PM Pillon on Google Being a Writer's Friend, Research & Writing @KirstenWrite #AmWriting #SciFi

It’s hard to imagine a writer who is disinterested in being perceived as credible, and faux pas that are easily avoided is one way to lose credibility.

And it’s not just research about what kind of pavement or trees would be found in a Thai village that your protagonist visits, but also diligence with vocabulary and spelling, I just read an excerpt for instance, that ended with “had drank” instead of the correct “had drunk”. This kind of writer needs to buckle down and find an editor to correct such errors that wouldn’t likely be revealed by Microsoft or another word processor.

As the saying goes, “The Google is your friend” with which you can learn about even foreign ambiances with very specific keyword usage. But it won’t replace an editor for a writer who isn’t uncertain about “had drank” and therefore doesn’t search the phrase athttp://www.google.com/#q=had+drunk to find out that it’s incorrect.

Using the best keywords is crucial to fast and effective research. No doubt you have Googled something like “current German technology” and started reading a story only to discover it was published a decade ago – which for that topic may as well be the 19th century – and then had to go back to The Google and add the current year to the search.

Taking the above Thailand example for instance, even if you have been there you may not remember crucial details you might need to know, such as the type of architecture and the type of people you might encounter on the streets at different hours of the day; and where there are different activities are such as red light districts and temples. All of this can be found by reading travel blogs and comments, and even though it might require a lot of time, it’s worth it if you value precision in your writing. For instance, if you write about a particular season in England or Europe but have never been there, it’s worthwhile to research and find out that both places can have very drab summers except in the South, unlike the U.S. which is warm or hot in almost everywhere between June and September.

His celestial companion was waiting for him

Precariously climbing a sea-side cliff near Big Sur, ten-year-old Joey Blake was as yet unaware that near his grasp was an object, so odd, mysterious and alien to earth that it would change his life forever and the lives of countless others in the next few astonishing days. Reaching up as far as he could for a handhold it was just there; it had subconsciously lured him, occupied his mind, and made him find it. It was like he was meant to see and discover this object of unimaginable power … the power to change reality.

Time travel and more

This young adult series of sci-fi fantasy novels begins with The Reality Master and continues through four other exciting and amazing stories about time travel and mysterious alien devices. Joey and the reader will face dangerous shadowy criminal organizations, agents of the NSA, bizarre travelers from other times and even renegade California bikers and scar-faced walking dead.

- Vol 1 The Reality Master
- Vol 2 Threat To The World
- Vol 3 Travel Beyond
- Vol 4 Missions Through Time
- Vol 5 The Return Home

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – Science fiction, Fantasy, Young adult

Rating – G

More details about the author

Connect with PM Pillon on Facebook & Twitter

Claudette Melanson on Family, Strength & Weakness @Bella623 #YA #Paranormal #Romance

Tell us a bit about your family.

I live with my husband and four bun-babies.  Our rabbits dominate our lives and are like children to us. We have a female lop named Beckett and a male from the same mother, Butters.  Our two big babies are a mischievous girl named Pepper and the sweetest boy in the world, Tegan.  My husband is my best friend and is a rockstar; he plays in a cover band called Ear Candy. They play big venues like Fan Fridays and Canada Day before Blue Jays’ games and Blue Mountain Ski Resort.  I’m also very close to my sister—and her three beautiful daughters—and my son, who live about 10 hours away.  It’s very hard to be away from them, but I try to get home as much as I can.  We went to the Bahamas with my son, Jake, last year and it was the best trip of our lives!

How do you work through self-doubts and fear?

I am a big believer in that old adage—Nothing ventured, nothing gained.  I had to completely leave my life behind when I moved from British Columbia to Ontario to be with my husband and it was a leap of faith. The reward was worth the risk, as far as he was concerned, tenfold. I’ve pretty much lived my whole life this way and it turns out positive 99% of the time.  Without risk there is no reward, without darkness, no light.  I’m lucky though, because I have a talent for tuning out what others think and believing in myself.  I have a very positive voice inside my head and it’s gotten me through some pretty tough situations.

What scares you the most?

Losing the ones I love. We lost a bunny we’d had for seven years, a little over a year ago, and it still cuts deep.  Your life is built around those you love, and when they disappear your life will be missing that vital part forever.  You will never be the same again.

What makes you happiest?

My family.  Playing with and petting the bun babies.  Vacations with my son.  Talking with my sister into the wee hours.  Horror movies!  Seeking out and cooking healthy recipes.  Just hanging out anywhere with my husband. Oh….and writing!

What’s your greatest character strength?

I’m hoping it’s my kindness.  I love that quote ‘Be kind, because everyone is fighting some kind of battle.’  It’s so true.  We have no idea what that person in front of us is dealing with.  I try to smile and say hello to everyone around me. I also do a lot of baking for others.  I was born in the Southern states and love to feed people!  We have rescued five rabbits and are big Rabbit Rescue advocates, too.

What’s your weakest character trait?

I’m going to say impatience.  I always want things to happen right away, even though I know the best things happen in their own time.  I know I need to slow down more and enjoy the experience instead of just wishing to jump to the end result.

Why do you write?

I have no control over this. I’ve had a writer’s voice in my head since before I can remember.  I used to ride in the car with my mom and write the scenery around me, automatically, in my head.  I also have very vivid dreams about creatures or characters I don’t know or have never read about. I think I was just born with a writing brain.  Also, I write because I suck at science and math!

CHOSEN AS ONE OF 400 FOR THE SECOND ROUND OF THE AMAZON BREAKTHROUGH NOVEL AWARD FOR 2014!!!

ARE YOU A FAN OF VAMPIRE ROMANCE?

Rising Tide will sink it's teeth into you, keeping you awake into the wee hours of the night

Maura's life just can't get any worse...or can it?

Isolated and sheltered by her lonely mother, Maura's never been the best at making friends. Unusually pale with a disease-like aversion to the sun, she seems to drive her classmates away, but why?

Even her own father deserted her, and her mother, before Maura was born. Bizarre physical changes her mother seems hell bent on ignoring, drive Maura to fear for her own life. And her luck just seems to get worse.

Life is about to become even more bewildering when her mother's abrupt...and unexplained...decision to move a country away sets off a chain of events that will change Maura forever. A cruel prank turned deadly, the discovery of love and friendship....and its loss, as well as a web of her own mother's lies, become obstacles in Maura's desperate search for a truth she was never prepared to uncover.

Featured on one of the most popular health blogs on the internet as a giveaway!

Be sure to check out the blog on Maria Mind Body Health to win a free copy today! Go to Mariamindbodyhealth.com and check out the blog Chicken “Wild Rice” Soup for your chance to win!

Offered as a giveaway on Goodreads!

Head over to Goodreads for a chance to score a free copy today!

Featured on Litpick.com

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Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – YA Paranormal Romance

Rating – PG

More details about the author

Connect with Claudette Melanson on Facebook & Twitter

Website http://claudettemelanson.wix.com/author

@JR_Tague on Writing As Personal Therapy #AmWriting #WriteTip #YA

I’m a bit of a control freak. I like it when things are organized and orderly and make sense. But, as you know, those things don’t really jive too well with the real world. We don’t always get to have what we want. Things don’t always happen for a reason. And, as Schmendrick the Magician points out in Peter Beagle’s The Last Unicorn, “There are no happy endings, because nothing ends.”

Except that’s not entirely true. Novels end. Sure, the story continues. But that’s off-screen. The main plot of the novel is concluded. Characters learn their lessons, or don’t. Readers are left with a sense of satisfaction, of completion.

A novel is like a terrarium. It’s a miniature world in which we can observe life on a smaller scale. Most of the time our own lives aren’t so organized. It’s hard to know the point to our lives, because usually, there are multiple points. And those change.

Novels, on the other hand, get to be focused. They can zero in on a central theme and follow it to an inevitable conclusion. In a way, we get to live vicariously through the characters. Their lives get to have meanings that are easier to figure out.

Writers get to be the gods of those worlds. We get to have control over them in a way we never can in the real world. If used properly, that can be extremely therapeutic. Think about it: we have a built-in universe in which to test out and explore our own ideas and issues. Our characters can act out various scenarios and we get see what the reactions will be before we have to commit to them in our own lives.

I don’t think most of us do this consciously. But the issues we’re grappling with often work their way into our stories. And sometimes that’s enough distance for us to recognize the possible solutions. Therapy is all about helping someone figure out the answers to their own questions. Through writing we get the release of airing our issues, the commiseration/camaraderie of relating to others (even fictional others) with similar issues, and the relief of knowing they can be solved.

Max McKay gets a second chance at life when, after a bizarre accident on his sixteenth birthday, he is reanimated as a new breed of thinking, feeling zombie. To secure a spot for his eternal soul, Max must use his video game prowess as well as the guidance of Steve the Death God to make friends and grow up. 

As if all that weren’t hard enough, Max discovers that he’s not the only zombie in town. As he enlists the help of his new friends, Adam and Penny, to solve the mystery of their un-dead classmate, Max discovers that he must level up his life experience in order to survive the trials and terrors of the upcoming zombie apocalypse. And, even worse, high school.

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – YA

Rating – PG

More details about the author

Connect with J R Tague on Facebook & Twitter

Website http://jrtague.wordpress.com/

@EileenMakysm Shares Her Thoughts on Book Covers #AmReading #YA #Paranormal

I was browsing Amazon’s selection of free books for Kindle the other day, and it occurred to me that I wasn’t looking at titles, or authors; I was looking at covers.  If a cover caught my eye – had an compelling image, interesting (and visible!) fonts, and aesthetically pleasing colors – then I might spend the split second it takes to read the title or author, and might be interested enough to read the blurb.  If the cover didn’t spark that interest, though, I just moved on.  There are tons of free books on Amazon, after all.  I don’t have time to read the blurbs on all of them.  A book with a bad or boring cover?  I don’t waste my time.  And these are free books!  Imagine how much less patience I’d have if I was looking for books to spend my money on!

This demonstrates exactly how important a book cover is.  There’s a quote from a character in Pulp Fiction(paraphrased, since, like the rest of the movie, it’s gloriously profanity-laced) that a rat might taste like pumpkin pie, but he’ll never know because he’ll never put the thing in his mouth. A bad cover might contain a potential Pulitzer Prize winner, but no one is going to take the time to find out more about it, much less buy it.

Of course, the problem isn’t just bad covers, it’s also bland covers.  There’s a ridiculous number of books out there (every time I walk into a book store I spend a moment just looking around in despair – I will never read all those books, and my own book is a drop in a vast ocean).  Why should anybody give yours the time of day?  Of course, the cover is hardly the be-all end-all of marketing.  Even so, the more compelling the cover is, the more likely people are to buy the book.

So, what makes a good cover?  I mentioned before that a good cover has a compelling image, interesting and visible fonts, and aesthetically pleasing colors.  Almost all of the bad covers I’ve seen fail in one or more of these categories.  They have a boring, confusing, or even off-putting image (a romance novel with a scantily-clad woman in an awkward pose photoshopped badly over a city skyline isn’t doing itself any favors).  They have fonts that are too plain, or, conversely, ridiculously and illegibly ornate.  The fonts may also be too small, or the colors might make them vanish into the background.  Or the cover’s colors might be truly horrible, or clash so badly that you want to take them to court for assaulting your eyes.

But all that is what makes a bad cover.  A cover can avoid those pitfalls, but still be bland.  So what makes a cover that will snag readers and make them look at a blurb?  That’s a little harder to know, and it relies a lot on personal taste.  Looking at the covers of the free Kindle books, one of the main things that catches my eye is simplicity.  A cover that has a bunch going on takes more than a second to parse, and more often than not I’m just going to skip it.  A romance novel that has a bunch of people on it…no.  One couple…better.  A close-up of a well-muscled chest?  Oh yes, let me see what that one’s about!

Try it sometime!  Go to Amazon, search “free books on Kindle” and scan the covers.  Which books do you decide to learn more about?  Ten to one, they’ll be the ones with the covers that “pop.”

Tara Martin – exceptionally accomplished neurobiology major with a troubled past. Steven Trent – confident political science major with an irresistible attraction to Tara. Paul Stratton – history major who is able to hear spirits. Together, they make up the Society for Paranormal Researchers at their prestigious New England University. When they’re not in class or writing papers, the three friends are chasing their passion….ghosts.

When the group learns of a local retired couple trying to sell a house they claim is haunted, they decide to investigate. As the clues unfold, a familiar spirit interrupts their investigation and Tara finds her life in danger. Can her friends save her before it’s too late?

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – YA paranormal, NA paranormal

Rating – PG-13

More details about the author

Connect with Eileen Maksym on Facebook & Twitter

Website http://eileenmaksym.wordpress.com/

Steps Into Darkness (Shakertown #Adventure) by @BensWoodard #YA #Mystery

The unknown figure’s back was to them as he connected the wires to the detonator. Will shoved Tom. Only minutes remained.

They located the last connection point where the blasting caps were wired to two sticks of dynamite. The wires to the plunger snaked up the hill. The connecting strands were twisted, tightly, as with pliers. Tom snatched a rock, but Will grabbed his hand and pointed up the hill. Tom understood. The man would hear the pounding. They each took a twisted connection and tried to pry it apart with their fingers. They would need to break only one.

The wires resisted. Tom gritted his teeth, then remembered his pocket knife. He pulled it out, flipped the blade open, and wedged the tip between two strands. He twisted and the blade snapped. The sound startled the man. He whirled around and stared directly at the boys. Tom forced the broken blade into the gap in the wires. Will put his finger on top of one and pulled as Tom twisted. Blood ran down Will’s hand as the metal bit into his finger. They strained, and watched the man. His eyes darted in all directions. Then he made his decision. He pulled the plunger up, hesitated a moment, and slammed it down.

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre - YA/Mystery

Rating – PG – 13

More details about the author and the book

Connect with Ben Woodard on Facebook and Twitter

Website http://BooksByBen.com

@PeterClenott On Humans, Chimps & Neanderthals #YA #GoodReads #MustRead

Of Humans, Chimps and Neanderthals

I recently saw an intriguing NOVA episode on PBS called ‘Decoding the Neanderthals’. The subject of human evolution has long fascinated me though I was never bright enough to pursue the study as a career. I stll prefer stone tools and cave paintings to the iPhone and social media.

Here’s the basic premise. The study of human evolution up until recently concluded that Neanderthals, our beetle-browed predecessors, were an evolutionary dead end. Their own ancestors had migrated out of Africa about 800,000 years ago. Until recently, it was believed that modern man followed the Neanderthal out of Africa about 40,000 years ago and that, ten thousand years later, the Neanderthal was gone, pushed or killed into extinction. But the recently completed decoding of the Neanderthal genome has proven otherwise. In fact, most humans carry some Neanderthal DNA, a small amount to be sure– from 1% to 5%. What this means is, Neanderthal and modern humans mated. Not on off weekends either but on a regular basis. The theory then goes that Neaderthal was simply bred out of existence over a period of ten thousand years.

But I wonder. Doesn’t that leave open the question of where modern man came from, aside from the fact that we are told he or she came from Africa. Modern man could not have evolved directly from something more primitive than Neanderthal, miraculously jumping from Home erectus to Wall Street banker. Modern man, Cro-Magnon, whatever you want to call her/him, had to go through a phase just as Neanderthal did. Perhaps, the migration of humans was an on-going affair, never stopping, back and forth for hundreds of thousands of years, with the various groups interbreeding all along, not just forty-thousand years ago. Change, the evolutionary process, is a constant trial and error process that may have produced many dead ends that we will never know about, but the process proceeded unhindered for millennia, leading to us. It is still going on. What, I wonder, will we look like in ten thousand years?

What does it truly mean to be ‘Human’?

Chiku Flynn wasn’t raised to be human. Born in the Congolese rainforest, she spends her first eleven years as part of an experiment. For her, the aboriginal—the primitive—is ‘normal.’

Just after her eleventh birthday, Chiku witnesses the horrifying death of her mother, and her father sends her ‘home’ to the United States, to a normal teenager’s life. But she can’t adapt. She is the proverbial wild child—obstinate and defiant.

When her father disappears, sixteen-year-old Chiku heads back to the primordial jungle, where she uncovers her own dark past and puts to use her greatest skill: she can communicate via sign language with the wild chimpanzees of Chimp Island.

But there is turmoil in the rainforest—civil war, environmental upheaval…and murder. The lives of the chimps and the safety of the people she loves depend upon one teenaged girl who refuses to be messed with—Chiku Flynn.

Editorial reviews:

“Peter Clenott’s story of a troubled teen searching for her father in the African jungle skillfully combines the breakneck pace of a thriller with the emotional tug of a coming of age novel while providing a fascinating glimpse into the relationship between people and chimpanzees that will leave readers questioning which species is more humane. A thought-provoking read.” —Tasha Alexander, New York Times bestselling author of Behind the Shattered Glass

“Devolution is an enthralling, action-packed and fast-paced jungle thriller from beginning to end. The story is set in modern day Africa and is centered on the book’s heroine, Chiku, a firecracker of a girl full of energy and spirit. She can also talk to chimpanzees! The backdrops to the story are as old as time itself—war, racism, hunger and greed. Can a strong-willed sixteen-year-old girl and a band of chimpanzees survive in war-torn Africa? Or will death find its way into this strange yet wonderful family! This book is an interesting coming of age tale full of intrigue, wonder, romance and danger. A truly exciting and original read! This is not your grandparent’s Tarzan tale!” —Christopher P. Obert, founder of the New England Authors Expo

“If it takes a bipolar teenager and some chimpanzees to save their piece of the Congo, then Chiku and her primate friends are the ones to do it. Label them superheroes. Peter Clenott has captured diverse characters in a vibrant setting and added snappy dialogue for this unique and interesting novel.” —Shirley Ann Howard, author of the Tales series

Buy Now @ Amazon & Smashwords

Genre - Young Adult

Rating – PG

More details about the author

Connect with Peter Clenott on Facebook & Twitter

Website www.peterclenott.net

Doubt (Among Us Trilogy) by Anne-Rae Vasquez @write2film #SciFi #Thriller #Paranormal

 

Outside the building, she welcomed the fresh air. She stood still for a moment, taking in deep breaths, hoping to relax. She looked around. People were scattering on the streets like the fire ants that used to seek safety from the garden hose she used to wield on in the backyard of her childhood home.

“There is no signal,” a young man said to her. He was waving his cell phone. “Do you have a signal?”

She shook her head, knowing full well that her cell phone was working fine. It was connected to a satellite and not on a regular cellular network. Harry had made sure that all the Truth Seekers were able to communicate with each other at all times.

A group of teenagers on the corner were pointing towards the sky. She tilted her head to see what they were looking at. Something was very different. Angry strokes of crimson red with charcoal rain clouds hung above them. What was strange were the streaks of lightning that were crisscrossing each other like an intricate woven rug. If she squinted, she could make out an image, almost like a painting. Odd, very odd.

She began walking down West 34^th Street, hoping to find a cab. Abandoned cars were making the normally traffic congested street even more difficult for cabs to get through. She started picking up her pace. She was going to have to walk to GN, which was on Lexington and East 33^rd Avenue. It was probably a good twenty-five-minute walk.

She walked past pockets of people. She noticed one thing they all had in common. Their eyes were opened wide, blinking fast as they raced past her. A woman with snow-white hair and clear blue eyes caught her gaze. She was walking towards her, clutching her black purse. Her shoes were black with thick heels. Each step she made was like a crack of thunder in her head. She covered her ears, but it didn’t stop the sound. Walk past her. Look away.

She tried to avoid making eye contact, but her eyes were drawn back to the woman. They were now face to face with each other.

“You. It was you,” the woman said in a quiet voice.

Standing in front of her now, the woman seemed fragile and small.

“I think you are mistaking me for someone else.”

She took a step to the side intending to walk around her.

The woman grabbed her arm.

“I saw you in my vision…when the earth was shaking.”

Cristal stopped and turned slowly towards her. Her skin felt like fire ants crawling up her arms.

“I don’t know what you mean,” she said, half believing her own words.

The woman continued, “It was you. There was a bright light coming down from heaven through your body into the earth.”

She clutched the gold cross around her neck with her left hand.

Cristal shook her head and said firmly, “No, not me! It wasn’t me.”

She yanked her arm away from the old woman and started running down the street. Her heart was pounding; her palms sweating. Her backpack bounced against her and the straps rubbed against her shoulders.

She kept running, oblivious of the people bumping into her. The words repeated in her head like a mantra.

“It wasn’t me. It wasn’t me!”

She looked up and realized that GN was at the next corner. She dodged traffic and ran across the street. As she ran up to the busy intersection, another voice entered her head.

“But it was you, darling.”

Do you love shows like J.J. Abrams' Fringe and read books like Cassandra Clare's City of Bones?

"Doubt" mashes fringe science, corporate espionage and paranormal encounters to catapult you into an out-of-this-world experience.

At 21 years old, Harry and Cristal are fresh out of university with their PhD's. Labeled all their lives as being 'weird' and 'geeky', they find true friendships with other outcasts by playing online virtual reality games.

Harry Doubt, a genius programmer and creator of the popular online game 'Truth Seekers', has a personal mission of his own; to find his mother who went mysteriously missing while volunteering on a peacekeeping mission in Palestine. His gaming friends and followers inadvertently join in helping him find her; believing that they are on missions to find out what has happened to their own missing loved ones. During Harry's missions, Cristal and the team of 'Truth Seekers' stumble upon things that make them doubt the reality of their own lives. As they get closer to the truth, they realize that there are spiritual forces among them both good and evil, but in learning this, they activate a chain of events that start the beginning of the 'end of the world' as they know it.

Doubt is Book 1 of the Among Us Trilogy. Among Us is a book series which delves into the world of the supernatural and how it intersects with the everyday lives of seemingly ordinary young people as catastrophic events on earth lead to the end of times. Among Us weaves the theme of a young man and woman, who while not fully understanding their 'abilities', are drawn together in their desire to find out the truth about the world they live in which is similar to themes used in J.J. Abrams' TV shows Fringe and Lost.

What readers have to say...

As a big fan of the show Fringe, this book appealed to me tremendously. The writing was well done, and the way the "supernatural" forces were introduced was great.

A good, clean read for any age.

It was an excellent story that I'm sure both adult and teen urban fantasy fans will enjoy. You don't have to be a gamer or know one to identify with the characters. They're very well developed and definitely feel like people. I would definitely recommend it to a friend and I'm really looking forward to the second book.

...the novel is written in such a languid style, it moves on effortlessly and absorbs the reader into the story completely. Although the story itself revolves around the online gaming industry, one does not have to have an in depth knowledge as it is ably explained and discussed within the plot line.
OMGosh! I just finished reading "Doubt" INCREDIBLE! I couldn't put it down.

˃˃˃ >>> Depth and Substance mashed up with Fringe Science. Will entertain young and old alike.

This book is intended for mature young adults and new adults. Ages 16 to 45 +

˃˃˃ >>Inspired by real Truth Seekers Aaron Swartz and Harry Fear

The main character Harry Doubt was inspired by Aaron Swartz, internet prodigy and activist, co-founder of the Creative Commons and Reddit, and Harry Fear, journalist, documentary filmmaker and activist whose coverage of the conflict in the Middle East was seen on UStream by millions of viewers.

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre - Young Adult, Paranormal, Science Fiction, Thriller

Rating – G

More details about the author

Connect with Anne-Rae Vasquez on Facebook & Twitter

Website http://amongus.ca

10 Tips for Better Writing from #Fantasy #Author Josh VanBrakle @joshvanbrakle

Ten Tips for Better Writing from Fantasy Author Josh VanBrakle

Writing is a craft, one you can hone with time and effort. There are lots of suggestions out there for how to improve your writing. As a published author, here are ten I try to remember:

1. Read aloud

When you edit (you do edit, right?), read aloud. It will slow you down and help you spot mistakes. If you stumble over a passage, rewrite it. Odds are your readers will stumble over it too.

2. Write every day

I know how hard it is to find time to write. I work a day job in addition to writing The Dragoon Saga. But if you really want to write, then write something every day. Even if it’s only one page, one paragraph, or one sentence, it’s progress.

3. Research

Study whatever you’re writing about. Study setting, time period, architecture, fashion, and food. The more believable you can make the details, the more they’ll fade into the background and let readers become engrossed in your story.

4. Read about writing

There are some great resources for writers. I recommend William Zinsser’s On Writing Well, Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird, and of course, Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style. Read them and return to them often.

5. Find a mentor

You can read about writing, but to really excel, it helps to have a mentor, an experienced author who can help you identify where you’re weak and give you suggestions on how to improve. Look for local art organizations and libraries that may sponsor writing workshops and plan to attend them.

6. Obsess over details

Everything matters in a book, so this is one time to sweat the small stuff. When you edit, remember that there’s no word that isn’t worth slaving over and getting exactly how you want it.

7. Carry a notepad

Ideas come at the worst times. Mine favor when I’m falling asleep, taking a shower, and driving. If you don’t capture ideas when they come, you’ll forget them by the time you can write them down. Always carry a notepad or some other tool to record your inspirations. Most will be junk, but the few gems you find will vastly improve your writing.

8. Write about your characters

What do your characters like to eat? Where do they hang out? Who are their friends? What do they own? Have a character sheet for each character, and record these details. You probably won’t use this text in a story, but referring to it will help keep you focused on who your characters really are.

9. Read awesome books

Before you can write, you need to read. Whatever genre you want to write in, read great books in it. In fact, read great books in every genre. Whether we like to admit it or not, we learn to write through imitation.

10. Let yourself fail

You will write a lot of junk before you write anything that someone wants to pay money for. Be willing to experiment and fall on your face. Ditch your pride. We learn a lot more from failure than we do from success.

From fantasy author Josh VanBrakle comes an epic new trilogy of friendship, betrayal, and explosive magic. Lefthanded teenager Iren Saitosan must uncover a forgotten history, confront monsters inspired by Japanese mythology, and master a serpentine dragon imprisoned inside a katana to stop a revenge one thousand years in the making.

Lodian culture declares lefthanded people dangerous and devil-spawned, and for Iren, the kingdom's only known Left, that's meant a life of social isolation. To pass the time and get a little attention, he plays pranks on the residents of Haldessa Castle. It's harmless fun, until one of his stunts nearly kills Lodia's charismatic heir to the throne. Now to avoid execution for his crime, Iren must join a covert team and assassinate a bandit lord. It's a suicide mission, and Iren's chances aren't helped when he learns that his new katana contains a dragon's spirit, one with a magic so powerful it can sink continents and transform Iren into a raging beast.

Adding to his problems, someone on Iren's team is plotting treason. When a former ally launches a brutal plan to avenge the Lefts, Iren finds himself trapped between competing loyalties. He needs to figure out who - and how - to trust, and the fates of two nations depend on his choice.

"A fast-paced adventure...led by a compelling cast of characters. Josh VanBrakle keeps the mysteries going." - ForeWord Reviews

Buy @ Amazon & Smashwords

Genre – YA epic fantasy

Rating – PG-13

More details about the author

Connect with Josh VanBrakle on Twitter

Website www.joshvanbrakle.com