The weather is gray and drippy where I am right now, which means it's a perfect day for reading. (Let's face it, most days are perfect for reading as far as I'm concerned.) If you're looking for something to read without spending any money, check out this giveaway of urban fantasy and paranormal fiction. A little magic, a little mayhem, a little romance. There's something for everyone. Click here to start downloading books.
Nicole Morgan's limited edition romance collection SUMMER SOLSTICE is now available for pre-order at all your favorite ebook retailers. Click here to snag yours for just 99 cents. This is paranormal romance with the sensuous summer solstice as a focal point. My fairy romance novelette, Soul Kiss, is in the collection and I'm excited to read everyone else's story.
Celebrate the month of love by going to a virtual book fair. Click here to see what's on offer, including the upcoming boxed set GUARDIANS. (My novelette REZSO is in the set.)
Click here for your chance to win a paperback copy of The Gunslinger (first in the Dark Tower series) and a $10 Amazon gift certificate. I don't know about you, but I can do a LOT of damage with a $10 gift certificate.
Berkeley Hunt is a
freelance writer and story analyst specializing in horror. She has 15 years' worth of experience under
her belt working on such films as Looper, The Reaping and Ocean's
11.She is based in North Hollywood,
California, home of the Academy Of Television Arts And Sciences and the
infamous Circus Liquor, home of the towering neon clown. Her story "Camel Jockeys'" appears in Strangers in a Strange Land: Immigrant Stories, published last week by Down and Out Books.
.What inspired your Strangers in a Strange Land
story “Camel Jockeys?” I stumbled across a documentary while
surfing YouTube and was enthralled by the subject. I described it to my editor, who immediately
told me to write it.
Did you
do a lot of research for it? Oh,
yeah. Everything from camels’ names to one
sheik’s announcement that from now on, only robotic jockeys would be used in
racing. Additional research showed that
hasn’t been the case, as natives of and tourists are still reporting seeing
child jockeys.
I was brought up by a father who was way ahead of his time. A fifties father, he celebrated and supported me in every way possible. My younger brother turned into a really good guy himself. My best friend is the kind of man every mother would be proud to have birthed and every person would be proud to know.
I know that a lot of people--a LOT of people--have not been as lucky. The Gillette ad that's runing? That's got people talking boycott? What are they afraid of? It really doesn't bash men--there are positive images of men and boys throughout. That ad made me cry. there's a moment where a guy puts his hand on a wman's shoulder and "mansplains" her views to a room full of people. I have so been there. And out in the real world, I've heard "Boys will be boys" used to explain all sorts of behavior.
If you haven't seen the ad, take a look at it now. This is a transformative moment and Gillette has nailed it.
1.Author James L'Etoile's crime fiction work has been
recognized by the Creative World Awards, Acclaim Film and the Scriptapalooza
Television Script Competition. Bury the Past was a 2018 Killer Nashville Silver
Falchion Award finalist for best procedural of the year. Specializing in gritty
crime fiction, his complex, edgy stories are fueled by two decades of
experience in prisons and jails across the country. Realistic crime fiction
requires an eye for detail while immersed deep within the darkest criminal elements.
James brings these stories to life with his background in probation, parole,
investigation and prison operation. An experienced Associate Warden, Chief of
Institution Operations, Hostage Negotiator and Director of Parole, James is
unique among crime fiction authors.
Major social themes weave through his work, including the
world of human trafficking and future releases include stories set around black
market organ transplants, homelessness, domestic terrorism, political
corruption and the pharmaceutical industry. James is represented by
Elizabeth K. Kracht, of the Kimberley Cameron & Associates Literary Agency.Follow James.
What is the first piece of writing you ever
sold and do you remember how much you got paid for it? Technically, the first
paid crime writing gig was preparing pre-sentence investigations. As a probation
officer, I would pore over the police reports, talk to the investigators, get victim
statements, and interview jailed defendants, all to pull together a “crime
story” and a recommendation for the judge. I didn’t know it at the time, but it
prepared me for becoming an author. There will never be a critic of your
written work, more vocal than a public defender with a client looking at 25
years to life. The first piece of commercial fiction sold was a human trafficking
themed thriller, Little River, to a small press in 2013. I didn’t receive an
advance for that sale and I donated a portion of the royalties to
NotForSale.orghttps://www.notforsalecampaign.org/about-us/, a not-for-profit organization devoted to the fight against
human trafficking.
