lldreamspell

PMS stands for Poison plus Murder equals Satisfaction!

2009-05-26T10:23:00.000-07:00

Want to sample some short mystery stories from a variety of talented authors? Check out this new anthology from L&L Dreamspell.

There's a total of eleven stories by nine different authors:

Jo Hiestand – Cross Purposes,
Chelle Martin – Grounds For Divorce and Brew’s Clues,
BV Lawson – Hear No Evil and FM Is For Murder,
Caitlyn Hunter – The Secret Life of Alice Smitty,
NH Lehr – Final Breath,
Claire Applewhite – Moonlight Becomes You So,
Lyn McConchie – Reunion,
Jacqueline Seewald – Swim In The Sunshine,
C.K. Charles – First Person Singular

Visit this web page to find out more: http://www.lldreamspell.com/PMS.htm

Or you can buy it on Amazon both in print and Kindle Ebook formats. The book is also available in a variety of other Ebook formats at Fictionwise

Meet Me At The River

2009-05-06T17:39:00.000-07:00

May 14th is approaching, the day a charter bus full of folks who read Hell Swamp will come to the scene of the crime, Black River Plantation. They will travel nearly two hours to the river, where the Raleigh Parks and Recreation Read and Go program is catering a picnic on the grounds between the mansion and the river. I am truly honored to have been contacted by such a large group who are reading North Carolina writers and traveling to visit with them.

To make the day even more special, the owner of the mansion will be there to tour the group and answer questions about the 1793 mansion. I will read excerpts from Hell Swamp and answer questions about Genesis Beach, which the group also read. Reporters from surrounding counties have been invited to attend.

My hope is that the weather will be spectacular and everyone will enjoy the event as much as I'm sure I will.

I am truly amazed by all of this. I write because I must. Everything else is whipped cream!

I suppose this all happened because I joined a few writing groups and managed to update my activities often enough to get attention. Now, when I feel like I don't have time to blog, update my sites, and answer emails, I think about what is about to take place and get myself to the keyboard! I've never had so much fun! It's worth the time and effort.

Timeless Mist

2009-05-06T07:06:00.000-07:00

If you enjoy romance novels with a historical twist, you'll want to check out this brand new release - Timeless Mist by Terisa Wilcox!

Kristianna discovers the magic of Scotland when she comes face to face with the man of her dreams – four hundred years in the past…
Art-history major Kristianna Campbell gets more education than she bargains for when she visits Scotland with her college class. On a shopping excursion she picks up an unusual souvenir—an antique pocket watch once owned by Iain MacGregor.
The enchanted watch pulls her back through time where she lands smack in the middle of Iain MacGregor's territory—in the year 1603, during the proscription against the MacGregors.
Unsure of where she is or how she got there, Kris is stunned when she sees Iain and realizes he’s not exactly a stranger to her. She’s dreamed of him for weeks. And her attraction to him is stronger in the flesh than in her dreams. Realizing the danger in revealing her real surname of Campbell, Kristianna tells him her last name is Armstrong.
The situation is tense as Iain battles enemies on all sides, thanks to King James VI and the decree that the name of MacGregor be outlawed, and the Earl of Argyll, Archibald Campbell’s desire to see the MacGregors decimated. Iain has neither the time nor the inclination to deal with the strange lass who mysteriously landed in his territory.
But Kristianna affects him in ways no other woman has. To desire her is acceptable, but when she begins to reach the heart he thought long dead, he knows he will never be the same.

Find out more about the book, and how to get a copy, on the L&L Dreamspell website: http://www.lldreamspell.com/TimelessMist.htm

Shadows of Souls

2009-05-02T12:35:00.001-07:00

New from L&L Dreamspell, a horror novel from Allan W. Azouz. Here's the Synopsis:

A mother and daughter’s mutual hatred draws an evil force into their home – disembodied, troubled souls waging a battle that unleashes an unstoppable power, hell bent on destroying everyone who gets in its way…
Misery haunted Victoria Kayen, trapped in a dark, depressing world with her wheelchair-bound mother, Edith. She dutifully delivered medications, served meals, and cleaned up after the weekly visits from her mother’s crony friends. Victoria’s only escape was found in the pages of cheap romance novels.
The confining house that stifled her life evolved and took on a life of its own with strange creaks and crying noises. Then the shadowy figure of a man appeared, watching from every dark corner. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the rat population in the area exploded and they constantly scratched at the walls, trying to get in.
Victoria made a bold decision one evening – to venture out to a bar and experience life as a normal woman. That’s where she came face to face with her destiny, the shadowy figure that had stalked her, this time appearing in the form of a corporeal man possessed by two souls. One, a pious Reverend preaching hellfire and damnation on the street corner by day, the other, a passionate individual named Clay who enjoyed the pleasures of the earth by night.
Her clandestine relationship with Clay fueled the dueling souls’ war, and also spawned the Reverend’s worst nightmare – an unspeakable evil – a thing both determined to destroy and impossible to fight…

Find out more about the book and author at: www.lldreamspell.com/ShadowsofSouls.htm

Nerves

2009-04-29T14:15:00.000-07:00

I was just chatting with my sister-in-law about gaining weight and I told her my ta-tas are so fat and bouncy, I use them for air bags! When I got off the phone, I raced to my post-it-notes and jotted it down to use in an upcoming book (hopefully). Hey! Get inspiration anywhere you can!

I've been interviewed so many times lately, I don't know which end is up, but it occurred to me (Duh!) that I needed to save copies of this stuff so that I can tweak it and move along. So, I've spent much of the day doing just that. Now I have a reserve of questions (and answers) from which to draw. Maybe now I can relax a little. I've been on TV enough to be comfortable and know not to look at the camera. If I do that, I lose my cool so I focus only on the interviewer and maybe a stray fly on the lamp beside me.

I'm packing now for a TV appearance in Wilmington, NC and trying to decide what to wear. Even though it'll be in the 80s, I'm thinking people usually look better with their arms covered, so I think I'll take a long-sleeve suit for TV and then change into a short-sleeved one for the book signing later in the day. My arms! Geez, I need to spray on some tan, that's for sure. And I have hair on my arms. Do people notice that? I mean, it's not long enough for a curling iron, but just a little which I suppose is normal?

Nervous? No. Okay, maybe a teensy bit.

We're discussing Hell Swamp, the new release, set near Wilmington, and they are going to show the video trailer for "a tease". I hope I get some attention from readers and if someone from the film studio comes by, why, I'll soak my panties!

The Wrong Side of Memphis

2009-04-29T08:39:00.000-07:00

As new L&L Dreamspell books are released I'll be posting about it here - (and I'll go back in time and showcase our previous releases too!)

Today we're spotlighting the brand new Noir Mystery novel by Claire Applewhite - The Wrong Side of Memphis - here is a synopsis:

A Vietnam vet turned P.I. ends up in the wrong place at the wrong time – at the Jewel Arms apartments in St. Louis, as he matches wits with a ruthless killer.

Elvin Suggs already knew how to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Decades earlier, spending time as a Green Beret during The Siege of Khe Sanh taught him about the wrong side of 1968.
Now with his life in a shambles after his wife demands a divorce—brokenhearted and broke but determined to salvage his pride and his dreams—Elvin turns to the only person he can count on, Dimond Redding, his best friend’s widow.
A fellow ’Nam vet and new tenant at the Jewel Arms apartment building in St. Louis, Missouri, Dimond is ready to move out before Elvin even arrives when a random murder occurs right outside her front door.
She can’t break her lease, but with a ruthless killer on the loose and corpses suddenly turning up everywhere, she wonders if she’ll be the next victim. Homicide Detective Rick Valentino doesn’t seem to be getting anywhere fast on the case, so experienced Private Investigator Elvin lends a hand, working to put the pieces of the puzzle together.
The odd assortment of tenants and strange goings-on at the Jewel Arms provide more questions than answers, including connections with Elvin’s past. When another car with Tennessee plates shows up at the apartment building is it a coincidence, or is someone following him?
As Elvin inches closer to the truth he has to remind himself that he knows all about the wrong places and times. Only this time he's got nothing to lose—he’s on the wrong side of Memphis.

To see a larger version of the book's cover and to find out how to get a copy, visit The Wrong Side of Memphis on our L&L Dreamspell website!

Enjoy -

Linda

If I Tell You...

2009-04-27T15:52:00.000-07:00

If I tell you a hen dips snuff, you better look under her tongue.
And I tell you book promotion does not have to be demeaning or boring or make you wish you could crawl through the floor when no one comes to your table for an autograph, or the manager walks by and looks at the huge stack of books still on the table in front of you.

There is another, better way to promote your book(s) and have fun doing it.

I just spent four days in my hometown launching DEAD WRECKONING, my third book in the Sidra Smart mystery series, set in the same small town. I had tons of fun and sold 150 books at those four events. Seventy-four of the books were sold in one day. For those who don't know, the mystery series is set in a small town with a population of 20,000. I was born, reared and went to school there, but left soon after. So it is hometown daughter returns.

An author friend heard about my success and emailed, asking what I had done that made this sales event so successful. She and I talked about how trying to sell your books can sometimes leave an author feeling demeaned, perhaps even make you fall on your knees and beg someone to purchase your books. As a result of her question, I jotted down some of the things I’ve learned about book promotion and book signings.

Never—ever schedule a book signing in a location where you might feel unworthy if no one buys your book. If, by perchance, you find yourself in such a situation, turn the event into fun. If you're not having fun selling your book, go back to the drawing board and create a new way to make it fun!! You have nothing to lose. If you feel demeaned, folks aren’t likely to approach you anyway.

Enamored, with a series set in their hometown, folks in Orange, Texas have fallen in love with reading a novel that features locations and sites they recognize and know where it is. Very important, at least it is to the folks in Orange. They seek me out to do events in their places of business and pay for advertising of the event. Also, as appropriate, I may well throw in the name of a local business in my novel, which helps create that sense of place that helps a reader connect to the setting.

I love the history of the area and include elements of that in each book for that reason, and I find folks here love that about my books, too.

We offer something for the customer, such as wine, cheese, I made alligator cut-out cookies and sandwiches for those in the antique store. (Make it AN EVENT.)

I have made friends with a couple of local newspaper reporters and they have been SO VERY helpful in letting folks know when I am in town. Three different papers ran articles and photos of me and the events this week. I don't know how many folks came up and said, "Oh yes, this is the book I read about in the paper."

My sister knows everyone in town!! I take her and keep her busy handling the cash box, taking money, etc. People are drawn to her like flies--often they come over to chat with her and then she tells them about my WONDERFUL book!

I have found that bookstore events aren't as successful, and often that's where you feel like it is demeaning. I'm moving away from those type of events unless it is an independent bookstore and they are big enough and supportive enough to offer help. For instance, I live in Georgetown, TX another small town. A local, well known woman reviews my books and gets them in the local paper and I have signings at the small indie store on the Square. Again, I usually take a couple bottles of wine and a plate of cheese!

This time, in my third book, my protag starts making pickles--so heck I made up a bunch of jars, and one of those journalist friends offered to make up a label for me which led some folks over to my table to see the pickles. Some bought books and pickles, some bought just pickles, and one man bought a jar of pickles because he loved the label!! (and because she has been so very helpful, I added a tribute to her in the front of the book this time. Thrilled her to death, and it sure felt good to me, to be able to thank her publicly.)

Selling books is all about having fun--and NOT making it a chore. Choose the locations with care. (I have indeed chosen badly on some and sold NO books!) Have fun, dress in costume, offer something back to the customer. For instance, for folks who bought the complete set of three in the series, I gave them a bottle of the pickles. You'd be surprised at how folks respond to this.

I provided paper bags for the books and pickles, bags where I had printed out either label with my book cover, or for the pickles, and put them on the bags. Adds an extra touch. Wrapped the pickles in colorful tissue paper.

In other words, make your book signings a festive occasion! You can do that in private business, whereas you can't in chain bookstores.

Let your imagination go wild thinking up things to do at such an event that will be fun for all. I am speaking at a Friends of the Library in April. I will dress in costume (pirate, for this latest book), and give a couple of door prizes. One is a ceramic coaster with the cover of my third book on it. (ordered from Cafe Press). The other is a tee-shirt.

Promoting your books is an ongoing process that you build with each book. It was difficult at first, when I only had one book, but now that my third has come out I am seeing much more excitement about the series. Folks all love my protagonist and are always giving me new plot ideas! Take those and run with them.

If you have any questions about any of this, feel free to email me. And since I went on and on so much I think I'll post this on the dreamteam site, in case it can be of help to others.

Thanks for asking--it made me stop and think too, "What did I do that worked?"

Hugs and great sales!

Sylvia Dickey Smith
www.sylviadickeysmith.com
http://sylviadickeysmith.blogsot.com

Prepare to Dive In, Or Not

2009-03-24T12:29:00.000-07:00

I have begun writing the third book in the Niki Alexander series and, after much deliberation over how I wrote the last two books, and the unpublished before that, I decided to do go about the process differently. Normally I would plow into the story after getting a rush of inspiration. Then by page 50, I would brake, because I had nowhere to go.

Finally I would start the outline, draw of graph of plot points and beats, write characters studies, motives and goals for my main characters, especially for the villain. Then I could continue, and track my progress with chapter outlines - after I write them. By then, I found I needed to change the first 50 pages and rethink that first rush of inspiration.

This time I made the decision to plot first, write later. Sounds logical, doesn't it? But I know many writers who don't outline, just go where the story takes them. I've done that in the past and would end up writing 30 or more drafts until I figured it all out. A couple of times I got so stuck and confused, I never finished the manuscript. So maybe I'm an outline-type writer. Maybe because I'm a Virgo.

And since I made that decision, my thoughts have never strayed far from my plot. Questions, some answers, arguments, maybe a different direction have consumed my thoughts - during the day when I'm driving, working, eating. Even my dreams get the backlash. I write down my thoughts when I can and the seeds of these ideas spring forth more ideas. Scratch one, add two. The more I work at it, the more sense it starts to make and I can see a novel developing.

I'm not finished plotting yet, far from it. But I'm hoping that when I am, the story in its full incarnation will spill onto the page effortlessly. Yeah, that'll happen. Well, maybe it will. I'll let you know.

Meanwhile, what are your thoughts about outlining first?

What Type of Cover Attracts You to a Book?

2009-03-10T02:41:00.000-07:00

As a fiction writer and an avid reader myself, I can't help wondering what sort of cover attracts readers. If I'm not familiar with a writer, I can still be drawn to buy a book at a bookstore or borrow one from the library based on the lure of the cover design. An eye-catching cover is the first draw. Of course, I want to read what's on the book jacket as well and glance at a few pages before I decide. But initially, the cover art must attract me.

I very much like the cover art for my novel THE INFERNO COLLECTION. You get a sense of the eerie which is appropriate for this particular novel. As for my latest novel, THE DROWNING POOL, I found the cover art eye-catching. However, my one daughter-in-law who is quite artistic was critical of it. Since the reviews of the novel have been very good, I'm hoping for many readers regardless.

What do you think constitutes good cover art? For example, if the novel is a romance, are you drawn by a man and woman embracing (the so-called clinch)? Or do you prefer something less explicit? If it's a mystery, should there be something menacing? What is the best cover art for a literary novel? Opinions welcome!

L&L Dreamspell has a 100 author team!

2009-02-25T16:59:00.000-08:00

My how the time has gotten away from me - how long has it been since I've posted to our group blog? Don't answer that!
L&L Dreamspell is fast approaching our second anniversary of publishing - in April we'll be "2" and we've already grown into a team of 100 authors.
Our anthologies have helped us grow, and they're filling up fast. We also added in two new anthologies, open for submissions - Romance and Thriller.
We're excited to be moving full speed ahead with an average of three new releases each month - wow! And our line of non-fiction writer's guides and handbooks is also expanding.
For a look at what's new you can see all the latest releases and "coming soon" titles on our newsletter web pages - start here: www.lldreamspell.com/Newsletter.htm then click on Winter 2008/2009 for the most recent page.
Stay tuned for new authors appearing soon on this group blog!
Linda

Happy New Year!

2008-12-31T07:09:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to pop in and let readers know that I'm giving away a FREE eBook on my website. It's a compilation of my best of writing tips from my website. It's my New Year's Gift to site visitors.

I have two tips features on my website:

Writers Nibs: Dip into the Well
From Wisdom's Font

I've been posting tips on a semi-schedule since 2006. You can access all my previous tips here. And while you're on the website, be sure to check out my contest page. :-)

Happy, happy New Year! Hope it rocks for you!
Perilously yours,
Pauline

Fangsgiving

2008-11-12T04:28:00.000-08:00

Fangsgiving on the Net
By Cornelia Amiri

Since I review youtube videos for my Savvy Click, Surf the Net With A View column, I wanted to share two Vampire Family/Thanksgiving videos which put me in the Fangsgiving mood. Yes, youtube has everything.

Vampire Thanksgiving

This is hilarious. It’s just a normal Thanksgiving Day in a cemetery. Hey, who doesn't spend Thanksgiving in a cemetery? Did that Gargoyle just wink at my sister?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6u-J4sSy430

Vampire Family photos

Mommy vampire and her brood have a fangtastic time getting their family portrait. The middle son seems to be laughing and the baby boy is having a blast.
Mommy vamp is proud of her little blood suckers. I wonder what she’s cooking up for her vampire clan this thanksgiving.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEK_Tnvihs0

And here’s a great Fangsgiving Greeting to share with all your myspace, blog, website and e-mail fiends and friends.
http://tinyurl.com/6llvd7

Hey, speaking of vampires at Thanksgiving, what would you do in a look who’s coming for dinner scenario, say if your grown daughter brought a vampire home for thanksgiving?

Though I’m not much of a cook, I might switch the pumpkin pie to some Vampire cupcakes courtesy of the recipe on http://tinyurl.com/5mxdjo, and for more traditional fare, click on the link to the right beneath the turkey cake, Celebrate Thanksgiving.

Also, though my story in Sleeping With the Undead with L & L Dreamspell is set in Scotland, so no thanksgiving feast, I do have a scene where the hero’s mother and father discuss the vampire girl or baobhan sith (baa'-van shee ) their son brought home, which fits in with the vampire/family theme.

Excerpt: Sleeping With the Undead/Vampire Dancer by Cornelia Amiri

Before Ian could get a word in, his father asked Tavish, "Did you set
the carin aright?"

"Aye, I put the stone back, good and tight."

"Aye, but now we have a baobhan sith sleeping in our house," his mother said.

"Well, she has to sleep somewhere dear. I dinnae want her draining my
cows of their blood though."

"What about your sons' blood?"

"Ooch, well I dinnae want her drinking theirs either."

"Well I'm glad to hear that."

His mother turned and saw Ian and Sorcha. She plastered a big smile
across her face. "I did not know you were awake."

"Mom, Sorcha and I are going out. I'm going to show her around the town."

"That's nice," his mom said.

As Ian walked away, he overheard his father say, "You have to be
careful of what you say around the baobhan sith. They'll sneak up on
you."

"Hush, she can still hear you," his mother said.

Ian turned and waved good night to his mother and father.

"He can show her around all he likes but I dinnae want her near my cows."

That was the last comment Ian heard before he walked out the door.
With his arm wrapped around Sorcha's shoulder, he led her down to the
winding road.

Happy Fangsgiving to all,

Cornelia Amiri
http://myspace.com/CelticRomanceQueen

Managing Your Book Writing Business

2008-10-28T06:16:00.000-07:00

Jamie Engle and I are excited to announce the release of Managing Your Book Writing Business. From the back cover:

This helpful handbook outlines basic and important information every author needs to know about the publishing industry and the “business” of writing. From developing a business plan to cultivating a professional reputation, award winning author Pauline Baird Jones and public relations expert and author Jamie Engle share their years of knowledge and experience. Don’t wait until it’s too late, then say “I wish I would have known…” Managing Your Book Writing Business includes helpful web links and guidelines to help you get started, and keep you from making simple but potentially costly mistakes. Save time and start out right—success comes sooner for authors who take the time to organize and plan a strategy!

The handbook is available from online bookstores in print and also available at fictionwise.com in ebook format.

2008-09-29T02:27:00.000-07:00

When Gone with the Wind was written, it was the story of the sweeping changes brought on by the civil war within the south. The words penned by that author left us with a vivid depiction of how the south was before the war … and how it was forever changed after the war.

When the winds from the recent hurricane descended upon us, it brought a very different type of change into our lives. Those of us who had been through a hurricane or two before knew the feelings we'd begin to experience, whether we tried to repress them or not. We'd experience them, because they'd be forced upon us … like the unwanted attention of something sinister that has passed through our lives in an earlier time…a dark memory that we cajole ourselves away from as quickly as we can after the event … but no matter how deeply hidden, the memory begins to creep back inside us, escalating in tandem with the wind hovering in the gulf, filling our thoughts, rattling our nerves as it whispers to those nasty little fears that we've tucked away in our subconscious.

The changes begin then, with the first niggling bit of apprehension, and then escalate … sometimes without our full awareness… sometimes with our unabashed terror… and by the time the storm has spent itself on us and gone reeling off in another direction like a drunken giant, everything has changed.

We wake to find devastation … this time on a scale that rivals anything most have experienced before … and with the devastation we find a reality check … within a few hours we see that all we deemed normal … is gone. Once again, we find normal will be hard to define for quite awhile….until we can tempt our minds to put the experience to the side and not look at it dead on … it's the way you get through it … the way you hide it from yourself … until the next time.

It's a little like the thriller's we all write … we love them … they do make us feel alive … and wonderfully safe as we read them in bed … with the lights on :) But, it would behoove us to remember … that sometimes the winds of change arrive … and have a wicked little way of snuffing out all illumination without our permission.

With that thought, come join us as we present The Final Twist's new anthology of short stories, in A Death inTexas. We will be launching the anthology at Katy Budget Books on Friday, October 10th, after 5:30 p.m. You will be able to meet the Final Twist authors, and have them sign their stories for you when you pick up a copy. I'm delighted to say my story, Dark Pleasures will be inside. It's about another type of evil presence in the south that brings about a lot of change … but this time … you can leave the lights on … it's up to you to decide when to turn them out:)

------------------------
Learn more about Loretta Wheeler (and her alter ego L Reveaux) at these sites: http://www.lorettawheeler.com/
http://www.lreveaux.com/
http://www.myspace.com/southernnuances

Excerpt from Dark Pleasures: A Death in Texas (Anthology)Available through Amazon ,
Barnes and Noble & L &L Dreamspell Oct. 10, 2008

The dog was free and loping down the corridor now. It ran with no hesitation, as if it could see its prey. Suddenly, it leapt forward and snatched at a word tucked in a dim corner of her mind, then swiftly circled back and laid it in front of her. How about carnage? Her mouth twisted. Yep. There it was, in all its grim glory, might as well go for broke and tell it like it was. She accepted the word and closed her eyes.

Surviving the Storm of Life by Autumn Storm

2008-09-27T06:17:00.000-07:00

By now many of you know that Texas has been dealt a pretty severe blow. There’s no getting away from it….it’s been on the news and headlines across the nation read….Galveston-Houston area crippled by Texas size storm. Mandatory evacuation orders were issued; towns and communities forced into lock downs because of damage to their communities. Everywhere you look, there is debris….power poles are down….electricity is out….and tree limbs litter our yards. Some will be forced to move….everything they’ve worked for….their dreams along with their homes, their cars and their boats….have been swept away by the sea. Bits of our history and the things we are made of…are gone…huge massive Oaks, sweeping Magnolias, along with some really big Pecan trees…..are gone…..they have proudly stood for a hundred plus years and now ripped from the ground….they are dying a very slow death. In one way or another we have all been affected….each of us mourning different things.

I have to admit….I am very affected by the damage to our beautiful trees. They are in shock and screaming at us to bring order to their branches. They are tattered and torn and it will be a long time before any of them start to recover.

Now….I know most of you are probably thinking that something must have fallen and hit my head….truth is….I too have lost a home to weather. If I may….let’s travel back in time….May 19, 2000….it has already rained off and on for three days. Just a few short months before….eight to be exact…my husband (of twelve years) and I had finally purchased our first home…a nice little place in the country. The skies are black and the weatherman talks of another night’s worth of rain….the power goes out. With little else to do….I curl up on the bed to sleep. A few hours later I am awaken by the dogs jumping on the bed with wet feet. It takes me a few minutes to fully realize what’s happening and by then I could hear the water rushing into my home….the phone is out….the husband is gone on business trip….I think most of you can fill in the rest of the gaps. Nineteen inches of rain in four hours resulted in my home being filled with 3 to 3.5 feet of water. It took days for the water to recede and then we embarked on the long road to recovery. Long story short….with lots of hard work, money (didn’t have flood insurance) and determination we rebuilt our home and lived in it until just recently…. Now three floods later… it belongs to FEMA.

Please don’t misunderstand me….I ‘m not making light of anyone losing their home….it’s an indescribably tragedy, a void that may or may not ever get filled… and one that some will have a hard time recovering from. A home is a place where we are meant to feel safe….a place to share laughter with family and friends….and a place to live and grow old in. Some will mourn the loss of their house and some will mourn the contents they lose……so now at this point you are probably wondering what did I mourn back then…..?

My books….In the process of putting up shelving many of the books were down on the floor in boxes. I cried as boxes of books were dumped into a 40 yard dumpster. It was a twenty year collection….authors and titles no longer in print….Even to this day I look back and think about all the friends that I was forced to let go of….the travels they took me on….and the friendships I was given. Just the other day someone gave me a copy of Sweet Savage Love….I caressed the book and held it close….giving it its rightful place on the book case….I patted the spine and told Ginny and Steve….welcome home.

Many of us in Texas come from a lineage of pioneers….we will set about and forge new paths for ourselves….just doing what needs to be done. The builders will build and restore….the farmers will plant, encouraging Mother Nature to replenish its land….and the writers….well….we’ll write…. telling the stories that need to be told.

A Death in Texas from L&L Dreamspell: ISBN: 9781603180511 is scheduled to be launched at Katy Budget Books on Friday, October 10 from 5 PM to 8 PM and features 16 talented authors delivering mystery, mayhem, and murder. If you’re in neighborhood….please stop by and say hello….would love to meet you all.

Autumn Storm
Secrets of Canyon Lake

How Screenwriting Helps by Cash Anthony

2008-09-25T01:58:00.000-07:00

On the occasions when I've given talks to writers' groups as a screenwriterwith some good contest results on my C.V., one of the points that comes upfrom many audiences is "How can you stand to write under the dictates of somany rules?"

Many people think screenwriting is simply too hard -- too confining --because of what they perceive to be its stricter-than-other-fiction demands.Its most stringent demand turns out to be an excellent standard, however:the artistic selection of powerful images, against sparseness and brevity.When a writer is creating a blueprint for a cooperative effort as well as astory, intended for a highly sophisticated viewing audience that haswell-known expectations, it forces the writer to be specific only when itcounts. When everyone can be assumed to 'get it', or it allows for artisticlicense in the reader's imagination and later, hopefully, in the artdepartment's designers, no one wants to read what's obvious. You have 110pages, a page a minute -- you can't waste words.

It's also true that when you have to learn a craft mostly by yourself, you may tend to try to find a set of rules and follow them like a slave, figuring that not knowing the rules is the mark of an amateur.And this is one thing, at least, you can do.

Here I think the answer is to turn off the critic and forget the rules when writing first drafts, and then turn it back on for rewrites. At that point, all the theory, allthe techniques you've mastered, and all the better second thoughts you taketime for, the more likely your work will in fact improve.

Since there are professional standards and story structure expectations, then unless you're the one in the million who breaks through to an Oscar from acareer as a stripper (a la Juno), it can't hurt to look like you know whatyou're doing: make your format perfect, proof and proof and beg your writerfriends to proof your manuscript, try to hit your designated pages for majorplot points, and so forth. And have a great story to tell.

Despite the strictures of writing screenplays, I've found that working under the peculiar dictates of this genre has three advantages.

1) It forces you to learn at least a modicum of story theory, which appliesno matter what genre of story-telling you do. It may not be strictlynecessary for a novelist to know theoretically how to write for the screen-- the rules may seem a block to a more organic approach, feeling that onemust be so conscious of where and when a plot point is supposed to bereached -- but many of the excellent story consultants working in Hollywoodtruly know their stuff when it comes to theory. Their books are worthreading.

2) It makes you write in visual terms, since the script can only serve as ablueprint for a picture taken by a camera. "Talky" movies insist on usingdialog to move the action along, but better films combine silent actionscenes, or scenes with dialog not about the action (see Pulp Fiction), andthis helps any fiction writer produce a more vivid, and potentially morecomplex, realistic and interesting scene.

3) It makes you choosy. Producers prefer screenplays to be only 110-115pages long. Why? Shorter films mean more cash for the theatre owners, whocan sell popcorn each time a new audience comes in. The studio has to sellthe film to the distribution chain, meaning to the theatre owners who aretrying to get more people in the door to buy popcorn, Coke and hotdogs.
That means that you must not only write with a spare hand, but you also must make vitally important choices about what scenes to use and what to discardby examining your original notions with a cold eye. You can't afford to havedull scenes, even if you've had to write a few to get the first or seconddraft into shape. You can't afford to fall in love with scenes that don'thave to be there.

But when you're doing your rewrites, an objective appraisal gives you theopportunity to look for another perspective to spice up those dull scenes:have a character overhear it secretly (Hamlet behind the arras); have badguys doing exactly what will make a plan impossible to carry out, intercutwith the formation of that exact plan being made by the [ignorant] goodguys; have a character turn out to be working for the other side, repeatingexactly what has just happened at a secret security council meeting to theenemy, word for word. And so forth...

Even if you don't ever plan to write a "real" screenplay hoping to produceor market it onto the big screen, the format can serve as a kind ofspecialized outline that you'll probably do anyway, if you're writing anovel or intricate short story.

And if you want to go even farther and take up screenwriting as yourprincipal genre, seriously wanting your movies made, you might considerwriting a short screenplay and producing or directing it yourself.The tools to make independent films on a scaled-down basis are easy to findthese days, and the expense can be minimal. (Many actors will show up forthe off-chance of fame and for cold pizza.)

But the lessons you learn about what to write, or not to write into yourscreenplay -- when it's something you've personally got to deal with on areal set, with all the location variables and with live actors -- areincalculably valuable. It makes the distinction between reality and fantasy(call it animation) very clear.

I expect soon to take out notes from a novel started long ago. It'll beinteresting to see how I view those scenes now, after writing screenplaysinstead of fiction prose for the last seven years.

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Cash Anthony is a Writer, Director, Actor, and Producer

Ninth Lord of the Night - screenplay, novel adaptation, Blue CatSemi-Finalist

Taking Up Serpents - screenplay, multi-competition Finalist

Do Me No Favors - short film, written, produced & directed

Complaining Witness - short film, written, produced & directed

False Negative - short film, written & directed

The Best Man - short story, in A Death in Texas anthology

The Stand-In - short story, in Dead and Breakfast anthology

The Secret of the Acequia Stone - B&B play and puzzles

The Case of the Baker's Dozen - B&B play and puzzles

A Week of Wednesdays - Novel (WIP)Other B&B plays, puzzles, clues and poems

Deadline by Betty Gordon

2008-09-23T01:57:00.000-07:00

Deadline is a feared word by many writers, but I’m one of those mavericks who welcomes the battle of reaching the finish line. The pressures involved in tying up loose ends before a certain date stimulate my imagination and trigger excitement. I can’t deny there’s tension involved in reaching the end of a tale, but my eagerness to write ‘The End’ on the last page far outweighs the self-imposed stress involved in arriving at the final destination.

Life plays out in segments of deadlines in various ways: a sales promotion must be adhered to by a certain date, one has to get their child’s college entrance papers in by a certain date, etc., etc. So, why should writing be any different? I work in blocks of short-term and long-term goals and I’m constantly making myself reach a deadline of one sort or another. That’s not to say, however, that life doesn’t get in the way oftentimes and I have to work around the obstacles and set new deadlines. Nevertheless, self-imposed or not, a deadline is a good thing—at least for me.

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Learn more about Betty Gordon and her books at http://www.bettygordon.com/

The Didactic Function of Genre Fiction by Mark Phillips

2008-09-19T05:22:00.000-07:00

Mark Twain wrote that,”Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” I would claim that novels can play a similar role. On the other hand, Cecil B. DeMille, when asked about the message contained in his latest picture commented that, “If I wanted to send a message, I’d use Western Union.” Our primary duty as mystery writers is to entertain, but many of us feel that even genre fiction can also contain profound ethical insights and illuminate social and political issues in all their rich complexity. The authors I enjoy have a distinctive world view that permeates their work. They are presenting a philosophy whether they intend to do so or not. Wayne Booth, in his book The Company We Keep: An Ethics of Fiction, argues that the astute reader has a duty to critically engage the ethics of a work of fiction. Reading the wrong works can undermine our character just as surely as hanging around with friends who are a bad influence. Reading truly ethical works can help us expand our moral vision, undermine our parochial viewpoints, and illuminate the possibility of individuals heroically transcending the everyday morality of their parents and society that is the essence of all ethical progress and reform.

We in detective fiction have the added burden that any didactic functions we wish to explore in our writing must be buried within a suspense- and plot-heavy, all-too-often formulaic medium. But the ethical message is always there, for good or bad, naïve or profound, conscious or unconscious. Noël Carroll argues, in The Philosophy of Horror, that both detective and horror fiction are fundamentally about morality. Each begins with a violent suspension of the norm. The monster metaphorically or the murderer literally represent aberrations in the ethical norm that cannot be tolerated. They hearken back to the ancient Greek belief that a horrible sin, unless found out and rectified, can infect the entire community. Marlowe or Van Helsing must engage the aberration and re-knit the torn fabric of ethical normality. On this view the detective or horror hero is a modern Oedipus engaged on a fundamentally conservative mission. But if the source of the horror or corruption is society itself as in the science fiction horror films of the 50’s commenting on McCarthyism or the Bomb, or in the racism encountered by Chester Himes Harlem detectives Coffin Johnson and Gravedigger Jones or by James Sallis’ New Orleans detective Lew Griffin, then the hero must transcend the norm or even rip the fabric of ethical normality himself to reweave it into a more just pattern. The variations are endless, including undermining or openly violating the audience’s expectations. In the film Chinatown (Roman Polanski (dir.)/Robert Towne (wr.)), the detective Jake Gittes pursues corruption to its deepest extreme, but there is no happy restoration of morality—the corruption is both endemic to his society and stained into the fabric of human nature, beyond redemption. It is a near perfect illustration of the nihilism that permeated American fiction in the early ‘70s.

The really interesting moral dilemmas are the ones where there are no easy answers, with seemingly valid perspectives seeing the same thing from contradictory viewpoints. One of Batman’s nemeses is Ra’s al Gulh (forget the portrayal and motivations of that character in Batman Beyond—I’m speaking of the Ra’s al Gulh as created in DC comics by writer Dennis O’Neil and others) who strives to protect the environment from human devastation even if it means eliminating the vast bulk of humans. In his own mind, Ra’s is the hero and Batman a noble but misguided opponent. Ra’s even attempts to convince Batman to join his crusade as his heir. William B. Davis, the actor who played the Cigarette Smoking Man on the X-Files, explained how he found a way to play the “villain” so convincingly—he simply imagined that he was the real hero of the series constantly trying to foil the misguided efforts of Fox Mulder which threatened to ruin plans necessary for both national security and the survival of our species.

But most of us write of moral ambiguity and complexity on a less apocalyptic and more personal scale. In our first novel Hacksaw and in a subsequent short story entitled Death on the Bayou (soon to be published in the anthology A Death in Texas) my brilliant coauthor Charlotte Phillips and I explore the complexities of Houston’s homeless population. One of our colleagues in the Houston writer’s group The Final Twist Society, Laura Elvebak, also expertly explores the plight of the homeless in her novel Less Dead. My interest in the moral ambiguities surrounding homelessness began with a book called The Mole People by Jennifer Toth. She admirably documents the diversity and particularity of the mad, the unlucky, the addicted, and the alienated who inhabit the tunnels beneath New York City. She also describes the wide variety of reactions to the homeless from the socially integrated above.

My own reactions to encounters with the homeless, beggars, and the wandering mad have always been ambiguous and confusing. I am agoraphobic and always try to avoid contact with strangers that might be unpredictable or confrontational. Beggars at stoplights, especially aggressive ones, make me intensely uncomfortable. But I was also raised on ancient Greek mythology. Zeus is the protector of the supplicant at the door of the rich and powerful, and often appears in the guise of a beggar to test the generosity of those who have tasted of the draught of good fortune. A Greek was well aware that the wheel of fate turns for all men. The high and mighty of today may be the fallen of tomorrow and vice versa. And the Greeks well understood the sin of hubris. To shun the unlucky and to deny them a meal and a place to sleep in their wanderings, to despise them because they were supposedly not as smart, or industrious, or simply less powerful than oneself, would be to invite the gods to indulge in divine poetic justice. No man could ever tell whether or not some ragged beggar might turn out to be a hero in disguise ready to string the bow that only brave Odysseus could bend and wreak a terrible vengeance. I’m not a religious man, but in every encounter with the homeless, I remember the stories and pause.

One day on the commute home from work I saw a homeless man standing on the lawn of a church. It was raining and, seeing the silver lining in every cloud, the man had stripped naked and was busy lathering up for a good shower. I mentioned this incident to a colleague of mine. I quickly realized that we were on completely different wavelengths. She assumed that I was as offended by the homeless man’s shower as she would have been and launched into a diatribe against the aggressive, predatory, offensive, unseemly, and often fraudulent behavior of Houston’s vast homeless population. I explained that I was not in fact offended by nudity; that the church setting suggesting both sanctuary and charity was entirely appropriate, that for all I knew some god had arranged that warm summer shower that day for the express sole purpose of providing the man with a refreshing wash, and all other things being equal I preferred the desperately poor to be well groomed. She proceeded to mention how children might have seen the incident and how horrible that would be. I naturally responded that I doubted any children would be scarred for life by the mere sight of a penis and that American attitudes towards the human body seem to wildly and inconsistently oscillate somewhere between Cotton Mather’s and Caligula’s. Every four years I write the International Olympic Committee in my so far futile quest to have the Games held clothing-free as were the Games in ancient days. Besides, wouldn’t it be more positive to teach children not just to tolerate the eccentric and the harmlessly mad but, as many other cultures do, to provide the mad and the eccentric with a special cachet, to see them as touched by the gods, their vision of reality altered for some divinely mysterious purpose.

Needless to say she was not convinced. My degree is in philosophy and I’ve found that almost no one, including other philosophers, is ever convinced by reasoned argument (or at least my reasoned arguments). Fiction can be so much more effective (Frighteningly effective. Please remember Uncle Ben’s line from Spiderman: “With great power comes great responsibility.”) . Getting to know the homeless, desperately poor, and mad as fleshed out, believable characters slips the reader across a prejudicial barrier. By seeing the homeless through the eyes of a sympathetic character that they have come to identify with, readers are gently asked to reevaluate their own reactions and to temporarily suspend their unquestioned judgments. I believe that fiction, even, and perhaps especially, genre fiction is the modern democratic forum for ethical discussion. We can and should be conscious contributors to that ongoing dialogue.

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Mark Phillips weaves social themes throughout is fictional works which include:
Hacksaw, First in the Eva Baum Detective Series
Death on the Bayou (A Death in Texas anthology)
The Resqueth Revolution (Fall 2008 release)

Dread by Cash Anthony

2008-09-16T10:50:00.000-07:00

The following article was supposed to appear yesterday on The Final Twist Society blog. A lack of electricity in the aftermath of Ike has created a posting challenge, so I'm hosting the story here. Please use the comments link to leave messages for Cash and her fellow authors in The Final Twist Society.

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Dread.

If you have ever sat through a hurricane of any size and duration, you’re familiar with this emotional state. It’s far more than mere suspense. More like a toothache, because it doesn’t subside in a moment and go away. It drags on, and it grows.

This emotion is a good one to evoke when setting up the environment for a murder mystery or horror story; and since it looks as if it’s inevitable that Houston’s going to get clobbered with Hurricane Ike this weekend, anticipation of that reminded me of what dread entails: a period of waiting that, in the big picture isn’t all that long – a few days, maybe a week to watch a watery monster grow – but it feels like forever; dire consequences are likely to befall someone, and everyone knows it! And everyone is powerless to stop it. Someone will suffer, maybe die. The question is who.

If you’re in the path of Ike, will you be spared both the immediate loss and the resulting trauma? Even if you are, will you be one of the people who have to live through the aftermath? Coastal veterans know that means more powerlessness (literally), that extends past days into weeks, slowing every part of life down except disease and hunger; general disorder and frustration and irritation and the heightened emotions of other people… and an awareness of suffering not far off, if not in your own backyard.

No one knows who’s going to get it, but whoever it is, it’s likely to be bad. Dread.

What should you do? Should you flee, even though you know that the target is going to keep moving, and maybe if you had sat frozen like a hare, you’d have been spared…

Should you dodge out of the way, just a little, even though you know other people in more danger than you probably are need the resources and lodging and open roads? Even though you know none of them are open, and you’re going to be part of the huge problem of people out of their normal life situations trying to save themselves in a chaotic and dangerous environment – that you aren’t presently in?

No… you’ve decided to “hunker down”, a word described well elsewhere, a course of action equally necessary for the helpless and the brave. (Diana’s blog site) But once you decide to stay, then you come to know dread for sure.

You’ll feel it as you watch endless news accounts to see a spot over water move a quarter inch at a time – knowing that if it represents eighty miles or so, that will change many lives, including your own. You’ll dread the news when the storm (the muzzle of the gun?) turns more toward you – your life, your health, your home and community and everything you know are at risk, except the work you’ve got on a computer you’re ready to disconnect and run with.

Dread… before the storm, and then of the storm itself when it finally, finally gets here. The howling wind, the lashing rain, the pounding of waves of water on the walls of your house, until it comes squirting through the keyhole to your door. Hour upon hour of it. Will the house stand up to this? How many more hours of it do we have to tolerate? How long before the creaking of the house and the swishing of the battered trees outside end -- because they start shredding apart, snapping off, letting the torrent in?

I can only put up with so much dread, and so many of the TV weather reports. When it finally gets here, we’ll all be mentally exhausted anyway. I will probably mix something with rum in it, toast the emergency workers out there, and sleep through as much of it as I can. We’ll circle the recliners, push them back into quasi-lounges, and let the dog crawl underneath. The cat, most likely, will do even better than me, and sleep through the whole thing.

Wishing all on the Gulf Coast a safe weekend… and if you don’t have anything to read while you’re waiting for the insurance adjuster next week, check out the terrific books by writers of The Final Twist.

Our new anthology of short stories, A Death in Texas, will be out in October. Drop by the book launch at Kay Budget Books on Friday, October 10th, after 5:30 p.m., meet the Final Twist authors, and pick up a copy. I’m honored to say my story, The Best Man, will be inside.

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Cash Anthony is a Writer, Director, Actor, and Producer
Ninth Lord of the Night - screenplay, novel adaptation, Blue CatSemi-Finalist
Taking Up Serpents - screenplay, multi-competition Finalist
Do Me No Favors - short film, written, produced & directed
Complaining Witness - short film, written, produced & directed
False Negative - short film, written & directed
The Best Man - short story, in A Death in Texas anthology
The Stand-In - short story, in Dead and Breakfast anthology
The Secret of the Acequia Stone - B&B play and puzzles
The Case of the Baker's Dozen - B&B play and puzzles A Week of Wednesdays - Novel (WIP)Other B&B plays, puzzles, clues and poems

Unleash Your Story for Cystic Fibrosis Foundation

2008-09-02T11:12:00.001-07:00

I’m participating in an event to benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Please join me and help raise funds for investment in vital CF programs to support research, care and education.

During the month of September, I commit to writing 15,000 words and I'm hoping to raise at least $150 for CFF.

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a devastating genetic disease that affects the lungs and digestive system. More than ten million Americans are symptomless carriers of the defective CF gene. Advances continue to be made in finding a cure, but your help is needed now-more than ever-to help keep up the momentum of this life-saving research. To learn more about CF and the CF Foundation, visit www.cff.org.

Together, we can make a difference in the lives of those with cystic fibrosis. Thank you for supporting the mission of the CF Foundation!

Thanks to everyone for your support!

Click Here to donate.

In other news, both of my non-fiction booklets, Made Up Mayhem and Adapting Your Novel for Film have released. Stop by my website for details!
Perilously yours,
Pauline

Creative Book Marketing

2008-08-23T04:28:00.000-07:00

"Tie your book to a current event..."

How many times have you read a version of this tip?

Until recently, I couldn't figure out a way to use this advice in my own marketing campaign. You see, I write mysteries - make believe murder and mayhem stories. It seems more than a little crass to consider tying my stories to the latest gruesome murder in an effort to receive free publicity. Just how would that call begin? "Good morning Mr. Producer! You know that story you ran last night on the slaughter of the much loved pastor of that little church over on main? In my recent novel, a minister finds his end in much the same way. Do you think the murderer read my book? Perhaps we can talk about it on your morning show..."

I think not.

Some mystery series have themes. The protagonist has a hobby (scrapbooking, knitting, antiquing) or a profession (catering, teaching, archeologist) that can be used to approach special interest groups. I wasn't that smart. My protagonist is a PI and her spare time hobbies seem to revolve around dating and helping out the homeless. She isn't even an expert PI. She's young, inexperienced, makes mistakes.

Early this morning I started to wonder about those National __________ Months. Who decides? Is there a list? Is there something for Hacksaw or the challenged Eva Baum?

Google to the rescue.

Did you know that 2008 is the International Year of:

Languages
Planet Earth
The Potato
Sanitation

What about the month of September? September is (partial list):

Be kind to editors and writers month
Library card sign-up month
National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month
Menopause Awareness Month
National Potato Month
Pleasure Your Mate Month
Healthy Aging Month
Shameless Promotion Month
National Hispanic Heritage Month
Hug a Texas Chef Month

And on the weekly list (partial list):

Sept 8-13 Lind Dance Week
Sept 27-Oct 4 - Banned Books Week - Celebrating the Freedom to Read
Sept 18-21 International Women's Ecommerce Days
Sept 21-27 Build a Better Image Week

Then there is a daily list that includes things like Be Late for Something Day, Google Commemoration Day, Salami Day, Talk Like a Pirate Day, Responsible Dog Ownership Day, Elephant Appreciation Day, and International Literacy Day.

Anyone (you) can find a tie-in to their book and use it for marketing - check it out at http://www.brownielocks.com/ or http://www.quamada.com/months.html

In case you were wondering - October is National Toilet Tank Repair month. Be ready.

Pauline Baird Jones Wins Again

2008-08-18T03:55:00.000-07:00

Dream Realm Awards 2007 winners were announced at ArmadilloCon 30 on August 16. And in the category of Speculative Fiction Romance, the winner is...

The Key by Pauline Baird Jones!

Ms. Jones is no stranger to awards as her well-crafted stories have won many. Her latest entry, The Key, is full of suspense, action, humor, intrigue, and yes - a love story. The book is so well written and such fun to read, I can't imagine a reader who wouldn't enjoy this book. Congratulations to Dream Realm Awards judges for an excellent choice and a big thank-you to Ms. Jones for another great story.

This is the eighth annual event for Dream Realm Awards which were created "to recognize excellence in science fiction, fantasy, and horror in electronically published books." For a complete list of this year's winners, please click here.

If you are interested in meeting this award winning author, check out the release party for A Death in Texas on October 10 at Katy Budget Books in Katy, Texas.

Great Promo Tip

2008-04-03T09:56:00.000-07:00

Author Linnea Sinclair shared this great promo tip with me. When she's writing a new book, she notes great "clips," small snippets that tell a sort of mini story or make a great teaser. She copies them into a file marked, "promo tips for book XXX" and then gets the file out when she ramps up the promo engine. She randomly copies the clips into the signature file for her email and "teases" readers until the book releases and beyond.

It certainly worked to get me to read more of her work!

Perilously yours,
Pauline

Agatha Nominees

2008-02-27T08:13:00.000-08:00

I just read on DorothyL that two L & L Dreamspell authors have been nominated for an Agatha Award in Murder New York Style, an anthology published by (who else?) L & L Dreamspell. This brings well-earned attention to a great publisher after only one year in business!

Best Short Story"Casino Gamble", by Nan Higginson (Murder New York Style, L & L Dreamspell)
"Death Will Clean Your Closet", by Elizabeth Zelvin (Murder New York Style, L & L Dreamspell)

Laura

New Books - New Authors!

2008-02-17T10:02:00.000-08:00

It's been a long time since I've posted on our team blog - and it's not because there's nothing new. On the contrary, we have a lot of great new books by our team of fantastic authors!
Since last fall we've released two mystery anthologies - "Dead and Breakfast" by the Final Twist Mystery writers - a collection of short mystery stories all set in Bed and Breakfast Inns. Also "Murder New York Style" by the New York/Tri State chapter of the Sisters in Crime. It's theme is "New York" - and includes 21 great short stories.
We also released the latest in the "Third Eye" mystery series by Sylvia Dickey Smith - "Deadly Sins - Deadly Secrets" - and Betty Gordon's legal mystery "Murder in the Third Person."
Veteran author Pauline Baird Jones penned a Sci-Fi romance novel - "The Key" - it's her best book ever, and was on the best seller list at Fictionwise (in ebook format) - of course it's also available in print form (as are all our books!)
Our author John Foxjohn wrote another novel in his David Mason series - "Cold Tears" - and it was just named NUMBER ONE MYSTERY in the Preditors and Editors readers poll - congratulations John! (also note that his historical fiction novel "Journey of the Spirit" was named number TWO in the same Preditors and Editors poll, in the mainstream category!)
We published "Left at Georgetown" by David Ciambrone - his first novel with L&L Dreamspell, but not the first in his "Virginia Davies" mystery series.
If you are a dog lover you'll want to check out Cherri Galbiati's first in her new "American Service Searchers" series titled "The Scent of Money" - a "cozy" style mystery novel.
And just to prove we aren't only publishing mysteries - we released the first novel by new author Christine Prebler - a dark erotic adventure titled "Vampires at the Opera" - an interesting blend of the characters from two classic stories - Dracula, and the Phantom of the Opera.
Also we just released "The Bodyguard and the Rock Star" - a romance novel full of action and adventure. It's Christy Tillery French's first book with L&L Dreamspell, but not her first novel in the "Bodyguard" series.
Lisa and I are extremely pleased with all the great new books and authors - we wish them great success - be sure to visit our website and read more about them! www.lldreamspell.com
And stay tuned - we've added even more new authors, and we'll be bringing you a lot of new books in 2008!
Joining the team are: Laura Elveback - author of the upcoming mystery "Less Dead" - Caitlyn Hunter - author of the upcoming romance "Snow Shadows" - June Venable - author of the upcoming young adult novel "Hannah's Journey" - and there's more!
We are publishing the second mystery anthology novel by the Final Twist mystery writers group, and have added in these new participating authors: Cornelia Amiri, Loretta Wheeler, Charlotte and Mark Phillips, and Shirley Wetzel.
One more note - author John Foxjohn's latest David Mason mystery novel, "Color of Murder" will be released this fall!
Happy reading - Linda - L&L Dreamspell