Javier A. Robayo's Blog, page 4

The Power of a Review

   When Monica La Porta talked me into holding a promotion to gain some exposure with my novel, The Gaze, I thought about it for far too long before making the decision to go ahead with it. I had my doubts and truthfully, the thought of giving away a novel that required so much work did not sit well with me. However, wise as always, Monica delivered the right piece of advice.
   After successfully promoting her novel, The Priest, Monica shared with me a list of sites that c...

Samantha's Voice

Welcome everyone,
Promotions, like any political campaign, involves constant tweeting and posting and the line between tasteful and outright spam becomes filament thin.
I've tried to offer a variety of excerpts along with graphics in order to breathe a bit of life to my novel The Gaze.
However, to listen to a character in our heads is one thing, but to actually listen to their voice...

Just hit play and you'll see what I mean.



The lovely Kaye Vincent is the author of the English Romance The Treema...

The Words are Real

   As many of you have seen, I've finally put The Gaze up for free for a limited time. What's the big deal, you may ask? 
   Think about it, an author spends countless hours, nights, weeks, years, diligently working to produce a novel. It's unrealistic for a new author to think the money will pour. A book needs readers and readers will not simply sacrifice their time for just anyone claiming to know how to write. So, the author gives away all that work in the hopes peo...

I. Author. 008

 It was the third time I rewrote the same prologue that had shown so much promise at first. To me anyway.
  The idea was simple and I didn't think myself very clever when I employed it. Life, for any of us, is a roller coaster full of ups and downs, twists and turns, and sometimes it feels like our carts collide into a rock wall, but it goes on. The ride doesn't stop until time runs out and no one knows when that is.
   Narrating the thoughts of a character did not work. I...

Novel on the Shelf

  We've all come across pep talks about writing and how to get your book out there. I haven't come across too many accounts of what happens after.
   By after, I mean after initial reviews come in, after you run a few giveaways, after you've shocked people who "know" you when you tell them you've written a novel. After your novel is on the shelf, then what?
   Easy, write the next one.
   Too much? Okay, then blog.
   Tired of the social networking gig...

I. Author. 007

   In 2001, barely two years working shifts at a steel mill, I decided I needed to do something to occupy the mind numbing hours waiting on coils of steel to come out of a unit so I read. I went through hundreds of paperbacks, westerns, romances, thrillers. I went through every Clive Cussler novel until I realized Dirk Pitt was always going to save the fate of the planet at the last second from some megalomaniac swimming in money. Still, I felt I knew Dirk on a personal level and I...

A Frank Conversation

   I'm a website builder.
   I can do enough graphic design to offer it as a service.
   I'm training as a receiving clerk at a local hardware store.
   I'm a chimney technician doing everything I can to grow a business.
   I'm a father to two terrific young ladies.
   I'm a husband to the girl of my dreams.
   I'm also the author of three novels currently in circulation.
  At first impression, you would assume I'm awash in c...

Teaser for Requiem

  An old friend from high school contacted me via Facebook to congratulate me on my writing. Barely two weeks after that exchange, he passed away.    Few events in our existence give us a fresh perspective like the loss of a young life. I raged and questioned the usual questions that come with anything difficult to accept.   As it happened, I had finished drafting Requiem, a story that showcases a darker side of my writing about a man who loses a friend and decid...

Heat and Warmth

   The first time I even heard of Clinton was in 1998 when my best friend, Jay Hornyak, asked me to help him with a job. Jay is the owner and operator of Advanced Chimney Service. His business has served Clinton and the surrounding communities for nearly twenty years.   My first impression of Clinton was of a sleepy coastal town, so much so that I immediately took some notes in order to make it the setting of a future novel. Fast forward to 2013 and I can now call Clinton...

Cassidy Jones Adventures III: The Review

    Elise Stokes has done it again in her latest installment of the Cassidy Jones Adventures series. Volume 3, The Seventh Attendant not only packs a punch in terms of action and adventure, but also brings that one element that breathes life to a piece of writing: heart.
   Just when I thought I could not love these characters any more I'm pleased to admit I fell even harder for them. I adore the people around Cassidy and I could write blog after blog about each o...