Chris Eboch's Blog, page 3

A goal is a wish turned into action: advice on plotting #amwriting #writing #Writetip

I've been doing some manuscript critiques lately. ( See my rates and recommendations here ). 

I often wind up discussing plot in terms of Goal – Motivation – Conflict.

Goal-Motivation-Conflict:

·        What do they want to achieve? (Goal)

·        Why is it important? (Motivation)

·        Why is it difficult? (Conflict) It should bevery difficult (as appropriate for the age of characters and readers)!

The motivation determines the stakes. Stakes don’t need to be physical; good stakes may be the risk of losing friends, family, love, dignity, reputation, livelihood… but you need a penalty for failure! To keep the plot active and dramatic, make sure all three parts (Goal-Motivation-Conflict) are clear in every scene. The reader knows what the character wants, why it's important to them, and why it will be difficult to get.

And goals are not wishes.

A wish may be passive. “I hope this thing happens.” A goal is a wish turned into action. “I will do this thing to try to get this result.” I hope I will make new friends is a wish. I will do X in order to make new friends is a goal.

Remember, its Goal-Motivation-Conflict, not Wish-Motivation-Conflict.

I delve into this and much more in my online, self-paced Advanced Plotting course.

Advanced Plotting—Keep Those Pages Turning: Learn advanced techniques that will make a decent plot dynamic. Start with a “grab you by the throat” opening, pack the plot full, maximize your pacing, and use cliffhanger chapter endings to drive the story forward. Learn more here.

You can also sign up for:

Educational Publishing: Make Money Writing for the Educational Market: Do you want to make money from writing? Are you willing and able to write on assignment if given a topic, word count, grade level, and deadline? Then you may be perfect for educational work for hire! Get it here.

You Can Write for Children: Learn about children’s publishing—opportunities and challenges, genres, age ranges, book and magazine markets, and resources to keep you going. Learn more here.

Chris Eboch is the author of over 100 books for children,including nonfiction and fiction, early reader through teen. Her novels forages nine and up include The Eyes ofPharaoh, a mystery in ancient Egypt; TheWell of Sacrifice, a Mayan adventure used in many schools; The Genie’s Gift, a middle easternfantasy; and the Felony Melanie series featuring the characters from the movieSweet Home Alabama as teenagers. 
Her writing craft books include You Can Write for Children: How to WriteGreat Stories, Articles, and Books for Kids and Teenagers, and Advanced Plotting. Learn more at chriseboch.com or her Amazon page.
Chriswrites mystery, romance, and romantic suspense novels for adults as Kris Bock. Kris Bockwrites novels of mystery, suspense, and romance. In theAccidental Detective series , a witty journalist solves mysteries in Arizona and tackles thechallenges of turning fifty. Kris’s  Furrever Friends cat cafe sweet romanceseries.  features the employeesand customers at a cat café. In the AccidentalBillionaire Cowboys series , a Texas ranching family wins a fortune in the lottery, whichcauses as many problems as it solves.  Sign up for the Kris Bock Mystery and Romancenewsletter and get a free Accidental Detectiveshort story and bonus material, a free 30-page sweet romance set in the world of the FurreverFriends cat café, and a printable copy of the recipes mentioned in the cat cafénovels.
Krisalso writes a series with her brother, scriptwriter Douglas J Eboch, who wrotethe original screenplay for the movie Sweet Home Alabama. The FelonyMelanie series follows the crazy antics of Melanie, Jake, and their friends adecade before the events of the movie. Sign up for the romanticcomedy newsletter to get ashort story preview, or find the books at  Amazon US or All E-book retailers .

"Conflict comes from the interaction between character and plot." Learn more, with Plot/Character Exercises: #Writing Advice #amwriting #writingworkshop

(From the "Most Viewed" files...)
Conflict comes from the interaction between character and plot. Let's look more closely at character.

Six basic human needs influence character:
Growth (working toward a personal goal)
Contribution (feeling needed, worthwhile)
Security (knowing the future)
Change (desire for variety, excitement)
Connection (feeling part of a group)
Independence (personal identity and freedom)

Which of these are most important to your main character? Create conflict by setting up situations which oppose that person’s needs.

Who are the best characters
for ghost hunting?Exercise—Write a story, starting with plot.

Come up with a challenge – a difficult situation for someone. This can be anything from facing the first day of school to wanting to make a sports team to solving a crime to fighting zombies.

Then ask, What kind of person would have the most trouble in that situation? Plan or write a story about that character in that situation.

Exercise—Write a story, starting with character.

Write a brief character sketch, covering basics such as gender, age, personality characteristics – introvert/ extrovert, optimist/ pessimist, etc. – with a few likes and dislikes. You can base this on someone you know.

How would they define or describe themselves? (“I always…I never…I’m the kind of person who….”)

What happens when a shy,
sheltered girl goes on a quest?•    If these statements are true, a situation that challenges the belief will create conflict. For example, if you have a character who is honest, put him in a situation where there is a good reason to lie.
•    If these statements are false, a situation that exposes the delusion will create conflict.  For example, if someone sees himself as courageous, but isn't really, a situation that requires courage will be especially painful because it shakes up his view of himself.

So, what situation will most challenge this character? Summarize or write a story about that character in that situation.

You know you need both an interesting character and a strong plot to make a good story. As you develop an idea, think about how your character and plot interact, and design your character for your plot. As you write the story, work back and forth between plot and character.
One more exercise:
Look at your work in progress. What is the problem? Why is it important? Why is it difficult? 

Given those answers, is your character the right character for that situation? Could you give your character different needs or desires, to make the situation more difficult for him or her?

Hire Chris for a developmental edit or take a self-paced online class:

Advanced Plotting—Keep Those Pages Turning

Learn advanced techniques that will make a decent plotdynamic. Start with a “grab you by the throat” opening, pack the plot full,maximize your pacing, and use cliffhanger chapter endings to drive the storyforward.

Take this online course at your own pace. It includes sixvideos plus handouts with notes and more resources. Get Advanced Plotting here.

Please note: If you are new to EzyCourse, you will need to sign up and get a password first. Then return to the course page to enroll and pay. You will not have access to the course until you "Complete Purchase." 

You Can Write for Children

Learn about children’spublishing—opportunities and challenges, genres, age ranges, book and magazinemarkets, and resources to keep you going. Watch this three-session video courseat your own pace. GetYou Can Write for Children here.

Chris Eboch is the author of  Advanced Plotting. Get Advanced Plotting from Amazon. Children's writers will get a great overview of writing books for kids in  YouCan Write for Children : A Guide to Writing Great Stories, Articles,and Books for Kids and Teenagers. It is available in Kindle, in paperback, or in Large Print paperback. Get  You Can Write for Children .
Chris has published over 100 books for children, includingnonfiction and fiction, early reader through teen. Her novels for ages nine andup include The Eyes of Pharaoh, a mystery in ancient Egypt; TheWell of Sacrifice, a Mayan adventure; The Genie’s Gift, amiddle eastern fantasy; and the Haunted series, about kids who travel with aghost hunter TV show, which starts with The Ghost on the Stairs.Her writing craft books include You Can Write for Children: How toWrite Great Stories, Articles, and Books for Kids and Teenagers, and AdvancedPlotting.
Learn more at https://chriseboch.com/ or her Amazon page.
Chris also writes for adults under the name Kris Bock. Kris Bockwrites novels of mystery, suspense, and romance. In theAccidental Detective series, a witty journalist solves mysteries in Arizona and tackles thechallenges of turning fifty. Kris’s Furrever Friends Sweet Romanceseries features the employeesand customers at a cat café. In the AccidentalBillionaire Cowboys series, a Texas ranching family wins a fortune in the lottery, whichcauses as many problems as it solves. 

Sign up for the Kris Bock Mystery and Romancenewsletter and get a free Accidental Detectiveshort story and bonus material, a free 30-page sweet romance set in the world of the FurreverFriends cat café, and a printable copy of the recipes mentioned in the cat cafénovels.

Learn more at www.krisbock.comor visit her Amazonpage.

Boost your #writing skills with a #writingworkshop - Take these online courses at your own pace. #creativewriting and #KidLit classes

Bring your writing career to the next level! Take a self-paced video writing class with Chris Eboch, the author of over 100 books for children and two dozen novels for adults written as Kris Bock. Chris has led popular writing workshops around the world.

Advanced Plotting—Keep Those Pages Turning

Learn advanced techniques that will make a decent plotdynamic. Understand the promise of your first chapter. Then start with a “grabyou by the throat” opening. Once you’ve caught the reader’s attention, you’llwant to pack the plot full. But how do you make sure you’ve done that? Checkout these tools to analyze your plot. Once your plot is strong, learntechniques to maximize your pacing, including cliffhanger chapter endings todrive the story forward. Novelists will benefit from these insights, whetheryou are just starting out or have years of experience. Many techniques work formemoires, nonfiction, and even picture books too!

Take this online course at your own pace. It includes sixvideos plus handouts with notes and more resources for $100. You can hire me towork with you one-on-one for an additional fee. Get Advanced Plotting here .

Please note: If you are new to EzyCourse, you will need to sign up andget a password first. Then return to the course page to enroll and pay. Youwill not have access to the course until you "Complete Purchase."

Also available: You CanWrite for Children

Learn about children’s publishing—opportunities and challenges, genres, ageranges, book and magazine markets, and resources to keep you going. Thisthree-session video course is $60. Get You Can Write for Children here .

Youcan also go straight to the source and hire me to review your manuscript. Seerates and recommendations here. Or if youprefer to learn from books, check outAdvanced Plotting and You Can Write for Children on Amazon.

Chris has over 100 books for children published under the names Chris Eboch and M. M. Eboch. Her novels for ages nine and up include The Eyes of Pharaoh, a mystery in ancient Egypt; The Well of Sacrifice, a Mayan adventure used in many schools; and The Genie’s Gift, a middle eastern fantasy. Jesse Owens: Young Record Breaker and Milton Hershey: Young Chocolatier are inspiring biographies focused on them as children and young men. 

Learn more about Chris Eboch books  at her website . Her writing craft books include  Advanced Plotting  and  You Can Write for Children: How to Write Great Stories, Articles, and Books for Kids and Teenagers . 

As Kris Bock, she writes novels of mystery, suspense, and romance. In the Accidental Detective series, a witty journalist solves mysteries in Arizona and tackles the challenges of turning fifty. Kris’s Furrever Friends Sweet Romance series features the employees and customers at a cat café. In the Accidental Billionaire Cowboys series, a Texas ranching family wins a fortune in the lottery, which causes as many problems as it solves. 

Kris also writes a series with her brother, scriptwriter Douglas J Eboch, who wrote the original screenplay for the movie Sweet Home Alabama. The Felony Melanieseries follows the crazy antics of Melanie, Jake, and their friends a decade before the events of the movie. Learn more at www.krisbock.com.

Boost your #writing skills with a #writingworkshop - remote from anywhere or in-person in New Mexico: #creativewriting and #KidLit classes

Jumpstart your writing or boost your writing career! Take a class with Chris Eboch, the author of over100 books for children and two dozen novels for adults written as Kris Bock. Chris hasled dozens of popular writing workshops around the world. You can attend these classes either remote or in person through UNM Valencia, at the workforce training center in Los Lunas, New Mexico. They will be recorded for those who can't attend at the scheduled time.

Turn Memories into Children's Stories,Saturday, August 12, 1 to 5 p.m., $100. What adventures did you have as a child?What kind of trouble did your children get into? What funny things have yourgrandchildren done? These memories could be the seeds that grow greatchildren's  stories. This fun workshop will give you an overview ofchildren's literature, from short stories and articles to picture books andteen novels. Through hands-on exercises, we'll explore your memories tobrainstorm ideas, and then start working on stories. Whether you want to shareyour memoirs with your family or write for publication, this class will get youstarted!

Earn Money As A Writer, Saturday,September 9, 1 to 5 p.m., $90. Educational publishers need writers fornonfiction books and novels, test passages and questions, lesson plans, andmore. This is a great opportunity for teachers, former teachers, and strongwriters looking for part-time work. Learn about the options in educationalpublishing, what makes a good work-for-hire writer, how to approach publishers,and how to produce a good resume and writing sample.

Novel Plotting: five Thursday evenings,Sept 14-Oct 12, 7-8:30 p.m., $175. Do you have a great novel idea, a partialmanuscript you're not sure how to finish, or a complete draft that needs help?Writing a novel is challenging, but you can learn tools that will make iteasier –and make the book better. We'll dive deep into plot, from conflict toclimax. Learn how to pack the plot full by adding complications, setting uphigh stakes, and controlling your pacing. Learn how you can use thesetechniques to make any novel manuscript better. 

Registration for Community Education Classes call 505.925.8654 Monday-Friday 8 AM-5 PM MST.

Chris has over 100 books for children published underthe names Chris Eboch and M. M. Eboch. Her novelsfor ages nine and up include The Eyes ofPharaoh, a mystery in ancient Egypt; TheWell of Sacrifice, a Mayan adventure used in many schools; and The Genie’s Gift, a middle easternfantasy. Jesse Owens: Young Record Breaker and MiltonHershey: Young Chocolatier are inspiring biographies focused on themas children and young men. 

Learnmore about Chris Eboch books at herwebsite . Her writing craft books include Advanced Plotting and You Can Write for Children: How to Write Great Stories, Articles, and Books for Kids and Teenagers . 

As Kris Bock, she writes novels of mystery, suspense, and romance.In theAccidental Detective series, a witty journalist solvesmysteries in Arizona and tackles the challenges of turning fifty. Kris’s Furrever Friends Sweet Romanceseries featuresthe employees and customers at a cat café. In the AccidentalBillionaire Cowboys series, a Texas ranching family wins afortune in the lottery, which causes as many problems as it solves. 

Kris alsowrites a series with her brother, scriptwriter Douglas J Eboch, who wrote theoriginal screenplay for the movie Sweet Home Alabama. The Felony Melanieseries follows the crazy antics of Melanie, Jake, and their friends a decadebefore the events of the movie. Learnmore at www.krisbock.com.

Amazon Prime Day is full of incredible deals across millions of products—often half off or more! Check out deals for readers, #audiobook listeners, and anyone who could use more comfort in an office. #PrimeDay #writinglife #reader #booklover

Amazon Prime Day is 7/11-7/12! Prime Day is a2-day event that includes a multi-week lead-up and lead-out period. It’s fullof incredible deals and prices across millions of products—often half off ormore!

Reminder: you can only shop for Prime Day dealsif you have a Prime membership. Click that link to see the membershipbenefits and plan options and to start a free trial. The free shipping can save you money and make it convenient to order one or two items at a time—a big help for those of us in small towns!

Or go straight to Prime Day Deals – find laptops and other electronics,smart home devices, clothing, toys, bedding, and more! Readers will want tocheck out the Kindle E-reader Essentials Bundles.

Ilike this Adjustable Electric Standing Desk, Adjustable Lap Desk, and Sytas Ergonomic Desk Chair . I highly recommend the WAOAW Seat Cushion (I use mine at my desk, on the lawn furniture, for travel—anywhere the seatsare too hard!)

Wouldyou like access to thousands of books covered under a low monthly membership?Kindle Unlimited may be for you! I've found lots of new favorite authors bytrying their KU books. 

You can get many of my books as well, such as the Furrever Friends Sweet Romance series . Check out KindleUnlimited with a Kindle UnlimitedFree Trial or explore the membership options.

Visitmy Amazon author pages to learn more about books for children by Chris Ebochor the books I write for adults as Kris Bock.

HotTip:a Kindle Unlimited subscription makes a great gift!

Ifyou prefer audiobooks, you can grab a Audible Plus Free Trial or check out the membership options.

HotTip:This could also make a great gift! Audiobooks workwell for people who are having trouble with their eyes or those who are oftentoo busy to read but might have time to listen to a book while driving, doingchores, jogging etc.

Stop paying monthly fees for your marketing emails with a great lifetime deal! #bookmarketing #selfpublishing #publishing #marketing

Authors who send regular email newsletters can spend a fortune with those monthly fees. Here's an alternative: 

INBOX: Lifetime deal $69 for 7,500 contacts - Stack up to 3 codes. (You pay once, not monthly!)

With INBOX, you can quickly build beautiful newsletters without touching a line of code. Just drag and drop images, buttons, menus, social links, and more onto the page.

INBOXBrush makes design easy, with ready-made templates, modules, an extensive photo library, a photo editor, and unlimited storage for templates and pictures.

Boost your subscriber list with a customized sign-up form on a sleek landing page that you can share on your website, social media, and email signature.

From there, you can use INBOX’s smart segments feature to personalize communication with your audience by adding a simple block to your template.

A/B split test your emails to see which content resonates best with your audience, then use what you find to improve future campaigns.

Plus, you can also track marketing automation and other campaign results with statistics like emails opened, read, and reported as spam.

Alternative to Mailchimp, etc. Get the lifetime deal here for a limited time.

(Personally I've been happy with SendFox which I got in a similar deal but other people have struggled with it so here's an alternative.)

To succeed in the business of writing, you must understand the market. K-lytics reports can help! #bookmarketing #publishingindustry #publishing #selfpublishing

Generally on this blog I’ve covered writing craft. (See thetopics on the right-hand sidebar for those posts.) But to be successful in the businessof writing, you have to understand the market too. K-lytics provides reports onsubgenres of popular fiction. Digging deep into these can help you understandwhat is selling, so you know how to write novels that appeal to a largeaudience. Here are some of their recent reports on romance subgenres – plus sci-fi & fantasy and mystery, thrillers, and suspense. ($37 each or get access to all reports for $97 per month and download all those of interest!)
K-lytics Sci-fi & Fantasy Study : Get a map of all 176 Sci-Fi & Fantasy categories. Plus two Top-100 Market Snapshots bonus reports – one for Science Fiction and another for Fantasy. You will see the complete performance overview of the genre and the ScienceFiction & Fantasy categories with the most significant upward or downward trends. 
The seminar video examines the impact of Amazon's change in bestseller list display policy and their modification of the category selection.
K-lytics Clean & Wholesome Romance market report: In 2016, Amazon introduced the Clean & Wholesome Romance category, which quickly became a resounding success. "We have witnessed some significant shifts within the genre over the past nine months. THE CLEAN ROMANCE MARKET 2023 + Bonus Report on clean contemporary romance + 1-hour Seminar Video." 

K-lyticsParanormal Romance Seminar: A report and video for those writingsteamy novels about vampires, shifters, werewolves, or the like. (Or if you'dlike to get to know this genre.)

ParanormalWomen's Fiction features powerful heroines kicking their midlife problems withsass, magic, mystery, and adventure. Learn which types of titles, covers, andthemes sell!

The K-lytics Fantasy Romance Report: Romance is the #1 genre on Kindle. Now pair the heat and emotional depth w/fantastical world-building, innovative magic systems, and complex characters. Get the data now!

The K-lytics Romantic Comedy Report: Romantic Comedy, aka rom-com, is now the #2 highest-selling romance sub-category on Amazon! Learn all about it.

TheMystery, Thriller & Suspense Report: This genre hasmaintained its strong market position on Kindle as we entered 2023.

Kris Bockwrites novels of mystery, suspense, and romance. In theAccidental Detective series, a witty journalist solves mysteries in Arizona and tackles thechallenges of turning fifty. Kris’s Furrever Friends Sweet Romanceseries features the employeesand customers at a cat café. In the AccidentalBillionaire Cowboys series, a Texas ranching family wins a fortune in the lottery, whichcauses as many problems as it solves. Sign up for the Kris Bock Mystery and Romance newsletter and get a free AccidentalDetective short story and bonus material, a free30-page sweet romance set in the world of the Furrever Friends cat café, and aprintable copy of the recipes mentioned in the cat café novels.

Krisalso writes a series with her brother, scriptwriter Douglas J Eboch, who wrotethe original screenplay for the movie Sweet Home Alabama. The FelonyMelanie series follows the crazy antics of Melanie, Jake, and their friends adecade before the events of the movie. Sign up for the romantic comedy newsletter to get ashort story preview, or find the books at Amazon US or All E-book retailers.

Kris has over 100 books for children published under the names Chris Eboch and M. M. Eboch. Her novels for ages nine and up include The Eyes of Pharaoh, a mystery in ancient Egypt; The Well of Sacrifice, a Mayan adventure used in many schools; and The Genie’s Gift, a middle eastern fantasy. Jesse Owens: Young Record Breaker and Milton Hershey: Young Chocolatier are inspiring biographies focused on them as children and young men.

Set up online courses for a low lifetime fee! #EdTech #edchat #Learning #elearning #onlinelearning

Over the last 25 years, I've taught more than 50 writing workshops around the world. But it takes a lot of time and energy to travel – plus you risk getting sick. Zoom has made it easier to teach workshops online, but you need a way to set up, sell, and run the courses. And wouldn't it be nice to have recorded videos and courses people could start whenever they want? I've been looking for something suitable for a while, and now these two options have great discounts for a limited time! The first one looks a little more robust, but the second one could save money in the long run with lower transaction fees.

EzyCourse:

EzyCourse is an all-in-one platform for selling courses, services, and products with custom landing pages and email marketing. Build your own website with 250+ themes to sell courses, services, products, and more. Create membership plans, subscription models, and paid communities for your online courses.

This course builder gives you everything you need to create comprehensive courses complete with lessons and chapters. You can develop all kinds of class materials including video lessons, audio tracks, PowerPoints, PDFs, and surveys. Plus, you’ll even be able to set up dynamic quizzes for your students, with results displaying in your dashboard.

EzyCourse also lets you automate email sequences with event-based triggers like course completion and new enrollment. You’ll be able to segment your email list into unique audiences, so your communication always feels personalized. Best of all, you can send emails without having to worry about email credits or extra fees.

This platform makes it easy to create free or premium communities that you can bundle with any course or product. And you can customize membership plans and pricing options, like monthly and yearly subscriptions, to monetize your time.

Lifetime access to EzyCourse: One-time purchase of $49 (with other options).

Teachify: 

Create and sell digital offers with a custom website that you can build without writing any code.

Manage your video and audio courses, digital downloads, premium blog posts, and memberships in one place. With Teachify, you can sell digital products, as well as premium content, memberships, and coaching sessions.

Already got a website? Teachify lets you embed widgets on any page to add a whole lot more functionality. You’ll be able to drag-and-drop buttons, course lists, and calendar booking widgets on any existing website.

Lifetime access to Teachify: One-time purchase of $39 (with other options).

ChrisEboch is the author of over 100 books for children, including nonfiction andfiction, early reader through teen. She is the author of  Advanced Plotting  and You Can Write forChildren: How to Write Great Stories, Articles, and Books for Kids andTeenagers, available for the Kindle, in paperback,or in LargePrint paperback.

Chris lives in New Mexico andhas spoken at SCBWI events around the world. Learn more at her website or her Amazon page

Writer and Reader Comfort: tools to make writing time easier (part 4) #amwriting #writinglife #reader #booklover

If you are a writer – or if you work at any job that keepsyou at a desk all day – you may be dealing with pain in the spine. I’ve beencollecting and sharing items my writer friends and I use for managing,soothing, or eliminating that pain.

My friend Teresa says, "I can work only at atable—doesn’t have to be big but it must be a table which makes the laptopmonitor low and that hurts my neck… so for at least eight years I’ve used aroost laptop holder—collapses down to about four 12 inch sticks stuck together,comes with a small bag carrying case." This RoostLaptop Stand is well rated, but you can also find cheaper versions, andI think the   Adjustable Laptop Table  I mentioned a previous post wouldalso work for this.

Meanwhile, my friend Kimberly has been dealing with severehip pain. She says, “I bought aNaipo hand-held electric cord massager about 5 years ago that really helps if Iuse it for at least 10 minutes, the tight muscles will relax enough so that Ican sleep.” I didn’t find the Naipo, but Amazon has tons of Massage Guns at various prices. Be sure to check outthe reviews! Kimberly recommends using a heating pad to warm your muscles before using the massager.

Siting at a desk can contribute to CirculationProblems While Working, as this article shows. Be sure you get up andmove every hour! You might also find some ways to reduce the strain on yourbody at your desk.

Standing desks let you switchbetween standing and sitting without even leaving your desk. You can schedulean alarm to remind you to switch – or do some stretches. While there are veryexpensive options, some of these are around $100.

If you’re standing while you work, you probably want an Anti-Fatigue Mat .These help cushion your feet to reduce foot and joint pain. They’re good if youdo a lot of standing in the kitchen as well! They come in several designs and some fun styles. 

You can also try changing your chair. I mentioned some options inthis post , but you might try a kneeling chair, balance ball chair, orergonomic stool for “active sitting,” which engages your muscles more topromote core muscle strength, good posture, and blood circulation. Here are someActive Sitting Chair options.

Teresa also recommended the Desk Cycle Ellipse , which sitsunder your desk so you can peddle while you work. What a great way to burncalories, build up leg strength, and keep your blood moving! It has greatreviews, with almost 1800 ratings and a 4.7-star average.

Ihope you find something here that makes your life easier. Check out the postson “Writer andReader Comfort” and  “Comfort atYour Desk” as well. I may have more as I discover useful tools for writersand readers! Feel free to drop your favorites in the comments. As an AmazonAssociate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Kris Bockwrites novels of mystery, suspense, and romance. In theAccidental Detective series, a witty journalist solves mysteries in Arizona and tackles thechallenges of turning fifty. Kris’s Furrever Friends Sweet Romanceseries features the employeesand customers at a cat café. In the AccidentalBillionaire Cowboys series, a Texas ranching family wins a fortune in the lottery, whichcauses as many problems as it solves. Sign up for the Kris Bock Mystery and Romance newsletter and get a free AccidentalDetective short story and bonus material, a free30-page sweet romance set in the world of the Furrever Friends cat café, and aprintable copy of the recipes mentioned in the cat café novels.

Krisalso writes a series with her brother, scriptwriter Douglas J Eboch, who wrotethe original screenplay for the movie Sweet Home Alabama. The FelonyMelanie series follows the crazy antics of Melanie, Jake, and their friends adecade before the events of the movie. Sign up for the romantic comedy newsletter to get ashort story preview, or find the books at Amazon US or All E-book retailers.

Kris has over 100 books for children published under the namesChris Eboch and M. M. Eboch. Her novels for ages nine and up include The Eyes of Pharaoh, a mystery in ancient Egypt; The Well of Sacrifice, a Mayan adventureused in many schools; and The Genie’sGift, a middle eastern fantasy. Jesse Owens:Young Record Breaker and Milton Hershey: Young Chocolatier areinspiring biographies focused on them as children and young men.

To succeed in the business of writing, you must understand the market. K-lytics reports can help! #WriteTip #Marketing #MFRWorg #Writingtip #publishing #Romance

Generally on this blog I’ve covered writing craft. (See thetopics on the right-hand sidebar for those posts.) But to be successful in the businessof writing, you have to understand the market too. K-lytics provides reports onsubgenres of popular fiction. Digging deep into these can help you understandwhat is selling, so you know how to write novels that appeal to a largeaudience. Here are some of their recent reports on romance subgenres – and oneon mystery, thrillers, and suspense.

K-lyticsParanormal Romance Seminar: A report and video for those writingsteamy novels about vampires, shifters, werewolves, or the like. (Or if you'dlike to get to know this genre.)

ParanormalWomen's Fiction features powerful heroines kicking their midlife problems withsass, magic, mystery, and adventure. Learn which types of titles, covers, andthemes sell!

The K-lytics Fantasy Romance Report: Romance is the #1 genre on Kindle. Now pair the heat and emotional depth w/fantastical world-building, innovative magic systems, and complex characters. Get the data now!

The K-lytics Romantic Comedy Report: Romantic Comedy, aka rom-com, is now the #2 highest-selling romance sub-category on Amazon! Learn all about it.

TheMystery, Thriller & Suspense Report: This genre hasmaintained its strong market position on Kindle as we entered 2023.

Kris Bockwrites novels of mystery, suspense, and romance. In theAccidental Detective series, a witty journalist solves mysteries in Arizona and tackles thechallenges of turning fifty. Kris’s Furrever Friends Sweet Romanceseries features the employeesand customers at a cat café. In the AccidentalBillionaire Cowboys series, a Texas ranching family wins a fortune in the lottery, whichcauses as many problems as it solves. Sign up for the Kris Bock Mystery and Romance newsletter and get a free AccidentalDetective short story and bonus material, a free30-page sweet romance set in the world of the Furrever Friends cat café, and aprintable copy of the recipes mentioned in the cat café novels.

Krisalso writes a series with her brother, scriptwriter Douglas J Eboch, who wrotethe original screenplay for the movie Sweet Home Alabama. The FelonyMelanie series follows the crazy antics of Melanie, Jake, and their friends adecade before the events of the movie. Sign up for the romantic comedy newsletter to get ashort story preview, or find the books at Amazon US or All E-book retailers.

Kris has over 100 books for children published under the names Chris Eboch and M. M. Eboch. Her novels for ages nine and up include The Eyes of Pharaoh, a mystery in ancient Egypt; The Well of Sacrifice, a Mayan adventure used in many schools; and The Genie’s Gift, a middle eastern fantasy. Jesse Owens: Young Record Breaker and Milton Hershey: Young Chocolatier are inspiring biographies focused on them as children and young men.