There's A New Kid On The Block. Introducing Author, Kurt Chambers!

It is my great pleasure to introduce my friend, Kurt Chambers.  I know how hard Kurt, has worked on his first novel, TRUTH TELLER, so I do hope you're able to devote a few minutes of your time to read this post and support a fellow writer.  He's also a jolly nice chap. So, over to you, Kurt....

My friend, Kurt Chambers. He's the one on the right :)

I’m so excited to bring my TRUTH TELLER Mystery Tour to New Zealand. Volcano country. LOL Hopefully that’s not politically incorrect to say over here. Thank you so much, Wendy, for letting me visit your blog today. It’s a real honour for me. Wendy and I became friends through the blog world, wow, it must have been years ago now. So much has happened in all that time, good and bad. Back then, we dreamed of the day when we could announce our books to the world and today I can finally do that. I’m very excited as you can only imagine! And to be here on your blog, Wendy, makes it even more special.

 Please let me indulge myself and tell you a bit about my story, TRUTH TELLER.

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Ten-year-old Charlotte stumbles upon a strange shop when searching for a present. The creepy shopkeeper gives her an enchanting antique snow dome, but refuses to accept payment. All he asks is she promises to always tell the truth. She accepts his strange request.

Woken in the night, Charlotte is drawn by the globe’s eerie light and hypnotic power. With a sudden jerk, she finds herself stranded and all alone in a dark forest where she is discovered by a sword-wielding maniac. He calls himself, Elderfield, and he turns out to be a kind and brave teenage elf. He offers to take Charlotte to his family farm on a promise that he will help her find a way home.

They embark on an epic journey to find out why Charlotte has been brought to this realm and to pursue the one person who might be able to help, but none of them realise just how much is at stake. Strange things start to happen; visions come to her in dreams. They are hunted by real life monsters that attack with terrifying fury, but a far greater threat shadows their every move.

Fleeing for their lives, they reach the safety of an ancient mountain fortress and find the shopkeeper who gave Charlotte the dome. Her hopes of returning home are dashed as she is abducted by a druid assassin. Charlotte thinks she is defenseless against such a powerful foe, but in this realm, she is not the vulnerable little girl she thought she was.

***

This is just the start of Charlotte’s action-packed adventures. There are currently two other books in the series, The Wrath of Siren and Favian’s Law. Both books are complete and in the editing process. I hope to release these titles some time in the near future and make a compilation of all three books in a special hardback edition. In the meantime, I’m working on a fourth book in the series, Lost Magic.

Your chance to win a free copy of Truth Teller:

As part of my blog tour, I would like to offer all you blog readers a chance to win a free copy of my story. Simply read the post here, leave a comment below and share this post on Facebook or Twitter, or both if you’re feeling generous. One lucky commenter will win a free copy of Truth Teller in e-book format via virtual dice. Please mention in your comment where you’ve shared this link, and include an email address where I can send you your prize if you win. Thank you!

Truth Teller Reviews:

Dawne Dominique - multi-published author and professional cover artist:

The Truth Teller is one of the best children's fantasy book I've read in a long while. Charlotte is so easy to picture in my mind, and the fantasy aspects are brilliant! There are underlying currents of "real life lessons" that are subtly included...ideal for parents looking for that perfect bedtime story to read to their children. I loved the entire premise of the novel and will definitely be purchasing the next ones in this series.

Kurt Chambers has captured the genre with a wonderful story that will delight many a child's (and adult's) imagination.

Annie McMahon - Editor, published author and Novel Workshop moderator:

This book has everything a bestseller should have: compelling story, endearing characters, vivid descriptions, genuine emotions, and a lot of surprising twists and turns. This is a story about a friendship that transcends race, gender, age, and even realms, between Charlotte, a ten-year-old girl, and Elderfield, a teenage elf. Beautiful and heartwarming. I strongly recommend it and have reviewed Kurt’s story on my blog, Dutch Hill News.

Ralene Burke – Writer, Editor for Wives in Bloom:

Honestly, I can’t wait until my kids are old enough to read these books. Kurt has written an amazing series that emphasizes such wonderful themes as friendship, family, hope, and faith. I’ve read Truth Teller and Wrath of Siren and, even though they are MG, enjoyed them immensely. If you’re looking for wholesome reads for your children, check out the next big thing for MG.

Assistant Editor, Alicia Crouch:

There is a lot of good humor in the Truth Teller, things that actually made me laugh out loud. I especially enjoyed watching the bond of friendship between Elder and Charlotte continually strengthen until they had become like family – that’s one of my favorite concepts in fantasy, and the author did a wonderful job of bringing it to life. He has got the skill to make the reader care about his characters, the most important and most difficult task an author must undertake. I really enjoyed the story, and look forward to working on the next book in the series.

Truth Teller is now available in all e-book formats from here:

Amazon UK: Click here to sample or buy

Amazon US: Click here to sample or buy

Smashwords: Click here to sample or buy

Goodreads: Click here to sample or buy

Shelfari: Click here to sample or buy

Barnes & Noble: Click here to sample or buy

You can connect with the author at:

Author’s Web page http://kurtchambers.net/

Author’s Blog  http://geniusborderinginsanity.blogspot.com/

Twitter  https://twitter.com/emailmanROCKS

Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kurt-Chambers/296957780317055

Thank you so much, Kurt, for gracing my humble blog with your presence. I wish you all the success in the world with, Truth Teller. You so deserve it :) 

(I don't know what's up with my links, but they appear to have gone a most unpleasant shade of blue. Sorry)

Harry Potter author JK Rowling signs up with Little Brown to publish her first novel for grownups.

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British author JK Rowling. Photo / AP

Adult fans of J.K. Rowling can rejoice: She has a new novel coming, for grownups.

The kids will have to wait and see.

The author of the mega-selling "Harry Potter" series has an agreement with Little, Brown in the United States and Britain to publish her first novel for grownups. The title, release date and details about the novel, long rumored, were not announced Thursday.

Her seventh and final Potter story came out in 2007. Some 450 million copies of the Potter stories are in print, and a billion-dollar movie franchise, starring Daniel Radcliffe as the young wizard, ended last year.

Rowling's Potter books were published by Bloomsbury in Britain and Scholastic in the US Rowling will now share the same publisher with Stephenie Meyer, whose "Twilight" series at least partially filled the gap opened by the conclusion of the Potter stories.

"Although I've enjoyed writing it every bit as much, my next book will be very different to the Harry Potter series, which has been published so brilliantly by Bloomsbury and my other publishers around the world," Rowling said in a statement released by Little, Brown.

"The freedom to explore new territory is a gift that Harry's success has brought me, and with that new territory it seemed a logical progression to have a new publisher. I am delighted to have a second publishing home in Little, Brown, and a publishing team that will be a great partner in this new phase of my writing life."

Rowling's agent, Neil Blair, would not disclose financial details of the deal but said Thursday there had been no auction.

"As her new book is for a different audience, and marks a new literary direction for her, it made sense to separate the two and for her new book to be launched by a different publisher," said Blair.

In a statement, Bloomsbury said its 15-year relationship with Rowling "remains stronger than ever" and new editions of the seven Potter novels were on the way.

In the U.S., Scholastic spokeswoman Kyle Good noted that Scholastic didn't publish adult books.

"We will continue to publish her children's books in the U.S.," Good said Thursday.

Any Rowling book would seem a guaranteed million seller, although it's questionable that her new novel will have the same mass appeal as Potter. Adult authors from E.B. White to Sherman Alexie have nicely managed the transition to writing for young people, but once a writer is defined as a children's author, the transition can be tricky.

Winnie the Pooh creator A.A. Milne, a successful playwright in his early years, once confessed that he was forced to say "goodbye to all that" after his beloved books about the bear and friends. Margaret Wise Brown, author of the classic "Goodnight Moon," tried for years to write stories for The New Yorker.

Daniel Handler of "Lemony Snicket" fame and Ann Brashares, author of the "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" novels, are among the recent popular writers for children who have had limited success writing for adults.

But Rowling does begin with one advantage: The Potter books had an enormous following among readers of all ages, and she is widely credited with revealing to publishers that children's books were no longer just for the young. Meyer's vampire novels and Suzanne Collins' "Hunger Games" trilogy also have caught on with both parents and their kids. Meyer herself wrote an adult book, "The Host," a best-seller in 2008.

Beth Puffer, director of the Manhattan-based children's bookseller Bank Street Bookstore, said she'd have to see the novel before deciding where or whether to stock it.

"I assume if it's written for adults, it's not appropriate for children," said Puffer, who added that she might stock the book in a section for ages 14 and up. "There are a lot of former children and young adults who grew up with Harry Potter and they would likely be an audience for her new book. You also have all the adults who loved the Potter books."

Rowling's novel will be available in both print and electronic formats. The author held out for years on allowing the Potter books to come out digitally but announced in 2011 that Potter e-books would be sold through her own "Pottermore" website. The books were supposed to become available last fall but have been delayed until sometime this year.

-AP

You Only Have Eight Seconds To Impress An Agent. And A 'Must Read'.

Writing a Query Letter: Courtesy of Mark Malatesta from Literary Agent Undercover. 

Reasons for Rejection:

Literary agents aren’t going to tell you this, but they don’t actually read query letters.

They read the first sentence, the “opening line”. Then, if your “pickup line” is alluring, they read the next sentence. And if that sentence is intriguing, they read the next sentence. Etcetera.

Now, you’re probably thinking three things:

1. Literary agents are idiots.

2. How can an agent know if an author’s book is any good based on one sentence?

3. Agents are going to miss some amazing authors and projects that way.

Okay…

You’re correct when you say that literary agents are going to miss some amazing authors and book(s) by going through query letters too quickly.

But we’re okay with that (I’m speaking on behalf of literary agents everywhere).

I’ve had a few authors follow up with me, after I rejected their query letters… to tell me they’d eventually gotten agency representation and a book publishing deal.

I usually congratulate them, while they sit there in stunned silence and try to think of something clever to say. You see, that wasn’t the reaction that they were expecting. But, in all honesty, I’m genuinely happy for any author who gets picked up by a legitimate agent and publisher.

So I never got upset when a good one “got away”. Because I knew it was part of the process. There’s enough to go around. It happens to every agent.

And, I’m a big boy.

Now, I still haven’t told you how a literary agent can tell if
an author’s book is any good, based on one sentence.

It seems impossible, right?

In fact, before you started reading this article, you were
wondering how a literary agent could tell if an author’s book
was any good based on a one-page query letter!

So, let me explain…

Why Most Query Letters are
Rejected in the First 8 Seconds:

1. Most literary agents believe that great query letters mean great books. It’s not always true (and I don’t have scientific data to support my claim), but there is a strong correlation between the two. So, literary agents are quick to dismiss query letters that aren’t well-written.

2. Agents don’t have time to read every sentence of every query letter. Most established literary agencies get more than a thousand query letters each month. How long would it take you to read a thousand query letters? And, don’t forget that literary agents are also reading complete book proposals, not just query letters. Partial manuscripts, not just query letters. And complete manuscripts, not just query letters. They’re also doing a hundred other things, like (oh, yeah) selling books and managing their already-published authors.

3. Most writers are in denial about the importance of query letters. I know this is something you don’t want to hear. For most authors, the idea of writing query letters is a lot like the idea of public speaking, death, or tax prep. But there are valuable resources out there to make the process of writing query letters less painful: websites (some good and some bad), books (some good and some not-so-good), and consultants like myself.

4. Most writers don’t put the “good stuff” at the beginning of their query letters. This is because most writers assume (incorrectly) that literary agents are going to read every sentence of their query letters.

5. Most writers don’t know which “stuff” is the “good stuff” to put in their query letters. Even when a writer knows that he/she should highlight their most attractive feature by putting it at the beginning of their query letter, they don’t always know what their “most attractive feature” is.

6. Agents are looking for the negative when reading query letters. I’ve read very few query letters that didn’t have at least one or more “red flags” in them. By “red flag” I mean a warning sign (sometimes subtle) that the book (or author) isn’t top-notch. There are more than a hundred different things or “ingredients” that you can include in your query letters(that will help or hurt you). Query letters that don’t have any “red flags” are the ones that literary agents respond to quickly, with an offer for agency representation.

So, the fastest way for a literary agent to go through a pile of query letters is to actually look for the negative. As soon as an agent hits a “red flag” the query letter goes into the rejection pile. By the way, this is the same process that you use when you’re single and looking for love. You know instantly, when you see someone from across the room (or meet them) if you’d be interested in getting to know them better romantically. Instantly… 8 seconds or less.

7. Literary agents have the experience (that gives them the instincts) to make decisions about query letters in just a few seconds. During my short time (5 years) as a literary agent, I personally evaluated more than sixty-thousand query letters. After a while, you develop sharp instincts for what’s going to sell (and what isn’t). Because your survival in the publishing industry depends on it.

Query Letters: The final word:

There’s just no way around it. You must write an irresistible query letter. Literary agents simply aren’t going to read your entire query letter… unless you give them a damn good reason.

In the first 8 seconds.

                                                     ______________________________

As I'm sure you'll agree, this is great advice for those of us in search of the holy grail of publication.

And on another note entirely, thank you to those of you who kindly left messages on my last post. Very much appreciated.

In Memory Of My Father Who Died On Christmas Day.

My father, Ernest, was a lover of fine wine, European cars, Scotch whiskey, beaches, blue cheese and books. Much like his daughter.

RIP Dad.

Support Fellow Writers By Buying A Book For Christmas.

"If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead, either write something worth reading or do things worth writing".
Benjamin Franklin

"There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed".  

Ernest Hemingway

The following authors have no doubt, sweated much blood in their pursuit of publication. I should know, I've written a novel myself. So, in the spirit of Christmas, please support an author by purchasing their novels. Tis the season after all, and let's face it, there's no better gift than a book.

Roland Yeomans is the author of a number of novels and hosts an extraordinary blog accompanied with a generous helping of writing advice Writing In the Crosshairs.

The Legend Of Victor Standish [Kindle Edition]  Roland Yeomans (Author), Wendy Tyler Ryan (Editor), Leonora Roy (Illustrator)  4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)  Kindle Price: $2.99 includes free international wireless delivery via Amazon Whispernet

 

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THE LEGEND OF VICTOR STANDISH by Roland Yeomans, (Kindle Edition - Sep 14, 2011) 

Buy: $2.99 (7 customer reviews) |

No one talks openly of the misty figures seen walking along New Orleans' iron-laced terraces, casting no shadow. Of the shapes seen rising from sewer grates. And no one willingly visits the crypt of Marie Laveau at midnight. Into this strange world arrives the street orphan, Victor Standish, from Charon's Greyhound. Charon has to keep up with the times ... the End Times. And the teen destined to be called the "Ulysses of the French Quarter" has come just in time for Hurricane Katrina, the End of All Things ... and the deadly love of the Victorian ghoul, Alice Wentworth.

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Anne Gallagher - crazy hippie flower child, mother of a six year old daughter, writes Regency romance novels. You'll find Anne at Piedmont Writer

A Wife for Winsbarren by Anne Gallagher (Sep 28, 2011)

John Tremont, Viscount Winsbarren is desperate to find a wife. However, his fumbling ways in Society laud him as a laughingstock and the women he tries to seduce say they would rather marry his eighty year old father than him. In a last ditch attempt to secure a life's companion, he enlists the aid of a friend who comes up with the idea to place an advertisement in The Ladies Gazette. Over two hundred women answer the ad and John is gob-smacked. Could finding a wife really be this easy?

Unfortunately, as John reads the letters he realizes finding the woman of his dreams isn't as easy as he thought. Narrowing the playing field to five, John begins to despair after spying on the first two ladies. They are NOT what he was looking for.

Giving up on the whole scheme seems the best course, until he meets the final Lady. Could she really be the one he's been looking for? 

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Stephen Tremp, author of the BREAKTHROUGH series, is a suspense thriller writer. You will find Stephen at Breakthrough Blogs 

Stephen Tremp (Author)

4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews) |

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The Information Age is moving at breakneck speed. Breakthroughs in areas of science that were once fodder for science fiction are now becoming part of our everyday life.

A group of graduate students from Massachusetts Institute of Technology has stolen a breakthrough in opening and stabilizing Einstein-Rosen Bridges, commonly known as wormholes, that allows them to instantly transport people from one location to another. Their goal is to assassinate any powerful politician and executive controlling the world’s banking system that would use this technology for their own greedy gain rather than the advancement of mankind.

In south Orange County, California, young Chase Manhattan, part of a new breed of modern-day discovery seekers, seeks to leave behind his life of danger and adventure and settle down as an associate professor of physics at University of California-Irvine. He also desires to build a lasting relationship with a beautiful woman he has not seen since high school.

His idyllic plan is postponed when he soon uncovers the diabolical scheme on the other side of the country. He realizes he is the one person who can prevent more murders from happening and either control or destroy the technology. Once the M.I.T. group understands Chase and his friends have the ability and motivation to not only take the technology from them, but also thwart more killings, Chase finds himself in their crosshairs, the top-of-the-list target on their assassination agenda.

As the death toll mounts, Chase and his friends must battle this group of misled zealots from M.I.T. on both coasts and in cyberspace in a thrilling, desperate race to determine the outcome of this monumental, once in a millennium discovery that will drastically change life as we know it—for better or worse.

Breakthrough, the first book in the Adventures of Chase Manhattan series, begins with a big bang and offers the audience exciting, unique, and diverse heroes and villains. The result is a fresh suspense thriller series integrating elements of greed, betrayal, passion, lust, unconditional love, coming of age, and hope. The action is swift. There are numerous red herrings, twists and turns, that will keep the reader turning the pages and wanting more.

				----------------- Joylene Nowell Butler, Canadian author of suspense thrillers, Dead Witness and Broken But Not Dead.  Joylene Nowell Butler (Author) 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)  $5.95 includes free international wireless delivery via Amazon Whispernet Valerie McCormick is a wife and mother from small town Canada. While visiting Seattle, she becomes the only witness to the brutal seaside murder of two FBI agents. When she flees to the nearest police station to report the crime, she becomes caught up in a web of international intrigue and danger. Suddenly, she and her family are in the sights of ruthless criminals bent on preventing her from testifying against the murderer. Even with FBI protection, Valerie is not safe. Whisked away from her family and all that is familiar to her, Valerie fights back against the well-intentioned FBI to ultimately take control over her life with every ounce of fury a mother can possess.  Walter Knight, has written a 14-book humorous military science-fiction series, America's Galactic Foreign Legion, published by Penumbra Publishing. AGFL is now available online at www.Amazon.com, www.BarnesandNoble.com, and www.smashwords.com in paperback and E-book. Start reading America's Galactic Foreign Legion - Book 13 on your Kindle in under a minute. Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here. Kindle Price: $2.99 includes free international wireless delivery via Amazon Whispernet. America's Galactic Foreign Legion - Book 13: Salesman From Mars [Kindle Edition] Walter Knight (Author) 5.0 out of 5 stars