Mr. Pish Announces New Release

Postcards from Mr. Pish East Coast EditionAuthor K. S. Brooks and her sidekick Mr. Pish are pleased to announce the release of their new educational children’s book, Postcards from Mr. Pish: East Coast Edition.

Mr. Pish, the lovable Jack Russell Terrier, leads readers on an expedition down the East Coast of the United States in Postcards from Mr. Pish Volume 3. With each new discovery, the traveling terrier sends a postcard with full-color photographs and engaging text geared to promote outdoor learning and literacy. Mr. Pish’s enthusiasm inspires young and old to read, explore and learn in a fun way.

Postcards from Mr. Pish: East Coast Edition is the fourth book in the Mr. Pish Educational Series promoting outdoor learning and literacy. It was released by Cambridge Books on August 14, 2012. It is available in print from Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble. The electronic versions will be available soon.

The Reader’s Ear

I have always been interested in the peculiarities of speech. The ways in which people pronounce or use certain words or phrases, their verbal tics and mannerisims, their accents—it all intrigues me.

We are often told that when writing dialogue, we should write the way people speak. This is supposed to lend authenticity to your dialogue and keep it from sounding stilted. A lot of authors address this by sprinkling in swear words, because “That’s how people really talk.” Okay… Continue reading “The Reader’s Ear”

Sneak Peek: INZARED, Queen of the Elephant Riders

INZAREDToday, we feature a sneak peek of author L. Leander’s young adult historical fiction book, INZARED, Queen of the Elephant Riders.

Bertha Maude Anderson was born in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina. Raised on a small farm, she lived a hard life far-removed from everything she craved. Misunderstood by her parents, her only confidante her brother Ezra, Bertha yearned for excitement. A Gypsy circus came to town and her world changed forever.

 Coaxed into joining the Romanoff Brothers Circus, Bertha’s name was changed to INZARED, Queen of the Elephant Riders. She learned to ride Cecil, the elephant, and the two forged an unbreakable bond. Inzared fell in love, learned to co-exist with the Gypsies, solved a mystery and grew into a woman, all the while searching for the life she had always dreamed of.

INZARED, Queen of the Elephant Riders is available on Amazon.com as an e-book.

Here is an excerpt from INZARED, Queen of the Elephant Riders: Continue reading “Sneak Peek: INZARED, Queen of the Elephant Riders”

How to Lose a Novel Writing Contest

See, everyone reacts differently. Reading a really bad manuscript doesn’t make me want to cry. It makes me angry. No, I’m not kidding. I wish I were. This article could also be called “How to Make Me Stop Reading Your Entry” because clearly you didn’t take the time or make the effort to have someone else read what you wrote first. Among other things.

Honestly, NOT having someone else read your first chapter before submitting it ANYWHERE is clearly insane. That first chapter is your hook…that first chapter is going to dictate whether the reader keeps reading…and in my case, if the judge keeps judging. Yes, I’m back on the novel writing contest again. Hopefully, someone will gain some sort of insight from the awful, awful things I’ve seen. My eyes! (Cue music from Gone with the Wind.) Okay, I may be exaggerating just a little bit. My eyes don’t actually hurt, my brain does.

Missing words and typographical errors should NEVER occur in a first chapter. Theoretically, they should never occur in a manuscript, but we’re all human and eventually it’s going to happen. But in a submission to a contest? Really? I don’t get that. Many agents and/or publishers will ask for the first chapter(s) in their submissions instructions. If you’re not self-publishing, and you’re trying to hook someone, you HAVE to have that first chapter stellar and pristine. Anything less is setting yourself up to lose. Continue reading “How to Lose a Novel Writing Contest”