Friday, December 21, 2012

Merry Christmas Santa


Each year I get emails from people asking where they can find my short story, Merry Christmas Santa. Many of them say they want to read it again, and others tell me that they want to read it out loud to their grandchildren. Whatever the reason I am pleased, so here it is again. Click the link, then read, enjoy, and hold those you love close. After all, it is the Christmas Season.

 

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Nora Roberts Chesapeake Bay Saga


 

My first encounter with Nora Roberts’ novels was when I bought a bag of paperback books at a library book sale. The name of the book was Sacred Sins, and I mentioned it in a critical way on a writer’s forum. My remarks aroused the wrath of some writers who view her as a goddess in the Romance genre. I still hadn’t learned my lesson, so I threw in a few additional remarks about romance novels, and the ones who write them. Several of them replied with the kind of remarks I hadn’t heard since grammar school. They double-dog dared me to read some of Roberts other novels. I couldn’t turn down such a challenge, so I read the suggested books and went back to apologize. Some of them have not forgiven my unkind words, and occasionally make suggestions concerning what I should read next. As I read a few others, I came to realize that Nora Roberts knows her audience in an uncanny way, and this accounts for much of her success.

 

As every writer knows, or should know, writing consists of stringing words together into coherent sentences. It also involves giving your readers the kind of book they have grown to love. Some readers evidently have the barely suppressed urge to do what a woman did in Stephen King’s novel, Misery. In case you aren’t familiar with the book, the plot involves a psychotic woman who held a famous writer captive and forced him to change the plot of his novel to meet her expectations. Nora Robert’s will never be subjected to that kind of fate because she learned early in her career to give the fans what they want.

 

Roberts is also aware that there are other fans that are not interested in ordinary Romance novels. All of her books wisely involve love, and The Chesapeake Bay Saga is no exception. The four novels in this series trace the lives and loves of four men who were adopted by a college professor and his wife. Each of them is tormented by the traumatic events that hold them captive to their past. In all fairness, I must say that these books contain more graphic sex than I like in a book, but that is my opinion. These four novels are the kind of stories you will never forget. Sea Swept is the first book in the series. Once you read it, there is no turning back. You might as well order all four of them while you have the page in front of you. There is a link to the first book in the series below. Thanks for visiting and happy reading.

 

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Lincoln by Gore Vidal


If you are a fan of novels about American History, I hope you have already discovered Gore Vidal’s American Chronicle Series, which covers the history of the nation from the American Revolution to the post WWII era. It is almost impossible for me to pick a favorite among these books, even after reading each of them more than once over the years. When I read Lincoln for the first time, I was immediately captivated, not just from Vidal’s superb manner of telling the story, but by the historical accuracy. Vidal spent years going through every available manuscript in the national archives that pertained to the story he was telling. He once mentioned that the story of Lincoln was more history than fiction because every statement attributed to Lincoln was gleaned from documents that told of actual events and his reaction to these occurrences.

Many of us remember history as that dull subject in high school we suffered through while fighting those urges to nap. Vidal found a way to grab the reader’s attention from the first paragraph and keep them turning pages to the very end. Government and military figures are presented with vivid reality, warts and all, with each event having the ring of reality. If you are a history buff, Lincoln is a book you don’t want to miss. It is historical fiction at its very best. You can find the book on Amazon at the link below.    

Monday, November 12, 2012

Important Things I Learned While Watching Horror Movies


 

(1) The bad guys (Jason Voorhees, Freddy Kruegar, Damien, etc.) wear high-topped black shoes.

 (2) The victims accomplish little from running from the bad guy. He can always walk faster than they can run.

 (3) Cell phones never work when you try to call 911. You can hear the dispatcher, but she can’t hear you.

 (4) If a group is being hunted by the bad guy, the ugliest girl will always die first. With each attack, the other girls will lose another article of clothing.

 (5) If someone gets word to the sheriff, he won’t believe that four members of the group are already dead in the woods. He will threaten to arrest them for disturbing the peace if they insist that it really happened.

 (6) Any stranger who is accidentally in the area will refuse to help, and will tell them, “I have hunted in these woods all of my life and there has never been any danger here.”

 (7) The car key never fits the ignition when one of the last survivors tries to escape.

 (8) Guns are useless against the villain. Even if he is standing close, the one firing the gun always misses the target.

 (9) A victim, any victim, has at least five gallons of blood, and he/she can lose half of it without falling down dead.

 (10) “Look behind you,” shouted in a loud, frightened voice never gets any results.

 (11) Leaving the cabin to search for your missing boyfriend/girlfriend is never a good idea.

 (12) Going back to bed after each attack is not the best course of action.

 (13) Hiding places are hard for you to find, but the killer can walk directly to them after scattering a few items of furniture around the cabin.

 (14) Getting killed early in the movie isn’t necessarily a bad thing. If you are going to die, it better to do so before you have to run for hours through the woods.

 (15) Getting your best friend to go outside with you isn’t going to help. They can run faster than you can, so guess who is going to get caught.

 I have scheduled a horror flick for tonight. If anyone wants to watch it with me, I will furnish the popcorn and drinks, but you must bring your own guns and knives. Oh, and another thing. You might want to bring a wooden stake or two in case they are needed.

Friday, November 9, 2012

British Singer Danica Hunter



 

I have always loved music, especially the kind that is wonderfully different, and stirs something deep inside of me. In a recent interview on a writer’s website, one of the questions was, ‘what kind of music do you like?’ I quickly ran through the list of music that lives inside my head, but could not come up with an answer that made sense, even to me. I love classical, rock, new wave, country, but especially music from the Middle East with its driving beats and unfamiliar instrument that soar and wail, as if they are somehow attuned to those things inside of us that cannot be expressed in words. Something that is new on the American music scene is a type of dance music that had its origin in South London. It is called Dubstep. It is a genre of dance music, heavy on acoustical effects, and a rhythm that can get you out of your chair and on to the dance floor.

 

When I am on Twitter, or any other social media, I always take a look at the websites in the member’s bio. Sometimes I am pleasantly surprised. When I visited the site of a young British singer named Danica Hunter I was immediately captivated. While Danica is only 18-years-old, she has performed with such notable performers as Sting, and I predict that she has a great future ahead of her. But don’t take my word for it. Here is a link that will carry you to the BBC site where you can hear her newest hit called Heartbeat. I think it is wonderful. I will be waiting for more from this performer and I don’t think I will be disappointed.

 

Thursday, November 8, 2012

The Joe Pickett series by C. J. Box


It is always good to find a great writer, and especially when the author has created an interesting series. C. J. Box is one of those writers. Not only has he done an excellent job of creating believable stories, he has created a central character that seems as real as the people you encounter in everyday life.

I love police procedural novels, as well as the ones that have private detectives as the main character. It is a double bonus when an author comes up with a new type of hero. In Box’s Joe Pickett series, the main character is a game warden in Wyoming. In COLD WIND he is faced with the problem of keeping his wife’s mother from being convicted of murder. The book has the outdoor magic of a traditional Western novel, but in a modern day setting. There is no doubt that Box researched this book carefully. It is a robust story containing all of the elements we expect in a suspense novel. At last count, there were eleven novels in the Joe Pickett series. You are going to love them all. You can find all of his books on his Amazon page at this link:
http://www.amazon.com/C.-J.-Box/e/B001IGSO0I/ref

  

Five Star Books


Five Star Books -- What is it all about?
I seldom watch television and spend my free time reading. Over the years, I have traveled along the roads and byways of thousands of wonderful books. When I started receiving emails from readers asking me about the novels I enjoyed the most, I decided it would be a good idea to blog about them, rather than writing articles about random things as I have done in the past. It also saves me some time in having to respond to individual emails.

My articles will not be book reviews in the traditional sense. Instead, I will tell you about the books I liked best, and the reasons I enjoyed them. There are many great books, and just as many talented writers that are unfamiliar to us. Most of the books I will suggest to you will be from bestseller lists. Some of them will be hot off the press and others published years ago. I hope you will enjoy reading some of them as we travel this road together. I hope to recommend a new book to you each week. Thank you and happy reading.

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

New Suspense Novel - Gone in a Minute


I read and write a wide variety of fiction, although it is difficult not to include some elements of suspense in everything I write. I have just finished ‘Gone in a Minute,’ a suspense novel, and the second book in the Sheriff Daniel Barrett series. In case you haven’t read the first novel, ‘Innocent,’ Barrett is an ex-special forces soldier who has returned to his hometown after he leaves the military. Barrett is a happily married man who believes in a strict enforcement of the law, but who knows that the law must sometimes be bent in order to achieve the kind of justice we can all live with. Barrett is one of the good guys, the kind of person you would like for a neighbor, and the kind of man you would definitely go to if you were in trouble. If you like suspenseful action, you are going to love this series, and you are going to want to see more of Daniel Barrett. I hope you enjoy reading these books. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009YIZVL2

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Suspense novel Antaeus Factor now free on Kindle!


I write the kind of books I like to read, and The Antaeus Factor is no exception. When I started to research this book, I was aware of the danger our country faces from those who are determined to do damage. Some of this danger comes from hostile regimes around the world, but there is a surprising amount of it that comes from the lone predator with real or imagined grievances against those who have a different religion or ideology. The really surprising discovery was the shocking amount of ill will from people who direct their hate toward some victim for no perceptible reason. They are all around us in society, from the teen who feels rage because he was turned down for a date and strikes back on a social network, to the neighbor who is determined to get even with someone who has slighted or scorned him or her in some manner. There is road rage, bullying on a school campus, to unbelievable acts of outrage.

 
The Antaeus Factor will keep you on the edge of your seat. You can get a FREE copy for your Kindle for the next five days. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006FOEILM

Monday, August 6, 2012

Focusing on the Reader

I don’t know who said it first, but some wise person once said: “Give them what they want and they will come.” In recent months, I have encountered a number of discussions on writer’s forums where some of the authors want to divide up the playground into ‘artist’ and ‘hacks.’

“I want to write quality fiction, rather than just trying to write something that will sell,” some of them have said. This is a noble sentiment, but what is the point of producing a manuscript that will molder in your desk drawer for all time, when you can aim your creative abilities toward a specific audience and sell a respectable number of books. Or more important is this: if you are a real writer, you can strive to do both.

Kindle has changed the craft of writing dramatically. Some critics of ebooks say that the success of this market is because the people who purchase ebooks are programmed to accept less than they will tolerate in a print book. I won’t argue that theory with those who are convinced that it is true, but I feel that the answer lies in another direction. On Amazon Kindle, you can monitor your sales hourly if you are the nail biting type of writer, and see what promotion program is actually working for you, as well as seeing how well your books are received by the average reader. If you work at your craft, you can have a short turnaround time with ebooks, rather than waiting, perhaps for years, to see if you have hit the mark with your writing. I doubt that ebooks are the correct medium for all writers. Print books are not going to die out as some have predicted, for most of us like the feel of a ‘real’ book in our hands. I believe, however, that every writer should try an ebook or two as a way of honing their craft. If you don’t need the extra money, as some have insisted, then send it to me. I have a Paypal account and will put it to good use.


Thursday, July 26, 2012

SOUTHERN WRITERS

Stories by Southern writers have always been popular among fiction fans, and I think a lot of the appeal is in the realistic settings that always seem to be present in this type of book. High school and college literature classes would not be complete without a review of William Faulkner, Margaret Mitchell, and Eudora Welty, for each of them brings something to the table that would not be complete without them. While these writers are important, a new generation is continuing to introduce readers to the uniqueness and mystery of the Southern experience. Fannie Flagg, John Grisham, and Willie Morris are among the best Southern writers of our era. Each of them presents a different view of Southern life, exploring the temperament and the feel of the times. If you are already familiar with these writers, let me add another name to your list. In the crime novel, The Quick and the Dead, Milton T. Burton has captured the essence of the Southern criminal. You can feel the tension from the first page to the last, and the sweat and fear of the characters becomes frighteningly real as the tension mounts.

THE QUICK AND THE DEAD

MANFRED EUGENE ‘HOG’ WEBERN a retired Dallas County deputy sheriff, is talked into going undercover in Biloxi, Mississippi, in a multistate effort to nail a group of traveling Southern criminals who have been tagged by the press with the lurid name “Dixie Mafia”. After making contact with the gang’s nominal leader, the notorious Jasper Sparks, Webern begins to worm his way into the group’s confidence. He also meets and becomes involved with an old friend of Sparks, the mysterious Neil Bigelow, a former assistant federal prosecutor whose daddy ‘owns half of the Delta.’

Having gained the gang’s trust, Webern soon learns that the score being planned is the massive robbery of a wintering carnival of an entire year’s receipts. Joining in planning the job, he meets such well-known hijackers as Slops Moline, a Charleston, South Carolina, killer and armed robber; Lardass Collins, the country’s premier car thief; Tom-Tom Reed, one of the world’s most skilled safecrackers; and the infamous Raymond “Hardhead” Weiler, and Alabama-born moonshiner who has pulled off more than two dozen high-profile contract killings in his seventy years.

As the story develops, Webern is drawn into a maelstrom of robbery, mayhem, and senseless violence that threatens to engulf his very being. And before the final curtain falls on The Sweet and the Dead, we learn that in the murky world of Southern professional crime, nothing is ever quite what it seems to be.


As technology continues to advance, most Americans are becoming increasingly concerned over their privacy. Banks and financial institutions send out notices concerning the amount of information they are sharing with other organizations. The wording on these notices attempts to soothe us into accepting their claim that they would do nothing to invade our privacy, when in fact they are releasing information that is anything but innocuous.

Few people are aware of how many ways companies and private individuals can invade their privacy. If you have been on the Internet for a long period of time, various sources will have accumulated a vast amount of information about you, and it doesn’t take a hacker to gain possession of this information. None of us intend to lay bare every tiny detail of our existence, but we do, a crumb at a time in emails to our friends or things we post on forums. None of it ever goes away and will be there for employers searching you out after you put in your résumé.

Sitting in a doctor’s waiting room for my first visit, I noticed the young woman at the reception desk was spending a long time at her computer. Thirty minutes later when I talked to the doctor’s nurse, she asked me some questions that she could only have known from an Internet search. Nothing alarming, but enough to make me aware of the ease in which people can find that elusive piece of information they are seeking.

Government law enforcement agencies can locate you anywhere if you are carrying a cellular phone by pinging your phone and triangulating the response through three different towers. Congress is demanding answers concerning a piece of software installed on iPad. It is alleged to contain an application that will track and record your every movement. It will only be a matter of days until hackers will be able to access this from their phone and track where you have been at any moment of the day or night. To me that is a little scary. The stalkers are, no doubt, waiting in line for access to this new application. Click on the title to this article and it will carry you to an article on the investigation by certain congressional members.



http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110421/tc_afp/usbritainitprivacytelecomcongressinternetapple

The Royal Visit of William and Kate



The marriage of William and Kate is one of the most interesting events to come along in a long while. The royal family was long overdue for a fresh breath of air in the person of Kate. There was a lot of hope when William and Harry grew up and demonstrated that they were not stamped from the same mold as the rest of that stodgy bunch. Harry seems to view the world with a sense of amusement, while William, is the more serious one. Perhaps Kate can produce a royal heir and inject even more of the real world into the British Royal Family. I received an extra boost of enthusiasm when some reporter noticed that Kat was doing the same thing that the rest of us do when on vacation. She wore the same pair of skinny jeans for the third day. Perhaps the reporter who reported that was observing her a little more carefully than he should have, but Kate has the ability to draw our attention. Rule Britannia! Is it too late for America to get back into the commonwealth?

Who Is Watching You?

As technology continues to advance, most Americans are becoming increasingly concerned over their privacy. Banks and financial institutions send out notices concerning the amount of information they are sharing with other organizations. The wording on these notices attempts to soothe us into accepting their claim that they would do nothing to invade our privacy, when in fact they are releasing information that is anything but innocuous.

Few people are aware of how many ways companies and private individuals can invade their privacy. If you have been on the Internet for a long period of time, various sources will have accumulated a vast amount of information about you, and it doesn’t take a hacker to gain possession of this information. None of us intend to lay bare every tiny detail of our existence, but we do, a crumb at a time in emails to our friends or things we post on forums. None of it ever goes away and will be there for employers searching you out after you put in your résumé.

Sitting in a doctor’s waiting room for my first visit, I noticed the young woman at the reception desk was spending a long time at her computer. Thirty minutes later when I talked to the doctor’s nurse, she asked me some questions that she could only have known from an Internet search. Nothing alarming, but enough to make me aware of the ease in which people can find that elusive piece of information they are seeking.

Government law enforcement agencies can locate you anywhere if you are carrying a cellular phone by pinging your phone and triangulating the response through three different towers. Congress is demanding answers concerning a piece of software installed on iPad. It is alleged to contain an application that will track and record your every movement. It will only be a matter of days until hackers will be able to access this from their phone and track where you have been at any moment of the day or night. To me that is a little scary. The stalkers are, no doubt, waiting in line for access to this new application. Click on the title to this article and it will carry you to an article on the investigation by certain congressional members.


Monday, May 28, 2012

A Dublin Student Doctor

It was a rainy, stormy day, and I needed something entertaining to read. I subscribe to Reader’s Digest Select Editions, and I had already read three of the condensed novels, leaving A Dublin Student Doctor by Irish author Patrick Taylor. The book looked too tedious, and tedious wasn’t the kind of story I needed for on a rainy afternoon. Finally, I sighed rather laboriously, and decided to give Dr. Taylor a chance.

One thing that really puts me off on any novel is one-dimensional characters that seem to know nothing, feel nothing, and accomplish little except to exercise the other bland set of characters in the story. To say that I loved Patrick Taylor’s book, is not eloquent enough to give justice to what he did.
 
A few weeks ago I received an email from a man in Florida who had read one of my books and cobbled a review together that blasted me for creating characters that were too complicated. “Your character was too much of a busybody who spent too much time with his love interest, when he could have been doing something else,” he said. I was not unkind enough to tell this reader that maybe he should read something else by another author, but the thought did cross my mind. I am an old goat that has been around a long time, done most of the things that an ordinary person can do, and I know that real people are very complicated. There was a documentary last year about serial killers. One thing that was surprising to many, but not to me was the revelation that many of these criminals were loving family men; good fathers, considerate toward their wives, and enjoyable to be around.

People are many-dimensional, and it should be reflected in the author’s story. Regardless of how dedicated, busy, complicated, lovable, or depraved a person is, they have someone they love. I love complicated fiction where the characters are many things to many people and their lives are complex, fought with danger, periods of happiness, and frustration. Or to put it another way, I love stories that entertain me, challenge me, and teach me a little of what life is all about. It is the kind of novels I write, and I hope it is the kind of stories you like to read. Enough for now, I need to get back to my latest novel.

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Bee Gees



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I was saddened when I read that singer Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees was in a coma in Chelsea hospital in West London. Robin is the last surviving member of the legendary British singing group that performed for us for almost a half century. I think that most of us will remember the Bee Gees best for the soundtrack from the movie Stayin’ Alive. There was something magical about that movie that captivated most of us, not that we lived a life similar to the character that John Travolta played, but rather that we were moved by the music, and could identify with the longing of someone who wanted to excel at what he did. It is the end of a passing era in some ways, but in others the Disco Era will never end as long as we can hum along with the many great hits that were written during those years. I shall always remember Barry, Robin, and Maurice. Their music brought a lot of pleasure into our lives. Click on the title of this article to watch the YouTube video of the Bee Gees performing their hit song from Stayin' Alive.

Monday, April 9, 2012

Another Winner From Writer Felix Francis

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I was saddened when mystery writer Dick Francis passed away in 2010. He was the author of more than 40 international bestsellers, spanning a career that lasted more than a half century. When I read Francis first book, The Sport of Queens, I was immediately hooked. There was just the right amount of mystery and authenticity to keep me turning the pages. All of his books were centered around horseracing, and as a former jockey who rode in more than 300 races, he was able to capture the magic of the sport.

I was pleased when his son, Felix Francis, co-author of his books, decided to continue in his father’s footsteps and keep the tradition alive. Gamble, the novel that I am currently reading, is as exciting as any of the books that went before. I hope there will be many more in the years to come.

Monday, April 2, 2012

Writing Your First Novel






In the last few weeks I have received a large number of emails from writers, especially the ones who are trying to get their first novel off the ground. Some of them were having trouble with their writing, and a lot of them were having problem with formatting and uploading their finished book on Kindle. After answering so many questions, I decided that it would be easier to just put everything together in one small self-help book and make it available to everyone who needs some assistance. This book will not write your book for you, nor will it allow you to publish it on Kindle without doing some of your own research when you get on their site. What it will do is open up the process and point the way to where you can find the information you need. Thinks for visiting my site, and happy writing!

Click this link to read more about my book.

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Creating Realistic Characters in Fiction

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Writing fiction is never an easy task because it requires the author to crawl inside the minds of a very diverse group of characters. No writer would put a real person inside a novel, for what would be the point in doing this. We do, however, draw clues from the people we know that helps us understand humanity a little better. While the sadness a friend encounters after losing a loved one will not appear in a book, the experience makes us more aware of what personal loss involves. Our books become richer, more realistic, and in various ways, more helpful to readers who might be going through a personal crisis.

The most difficult characters to create are the ones who commit senseless crimes. A writer friend of mine attempted to probe inside the mind of an inmate who had killed several people in a decade long crime spree. He came away without any additional understanding of the situation, and a feeling that the prisoner did not really understand it himself. One thing that makes it so hard to probe the mind of these people is the fact that they are so skilled at concealing who they really are. People are dangerous, complex, and often loveable. This is the thing that makes fiction so appealing to all of us. Thank you for your visit and happy reading.

Thursday, March 22, 2012

The Hunger Games

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“Why don’t you write a romance?” a friend of mine asked. So I explained to her that all of the main characters in my books have a love interest, even the villains. I have discovered that it brings a special dimension to any character to insert a soft center somewhere inside all of that macho posturing.

“That’s not what I’m talking about,” she protested. “You need to write a real romance. That is what everyone is reading and I think you would be good at it.”

“What are you reading?” I asked, somewhat fearful of her answer. She gave me that kind of grin women give men when they are especially clueless. I found myself looking at the cover of Suzanne Collins’ novel, The Hunger Games. I had only read a few pages before I was hooked. Writers tend to forget from time to time that ‘plot’ is a verb, and is best defined with power words like confrontation, turmoil, or trouble. After reading halfway through The Hunger Games, I am still not convinced that romance is the right genre for me, but it has made me take a new look at the personal relationships in the type of novels I write.

“I’m not sure I can write a straight romance novel,” I told her. “Please . . .” she said. “Please, please, please!”

If she had only said please twice, I might have rejected her suggestion. But three in a row? I feel myself weakening . . .

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Author interview by Louise James on her blog March 20-22

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As an avid reader, I never know as much as I want to know about the authors of the books I enjoy. I was pleased to receive an invitation from Louise James who graciously takes the time to promote other authors. Later this week (March 20-22) I will be the author on center stage answering some questions from Louise about my writing. Be sure to drop by and visit her blogs and websites. You will find some interesting and informative information there. See you then.

Click on the title of this article to visit her site.

Joe Prentis
Website: http://www.joeprentiswebsite.com
Blog: http://www.prentisatpickwick.blogspot.com/

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Censorship of our First Admendment Rights

Authors were notified this weekend that the financial institutions that handle payment for books on Smashwords will longer allow Smashwords to process payments for books that contain erotica, rape, incest, or bestiality. I do not write or read erotica, but I am reminded of the famous quote regarding the first amendment rights of freedom of speech. Voltaire said: “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”

I do not like censorship because it is impossible to come up with anything that makes sense. In one city a few years ago, the city fathers were well on their way toward writing an obscenity ordnance, when one member wanted to go one step further and outlaw animals going naked. Her amendment would have required owners to make their pets or farm animals wear diapers.

My books contain every crime or sin imaginable, although I try to present it in a sensible way in which the good guys win and the criminals get the punishment they deserve. While I do not like erotica, I see this act as a first step in banning other anti-social acts from literature. What would happen to our stories if they banned murder, bank robbery, simple assault, or criticism of corrupt officials? Censorship in any form is a slippery slope that I don’t think we can deal with until we take a giant step up the evolutionary scale from where we are. If the management of these financial institutions gets away with this, can censorship of Amazon or the other publishers be far behind? Below, you will find the addresses of the financial institutions and credit card companies that are leading this crusade to reign in our rights of freedom of expression. If you agree with me, send them an email stating your position.

VISA
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=V+Profile

American Express
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=AXP+Profile

MasterCard
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=MA+Profile

Discover
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=DFS+Profile

EBay (Paypal)
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=ebay+Profile

Monday, February 20, 2012

Support Groups Needed

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There is nothing quite as wonderful as a good sense of humor. Being able to approach the difficult things in life with an upbeat attitude tends to smooth out the rough spots along life’s pathway. Fellow writer Joyce Scarbrough is not only a good writer; she has the ability to see humor in a way that makes the rest of us envious. Every agent or publisher wants to know a writer’s marketing plan. Joyce wrote a great article a few days ago about one of her ideas that might push her books to the top. It is entitled, Support Groups Needed. Even if you aren’t a writer, you will get a chuckle out of her humorous suggestions. Follow the link by clicking on the title to this article. While you’re on her site, take a look around. You will find some other articles well worth reading.

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Another Great Review From Kevin Tipple



Avid readers are always searching for review sites where knowledgeable reviewers can point them toward another great writer. One of my favorite blogs belongs to friend and fellow writer Kevin Tipple. He always does a superb job of discovering writers who know how to craft a great story. I was impressed by Kevin’s review of Dorothy Francis’ new book Killer in Control. Here is the review printed in its entirety with permission of the reviewer. Be sure to visit Kevin’s site for other great reviews.

KILLER IN CONTROL BY KEVIN TIPPLE

Dorothy Francis takes readers back to Key West in Killer in Control and it’s another good very atmospheric cozy style mystery from the author. Full of guilt and heavy with memories, suspended Iowa police officer Kitt Morgan plans on spending time with her sister, Janell and her husband, Rex at their bed and breakfast inn, “The Poinsetta” located at Key West. When she isn’t lecturing one and all about her Prius and how environmentally responsible it is, Kitt’s plan is to relax as much as possible and try not to think about her role in the shooting back home in snowy Iowa. Something that is never far from her thoughts as her police officer father never once shot anyone during his long career.

Sensing something wrong on her arrival, it is not long before Janell and Rex explain to Kitt that they are in real trouble. Fortunately, despite the fact that Rex is bald, it does not mean he is dying of cancer as Kitt quickly suspects on arrival. Instead, one of their guests is dead. Abra Barrie was murdered. Not at the bed and breakfast but elsewhere. They are involved since she was a guest and there is evidence indicating someone at the inn was involved. Both Janell and Rex, as well as their small staff, are suspects in the murder case. Janell and Rex would like Kitt Morgan to quietly investigate, when she is not relaxing and seeing the sites, to clear their names and the business.

How can Kitt tell her sister and her husband no? She can’t. The problem with that, is by sticking her nose in the case when she is not seeing the sites of Key West and the immediate area, she makes herself the target of a killer. While the suspects are many because they are all eccentric in various ways there is only one killer among them. A self-proclaimed “killer in control” who will strike again in this cozy style novel before the case is solved. Despite all Kitt’s reading and experience, and a sister who seems to know much more about police investigative work than she does, it isn’t an easy case to solve when some many characters fit the profile of sociopathic behavior.

Dorothy Francis has penned yet another enjoyable stand alone novel set at Key West. Once again she recounts the sights and sounds along with the unique history of the area while assembling a cast of rather eccentric characters for her latest cozy style mystery tale. A tale of serial murder that fittingly eventually ends on the beach. Killer in Control is another solidly good story from this talented author.

Killer in Control: A Key West Mystery
Dorothy Francis
http://www.dorothyfrancis.com
Five Star
http://www.gale.cengage.com/fivestar/
ISBN# 978-1-43282-502-7
July 2011
Hardback
274 Pages
$25.95

Material in the form of an ARC was provided quite some time ago by the author in exchange for my objective review.
Kevin R. Tipple © 2012, reviews, news and more at: http://kevintipplescorner.blogspot.com/

http://www.amazon.com/Killer-Control-Five-Star-Mystery/dp/143282502X

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

New Book On Amazon



I have a new series available on Amazon. The first book, Wolf Spencer, is FREE. This is a Western series in the tradition of the old west. If you like frontier stories set in the post-Civil War era; this is the book for you.

When John Spencer returns to town after three years of living with the Cheyenne, he does not expect much of a welcome, but it doesn’t matter that much, because he doesn’t intend to stay that long. From the moment of his arrival he is confronted with the problems he ran away from when his parents were killed. There are those who will stop at nothing to make him leave, and others who are willing to pay any price to make him stay. The Indians called him Wolf and he has a reputation to match. There is a price on his head, bounty hunters on his back trail, and the army with a warrant for his arrest. And if that isn’t trouble enough, there is Shannon the one he loves. This is the first book in The Renegade series.

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Four Seasons



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I’m glad I live in an area where there are four distinct seasons. Each year as autumn approaches, I wish my camera had the capability of capturing the full riot of colors from the surrounding hillsides and forest. There is always some sadness as the year winds down. You can see it in the meadows and hillsides as summer slowly fades away and geese honk their way southward. Winter brings a special pleasure with the holiday season; warm fires, family gatherings, and events like the Superbowl. There is nothing, however, in any of these things that measures up to the first spring flowers as they emerge from underneath the forest leaves. It excites me in a way that I cannot describe. It is a harbinger of everything the coming year has to offer. 2012 is upon us with its promise of new and better things. There will be some sadness, disappointment, and even tragedy, but as I look at these flowers emerging from the earth, I know that whatever is predestined for the coming year will be good.

Friday, January 13, 2012

Books And The Wonderful People Who Read Them

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Almost everyone has had a desire to write a book, but when faced with the challenging task of sitting for hours at a keyboard, some of the enthusiasm fades away. One ‘expert’ said that writing is an obsession, a frightful madness, something to be avoided at all cost. He left out how much fun it is.

Any writer will tell you that meeting avid readers is a close second to the actual writing process. On Wednesday of this week I was allowed to meet with a book club in my area. Some of the members were friends with whom I attended high school, and others were new friends who simply enjoy reading a good book.

I am told that book signings at brick and mortar bookstores are on the decline, and libraries have to schedule the number of meetings they sponsor due to physical restraints. Book clubs will no doubt continue to meet for many centuries to come, and they offer an opportunity for writers to discuss their work with like-minded people

All writers need to come in from the cold occasionally and warm their hands and their hearts around the campfire. Wednesday was a heady experience I will never forget, and I feel strangely inspired and blessed. I could tell you more, but the characters in my novel are urging me to get back to work. . .

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Kindle eBooks - A Miracle in Our Time!

When I was growing up, we moved from the city into the countryside, away from all of the amenities and conveniences a city has to offer. But most important, we moved away from bookstores and a public library. The schools I attended had few books, and the ones they had were acquired with an awareness that they had to meet the reading needs of children from the first grade through high school. Even when I reached adulthood, you could not always find the books you wanted at your local bookstore, and ordering the one you wanted could sometimes be impossible.

Online bookstores began to appear as soon as the Internet became available to consumers, but many books were prohibitively expensive. To offset the expense of print books and the shipping cost to deliver them, the concept of electronic books came into being. The drawback was the medium to deliver them and a suitable device on which they could be read. Some books were offered on floppy disk, but few of them were sold. It was not until Amazon tackled the problem of how to offer books in a hassle free manner that the concept began to fly. There were many of us who held our breath when the first Kindles came on the market, until we realized that they were actually the miracle that was promised. Amazons plans are to eventually have every book in existence in their marketplace. For an avid reader like me, this is almost too much to contemplate. Thank you Amazon for making my childhood dreams come true!

My latest eBook is now available on Amazon, and for the next five days it will be FREE. You can download it by clicking on the title of this article.