Tuesday, July 25, 2017

Bumps In the Road
by author Lois D. Brown

Bumps in the road. Everyone has them. One of my “bumps” turned into my first novel ever— The Saros Curse
In 2009-ish I was diagnosed with having Simple Partial Seizures. These kinds of seizures don’t affect motor skills, but they can affect all five of your senses. In addition they caused me to have MASSIVE déjà vu where time slowed to a crawl and everything around me faded in and out (not to mention my muffled hearing, a metallic taste, and the bright lights). Yeah . . . it was weird.
The diagnosis left me feeling low. It meant medication (probably for life) and the memory loss I’d experienced was permanent. After getting a bunch of tests at the hospital, I went to bed thinking about my situation. That night I had the most vivid dream. It was about a teenage girl who had these frightening feelings of having already experienced things before . . . but in another lifetime.
I woke up and knew I was going to write a book. A novel. For me, that was something new. I had been a journalist and non-fiction ghost author for twenty years. I had always told myself that fiction was out of my league.
Writing the book The Saros Curse  was therapy for me. Sure, the story is fake. Sure, things that happen in the book aren’t real, but in a weird way it helped me come to terms with my own “bump” in the road and move on. Better yet, I learned I LOVED writing fiction. Twenty years of being afraid of writing a novel were gone.
I don’t mean to turn this into a sermon, but if you’re going through a hard time, do what you can to embrace the challenge. For everyone that is something different. For me, it was writing a book.

Lois has kindly offered my readers a free short story:   Death in the Air.  Just click the link.

Where you can follow Lois:
Amazon

Where you can find her books:
Lois D. Brown

Saturday, July 22, 2017

Did you know the Japanese word tsundoku means:

ie:  Mount TBR

I found this out from J.A. Andrews newsletter.

Friday, July 21, 2017

I have news.  My friend Danielle Bannister, author (she has been featured in 2016 here with an awesome article on the cost of publishing books) and author Amy Miles have co-authored a book:  Netherworld, Book 1 of the Hallowed Realms Trilogy in the Fantasy/Mythology genre.  She shared with me the cover reveal that was released on 7/11.


Here is a Blurb:

Taryn
Flatline. The moment when one life ends and the next begins. That’s my cue. And I hate it. Being a banshee is a right pain in the arse. When I’m not ferrying manky old blokes or mental cat ladies through the veil between Earth and Netherworld, I’m training in secret for a war our King denies is coming. But I know better. An army of Lorcan monsters stands ready to breach the walls. If they succeed, the destruction they seek will not be contained to just our world, but to the human world beyond. My only hope is to rely on the aid of a cocky prince with his own agenda. But after a human man captures my interest, will I be able to accept the terms of the prince’s aid?


Devlin
Our paths were never meant to cross. I’m meant to live my human life, unaware of the world that exists beyond the veil. I know about death, sure. My own sister’s life hangs in the balance, holding my own happiness with it. But when Taryn and I collide, my world flips upside down. Nothing makes sense anymore. There are things I shouldn’t be able to see but now can’t escape from. Logic tells me to run as far as I can from Taryn and the horrors of her world but my heart screams at me to follow her to the literal ends of the earth. Even if it means my own damnation. 

Pre-order at ibooks
more venues will be coming soon.


Wednesday, July 12, 2017

AUTHOR OF THE DAY

AMY SOJAI


  Amy Shojai, CABC calls herself an "accidental writer" because she took a detour on her way to Broadway and stayed to write books. She earned a double-major in music and theater performance, and sings, plays piano and cello, as well as composing/producing musical comedy plays. 

Amy is a certified animal behavior consultant (for dogs and cats) and a former vet tech. All of these topics inform Amy's "pet-centric Thrillers With Bite!" She is also the award-winning author of more than 30 nonfiction pet care books, and has appeared frequently in the media as a pet care expert, including Animal planet. 

Once Amy accepted the commute from her mid-west home to New York theater was outside her gas budget, writing became her creative outlet. She fell in love with advocating for pets through her articles, blogs and books, and co-founded the Cat Writers Association in 1992 (catwriters.com). She's also a member of the Dog Writers Association of America, International Thriller Writers, Sisters in Crime, and an honorary life member/past president of Oklahoma Writers Federation. 

Today, Amy lives in North Texas with an 11-year-old wise-ass German Shepherd, a delinquent four-year-old tabby cat, and a 21-year-old Siamese wannabe who rules the whole house.

In her spare time, Amy volunteers with local school programs and community theaters teaching young thespians, as well as offering professional cat and dog behavior consults to help solve "pet peeves." Oh...and she loves bling, especially pet-theme jewelry, hence the name of her blog, BLING, BITCHES & BLOOD.

Amy's critically acclaimed September & Shadow Thriller Series, set in North Texas, are high-octane domestic thrillers praised by James Rollins, J.T. Ellison. Jon Land and others. They feature an animal behaviorist who plays cello on the side, and her German Shepherd service dog (he has his own viewpoint chapters!) as well as a trained Maine Coon cat. Of course, her "furry muses" keep her honest and on track writing both fiction and nonfiction that empowers pet lovers with life saving info-tainment.




Learn more about Amy:
Facebook
Twitter
Blog

Amy Sojai, CABC (certified Animal Behavior Consultant)

Where to get Amy's books:
Amazon
Bling, Bitches and Blood - her blog
Bookbub