The Truth is

WE KNOW THE TRUTH, DO YOU?

Welcome readers to the continuing blog tour for the latest science fiction/fantasy book release, the anthology called, WE KNOW THE TRUTH, DO YOU? by twenty-five authors of a variety of genres.

I know, Sci-Fi isn’t my usual fare. So how did I end up in this wonderfully creative anthology? Well, I know author, editor, and mom Terri Wilson. Terri and I live across town from each other. When she, along with other author friends decided to put together an anthology to celebrate the upcoming Area 51 raid (which as we know captured the attention of every social media outlet out there. Terri said, why not give them an alternative to going to a raid and give them a cool book suggesting that a bunch of authors might be able to suggest more about Area 51 than people could possibly guess.

So the call went out and wow, the response was incredible. Terri was amazed and the anthology began in earnest.

Even I was excited because I know Terri’s work ethic. She was my PA for a while, has been my editor, my beta and even my formatter. So when she said she was honchoing this book, I openly declared I was IN, despite not having a clue what to write about since I don’t “do” sci-fi.

Ah, but I write about vampires and a mythological phoenix, so what could be more alien than this? Who needed to come from off planet? Not my story. My story suddenly came to me. What if the Air Force didn’t have a secret but there was one at Area 51? What if the lack of secret was the conspiracy? And what if the truth there was magic at Area 51?  Magic that was dying….

From there I tied my story to my current paranormal fiction series, Evening Bower, and used the characters from my series to tell the story of a young Air Force sergent who disappears and the friends from my series who show up to help. Their discovery is shocking and unexpected, sad and yet hopeful. I called it MERMURINGS (no, that’s not misspelled).

Of course I worried my story wouldn’t fit in. I soon discovered I needn’t have fretted. The stories that were submitted included alien immigrants, conspiracy theories, military black ops, mystery, romance, serial killers, prison escapes, humor, unexpected endings (or is it beginnings?), and so much more! And of course, there are actual aliens who come to visit! This book developed into a tome of stories where there was something for everyone. Here are just a few sample covers.

But you know what really sold me on the anthology? ALL royalties are to be DONATED to US VETS. That’s right – ALL. None of the authors will take one dime. As a retired US Air Force officer, I am so proud to be a part of this book because of that!

Then guess what happened? FORBES did an article on the upcoming “Raid of Area 51” and THEY MENTIONED THE BOOK! I almost lost my mind. You can read about that here.

After that we authors began a blog tour and that brings you here, with me. The Area 51 raid? Nah, it was a bust. But you can learn the Truth if you get this anthology, because we have the answers and we’ll share them with YOU. This book will tell you all you need to know. I promise.

Check out the anthology website here. And then take this link to get your copy of this terrific book (that happens to be over 400 pages long!) Would 25 talented and insightful authors lie to you? The truth is waiting….

I’ll see you at the edge of Area 51. Until then,
I remain, Yours Between the Lines,

Sherry

Happy Halloween, NaNo, & News

This is the last post for October. In just two days it will be Halloween, the spookiest, creepiest, giggle-fest of the year. I decorate on October 1 and I do enjoy the ghoul-fest, despite not having children. I have such great memories of trick-or-treating, but I think the reason my joy remains is the care Mother took in explaining WHY we did the things we did. Understanding helped make the holiday indelible and I thought I’d share with you.

Since the 1920s, kids in North America have been doing trick or treating. The idea is to dress up (so the real ghosts and goblins think you are part of them and don’t bother you), then you go door to door and ask for treats in lieu of a trick being played on the owner. Those who don’t give treats are tricked with soap or toilet paper (in the more gentle and benign tricks).  In those countries where they dress up, the costumes must be scary. Only in America will you find the custom has been altered to include the sexy, cute and Disney. 

Give good treats to appease the spirits. Long ago, the food was left on the doorstep and the spirits were invited to take what they wished and be happy. Can you imagine leaving unguarded chocolate on your front porch? Yikes! I don’t know what would be worse, the melting, the ants or the stampede!

Don’t forget to leave out a glowing Jack-O-Lantern! The lighted gourd actually began long ago in Europe. You carved out a turnip (not a pumpkin) and put an ember in it so that it told the roaming spirits that the house was taken or protected. Without the lighted lantern, you might be possessed! It was the Irish who brought the custom to America and found the pumpkin, then changed the custom.  The Jack-O-Lantern is named after the will-o-the-wisp, or the jacks, who were believed to spirts who hung out in the marshes and bogs.

Knowing some of the Halloween customs gave the holiday life for the little kid in me and I learned to love and not fear the fun. I think it’s why creepy and spooky highlights my writing, because I am not afraid to go deep into the dark. For only in the dark do you see the light.

I hope you share the customs of the day with your friends and children, then have a most haunting candy-fest. Remember to stay safe, and share some of your goodies with your children. haha

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honeymoon kids

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY! Yesterday was my 29th wedding anniversary. Hard to believe it’s been that many years! My hubby and I spent the day being lazy and cuddly, enjoying each other’s company and then going out to dinner. I am blessed to have found such an amazing human being with whom to share my life. As with so many things in my life, I think about how I show long standing relationships with my characters and how I share the rich relationships. Nothing in my emotional life is wasted, every joy and sorrow is personal and fodder. But I must say, in this special moment of knowing and loving someone for so long, the depth of our caring is so much more mature than it has ever been and I make note how he and I manifest that love. A writer never forgets that every moment is noteable. But Happy Anniversary my love. Let’s go for another 29 years.

National Novel Writing Month

In just a couple days, National Novel Writing Month begins again! I’m in! I hope you will join me. Make your preparations now:  find a writing spot, identify your writing buddies, get all you snacks and papers together and mentally prepare for the daily write. If you are used to it, then get that outline ready to go. I’m poetphoenix on the website. Let’s hook up.

This year will be epic. I’ll give you updates at least weekly – stay tuned for videos too.

WRITER NEWS

You know what I’ve said about how important it is to market and promote, right? So here’s what’s been happening with me.

A great many events have been going on helping to market my latest release, LOVE AND BLOOD.

– Kicked off my promotion with an interview by my friend and fellow author Yvonne Mason of Off The Chain on blogspot radio. What fun! She’s showcased every book over the last few years and is a strong and generous supporter of Indie Authors. Check out her diverse archives!

– Hanging With Web Show has been a staunch supporter and hard marketer of all my books and right now they are heavily promoting Love and Blood. Check out their podcasts and see what Featured Authors they have because you might discover something new for your reading list.

–  Jennifer Wedmore of Wickedly Innocent Promotions worked a Facebook release for the book.

–  Jodi Hunley Bird of Ruby Red Romance Reviews, fostered me for Foster An Author 2018. As a fostered author, she promoted me for a week, from Oct 22-26 and wonderful promotions gave my book delicious exposure. Plus I made new contacts on Twitter, Instagram and on my Facebook page! If you haven’t done this program before (this was my first time), then I recommend you give it a try next year. #FAA4 #FosterAnAuthor #FAA2018

– On Oct 26, Laurie Kehoe interviewed me on blogspot radio program, Authors Corner. What a fun hour! If you missed the advertisement about it, please check it out. We talked writing, the new book and books we loved by others. It was a free interview and what a gracious gift to an Indie Author like me. Check into her archives too because she interviews all sorts of cool folks!

– Coming up, I’m a part of the 2018 Halloween Pub Crawl, and you can sign up! All you have to do is join a bunch of groups. Then starting Oct 31, the groups will give out passcodes which you will need to collect and then return to the main page and turn in on a form. The more passcodes you collect, the more entries you get to win. What do you win?  Some books and a $250 Amazon gift card! So what are you waiting for? The crawl only lasts 48 hours once it starts!

–Coming up on October 31, Silver Dagger Book Tours is going to do a month long showcase of my books. YOU CAN SIGN UP AND HELP! Go here and join in on the party. I will thank you!

-Finally, if you want a treat, join me for my monthly live chat, FIRESIDE WITIH THE PHOENIX, on my Facebook Author page, Hallloween day 1pm EDT for 15 min (or so) of craziness. No telling what I might do on that spooky day!

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As you can see, marketing is both a pain and important. You can’t skip it if you expect to sell books or gain visibility. I hate doing it, but doing it means someone new might learn about me. So help me by checking out these fabulous people (and maybe they will be helping you later.

If you have read any of my books, I would be very grateful for your support by leaving me a review on Amazon, Goodreads and BookBub. Your love is always best shown by reviews. Authors think of them like hugs.

NEWSLETTER!!! Going out by Halloween! Sign up NOW.

Hope your Halloween is FRIGHTFULLY fun.

Yours Between the Lines (and in the dark)

Sherry

Don’t Write and Self Publish A Book

I’ll bet that got your attention. Please don’t write and self-publish a book? This from a self-published author? Yup. In a world of self-publishing proliferation, I’m here to say you probably shouldn’t write a book, and I have a several reasons why not.

Lately, it seems everyone is into publishing their book. Ex-White House staffers, current and past Olympians, people in jail, people out of jail, famous, infamous, Hollywood stars, musicians, a rescuer, the rescued, the housewife who discovered how to budget, the lady who lost weight, the homeschooler who dabbles in poetry, the cute kid who made thousands selling lemonade. On and on, ad nauseum, it seems that people everywhere are jumping on the bandwagon to be known as a writer, and more specifically, an author. Many of these folks have the benefit of a large publishing house who expects to make money off their clients fame (even fleeting). This is especially true of people who live online.

Then there are “the others” — the lesser knowns probably more recognizable to the common masses like you and me. Check out the podcasts where the hosts are now writing books. Look at Facebook and Pinterest where people are deciding to turn their social life into books. Success and failure is making people decide to write. Had 15 minutes of fame? Self-publish a book. And the result is there are too many people diving into the publishing pool and most of the resulting books are terrible, making the entire pool feel cheap and stinky.

Yes, I went there and no, I’m not sorry.

There are lots of publishing companies (vanity and hybrids) waiting for you to pay for a publishing package and all you have to do is write the words. We’ll market and advertise and make you a “successful author,” they promise. Oh my, it’s too much to resist and the books are flying!

Problem is most of these self-published folks haven’t a clue about writing or how to write well. Most of these would-be writers don’t know what makes a good cover or what trends are passé or which ones are hot. Most novice authors haven’t build up a list of credits to their resume to bring weight to their upcoming “bestseller,” but they are certain all 17 of their family members will buy their book (only to discover that most of them expect a copy for free or else aren’t really interested).

Most author wanna-be’s think that they have a great idea for a cookbook and expect to write a Martha Stewart-esque in demand volume and make the bestseller list. Instead they publish a book with crappy pictures and their mom’s old recipes only to find there isn’t much of anything exceptional about their book and maybe they should have hired a photographer, a ghostwriter, and a taste tester.

There are some publishing companies that don’t care about your credits and promise to make you a star. All you have to do is agree to a contract and they will make your book shine with a slick cover and a professional interior. And they will edit your work too, give you some marketing, put your book in some book conferences and promote. All for a tidy fee of about $5-$10 thousand dollars. And before you gasp, you can get financing and ten copies of your book for friends. Look, the company will say, now you can promote yourself as an AUTHOR.

And so it happens. Another crappy 400 page, poorly written, edited by friends, with a cover showcasing a personal photo hits the Amazon self-publishing arena and muddies the water.

Yes, it irritates me but it makes me sad too.

I remember my long time desire to be an author. I didn’t think it would ever happen for me because I wasn’t a Stephen King or a Daphne du Maurier. But I studied the writing craft, I devoured books, I read “how to” and “how not to” books,  and I wrote and wrote and wrote. I tried publishing through regular channels. I sought an agent too. I was either off trend, too trendy, too inexperienced or too late. I finally self published in 2013 because this was a new possibility that didn’t exist when I first started! My first book came out in 2008. I was 54. I’ve been writing since I was five.

When a 22 year old publishes a book I can’t help but lift an eyebrow. There are few folks who are phenoms and publish brilliant works so young. Yes, there are some who succeed early and are wildly successful – V.E. Schwab comes to mind. She published at 24 and is now 31 and is a USA Today and NYT Bestselling author (and wow is she good). Most of us will never be her. And that is hard truth for many. But hope rises and young people, eager to get in the tide flow, jump in before they are experienced, seasoned, learned, practiced and oh…dear….I do wish they wouldn’t.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t be published or even that you must not if you are only 19 or 23. If you have stories to tell, write them. Enter story contests, seek out venues for your work, and along the way study your craft. If you feel this terrible burn to be published, then work it with small presses, newspapers, magazines, contests. If becoming an author is all you desire, then go with that passion and prepare for the realities of writing, specifically that you probably won’t be rich or famous. 

Why do you want to be an author? IF the reasons include because your friends are doing it, or because you’ll feel more important, then please don’t publish. If your reasons are because it will add to your professional resume or make you look smarter, then don’t do it. If publishing and being an author looks like exciting fun or because your mom thinks you should, please don’t! 

There is only one reason to write a book and self-publish. It won’t matter who else is doing a book. It won’t matter how many of your friends have published. It won’t matter if your boss did it or if your resume will seem empty without it. The only reason you need is that you have a story to tell and you NEED to share it.

And I know you will have studied how to write, you will understand that there is no free road to publishing, that there is trial and error and in the end, the likelihood is that you will never be on Good Morning America or sell 10,000 copies. (How I wish Oprah would read me!). 

But if you’ve studied, if you’ve researched, if you’ve found your way into trends, and have a good designer and formatter, if you’re prepared to work and sweat and cry and bleed. with an understanding that being an author isn’t all million dollar royalties and an easy life…then become an author because you are a writer and are compelled to write.

And nothing else matters. You are going to give the world the very best of you for no other reason than a desire to write the story.

Unless you do that, you should not write and self publish a book. And that’s the truth.

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Happy October! Fun things coming this month so stay tuned. What are you doing for Halloween? Be sure to drop me a note and let me know. This month we’ll look at some fun reads to celebrate the changing season.

Don’t forget my latest book, LOVE AND BLOOD, is now available. You might want to check it out if you want to be a part of the upcoming TRIVIA CONTEST.  More on that next time.

Until then…

I remain, Yours Between the Lines,

Sherry