Introducing author Tom Halford.

Today it’s my great pleasure to introduce fellow Crooked Cat author Tom Halford to you. Tom has sent me a great photo and it looks like he’s really enjoying his book reading. If you grab your own copy, you will find out why! I have this book on my kindle and can’t wait to begin the first page now. Tom’s YouTube channel is worth visiting if you are a reader or writer as he posts lost of informative videos there too.

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Meet Tom:

Tom Halford sandwiches his writing time between a busy work and home schedule. He and his wife, Melissa, have two kids, both of whom are also storytellers. Their daughter, who is 5, has had a play performed by The Story Pirates in New York City. Their son, who is two, can recite all of The Three Little Pigs.

Crime fiction with a twist of black comedy is Tom’s passion. His novel Deli Meat is a dark and disturbing work that features serial killers, a cult, and unexpected twists at every turn. His short-stories have been short-listed and long-listed for the CBC Literary Prizes, which is a national competition in Canada.

Holding a PhD in English Literature, Tom also studies fiction. He is currently working on a nonfiction piece about how the Scottish filmmaker Tom Gentle has adapted a short-story titled “In the Fall” by the Cape Breton author Alistair MacLeod. 

Tom lives on a remote island in the North Atlantic, where it begins to snow in October and doesn’t stop until May. That island is called Newfoundland. It’s home.

Link to Deli Meat

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07FF5ZDKW?pf_rd_p

Link to my Twitter

https://twitter.com/tomhalfordnovel

Link to my Youtube

https://www.youtube.com/CyrilTrout

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Cover reveal. The Alternative.

It’s my pleasure to have been asked by author S. Burke to be part of her cover reveal launch for her latest book, The Alternative. What do you think of this wonderful cover?

The Alternative BOOK COVER PERFECT AND READY TO GO.

You can pre-order this book from today! I usually have a marketing post on a Monday, so I asked S. Burke to give us her marketing tips to help other authors.

From S. Burke…

Hello and welcome to My Cover reveal for my new Thriller Anthology “The Alternative”

My grateful thanks to my marvelous host, Lizzie Chantree.

In keeping with Lizzie’s Marketing tips Day, I’ve shared with you a few simple things that I’ve learned over the years.

MARKETING TIPS ON CREATING A GREAT COVER

I must admit to having zero skills when it comes down to creating my own book cover. I’m now a committed believer that a great cover can create sales. I know from first-hand experience what happens as a result of a merely adequate cover being crafted by my own inexpert hands.

I had a book that I was proud of, that I used a generic cover creator on, and it sold very few copies. But I had faith in the readability of my work…  that’s when I made the decision to use a professional service to have the cover recreated.

I looked for the covers that drew my eye immediately amongst all the writers I follow and discovered of the ones I found most appealing many were created by Eeva Lancaster at The Book Khaleesi. I had a clear visual image of what I wanted and Eeva’s service gave me the total freedom of selecting my own image and having it used, or the offer of them creating the cover from my description. I found the image, and had a brilliant eye-catching cover created by them and returned within twenty-four hours. End result … Book sales increased!  Reviews started coming in … And the Cover won Second Place in Best Cover of the year on Rave Reviews Book Club.

Lesson learned, and then some.

I have the pleasure of sharing with you The COVER REVEAL for “The Alternative”

The Alternative BOOK COVER PERFECT AND READY TO GO..JPG

Grab your copy here!

The Alternative by S. Burke

AVAILABLE for PRE-ORDER NOW!
Release Date: Monday, June 18th, 2018

 Category: Thriller & Suspense > Anthology

“The Alternative” on AMAZON.COM

Suzanne Burke Amazon Author Page

On TWITTER.

On Facebook.

My Blog

MARKETING TIP ON WRITING A GREAT BLURB

What are the key Overriding emotions you want your readers to find within your manuscript?  I don’t presume to tell my reader what they MUST feel, but rather invite them to feel it.

 Keep in mind that the blurb is intended to be a lure, that hook that captures the reader’s attention, and prompts them to take a look at this book for themselves, it is not intended to be a detailed synopsis of what your reader will find. Too much information is a curiosity killer.

Here is the blurb for “The Alternative”

There are those that cling unreservedly to the lifeboat that believing in Karma hands them so willingly.

They work, they live, and they function in a world that grants them the option of believing that Karma has no deadline.

Until they are handed the spark that ignites them into becoming the instrument of Karma itself.

There are others who have had all they once held to be truths, everything they once stood for and took pride in, torn apart and ripped from them by the hand of a cruel fate.

Then, of course, there are those who believed in nothing and no one, to begin with … 

These are their stories.

The stories of people both good and bad, who made the choice to exact “The Alternative.”

Thank you so much for joining me here today. I’d be delighted if you would care to comment on my latest work.

My thanks again to my host Lizzie Chantree for sharing my exciting news with all of you today.

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The Creation of a New Series by guest author Staci Trolio.

Hi, everybody. I’m glad to be here today. Thanks for spending a few minutes with me.

The second installment of my Nightforce Security Series, Gamble, just released. I have a few standalone pieces, but I mostly write series. Over the course of my fiction career, I’ve been asked about my decision to write series rather than single titles. So, I thought I’d share my process with you.

Quite often, when a storyline forms in my mind, it develops in discrete chunks. When I link them altogether, the true story forms. Each installment is the “short game” or, in other words, what the villain hopes to accomplish at that particular time. But the series on the whole is the “long game” or the resolution of the overarching problem—the villain’s ultimate goal and whether it is achieved. In the case of my Cathedral Lake Series, the stories followed the Keller family. The first novel started with a family tragedy, and the last novel ended with all the mysteries solved. The process was similar with my Medici Protectorate Series. The first book began with a family in peril and ended with the danger revealed and dealt with.

But I started the Nightforce Security Series with a different goal in mind. There was a secondary character in my Medici Protectorate Series who really spoke to me. He had a story of his own, and not just as support for other main characters. This guy, Danny Caruso, was a lead character stuck in the background, and he really needed to be put in the spotlight. That’s how Password came to be. Funny thing was, Danny had supporting characters in his story who also had lives worth examining. And that’s how my new series was born.

Instead of shorter installments as the overarching problem was resolved, these are standalone stories all linked together through character association. All of my heroes are employees at Nightforce Security, and every one of them is a magnet for strong women and dangerous situations.

If you’re a novelist with a list of standalone titles and you’re considering writing a series, you’ve got a few options.

  1. Make the same character your hero in each standalone work. (Sherlock Holmes novels by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
  2. Follow a different character in each story, starting with a problem in book one and solving it in the end of the last novel. (Sign of Seven Series by Nora Roberts)
  3. Or, and this might be easiest for you, mine your existing novels for secondary characters that seem to have more to say, then write their stories. In other words, a spinoff. (Fantastical Beasts and Where to Find Them, a spinoff of the Harry Potter Series by J. K. Rowling)

I usually follow the second option, but with my newest series, I’m following the third, and I have to say it’s been a lot of fun taking supporting characters and making them stars. Even better, I get to revisit beloved characters whose stories are over. My readers and I miss them, so their cameo appearances are enjoyable for all of us.

If you’re thinking of making the move from standalone novels to series writing, maybe this method will make for an easy transition for you.

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Blurb for Gamble:

Sometimes stakes are too high to gamble. Other times they’re too high not to.

Noah Crawford is a consummate bachelor—until a one-night stand piques his interest in something more. The only problem is, she wouldn’t give him her name, and he has no way to find her.

A week later, resigned to forgetting her, he accompanies his friends to a casino. Floor traffic promises to be light while everyone clusters at the sportsbook for the college basketball championship game. But Noah isn’t in the mood for frivolity and sets off on his own. No one is more surprised than he is when he bumps into his mystery woman.

He’s playing a far different game than cards when armed criminals take over the poker room. Noah is separated from his friends, and somehow the room has been cut off from security. Help isn’t coming. It’s up to him to keep everyone safe while he tries to thwart the gunmen.

Noah quickly realizes he’s trying to prevent more than a simple heist. And he doesn’t know who he can trust. The stakes have never been higher, and he’s all in. But one of the thieves might have an ace up his sleeve, and that could cost Noah everything.

More Information | Universal Purchase Link

About Staci:

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Staci Troilo writes because she has hundreds of stories in her head. She publishes because people told her she should share them. She’s a multi-genre author whose love for writing is only surpassed by her love for family and friends, and that relationship-centric focus is featured in her work.

Web | Blog | Newsletter | Facebook Group | Twitter | Facebook | Other Social Media Links

Meet Catherine Green.

Today I have been chatting to author Catherine Green about her latest book release, from her urban fantasy series The Redcliffe Novels, My Vampire Boyfriend.

Catherine Green

Book blurb:

The witch, her vampire boyfriend, and his identical twin werewolf brother. What could possibly go wrong?

The pretty seaside town of Redcliffe in Cornwall is a popular location for holidaymakers during the summer season. It has good waves for surfing, good pubs for socialising, and a vibrant tourist industry. It is also home to a hidden werewolf pack, and several vampires and witches, who all live within human society, pretending to be just like the rest of us.

Bookshop owner Jessica Stone used to be one of those humans. Then she met Detective Jack Mason and his twin brother, Danny. They took her on a wild adventure that shows no sign of slowing down. Now she is deeply embedded with the vampires and werewolves, and learning the power of their lust, and a magnetic attraction that is just too hard to ignore. She is also learning about her own true heritage, and how to feed her desires and satisfy her powerful animal familiar that resides within.

This anthology contains adult themes, and scenes of a sexual nature.

Book Link:

 

Cathrine’s website:

https://spookymrsgreen.com/