Pratap Divyesh's Blog, page 17

DAVID JANSSEN~Our Conversations: Volumes One and Two

Michael Phelps crossed paths with David Janssen, star of The Fugitive TV series, when working security detail at a party Janssen was attending in Los Angeles.

Little did either anticipate that one conversation would be the beginning of a friendship which would span 15 years – up to the time of Janssen’s unexpected passing.

Michael Phelps, co-author of David Janssen – My Fugitive, written with Ellie Janssen (David Janssen’s first wife) was encouraged to write about his friendship with the star.

After giving it some thought, Phelps decided to make an attempt at providing Janssen’s fans with a glimpse into the heart and soul of David Janssen, the man he was when not in front of the camera’s eye.

Phelps re-visited hundreds of conversations he and Janssen shared about various subjects including his marriage to, and divorce from, Ellie Janssen; his relationship with Rosemary Forsyth; his thoughts about the people he held close to his heart; his alleged womanizing and drinking habits; his impressions of the various people he met in the acting business, from producers, directors and writers to the actors themselves; his courtship, marriage to (and planned divorce from) Dani Greco; his thoughts about certain roles and characters he played and a host of other subjects.

Alas! David Janssen – Our Conversations was born, an undertaking which would take in excess of four years to complete, a memoir in which Phelps shares many of the conversations he and David shared with the world but, especially, David Janssen’s fans.

This story is told in two volumes because of its length. Be sure to check out the second part of the story, David Janssen – Our Conversations: The Final Years.

AMAZON 

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Labor of Love : My alone times were spent writing, every emotion.

I remember well to this day how my writing journey has unfolded through the years. My alone times were spent writing, every emotion, my thoughts, my fears and what God was doing for me and with me. I didn’t clearly understand it, what my journey was about, what my purpose is in this life. Whether writing poetry, lyrics, testimonies, my own thoughts on life I found a way to speak with the Lord. The moment I opened the Bible again was a day like any other. I was truly saved by the grace of God that spring season of 2001. After my diagnoses with an anxiety disorder life were clearer I didn’t have to hide behind closed doors. Sharing my writing projects with best friends was the most carefree experience, it was them who encouraged me to full fill my writing dreams that were once just a dream. Every poem, every entry was a book in the making. I didn’t know where to even begin, it was an online friend who encouraged self-publishing. Soon after began the search for standard traditional publishers. For the next 5 years entered poetry submissions into poetry contests and would end up submitting an original rough draft of a somewhat manuscript, 4 rejections and 2 acceptances, however, weren’t cracked up to be publishers in the industry. I kept in the back of my mind my friend who had mentioned self-publishing, it clicked.

In 2011 found a way to connect and communicate with an audience via social media, it led me to Guy Kawasaki who wrote APE among 12 other very successful books. Low and behold found CreateSpace an independent online self-publishing site. The years of writing were about to pay off, it was then in March of 2013 when The Poetry Diaries was officially released. My labor of love was an actual book on the reading market, to nationwide readers of all ages. I’m truly grateful to find my niche in the writing world as an author, a mentor to others who have lost their way in life. 3 other books would follow in the 8 part series, and still in the process of completing the series in 2017. It was The Poetry Diaries my labor of love, it’s the first book that would make an impact, and a reminder of those earlier years, the days were long and sometimes most stressful, it was writing that got me through those days. That is never forgotten. If I can make a difference in one life, imagine what I can do with several. It’s not about being the best selling author making millions, it’s the purpose behind what you do. That is just me putting a smiling on someone’s face, giving them a sense of peace and content who opens any of the books. What an incredible sense of purpose in the world.

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Writing Romance and Living the Ex-Pat Life in Jamaica

I’m American, but live and work from Negril, Jamaica — at least for the next few years. It’s a life I never expected to have, didn’t plan for, but wouldn’t trade for anything.

I never planned on becoming a writer. It wasn’t a burning passion or a dream that I always coveted. I came to writing kind of by life circumstance; a twisty, windy road that got me to living and working from an island paradise. Following is my story.

My Journey to Becoming a Writer

I went to college in New York City (Hunter). I worked for a large legal publishing firm during college, and after. I was with the company for almost 10 years. I left and went into business with my sister. We owned/operated a boutique editorial staffing an outsource firm. We took on projects like copy editing, proofreading, word processing and coding (back then, SGML) from small and large firms like Random House and McGraw-Hill. We used freelancers to get the work done; and also sent temps on site for companies that needed it.

After the 9/11 attack, business was abysmal — it was true for a lot of businesses in my sector (editorial, media, publishing, advertising). Also, things changed in my personal life around this time, so in 2004, I closed up shop and left New York for Atlanta. That’s when I started freelancing full-time.

Starting to Freelance Full-Time

I’ve been a freelancer writer, editor, proofreader and copy editor since 1993. After closing up my business in New York though, I had no “company” behind me. It was just me. Things were tough for a few years, until I fell into writing SEO content for clients. This was in 2007. It changed the whole trajectory of my career in that I learned how to market online, which helped me achieve success first as a self-published author of non-fiction, how-to books (mostly on how to start a freelance writing career, online marketing, self-publishing and small business in general).

Self-Publishing: Hey, I Can Really Make a Living at This!

In 2010, I looked up and realized that over half my annual income that year had come from ebooks and seminars that I wrote, developed and taught. So I started to focus less on writing for clients, and more on my own projects.

Writing Romance

Enter 2013. That year, I wrote my first romance novel. I knew of a friend who had success in this genre, so I gave it a try. I didn’t have raving success right off the bat, but I saw the potential. And that’s when my career took yet another turn (I told ya mine was a windy road to writing for a living!).

I still write non-fiction books, but turned my focus to romance writing fully in 2014 because these types of books don’t require any updating, unlike a lot of my non-fiction titles. Once a book is done; it’s done and can sell for years.

Since I started writing romance almost full-time in 2014, I’ve churned out over 30 titles — some total bombs, and some pretty good successes. And that’s where I keep my focus — on the successes. You never know what’s going to resonate with readers, so I finish one, and just move on to the next one.

It’s how I’m able to make a living as a full-time writer — from Jamaica no less!

Living and Working from Jamaica

I visited for the first time in 2009. Due to some twists and turns in life, I needed a change — and for a host of reasons, Jamaica fit the bill; the low cost of living and a more relaxed lifestyle are two of the biggest benefits.

I visited many times between 2009 and 2014, when I made the move permanent — at least for the next few years.

Because I have a mobile career, I’m able to live and work from anywhere there’s an internet connection. And that’s what I love about being a writer.

Why write romance? Part of it is a strictly business decision. It’s the widest selling genre of fiction by far. If you can craft a decent story and cultivate a loyal audience, it’s not terribly difficult to make a living as a full-time writer in this niche (you do have to be prolific though; this is extremely important).

The other part is love — what could be better than writing about love, especially when you can do it with a 270-degree view of the ocean (which I have from my apartment here in Negril).

And that’s my story of becoming a writer. I hope it’s inspired you on some level to pursue your dreams — whatever they are.

My latest novella is “Destined for Thee: A Multicultural Romance.”

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Indie Publishing versus Self-publishing

The terms “Independent publishers” and “indie publishers” were until recently associated with small presses, to identify them as separate from larger, traditional book publishers. Over time, authors who wanted to maintain complete creative control over their books began to create their own small presses, which really only involves starting a business and little else. Being a small press or an independent book publisher does not mean having a printing press in your basement! The rising popularity and ease of access to print-on-demand (POD) through IngramSpark and CreateSpace has served to increase the number of indie publishers.

As authors moved towards circumventing traditional publishers or small presses who required that a book be accepted in order to be published in return for payment (one hopes), we saw the advent of vanity presses and assorted publishing opportunists. These companies masquerade as traditional publishers by having authors go through an elaborate process to make them think or at least feel as if they are being accepted to be published. Typically the author pays to have the book published or sacrifices an inordinate percentage of their royalties for the privilege.

Where the company’s profit comes from can be your first clue into what sort of company you are dealing with. As Judith Briles said in a 2014 article on the topic of self-publishing versus indie publishers (http://authoru.org/dont-confuse-independent-publishing-with-self-publishing.html):

“Small presses make their profits by selling books to consumers, rather than selling services to authors or selling a small number of copies to the author’s friends.”

A clarification is needed here: Companies such as 1106 Design sell services to authors, but we don’t pretend to publish the book, nor do we lay claim to any percentage of the royalties! Once we have completed the services for which the author has hired us, the author has complete ownership of their book, their files, their imprint and their royalties.

With the term “indie publisher” being used more and more to describe an author who has started their own publishing company, what has happened to the “traditional publisher?” Nowadays, a traditional publisher means any publisher—big or small—that agrees to publish a book on behalf of an author and to pay the costs for doing so.

More recently, yet another new term has emerged: indie author. What is an indie author?

Like an indie publisher, the indie author maintains complete creative control over his or her book. The two terms are being used interchangeably, and perhaps being an “indie author” sounds less scary and confusing than being an “indie publisher.” One definition I read at http://www.steenaholmes.com/whats-an-indie-author/ said that an indie author is an author who has self-published at least one book—and I suppose that means self-publishing by any means available.

I’d like to propose a slightly different definition of both indie author and indie publisher. The real definition lies somewhere in between, and it’s not just semantics.

An indie author is an author who maintains complete creative control by self-publishing his or her book through companies such as CreateSpace or Book Baby, both of whom offer editing, proofreading services-for-hire, along with cover and page design services or do-it-yourself templates. The indie author uses one of the company’s ISBNs and therefore is not the publisher of record. (A note is warranted here: CreateSpace allows authors to either use their own OR one of CreateSpace’s ISBNs. It behooves an author to understand the ramifications. (Learn more about where to purchase your ISBNs at http://1106design.com/2016/04/isbns-lccns-and-copyright-oh-my/) The company never releases the design files to the author (only the PDF, maybe), and will happily hold the indie author hostage for more money should changes ever be required to those files.

An indie author may self-publish his or her book as a hobby, or may have the notion that they will make money as an author. Either way, the indie author will attempt to self-publish by the cheapest, fastest and least painful route possible. An indie author does not take the time to learn how to maximize royalties, compare service options, or do the research necessary to ensure the book has the best chances out there in a ferocious marketplace. An indie author will most likely set an arbitrary budget based on “this is all I can afford,” and then find the editing and book design options that fall within that budget, even if the result is a terrible book. In short, the indie author does not treat the book as a business, and wrongly believes that the market will accept and reward a shoddy book. Yes, the indie author maintains creative control, but over what exactly?

An indie publisher, on the other hand, is someone who treats the book publishing project as a serious business and not just a hobby. The author is the CEO of his or her indie publishing company, with the book as the product. The author, or indie publisher, does the research into the book market and the genre in which the book will compete, setting the book up to compete successfully in the marketplace. Indie publishers know their name is their brand, and they want their name associated with a quality product. They know that consumers will not accept shoddy product design.

The indie publisher researches service options, creates a budget, and knows that CreateSpace and IngramSpark are the only legitimate ways to print on demand and thus are the only routes to wide book distribution despite the claims of other self-publishing companies. Indie publishers know that by setting up their own titles and files with either of these two companies, they will maximize their per book revenues. The indie publisher asks, “What are my options, which option achieves my desired outcome, and how much does that option cost?” Budget constraints are a reality for indie publishers as well, but rather than releasing a bad book, the indie publisher may shelve the book project until sufficient money is raised.

Which category do you fit in? Either is completely legitimate, and yes, some indie authors hit upon the right combination of fabulous writing, great design and savvy book marketing and make it to the big leagues. These authors are few and far between, something like pinning your retirement hopes on your sporty and talented young son or daughter making it to the majors one day. If, as an author, your intent is to create a book that will help you build towards a franchise of books from which you could one day make a living, or to create a book that takes your career to new heights or is a marketing tool for your business, then think about becoming an indie publisher and not an indie author.

Companies such as 1106 Design appeal to authors who run their publishing enterprise like the business it is. For more information on our services, contact me at http://1106design.com/. Consultations are always free.

Contributed as Guest post by Michele DeFilippo

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Loving Nick

Nicolo Vitale’s wedding to Karen Dombrowski quickly turns into divorce when he deploys to Vietnam, and she travels around Europe on business and has a one night fling with a Scotsman. She flees the marriage like a sinner out of church when she realizes she is pregnant and never tells either man about the child. Fearful, ashamed, guilty, embarrassed and invincible, she makes a life for the child and herself with the help of her parents away from both men for five years until she, by chance, meets Nick again. Will overcoming the past be enough to bring these two back together?

Amazon

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Scene of the Crime

A calculating cold-blooded predator closes in…

When a community has barely recovered from a ruthless serial killer six months earlier; now two more horrifying murders hit the radar again. It leaves police burdened with two of the most shockingly contaminated crime scenes ever documented in California’s law enforcement history. The Slayer works behind the scenes as a sinister puppet master, precisely pulling the strings, taunting the police without leaving any viable evidence, and orchestrating his killer hit squads.

The sheriff and district attorney bring in the best investigators. Reunited again, Dr. Chip Palmer, a reclusive forensic expert, joins DA Inspector Kate Rawlins to sort through the crime scene aftermath in search of the truth—all without a probable suspect or a solid motive. Complicating the investigation—sparks reignite between the two.

Ratcheting up the suspense, Chip suffers a nasty fall hitting his head, impairing his perception and giving him a mind-blowing ability for specific detailed recall. Palmer and Rawlins assemble an unusual team including a rookie detective, a forensic supervisor, and an ex-military operative turned bodyguard. After one of their own is kidnapped and the investigation is taken over by the FBI, the now rogue team must pull together their own resources—alone—with a killer waiting to take each one of them out. Scene of the Crime takes no prisoners and leaves everyone fighting to stay alive.

SCENE of the CRIME is a stand-alone novel and the second book in the Chip Palmer Forensic Mystery Series, following the Silver Award Winner from Readers’ Favorite, BODY of the CRIME.

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Let Your Characters Write Your Story

While writing a good story, let’s face it: we want to control where our manuscript is going. When I write, I don’t let that happen. Instead, I let the characters decide what they’ll do, who they meet, what they say, and what they think. My characters write their own story. They have a personality and guide me, as opposed to me guiding them. I have written many character-driven works from different perspectives. The characters interact with each other and make it very easy to develop a good story. That may sound daunting at first, but think: if we put ourselves in the character’s shoes it will be easy to take the story’s journey together, both creator and creations.

We tend to reach points while writing where we run into a wall. Many people develop writer’s block. I, on the other hand, do not. I become my character’s and they become me. For the time being, I am the master of my created world. The character’s do not draw on me, but I draw on them. They are my children, and with my trust, they go to higher places, elevating the personal messages and writing styles behind my heart-warming stories. I have written successfully in both male and female first perspectives on novels based on my ability to become one with the character.

Stories matter, everyone has one, and as writers and content creators we must put our all into the story. Our characters are the ones that must experience what we write, and we should walk along side the characters we have created. When we can think like them, we can put on their skin, and live their passionate lives. I recommend that all writers try this technique at least once. If you like it, then use it all the time, and never stop writing. Our characters matter to everyone, including all our readers and fans. How thrilling would it be if our readers could imagine the characters we make having a little piece of us inside of them? Our characters can satisfy others as well as us. Become your character and they will become you, adding their raw intensity into your experience you go through when you are making the story. This is our story, and our characters deserve everything, as they are courageous enough to go on your quest with you. Live life through your characters’ eyes today. It is the most exciting and exhilarating ride you can ever live through as a writer, and the good part is that you can do it over and over again in countless ways.

Contributed as Guest post by Bryan Varner

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Corrupted Innocence

A fictional story with RIVETING TWISTS. After being brutally raped by her father’s friend—a crowd-pleasing political figure in Gippsland Victoria— eighteen-year old Saylor flees from her hometown without a clue where she is going. Once she settles into a new world, life falls into place. She finally has real friends, and her dream of becoming a successful artist is within her reach. Just when life could not be any better, she discovers a tragic family secret. When she delves deeper into the past, she not only comes face to face with the truth, she realises that enemies are out to destroy her. Will Saylor find the strength to triumph over tragedy?

Amazon Goodreads

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Backyard Volcano and Other Mysteries of the Heart

These stories help define the world of the Texas-Mexico Frontier–an explosive world where lives break, loves shatter, and healing happens. Kathryn Lane, a native of Mexico, explores this world, leading readers on a journey through time and geography with the promise of magic and transformation.

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Other Fine Gifts by Jeffrey N. Johnson

A dynamic collection of stories from the winner of the 2011 Andrew Lytle Fiction Prize. Caught in a chaotic spiral of loss and memory, the characters in Other Fine Gifts often seek solace in their origin. From a man who has lost his home to foreclosure, to another confronting his xenophobia, to a boy in search of God in the stones of Rome, each is in need of enlightenment and redemption. Despite their limited visions and tragic losses, their struggle for memory never impedes their sense of hope.

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