can either transport them to the heights of ecstasy or-if Adam’s powers rage out of control-destroy them. But when an invisible brotherhood tightens its nets and someone Adam trusts betrays him, only a heartrending decision can save them.

Book Excerpt:

El Paso, Texas, 1991
As darkness slowly fled from his eyes, the boy woke, his head aching and his body sore, as if he had been beaten. He looked around the room, only nothing in it seemed familiar. Nothing except the man slumped in the rocking chair beside him.

He remembered the man and some kind of accident, the boy thought, recalling the bodies, fire and debris surrounding him the last time he had roused. He had been afraid, unsure of how he had gotten there in the midst of all the destruction. Wondering why he was alone because he was certain he had been with others.

A man and a woman. Close by. Holding his hand until…

An attack? he thought, not that he really remembered. He had a vague image of light so bright that it burned his eyes and face. Another memory suddenly came to him of flying through the air and hitting something hard. Possibly a wall.
Then he had been all alone until the man had come to save him.

A jingling sound intruded and the bed dipped as a big old beagle rested its paws on the edge of the mattress. The huffing sound of its breathing and clang of the dog’s tags as it shook its head woke the man.
Gingerly the man sat up, wincing from apparent stiffness. He scrubbed his face with his hands to wipe away the remnants of sleep. His dark eyes looked sad and tired, the boy thought. When the man realized that he was awake, the man said, “How are you feeling?”

The boy shrugged and even that small movement brought discomfort as every muscle complained. “Hurts,” he said, surprised by his own voice. He didn’t remember what it sounded like. But then again, he didn’t recall much of anything.
Except fear. Fear was the only real memory alive in his brain.

The man nodded and stood awkwardly, as if in pain himself. He gently urged the dog away from the bed with a soft nudge of his knee and a “Scat, Spottie.” Then he faced him and said, “Why don’t you lie back down while I get you some food…” His voice trailed off in question, but the boy didn’t understand what he wanted.

“Your name, son. What’s your name?”

The boy searched his brain, but couldn’t find the answer to that simple question, much less any of the others ricocheting through his brain.

“I don’t know.”

With a resigned sigh, the man said, “Could be the shot you took to your head. It’ll come back. Don’t worry.”

The boy lay down and as his head touched the pillow, he experienced tenderness at the back of his skull. He delicately rubbed his hand along the bump there, wondering how he had been hurt.

As soon as the man left the room, the beagle returned to the bed, but this time the dog scampered up right beside him. Almost as if sensing that he needed the comfort, the dog lay along his side and playfully butted his hand with the tip of its cold wet nose.

The dog’s antics pulled a smile to his face. He stroked the dog’s head wondering if he’d had his own pet. There was something familiar about the dog’s actions that cried out to him as the warmth of the animal’s body seeped into his hand.
The boy welcomed the comforting warmth.

Unexpectedly the heat became even stronger, almost as if it had developed a life of its own. Beside him the dog whimpered, but the boy was too caught up in the surge of heat and vigor flowing through his body, driving away the assorted aches and pains.

With an almost tired groan, the dog’s body relaxed and the beagle released a weary little breath. Was it sick? he wondered, but then heard a soft snore and realized the dog was asleep.

He jumped from the bed, but there was something weird as he landed on the floor. He could barely see past the dusty skirt along the bottom of the mattress and as he moved, the wood on the floor was cold on both his hands and feet. On his paws, he realized as he padded out of the room, the scent of the man alive in his nostrils as he tracked him to the kitchen.

The man was at the sink, beating eggs and turned as the boy entered the room.

“What are you up to, Spottie? Excited about our guest?” Smiling, he came close, bent down and rubbed his head.

The boy tried to speak, but only a low woof erupted from his mouth. Fear took hold and he barked again, hoping to reach the man and make him understand.

The man heard the almost urgent yaps and peered at him more closely. He narrowed his eyes to examine him and must have realized the dog was different now. Lurching upright, the man ran back to the bedroom, the boy following awkwardly on all fours.

The man jerked to a stop as he noted the beagle sprawled on the bed. Its muscles twitching as it chased imaginary prey in its sleep. With a hesitant glance from the dog lying on the comforter to the one hopping excitedly beside him, the man pivoted on his heel, looking all around the room as he sought out the boy.

The boy let out another yowl and jumped up and down on his front paws, long nails clacking on the floor, wanting the man to understand that he was right there.

The man finally dropped to his knees and touched the boy’s head. Trailed it down to cup the bottom of his long jowly jaw and urge his face upward. As the man’s gaze connected with the deep emerald of the dog’s eyes, the man’s eyes widened in stunned surprise.

“Holy Mother of God,” he whispered before scooping him up and holding him tight to his chest.

The boy let out a contented little mewl and wag of his tail at the comfort the embrace brought. The man would help him, the boy thought. And with his help, he would be home again soon.

About Caridad Pineiro

Caridad Pineiro is the NY Times bestselling author of over twenty-six paranormal romance and romantic suspense novels and novellas.  Look for THE FIFTH KINGDOM, a romantic suspense from Carina Press in July 2011 and THE LOST, the first book in the new SIN HUNTERS paranormal romance series in August 2011.  Caridad has also done the foreword for OBSESSED:  EROTIC ROMANCE FOR WOMEN edited by Rachel Kramer Bussel which will be available in August 2011.  Her popular THE CALLING vampire series returns in 2012, but vampire lovers will enjoy A VAMPIRE FOR CHRISTMAS (October 2011) which includes Caridad’s novella, WHEN HERALD ANGELS SING.

For more information on Caridad, please visit www.caridad.com.

Visit Caridad on Twitter at www.twitter.com/caridadpineiro or Facebook at www.facebook.com/caridad.author.

Tags: book spotlights, Caridad Pineiro, paranormal romance, paranormal romance author, The Lost

The Literarily Speaking Book Panel talks to authors on different subjects regarding books, book industry topics, book selling, book promotions, and whatever catches our fancy.  Today’s topic is book reviews.  When you have a book published, the first thing you want to know is if anyone besides you likes it, right?  Our friends love it, our family loves it, we love it, but what does the rest of the world think about our book?  No matter which way you look at it, whatever the reviewer has to say about your book is now out there for the world to see.  Today we’re speaking to fourteen authors and finding out what they think about bad reviews?  Have they ever received one and what did they do about it?

Our Distinguished Panel of Authors

Kara Bartley has always been interested in animals, so it comes as no surprise that her world is surrounded by them in both her life and imagination. She has a bachelor’s degree in Biology/Earth Science, a post-graduate diploma in Geographic Information Systems and a master’s degree in Vertebrate Paleontology. In the spring of 2002, she began writing her first novel The Siamese Mummy while on a dig for fossils in Kansas. The book was later released in 2006. Kara is also the author of The Unearthlings and Call of Adhara. She lives in Niagara Falls with her three Siamese cats—Apollo, Achilles and Agamemnon. Her horse Dapplynn is her biggest companion, and anxiously awaits the day that she too will have a guest appearance in one of her mother’s books. You can visit Kara at http://karabartley.blogspot.com

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Dr. Jeri Fink is an author, Family Therapist, and journalist, with over 19 books and hundreds of articles to her name. She writes adult and children’s fiction and nonfiction, and has appeared on television, radio, book events, seminars, workshops, and the internet. Dr. Fink’s work has been praised by community leaders, educators, reviewers, and critics around the country. To find out more about Dr. Fink http://www.drjerifink.com

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Debra Brenegan grew up in the Milwaukee area and graduated with a B.A. in journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She worked as a journalist and taught at Milwaukee Area Technical College before beginning her graduate work. She received her M.A. and Ph.D. in English/Creative Writing from The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where she also taught. She teaches English and Women’s Studies at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri. For her fiction, she has received a Ragdale residency and was a recent finalist for the John Gardner Memorial Fiction Prize, The Cincinnati Review’s Schiff Prose Prize, and the Crab Creek Review Fiction Prize. Her work has recently appeared or is forthcoming in Calyx, Tampa Review, Natural Bridge, The Laurel Review, RE:AL, The Southern Women’s Review, The Cimarron Review, Milwaukee Magazine, Phoebe, and other publications. Debra Brenegan’s novel, Shame the Devil, is a historical account of nineteenth-century American writer Fanny Fern (SUNY Press, Excelsior Editions). She is currently working on another novel, set in Missouri, and on a short story collection. During the school year, Debra lives in a 130-year-old house in Fulton with her husband, Steve, and their elderly cat. They spend summers and school breaks in their native Milwaukee. When not teaching, writing, spending time with family or driving back and forth to Wisconsin, Debra enjoys cooking, gardening, reading and traveling. You can visit her website at www.debrabrenegan.com or visit her at Twitter at www.twitter.com/dbrenegan or Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/#!/debra.brenegan; https://www.facebook.com/#!/shame.the.devil.book.

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F.J. Dagg grew up in Michigan, where for a time he was a musician in a variety of rock and blues bands. He graduated with honors from the University of Michigan with a degree in Philosophy and an additional concentration in Music Theory and History. After moving to California, his focus turned from music to the writing of fiction, which he pursued as various day jobs allowed. Though not a member of any religious denomination, the mainstay of the author’s life is his faith, a fact reflected in his writing. His pastimes include playing the guitar and violin, reading, and surfing.

You can visit F.J. Dagg’s website at http://branch92.com.

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Lilian Duval has been fascinated with lottery winners for years, and they’re the inspiration for her intriguing novel You Never Know, which explores how an ordinary man copes with terrible luck, and later, amazing luck, when he wins the Mega-Millions lottery. Her story collection, Random Acts of Kindness, will be published in 2012. Lilian and her husband are both survivors of the 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. They live in a small house in New Jersey overlooking a large county park. She’s an amateur classical guitarist and enjoys attending concerts, plays, and movies in New York City. You can visit her website at www.lilianduval.com or follow her at Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/lilianduval and Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lilian-Duval/121776657899250?sk=wall. Visit her virtual book tour page at www.pumpupyourbook.com/2011/05/31/you-never-know-virtual-book-tour-june-july-august-2011.

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Benjamin Kane Ethridge’s fiction has appeared in Doorways Magazine, Dark Recesses, FearZone, and others. His dark fantasy novel BLACK & ORANGE (Bad Moon Books 2010) has won the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in First Novel. Beyond that he’s written several collaborations with Michael Louis Calvillo, one of which is a novella called UGLY SPIRIT, available in 2011. He also wrote a master’s thesis entitled, “CAUSES OF UNEASE: The Rhetoric of Horror Fiction and Film.” Available in an ivory tower near you. Benjamin lives in Southern California with his wife and daughter, both lovely and both worthy of better. When he isn’t writing, reading, videogaming, he’s defending California’s waterways and sewers from pollution. You can visit his website at BKEthridge.com.  Say hi and drop a line at ben@bkethridge.com.

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Joseph Garraty is an author of dark fantasy, horror, and science fiction. He has worked as a construction worker, rocket test engineer, environmental consultant, technical writer, and deadbeat musician. He lives in Dallas, Texas. His latest book is the horror novel, Voice. You can visit his website at www.josephgarraty.com. Connect with Joseph at Twitter at www.twitter.com/JosephGarraty.

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STEPHEN LANGFORD is the veteran writer producer of over one hundred and fifty hours of primetime television writing. His credits include Family Matters and Malcolm and Eddie. He later became a screenwriter writing the motion picture Lovewrecked. His latest produced film is “The Nanny Express” which is running on the Hallmark Channel. Langford grew up in the Boston area and later attended Emerson College where he received a Bachelor of Science in Film. After college, Langford began working in the motion picture field working for such film directors as Sidney Lumet and Joel Schumacher. Currently Langford lives in Tarzana with his wife Sandy and their two children Allyson and Erica. He is also the proud owner of a Jack Russell terrier named Betty and Chihuahua named Tovah. More information on White Sleeper can be found on the book’s website at http://www.whitesleeper.com.

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Since I can remember I have always had a passion for history. My love of Roman history started when I first watched the series “I, Claudius”. I then proceeded to read every Roman book I could get my hands on. I got my start writing bodybuilding and physical fitness articles for Bodybuilding.com, as well as a lesser-know magazine, HardCore Muscle. I turned to writing historical novels when I was in Iraq. My intent was to write the stories that I wanted to read, but could not find. While we may hear stories about the Emperors and Generals of antiquity, we almost never hear the stories of the men who did the actual fighting under them. Sadly, most historical data is lost, the individual soldiers being long since forgotten by history. My attempt with The Artorian Chronicles is to tell the story of a common legionary and what could have happened throughout his career. More recently I have turned to other periods in history and have started work on a pair of historical novels about the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879. The working title for the first book is “Brutal Valour”. I’m tentatively planning for it to be released sometime in 2012, along with the fifth book in The Artorian Chronicles, “Soldier of Rome: Judea”. You can visit James at http://legionarybooks.net

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Michael Martel was barely eighteen when he walked into the Army recruiter’s office in his hometown of Dayton, Ohio. He told him he wanted to see the world. He satisfied Michael’s wish and sent him to Berlin, Germany where he had a great time in the “Divided City.” There began his love of travel. All together he spent a total of thirteen years living in Germany, traveling around Europe, the Middle East and Africa. His Army career spanned just over twenty years. spending time as an infantryman, paratrooper and Green Beret. After the Army he moved onto technology. He worked as a computer security expert keeping extremely sensitive information safe from hackers. He earned a Bachelors and Masters of Science in Information Technology and Business Management along the way. Michael was recognized for his leadership, knowledge and ability to work with people. Very soon, he was moved into the executive ranks and led large business divisions. Always on the lookout for a challenge, He discovered he had a gift for coaching. From the experiences, both in the military and in corporate world he has a lot to give back. His real world leadership experience combined with his technical education and skill give him an unique ability to work with other leaders to help them achieve success. Throughout his life, he has done the hard stuff, experienced what works, and has the skills to get the job done, whatever it is. Michael’s latest book is Get Er Done. You can visit Michael Martel’s website at www.mikemartel.com.  Connect with Michael at Facebook at www.facebook.com/michael.martel or Twitter at www.twitter.com/MichaelMartel.

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Greg Messel has always loved writing.   He worked as the news editor and sports editors of the Daily Rocket-Miner newspaper.  He won a Wyoming Press Association award for his column.  He also submitted and had published articles in various sports magazines.  He left the newspaper business in 1981 and began a 27 year career with Pacific Power.  Greg retired in 2008 and moved to Seattle.  He has written two unpublished memoirs and published his first novel with Trafford in September 2009.   His first novel was called “Sunbreaks.”   The second novel “Expiation” was published in the spring of 2010 with Trafford.  A third novel is in the works.  Visit his website at www.gregmessel.com. Connect with him at Twitter at www.twitter.com/gregmessel and Facebook at www.facebook.com/greg.messel.

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Malcolm Dylan Petteway is a senior military analyst, a retired military officer and a twenty-year veteran of the United States Air Force. He flew B-52’s as an Electronic Warfare Officer and has 3,000 flight hours and 300 combat hours. In his distinguished career, Malcolm has used his knowledge in the art of war, military weapons and combat defenses in planning over 400 combat sorties.  Besides his Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters and numerous other awards, Malcolm is the recipient of the U.S. Air Force Air Medal and the U.S. Air Force Air Achievement Medal for his actions during Operation Enduring Freedom. Malcolm Petteway is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy and California State University. His latest book is Homecoming – Osguards: Guardians of the Universe (Book 1). You can visit Malcolm at http://www.ragebooks.net.

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Bonnie Trachtenberg worked as Senior Writer and Copy Chief at Book-of-the-Month Club and has written seven children’s book adaptations. She’s also written for three newspapers, and has penned countless magazine articles. Wedlocked is her first novel. She lives on Long Island with her husband, stepchildren, and cats. Please visit her blogs at: http://www.BonnieTrachtenberg.com, http://www.Wedlockedthenovel.com and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/WritebrainedNY.

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T. M. Wallace lives in Ontario, Canada with her husband and four children. At eight years old, she won a short story contest and was published in a local newspaper. She wrote her first book at ten years old called “The Adventures of Pinkstar,” about a stuffed rabbit who magically comes to life. T. M. Wallace received her Master’s degree in English Literature from Carleton University and a degree in Education from the University of Ottawa. In 2010 her latest book, Under A Fairy Moon, was a quarter-finalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel awards. Under A Fairy Moon will be published by Brownridge Publishing in June, 2011. You can visit her website at www.tmwallace.com.

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After working several years as research chemist, Paula Wiseman was blessed with the opportunity to stay home with her children and follow the writer’s path. Contingency: Book One: Covenant of Trust Series, her debut novel, spent time on the Amazon.com Christian Fiction bestsellers list, and was also the #1 Hot New Release in Christian Fiction. Indemnity Book Two: Covenant of Trust Series is her second novel. Paula blogs on matters of life and faith at www.paulawiseman.com.  Connect with her on facebook at www.facebook.com/paula.wiseman.author and Twitter at www.twitter.com/paulawiseman.

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August Book Panel Discussion:

Kara Bartley:  “Getting a bad review is a good topic. I’ve learned that when writing, you cannot write for others. You must write for yourself. There will always be someone out there who doesn’t see things your way. And you mustn’t get distraught over this. It’s just a part of the profession. Take the review for what it’s worth: ask yourself if it’s a critique or an opinion. Opinions you can’t change. Critiques you can learn from. I’ve found that once you’ve deciphered the difference, you can move on, with the knowledge that you’ve gained something important. To me, a bad review is just as helpful as a good one.”

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Dr. Jeri Fink: “Imagine that you just had a baby. You know that your newborn is the most beautiful child in the world. You dress up your baby in the prettiest clothes and sweetest baby lotion. You’re so proud. Then you head outside. A stranger peers at your baby and says calmly, “That’s an ugly one.”
Bad reviews are crushing. They tell the world that someone thinks your baby is ugly, weak or badly dressed. A reviewer can take down your prized creation with just a few choice words. Didn’t the reviewer get the plot? Didn’t the reviewer hear your characters? Why would anyone want to trash your book so brutally, for others to read? Is there something the reviewer knows that you missed? It stings. You just figured out that your baby may not be the most beautiful child in the world. So why rub salt into the wound? The only thing you can do is make a mental note to improve. Of course, there’s no improving a book after it’s published. Instead, you accept the consolation prize – a thicker skin. The words reverberate like an annoying jingle. Not everyone will like my book. Rudyard Kipling was told by the editor of the San Francisco Examiner, “you just don’t know how to use the English language.” H.G. Wells was informed that The War of The Worlds was “an endless nightmare.” William Golding’s Lord of the Flies was declared “an absurd and uninteresting fantasy” – long before Time ranked it as one of the top one hundred English-language novels ever written. If getting a bad review puts you in their club then maybe it’s time to celebrate!”

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Debra Brenegan:  “First, ignore it – maybe it is for someone else with your exact same name.  Maybe the reviewer messed up his database and your real (good) review got switched with someone else’s bad review.  If you don’t react too quickly, he can fix everything and you will look grounded and mature for not going crazy right away.  If a day or two passes, though, and nobody is begging for your forgiveness or sending apology flowers, perhaps it is safe to say the review might be for your book.  But, remember – reviewers are people, too, and people have all sorts of reasons for overreacting and taking things out on strangers (you) who write perfectly good books.  Perhaps, he didn’t get enough sleep, just got divorced or had bad news from the dentist (root canal, anyone?).  Give him the benefit of the doubt.  He just wasn’t in the right state of mind to appreciate the humor, sarcasm, irony and brilliance of your book.  You could even write him an email telling them just that.  This gives him an out and makes you appear gracious and wise.  You are willing to let bygones be bygones, to let this little blip of the reviewer’s lack of good sense pass . . . as long as he sets things right.  Immediately.  Just erases the bad review from the Internet and makes all the paperboys collect the lifestyle sections they delivered last weekend.  As long as he writes new, glorious reviews praising your book and flagellating himself for his previous lack of judgment and taste.  He could even offer to quit his job, just as a goodwill gesture, of course – you’d never actually demand this of him. Or, you could just keep writing.”

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F.J. Dagg:  “Reviewers, generally, have been kind to me and my novel, The Lowlands of Heaven. I have had, though, a couple of reviews that were middling at best. After some consideration I concluded that those particular reviewers were not in my target demographic (per my article “It’s Not Personal…It’s Demographics,” at Branch92.com). That impression was reinforced by the absence of any mention of specific failings. Rather than offering such judgments as, for example, “the characters were unsympathetic,” or “the plot was not coherent,” these reviewers merely indicated a lack of enthusiasm. Lowlands is ultimately an uplifting story–indeed some readers have compared it to the movie, It’s A Wonderful Life. So, if my book happens to fall into the hands of someone whose tastes run more to 1984, The Road, or On the Beach, I can hardly expect them to cheer about the power of love and the notion that we go to a better place when we die. As a book’s fame spreads, it inevitably finds detractors. Even the best-loved books have their share of unfavorable reviews. Unless most of your reviews are bad, or unless there is a consensus among reviewers about some specific faults, you’re likely safe in attributing a few bad reviews to demographics.”

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Lilian Duval:  “A blogger who posted her review on Amazon gave me 4 stars. But she wrote a bad review disguised as a good review! The beginning sounded good, and then she wrote: “While I did enjoy the book very much, and would happily recommend it to a friend, it did at times feel somewhat impersonal; as if an outsider was telling the story. I craved to be in the minds of Tobias and the other main characters more, to really know what they were thinking.” Oh, man, that stung. That really hurt. Just when I think something good in this book is reaching people I don’t even know, along comes an unbeliever and knocks me off my high horse. Grrrr! That’s how I felt at first. Who wants to write novels that seem impersonal, told by an outsider, and with no idea what’s going on inside the minds of characters? Help! And it’s already out there on Amazon! Then I’ll admit that I started arguing with the reviewer in my mind. (This is embarrassing.) “None of my readers complained about those things,” I said to myself. (At least, they didn’t say them to me.) “People are always saying how involved they were with the characters all the way through,” I protested. Keep in mind that all this mumbling was going on in my head. The next step in my denial was another internal monologue—not every reader can be expected to get the fine points, and so on. You really don’t want to hear this one… In the end, I wrote a note to the reviewer thanking her for her time and attention. The review is still out there, mixed in with some better ones. Anyway, it’s just her opinion. And that’s OK with me after all!”

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Benjamin Kane Ethridge:  “Well, first I’d judge the review. Some people are professional reviewers, some amateur and some trolls. First, did the review get under your skin? Okay, so return to it later. Still angry? Fine, use that anger to improve your writing. If the reviewer’s commentary makes sense, address the problem in your next work. If it doesn’t make sense, be mindful you aren’t letting your ego twist your reason. Evaluate yourself. Does the review hurt because it’s true? Does the review hurt because it’s hurtful? There’s a big difference. And don’t be ruffled by unexplainable bad ratings. It’s difficult to form a conclusion about SouxiePanda8893, the person who gave you one star with no accompanying review. Who is Souxie? Why has she chosen to make you suffer? Perhaps she didn’t. Perhaps she’s new to the internet; yes, in this vast cybersphere, she has washed up on the island that is your book, and accidentally clicked a star icon before returning to Google. No way, she’s not as oafish as that. Nope, at a glance, Souxie hated your island, so she set the palm tree on fire and put a curse on the entire place for future castaways. Sure, and there’s also the chance that Souxie teaches American History at a prestigious university and has decided to harp on a harmless historical goof-up in your novel. Heartless fiend that she is, SouxiePanda8893 decided to send a message with her one star rating. That message is: suck on this pickled granny-smith, heathen! But see, you’ll never know for sure. Souxie may want to possess the record for most one-star reviews, just for fun. Does it matter? Hell no. Feedback is all a writer should pay attention to when bad reviews are at stake. Everything else should be a smile or a shrug.”

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Joseph Garrati: “There are all kinds of bad reviews, and, depending on what kind of bad review I get, I don’t usually mind so much. A few of my favorite kinds are below (examples are pure fabrications, but should convey the idea): “One star. I bought this to read to my children, and now they haven’t slept in three days—and neither have I!” Wrong audience. Way wrong audience. What in the world was this person thinking? It’s tough to feel bad about this kind of review, since it’s not remotely my fault. What to do? Let it go. “One star. I found the author’s appreciation of transmaterialist dialectic to be insufficiently nuanced for a comprehensive discussion of, or pertaining to, post-Marxist industrial society. Also, he uses the f-word too much.” Wrong audience. Tough to get worked up about this one, too. Let it go. “One star. Book sucked. Author is a doody-head.” These are good for a laugh since, let’s face it, it’s not obvious the reviewer is actually literate. Smile and move on. “One star. While the initial premise of the book sounded interesting, I couldn’t identify with any of the characters, and I felt like the plot went off into the weeds about halfway through and never found its way back. Disappointing.” Aha! Jackpot! This person didn’t like the book, but they were the right audience, and they knew why they didn’t like it. Reviews like this are a bummer, but the fact that they took a little time to say what didn’t work will be a helpful guidepost to making future work better. That’s a good thing! Seems to me, getting a bad review isn’t so bad. Generally, I either let it go or file it away as helpful—and then I get back to writing.”

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Stephen Lankford:  “I’ve worked in the television and film business most of my life so I’ve seen all types of bad reviews.   There are some over the years that I agreed with but mostly ones I didn’t agree with..   I look at bad reviews this way.   I loved the movie the Kings Speech.  I know a lot of people loved the King’s Speech, but I ran across one guy who didn’t get it.   I ran across a woman who hated the “The Godfather.”    I’ve also come across people who have embraced films or books that are totally reviled by the public. At first I found that puzzling but the truth is people are looking for entertainment that fits their needs.  If you’re lucky as an author you fill the needs of many.   But you’ll never fill the needs of everyone.   Da Vinci Code was a wild success for Dan Brown but yet I had a friend who didn’t like the style of the prose.   He would have given it a bad review if that was what he did for a living.  There’s one absolute in writing you’re not going to get the whole world to buy into your vision. The truth be told I’d settle for at least quarter of the world.”

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James Mace: “Every author who has had anyone outside of friends and family read their books has received bad reviews. Don’t believe me? Look at some of the most beloved authors out there, such as Tolkien or J.K. Rowling. Even they have their share of critics. When an author publishes a book, there is a feeling of vulnerability and moments of self doubt. Though all of my books hold a four-star or higher rating on Amazon.com, I do cringe most of the time whenever I get a bad review. I then have to remind myself of the first rule we learned in the Army when conducting an after-action review (AAR); and that is ‘no thin skins’! Some less than favorable reviews will offer constructive criticism, which one should then learn from. Use it to improve your writing skills, and if it affects the quality of a published work that badly, swallow a bit of pride and have your work re-edited and released as a subsequent edition. That being said, a number of bad reviews will come from those who simply want an excuse to complain. One must realize that you cannot please everyone, and some people just like to complain. I confess that the critical reviews that still bother me are the ones that question the historical integrity of what I write. Yet in a recent bad review that went as far as to say that the name ‘Artorius’ was not a real Latin name, only one out of nine other readers found it to be a useful review. If you do an honest self assessment and know you’ve written a quality story, the majority of readers will see that; you just have to trust in their ability to tell the useful reviews from those that are just complaining.”

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Michael Martel:  “I haven’t received a bad review.  There are several reviews on Amazon covering my book and all are positive.  Also some blogs and websites have covered the book in a positive manner so I am happy about that.  If I did receive a negative review, I would just chalk it up to different strokes for different folks.  I have enough positive feedback from people that I know that I know that I have a strong book.”

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Greg Messel:  “Being reviewed is a unique experience that requires some adjustments in our thinking. Getting your book, which is a piece of art which reflects your inner soul, reviewed seems kind of personal. It is delightful when someone loves your book. By the way, when you said our family and friends always love our books, the lowest rating (three stars) I got on Amazon for one of my book was from my daughter in law. Oh well. I fortunately haven’t had a review where the critic thinks my book is garbage. I have probably had 20-30 reviews for my two books. There have been some critical comments in a few. It stings a little. You would have to be much thicker skin than I have not to react to it. I got one review critical of some elements of dialogue when I was in the middle of writing my third novel. I had to be careful to not let that get inside my head too much. One caution about taking criticism is some of it is legitimate and fair. Some criticism is just a difference of opinion. That is okay. Not everyone is going to love my books. It’s part of the landscape of being an author. It is intimidating when your novel is out there in public and anyone can say anything they want. I am at that moment with my third novel. I personally think my new book, which will be published later in August, is my best. I love the story and the characters. I hope the rest of the human race agrees. I have had some reviews which I felt over praised my book. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle. It’s good to follow the sage advice: Don’t believe your press clippings.”

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Malcolm D.  Petteway: “I’ve received excellent reviews, especially on my first novel, Homecoming. It’s the first of a four book military science fiction series called Osguards: Guardians of the Universe. In early July, the 2011 Hollywood Book Festival recognized Homecoming with an Honorable Mention Award. In the same week, I received a five-star rating from the Midwest Book Review. Unfortunately, in the same week, I also received my first negative review. This review was written by a customer on Amazon.com. It was a five-paragraph, full-page scathing assessment of my ability as an author. As I read it, I was mortified. The review was not professional, but a personal attack. Sorry to say, the reviewer described an earlier version of the book that I self-published in 2001. After 2001, I hired an editor and revised the book several times to its present form, which Hollywood Book Festival and the Midwest Book Review favorably recognized. A couple of days later after receiving the negative review, I received another national review that was not as positive as the Midwest Book Review. However, it was professional and didn’t read like a personal attack. I was more receptive to it. I was able to grasp its salient points and store them in my toolkit for future projects. Appropriately, a credible, well thought-out review becomes a tool to teach, train, hone and push the author to be better. In the end, all reviews are subjective. Depending on the reviewer, they can be mean-spirited or constructive. It is the author’s choice to be discouraged or use it as a learning tool. So my advice to authors is to judge the veracity of the review. If it’s professional, revise your work if able, or use it as a teaching tool. But most of all get as many reviews as possible.”

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Bonnie Trachtenberg: “Getting a bad review is kind of like someone telling you they think your precious little child is ugly or unlovable. It’s a horrendous feeling, but it is also part of the deal. You can’t be an author and expect one hundred percent of the population who reads your book will love it or even like it. Of course it’s unfortunate when one of the people who doesn’t, happens to have a column, blog or website with wide readership. But books are very subjective things and the people who read them are, of course, extremely wide-ranging in their personalities, interests, likes and dislikes.  I think the best way to deal with bad reviews is to realize that you can’t please all the people all the time. You have to try to let the critique roll off your back—even if it’s after furiously punching a pillow! Learn to put on blinders and play up the positive. Don’t let one person’s judgment change your mind in any way about your talent. Focus on the good reviews instead, and keep busy promoting your book in every way you can. The bad review is just an opinion, it’s not a fact, so don’t let it get you down!”

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T.M.  Wallace:  “I have come to realize that there are two types of criticism in book reviews: constructive and destructive. Constructive criticism can be a gift. It has not been an easy lesson for me, but I have found that I can only improve my craft when I am open to different opinions. I joined a critique group a few years ago, and it was the best thing I’ve ever done for my writing! If I compare what I wrote before the critique group to what I’ve written since, I’m amazed at the difference in quality. I don’t follow every suggestion that is made but I do carefully weigh up each critique to see if there is something of value that I can take away from it. Destructive criticism on the other hand, is often a better reflection of the reviewer than of the work being reviewed. A reviewer once complained that the carefully crafted descriptive passages of one of my books were “wordy,” while another raved that the descriptions were “beautiful,” that they “drew the reader in.” I found that very revealing – here were two different people reading the same passages and seeing them two different ways. From this I learned that what a reviewer sees as negative in a book is sometimes just a matter of personal preference. I am still sensitive to negative reviews, but I hope I have gained enough wisdom (and humility!) to learn what I can from them — to focus on the positive and then move forward from there.”

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Paula Wiseman:  “Bad reviews are jarring, even disheartening, but they’re part of the territory, so there are several things I try to keep in mind when I face one.  First off, it’s an opinion not fact. It’s a reflection of the individual reviewer’s taste and preferences, and just as I have a right to create my story, the reviewer has a right to respond to it. Second, I look at the tone of the review and what makes it “bad”. If it’s a simple statement of “the book’s not for me,” I can live with that. If it’s a disagreement over plot points or characterizations, that’s an artistic call. I just finished a book I enjoyed, except for the ending. I felt like the author dropped the ball and squandered the opportunities she’d worked so hard to craft in her plot. But, it’s her story, her vision. I have the same creative latitude, and there are no guarantees everyone will agree with my decisions. If there is a legitimate issue raised involving craft or other technical aspects of the story, I’ll definitely take the critique to heart, and work to eliminate it in the future. However, if the negative comments are personal or inflammatory, I’ll completely discount them. Finally, the good stuff- excellent reviews, encouraging comments or emails and so forth- far outweigh the negative. I save the good stuff in a file on my computer to keep that in perspective.”

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Do you have an opinion?  Leave your comment!

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Tags: author book panel, author discussions, bad book reviews, Benjamin Kane Ethridge, Bonnie Trachtenberg, book panel, book panel discussion, Book Reviews, Debra Brenegan, F.J. Dagg, Greg Messel, James Mace, Joseph Garraty, Kara Bartley, Lilian Duval, literarily speaking, Literariy Speaking, Malcolm Dylan Petteway, Michael Martel, Paula Wiseman, Stephen Langford, T.M. Wallace

Pump Up Your Book is happy to announce a very cost-saving special for December to help you promote your book during the holidays. Because we want to give back to the community and we know how everyone is strapped buying presents and getting ready for the holidays, we are offering a 2 week special only applicable during the month of December. If you are an author with a new release or a book that was published years ago and you want to give it new life, click here to find out how you can get a terrific deal for your next book campaign!

Tags: author publicity, authors, blog tour special, blog tours, book blogs, book campaign, book marketing, book marketing company, book promotion companies, book promotions, book publicists, book publicity, books, Christmas, holiday specials, online book promotion, promote your book, Pump Up Your Book, sell your book, Specials, virtual blog tours, virtual book tour savings, virtual book tours, virtual tours

10 Things You Need to Know About Virtual Book Tours

By Dorothy Thompson, CEO & Founder of Pump Up Your Book

By now, most authors know what virtual book tours are or at least have heard of them.  They’re that wonderful marketing tool that should be a must have in every new book’s campaign.  With each new book I write, I’m making a game plan before the book is even published and a virtual book tour is the first promotional venue on that list.

While most of us know what they are, there are still a few new authors who might have heard of them but have no idea what they involve.  I give you my top 10 things you need to know about virtual book tours so that you will know what to expect.

1. Virtual book tours are the BEST way to get the MOST online exposure for your book. Not only are you presenting your book and yourself to thousands of people, all of your interviews, guest posts and reviews are archived which means months down the road, you’re still selling your book because of that one tour.
2. Virtual book tours ARE a lot of work. Not only are you searching for the perfect blogs to host you, you are acting as the middle man between you and the blogger unless you are using a paid service such as Pump Up Your Book who will do all the work for you.  Even if you do sign up with Pump Up Your Book, there is still lots of work to do completing assignments – filling out interviews and writing guest posts unless you choose an all review tour.  Even though it requires a little bit of your time to fill out interviews and write guest posts, it’s well worth it.
3. You will learn more about your book than you ever did. I had an author tell me that through the interviews and guest posts she had to complete, she never learned so much about her book which caught her off guard.  Now when she is interviewed on radio shows and makes television appearances, she is better prepared.
4. Virtual book tours will build up your author platform.  No matter if you’re a fiction author or a nonfiction author, virtual book tours will build up your author platform using your key search words.
5. Your reviews are guaranteed. Offline publicists while they mean well do it all wrong.  They query a book blogger, make arrangements to send the book, then that’s where it stops.  The review is not a guaranteed thing.  The reviewer can post the review anytime they see fit.  With virtual book tours, your review is guaranteed on a certain date unless the reviewer jumps ship which rarely happens.  I had an author tell me she signed up with an offline publicist who sent out many books and only one or two reviewers actually came through for them.  That was money loss for the author.  Books don’t come cheap these days so coming up with a date you and the reviewer can agree upon guarantees that review will be a given thing.
6. Many reviewers now take ebooks which save you money. Thank goodness someone was smart enough to invent a device that automatically loads a book in a few seconds (no waiting to go to the book store anymore my friend) and makes it fun to read.  When Amazon lowered their price of the Kindle, sales soared and book lovers started talking about getting one.  What that means is that it opened up a wonderful way to get these books to the book reviewers quickly and less expensively.  Have you noticed how much books are and how much it takes to ship them?  Not saying all reviewers will take ebooks, but as time goes on, most will have an e-reader and, as a matter of fact, will prefer an ebook.
7. More website hits, more blog hits, more Twitter hits and more Facebook Fan Page hits. All authors should have a website or blog and accounts at Twitter and Facebook.  No matter if you think they’re all a waste of time.  A virtual book tour will definitely give you more hits at all places as long as your links are in your bio.
8. Going on a virtual book tour raises your Alexa rankings. What is Alexa?  Alexa measures how well you are doing in the search engines.  By going on a virtual book tour, and including interviews and guest posts during that tour, your website and blog links are included in every bio (or should be!).  Those are incoming links which Alexa uses to measure your ranking.  The more your website or blog link shows up on other sites, the more valuable your site is to them and thus, your rankings soar.
9. You will learn how to sell your book through media exposure. Not all authors take advantage of their interviews and guest posts by gearing them toward their audience, thus luring them to their book and/or website/blog.  I’ve had many authors on tour and the ones who really take the time to make their interviews and guest posts effective selling tools are the ones who profit the most.  The key thing here is to make your audience curious.  One liners in the case of interviews may not cut it.  Of course there are only so many ways you can answer “What’s your book about?” but take your time and get your audience’s curiosity peaked so that they do make your way over to your website or your book’s buying link.
10. Virtual book tours teach you how to connect well with others. There is no better way to learn how to network.  All these wonderful book bloggers who agree to host you are your new friends in your extended network and they will be there for you the next time you have a book to promote (unless they completely hated it of course).  You’ll also learn how to use the social networks effectively as you study how to get people over to your stops by persuasive wording.  Remember to talk to your audience, not at them.

There you have it.  10 reasons I feel you need to know about virtual book tours in a nutshell.  If you have a tour coordinator as opposed to setting one up yourself, she will walk you through it so that it will be a fun experience for all.  Your book will thank you for it.

Dorothy Thompson is CEO/Founder of Pump Up Your Book, an innovative public relations agency specializing in online book publicity.  You can visit her website at www.PumpUpYourBook.com or follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pumpupyourbook and Facebook at www.facebook.com/pumpupyourbook.

Tags: author tours, authors, blog tours, book marketing, book marketing companies, book marketing strategies, book promotion companies, book promotions, book publicity, book publicity companies, book publicity firms, book publicity ideas, book publicity tips, book tours, books, Dorothy Thompsone, marketing strategy, online book promotion, promote your book, publicity tour, Pump Up Your Book, sell your book, sell your book online, virtual book tours

The Story Behind the Book is Literarily Speaking’s newest feature. Here we find out either the inspiration behind authors’ books or how they got published. Today’s guest is Hazel Statham, author of the Regency romance novel, My Dearest Friend.

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My Dearest Friend is the last book in the Dukes of Lear trilogy. Although all the books are related, they are stand alone novels and can be read in any order. Without realizing it, the trilogy started life over twenty-five years ago when I began to write Consequence, the first book. The idea for the beginning of My Dearest Friend originated from a dream and just grew. It was a classic case of listening to my characters and going wherever they took me. There was one point where I was taken completely by surprise when Sgt. Patterson marched on to the scene and announced that Stefan had an illegitimate daughter – totally unexpected, but added yet another element to enrich the story.

I allowed Jane and Robert’s relationship to evolve at its own pace and, hopefully, gave the reader an insight into its development. It is a very emotive story where emotions run high and again, it is something I hope my readers are able to engage with and clearly see the torment of my hero and heroine when their love is severely challenged and in jeopardy.

It does not follow any predesigned formula but a natural flow of events as we share the lives of my characters. I originally wrote the book with no thoughts of publication but was encouraged to submit to a publisher by a lecturer friend of mine who headed a writing group at the local college.

I didn’t set out to write a trilogy and Dominic, the middle book of the series, was actually written after My Dearest Friend. It just seemed natural to spend more time with the family and the three books chart the lives of the three Dukes of Lear from 1746 to 1812.

This popular book has had a very varied publishing career. It was originally contracted six years ago by All Romance Books but, due to the death of the owner, the company closed before it reached publication. It was then taken by Wings ePress and published as both an e-book and paperback until it went out of print fifteen months ago. It has now been re-released by Write Words as an e-book but will also be available as a paperback from December, 2011.

I am particularly fond of this book and hope my readers enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Hazel read her first Regency Romance, Regency Buck by Georgette Heyer, when she was seventeen and knew that at last she had found her era.

She had been writing since she was fifteen and had mainly been influenced by authors like Austen, the Brontes and Sabatini, but Georgette Heyer opened up the romance and elegance of the eighteen and nineteenth century and she fell head over heels in love with it.

She devoured her books in very quick succession and wanted nothing more than to recreate her own Regency world. History had always been her favorite subject at school and it was just one small step to portray it in her work.

However, despite today’s trend to produce ‘hotter’ novels, she writes ‘traditional’ Regency Romance and closes the door on her characters when they retire. So much emotion can be conveyed by a mere glance or a single word that she doesn’t feel it necessary to leave the metaphorical door open to convey the emotions of the moment. The merest hint is often sufficient to stimulate the reader’s imagination and to go into detail is totally unnecessary.

Hazel has been married to her husband since 1969 and they share their home with a lovely Labrador named Mollie. Apart from reading and writing historical novels, Hazel’s other ruling passion is animals and, until recently, she was treasurer for an organization that raised money for animal charities.

Hazel loves to hear from her readers and promises to answer all mail.

Visit her online at www.hazel-statham.co.uk

Tags: author tour, blog tour, blog tours, book blog tour, book promotion online, book tour, book tours, Consquence, Dominic, Dukes of Lear trilogy, Guest Blogger, Hazel Statham, historical fiction, My Dearest Friend, online book promotion, Pump Up Your Book, romance, The Story Behind the Book, virtual author tour, virtual blog tour, virtual book tour, virtual book tours

The Story Behind the Book is Literarily Speaking’s newest feature. Here we find out either the inspiration behind authors’ books or how they got published. Today’s guest is Greg Messel, author of of the historical romance novel, Expiation (Trafford).

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One of my life experiences which contributed to the story in “Expiation” was my relationship with my wife. My wife and I were high school sweethearts. I played sports in high school and she was very cute and popular. Then she left the Bay Area, where we both grew up, to go out of state to college. Our relationship held together despite the separation and we have been married for over 40 years. If it had not worked out and we somehow had unexpectedly reunited later in our life and were both single, would we try to rekindle our old romance? Absolutely. I also experienced some of the events during the 60s and 70s in Berkeley and San Francisco. If I wasn’t directly involved in some of the events described, I lived through it and it was part of that atmosphere at the time.

I’ve been to most of the places mentioned in Expiation. Recently I was driving through Ballard (a Seattle neighborhood where Dan and Katie lived) with some out of town visitors. As I drove through Ballard, I showed them the restaurant where Dan and Katie met, the park where they walked on Christmas Day and Ballard High School. My visitors were amazed and said “wow, this is real.”

It is real. Even though it is a fictional story it is much more realistic if it happens in real places.

I have had a lifetime love of San Francisco. Also, Seattle is one of my favorite places on earth. In both cases, I love the rainy, cool, foggy atmosphere of both cities. I was very happy with cover of “Expiation.” I thought it captured these atmospherics well.

I chose one of my favorite places in San Francisco for a climactic scene in “Expiation” between Dan and Katie. It is Fort Point at the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge. It is so beautiful and has an astounding view of the Bay and downtown San Francisco. It is a very romantic place.

I focused on the reuniting events in the plot but I thought it made it more interesting to be occurring against the background of these amazing historical events. There are many flashbacks in “Expiation” but I chose to have the “present day” be the end of 1999 just before Y2K. It was such a time of uncertainty and it is an interesting setting for the uncertainty of trying to reclaim lost love.

One reviewer recently quipped that “Expiation” is one of the first books she has read that deal with Y2K as a backdrop. She wondered if some younger readers may say “what’s Y2K?”

Greg Messel has spent much of his life in the Pacific Northwest living in Portland, Oregon and in the Seattle area since 2008. He has been married to his wife, Carol, for 40 years. Greg and Carol were high school sweethearts just like the couple in “Expiation.” He has lived in Washington, Oregon, California, Utah and Wyoming. Greg grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and graduated from high school there and also attended a year of junior college. Greg went to Brigham Young University with Carol and then began a newspaper career in rough and tumble Wyoming town of Rock Springs. Greg and Carol have three married children and nine grandchildren.

Greg has always loved writing. He worked as the news editor and sports editors of the Daily Rocket-Miner newspaper. He won a Wyoming Press Association award for his column. He also submitted and had published articles in various sports magazines. He left the newspaper business in 1981 and began a 27 year career with Pacific Power. Greg retired in 2008 and moved to Seattle.

It was there that he returned to his first love of writing. He has written two unpublished memoirs and published his first novel with Trafford in September 2009. His first novel was called “Sunbreaks.” The second novel “Expiation” was published in the spring of 2010 with Trafford. A third novel is in the works.

Currently, Greg and Carol live on the Puget Sound in Edmonds, Washington, just north of downtown Seattle. They have three adult children who are all married and have nine grandchildren. He also enjoys running, he has been in several races and half marathons.

Visit his website at www.gregmessel.com.

Connect with him at Twitter at www.twitter.com/gregmessel and Facebook at www.facebook.com/greg.messel.

Tags: book marketing, book promotions, expiation, Greg Messel, historical romance, The Story Behind the Book

Inspiration comes from the darndest places, doesn’t it?

We’ve got a great guest blogger today!  K.L. Brady, author of the chick lit book, The Bum Magnet, is here to give us ten things that inspire her.  Enjoy!

Ten Things That Inspire Me

By K.L. Brady

1. God. My spirituality is what gives me the air to breathe and the strength to endure life’s challenges. All things are possible through Him.
2. Peace and stillness. My mind gets so clear when things are truly quiet. But not just my environment, my mind. It’s hard to quiet the mind when you have so many ideas running through it.
3. Watching biographies. I love to watch stories about how people started from nothing and found success through hard work. Shows like Unsung, Behind the Music, and movies like Ray and Never Say Never are truly inspiring to me. Success doesn’t happen overnight. It takes a lot of time and hard work.
4. Water. I’m an Aquarian so the water is almost an extension of who I am. I love sitting near lakes or beaches. The sound of the ebb and flow really gets my creative juices flowing.
5. My son. His energy gives me energy. He is truly the light of my life and a constant reminder of why I work so incredibly hard to ensure he has the best life I can give him.
6. Light. I purchased a home with a million large windows because the sun truly energizes me. In the winter, I experience major doldrums and it’s hard to find motivation. I love three seasons of the year because of the sun.
7. Love. When I’m in love, ideas flow from places I never knew existed. There’s something about that happy energy that releases creativity in me.
8. My family. Seeing how much we’ve come through over the years and endured, everything from cancer to job losses. We’re survivors and knowing that no matter what happens, all things will work out for the greater good is very inspiring.
9. My mistakes. Seems strange to say that your mistakes inspire you but mine do. I’m not the sum of my mistakes. I’m the sum of the mistakes I’ve overcome and conquered. They inspire be a better person, and drive me to become a better writer.
10. Last but not least, my fans. No, I don’t have a millions of them as do many authors but the ones I do have really give me the energy and drive to continue on with my writing. So many days I’ve felt down, wondering if I’m successful enough or good enough, and then I’ll get a note from a fan saying they loved my book, couldn’t put it down. Those words of encouragement erase all doubt and remind me of why and for whom I write. At the end of the day…it’s for them.

K. L. Brady is a D.C. native but spent a number of her formative years in the Ohio Valley. She’s an alumnus of the University of the District of Columbia and University of Maryland University College, earning a B.A. in Economics and M.B.A., respectively. She works as an analyst for a major government contracting firm and is an active real estate agent with Exit Realty by day—and writes by night (often into the wee hours of the morning). She lives just outside of D.C. in Cheltenham, Maryland, with her son and lives to eat chocolate, shop, read, and write.

Her upcoming adult novel, THE BUM MAGNET, will be published by Simon & Schuster’s Pocket Books in March 2011. THE BUM MAGNET was the winner of the 2010 Next Generation Indie Book Awards for Multicultural Fiction, as well as the Third Place Grand Prize Winner for Best Fiction of 2010. Moreover, the African Americans on the Move Book Club recently named her their 2011 Female Author of the Year. You can visit K.L. Brady’s website at www.authorklbrady.com.

Become friends with Karla at Twitter at  www.twitter.com/karlab27 and Facebook at www.facebook.com/karlab27.

Tags: book promotions, book publicity, chick lit, Guest Blogger, K.L. Brady, Pump Up Your Book, The Bum Magnet, women's fiction

Pump Up Your Book is looking for qualified book bloggers to review our titles. As these authors will be on tour in October, the deadline for inquiring is September 25.  If you would like to review any of these titles, email Dorothy Thompson at thewriterslife(at)gmail.com.  Please include the name of your blog, blog link and which book you are interested in.  Tours may close at any time so please email early.  Thank you!

M.E. Patterson will be touring in October and November 2011 with his contemporary fantasy/supernatural thriller, Devil’s Hand.

316 pages

You can visit his website at www.devils-hand.com.

Mary Ann Loesch will be touring in October 2011 with her paranormal fantasy, Nephilim.

Tattoo artist Nathan Ink is more than he seems. An angel living in secret on earth, he forces his clients to face their flaws by tattooing images of their sins on their bodies, but this glimpse into the soul often results in his clients’ deaths. Although Nathan avoids the other angels, when they ask him to keep an eye on Faye, a nephilim being stalked by another of her kind, he reluctantly agrees.

The angels have kept Faye in the dark about her stalker, but to keep her close to Nathan, they’ve tasked her with investigating the high mortality rate of Nathan’s clients. Despite her distaste for his methods, she finds herself fighting a growing attraction to Nathan, and discovering he’s not a rogue after all forces her to question her own mission. When Faye learns her stalker is another nephilim who intends to use her to breed a new race of hellish beings, teaming up with Nathan may be the only way to prevent a genocide.

You can visit her website at www.maryannloesch.com.

161 pages

Please note that this book is only available in ebook format. Please let us know whether you need the file for Kindle, Nook or PDF. Contains strong language and violence

Davis Aujourd’hui is touring in October 2011 with his humor novel, The Misadventures of Sister Mary Olga Fortitude.

Are you ready for a class in Advanced Holiness for people from all walks of life? Then, perhaps you’re ready to take a trip to the Have A Heart convent in Bucksnort, Wisconsin. There, you’ll meet a nun you’re not likely to forget – Sister Mary Olga Fortitude.

The Misadventures of Sister Mary Olga Fortitude is a satire with a spiritual message, but there’s a lot of hanky panky going on here. Sister Mary Olga is an irreverent nun who has some unique spiritual views that differ from those of the Pope. She’s a great believer of “to each, one’s own.” She also loves her Marlboros and her bourbon. Just don’t let the Reverend Mother in on her secret. The next class in Advanced Holiness may be canceled.

Here in Bucksnort, you’ll meet a zany cast of all-too-human characters. There’s a lot of secret-keeping going on here, but Sister Mary Olga will be sure to deliver the goods in order to provide you with good and bad examples of holiness.

The Reverend Mother is a former prostitute. The convent’s chef is a gay cowboy. Priscilla Bunhead is the town busybody who opens some other closet doors. She, along with the other folks on Dinkledorf Drive, serve up examples of what not to do.

One thing’s for sure. These characters will lighten your load and help you to not take life so seriously. Get ready for non-stop laughs!

John Milton Langdon is touring in October 2011 with his historical fiction, Telegraph Island.

Step back in time to the Victorian age. The industrial revolution in Britain is in full spate and electronic communication is in its infancy. Based loosely on fact author John Milton Langdon weaves a tale of romance and adventure on the high seas and in the Orient.

Jason Smiley Stewart — My Life Story describes the life of an average man. Although he is born in humble circumstances, he shows how a combination of perseverance and intelligence aided by a little good fortune, can help any child overcome the disadvantages of a lowly birth status and poor education.

In Telegraph Island, the second of four novels chronicling the life of Jason Smiley Stewart, the young man’s continuing adventures are described. He has his share of failure and success but once again demonstrates that his poor origins are no bar to fame and fortune when he leaves the life of a sailor to join the communication revolution.

278 pages

You can visit his website at www.jmlangdon.com.

Greg Messel is touring in September with his fictional book, Illusion of Certainty (Yorkshire Publishing).

The Illusion of Certainty follows two parallel storylines. Marc is a successful businessman who seems to have everything—a great job, a beautiful wife, a house in an upscale neighborhood of Portland, Oregon and two great kids who are preparing for college. But something is not right. Marc is unsettled by the sudden change in his wife, Aimee, who seems distant and unhappy. What’s going on with her?

The second storyline involves a successful young attorney, Alexandra Mattson. Alex, as she is called by her friends, meets a handsome young cop, Sean, during an unexpected crisis in her neighborhood. Sean and Alex seem made for each other and begin to merge their futures in a world of uncertainty.

The only certainty in life is that we will face uncertainty. Despite all fo the technology and controls available in the modern world, sometimes the only comfort comes from the human touch.

452 pages

John Banks is touring in September and October 2011 with his literary fiction novel, Glorify Each Day.

Glorify Each Day is a darkly comical novel depicting the consequences of violence in modern American life. It tells many stories. Tommy “Teach” Morrison, the novel’s main character, tells the story of his relationship with his childhood friend Charles – a story of a horrible misunderstanding and a story that Tommy can never retell. It tells the story of Tommy and Cait, a story of shared love and shared jokes, but a story that Tommy has doomed to end unhappily.

Glorify Each Day is the story of how Tommy becomes Teach, a man on a mission and on a quest for redemption – instructor extraordinaire (at least in his own mind) who must become the protector of all the ill-fated youngsters put in his charge. It is the story of Teach and his father, a crusty, foul-mouthed abuser of everyone around him and proof that nuts don’t fall very far from the tree.

Glorify Each Day is a story about storytelling and the many different ways to tell a story – stories about Teach’s students; about superheroes, Jesus, races, raps, rapes; about a young woman who learns how to forgive her father, another young woman who learns how to forgive herself, and another young woman who learns that she doesn’t need anyone’s forgiveness. And these are stories that Teach should be able to learn something from, too, stories that shine a light on lives disfigured by violence and loss.

293 pages

Visit John’s website at www.819publishing.com.

Phyllis Schieber will be touring in August and September with her literary fiction novel, The Manicurist.

The Manicurist is the story of Tessa Emanuel, a young woman who is engulfed by vivid images of the past. When Tessa is a child, both parents allegedly die in a car accident. However, the body of Tessa mother, Ursula, is never found. Tessa is obsessed by memories of her mother, whose battle with mental illness made Tessa’s childhood a secret world of intrigue and betrayal. Now married with a daughter, Tessa must come to terms with her own identity as a mother, a wife, a daughter, and a woman—but above all she must seek release from her haunting memories and a gift of clairvoyance that threatens to dismantle her life. At times she wants to escape this “gift,” but eventually she uses it discreetly in her work as a manicurist—where a peculiar client changes her future forever. Mysterious and compassionate, The Manicurist is a spellbinding novel of a woman grappling with the tangled knot of her life.

325 pages

You can visit her online at www.phyllisschieber.com.

Tamara Elizabeth is touring in September and November 2011 with her self-help/motivational book, Fabulously Fifty and Reflecting It!: Discovering My Lovable Me (Trail Blazing Press May 2011).

This is my story, a story of a woman who has discovered how through my reflections, the truly fabulously lovable me; the authentic me that I was born to be. I have moxie like the trail blazing women of the 20’s.

Today I am a confident, lovable courageous woman who realizes that fairy-tales don’t always have the ending of children’s books, but they can have the ending and continuation of what we truly want and believe. I have sass, courage, spunk, determination and attitude.

This book is the result of hard work and perseverance on a self love journey. It is the reflection of my life and from these reflections I have created a workbook for you, the readers, to assist you on your own journey to find the most authentic loveable you. I am your voice. I speak as you. I have been where you have traveled. I have finished licking my wounds and jumped back into the ring. I am MOXIMIZED!

My reflections shared are not to place blame on anyone in my path, for I take responsibility for my reactions to every challenge I have come across in my life. I just want you to understand that I have walked in your shoes and have never given up. You can restart your life at any time you want and still succeed in whatever you desire. This is not always easy but if it was then the journey wouldn’t be quite as exciting. “Easy is never fun” – to quote my fabulously delicious self love coach.

So I invite you into my world and to reflect upon your world. Enjoy the journey – I promise you it will be the most fabulously wonderful ride of your life.

124 pages

You can visit her website at www.moximize.me.

Richard Blunt will be on virtual book tour September and October 2011 with his latest fantasy novel, Lucas Trent: Guardian in Magic.

A clearing deep inside a forest, somewhere near Luton, England. The place looked perfect for a quiet camping night, or as a place for romance, but right now it was not. Who were those twelve strangers? A group of rowdies, six strong, on one side of the place and a group of regular teenagers, also six strong on the other. Tension was in the air. None of the people moved very much, they kept their distance. Words were exchanged, strong statements, but no real threats, no gestures. Then suddenly… A knife… Thrown by one of the rowdies, aimed at one of the teenagers. A straight hit, directly into the shoulder. A cry. The teenager drops to his knees. And the rowdie already has another knife ready.

The situation looked hopeless for the teenagers, they for sure would run away now. But hold on, three of them step forward, guarding the others. They will for sure not stand a chance.

The next knife comes flying, aimed at one of the defenders. He pulls up his arms, cries, but not in pain, the knife is not there yet…

Silence falls on the clearing. What was that? The knife had just stopped in mid air and dropped to the ground a second later. A mishap? An illusion? Or pure luck?

Another one of the rowdies charges towards the teenagers. She looks twice the size than any of them. But wait, something is wrong again. How did she end up on the ground? Tossed through the air, as if she was hit by a rocket. And now. The teenager pushing his friend out of harms way. Look at his speed. Thats not normal either.

What’s going on there? Who are those people? Is this trickery? Or is it magic?

Follow the story of Lucas Trent and his friends and find out for yourself…

268 pages

Visit his website at www.lucastrent.com.

Patty Friedmann will be touring in October 2011 with her YA fiction novel, Taken Away.

When Summer Elmwood’s hot, bedraggled, exhausted family arrives unannounced at the door of her aunt’s elegant Houston house, her mother explains. “We’ve had a disaster. Not the hurricane, a real disaster.”

It is one week after Katrina laid waste to the Elmwoods’ hometown of New Orleans, and like most residents, they were too close to the tragedy to see its scope. Besides, they were coping with a possible tragedy of their own, and only because their city has closed down have they evacuated. Summer’s baby sister disappeared the day the storm hit.

Two-year-old Amalia Elmwood had open-heart surgery three days before the storm, and in the chaos—breaking windows, loss of power, rising water, departure of doctors and nurses—Amalia has disappeared from Intensive Care. The Elmwoods find themselves helpless to find her in an abandoned city.

When her parents start to suspect Summer—who aches for some positive attention—might be the culprit, Summer musters all her resources to track her sister down. With parents who don’t like technology, she must sneak to use computers and cell phones, but with the help of a friend, Haydn Glade, who also is exiled in Texas, she picks up clues that the FBI ignores and eventually figures out what happened. Haydn, whom she “would be in love with if I didn’t love him so much,” seems a much more romantic boy in Texas. Summer has to decide how much.

413 pages

You can visit her website at www.pattyfriedmann.com.

Lilian Duval is touring in October 2011 with her mainstream fiction novel, You Never Know: Tales of Tobias, an Accidental Lottery Winner.

What happens when an ordinary person becomes extraordinary?

Tobias starts out in life much the same as any of us—not rich, not poor, with imperfect parents and unlimited ambition. When he’s twenty years old, his future is altered in irreparable ways after a tragic car accident pushes him down a new path. The once-promising anthropology major is forced to abandon his dreams in order to care for his orphaned, brain-damaged younger brother.

In his late thirties, Tobias works in a bookstore, trying desperately to make ends meet to support his family. His daily grind only reinforces the sadness that broken dreams and bad luck bring in their wake.

How many times have you heard someone say, “If only I won the lottery?”

When Tobias finds he has won the Mega Millions lottery, his unimaginable bad luck seems to have changed into unimaginable good luck … or has it?

Over peaks and valleys, this uplifting journey will challenge the limits of luck, life, and what we value most.

Find out more about the complications of Tobias’s friendship and rivalry with his best friend, Martin; the effects of all this bad luck and good luck on his marriage; and the struggles of his brother, Simeon, once a talented cartoonist, in … You Never Know.

354 pages

You can visit her website at www.lilianduval.com.

Chen Lizra will be touring in October 2011 with her travel/memoir My Seductive Cuba.

Enough books have been written about Cuba to fill an entire library, but few take the approach Chen Lizra does with “My Seductive Cuba.” Deeply personal and always engaging, Lizra — an Israeli-born dance instructor and entrepreneur now living in Canada — fuses history and politics with her real-life experiences among the people of this often-visited but little-understood island. The result is a moving portrayal of Cuba on the verge of historic change. Packed with practical information on where to go in Cuba, what to pack and the best ways to get there, “My Seductive Cuba” also helps readers ferret out persistent opportunists while finding Havana’s best reggaetón, flamenco, jazz and salsa clubs. A glossary of Cuban slang and a description of the Santería religion — along with a vivid chapter titled “Getting Possessed” — makes Lizra’s humorous travel guide even more compelling. This is one book you won’t want to be without, even if you don’t plan on going anywhere!

328 pages

You can visit her website at www.myseductivecuba.com.

Please note that this book is only available in ebook format. Please let us know whether you need the file for Kindle, Nook or PDF.

Memoir author Nemo James will be touring the months of September and October with his book, Just a Few Seconds.

Just A Few Seconds is a story of one man’s experience in the music business. It is an amusing and true story of a successful freelance musician whose gigs ranged from private parties to the very rich and famous to the roughest London pubs where playing the wrong song at the wrong time meant the difference between life and death. He takes more twists, turns and knocks than a mouse trapped in a pinball machine but the ending shows how the road to success can lead us down the strangest and most desolate of paths. If you are looking for the usual rock star memoirs full of sex drugs and rock and roll then this book is not for you, but if you are interested in a unique insight into the music business that reads like a thriller then this book won’t disappoint.

Visit Nemo James at his website www.nemojames.com.

Terrell Dunnum with be touring with his Christian, motivational, poetry book, While There is Still Time during September and October.

God always sends messengers to warn his people before a special event. He sent Noah before the flood. He sent angels before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. He send John the Baptist before the arrival of Jesus Christ.

In the same way God spoke to Noah and John the Baptist, he has spoken to Terrell Dunnum. Terrell had released the Lord’s messages into a book of poetry that will bring hope and healing to all who read it.
While There is Still Time is filled with poetry that is enjoyable both for its messages and its unique rhythms and rhymes. The poetry in While There is Still Time will touch all people, whether saved or unsaved. The lost will be drawn back to God, the weak in faith will be strengthened, and all readers will find encouragement and inspiration.

You can visit his website at www.whilethereisstilltime.com.

Dr. Mitchell Gibson will be touring in September and October with his book Nine Insights For A Happy and Successful Life.

The Nine Insights is a book that is designed to be a guide for those who wish to rise above the suffering and confusion that so often marks this path of existence. As a medical professional, the Creator has given me thousands of profound moments of transformational insight. I began keeping notes on these insights and stored them away in a journal that over time, became the basis for this work. From time to time, I shared these insights with friends, family, clients, and colleagues.

Simple in their presentation, profound in their scope, The Nine Insights are meant only as a reference. Each chapter presents one insight as a unique entity. The stories and vignettes that support each insight are in large part based on my personal clinical experiences. From time to time, I have included a number of famous stories from history that help to outline the deeper perspectives of some of the insights.

I invite the reader to share these insights with others. I hope to provide a little light in a world where millions feel isolated, empty, and without hope. The Nine Insights came from the Creator. I believe that they are his way of reminding each of us that we are unique and special to him in ways that we cannot even imagine.

186 Pages

You can visit his website at Tybro.com

Multi-published, award-winning author Marilyn Meredith is touring during the month of October with the latest installment in her Deputy Tempe Crabtree series, Bears With Us.

A burglar turns out to be a bear and Deputy Tempe Crabtree and her pastor husband, Hutch, chase the bear out of the house. This is their first encounter with a bear and the occupants of the home, an elderly couple and their daughter—and it isn’t the last.

A bear turns up at the school, at a restaurant, an apple orchard and two more homes. That is only part of what Tempe is called to handle. A teenager’s suicide, a mother who doesn’t like her daughter’s boyfriend, a wandering senior with a strange form of Alzheimer’s, and a long ago love affair keep Tempe hopping.

220 pages

Visit Marilyn online at http://fictionforyou.com/

Tags: Book Reviewers Wanted, books for review, call for reviews, Pump Up Your Book

The Story Behind the Book is Literarily Speaking’s newest feature. Here we find out either the inspiration behind authors’ books or how they got published. Today’s guest is Melanie Benjamin, author of the historical novel, The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I always tell aspiring writers that the most important thing they can do for their careers is read – and I have no better example of this than my newest novel, THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MRS. TOM THUMB.
I was halfway through writing the book that was supposed to follow ALICE I HAVE BEEN when I decided I couldn’t continue with it. My heroine had become a total sap, sad to say; I was bored and frustrated with her and naturally, could only assume that the reader would be, too. But before I broke this news to my patient editor, I knew that I had to come up with a new subject, and maybe a chapter or two. Trying not to panic, I started paging through books and lists, and came upon the name “Lavinia Warren Stratton, AKA Mrs. Tom Thumb.”
“I know her,” I said to myself (I often talk to myself while searching for new ideas!). “I read about her, in RAGTIME.” Of course, E. L. Doctorow’s masterpiece of historical fiction is one of my favorite novels. I remembered that in it, Mrs. Tom Thumb had a brief scene with Harry Houdini; she had been feisty and interesting, even then. I started researching and found myself immediately entranced by her story and, most importantly, her voice. She left behind some written pages intended to be an autobiography and in them, she was so fiercely determined and ladylike, always – and yet there was something obviously hidden, as well. While she trumpeted her triumphs—her front-page wedding, her travels, her appearances before kings, queens, presidents and Mormons – she never mentioned any of her hardships. The great tragedy of her life was not detailed; nor was any frustration she must have felt at being a very little person in an America that was growing bigger by the year as the railroads expanded westward, a civil war erupted, and the Gilded Age ushered in an age of opulence and grand technological wonders. (The phonograph! The light bulb! The elevator!)
Ultimately, Vinnie’s story intrigued me for the same reasons the story of Alice Liddell intrigued me; they were both women who, while well known for their public images, cloaked their personal lives in mystery. Alice allowed Lewis Carroll to immortalize her for the ages as Alice in Wonderland; Vinnie allowed her great friend P.T. Barnum – a man who knew his way around a humbug! – to speak for her during her lifetime.
Just as I gave Alice her chance to set the record straight in ALICE I HAVE BEEN, now it’s time for Mercy Lavinia Warren Bump Stratton Magri to step back in her beloved spotlight once more. She tells her own story – and what a story it is! – in the pages of THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MRS. TOM THUMB. I hope you will enjoy reading about her remarkable life as much as I enjoyed writing about it.
Meanwhile, I’m reading, still; always. I have to start a new novel soon. And while I never know where I’m going to find my inspiration, chances are it will be in the pages of a book!
Melanie Benjamin is a pseudonym for Melanie Hauser, the author of two contemporary novels. Her first work of historical fiction as Melanie Benjamin was Alice I Have Been. She lives in Chicago, where she is at work on her next historical novel. Visit Melanie online at http://melaniebenjamin.com/.

Tags: author tour, blog tour, blog tours, book blog tour, book promotion online, book tour, book tours, Charles Stratton, General Tom Thumb, historical fiction, Lavinia Warren Bump, Melanie Benjamin, online book promotion, P.T. Barnum, Pump Up Your Book, The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb, virtual author tour, virtual blog tour, virtual blog tours, virtual book tour, virtual book tours

Mary Ann Loesch will be touring in October 2011 with her paranormal fantasy, Nephilim.

Tattoo artist Nathan Ink is more than he seems. An angel living in secret on earth, he forces his clients to face their flaws by tattooing images of their sins on their bodies, but this glimpse into the soul often results in his clients’ deaths. Although Nathan avoids the other angels, when they ask him to keep an eye on Faye, a nephilim being stalked by another of her kind, he reluctantly agrees.

The angels have kept Faye in the dark about her stalker, but to keep her close to Nathan, they’ve tasked her with investigating the high mortality rate of Nathan’s clients. Despite her distaste for his methods, she finds herself fighting a growing attraction to Nathan, and discovering he’s not a rogue after all forces her to question her own mission. When Faye learns her stalker is another nephilim who intends to use her to breed a new race of hellish beings, teaming up with Nathan may be the only way to prevent a genocide.

You can visit her website at www.maryannloesch.com.

161 pages

Note: Contains strong language and violence

If you are a book blogger and would like to review Nephilim, please email Dorothy Thompson at thewriterslife(at)gmail.com or fill out the convenient form here. Please note that this is only available as an ebook so mention which file you’d like – epub (Nook) or mobi (Kindle).

Deadline for inquiries end September 25 or until the tour is filled. Thank you!

Tags: book promotions, book publicity, books for review, Mary Ann Loesch, Nephilim, paranormal fantasy, Pump Up Your Book

M.E. Patterson will be touring with Pump Up Your Book in October and November 2011 with his contemporary fantasy/supernatural thriller, Devil’s Hand.

Trent Hawkins survived a 30,000-foot fall from a jetliner and became an overnight sensation — the Luckiest Man Alive. For years, his strange and unnatural luck made him the king of the Las Vegas poker scene.

After years on the blacklist, despised by every high roller, he finds himself returning, with his wife, Susan, to his former stomping ground, only to be caught between a serial kidnapper, vengeful angels, poker-playing demons, and a magic-wielding thirteen year-old girl who stands unwittingly at the center of a fallen angel’s plot to end all of mankind in an unholy blizzard. As Las Vegas grinds to a halt, Trent is forced to make terrible sacrifices and must ultimately choose his role in the coming War, or watch our world fall to ruin beneath a blanket of shadow and ice.

316 pages

You can visit his website at www.devils-hand.com.

If you are a book blogger and would like to review Devil’s Hand, please email Dorothy Thompson at thewriterslife(at)gmail.com or fill out the convenient form here.

Deadline for inquiries end October 25 or until the tour is filled. Thank you!

Tags: authors, book for review, Book Reviewers Wanted, books, Devil's Hand, M.E. Patterson, supernatural thriller

Getting Epic Results

By Michael Martel

Back in my Special Forces days, they trained us to think on our feet. You had to be able to quickly assess the situation and get results. Sometimes it was a matter of life or death.

We used to do detailed mission planning. SF teams are isolated away from outside distractions for days in order to devise the detailed plans for their missions. In most cases, things were different when you hit the ground. The intelligence wasn’t quite correct, the map was wrong or the pilot dropped you off in the wrong location.

There wasn’t any time for pointing fingers.

You had to move forward and get it done. I learned the EPIC solution.

Evaluate the Situation

Plan Accordingly

Initiate Action

Consider the Results

You might be asking yourself “How can this help me in my business?”

EPIC can and should be applied for any case where you need to think on your feet. Let’s take a case where you might be asked to speak to a group of people. You plan your presentation using a PowerPoint presentation. When you show up, there is not a screen or a projector for the presentation. EPIC should kick in.

Evaluate the situation. What is available? Is there a whiteboard? Is there a flipchart? Can I get copies made and handed out?

Plan accordingly. Once you have the facts of what is and what isn’t, come up with a quick revised plan. Don’t waste time complaining or arguing about what should be.

Initiate action. Do what you came for, give the presentation. Keep your main purpose in mind. It may not look what you thought it would, but does it meet the objectives. In this case, you wanted to get your message out. Present using a flipchart, highlighting the main points of your presentation.

Finally as you take action gauge the results of the new plan. Is it meeting the ultimate objective? Is your audience showing interest in your presentation? Are they responding in positive body language. If you are not getting the results you want, drop back into EPIC and make the necessary changes.

EPIC is a great system to keep in mind as you go through your daily life, both business and personal. Remember the best laid plans are only that, plans. Everything changes. We had a motto in Special Forces just for this – Improvise, Adapt, Overcome.

Michael Martel was barely eighteen when he walked into the Army recruiter’s office in his hometown of Dayton, Ohio. He told him he wanted to see the world. He satisfied Michael’s wish and sent him to Berlin, Germany where he had a great time in the “Divided City.” There began his love of travel. All together he spent a total of thirteen years living in Germany, traveling around Europe, the Middle East and Africa. His Army career spanned just over twenty years. spending time as an infantryman, paratrooper and Green Beret.

After the Army he moved onto technology. He worked as a computer security expert keeping extremely sensitive information safe from hackers. He earned a Bachelors and Masters of Science in Information Technology and Business Management along the way.

Michael was recognized for his leadership, knowledge and ability to work with people. Very soon, he was moved into the executive ranks and led large business divisions.

Always on the lookout for a challenge, He discovered he had a gift for coaching. From the experiences, both in the military and in corporate world he has a lot to give back. His real world leadership experience combined with his technical education and skill give him an unique ability to work with other leaders to help them achieve success.

Throughout his life, he has done the hard stuff, experienced what works, and has the skills to get the job done, whatever it is.

Michael’s latest book is Get Er Done.

You can visit Michael Martel’s website at www.mikemartel.com.  Connect with Michael at Facebook at www.facebook.com/michael.martel or Twitter at www.twitter.com/MichaelMartel.

Tags: book promotions, Get Er Done, Guest Blogger, Michael Martel

White Sleeper: From Idea to Publication

by Stephen Langford

The journey of writing White Sleeper was filled with twists and turns but it was the publishing of the book that seemed even more taxing.   When David and I finished the book it was around September 2008.  The Presidential election was in full swing and so was the economic meltdown.   We had submitted the book to some publishing houses and were not getting a response.  It wasn’t even a matter of being rejected, we weren’t being read.  We were told that the publishers had been thrown into chaos and nothing seemed to be moving forward.  The level of frustration grew as time went on and finally we decided to self publish.   A publisher was chosen but the earthquakes within the publishing industry were still vibrating.   We had had our cover design and final editing completed.  By December of 2010 we were ready to go to press but the publisher was having trouble finding a printer.  They chose a date for printing and changed it several times.  We suspected they were having financial problems and grew to the point that we selected our own printer.   The production of the book began and publisher said that we shouldn’t proceed this way.  We did anyway.  Production of the book began in March and we were delighted with the final product from Bang Printing.   We hadn’t planned on learning every aspect of the publishing business but, ultimately, we had to learn the ins and outs.    A release date was set and the books were shipped to the distributor.   We chose not to send them the publisher’s warehouse for fear they would go under.

The one bright spot was the PR woman who seemed diligent in sending out books to bloggers.  We would get a report every Friday from her.  So the books were shipped and the book was finally released.  We celebrated by doing two back to back book signings in Los Angeles.  Then one Friday arrived and I couldn’t get a hold of our PR woman.   We called for about a week to all the numbers at the publishing house and never got a human voice.   We quickly acted and hired Charlie Barrett as our PR person and all was fine on our end.   But what happened to the publisher?  Two weeks had gone by.  I tweeted our old PR person and finally got an email from her.  The publisher had gone bankrupt!   They cited that the eBook revolution had done them in.   It was a rocky relationship that in hindsight was probably driven by their financial pressures.  At this point it didn’t stop the White Sleeper.  It was out and sitting in a warehouse unrelated to the publisher which was my writing partner, David wise idea.   We had initially wanted a high end publisher that could do what the big houses do.  But in the end we did it ourselves.   I think in some ways there’s a greater sense of accomplishment.  I think in a greater sense it’s a harbinger of the future for authors.   I think that authors will be more empowered by groundbreaking book delivery technology.  I think David and I have become more sophisticated in this process and so will many other writers.   I think the one man band author/publisher is going is driving the future rather than the traditional route.

STEPHEN LANGFORD is the veteran writer producer of over one hundred and fifty hours of primetime television writing. His credits include Family Matters and Malcolm and Eddie. He later became a screenwriter writing the motion picture Lovewrecked. His latest produced film is “The Nanny Express” which is running on the Hallmark Channel.

Langford grew up in the Boston area and later attended Emerson College where he received a Bachelor of Science in Film. After college, Langford began working in the motion picture field working for such film directors as Sidney Lumet and Joel Schumacher. Currently Langford lives in Tarzana with his wife Sandy and their two children Allyson and Erica. He is also the proud owner of a Jack Russell terrier named Betty and Chihuahua named Tovah.

More information on White Sleeper can be found on the book’s website at http://www.whitesleeper.com.

Tags: book promotions, Guest Blogger, Stephen Langford, White Sleeper

5 Things You Should Know About Writing

by James Mace

1. Believe in yourself! When one has a passion, they should pursue it. More often than not, when we are passionate about something, it is because we are good at it. Those who have a knack for storytelling should not let their tales be confined to the corners of their mind.

1. Never proofread or edit your own work! This is a critical error, because when one looks at their own writing, the brain sees what is supposed to be there; however, this may not be what is actually on the page.

1. Finish what you start! If one starts a story with passion, only to quit midway because of self doubt, or because they let writer’s block get the best of them, that means all their work was an exercise in futility.

1. Writer’s block is a real dilemma; one that every author and potential author goes through. Sometimes it is good to take a break from a project and perhaps work on something else for a while. It is also good to perhaps change writing environments to see what might stimulate the Muse.

1. Expect to have both fans and critics. Even J.K. Rowling has her share of detractors; it is just a fact of life when one is an author. It is impossible to please everyone, and one has to take negative reviews with a grain of salt sometimes. The first rule of an Army after action review (AAR) is, ‘No Thin Skins’. This is a good rule for writers when it comes to reviews of their work.

ABOUT JAMES MACE

Since I can remember I have always had a passion for history. My love of Roman history started when I first watched the series “I, Claudius”. I then proceeded to read every Roman book I could get my hands on.

I got my start writing bodybuilding and physical fitness articles for Bodybuilding.com, as well as a lesser-know magazine, HardCore Muscle. I turned to writing historical novels when I was in Iraq. My intent was to write the stories that I wanted to read, but could not find. While we may hear stories about the Emperors and Generals of antiquity, we almost never hear the stories of the men who did the actual fighting under them. Sadly, most historical data is lost, the individual soldiers being long since forgotten by history. My attempt with The Artorian Chronicles is to tell the story of a common legionary and what could have happened throughout his career.

More recently I have turned to other periods in history and have started work on a pair of historical novels about the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879. The working title for the first book is “Brutal Valour”. I’m tentatively planning for it to be released sometime in 2012, along with the fifth book in The Artorian Chronicles, “Soldier of Rome: Judea”.

You can visit James at http://legionarybooks.net

Tags: book promotions, book publicity, Guest Blogger, James Mace, Soldiers of Rome

Lousy Gigs Make for Good Stories

By Joseph Garraty

Like one of the main characters in my novel, Voice, I play guitar in a local rock band. Also like that character, I’ve played a lot of crappy gigs. The similarity ends there—I’m generally a nice guy, and Stephanie Case is, well, neither of those things, and that’s just for starters. But the lousy gigs? That’s something that ties all rock musicians together. Every time I meet a new musician, we get to trade horror stories. A few examples:

1. I played a venue one time where the roof leaked. That’s not so bad, huh? Maybe it wouldn’t have been, if I hadn’t been standing in a puddle of water with an electrical cable running from the guitar I was holding to a 100-watt amplifier—which, I noted with horror about halfway through the show, was also standing in a puddle of water.

2. My band showed up to do a soundcheck at one venue, only to discover that the sound guy was in jail. I admit, that was so ridiculous it was kind of funny, and an episode inspired by that actually made it into Voice.

3. When one of my bands was just starting out, we got thrown out of a venue for not bringing enough people to the show. I’d never had that happen before (it was completely humiliating), but some of my friends later told me it was kind of normal at this particular establishment. The guy who ran it, Big Lou, bore a remarkable similarity in disposition and appearance to Jabba the Hutt, and he’d attained a reputation for being a complete jerk to most of the local musicians.

4. Three vocalists, one mic. Obnoxious? You bet. Funny to watch? Oh yeah. We fell all over each other trying to get to and from that mic stand. The bits with three-part harmony were particularly entertaining. I’m lucky I didn’t accidentally club someone to death with the headstock of my guitar.

That barely scratches the surface. I’ve also had to turn away a boatload of drug pushers, deal with an astonishing variety of equipment failure (nothing like screwing around with a bass amp that won’t work when you’re twenty minutes into the set you’re supposed to be playing), fight with sound guys that took an immediate dislike to me or somebody else in the band, and the list goes on and on. I’ve put on transcendent performances to empty rooms and mediocre ones to packed houses, and (occasionally) vice versa.

What does any of this have to do with writing? Atmosphere. Vibe. Voice, if you will. Verisimilitude. From the standpoint of research, Voice was one of the easiest things I’ve ever written, because I’ve experienced so much of that scene. And for me, there are few tableaus quite as evocative as the stage at a sleazy bar two minutes before showtime. The gear is set up, the lights are down, there’s maybe a half a dozen people nursing their drinks and shooting glances toward the stage, wondering what they’re in for. Just offstage, the band is tuning up.

And if I’m there, I’m grinning like a fool—because in these dark, out-of-the-way places, despite the grime and the horrifying bathroom, despite the drunk who won’t stop pawing you and the sound guy who turns you up until you feed back like crazy or turns you down until you can’t hear anything, and despite the fact that you’re about to bust your ass for two hours for six bucks, you never know when something magic might happen.

I guess I do have something else in common with Stephanie Case. We’re both made to play seedy dives.

I’m cool with that.

Joseph Garraty is an author of dark fantasy, horror, and science fiction. He has worked as a construction worker, rocket test engineer, environmental consultant, technical writer, and deadbeat musician. He lives in Dallas, Texas.

His latest book is the horror novel, Voice.

You can visit his website at www.josephgarraty.com.

Connect with Joseph at Twitter at www.twitter.com/JosephGarraty.

Tags: book promotions, crappy gigs, drug pushers, electrical cable, Guest Blogger, guitar, horror, horror author, horror book, horror stories, Joseph Garraty, local rock band, main characters, rock musicians, roof leaked, seedy dives, vibe, vocalists, Voice, writing tips

Debra Brenegan grew up in the Milwaukee area and graduated with a B.A. in journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She worked as a journalist and taught at Milwaukee Area Technical College before beginning her graduate work. She received her M.A. and Ph.D. in English/Creative Writing from The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where she also taught. She teaches English and Women’s Studies at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri. For her fiction, she has received a Ragdale residency and was a recent finalist for the John Gardner Memorial Fiction Prize, The Cincinnati Review’s Schiff Prose Prize, and the Crab Creek Review Fiction Prize. Her work has recently appeared or is forthcoming in Calyx, Tampa Review, Natural Bridge, The Laurel Review, RE:AL, The Southern Women’s Review, The Cimarron Review, Milwaukee Magazine, Phoebe, and other publications. Debra Brenegan’s novel, Shame the Devil, is a historical account of nineteenth-century American writer Fanny Fern (SUNY Press, Excelsior Editions). She is currently working on another novel, set in Missouri, and on a short story collection. During the school year, Debra lives in a 130-year-old house in Fulton with her husband, Steve, and their elderly cat. They spend summers and school breaks in their native Milwaukee. When not teaching, writing, spending time with family or driving back and forth to Wisconsin, Debra enjoys cooking, gardening, reading and traveling.

You can visit her website at www.debrabrenegan.com or visit her at Twitter at www.twitter.com/dbrenegan or Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/#!/debra.brenegan; https://www.facebook.com/#!/shame.the.devil.book.

Q: Thank you for this interview,  Debra.  Can we start out by telling us whether you are published for the first time or are you multi-published?

I was a journalist for years before I started writing fiction, so I have had a lot of journalistic articles published.  I’ve also had several poems and short stories published, but this is my very first book.

Q: When you were published for the first time, which route did you go – mainstream, small press, vanity published or self-published and why or how did you choose this route?

I pitched my book to a handful of agents and small presses before I happened upon a SUNY Press table at a writing conference.  I started talking about my book to the acquisition editor and he seemed interested, so I sent him the manuscript.  SUNY ended up accepting the book and I couldn’t be happier.  SUNY ended up being the perfect publisher for me.  They’ve been delightful and supportive to work with from the very beginning.

Q: How long did it take you to get published once you signed the contract?

A little over a year.

Q: How did it make you feel to become published for the first time and how did you celebrate?

The road to publication is lined with many small milestones.  I think I was actually most thrilled to get a little email from my editor saying SUNY was going to accept my book.  It was thrilling to sign the contract, almost unreal to look at galley pages, heart-stopping to get my box of beautiful books delivered – but nothing choked me up more than that first email.  My husband and I cracked open a nice bottle of wine and read the email over and over, just to make sure I wasn’t misunderstanding something.

Q: What was the first thing you did as for as promotion when you were published for the first time?

I went to a local copy store and had 1,000 bookmarks of my book printed.  My husband and I started handing them out to everyone we knew.  When I got my first copies of the book, I brought one to a family gathering for everyone to gush over (which, nicely, they did).

Q: Since you’ve been published, how have you grown as a writer and now a published author?

I don’t feel the same sense of uncertainty that I sometimes would feel, wondering if I was ever going to get published.  Now that I’ve achieved this important goal of mine, I know I will continue to get published.  Now, I want to keep writing and to develop into the best writer I can be.

Q: What has surprised or amazed you about the publishing industry as a whole?

I’m amazed at the whole promotional engine that exists and that authors really need to participate in.  If you would have told me two years ago that I’d be happily writing blogs galore, checking my amazon stats and interviewing publicists, I wouldn’t have believed it.  It was hard to picture all the many steps that happen after the printing presses have done their work.  The printing, the publishing, ends up being just the first step.

Q: What is the most rewarding thing about being a published author?

People will let me talk about Fanny Fern a little longer than they used to.  ;)

Q: Any final words for writers who dream of being published one day?

Never give up!  If your dream is to publish a book, then write it.  After you write it, revise it.  After you revise it, send it out, over and over, until someone loves it as much as you do and agrees to publish it.  If you work your dream, it’ll become a reality.  It will.

Tags: Author Interviews, book promotions, Debra Brenegan, Shame the Devil, women's fiction, women's fiction book, women's fiction novel

Title: The Manicurist
Author: Phyllis Schieber
Publisher: Bell Bridge Books
Paperback: 325 pages
Genre: Literary Fiction

The Manicurist is the story of Tessa Emanuel, a young woman who is engulfed by vivid images of the past.  When Tessa is a child, both parents allegedly die in a car accident.  However, the body of Tessa mother, Ursula, is never found. Tessa is obsessed by memories of her mother, whose battle with mental illness made Tessa’s childhood a secret world of intrigue and betrayal.  Now married with a daughter, Tessa must come to terms with her own identity as a mother, a wife, a daughter, and a woman—but above all she must seek release from her haunting memories and a gift of clairvoyance that threatens to dismantle her life.  At times she wants to escape this “gift,” but eventually she uses it discreetly in her work as a manicurist—where a peculiar client changes her future forever.  Mysterious and compassionate, The Manicurist is a spellbinding novel of a woman grappling with the tangled knot of her life.

Book Excerpt:

First meetings could be so telling. Tessa knew this as well, if not better, than most. She was almost always accurate, tallying her small conquests according to conscience. After all, some conclusions, especially about people, were simply obvious. So when Tessa looked up from her work station in response to the woman’s question about whether or not she needed an appointment for a plain manicure, and felt a stirring that was as inviting as it was alarming, she was prepared for something, though what she could not say. Before Tessa could say anything, the woman, just as cheerfully as she had the first time, asked her question again.

“Do I need an appointment for a plain manicure?”

The woman was in her fifties, perhaps younger, or maybe older. Tortoise shell glasses hung around her neck on a braided silver chain. Strands of dark hair, sharply streaked with grey, escaped from a loose bun that was pierced with elaborately painted black enamel hairpins. She was plump, which probably explained the skirt with the elasticized waist, and she immediately endeared herself to Tessa for no other reason than she seemed so comfortable with her appearance.

“Yes,” Tessa said. She stood for no apparent reason. “Usually, especially on a Saturday. The receptionist, Kara, will be able to help you.”

“But today is Thursday.” The woman eyed Tessa’s black slacks, black sweater and black flats, a combination that imitated what all the other workers were wearing. “Are you the manicurist?”

The collision of feelings that Tessa had first experienced made her suspicious, and she reminded herself that as a general rule, it was always best to honor instinct before emotion.

“Yes. I am,” Tessa said, slightly flustered. ”I’m the manicurist.” Her pale cheeks felt hot, and she shook her head as though this could help her regain some composure. She wondered how this woman had managed to elude Kara. Anna Marie, the manager of Escape, a day spa, referred to Kara as St. Peter, insisting that no one could get by without some interrogation. “What I meant to say is that we don’t encourage walk-ins, but it’s been a slow day, and I just happen to have a cancellation. And, well, you’re here.”

The woman smiled so genuinely that Tessa smiled also and stooped to help her with the mesh shopping bag that kept toppling over.

“Thank you,” she said. “That’s very kind of you. Very kind.” She offered her hand and said, “I’m Fran Raskin.”

Tessa casually ignored Fran’s hand and set the mesh shopping bag against the wall. It was brimming over with fresh produce. She smelled garlic, onions and parsley, and something else she could not quite make out in a blend so compelling that her stomach growled.

“Excuse me,” she said, deliberately patting her belly with both hands as a way to discourage any further contact. “I’m Tessa Jordan. So do you want a manicure?”

“Yes. I definitely need a manicure today.” She tried to make it seem as if she had never offered her hand in the first place and fiddled with the waistband of her skirt. “Have you had your lunch, Tessa Jordan?”

“Well, no. Not yet.”

Fran sat and rummaged through the bag, mumbling softly to herself, but in a way that invited eavesdropping. “One of these days I’m going to finally clean this bag out. Just dump everything. Way too much stuff.” Finally, she pulled a Barbie thermos from the depths of the bag and set it on Tessa’s table.

“Wait a moment. Just a second,” Fran said. “Here now.” She produced a cloth napkin and a soup spoon. “Try this.” She unscrewed the lid of the thermos and inhaled deeply as the aroma was released. “It does smell wonderful, doesn’t it? Eat right from the thermos. I have gallons of the stuff at home. Whenever I’m in a tizzy, I seem to make soup. Too much soup, always too much. I have to give it away, so I can make more.”

Hesitantly, Tessa took the spoon from Fran. Tessa had been witness to some strange things in the salon, but Fran and her soup were unprecedented. There seemed to be no way to politely discourage this woman from imposing her soup on strangers.

“Go on,” Fran said. “I promise you it isn’t poisonous. Once you get to know me you’ll understand my need to feed everyone.”

Once I get to know her? Tessa swallowed and tried to discreetly sniff the soup. “But isn’t this your lunch?”

“Oh goodness, no. I’ve already had my lunch.”

“Weren’t you bringing it somewhere?”

“Yes, certainly, I was,” Fran said in a tone that suggested Tessa had asked a really funny question.

“Well, it does smell wonderful, and I am hungry.” She held the spoon to her lips, and was about to take her first mouthful. Then she looked at Fran again, more carefully this time, and said, “Have we met before?”

“No,” Fran said. “I don’t believe we have. Go on now, have some soup.”

The soup was quite unlike anything Tessa had ever eaten. The stock was flecked with bits of yellow corn and something else that wasn’t bacon but gave the broth a smoky flavor. Tessa bit hungrily into chunks of chicken and fat lima beans.

While Tessa ate, Fran studied the nail polish display. She held each bottle up to the light, squinted and then examined the label on the bottom, and said the names aloud. Keys To My Karma, Bubble Bath, Spring Bloom, I’m Not Really a Waitress. She seemed more interested in the names than in the colors. Fran waited quietly, a bottle palmed in her hand, for Tessa to finish. When the last drop had been scraped from the thermos, Tessa wiped the spoon with the napkin and screwed the lid back on.

“Did you have something in mind?” Tessa said.

“Excuse me?”

“A color,” Tessa said. “Did you have a color in mind?”

Fran plucked a bottle of pale lilac polish from the display. “I like this, Peach Daiquiri,” she said, handing the bottle to Tessa. “You don’t think it’s too young for me, do you?”

Tessa set the bottle down and considered not only the question, but the woman who asked it. Tessa worried she would be unable to defend herself against Fran’s intentions. Although Tessa was usually able to avert the onslaught of feeling that touch could deliver, Fran’s will seemed very strong. It did not take much of either intelligence or vision to see that she had arrived with a purpose. Tessa stalled before beginning the manicure. She spent more time than necessary setting up her area and fussing with her tools. Fran watched these rituals without complaint. She had positioned the bottle of polish close to Tessa on the padded rest. Fran’s hands remained on the table, anticipating Tessa’s ministrations with patience. When Tessa saw this, she felt as if Fran had transformed the work station into an altar, a place where her jagged cuticles and careworn hands would be sanctified.

“Too young?” Tessa said. Her own hands felt unsteady. “I wouldn’t worry about that if I were you. Nail polish is supposed to be playful.”

Fran smiled. “I suppose it’s an odd question anyway coming from someone who uses a Barbie thermos.”

“Yes, I suppose so.” Tessa laughed and took Fran’s hands, relieved by the absence of turbulence that could only be interpreted as a good sign. “Besides, I’ve always liked Barbie. I think she’s unfairly criticized.”

“I wholeheartedly agree,” Fran said.

Tessa dipped a Q Tip into a dish of warmed cream and slathered the pink concoction around the tired edges of each of Fran’s nails. She rubbed the cream in well and examined each nail carefully, scowling at the cuticles.

“I prefer to just push the cuticles back, but I might have to trim some of these hanging pieces.”

“Do what you have to do,” Fran said.

Tessa took an orange stick and began to gently push back at the cuticles. Then she selected a pair of clippers from her tray and deftly trimmed the stray pieces of skin. She excused herself and returned with a heated washcloth. She pressed the palms of her own hands together as if in prayer.

“Like this, please,” she said.

Fran obeyed. Tessa wrapped the warm cloth around Fran’s hands and patted gently. After a few moments, Tessa removed the cloth and dropped it into a bin. She drew a deep breath and reached for Fran’s left hand. First, Tessa massaged each finger and then moved to include Fran’s entire hand. It was a large hand, which immediately made Tessa suspect that Fran was comfortable with delicate work. It was Tessa’s experience that people with small hands had notions about their own talents that far surpassed reality. The feel of Fran’s hand was both solid and flexible. It suggested the sort of courage that was easily masked as perseverance. But Tessa knew better. This was a strong woman, and though Tessa usually tried to disregard what she felt when attending clients, her thumb pressed hard on the center of Fran’s palm, probing for details.

“Are you looking for something?” Fran said.

Tessa dropped Fran’s hands.

“Oh, please,” Fran said. She reached across the table and held Tessa by the wrist. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you. Continue. Please.”

Tessa was suddenly very tired. It had been some time since she had felt so overwhelmed by simple contact.

“Are you all right?” Fran said.

“I’m fine,” Tessa said. She felt confused, not at all herself. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be, please. It’s all right.”

“I know a bit of palmistry,” Tessa said. “It’s interesting in my line of work. To know palmistry, I mean.”

“Of course,” Fran said. “It must make the work more meaningful.”

“It can.”

“And it’s so convenient. What you do and all. So lucky for you to have your skills so closely intertwined,” Fran said.

“Yes, I guess it is lucky,” Tessa said. “Though I don’t really consider myself skilled in palmistry. I took it up as a hobby.”

She was talking too much even though she was eager to change the subject, or to stay on it. She wasn’t sure at all. All her wires had been crossed somehow, and the good feelings she had toward Fran were less generous now.

“I love to pry,” Fran said. “Especially if I could go unnoticed.”

She had said this as though they were confidants, and it chafed at Tessa’s nerves. She was exasperated all over again.

“I wasn’t prying.”

“Yes, of course,” Fran said quickly, trying to be conciliatory. She offered Tessa both hands at once, but Tessa tapped them, dismissing them. “How did you learn palmistry?”

“I guess you do love to pry,” Tessa said. She smiled. “And you’re quite good at it.”

“Tell me about myself,” Fran said.

“I just did,” Tessa said more pointedly than she had intended.

But she was curious about this woman, and reached for Fran’s left hand, holding it in both her own. Fran’s thumb was firmly jointed. She was, as Tessa had expected, a woman of rare will. Tessa assessed the length of Fran’s fingers, noting that the third finger was unusually long.

“Do you paint?” Tessa said.

“I used to. Oils,” Fran said. “Miniatures. I don’t anymore.”

“I thought you might have some experience with delicate work.”

“Most people assume I’m clumsy.”

Tessa nodded and then scrutinized Fran’s nails. They were shell shaped and finely hued, but sorely neglected. She massaged Fran’s hands again, one at a time, but this time without any reserve. She tugged at each finger, waiting for Fran to speak, knowing she would.

“Are you self-taught?” Fran finally asked.

Tessa ignored the question and continued to tug.

“Do you prefer square or round?” Tessa said.

“You decide for me.”

Tessa picked up the scissors and made one single cut across each nail, leaving each square. Then she selected a file and began to work, filing directly across the flat edge of the nail in one constant direction. Fran closed her eyes and seemed to be sleeping. She even kept her eyes closed when Tessa followed through all the same steps with the left hand. Neither of them spoke. Tessa first buffed, and then applied nail strengthener, and a base coat. Finally, Tessa unscrewed the bottle of polish and applied the first coat, using three strokes on each nail. One at the center of the nail, and then one stroke on either side. She applied a second coat, and still no word passed between them. Fran’s eyes remained closed, giving Tessa full access to scrutinize every detail while maintaining a careful distance. She had few friends, mostly because the exchange of confidences that was eventually expected was not something Tessa easily shared. Yet now, in spite of Tessa’s typical wariness, she wanted some assurance that she would see Fran again.

“You’ll need at least twenty minutes to dry,” Tessa said. Fran’s eyes remained closed, but Tessa knew how to open them. “My mother taught me about palmistry. She felt it would be useful.”

Fran’s eyes flew open. Now, she stared at Tessa’s face, but said nothing. Nothing at all.

“Do you like your nails?” Tessa said almost too cheerfully. “The color is good for you.”

“Yes, they’re lovely,” Fran said. She gave them a perfunctory glance. “Very shiny and all, but I can’t wait twenty minutes. I simply can’t wait that long. I really have to be going.”

Tessa calmly watched as Fran soaked one cotton ball after another in nail polish remover and rapidly wiped the polish from each fingernail.

“There now,” she said when she was done. “That’s better.” She blew on her damp nails and waved her hands about a bit. “I hope you’re not angry.”

“Not at all,” Tessa said, though she was a bit stunned. She shrugged. “They’re your nails and your money.”

Fran stood and rummaged in her purse. She withdrew a five-dollar bill and placed it under the bottle of polish.

“Thank you,” Tessa said. “That’s very generous. And thank you for the soup.”

Fran screwed the lid back on the Barbie thermos and dropped it into her satchel. She took a bobby pin off one of the nearby trays and secured a wayward strand of hair. The whole time, she kept her eyes on Tessa. Fran groped around in her coat pocket and withdrew a piece of tattered red ribbon.

“I found this. I want you to have it.”

Tessa made no move to accept the offering.

“Take it,” Fran said. “I understand it’s good luck to find something red. I was told that you should never walk by anything red that you see on the street. You can wear it as an amulet if you like. It’s supposed to protect you from enemies.”

Tessa’s mother, Ursula, had believed in amulets, curses and charms, yet nothing had been able to save her.

“I don’t have any enemies,” Tessa said. She kept her voice calm even though her heart was racing. “At least none that I know of.”

Nodding ever so slightly, Fran dropped the piece of red ribbon on Tessa’s workstation. Fran was out the door before Tessa could find the courage to even ask what had brought her to the salon since it was evident she had not come to have her nails done. Tessa picked up the ribbon and ran out of the shop after Fran.

“Mrs. Raskin!” Tessa called after her. “Take your ribbon!”

But Fran was already more than halfway down the street. If she heard Tessa, Fran chose not to answer. Tessa just watched from the doorway. It was hard to imagine what she was in such a hurry to get to, and Tessa felt almost envious about whatever gave Fran such a sense of urgency. Tessa strained for a last glimpse of Fran, but she was nowhere to be seen. Then, just as Tessa was about to turn away, she saw Fran, crossing the street against the light. The mesh shopping bag was dangling off her arm. One hand was held aloft to slow oncoming traffic, the other hand was pressed against her forehead as a visor to block out any glare as she scanned the ground for new treasures. And Tessa felt oddly relieved, as if what had been lost was now found.

About Phyllis Schieber

The first great irony of Phyllis Schieber’s life was that she was born in a Catholic hospital. Her parents, survivors of the Holocaust, had settled in the South Bronx among other new immigrants.  In the mid-fifties, her family moved to Washington Heights, an enclave for German Jews on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, known as “Frankfurt-on-the-Hudson.”

She graduated from high school at sixteen, earned a B.A. in English from Herbert H. Lehman College, an M.A. in Literature from New York University, and later an M.S. as a Developmental Specialist from Yeshiva University.

She lives in Westchester County where she spends her days creating new stories and teaching writing. She is married and the mother of a grown son, an aspiring opera singer.

The Manicurist was a finalist in the 2011 Inaugural Indie Publishing Contest sponsored by the San Francisco Writer’s Conference.

Phyllis Schieber is the author of three other novels, The Sinner’s Guide to Confession, Willing Spirits, and Strictly Personal.

You can visit her website at www.phyllisschieberauthor.com.

Tags: book spotlights, literary fiction, literary fiction author, literary fiction novel, Phyllis Schieber, The Manicurist

Title: Under a Fairy Moon
Author: T.M. Wallace
Publisher: Brownridge Publishing
Paperback: 222 pages
ISBN: 0986865702
Genre: YA Fantasy

If you have been longing for an adventure and your family moves next-door to a beautiful garden full of lush plants and ancient stone, wouldn’t you sneak over to have a look at it – even if it was owned by the neighborhood witch?

Fourteen-year old Addy Marten doesn’t need to think twice: It is only a matter of time before she sets out to explore the garden’s winding paths and especially, the ring of mysterious stone statues that she has glimpsed through her bedroom window. Instead of the enticing hideaway she has imagined, however, she finds herself trapped in another world where she is challenged a game of Fairy Chess – played by real fairy creatures. She must use all her courage and wits to win the game and free herself from these malevolent creatures and their twisted fairy-tale world.

Book Excerpt:

The Garden glared at her, green-eyed, from its dark places. Improbable shadows appeared, angular and barbed, in the rocky areas where plants never grew. Even as she dared creep out from behind the living screen of ferns and bramble bushes, Addy knew she wasn’t safe. A part of her still wanted to bolt as fast as she could in the other direction. Instead she stood transfixed, listening to the buzzing of the dragonflies and the steady gushing of the creek over smooth stones.

Addy had never dared to venture this far into the garden before. She found it strangely intoxicating. If she listened closely enough, the sounds of the birds and the creek were underscored by the true voice of the Garden: a deep-water stillness that numbed her fear and lulled her into submission. Draped in the thick foliage, she inched closer to her objective: several rows of stone statues nearly swallowed by ivy and moss. Then, a twig snapped and Addy whirled around suddenly, her skirt flaring out from around her scraped and dirty knees.

For a moment she crouched stone-still in the speckled shadows, her heart pounding, desperately willing herself to become nothing but rock and tree and cold bare earth. Then, only when she had convinced herself that Mrs. Tavish wasn’t lurking nearby, ready to pounce, Addy released her strained muscles and thanked Heaven that she hadn’t been turned into a toad or made into a minced pie – or whatever it was that witches did to fourteen-year old girls who dared trespass in their garden.

Addy relaxed a little, allowing the garden to work its magic. She had only to breathe its heady aromas of jasmine, mint and thyme to be carried away to a different world altogether. The garden might belong to her neighbour, Mrs. Tavish, but it was Addy’s own secret place, a hidden passageway into the fantastic kingdoms she had often read and dreamed about.

Here, she was free to be her own person, without her parents watching and wondering why she wasn’t out trying to make friends, or obsessed about stupid things like hair and make-up and clothes. Here she no longer cared that she was, yet again, the new girl in town. She could forget about that school where she had been Addy-the-Gifted, feeling lonely and awkward. In this magical place, she was whatever she wanted to be. In a beautiful place like this she could be wherever and whatever she imagined.

Today she was Nebetia the Enlightened, Egyptian princess, entering the Hall of Kings after a long absence. Rows of cypress trees became green-cloaked sentries ready to escort her through flower-bed courtyards. Stone statues and topiary, her willing subjects, awaited her wise command. Today she had walked straight-backed through arched trellises dripping in wild grapes and Virginia Creepers to claim her right to the throne.

Yet the long shadows made Addy uneasy, reminding her that this ethereal kingdom was not hers alone. For one thing: the garden was wild – untamed and untameable. The tangled and creeping masses on the fringes loomed up and over the neat little hedgerows like a storm threatening to upturn a village. These dark, secret places lured her with their promise of hidden mysteries, then surprised and wounded her with the prick of stinging nettle claws and barberry teeth.

There was also the problem of Mrs. Tavish, who was a witch. Addy didn’t really believe she was a witch, but she had recently heard a girl call her that: she had been talking to her brother, passing by the garden on the street-side and close enough for Addy to overhear.

“That’s where the witch lives,” said the girl to her pudgy little brother. He had his face full of ice-cream, but he still marked carefully the place where she pointed with his large round eyes.

“You be careful when you walk by here, Justin,” the girl had warned, pulling him away by the collar. “That place is scary. I bet she eats little boys like you for breakfast.”

Addy remembered people talking about another strange old lady in Port Perry where she had lived when she was ten. She had a house full of cats and grew herbs, and some of the kids thought she might be a witch. Was Mrs. Tavish a witch? Addy had often seen her tramping ungracefully around her kingdom of azaleas and primroses in her cotton flowered dresses and oversized black boots. However, Addy didn’t think she looked so much scary as ridiculous. She wondered if a witch would wear a wide-brimmed sun-hat trailing ribbons and lace.

She remembered her mother talking about Mrs. Tavish. She had seemed a little nervous about her, and Addy wasn’t sure she was telling everything she knew about their strange new neighbour.

“I was in town this morning, and the postmaster mentioned we should be very careful not to upset our new neighbour,” her mom had said to her dad a few days after they had moved in to the new house. “She’s a bit eccentric, apparently, and there’s some scandal there, though he didn’t go into details. Something about a lost child – maybe her own. Anyway, she likes to be left alone, so we’ll have to be careful not to bother her.”

Addy had wanted to ask her more about Mrs. Tavish, but she was too comfortable in her place behind the heavy living-room drapes, feeling the cold smoothness of the tiled floor and imagining she was exploring the dark patches in the forest she saw through the sliding glass door. Her father was partly responsible for her day-dreaming. He was playing the piano softly in the background and the music was carrying her thoughts away as it always did, to uncharted lands.

“Hmm … ,” said her father, his practised hands never missing a note, “I like that in a neighbour. People in these country towns can be a bit nosy.”

Just then there had been a knock at the door by the man from the telephone company and there was no more talk about neighbours that day. But Addy’s curiosity about her neighbour’s garden grew steadily stronger and she spent the last of her precious summer days staring longingly out her bedroom window, dreaming about exploring its tangled majesty. Or, if she was outside, she would hang around the edge of their property that bordered Mrs. Tavish’s yard, gathering up her courage to enter the Garden.

Now, having finally stepped inside the Garden’s vast perimeter, Addy brushed these thoughts aside with impatience. She couldn’t let anything distract her from fulfilling her quest. The time had come for Princess Nebetia to lay claim to her kingdom. She walked, poised and alert, past the winding creek, past columns of cedar and willow and through grasping green tunnels of underbrush until she entered the courtyard of statues.

Having made it this far, Addy stretched her arms out wide to the sky, claiming the space as her own. She trembled inside with the thrill of her secret triumph. Then her gaze fell upon her prize: rows of statues half-buried by moss and vines. Greek gods and various mythical creatures stared sternly down at her, their great hulking forms filling much of the sky. The granite statues were of two different colours; some were ash-grey, so dark as to be almost black, others were a brilliant white, sparkling in the sunlight. She noted the giant arms with green-draped sleeves, hands reaching, and fear poked at Addy with long adrenaline fingers.

She stood still for the longest time, aware of the staccato rhythms of her own breath and heartbeat. Then she noticed the white centaur at her elbow, set apart from the others in the shadow of an old oak. She could have sworn he had not been there a moment before. He was made of stone, but Addy thought his eyes looked as soft and real as her own … and they were pleading with her.

She reached out timidly, running her hand over the carved stone. The stone was unyielding and lifeless and reassured her that the horse-man was not real. Her gaze avoided the dark eyes and focused on the fine lines of the horse-hide cut into stone.

“Where did you come from?” she asked softly.

“Enitua-a-a-a” sighed a voice like the wind and the rustling leaves.

“Enitua, Enitua, Enitua-a-a!” echoed the voice as subtle as  the shadows.

Addy stared at the centaur, her throat constricting with fear. That disembodied voice … it was impossible, she knew it was, and yet … she could have sworn that the voice was coming from the stone centaur. In fact, as she stared at it, it was seeming more and more real. Did she see those dark eyes move to focus on her? A moment ago, she could have sworn its arms had rested down at its side. Why was one arm now outstretched toward her?

All rational thought left her mind and it was replaced by a paralyzing fear. The world seemed to implode around her. Her fear took on the form of the branches and tangled vines, sprouting grasping hands that pressed in on her head and lungs.  Addy collapsed face-down in the soft grass, taking shallow little breaths. As the world slowly returned to normal, Addy tried to tell herself she was simply the victim of an overactive imagination.

“It’s okay: it was only the wind,” she said to herself, hugging her knees and rocking back and forth. That was how she had always calmed herself since she was very little. She would rock back and forth through the long stormy nights, too proud to call out to Mom or Dad and admit she was frightened of anything so silly as a thunderstorm.

It calmed her now, too, but she was still frightened. The voice from the shadows was real, whatever she might tell herself. It was real, and she couldn’t explain it. She had to escape.

The Garden had suddenly become a hostile place, windless and stifling. Addy scrambled to her feet and ran as fast as she could in the direction of her home. When she reached the back door she was relieved, but not nearly as relieved as she should have been. She took a deep steadying breath.

“Get a hold of yourself, Addy,” she said through gritted teeth. The ground began to spin underneath her and she stumbled a bit as she mounted the first step to the screened door.

“Addy? Everything okay?” asked her mother coming up from behind her, gardening tools in hand.

Addy teetered then grabbed for the door handle. “Oh, hi, Mom,” she said, breathless. “You startled me.”

Her mother laughed. “I can tell. You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Addy couldn’t answer. Her mother had no idea how close that came to the truth.

“I just finished planting the rosebushes back by the tool-shed. Wanna see?”

Addy shook her head slowly. Ordinarily she would have loved to help with the garden, carefully arranging the interesting new annuals her mother had a knack for finding. “I’d really like to Mom, but I think I need to lie down. I – I’ve got a headache.”

Her mother looked concerned. “Again? You’ve been getting a lot of headaches lately. I hope this move hasn’t been too stressful on you, Addy.”

“No, Mom. I’m fine.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

Her mother gave her a hard look, as though she sensed something was wrong. She came up and put her arms around her daughter, giving her a playful squeeze. Addy smelled the scent of lavender that she always associated with her mother.

“I know it’s hard to adjust to a new place, honey, but I think you’ll find that it suits you. Just give it a chance, okay?”

Addy took a breath and smiled weakly. “Okay,” she said, hoping her smile was convincing. Sometimes she felt like her mother could open her mind, dissect her thoughts and lay them out under a microscope. She desperately hoped this was not one of those times.

Addy held the screened door as tightly as she would a life preserver in a stormy ocean. She wanted to be alone, to deal with this in her own way. She knew very well it wasn’t the new place that was tugging at her insides and making her feel sicker by the minute. It was the wild places in Mrs. Tavish’s garden.

When Addy woke up the next day, the word “Enitua” was still sliding around in her brain in time with her father’s rendition of the Midnight Sonata. Had she imagined the voice from the shadows? Now that she was some hours away from it, she was not so sure. Yet, that word – how could she have made it up? Where did it come from? She had certainly never heard it before.

Slipping out of bed, she pressed her nose up against the window pane. Mrs. Tavish was there again, talking to her flowers. It was too far away to see her in much detail, but Addy saw the blazing red pattern of her dress and a bright blue bonnet waving this way and that as she attended to her flower-beds. The sky was threatening rain, and Addy shivered involuntarily. She should not like to visit the Garden in a thunderstorm, that was for sure.

Suddenly Mrs. Tavish did a very strange thing: she stopped talking to her flowers for a moment, straightened up and waved in Addy’s direction. Addy ducked down behind her curtains. Surely Mrs. Tavish couldn’t see her, could she? After a minute she leaned forward every so slightly toward the window to take another peek. She saw with relief that Mrs. Tavish had not been waving to her at all – she was talking to someone – a red-haired boy with moonish glasses and a yellow raincoat.

Addy was once again consumed with curiosity. Mrs. Tavish didn’t like people, yet here she was talking to someone. Quite amiably, too, by the looks of it. She seemed to be showing the boy different plants and he was nodding his head agreeably. Addy stared at them for two whole minutes before they moved off into a shrouded area of the garden.

Addy did not stop to think twice: after she got dressed, she raced downstairs and pulled on her coat and boots and flew out the door. There was a strange boy in her Garden, her own fairy kingdom: what was he doing here, anyway? This foreigner in the hall of kings stoked the anger of the Egyptian princess: a frightening prospect for all involved. Princess Nebetia was prepared to march fearlessly to the heart of the Garden, the very last place Addy wanted to be this early in the morning under threatening skies.

There was a bicycle parked on the edge of Mrs. Tavish’s property that Addy had to assume belonged to the strange boy. She strode past it, wrapping her coat around her like a cape and brandishing a hastily chosen walking-stick. She forgot she was supposed to be afraid of voices from the shadows, or witches in flower-print dresses.

Nebetia’s royal blood raged, and she walked boldly through wooden trellis archways batting away the hanging vines with their little red grapes. She half-tripped over several dozen miscellaneous roots and rocks, but it did not faze her in the least. She was taking a stand: she would not be bullied into submission. She would confront the red-haired interloper and banish him from her kingdom.

Her bravado was short-lived, however, because in the next moment all her thoughts were drowned out by a terrifying sound: a shrill, inhuman scream.

About T.M. Wallace

T. M. Wallace lives in Ontario, Canada with her husband and four children. At eight years old, she won a short story contest and was published in a local newspaper. She wrote her first book at ten years old called “The Adventures of Pinkstar,” about a stuffed rabbit who magically comes to life. T. M. Wallace received her Master’s degree in English Literature from Carleton University and a degree in Education from the University of Ottawa. In 2010 her latest book, Under A Fairy Moon, was a quarter-finalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel awards. Under A Fairy Moon will be published by Brownridge Publishing in June, 2011.

You can visit her website at www.tmwallace.com.

Tags: book spotlight, T.M. Wallace, Under a Fairy Moon, YA Fantasy