Nov contest update!
Posted on November 29, 2011 by B.J. Scott
Only two days left to get in on our great Thanks Giving Giveaway!
Stop by the SMPauthor blog and leave a comment under contests or comment on the daily blog to be eligible to win. The list of prizes has mounted. The winner will recieve over $100 worth of gifts. Prizes include:
$25 gift Soul Mate Publishing gift card, Stainless travel mug, ceramic coffee mug, mouse pad, book thong, book marks, ornament, pens, bookmarks, a starbucks gift card… And the following e- book downloads:
Highland Legacy by BJ Scott
The Swan Cove Murders by Donna Shields
The Bizzare life of Sydney Sedrick by Mandi Casey
The Secrets on Forest Bend by Susan C Muller
A Run for Love by Callie Hutton
Promises to Keep by Char Chaffin
Love by the Book by Angela Scavone
Protecting Rose by Cheryl Yeko(Dec Release)
When Hearts Collide by Kendr James(Dec Release)
WINNER will be drawn on NOV 30th 2011 and the Winner announce on DEC 1st. Winner’s name will be posted on the blog and they will be contacted via email so be sure we have your email addy!
Good luck! BTW you can enter once a day to increase your chances to win!
Here's the link: http://smpauthors.wordpress.com
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Friday, November 18, 2011
Author Interview - Dax Tucker
Welcome Dax! Here's Dax's author interview, I can't wait to read his exciting new trilogy of epic poetry!
1.) When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer? As early as nine years old I enjoyed writing; I would make my own homemade books and volunteer to read them in front of the class. Later, during the tumultuous adolescent years, writing saw me through times of depression and frustration. But it wasn’t until about a year ago that I decided to take this lifelong interest and turn it into a professional endeavor.
2.) What type of genre do you write in? The genre I have chosen to write in is the seemingly lost art of epic poetry. Epic poetry is an entire story written in verse form. Some famous examples are Dante’s Inferno, Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, and Virgil’s Aeneid.
3.) What inspires you to write in this genre? The challenge or writing in this style is what inspired me. When you write an epic poem, not only do you have to write a compelling story, but you also have to stay true to the verse form. In the case of my epic poem trilogy, I write in terza rima style which means every other line ending must rhyme, and I also chose to make every line perfectly ten syllables! Additionally, you will note that I have placed a question in every 4th stanza. So as you can see there are quite a lot of requirements to remain true to the form as I also remain true to telling the story. On average I would just be able to craft 14 lines a day. But many times, a challenging as it was, writing in this style would also guide me to find a unique way of telling the story that I may not have considered if I wrote in prose style.
4.) Where to you get your ideas for your writing? Ideas come to me in epiphanies throughout the day at any time, and so I always make sure to keep a pen and paper with me wherever I go. Too many times I have had a great idea for the story I was writing and I would think, this is such a good idea there is no way I will forget that before I can get home and write it down …wrong! If I could only give one helpful suggestion to aspiring writers, it would be to always have a pen with you, even by your bedside at night. Great ideas have a way of hitting you out of the blue, and you want to be prepared to capture them when they do.
5.) Who are your favorite authors and why? Like many authors I have read hundreds of books and I have such an eclectic interest that there are too many favorite authors of mine to name. But just off of the top of my head I would say Douglas Adam’s for his ingenious humor in his Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series; Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games was a captivating dystopia read and I hope the upcoming movie will do it justice; I have tremendous respect for J.K. Rowling, an inspiration to all authors who are struggling, and her Harry Potter series which sparked a whole new generation of readers; Markus Zusak is a master of poetic prose as evidenced in his novel, The Book Thief; I love the down to earth story telling of both Jeannette Walls’ The Glass Castle and Barbara Kingsolver’s The Bean Trees. I know I am leaving many more out but I think that that is a testament to the wonderful world of books as there are so many one could never run out of good reading material in their lifetime.
6.) In your opinion, what key parts of a story make it great? The thing I most admire in a story is the ability of a writer to tie seemingly random events and people together into a final climactic whole. And the icing on the cake is if they can convey these people and events with skillful metaphors and witty humor. A great story does not have to be long in word count, but it needs to make every word count. I like the anonymous quote about how long a paragraph should be, “A paragraph is like a woman’s skirt, it should be long enough to cover the essentials, but short enough to keep your interest.”
7.) What activities do you undertake for inspiration? I really enjoy weightlifting and playing chess, both of these activities I find generate great blood flow to the brain and I get some of my best ideas during these times.
8.) Do you belong to any writing communities, or critique groups? I have an extensive writing community I interact with on Twitter and Facebook. Social media is a great blessing for authors in that there are so many helpful people and resources available right at your fingertips 24/7. Sometimes I wonder if the great authors of the past could have been even better if they had the same resources available to them then as we do now.
9.) Do you have a day job? Yes, and thankful to have one in these economically troubled times, but I would love to make writing my day job!
10.) If you could do it over again, what aspects of the writing/submission process would you change before becoming published? I don’t think I would change much in the way of the writing/submission process, but I am learning more everyday about the promotion process. Effective promotions seems to be the most important aspect as you could write the best book in the world, but if you can’t get the word out about it and get people to read it, then it won’t matter.
11.) What is the title of your upcoming/newly released novel, and where can we find it? The Leaf Catcher is the first volume in the Traveling Box Trilogy and is available at Amazon.com and Barnesandnoble.com in both paperback and e-book formats. This first book takes place in a late 16th century European village. The second book will take place in a near future prison system, and the final book takes place in the distant future when the world is dominated by viruses and AI. There is something for everyone in this trilogy, a timeless tale that explores the human condition and our will to survive.
Amazon.com
Barnes and Noble
2.) What type of genre do you write in? The genre I have chosen to write in is the seemingly lost art of epic poetry. Epic poetry is an entire story written in verse form. Some famous examples are Dante’s Inferno, Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, and Virgil’s Aeneid.
3.) What inspires you to write in this genre? The challenge or writing in this style is what inspired me. When you write an epic poem, not only do you have to write a compelling story, but you also have to stay true to the verse form. In the case of my epic poem trilogy, I write in terza rima style which means every other line ending must rhyme, and I also chose to make every line perfectly ten syllables! Additionally, you will note that I have placed a question in every 4th stanza. So as you can see there are quite a lot of requirements to remain true to the form as I also remain true to telling the story. On average I would just be able to craft 14 lines a day. But many times, a challenging as it was, writing in this style would also guide me to find a unique way of telling the story that I may not have considered if I wrote in prose style.
4.) Where to you get your ideas for your writing? Ideas come to me in epiphanies throughout the day at any time, and so I always make sure to keep a pen and paper with me wherever I go. Too many times I have had a great idea for the story I was writing and I would think, this is such a good idea there is no way I will forget that before I can get home and write it down …wrong! If I could only give one helpful suggestion to aspiring writers, it would be to always have a pen with you, even by your bedside at night. Great ideas have a way of hitting you out of the blue, and you want to be prepared to capture them when they do.
5.) Who are your favorite authors and why? Like many authors I have read hundreds of books and I have such an eclectic interest that there are too many favorite authors of mine to name. But just off of the top of my head I would say Douglas Adam’s for his ingenious humor in his Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series; Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games was a captivating dystopia read and I hope the upcoming movie will do it justice; I have tremendous respect for J.K. Rowling, an inspiration to all authors who are struggling, and her Harry Potter series which sparked a whole new generation of readers; Markus Zusak is a master of poetic prose as evidenced in his novel, The Book Thief; I love the down to earth story telling of both Jeannette Walls’ The Glass Castle and Barbara Kingsolver’s The Bean Trees. I know I am leaving many more out but I think that that is a testament to the wonderful world of books as there are so many one could never run out of good reading material in their lifetime.
6.) In your opinion, what key parts of a story make it great? The thing I most admire in a story is the ability of a writer to tie seemingly random events and people together into a final climactic whole. And the icing on the cake is if they can convey these people and events with skillful metaphors and witty humor. A great story does not have to be long in word count, but it needs to make every word count. I like the anonymous quote about how long a paragraph should be, “A paragraph is like a woman’s skirt, it should be long enough to cover the essentials, but short enough to keep your interest.”
7.) What activities do you undertake for inspiration? I really enjoy weightlifting and playing chess, both of these activities I find generate great blood flow to the brain and I get some of my best ideas during these times.
8.) Do you belong to any writing communities, or critique groups? I have an extensive writing community I interact with on Twitter and Facebook. Social media is a great blessing for authors in that there are so many helpful people and resources available right at your fingertips 24/7. Sometimes I wonder if the great authors of the past could have been even better if they had the same resources available to them then as we do now.
9.) Do you have a day job? Yes, and thankful to have one in these economically troubled times, but I would love to make writing my day job!
10.) If you could do it over again, what aspects of the writing/submission process would you change before becoming published? I don’t think I would change much in the way of the writing/submission process, but I am learning more everyday about the promotion process. Effective promotions seems to be the most important aspect as you could write the best book in the world, but if you can’t get the word out about it and get people to read it, then it won’t matter.
11.) What is the title of your upcoming/newly released novel, and where can we find it? The Leaf Catcher is the first volume in the Traveling Box Trilogy and is available at Amazon.com and Barnesandnoble.com in both paperback and e-book formats. This first book takes place in a late 16th century European village. The second book will take place in a near future prison system, and the final book takes place in the distant future when the world is dominated by viruses and AI. There is something for everyone in this trilogy, a timeless tale that explores the human condition and our will to survive.
Amazon.com
Barnes and Noble
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Soul Mate Publishing, November Releases
Congrats to everyone over at Soul Mate Publishing with the wonderful new November releases! The new novels sound fascinating and I can't wait to read them. Great job on all your hard work, if anyone else in interested, they can be found at www.soulmatepublishing.com
Monday, November 14, 2011
Commas galore, or not so much?
Okay, so I've been going over my favorite reads, and I go back and forth with the rules on how to appropriately use a comma. What I see from my favorite authors and many different publishers is that no one really uses the same rules, and when they use them, it is not always applied even within the same writing! Yes, I'm still a knowledge thirsty noob for correct grammer, and what I'm realizing is that these rules are to be used, but not all the time, and it doesn't always make sense to me when these 'sometime rules' are applied.
For instance, and I'd like to take a vote on this simple example, feel free to comment, and please do!
Commas in a list, simple, right? Not so much!
The boy went down the windy road, saw a black crow, and threw a rock at it.
So do you use the last comma before 'and'? Even in the official grammer rule books, and online, I've found that the answer is: not always. Hmm... This is so not helpful, lol.
For instance, and I'd like to take a vote on this simple example, feel free to comment, and please do!
Commas in a list, simple, right? Not so much!
The boy went down the windy road, saw a black crow, and threw a rock at it.
So do you use the last comma before 'and'? Even in the official grammer rule books, and online, I've found that the answer is: not always. Hmm... This is so not helpful, lol.
Friday, November 11, 2011
Author Interveiw - Callie Hutton
Hi Everyone,
Come join me in getting to know Callie, why she writes in the Romance genre, and find out when her releases will be available!
1.) When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
When I first learned to type in high school and realized I could now write all the stories I’d been making up in my head most of my life.
2.) What type of genre do you write in?
Romance. I’ve written both historical and contemp. Always with some humor
3.) What inspires you to write in this genre?
It’s my favorite genre to read—right now, anyway. I’ve gone through periods where I only read biographies, or biographical fiction, or mystery, or thrillers.
4.) Where to you get your ideas for your writing?
They just pop into my head. Sometimes I’ll hear a name and start a story about someone with that name, or I’ll think of a situation, and make up a story about that.
5.) Who are your favorite authors and why?
Wow, the list is sooooo long. Let’s see: Janet Evonovich, Stephanie Laurens, Jude Devereaux, Lynsay Sands, Judith Mc Naught, Sandra Brown, Jodi Thomas, Eloise James, Georgina Gentry, Catherine Coulter, Leigh Greenwood, Linda Leigh Miller, Dorothy Garlock, Debbie Macromber. That’s for starters. The list can go on much longer.
6.) In your opinion, what key parts of a story make it great?
The characters. The richness of their personalities, their flaws, and virtues. How they relate to life and each other.
7.) What activities do you undertake for inspiration?
People watch
8.) Do you belong to any writing communities, or critique groups?
I have a critique group that my long time CP and I started; I also belong to the Pro branch of RWA, and my local chapter of RWA, the Okie Outlaws.
9.) Do you have a day job?
I work as a substitute teacher.
10.) If you could do it over again, what aspects of the writing/submission process would you change before becoming published?
Hmm. Nothing really.
11.) What is the title of your upcoming/newly released novel, and where can we find it?
A Run For Love, available on Soul Mate Publishing in November 23, 2011.
My website: http://www.calliehutton.com/
Don't forget to check out her book trailer at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8kCfEl_F4gWhen I first learned to type in high school and realized I could now write all the stories I’d been making up in my head most of my life.
2.) What type of genre do you write in?
Romance. I’ve written both historical and contemp. Always with some humor
3.) What inspires you to write in this genre?
It’s my favorite genre to read—right now, anyway. I’ve gone through periods where I only read biographies, or biographical fiction, or mystery, or thrillers.
4.) Where to you get your ideas for your writing?
They just pop into my head. Sometimes I’ll hear a name and start a story about someone with that name, or I’ll think of a situation, and make up a story about that.
5.) Who are your favorite authors and why?
Wow, the list is sooooo long. Let’s see: Janet Evonovich, Stephanie Laurens, Jude Devereaux, Lynsay Sands, Judith Mc Naught, Sandra Brown, Jodi Thomas, Eloise James, Georgina Gentry, Catherine Coulter, Leigh Greenwood, Linda Leigh Miller, Dorothy Garlock, Debbie Macromber. That’s for starters. The list can go on much longer.
6.) In your opinion, what key parts of a story make it great?
The characters. The richness of their personalities, their flaws, and virtues. How they relate to life and each other.
7.) What activities do you undertake for inspiration?
People watch
8.) Do you belong to any writing communities, or critique groups?
I have a critique group that my long time CP and I started; I also belong to the Pro branch of RWA, and my local chapter of RWA, the Okie Outlaws.
9.) Do you have a day job?
I work as a substitute teacher.
10.) If you could do it over again, what aspects of the writing/submission process would you change before becoming published?
Hmm. Nothing really.
11.) What is the title of your upcoming/newly released novel, and where can we find it?
A Run For Love, available on Soul Mate Publishing in November 23, 2011.
My website: http://www.calliehutton.com/
Monday, November 7, 2011
Drink Deep Review
Once in a while I'll post a review of one of my fav authors, and Chloe Neill is one of them. I love her Chicagoland Vampire series. The writing is tight, and she keeps you on your toes. I have spent many a night turning page after page wanting more, looking at the clock and making that final decision to make it a late night, again, because I'll just read a few more pages, and a few more always ends up being a lot more, lol.
Drink Deep is her latest in the series, and I'm already looking forward to the next installment.
Feel free to share your reviews and comment :)
Drink Deep is her latest in the series, and I'm already looking forward to the next installment.
Feel free to share your reviews and comment :)
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