Book Launch Guest Post - Over the Deep: A Titanic Adventure, by Samantha Wilcoxson

Ten year old Edwin is surprised to learn that he will be travelling to America on the famous new Titanic. Even more shocking is that he will be going with grandparents he has never known. Why does his mother want to send him away?  Soon he is caught up in exploring the safest, most luxurious ocean liner ever built as it crosses the Atlantic for the first time. What could go wrong?

Available on Amazon US and Amazon UK

The story of the Titanic’s tragic maiden voyage is one that continues to capture the hearts of people across the world even a century later. This retelling focuses on a young Welsh boy who explores the ship, meeting men such as Thomas Andrews, Bruce Ismay, and Captain Smith. Edwin learns secrets about his own family’s past and forms relationships with his newly discovered grandparents along the way as well. 

This novel is filled with historical facts about the Titanic and many of the people who were on board, all woven into Edwin’s fictional story. Edwin befriends Douglas Spedden, Frankie Goldsmith, and Jack Thayer Jr., who are real Titanic survivors. The reader is also introduced to Walter, a fictional character who becomes Edwin’s best friend. When the ship sinks, and Edwin ends up in a lifeboat separated from everyone he knows, he wonders if he has survived the worst only to be abandoned in the middle of the Atlantic.

Over the Deep is my second novel for children and my first adventure into writing historical fiction. It is said that you should write the book that you want to read, and that is why I redirected my writing this way. I am an avid reader of historical fiction that is packed with facts and real historical figures, so that is how I wrote Over the Deep.

In writing No Such Thing as Perfect and Over the Deep I strive to write for children but without condescending to them. I believe in using interesting vocabulary, sharing life’s truths, and giving each reader something to think about while entertaining them with a great story. The main character of Over the Deep is Edwin. He may be only 10 years old, but he undertakes a voyage of epic proportions and meets many exciting people along the way.

The story of the Titanic is a tragedy, and I do not sugarcoat that for my young readers but I do leave them with a message of hope. This novel is appropriate for readers of a 4^th or 5^th grade reading level and is available on Amazon in paperback and on Kindle.

I firmly believe that there is no such thing as a child who does not enjoy reading, but many give up before finding the right book. By creating my story around that of the Titanic, I hope to captivate a few young readers who may have been tempted to give up searching for books that interest them. In Edwin, I hope that they can see a little bit of themselves.

My next novel, which will be released later this year is biographical fiction featuring Elizabeth of York. As a daughter, sister, niece, wife, and mother of kings, this Plantagenet Princess and Tudor Queen makes an exciting study. I look forward to sharing this with my adult readers.

Samantha Wilcoxson

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About the Author

Samantha Wilcoxson is an American writer and history enthusiast. Her writing style, which has been greatly influenced by the writing of Sharon Kay Penman, weaves together historical facts with fascinating fictional characters and entertaining adventure. Samantha also works as a freelance writer, providing a wide variety of articles and web content to clients across the globe. Living on a small lake in southwest Michigan with three children, two dogs, and two cats, Samantha has plenty of writing inspiration. To find out more connect with Samantha on Goodreads or on Twitter @carpe_librum.

Guest Post ~ Balo's War, A Historical Novel About the Plan of San Diego by Alfredo E. Cárdenas

Balo's War uses a variety of characters, real and imagined, to tell the story of a people who went from being Spaniard to Mexican to American in a short span of 30 years. They struggled to hold on to their land, their language, their culture, and their history—against insurmountable odds. At times this struggle resorted to violence.

Available at www.MCMBooks.com

on Amazon US and Amazon UK

Writing a historical novel presents many challenges, not the least of which is to get the history right. In my first novel, Balo's War, A Historical Novel About the Plan of San Diego, I had no problem getting the overarching history right from the start. I had been researching this obscure event, on an off, for 30 years. There was plenty of material to draw from as building blocks.

The real challenge for me did not come to light until I started the final edits of the manuscript. It was the little things that needed to be checked and rechecked. Too often we subconsciously slip into our present day way of thinking and we resort to words and idioms that were not in use at the time of the novel.

My novel took place n 1915. It is a novel steeped in political and regional antagonisms. I resorted to phrases such as 'fascism', 'human rights' and others that did not come into use until later on. I had to double check to see if Lone Star Beer was already a product, what were the types of rifles in use, how much did a suit and tie cost, etc.

But the area where I had the most problems was in transportation and travel. I assumed that I could go from Brownsville, Texas to McAllen, Texas̶ a distance of 60 miles̶ in about a day, after all I could do it in less than an hour today. But, wait, I had my characters in a wagon pulled by a mule. Just how fast can a mule go pulling a wagon. Well as it turns out that trip would take about three days. I had characters walking, riding a horse, taking a train. Just how fast can you get to a place by those means of transportation? It was a little daunting trying to make sure the timelines were right, depending on what mode of transportation my characters were using.

Another challenge that I had not anticipated was making sure the age of my characters aligned with events in the novel. If my main character was 10-years-old in 1888, he could not have been 24 in 1915. So how old did that make his brother and sister and his parents. Did all that align as the story unfolded. And then there was the issue of making sure your descriptions of the characters matched throughout the book. In one chapter I had one of my characters with brown hair but towards the end of the book I had her with black hair. My protagonist had black hair in the beginning of the book and later he had auburn hair. One character I had at 6'3” and later at 6'2”.

Getting all these little facts to work was the bigger challenge than getting the history right. That was the easy part.

Early on I sought the opinion of others regarding my writing style. I'm an old newspaper man and have done quite a lot of writing of government reports. I feared I could not write in a literary style. Sure enough, the biggest criticism I got was that my story did not have enough description. I was telling the reader rather than letting the reader discover through the description. Aside from coming from the Joe Friday school of writing̶ “give me the facts, just the facts ma'am,” when I read a book I gloss over the descriptions. I want to know what happened; how did it happen; who said what to whom. I'm a meat and potatoes sort of guy; I don't pay attention to the garnishments.

So my novel is strong on dialogue, history, culture, geography, politics, ethnic relations, etc., but if you are looking for classic literature, Balo's War may not be for you. But if you want a good read, on an important piece of the history of South Texas, then this certainly will be worth your time. But I am out of time and word count, so you will have to buy the book to find out the rest of the story.

Alfredo E. Cárdenas

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About the author

Alfredo E. Cárdenas was born, raised in San Diego, Texas. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio. He served as director of community and economic development for Duval County before founding and publishing the Duval County Picture, a weekly newspaper in San Diego. He also served as mayor of San Diego for two terms, from 1992-1999. Find out more at www.mcmbooks.com and find Alfredo on Twitter @SoyDeDuval.

Guest Post ~ The Taking (Tales of Malstria Book 1) by Traci Robison

Amarys of Rensweald wants to live without limits. Three generations have passed since the knight LeMerle carved out his realm but legends of his atrocities during the Norman Conquest have only grown in the years between. When the castle he built becomes her home, Amarys is terrorized by increasingly violent dreams and begins to sense she is changing. Now she must face the monster she has released.

Available on Amazon US and Amazon UK

Inspired by classic gothic literature, The Taking is a young woman’s coming of age story set in 12th century England. It is an old-fashioned gothic tale with a new twist. What happens when the novel’s heroine does not want to be saved?

I began writing The Taking while I was in graduate school, working toward a master’s degree in museum studies. Studying medieval culture, history, and iconography filled my mind with the details that bring the settings and characters to life. Like many traditional gothic novels, The Taking blends an artistic conception of history with uncanny, supernatural qualities and considers difficult moral questions. Purposeful ambiguity allows readers to experience the novel in a unique way based on their personal beliefs and experiences.

The Taking is a novel of secrets. Throughout the book, subtle clues reveal another story behind the central action. Dreams reveal subconscious knowledge. Artwork, colors, scents, and settings work as secret codes. On the surface, The Taking is the story of a girl swept away from home to be caught up in love and danger. What lies beneath is raw, sometimes ugly, and fearlessly honest.

Traci Robison

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About the Author

Traci Robison focused on medieval history and culture while completing her MA in museum studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She works as a writer and archivist, often drawing inspiration from the unique historic documents she encounters. Set in medieval and ancient cultures, her completed novels and ongoing projects blend elements of fantasy, horror, and historical genres. Learn more about her work and find links to historical sources at TraciRobison.com. For the latest updates, follow her blog Jots Beyond the Margin and the Traci Robison author page on Facebook. You'll also find her on Twitter @TraciJRobison.

Guest Post ~ Idealism is an Attractive Flower, by Oneida Morningstar Cramer

Idealism is an attractive flower, the first published collection of poetry/photography by Oneida Morningstar Cramer, contains 87 individual “photopoems,” which is a term introduced by Cramer to describe the form of her works combining original poetry and photography. 

Available on Amazon

I first had the idea for this project when I was working as a journalist in the ‘90’s, writing articles for People Newspapers in Dallas. I wrote the text of the articles and also took photographs to accompany them. Over time, I became distinctly aware of how the presence of a picture next to an article subtly affected the text, how the nature of the picture changed ever so slightly your perception of the words and of the article as a whole.

I had been writing poetry, and I began to be intrigued by the idea of putting poetry together with pictures, in order to explore this interesting dynamic between word and image. I’ve always loved playing with words, and I’ve written a lot of poetry in a variety of styles. When I first began experimenting with the photopoem technique, I had a hard time finding the right approach. The balance of forces that exists in the photopoem format is fundamentally different than that of conventional poetry

The ideal flower is not here just any flower, is not the perfect flower; it is a flower that is strangely present and actual, and that affects the way you can write about it. My approach to photography has changed as well. I have found a new freedom to take lots of different kinds of pictures, to exercise the versatile power of the photograph to create not just views but spaces, however small, for the voice to reverberate; spaces as varied as the experience of life itself.

Oneida Morningstar Cramer

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About the Author

Oneida Morningstar Cramer was born in Virginia, raised in Maryland, and educated at the University of Maryland, where she earned a doctorate in physiology. A longtime Dallas resident, Cramer has worked as a scientist, homemaker, teacher, journalist, and has held professional and volunteer positions in the field of non-profit arts business. She has been active as a poet and a photographer for many years. This volume is her first published collection of works.

Book Launch ~ The Simulations, by John Forelli

When Ray Ality arrives for a job interview at Simulations Inc. he's immediately drawn to Delilah, the cute receptionist. Only one problem: she's engaged. Ray soon concocts a plan to win Delilah over, as he and his new, eccentric coworker Bob use the company's software in an attempt to simulate the process of courting her. 

Ray soon discovers that the simulations aren't exactly what he expected, and as he sinks deeper into virtual reality it becomes harder to distinguish real life from the imaginary.

This novel is Office Space meets The Matrix--an existential discourse told among keyboards and cubicles.

New on Amazon US and Amazon UK

Excerpt:

  Something Bob said echoes in my mind. In my head I repeat it. 'Reality is what you make it.' If my reality is to be an endless line of reformatting requests, then perhaps I should make some good of it. And so I proceed quickly through the maze of cubicles as the corners of corporate tedium trace my path on either side. I walk past the company’s receptionist in the foyer. She’s not the one I want, and she’s probably too occupied with an episode of The Office anyway.

  Through the door and into the elevator I go, nervously tapping my foot as the floors tick past. 9...8...7...

  What should I say? It’s not like me to be so spontaneous, but Bob’s speech was strangely inspirational. I can feel butterflies beating against the walls of my stomach in time with my heart against my chest. They’re playing a symphony of apprehension in time with the elevator’s metronome. 6...5...4...

  In my mind I go over what I’ll say. ‘Delilah, if we’re both going to be working here, maybe we should get to know each other better. I was wondering if you’d like to get a coffee one day after work?’ In my heart it’s the apex of romance. In my head it’s the apex of anti-climax. 3...2...1.

  The doors open and the lobby is bathed in the natural light utterly lacking upstairs. The rays shine through the windows opposite Delilah’s reception desk. The revolving door refracts the light into a twirling, glowing symphony that lights the desk as though it’s heaven.

  Delilah stands there, and my heart jumps for a split second when I think about how perfectly romantic the moment is.

  Then I see the man standing there facing her, his facial hair coarse and obscene next to her smooth, dimpled cheeks. He stands there like an oaf, hands in his pockets as Delilah reaches over the reception desk to kiss him. She reaches up with her left hand to touch the scruff and that’s when I see it: a diamond ring, glinting in the sunlight and blinding me with jealousy and disappointment.

  The elevator doors close, confining me in blank sterility under sickening artificial light. I was right. The moment was perfectly romantic. It just wasn’t mine.

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About the Author

John Forelli is 24 years old and lives in Philadelphia. He worked a stuffy corporate job out of college before quitting to write this novel. He enjoys drinking with friends at Fado and Tavern on Broad in Philly and boring them with existential ramblings. John's ideal day would be spent eating pizza and watching Game of Thrones down the Jersey Shore. Find out more at his website www.johnforelli.com/ and find him on Twitter @JOHNFORELLI 

#Writing Contest: Win a Full Manuscript Evaluation by Bestselling Author Barbara Kyle

Bestselling author Barbara Kyle is offering a contest for writers in which the Grand Prize is a full manuscript evaluation: a value of $1200. The contest is open to anyone with a work of fiction or narrative nonfiction. It's free to enter by sending a writing sample of up to 1500 words.

* * * (Entry deadline 30 April 2015 * * *

"And here’s the great thing," says Kyle. "Winners will have up to a year to send me their manuscript. If the work is ready now, that’s fine, they can send it as soon as they get word they’ve won. But if they need more time to complete it, that’s fine too. They have up to a year."

The Grand Prize is Kyle's evaluation of a full manuscript. Second prize is her evaluation of a manuscript’s first 50 pages. Third prize is her evaluation of the first 25 pages.

For further details about the contest and how to enter, see www.BarbaraKyle.com

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Barbara Kyle is the author of the acclaimed Thornleigh Saga series of historical novels ("Riveting Tudor drama" - USA Today) and contemporary thrillers including Beyond Recall (under pen name Stephen Kyle), a Literary Guild Selection. Over 450,000 copies of her books have been sold around the world. Her new novel, The Traitor's Daughter, will be published in June 2015. Through her mentoring, Kyle has launched many writers to published success, including bestselling mystery author Robert Rotenberg, historical novelists Ann Birch, Tom Taylor, and Barbara Wade Rose, award-winner Steven T. Wax, and debut novelist Marissa Campbell.

"Now it's your turn," Kyle tells aspiring writers. "Enter the contest for a chance to win an in-depth analysis of your work - your first step toward success."

For full details about the contest visit www.BarbaraKyle.com and find her on Facebook and Twitter @BKyleAuthor

Guest Post ~ How I came to write a medieval mystery, by Cassandra Clark

The Dragon of Handale is the fifth novel in Cassandra Clark's acclaimed mystery series set in the 14th century.

Available 17 March 2015 at Amazon UK and Amazon US

How I came to write a medieval mystery series is something of a mystery to me.  Until the idea for Hangman Blind came to me I was a playwright and author of contemporary fiction.  It had never occurred to me to write crime and certainly not to write an historical novel of any kind.  Yet, after a very dark period of my life when both my parents died, things changed.  It was a time when I was beginning to feel I would never smile again, let alone write, but one night I woke myself up, laughing aloud. Lol?

The cause was a dream where a tough and ribald knight called Roger de Hutton, a tall, blond, rangy Saxon called Ulf, and a feisty young woman with no name but clearly a nun, were sitting in Roger’s solar, drinking wine and having a party.  I fumbled for a pen and notebook as writers do in the middle of the night and wrote down the dialogue that had made me chuckle into wakefulness.  Then I went back to sleep.

Next morning I rolled over onto my notebook and discovered a little scene that still made me smile. I could feel my face crack.  The whole story soon followed and Hildegard of Meaux, as I discovered the nun was named, set off on her sleuthing adventures, putting wrongs to right and always getting her man.

 

Very quickly, and to my astonishment, it turned into a series set in the reign of Richard II.  I started from the year after the Great Revolt of 1381 (misnamed by the Victorians as The Peasants’ Revolt) because I was curious to know what happened to all those thousands of people from all levels of society and every corner of the kingdom who survived the brutal repression set in motion by Richard’s uncles, John of Gaunt and the Duke of Gloucester in particular. Where did they go?  How did they survive outside the law?  They are a constant theme throughout the series because even after Richard’s eventual murder the rebellion continued until it merged into the Wars of the Roses.

I’ve just started book 7, The Scandal of the Skulls, set during the Merciless Parliament of 1388 – which was as merciless as they come, with 21-year old Richard being the victim of his brutish uncle, the duke of Gloucester, who beheaded or otherwise did to death every one of Richard’s allies within the three terrifying months of that dark spring.

I should say I’m now totally fascinated by Richard II’s reign as even a cursory glance at the records - the chronicles with their authors’ time-serving prejudices, uncensored Parliamentary Rolls, city records and so on - show a very different young man to the one Shakespeare portrays.  That period of English history, too, deserves to be better known. It wasn’t the barbaric witch-burning epoch we might imagine. Not until Richard’s regicidal cousin Henry Bolingbroke authorized the first judicial burnings in England were you likely to finish up at the stake.  And then of course, later, the psycho Tudors really got out their tinder boxes.

As a one-time history tutor for the Open University I discovered the importance of first-hand accounts and how to sift them to link up the facts.  Secret histories lie in the archives to be revealed when historians have time to sleuth through the scrolls.  I’m passionate about discovering how people with no real power managed to survive in such extraordinary times.  The pressures they were under and the decisions that meant life or death make a never-ending saga about our ancestors.

But my main characters are fictional.  Although you might be reminded of the story of Abelard and Heloise when you meet the sexy Abbot of Meaux, Hubert de Courcy, being monastics doesn’t stop Hildegard and Hubert from having a red hot passion for each another.  Of course, as good Cistercians, they are bound by their vows…aren’t they?

What I love about writing this series is that I have an excuse to rootle through dusty archives, haunt ancient ruined abbeys and listen to early music -  and call it research.  I’m just so glad I had that dream.

Cassandra Clark

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About the Author

Cassandra Clark has an M.A. from the University of East Anglia and taught for the Open University on the Humanities Foundation course in subjects as diverse as history, philosophy, music and religion. Since then she has written many plays and contemporary romances as well as the libretti for several chamber operas. The Dragon of Handale is published on 17^th March 2015. Find out about Cassandra's other books on her website at www.cassandraclark.co.uk and follow her on Twitter @nunsleuth