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How To Learn To Write Books: 7 Practical Ways

November 21, 2017 Leave a Comment

Today I’m hosting a guest post by Chris Richardson, a journalist and blogger who offers practical ways on how to learn to write books. I’ll give the word to Chris Richardson now.

How to Learn to Write Books: 7 Practical Ways

If you thought the hardest part of book writing is getting it published, think again. Modern writers of today struggle with many challenges before this step even comes close, and they will all tell you the same thing – the hardest part of book writing is the actual writing part.

To help you overcome the common barriers of the writing experience, we have made a list of seven valuable tips on how to write a book. Whether you are creating a new literary novel, a screen play or non-fiction book, these are the things you should know:

Take the Time to Prepare

‘I take more time to prepare than what I take to do the actual writing. And it is the right way to go – the more prepared you are about the writing part, the faster and better it will go.’ – says, Peter Smearson, content writer at Essay Geeks.

Starting the process is probably the hardest step of writing a book, or any other type of writing for that matter. Good writing requires research, great topic and title choice, a set schedule and detailed goals. If you want to get this part right and make the actual writing part easier, follow these steps:

Step 1: Decide What Your Book Is About

You cannot write a quality book if you do not know what it is about. Readers always know when a writer lacks a specific idea, or is simply rambling across dozens of pages. Therefore, you should get a clear idea as to what you will be talking about, and create an outline of this idea.

Step 2: Set a Word Count Goal

When you have a good writing regime, it does not matter how busy your life is. Sometimes people with all the time in the world cannot finish a book, while those with hundreds of tasks write a bestseller. There is no limitation when it comes to writing a great book. All you need is a clear daily word count goal and determination.

Step 3: Stick to Your Plan

You now have your daily deadline, so respect it. This does not mean that you are not entitled to a day off, but try not to get yourself off the hook easily. When the time comes for you to write those words, sit down and write them down.

2. Set a Routine

This sounds like the third step of the first tip, but it is actually quite different. A routine requires more than a set word count. In addition to setting your daily goal, you should also pay attention to your environment. Remove all distractions with some of the most popular tools, set the right lighting and even temperature, and write in the same time and place every time. It is only in this way that you can set a real routine.

3. Be Consistent

Do everything you feel you need to do to be consistent in your writing. Keep an inspiration list where you will write down your ideas, keep an organized journal where you will write down facts, sources, and even add illustrations, and keep the things that inspire you close to you. The goal here is to deliver consistently, even if it is not your day.

4. Picture the Readers

Just as public speakers picture the audience in their underwear to get rid of the anxiety and fear, so should writers. Only in this case, you are not looking at an audience, but at an actual reader. Once you do this, you will be able to create something of value to your readers.

5. Take Breaks

Our mind is a tricky thing, and no one can be completely focused on one thing all the time. You should try to stick to the schedule, but it is not illegal to take temporary relief from this task. Award yourself with a treat or a break when you need one, even if it will break your schedule.

6. Be Prepared for the Reactions

Every reader is different. One will see your book as a bestseller, and others will wonder how it got there in the first place. Even if this petrifies you, it is the truth. So, stop fearing that your book will bring bad reactions, because it probably will at some level. The goal is to be open and as great of a writer as you already are. Success will follow.

7. Tell Your Story

No one can tell your story like you can. Even if you tell it to another person, you still have the benefit of ‘owning it’. Use this benefit to show people that you are the best person to tell that exact story, and touch them with the words.

All you have to do when writing a book is dedicate yourself to it. Put your unique style, spin on the writing, and just keep going. Next thing you know – your book is ready for publishing!

 

Author Bio

Chris Richardson is a journalist, editor, and a blogger. He loves to write, learn new things, and meet new outgoing people. Chris is also fond of traveling, sports, and playing the guitar. Follow him on Facebook and Google+.

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Guest Post Spain, Guard my Bones

June 21, 2017 3 Comments

Today I’m hosting a guest post by Jack Thompson, author of crime thriller “Spain, Guard my Bones”. Welcome, and thanks for visiting my blog! I’ll leave the word to author Jack Thompson now.

Guest Post

Spain is unique. Not as a holiday destination. Other countries clearly compete. But Spain’s history, art and culture, have no parallel in Europe or elsewhere, an almost endless list of names can confirm this. The painters, Goya, Picasso, Dali, El Greco, Velasquez, Murillo; Cervantes, the writer of the very first European novel; the poet, Lorca; the musicians, Albéniz, Granados, De Falla and a host of flamenco artists; plus the legacy in architecture left by the Muslims of Andalucía.

Spanish football’s is a notable aspect al (Real and Barça), as are its tennis players. But many Spanish are turning their backs on the blood-soaked traditions of bullfighting. It’s even banned in Catalonia, partly because the region wants outsiders to see it as culturally separate from the rest of Spain, even independent in its own right. But that’s another story.

Spain though is made ever more interesting by its dark side, not least the brutal civil war in the late 1930s. Franco’s Nationalist rebels fought and defeated Republican government forces. It took them three years. They showed their enemies no mercy. Thousands of soldiers and civilians opposed to Franco were tortured and killed. It was in effect genocide against his own people. Their bodies were shovelled into mass graves and left to rot.

Franco died in1975. Many Spanish welcomed the revival of parliamentary democracy and some sought to exhume the remains of the slaughtered and bury them with dignity. But prejudice in Spain dies hard. Those harking back to what they saw as the stability of Franco’s 36-year dictatorship opposed anything that might remind them of the ruthlessness of the old regime. They are still to be found on the right of the political spectrum. On the left are socialists and communists, accepting among other things the restoration of the monarchy but determined that the Spanish should not forget its past.

Attempts at reconciliation have never really worked even though the political parties subscribed to agreements designed to make the new regime a success. Older people have been reluctant to put aside their differences. This may now be changing as a new generation takes over.

Into this scenario steps my shambling British journalist, Charlie Barrow. He finds the exhumation story fascinating, one he must write up in detail. But in researching it all, he makes enemies, in particular a right-wing politician called Ortiz, anxious to restore dictatorship by means of a coup d’état. Ortiz recruits an embryonic private army made up mainly of Moroccan jihadists but disappears when he’s charged with murder. Charlie wants to find and expose him.

Charlie has staunch friends and allies; a dwarf, Carlito, who is a human rights lawyer; Elena, a beautiful archaeologist; and Manresa, an enlightened officer in the intelligence services.

Charlie gets the story he wants. He unmasks the right wing politician but loses Elena and Carlito along the way.

Into the fabric of the story I have tried to weave coverage of the status of dwarves in Spanish society; the revelation that Carlito is not just a lawyer but a fine player of flamenco guitar music; and suspicions that, even though Elena and Charlie fall in love, she is not quite what she seems. Is she a political agent and which party does she really work for? I have also tried to evoke the atmosphere in present-day Spain with the rise of new parties trying to rid the system of a long-standing and corrupt stitch-up between the main forces of left and right. And in Colonel Manresa I have the ‘good cop’, a different breed from his predecessors under Franco.

The book is a mixture of invention, imagination and references to real people and real events. And I make no apologies for taking sides. Ortiz is an unreconstructed villain. Charlie is a good, honest hack but with foibles aplenty. In a way, Carlito is my favourite character but even he makes mistakes, as when he drags Charlie to his dwarf village in the mountains and shows that he can’t handle the complications of family life.

There’s a lot to digest in this book. But I hope it’s in the best traditions of thriller writing in the English language.

Jack Thompson

About Spain, Guard My Bones

Journalist Charlie Barrow originally intends to explore Spain as a tourist, to relax and escape from the pressures of work. But after his arrival in Castillo, where a mass grave of Civil War victims has been discovered, Barrow can’t resist the temptation to follow his gut and seek answers. Accompanied by an intelligent lawyer, Carlito, and a beautiful archaeologist, Elena, Barrow wastes no time making enemies of a powerful political party and another, misguided, lawyer, Ortiz.
Chasing the story of corruption in a land where old-fashioned political prejudices die hard, Barrow travels from country to city, and back again. Dodging bullets, Arab bodyguards, and untrustworthy officials, the shambling journalist seems certain to face many triumphs as well as the loss of friendships, loves and hopes.

Purchase on Amazon

 
 

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Book Tours: Guest Post for Trespass

June 7, 2015 1 Comment

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I’m hosting a guest post today for the book tour for science-fiction / fantasy “Trespass”. The author talks about five things he learned while writing Trespass! I hope you enjoy the post.

Five Things I Learned Writing Trespass

Don’t try to be Too Clever

I wanted my first novel to be special, to be different. Setting out to write a book was a major turning point in my life and the realisation of a dream I’d nurtured for as long as I could remember. For me, the bells were ringing and I was determined to write something out of the ordinary. So I didn’t give the main character a name but I did give him lots of flashbacks, and just for the hell of it, I decided to keep dialogue down to a minimum. It was all going to be very literary. And it took me a long time to realise that all this monkeying about was self-important nonsense. I was putting literary backflips in the way of the story and while backflips are very clever, we read a novel because we want to be entertained by the story itself rather than by the writer. The writer should melt into the background while the story takes centre stage. And this brings me on to the next thing I learned…

Always Put the Reader First

I read a lot and very widely; everything from crime to humour to sci-fi to classical. So I have a fair idea when a story is really good. And yet, when I started writing, I was so focused on getting the book finished that I didn’t take enough consideration of the reader. The pacing was all wrong and there wasn’t enough interaction between the characters. In fact, there weren’t enough characters in the story at all – too many scenes focused on a single character and that made the story dry. And it took me while to see my mistakes because I was just too close to it. When you’re in the thick of it and scribbling away like nobody’s business, you don’t always recognise it when you start to go off the rails. I needed to achieve a certain distance and that only came with time. When I’d put the book aside for a while, I realised that I should treat my writing as if I was cooking a meal for someone. A good cook thinks only about how the meal will taste to the diner, and a writer needs to keep their readers in mind at all times. It was a hard lesson to learn, but one that I’ll never forget. Now, I’ll look at a page and say, “What happens on this page?” And it had better be something worth reading about or out it goes.

Writing a Novel isn’t a Sprint, it’s a Marathon.

And then another marathon. And another. It’s like one of those endurance events that brave souls endure to raise money for charity. OK it’s not physically demanding, but on a psychological level, it takes its toll. So what do you do? Well, if you want a book to be any good, you have to grit your teeth and just keep tapping away at the keyboard. And when you make it to the finish line, you don’t celebrate for long, because Page One is sitting patiently and waiting for you like a dog that knows it’s dinner time. So you sigh and you start again. And again. And you tell yourself, as often as you can, that each rewrite will make the book that little bit better. I’ve learned why people call writing a craft. Anyone can nail some planks together and make a rudimentary table, but a skilled woodworker isn’t satisfied until they’ve sanded and polished it to perfection. Now, I’m not calling myself a master craftsman by any means, but I’ve learned what it means to tie on the apron and pick up the sandpaper. And I’ll gladly do the same tomorrow and the day after.

Complex is OK

On paper, Trespass sounds like a complex novel. There are several plot lines and they run over a period of about 5,000 years. And what’s more, those plots intersect and interact with each other. So while writing, I often worried that I’d made it too complicated and wondered if people would find it hard to understand. But I underestimated people’s desire to get their teeth into a complicated story. I’ll admit that the plot wasn’t easy to plan and I found it very demanding to write – the different time periods needed a lot of careful handling. But interestingly, people often say they love the way the story flits back and forth through time. People like the richness of the story and the depth that the different timelines bring. Perhaps it’s because readers like to be kept in suspense and they enjoy the fact that the story isn’t a vanilla, predictable novel. That sense of anticipation is a wonderful thing and must be valued and nurtured, so I’m glad I stuck with my interweaving plots. Which takes me to the next thing…

Stick to Your Guns

It sometimes feels like everything is a remake these days. Films are stretched into a series until they run out of sequels and then go back and remake the first one. And bookshops are suddenly filled with a range of very similar books, churned out by publishers trying to jump on the latest bandwagon. The pressure to bend a piece of creative work until it matches something that’s already popular is very great indeed. But I fought against it with this book. Sure, it makes it difficult for me at times, when I struggle to tell people what genre my book fits into, but I don’t think that will matter in the end. What’s important is that I was true to myself and wrote the story as I saw it. And I’ve learned that this pays off eventually. If I’d tried to twist this book into an imitation of The Time Machine or Doctor Who, I wouldn’t have believed in it and I wouldn’t have been able to write it convincingly.   If I don’t believe a story, why should anyone else? I’ve learned how vital it is that I’m committed to the story I’m working on, so I poured my heart and soul into Trespass. I think that commitment paid off – but what do you think?

Let me know at mikeycampling.com, give me a mention on Twitter @mikeycampling, or find me on Facebook/authormikeycampling. I always reply to comments and emails so go for it. And if I’ve whetted your appetite for a good story, then you can always claim two free books by signing up on my site at: mikeycampling.com/giveaway

Thank you for taking the time.

Mikey Campling

About the Book

166_0.218591001427739589_tp_cv_hr Title: Trespass

Author: Mikey Campling

Genre: Science Fiction / Fantasy

Three stories, separated by five thousand years, united by one deadly secret:

Somewhere, sometime, the stone is waiting.

Trespass combines gritty, edgy modern-day action with a thrilling adventure across time. Discovered over 5,000 years ago, the Darkeningstone affects everyone who finds it.

Jake was too smart to believe the rumours about Scaderstone Pit, but now he’s in more danger than he could ever have imagined.

In 1939, as World War II looms, the lives of two men will be changed forever.

Over 5,000 years ago, a hermit will keep the stone a secret. But someone is watching him – someone with murder in his heart.

When it finds you, what will you see when you look into The Darkeningstone?

 

Author Bio

Mikey grew up in North Yorkshire, but he refuses to be classified according to Northern stereotypes, which is just the sort of bloody-minded attitude you’d expect from a Yorkshireman.  During his first day at school, he discovered the wondrous world that is The Book Corner, and he has never really left it.

He now lives in Devon, on the edge of the wilds of Dartmoor, with his wife, two children, and a black Labrador called Lottie who will only bark when she’s asleep. And lots and lots of books.

You can find out more on Mikey’s website: mikeycampling.com

You can also get two free books, free audio stories and free artwork by joining his mailing list at: mikeycampling.com/giveaway

Links

http://mikeycampling.com/

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1HasOec

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/trespass-mikey-campling/1121808825?ean=9781620157268

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Book Tours: Guest Post From Frights to Flaws

May 18, 2015 Leave a Comment

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I’m hosting a guest post for the book tour for MG fantasy “From Frights to Flaws” about MG characters. Enjoy the guest post!

When MG Main Characters Have to be Dependent

We all know that in middle grade fiction, the protagonists have to make their own decisions and not rely on adults to help them or make decisions for them. It’s why in some stories, including mine, the main characters are orphans. I even watched a video where the person in it said to keep adults out of the story as much as possible.

However, I disagree with keeping adults out of the story. While the characters can’t have adults decide for them on what’s right or wrong, here are some things they need to rely on adults for.

 Driving them to places: Unless the main character is of licensed age (which hardly ever happens in MG fiction, and would probably be very hard to sell unless you’re a super famous, popular, author who’s won many awards), they still need adults to drive them places. Middle grade protagonists are usually no older than 13 or 14. Therefore, they are not going to be old enough to drive.

Signing things for them that only adults can sign: If your main character is going on a school field trip and is under 18, they will need an adult to sign their permission slip for them. An example of this is in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, when Harry had to ask his uncle to sign his permission form to visit the village outside of Hogwarts. Aside from permission slips, adults need to fill out children’s health forms, school forms, and camp forms (if applicable). They also need to pay bills and taxes in order to keep their homes.

Having and maintaining legal custody over their kids: If you keep adults out of your MG story as much as possible and make your main character purely independent, then you might as well make your protagonist over 18. Except for the book, Mr. Popper’s Penguins, MG main characters are ALWAYS going to be under 18. Therefore, they cannot be financially dependent. They need to live with adults (parents, guardians, foster parents) and rely on them to keep legal custody for them until they either turn 18 or graduate from college.

Escorting them to places where minors must be accompanied by adults: Some places, such as hotels, will require minors to have an adult with them. If your character is going somewhere where everyone under 18 needs to be supervised, then they will need an adult to accompany them.

Those are the four things middle grade protagonists need to rely on adults for. Other than that, they can be independent.

About the Book

FromFrightsToFlaws_Sunayna PrasadTitle: From Frights to Flaws

Author: Sunayna Prasad

Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy

    Twelve-year-old Alyssa McCarthy is sick of her uncle’s unfair rules and longs for a better life. After discovering the existence of magic, she finds out about a dark wizard hunting her down. An unforgettable storm occurs in Alyssa’s ordinary New Jersey town before the sorcerer kidnaps her to the Fiji Islands.

On the enchanted island of Yanowic, Alyssa learns that she is unable to get out of the country due to a giant shield. She must defeat some dangerous creatures and the evil wizard in order to leave. But with sorcerers and magical technology getting in her way, can Alyssa succeed?

Author Bio

sunayna in IndiaSunayna Prasad has been writing stories for several years, starting at the age of six. Now twenty-one, she is a college student will study who studies art and design as well write for children. Aside from that, Sunayna also likes to cook, watch movies, and draw. She lives on Long Island, New York, with her family.

Links

http://www.sunaynaprasadbooks.com/

https://www.facebook.com/SunaynaPrasadBooks

Buy on Amazon

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Book Tours: Guest Post Captain Shelby

September 10, 2014 Leave a Comment

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I’m hosting a guest post for the book tour for “Captain Shelby”. I’ll leave the word to author Jesse Giles Christiansen now. I hope you all enjoy the guest post!

On Writing

I’ve been writing longer than others, and not as long as many. What do I know of it? Hardly all there is, and I shall die in the same predicament. But surely I know something, and that’s what I wish to share here.

The most important thing is not to write something, but to write something directly from the soul.

If there is a Muse, he resides there; but he is a god as a child. He knows everything, but does not know how to access it. He is a raging river, and you are the damn. Like the Greek gods, he is nothing without your worship. Worship him by opening the damn all the way. You will be not be able to swim all day, and will have to go to the shore and rest. Tomorrow, get back in the water again and tread water as long as you can. You can’t win, you can only survive. The better you survive, the better your books will be.

Be courageous, or make a living. Choose now.

I know, this is a brutal choice. It really comes down to dedicating your life to a passion, or dedicating your passion to making a life. If you want to create great work, you have to forget about genre and trend. I read recently that by the time you caught literary fashion, it would be out of fashion. Write to write. With a lifetime of hard work, and a little luck, your work will survive.

Writing process leads to processed writing.

Just put it on paper, and your literary work becomes paper with words. Let the words live and breathe, leap on their own from the paper, and your literary work will become slanted rays of sunlight. Know the sunlit roads, then make a new shortcut. Slant the ray of sunlight. Think of it this way, if you know what’s coming next, so will the reader. Your true voice lies in the raging river itself, where it could not go … not where it has gone.

Great work is not enough.

The literary world has changed. For the good. For the worse. You can publish in a heartbeat, and be forgotten in that same heartbeat. You can submit manuscripts to overwhelmed publishers, and grow gray along with your postal or email receipts, which hold the worth of lottery tickets. That is the bad news. The good news is that if you grow a strong marketing limb, great work has a chance … a good one. This means a savvy publisher, strong social media presence, and recognition, whether that be awards or your name on big lists—or both. If you don’t make it, perhaps it wasn’t great work to begin with.

I wish all writers a long career of rich ups and edifying downs, but most importantly, the opportunity to be a literary artist with a readership. What a privilege indeed. For no matter how high you climb, isn’t that what you wanted in the first place? What we all really want? The rest is in the hands of the literary gods.

Yours in literature,

J.G.C.

About the Author

Jesse Giles ChristiansenJesse Giles Christiansen is an American author who writes compelling literary fiction that weaves the real with the surreal. He attended Florida State University where he received his B.A. in English literature, and holds an M.A. in philosophy from Georgia State University. He is the author of Pelican Bay (book one in the Captain Shelby Series), an Amazon #1 list bestseller, outselling Old Man and the Sea by Hemingway. One of Christiansen’s literary goals is to write at least fifty novels, and he always reminds himself of something that Ray Bradbury once said: “You fail only if you stop writing.”

His latest book is the literary fiction/magical realism novel, Captain Shelby.

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About the Book

Captain Shelby 2There are places even the sea cannot go…

In coastal Denmark, a young man named Nereus builds a longship and leaves at age eighteen to discover a new, enigmatic land. Faced with unimaginable obstacles, he crosses the North Atlantic, only to be captured by the Skraelings, the Inuit indigenous people who seek revenge on all settlers because of a “Great Red Man” who murdered many of their family members.

Many years later, Nereus is hired by a group of Irish settlers who are fleeing the tyranny of King Henry VIII, and he takes them across the North Atlantic to the New Found Land. A fierce battle ensues against the sea, the Little Ice Age, and the vicious Skraelings.

When Nereus falls in love with Laura Hodges, fiancée to the group’s leader, William Brockelby, he becomes embroiled in a dangerous love triangle…until the formidable mystery surrounding Captain Nereus H. Shelby is finally revealed.

For More Information

  • Captain Shelby is available at Amazon.
  • Discuss this book at PUYB Virtual Book Club at Goodreads.
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Book Tours: Guest Post I Wish

August 27, 2014 Leave a Comment

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I’m hosting a guest post today for the book tour for “I Wish”. I’ll leave the word to author E.B. Tatby now. 

Wish Loud and Follow Your Dreams

It takes a special character to merit the role of protagonist. There must be something endearing about them… something we empathize with or admire. The main character must also possess a quality we love to hate: an annoying habit, an Achilles heel, or a fatal flaw.

Even more than a personal connection, what we crave the most—what keeps us flipping through the pages—is the seemingly impossible journey ahead. Like Kenza Atlas, the sixteen-year old heroine in I Wish, who taps into a wellspring of positive energy only to unleash the wrath of a vengeful evil spirit, we read because we want to be reminded of our internal power to get clear on what we really want: the power to wish… a gift we all have that is ever present and rarely used.

When I finally decided to pick up the pen (or rather, a cramped laptop keyboard) and write my first novel, I soon realized that—as a writer—I was following my own hero’s journey , replete with all the necessary ingredients:

·         a life-long dream of becoming an author

·         almost no time to dedicate toward writing, and

·         a dauntingly competitive book industry that seemed to be (and still is) re-writing itself

How many times did I think about giving up? I’ll admit that I’ve lost track, but I’m glad to report that I stuck with it. Fortunately, I was inspired by a most unexpected source: the main character of my novel, a girl named Kenza Atlas who was learning to wish.

Whatever it is you embark on, whatever stops time for you and fills your soul—whether it be writing, healing people, innovating new and untried forms of technology, or whatever it is that lights a fire within you—promise me this…that you follow in Kenza Atlas’ footsteps in I Wish.

WISH LOUD and FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS!

 

About the Author

E.B. TatbyE.B. Tatby was born and raised in Sioux City, Iowa. She is living her life-long dream of being an Author and is passionate about inspiring others (especially teens) to follow their dreams. Above all, she wants to remind them of the power to wish.

I Wish, a YA story, is her first published novel. She is currently working on a sequel.

For More Information

About the Book

I Wish 2All her life, sixteen-year-old Kenza Atlas has heard the stories, but she never believed them. She never expected the allure of power or, worse, how far the dark shadows could cast. Genies and wishing are for fairy tales, not teenage girls, and especially not in Omaha.

But when a Moroccan jinn with undulating tattoos and mysterious black eyes whisks her 500 years back in time, she witnesses the death of her powerful ancestor and the gorgeous slave she loved. They sacrificed themselves to escape the Caliph, a tyrant named Mazin.
And now he’s after Kenza.
He’s tracked her to her present time. Now she spends her days stealing paranoid glances over her shoulder, obsessing over a slave who died hundreds of years ago, and praying her family will survive.

For More Information

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Book Tours: Guest Post The New Reality

July 29, 2014 1 Comment

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I’m hosting a guest post today for the book tour for “The New Reality”. Enjoy. I’ll leave the word to the author now.

Fact is More Interesting than Fiction

Many people have asked me if there was a big transition from being a physician and researcher to becoming a writer. It certainly is a reasonable question. There does seem to be a substantial difference between frantically running around seeing patients and sitting quietly behind a computer typing out a fictional novel. In fact, I sometimes wonder how I made the switch.

However, when I sit back and think about what I see or read during the day, the transition seems almost natural. In my practice, I come into contact with incredibly rare diseases, illnesses that have yet to be named, and medical conditions that just boggle the mind. Also, as a researcher, I am at the forefront dealing with the latest technology, medical devices and thought leaders. It may seem glamorous, but it certainly isn’t. However, what I see during the day could lead to endless ideas for great fictional novels.

Plus, because I deal with so many different people in a week, I come into contact with a wide variety of personalities. Some have interesting quirks, others are simply captivating, and a select few have dispositions only their mothers can love. When I created the characters for The New Reality, I had the luxury of picking and choosing different personality traits for my characters that made them both believable and interesting.

Mark Twain wrote, “Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please.” Fortunately, I did not have to distort the facts to create The New Reality. The facts, themselves, simply are distorted and interesting enough. In my novel, a deadly virus, not unlike the MERS virus recently highlighted in the news, mutates and creates havoc onto an unprepared world, creating pandemic like conditions. With a scenario mirroring our own current society, the book outlines what would happen if this deadly outbreak occurred in a corrupt world inundated with debt, crumbling medical institutions and reprehensible leaders.

Though fiction, The New Reality is based upon facts and foreshadows the possible deleterious consequences of the technological, monetary and ethical follies of today’s world. In the end, The New Reality may become our reality if we as a human race cannot resolve the problems that we created.

About the Author

Stephen MartinoStephen Martino holds an M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania and is a neurologist in New Jersey. When he is not working, he can be found with his five children doing homework or cheering them on at a soccer field, basketball court, or dance recital. Martino is a member of the Knights of Columbus, a Cub Scout den leader and is an active public speaker, helping to educate the local community and healthcare professionals on the signs, symptoms and treatment of stroke. THE NEW REALITY is his first novel.

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About the Book

The New Reality 2Alex Pella, an acclaimed neuroscientist and the hero of the new medical thriller, THE NEW REALITY, finds himself racing across the globe to find a cure for a rapidly spreading illness threatening to end all of humanity. To combat this worldwide pandemic, Pella and his colleagues must use modern science in an attempt to decipher a code hidden by God within the original pages of the Bible.

THE NEW REALITY is the first book in a projected trilogy starring Alex Pella, created by New Jersey-based neurologist Stephen Martino. With his mixture of medicine, politics, biblical riddles, and futuristic science, Martino joins such masters of the medical thriller genre as Dan Brown, Michael Crichton, and Robin Cook.

Martino’s villain is a deadly retrovirus accidentally unleashed on the world in the year 2080, a time when no country is financially equipped to deal with such a disaster. It’s up to Pella and NIH expert Marissa Ambrosia to lead the search for a cure while fending off an elite foreign military unit sent to stop them. The scientists, guided by an ancient code concealed within the Hebrew text of the Old Testament, traverse ancient lands in an attempt to solve a biblical riddle and save humanity from total extinction.

Martino says he wrote THE NEW REALITY “more than just to entertain the reader. I really wanted to create a novel with substance, like (Brown’s) THE DA VINCI CODE or (Crichton’s) JURASSIC PARK. These books not only tell a fantastic story, but they also make the reader think.”

In THE NEW REALITY, Martino has included such hot-button contemporary topics as genetic manipulation, gene therapy, unprecedented economic debt, and the rise of big government, combining them with more esoteric subjects such as the Bible Code and the mysteries hidden in the Book of Revelation.

The Bible Code, Martino explains, does exist and was discovered by Dr. Eli Rips, a mathematician in quantum physics. The code has been confirmed by mathematicians at Yale, Harvard, and Hebrew University, as well as by peer-reviewed mathematical journals and the Pentagon. The code, Martino continues, is found in the original Hebrew version of the first five books of the Old Testament, called the Torah, and only in its untranslated, Hebrew form.

All of these elements, Martino maintains, separate his book from the pack. He calls THE NEW REALITY “issue-oriented fiction. There are real concerns facing society today that threaten both the sovereignty and prosperity of our future generations. Though fictional, my novel addresses some of these issues and predicts the potential consequences we face as a nation if they are not properly addressed today.”

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Book Tours: Guest Post Anvil of God

July 8, 2014 Leave a Comment

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I’m hosting a guest post for the book tour for “Anvil of God”. Enjoy reading.

Why would anyone write about 8th century France?

Actually the more important question is why would anyone read about the 8th century France?  After all, there are plenty of books about time periods with which we are already familiar:  Henry VIII and his many wives, the Knights Templar and the Crusades, Julius Caesar and Cleopatra – even the legend of King Arthur.  Why pick a time frame so obscure?

The short answer is I was looking for a new adventure. And that’s what readers will find in the award-winning  Anvil of God, Book One of the Carolingian Chronicles – a great new adventure.  The 8th century is pivotal to the rise of Christianity and western civilization and the figures who frame it are dynamic and unforgettable.

Anvil begins with the death of Charles the Hammer, a bastard son who at 19 seized the father’s fortune and spent the next 27 years conquering Europe on behalf of the Merovingian Kings.  Although he longed to place his sons on the throne, his untimely death leaves this legacy unfinished.    His death creates a vacuum of power across the continent and throws his grieving family into the center of conflict.  Son battles son, Christianity battles paganism and his young daughter must choose between love and her family’s ambitions.

Originally, I planned to write about the last great Carolingian, Charlemagne.  I took a class in college with a history professor named Charles Wood, who was one of the foremost historians of his day.  We studied Charlemagne and I became fascinated by the epic poem The Song of Roland. It reminded me of the Illiad and I always imagined that when I got around to it, I would write a novel about the poem.

When I started to do the research, however, I kept looking for a place to start the story.  I kept going further and further back in time to find where the story really begins.  I ended up two generations earlier, riveted by the story of Charles’s daughter Trudi fleeing his court in the dead of night to pursue love among his enemies.  It was the scandal of the 8th century.

That story and the story of Charles’s widow trying to protect the rights of her 14 year-old son, frame the action of Anvil and give life to why history unfolded the way it did.  It’s a great story and I hope you enjoy the adventure.  I know I did.

About the Author

J. Boyce GleasonWith an AB degree in history from Dartmouth College, J. Boyce Gleason brings a strong understanding of what events shaped the past and when, but writes historical-fiction to discover why. Gleason lives in Virginia with his wife Mary Margaret. They have three sons.

His latest book is the historical fiction, Anvil of God, Book One of the Carolingian Chronicles.

Visit his website at www.jboycegleason.com.

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About the Book

Anvil of God 2It is 741. After subduing the pagan religions in the east, halting the march of Islam in the west, and conquering the continent for the Merovingian kings, mayor of the palace Charles the Hammer has one final ambition—the throne. Only one thing stands in his way—he is dying.

Charles cobbles together a plan to divide the kingdom among his three sons, betroth his daughter to a Lombard prince to secure his southern border, and keep the Church unified behind them through his friend Bishop Boniface. Despite his best efforts, the only thing to reign after Charles’s death is chaos. His daughter has no intention of marrying anyone, let alone a Lombard prince. His two eldest sons question the rights of their younger pagan stepbrother, and the Church demands a steep price for their support. Son battles son, Christianity battles paganism, and Charles’s daughter flees his court for an enemy’s love.

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Discuss this book in our PUYB Virtual Book Club at Goodreads by clicking HERE

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Book Tours: Guest Post Invitation Book Tour

June 16, 2014 1 Comment

I’m hosting a guest post today for the book tour for contemporary romance “Invitation”. I hope you enjoy the guest post, and I’ll leave the word to author Christina Hoffman now.

Guest Post

Hello Beloved Readers!

I am Christina Hoffman.

I was born in England and later hop-scotched across the globe (or, rather, I was exposed to multiple wonderful cultures and adventures!) with my family until we finally settled in the United States.

I have put my suitcase down, for now at least, in blissful San Francisco.

If that wasn’t good fortune enough, I am finally making my dream of writing meaningful romances come true.  I love sexy stories with heart, relationships that are sweet and insanely erotic. Enough with the chains and the degradation. I need some romance in my Romance!

I have known so many intelligent and driven men and women who have felt they could be smart OR sexy. Seriously, my when my best girlfriend, who is gorgeous, was in medical school, the women were beautiful. But they didn’t know it. Or they suspected they might be, and worked extra hard to cover it up. They had to take on the role of serious grown-up, and acting like sensual beings was practically a career ender.

Okay, well, we can’t change the world overnight! But after-hours, we can do what we like with our minds AND our bodies. Why not have some amazing adventures? That’s what I write about in my books, and I hope you’ll see yourselves in my heroines or my heroes, and know that you, too, are allowed to feel amazing.

About the Author

Christina HoffmanChristina Hoffman was born in London, England. She moved with her family throughout Canada and the US, and has finally put down her suitcase, for now, in San Francisco.

She believes that everyone has the right to feel both smart and sexy. We don’t have to be one or the other! She writes stories about characters who live in the real world and who, somehow, still believe in love.

She’s starting a mini-revolution. She writes sexy stories, but hasn’t lost the romance from her Romances. Enough with whips — back to lips!

She hopes you enjoy her stories and see yourself in her characters. After all, they are based on smart and sexy people, just like you.

Christina’s latest book is the contemporary romance, Invitation.

Visit her website at www.christinahoffman.com.

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About the Book

Invitation 7Madison Spencer is a serious medical student, focused only on work and hiding her beauty and her once-passionate spirit behind a quiet plain-Jane facade. Since she was drugged, stripped, assaulted and photographed by a vengeful ex, she has stayed away from men and kept her heart and body safe.
But when heart-stoppingly gorgeous Dr. Liam Mason walks into her world, she knows she’s in trouble. After finding out about her devastating past, Liam offers to bring her back to life with physical passion. Madison thinks she should be repelled, but she’s intrigued and can’t turn him away. Together they explore days and nights of pleasure, and slowly develop into something more than bedmates.
Deep inside they each wonder if they’ve found their perfect match. But with Liam’s fear of being dragged down by commitment, and Madison’s fear of being hurt by another man threatening to destroy the world they’ve built together, will they each be strong enough and brave enough to risk their hearts to have it all?

Purchase your copy:

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Discuss this book in our PUYB Virtual Book Club at Goodreads by clicking HERE

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Book Tours: Guest Post for Divine Healing Made Simple

June 10, 2014 Leave a Comment

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I’m hosting a guest post today for the book tour for “Divine Healing Made Simple” by Praying Medic . Enjoy the guest post!

Healing as Seen From the Spiritual Perspective

by Praying Medic

A friend came to visit me in Phoenix, but he forgot to bring shorts. I broke my coffeemaker a couple days after he arrived so a trip to the Goodwill store was in order. After a few minutes of browsing through the store he found his shorts, I picked up a slightly used Mr. Coffee and we headed for the checkout. Wouldn’t you just know it — the woman in front of me at the checkout stand was in a wheelchair. I made small talk with her before she left and I thought, “This would be a good opportunity to teach my friend about healing.” Now, it’s not like he’s never seen anyone healed — he  has. He just hasn’t had as many opportunities as I have and I promised him a one-on-one healing lesson which I never made good on. So here was an opportunity sitting right in front of us.

We followed the woman outside and introduced ourselves. I told her I was teaching my friend about healing. (Great cover story by the way – and it’s not a lie.) We asked if we might pray with her for healing. She was delighted that we asked. It turns out she was diagnosed with polio more than 60 years ago. We prayed for a few minutes, but she showed no outward signs of being healed. She thanked us and we went on our way. On the way to the car I told him, “We just tossed another log on her fire.” He replied, “Tell me more.”

We had a discussion in the car about the process of healing. I explained that contrary to what most of us have been taught — healing is not usually a “one time” thing that happens to us. It’s generally an ongoing process. Even the miracles we occasionally witness are not usually what they appear to be. Let me explain what I mean by that:

I heard a comment the other day that someone made about healing. They said, “All the healing in the Bible was instant healing.” I didn’t correct them, but if you want to know the truth about how healing happened when Jesus and the disciples prayed for people, I would suggest reading the healing accounts from scriptures carefully — without adding your own preconceived ideas to the text. You’ll probably notice that not all the healing accounts were instant miracles. In the vast majority of cases the bible simply says Jesus healed a multitude of people. There is no description of how most of these people were healed and no indication of whether the healings were gradual or instantaneous. The lack of details about how they were healed leaves this issue open for discussion.

Most of us perceive miracles of healing as something that happens to us once, which never needs to happen again. While it is true that a broken bone for example, might be healed miraculously and the individual may never have a problem with it again, cases like these are in the minority. If your condition happens to be asthma, insomnia, or irritable bowel syndrome, you might be healed of the condition once, only to have the symptoms return a few months later.

It is my belief that many of these conditions are caused by evil spirits, while things like broken bones are not. The fever that Peter’s mother had which Jesus rebuked seemed to be an example of a sickness caused by a spirit (see Luke 4:39). Once we have been set free of a spirit of illness, there is no guarantee that the same or a different spirit won’t return later to afflict us. The return of the spirit brings a return of the symptoms. The return of the symptoms requires another round of prayer — which is why I see healing more as an ongoing process than a single event.

Healing is much like the process of sanctification, which the Holy Spirit does not accomplish in us all at once. The transformational work of God, which creates Christ-like character in us, is a gradual process. While there are often dramatic events during the work of sanctification like an alcoholic whose desire to drink is removed instantly — the entire work that the Holy Spirit accomplishes takes time. His work of healing is much the same way. We might have an occasional instant breakthrough in one area or another, but the greater healing process is always being worked out over time.

Few of us are able to see God’s supernatural work of healing as it happens. And because we can’t see it — we often assume nothing is happening when we pray for someone who shows no outward signs of healing. But if we were able to see what was happening in the spirit, we would be amazed.

When we pray even the smallest, most feeble prayer for someone — we release a measure of God’s glory upon them. Angels are released to combat evil spirits, wounds inflicted by the enemy are visibly healed in their spirit and the countenance of their spirit is visibly changed, even if nothing appears to be happening outwardly. If we only knew the mighty and wonderful things that were taking place in the spirit, we would not think so little of our prayers.

About the Author

Praying MedicPraying Medic is a paramedic and author living in Phoenix, Arizona. Since 2009, he has written about the miracles God has done through his medical practice. He is married to his best friend and business partner. His first book Divine Healing Made Simple was published in December of 2013.

His life goal is to teach people to live as ambassadors of God’s kingdom. His books and articles are intended to inspire, challenge and if necessary, provoke readers into a deeper relationship with God.
If you’re interested in connecting with him outside of Amazon, he has a personal blog http://prayingmedic.com/ where he writes about the miraculous. You can contact him there.

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About the Book

Divine Healing Made Simple 7Divine Healing Made Simple is a training manual for the supernatural life, providing street-proven instruction for healing the sick in any type of setting. In addition to healing, the book teaches about prophetic ministry, street evangelism and making disciples.

This book takes a bold approach, addressing the difficult questions that many authors have avoided. Through dreams, online discussions and hands-on experience, the author has discovered the answers to some of the most common questions people have about Christian healing, deliverance and raising the dead. Three chapters are devoted to the problems of why some people are not healed and why some people lose their healing.

This is the first book on healing to harness the power of Facebook. By hosting discussion questions on Facebook, the author has collected the wisdom and experiences of hundreds of divine healing technicians.

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