Q: When did you decide to write your book? The idea for Ghost Mark struck when I was writing the first book in the Dark Dreams series. I knew there was more than one book right away because the concept of a woman who can see into the past has so many possibilities. I also... Continue Reading →
Q: Which do you enjoy doing more: writing books, singing, or songwriting? Singing is my first love and being able to share a heartfelt story that could possibly make the difference for someone in their life, is my path and purpose. Writing my book was an outgrowth of my years of performing, touring and just... Continue Reading →
Q: When did you first begin writing stories? I’ve always written stories—even before I knew how to write! I used to dictate stories to my mom and have her write them down for me. And then I never stopped…although now I write them myself instead of asking my mom to do it. Q: What was... Continue Reading →
Synopsis: You're interested in leading a small group, but you're a little afraid. What are you getting yourself into? How do you get started? Don't worry--you're not alone. Many small group leaders feel ill-equipped for the task of leading in spite of the many books, conferences, online resources, and church-based training opportunities that are... Continue Reading →
Synopsis: We all get 24 hours in a day--but it never seems like quite enough time, does it? Morgan Tyree wants to help you take back your time with her proven time management system. With energy and enthusiasm, Morgan shows you how to organize and manage your time using her simple three-color... Continue Reading →
Synopsis: How to Make the Most of Your 20s Despite what many think, your twenties aren’t that dead space between youth and real life. Life is now, and how you spend these years will shape your future for better or worse. In 20 Things We’d Tell Our Twenty-something Selves, professors Peter and... Continue Reading →
Synopsis: 38 essays from top millennial writers on how they survived their first years out of college—a book conceived and promoted by a groundbreaking crowdsourcing startup. Freshman Year of Life tells the truth about life after college graduation. But this isn’t your standard step-by-step guide to landing that interview or... Continue Reading →
Synopsis: When you find someone that you enjoy spending time with, you generally find that you want to be with each other for longer periods of time or that you want to go out every night together and that there’s something decidedly missing when your partner is not there. But how can you get him... Continue Reading →
Synopsis: Andy Cohen, New York Times notable author of Follow the Other Hand, introduces the Assumpt!, a breakthrough way to make better business decisions, faster and smarter. Orville Wright, co-founder of modern aviation, dismissed the idea of creating a landing strip. He assumed that if man had to smooth out the airstrip, he didn't deserve... Continue Reading →
Author Interview with John Sibley Williams Me: How does it feel to be a five-time Pushcart nominee? What were your thoughts? I am honored to know so many magazines and presses believe in my work. It’s always a bit of a shock, but the joy never diminishes. Me: After reading Disinheritance, a collection your... Continue Reading →
Author Interview with Scott Burn Me: How did it feel when you finished your debut novel, The Enemy Within? The idea of finished is something that’s hard to get my head around. I remember about a year into the process I thought it was done. I showed it to my literary agent who thought it... Continue Reading →
Synopsis: Many unemployed Americans are discarding their résumés to pursue their dream of owning their own business. Many existing entrepreneurs are struggling to make ends meet in the current economic downturn. Bob Reiss has written Bootstrapping 101 to help these wannabe and existing small business owners improve their odds of success. He shows entrepreneurs how... Continue Reading →
Synopsis: It has been politically correct to be politically correct for many years now, and it seems that the trend is even intensifying. A slip of the tongue, an off-the-cuff comment, or a heartfelt posting on social media might rain a firestorm of criticism down upon a person and might even get them fired... Continue Reading →
Synopsis: A fifty year old woman can easily look anywhere from thirty-five to sixty-five. And these days, ever looking "old" at all has become optional. Like Fine Wine is loaded with tips and tricks for every income and interest level. Get rid of wrinkles and age spots. Get more hair and a safe tan. Fix... Continue Reading →
Submissions: We accept submissions for the following: poetry, short stories, flash fiction, novels, creative nonfiction, column pieces, book reviews, and author interviews. All of these submissions are free of charge and must be: Typed in English. Times New Roman 12 size font Double-spaced First name, last name Title Genre Word Count Submissions for editing,... Continue Reading →
The do's and don'ts of personal essays: - Do research on who you want your target audience to be. - Don't send in stuff that editors get all the time. - Do send in the unusual, provocative, or controversal. - Don't take the easy route. Do go for something deeper. Like something that is polictical... Continue Reading →
Calling all authors and poets, if you are wanting your book/ novel / poem featured in February's Issue please contact me right away at: universalcreativityinc.2014@gmail.com ! The February magazine issue will be released to the public on the 1st day of February. Bloggers, if you are needing your blog to be advertised in February's issue... Continue Reading →
QUOTE OF THE DAY:
WHAT IS PREWRITING? Prewriting is the process of organizing your thoughts. For example, as a novelist, I would think of a character, a conflict, and a setting. Then, I would create three big boxes. Inside of these big boxes, I would jot down a few sentences as to what will happen in the beginning, middle... Continue Reading →
Every Writer's Checklist 1) Use adverbs sparingly. Go through your writing and check for them. If you see too many so close together then you need to do one of the two things: a) delete it OR b) Use a stronger verb 2) Highlight any repeated words used to start sentences in a row.... Continue Reading →
Dear Viewers, Merry Christmas! I wish you all the best and happiest New Year! I am taking a bit of a break from posting reviews due to the holidays. But, I will have tons of new reviews by both new emerging and best selling authors for you all to read. Did you know that to... Continue Reading →
The reviews posted on Amazon, or on Goodreads, or on websites are precious! These reviews are from individual readers who (hopefully) enjoy reading your works. Readers, on the whole, write very few reviews for many reasons: too busy, not really knowing the specifics of why they like the work, not having the background (read vocabulary)... Continue Reading →
Use a 1-inch margin on all sides; justify the left margin only. Put your name and contact information on the top left corner of the first page. Type the novel’s genre, word count and the word “Synopsis” in the top right corner of the first page. Don’t number the first page. Put the novel’s title,... Continue Reading →
3 Questions to Ask When Writing a Book Proposal I highly recommend reading the article about the 3 questions to ask when writing a book proposal. There is very good advice for all writers. No matter if you were writing a nonfiction or a fiction piece. Here is the link below: http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/there-are-no-rules/3-questions-to-ask-when-writing-a-book-proposal?et_mid=702161&rid=242190553 Happy Writing! 🙂
1. Promises 2. Vehicles 3. Back story 4. Opening with unattributed dialogue 5. Jumpy Chronology 6. Too many characters 7. A distant omniscient narrator 8. Assumptions
Here are some tips when writing your suspense novel: 1. Your protagonist needs to be in trouble from the start! 2. A dramatic question needs to pop up in your plot that be resolved in the most unusual way that will drag your character into conflict. 3. Never let your character... Continue Reading →
NEW MAGAZINE ISSUE COMING OUT SOON! This issue will feature the winners of the short fiction contest and much more!
How to Choose the Perfect Freelance Career for You?How to Start?Take classes that will help prepare you for a freelance writing career.Apply for an internship.Apply for every freelance job that you can find that fits you.Make yourself know for freelance work.Bid for freelance jobs.Taking ClassesOne can find many writing and freelance courses online. How to... Continue Reading →
I have recently been sent a personal invitation to submit in a novel of my to a major company to be judged for publishing.The only problem is that I have written many short stories here on my blog. Most are just beginnings of stories. The deadline to submit my work in is this Friday at... Continue Reading →
If you worked or are working on a novel or story and are stuck with no ideas to go from, then I suggest you stop. That's right!STOP!Okay so, now you have stop thinking on what to write. GOOD!Now go pick up a book. NO, not yours!!!A book from any other author but you! And read for enjoyment!!!Why?Because... Continue Reading →
If you are an author who desperately needs a book review - 1) I can can write you a free review & post it on the following websites: a) GoodReads b) Amazon c) Indie's Book Reviews d) Online Book Club e) Facebook f) Linked-In g) Twitter ... Continue Reading →
Writing Internship Advice1) Search on online for not just the most popular and and well paid internships! Why? Because, most writing internships that pay wont hire you unless you have the writing experience! 2) Start off with a free writing internship. Why? Because this gives you the experience you need to apply for the paid... Continue Reading →
Step 1 - Read, read, read YA novels! And I mean read tons of them until you are familiar with how they are written. Step 2 - Know the language of teens. How is their language different from ours?Step 3 - Teens take risks more so than adults. That either act on their emotions, or they... Continue Reading →
How do we write a synopsis for our book? Many such as I, have struggled with this question. Every publishing company requires a synopsis. So, how do we write one? What is a synopsis? What is the format to follow when writing one? Well, a synopsis is like a book review. Except, that in a... Continue Reading →
I have just read another writer's post. Her post had me thinking. Are my characters believable? Are they realistic? Or are they dull and boring? When I write, I do not focus on the characterization. Which is important. I focus on introducing my characters, and their problems in the settings I have created. Have I... Continue Reading →
Urban Book Reviews 