Michael Stephen Daigle's Blog, page 11

The speakers and attendees at the conferences – the Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group’s The Write Stuff, and the 12th Annual Liberty States Fiction Writers Conference – offered insights into their thought and creative processes in addition to publishing and marketing tips.

Taken as a whole, all this discuss is the literary equivalent of inside baseball, that is, details so specific to craft that they might elude the regular person.

It’s like we writers are sitting in the bullpen during a game discussing how to best throw a curveball at the end of the game when it matters.

At one conference I made a reference to an odd, archly academic review of one of the early Frank Nagler Mysteries, and as I do, I made half a statement.

The reviewer was so concerned that the story was told from the traditional single protagonist point of view that limited the views of other characters, or something like that, they actually said nothing about the story itself.

The rest of my statement would be this: Fiction is entertainment no matter how serious the subject. The goal is to engage the reader with a story so that all the techniques that have been discussed and analyzed are so seamlessly woven into the telling of the story the reader’s reaction would be: I read it in one setting, or over the weekend, I was moved to tears, moved to anger; was enthralled, enraptured. When’s the next one coming out; so deeply hidden are the techniques — the nuts and bolts of the story – that the reader only sees the smooth finish.

Our best defense against such detached reviews (I know, don’t read reviews) is to write great stories. In other words to be the pitcher at the end of the game who throws a curve ball that breaks downward three feet leaving the hitter helplessly flailing away.

And that’s hard.

But as manager Jimmy Dugan said in the film “A League Of Their Own, the terrific story of the World War II era women’s baseball league, “It’s supposed to be hard. If it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it. The hard… is what makes it great.”

So, here’s to the hard and the great.

Dragony: Amazon.com: Dragony Rising: A Frank Nagler Novel – Book 5: 9781944653231: Daigle, Michael Stephen: Books

Dragony Rising: A Frank Nagler Novel – Book 5 by Michael Stephen Daigle, Paperback | Barnes & Noble® (barnesandnoble.com)

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Published on April 03, 2023 13:52

If you could have something named after you, what would i...

If you could have something named after you, what would it be?

A broken type writer…a memorial to my fear some typng skill

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Published on April 02, 2023 12:36

What’s something most people don’t understand?That being ...

What’s something most people don’t understand?

That being a good person matters more than being smart….either that or analytic geometry

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Published on March 30, 2023 07:26

Event: Liberty State Fiction Writers Conference, April 1

I am thrilled to be attending my first Liberty States Fiction Writers Conference and Book Fair on Saturday, April 1.

The event is at the Hilton Garden Inn in Hamilton, N.J.

The book fair is from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.

Please stop by and visit with a room full of terrific writers.

I’ll be discussing and signing my award-winning Jersey-based Frank Nagler Mystery series.

A review: “The author is an exceptional writer – inventive with words, fresh with his storyline, and in presenting a variety of characters to love and hate.
I find myself bored easily with most of the new books erupting daily, but Michael Stephen Daigle knows what he is doing and is up to the task. His stories capture me, entertain and challenge me, and leave me wanting just one more of his books each time I finish one.”

The Frank Nagler mystery series:

“The Swamps of Jersey,” “A Game Called Dead,” “The Weight of Living,” “The Red Hand,” and “Dragony Rising.”

“One of modern fiction’s expertly drawn detectives:” Kirkus Reviews

“A Game Called Dead” was named a Runner-Up in the Shelf Unbound 2016 Best Indie Book contest.

“The Weight of Living” was awarded First Place for mysteries in the 2017 Royal Dragonfly Book Award contest;

Named A Notable 100 Book, Shelf Unbound 2018 Indie Book Awards;

Named a Distinguished Favorite, 2018 Independent Press Awards.

Named a Distinguished Favorite in the 2018 Big NYC Book Contest.

Named a Finalist in the 2019 Book Excellence Awards.

Named A Gold Star Award winner in the 2020 Elite Choice Book Awards

Named a Book Award Winner in 2021 by Maincraft Media Fiction Book Awards

“The Red Hand” was named a Distinguished Favorite in the 2019 Big NYC Book Contest

Named Second Place winner for mysteries in the 2019 Royal Dragonfly Book Awards

Named a Notable 100 Book in the 2019 Shelf Unbound Indie Book Awards

Named a Distinguished Favorite in the 2020 Independent Press Awards

A Nominee in the 2020 TopShelf Book Awards

Named A Gold Star Award winner in the 2020 Elite Choice Book Awards

Dragony Rising was awarded First Place for mysteries in the 2022 Royal Dragonyfly Book Awards; named a Notable 100 Indie Book in the 2022 Shelf Unbound Indie Book Awards; A Distingished Favorite in the 2023 Independent Press Awards.

I also will be attending the 8th Annual “A Day of Wine and Romance” on April 29 and 30.

The event is free and runs from noon to 4 p.m. each day at the Brook Hollow Winery, 594 Route 94, Columbia, N.J.

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Published on March 29, 2023 09:03