Linda Rae Blair's Blog

A serial killer hits Virginia Beach on day 1 of spring break. Press’s first thought is that an old nemesis from many years ago has come back to haunt him.

The victims are, as before, the daughters of well-known families–except one. Press is thrown by the anomaly. Why the daughter of an unemployed man of modest means?

His only goal is to stop the killing before break ends and he loses more girls and perhaps the killer. He calls in the Virginia team and together they try to put the puzzle together.

Now available for $0.99 on Smashwords and coming soon to Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Sony, iTunes, Kobo and Diesel. This novella will also be available in print from CreateSpace soon at $4.99 USD.

Earlier this morning, I posted the following in FaceBook for my writer friends:
“Welcome to All-My-Sales-Reports-Are-Zero-Today Day! Heck, we might as well celebrate the darned thang (as we say down south). It hits us once every month! Drinks, anyone?”
Now, some of you–probably readers, not writers–are asking yourselves, “Has Linda gone over the edge?” or perhaps, “What the heck does that mean?” or even, “Who care?” Well, let me explain this monthly torture.
All your favorite places to buy our books–Amazon, Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, etc.–give us reports that accumulate on a month basis. Now, this may not seem so important to you, but let’s take a closer look at this equivalent of the rack from the dark ages.
We writers are lonely, antisocial people with voices in our heads (not a pretty picture, is it?). If you doubt that comment, check out our FaceBook pages and see how many jokes we post about ourselves. We’re positively sad, really!
We spend hours of every day hunched over a cold uncaring keyboard, whilst the voices in our heads drive our fingers into a frenzy to get them out onto the written page. It’s not unlike the pangs of childbirth, really. (Don’t doubt it, not for a single minute.) You struggle and struggle to get the darned thing out, then everyone stands back and gives you their opinion. Your editor crinkles up her nose. Your proofreaders stifles a giggle or two. Your friends laugh at your cover ideas. You rewrite and rewrite and then, suddenly…it’s out there. Out in the cold cruel world, a sitting target for anyone who wants to take a swipe at it (like a doctor hitting your new babe on it’s new little bottom, heh?) Now that it’s out there and you want opinions, the world goes quiet–did you know we can go MONTHS before seeing a review on a new work? How would you feel if everyone ignored your precious new baby or, worse yet, looked it over and gave it a 5 on a scale of ten without telling you why? Is his nose crooked, her ears too big, her toothless grin more ogreish than cute? You have no idea.
So–what do you do to find out what your public thinks of your new baby? (If you want the real truth, it’s more about what you think of us!)You watch those darned reports–daily, yes, we are OCD about watching those darned reports! And it’s not about the $$$–well, okay, not entirely! It’s about finding out how much YOU value what we do (okay, us). And every month, every tortuous month of every year, WE SEE ZEROS!
So, happy February 1st. Happy two days before the Big Sporting Event for which you bought all those chicken wings! Happy days before Grounds Hogs Day! 
To writers, this is HAPPY ZERO DAY!
Have a drink to celebrate, eat some chocolate, binge out on some over-whip-creamed dessert! Whatever you have to do until those numbers begin to climb again. Remember, last month started out the same way! And, darned it next month won’t do it to you again.
Better yet…go buy a book today! Show your favorite writer how much you care! (Can’t say I didn’t try, heh?)

Today, it’s here again. 9/11 and the sadness seeps back into our reality. I find myself longing to grieve with the rest of the country, yet feeling as if I dare not. It’s too much, too sad, too long, too many. Then I remember where I was, what I was doing, who I was with. It could have been us, you; it was them. All those thousands of innocents who became so much dust and debris–too real, too much, too hard. The tears come again, the lump in the throat, the knot in the pit of your stomach and wanted or not, you mourn. You mourn the loss of lives, love, most of all–innocence. Today, it’s here again. 9/11. Remember, grieve, cry or do anything you can not to face the reality. Today, 9/11.

A progress report! Ugh…I feel like I’ve been such a slug this summer (no summer releases), but I’ve really been quite busy. The delay in getting anything released is due to my early summer experiment with Amazon’s KDP Select program. (Okay, we learn by our mistakes!) Their “exclusivity” clause meant I couldn’t release “Trace Evidence” anywhere in digital format except on Amazon. Then I finished “Press’d To Kill” which had spoilers for “Trace Evidence”, so I put it out on KDP as well. (A chain reaction causing a back-up in the release process…my poor readers!)

All this means early September release of “Trace Evidence”,  

followed by release of “Press’d To Kill”

only once TE has fed to retailers. Then I can release #11 in the series, followed by work in progress, “Christmas Jumper”.

Yes, I’m tired just thinking about it! LOL

Both of these KDP agreements end by the first week of September, so I can finally get them out on Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, Sony, iTunes, PublishMyBook.ie, Bibliocracy, etc. for my Nook fans and others. 

A new Preston Andrews mystery “A Pressing Reunion” comes out this fall. This one introduces Samantha Hartley (remember her from “Pressing Engagement”) who has opened her own business in DC and is getting her own series, .
So, of course, I had to get started on Sam’s first book, “Christmas Jumper”, out this fall, as well. Got a very  bright and wintery cover designed. 
Then, someone (Hugh) suggested that I put out a print version of The Preston Andrews Mysteries in what he called “omnibus” versions–I call them compilations. Tomatoes…tom a toes! That meant tracking down the published versions of each of the novellas, pulling them into two volumes (1-5 and 6-11), reformatting each one to a new size (7″x10″ for these large volumes) and doing covers (which I love to do anyway).

 

Whew.
Thanks to Hugh Ashton (his patience has to be wearing thin) and Jacqueline Hopkins-Walton, authors with their own work to do (not to mention lives to live) my enthusiatic beta readers this summer, “A Pressing Reunion” has now been finalized and the cover designed. It’s uploaded for print, but will not be released until fall.

Keep your eye out for THE PRESTON ANDREWS MYSTERIES 1 (VOLUMES 1-5) and 2 (VOLUMES 6-11). This will be a great way to give these novellas as a gift for the holidays. Each will be $15.99 on Amazon, which is much more reasonable than I can price the print versions individually. 

I look forward to hearing from my readers when these projects finally get released! In the meanwhile…

Keep reading!

Linda Rae

Here is your opportunity for 50% off the price of “100 Years of Brotherly Love”. Available on Smashwords in digital versions for virtually all reading devices, you can get your copy for $2.50 by entering the discount code SSW50 at checkout.

If you like my novels, you’ll love this one. It’s my all time favorite!

AMAZON PRIME MEMBERS!

Don’t miss my FREE 4th of July offerings of “Trace Evidence” http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007V4WCL8

and “Press’d To Kill” http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00891M3G6 

Today I received a post from Linkedin in which the matter of self-publishing was the topic. There was a poll–you know the kind:

Have you done it

You did it and loved it

You did it and didn’t love it

You haven’t done it yet cause you’re afraid

Almost sounds like something you’d find in Cosmo, right?

Then they asked for what you thought of self-publishing and I fear I may have gone to the netherworld of  ”somewhere over the rainbow edge”. Once I got finished, I felt like a crusader.

I was proud!
I was victorious!
I had clearly and succinctly (allow me to be redundant) adamant in my opinion.
I shall not be swayed.
I did my unbelievably ego-damaging stint of query letters (which I believe to be unbelievably ridiculous and undoubted one of the reasons self-publishing was created in the first place and can almost single-handedly be blamed for the downfall of the publishing industry–but, lest I wander too far off-topic–I had even gone to the dark side and tried (excuse me while I shudder) vanity press.
I know! I am so ashamed! But, there you have it. I’m out of the closet. I tried–ready for this–iUniverse for my first book. (By the way, I CAN hear the laughter!)
Now, I am a relatively bright person, or so I’ve been led to believe since second grade (first grade was a time of discovery and social toe-dipping). It didn’t take more than 600 queries and one vanity lesson and I knew there had to be a better way–a better use of my time and $$$. Well, I found it–more by accident than anything else.
I’ve decided to come all the way out of that dark, airless, scary closet and share my journey and why I adore self-publishing (and I didn’t even mention that my books are successful–I’m so proud). Here it is–my response to whether or not others should try
Self-Publishing!

Self-publishing (and I’m NOT talking about vanity presses where you pay a fortune and get little back for the cost) is wonderful. I’ve published sixteen books now. The first one was via vanity presses because I simply didn’t know better and had to learn my lesson the hard way. iUniverse and its ilk were (are) expensive and you got (get) damned little for the hundreds of dollars invested. (Not that I hold a grudge or anything!)

Then I moved to BookSurge and while it was better it still wasn’t what I needed or wanted. Then I went to CreateSpace–HALLALUYA–can you hear the angels singing? Imagine my pure joy when BookSurge and CreateSpace merged!

“What’s the diff?” you ask! Lemme splain it to ya!

1. It’s FREE…in case you missed that…it’s F-R-E-E

2. You get FREE templates for book design by size of finished book 5×8 6×9 etc.

3. They have a FREE cover creator for those who are cover-novices. Don’t worry–it took me until my 16th book to get brave enough to create my first cover completely without using one of their templates. It’s a learning experience.

4. They have a digital on-line proof program where you can see your finished product without paying for (let’s say it again…FREE) for a proof copy.

5. They are affiliated with Amazon, so your books get full Amazon coverage (dare I repeat myself) FREE.

6. Once you have your book completed in printed format, you can then make an extra copy and reformat it for submittal to Amazon’s digital books program and others like the marvelous Smashwords–who will put it out on Barnes & Noble, Sony, iTunes, Kobo, Diesel and others for how much? Did I hear FREE?

What more can I say, really?

I recently saw a comment from a new writer who was having issues because he was editing as he wrote. He got to the middle of his tome and was losing steam. He fell into one of the traps we writers fall into–they’re big and as deadly as bear traps to creativity, by the way!

Those of us who have been at this awhile know that you don’t stop the creative voice in your head and let the editor voice take over. EVER, NEVER…well, at least as much as you can control it.  The voices in a writer’s head are  very powerful!

Here’s a solution that I find works. It may work for others, so I’ve decided to share it with you, because I love you all sooooooooo much.

* * *

Shutting up the editor in your head takes awhile to learn! Usually there are a lot of voices going on in there–so every time you find your self editing, try this.

Sit and write without paragraphs or looking at the keyboard…just WRITE and WRITE and WRITE as long as your characters will talk to you, then put down the computer and STAND AWAY.

Later have a separate sitting when you go through ONLY what you wrote in that writing frenzy and break into paragraphs, correct spelling and homonyms and then QUIT! Come on…I dare you!

That will help satisfy that nasty editor voice for a while and you can go back to writing. I haven’t had to do this more than once in the last year, so I know it works! Now a gentle talking to myself, “What the heck are you doing?” will gag the editor until the urge goes away.

As they used to say…somewhere…try it, you’ll like it!

I recently gave a stinging review to "The Perfect Crime: A True Story or Fantasy". In my opinion, it was poorly written and could have been made much better–but I've covered that in my review.

The ISSUE brought forth by the book's authors, Peter Hindley and Susan Goodsell (his niece) is a TRUE STORY which is worth your attention. Do I recommend the book on its formatting, editing, etc. Sorry. But, do I recommend that you make yourself aware of the topic covered. ABSOLUTELY! It simply fell prey to the frustrations and emotions of a family who has been put through hell by the very establishment that should have helped them.

Peter Hindley's brother and Susan's father, Alan Hindley, died of very mysterious circumstances, then his widow–now acting in a very bizarre fashion and tying herself to a man whose actions are also suspect–proceeds to take actions against Alan's Will. (This photo is Peter Hindley.)

The Will is thought to be an altered and forged document–expert attested to this. The widow, Peter and Susan were made co-executors, but the widow then and now continues to act independently of the other two.

The British system is strongly brought to blame for what has now taken the family almost a decade to resolve.

It is my belief that, whether you agree or disagree with me on the merits of the writing technique, this book deserves your attention, as does its topic.

There has been a great injustice done to this grieving family. It's undoubtedly too late to prove murder, as the remains (and they may or may not have been Alan's) were cremated many years ago and then spread over his estate in a rather bizarre ritual to which these family members were not invited. So nothing remains of Alan, that we know of. However, laws were broken, police work was shoddy and probably not done at all in several cases, the family's pleas for help from the British government became the source of what could be called the worst joke in history.

Prior to reading "The Perfect Crime: A True Story or Fantasy" I planned to do an author interview of Peter Hindley. However, since reading the book, I decided that I would do a blog on this topic instead.

Read "The Perfect Crime: A True Story or Fantasy" knowing in advance that you may not enjoy its structure, punctuation or verbiage, but that there is a real issue of importance within its covers–once that outweighs writing style.

If you are a Brit and think you have a Last Will & Testament that will guarantee that your estate is handled exactly as you wish–THINK AGAIN!

If you are not a Brit, read it and find out what is going on in one of the oldest establishments in history, the British government. Find out who you can write to, to assist this family in obtaining a resolution and finally put Alan Hindley to rest.

Put Peter's rants against Freemasons aside. Whether or not this society that has been blamed for the American Constitution, the designing of Washington, DC, and other crimes against humanity (some levity here), Freemasonry is not the subject here–the subject is JUSTICE. And she has been poorly served.

For more information about the Hindley/Goodsell story, go to their website: www.howsafeisawillintheuk.com

To communicate with Peter, you may use Twitter www.twitter.com/snakehips47  or Facebook http://www.facebook.com/peter.hindley3

Their book is available at the following:

RoseDog Books http://rosedogbooks-store.stores.yahoo.net/pecrstoftror.html

AmazonUS http://www.amazon.com/The-Perfect-Crime-Fantasy-ebook/dp/B0062BQL1I/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1331410284&sr=8-7

AmazonUK http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Perfect-Crime-Fantasy-ebook/dp/B0062BQL1I/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1331410468&sr=8-3

 

Photographs and links were provided by Peter Hindley.

A lovely lady with a lot of wisdom and a great sense of humor, Paula Renaye has joined us. Paula, tell us about yourself!

I grew up in a small town in Texas that is a little bit like my fictional town of Kickapoo in my novels. Okay, it's a lot like it. I lived most of my adult life in Colorado, about 20 years, lived for a year in Missouri during my divorce and have been in Arkansas for about eight now.

What do you do for fun?

For a long time, this question would give me a "deer in the headlights" look. Still does to some degree.

Having been through divorce myself, I understand completely. What got you moving again?

With both my children getting married in other countries, I had to learn to do things on my own. I decided that since I didn't know what I liked, I'd just do everything! I am trying all kinds of new things now and have a long list of more to do. I even tried a rock climbing gym. I was not enthused about the possibilities, but once I got started, I had such fun! I leased a boat slip last summer. My daughter and her boyfriend brought their party barge over and I absolutely loved being out of the lake. I felt like a kid, diving in over and over again just because it was fun. After years of riding a horse for "hikes" I have recently and repeatedly found myself using my own two legs to scurry up down and around the "mountains" here in downtown Hot Springs, Arkansas. My little legs–not to mention my heart and lungs–whine and cry at first since where I start out is pretty much straight up, but they're getting better. Glad I am finally enjoying it–and life!

What's you favorite season?

I love the fact that we have all the seasons here in Arkansas! Soon the Tulip Trees will be covered in blooms and not long after that all the other flowering trees. Summer is hot and perfect for fun at the lake, and fall is fabulous too because of all the bright and vibrant foliage. And when the leaves fall in winter I can see the mountains from my deck. So, I guess I love them all!

What kind of music do you like?

I am a lifelong Parrothead. I have wanted to see Jimmy Buffett live in concert for over twenty years. When I lived in Denver, I tried and tried to get tickets for for his Red Rocks shows both online and in line and never could. A few weeks ago, I somehow managed to push the right buttons at the right time and the computerized ticket gods came through with floor seats for his show in Little Rock. Yay!

I love Jimmy Buffet and saw him live, too! How about movies–what do you like and who are your favorite actors?

Oh, I have so many! It depends on what mood I'm in at the time–whether it's a romantic comedy period, sci-fi escape or dramatic moment. I am always looking for deep meanings, even in–maybe especially in–movies where you wouldn't automatically expect them. I watch a lot of romantic comedies because I enjoy them and I always find something to write about for my blog and newsletter. Lately, I have enjoyed Crazy Stupid Love, The Ugly Truth, He's Just Not That Into You, Bridesmaids, Something's Gotta Give and yes, Eat Pray Love, as well as many others of that variety. I have a few odd "likes" for various reasons, such as Disney's Tangled, because of the "overcoming programmed fears and limiting beliefs" theme. And, as stupid as it is, I like Hot Tub Time Machine because it really is about the choices we make and growing up–at whatever age you are.

I love Reece Witherspoon, Katherine Heigl, Sigourney Weaver, Meryl Streep, Diane Keaton, Julia Roberts, Sandra Bullock, Emma Stone, Jami Lee Curtis, Angelina Jolie and many more I can't think of at the moment. Jack Nicholson is a favorite. Tom Hanks too. Of course, I have to list Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Ryan Gosling because, well, how can you not? Again, too many to list.

I think maybe we are "movie" sisters from a different…whatever. Sounds to me as if you are enjoying life and learning a lot about yourself! Now, let's talk BOOKS! What genre do you write?

I write both fiction and nonfiction. My first mystery novel, Hot Enough to Kill, was published in 1999, and I'm working on the fourth book in that series. I also write self-improvement books. And if you'd read my mystery novels you would understand why the self-help book thing makes perfect sense!

Name a few of your novels!

The Hardline Self Help Handbook–What are you willing to do to get what you really want? by Paula Renaye ( May 2011)
Tweet-able Tough Love Quotes by Paula Renaye (2011)
Hot Enough to Kill by Paula Boyd (1999, 2011) ($0.99 on Amazon for Kindle)
Dead Man Falls by Paula Boyd (2000, 2012)
Turkey Ranch Road Rage by Paula Boyd (2010)

Do you have any works in progress?

Hardline is in the process of being repackaged for foreign markets and will soon be released with a new title and cover. I also have a relationship book in the queue. It is a no-holds-barred, cut-to-the-chase look at love and life–and how the two co-mingle. It tells it like it is even if it's uncomfortable and gives ways to stop all the game playing and nonsense and be adults. That title is still in the works too, but updates will be posted about both soon on my website.

Okay, so how did the writing bug get close enough to bite?

Writers must be readers, and I've loved books since I was old enough to hold one. But what really launched me into becoming a voracious reader—and writer—was: a retired colonel, a high school English class and a romance novel. After retiring from the Air Force, Colonel Bob White, for reasons known only to him, decided to come to the little town in Texas where I lived and teach English for a couple of years. Looking back, I'm not sure whether he deserved a medal or a mental health exam. Whatever the case, not long into the school year, Mr. White held up a big fat paperback book and announced that we would all be reading it. Much groaning and whining ensued. And when we learned that every minutely-lettered page was filled with glorious details of life in Saxon England circa 1066, well, I think some of us cried. However, when I got the dreaded book in my hand, I was confused. The title was odd—The Wolf and the Dove—and the cover had a man and a woman on it. This did not look like any other book I'd been forced to read in school. And who was this Kathleen Woodiwiss anyway? I dutifully started reading—and couldn't stop. Yep, it was an epic romance novel. Written in 1974, it was a product of the times, and wild stuff for a sheltered little high school girl. I don't recall anyone else being nearly as enthralled as I was, but Mr. White's brilliant assignment set me on a path of reading—and, of course, concurrent learning—that also "trained" me to be a writer. By the time I got the crazy idea that I could write my own novel, I'd read hundreds of books. Although I didn't consciously try to, or even realize that I had, I'd picked up an intuitive feeling for the structure of a story and could hear dialogue as a natural flow of conversational in my head. I could also see the scenes like a movie, which made them easy to write. So, you ask, how did it happen that I went from writing funny mysteries to self help books? Well, if you'd read my fictional tales you wouldn't need to ask that question!

What is your favorite genre to read and when do you find time to read with all your other activities and writing?

Let's go with what I used to read because I deliberately don't read a lot when I am writing so I can keep myself clear on my own thoughts and style. But when I did read, on the fiction side, I was a big fan of Carl Hiaasen, Janet Evanovich, Joan Hess, John MacDonald, Larry McMurtry and the like. In nonfiction self-improvement genre, I've read extensively–not many I haven't read.

Do you have a favorite author?

Since I am immersed in the self-improvement world, I'll talk about that. I am a big fan of Harville Hendrix fan because his classic Getting the Love You Want was pivotal to my beginning to understand how unconscious factors and subconscious beliefs had driven me to make the life choices I had. Louise Hay's You Can Heal Your Life is also one of my "go to" books that I recommend. Ditto for Richard Bach's Illusions, which is fiction, but still one of the most thought provoking books I've ever read.

What is it that makes your writing different from all the others in your genre?

On the self-help side, I tell it like it is whether it feels good or not–to me or the reader. If I'm not willing to bare my soul and show how this stuff plays out in real life, how can I expect them to? I don't get hung up, or weighed down, with theory or clichés because those don't make a lot of sense when you try to apply them effectively to the real world. I know what it feels like to feel so confused you don't know which way is up. I know what it feels like to have your world fall apart and feel like you can't survive it. I know what it feels like to make really stupid mistakes. I also know how great it feels when you figure out how you don't have to anymore.

My, we do have a lot in common! Let's talk about your writing process. In general, how long do you spend writing a book?

It depends, of course. I wrote the first draft of Hot Enough to Kill in six weeks. Turkey Ranch Road Rage took me about ten years. I started The Hardline Self Help Handbook in January 2011 and had it in print by April. Ten weeks or 10 years? Depends on how you look at it. I had to do the 10 years of self work at least to have what I needed to get the book written and published in 10 weeks.

Where do you do your writing & what is your process like? 

At the moment, I write at my dining room table since all my office furniture is in storage. I write 6-16 hours every day, at least 6 days a week, and mostly 7. I have taken a little time off in the last couple of months, which has been nice. But for a year, my keyboard was an extension of my fingers. I write a ton of articles these days and a lot of those are spurred by things in my life or things I see on TV. I get inspired or annoyed and I write about it. In fiction, I write when my characters pop into my head and demand it. No, I have no idea where this will go. And really, what fun would it be for me if I knew what was going to happen?

How do you get ideas for your stories and characters?

Well, back when my mother was living, if I needed an idea for one of my mystery novels, I would simply call her up and ask what was going on at the Dairy Queen. It was too easy. Seriously, you can't make that stuff up. And, of course, I also had my own childhood traumas and life to pull from, not that anything I write has a single bit of truth to it, it is fiction, after all. On the nonfiction side, it is all the brutal truth. I've done my best to give as fair renditions of the situations as I can–I don't let myself off the hook–and even Rebound Guy.

What is your editing process like?

If you can edit your own work, you are a better woman than I am! I can read the same sentence 52 times and never ever see that the word "the" is missing or that there are two "tos," to name a few. Yes, I need help! On the fiction side, I like to have a content editor and then a copy editor. The early versions of my books will prove that "liked to have" and "did" are two different things. I had content editors for the first two books that helped me with plot flow, character consistency, anachronisms and "You called her Jane in Chapter 2 and Joan in Chapter 8″ kinds of things. I did copy edit and revise the versions that are now on Kindle so hopefully those are much cleaner than the print versions. For Hardline, I had two editors. A content editor and a copy editor, Di Freeze, who went through the "final" versions more times than either of us would like to remember.

What's the best/worst experience you've ever had as a writer?

Best:   Winning awards is really nice–a literary award on the fiction side and 4 national book awards for Hardline. Having Hot Enough to Kill featured in Redbook was a pretty big deal too, but the best thing about being an author is hearing from readers on how my work affects them.

Not long after my first mystery novel was released, I received a couple of letters chastising me for not including a warning label. One had spit crackers on her computer screen while reading an excerpt and the other had squirted soda out her nose and onto the book. Now, really, can it get any better than that?

Okay, maybe it can, because on the nonfiction side, I hear amazing stories of how people have changed their lives from doing the work in The Hardline Self Help Handbook. I love making people laugh and providing a fun escape–it is glorious fun for me too. My passion, however, is helping people realize their potential and purpose and live the life of joy they truly deserve.

Worst:  I joined a critique group that was lead by a published author who lived and breathed the techniques of Dwight Swain and Jack Bickham. He was convinced that the key to the brass ring called "published author" was in those books. I bought it and my natural talent and creativity began to die a slow and painful death. It took me a couple of years–and two more novels that were never published–to get back to myself.

That used to happen to me when I took those dreaded "it's not voluntary seminars" through my job! (Interviewer shivering here.)
What is the best/worst advice you have ever gotten about writing?            

Best:  Write what you know–and love. If you are going to write it, you better have been a long time reader of it. Back when it seemed like romance was all the rage, I heard writer after writer say they were going to write romance because it sells. My question was always, "Do you read it?" Uh, no. Well, then, no! I can't write a psychological thriller or a horror novel either for the same reasons. Just by reading voraciously in your genre, you naturally understand the elements and pacing and what readers expect. And PS: It's not about being a great writer, it's about being a great storyteller. All you have to do is make your reader want to read the next line and be happy they did.

Worst:  Follow the rules. (See above on the writing critique thing.) I've taught a lot of fiction writing workshops, and the people who have the most difficult time writing are often English teachers. Their jobs–their lives and careers–depend on words being presented correctly. That's essential, of course, but in fiction–as in the real world–most of us rarely speak that way. Making sentences structurally correct makes for stilted and unnatural dialogue, to put it kindly. Even in the narrative, it isn't about making the most correct sentence; it is about engaging the reader emotionally. Left brain has to sit quietly while right brain runs free and loose.

Do you have any sage advice for a new author?

For the novel writer:  Forget about being a great writer and just tell a great story. Grab me by the throat with the first line and don't let go. Keep me wanting to know more.

For the nonfiction writer:  Know what you want to accomplish with the book–what you want your readers to take away–and be sure you do it.

For any writer: Be willing to expose your wounds and write until it hurts–from laughter and through the tears.

If you hadn't become an author, how else might you be exercising your right brain now?

Healing arts or maybe interior design.

Before we close, is there anything I didn't ask that you would like to share?

I have said way too much already!

And we've enjoyed every minute of it, Paula! Where on-line can people find more information about you and your books?

There are tons of inspirational articles and self-help tips as well as free stuff on my website . Sign up for the newsletter and get a free audio recording of the first part of the book along with a special report. You'll also get an occasional email with stories, question-and-answer sessions, special discounts and other information not available elsewhere.

Where are your books available in print and/or digital?

The Hardline Self Help Handbook is available in print and digital formats on amazon, Barnes and Noble and most retailers. Digital versions for a variety of readers are available through Smashwords and iTunes. While you're at Smashwords, grab a copy of my free Tweet-able Tough Love Quotes book (also available free through Barnes and Noble) and my short story, Most Likely to Succeed, also free! The Jolene Jackson Mystery Series books by Paula Boyd are available in print and Kindle versions through Amazon.com. Hot Enough to Kill (Now only $0.99!) Dead Man Falls Turkey Ranch Road Rage

My website address is: http://hardlineselfhelp.com

Enjoy!

Paula, thank you for taking the time to join us. I look forward to diving into some Paula Renaye books very soon!