Kate Padilla's Blog, page 19

INDIE: OLIVER + JUMPY

OLIVER AND JUMPY, STORIES 34-36, BY WERNER STEJSKAL
Self-published, 31 pages.
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Follow Werner Stejskal on Twitter THE STORY Oliver and Jumpy are best friends and experience many adventures together in this extensive series. Oliver is a tuxedo cat, who is very self-assured. As a matter of fact, he says, "I love myself!" quite often. But his best friend, Jumpy, is aware that h...

DROWNING IN DESCRIPTION

Descriptions are like seasonings for food -- too much and too little both ruin the dish. And the same can be said of literature; the wrong amount of description (character, settings, etc.) can completely alienate your readers.

I finished Bill Bryson's The Road to Little Dribbling not that long ago. For an average-sized book, it was certainly a little bit of a slough to finish, but I did. And I was trying to think of the reason I had a tough time getting engaged in this one. Even in books I don...

3 RULES OF EPISODIC CHARACTERS

Recently, I started setting aside Fridays as a day to post new self- and indie-published books, as part of my effort to further promote authors who choose these methods of publishing. But I'm still dipping my feet into this, and consequently I don't have any books on my list that are coming out next week. So instead of just letting the Friday pass, I'm publishing another post. Another effort of this blog is to help authors in the writing and editing process create the best manuscript they can...

INDIE: THE BOSTON RANTER

THE BOSTON RANTER: SLANTED VIGNETTES FROM A NATIVE NEW YORKER, BY LAYDEN ROBINSON
Self-published, 80 pp.
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ABOUT THE BOSTON RANTER "This autobiographical novella was inspired by my life growing up outside of Boston. Comedic, dramatic and quite revealing; this latest title will truly show you while I...

ALTERNATE VOICES: VANYA FERREIRA

It may seem, sometimes, like self-publishing is "easier." There's no querying, no waiting for rejection letters and no requirement that you get an agent (which could mean more querying and rejection letters). And no, traditional publishing is not as bad as it seems. Every method of publishing has positives and negatives, it just depends on what you're looking for and which method works best for you. Self-publishing offers more control in the process (all of the control and responsibilities, i...

BOOKS RELEASED MAY 1-7

So, I have a confession to make: It takes almost no time at all to fill up my year for indie features. I post one per week, and within about three months of opening the gates (right around December for the next year) I fill up the whole year. But I didn't really like that I was having to turn down all of the other lovely authors and small presses that reach out wanting me to feature their book, so I'm trying to find other ways of incorporating them in this blog. So, you'll probably notice, I...

INDIE: BANISHED THREADS

BANISHED THREADS, BY KAYLIN MCFARREN
Self-published, March 2016. 258 pp.
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THE STORY After arriving in England on a much-deserved vacation, Rachel Lyons and Chase Cohen are quickly forced into become crime-stopping sleuths when a collection of priceless Morris Graves' paintings turns up missing at her unc...

CONFESSIONS OF AN UNRELIABLE NARRATOR

You know the type. You can probably picture a character in your mind just after reading the words "unreliable narrator" in the title of this post.

I recently finished Lisa Gardner'sFind Her, a revenge thriller that came out in the beginning of February. I haven't read any of Gardner's other books before, but I can see why she does so well just after reading this one.

As writers, we all look for ways to create that "voice," the character appeal that readers tend to remember for a very long time....

INDIE: THE RIOT

THE RIOT:A 1960s LOVE STORY, BY CHARLES ISAACS
Harper's Ferry Press, September 2015. 459 pp.
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Check outThe Rioton Goodreads THE STORY Two young lovers find each other just as the Vietnam War, the Antiwar Movement, and the Black Power Movement near their explosive peaks. Excitement, danger and heartache lie ahead.

It's September 1967. Steve Harris -- white, idealistic, naive -- begins his freshman year. During that year, he will fight to end the war, f...

ALTERNATE VOICES: ERIN RHEW

As promised, "Part 2" of the Rhew's publishing tour is here! It's so interesting reading other writers' journeys through the publishing process, but I found Deek and Erin's stories particularly fun because you get a little bit of a mirror-perspective look, even though their writing styles and genres are different. If you haven't read Deek's post yet, check it out here. Thanks to both of them for writing for Blondie Marie, and I encourage all of my lovely readers to check out their books! T...