Dream Books LLC Blog

Gulls

2013-04-12T06:30:00.001-07:00

It's starting out as one of those days that I seem to be overthinking everything and worrying incessantly. I don't want to bore anyone with the array of family health issues I suddenly find myself thinking about. But, it did serve to catapult my mind into a philosophical mode. It happens. I can't avoid it. Watching an early morning newscast thinking about the sick and ailing people in my life, I remembered a piece I wrote some years back for a creative non-fiction writing contest. I found the file and read it again. I thought I'd share it here. Enjoy:

GULLS

Where do profound thoughts come from? Why are they random and infrequent? If we ever have even one then, clearly, we have the capacity for more. So, how do we make them happen and keep them coming?

These are certainly tough questions, and to my way of thinking, no ready answers; maybe even unanswerable altogether. What is it about an otherwise run-of-the-mill brainstorm that elevates it to such status? Could it be life’s upheavals; or, simply one of those rare occasions when over-thinking suddenly, and inexplicably, takes a backseat to universal wisdom? Why is it that we must wait like a drooling Homer Simpson for electrical blips in the brain to jump synaptic ends in some particular order?

These questions I'll leave for others to ponder for now. But, there are a few things I’ve learned along the way worth sharing. Enlightenment can begin with an event no more complicated than watching seagulls, or, so I’ve come to believe.

Before we get to the gulls, there have been two occasions when seemingly benign comments created circumstances sending my outlook on life sailing off in new directions, like a pinball hitting that hundred-point bumper and lighting up the machine.

Through my teens and twenties, life was a rather steep uphill battle. At the time, a serious concern was on the order of wondering whether my last ten dollars, three days before payday, would buy gasoline, groceries, or split between the two. Those were the good old days. At the time, I was ecstatic to have that ten-dollar-bill so there was a choice to be made.

When the thirties came along, income increased and money worries leveled out, even disappeared to a great extent. Life was good.

It’s easy to see in retrospect. We spend our young lives climbing ladders of success but once there and step off onto a plateau of accomplishment, it is only comfortable as long as no one pushes us from it – funny thing about plateaus, no down escalator, only lethal drops.

Working in the television business in a small Texas market in the seventies and early eighties was a joy. But, a day came that the station sold and management changed. Suddenly, I didn’t fit. Fear of losing an investment of many years pressed my Chicken Little button. Everyday, it seemed calamity lurked just out of sight. Twice the time and thrice the effort were spent to simply remain employed. No matter. Goals had been raised to unreasonable limits, support systems removed. They wanted me gone.

Sitting at the kitchen table one Saturday when my parents had come for a weekend visit, the oh-woe-is-me poured out like self-indulgent vomit. Mother tried to be supportive but eventually tired of hearing it. “Nothing lasts forever,” she said abruptly, “Stop worrying about it.”

Comments don’t get more basic, benign or non-threatening than that. But, for me, at that time, it was a life-altering revelation – a bullet between the eyes exploding a sacred myth that that job should be till death do us part. What the heck was I thinking?

Then came profundity number two. Near the end of that situation, dealing with inevitability wasn’t exactly second nature but manageable.Years of honing a craft of selling television advertising could not be lightly set aside. It was still an obligation to find suitable promotional vehicles for my clients. Admittedly, some of that was to impress superiors, to show them what they would be missing when the ax finally fell.

Agonizing over a proposal and worrying aloud about it distracted a coworker sitting at a nearby desk. He said, “It’s just fucking television, not brain surgery. Not a single life will be lost if it doesn’t work. Stop worrying about it.”

I discovered lightning could strike twice, and did. That comment, made in passing, and in jest, scars my psyche to this day. It’s an amusing little blemish. Its one of those guiding forces referred to often, substituting the word “television” with the problem of the month. The profanity never changes. It fits all situations nicely. I had become a lightning rod, arms fanned wide looking to the skies waiting for the next bolt of wisdom from the blue. Incidentally, that former coworker holds a special place in my memory. He’ll likely never know that he provided a springboard for a life’s change. All he wanted was a laugh, and that he did, ad nauseam.

Both pivotal episodes shined a harsh light on a simple truth; profound statements are not necessarily profoundly substantive.When the mind is open, wisdom flows in. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? Well, it’s not. It only changes the focus on the same question. Where do profound thoughts come from and what is it that makes them so?

So, now the query is: How does one go about opening a mind? It’s certainly not like flipping a light switch. Answers have to be as varied as personalities.

The sixties brought on various chemical hallucinogens. Part of the hippy movement was an effort to tap cosmic intelligence to garner secrets of the universe. The Dalai Llama and his followers believe meditation is the key, while indigenous Americans felt that chanting mantras while sapped of energy and sleep deprived to be the portal to universal secrets. All good and, maybe, true. But, sometime, a simple summer vacation and a day at the beach can do the trick.

It was daybreak. With a steaming coffee mug in one hand and a folding chair in the other, I walked to the beach, no other plan in mind than to greet the day while listening to the music that was surf crashing on the beach, ready to get a vacation underway.

After settling in, the rhythmic sound of surf and the stiff steady breeze worked its magic. Troubles drained away – ah, sweet peace of mind. It felt good. Nothing to think about and no problems to solve, just let sounds of relentless crashing waves have their rapturous way.

And then an odd sight; a number of seagulls gathered at the water’s edge, all looking into the rising sun, unmoving, even against the stiff breeze blowing parallel to the pulsing water coming up to cover their feet, threatening to blow them over. Strong gusts pushed the birds sideways, but they seemed to be refusing to relinquish the rigid stance. It was as if those birds saw something worth holding their place on the beach for.

It was reminiscent of a movie where angels gathered on a beach, all facing east into the rising sun, just as these birds were doing. Is it possible the director of that movie was influenced by the same sight, seagulls watching a sunrise?

As a reason was sought for the phenomenon, a cloud drifted across the still-rising sun, shooting streamers of God’s light in all directions.

The gulls stood against the wind, virtually motionless though feathers ruffled. How easy it would have been, at any other time, to pass lightly over the sight and dismiss what those creatures must have seen as reverent. In their way, they appeared to be giving thanks for surviving long enough to see another sunrise?

The squeal of a small child startled me.

In the opposite direction, some distance away, stood a child that seemed to demand attention. So excited by the view of the waves, he refused to contain pent up enthusiasm any longer.

People began coming out to enjoy this tiny slice of what the world has to offer. In both directions, as far as could be seen, people walked to the beach, as if the hand of the director of that movie had cued them to do so at the same time.

The gulls, the eternal pounding of the surf, and all those people electrified my then receptive mind. The temporal nature of life coupled with the roll and crash of waves served as a strong reminder. A hundred years from that snapshot in time no one on the beach would likely be alive, very few on the entire planet, yet the gulls would still greet each new day and the surf would still pound the beach, just as it was doing at that very moment.

I shuddered.

When life’s drudgery drags us down, and it will, someone close will certainly crack wise, “In a hundred years from now, who’s going to care?”

Now, that’s wisdom, and profound, too.

Enjoy this day. Life’s short.

Author of
"Six Years' Worth"/Father's Press/mainstream/print & ebook

"Paradise Flawed"/Dream Books LLC/action-adventure/print & ebook
"Where Are You, Anne Bonny?"/Rogue Phoenix Press/ historical drama/ ebook only

“Trouble”, short story/CrossTIME Science Fiction Anthology, Vol. IX/print only

“Dancing Away”/ short story/romance/Untreed Reads/ebook only

“Annie’s World: Jake’s Legacy”/ATTM Press/soft science fiction/print & ebook

“Helping Hand For Ethan/Rogue Phoenix Press/young adult/print & ebook

“Phobia”/Booktrope/suspense-thriller/print & ebook

“Defining Family”/Whiskey Creek Press/young adult/print & ebook

“The Last Radiant Heart” (re-release)/Sage Words Publishing/science fiction/print & ebook

COMING SOON

“One Day In Lubbock” / Booktrope

Search Daniel Lance Wright on Amazon.com

Simplicity in eBooks?

2011-11-07T13:07:00.000-08:00

There seems to be a war going on between eBooks and in Print books that seems to be getting more and more complicated and more and more annoying. With technology rapidly getting more and more complex, simple eReaders are becoming more and more iPad like. The new Nook devices have apps, the Kindle fire acts like a little iPad, and when did putting flashing adds in my books become acceptable! Certainly the book market has forgotten why they made eReaders in the first place! When Kindle's and Nooks came out with simple eInk and a small touch color touch screen so I can see what a book cover is supposed to look like, I was like... Okay I think I can finally get one of these. Then when Nook Color came out and changed the game I was like YES! That is all I need. But they didn't stop there, now these devices have become a computer in the palm of my hand! That is something I didn't want!

When I read books it is to get away from the world, much like going to a movie theater or a theme park. We enter into our own personally chosen worlds to which we can become the star of. Now with these devices getting close to replacing my lap-top, I'm more and more plugged into the world. Fumbling around with updates, and worrying about the possibility of virus's on my once simple eReader.

Don't get me wrong, I love eBook and eReaders. I love having both the Nook and Kindle apps on my iPhone and iPod touch so I can quickly read something while I'm hung up somewhere waiting. But what happened to simplicity. I was appalled to find out that Amazon was actually putting ads on there Kindle devices to lower their costs. Here you are reading a book and an AT&T ad is flashing the whole time.

I need places to unplug and the newer eReaders are making to where that is becoming harder and harder to do. In print books are too expensive in comparison to 0.99 cent eBooks or even free! Plus finding an undiscovered author with eBooks has become just how it goes with eBooks, something print could never do.

The original Kindle - it's a dinosaur.

The original Nook - better than Kindle by far

The Nook Color - That's what I'm looking for... sort of

Kindle Fire - Hello knock off iPad and I'm sure that Nook will come out with one just like it!

Lets just get back to simplicity in reading and being able to get away from the world, instead of being in

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The Civility Experiment

2011-11-07T10:15:00.001-08:00

So over here at Dream Books, we try to stay family focused and hope that all our products and posts here on our blog echo that. We were recently sent this video by a friend of ours and we just had to share it. We hope you enjoy it as well! Just as an update as well... a new title is coming soon!

Dream Books LLC Websites Have Gotten a New Look!

2011-11-07T10:04:00.000-08:00

Dream Books LLC blog has gotten a new look!

We hope that you enjoy the new look of both our blog and our new website. If you have any problems with the newly designed sites, please feel free to email us at http://www.dreambooksllc.com/#!contact-us.

Thank-you so much!

Dream Books Technical and Design Team.

Moments That Matter Most

2011-07-26T11:10:00.001-07:00

We would do well to slow down a little, focus on the significant, lift up our eyes, and truly see the things that matter most.

"The Last Radiant Heart" Review

2011-03-27T03:19:00.000-07:00

I received a nice review on my latest novel, "The Last Radiant Heart" from Galand Nuchols of the LoneStar Nightwriters and also the author of "Dragon Hatchling". I'm tremendously pleased to share it:

"The Last Radiant Heart will capture the imagination of those who dare to examine the possibility of parallel universes and what could happen if a man were gifted with the ability to travel between them. A must read for science fiction lovers. Before the end of the tale, however, the reader may ask, 'Is it really fiction? Could it happen?' ”

THE KING'S SPEECH - and other disabilities

2011-02-28T10:34:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to the cast and crew of "The King's Speech" for worthy Oscar-wins last night. Did you know that King George never really got rid of his stutter? What he did gain was a spot of self-confidence.

I've always been interested in speech disorders. I remember at school (yes, I can go back that far) one of my classmates stuttered. I thought it was attractive, actually, and wished I could sound like her. Even tried it out once or twice (in front of the bathroom mirror) but I couldn't get the hang of it.

The things you admit on your blog. Dear oh dear.

Ever since I started teaching I've been interested in another condition: dyslexia or developmental reading disorder as it's also known. There always seemed to me to be differing levels and even types of this disorder which required special and individual therapy. In fact, I believe many of us have it in us to some degree, mostly to a tiny extent. I'm not "dyslexic" as such, but I do have problems writing "d" and "b" without getting them mixed and I never know my right from my left.

But I do have terrible trouble with numbers. That's called dyscalcula and probably explains my abysmal math results and why no-one ever gets a phone call from me.

There's no real connection between stuttering and dyslexia, although both start in childhood. Some people say stuttering is caused by some emotional trauma, but that certainly hasn't been proven.

Why's she waffling on about speech and reading disabilities, I hear you say. Well, "The King's Speech" sparked part of the reason but also my book "Perfect Score" deals with both conditions. One of the main characters, Sam, stutters but only when he's not with people he feels he can completely trust. He also has a severe form of dyslexia.

I set the book in the 1960s and early 1970s to show how little was known about the conditions at that time, which, let's face it, wasn't that long ago. Poor Sam was mostly considered a "retard" who should be "locked up", yet as another character says about him: "he's probably the most gifted person I know".

So if a movie about stuttering can win Oscars - can't I push my book which considers that issue and dyslexia just a little bit? Please? Pretty please?

If you want to give it a whirl - you can buy "Perfect Score" here: http://www.awe-struck.net/books/perfect_score.html

Coming in 2011

2011-02-14T03:46:00.000-08:00

It’s with great pleasure that I announced my latest novels are now in contract and tentatively scheduled to be published later in 2011 through Virtual Tales. Below are blurbs about each. I hope your appetites for good stories are whetted.

(“Defining Family”)

It began as an innocent prank by four Texas teens to get out of the North Texas Children’s Home for a short while on a Saturday night. The plan goes terribly wrong. Samantha, Rebecca, Amanda and Aaron suddenly find themselves on the run from the law. Convinced blame of a horrendous crime will be on their heads, eluding the law is the only way. As the week passes, each comes to realize that running away from that problem wasn’t the ultimate reason. Flight from the law transforms into an October odyssey of discovery for four teens searching.

(“Annie’s World: Jake’s Legacy”)

Two centuries have elapsed since global economies collapsed with little hope of resurrection. Jake Henderson, a loner, wanders the former state of Texas foraging for food and seeking shelter anywhere he can find it. He happens upon, and witnesses, the murder of a young woman. A ten-year-old girl traveling with the woman is traumatized and left speechless by the heinous crime and left orphaned. From that day, she begins changing Jake’s life in ways in he could never have imagined. Annabelle, as he chooses to call her, descends from failed genetically manufactured prototypes in the early part of the twenty-first century. This delicate appearing child is anything but, destined to become a savior to many in a world out of control.

Daniel (Danny) Lance Wright
Author of

"Six Years' Worth"/Father's Press/2007—paperback, ebook
"Paradise Flawed"/Dream Books LLC/2009—paperback, ebook
"The Last Radiant Heart"/Virtual Tales/August 2010-paperback, ebook, eSerialization
"Where Are You, Anne Bonny?"/Rogue Phoenix Press/ 2010—ebook only

“Trouble”, short story/CrossTIME Science Fiction Anthology, Vol. IX

COMING IN 2011

“Defining Family”/Virtual Tales

“Annie’s World: Jake’s Legacy”/Virtual Tales

A Fabulous Read

2011-02-09T10:50:00.000-08:00

If you’re a fan of Dan Brown and Stephen King, look no further. I have just read a novel that will keep fans of both thrilled – a kind of DB and SK one-stop book. How it could be overlooked by large publishing houses is beyond me, but maybe it’s the sign of the times, I don’t know.

I’m not usually a fan of paranormal and horror but this new story grabbed me from the very first page to such an extent that I had to email the author and say, Wow! And I was only on chapter three. By the end I was breathless, so wrung out I couldn’t touch a keyboard until now.

You waiting for the title? Hang on.

The scene is set in Italy, there’s Vatican involvement (we believe), and a puzzle to solve that leads back to ancient icons and history, not forgetting a simmering fight between Good and Evil that threatens to boil over.

Sounds like Dan Brown? Maybe, but this is so much better.

In this novel the reader is able to smell, taste, feel and see the countryside of Umbria, the author really knows his stuff about this area. But, don’t worry, it doesn’t overwhelm the plot or the reader at all.

It starts out in the Papal States, circa 1545. In true Stephen King fashion the reader gets an immediate foretaste of the horror to come. And what a horror - the author is a master at conjuring up the worst images and situations. I wiped my brow and breathed a sigh of relief when I was next taken to recent London and characters as normal as you or I (!) Fully rounded characters, I might add – none of your two dimensionals à la D.B. – with believable dialogue and quirks.

It’s not my place here to give the plot away, suffice to say that my relief was short-lived as I was then transported off to modern-day Italy – back to that place in Umbria which had me reeling in the beginning. The suspense builds. If the horror at the beginning was bad, you won’t believe what comes up later.

The author is exceedingly clever: he’s done a lot of research into his subject and releases it at just the right pace. He knows how to tease, to thrill and to leave almost every scene on a cliff-hanger that has the reader begging for more. It is a heart-racing thriller with twists that take you on a roller-coaster which will have you clinging to the sides of your chair. But it’s a fun ride that builds to a horrifying climax having reduced Italy to a boiling cauldron (Italians watch out!).

All I can say is, put this at the top of your reading pile and be prepared to sweat (or glow, in my case).

Shall I put you out of your misery? OK.

DIAVOLINO by Steve Emmett should be the book of the year. Read it and see if you agree.

Buy here

Catch Steve : here

Reads Like Murder: Thanksgiving in Hawaii

2011-01-28T11:33:00.000-08:00

Reads Like Murder: Thanksgiving in Hawaii: "What could be better? Read about the newest adventures - Reads Like Murder in Kahala"

Not So Private Thoughts

2011-01-13T05:07:00.000-08:00

WARNING: The following is a piece I wrote a decade ago and recently re-discovered it. It is absolutely politically incorrect, but I laughed out loud upon re-reading it. Whether you choose to laugh with me or chastise me is entirely up to you. -dlw

The number of ways a single notion can be interpreted is cause for my never-ending fascination with how the human mind latches on to a myth then repeats it ad nauseam until one day it becomes the truth. We say it aloud so often it eventually hardens into irrefutable fact.

No getting around it. We’re all guilty of it. Even if we just think it, same thing. Once given life, that cute little notion will grow into a strong, healthy truism.

You know what I mean, like standing before the mirror and staring until the reflection looks good. The longer I stare, the better I look. “Oh yeah. I’m the man!”

Sometimes it’s dangerous to think aloud. Even worse, to put those thoughts in print so it can’t be denied later. But, I’m going in head-first anyhow.

It bears mentioning that I’m semi-retired; meaning I can’t afford not to work after walking away from a 32-year career in television. To fill that financial void and get motivation to stay fit, I became a personal trainer at a local health club. So, my mind was in that particular channel one Friday evening, not so long ago.

The wife and I searched out the best restaurant deal and followed that with a walk through the mall, taking in a sale or two and, of course, some good old-fashioned people watching. The latter was more to my liking. The sales I left to her. Circling a rack of clothes like buzzards over road-kill wasn’t my style. The eye-popping iridescent “75% OFF” sign just wasn’t enough to hold my attention—never has and, likely, never will.

Hearing a nearby conversation, I was unable to resist eavesdropping, just to understand another’s point of view about the mall experience, mind you. With hands stuffed deep inside my pockets, I nonchalantly looked and found more interesting action than the melee-in-the-making at the sale rack.

Like the Kilroy figure, popular among World War II vets, I peered over a pile of sweaters. I saw an attractive woman, maybe a tiny bit overweight, talking to a clerk about a dress she held up. She fondled the fabric. I thought she did that in a strangely seductive way. But, that’s probably a whole other story.

“Do you think this dress will have a slimming effect on me?” she asked.

With the media covering obesity in America almost daily, I couldn’t help myself. My mind took that question and ran with it. In six months will she be back buying another garment? The question becoming, “Will this dress camouflage my widening hips?” Let’s round this timeframe out to a year. Will she then be asking, “Does this dress hang loose enough over my ballooning thighs and butt?”

I’m not saying we shouldn’t attempt to dress attractively, but people like that drop-dead gorgeous woman carrying a few extra pounds…with an obvious fabric fetish…consulted the wrong person. That clerk would have told her anything to ring up a sale, like sale prices are real discounts, for example, and, “Oh yes ma’am, that dress makes you look like a 98-pound super model.”

That’s the clerk’s job. No sale—no revenue, no revenue—no job. What would we expect a store clerk to say? “Oh, sweet heavenly Jesus! You look like a sausage in a microwave about to explode.”

I don’t think so.

She should be asking a personal fitness trainer at the local health club how to mold her body back into what she had obviously been a short time before. Listening to others opinions concerning appearance is a slippery slope. In fact, mothers aside, I can’t think of anyone capable of that level of honesty.

Listening to gushing store clerks will doom her. She will metamorphose into a jewelry laden, perfume reeking, makeup encrusted delusional woman waddling into an ice cream shop, clearly seeing something different in that mirror beyond the double fudge ripple barrel than the world sees.

What good are toe rings and ankle bracelets if she can’t look down and see them?

Of course, if I said anything remotely resembling this thought, I would have ended up with her handprint on the side of my face, not to mention my wife’s embarrassed and emphatic denial of knowing who I am—and, rightfully so.

Instead, I stood quietly and admired her physical attributes for the way she appeared at that moment. I feared she stood at a fork in the road (yes, I chose the word ‘fork’ purposely), taking baby steps down the wrong one. My over-active imagination created an image of her fifty or more pounds overweight, attempting the equivalent of putting racing stripes on a pig.

You may be thinking I’m crass and rude…that I’m the pig. Maybe I am. Don’t know. But, thoughts like this are common, I dare say.

As I turned away to, again, mind my own business, I conjured a happier twist and chose to believe she dropped by to check out the sale, but was actually on her way to pick up a diet book before going on to the gym.

I have the personal training thing down pretty well. At some point, though, I may need to address my people skills.

Nah. I’m good.

Daniel (Danny) Lance Wright
Author of
"Paradise Flawed"/Dream Books LLC/2009
"Six Years' Worth"/Father's Press/2007
"The Last Radiant Heart"/Virtual Tales/August 2010
"Where Are You, Anne Bonny?"/Rogue Phoenix Press/ ebook available now 2010
“Trouble”, short story/CrossTIME Science Fiction Anthology, Vol. IX

COMING IN 2011
“Defining Family”/Virtual Tales
“Annie’s World: Jake’s Legacy/Virtual Tales

Movies Versus Novels

2010-12-23T10:24:00.001-08:00

I’ve concluded that I’m a closet romantic. I hide it well though, below layers and layers of testosterone-laden attitude.

Although I call it research, I watch chick-flicks frequently. Lately, thanks to Hulu, I’ve seen a series of formulaic romantic Christmas stories, too. They all end the same with a happy turn that dampens my eyes (don’t tell anyone). I thought it was worth a few moments of analytical thought on the subject.

The first question I asked myself was: Why will I watch a romantic movie but wouldn’t consider reading a romantic novel? I think it’s a valid question since I write novels and really want people to read my work. I don’t believe the answer is a difficult one at all.

A movie, you see, is over in less than two hours with little attachment to the characters, just a brief emotional moment near the end and, voila! It’s history, whereas, a novel is a true investment in the lives of the characters by the reader. Readers become attached to, or repelled by, the characters of a book and memorably so, if written well. These characters will live on and stay with the reader long after the book is finished. Not so with a movie, as a rule. In fact, I’ve watched many movies that I thoroughly enjoyed but a year later remembered only snippets of it, if at all.

I’ll go out on a limb and say that on a scale of how well a story is remembered would put a great movie, a blockbuster, on par with a mediocre novel. And, this is not a slam at the movie industry. It’s a simple matter of producers and directors not having adequate time to delve into the depths of each character. So, we, as viewers, don’t ever develop true emotional attachments to them.

In a novel, personalities are so well developed that we begin to identify with characters because they remind us of ourselves, spouses, siblings, children, or others in our lives and we actually put recognizable faces on them as we read. That’s just not so in movies.

If a movie attempted such depth of character, it would be a twenty-four hour movie, and that’s just not going to happen; no one would watch it. It would also cost as much to produce as the entire annual budget of some third-world countries.

So, I might be comfortable enough in my own skin to watch a romantic movie and enjoy it, but to read romance novels... well, that just might shatter a few self-imposed boundaries. To become attached to the characters of a romantic novel (and I certainly would) might cause my romantic side to come out, totally out. It wouldn’t be pretty.

Daniel (Danny) Lance Wright
Author of
"Paradise Flawed"/Dream Books LLC/2009
"Six Years' Worth"/Father's Press/2007
"The Last Radiant Heart"/Virtual Tales/August 2010
"Where Are You, Anne Bonny?"/Rogue Phoenix Press/ ebook available now 2010

“Trouble”, short story/CrossTIME Science Fiction Anthology, Vol. IX

COMING IN 2011

“Defining Family”/Virtual Tales

“Annie’s World: Jake’s Legacy/Virtual Tales

Author Interview: Steve Emmett

2010-12-20T07:51:00.001-08:00

Author Interview: Steve Emmett

Please welcome an excited author. And just why is he excited?

He's about to have his novel, Diavolino, published by Etopia Press
So put your hands together and give a big welcome to Steve Emmett! (I know I sound like Kermit the Frog)

Sue: Now you're a (very soon to be) published author, what is your writing routine like?

Steve: Monday to Friday I tend to get up about 7am and aim to be at my computer by 9am. I then work rather haphazardly, doing bursts of writing interspersed with other related bits and pieces. I stop around 5.30pm.
(Oh I can relate to that - except I spend 7 hours doing other bits and pieces!)

Sue: What was your journey to publication like?

Steve: I think we are supposed to say it was really hard, took years and hundreds of rejections, aren't we? It wasn't that bad when I look back. There were times I considered giving up but fortunately my partner wouldn't let me. I decided that I wanted to try my hand at writing professionally just about two years ago. One of the first things I did was join Litopia and got great help there and from friends I made as a result. The second thing I did was to look for a suitable course that would teach me the basics. I think I was lucky in choosing the novel writing course run by the London School of Journalists, it helped me enormously.
When I thought Diavolino was ready I sent out ten queries and got ten rejections back. I then did some more polishing before sending out another half dozen queries and got a half dozen rejections - except two of these were highly complimentary. I was encouraged by this so did some more polishing before sending out another six queries. My contract with Etopia Press came out of this last round of six. So in all, it hasn't been too bad but had you told me on day one that it would take six months I may have been disheartened.You did get off lightly, I think. I was told that most new authors can expect somewhere in the region of a hundred rejections before they're accepted.

Sue: Apart from read, read, read, if you could give one piece of advice to an aspiring author, what would it be?

Steve: Get the right advice and, if you can afford it, take a course.

Sue: You're also an actor. Tell us how that came about.

Steve; I'd wanted to be an actor for years. I can't count the times people have said 'you should be on the stage/TV.' When we came back from living in Italy I started to look for contacts in this area. I came upon a fairly well-known actress in the north west of England who was running courses but, eager as I was, it was just too far. She put me in touch with Jo Adamson-Parker, a respected casting director in Leeds. My brief to Jo was simple: 'If I'm rubbish, send me away.' She didn't. So I signed up for her course and within four months I'd got an agent. I've had some offers recently and one - in which I would have appeared on national TV in my underpants - I would have loved to have done but the weather stopped play! LOL, what a shame - we'd have looked forward to that.

Sue: If your book, Diavolino, was made into a film and you could appear in it, which character would you choose. And who would you like to appear with you?

Steve: I definitely want to play the hapless mayor, Giuseppe Palmerin. In fact, when I was creating the character I really felt that I was inside him. He's clumsy and prone to disaster, like me. Tom Lupton, the protagonist, should be played by Matthew Macfadyen. The villain, Clavelli, is an ideal role for the great Christopher Lee.
That's a great choice. I think we can imagine the characters in Diavolino already.

Sue: What books are on your nightstand right now?

Steve: On Writing, by Stephen King. I read it at least once a year, and dip in and out regularly, just so I don't forget.
Superhorror, an old anthology of short stories published in 1976.
Necronomicon, by H P Lovecraft
The Satanist, by Dennis Wheatley.

Sue: What books are you raving about?

Steve: Hmm. I'm not really raving about anything. As you'll see from the above, I tend to read old stuff and this is because as a horror fan I find it increasingly difficult to get satisfaction from contemporary writers. I still rave over "In the Flesh" by Clive Barker and that's nearly twenty-five years old! My kind of horror is more than just guts and gore. Off genre, I was blown away by "Flesh House" by Stuart MacBride and the "Cooking with Fernet Branca" trilogy by James Hamilton Patterson.

Sue: As soon as you're published, you'll be expected to have a "platform". Do you have any clear plans about this?

Steve: I've had a blog for a while and have been busy updating it. I also have my own website. I guess I'll be spending a lot of time developing these and networking. I have a business background so I don't find the task daunting, I rather relish it in fact.

Steve, thank you so much for sharing this with us. Anyone who'd like to keep in touch with Steve - here are his links:
http://www.steveemmett.net
http://chukkienator.blogspot.com/

In the meantime, I hope you have lots of success and sales with your new book. Oh and Merry Christmas.

If you'd like to ask Steve any questions, feel free to post here or on his blogspot.

Book Signing

2010-12-05T07:49:00.000-08:00

I want to thank everyone kind enough to drop by my booth at the Clifton, TX Homes Tour and Craft Show. Thanks for buying my books. I appreciate all the new friends I made and the old ones, too. It was a fun day.

“Trouble”, short story/CrossTIME Science Fiction Anthology, Vol. IX

COMING IN 2011

“Defining Family”/Virtual Tales

“Annie’s World: Jake’s Legacy/Virtual Tales

Book Review: The Beauty and the Bastard by David Bridger

2010-11-26T11:29:00.001-08:00

Book Review: The Beauty and the Bastard by David Bridger

The Beauty and the Bastard was published by Liquid Silver Books in July 2010

You ever heard of a fallen angel in love with a demon princess? Would you like to? Before you answer, let me tell you that the angel, Saul the Bastard, is probably the hunkiest hero I’ve come across (excuse the expression) in a long, long time.

He’s not happy that he’s a fallen angel, but he knows he has to live as an almost-human and hope that one day he’ll redeem himself and get recalled to Heaven by being a bounty hunter who hunts evil demons. Even demon princesses called Rebecca? No, he’s hired as a bodyguard to protect her because she’s being threatened by desert demons who’ve been run out of Las Vegas by her father.

In true romance fashion, Rebecca can’t stand him. She can look after herself thank you very much until she realizes that the sexy, naked statue standing on the building opposite her apartment is Saul (in his day-time guise). Mmm: she’s been admiring that lump of stone for a while now.

If my review is biased towards Saul, then I apologize. Both MCs are endearing in their own way, although I couldn’t help but love Saul’s perfect, albeit tormented, bod.

Since it is a novella, this is all I’m saying about the story, except to mention that the opening chapter is nothing short of a work of genius. Throughout the book you’ll find sizzling sex, sensitive romance and gentle love-making which David handles with a deft, experienced author’s hand. The pace thunders along, just as it should; the characters are rounded and likeable – especially you-know-who; and the plot darts to its climax with a fearsome battle.

If you’re into paranormal romance (which I wasn’t until now) then this is a must-read for you. My only regret is that I finished it so soon, and that I was desperate to hear more of Saul. But you never know what David’s got up his sleeve – maybe there’ll be a sequel. Please?

*** David is about to launch two more novels (that's three in less than a year). You must be curious about this prolific author, so come back here tomorrow (Saturday) when he guest-blogs with me. DON'T MISS IT all you readers and writers!

Buy David's books here:

http://www.liquidsilverbooks.com/books/beautyandthebastard.htm

link for Amazon UK Kindle version http://www.amazon.co.uk/Beauty-And-The-Bastard/dp/B004D9FX6A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=A3TVV12T0I6NSM&s=digital-text&qid=1290673607&sr=1-1

link for Amazon.com Kindle version http://www.amazon.com/Beauty-And-The-Bastard-ebook/dp/B004D9FX6A/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1290447232&sr=1-1

RLM2 is here!

2010-11-15T12:00:00.000-08:00

Read all about the newest adventure in Hawaii with Haley and Keoni!
Reads Like Murder in Kahala – book 2 in the series -- is finally here!
I have not even seen a copy yet!
http://www.amazon.com/Reads-Murder-Kahala-Donovan-Georgina/dp/1456324381/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1289847772&sr=8-2
Buy it at Amazon as a paperback or Kindle or ipad!
Mahalo for your support!
Aloha!

FREE BOOKS!

2010-11-13T10:13:00.000-08:00

Ah ha! Gotcha, scalliwags!

Did you know that if you do not have the permission of the author or the publisher when you download a free book, then you are breaking the law? Hmmm? That means you'll walk the plank, or at the very least be much, much poorer after paying a hefty fine (or even imprisonment).

And it's no good stamping your foot and saying, "I want a free book, it's not fair!" Fair? Is it fair to take away an author's or a publisher's livelihood? Something they've sweated over and worked long and hard for? Haven't you ever heard of stealing or sparing a thought for people who need their "pieces of eight"?

And if you are one of those lily-livered buccaneers who hide your true identity in your profile by saying that you're a hard-working mom, then I sincerely hope that your days are numbered. Because they're onto you.

Gail Koger, a former 911 dispatcher, recently gave this interview on CBS: watch it here.

To authors who are worried about this, there are several things you can do:
- Take care who you upload your book to - that hard-working "mom" may well be one of these pirates.
- Stay away from all those torrents sites you see listed. Sometimes they are caught and closed down but they generally return after a few days.
- If you're not sure whether you've been pirated or not, Google your name or book title.
- If you want to stop copyright infringement, go here and click on S. 3804. It will take you to the poll and you can vote.
- If you, as a copyright holder, want to be heard, then go here and send the email they ask for.

It is so tempting to download a free book, but please, next time - think twice.

Buy now from here

thinandbeautiful.com by Liane Shaw

2010-11-13T08:46:00.000-08:00

Few months ago, I was asked to review this book. It was the debut novel for author Liane Shaw. thinandbeautiful.com is a novel that I feel should be required reading in schools across Canada and the U.S.

This was my review on it.
I was lucky enough to be granted an interview with Liane a few weeks later.
Why am I talking about an old interview and review I did on my own blog you might be asking, because the issue is Eating Disorders.

Never have I come across a novel that is so frank and willing to tackle the big issues, and thinandbeautiful.com does just that. As well, it puts the media in it's place of responsibility for many of the reasons young people suffer from these illnesses. Liane Shaw writes from both her years as a teacher having seen students suffering from eating disorders and from her own troubles with them.

I am linking this review/interview instead of reposting it because of it's length and this subject matter. It's not an easy novel to read, then again reality is a hash thing to face.

You can find Kimberly at http://pushersink.blogspot.com
This does not reflect the views of Dream Books LLC but only the individual blogger

How To Get Published (Not What You Think)

2010-11-10T09:57:00.000-08:00

So we got an interesting call yesterday from an author who didn't know how to go about publishing his soon to be written book. So I decided to write a post to help other authors who may not know either what to expect and what the steps are.

1) First off the most important part is to write about something you know! This goes for fiction and non fiction alike. Your book will not be a good book if you do not have a clue about what you are writing. Make sure that before you start your publishing adventure you have a complete manuscript. Your book isn't like your house being built, publishers don't buy unfinished products unless you are a New York Times bestselling author.

2) Decide what the best direction for your book is. Should you submit to publishers? Should you self-publish? Should you go through an agent? If you want to submit directly to a publisher a great website is pred-ed.com, this website has a phone book like listing of publishers and agents so you can submit to them. They also recommend and not recommend publishers based on their track record. Now if you are planning on submitting directly to a big house like Simon and Schuster forget getting published, however if you want to go the small press to medium press publishers than direct submission is the best route. Most small and medium publishers specialize in a specific area and genre and work hard to get your book selling. However most small houses will not be able to get you nationwide stocking in Barnes and Nobel. Instead these houses can get you into local and regional stores and independent stores. Lately, however, small and medium houses have been dominating the eBook market and are focusing more and more on eBooks. If you want to get published by a big house than an agent is the best route to go. These people have inside contacts that they pass you book onto so it gets read quickly and doesn't have to go through most of the red tape. Agents however will take a percentage of your royalties in return for their services and agents have to take on your book. Self publishing is the best route for those who are writing a book simply because they like writing. Your goal isn't to make your living off of being an author, but just to see your book in print.

3) If you do get picked up by a publisher or agent make sure that you look out for the following areas in a contract. Your royalties - make sure that it is either 10% of the retail price or 40% of the net proceeds, anything less and you are getting ripped off. Make sure that the contract has a copyright clause and that it states that your books text is copyrighted to YOU! The publisher should not copyright the text to them, they cover art if they designed it would be copyrighted to them, but your words are your words. Last make sure they have a bankruptcy clause that states that in the even the publisher goes under all the rights granted to the publishers are given back to the author and any unpaid royalties will be paid.

4) If you are going the self publishing route, make sure you are not being racked over the coals. Visit multiple self publishing websites and see their rates. See if they are listed in Predators and Editors and what they have them listed as before you spend any money. (Pred and Editors doesn't normally list self publishers)

5) If you are a new author and you are working with a publisher or agent, realize that what the publisher says goes. Of course there are exceptions to this rule and if they are asking you to do something you feel strongly against and they refuse to budge then pull out while you can, but your first few books, it is really up to the publisher as to what is going to happen.

6) Finally don't stop writing!

The Gods Of The Copybook Headings

2010-11-09T12:15:00.000-08:00

AS I PASS through my incarnations in every age and race,
I make my proper prostrations to the Gods of the Market Place.
Peering through reverent fingers I watch them flourish and fall,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings, I notice, outlast them all.

We were living in trees when they met us. They showed us each in turn
That Water would certainly wet us, as Fire would certainly burn:
But we found them lacking in Uplift, Vision and Breadth of Mind,
So we left them to teach the Gorillas while we followed the March of Mankind.

We moved as the Spirit listed. They never altered their pace,
Being neither cloud nor wind-borne like the Gods of the Market Place,
But they always caught up with our progress, and presently word would come
That a tribe had been wiped off its icefield, or the lights had gone out in Rome.

With the Hopes that our World is built on they were utterly out of touch,
They denied that the Moon was Stilton; they denied she was even Dutch;
They denied that Wishes were Horses; they denied that a Pig had Wings;
So we worshipped the Gods of the Market Who promised these beautiful things.

When the Cambrian measures were forming, They promised perpetual peace.
They swore, if we gave them our weapons, that the wars of the tribes would cease.
But when we disarmed They sold us and delivered us bound to our foe,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: "Stick to the Devil you know."

On the first Feminian Sandstones we were promised the Fuller Life
(Which started by loving our neighbour and ended by loving his wife)
Till our women had no more children and the men lost reason and faith,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: "The Wages of Sin is Death."

In the Carboniferous Epoch we were promised abundance for all,
By robbing selected Peter to pay for collective Paul;
But, though we had plenty of money, there was nothing our money could buy,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: "If you don't work you die."

Then the Gods of the Market tumbled, and their smooth-tongued wizards withdrew
And the hearts of the meanest were humbled and began to believe it was true
That All is not Gold that Glitters, and Two and Two make Four
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings limped up to explain it once more.

As it will be in the future, it was at the birth of Man
There are only four things certain since Social Progress began.
That the Dog returns to his Vomit and the Sow returns to her Mire,
And the burnt Fool's bandaged finger goes wabbling back to the Fire;

And that after this is accomplished, and the brave new world begins
When all men are paid for existing and no man must pay for his sins,
As surely as Water will wet us, as surely as Fire will burn,
The Gods of the Copybook Headings with terror and slaughter return!

What Your Friends Can Do To Help Sell Your Book

2010-11-08T10:15:00.000-08:00

1) The first thing your friends or family can do is.... DRUM ROLL PLEASE...... Buy the book! Yes this amazing tip is brought to you by "My Sparkling Misfortune" BUY IT NOW!!! :-) No seriously, buy it, there is a link to the left, it's blue and underlined and has " <- these things around it. Okay thats enough - In all seriousness, having your friends and family buy your book is very important because it shows sales and proves to sellers that your book sells. But how many friends or family members need to buy your book to make a difference. Not one, not two - you need at least 20 sales a day for about a week to make a difference. It shows strong long term sales. Once Amazon realizes this (usually around day 3) it will start marketing your book to other people which will then increase your sales even more and thus a snowball effect will be born. It is very important to get your friends and family lined up on specific days and times to buy the book will be the key to your books success. Most people don't know that Amazon has two different sales ranks. During the day the sales rank displayed on the website is updated about every hour and goes up and down all the time. However the company also uses a ranking system to find books to cross promote to customers for free. These ranking systems are calculated at the end of the week.

2) Don't put off buying the book - (this includes My Sparkling Misfortune) Don't wait for Black Friday or Christmas or some other holiday to get your book off the ground. Get your book off the ground before those shopping days so retail outlets can have time to recommend it to it's customers for those holiday shopping days.

3) Where to buy the book - This is the age old question, buy from the author or buy from the retailer. We say - BUY FROM THE RETAILER! How can you improve your sale numbers so retailers are more likely to sell your book for you if all your book sales are from your own website or direct from the author. Plus can you as the author offer all the different options that Amazon can, can you buy more than one book from your store? Chances are, no you can't and customers hate only looking at one or two products.

4) Spread the word - On average a single person will meet in a day 8-10 people that they will actually speak to. The more people spreading the word the more people will be exposed and the more sales. Go to Office Depot and buy some print at home business cards and pass them out to people at the bookstore or ask the bookstore to pass them out in shopping bags. Get the word out like crazy!

5) Write Honest Reviews - Find every website that sells the book and write an honest review. Just because you know the author doesn't mean you should be dishonest in your review. If you didn't like it point out the good stuff in your review but give it a 3 star ranking. If you hated it, well refrain from reviewing :-).

6) Got a Blog or Internet Radio Program? - Interview the author, build up buzz in every way you can!

So here are the tips and we hope you enjoy them and use them to your advantage. Remember every book is different and not everything will work but be sure to try everything before you sign it off. Oh and buy My Sparkling Misfortune (we have an eBook of it too only $4.95)

Book Promotion - is this how it works?

2010-11-08T02:35:00.001-08:00

As everyone in the world must sure know by now, my book was e-published (details on this page) in September. Since then I've been working relentlessly to promote it, even though the publishers also do their stuff.

For me this constant pimping is all new: joining every writing/reviewing/book site I can find and pimping; twittering until no-one reads the twit any more, face-booking until no-one leaves any comments (just the obligatory "like" from my friends); guest-blogging; giving away free books.

And now there's something new: blog hopping. That was last Friday but from the hundreds of new followers I was supposed to get - I got one.

Well, here we go again. Today is another new experience. From 8.00am Midwest USA time go to this site: http://quackersandtease.blogspot.com and...

SOMETHING WILL HAPPEN!

Aloha J MacArthur

2010-11-03T20:35:00.001-07:00

James MacArthur gained international stardom from his TV role as Dan Williams in Hawaii 5-0. His adventures in the tropics started years before in the Disney movie Swiss Family Robinson. We have lost this enduring star. He has gone the way of so many of our favorite luminaries, and his co-stars in Hawaii’s most famous show. I was able to meet him and give him a signed copy of the first of my murder mystery series set in Hawaii. READS LIKE MURDER IN HONOLULU. He was excited to read something inspired by his role. I was excited to fulfil a fantasy of meeting someone who inspired me to write.

Aloha nui loa hoku alohi Kimo

Taking Care of Business

2010-11-03T06:28:00.000-07:00

The infamous “They” say that the only two sure things in this life are death and taxes. I’d like to add to this list the certainty that people will always exist that want to take what is not theirs to take and they don’t care whom they harm in the process.

If anyone receives an email from my hotmail account (that begins with wrightthing), please disregard it. That email account has been hijacked and I no longer have control or even access to it. And, unfortunately, I don’t have enough information that is different from the hijacker’s to prove that it is indeed my email account. If the wrightthing email happens to be in your email contact list, eliminate it. And, I apologize if you get an email asking for $500 to finance my trip home from west Africa. I don’t need the money and I’m not in west Africa. I can’t say for sure if I’ll ever need $500 but I can say definitively I’ll never be in west Africa.

Now, on to happier things; I have a book signing scheduled for Saturday, November 13^th, 10a till 2p at Hastings in Waco, Texas at Bosque Blvd and Valley Mills Drive. It will feature my latest novel, “The Last Radiant Heart” but I’ll also have available the popular earlier novel, “Paradise Flawed”.

If you’re within driving distance, please drop by so I can shake your hand.

“Trouble”, short story/CrossTIME Science Fiction Anthology, Vol. IX

COMING IN 2011

“Defining Family”/Virtual Tales

“Annie’s World: Jake’s Legacy/Virtual Tales

Book Review Of "Angels And Demons"

2010-11-03T05:00:00.000-07:00

Angels And Demons by Dan Brown is a thrilling adventure between the main character Robert Langdon and a secret group of people known as the Illuminati. The Illuminati attack Vatican City in Rome to which Robert is suddenly thrown into being the only chance to stop the Illuminati from vaporising the Vatican using a substance call Antimatter.

The book is the first in the Robert Langdon series followed up by The Da Vinci Code and The Lost Symbol (those reviews coming soon as well). The story is very well written and contains may interesting facts (and incorrect statements) that drive the stories realism to a new level of, could this really happen and does that really happen. One of the most interesting facts pointed out in this story is that the World Wide Web we actually created by CERN, a massive science complex in Europe were also the discovery and harvesting of Antimatter occurs.

The plot is driven by two different main characters playing a staring role, Robert and the Illuminati terrorist. These two points of view remain separate through-out the book up until almost the very end. The story also takes us all through-out Rome and Roberts tries to save four cardinals from being murdered in public on what is the ancient "path of illumination." Does Robert make it or not - Lets just say there is a big bang at the end :-).

All in all I give this story a 7.5 out of 10. While to stories plot and tempo make for a great read, some of the inaccuracies of the information presented force me to drop it a few points. Also the story may also be hurt by the two different views. Often I found myself skipping the assassins point of view all together to get back to Robert and Vittoria (another main character) as they race across Rome with the Vatican Swiss Guard. Many times this point of view change would always happen on a cliff hanger, and since skipping the assassins point of view did not hurt the story at all, I would have to say it was an un-needed addition to the story.

The book I would say is for High School kids and up. If you enjoy Dan Brown you won't go wrong with this. I also recommend getting the special edition of the book containing images of the locations being described in the book, as in this case seeing is believing and your imagination just will not do some of this artwork described justice.

7.5 Out Of 10

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