Day: May 28, 2012

E-Book Giveaway – One Author’s Aha Moments by Jordan Dane

One Author's Aha MomentsBestselling thriller and Young Adult author Jordan Dane is celebrating her first foray into self-publishing with the release of her first non-fiction title by running an e-book giveaway contest on her Fringe Dweller blog. There are many ways to enter. Visit her blog for rules HERE.

One Author’s Aha Moments is geared toward aspiring authors and has an emphasis on the Young Adult genre. These writing tips may also be helpful to experienced authors and those who write other genres. Jordan’s advice comes from her personal experiences on writing fiction for adult and teen markets and what has worked for her. Jordan hopes her book will kindle a fire in you to write—a passion worth pursuing.

This author craft book covers topics such as: how to get started; an overview of Young Adult fiction themes, voice, and characteristics; how to create characters editors are looking for & how to introduce them and give them a unique voice; a method of plot structure that even a non-plotter can love; how to hook your book; and a chapter on the writer’s life, goal setting, editing, and a word on book promotion. This book is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble with print-on-demand coming soon to other retailers through CreateSpace.

Praise for Jordan Dane’s Young Adult Novels

“Adult thriller writer Jordan Dane pens a macabre and thoroughly eerie plot for In the Arms of Stone Angels. Dane’s well-developed characters provide an authentic young adult exploration of guilt, loyalty, and belonging.” —Publishers Weekly

“Dane’s On a Dark Wing is a great new young adult tale about death, love and starting over. It’s an exciting mix that will remind readers of Bree Despain’s The Lost Saint and Rachel Vincent’s Soul Screamers. Paranormal fans will love this. A compelling page turner.” —Romantic Times Magazine

For more on Jordan, visit www.JordanDane.com. Good luck!

Cake or Death? Yet Another Author Appearance

Author K S Brooks at the Library FundraiserThat’s pretty much how I feel each time I’m invited to do an event. Cake?: staying home in my hermit writer’s cave, glued to my WIPs, email and social networking. Death?: going to an event which makes me feel like I’m basically on display at the author zoo.

We’ve been through this – you know you have to do the event. (See my post here.) Sure, it blows half the day getting your stuff together, having the ghost of Leona Helmsley do your make-up, and dressing up like a monkey. Okay, maybe that wasn’t you. But you get the picture.

If you live on a dirt road, you don’t want to lean up against the car in your black pants. You also don’t want anyone to see that those same pants are covered in white dog fur. But you weren’t anywhere near the dog…doesn’t matter. Static electricity attracted every piece of loose fur in the house onto your pants. You are so static-charged that you could power the Las Vegas strip for an evening.

Then you get to the event during set-up time. You immediately realize that despite the fact it’s an evening event at the Country Club – it’s not formal. And, in your fitted suit, not only do you feel grossly overdressed, you’re now overheating because it’s hot as hell. You’re wishing you’d brought a change of clothes – and not for those reasons – but because the Country Club carpeting is stepping up the static in your pants and they are now clinging to you in a revealing manner from your ankles to your…well, you know. You’re afraid if you touch anything that not only could you cause a power outage, you might even spontaneously combust. Continue reading “Cake or Death? Yet Another Author Appearance”

How To Write a Novel

Welcome to The Learning Curve. As a new writer I expect to make mistakes. My job is to show you these mistakes so that you can avoid them yourself.

How To Write a Novel

Originally I thought this would be the shortest blog post in history, or at least for this column. Sadly though, Stephen Hise, the Evil Mastermind at Indies Unlimited, would not let me get away with it. My first attempt at this post was a crack at anti-verbosity. It was succinct and to the point. Before I expand on that post however, let me share it with you in its entirety.

How to write a novel: One word at a time.

That’s it. You can keep reading of course, but that’s my monthly post for The Learning Curve in a nutshell. All great novels throughout history were written one word at a time. Then again, so were the worst. Continue reading “How To Write a Novel”