Posts Tagged ‘authors’

#FirstLineFriday

Posted: April 21, 2016 in ideas, Writing
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It’s Friday, so you know what that means. It’s #FirstLineFriday! It’s also the first night of Passover, also known as “that holiday the Jews have where they remember getting out of slavery and celebrate with tasteless food and crackers.” Yeah, the diet is my least favorite part of the holiday, if you couldn’t already tell.

Now if you’re unfamiliar with #FirstLineFriday, here’s how it works. On Fridays, you:

  1. Write a post on your own blog titled #FirstLineFriday, hashtag and all.
  2. Explain the rules like I’m doing.
  3. Post the first one or two lines of a potential story, a story-in-progress, or a completed or published story.
  4. Ask your readers for feedback and encourage them to try #FirstLineFriday on their own blogs, tagging if necessary.

This week’s entry is from a vampire story I’ve been churning in my twisted mind for a while. I’m waiting to write it, though, because a certain book series kind of changed the image of vampires in the public consciousness a bit, and not for the better, in my opinion. Anyway, I have a few different openings I could use with this story, so I’m trying one today that could start the book or instead be used to open another chapter. We’ll see how I’m feeling when I write this bad boy. Enjoy:

I guess I’m what you would call a vampire. And before you ask, no, I don’t fucking sparkle.

Thoughts? Errors? Let me know in the comments below.

And while you’re at it, why not try #FirstLineFriday yourself? It’s a lot of fun, and for writers, it’s good practice when doing openings. In fact, I’m going to prove a point by tagging one of you! This week I choose Victo Dolore of Behind the White Coat. Victo, you have to do #FirstLineFriday either this Friday or next Friday. Have fun with it!

That’s all for now. I have to get ready to relive the Exodus from Egypt, but if anything comes up in the meantime, I’ll let you know. Have a great weekend, my Followers of Fear.

Video Rage: Cover Art and Release Date

Posted: April 12, 2016 in Novel, Progress Report, Writing
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I’ve been dying to make this announcement since last week. Well, better now than never. As many of you know, I’ve been working on getting out Video Rage, the sequel to my science fiction novel Reborn City, out some time this year. I recently finished the final draft, and at last update I said a friend of mine was working on the cover art for VR. Well, today I finally got the art that will be gracing the cover of VR. Even better, I now have a release date!

Yes indeed, very exciting. Now before you scroll down and check out the amazing cover art, let me tell you about how it was created. My friend Joleene Naylor (check out her blog here) does covers on occasion, and when she does she does amazing work. After carefully describing what I wanted for the cover, she did a couple of drafts and sent me the mock-ups, adjusting with my feedback. When she gave me the final draft, it was like it was something right out of my imagination. I was so amazed with Joleene’s work, which was compiled using the works of artjazz, welcomia, Maltaguy1, kirstypargeter, and Joleene herself.

Pretty sure I’m legally or at least ethically obligated to list all that.

So without further ado, here is the cover art of Video Rage!

VIDEO RAGE - HIGH RES

Pretty cool, huh? And if you look closely at the image, you might see a familiar American monument. Yeah, that’s what you think it is. And something’s happening to it. What? I will say that it involves events that occur near the climax of the novel. Want to know what exact events? You’ll have to read the book to find out.

And speaking of which, I promised a release date for Video Rage, didn’t I? Well, there’s good news on that front. I’ll be releasing VR on June 1st. Yes, in one month and nineteen days, Video Rage will be available from as many platforms as possible, paperback and e-book. I’m sending the manuscript off to the US Copyright office tonight for the extra added protection. Then I’ll finish up getting all my other books onto other platforms, and then I think I’ll do a great big blog tour. I’ve never done one, so it should be interesting. I hope it’ll get people interested in reading Reborn City and Video Rage.

Reborn City, the book prior to Video Rage. Available now.

Speaking of which, if you’re interested in reading Reborn City before Video Rage comes out, I’ve lowered the price on the e-books. The paperback costs the same as ever, can’t change that much, but it’s now available on Barnes & Noble as well as Amazon, Nook, and Smashwords. And I plan to add it to iBooks and Kobo as soon as possible, so if you use those platforms I should have some updates on that soon.

That’s all for now. I’m going to get to work on making sure the book is ready for June 1st. If there are any updates, I’ll make sure you all know it. Get excited, my Followers of Fear. I know I am.

My Books Are Now Available on Nook

Posted: April 10, 2016 in Living and Life, Novel, Progress Report, short story, Writing
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As many of you know, up till now my books were only available from Amazon and Smashwords. I didn’t do other platforms for a number of reasons. One was that Amazon and Smashwords are two major retailers (though the majority of my sales come from the former), so I thought that they were all that I needed. Heck, I even thought that I could be successful using those platforms.

Mostly though, I’m just lazy. I didn’t want to go through the extra trouble of uploading books onto so many platforms. Yeah, I admit it. But recently I realized that if I really want to get as many books out to as many people as possible, I really should diversify the platforms my books are on. For all I know, there could be a lot of people who want to read my books but can’t because they are not on their preferred shopping site or e-book platform. That is something, as an author, I can no longer allow. Not if I’m serious about being an author.

So, before Video Rage comes out (more on that in a future post), I’m making sure my books are available on as many different platforms as possible. Starting with Nook, Barnes & Noble’s answer to the Kindle and one of the most popular brands of e-reader. And as of today, The Quiet Game, Reborn City, and Snake are available to readers through Nook.

And if you’re unfamiliar with my books, here are some short summaries and the links:

The Quiet Game: Five Tales To Chill Your Bones

tqg cover

In his publishing debut, Rami Ungar brings us five terrifying stories of darkness in magic. You can experience the strange visions of a man battling sex addiction in “Addict”. Or feel the wrath of an enraged dybbuk in “Samson Weiss’s Curse”. Face your fears in Gene Adkin’s Murder House in “I’m Going To Be The Next James Bond” and then journey with a young autistic “In The Lady Ogre’s Den”. But most of all, prepare to play the most insidious game of all: The Quiet Game.

Now Available on Amazon, Createspace, Barnes & Noble, Nook, and Smashwords

Reborn City

Zahara Bakur is a Muslim teenager recently moved into the gambling town of Reborn City. After her parents are killed by gang violence, Zahara is forced to join the Hydras, an interracial gang whose leaders have supernatural abilities. As the violence in Reborn City escalates and Zahara becomes closer to the Hydras, including the quiet but stern Rip, she finds herself drawn into a dark conspiracy involving the origins of the leaders and the shadowy corporation that rules over Reborn City.

Available on Amazon, Createspace, Nook, and Smashwords

Snake

Cover of Snake by Rami Ungar

How far will you go for love and revenge? When a young man’s girlfriend is kidnapped by the powerful Camerlengo Family, he becomes the Snake, a serial killer who takes his methods from the worst of the Russian mafia. Tracking down members of the Camerlengo Family one by one for clues, the Snake will go to any lengths to see the love of his life again…even if it means becoming a worse monster than any of the monsters he is hunting.

Available from Amazon, Createspace, Nook, and Smashwords

My next mission–besides getting VR ready for publication some time in the next couple of months–is to get Reborn City and Snake available in print through Barnes & Noble (The Quiet Game is already available on that platform, a story for another time). After that, I’ll work on getting all three onto iBooks and then on Kobo. After that…well, if there are any other platforms I should know about, I hope you will remind me.

That’s all for now. I’ve got a meditation class to prepare for, so I’ve got to go. I hope you all have a great day, and I hope that the new platforms help you enjoy a new story that maybe you’ve been looking forward to for quite some time. Until next time, my Followers of Fear. Happy reading.

#FirstLineFriday

Posted: April 8, 2016 in ideas, Writing
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It’s Friday again, so you know what that means. It’s #FirstLineFriday!

Now if you’re unfamiliar with #FirstLineFriday, this is a weekly ritual I’ve been doing on my blog for quite a while now. Here are the rules: On each Friday, you;

  1. Create a post on your blog entitled #FirstLineFriday, hashtag and all.
  2. Explain the rules like I’m doing now.
  3. Post the first one or two lines of a potential story, a story in progress, or a completed or published work.
  4. Ask your readers for feedback, and encourage them to try #FirstLineFriday on their own blogs (tagging is optional but effective).

This week’s entry is from an idea for a novel I had last week. My dad and I were on a road trip up to Michigan to visit my grandfather. On the way back, we were listening to NPR, and one of the stories we listened to inspired an idea for a story to go with an idea fragment I’ve been turning over in my head for some time now. Please excuse the profanity, but I really wanted to get the character’s mood across. Enjoy:

Steve stared at the email in his inbox before exploding in a fit of rage. “FUUUUUUUUUCK!”

What are your thoughts? Are they any errors I should fix? Let me know in the comments below.

And while you’re at it, why not try #FirstLineFriday on your own blog? It’s a lot of fun, and for authors it’s great practice trying different openings.

And once again, I’m tagging someone. This week I’m going with one of my new Followers: Kathy Lauren from A View to a Book! You now have to do #FirstLineFriday this week or next! Hope you have fun doing it.

That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. If there’s anything to update you on this weekend, I’ll make sure to let you know. Until next time,have a great weekend.

Review: “No Matter How Improbable” by Angela Misri

Posted: April 2, 2016 in Novel, Review, Writing
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"No Matter How Improbable" by Angela Misri

“No Matter How Improbable” by Angela Misri

I’m of the opinion that the third book in a series can be really hard to pull off, especially when the first two books were just that awesome. I’m glad to say that while the third book in the Portia Adams Adventure series by friend and fellow writer Angela Misri is a bit darker than the previous two books, it’s still a great read and I enjoyed reading it from start to finish.

So if you’re unfamiliar with the book series, it follows Portia Constance Adams, a young woman who finds out she’s the granddaughter of John Watson (as in Holmes and Watson), and moves into 221B Baker Street and begins solving mysteries in 1930s London. The third book starts with Portia now known to the great wide world as the new consulting detective at 221B, and, in addition to a bit of annoying notoriety, she’s dealing with some rather upsetting aspects of being human. Namely, you sometimes argue with, and sometimes you even lose some friends.

These themes of struggle with your friends and loss are present throughout the book, and they can be either a plus or a minus, depending on the reader. In my case, I think I’ll go with a plus. Seeing Portia’s struggles with her friends, which often are somehow wrapped up with the cases she’s taking on, makes for great character development, and makes you want to read more to see how she resolves these problems. You also feel a lot of what Portia’s feeling as you read on, which shows how good Angela is at making you feel what the character feels.

I also found the cases in the story very compelling. Again, I struggled trying to figure out who the culprit or culprits were in each case, and each time I was pleasantly surprised (I’m better at figuring out culprits on crime shows than I am in the books, it seems). My favorite was the mystery “Principessa”, which follows the actual Princess Francesca Maria of the Italian royal family. It was pretty cool, seeing an actual figure from history in a historical mystery novel.

If there were things I thought could’ve been improved upon, I did think that the final casebook was a little crowded. So much was going on in that book–a strange death, a couple of odd men following a friend of Portia’s, and a suspicious psychologist–that it’s hard to keep track of what is part of which case when. That, and in the beginning of the last chapter, there’s a scene where Portia shows some really deep emotion, but it’s only glanced over. I really would’ve enjoyed seeing more attention paid to that scene, as I think it would’ve been a very memorable scene if that had been the case.

Other than that, I really enjoyed No Matter How Improbable. It was a great read, and I really can’t wait for the fourth book. On a scale of 1 to 5, I’m giving it a 4.3 out of 5. Definitely check it out (and the first two books, too) if you have the chance.

#FirstLineFriday

Posted: April 1, 2016 in Living and Life, Writing
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It’s Friday again, so you know what that means. It’s time to do my laundry. I’m just joking, of course. Had to do an April Fool’s prank just to get it out of my system. No, it’s #FirstLineFriday!

Now if you’re new here and have never seen this hashtag before, here is a breakdown of the rules. On Fridays, you:

  1. Create a post on your blog, entitled #FirstLineFriday, hashtag and all.
  2. Explain the rules just as I’m doing.
  3. Post the first one or two lines of a potential story, a story in progress, or a completed or published work.
  4. Ask your readers for feedback and encourage them to try #FirstLineFriday as well (tagging is not necessary but you can do it if you want).

This week’s entry comes from a short story idea I had only a couple of hours after I posted the last #FirstLineFriday. I saw this video about flotation tanks and flotation therapy, and it kind of sparked a few ideas in my twisted mind. Enjoy:

Anya floated in warm, salty water, feeling like an astronaut drifting through the vastness of space. Within the darkness, Dr. Manilou’s voice echoed softly, calming her teenager’s mind and wiping away the anxieties that until recently had plagued her mercilessly.

Thoughts? Errors? Let’s discuss.

And while you’re at it, why not try #FirstLineFriday yourself? It’s a lot of fun, and for an author it’s good practice for creating compelling openings. Speaking of authors, I think I’ll tag my friend and colleague Adan Ranie. Adan, you’re up. Do a #FirstLineFriday and let m know how it goes.

That’s all for now. I’m pregnant, so I’m going to go give birth. Kidding again! April Fools. If anything else comes up, I’ll post it here. Have a great weekend, my Followers of Fear!

Ignore the Naysayers

Posted: March 30, 2016 in Living and Life, Reflections, Writing
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Yesterday someone in one of my writers’ groups on Facebook posted about a recent upsetting experience. She’d told her family that her book was coming out later this year in July, and that she had other books on the way too. Apparently her family’s response was entirely negative, telling her that only rich and famous people actually called themselves authors, and that she should keep her head out of the clouds and on the ground because she obviously wasn’t one.

Not only was this reaction just plain horrible (we should be getting tons of love and support from our families for our writing dreams, not criticism and put-downs), but it’s also ignorant. While not all authors become rich and famous, they don’t need to be to be called authors. And even the rich and famous ones, which are rare to begin with, started out as dreamers with a manuscript they wanted to get published. Seriously, every one. JK Rowling was a single mother living on state benefits while writing Harry Potter. Stephen King was a teacher with three kids and not a lot of cash before the paperback rights to Carrie allowed him to move up the economic ladder a little. HP Lovecraft never saw true success in his lifetime, but he’s considered one of the most influential authors in modern-day horror. We all have to start somewhere.

But that’s beside the point. What I’m actually trying to say is that fame or finances are horrible ways to measure whether or not someone should be called an author. Someone could have millions in the bank or have a reality show and a famous spouse and write terrible fiction. No, if you’re going to measure by what right someone has to be called an author, then do it by how passionate someone is about writing, and by how their work resonates with others. If someone is very passionate about writing, about telling stories and sharing them with others, and that person’s work resonates with readers, I really think they deserve to be called an author. And in the case of this particular author, she’s clearly passionate about her writing, and it resonated enough with her publisher that they want to publish it and believe it’ll do well in sales. In my eyes, she definitely deserves to be called an author.

Of course, there are always people who feel they know better, whether or not they’re inside the industry, and there will always be people who just want to put others down just so they can put others down. I run across those people from time to time. I can’t say which kind the family of the author I’ve been talking about it, but I know what response I would give them: Screw you. Those people don’t hold any power unless you allow them to, and your own opinion of yourself and your work is more important than what they have to say. And if they’re only going to say hurtful or denigrating things, then maybe it’s best to put them aside and find people who will give you the support you need. Let them stew in their own negativity.

Or to put things more simply (and humorously):

So let them naysay. It won’t get them anything if we don’t let them have anything from it. And I don’t know about you, but I don’t intend to let any of my detractors (few that I have) say anything bad about me and bring me down. No, I’ll keep on writing, editing, publishing, and marketing, and listen to the voices who will help me along in that.

And in its way, having those supporters is way better than any riches or fame (though those would be nice).

#FirstLineFriday

Posted: March 25, 2016 in ideas, Novel, Writing
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It’s Friday again, so you know what that means. It’s #FirstLineFriday!

Now if you’re unfamiliar with what #FirstLineFriday is, here are the rules. On Fridays, you:

  1. Create a post on your blog entitled #FirstLineFriday, hashtag and all.
  2. Explain the rules like I’m doing now.
  3. Post the first one or two lines of a potential story, a story-in-progress, or a completed or published story.
  4. Ask your readers for feedback and encourage them to try #FirstLineFriday as well (tagging them if necessary).

This week’s entry comes from a story I’ve had sitting in the back of my head for a while. Without going into details, it involves issues of faith and belief, as well as devotion and power. It’ll be a very dark and probably bleak book when it’s finally written. Anyway, enjoy:

I remember the day I lost faith almost as clearly as if it had happened yesterday. Probably a good thing too, because my lack of faith is what allowed me to survive.

Thoughts? Errors? Let’s discuss.

And while we’re here, I think I’ll tag someone again. This week I’m tagging…Angela Misri of A Portia Adams Adventure! Angela, in honor of your new book, No Matter How Improbable, being released, I hereby tag you for #FirstLineFriday. Hope you enjoy doing it almost as much as I do every week. Or as much as I’m enjoying the new book. I’m about nine or ten chapters in at the time I’m writing this, and I have to say, I find it very intriguing. Especially including real historical figures in the story. That’s a pretty cool touch.

That’s all for now. If there’s anything else to post about this weekend, you’ll hear about it. In the meantime, have a good day and I’ll see you all later. Have a good one, my Followers of Fear!

Self-Pub Authors: PJ Boox

Posted: March 23, 2016 in Journalism
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I’m pleased to announce my latest article from Self-Published Authors Helping Other Authors has gone live on the website. The article, PJ Boox: A Bookstore for Indie Authors, is an update on the Gulf Coast Bookstore I wrote about last year. Apparently since that article, Gulf Coast has gotten a new name and a bigger space, and its got some pretty nice options for indie and small-press authors.

If you get a chance, check out the article. And if you’re a self-published author, I highly recommend you check out the rest of the website. Self-Published Authors Helping Other Authors is a website from indie authors, written by indie authors, and for indie authors. It’s a great place to get tips on writing, editing, publishing, and marketing without the help of big presses.

That’s all for now. Unless something else comes up between now and Friday, I’ll see you all for everybody’s favorite ritual. Until next time, my Followers of Fear. Pleasant nightmares!

#FirstLineFriday

Posted: March 18, 2016 in ideas, Writing
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It’s Friday again, so you know what that means. It’s #FirstLineFriday! And it’s my mother’s birthday today. And tomorrow she and her partner/fiancee of several years will finally get married. Yeah, all that’s happening this weekend. I would go into more detail on that, but that’s not what this blog is about.

But enough about that. Let’s get to why we’re here. For those of you unfamiliar, here’s the rules for this weekly blogging ritual. On Fridays, you:

  1. You create a blog post on your own blog entitled “#FirstLineFriday”, hashtag and all.
  2. You explain the rules like how I’m doing.
  3. You post the first one or two lines of a potential story, a story-in-progress, or a completed or published story.
  4. You ask your readers for feedback and encourage them to try and do #FirstLineFriday.

This week’s entry, surprisingly, doesn’t come from a story or a story idea. It’s from an idea fragment, which is basically when you have something–an image, a character, a concept, etc.–which could be part of a story but doesn’t have a story to go with. This would be like if JK Rowling had the idea for a boy wizard named Harry Potter but hadn’t yet thought up Hogwarts or Harry’s struggle with Voldemort. Great basis for a story, but where do you go from there without the magic school or the villain? It takes a bit of thought to make the fragments into full on ideas, and then actually write them. Unfortunately for me, I’ve had a lot of idea fragments swirling around my head lately, and I’ve been unable to think of a story for them yet, usually because I’m trying to think of something somewhat original that doesn’t sound like a similar story or hasn’t been done to death for the fragment. As you can probably tell, that can be difficult at times.

DAMN YOU, WORLD WHERE NOTHING UNDER THE SUN IS ORIGINAL! DAMN YOU!!!! I’m sorry, I’m just very passionate about trying to come up with stories that people feel isn’t like an already well-known story. Can you tell?

Anyway, here’s an opening that could go to this one idea fragment, assuming I actually got it to coalesce into a full-fledged story idea. Enjoy:

The little girl biked home, her blonde braids flying out behind her. She had no idea she was trying to outrun a storm that she was the herald of.

Thoughts? Errors? Let me know in the comments below.

And while you’re at it, why not try #FirstLineFriday yourself? It’s a lot of fun, and it’s great practice for writers wanting to try different openings.

In fact, I’m going to see if I can get someone into it by tagging them. I pick…Kat Impossible! Kat, you’ve been tagged. You have to participate in one #FirstLineFriday! Have fun with it!

Well, that’s all for now. I’m going to be working on a couple of articles this weekend in between the wedding and everything else, so keep an eye out for them. Have a good one, my Followers of Fear!

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