Celebrating Independent Authors
Guest post
by Virginia McKevitt
Have you ever had someone tell you your book would make a great movie? I’ve had people tell me that before (and not just my family or friends who want a free book). Readers who I have never met have written to me on several occasions and have made comments to that effect.
Its flattering and I love it but could it happen? My and your best chances might just be in the following post. Continue reading “Hollywood Bound:
Stage 32 and the Big Picture”
by Mike Markel
In my life as a college teacher (yes, I’m not ashamed to admit that I don’t earn enough from writing detective novels to just write detective novels) we have this thing called course evaluations. You remember them: before grades are entered, students evaluate their courses and instructors.
Occasionally I get a bad review from the poor student. I understand the psychology at work: if a student is doing poorly in a course and is likely to get a D or an F, it’s unlikely he or she is going to say, “Well, I was a poor student. I didn’t study, didn’t come to class, didn’t write the papers. But I realize that the instructor seemed prepared, seemed to know what he was talking about, seemed to be fair in grading the papers. I can see now that it wasn’t on him. It was all on me.” No, I don’t expect that kind of insight. A sinking student is not going down alone.
Which brings me to book reviews. All in all, my two detective books have gotten very positive reviews. (You’re thinking, “Oh, my God, he isn’t going to criticize his readers, is he? He can’t be that stupid, can he?” My answers: “yes” and “apparently.”) Continue reading “What Does a Reader Owe a Writer?”
Guest Post
by Dr. Lesley Phillips
Let me start by confessing that I am a relatively new author, and I did not suffer from writers block at all when I wrote my first book “The Midas Tree.”
Although I do teach people how to access their intuition and creativity through meditation. Writing a novel was a new experience for me, but allowing my creativity and intuition to flow was not. I attribute my success in writing “The Midas Tree” so effortlessly to the meditation techniques that I use every day to keep myself clear.
My hope is that I can share some of this knowledge with you and that you will find it useful if you ever hit the common bump on the writer’s path, known as writers block. Continue reading “Techniques to unblock the creative flow – Meditation teacher and author Dr Lesley Phillips shares her secrets”
Guest post
by Renee Pierce Williams
Who was it that said, “If you build it, he will come?” Well, Miami built it and they came. Miami draws in people from all over the world and continues to do so every year during the month of November. The eight-day book party draws hundreds of thousands of book lovers. The first fair was held in 1984 and was initially called Books by the Bay. It was then renamed the Miami Book Fair International and has become the finest and largest literary festival in the world.
The fair is enormous! Several blocks in the downtown area surrounding the Miami Dade College are blocked off to host the event. The minute you walk through the gate, you are overcome by the staggering number of people, hearing the multitude of different languages, the aroma of fresh food being prepared and the background music being performed by international artists. Excitement fills the air as authors, vendors, celebrities and the general public move through the crowd just to get a glimpse of all the showcased books, offered attractions and activities. Continue reading “Miami Book Fair International 2012: An Author’s Point of View”