Writers Helping Writers

I first ran into The Bookshelf Muse while browsing for an option to replace the word I couldn’t spell—I know, too lazy to move from the desk and go get the Thesaurus—anyway, the site looked phenomenal, filled with little bits of help to unstuck the stuck writer.

Now I’ll come clean and reveal something I haven’t told them before (well, I don’t think I have. As a fellow writer of mine states: I write, therefore I drink), not that I recommend combining writing under the influence, mind you. As I was saying, the other thing that I liked about them was the fact that they had become friends online, and later coaxed their families into having a joint vacation in order to mark the first face-to-face meeting. The place? Well, if you’re familiar with the blog you’d know the answer to that already, but if not, here it is: Disney World – Orlando. You just gotta trust a people willing to meet in the Magic Kingdom, I mean, how can you get it wrong? If you don't believe, here's some proof:

BTW: I snatched the pic from their site, so credit where credit is due.

As I am not selfish, after bookmarking their site I posted about my new-found writing tool to every writer’s group I belong to. Yes, that’s right, all three of them. Did I mention I’m a part-time hermit?

My stalking of Becca and Angela was thorough: I left comments on the blog, sent them emails, added them to Facebook, the whole nine yards. Then last year, and thanks to NANOWRIMO, I made my first guest appearance there. It was an open letter to Becca complaining about Angela’s lack of commitment on her writing assignment. But don’t trust me, here is the link. I sure hope you comeback after reading it.

You’re back so soon? Gee, you’re a faster reader than I am. The friendship continued to grow and last month they allowed me to write another post and even run a giveaway of my new novel Firefall.

At the time, I learned of this new crazy plan that the dynamic duo came up with: not only a release of two more books simultaneously, but also a change on their blog that could make the producers of Extreme Makeover proud.

Writing Helping Writers is more than a site, it is more than a cute name, or the promo gig for their book; it is, I believe, their life motto. As you can see from the badge below I’m very glad to be a part of this new evolved Bookshelf Muse.

Well, enough rambling. Here's all you need to know about their new site and promotion:

Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi at Writers Helping Writers (formerly The Bookshelf Muse) have added two more books to their Descriptive Thesaurus Collection: The Positive Trait Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Attributes and The Negative Trait Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Flaws. To celebrate, they are hosting a race, and not just any old race, either. It’s the…

Writing is hard, isn’t it? Create the perfect hook. Make your first page compelling. Craft an amazing 25 word pitch. Knock out a query that will blow an agent’s mind. On and on it goes. And sometimes, well, you just wish someone would help.

WISH NO MORE!

From October 21stuntil October 27th, Writers Helping Writers is posting an OPEN CALL for writers. You can fill out a form, requesting help with critiques, book visibility, social media sharing, blog diagnostics, advice and more.

An army of Amazing Racers are standing by (ME INCLUDED!) waiting to help with your submissions. How many people can we help in a week? Let’s find out! Did I mention there are Celebrity Racerstoo–amazing authors and editors who know their way around a first page. Maybe one of them will pick your submission to help with!

Each day this week, there’s an AMAZING giveaway, too. So stop in at Angela & Becca’s new Writers Helping Writers website and find out how to take advantage of this unique, pay-it-forward event for writers. I’ll see you there! 

Go ahead, make our day!

Where in the world is Angela?

This week I'm a guest at The Bookshelf Muse. One of the owners, Angela Ackerman is telling the world she's deep into writing her novel for NaNoWriMo. However, some evidence proving the contrary has surfaced.

Is Angela running a NaNoWrimo Fraud?

You'd be the judge of that:

http://thebookshelfmuse.blogspot.com/2012/11/nanowrimo-i-dont-think-so.html

Ten Interview Questions for The Next Big Thing

My Friend D. Krauss tagged me with these questions. Yeah, I know what you’re thinking: why do I still call him a friend, right?
Here’s my reasoning. I was bored, my blog needed a new post— it’s been a while, and besides, when I read the questions I thought they’d be fun.

What is the working title of your book?
Now that’s a tricky question. The current title is “Highland Creek,” but my editor has made it clear we have to change it. So what is it going to be called when it is released? At this point, your guess is as good as mine.

Where did the idea come from for the book?
To explain the where the idea came from I must first tell you the book is about a former member of the FDNY who lost his family in an air accident. Now he´s trying to piece his life back together. He gets a last-chance job investigating insurance fraud, but of course, being a thriller, he soon finds himself in danger.
The original idea for the main plot dealt with the Nigerian scams (yes, we all get those emails), but that concept was scraped in one of the early revisions.

What genre does your book fall under?
Are you asking if it is suspense, action-adventure or thriller?  All of the above, hopefully. Of course, there is a bit of romance mingled in there.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
Jason Statham could play the lead, if he can manage to lose the Brit accent. Jennifer Connelly for the female lead. The bad guy, I’d propose Gael García Bernal.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Former firefighter and widower Sebastian Martin enters a new job investigating fraud but ends up strapped to a chair enduring torture at the hands of a former KGB trainee.
Phew, that was tough!

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
Highland Creek, or whatever the title will be at the time, will be released by Rebel E-Publishers. They are an up and coming publisher who accepts un-agented authors.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
I wrote the first chapter in 2006, the finally typed THE END in 2010. Don’t worry, the book is not overly long, it just happened that life got in the way of my daily goals.

You don´t believe me? Look at the NANOWRIMO patch:

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
The damaged hero is reminiscent of James Bond after becoming a widower in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, or the first half of Lewis Perdue’s Daughter of God or even Ken Follett’s Triple. Did I mention my book is a thriller?

Who or What inspired you to write this book?
The book’s underlying theme is “second chances.” This will be my second novel length work in English, thus my second chance at it. I found inspiration in my desire to become a better writer, device more complicated plots, and last but not least, to finish the damn thing.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

Exotic locations! Half the book’s story happens in different cities of Honduras, however, many of those places are viewed from a foreigner’s perspective. It was quite tricky to take every-day landscapes into exotic locations. Well, not really. The place is beautiful to begin with.

The new tags are:

Tami Parrington

Gina Fava

Iam Cupnjava

Ian Barker

Rachel Cole

And here are the rules:

* Give credit to the person / blog that tagged you
* Post the rules for the blog hop
*Answer these ten questions about your current WIP (Work In Progress) on your blog
*Tag five other writers/bloggers and add their links so we can hop over and meet them.