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Ingredients In Story-Telling That Impact A Reader’s Imagination

Bob Clouston
Writing a story is an art in itself. Creating the right setting, the perfect characters, plot, believable dialogue and conflict. With those blended ingredients are what makes a story impact the reader’s imagination, mind and heart. The most important aspect of story-telling is to draw the reader in your character’s world. How are the stories written to do this and how does one make it work? Today, award winning B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree J.D.R. Hawkins shares with us her expertise on this. Stephanie: What are the steps in creating a setting for your story? J.D.R. Hawkins: Since I write about the Civil War, the settings are historically accurate. In my first book of the Renegade Series, A Beautiful Glittering Lie, the setting starts in Montgomery, Alabama, the first capital of the Confederacy, and moves with the story to various battlefields. I also chose an area in north Alabama as my protagonist’s hometown, so the story goes back and forth between north Alabama and Virginia battlefields. Stephanie: There is a fine line between creating a visible backstory and a hidden backstory of your characters. What are the steps in balancing it out? What should you not do? J.D.R. Hawkins: Because I have…

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Authors' Chat, indieBRAG, The B.R.A.G.Medallion, Words of Wisdom, Writers, Readers & Self Publishing

A message in a dream. A face in the mirror. A race against time …

Bob Clouston
  Selkie Moon is a woman on the run. In a mad dash for freedom she’s escaped her abusive husband to start over in Hawaii. But her refuge begins to unravel and she’s running from something else entirely. A voice in a dream says: Someone is trying to kill you. Not that Selkie’s psychic, no way. But the threats escalate until she’s locked in a game of cat and mouse with a mysterious stalker. Should she keep running? Or can she piece together the clues before time runs out? Read more Wow. Such a clever mystery, and equally hilarious, sexy, and entertaining. Cheryl Schopen, Readers' Favorite I loved the clever layering of mythical past with present day reality. A thriller with depth that's really different. Annie Welsh, Top 500 Amazon Reviewer A first-rate psychological thriller with finely wrought characters, a tantalizing puzzle and just a touch of romance, all delivered with the sights, sounds and marvels that are Hawaii as a background. Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite Magic Happens Usually by Accident I used to write children’s books – over fifty of them. Then I started to write my first mystery thriller, but a series of strange events heralded the…

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Authors' Chat, From Fact to Fiction!, indieBRAG, The B.R.A.G.Medallion

The Bowes Inheritance Antagonist

Bob Clouston
Join us in welcoming author Pam Lecky to indieBRAG today. Pam previously was a guest on Layered Pages to discuss her male protagonist in her award winning book, The Bowes Inheritance and today she is talking with us about her antagonist. Pam is an Irish historical fiction author and a member of the Historical Novel Society. She has a particular fascination with all things 19th century, from food and clothes to architecture and social history. Her debut novel, The Bowes Inheritance, was published in July 2015 and has since been receiving excellent reviews. She is delighted to announce that it has been awarded the B.R.A.G. Medallion and was recently named as a ‘Discovered Diamond’ Novel. Last year it was short-listed for the Carousel Aware Prize (CAP) 2016 and long-listed for the HNS 2016 Indie Award. It achieved ‘Honourable Mention’ in the General Fiction Category of the London Book Festival Awards. Pam, what is your Antagonists name? Jack Campbell. He is from an Irish Ascendancy family and takes up the Fenian cause in England in the 1880s. He masterminds a bombing campaign in the north of England (based on fact but he is fictional). What are two emotional traits your antagonist has? Jack is very bitter about his past and how he was…

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Authors' Chat, indieBRAG, The B.R.A.G.Medallion, Writers, Readers & Self Publishing

The Fifty Shades of Grey Effect

Geri Clouston
    I love a good historical romance!  I think reading Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters fueled that love at an early age.  As most of us know, there is a big difference between romance and erotica but, that line is being blurred.  Yes, it is still possible to find a great romance that doesn’t share the intimate sexual acts of the characters however it is getting harder.  This isn’t always a bad thing.  The wild success of Fifty Shades of Grey proves that there is a huge audience for graphic sex.  I am finding that many, if not most, of the historical romances now have graphic sexual content.  As long as it is a good story and well written, a reader can just flip through the sex if they are offended by it and not lose the story or the ability to share in the intimacy of well written characters. But here is the problem I have seen all too often- The sex seems to be added JUST to titillate and not to add to the story.  It often breaks the mood, stalls the story and this lowers my impression of the ability of the author to convey…

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award winning books, Book Marketing, Book Spotlight, indieBRAG, Readers Thoughts!, Romance, The B.R.A.G.Medallion, The Self-publishing World, Writers, Readers & Self Publishing , , , ,

One Reader’s Voice Out Loud With Melissa

Bob Clouston
Our readers are the foundation of what makes indieBRAG unique.  They not only select the books to become the next B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree but give feedback to our authors. This feedback is important not only to the authors but to the reader as well. Readers carry a lot of weight in what we regard as quality in self-publishing. Not only that but how readers see author’s platforms and performance on social media. Today, Melissa is haring her thoughts about promoting books o social media and much more! indieBRAG: How do you find books and what do you think of social media and books? I usually find my print books by visiting my local book stores and browsing the shelves. I tend to find my ebooks by browsing Goodreads. Social media and books isn’t something I’ve grown accustomed to yet, but that’s probably because I spend so much time on my computer for work that I’d rather get out of the house and explore. indieBRAG: Do you go to an author's website or social media when looking for a book or do you usually pick a book based on a search, on sites such as Amazon? I don’t actually search Amazon…

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Book Marketing, indieBRAG, Readers Thoughts!, The World of Reading, Writers, Readers & Self Publishing

One Reader’s Voice Out Loud with Merissa

Bob Clouston
Our readers are the foundation of what makes indieBRAG unique.  They not only select the books to become the next B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree but give feedback to our authors. This feedback is important not only to the authors but to the reader as well. Readers carry a lot of weight in what we regard as quality in self-publishing. Not only that but how readers see author’s platforms and performance on social media. Today Merissa shares with us a little about her reading habits, reviewing books, how she finds books, and much more. indieBRAG: How do you find books and what do you think of social media and books? I usually find books through recommendations from friends, or if I see a book cover/teaser on Facebook. I think social media is a powerful tool in the promotion of books, but it is used so widely that good books can be missed. That's where my friends come into it. indieBRAG: Do you go to an author's website or social media when looking for a book or do you usually pick a book based on a search on sites such as amazon? If it is an author that has been recommended to me,…

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indieBRAG, Readers Thoughts!, Writers, Readers & Self Publishing

Traditionally published authors are not your enemy!

Geri Clouston
Self- Publishing vs. Traditionally Published - let the war begin! Self-published authors are not competing with other self-published authors but ALL authors. Once a book is available for sale, it must be up to the standard that readers expect from all good books. You rarely get a second chance for a good first impression!  Once you put out a book that lacks professionalism, readers will be less likely to try your next book.  This can be a very difficult hurdle to get over. Traditionally published authors are not your enemy.  Most traditionally published authors don’t have any advantages that you can’t achieve. Traditionally Published books are: Edited by the publisher Cover art is done by the publisher Some help with promotion is provided- most is expected from the author unless they have high sales. Lower royalty payments Self- Published books are: Editing is provided by the author Cover provided by the author Promotion done by the author Higher royalty payments. If a SP author pays for professional help, they will probably come out about equal in money made. Doing the work requires time and money but the author maintains complete control- something that is often very important. The self-publishing community…

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award winning books, Editing, indieBRAG, Marketing an indie Book, The B.R.A.G.Medallion, The Self-publishing World, Words of Wisdom, Writers, Readers & Self Publishing , , , ,

Mistake of Consequence and Scottish Oat Scones!

Geri Clouston
Foodie Lit: A genre of novel and memoirs filled with food stories and recipes Each month, I'll share the magic of a good foodie lit read and one of its recipes. Cooking and recipes in books take us into the mind of the character or narrator and brings us into the book's kitchen to see, smell and share the lives within. ​Or I'll take a good read and, with the author, find a recipe to pair with it! Either way, here's to cooking and reading together! ​Susan is the indieBrag Food Blogger       A Mistake of Consequence     Terri Evert Karsten Life was so much harder in 1754 in the American Colonies than it is today.  This was very true for Callie, kidnapped and sold as an indentured servant.  Callie thinks she is going to be free when she escapes her grandfather’s matchmaking, but instead is dumped unceremoniously into the hold of a ship bound for Philadelphia in the American Colonies. Transforming from an upper class young woman in Edinburgh, Scotland to that of an unwilling indentured servant gives her no rights, no escape and little hope for improvement. “Some mistakes are minor, forgotten the next day. Others are calamitous, disrupting the whole patter of life. Mine were of the second…

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award winning books, Bloggers, Book Spotlight, Food for Thought, Foodie Lit, indieBRAG, Readers Thoughts!, The B.R.A.G.Medallion

One Reader’s Voice Out Loud With Antonella

Bob Clouston
Our readers are the foundation of what makes indieBRAG unique.  They not only select the books to become the next B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree but give feedback to our authors. This feedback is important not only to the authors but to the reader as well. Readers carry a lot of weight in what we regard as quality in self-publishing. Not only that but how readers see author’s platforms and performance on social media. Thank you for talking with us today, Antonella! indieBRAG: How do you find books and what do you think of social media and books? I find books in different ways, but I actually prefer reading books recommended by my friends. I think it is a waste of time to start books and then not finish them just because you don't like them. That's why I always welcome recommendations by people who have similar tastes similar to mine. I like reading about books on social media, it is an excellent way to get to know news works and authors. indieBRAG: Do you go to an author's website or social media when looking for a book or do you usually pick a book based on a search on sites such as…

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indieBRAG, Readers Thoughts!, The World of Reading, Writers, Readers & Self Publishing

Oh, The Characters We Love To Hate!

Bob Clouston
Oh, the characters we love to hate! Writing a horrible antagonist is great fun for an author. In my Circle of Nine series the main antagonist is an older woman named Adele. In fact, she is the grandmother of the protagonist’s boyfriend and that makes things a little tricky! Although she is older in the main storyline, we do get to see her within the series at many ages beginning at age eighteen. Adele is both conniving and jealous. In fact, jealousy and perceived slights are her main motivations throughout the series. These feelings are mainly directed toward the women in the Circle of Nine who serve as the guardians of the ancient stone circles of Ireland and the old ways of their tribe, the Tuatha de Danann. Adele has always coveted a spot in the Circle and believes that she (as the more devoted to the old pagan ways and spells) ought to have inherited the position that went to her cousin. The Circle has very firmly established lines of inheritance from one eldest daughter to another . . . and since Adele’s mother was NOT the eldest daughter, Adele has spent her life aching (and plotting) for something…

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