S.K. Nicholls's Blog, page 30
November 23, 2014
Don’t feel bad, I want you to download my free book
Another free book!
Originally posted on Suffolk Scribblings:
I don’t know about you, but whenever I see an author running a free promotion I find myself in a dilemma. If I’m aware of a book promotion then the chances are I know of the author, or somebody I respect knows and likes the author’s work. And that’s where things get a little awkward.
On the one hand I would like to download the book. If I’ve heard of the book then it may well be a work I’m curious about but for whatever reason has never made it onto my reading list. It may be I’ve only just met the author and it’s on my wish list but below a number of other authors I’ve met earlier. It may even be a genre or style of book that I don’t usually read but I enjoy the author’s blog. Either way, I’m interested.
But
On the other hand, I’m a big supporter of my…
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Get ‘em while they’re FREE
Free Books!
Originally posted on Entertaining Stories:
I rummaged through the basement at the writing cabin until I found my soapbox. I texted Lisa* as I climbed upstairs, “Almost ready?”
“I’m all set. Iris** is on the easel so she can flip my cards. I’ll be down in a moment.”
I placed the soapbox in the main lobby, just right of the easel.
Iris walked toward me along the top rail of her easel. “Do you think this is going work?”
“Giveaways always work in varying degrees. Lisa’s first one went absolutely crazy. Maybe it’ll jar some sales for your book, The Cock of the South.” I walked behind Lisa’s desk and tested the spotlight. Everything was ready, so I dimmed the overhead lights.
Lisa entered, wrapped in a bathrobe. She sat in one of the other chairs and put on her white stilettos. She dropped off her robe and stepped onto the soapbox. She wore a…
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November 22, 2014
“Beats” and Attribution
It has been a while since I wrote about my writing. I put Naked Alliances in a drawer after my last edits following my beta reads. I wanted to give the MS time to breathe and come back and do a reread to get a fresh perspective on what else it might need.
One of my beta readers is a professional editor. He did a most thorough edit and made some invaluable suggestions on how to improve the manuscript. I have always had a handle on doing realistic dialogue well, but I have struggled with attribution tags and how to avoid them except in the most necessary of situations where more than one person is speaking. Unnecessary speaker attributions slow down your flow. Unless the speaker would be uncertain, giving no attributions makes for a faster exchange.
He suggested what he refers to as “beats” showing the speakers action at that moment. Eg. Rather than, “I think it’s time we left,” he concluded. Try, “I think it’s time we left.” His brow furrowed, his worry obvious.
There is a chapter where I felt the use of dialogue tags was necessary because there are four women talking and I did not want anyone to feel lost in the conversation. Here is a brief excerpt between two or three of the characters that demonstrates how the tags seriously slow down the read. I wanted it contemplative, yet needed something to indicate which of the four are engaged in conversation:
“So sad about Maria,” Patty said with a sigh.
“Not so sure what she saw in that politician,” Sabrina stated.
“I know what she saw and you do, too.”
“Well he’s hot for you now,” Sabrina reminded.
“He’s just a good time for me. I don’t plan to fall in love with him.”
“Maria sure did. Do you think he loved her, too?” asked Sabrina
“Hard to say. His relationship with her was politically motivated. But I don’t think Maria loved him either,” answered Patty.
“You don’t?”
“She lied to him,” Gail interjected. “She put on the act of devoted housewife and mother for his constituency. She partied with us on the sly every chance she got. I feel sorry for Tim and his loss. More than that, I feel sorry for him that she misled him so.”
Here is the exchange cleaned up. It starts with a couple of “beat” sentences and that’s all that is needed until another person joins the conversation and a “beat” is required.
“So sad about Maria.” Patty sighed.
“Not so sure what she saw in that politician.” Sabrina arched her overdone brows.
“I know what she saw and you do, too.”
“Well he’s hot for you now.”
“He’s just a good time for me. I don’t plan to fall in love with him.”
“Maria sure did. Do you think he loved her, too?”
“Hard to say. His relationship with her was politically motivated. But I don’t think Maria loved him either.”
“You don’t?”
“She lied to him.” Gail slammed the photo album closed and pushed it aside. “She put on the act of devoted housewife and mother for his constituency. She partied with us on the sly every chance she got. I feel sorry for Tim and his loss. More than that, I feel sorry for him that she misled him so.”
More examples of “beats” added to the MS:
“Jason Pauly, you don’t run,” Richard said while standing.
“Jason Pauly, you don’t run.” Richard was now on his feet.
“How long do you do it? A year, five, ten?” Sabrina asked.
“How long do you do it? A year, five, ten?” Sabrina’s voice was venomous.
“A lot of folk think bikers are bonkers,” Brandi said.
“A lot of folk think bikers are bonkers.” Brandi laughed and leaned in closer.
While best to have no attribution tags, when required, “beat” sentences show an action identifying the speaker when there are more than two and carry the story forward with momentum.
This is where I am today with my progress on Naked Alliances. I have cleaned up most of the attribution tags. I have a few places where I am tightening up the manuscript and minimizing exposition. Then, it’s done.
I would be out on the boat today if the weather was better, but it’s overcast and windy. Not good for boating.
What are you up to this weekend?
Any time for reading, outlining, writing, editing?
Filed under: Writing Process/WIPs Tagged: attribution tags, dialogue, editing, Naked Alliances, out of the drawer, progress, work in progress
November 21, 2014
Path of a Bullet – hits the mark!!
The rocket scientist and I are big fans of Ike. This book of short stories will be out just in time for Christmas!
Originally posted on Books: Publishing, Reading, Writing:
You never hear the bullet that kills you … but you can read it!
Path of a Bullet, A Collection of Short Stories Featuring Ike by Tim Baker will be released after Nov. 24 in both eBook and print!
I have contributed a story to this book, along with Becky Heishman, Becky Meyer Pourchot, Lockie Young, Ann Marie Vancas, and Gigi Arena. S.K. Nicholls has written the introduction, and Seumas Gallacher provided a promotion blurb for the back cover.
This is going to be a great book, folks! Available just in time for holiday gift-giving, too!
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Final day for the Occasional Soulmates 99 cent countdown deal!
Last chance for the 99 cent deal on Occasional Soulmates!
Originally posted on WHAT THE HELL:
That’s right. If you’ve been fence-sitting on this thing, today’s the day you have to act. Occasional Soulmates is 99 cents until midnight PST.
It’s been a successful promotion, but only thanks to EReader News Today. On its own, a Kindle Countdown Deal doesn’t attract much attention, it seems to me; you need an outside push to ensure that lots of eyeballs see it. Luckily ENT isn’t terribly expensive, like a lot of them, but it’s effective.
To ignite one last flash of interest, I’m reposting here Cinthia Ritchie’s interview with me earlier this week on her blog. Hope you like it. Tell your friends. And, as always, thanks for your support on social media throughout this promotion.
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Q: How did you come up with the idea for Occasional Soulmates? Did it pop inside your head suddenly or was it a slow tease?
A: It was a pretty…
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Read Tuesday will Launch with Thunder
Time to add your books if you are an author and get ready to support and browse if you are a reader!
Originally posted on ReadTuesday:
SPREADING THE NEWS
Read Tuesday is a Black Friday type of event just for book lovers on December 9, 2014.
Authors can participate for free. Signing up and participating is easy.
Readers and gift-givers just need to browse the Read Tuesday catalog in early December. Find the books you like here, but buy them at Amazon or Smashwords like normal. Except for saving big, of course.
To help spread the news, we have a ThunderClap promotion scheduled for the morning of December 9.
Our ThunderClap currently has a social reach of over 300,000 through 100 supporters (thank you, everyone), with 18 days left to improve these numbers. We have our sights set on a million, and we’re nearly one-third the way there.
What the ThunderClap does is announce the big Read Tuesday sale by synchronizing posts on Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr. It’s easy to add your support (see below).
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November 20, 2014
The Subject of Book Reviews
Luanne at the Writer Site posts frequently about memoirs. She read and reviewed Red Clay and Roses as it is a fictionalized true story akin to a memoir or biography. Here is her lovely review.
Originally posted on Writer Site:
In September, S.K. Nicholls wrote a post on here about the similarities between a novel like her Red Clay and Roses and a memoir. I enjoyed her book so much and eventually wrote a review for it that I posted on Amazon. While I have no memoir review today, here is a copy of my Amazon review for S.K.’s book.
Once I started reading S.K. Nicholls’ roman à clef Red Clay and Roses, I had to be pried away from the book for work and sleep. Her masterful storytelling is ideal for this southern story that, like Faulkner’s, covers generations of customs and politics and changes. She explores the tragedies of racism and gender inequality with a firm hand and a warm heart.
We hear the story through different voices. The nurse who learns the secrets and mysteries of the past tells us the story of the present—what’s “become” of…
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November 18, 2014
Book Review: All Hallows at Eyre Hall by Luccia Gray
Coming of age at the Ethel Harpst Home, an orphanage in the North Georgia Mountains, when I first read Jane Eyre at fourteen, my primary focus on that book by Charlotte Bronte was Jane Eyre’s life. Her trials and tribulations facing loss and the strengths she relied on to see her through.
In April of this year, at age fifty-three, I chanced to read it again. I was visiting the cabin in North Carolina. It was raining all week, damp and cold in the mountains. I kept a big fire in the huge stone fireplace in the central room of the cabin and I planted myself in front of the hearth all week and read the book again.
My second reading of Jane Eyre was much different than my first. I saw the relationships between the characters having been through so many life changes myself. The rich and lofty descriptions of time and place were still there, but the characters took on greater depth and their actions were accompanied by deep emotional feelings that were not present with my first reading.
Book Review:
It takes a huge amount of courage and dedication to take on writing a sequel to a beloved classic. To do it well, the author must know, without any doubt, the characters and their motives. Luccia Gray knows Jane Eyre and the people in her life as if she were living among them.
I always saw Jane Eyre as a girl who suffered through a cold, hard life but managed to find advantages in her circumstances that permitted her to succeed. I did not see her at all as a spineless jellyfish, but a young woman who braved each new situation with resolve and resilience. Her decisions and commitments were born out of a desire to improve herself and to love with complete abandon. Her relationship with Mr. Rochester provided for both. As an orphan myself, Jane Eyre is a character dear to my heart.
In Jane Eyre I had issue with Mr. Rochester’s past when he first took on his relationship with Jane. The way he frolicked with the Ingram girl, others, and the deplorable manner in which he managed his first wife caused me much disrespect for the man. I have often felt those who suffered mental illness in eras past had the cruelest existence imaginable. In All Hallows at Eyre Hall, Ms. Gray empathized through Jane all of my feelings about Bertha, her life, and what I had supposed about her. My suspicions about Mr. Rochester were brought out of the shadows and into the light with each word and I felt Jane Eyre had been somewhat venerated.
With Rochester on his deathbed, Jane assumes a leadership role with real decisiveness and strength of character. Strong and clever enough to manage a huge estate, yet merciful and compassionate enough to find forgiveness, Jane does not wrongfully hold others responsible for Rochester’s misdeeds. Jane’s recent past comes to life with all of its joy and sorrow. The relationships she develops are true to her original character and I believe Charlotte Bronte would enjoy this book. The emotions expressed are nearly tangible, as always, love is blind. Luccia Gray also managed to capture a perfect sense of place and time on the moors of old England and in the sprawling manor home, in the clothes and behaviors of the cast.
Initially the first person multiple points of view threw me, but Gray makes it easy to note who is doing the thinking and talking by her distinct voices for each character and a quick reference with each change. I enjoyed this book immensely and am eager to read the next book in the planned trilogy. There are new people and anticipated new places in Jane Eyre’s life. While All Hallows at Eyre Hall answered many questions that remained with the reading of Jane Eyre, the author also leaves us sitting on the edge of our seats anxiously waiting the unfolding of the rest of the story.
5 of 5 Stars
Filed under: Book Reviews and Books Tagged: classic, Hall Hallows at Eyre Hall, Jane Eyre, Luccia Gray, sequel
November 17, 2014
Happy Birthday Florida Style
I hate to start off a post talking about the weather, but really I must. The weather for my birthday weekend couldn’t have been better for what we planned to do. November and April are practically perfect in Florida.
Saturday, we took our new boat out on the intracoastal waterway at Indian River. The sun was shining, the air was refreshingly cool, but the sun’s warmth was felt to the core melting away any morning chill.
This was our first adventure to downtown Cocoa with a boat. Not a great idea. There is a lovely park with boat ramp in the middle of the historic district. I thought it would make for a nice walking tour when we returned. There are little al fresco diners, quaint shops, and boutiques along the way.
Wrong. Getting to the park was next to impossible hauling an eight-and-a-half foot wide twenty-three foot boat and trailer. We turned left, then right, then left, again and again, swinging wide to avoid the cars and clipping the curbs on the narrow one-way streets. After sweating bullets through downtown traffic, we finally made it to the park. I’m certain we were cursed at often.
Once in the water it was a gorgeous day. We motored upriver toward the lagoon. Coming under the A1A bridge, a barge about the length of a football field came blasting around the corner out of a canal to the east and I nearly wet my pants. I had to turn the helm over to the more experienced captain. The rest of the day was pleasantly uneventful.
Breaking in the new boat, we had two hours of near idle time keeping the boat under 2000 rpms. Slowly, we meandered down the barge canal to Habortown Marina and had a leisurely lunch at a most obscure waterfront restaurant.
Coming back west to the intracoastal we were surrounded by dolphins and manatees. The dolphins all seemed to have babies and the manatees were munching on seagrass. These are not my pics, because every time I tried to get a shot they disappeared into the waters. Osprey and pelicans were everywhere.
It was getting late so I knew a walk around cocoa was out of the question. The only bad thing about winter in Florida is that darkness comes too early.
After our short day in the water we headed back through Cocoa. Coming around a corner, the rocket scientist swung wide to avoid a curb, but also had to avoid a parked car on the opposite corner. You know those cute little chalkboard signs that owners put out to advertise their daily specials (like the pretty pink one in this pic)?
Well, the RS clipped one perched on the curb and down it slammed. It sounded like gunshot hitting the sidewalk. A lady jumped off a nearby park bench as if she needed to take cover. I know we were cursed again, “Those damn boaters coming through here!” I can hear it now. Anyway, we made it home.
First order of business upon arriving home. No limes, but a lemon works just as well.
Sunday, we put in just north of the NASA building in Parrish Park, a much easier boat ramp to get to on the causeway to Merritt Island. People were much friendlier today than on our maiden voyage. It was a sunny day with very little breeze and a perfect temperature. Much more boater traffic Sunday and I got some good experience at the wheel.
Fun day. Happy birthday. Looking forward to many more. :)
This morning the wind was whipping the traveler’s palm leaves around, the air all balmy and tropically warm, and now it is pouring rain, lightning and thundering.
Filed under: Boating and Fishing, Fascinating Florida Tagged: Birthday, Boating, breaking in the new boat, Cocoa, Florida, intracoastal waterways, Lee Weener Park, Parrish Park
November 14, 2014
Yo, heads up
This is a really well written book and a delightful story. Countdown deal! Get it now and remember to write a review. Reviews don’t have to be a complete book report, just drop a little note and let the world know you enjoyed it. I did :)
Originally posted on WHAT THE HELL:
Just so you know… Mañana I’ll be starting a Kindle Countdown deal for Occasional Soulmates, wherein you and everyone you know or ever have known may purchase this lovely little ebook for a mere 99 cents. You knew it was coming. All self-publishers must resort to the 99 cent deal, or, even worse, the giveaway, and now is the first of (we don’t know how) many for OS.
Help propel this novel into the top umpty-thousand on the bestseller list. Grab your copy tomorrow!
Oh, and don’t forget to post a brief review too. I’m stuck at eight. Where reviews are concerned, eight is definitely not enough.
Don’t forget, if you’re a print lover, Occasional Soulmates is available as a paperback. It has my picture on the back. That alone is worth $9.99.
The deal runs from the 15th through the 21st. Spread the word.
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