Nicole Zoltack's Blog, page 76

How to Write Realistic Dialogue

Well written, realistic dialogue is one of the most useful tools at an author's disposable. Nothing else can pull a reader from a story than unbelievable dialogue. Imagine a character like Mandy Moore's in A Walk to Remember. Now picture that character cursing. In context, it might work, if given the right situation but most likely, a goody-two-shoes like that would never swear. A bum on the streets won't use large, obscure words. Neither would a small child unless they are precocious. Here are

My winner of the summer treasure hunt...

The summer treasure hunt is now over, and I'm pleased to announce that the winner of a PDF copy of Woman of Honor is Cindy Sampson Fleet of Canada! I hope you enjoy it, Cindy!

Antonia Tiranth Guest Blogs

Hello everyone! Firstly, I'd like to thank my wonderful hostess for allowing me this opportunity to talk to you. Now, who am I? My name is Antonia Tiranth, I'm fairly new to the published scene, my first book The Quickening made its debut on February 2nd and has already sold over 200 copies. My second book, The Gathering, will be released on July 20th from Lyrical Press and continues the tale begun The Quickening.

When I started writing The Gathering I ran into a small problem. For the fir

IWOFA contest

Enter IWOFA's Summer Breeze scavenger hunt for a chance to win some awesome prizes from about forty participating authors. The contest runs from June 21 to June 30, 2009. Click here for contest rules. It's fun. It's easy.

Sandy Lender Guest Blogs Today

I'm opening up my blog to guest bloggers and the first is Sandy Lender. My blog is just on of the many during Sandy's virtual book tour which began June 1st and will end July 3rd. Be sure to leave Sandy a comment to win an autographed, hard cover, first edition copy of Choices Meant for Gods.



God Bless the Other 99
By Fantasy Author Sandy Lender
http://www.authorsandylender.com

As Nicole reminded us a few days ago, rejection sucks. But true writers only sigh (or drink) over the rejection letter (or

Yet another rejection... and a submission contest

I received an email this morning that the short story that I submitted for the Demon Clash of Steel Anthology was rejected. "The opening scene meets - even exceeds - my guideline request to hook me...but then the ensuing page and a half unhooks me. Don't give up on that action-oriented, engaging start."

The opening scene is one of my best. It introduces the demon and how he is released from Hell. The next scene introduces the hero, and he learns about his quest. I think I'll leave the story as is

Setting in a Fantasy World

Woman of Honor is set in a medieval fantasy world. It originally started as a historical novel, and I did a fair amount of research as far as weapons, training, female knights, etc. But once Aislinn's dead brother wanted a speaking role, the novel turned fantasy. I kept the historical pieces tucked within the novel but the fantasy aspect opened up a whole new world for my story.

The Kingdom of Arnhem. Medieval. A large castle with a market place inside its stone walls. Many surrounding villages t