@JoshVanBrakle Says #SelfPub is An Awesome Innovation #AmWriting #AmReading #Fantasy

How do you feel about self-publishing?

Self-publishing is an awesome innovation. It makes writing more democratic by providing a way around the gatekeepers who used to decide what was published and what wasn’t. I’m indie published with a small outfit called Arboreal Press, and they’re the reason I’m published. I went the traditional route at first. I was trying to get published during the Great Recession, and while several agents told me they found my book appealing, none of them felt confident they could sell an editor on it “in that market.” Since no one would take a chance with me, I decided to take a chance with me. Now The Wings of Dragons is selling hundreds of copies a week and getting great reviews.

That said, there’s unfortunately a reason self-publishing gets a bad reputation. Too many authors view it as a crutch to avoid the hard work of really thinking about all the details that make a book great, from cover design to typesetting to basic editing. When I indie-published, I made a conscious decision to make my book every bit as professional as anything that came out of the big publishing houses. I worked with a professional cover designer and typesetter. I went through extensive editing bringing in multiple people to eliminate as many mistakes as possible. I researched all the little details about formatting and creating a great experience for readers. I wanted someone who holds the paperback or downloads the e-book of The Wings of Dragons not to be able to tell the difference between it and a book published by a big house.

Do you know your neighbors?

My wife and I live in a small town in the country, the kind of place where when you go for a walk around the block, you wave at the folks on the porches and often have to stop and chat with them. It’s one more fun part of living in a rural area. We have neighbors who happily watch our home and cats when we go away (though to date, they’ve never seen our cats), and one who loves to bake and will randomly bring us homemade loaves of bread. It’s a great place to live.

How important are friends in your life?

They’re vital! I would never have finished The Wings of Dragons without incredible support and encouragement from my close friends. More than once while writing the novel, I wanted to give up. More than once I did give up. My friends helped me work through those low points and inspired me to keep moving forward.

How many friends does a person need?

I think this depends on your definition of “friend.” I think people need different circles of friends. For instance, I think it’s great to have a large number of folks you loosely call “friends” – those you stay in contact with through Facebook or who you might see every now and then. But more importantly, I prefer having a few really close friends, people I know will have my back no matter what happens. The people I can come to with any problem, no matter what it is, and get an honest, thoughtful, heartfelt answer are few and far between, and I cherish them.

What does love mean to you?

Love for me has two parts. The first is trust so deep that I can come to the person I love with anything, no matter what, and know that she’ll be there to help me through it. The second is partnership. This world is a tough place, and it’s even tougher when you’re going it alone. Love means having each other’s back and facing the challenges of life as a team.

What social issues interest you the most?

I’ve been interested in the environment ever since I was a kid. I went to summer camp several years in elementary and middle school, and I loved getting out in the woods. I still enjoy camping, hiking, and sharing stories around the fire. In my day job, I help farm and forest landowners find ways to sustainably care for their properties. In this age of the Internet and industry, we tend to ignore the nature right outside our windows. Getting others excited about that nature and wanting to protect it is the best part of my work.

When you get free time on the Internet or you go to the library, what do you want to read about?

Whatever strikes me at the time. Sometimes I’ll be struggling with a topic for my day job or in my writing, and then I’ll go in search of a particular topic. Not too long ago I was researching the architectural style of peasant homes in feudal Japan. Other times I just want to get out there and learn. I’ll see an interesting news article or hear a weird fact on Facebook, and suddenly I’m off and going. The journey is far more interesting, and fun, than the destination.

Do you find the time to read?

I’m always reading something. I think before you can be a successful author, you have to be a successful reader. Usually I’ll have one fiction and one non-fiction book going at the same time. More than that and I get confused, especially with fiction. I love going to my local library (how quaint does that sound?), browsing, and finding a random book from an author I’ve never heard of before. I’ve gotten a few duds, but I’ve also found some gems.

What was the last book you purchased? Tell us about it.

Considering my nerdy upbringing on fantasy and science fiction, I’m shocked that I only recently picked up Ender’s Game. In some ways, I’m glad I waited until I was an adult to read it. It goes a lot deeper than much of the science fiction genre, and it asks tough questions about growing up and the military culture. Just as important, the whole book is pure story from beginning to end. If you haven’t read it, or if you’ve only watched the movie, you’re missing out.

From fantasy author Josh VanBrakle comes an epic new trilogy of friendship, betrayal, and explosive magic. Lefthanded teenager Iren Saitosan must uncover a forgotten history, confront monsters inspired by Japanese mythology, and master a serpentine dragon imprisoned inside a katana to stop a revenge one thousand years in the making.

Lodian culture declares lefthanded people dangerous and devil-spawned, and for Iren, the kingdom's only known Left, that's meant a life of social isolation. To pass the time and get a little attention, he plays pranks on the residents of Haldessa Castle. It's harmless fun, until one of his stunts nearly kills Lodia's charismatic heir to the throne. Now to avoid execution for his crime, Iren must join a covert team and assassinate a bandit lord. It's a suicide mission, and Iren's chances aren't helped when he learns that his new katana contains a dragon's spirit, one with a magic so powerful it can sink continents and transform Iren into a raging beast.

Adding to his problems, someone on Iren's team is plotting treason. When a former ally launches a brutal plan to avenge the Lefts, Iren finds himself trapped between competing loyalties. He needs to figure out who - and how - to trust, and the fates of two nations depend on his choice.

"A fast-paced adventure...led by a compelling cast of characters. Josh VanBrakle keeps the mysteries going." - ForeWord Reviews

Buy @ Amazon & Smashwords

Genre – YA epic fantasy

Rating – PG-13

More details about the author

Connect with Josh VanBrakle on Twitter

Website www.joshvanbrakle.com

Avoiding the Rejection Blues with @RJ_Blain #GoodReads #Fantasy #WriteTip

After months (if not years) of working on your novel, you have sent the manuscript out to a slew of agents. You’ve waited weeks (maybe months!) for a reply. Then, one fateful day, it arrives.

The e-mail from the agent you so wanted to work with is staring at you, mocking you in the list of unread bytes awaiting your attention. Even from the preview, you can tell the news isn’t going to be good. It starts off with that very formal and final, “Dear So-And-So, Thank you for…”

The wrenching impact of rejection slams you right in the gut. You might be gasping for breath, you might just wince. In some cases, your eyes might start burning with tears. Some of you might even cry on the spot.

Rejection is hard, especially when you had such high hopes that this time things would be different, that this time an agent would notice you. Was it your query the agent didn’t like? Was it your style of writing? Did you accidentally address her as a him? Did you do something to insult them?

Was your name somehow added to a blacklist that agents pass around to each other?

Rejection sucks. There’s no sugar coating that fact. It sucks, it hurts, and it’s really unpleasant.

But rejection doesn’t need to be all bad. It doesn’t need to be mind-crushing, emotionally-scarring, or otherwise depressing. It can serve as a way to motivate, and to drive you to new lengths.

Once you recover from the initial shock of rejection, that is. Rejection blues happen, but there are ways to prevent it from crippling you.  These are my quick & dirty tips on how to avoid the worst parts of the rejection blues, and try to come on top of an otherwise crappy situation.

Rock the Chocolate

Whether you like chocolate, bacon, or beer, treat yourself to a small (moderate!) treat. It’s a good way to positively reinforce the situation. You get rejected? You get candy! Or a beer. Or bacon. Indulge in a tiny treat. It won’t make the rejection go away, but it does taste good and serves as a good starting place for recovery.

Don’t Dwell on it 

Most agents use a form rejection letter. Why? It saves them a lot of time. When they receive over 1,000 emails a month from hopeful authors just like you, the form rejection allows them to get to the next query that much faster. It’s not personal.

However, if you receive a personal response with feedback from the agent, remember this:

You got their attention. Sure, you didn’t get the agent, but you’re on the right track, even if your book wasn’t for them.

Keep Moving Forward

Querying and ultimately finding an agent is a long, arduous process. It isn’t easy. Even those who got lucky quickly have a mountain to climb. Agents are interested in profitable authors and working for someone to develop a career with.

Authors don’t often remember the fact that an agent isn’t in it for just one book – they want to be in it for an entire career, which means they are going to be really picky about the authors they want to work with.  If one agent doesn’t bite, if three agents don’t bite, if a hundred agents don’t bite, look for the type of agent who might be interested in your novels.

Most importantly, keep writing and striving to improve yourself. One rejection now might turn into an acceptance later if you keep working hard and submitting new novels.

Kalen’s throne is his saddle, his crown is the dirt on his brow, and his right to rule is sealed in the blood that stains his hand. Few know the truth about the one-armed Rift King, and he prefers it that way. When people get too close to him, they either betray him or die. The Rift he rules cares nothing for the weak. More often than not, even the strong fail to survive.

When he’s abducted, his disappearance threatens to destroy his home, his people, and start a hopeless and bloody war. There are many who desire his death, and few who hope for his survival. With peace in the Six Kingdoms quickly crumbling, it falls on him to try to stop the conflict swiftly taking the entire continent by storm.

But something even more terrifying than the machinations of men has returned to the lands: The skreed. They haven’t been seen for a thousand years, and even the true power of the Rift King might not be enough to save his people — and the world — from destruction.

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre - Fantasy

Rating – PG - 13

More details about the author

Connect with RJ Blain on Facebook and Twitter

10 Things You Didn’t Know About The Copper Witch by @JessicaDall #Fiction #Historical #TBR

1. 60,000 words of the original manuscript were written in one month as part of the NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) program in 2011.
2. Character Antony Fletcher was in part named for the character of the same name in Sweeney Todd—a boy who falls irrevocably in love with a girl he finds beautiful before ever speaking to her.
3. It was originally planned for the story to take place over the course of one year, with things beginning to grow in spring and “dying” in winter. After writing started, however, the artificial time constraints felt too cramped and were quickly abandoned.
4. Protagonist Adela’s personality was in part inspired by an episode of House, MD where Dr. House tells a woman, “Psychopathy can get a bad rap. It doesn't necessarily mean you're violent. Just that you're completely without conscience.”
5. Most of the research for the book not completed online was done at the American University Library, Jessica’s alma mater.
6. Not just a surname, Tilden is also a street near Jessica’s old apartment.
7. Though the name “Penrith” was made up by mixing and matching place names until finding something that sounded good, it was later found out that there is, in fact, a town of Penrith in Cumbria, England, which is placed nearly exactly where Jessica would have placed Penrith as a “real world” equivalent.
8. If asked after her favorite food, Adela would likely say peafowl.
9. The idea of a “prequel” following Adela’s mother, Elizabeth, has been considered, but—if started—would likely be the last Broken Line book written.
10. As currently planned, The Copper Witch is the only Broken Line book that’s plot does not deal with outside countries in any significant ways.

 

Adela Tilden has always been more ambitious than her station in life might allow. A minor nobleman’s daughter on a failing barony, Adela’s prospects seem dire outside of marrying well-off. When Adela catches the eye of the crown prince, Edward, however, well-off doesn’t seem to be a problem. Thrown into a world of politics and intrigue, Adela might have found all the excitement she ever wanted—if she can manage to leave her past behind.

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – Alternate Historical Fiction

Rating – PG-13

More details about the author

Connect with Jessica Dall on Facebook & Twitter

Website http://jessicadall.com/

Nothing in Particular by Kate LeDonne @originlbookgirl #AmReading #Fiction #BookClub

Mandy, Max and Andy have forked over their cover and I gladly fork over a fiver into the waiting palm of the skinny girl with black hair and a long purple, velvet dress who is taking cover charges. She smiles at us with black lipsticked lips as we make our ascent. We’ve never been to a nightclub before, so we’re all very curious about what we’ll see tonight. The stairs are covered in deep red carpet and the banisters are wood. The black painted walls have a trashed out look that adds a Gothic feel to the entryway. Four stories up hangs a dusty chandelier casting a dim light over the stairs. We locate a coat check and check our coats in so that we don’t become sweaty beasts the second we start to dance.

Suddenly, there is someone squealing loudly in my ear, “Maandeee! Hi!” An extremely drunk girl with short, black, spiky hair comes lunging at Mandy and knocks her into the wall.

“Sandra?…Oh shit,” says Mandy, pushing her cousin out of her face.

“Sorry,” apologizes a tall, skinny boy who skitters up to support Mandy’s cousin, Sandra, who we were supposed to meet tonight. “We went to a party first and she had waaaaay too much Merlot,” he chuckles as Sandra begins to assault Max and Andy.

“Wait…no…WAIT! Who are you?” Sandra slurs, hanging from the front of Max’s shirt, “Are you dating my cousin? You’d better be nice…”

Sandra’s emaciated friend carefully detaches her claws from Max’s shirt and ushers her toward the stairs to get her outside, “We’ll probably probably see you next time around…”

Mandy rolls her eyes, completely aggravated by her cousin’s drunkenness, “You’d think she’d at least try to be in decent shape since we were coming. Idiot.”

“Well, at least she didn’t throw up on us the second we got here,” I point out, trying to find the positive.

“Ick, good point,” Mandy shudders.

The first room we come to is a small, low-ceilinged blue room with a strobe light. It is clear that whoever said the band tonight would be playing reggae was full of crap. Indecipherable hardcore punk music emanates from within and we see about fifty skinheads in a mass thrashing the hell out of each other. A pair of jack boots and their occupant come flying toward us and we swiftly make our way onward and upward, avoiding death by mosh pit.

Fasten your seatbelts for a white-knuckled ride on the looney wagon and trip down memory lane with a band of misfit teenagers. Kiera Graves and her small posse of true blue friends plot ways to escape their cowtown; and play a game of keep away with her Machiavellian family to help her survive high school and make it to college.

Courage under fire, the closest bonds of friendship and blossoming romance keep this tale of coming of age and survival buzzing with excitement, heart, and warmth.

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre - General Fiction

Rating – PG-13

More details about the author

 Connect with Kate LeDonne on Twitter

Website http://kateledonne.com/

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Kevin Sterling on the Quandary about Sex in Mainstream #Novels @KSterlingWriter #AmWriting

It wasn’t originally my idea to include sex in my books. In fact, the thought didn’t even occur to me when I initially became serious about writing. Instead, it was the first editor I worked with roughly two decades ago who told me the novel I had written would be so much better with sex. I resisted the idea at first, but eventually succumbed to his advice. And you know what? He was right.

I locked away that particular book in a virtual drawer long ago, probably never to be seen again, but not before I discovered the sex scenes brought so much life, passion and intimacy to the characters, not to mention richness to the experiences they were going through. And it transformed my thoughts about sex in mainstream novels.

I am often quoted for saying that sex is the most emotionally charged part of our lives, so living it through a book character completes the window into his or her soul. And, when you add those exhilarating scenes to the suspense and intrigue of an action thriller, you kick the reader’s experience to a new level and connect with all of his or her sensibilities.

The problem is that sex, particularly in American society, can be a taboo subject. Perhaps that makes the experience of it in a book more titillating, hence the tremendous success of Fifty Shades of Grey. But it also pushes a large number of readers away.

I have a friend who often says a line when he introduces me to other people: “This is my friend, Kevin. He writes porn.” My friend is just kidding around, of course. But for some people, that’s not too far off the mark. They will overlook the fact that my novels are primarily about action, mystery and suspense, and fixate on the erotica, believing that it’s the true, underlying focus of the book. They just can’t see it any other way.

Then why, you may ask, do I include sex at all? Why would I voluntarily alienate a sizable cross-section of readers who would otherwise enjoy my geopolitical intrigue, espionage, exotic locales, international cuisine, wine, cars, existentialist philosophy, and sarcastic humor?

Because I want my books to touch every corner of the reader’s body and soul, making their reading experience complete and delicious. And if that makes some people uncomfortable, I have to respect their feelings and let it go. I can’t let the prospect of lost sales dictate my craft.

But you want to know what’s really exciting? The knowledge that there are people out there who are on the verge of breaking through their inhibitions and will serendipitously find themselves ready to feel the whole gamut of sensual experiences while holding a Jack Lazar novel in their hands. Can you imagine the rush, the shock, and the rapid heartbeats as they try to process those steamy scenes along with action and suspense of the rest of the story?

I’ve received messages of gratitude from people who’ve experience exactly that, and I can’t tell you how rewarding it is to know I’ve touched them in such a meaningful way. That, more than anything, makes me want to write books for the rest of my life.

Nevertheless, everyone has different thoughts on this subject, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But for me, it’s safe to say I’m on board with putting sex in my novels, and I doubt I’ll ever turn back.

Happy reading, writing and…heavy breathing.

"James Bond Meets Fifty Shades of Grey"

Immerse yourself in the world class novels that combine action, mystery & suspense with tantalizing and tastefully written erotica. You’ll find all your sensibilities roused at once with Kevin Sterling’s ultra-sexy, action-packed Jack Lazar Series.

In this fourth action-packed thriller, Jack travels to Denmark for a business venture, but what seems to be a textbook transaction turns into a nightmare after he gets involved with Katarina, a vivacious Danish girl who apparently lacks a moral compass, not to mention an off button. After naively believing their liaison was just a random encounter, Jack discovers she’s connected to his business deal, and there’s a dangerous political group with skin in the game, too.

Katarina makes a convincing case of being a victim, not part of the conspiracy, but can Jack really trust her?

The firestorm gets out of control as Jack digs deeper, unearths the convoluted plot behind it all, and discovers that innocent people are being heartlessly killed. He’s not only horrified by the reason why it’s happening, but how it’s being done, and there appears to be no way to stop it from occurring again.

Then the scheme’s real objective emerges, launching Jack into action with intelligence operatives to prevent it. But that’s not so easy with assassins on Jack’s tail, forcing him to struggle for survival while trying to prevent Katarina from getting caught in the crossfire.

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – Action, Mystery, Suspense

Rating – R

More details about the author

Connect with Kevin Sterling on Facebook & Twitter