The Top 10 Christmas Gift Ideas (for the writer in your life)

Welcome to The Learning Curve. This is where I chronicle my adventures as a new writer. The goal is to inspire you to put that bag of chips down, step away from the television, and tell the world a good story.

 

 

The Top 10 Christmas Gift Ideas (for the writer in your life)

My wife posed a simple question last month. It’s the same one I hear every year. “What would you like for Christmas?” I gave the standard reply and thought that was the end of the discussion. It wasn’t. She evidently doesn’t believe I have everything I could possibly want or need because she’s asked the same question almost every day since.

This is a technique that our teenagers taught her, and it’s quite effective in driving me nuts. She knows that one of my pet peeves is redundancy. More accurately, I don’t like to repeat myself. So after weeks of persistent pestering I promised to make her a list.

I finally sat down and came up with a list of things for her to choose from this past weekend. It occurred to me that many of these would be perfect for any writer. With that in mind, feel free to save this list and share it with friends and family for next year. Who knows? You might get lucky. Continue reading “The Top 10 Christmas Gift Ideas (for the writer in your life)”

Barbara Ebel Announces New Release

Author Barbara Ebel is pleased to announce the release of her new children’s book, My Brother Buck.

Chester the Chesapeake Book Four: My Brother Buck, explores the complexities of a stray dog abandoned in Chester’s neighborhood. Despite all attempts to find his owner, the dog is rendered homeless unless Chester and his family take him in. Through Chester’s point of view, his wise nature, and the fabulous real pictures that the books are illustrated with, we learn just how unique the new dog is. But then again, as is the case with children and their parents, Chester and each of his dog brothers is unique and special in the eyes of their “Mom.”

My Brother Buck was released on November 1, 2012 and is available through Amazon.com, Amazon UK, Kobo, and Barnes & Noble.

Sneak Peek: The Ups and Downs of Being Dead

Today we have a sneak peek from the speculative fiction/science fiction novel by author M. R. Cornelius: The Ups and Downs of Being Dead.

Fifty-seven year old Robert Malone is the CEO of a successful clothing store chain and married to a former model. When his doctor tells him he is dying of cancer, he refuses to go quietly. Instead of death, Robert chooses cryonics. He knows it’s a long shot. His frozen body will be stored in liquid nitrogen for the next seventy-five years, and then he’ll wake up in the future. Maybe. If technology figures out a way to bring him back. He’s willing to take that gamble. What he doesn’t realize is that he won’t lie in some dreamless state all that time. His soul is very much awake, and free to move about, just like the others who were frozen before him.

He discovers that he can ride in the cockpit with the pilots, but he can’t turn the page of a magazine. He can sit in the oval office with the president, but he can’t prevent a child from dashing in front of a car. He doesn’t work, or eat, or sleep. These obstacles make it difficult to fall in love, and virtually impossible to reconcile with the living. Over the next several decades, Robert Malone will have plenty of time to learn The Ups and Downs of Being Dead.

The Ups and Downs of Being Dead is available from Amazon US, and Amazon UK.

And now, an excerpt from The Ups and Downs of Being Dead… Continue reading “Sneak Peek: The Ups and Downs of Being Dead”

Smashwords Sunday: Holiday Hoopla

Let’s face it, a good snowball fight will numb you up in only a few minutes and people can get a little cranky once the egg nog runs out.

Why risk any holiday unpleasantness? Books make everything better.

Holiday themes abound this Smashwords Sunday. Take a look at some of these Smashwords best-sellers and highest-rated books in the Holiday fiction category. Of course, this is a mere sampling of the bounty available at Smashwords. If we overlooked your holiday-themed book, feel free to post the link below. (Safe-for-work titles only, please) Just click the covers to take a look or buy the book!

Continue reading “Smashwords Sunday: Holiday Hoopla”