Month: April 2012

What To Eat in Bargia

Food has been on the brains of many of us lately. Apparently that means writing has taken a back seat. So just to make sure the rest of you don’t get back to business before I do and jump ahead of me here is a post I wrote for Shelley Workinger’s blog (with minor edits). Drool on.

WHAT TO EAT IN BARGIA:

My trilogy, Earth’s Pendulum, takes place in an imaginary old world society. Think agrarian city state, on a large island isolated from other influences. The climate is temperate, akin to what Ireland might have, or England.

Now when I create my world, while it is not a real place, I still want my readers to be able to place themselves there, to see it in their minds, to hear the speech of the characters. Both the setting and the characters must be believable. Continue reading “What To Eat in Bargia”

Emote With Style

I never let an opportunity escape to express myself with personal style. Developing a consistent, signature style is key to branding yourself, a necessity for successful long term promotion. At the end of this post you will have a style assignment, a personal mission if you will, to express yourself with your own unique emoticon. Let’s do some research first.

The exciting thing about American English is its acceptance of new words. Sites like the Urban Dictionary allow anyone to post a word they’ve made-up. Look under my user i.d., sassy/swag, and you will see the word Cheneyesque. Definition: A cold, uncaring attitude. Callous, unsmiling, condescending. Example of usage: I knew Bob wouldn’t care about the starving children in Ethiopia, he is completely Cheneyesque. I was annoyed with Dick Cheney that day so I decided to immortalize him. Continue reading “Emote With Style”

Book Trailer: Dark Moon by Maggie Tideswell

A spell-binding novel of love, murder and the supernatural.

Chance meetings can have far-reaching effects. Loved ones may not be who they seem. The line between comprehension and confusion is thin – particularly when one’s thoughts are being manipulated by another.

Set in beautiful Cape Town, South Africa, Dark Moon is the story of love and betrayal and misplaced loyalty. Storm has a choice to make, but is her information and perceptions reliable? Isn’t she being unduly influenced? Trevor is an attractive man, but he is an expert at bending people to his will. Then there is Jarred… In Storm’s words, “One knew what to do with her, but he didn’t love her. The other loved her, but had no idea how to treat her.” One wanted to control her, and only one wanted her as his wife. Storm finds herself, her friends and every one she holds dear in mortal danger. What can she do to neutralize the evil that is following her?

In Dark Moon, the eternal triangle takes an innovative twist into the occult. Riveting plot lines will have you guessing from chapter to chapter – you won’t be able to put it down until the dramatic ending. Read it on a stormy night, and you’ll find yourself jumping at things that go bump in the night.

Dark Moon is available in print or Kindle edition from Amazon. Learn more about the author at her blog.

Judging a Book by Its Cover

The Kiss of Night by K. S. BrooksI’m constantly looking at book covers as part of my “job” here at Indies Unlimited.  I run into authors posting their covers in groups all the time, asking for input. So I see a LOT of covers. And most of them all have the same issues.

What I find most ironic is that the same people keep posting book covers with the same problems.  I don’t get that.  Please allow me to make something perfectly clear. And I’m not just making this up to be difficult or bossy or right. I’m speaking from experience. I enjoy providing my own cover art to my small Indie publisher – and because of that, I’ve taken some lumps. But I’ve also learned some important things about book covers. I share this knowledge freely, to help my fellow Indie authors. Book covers are important. We all want to make a good first impression. Book sales count on it. Continue reading “Judging a Book by Its Cover”