First three chapters of "Dark of midnight"

Fantasy/romance

vampire

I have added a page to this blog that includes the first three chapters of "Dark of midnight."  Check it out and let me know what you think.  If you enjoy it, then look for it by September of 0212.

Happy scrawling everyone and remember, never give up on your dreams no matter how far out of your reach they may seem.

Funny writers quotes

Funny quotes

Writers

Everywhere I go I'm asked if I think the university stifles writers. My opinion is that they don't stifle enough of them.
More funny Flannery O'Connor quotes

I'm astounded by people who take 18 years to write something. That's how long it took that guy to write 'Madame Bovary,' and was that ever on the best-seller list?
More funny Sylvester Stallone quotes

 
When I was a little boy, they called me a liar, but now that I am grown up, they call me a writer.
More funny Isaac Bashevis Singer quotes

For a long time now I have tried simply to write the best I can. Sometimes I have good luck and write better than I can.
More funny Ernest Hemingway quotes

Copy from one, it's plagiarism; copy from two, it's research.
More funny Wilson Mizner quotes

“Your manuscript is both good and original, but the part that is good is not original, and the part that is original is not good.”
– Samuel Johnson 

“I never made a mistake in grammar but one in my life and as soon as I done it I seen it.”
– Carl Sandburg 

 “From now on, ending a sentence with a preposition is something up with which I shall not put.”
– Winston Churchill

 “The original writer is not he who refrains from imitating others, but he who can be imitated by none.”
– Francois Rene de Chateaubriand

“There's no money in poetry, but then there's no poetry in money either.”
– Robert Graves

 “Some editors are failed writers, but so are most writers.”
– T. S. Eliot

More on genres

More on genres

As promised, I am posting another discussion about different types of genres.  It is vital for an author to know where his/her work belongs.  The good thing is, you don't need to know everything about every genre.  You just need to know where you belong, then learn from there.

Different mystery genres.  There are several different types of mystery novels, but all include a mystery to be solved and a detective-type person to solve it.  These novels can contain, profanity, sex scenes, and violence.
Link to mystery genres
Psychological novels are basically a product of the mind.  A lot of imagination and thought goes into these novels as well as a demented mind set.  It doesn't hurt, anyway.  If you are unsure about this genre, check out Stephen King and Dean Koontz who have been terrifying readers and keeping them up at night for years.  A psychological novel keeps you on the edge of your seat, biting your nails, and pulling the covers up under you chin when you finally go to bed.  These are often linked with horror and are usually about 85,000 to over 100,000 words and typically have a lot of adult content.

Thrillers are typically set in modern times with drug lords, bombs, runaway trains, large body count, etc.  Romance can play a small part in these stories, but usually it's about the action and readers simply want to see the good guy beat the bad guy.  Of course, the bad guy dying some horrific death is always the best ending for most readers of the Thriller persuasion.  Thrillers are usually between 85,000 and just over 100,000 words.

Horror Everyone who lived in the eighties knows this genre well.  The bad guy usually doesn't die very easily even if you stab him ten times and put several bullets in his back, he still comes up for one last scare.  The body count is high and typically on the gory side with blood, guts, and a lot of blood-curdling screams.  The reader wants you to scare their pants off of them.  They want to feel their chest tighten when they hear a bump in the night.  Think back to when you were a kid.  There you were in bed, all was dark, silence clung to your room and suddenly you heard footsteps coming up the hall, closing in on your room.  That feeling, the feeling you had at that moment, that's horror.

Historical fiction is obviously set in the past and can include romance, fantasy, etc. The setting for a historical novel is usually real and created from history.  This genre is typically over 100,000 words in length and can include adult content.  Some examples of historical fiction include Forever amber, Gone with the wind, Spartacus, Key of gold just to name a few.

Contemporary fiction The setting for this genre can begin as far back as the 1940's and still fit into this category.  This genre usually expresses our emotions, has characters that are very realistic in what they say and do.  The events that take place in a contemporary fiction are things that can actually happen in true life, so meeting a ghost in this genre simply doesn't happen.  These novels are usually over 100,000 words, and may or may not contain violence, profanity, and sex.  These novels are about relationships, tragedy, families, etc.  Some examples of contemporary fiction include  On Chesil beach, Fifty shades of grey, Keeper, and Happy hour, as well as many, many more.  If you need more examples, just do a quick search of popular contemporary fiction novels.

Mainstream fiction are difficult to categorize and can derive from many different ideas.  They are usually about good versus evil and tells a classic story such as, Lovely bones, and The time traveler's wife.  Mainstream fiction is basically genre fiction that likes to break the rules.  For instance, if you want to write a romance novel, but don't care to stick to the typical romance formula, then you'll more than likely come up with a mainstream novel.  

Until next time, happy scrawling.

Publication OOPS!

Publish a book

OOPS!

If you are like me and have a polished manuscript that your itching to see in book form, then you have probably sent out numerous synopsis, queries, and sample chapters to nearly every publishing company and literary agent within you genre.

I am the type of person who, after several months of waiting and receiving numerous rejection letter, decided to simply self-publish.  Why not?  I say to myself.  I worked hard and deserve to see my book in print.  Today, however, I received an acceptance letter from a publishing company I had contacted a while back, but had assumed they were not interested because they had not responded to me. 

So, here I am, with my self-published work enrolled in K.D.P select through Kindle and with no way of taking my book off for at least 90 days.  The publishing company that is interested in my novel does not allow for my work to be available anywhere else except through them or with their written approval.  That is what their contract reads, so until I can get my book unpublished with Kindle and off of Amazon, I am unable to pursue traditional publication.

Moral of this story:  Do not jump the gun and self-publish because you have not received an acceptance letter yet, because you just might burn your bridges.  Be 100% certain that no one wishes to publish your work first, then pursue self-publication.

Novels available through Amazon

New releases

Published

New novel "Silent cries of the children" a true account of child abuse and neglect, is now available at Amazon.com.  This wonderful story was written by Redonda Stover and was published by Knight publishing 2012.  Look for it today!
Also, from Knight publication,  "Hell Happens" and
 "Dark of midnight", which is coming soon!

scrawlbawl: Upload from newsletter "Book Bite".

scrawlbawl: Upload from newsletter "Book Bite".: Book Bite News letter   Too bad I couldn't insert the newsletter the way it actually appears in print, but the info is the same, so e...

Upload from newsletter "Book Bite".

Book Bite

News letter

 

Wow!  Did I fubar this the first time.  Sorry about that and I hope this reads far better.

Too bad I couldn't insert the newsletter the way it actually appears in print(really cool looking), but the info is the same, so enjoy.

Newsletter Date Volume 1, Issue 1

Book Bite

A knight publication

I am a Stephen King fan and like many of his fans, I have read nearly every novel he has ever written.  From his first publication “The glass floor” to his newest novel, The wind through the keyhole, Stephen King has proven himself one of the greatest story tellers of our time with an awe inspiring total sales of over 350 million copies sold.  That is impressive!

Stephen king’s most popular reads

Top Twenty most popular Stephen King novels: The Dark Tower Series The stand The mist It The dead zone The green mile Salem’s lot Tommy knockers

Special Interest Articles: Fantasy must reads!   Fantasy is a wonderful genre where the author has no limits.  The fantasy novel can be in space, in another dimension, underwater; it does not really matter.  Fantasy has no roots, meaning it is not based on reality or science as you would find in a sci-fi novel.  One of the most creative of the genres, fantasy is essentially the writer’s playground where absolutely anything can become possible. If you are a fantasy lover, then here is a list of must reads for you:   A game of thrones George R. R Martin The name of the wind Patrick Rothfuss Lord of the rings J.R R Tolkien The black company Glen Cook The blade itself Joe Abercrombie Hell Happens Bethaney Brookes  The way of kings Brandon Sanderson The farseer Robin Hobb The wheel of time Robert Jordan Cold fire trilogy C.S Friedman The etched city K.J Bishop A sword of shadows J.V Jones •   Stephen Kings most popular reads. Self-published works that scream, “READ ME!”

More and more these days you see many emerging self-published authors.  The reason for this is the increasing difficulty in finding a publisher who will actually give a manuscript a chance.  It seems that a writer has to already be established and have a platform, be famous, or know the right people in order to make it in this field.  It's not fair to a writer who has a manuscript that screams potential best-seller.  Most great new authors are having their work tossed in the trash without as much as a look.  This is the main reason why authors turn to self-publishing. Here is a short list of self-published works that made it to the top.

The Celestine Prophecy

James Redfield In search of excellence Tom Peters The Christmas box Rick Evans A time to kill John Grisham The plant Stephen King These great works were all originally self-published.  Do you recognize any?

A list of Self-published works available on Amazon! The following list of self-published works come from an extensive search of Amazon, Good reads, and a select few have been suggested by leaders of local book groups/clubs for inclusion. “I’m not dead. I’m not in Hell.”  (Hell Happens)  Hell Happens Bethaney Brookes The lunatics Seven N Blue Solemnly swear Joe Porrazzo The Abbey Chris Culver  Last Breath Michael Prescott Summer secrets Barbara Freethy Blind pursuit Michael Prescott My blood approves Amanda Hocking

A bit on Dean Koontz Dean Koontz was born in Pennsylvania.  He graduated from Shippensburg state college (Shippensburg University) Dean Koontz has sold over 400 million copies of his books, which have

been translated to 38 different languages.  Some of his best works are: Odd Thomas series Watchers Phantoms

False memory The good guy The door to December The face Strangers Hideaway

Twilight Craze!

“I’m a little worried about Edward…  Can vampires go into shock?” The Twilight saga has received a lot of attention since it first hit the shelves.  At first, people lined up at the registers to purchase their copies of this popular series, and then it hit the box office.  The movie version sold out on their first night all over the nation.  It was one of the most popular love stories of the year.  You could see people wearing team Jacob, team Edward,and team Bella tee shirts all over the states. Now, there are numerous blogs belittling Stephanie Meyers for the poor writing and editing of her novels.  Several reviews have also pointed this out including a review by Stephen King.  However, one must commend Mrs. Meyers on finding her target audience and keeping the story geared to them.  Even with the negative reviews on and off the net.  The vampire love story still creates quite the stir on premier night.  It can be seen “sold out” at nearly ever box office across the states.  Therefore, regardless of the bad publicity, the movie and book series are still a hit, and Stephanie Meyers has the last laugh as she walks away with millions in profit.

Box office:  Based on books   Even book lovers enjoy a good movie sometimes.  Have you ever read a novel and thought," That should be made into a movie!"  Chances are you have.  There are several great movies already out and coming out this year based on bestselling novels.  Here is a list of what movies to watch for: One for the money The Lorax The hunger games The lucky one

Breaking dawn--part 2 The hobbit Life of Pi Abraham Lincoln: Vampire hunter The host The devil in the white city Water for elephants The help The girl with the dragon tattoo On the road The woman in black