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Showing posts from February, 2012

Amazon to Begin Charging Indie Authors to Publish?

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Will they? Should they? At this point, it's all hypothetical. Amazon has no such plans. At least, no such plans that any of us are aware of. But should they? Novelist Rob Guthrie recently posed this very question on his blog RobOnWriting.com. (And took a bit of heat while doing so.) It's an interesting question. I have mixed feelings about Amazon charging authors to publish their books. But some sort of weeding-out process wouldn’t hurt. As a serious, professional, lifelong writer who takes my craft very, very seriously and spends A LOT of time making my work as perfect as it can be, it is troubling to see so much hackneyed wannabe unreadable crap glomming up the marketplace, distracting readers from more professional work. Such dreck de-legitimizes indie authors & publishers. For example, some months ago I purchased an ebook on Amazon. I believe it purported to be a vampire story. In my defense, the cover looked good; it looked like a "r

10 Questions with Novelist Kai Mann (@Kaiology)

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This Author Spotlight features Michigan-based novelist Kai Mann. Kai Mann is the author of 30 DAY NOTICE (see above), a novel published under the Scriblical Vibez Publishing brand. Kai is also an independent contract writer for Examiner.com as the Detroit’s Best Friend Examiner. As a contributor to the poetry community, Kai’s online poetry blog Kaiology Wet Your Intellectual Taste Buds is where she purposefully inspires thought pertaining to the themes of love, friendship, self-love, and self-progression. As the writer for the Scriblical Vibez blog, Kai’s mission is to contribute inspiring content that not only promotes self-growth, but also content that inspires a vibrational change through written word. 1. How did you get into writing? I have been writing ever since I could hold a pencil. As a young child you could find me sitting in my room reading a book or writing poetry. Somewhere around the age of twelve I decided that one day I was going to write a book. I never

10 Questions with Sci-Fi Writer John-Paul Cleary (@ConvergentSpace)

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This Author Spotlight features science fiction writer John-Paul Cleary. John-Paul has taken his extensive experience as a magazine editor and applied it to the world of creating fiction. The result is his first novel, CONVERGENT SPACE (see above), which John-Paul describes as an "accessible road movie of a book." Readers have said that CONVERGENT SPACE is full of unique and interesting characters, fascinating alien races and plenty of twists and turns. John Paul lives just outside Aberdeen, Scotland. 1. How did you get into writing? Writing is something I’ve always done.  I’ve even tried it as a career once, working as a magazine editor for four years.  It taught me how to write quickly and to write to order, and how to edit. 2. What do you like best (or least) about writing? Not reading.  I can’t read other books when I’m writing because I’m too easily influenced.  I start mimicking the style of the book I’m reading and suddenly I’m writing Dickens in

10 Questions with Writer Lawrence Sylou-Creutz Ojermark (@EmpireLore)

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This Author Spotlight features writer Lawrence Sylou-Creutz Ojermark. Lawrence was born a U.S. citizen abroad to foreign parents, yet grew up in the United States and has had the fortune of traveling since an early age. This led to years spent abroad, in a variety of fields. Learning languages rather quickly, Lawrence used that advantage in training martial arts, culminating in training under a couple masters in the orient for a few years. After numerous escapades, adventures and over 40 countries visited, Lawrence has used these life experiences to color his writings with vivid detail. Lawrence has earned a few college degrees and  served in the U.S. Military. Writing however has always been one of his passions, and he has never once let down the pen. Lawrence is the author of PLENARY FITNESS (see above) as well as A JOURNEY BEGINS FATE'S NEEDLE - Book 2 of THE WINDS OF MOIRA Trilogy (available March, 2012) MOIRA - Book 3 of THE WINDS OF MOIRA Trilogy (a

10 Questions with Novelist Gerald Summers (@mobleymeadows)

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This Author Spotlight features Temecula, California-based writer Gerald Summers. Gerald is a retired lawyer, a teacher, former police officer and probation officer, and an historian. 1.How did you get into writing? I’ve been writing all my life.  I wrote reports as a police officer, probation officer, and as a lawyer.  My specialty in law was in trial briefs, law and motion, and appellate work.  I was once considered the best appellate writer in California and was once introduced as such by the Chief Justice of the 4th District Court of Appeal in San Diego. 2.What do you like best (or least) about writing? The endorphins that are released during the process of creation. This compares to the stress hormones that are released when writing legal documents. 3.What is your writing process? IE do you outline? Do you stick to a daily word or page count, write 7 days a week, etc? I do not outline.  I follow the W plot diagram in my head after deciding what the story will

10 Questions with Poet Mario Canto (@MarioTCanto)

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DANCING WITH DISILLUSION (front) DANCING WITH DISILLUSION (back) This Author Spotlight features Los Angeles-based poet Mario Canto. Mario is the author of a book of poetry titled DANCING WITH DISILLUSION (see above) as well as a forthcoming novel. Mario is also an artist and graphic designer, a guitarist, and a vocalist. 1. How did you get into writing? I first began in high school. I grew up poor so I couldn’t afford flowers for Valentine’s Day so I just wrote a poem to a young lady that I was interested in. I went to Los Angeles High School and on Valentine’s Day the guys would come with balloons and flowers for the girlfriends. I always felt bad. I just couldn’t afford it. My family was on welfare. We didn’t have anything of our own but dignity. The poem itself was simple… almost comical because it just said how beautiful I thought she was. But if you ask me, she seemed happier than the girls that received flowers when I read her the poem. I guess I fel

10 Questions with Writer John L. Betcher (@JohnBetcher)

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This Author Spotlight features writer/novelist John L. Betcher. John holds a Bachelor's Degree, cum laude, in English from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Minnesota Law School in Minneapolis. He has practiced law for more than twenty-five years in the Mississippi River community of Red Wing, Minnesota. He has also been a long-time supporter and coach of youth volleyball there. Mr. Betcher has published three feature articles in COACHING VOLLEYBALL, the Journal of the American Volleyball Coaches Association. His most recent article was the cover story for the April/May, 2009 Issue. His book on volleyball coaching philosophies entitled THE LITTLE BLACK BOOK OF VOLLEYBALL COACHING, Insights From the Trenches, has been selling nationwide and is currently available at Amazon.com. Mr. Betcher has also published a series of "Beck" suspense/thriller novels. The first three are THE 19TH ELEMENT , THE MISSING ELEMENT

10 Questions with Novelist William D. Collins (@BillDCollins)

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This Author Spotlight features novelist William D. Collins. William lives in Colorado with his wife and their two cats Attila and Bella. He writes full time. 1. How did you get into writing? I’ve been writing stories since I was about 10 years old. Even when I was a Marine during Desert Storm, and we lived in our Humvees for months, I was writing in a little notebook when I could. I make sure I have a notebook, a computer, or my AlphaSmart word processor with me everywhere I go nowadays. I love to tell stories and I knew writing full-length novels was inevitable for me. 2. What do you like best (or least) about writing? I love writing the first draft when I can turn off my brain and just write. Getting lost in the process and being surprised what a character does or says is an amazing experience. Then, of course, I have to go back and edit and that can be painful because by the end of the first draft, the story has usually changed a lot. 3. What is your w