Tracy Falbe's Blog, page 32

Feeling Warm and Fuzzy from Two New 5-Star Reviews for Rys Rising

Thank you to the reader in the UK who recently left this nice 5-star review for Rys Rising: Book I in the UK Kindle store. It is very fulfilling to know that people out there in the world genuinely enjoy my novels. My tender ego and long labors are rewarded by each one of these kind comments that trickle in year after year. I realize not every person will get that "great read" experience from my stories, but knowing that it can happen truly helps me keep believing in myself.

 
And when I stopped in the Barnes & Noble site today I noticed that Rys Rising had gotten a new review. The 5-star rating included the statement, "I recommend that if you read fantasy, this book is a must." I've been telling people this for years! Thank you for agreeing with me. 
Rys Rising: Book I is available in both the Kindle and Nook stores. 
Kindle USKindle UKNook USNook UK
The ebook is $2.99 at the retail outlets, but if you'd like to do business with me directly you can download Rys Rising for free at Brave Luck Books. 
 

Paranormal Romance Explained by the Divas on Genre

Today I present an interesting article that defines the paranormal romance genre. As an epic fantasy author who just published her first paranormal novel Werelord Thal, I can say that I found both genres very similar. I think the main difference was in labeling the supernatural creatures.

I especially liked this article because it had some nice demographic information about the paranormal romance audience and the author Lauren Schmelz referred to the indie market as a "grander scale of publishing."

[image error] Divas On Genre: Paranormal/Supernatural Romance (via http://writedivas.com)

Divas On Genre: Paranormal/Supernatural What is the paranormal genre to you? To me it involves anything to do with non-human beings or characters who have non-human like abilities such as telekinesis and other powers usually within a single person or…

 

The Act of Killing a Documentary Film Reviewed by Bennett Roth

I'm an aficionado of documentary films. Many of them are quite dark in subject matter as is the case with The Act of Killing from Joshua Oppenheimer. I chose to syndicate the following article because of Werner Herzog's association with the project. I admire his work in particular.

[image error] “The Act of Killing” a documentary film reviewed by Bennett Roth (via http://psychoanalyticpost.com)

I have not seen a film as powerful, surreal, and frightening in at least a decade. The Act of Killing is unprecedented in the history of cinema.” – German filmmaker Werner Herzog. It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless…

Bad Breath, BO, and Bad Language in Tool Kit for Writing Bad Guys with Guest Blogger Jill Edmondson

New Release Frisky Business (A Sasha Jackson Mystery) by Canadian author Jill Edmonson is the fourth novel starring her female detective described by the author as a "beautiful mess."Today's guest blogger is Jill Edmondson of Toronto, Canada. To promote the release of her fourth Sasha Jackson mystery Frisky Business, Edmondson reveals today her techniques for making bad guys distasteful.


Make the Bad Guys Really Unlikeable
When I was working on my last mystery novel, there came a point when I became frustrated with some of my secondary characters.  They seemed flat to me.  Now, given that they were secondary or even peripheral, it would not have made sense to give a lot of background and/or a detailed description of them.  But I needed to hint that these guys were not the ones your dad wants you to date.  
Some easy ways to SHOW that a character is less than honourable could include the following:

·         Swearing: Just fucking have the fucking character fucking talk like fucking this.

·         Smoking: Do I even need to explain this?  Instant pariah.

·         Poor grammar: Like the characters ain’t got no clue how to speak good, dude.

·         Unkindness to another character: This can be simple, such as not holding the door open for the person behind them when they enter an office building, or budding in line at the convenience store.

·         Unkindness to animals:  Don’t go so far as having them kick a puppy (ACK!!!), but show them griping about the neighbour’s damn poodle peeing on their lawn.  This can make a character come across as churlish. 

·         Lack of manners/class: Give the bad guy a dog, but make it so that he does not poop & scoop.

·         Poor hygiene:  Sure, why not give your villain B.O. or halitosis?

·         Unacceptable speech:  This can go as far as using racial terms or terms that are degrading to certain orientations or genders.  Be careful with this, though, as you may offend readers!

Having said all of that, be careful: You don’t want to slide into clichés.  To avoid having that happen, use the ugly stick sparingly.  It can be effective to come at it from an oblique angle, such as having a minor character politely ask the villain not to use the “F word” around children, or have a third party offer the bad guy a breath mint.
Finally, you can have a bit of fun with this by flipping things around.  Use a positive attribute as contrast.  One of the loathsome guys in my last book speaks and acts like a total dirtbag (which he is), and my protagonist is inwardly cringing at having to talk to him for even five minutes.  He grosses her out by chomping loudly and inelegantly on a wad of gum...  But then she realizes that the “gum” is Nicorette (one of those quit-smoking aids).  This small detail makes a big difference.  His quest to quit smoking makes him just a little bit more human, gives him a shred of a redeeming quality.  
Writing villains can definitely be challenging, but if you play around with it for a while, you’ll find interesting ways to let their badness reveal itself.    
* * *
Jill Edmondson is the author of the Sahsa Jackson Mysteries. 
For more info in Jill, check out her:
website www.jilledmondsonblog www.jilledmondson.blogspot.com
other titles on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Jill-Edmondson/e/B006Y0YWUO/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1
Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/sashajacksonmysteries
Follow her on Twitter @JillEdmondson

Rys Rising Selected by the Fussy Librarian

The book discovery service The Fussy Librarian will be showcasing Rys Rising: Book I in the fantasy category tomorrow November 25th. The Fussy Librarian is an email service that sends people book recommendations based on the genres they select.

On Monday in Fussy's fantasy category readers will see Rys Rising: Book I.

This novel launches an epic fantasy series. It's $2.99 at retailers but you can get an ebook copy for free from me at Brave Luck Books.

Rys Rising: Book I is also a paperback for $15. Get it from Createspace and save 15% with coupon code EHJ77M8M

Read Four Chapters from Werelord Thal at Slideshare

I have finally signed up at Slideshare, a document and presentation sharing service that is very popular worldwide. It was easy to use and I plan to experiment with it some more. I have a lot of content to share and promote. This high profile tool makes it easy to read content online and share it on blogs with the embed code or just click to put it on your social networks. 

My first upload to Slideshare is the 4-chapter preview from Werelord Thal: A Renaissance Werewolf Tale. I was pleased with how my original PDF file rendered into the Slideshare system. 

Please read and share. 


4-Chapter Preview of Werelord Thal: A Renaissance Werewolf Tale from Tracy Falbe

Press Release: Bargain Ebooks and Coupons Featured Weekly

[image error] Bargain Ebooks and Smashwords Coupons Featured Weekly at Her Ladyship's Quest (via SBWire)

People who use any ereading device like a Kindle, Nook, iPad, computer, or tablet can browse Smashwords deals at the blog of Tracy Falbe. Updated every Wednesday, the bargain ebooks and coupon codes include nonfiction and fiction. Battle Creek, MI -- (…

 

Book Review The Atomic Times by Michael Harris

Have you ever been glad that nuclear war was averted? Nevermind, because it wasn't. In the 1950s we detonated nuclear weapons willy nilly and made people hang out in the fallout.

The Atomic Times: My H-Bomb Year at the Pacific Proving Ground by Michael Harris is a gripping memoir. His narrative about his year in Eniwetok drags the reader through an experience that is surreal, malicious, and as dark as a thermonuclear explosion is unbearably bright.

I was immediately attracted to this book because the Cold War and nuclear testing have always fascinated me. As a little girl I used to lay awake at night and worry about nuclear war. The fact is it happened before I was even born. My review of Trinity: The Atomic Bomb Movie explains my thoughts on this era pretty well. In Trinity I noticed the servicemen in the Pacific. There are films of them working, at the beach, and witnessing detonations. I always wondered what their experience was like. How many had died of cancer before their time?

In The Atomic Times, Michael Harris provides the answers to all my questions and more. His horrific account of twelve months in a realm where "censorship is self imposed" locks the reader in the concrete hell of faggot-hunting MPs, insane commanding officers, and mutated fish.

Oh, and the enlisted men didn't get goggles when they had to stand in formation and await the megaton dawn. They got to duck and cover.

Michael Harris is a skilled writer who delivered a read I couldn't put down. I look forward to reading more of his work.


 
How did I find out about this cool book?

I got it from my subscription to the Fussy Librarian. A lovely book discovery email service that has the good taste to pick one of my novels. Rys Rising: Book I will be showcased by Fussy on November 25th.

Smashwords Deals for the Week of November 20th

Smashwords Deals for the week of November 20th

This is a weekly feature at Her Ladyship's Quest. Follow by email or with RSS and come back for the next Smashwords Deals feature.


Cupcakes Aren't Just For Eating 

Laina Turner 

Cozy Mystery

$2.99    $0.99    70% off with coupon code DQ83B 
11/20/2013 - 12/31/2013

Get it at Smashwords

Stephen making good on his threat. He wants his money back. The fact that the police confiscated it doesn’t matter to him. Can Trixie get it to him before it's too late?         



Some Enchanted Waltz 

Lily Silver  

Time Travel Romance

$3.49    $1.75    50% off with coupon code FY43Q 
11/19/13 to 12/19/13

Get it at Smashwords

Modern Day radio D.J. Tara O'Neill is sent back in time to 1798 Ireland. She encounters Lord Dillon, a member of the secret Irish Militia planning a rebellion. Can she prevent him from dying for a cause that historcially has failed?   

 
The Last King's Amulet

Chris Northern

Epic Fantasy

FREE! No coupon needed

Get it at Smashwords 

My name is Sumto, and everyone thinks I am a gambling, lazy, good-for-nothing drunk. Frankly, I think they have a point. Right now I may have to join the army and fight in a war I am frankly too corpulent to cope with. Still, it looks like being a small, short war. So that's got to be as bad as things get. Am I right?


The Good, The Bad, The Spin: Collected Salvos on Public Relations, New Media and Journalism
Bob Conrad

Nonfiction - Public Relations

$0.99 No coupon needed

Get it at Smashwords

By Bob Conrad, PhD, APR. An examination of the shifting landscape between public relations, journalism and new media. The Good, The Bad, The Spin looks in detail at the current state of the news media, the public relations profession, crisis communications practices, science and emerging social media technologies.

 
Specialty Bread Recipes: The Bread Machine Series
Chef's Secret Vault
Cookbook
$3.99 No coupon needed
Get it at Smashwords
Fresh baked bread is healthy and delicious; and the aroma coming from your kitchen is an added bonus while it's baking. Your bread machine makes it easy to give your friends, family and guests the gift of homemade bread and all of its benefits. We have hand selected 20 of the Best of the Best delicious homemade specialty bread recipes from the Chefs Secret Vault.

Sultana's Legacy: A Novel of Moorish Spain
Lisa J. Yarde
Historical Medieval
$3.99 No coupon needed
Get it at Smashwords
In thirteenth-century Moorish Spain, the Sultanate of Granada faces a bleak future, as a tyrant seizes control. Fatima, the daughter of a Sultan, and her devoted husband Faraj have enjoyed years of peace and prosperity. Now, a power-hungry madman claims the throne. He murders almost everyone Fatima holds dear. Fatima must preserve the legacy of her forefathers at all costs.  
 
Quest for the Keys
April M. Reign
Paranormal Romance
$2.99 No coupon needed
Get it at Smashwords
Dhellia is a funny, fresh and sassy, fast-paced series about a young woman whose birthright is the underworld—she’s mad as Hell about it, and is determined to use her powers to beat her father at his own game!  
Happy Reading!

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Authors: Send me your coupon codes with the form at the bottom of the Smashwords Deals page.

Look for My AMA on the Reddit Fantasy Board Tomorrow

I will be the Fantasy Writer of the Day on the Reddit Fantasy board tomorrow Wednesday November 20th. My appearance will be in the Reddit "Ask Me Anything" format or AMA.  It will start around noon Eastern U.S. Time.

People can ask my novels and writing or anything. So if you want to complain about me killing a character or making you hate someone you had fallen in love with earlier, maybe I can help you through your grief process. Of course I will graciously accept praise for my epic creations as well. If you haven't read any of my novels, come ask me something about my fiction to find out if I'm your type of author.

Thank you to the moderators of this subreddit for creating a space for authors to interact with fans.