Month: October 2011

Tomorrow we begin NaNoWriMo 2011. It is that crazy month in witch writers push ourselves to write 50,000 words in 30 days. I have participate twice before, one time I won the other one I quit because I noticed that I wasn’t to be able to do it. I was doing the last corrections for my novel “The Writer” and I was unable to focus on a different story. This year I am doing the first draft of my next novel.
There is something that I learned from NaNoWriMo when I participate the first time that I consider really important. The result of NaNoWriMo can be trash (and most likely will be) so don’t be afraid of get your diploma, select all the text (yes the whole 50,000 words) delete them and start again the novel. You will remember a lot of stuff and the second writing will get a much better book.
When I wrote “The Writer” (that had been or over a week in the #1 best seller list of SmashWords) I delete the whole story twice, it was painful, but I am glad I did. The final story is much much better than any of those I simply delete.
Take NaNoWriMo as a playground, enjoy the writing, enjoy the click clack sound, enjoy that you can say and do things that you maybe not do otherwise, and don’t forget, you can also delete all and start again with new eyes on December 1st.

Yesterday, I add to my project list: Prepare launch for Putsch. (My Next Novel)
I as having a conversation this morning with my awesome cover designer about the book, while I am getting ready to begin the next project. Cover is on the works, and manuscript is in final edit stages, to avoid (I hope) the problems I had with grammar on the first novel. I hope the book is much much cleaner. The same editor that is checking this book is the one that check a really famous writer, so I hope we do much better. She will also revise The Writer, so I can update the file by the time the Spanish version of the book came out.
That is another big thing coming soon. The Writer is in the works of being translated into Spanish, so I hope that in the beginning of 2012 you will have it on your hands, or at least on the hand of the people that speak Spanish ;)
Finally, this week (Sunday) The Writer hit the #1 spot on the best seller list on Smashwords. I am really grateful to all that had read the book, buy the book and enjoy the book. In celebration of that milestone I decided to move my book to $2.99 for the rest of the year. Soon every copy of The Writer will be available for that price.
Thanks for the support, thanks for all… Honestly, I am grateful and honored to be able to share these accomplishments and big milestones with you, the readers, soon more to come. (I hope)

THANKS A LOT! LAST NIGHT THE WRITER HIT THE BEST SELLER #1 SPOT ON SMASHWORDS! THANKS!
 
TO CELEBRATE, THE WRITER WILL BE SOLD @$2.99 UNTIL THE END OF THE YEAR! 

Welcome to the AfterMath of this Blog the Tour: Masquerade! I want to begin giving thanks to the incredible people of Indie Book Collective that make this event possible. I hope the people that receive the book, can enjoy the book as much as I enjoy writing it. Second I want to thank Vicky Kreire who did an incredible job Masquerading in this blog. It was a blast!
Third I want to say thanks to Ann Charles, who smile at my crazy comments in her blog, in case you are reading here and are wondering, I use a Gorilla mask during this event, and I had a blast!
Fourth, the Writer with more votes was Blank (no votes) followed by Maxwell Cynn. Only nine people out of the 100 pick the great Vicky Keire. Again Congratulations to all the players!
Finally, let’s talk about some fun stuff. By now you should have in your email the code for the free book, and it is time to give away the pack of Coffee, the Autograph Book and the Coffee Mug, after a lot of deliberation on the numbers, and looking into all the factors the winner is: CassandraG
 
Thanks a lot to those that leave a comment and play! I hope you all enjoy the book!

So, you’re here for the party? Yesterday was quite the event over at Belinda Boring and Vicki Keire’s, hmmm? Fallen angels and swoonworthy shifters… would they be tricks, or treats? Or both? Don’t forget to pop on over to award winning romantic suspense writer Ann Charles’ site to check out her new book, Dance of the Winnebagos! And right now, I’m at Augusto Pinaud’s, author of the crime thriller The Writer. So, you’re in the right place. Welcome to The Blog Tour de Force’s first virtual Halloween gala, Masquerade!
Yes, party people, I’m hanging out here at Augusto’s, perusing his novel The Writer en masque. So that makes this more than a blog tour; more than a prize fest; more, even, than a masquerade.
What we have on our hands, ladies and gentlemen, is a mystery.
Ah, a mystery. George Mason, the main character in Augusto’s The Writer, also faces a mystery: he’s published three books that aren’t really his. They arrive in unmarked envelopes with the promise of money. Three hit books and some unwanted attention from the FBI later, and George Mason wants out. After refusing to publish a fourth manuscript, suddenly everyone’s out to get him. Quite the hook, isn’t it? Here’s what Augusto’s reviewers had to say about it: here and here.
I have so much in common with George, including drinking too much coffee. Waaaay too much coffee. And like George, I wish real life would just go away and leave me in peace to write my masterpiece. (Ha! As if.) But who am I, really? Since every correct guess gets you closer to winning that Kindle, let me give you a little hint: “My Halloween costume is blue this year, and a maybe a little too close to the edge.”
And if a brand new Kindle isn’t enough, Augusto is giving away a free ebook with every comment. Be sure to leave your email! He’s also got a great giveaway of his own: One of the lucky commenters will get a signed copy of The Writer and a bag of George’s favorite Coffee. Also a Mug, so you can drink the coffee.
Besides Augusto’s novel, I found a lot of Kindle and Smashwords bestsellers that are going to keep me up at night this entire Masquerade tour!
Belinda Boring’s swoonworthy shifters in Cherished, where you meet an Alpha who’s both strong and intensely loving. Mason’s not afraid to show it, either, especially where his mate Darcy is involved.  (Did I mention swoonworthy?)
Lacey Weatherford’s The Demon’s Kiss is a YA Paranormal treat, with a few tricks thrown in for spice! If you love a good bad boy, this one’s for you.
Amber Scott’s first book in her new Soul Thieves series, Soul Search, introduced me to the sizzling, tormented Grant, who struggles (literally) with his inner beast. What’s better than a hot guy with inner demons? An inner wolf, of course!
So what do you think? Do I write horror? Will my novel thrill you, chill you, or romance you? Good luck with your guesses, and remember that every single comment wins you a free book! Don’t forget to leave your email, so Augusto can keep you updated about forthcoming books! Stop by the main Blog Tour de Force site at http://www.blogtourdeforce.com/Blog_Tour_de_Force/Home.html for more authors, prizes, and a chance to win that Kindle!

This was the the exact question I ask myself when I finish my first published novel, ‘The Writer‘
George Mason (the main character) and I spent long hours working together, trying to tell the story, trying to make it compelling, trying to keep him alive. (I write mysteries, trillers and suspense, there is usually someone dead or on the verge of) running and keeping the tension in a high level. But when I finish that novel I was done with George. I am not sure I will ever revisit him, I am not sure we will have that coffee we promised each other we will have in Colorado someday, in a way, at least for now, we where done.
Then I met, Hannah Fisher (the main character of my soon to be release novel ‘Putsch’) we also have spent hours working together, telling a story, keeping the tension and drinking merlot, but when the book was ready, finished, edited, I want it more, actually ‘Putsch’ is the first part of the story. Hannah Fisher and I had continue to drink Merlot and solving issues together, continue running and trying to the best of our abilities, to continue telling the story.
Aside point: It may be the Merlot instead of the coffee that had keep this relation alive, shame on George.
Sometimes, characters need to stay put, you may come back to them, you may never visit them again, sometimes you need a new kind of character to tell the story, sometimes, you need one that drink wine and is willing to get drunk instead of coffee so it doesn’t sleep that night.
I don’t have a definite answer. I am working on the third book now, continue the story of a Hannah Fisher, and I don’t know if after this I will continue telling more of her story or not, but at least for now, there is more to tell, more to celebrate, more to let people know about her, and her adventures. I may get tired of Merlot, and she hates Cabernet, or I may need to get back to sip coffee with George, or find me another coffee drinker for that manner.
As a reader, what is your feeling with you love a character and the writer can deal with him any more?

Last night as I was finishing a short story, I was surprise on the excuses we writers make to avoid finish the work, as fiction writers we create this images in our heads about the monsters we are going to fight, and make the battle even worse, is like having to fight agains an Hydra every single time.
As I revise that concept, I began thinking about what else is an fictional hydra in my life, about how much we tend to stop ourselves for accomplishing what we should in order to feed the hydra.
I am back to this blog, things had been insane, writing had been limited, but we are back, and I hope to begin with the catch up process, before NaNoWriMo gets here. I sent the second novel to the Editor (finally) and I hope publication continue in schedule for end of October.
This story is different than ‘The Writer’ my first novel, darker for sure, and over the next weeks I will be introducing some of the characters, Hannah Fisher for example, the main character on the novel.
In the mean time, let me leave you with the title: ‘Putsch’ and the definition as an appetizer: