For everyone on the planet, 2018 marks a new year, a new beginning. For writers, it marks another year to produce a book for publication. I haven’t published a new novel since September of 2015. I reached 35,000 words on one, decided I didn’t believe the premise, and gave up, though I think it has future possibilities with a little more thought. I did write The Last Heist , a novella for the anthology, Lowcountry Crime , but that was it. Today, January 9 th , I'm publishing The Scent of Murder, the fourth book in the Diana Racine Psychic Suspense series, my ninth suspense novel, and my twelfth book overall, including erotic romance books written under a pseudonym.  When I published Backlash , the third book in the series, I thought it was the most difficult book I’d written, not because it was a hard book to write, but because I didn’t want the series to diminish in quality. We’ve all read reviews of books deep into a series that suggest the author should move on, t...

It's August, and the heat is on, in more ways than one. I'm outside every morning in the early morning hours taking long walks with Buster, my miniature pinscher. Then, I sit in the shade for about an hour afterward and watch Buster enjoy the great outdoors. I'm just not into the sun and heat like I used to be. Buster, who likes the sun more than I do. Strangely enough, though I've been avoiding the sun, it's still catching up with me. My arms sport a decent suntan, which is even more apparent when I take off my watch. While inside, I've been wasting too much time on mundane things, like housework. Then I tell myself I'll spend only half an hour on Facebook, and it turns out to be way past an hour. I need to get out my kitchen timer and put it right by my desk and stop fooling around when it goes off. Tentative cover for Awake, A Good Twin, Bad Twin Thriller I must get Awake , my good twin,bad twin thriller, finished. So far, progress is eking ...

Yes, it's fun to root for the good guy, but even more intriguing if the bad guy isn't all that bad. How often do you read a book or watch a movie, and feel sorry for the bad guy? The answer could be more often than not. Evil happens for a reason. Sometimes the why is apparent, sometimes you need to dig for a motive. One reason might be how a person is brought up by parents or lack of parents. An early in life tragedy, a recent one, or a combination of factors might play a part in changing a person's character. Even ultra-sensitivity to a perceived slight might be all it takes. Whatever the case, a writer needs to weave the motive(s) into the story line, so the reader will understand why a crime is committed. In Two Wrongs , my perma-free book for kindle and other ereaders, being accused and sentenced for a murder he didn't commit is powerful enough motive for my antagonist, Kevin, to cross over to the dark side once he's freed from prison. If I wove the ...

Once your book is released, how can you reach readers? Getting noticed by the mainstream audience isn't easy, and can be costly. No longer can we rely on social media sites to do the job. Facebook has cracked down on posts which include links, which means if you do post about your book, many of your friends won't even see it. Belonging to a Facebook group devoted to books appears to be a good solution, but don't be surprised if you notice the other members are also authors. Yes, authors do love to read, yet what about readers who aren't authors? Where are they hiding? Here are some suggestions to ferret some of them out. Yes, an exchange of money is involved, but almost everything seems to fit that description these days. Perhaps one of my suggestions will work for you. Place an ad in a newspaper. You'll be charged by the size of the ad and what length of time you want it to run. The charge may also depend on whether or not it's running in a metropolita...

Today, I'd like to share some secrets for getting noticed in your genre. First, it's a step in the right direction to write a great book. However, these days that's not enough. Amidst the vast competition, somehow your gem must stand out and get noticed. Genre strategy is one way to do that. Here are some secrets to achieve that: Be specific. Narrow down your genre . For example, don't just say you've written a romance. The romance genre contains tons of categories. To help potential readers discover your romance buried amongst others, include another category, such as contemporary, historical, paranormal, Young Adult, etc. To further guide readers to your book, you can narrow the field by including an extra category to the first two, such as a  sweet contemporary romance, a Christian historical romance, an erotic paranormal romance. You get the drift. Amazon, for example, provides tons of romance categories from which to choose. I chose the r...

This post was first published here on April 26, 2012. Left is Sally, a friend I sold my first book to in 2006. Seated is Bill, an old friend (91 yrs to be exact), then me, Morgan Mandel, to my right is Rosemary, a grammar school friend. I'd grown complacent with putting my romantic thriller, Forever Young: Blessing or Curse , on Kindle and other electronic media; but still, whenever I ran into certain friends, inevitably they'd ask when was my book Launch Party. Well, that proved print books were still in demand, at least in certain circles, so I bit the bullet and got my book published through CreateSpace, not an easy task to accomplish. I checked the proof when it came in, found some errors to correct, so sent off for another. When everything looked all right with the book, I placed larger orders. With books in hand, it was time to set up the party. Here's what I did: Reserved the venue - Arlington Heights Historical Museum - five weeks in adva...

This post was first published here on January 28, 2013. Every plot hinges on a central question. Posing the question at the beginning of the tale and answering it at the end is sound story architecture. Does that task make your head spin? It shouldn’t. It’s as easy as choosing a story skeleton. Let’s explore a few examples. 1) The Romance skeleton poses the central question: Will they or won’t they end up together? The answer had better be yes or a satisfying equivalent. The girl can find out guy A isn’t what she wanted after all because she found guy B, but this is not the genre for an I’m okay on my own ending. That story uses the Literary (or Women's Fiction) skeleton. Romance readers want passion and fulfillment and are very disappointed if they don’t get it. 2) The Mystery skeleton poses the central question: Who did it and will they catch him? The answer is yes . The criminal may escape at the last moment to torment the detective another day, but the case t...

I'm on Twitter quite often, but am still searching for the most effective way to use the site to promote my books. One thing I have learned is that using hashtags is a good method to draw people to what you'd like them to see. Hashtags are words or phrases with the # sign in front of them. When a person clicks a particular hashtag, out pops a bunch of tweets which include that hashtag. That comes in handy for people who want information in a hurry, without sifting through everything. Here's a smattering of the ones I use: #romcom - short for romantic comedy #romance #chicklit  #mystery #thriller #amazon #kindle #free #freebie #free4kindle #amwriting #prime Since all but one of my books are available on Kindle Unlimited, which seems to be the next big thing at Amazon, I'm also planning on using #kindleunlimited and see what happens. What about you? What are your favorite hashtags? Which seem most effective to you? ...

L.J. Sellers , author of provocative mysteries and thrillers, kicks off the beginning of 2014 for us. Welcome back to the Blood-Red Pencil, L.J. When I sat down with my contact at the FBI to talk about a story in progress, I was expecting just a broad overview of how an eco-terrorist case would be handled. I soon learned that my agent-friend had been the lead on the investigation into the Eugene cell of the Earth Liberation Front, an eco-terrorist group that sabotaged and burned businesses across the northwest, doing millions of dollars in damage. One of the key components of the investigation was to send in an undercover agent to infiltrate the group, and a second strategy was to try and turn those connected to the core member into informants. After hearing how exciting that work had been for him, I knew I had to incorporate both tactics into my story,  Crimes of Memory (Jackson #8) . And so Agent Jamie Dallas was conceived. I had so much fun crafting her charac...

This post first ran on Thursday, May 16, 2013 In previous posts, we discussed choosing a central question and a story skeleton, also known as genre. We have bent and twisted a premise many different ways. What happens next? That depends on whether you are a pantser or a planner. Developing a conflict outline can keep you from getting mired in the middle. If you are allergic to outlining, you can wait until the end of the rough draft to examine each scene and identify the type of conflict it addresses. The four layer method I use is simply a new way of looking at conflict in the story. It ensures that every scene is earning its page time and is placed in an order that has logical “cause and effect.” First chapters are easy for most writers. The inciting event occurs. The protagonist makes an important decision or takes an irrevocable action. The antagonist knows of this decision/action and is prepared to oppose him. Then the writer loses momentum or doesn't know wher...

The Blessing or Curse Collection , a sequel to my thriller, Forever Young: Blessing or Curse , is now available. This collection contains five short stories, about five very different types of people who take a pill to be young again. Instead of dwelling on the thriller aspect, the collection focuses on how the choice to take an experimental pill impacts not only the lives of the test subjects, but also that of their spouses or significant others. The only thriller mention comes toward the end of the collection in a very short bonus section in which the villains from the first novel plot their next moves. Since not everyone might like to read all the stories, I'm also offering a choice to read one or more separately. Catch a glimpse of the covers in the panorama below. What the stories are about: Who'll Mend This Broken Man - Desperation forces Consuela to order the Forever Young pill to cure her husband, Diego, from Parkinson’s Disease; but is the cure really a curs...

Internal Conflict scenes introduce and explore the personal dilemma your protagonist struggles with. The verbal camera is focused with a tight spotlight beaming on the protagonist in the background. Use these scenes to reveal the protagonist’s back-story and show him dealing with his guilt, pain, or need which leads up to - and is resolved by - his point of change. These conflicts test the protagonist’s character and faith. They make him question who he is and what he does. These are the emotional complications or ties that bind that complicate the overall story problem.  If the love interest has equal weight, you can explore her personal dilemma and point of change in these scenes as well. Internal conflict scenes can be flashbacks, dreams, and revelations of back-story through memories or an encounter with a friend or foe. You can show him exhibiting one type of behavior in the beginning and a complete reversal of behavior at the end to show the point of change. These scene...

We continue with our story seed featuring Dick, love interest Sally, bossy Jane, jealous Ted, and the meteor streaking toward earth. If we select the Thriller and Suspense skeleton, the overall story problem becomes the catastrophic danger that must be averted: the meteor. If we choose the Psychological Thriller, there is a cat and mouse battle between Dick and Ted or Jane. Dick isn’t certain who the enemy is, but if he can’t identify him/her in time, the meteor strike erases the possibility, along with the entire cast. Sally's life could be threatened by the antagonist. Alternatively, Dick is forced to solve the mystery of the meteor strike location. Was it a space rock or something more nefarious? Can he prove it? If we choose the Religious Thriller, Dick could be a priest or religious scholar. The plot involves a religious prophecy or the meteor is somehow tied to biblical history. Perhaps Dick finds the Arc of the Covenant actually contained a piece of meteor that bestows...

We continue with our story seed featuring Dick, love interest Sally, bossy Jane, jealous Ted, and the meteor streaking toward earth. If we select the Thriller and Suspense skeleton, the overall story problem becomes the catastrophic danger that must be averted: the meteor. Dick’s rivalry with Ted, pressure from Jane, and relationship with Sally create interpersonal and antagonistic obstacles to solving the overall story problem of the meteor. The meteor itself is not an effective antagonist. A member of the cast, perhaps Ted or Jane, serves  as the person standing in the way of Dick’s successful resolution. If we choose the Conspiracy Thriller, Dick fears there is a powerful group behind the meteor strike. Dick navigates the maze of conflicting information until he ends the threat to his world. Meanwhile, Ted and Jane make this difficult while Sally either helps or hinders. If we choose the Crime Thriller, there is an element of mystery that Dick must solve. There is a ...