Monday, March 4, 2019

A Bookish Conversation with 'Sgt. Windflower Mystery Series' Author Mike Martin @mike54martin #interview

““He started to stroke her when his cell phone rang. “Boss, it’s Jones. We’ve got a situation. We got a call about a shooting up near the seniors’ club.”
“Injuries?” asked Windflower.
“A teenager,” said Jones. “I’m on my way.”
“I’ll be over in a sec,” said Windflower.
“Bad news?” asked Sheila.
“I’ll call you,” was all he said back.
Sheila didn’t ask any more questions. They liked a layer of insulation between his police work and their personal lives. He gave her a peck on the cheek and patted Lady as he left to drive to the seniors’ club, hoping for the best and fearing the worst.
The reality was somewhere in between.”

–From Darkest Before the Dawn by Mike Martin

Mike Martin was born in Newfoundland on the East Coast of Canada and now lives and works in Ottawa, Ontario. He is a long-time freelance writer and his articles and essays have appeared in newspapers, magazines and online across Canada as well as in the United States and New Zealand. He is the author of Change the Things You Can: Dealing with Difficult People and has written a number of short stories that have published in various publications including Canadian Stories and Downhome magazine.

The Walker on the Cape was his first full fiction book and the premiere of the Sgt. Windflower Mystery Series. Other books in the series include The Body on the T, Beneath the Surface, A Twist of Fortune and A Long Ways from Home, which was shortlisted for the Bony Blithe Light Mystery Award as the best light mystery of the year. A Tangled Web was released in 2017 and the newest book in the series is Darkest Before the Dawn.

Book Description:

Darkest Before the Dawn is the latest adventure of Sgt. Winston Windflower, a Mountie who finds himself surrounded by a new family and a new life in tiny Grand Bank, Newfoundland. There are signs of trouble that may disturb his pleasant life, including a series of unsolved break-ins and the lack of supports for young people in the most trying time of their lives. But there are always good friends, good food and the sense that if we all pull together, we can find a way to get through even the darkest days.

Ghosts, mysterious deaths, and a new character enliven the pages as Windflower and Tizzard and the other police officers awaken the secrets that have been lying dormant in this sleepy little town. The deeper they dig the more they find as the criminals they seek dive deeper behind the curtains of anonymity and technology. But more than anything, this is a story of love and loss, of growing up and learning how to grow old gracefully. It is also about family and community and looking after each other. Of not giving up hope just before the dawn.

Interview:

Welcome Mike! It’s interesting to find out how versatile a writer you are – can you tell us a little bit about your Sgt. Windflower Mystery Series and why you wrote it?

Mike: The Sgt. Windflower Mystery Series is truly a labour of love. It is set in my home province of Newfoundland, on the eastern most tip of Canada. It has allowed me to write about that part fo the world and to populate it with wonderful stories and characters from that part of the world. Sgt. Windflower came out of the fog in Grand Bank one night and started telling me his story. I was happy to write it down and share with others.

I am so excited about your latest in the series, Darkest Before the Dawn. Can you re-acquaint us with the characters for those who haven’t read your series before?

Mike: Sgt. Winston Windflower is a Mountie who is originally from northern Alberta who finds himself stationed in tiny Grand Bank. He finds the woman of his dreams, Sheila Hillier, who is the Mayor of Grand Bank, and a cadre of friends and co-workers that share his love of good food and good times. And then they have to deal with the crime and a few dead bodies along the way.

Are you a detail freak when it comes to writing your novels?

Mike: No. I am probably the exact opposite. I do some research to get the facts right and I have beta readers to guide me back to the path when I stray. But I write from the creative flow and let the words stream out. Then, of course, I have to go back and straighten out the mess.

How hard for you was it to sit down and start writing your novel? Did you have all these ideas swirling around your head or did it take some time before you were actually ready to sit down and begin?

Mike: Starting a book is easy. Finishing it takes time and determination and discipline. There are always a million ideas but getting them out of your head and onto the page is difficult. But once I have the beginning of the story, the rest seems to follow. As long as I stay with and write 1,500 to 2,000 words a day for a couple of months.

Writers are often associated with loner tendencies. Is there any truth to that? And do you need background sounds or silence when writing your books?

Mike: I need almost silence, but not a vacuum seal. I write my best first thing in the morning, before the distractions of the day take me away. I have a routine and a schedule, and I try and stick with it. If I don’t meet my word count in the morning, I have to pick it up later in the day. And I could never write at Starbucks!! That is way too much stimuli for me.

What makes writing mysteries so special to you? Is there another genre you’ve toyed around with writing?

Mike: I have written non-fiction as a freelance writer and some short personal experience stories. But I love the gentle confines of the mystery genre. There is enough room in there for just about anybody and I like the pattern and flow of identifying a problem or a crime and then proceeding to solve it over the next 300 pages.

They say all books of fiction have at least one pivotal point when the reader just can’t put the book down. What is one of the pivotal points in Darkest Before the Dawn?

Mike: There are a couple. But I would say that the Jerimiah Parsons accident is one place where the story starts to grab hold and you have to keep reading until you know what will happen. What does happen is a little mystical and certainly mysterious.

What’s next for you?

Mike: Enjoy the book launch of Darkest Before the Dawn. Every book is like a child to an author. We send it out into the world with good intentions and then we watch its progress. Once this book is safely on its journey, it will be time to start thinking about the next Sgt. Windflower Mystery.

# AUTHOR INTERVIEWS

Monday, February 18, 2019

By Jove’s Beard, What is a Djinni Anyway? By Claudia Herring @claudiaherring #romantic #fantasy #writing

thewriterslife 7:32 AM 0 Comments

By Jove’s Beard, What is a Djinni Anyway?

By Claudia Herring

Read About a Curse Involving an Ancient Urn, a Wealthy Lord, and His Young Bride

What would happen if a magical being had his powers compromised? Could he survive through wit, subterfuge, and what little of his magic he could revive? That’s what I began discovering as the words flowed onto the page when I was writing Obsessions of a Djinni.

The story came in fits and spurts of inspiration as Lord Peter Bramley, a wealthy aristocrat in Regency England, traveled to Egypt searching for ancient artifacts — tomb robbing was what it amounted to in the early eighteenth century. Lord Bramley found what he was looking for, and so much more, only he didn’t know it at the time. This is what happens when you possess something extraordinary that shouldn’t belong to you.

When he returns to his lovely naïve new bride, they are both surprised at the change in him. Magic frequently creates a warp in ordinary day-to-day life, and not always for the best.

Imprisoned in the urn by a jealous magician, the djinni Yasir spends centuries searching for his lost love, even though he is impeded by the curse — whoever opens the urn is Yasir’s master. When the djinni finds his love, he discovers she is his new master’s bride. And his new master is Lord Peter Bramley.

In a world of mysterious powers, the love triangle of Lord Bramley, his bride and Yasir develops under the pall of the djinni’s dark secret.

Did I explore my questions to the full extent? No. As I wrote, the characters became more complex, their interactions more weighted with deceit and passion and also heart-breaking honesty.

That is why Ties of Smoke is the second in the series, and Whispers of Deceit, the third. That is why I am still exploring the tumultuous intrigues that Yasir creates.

When you are dealing with a djinni, by his or her very nature, things happen which you never dreamed of. What can you expect from a shape-changing spirit, created at the same time as angels, who can be as good or evil as they please?

About the Author

Claudia Herring writes romantic fantasy novels. Her Djinn Chronicles series are set in a world of mysterious powers and tumultuous intrigues fraught with subterfuge. They begin in Regency England where sensible mortals interact in disbelief with djinnis, magicians, sorceresses, and soothsayers.

She would live in a library if she could.

Is afraid of her cat.

If you like Diana Gabaldon or Carol Berg, you'll love Obsessions of a Djinni.

Website: https://claudiaherring.com/

Twitter: @claudiakherring

Facebook: claudia.herring.writer

About the Book:

Title: OBSESSIONS OF A DJINNI
Author: Claudia Herring
Publisher: Caravanserai Publishing
Pages: 374
Genre: Romantic Fantasy

BOOK BLURB:

A djinni seduces his master’s young bride, forcing her to make a fateful choice.

A world of mysterious powers and tumultuous intrigues comes to life in Regency England as a djinni, burdened with a dark secret, is thrown into a love triangle fraught with subterfuge.

Will he defeat his nemesis or be betrayed?

ORDER YOUR COPY:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

# WRITING

Six Things You May Not Know About 'People Skills' by Kerry C. O'Hallaron @ps101_book #guest #peopleskills

thewriterslife 12:00 AM 0 Comments

Six Things You May Not Know About “People Skills”

Kerry C. O’Hallaron

So picture this.

You walk into a room – any room – a social gathering, a business meeting, cocktail hour, or even an online “room.”

You see the heads turn your way in affirmative recognition. You feel them breaking from their conversations to send a smile your way. The mood in the room turns just a little lighter, as you feel a wave of warmth caused by your presence. You’re there now – you own that room; everyone’s happy; and life is good.

Question: Does actual happen to you? If not, it can; it should; and it’s easy to learn how. The secret is to learn how to attract people to you one at a time, so that when you do walk into that room they all will be magnetically attracted to you.

Read on and I’ll show you how. These are Six things you may not know about how to improve your people skills. Here’s a secret – my thesis is that you only need to master any three of them to start making more friends, minimizing conflicts, and improving all of your relationships.

· A Smile is Just a Smile – NOT!

Everyone loves babies, right? We talk to them in funny tones; we try to get them to play with our finger, maybe we tickle them gently – and if we’re really, really lucky, we get that big, beautiful baby smile out of them. Babies and politicians seem to know intuitively the power of a smile. The rest of us have to learn it, and for many of us the lesson never sinks in. I hope it does to you. Watch for the next five people who smile at you, and notice the powerful impact it has on you. Then practice your most genuine smile, and give it to five people a day. Same thing – watch the powerful impact it has on them. Politicians know that a fake smile is vastly more valuable than blank stare. Imagine the positive influence your genuine smile will have!

· It’s OK to be an Introvert.

By way of quick introduction, I’m a lifelong business executive with a fairly successful track record. I was also born shy, and am the founder and president of the American Society of Introverts. (OK, I made that last part up, but it would be true if such a society existed.) I would never have had much success in business if I’d continued to hang on to the “shy” thing. It turns out that’s separate and distinct from being an introvert. It was actually pretty easy to learn the skills to overcome shyness. In fact, I still don’t say much, but people these days think of me as a brilliant conversationalist. Why? I’ve learned how to drive the conversation but let them do all the talking – about what interests them! Somehow that makes me a brilliant conversationalist. I just ask, from a perspective of genuine interest, leading questions such as who, what, when, where, why, and how – and let them talk. It works beautifully.

The “introvert” thing is different, though. If I were a golfer, I could go out on the course with three strangers, hold up my end of the conversation, have a couple of cocktails afterwards, and leave with three new friends. But as an introvert I would then go home completely exhausted and drained, whereas extroverts would go home energized and ready for more. That’s the only real difference between extroverts and introverts. Regardless of which one you are, mastering that difference will help you interact better with people from both groups.

· You Will be Famous for at Least 15 Minutes.

It’s going to happen. You’ll get elected to something, get a big promotion, win the lottery – something will happen to win you your “fifteen minutes of fame.” Even if it’s completely fortuitous (like winning the lottery), one or more people will have supported you (financially or otherwise) along the way. It’s very, very important that you keep them in your network while you’re riding your “fame wave.” There are only two real options for the future. Your fame and fortune may actually continue to grow, in which case those “common folk” will help keep you grounded and not let you get a big head. OR, your fame may actually only last fifteen minutes or so before you come crashing back to earth. In that case, if you’ve taken care to maintain those old relationships during your “fifteen minutes,” hopefully they will still be there for you after your time ends.

Either way, what we’re talking about here is to craft a new, more influential, more likeable YOU. Be careful to hang on to relationships that helped you rise. You need them!

· Do This and I Guarantee You Will Win Every Argument Ever

If you want to be more influential, more likeable, more “nice,” you just can’t afford to do anything that will result in anyone disliking you. Assume that you don’t have enough friends to lose even one.

One of the quickest ways to turn someone against you is to “win” an argument. I put “win” in quotes because it’s an oxymoron – nobody can win an argument.

You can win a debate, because that’s a structured verbal sparring match with a fixed methodology for grading effectiveness. The person with the higher grade wins.

With an argument, there is no fixed grading system. If you wear your opponent down through persistence (and maybe even through sound logic), he/she will still think less of you when the argument is over. If you win through shouting and anger, the damage could be even worse. If you “win,” you lose; if you “lose,” you lose. It’s one time in life when a “draw” can be a mutual win. Agree to disagree, with a handshake, a hug, or whatever is appropriate, and move on. It’s a powerful tool that will make winners out of both of you.

· How to Get What You Need, and Have the Giver be Grateful

I know I’m dating myself, but before GPS (yeah, really, there WAS a “before GPS”), did you ever ask for directions? In spite of being male, I used to do it all the time. It would create an instant connection with the other person, by making them feel important, knowledgeable, useful, and appreciated all at once. Even though I’d probably never see that person again, it was great “people skills” practice to humbly ask them for help.

My neighbor came by the other day asking to borrow a gas can because the tank inn his car was empty. It turns out I had a can with a couple of gallons in it. I told him to take what he needed. He insisted on paying for it. I insisted on not being paid. I felt appreciated, needed, and valued because I was able to help my friend and neighbor with his issue. Being reimbursed for the fuel would have taken away the sense of importance he had given me.

People like having the opportunity to help, when doing so makes them feel uniquely needed, valued, and important. If you’re sincere and humble, you can often do others a favor by asking them to help you. Isn’t life great?

· Why Empathy is the Most Important of People Skills

Remember the Golden Rule? It’s translated various ways, but the most common is “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

Some people interpret that to mean, simply, “Treat others the way you want to be treated.”

Maybe. It’s at least on the right track.

I’m stretching it a little, though. I think it means, “You want to be treated the way you want to be treated; but they want to be treated the way they want to be treated. So figure out how they want to be treated, and do that to them without expecting anything in return. Lather, rinse, repeat.”

Yes, that’s right – I’ve just modified the Golden Rule, a little, but hopefully for the better.

It’s pretty simple, really. If you want people to like you more; if you want to have more influence; if you want to have better relationships; you have got to play by their rules, not yours.

Early we talked about the value of a smile. This assumes the other person would rather see you smile that see your sour puss. Trust me, they would. Give them what they want and you’ll be rewarded.d

We talked about how an introvert can thrive among extroverts, and vice versa. People like people who are like them (or are like how they want to be). Act more like them and they will like you more.

We talked about avoiding arguments, because nobody wants to be on the (alleged) losing side of an argument. Avoid the argument, agree to disagree, and they think more highly of you.

We talked about GIVING people the opportunity to help you. Your request, and your appreciation, must be genuine, and it helps to ask the right person. Giving them the opportunity to fill their needs while helping you is a win-win.

The examples of how empathy will help you craft a “new you” are endless and are each more important than the previous.

So as it turns out, the whole “people skills” thing is not rocket science. It is, however, a science; one that is easily learned and applied, and one that I have had the great honor of teaching to many people.

Kerry O’Hallaron is an author, speaker, trainer, and successful business executive. His latest book is People Skills 101-tm: How to Have More Friends, Fewer Conflicts and Better Relationships. In its recent launch, it catapulted to #1 in the Self Development category. It’s been called a life-changing twist on Dale Carnegie’s timeless classic. You can buy it today in Kindle and paperback versions on Amazon, https://www.amazon.com/People-Skills-101-Conflicts-Relationships-ebook/dp/B07KXDBMX8

About the Author

Kerry O'Hallaron was born in St. Louis, MO. He attended college at the University of Missouri, and later "emigrated" to Florida. His passion in life is to help others maximize their own potential.

His latest book, "People Skills 101 - tm: How to Have More Friends, Fewer Conflicts, and Better Relationships," is a compelling and life-changing new spin on one of the oldest "self-development" books in print. In it, he adds new color the art and science of people skills, which wealthy industrialist John D. Rockefeller called the most valuable asset under the sun. O'Hallaron teaches us in a humorous way how to use time-tested principles in our quest for friendships and positive business and personal relationships. The teachings aren't new - but O'Hallaron's unique twist on them certainly is. Whether you're a shy, reserved introvert or a bubbly, outgoing extrovert, "People Skills 101" could be the only book you need to understand the simple tools that will help you both create and manage the perceptions people have of you.

You will be amazed how a few, subtle changes you can learn from this book will craft a new, more influential, more charismatic, more likable, YOU!

O'Hallaron lives in Tampa with his wife, Carol, and can't seem to get away from spending significant parts of each year in his home town of St. Louis.

Website Address: www.peopleskills.training

Twitter Address: @ps101_book

Facebook Address: https://www.facebook.com/PeopleSkills101/

About the Book:

Title: PEOPLE SKILLS 101: HOW TO HAVE MORE FRIENDS, FEWER CONFLICTS AND BETTER RELATIONSPS
Author: Kerry O’Hallaron
Publisher: Shamrock Publications
Pages: 301
Genre: Nonfiction/Self-Help/Self-Development

BOOK BLURB:

A life changing modern-day twist on Dale Carnegie’s timeless classic – learn how to have more friends, show more charisma, and better manage every relationship – all in the comfort of your home.

“Kerry O’Hallaron simply nailed it with People Skills 101,” says Jason Broadman, international book critic. “He took something everyone needs to know, which nobody teaches, and made it interesting, eminently readable, entertaining, and exceptionally useful to just about everyone.”

Do you remember that course you took in school called “Basic People Skills?” You don’t, do you – because nobody, anywhere, teaches such a course. Whether grade school, high school, or beyond, NOBODY thought it was important to teach us how to interact. NOBODY thought it was important enough to teach us interpersonal skills – how to get people to like us, how to get them to see us the way we want to be seen, how to manage our relationships.Apparently they just assumed that we are either born with “people skills” – or we weren’t!

People Skills 101 offers an elegantly simple and completely unique solution. It works, whether you are a shy and reserved introvert, a bubbly and outgoing extrovert, or anywhere in between. Simply choose any three of the twenty-one “GoldenRules” offered in the book, begin to use them faithfully, and watch the results with awe. You will be amazed how a few, subtle changes will quickly craft a new, more influential, more charismatic, more likable, YOU!

ORDER YOUR COPY:

Amazon

# Guest Posts

Tuesday, January 22, 2019

20 Questions with Duffy Brown, Author of Tandem Demise #cozymystery #20Questions #tandemdemise

thewriterslife 12:00 AM 0 Comments

Duffy Brown loves anything with a mystery. While others girls dreamed of dating Brad Pitt, Duffy longed to take Sherlock Holmes to the prom. She is a National Bestselling author and now conjures up who-done-it stories of her very own. She has two series the Consignment Shop Mysteries set in Savannah along with rescue pup Bruce Willis and the Cycle Path Mysteries set on Mackinac Island with judgmental cats Cleveland and Bambino.

Her latest book is the cozy mystery, Tandem Demise.

Website Address: www.DuffyBrown.com

Facebook Address: https://www.facebook.com/authorduffybrown

1. Are you a morning writer or a night writer?Morning when I’m fresh and the day hasn’t intruded on my brain and eaten away all my creativity.

2. Do you outline or are you a pantster?

Outline. For a mystery the clues need to be in place to get to the end…at least for me. Also when I plot it frees my brain to do the humor. Writing humor is really hard and takes a lot of thought to pull it off.

3. Which comes first – plot or character?

Plot. If I know what I’m trying to do then I can put in the people to carry it off. And the characters need to fit the story.

4. Noise or quiet when working on your manuscript?

Quiet! I run a fan in the background to blank out any noise and take me out of the moment.

5. Favorite TV show?

Funny mysteries. I love Midsomer Murders. And I love Tom more than John. Also loved Castel the TV show esp the early seasons.

6. Favorite type of music?

Symphony, Christmas, Beach Boys.

7. Favorite craft besides writing?

Gardening! Love to watch things grow and there is nothing better than picking flowers from your garden to put in your house.

8. Do you play a musical instrument?

I wish. It’s all black dots to me.

9. Single or married?

Widow.

10. Children or no?

Four kids and four grandkids.

11. Pets?Cats. Dr. Watson and Spooky.

12. Favorite place to write?

My desk. I can only write at my desk.

13. Favorite restaurant?

Anyplace that will cook for me and clean up afterwards I’m in!

14. Do you work outside the home?

Yes, at a consignment shop. That’s how I got the idea to write the Consignment Shop series. LOL

15. What was the name of the last movie you saw?

Love Actually. It’s Christmas time and I watch it every year.

16. Favorite outdoor activity?

Hiking and gardening

17. Pet peeve?

Slow drivers. Lord save me.

18. Your goal in life?

Get the next book done. LOL

19. Your most exciting moment?

White water rafting though the Grand Canyon. Amazing!!

20. The love of your life?

My husband. I miss him every day.

About the Book:

Title: TANDEM DEMISE
Author: Duffy Brown
Publisher: Independent
Pages: 225
Genre: Cozy Mystery

BOOK BLURB:

Smugglers on the hunt, a police chief on the run, lost loot and a dead wedding planner have the Mackinac Island regulars riding in circles

After solving two murders, bike shop owner Evie Bloomfield thought life on Mackinac Island would settle into boredom until she finds out Nate Sutter, island police chief and once-upon-a-time under cover cop is on the run. Some badass guys from Nate’s Detroit days think he stole money from them in a champagne smuggling operation and now they’re headed to the island to get their loot. Evie is determined to help Nate because he’s a good cop. Nate is determined to keep interfering Evie and island locals out of harms way, and the crooks are determined to get their money.

ORDER YOUR COPY:

Amazon

# 20 Questions

Friday, January 18, 2019

Researching - The Backbone of any Novel by John R. Beyer @drjohnrbeyer #writing

thewriterslife 12:00 AM 0 Comments

Researching – the Backbone of any Novel

John R. Beyer

When the concept of writing my fourth novel teaming up my protagonists, Jonas Peters and Frank Sanders (their first book together), I knew there would have to be deep research to ensure the readers would believe the words I put down onto the paper. There was no chance I was to spend a year or more writing a tale involving these two fine men without the diligence of powerful exploration and research.

That is the hallmark of any good writing. Without painstaking research a writer ends up with only a tale without merit. Fictional writing may be what wordsmith’s make out of their creative memories but good fiction must resemble non-fiction to the audience.

When I read a novel I want to be taken away from the present reality and thrust into a new reality. What I did not realize when the idea for ‘Iquitos – the Past Will Kill’ sprang into my head was that I would be spending a month in the darkness of the Peruvian rainforest.

The jungle comes alive at night and hunkered beneath mosquito netting and swinging in the heavy and moist air in a hammock one thinks it is safer to be inside than outside. More than once each evening something outside would let loose with a scream and suddenly nothing but silence invaded the night.

During the daylight all one did was sweat in the ninety percent humidity

The rainforest on the Amazon just a short distance from Iquitos, Peru is a dangerous place to reside – for both human and the other creatures who roam the dark paths below the sky hiding branches.

On previous trips to Peru, my spouse (Laureen) and I had made close friends with a naval commander who set up the Amazon adventure including riding for hours in a fast boat. This navy small boat was capable of over sixty miles per hour on the wide and dark river and sported two fifty caliber machine guns. It was a fitting place for Jonas (who was the only character to venture into the Amazon) to hitch a ride and find out firsthand the magnitude of one of the largest rivers in the world.

Islands would appear out of nowhere – the shores teaming with life. Howler monkeys kept eyes on us as we swept by the land masses as well as Toucans and Macaws flying overhead. The skies were often covered with rain fat clouds ready to deluge us at any minute – often without warning the sky would open up. Suddenly drenched and smiling we would understand the thrill of research – to be somewhere not expected and enjoying every minute of it.

A month on the trail to making sure the research was correct left my spouse and our good friend Paul Bakas (photographer for our blog – jandlresearchandexploration) satisfied with that research and an understanding of the difficulty of living in such a primitive place as the Amazon. It takes a special type of person to make it day to day – we made it a month but with a guide, prepared food, constant warnings of the dangers behind every bush, and an overall appreciation of where we were and why.

As Laureen stated as we headed back to the states; “That was the best trip I never want to repeat.”

‘Iquitos – The Past Will Kill’ was a novel based on a past event involving Jonas Peters which brings that past rushing to the future. Fatal events occur at the beginning of the novel.

About the Author

John R. Beyer spent nearly ten years in law enforcement in Southern California as a street cop, a training officer and a member of the elite SWAT team. After leaving the force, he continued in public service entering the field of education. During his tenure, he served as classroom teacher, school administrator and district administrator, and was an integral part of the gang and drug force in San Bernardino. While in both worlds he earned a Doctorate in School Administration and a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology.

During all those years, he never gave up the passion for writing – both fiction and nonfiction. He has been published in numerous magazines, newspapers and the like for decades, writing on a variety of topics. His latest short stories in the past year can be found in Foliate Oak Literary Magazine (2016) and GNU Journal (2017). He is also the author of three highly praised internationally known novels – Hunted (2013), Soft Target (2014) and Operation Scorpion (2017).

He won the 'Write Well Award' in October of 2018 from the Silver Pen Writer's Association for a fictional short story.

His newest novel, ‘Iquitos – the Past Will Kill’, was released in November of 2018 by Black Opal Books bringing two of his protagonists together for their first investigation. Jonas Peters and Frank Sanders will work hand in hand with an international incident which left undetected could cause a catastrophic issue for the United States. They are friends and they are good at they do. Catching the bad guys.

Website Address: http://johnrobertbeyer.weebly.com/

Blog Address: https://jandlresearchandexploration.blogspot.com/

Twitter Address: @Drjohnrbeyer

About the Book:

Title: IQUITOS: THE PAST WILL KILL
Author: John R. Beyer
Publisher: Black Opal Books
Pages: 353
Genre: Mystery/Thriller

BOOK BLURB:

Jonas Peters and Frank Sanders team up to solve a string of murders, starting with the intentional and fatal bombing of a local coffee shop in downtown Riverside—a usually calm city in Southern California. Dozens are dead after an explosion rips apart the Coffee Grind, leaving dozens of others gravely wounded. Frank soon finds himself up to his elbows assisting the bombing victims, especially when he discovers that Jonas was walking to the Coffee Grind to meet up with his fiancée, but he never made it. In an instant, all their lives are thrust into a trail of death and destruction carried out by an unknown psychopath.

ORDER YOUR COPY:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Iquitos-Past-John-R-Beyer-ebook

# WRITING

Wednesday, January 16, 2019

20 Questions with Michael McMenamin, Author of The Liebold Protocol

thewriterslife 6:02 AM 0 Comments

Michael McMenamin is the co-author with his son Patrick of the award winning 1930s era historical novels featuring Winston Churchill and his fictional Scottish goddaughter, the adventure-seeking Hearst photojournalist Mattie McGary. The first five novels in the series—The DeValera Deception, The Parsifal Pursuit, The Gemini Agenda, The Berghof Betrayal and The Silver Mosaic—received a total of 15 literary awards. He is currently at work with his daughter Kathleen McMenamin on the sixth Winston and Mattie historical adventure, The Liebold Protocol.

Michael is the author of the critically acclaimed Becoming Winston Churchill, The Untold Story of Young Winston and His American Mentor [Hardcover, Greenwood 2007; Paperback, Enigma 2009] and the co-author of Milking the Public, Political Scandals of the Dairy Lobby from LBJ to Jimmy Carter [Nelson Hall, 1980]. He is an editorial board member of Finest Hour, the quarterly journal of the International Churchill Society and a contributing editor for the libertarian magazine Reason. His work also has appeared in The Churchills in Ireland, 1660-1965, Corrections and Controversies [Irish Academic Press, 2012] as well as two Reason anthologies, Free Minds & Free Markets, Twenty Five Years of Reason [Pacific Research Institute, 1993] and Choice, the Best of Reason [BenBella Books, 2004]. A full-time writer, he was formerly a first amendment and media defense lawyer and a U.S. Army Counterintelligence Agent.

Kathleen, the other half of the father-daughter writing team, has been editing her father’s writing for longer than she cares to remember. She is the co-author with her sister Kelly of the critically acclaimed Organize Your Way: Simple Strategies for Every Personality [Sterling, 2017]. The two sisters are professional organizers, personality-type experts and the founders of PixiesDidIt, a home and life organization business. Kathleen is an honors graduate of Sarah Lawrence College and has an MFA in Creative Writing from New York University. The novella Appointment in Prague is her second joint writing project with her father. Their first was “Bringing Home the First Amendment”, a review in the August 1984 Reason magazine of Nat Hentoff’s The Day They Came to Arrest the Book. While a teen-ager, she and her father would often take runs together, creating plots for adventure stories as they ran.

WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:

WEBSITE | FACEBOOK

1. Are you a morning writer or a night writer? Morning.

2. Do you outline or are you a pantster? outline

3. Which comes first – plot or character? Characters. Can’t have a plot until you have characters.

4. Noise or quiet when working on your manuscript? Quiet

5. Favorite TV show? Of all time? Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. Right now? Lethal Weapon or Outlander.

6. Favorite type of music? Classical and the Beatles

7. Favorite craft besides writing? Jury trials, but that was a good 15 years ago.

8. Do you play a musical instrument? Nope

9. Single or married? Married
10. Children or no? Three children and eight grandchildren
11. Pets? Winnie, a black miniature schnauzer
12. Favorite place to write? My study
13. Favorite restaurant? Fire on Shaker Square in Cleveland
14. Do you work outside the home? Not any more. I was once a lawyer, but now I write full time.
15. What was the name of the last movie you saw? “Allied” with Brad Pitt
16. Favorite outdoor activity? Tennis and downhill skiing
17. Pet peeve? People who make fun of the Cleveland Browns. We are about to get even with all of you.
18. Your goal in life? To write more books.
19. Your most exciting moment? In this order: 1) our wedding; 2) the birth of our first child Katie; 3) publication of my second book—Becoming Winston Churchill, the Untold Story of Young Winston and His American Mentor; 4) publication of my first novel—The DeValera Deception.
20. The love of your life? My wife, the artist Carol Breckenridge.

About the Book:

Title: THE LIEBOLD PROTOCOL: a Mattie McGary + Winston Churchill World War 2 Adventure
Author: Michael & Kathleen McMenamin
Publisher: First Edition Design Publishing
Pages: 389
Genre: Historical Thriller

BOOK BLURB:

Winston Churchill’s Scottish goddaughter, Mattie McGary, the adventure-seeking Hearst photojournalist, reluctantly returns to Nazi Germany in the summer of 1934 and once again finds herself in deadly peril in a gangster state where widespread kidnappings and ransoms are sanctioned by the new government.

Mattie turns down an early request by her boss Hearst to go to Germany to report on how Hitler will deal with the SA Brown Shirts of Ernst Rohm who want a true socialist ‘second revolution’ to follow Hitler’s stunning first revolution in 1933. Having been away from Germany for over a year, her reputation as “Hitler’s favorite foreign journalist” is fading and she wants to keep it that way.

Instead, at Churchill’s suggestion, she persuades Hearst to let her investigate one of the best-kept secrets of the Great War—that in 1915, facilitated by a sinister German-American working for Henry Ford, British and Imperial German officials essentially committed treason by agreeing Britain would sell raw rubber to Germany in exchange for it selling precision optical equipment to Britain. Why? To keep the war going and the profits flowing. After Mattie interviews Ford’s German-American go-between, however, agents of Scotland Yard’s Special Branch are sent by Churchill’s political opponents in the British government to rough her up and warn her she will be prosecuted under the Official Secrets Act unless she backs off the story.

Left no choice, Mattie sets out for Germany to investigate the story from the German side and interview the German nobleman who negotiated the optics for rubber deal. There, Mattie lands right in the middle of what Hearst originally wanted her to investigate—Adolf Hitler believes one revolution is enough—and she learns that Hitler has ordered the SS to assassinate all the senior leadership of Ernst Rohm’s SA Brown Shirts as well as other political enemies on Saturday 30 June, an event soon known to History as ‘The Night of the Long Knives’.

Mattie must flee Germany to save her life. Not only does the German-American working for Henry Ford want her story on the optics for rubber treason killed, he wants her dead along with it. Worse, Mattie’s nemesis, the ‘Blond Beast’ of the SS, Reinhard Heydrich, is in charge of Hitler’s purge and he’s secretly put her name on his list…

ORDER YOUR COPY:

Amazon

Wednesday, January 9, 2019

Impetus and Research in Josh Hickman's The Kinfolk: Cult of Sex and Cheese & Giveaway! #interview #giveaway @thenoblegasses

thewriterslife 12:00 AM 0 Comments

Impetus and Research in Josh Hickman’s The Kinfolk: Cult of Sex & Cheese

By Josh Hickman

Sometimes you have the impetus for your next book right in front of your face, and you can’t even see it. I did quite a bit of research for my new comic novel The Kinfolk: Cult of Sex & Cheese, but what I hadn’t realized is I had already done a lot already. I had been interested in cults since college or before and for years had read books and watched documentaries about them, at the time, daily checking news on Scientology and the falling NXIVM cult. Out on one of my soul-searching early morning walks, browbeating myself for an idea for my next book, it hit me. I called a friend of mine and gleefully admitted the obvious, “A comedy about a cult! Of course! I’ve already done half the work!” Well, I hadn’t done half the work as I was to find out, but I had made a very good start, and not only was the inspiration and interest already there, they had been for years. So, for the next month or two, I refreshed my memory on tales and facts I had known, and I dove far deeper into the shadowy subject. I read books and articles and watched videos on every cult I found quirky or interesting, also bothering to absorb information on some I didn’t. And I consciously chose to research a broader spectrum—not just making notes on Synanon, Jonestown, the Manson Family, Scientology, the Source Family, the Center for Feeling Therapy, and a dozen or more others, but I also read at least portions of Without Conscience by Dr. Robert D. Hare, Cialdini’s Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, and Snapping: America’s Epidemic of Sudden Personality Change by Flo Conway, among several other excellent books. Don’t just stick to Wikipedia, obviously. I think researching a little beyond your original intended scope can often give you a broader, better perspective. I also found lectures on youtube easy, helpful, and concentrated, such as those on cult thinking and mind control by Robert Jay Lifton and Margaret Singer. I usually find a point, after a certain amount of work taking notes and jotting down ideas, scene scenarios, and snippets of possible dialogue, when I say to myself, “I think I kind of know what I’m doing now. I know what this is about and what I’m going to say.” And then I start writing. That is not to say I don’t go back often for new details and information, or that I don’t get stuck at times and have to momentarily return to the drawing board or even clean the slate partially. In the end, a fact-based or fact-inspired novel should, of course ,still be your own, coming from your own mind, in your own voice—be it a faux biography, a historical parody, fictional political satire, whatever. Your book should not just be a dry collection of slightly altered facts or a pile of rehashed internet searches. Keep most of the harsh facts in your head and more of your voice at your fingertips.

About the Author

Equally fascinated with horror movies, comedians, and true crime since early childhood, Josh Hickman spent equal time wading in the heady waters of Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine, the Three Stooges comedy shorts, and Helter Skelter while growing up in various parts of Texas. When he became a writer, Hickman incorporated his comedic sensibility and lifelong love of the horror and true crime genres into his satiric writings. His past comic novels also include the fictional comedy bio THROUGH TICK & TINN: THE TRUE STORY OF THE GREATEST UNKNOWN COMEDY TEAM EVER KNOWN and the illustrated surreal, cautionary high-seas treasure-hunt saga AMBERGRIS. Hickman lives and works in Hollywood.

His latest book is the satirical fantasy, The Kinfolk: Cult of Sex and Cheese.

Visit his website at http://www.joshhickmanbooks.com.

WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:

WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK

About the Book:

Title: THE KINFOLK: CULT OF SEX AND CHEESE
Author: Josh Hickman
Publisher: Polyester Press
Pages: 299
Genre: Satirical Fantasy

BOOK BLURB:

Hollywood Author Josh Hickman will release his latest brand of satirical, humorous books in mid-November. In the author’s new book, THE KINFOLK: CULT OF SEX AND CHEESE he explores the maddening world of cults. Mr. Hickman’s new novel follows his last satirical fantasy book, FIVE SLICES OF FEAR, that has received much critical praise from book reviewers.

Hollywood writer Mr. Hickman releases his new book as the fourth in a fantasy book series he has created and published. In THE KINFOLK: CULT OF SEX AND CHEESE he chronicles the rise and fall of a “seductive, fanatical cult” led by the enigmatic Dillman “Papa Dilly” Bradford.

With THE KINFOLK: CULT OF SEX AND CHEESE once again fact meets fiction in the funny fantasy worlds author Josh Hickman creates. This time his fascination with cults has produced a fresh, yet familiar cast of charlatans, rubes, losers, and lucky fools, finding laughs in the cult impulse, religious fervor, and the common pathos of the average person who will do anything to find solace and belonging. Once more, author Hickman focuses his gaze on tragic comedy that is human existence--with all its fears, pitfalls, trials, and triumphs--and again he speaks hilarious truth to power in his latest entry THE KINFOLK: CULT OF SEX AND CHEESE.

“For as long as I’ve read books I’ve always been a huge fan of comedic novels,” Hickman asserted. “It was time I decided to start expressing my own comedic side of creative writing.”