Sneak Peek: J. G. Wilson’s Vacation of Fear

Vacation of FearToday we have a sneak peek of J. G. Wilson’s young adult horror book, Vacation of Fear:

17-year-old Melody Miller did not want to hit the beach during Spring Break with her cousin Valery. That’s because all Valery does is party — all day and all night.

Armed with a fake ID, Valery hits the Sea Witch Nightclub, and the trouble she finds sends Melody on a journey of horror.

Can Melody save Valery from the vampire that abducted her? And who should she trust to guide her to the creature’s lair–the vampire hunter Max who used her as bait or the hot vampire Colton that saved her life?

Vacation of Fear is available in print and eBook through KDP Select on Amazon.comContinue reading “Sneak Peek: J. G. Wilson’s Vacation of Fear”

Tips for Better Google Search Results Using SEO Part 1 by Jen Smith

SICK by Jen SmithWhen I finished my book, SICK, and had it edited I felt like I had really accomplished something. Of course the dream of an agent was fluttering around in my brain like a beautiful brightly colored butterfly. I proceeded to write the most interesting gripping query letter I could possibly muster up and sent it out to eighty agents. Yup, that’s an exact number I carefully logged them on an excel spreadsheet. (geek) My beautiful dreamy butterfly quickly turned into an ugly moth as the rejections flooded in. Add the bad timing of Borders closing to the fact that agents now get hundreds of submissions sometimes daily, and I realized that I didn’t stand a chance. Borders was now sending back its entire inventory to the publishers at the cost of the publishers. That’s how it works. So no one was willing to take a chance on an unknown author. (I’m not ready to ponder the possibility that I suck as an author.) Continue reading “Tips for Better Google Search Results Using SEO Part 1 by Jen Smith”

New Feature on Indies Unlimited: Story Time

I am pleased to announce that due to popular demand (meaning it is something I just thought up myself) we will be starting a new feature on Indies Unlimited.

Lots of writers have short stories sitting around collecting dust, waiting fruitlessly to be added to an anthology. Why not share those stories with IU readers? Continue reading “New Feature on Indies Unlimited: Story Time”

Authors and the visual arts

Writing classes often advise emerging authors to give a lot of attention to all the senses. ‘Include smells,’ they say. ‘Include textures and sounds. Mention the taste of things.’ These tutors are right. Humans have five senses, and use them constantly, whether they are aware of the fact or not. Writing needs to suggest real life.

Beginning writers need to be very cautious with this aspect of writing, however: bombarding the reader with every single sensory notion in every scene, or giving too much information about a character’s experience of one, can have an off-putting effect. Are you sure your reader wants to know what every scene smells or sounds like? It can be over-kill to compare noises and aromas continually. It is much more effective to mention these things occasionally, and with a lot of thought and planning. Continue reading “Authors and the visual arts”