Announcing My New Audio Book – Let Me Be Frank

March 13, 2019 / Marcia Meara / 5 Comments

Don Massenzio has a new audio book available! Check out his post, and be sure to watch the trailer video. It’s dynamite! Hope you’ll help Don get the word out, as well. Thanks!

Don Massenzio's Author Site

I am proud to announce that my book, Let me be Frank, has been released in audiobook format. This is the second book in the Frank Rozzani detective series.

Here is a synopsis:

A young girl is senselessly murdered. The police believe the murder to be a random homeless casualty until it is discovered she has ties to Fat Sam and his mysterious past life in the Big Easy.

Join Private Detective Frank Rozzani and Clifford “Jonesy” Jones as they travel to historic New Orleans and other areas in the Gulf Coast to search for clues in the girl’s trek to Jacksonville, Florida, that will help them uncover evidence implicating those responsible for the murder so they can be brought to justice. They soon discover that things are not as they seem.

As the case progresses, the evidence uncovered has ties to the tragic events that drove Frank from…

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Cover reveal – book #3 in The Five Kingdoms series now available on pre-order

March 11, 2019 / Marcia Meara / 7 Comments

Woohoo! Won’t be long now! Fans of Deborah Jay’s Five Kingdoms series will be happy to know Book 3, The Prince’s Protege, is now available for pre-order. Check out her cover reveal post, complete with excerpts from this long-awaited third book! And as always, don’t forget to share! 🙂

The 2019 Interview Series Featuring David Faucheaux

March 8, 2019 / Marcia Meara / 2 Comments

Don Massenzio is featuring David Faucheaux today on his 2019 Interview Series. A really interesting, informative, and inspiring interview! Check it out! (And don’t forget to share far and wide). Thanks for this great series, Don!

Don Massenzio's Author Site

What do you think are the elements of a good story?

My favorite genre is historic fiction. To do it well, the author must pay close attention to setting. The reader should be made to understand the culture, the time, and place. I like lots of what are called info-dumps, though I understand many readers find them to be tedious and to also distract from the plot. Perhaps info-dumps work best in science fiction. Kim Stanley Robinson uses them frequently. A well-written author’s note at novel’s end helps as well, especially when the author tells what is true and what has been invented. A bibliography is useful for those readers wanting to learn more about the historic aspects of the novel.

You’re invited to a dinner party. Are you:

Off in a corner talking to one or two people
At home reading or writing your latest work

If I’m there…

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Freya Pickard, How D’ya Do?

March 1, 2019 / D. Avery @shiftnshake / 3 Comments

Come meet Freya Pickard! #Haiku

ShiftnShake

Welcome to the first ever interview in the new How D’Ya Do blogger interview series!

I am pleased to introduce Freya Pickard to you as my first interviewee in what I hope is a continuing series, to be posted the first Friday of every month. My intent is to feature bloggers who regularly host prompts and challenges for the rest of us prompt challenged writers. I have plenty of people in mind for this but if you are interested and maybe have a particular time that you would like to be featured, feel free to contact me. Expect the questions to be similar but not exactly like Freya’s as I would tailor them according to what I already know or what I would like to know.

Without further ado, Freya Pickard, how d’ya do?

I am Freya Pickard and I blog at https://purehaiku.wordpress.com and at https://dragonscaleclippings.wordpress.com

You can also find…

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Smorgasbord Blog Magazine – The Sunshine Blogger #Award and personal questions.

February 28, 2019 / Marcia Meara / 2 Comments

Sally Cronin has been nominated for the Sunshine Blogger award. Check out her replies to the eleven questions she was asked, and while you are there, you will surely want to check out some of the bloggers Sally nominated in return. (I was proud to be included in that list, though I have an award free blog). Be sure to pass this one along if you can! And my heartfelt thanks, Sally, for the nomination! So glad you enjoy stopping by to visit on TWS. 🙂

Smorgasbord Blog Magazine – Weekly Round Up – Jazz, Chicken Poop, Chopped liver, Old Age, Australia and Sheep farming!

February 24, 2019 / Marcia Meara / 1 Comment

Another wonderful weekly round-up from Sally Cronin’s “Smorgasbord.” For those, like me, who can’t always keep up during the week, these are a great way to see what’s been going on, and you’re sure to find some tidbits you’ll love. Let’s hear it for weekly round-ups! Thanks, Sally! 🙂 ❤

How D’Ya Do? (An interview series)

February 24, 2019 / D. Avery @shiftnshake / 3 Comments

Attention promoters of writing and writers!

ShiftnShake

Come by ShiftnShake this Friday (12:01 A.M. EST) to read the first ever interview in the new How D’Ya Do blogger interview series!

If you are a blogger who regularly hosts prompts and challenges for the rest of us prompt challenged writers, feel free to contact me to schedule your interview. Otherwise I will start knocking on your doors, in no particular order. I am encouraged that Freya Pickard did not shut the door on me and has agreed to take part in my inaugural interview.

Come by to see Freya this Friday.

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6 Draft Checklist Ideas (And Why You Should Create Your Own)

February 23, 2019 / Marcia Meara / 2 Comments

Some great draft checklist ideas from K. M. Allan this morning. I plan to work from this list as I get my next final draft ready to send my editor. I would add, I also use a program called Smart Edit that’s easy & quick and will automatically hunt for a group of issues all at one time, presenting what it finds in individual lists. It seems faster to me, but you can search for these things in Word, too. Check out Allan’s post for super pointers presented in a logical, concise manner. If you enjoy it, be sure to share with the Immediate World. Thanks!

K.M. Allan

Just as no two writers will write an idea the same way, drafting is a unique process as well.

Some authors may draft their MS in as little as five passes, others (raises hand) might have 20 odd drafts under their belt for certain works in progress.

When drafting is such a mammoth task, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. I’m not a planner for writing, but for editing and drafting, I find a plan makes all the difference.

To create such plans, checklists are my go-to, and when I’m close to the final draft stage, these are the six main things I scan for during a draft pass…

1. Repeats

I recommend every writer come up with their own Repeats List because we all have different words we use repeatedly. This advice also goes for phrases (I constantly use “looked as if”) and for movements. If every character is…

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The Danger Of Dirty Links

February 17, 2019 / Marcia Meara / 11 Comments

I was under the mistaken impression that my Bit.Ly links were “clean,” but apparently that isn’t so. Take a look at this post, and you’ll see what I mean. I’ve fixed mine now, and recommend you do so as well, if you’ve been using Bit.Ly or another similar method. This is a good one to share, too, if you would. Thanks!

WordyNerdBird

With all the attention given among the Indie community to the removal of book reviews by Amazon, I’m amazed at the number of authors who still post dirty links to their books on social media. This is a rookie-level mistake that can actually do more harm than good.

A dirty link helps the algorithm at Amazon to determine if there are connections between author and reader that might suggest collusion or partiality.. Even if a review is from a verified purchase, a simple connection via a shared link can be enough to make them suspect that it’s not unbiased or from an unrelated party.

If the link used by multiple customers can be traced directly back to the author, that’s one of the reasons they will start flagging and eventually removing reviews.

The simple solution is to ensure your links are clean before you post them.

A dirty link occurs…

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Smorgasbord Blog Magazine – Weekly Round up – Waterford Castle, Romance, Great Food, Music and a few Laffs.

February 17, 2019 / Marcia Meara / 3 Comments

If your week has been like mine, and you’d like to catch up a bit, here’s Sally’s wonderful Weekly Roundup post from her Smorgasbord blog! It’s crammed full of good stuff! Check it out, and remember to pass it along, if you would. Thanks!