A guest post by Autumn Birt Are you a writer? If so, are you meeting your writing goals? Writing is a passion, one usually cobbled together from stolen moments and highs of inspiration. But if you get the writing bug and you get it bad, finding enough time is often a source of frustration. Why […]
This guest post from Martin Crosbie originally ran on my Blogger blog in 2012, and it’s well worth reading again. Martin’s excellent self-published book, My Temporary Life, achieved a great deal of attention in the major media for hitting number 1 on Amazon. Here, Martin explains how he did it. This topic became the basis of […]
If you haven’t yet heard of the force of literature named Russell Blake, crawl out from under that rock and check out his website and pages on Smashwords, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Amazon and the other usual e-book sellers. It’s time to be brought up to speed. Blake writes a new novel every couple of months. […]
My Temporary Life Martin Crosbie, 2012 This was so good. The traditional publishing model is broken indeed if a string of publishers rejected Martin Crosbie’s excellent first novel. I can’t imagine what made them turn it down. The plot is engaging from the beginning, filled with grabbers like high-school bullying and drunkenness and a strong […]
This installment of Written Words has reviews of two very different types of books. First is Secrets by SL Pierce: a taut, fast-paced thriller. Pierce is a professional writer. Her skill and knowledge of putting together a good read is evident in all her books. She doesn’t waste words and knows how to make a […]
The new year came to Ottawa with a high, clear sky, a pale winter sun refracting off smooth expanses of pristine white snow. With the temperature around minus 30 C in the morning, the packed snow on the pavements squeaked. By afternoon, the temperature has warmed to the minus 20 C range. The radio meteorologists […]
When I tell people I wrote the first draft of my upcoming novel, When Shadows Fall (The First Book of the Small Gods) in fourteen days, they either stare at me with a blank expression, make me repeat it to ensure they didn’t mishear me and I actually said forty, or they ask me how […]