Saturday, August 29, 2020

Release Week!

 Lots of good stuff happening this week:


                   Books 1 - 3!



Friday, August 28, 2020

ON SALE NOW! Kindle, Paperback, and Hardcover editions!

Cobb wanted a simple life. He wanted excellent steaks, great coffee, friends, and a quiet place to restore his favorite ship. Working for a recovery operation turned out to be the best place to find parts cheap.

She had other plans for him.

He wanted the staff of the deep space salvage ship, OXCART, to treat him just like another member of the crew. Not the man he really was.  Light-years from Earth, he thought his secrets, his past, wouldn't matter. Especially not to her. When that past leads them to the SENTINEL, like it or not, the biggest single salvage of all time will change everything.

Some secrets are so big, they can start a war. Or stop one. Or remain too big to explain when the timing could not be worse.

--And it was all the damn cat's fault.


Friday, August 21, 2020

One Week Away!

 

--Available next Friday in Kindle, Hardcover, and Paperback!

Wednesday, August 19, 2020

Quotes of the Week

There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them. 
—Joseph Brodsky 

If you don't have time to read, you don't have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that. 
 —Stephen King 

Whatever you describe to another person is also a revelation of who you are and who you think you are. You cannot describe anything without betraying your point of view, your aspirations, your fears, your hopes. Everything. 
—James Baldwin 

During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act. —George Orwell And now that you don't have to be perfect, you can be good. 
—John Steinbeck 

Wear your heart on the page, and people will read to find out how you solved being alive. 
—Gordon Lish 

The first draft is for the writer. The second draft is for the editor. The last draft is for the reader. 
—Scott Moyers 

Play around. Dive into absurdity and write. Take chances. You will succeed if you are fearless of failure. —Natalie Goldberg

Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.
—Anton Chekhov

Write freely and as rapidly as possible and throw the whole thing on paper. Never correct or rewrite until the whole thing is down.
—John Steinbeck

When all else fails write what your heart tells you.
—Mark Twain

Marry somebody you love and who thinks you being a writer's a good idea.
—Richard Ford

My aim is to put down on paper what I see and what I feel in the best and simplest way.
—Ernest Hemingway

When writing a novel, that's pretty much entirely what life turns into: 'House burned down. Car stolen. Cat exploded. Did 1500 easy words, so all in all it was a pretty good day.
—Neil Gaiman

If you can't do it with feeling - don't. 
—Patsy Cline

Friday, August 14, 2020

The Fast Friday Interviews: Kelly Blanchard

Kelly Blanchard

Tell me about yourself, Kelly.

I'm originally from Texas, but now I live in Florida. Dodging hurricanes--fun stuff. I am the author of the Chronicles of Lorrek series, which is a blend of fantasy and science fiction. I'm married to an EMT, and he has proven a wonderful resource when I need to injure or kill a character, but he tries his best to save as many characters as possible.

Tell me about your current Book: 

I just released the last book in the Chronicles of Lorrek series titled, 'This Ends Now'. Everything that has been building up in the last eight books all comes to a head now, and sorcerer Prince Lorrek has many difficult decisions to make as he tries to fend off invaders of his homeworld.

When his actions inadvertently results in his homeworld being invaded and taken over, Sorcerer Prince Lorrek must learn to embrace the darkness within himself, or else he will lose everything and everyone he knows and loves.

What are you working on now? 

Currently, I am working on the second book in the series the immediately follows the Chronicles of Lorrek.

Tell us something that people don't generally know about you: 

I am legally blind in my right eye.

What is a favorite lesson you have learned about the business of writing? 

Hmm, favorite lesson...good question. As a rule, I don't do favorites, so it's hard to say. I guess basically it is that the writing community is very supportive and encouraging of one another, and that is very nice.

What is the best piece of writing advice you give to new authors? 

My advice is more like a reminder--there are no rules for writing. One person may say that they must do this or that, and someone else will say to do something quite the contrary. The truth is, you can do whatever you want. Sure, grammar and spelling rules are important, but other than that, have fun and figure out what works best for you because what works for someone else may not work for you. You need to figure out what works best for you and your own writing style.

Links:

Email

contact@kellannetta.com

Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0881YRYS6

Website

www.kellannetta.com

Facebook Group

https://www.facebook.com/groups/MusesRealm

Facebook Page

https://www.facebook.com/AuthorKellyBlanchard

Twitter

https://twitter.com/kellannetta

Wednesday, August 12, 2020

Quotes of the Week

I rewrote the ending of Farewell to Arms, the last page of it, 39 times before I was satisfied... 
 —Ernest Hemingway 

 Substitute "damn" every time you're inclined to write 'very;' your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be. 
—Mark Twain 

 Tell your stories. If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should’ve behaved better. 
—Anne Lamott 

What I write is smarter than I am, because I can re-write it. 
—Susan Sontag 

Writing comes from reading, and reading is the finest teacher of how to write. 
—Annie Proulx 

 A character is defined by the kinds of challenges he cannot walk away from. 
—Arthur Miller  

Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on. 
—Louis L'Amour 

Marry somebody you love and who thinks you being a writer's a good idea. 
—Richard Ford 

Never treat your audience as customers, always as partners. 
—Jimmy Stewart 

Writing a book is like telling a joke and having to wait two years to know whether or not it was funny. 
—Alain de Botton 

Writing is thinking. To write well is to think clearly. That's why it's so hard. 
—David McCullough 

We have Art in order not to die of the truth. 
—Friedrich Nietzsche 

You want to write a sentence as clean as a bone. That is the goal. 
 —James Baldwin


Tuesday, August 11, 2020

Shadows of the Sentinel - Audio Edition


My projects today are mostly around the audio edition of Shadows of the Sentinel.

Right now I am reviewing auditions for the project. I really enjoy this phase. To hear my book come alive through a professional performance makes it more real.

It also helps to know that audio editions of the books are great sources of income!

--Exciting stuff!

Monday, August 10, 2020

Wednesday, August 5, 2020

Quotes of the Week

The worse day writing is better then the best day at work.
--Martin Wilsey

The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read.
—Mark Twain

When you're not concerned with succeeding, you can work with complete freedom.
—Larry David

You never have to change anything you got up in the middle of the night to write.
—Saul Bellow

End with an image and don't explain.
—Stanley Kunitz

You're only given one little spark of madness. You mustn't lose it.
—Robin Williams

Stay afraid, but do it anyway. What’s important is the action. Just do it and the confidence will follow.
—Carrie Fisher

If your book doesn't keep you up nights writing it, it won't keep anyone up nights reading it.
—James A. Michener

If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.
—Stephen King

Tuesday, August 4, 2020

Tuesday Tip: The Perfect Proof

When your book is ready to go, it is important to be patient. There comes a point when you desperately want to press that publish button and start high fiving everyone you meet.

Don't do it.

You need to order a PROOF.

When you are getting ready you can look at the review interface in KDP and it might all look OK but when the proof comes, things might need to be fixed.

I call it The Perfect Proof.

If the proof comes and it looked perfect inside and out on the first try, I will presume the apocalypse is about to begin.

My latest novel proof came on Monday. I had to tune several things. Like the back cover blurb was too far to the left. I had a small detail on the inside as well. 

It's also a good time to let your wife read it. She can red-pen it and she'll feel good about it!

--Getting Close!

Monday, August 3, 2020

FREE Audio Short Story: Piper's Run



Jules Piper was the Engineer on a small deep-space freighter. She thought she was having a bad day when she discovered the water reclamation system had failed. 

With no way to collect ice and more than three weeks to their destination, her Captain decided to make a stop.

It was the right planet. It was also the wrong time...

--Listen FREE on Soundcloud. Narrated by Aven Shore.