Mayhem, murder, and magic—Linda Watkins’ thriller, Storm Island, is a 21st-century gothic mystery replete with a damsel in distress, villains, romance, and inexplicable, supernatural happenings. And, of course, a spooky old mansion on an island off the coast of Maine provides the perfect setting.
The story begins with “just another day at the office” for Katherine Pomeroy, daughter of the Chief of Staff at Memorial Hospital in Los Angeles, where she is a second-year surgical resident. Although she is a stereotypical privileged California girl with a prestigious pedigree, budding career, powerful lover, and trust fund on hold as she is not a product of nepotism. Katherine is smart, savvy, and hardworking, making her bones on her own behalf. Overall, her life can’t get much better.
Until the day Katherine ducks into the quiet refuge of a hospital laundry supply room for quick a catnap to refuel, and everything changes. Shortly after dozing off, Katherine is awakened by a private conversation between Dr. James Conway, Assistant Chief of Psychiatry at Memorial, and a rough-looking stranger. The men are arguing—and not over a tee-time.
The die is cast.
Katherine dismisses the incident as none of her business—but not Dr. Conway.
Later in the day, while prepping for surgery, Katherine suffers a seizure-like episode resembling a bad acid trip. Her next lucid moment is awakening in the hospital’s Emergency Room being treated by Dr. Conway, who has sedated her. He orders tests and ultimately diagnoses her as having a psychogenic disorder. By virtue of her father’s position and the fact that her aunt, a renowned psychiatrist, is willing to treat her, Katherine dodges commitment to a long-term psychiatric facility. Instead, she’s sent to her aunt’s summer home on Storm Island off the coast of Maine—a familiar place filled with memories.
Katherine, who learned, with the help of a loyal friend on staff, that she was being drugged, arrives on the island with mixed emotions and finds it fraught with physical, psychological, and supernatural landmines, forcing her to continue the fight for her life and sanity.
Storm Island is an entertaining read with smart, relatable characters in a setting that is dark and mysterious. A good mixture that will leave readers feeling comfortably sated.
Linda Watkin’s won First Place in the CIBAs 2018 Paranormal Awards for Storm Island.
Tips to Selling More Books Online – Part 4 by Kiffer Brown
And that is with just one hashtag…Make your social media posts work harder for you!
The POWER of the HASHTAG
Hashtags will make your social media posts work harder for you! They will amplify your posts. Hashtags will help new readers discover your books and help you discover new readers. – Kiffer Brown
Definition of Hashtag: A hashtag, introduced by the number sign, or hash symbol, #, is a type of metadata tag used on social networks such as Twitter and other micro-blogging services (i.e. Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest). It lets users apply dynamic, user-generated tagging that helps other users easily find messages with a specific theme or content. In other words:
Hashtags enhance your exposure to people who do not follow you. If you are just staring out building your social media platforms, #hashtags will help you increase your Followers — even if you only have one person following you. If you are already participating in social media, hashtags will enlarge your following!
Hashtags are your hardworking friends (you know the ones who will help you move or watch your kid in a pinch) in social media.
Hashtags help to gather different social media conversations about the same topic.
It makes the same topic easier to find and search throughout a social media platform.
Imagine being able to type in a word in your post that will allow other people on the platform to search the topic and, thereby, discover your post. Hashtags ( # ) will work for you in your posts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Hashtags help to boost your social media posts beyond your own followers. It will help you find crossover markets for your books. Do some research to find out the hashtags that resonate with your targeted readers. For example if your work’s protagonist is an adult with autism, you may want to try #adultautism.
Or if your work centers around a protagonist who is a birdwatcher (example: Border Songs by Jim Lynch), you may want to have your social media posts use #birdwatchers or #PNW or #PNWBirds if the plot is centered in the Pacific Northwest Or if the work is science fiction but will appeal to computer geeks use #cyberpunk and #SciFiCyberpunk.
Hashtags need time to percolate. It will take some time to be able to drill down to discover the best niche hashtags to reach out to your audience. You must use the hashtags over a long time to start percolating throughout the Internet and to allow potential new followers time to find you via #hashtag. Be patient. Be consistent.
Promoting on social media is a lot like brushing your teeth. You can’t just do it on Sundays or set aside a couple of days a month to do it. Your social media posts must be consistent and almost daily. You don’t have to spend a lot of time doing it— much like brushing your teeth, but consistency and long-term maintenance are the keys. Some people I know set a tea timer or kitchen timer to keep themselves from going down the social media rabbit hole. Fifteen minutes twice a day is better than a whole Sunday spent posting. Also, remember that social media levels the playing field against the big boys. It is mostly free (except for your time) and still a bargain as compared to the old Yellow Page ads or magazine ads.
A TWO-WAY STREET –– If you want others interact with you on social media, you must LIKE, COMMENT, and SHARE other peoples’ posts. Nuff said. Social Media is the world’s largest cocktail party—make the most of your networking time! Following a hashtag is just like following a friend.
A friendly reminder: The same goes with REVIEWS. If you want more consumer reviews, you will need to post more consumer reviews of others’ works. It is well-known by publishers that Editorial Reviews generate more Consumer Reviews (reader reviews).
Find Readers by Association with Top Authors in Your Genre by Discovering their hashtags and key words. Determine two or three best-selling authors’ works whose works you would like to have your books shelved next to in a bookstore. Then follow the author on social media (and interact), read and leave consumer reviews wherever you purchase books, and subscribe to his/her blogs and emails. Again, a long time strategy, but when you are ready to for a “peer review” and/or ask for an author quote, you will have increased your chances. Discover their hashtags to discover new readers.
#Hashtags can help you enlarge your reader base. Meanwhile, you can state that “If you are a fan of MISS BIG AUTHOR’s works, perhaps take a look at my works while you wait for the next one in the series to come out… ” A word of caution, make sure that your book is well edited and the best that it can be. Why? Because a few of Miss Big Author’s fans will take you up on your proposition. And if Miss Big Author likes your work, you may just get an endorsement blurb for your cover. Be ready for when Luck meets Opportunity and Preparation.
Back to #Hashtags
#Hashtags continue to work for you long after you have posted (percolation). The social media platforms’ crawlers continuously search for them and try to connect the people who use them.
Here are some hashtags that READERS use: #amreading
#amreadingfantasy or #amreadingYA or #amreadingthrillers #summerreading #tbr (to be read)
Here are some hashtags that writers and authors use:
#amwriting (1,045,508 viewers at the time of this article). #novel (383,783 viewers at the time of this article) #author (1,448,021 viewers at the time of this article)
Hashtags on Instagram
If you only want to use #hashtags on INSTAGRAM, then use the following format: #instawritingcommunity #instawritersofinstagram #instaamwriting
On Instagram the hashtag #books is banned. So, you must drill down instead of using the obvious. But #instafantasybooks is legal.
One study shows that Instagram posts with a least one hashtag generate on average 12.65 percent more engagement.
The Jøssing Affair by Janet Oakley won the Goethe Book Awards Grand Prize. The award-winning novel is about the Nazi occupation of Norway and the Norwegian Resistance Fighters in WWII. There is also love, betrayal, espionage, and bravery.
You can capitalize a couple of letters – for example: #JossingAffairBookLaunch #WWIINorway #NorwayOccupation #NorwaySuspenseNovels
Do not use ! or ? or ‘ or any punctuation in your hashtags besides the hashtag (#)
Banned Hashtags
Also, if you use a banned hashtag, your posts and account could be flagged and then “shadowbanned” which means that your posts will not percolate throughout Instagram.
Some banned hashtags are innocent as #happythanksgiving or #besties (banned because of overuse and spamming) to the egregious posts that you could imagine would go with these hashtags: #milf #lingerie #nasty #xxx #selfharm.
Hashtags may be used on any social media, and are typically found within a post in an #organic fashion, or at the end of the post like an index word. Twitter is a platform where the hashtag is so endemic that it often becomes like punctuation, performing its function while remaining nearly invisible to readers, as long as it’s not overdone.
Using a hashtag as part of a sentence is understood and accepted on Twitter, probably due to the character limit. But on Google+ and Facebook the hashtags are used less and can be intrusive in the middle of sentences. When in doubt on Facebook and Google+, add your hashtags to the end of your post, even on a separate ending line.
If your hashtags sticks out like a sore thumb, it may communicate “this is spam”, especially on some platforms, and that may create a negative reaction to the post.
Hashtag Advice
Use 3 – 6 hashtags. Start with a popular standard then drill down. For example, @ChristineKatSmith used #catnap #tabbycat #happyhour #landotter (a boater’s term for a cat) #friday #shelterinplace Christine is the co-Captain of the David B, a small ship that offers adventure cruises to Alaska and the award-winning author of More Faster Backwards, Rebuilding David B.
In the above Instagram post, she used the following hashtags @ mvdavidb
#glaciers #dawesglacier #alasks #alaskacruise #cruisealternative #tracyarmfordsterrorwilderness #photographyworkshop #travel #explore #adventure #wilderness #wildplaces #tidewaterglacier #boattour #yachtcharter #alaskayachtcharter #smallshipcruise #mvdavidb
The post looked like this:
Now to see how one of our favorite authors uses hashtags – Michelle Cox at @michellecoxwrites Michelle’s A Promise Given won the Chanticleer Mystery and Mayhem Grand Prize along many other awards.
Notice how she uses little known hashtags all the way to a broader net with #DowntonAbbey #Chicago #MissFisherMurderMysteries and then associates her brand (#HenriettaAndInspectorHowardSeries) with the other hashtags such as #mustread #booktofilm and so forth.
This in an introductory blog post to hashtags. Remember that following a hashtag is like searching for someone or something. Just type your hashtag into the Search text field on the social media platform that you are posting on.
Give it a try! Try it! You’ll like it! – Kiffer
Chanticleer Reviews social media handle is @ChantiReviews The hashtags we commonly use are: #CIBAs #ChanticleerFamily #ChanticleerRReads and the CIBA Divisions such as #CYGNUSAwards @MandMAwards and so forth.
HANDY LINKS – Chanticleer Reviews Tool Box Series
Click on these links to blog posts on the Chanticleer website for more information on how to increase online book sales:
Thank you for reading this Chanticleer Writer’s Toolbox post on Marketing and Book Promotion to Increase Online Book Sales.
Stay tuned for our next post on the How to Increase Online Book Sales series.
Also, we will continue to post the 2019 CIBA Finalists, so please stay tuned.
And, we will have new writing craft posts from top editors coming your way to keep you writing and editing during these unprecedented times.
We encourage you to stay in contact with each other and with us during this stint of practicing physical distancing to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Let us know how you are doing, what is going on where you live, how are you progressing on your writing projects.
I invite each of you to join us atThe Roost– a private online Chanticleer Community for writers and authors and publishing professionals. You are welcome to email me for more info also.
We are active onFacebook,Twitter, and Instagram. You can find us by using our social media handle @ChantiReviews
Minimize physical contact! Maximize social connecting!
Can a book about a loved one’s death be life-affirming and uplifting? If it comes from the award-winning, middle-grade author, Paul Aertker, the answer is a resounding yes.
Sometimes, occasionally, life is perfect. So it is for 12-year-old Ellie Kerr who lives with her mother and father in a Paris apartment with a view of La tour Eiffel and attends an international school. Her wealthy, well-connected father manages the vast financial interests of a former King of France. Her talented, glowing mother, a writer, has an ambition to see her little novels called “Explore the World” published. The household is completed with Munda, their Au pair/nurse from the French West Indies whose charm and worldliness adds additional warmth to the already close family.
A perfect life indeed, until the mother is diagnosed with incurable ovarian cancer.
From the beginning, we know about Ellie’s mother’s condition, but this is not what the book is about. Instead, it’s the story of how Ellie deals with her mother’s illness and her commitment to seeing her mother’s books published posthumously, a promise that is central to the strength and wisdom of Paul Aertker’s latest middle-grade novel.
After the death of her mother, the family moves from Paris to the other side of the Atlantic. Ellie’s mission to get her mother’s books published become central to her ability to heal from the devastating loss. Few words are wasted on the process of healing itself. Aertker focuses his attention on Ellie’s quest to recover her mother’s books from a password-protected computer. Thankfully, she doesn’t have to do this alone. The friendship from Ellie’s classmates in her new school helps her find the courage to get the book published. This is ultimately a celebration of one mother’s life and the fire she lit in the mind and heart of her remarkable young daughter.
Reading about the death of a loved one, much less writing about it, can be painful. Posthumous succeeds admirably in its depiction of that process by telling it straight-forward with little gush or unwarranted drama. Aertker tells Ellie’s story with exactitude and dignity, honoring his audience with the handling of a very difficult subject. The details of how, and how well, the family copes with the loss of life are keenly drawn in a manner that celebrates the life of the mother while pointing out the path through life that her daughter will follow.
The CHAUCER Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in pre-1750s Historical Fiction. The CHAUCER Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).
The Chaucer Book Awards competition is named forGeoffrey Chaucerthe author of the legendary Canterbury Tales. The work is considered to be one of the greatest works in the English language. It was among the first non-secular books written in Middle English to be printed in 1483.
Chanticleer International Book Awards is seeking the best books featuring Pre-1750s Historical Fiction, including pre-history, ancient history, Classical, world history (non-western culture), Dark Ages and Medieval Europe, Renaissance, Elizabethan, Tudor, 1600s. Our judges will read them to discover the best among them. The CIBAs discover today’s best books!
The 2019 CIBAs received an unprecedented number of entries making this book awards program even more competitive. More entries along with more competitive works make the final rounds of judging even more demanding. The judges have requesteda new level of achievementto be added to the rounds to acknowledge the entries that they deemed should receive a high level of recognition.
We decided that this was the time to incorporate the new level – The FINALISTS – as requested by the CIBA judges. This new level will be incorporated into the 2019 CIBAsLevels of Achievement. The FINALISTS were selected from the entries that advanced to the 2019 CHAUCER Book Awards Semi-Finalists.
Congratulations to the 2019 CHAUCER Book Awards FINALISTS
James Conroyd Martin –Fortune’s Child: A Novel of Empress Theodora
Gail Avery Halverson –The Skeptical Physick
Susanne Dunlap –Listen to the Wind
Linda Cardillo –Love That Moves the Sun: Vittoria Colonna and Michelangelo Buonarotti
Cryssa Bazos –Severed Knot
Kate Murdoch– The Orange Grove
June Hall McCash –Eleanor’s Daughter: A Novel of Marie de Champagne
James Hutson-Wiley –The Sugar Merchant
Alexandrea Weis –Realm
Catherine Mathis –Death in Coimbra
Patricia J. Boomsma –The Way of Glory
A.L. Cleven –26.2
Anna Belfrage –The Cold Light of Dawn
E. L. Diamond –The Wolf of God
These titles are in the running for the First Place positions of the 2019 CHAUCER Book Awards for pre-1750s Historical Fiction
Good luck to all as your works move on to the next rounds of judging.
Congratulations to the authors whose works have advanced to the FINALISTS Level of Achievement!
The 16 divisions of the 2019 CIBAs’ Grand Prize Winners, the First Place Category Position Award Winners, and all Semi-Finalists will be announced at the postponed 2020 Chanticleer International Book Awards Annual Gala, now re-scheduled for Saturday, September 5th, 2020.
Join us at the Chanticleer Authors Conference at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham, Wash. Use our link above to register now for this exciting event!
We are now accepting submissions into the 2020 CHAUCER Awards Book Awards. The deadline for submissions is June 30th, 2020. The winners will be announced in April 2021.
Cancer survivor Pete Morrissette wants to spend the remainder of his life relaxing beside the heated pool or strolling through the gardens at the up-scale assisted living retirement community. Instead, he’s “doing time” in FMC Devens, a federal prison hospital.
How did mild, friendly Pete Morrisette end up the scapegoat in a con that duped Massachusetts’s Lottery out of nearly $5,000,000? While everyone in prison claims they are innocent, Pete truly is. Even one of the prosecuting attorneys can see that, but someone has to answer for the dirty deed, and Pete is an easy target.
In Gerard Shirar’s latest suspense legal thriller, eighty-eight-year-old Pete is the perfect everyman. After leading a relatively quiet life, Pete plans on leading a relatively quiet retirement. A father, a husband, and an all-around decent man, nothing exciting or monumental ever happened in Pete’s average, upper-middle-class life. But all that changed when his wife of fifty-three years died. Pete moved to Brook Haven, a retirement home catering to a senior intellectual set, and, as one may expect, he soon became bored.
When Manfred Toomey, a former big-wig businessman, moves into Brook Haven and establishes a gambling club, he befriends Pete. And when Toomey approaches him about organizing a lottery-playing group to raise money for a charity organization, Pete cautiously agrees. Pete is smart – but not smart enough to trust his instincts. His desire to help struggling families quiets his suspicions about the legality of what he’s been asked to do – and his common sense. He wants to help but ends up as a pawn for the Mafioso. Big money walks free while the once hard-working father and husband takes the fall to appease a misplaced need for justice – the appearance of it anyway.
Shirar creates a compelling case in Pete’s story, so neatly fitting together that it’s frightening in its plausibility. He builds a resilient and relatable character in Pete, one who tells his story through an engaging second-person point of view journal from prison. Growing old isn’t for sissies, and through it all, Pete chooses to see his own story as “God’s lottery” and deals with whatever “fate and time” have given him.
Just like Shirar’s other works, readers will find an intricate study of human nature and the vulnerability of those we care most about in this mystery thriller. Pete Morrisette’s story feels as if it could have been ripped from the pages of newspapers today as countless elderly are duped by those who would prey upon them. And that’s what makes The Lottery Game a must-read.
Gerard Shirar is a Finalist in the 2020 Mystery and Mayhem Awards for When the Rules Don’t Apply.
The Dante Rossetti Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in Young Adult Fiction. The Dante Rossetti Book Awards is a genre division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (#CIBAs).
Named in honor of the British poet & painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti who founded the Pre-Ralphaelite Brotherhood in 1848.
Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring stories of all shapes and sizes written to an audience between the ages of about twelve to eighteen (imaginary or real). Science Fiction, Fantasy, Dystopian, Mystery, Paranormal, Historical, Romance, Literary, and the CIBA judges will evaluate them for the CIBA Levels of Achievement. They will put them to the test and choose the best Young Adult Fiction among them. The CIBAs discover today’s best books!
The 2019 CIBAs received an unprecedented number of entries making this book awards program even more competitive. More entries along with more competitive works make the final rounds of judging even more demanding. The judges have requesteda new level of achievementto be added to the rounds to acknowledge the entries that they deemed should receive a high level of recognition.
We decided that this was the time to incorporate the new level – The FINALISTS – as requested by the CIBA judges. This new level will be incorporated into the 2019 CIBAsLevels of Achievement. The FINALISTS were selected from the entries that advanced to the 2019 Dante Rossetti Book Awards Semi-Finalists.
Congratulations to the 2019 DANTE ROSSETTI FINALISTS
Veronica Myers – Winter’s Progeny
Julieanne Lynch – Beneath the Lighthouse
Jacinta Jade – Change of Darkness
Michelle Rene – Manufactured Witches
Nancy Thorne – Victorian Town
Ted Neill – Jamhuri, Njambi & Fighting Zombies
A. Cort Sinnes – Quicksilver
C.R. Stewart – Britfield and the Lost Crown
Jan Von Schleh – But Not Forever
Susan Brown – Twelve
Sandra L Rostirolla – Cecilia
Zachry Wheeler – Max and the Multiverse
Michael Bialys – The Chronicles of the Virago: Book I The Novus
David Patneaude – Fast Backward
John Middleton – Dillion & The Curse of Arminius
These titles are in the running for the First Place positions of the 2019 DANTE ROSSETTI Book Awards for Young Adult Fiction.
Good luck to all as your works move on to the next rounds of judging.
Congratulations to the authors whose works have advanced to the FINALISTS Level of Achievement!
The First Place Category Winners, along with the CIBA Division Grand Prize winners, will be selected from the 16 CIBA divisions FINALISTS. We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, September 5th, 2020 at the luxuriousHotel Bellwether in Bellingham, Wash.
The 16 divisions of the 2019 CIBAs’Grand Prize Winners and the First Place Category Position award winners along with recognizing the Semi-Finalists will be announced at the September 5th at the postponed 2020 Chanticleer International Book Awards Annual Awards Gala,which takes place at the Chanticleer Authors Conference that will be held in Bellingham, Wash.
Grand Prize Ribbons!
We are now accepting submissions into the 2020 Dante Rossetti Awards Book Awards. The deadline for submissions is May 31st, 2020. The winners will be announced in April 2021.
Hindenburg Systems is holding a LIVE ZOOM WEBINAR with a Q & A Session just for Chanticleerians!
LEARN FROM THE BEST! – Hindenburg Systems
Creating a podcast with a smart phone! Anywhere!
Their webinars are always solidly booked. I should know because I have tried to login on several webinars only to see that it was filled to capacity on ZOOM. So, I asked if they would be so kind as to teach this class just for Chanticleer Reviews subscribers. And Hindenburg Systems said YES!
The WEBINAR is FREE, but you must register to get the ZOOM link and password.
You must RSVP to me ASAP at KBrown@ChantiReviews.com
I will then email to you the ZOOM Meeting Room ID and Link.
Don’t Delay! Reserve Your Spot Today!
There is limited capacity for this LIVE ZOOM WEBINAR!
TOPIC: HOW TO MAKE and EDIT a PODCAST
Date: Thursday, May 14, 2020
Time Zones: 11:30 am (Los Angeles) 1:30 pm (Chicago) 2:30 pm (New York) 7:30 pm (London) 8:30 pm (Copenhagen)
The Podcast Webinar will be held at 11:25 a.m. to 1:25 p.m. Pacific Coast Time, Thursday, May 14.
Length of Time: One hour plus LIVE Q & A
Description: This 1-hour Hindenburg Journalist PRO live training will cover:
RECORDING
Yourself
Yourself and a co-host on location
Yourself and an interviewee Online
Post-production SOUND
Working with EQ (equalizer)
Noise reduction
Post-production EDITING
Removing the Unwanted
Grabbing Soundbites
Add Music and Sound
PUBLISHING
Upload the final podcast to a Podcast Host
Who? What? Where? and How?
Q and A Session 15 – 20 minutes of open Q&A at the end
What you will need to view the LIVE ZOOM WEBINAR?
a laptop, desk computer, or a smart phone. Again, this is a FREE WEBINAR.
But you do need to email me to receive the link.
LEARN FROM THE BEST
This webinar will be taught by Nick Dunkerley, Creative Director and Founder of Hindenburg Systems, from Copenhagen, Denmark. He is also a Radio Journalist for the Danish National Broadcasting Corporation (16 years of experience in public radio broadcasting) and a Sound Engineer.
If you would like, after viewing the LIVE webinar, then Hindenburg will email to you the video of the webinar–just for those who logged in LIVE! If you are like me, it will take a couple of times to absorb the technical bits. Having a video to watch again will be helpful!
And Hindenburg Systems provides more in-depth tutorials for FREE if you want to dive in deeper.
Hindenburg Systems PRO is used by Stanford, Berkeley, Duke, Penn State, Harvard universities along University of Iceland, Whitman College and others. HS is also the system of choice for U of Copenhagen, Danish School of Journalism, UMEA of Sweden, London School of Economics, etc.
Chris Mottes, CEO, teaching a session at Harvard Universty.
Hindenburg Systems PRO is also the choice for Doctors without Borders, Greenpeace, and many other organizations that depend on podcasts in remote areas to get their messages out.
Build your podcast on one of the most trusted platforms on the planet—Hindenburg Systems
RESERVE YOUR SPOT TODAY for the HOW TO CREATE and EDIT a PODCAST by emailing Kiffer at KBrown@ChantiReviews.com
We encourage you to stay in contact with each other and with us during this stint of practicing physical distancing to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Let us know how you are doing, what is going on where you live, how are you progressing on your writing projects.
I invite each of you to join us atThe Roost– a private online Chanticleer Community for writers and authors and publishing professionals.
We are active onFacebook,Twitter, and Instagram. You can find us by using our social media handle @ChantiReviews
Minimize physical contact! Maximize social connecting!
STAZR The World of Z: The Dawn of Athir, is the opening of a grand quest into the origin of this world, the history it has suppressed, and most important of all, a journey to open the legendary gates that will lead its people back out into the wider galaxy. Or at least that’s what the powers that be in the city of Trebarad believe when they uncover a prophecy about a “Chozen One” who can open the gate at the heart of the town.
The story begins with the finding of that Chosen One, the scholar Radatat Lael, living in self-imposed isolation far from the city – or anywhere else. Lael seems to be unique among the people of this world. He was born on Arisam and did not merely arrive, adult and ignorant, from the other side of the world. What also makes him unique is he actually had and remembers his childhood. This perspective will give him the insight required to open the mysterious and mystical “gates.”
Lael’s isolation has also given him a sense of wonder about the world that he has explored in books but never seen, as well as a bit of an overinflated sense of his own intelligence and consequence.
On his journey to Treebarad, he experiences wonders and dangers that he’s dreamed about, only to face decisions that mirror his visionary dreams. Disturbing visionary dreams – and far more dangerous.
This story is only the beginning of Radatat Lael’s story. As this opening volume in the series ends, Lael and his companions are on the cusp of moving out into the greater universe – but only after learning that much of what they believed about their world is not entirely true.
Lael’s story is a mix of science fiction and fantasy. Lael’s dreams of the STAZR Maiden, his visions that come true, the prophecy that sets the story in motion, and the saarum that gives the “Greats” of this world power – all read as fantasy. Lael’s journey itself reads like mythmaking and legend – although the legend being created is about himself and told from his first-person perspective. And Lael is just a bit full of himself much of the time.
But this is just the beginning of the STAZR world. Author, Dr. Anay Ayarovu a former Russian national is starting something new, building something rather admirable. She’s inviting all who feel they don’t belong (because, as she says, they are meant to create new ways of being) to contribute art in all forms to add to the expansive universe called Stazr. The book is just the foundation from which gaming, television series, and movies may spring. Authors of all skill levels are also invited to submit their short stories about the STAZR universe for consideration to be included in the series.
STAZR The World of Z: The Dawn of Athir as a whole is a bit of a tease. In Lael’s journey and the people and beings he meets, the reader gets the sense of a fascinating world just waiting to be discovered. Readers should know that this first installment is a chewy read. It takes patience and opens the gates of creativity and development within the reader. In short, the STAZR universe has the very real potential of becoming something far greater than what we see at this moment in time. There is a long list of questions about the fundamentals of this world as the story draws to a close, and given the author’s mission, this perhaps is a very good thing.
A new way of storytelling opens the doors for those with vision and drive to dive in. And what a brilliant way of going about it! Artists and authors alike will want to dig into this universe and explore the possibilities.
Story ideas often come to writers as a fleeting spark of an idea or feeling. Maybe it comes from meeting an interesting stranger. Maybe it comes from a childhood memory or looking back at a life-altering trip. Or perhaps you’re trying to rewrite a difficult situation you’ve always wished you’d handled better. Maybe you spot a person on the street who reminds you of someone from your past. Maybe that person broke your heart. Or bullied you when you were a kid. Or she/he is the one who got away.
Perhaps you have no idea where your story idea came from.
Sometimes a story comes from askingwhat if. What if dad never left us? What if an adult with a family runs away from home? What if I never met ___? What if a corpse is discovered missing its fingerprints? What if someone refused to keep family secrets?
All these ideas have potential….BUT ideas are the easy part of writing.
A spark doesn’t always ignite into a flame. A spark doesn’t always equal a plot.
So you need tools and criteria to judge your ideas. Visual artists have a great advantage over writers because an artist can place his painting in front of a mirror. The mirrored image will be so distinct that the artist will see it anew. Writers, alas, can’t use the mirror trick.
Your friends or critique group can help you discern weak story concepts versus potent story concepts. But over time you’ll need to find ways to judge your own work.
With that in mind, ask yourself these questions:
Does your idea foment or riot within you?
Do your main characters get your heart pumping?
Demand to be heard? Demand to be shaped into a tale?
Can you ‘see’ the story in a series of vivid scenes?
Can you boil down the story into a few vivid sentences?
Can you ‘hear’ the main voice of the story already? Does the voice come naturally or easily as if from some untapped part of you?
Does a major twist come to mind?
Can you imagine the ending?
Can you plot the causality–as in one scene leads to the next, then leads to the next.
Keep asking yourself questions about what comes next or the protagonist’s core traits or how you can complicate things. Perhaps a false accusation or betrayal might help shape the story. Perhaps a lie or secret lies at the heart of things. And what about the themes?
Can you offer fresh insights about human nature?
Create characters your reader has never met or imagined, but always wanted to?
When we learn that Edward the vampire sparkles in the sunlight in “The Twilight Saga” — a new way of imaging vampires…
If your characters don’t feel, neither will your readers because characters are revealed by their emotions. And if emotions don’t lead to further actions, then part of fictional chain is missing.
Character first. Plot is people.
(an encore, but worth repeating)
It’s impossible to write about a main character you don’t care about. And you must care deeply. When I say care, you can actually pity the poor sod {Quoyle inThe Shipping News}, or disagree with his morality as when you write an anti-hero like Scarlett O’Hara or Tyrion Lannister of theGame of Thronesseries. Or Lisbeth Salander in Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Or Katness Everdeen in the Hunger Games. Many readers find anti-heroes likable or relatable, but so must the writer/creator. Because fiction writing requires a serious emotional and intimate involvement with the main characters.
Fiction requires a serious emotional and intimate involvement with the main characters. – Jessica Morrell
Katniss with her rallying three-fingered salute!
Ideally you’ll find your protagonist fascinating, indelible, someone you can co-habitat with for at least a year—perhaps longer. Because between first drafts and final revisions it will take at least a year to finish your novel Naturally this can work for short stories too, but the duration of the relationship is often shorter.
And if you are going to commit to a series well, you had better believe that you can go the distance.
Your protagonists and antagonists should be fun to write or intriguing to the point of distraction.
I’ve known writers who have fallenoutof love with their characters and it ain’t pretty. Especially if they created a series character. Typically they discover their creation feels stale or predictable.
Similar to a failing relationship in the real world. Like those glum couples you spot in restaurants not speaking to each other; sitting in slumped misery or apathy. I’ve been noticing these miserable pairings for years.
There is nothing left to say or talk about…
Of course, because I’m a writer that makes me nosy and I am apt to spy on my fellow diners and eavesdrop—an occupational hazard so to speak.
Back to you and your main characters. Think long haul. Lasting commitment, curiosity, oradmiration. Think not being judge-y.
Is your character your new love? Your best friend that you want to hang out with? The friend that always seems to get you in trouble but you don’t really mind?
A few suggestions and/or gentle reminders for you:
Character first. Plot is people.
Create an intricate backstory that will cause motivations.
Give it time. It doesn’t need to be an instant attraction or intimacy, but your character should pique your curiosity.
Discover what in your character’s nature validates his/her humanity.
What about him or her is worthy of your reader’s time. Some of the best protagonists are not immediately sympathetic or understandable. It can take readers time to understand them. But that’s okay. Because there will be tests along the way that reveal his/her true nature. An example is Strider in Lord of the Rings.
Strider aka Ranger of the North aka Aragorn crowned King Elessar
Your protagonist needs traits you admire, even begrudgingly.
Figure in your protagonist’s chief vulnerabilities, then exploit them.
Understand how your character’s triggers, reactions or overreactions under duress.
Consider working outyourdemons through your protagonist and antagonist.
Is he or she insecure?
Will he feel misunderstood? (Professor Snipe in the Harry Potter series)
What about rewriting your awkward adolescent years through your character?
If your characters don’t feel, neither will your readers because characters are revealed by their emotions. And if emotions don’t lead to further actions, then part of fictional chain is missing.
Your Homework
Make a list of who are some of your most favorite and beloved characters and then try to assign traits to them that you find compelling. Conversely, who were their antagonists?
Keep writing, keep dreaming, have heart. Jessica
Chanticleer’s next Marketing blog post will address Hashtags and Social Media – Part 4 of How to Increase Online Book Sales.
Our next Editorial blog post will address Opening Paragraphs and Beginnings.
So please stay tuned…
Jessica Page Morrell
Jessica Page Morrell is a top-tier developmental editor for books and screenplays. Her articles have appeared in Writer’s Digest and The Writer magazines. She is known for explaining the hows and whys of what makes for excellent writing and for sharing very clear examples that examine the technical aspects of writing that emphases layering and subtext. Her books on writing craft are considered “a must have” for any serious writer’s toolkit.
Jessica will teach theMaster Craft Writing Classesat theChanticleer Authors Conferenceon Thursday, Sept. 3, 2020 and will present sessions during the conference. She and Kiffer will also host a fun kaffeeklatch for Word Nerds at CAC20.
Did you know that Chanticleer offers editorial services?We do and have been doing so since 2011.
Our professional editors are top-notch and are experts in theChicago Manual of Style.They have and are working for the top publishing houses (TOR, Macmillan, Thomas Mercer, Penguin Random House, etc.) and award-winning independent presses. If you would like more information, we invite you to email Kiffer or Sharon at KBrown@ChantiReviews.com or SAnderson@ChantiReviews.com.
We work with a small number of exclusive clients who want to collaborate with our team of top-editors on an on-going basis. Contact us today!
Writer’s Toolbox
Thank you for reading this Chanticleer Writer’s Toolbox article.
We encourage you to stay in contact with each other and with us during this stint of practicing physical distancing to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Let us know how you are doing, what is going on where you live, how are you progressing on your writing projects.
I invite each of you to join us atThe Roost– a private online Chanticleer Community for writers and authors and publishing professionals. You are welcome to email me for more info also.
We are active onFacebook,Twitter, and Instagram. You can find us by using our social media handle @ChantiReviews
Minimize physical contact! Maximize social connecting!
Here at Chanticleer, we love Children’s literature! There is just something about a truly well-told story that sparks the imagination of the young – and the young at heart.
So, as we celebrate Children’s Book Week – May 4 – 10, 2020, allow us to bring along a few friends and share with you some really good books.
Did you know that 2020 marks the 96th anniversary of the first edition of the first book The Boxcar Children by Gertrude C. Warner?
It’s true! We titled the Chanticleer International Book Awards (CIBAs) division for middle-grade readers The Gertrude Warner Awards in honor of the author of the well-loved children’s The Boxcar Children Series.
I guess you could say, we’re fans. BIG fans!
We love Gertrude and so many others! Here’s a little list of some of Middle-Grade Children’s authors you probably already know:
Are you interested in seeing how your Middle-Grade book stands up to the competition? Submit them to the Chanticleer International Book Awards and we will choose the best among the entries!
The deadline to submit your book for the Gertrude Warner awards is May 31, 2019. Enter here!
The deadline for 2019 submissions has been extended to June 15, 2019. Grand Prize and First Place Winners for 2019 will be announced on September 5, 2020, at the CIBA Awards Banquet.
Any entries received on or after June 16, 2019, will be entered into the 2020 Gertrude Warner Book Awards.
As our deadline draws near, don’t miss this opportunity to earn the distinction your Middle-Grade Reader deserves! Enter today!
The GERTRUDE WARNER Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards – the CIBAs.
All Finalists and First Place category winners will be recognized, the first-place winners will be whisked up on stage to receive their custom ribbon and wait to see who among them will take home the Grand Prize. It’s an exciting evening of dinner, networking, and celebrations!
Mayhem, murder, and magic—Linda Watkins’ thriller, Storm Island, is a 21st-century gothic mystery replete with a damsel in distress, villains, romance, and inexplicable, supernatural happenings. And, of course, a spooky old mansion on an island off the coast of Maine provides the perfect setting.
The CHAUCER Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in pre-1750s Historical Fiction. The CHAUCER Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).
The Dante Rossetti Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in Young Adult Fiction. The Dante Rossetti Book Awards is a genre division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (#CIBAs).
