Publicity or #Piracy by Andrea Downing

I don’t watch much TV but I do like to keep up with the latest films.  When I say latest, I mean, I put them on my Netflix DVD list and a few months later they’re released, and I eventually receive them.  I pop them into my player and what I see first is a stern warning from the FBI:  “The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement is investigated by federal law enforcement agencies and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.” Of course, their very fine seal and badge also accompany the page, which is followed by the statement, “Piracy is not a victimless crime” put there by the National Intellectual Property Center, who have a web page recounting how piracy affects the economy.

Well.

Why isn’t that reproduced on the copyright page of every book? Can they not send out a meme we could all download to use?

Nominated for a RONE Award, I attended the very first InD’Tale conference in Las Vegas, which was my very first conference as well. There, I sat in on a panel by a well-known, NYT best-selling, award-winning author. She let it be known that she earned upwards of 400k a year. I’ll never forget her advice to us—not to worry about piracy, see it as free promotion.

Well.

Whether you’re earning 39 cents through a publisher ebook, or a higher percentage through being self-published, those little pennies can add up.  Maybe it’s not going to make you 400K; in fact, I personally don’t care about the money--it's probably a small amount.  What I care about is that someone else has taken control of my book, is publishing it where they please, or handing it out. Some are free, some are not. Intellectual Property is just that—property, owned by someone. It’s true that most of the piracy sites are not, in any case, giving away books; they’re phishing for credit card details and using our books as the bait. I believe authors rarely get reviews from the readers who help perpetrate these crimes, and they are presumably not readers who might become lifelong fans. The books they receive are often badly formatted through whatever method the pirate has used. Plus, there are now enough free books and discounted books to keep anyone reading for a lifetime without patronizing a piracy site.

Well?

Reader or author, let me know what you think: Publicity or Piracy?

And with a bargain like this, who needs a pirated book?  It's nearly Valentine's Day, and love is in the air with these seven novellas by seven award-winning and best-selling authors. What's more romantic than a sexy cowboy? Treat yourself to a best-selling contemporary western anthology with 53 Reviews and 4.5 Stars, only $0.99. A COWBOY TO KEEP is at https://www.amazon.com/Cowboy-Keep-Contemporary-Western-Collection-ebook/dp/B072869SGV/ . Go catch a cowboy . . .. and keep a cowboy!

Beginning the beginning...again by Leah St. James #amwriting

Several months ago I wrote about ripping up the plot of my current WIP and essentially starting over.

What was my old prologue is out, and a brand-new prologue is in. My original Chapter One was moved to later in the story, and what was Original Chapter Three is now New Chapter One.

(Did you all follow that? I’m not sure I did!)

To recap, I now have a New Chapter One—a new beginning. And we all know how important beginnings are. Yes, I have a prologue, but Chapter One is still so important. When I read a book with a prologue, I look at the first chapter as the start of the real story. To me, it still has to grab the reader right from the start, or else that reader could very well toss the book and go to the next book that he or she likely picked up for free or cheap somewhere! (Sorry, got a little off topic there.) I need, and want, something that good. (And I really loved the beginning of Original Chapter One, too....sigh.)

But we soldier on.

 

This book is a sequel to my debut novel (Surrender to Sanctuary), and New Chapter One opens with one of the main secondary characters from that book. In fact, that same character opened the first book (in the prologue), so in a rare moment of inspiration, I decided it would be clever to parrot that opening.

Here’s the original opening from Surrender to Sanctuary:

Maxwell Davies was lost.

He squinted toward the countryside behind him, down the tattered two-lane roadway he’d just traveled, empty but for the smattering of cows and sheep grazing on the hillsides and an occasional farmer’s cottage. Ahead lay the intersection of a triplet of lanes bordered by a series of hedgerows and flowering bushes that threatened to overrun the dirt-packed lanes.

Should be easy to come up with a complementary opening, right? Not so much. I hated everything I came up with. Like these...

Maxwell Davies was troubled.

UGH. Lame! Weak! Wimpy!

Maxwell Davies was desperate.

No way, totally out of character.

Maxwell Davies was enraged.

No!!! Makes him sound like a lunatic...and it's way too early in the book for that!

So here’s what I’ve come up with so far for my New Chapter One beginning. I’d love your opinion. Would you want to read more? (Remember: This is a first draft. Please be gentle!) :-)

Danger.

Maxwell Davies sensed its presence as he stood at the big picture window in his office overlooking the back lawns at Sanctuary, Virginia, a tumbler of Maker’s Mark in one hand and a lit cigar in the other. Members in tuxes and their mates in glittering gowns gathered in groups of four or six, talking, laughing, drinking, enjoying life. Others danced, their arms twined tightly around one another, on a temporary dance floor where a six-piece ensemble pumped out a steady playlist of top hits from the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s.

The community was in party mode, and he was late, lost in thought over the troubled waters they’d just navigated, and the murky waters that still lay ahead. Maxwell didn’t know the source, or the timing, only that every instinct screamed warning-warning-warning like a clanging bell in the back of his head. (In my head I’m hearing "Danger! Danger, Will Robinson!" ... Might want to change this line.)

Dusk had fallen, layering the sky with streaks of oranges, pinks and blues, casting sultry shadows over the celebrants. Ahead, multicolored lights twinkled in the trees lining the mighty James River, like hundreds of rainbow fireflies lighting the evening sky. Flowers in a dozen shades lined the pathways traversing the property from the river all the way to the gated entrance.

My creation, he thought as he took a puff of the cigar and savored its rich tobacco flavor. Mine to protect. Mine to defend.

 So that's what I've got. Thoughts? 

Am I worrying too much?  Does the first line of the first chapter have the same impact on a reader when there is a prologue? 

Or maybe I just need to finish the book before spending too much time on this. I mean, who knows what might happen to Max between now and then!

.......................

Leah writes stories of mystery and romance, good and evil and the power of love. She blogs here on the 6th and 22nd of each month. Learn more at leahstjames.com.
 

#Setting -- Real or Imaginary? by Alison Henderson

I've passed the three-quarter mark in my current manuscript, the third and final book in my female bodyguard Phoenix, Ltd. series, so it's time to start mulling my next project. Actually, I've been thinking about this one for several years. I even wrote the first four chapters of the first book while waiting to see if readers would be interested enough in Unwritten Rules to make it worthwhile to write more books in that series.

The new series will feature three artist sisters who work in different media: a maker of wind sculptures, a raku potter, and a glass-blower. I don't know much more about the stories,  except that they'll be set here. And therein lies my dilemma. How real do I make the setting? Do I call #Carmel-by-the-Sea by its real name, or does it become Cypress Cove? What about #Monterey? For the purposes of the books, I'm considering re-naming it Otter Bay. 

People love to read books set in areas they know. The descriptions bring back a flood of memories associated with the locales depicted in the story. We've all read and enjoyed books like that--they're accurate right down to the street names. The Monterey Peninsula is a spectacular area, full of wonderful potential settings, but it's also a small, fairly tight-knit community. Any errors or bits of artistic license on my part are bound to be noticed by local readers. By setting my books here, I enjoy an automatic boost in local promotional opportunities, but that might be a double-edged sword.

The benefit of re-naming places is that I can manipulate things, put them where I need them, combine places if I want to. I might use a local restaurant as the basis for a fictional one, but if I name it I'd better be pretty darned accurate in my description. The beach stairs have to be in the correct location. I can't have redwood forest overlooking the ocean within a half-hour drive of town, when in fact, there are rocky outcroppings covered by cypress trees or a sweeping, grassy plain.

Fictionalizing the setting gives me much more leeway but erodes the realism many readers enjoy. Even if the local population here is small, millions of people have visited here from all over the world. Some may even end up reading this book.

As a reader, or a writer, how do you feel about the strict treatment of real places? Do you love authentic detail, or are you satisfied with authentic atmosphere? I need to know how readers feel because I can go either way, but I know already that setting is going to play a huge part in these books. 

Help!

Alison
www.alisonhenderson

An Interview with a #Werewolf by Christine DePetrillo

I recently sat down with Reardon McAlator from Wolf Kiss, Book One in The Warrior Wolves Series. He agreed to spend a little time with us today. Reardon, welcome.

Reardon: Thanks for having me, lass.

CD: Swoon-worthy accent. You must have lasses falling at your feet.

Reardon: (offering a swoon-worthy grin as he shrugs) I don’t notice if they are. I’ve got my very own fairy lass, Dr. Brandy Wendon, and she’s all I need.

CD: How did you and Brandy meet?

Reardon: Well, she met my wolf first, and she did what she does for all her wolves at Silver Moon Wolf Sanctuary.

CD: Howl at the moon with them?

Reardon: (chuckles) Aye, on occasion, but I was referring to the expert care she gives each of the wolves in our pack. Many of us wouldn’t still be here without her. Many of us wouldn’t want to be here without her.

CD: Why did you come to modern-day Vermont all the way from Ireland of the past?

Reardon: It wasn’t exactly voluntary. When you anger the goddess of wild things, punishment is sure to follow. (blows out a long breath) I did something I shouldn’t have and the goddess kicked us out of our beautiful Ireland.

CD: Us?

Reardon: My brother, Jaemus, my two cousins, Kole and Shawn, my brother-in-battle, Erik, and myself. The goddess scolded us all so we’d never forget what we’d done. What I made us do. (hangs head)

CD: You have regrets.

Reardon: Many. Fortunately I’ve been rewarded with great happiness in Vermont also. It hasn’t been all bad.

CD: What was something unexpected that happened because you were forced to come to present-day Vermont?

Reardon: Aside from falling in love, I didn’t expect to develop such a strong bond with a lad. Brandy’s boy, Dylan, treated me well when he knew me in wolf form and then accepted me into his family in human form. He’s a remarkable boy, full of life and potential. Brandy has done an amazing job raising the lad, who is actually her nephew. Her sister passed away unfortunately.

CD: I’ll bet you and Dylan have a lot of fun with the wolves at the sanctuary.

Reardon: Aye, we do. That lad has so much energy. The wolves often tire before he does.

CD: Everyone’s getting their exercise then, running about the woods.

Reardon: If I had to land anywhere, Vermont was the perfect place.

CD: What modern convenience do you enjoy most?

Reardon: The car. It’s so much easier than walking, sailing, or riding a horse to get around. Brandy’s veterinary partner, Dr. Parker Daniels, taught me how to drive.

CD: How did that go?

Reardon: Let’s just say Parker is a very patient man who doesn’t mind seeing his life pass before his eyes. Repeatedly. I’m good at driving now though.

CD:  Good enough to take Brandy out on the occasional date?

Reardon: Aye. Every Friday night and sometimes into Saturday morning.

CD: (fans self) Okay, then. Werewolves have wild weekends. Good to know. Any advice for our readers?

Reardon: I spent so many years fighting men in battle, but the only fight that really counts is the one that brings you your true love. Love is always worth fighting for.

CD: Great advice, Reardon. Thanks so much for joining us today.

Reardon: My pleasure, lass.

CD: You don’t think Brandy would mind if we hugged, do you?

Reardon: It might make her growl a bit.

CD: I’m willing to take a chance. I’m a fast runner.

Reardon: (laughing) You better hope so.

If you want more time with Reardon, read his story in Wolf Kiss, Book One in The Warrior Wolves Series. I promise he doesn’t smell like wet dog. If you like Wolf Kiss, leave me a review. The wolves and I love reviews.

Looking for more February fun? Join Small Town Hearts on Facebook, a reader group I co-host with author Amanda Torrey. We’re having a Valentine’s Party on February 11^th that you don’t want to miss! Games and prizes will be part of the entertainment. We’d love to see you there.

Toodles,

Chris

www.christinedepetrillo.weebly.com

What Happens When You #HaveTheFlu and #AmWriting by Vonnie Davis

This is not the post I wrote and thought I'd saved. But as my dad used to say, "You know what thought did? Nothing. He just thought he did." I have no clue where it went. And it was so pretty, too.

So, sorry to say, you're getting a rush job. I'm blaming it on the flu meds. Hey, it's my story and I'm sticking to it.

I've been working on a bridge bear shifter novella to take my readers from Mathe Bay to Sonas Isle, home of my next bear shifter series.  Effie will make appearances in both.

My heroine, Cameo, has prophetic dreams. It's both a gift and a curse.

Chapter One:

She was naked again.

The cold wind blew Cameo Stone’s long hair away from her shoulders and back. What was displayed below, as she floated above the danger, commanded her attention. Cameo was used to the form and sensations of her dreams. Dreams that were a sign of things to come—of illness, impending danger, or looming horrific events.

In her heart, she believed it was up to her to warn the person or persons in her nightmares that bad fortune lay ahead. A process that caused people to think she was whacky, dangerous, or someone simply to be avoided. It made for a lonely existence.

From her dreamy viewpoint, a silver compact like hers sped down a curved mountain road. A man wearing a black knit hat and black puffy jacket ran out of the woods. 

Action slowed to a snapping movie frame of motion, which typically meant important clues were coming. He had a rifle with a scope. A hunter, perhaps? A more sinister reaction gripped Cameo. Part of the barrel had been sawed off his gun. His green-eyed gaze in a face dotted with tattoos shifted to the driver. So did his weapon. 

An emblem was on the cuff of his black hat. Orange. Round. Edged in blood-red. In the center were bold black initials HSS.

The driver sped up, trying to go around the menacing man before he shot her. She hit a patch of ice and spun out of control. Out of her right peripheral vision, a policeman followed with his handgun drawn. The driver braked hard, swerved, tires squealing, but she still hit the officer. He rolled over her hood. As he bumped across the windshield, golden glowing eyes stared at her. His badge read Bowie Matheson. Sounds of him spinning and scratching her roof made her shudder. It was like fingernails on a blackboard. To her shock, a bear slid off her trunk giving chase to the man with the rifle.

Where had the damn bear come from? How had she missed that part?

By now, Cameo realized the driver was her. She zoomed silently from the sky to the interior of the automobile. As soon as she had it stopped, she jumped out, fully dressed somehow, and looked for the officer she’d struck. There was nothing on the road behind her compact. She dropped to her knees and peered under the vehicle. Nothing there. With her gaze shifting, she slowly circled her car before walking along the ditches on both sides of the narrow road.

Where was the man she’d struck?

            She woke with his name on her lips, “Bowie Matheson.”

Her feet slid from under the pile of covers and slipped into her bedroom slippers, or baffies as the Scots called them. Cool air hit her and she reached for her robe mid-shiver.  Her clock displayed three-forty-two and a cup of hot tea called her. All she had to do was shuffle downstairs to the kitchen in Matheson Lodge and heat a pot of water.

Cameo had been a guest at the castle converted into a hotel for five nights. She’d traveled to Matheville for an interview and was waiting for a response on a job as a solicitor at the law firm of McGuire and Dunn Associates. During the rest of the time, she drove and walked the narrow streets of the picturesque small town, acquainting herself with the businesses and places to rent should she get hired.

She tiptoed down the steps, wondering again why so many citizens bore the last name Matheson. The beautiful clean bay and the town, itself, bore part of the name. When she’d asked Fiona Matheson, who handled the reservation and staff of the lodge, the woman had informed her Mathe stood for bear. 

Until the dream she’d just had, she hadn’t seen any bears.

Once in the kitchen, she turned on a light and filled a teapot with water. It would take her several cups to work through the meaning of the dream and settle her nerves. This had been the first time she’d ever been a player in one of her prophetic nightmares—and it had her especially rattled.

Her tea made, she stirred in two cubes of sugar. It would be a long while before she’d take her car for a drive in the mountainous segments of the Highlands. That much she was sure of. Parts of her dream were understandable. A cop chasing an armed man for whatever reason.  Hints of the two men’s identities. This was typical in her night visions.

But where had the policeman gone? How had a bear replaced him? And why had that change been kept from her? Usually, she saw every gory aspect. Why not with this dream? Really, she ought to be relieved she’d been spared some of the details. And she would be if the driver of the car hadn’t been her.

Two cups of chamomile tea later, Cameo returned to her room and placed several logs in the fireplace. She crawled under the pile of covers, thankful for her flannel pajamas. Although the tea had soothed her, it hadn’t helped her to analyze the dream. She pulled the quilt over her shoulders, closed her eyes, and began counting backwards from one-hundred.

She was naked again…

~~~~~~~

I have a new logo for my bear shifter books. Don't you just love it?

www.vonniedavis.com

My Book Is Out...Now What? by Jannine Gallant

BURIED TRUTH is now available for the world to read!!

That's what I feel like I've been doing for the last day or so... shouting BUY MY BOOK. I swear, it seems like we wait forever for each new release to hit the shelves, virtual or otherwise. I've been talking about my latest baby for months now, until I fear everyone is sick to death of hearing about it. The big day finally arrives and I make the announcement on social media with as much hoopla as I can muster. My friends congratulate me, and I feel special... accomplished. Heck, my husband even suggested we go out to dinner to celebrate. Then what? Day two rolls around, and I'm feeling a little anticlimactic.

Part of the problem is nerves, wondering if my book will sell and if people will like it. As I stalk my rankings every hour or so on Amazon, hoping for a dip to indicate a sale, I feel like I should be doing more. More to get reviews. More to spread the word. More to generate those sales. Except I'm tired of shouting BUY MY BOOK. I feel like I've told everyone it's available, and now it's a waiting game to see what happens. I also feel like I know what doesn't work. Blog tours. Even my publisher has given up arranging them. They cost money and produce zero results, so why bother? I post here and on Just Romantic Suspense (my post will be up there tomorrow with a prize). They do get decent traffic, so I feel like that's enough blogging.

That leaves social media, and I feel like I've beaten that horse to death... at least for the moment. So, I'll try to give my friends on Facebook a short break. My plan is to sit back and take a breather to see what my publisher does to spark interest. BURIED TRUTH will be included in a Kensington roundup of suspense/thriller authors, most of whom are far better known than me, in February on their social media sites. I'll jump back on the bandwagon to do my part when they start promoting.

So, if you're an author, what do you do after a new book releases? Do you run around shouting BUY MY BOOK, or do you sit back and let nature take its course? Have you had success with a particular venue? If you're a reader, where do you find out about new releases? We want your insights!

In case you still haven't picked up your copy of BURIED TRUTH, here are the links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple, Kobo. Or visit my WEBSITE. Happy reading!

#Amwriting: Author filter systems are Wide Open by Rolynn Anderson

Whales, humpbacks, for example, are filter feeders.  An easy, efficient process if you think about it: open the mouth wide, swim, and snack.  Recognize the posture?  Once we’re into writing a new story, our author filter systems (our brains) glean relevant facts we can use for our characters, plots, and settings.  We pick up details from eavesdropping in Starbucks; snatch a piece of information out of the New York Times; during conversations with our friends or family, we jump onto tidbits of dialogue we could use in our books.  I present one sample…my new ‘Drone Filter.’

Drones.  FIRE IS NICE, the book I’m madly editing presently, has plot turns dependent on drones.  Of course I’ve done the research on drones (you can snap up one for $400, but the big ones used by the police run about 25 grand)  With my feeding filters open, lazily swimming through my days, I’ve been gathering factoids on drones, some

astonishing:

1.  The National Parks don’t allow them (usually) because they interfere with the park experience and upend our rights of privacy as citizens.  Drones are legal to use when ‘watching’ non-citizens, but since U.S. folk mix in visitors from other countries, drones have been a no-no in the Parks.

2.  Drones are now used by lifeguards to locate swimmers in trouble and throw life saving equipment to them.  Saw that in the New York Times.

3.  Homeland Security has a stable of drones they can’t use (a legal issue).  I have my character in FIRE IS NICE, borrow them.  Convenient, huh?

4.  My husband is on the board of our 50-home community council.  In rewriting the covenants, whether or not to allow drones in the neighborhood, has become an issue.  Do you want drones flying over your house?

5.  Drones are flying.  All over the place, I guess.  Not to be paranoid.  But.  They fly 15,000-60,000 feet above us and take pictures, constantly.  Where, we aren't sure.

6.  Worse?  Drones are being used by Mexican cartels to kill people: https://www.rmus.com/products/rmus-heavy-duty-police-drone?utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=googlepla&variant=27915714241&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI6LPv2NP42AIVzol-Ch3m9g-BEAQYAiABEgI1pfD_BwE

I reiterate, authors are filter feeders when it comes to enriching our stories.  What are you learning a lot about lately because it’s important to your manuscript?

 

One focus when I wrote BAD LIES was caves on the Amalfi coast.  Want to fly with me to Italy and see some caves?  You can pretend you’ve got a chance to win a golf tournament helped by the caddy of your dreams.  Here’s BAD LIES http://a.co/0DuYNPn:

Italy’s haunted caves spell danger for an American golfer and a NATO geologist

***

Sophie Maxwell is a late-blooming, unorthodox golfer, and mother of a precocious thirteen year-old. Determined to put divorce, bankruptcy, and a penchant for gambling in her past, Sophie goes to Italy for a qualifying golf tournament.

Jack Walker turned his back on a pro golfing career to become a geologist. As a favor to his ailing father he’ll caddy for Sophie; off hours, he’ll find caves on the Mediterranean coast, suitable for NATO listening posts for terrorist activity.

Someone is determined to stop Jack’s underground hunt and ruin Sophie’s chances to win her tournament.

On a Rome golf course and in the Amalfi coast’s haunted caves, all the odds are stacked against Sophie and Jack.  In their gamble of a lifetime, who wins?

Web and Blog:

http://rolynnanderson.com

Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rolynn-Anderson/188767867821613  

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/rolynnanderson

Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4990049.Rolynn_Anderson

Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/author/rolynnanderson