Merry Un-Birthday! Day Four

Happy Thursday, good people of the blogosphere! You have a chance to win some great books by a couple of amazing authors today.

Why are these two books included in my week-long prize pool? I edited one and proofread the other. It's something I do for those who use INDIE Books Gone Wild for their publishing needs. How awesome is it that we promote your books after they hit the market? How many editing teams do that? Without further ado, I give you the book descriptions!

Chasing Memories (Tala Prophecy - Book One) by Tia Silverthorne Bach
Genre: YA Paranormal

Description from Amazon:
There isn’t another way; not now. The others are coming. I can’t let them have you…

Seventeen-year-old Reagan has a problem: She can’t remember what happened the night her brother was taken. Now, the dreams haunting her from the incident are becoming more intense by the day. All the while, the lines between what’s real and what’s a product of her paranormal-obsessed mind are becoming blurred.

Is she losing her mind or has she just stepped into a world she thought only existed in books?

Caught in a web of worried parents, competing boys, Wiccan relatives, protective amulets, and psychiatrist babble, Reagan must determine the truth before it’s too late.

The Disappearing Girl by Heather Topham Wood
Genre: New Adult Contemporary - Ages 17+ due to language and sexual situations.

Description from Amazon:
Kayla Marlowe is slowly vanishing…

Last year, Kayla’s world imploded. Her beloved father died, leaving her alone with a narcissistic mother who is quick to criticize her daughter’s appearance. During her winter break from college, Kayla’s dangerous obsession with losing weight begins.

Kayla feels like her world changes for the better overnight. Being skinny seems to be the key to the happiness she has desperately been seeking. Her mother and friends shower her with compliments, telling her how fantastic she looks. Kayla is starving, but no one knows it.

Cameron Bennett explodes into Kayla’s life. He’s sexy and kind—he has every quality she has been looking for in a guy. As Cameron grows closer to Kayla and learns of how far she’s willing to go to stay thin, he becomes desperate to save her.

Kayla’s struggles with anorexia and bulimia reach a breaking point and she is forced to confront her body image issues in order to survive. She wonders if Cameron could be the one to help heal her from the pain of her past.

Don't those look like amazing reads? They are! Get on the entry form! One printed copy of each is up for grabs!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

If you missed the contests from earlier in the week, here's a couple of links for you:
Day One
Day Two
Day Three

I'll recap them all tomorrow, when I roll out the last prize.

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Merry Un-Birthday! Day Three

Happy Wednesday, good people of the blogosphere! Today, I have a great prize for all you indie authors! A chance to win a purchase and review of your kindle book! Check out some of my reviews from the past:

Love From Planet Wine Cooler
Underneath
Taken - Before her very Eyes
Dark Premonitions

All of my reviews are posted here, on Amazon, and on Goodreads. Usually, if I can find the book over on B&N, I'll post it there, too.

Here's the rafflecopter entry form:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I wish you all good luck!

Be sure and check out these giveaways running right now here on the blog. Win some books!
Day One
Day Two

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Merry Un-Birthday! Day Two

Happy Tuesday, good people of the blogosphere! It's time for day two of my giveaways! I heard that cheer. I'm not going to go on and on about what's coming. Check out the list: Prize List. Today, I offer a printed, signed copy of The Bird. That link will take you to a page where you can find out more. The cover and a snapshot of the interior:

Pretty! Here are the entry forms for the contests so far:

a Rafflecopter giveaway


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck to you all!!

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Merry Un-Birthday! Day One

Happy Monday, good people of the blogosphere! This week, I'm starting some awesome giveaways. If you look here: Prize List you'll find a rundown of things to be given away. What an awesome two weeks it will be. You have fourteen days to enter every drawing but one. That one will be the purchase and review contest. It'll be revealed later in the week. No, I'm not saying what day! You'll have to wait to find out. But it'll be a quick contest (only 72 hours).

Today, I'm rolling out the entry form for the Mystic series. That link will take you to a page where you can find out more about them. Here are some snapshots of the covers:

Melody hasn't been released yet. But you'll get an advance copy when it is.

On to the rafflecopter!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Good luck!!

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Backstory

Happy Thursday, good people of the blogosphere! Today we're gonna talk about backstory and how to introduce it to your reader. There are many ways to accomplish this, and what we want to avoid is the information dump. Don't know what an information dump is? Well, grab those pens and notebooks and let's get going!

An information dump is when you stop the story you're telling to give paragraph upon paragraph of your character's past. This isn't good practice when writing because, usually, the past isn't filled with a lot of tension and can tend to drag along. While you may get one great scene with tension, the rest is oftentimes unnecessary.

So, how can you show a character's past without dumping information on your reader? There are a few ways:

The Flashback
These can happen in little snips of memories brought on by something that's occurring in your character's life or something they see/hear. Just like in real life, certain things bring up items from the past. Don't allow your protagonist to dwell though. Give a little and move on.

Conversation
When one character is talking to another, they'll sometimes talk about life and their past. Use this to insert snips and quips into the storyline. Don't let the conversation drag out too long, and remember to make the speech sound natural. If you have trouble with dialogue, take a look at these exercises on practicing writing dialogue: Dialogue Exercises. You'll find links to fifteen writing exercises on that page.

Contextual Additions
Things you add in the text as you write can show some of a character's past. Whatever action they're engaged in, shoot a sentence of memory through it and allow that to paint your protagonist's past with vivid colors. This also works to show your character's personality.

Other People
Use some of the other people in the story to tell about your character. Have them talk behind the person's back, make remarks, or even react to the protagonist's presence in the room. If people are smiling and hugging your leading lady/man, then you know the others are happy to see that person. When people laugh, jeer, or avoid the main character, it tells the reader something's up and can lead to further discovery in other ways.

Just remember to KISS your reader (Keep It Simple, Stupid), and stay away from too much backstory in a single place. Avoid the blahs.

I hope this reference comes in handy for you all.

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Prize List!

Happy Wednesday, good people of the blogosphere! Today, I'm giving you all a prize list for next week's fun! Strap in and let's GO!

One lucky indie author will win a purchase and review from me.

One reader will win:
The first four books of the Mystic series, in print. Bronya, Lily, and Shelia will ship as soon as the contest ends, and Melody will be sent at the end of August (book releases to the public in September.








One reader will win:

A printed copy of The Bird.










One reader will win:

A printed copy of Chasing Memories, and a printed copy of The Disappearing Girl.

One reader will win:
A digital copy of each of my books that are published at this time AND a digital copy of any others that are due to publish this year - in advance. Winner will receive the books no less than one week before they're published to the market. What's coming? Well, the next two books in the Mystic series for sure, and possibly my urban fiction novel, M. So, this winner will get more than eleven books from me.

Of course, every winner will receive a couple of bookmarks:

So come on back and let's have some fun!

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Variation

Happy Tuesday, good people of the blogosphere! Today, I'm back to tips and tricks to keep your writing interesting. As many of you may know, I'm an editor as well as a writer. One of the things I notice people doing a lot of is starting too many sentences in the same paragraph with the same word. Another thing is repeating a word in a sentence. While both of these may seem like minor details, when paid attention to and rectified, it can create a world of difference in your final product. Remember to use your thesaurus!

Example time! Let's set the stage: Darren just had a fight with his girlfriend of six years.

He went through the door into the living room and exited out the back door. He walked over to his car and pulled open the driver's side door. He got in, slamming the door behind him, put the key in the ignition, started the car, and peeled out of the parking lot. He drove a long time before pulling over and getting out; giving the door another hard slam as he got out of the car.

As you can probably see, there are a ton of no-nos in the paragraph above. While there are many ways to re-write it, let's try on the first pass to eliminate starting each sentence with he.

Darren went through the door into the living room and exited out the back door. Walking over to the car, he pulled open the driver's side door, got in, slammed the door, put the key in the ignition, started the car, and peeled out of the parking lot. It was a long time before he pulled over, got out, and gave the door another hard slam.

Now, while we fixed the problem with the word he, you can tell we've created other issues. How about we fix a couple (like that looooong second sentence)?

Darren rushed through the living room and out the back, leaping down the three short steps to the driveway. Stomping to the car, he got in, started it, and peeled out of the lot. It was a long time before he pulled over and got back out; taking his anger out on the door as he shoved it closed behind him.

Remember, you have to name the character at some point before you can use the pronoun he. Try not to bore your readers by giving them a blow-by-blow, either. If you do a good job with actions, they'll be able to grasp that your character is pissed, sad, or happy. By the time we say he's taking his anger out on the door, we've already set the stage and given plenty of action to show how he feels. If you tell, it might look like this:

Darren, madder than a mashed cat, left in his car and drove a long time before pulling over and getting out.

While there are less words, it's not as fun to read. Keep it simple, vary your word usage, and show your reader what they should be picturing in their head.

I hope you'll try writing the world's worst paragraph and fixing it. For this is how one learns a new skill. Practice makes permanent.

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo