Blog Archives

SHE TEXTED: I NEED YOUR HELP

9/22/2018

Natalie's missing, but her mysterious plea for help and the words of a dying man catapult William into a dangerous situation. He's being framed for murder.

COMING OCTOBER 15TH
REGULAR PRICE $2.99
PRE-ORDER NOW .99 CENTS ON AMAZON

She Texted: I Need Your Help

#writing,#novel,#becomingawriter,#storytelling,#book,#crimestory,#mystery

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THE MOUSE THAT BECAME THE CAT-from innocence to evil

9/15/2018

COMING SOON
PART 2
THE CAT THAT BECAME THE SERPENT-conflict
everyone George cared about wants him dead

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LAYER'S OF DECEIT-NOW AN AUDIOBOOK-LISTEN TO FIRST 15 MINUTES

9/13/2018

Lost, discarded and forgotten, Jonathan Dunsmore, a onetime best-selling author is on the brink of insanity. A stranger who knows the author will do anything to regain his fame convinces Jonathan to do the unthinkable.

Jonathan randomly commits murder. But hidden in his victim’s wallet is a piece of paper, which the leader of a Russian gang, the dead-man’s brother, wants back at any cost.

The detective on the case, Glen Barton, makes a startling discovery as do the Russian’s. Sucked into the abyss, Glen’s back is suddenly against the wall, lives are at stake. He must choose. Uphold the law or break it.

AVAILABLE IN EBOOK-PAPERBACK-AUDIO

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HOW FAR WOULD YOU GO TO HELP SOMEONE YOU LOVE

9/10/2018

FIND OUT OCTOBER 15TH

Months have passed since William has seen or heard from Natalie. She's become a stranger in his life. One morning he wakes and finds a message on his cell phone from Natalie. "I need your help."

He loves Natalie, he's always loved her, but are those four simple words setting William up? In a fleeting moment he goes from rescuer to fugitive wanted for murder.

"SHE TEXTED: I NEED YOUR HELP"
AVAILABLE OCTOBER 15TH ON AMAZON

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Writing Fiction-It’s a Process

9/7/2018

Writing, it seems so easy. Right! Bestsellers list, movie or television rights, sitting with other writers talking shop.
Even though I have written posts on the subject of writing I thought it was time to revisit the process for everyone who dreams of writing a book.

#1- Every author's biography you stumble upon will say the same thing. Read, read, read.

If one wants to write one must love to read. There is no way around it. Read books you enjoy the most and keep a journal or pad of paper nearby. When you find a passage or eloquent description, write it down. This is not to copy but to learn.

Find books that are best sellers in not only the same genre you have written but others. Ask yourself why you like this book? At this point of the process you are the student and will always be even if you later hit the bestsellers list.

#2- Outline

Outline your book- Your idea for a story comes in the middle of the night or while you’re out walking the dog. Outlining will save hours and days of wasted time.

There are hundreds of opinions on the outline's format. Toss them out. Create an outline you are comfortable with. I begin with the story's premise then character's names and brief descriptions. As the story builds so do the characters. I might jot down a 1-3 page story line. If I like the idea I begin. I type chapter by chapter with some dialog as a reminder of what I want. I always try to finish each chapter with a cliffhanger that pushes the story to the next chapter.

#3-Write the Story

Once you have the outline, start writing. Don’t worry about bad writing habits, misspelled words, or anything else. Your job at this point is to get the story out of your head and onto paper or saved on your computer, just get it out.

#4-Congratulations

Your story is now somewhere other than stuck in your brain. When the draft is completed lock it up.

Run away for 2 weeks to 2 months. Go do something else just don’t think about it.

#5-You've returned

After your sabbatical you’ve returned. Hope you enjoyed the time off. This is the beginning of reconstructive work. Add and subtract. Page by page, paragraph by paragraph you artfully weave and improve the story.

This is where both story and the characters grow. Like Dr. Frankenstein you remove dead parts and add other parts until your creation shows promise.

Begin with 8-10 pages per day until you are comfortable with the editing and re-writing process.

Once you have completed your book, take a few days off and then repeat. That's right. Start at page 1 and edit and re-write. Read your story aloud page by page. Look at the story’s flow.

Is it too long, are there parts that need to disappear, check your spelling and punctuation. Use a program like Grammerly or ProWriting to help you.

At this stage you should also format your book if you are planning to self-publish and sell it as an ebook.

#6-Timeline

Maybe this should have been #2 but wherever it is, it’s important.

Do not give yourself an unrealistic timeline to complete and publish. If this is your first book with 50,000 words, then you have a book that is approximately 160 pages.

Not an easy feat, but not impossible either.

Your first book is so exciting you can hardly stop thinking about it. If you are going this alone, give yourself a minimum of 7-8 months before you publish.

Hope this gives you a little more insight into writing a book.

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Author

Robert Stephen.
What makes a writer? What do you envision when you think about that question?

Someone sitting by an open window looking out over the ocean, desert, mountains? Rainy day, foggy, sunny?

My definition of a writer of fiction. A person who drives himself or herself to the edge of insanity when writing a story to the best of their ability that you the reader find entertaining.

I can honestly say my life has been interesting, far from boring. Land baron, restaurateur, photographer, artisan, author. A life full of ups and downs. A life full of stories.

Along the way I've met hundreds of people, some interesting, some not. Some dangerous, some beautiful, some kind, and some cruel. During my lifetime I've even had my heart run over a couple of times, but when all of it is said and done I wouldn't trade it in.

Writing has always been inside of me, but the siren never called to me. I wasn't ready until one day in October of 2015 when life said, "Start writing."

Writing is a long journey, full of many perils, but don't be afraid it is an exciting adventure!

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THE EXCITING JOURNEY OF Writing​a Fictional Book

SHE TEXTED: I NEED YOUR HELP

THE MOUSE THAT BECAME THE CAT-from innocence to evil

LAYER'S OF DECEIT-NOW AN AUDIOBOOK-LISTEN TO FIRST 15 MINUTES

HOW FAR WOULD YOU GO TO HELP SOMEONE YOU LOVE

Writing Fiction-It’s a Process

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THE EXCITING JOURNEY OF Writing
a Fictional Book