My GRL Blog Tour Volunteer Recognition – Helen Valentina

January 25, 2014 ~ John W. Howell ~ 7 Comments

Helen Valentina 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.

She has organized tabs on her site where she has sorted her work into Fire (action, ego, creativity, passion, lust, activity), Water (emotions, love, sorrow, grief, joy, connection), Air (thoughts, belief, theory, philosophy, satire and science), and Earth (the physical, earthy, sensual, appetite, money) to make it easy for the reader to look back in retrospective as to what she has written. One of the more entertaining tabs is labeled Chronicle of Proofs the World Has Ended. Here you will find a collection of logic leading you to believe the world has in fact ended long ago. You must visit to read the items under this tab.

Not content with poetry alone, Helen has written two books:

‘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.”

Curiosity is available:

http://lulu.com/spotlight/helenvalentina

It is also now available on Amazon (Kindle and POD) at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00G726GRQ

And also at Apple ignore at:

https://itunes.apple.com/au/book/curiosity/id745194071?mt=11

And finally it’s also available at NOOK as a POD at:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/curiosity-helen-valentina/1117336145?ean=9781483403656

And at NOOK as an ebook at:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/curiosity-helen-valentina/1117336145?ean=9781483403649&itm=1&usri=helen+valentina

Thank you for your help on the launch of My GRL Helen

Retail Memories… Version 2.0 Is Live!

January 25, 2014 ~ John W. Howell

My GRL BLOG Tour Volunteer Recognition – Dean Kealy

January 25, 2014 ~ John W. Howell ~ 2 Comments

There is a very talented artist among us and he is in college. He is actually doing full-time study as well as seemingly full-time blogging. His name is Dean Kealy and he sort of looks like this:

Dean has two blogs.

The first is Deanz Worldz where he explores and publishes interesting posts on fellow bloggers, writers and the general state of what is happening in his world today. Dean says it best:. “In Dean’z Worldz I share my adventures through words and books and photography and everything and anything else–the choices are endless as I’m putting a no-holds-barred on this blog so anything and everything is welcome!!!”

His second blog is titled Deanz Doodlez. As you can see by the header this blog has a little different edge. Dean says about this one: “Dean’z Doodlez began September 6th 2012 when I began a new college course in Illustration! My intention with this blog is to share my daily doodlez and personal and college artwork. Dean’z Doodlez is more than just about MY art. Here on Dean’z Doodlez expect to find my appreciation of other artists work and their journeys with art.” You can also visit his commission tab and get a sense of some of the richness of his own art. He shows a range of work he has finished from logos, headers and book covers. Yes and did I mention he’s in college and he is open for commission business?

A visit to either blog will yield a rich experience. The way Dean has his blogs laid out you can spend all the time you want on the different articles and not have to hunt around for the previous post or search the archives for what you are looking for. It’s all right there.

Dean is also an author of a Novelette. The title : Quentin Hide and the Evil Lord Twigton

Young Quentin Hide has just graduated from the Dragon Academy of Knights and Warriors, and with a new quest in his pocket, he’s off on his first adventure, but little does Quentin know, this may also be his last!

Thanks for your help on the My GRL launch Dean.

My GRL Blog Tour Volunteer Recognition – Papi Z

January 24, 2014January 27, 2014 ~ John W. Howell ~ 4 Comments

Papi Z could be the godfather of the writing community. He embraces the good in each and every one of the Indie authors and has set a tableau which gives exposure to one and all. I think of Papi as the matriarch holding court at the biggest literary dinner of all. He calls it the Literary Syndicate and the rest of us call it god send.

If you have not taken advantage of being listed as an artisan on Papi’s site you ought to go out in the yard and kick your own ass. He has taken the time to place in one spot not only the writers, poets and other assorted crazies who put words together, but also book reviewers, cover designers, editors, and helpful literary sites. It is all there under the Friends of the Syndicate tab. In short almost everything a struggling author might need to actually be successful.

On top of the information on the site Papi calls for submissions for collections that are to be published under the Literary Syndicate banner. The first Literary Syndicate collection has been decided upon. Monsters Under The Bed: A Horror Compendium (that is a working and not final title) has an official due date to have your stories in by March 15th, 2014. These should be stories in the 5,000 to 15,000 word range. Where to send them: theliterarysyndicate@gmail.com with Monsters Under The Bed in the subject line. For full details go HERE.

The Literary Syndicate is also accepting smaller word count stories for those authors who are challenged by the bigger count requirements. You can go HERE for the details.

His book Retail Memories: When Customers Attack updated version is now available on Amazon

Papi thank you so much for helping with the My GRL launch. You pitching in is like Payton Manning tossing the ball around with a little league receiver. This receiver really appreciates it.

My GRL Blog Tour Volunteer Recognition – Rhonda Blackhurst

January 24, 2014 ~ John W. Howell ~ 2 Comments

Rhonda Blackhurst’s blog–A Novel Journey Experiencing life through words and grace is as descriptive of the content as could be made. Rhonda says it best, “A Novel Journey was born by my desire to live a life of grace, through the grace given to me daily, by reaching out to others through words and story. A Novel Journey. Novel–‘new’ and ‘books.’ Fitting for my loves. Each “new” day is a novel one. One in which to live with abundant gratitude and grace, for there is so much to be grateful for in this life.”

While reading Rhonda’s blog I became aware that she is a wife, mother and grandmother. She is also a lover of words and has written a number of novels which are in various stages of finish. The NaNoWriMo of 2013 produced 50,000 words by Rhonda and is a rough draft for her mystery novel titled; The Last Resort. Rhonda is also a member of Northern Colorado Writers

Rhonda took some time to capture the reasons why she writes. I think you might enjoy an insight into her motivation. Here is what she said on a post recently:

I write because when I do, I:

* Feel freedom and the ability to express myself in a way that nothing else can match.

* Feel joy, peace, and pure contentment. Even if I’m working on a piece that doesn’t come easy, I’m in my element in the quiet of my office with pen in hand or fingers on the keyboard, mood music playing softly on Pandora, and my mind creating whatever it happens to be creating at that moment.

* Get more connected with God by making my thoughts concrete on the page, where oftentimes it’s then I can see where God is working in my life, or where I’m not, showing me I need to make myself available for more of God.

* Am able to live vicariously through my characters–where else can one live so many different lives and have so many fun, funny, loyal, and even quirky friends?

* Have the ability to reach and connect with other people who I wouldn’t have been able to without the magic of written words. I’m able to connect with my sponsor kids through Compassion International, making a difference in lives in another country. How blessed am I! I’m able to connect with readers on this blog, every one of which I am so grateful for. It’s a magical connection that other writer’s at heart can likely understand.

* Can turn a bad day to better from being able to escape to another world, whichever I happen to create, or by simply writing my feelings on paper, making me aware of them and then being able to let them go.

* Spent a number of years getting too busy with life, which resulted in not writing, and I’m a much happier person when I write.

* Cannot imagine my life without words and story, whether handwritten or from the keyboard. The vehicle which produces those words doesn’t matter, only the fact that I’m able to do it.

When you visit her blog you will also get a sense of the spiritual side of Rhonda as she is thankful for the gifts given her. She is one of those people who make you feel good through her love of life. Thank you Rhonda for helping me launch My GRL and I hope to return the favor on your novel

My GRL Blog Tour Volunteer Recognition – Melissa Janda

January 24, 2014 ~ John W. Howell ~ 2 Comments

Thank you Melissa for helping launch My GRL. In following Melissa’s blog titled: Melissa Janda A Time to Write for the past year I have learned so much.

The first thing I learned is she is one of the nicest, most considerate bloggers in the sphere. She seems to be everywhere when it comes to supporting her fellow bloggers. The support of my book launch is a small example of the many times you will see her using her space to promote someone else.

The second thing I learned is when Melissa makes up her mind to accomplish a goal you can put your money on the fact that she will do it. In 2013 she wanted to compete in NaNoWriMo. She became a winner with 50,004 words. This on top of all the other things she has to do. For 2014 she plans to read 50 books and to make ten of them from the Modern Library’s Top 100 list. Anyone want to bet against her? I’ll take that bet.

The third thing I learned was Melissa’s dedication to the writing craft. She is actively involved with prompts and teasers and does challenge each of us to join in the fun. She also has a word of the day feature which I find very helpful. Over time I am finding that the exposure to her word of the day causes me to upgrade my use of words which have been dormant since the old memorize vocabulary days. It is really nice to pull something from the brain while writing and not have to go look up a word. I would say just checking in for the word of the day would be very beneficial, but do yourself a favor and stay for a while and read. Another thing you should do is; check out her Resources for Writers tab. Melissa has eliminated the need to hunt for a place to get information on writing, publishing and marketing. She has a bunch of links which can prove to be useful if you investigate them.

Finally I learned Melissa wants to become a published author. She has the ability, the skill and I believe the determination to make that happen. I believe one of these days this will be a goal met by her. Thank you again Melissa.

TGIF is as TGIF Does

January 24, 2014January 23, 2014 ~ John W. Howell ~ 16 Comments

Friday is here again and it is time to celebrate the week. If you read my stuff you know I am knee-deep in a blog tour helped by wonderful bloggers around the world. Since My GRL has been published a retrospective of thought brought me to a truism of writing which I have often read about, but never experienced. The truism goes something like this: THE EASY PART OF WRITING A NOVEL IS WRITING A NOVEL. I could not imagine this to be true working alone in my garret with no one to test ideas on but a cat. I have to say at this point it seems to be true. To recap:

You write . . . (check)

You edit . . . (check)

You submit and query . . . (check, check, check, check how many queries?)

You edit some more . . . (check)

You pick out art . . . (check)

You wait with bated breath . . . (check)

You watch your book go live . . . (check)

You die as something is delayed on the e-version . . . (check)

You die as the image on the e-version refuses to download properly . . . (check)

You pray for good reviews . . . (check)

Now the real work begins, selling the damn thing wonderful story to the reading public.

I wrote a little Haiku with the spirit of the situation in mind. I hope you like it

Write a book alone,

Finally see it published…

Selling is hard work.

Have a good weekend.

My GRL Blog Tour Volunteer Recogntion – Julian Froment

January 23, 2014 ~ John W. Howell ~ 6 Comments

Julian Froment has a very active life. His blog which he titles appropriately Julian Froment’s Blog has an interesting mix of prose, poetry, and importantly book reviews. Julian’s overall direction of his blog is summarized by his sub headline; Life, Literature and Lewd Comments. The picture of a lion is on this post since if Julian were an animal (come on Ionia no giggles) I think he would be a lion

Julian is also a collector of books and describes his collection as follows: “I also enjoy collecting books and have a (very) small collection of first editions, mostly Enid Blyton’s children’s adventure stories.”

Those of you who regularly stop in to visit Julian know he is a man of beautiful words and a keen sense of good writing. His prose and book reviews always hit the mark. What you may not know is Julian is also a world traveler and lately is commuting between the UK and the US. The reason for this is he has the love of his life living here and cannot seem to convince the US government that he is worth having as a long-term resident. So he must limit his visits to the time proscribed by the government. He is 43 years old, and a senior manager at an environmental analysis and ecotoxicology services company, CHEMEX Environmental International Ltd.. His job is mainly concerned with the environmental chemistry side of the company. So WTF gov. We don’t have an unskilled laborer here, he will be able to support himself.

This situation has created a global Romeo and Juliet story with the government acting as the patriarch. The rest of us can only stand and watch. I do want to thank him for supporting My GRL launch blog tour. Also Julian has a birthday on January 27^th. Go visit and wish him a happy day.

Thank you Julian for helping with the My GRL launch

My GRL BLOG Tour Recognition – Marie Ann Bailey

January 23, 2014 ~ John W. Howell ~ 11 Comments

Marie Ann Bailey is a My GRL blog tour volunteer today. She is a wonderful person who dedicates herself to her job, her husband, her cats, her knitting and most certainly to her writing. Marie is the author of 1WriteWay a delicious combination of original work, collaboration, interesting reblogs and other supporting posts in favor of supporting other authors. Marie was also an editor for the Community Story Board in 2013 and was responsible for creating the post that was honored with the Freshly Pressed designation by WordPress.

I have also had the pleasure to work with Marie on the collaborative posts that are simu-published on each of our blogs on Monday. The idea came out of the fact there were numerous blogs on the subject of top ten. There were top ten cute animal photos and top ten ways to ask for a raise among a few. We could not find a top ten things not to do. Long story short we decided to create a feature of the Top Ten Things Not to Do. Next week we will be posting our 30^th.

Marie’s motto is,” I am therefore I write.” She is hoping to get a novel going and has posted the Writer’s Creed for all to see to give her inspiration. Perhaps it will inspire you as well. Thank you so much for the help Marie.

My GRL Blog Tour Volunteer – Robynn Gabel for IAN

January 22, 2014 ~ John W. Howell

Ever heard of the IAN? Of course you have. IAN is Independent Authors, Editors, Graphic Artists & Publishers who’ve decided to showcase themselves and their work in one great site for their fans. You can visit the site HERE Big Thank You to Robynn Gabel for helping out with the tour. Her books:

You can also find Robynn here:
Robynn’s Musings
Robynn’s Website
Robynn’s Blog
LinkedIn
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Smashwords
Kobo
BookRix
Goodreads
Fanstory

Some of the information about IAN is:

The authors of IAN are self-published. This means they cannot answer industry questions regarding publishing houses aside from what is common knowledge.

From time to time, there will be special giveaways or contests for the readers to receive free merchandise or books from IAN authors. However, if anyone would like to purchase any of IAN author’s books be sure to check the IAN Bookstore and specific author pages.

While the IAN community is small, specialties range from short stories to graphic design and publication. If there is something the reader doesn’t know or would like to see, please use the Contact IAN box. IAN needs to know what the reader wants to see!

IAN encourages interaction with author fans at every step of the way. Please don’t hesitate to contact IAN or any of the authors or service members. All will do their best to answer questions and bring the information readers want to know!

Thank you Robynn for the help on the tour.