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Barbara Casey: THE CADENCE OF GYPSIES

8/28/2013

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Today, guest author Barbara Casey is here to share about her paranormal thriller, The Cadence of Gypsies.  Barbara will be awarding a $25 Amazon or BN.com gift card to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour, so make sure to leave a comment for your chance to win.  For even more entries, follow the rest of her blog tour here.

Thanks for stopping by, Barbara!
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About the novel:

Three high-spirited 17-year-olds with intelligence quotients in the genius range accompany their teacher and mentor, Carolina Lovel, to Frascati, Italy, a few weeks before they are to graduate from Wood Rose Orphanage and Academy for Young Women. Carolina's purpose in planning the trip is to remove her gifted, creative students from the Wood Rose campus located in Raleigh, North Carolina, so they can't cause any more problems ("expressions of creativity") for the headmaster, faculty, and other students – which they do with regularity. Carolina also wants to visit the Villa Mondragone where the Voynich Manuscript, the most mysterious document in the world, was first discovered and search how it is related to a paper written in the same script she received on her 18th birthday when she was told that she was adopted – a search that will take them into the mystical world of gypsy tradition and magic, more exciting and dangerous than any of them could have imagined.

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Excerpt:

The slight voice tremor was all that was needed, but the deep, audible sigh confirmed what Carolina suspected:  that she was in for another real ass-chewing.  This would be the eighth time getting called into the headmaster's office in the same number of months she had been teaching at Wood Rose Orphanage and Academy for Young Women.  Each time it had been because her girls had committed a serious infraction of rules or behaved in some inappropriate way that was unacceptable within the stone walls of Wood Rose.

Her girls, the ones she had been given total responsibility for, called themselves Females of Intellectual Genius, or FIGs.   Everyone else, however, called them strange.  Never before in the history of Wood Rose had a student even come close to approaching genius status.  Certainly not in the time that Dr. Harcourt had been headmaster.  Then, within the short span of one week, two seven-year-old children--Dara Roux and Mackenzie Yarborough--were admitted, each from a different family, a different background, and a different part of the country, but each with an intelligence quotient well within the range of genius.  Amazingly, several years later, a third student--Jennifer Torres--was enrolled, whose age and scores were comparable to those of the original FIGs.  What Wood Rose could do for these gifted girls was now coming to a close, much to the relief of the administration, faculty, and staff alike.  This would be their final year at Wood Rose Orphanage and Academy for Young Women, for in June--less than six weeks away--they would graduate.

Carolina was still in bed, deep in thought as she usually was whenever she had a quiet moment to herself, when the telephone rang.  For several days she had been struggling with how best to approach the headmaster.  Ever since being put in charge of the FIGs shortly after getting hired at Wood Rose, she had been trying to come up with innovative ways in which she could somehow excite her girls, challenge their intellect, and, most of all, keep them out of trouble.  The inherent problems of being different extended beyond their prickly relationship with Wood Rose staff members.   The multi-faceted difficulties in teaching the FIGs frequently left the faculty with feelings of inferiority and impotency at the very least.  None of the other residents wanted to be around them either, with the exception of the youngest residents who didn't yet comprehend the difference between being brilliant and normal, which brought about additional struggles of an inner psychological nature.  Carolina had tried a variety of things, but, obviously, what she had been doing wasn't working.  What had stimulated her when she was their age?  What mysteries of the universe had intrigued her?

Then she had remembered.


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About the author:

Originally from Carrollton, Illinois, Barbara Casey attended the University of North Carolina, North Carolina State University, and North Carolina Wesleyan College where she received a BA degree, summa cum laude, with a double major in English and history. In 1978 she left her position as Director of Public Relations and Vice President of Development at North Carolina Wesleyan College to write full time and develop her own manuscript evaluation and editorial service. Since that time her award-winning articles, short stories, and poetry for adults have appeared in several publications including the AMERICAN POETRY ANTHOLOGY, the SPARROWGRASS POETRY FORUM, THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF POETRY (Editor’s Choice Award), the NORTH CAROLINA CHRISTIAN ADVOCATE MAGAZINE, THE NEW EAST MAGAZINE, the RALEIGH (NC) NEWS AND OBSERVER, the ROCKY MOUNT (NC) SUNDAY TELEGRAM, DOG FANCY, BYLINE, TRUE STORY and THE CHRISTIAN RECORD. A thirty-minute television special which Ms. Casey wrote and coordinated was broadcast on WRAL, Channel 5, in Raleigh, North Carolina. Ms. Casey's award-winning science fiction short stories for adults are featured in THE COSMIC UNICORN and CROSS TIME short story anthologies. Her essays, also written for adults, appear in THE CHRYSALIS READER, the international literary journal of the Swedenborg Foundation, and A CUP OF COMFORT ANTHOLOGY by the Adams Media Corporation.

Her two middle-grade/young adult novels, LEILANI ZAN and GRANDMA JOCK AND CHRISTABELLE (James C. Winston Publishing Co.) were nominated for awards of excellence by the SCBWI Golden Kite Award, the National Association of University Women Literary Award and the Sir Walter Raleigh Literary Award.  SHYLA'S INITIATIVE (Crossquarter Publishing Group, 2002), a contemporary adult novel of fiction, received the 2003 Independent Publisher Book Award and received special recognition for literary merit by the Palm Beach County Cultural Council. Ms. Casey’s novel THE COACH’S WIFE (ArcheBooks Publishing), a contemporary mystery, was listed as a Publisher’s Best Seller and was semifinalist of the Dana Award for Outstanding Novel. In 2007 her novel, THE HOUSE OF KANE (ArcheBooks Publishing), also a contemporary mystery, was considered for a Pulitzer nomination, and in December 2009 her novel, JUST LIKE FAMILY (Wandering Sage Publications), was launched by the 7-Eleven stores in St. Louis, Missouri. Her young adult novel, THE CADENCE OF GYPSIES (Gauthier Publications), was released in March 2011 and considered for the Smithsonian’s Most Notable 2011 Books.  It has also been selected by Amazon for its 2013 List of Best Books.  THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO PRISSY (Strategic Media Books), a novel for adults, was released in March 2013 and received an IPPY Award for Best Regional Fiction.  It has also been listed as a “2013 Best Summer Read” by Conversations Live Radio and has been placed in nomination for a Pulitzer Award.

Ms. Casey is a frequent guest speaker at writers’ conferences and universities throughout the United States. She is former director, guest author, and panelist of BookFest of the Palm Beaches, Florida; and for thirteen years she served as judge for the Pathfinder Literary Awards in Florida. She held the position of Florida Regional Advisor for the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators from 1991 to 2003.

Ms. Casey is president of the Barbara Casey Agency. She represents clients nationally and internationally in fiction and nonfiction for adults. Her past and present professional associations are numerous and include being editorial consultant for The Jamaican Writers Circle in affiliation with the University of West Indies and Mico Teachers College in Kingston. She also received special recognition for her editorial work on the English translations of Albanian children’s stories.

Her novel is available through Amazon.  For more information, visit her website.


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Guest Author Robert S. Wilson: A Religiously Dystopian Vampire Novel

8/23/2013

1 Comment

 
Today, guest author Robert S. Wilson is here to discuss some topics close to my heart.  I'm a big fan of his work, so it's an honor to have him here.  Thanks so much for stopping by!  Take it away, Robert!
First of all, I’d like to thank my host for having me on her brilliant fantastic blog. Now, with that said, you must all now listen to me… or maybe you’ve already clicked the X and went on to a different site in another tab. No, if you had, you wouldn’t still be able to read this—so…

For the purpose of making sure you know just what the hell it is I’m talking about, let me give you some background. In September of 2011 I published a novel called SHINING IN CRIMSON: EMPIRE OF BLOOD BOOK ONE. Yes, a vampire novel, but not just a vampire novel, a dystopian vampire novel… To be more accurate, a religiously dystopian vampire novel. Now for those of you who are still with me and haven’t rolled your eyes out of your head, I’d like to talk about SHINING IN CRIMSON and separation of church and state.

I think many would agree that separation of church and state is a necessity. However, often in this country some people only think about separation of church and state in regard to their own religion, giving them a distorted idea of what it is and what it should ultimately be.

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I think it’s also safe to say that a large population of Christians in this country would prefer that the United States would be—and some believe that it has always been—a Christian nation. Now for those of you who believe in diversity and are considerate of others’ beliefs and so on, so forth, please do not think that I am labeling all Christians as such. I know many Christians who enjoy our nation’s diversity of religions, philosophies, culture, and lifestyles. I also know quite a few who do not. Every group of people has them, don’t they? Bitter, self-righteous, narrow-minded folks who won’t stop the “good fight” until every last person is converted to their way of thinking.

As an agnostic and a skeptic, I’ve also seen this exact sort of behavior among the free-thinking. Though I respect and understand their views on logic and reason, people like Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins are behind a very recent movement of what I call militant atheism and skepticism that I personally find deplorable for the same reason I find it deplorable when people of religion try to push their religion on me. So even when religion is not in the picture, idealism can become a sort of religion on its own. But as an agnostic, I chose to convey my thoughts and feelings about separation of church and state through a Christian-like religion in my novel.

And yet at the same time, I also chose to reveal some of the things I enjoy about this particular religion—the imagery, parables, and so on. But most importantly, I want you, the reader, to understand that what I set out to truly illustrate with this dystopian novel—regardless of what religion or lack of religion was chosen to be at its center—was a mirror image of our own society with one of its basic foundations—the proper separation of church and state—not just taken away, but more accurately, ultimately discarded by choice.


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Some of the following back story is very clear in the book and some is only hinted at. Early on, a charismatic megalomaniac by the name of Joseph Caesar secretly started a campaign to overthrow the United States by starting a single Christian militia. He convinced his followers he was a prophet of God, that America was corrupt with sin, and the only way to fix this would be to cleanse the nation of that sin by any means necessary. The militia quickly grew to a formidable size, branching out into different factions in each of the fifty states and within a short period of time, it was large enough to be a formidable threat. And so, Joseph used his new army to wage war against the “evil” secular United States government and anyone who would stand in the way of his promised true Christian America under God. 

But in the heat of the bloodshed, Joseph’s power becomes so complete over so many of his people that when he reveals himself to be God incarnate and twists Christianity into a new kind of religion that sets him at its center, his allegiance and charisma not only continue to endear him to them, but this new revelation thrusts him into the ultimate form of power. And when the United States falls to Joseph’s knees, those who oppose him—secular, followers of other faiths—especially Christians who refuse to convert—become targets hunted down and murdered in public display.

Oh and did I mention there are vampires? Haha. Yeah, in the midst of all this war, the vampires, sick of hiding and ravenous from so much bloodshed, begin attacking soldiers from both sides of the war. So, when the smoke clears the people have two rival fears: the newly self-appointed Emperor, Joseph Caesar and his army as well as a now openly public society of terrifying supernatural bloodthirsty vampires. In a quick attempt to funnel both streams of fear together, Emperor Caesar makes a deal with the vampires—a blood pact—of mutually beneficial peace. In exchange for a city of their own and a regular supply of blood—the blood of criminals and sinners—the vampires must stay within their own city limits and leave the public alone. Not only does this protect the people, it instills even more power onto Joseph Caesar, the new ultimate judge of what is right and wrong.

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So, when the novel begins, the people of the former United States of America are ruled by The American Empire of Almighty God, an imperial empire ruled solely by its religious leader and self-professed living deity, Joseph Caesar. To be clear, within the confines of this story, THERE IS NO SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE. Imperial church attendance is mandatory on Sundays. A morality law is instilled and upheld in that those who are caught in violation are sent to the newly formed city of Necropolis: City of the Dead—formerly known as Las Vegas—where the vampires wait to be fed. 

Now, ultimately vampires aren’t real and we Americans, for the most part, live comfortably in a nation protected by a foundation of separation of church and state. And many other countries also enjoy this freedom. But what if it were to suddenly disappear? What if the majority of any democratic nation were to suddenly decide it wasn’t needed? Or what if, in real life, a single religion or idealism decided to wage war in order to relinquish it? For some separation of church and state is a necessary evil that allows them to believe what they want, without fear of intrusion from the government. But separation of church and state is and does much more than that. It protects us all from a much larger evil than vampires. An evil constantly lurking and waiting for a single momentary opening to slip in and dissolve our freedom to believe and practice our beliefs as we so choose. Do we maybe take that for granted… sometimes?

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Robert S. Wilson is a Bram Stoker Award-nominated editor and the author of SHINING IN CRIMSON and FADING IN DARKNESS, books one and two of his dystopian vampire series, Empire of Blood. His short fiction has appeared or will be appearing in the following anthologies, magazines, and publications: A QUICK BITE OF FLESH, [NAMELESS] Magazine, HORROR D’OEUVRES (a website from DarkFuse), BLEED (a charity anthology for kids with cancer), FEAR THE REAPER, THE BEST OF THE HORROR SOCIETY 2013, EVIL JESTER PRESENTS COMICS and more. His cyberpunk/horror novella EXIT REALITY was published in February of 2013 by Blood Bound Books.

SHINING IN CRIMSON: EMPIRE OF BLOOD BOOK ONE is now completely free to download and read from the following websites: Smashwords.com in all eBook formats, BN.com for Nook devices, the iBooks store for iPad users, and Wattpad.com. Coming soon to Kobo.com, Sony, and more.

Robert is currently holding an Indiegogo fundraiser to raise funds to finish the third novel in the Empire of Blood series: RISING FROM ASHES. There are plenty of great perks in exchange for donating for new readers as well as long-time fans of the series including eBook, signed personalized paperbacks and limited hardcover editions of books one, two, and three, as well as an omnibus edition of all three novels together, signed Empire of Blood bookmarks, the chance to name a vampire or other important characters in the upcoming novel, a few one of a kind signed personalized manuscripts, and more. Donations of any size are welcome. Even the smallest donation will be a huge help toward writing and publishing expenses to get RISING FROM ASHES out by January 2014!


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Leigh A to Z

8/15/2013

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So, the Aussie Zombie got this from Jamie at The Perpetual Page-Turner, who came up with an awesome idea—the A to Z Book Survey.  I loved the idea and thought it would be a fun way to let you all know a little more about me beyond what I write/analyze/critique.

Author you’ve read the most books from:
Stephen King.

Best Sequel Ever
Starmaker by Olaf Stapledon (a very loose sequel to Last and First Men, only connected by an expansion of theme, not by plot or protagonists).

Currently Reading
Deathwatch by Lisa Mannetti.

Drink of Choice While Reading
Café mocha.

E-reader or Physical Book?
I love collecting physical books, although I prefer more and more to read on my Kindle because I can adjust the font size.

Fictional Character You Probably Would Have Actually Dated In High School
Holden Caulfield; I was a pretty messed up teenager.

Glad You Gave This Book a Chance:
Indiahoma by A. Ray Norsworthy.

Hidden Gem Book
The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse by Louise Erdrich.  The most amazing book I’ve ever read.

Important Moment in your Reading Life
Reading Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut—it inspired my love for dystopian literature.

Just Finished
I’d rather not say.

Kinds of Books You Won’t Read
Romance.

Longest Book You’ve Read
I’m not sure.

Major book hangover because of
Writing Finding Poe; it was a wild ride, one that left me brain dead for some time after finishing it.

Number of Bookcases You Own
Four.

One Book You Have Read Multiple Times
Butterfly Potion by Trent Zelazny.

Preferred Place to Read
Curled up in bed.

Quote that inspires you/gives you all the feels from a book you’ve read
“When a man becomes a writer, I think he takes on a sacred obligation to produce beauty and enlightenment and comfort at top speed.” – Kurt Vonnegut, Cat’s Cradle

Reading Regret
Reading far too many novice Indie authors’ books (i.e. self-published first novels and the like).  There are some great diamonds in the rough, but too many of them have been so awful I’ve actually gotten angry that I’d committed to reading them.

Series You Started and Need to Finish (all books are out in series)
The Joe Grey series by Shirley Russeau Murphy; it’s a charming series.

Three of your All-Time Favorite Books
The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse by Louise Erdrich
The Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
The Autobiography of Malcolm X

Unapologetic Fangirl for
Marvel comic books.

Very Excited For This Release More Than All the Others
My current work in progress, The Private Sector.

Worst Bookish Habit
Editing grammatical errors in the books I read.  People’s use of grammar these days is atrocious, and I cannot help but take notes when I start to see the errors piling up.  I then offer the author my list, as well as an educated critique, which is not always well received.  I’ve actually made a few enemies over it.  Still, I cannot stop.  I’m far too honest (and critical) for my own good.

X Marks The Spot: Start at the top left of your shelf and pick the 27th book
Foe by J. M. Coetzee.

Your latest book purchase
Plague Nation by Dana Fredsti.

ZZZ-snatcher book (last book that kept you up WAY late)
Poe’s Mother by Michael Meeske.
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Dan O'Brien: THE JOURNEY

8/8/2013

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Today, I have a short Q&A from guest author Dan O'Brien, as well as a few notes on his novel The Journey.  He'll be giving away a Kindle Fire at the end of his blog tour, so make sure to leave a comment for your chance to win.

Welcome to the last day of The Journey blog tour. It will run until August 9th and will feature excerpts and new author interviews each day. But first, here is the obligatory blurb about the novel to settle you into this strange world:

The Frozen Man. The Translucent Man. The Burning Man. The Wicker Man. The guide known only as the Crossroads, together these are the signposts and totems of the world that the being called the Lonely inhabits. Seeking out the meaning of his journey, the Lonely is a being consumed by philosophical inquiry and adventure. Filled with exotic places and age-old questions, the Journey is a book that seeks to merge the fantastical and real. Join the Lonely as he seeks out answers to his own existence and perhaps the meaning for us all. 



A few questions for the author:


Why do religions that support love cause so many wars? 

Because people start wars. The beliefs and ideologies that are inherent in a belief set become debatable and open to interpretation. This interpretation breeds a kind of elitism and warring that eventually turns bloody. I wish that people could see that they have more in common than they know. 


Is it possible to know, without a doubt, what is good and what is evil? 

My knee-jerk reaction is to say no. There is a difference between ethics and morality, and notions of good and evil are treated differently in different cultures and contexts. I think a single person will ascribe to set of tenets that are good or evil, but an absolute knowledge is beyond the scope of one being. 


If you just won a million dollars, would you quit your job? 

It depends on what kind of job I had at the time. Right now, I am working for myself, so the money would just enhance what I am already trying to do. Writing and editing are their own reward, and as such a million dollars would not suddenly make me wish to sip mimosas and sit on beach.







Bio: A psychologist, author, editor, philosopher, martial artist, and skeptic, he has published several novels and currently has many in print, including: The End of the World Playlist, Bitten, The Journey, The Ocean and the Hourglass, The Path of the Fallen, The Portent, and Cerulean Dreams. Follow him on Twitter (@AuthorDanOBrien) or visit his blog http://thedanobrienproject.blogspot.com. He recently started a consultation business. You can find more information about it here: http://www.amalgamconsulting.com/.


Bitten (US) 
End of the World Playlist (US)  
Cerulean Dreams (US) 
The Journey (US)  
The Path of the Fallen (US)  
The Twins of Devonshire (US)
Mondays with Mephistopheles: 9 am – Rhys (US) 
The End of the World Playlist (UK) 
Bitten (UK) 
Cerulean Dreams (UK)
The Journey (UK) 
The Path of the Fallen (UK)
Mondays with Mephistopheles: 9 am – Rhys (UK) 
Follow My Blog  
Follow Me On Twitter 
Like Me On Facebook  


All of his books are only 99 cents on Kindle right now!


Download The Journey for free on Kindle from 8/5 until 8/9!


Would you like to win a Kindle Fire?

Visit http://thedanobrienproject.blogspot.com/ and follow the blog for a chance to win a Kindle Fire!


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BREAKING BAD: Why I'm Rooting for Skyler

8/3/2013

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Now that we’re gearing up for Breaking Bad’s big finale, I’ve been giving some thought to the characters and the changes each has undergone throughout the series.  None has gone unaffected by the course of events Walt set into motion in his decision to become a methamphetamine manufacturer.  His transformation has been the subject of much speculation, and most of us will agree he’s as much a victim of circumstance as he is a victim of his own hubris.  Amidst this speculation, I’ve found the varying opinions about Skyler interesting to say the least.

When I wrote an article about her for Fans Pages, the number of reader responses viciously scrutinizing her behavior was surprising.  Here are excerpts of a few of them:

“She is deceitful, reckless, and suddenly in denial of her previous actions. I have lost respect for this character at this point. […] She is not capable to see how much Walt loves his family and would do everything within his power to protect them and provide for them. How she could look directly into his eyes and state that she is just waiting for him to be stricken down with cancer and to die is simply repulsive.” – Christine

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“You are really reaching if you are trying to make Skyler the victim. Skyler is not abused! In fact, she has been the manipulator throughout these seasons.” – Perry

 “[Skyler] is a [sic] egoistic bitch that does not care about anybody but herself.” – Marion

“In my opinion the role of [Skyler] is a self absorbed egotistical woman who cant [sic] bare [sic] the fact that she can longer direct and control the lives around her so she is making herself into a victim, since she surely isnt [sic] strong enough to be an accomplice, or thankful enough to be a loving wife. […] Its [sic] unfortunate that Walter had to realize his potential by being a criminal, but his intentions were to be a good husband, he remained true to [Skyler] and the family at all costs. All he did was find his inner strength.” – Shulgidude

To me, it’s fascinating to see how many people view her character as the deceitful one, the manipulative one, the egotistical one.  Don’t those attributes better describe Walt?  Why is it that the most evil of characters is also the most beloved—and why has much of Breaking Bad’s audience grown so hateful toward a character that has, at her very worst, laundered money to keep her and Walt out of prison and their children as safe as they possibly can be?


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The answer lies in the writers’ tactful manipulation of circumstance and character.  By creating a character we cannot help but feel bad for, feel empathy for, before transforming him into the monster he’s become, we can’t help but root for him no matter how evil his acts.  They draw us in with his life-threatening illness, his menial job, and the loss of his research.  When he turns to crime in a desperate endeavor to leave his family the means to survive without him, we don’t react as we would if a typical, real-life person did the same.  Meth is a terrible, devastating drug that shatters every life with which it comes into contact.  Only a real monster would even consider being a meth cook, and yet we forgive Walt because he’s deathly ill and motivated (at least initially) by the desire to provide for his family.

Now, take Skyler and her progression of actions.  When she first learns what Walt is doing, she sends him away and gets a lawyer with the intention of divorcing him.  She wants to keep Walt as far from their children as possible, and with good reason.  Would you want a meth cook anywhere near your children?  What lengths would you be willing to go to ensure your children’s safety?  Some fans want to know why someone so intent on protecting her children wouldn’t simply leave, and to that I say nothing is that simple.  Where would she go?  Move in with Ted and expect Walt Jr. to go along with it?  Knowing Ted’s own criminal acts, would he really be any safer to live with than Walt?  Would she be able to afford to move out on her own?

Fans are tricked into hating Skyler just as they’re tricked into rooting for Walt—she opposes nearly his every move, and therefore she is the enemy.  Despite this, I say we should be rooting for her just as much, if not more, than we’re rooting for Walt.  Both want what’s best for their children, but their approaches are vastly different.  Skyler acts out of fear; Walt acts out of ego.  As she says at the end of Season 4, Episode 6, "Somebody needs to protect this family from the man who protects this family."  Do you disagree?  If so, on what grounds?


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Gregory Delaurentis: LESSONS I LEARNED FROM MY HERO

8/2/2013

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Today, guest author Gregory Delaurentis is here to discuss his new release, Cover of Darkness, and his use of characterization.  He'll be giving away a $50 Amazon or Barnes and Noble gift certificate at the end of his blog tour, so make sure to enter using the Rafflecopter widget below.
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I don’t happen to have a hero. I don’t usually write about heroes. I usually write about an ensemble cast because I feel that much more can be done with many and not just a few. If I do choose a single hero, I would have a single protagonist, and that they would have a close relationship between each other. It would be an intimate battle between the two that would bring them together in a white hot furnace. That’s how I would use a single hero. Not much to learn from. 

However, I am fascinated by what can be learned from a group of people working towards a common goal. First and foremost is teamwork. Teamwork is a variable that is not present by some autonomic function. Just because you put a group of people together and give them one goal, they will not necessarily work as a team. Most likely egos will rise to the fore, there will be dissention and distrust, power struggles and grabs. Chaos can quickly develop and in the final analysis, there is a failure to achieve the goal. This, fortunately, makes for good writing, but unfortunately makes for poor progress.


The lessons that I’ve learned from my heroes is that there is great value in learning to work as a team, to coordinate and allow each and every individual talent an opportunity to participate. There is also a benefit in aiding those in the team to reach their potential through encouragement and support. All of these lessons can be learned by anyone, and I struggle to apply them in my life. Did not the Bible say that many hands make the load light? 


When I think of crime solving, which is what many of my books are about, I think of how many individual talents come to play in the apprehension of criminals. The skillsets of forensic teams, fingerprinting, ballistic and blood splatter technicians, detectives, police officers, even witnesses and profilers come to bear as a team to find, locate and arrest criminals. Not one of these resources could have solved the crime on their own. They need each other and support each other in the commission of one goal.


That’s a valuable lesson to learn, one that many corporations are intent on teaching their workers, which is the value of teamwork, of working together to get the job done. They invest hundreds of dollars in coaches and events to pull teams together because of the value in this.


It’s this lesson that I strive to take away with me as I not only write, but depend on several outside professionals to bring it all together into a single novel.

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About the novel:


A high profile murder of a Wall Street executive in Westchester pits three people against the criminal underbelly of Manhattan nightlife. The key players are two ex-cops turned private investigators—Kevin Whitehouse, whose sharpest tool is his keen analytical mind, and David Allerton, a former Special Forces operative—and Margaret Alexander, Kevin’s lover. In their search for a killer, they are forced to travel to the edge of sanity and morality, while stumbling onto their own confusing secrets as well. The Cover of Darkness is a gritty noir saga that untangles a web of deceit in the course of tracking down a brutal murderer.


Excerpt:

David stopped pacing, and then started working on a rock embedded in the dirt with the toe of his shoe. “I wonder why MacDonald didn’t say anything in the interview about the cops being present. He should have told us that there were cops in the Midnight for protection—making sure the dealers were selling and not using.”

“Maybe,” Kevin ventured, “he didn’t want to drop a dime on his cop friends. Maybe he was frightened.”

“Maybe. That would have helped us a lot,” David said, his eye caught by a shapely girl on a bike riding nearby. 

Margaret sat up. “That would also explain how the killer got past the gate and simply walked into the house. He could have been flashing a badge.”

“That makes some sense,” Kevin said. “And certainly cops can kill.”

“They make the best assassins, don’t they?” David quipped. 

“So now this is a cop hunt?” Kevin asked.

“I would rather it end here, guys,” Margaret said.

David approached the two and stood over them. “The question is now how to hunt the most dangerous thing in New York. Crossing the thin blue line is not going to be fun or easy.”

“Fun?” Margaret said. “It’s downright dangerous.”

“We can’t go to Ferryman and Reynolds,” Kevin said, nervously running his fingers through his hair, and retrieving his arm from around Margaret as he sat up. “They’ll only go on the defensive. And if the case starts turning in that direction, they’ll only deflect it.”


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About the author:

Gregory Delaurentis spent his adult life roaming from job to job, working for Lockheed in California, various law firms in New York, and financial firms on Wall Street. Throughout this period of time, he was writing—unceasingly—finally producing a large body of work, albeit unrecognized and unpublished . . . until now. Cover of Darkness is the first in a series of upcoming books that include Edge of Darkness, Pale of Darkness and Cries of Darkness. These novels follow the lives of three individuals who do battle bringing criminals to justice, while they struggle to understand the complex relationships that exist among themselves. This intriguing trio has absorbed the attention of Mr. Delaurentis for the past year and a half, so much so he decided to self-publish their stories to bring them to a wider audience.

AUTHOR’S DISCLAIMER: These are works of fiction. Name, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

You can find Cover of Darkness at Amazon, Kobo, Barnes and Noble, Sony, and Smashwords.


For more information about Gregory Delaurentis and his books, check out his website, Facebook, Twitter, or his blog.

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5 Things I’ve Learned in the Past 5 Years

8/1/2013

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When I received my first publishing contract in 2008, I felt as though I’d found a golden ticket.  I wasn’t just a writer anymore; I’d graduated to the elite club of authors.  Back then, I would have signed just about anything to see my name in print, an all-too-common story among newbies.  I didn’t know any better, and I thought I knew what I was getting myself into.  I assembled a blog, made connections, and felt a sense of loyalty to the publisher, which prompted me to publish my next several more works exclusively through that company. 

Since that first contract, I’ve learned quite few useful tidbits about wading through the ever-growing sea of publishing.  Who’d have thought there was a learning curve to being an author?  Most everyone learns a little more about the craft of writing with each successive work; what I hadn’t anticipated was what I’d learn about the craft of being an author.  Much of the following will seem like no-brainers to those who've been at this for a while, but for the rest of you, here are some of the gems I had to learn the hard way:


PictureDo you know what rights you're
signing away? Make sure you do.
1. Understand every clause in your contract before you sign it.  If you don’t understand something, hire a lawyer or someone equally qualified to explain it to you.  Know what rights you’re signing away and make sure you have a closed-ended timeframe to the publisher’s stake.  Similarly, make sure there is a clause that explains in no uncertain terms how you can reclaim the rights to your work(s)—and “out of circulation” clauses don’t count; a publisher can claim your book is in circulation because a single, used copy is floating around on Amazon.  If you don’t cover these two bases, the publisher can hold your work indefinitely.

2. Don’t agree to major changes you feel uncomfortable making.  9 times out of 10, the editor is going to be right.  S/he likely has much more experience in the business than you and, therefore, has a better understanding of what works and what doesn’t.  With that said, editors are sometimes wrong.  I once agreed to a change I didn’t want to make, fearful that the publisher might drop me if I didn’t acquiesce to its every whim (stupid, stupid), and the negative reviews for that story ended up highlighting that one aspect I hadn’t wanted to add.  The moral of the story: if it doesn’t feel right, don’t do it—even if it means losing a contract.  You’ll regret it later if you go ahead against your gut.

3. Don’t spread yourself too thin.  While promo is a necessary evil, don’t join every social networking site you can find or you’ll end up accomplishing nothing.  A big part of social networking is making meaningful connections.  If you try to be everywhere at once, you’ll find yourself nowhere.  Few of us find that perfect balance between connecting with readers and pimping our books.  I’m still working on that one myself, but I’ve met some really neat people in the process.

4. The tighter and more grammatically correct your story is, the less opportunity you give editors to change your hard-crafted prose.  This is one I grew to learn after that fateful change I relayed in #2.  I knew my writing back then wasn’t a contender for the Great American Novel award.  I also knew my grammar was good but not stellar.  I went back to school and significantly improved both.  I (and the editors I’ve worked with) have been much happier ever since.

PictureJust in five years, the difference in my
writing is like night and day. This is the
first novel in my erotic horror series.

My publisher wanted to turn it into a
romance, which might not have been
the best idea. It has a good story line,
but it also has its flaws.
5. Write what you feel passionate about, not what you think will sell.  I got my first break in erotic romance.  I’d been following the blog of a literary agent I thought might someday be interested in me, and when she advertised a call for erotic short stories, I jumped at the chance to show her what I could do.  I had no experience in romance, but I’d heard there was money in it.  Seemed like a win-win situation to me.  Unfortunately, I’m more of a literary/speculative/horror girl, and I found myself writing in a genre I wouldn’t normally read.  I ended up with a nice list of publishing credits under my belt, even a book sold on the Home Shopping Network, but nothing I could use to sell myself in the genres I actually wanted to write.

Bottom line: don’t worry about the bottom line, at least not yet.  Be true to yourself.  Network with people you’d want to hang out with, if given the chance, outside the Internet.  Steer clear of editors and potential peers who would see you as nothing more than a means to their own end.  Write what you’d want to read.  If you don’t, you’ll only end up wasting your time and energy forever chasing that golden ticket.

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