S.K. Nicholls's Blog, page 52
April 10, 2014
Now Available! BEYOND EVENTIDE: BOUND (Book 2.5)
The novella you’ve been waiting for is here! Sarah Cradit’s exciting and alluring paranormal romance series is moving full speed ahead with Beyond Eventide: “Bound” Get your copy today :)
Click on the original link to find out more about this fantastic and professionally done series.
Originally posted on ...and then there was Sarah:
ITS HERE!
BEYOND EVENTIDE: BOUND is Now Available! Book 2.5, and the sixth overall release in the highly rated House of Crimson & Clover series, is now available across most major retailers.
Ana, Finn, and Aidrik are forever bound. By love, promises, and the undeniable threads of fate.
Amazon: http://amzn.com/B00JK54RAU
BN: http://bit.ly/1eqQpqZ
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/426645
Kobo: http://bit.ly/1htTHjb
Itunes: Coming Soon!
Diesel: Coming soon!
CreateSpace: https://www.createspace.com/4750224
Goodreads: http://bit.ly/1ea6bLW
Day one reviews are already rolling in….
“This series just keeps getting better and better, and I just can’t seem to get enough!”
“I read it in one sitting and want MORE! I love this series more than I ever thought possible and absolutely can’t wait for the next installment.”
“I really enjoyed this paronormal/fantasy, the originality of the story line and learning more of each.”
“It was hard to give this five stars…not because it wasn’t good, but because I wanted more.”
“You…
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April 9, 2014
You know you’re an author when…(HBC)
Ionia Martin’s ribbing of Charles Yallowitz, fantasy author,on his birthday rings true in so many ways I had to share.
Originally posted on readful things blog:
You stand in line at Barnes & Noble to meet an author you have never even read a book by just to mention “I’m an author too.”
You check only blogs that mention someone selling books, hoping for a tidbit of information on how they are doing it.
You have had at least one serious relationship with a character from your books.
Your mind goes on auto pilot at all meetings and you begin seeing your characters as the other people in the room. Fizzle! Get down from there, this is the school board for goodness sake!
You identify with Poe for more than just his history of drinking.
You identify with Poe because of his history of drinking.
You feel guilty when you are on Facebook unless it directly relates to writing or promotion.
You don’t begrudge the other authors who are ahead of you on the lists any…
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Story Prompts for Writers’ Group 500 Words or Less: First Day of Vacation
Words: interloper, gnome, bucolic, karaoke, Albanian mud weasels, shrunken head.
First Day of Vacation ~ S.K. Nicholls
After ten hours on the train with my darling wife riding across the bucolic German countryside, I was relieved to know there was a pub down the stairs from our hostel. Twelve rounds of the best ale to be found and they started up with the karaoke, which pounded on my head in German and forced me into a foul mood. I followed the ale with eight shots of ice cold Jägermeister, trying to drown out the noise.
My head and my bladder were about to explode. I was looking for the bathroom when I stumbled through doors to find myself in a lovely patio garden. It was dark out there, so I whipped old Joe out and started pissing, when all of a sudden I heard a voice, “Stop whizzing on my head, you Yank!”
“Who’s that talking?”
“It’s me, down here by your knees, taking a golden shower!”
I looked down to see a poor little garden gnome dripping in urine. “You talkin to me?”
“Of course, I’m talking to you, nobody out here but you in that Yankees jacket, and those pesky Albanian mud weasels. And both so disrespectful.”
I slid down beside the little fellow, not certain that I could stand any longer. “I wa…I wa…I wasn’t expecting anyone to notice,” I said, “Didn’t think anyone el..else was out here and I’m terribly ssss…sorry about your drenching. I didn’t know, uh, I didn’t know gnomes could talk.”
“No worries, happens all the time. You should be more concerned about those weasels than me.”
“Well, I…I know weasels can’t talk.”
“Who says we can’t talk, you foreign interloper?” asked the first weasel.
“Hand over your wallet!” demanded the second.
“Do it now or we’ll gnaw your eyes out!” said the third.
“I KNOW weasels can’t talk!” I looked at the gnome and him at me.
“You can’t even stand,” said the gnome. “Better hand it over.”
I passed my wallet to the closest weasel and they scampered away, my wallet clenched in sharp teeth.”
Suddenly my wife appeared out of nowhere, looking like she had a shrunken head. “What the hell happened to you?”
Sitting beside the soaked garden gnome, who of course was now silent, I told her my story.
“I swear that’s how I lo..lo..lost my wallet, honey!”
378 words
Filed under: Short Stories Tagged: 378, 500 words, Albanian mud weasels, bucolic, flash fiction, gnome, interloper, karaoke, shrunken head, writer'group
Legends of Windemere: Family of the Tri-Rune has Arrived!!!
Cover Art by Jason Pedersen
Legends of Windemere: Family of the Tri-Rune has Arrived!!!
Buy it Here for $2.99!
Book Blurb:
The magical adventure continues after Luke Callindor and his friends recover from their battles in Haven.
Nyx still has nightmares about casting the genocide spell in Hero’s Gate. Every night her heart is gripped by the sensation of hundreds of goblins dying by her magic. By the request of Lord Highrider and Duke Solomon, she is returning to fix the damage she caused. With Luke Callindor and Sari by her side, Nyx is ready to face the vengeful goblins and opportunistic thieves that plague Hero’s Gate. Yet, there is a darker threat that was born from her violated magic: The Krypters.
It is another action-packed, character driven story that will reveal one of our heroes has been lied to for their entire life.
Wondering what you’re in for? Check out the praise earned by the first three installments of this high fantasy series.
Cover Art by Jason Pedersen
Review Excerpts for Legends of Windemere: Beginning of a Hero:
“I greatly enjoyed the vivid characters, the gripping plot, and the refreshingly unique writing style (present tense). ” – kdillmanjones
“One of the things that won me over was the bouts of humor. Especially in the beginning. “This is not possible! I am a Paladin!” I thought I was going to die with delight.” – C.N. Faust
Cover Art by Jason Pedersen
Review Excerpts for Legends of Windemere: Prodigy of Rainbow Tower:
“Nyx is such a strong personality. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know her and more of the other characters, new and already known, with the rich tapestry of Windemere unfolding in between intense actions scenes and moments of kindness and budding friendships.” – Danielle Taylor
“Almost like the Harry Potter series. The books start out so young and innocent, but by the last book – watch out!” — Momto4Booklover
Cover by Jason Pedersen
Review Excerpts for Legends of Windemere: Allure of the Gypsies:
“One of the things I love most about this series are all the characters! They are developed so well that I feel like I know them personally. Even the newly introduced characters fit in immediately.” – BarbBookWorm
“Let’s talk about action. The author creates interesting action sequences with believable use of fantasy elements. He is very creative. There are also good sections where the characters stretch out and we get to know them better.” – Donald L. Mitchell “Music Lover”
Author Biography:
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.
Contact:
Blog- www.legendsofwindemere.com
Twitter- @cyallowitz
Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/CharlesYallowitz
Filed under: Book Reviews and Books Tagged: Charles Yallowitz, epic fantasy, fantasy, fourth in series, Jason Pedersen, Legends of Windemere, new books, sword and sorcery
April 6, 2014
Sunday Synopsis: WIP
I have thrown myself well into this WIP this week and I don’t plan on doing anything else next week beyond tossing a few chemicals in the pool and maybe working a couple of days doing wellness clinics, so I don’t think a bullet list of my progress is necessary to explain where I am.
There is a whole discipline dedicated to the study of relationships. It is called Sociology.
Psychology focuses on the individual and Sociology focuses on how these individuals relate to one another, whether independently or in groups.
My apologies in advance to all of you romance genre writers, I admire you (more and more everyday) but I really don’t like reading romance novels. I know the romance genre is a HOT TOPIC, but most of them bore me. I will read them if there is meat to the story beyond the relationship…a political conflict, a societal issue, a history to be discovered. I want some substance in my reading that speaks to a higher intellect. I don’t mean to sound snooty, but I can’t deny that I prefer literary or historical fiction over genre fiction.
I actually enjoy high minded ideals dissecting the human condition or creating timeless portraits of complex and interesting characters — in other words, I’m talking about going out and committing “literature,” whatever that might be.
The good stuff almost always works, first and foremost, viscerally. We are drawn into it because something there speaks to our deeper selves, gets inside us and takes hold.
Fiction always has to sneak past the barriers our intellects erect, because (by virtue of the label “fiction”) we know that the stories we’re being told are fabrications. We call this feat of mental gymnastics “willing suspension of disbelief,” and good writers tend to help us accomplish it in two ways: by making their fiction as plausible as possible, and even more significantly, by blazing through the brain and going for the gut.
But I am not normal.
My relationships have not been normal.
After a bazaar childhood, I was in therapy with a sociologist from 1979 to 1996 coming to terms with being married to a gay man who had a domineering mother. I have no qualms about that relationship, I came out of it a whole lot better off than I was when I went into it. But it was different.
I am writing a novel about two sisters who are not normal.
They are coming of age, though, in a society that has emphasis on traditional values, and at least giving the sense of an image of normalcy.
I have managed, I think, to show the relationships of the sisters to each other, their parents and authority figures, their community, but now they have reached the point of developing intimacy with the opposite sex.
So far, going between the two points of view in a fused third person perspective has worked quite well, but it seems to be seriously slowing things down at this point. I am now boring myself with the mundane and somewhat tedious task of developing these romantic relationships.
I am recalling the words in a very critical editorial review of my last novel concerning Sybil and Nathan: That I, “Rushed plot development,” through their relationship. (Which was brief, and not the gist of the story line.)
The reader did not feel as if I devoted enough time and effort into developing a meaningful relationship between the two before they were intimately involved, and then terminated their relations too abruptly. God forbid casual sex occur a few times between two consenting adults in their twenties out of curiosity.
There was a reason for that in RC&R, because Sybil was Bohemian, a free spirit, independent minded, and non-traditional. Part of what was to make that clear was how she reacted in relationships. It was 1954, and her behavior in that community was not supposed to be what one would consider acceptable or correct.
Again, we are in the late 1950′s.
Now I have these two sisters. One is involving herself in what would be considered an acceptable relationship, albeit a bit earlier that her elders had hoped.
The other is involving herself in a relationship that is clearly inappropriate. It is part of what will define her as abnormal by those standards that were in place in her community.
My dilemma, you ask?
I am boring myself into tears with the tedious task of painstaking plot development that I don’t find pleasant reading or writing.
I don’t like romance novels.
They are in relationships.
There is—must be—romance.
I want the walls to come crashing down!
I want to get on with the story!
Anyway. That’s where I am.
Ghostwriters?
I hope you had a good week and have a good week in front of you.
Flowers from sky to earth just because it is springtime and they are pretty.
Filed under: Sunday Synopsis, Writing Process/WIPs Tagged: abnormal, fiction, literature, normal, plausibility, plot development, psychology, sociology, traditional, work in progress
April 4, 2014
Book Review: Dreams of Love: A Poetry Collection by Pamela
Pamela has written a poetry book or two. I haven’t read the second collection she wrote in collaboration with Kirsten, but I have read “Dreams of Love”.
Pamela’s debut poetry collection is themed around the many facets of love and the intimacies of dreams and longing. You can feel the emotion and tension with each carefully placed syllable. The rhythm and words will make your heart dance with the pleasure and weep with the pain to be found in loving. Some are freehand and some are set in specific styles which she explains. I appreciated all of them, but was particularly fond of “True Love” and “Dreams”. Pamela has bared her soul and exposed to us a deeply loving and caring spirit. I highly recommend this lovely little collection of poems. ~ 5 Stars
You may purchase a copy for 99 cents here on Amazon.
You can find Pamela here at Year ‘Round Thanksgiving Project.
You can find her poetry blog here at Poetry by Pamela.
No matter how candid or honest we are, we all have an online persona that is somewhat removed from our real life existence. You read the voice in the words I write, but you cannot possibly know my deepest, darkest secrets, my character defects, my many aspirations, or my dreams. Even if I share them with you in my words, you only know what I tell you or show you.
I don’t usually review poetry collections on this blog, as I feel poetry a deeply personal expression and experience, but I made an exception.
I had the wonderful opportunity to meet with this most special blogger and friend named Pamela while she was on a Florida vacation. I was shy, scared, nervous, embarrassed. With all of my insecurities, I wondered; What if she doesn’t like me? Will she think I’m fat and thus unhealthy? Should I dress up or dress down? Does she care if I am in a dress or pants? Does my hair look okay? Am I wearing too much make up? Not enough? What if I say something stupid? What if she bites? I suffer from anxiety disorder. What else can I say?
It would have probably only mattered had I shown up wearing my pajamas, or naked.
By meeting in person, I felt like I was baring my soul, somehow exposed, in a way that I am protected from online. Much like the poet does when writing. I know it sounds silly, but that’s where I was.
Long story short, she was adorable. She didn’t even bite me. Probably cared less what I looked like. We chatted over lunch. She put my anxieties to rest. It was fascinating to see an online persona animated and alive, complete with subtle personality nuances, generosity, hugs, a smile and a twinkle in her eyes. She is charming, witty, and loving. (She talks about wine, but I was the one actually drinking it at midday.)
She is a sweetheart. It was a very nice visit, and I wished we had more time together.
Pamela and I at the Dali with our dollies.
Pamela B. and Kirsten A. have teamed up with another poetry collection call “Voices of Nature” which you can purchase here on Amazon.
Filed under: Book Reviews and Books Tagged: Dreams of Love, longing, love, love poems, Pamela, Poetry, review, romance, Voices of Nature
April 3, 2014
CORRIDOR OF DARKNESS, A Novel of Nazi Germany, NOW IN BOOKSTORES
Have a favorite bookstore? Here’s one they need to stock. Drop the word!
Originally posted on Patrick W. O'Bryon:
To all you fans of the Ryan Lemmon espionage story, thank you, thank you, thank you! Your enthusiastic response as readers and reviewers has been truly heartwarming, and is driving outstanding on-line book sales of both the paperback and eBook versions as far away as Great Britain and Australia.
But here’s news: several independent bookstores are now stocking this thriller that Kirkus Reviews calls “an intriguing early WWII spy yarn in a well-researched, authentic Germany.”
For Sacramento-area readers, please visit Face in a Book on Town Center in El Dorado Hills to pick up your copy, or to give as a gift to anyone who loves historical fiction. The bookstore edition is of especially fine quality.
Should your favorite bookstore elsewhere not yet carry it, whether independent or chain, ask them to order a copy . Better yet (spoiler alert: shameless self-promotion ahead…), suggest they carry it on their shelves. They’ll find it as ISBN 978-0-9910782-2-6 in the Ingram Catalog.
Of course, it’s always available as either eBook…
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April 1, 2014
It’s No Joke – Memoirs of a Dilettante Volume One is NOW AVAILABLE
MEMOIRS OF A DILETTANTE VOLUME ONE IS NOW AVAILABLE!
By Helena Hann-Basquiat Download your copy today!
Read on to learn more about a contest she is cooking up, as well.
Originally posted on Being the Memoirs of Helena Hann-Basquiat, Dilettante.:
I’d love to tell you that I had this planned all along, darlings — to release Volume One of the Memoirs into the world on April Fool’s Day — but alas, it just worked out that way.
Thank you so much to everyone who pre-ordered. I know some of you have already gotten your hands on your paperback copies, and those of you with e-readers have them loaded up on your iPads or Kindles or what-have-yous.
Please make sure that if you loved the book, to share a review of it on Amazon or Goodreads
Also, I’m working on a contest, the details of which are to follow, but here’s some food for thought for you: take some selfies of you reading Memoirs of a Dilettante — or, if you are TRULY brave, a short video of yourself doing your very best Helena or Penny impression while reading your favourite…
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March 30, 2014
A birthing…of sorts
Another poetry book by Pamela B. in collaboration with Kirsten A. now available for just 99 cents! This time nature has the stage.
Originally posted on Year 'Round Thanksgiving Project:
My latest baby has been born – And early too (our projected release date was April 1 – it was a lengthy labor but not too painful. And, I’ve forgotten all about that stuff anyway.
My latest poetry collection is a collaboration with Kirsten A. and is titled Voices of Nature. It features poems of many different poetry forms. Check it out – the Kindle version is only $.99 and the paperback version is $7.59.
Your support is always appreciated and I would love to spread the word on our new book. Reviews are appreciated as well. Working together with another poet was fun and I could not have chosen anyone more compatible to collaborate with. You can also follow my poetry blog here
You can see Kirsten’s blog here, along with one of her sample poems from the book.
Here is one of my sample…
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March 29, 2014
Flirting with Disaster
I know it is late (or early, depending on where you live), but after a day of unending flashbacks, I have to tell you about how we nearly died last night.
My husband, the rocket scientist, is a humble man in many ways, gregarious, kind, and compassionate, but he has a flaw or two (or three, or four): 1) He can be auspiciously flamboyant, 2) He likes to be right, and 3) He turns sixty next month. You cannot softly tell him anything he does not want to hear, or you’ll be accused of yelling at him, even if you whisper.
“Dear, you are about to put salt in your coffee.”
“I know, stop yelling at me.”
He’s extremely sensitive.
You all know how horrible Orlando, Florida can be to drive in. With the traffic, tourists, and old people, you are lucky to make it home alive anytime you dare to go out.
Yesterday we spent a few hours at a car dealership. My husband drives a Mercedes SLK 32 AMG. It’s a sporty little two-seater hard top convertible. He’s been thinking about trading it in. Youth is wasted on the young. The only people driving these cars are 60 year old rocket scientists. This car has a lot of horsepower. God help us if he was twenty.
After a few hours at the dealership, which we were smart enough to walk out of without a new set of keys, we decided to go down the street and dine at a lovely little Greek restaurant. After a delicious meal of phyllo pastries stuffed with spinach and feta, dolmades, roast lamb with rich gravy over rice we got on the road to head home.
We’re traveling east on Highway 50, also known as Colonial. For those unfamiliar, this is a seven lane road that cuts across the center of Orlando west to east, parallel to the 408 toll road. It is also one of the busiest roads in three counties. We are approaching the 417 which connects to the 408.
I say to the rocket scientist, “I think you need to turn left before the bridge.”
“I want to go south on the 417, so I turn right,” he says from the far right lane.
“No,” I say as we near the bridge, “You’ll have to turn left. The on ramp does a 180, and then you’ll be headed south.”
“I don’t think so,” he says going even farther over to the right, across the white line. Now we are riding on the paved shoulder to the right of the white line, a hair’s breadth from the ditch. He has his right blinker on. He never slows the vehicle. We are in the fucking median between the road and death, and we are running out of road as we come to the overpass. The light turns red at the intersection ahead of us.
“Honey, you are NOT on the road, you are on the shoulder, there’s a sign twenty feet in front of us.” I say calmly, refusing to scream. “There is not a right turn onto the 417 before the overpass.”
Jerking the car back onto the road to avoid the oncoming sign, speeding under the overpass, he starts to turn right against “one way” signs into traffic that is stopped at the intersection preparing to go left from the off ramp of the 417 onto Colonial, suddenly realizes his mistake, veers left, blasts through the red light, cuts across seven lanes, including three lanes of oncoming traffic which he miraculously weaves through to do a U-Turn that has us going back west in the right lane.
I grabbed ahold to my stomach, doing all that I could to keep the dolmades down.
He says, “I think I go right up here after the bridge.”
“I think you’re right,” I say.
“There should have been a right turn onto the 417 going south.”
“You’re right. But there’s not.”
Filed under: Humor, The Grandmother Journal Tagged: disaster, near fatal accident, OLD MEN, rocket scientist, traffic, U-turn
