Rachelle Ayala's Blog, page 89

The Magic of Dreams: Guest Post by Author Amy Manemann

Why do we give up on our dreams?Believing in the magic of your dreams is a key step in turning them from fantasy into a reality. So why do we often times take a step back and allow life’s little hiccups determine when we stop believing in ourselves and let our dreams slip through the cracks?

I feel like I’ve been a writer my entire life though it wasn’t until this past year that I decided to take the proverbial leap of faith and join the publishing world by becoming an Indie Author. This wasn’t an easy decision for me, in fact I had many misconceived notions about the way you were supposed to go about getting published and none of them included stepping out on my own. However, when I first delved into the mysteries of the publishing world my newbie eyes received an awakening and I soon grew weary of the constant battles I faced to just simply query a traditional publishing house or agent.

Was this what my life had become? To have spent hours upon hours pouring my heart and soul into a story only to be given a list of rules to follow to send in a query letter was disconcerting, to say the least. It was at this point I nearly gave up on my publishing dreams. And then my father’s voice, long since gone these past ten years, echoed a reminder in my ear: Never stop believing in the magic of your dreams.

And as he was so many times in my youth I have to say yet again, he was right. I was willing to let a brick wall put an end to my long hours of hard work simply because I thought this was the only avenue to go about publishing. And then I met a fantastic group of Indie Authors who opened my mind and changed the way I would forever view traditional publishing.

I am happy to say I thoroughly enjoy being an Indie Author. It’s not the path I originally was set on, yet I feel as though this was the path I was destined to take. And all thanks to a ghostly reminder of not giving up on the magic of my dreams.


International best-selling author, Amy Manemann, is the author of Deadly Reunion and Deadly Science, the first two books of the Deadly Series (Taci Andrews Mysteries). She resides in her hometown along the Mississippi river with her husband and their two children, where she enjoys spending time with her family, reading, writing, blogging and interviewing authors to feature on her website. Amy is also a site administrator for the World Literary Cafe.
Connect with Amy through her website www.amymanemann.webs.com or blog www.amymanemann.blogspot.com .
Chapter Excerpt of her newest release, Deadly Science (A Taci Andrews Mystery)Fate. The principal cause by which things in general are believed to come to be as they are, or events to happen as they do. In other words, it was inevitable I would end up being chased by a rogue group of people wielding tranquilizer guns through a crowd dressed up like mythical characters out of a storybook. I’d like to say that the endless stream of bizarre events in my life are the result of an over-exaggerated imagination, but that would be an understatement. While any other normal person might find my situation a bit extreme, I feel it’s fair to advise you that I’m far from ordinary. My name is Taci Andrews, and I’m an investigative reporter for the Riverdale Times. Riverdale, Iowa, may not have the problems faced by larger cities but don’t be fooled by its sleepy façade. If you dig deep enough you’ll find even small town America has its problems, and I seem to be the person capable of finding trouble wherever I go. Welcome to the chaos that is my life. 

Broken Build Beta Draft Ready and Author Interview Summary

After a marathon revision session and another round of proofreading, my second novel, Broken Build, is ready for beta readers. This is a romantic suspense thriller about software engineers. I'm hoping there is enough for everyone: lovey-dovey and melodramatic scenes for the romance reader, action and suspense for the thriller reader, a who-dunit for mystery readers, and a technical subplot involving server virtualization for the technical reader. Of course, who knows, maybe I've woven too many threads together, hopefully not deadlocked.

In June, I interviewed twelve fabulous authors. I had an informal contest that whoever had the most unique comments would win a prize. It was a close race between Christina McKnight and Dr. Molly Nyatanga. Christina had 13 unique visitor comments and Molly had 11. So Christina wins a paper copy of Michal's Window.
Andrea BuginskyMary MerrellMatt PattersonChristina McKnightJennifer ComeauxJ. P. LaneMaria SavvaCherie ReichP. C. ZickA. D. TrosperDavid LawlorDr. Molly Nyatanga
Thank you all for being on my blog. We had a lot of fun getting to know each other. You've also helped my Alexa ranking go to 636,824 worldwide and 82,732 in the US. Considering that I started somewhere in the millions, this is a great improvement.


For July, I have more great author interviews as well as a few bloggers who will tell us what makes them dedicate hours of their lives in creating book blogs and sharing reviews. I'm always willing to help you if you have a launch coming up, or want to do a guest post or interview. Please contact me with the Blue Contact button on the right and sign up for my newsletter with the Pink Mailing List button. Have a happy and healthy summer!

Meet Pete Abela: Author of Wings #AuthorInterview

Today, I'm happy to present Pete Abela, the author of Wings, a charming multi-generation tale about the love of flying.
Hi Pete, welcome to Rachelle's Window. Please tell us a little bit about yourself.
I’m an author from the city of Wollongong, just south of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia.For most of my adult life I’ve worked in IT, but my love of reading eventually led me to take up writing. Having surprised myself and those around me by getting Wings published, I’m now having fun dreaming up marketing strategies and publicity stunts – tasks I never could have envisaged doing a few years ago. I continue to stretch the boundaries of my right hemisphere and am now working to complete a second novel.My left brain hasn’t been totally neglected through this process. I work as an IT Manager in order to help keep my wife and four kids fed and clothed. When I’m not working, reading, writing or enjoying the company of my family, I like to sneak away for a bit of exercise – either tennis, soccer or a run.
Working in IT must give you a lot of insight into the minds of frustrated people. What inspired you to write Wings? 
Although Wings is a novel, I did draw inspiration from two men I greatly admire. The first is my grandfather who was a fighter pilot during World War II; the other is my younger brother who is a commercial pilot with a major Australian airline.
I consider them both to have lived through fascinating, unusual and difficult circumstances and I thought I could draw on and extend some of their experiences as the basis for this novel.
What is your favorite part of your book?  Why?
I really enjoyed writing the story of Walt’s wedding. He was given a 48 hour leave pass to get married, although more than a quarter of the time would be spent travelling. Heavy snow held up the train and it began to look as if he would not make it home. Given Walt was about to be posted overseas for twelve months, these few hours with his sweetheart were very important.
I enjoyed this because of the contrast between the situation faced by Walt and the relative luxury and freedom we enjoy today.
That's so true. I am thankful every time I go to the grocery store thinking about what my mother endured as a child during World War II. What are your strengths as a writer? What do you feel you do well?
I write in a lean and uncluttered style which makes my books easy to read and digest. I am also able to craft natural sounding dialogue and keep my stories moving at a nice pace.
The downside of my lean style is that I sometimes fail to impart sufficient descriptive text which can make it hard for the reader to imagine either the setting or the physical actions and reactions of my characters. This is one of the main things I focus on when I edit. I’m always asking myself, “What expressions / movements would the character make in that situation?” and “Do I have sufficient information to enable the reader to picture the scene?”
That's what editing and revision is all about! So, what do you want your readers to gather from your novel?
One of the key themes of the novel is the focus required to achieve major goals. There are at least two elements required to achieve anything worthwhile. The first is a clear vision of your destination, and the second is incredible tenacity and a willingness to think outside the square in order to overcome the obstacles which will inevitably arise.
Are you similar to your book characters, always doing whatever you can to make your dreams come true?
In many ways, yes. One of my dreams was to become an author so I’m very pleased that Wings has been published. That has been a dream for a number of years. More generally, I’m interested in goals and dreams, the best way to decide which dreams to chase, and the best techniques to pursue them. I often write about this at my blog (http://blog.peteabela.com).
I love chasing dreams. Of course I always dream bigger so I never attain it. But it's the journey, right? 
Absolutely!
It's been great talking to you. Can you tell us how to connect with you?
Name of Book:  WingsWhere can readers buy it? - Ebook from publisher: https://reallybluebooks.com/ebooks/title/12- Ebook from Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Wings-ebook/dp/B0084UZ62U- Paperback from CreateSpace https://www.createspace.com/3887312- Paperback from Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Wings-Pete-Abela/dp/147752438X/
Genre:  Historical FictionFormat:  ebook or paperback
Author Name: Pete AbelaWebsite: http://peteabela.comTwitter: @PeteAbelaFacebook: facebook.com/PeteAbela

"Wings" tells the story of Walt and his grandson Scott, who both have a fierce longing to fly albeit in vastly different circumstances. Walt - who grew up in the depression - found out first hand that becoming a pilot takes sacrifice and tenacity. When World War II broke out he pestered the RAF for eighteen months before they finally accepted him. Scott spent his childhood listening to tales of his Grandfather's aerial exploits and developed an intense craving to be a pilot. However, the number of people wanting to be a pilot vastly outweighs the limited opportunities on offer.

“Wings" weaves together two tales: one set in war-torn northern England, and the other set in the modern-day Illawarra region of New South Wales. As Scott progresses, his grandfather declines – Walt loses his wife, his sight and his hearing – but throughout these difficulties is still there to offer support and encouragement. With insights into the modern aviation scene and life in the Royal Air Force of World War II, this is a must for anyone who has an interest in history, aviation or simply an old fashioned love story.

An Interview with Author Diane Rapp

Hi Diane! Welcome to Rachelle’s Window. You are a busy woman! I see you everywhere, on Twitter and Facebook, always lending a hand and being supportive and cheerful. So, how do you do it? Are there two Diane Rapps hidden behind the scenes?
Oh, yes, and maybe more! As a writer, I’m definitely a “split personality.”  I get bored when I do the same thing to often, but switching from a cruise ship murder mystery series to a science fiction series keeps me hopping.  
That’s very interesting. Don’t you also have some paranormal thing going on? Do you write one story at a time or can you work on two in parallel?

I wrote one mystery featuring a ghost.  My characters had to solve the ghost’s murder on the cruise ship before another murder occurred.  I’m always thinking or planning a new book—like percolating coffee.  But when I’m ready to write I get immersed in the characters, setting, and problems to be solved in just that book.  I feel like I get sucked into my computer and hours disappear before the characters release me back to the real world—or until my husband needs lunch or dinner.  He gets grumpy when he’s not fed.
Ha, ha, that's how my husband is. I try not to burn dinner! How did you get started writing?
After my daughter and I wrote a travel guide to the Caribbean, she gave me the idea of writing a cruise ship mystery.  However, I actually started writing science fiction to cure insomnia years before that experience.  My favorite author, Anne McCaffrey, didn’t publish new books fast enough, so I imagined my own world.  Soon I felt compelled to write down stories to get them out of my head.  I’m getting ready to launch the third book in my science fiction series, Dragon Defense.  
Ha, ha. That’s always a good motivation. At least you didn’t do that Misery thing and kidnap your own writer. Tell us about your science fiction series.  How did you invent the idea of Transfer?
When I heard about “Dolly the sheep” being cloned and people surviving multiple organ transplants, I wondered, “Wouldn’t it be easier to grow a clone and transfer a person’s mind into the body?”  I also asked, “Would people give up their freedom in exchange for immortality?”  I decided that the Institute offered a Transfer in exchange for indentured service—another day older and deeper in debt.  Wouldn’t you try to escape after working for spans?  (A “span” is the fifty-year time period between Transfers.)
Hmmm…. Making a deal with the devil is a hard choice. Immortality without freedom? That’s a hard choice. You also write Fantasy. What compels you to try out that genre?
The difference between Fantasy and Science Fiction is magic versus possibility.  A fantasy character performs extraordinary feats by magic, but sci-fi characters experience a scientific leap.  Many Transfers multiplied talents until my characters developed incredible skills.  The villain, Jarrack, uses mind control to force victims to do his will.  Donovan slips into “speed time” and moves faster than the eye can detect.  Krystal manipulates fire and uses empathic energy to heal.  Chella is a healer who is plagued with erratic visions of the future.  Trenton is the best tracker in space or on the ground, while his sweetheart, Maggie, can detect radiation or cook the tastiest dishes. 
Ha, ha, I can see your imagination running wild there. But then, how did you come up with telepathic wolves?
That one is my German Shepherd’s fault.  Kriegen would stare into my eyes, trying to send me a message.  My stupid human brain couldn’t understand.  Next he’d try a stare-shift.  He’d stare at me, shift his gaze to the cookie dish, and quickly shifted back to me.  The message was: “I want a dog cookie, you fool.”  I became well-trained, but we lost him over a year ago.  The telepathic wolves are modeled after an intelligent dog that I miss very much.
Uh huh… think I’m too scared to visit your house at night. I understand your new book contains a flock of dragons?
Since my favorite author was Anne McCaffrey, I added dragons to my series.  I introduced one dragon chick named Flash in The Havenshire Resistance.   The name Drako comes from the dragon constellation.  When surveyors discovered creatures that looked like dragons, they named the planet Drako.  These dragons use vibrant colors, swirling through their wings, to communicate.  I imagined the dragons’ wing colors before I watched a nature film about the Flamboyant Cuttlefish.  This creature shoots incredible colors across its body.  We can’t imagine anything stranger than a creature God already designed. 
Whoa, that’s true. I’ve seen some creatures deep in the ocean chasms that are out of this world. Do you believe in God?
Definitely, and my character, Chella, tries to serve God.  She struggles between her role as a convent “sister” and her fighting abilities.  She courageously confronts Jarrack and tries to convince him to choose God’s path.  The Bible is filled with people who fight God’s battles, so I don’t think Chella defies religion when she defends loved ones.
So you’re saying science fiction and religion are compatible?
We’re getting pretty serious!  Yes, telling a story often demonstrates religious principles.  Dragon Defense illustrates choices that people might face—leading toward good or evil.  God gives us free will and a chance for redemption—if we make the right choices.  Shariel is the biological daughter of Jarrack, afraid that her inherited talent of mind control might turn her evil like her father.  Even Jarrack is given a choice in this book to turn away from evil.  Will each character make the right choice?
Biology is not destiny. More interesting that way. It sounds like you explore different ideas in your series, but do you have fun?
Writing this novel was fun (or I’d get bored and write the next mystery).  I hope my sense of humor shows through my writing.  The dragons have the most fun, and I can’t stay serious when I imagine dragons flashing neon colors over their wings.  Have you ever dreamed of flying on a dragon’s back with wind whipping through your hair?  Glorious! 
I think I’d love to be the flying creature myself! So up what’s next for a split personality writer?
The next mystery novel, Murder for Glacier Blue, rattles around in my subconscious.  It takes place on board a cruise ship to Alaska.  The characters face an art heist, rowdy golfers eager to play golf at midnight, a wedding at Glacier Bay National Park, and a murder to make things more interesting. 
Join us for BBQ at the dragon cliffs.  They practice building a fire to roast husker (a wild boar) and can’t stop themselves from making the flames too high.  They really love the colors.  We’ll also have some Tex Mex virtual food (with recipes) at the release party, so I hope you’ll join us.  I’ll introduce some of the dragons and Captain Ishtarek (a reptilian man) who was under orders to destroy Drako.  It will be a great party.
Wow, that sounds like a smashing party! Be sure to tell us where your virtual release party is. Did you know we can do group chats inside of Facebook Groups? We ought to schedule them.

I learn more each day from other authors on Facebook and Twitter.  The launch party will be through my author’s page on Facebook http://on.fb.me/IEwK7p  
It was great having you, Diane.
Author Bio: Diane Rapp became an entrepreneur when she started her own dog grooming salon in Santa Barbara, California. She spent the next thirty years as a small business owner; she sold real estate, started an office supply store in Telluride, Colorado, and performed free-lance advertising design.
During all those years Diane wrote stories as a cure for insomnia. She wrote short stories about dogs for a German Shepherd Dog Club newsletter, and then expanded to full length novels.
Link for the Facebook page:  http://on.fb.me/IEwK7p  
Link for QuickSilver Novels website:  http://bit.ly/zW2hlm

Shocking 4th of July Post! Featuring Author of Collapse - Richard Stephenson #AuthorInterview

Today, we celebrate our beloved country's birthday. And Richard Stephenson has written one heck of a doozie, a novel called Collapse.
Q:  Richard, Tell us about your book. The title is enough to give me chills.
A:  Collapse is set fifteen years in the future and tells the story of the downfall of America.
Q: Sounds bleak!  How does it happen?
A:  It doesn't happen all at once by any single event.  No killer virus, no alien invasion, no giant asteroid.  I wanted Collapse to be as realistic as possible and based on current events.  A cautionary tale or a "what if?" type of scenario.  
Q:  Yikes, those are freakiest, when things seem so real. What inspired you to write it?
A:  My job requires me to stay behind during a hurricane evacuation.  I've been through many storms, however, two of them were very destructive and turned my neck of the woods into a wasteland.  During the most recent one, we spent about twelve hours in a total communications blackout.  No cell phones, landlines, internet, broadcast tv, cable tv, or even radio stations on the dial.  I remember thinking that aliens could have landed on the White House lawn and we'd have been none the wiser.  It was very surreal.  I imagined what the entire country would be like plunged into that level of chaos and it terrified me.  It still does to this day.  Anyone that has been through that can tell you that civilization is very fragile.
Q:  You really think the events of your book could actually happen?
A:  Absolutely.  Our society has grown very dependent on commerce and the basic infrastructure that supports us.  My grandparents raised seven children during the 1940s and 1950s.  How did they afford it?  They had a self-sustaining household.  They had a garden about the size of a football field.  They had a chicken coop, a few cows, and some pigs.  They rarely (if ever) had the need to shop at a grocery store.  When my grandfather built the house, he even planted pecan trees on the property.  How many people today can say they know how to do any of that?  That type of skill set is slowing dying.  The average American doesn't have enough food and water in their homes to last two weeks.  I'm betting a week is fairly common.  What would happen if the shelves were bare when we went grocery shopping?  
Q:  Very true, and before that, people knew how to live off the land. Kind of sounds like you're a Prepper.
A:  I think that anyone who lives in a hurricane region can say they are a prepper on some level.  I think it's a shame that preppers are sometimes cast in a negative light as being paranoid wackos.  To me it's just good common sense to be prepared.  I challenge anyone to ask themselves how long they would survive without any utilities in their home.  No electricity, water, gas, or even trash pickup.  I think most people would lose their minds at the twenty four hour mark.  Imagine living without utilities for a week, a month, or even a year.  What would happen?  How long would it take for polite, civilized people to turn into savages?
Q:  I'm guessing your book gives us the answer?
A:  A glimpse, at least.  The downfall of America won't happen overnight.  It would take years of decline and a lot of horrible things happening at once before the tipping point plunges us over the edge.  Collapse deals with the tipping point.
Q:  You've woven a very plausible and frightening scenario. But honestly, even if one family is prepared, they'd be overwhelmed by the many who aren't. I've heard it said, "All the preparation I need is a .45 Magnum." I see that one of the main characters has Asperger's Syndrome.  Can you give us some insight into what made you write the character that way.
A:  My fourteen year old son has Asperger's Syndrome.  Asperger's is a form of high functioning autism.  My son was diagnosed at the age of five and his journey has been a long one for our family.  Howard Beck is what I envision my son will be like when he is an adult.  I felt that I needed to do my part to help raise awareness.  The public needs to be educated on Asperger's and I hope that Howard can help do that.
Q:  I agree. A friend of mine also has a very bright son with Asperger's and is doing quite well. Are any of the characters based on yourself?
A:  All three of the main characters are versions of me.  I was told at the age of thirteen that I have a genius IQ.  I graduated high school in three years and did the same in college.  My mind has always raced in multiple directions at once, plaguing me with insomnia and even leading me to question my sanity.  I've been able to pump the brakes on the race car in my mind.  Poor Howard never learned how to do that.
Max is probably the closest to my personality and was the hardest to write.  Writing Max was a hard mirror to hold up.  In early 2011, I awoke to the most horrific pain I had ever felt in my life.  I was later told I had two bulging discs in my lower back.  While I visited a chiropractor and attended physical therapy, I was on Vicodin and Soma.  Anyone familiar with those drugs can tell you I was high as a kite on some very addictive drugs.  Once my back recovered, I never took the pills again.  I did, however, understand why so many people battle addiction.  The euphoria was amazing and I loved being high.  I'm lucky that I wasn't foolish enough to let that euphoria take control of my life.  Max wasn't so lucky.
Richard embodies the survivor I hope that I can be when disaster strikes.  He is also the type of father I would be if the same horrible things that happened to him happened to me.
Q:  Gulp! You have certainly put a lot of yourself into this story. I know how hard it is for an author to disassociate from his or her characters. How hard is self-publishing?
A:  Much harder than I anticipated.  It is much, much more than just writing.  Getting the word out to readers involves a great deal of time and effort.  I had such naive expectations of planting a few seeds here and there and thought those seeds would sprout on their own, bringing readers to me in droves.  That is simply not the case.  Advertising is a fine tuned machine that requires constant maintenance.
Q:  Are you writing anything else that the readers need to know about?
A:  Collapse is the first book in a four-part series entitled "New America."  
Q:  When will the next book be released?
A:  Next summer.
Great! It's been wonderful meeting with you. Your book will be out this FRIDAY! July 6th for Kindle, Nook, Paperback.
Readers can find the the first seven chapters at Richard's blog: http://rastephensonauthor.blogspot.com/p/collapse.html
Please join him at Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/CollapseTheNovel and follow him on Twitter: @RStephenson5

Website Rankings and Why You Should Care #social_media #business #development #marketing

Most of us artistic people probably haven’t given much thought to web page rankings and search statistics. But once we start promoting we should realize that not all web sites and pages are equal. This is especially true if they are asking money from you to promote on their page.
Do you know what you’re paying for? Site A asks for $50 for a banner ad for a day. Site B asks for the same $50. But are they equal? Suppose Site A gets ten times the traffic that Site B does. All other things being equal, where would you place your hard earned bucks?
The same thing holds true with guest posts and interviews. Do you spend hours preparing a guest post on a site with two visitors? How do you decide where to spend your time on a blog tour?
The following is a short primer on how to measure websites. Many tools exist that will install in your browser as a plug-in. The one I use is WebQuantified. It summarizes all the major measurements in one convenient popup that resides in your browser’s toolbar.



Quick and Dirty Guide to Website Rankings
Google Pagerank:0 to 10, with 10 being the best. Pagerank is a determination of how likely a page is to be hit, calculated by the quantity and quality of incoming links minus leakage from outgoing links. In plain English, how likely a person will arrive and stay on the page. Pagerank 10 is rare (Twitter is one). Even Google.com is only a 9. Pagerank moves on a logarithmic scale like the Richter scale. In simple terms, it is easiest to move from 0 to 1, much harder to move from 6 to 7 and progressively harder as you move up the scale. If you include lots of links leaving your page, you reduce your page rank score. Think of it as water flowing through links. The more links coming in, versus links leaving, the higher your water level.
Alexa Rank: Lower number is better. Alexa is owned by Amazon and its website rank is like Amazon book rank. The number 1 site is the most visited site on the Internet. No surprise, it is Google.com. It is determined like Nielsen ratings for TV. Users with the Alexa toolbar in their browsers are counted. Those without the toolbar are not counted. You should run out right now and install the Alexa toolbar in your browser so your browsing habits are counted and your favorite sites rise in rankings.

Compete Rank:Lower number is better. Compete works like Alexa except it extends data gathering from outside sources besides the Compete toolbar users. Compete focuses solely on the United States and provides additional data, such as Unique Visitors graph.
Pages Indexed: # of pages indexed by search engine. The more the better
Backlinks: # of sites that link to this site. The more the better
Traffic Graphs:self-explanatory, many to select from Compete and Alexa
Sociometer: # of times a page has been shared, liked, tweeted, stumbled, plussed, dug, eaten.
Download a WebQuantified Chrome Extension and you don’t even have to leave the page to see its Statistics. http://bit.ly/K39GxY
Download an Alexa toolbar here. http://www.alexa.com/

#Ebook Formatting: What is the NCX View and Why Should You Care #pubtip #ebookformatting

You’ve spruced up your Word Document, added a Table of Contents and have your cover art ready. But when you hit upload to Amazon, it complains that NCX View is missing. Huh? What is it and how does one use it?
Hint: Before uploading anything to KDP, consider converting your document into a .mobi file and looking at it in Kindle Previewer. There is a option "NCX View" that you can select.



You can then double-click on all of the Headers and jump to them, much like a Table of Contents. So why would you need an NCX View when you already have a hyperlinked Table of Contents?
It turns out that Amazon Kindle EReaders make use of the NCX View to allow Kindle users to jump from one Chapter to Chapter.
The following is taken from the Kindle User’s Guides:

Kindle:5-way controller: The 5-way controller enables you to quickly perform many common taskson your Kindle. It has a center select button plus four arrows. To scroll up or down on a page,use the Up and Down arrows. When reading a book with chapters, you can use the Left andRight arrows to skip through chapter by chapter.

Kindle Touch:If you prefer, you can change pages by swiping the screen with a finger. To go to the nextpage, swipe your finger from right to left across the screen. To go to the previous page,swipe from left to right across the screen. To go to the next chapter of a book (or the nextarticle in a periodical), swipe up the page; to go to the previous chapter, swipe down. Pleasenote that swiping to change chapters is not supported in all books.

Is jumping from chapter to chapter that important for fiction writers? For that matter, does having a Table of Contents matter? After all, many fiction readers are content to sit with a book and plug a bookmark to keep their place. Few look at the chapter headings, especially if they are non-descriptive. A point can be made that an author can skip the Table of Contents and NCX View.
Perhaps most of your customers do not care, or they read with a Kindle App on PC or Mac where they can easily access the Hyperlinked Table of Contents. However there will always be a set of customers who are addicted to navigating with the joystick. I checked a couple of newsgroups and one person wrote that his boss insists they include it. Another said lack of the NCX view makes the work look amateur. And I definitely do not want to mark my ebook as amateur with missing items! NCX in EPUB
Several EPUB readers rely exclusively on the NCX View for navigation. Adobe Digital Editions is one such free reader. Again, it is a matter of reader convenience. If you don't have this navigational aid, your reader has to remember to add bookmarks or remember the approximate page where they left off.

The Smashwords Meatgrinder will produce files with NCX and Table of Contents in place. However, due to licensing requirements, you cannot use a Smashwords generated MOBI or EPUB file to upload anywhere besides Smashwords. So if you do want to generate your own MOBI or EPUB files for Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Google Books, prepare to spend a lot of time learning the tools, Kindlegen, NotePad++, or coding your own tools and laying the files into the Zip container by hand.
Several How-to-guides exist online:http://www.jedisaber.com/eBooks/Introduction.shtmlhttp://www.paulsalvette.com/2011/08/epub-and-kindlegen-tutorial-ebook.html
And don’t forget to download Amazon’s Kindle Publishing Guidelines.
Don’t give up! Once you master the process, you can brag to your friends all about Containers, manifests, metadata, XHTML, and CSS Style Sheets. What I did was write a Java program to translate Microsoft generated Table of Contents entries in my HTML file into Navpoints. I then created a build file, the OPF, and linked everything in so that I have both an HTML TOC and the NCX View Navpoints active in my ebook.
What do you think? Do you use NavPoints in your reading? What kind of device do you have? Or do you read on your PC/Mac?

Character Interview: Michal speaks to Mia Darien from Heaven

Character Interview: Rachelle Ayala & Michal from “Michal’s Window” [reblogged from miadarien.com]Character InterviewsAdd commentsPlease welcome Rachelle Ayala and Michal, from Michal’s Window. This is an Out of World interview, with a bit of In World flavor as our guest speaks to us from… well… Heaven. Enjoy!
You can also visit me as I guest at Rachelle’s site to talk about character interviews! See my post at Rachelle’s Window!

* * *Mia: What is the name of the book where we’ll find you? Can you tell us a little about it?
Michal: I wanted it to be Queen Michal the Great, but the 21st century author went to a liberal arts college and sought to confine me to that darn window. Seems like every disaster in my life hangs out a window.
Mia: You still haven’t told us the name of the book.
Michal: *crosses her arms* Her favorite general ed course was “The Russian Experience.” I mean, she loved Catherine the Great. And who was she but some obscure German princess of little money?
Mia: I happen to know it’s called “Michal’s Window.” You were saying about your window?
Michal: Windows and I just don’t get along, thank you very much. I’m a 3000 year old queen. What do I need with windows and mirrors?
Mia: Indeed. So… Tell us a little about yourself. Where do you fit into the story? What should we know about you?
Michal: *holds up hand* One question at a time, please. I’d prefer you to know very little about myself. I am, after all, a very private person.
Mia: This book seems like a tell all. You narrated it in first person. Tell me, Michal, was sex really that great back then? And with three men? You must have broken quite a few taboos of your culture.
Michal: *juts out her lip* Please, after 3000 years in Heaven, what do you want me to say?
Mia: Let’s pretend for a moment. You’re back at your father’s palace, and a young, handsome, red-headed harpist has just stepped in the gate. What did you think of him? What did you feel?
Michal: *sighs and rubs her palms on her dress* He was really very sweet, standing their trembling and sweating. But when he settled down to strum his harp, all I could do was imagine him singing to me, and strumming my hair. That intense look in his eyes, the fervor of his love for God and his desire for peace in Israel–I just wanted all of that directed on me.
Mia: So, love at first sight?
Michal: Oh yes.
Mia: What do you think his first impression of you was?
Michal: I knew he wanted me. After all, I was the princess of Israel. But it took a while for him to convince me that he cared for me and not my position. Of course, being the daughter of a man who hated him presented great difficulties.
Mia: I could imagine it would. All right, let’s move on. What do you think of the author? Be honest. We won’t tell.
Michal: The author? Ha, she was in love with David and Ittai. I was so mad at her. I mean, how dare she think about David all the time? And Ittai should have been a secret. Really, these 21st century women have no shame. But she’s Bathsheba’s bratty great to the hundredth generation granddaughter so I’ll let her take the wooden spoon and…
Mia: I’ll leave that for the two of you. How do you feel about the story you’re in?
Michal: Well, she did portray me pretty positively despite all the bad press I get elsewhere. This was the first book where I get to be victorious. My life was filled with dramatic tragedies, my husband escaping my father’s wrath through my window, the years he spent in the wilderness, my estrangement from him while married to Phalti, and then my disgrace at the Ark of the Covenant incident. Most books have me as the villain, the jealous first wife, unable to accept the sainted Abigail and beautiful Bathsheba. So I actually feel pretty good about this one, especially with three men in love with me throughout the book.
Mia: Certainly quite a thing. Do you like being a characer in such a book?
Michal: *smiles* How can I not? A girl’s gotta have some fun. Granted the book had a lot of tragic moments, but the author always gave me fun parts, my time with Jada, my little going-away party for Aunt Kyra, and of course the rug scene. Too bad she cut out my frolics with my sister’s future husband… Ahem…
Mia: How do you see your future? Without giving anything away about the story, naturally.
Michal: My future is pretty assured. It’s really peaceful up here in my mansion. The walls are gemstones with water trickling through so my favorite orchids can grow between the cracks. There’s a brook of diamonds and streets of white gold. And David is with me, did you want a word with him?
Mia: Let’s leave him where he is. What do you know about your author’s plans? Can we expect to see you in any future stories?
Michal: She seems to have left ancient Israel, although she has a draft of a follow-on story about Ittai’s time of exile. I do make brief appearances. There is a great scene of me buying a slave to set her free. Ittai just does not know how to bargain so I used him as a dummy while I talked the temple master down. But honestly, who knows if she’s going to run with the story. She seems to be working on some story about horseless chariots running over people. The people in that story are all stuck in front of boxes with magic lids that show moving pictures and play music.
Mia: We call them movies. It’s like a window where you can see people’s lives as they are played out.
Michal: Oh, sort of like the viewing tablets we have in Heaven, but they censor all the good parts.
Mia: Right. So. Let’s say they make a movie about this book. Who do you want to play you, and why?
Michal: Oh, that’s easy. There’s a woman who lives in France with lots of children. Angelina Jolly, I think. She looks tough enough to kill a man. You do know I killed a man, right?
Mia: Yes, indeed. But we’re out of time, thanks for being here tonight.
Michal: You’re welcome. I’ve got all eternity. Well, it’s back to looking out my window. *waves and floats away*
* * *Author Bio: Rachelle Ayala was a software engineer until she discovered storytelling works better in fiction than real code. Her first book, Michal’s Window, is a romance set in Biblical times. Rachelle has always lived in a multi-cultural environment, and the tapestry in her books reflect that diversity. Rachelle is currently working on a romantic suspense involving software engineers. She is a very happy woman.
Rachelle’s Site: http://rachelleayala.blogspot.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/AyalaRachelle
Buy Link: Kindle


March 22nd, 2012 

Michal speaks to Mia Darien from Heaven

Character Interview: Rachelle Ayala & Michal from “Michal’s Window” [reblogged from miadarien.com]Character InterviewsAdd commentsPlease welcome Rachelle Ayala and Michal, from Michal’s Window. This is an Out of World interview, with a bit of In World flavor as our guest speaks to us from… well… Heaven. Enjoy!
You can also visit me as I guest at Rachelle’s site to talk about character interviews! See my post at Rachelle’s Window!

* * *Mia: What is the name of the book where we’ll find you? Can you tell us a little about it?
Michal: I wanted it to be Queen Michal the Great, but the 21st century author went to a liberal arts college and sought to confine me to that darn window. Seems like every disaster in my life hangs out a window.
Mia: You still haven’t told us the name of the book.
Michal: *crosses her arms* Her favorite general ed course was “The Russian Experience.” I mean, she loved Catherine the Great. And who was she but some obscure German princess of little money?
Mia: I happen to know it’s called “Michal’s Window.” You were saying about your window?
Michal: Windows and I just don’t get along, thank you very much. I’m a 3000 year old queen. What do I need with windows and mirrors?
Mia: Indeed. So… Tell us a little about yourself. Where do you fit into the story? What should we know about you?
Michal: *holds up hand* One question at a time, please. I’d prefer you to know very little about myself. I am, after all, a very private person.
Mia: This book seems like a tell all. You narrated it in first person. Tell me, Michal, was sex really that great back then? And with three men? You must have broken quite a few taboos of your culture.
Michal: *juts out her lip* Please, after 3000 years in Heaven, what do you want me to say?
Mia: Let’s pretend for a moment. You’re back at your father’s palace, and a young, handsome, red-headed harpist has just stepped in the gate. What did you think of him? What did you feel?
Michal: *sighs and rubs her palms on her dress* He was really very sweet, standing their trembling and sweating. But when he settled down to strum his harp, all I could do was imagine him singing to me, and strumming my hair. That intense look in his eyes, the fervor of his love for God and his desire for peace in Israel–I just wanted all of that directed on me.
Mia: So, love at first sight?
Michal: Oh yes.
Mia: What do you think his first impression of you was?
Michal: I knew he wanted me. After all, I was the princess of Israel. But it took a while for him to convince me that he cared for me and not my position. Of course, being the daughter of a man who hated him presented great difficulties.
Mia: I could imagine it would. All right, let’s move on. What do you think of the author? Be honest. We won’t tell.
Michal: The author? Ha, she was in love with David and Ittai. I was so mad at her. I mean, how dare she think about David all the time? And Ittai should have been a secret. Really, these 21st century women have no shame. But she’s Bathsheba’s bratty great to the hundredth generation granddaughter so I’ll let her take the wooden spoon and…
Mia: I’ll leave that for the two of you. How do you feel about the story you’re in?
Michal: Well, she did portray me pretty positively despite all the bad press I get elsewhere. This was the first book where I get to be victorious. My life was filled with dramatic tragedies, my husband escaping my father’s wrath through my window, the years he spent in the wilderness, my estrangement from him while married to Phalti, and then my disgrace at the Ark of the Covenant incident. Most books have me as the villain, the jealous first wife, unable to accept the sainted Abigail and beautiful Bathsheba. So I actually feel pretty good about this one, especially with three men in love with me throughout the book.
Mia: Certainly quite a thing. Do you like being a characer in such a book?
Michal: *smiles* How can I not? A girl’s gotta have some fun. Granted the book had a lot of tragic moments, but the author always gave me fun parts, my time with Jada, my little going-away party for Aunt Kyra, and of course the rug scene. Too bad she cut out my frolics with my sister’s future husband… Ahem…
Mia: How do you see your future? Without giving anything away about the story, naturally.
Michal: My future is pretty assured. It’s really peaceful up here in my mansion. The walls are gemstones with water trickling through so my favorite orchids can grow between the cracks. There’s a brook of diamonds and streets of white gold. And David is with me, did you want a word with him?
Mia: Let’s leave him where he is. What do you know about your author’s plans? Can we expect to see you in any future stories?
Michal: She seems to have left ancient Israel, although she has a draft of a follow-on story about Ittai’s time of exile. I do make brief appearances. There is a great scene of me buying a slave to set her free. Ittai just does not know how to bargain so I used him as a dummy while I talked the temple master down. But honestly, who knows if she’s going to run with the story. She seems to be working on some story about horseless chariots running over people. The people in that story are all stuck in front of boxes with magic lids that show moving pictures and play music.
Mia: We call them movies. It’s like a window where you can see people’s lives as they are played out.
Michal: Oh, sort of like the viewing tablets we have in Heaven, but they censor all the good parts.
Mia: Right. So. Let’s say they make a movie about this book. Who do you want to play you, and why?
Michal: Oh, that’s easy. There’s a woman who lives in France with lots of children. Angelina Jolly, I think. She looks tough enough to kill a man. You do know I killed a man, right?
Mia: Yes, indeed. But we’re out of time, thanks for being here tonight.
Michal: You’re welcome. I’ve got all eternity. Well, it’s back to looking out my window. *waves and floats away*
* * *Author Bio: Rachelle Ayala was a software engineer until she discovered storytelling works better in fiction than real code. Her first book, Michal’s Window, is a romance set in Biblical times. Rachelle has always lived in a multi-cultural environment, and the tapestry in her books reflect that diversity. Rachelle is currently working on a romantic suspense involving software engineers. She is a very happy woman.
Rachelle’s Site: http://rachelleayala.blogspot.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/AyalaRachelle
Buy Link: Kindle


March 22nd, 2012 

Author Interview: Dr. Molly Nyatanga

Rachelle :  We have a special guest today, an educator with a mission. Please welcome Dr. Molly Nyatanga to Rachelle's Window.
Molly :  Thank you, Rachelle. It’s my pleasure to be here.  
Rachelle: You have so many attributes in life. How would you describe yourself to your audience?
Molly: I am a writer, a researcher, a teacher, a wife  and a mother. Have I answered the question?
Rachelle: You have listed five roles, and they are important in your life. Which one takes precedence over the rest?
Molly: That’s a difficult question to answer. My heart is into all of the five aspects, but I have always put my family first. As a diplomat’s wife I have lived a nomadic life, following my husband everywhere for the past 22 years, making it difficult for me to hold one permanent post. Where I couldn’t find work, I went to school. This is how I have kept myself busy for the past two decades. I am not complaining, but kind of overwhelmed by what I have been through. Each event has contributed positively in a way to my whole being. Given the chance to discard any of my experiences, I wouldn’t, even for a fortune.
Rachelle: Of course, all this life experience is a rich vein from which to draw your stories. In addition to life, how has research contributed to your writing?
Molly: I acquired a number of skills from research projects. Research means a lot of reading other people’s work and communicating directly and indirectly with respondents. This helped me sharpen my communication skills. I also developed analytic skills, and not just accepting things from face value. I also learnt how important it is to appreciate and value other people’s work. Research work made me realize some of the shortcomings in our education systems, especially in developing countries, and has given me the impetus to write children’s books to instill values and enrich and boost children’s literature domain.
Rachelle: I admire your drive to boost children's reading skills and instill values. You are also a mother, which is a full time job. How did all these demands contribute to your writing career?
Molly: My children were privileged to go to international schools, where the libraries hold lots of good books. Unlike my primary school years in some rural school in Zimbabwe. We didn’t have a school or a community library. The only books we had were the prescribed textbooks. The first library I saw and used was at a boarding school. I couldn’t be seen borrowing preschool or junior school books. That stage of my life had been eroded. So when I started reading preschool books to my children, the stories were new to me and we enjoyed them together. It was like that neglected part of me had been found and brought back to life.  Besides library books, I also bought my children books for bedtime stories. I looked forward to bedtime stories too, just like them. Though I was the adult, the stories were exciting, resurrecting the little kid trapped inside me. All those little things created a deep desire in me to write books. My children preferred to hear me read them stories better than their father. He wasn’t a book person. I read every sentence with passion. Many years later I visited the same school I attended my primary education and found that there was still no library. The school children were missing out part of their childhood as I did. I wondered if their grandparents told them fables and folktales as my grandmother used to. I related to their loss. I vowed that one day I would write books to furnish all the remote schools in my country. 
Rachelle: What a vision and a great story! Being a diplomat’s wife has it’s own advantages and disadvantages. What do you have to say to that?
Molly: The great picture is you get to see the world and learn about other cultures. You really experience that kind of life rather than see it on television or in books. You visit historical sites and leisure places and you get first hand experiences of everything. This also boosted my creativity and awakened my lively imaginations in the mystery genre of literature.  Landing on a job and keeping it in a foreign land is a problem. If you get one, when you start enjoying it, it’s time to pack your bags and go. At the back of your mind you always think, we are in a temporary shelter, very soon we migrate. In 2007, I started writing, though I did other things in between. With time, I became fully aware that writing is a full time job. I had so many stories I built up over the years and it was time for me to write them down. Diplomatic life has also positively contributed to my writing career. I move with my work in my laptop wherever I go. Whenever things don’t work out the way you planned, always switch on to something else rather than mourn over your fate. Turn the misfortune to fortune.
Rachelle: What an inspiration! I noticed on your Facebook page that you don’t you like books with vampires, swearing or cursing. What a fresh change from the usual popular fare, especially in these days of Twilight and Fifty Shades.
Molly. Thanks for the complement. I never liked to watch vampire or ghost movies, and I still don’t watch them. When my children where still young they used to have nightmares after watching such movies. For instance if they visited friends and watch such stuff they would have problems sleeping that night, and so I vowed not to write books that scare children. Why should I expose other people to things that give me goose bumps and sleepless nights? I am writing to people like me. Some entrepreneurs are concentrating on products that rake in more revenue at the expense of nurturing society. Such things range from fast foods to polluted literature attacking and destroying both body and soul. As responsible parents and educationists, we have a responsibility to save our nations. Unilock Books is taking a positive stand in providing relevant material for development. Healthy food as well as sound and positive reading material can set your child on the right path.

Rachelle: I heartily agree. Good for you! What made you write a series?
Molly: I enjoyed reading series to my children. When they were in middle school I would buy them series too. I also followed short stories in magazines. Every month I would look forward to buying the next copy to continue with the story. I really got hooked to such episodes. In short, I can say magazines and the book series I read to my children inspired me to write a series too.
Rachelle: What made you write Echoes of the Mystery Box series?
Molly: There are too many street kids roaming towns right now, especially in developing countries. This is a cause of concern. I wonder what is happening to the social fabrics of society. People used to care for one another. I wanted to show people that the immediate family can take in a relative and offer a hospitable environment to nurture that child to adulthood. Ibelieve in bringing up children in a positive environment, where the self is valued and the significant others are given their due respect. People are a product of what they see, hear and eat. Hence I advocate that protection is better than cure. It is far better to invest in people’s lives at a tender age,  than to later on pump billions of dollars into correctional institutions, to rectify problems that could have been avoided in the first place.  Responsibility, accountability and respect are emphasised throughout the series, bringing an awareness to children at young age that whatever one does has a reward at the end. Every behaviour has a direct or indirect effect on the person next to you, and so one’s edges should be smoothened at all times.   

Rachelle: I love the values you are instilling in your stories. Are these street kids orphans?
Molly: Orphans, in quotes. Some are real orphans, others are run away kids and others have irresponsible parents. One ingredient is missing that brings these children out, on the streets; a conducive home environment. My books are trying to bring to light what makes children stay at home, it’s not money, but a caring and loving heart. Due to economic hardships, many have left their children under the care of neighbours, relatives or house maids and are in diaspora. You can see that there are different types of orphans, who have nobody to look up to.
Rachelle: That’s sad. What is your vision as author of Unilock Books?
Molly: Mymission is to create a positive reading culture in people, through writing and publishing character building reading books, which are affordable to all people. I have a desire that every rural primary school has a school library, filled with all sorts of positive reading material to create a conducive learning environment for all children from diverse backgrounds.


Rachelle: Molly, you are an inspiration. I pray your efforts will be well rewarded in the changed lives of those children who are influenced by your books. Good luck on the literacy projects. We need more people with big hearts that care for others beyond their immediate circle.
AUTHOR BIO:Dr. Molly Ngazana Nyatanga is a middle school teacher by profession. She taught in various schools in and outside Zimbabwe. Teaching is her passion. She holds a Ph. D in Educational Sciences. Her desire to give a better education and a better future to children was the driving force behind her studies and still is. In her post graduate studies, she focused on education for development. One heart-rending issue she came across in the schools in developing countries is shortage of reading material.
As a researcher, she wanted to see solutions birthed and implemented in the recommended fields. She found her place in children’s literature domain. Her first published book, The Mystery Box, is vivid and unique. She is the author of Unilock Books. Dr. Molly Ngazana Nyatanga lived in the Middle East, Europe, North Africa and Southern Africa and benefited from the richness of the diverse cultures to boost her lively imaginations. Many elements have interplayed to help her focus on the mystery genre of literature. She has just published The Mystery Box and Settle for Nothing Less. Many more children’s books will be out soon.  The two books are part of a series, “Echoes of the Mystery Box.”
You can find Dr. Nyatanga at Unilock Books or follow her on Twitter at @mudiwanyatanga