Don't Bore Your Reader

There is a place in this world for all sizes of books. Don’t bore your reader with all kinds of filler pages to make your book appear to be larger than it is.

It is perfectly fine if your story is meant to be a short story. If your story has a lot of detail, action, suspense or drama it is fine for your book to be a larger novel. What is not fine is to fill your pages with nonsense to make it look like your short story is a novel.

Examples:
Your character wants a glass of iced tea.

Don’t do:
Mindy got out of bed and walked toward the kitchen. She stopped in the hallway after spotting a small piece of paper on the floor. She bent down to pick up this less than an inch piece of paper that she assumed had fallen from the notebook she was carrying the night before. She tossed in in the trash as she walked to the kitchen for a glass of iced tea.  Mindy got a glass from the cabinet and walked over to the refrigerator. She put four ice cubes in the glass and then closed the freezer door. Then she opened the refrigerator and got the tea container and filled her glass.

See what I mean? None of that is needed. The reader doesn’t care that she saw a tiny piece of paper on the floor and why it was there and that she picked it up and then she threw it away. The reader doesn’t need a step by step play by of all of that. None of it is even relevant to the story. She was going to the kitchen to get a glass of tea.
Next issue; The reader doesn’t need to know exactly how many ice cubes she put in the glass. All this stuff is filler nonsense to make the book and story look longer. The reader is going to skip over this stuff.

What you should do:
Mindy lay there on her bed with her mouth dry. She got up and walked to the kitchen for a glass of sweet ice tea. She knew that was exactly what she needed in the hot Summer night.

So instead of all these lines of filler stuff that has no relevance to the story at all. You said the same thing in just a lot less lines.  In these three lines you gave detail. You told what she wanted. You told how she felt and nowhere in the story did we need all these lines of filler stuff to make the book longer.



                                   
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00TIZWVY6/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p2_i3

Don’t write in clichés

Helpful tips ~

It’s a bad habit to write in clichés.  Here are some examples:

The character can’t seem to eat. Male or female. I’ve seen it done both ways. The character goes to take a bite and they miss and get a little food on their mouth and the love interest has to lean over and wipe the mouth. We all learned to eat when we were toddlers. LOL This isn’t romantic or sexy. It’s old and out dated.

Don’t have the woman running in the woods and fall down. Again, we all learned to walk and run a long time ago. Even being scared I think we can manage to run away from the danger. This is outdated. It doesn’t bring action in or suspense. It’s simply the same old same old and the reader gets bored.

Try to stay away from the age old things like this and be more original.



                   


https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RG8GX2C?ref_=dbs_r_series&storeType=ebooks

Guest Blogger: James Moushon

                          

James Moushon has News!

New December 2019 Release – Operation Raging Bull from James Moushon

The holiday season is in full swing. It’s time to sit back and relax and read a good short story about terrorist. What? The CIA works domestically. We all knew that.

I’m announcing another Jonathon Stone Short Story Release.
JUST RELEASED: Operation Raging Bull

NOW AVAILABLE at Amazon for $0.99:  https://amzn.to/2EjTP4g

The price is right. Enjoy the Mystery and Action of a Jonathon Stone Mystery by James Moushon. READ MORE - https://tinyurl.com/ventjek

Karma Is A Bitch- FREE 12/20/19 - 12/24/19

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07C55NDS8/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p2_i11

FREE! 12/20/19 - 12/24/19

Karmas are immortals that kept the not so good people in line. They lived by the motto “Do bad things bad things will happen.” Tessa Waters was one of the best Karmas of the Karma realm. However, she wasn’t the fastest. She would watch over the realms, Earth, being her main realm. When she saw somebody not behaving she would send down a Karma punishment on that person. They were always funny and made the other Karmas laugh but she wasn’t fast enough. The head Karma thought it would help Tessa if instead of watching from a far she went down to Earth and passed out the punishments up close. Maybe that would make her faster. She could not return until she hit 100 Karmas. Tessa thought that would be no problem. Until the trickster of all tricksters, Loki, got in her way. How was she supposed to pass out Karmas if Loki was right in the way playing pranks on everyone? Now Tessa had to deal with the trouble makers and Loki. How was she supposed to hit her goal of 100 and make it back home?

Guest blogger: KC Sprayberry

Brad only wants to protect those flying from one place to another, to make up for not being able to protect his wife and daughter. They were on the first aircraft to strike the twin towers on 9/11. Cali seems to have it all—her most recent book gave her the celebrity status she once thought was so important but nothing can penetrate the grief she feels after losing her husband. Dex, the guy in high school that scored more than any other guy, seeks vengeance for all that’s gone wrong in his life.

Three individuals living life alone while the world whirls around them. Can they overcome their pasts and see a better future?

Blurb

Memories of the past and present take Cali Hinton on a special journey of discovery. She needs to release the past and reconcile with the present.

Dex Marino sees a woman and remembers her as a teenager. He has plans to renew their relationship, even if she isn’t willing.

Brad Mason still grieves the loss of his wife and child on 9/11. After meeting Cali, he learns how to release the sadness.

The holidays often bring the saddest of memories. Can Cali stop a predator from her past and prove her worth to her family? Will Dex understand the girl he nearly destroyed can no longer be conquered? Will Brad discover the magic of this special woman?

Brad only wants to protect those flying from one place to another, to make up for not being able to protect his wife and daughter. They were on the first aircraft to strike the twin towers on 9/11. Cali seems to have it all—her most recent book gave her the celebrity status she once thought was so important but nothing can penetrate the grief she feels after losing her husband. Dex, the guy in high school that scored more than any other guy, seeks vengeance for all that’s gone wrong in his life.

Three individuals living life alone while the world whirls around them. Can they overcome their pasts and see a better future?

eBook: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0826VTQDX/

Print Book:

Excerpt

Brad Mason felt the gut punch of reality as he passed a store advertising the perfume his wife had loved. He inhaled the scent, a mixture of wildflowers and the ocean, and shivered from head to toe. More than eighteen long years had passed since two passenger jets had toppled New York City’s twin towers but he was unable to move past the grief and longing that beset him whenever important holidays came around.

Someday. I’ll be able to move past this one day.

Book Trailer: https://youtu.be/LU30NTZXlVU

About K.C. Sprayberry

“I have a secret… a very special secret. Perhaps you’ve heard this one before… from the time I was a child, I wanted to write stories for people to read. “ K.C. Sprayberry

Former California native, K.C. Sprayberry traveled the U.S. and Europe before finally settling in the mountains of Northwest Georgia. She’s been married to her soulmate for more than a quarter of a century and they enjoy spoiling their grandchildren along with many other activities.

Inspiration strikes at the weirdest times and drives her to grab notebook and pen to jot down her ideas. Those close to her swear nothing or no one is safe if she’s smiling gently in a corner and watching those in the same room interact. Her observations have often given her ideas for her next story, set not only in the South but wherever the characters demand they settle.

Social Media

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/pg/AuthorKCSprayberry/

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/kcsowriter

Blog:

http://outofcontrolcharacters.blogspot.com/

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/collection/playlists

Goodreads:

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5011219.K_C_Sprayberry

Amazon Author Page:

http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005DI1YOU

Pinterest:

http://pinterest.com/kcsprayberry/boards/

AUTHORSdB:

http://authorsdb.com/authors-directory/5230-k-c-sprayberry

MeWe:

https://mewe.com/join/kcsprayberryauthor

Website:

http://www.authorkcsprayberry.com/

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGGHaiNhvTSsb6bXddR59iw

           

Authorgraph:

https://www.authorgraph.com/authors/kcsowriter

Email:

kcspray01@gmail.com

Christmas is coming!

With the holidays coming you might enjoy these Christmas stories.


                      
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GAGCMNG/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i11
Bethany’s life is turned upside down when she lost the love of her life Tyson on Christmas. A year goes by when she is suddenly offered a chance to undo the past by Fate dressed up as Santa. Is this for real? Can she really make a wish on a star and get her beloved back or is somebody playing a mean trick on her?

Also included is a Bonus Story.
"A Surprise For Christmas"

                                 
Samantha wasn’t expecting what she got for Christmas this year. Her doorbell rang and there sitting on her porch was a baby in a basket. This changes her life for the good. But then something happens. The baby’s father comes for his child. How can Samantha convince him that she is the best thing for the child?

Guest blogger: Rosey Lee

https://www.amazon.com/Beautiful-Complicated-Family-Rosey-Lee-ebook/dp/B07WQKWJM1/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Rosey+Lee&qid=1569609287&s=gateway&sr=8-1

Please tell us about your latest book.
I’ve recently released the first two books in my Beautiful, Complicated Family series. It’s a
collection of flash fiction stories about family relationships. The books are a very quick read.
Every story is 1000 words or less. Each volume contains 5 stories, so the collection takes most
people less than 1 hour to read. The characters struggle with issues that are common in today’s
families—secrets, mother-daughter conflicts, caring for aging family members, and a more
subtle question of what makes a family, but the stories are uplifting. The books are entitled
Beautiful, Complicated Family: Volume 1 and Beautiful, Complicated Family: Volume 2 . I see
them as an opportunity for readers to get to know me. Volume 1 is available for free from a
number of ebook retailers (my website has an updated list), and it has a link to get Volume 2
free by subscribing to my website. However, if readers prefer, they can buy Volume 2 from
ebook retailers instead.

How do we find out about you and your books?
I’d love for readers to follow me on Amazon and subscribe to my website
(http://www.roseyleebooks.com/). We can also stay in touch via social media—
@roseyleebooks on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. I enjoy connecting with readers to hear
what they think of Beautiful, Complicated Family, and I like to share updates and giveaways
with them.

How much of your personality and life experiences are in your writing?
Writing helps me process the things I experience and also the events that take place in the
world overall. Because of that, I think my personality comes across in my characters. Each of
them has at least a little bit of me. Sometimes I exaggerate aspects of my personality that I wish
were stronger. But my stories aren’t explicitly based on my life. When I’m writing, I ask myself a
lot of “what it” questions, which helps the story to take shape. I get pretty creative. Any
resemblance to my life or actual people is coincidental.

What is the most rewarding thing about being a writer?
It’s a gift to be able to use my stories to provide comfort to readers and also to spread hope
and positivity.

Where do you see yourself in five years?
I’d love to have published a couple novels, and I hope readers feel that my writing leaves them

feeling uplifted and better positioned to have a more motivated, balanced, and healthy life.

Beautiful, Complicated Family is a two-volume collection of flash fiction stories about family relationships. I started writing flash fiction because I wanted my work to appeal to avid readers as well as those with busy schedules who only have small amounts of free time for reading. Each story in the collection is 1000 words or less. The collection is composed of two small ebooks, which are scheduled for release on November 5. There are 10 flash fiction stories in the entire collection, which would take most people 1 hour or less to read. Below is a blurb about the collection:

Beautiful, Complicated Family: Volume 1 and Beautiful, Complicated Family: Volume 2 explore the connections that can hold people together or tear them apart. The stories in this collection capture struggles that are common in today’s families—secrets, mother-daughter conflicts, coping with aging family members, and a more subtle question of what makes a family. The issues will seem familiar to you, but there are unexpected twists when you least expect them. The relatable characters and endings may pull at your heartstrings, so don’t be surprised if you laugh or cry along the way. Like most families, the relationships in this uplifting collection consist of intricate elements. Sometimes things get messy, but it’s always beautiful.

The Beautiful, Complicated Family blog tour will take place November 5-26, 2019. The tour is intentionally planned to lead into the Thanksgiving holiday, since that’s traditionally a time that people gather with their own beautiful, complicated family.

The blog tour reader giveaway away (via Rafflecopter) prize is an Amazon Fire HD 8 Tablet (if the winner lives outside the US and anywhere Book Depository ships, they will choose $50 in books instead). I will have a separate giveaway (via Rafflecopter) just for the blog tour hosts. One host will win their choice of an Amazon Fire HD 8 Tablet or a $50 gift card (if outside the US, the winner will get a $50 gift card to a vendor of their choice).

https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/065a68fc3/?

If you’re curious about my writing, you can view a sample here - https://barrenmagazine.com/vocal-rest/

Both books are available via the NetGalley:

Volume 1: https://www.netgalley.com/catalog/book/172704

Volume 2: https://www.netgalley.com/catalog/book/172705

https://www.amazon.com/Beautiful-Complicated-Family-Rosey-Lee-ebook/dp/B07WNC57PT/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=Rosey+Lee&qid=1569609380&s=gateway&sr=8-2

FREE ~ Today Only!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078XPZKZF/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i10


September 2018
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #16,128 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
#11 in Kindle Store > Kindle Short Reads > 90 minutes (44-64 pages) > Science Fiction & Fantasy
#51 in Kindle Store > Kindle Short Reads > 90 minutes (44-64 pages) > Literature & Fiction

Lucinda Ravencrest’s whole world was turned upside down when her aunt that she barely knew left an estate to her. There were stipulations to it. She could not sell the estate and she had to take care of the people who lived there was what she was told.

What she found out when she got there was nothing like she was told. Secrets started to come out, and some were downright crazy

Lucinda didn’t know whether to run or to embrace this crazy new life. How was she to handle all of this?

Stop by Twitter and chat with Lizzy @Lizzystevens123

Christmas is on the way!

Get in the mood for Christmas with these Christmas stories.

                                         
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00570IBZO/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i5

Samantha wasn’t expecting what she got for Christmas this year. Her doorbell rang and there sitting on her porch was a baby in a basket. This changes her life for the good. But then something happens. The baby’s father comes for his child. How can Samantha convince him that she is the best thing for the child?





                                         

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GAGCMNG/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p2_i6

Bethany’s life is turned upside down when she lost the love of her life Tyson on Christmas. A year goes by when she is suddenly offered a chance to undo the past by Fate dressed up as Santa. Is this for real? Can she really make a wish on a star and get her beloved back or is somebody playing a mean trick on her?

Guest Blogger: Sandra Waine

                                                 
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076DFF2KQ/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i2


Down East Desires is set in one of the most remote, yet lovely areas of Down East Maine. The small fishing village of Lubec. Splash in a dash of the neighboring Canadian Island of Campobello, the FBI, swindling, a lively aunt, and handsome marine biologist and you have all the makings of a suspenseful, yet beautiful story.

At the ripe age of six, Amelia Rhodes spent more than a decade at her Aunt Irene’s cottage in Lubec. Hours upon hours in this craggy, cliffside town enjoying the delights of an oceanside village. It was here that a young girl’s imaginary delights focused on one lad in particular. Simon Bradford.

Yet, encounters with Simon over the years were deeply ingrained upon her heart. It truly was a growing young girl’s crush on an older boy that never dampened. Not even as the years passed.

After college, her trips to Maine stopped. But then a twisted turn of events involving her Aunt Irene’s retirement, property and business forced Amelia to return. To investigate who was making an offer and ensure it was all above board.

Irene needed Mel’s help. Her CPA background. But more than that she just needed her to come back to Lubec. To a place, Mel loved above all other. Return to a village that needed her. Return to a man that needed her even more. Especially now.

Guest blogger: Robert Hoppensteadt

https://www.amazon.com/Shelter-Robert-Hoppensteadt-ebook/dp/B07RBBKP2G/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=Robert+Hoppensteadt&qid=1571973609&sr=8-2


In the half-light of an Alaskan summer night Matt Tulugak pulls his truck off a gravel road and gets out to relieve himself. Looking out over the tundra, he sees a brown gash where permafrost has melted and sloughed off a low hillock. A bony claw reaches out of the mud. He shivers in the light breeze, notices the crescent moon hanging low in the sky, starts to walk. As he approaches the claw it resolves into five huge mammoth tusks arranged in a circle. Within the circle a human skull, half buried and yellow with age, looks through empty eye sockets into a world that is about to change forever.

Guest blogger: Kevin Bouchard

https://www.amazon.com/House-Ophelia-Raine-Kevin-Bouchard/dp/1079955917/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Kevin+Bouchard&qid=1571759965&sr=8-1

Gwendolyn Quinn’s dreams are all coming true. She’s moving to the Cape Cod town of South Port and the house by the sea that she’s always envisioned. But these are but the final pieces to her already realized life’s ambition, because Gwendolyn Quinn had lived most of her days as Christopher Quinn, a man.Now, with the gender confirmation surgeries behind her, Gwen is ready to begin her life anew. But all dreams come with a price. She must also come to terms with the tragic history of her new house, because eighteen years earlier an enigmatic woman named Ophelia Raine was murdered there and her killer was never apprehended.In spite of these dark tidings Gwen is determined to find happiness in her adopted home. Now, with her newfound friends, Gwen has set sail into her new life. But South Port is an old town and not all of its inhabitants have rolled out the welcome mat for its newest citizen.And Gwen’s friends are becoming gravely concerned with her growing obsession with the late Ophelia Raine as well as her uncanny resemblance to the dead woman. And as Gwen digs deeper into the past, it becomes dangerously evident that someone has noticed her sleuthing, someone with deadly intentions.Suddenly Gwen finds herself in a race with the unknown killer to uncover the truth behind the murder and discover the secret of the House of Ophelia Raine.

Guest blogger: David W. Thompson

                                                   
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07Q844TWS/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i2


Sons and Brothers continues the tradition of its award winning predecessors in the “Legends of the Family Dyer” trilogy. This third installment, although stand-alone, follows the descendants of the accused 17th century witch, Moll Dyer. Another century has passed and divergent family lines are reunited.

Two cousins from different backgrounds, Garren and Brodie, meet at a camp in the Potomac highlands. One hails from the flatlands of Southern Maryland; the other calls the mountains of West Virginia home. The Dyer family’s ancestral foe, the dark entity Laris, doesn’t care where they came from because he knows who they came from. Disguising his intentions, he has one last chance to complete Lilith’s demonic hit.
Three friends oppose the ancient evil: Anna—a hesitant Native American spiritualist, Lenore—a teenager discovering shape-shifting abilities, and Garren—a regular teenage guy with too much to lose...and plenty to gain. The terrors of the past are revisited and the corruption of the past seeps into the present.

The friends embark on a life and death challenge with help from Anna’s spirit guide. All three, a “hero triumvirate,” embrace their newfound talents in an attempt to save their loved ones from the encroaching darkness.

In this often bloody and heart wrenching tale, dark family secrets are revealed, temptation is embraced and the circle of life is renewed. Does love conquer hate? Should some truths remain untold? Can some sins not be forgiven? What would you do?

Yogurt Pie

Yogurt Pie

You can make this completely sure free if you or low fat depending on the ingredients you use.

Ingredients

I graham cracker pie shell

You can buy store bought or get a box of graham crackers and crush them to make your own shell.

2 small containers of yogurt ( Any flavor)

1 container of cool whip

1 box of jello

¼ cup of hot water

How to make:

Mix your box of jello with ¼ cup of hot water. You are not making Jello. All you are doing is mixing the powder up with the small amount of water.

Next add your 2 containers of yogurt

Then add coolwhip

Mix everything together and put in the pie shell.

If you can get your family to leave it alone LOL Put it in the refrigerator for about an hour to get all hardened up and nice and cold.

As I said you could make it sugar free. Simply buy sugar free yogurt, jello, graham crackers. It still tastes yummy 😊

5 Star review for "Locked In A Castle"

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07N48L27M/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p2_i9

Reviewed By Rabia Tanveer for Readers’ Favorite

Locked In A Castle by Lizzy Stevens is the story of a young woman named Kelly with simple needs and simple likes. However, she is not like your average woman. While most girls her age would be out and about, living their dream life and falling in love, Kelly is stuck inside her castle. She is locked there and she can never leave its premises. She spends the nights as a human and the days as a ghost, never in the reach of anything. She is cursed to live this life until someone comes by and breaks the curse for good. She can’t leave the castle so how can she bring someone into her life that will break the curse for her? Figuring this out is taking a toll on her mind and body and there isn’t much she can do about it. Will she ever find someone to break the curse for her? Or is she doomed to live like this forever?

This story was the perfect slice of life. The author has done a wonderful job of writing a concise and complete story. This is a fast-paced and lovely romance where you will find a mixture of Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty all mixed into one modern tale of romance. I really enjoyed reading the interactions between Kelly and Jack; they had a very sweet relationship which added depth to the story. Dane is such a charmer; he is considerate, determined and well-suited with Kelly. I enjoyed reading this story a lot more than I anticipated. Really good!

Guest blogger Glenn Berggoetz

                                                       

https://www.amazon.com/Waiting-Evening-Come-Glenn-Berggoetz/dp/1080923667/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2LU8ROG12QKD2&keywords=glenn+berggoetz&qid=1569848883&s=gateway&sprefix=Glenn+berg%2Caps%2C174&sr=8-1

                                                                     
amazon.com/Two-Loves-Glenn-Berggoetz-ebook/dp/B00872AWTW/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Two+Loves+by+Glenn+Berggoetz&qid=1569848956&s=digital-text&sr=1-1


Please tell us about your latest book.

My new book is Waiting for Evening to Come. The book is about the friendship that develops between a young white boy and an elderly African American man in rural Indiana in the 1950s. I’ve also written a screenplay and stage play version of the story, and I’ve landed an agent to represent those versions. The agent is first attaching some names to the script before trying to sell it to a producer or studio, and Dennis Haysbert, the older African American gentleman in the Allstate insurance commercials, has read the script, loved it, and signed a Letter of Intent to play the lead role of Benjamin in the film adaptation of the book. This has me excited for the possibilities for not just the book getting turned into a film, but also for future book sales and a possible stage run for the tale.


What can we expect from you in the future?

While I’ve had seven books published, I’ve also written the screenplays for twelve produced feature films, and I have nearly twenty other completed feature film scripts that maybe my agent will be able to eventually sell. Because I enjoy writing in various styles – novels, poetry, screenplays, stage plays – and write in many genres (drama, comedy, horror), I pretty much follow my whims at what and how I will next write.


How do we find out about you and your books?

I’ve set up a Facebook page for my books titled “The Books of Glenn Berggoetz” that’s located at https://www.facebook.com/glennsbooks/. I also have a website that’s devoted primarily to the dozen feature films I’ve written and directed and for scheduling speaking appearances. This website is located at http://www.glennspeaks.com/.


How much of your personality and life experiences are in your writing?

A fair amount. With Waiting for Evening to Come, much of the dialogue is similar to the racist talk I sometimes heard while growing up. I also put a lot of my grandfather into the main character of Benjamin. Benjamin is a wise and kind man, as was my grandfather John Hayes. I also included some stories in the novel that I heard when growing up. For example, when Benjamin is telling a story to Jack, the young white boy, about Benjamin’s deceased wife, much of what he tells Jack are the tales I heard about my grandmother, Bridget Hayes. The same typically can’t be said for the screenplays I write (with the exception of the screenplay version of Waiting for Evening to Come). My screenplays are typically close to, if not all, fiction.


When did you first think about writing and what prompted you to submit your first ms?

I first wrote in the summer of 1988, writing a short story and a novella. Like so many other writers, I felt I had thoughts in my head that had to be shared. It wasn’t until a couple years later that I finally thought I had written something decent enough to be published and started querying magazines about my short stories (this was pre-internet days) by sending out dozens
and dozens of letters, then spending a small fortune going to stores that made copies of documents to get plenty of copies made, then spending another small fortune paying for postage.


Do you have a set schedule for writing or do you just go with the flow?

I have no schedule. Sometimes I go a month without writing anything, then I’ll go months where I write pretty much every day.


What about your family, do they know not to bother you when you are writing - or are there constant interruptions?

Since I live by myself, this is not a problem for me – I write when I feel like it.


What do you do to relax and recharge your batteries?

I’ll watch college basketball and football, go for long walks (typically very early in the morning when the stars are still visible in the sky), or go visit my favorite people, most of whom live a thousand miles away.


Where do your ideas come from?

Many of them come from personal experiences or from the thoughts floating through my head on my long walks.


Do you feel humor is important in books and why?

Absolutely. While Waiting for Evening to Come sticks very closely to the dramatic tenor of the book, my first novel (also published by Solstice Publishing), Two Loves, certainly has some light-hearted moments mixed in.


What kind of research do you do?

With Waiting for Evening to Come I didn’t have to do any extra research because, as an undergrad, I was a history major and have a bachelor’s degree in that subject, and since Waiting for Evening to Come is historical fiction and reflects some of the mores of 1950s America, I was already very familiar with what was going on in the U.S. during that time.


Please tell us about yourself.

I try to be a thin book – easy to read. Besides that, I’ve never married nor had any children. I’ve always lived pretty simply, at one point going years without owning a TV, then going years where the only TV I had was a five-inch black-and-white model. I work as a college professor teaching writing classes, British and American literature, and cinema. Since my little doggie
died two years ago, my life is pretty quiet for the most part. I keep telling myself that at some point in the near future I’m going to start to do some traveling.


What are some of your favorite things to do?

I love hiking, but now that I’m living in Indiana (after a decade in Colorado) I don’t have many chances to do that. As I’ve gotten older I’ve had to reduce the amount I eat to about 40%-50% of what I used to eat, so on those rare occasions when I actually eat a full meal I enjoy that. I certainly enjoy reading, and I enjoy watching college sports.


Who are some of your other favorite authors to read?

I wrote my master’s thesis over some of Kurt Vonnegut’s novels, so he’s an author I enjoy reading. I’ve developed quite a fondness for Stephen King in the last decade. I’ve also long enjoyed reading Leo Tolstoy’s works.


Where do you see yourself in five years?

I’m hoping my agent will be able to sell a couple or three of my screenplays so that I have enough money to stop teaching and start traveling and hiking on a regular basis.


How many books have you written, how many have been published?

I’ve had seven books published, but the first three novels I wrote (back in the 1990s) have not been published, so I’ve written ten books total.


After you've written your book and it's been published, do you ever buy it and/or read it?

I’ll buy some copies to give to other people, but typically after all of the rewrites I’ve done, then the more rewrites after working with the editor, I’ve already read the book a dozen times or more, so I usually move on to read other books I’ve never read and have long wanted to read.


Among your own books, have you a favorite book? Favorite hero or heroine?

I am quite partial to Benjamin and Jack in Waiting for Evening to Come. It seems as if their relationship with each other is the most interesting relationship I’ve ever written, and I love that Benjamin is a quiet hero, the kind of hero all of us can be. And for right now at least, Waiting for Evening to Come has supplanted my stream-of-consciousness, extended prose poem book Guernica Still Burning as my favorite book that I’ve written.


What is the most rewarding thing about being a writer?

Hearing from someone who has read the book who tells me that the book made them feel something.

If you weren't writing, what would you be doing?

I’d probably be watching too much TV.


What is your greatest desire?

To be happy as often as possible!


Are there any words of encouragement for unpublished writers?

Write what you feel you have to write, whether anyone will end up reading it or not. Writing is something I do because it feels as if I don’t have a choice, I simply have to do it, so I’m going to do it whether anyone reads my words or not. Be like Emily Dickinson, letting the words be part of who you are, not worrying too much about how others perceive your writing.



My Solstice page – http://www.solsticeempire.com/products.aspx?categoryid=432
Amazon Waiting for Evening to Come page – https://www.amazon.com/dp/1080923667/
Amazon Two Loves page – https://www.amazon.com/Two-Loves-Glenn-Berggoetz-ebook/dp/B00872AWTW/ref=sr_1_7?keywords=Glenn+Berggoetz&qid=1569680531&s=books&sr=1-7

Guest Blogger: Debbie De Louise

I'm proud to announce the release of The Mistaken Mission, my time-travel short story that's a sequel to "Stitches in Time," a story I wrote in 1999 for the anthology, Cat Crimes Through Time.

mybook.to/mistakenmission

eBook & Kindle Unlimited: (Link will be sent on October 1st)

Nineteen years ago, Gina Garrett’s father disappeared into the past using a time-travel disk he and his partner created. The only person who believed Gina when she explained what happened was her father’s partner’s son. When he, now a detective, shows up at her door claiming that he needs her to help him prevent a murder that happened a year ago, she hopes they can find her father, too.

Excerpt

A few minutes after I hung up, there was a knock at my door. Checking the peephole with Stripey at my ankles, I saw a tall man with red hair and a matching beard. He wore a police uniform. I opened the door hesitantly.
“Gina Garrett. Sorry I came so late. I was just off my shift. Did your mother tell you I called?”
I swallowed a gulp of my own saliva and almost chocked. “Yes. She did. Come in, uh, Mr. Logan.”
“It’s Andy, remember?” He walked through the door.
“What’s wrong? Maybe that’s a silly question.” He paused. I was aware of him looking down at me. Even as a boy, he’d been taller than the tallest girl in the neighborhood.
“I know you must be surprised, even shocked to see me after all this time. When we moved away, I should’ve written or called you. I’m sorry.”
I turned around. “Have a seat. We can talk. I’ll make coffee, or maybe you’d like tea?” I led him into the small kitchen.
He straddled a chair, his long legs looping over it. “Nothing, thanks, but you can go ahead and make yourself a drink if you want.”
“I was about to have some champagne. I don’t drink often, but I was . . .”
“Celebrating your birthday,” he finished for me.
“You remember?”
“How could I forget? I was sorry for you when I heard what happened. Mother agreed that your father ran away with another woman. I never believed that.”
“Neither did I.” I sat across from him, and he turned his chair.
“Looking back, now that I’m a detective, I realize things didn’t make sense. Your dad took nothing with him – no wallet, money, or clothes.”
“They said he had another set of clothes and a fake ID, that he left the state or country with his mistress.”
The smile Andy had greeted me with faded. “Gina, I’m here for another reason than to dredge up old memories. I need your help with a case.”
“Why me? I have no police experience unless you count some of the stories I’ve covered.”
“I know you’re a reporter. I checked you out, but that’s not why I’m here.” He gazed at me through his blue eyes, and I saw images of him and me as kids riding our bikes around Boston Public Garden, playing softball in the street with a few other friends, taking walks through the neighborhood.
“I never doubted what you said all those years ago, about your going back in time. Recently, I may have found proof that you were right.”

OCTOBER FREEBIES

October 1st. - HAUNTED HONEYMOON

mybook.to/hhoneymoon

Ghost Cat. Don’t honeymoon without one.
Francesco and Gina are not your typical engaged couple. They met in a cemetery and spent their dates watching horror movies. But when Francesco suggests they honeymoon in a haunted house in Venice, Gina is shocked when she learns the place may actually be Francesco’s childhood home where his parents were murdered.

OCTOBER 15:  DEADLINE

mybook.to/Deadline

When college student Susan Shaffer wakes up on the wrong side of the bed in her dorm room, strange things begin to happen. Time seems to shift and draw her into an imaginary deadline that would rival those of the stories she writes for the student paper. Unable to face horrible news that she can’t remember happening, she traces the events of the last few days. Discovering the awful truth of why these hours are a blank, she must meet a deadline that is truly deadly.

OCTOBER 29: KNOWLEDGE IS POWER

getbook.at/Knowledge

On the one-month anniversary of the death of her beloved cat, Librarian Margaret Goodley, uses her excellent research skills to cast a spell to bring Bluebell back to life. Unfortunately, there are unexpected consequences when two other women who have lost their own loved ones on the same day interrupt the ceremony.

Author Bio

Debbie De Louise is an award-winning author and a reference librarian at a public library on Long Island. She is a member of Sisters-in-Crime, International Thriller Writers, the Long Island Authors Group, and the Cat Writer’s Association. She has a BA in English and an MLS in Library Science from Long Island University. Her novels include the four books of the Cobble Cove cozy mystery series: A Stone’s Throw, Between a Rock and a Hard Place, Written in Stone, and Love on the Rocks. Debbie has also written a romantic comedy novella, When Jack Trumps Ace, a paranormal romance, Cloudy Rainbow, and the standalone mystery, Reason to Die. She lives on Long Island with her husband, Anthony; daughter, Holly; and three cats, Stripey, Harry, and Hermione.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/debbie.delouise.author/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Deblibrarian
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2750133.Debbie_De_Louise
Amazon Author Page: http://amzn.to/2bIHdaQ
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/debbie-de-louise
Website/Blog/Newsletter Sign-Up: https://debbiedelouise.com