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Showing posts from July, 2013

10 Questions with Writer Michael McCarty (@michaelmccarty6)

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This Author Spotlight features Michael McCarty Author of Rusty the Robot's Holiday Adventures and more than 30 other books! Michael McCarty has been a professional writer since 1983 and is the author of over thirty books of fiction and nonfiction including I Kissed A Ghoul , Modern Mythmakers , Masters of Imagination , Revenge of the Two-Headed Poetry Monster (co-written with Mark McLaughlin) and many others. He is a five-time Bram Stoker Finalist and in 2008 David R. Collins’ Literary Achievement Award from the Midwest Writing Center. He lives in Rock Island, Illinois with his wife Cindy and pet rabbit Latte. 1.How did you get into writing and why do you write? I’ve been writing for a long time. My first published article was of an interview with a teacher for the school newspaper and that was in grade school. Ten years later, my first paid article was a record review of a Pink Floyd album. Ten years after that, I had my first nati

10 Questions with Novelist & Screenwriter Andrew John Rainnie (@andrewrainnie)

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This Author Spotlight features Andrew John Rainnie Novelist, Screenwriter, and Author of My Right Leg Is Tastier Than My Left Andrew John Rainnie is a Scottish novelist, screenwriter and journalist. He has an MA in English Literature and Film & TV Studies, and a Postgraduate degree in Screenwriting. He currently lives in Glasgow, working as a freelance script developer and copywriter, and has recently started his own film and multimedia production company, Rain Fire Films. When not indulging his addiction for video games, he can be found taking photos for his website Discover Glasgow, a guide to Scotland's biggest city for locals and tourists alike. 1.How did you get into writing and why do you write? I’ve been writing since I was old enough to hold a pencil. It wasn’t so much the writing as the storytelling that appealed to me. I’ve always been heavily influenced by films and television, but I found that the best way I can

EYE CANDY: SciFi Tour de Force + $0.99 = Hours of FUN!

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EYE CANDY On Sale for a Limited Time $0.99 Hi, guys. Just a quick and dirty announcement to let everyone know that I've got EYE CANDY on sale for a paltry, laughable, yet all-powerful $0.99. Hours and hours of literary entertainment await you. Tell everyone you know. Tell the checker at the grocery store. Tell the poor bastard sweatin' their ass off in the toll booth on your way home from work across the bridge. Tell your vet while he/she has his/her finger up your dog's butt. Tell the cop writing your citation after you got nailed for doing 65 in a 35 because you wanted to get home so you could get back to reading EYE CANDY. And of course the paperback version is also available at regular price, because I don't yet own a conglomerate of logging, printing, and shipping companies. But the printed-and-bound edition does make for quite a conversation piece. The eyegasmic cover art alone is worth having on your coffee table or next

10 Follow-Up Questions with Writer Michael Gunter (@Michael_Gunter)

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This Author Spotlight features an exciting follow-up interview with writer Michael Gunter author of Blackwell and Defying Gravity At the age of ten, Michael saw his first episode of The Twilight Zone and got hooked on mystery. At eighteen, he had an encounter with Jesus Christ that changed the course of his life. In 2001, he discovered his passion for writing. Today, he writes about the mysteries of life from a biblical Christian perspective; sometimes in straight up nonfiction and sometimes in the garb of fiction. His aim is to write great books that entertain and provoke meaningful contemplation and conversation. When Michael is not writing, he enjoys spending time with his wife and kids, playing guitar, and refilling his favorite coffee cup. I spoke with Michael in September 2012 after the release of his debut novel Blackwell . (You can read that interview HERE .) Now I'm excited to help him spread the word for the rel

Fear Free Dentistry. And How to Write Gooder.

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I've been experimenting with the online writing service Grammarly recently. In fact, I used Grammarly to grammar check this post because I fear free dentistry and because I want to learn to write gooder. And it never hurts to have another set of eyes on one's work. Especially when it's an automated service, kind of like the spell checker in Word or Open Office, except more like The Terminator. I've also been reading Word Up! by Marcia Reifer Johnston (which Marcia and I discussed earlier this year HERE ) and it inspired me to do a blog post on writing craft. For example, raise your hand if you know what a compound adjective is. Also known as a phrasal adjective. Marcia discusses these critters, and the hyphens who love them, in her chapter "Hyphens Unite!" Marcia uses the following example: "[Consider] a sign not far from my neighborhood. In large letters, it gives this command: FEAR FREE DENTISTRY. Maybe these dentists intend to scare peo

10 Questions with Science Fiction Writer Frank Marsh (@madchronicler97)

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This Author Spotlight features Frank Marsh author of ENDWORLD - A Novel Frank lives in Broomall, Pennsylvania with his wife, Nicole, his two human children Cara and Natalie, and his two feline children Pandora and Roxy. Not to mention the newest addition to his family, Lucy the Fish. He is a husband, a father, a homeowner and a working stiff, as well as a writer, an eternal optimist, a hopeful dreamer and an avid sports fan.  Frank has been writing since he was a child. He began  ENDWORLD - A Novel  when he was 19 years young and has finally finished it at almost 38. He enjoys spending what "free time" he has with his family and friends, and updating his blog "Random Musings of a Pseudo-Madman Version 2.0" ( http:// randommusingsofapseudomadman. com ). You can learn more about there, via THE ENDWORLD SERIES homepage ( http://theendworldseries. wordpress.com ), via his Facebook Page ( http://www.facebook.com/ frankmarshauth

10 Questions with Thriller Writer Chuck Barrett (@Chuck_Barrett)

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This Author Spotlight features Chuck Barrett Bestselling author of award-winning thrillers including Breach of Power (Jake Pendleton series) Chuck Barrett is the bestselling author of the Award-Winning Jake Pendleton series. Breach of Power —Winner of the 2013 Indie Excellence Award Political Thriller category and Finalist in the 2013 International Book Awards Thriller/Adventure category, The Toymaker —Finalist in the 2013 International Book Awards Thriller/Adventure & Mystery/Suspense categories, and The Savannah Project —Finalist in the 2011 International Book Awards Thriller/Adventure category, Second Place in the 2011 Reviewers Choice Awards Mystery/Thriller/Suspense/Horror category, and Honorable Mention in the 2011 ForeWord Reviews Book-Of-The-Year Awards Thriller/Suspense category. Barrett is a Florida native and a graduate of Auburn University. He is a retired air traffic controller with over 26 years experience and veteran commercial