My own curious world about books and writing
There’s quite a bit of ‘hopping’ around the Internet and today is the LAST DAY you can join in! Stop by my Facebook Author Page from now through Halloween and enter my giveaway for a chance to win one of three great prizes! A Fifteen Dollar ($15 USD) Amazon Gift Card One month of Spotify […]
Yet again, another great author – Patricia Gligor – from Mystery Authors International has agreed to share details of her latest book “Mixed Messages” with me.
Mixed Messages is the first in her Malone Mystery series, and with a fantastic cover like this it’ll make a wonderful Halloween read. Here’s what’s in store for lucky readers:
It’s estimated that there are at least twenty to thirty active serial killers in the United States at any given time. There’s one on the loose on the west side of Cincinnati.
It’s the week of Halloween and Ann Kern struggles with several issues. Her primary concern is her marriage which, like her west side neighborhood, is in jeopardy. Her husband is drinking heavily and his behavior toward her is erratic. One minute, he’s the kind, loving man she married and, the next minute, he’s cold and cruel.
Ann dismisses a psychic’s warning that she is in danger. But, when she receives a series of ominous biblical quotes, she grows nervous and suspicious of everyone, including her own husband.
As the bizarre and frightening events unfold, Ann discovers a handmade tombstone marked with her name, pushing her close to the edge. Will she be the Westwood Strangler’s next victim?
That sounds like a suspenseful read, what with a Halloween theme, the ignored warning of a psychic and then that tombstone with her name on … are you getting goosebumps too?
So, how does a writer come up with such a spine-tingling tale? Patricia tells me just that …
One day, shortly after I’d moved into a new apartment on the west side of Cincinnati, I went for a walk in the neighborhood and spotted an old Victorian. I remember standing there, gazing up at the house, captivated. I’ve always loved old houses; they have so much character. Every old house has a history; people have lived there and, in many cases, died there. As I looked up at the Victorian, I found myself wondering what those walls would say if they could talk.
Intrigued, I wanted to find out more about the house and the area so I went to the Cincinnati Historical Society and immersed myself in research. Little by little, I began to come up with plot ideas and possible scenarios. The people who would live in the house and in the neighborhood, the characters for my book, came to me gradually. I drew upon my own life experiences and I took bits and pieces of the lives of people I knew or had read or heard about. A physical characteristic here, a personality trait there. I jotted down those ideas on scraps of paper and it wasn’t long before I had a huge pile, which eventually became a chapter-by-chapter outline.
I fictionalized the house in my mind and on paper to fit the story I wanted to tell, which had slowly evolved. I constantly asked myself questions. What if, in the midst of my main character’s personal struggles, a serial killer is on the loose? What if she has reason to believe he’s after her?
Questions aplenty, and all make for a thrilling read. Do you fancy reading an excerpt? I most certainly do. As they say, my wish is my command 🙂 (Okay, so maybe no-one else says that, but here on my blog I do) Let’s take a look at a snippet then.
Ann tried to shut the door in his face but he pushed hard against it and sent her tumbling backwards. She regained her balance and ran toward her apartment door. The man pounced at her and grabbed her wrist, twisting it. “Stop it!” she yelled. “You’re hurting me!”
He shoved her into her apartment and slammed the door behind them.
She stifled a scream. Please God, she prayed, don’t let the kids wake up. Please help me. Is this him? Is he the Westwood Strangler? Am I his next victim? What can I do? I don’t want to die!
I bet you’re glad I insisted now, aren’t you?
But, guess what? If you’re still not convinced, why not take a look at this book trailer. Click here to view in You Tube.
Whoa! That music freaked me out – it’s so haunting. There goes another shiver down my spine.
If you’re ready to find out what happens to Ann, then here’s the Amazon link you need. Enjoy the story and have a fabulous Halloween.
For more info about the author, check out Patricia’s bio and stalk her on Social Media.
Patricia Gligor is a Cincinnati native. The first three books in her Malone mystery series, Mixed Messages, Unfinished Business, and Desperate Deeds take place on the west side of Cincinnati. In Mistaken Identity, the fourth book, her characters are vacationing on Fripp Island in South Carolina. Marnie Malone, the fifth book in her series, is set in Mt. Pleasant and Charleston, South Carolina.
Social Media Links:
Thanks for sharing your book with me, Patricia. It looks like an entertaining read. Lots of luck with all your stories.
Thank you for reading!
Will Riley captivate you as he has done so many others?
Author Alena Des tells me how Riley came to be, why he deserved his own story, and who – if anyone – can resist his charm.
I created Riley in the second book of my Kings series as a dark angel and the brother of my main female character. He was supposed to be a side character, a character that played his role and then jumped back into non-existence. But the Riley I created soon became much more. He was rebellious enough to take off on his own, defy my plans for him to be nothing more than a side character. Soon, he was backstabbing me as his creator, talking to my readers, making his secretive connections to a large fanbase. Every time he talked, he was mysterious, manipulative. I knew he was the King of Deceptions and soon began to believe he was playing with all of us. Readers kept asking: Is he good? Is he bad? Who is he?
The sexy, humorous and cocky angel soon had my readers panting after him. By the time I was done with my second book, I faced desertion by them unless I wrote his story, the angel who had captivated their hearts. Oh, well…So, I was stuck with Riley. He almost screamed in my head as I was writing his book. I stopped apologizing to my readers for his vulgarity, rudeness and shallowness. He couldn’t help it, he was the son of the Sex Goddess. And, I was merely his voice. Besides, my readers wanted to know more about him, right? This was it. They were free to hate him.
It didn’t really work that way. Riley effused a natural charm. Who am I kidding? There was nothing natural about it. Women were after him. And he just didn’t give a damn. I almost didn’t like him. Almost. But as I scratched the surface with Riley, I found out so much more about this dark Angel.
“I knew I was dancing with death. But I was gonna play the game until it claimed me. And eventually it would. There was no escape.”
I began to wonder: Who was he running from? And why was he behaving this way? I had to find out.
I needed help to bring out the fun, vulnerable side which was bottled deep down Riley. For that, I needed to save him from himself and from the one who was after him. I found the help I needed in Oriana. The woman who lived among the humans but was so much more. The woman who was immune to his sex appeal. The woman who held her own secrets. I knew she would be my savior. And, she would be his.
“Hi there, luv,” I said, turning on the charm. From up close, she was an even better catch. Though she was shorter and not as curvy as I desired, there was something about her which made me pause. “My name is Riley, baby.”
“Get lost, Riley,” the woman said.
I had misheard her. There was no other explanation.
“C’mon,” I said, making sure I touched her. It was done.
I had her. I was sure. “I’m rather impatient, honey. What’s your name?” I asked, knowing full well I would not remember it a few seconds after she told me. It was still polite to ask.
“My name is Oriana,” she said politely, but I noticed the sarcasm. “Now get lost,” she repeated. I watched in amazement as she raised her middle finger.
She was making a ‘fuck off’ sign.
I was confused. I was shocked. There were only a few things that generated those feelings in me. I was having a truly weird moment right now. I liked it.
I can tell you that this whole book blog is all part of his plan. It is nothing but his masterful Deception. Read him at your expense, available since 15th of September, beware that he is waiting to charm you. And, no one, but Oriana, is immune.
If you’ve fallen under his spell, then there’s only one thing you can do: click here to read Heartless.
Reviewers call this “amazing and intense”, “a must-read” and “totally YA”. Check it out for yourself., and let Alena know if you’ve found a way to withstand his appeal.
Thank you for reading.
Look no further.
is the latest book by Adam C. Mitchell, and includes three hard-boiled noir novellas and a gripping short story, all following private eyes, detectives and crooks.
Each tale is set against the backdrop of the 1940’s….
No wonder an early reviewer calls it “reminiscent of Bogey and Bacall”.
With comments like “gritty, dark and dangerous” this is a book that will delight readers who enjoyed “Sin City”.
But if that’s not enough to tempt you in, how about a brief excerpt:
Ready to one-click?
You can get your copy from Amazon via this link: Welcome to Central City
Enjoy the stories and be sure to leave a review for the author.
Reviews keep authors writing.
Thanks for reading 🙂
In the past I’ve used Pronoun for my ebooks, with fairly decent results. In fact, the first time I created an e-book with them I was delighted with the formatting. It was leaps and bounds better than a simple Word upload (mainly because I didn’t have Word – and still don’t – on my laptop). I loved the style options that made my book look a little fancier. A range of swirly or dotty scene breaks (depending on the style selected) added another touch of personality to my text. But … there had to be a but, didn’t there? I’ve since seen better. And, as always, I want better.
The easy option would be to pass the buck: find an established formatter and send my files to them. But, as with everything, it costs money. Assuming I did that each time I wanted to release a new book (which, granted, isn’t all that often) then it would be another cost to add to the growing list of necessary expenditure. After editing and proofreading there is little left in the coffers to justify further expense. So, the answer was to learn how to do it myself.
Well, I like a challenge and if it’s going to save me money and look more attractive and professional, then what did I have to lose? I know you’re going to say that Pronoun and D2D are free to use – and they are both perfectly good alternatives. Except, as I said … I’ve seen better. Besides, without Word on my laptop all files I uploaded to Pronoun always created problems. It is clear that using a LibreOffice file masquerading as a Word file is fraught with hidden issues.
Besides, I write in Scrivener anyway, so that always adds another step to the process. Of course, I can compile my Scrivener file as a Word document, but as soon as I open it to check in LibreOffice those pesky formatting gremlins come out to play. It’s not much fun, I promise you.
For 10 euros I purchased a Udemy course (on sale from 180€) which taught me how to format a file for a print run. I’m chuffed with the results, as you can see below. Not bad for a first attempt. 
So, how hard could it be to adapt that same file for an e-book? Of course, firstly it was out with the headers and footers, but the rest should have been straightforward, don’t you think? Except, once again the incompatibilities between LibreOffice and Word came to visit, and they definitely outstayed their welcome. I was getting pretty cheesed off by now and considered buying a licence for Microsoft Office. But, I held my ground. Just after I saw the price and then knowing it was an annual cost. Hell, no! I’d master this formatting lark if it killed me.
With a file eventually fit for Pronoun, I uploaded it, only to find the choice of style options had increased (yay! you might think) and I didn’t really like any of them. I choose the one I disliked least and went for it. Firstly, the chapter headings fiasco I’d experienced last time returned with a vengeance. But I knew the solution – or rather a workaround. (Fortunately, this was a short book!!!) Then there was the issue of a first paragraph indent – which I didn’t want and hadn’t formatted it that way in my upload. Nothing enabled me to start chapter one without an indented paragraph. Nothing! That’s just not on. I didn’t want an indented first chapter. No-one does! So, I’m waiting on another workaround from the helpdesk (who are very good, I might add). I’d just rather not have a list of workarounds to use each time, especially with a style I didn’t really like. (I mentioned I’d seen better, didn’t I?)
In the end – while I’m waiting for the fudge – I decided to check out more options. Ideally, I’d love to have Vellum. But, it’s for Mac only, and buying a Mac is a step too far. However, I think I’ve found the very next best thing. It’s called Jutoh. It lets me import files from LibreOffice (no need for Word). I can apply the formatting techniques I learnt in the Udemy course or I can use the features within Jutoh itself. I can have fancy heading scrolls, glyphs galore, dropped caps … everything. It can create mobi, epub, and about 10 other different file variations. I’ve used the demo version to see if it can do what I want – and it can – plus more I haven’t even thought of yet.
Okay, so it’s not free. I need to buy a one-time licence for 33€ (39$) and will get free upgrades as they occur. But that’s cheaper than buying Word or a Mac (and yes, I could still use the other free options without all this hassle, but I like having complete control) I shall continue to write in Scrivener (which is the best software I own), compile my files to LibreOffice, upload to Jutoh and use my new formatting skills to produce a pretty e-book every time. I’ll post a photo on here of my next book as it appears on my Kindle shortly.
It’s going to be great – I just know it!
Thank you for reading!
PS – If you’re interested in knowing more, I learnt about Jutoh from MyBookCave. Check it out.
PPS – Pronoun and D2D also publish your ebooks to a number of sites in just a few clicks, so they’re definitely a great option for those with limited time.
It’s been a while since I worked on this story – it was my very first NaNoWrimo effort in 2012, although it has had many restructures since then. Even though I’ve enjoyed getting stuck into my Blackleaf series, every now and then I like to revisit what I’ve done before.
So, to get back into the swing of The Nasrid Charm, I’ve re-read the beginning and feel enthused that I can finally make good with this story. I’ve already determined it will be a series of ten novellas. Yes, ten – I know – but bear with me, it’s a long story spanning a millennium.
And, as luck would have it, I’ve found my sorcerer, Ramelius, too. He’s the main character in book one – A Life Lost – and will feature throughout the series.
Clearly, there’s an element of fantasy attached to the series – which will become clear when readers see the origin of The Nasrid Charm and its powers. However, it’s not just a fantasy, a great deal of the story has its feet firmly grounded in the real world, spanning several eras from Medieval Spain, The Spanish Civil War and modern-day Spain & Britain.
Book One takes us from 1100 AD – The Nasrid Kingdom of Granada to Penance – a holding place between Elysium and The Abyss (aka Heaven & Hell) – where Ramelius is dispatched to live out his Afterlife and manage those who are chosen to bear the powers of The Nasrid Charm.
Book Two – A Life Saved – tells the story of Soraya, the first ring bearer chosen by Ramelius and his fellow Penance colleagues. Soraya hails from a doctor’s family in 15th Century Spain and has ambitions to follow in her father’s footsteps – until the King summons the family to court. From this point on, Soraya’s life takes some disastrous turns and it is only through The Nasrid Charm that her life is saved. However, she doesn’t make life easy for Ramelius and her outspoken manner and unorthodox ideas challenge and frustrate the sorcerer’s plans.
Soraya, by virtue of her wilful ways, is recruited into Penance upon her death, for she must find the next ring bearer but cannot be trusted (according to Ramelius) to have free rein over the decision.
I’ll post more covers for the next books soon, in the meantime I’ll work on polishing books one and two, ready for release in May 2018, with others set to follow shortly after.
Just 4 My Books 