Tim Forbes - It's Game Time Somewhere - Guest Post & Giveaway

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About the Book

Tim Forbes was like many Americans: painfully unsatisfied in his corporate job but making too much money to walk away. But then, one momentous day, he and his wife struck the Deal, leading to a career in the one field he loved more than anything: sports.

Years later, having carved out his place in the sports business, he was surprised when a friend asked, "Do you still love sports?"...And stunned when he didn't know how to reply. Of course he still loved sports! Didn't he? Was it possible that walking away from a perk-filled Corporate American life had all been for nothing?

His year-long quest to find that answer started with a single game. But what he discovered there soon led to an unlikely coast-to-coast “sports walkabout” involving 100 more games and 50 different sports—from major-market events to the smallest of the small. Poignant, irreverent, and ultimately inspiring, It’s Game Time Somewhere chronicles one man’s search for the love of the game.

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Video Book Trailer



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Guest Post

Cards on the table – yours truly is not quite right.

How else could you explain the fact that I spent a year of my life attending and writing about 100 uniquely different sporting events involving 50 separate sports? But that’s what I did, and literally thousands of readers helped me keep score. And when it was done, we all knew more about sports in America than it was thought to be humanly possible. Or at least I did, anyway.

“But why?” you ask. Well here’s my story and I’m sticking to it…

As Bill Cosby once said, I started out as a child. A child inexorably drawn to sports – the organized kind and especially the disorganized kind favored by my circle of friends. Consequently I grew up chasing a ball. It didn’t matter what size or shape, I chased them all. I was fortunate enough to have come of age in a time when kids themselves scheduled their own games and “officiated” them via the kid’s code of sports ethics – an arcane collection of arguments, declarations, and insults that inevitably led to the Do Over. Or somebody taking their ball and going home.

On those occasions when a quorum wasn’t available for even the most streamlined of games, I played them solo. Some might call it “practicing”, but I knew it as “having fun”. And as is the case with many things one repeats endlessly, I managed to develop some level of skill. So it came to be that I went to college on a basketball scholarship.

Annoyingly enough, they don’t let you just major in Basketball – well, not in 1977 anyway, and not in any conference that, like mine, did not start with the word “Big”. So I chose to pursue a degree in Psychology. Don’t ask me why. And when my undergraduate days ended, I decided to obtain an MBA, because, well…because.

The ironic thing was that neither Psychology nor Business Administration would have even been in the race had Sports Management been an academic option. Ubiquitous now, at the time that I entered college there was no such degree program. And so, a career match made in heaven went by the boards…for the time being, anyway.

In my mid-30’s, having acquired over a decade of experience in Corporate America, I became vaguely aware of the fact that people were getting paid to work in sports! Having thus discovered the existence of what was rightfully MY chosen field of work, I spent the next several years alternating between a state of agitation over having been born a decade too early, and thoughtful rumination on how I could still pull off a second half rally and transition to my natural calling.

At the age of 40, the confluence of a certain set of circumstances, not the least of which is the most understanding wife in the cosmos, enabled me to take the plunge. I enrolled in an accredited four semester program that rewarded me upon completion with an Associate’s Degree in Professional Golf Management. I was on my way – a little late out of the gate, but with a full head of steam and ready to use my transferrable skills to claw my way to the top of the sports business.

Nearly a decade later, having come to know quite well the good, the bad and the ugly about pursuing a second career within the sports industry, I was innocently confronted one day with the following question: ”After working in the industry for ten years, do you still love sports?”

Hmmmm…great question. One I honestly didn’t have an answer for. As you can imagine though, it became critically important for me to find one. And thus began germinating the idea of a “sports walkabout” – an effort to reconnect with my ball-chasing, sports-loving roots.

I went to a game. And then another. And another. Big games, little games. Tournaments, matches, meets and bouts. Men’s games, women’s games. Professional. Amateur. High School. College. Games that I was intimately familiar with. Games that I didn’t have the faintest idea as to their rules.

To those that virtually accompanied me I offered to share everything that I found – both positive and…not so positive. I promised to keep it light-hearted, and they in turn agreed to laugh, learn and share the link with others. This blog, this portrait of Americans at play, became a love letter to sports, warts and all. My friends at Google Analytics tell me that it has been read by thousands of people all over the world.

I hope it brings a smile of pleasure and recognition to your face as well. Because it’s always game time somewhere.

To read more of my stories, please visit:
http://itsgametimesomewhere.com/the-igts-tour/the-stories/

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Video Interview


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It's Game Time Somewhere can be purchased at:
Barnes and Noble, MyBookOrders.com

Price: $15.95
Pages: 304
ISBN: 9781938008122
Publisher: Bascom Hill
Release: February 12, 2013


About the Author

Alternately blessed and cursed by the notion that everyone should do what they love for a living, Tim Forbes creates and writes about the games that people play.

Tim grew up in the farmlands of northern Connecticut, and went on to earn a bachelor’s degree from Ithaca College—where he played Division III basketball in front of literally tens of people. He received an MBA from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and an Associate’s Degree at the Professional Golfers Career College in Temecula, CA. Yes, in that order.

After 15 years spent meandering about in Corporate America, Tim went on to work for three professional golf tours: the Symetra Futures Tour, the LPGA Tour, and the PGA Tour. He also served as general manager for golf clubs in Nashville, Tennessee and Orlando, Florida. In 2009, he founded Outside the Mode, a sports marketing and production company based in his adopted home of Los Angeles.

Tim lives in Redondo Beach, California with a perennially underachieving fish named Halo, a cat, and a wife he fondly calls Bird..

Connect with Tim:
Web Site
Blog
Twitter
Goodreads
YouTube
Flickr



About the Giveaway

Leave a comment with your email address to win an ebook of It's Game Time Somewhere. 
Ends 3/01/13.

Sarah Pleydell - Cologne: A Novel - Guest Post

About the Book

London, 1960: Renate von Hasselmann, a nineteen-year-old German au pair, arrives at Victoria Station prepared to meet her new charges, Caroline and Maggie Whitaker. Yet she is ill-prepared for their parents: the mother, Helen, knows more about Nazi Germany than Renate does, and the father, Jack, disarms Renate with his quicksilver charm.

In Sarah Pleydell's debut novel, childhood and history collide, blurring the distinctions between victim and victor, ruin and redemption. With delicate humor, Pleydell presents a portrait of a family on the cusp of great social change, while reminding us that the traumas of war revisit the children of the peace.

Guest Post

My favorite character in Cologne is Maggie Whitaker, Caroline’s little sister. I started out writing the novel from Caroline’s point of view always knowing there would be a younger sibling in the picture, but then Maggie popped into my imagination as a fully formed presence. From the start, she was more than her big sister’s sidekick. She had her own center of gravity and a very distinctive way of conducting herself in the world. Sure she was damaged by her father’s neglect and emotional abuse—the stammer, the thumb sucking, the bed-wetting, the mysterious bruise on her skull, but she always had an independent personhood. She is both ornery and robust, contrary yet grounded. I enjoyed uncovering new details about her personality such as her treasure box filled with such bizarre mementoes as congealed photographs of her parents, stale sweeties (candy) and baby teeth. I discovered she had a habit of pinching things; for example, Renate, the German au pair, left her glasses lying around and Maggie picked them up, snuck them inside her treasure box and squirreled them away.

Maggie also has a vivid and dynamic imagination, which comes alive when she plays with her sister. In the Royal Green House in Kew Gardens she believes herself the Queen of Africa, taking a bath. It’s a more immediate kind of fantasy, painted with a broader brush than Caroline’s, but it’s just as dynamic.

Maggie may be the object, the target almost, of her father’s disdain, (for example, in the scene when she misses the Queen because she has gone inside to “spend a penny”) but in a perverse kind of way she benefits from his neglect. And certainly so as we learn what price Caroline must pay for his attention. The further the story progresses, however, the clearer it becomes that Maggie is the one who comprehends the nuances of the adult world better even than Caroline, who struggles to come to terms with the hard truths that surround the Whitaker family. As a result the balance of power between the two sisters begins to equalize, and by the end it’s Maggie who is in the ascendant when it comes to knowledge and authority. By the end it is Caroline who is stammering her father’s name and Maggie who is making the definitive statements.

What saddens me is what Maggie has to give up to gain this ascendancy. For in a sisterly relationship, especially one forged in dysfunction, one complete self (set of characteristics if you like) gets divided between two, each of the pair ending up with half a grab bag full of qualities. At any one moment these can be switched up. With Eva and Helen, for example, there was a time when Grace was the eccentric and Eva the sensible one; in the time period of the novel it is the other way round. But by the end, it is Maggie who has the power, Caroline the creativity. Maggie’s supremacy costs her her imaginative soul.



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Price: $14.95 paperback, $6.47-$12.95 ebook
ISBN: 9780984990856
Pages: 252
Release: September 18, 2012
Buy Links: Kindle, Nook, Fuze Publishing (paperback), Fuze Publishing (ebook)


About the Author

A graduate of Oxford and London Universities, Sarah Pleydell is an award-winning writer, performer and playwright who teaches English and writing at the University of Maryland. For the past twenty years, she has been a master teaching artist and arts integration specialist, working with institutions that include The Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning Through the Arts, The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the Luce Institute. In 2000, she won the American Association for Theatre Educators’ award for best book of the year with co-author Victoria Brown. Most recently she wrote the script and played the role of Isadora in Revolutionary: The Life and Times of Isadora Duncan with Word Dance Theater.

Based on her childhood in London, "Cologne" (Fuze Publishing) has been twenty years in the making. It has benefited from fellowships at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts and input many generous and gifted writers.

Connect with Sarah:
Facebook
Goodreads
Blog Tour Site
Fuze Publishing Web Site
Fuze Publishing Blog
Fuze Publishing Facebook
Fuze Publishing Twitter

Al Moe - Nevada's Golden Years of Gambling - Guest Post

Guest Post
Writing for a Niche Market

Every book has a number of niche markets that a successful marketing campaign can target, although the author may not realize it at first. Sometimes it’s not until the work is done that an obvious market emerges, but when it does, take advantage of it! John Grisham is one of the finest and most successful authors of our time. He writes about lawyers, a subject he knows well after practicing law himself. He has practically manufactured his own “lawyer” niche, but there are plenty of other groups his publisher markets to.

Stephen King admits to loving horror pictures, having been drawn to them at a local theatre during his youth. He too, knows and loves his subject. That love is what sends those novels into the sales stratosphere. Well, that and great stories told in the best possible manner, but again, although his books are in the horror and fiction genre’, other reading groups are attracted to his work.

For mere mortal authors, an audience can still be found by figuring out who benefits or wants the kind of book you have produced. As I mentioned at Author Book Marketing, identifying your niche is the key, and it’s not that tough to do.

Just as blogs appeal to certain readers, so do books, obviously, but targeting your work to the right group not only focuses your marketing dollars, but uses your valuable time in a productive manner.

My book, “Nevada’s Golden Age of Gambling,” is about the first 50 years of legalized gambling in Nevada (1931 to 1981). So, who’s interested in that subject? Well, your first thought might be gamblers. People that go and play blackjack might be my best bet (sorry for the pun). I wish that was true because my audience would be much larger.

However, I’ve found that gamblers are only a small part of my audience. Most slot players don’t care that “Bugsy” Siegel was the front man for the Mob in Las Vegas and built the Flamingo casino. They do seem more interested in the fact that he was gunned down at his girlfriend’s (Virginia Hill) house in Beverly Hills in 1947.

That’s a clue.

So what niches do I target? Sure, Las Vegas, casinos and gambling – but how about Hollywood, and gangsters. Let’s add The Mob to that list, and people interested in Nevada, history, casino chips, dice collectors, post card collectors (specializing in Nevada, Las Vegas, Hollywood, and casinos). Add the 1940’s now we’re cooking. With those dozen niches I’ve got plenty to start with. The internet connects me with plenty of blogs about every single one of those groups.

What’s Your Niche?

So, think about your latest book. Say it’s a novel, set in a US submarine during the 1970s. What are your niches? To start with, submarines, and the ‘70’s, and the Navy. Let’s add where the submarine was deployed – did it leave San Diego? Now add California, and the genre’, action adventure perhaps. Is there a murder, a physician on board (yes), are US Seals attached to this sub, and what about the sonar equipment and some sub history? Can you think of a few other niches to round out a dozen avenues to market? Yes, you can.

By using niche marketing you help target your dollars and solidify your audience, but you also do something a novelist must always do to be successful: differentiate their work from the 4.5 million other novels that were published in the last year. Yes, the odds are that steep!

If you start with a great story, tell it well, edit your words, and have a great cover, you are already ahead of 90% of your competition. Then, keep up with the remaining authors by making sure your words get seen by your niche market. Do that and you can eventually attract the masses. Don’t believe me? Just ask John Grisham and Stephen King!


Book Blurb:

Before "Bugsy" Siegel" opened the Flamingo casino and created the Las Vegas Strip, the Mob was hard at work stealing Downtown casinos like the Las Vegas Club and the El Cortez from their original owners. Reno casino owners resorted to arson and murder to keep their money flowing, and they had Lake Tahoe casinos in their pocket too!

Nevada's Golden Age of Gambling is a photo-rich history of the casinos from 1931 to 1981. All about the building of empires from Reno and Lake Tahoe to Las Vegas and a dozen other Nevada casino towns.

Stories detail how the casinos were built, who the major gaming pioneers were, and how they managed to build Nevada from a agriculture and mining based economy into the greatest gaming empire in the world.

Chapters include the history of casinos and their founders from Bill Harrah and "Pappy" Smith, to Moe Dalitz, "Bugsy" Siegel, and dozens of others.

Author Bio:

I'm a lucky guy. My family traveled through Nevada most summers and I got to see the towns and casinos changing like the color of the leaves in the trees. Casinos came and went. So did we.

I started taking pictures of the casinos and researching their owners and name changes in the 1980's. I collected chips and dice, and since then I've had a great time working at properties like Harrah's and Harold's Club, and writing about everything I've learned.

I also write a Nevada Casino History blog and discuss Casino Gambling at About.com Please drop by and leave me a note - I'll respond.

Links:

Amazon.com buy link

Twitter

Goodreads

Brady Christianson - The Devil's Garden - Guest Post & Giveaway

About the Book

A Marine’s past is never far behind him, but sometimes it’s a lot closer than he thinks . . .

After years of enjoying the soft, quiet, civilian, family life, former Recon Marine Brandon Colson still has a large price on his head…only his family doesn’t know it. That is, until a heavily armed squad of terrorists breaks into his house and tries to kill him and his family.

After swiftly dispatching the would-be assassins, Colson realizes the ghosts from his past have somehow managed to come back to haunt him. His worst nightmare has come true. His identity—a secret until now—has been mysteriously compromised. Something he did years ago, while on a recon mission during his tour of service, has kept anger burning in the hearts of powerful Arab adversaries. And the men who attacked his house are simply an omen of what is to come.

With his family in hiding, Colson and local detective Sam Collier set out to locate and neutralize the remainder of the terrorist cell. It’s a race against time, and the plot they uncover along the way defies all expectation.

Their fates in the balance until the last second, the two men must fight for their lives as they navigate a trail littered with bloodshed and revenge that leads straight to hell on earth: The Devil’s Garden.

Guest Post

The fog of war is a place where confusion rules, innocence dies and demons are born. Sometimes these demons come back to haunt a man and other times they simply come back to kill him. Few men would welcome the fight, which is to say, a proud and terrible few. The Devil’s Garden twists a Recon Marine’s worst nightmare into a deadly reality.

There is a saying in Recon: There is no life after Force. The lack of adrenaline and ensuing boredom will kill a warrior’s spirit. However, former Recon Marine Brandon Colson has a different kind of death to fear. After years spent in remote deserts and jungles on the other side of the planet dreaming of a quiet, civilian, family life, he finally has it. The problem is he has a large price on his head that even his family doesn’t know about: He is wanted by terrorists he worked to bring down. With revenge in their hearts and murder on their minds, Colson’s enemies plan to revisit his sins upon him, his wife and his children. When a heavily armed squad of assassins arrives at his home in the middle of the night, he quickly dispatches the men, but knows the identity he buried deep in his past is no longer a secret. With his family in hiding, he makes it his personal mission to eliminate the threat to his family and reclaim the life he’s made.

The Devil’s Garden captures the irreconcilable thoughts and trepidation of a military man turned family man who must now fight to protect his family. As Colson’s crucial mission leads him to the Devil’s Garden of Florida, a forgotten wasteland of swamps, collapsed shacks, and lost souls, he finds that the midnight attack on his home was simply an omen of what is to come. With his fate in the balance until the last second, Colson must navigate a trail littered with bloodshed and revenge.

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The Devil's Garden can be purchased at:
Amazon
MyBookOrders.com

Price: $14.95 paperback
ISBN: 9781938690167
Pages: 391
Publisher: Two Harbors Press
Release: November 11, 2012


About the Author

Brady Christianson is a former United States Marine Corps Recon Marine whose military service and Christian faith has shaped his writing.

Connect with Brady:
Web Site
Blog Tour Site


About the Giveaway

Leave a comment with your email address to enter to win a PDF ebook of The Devil's Garden.

Ends 12/31/2012

No comments = no winner.

Ashley Dawn - Shadows of Pain - Guest Post

Making Characters Believable

When writing, I fall in love with my characters. To me they seem as real as most the people around me. Ok, so I do realize they are just these voices in my head demanding that I put their story on paper but the amount of time I spend with them makes them ‘alive’ for me.

My challenge is getting the readers to see and feel the characters in the same way that I do. It is a combination of physical description, personality, and just overall presentation. I have a literal picture in my mind of what each of my characters looks like. I describe them in detail but you still may not ‘see’ what I do. The thing that seems to make them the most real is their personality.

If someone is described as funny, you see their physical traits differently than if they are described as serious. Dialogue is key to making each and every character real. It can be tons of dialogue if they are chatty, very little if they are the strong silent type, or something in between. It is a challenge but so much fun when you achieve someone reading your book and ‘getting’ your characters.

When the reader connects to a character or when they feel the emotions the character is feeling, that is when you know you’ve succeeded. It is fulfilling to share the people in your mind with others and know that they understand and enjoy the story along the way. My hope is that good or bad, my characters come across as real and their story captures someone’s attention.

About the Book

Revenge is sweet…unless you are on the receiving end of it.

“Do you know of anyone who would want…you dead?”

Officer Daniel Jenkins was no stranger to the dangers his job posed but usually he knew who was trying to kill him. Being stalked was a completely different ball game, and he wasn’t sure there were any rules…

“…I need you.”

Terrified didn’t even begin to describe how Kami felt with the stalker targeting her. As an FBI agent you were trained to handle stressful situations, but being the victim put the whole process in a different light.

As the killer gets closer, so do Kami and Daniel, but will they live long enough to see their love bloom?

Only God can save them from this unknown killer…


Tour Schedule:

December

9th Phaedra @ Identity Discovery

10th Julia @ TV Backstory

11th Lynelle @ Aspired Writer

12th Connie @ The Character Connection

13th Susan @  My Cozie Corner

14th Linda @ One Desert Rose

15th Patricia @ It’s Time To Read Mamaw

16th Rachel @ Stressed Rach

17th Pam @ TheFourHorsemenSeries Book Review

18th Ruth @ My Devotional Thought

19th Melanie @ Christian Bookshelf Reviews

Lisa Rumsey Harris - The Unlikely Gift of Treasure Blume - Guest Post

Guest Post
How do you make a character that everyone dislikes likable? 

That was my conundrum when I started writing The Unlikely Gift of Treasure Blume. The main character, Treasure Blume, has a family curse: everyone who meets her initially dislikes her (except children and old people).

She was born when I had a no good, very bad horrible day. That day it felt like everyone I talked to hated me. I remember closing the door and thinking, Wow, I’m glad every day is not like today. But then I started wondering, but what if it was? After my children went to bed that night, I spent hours writing background on Treasure: 20+ pages of material that never made it into the novel. After that, I really felt like I knew her. She began speaking to me, and I started to carry a notebook to capture her quips and quirks. (Sidenote: writers are the only people who think it’s a good thing when they hear voices in their heads).

But how could I make her likable? And unlikable at the same time? That was the big problem. I solved it by writing from Treasure’s perspective, so the reader could see into her heart and mind, and know her good intentions, even when she blurted out awkward comments.

But writing from Treasure’s perspective wasn’t enough. We needed to see her through someone else’s eyes. She needed someone to watch her. And that’s where Dennis, the lunch lady, comes into the story. Through Dennis, we see WHY someone would be turned off by her. And because he sees her every day and watches her in action, we also see why he would begin to like her. I knew that their love story would be unique, and more of a slow-burner than most YA insta-love stories. But it was a risk I had to take; love at first sight was NOT going to work for this romantic leading lady. I love to write about ordinary, quirky, flawed people do quiet, kind things, the kind of things I wish I would do when confronted with a problem (or a family curse). I hope Treasure accomplishes that. And I hope, that by the end of the story, the reader, like Dennis the lunchlady, has learned to love her.


About the Book

With her goofy hair, awkward manners, and love of ugly sweaters, Treasure Blume isn't your average first-grade teacher. But when you add in her family curse (or gift, as her grammy calls it), Treasure knows it's going to take a miracle for a guy to date her, let alone marry her--especially when it seems that every person she meets instantly dislikes her. That is, until she matches wits with Dennis Cameron, a divorced chef who works in the elementary school's cafeteria and whose six-year-old daughter is in Treasure's class. But just as things finally appear to be going Treasure's way, her "gift" causes unexpected problems.

Pages: 295
Publisher: Sweetwater Books, an imprint of Cedar Fort
Genre: Clean Romantic Comedy
Release date: November 13, 2012
Buy Links: Amazon, Barnes and Noble


About the Author

Lisa Rumsey Harris grew up writing stories and riding horses in Southeastern Idaho. She received a bachelor’s and master’s degree in English from Brigham Young University, where she now teaches writing classes. Lisa lives in Orem Utah, with her ancient Siamese cat, her husband (who cooks nearly as well as Dennis) and her two adorable daughters. When Lisa began writing this book, her oldest daughter was in first grade. Her youngest daughter finished first grade this year.

Links to connect with Lisa:
Website/blog
Facebook 

Diane Stringham Tolley - Kris Kringle's Magic - Guest Post

Guest Post
Kris Kringle’s Magic: Before the Snow

Many of us go to the same job, day in and day out, for thirty years or more.

We give each other awards and kudos for doing so.

But what would it be like to have the same job for hundreds of years?

A person who did that would have to really, really . . . not like being at home.

Really.

Or to love his job.

Either way, it would say something about that person.

Speak to his character.

Now Kris Kringle, for example, has been doing the same job for many, many, many years.

What a treadmill that must be.

Make toys.

Keep a record of letters and requests and good/bad children.

Load said toys.

Deliver to said children.

It could become monotonous.

For a normal person.

But Kris loves his job.

Lives for his job.

And does it well.

But what of the boy inside the man? What life experiences forged such a steady, caring, selfless individual? An individual who will spend his life thinking totally of others. With no thought of personal gain or reward.

What would it take to create such a person?

And there must be a reason he started his whole ‘gift-giving’ enterprise. There must have been a first day.

Just as there must have been a first time he saw the future Mrs. Kringle.

And there also would have to be a pretty strong motive for them to decide to move, bag, baggage and Elves, to the North Pole of all places. One of the most inhospitable areas of the earth.

Were they simply explorers, looking for the most rugged spot they could find? And realized upon seeing the great expanse of ice and snow that is the North Pole, that their search was over? Or could they have been fleeing something so horrible that any land, even one that was frozen solid, would look more welcoming.

These are the ideas behind Kris Kringle’s Magic.

At least that is my story.


About the Book

Prejudice is responsible for many horrible things. But Kris: The Legend of Santa Claus, proves that on one very rare occasion, glorious, worldwide good came of it.

Santa Claus lives at the North Pole.

With Elves.

This is accepted.

But have you ever wondered who he was and how he got there?

Through the eyes of Santa's wife, Rebecca, Kris: The Legend of Santa Claus, tells the story of the boy who becomes the legend.

Of the fatherless young man who, with his mother, is forced from their family holdings, and finally from their country.

Of the grown man who, with courage and faith and at great personal risk, fights prejudice, defends the helpless and meets the needs of the poor and destitute. A man who spends his life in giving and in loving. Unselfishly and without reservation.

His actions provide one of the greatest examples of altruistic service in our world today.

And prove that, with courage and conviction; prejudice, hate and ignorance can be overcome.

Hardcover: 176 pages
Publisher: Cedar Fort, Inc. (October 9, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 146211105X
ISBN-13: 978-1462111053
Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
Genre: Christmas
Availability: at any LDS Bookstore
Buy Link: Amazon




About the Author

Diane Stringam Tolley was born and raised on the great Alberta prairies. Daughter of a ranching family of writers, she inherited her love of writing at a very early age. Trained in Journalism, she has penned countless articles and short stories. She is the author of four e-books and the recent Christmas story, Carving Angels, also by Cedar Fort. She and her husband, Grant, live in Beaumont, Alberta, and are the parents of six children and grandparents of twelve.

Links to connect with Diane:
Facebook
Twitter
Web Site
Blog
Video
Podcast

Leigh Michaels - Annabelle's Story - Guest Post

Guest Post
Inside Annabelle

I’d like to start off by saying, “Poor Annabelle.” In my series, Annabelle’s Story, the girl has multiple personalities. Actually, what I meant to say is that I used multiple persona to help build her character.

Annabelle’s sarcasm is pulled from one friend; her tenacious spirit from another. Her aspiration to become a doctor mimics the ambition of my cousin. When she became upset or mad, I channeled the emotions from a good friend. There was even some of my own personality in there (we happen to share the same zodiac sign).

Research was another outlet that helped to develop Annabelle’s character. Multiple sources all agreed on the same personification. An older sibling, like Annabelle, is typically reliable, conscientious, and a perfectionist. A big sister may also be structured, cautious, and act as a natural leader.

To further bring Annabelle’s character to life, I turned to her zodiac sign. Oddly enough, the element associated with a Capricorn is water. Seems fitting for someone who is half-human, half-sprite, don’t you think? But that’s not all, various other thoughts associated with this sign were sprinkled throughout her behaviors as well, such as:

·      Practice makes perfect

·      Hard work and determination

·      Slow to accept change

·      Loyal to a fault

·      Responsible and dogmatic

·      Selfless

Do you see any of Annabelle’s traits popping out yet? Like how she was hesitant to accept her new role? But afterwards felt bound by her duty to help the sprites?

Oh, and based on the name “Capricorn”, the trait of being capricious doesn’t come as a surprise. Especially after all the changes and emotional heartache Annabelle faced. Sudden changes in her mood and behavior can be seen as the story unfolds.

Let’s take a look at some of the secondary characters as well. Many aren’t as complex. I wrote Annabelle’s parents as replicas of my own. Her sister, a combination of my own brother and another friend. The other secondary characters, like Adrian, Blake, and Natasha, weren’t necessarily inspired by people in my life, but I tried to give each a distinct voice and persona.

For example, you’ll notice that YaYa was the only character in which I didn’t use contractions. By spelling out phrases like “have not” and “they are” it was more fitting to her stoic personality.

I hope this gives you a more in-depth look inside Annabelle. I’d love to hear your thoughts on her character and also her story. 

Also, be sure to stop by Leigh Michael Books on October 31st for a special Trick or Trick surprise!

Series summary:

Annabelle Walsh thought she had it all. She was the star of her swim team, had a loving family, a great boyfriend, and to top it off, she’d be starting at UCLA in the fall. One day, she’d be referred to as Dr. Annabelle Walsh.

She was living every girl’s dream – until her life was turned upside down. All starting with finding out that she's not just a human, but also a water spirit. Half-human, half-sprite to be exact. Although not just any sprite, Annabelle is prophesied to be the only one who can save both the sprites and mankind.

With a mix of current events, anecdotes from Greek mythology, tidbits of folklore, and Leigh’s own imagination, we join Annabelle in her journey to restore order beneath the sea. Each step of the way her mind, body, and soul are pushed to the limit begging the question, how much can one half-human, half-sprite take?

Purchase information:

Sprite (Annabelle’s Story Part One) can be purchased at:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble

Smashwords

Price: $7.99 paperback, $0.99 ebook
ISBN: B007Z1USE0
Pages: 150
Release: April 2012

Genre: YA paranormal adventure

Kin (Annabelle’s Story Part Two) can be purchased at:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble

Smashwords

Price: $7.99 paperback, $2.99 ebook
ISBN: B0097UPCES
Pages: 170
Release: September 2012
Genre: YA paranormal adventure

Author Bio:

Leigh Michael is an author of YA fiction. She's worked within the advertising world for nearly a decade before writing her debut series, Annabelle's Story. Leigh lives in Washington, DC with her husband and goldendoodle. Please learn more about Leigh and her works at www.LeighMichaelBooks.com.

Contact info:

Website

Twitter

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Email

Amazon

Smashwords

Goodreads

Dr. Gerry Steiner - Gotta Call BS on That One - Guest Post & Giveaway

About the Book

Was missile defense started to save the free world or start a new empire? Do religions help us understand God or help keep God a mystery? Do schools prepare us for life or delay our lives? Does Congress help protect us or help exploit us? Has there ever been any BS involved in any of the above? Have we embraced or challenged the BS.? Could we make a difference? Would we want to make a difference?

Whether reading a newspaper, watching TV, or listening to a song, we are probably observing and absorbing a certain amount of BS. Do we recognize it, realize it, reject it or absorb it. This book provides a beginning to considering these questions. It can provide a basis for understanding, a basis for action, a cause of laughter, a foundation for tears, or some combination. This book often states the obvious, but it’s the obvious that often we collectively don’t seem to own up to. Much of the strife of life, the inequities of the world, even the causes of wars and disasters of the economy might be rooted in our collective self-deception.

The adventure starts with a reflection on a fairy tale from our childhood and one from Washington. It then joins a pair – a professor and his young assistant on an American adventure. They look at such topics as social interaction, sports professional and local, and our individual fitness. Business and education provide many examples and insights. Next, religion and science provide contrasts and similarities.

Government, politics, the legal system, and military service complete this brief trip. In each area, the presence and effects of BS are noted. The final section is devoted to the three greatest downfalls of society in the last century. They are identified and their drastic effects on our society are briefly examined.

Guest Post

Have you ever wanted to stand up during a speech, lecture, sermon, advertisement and just yell. You weren’t being directly harmed or attacked. Nothing was physically being stolen from you. No one was demanding your mind or your money. Just the same, you felt violated in a very real sense. BS steals from us all. Pretending to accept the false makes it harder to trust the authentic.

It seems very important that we know what is real and what is BS. It is also important that those that generate BS, (we all do some) realize that they’re not fooling anyone. It would really mess things up if all BS were challenged and rejected, but it might be useful if it were identified and acknowledged. As I started to collect my thoughts, I was almost overwhelmed by the examples and challenges that life presents us. Almost every area of our experience is affected. In the book I have not put much emphasis on politics. As we proceed in this election year I am sure that we will have ample opportunity to find “sterling” examples. (Sterling BS is sort of an oxymoron!)

As we proceed we’ll need active participation to make this the best experience. Maybe we can have some awards on the blog for different classes of BS. Your suggestions are encouraged. As with any blog, it is your participation and our interaction that will provide the richness.

I have spent much of my life being frustrated by the BS and by the frequent pretense that the BS is reality. Through the book and this blog I want to challenge this. I believe most of us recognize BS when we stop and think about it. I’ve often felt that putting up with BS is societies definition of maturity and wisdom. I don’t think most of us really feel that way. This is an effort to observe, laugh and possibly change.

Throughout the book you will see a wagging finger beside the text. There was a small group of us at work that would silently use this finger wagging as means to silently, but visibly, point out BS when we see or hear it. It would be great to establish this as a nationally recognized and accepted symbology, It might even become an effective way of communicating our knowledge and feelings to those that provide the BS.

Maybe we can also create a list of BS. Postulates. The first might be: “If you wonder if it’s BS, it almost certainly is!”

Please enjoy. Laugh at the BS, act but don’t get mad!

***

Gotta Call BS on That One can be purchased at:
MyBookOrders.com
Kindle
Nook

Click here to read an excerpt.

Price: $13.99 paperback, $6.99 ebook
ISBN: 9781937928919
Pages: 178
Release: August 5, 2012


About the Author

Gerry Steiner has enjoyed a life that is varied in location, vocation, and activities. He started in the land of tradition and history, Hampton, Va., the oldest continuous English speaking settlement in the United States. After high school and eighteen years surrounded by history. Gerry was ready to venture away from Virginia. After considering Cornell, he caught a train to California and went to Caltech. He left Caltech after a couple years to work in seismic oil exploration. His Uncle invited Mr. Steiner to visit Asia. Gerry picked the Navy as the best way to get there. This kept him busy for ten years. A year of Navy school as an electronics technician started the process. Fortunate circumstances led him to his wife and “stability?” for the next 40 years. Gerry then finished his BS and an MS in oceanography before sailing for Vietnam, There gunfire support and chasing aircraft carriers kept him in touch with the real world. Receiving fuel and supplies at sea gave him an appreciation for close quarters’ steerage. A pleasant break provided a week in Olongapo followed by a week in Hong Kong. His wife, Marilyn joined him.

After the Navy and back in Seattle he continued his work in sonar research at the UW Applied Physics Laboratory. He started work on a PhD in electrical engineering. He made sonar measurements from an ice floe in the Arctic Ocean north of Barrow, Alaska. Two visits by polar bears approaching to 20 ft. added to the excitement Dr. Steiner moved to Ridgecrest, CA where he held a position at China Lake Naval Weapons Center. Several years in automatic target recognition included radar field measurements from Pt. Loma, San Diego. Next he started the Airborne RF Targeting Branch. Gerry also completed his doctorate in electrical engineering.

From China Lake Dr. Steiner ventured off to Denver, Colorado to join Martin Marietta. The initial year in Denver was focused on space based radar plans. A movie and a president changed his focus. The movie was Star Wars, the president was Reagan, the focus became the Strategic Defense Initiative. He spent the next decade on issues related to SDI. After the space based interceptor there was a space based laser concept. His efforts contained analysis, management, design, and testing. A couple years were spent developing a new rocket to provide a re-useable single stage to orbit vehicle. Only physics stood in the way.

Gerry’s wife was diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer and given six months to live. They had great times that were ended. Dr. Steiner moved to Maui five years ago. He has written this book to share his observations on how the world works and how it could work better.

Connect with Gerry:
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Blog
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Giveaway:

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Tamelia Tumlin - Deadly Image - Guest Post

Guest Post

I’d like to start by thanking The Character Connection for hosting me today on my virtual book tour for Deadly Image. It is an honor to be here and meet your readers.

Creating characters is one of my favorite aspects of the writing process. Before I begin, I have an idea or two of who they are and if I’m lucky sometimes I’ll know what their goals are. Usually, either the hero or heroine has been hounding me for weeks in my head to tell their story next so I have an idea of what they need or want.

Beginning a new story is always thrilling. The possibilities are endless and I have the characters’ lives, happiness and future at the tip of my fingers. A couple of strokes to the keyboard could determine their fate and it’s an exhilarating feeling. I think one of the reasons I love writing is because it is the one area in my life where I at least feel like I have total control of the outcome. Far too often in real life, circumstances are out of our hands. That’s not the case in novels. The author can determine what will and will not happen to the characters. Of course more often than not, the characters will sometimes surprise you and take over the story. When this happens, I let them. It is their story after all and they usually know best.

Some authors fill out a detailed form about each main character before they begin to write. I have a few of those forms stored on my computer and I’ve tried to fill them out before, but I simply don’t have that kind of patience. Sometimes, I will search for pictures on the internet and find ones that are similar to my characters. I store these in a file on character and add to it as they reveal a little more about their lives to me while I’m writing the book. Though sometimes, I’ll have a stubborn character who refuses to share, but as I pen the first draft of my story, I can usually manage to get him or her to open up eventually.

In my latest book, Deadly Image, Ace Valdez was on of those stubborn characters. He is a very private person and wasn’t at all forthcoming in the beginning. But, as the story began to take shape he finally let me in on his traumatic past and his inner most fears. One of the most surprising secrets, Ace revealed to me was the reason he kept a supply of caramel candies with him at all times. It seemed to be a bit odd for an FBI agent to have such a strange habit, but who am I to argue? I’m just the author. The characters are the lifeline of the story and even though I may think I’m in control, they usually have the last say in how the story plays out. Which is how it should be. Who are some of your characters and why did you like them?


About the Book

Gone without a trace...

Lexi Yates knows she hasn’t harmed her three-year old daughter, yet the Louisiana town of Gator Bayou seems to think she’s guilty. With her daughter missing, the evidence stacking up against her and her faith in God tested to the limit, Lexi must find a way to convince FBI agent Ace Valdez she’s innocent before she becomes the next target.



Ace Valdez doesn’t trust easily, and he certainly knows better than to fall for a case, yet there’s something about the widowed mother that makes him want to believe she’s innocent, but evidence doesn’t lie. Or does it?


Pages: 113
Publisher: Steel Magnolia Press (July 6, 2012)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Language: English
ASIN: B008IJ5FPA
Buy Link: Amazon


About the Author

Tamelia Tumlin sold her first story to Dogwood Tales Magazine many years ago while taking a creative writing course in college. The short story titled "The Traveler" was the feature story for that edition. After graduating college in elementary education, life, a teaching career and a wonderful son consumed most of her time. However, in the past couple of years, the yearning to pen fabulous romantic tales of to-die-for heroes and spirited heroines has taken over. Ms. Tumlin has worked with several online publishers, but she is now writing for Steel Magnolia Press. Juggling motherhood, teaching and writing is a challenge, but one she welcomes to pursue her passion. Her novels range from sweet and sassy to dark and dangerous.

Links to connect with Tamelia:
Web site (author)
Web site (publisher)
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Goodreads

Natalie Wexler - The Mother Daughter Show - Guest Post

About the Book

At Barton Friends a D.C. prep school so elite its parent body includes the President and First Lady - three mothers have thrown themselves into organizing the annual musical revue. Will its Machiavellian intrigue somehow enable them to reconnect with their graduating daughters, who are fast spinning out of control? By turns hilarious and poignant, The Mother Daughter Show will appeal to anyone who's ever had a daughter - and anyone who's ever been one.

Guest Post

One reason I write is to figure out who my characters really are. Much like real people, they evolve as time goes on—although, given that I don’t spend a lifetime writing a novel (or I try not to, anyway), they generally develop a lot faster than people do in real life.

With The Mother Daughter Show, I started with three main characters who had certain basic qualities: Amanda would be a longtime stay-at-home mom who needs to figure out what to do with herself—and how to earn money—now that her children are grown. Susan would be a hard-driving businesswoman who believes (mistakenly, as it will turn out) that she’s in control of all aspects of her life, including her daughter. And Barb would be the indefatigable parent volunteer, desperate to keep the peace even if it means denying unpleasant truths that are right under her nose.

Those were the broad strokes. Each of these characters became more nuanced as I kept writing. And at a certain point, I felt I had gotten to know them well enough that I needed to know them better. Think of this as the point, in a budding friendship, when you sit down and tell each other your life stories. Except that I was the only one sitting down, and I was telling their life stories. Basically, I wrote a mini-biography for each of my characters: what their childhoods had been like, how they related to their parents (especially, given my theme, their mothers), what they’d done in college and early adulthood. Most of these “facts” never made it into the novel itself, but they informed what did go into it.

The Mother Daughter Show is a satire, and that meant my characters needed to have some flaws. Perfect characters don’t make for good comedy—or for good fiction of any kind. But I felt from the beginning that I wanted my characters to be fundamentally sympathetic. I wanted readers to laugh but at the same time think, “Yeah, I could see myself doing something like that.”

I suppose that’s partly because, as a reader, I prefer books where I can identify—at least to some extent—with the main characters. But it’s also because, as a writer, I have to be able to identify with my characters. When I create a character I delve into myself. And that means that each of my characters—no matter how different they may appear to be from me—contains some strand I’ve found within me.

And perhaps that’s what’s most valuable about fiction: when it works, we can feel a direct connection to people who are—on the surface, at least—quite different from ourselves. And maybe that ability to connect with fictional characters who are not “us” carries over to the capacity to connect with real people with whom, at first glance, we have nothing in common except our humanity.



***

The Mother Daughter Show can be purchased at:
Amazon
Fuze Publishing
Kindle
Nook

Price: $19.95 paperback, $9.99 ebook
ISBN: 9780984141296
Pages: 274
Release: December 2011


About the Author

Natalie Wexler is the author of The Mother Daughter Show (Fuze Publishing 2011) and an award-winning historical novel, A More Obedient Wife. She is a journalist and essayist whose work has appeared in the Washington Post Magazine, the American Scholar, the Gettysburg Review, and other publications, and she is a reviewer for the Washington Independent Review of Books. She has also worked as a temporary secretary, a newspaper reporter, a Supreme Court law clerk, a legal historian, and (briefly) an actual lawyer. She lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband.

Connect with Natalie:
Web Site
Goodreads
Fuze Publishing Web Site
Fuze Publishing Blog
Fuze Publishing Facebook
Fuze Publishing Twitter
Tribute Books Blog Tour Site