Lately I have had many requests from authors to stop by, visit and discuss their latest book with us.  And the reason must be that they have heard that here, at CMash, the visitors are fantastic and fabulous, but then I am a bit biased.  Today I have the honor and pleasure to introduce you to Mr. Tony McFadden!

This biography was provided by the author or their representative.
You can visit Mr. McFadden at his website:  http://www.tonymcfadden.net/

I had planned on recycling one of my older blog posts as a guest post, but it occurred to me that this is the perfect opportunity to review what has happened over the past eighteen month to get me to this partiularly exciting place in my writing life.

A year and a half ago, November 5, 2009, I read a tweet written by Richard Castle.  Obviously not the real Richard Castle, because there ain’t no such person.  It made a reference to some of his writing tips and how he hoped they would help all of those writers taking part in NaNoWrimo.

Understand that before this the best I could call myself was a wannabe writer.  I’d been working on a novel for over ten years and was perennially promising myself that this was the year that I’d buckle down and make a real stab at this writing thing, and see if I could make a career out of it.

Hollow, shameful promises, like those promising I make to myself on a weekly basis to stay away from KFC forever.

I did a quick search on the intertubes and discovered NaNoWriMo.  I was entranced.  50,000 words written in a month.  Unheard of.  I took a fairly quick look at my calendar and realised that the only way I would ever pull that off would be if I woke every morning at 4 and wrote for two hours, and completely abandoned all pretence of keeping the yard presentable until December.  To hell with the lawn.  If the neighbours didn’t like it, they could mow it themselves.

I sat down on November 6th and wrote the first line

‘Impressive damage.  The front is almost as bad as the back.’  Samantha Reeves, Miami’s   Chief Coroner, fitted a pair of latex gloves and gently lifted the head of the facedown victim.

I had no idea where I was going, no clue who killed the poor victim and not the foggiest how I -­‐or more

accurately, Detective Dan MacCready-­‐was going to solve the murder.

It was exhilarating.

And it resulted in an absolute pile of horse crap.

I made it to the end, put it down for a couple of months, because ‘that’s what you’re supposed to do’, promising myself to pick it up in February to start the edit process.

In that two months I did some research on writing, and story structure, character development, voice and few other things and vowed never to start writing before I knew what the end was, what the structure needed to be and, generally, what path I was going to take to get there.

‘Scary Barry’ (as I called that first NaNoWriMo effort) stayed in that bottom drawer.  I set a goal of writing self-­‐sufficiency in five years (one year and a bit down) and started putting what I learned to work.

Since then I’ve rebuilt/rewritten two works in progress and wrote a third (‘G’Day L.A.’ a give away on this site) and have finally taken that old Scary Barry out of the bottom drawer.  I’m re-­‐writing it completely.
The overall story/plot stays the same, none of the characters have changed, but I’m re-­‐building it from the ground up.

I’m wandering a bit here.

What I’m trying to say is that you can either take ten years to write a novel (Matt’s War-­‐that one I’d been plodding through) or less than a year (for G’Day L.A.).   In fact, the first draft of G’Day was written during NaNo2010.  All 92,000 words of it.  In less than a month.

The difference?  A good six weeks spent planning and detailing what the end game is.  Planning your story. Nutting out your plot.  defining in advance what your character arc is. from the middle of September 2010 to the end of October I planned.  And plotted, and schemed, and figured out exactly what my story should be. I wrote it in November.  Took December off and spent the last few months cleaning up the spelling, grammar, voice and voila.  Here we are.

Sure, it’s a bit of hard upfront work, but do you know what?  Once that’s done, there are virtually no more instances of writer’s block. You know the endgame and the general path and the words flow like wine.

Happy writing.
Tony

ABOUT THE BOOK

Ellie Bourke, alumni of “Home and Away”, one of Australia’s longest running TV shows and a leading character in Bart Sweeney’s cult-classic horror “Beast of Bondi” moved to Los Angeles to further her acting career almost a year ago.

Bart loved working with her in “Beast”, and encouraged her to make the move. He believed her to be talented enough to make it on the big stage.

A year later and she’s still finding that success elusive. She’s thinking of packing it in and heading back to Sydney when Joel, her roommate and best friend, is found dead in his tub, a case of suspected suicide.

That pushes her over the edge. She books flights and packs her bags and is ready for the airport when she learns that Joel didn’t kill himself – he was killed.

Can Ellie convince the police that Joel’s death wasn’t suicide? Or accidental?

Can she stay alive herself, now that the killer knows what Ellie knows?

And can she find a career in a city that cares more for what’s on the outside than on the inside?

THANKS TO THE GENEROSITY OF

THE AUTHOR, TONY MCFADDEN,

I HAVE FIVE (5) EBOOK EDITIONS TO GIVE AWAY.

CLICK HERE TO BRING YOU TO

THE GIVEAWAY ENTRY PAGE

DISCLAIMER

Giveaway copies are supplied and shipped to winners

via publisher, agent and/or author. This blog hosts

the giveaway on behalf of the above.



Lately I have had many requests from authors to stop by, visit and discuss their latest book with us.  And the reason must be that they have heard that here, at CMash, the visitors are fantastic and fabulous, but then I am a bit biased.  Today I have the honor and pleasure to introduce you to Mr. Tony McFadden!

This biography was provided by the author or their representative.
You can visit Mr. McFadden at his website:  http://www.tonymcfadden.net/

I had planned on recycling one of my older blog posts as a guest post, but it occurred to me that this is the perfect opportunity to review what has happened over the past eighteen month to get me to this partiularly exciting place in my writing life.

A year and a half ago, November 5, 2009, I read a tweet written by Richard Castle.  Obviously not the real Richard Castle, because there ain’t no such person.  It made a reference to some of his writing tips and how he hoped they would help all of those writers taking part in NaNoWrimo.

Understand that before this the best I could call myself was a wannabe writer.  I’d been working on a novel for over ten years and was perennially promising myself that this was the year that I’d buckle down and make a real stab at this writing thing, and see if I could make a career out of it.

Hollow, shameful promises, like those promising I make to myself on a weekly basis to stay away from KFC forever.

I did a quick search on the intertubes and discovered NaNoWriMo.  I was entranced.  50,000 words written in a month.  Unheard of.  I took a fairly quick look at my calendar and realised that the only way I would ever pull that off would be if I woke every morning at 4 and wrote for two hours, and completely abandoned all pretence of keeping the yard presentable until December.  To hell with the lawn.  If the neighbours didn’t like it, they could mow it themselves.

I sat down on November 6th and wrote the first line

‘Impressive damage.  The front is almost as bad as the back.’  Samantha Reeves, Miami’s   Chief Coroner, fitted a pair of latex gloves and gently lifted the head of the facedown victim.

I had no idea where I was going, no clue who killed the poor victim and not the foggiest how I -­‐or more

accurately, Detective Dan MacCready-­‐was going to solve the murder.

It was exhilarating.

And it resulted in an absolute pile of horse crap.

I made it to the end, put it down for a couple of months, because ‘that’s what you’re supposed to do’, promising myself to pick it up in February to start the edit process.

In that two months I did some research on writing, and story structure, character development, voice and few other things and vowed never to start writing before I knew what the end was, what the structure needed to be and, generally, what path I was going to take to get there.

‘Scary Barry’ (as I called that first NaNoWriMo effort) stayed in that bottom drawer.  I set a goal of writing self-­‐sufficiency in five years (one year and a bit down) and started putting what I learned to work.

Since then I’ve rebuilt/rewritten two works in progress and wrote a third (‘G’Day L.A.’ a give away on this site) and have finally taken that old Scary Barry out of the bottom drawer.  I’m re-­‐writing it completely.
The overall story/plot stays the same, none of the characters have changed, but I’m re-­‐building it from the ground up.

I’m wandering a bit here.

What I’m trying to say is that you can either take ten years to write a novel (Matt’s War-­‐that one I’d been plodding through) or less than a year (for G’Day L.A.).   In fact, the first draft of G’Day was written during NaNo2010.  All 92,000 words of it.  In less than a month.

The difference?  A good six weeks spent planning and detailing what the end game is.  Planning your story. Nutting out your plot.  defining in advance what your character arc is. from the middle of September 2010 to the end of October I planned.  And plotted, and schemed, and figured out exactly what my story should be. I wrote it in November.  Took December off and spent the last few months cleaning up the spelling, grammar, voice and voila.  Here we are.

Sure, it’s a bit of hard upfront work, but do you know what?  Once that’s done, there are virtually no more instances of writer’s block. You know the endgame and the general path and the words flow like wine.

Happy writing.
Tony

ABOUT THE BOOK

Ellie Bourke, alumni of “Home and Away”, one of Australia’s longest running TV shows and a leading character in Bart Sweeney’s cult-classic horror “Beast of Bondi” moved to Los Angeles to further her acting career almost a year ago.

Bart loved working with her in “Beast”, and encouraged her to make the move. He believed her to be talented enough to make it on the big stage.

A year later and she’s still finding that success elusive. She’s thinking of packing it in and heading back to Sydney when Joel, her roommate and best friend, is found dead in his tub, a case of suspected suicide.

That pushes her over the edge. She books flights and packs her bags and is ready for the airport when she learns that Joel didn’t kill himself – he was killed.

Can Ellie convince the police that Joel’s death wasn’t suicide? Or accidental?

Can she stay alive herself, now that the killer knows what Ellie knows?

And can she find a career in a city that cares more for what’s on the outside than on the inside?

THANKS TO THE GENEROSITY OF

THE AUTHOR, TONY MCFADDEN,

I HAVE FIVE (5) EBOOK EDITIONS TO GIVE AWAY.

CLICK HERE TO BRING YOU TO

THE GIVEAWAY ENTRY PAGE

DISCLAIMER

Giveaway copies are supplied and shipped to winners

via publisher, agent and/or author. This blog hosts

the giveaway on behalf of the above.



Visiting us today is a very distinguished, busy, talented and debut author who has recently received the Nautilus Silver Book Award for The Collectibles.  Please help me welcome The Honorable James Kaufman.

The Collectibles, his debut novel, draws heavily from his experiences in law, his dealings in the business world, and his interactions with people from widely different backgrounds. Kaufman lives in Wilmington, North Carolina with his wife, Patty. He is currently working on writing his second novel.

In addition to his writing, Kaufman is CEO of The Kaufman Group, Ltd, a company that assists financially troubled businesses across the United States through strategic turnarounds. Mr. Kaufman is also a member of the Board of Imaging The World (ITW), a not-for-profit health care company delivering ultrasound services to Uganda and other underserved populations, and in the process saving many lives.
You can visit his website at: http://www.jamesjkaufman.com/

Readers often tell me how much they appreciate the characters in my book. Many have said they have thought about the characters long after they finished the book. Some men have told me they would like to be more like Joe. Others have asked why did Joe befriend the people he did? Why did he pick those people as “Collectibles”? In one way or another, people who have read my book were moved by the characters.

The story starts with two central characters, Joe and Preston. We meet them as 15-year old boys from different worlds who make life defining promises. These pledges become the common thread intertwining their lives. Joe promised himself as an orphaned teenager, that he would be uncommon. Now in his 40’s, highly regarded for his professional achievements, Joe has reached a pinnacle. Then tragedy strikes.

A child of wealth and privilege from New York’s Upper East Side, Preston’s financial empire is falling apart. He finds himself in middle age, unable to keep his teenage vow to avoid the failures of his father. When Preston seeks an attorney who can save him, he finds Joe, who accepts the challenge but only after extracting a promise that Preston will fulfill an unspecified condition when called upon in the future.

Joe calls in his unconventional IOU. The self-absorbed Preston balks when Joe tells him he must meet, earn the trust of and care for several people, each of whom has a serious personal challenge and none of whom Preston would ever want to know. These “Collectibles” include Johnny, a mentally-challenged dishwasher, Tommy, a gambler, Missy, a battered wife Vegas showgirl, Corey, an elderly yacht maker suffering from Alzheimer’s, and Harry, a bi-polar photographer.

Can Preston meet the challenge? Who are the people that will influence Preston and will his relationship with them become the bridge leading to his self discovery and change? The “Collectibles” and other characters in the novel all play a part in Preston’s journey. In creating these characters, I drew upon my own experiences with a wide variety of people and a broad range of business and legal experience. I have come to know these characters well, in the court room, in the world of business, and throughout life.

A child of wealth and privilege from New York’s Upper East Side, Preston Wilson harbors a fear of financial failure. When that fear threatens to become reality, Preston tracks down the one attorney who might be able to save him. Joe reluctantly decides to help—but only after extracting a promise that Preston will fulfill an unspecified condition when called upon. Preston, desperate, agrees.

Too soon, Joe calls in his unconventional IOU. The self-absorbed Preston balks when Joe tells him he must meet, earn the trust of and care for several people. Each of Joe’s “collectibles” –none of whom Preston would ever want to know—has a serious personal challenge. Can Preston find the integrity to make good on his promise to Joe? Does he have a choice?

Visiting us today is a very distinguished, busy, talented and debut author who has recently received the Nautilus Silver Book Award for The Collectibles.  Please help me welcome The Honorable James Kaufman.

The Collectibles, his debut novel, draws heavily from his experiences in law, his dealings in the business world, and his interactions with people from widely different backgrounds. Kaufman lives in Wilmington, North Carolina with his wife, Patty. He is currently working on writing his second novel.

In addition to his writing, Kaufman is CEO of The Kaufman Group, Ltd, a company that assists financially troubled businesses across the United States through strategic turnarounds. Mr. Kaufman is also a member of the Board of Imaging The World (ITW), a not-for-profit health care company delivering ultrasound services to Uganda and other underserved populations, and in the process saving many lives.
You can visit his website at: http://www.jamesjkaufman.com/

Readers often tell me how much they appreciate the characters in my book. Many have said they have thought about the characters long after they finished the book. Some men have told me they would like to be more like Joe. Others have asked why did Joe befriend the people he did? Why did he pick those people as “Collectibles”? In one way or another, people who have read my book were moved by the characters.

The story starts with two central characters, Joe and Preston. We meet them as 15-year old boys from different worlds who make life defining promises. These pledges become the common thread intertwining their lives. Joe promised himself as an orphaned teenager, that he would be uncommon. Now in his 40’s, highly regarded for his professional achievements, Joe has reached a pinnacle. Then tragedy strikes.

A child of wealth and privilege from New York’s Upper East Side, Preston’s financial empire is falling apart. He finds himself in middle age, unable to keep his teenage vow to avoid the failures of his father. When Preston seeks an attorney who can save him, he finds Joe, who accepts the challenge but only after extracting a promise that Preston will fulfill an unspecified condition when called upon in the future.

Joe calls in his unconventional IOU. The self-absorbed Preston balks when Joe tells him he must meet, earn the trust of and care for several people, each of whom has a serious personal challenge and none of whom Preston would ever want to know. These “Collectibles” include Johnny, a mentally-challenged dishwasher, Tommy, a gambler, Missy, a battered wife Vegas showgirl, Corey, an elderly yacht maker suffering from Alzheimer’s, and Harry, a bi-polar photographer.

Can Preston meet the challenge? Who are the people that will influence Preston and will his relationship with them become the bridge leading to his self discovery and change? The “Collectibles” and other characters in the novel all play a part in Preston’s journey. In creating these characters, I drew upon my own experiences with a wide variety of people and a broad range of business and legal experience. I have come to know these characters well, in the court room, in the world of business, and throughout life.

A child of wealth and privilege from New York’s Upper East Side, Preston Wilson harbors a fear of financial failure. When that fear threatens to become reality, Preston tracks down the one attorney who might be able to save him. Joe reluctantly decides to help—but only after extracting a promise that Preston will fulfill an unspecified condition when called upon. Preston, desperate, agrees.

Too soon, Joe calls in his unconventional IOU. The self-absorbed Preston balks when Joe tells him he must meet, earn the trust of and care for several people. Each of Joe’s “collectibles” –none of whom Preston would ever want to know—has a serious personal challenge. Can Preston find the integrity to make good on his promise to Joe? Does he have a choice?

When I first went public with my blog in December 2009, I honestly thought that getting requests to read and review books would be far and few between.  I was wrong and I think that is why I am always amazed whenever an author contacts me.  Unfortunately, I realize I can’t read all the books I would like to.   But I can introduce these authors to you.  And today, I am honored to have that privilege of introducing you to Ms. Aris Whittier.  Please help me give her a warm welcome to the CMash blog today as she visits and tells us about her latest book.  

Born a genius; education, wealth, and prestige came easy to Logan Richards. Actually, there wasn’t much that Logan couldn’t learn or acquire. However, he knew there was more to life than money and power. Logan was determined to find the woman who he’d dreamed of his entire life and know what it was like to love her before he died.

Amber Lewis, a waitress for a five-star restaurant in, Dana Point, California, was overworked, stressed, and wary of life since her sister, Heather, had passed away. Then, one evening while working she fell hopelessly in love with Logan Richards, a chivalrous man who felt deeply familiar.

For Amber, it was the beginning of a voyage of self-discovery and renewal. For Logan, it was the completion of life. For each of them it was the deepest sort of love.

When I first went public with my blog in December 2009, I honestly thought that getting requests to read and review books would be far and few between.  I was wrong and I think that is why I am always amazed whenever an author contacts me.  Unfortunately, I realize I can’t read all the books I would like to.   But I can introduce these authors to you.  And today, I am honored to have that privilege of introducing you to Ms. Aris Whittier.  Please help me give her a warm welcome to the CMash blog today as she visits and tells us about her latest book.  

Born a genius; education, wealth, and prestige came easy to Logan Richards. Actually, there wasn’t much that Logan couldn’t learn or acquire. However, he knew there was more to life than money and power. Logan was determined to find the woman who he’d dreamed of his entire life and know what it was like to love her before he died.

Amber Lewis, a waitress for a five-star restaurant in, Dana Point, California, was overworked, stressed, and wary of life since her sister, Heather, had passed away. Then, one evening while working she fell hopelessly in love with Logan Richards, a chivalrous man who felt deeply familiar.

For Amber, it was the beginning of a voyage of self-discovery and renewal. For Logan, it was the completion of life. For each of them it was the deepest sort of love.

I don’t know about you, but when an author contacts me and asks if I would  read and review their book or even that I might consider if they could stop by and visit, to share with my visitors, about their novel, I take that as a compliment and an honor.  And today we have just that kind of visitor.  So I ask, to help me welcome Ms. Helen Hanson to my blog today.

Helen directed operations for high-tech manufacturers of semiconductors, video games, software, and computers. Her reluctant education behind the Redwood Curtain culminated in a B.S. in Business Administration with concentrated studies in Computer Science. She also learned to play a mean game of hacky sack.

She is a licensed private pilot with a ticket for single-engine aircraft. Helen and her husband spent their first anniversary with their flight instructor studying for the FAA practical. If you were a passenger on a 737 trying to land at SJC in 1995, she sends her most sincere apologies. Really.

Born in fly-over country, Helen has lived on both coasts, near both borders, and at several locations in between. She lettered in tennis, worked as a machinist, and saw the Clash at the San Francisco Civic Auditorium sometime in the eighties. She currently lives amid the bricks of Texas with her husband, son, and a dog that composes music with squeaky toys.

Her first novel, 3 LIES, is now available on iBooks, Kindle, Pubit, and Smashwords. Her second novel, DARK POOL, is due for release in Spring 2011, and her third novel is brewing. While Helen writes about the power hungry, she genuinely mistrusts anyone who wants to rule the world.

If you enjoy her books, please consider writing a review: Goodreads, iBookstore, Kindle, LibraryThing, Pubit, Shelfari, or Smashwords. If you don’t, please be kind.
 

It may sound hedonistic, but I aim to please myself when I write. Creating a ninety thousand word novel takes months to accomplish, and I expect to be entertained. When I finish, though, I’m going to ask readers to part with a bit of coin and a lot of personal time. I want to make sure they feel both are well spent with one of my novels. If I wince over a character’s plight or laugh at one of their quips, chances are good that my reader will too.

Synopsis:
At CIA headquarters, a young officer discovers that terrorists may have commandeered their computer systems to launch an unauthorized mission. Elsewhere, conspirators abduct nine people to manipulate the rules of their game. Two disparate ambitions — Clint Masters becomes the reluctant link in the chain of danger.

Ever since Clint’s almost ex-wife dumped him, he bobs along the Massachusetts coast in a sailboat with his black lab for company. He avoids all forms of technology, a counterintuitive effort for the burned-out founder of CatSat Laboratories. Tired of clutching the brass ring, he needed to untether, step off the corporate treadmill, and smell a flower. Fortunately, he met one, a beautiful, unspoiled woman who doesn’t treat him like a commodity. His relationship with Beth offers more promise than his marriage ever did, even if she is on dialysis for her recovering kidneys, until she disappears.

In spite of the evidence, her family refuses to admit she’s in danger. Without routine dialysis, she won’t survive. As Clint realizes that he loves Beth, damn-near ex-wife Paige sashays back into his life with disturbing news.

While the CIA young gun tracks his quarry, Clint enlists the help of two men to find Beth, a blithe Brit named Merlin, and Todd, his playboy partner-in-tech. But Clint must find Beth before her kidneys fail. And before someone unloads a bullet in his head.
 

I don’t know about you, but when an author contacts me and asks if I would  read and review their book or even that I might consider if they could stop by and visit, to share with my visitors, about their novel, I take that as a compliment and an honor.  And today we have just that kind of visitor.  So I ask, to help me welcome Ms. Helen Hanson to my blog today.

Helen directed operations for high-tech manufacturers of semiconductors, video games, software, and computers. Her reluctant education behind the Redwood Curtain culminated in a B.S. in Business Administration with concentrated studies in Computer Science. She also learned to play a mean game of hacky sack.

She is a licensed private pilot with a ticket for single-engine aircraft. Helen and her husband spent their first anniversary with their flight instructor studying for the FAA practical. If you were a passenger on a 737 trying to land at SJC in 1995, she sends her most sincere apologies. Really.

Born in fly-over country, Helen has lived on both coasts, near both borders, and at several locations in between. She lettered in tennis, worked as a machinist, and saw the Clash at the San Francisco Civic Auditorium sometime in the eighties. She currently lives amid the bricks of Texas with her husband, son, and a dog that composes music with squeaky toys.

Her first novel, 3 LIES, is now available on iBooks, Kindle, Pubit, and Smashwords. Her second novel, DARK POOL, is due for release in Spring 2011, and her third novel is brewing. While Helen writes about the power hungry, she genuinely mistrusts anyone who wants to rule the world.

If you enjoy her books, please consider writing a review: Goodreads, iBookstore, Kindle, LibraryThing, Pubit, Shelfari, or Smashwords. If you don’t, please be kind.
 

It may sound hedonistic, but I aim to please myself when I write. Creating a ninety thousand word novel takes months to accomplish, and I expect to be entertained. When I finish, though, I’m going to ask readers to part with a bit of coin and a lot of personal time. I want to make sure they feel both are well spent with one of my novels. If I wince over a character’s plight or laugh at one of their quips, chances are good that my reader will too.

Synopsis:
At CIA headquarters, a young officer discovers that terrorists may have commandeered their computer systems to launch an unauthorized mission. Elsewhere, conspirators abduct nine people to manipulate the rules of their game. Two disparate ambitions — Clint Masters becomes the reluctant link in the chain of danger.

Ever since Clint’s almost ex-wife dumped him, he bobs along the Massachusetts coast in a sailboat with his black lab for company. He avoids all forms of technology, a counterintuitive effort for the burned-out founder of CatSat Laboratories. Tired of clutching the brass ring, he needed to untether, step off the corporate treadmill, and smell a flower. Fortunately, he met one, a beautiful, unspoiled woman who doesn’t treat him like a commodity. His relationship with Beth offers more promise than his marriage ever did, even if she is on dialysis for her recovering kidneys, until she disappears.

In spite of the evidence, her family refuses to admit she’s in danger. Without routine dialysis, she won’t survive. As Clint realizes that he loves Beth, damn-near ex-wife Paige sashays back into his life with disturbing news.

While the CIA young gun tracks his quarry, Clint enlists the help of two men to find Beth, a blithe Brit named Merlin, and Todd, his playboy partner-in-tech. But Clint must find Beth before her kidneys fail. And before someone unloads a bullet in his head.