4 Ways to Make Your Mystery Thrilling and Drive Your Readers Mad

Linda Mims has some great advice on how to make your mystery thrilling and keep the readers turning the pages.

The Long and Short Stories of Life

You’ve finally finished your novel. It’s time to go back, edit for mistakes and clean up the countless things you didn’t have time to stop for as you were writing. Stopping meant slowing down the action on what you know is a stupendous, magnificent thriller. You’re excited!

As you begin to read though, you wonder, “who wrote this.” Where is your book? Some of it is familiar, but this isn’t what you wrote. Your book was much more exciting. And where did these long, boring passages of exposition come from? Where’s the action?

You read further and wonder how your reader will be able to put up with this … this average story. It’s halfway in, now and you haven’t planted any clues as to who the culprit is. There are no red herrings, and/or you’ve written a road map to the killer’s identity. Now that everybody knows…

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5 Tips to Market Your Self-Published Book in a Cost-Effective Manner

Nicholas C. Rossis

This is a guest post by Sean Early, an experienced reviewer of international publications in the digital marketing and education industries. Besides his regular job, Shane is also passionate about several academic disciplines and provide top-notch blog writing services to clients from across the globe.

No matter how challenging it might seem to write a book, it can be relatively easy compared to book marketing! So, let’s look at some inexpensive ways of doing so.

1. Acquire book blogger reviews, but never rely too much on them

You can start your marketing odyssey by writing to book bloggers. The point is, never expect them to provide you with a proper or timely reply since they are bombarded with numerous requests on a daily basis. Even if you are meeting their requirements and have written them a nice, personalized request, they may not…

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Let’s Have More Writer Love

A Writer's Path

by Melanie Mole

Writing can be a lonely business. By its very nature it is often a solitary existence. As a writer I have often thought how sad it is that some writers don’t support each other more. We are probably all after the same goal. We all want to write, and most to be heard. Some do write for pleasure only which is great, because to write just for the pleasure of it is a lovely thing. But whatever the reason, writing is our aim.

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Monday Marketing. #3QuickTips

Lizzie Chantree

Happy new week everyone! Today’s Monday Marketing and #3QuickTips are about team building. Being a writer can be quite isolating and I’ve found that networking and talking to others really helps me to be inspired and more confident. Here are some tips to gather your own team of confidants, creatives or co-workers to share your working life with. Some might even become good friends!

Networking: Networking is now big business, but the fundamentals remain the same. Networking isn’t always about furthering your career, it can be a great way to meet friends and share creative ideas. There are groups on most social media sites and they usually have a topic name. I run a networking hour on twitter called #CreativeBizHour and it’s for anyone who enjoys creativity and likes to meet other people and have a friendly chat. To join these chats, just add the hashtags to your tweets…

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Emotional Beats: Walking and moving (II)

Nicholas C. Rossis

Back in September, I published Emotional Beats: How to Easily Convert your Writing into Palpable Feelings. As promised, I will be posting the book on my blog. So, here is the next installment, continuing Part 3 of the book: Other Beats. This chapter deals with:

Walking and moving (II)

Read for free with KU

For maximum effect, you can combine the beats above with some of the verbs below, most of which were found on WriteWorld :

• Amble: to walk easily and/or aimlessly.
• Bounce: to walk energetically.
• Caper: to skip or dance about in a lively or playful way.
• Careen: to pitch dangerously to one side while walking or running.
• Cavort: to jump or dance around excitedly.
• Clump: to walk heavily and/or clumsily.
• Creep: To move quietly and slowly.
• Cross: To cross a road or street.
• Falter: to walk unsteadily.
• Flounder:…

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Book Review Sunday: “The Neon Houses” by Linda Mims @boom_lyn

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

The tale of The Neon Houses was born from a comment that people were losing interest in reading. It was stated that decades from now we’d need to hold Reading Night at the Park for citizens who couldn’t read.

That idea simmered until it developed into a whole society of have-nots. Once the plot got rolling, Author Linda Mims couldn’t stop until she’d finished the novel.

Linda Mims resides in a popular suburb 30 miles south of Chicago with her husband and dog, Alexis. There, she’s working on the next in the “A Kennedy Circle Mystery” series. When she’s not writing, Linda can be found testing new recipes, tending her prize winning gardens, and tweeting author support for an indie writing community that she belongs to. She tweets under the handle @boom_lyn.

ABOUT THE BOOK

The Neon Houses

Murder, mayhem and suspense abound in this action packed page-turner set in 2087 Chicago. Our heroine, Dr. Noel Kennedy hears screams inside her head. They are the screams of her young friend, 20-year-old Zarah Fisher. She’s miles away and screaming for her life!

Noel knows the exact moment Zarah takes her last breath because Noel has a secret that not even her husband, handsome mayoral aide, Richard Kennedy, shares.

As the youngest Deputy Chief of Schools of Gang Territory, Noel has perfected her life. She is a solid, middle-class citizen from New Chicago, Incorporated. New Chicago and Gang Territory have become vastly different societies since the early Urban Wars. Now, year 2087 finds New Chicago’s military-trained police determined to enforce laws that keep “gang people” out.

Harlem Pierce, a New Chicago police detective, has been warned to stay away from Zarah Fisher’s murder investigation and he urges Noel to let it go, too. But a new killing involves Noel’s cousin and her boyfriend and links Noel to it in a startling way.

Who can Noel trust? Should she turn to Warren Simpson—the menacing, treacherous boss of Gang Territory? Or … could he be the killer?

If you like flying cars, robots, androids, dystopia and utopia mixed in with your thriller then this is the story for you!

MY REVIEW

Thoroughly Entertaining

The Neon Houses is a Paranormal, Mystery, Futuristic, Science Fiction novel with a Dytopian feel. It is also a well-written page turner with well-developed characters that come alive on each page. I loved it. The pacing was perfect with just the right amount of description. It’s one of the best debut novels I’ve read. Highly recommend to those who love an entertaining and well-written book.

I highly recommend The Neon Houses and give it 5 stars.

ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Kim Cox is an author of Romance, Mystery, and Paranormal. She lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina with her chainsaw artist husband, their West Highland White Terriers–Scooter and Harley, and a Yorkie mix, Candi. She’s a mother and grandmother.

Kim is published in novels, short stories and articles. Sign up for Kim’s Readers List.

Visit Kim at Kim Cox Author, Kim’s Musings, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Goodreads and Google.

September 19, 2017 – New Release – Haunted by Her Past, A Lana Malloy Paranormal Mystery, #5.

Paranormal Investigator, Lana Malloy, is faced with the task of helping a domestic abuse victim escape the ghost of her dead ex-boyfriend.

Jena Edwards escapes a bad relationship in Georgia only to be ambushed one night in her new Charleston home. When she’s attacked, her only option is to use the newly learned moves from self-defense class. Accidentally, her ex-boyfriend is killed in the struggle. She’s beside herself with guilt. What’s more, her now-dead boyfriend is haunting her and he’s more abusive now than he was when he was alive.

Demi Lancaster, Charleston’s Police Chief, calls in a very pregnant Lana to help with the situation. Knowing Tony will worry if she tries to help in her condition, she tries to help from afar. She soon discovers it’s vital for her to be on the scene—stuck in the middle of an impossible situation.

How can Lana convince a man who was abusive in life to move on so his ex-girlfriend can find the peace of mind she deserves?

November 14, 2017 – New Release – Love’s Endurance

Twenty-eight-year-old Madison Barrett and her husband, Eric, decide it’s time to start a family. She’s young. She’s healthy until . . . Until she gets news no woman wants to hear…

 

 

 

 

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Coming up Next –  Scheduled books and short stories – Kim’s Read & Review List are: (order may change at any time)
Love’s Child by Lizzie Chantree (starting Monday 9/18/2017)
She Sees in Her Sleep: Three November Snow Shorts by A. M. Manay
Flowers and Stone by Jan Sikes
Passion & Struggle (The Genesis Saga Book 1) by John Fioravanti
She Sees in Her Sleep: Three November Snow Shorts by A. M. Manay
Acts Beyond Redemption (Unintended Consequences Book 1) by Suzanne Burke
The Stranger by Joan Hall
The Glade by Harmony Kent
A Highland Ruby (Highland Treasures Book 2) by Brenda B. Taylor
Stealing Time (Book 1) by K.J. Waters
I Kissed A Ghost by Robin Leigh Morgan
Dog Bone Soup by Bette A. Stephens
The Gemstone Chronicles Book Two: The Amethyst by William Stuart
The Black Fox by Gordon Bickerstaff
Bound by the Summer Prince by Mistral Dawn
Our Justice by John Howell
She Lights Up the Dark (November Snow Book 2) by A. M. Manay
A Thousand Yesteryears (Point Pleasant) by Mae Clair
Mirror of Our Lives: Voices of Four Igbo Women  by Joy Nwosu Lo-Bamijoko
Treachery & Triumph (The Genesis Saga Book 2) by John Fioravanti
Toxic Minds by Gordon Bickersaff
His Revenge by John W. Howell

Book Review Sunday: “Southern Spirits” by Angie Fox @AngieFoxauthor

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Angie Fox writes sweet, fun, action-packed paranormal mystery and romance. Her characters are clever and fearless, but in real life, Angie is afraid of basements, bees, and going up stairs when it is dark behind her. Let’s face it. Angie wouldn’t last five minutes in one of her books.

Angie is best known for her Southern Ghost Hunter mysteries and for her Accidental Demon Slayer books. She lives in St. Louis, with her football-addicted husband, two kids, and Moxie the dog.

Sign up here: http://eepurl.com/bUrBDT to find out when her next release is coming out.

Visit Angie online:
Website: www.angiefox.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/AngieFoxauthor
Facebook: www.facebook.com/AngieFoxAuthor/

ABOUT THE BOOK

Southern Spirits (Southern Ghost Hunter Mysteries Book 1)

**A USA TODAY Bestseller!**

From New York Times bestselling author Angie Fox, the first book in the new Southern Ghost Hunter mysteries

One simple mistake…
For a girl who is about to lose her family home,
Releases the ghost of a long-dead gangster,
And opens Verity Long’s eyes to a whole new world.

When out of work graphic designer Verity Long accidentally traps a ghost on her property, she’s saddled with more than a supernatural sidekick—she gains the ability see spirits. It leads to an offer she can’t refuse from the town’s bad boy, the brother of her ex and the last man she should ever partner with.

Ellis Wydell is in possession of a stunning historic property haunted by some of Sugarland Tennessee’s finest former citizens. Only some of them are growing restless—and destructive. He hires Verity to put an end to the disturbances. But soon, Verity learns there’s more to the mysterious estate than floating specters, secret passageways, and hidden rooms.

There’s a modern day mystery afoot, one that hinges on a decades-old murder. Verity isn’t above questioning the living, or the dead. But can she discover the truth before the killer finds her?

MY REVIEW

Accidental Medium and Sleuth

Verity didn’t plan anything that happened to her in Southern Spirits, especially falling for her ex’s brother, nor being able to communicate with ghosts or being on a murderer’s radar.

I was attracted to this book because I also write paranormal mysteries with ghosts and was curious. I found book one of the Southern Ghost Hunter Mystery series to be humorous, entertaining, and well-written. A great start to the series. I loved her unusual pet, a skunk. I highly recommend Southern Spirits to anyone who enjoys an entertaining read. I look forward to reading other books in the series.

I highly recommend Southern Spirits and give it 5 stars.

ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Kim Cox is an author of Romance, Mystery, and Paranormal. She lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina with her chainsaw artist husband, their West Highland White Terriers–Scooter and Harley, and a Yorkie mix, Candi. She’s a mother and grandmother.

Kim is published in novels, short stories and articles. Sign up for Kim’s Readers List.

Visit Kim at Kim Cox Author, Kim’s Musings, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Goodreads and Google.

September 19, 2017 – New Release – Haunted by Her Past, A Lana Malloy Paranormal Mystery, #5.

Paranormal Investigator, Lana Malloy, is faced with the task of helping a domestic abuse victim escape the ghost of her dead ex-boyfriend.

Jena Edwards escapes a bad relationship in Georgia only to be ambushed one night in her new Charleston home. When she’s attacked, her only option is to use the newly learned moves from self-defense class. Accidentally, her ex-boyfriend is killed in the struggle. She’s beside herself with guilt. What’s more, her now-dead boyfriend is haunting her and he’s more abusive now than he was when he was alive.

Demi Lancaster, Charleston’s Police Chief, calls in a very pregnant Lana to help with the situation. Knowing Tony will worry if she tries to help in her condition, she tries to help from afar. She soon discovers it’s vital for her to be on the scene—stuck in the middle of an impossible situation.

How can Lana convince a man who was abusive in life to move on so his ex-girlfriend can find the peace of mind she deserves?

November 14, 2017 – New Release – Love’s Endurance

Twenty-eight-year-old Madison Barrett and her husband, Eric, decide it’s time to start a family. She’s young. She’s healthy until . . . Until she gets news no woman wants to hear…

 

 

 

 

---

Coming up Next –  Scheduled books and short stories – Kim’s Read & Review List are: (order may change at any time)
The Neon Houses by Linda Mims (completed – 5 * Review coming next)
Love’s Child by Lizzie Chantree (starting Monday 9/18/2017)
She Sees in Her Sleep: Three November Snow Shorts by A. M. Manay
Flowers and Stone by Jan Sikes
Passion & Struggle (The Genesis Saga Book 1) by John Fioravanti
She Sees in Her Sleep: Three November Snow Shorts by A. M. Manay
Acts Beyond Redemption (Unintended Consequences Book 1) by Suzanne Burke
The Stranger by Joan Hall
The Glade by Harmony Kent
A Highland Ruby (Highland Treasures Book 2) by Brenda B. Taylor
Stealing Time (Book 1) by K.J. Waters
I Kissed A Ghost by Robin Leigh Morgan
Dog Bone Soup by Bette A. Stephens
The Gemstone Chronicles Book Two: The Amethyst by William Stuart
The Black Fox by Gordon Bickerstaff
Bound by the Summer Prince by Mistral Dawn
Our Justice by John Howell
She Lights Up the Dark (November Snow Book 2) by A. M. Manay
A Thousand Yesteryears (Point Pleasant) by Mae Clair
Mirror of Our Lives: Voices of Four Igbo Women  by Joy Nwosu Lo-Bamijoko
Treachery & Triumph (The Genesis Saga Book 2) by John Fioravanti
Toxic Minds by Gordon Bickersaff

How To Survive Writing The Story With No Title #SundayBlogShare #AmWriting

BlondeWriteMore

I never thought the writer control freak inside of me would permit the writing of a story WITH NO TITLE.

Even writing the words ‘no title’ make me shiver.

I never thought I could start writing a story without typing the story title at the top, making it bold and underlining it.

I never thought I would have to manage a bunch of characters in my head who are part of ‘the untitled story.’

Can I just say that its not been easy for my characters as theyhave faced a lot of ridicule from my other characters, who are part of a story with a title.

I never thought I could write something referred to in my head as ‘untitled.’

If I had met you a few months ago and you had asked me to start writing a story without a title, I would have given you an odd…

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Kindle Unlimited Per-page Rate Back Up for August, 2017

chrismcmullen

Image from ShutterStock

KENP RATE FOR AUGUST, 2017

Good news: The per-page rate for Kindle Unlimited bounced back up to $0.00419 per page for August, 2017.

It had dropped down to $0.004034 for July, 2017, which was right on the cusp of dipping below $0.004 for the first time ever.

So it’s nice to see it rise back up a bit. It nearly returned to the rate for June, 2017, which was $0.004223.

Of course, it’s all relative. The per-page rate was very close to $0.005 back in February and steadily declined from March thru July.

So it’s also nice to see August at least temporarily break the trend of declining per-page rates.

Also, remember that Amazon KDP introduced KENPC v3.0 just recently.

The KDP Select Global Fund also hit a record high, $19.4 million for August, 2017.

The global fund has steadily risen over a period of years, which…

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Demographics – Know Yourself / Know Your Reader

A Writer's Path

by Doug Lewars

So who would you like to read your book? Well that’s an easy question. Everyone! So let’s see. There are seven billion people on this planet give or take a few and if I receive one dollar for every book sold and I have eight published so far then I’d get … Oh my! Eat your heart out Bill Gates.

However we know that’s not going to happen. For one thing English is not the first language of the majority of people and, when reading for pleasure, most individuals would prefer to read in the language with which they are most familiar. So the potential audience is cut down considerably – which brings us to the subject of this post – demographics.

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