Author, Editor, Publisher, Coach

Author: Lane Diamond (Page 6 of 19)

Author, Co-Founder and CEO of Evolved Publishing LLC

I Give My Highest Recommendation To “Hannah’s Voice”

THIS POST IS FOR READERS:

I’ll start with this quick note to followers of my blog: Since I write, when I actually manage to find the time, for both readers and writers, I’ll start each post as I do above, with an indication of who its intended audience is. And now… on to the post.

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Like all authors, I started out, and was driven to the craft, as a reader. I so loved books that I wanted to be one of those who provided them to others. Well, I now do so in two ways: 1) I’m an author, and; 2) I’m a publisher (Evolved Publishing). I shall speak now as the second.

Occasionally, I’ve been fortunate to “discover” some great works by some truly talented authors. Well, in fairness, the authors discovered Evolved Publishing (EP), and I was simply lucky enough to have been given the opportunity to bring them onto the team. I’ll probably be blogging about some of those specific authors, and their works, in coming weeks. For now, I want to speak about one particular book, because you can now get it while it’s on sale.

Hannah’s Voice by Robb Grindstaff

[This portion is re-posted from the EP blog.]

It’s no wonder Mr. Grindstaff’s book has garnered an average rating at Amazon of 4.9 Stars (30 5-star, 4 4-star, and nothing lower). Simply put, Hannah’s Voice is one of those stories, featuring an extraordinary character in Hannah Cross, that will likely remain with you long after you’ve finished it. Indeed, like me, you may be itching to read it again not long after completing it the first time.

When Robb first submitted his manuscript to us, I was buried under so much work that I was a bit burned out, and the submissions were a big part of what were wearing me down. I’d recently rejected about 49 out of 50 submissions, and I was becoming disheartened. I waded into Hannah’s Voice frustrated and jaded, thinking, ‘Let’s see how long it takes me to reject this one.’ Imagine my delight as I read page after page without even realizing that I was already 25 pages in before thinking, ‘Holy cats, this is fantastic!’

And I’d barely scratched the surface, for Hannah’s Voice did what every great book does: it started out strong, and got better with each page… right up to the end. When I finished it, my first thought when seeking to describe it was, ‘You know what? This reminds me quite a bit of A Prayer for Owen Meany.’ That great book by John Irving has long been one of my favorites, and Hannah’s Voice stands right alongside it. The stories share certain thematic qualities, and they both feature characters that are uniquely intriguing (and of course, solid writing).

Having not yet lost my mind, I moved quickly to bring Robb onto the Evolved Publishing team, and to get Hannah’s Voice into our catalog. And I’m so happy to share with readers this great book, about which I am (obviously) unabashedly enthusiastic. I simply can’t recommend it strongly enough. You will love it; of that, I have no doubt.

Hannah’s Voice is on sale for 3 days only!

You can pick up your eBook copy of this amazing story for just $0.99 (SAVE $3.00), but only through Wednesday, August 28th. If ever you were going to try a new author, this is the time.

HannahsVoiceSale price available only at Amazon and at Barnes and Noble.

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Even Minor Characters Are Critical

As an author, you shouldn’t pass up too many opportunities to heighten the reading experience for your loyal fans – to tug at their emotions. If you really want to keep them glued to the page, give them something to sink their hearts and souls into as often as possible.

One of the places where many writers fail to achieve this is in their portrayal of minor characters. Indeed, I would almost argue that the word “minor” is inappropriate, as every single character should be critical to the advancement of the story, or they should not be at all.

When I wrote my psychological thriller, Forgive Me, Alex, I needed to incorporate some murder victims. After all, one cannot have a serial killer without some serial killees. (Hey, I think I just made up a word!) In truth, these characters’ sole raison d’etre was to advance the character of the serial killer, and the ultimate conflict between protagonist and antagonist. Yet why would readers even care about these “minor” characters, or invest themselves in the gruesome acts of a serial killer, if I gave them no reason to do so?

They wouldn’t, of course.

So I needed to provide enough details about even these “minor” characters to elicit some empathy on the part of readers. It was important to keep it short and sweet, yet to provide some reason for readers even to care about the character.

The more readers care, the greater their emotional experience while glued to your book. And so, when I needed to set up a character for no other reason than to kill her off, to make her a victim of my nasty antagonist, here’s how I did it:

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The gentle breeze and mild temperature made a walk in the park the perfect distraction for Lindsey Merkham, but she chose the cemetery in lieu of the park. She did so because the cemetery sat conveniently at the corner of North Main Street and Cary Road, across the street from her apartment.

It contained several crisscrossing paths perfect for continuous power walking, her preferred method of exercise and, judging by her slender build, an effective one. She normally exercised right after work and before dinner, when she wasn’t too weighed-down or too lazy for her walks.

On this night, she was out late.

Lindsey stood five-feet-six-inches tall, with short, bright red-orange hair, and a figure that more resembled a young boy than an adult woman. The unfortunate birthmark on her right cheek, and the ski jump at the end of her nose, further heightened her insecurities.

Men rarely lined up at her doorstep.

Thus, she chose to take a late walk through the cemetery, a perfectly reasonable way to kill another uneventful Friday night. She’d snuggle later with her loyal kitty, Puffer, and read a good book.

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Did I draw on some clichés there? Sure. With little time in which to build reader empathy, I needed to use proven, time-tested methods. While I typically recommend against dropping clichés into a manuscript, this is one of those rare instances where it might actually be useful.

The key is to give readers a reason to care in as short a segment as possible (after all, this is a “minor” character).

As the scene progresses, and the serial killer attacks, I insert a line here, a thought there, from Lindsey, further building on what I established in those six short paragraphs. The intensity builds, right along with our empathy/sympathy for Lindsey, right up until that penultimate moment when she must, alas, meet her demise. I give readers a little something to sink their teeth into – a reason to care for, to feel sorry for, even to shed a tear for, this “minor” character.

Thus, readers engage in a scene that might otherwise just seem gratuitously graphic. Real life situations require real life characters. If you fail to bring even a “minor” victim into the light of reality, you give readers no reason to care, no reason to invest themselves emotionally in a scene that’s important to the overall story.

RECOMMENDATION

Create a character list that includes every single character in your book. I use Microsoft Excel because it’s easily sorted (I do so alphabetically by character name). You want some key details listed for each character.

Column A: Character Name – Be sure not to create any two names that are close in alliteration. Every name should sound unique, so as to prevent reader confusion. This is particularly critical with “minor” characters. So don’t have a Harry, Larry, and Barry, for example. The potential for readers to get lost is too great. Name them Harry, Ben, and Steve, and readers will have an easier time keeping them separate.

Column B: Character Role – List the character’s primary role in the story. Using my own book as an example, I used Protagonist, Antagonist, Protagonist’s Girlfriend in 1978, FBI Agent in charge of investigation, Algonquin Chief of Police, etc.

Column C: Character Relationships – If your characters interact in a key way throughout your story, list those relationships here. As an example, for my protagonist Tony Hooper, I listed: Alex Hooper’s big brother; Diana Gregario’s boyfriend; Frank Willow’s surrogate grandson; and a few more.

Column D: Character Speech Mannerisms – If your characters have a unique voice – and I hope they do – list here some of the things that make their voices unique. Whenever possible, draw clear distinctions between characters to help readers subconsciously, and automatically, identify a character/narrator. As an example, I listed that Tony Hooper, the protagonist, always said “perhaps,” and never “maybe.” I listed that Mitchell Norton, the antagonist, always said “maybe,” and never “perhaps.” It’s subtle, but with about ten other key differences in voice, I was able to provide readers a series of instantaneous “triggers” to identify these characters. I also gave them certain favorite phrases. For example, Mitchell Norton likes to throw around, “Fuck a rubber duck!” Obviously, I did not allow any other character to use that phrase; it was all Mitchell’s.

Column E: Misc. Character Identifiers – Place here whatever strikes your fancy. It can be anything from their physical descriptions to their socio-political views, from the clothes they wear to the foods they eat, from their favorite TV show to the music they prefer to listen to, etc. The keys are to keep them: A) Unique; B) Relevant; C) Something you can use to heighten readers’ emotional involvement with that character, when appropriate.

AND OF COURSE….

Be sure to provide your beta reader(s) and editor(s) this list, when it’s their turn to review your work.

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“Noah Zarc: Mammoth Trouble” by D. Robert Pease is Perfect for Your Pre-Teens

IfYouLoveRead_NZMT

Yes, if your kids love the Percy Jackson adventure “The Lightning Thief,” they’re sure to love the adventure “Noah Zarc: Mammoth Trouble.”

Noah is a space ship pilot, a voyager to distant worlds, a time traveler, and at twelve years old, quite possibly the last, best hope for Earth.

There’s a reason this book has won multiple awards:

NZMT_Awards

Critics love it —-
“Pease’s strength as a storyteller lies in his ability to connect multiple time periods imaginatively, as well as Noah’s excited, fast-paced narration.” – Publishers Weekly
—- and so will your kids. And to make it even better, it’s on sale for the next few days only, at just $0.99 at both Amazon and at Barnes and Noble.

I had the great pleasure of editing this series, and I know your kids are going to love it.

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Book Awards Are Just Plain Fun

As authors, we all hope to win the occasional award. I haven’t really submitted Forgive Me, Alex to many – just a couple – but I’ve managed to get a little recognition, and the kind reviews my book has received have been pretty good stand-ins.

Well, I have the added pleasure of sharing in the glow of awards won by books I’ve edited. Over at the Evolved Publishing blog recently (linked at bottom), under the heading of “Quality Matters,” they listed as evidence of that commitment a number of books and the awards they’ve won.

Well, of the 16 books listed there, which have combined for over 35 awards, I wrote 1 and edited or co-edited (meaning I did the final polishing pass) 14 of those.

I often gnash my teeth about the all the editing I must do, and how that keeps me from working on my own writing, but I have to say, all these awards do bring a smile to my face. I still wish I had more time for writing, but whenever I get down and moody about that, I’ll just refer to that blog post at Evolved Publishing.

Maybe that will lift my spirits. 🙂

Here’s that blog post listing all the awards:

At Evolved Publishing, Quality Matters!

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The New Face of Lane Diamond’s “Forgive Me, Alex” – New Book Cover

As I get closer to releasing The Devil’s Bane, book two in the Tony Hooper saga, I felt it was time to give the cover of Forgive Me, Alex a makeover, in order to bring the two covers closer together, thematically.

Thus, I enlisted the help of Mallory Rock, a designer with Evolved Publishing and a freelancer at Mallory Rock’s Art, to create the new cover.

The idea was to make not just the first two covers, but all future covers in the Tony Hooper series, consistent in basic color scheme, font style, etc. It made sense to help readers connect the dots visually.

LD_FMA_TDB_2pk_v2

The new cover for Forgive Me, Alex is already up at Amazon, Apple iTunes-Books, and Smashwords.

The new cover will soon be up at Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Sony, and BookieJar. Additionally, the new print versions will be available by mid-August.

I hope you like it. 🙂

Free Short Story eBooks from Author Lane Diamond

What’s that? You want a little sample, and you want it for free?

Well, all-righty then….

You can now get 3 of my short stories for FREE as eBooks at most online retailers.

PARADOX – A Short Science Fiction Adventure

Paradox_500x800FREE at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Apple iTunes, Kobo, and everywhere eBooks are sold.

DESCRIPTION: Ted volunteered for the mission because, after all, it was just a routine trip to Mars. What could possibly go wrong?

In the deepest, darkest reaches of space, one must fill the vacuum, the void, the emptiness. Yet do we humans have the “psychological stuff” for deep space travel? If not, we may end up like Ted.

DEVANE’S REALITY – A Short Psychological Thriller

Devanes_Reality_800x500FREE at Barnes and Noble, Apple iTunes, Kobo, Smashwords, and most places eBooks are sold (still $0.99 at Amazon, though I hope it will be free there soon).

DESCRIPTION: We humans do not suffer solitude well. I long for contact—any contact. I yearn to meet a one-legged, one-armed, one-eyed, elderly gypsy woman who spends every waking minute singing show tunes with a voice like a howler monkey undergoing torture.

How does one cope with complete and utter loneliness? Imagine living in a world occupied by one – not another living creature. How could such a thing be possible? Doesn’t matter. What matters is how Lawrence Steven Devane reacts when plunged into precisely this situation.

WELL-SUITED SENTRY – A Short Horror Story

well_suited_sentry_500x800FREE at Barnes and Noble, Apple iTunes, Kobo, Smashwords, and most places eBooks are sold (still $0.99 at Amazon, though I hope it will be free there soon).

DESCRIPTION: The prison rose out of the cornfields, a concrete and steel monstrosity about as likely in this serene setting as an elephant in an igloo. The sentry couldn’t help but smile at the thought. With no one else to amuse him, to distract him, to help push his days contentedly forward, he often amused himself in such ways.

‘I’ve done my work too well,’ he thought. ‘Opportunities to spill blood are so rare these days.’

This prison sentry is unlike any other. You don’t want to cross him. Better that you should remain in your cell, follow the rules, and never get on his bad side. Transgression comes at far too high a price.

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PLEASE ENJOY! (And please leave an honest review wherever you picked up your copy. Thank you.

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Are You A Writer Looking for Helpful Writing Tips?

If so, I may have a few articles that you’ll find helpful. Just scroll down a bit and look to the middle column of this page, where it says “CATEGORIES” and has a dropdown box.

In the dropdown, select “Editor’s Desk.” Then just scroll down the list to find articles of interest to you.

As an alternative, you can simply drop a little farther down the center column, where it says “2) WRITE BETTER (ALSO SEARCH “EDITOR’S DESK” CATEGORY).” The titles of the articles there will speak for themselves.

I hope you find plenty of helpful material here. Write on!

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