Month: February 2014

Approaches to Building Suspense

gardenia Creating “Page-Turner Novels” was and still is my writing goal. In reviews, readers have complimented me for creating a good story and holding their  attention. (That is very satisfying.)

As I continue to improve my writing craft I have read several books. One that I would recommend is The Marshall Plan for NOVEL WRITING by Evan Marshall. He provides some excellent tools which helped me understand viewpoint writing and the proper sequence within the novel. I use a form of that now to plan my novels and to record the actual chapter detail and story progress. Here is what I do: Continue reading “Approaches to Building Suspense”

Win a Professional Critique For Your Debut Novel

WVA Logo 2013 WhiteDebut novelists can win a $800 bursary to have their novel professionally critiqued at the Writers’ Village Foundation, a not-for-profit award program established to help new authors. The top eight submissions will also gain personal feedback from the award judge, novelist Michelle Spring, a Royal Literary Fellow at Magdalene College, Cambridge.

Indie novelists are welcome.

Entry Fee: $19

Deadline: March 31, 2014

Visit the website for more information.

Indies Unlimited is pleased to provide this information as a public service. We are not affiliated with, nor do we endorse any specific events, conferences, workshops, or programs. Persons interested in participating are responsible for performing their own due diligence and research.

Video Trailer: Blind Sight

Blind SightJordan’s family hunts supernatural monsters for a living…and she is their next assignment.

When Jordan is ordered to go on a hunt for a blood-thirsty creature stalking a seedy campground, her biggest worries are the decaying cabin, which is no more than termites holding hands, and being stuck inside of it with a brother who hates her…until a demon shows up with a warning.

Caught in a game between Good and Evil, lines are blurred and Jordan doesn’t know who to trust. She learns a little too late that the real monster is closer than she thinks.

Blind Sight, the young adult paranormal book by Nicole Storey, is available from Amazon, Smashwords, and Amazon UK and most online booksellers.

Don’t forget, you can cast your vote for trailer of the month on February 22, 2014 at 5 p.m. Pacific time.

Flash Fiction Down Under

raceWhy do I, why do any of us write?

1. Because I can.
2. Because I want to.
3. Because, at my age, it might be considered strange to have imaginary friends.
4. Because, through writing, I have come to know myself better.
5. Because I feel I have something to say.
6. Because I love to tell stories and share some of my deepest thoughts.
7. Because it is a form of expression that I can take my time to formulate.
8. Because I want to be heard and understood.
9. Because I want something left to show that once I existed.
10. Because I want others to experience how I feel when an author moves me.

I’ve listed, in no particular order, ten out of the many reasons I write. You’ll notice that I haven’t said ‘because I have to make a living’; that’s because, currently, if I were to depend on the income from my writing to live on I wouldn’t be (living). And I haven’t listed ‘because I have no choice: writers write’; I feel that’s a given. They are just two more of the plethora of reasons you may have for writing. Continue reading “Flash Fiction Down Under”