Author: John W. Howell

I have been working in business for over forty years and now have the time to work in special areas of interest. My passion has always been to create compelling stories of fiction. I have authored six novels and am working on my Seventh. The first novel is still in manuscript form and being utilized as a door stop in the laundry room. The second is a contemporary fiction novel of 89,000 words and is complete and I am currently seeking a publisher. I also write poetry but have not had the guts to share any with anyone. The one time I read a piece to a person their only comment was, “it doesn’t rhyme.” I will continue to write and hopefully my blog, Fiction Favorites at www.johnwhowell.com will provide some entertainment and an interesting thought or two. I live in the Austin area with my wife Molly and an assortment of loving pets.

Monday Book Tag is as Monday Book Tag Does

~ John W. Howell ~ 8 Comments

Mondays are Book Tag days and I have been tagged by Jo Robinson. As you may be aware, Jo lives in South Africa and hopes to publish four books this year.

jo robinson

Lesser Being is the first in a collection of novels featuring Judith, a ghost writer specializing in memoirs. Each book tells the life of the person whose memoir she’s currently writing. The first one is Emmaline. Jo describes it as: “This particular story started out as a memory of someone, then turned into a daydream about what route her life had taken, then it became a high-definition movie in my head with surround sound in 3D. All I had to do was write it down, and try not to use too many exclamation marks again.”

Thanks Jo for tagging me.

The rules of this tag are to answer the following four writing questions, and then tag three other authors. Next week, March 3, these three authors will answer the same questions and tag three others, and so the chain continues to grow larger. This will enable readers to get to know more authors and their books. It will also allow everyone to get to know these authors a little better.

Questions:

1. What are you currently working on?

I’m currently putting the finishing touches on the second part of the John J. Cannon trilogy. The draft is finished and now needs editing. The working title is His Revenge and tells the story of the attempt of Matt Jacobs the money and brains behind a small, but dedicated group of terrorists to discredit John Cannon, the protagonist from My GRL. Speaking of My GRL I am still in the heat of marketing. I actually have posted a first chapter on the sidebar of Fiction Favorites.(for those who actually visit the site)

2. How does your work differ from others in the same genre?

Most thrillers have a strong hero-type protagonist who seems immune to any threats or harm. John Cannon is an ordinary guy who has been very successful in his work and wants to relax and enjoy the fruits of his labor. He is not connected with any agency or secret mission team. He is just a man wanting to learn to be a charter boat captain and is caught up in circumstances not of his making.

3. Why do you write what you do?

I have a dream to finish five novels before my brain turns to oatmeal. The subject matter of these works comes to me and I am compelled to write them down. Sometimes I have no idea why I write what I do. Some of my short stories reflect this “in the dark,” scenario.

4. How does your writing process work?

I usually outline a few chapters and then work on a timeline. After that, I start writing and don’t stop until I think the story is finished.

And now time to Tag three other Authors.

The first is Charles Yallowitz  whose blog  Legends of Windermere is also the name of his series of fantasy novels: The Beginning of a Hero, The Prodigy of Rainbow Tower and Allure of the GypsieS. (Click on the covers below to go to Amazon) Charles has been described as the hardest working author of anyone. He also is a mentor and coach to those authors who need some advice.

wattpad beginningrsz_prodigy_cover_finalCover by Jason Pedersen

 

 

 

Charles is also hard a work on at least three more Legends of Windemere book which I know about. If you have not visited him yet you should go

Helen Valentina is my second choice and is a writer who loves to explore why we do the things we do and how our characters are formed by our beliefs and actions.  The essence of the reason for her blog is best said by her: “Like most people, I have a number of sides to me. The most interesting one probably emerges through my writing, hence this blog. I love to read, and also to write, and so this is a way to share both. A visit to her blog will show you how uniquely talented Helen is in her writing. Her poems will cause you to think and ponder and then react.

Not content with poetry alone Helen has written two books The Seed and Curiosity

a seeda curiosity

‘The Seed’ is a dark romance that looks at the impact of dreams and myths on our romantic natures and choices – an intense and sometimes ambiguous journey into the heart of passionate people. The Seed, now available on lulu.com, iTunes (link via lulu.com), Amazon Kindle and POD and on Nook.  Helen describes The  Seed, “ is a dark romance, exploring passion and the reasons that we choose to follow relationships and the implications that can arise from those choices.  For those familiar with my poetry, the mix of passion/love and mystery/ambiguity will be quite familiar.”

 ‘Curiosity’ is about a man who believes the world has already ended and no-one noticed, and how his beliefs and nature propel him into being an unlikely hero for the modern, media age. She says: “As a black comedy/satire, Curiosity is a major departure from my first novel The Seed. It’s writing style, though of course my own, is lighter and more cynical – more extroverted and action oriented than introspective and contemplative. As I’ve said before, if my novels were my children The Seed would be the moody, passionate artist. Curiosity is a bit of a brat to be honest, but hopefully a clever child, who will one day grow to cut a swathe in public relations or the gossip column industry.”

My third choice Devorah Fox is a fellow member of the Rockport Writers Group and has published three novels. Two: The lost King,and The Kings Ransom are fantasy stories of her character King Bewilliam and his quest to restore his lost kingdom. The third is a departure into a Mystery story Titled: Naked Came the Sharks .

Naked Came the Sharks synopsis: Chasing her dream of becoming an investigative reporter in San Francisco, Holly Rivera Berry has to return to her hometown of Bonafides on the Texas Coastal Bend to settle her recently deceased father’s estate. She discovers that just before he died her father researched the possibility that via an old Mexican land grant the Rivera family owns The Gap, a natural channel to the Gulf of Mexico. Land speculators plan to erect luxury homes, resorts, hotels, and a casino along The Gap and Holly comes to doubt that her father died of natural causes. The more she investigates, the more things don’t add up. One by one her allies fall victim to fatal accidents and it looks like Holly might be next.

lost kingThe King's RansomNaked Came the Sharks

Top Ten No Nos is as Top Ten No Nos Does

~ John W. Howell ~ 22 Comments

Here is the 34th installment of Ten Top Lists of What Not to Do by Marie Ann Bailey of 1WriteWay at http://1writeway.com and John W. Howell of Fiction Favorites at http://johnwhowell.com. These lists are simu-published on our blogs each Monday. We hope you enjoy.

Top Ten Things Not to Do When Writing a Book Review on Amazon or Anywhere Else

bookreview

10.  When writing a book review, do not provide a five-page synopsis of the book before you even start your review.  If you do, at best, readers will just skip the synopsis and your efforts will be wasted.  At worst, readers will confuse the synopsis for your own work, tweet and blog about the review, causing it to go viral and guaranteeing a negative reaction by the author.

9.  When writing a book review, do not simply say, “I liked the book.  It was really good.”  Readers want to know what you liked about the book.  If that is all you say, at best, your reviews will simply be ignored.  At worst, readers will ignore you in droves when they see you use the same response for everything from Fifty Shades of Gray to Five Billion Years of Solitude and decide not to take your reviews seriously.

8.  When writing a book review, do not simply say, “I hated it.  It was a waste of time.”  If you really didn’t like a book, explain why so the reader can make an informed decision whether or not to read it.  If you don’t, at best, readers will just ignore your review, shrugging you off as someone who probably didn’t even read the book.  At worst, readers will take an exception to your condescending attitude and begin to flag all your reviews as “Not helpful,” quickly causing your reputation as a book reviewer to go south.

7.  When writing a book review, do not include spoilers unless you make it clear at the beginning of your review that it contains spoilers.  If you do, at best, only a few readers will be disturbed by your spoiler review, and they may even kindly point out your error to you.  At worst, a flame war among reviewers of the book will erupt, with you likely getting a call from the author’s pro wrestler brother-in-law.

6.  When writing a book review, do not think it is funny to suggest the author of the book quit writing and take up dishwashing for employment.  If you do, at best, readers will take you for the troll you are and ignore you.  At worst, you might find yourself suddenly and uncomfortably associated with bullies and brutes, a group of people who tend to eat their own.

5.  When writing a book review, do not think the reader needs to know every single typo, grammatical error, or other such boo-boo in the book you’ve reviewed.  If you point all these out, at best, your annotations might simply distract the reader from fully understanding what the book is about.  At worst, you may be hearing from the author’s attorney because in your zeal to show your editorial prowess, you essentially duplicated the book in your review.

4.  When writing a book review, do not think that speed reading through a stack of books and then spending a weekend marathon writing reviews will necessarily stoke your reputation as a book reviewer.  If you do, at best, readers might be impressed, but still wonder at your sanity for producing 60 reviews in 48 hours.  At worst, near the end of your marathon reviewing, you conflate Goldfinch with the Peterson Field Guide to Birds and your reviews become the laughingstock of Amazon reviews.

3.  When writing a book review, do not think just reading the first and last chapter of a book is enough to enable you to write an intelligent book review.  If that’s all you do, at best, you’ll wind up just writing “I liked it” or “I hated it” because you really can’t say anything more. At worst, you get called out by another reviewer when you mention the hero survives World War II when in fact the book is about zombies and the hero turns into one in the penultimate chapter.

2.  When writing a book review, do not think you need to become an authority on the author of the book you are reviewing.  At best, the author will be a stay-at-home mom with two-year-old twins who will feel flattered you thought she actually lives a life of romance and danger.  At worst, the author could be a lawyer trying his hand at writing fiction and who will not take kindly to your suggestion to the effect: Since he writes from the point of view of a serial killer, he then must have experience as a serial killer.  In this case, the lawyer may decide to role-play his novel, with you as the victim.

1.  When writing a book review, do not think you will gain fans and followers by being snarky and rude in your reviews.  Okay, you probably will, but consider what kind of fans/followers they will be.  At best, they will just be people with nothing better to do than be anonymously rude and snarky on the web and eventually you’ll get tired of the negativity, change your Gravatar and start writing constructive reviews.  At worst, the people following you could hack into your account and download every Gravatar you’ve ever used, as well as, all your email addresses and blogs and previous book reviews, and you will never ever escape them, making your experience an interesting plot for a dystopian novel.

To see how book reviews should be written, visit Ionia Martin’s Readful Things Blog at http://www.readfulthingsblog.com.

1st Birthday Sale for Beginning of a Hero! Free for 3 Days!

~ John W. Howell

This is an entertaining book and right now is the time to get it. FREE? You kidding me. (excuse the alliteration) Don’t wait since this has to be the best give-a-way of the year.

Charles Yallowitz's avatarLegends of Windemere

Cover Art by Jason Pedersen Cover Art by Jason Pedersen

On February 24th, Legends of Windemere: Beginning of a Hero will be 1 year old.  To celebrate, I’ve done the following:

BEGINNING OF A HERO IS FREE FOR THE NEXT 3 DAYS!

ENJOY THE SALE AND SPREAD THE WORD!

And don’t forget the rest of the series!!  Click on the cover art to go to the Amazon site!!

Cover Art by Jason Pedersen Cover Art by Jason Pedersen

Cover by Jason Pedersen Cover by Jason Pedersen

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MEMOIRS OF A DILETTANTE VOLUME ONE – COVER REVEAL!

~ John W. Howell ~ 5 Comments

 

Book Cover.pdf-page-001

Paperback cover

e-book cover

e-book cover

Unless you have been unconscious for a few months, you must know Helena Hann-Basquiat the author. She has a wonderful blog which is listed below and has also put together her volume one (oh goodie it means there is a volume two for those who love her) of her memoirs. This is really good news for the literate of the world since there may be stunning revelations as to who this person is anyway. In typical fashion  for a Dilettante, you are treated to the vision of the cover before being able to go inside.

Memoirs of a Dilettante is a collection of reminiscences, following Helena Hann-Basquiat, a self-proclaimed dilettante who will try anything just to say that she has, and her twenty-something niece, who she has dubbed the Countess Penelope of Arcadia, in their off-beat antics in such places as common as the local McDonald’s or the comic book store, to their travels to Miami for the search for the perfect Cuban sandwich. Interspersed between wacky one-off adventures, Helena tells personal, sometimes painful stories from her past in order to try to make sense of her life as it has played out, tempering everything with an indomitable sense of humour.

Cummerbund Bandersnatch, the Accidental Plagiarist, strippers, rock stars, geeks, freaks, and the Barista With No Name — these are just a few of the characters you’ll meet inside.

Discover Helena’s tales for the first time or all over again, with new notes and annotations for the culturally impaired — or for those who just need to know what the hell was going through her mind at the time!

If you just can’t wait and you want a taste of Helena’s writing, follow her blog: http://helenahannbasquiat.wordpress.com/

If you just can’t get enough Helena, or you want updates on further goings on, release dates and miscellaneous mayhem, follow Helena on Twitter @hhbasquiat

I understand I am doing clean-up on the cover reveal tour, so if I were you, I would go see Helena now since this will be the last post on the schedule. Damn I had to wait so long.

 

 

TGIF is as TGIF Does

~ John W. Howell ~ 25 Comments

 

Thank goodness it is Friday. It has been a hectic week. Right in the middle of everything my internet went down. After about two hours with the tech rep it was decided  they had network problems. Was kind of funny since they swore up and down it was something wrong with my computer. You have to wonder about service protocols when I explained that:

  1. My PC could not connect.
  2. My wife’s Apple iPad could not connect.
  3. My wife’s Apple Mac book could not connect.
  4. The Femto cell which allows us to receive wireless calls could not connect.
  5. The TV and VCR which are connected to the internet could not connect.
  6. All our iPhones could not connect.

Yet, the tech continued under the assumption the problem was with my computer. FINALLY the engineering group got on the phone and did a download and upload path test. GUESS WHAT? The @#$%^&* problem was in the network. That’s not all. In the process, the tech did a hard boot of my router and reset all the values back to default. The next day we figured out all our Apple products needed a different frequency which we had set up originally. ANOTHER HOUR ON THE PHONE. Totally frustrating.

I did have to think that no animals or children were hurt in the drama and as a result, got over the feeling of being duct taped to a phone. So here is a little Haiku to take you to the weekend:

Duct Taped to the Phone by John W. Howell ©2014

Been on hold an hour,

Internet is not working . . .

Told to visit web.

Dreams of Love by Pamela – A Review

~ John W. Howell ~ 5 Comments

dreamsoflovecover

Dreams of Love is a delicate collection of poems which will cause one to remember how it felt to love strongly. Pamela takes the reader on a journey much like attending a grand ball. There are light notes to entice the waltz and heavy notes to demand the reel. All are served up in differing tempos and style. My favorites are when Pamela lets go and gives herself free rein over the subject. She will bring tears, as well as, some moments of laugh out loud delight. This collection will be looked at again and again.

I actually took time out from a stressful few days of trying to get a couple of marketing programs up and running to read this collection of poems. I was immediately taken by the soothing aspect of the writing and the different styles. It felt good to take time away from the stress and concentrating on the thoughtful messages. The book is for those who have been in love, have fallen out of love, or who would like to be in love. In short, it is for everyone who needs soothing once in a while.

You can get both the e-book and paperback edition HERE

Hump Day is as Hump Day Does

~ John W. Howell ~ 10 Comments

 

Today is Wednesday and time for another story.  This one tells of a writer and actor going through some of the story line. Of course this is fiction, but actually served a purpose in saving $250.00 of couch time at the feelings doctor. The video is the Hump Day Camel in a public service announcement. Still funny.

Hope you enjoy.

The Character by John W. Howell ©2014

“So who’s the character supposed to be?”

“He is a lying no good son-of-a-bitch. That’s who he is supposed to be.”

“I know, but I am trying to get a real feeling for the person here. I can’t play the character unless I feel the person. You know what I mean?”

“Yeah I know all you actors have some kind of method. Is that what you are talking about?”

“No, not really. Method is an overused term. I’m just trying to get the motivation for the part.”

“Oh like you aren’t making a ton of money? Something else?”

“Now don’t be mean. You writers think our art is so easy since we make it look easy. We take some half backed character you dream up and put real life into your cardboard cutout. We round the character with our own interpretation of behaviors.”

“Yeah I can see that. You take the limp outline which I put on paper then you add some action, scenery and color and voila, a perfect performance.”

“I think you are getting a little carried away. You sound like I am saying acting is more important than writing.”

“Aren’t you?”

“No. I’m just saying without actors the written characterizations mean nothing.”

“Okay how’s this? Your character sometimes gets into a deep depression from having to work with real idiots. He tries to work through his depression by engaging in acts of violence targeted to those who cause him to become depressed in the first place.”

“Oh I like it. A dark character. Does he wear black?”

“Yes he does and in addition, when he is stalking his prey, he puts on black skin-tight gloves.”

“Much like the ones you are putting on?”

“Yes very much like. Then he lays in wait for the fool to make an appearance.”

“Does he have a gun?”

“No, no, no, he uses a long stiletto like this one right here.  He grabs the victim from behind and with one quick draw of the knife he severs the jugular and laughs as the sucker dies. Wanna see?”

“Um . . . you are making me feel uncomfortable. Maybe we should call it a day.”

“Oh yeah. Let’s call it a day. In fact, let’s just say you call it . . . and make my day.”

Inspiration is as Inspiration Does – Where Does a Plot Originate Anyway?

~ John W. Howell ~ 10 Comments

lex 4my grl

Picture of the USS Lexington CV 16 taken March 1944

As I have indicated before Madi Preda of Author’s promotion put together an interesting set of questions for the author interview which is HERE.  The one which caused me to do a complete retrospective on how I actually constructed the story of My GRL was simple enough on the surface: “What sparked the idea of My GRL? In a few words what is the book about?” When I started to concentrate on supplying the answer a whole range of thoughts came into my head. I finally put some organization around them and was able to answer the question. (Short and sweet) Here is a little more background on how the story took shape.

My GRL was not an idea born of concentrated thoughts on any particular subject. The germ of the story was generated when I visited the aircraft carrier Lexington which is moored in Corpus Christi bay. You see, my dad was a naval aviator and served aboard the Lexington during World War II. He was part of the dive bombing squadron taking part in the invasion of Iwo Jima,  the sinking of the Japanese Battle Ship Yamato and strikes on the Japanese homeland. Since my dad passed away when I was ten, I was very interested in visiting a place where he served. He was not a direct casualty of the war but died five years later.

It is not often families can be part of the space where loved ones fought to preserve the liberty we enjoy today. The last battles on American soil took place so long ago even the survivors of survivors are no longer with us. Most do not have the resource to travel to the place where epic battles took place involving loved ones as the locations are generally thousands of miles away. The Civil War was about the last time these places of honor were somewhat accessible. The beauty of a large floating ship taking part in the historic battles of World War II is the fact it is docked in the states and can be visited. The trip to the Lexington was in reality a pilgrimage to a memorial to my dad and his service.

While my sister and I were standing on the great flight deck, a thought came to me wondering how a ship like this could be protected should someone want to make a point of destroying her? There are no armaments or defensive systems which could be used to thwart such a move.

After leaving the ship, I began to construct a story on how a group of terrorists could destroy this or any other symbol of America’s naval strength. Once I figured out how it could be done, then it was a matter of developing a way to prevent a disaster from happening which makes up the story line of My GRL. From there, I allowed the protagonist to get involved and shaped the story to a final conclusion.

The general plot came out of one quick observation. The story itself had to be built and as we all know, word by word.