WRITER★EDITER★PRODUCER★CONSULTANT
BOOK | FICTION | THRILLER USA, Inc. (A Mike Wardman Novel: Book 1) by Larry Kahaner RATING: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ When acclaimed and prolific author, investigative journalist, and private investigator Larry Kahaner reached out to me to see if I would be interested in receiving a copy of his latest thriller, USA, …
Continue reading "A First-Rate Fish Tale of a Thriller: USA, Inc. – A Review"
Been wanting to read this for a long time but now that I finally have it... I find its presence rather... intimidating. #prayforthetimidreaders
You know, making every honest effort not to think about #youknowwho by revisiting a favorite book of mine (and which is listed as one of my Writing Resources) so as to give my brain a break from of all of #youknowwhose juvenile behavior, which includes but by no means whatsoever is limited to his recent …
Continue reading "So there I was just minding my own business…"
In Sam's world there are two rules. Rule #1: Nobody dies. Protect the living at all costs. Rule #2: Everybody dies. At least once. The Waking was a global event in which a force called the Lifeblood invaded all humans who died. The few strong enough to control it came back as powerful immortals. The …
Continue reading "RISE OF THE CHOSEN by Guest Author Anna Kopp"
Our private Facebook writers and readers group recently held its second WRITE EDIT WRITE Challenge (see the results of the first challenge here). Because my focus is on producing a short film based upon an adaptation of my short story LEAVE, I figured we might as well have a challenge focused on screenwriting. Ergo, we …
Continue reading "Birth of Loglines & Beyond | A Guest Post by Author Ann Kimbrough"
Kathy Cecala, an Indie Author and an active and valuable member of our private Facebook group for writers and readers, has some interesting and useful thoughts on the dark art of choosing and creating book covers. I strongly encourage you to check it and all the many other intriguing and compelling writing she has shared for us to read for free on her website.
Yes, I’m on a writing break, but it doesn’t mean I’m not thinking about the cover for my next. As we all know, you’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover. But we all do, it seems. Supposed experts in publishing tell us the cover is your most important marketing tool, though my own informal survey of readers begs to differ. Some readers will choose a book solely on its cover, but others could care less, using reviews or information on the product page to make their decision.
Truth be told, I’m in the latter group. Half the time I don’t even look at the cover of a book, even when I’ve finished reading it. And this probably explains why I tend to give short shrift to my own covers as an author. But this time I’m trying to take it seriously, mainly because I don’t feel the…
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Last week I announced that we were starting a private Facebook group for Writers and Readers called WRITE EDIT WRITE. Well I am happy to say that we have had a great response to the announcement and our group includes a growing host of active and creative members. And while we're still getting situated and …
Continue reading "WRITE EDIT WRITE: Flash Fiction by Author Pam Schloesser-Canepa"
So, I'm creating a private Facebook group for writers and readers who are interested in the discussion of all things related to the process and business of writing. This will be somewhat an extension of what I do with the Newsletter Love subscribers, but on a much more intimate and informal level. The newsletter …
Continue reading "Write Edit Write: A Private Facebook Group for Writers and Readers"
Seeing that we will begin filming sometime in early July, I would say we are about half-way through our campaign to raise the seed funds, so to speak, for the larger Indiegogo campaign that will raise the major funds needed to produce LEAVE, a short film based upon a screenplay I wrote. So, to celebrate …
Continue reading "A Mid-Term Thank You To All Who Support #IndieFilms"
And That's The Problem. #amwriting #not
As you may already know, a short film is going to be made of a screenplay I adapted from LEAVE, one of my short, dramatic stories about what it may have been like for the first females sailors assigned to warships back in the Nineties. It probably isn't much of a spoiler to say that …
...I am knee deep (I'm pretty tall dude so that's pretty darn deep) into so much stuff* -- stuff being formatting my two latest books HOW NOT TO DIE and SHORT VERSES & OTHER CURSES into print editions; setting up the logistics for the film adaptation of my short story "Leave" (fundraiser announcement soon - …
Continue reading "I was going to review Hemingway’s A MOVEABLE FEAST, but…"
Have you had a chance to check out what's going on with Newsletter Love lately? We recently announced that we will be sending out 2015 in style, meaning me sharing your poetry and other writing via the newsletter on New Year's Eve and with a selected few being published right here on the blog as …
You may have heard that Dr. Wayne Dyer has died. And you may have seen several of my posts where I discuss how much Dr. Dyer has meant to me over the recent years. And you may have noticed that I often referred to him, this man who has meant so much to me and …
Continue reading "Volume IV Selection for the Indie Author Book Selection & Review"
Okay, I've never been one of those hardcore Gaiman fanboys* that you see following him with blind, whole-body, fervor on twitter but I sure do have a whole lot of respect and admiration for what he's accomplished in his life - and mine. Beginning with The Sandman series oh so long ago, Gaiman seems unable …
You know, seeing how we already have robots writing poetry and composing music, I assume we will soon have robots taking over as reviewers and editors, as well. I yearn for that day... You see, months and months ago -- essentially an eternity in our hyper-paced, brain-frazzling, tele-connected, continually-morphing-right-before-our-eyes day and age -- in an …
I love caustic writers. They write how I think except they're more witty. And incisive. And, um, better writers. Here's an example of what I mean. Check out Chuck Wendig's piece called Dear guy who is mad because I wrote a gay character in a book. Or try John Hartness, entitled: Why your self-published book …
Continue reading "I HAVE NO VOICE AND I MUST WRITE: A Guest Post by Author K. D. Rose"
I'm very happy to say that we have yet another submission to ponder over for Volume IV of the Indie Author Book Selection & Review. And by what I've seen of the book so far, it appears to be quite the submission, indeed. And I'm very very happy to say that this may not even …
Continue reading "HEAVY BAGS OF SOUL by K.D. Rose: An IABS&R Volume IV Book Reveal"
To all the Sailors lost at Sea Whatever to Them Their Sea May be And remembering thus That all of Us Through Life Are Sailing We *This poem is the dedication for the forthcoming short story collection LEAVE: And Other Stories Short And Shorter
Oscar Wilde, in his famous preface to The Picture of Dorian Gray begins, “The artist is the creator of beautiful things.” But I’ve been struggling to understand what he means by that. Do all artists create beauty? Are all of those who create beauty artists? E. L. James recently published another book in the …
Continue reading "THE CREATOR OF BEAUTIFUL THINGS: A Guest Post by Author G.N. Boorse"
Quite the haul from just one visit to my PO Box, wouldn't you say? Makes me feel like a kid at Christmas... Well, we kind of kicked off the IABS&R Volume IV with this, so what do you say we go ahead and get this party started? We'll start off by revealing DON'T TOUCH THE …
Continue reading "DON’T TOUCH THE GLASS by G.N. Boorse: An IABS&R Volume IV Book Reveal"
unlock the gateway let pass the wearied and weak the mind holds the key Book One of the Heroes of Dystopia Saga Read an Excerpt
Mysterious Characters and Unforgivable Acts of Violence by Jason Greensides One piece of writing advice that never set well with me – however useful it is at a practical level – is to know your characters: that you should be able to understand every little aspect of your character if you ever want them …
It is my pleasure, privilege, and honor to present to you a whirlwind of wisdom and intrigue from the author of HAWSER, our IABS&R Volume 3 selection. Or So You Say by J Hardy Carroll Tell me the truth, now. You always dreamed of being a writer. Doesn’t matter whether your dream took the shape …
So, instead of using the time to write like I always wish I had upon realizing that the morning has passed, I usually spend my mornings reading stuff off the web. I start with the news but end up flitting around the data pond like a water bug. A highly caffeinated water bug. So, yeah, …
What is it about the way that some words can be arranged and aligned in such a way that they can take us to places we've never been before? Who knows, right? I'm just thankful that it happens at all. All I know is that when I read Stephanie's story it moved me in ways …
I asked for your help and you all responded in kind...and in kindness. Thanks so very much to all of you who took the time to send me some inspiration by way of your very own personal literary creations. I am no longer lacking in inspiration, that is for sure. Funny though, instead of inspiring …
So, I may have mentioned before that I am putting together a short story collection. Working Title: LEAVE & Other Stories Short & Shorter. I have most of it in place but it needs one or two more stories to round it out. And... I'm stuck. In a rut. Shootin' blanks. One beer short of …
Continue reading "Hey Author, got a Short Story for me to read?"
Our good friend in literature and life, Paul Xylinides, author of the powerful and finely crafted novel THE WILD HORSES OF HIROSHIMA, among other works, has taken on the noble challenge of standing up a literary review site that I encourage each of you to visit regularly and enjoy.
The site is called theliteraryreader ~ Reviews of the written word and you can find it at theliteraryreader.com.
So please join me in congratulating Paul on this new adventure of his and thank him for furthering the recognition and advancement of the written word.
Congratulations, Paul, and may you enjoy a success such that we all may be rewarded and enlightened by it.
The Sea Trials of an Unfortunate Sailor by Kurt Brindley
Review by Paul Xylinides
Kurt Brindley joins forces with Herman Melville
Before I begin this review, let me first recommend to anyone whom it persuades to read The Sea Trials of an Unfortunate Sailor, that after doing so they further benefit themselves by looking again at their copy of Herman Melville’s Billy Budd, Sailor that I shall, however, quote from extensively. Kurt Brindley’s accomplishment should come into even greater focus when looked at through the lens of the nineteenth century classic novel.
Anyone who has ever experienced the injustice of being condemned by those who characterize their sensitivities in ways fundamentally at odds with their true identity will respond deeply to the travails of Kurt Brindley”s protagonist in The Sea Trials of an Unfortunate Sailor. From a tellingly different perspective the same fate befalls Melville’s hero. One cannot help but…
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MEMOIR MONDAY PROMPT For many of us - most I would presume - we were rather promiscuous before finding that first true love. Without regard, and very often with hardly little or no desire at all, we'd go from one to another without ever once finding a connection or even a slightest pang of affection. …
- randomwordbyruth wins the Make Kurt Scratch His In Complete Befuddlement As He Tries to Comprehend the Linkage Between the Story and the Prompt award. - Josh Wrenn comes in with another powerful submission. Josh's story is set up perfectly in both tone and pace. I loved all the unknowns, especially the unknown of why …
Continue reading "The Man Crossing Lombard Street… Selection"
First off, you may have noticed that today's prompt is not of the #SonnetSaturday sort as originally advertised. Yeah, about that... See, I did me some literary math and took the total number of participants to date and subtracted that number by the presumed difficulty level, which I presume is pretty high, in sonnet composing …
Continue reading "Three Men Walk into a Bar… [Satire Saturday Prompt]"
Ha ha...what more can I say about the two submissions in response to today's prompt other than they both are frikkin' awesome and just the bizarre fun and wonder I was hoping for. The only problem is having to choose one over the other. I had pretty much resolved myself to the international standard selection …
Continue reading "Rub-a-dub-dub?! [Flash Fiction Friday Selection]"
You know, some of our fairy tales and nursery rhymes can really make one wonder. Well, at least they make me wonder. For instance, I really wonder what the heck the impetus was for the creation of Three Men in a Tub. Rub-a-dub-dub, Three men in a tub, And who do you think they were? …
Continue reading "Rub-a-dub-dub?! [Flash Fiction Friday Prompt]"
Welcome to our first Daily Writing Prompt thingie. Since today is Thursday our announcement post tells us this day is all about making this pretty yet petulant planet of ours a better place to live. The literary form (poem, essay, flash fiction, etc.) you use to instruct us in is up to you, but it …
Continue reading "If I Were Queen* of the World… [Thoughtful Thursday Prompt]"
Which is always a bit risky, I know. But still, I've been thinking that since I am really digging all the artistic inspiration and beauty that has been outpouring from that little salon-like space of a newsletter full of love of ours lately (speaking of which, this evening around 8PMish I will present our Haiku …
A while back, I made notice that we were going to manage IABS&R Volume 3 a little bit differently than we had the previous two. Seeing how I am knee deep into my Emerson Commitment, and I am slowly, very slowly, putting together a collection of my short stories and flash fiction, I thought it …
Continue reading "Let the Games Begin! The IABS&R Volume 3 Games, that is…"
I am not one who dwells on the past, or, at least I try not to; for, unless one is fondly recalling, perhaps in a prayerful moment of divine gratitude, all the wonders and blessings the Begetter On High has begotten one, it is mostly a futile and potentially harmful self-flagellating exercise of ego worship …
From the Dedication Page: This book is dedicated to anyone -- regardless of race, ethnicity, sex, gender and all its breathless facets, sexual orientation, non-sexual orientation, sexual non-orientation, spirituality or lack thereof, religion or lack thereof, nationality or lack thereof, political affiliation or lack thereof, occupation or lack thereof, education or lack thereof, good …
Continue reading "A Story For the Misaligned, Sailor Or Otherwise"
BOOK | FICTION | LITERARY THE WILD HORSES OF HIROSHIMA by Paul Xylinides RATING: ★ ★ ★ ★ I could have spent the time writing this review of Indie Author Paul Xylinides's novel The Wild Horses of Hiroshima comparing and contrasting it with other similar works of literary fiction, or I could have attempted to …
the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars …
Continue reading "PASS HERE AND GO ON, YOU’RE ON THE ROAD TO HEAVEN"
☠☠☠☠ Hercules Gone Mad - Part One Rebels for Love Read an Excerpt
Well, I wouldn't actually call my review for the IABS&R Volume 2 selection a showdown, but lowdown and IABS&R just doesn't have the same ring to it as does lowdown and showdown... Can you dig? However, since I'm still a long way off from finishing the selection, which, by way of reminder, is The Wild …
⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓ THE SEA TRIALS OF AN UNFORTUNATE SAILOR Read the Reviews
☠☠☠☠ Hercules Gone Mad - Part One Rebels for Love Read an Excerpt
In my view, it's always pretty awesome around here, especially since we kicked off the Indie Author Book Selection & Review and Relating to Humans features a while back. But this week has been especially awesome. For this week we have witnessed the original thinking, compelling insight, and unique writing style of Indie Author Paul …
Continue reading "THE WILD HORSES OF HIROSHIMA – The Big Reveal!"
BOOK | FICTION | THRILLER HANDS OF EVIL by Melissa Barker-Simpson RATING: ★ ★ ★ It seems that in this supposed enlightened day and age in which we live that there wouldn't be, at least there certainly shouldn't be, so much preventable human tragedy happening as frequently as it does. On any given day at …
Continue reading "Hands of Evil, Just Another Evil Sign of the Times – A Review"
I suppose the easiest, and quickest, way to sum up Maugham's Of Human Bondage would be to write something along the lines of "most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them," which appears to be the case for the story's protagonist Phillip Carey.
