A writer's journey...

Hardback, paperback or e-book?  Which do you chose? Years ago if you asked a group of people which format they preferred, most would fire back with how they love to hold a book in their hands, turn the pages, sniff the binding glue (okay, maybe that was just me).  But these days people love their e-readers! In fact this is where the future for publishing is headed.  Bookstores are closing or downsizing.  Look at Barnes & Noble.  Would you ever have seen that happening years back?  Even libraries are getting in on the new wave of e-books by allowing customers to sign these out. For Kindle alone, they predict sales of 8 million units for this year! ( See article ) So why are e-books so popular?

Have a minute?  Watch the trailer for ELEVEN and have 11 seconds leftover! In approximately 77 days  (less, see sidebar for countdown) my FBI thriller ELEVEN will be released. Are you ready for it?  Here's the blurb. Eleven Rooms. Ten Bodies. One Empty Grave. Brandon Fisher never expected this when he signed up as a Special Agent for the FBI. Working in the shadow of  Supervisory  Special Agent Jack Harper of the Behavioral  Analysis  Unit his career seemed set. But when the team is called to a small rural town where the remains of ten victims are found in an underground bunker, buried in an unusual way, Brandon knows he'll never return to his normal life. With one empty grave, and the case touching close to home, he fears he's become the target of a psychotic serial killer who wants to make him number eleven. Only thing is, everything Brandon thinks he knows is far from the truth. ~~ ELEVEN is coming 11.11.11

Most mothers want to see their daughters grow up, get married and raise a family.  At least mine did, but I didn’t necessary have it all planned out that way.  Sure I wanted to fall in love and have a man who worshipped me – what girl doesn’t.  But then I grew up. I got my heart broken a few times along the way and at one point even decided I didn’t care if I ever found a husband.  That was until I met “the one”. He was handsome, but more importantly he made me laugh.  He listened to me when I spoke.  He was crazy about me.  So when he asked me to marry him, I said yes. It rained on our wedding day.  They say it does when a marriage will last forever, and so far the old wives’ tale has held true.    For the first few years our mothers asked when they’d be seeing a grandchild – a question we laughed off.  You see hubby and I didn’t really want to have kids, and it’s not because we’re selfish or irresponsible, it’s just our pers...

What is a "Tweetup" you ask?   It's an opportunity to connect with the people you do online, in person.  And last night I went to my first one.  Honestly I was nervous heading in but any anxiousness was quickly put to rest by the smiles and greetings of new friends.  And now I look forward to another one. You'll find a wide assortment of backgrounds in the people who attend.  There are writers, bloggers, readers, book reviewers and marketing people to name a few.  Everyone is welcome and the conversations are stimulating and engaging.  It's an opportunity to make true, lasting connections. Last night was arranged by #140confONT.  Who are they?  First of all it's hash tag on Twitter, but what it represents is far greater. I'll let the #140confONT Facebook page say it all: "#140conf exposes you to the power the Internet has to disrupt businesses, change lives and create serendipity. You will leave with a fresh outlook on how the re...

Howard Hopkins is a Maine writer of horror, westerns, comic books, graphic novels, children's horror and pulp. Tell us 5 Random Things about you the person, not the author 1) I still read comic books every week. 2) I love whoopie pies. 3) I collect superhero busts and glasses. 4) I play mandolin. 5) I think I saw a ghost.

Have you ever found yourself sucked into the middle of story?  I'm not talking about the current book you're reading or the one you're working on.  I'm talking about in real life.  You know when you see a person picking through the garbage and you wonder how they got there, or when you observe two women hugging in a mall with tears and laughter and imagine them good friends or sisters being reunited after being apart for a long time. Personally I love it when situations in real life stir my imagination.  It's a live writing exercise.  If you haven't allowed yourself to become pulled into a story, open yourself up to them because they're all around you.  As soon as you start asking, what if , how did they get here, you're well on your way.  Even if you never use the characters or situations in your writing directly you might be surprised to find the underlying observations you make just might.  Either way a writer can never go wrong with fueling t...

Hey everyone!  I had wanted to get this post up yesterday, but life got in the way...Anyway, I am honored to be a guest on Misha 's blog where I discuss Inspiration.  Come over and let us know what inspires you.  And if you're not feeling very inspired lately hopefully a few suggestions will help lift you up. Monday will see a new post on this blog - "Let Yourself Become Immersed in a Story".  It's a post meant to further inspire by helping us think about situations we see around us on a daily basis.  It's to help us tap into our creativity. And on another note, I've been kindly doubly-awarded the Liebster blog award by two terrific women - Jennifer and Tara Tyler .  Thank you to both of you! :) Along with the award comes the privilege of acknowledging more blogs that have inspired and entertained. It's designed to bring attention to up and coming blogs with less than 200 followers. The rules are simple. 1) Thank the person who gave you...

As you may know I published the first in my Madison Knight mystery series TIES THAT BIND toward the end of May this year.  The feedback has been terrific.  Here's a look at some reviews: "Reminds me of JD Robb's In Death series." - Amazon "The writing is tremendous and the character, Madison Knight, is great." - Amazon   " I found myself drawn in very quickly and couldn't wait to find out what happens next. I was impressed with the character and relationship building. Ties That Bind was easy-flowing, realistic and even humourous." - Amazon " The plot moves right along with all the vagaries of life one would expect of the genre, building to an inevitable conclusion that will satisfy." - Amazon   " This is a great read for those who enjoy detective novels and chronological play-out, oh, and the excellent twists of skilled writers." - Amazon " I just finished the book and want to thank you for it!  Totally enjoyable, wha...

Cassie stepped through the door to the garage with her father following behind.  She only wanted one thing that summer.  She wondered if her father had been listening. Her eyes widened when she saw it only feet away.  She closed the distance with a run.  “A bike!”  She let the handlebar streamers filter through her fingers.  They were her favorite color too, pink and purple.  They matched her bike.  Her hands traced from the bars to the seat to the back wheel.  She would ride it all summer. “Do you like it?”  Her father stepped closer. “I love-”  Her hands stopped moving when she noticed the back tire.  It didn’t look like her older sister’s bike.  She cast a glance to the side of the garage where Tiff’s bike was leaned against the wall.  “What are those?”  Cassie pointed back to her bike and the two small wheels coming off either side. “They are called training wheels.  Those are to help you keep your b...

Marion Sipe is a writer, poet and artist. Homeschooled, she spent her youth flitting around the country and writing it all down. Her fiction has been published in Alienskin Magazine, Alternatives, and the Flash! anthology. She currently resides in Austin, Texas with her vicious guard cats and handsome prince. Tell us 5 Random Things about you the person, not the author: 

First of all I want to thank all that follow this blog and/or subscribe by email.  I also thank those of you who have purchased " Ties That Bind " or have plans of doing so.  I hope you enjoy it! The purpose of this post is just to give you a few updates on the direction of this blog.  If you've been following me for a while you might be used to frequent posts - anywhere from 17 to 27 a month.  That's a lot of reading, and I can't expect that you've be able to keep up on all of it.  There are a lot of other fabulous blogs out there and endless novels to read. I've read some advice recently - simplify.  And I'm going to follow this advice.  I promise to bring you one post a week moving forward.  It may be on any topic from encouragement/motivational, the writing craft or forensics.  I will continue to run The Independent Voice  (based on participants) and bring you guests the first Wednesday of every month. I hope that I can continu...

Jennifer Gracen is a women's fiction/contemporary romance writer.   I met her on Twitter and have found her to be a terrific encouragement.  Today she's sharing what her experience has been with writer's conferences.  Are you thinking about attending a writer's conference, but not quite sure?  Read on, and maybe she can help make your mind up. So Jennifer, tell us about yourself. I grew up torn between two great loves: books and music. Most of my younger years I was unable to choose whether to be a writer or a singer. After spending my youth writing in private and singing in public, I now only sing in my car and have fully embraced my lifelong passion for writing. Born and raised on Long Island, New York, I live there currently with my husband and two young sons. I worked as a copy editor before choosing to stay home full time to raise my children. When I'm not taking care of the family, reading, or feeding my addiction to Twitter, I'm writing. Writing in m...