Author Interview: David Litwack

Please enjoy this interview with David Litwack, author of the gripping contemporary novel, Along the Watchtower, and the deep, dark dystopia, There Comes a Prophet. Then read on to learn how you can win huge prizes as part of this blog tour, including a Kindle Fire, $650 in Amazon gift cards, and 5 autographed copies of each book.

1.  Along the Watchtower is a powerful blend of contemporary fiction and fantasy that demands the reader’s attention from start to finish. What was your inspiration for writing this work, and for combining World of Warcraft with a casualty of war and a dream world?
I’ve always been fascinated by how we perceive reality. Think of the film Rashomon, the classic

exploration of multiple realities, where several witnesses to a crime describe events completely differently, each bringing their own life experience and biases into play. But it’s when we’re ripped from our normal life and placed in extreme circumstances that our reality becomes totally fragmented. Such is the case with hospitals and war.
At the same time, I’d become engrossed in playing the online fantasy game, World of Warcraft, with my son, an avid player. With me on the east coast and him on the west, he suggested we meet weekly in the fantasy world of Azeroth—an invitation I could hardly resist. For several months, we had a Wednesday evening appointment, where our avatars would meet in this virtual world and go on quests together. I was struck by how totally immersed I could get in the game, how quickly time passed, and the surreal mood of wandering around in castles and crypts, solving riddles and following quests.
The fantasy gaming experience has a dream-like quality to it. And I began to wonder:  how would this experience affect the dreams of someone whose reality has been fragmented by war, PTSD, and traumatic brain injury.
These concepts—war, hospitals, and the fantasy world of online gaming—came together in Along the Watchtower.

2. Without giving away too much, can you introduce us to the main character Lieutenant Freddie, and tell us how he’s similar and different in both worlds he inhabits?
When Freddie comes out of his medically-induced coma in the VA hospital, he’s nearly given up hope. Everything he had to live for was gone, and he was racked with bad memories and guilt, in addition to his physical injuries.
Prince Frederick doesn’t have the luxury of giving up. If he yields to despair, the kingdom that depends on him will fall into darkness. Because of this, he’s more willing to struggle through his trials. It’s through the prince in the fantasy world that Freddie is finally able to confront and overcome his personal demons in the real world.

3. Your first novel, There Comes a Prophet, explores the roots of the dystopian fiction category while also reinventing it for a younger generation of readers. This genre boasts many great classics including Slaughterhouse V, 1984, and Brave New World to name a few. What are your favorite classic books?
Dystopia literally means dysfunctional utopia, not necessarily an evil, power-hungry regime The City and the Stars. In this near perfect world, there’s no disease, hunger or poverty, and people are effectively immortal. But all are afraid to venture outside the walls of their city or even look beyond them. The thought of the open expanse of stars in the night sky terrifies them. All of this had been put in place to protect them from some past too horrible to mention. Yet the unfulfilled aspirations of a single individual drive him to discover the lost truth and let humanity move forward again.

oppressing its people, but a well-intentioned system that has lost its way, resulting in a world gone awry. My favorite such dystopian is Arthur C. Clarke’s
Lois Lowry’s The Giver is another great example. In a simple but beautiful writing style, she tells the story of a seemingly perfect world where bad memories have been abolished, except for one person, the keeper of memories. But the people are left unable to feel anything much—good or bad.

4. People read books for many different reasons. Of all the different reasons you’ve seen in reviews, can you relate one story that really stood out for you about a reader’s experience?
One reviewer read Along the Watchtower and it brought back memories of being a young college student, witnessing the twin towers fall on 9/11. The book touched him deeply, because it reminded him that, as a result of that tragic event, we’ve been at war his entire adult life. The shock he felt on 9/11 all came back to him in reading the struggles of the recovering Lt. Freddie Williams.
Interestingly enough, that same reviewer had a powerful reaction to the dystopian world of There Comes a Prophet. In that book, a ruling power limits learning and growth. This reviewer associated my story with the courageous young Malala Yousafzai, the Pakastani girl who the Taliban tried to kill for advocating education for women.
5. Along the Watchtower features a veteran’s healing process on the physical, emotional, and intellectual levels. What role do you think fantasy role-playing games and dreaming can play in a healing process?
When we’re confronted with trauma too terrible to comprehend, our mind sometimes shuts the experience out to let us heal. But the memory still lingers in our subconscious. Sometimes it’s easier to confront those feelings through fantasy, like dreams or video games, rather than facing them head on in the cruel light of reality. Then once confronted, we’re better able to move on.

6. Symbolism and description play a huge role in the opening chapters of Along the Watchtower. As the lines between reality and fantasy become more and more blurry, did you find it difficult to remember which ‘character’ you were talking as?
Freddie and Prince Frederick were undergoing the same trials at an emotional level, even though their circumstances differed. The hardest part in writing the two was to maintain a distinct voice for each—for Freddie the gritty language of the VA hospital and for Prince Frederick, more of a high fantasy tone. This difference was important to make each world believable. But since the book was written in a first person point of view, it was also critical to quickly alert the reader whenever there was a switch in worlds.

7. Ocean imagery features prominently in your book Along the Watchtower. What’s your favorite place to visit, and what scenery do you find most inspiring as an author?
I almost hate to mention this because it’s such a well-kept secret. But my favorite spot is a place called The Knob in my home town of Falmouth. It’s a raised spit of land rising up dramatically into the harbor onto a domed rock, reachable only after a half-mile walk through the woods. I’ve actually used it as a setting in my upcoming novel, The Daughter of the Sea and the Sky.

8. You run a very active blog and website, though the demands of marketing yourself can be overwhelming for many authors. How do you find balance in your life, and time to enjoy your surroundings in a highly technical world? Coming from a software background, I’m sure you might have unique insights on balancing the ‘real’ world with the technical one.

I’ve spent most of my adult life in front of a computer, first as a software engineer and now as an author. The key is to take advantage of non-computer time to get out and enjoy yourself. But all writers want to be read, so you have to spend time reaching out to readers. The software equivalent was that I used to enjoy taking a break from developing software to visit customers and see how they were using what I’d developed.

9. You’ve published two books, Along the Watchtower and There Comes a Prophet. Is there anything you’d like to share with readers and your future writing plans?
I’m in late stage edits with an alternate world story called The Daughter of the Sea and the Sky. It’s about a world divided between the Blessed Lands, a place of the spirit, and the Republic, whose people worship at the altar of reason. A mysterious nine-year-old girl from the Blessed Lands sails into the lives of a troubled couple in the Republic and seems to heal everyone she meets. She reveals nothing about herself, other than to say she’s the daughter of the sea and the sky. But she harbors a secret wound she herself cannot heal.
I’m also currently planning what will be a sequel to There Comes a Prophet. I’ve always wondered what happened to Orah and Nathaniel after their world changing heroics and what became of the contemporaries of the keepmasters who had crossed the ocean. Stay tuned.

10. What do you like to do to unwind? You know, in those rare moments when you’re not writing!
Since writing and social networking are indoor activities, I try to get outside as often as possible. I go for long walks on the seashore, play some golf, bicycle, and generally try to stay active. I’m fortunate to be able to split my time between Cape Cod and Florida, both beautiful places in their respective nice seasons.

Blog Tour: Along the Watchtower by David Litwack

Becky

On the ground floor, the center of the hospital opened into a small courtyard, an insecure space with too many places for insurgents to hide. I took a quick breath and tensed.
“Wait up, Ralph.”
“It’s okay, Freddie. You’re safe here.”
“Give me a minute. It’s my first time out.”
I surveyed the perimeter. A few benches. A flower garden dominated by hydrangeas, but not like the softball-sized blossoms my mom used to grow. These were small and paler than the Cape Cod variety, which were a blue that could compete with the sky.
At once, I could see my mom, hands buried in the hydrangeas, grooming her flowers—one of the few memories I could bear to recall. Me and my brothers in the driveway shooting hoops. Mom telling us to keep the ball out of her garden. She was happy then, surrounded by her family, her garden, and the ocean.
I looked past the hydrangeas to find purple asters and some lilies too. But no roses. For some reason, I’d been hoping for roses.
Despite the nice day, the courtyard was deserted, except for a woman about my age who sat on a wooden bench, finishing up a brown-bag lunch. Her eyes were closed and her head tipped back to take in the sun, making her appear to be dreaming. Sitting alone on the bench, her face seemed framed by flowers.
When she heard us coming, she sat up, straightened her scrubs, and smiled.
“Hey, Ralph. What do you have there? Another victim for me?”
“Becky,” Ralph said. “What’s up? This is Freddie, Lt. Williams, our newest patient. We’re trying to bring him back from the dead. Freddie, meet Becky Marshall, one of our physical therapists.”
I nodded a greeting to her, not much in the mood for small talk. She tilted her head to one side as if evaluating me. Then she gave me the kind of look that said we’d met before, if not in this world than in another, and that she intended to make a difference in my life.
“Is he ready for me?”
“Soon. If he’s assigned to you.”
My attention was drawn to a soda can on the bench next to her. I’d seen too many IEDs in soda cans.
She caught me fixating on it and grinned.
“Just my diet Pepsi, Freddie. See?”
She chugged what was left and tossed the can into a nearby trash basket. Then she crumpled the bag into a ball and to show off, stepped off exactly five paces and shot the bag into the basket in a perfect arc.
“Nice shot,” I said.
“I make that shot every time.”
“Yeah, right.”
She came close enough that our knees were almost touching and hovered over me, sizing me up.
“You’ll be mine,” she said finally. “I can tell. I get all the hard cases.”
As she walked away, light on her feet like a dancer, I fumbled for the wheel of the chair, trying to spin it around so I could watch her go. But Ralph had set the brake.

The Gardener

The white butterfly fluttered before her face. When she saw it, she reached out a hand and at once it landed on the curve of her wrist.
“Now there’s a fine omen for you,” she said. “Light knows we need one these days.” She whispered some words and the butterfly flew off across the courtyard and out over the castle wall.
A fine omen? Perhaps. But I’d learned to be wary. I stepped forward, scuffling my boots to make noise. She ignored my presence. Not until I was a pace away did she turn.
It was hard to say if she was beautiful or even pretty. Soil from the garden had splattered her cheeks and marked her forehead with a splotch that looked like a raven. A muddied apron hid her shape. But I took note of a glint in her gray-green eyes, as if the flowers had conspired to lend their color. And her mouth was a crescent moon upturned on its side.
The corners of the crescent twitched when she saw me but only for an instant. Then she went back to her work as if I were invisible. Her hands cradled each bloom as she sliced off the heads with a small knife.
“Are you spirit or demon?” I demanded.
She made no answer.
I drew my sword, relieved it slipped so easily from its scabbard, and stretched it in her direction. She watched the point from the corner of her eye but kept her head down and continued to work. Finally, I nudged her with the tip.
She let out a yelp. Only then did I realize I’d thrust too hard, and the blade had slit her garment. I backed off at once, ready to apologize, but then recalled my encounter with the assassin. I poked again, more gently this time.
“Why do you keep doing that?” she said.
“To see if you’re real.”
She stood and faced me, feet set wide and planted squarely on the ground.
“Why shouldn’t I be real?”
She was tall for a girl, her head rising above my chin, and had a bearing unlike a servant. When I continued to challenge her, she reached out and eased the point of my sword to one side.
“Would you put that silly thing away?”
I began to back off, then remembered the circumstance and held firm. “Why didn’t you say anything when I first approached you?”
“Because we servants aren’t supposed to talk to you royals.” She lowered her gaze and turned back to the flowers. “I’m sorry . . . Milord.”
“What’s your name?”
“Rebecca.”
“Rebecca. My name is Frederick.”
She paled and then bent in a deep curtsy, her brashness collapsing into two whispered words. “The dauphin.”  . . .
I wandered in a circle, hands folded behind my back, and inspected the flowers, unsure of what else to say. Then a thought occurred to me.
“Do you have roses in this garden?”
“No roses, Milord. I have asters and hydrangeas. Some fall crocus. And climbing the wall to the watchtower, sweet autumn clematis. A bit of monkshood underneath and tulips in the spring. But no roses.”
I must have looked disappointed. She came closer and reached out, but not enough to touch me.
“It must be lonely, Milord, a terrible burden. Every morning as I walk from my village to the gardens, I see the darkening clouds and wonder where my strength will come from. Then I remember. The dauphin will protect us. Save Him Oh Goddess, I pray. If only I could do something to help.”
I mumbled a thank you and turned to go, but stopped when I saw her examining her damaged apron.
“Are you here every day?”
“No, Milord, I have other gardens as well.”
“Come tomorrow, and I’ll bring you a new apron to replace the one I tore.”
She curtsied more deeply this time.
“I’d be so grateful, Milord, but I have nothing to give in return.”
“No need.”
“Ah, wait.” She took her small knife and clipped off a bulging blossom at the stem and handed it to me. “Now place it in water the first chance you get.”
I accepted the gift and admired her through its petals.
“Thank you,” I said. “Tomorrow at noon.”
As I walked away, I glanced over my shoulder to get one last look at the gardener. She was back at her work, resuming her song and snipping away, so light of hand and foot. As she blew away a curl that had drifted across her face, the summer dress rustled against her skin. I inhaled the scent of the flower and thought I caught the sun peeking through the clouds over Golgoreth.
And for the first time since my father died, goddesses seemed possible.

As part of this special promotional extravaganza sponsored by Novel Publicity, both Along the Watchtower and There Comes a Prophet by David Litwack are on sale this week. What’s more, by purchasing either or both of these fantastic books at an incredibly low price, you can enter to win many awesome prizes.
The prizes include a Kindle Fire, $650 in Amazon gift cards, and 5 autographed copies of each book.
All the info you need to win one of these amazing prizes is RIGHT HERE. Remember, winning is as easy as clicking a button or leaving a blog comment–easy to enter; easy to win!

To win the prizes:

1. Pick up Along the Watchtower at its discounted price of $2.99 on Amazon
2. Get There Comes a Prophet at its discounted price of 99 cents
3. Enter the Rafflecopter contest below
4. Visit the featured social media events
5. Leave a comment on my blog for a chance at a $100 prize.

Along the Watchtower tells of a tragic warrior lost in two worlds; a woman who may be his only way back from Hell. Get it on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or iTunes.
There Comes a Prophet A thousand years ago the Darkness came—a time of violence and social collapse. Nathaniel has grown up in their world of limits, longing for something more. For what are we without dreams? Get it on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or iTunes.
David Litwack, the once and future writer, explores the blurry line between reality and the Visit David on his website, Twitter, Facebook, or GoodReads.

Book Tour: David Litwack Giveaways

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Camp NaNoWriMo - Day 9 - Excerpt of Michael's Mystery

As promised I said I would post an excerpt of my next book: Michael's Mystery - The Grandmasters. It is not the beginning since that would be giving a little away of the ending of Keeper of the Dragon Sword (sorry!)If you would like to see how I see the world where Michael's Mystery takes place - visit my Pinterest Board Michael's Mystery (WIP) for a visual glance into this story.


So here is the excerpt - enjoy!

She had gotten used to people staring at her over time. She barely noticed it any more, but Michael wasn't staring at her bloodred hair, nor was he frowning at her odd eyes trying to decide if she was a demon or not. The way he was looking at her had nothing to do with her features.
This time she had kept his gaze as penetrating as it was.
Did he see as deep as it felt? Could he devise her confusion when she was unable to? A thought flitted around the edges of that confusion. Did he know how to fix it?
"Do you want me to?"
She blinked at his quiet tone. "Can you sense my thoughts?"
He held out his hand and without thinking she laid hers in his palm. He pulled her to stand between his legs. "Anoré shared with me the ability to sense if someone was lying or not. It helps with my work, but I cannot sense thoughts just because I want to." He pressed her hand to his lips.
But for some reason when I look into your eyes long enough, your thoughts float into my mind.
Oh dear, I hope not everything.
He grinned and her mortification turned into a shy smile.
"That's better. I don't like to see you so unsure of yourself."
He put his free hand on the small of her back and pulled her right up against him.
It was not what she had expected to happen and didn't protest. Even when he just looked at her, letting her adjust to the heat and scent of him so close up, did she for a moment thought to push him away.
It was quite odd, she thought. "You didn't ask, and for some reason I don't want to refuse you," she mused out loud.
His immediate response was the movement of the thumbs against her back and hand. It made a different kind of heat flow into her veins.
"Do you want to kiss me?" Her voice was barely there. It felt wrong to repeat the question so she didn't.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"You're beautiful and I like you."
"Oh. Umm. Do you always kiss the people you like?"
His naughty grin appeared. "Only the women. I am not much into kissing men."
She couldn't help the giggle that escaped her. It felt so nice with his hands making those little pleasurable circles and the joy of his teasing, put together.
She put a tentative hand on his chest. Like her he had removed the outer layer of clothes when they came inside, and she felt his heart beating through the thin fabric of his shirt. This time heat infused her palm.
"Have you kissed many women?"
"Yes," he began, but held her in place when she wanted to pull away. "But only special ones get special kisses," he whispered before leaning closer and claiming her lips.
Andesine knew that he was an experienced lover, but his kiss told her so much more than his words. Kissing did not always mean love or lead to sharing pleasure, but she knew that sometimes it did.
Was it going to happen now?
Andesine had been kissed before. Teenage curiousity more than an actual desire to experience the sensation. At the time she had written it off as not worth the shivers her friends had pretended it caused. When she couldn’t get excited about it, with a boy she had liked, she decided to let it go.
Michael was not a boy.
And his kiss was not making her shiver either. It was causing her insides to quake and she feared her legs were not going to last much longer in keeping her upright.
She must have made some little sound to show her distress because he softened the kiss even more and lifted his mouth away. It was a relief that he still held her though. It would have been most embarassing if she fell to the floor at this point.
Feeling that she had to say something, she opened her mouth. “Um…”
He touched her lips to silence her.
Her confusion changed direction. He didn’t think her a tease or worse, did he?
“Did I take advantage?”
His voice was tender and she could feel his concern.
Instead of answering, she laid her head against his chest and closed her eyes. It took her a moment to realise that his heart was racing too and the hard heat against her stomach was still there.
Standing quite still she absorbed the feel of his body. He had wrapped both arms around her and she smiled when his nose shifted to her hair. Dragons had sensitive olfactory receptors and even as a female child of a dragon-human mating, hers were heightened.
Just like that the need for words was gone.
As a healer she came into contact with all kinds of people, and sometimes they were naked when a healing was required.
Michael, fully dressed, was an experience beyond which she had no reference. It was hot but his heat was calming instead of frustrating.
There was an unexpected safety to be held like this. On some level it reminded her of her parents, but it wasn’t the same. It felt more elemental, like the crystal she was named after. Something so basic and primitive that it could only be described in its elemental state of molecules and crystalline connections.
And overlaid was his scent to weave the moment together in her memories.
She had learned about pheromones and scent to attract mates in shifters, but she couldn’t smell the mustiness normally associated with that. Instead he smelled of the herbs they were working with this morning and fresh rain and some wood that invited her closer.

Going Camping!

I am going to Camp in July and after the month long excitement of Keeper of the Dragon Sword being on blog tour, and the launch here at home, I am ready to write again.

And my project is the next book in the series of The Nations of Peace - entitled Michael's Mystery. It will be the second Grandmaster novel, and it starts almost immediately where Keeper of the Dragon Sword ended of.

Shall I tell you a bit more? Let's wait a day or so for me to get stuck in, then I will let you peek into the story that will bring closure to the mysterious murders in Keeper of the Dragon Sword. Of course, there is another romance on the cards too, for Michael.

Even Camp NaNoWriMo is a writing challenge, and I have set myself the target of 50,000 words for the month. Camp with me, and let's see if I am up to the challenge.

Goodies and Giveaways - Last Chance to Enter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Tour - KEEPER OF THE DRAGON SWORD - last week

It is the last week of the tour, and if you have not yet entered the giveaway, please do so. There are lots of goodies to win!

If you are still looking for reviews you can find them now on Goodreads. Thank you to the reviewers who went to the trouble of not only reading the book, but posting their comments.

Here are the last blogs to visit on the tour:

Sunday 23 June - CBL Reviews

Wednesday 26 June - My Book Addiction and More

Thank you to my tour host Laurynne @ CBL Reviews who does a great job of promoting indie authors.

Launching KEEPER OF THE DRAGON SWORD - invitation

If you live in the area of Pretoria or Centurion

please pop around and have a cup of coffee with us!

Blog Tour: KEEPER OF THE DRAGON SWORD - Week 3

With the third week of the blog tour commencing today, I would like to thank the blog hosts for their contribution in promoting Keeper of the Dragon Sword, the second book in the series The Nations of Peace.

Here are some reviews already if you were thinking of buying yourself a copy. But you could also win an ebook copy - just visit one of the blogs and enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway.

Reviews:   4.5 Stars    4.5 Stars  

And here are the blogs to visit this week (they are all review posts):

Sunday 16 June
Monday 17 June
Tuesday 18 June
Wednesday 19 June
Thursday 20 June
Friday 21 June
Saturday 22 June

And remember to enter the competition!

Coming Soon: 3 Books, 3 Authors, 1 exciting Event

Book Tour: Week 2 - KEEPER OF THE DRAGON SWORD

This week the dragon is swinging his sword in the general direction of these blog hosts. Why don't you visit with me and see if he is picking a fight with anyone in particular?

Sunday June 9th: The LUV'NV

Monday June 10th: Share My Destiny

Tuesday June 11th: Italian Brat's Obsessions

Wednesday June 12th: Cover Reveals

Thursday June 13th: The Broke Book Bank 

Friday June 14th: candy coated book blog

Saturday June 15th: The Fantastical World of Wonders

I will add the list to Facebook if you want to share, or follow me on Twitter to find the day's blog (#KotDS). Thank you for touring all these wonderful blogs with me!

Book Tour: Week 1 - KEEPER OF THE DRAGON SWORD

The blogs were Elizabeth and Randall are visiting this week! Pop around and leave a comment. There is also a competition with a number of giveaways that you can win.

Tuesday  June 4th: Simply Sensational Book Fanatics

Wednesday June 5th: Brianna Lee Book Reviews

Thursday June 6th: CBL Reviews

Friday June 7th: Books and Insomnia

Saturday June 8th: The Book Diaries 

I will add the list to Facebook if you want to share, or follow me on Twitter to find the day's blog (#KotDS). Thank you for touring all these wonderful blogs with me!

Blog Tour: KEEPER OF THE DRAGON SWORD

Tomorrow is the start of the blog tour of Keeper of the Dragon Sword. It is my second novel in the series of The Nations of Peace and the first of The Dragon Masters.

If you have received a review copy, please remember to post your review here (Goodreads).

I love the cover and it is taking part in two contests. If you like it too, why don't you vote for it:
* on Facebook on 10 June 2013 here
* on AuthorsdB.com here voting closes end of 2013
Thank you for you support!

There are quite a few giveaways, so make sure you enter everyday to increase your chances of winning!

I will post and tweet the links of the participating blogs, but would like to thank all of them in advance for supporting authors like myself in telling the world about our books.

Versatile Blogger Award

I was nominated for the Versatile Blogger Award by Kevin at Cooking Athanasia.Thank you very much for the award Kevin!

 

The Rules for the Award are as Follows:

1. Add the Versatile Blogger Award badge to a post.
2. Thank the person who presented you with the award and link back to him or her in you post.
3. Share seven things about yourself.
4. Pass the award to 15 other bloggers. Contact the chosen bloggers to let them know about the award.

Seven things about me:

1. I have trained as an electronics engineer, but had specialised in two fields: electromagnetic compatibility and intrinsic safety. Since receiving my masters degree in engineering management, I had owned my own consulting business for ten years before I had to give it up for economic reasons. Since then I have been working as a project manager for Denel Land Systems.

2. I have several hobbies that do not include books! I love archery and own a compound bow. My husband likes to do all kinds of photography and had taken several pictures where I had shot at waterfilled balloons and apples. I also like to do counted cross-stitch, and have gotten my mother interested in it as well. Although I prefer large projects, more than 40 000 stitches, I have been known to do the odd birthday card for a friend or family member. I designed and stitched an anniversary sampler for my in-laws' 40th a few years back, where hubby and I combined our passions for the project.

3. I love fly fishing. Never seem to have much time to do that though.

4. I am a huge Manchester United fan and captain of a Superbru group, called The Broomstick Gang, where a few of my colleagues and I challenge each other during the English Premier League season.

5. I paint abstracts in acrylics and mixed media, and my present project is a canvas almost as tall as I am! It was inspired by the water lily design by Frank Lloyd-Wright from a book that I had bought at a book sale. My design utilises an abstract that I had drawn from one of my orchids.

6. I keep two journals: one for my writing and a personal journal. I often print advice from other blogs about writing and then glue it into my writing journal. I dislike scrapbooking, although I do decorate my writing journal with stickers and sometimes a pencil drawing. This year my journal has a butterfly theme. My personal journal, well that's personal :)

7. My first love remains reading and writing. I started my first story in 2001 and have recently had a relook at maybe publishing it. It will need to much of a rewrite to make it worthwhile, but not all of my first stories are going into the trash. As soon as I finish the third novel in the Nations of Peace Series, I will revisit one or two of my earlier projects.

My nominees: (the list is not extensive, but these sites are well worth the effort of a visit)

1. The Creative Penn by Joanna Penn

2. The Writers Digest by Brian Klems

3. The Sinner Author by Charity Parkerson

4. Writing with Kristine Cayne by Kristine Cayne

5. Rachelle's Window by Rachelle Ayala

6. Awesome Romance Novels by Donna Fasano

7. Independent Author Index by Faydra Deon

 

Guest Post: Creating a Platform

Today I welcome Kevin McDonald to my blog to share some of his insights about online groups for writers.

A strong presence in the new age of social media is heralded to be an essential tool for writers to communicate with readers. As an aspiring writer, I read that one should build a platform using social media. Unsure of the exact definition of a platform, I charged ahead using my existing Facebook account in addition to creating Google+ and Twitter accounts. I already had a blog, and just thought I could use these social media sites to advertise by blog, which was centered on my work in progress, Cooking Athanasia. So off I went, writing weekly posts and spamming the crap out of the big three social media sites with links. The result: People were reading, or at least clicking on my blog (right around 30 to 40 hits on publication day), but I wasn’t really connecting with people. If anything, I was probably irritating some with four-time a day iterations of my blog link.
After a conversation with John Ward, of the G+ Writer’s Discussion Group, I thought that perhaps a different approach was in order. So I became involved in one of the G+ communities to which I belonged and stopped spamming my blog links. Instead, I began asking about their projects and offering them help and encouragement. Of course, I still talked about my project, but it came as a natural progression of conversation rather than force-feeding, one way spam transactions. By doing this, I have connected to some truly talented writers and poets from around the world who I enjoy interacting with daily. I have found that most writers don’t look at writing as something competitive and they are willing to offer constructive criticism as well as being genuinely happy for others in the community when good news stories are reported. I have found real relationships with these people on my social networks and they have enriched my journey just by being themselves. As far as my blog goes, I still try to publish weekly and I do send links on the various sites once on publication day. The result: 94 views in a single day, but more importantly, several rich conversations with my readers regarding the blog post.

More about Kevin:

I retired from the U.S. Army in 2008, after a 23-year career. After retiring, I found a job that matched my skill set, and then I was approached by another organization offering much better compensation for virtually the same job. Taking that job was an easy decision. However, it was a new team and it failed to meet expectations, which resulted in me being laid off at the end of 2011. I had never really been forced to inventory my individual skills and desires to figure out where I excelled and what I would enjoy doing. Writing has always come easy to me and I enjoyed it, but serious writing was always on the ‘someday’ list. Someday came at the end of 2011 and beginning of 2012 when I figured out that writing is what I want to do. I started my work in progress, Cooking Athanasia, in December 2011 and have nearly completed it. I also wrote a 100-page screenplay during Script Frenzy in April 2012, titled Echoes from Enchantment, which is the back-story for Cooking Athanasia (it will eventually be the second book in the series). A day job found me in the spring of 2012, but I am plugging along and plan to eventually she the daily grind in favor of the glamorous life of a full-time writer.

You can follow Kevin at these links
Blog: jennasimmortality.blogspot.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/JennasImmortal
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/kevin.mcdonald.12

Groups for Writers - A Positive Experience?

As many of you share my passion for books and writing, you will probably belong to either a book club for readers or a writers group. And some of these may be online, such as Facebook or Goodreads groups. But do you belong to a group where you meet and discuss books or writing challenges face-to-face?

I am very fortunate to belong to both kinds of groups and both of them bring something to my writing that I would otherwise not have had. Writing is not a social business, in fact as writers we spend more time interacting with computer keyboards, than we do with other people.

Whether the group meets on Facebook or at my favourite coffee shop, I have learned many things for which I am grateful. Of course, the success of either type of group depends on the people who take part and as in real life there are active and passive members in a group.

I have been privileged to join a group on Google+ where I have met people that I truly feel are supportive of each other and I can now claim to consider friends.

Please come back tomorrow for a guest post from one such friend, and share with us what your experiences are with online and face-to-face writers groups.

Book Launch: More Than You Know by Alexandria Rhodes

Synopsis:After surviving a devastating car accident that took her father's life, Bryn Woods feels like she has nothing left in her hometown of Savannah, GA. Along with losing her father, her

boyfriend, Tyler, unexpectedly leaves town the same time of the accident. Feeling alone, broke and confused, Bryn leaves Savannah for college in New York City to escape her heartbreak.
Four years later, Bryn returns to Savannah to live in her childhood home. Slowly, she begins to let the people of her past back into her life. She lets the protective walls she's built to protect herself crash down around her. As she begins to find love again with Tyler, secrets start to unravel themselves about his past. Tyler has secrets of his own. Secrets connected to the death of Bryn's father. Secrets Tyler didn't even know he kept.

Goodreads

More Than You Know Giveaway


Author Bio:Alexandria Rhodes is a first time novelist from the good old state of Ohio. She is a recent college graduate with a degree in English and Creative Writing. Alexandria has always known she needed to write and has been doing so ever since she bought a typewriter at a garage sale when she was nine. With hundreds of pages of plot ideas, scripts and character descriptions, it is no surprise that she finally came around to writing a book. Alexandria enjoys reading, writing, reviewing, spending time with family, tweeting (a little too much) and traveling, especially to Savannah, GA and New York City. Her writing is heavily influenced by her surroundings and the people in her life. She hopes that her stories will touch the hearts of her readers.
Author Contact Links: Website: http://www.alexandriarhodes.com
Twitter http://www.twitter.com/A_L_Rhodes
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/morethanyouknowbook

Book Launch for charity: My Kort vir jou Sop (Afrikaans anthology)

It isn't everyday that I have the opportunity to introduce you to a book published in my mother tongue, Afrikaans, where I know at least one of the authors. Vanessa Wright, a member of my writers group recently had a flash fiction story published in an anthology with several well-known South African writers.

The anthology covers myriad themes as each writer decided what he or she would like write about. All proceeds will go to Kleinmond library and soup kitchen. The ebook is available on Amazon, Kalahari and soon to be released on Kobo. A paper edition is in the offing.

What the publisher and some of the writers had to say:

The publisher, Trisa Hugo, from Boekemakranka says the idea for the anthology presented itself while she was busy with the weekly ironing. She immediately stopped ironing, switched on her computer and started emailing writers. The response she received was overwhelming.

Rika du Plessis author of Flopsies met Floozies: 
The idea for the story came form an older friend of my mother who had been cheated on by her husband for many years before she decided to divorce him. She was the one who had all the money and he walked off with half of it. After the divorce she a family member died and she received an enormous amount of money. Her ex-husband was angry about the fact that he couldn't share in the wealth.
You can follow Rika on Twitter @RikaPlessis

Vanessa Wright author of Vyf en 'n drie-kwart ure in Gekkeparadys and Spieelbeeld: 
My ideas and subsequent stories seem to come from a darker side of me and the themes almost always involve loss. The seed of the idea takes a while to germinate until I wake up one morning with the entire story written in my head. I love this creative process. I tend to think visually and try to convey that to the reader.

You can follow Vanessa on Twitter @Artysoul1966

Book Launch: Sinners of Water and Fire by Charity Parkerson

Blurb:

Their love was legendary, cursed, and forbidden. 
The fates conspired to keep them apart, but destiny will bring them together again…
When one of their own becomes the target of a demon bent on revenge, the Society will do anything to keep her safe, including stealing a God from the Heavens.
Heru, son of Geb, once sold his soul to forget her, and now he’ll give anything to keep her safe. 
Gods and Demons collide in the final installment of Charity Parkerson’s award-winning “Sinners” series.

Excerpt:

“I dreamed about you last night.” Heat flooded her face at the confession. She knew it must be the shade of a strawberry, but she lifted her eyes to his, holding his stare steadily, as if daring him to mock her words. For a moment, she could have sworn a look of triumph passed over his face, but it was gone as quickly as it appeared.

“What was the dream about?”

Marissa had thought that it was impossible to be any more embarrassed than she already was, but at his question, she discovered a whole new level of humiliation.

“Um,” she stuttered before admitting, “I don’t want to tell you.”

“Oh,” he crowed. “It was that kind of dream, was it?” While his eyes were shining with mirth, her face was on fire, and she really wanted kick him.

“Shut up,” she hissed.

“Ever as you command,” he said, but she could still hear the laughter in his voice.

Fanning her face, Marissa practically danced in place in her discomfort.

“Are you having some sort of fit?” Adriana, Marissa’s mom, asked, slicing through her mortification.

Marissa had not heard her approach and she shot a nervous glimpse at the tree line to find Harold gone.

“I was attempting a spell.” Marissa answered Adriana’s question absently while searching for any sign that Harold was still hanging around. When her mom remained silent, Marissa glanced over to find her watching her closely, and she pasted a fake smile on her face in order to ease her mother’s obvious concern.

“Okay,” Adriana said, drawing out the word and sounding as if she didn’t believe her, which was a spot-on observation, since Marissa was lying.

Buy Links:

Amazon- US- http://ow.ly/jtGfn

Amazon –UK- http://ow.ly/jtu8c

Barnes & Noble: http://ow.ly/ju66m

Kobo: http://ow.ly/jyysl

Smashwords: http://ow.ly/jy5yh

All Romance Ebooks: http://ow.ly/ju3ob

About the Author:

Charity Parkerson was born in Tennessee, where she still lives with her husband and two sons. She is the author of several books including thirteen Amazon bestsellers. You can like her at http://www.facebook.com/authorCharityParkerson. Be sure to visit her at http://www.charityparkerson.com and you can read her blog at http://charity-thesinners.blogspot.com

Her “Sinners series” was voted one of the top ten best books by an Indie author in 2011- Paranormal Romance Reads

Her book “The Danger with Sinners” was named “Best Book of 2012” by Paranormal Reads Reviews and is a finalist for Favorite Paranormal Romance in the 2012 Australian Romance Readers Association Awards.

She was named as one of the top three Indie authors of 2012- EbookBuilders

She is a member of The Paranormal Romance Guild, is a Goodreads moderator, a member of Coffee Time Romance, and co-host of The Melissa Craig and Charity Parkerson show.

She won author of the week in August of 2011, and is a four-time winner of The Mistress of the Darkpath.

You can follow her on Twitter @https://twitter.com/CharityParkerso

Additional Links:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Smashwords

Punk & Sissy Publications

Book Launch: Blood Flows Deep in the Empire by N. Isabelle Blanco

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Dyletri, God of Fertility, has locked away his powers. No woman is allowed to touch him,

not until he can return his long-dead lover back to life. All he has to do is sacrifice one human girl, a girl who unlocks his powers and rips his dormant lust right out of his body. Trapped by his promise, Dyletri has no choice but to watch Ismini die, no matter how much he wants her.
Yet the darkness of his calling is spiraling within him, demanding he claim the human as his. If he goes back on his promise, the energy of the Fates will cause untold destruction in the Universe. That doesn’t change how Dyletri’s begun exhibiting symptoms that point to more than just lust. How does he allow Ismini to die when she’s come to own him from the inside out?
Desire and torment spiral into something much darker than obsession, more turbulent than an addiction, and something much more brutal than a mere soul-mating. As a war is being rekindled right under his nose, Dyletri will have to come to terms with a destiny eleven thousand years in the making. He thought he’d known what path his future would take, but he’d been wrong. Now the one woman he truly loves might pay the price for his decision.
Blood Flows Deep in the Empire is the first in a series that will pit free-will against Destiny, Destiny against Fate, and love against brutal desire. Everyone likes to think they have a choice as to who they end up with, but as they rise to face the greatest threat they’ve ever known, even the Gods will learn they have to bend to Destiny’s whim to survive.

About the Author

N. Isabelle Blanco was born in Queens, NY (USA). At age 3, due to an odd

fascination with studying her mother’s handwriting, she had already begun to read and write. By the time she’d reached kindergarten, she had an extensive vocabulary and her obsession with words began to bleed into every aspect of her life. An avid reader in her teens, a fascination with Japanese anime eventually led her to the universe of fanfiction. 
Her on again, off again hobby for the next ten years, She amassed a following of fans that, by her own admission, she would never be able to live without. It was those fans who encouraged her to step beyond the fanfiction realm and try her talent in the publishing world.
 
Facebook: www.facebook.com/nisabelleblanco
Twitter: www.twitter.com/nyddi
Blog/Website: www.houseofmalfunction.com

Buy Links: Amazon