Showing posts with label Kindlescout. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kindlescout. Show all posts

Monday, August 24, 2015

Please Welcome Teresa Roman author of BACK TO US















1. It’s the zombie apocalypse and writers have got to stick together to survive. Pick 3 authors to be on your zombie apocalypse killing team and tell us why you’d choose them.
Teresa says: Jessica Shea Spotswood because she seems like the type of person that would have your back. Kresley Cole because she wrote a darn good series with her own version of zombies so I'm pretty sure she'd know what to do. Hugh Howey because I admire the way he goes out of his way to help fellow authors and feel like he would be a great person to have on your side if I was attacked by a zombie horde.
Meredith says: Hugh Howey, what a guy. I think about about 98% of what I know about self-publishing I learned from stalking Hugh Howey. I think Hugh would have a fellow author's back.
Teresa says:  Plus he'd keep us entertained with his amazing stories.


2. If Stephen King and J. K. Rowling were drowning in a river, who would you save first? And now you have to tell us why ;)
Teresa says: J.K. Rowling. I really like Stephen King, but there's so much I really admire about J.K. Rowling. I like the way she takes to twitter to defend people. I like that she overcame so much before becoming successful with her Harry Potter series. She's a tough cookie.
Meredith says: When I'm feeling down in the dumps, I look up articles on JK's rise to fame. So inspiring and it keeps me going.
Teresa says:  I'd love to chat with her over tea and scones. I think we have similar opinions about a lot of things.


3. We authors are voracious readers. My TBR list is approximately 8 miles long. What are you currently reading?
Teresa says: I just finished The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry which was so good. I highly recommend it especially to fellow book lovers. Flat-Out Love is next on my TBR.
Meredith says: Adding to my TBR.


4. What is the one book that you could read a million times and never get bored with?
Teresa says: There are so many, but I'm going to go with a classic and one of my all time favorites which is The Count of Monte Cristo.
Meredith says: Nice! An oldie but a goodie :)


5. Last year my favorite read was The Martian by Andy Weir. What was your best read of 2014?
Teresa says: Heir of Fire by Sarah Maas. Her Throne of Glass series is one of my all time favorites.
Meredith says: Another one to add to my TBR.


6. This year my favorite read has been The Dog Stars by Peter Heller. What’s the best book you’ve read so far in 2015?
Teresa says: By far I would say Me Before You by Jojo Moyes. It broke my heart and gave me a major book hangover for weeks.
Meredith says: Another one to add to my TBR.
Teresa says: Just make sure you have a box of Kleenex with you. I sobbed like a baby at the end.


7. You’re a writer by day and a superhero by night. (Take off those geeky glasses Superman) What’s your superpower?
Teresa says: I always secretly wanted to be able to teleport so I'd never be stuck in traffic again.
Meredith says: Oh teleportation! I love it. Although, I feel like I would be teleporting myself to a place without traffic, possibly with a warm sandy beach and a wet bar.
Teresa says:  Just imagine how awesome it would be to get there without having to deal with airport security.
Meredith says: I've decided I want to be able to teleport. 


8. I have writing spots all over my house: my desk, my couch, the patio, and my bed. Where’s your favorite spot to write?
Teresa says: I have a teeny tiny cheapo Ikea desk in my living room. That's my writing spot. I can keep an eye on the kids and get some writing done at the same time.
Meredith says: That works!


9. We’re supposed to love all of our children equally, but there are some scenes I’ve written that really stick out in my mind. Tell us your favorite scene from your book BACK TO US.
Teresa says: My favorite scene is where one of the main characters, Justin wakes up after having a PTSD induced nightmare and his love interest Jessica promises him that she loves him despite all his baggage.
Meredith says: Ooooh! I can't wait to read that scene.


10. Sometimes a little too much of myself slips into my characters. Which one of your characters most resembles you?
Teresa says: Jessica resembles me in a lot of ways. The apartment she lives in is pretty much the exact same one I lived in during my college days. The things she struggles with I did as well in my own way.
Meredith says: The more interviews I do, the more authors I find who use bits of themselves and their lives. I'm glad to know that I'm not alone in that.
Teresa says:  I think a story reads as more authentic if there's a little of you in it.


11. I’ve always got tunes rocking while I’m writing. Tell us five songs that are on your playlist.
Teresa says: I am so not a music person. I've got three kids under the age of ten so it's pretty much always loud in my house. When I have a chance for quiet I jump on it.
Meredith says: I grew up with 4 brothers, and I remember our house being so crazy and loud. Now I have a hard time dealing with lots of people and lots of noise, so I totally understand where you're coming from. I'd relish my moments of silence as well.


12. If you could tell an aspiring author one tiny tidbit of information, what would you say?
Teresa says: To keep trying and to be open to criticism and try and learn from it.
Meredith says: Definitely need to be open to criticism - constructive criticism at least - walk away from the other stuff.
Teresa says: Yeah that's true. When I beta read for people if I don't like something in their story I always try to point out how I might change it rather than just say it wasn't good. That isn't helpful, it's discouraging.


Connect with Teresa







Wednesday, August 12, 2015

KindlePress/KindleScout New Author Launch Party


Swing by for shenanigans, deep dark secrets 
and bookish prizes!





Join us Sunday August 16 from 7-9 MST (10-midnight EST) for an online-only Facebook launch party for six new Kindle Scout authors. Lots of entertaining Q&A, freebies, and trivia. A fun way to spend Sunday evening. Discover new authors. Learn more about placing your own novel with Kindle Scout. You can help us by attending and by also inviting Facebook friends.

Click here to join the party on Facebook and Invite your friends!



Monday, August 3, 2015

Please welcome Monte Dutton author of Crazy of Natural Causes





Monte and me met over a pitcher of sweet iced tea. Cubes clanked in our glasses as he plucked his guitar and a race hummed from the TV screen in the background. It struck me then that Monte's got things to say about life...
Let's see what Monte has to say about zombies, reading, and writing!



1. It’s the zombie apocalypse and writers have got to stick together to survive. Pick 3 authors to be on your zombie apocalypse killing team and tell us why you’d choose them.
Monte says: Elmore Leonard because he was a pitiless realist. James Wayland, who wrote Trailer Park Trash & Vampires, so I think he’s got the imagination to deal with them, too. Larry Brown because he knew that small-town desolation such a task would require. Two of the three have died, so they could work from the beyond, which would be quite a coup.
Meredith says: I mean... zombies can't kill someone who's already dead. That might be the best theory to surviving the zombie apocalypse that I've ever come across!


2. If Stephen King and J. K. Rowling were drowning in a river, who would you save first? And now you have to tell us why.
Monte says: I’d save King because he is a Red Sox fan, and I have read a few of his books, and he likes a lot of the same music I do, so, after the ordeal, we’d have stuff to discuss.
Meredith says: It's all about the ways we connect with others. Nice.


3. We authors are voracious readers. My TBR list is approximately 8 miles long. What are you currently reading?
Monte says: Daughter of Fortune, by Isabel Allende. It’s long. I like it, but I really need to get it finished so that I can read and review several other KindleScout authors.



4. What is the one book that you could read a million times and never get bored with?
Monte says: John Steinbeck’s East of Eden.
Meredith says: Yes! Another re-reader!


5. Last year my favorite read was The Martian by Andy Weir. What was your best read of 2014?
Monte says: In an upset … Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Champion of Freedom by Conrad Black. I’m fascinated by FDR.



6. This year my favorite read has been The Dog Stars by Peter Heller. What’s the best book you’ve read so far in 2015?
Monte says: A Son of the Circus, by John Irving. He’s a normal man who loves writing strange stories.
Meredith says: My TBR list just got so much longer.


7. You’re a writer by day and a superhero by night. (Take off those geeky glasses Superman) What’s your superpower?
Monte says: Lethal irreverence. It catches the bad guys by surprise.
Meredith says: Nice.


8. I have writing spots all over my house: my desk, my couch, the patio, and my bed. Where’s your favorite spot to write?
Monte says: The portable, rolling table, in front of the easy chair, with the guitar on the left and the TV straight ahead.
Meredith says: Writing in an easy chair sounds super comfortable.


8. We’re supposed to love all of our children equally, but there are some scenes I’ve written that really stick out in my mind. Tell us your favorite scene from your book Crazy of Natural Causes.
Monte says: The conclusion shifts from scene to scene, as characters in Kentucky, L.A., and aboard a plane, unknowingly wrap it all up. It was a new experience, and I enjoyed the imagination and creativity necessary to pull it off.
Meredith says: It's kind of amazing pulling all the bits of a story together in the end. I always think to myself - wow, I just did that. I can't wait to read Crazy of Natural Causes!


9. Sometimes a little too much of myself slips into my characters. Which one of your characters most resembles you?
Monte says: This was a major step. No one is based on me or even much like me in Crazy of Natural Causes. In my first novel, The Audacity of Dope, Riley Mansfield was me as, oh, I might have been. He was a greatly idealized version. A character, one of many in The Intangibles, had much in common with me. At some level, I have to get inside the heads of all my characters. In Crazy, Chance Benford read the entire Bible, so, in order to think like him, I did, too.


10. I’ve always got tunes rocking while I’m writing. Tell us five songs that are on your playlist.
Monte says: “Rex’s Blues,” by Townes Van Zandt. “Corpus Christi Bay,” by Robert Earl Keen. “Night Rider’s Lament,” by Michael Burton. “One’s on the Way,” by Loretta Lynn. “Let the Mystery Be,” by Iris Dement.


12. If you could tell an aspiring author one tiny tidbit of information, what would you say?
Monte says: If you're fit to do something else, do it. I don’t mean it as a criticism. I just believe that writers have to possess a burning, righteous desire. The worst reason to write is self-gratification. If every word one writes is designed to elicit acclaim, it’s not going to get it.








Connect with Monte
(PS I follow his blog. He's got good stuff there!)



(Monte has got old-school cool down to a science)

_________________________________________

Monte Dutton lives in Clinton, South Carolina. In high school, he played football for a state championship team, then attended Furman University, Greenville, S.C., graduating in 1980, B.A., cum laude, political science/history.
He spent 20 years (1993-2012) writing about NASCAR for several publications. He was named Writer of the Year by the Eastern Motorsports Press Association (Frank Blunk Award) in 2003 and Writer of the Year by the National Motorsports Press Association (George Cunningham Award) in 2008. His NASCAR writing was syndicated by King Feature Syndicate in the form of a weekly page, "NASCAR This Week" for 17 years.
Monte Dutton is also the author of Pride of Clinton, a history of high school football in his hometown, 1986; At Speed, 2000 (Potomac Books); Rebel with a Cause: A Season with NASCAR's Tony Stewart, 2001 (Potomac Books); Jeff Gordon: The Racer, 2001 (Thomas Nelson); Postcards from Pit Road, 2003 (Potomac Books); Haul A** and Turn Left, 2005 (Warner Books), True to the Roots: Americana Music Revealed, 2006. (Bison Books); and is an Editor/Contributor of Taking Stock: Life in NASCAR's Fast Lane, 2004 (Potomac Books). The Audacity of Dope, 2011 (Neverland Publishing) was his first novel, and Neverland published his second, The Intangibles, in 2013. Crazy of Natural Causes, a KindleScout selection, will be released on July 21, 2015.



Saturday, June 27, 2015

Review of '3 Women Walk into a Bar' by Linda Sands




Punchy, sharp, and freaking awesome.

'3 Women Walk into a Bar' is a multi-layered murder mystery.

Ex-stripper turned PI, Bill 'Free Willy' Tedesco is not your mothers Channing Tatum. When Tedesco opens his mouth he's witty, cynical, and tactful. In a seamless tale of the labyrinthine laws of love and how it impacts life, untangling the mystery of the three murdered girls will keep you turning the pages long into the night.

Since I'm from Central New York, I can't pronounce 'noir' but I can give this book two-thumbs up.

Buy 3 Women Walk into a Bar