Hosted by Michelle from The True Book Addict

Progress:   Sub Total  14 1/2 hours

Yesterday was a good day for reading.   With a combination of bronchitis and pain from working on my mother’s house the other day, I spent a good amount of time in the recliner reading….6 1/2 hours.  Hoping to get more hours in today.

I remember a few, many, ok, eons ago, when I was in college and studying to be a nurse, I had to put in so many “required” practical hours working on different units of the hospitals.  And I remember thinking how  kind the patients were when asked by the instructor if they minded if they had a “student nurse” for the day to take care of them.  Do you know that to this day, I still remember some of those patients, but I digress.    It was because of those patients, that had the confidence in me,  so that I gained the experience I needed to obtain my license.

So even though it is in different fields, I feel that I am paying it forward.  When a debut author contacts me, asks if I would review their book, share sites, etc., etc., I remember those days of old.  Even though I can’t read every book, I can offer them a platform to share their work with others.  And today, we have such a guest stopping by.  So please help me welcome Ms. Denise Baer!!

ABOUT DENISE BAER 

Denise Baer wrote her novel, Net Switch, while working as a LAN Administrator and has published a poetry e-book, Sipping a Mix of Verse. She grew up on the South Side of Chicago, and recently lived in Germany, writing and traveling throughout Europe. She currently lives in Chicago learning German to prepare for another journey to Europe.

A native of the South Side of Chicago, Denise Baer is a published poet and author. She currently splits her time between the United States and Europe.
You can visit Denise at her website here.

GUEST POST

I was born and raised on the South Side of Chicago. After I graduated from Mother McAuley Liberal Arts High School, I worked full-time while bartending and going to college part-time. As the years past, I thought I’d never finish college, but I finally graduated from DePaul University in Chicago, IL with a Bachelor of Arts in English.

During my last trimester in college I came up with an idea for a novel. I sat down and wrote it within a matter of a few weeks…but it wasn’t an entire book, more like the core of it. It was a romance novel, and after trying to refine it, I decided to put it in a drawer and let it sleep. I continued to write, learn the craft, and read plenty of books.

In 2008, I began writing poetry, and decided to publish a poetry e-book last year, Sipping a Mix of Verse, which is a collection of poetry arranged by traditional forms and free verse.

You can visit “Sipping a Mix of Verse Book Trailer” on Youtube: http://youtu.be/RuLIB5zizoU

In 2008, I entered the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), and completed a novel in a month. I was ecstatic, but I had no plans to publish it. That same year, I met the love of my life, who convinced me to publish it. In 2010, I left my IT job, moved to Germany to concentrate on editing and revising my novel. Of course, I took the opportunity to travel through Europe and find inspiration for my writings.

My debut novel, Net Switch, a dark, psychological suspense, is available on Createspace (subsidiary of Amazon) and Amazon in paperback, and Kindle and Nook.

You can visit “Net Switch Book Trailer” on Youtube: http://youtu.be/2TYUzwkgaz8

For now I am currently living in Illinois, focusing on the success of my book, and looking forward to living in Germany for a few years with the love of my life.

Website: http://www.authordenisebaer.com/
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/DeniseBaer8

ABOUT THE BOOK

Synopsis (from the author):

“In the dead of winter, Sydney Hayes finds herself in an internet chat room in hopes of expelling her loneliness. Enchanted by a stranger, she soon finds herself caught up in an affair that spills over into her everyday life. Within a short period of time, the stranger captures her mind, her body and eventually her heart, but excitement turns to terror and Sydney must abandon the life she built in Chicago and assume a new identity.

A fragile woman in a new city, Sydney tries to put it all behind her as she makes a fresh start in Seattle, but her troubles follow her and she is running out of time. Feeling as though she has no other choice, Sydney is determined to destroy him before he destroys her—unaware that her journal holds the key.

Will she discover the secret before it’s too late?”

THANKS TO THE GENEROSITY OF DENISE BAER,
I HAVE ONE (1) SIGNED COPY OF HER BOOK
TO GIVE AWAY– OPEN TO ALL–INTERNATIONAL

CLICK HERE TO BRING YOU TO
THE GIVEAWAY ENTRY PAGE

……….of ALL I WANT IS YOU by Sherrill Bodine and

SANCTUARY COVE by Rochelle Alers

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

11     8      4

Timestamp: 2012-01-27 13:52:51 UTC

GFC Follower   nancyecdavis

Molly…I follow you via Twitter

I follow you on Facebook.  iowagramma.ann

An email has been sent to the winners and they have 48hours to respond with their mailing address or another winner will be chosen.   Thank you to those that entered.

CONGRATULATIONS TO ELIZABETH FROM SILVER’S REVIEW

Elizabeth has been selected as a nominee for the Top Writing Blogs Award!  If you aren’t a visitor of her blog, you may remember her when she was showcased one Sunday as a Shining Star. (which I hope to eventually bring back).  Elizabeth and I met online and seriously think we may be distant cousins, so much so, that we call each other “Cuz”.  Voting started yesterday and I would love it if she won as she is definitely deserving of this award.  So I ask if you could take a few minutes out of your days and do the following:

http://blog.ecollegefinder.org/writing-blog-award/

Thank you, from both my cousin and I.  I’m off to vote, once, twice, , ok a few times, I really want her to win!!!!!

http://btt2.wordpress.com

Today’s question:
What’s more important: Good writing? Or a good story?
(Of course, a book should have BOTH, but…)

My answer:
This took quite a bit of thinking, and yes, both are needed.  But I think if the story or the premise is not there to grip you, no matter how well it is written, it won’t make for an enjoyable read.

Hosted by Michelle from The True Book Addict

Progress To Date:  7 1/2
Wednesday’s:  2 1/2 hrs
Previous Days’ Hours:  5  hrs

Oh well..another not s0 good reading day.  Yesterday was an appointment with a lady who assists with liquidations of houses which I am still in the process of with my Mom’s house.  Not an easy task for those who don’t know and for those who do know, understand.  Both physically and emotionally draining as you go through memories of your life.

……..of AMERICAN DERVISH by Ayad Akhtar

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

1        5

Timestamp: 2012-01-25 23:33:24 UTC

Karen Gonyea    Very intriguing 

  FB friend: Teresa Sprague Lukey

An email has been sent to the winners and they have 48 hours to respond with their mailing address or another winner will be chosen.   Thank you to those that entered.

It has been 2 years now that I have had my blog and been part of the cyber world of book blogging and reviewing.   Two years!!  And I am enjoying it and am as enthusiastic today as I was that first day.   And it still amazes me that authors contact me and ask if I would review their book and/or visit my blog.  Today is one of those days.  So please help me welcome my guest, Ms. Harlow Coban!

ABOUT HARLOW COBAN

She spends her free time writing, dancing, traveling and defending mailboxes from her 16-year-old twins’ driving.

She loves to connect with her readers and can be found on Twitter , Facebook , and her website 

HOW TO WRITE A NOVEL BASED ON A TRUE STORY

BY

HARLOW COBAN, AUTHOR OF LIFE IN DEATH

 

My story isn’t a warm and fuzzy one.

My father was murdered when I was 12 years of age.

A few years ago, at my uncle’s urging, I looked into what happened to him. The police had suspects, but no one was ever arrested and the case remains unsolved.

I learned a lot about police procedure when I looked into my father’s murder. It was then that I decided to write a novel.

While my murder mystery novella, Life in Death, is not entirely based on what happened to my father, it draws from real life experiences I had with him.

Writing the novel was a cathartic experience for me. What I liked most, and found particularly cleansing, about the experience was my power to spin the story as I saw fit.

We all love, hate, laugh, cry, and everything in between, so we’re never at a loss for stories to tell.

Here’s how you get started writing a novel based on a true story:

•  Determine what kind of story you want to write. Talk to family and friends. Look at newspaper articles. I don’t want to be morose, but look at obituaries, too. Take notes. There are stories there.
•  Determine the story’s theme: Good/evil, love/hate, birth/death, peace/war, etc. Again, take notes. This may be where the title of your book comes from or maybe not. The title of my book came to me in a dream.
•  Construct a compelling plot. I suggest creating a plot outline to start with. I used the “what if” technique to determine what would happen in my chapters. Basically, you ask yourself “what if” this or that happened to your character and expand from there.
•  Create dynamic scenes. My advice is something has to happen in “every” chapter or scene.
•  Create multi-dimensional characters. Many writers, including yours truly, base their characters on real people and then add nuances to create more complexity and depth. This is one way to go.
•  Read, read, read. The more you read, the better writer you’ll become.
•  Lastly, start writing. “Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end; then stop.” ― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland.

Truth can be stranger than fiction, but maybe not as entertaining. The key to writing a novel based on a true story is in how you spin the story to make it enjoyable for readers. Cheers!

ABOUT THE BOOK

THANKS TO AUTHOR, HARLOW COBAN,
I HAVE ONE (1) SIGNED COPY
OF THIS BOOK TO GIVE AWAY.

CLICK HERE TO BRING YOU TO
THE GIVEAWAY ENTRY PAGE.
ONE ENTRY GIVEAWAY WITH A TWIST!!!