Saturday, June 25, 2016

Novy's Son: The Selfish Genius Book Trailer Debut

Today, I am pleased to help host the trailer premiere for Karen Ingalls' book, Novy's Son: The Selfish Genius: 

Hi, and welcome to the debut of "NOVY'S SON: THE SELFISH GENIUS" BOOK TRAILER DEBUT! This amazing story has been penned by Author, Karen Ingalls. To find out more about Karen, please visit her blog tour page at 4WillsPublishing, where this event is being sponsored. We hope that you will enjoy this amazing story, told thru visuals, meaningful words and music.


Click here to watch the trailer and comment.

BOOK BLURB:

From his early childhood, Murray Clark sought love and acceptance from his father, who was raised as the bastard child of a famous artist. Murray struggled with jealousy toward his younger brothers, and he questioned the morals and values of people around him.

As an adult, Matthew lived life his way, with years of lying, womanizing, and heavy drinking. Though married four times, did he ever find unconditional love? Would Murray’s high intelligence, his love for his two daughters, and his unique philosophy of life help him rise above his demons?

​CONTACT INFO:



Twitter: @KIngallsAuthor

Website: www.KarenIngallsBooks.co

Friday, June 10, 2016

Welcoming Beem Weeks


Today, it is my pleasure to welcome to the blog Beem Weeks, a fellow member of Rave Reviews Book Club. Be sure to check out his novel, Jazz Baby, a well-reviewed piece of historical fiction set in the American South of the 1920s.






Who Said That? - My Take on Writing Dialogue


Here are a few thoughts on writing dialogue. This is NOT meant as a teaching lesson. These are simply my opinions.

Dialogue. It can make or break a story. Dialogue is the lines your characters speak aloud in a written story. They differ from the narrative voice in that even the peripheral characters are given a voice through dialogue.

Writing lines for your characters is not always an easy task—though it doesn't have to be difficult, either. In real life, people speak in ways that may seem impossible to capture on paper. Consider the varying dialects within the same languages. British English has its own patterns and words that differ from American English or the Aussie brand of the language. (And that's not even counting the varying dialects within the same country.) A skillful writer should be able to illustrate that, of the three characters conversing in the opening scene of chapter seven, two are from England while the third is from Australia—without mentioning this every time they speak.

If the writer can hear those voices in his/her head, they should be able to drop in little vocal hints within the written dialogue that give life to the characters and to the stories they tell. But it's not always easy.

When writing my novel Jazz Baby, I had to research the era (1920s) and the region (Deep South, USA) in order to capture the voice of not just my narrator but of each and every character that utters a line in the story. Some were Louisiana Cajun. They spoke with a twang, had a particular way of saying things, which is not always easy to put onto paper.

What about Neesie, the young laundry girl, who befriends the main character? These two girls are the same age, but they come from vastly different backgrounds. Though both were poor, one came from Mississippi and the other from Alabama; Emily is white and Neesie black. They would have had differing speech patterns—as would the better-educated adults who crossed paths with my young narrator. These differences have to come through in the dialogue. There's a rich stew of slang going on in these characters' words. Slang is part of language—no matter where you come from. This is where good research pays off. It takes time, searching for words and idioms used in certain regions and eras, but that extra effort is worth it in the end.

Dialogue is probably my favorite part of writing fiction. These are words and accents that give personality to characters that did not exist until I put pen to paper (or tapped those computer keys) and gave them meaning, reason, and life.

So here's my advice to any writer who might be struggling with dialogue issues: Just write what you hear. Listen to voices on the street or those being spoken inside your head; read works by other authors; study classic films. That little extra effort will usually show up in the finished product. The great thing about language is: it's all around us in so many differing forms.



You can purchase Jazz Baby on Amazon or Barnes & Noble

Follow Beem Weeks:

Twitter: @BeemWeeks

Website: https://beemweeks.wordpress.com/




Thursday, June 9, 2016

Welcoming Karen Ingalls




Today, it is my honor and privilege to welcome Karen Ingalls to the blog. She is a fellow member of Rave Reviews Book Club and the author of Novy's Son.  Today, she's bringing us some great tips on book promotion.


"PROMOTING & SELLING"

PROMOTING & SELLING A BOOK IS THE MOST DIFFICULT AND CHALLENGING PART OF BEING AN AUTHOR

Here are a few things I have learned:

• Do your due diligence when exploring a website or company that promises you success.

• Sign up with Facebook and make friends with other authors.

• Join LinkedIn and explore the membership, connecting with those in the literary field.

• Look for book clubs on the Internet to join. Rave Reviews Book Club is a site I highly recommend. HOWEVER, you must be active and be well involved.

• Write a blog and invite authors and readers to follow you. Welcome them as guest bloggers and they will do the same for you. Give them the opportunity to be interviewed and have their books promoted, and the favor will be returned.

• Go to your local libraries, bookstores, churches, service groups, and book clubs. Provide them with a free copy and volunteer to do a presentation.

• Have business cards available at all times and hand them out. I prefer the 3x5 size. Make them colorful, informative, and concise.

• Through the Internet there are radio interviews available. Contact your local newspaper, radio and television stations to request an interview.

• Monthly newsletters with interesting articles and reviews can draw in authors and readers.

AND, BELIEVE IN YOUR BOOK AND YOURSELF.


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Author Info:

Karen Ingalls is a retired registered nurse with a master’s degree in human development, which was a double major in psychology and human services. She is the author of the award winning book, Outshine: An Ovarian Cancer Memoir from which all proceeds are donated to gynecologic cancer research. Her second novel is Davida: Model & Mistress of Augustus Saint-Gaudens. Her first novel, Novy’s Son challenges the reader to examine the issues of alcoholism, sexual addiction, and family dynamics. She has also written poetry, short stories, and has had articles published for professional journals. Karen also does presentations to promote her books and on subjects of health/wellness.

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