Sheila's Guests and Reviews

Yay! I have a pdf proof for Divide by Zero and I'm frantically proofreading. Actually, I'm trying not to proofread too frantically as I know if I get too involved in the story I'll stop reading carefully enough. There's something really amazing about seeing the pages spread across the computer screen though, all nicely laid out, formatted beautifully, headings just where they ought to be--and my name at the top! So, the proof is in the reading stage, and the real thing should be released, in ebook and paperback, on August 20th. Real date, real book cover, real proof... does this make me a real author yet? I suppose the proof of that comes when we see if people read it and if they like it. Please read it. Please like it. Pretty please with white cat curling around your ankles. (Hey, sugar and cherries on top might be fattening.)

I'm happy to welcome author Noah Beck to my blog today with a fascinating post addressing the question of whether a novel can change the world. My own first novel, Divide by Zero, comes out next month, and looks at much smaller themes of small-town life facing very personal disaster. But Noah's novel, The Last Israelis, takes on the world with serious global intent. I'm hoping to read the Last Israelis later this year. Meanwhile, meet author Noah Beck and consider how your reading, writing and dreaming might change the world. Over to you Noah, and thank you for visiting my blog today.   By most measures, fiction writers are a fairly self-indulgent lot: they sit around mulling and forming ideas, converting concepts into stories, refining their drafts, and then hoping that someone — perhaps with enough prodding — takes notice. In most cases, when stacked up against physicians, firefighters, and home builders, it’s hard to see how scribes have earned their right to food...

Some while ago I enjoyed reading and reviewing Russell Blake's The Voynitch Cypher (click the link for my review). When I heard he had a new book coming out, Silver Justice, I was delighted to be invited to host the author on his blog tour. The novel's about a single mom FBI agent hunting a serial killer on the East Coast--sounds intriguing doesn't it, and I hope to read it soon. But the story's much more than just another high-octane thriller with a cool protagonist, as you'll see in Russell's post below. So, over to you Russell, and thank you for visiting my blog... When Fiction Crosses Lines One of the things as an author I have to grapple with on a regular basis is whether to stay in one genre, or risk losing my audience by moving into others. I write action/adventure thrillers, with a strong conspiracy undercurrent, a la Robert Ludlum. That's what I like to read, so that's what I write. I currently have 14 novels out, all of which ar...

 Createspace keeps finding non-blocking issues with my books--images that aren't quite clear enough are the usual culprit, with not enough dpi. I've worked on fixing some and appreciate knowing about others, but now I'm nearly ready to say they're done. I'll order proofs for the titles I've not seen in print (in Createspace print) yet, finish proof-reading the ones *I'm still reading, approve the proofs online for the ones where I've just made minor changes... and maybe soon--please soon--I'll push the button and publish them. Maybe I'll even get a Createspace internet store then. I really like the new covers for my seasonal books. Okay, the cover creator's not brilliant, but it does some really neat stuff (and it's way cheaper than hiring someone). I wish they'd print titles on the spines like Lulu does of course, but still... I'm proud of my efforts. Then there are the Smashwords versions. I still have to make sure ...

Finding Emma sounds the sort of novel that would grip me and not let go, every mother's nightmare yet, according to the reviews, still a tale of hope... Megan sees her daughter Emma everywhere. She's the little girl standing in the supermarket, the child waiting for the swings at the playground, the girl with ice cream dripping down her face. But it's never Emma -- because Emma 's been missing for two years. Unable to handle the constant heartache of all the false sightings, Megan's husband threatens to walk away unless Megan can agree to accept Emma is gone. Megan's life and marriage is crumbling all around her and she realizes she may have to do the thing she dreads most: move on. When Megan takes a photo of a little girl with an elderly couple at the town fair, she believes it to be her missing daughter. Unable to let go, she sets in motion a sequence of events that could destroy both family’s lives.  Praise for Best-Selling " FIN...

Still reading, still trying to catch up on that list, and still working on adding my what IFS books to Createspace and Smashwords, I really ought to stop and do the housework. But first I'll post a few more book reviews and ponder why I didn't read these War of Independence books before July the fourth instead of after. I certainly learned a lot, and enjoyed the reading. First in this week's reading was Doug Lucas' Conversations with a Dead Man . Told in a leisurely conversational style, the story paints a well-researched image of life at the time of the American War of Independence, bringing pride, prejudice, love and the economy into focus, all seen through the eyes of a man now buried in a small town cemetery. Enjoy with a 3-star well-balanced cup of coffee. Next comes another War of Independence novel, Michael S. Adelberg's The Razing of Tinton Falls . Beautifully researched and convincingly imagined, it tells the story of a small town's demise through t...

Seventh Star Press are having an Open House with lots of free books on Kindle. And Knox Robinson has a great free historical novel available tomorrow. How can you resist? Just go to http://www.seventhstarpress.com/ for sci fi and fantasy delights Brotherhood of Swords Angelkiller The Exodus Gate Crown of Vengeance Poseidon's Children (see my review of Poseidon's Children ) Cinema of Shadows Overkill (see my review of Overkill ) and Redheart (see my review of Redheart ) And for Anne Brear's To Take Her Pride, go to http://www.amazon.com/To-Take-Her-Pride-ebook/dp/B007I8RSXO/  on Friday.

Taken from a talk I gave on Sunday at the Writers' Mill. This is a very low-level approach to getting connected, from one beginner to another... Internet Writing, Marketing and Networking If you’ve got an email address you’re on the internet. If you’ve got a book out or an article in a magazine, you’re into marketing. If you’ve got friends, you’re networking. And if you use Google, you can do almost anything. Google Google is your friend. Google “how to join facebook” “How to join goodreads” “How to join Twitter” etc… Google “facebook badges” “blogger widgets” etc… to spice up your pages. Anything you want to know, a nice simple question to google will almost certainly tell you. But keep safe . Don’t just click on the first link you see. Make sure it looks vaguely genuine. “F*@!book.com/badges” might take you somewhere you don’t want your computer to go. “Facebook.com/badges” tells you all about badges. Why would you want to join all these interne...