S.K. Nicholls's Blog, page 41
August 7, 2014
Midnight Dynasty Act III: Omega is NOW LIVE!
This is a paranormal romance that you just don’t want to miss as the series moves along.
Originally posted on ...and then there was Sarah:
For most, death is a fact of life. If you are a Deschanel, it’s a way of life.
Midnight Dynasty Act III: Omega, the final act in this devastating serial, is now LIVE across all major retailers!
ACT III: OMEGA
“There is a price and Charles and his children will pay it. As will their children, and their children, and all children who attempt to profit from anything Charles has built. This midnight dynasty will fall, as Ophelie fell, and there will be no more. This I promise, on my mother, and on my beloved Ophelie.”
Midnight Dynasty, Book 3 in The House of Crimson & Clover, was released in three dramatic acts over the 2014 Summer. Click here to read the Press Release.
Filed under: Uncategorized
August 6, 2014
How Colloquialisms Get Started
I went shopping today for some clothes. I have put it off for a long while. Seems I’ve spread a bit more than I would have liked since retiring, so I can’t satisfactorily shop in a regular store anymore.
I’m short and wide so I have to go to the specialty shops. I’m not going to name the one I went to, because they are just trying to do their job…but you may also know it as the fat lady’s store.
So I go inside and bright young lady asks me if she can help me.
“Yes, I’m looking for pants with an elastic waistband.” (Notice I didn’t say, “Britches.”)
“We don’t have any pants with elastic waist bands. We only have regular pants. All of our pants have zip closures and belt loops.”
Now, I’m thinking…If you can’t find pants with an elastic waistband in the fat lady’s store…where in the hell are you going to find them?
So I told her I would just look around.
A few minutes later, I came across an entire section of pants with elastic waistbands. I called her attention to them.
“Oh!” she says. “Those aren’t pants. That’s our active wear.”
“Well, aren’t they pants with elastic waistbands?”
“No, not at all,” she says, “It’s all active wear.”
Yes, she was blond…just like me, but I don’t think that was the whole problem. She’s been trained to flatter fat women. “Active Wear” is so much nicer than “Fat Lady Clothes” don’t you think?
It sort of made me feel like I have graduated to the Tupperware of the clothing industry.
Now, I ended up spending nearly three hundred dollars in their store on bras, and active wear, so it didn’t hurt and maybe it helped. Now I can tell people I wear active wear and it will sound like I’m trying to do something about my weight gain.
It did make me think about our southern colloquialisms and how they get started. You can Google southern colloquialisms and get tons of funny words and phrases. These are words and phrases I grew up with. I know proper English, but when I get out among a crowd of other southerners I speak just like they do.
When I write some of my characters in southern lit, I write them with dialect. That can make issues when your beta readers are Yankees, Californians, or Brits. We do have an understanding though…for the most part.
Delilah S. Dawson from Rosswell, Georgia has a great post on how to write a kick ass southern gothic tale here on Chuck Wendig’s site.
Here are just a few of the daily speech quirks you will hear in my house. Not the hilarious metaphors and similes you hear everywhere…just a few routine phrases.
“I’ve never done that before, but I might could.”
“Don’t be sharing this with nobody, but I hear tell he’s getting married.”
“She’s right smart.”
“I used to could turn cartwheels all over this yard.”
“I had dinner on the table before he got in the door good.”
“I’m sick at my stomach.”
Instead of “hand that to me,” or “pass that to me,” we say “reach that to me.”
“I reckon he will.”
Bedclothes = sheets/linens
Britches = pants
Y’all think on it and get back with me.
Do you write regional dialect?
Filed under: Writing Process/WIPs Tagged: active wear, colloquialisms, dialect, fat lady, southern speak
Cover Reveal: The Compass Key by Charles Yallowitz
Cover Art by Jason Pedersen
Swords will clash and spells will fly in the newest adventure of young warrior Luke Callindor, Nyx the magic-flinging caster, and their friends.
With Sari captured by their enemies, the champions of Windemere are determined to get her back and destroy the Lich’s castle. Little do they realize, their battles in the Caster Swamp are only the beginning of this adventure. Trinity and her Chaos Elves have invaded the city of Gaia in search of a relic called the Compass Key. Rumored to be the key to rescuing Sari from a magical island, our heroes are in a race to find the mysterious relic.
Which side will claim the Compass Key? And, what will our heroes do when they’re faced with an enemy whose evil power overshadows anything they have ever faced?
About the Author:
Charles Yallowitz was born and raised on Long Island, NY, but he has spent most of his life wandering his own imagination in a blissful haze. Occasionally, he would return from this world for the necessities such as food, showers, and Saturday morning cartoons. One day he returned from his imagination and decided he would share his stories with the world. After his wife decided that she was tired of hearing the same stories repeatedly, she convinced him that it would make more sense to follow his dream of being a fantasy author. So, locked within the house under orders to shut up and get to work, Charles brings you Legends of Windemere. He looks forward to sharing all of his stories with you and his wife is happy he finally has someone else to play with.
Blog: Legends of Windemere
Twitter: @cyallowitz
Facebook: Charles Yallowitz
Read the Previous Volumes of Legends of Windemere!!!
Cover Art by Jason Pedersen (CLICK FOR AMAZON SITE)
Cover by Jason Pedersen (CLICK FOR AMAZON SITE)
Cover Art by Jason Pedersen (CLICK FOR AMAZON SITE)
Cover Art by Jason Pedersen (CLICK FOR AMAZON SITE)
Filed under: Book Reviews and Books Tagged: Book #5, Charles Yallowitz, fantasy, Jason Pedersen, Legends of Windemere, series, The Compass Key
August 4, 2014
Strange Flames
You know I am writing something different. It’s a modern day fairy tale. I haven’t decided what to call it yet. So far it’s in my Scrivener as “Fairy Tale”. I’m thinking, “OMG, Jesus is gay!” You won’t know why until you read the first chapter.
It isn’t meant to be offensive. It is a funny story…and it starts with a southern Baptist girl’s iconic image found in the guy she marries. Turns out he was gay. They get divorced. Don’t tell me this couldn’t happen. It is sort of a memoir. So it’s my story.
I always tried to look at the humorous side to the life I have lived. It’s a coping mechanism.
Maybe I should title this thing “100 People I Didn’t Marry, and Why”.
So, writing a book means you need to do a little research, right?
I mean there is always research involved in what you are writing. This is turning out to be more fun than I thought.
Have you ever wondered what happened to old flames? What about that guy or girl you used to date? What are they doing now? What about their exes…the people they were with before you? Ever wonder about them?
I was twelve years single so they are all fair game as far as I’m concerned. I’m finding them on CNN, You Tube, Facebook. Some are actually quite famous now…some not so. BTW, I have no regrets.
I found this video. This is Sonja. She used to be married to a guy I dated for a year. He was a bit strange. An auspiciously flamboyant eccentric multi-millionaire with new money. I think she was stranger. What do you think?
Seriously…she’s a madame at the Alien Cathouse brothel near Area 51.
This woman was a school teacher when I knew her.
No kidding!
What about you? Any strange old flames?
Filed under: My Novels, Writing Process/WIPs Tagged: Alien Cathouse, exes, Fairy Tale, funny stuff, Jesus, old flames, title
False colours
Sue always has such a way with words. She shares her experience with being seen as less than. I urge you to read, view the video and see the Cardboard Stories in the comments.
Originally posted on Daily Echo:
I’d been gardening all day and had nipped into town on the way back from a trip to the garden centre to pick up a few things, calling at one of the more up-market stores to look for a brooch to wear with an evening gown; I was hosting a dinner for the Countess who was patroness of the organisation for which I was working. I wasn’t buying, just seeing what they had before making a decision. The store’s security person followed me every inch of the way. And the supercilious sales assistant did no more than watch from a distance with an eagle eye. It didn’t bother me… I had been playing in the dirt all day and was not a pretty sight. I couldn’t blame them… I was not their usual calibre of client!
I found exactly what I needed but thought I would shop around. No luck…
View original 564 more words
Filed under: Uncategorized
Fall online Scrivener courses now open for registration
A big fan of this lady’s teaching style, Gwen Hernandez, author of Scrivener for Dummies, is offering her fall classes for sign up!
Originally posted on Gwen Hernandez:
Fall is coming soon, which means it’s time for another Scrivener course (or two). Based on student feedback, I’ve decided to make some changes.1. I am splitting my original four-week, everything-but-the-kitchen-sink course into two different classes. That means less time commitment per course, and less money to spend if you’re not ready to move into–or only need–intermediate and advanced concepts.
(If you’re waiting for a Compile class, don’t worry. The next one starts December 8th.)
2. We’re getting a new classroom environment, one that I hope will provide some of the benefits of the previous platform, but without the technical problems.
The new classroom is set up like a web forum. Not as pretty, but it allows for organizing Q&A by topic, and makes the content searchable. A big plus for those who can’t remember where they saw a post.
To learn more–and/or to register–keep reading! Or, for more detailed information on…
View original 414 more words
Filed under: Uncategorized
August 3, 2014
A Novel Idea
Beta readers rock! If you don’t use them, you are really missing out on a wonderful opportunity to get virgin eyes on your work and help you identify strong and weak spots. On my second pass by the alpha reader he saw much improvement in my first crime novel and I still have a few places that I want to go back and touch up to strengthen a character’s position on certain pertinent matters. So that, along with some beta notes trickling in, is what I have been doing all week.
I have an outline for book two, and another story in my head for book three, but I am feeling a need to break away from this and write something different. I just read a very good “relationship” novel (will tell you more about that later) and I have been mulling over some ideas. It really stimulated me to think about just what comprises a good novel.
Honestly, being human or not, relationships are what most every novel boils down to. The relationship between people and their world, the relationship between lovers, the relationship between individuals, parents, children, siblings, friends, elves, war lords, bad guys, good guys, pets, robots…relationships are what make good novels relate-able.
So I got restrospective and started thinking about all the relationships in my life. There is really some good fodder there. It has not been a typical life, though, but some typical relationship issues were resolved.
The only piece I have really written well in first person was about a gay guy coming to terms with his identity in a community that was less than accepting. I liked the practice of getting into his character, but that story has been done to death.
I am thinking of taking another angle, and writing a piece in first person about a woman who finds herself with two grown children, divorced from a gay guy, and five hundred miles from her home at the age of forty. How she starts over with her life. Having never had her twenties, because of family responsibilities, she suddenly finds herself in a world she has been isolated from for twenty years. She violates the old double standard by trying to juggle relationships.
It sounds sad, but it really isn’t…there would be humorous undertones throughout as she acclimates to a new lifestyle and the dating scene again.
I don’t have a clue what genre it would fit into. Women’s fiction? Chick-lit? I don’t read much in either genre, so I really don’t give a flying flip about rules. I just want to tell the story. The underlying theme is about forgiveness.
I am not one of those paranoid people about sharing unpublished ideas online, because we all have our own ways of telling our stories.
I haven’t made an outline. It’s just a thought. What do you think about it? Boring or interesting? Amusing, maybe?
Any ideas for a working title?
Filed under: My Novels, Writing Process/WIPs Tagged: beta readers, double standards, fodder, forgiveness, novel idea, relationships, strengths, weaknesses
August 1, 2014
READERS and AUTHORS – Announcement Alert!
Originally posted on Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog..... An Author Promotions Enterprise!:
Are you a READER looking for a great new author?
Find hundreds of them in my Authors Hall of Fame link (click HERE)
Looking for FREE BOOKS for your Kindle, Nook, KOBO (click HERE)
Are you an AUTHOR looking for any of the following?
Book EDITORS (click HERE)
Book REVIEWERS (click HERE)
Author PROMOTION and SUPPORT Organisations (click HERE)
FREE PROFESSIONAL EDITORS TIPS (click HERE)
Filed under: Uncategorized
July 30, 2014
Book Review: Seneca Scourge by Carrie Rubin
Carrie Rubin is a physician who has a humor blog here: The Write Transition
She makes me chuckle with every post. She is a most insightful person and it is a pleasure to know her.
She is also an author and has a wonderful award winning book out: “Seneca Scourge”. If you have not read it yet, I highly encourage you to give it a read.
Seneca Scourge is a medical thriller/sci-fi. It starts off like many other medical thrillers with a terrible disease we must find a cure for. Rubin did not choose some complex disease that no one could relate to. She chose a familiar one. It is an influenza strain that devolves from an ordinary common occurrence into a nightmare with the potential to infect billions around the globe. Dr. Sydney McKnight gets assigned to do research with Dr. Casper Jones, a rather odd fellow who whose behavior sends up some red flags.
People are dying. The numbers are more than alarming. Racing to beat the clock on this dreadful disease that starts out innocently enough, Sydney is appalled when she discovers Casper Jones injecting her patient with something he passes off as steroids. Here is where the medical thriller that has kept you on the edge of your seat takes an unusual twist with a sci-fi flavor that is remarkably creative and fascinating to read. Suspending disbelief is part of the fun!
Rubin does a fantastic job creating characters and situations that touch your soul. Being a health care provider myself, I was enthralled by the realism of the hospital situation in crisis. It reminded me of the ten days we suffered in 2004 with four hurricanes back to back and overflowing hallways, only worse. There is no end in sight. When the light appears at the end of the tunnel, the book takes yet another unexpected twist. The ending was interesting and made me think deeply on the future of medicine.
If you want a fast paced, well-written read that is full of unexpected twists and turns, you will enjoy this book.
I give it 5 out of 5 stars.
Filed under: Book Reviews and Books Tagged: book review, Carrie Rubin, medical thriller, sci-fi, Seneca Scourge, thrillers
July 28, 2014
Book Facts that Explain Stupidity
Reading is vital to education on any topic.
Education’s purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one.
~ Malcolm S. Forbes
These are sad statistics. Fiction, non-fiction, read something. Open your mind.
Filed under: Book Reviews and Books Tagged: education, open mind, reading, reading to children, stupidity
