Every Wednesday ALLi will tell the world about our members' latest book launches, news, awards, freebies, workshops and updates on the writing life — our #WriterWednesday (#WW) update.
Roz Morris
Last week I released the follow-up to Nail Your Novel. It's called Bring Characters to Life:
How do you create characters who keep readers hooked? How do you write the opposite sex? Teenagers? Believable relationships? Historical characters? Enigmatic characters? Plausible antagonists and chilling villains? How do you understand a character whose life is totally unlike your own?
How do you write characters for dystopias? How do you make dialogue sing? When can you let the reader intuit what the characters are feeling and when should you spell it out?
I’ve mined 20 years’ worth of writing and critiquing experience to create this book. It contains all the pitfalls and sticky points for writers, laid out as a set of discussions that are easy to dip into. And it wouldn’t be a Nail Your Novel book without a good dose of games, exercises and questionnaires to help you populate a novel from scratch.
Whether you write a straightforward story-based genre or literary fiction, Bring Characters to Life will show you how to create people who enthrall readers – and make you want to tell stories.
Weightless editions are ready right now, twinkling on the servers of Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Smashwords and Kobo.
If you like more heft in your hand, the 200+-page paperback is in progress, and will proceed as fast as an index can be built and proofs can fly the Atlantic.
Steven O’Connor
Indie writer Steven O’Connor is exploring the idea of presenting ‘little readings’ as a fun way to promote writing – short audio recordings of written pieces with soundscapes and rhythms to support them for repeated listens.
His first go is a post-apocalyptic poem titled ‘Earth’s Last Inhabitant Walks Out’. You can check it out here: http://stevenoconnorwriting.com/little-readings/
Steven O’Connor’s books EleMental and MonuMental are available through Amazon and Amazon UK.
@LittleReadings on Twitter
Linda Gillard
Linda Gillard recently got her 25th five-star Amazon UK review for UNTYING THE KNOT from someone unknown to her:
“What a great book. Brilliant story – great characters. I don't know much about PTSD but it appeared very well researched. I really wanted a happy ending – but won't tell you if I got it! I read a couple of books a week and this is the best I've read in a good while – if I'd known how great it was I'd have saved it for my holiday! Don't hesitate to recommended it very highly.”
At the moment this is only available as an ebook but pb (with new cover) should be out in June.
Where Writers Win, Launches Winner Circle: Unique Author Marketing Tools
CHARLESTON, SC – MAY 5, 2013: Where Writers Win launched its new Winner Circle on May 1, 2013 to coincide with its one year anniversary. The subscription-based suite of author marketing tools includes:
- Book clubs on an interactive map that are open to a direct author approach
- WWW's 98 page directory of online book reviewers/bloggers, vetted, rated and sorted by genre
- Independent booksellers that love indies as much as traditionally published authors
- Blog directories where you should get listed if you’re trying to get noticed as a blogger
- Conferences, book festivals and contest directories that afford the best opportunities to find an audience or win a publishing contract (or cold hard cash!)
- Deals and steals on publishing services and conferences (over $400 in discounts already on offer)
- Templates and tutorials to enhance and organize an author's marketing
- Online tools: creative problem solvers and cool sites that can rev up interest and book sales
- The opportunity to guest blog at WWW
- And much more
Where Writers Win has a diligent team continuously updating the info and adding new content each and every week.
To celebrate its launch, WWW is making membership in the Winner Circle even more affordable to initial users: For a limited time, registrants can use the coupon code “www30” and enjoy $30 off the $59.95 regular subscription, over 50% off.
To learn more or to join fellow authors in the Winner Circle, or read more in a featured piece on IndiesUnlimited.com
Lorna Fergusson
Here’s news of my imminent workshops to be held in Oxford, closing date for book is tomorrow (16th):
I’ve just published my previously traditionally-published novel, The Chase, on Kindle, but apart from writing I’ve also run the Fictionfire Literary Consultancy for the past five years.
My next day-courses for writers will be held this weekend, in the beautiful surroundings of Trinity College, Oxford. The first, on the 18th, is How to Plot and Pace your Story; the second, How to Craft your Submission, is on the 19th. Full details of these courses can be found on my website.
The Chase is available on Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.
Pat Mullan
My latest poetry/etc work, KNOWING, is now available for Kindle on Amazon.
The print/paperback version will be available soon. This is an extract from my website – you can find it under POETRY on the site:
Knowing
This is not a poetry collection.
Yes, there are poems here. And other writing too: Sicilian Odyssey, a long ‘travelogue’ that sets out to capture my visit to Sicily; in ‘$48 dollars and a battered suitcase’ I get personal, capturing glimpses of my youthful escapade as an Irish emigrant to Canada and the USA.
As I stated in the foreword to my last collection of poems, Awakening, I get most enjoyment from listening to a poet talk about the written work and the work in progress: why a poem was written, the spark that ignited the vision, the snatch of overheard conversation, the incident that retrieves a past memory, the choice of words and imagery, the simple scene transformed, the need to be a witness.
Kathryn Guare
Kathryn Guare was recently interviewed about her novel “Deceptive Cadence” on the radio program “Write the Book” a regularly featured program on WOMM-LP 105.9 FM (“The Radiator”) in Burlington, VT.
JJ Marsh
JJ Marsh contributes to The Hard Sell, Joanne Furniss's MA thesis on social media and fiction. Here, Jill Marsh and Kate Harrison talk about how the playing field for indie authors and those trad pubbed is actually in favour of independents.
Lindsay Stanberry-Flynn
Alli member, Lindsay Stanberry-Flynn is celebrating the publication of her little book on writing ‘A Writer's Alphabet‘.
The inspiration for the book was the A to Z blogging challenge Lindsay undertook in 2012, where she wrote a series of posts based on the alphabet, all connected to an aspect of creative writing and being a writer. A number of people said that the posts would make a good book and the idea for ‘A Writer's Alphabet' was born.
The book ranges from specific aspects of the craft of creative writing, such as C for Creating Characters and P for Plot. Others relate to more random aspects of a writer's life, such as K for the importance of Kettles and R covering the painful, but ever-present spectre of Rejection. Lindsay hopes the book will appeal to both writers and readers who are interested in the process of creating fiction.
A couple of quotes from reviewers: A useful and intelligent reference book for the writer or aspiring writer and ‘A Writer's Alphabet' is written with perception, grace and a cool sense of humour that's applied to the world of the writer.
The publication of ‘A Writer's Alphabet‘ coincides with the third anniversary of Lindsay's novel ‘Unravelling' which is Alli's current book of the month.
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Natalie Buske Thomas
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Natalie Buske Thomas has a new release: BLUEBIRD FLOWN, book 3 in the Serena Wilcox Dystopian Trilogy. The trilogy is now complete and has also been released in a single volume.
Futuristic America is governed by two presidents, John Williams and President Ann Kinji. Corruption, greed and conspiracies lead to bodies piling up and nothing is as it seems. The fate of the world is in the uncoordinated hands of government outsider, former private detective mother-of-three Serena Wilcox and her motley crew of vigilantes, burned agents & the criminally insane. As the United States continues to spiral out of control, can Serena stop all of the traitors before they kill the President?
With themes like “the crack in the Social Media Channel”, which describes an Internet-within-the-Internet where communications cannot be heard or traced, the secret political strategy of RDAD, and much, much more, mystery meets horror and suspense. But don't worry, the intensity of the Serena Wilcox dystopian trilogy is delightfully lighter when Serena and crew bring humor and absurdities to what would otherwise be a terrifying read.
The Serena Wilcox Dystopian Trilogy begins with bestselling Angels Mark; continues with Covert Coffee’s dystopian, eerie, and intense vibe; and ends with a spellbinding finale in Bluebird Flown.
Watch the Book Trailer, 30 seconds to hook you.
Kindle, Nook, Kobo, Apple, Paperback and Hardcover options available. Links to all formats
If you are a member of The Alliance of Independent Authors and you would like to showcase your work on our Writers' Wednesdays, please send it it [email protected] to reach me no later than the Friday preceding the Wednesday you would like it published.
