It’s Hard to Keep a Good Cop Down

By Carl Austin

Are you familiar with the old adage, “If it wasn’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all?”  Well, that pretty much sums up Inspector Dennis Delaney’s situation in a nutshell.  For those of you who haven’t had the pleasure of reading some or all of the four crime novels in which he’s been prominently featured, Dennis has had his share of bad luck.  Since the very first book, he’s not only been called onto the carpet by his superior, clubbed into submission by a Chinese gang member and brainwashed by a lovely lady librarian, but his finances are such that it’s a miracle he can keep a roof over his head.

Is getting an agent as easy as attending a conference?

by John Feldman 

Image courtesy of GoodBooks.Online

Imagine you’re trying to find true love through a dating site. You’ve been on ninety-nine dates so far and have had no success—this site stinks, it can’t find me anyone. And tonight is your one-hundredth date. It’s the last one you’re going to try. After this, you’re done. You’ve got your Cancel Membership page already up on your computer at home, ready to go back and get a drink from your fridge, click the Cancel button—then subsequently the Are Your Sure? button—and try your very best to look forward to a long life of being single.

Can You Use Grassroots Methods to Kickstart Your Writing Career?

by Dana Gore

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I hate to break it to you, but if you're an author, writer, or blogger, you're in the company of millions of people who want the same things you do. You want people to read and benefit from what you have to say. You want others to share your work. You want to be fairly compensated for your efforts.  Last but not least, you want to  leave a positive impact in the world by helping people.

Silly Is as Silly Does - An Author’s Take on the Writing Process

by Ken Dixon

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I used to be really silly.  And, to be honest, I still am.

That's why I gravitate toward humor writing.

At the advanced age of (muffled sound), I think I should be far more serious.  Apparently, I have managed somehow not to grow up.

You can't just skate through life finding "funny" wherever you look, can you?  You need to "knuckle down", right?  I was supposed to do that in order to "get anywhere".  Well, here I am.  I ended up somewhere, in spite of myself.  But that other place might have been more interesting and and quite a bit more lucrative.  I'll never know, because it's too late now - and that's as good an excuse as any to keep doing what I'm doing (whatever that is).

Sit Back, Relax, & Enjoy the Apocalypse!

By Jay Mouton

Imabe from en.wikipedia.org

My recent novel, Apocalypse Awakening, is first and foremost a work of fiction.  It is a story.  It is one of those what if this happened adventures!  It’s important to remember such aspects of fiction when one is reading fiction.  Yeah, I know I’m pointing out the obvious.  Still, many forget the simple fact that fiction is fictional.  Yep, a no brainer—right?

Not so much.

I spent over a decade of my life teaching college literature courses, and we covered a great deal of fiction.  For the most part, it was fun to delve into various stories with well over a couple of thousand students over the years.  It was also a learning experience, as time after time I got the chance to re-experience so many stories with so many people.  We got the chance to live inside fiction: made up stuff.  And I never let my students forget this “made up stuff” aspect of fiction.

Is the Traditional Book Publishing Route a 1-Way Street?

by Carl Weiss

Image courtesy of flickr.com

When it comes to writing books, authors will spend untold amounts of time and money polishing their prose.  When it comes to marketing their books however, many authors still harbor the notion that a literary agent is going to provide them with the ticket to fame and fortune.  But when you factor in the reality that there are a limited number of literary agents in the US and that in 2015 there were more than 300,000 books published in this country, then the odds of your landing representation is like hitting the lottery.

These Agents Have a License to Thrill

Reading Between the Lines: the Realities of Fiction

by RJ Jojola

On the Verge— Overcoming the Past

My dark fantasy novel, On the Verge, is very much a coming of age tale where adults in their 20s are forced to deal with and overcome their childhood traumas. As their trust in everything and everyone wanes, the character’s paths become intertwined. As they begin facing their pain and suffering head on, they discover that they are the last and final hope for their world. It is solely up to them to dispel the evil and chaos that had been unleashed by the adults who were supposed to have protected them. In essence, it shows the cyclical nature of not only the downfalls and mistakes that affect the history of a civilization, but individuals and their families as well. 

The Realities of Fiction— Turning Real Life into a Fantastical World