Meet Published Author Bernadette Marie:

Bernadette Marie grew up obsessed with pens and note-books, each one filled with lists and ideas for stories. Not much has changed. This wife and mother of five sons has a passion for writing stories about falling in love, finding love where you left it, and strong families.

Bernadette Marie is an accomplished martial artist who holds a Black Belt in Tang Soo Do and she is a chronic entrepreneur. She is a member of Romance Writers of America and Colorado Romance Writers.

Visit her website for news on upcoming releases, signings, appearances, and contests.

Author's Website

Author's Blog

Amazon

Smashwords

Barnes and Noble

Bernadette's newest book, Cart Before the Horse, is available now.

#MeetTheAuthor: Stacy Green:

A lifelong reader and writer, Stacy Green has a degree in Mass Communications and spent several years in advertising. Becoming a stay at home mom gave Stacy the time to pursue her writing career. After plunking around a few ideas, she dove into her first novel, pantsing all the way. That book is a love story that she’ll probably never allow to grace a bookstore, but the experience taught her a lot about the craft of writing and the importance of practice.

When she began writing Into the Dark in 2010, Stacy made a commitment to become part of the online writing community and grow as a writer. A year later, her romantic suspense novel, set in Las Vegas and featuring the harrowing Las Vegas storm drains, is complete and on submission.

Stacy spends most her days chatting about true crime, especially on ‘Thriller Thursdays’ on Twitter, and supporting other writers in ‘A Round of Words in 80 Days’.

You can connect with Stacy at any of the links below:

Author Website

Twitter

Facebook  

Goodreads

Meet published author CJ West:

CJ West spent twenty years helping companies solve computer networking and information management problems with firms including Arthur Andersen. In 1999, he began writing suspense novels and several years later transitioned to writing fulltime.

Sin and Vengeance, the first book in CJ’s Randy Black series, was optioned for film by a screenwriting firm in early 2008. The screenplay, written by Marla Cukor, was optioned into development in 2009. The series also includes A Demon Awaits, and Gretchen Greene.  CJ’s standalone thrillers include Taking Stock, The End of Marking Time and his latest, Addicted to Love.

CJ hosts a Blog Talk Radio show called The Thriller-30 where he interviews contemporary thriller and suspense writers. CJ also writes, directs and acts in interactive murder mystery shows.

CJ’s Website

CJ’s Blog

Win one of 12 Kindle Fires! Register here:

http://22wb.com/cjwestfiresmeup.htm

CJ’s newest novel, Addicted to Love, captivates you in the first few pages. The storyline is original with compelling characters. It is romantic with an intriguing mystery that keeps you guessing.

#MeetTheAuthor: Mike Glenn ~ Christian Paranormal Writer

Mike Glenn is the author of An Angel's Point of View. He loves writing Christian books about the unseen spiritual realm.

A Former Pastor and prophetic teacher and intercessor, Mike loves to travel to Asia and Latin America as a vactionary-missionary. He speaks Spanish, reads constantly, and enjoys playing Texas hold em when not spending time with his wife.

For more information about Mike, visit...
Website 
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Meet published author Jaime Rush:

Since she was a kid, award-winning author Jaime Rush devoured books on unexplained mysteries and psychic phenomena. Writing as Tina Wainscott, she is the best-selling author of 18 books for St. Martin's Press and Harlequin and has won the Romance Writers of America's Golden Heart, the Maggie, and RT Book Reviews’ Reviewer’s Choice Award.

As Jaime Rush, writing for Avon Books, she created the critically-acclaimed Offspring series, beginning with APERFECT DARKNESS (Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice Award Winner) and continuing with BEYOND THE DARKNESS (Dec 2011). BITTENBY CUPID, a New York Times bestselling anthology with authors Lynsay Sands and Pamela Palmer, includes an unrelated Offspring story.

Beyond the Darkness Book Five of the Offspring Series

Avon Books, November2011 (ISBN 978-0-06-201891-5)

Petra is vexed by Cheveyo, the mysterious shapeshifter who captured her heart but walked out of her life. He's been watching over her from the shadows, but a supernatural evil threatens Petra and her people, forcing him to step in and protect his beloved. Now she must become a warrior to face down enemies with fur and claw …and dare to love a man whose darkness could destroy them both.

 

If you would like more information on Jaime Rush, connect with her through the links below:

Author Website

Goodreads

Facebook

Twitter

Harper Collins

Meet The Author ~ MJ Kane:

“Writing is not to be taken lightly. It's more than putting words on paper. It's the art of seducing your readers into your world.” – M.J. Kane

I am an aspiring author with big dreams. As an only child, I spent a lot of time exercising my imagination by acting out short stories with my collection of dolls. As I got older, I turned to reading books as a way to escape the boredom and keep my mind active. My favorite genres were Sci-Fi, Drama, Mystery, and Suspense. Very rarely did I dip into a Romance novel. And to think, when I decided to start writing, Romance was the genre I chose.

My love of Romance novels started by accident. I was at work on my one-hour lunch break and halfway through, I finished reading the final book in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Return of the King. A co-worker noticed, dug into her desk, and loaned me a Nora Roberts book. I wasn’t excited about reading a sappy romance novel but decided it was better than being bored. Thus, my love of the genre began.

Four years later, as a stay at home mom, I once again found myself bored. One day, my husband reminded me of a short story I had written, a fan fic of the show Lost, and suggested I continue to write it. I tried but realized I didn’t want to continue writing something that someone else created. I wanted my character to experience more. Before I knew it, I was at the library reading books on writing and the romance genre. My desire to write began.

Over the past two years, I’ve gone through the ups and downs of learning the art of story telling. Frustrated, I’ve put down my pen and paper for a while and gave up. But a month later, my character was knocking down the door, begging me to tell her story. And tell it I have.

The genre I have chosen – or rather has chosen me – is Multicultural Romance / Women’s Fiction. Rather than approach telling my characters stories in the tradition of the romance genre, I have created The Butterfly Memoirs, a collection of stories told by the characters themselves—a diary if you will.

Butterflies have long been a symbol of dynamic change in people’s lives. This dynamic change is what each of my characters—both the heroine and the hero—go through in their story. My goal is to not only entertain my readers but also to inspire, encourage, and bring hope to those who can relate. My characters do not live in the world of make-believe, they are like you and me, facing everyday hardships, trials, and heartbreak, yet they manage to find the moments of joy and happiness that keeps them going.

The first book of the series, A Heart Not Easily Broken, is about an interracial romance between Ebony Campbell, a black woman who is determined to reach her goal of becoming a veterinarian technician and Brian Young, a white man who is an up and coming musician. Despite their racial differences, it doesn’t take them long to realize they have a lot in common and support each other in ways others from their past did not. Ebony finds herself carrying a secret that could not only destroy her newfound relationship with Brian; it could also ruin the life of her best friend, Yasmine Phillips. Ebony must choose. Does she keep her secret and let life go on around her? Or will she expose the truth and deal with the consequences of her decision?

Sample First Chapter

A Heart Not Easily Broken is available now!

To learn more about my writing journey and me, visit my blog: This Writer’s Life

Please feel free to connect with me via links below:

Twitter

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Facebook Author Fan Page

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Email

The Process of Self-Editing:

A publisher once told me, she tells her authors to “puke it out.” As crass as that sounds, I agree. Don’t try to edit as you go along; get the story out of your head while it’s fresh.

When I edit, I read the entire novel without touching a finger to the keyboard. I download to my Kindle and simply highlight. It allows me to read as the prospective reader. My mind remains focused on the story, not the editing process. And, something I might have suggested the writer remove, might make sense once I’ve read the entire manuscript.

Next, go back chapter by chapter and add the emotion and action you may have missed on the first run through. Then, read again, preferably aloud. The moment something stumps you, stop and edit accordingly. If you, as the writer, get tripped up, imagine the reader. They don’t know the characters as intimately as you do.

Another good technique is to make a list of common, rookie writing mistakes. They’re easy to find. Follow some of your favorite agents' blogs and Twitter accounts, and believe me, they’ll tell you what they hate (I’ll do that here in a second). Add to your list commonly misspelled and misused words, again this is not difficult to locate. You’ve all read books and blogs that the author didn’t see the need to edit properly. What bugs you? Head hopping, the use of passive statements, the overuse of words such as very and hopefully. Too many dialog tags is one of my peeves, and sometimes, “he said” is sufficient. The tag is only there to remind the speaker who’s speaking. Don’t try to reinvent the wheel. Let the characters' words and actions speak for themselves.

This process should put you minimally at three self-edits, but don’t think for a minute you are through. Nope, now you need your Beta to read your masterpiece. When she’s finished and has made her suggestions, rewrite, and read again. Don’t want to upset you, but you’re still not finished. Now, you need a professional editor, or if your work is clean, a proofreader will suffice. But wait, there’s more. After you receive your manuscript back from your chosen editor, you need to accept or reject her recommendations, and yep you guessed correctly, read through your work one final time. So, Darin Calhoun, you are correct. My suggestion is at least six to seven read-throughs before you are ready to query or self-publish.

Anything less and you’ll just be a blip on the screen.

At what point do you throw in the towel OR self-publish?

Stop! Read that title again before you freak out.

If you misread my title as self-publishing is throwing in the towel, read it again. I said, “At what point do you throw in the towel OR self-publish?” Self-publishing is not giving up, and I truly do not feel that is the case. The only way you give up is if, as I said, you throw in the towel on querying and refuse to self-publish. Now that that is clear let’s continue.

However, like it or not, it is the way many view the act of self-publishing. After all, who writes a manuscript with the initial thought, “I’m going to write this book and self-publish it?”

The answer: no one. Not unless they’ve been through the querying gamut before and decide they’re not even going to bother this time.

Be honest. Doesn’t every author originally have dreams of grandeur, thinking they wrote the next Gone with the Wind, only to watch their dreams crumble as their inbox fills with one rejection after another?

I have spent years watching aspiring authors pour their heart and soul into a novel, heck two novels and in many situations three and four. They keep typing away, waiting for that gem that will eventually land them on the New York Times® Bestsellers List.

After every novel, they start anew the querying process. Usually they query the same agents who rejected them before, with the attitude: This is it! This is what the agent’s profile says she wants. Only to be rejected again.

So, what does it take? It’s not just a matter of having a well-written manuscript; I’ve certainly seen my share of horribly written novels. It cannot be just that it’s lacking originality. I’ve seen a plethora of the same story until I want to puke, example: vampire and werewolves...sorry, no offense.

So what is it? What does it take to have an agent or publisher notice you?

Again, I apologize; I wish I had the answer. Unfortunately, I do not.

But, here’s what I can tell you. If you have written a novel, have had it read by several beta readers (not just friends and family), and have had it professionally proofed for errors, not necessarily edited, just checked over for errors and you are still not getting a request to publish… Why not try self-publishing? Stories abound of Indie authors who took a chance and that chance paid off. They let the readers decide, and guess what?

The readers said, “Yes!”