Wednesday, June 29, 2016

My Guest: Dianne Harman

My Guest this week is a seasoned writer with some practical tips for the aspiring. Ladies and Gentlemen...


Dianne Harman

So You Want to Write a Book!

          
People often tell me they want to write a book, but they don’t know what they’d write about. They want to know where I get the ideas for my books. How do I make them happen?


Believe me, the subject matter is all around you. What about that flower that’s growing up between the bricks you just walked on? Fantasy – did a large bird drop the seed while on a special mission from the king of birds to save the mouse from the trap the mean ogre set in his yard? 

Amazon Link


What about your crazy great-uncle who still talks about taking notes at a business meeting and then having several of the firm’s partners jump out of the office window when Wall Street crashed on Black Tuesday in 1929? Weave a story around that – maybe the before and after of the families of the partners or even how it affected him.



What about the young woman you saw at the supermarket this morning? She had a baby anchored on her hip and a tot in the child seat of the grocery cart. Normal enough, but what was that in her basket? A case of beer? So, who’s she buying it for? Her husband? Her lover? Herself? Seriously? At eight in the morning? Yeah, there’s definitely a story there.



And so it goes. Almost everything in every moment of every day can be woven into a story. Recently a friend came over for a glass of wine after work. She told me how she and her husband were disagreeing over something and he’d made the comment, “You’re a piece of work, but I guess you’re my piece of work.” Although it wasn’t the basis for a book, it could have been, but it’s now in a conversation that takes place in one of my soon-to-be published books.

Amazon Link


My husband and I were recently invited to Cuba by a fishing guide my husband has fished with for years. Since Cuba was getting ready to open up to direct travel from Americans, the guide was anxious to see if he could be one of the Americans allowed to be a fishing guide in Cuba. We went to Cayo Largo, an island off the coast of Cuba. 



The first day we were there the guide’s contact invited my husband and several of the guide’s guests to their fishing office on the island. I went with them and saw a door brightly painted with three kinds of fish on it. I asked our guide’s contact what that represented. He told me if a guest caught a tarpon, a bonefish, and a permit, all in the same day, the person was entitled to be member of the Grand Slam Club. That became the basis for 'Murder in Cuba' – egos and money intent on being the number one guide and the power of the Grand Slam Club.



A recent book of mine, 'Murdered by Words', is very loosely based on memories of going to college at a small Midwest school and the people who lived in the small town. The protagonist, Kat Denham, is widowed and makes career choices that lead to her editors’s death and fear for her own life. One thing just led to another, but what really prompted it was remembering how important the country club was to people in that small town. It became a focal point of the book.

Amazon Link


'Murdered by Country Music' came about simply because I was at a physical therapist’s office having a little work done on my lower back. While I was being treated, I overheard a conversation between a couple of the therapists regarding two music festivals that were going to be taking place near Palm Springs, California, in a few months. They were talking about mollies, Fireball whiskey, and just being part of the experience. I’d heard of the festivals, but had no idea what mollies and Fireball whiskey were. Thus began my education into the world of music festivals. We don’t live too far from Palm Springs, so my husband and I went there for the weekend to see if I could get a sense of the music festivals. That was the seed of the book. Although it’s a complete figment of my imagination, it came about because of the conversation I’d overheard.


So what’s the purpose of telling you about these books and things that are noticed? Ideas for books are everywhere. They’re in almost every conversation you hear, everything you experience, and everything you see. It’s up to you to give them life. In the words of the advertiser Nike, 

Just Do It! Write that book!


Bio:
Dianne lives in Huntington Beach, California, with her husband, Tom, and her boxer dog, Kelly. When she's not writing, you can find her cooking or playing in the yard with Kelly.

She's the author of four cozy mystery series, Cedar Bay, Liz Lucas, High Desert, and Midwest, as well as the suspense series, Coyote. If you'd like to sample her books, please go to www.dianneharman.com and get free books.



When not finding interesting ways to murder people, Dianne can be located here:


Website:  http://www.DianneHarman.com
Twitter:  @DianneDHarman



Thank you, Dianne, for that great advice. Come on people, this practical post is definitely one to bookmark!


Wednesday, June 15, 2016

My Guest: Sarah Jane Butfield

Curiously, I've just realized I have never had a non-fiction author as a Guest since this blog started over four years ago. Well, let's remedy that now, and who better than this week's visitor to give us some practical tips. Ladies and Gentlemen...


Sarah Jane Butfield

Everyone has a story


I am sure I am not alone in being familiar with the phrase ‘Everyone has a story’ and I actually used it as the name of my very first blog which I created long before I even dared to dream of becoming a published author. I have always compared it to the other well-known adage, ‘having your 15 minutes of fame’ and as such, at that time, I thought that writing a story to be published or having 15 minutes of fame was something that happened to other people, not me. Who did I think these other people were? Well, people who had interesting stories to tell or a skill that made them topical or worthy of public acknowledgement. With this in mind I will give you a little background to my accidental foray into the publishing arena.

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Although I have kept a journal, on and off since my teenage years, it was after the huge physical and psychological impact of the Brisbane floods in Australian 2011, when our newly renovated home in the suburb of Ipswich, Queensland, was totally submerged that the power of a journal really came into effect. However, at the time I had no idea that my scruffy notebook style journal would become the catalyst for a series of travel memoirs and which would later move me into the world of mentoring other new authors with a story to tell.

My personal bucket list of over the years has included a variety of travel and personal objectives. Some I have achieved, while others are still regarded as ‘work in progress’ or ‘this could take a small miracle’ type projects. One of my bucket list items was to write a romance novel, in the Mills and Boon style, although I never believed I would publish it, but I wanted to achieve the writing aspect of it. I have enjoyed reading romantic fiction since I was about 18 and many times whilst reading, I day-dreamed about being the next Jackie Collins. In February 2011 after the floods we had to relocate from Queensland to Tasmania to live with my father-in-law while we started to try and piece together the remnants of our life in Australia and start over with a very unsure future ahead of us. I started studying how to write a romance novel as a way of keeping my bucket list dream alive and to give me something positive to focus on as the bureaucratic process of the flood's aftermath started. Alongside this I continued writing in my trusty journal documenting the personal journey we were undertaking to regain a degree of normality to our lives. This cathartic form of therapy helped to distract me from the psychological impact of what we now faced as a family. I am not a materialistic person and the loss
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of a house and its contents was one aspect that could be replaced, resolved or dealt with through a physical process. However, the loss of very personal items which are irreplaceable and which carry huge sentimental and emotional attachments, such as items made by the children during their school years, old birthday and Christmas cards with funny heart-warming messages from the children at the various stages of their journey through childhood into adulthood made an indelible stain on my heart. It was from this pain and sense of loss that the reflective element of my journal deepened. With little help available to us to help us deal with the personal aftermath of the floods, as we had relocated away from the scene of the devastation, it became a very personal journey to rebuild our lives. Finding a new home to rent, sourcing new jobs, a new school and a CRPS specialist for Jaime were all essential tasks to start restoring the basic elements of everyday life. During this transitional period, we needed more than ever before to remain positive in our outlook especially when in contact with our friends and family back in the UK, so that they did not worry more that was necessary and feel even more frustrated that they couldn’t help us on a practical level.

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When I started my new job as Injury Management Coordinator for Allianz Insurance Australia I recounted the story of how we came to be living in Hobart many times, as I met new people who were naturally curious about why a UK expat couple would firstly move to Alice Springs and then be left almost destitute in Queensland after the floods and ultimately end up in Tasmania. As one of the insurance companies that made the decision to not pay-out on the Queensland flood claims, at that time, there was degree of awkwardness initially when senior management visited, even though we had not been insured with Allianz in Queensland. I think that as they came to know me and my family, and as it is a very family oriented business, I became the personal face of an unseen tragedy. Regularly people would say “you couldn’t make this stuff up” or “it’s like the premise of a good movie or novel” and looking back it was from these tiny seeds of inspiration or maybe motivation to share our story that I began writing what would go on to become my debut travel memoir, ‘Glass Half Full Our Australian Adventure.

By the time I was at the stage of working out what to do with this book I had written we were living in France, which is another story you can read about in ‘Two Dogs and a suitcase: Clueless in Charente the journal was filling up again. With a very erratic internet service and whilst sitting in the building site of a house which was now our home I decided to self-publish my book expecting my audience to
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be that of friends and family who were curious about the way our life had been changed by the events of 2011. However, as I networked with other self-published authors, initially in my genre and later across all genres, I became hooked on the process and the total control that it allows you to develop as writer and a book promoter. Emails from readers started arriving with questions and feedback, all aimed at helping me to develop as an author and to give the readers who were now developing into fans and sometimes friends, more of what they wanted. And the rest as they say is history.  I became ‘The Accidental Author’ of a travel memoir series and later a series of self-help guides for new authors who are about to embark on the journey I had experienced and who I could help by sharing my challenges, successes and ever developing knowledge and skill base.

The lesson from this rambling blog post is that everything you experience and learn on your personal journey is your story, and it doesn’t have to be dramatic like a Hollywood blockbuster movie to capture the hearts and minds of readers who can empathise, relate or just plainly interested in the places, people and events that you are writing about. So my question to you is ‘what’s your story?’

Please leave a comment and feel free to get in touch about your story, or your writing journey.

I would like to thank Eric for the opportunity to share my story with you today, it has been a pleasure.

Bio:

Author Sarah Jane Butfield was born in Ipswich, Suffolk, UK. Sarah Jane is a wife, mother, retired Registered General Nurse and is now an international best-selling author of Travel, Nursing and Culinary memoirs. She has also written a series of self-help guides for new authors based on her experiences to date.

Her life now as a successful author and inspiring mentor to new authors in her role as CEO at Rukia Publishing, is in addition to being a modern day mum to her 'Brady Bunch.' She has four children, three step-children and an 18-month old grandson. Sarah Jane loves spending time with her large family, their two Australian Cattle dogs, Dave and Buster, and her French cat called George.

Here are her author social media and website links:

Sarah Jane's Author website: www.sarahjanebutfield.com

Twitter

Facebook:


Thank you Sarah Jane for your interesting post. If there are any new writers out there, I urge you to check out her book promotional series, details of which can be found on her Amazon Author page: 
 http://www.amazon.com/Sarah-Jane-Butfield/e/B00GPLZW2Y/


Eric @ www.ericjgates.com

Wednesday, June 8, 2016

Fast-paced, Action-packed SUMMER Reading

Just in time for the Summer vacation, I'm bringing you some recommended books to take with you. Beware! This stuff is addictive reading. You might find you're still sitting in the hotel room flicking pages instead of...


NEWS: 'OUTSOURCED' is FREE 10-14th June


Amazon Link
What's the most dangerous gift a fan could send to an author?


And if that fan was a professional assassin


New York-based writer Nic Stiles receives a strange package in the mail. It's not long before he realizes what it represents will change his life... with deadly consequences.


Others want the package's contents too, including a high-tech Intelligence agency that will stop at
nothing to obtain it.

...and the sender wants it back!

This fast-paced SUSPENSE THRILLER will make YOU question your Destiny!


Voted GoodReads BOOK of the MONTH February 2015

And NOW there's a sequel!!!

Amazon Link

Hardnosed DIA Agent Bridget Mason is back!

In the heart-thumping continuation of 'Outsourced'...

Bridget gets to fire her gun,
Phil takes a dive,
and Nic tells the truth
when they find themselves up against the Russian Mafia!






Amazon Link for Book 1 - it's FREE!

Dan Brown meets X-files!

Vatican conspiracy, supranatural creatures, hi-tech espionage...

and two kickass female protagonists!

'the CULL' series - Original, Exciting, Unique

Discover it today!


Amazon Link
The Head of British Intelligence is kidnapped.
A ransom demanded.
A private security company is tasked with his recovery.

But nothing is as it seems...

Opposing forces clash with deadly consequences as they race
to control the most devastating weapon of mass
destruction devised by Man
!


Deceit and betrayal against a backdrop of real events
in this nail-biting suspense thriller
.

Amazon Link


For over sixty years they kept a secret.

The biggest secret in the history of Mankind.

Now a dying town finds itself on the front lines of a covert war,
when a
US President under seige makes a
Full Disclosure!


Amazon Link
A fast-paced thriller that races from ancient Egypt to the present in the U.S., China and Europe.



Against a background of ever-increasing International tension and devastating disasters, 

a middle-aged, drunken, ex-Special Forces soldier, with nothing to lose, teams up with 

the young daughter of an M.I.T. Robotics Engineer.

Their Mission:
Stop the End of the World!


And the really GOOD news?

All are 2.99 or less (even FREE!)

All Eric J. Gates' Suspense Thrillers are FREE with Kindle Unlimited too!

Load up your KINDLE for Summer NOW!