scrawlbawl

Controversial novels--what do you think?

2012-09-22T18:13:00.000-07:00

Over the years there have been wonderful literary works introduced to us and then many have been taken away due to one reason or another. What do all of you think? I'm going to list these works here and you can comment on them. Tell us whether or not you think they should be banned and why.

Number one, and I can't believe this book was banned, but here it is:

Yes, the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain was banned for being "trash only suitable for the slums" according to Concord public library.

Merriam Webster and American Heritage Dictionaries were banned in California elementary schools in 2010 for having the definition for "oral sex" listed in them.

Grapes of Wrath had been and often is banned due to obscenity as well as for painting the country in a negative light.

James and the giant peach was banned due to violence and obscenity.

Now there are many, many more that can be added to this list, but I'll start with these for the time being. If you would like to list one here and whether or not you agree with it being banned, please do so.

Let us all know what your thoughts are on these books. We really want to know.

Featured Halloween blog!

2012-09-22T10:28:00.001-07:00

A terrific blog for the month of October. You can't miss this. She has games, short stories, featured bloggers, etc. One of the best blogs I've come across this year. I just love it!

Check our Haunted Palooza at What happens in Venice with Diana Henry Cachey.

Halloween is just around the corner fans! GOBLINS, WITCHES, AND GHOSTS are slowly lurking closer and closer to us. To make October even better, I am going to be a featured writer for HAUNTED PALOOZA event for October at www.whathappensinvenice.com. Sign-up for the blogs (hint that helps you win a prize) then WATCH SHORT VIDEO to learn more HERE. http://youtu.be/mpl2EmnNnqc.

I hope to see all of you there. It's going to be a spooktacular time!

Spine-tingling reads

2012-09-20T15:48:00.001-07:00

I love to curl up on my favorite chair with an edge of your seat horror novel during the winter, which is fast approaching. I can feel the upcoming snow on the air every evening.
When we think of Halloween, we think of a good scare. What better way to spend the month of October than with the terrifying works of some of our best authors?
Stephen King will, of course, pop up in the minds of many readers as well as Dean Koontz. I'm going to mention some less obvious authors today with the hopes that you will all give them a try. They are definitely worth the time.

Shadow of night- a novel by Deborah Harkness. Number two on Amazon best seller list.

Publisher: Penguin

Received 807 five stars

John dies at the end by David Wong

Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books; Reprint edition (September 29, 2009)

Received 302 five stars so far.

Children of the fog by Cheryl Kaye Tardif

Publisher: Imajin Books

Received 167 five star reviews so far.

A discovery of witches by Deborah Harkness

Publisher: Penguin

Received 811 five stars so far.

Nearly departed in Deadwood by Ann Charles

Publisher: Corvallis Press

Received 166 Five star reviews

I hope you all find something wonderful here, but in case you don't, here is a list of classic horror novels guaranteed to send chills up your spine.

All of the following novels can be found at the following link plus several more scary as heck novels.

Scary Novels

Ghost story

By Peter Straub

In life, not every sin goes unpunished.

GHOST STORY

For four aging men in the terror-stricken town of Milburn, New York, an act inadvertently carried out in their youth has come back to haunt them. Now they are about to learn what happens to those who believe they can bury the past -- and get away with murder.

Peter Straub's classic bestseller is a work of "superb horror" (The Washington Post Book World) that, like any good ghost story, stands the test of time -- and conjures our darkest fears and nightmares.

The exorcist

By William Peter Blatty

The Exorcist changed popular culture forever. Now, William Peter Blatty's groundbreaking story of faith and supernatural suspense--the runaway #1 bestseller that started it all--is reincarnated in this spectacular newly polished and rewritten 40th Anniversary Edition of the novel that burst through society's seven seals and paved the way for the entire genre that followed it: the unforgettable The Exorcist.

The Amityville Horror

By Jay Anson

In December 1975, the Lutz family moved into their new home on suburban Long Island. George and Kathleen Lutz knew that, one year earlier, Ronald DeFeo had murdered his parents, brothers, and sisters in that house. But the property complete with boathouse and swimming pool and the price were too good to pass up. Twenty-eight days later, the entire Lutz family fled in terror. This is the spellbinding, best-selling true story that gripped the nation, the story of a house possessed by evil spirits, haunted by psychic phenomena almost too terrible to describe.

Have a hauntingly good time everyone!

Halloween

2012-09-15T11:37:00.001-07:00

Here we are again, looking forward to another year of haunted houses, pumpkin patches, and all the other wonderful things that accompany this hauntingly perfect holiday. I am certainly not going to miss out on the fun this year. For the month of October, this blog will be all about the best of spooky novels, authors that keep us at the edge of our seats as shivers crawl swiftly up our spines. Yes, it will be a spooky event. I will also cover tips for writing great horror and thriller novels, and don't forget to check out the numerous links I'll be listing for sites that offer hair-raising stories and creepy ideas to make your Halloween the best it can be.
It's going to be a hauntingly good time.

"Freed" Hell happens second edition

2012-08-29T13:23:00.000-07:00

Freed

Hell happens second edition

Alright everyone, I have finally finished my new book cover for "Freed" and it is amazing. I'm so happy I broke down and ponied up the dough for this. It is far better than the other and let's face it, the cover design of a novel can make or break sales. It is so true. Here is a picture of the entire book cover, back and fron as well as just a front view. I hope you all like it. I fell in love. It's so beautiful!

Front view

Entire book cover

Dark of midnight writer's nightmare!!!

2012-08-28T16:54:00.003-07:00

Well, I thought I would finally get around to the final edit of my new novel "Dark of midnight" so I could release it within the next month or so, but I found that Windows 7 locked ALL my documents to include my manuscripts and I cannot edit, copy/paste, or anything. Now, I will have to rewrite the entire thing if I wish to publish it. So far I have written the beginning of the novel, not much, but it's a start.
Here it is. I hope you like it.

Dark of midnight

Basilisk didn't blink as it watched her from the shadows. The lovely queen of Karay looked out the window at her ruined kingdom. Her flaxen hair was swept back in a fishtail braid that draped over the shoulder of her heavy black cloak. A slight breeze played with the wisps of hair that framed her heart-shaped face.

Basilisk's cat-like pupils dialated from amidst blood red orbs as it studied her. It couldn't see the color of her eyes from that distance, but remembered their soft amber glow from another life, a life that was long since gone.

Normal beings would not have been able to see her as well as Basilisk's even with the light from the torches that illuminated her small frame from the grounds below her window. Basilisk was different, however. It's sight was better than that of a cat's in the rich of midnight. She didn't seem to notice it watching, anticipating the moment it would take her.

"Soon, dear lady...very soon," it hissed beneath its breath. For now, it had to feed and its next meal waited. It slinked off into the night, quiet and unseen. The soughing of the wind it made and the giant lizard-like pattern it left in the dead, dry earth were the only evidence of its presence.

Its talons clicked on the stone floor as it scurried into the castle's dungeon. The guards had never seen it since they were otherwise preoccupied with their desperate and futile attempts to save the kingdom. No one ever went near the dungeon anymore, not since Basilisk had unleashed the darkness on it. The people shied away from the evil they surely felt seeping from the dingy, damp walls below the castle.

Basilisk squeezed through the confilned space of the hall, feeling the cold, irregular stones pressing in on its slimy body. The long spikes jutting from its spine lightly scratched the ceiling with a screeching sound that echoed back to its ears. A normal person would have no difficulty fitting through the tunnels beneath the castle, but something as massive as Basilisk had to make quite the effort.

Basilisk could have taken another form, but anticipation was too overwhelming. It could not concentrate hard enough for the change to happen. It was worth the difficulty though, especially with dinner waiting and Basilisk was ravenous.

It smelled the delicious fear on the man it was about to consume. That particular emotion made its food taste remarkably better. Because of this, Basilisk held its prey captive for long lengths of time. It periodically gouged small portions from their flesh and ate it in front of them to increase the aroma of fear that wafted from their tormented bodies. Their terror grew the longer it kept them, which added to their flavor like a succulent marinade.

There he was, the savory little snack. Tears streaked down the man's dirty face and his bloodshot eyes were swollen from lack of sleep. Of course, there was no way the pathetic man could sleep knowing he would soon become a very delicious meal.

Basilisk chuckled low in its throat. The man's skin, torn in places where the creature had sliced away tasty bites, trembled as if he were freezing. But, it wasn't cold in the dungeon. Basilisk used magic to raise the temperature to sustain the life of its prey. No, the man wasn't cold. He was terror-stricken.

The man shook; his eyes grew wide, bulging in their sockets. He strained against the chains that bound him, but to no avail. They only clattered against his efforts and bit deeper into his skin. Delicious, warm blood trickled down his forearms and dripped onto the dirt floor. Basilisk's nostrils flared as it took in the intoxicating scent. The musky air was instantly ripe with the smell of it.

Basilisk's pet leaned against the wall nearby, her tan cloak hanging limply from her petite frame. Her dull, brown eyes were vacant, but she smiled sweetly. She had pulled her mousy hair back in a bun and although she was not a pretty woman, she was somehow cute with her large almond-shaped eyes and the minute splash of freckles across the bridge of her turned-up nose.

She had the ability to rip the voice from anyone she wished. When the victims screamed, she ripped, and Basilisk devoured. Her power was the only reason the creature controlled her. Just like the man sobbing soundlessly from amidst the thick chains that kept him prisoner, she had never stood a chance against Basilisk's powers. She had soon given in, becoming a mere puppet. She would never remember any of this if she ever escaped, but that wasn't likely to happen.

The scaly creature watched with amused curiosity as the man quivered. It relished in the escalating terror that mantled its victim's face from the exertion of trying to scream. Veins bulged in the man's neck. The vessel protruding from his forehead looked as though it might burst at any moment.

Try, try, but you'll never make a sound, little man. Basilisk snickered at its prey's weak struggles for freedom. Yes, be afraid, be utterly terrified. The more fear you have, the more delicious you will be.

Dirt flew through the air as the man kicked furiously. One foot hit Basilisk's front leg with a dull thud. It was only a nuisance.

Dislocating its elongated jaws with a gruesome, snapping sound, the creature's mouth opened to a massive cave of razor sharp teeth. Its scaly body shuddered with excitement akin to arousal.

The mouth of its prey gaped in a silent a scream as the freckle-face woman worked her magic. The dirt between the man's legs darkened as his bladder released its contents. Basilisk didn't mind. It was nothing more than a touch of salt that seasoned its prey.

The creature quickly sunk its teeth into the soft, quivering flesh protecting the man's vital organs. Bones

cracked, snapped, crunched. Warm blood erupted into Basilisk's mouth. It trembled with pleasure as its meal jerked and feebly struck out at his attacker. Crimson fluid spurted from the man's mouth. His eyes bulged then slowly dimmed in the last agonizing moment of life. Yes, fear did taste delicious.

This is only the intro and it appears the new program I am using to write this has absolutely no spell check to help with typos and it keeps messing up my formatting when I try to save. Wow, what a headache this is going to be.

Tenses

2012-08-28T11:58:00.000-07:00

Tenses

When you are writing tenses it can really drive you crazy. It's not always easy to get them right. I have edited and critiqued so many manuscripts that have major problems in this area. It's enough to make you pull your hair out. Most importantly, you need to know that the English form has three different tenses to choose from. These tenses relate to time: future, present, and past. Once you have that established, they are then subdivided into other categories that you will need to know about and understand.
There are: simple tense, progressive tense, perfect tense, and perfect progressive tense.
Yes, I know. It is confusing. However, once you have this down, your writing will flow better and sound more professional. The subdivisions of tenses tell the reader when something in particular will be done, is being done, or has been done.

Ready, set, here we go!

Let's look at simple tense-

Simple past tense- An action that began and ended in the past.

Simple present tense- An action that is common or repeated.

Simple future tense- An action that will occur in the future.

Examples:

To make it easier to know if you are in the correct form, use the following rules:

Simple past tense- Begin with "Yesterday I...." Example: "Yesterday I rode the roller coaster."

Simple present tense- Begin with "Today I..." Example: "Today I ride the roller coaster."

Simple future tense- Begin with "Tomoorow I..." Example: "Tomorrow I will ride the roller coaster."

Simple? No. Well, we're not done yet.

Let's move on to the progressive tense. This is a bit of a step up, but I'm sure you'll get it.

Past progressive- An event that was going on at some point in the past. Note: To create this type of tense, use "were and was" as well as adding (ing) to the verb.
Present progressive- An action that is going on at the time it is being written about. Note: Use the words "are and am" as well as adding (ing) to the verb to create this tense.
Future progressive- An action that's continuous and will happen some time in the future. Note: To create this type of tense, use the words "shall be" and "will be" plus add (ing) to the end of the verb.

Examples:

Past progressive- "I was riding the roller coaster yesterday."
Present progressive- "I am riding the roller coaster today."
Future progressive- "I will be riding the roller coaster tomorrow."

Now we will cover the perfect tense.

Past perfect tense- A past action that occurred prior to another past action. I know it sounds confusing, but I'll give you examples in a minute. It really isn't as hard as it seems. Note: This is always created by using the word "had" and using the past participle form of the verb.
Present perfect- An action that began in the past, but is still happening at the present time. Note: Create this form by using the words "have" and "has" in conjunction with the past participle form of the verb.
Future perfect tense- An action in the future that will happen prior to some other action. Note: Always use the words "will have" when using this tense along with the past participle form of the verb.

Now that you are thoroughly confused, let me give you a few examples to better illustrate these tenses for you. I know they can be confusing, so don't scream. Take a breath and relax. You'll get this.

Examples:

Past perfect tense- "I had ridden the roller coaster ride for a whole day before I finally went home."
Present perfect tense- "I have ridden the roller coaster ride all day."
Future perfect tense- "I will have ridden the roller coaster ride all day before finally going home."

O.K. Everyone breathing alright? You haven't pulled your hair out yet, have you? I hope not because we are about to move on to the last step to this information download. Hang in there, you're are almost done!

Past perfect progressive tense- A past continuous action that finished prior to some other past action. Note: You will always use the words "had been" and add (ing) to the verb to form this tense.
Present perfect tense- An action that has been repeated over time in the past, went on in the present, and will possibly continue into the future. Note: Always use the words "has been" and "have been" as well as the past participle form of the verb to create this past tense.
Future perfect tense- A future continuous action that will end prior to some point in the future. Note: Always use the words "will have been" as well as adding (ing) to the end of the verb when writing in this tense.

Take it easy. I am going to make this a bit easier by adding a few examples. I won't leave you hanging, I promise.

Examples:

Past perfect tense- "Before I went home, I had been riding the roller coaster all day."
Present perfect tense- "For the entire day I have been riding the roller coaster ride."
Future perfect tense- "By evening time, I will have been riding the roller coaster all day."

If you are still struggling, check out the following site. It's great and I'm sure you'll have this down in no time.

Understanding English tenses.

"Freed" Second edition of Hell Happens.

2012-08-23T15:25:00.002-07:00

Self-publishing

Due to numerous suggestions, I have changed the title of "Hell Happens" to "Freed", changed the intro of the story, removed most of the profanity, and changed the size of the novel as well as the cover art.

For those of you who are thinking of self-publishing your novel, I have a bit of advice that I hope you take into consideration. When self-publishing, places like Create Space and Kindle direct publishing don't care if your novel is even print worthy nor do they care if you sale a single copy. They know you as the author are going to want copies of your novel, and that's where they make their money with you.

You can find literally thousands of poorly written novels on Amazon, so for most of the public who have wasted a considerable amount of money purchasing nothing more than incredible disappointments, chances are they won't purchase yours. Here's why: They see that you are a new author and that you are an indie no less, then automatically assume that your work will be just as poorly written. You can't blame them either. Most of the time, they won't even chance a look at the blurb on the back, especially if you are new and have NO reviews yet. You can try to find people willing to give you a review, but you still need a high number of good reviews to make the cut and be searchable on Amazon. Even then, your novel may still not show up for several pages. The only way to show up on the first page is to get a high number of sales and let's face it, to do that you have to get your book seen and then to get those viewers to be interested enough to purchase your novel. Another good way to get sales is if you know a lot of people willing to purchase and review your novel as well as tell numerous other people about your novel. Word of mouth advertising is amazing, just look at "Fifty shades of grey". I would have NEVER known about the steamy novels had I not been told about them. No, I've never read any of them, but I've heard enough to make me blush fifty shades of red and that's enough for me.

Personally, I have followed ALL the suggestions given on so many sites and to no avail. I still have yet to get my novel seen and therefore purchased. No one is ever going to purchase what they don't know exists. I actually can't even find "Freed" when searching for it's EXACT title (I think it may show up on page 60 or so). Try searching that title and see what pops up..."Fifty shades of grey." Yup, that's what shows up when you search for my novel.

I even gave several copies of my novel away for free in hopes of receiving a few reviews, whether favorable or not. So far I have received nothing and it's been months. I've been told that my story is really good, yet none of those people took the time to say that in a review on Amazon. Well, that's a bummer.

My point is this, if you think you have a great story and want the world to read it, then send a query package to as many literary agents in your Genre as you can. Try to get a REAL publisher to represent your work. If your novel is as good as you think it is, then eventually you will land an agent who can easily get you reviews and make it so the public knows your novel is there.

Of course, there are those rare occasions when a self-published novel makes it to the top, but this isn't likely for most indie writers. You can't expect to get the same results and you more than likely won't. So, by all means stay clear of self-publishing unless you only want a few copies for family and friends. Keep contacting literary agents and keep writing. Expect rejection letters but don't let them drop your spirits. Keep going and never give up.

Donate!

2012-07-01T10:41:00.001-07:00

Donate

Bubba fund

I am going to donate the profits from the first 100 "Hell Happens" novels to the Bubba fund. Please open your hearts to this little man as well and give any amount of donation you can. If you can't afford to, then pass this blog onto other who may be able to.

http://www.gofundme.com/Bubbafund

First three chapters of "Dark of midnight"

2012-06-22T20:17:00.000-07:00

Fantasy/romance

vampire

I have added a page to this blog that includes the first three chapters of "Dark of midnight." Check it out and let me know what you think. If you enjoy it, then look for it by September of 0212.

Happy scrawling everyone and remember, never give up on your dreams no matter how far out of your reach they may seem.

Funny writers quotes

2012-06-16T21:00:00.000-07:00

Funny quotes

Writers

Everywhere I go I'm asked if I think the university stifles writers. My opinion is that they don't stifle enough of them.
More funny Flannery O'Connor quotes

I'm astounded by people who take 18 years to write something. That's how long it took that guy to write 'Madame Bovary,' and was that ever on the best-seller list?
More funny Sylvester Stallone quotes

When I was a little boy, they called me a liar, but now that I am grown up, they call me a writer.
More funny Isaac Bashevis Singer quotes

For a long time now I have tried simply to write the best I can. Sometimes I have good luck and write better than I can.
More funny Ernest Hemingway quotes

Copy from one, it's plagiarism; copy from two, it's research.
More funny Wilson Mizner quotes

“Your manuscript is both good and original, but the part that is good is not original, and the part that is original is not good.”
– Samuel Johnson

“I never made a mistake in grammar but one in my life and as soon as I done it I seen it.”
– Carl Sandburg

“From now on, ending a sentence with a preposition is something up with which I shall not put.”
– Winston Churchill

“The original writer is not he who refrains from imitating others, but he who can be imitated by none.”
– Francois Rene de Chateaubriand

“There's no money in poetry, but then there's no poetry in money either.”
– Robert Graves

“Some editors are failed writers, but so are most writers.”
– T. S. Eliot

More on genres

2012-06-15T13:25:00.000-07:00

More on genres

As promised, I am posting another discussion about different types of genres. It is vital for an author to know where his/her work belongs. The good thing is, you don't need to know everything about every genre. You just need to know where you belong, then learn from there.

Different mystery genres. There are several different types of mystery novels, but all include a mystery to be solved and a detective-type person to solve it. These novels can contain, profanity, sex scenes, and violence.
Link to mystery genres
Psychological novels are basically a product of the mind. A lot of imagination and thought goes into these novels as well as a demented mind set. It doesn't hurt, anyway. If you are unsure about this genre, check out Stephen King and Dean Koontz who have been terrifying readers and keeping them up at night for years. A psychological novel keeps you on the edge of your seat, biting your nails, and pulling the covers up under you chin when you finally go to bed. These are often linked with horror and are usually about 85,000 to over 100,000 words and typically have a lot of adult content.

Thrillers are typically set in modern times with drug lords, bombs, runaway trains, large body count, etc. Romance can play a small part in these stories, but usually it's about the action and readers simply want to see the good guy beat the bad guy. Of course, the bad guy dying some horrific death is always the best ending for most readers of the Thriller persuasion. Thrillers are usually between 85,000 and just over 100,000 words.

Horror Everyone who lived in the eighties knows this genre well. The bad guy usually doesn't die very easily even if you stab him ten times and put several bullets in his back, he still comes up for one last scare. The body count is high and typically on the gory side with blood, guts, and a lot of blood-curdling screams. The reader wants you to scare their pants off of them. They want to feel their chest tighten when they hear a bump in the night. Think back to when you were a kid. There you were in bed, all was dark, silence clung to your room and suddenly you heard footsteps coming up the hall, closing in on your room. That feeling, the feeling you had at that moment, that's horror.

Historical fiction is obviously set in the past and can include romance, fantasy, etc. The setting for a historical novel is usually real and created from history. This genre is typically over 100,000 words in length and can include adult content. Some examples of historical fiction include Forever amber, Gone with the wind, Spartacus, Key of gold just to name a few.

Contemporary fiction The setting for this genre can begin as far back as the 1940's and still fit into this category. This genre usually expresses our emotions, has characters that are very realistic in what they say and do. The events that take place in a contemporary fiction are things that can actually happen in true life, so meeting a ghost in this genre simply doesn't happen. These novels are usually over 100,000 words, and may or may not contain violence, profanity, and sex. These novels are about relationships, tragedy, families, etc. Some examples of contemporary fiction include On Chesil beach, Fifty shades of grey, Keeper, and Happy hour, as well as many, many more. If you need more examples, just do a quick search of popular contemporary fiction novels.

Mainstream fiction are difficult to categorize and can derive from many different ideas. They are usually about good versus evil and tells a classic story such as, Lovely bones, and The time traveler's wife. Mainstream fiction is basically genre fiction that likes to break the rules. For instance, if you want to write a romance novel, but don't care to stick to the typical romance formula, then you'll more than likely come up with a mainstream novel.

Until next time, happy scrawling.

Publication OOPS!

2012-06-14T16:57:00.001-07:00

Publish a book

OOPS!

If you are like me and have a polished manuscript that your itching to see in book form, then you have probably sent out numerous synopsis, queries, and sample chapters to nearly every publishing company and literary agent within you genre.

I am the type of person who, after several months of waiting and receiving numerous rejection letter, decided to simply self-publish. Why not? I say to myself. I worked hard and deserve to see my book in print. Today, however, I received an acceptance letter from a publishing company I had contacted a while back, but had assumed they were not interested because they had not responded to me.

So, here I am, with my self-published work enrolled in K.D.P select through Kindle and with no way of taking my book off for at least 90 days. The publishing company that is interested in my novel does not allow for my work to be available anywhere else except through them or with their written approval. That is what their contract reads, so until I can get my book unpublished with Kindle and off of Amazon, I am unable to pursue traditional publication.

Moral of this story: Do not jump the gun and self-publish because you have not received an acceptance letter yet, because you just might burn your bridges. Be 100% certain that no one wishes to publish your work first, then pursue self-publication.

Novels available through Amazon

2012-06-13T21:47:00.002-07:00

New releases

Published

New novel "Silent cries of the children" a true account of child abuse and neglect, is now available at Amazon.com. This wonderful story was written by Redonda Stover and was published by Knight publishing 2012. Look for it today!
Also, from Knight publication, "Hell Happens" and
"Dark of midnight", which is coming soon!

scrawlbawl: Upload from newsletter "Book Bite".

2012-06-06T10:57:00.001-07:00

scrawlbawl: Upload from newsletter "Book Bite".: Book Bite News letter Too bad I couldn't insert the newsletter the way it actually appears in print, but the info is the same, so e...

Upload from newsletter "Book Bite".

2012-06-06T10:54:00.002-07:00

Book Bite

News letter

Wow! Did I fubar this the first time. Sorry about that and I hope this reads far better.

Too bad I couldn't insert the newsletter the way it actually appears in print(really cool looking), but the info is the same, so enjoy.

Newsletter Date

Volume 1, Issue 1

Book Bite

A knight publication

I am a Stephen King fan and like many of his fans, I have read nearly every novel he has ever written. From his first publication “The glass floor” to his newest novel, The wind through the keyhole, Stephen King has proven himself one of the greatest story tellers of our time with an awe inspiring total sales of over 350 million copies sold. That is impressive!

Stephen king’s most popular reads

Top Twenty most popular Stephen King novels:

The Dark Tower Series

The stand

The mist

The dead zone

The green mile

Salem’s lot

Tommy knockers

Special Interest Articles:

Fantasy must reads!

Fantasy is a wonderful genre where the author has no limits. The fantasy novel can be in space, in another dimension, underwater; it does not really matter. Fantasy has no roots, meaning it is not based on reality or science as you would find in a sci-fi novel. One of the most creative of the genres, fantasy is essentially the writer’s playground where absolutely anything can become possible.

If you are a fantasy lover, then here is a list of must reads for you:

A game of thrones

George R. R Martin

The name of the wind

Patrick Rothfuss

Lord of the rings

J.R R Tolkien

The black company

Glen Cook

The blade itself

Joe Abercrombie

Hell Happens
Bethaney Brookes
The way of kings

Brandon Sanderson

The farseer

Robin Hobb

The wheel of time

Robert Jordan

Cold fire trilogy

C.S Friedman

The etched city

K.J Bishop

A sword of shadows

J.V Jones

• Stephen Kings most popular reads.

Self-published works that scream, “READ ME!”

More and more these days you see many emerging self-published authors. The reason for this is the increasing difficulty in finding a publisher who will actually give a manuscript a chance. It seems that a writer has to already be established and have a platform, be famous, or know the right people in order to make it in this field.

It's not fair to a writer who has a manuscript that screams potential best-seller. Most great new authors are having their work tossed in the trash without as much as a look. This is the main reason why authors turn to self-publishing.

Here is a short list of self-published works that made it to the top.

The Celestine Prophecy

James Redfield

In search of excellence

Tom Peters

The Christmas box

Rick Evans

A time to kill

John Grisham

The plant

Stephen King

These great works were all originally self-published. Do you recognize any?

A list of Self-published works available on Amazon!

The following list of self-published works come from an extensive search of Amazon, Good reads, and a select few have been suggested by leaders of local book groups/clubs for inclusion.

“I’m not dead.

I’m not in Hell.”

(Hell Happens)

Hell Happens

Bethaney Brookes

The lunatics

Seven N Blue

Solemnly swear

Joe Porrazzo

The Abbey

Chris Culver

Last Breath

Michael Prescott

Summer secrets

Barbara Freethy

Blind pursuit

Michael Prescott

My blood approves

Amanda Hocking

A bit on Dean Koontz

Dean Koontz was born in Pennsylvania. He graduated from Shippensburg state college (Shippensburg University)

Dean Koontz has sold over 400 million copies of his books, which have

been translated to 38 different languages. Some of his best works are:

Odd Thomas series

Watchers

Phantoms

False memory

The good guy

The door to December

The face

Strangers

Hideaway

Twilight Craze!

“I’m a little worried about Edward… Can vampires go into shock?”

The Twilight saga has received a lot of attention since it first hit the shelves. At first, people lined up at the registers to purchase their copies of this popular series, and then it hit the box office. The movie version sold out on their first night all over the nation. It was one of the most popular love stories of the year. You could see people wearing team Jacob, team Edward,and team Bella tee shirts all over the states.

Now, there are numerous blogs belittling Stephanie Meyers for the poor writing and editing of her novels. Several reviews have also pointed this out including a review by Stephen King. However, one must commend Mrs. Meyers on finding her target audience and keeping the story geared to them. Even with the negative reviews on and off the net. The vampire love story still creates quite the stir on premier night. It can be seen “sold out” at nearly ever box office across the states. Therefore, regardless of the bad publicity, the movie and book series are still a hit, and Stephanie Meyers has the last laugh as she walks away with millions in profit.

Box office: Based on books

Even book lovers enjoy a good movie sometimes. Have you ever read a novel and thought," That should be made into a movie!" Chances are you have. There are several great movies already out and coming out this year based on bestselling novels. Here is a list of what movies to watch for:

One for the money

The Lorax

The hunger games

The lucky one

Breaking dawn--part 2

The hobbit

Life of Pi

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire hunter

The host

The devil in the white city

Water for elephants

The help

The girl with the dragon tattoo

On the road

The woman in black

Pick a genre

2012-05-30T20:15:00.005-07:00

Genre

What's right for you?

So, you want to write a novel. One of the first things you need to decide is what genre is right for you.
there are several different genre to choose from these days as well as a mixture of two or more genre. Let's look at a few of the most common genres, shall we?

Romance:
Romance is a big seller and there are numerous titles out there that fall under this category. Romance has a large number of fans and sells more books every year than any other genre out there. It isn't unheard of for romance lovers to read several books per week. The only thing that is a MUST is that the man and woman live happily ever after. There is a formula that is typical for a romance novel that you should at least look at before diving in.
A great site that goes into detail about the romance formula can be found here: How to write romance fiction

Paranormal Romances:
This a a genre that blends both paranormal and romance, obviously. This genre can have ghosts, witches, whether good or bad, demons, vampires, etc. Basically, anything can happen in this genre, but like I said romance must outshine all else.

Contemporary romance:
This is a love buds forth in today's world. There's a lot of witty dialogue when it comes to contemporary romances. Many of the humorous romance movies set in modern times (I know you've seen at least a few) are contemporary romances. This genre can be steamy and have heated love scenes or be more of a sweet love with no more than a few kisses.

Historical Romance:
As the name implies, this is a romance that is set back in the past. Have you watched Pirates of the Caribbean? That would be a historical romance. The pirate, Jack Sparrow, is bad in a good way, handsome, and funny. Will Tanner is the descendant of a pirate. He is handsome, well groomed, funny, and intelligent. In a historical romance the heroine is fiery yet reserved. She's strong yet somewhat delicate.

Fantasy:
This genre needs an imaginative author to bring it to life. It can take place in another dimension or on another world. There is really no limit when it comes to this genre, which is why I love writing this particular genre. It doesn't have to have the element of love or it can have a blossoming romance the steams up the pages. It is completely up to you.

Science fiction:
All novels of this genre have an element of realism or possibility such as aliens or the future. In this genre, the writer can explore all possibilities that circle around science fact. If you have ever hear of "The sixth day" or War of the worlds, then you know science fiction.

I'm going to stop here and let you think about these genres for a while, but I will be back tomorrow to go over several other wonderful genres for you to choose from.

Look forward to reading about:
Different mystery genres
Psychological novels
Thrillers
Horror
Historical fiction
contemporary fiction
Mainstream fiction

Until next time, happy scrawling.

Memorial Day

2012-05-28T19:20:00.003-07:00

Memorial day

In memory of

This is not about books or writing.
This is a day to remember our loved ones who have left us behind, to remember all those who have fought and died for our country, and for all those who have changed out lives with their heroic acts and inspiring words. For those who are now gone, but who remain in our hearts now and always, we remember you and send you our love.

Book cover OMG!

2012-05-25T19:05:00.001-07:00

Choosing a cover design

OMG! How hard is it to have a book cover approved? I wonder if all authors go through this nightmare. When my novel was reformatted for book form, there were some formatting issues we had to work out, which has taken a week. The cover was changed again per my request. The first choice just didn't look right. Now it's in the review process again to make certain it is formatted correctly and therefore will print correctly. Holy crow! I'm so tired and just wish this was over all ready. I really want to finish my second novel and submit it.

Finally published...twice!

2012-05-23T14:45:00.001-07:00

Fantasy/Romance

Novel

I finally received a copy of "Hell Happens" in hard copy. I now have to proof it, making sure I'm happy with the cover and such, then it's available in hardback as well as e-book form. I was also published in Ezine Articles for my article "Reborns. How adollable!" You can view it here:
Reborns. How adollable!
My novel is available in e-book form here:
Hell Happens
Available soon in paperback.

Challenge

2012-05-16T15:15:00.001-07:00

Challenge

Writing challenge for the creative writer.

Choose a word and create a synopsis.

It's fun and stimulates your creativity!

Challenge

This is my first web page and I can say anything I want in here - I do that by putting text or images in the body section - where I'm typing right now :) Here are a few single word titles and what I challenge you to do is write a synopsis for a short story using one title of your choice. Simple, right? I guess we'll see.

Title 1: Extrinsic
Title 2: Risque
Title 3: Celestial
Title 4: Tryst
Title 5: Text
Title 6: Stark
Title 7: Afar
Title 8: Succumb
Title 9: Storm
Title 10: Wither
You may post your synopsis here for others to comment on or simply use for exercise purposes. Always challenge yourselves guys and gals and above all keep scrawling.

Popplet

2012-05-11T15:02:00.001-07:00

Popplet. creative, fun, and just plain cool!

If you haven't tried this, you've gotta. I just love it. It keeps your thoughts organized and I think can help when brainstorming an idea for a new story. Try it out guys.

My Popplet:

http://popplet.com/app/#/313918

Now get one for yourself:

http://popplet.com/

Hell Happens

2012-05-11T13:25:00.001-07:00

New novel "Hell Happens" is now available at Amazon.com

Check it out now!

At Amazon.com and on Kindle

Letting you know that "Hell happens" will be available on Kindle Mother's day. Keep an eye out for it!
Hooray for me!

Mother's day!

2012-05-09T11:14:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day!

This has nothing to do with writing except the occasional Hallmark card or sweet letter from a child to his/her mother. I just want to wish all the mom's out there a very happy and wonderful Mother's day. I hope all is great for you on this day and the sun shines down on us all.

Dialogue

2012-05-07T06:41:00.001-07:00

Dialogue, dialogue, dialogue. Get it right!

Be sure you tag your dialogue correctly.

When writing dialogue, I have seen common mistakes that many people make, even I had made many of them when I had first started. Not a lot of books go over the dialogue tags, so I am going to give you a quick lesson in how to write these correctly.
Here is an example of dialogue tags:

He said
She said
He snapped
She spoke eagerly
He said in a grudging voice
These are dialogue tags. The trick is to write them correctly. For instance;

Wrong: "Let's get outta here." He said.
Correct: "Let's get outta here," he said.

Notice how I added a comma after what he said then ended the sentence AFTER the dialogue tag. The only time you will end the sentence before the dialogue tag is when you are using one of these; ! or?. There are other exceptions as well, however.

Example: "Should we get outta here?" He asked in a husky voice.

You want to end the sentence BEFORE the dialogue tag then space TWICE and add dialogue tag as its own sentence.
Another mistake people make is when the character is quoting another person. You should always use the single quotations around the quote.

Example: "You know, Amy," he began. "Confucius says 'to go beyond is as wrong as to fall short.'"
This may look strange, but you do need those single quotes in there.
There are a number of other rules that are a must when writing a novel. I found a great site that explains pretty much ALL the rules of writing dialogue tags. I suggest all of you check these rules out if anything, to be certain you are writing ALL of them correctly.
Writing World.com
Be sure to check out the rest of there site because they have great information there. Happy scrawling guys and if you have any questions about dialogue tags, be sure to ask.