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A Day in the Life of Greg Messel
by Greg Messel

I live in Seattle, which is a beautiful, wonderful place to live. I live two blocks from the beach of the Puget Sound and I love to be outside enjoying it all.

However, it is now November and most days it’s rainy, blustery and cool. This is why cups of coffee are very important to Seattlelites. It’s that kind of vibe and that kind of weather. Put on your sweater, grab a good cup of coffee.

Maybe go cozy up to a good book or go see a movie–two other favorite past times of people who live in Seattle.

As the leaves turn in the fall and the rains move in, that’s when I get some serious writing done. I usually spend the summer contemplating and planning my next novel.

Then as the weather turns cool and rainy, I become immersed in the new world I’m creating in my novel. This is my favorite part of the entire journey as an author.

Marketing not so much, but when I’m creating a new world and new characters it is a magical high. I can live in a time and place where I’ve never been.

The world which now exists in my mind is 1957 in San Francisco. As I research what life was like in that time and place,it’s amazing to realize how much the world has changed.

I did live in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1957 but I was eight years old.

In my new novel I’m attempting my first detective story. It’s a mystery than unfolds on foggy nights in San Francisco of the 1950s.

I’m about halfway through the first draft. I expect to spend the rest of the winter finishing it and polishing the story. I love that process, especially where the story starts evolving and starts writing itself.

I’ve heard writers describe the development of their book as somewhat “organic.”  I was always a little puzzled by that term in regards to writing but this time around I have discovered what that means.

I started with a basic outline of where I thought I wanted to go with the story and characters. However, now I’m off the outline and the chapters are tumbling out. The story and characters are going places I did not imagine.

It is hard to describe how that happens to someone who is not a writer. I heard a story about a wood carver. He was asked by an admirer how he made these wonderful carvings. The wood carver simply explained, “I take a piece of wood and just start making some chips.”

I’m at the point where the chips are flying on my new novel. Ultimately, I hope it will be the best thing I’ve ever written. Next summer, I hope it’s finds an audience and readers enjoy it.

However, for now, it’s that wonderful time in the process of writing, when the story and characters live only in my imagination. They are my private property for a few months this winter. Then they will become public and everyone will start giving their opinion of my story and the characters.

This process is what keeps urging me on to write on these rainy fall and winter days in Seattle. It’s magic.

Greg Messel has written three novels and three unpublished memoirs. He published his premiere novel “Sunbreaks” in 2009, followed by “Expiation” in 2010 and “The Illusion of Certainty” in 2011. Greg has had a newspaper career as a columnist, sportswriter and news editor. He won a Wyoming Press Association Award as a columnist. Greg also spent many years in the corporate world as a Financial Manager. He now devotes his energies to writing at his home in Edmonds, Washington on the Puget Sound just north of Seattle, where he lives with his wife, Carol.

You can visit his website at www.gregmessel.com.  Connect with Greg on Twitter at www.twitter.com/gregmessel or Facebook at www.facebook.com/greg.messel.

About The Illusion of Certainty

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.

Tags: A Day in the Life, Greg Messel, Guest Blogger, The Illusion of Certainty

Pump Up Your Book is pleased to announce Karen Glick’s Questions in the Silence Virtual Book Tour 2012 beginning on January 3  and ending on January 27 2012. Karen will be on hand during her worldwide tour promoting her book and giving us candid interviews and guest posts where we learn more about the author, she will have her first Twitterview and AuthorVid, both implemented by Pump Up Your Book, as well as giving her fans an opportunity to talk to her live via Pump Up Your Book’s chat room on January 27 where she will be giving away a copy of her book, Questions in the Silence!  Lots of fun along the way as Karen stops off at blogs around the world to give her fans a chance to ask her questions and to find out more about this talented literary fiction author.

About Karen Glick

Karen Glick lives outside of Philadelphia. She is a clinical psychologist whose other interests include writing, painting, and acting. When not feverishly engaged in these pursuits, she enjoys spending time with her four children, husband, cavalier king charles spaniels and cats.

Karen has just published her first novel, Questions in the Silence.

Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Amazon | Amazon Kindle | Smashwords | Barnes & Noble

About Questions in the Silence

Ari Rothman, born with psychic abilities, has a lifelong fascination with spiritual issues. Childhood visions and intuitions combine to make her a bit of an outsider in her peer group and she turns to religion to create meaning in her life.

Ari’s childhood experiences and her strong desire to help others make her a natural psychotherapist. However, the conflict between her intuitive abilities and a more rational approach to the human psyche intensifies when her first long-term client ends his sessions unexpectedly.

Visit her official tour page at www.pumpupyourbook.com/2011/12/17/questions-in-the-silence-virtual-book-publicity-tour-january-2012/.  Win copies of her book, learn more about the author and be sure to join her on January 27 2012 in the Pump Up Your Book chat room.

About Pump Up Your Book

Pump Up Your Book handles all the aspects of virtual book touring from pre-buzzing your book before the tour starts to making sure buyers will find your book long after the tour is over.  If you are the author of a newly published book, have an upcoming release or just want to give a previously published book new life, a virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book is the answer.  We welcome traditionally published, electronically published and self-published authors.  Our esteem list of clients include Claire Cook, Caridad Pineiro, C.W. Gortner, Barbara Bretton, Cody McFayden, James Hayman, Karen White, Kathleen Willey, Lisa Daily, Lisa Jackson, Mary  Burton, Nancy Thayer, Randy Sue Coburn, Ray Comfort, Sandi Kahn Shelton, Sheila Roberts, Therese Fowler, Hope Edelman, Wendy Wax, Jon Meacham, Shobhan Bantwal, Pat Williams, Jane Green, Judge Glenda Hatchett and cook show personality Paula Deen.  We also represent Random House, Abingdon Press, Zumaya Publications, WND Books, Sheaf House Publishers, New Hope Publishers, Guardian Angel Publishers, Genesis Press, and Moody Publishing.  Contact us to find out what we can do for you and your book!

If you’d like to contact Karen for an interview or review her book, contact Dorothy Thompson at thewriterslife@gmail.com.  Pump Up Your Book is an innovative public  relations agency specializing in online book promotion for authors.  Visit us at www.pumpupyourbook.com.

Tags: acting, authors, Authors on Tour, blog tour, book promotions, book publicity, book tour, books, cavalier king charles spaniels, childhood visions, clinical psychologist, human psyche, human psyche books, Karen Glick, literary fiction, literary fiction author, literary fiction book, literary fiction novel, online book promotion, online book publicity, painting, Pennsylvania authors, Philadelphia authors, promote your book, psychic abilities, psychic abilities book, publicity, Questions in the Silence, sell your book, spiritual, spiritual issues, spiritual issues book, virtual book publicity tour, virtual book tour, writing

Pump Up Your Book is pleased to announce Chris Shella’s Reasonable Facsimile Virtual Book Tour 2012 beginning on January 3  and ending on January 27 2012.  Chris will be on hand during his worldwide tour promoting his book and  giving us candid interviews where we learn more about the author, tips on writing legal thrillers and advice on how to become a published author as well as giving his fans an opportunity to talk to him live via Pump Up Your Book’s chat room on January 27 where he will be giving away a paperback copy of his book, Reasonable Facsimile.  Lots of fun along the way as Chris stops off at blogs around the world to give  his fans a chance to ask him questions and to find out more about this talented legal thriller urban fiction author.

About Chris Shella

Author Chris Shella is a graduate of Morehouse College and the University of Texas Law School and started his legal career in Long Island, New York at the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office. He is admitted to the practice of law in New York, Maryland, the District of Columbia, and North Carolina. Shella is also admitted to the federal court in the Eastern District of North Carolina, the Middle District of North Carolina, U.S. District of Columbia, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals, the Eastern District of New York, and the Southern District of New York.He is also admitted to the Bar Of The United States Supreme Court. He and his cases have been covered on Court TV, CNN, and in the New York Times, and other media outlets across the globe. He has represented everyone from lawyers to major drug traffickers to a serial killer in Baltimore. His two most famous case are the Vegan Baby Case and his defense of the Duke Lacrosse Case accuser for the alleged murder of her boyfriend.

Chris now resides in Durham, North Carolina, with his wife and son.

His latest book is the legal thriller, Reasonable Facsimile.

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

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About Reasonable Facsimile

Can Jasper Davis pull himself from his life of loose women, liquor, and general debauchery in enough time to win a murder case and possibly save his own hide ? Jasper Davis is a criminal trial lawyer in Baltimore who has slowly but surely become like the drug dealers and lowlifes he represents. He spends more time with hookers than clients and more time drinking Jack Daniels than studying the law books. Simply put. he is a shade of his former self. In Reasonable Facsimile, Jasper is in the middle of a first degree murder trial when he becomes the suspect in the murder of a DEA agent who was set to testify against his client. Jasper is so far gone on women and liquor he sees his trial skills deteriorate right before his eyes. Jasper is confronted by the situation is he gonna continue to be a reasonable facsimile of a human being or is he gonna become the man he once was.

Visit his official tour page at www.pumpupyourbook.com/2011/12/22/reasonable-facsimile-virtual-book-publicity-tour-january-2012.  Win copies of his book, learn more about the author and be sure to join him on January 27 2012 in the Pump Up Your Book chat room.

About Pump Up Your Book

Pump Up Your Book handles all the aspects of virtual book touring from pre-buzzing your book before the tour starts to making sure buyers will find your book long after the tour is over.  If you are the author of a newly published book, have an upcoming release or just want to give a previously published book new life, a virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book is the answer.  We welcome traditionally published, electronically published and self-published authors.  Our esteem list of clients include Claire Cook, Caridad Pineiro, C.W. Gortner, Barbara Bretton, Cody McFayden, James Hayman, Karen White, Kathleen Willey, Lisa Daily, Lisa Jackson, Mary  Burton, Nancy Thayer, Randy Sue Coburn, Ray Comfort, Sandi Kahn Shelton, Sheila Roberts, Therese Fowler, Hope Edelman, Wendy Wax, Jon Meacham, Shobhan Bantwal, Pat Williams, Jane Green, Judge Glenda Hatchett and cook show personality Paula Deen.  We also represent Random House, Abingdon Press, Zumaya Publications, WND Books, Sheaf House Publishers, New Hope Publishers, Guardian Angel Publishers, Genesis Press, and Moody Publishing.  Contact us to find out what we can do for you and your book!

If you’d like to contact Chris for an interview or review his book, contact Dorothy Thompson at thewriterslife@gmail.com.  Pump Up Your Book is an innovative public  relations agency specializing in online book promotion for authors.  Visit us at www.pumpupyourbook.com.

Tags: author promotions, author publicity, authors, bestselling books, blog tour, book campaign, book promotions, book publicity, book tour, books, Chris Shella, CNN, Court TV, criminal case, criminal trial lawyer, DEA, DEA agent, drug dealer book, Drug Dealers, Duke Lacrosse, law books, law practice, lawyer, lawyer author, legal thriller, lowlifes, Nassau County District Attorney's Office, online book tour, promote your book, Pump Up Your Book, Reasonable Facsimile, sell your book, The New York Times, Urban fiction, urban fiction author, urban fiction book, urban fiction legal thriller author, urban fiction legal thriller book, urban fiction legal thriller novel, urban fiction novel, Vegan Baby Case, virtual book tour

WE’RE HAVING A FACEBOOK PARTY!!!!

Pump Up Your Book will be hosting the December 2011 Authors on Tour on Friday December 16, 2011 at 4 – 10 p.m. (eastern time – adjust to your time zone)!  Tell your book friends that not only will this give them an opportunity to chat with their favorite authors BUT…

WE’RE GIVING AWAY ALMOST 100 PRIZES!!!!

All you have to do to be eligible to win any of our almost 100 prizes is to visit our Facebook page where the chat will be held.  Ask an author a question and you’re in!

YOU CAN CHAT WITH OVER 60 AUTHORS!!!!

To find out which authors will be featured, click here.

SO WHERE IS THIS CHAT????

To access the chat, click here.  Be sure to leave a comment to let us know you’re coming!

SEE YOU AT THE PARTY AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM PUMP UP YOUR BOOK!!!!

Tags: author chats, blog tours, book promotions, book publicity, happy holiday, Pump Up Your Book, virtual book tours

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A Day in the Life of Glen C. Strathy
by Glen C. Strathy

I wish I could say what a typical day was like, but for me that’s something which keeps changing over time.

I’ve been a freelance writer for the past decade, during which period I co-authored two non-fiction books for adults and wrote promotional materials for financial newsletters. To write Dancing on the Inside, I forced myself to take one day a week just to work on children’s fiction. Often I would leave home and go to a library or a cafe, so I would be away from email, the internet, and the temptation to do things around the house (I work at home most of the time). In those days, I used a laptop that did not connect wirelessly to the web. It was slow progress, because each time I would have to put myself back into the mindset I had seven days prior.

These days, my wife is back in school, so I often have to take our daughter to her school in the morning, and pick her up in the afternoon. Both these activities seriously cut into my work time (I used to get up at six and work uninterrupted until noon, then do another stint from one o’clock to four). Then there are the after school lessons, and I am the family cook as well.

What also makes this month exceptional is that Nanowrimo is underway. For those unfamiliar, Nanowrimo is an annual challenge in which you try to write 50,000 words of a novel during the thirty days of November. This means I am often spending my evening hours trying to meet my daily word count goal.

At the same time, I keep telling myself I need to blog more and write more articles on writing for my website, www.how-to-write-a-book-now.com. I also have been trying to teach myself social media. The biggest thing I have learned is that making my thoughts available to a legion of strangers on the web and trying to make real connections to all these people can constitute an infinite demand on my time.

Oh yes, one day I hope to achieve the writer’s life most of us dream of: spending most days alone in a quiet seaside home with a typewriter, cafes and European restaurants close by, frequent elegant parties where I hobnob with intellectual and artistic giants, hundreds flocking to my readings or lectures on writing, a gardener, a maid, a well-stocked wine cellar, and a lifetime cost-of-living grant from a generous foundation or government.

But until then, there’s never enough coffee or hours in the day…

Glen C. Strathy started writing stories when he was 11 years old and too shy to have a life.  He eventually found a life when he started acting in community theatre and met other writers, actors, dancers, and artists.  He discovered that the best thing about performing arts (and other arts too) is that they give people more freedom to be who they want to be.  After spending time as an actor, teacher, and freelance writer, he returned to his first love, fiction and wrote Dancing on the Inside, a novel for ages 9-12.

Glen earned an M.A. in English from the University of Western Ontario, and graduated from the Artist in Community Education program at Queen’s University, Kingston. He co-authored two non-fiction books, one of which (The Coming Economic Collapse, Warner Business Books, 2006) became a New York Times Bestselling Business Book.  He belongs to the Professional Writers Association of Canada (PWAC) and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). His website www.how-to-write-a-book-now.com provides advice to budding authors.

Glen lives with his wife, fellow writer Kaitlin Rainey, and their daughter in Kingston, Ontario, Canada.

You can visit his website at www.glen-c-strathy.com.  Visit him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/glencstrathy and Facebook at www.facebook.com/Glen.C.Strathy.author.

Giveaways, Contests & Prizes!

Glen will be attending Pump Up Your Book’s 1st Annual Holiday Extravaganza Facebook Party on December 16.  More than 50 books, gifts and cash awards will be given away including a paperback copy of Dancing on the Inside!  Details will be posted at Pump Up Your Book on Monday, November 14.

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Enter to win a copy of Dancing on the Inside at Goodreads!

Contest begins on October 25 and ends on December 16.

Click here to enter!

Tags: 12-year old, anxiety disorders, aspergers syndrome, ballet, ballet and dance, ballet books, ballet class, ballet stories, blog tours, book promotions, children's books, community theatre, dance, Dancing on the Inside, friendship, girls, girls gift, Glen C. Strathy, grandparents, juveline fiction, juvenile fiction, kids gifts, market your book, middle grade book, middle grade novel, middle grade reader, online book promotion, panic attack, performing arts, pointe, promote your book, Pump Up Your Book, sell your book, Swan Lake, virtual book tours

5 Things You Should Know About Descriptive Visualization aka *Over-Active Imagination*

By Robert Nelson
1. The first thing you should know about descriptive visualization is to put yourself in your character’s shoes. Feel what they feel, see what they see, even smell what they smell. Transport yourself into the pages.

2. Setting is key to putting yourself into your character’s shoes. If you can create a descriptive enough environment; it would prove a million times easier to interpret how your character reacts to it.

3. It’s the little details that add the zest to the salad. Only just like too many croutons, or too much dressing; an excessive fusillade of imagery can bore a reader. Moderation is key, so make each detail precise and specifically essential to the particular moment in the story.

4. Beeeee patient, don’t force the story. Let it come to you to encourage the flow of the pages. A true writer won’t over think the plot, force it together and make it appear choppy. Only describe what’s essential in setting up the next scene.

5. Action can be found in even the slightest gestures. I found it is far more alluring to set up a large action scene with a small catalyst, such as a wink, a whisper, a gust of wind. Just a slight nudge before the reader delves into the abyss wrought by the ink of your pen.

Robert Nelson was born and raised in Garner, North Carolina where he earned the connections and street credibility needed to bring a sense of authenticity to his work. Consequentially, this lead to his stay in the luxurious NC-DOC where through a lot of retrospection he developed a strategy to defeat what he had become. Through the guidance of the Aryan Brotherhood and the variety of other hardened criminals he  played cards with he focused his energy into developing his skills as a writer to keep the youth from making the same mistakes he did. If he can open just one pair of eyes through his writing, everything he’s put into these pages would have paid off.

Tags: author publicity, Author Robert Nelson, blog tour, book promotions, book publicity, book tours, Drama, Gangs, gangster lit, murder, online book promotion, Pump Up Your Book, racial, racist, Real Eyez Realize Real Liez, Real Eyez Realize Real Liez by Robert Nelson, Robert Nelson, Robert Nelson Virtual Book Tour, skinhead, thriller, urban, urban thriller, virtual blog tour, virtual book tour

We have a wonderful guest with us today.  Lilian Duval is the author of the beautifully written novel, You Never Know: Tales of Tobias an Accidental Lottery Winner (Wheatmark, Inc.).

You Never Know is the story of a man who gave up everything he ever wanted in life to take care of his brain-damaged brother who he feels responsible for since that fateful night when both of his parents were killed in an automobile accident.  Tobias had a bright future, then all of a sudden, his life plans changed.  What’s crazy about this is that all of us go through life aiming for a goal (or most of us anyway) and then we find that someone has taken away that goal and your life becomes different.  While Tobias chose to take care of his brother and give up his dreams, certain people came into his life because of it and after he wins the lottery, he finds it changes everything once again.  For the better?  For the worse?  You’ll have to read the book to find out but this has been a book I could not put down.  Seriously.

Lilian is such a gifted and talented writer and she’s here with us today to give us the top ten things she would do if she won the lottery.   If you’d like to let us know what you’d do after winning the lottery, fill out our poll below!

Top Ten Things I’d Do If I Won the Lottery

by Lilian Duval

1. Quit my job as a technical writer and throw a big party for all my former colleagues.
2. Establish, staff, and maintain a huge, no-kill shelter for homeless cats and dogs. Have them all sterilized and vaccinated, and let them live happily ever after.
3. Join the Big Sisters program and help a young girl from a poor community with her schoolwork, and take her out to places like theaters and museums.
4. Get my super-duper tennis-playing husband some first-class coaching at the IMG Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Florida.
5. Enroll at the Mannes College for Music in New York and earn a master’s degree in classical guitar.
6. After that, enroll in a Masters or PhD program at a university such as Columbia or NYU and pursue a degree in either anthropology or physics.
7. Learn to speak both Spanish and Italian fluently, because they are cousins to my first language, French.
8. Spend some time each year traveling in countries where French, Spanish, or Italian are spoken.
9. Make some really nice, major home improvements and pay for them in cash.
10. Get a little bit of plastic surgery and say goodbye to some of my hard-earned wrinkles!

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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Tags: Guest Blogger, how to win lottery, Lilian Duval, lottery, lottery numbers, lottery post, lottery ticket, lottery winners, lottery winnings, You Never Know

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A Day in the Life of Vincent Zandri
by Vincent Zandri

Being from New York, the night before the day in the life might go something like this: an evening dining at Sparks Steak House with a top literary agent. Say Suzanne Gluck. We might be joined by Woody Allen or Michael Connelly. Maybe even Tony Bourdaine. We’ll party into the wee hours after which our separate limos will cart us back to our spacious apartments on Upper Park Avenue. Mine sports a rooftop garden.

In the morning I’ll be awakened by the maid, who will bring me breakfast in bed at exactly 7 AM, along with the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. My beautiful, mini-skirted, 27 year old, brunette, Gold’s Gym slim, secretary, Zoe, will join me a for a coffee and offer up a briefing on the day’s activities, which will include writing time for the first couple hours, then a excise with my personal trailer and Pilates coach Edward. Following that will be a lunch meeting with a movie exec. Maybe Clooney if he’s in town, or Brad (we like to leave Angelina behind—she’s neurotic). On occasion, Steven will ask for a meeting, but he likes to meet at  Katz’s Deli down on Houston and that place gives me heartburn.

Zoe will of course make a block of time for me for afternoon writing but she’ll also have to include some interviews with reporters from the NYT, NY Post, Time, you name it. Naturally, a photo shoot or two will be included. I used to do a lot of TV, but not as much. They make you wake up too early. The day will end with Zoe making travel plans for a European tour for my new bestseller The Remains. We’ll hit London, Paris, Madrid, Rome, Istanbul, and more. A private jet will take us there….

Ok, I’m lying. What was your first clue? Ha!

What’s a real day in the life like for the real Vincent Zandri? Up at 6, at my writing desk in my boxer shorts, a cup of bad coffee steaming up the screen on my two year old laptop (I can’t afford a new one yet!). I’ll work on both fiction and journalism stories until about ten, then off for a run and quick trip to the gym. After that, I’ll be driving one of my three kids to some destination like school or the doctors. A lunch of Ramon instant soup will be consumed at my desk while writing. In the late afternoon maybe a rehearsal with my punk band The Blisterz. And in the evening, a quick beer at the local watering hole followed by dinner and bed. I spend part of the year in Italy, but the routine is similar except for the driving kids around part.

So there you have it, a day in the life of bestselling author, Vincent Zandri. I wish it were more glamorous. But I’m not sure I’d ever be able to afford the life I dramatized in the opening graphs of this blog. Or if such a life would even be good for me. But isn’t it pretty to think so.

You can visit Vincent’s website at www.vincentzandri.com.

Tags: blog tour, book promotions, book publicity, online book promotion, promote your book, sell your book, Stone House Ink, suspense, suspense novel, The Remains, thriller, thriller book, thriller novel, Vincent Zandri, virtual book tour

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A Day in the Life of Laura Vosika

By Laura Vosika

The question I’m asked most often is how I have time to write novels with 9 children and a job. My answer is that I use the pieces of time scattered throughout the day to do what I love. It takes me longer to read a book now, I’ve given up going to the gym, and I never watched much television anyway. The time I would have spent on those things goes to writing. Walk through a typical day—if there is such a thing—and the time adds up.

During the school year, I get up around 7:30 to help my youngest children get ready for school. I write while I have my morning coffee; then I wash some dishes, run laundry, and walk the boys to school. By 9:30, I’m home, in an empty house. I divide the next four hours between chores and writing, heavy on the writing, before I leave to teach music lessons. Being a musician, I’m excessively punctual. Meaning, I get to work early, open the laptop, and write until my first student arrives. When students aren’t able to make a lesson, I use that time to write.

After teaching, I spend time with my children, clean up dinner, say family prayers, sometimes read stories with the younger boys or watch a movie with the older ones, and go back to writing after the kids are in bed. This is another two or three hours of writing, often until midnight or later.

Few days are completely typical, of course. There are field trips to chaperone, band concerts, children who need rides to various places, and sometimes, with 7 boys who like to run, jump, slide, and wrestle, trips to Urgent Care! There are birthday parties, trips to the beach or the North Shore, and the hundred other things that make up family life. For those things that involve waiting—like orthodontist appointments and dance class—I use the fifteen minutes or half hour to write.

To me, the secret is really deciding what you want out of life, and putting your time toward that.

You can visit Laura’s website at www.bluebellstrilogy.com.

Tags: bannockburn, blog tour, Blue Bells of Scotland, book promotions, book publicity, book tour, historical fiction, historical fiction author, historical fiction book, Laura Vosika, medieval, medieval fiction, online book promotion, Pump Up Your Book, Robert the Bruce, Scotland, Scotland books, time travel, time travel novels, trilogy, virtual blog tour, virtual book tour

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A Day in the Life of Christopher Stookey

by Christopher Stookey

My typical writing day starts at 8:00 AM.  I’ve taken our three dogs for a walk, brewed a pot of coffee, and eaten my bowl of oatmeal topped with blueberries.

Then, taking a mug of steaming coffee downstairs to my office, I settle in at my laptop.  The dogs take their customary places under the desk.  I like a quiet environment.  I don’t put on any background music.  My wife works out of town, and we have no kids—so I have a quiet house all to myself.

I usually write for two to four hours.  I don’t have a set number of pages I must complete before I quit.  I simply write until I’m either tired of writing or satisfied with the morning’s output.  Sometimes this means I’ll stop when I’ve finished a section or a run of dialogue; sometimes I’ll stop when I’ve gotten a good start on a new chapter; sometimes I’ll stop because the literary juices just aren’t flowing on a particular day.

On an average morning, I’ll produce two to four pages (double-spaced).  On really good days, I’ll crank out five or six pages.  On bad days, I’m lucky to get a paragraph.  Some days writing comes easy; some days it comes hard.  I find I seem to do my best writing on the days when the words flow the most effortlessly.  On the other hand, on those days when it takes two hours to write a paragraph, my writing quality is almost always poor.  More often than not, when I re-read that two-hour paragraph the next day, it’s so bad I just throw it out and start over.  This is why I’ve stopped forcing myself to write on days when the muse seems to be on vacation.

I do a lot of revising and re-writing.  Often, I’ll do some revising at the beginning of my day as well as at the end.  Not infrequently, I’ll devote an entire day to re-writing. Unlike a lot of writers, I enjoy revising.  It’s after the second or third revision that I start to see some satisfactorily polished prose emerge from my computer screen.  It’s like a sculptor who chips away at his stone until his subject begins to materialize from the rock.

I write four days a week, Monday through Thursday.  Friday to Sunday, I’m at my day job working twelve-hour shifts in an emergency room.  The shift work fits nicely with my writing career: I get in a thirty-six hour work week in three days, then I’m off the other four.  It’s a nice schedule for a writer.

Once I’ve finished my writing in the morning, I like to get outside and get some sunshine and exercise.  Usually, I go for a run in the greenbelt area near my house (my dogs are old and arthritic, and they stay behind).  The truth is, I continue to “write” during these runs.  As a matter of fact, I think I get many of my best ideas in the greenbelt.  I run for about an hour, and, during that hour, I mull over what I wrote that morning and where the writing is headed.  I find runs are a great time to develop new plot angles and to flesh out characters.  Sometimes I’ll jot down my exercise-induced ideas when I get back from a run.  Sometimes I’ll even sit down sweaty at my computer and crank out another page or two—some of my best work is done this way.

I usually devote my afternoons to activities other than writing, mainly reading and house chores.  I suppose a more ambitious writer would put in another writing session in the afternoon.  However, I find my morning at the lap top pretty much drains my writing energy for the rest of the day.  I need the afternoon and a good night’s rest to recharge my literary batteries.

To find out more about Chris, visit his Amazon’s author page at http://www.amazon.com/Christopher-Stookey/e/B003UVLDI4/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0.

Tags: Alzheimers, blog tour, book promotions, book publicity, business ethics, Christopher Stookey, debut author, emergency medicine, medical mystery, medical mystery thriller, mystery, online book promotion, promote your book, San Francisco, sell your book, Silver Leaf Books, Terminal Care, thriller, virtual author tour, virtual blog tour, virtual book tour

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A Day in the Life of Patrick Brown

by Patrick Brown

While I wrote the thesis that would eventually become Industrial Pioneers as a college student at Georgetown University, I am currently a social studies teacher at Greenville-Weston High School in Greenville, Mississippi through the Teach for America program. I live in the Mississippi Delta (think catfish, cotton and the blues), an area of the country in which the legacy of the region’s past is palpable.

This year, I teach government, economics, psychology, sociology, world history, and United States history—but only three classes at a time. My high school students often have serious trouble with reading comprehension, sometimes struggle to act appropriately in the classroom, and generally come into my class with much less prior knowledge than their peers in other parts of the country. Classes are 98 minutes long, some of my classes have over 30 students, and I teach in a trailer with fickle air conditioning. I love my job.

On a typical day, I arrive at school by 8am—school starts at 8:30. Today my government class is studying taxes and the Federal debt. My students become indignant when they learn that the US government has taken out $14 trillion in their names; one student asks, “Well, why can’t we raise taxes and spend less?” I jokingly inform him that he has no future in politics, and that we will spend the next week trying to answer that question.

My psychology class is studying measures of intelligence, but first I must escort them to lunch. Because fights are common, teachers walk with their classes to lunch, sit with them, and walk back with them. I pay $3.00 for the Federal lunch that almost all of my students get for free (a hamburger, corn, an apple, and 1% milk) and chat with my students as we eat. Upon returning to class, I inform my students that unless they are pregnant, they cannot go to the bathroom. Three young women successively take the hall pass.

We talk about bell curves, IQ tests, ACT scores, and cultural bias. My students are shocked to learn that private colleges in other states love applicants from the Mississippi Delta, and sometimes even favor them over other applicants. The class discussion turns to the college application process, and I explain how students should study for the ACT (most students at my school see the test for the first time on test day) and apply to every school in which they are interested. The concept of “safety schools” and “reach schools” is foreign.

My final class of the day is world history—all sophomores. I check that my male students have their shirts tucked in before they enter class, review the previous day’s lesson, remind my class how Cornell notes work, and begin to list inventors on the board. My students complain that my trailer is hot, and I agree—the thermostat shows 85 degrees—but I remind my students that they do live in Mississippi, and we do need to have class. I ask who invented the airplane, and an especially enthusiastic student’s hand shoots up. Before I can call on him, he blurts out, “Pontius Pilate!” I remind him that while a pilot flies an airplane, the Wright brothers were the first to successfully build one. By the end of the day, however, I notice that he knows his inventors cold.

The bell rings to end the school day at 4:05, but I stay in trailer G2 until 5:00. I have students staying after school to serve detention, to make up tests, and to seek advice on college. When I finally leave, I head for Tabbs Barbeque, where teachers get can get anything on the menu for $5.00 (I get a barbeque sandwich, sweet potato fries, and a soda). Tabbs has become a Wednesday ritual among the Teach for America teachers at my school, and the eight of us who show up enjoy an excellent meal while we discuss our school days.

I drive home, grade papers in my back yard until the mosquitoes chase me inside, and work on some blog posts to promote Industrial Pioneers. My roommates (also teachers) and I hang out for a few hours, and I only get around to reviewing the next day’s lesson later that night. I finally get to sleep around midnight.

The next day I take a deep breath, and do it all over again.

You can visit Patrick’s website at http://www.industrialpioneers.com.

Tags: blog tour, book promotions, book publicity, book tour, books about Pennsylvania, books about Scranton, economic history, Georgetown University author, high school social studies, history book, history of labor, Industrial Pioneers, Mississippi Delta, modern industrial society, nineteenth century, online book promotion, Patrick Brown, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania books, Scranton, Scranton books, Teach for America, the electric city, Tribute Books, virtual author tour, virtual blog tour, virtual book tour

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A Day in the Life of Author Kathryn Shay

by Kathryn Shay

Thankfully, my days vary a great deal but I’ll try to give you a flavor of them.

I usually awaken between seven and eight in the morning—no alarm clocks for me—grab some coffee and watch a little bit of Morning Joe. Then I go to my office to check email and answer anything pressing. Sometimes I read posts if I if don’t have a packed day. After that, I get my laptop and start writing.

I don’t have a set number of words or pages that I have to complete per day. I know my deadlines and work accordingly. Sometimes I write a scene (rarely any less) but I’ve been known to rough out a whole chapter in one sitting. If it’s a scene, I polish right away. If it’s longer, I polish in consecutive days instead of writing new material.

Almost every day, I have some activity planned. I take yoga class twice a week with my best friend, walk my dog after I’ve done some writing, or swim in the pool in the summer. I also have volunteer work I do weekly. I serve guests at soup kitchen for a few hours on Mondays and answer the hotline at a battered women’s shelter on Tuesday afternoons. Sometimes I go out to lunch on Fridays with my friends.

When I get back from my midday event, I polish the work I’ve done that morning, answer email, or work on promotion for my next book. Dinner is at seven with my own personal hero almost every night. I belong to a church and we sometimes have night meetings and I have a book club once a month. (I read at night, usually, or weekends.)

On free evenings, I watch some TV, again with my husband. I love The Closer, Rookie Blue, Dark Blue and Grey’s Anatomy. I go to bed between ten and eleven o’clock.

Weekends do not follow this routine. I spend the time with my family and reading. Both my children are adults, but live nearby, so I usually see them or do something with them every weekend. I also read more on these days.

I suppose this sound lack a crazy schedule, but believe it or not, to me it’s much simpler than when I was teaching full time and writing full time. I got used to having a lot on my plate, writing in short time periods and writing a significant amount because I really didn’t have any choice. I think that’s why I have so many things going on daily. I couldn’t imagine staying home all day and just writing.

This balance between writing and real life has worked for me as I’ve published 37 books in fifteen years—including my latest, THE PERFECT FAMILY, out now from Bold Strokes Books.

Thanks so much for letting me share my day with you.

Read more about Kathryn’s books at her website at www.kathrynshay.com.

Tags: blog tour, Boldstrokes Books, book promotions, gay, gay rights, Kathryn Shay, online book promotion, Pump Up Your Book, The Perfect Family, virtual book tour, women's mainstream fiction

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A Day in the Life of Joshua Graham

by Joshua Graham

After the kids have gone to school, the writing day begins with reading and listening.  I being with reading from the Bible (the book of Proverbs, one for each day of the month) and then a portion of the Old New Testaments.

Next, I spend time meditating on what I’ve read.  It’s here that I often receive timely insight.  During these moments of prayer, much is revealed to me about my life, the wisdom of the Almighty, as well as ideas for my writing.

Throughout the day, between marketing my work and studying my craft, my writing time is focused on the book or story with the most compelling deadline.  I’ve got so many works in the bull pen I want to start writing, but I have to keep my time organized or none of them will get completed.

In a typical work day, I’ll get anywhere from 1,500-4,000 words (give or take 1000) written.  More words and less sleep, as a deadline approaches.  In  addition to the actual prose, I also write proposals, synopsises and query letters.

Getting carried away in research is always a temptation because it’s so enjoyable.  It’s like going back to school and learning something for an entirely different purpose.  This is the kind of study I really enjoy (I must love learning if I stayed in college for 12 years for three degrees!) Nevertheless, the discipline lies in doing just the right amount of research, not so much that it detracts from the actual writing.  After all, that’s what it’s for, right?  The writing.  For historical fiction, especially, this can be a huge time sink.

In any case, I press forward each day with the hope that I am writing the next New York Times Bestseller!

You can visit his website at www.joshua-graham.com.

Tags: Beyond Justice, blog tour, book publicity, book tour, Dawn Treader Press, death penalty, death row, John Grisham, Joshua Graham, legal thriller, loss, murder, power of faith, promote your book, Pump Up Your Book, rape, redemption, sell your book, Stephen King, supernatural abilities, suspense, thriller, virtual author tour, virtual blog tour, virtual book tour

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A Day in the Life of Kerri Nelson

by Kerri Nelson

I write my books in daycare.  That’s right.  I write heart racing suspense, sweat inducing love scenes, and life changing romance while tending to the daily chaos of three young children.  So, the best way to share a day in the life with me is to share a copy of my normal daily “to do” list with you.

Here goes…

1. Feed the Baby
2. Burp the Baby
3. Change the Baby
4. Soothe the Baby
5. Attempt to Potty Train the Toddler
6. Change the Toddler
7. Feed the Toddler
8. Argue with the Toddler (”not everything is YOURS!”)
9. Attempt to check e-mail (toddler unplugs computer)
10. Wake 9 year old (requires repeated efforts)
11. Check Blood Sugar of my 9 year old (she has juvenile diabetes)
12. Feed the 9 year old
13. Give the 9 year old insulin
14. Argue with 9 year old about cleaning of disaster area room (futile effort)
15. Take 9 year old to school
16. Check e-mail and try to write a few measly words
17. Repeat steps 1 through 8
18. Get Baby & Toddler down for nap
19. Write 1,000 words (I’m on a roll now)
20. Answer phone call from mother (clock is ticking—writing time disappearing)
21. Attempt to take a shower in relative peace (good luck on this one)
22. Load 2 little ones in car and proceed to school to check 9 year old’s blood sugar for lunchtime & give insulin
23. Return home to chorus of crying from extreme hunger (the children–not me–although I’m on a postpartum diet and always hungry)
24. Repeat Steps 1 through 8
25. Play with children (dream up new story ideas)
26. Try to get some writing/work done (fail miserably)
27. Pick up 9 year old from school
28. Yell at 9 year old and toddler in the back seat to STOP all that Yelling (they wake the baby anyway)!
29. Clean up house & get dishes/bottles & laundry done (done? yeah, right…in my dreams)
30. Phone call from hubby (he’ll be late from work again–who can blame him?)
31. Repeat steps 1 through 13
32. Act as an “unreasonable parent” when I dare suggest that 9 year old do homework and clean room instead of talk to friends on the phone (Listen to the “But Mom!” Chorus)
33. One more attempt at writing (get distracted by e-mail and Twitter)
34. Hubby cooks gourmet dinner for me so that I can write (the best part of my day)
35. Gobble up my one good meal of the day while juggling baby/toddler
36. Get Toddler ready for bed (a 1 hour process of bathing, reading books, etc…)
37. Catch a brief glimpse of the man I married as he hands the Baby off to me and then goes to bed
38. Collapse in bed after the umpteenth feeding, burping, changing of baby
39. Hear crying and jolt out of bed (it could be any of the kids–your guess is as good as mine)
40. Rinse. Repeat.

Whew!  Anyone wanna babysit?

Read more about Kerri’s books at her website:  www.kerrinelson.com

Tags: blog tour, book promotions, book publicity, cross check my heart, Eternal Press, online book promotion, Pump Up Your Book, romantic suspense, romantic suspense author, romantic suspense book, romantic suspense novel, virtual book tour

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A Day in the Life of Maya Jax

by Maya Jax

During the week, I wake up at 6am, eat three bowls of Cheerios, shower to my morning Broadway musical mix and squeeze two or three of hours of writing in before and after my ‘day job’, then on some weekends, I head to LA to pitch yet another screenplay.

I always schedule pitches in the morning, because if I had to survive a whole day with the anticipation, I wouldn’t be able to function by the time I actually sat down in front of the studio rep.  And before leaving the hotel, I spend a little extra time getting ready.  If I’m going down in flames, I at least want to know that I looked decent in the process.

A pitch fest is kind of like corralling cattle before slaughter.  We’re fenced off into little groups and shoved into a series of waiting areas, moving forward once the group ahead is finished.  By the time you get to the front, you can see all the young studio reps sitting at tables in an arena like space, waiting in exhausted boredom.

The bell rings signaling my turn.  I sit down at the table, introduce myself and for five minutes try to convince them that Hollywood would be a much better place if they would just let me in.  As I speak, I try not to be distracted by their facial expressions.  Some are engaged (which makes the pitch a fun process), others look like they’ve fallen asleep with their eyes open.  Moving from one rep to the next, I do as many pitches as my body can handle before my fatigue and wavering self-confidence start to show.

When it’s over, I drag myself back to my hotel room, call my mom and ask her to talk about anything but Hollywood.  Then I spend a few hours in my room absorbing the quiet and regrouping, until dinner when meet I friend to celebrate my day.

You rarely hear stories of people selling a script through pitch fests, but the experience is invaluable, so I continue to put myself through them.  And they’ve made for some great material for my book!

You can read more about Maya at www.mayajax.com.

Tags: beach read, blog tour, book campaign, book promotions, book publicity, chick lit, chick lit author, chick lit book, chick lit novel, comedy, Escapades of Romantically Challenged Me, first kiss, first love, Hollywood, international relations, Maya Jax, online book promotion, promote your book, secret agent, sell your book, spy novels, virtual author tour, virtual blog tour, virtual book tour

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A Day in the Life of Dr. Harry Saranchak
by Dr. Harry Saranchak

Is it really okay to have pizza and wine for breakfast my wife asked?

Since we have been collaborating on so many projects lately, I may need to acquire some of her habits. Okay, she really does not drink wine for breakfast, but she does eat the pizza.

As I sit looking out over the deck and begin to wonder about impoverished countries, and how they have little or nothing for food, I begin to ask myself, “ Who really benefits from poverty?” “ If poverty still exists, then who votes for it to continue?”

As a retired surgeon and author, I have spent a lot of time asking these types of questions and find them inspirations for my novels.

I love to travel and meet new friends through out the world.

Each day I give thanks for what I have, and ask for impoverished countries to work diligently to irradicate disease and human suffering.

The reader will note that Betrayals of Hippocrates: Crimes Against Innocence, is a can’t put down medical thriller.

As I have devoured my slice of pepperoni, mushroom, broccoli pizza , this novel will work it’s voodoo on the taste buds of it’s reader.

A Day In The Life is spent saying Thank-you.

You can visit Dr. Saranchak’s website at http://www.harryjsaranchak.com.

Tags: Betrayals of Hippocrates, blog tour, Dr. Harry Saranchak, Guest Blogger, mystery, virtual book tour

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A Day in the Life of…Kim Baccelli
by Kim Baccellia

When I wrote Earrings of Ixtumea, I was a full time public school teacher.  I wrote whenever I had the time.  The Burger King next to my elementary school was one of my favorite spots to write.  Then I had my son and still I found time to write. I also was taking writing classes at UCI extension, which I met Lou Nelson who helped me with the whole writing process.

Getting up early as a teacher helped me get into the habit of writing early. I get up around 6 in the morning and after I check my emails, I set my timer to write.  I try to get in 50 minutes of just writing.  That means no social networking—which believe me is hard!

My writing can be anything from going over a revision to meeting my goal of 500 words a day on a newer project.

Then it’s off to the gym and then maybe a stop at Starbucks for a drink—my favorite is mocha soy iced drink without whip cream or a yummy multi grained bagel.

Back home to try to get some more writing in.

During the summer I’m more flexible.  I try to spend another two hours just writing.  Because son is older, I’m able to get in more writing time.  One author friend, a mother of twins, told me to seize every moment you get.  I try to take her advice.  No excuses allowed here!

The school year is a little tougher.  After exercising, I usually have like an hour or so to write. Around eight in the morning I get my son up and ready for school.  Since I’m homeschooling, this means working with him.  This year he’s starting fourth grade.  I seriously feel that being both an author and reviewer has helped him with his own reading.

One of son’s subjects is writer’s workshop—which he loves.  Son has a clip board with a story map of his latest story.  Then we go over it—kind of like editing—before he types up that page that later will be published at our local Staples.

When school is over, that’s the time for me to get more writing in.  I also go over more emails and squeeze in some social networking time.  Plus I belong to two on-line critique groups so I try to do that too.

After dinner, I try to write some more.  But I’m not a night owl.  If I have a big deadline, then I’ll stay up and just write.

Oh, I also review for YA Books Central meaning I read tons of upcoming YA books.  I love this as it helps me see what’s being picked up and the current trends.

My writing goal is usually 500-1000 words a day.  I don’t write on Sundays.  When I first started writing, I would spend tons of time revising chapters.  Big mistake.  Now I just write the whole story.  Then the fun begins with revising.  It seems with each revision I chip away at my story to find the hidden diamond inside.

# # #

You can visit Kim’s  website at www.kim-baccellia.com.

Tags: afterlife, blog tour, book promotions, Crossed Out, crossing over, ghosts, Kim Baccellia, online book promotion, paranormal, Pump Up Your Book, virtual blog tour, virtual book tour, young adult author, young adult book, young adult novel

A Day in the Life is Literarily Speaking’s newest feature. Here we get a glimpse into our favorite author’s day-to-day life! Today’s guest is G.F. Skipworth, author of the historical fiction novel, The Simpering, North Dakota Literary Society (Rosslare Press)

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Ever since the day I met the Zingarella women from The Simpering, North Dakota Literary Society, daily life has changed. Morning used to be a cup of tea , a search for articles on Oregon Duck football and a check-in with the Tumbleweeds comic strips from yesteryear… but no more. This morning, for example, Edielou Zingarella and I hurled ourselves off Willamette Falls, and have scheduled a runaway train rescue this evening if the day works out.

This morning, as I attempted to save Nellie Bly from execution in the prequel (The Sharpshooters of Simpering, North Dakota,) the electricity went out in the computer section of the house (not to mention the fridge, washer and dryer.) After a spider web of improvised extension cords, Nellie was saved, but it looks mighty primitive, and no electrician until Wednesday. I wondered what a computer built in 1898 would look like, and imagined poor Barbara shoveling coal into the tower while I fended off the Spanish at San Juan Hill. Nevertheless, as I stepped to the podium to address an expectant nation (at Theodore Roosevelt’s request,) the Dean of Arts & Sciences called to make sure I’d filed my report on photocopy expenses for the spring term. By the time I got back, the country had turned off their televisions and gone to bed. I was devastated.

Standing on the deck of a ship in La Spezia, staring down a horde of fascists, is not a convenient time to answer the phone, but when it’s your daughter announcing that she’s going to Paraguay with a harmonica player to become a vintner’s apprentice (all right, I made up the harmonica player) – well, family’s family. Even Edielou understands that.

I was hoping to score tickets to Buffalo Bill Cody’s stop-off in Paris. There were important questions I needed to ask Miss Oakley before sending her to China, but that concert for Thursday was looming, and I had to go practice the accompaniments for an hour. Realizing that I have to sing in the one next week, a half hour or so on Schubert’s Winterreise was the least I could do. Beethoven’s Eroica’s coming up, but I’ve conducted that several times, so a brief look-through will take care of that.

All right, I’m back, and just in time.  Edielou’s going to throw the Italian ambassador overboard and cause an international incident. Negotiations have reached a delicate stage when I hear a strange sound in the driveway. Apparently, the car, which as a rule goes “Haroommm” is now going “Bawhaaaa.” It’s a test of man versus metal to see if it can reach the shop without calling the tow truck. We make it, and I’m back in time to witness Day I of the Simpering World Summit. While I was out, however, Cousin What’s-Her-Name called and asked if she could bring the four Springer Spaniels over while she was on her blind date with the guy the agency sent over. No one answered the phone, but she brought them anyway, and our cat, Connor, is moon-walking on the ceiling…amazing animals.

Edielou is miffed at the very suggestion, but I have to get out of the house, maybe to the driving range or to the dog park. We don’t have a dog, but are looking at Malamutes and Afghans…one of each. If you think that’s crazy, we’re also looking at building our own log cabin in the snow country once I retire. Can’t do anything about that now, so I decide to review my Carpailtin Fables, a four-volume fantasy series, for revision. Ah, but I can’t do that because the computer crashed two weeks ago, and the data rescuers have lost it, somewhere in Florida. That means seven books, three symphonic compositions, every password since the invention of computers and three thousand photographs are running around somewhere in the Everglades.

The physics professor came over for dinner out on the deck. That was nice, but I missed the runaway train, and can only hope Edielou was able to handle it alone. She’ll be furious tomorrow, but I have to postpone our next leap to audition new faculty members on instruments I’ve never played. My previous life of concert  touring before getting into college teaching suddenly seems serene by comparison. The strangest part of it all is that this was a lazy summer day. Just wait until school starts. For tonight, we can’t wait to fall asleep and dream, just to get a little reality around here.

Please visit G.F. Skipworth’s site at rosslarebooks.com.

Tags: book publicity, G.F. Skipworth, historical fiction, Pump Up Your Book, The Simpering North Dakota Literary Society

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A Day in the Life of…Claire Cook

by Claire Cook

I wrote my first novel at 5 AM in my minivan outside my daughter’s swim practice, and while I’m thrilled to have moved inside to a home office, I’ve kept the early morning writing habit.

I wake up and spread some whole wheat toast with almond butter while the coffee is brewing, then I head up to my office with a big mug of coffee and get to work. I like to start my day’s writing before I’m fully awake, before the doubt and procrastination set in. Before the rest of the world is awake.

I write two pages a day, seven days a week. This keeps me almost living in the book, following the characters, nudging the story forward.

I start by rereading and polishing the pages from the day before, which helps me find the rhythm again. I try not to go back much farther than that. If I did, I might still be working on the first chapter of my first novel instead of my eighth!

Sometimes my two pages take only a few hours. Sometimes I wrestle well into the night. My deal with myself is that I’m not allowed to go to bed until I’ve finished my daily quota. Books are fun to start and triumphant to finish, but all those pesky pages in between can really get you into trouble. So this works for me. No matter what else happens in my life, I can finish two pages.

And two pages become four, then six, then eight, and one miraculous day I have the first draft of a novel. And then the revising begins!

For more writing tips, and to win a beach bag filled with all 7 of Claire’s novels, plus a beach towel, go to http://ClaireCook.com.

Tags: author tour, beach book, beach read, bestseller, bestselling author, blog tour, book campaign, book marketing, book promotions, book publicity, book tour, chick lit, chick lit book, Claire Cook, Family Circle, Good Morning America, Hyperion, Must Love Dogs, online book promotion, People's Magazine, promote your book, Pump Up Your Book, sell your book, Seven Year Switch, The Today Show, virtual book tour, Warner Brothers, women's fiction, women's fiction author

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A Day in the Life of…G.F. Skipworth

Ever since the day I met the Zingarella women from The Simpering, North Dakota Literary Society, daily life has changed.

Morning used to be a cup of tea , a search for articles on Oregon Duck football and a check-in with the Tumbleweeds comic strips from yesteryear… but no more. This morning, for example, Edielou Zingarella and I hurled ourselves off Willamette Falls, and have scheduled a runaway train rescue this evening if the day works out.

This morning, as I attempted to save Nellie Bly from execution in the prequel (The Sharpshooters of Simpering, North Dakota), the electricity went out in the computer section of the house (not to mention the fridge, washer and dryer.) After a spider web of improvised extension chords, Nellie was saved, but it looks mighty primitive, and no electrician until Wednesday. I wondered what a computer built in 1898 would look like, and imagined poor Barbara shoveling coal into the tower while I fended off the Spanish at San Juan Hill. Nevertheless, as I stepped to the podium to address an expectant nation (at Theodore Roosevelt’s request,) the Dean of Arts & Sciences called to make sure I’d filed my report on photocopy expenses for the spring term. By the time I got back, the country had turned off their televisions and gone to bed.

Standing on the deck of a ship in La Spezia, staring down a horde of fascists, is not a convenient time to answer the phone, but when it’s your daughter announcing that she’s going to Paraguay with a harmonica player to become a vintner’s apprentice (all right, I made up the harmonica player) – well, family’s family. Even Edielou understands that.

I was hoping to score tickets to Buffalo Bill Cody’s stop-off in Paris. There were important questions I needed to ask Miss Oakley before sending her to China, but that concert for Thursday was looming, and I had to go practice the accompaniments for an hour. Realizing that I have to sing in the one next week, a half hour or so on Schubert’s Winterreise was the least I could do. Beethoven’s Eroica’s coming up, but I’ve conducted that several times, so a brief look-through will take care of that.

All right, I’m back, and just in time.  Edielou’s going to throw the Italian ambassador overboard and cause an international incident. Negotiations have reached a delicate stage when I hear a strange sound in the driveway. Apparently, the car, which as a rule goes “Haroommm” is now going “Bawhaaaa.” It’s a test of man versus metal to see if it can reach the shop without calling the tow truck. We make it, and I’m back in time to witness Day I of the Simpering World Summit. While I was out, however, Cousin What’s-Her-Name called and asked if she could bring the four Springer Spaniels over while she was on her blind date with the guy the agency sent over. No one answered the phone, but she brought them anyway, and our cat, Connor, is moon-walking on the ceiling…amazing animals.

Edielou is miffed at the very suggestion, but I have to get out of the house, maybe to the driving range or to the dog park. We don’t have a dog, but are looking at Malamutes and Afghans…one of each. If you think that’s crazy, we’re also looking at building our own log cabin in the snow country once I retire. Can’t do anything about that now, so I decide to review my Carpailtin Fables, a four-volume fantasy series, for revision. Ah, but I can’t do that because the computer crashed two weeks ago, and the data rescuers have lost it, somewhere in Florida. That means seven books, three symphonic compositions, every password since the invention of computers and three thousand photographs are running around somewhere in the Everglades.

The physics professor came over for dinner out on the deck. That was nice, but I missed the runaway train, and can only hope Edielou was able to handle it alone. She’ll be furious tomorrow, but I have to postpone our next leap to audition new faculty members on instruments I’ve never played. My previous life of touring before getting into college teaching suddenly seems serene by comparison. The strangest part of it all is that this was a lazy summer day. Just wait until school starts. For tonight, we can’t wait to fall asleep and dream, just to get a little reality around here.

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