The Masquerade Crew

Buffer Click the Buffer Button to add this post to your Buffer Account. The following is syndicated from the blog of JeanNicole Rivers and is posted here with permission. The brave author is not afraid to allow their characters to speak their minds regardless of how bigoted, prejudice, psychopathic, sadistic or self-righteous that mind is in the moment. I am not a brave author, not yet. Our most beloved characters are always the strongest characters. Some are strong with good and love and some are strong with bad and hate and any variety of concepts and emotions in between, nonetheless they are strong. The brave author is not afraid of letting his character call people n*gg*rs or fatties or any other long list of derogatory names that we hear bestowed upon a particular group of people. The brave author is not afraid of allowing her characters to trample the name of God or partake in heinous activity that the average person would shun outright and completely. I am not...

Buffer Click the Buffer Button to add this post to your Buffer Account. The following is syndicated from Writing Off the Rails and is posted here with permission. Yes, this is the glory of my GMail inbox. There’s no mail, it takes up no space and I’m free to focus on real tasks instead of e-mail inertia.

Buffer Click the Buffer Button to add this post to your Buffer Account. Robert James Russell Author of Sea of Trees The following is syndicated from Cellar Door Lit Rants & Reviews and is posted here with permission. Follow the blogger on Twitter: @mayamae Robert James Russell, author of Sea of Trees, a novella I recently read, loved and reviewed, has allowed me to happily pick his brain just a little. In a Q&A, he shared his research methods as well as his inspiration for the story.

Buffer Click the Buffer Button to add this post to your Buffer Account. The following is syndicated from Cellar Door Lit Rants & Reviews and is posted here with permission. Follow the blogger on Twitter: @mayamae At the start of the story, American college student Bill and his Japanese girlfriend Junko have ventured into the Japanese forest Aokigahara, which lies at the northwest base of Mount Fuji. But this isn’t any ordinary forest. Amidst the silence of the trees, people go to end their lives, leaving behind notes, belongings and their sorrows.

The following is syndicated from the blog Writing Off The Leash and is posted here with permission. I teach a high school creative writing class plus I'm still in the midst of judging contest entries. Because of this, my senses are heightened toward first sentences. You know, like when you buy a lime green Fiat and then suddenly notice lime green Fiats on every street and in each parking lot? Yeah. That. I can honestly say from recent experience...there's NOTHING worse than a first sentence turn-off.

The following is syndicated from Mohana's Blog and is posted here with permission. We hear songs, watch movies, and yes, read books about that most elusive of emotions: love. No matter if your culture practices arranged marriages (Indian/Arab) or not (the west). No matter if your parents are divorced (fell out of love) or not. No matter if you are married (harder to stay in love?) or not. I could tell you how at one point in human history marriage was thought of a business transaction, a way to consolidate wealth within families or across countries. Or that modern society has not eased up on women to have a man (and a baby or two) in order to think we have it all. You’re smart. You know these schemes around the world’s most sought after prize — finding one’s soul mate.

The following is syndicated from the blog of JeanNicole Rivers and is posted here with permission. 1. Never judge a book by its cover. Of course you should judge a book by its cover. If the author didn’t put much thought, time or creativity into the cover you can probably expect as much from the book itself. The front cover art of a book is important, it is usually the only graphic that you get for a particular work and it is the foundation on which you base your imaginings for all of the physical details in the story, therefore the author better make sure it’s good.

The following is syndicated from the blog of JeanNicole Rivers and is posted here with permission. 1. Never begin a story in a dream. Why not? What better place to start a story? Dreams are the imagination’s playground and we should never shut them down, not even in our writing. Dreams are where some of my best stories begin and usually I don’t even know that I am there until I wake up. Allow art to imitate life, but if you begin your story in a dream, make it big and limitless and most importantly make it have a point, even if it is not immediately understandable. Start your story in a dream; just don’t make the reader regret that you did.

The following is syndicated from Laxmi Hariharan's site, Young Adult: Old Soul , and is posted here with permission. “So are you going to self-pub?” I asked a friend who has spent years polishing her manuscript, collecting rejection slips and looking out for that long awaited email which asks for the entire novel. “I don’t know, how do you know when you should, and what happens if I were to do so only to have an agent interested in my work?” To go Indie or not, that is the question. A hotly debated issue which has kept many a writer—with a burning need to be read—up many nights. My take: If Indie movies are accepted, why not Indie books? Rob Kroese, author of the self-published, bestselling Mercury Falls and its sequel, Mercury Rises has a great analogy: he likens the league of published authors to an elite night club, with gatekeepers, who decide who gets in and who does not. It struck a chord with me. So I have put together my own quiz, to help you determine whether you sh...

The following is syndicated from the blog Cellar Door Lit Rants & Reviews and is posted here with permission. I recently read an article that noted how vital it is to hook your reader within the first few pages. Well, I would have to say “Don’t Fear the Reaper” does just that starting with Keely Morrison’s suicide and reawakening into the afterlife. Unable to cope after her twin sister’s murder, Keely decides one night to end her pain and join her sister on the other side. What she finds, however, is a smart ass demon, a kind-hearted reaper and regret. While the novel is not altogether without lightness and humor, the opening scene was heart wrenching. I felt her parent’s pain; I felt Keely’s horror over her discarded life. I was sad, distressed, disgusted, empathetic, and obviously, totally involved.

The following (except for the pic) is syndicated from the blog Never burn your apron and is posted here with permission. Will I be too late?

The following is syndicated from Janet Wrenn's Blog and is posted here with permission. Welcome to the inaugural interview in my new blog series called Aspire and Inspire. My very first interview is with the extremely talented and funny Deena Schoenfeldt. She is the director of the digital division of The Book Connection, known as eBook Builders.

The following is syndicated from Greta van der Rol's blog and is posted here with permission. Minor changes to the post were done by the author. My science fiction books include a certain amount of planet-hopping. Now, I know that there will be some sneering and lip-curling over this. But don’t be in too much of a hurry to point a derisive finger.

The following is syndicated from Mythic Scribes and is posted here with permission. James D. Macdonald is the award-winning author of over forty fantasy and science fiction novels, including his most recent work, Lincoln's Sword . I recently chatted with Jim about his frequent collaborations with co-author Debra Doyle, as well as his work in educating writers about publishing scams.

The following is syndicated from Mythic Scribes and is posted here with permission. To read the first part of this interview, see this post .

The following is syndicated from the blog Find a Good Book to Read and is posted here with permission. A woman comes home after shopping, puts her toddler down for a nap, and then stretches out on the bed for a short rest. She wakes up to find a strange man in her bedroom, staring at her….

The following is syndicated from the blog of James Wymore and is posted here with permission. I have never had writer’s block in my life. At this moment I have five books that I want to write. (If somebody were to publish one of the books in my resume I would be more than happy to move one of those sequels to the front of the cue.) In the meantime I decided to write the cross-genre story next. But I’m dragging my feet. I guess what I would say is that I’m in a lull.

The following is syndicated from the blog Help Me Self Publish and is posted here with permission. I have a dear friend who is getting ready to publish her first novel, and I am one of her Beta Readers. I have been a Beta Tester for a Beta Launch or Beta Version, but a Beta Reader for a novel? What a novel idea - I love it!

The Donate a Book Sweepstakes ends 08/31/12 or when 1,000 books are sold. The following is syndicated from the blog New Author Publishing and is reposted here with permission. As part of a promotion from Vocus.com, I am using a 14 day trial app to promote a sweepstakes on my Facebook Fan page . It is a relatively simple promotion which is two part: gain buyers for my book, “Be Still,” and donate a book to the high school library of the winner’s choice. Simple enough, right?

The following is syndicated from the blog Help Me Self Publish and is posted here with permission. Okay, I have a friend (no really, it's not me) who self published her book a few years back before it was all the rage, and then got picked up by Barnes & Noble