J.P. Choquette's Blog, page 15

20 Reasons to Read this Blog for the next 20 (week) Days

image credit 20 Reasons you should read this blog You like entertaining novels with a little learning thrown in for good measure . You have planned to make changes, big changes, this year. You want to learn  more about social justice issues like human trafficking.  One of your goals in 2015 is to support indie artists (and authors!). You've always secretly dreamed of becoming an author and would like to chat up someone who can give you ideas/tips/motivation. You love suspense, but not over-the-top gore, rape/torture descriptions that some novels feature. (Check out our Goodreads group, "Suspense for Sensitive Readers." )You've always secretly wanted to be Nancy Drew or a Hardy Boy. You actually played games in which you were Nancy Drew or a Hardy Boy growing up. You'd like to learn about how to become more empowered in your life in general. You're tired of feeling that you can never do "X" and are looking for some inspiration on how to break through the barricade. 
To be continued in the next post ...

20 Reasons to Read this Blog for the Next 20 (week) Days: Part II

image credit In my last post we covered the first 10 reasons you might like to read along here for the next 20 weekdays. Here are 11-20 on the list: Enjoy! 
 
  11. You like sharing good books with friends, your grandmother and/or kid, but sometimes can't because the content is too demented and/or disgusting. (If so, don't forget about our Goodreads group, 'Suspense for Sensitive Readers' --you're WELCOME to join!) 

  12. You love it when the good gals win . 

  13. You have always dreamed of running away to Vermont to buy a B&B and write mysteries by night. 

  14. You'd like to make the world a better place. 

  15. You consider yourself smart, savvy and adventurous. And you like to talk to other people who are, too. 

  16. You could win a free book. :) 

  17. You want 2015 to be the year you finally finish your first novel.  

  18. And you'd like someone to cheer you on along the way. 

  19. You have a stressful job and/or life and are looking to dive into a book for an armchair adventure.

  20. Talking about books is fun ... and joining book groups is, too.  

Empowering Entertainment ... and Why it Matters to You

Image credit Empowering entertainment?  Hope you had a great New Year's holiday. I took a wonderful, luxurious holiday break with my family and feel refreshed and ready for the new year and all the great things it holds! 

Today I wanted to talk to you a little bit about the phrase, "empowered entertainment." Now you might be wondering what I mean by that or more likely, why it should matter to you. 

I've been doing a little research into the "why" of my business. Why do I write books? Easy--because I love to tell stories and adore taking you along on the journey with me. But why do I write the type of books that I do? Novels, fiction, entertaining--yes, yes and yes--but there are other stories I could tell. What I realized as I looked back over my works thus far is a common theme: empowerment. 

In all of my books, bad things happen (just like in real life). But it's what the characters do with that bad thing that makes all the difference. If you're like me, you enjoy reading books where the protagonist ends up a little bit of a changed man or woman by the last page. Maybe you love the Jack Reacher novels because Jack always serves up justice. Perhaps you're drawn to books by Sue Grafton because Kinsey always gets herself into crazy situations and somehow always manages to extract herself in creative ways.  
Why it Matters to You So why does the fact that my books have an "empowerment" theme  matter to you? Because empowered readers tend to be adventurous readers. The type of reader who not only wants a good story, but to learn something, too. As a reader you don't just want to sit back and be passive. Instead, you're seeking truth, justice, victory--whatever the case may be--in addition to being entertained. 

I've planned some other blog posts about this topic, and you'll see a lot more posts from me in the next several weeks. In fact, my goal is to share a post each weekday until the end of January. Stay tuned, and as always I'd love to hear from you via a comment, on Twitter or Facebook.  

Take care, 
-J.P. 

December 22nd, 2014

Helping IJM Save Lives! Excited today to send off a check to the International Justice Mission, an organization which works to free victims of human trafficking around the world. Donating 10% of ALL book profits in 2014 feels AMAZING and you helped make it a reality. Thank you! 

A great way to welcome in 2015~enjoy your New Year's celebration and I hope the year ahead is filled with much health and happiness for you and your family. 

Happy Holidays!

So grateful for each of you reading along, for the feedback and questions you pose about my books and for taking this journey with me. 

Hoping you have a wonderful holiday season, filled with much peace and love. 

Read a Book, Save a Life

We love reading, right? We read to escape, to travel, to learn, to grow, to be entertained. But did you know that reading can also help you do good in the world? 

I'm not talking nonfiction, personal development books, either. Just regular old fiction. Or should I say, fiction with a purpose? 

Sometimes things in the world are so wrong, just out and out disgustingly wrong, that we want to stand up and scream. Instead of that, I recommend doing something . It doesn't have to be something huge or extravagant that will get you on the evening news, flashbulbs bursting in your face. It can be a small step. Small steps, done over and over, can still make a huge difference. Tweet this

Here's my small step: I'm donating 10% of all of the proceeds of book sales (ongoing) to  International Justice Mission , an organization that works worldwide to help free victims of human trafficking. You can find out more about their current work by visiting their Facebook page . And there are lots of ways of your own to help , if you want to do more than feel frustrated with all the bad stuff out in the world. 

Would love to hear from you via Facebook or Twitter about the ways that you're taking "little steps." 
 

Subversion Released! And 1st Review is up

WHEW! What a kooky time I had with the final few weeks of preparing my newest novel, Subversion, for market. It was one of those "OK, I just have to X and then it will be all set." Unfortunately, "X" continually got screwed up so then I'd have to go back and make changes to "Y" which then led to changes of "W." 

All this is to say that it took a lot longer than I was hoping. And I may not have as much hair as I did in October.

HOWEVER the good news is that Subversion is ready to buy in the print version here and via Kindle here . I'm still working on the Smashwords edition and hope to have that ready in the next little bit. 

I was also so honored to have an excellent review written (already!) by Kingdom Books . You can read that here . Very grateful to those of you who've already purchased copies or even just told friend/family/your local library about the book. Thank you! 

On Marketing One's Book: A Dialogue

Do you love marketing? Hate it? Fall somewhere in between? Today I'm guest posting over at Pen, Ink and Crimes, the blog for the Sisters in Crime of New England chapter. Please stop over and join the conversation! 

Guest Post: Faith Mortimer --Part II

I've recently had the pleasure of interviewing mystery, adventure and romance author, Faith Mortimer. You can read the first part of our interview here. 

Now on to Part II: 

Q: Lots of readers keep track of when their favorite authors' next book will appear. Do you keep a strict publishing schedule? If so, when do your books tend to be released? 

The last two years I’ve endeavoured to write four books a year. Because I write in three genres I alternate mystery thriller with my lighter romantic drama. So for instance this year, I wrote the 6th in the Diana Rivers series, A Deadly Learning, then A Very English Affair, the second in my ‘Dark Minds’ Mystery thrillers, Behind a Twisted Smile is with my editor and will be published in October and I’m in the middle of a romantic drama – in time for Christmas – fingers crossed! 

Q: You write in the genres of romance, adventure and mystery--did you always want to write these types of books or did you ever consider (or try) writing in other genres? 

I love the genre I write and indeed these are the genres I generally read. I also love history and if I had more time I’d write more historical fiction. Maybe one day!! I’ve toyed with the idea of writing a historical cookery book as I was left an original one dating back to 1910. Again I need to find the time…

Q: What has been one of your biggest surprises as an independent author? 

The people I’ve met are amazing, both fellow authors and readers. Going on from that, I have to say that readers and fans are my lifeblood. I would never have got anywhere without their wonderful support! I appreciate their reviews, fan mail and constructive criticism.

If book sales take a dip (as they can do in July and August when most people take their annual holidays), it’s wonderful when I receive a personal note telling how they loved ‘such and such’ in a certain book. It’s a reviving call and I know I have my loyal followers who’re just waiting for me to write that next novel.

I am fairly shy and sometimes it is difficult to drag myself out for a book signing or attend a fair, but the warmth from readers never fails to surprise me and I realise the world is still a nice place.

So I wholeheartedly say… ‘Thanks for always supporting me! You are all just brilliant!’

Thanks so much to Faith for sharing her story here. If you'd like to ask a question or leave some feedback, please do so in the comments section. 

Faith's books are available in both paperback and e-book formats, on Amazon, Nook, Kobo, Apple and Google. Her website is http://www.faithmortimerauthor.com. From there you can find links to her blog and locate her online at various social networking platforms. 

Guest Post: Faith Mortimer

It's that time of the year again for those of us in northern climates. Time to curl up with a soft blanket and a great mystery. Today's guest, author Faith Mortimer , talks about her mystery books, writing romance, and how she finds inspiration. This is Part I of a two-part series. 

Here's a bit about Faith, in her own words: 

"I'm a British author dividing my time between Hampshire, UK & Cyprus. Since 2005 I have been fortunate enough to turn my hobby of writing into a career. During childhood, I dreamt of writing novels which readers would love, and I spent many hours writing short stories which I subsequently read to my younger sisters (probably under pressure!). I was born in Manchester, England & educated in Singapore, Malaya & Hampshire, England."  


J.P.: With over 12 books under your belt, you have a lot of experience in how to write a captivating story. Can you talk a little bit about your writing process (coming up with ideas, fleshing them out, the actual writing of the book) and if it's gotten easier over time? 

Faith: With my Mystery Suspense novels; both The Diana Rivers Mystery Series and The Dark Mind Series, although murder is 100% employed, I do not dwell on too many graphical images. I prefer my readers to envisage for themselves how bloody or scary the scene is. The mind is a wonderful thing. Of course I mention how the victim meets their death, and there will be some descriptive prose, but I do not dwell on the subject. I believe there is too much gore written and photographed today.

My other writing love is romance, and all the books in the ‘Affair’ series can be read in any order. I must point out that I don’t write chick-lit, rather more women’s’ fiction, which has dramatic, edgy overtones and suspense as well as pure romance. Saying that I do have a good male following among my readership too! Two further novels, The Seeds of Time and Harvest as well as being romantic also feature WW2 and action/adventure.

My ideas come from everywhere! There is always something going on in my mind…and I listen (eavesdrop) unashamedly on other peoples’ conversations! I can be going up in an elevator, or sitting in a café or at a party. People are generally interesting and snippets or a sentence I overhear gets my brain working overtime.

The gist of a new story comes from a simple idea and I jot an opening scene. I flesh that out, until I have a few chapters written down. As I become more involved with the story I dream up my characters and make notes, adding more description as I go along – and changing things to add to and suit the story. I generally have a very basic outline of a novel, but rarely have a complete ending. I frequently change scenes and characters as the project grows and becomes more alive. I rarely suffer writer’s block because I usually have more than one idea going on at a time. If I find I’m getting ‘stale’ I go and do something else for an hour or so…painting or walking is great for clearing a muzzy head and often doing something energetic freshens the mind for writing another few thousand words!

J.P.: Do you have a favorite out of the books you've written? If so, which one and why? 

Faith: This is the most difficult question – and I’m often asked it. My first book The Crossing– (The Seeds of Time and Harvest) took me ages to write. It was a real labour of love and a huge learning curve, so it will always have a special place in my heart. I also enjoyed writing my first Diana Rivers Mystery Suspense novel, The Assassins’ Village, probably because I could include all the research I did for the setting (Cyprus) and the history is fascinating. 

Children of the Plantation was also wonderful to write…then out of my romances I really enjoyed A Very French Affair and my latest A Very English Affair. Neither is ‘chick-lit’ in the true sense and both are real tear-jerkers! Edgy full of suspense and the endings are not what you’d expect.

We'll continue with Part II of Faith's interview soon ...