Author gives readers something new to sink their teeth into/ Michael J Elliot, Indie Author Extraordinaire

***Michael J Elliot has worked his literary magic again with Choice Cuts-A Bite From The Dark Realm. Join me in this post while we learn a bit more about him and his works.

***On Halloween 2015, Aussie horror writer launched his first collection of shorts, Portraits Of Dread. His first work was very well received and gained him some very favourable reviews. Now, exactly a year later, Michael is set to chill his readers again with his new collection, Choice Cuts-A Bite From The Dark Realm.
As Michael explained, “This is another eclectic mix of stories, from dystopia, to good old fashioned horror. I hope I’ve created a nice mix for my readers. I’ve tried to add that unexpected twist and the wry humour which readers have told me they enjoyed in my first collection.”
STORIES INCLUDE:
PENANCE
Deep within the bowels of an ancient mountside convent, Sister Elizabeta is locked away praying for forgiveness while the Council of Elders decide on a horrific punishment for her sins. What was Sister Elizabeta’s transgression and what is the punishment she is about to undergo?
A BITE FROM THE DARK REALM.
Something is eating the food at a suburban London supermarket. When his overbearing boss tells Allan to rid the store of whatever is infesting the store, he discovers something far more terrifying than rats and mice.
BLACK SILK PANTIES.
Jacob O’Halloran is a sexually repressed bachelor. He gains his fufillment by stealing women’s panties from suburban clothes lines. When he tries to steal from Audrey he is going to be plunged into a nightmare because Audrey has some issues of her own.
CHOICE CUTS ALSO INCLUDES:
Upon A Dark Horseman
Choice Cuts
Farewell Dear Friend
Brood Mother
And more.

 

You can  buy the paperback version on the Amazon page for $10.99 link below to his author page on Amazon

CONTACT THE AUTHOR.
Michael loves connecting with book lovers and readers from around the world. Feel free to ask him about his work or just say G’day at any of the following.

 Facebook
WordPress

Get the Book

Amazon 

 

The People Behind the Indie Authors/ Indie Services Providers

 

Hello one and all. Today I bring you the people behind the Indie authors. The illustrators, cover artists, formatters, publishers, editors and more.

While the story line and plot itself are the sole work of the authors there is much to be said for those that make it all possible for us. I’ve met many great indie service providers since launching my writing career and would be remiss if I didn’t spotlight some of them here for the world to see and know. While this isn’t a full listing of providers it’s still covers quite a few that were kind enough to provide me with their info and links to share here with you.

Before you go on to check out this awesome list of great and talented folks, I would like to say

Thank you to all of you. Your services are important to Indie authors and without you some of us may be left hanging in the wind with no idea of what to do after the story is written.

“””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””

First on my list is the very sweet, word guru,  professional,  personable and reasonably priced Jenelle Roxie Marshall a fine editor and owner/operator of the wonderfully named business,  The Art Of Syntax, LLC.

I’ve had the pleasure of working with Jenelle. She edited my very first work, The Orchid Keeper novella. She has since gone on to edit other indie authors works and it has been said she is delightful to work with. She’s adept at what she does, and remains respectful and mindful of the creative minds of her clients. She fully understands how important our works are to us ( She is an author of some very fine poetry and musings herself!), and she provides her services with that in mind. If your looking for a thorough editor with a massive knowledge of words, synonyms, grammer and puncuation then I suggest you contact The Art of Syntax. Competitive pricing, and detailed feedback with her edits. Also, she has great skill as a ghost writer. You can learn more on that part o her skills by visiting any of the links I have included.

 Ps. She is an editor at heart and her editor hat is always on… And I bet she will more than likely find quite a few errors in this post 😉

Her link below:

Facebook page, where you can get to know the owner of The Art of Syntax, LLC and check out the projects she has and is currently working on. See TAOS here.

 

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Adam Mitchell  is a truly talented artist. He recently did a map for one of my books and I could not be happier with the end results. In the future I fully intend on having him sketch my book characters as well. Timely, efficient and very personable to work with. Adam has also written a couple books and has provided a few links for you to check out below.

Here’s a bit from the man himself:

I OFFER, WHERE POSSIBLE, CUSTOM HAND DRAWN ILLUSTRATIONS . TOTALLY CUSTOM MAPS AND OTHER CARTOGRAPHIC SERVICE. ALSO AM BREAKING INTO BOOK COVERS.


I’VE ALSO RELEASED TWO NOVELS ALL OF WHICH ARE SOLD ON MY WEB PAGE .

 

MY FACEBOOK PAGES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS MY FACEBOOK PAGE FOR ILLUSTRATIONS

The wonderful map he made for me will soon be gracing the front page of my upcoming book, The Fading Light. Samples of his work can be found on his pages and websites.

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A good cover is imperative. It’s the first thing a reader sees. Covers are like a books calling card. A successful cover can lead to initial sales. Much like when you go out to eat, those pictures of food in the menu draw you to a certain entree, dessert, refreshment etc. The face of our books are very important. It takes real,and true, talent to put together an awesome cover for our babies.

Speaking of real and true talent I bring to the table the lively Julie Nicholls cover artist extraordinaire.  My next book will have her art on its cover. I’ve seen some of her covers and I am truly impressed. She also does some pretty awesome banners.

Here’s a word and some links form Julie; 

 I am Julie Nicholls and I’m also known as Mirishka and JMN Art. As well as an author, I am a graphic designer and creating covers and banners is my game. All of my covers are my own creation, and some of them are digital paintings and some manipulations.

If you’re looking for a cover for your next masterpiece, be it a fantasy romance, urban fantasy, women’s fiction or any other genre, I’m your gal.

My official website hosts some of my works, you can click the link below to see them.

***(there’s a couple samples below and links to see Julies full art resume.) ***

I thought you’d like to see one of my own personal favorites. This is for my latest novel, Dragon Moon. It started out as a pre made cover that I posted on my site at a reduced rate, but when I had the idea for a new novel, I decided I should keep it. It started out on the left and finished as my own cover.

.I also create banners for social media or web sites, and promotional banners.




You can find me on Twitter @juliemirishka

On Facebook as Mirishka’s Artwork

Mirishka’s Artwork

Also please visit my > website to view more of my cover and banner artwork.

I’m easy going, will work with you to find the best possible cover for your novel, and my rates are extremely competitive.

********************************

 

Joe Compton is a blessing to the Indie world. He has set up a platform that allows for authors to get exposure, discuss their works, inspirations and processes. A fine promoter of all things indie Joe Comptons GoIndieNow platform/site is a go to for what’s going on with some great indie authors/artists. When it comes to offering a place to put yourself and your work out there Joe is your guy. He and those that work with him at GoIndieNow are a must do for many. I allow the man himself to tell you more;

____________________________

From Joe Compton, 

GoIndieNow is an online platform that fosters, highlights, and promotes Indies of all art forms and disciplines. We do that in a lot of ways. The best is through our video content. We have our flagship show, GOINDIENOW, a monthly video magazine style show with 3 or 4 featured interviews, a BULLETIN BOARD segment that gives performers insight to places to submit their work and be seen, a NEW RELEASES segment which highlights all the new and exciting things coming out of the world of Indie Artistry,and review segments for even more exposure to Indie artists.We do another fun video show called COFFEE BREAK that is a rapid fire question/conversation with 1 featured artist. We also have a monthly LIVE PANEL Discussion Show, where we talk about the issues and give insight to our worlds.

 TO BE A GUEST ON THE SHOW OR PANEL

 lATEST COFFE BREAK EPISODE

 LATEST FLAGSHIP SHOW

LAST MONTH’S LIVE PANEL ON BOOK COVERS: http://youtu.be/jYDyLs63rqM

website: http://goindienow.com

FACEBOOK

twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Joedream73

audio podcast version of show http:indienow.po//godbean.com

GoIndieNow is an online platform that fosters, highlights, and promotes Indies of all art forms and disciplines. We do that in a lot of ways. The best is through our video content. We have our flagship show, GOINDIENOW, a monthly video magazine style show with 3 or 4 featured interviews, a BULLETIN BOARD segment that gives performers insight to places to submit their work and be seen, a NEW RELEASES segment which highlights all the new and exciting things coming out of the world of Indie Artistry,and review segments for even more exposure to Indie artists.We do another fun video show called COFFEE BREAK that is a rapid fire question/conversation with 1 featured artist. We also have a monthly LIVE PANEL Discussion Show, where we talk about the issues and give insight to our worlds.

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Anika /Raven Blackburn is an artist and an author from the country of Germany. Another wonderful book cover artist.  I have had the pleasure, through other authors, to see some of her covers and I must say that she certainly has talent. I have read that she is wonderful to work with and delivers, to the author, a wonderful rendition of the writers vision. Her covers relate to the books content very well. Not only is this service provider a wonderful book cover artist , she is also a pretty well established author herself. 

____________________________

She specializes in Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy, but she also loves to create Science Fiction and Horror book covers. When she’s not creating covers or writing stories, you can find her curled up with her cats, coffee and a good book or watching Netflix.

Links:

www.selfpubbookcovers.com/ravenborn

Ravenborn.www.facebook.com/Covers

~Anika aka Raven Blackburn

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Without the help and knowledge of an assistant the weight of it all can overwhelm an author. That is the very reason some of us hire an Author Assistant. I introduce Karina Kantas, author assistant pro.  There is nothing like having someone on your side and in your corner. Kantas not only brings what she promises to the table, she brings more. 

A testimonial by J. Compton

There’s a lot of marketing and promotional sites and a lot this and that promised to you as an artist out there, but with Karina, she has more than a promise. She has your best interest at heart. I think there is no value too high for that. Do you?

This is a testimonial that supports that very statement…do yourself favor and if you need some marketing done or you struggle with the business at hand of selling yourself and getting your name out there, talk to Karina Kantas and KKantas AuthorAssist.

 

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100010977245139&fref=ts

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Lynn Lamb, author of The Survivor Diaries and more, is another person who is indispensable to some authors. A true jack of all trades Lamb does just about everything; writes, assists, trailers, pomos, teasers etc. I have a trailer for my novella that she did and I am extremely happy with it. She gets deep into the emotion an author wishes to portray and  brings it to life in her trailers, banners, promos and teasers. With an education in film making Lynn brings a lot to the table and she puts it all to good use. 

Here is the wonderful trailer she did for my novella:

The Orchid Keeper Trailer
_____________________________

Heres a bit from Lynn;

Bio:
When I started writing, I thought the hardest part of putting out a book would be bleeding my heart out on the page. Little did I know that, in this new world of the indie author, the real challenge would be to get seen in a swamp of millions of books published each year.

My BA in Film certainly positioned me in the book trailer arena, but I also went about perfecting “banner” making. Now, I am hoping to share my skills with those writers too busy to fuss with learning photo and video editing.

I would love to help you get your hard work presented in a professional manner. I understand tight marketing budgets and will do my best to work with you to create images that match your imagination. Stay on top of the latest book marketing tends with Book Banners Etc!

Full menu of author services: http://www.bookbannersetc.com/menu.html

Banners: http://www.bookbannersetc.com/banners.html

Book Trailers: http://www.bookbannersetc.com/book-trailers.html

Facebook Book Launch Coordinator: http://www.bookbannersetc.com/book-launch-coordinator.html

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Janelle and Rob Alex ….Every authors dream team!!!!!

Rob and Janell Alex are wonderful and the vast amount of knowledge between the two of them is something they willingly share with Indie authors around the globe. The information these two share, in their groups, Live Facebook feeds etc. has helped me immensely. Both are very personable and approachable people. With them there is no dumb question and they do their very est to answer any and all questions. Our success as writers is important to them. They understand the creative process so keenly I believe because they both have gone through it all. They are both writers/authors themselves, so the advice they give and the help they offer is tried and true. They have a wonderful group called Creative Marketing for Authors and I have learned a lot in that group and the Live video feeds they do on a weekly basis. 

LINKS, TESTIMONIALS & A BIT ABOUT THEM;

Private Coaching:

http://authorstalkaboutit.com/coaching/personal-coaching/

Author VIP Day:
http://authorstalkaboutit.com/author-vip-day/

Podcast
http://www.authorstalkabout.com

Social Media:

http://www.facebook.com/AlexFamilyAdventures
http://www.instagram.com/AlexFamilyAdventures
http://www.twitter.com/janelledalex
http://www.facebook.com/janelle.alex

Testimonials:

Janelle and Rob Alex helped me create magic. They spent a considerable amount of time getting to know my brand and my message.  Simply put, Janelle and Rob are not only wonderfully talented people but deliver results! – Laura Corn, New York Times Best Selling Author of 101 Nights of Great Sex

I finally found the gems I was looking for to improve my social media – Janelle and Robert.  They take the time to understand their client’s branding and direction of their marketing. They ask the right questions and carefully listen to the answers.  They are simply some of the greatest professionals I’ve ever met.  – Patrice Bisiot, Celebrity Hairstylist, Author, Motivational Speaker

It is refreshing to work with people who put in the time to authentically help other authors. – Darryl Lyons, Co-founder and CEO of Pax Financial Group, Author of Small Business Big Pressure

Inklings author, Meg Hafdahl’s interview was fun, easy to do and a great marketing success. – Fern Brady, Executive Director and CEO of Houston Writers Guild

Thanks so much to Janelle and Rob for intervieing me on Authors Talk About It show.  I really enjoyed the chat and appreciated their very energectic and refreshing interview style.  The questions were great!  They really deliver on providing relevant content to their listeners. – Chuck Blakeman, CranksetGroup, Author of Why Employees are Always a Bad Idea

I appreciated the time and effort that went into our discussion. Not just the time spent, but the obvious time spend on preparing for the chat beforehand, and the focus and astute observations in the course of our time together.  Many thanks! – Michaelbrent Collings, Bestselling Novelist, Screenwriter and Writing Instructor

 More can be found here



Dr. Janelle Alex, Ph.D.
Traveling Entrepreneur – Living Free – Currently in Panama City Beach, FL

I’m a visibility coach for women entrepreneurs, who dream of traveling the world with their families but don’t know how to be seen by their ideal clients and fans. I help them develop a “Here I Am” plan that fits their lifestyle, so they can create personal freedom while having super successful businesses and thriving relationships as moms and wives.


Join my brand new Facebook Group – Women Entrepreneurs Blazing a Trail

Join our Facebook Group – Creative Author Marketing

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Well folks, that is it for this installment of, The People Behind The Indie Authors. Stay tuned for another installment next week ,where we will take a good look at some indie publishers, Markie Jordan- Madden and Claire Plaisted, of Metamorph Publishing and Plaisted House Publishing, some indie editors, beta readers and much more.

Thanks for reading.

Blessings,

Jennife Deese-Author

 

 

TaKe Two & Back to the Front!!

New Beginnings …and this one is a celebratory one! To All my followers I have decided that this blog needs a revamp. While I love every single  post and ramble  have posted on this blog,  I have gotten that spring cleaning bug (ok so I am quite a few months behind …its the way my head works!)Starting tomorrow this Site, To Write is Right!!!, will be UNDER CONTSTRUCTION. No pertinent information will be deleted, however older material and up and coming material will be presented in new ways. *writer of this post scratches her head and wonders if she can pull this off. She is no pro blogger by any means and wishes she had “people” to do this for her. Now she laughs hysterically at her own joke. Ok back on track now folks sooooo where were we? ********************

Ok here we go; I have decided to reconstruct my blog  and considering the fact that I am in no way adept in the art of blog maintenance this may take a bit. I have never really been able to format this blog in accordance to how I see it in my head however, I am going to give it another go. setting up pages and static pages etc. is all so very confusing.

I will be starting this project today and keeping my fingers crossed that I end up with something halfway presentable. than you kindly for your patience.

The Orchid Keeper Reviews & Sneak Peek!

The Orchid Keeper Reviews & Sneak Peek!.

JennTerras thoughts and musings Blog

JennTerras thoughts and musings Blog.

Marketing and Promotion Newbie.

My first book, The Orchid Keeper, was published July 1st 2014. My publisher is ABuzz Press and part of my contract is that I do my own marketing and promotion.

Well believe me when I say that as a new author my head did spend a few times in the beginning, and still does sometimes this many months later when it comes to promotion and marketing.

Being a complete novice when it comes to marketing I say that hands down two things were my saving grace. Without these two things I don’t think I would feel as good about where I’m at in the literary world as a new author as I do right now.

1.) All Abuzz Press authors are given a free copy of Angela and Richard Hoy’s ’90 Days of Promotion’. I advise that any new author read this. It is a wonderful way to get your ducks in a row in the beginning. As a guideline through the first 90 days of promoting your book I would rate it at ten!!

The advice, format, timeline, resources, etc given put forth in this wonderful marketing and promotion tool/guide truly helped me through a lot of what would have otherwise grayed my hair and had me running in the other direction. No joke!!! I seriously had no idea where to begin or what to do!!!

90 days of promotion is also offered for purchase even if you do not publish through ABuzz Press just visit

http://www.writers weekly.com/

Many of you may remember a previous post of mine about ‘Writers Weekly’ e-zine. Also a great author resource.

2.) Last week I joined the ‘Ask David’ community at, .

Book promotion is, in my opinion, this sites forte. The tools, links, exposure, and contact with readers and authors that are now available to me are phenomenal!

In the few days that I have had my book on thus particular site I have seen definitive improvement in my exposure. I am being exposed to 1,000’s of people. Both my personal blog and my authors blog have picked up followers via links on my books askdavid.com page. My debut book has made some sales as a direct result of Ask David.com. Via my books page on this site people can link straight into all if my websites and pages.

I am extremely satisfied with my choice to become a author member on this site. I would suggest it to any author asking my opinion!

Check it out you won’t regret it…

http://askdavid.com

In closing, I give thanks for having the opportunity to utilize both if the above mentioned marketing and promotion resources. I also wish to vehemently recommend them to all authors who are responsible for thier own marketing. They have certainly helped me in so many different ways.

One great E-News magazine for Authors!!!

WITERS WEEKLY E-MAGAZINE (My personal review)

When it comes to writing news and opportunities one of the sources I rely heavily on is Writers Weekly. The resources they lead me to, the contests, the writing news and updates are rock solid and reliable. I came across this source when I began looking for writers resources and before I signed on with Abuzz Press.

This is a weekly published e-zine and I have greatly benefitted from all it has to offer each week. I have even won one of their weekly trivia contests. There is regular 24 hour writing contest that is prompted with a small five dollar entry fee…well worth it!!!

News on POD publishing, self publishing, publishing with both BookLocker, http://publishing.booklocker.com/, and Abuzz Press, http://www.abuzzpress.com/about-abuzz/.  (Abuzz is my own publisher, and I have had a great experience with them) As well as price comparisons for self publishing packages. They give great advice, offer a 90 days of promoting ebook, which in my opinion is a must have for all authors, agents seeking clients, and a plethora of wonderful tools, books, and insights for all writers…new and seasoned. Below you will find a link that will allow you see exactly why I suggest this particular e-zine for writers to you all.

http://www.writersweekly.com/

or just simply go to writers Weekly.com and sign up for your free online weekly subscription….IT IS A MUST HAVE!!!