Start Exploring The Tower!

The writing is done, the editing is finished and the formatting has been (painfully) completed. Yes, the day has finally arrived -- The Tower is being released! Book 2 in the Deck of Lies series is now available at Amazon's Kindle store, so download your copy while the downloading's good.

Book description:

A Tower of Lies...

Death brings some families closer, but it’s ripped mine apart. I wanted to convince the police that they had the wrong suspect…but I never expected them to start suspecting me. Now, I have no choice but to keep searching for the truth, even if all my relationships fall to pieces around me.

Someone is trying to make me look guilty. I never thought my mission to prove my own innocence would lead me to more family secrets. I thought I had already discovered the truth about myself. But every answer raises more questions, and everything I think I know is about to change…again.

I have to find the truth, no matter how much it hurts -- before I get charged with murder.

New Review for Justice

"I very much enjoyed the story. It’s humorous, there’s a mystery to be solved...The story moves quickly and a LOT of stuff happens."

The lovely ladies at Quirky Girls Read have recently posted an in-depth review of Justice (Deck of Lies, Book 1).  Go to their site to read the full review, and find out just what it is I'm writing about, anyway.

Preview The Tower

The Tower (Deck of Lies, Book 2) comes out this week! Get a head start and get the first two chapters free at my official site.

Review: Anywhere But Here

When I got an early review copy of Sherri Fulmer Moorer's Anywhere But Here, all I knew about the book was that it's a YA story. This is not accurate by any means, but I'm happy to say I wasn't too disappointed to find myself caught up in a contemporary tale about the cutthroat corporate world -- and a fantasy novel filled with dream castles and dragons. Surprisingly, the two halves of the story come together well to create a cohesive whole, blending elements of female-centric fiction, romance and fantasy. But if you don't know what to expect, you may find this ride pretty confusing indeed -- even off-putting, at times.

Anywhere But Here introduces readers to a heroine on the brink of a new life, and on the brink of breakdown. Graduating from college and embarking on a new path should be an exciting time, but Jana finds her entire world crumbling to dust instead. The reader will truly feel Jana's confusion as the fabric of her life turns to tatters all around her, and sink slowly into the depression that colors the rest of the book.

Who can be trusted? Who cannot be trusted? I found myself quickly turning pages trying to discover the answers, moving in and out of different realities without knowing which was real. This book has a very strong and compelling plot, but I cannot say the same for the general tone and structure of Anywhere But Here. The formatting and editing are far from perfect, which can be extremely jarring at times, and some of the workplace scenes are even more unbelievable than those within the fantasy world that's populated by a seemingly telepathic dragon. This should not be the case. At times I found myself getting frustrated and mired in my own confusion, but perhaps this is a master stroke by Moorer -- the author's way of truly putting the reader inside the mind of the book's heroine. Are you strong enough to battle with Jana's demons? Is she? If you can stick with this one all the way through to the end, you'll find the conclusion answers most of the questions created in preceding chapters and most things start to make sense again. Despite all the errors and what I think is a real misconception of what it's like to work in an office environment, Anywhere But Here has a fascinating and unique take on something that a huge number of people must face every day: depression.

Writing 101: Research, Part 2 - Plot

Now that you've established the setting for your story, you can draw from a rich well of knowledge to make every scene authentic. But if your plot doesn't follow a logical course, readers aren't going to care about the rich backgrounds you paint with your words. For the plot to feel authentic, you're going to have to do your homework. Yes, it's time for even more research. Get it done before you start putting words down on the page.

Plot Points

If it's in your plot, you should research it. This is especially important for writers in the historical and mystery genres. If, for instance, a devastating act of nature wreaks havoc with your characters try to link it to an actual event and study that event. Look at similar events and their effects, and how the problems were handled. If your plot includes a horrific fire, do some research into firefighting procedures to describe the scene in vivid detail. Medical conditions, the effects of stress on the body, what foods taste like -- you can find answers to the most mundane and complex questions on the Internet. It's a tool, so start using it to make all your writing more accurate. Accurate writing feels real to the reader, and helps to paint scenes that truly bring your work to life.

How long does it take a broken bone to heal, for stitches to come out? If your characters get injured, these answers become important. Readers will pick up on inaccuracies in even the littlest details, so take the time to do the research and make sure you know what you're talking about. You should never be writing just to be writing -- your words are always going somewhere, driving the story forward. It's important that those words be correct to make your plot more genuine. Readers identify with realities, and even in fantasy books there are always certain truths and parallels that set the great books apart from all the rest.

Writing 101: Research, Part 1 - Setting

Creativity isn't a spigot that you can turn off and on. Even the most brilliant creative minds need inspiration before the ideas can flow freely. Some need to put themselves in a specific environment or mindset, or both, before they can let go and create. Once you get into that zone where everything is flowing perfectly, the last thing you want to do is stop, look something up and then get started again.

But you should anyway. Because if you aren't taking the time to do your research, you're only doing half the work.

Details, Details, Details

So what's it matter if you put your characters in the middle of a "famous landmark" that doesn't actually exist, or talk about the beautiful oak trees found in a tropical forest? What if you've got them eating unspecified meadow mushrooms and berries from the shrubbery, if the plot is exciting and the intrigue is abundant? Who really cares about that crap anyway?

Your readers do, and if you make a mistake they're going to be very displeased indeed. Even the smallest of details can set a reader on edge, and that's why you've got to take the time to know your settings. The first order of this research business is to know exactly where you're putting your characters and your story. Nail that, and the rest is easy enough to figure out.

• Setting 

Your characters live, love and laugh somewhere. The setting of the story should serve as another character. It's more than a backdrop, it's the stage for all of your action, adventure, romance, mystery -- whatever it is you write about. It's got to be as real to the reader as your main character, because without a place to picture that character what have your readers really got? Pick a real location for your characters. It doesn't have to be your own hometown, it doesn't even have to be a place you've been to before. But once you've picked it, start looking at websites about the area. Lots of cities and states and countries and towns have their own homepages. Find out what's unique about the place, look at it on the map, find photos of it through search engines. See it with your own eyes.

If you're writing a fantasy story about a place that doesn't actually exist in the known world, you've got your work cut out for you. Draw up a map of the world, or the country or kingdom, where your story takes place. No one expects you to be a cartographer, and no one ever has to look at that map but you -- so make it as rough or abstract as your skills require. As long as you have a real reference to look at and draw from, it'll help you flesh out your story. To make the research and the writing much easier, try to base your made-up land on reality. Maybe the weather in your main city is something like London -- gray, foggy, wet. Maybe it's like a tropical island -- sunny, bright, clear. Look at images of these places to give yourself ideas about your own world.

History buffs are among the most unforgiving of readers. If your story takes place in an historic setting, your research has to be utterly meticulous. Look at period maps, and take the time and care to give your story a very specific date to avoid confusing yourself. Once you've got a working date, you'll know just where to look to find setting information so you can place your characters precisely.

Once you've got the setting worked out, start to use it. Find out what's nearby, what (if any) regional cuisine exists, what tourists come to see and what locals love to hide. Learn about the weather, the vegetation, the main methods of travel. Are the streets packed with cars, or foot traffic? Bicycles, or taxis? With online maps, you can actually get street-level views of any current location in the world. This means you can literally walk along the same streets as your characters, see the same buildings and sights. What will that do for your writing?

Writing 101: Copyright

So, you've finished a book. You carefully wrote an outline, craftily developed your characters, sweated out the formatting to make every page perfect. If you don't get yourself a copyright through proper and legal channels, you don't want to self-publish that story. If you do, I can download it, put my name on it and sell it as my own -- legally. If you think slapping a copyright symbol and writing a disclaimer is enough to protect your rights, you might be wrong. Getting a copyright is pretty easy...but it's not that easy.

What is a Copyright? 

You can't have one unless you know what it is. When you own the copyright to a work -- usually a piece of music, a book, artwork or a film -- you and you alone are allowed to sell, distribute and duplicate that work. This means that if someone else wants to sell and/or distribute your work, they've got to go through you first. Copyrighting your book legally marks you as the owner, and it's something you've got to do before you make that book available to the public in any form or fashion.

...If you live in the United States, that is.

Obtaining a Copyright

Obtaining a copyright is a legal process, and there may be certain channels you've got to go through in order to get it. If you live in the US, you've definitely got some work to do before you start happily self-publishing. Elsewhere...well, it's quite a bit easier.

• In the UK

If you create and produce your book in the UK, it's automatically copyrighted. The UK copyright goes into effect the moment an idea leaves its creator's mind and becomes an object (rather than a concept). The moment you type your first word, you've got a copyright on your work. You do not have to be a citizen of the UK for this copyright law to protect you; as long as you create and produce your work within the UK, you're covered. The UK Intellectual Property Office offers more specific details.

• In Canada

Canada's copyright laws are similar to UK laws. Once you create and produce your work in country, you're protected under Canadian copyright law. However, you should take the time to legally register your work through the Canadian Intellectual Property Office, a process which does include some monetary fees.

• In the United States

If you live in the US, simply creating and producing your work absolutely isn't enough. As an author, the responsibility falls to you and you alone to officially copyright your work and register it with the Library of Congress. It's a relatively simple process that includes filling out a form and sending a copy of your work (for inclusion in the Library, of course). Use the online Electronic Copyright Office for ebooks and digital works. Filing the copyright does cost money, but it's a necessity if you want to be legally recognized as the owner of your work.

Justice Trailer Now Live

Better late than never! The trailer for Justice is finally finished -- just in time for me to need a second trailer for The Tower. Begin exploring the Deck of Lies now!