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POINT OF VIEW: Upping the Odds

gambling - deposit photos

Some writers seem to have an innate sense of the publishing marketplace, surfing adroitly from one trend to another, catching every wave and riding it to success.  The rest of us aren’t so lucky. I’ve been writing seriously for six years now, and I can’t lay claim to catching a single trend. Trends are, by nature, often short and ephemeral – so unless you can turn around a book in ninety days (and some writers can and do) they are notoriously hard to catch. My first book took me five years to write. I did my second book in thirty … Read more

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AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT: Pat Henshaw

Pat Henshaw logo

Welcome to my weekly Author Spotlight. I’ve asked a bunch of my author friends to answer a set of interview questions, and to share their latest work. Today, my dear friend Pat Henshaw – Pat Henshaw, born and raised in Nebraska, has lived on the US’s three coasts, in Texas, Virginia, and now California. Before she retired, she held a number of jobs, including theatrical costumer, newspaper features reporter and movie reviewer, librarian, junior college English instructor, and publicist. She loves to travel and has visited Canada, Mexico, Europe, Egypt, and Central America as well as almost all fifty US … Read more

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ANNOUNCEMENT: All or None – Aurora Lee Thornton

All or None

Aurora Lee Thornton has a new queer fantasy book out: “All or None.” In a world where everyone has a soulmate, uniquely powerful mage Royiora and reluctant assassin Kalo collide in the worst of ways. Royiora Daralkaen, the only mage alive able to use all five kinds of magic, has a near idyllic childhood in the country of Porescalia – before war breaks out with their antagonistic neighbors, Kloria. Kalo Porla, a naturally magic-proof individual known as a Null, is trained to be as an assassin by the authoritarian empire known as the Domain. When Kalo and his partner assassin … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: Making Mistakes

Fail / Mistake

Mistakes. We all make them. Yesterday I’d uploaded some changes and corrections for “The Stark Divide.” They were minor corrections – a missing quote, a grammatical error – things a reader had caught and been kind enough to pass along to me. This morning I woke up to the email from Amazon confirming that my changes were live – for “The Rising Tide.” Panicked, I logged into the KDP dashboard and opened the book info for “The Rising Tide.” Sure enough, I had switched the insides over to the text for “The Stark Divide.” These things suck and make me … Read more

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ANNOUNCEMENT/GIVEAWAY: Redesigning Max – Pat Henshaw

Redesigning Max

Renowned interior designer Fredi Zimmer is surprised when outdoorsman Max Greene, owner of Greene’s Outdoors, hires him to revamp Max’s rustic cabin in the Sierra Nevada foothills. Fredi is an out-and-proud Metro male whose contact with the outdoors is from his car to the doorway of the million-dollar homes he remodels, and to Fredi, Max is a typical straight man’s man. When Max blatantly and clumsily flirts with Fredi, Fredi’s stereotypical view of Max is shattered. Is this a build-up to a gay bashing? Cautiously believing Max is closeted and is trying to come out, Fredi decides he’s game to … Read more

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REVIEWS: The Rising Tide

Review - The Rising Tide - Anthony Avina

Just got a couple new reviews of “The Rising Tide,” book two of The Ariadne Cycle: “…a phenomenal sequel that deepens the mythology of the series in a wonderful way. The evolution of mankind and the way they connect to the hivemind of the ship is great to see unfold, and the growing cast of characters help keep the reader invested in this extensive and fantastic mythos the author has crafted. This is a story of survival, love, and of evolving and learning to let the past stay in the past.” –Anthony Avina’s Blog Read the full review here “The … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: Writing Too Fast

speed - pixabay

Is there such a thing as writing too fast? That occurred to me this week as I really hit my stride on my latest novel, “Twin Moons Rising.“ I am zooming through this one, which feels great, especially since I hope to submit it for Pitch Wars next month. I’ve been writing an average of 1000 words a day these last couple of months, but lately I’ve been reaching as high as 2000 – NaNoWriMo levels of writing output. In June, I shifted my writing time to first thing in the morning. I usually get up at about 5:30 AM … Read more

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ANNOUNCEMENT/GIVEAWAY: All the Right Places: Short Stories by Wayne Goodman

All the Right Places - Wayne Goodman

Wayne Goodman has a new gay spec fic/romance/historical fiction short story collection out: “All the Right Places.” “All the Right Places” is a collection of short stories, most written for submission to anthologies or collections. Starting in the near future and proceeding to the near past, men interact with other men in the pursuit of love and companionship. Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon CAN | iBooks | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Smashwords | Goodreads Giveaway Wayne is giving away a $25 iTunes gift card with this tour – enter via Rafflecopter: a Rafflecopter giveaway Direct Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/b60e8d47144/? Excerpt Gary had never seen the likes of the boy who just walked into … Read more

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ANNOUNCEMENT/GIVEAWAY: Brains and Brawn – R.L. Merrill

COVER REVEAL/GIVEAWAY: Brains and Brawn - R.L. Merrill

R.L. Merrill has a new MM rock and roll book out: “Brains and Brawn.” And there’s a giveaway! Billy “Brains” Brennan has achieved rock stardom in not just one, but two chart-topping bands, but events from his past have him convinced he’s living on borrowed time. Brains and his brothers-in-Hush are ready to take the last cross-country Warped Tour by storm…until the actions of two drunk dudes with bad attitudes set off a chain of events that leave him incapacitated…and face-to-face with a handsome stranger who inexplicably feels like home—and not the home Brains fled at sixteen. Chief Petty Officer … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: Writing Without a Win

Waiting room - deposit photos

It’s been 7,464 hours since my last sale. Not that I’m counting. Honestly, it’s partly my own fault. In October last year fell into a bit of a … let’s call it a rough patch, since we’re not dealing with clinical depression here, and I don’t want to minimize those who suffer from it. Still, I basically stopped writing for months. I’d just finished and published the last of my two trilogies, and had wrapped up a novel, submitted it to Pitch Wars, and then utterly failed to even attract a full manuscript request. Since then, I’ve thrown myself into … Read more