Hosting an author: Welcome Rhani D. Chae!

July 18, 2014 Rebecca Nolen 4 Comments

EXCERPT FROM SHADOW OF THE DRILL:

His gloved fingers probed the Betadine-stained area above the wound as he prepared to make another incision, but he stopped when Rudy moaned in response. “Char,” he said without looking up, “he’s too close to the top. We need to put him back down. I know the pills are gone, but is there any more booze?”

The woman clenched her hands together, unable to hide her stricken expression. “No. I gave him the last of it just before you started. There might be more somewhere, but I don’t know how much.” Her voice broke in a frustrated sob. “Or where it would be.”

Decker frowned again, thinking of and weighing the options. “Well,” he said, swallowing hard against the dread that threatened the strength and accuracy of his hands, “I guess we’ll just go ahead and finish it. Hopefully, he’ll pass out before we get too far.”

Another sentence followed, too softly for Charlene to hear. “What did you say?”

“I said if there’s a God in Heaven, he will.”

The bloodstained gloves hit the floor, and Decker’s hands cupped Rudy’s face, one finger tracing the clenched jaw with a lover’s smooth touch. His lips tightened at the thought of what his friend would still have to suffer at his hands, but then he straightened, all emotion locked safely away until the job was done.

“Ready?” The sound of fresh gloves snapping around his wrists accented the word.

Charlene caught her breath, but managed to keep her voice from shaking too badly. “As ready as I’m gonna be.” She pressed her palms against Rudy’s shoulders, leaning her weight forward while bracing her feet against the base of the wall behind her.

“Are you sure?” Decker’s voice was steady, almost as if his fright had never been. She bobbed her head in reply, and he poised his hands over Rudy’s abdomen. “Okay then,” he said, forcing his eyes away from Rudy’s face. “Here we go.”

The scalpel slid into the skin, forcing a throaty groan from Rudy’s lips. Blood flowed, causing Charlene’s heart to skip a beat.

There’s so much!

Rudy’s legs thrashed while Charlene fought to hold his upper body against the table and she dug the heels of her palms into the front of his shoulders. “I can’t hold him,” she cried, struggling against Rudy’s greater strength. “Deck, I’m losing him!”

“I’m almost there,” he replied as the scalpel went deeper. “Just a little more, and I’ll have it!”

He tossed the blood-covered instrument onto the tray before picking up the forceps. “Okay,” he said, more to himself than to Charlene. “Okay, steady now. Easy . . . easy . . .”

Rudy cried out when Decker reached in for the elusive piece of metal. His head rolled from side to side while his hands flailed, even though Decker tried to hold the closest one against the edge of the table with his body. His expressive brown eyes were wide and pain-crazed, but beneath the pain was something else. Something that, to their dismay, both Charlene and Decker recognized.

Awareness.

Rudy should have been beyond all feeling, but instead he remained awake. Awake and aware.

Shadow of the Drill centers around a man whose life was destroyed by violence, who then embraced violence as a means to a very brutal end. It follows Decker and Rudy as they come face to face with their oldest enemies and attempt to close that chapter of their lives. The book contains graphic violence as well as sexual situations, and is not intended for young or easily offended readers. Shadow of the Drill is the first in the Drill series and the second book, Winter of the Drill, will hopefully be completed in the next month or two.

Thank you all so much for allowing me to share a bit of my journey with you today. To follow the rest of my tour, please visit 4WillsPublishing. Rebecca, you were a great host and thank you so much for having me!

BIO:

RHANI D’CHAE spent her teen years bouncing between WA, OR, and OK, but has lived her adult life in Tacoma, WA. She likes to read, though she doesn’t read as much as she used to due to diabetic vision loss, and is a fan of Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, Brian Lumley, and James Clavell. She loves The Walking Dead, and any zombie film with a high body count. Ms. D’Chae enjoys connecting with people on social networking sites, and loves getting feedback from those who have read her work, so please don’t leave without sharing your comments.

PURCHASE LINKS:

“SHADOW OF THE DRILL” by Rhani D. Chae www.amazon.com/dp/B00GBHQZZU

CONTACT INFO:

Twitter: @rhanidchae

Facebook: www.facebook.com/rhani.dchae

Google +: http://google.com/+RhaniDChae

Website: www.rhanidchae.com

Review of Shadow of the Drill at NONNIE’S “RAVE” REVIEWS

reviews

Boarding House Reach by Peter Crawley, a review

July 15, 2014 Rebecca Nolen Leave a comment

Boarding House Reach is set in England and is told from the points of view of several people, none of whom know each other. As the story unfolds each person is dealing with a problem. Phoebe is dealing with being kicked out of Cambridge for plagiarism. Stella is dealing with England’s equivalent of the IRS wanting to know how she came up with the monies for extensive repairs to her boarding house, The Reach. Audrey is wanting a nice vacation to deal with her two-timing husband’s death and reclaim her past love. Phillip is wondering how he can improve his shaky marriage.

All these people stumble and fail again and again trying to come to terms with, or to deal with, or to avoid their troubles. The author ties these story lines together so well that it happens seamlessly. The boarding house reach the author manages with the characters is well done, as he moves and maneuvers them into place. Though by the fiery end the reader is turning pages very fast in hopes that at least someone will get what they wish for. And someone does. And someone dies. And to tell anything else would be to ruin it for you, the next reader.

I received this book from NetGalley for a fair and honest review.

Recommended.

The Writing Life

Book Signings

July 5, 2014 Rebecca Nolen Leave a comment

On July 19 from 10:30 to Noon I’ll be at the Barbara Bush Branch Library in Cypress, TX signing books. I’m going to be there to take part in a panel. Lilia Fabry, E. L. Russell, and K. J. Russell will be on the panel with me. The title of the presentation is “Writing Science Fiction for Youth.

Then that afternoon from 2 until 4 I will be with a group of authors signing books at Te – The House of Tea, 1927 Fairview just west of Dunlavy. I understand they have a great Korean dumpling and many other interesting items on their menu. I’ll be there Sunday afternoon, July 20 also from 2 to 4.

On July 26 I’ll be signing books at the Barnes & Noble on West Gray from 2 to 4 but I may be there longer if they can stand it. This is not just me, there will be a lot of other authors there also. It’s a bigger deal when there are a lot of other authors. Plus, it’s a lot more fun for everyone.

I sure hope I see you there.

I’m attaching flyers for the first two events to give you a better idea of what these events are.

The Writing Life

Closing the Facebook

July 5, 2014 Rebecca Nolen Leave a comment

I think you’ll appreciate what Catherine Howard says so I’m passing this on to you.

The Writing Life

Deadly Thyme has got it!

July 4, 2014 Rebecca Nolen 4 Comments

Self Promotion

Publicity is not an easy thing to do. I thought long and hard about what to put in a press release for my novels. This was difficult. I was raised not to make a fuss, not to call attention to myself because vanity is a worthless quality. Having to promote myself goes against the grain.

I’ve inserted a picture of me and two of my brothers because it’s less boring. The brother to the left in the picture, I hadn’t seen face-to-face in about fifteen years. See? Got your attention again. It isn’t that we are estranged. For years he chose to avoid the family. So my other two brothers (Jeff is taking the picture) and I decided to jump in the car and force a show-down. He said it was the best Christmas present he’d ever gotten.

Here’s a repeat point about self-promotion. Self-promotion isn’t a burden required by self-published authors or indie authors alone. Those who have been traditionally published must make some of the same decisions, and develop marketing strategies just as I have. I have a great mentor in Pamela Fagan Hutchins. Her book What Kind of Loser Indie Publishes? and how can I be one, too? has been a great tool in learning about the different options I have. Why is it that traditionally published authors must also come up with their own advertising? Because marketing budgets with the large publishers are not what they used to be, and because when there is money for marketing budgets it goes to the big names like Grisham, King, and Rowling. And if you are a traditionally published author just starting out in this cruel world, you have to get over the “why not me?” thinking. The answer is ‘because’.

So, back to me, (ha. ha) I’ve read a lot of press releases and still, I struggled with what to say for mine. What to say? What to say? I went to a company in Austin who works with some big names and asked for help. Here’s my first press release. I think they’ve got an eye grabbing headline here. I couldn’t be prouder.

My first press release!

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2014/06/prweb11982229.htm#.U7b2CsekEuo.email

MY BOOKS, reviews

Writers You Need to Meet

June 18, 2014 Rebecca Nolen Leave a comment

This blog hop introduces you to some writers you may not know, and gives a glimpse of their work and style. I was tagged HERE for this Blog Hop by writer Pamela Fagan Hutchins – here’s her introduction, and following Pamela I’ll introduce you to three other writers you need to know, after I answer a few questions.

Pamela Fagan Hutchins writes award-winning and bestselling romantic mysteries and hilarious nonfiction, and moonlights as a workplace investigator and employment attorney. She is passionate about great writing, smart authorpreneurship, and her two household hunks, husband Eric and one-eyed Boston terrier Petey. She also leaps medium-tall buildings in a single bound, if she gets a good running start.

Saving Grace, the lead book in the Katie & Annalise series (#7 Nook/#34 Kindle/#47 iBooks bestseller) is now free, FOREVER! You can get it free everywhere! The Jumbie House, a short story expanded outtake from Leaving Annalise, #2 in the Katie & Annalise series, is also free in ebook form. Pamela’s NEWEST BESTSELLER is the second book in the Katie & Annalise series, Leaving Annalise. The third book in the award-winning and Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and iTunes best-selling Katie & Annalise series, Finding Harmony, is now an Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Quarter-finalist (Winner TBA 7-21-14) and bestseller itself!

Pamela has written numerous non-fiction books including “What Kind of Loser Indie Publishes? and how can I be one, too?

This is Rebecca again and now I will answer a few questions, which may have been answered in a previous blog. That’s okay, sometimes the content is constantly updating.

What am I working on?

Besides trying to keep up a steady marketing agenda for my two published novels, I am currently writing a lot of reviews, working on a Y/A (I’m typing up the outline), and a new short story: a prequel to The Dry. It’s so short that it should be called a prologue. I decided you needed to see how the key was stolen.

How does my work differ from others in the genre?

The Dry is a historical fantasy set in West Virginia. There aren’t a lot of those around. Deadly Thyme is a psychological suspense set in Cornwall, England. There are a few of those around, but I venture to say that you’ll still get a fantastic jolt reading this one. My Y/A is a fact-based fiction set in 1970 Houston. Is it about me? Not really. You would quickly be dulled to death if it were.

Why do I write what I write?

I have a compulsion to tell stories. I’ve done it all my life. When I was a child they were called lies. Okay, I’m kidding, I only lied when it was completely necessary, and the rest of the time I made up stories to entertain my friends or the cats – whoever would listen. Now I make up stories to entertain my friends: YOU!

How does my writing process work?

I have some time each morning to set up my work station. After running through my social media obligations (Okay, I read the funny stuff on Facebook), I set up my daily goal for writing. Sometimes my writing equals a blog post. That’s okay. It’s still writing. I write a synopsis first. A synopsis is like the story condensed to one page – or even one sentence. Writing the synopsis first is much easier than saving it until the end because there are always subplots that feel too important to leave out and subplots make for a long synopsis. Can a writer skip the synopsis? Absolutely not! It is probably the most important part of the process next to writing the first page and the last page.

Now to introduce you to some fantastic authors!

You really need to click on their links. They are amazing!!

Chris Rogers

A visual and literary creative, Chris Rogers began her journey as a graphic designer. Corporate and commercial promotions occupied most of her creative energy during those early years, but Roger’s adventurous spirit led her into diverse avenues where she designed personalized glassware, ceramic tile, and the launch issue of a national magazine.

With the advent of computerized graphics and an economic downturn, she was faced with a difficult choice: either learn this new electronic design tool or choose a new career. She began looking at what that new career might be – writing and illustrating children’s books? Travel writing and photography? She tried her hand at each, and sold her photo-illustrated articles to regional and national publications, but before she was fully committed in any direction, a fire gutted her studio.

After salvaging a single drawing table from the ruins, she continued creating marketing materials for clients while seeking a new path in the literary world. Many rejections later, her stories began to win awards. A major publisher produced her suspense novels in print, electronic, and audio formats. Lauded by fans and critics, the books were translated into three languages, and the series was optioned for film.

While continuing to explore the literary venue, Chris inevitably embraced the creative form of paint on canvas, which allows her narrative flair and graphic origins to unfold in unison. While creating new canvases, she also participates in the design of her book covers. Her paintings can be found in private and corporate collections.

“A lover of art and storytelling since grade school, I opened one of my favorite books one day and wondered if I could ever write half as well as Dean Koontz or Minette Walters or Steven King. How did they create such intricate plots? I started with children’s books – after all – I was a mother … I should understand kids, right?

Well, not so much. So I wrote a romance novel – I’d been married, so I should know a little about romance.

A little was about it. A very nice rejection letter told me there was more mystery in my story than romance. So I owned up to my true calling and, when my suspense thriller Bitch Factor was published, Romantic Times magazine gave it four-and-a-half stars. Rage Factor and Chill Factor also earned high marks for the romantic thread.

The truth is, mystery and suspense novels have always intrigued me, but I also enjoy romance, science-fiction, horror and fantasy, as well as the occasional mainstream novel by such wonderful authors as E. Annie Proulx.

My literary niche, it turns out, is dark and gritty with an occasional humorous twist. If you like that sort of story, you’ll find my books and short stories thoroughly engaging.”

Megan LaFollet

Megan La Follett was born in Florence and went to college in Rome, but she’s never been to Italy; she’s looking forward to the day that isn’t true! She has loved books from before she could repeat the alphabet and has fond memories of devouring every story in the children’s and folklore sections in her hometown library.

She cut her teeth writing as both a Game Master and a player on the play-by-post forums of the publisher of the world’s most popular tabletop RPG, where she was happily surprised to find that her games were popular enough to draw spectators. Writing for game threads is like drafting a book you can’t revise, with characters you can’t control. In other words, a wild ride!

With three children ranging from a kindergartener down to a toddler (with a spitfire in between), and a freelance editing and book design business, she’s pretty sure she’s insane for getting serious about this whole writing thing. But if that’s insanity, she’s in good company and couldn’t be happier!

“I have been, at different stages of life and for varying lengths of time: a horse trainer, a gas station attendant (in Oregon and New Jersey, pumping gas is too hazardous for amateurs), a math tutor, an underpaid lab assistant, a sandwich artist (and a manager of teenage sandwich artists), and a scientist. Somehow or another, that all led to who I am now: mother, wife, freelance editor, writer. Which only makes sense when you understand that what I’ve always been, no matter what the job description said, is a book lover. Story, in all myriad forms, captivates me.”

Denise Saterfield

If you wish to be a writer; write!” – Epictetus the Greek philosopher

I couldn’t agree more with Epictetus so in June 2011, after 25 + years at the same job, I decided to take a leap of faith, quit the safety of a “regular” job, and pursue a full-time career in writing. You see, writing was a passion that I rediscovered after enrolling into college many, many, many years after graduating from highschool. I’ve always heard, it’s never too late. Well, it’s not! So, after 10 years of studying, I reaped the rewards of hard work and determination and received a degree in Professional Writing. Today, graduation day remains on my Top 10 List of Happiest Days of My Life.

When I think about writing, I get happy. My brain kicks into overdrive and the ideas flow freely like Niagara Falls! That’s what brings me here!

My main writing focus is Children’s Books – all categories of Children’s Books – Picture Books, Early Reader Chapter Books, and Middle Grade Books. You can see what I’m working on by clicking the WORKS IN PROGRESS tab above. I intend to publish for children under the name Denise Ditto so be on the look out for my new Children’s webpage and Facebook page coming soon.

I also write short stories, essays, and I blog. I have a Writer’s Blog which you can click here or the above link to visit. I p0st a variety of articles about things that interest me on this blog site.

In addition, I have several other blogs. A movie blog called The Ditto Review, Play it Again Sam, and I recently launched The Ditto Book Review , a book review blog.

reviews

The Farm, a new novel by Tom Rob Smith

June 18, 2014 Rebecca Nolen Leave a comment

Daniel’s world view was shaped by a loving family life. He adored and appreciated his parents. So he was plagued with guilt over not telling his parents about his partner, Mark. This guilt kept him from visiting their Swedish farm, where they had moved from London to retire. A phone call from his father forced him to buy a ticket to Sweden. His mother had been admitted to an asylum. Before he could board the plane he received a call from his mother. She had escaped the asylum and was on her way to see him. The old satchel she brought with her was her only piece of luggage. The way she was carrying it it could have been filled with lead bricks. The story she brought with her was a lot heavier. Her tale included lies, betrayal, child-endangerment, and murder. Daniel didn’t know what to do or who to trust, but her story gave him no choice but to act. He asked his mother, “Do you trust me?”

These four pivotal words changed the course of the book. What Daniel did changed him and brought him to a greater understanding of his family, and of himself.

This well-written story is fast-paced and spooky. About mid-way through the book I was looking over MY shoulder.

This book was given to me by NetGalley in exchange for my fair and honest review.

reviews, The Writing Life

Writing Reviews for NetGalley

June 18, 2014 Rebecca Nolen 3 Comments

I am excited to announce that I am now writing reviews for NETGALLEY. The publishers send their new, not-yet-released books to NetGalley. I apply for each book. So far I’ve been given the opportunity to review several books. Most of them you will likely not have heard of yet because they aren’t in stores. These are pre-release reviews. I hope you enjoy reading them and will look for the book once it is released.

My first book review is for a book entitled The Farm by Tom Rob Smith.

MY BOOKS, The Writing Life

A Great Boost With A Review

June 11, 2014 Rebecca Nolen 3 Comments

Here is a link to a review for Deadly Thyme that you may be interested in. http://blogcritics.org/book-review-deadly-thyme-by-r-l-nolen/#respond

I was so excited to see this! Wow! Even though it is four stars it is a good one. It sounded as if the reviewer was stretched out of her comfort zone on this – reading a psychological suspense. There is a specific market for this book. It is a British murder/mystery/suspense. That is specific. The only character she did not fall in love with is Ruth. That’s the only negative. I’ll take it.

British writers in this genre tend to focus on the psychological aspects of a murder/and murderer. The gory stuff happens “off-stage”. You, the reader, see the results, a book that is sort of like an Alfred Hitchcock movie. He used shadow to the best advantage for spooky atmosphere. A British M/M or suspense is all about atmosphere, and drama, but there must also be a bit of humor.

Enjoy this review and please purchase Deadly Thyme from Amazon, Barnes & Noble (Nook), iStore books, and anywhere else. Deadly Thyme as an ebook is $4.99. And The Dry as an ebook is $2.99. Cheaper than a cup of coffee at Starbucks.

Now (TODAY) the second bit of good news is this: Both of my books are now in Ingram’s catalog so they can be ordered for any bookstore anywhere. Please do me a favor and ask your local bookstore to order them. Also, ask your library to order the books. They are available for libraries as ebooks or through the Ingram’s catalog.

And as always, if you pinky swear on your mother’s meatloaf that you will write a review on Amazon (only 20 words required, people!!!) you can apply to me for a FREE ebook. (ask) JUST SAYIN’ I’m looking for reviews and I’m not opposed to begging and sending chocolate.

Author Blog Tour

Author Spotlight: SHIRLEY HARRIS-SLAUGHTER

June 7, 2014 Rebecca Nolen 28 Comments

THINGS WE CANNOT CONTROL!!

BIO

SHIRLEY HARRIS-SLAUGHTER, AUTHOR

Shirley Harris-Slaughter is a Michigan native. She is a community activist having been a school board trustee in the Oak Park School District and mentored four freshmen girls in the Winning Futures Program. Shirley loves trains, vintage clothes, and old buildings with historic significance. So it was a natural that she would write about growing up in historic Royal Oak Twp. and keep alive a catholic community that was about to lose its history and identity. It seems that everything she loved closed down and she was not about to let any of it be forgotten. Shirley joined Rave Reviews Book Club because she recognized the need to support fellow authors in order to move forward in her own endeavors. She already had a thriving relationship with like twitter followers that lead her here. “We all had the same goals so it was a natural fit.”

The continuing saga of this story is played out in an excerpt presented here…

Book Excerpt

With the help of our godmother, Martha Palms-Williams, my severely

retarded brother, Rudolph James, was baptized a year before the rest of the

family and placed in an institution in Lapeer, Michigan. When they took him

away, he turned around and reached out his hands for Mother. It was so

amazing that he knew that he was leaving her. He knew who she was in spite

of his handicap. It was also a sad thing to see, and I cried so hard for him and

my mother that day. Yet I was relieved. It had been very stressful on the family.

Because he was so handicapped, we could not lead a normal family life.

We never saw him again. I do not recall him getting baptized before the rest

of the family, but there it was in the records. I can certainly see the urgency of

it, looking back. We got help for him only after coming to Our Lady of Victory

and meeting those wonderful, Christian people.

Years later, Mother received a letter from the State of Michigan informing

her that Rudy had been dropped during the birthing process, and that was the

cause of his retardation. Apparently, there had been an investigation. Mother

could have filed a lawsuit, but her faith in God would not allow it. The faith

came from her association with Our Lady of Victory. This church profoundly

influenced her, and it helped her through this stressful period in our lives. As I

sit here at my computer writing about this incident, I am emotionally distraught. It still hurts after all these years, and I still feel the guilt of leaving him in that institution, even though I had nothing to do with any of it…

This excerpt is something that played out in my mind for many years. It was something I planned never to talk about. But when my editor told me that I needed to tell my story, since I’m the author, this became part of it along with other incidences that were buried deep within; things that I was too ashamed to discuss let alone put in a book. Like the time my brother and I were put back a grade just to get into a Catholic School for the first time in our lives. Talk about humiliation; I would not speak of this for many years because I was too ashamed. I get butterflies in my stomach every time I think about it. Our parents were willing to sacrifice a lot to give us a good education, even sacrificing us if that’s what it took to get it. They weren’t trying to hurt us – they were just that desperate to do whatever it took to give us a good start in life.

Question: Did you ever feel desperate enough to do whatever it took to reach your goal – trying to control something you had no control over?

Book title: Our Lady of Victory, the Saga of an African-American Catholic Community. RRBC Seal of Excellence

Genre: Biography; Narrative History

Amazon.com

Createspace Twitter Handle: @sharrislaughter Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sharrislaughter3 Email: sharrislaughter@gmail.com

Website: http://shirleyslaughterblog.wordpress.com/