Debra L. Martin's Blog, page 333

Happy 4th of July!

The Fourth of July 2011

On this day in 1776, the Declaration of Independence was approved by the Continental Congress, setting the 13 colonies on the road to freedom as a sovereign nation. As always, this most American of holidays will be marked by parades, fireworks and backyard barbecues across the country.2.5 millionIn July 1776, the estimated number of people living in the newly independent nation.

Source: Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times to 1970

<http://www.census.gov/prod/www/abs/statab.html>311.7 millionThe nation's estimated population on this July Fourth.

Source: Population clock <http://www.census.gov/main/www/popclock.html>Flags$3.2 millionIn 2010, the dollar value of U.S. imports of American flags. The vast majority of this amount ($2.8 million) was for U.S. flags made in China.

Source: Foreign Trade Statistics <http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/www/>

<http://www.usatradeonline.gov>$486,026Dollar value of U.S. flags exported in 2010. Mexico was the leading customer, purchasing $256,407 worth.

Source: Foreign Trade Statistics <http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/www/>

<http://www.usatradeonline.gov>$302.7 millionAnnual dollar value of shipments of fabricated flags, banners and similar emblems by the nation's manufacturers, according to the latest published economic census data.

Source: 2007 Economic Census, Series EC0731SP1, Products and Services Code 3149998231

<http://www.census.gov/econ/census07/> Fireworks$190.7 millionThe value of fireworks imported from China in 2010, representing the bulk of all U.S. fireworks imported ($197.3 million). U.S. exports of fireworks, by comparison, came to just $37.0 million in 2010, with Japan purchasing more than any other country ($6.3 million).

Source: Foreign Trade Statistics <http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/www>

<http://www.usatradeonline.gov>$231.8 millionThe value of U.S. manufacturers' shipments of fireworks and pyrotechnics (including flares, igniters, etc.) in 2007.

Source: 2007 Economic Census, Series EC0731SP1, Products and Services Code 325998J108

<http://www.census.gov/econ/census07/>Patriotic-Sounding Place NamesThirty-one places have "liberty" in their names. The most populous one as of April 1, 2010, is Liberty, Mo. (29,149) Iowa, with four, has more of these places than any other state: Libertyville, New Liberty, North Liberty and West Liberty.Thirty-five places have "eagle" in their names. The most populous one is Eagle Pass, Texas (26,248).Eleven places have "independence" in their names. The most populous one is Independence, Mo. (116,830).Nine places have "freedom" in their names. The most populous one is New Freedom, Pa. (4,464).One place with "patriot" in the name. Patriot, Ind. (209).Five places have "America" in their names. The most populous is American Fork, Utah (26,263).Source: American FactFinder <www.census.gov>

FREE ebooks - DON'T MISS OUT!

In case you haven't seen these, the following books are FREE at Amazon. Download them while you can and don't forget to check out the other titles as well:



FREE - SOLE SACRIFICE

Sithral Tyr watched helplessly while three of his children died of a strange illness. When his last remaining son falls ill, he gives up on his clan's shaman and, amid protests from the clan chief and his neighbors, Tyr sets out to find a cure for his son. His journey takes him to a land of danger and debauchery where he's forced to make the ultimate sacrifice in the hopes of saving not just his son but his entire clan.



This novella features one of the characters in The Kinshield Legacy.





Kinshield Legacy on SALE for .99

A mysterious stone tablet with five magical gems has sat abandoned in a cave for two hundred years. The kingdom is in ruins, with only warrant knights to keep the peace. But then, the gems in the tablet, one by one, disappear.



Warrant knight Gavin Kinshield is a man of many secrets. He's the one

deciphering the runes in the tablet. Unless he can find a suitable

replacement, he'll be Thendylath's next king. All he really wants is the

letter written by his ancestor Ronor Kinshield, the last man to see King Arek alive... a letter he must earn by tracking down a common thief. But when Gavin saves a woman's life, what should have been a simple task draws him face-to-face with his nightmarish past... and the truth of King Arek's demise.





 FREE - SPIDERWORK

Her fate was to hold the world together. His destiny was to tear it apart. 



As a child, Durga was chosen by the goddess to save humanity from sterility and extinction. When her eighteenth birthday approaches she must take her place among the chalices, women blessed by the goddess to provide more souls for the universe. Khai, the scion of Luxor, is unlike any man Durga has ever met. He falls hard for her and isn't afraid to show it -- but accepting his love could destroy everything she's been commanded by the goddess to build.



Char Meadowlark, once touched by the goddess Asherah, has now been discarded. Her lover Jake Ardri now heads an emerging city-state and desperately wants Char to be his queen. When Jake's enemies expose his one weakness, his very existence is threatened. To save Jake, Char must share him with a beautiful chalice -- whose purpose is to take Jake to the heights of sexual ecstasy. In flagrante apocalypto: When the veil drops between life and oblivion, only love can save them from the abyss.



The first story in this series is on SALE - Space Junque at .99

Nominated for Best Romantic Science Fiction/Fantasy in 2010 and Best Debut Book in 2010 by The Romance Reviews.

The DOGs want to destroy the world. The gods want to make a new one. The trick is to survive both.



The world is on the brink of ecological cataclysm set off by the Oil Spill of 2010 and the Great Sea Level Rise of 2070. Hydroponics agronomist Char Meadowlark has become a recluse since her fiance was killed by a terrorist bomb and her twin sister Sky went underground to protect a top secret alternative energy project. Warned about an impending eco-terrorist attack, Char tries to get off planet, but the Defenders of Gaia strike while she's at the airport. Shuttle pilot Jake Ardri might offer her only hope.

When the DOGs' onslaught goes global and the material world threatens to implode, the ancient gods reemerge to take control over humanity. Through the ensuing chaos, Char must juggle two men, a world on fire, and a goddess with an agenda for a new world order. 

 FREE - THE RIGHT PATHAbraham "Ham" Jones, a cripple, and Zia Slate, a tomboy with an attitude, find themselves unlikely partners in this post-apocalyptic tale of survival. It is decades later since the world blew itself apart. Life is harsh, gangs rule the streets, the system cops keep the peace anyway they can. Being a kid in this world isn't easy, being a cripple is about the worst sentence handed down. Being a girl with no protection is only slightly better. 

Ham and Zia's lives are irrevocably changed when they meet a mysterious old man bearing gifts - a cane for Ham and a knife for Zia. But, nothing is as it seems. Everyone wants something and no good deed goes unpunished. Forced into a desperate encounter, they must fight for their lives when it's discovered they now have possession of two of the legendary memory weapons, the very weapons that ultimately destroyed the world. 

The first novelette in the Dark Future series, PATH TO DESTRUCTION is on SALE for .99Can a ragtag band of soldiers save what's left of the USA?



In a last ditch attempt to turn the tide in a desperate war, General Matthew Smith of the American Freedom Fighters asks Samurai Master Kenzu to make a batch of the famed memory weapons--weapons that infuse its user with the skills and memories of a samurai warrior. But, in the wrong hands, the users can become uncontrollable killing machines who don't care whom they kill - friend or foe.



When General Smith orders Commander Hurley and his unit of augmented soldiers test the weapons, he believes that he's doing the best thing for all of the men under his command. What General Smith believes, however, and what is true is entirely two different things and Smith must live with the consequences of his decision.

FREE - BROKEN WINGS

In this opening book of the Soul Searchers Series, a con-artist who's been hired to locate a buried treasure finds more than she bargains for.



Rio Laraquette thought the legend was nothing more than an enchanted tale about star-crossed lovers who left behind a fortune. That is, until she figures out that she--in a past life--was the culprit who stole a shipment of gold and silver and buried it somewhere in the hills of northern Nevada.



While searching for the treasure, Rio's heart begins to ache for a man who's been dead more than one hundred years. They say time heals all wounds, but what if it doesn't...?The sequel to this book is Vegas, Baby, available for $3.50Book two of the Soul Searchers series picks up where Broken Wings left off. Rio Laraquette's back in Vegas and settling into her normal routine--except that Eddie LaCall has invaded her space. The two share a mutual attraction and an undeniable connection.



When Eddie's scarred past comes back to haunt him his attachment to Rio strengthens even though neither completely trusts the other. Just when it looks like a poker tournament is bringing them together, their budding relationship gets backburnered when a stalker goes from creepy to dangerous, making several attempts on the reluctant lovers' lives.



Will these two souls--who've been searching for each other across eternity--finally get to share a lifetime together, or will they once again end up as star-crossed lovers?FREE 

Color Me Grey by JC PhelpsMeet Alexis Stanton, a 5' 4" petite young woman with a yen for adventure. She grew up as a tomboy wishing she could have all the adventures boys could have. She has since decided that being a boy instead of a girl has its advantages, but being a woman is much better. Raised in a family with money, she was able to pick and choose her education. She had been schooled in everything from being a lady to courses with Special Forces instructors. Her desire for adventure and her boredom with her current employment and a strange 'HELP WANTED' ad causes her to quit. She finds that job she could "just die for"... and it looks like she just might!The sequel to this book is Shades of Grey available for $2.99Answering a strange "HELP WANTED" ad, placed by White and associates, Alex finds herself in a partnership with a company she knows almost nothing about. Along with her job she's acquired a new name and a whole new set of rules to live by. Now known as Ms. Grey, she realizes she even prefers that to Alex. One thing leads to another when she takes on a routine case. A legendary sniper known only as Penumbra, becomes her main focus. Can she unravel Penumbra's true identity and should she?

Interview with Bryan Healey

Can you give us a brief overview of your latest book?"Shattered Wings" is the chronicle of a man named John, the primary breadwinner in a household consisting of his husband Charlie and their adoptive daughter Cassie. When faced with an unexpected unemployment that he is financially unprepared for, John finds himself desperate for new work before his savings is depleted, reminiscing on a past of addiction, discrimination and family struggle as he slowly descends into alcoholism.

Did you try the traditional route to publishing, i.e. querying agents/publishers?I did not. While I wish I had the distribution capacity of a major publishing house, I prefer to self-publish because of the ultimate creative control and feedback immediacy it offers. I am currently querying distribution companies to see if that is an option, but I restrict my options to groups that allow authors to retain all rights.

Do you belong to a critique group? Have they helped improve your writing?I am not a member of any formal critique group, but I am a participant in several writer-specific discussion forums, from Writer's Digest to Kindle Boards, and I thrive on the feedback and suggestions that these groups can offer. I am also currently working toward attaining a degree in English, which has helped improve my linguistic rule obedience.

What factors influenced your decision to self-publish to Amazon?I find that I enjoy having full control over the creative process, from interior and cover design to deployment and marketing. By self-publishing, I am the writer, publisher, designer and distributor, and it gives me a sense of total understanding of the project and it's scope.

Did you hire an editor to review your manuscript before publishing?I did not.

What have you've learned during your self-publishing journey?Publishing is a major challenge. Writing has a unique set of challenges and certainly has a stiff requirement for patience, but the "other" stuff (cover and interior design, proofing, editing, marketing and promotion) have their own difficulties and require just as much, if not more, patience. And unlike writing, which always has a satisfying conclusion (the end of a story written), self-publication can "end" in any number of different ways, and not all of them are universally positive.

Besides Amazon, are there any other sites where your books are for sale?Yes, my books are also for sale on BarnesandNoble.com, Smashwords (which distributes to Apple, Kobo and Diesel) and in some local bookstores where I have gained some traction.

What kinds of marketing [twitter, facebook, blog, forums] are you involved with for promoting your book(s)?By day, I am a professional web engineer, so I do a lot of digital work myself. I have designed marketing websites for each of my books and do heavy promotion on most major social networking services. I am also doing limited paid advertising. Offline, I do local book readings and signings at independent bookstores that will carry my work.

Do you find it difficult to juggle your time between marketing your current book and writing your next book?Absolutely! Without a schedule, I would be utterly lost. I am currently working full-time as a senior web engineer, going to school full-time for a degree in English, marketing my latest book and writing manuscripts three and four... I could easily lose track of myself if I don't pick specific times for each task. And inevitably sometimes one must dominate when specific activities have deadlines or become overwhelming. It's a delicate process that is easy to unbalance.

What advice would you give a new author just entering into the self-publishing arena?Make absolutely certain that you are aware of the challenges you'll be facing; do your research! If you self-publish, you will be taking on all the duties of a lot of different people and you will need to dedicate significant time and energy to those tasks. And then, even with your most valiant effort, you may be underwhelmed by the sales return. If you can't handle this amount of adversity and work, then self-publishing is probably not for you. But if you can handle it, the rewards can be extraordinary.

What's next for you?I am working on a novel right now entitled "No Where" that follows a determined man as he tries to flee from an unknown adversary with his biological son and find a way to stop their pursuit. With the help of his brother, he sets off across the country for solace in a secluded family residence, but as his brother probes into the son and his estranged family, he finds some troubling information that threatens their ultimate safety.



I am about half way complete with this manuscript and hope to have it ready for editing and design by mid summer and have it published by the early fall.

  

The World of Symbols: Ice Age Language

Ice Age Language by Michelle SnyderWhite Knight Studiowww.whiteknightstudio.com

Our ancestors had abilities and knowledge that generally go unrecognized. The symbols they created carry stories of their social structures, medicines, home life, families, trade, struggles, and victories. They documented their knowledge and history with symbols - images combined with oral tradition, passed on from old to young. Engraved on the great continental megalithic village utilities as well as on small stones, ivory, and bones, the information was recorded for future generations. Some of our oldest Faerie tales and mythologies carry the memory and history of these ancestors.

In order to decode symbols, we must understand why they were made. Conventional opinion states that prehistoric art is just that: art for art's sake, or ritual and magical art. However, the images left us by our ancestors have real stories to tell. A physicist and cryptographer, Dr. Robert Duncan-Enzmann, has translated thousands of inscriptions from 14,500 years ago, a language used by our ancestors during the iron cold ice age of the Paleolithic Era. Images inscribed on stone, bone, and ivory depict every day activities of child care, housing, clothing, and calendrics. Paintings of animals depict calendrics describing migrations, seasons, and what part of the animal to use for what purpose.

The picture-story in image A is about the birth of Lorelei, a Rhine maiden. Lorelei's birth was certainly written  (scratched in stone) by a lady of a small hunting family or clan. Labeled on the image: numbers 16 & 1 indicate the pregnant mom, 21 the baby born, connected by umbilical cord (in red), and 22 - horses that bless baby with hair for warmth and bones for fat: the Horse Spirit blesses baby's spirit. Lorelei is the beginning of the sun-child, sun-goddess mythology.

The right clothing was essential for survival in an ice age. Spinning and weaving have roots in Paleolithic family clans. Duncan-Enzmann's translations bring to us records of women making and trading textiles. He says: "Much, indeed most of the Magdalenian writings concern textiles; likely all of it written by women. Their writings show that today's most personal and important comforts of home were invented and used well over 14,500 years ago. Long before we had electricity,  ancient versions of heating,  laundry, child care, cooking, and lighting  - all of these necessities existed in other forms". Image B is an inscription showing a woman at a weighted-warp upright loom, with her oil lamp on the floor.

Paleolithic mothers taught their daughters the art of spinning; little girls spun, mothers wove,  and grannies tailored. While the women worked they told stories to pass on knowledge to their children (thus "spinning a yarn"). These generational practices led to the mythology of Maiden, Mother, and Crone as Norns working the threads of life in time. (Norns spin the thread of fate at the foot of Yggdrasil – the Tree of Life - weaving the pattern of destiny for both gods and men.) Diagrams were carefully made of what to use for weaving, when to extract aspirin from willow branches, and how to sharpen needles. Image C instructs how to make boots.

These artifacts, scraps surviving from our past, represent a great treasure. They provide valuable information and a tangible link to our ancestors. Some of the most intriguing and mysterious symbols of today have roots in prehistory; decoding them is possible in part because we have translations of this ice age language. When symbols are put in historic context our understanding of human development becomes more accurate, and our decoding of symbolic imagery is more profound.

Article 2011 by Michelle Snyder, author of Symbology: Decoding Classic Images, available at Amazon. Her website is www.whiteknightstudio.com. Translations© 1995 Dr. Robert Duncan-Enzmann, www.iceagelanguage.com.

Be Wary of these Clauses in Publishing Contracts

With the surge of authors choosing to go the route of indie, they won't have to worry about contract details with traditional publishers. However, there are still many authors who are signing with publishers or have publishers who come courting them when their self-published titles sells well.  I found the following 2010 blog post from Chip MacGregor of MacGregor Literary. All of these points are still valid today and as Chip says, "Read the fine print of any publishing contract." Chip's blog is here: http://chipmacgregor.typepad.com/





Some really, REALLY stupid things in book publishing contracts according to Chip: 



1. A contract with no title listed and no description of the project. So you're on the hook for...who knows what?2. A grant of rights that includes everything, including if you ever decide to write or speak on this topic again sometime in this lifetime. (Keep this in mind when looking at the conflicting publications clause -- it's reasonable to expect a publisher gets a window in which the author is focused on their contracted title. It's not reasonable to make that a lifetime ban on the subject for an author -- something I've seen.)3. A description of the work so broad that you would be considered in breach of contract should you write a thank you note to your Aunt Agatha for sending you that bad Christmas sweater.4. An advance that needs to be paid back should it not earn out. Paid back?! This is an "advance against royalties," not a loan. For crying out loud -- why not ask 'em to fill out an application? 5. Royalties that DROP when more copies are sold. (No kidding. Read the fine print.) Take a look at the contracts of some publishing houses -- if your book is sold at a reasonable discount, they'll cut your royalty in half, leading the sales team to SUGGEST THAT VERY IDEA to accounts. Great plan. 6. Some contracts have words that basically say, "If we re-sell the idea to other people, we get to keep all the money." I've seen this happen a couple times -- and in BOTH circumstances it led to really bad feelings with the author. 7. Be wary of the term "excerpts." It sure looks like some publishers can take excerpts from the books they're publishing, repackage them into a new product, and pay you, um, nothing. Zero. Zip. Zilch-a-rooni.8. I recently saw a "reservation of rights" clause that described what the publisher reserved, but failed to mention anything for the author. Uh, the reservation of rights clause is there to protect both publisher AND author. Consider the wording carefully, so that you basically retain the rights not specifically granted to someone else.9. I've seen several contracts that offer no definition of acceptance. In other words, "If we don't like it, tough luck."10. An opt-out clause. I started seeing this a few years ago. It basically says, "We want to publish your book...but if we change our minds, you're screwed. Pay us our money back." Look, lots of people want out of a bad deal. But there needs to be some sort of reasoning offered -- it's not an acceptable manuscript, or it has libel potential, or you didn't write the book you'd promised, or they just saw you getting arrested on COPS. Those are reasonable reasons for canceling a book. The fact that the publisher woke up and decided he or she simply no longer wanted to publish your novel probably is not reasonable.11. No publication time limit. I have a friend who turned in a piece more than 11 years ago. It's still not made it to press, but the publisher won't give it back, and doesn't have to because the contract states they don't have to publish it until they feel like it. (I'm not making this up.) 12. The copyright in the name of the publisher. A bad idea.13. While I think option clauses have their place, I remember the bad old days when one publishing house tacked on a double-option for every book you did with them. So the more books you wrote, the more books you owed them! You could never complete your contract.14. Indemnity clauses that only flow one way. In other words, if anybody ever sues us, for any reason, the AUTHOR is expected to pay for it. (Don't laugh. I've seen it more than once.)

Interview with Bradley J. Milton

Can you give us a brief overview of your latest book?It's called Huckleberry Milton. It's a retelling of the HUCKLEBERRY FINN tale, but for modern times. Huckleberry Milton and his sidekick (a robotic Jerry Garcia), along with a Jim Morrison look-alike, all travel back to 1969 to save America from an economic crisis.

Did you try the traditional route to publishing, i.e. querying agents/publishers?Didn't happen. Was contacted by a publisher who advised the Amazon Kindle / Smashwords route. All good from there.

Do you belong to a critique group? Have they helped improve your writing?Not yet, but am open to anything. I'm on TWITTER where I talk to other writers all the time. It's a nice way to gain support, help others, and chit-chat. You can connect with me at http://twitter.com/@bradleyjmilton any time, even just to say hi. It's always on – quite amazing, really.

What factors influenced your decision to self-publish to Amazon?It was simple. First I see that Amazon has dominated the market. Always best to go with a winner, and Jeff Bezos has proven himself to be a competent businessman here. Kindle can use some improvement, but it's definitely the best way to go. Also my novel is Experimental (avant garde), and the number of real publishers for that is small. Used to be Grove Press, Expanded Media Editions, City Lights, Citadel Underground, Hanuman Books, Arcade Publishing, High Risk Books, Evergreen Review, Black Cat paperbacks, RE/Search Publications, Loompanics, Shambala – in short, a whole world of publishers for new voices, experiments, writing that is over the edge. Not so anymore. Now the writer is stuck going solo. So, here goes.

Did you hire an editor to review your manuscript before publishing?An editor (freelance) had contacted me, knowing I was interested in a book. They helped pull it all together. So for me, it was easy. All I had to do was figure out the software and write up the file. Had to approve final changes and so on, and be willing to do some more marketing.

What have you learned during your self-publishing journey?I have learned that Publishing as an Industry has changed dramatically. It happened slowly then quickly. Right now, agents and editors and publishers are caught with their pants down. They don't know what hit them. They don't know what's happening. They know that they have to be on TWITTER to be accepted and looked at as with it, but they aren't quite sure what to do. Meanwhile, the readers are out there. They're hungry for stories. They want more. And it is the visionaries like Jeff Bezos who are helping to bring it to them. Not the publishers or agents or editors anymore. The roles are changing. The next few years should be Interesting.

Besides Amazon, are there any other sites where your books are for sale?Yep. Barnes and Noble too. Always good to stay competitive. Huckleberry Milton is available in the Sony, Kobo and the Diesel eBook Stores, and also on Smashwords where you can buy all the formats: PDF, Plain Text. You can preview it there free. You can also preview for free on Amazon. So it's pretty much everywhere. Will be out in the Apple iStore soon too. Working out a glitch right now with the Apple formatting.

What kinds of marketing [twitter, facebook, blog, forums] are you involved with for promoting your book(s)?Definitely TWITTER. It's fun. And interviews. The book is out there with a lot of reviewers right now. Happy with all the comments. But the big thing I'm doing is a "Bradley J. Milton LIVE!" blog tour. I'm reading from the book live, and offering exclusive readings on various blogs. It's a big deal. There's t-shirts and everything. It's starting this week and will take me all over the country, so I'm very excited. I had to ask for some time off of work (boss doesn't know).

Do you find it difficult to juggle your time between marketing your current book and writing your next book?Not really. I want to start my next book (I have ideas), but right now I am working only on this one (Marketing). It's a different aspect, different part of the job. I'm having fun. It's pretty nice.

What advice would you give a new author just entering into the self-publishing arena?Do your best work, don't be afraid to be Original. I believe that people like that – it's something different. They like to see someone doing something unique if it's what they believe in. Go for it.

What's next for you?The next book is going to be a big one. It's going to have all genres. I'm calling it The Everything Book. But right now I'm heading off on the Bradley J. Milton LIVE! Tour, taking Huckleberry Milton all over the country to the people. Let me know if you'd like a t-shirt.

New Release: NIGHT OF THE WOLVES by David Dalglish

Book Blurb:

Wolf-men, savage creatures given humanoid form in an ancient war, mass along the Gihon River. Led by their packleader Redclaw, they seek to cross the river and claim a land of their own, slaughtering those that would stand in their way. Two paladins, Jerico of the god Ashhur, and Darius of the god Karak, must helm the desperate defense against the invasion. Their friendship will be tested as their gods resume an unending war, and their very faiths call for the death of the other. Together, friend or foe, they must face Redclaw's horde.



Can faith remain when the gods call for blood?





Buy links: 

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Night-Wolves-Paladins-1-ebook/dp/B0053NZL12



Author Bio:



David Dalglish currently lives in rural Missouri with his wife Samantha, daughter Morgan, and snake, Velixar. He graduated from Missouri Southern State University in 2006 with a degree in Mathematics and currently spends his free time watching Spongebob Squarepants with his daughter.      

FREE at Amazon - THE RIGHT PATH

I'm thrilled that Amazon has decided to put my post-apocalyptic novelette, THE RIGHT PATH, to FREE status. I have no idea how long they will keep it free, so go grab a copy and enjoy while you can.





Can Ham and Zia survive in this dog-eat-dog world?
Amazon buy link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003FGWUWC





Abraham "Ham" Jones, a cripple, and Zia Slate, a tomboy with an attitude, find themselves unlikely partners in this post-apocalyptic tale of survival. It is decades later since the world blew itself apart. Life is harsh, gangs rule the streets, the system cops keep the peace anyway they can. Being a kid in this world isn't easy, being a cripple is about the worst sentence handed down. Being a girl with no protection is only slightly better. 



Ham and Zia's lives are irrevocably changed when they meet a mysterious old man bearing gifts - a cane for Ham and a knife for Zia. But, nothing is as it seems. Everyone wants something and no good deed goes unpunished. Forced into a desperate encounter, they must fight for their lives when it's discovered they now have possession of two of the legendary memory weapons, the very weapons that ultimately destroyed the world. 



4.0 out of 5 stars Real characters AND imaginative ideas! Noah K Mullette-Gillman "Author of Luminous a... Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)This review is from: The Right Path (Apocalyptic Novelette) (Dark Future Series) (Kindle Edition)I need two things to love a story. I need exciting, imaginative ideas... AND I need the substance of real characters with depth. I honestly don't like most fantasy or scifi stories that I read. They tend to give me just the imaginative part and leave out the substance. The Right Path manages to give us both! We can spend some time in a post-apocalyptic world, and we also deal with real issues and real characters.



5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant Story, Amazing Impact, August 27, 2010By Ronnell D. Porter This review is from: The Right Path (Apocalyptic Novelette) (Dark Future Series) (Kindle Edition)



It wasn't until I finished reading THE RIGHT PATH that I realized I didn't 'dislike' short stories; I'd just never read a good one. I was fortunate enough to find this gem lurking around in The Burnt Zone (story joke). It's a well-written look into a world where humanity is a myth and ever action taken by one's self is only to achieve two things: personal gain where possible, and survival.



The last time I've seen an extraordinary example of the spectra of the human machine, from the darkest shade of cruelty to the lightest shade of kindness and charity, was when I saw the film 'Blindness' a few years ago. THE RIGHT PATH is a poetic start to an epic journey of reviving humanity. 5 Stars across the board. If novelettes could be nominated for Oscars, this would be in the category.





If you want to see how and when the "memory weapons" were created, be sure to pick up the first story in our DARK FUTURE series:





PATH TO DESTRUCTION:

Can a ragtag band of soldiers save what's left of the USA?



In a last ditch attempt to turn the tide in a desperate war, General Matthew Smith of the American Freedom Fighters asks Samurai Master Kenzu to make a batch of the famed memory weapons--weapons that infuse its user with the skills and memories of a samurai warrior. But, in the wrong hands, the users can become uncontrollable killing machines who don't care whom they kill - friend or foe.



When General Smith orders Commander Hurley and his unit of augmented soldiers test the weapons, he believes that he's doing the best thing for all of the men under his command. What General Smith believes, however, and what is true is entirely two different things and Smith must live with the consequences of his decision.





If you enjoy fantasy, check out the RULE OF OTHARIA  series:





  

Spotlight: CRAZY FOR YOU by Sandra Edwards

** Nominated for "Best Contemporary Romance of 2010" at The Romance Reviews **


Book blurb:

Crazy For You is a rags to riches tale set against the backdrop of the 80s, movie stars and rock-n-roll.



Roxanne Simon is a successful author and an award-winning actress who's also a bit neurotic. After she appears on a popular talk show the world is left guessing: is rock star Frank Garrett the father of her four year old son? 



Once Frank learns the true parentage of Roxanne's son, he's determined to make her pay. When he stumbles upon her weakness, he decides to use it against her. But is he prepared to see her pay the ultimate price in his quest for revenge?



Be careful what you wish for...you just might get it.







Buy Links:Kindle Store: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003WJRJ4QAmazon Print: http://www.amazon.com/Crazy-You-Sandra-Edwards/dp/1453787771Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/19507





Review Snippets: From The Crazy Bookworm ~ "The entire character cast is great, you'll find yourself falling in love with not just Roxanne and Frank but with all the characters."

From Readers Favorite Book Reviews ~ "Ms. Edwards takes the reader back to the 1980's, to a world of starving musicians, sex and drugs. She portrays the scene quite well."



Excerpt:Crazy for You:

That evening, Roxanne sat back and watched Rich and Glen give all the local groupies the cold shoulder. The hometown girls seethed as the two band members, who'd been oh-so-friendly yesterday, entered the club tonight sporting these unknown women on their arms. None of the slighted fans tried to hide their anger.

Roxanne couldn't understand how Candy and Glenna, especially Glenna, could stand to witness this diversion as it played out between the guys in the band and the local girls. The whole thing proved unsettling for Roxanne. "Let's go out and burn one." Her suggestion came abruptly.

"Okay." Candy popped up from her chair and grabbed her purse.

The girls headed outside, and made themselves comfortable in the back of Roxanne's van.

Glenna initiated the ritual by pulling a joint out and firing it up. "Did you see all those girls giving me the evil eye when I walked in on Glen's arm?" she asked with an amusing laugh and passed the joint to Roxanne. Glenna didn't seem to care, one way or another, about what she obviously knew.

"No shit." Candy let out a sharp laugh. "I caught a few of those myself."Roxanne choked on the smoke and coughed. "I can't believe you two think that's funny." She handed the joint to Candy.

"Roxie…" Glenna said in a discerning tone, "I'm not blind to the fact of what goes on when I'm not around. But I also know…" She gave Roxanne one of those looks that said she wasn't worried, and in a controlled voice, she said, "when push comes to shove…" She shrugged with a measure of confidence. "I come first."

"And it doesn't bother you?" Roxanne asked, doubtful.

Candy passed the joint to Glenna, saying nothing, just following the conversation with an entertaining grin edging up the corners of her mouth.

"Not as long as Glen doesn't flaunt it in my face," Glenna said. "You must understand." She stopped long enough to take a hit off the joint. "The groupies, they got one thing on their minds." She stopped again, holding her breath this time. An act that allowed the capabilities of the drug to take her away. "They want to screw a musician. Any musician." Slowly, Glenna blew the smoke out in a long, lingering trail. "They put it right there in their faces. And believe me, a stiff dick has no conscience." There was no doubt in her tone, no fear in her words. She handed the joint to Roxanne. "And I'm not going to let some little two-bit slut destroy my marriage," she added, in an almost vindictive tone.

Roxanne toked on the joint and a disturbing thought crossed her mind. Glenna not only knew about it—she accepted her husband's infidelity. Anxiety colored Roxanne's thoughts with visions of what Frank might be doing out on the road if she wasn't there. She tried to expel the ugly thoughts invading her head, right along with the smoke as she exhaled and handed the joint to Candy.

"You got a clip?" Roxanne said to Candy.

"Yeah." Candy pulled a roach-clip from her purse and clamped it onto the joint. Glenna picked up on Roxanne's anxiety. "I'm not saying that's what Frank would do." She had to get that notion out of Roxanne's head. Otherwise, Frank would hit the roof. "So don't go judging him by my husband's actions."

Glenna prayed Roxanne had nothing but pure thoughts of Frank. If not, there would be hell to pay. Frank would see to that.



     

Screenplays and Michaelbrent Collings

Hi Michaelbrent. Welcome back to Two Ends of the Pen. I hear you've been doing some new exciting projects and it's great that you've agreed to share them with us.

You recently have had a number of bestselling novels, and then you had a pair of screenplays sold and put into production in the last year.  Are screenplays and novels different animals?Yes, extremely different.  Screenplays are sharper-edged, and give worse papercuts.  Don't ask me why. 

Seriously, though, they ARE very different beasties.  Novels are all about action and introspection.  That is, they are plot from the point of view (usually) of one or more of the characters.  Screenplays, on the other hand, are (as a rule) only about the action without the introspection.  There is no room for internal monologues in most screenplays, they are all about action, action, action, from the point of view OF the action.

Does writing one lead to writing the other?Not at all.  Because they are such different ways of writing, it's actually (at least for me) a very Unnatural process to jump from one to the other.  Or, put it another way, they are like speaking different languages.  Novelese and screeplay...uh...ese.  It is possible to speak more than one language, and many people do.  But it is an entirely different thing to be FLUENT in two different languages.  And that's what you have to do in order to be both a novelist and a screenwriter.  Doing one doesn't mean that you can automatically do the other; indeed, I have a number of friends who are very successful in one, but absolute failures at the other.  That doesn't mean they're less talented artists, it simply means they haven't achieved fluency in BOTH novelese and screenplayese. 

So no, they aren't natural offshoots of each other.  It's totally doable to be proficient in both, but it requires discipline and practice to learn the tricks, traps, and tropes of each.

Are there advantages to doing both?Absolutely!  I mean, if nothing else, it gives me something to do while in that interminable waiting period following completion of any kind of work.  When I've finished a script and am waiting to hear back from producers, I can work on a novel.  If I've finished a novel and it's being shopped around or prepped to go online, I can pull out a screenplay.  Keeps me busy.  That and my platypus collection.  Oh, sure, you wouldn't THINK a platypus collection would take that much time, but have you ever tried to glue a platypus into one of those little albums?  It takes FOREVER.

Another advantage to doing both is that you have alternate avenues to put your work out there.  For example, I recently finished a book called PERDITION.  It's a pretty nifty thriller (available on amazon.com!) about a man whose family decides to kill him when they discover he's the anti-Christ (or is he?...bwahahaha!).  So it's out there (on amazon.com, for instance!), making me a bit of money, and that's great.  But in addition, I think it's also got possibilities as a screenplay, so I'm working on that iteration of the story.



Another good example is my book RUN.  It's a sci-fi thriller, and is currently with a major production company that is deciding whether they want to make a movie out of it.  I recently had a conversation with one of their execs where he explained that the process is taking a while because the book is so complex it's hard for some of the other execs to figure out a movie out of it.  Lo and behold, I had already WRITTEN a screenplay for RUN, and when I offered to show that to the movie producers, my contact at the company was ecstatic.  So it all fed into itself.

Any disadvantages to writing both?Yes.  For sure.  Jealousy, for one.  Again, you don't want to make a screenplay jealous, because of the papercuts.  But then, if you anger a manuscript and it falls on your foot in retribution, it could break your toe!

Other than that, there is also the issue of the competing languages, as I mentioned above.  It's hard sometimes to write in the right (write in the right...ha! I crack myself up) language.  In other words, when writing a novel, the last thing I want to do is start sounding like I'm drafting a really long movie script.  Ditto when writing a movie script...sounding like a novel is a kiss of death.  So it's something you constantly have to guard against when writing.

It can also lead to confusion in your "self branding."  E.g. "I'm a screenwriter, I'm a novelist, I'm a screenwriter, I'm a novelist...I'm a screenwriter AND a novelist!"  That's a little joke for fans of Chinatown (trust me, if you're a screenwriter who knows anything about the industry, what I just said is hilarious), but it's true: you have to make sure that people know exactly what you are, what you can do, and that you can do it well, since they naturally assume you're a better novelist than you are a screenwriter, or vice-versa.

What advice would you give novelists or other prose authors who want to turn to screenwriting?Well, first I recommend that you try to climb a flagpole covered in Cool Whip (TM).  Not because it has anything to do with writing, just I think it's funny to watch.

AFTER that, however, I recommend that you read every screenplay you can find.  Especially the "good" ones, past and present.  Again, it's like learning a different language, and the best way to do that is and always has been total immersion.  So put yourself chest-deep in a swimming pool of screenplays and dive in, man!

And then do the Cool Whip (TM) thing again.  Because I need a laugh today.  ;o)

Thanks Michaelbrent, you're entertaining as always.  I wish you great success with your screenplays and, of course, your novels.  Feel free to drop by anytime!

Michaelbrent Collings is a successful screenwriter and novelist.  His book RUN was amazon's number one sci-fi book, and spent approximately six months on their horror, sci-fi, and thriller bestseller lists.  His newest book, PERDITION, is also available at amazon.com, and he's hard at work on the next big screenplay even as we speak.