Historical Fiction Can Be Exciting! J. R. Tomlin Guest Post

As an indie author, I love helping other indies spread the word about their books, especially when they write in the same genre I do.  Today I am very pleased and excited to welcome  author J. R. Tomlin to my blog.  She has several books to her name and loves to write fiction with Scotland as the backdrop.

Let's hear why J. R. feels you might be selling yourself short if you think historical fiction is anything but exciting.
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Let me tell you a secret about historical fiction. What many people don’t understand is this: it has almost nothing to do with history as you study it in schools. History, the academic history, is about movements and periods and the sweep of nations. But historical fiction is about – a person.

Let me tell you a little about how I came to write historical fiction, and I hope you’ll see what I mean.

It was my granny who first told me the story the great Bruce and the day at the Greyfriars Church that he murdered the Red Comyn, he and his brothers and their followers, because the Comyn had betrayed him to the English. He gathered his followers and rode hard for Scone to be crowned King of the Scots. And that was part of the sweep of two nations at war.

What made a story, a novel, was something else. 

You see, at the top of hill in that Scottish spring, a young man waited. He was no great knight, no knight at all as a matter of fact. He was alone and poor because everything had been lost in the war. But he was tall and strong and broad shouldered, so they say. He had made an oath the day he learned his father had died in an English dungeon. He’d sworn that somehow the hated English would be driven from his lands. That somehow they would pay.

His name was James. And when Robert the Bruce topped that hill, James knelt and gave him an oath. And that was the start of a great story. It wasn’t always a pretty story. The stories of real people often aren’t. But it was a story that gripped me because it tells of one man’s loyalty and betrayal and love and grief and victory in the face of implacable odds. 

Of course, any period of history, particularly one as full of drama as the Scottish War of Independence, has more than one person who has a story and there was another one that gripped me. At the same time that James of Douglas was swearing his fealty to live or die for his king, a woman named Isabella of Fife, Countess of Buchan, was torn with a terrible decision. Her husband was a Comyn, you see. The Comyn’s now had a blood feud with Robert the Bruce, and the Comyn’s were the most powerful family in Scotland, even more than the Bruces. 

But she was a MacDuff and they had a loyalty and duty to Scotland. When a crown was placed on the head of a King of the Scots, it was a MacDuff who crown him. Her father was dead, her brother with English. If any MacDuff was going to stand for Scotland and her family’s duty, it had to be her, even if it meant betraying her husband. It is hard to imagine the courage it took when she rode out of Buchan and led her men-at-arms in a frantic ride for Scone. She placed a crown on Robert the Bruce’s head. When the Bruce and James Douglas were defeated in battle to flee into the heather, Isabella of Fife rode with them. She paid a terrible price…

What storyteller wouldn’t want to tell a story like that?

Buy links:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Freedoms-Sword-Historical-Scotland-ebook/dp/B004RUZPPY/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1348013190&sr=8-4&keywords=J.R.+Tomlin

 iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id438869124?mt=11

Connect with J.R. on twitter: @JRTomlinAuthor

New Book by Claire Ridgway-Great Self Publishing Advice!

Today I have the pleasure of featuring a guest post by Claire Ridgway. She has written a nonfiction book that features tips from indie authors that both new and seasoned indies can benefit from. If you fall into either category, I hope you pick up their book.


The Rather Steep Learning Curve of Writing and Self-Publishing

by Claire Ridgway

Self-publishing is an incredibly steep learning curve and Tim and I should know. We've only been self-publishing since February 2012, but we have learned an incredible amount in that time, enough to make our brains explode!

I've been a writer since I can remember, but self-publishing is not just about writing, it's about running a publishing business and being responsible for very bit of it. Author Sue Grafton got herself in hot water recently when she accused self-published authors of being “lazy”. Understandably, self-published authors were angry and hit back. Successful thriller author Adam Croft pointed out that self-published authors are anything but lazy because they have to find a proofreader, editor and cover designer, and then they have to do their own marketing. They don't have a publisher or agent to help them through the minefield that is publishing, they have to do it by ourselves. It can be costly, both in terms of money and time, but it's worth it and I believe that authors learn from the mistakes they make on the journey.

Aspiring authors and new indie authors have to be willing to ride this learning curve and to keep their minds open. Don't ever think that you know it all, you don't. You should never stop learning in this business, particularly as it's an industry that's in such a period of change at the moment. Here are some tips to help you ride this rollercoaster of a learning curve:

· Be willing to learn from others who have gone before you and made a success of their writing careers – read their stories, keep up with their blogs and try what they have done.

· Teach yourself about sales and marketing, and test out different ways of connecting with readers.

· Look for ways to improve yourself as a writer – Read books on writing, take a course and listen to the feedback of your readers.

· Use beta-readers to give you feedback on your work before you publish.

· Treat your writing and publishing as a business and always be professional.

· Take advice – Listen to your readers, to your editor and other authors. Don't be proud, everyone needs help.

· Give self-publishing a good name by creating a quality book – Don't cut corners.

· Hire professionals – If you're struggling to format your ebook, for example, then hire a formatter, don't settle for second best.

· Keep up to date with what's going on in the world of publishing.

There is no secret, quick fix or magic recipe for success in self-publishing, it's about education and hard work. Tim and I learned from other authors' stories and experiences, and that's why we interviewed top indie authors for Interviews with Indie Authors: Top Tips from Successful Self-Published Authors, because we knew it would help others too. Those authors were so giving of their time and information, and that's what is so wonderful about the world of self-publishing; it's a real community of people who are willing to help others. Just never be afraid to ask and learn.

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre - NonFiction

Rating - G

More details about the authors & the book

Connect with Claire Ridgway & Tim Ridgway on Twitter & Facebook

Website http://www.interviewswithindieauthors.com/

 

 

Meeting With Other Authors Can Only Help You

As an indie author, I understand only too well how lonely and alienating it can be to write stories for a living (or even for a hobby!). When you write you spend the majority of time in your head. Usually you are alone, writing, researching, editing, formatting...the only voices you hear are your own and those of your imaginary characters.

Sometimes it is even hard to be present in reality and feel you are really part of a social group when you are with others! Someone once wrote (I can't remember who) that as a writer they always felt on the outside of things, like they were watching but not really participating.  And that perhaps it had to be that way in order to notice everything that a writer needs to know in order to make stories "real".

I get that.  Yet, as humans we all need interaction.  Make sure that you do things with your family and friends.  I can't stress how important that is for your own mental health and for the sake of your family! 

There is another important way to interact that many indies don't do.  Interaction with other writers can be so inspring and rewarding! When you sit and talk with others like you it makes you feel not so alone; not so odd. Not to mention that you can also learn a lot from each other. I am just talking about a social get together where authors talk and support each other.  This is not a critique group, although those are great, too.  I am talking about socializing with like minded individuals.

I started a group here in Minnesota about 9 months ago.  We meet quarterly and keep it very simple.  My home is the base and everyone brings what they want to drink.  If they want to they can bring a snack to share, like chips or whatever.  I provide chips and salsa. Easy, easy, easy. And what fun to talk to other people who sit and pound the keyboard every day just like I do!

A good place to find people to start your own group would be kindleboards.com.  In the Writers Cafe there you will find hundreds and hundreds of authors.  Just post a new topic like  "Looking for authors who live in Minnesota for a get together" and watch what happens! You'll soon have some new friends who love to talk about writing and their characters, just like you do.  You will also always look forward to those get togethers as a time to connect and just enjoy being who you are.

I know I do.  We are meeting this Sunday and I can't wait!

Inteview with an "Angel"? (Author David H. Fears (Mike Angel Series) Talks About Writing

Indie Authors are a wonderful, diverse group of people.  One writer that I have had the pleasure of meeting in kindleboards is David H. Fears, the author of several books in the Mike Angel Series.  Mike Angel is a PI and the books are mysteries, with a little bit of a "hard boiled" feel...and a lot of originality. 

David was kind enough to help me with the blurb for my second book Gastien Part 2: From Dream to Destiny, which I really appreciated.  He has also agreed to be interviewed today here on my blog.  I am really pleased and excited to present to you Mr. David H. Fears, a fabulous author and a new friend on mine:

Hi Mike!  Thanks for taking time to chat with me for a little while today.  You have several books under your belt, so I know you can give some great insight and advice.  Let's start by talking a little bit about how you became an author, your books, and you. First of all, I am curious as to what made you personally decide to write your first book, why you decided to go "indie", and when the first book went "live".

I’m a historian and a recognized Mark Twain scholar (See Mark Twain Day By Day in 4 volumes, 3 now out; each 1100+ pages. Ivy Leaguers love these). I came to writing fiction late in life (doesn’t it always feel late?). I literally immersed myself in reading fiction, long and short for a couple of years, after realizing that save for a few school assignments, I’d mostly read non-fiction and history (which can be a certain kind of fiction, depending on the schlub who’s writing it). I also immersed myself in online and in person crit groups and studied the craft of fiction writing in 60 books I purchased. I began with short stories and flash stories, and was quite enamored of them. Having a rolling computer biz with over 300 customers, I self-pubbed a collection of my 20 first good stories (“Tree House Tales”). I paid for cover art & design, an editor and printer and did a run of 500 books costing about $4 each. That was in 2001. I broke even and was happy with that, and I think there’s still a couple of boxes in the garage.

My writing was perhaps not as polished as it would be but even today when I read them I feel there is a dollop of freshness and vibrancy in several of them. That was my first idea to go indie, since agents wouldn’t look at a collection by an unknown. Of course, those who knew me would have argued I wasn’t unknown! It’s all relative. About this time I was offered a part time gig as an English Comp instructor at a career college and loved it, also fitting in a masters degree in Education. Teaching comp by using fiction became my most successful approach to turning students on. I haven’t taught in several years but would jump at the chance to do it again. From 2003 to 2006 I wrote the first 4 Mike Angel novels. The first, DarkQuarry, was actually 4 diff. stories “stitched” together. I don’t recommend that method, but it did get me past my fear of writing novel-length works.

Then ebooks came along and on Christmas Eve, 2010 I uploaded the first couple of Mike Angel novels. Since then I’ve written 2 more for a total of 6. Each book is in a subsequent year, beginning in 1960. Each has elements of historical fiction, using real events, persons, places. The first began in the NY/NJ area (Mike was from Newark) and then moved to Chicago. Novels 2-5 are based in Chicago, from 1961 to 1964. The last, Dark Moon (#6) is based in my hometown of Portland, Oregon.  I find these so damned much fun to write. I can be several sides of myself, don’t have to be politically correct at all, and can do research of the times for things I cannot recall (I was a young man in the 1960s and find today I’m still cursed in that way—arrested development?).

Due to all the snubs and weirdness connected with trying to find an agent in the late 90s and early 00’s, I have sworn on an altar (actually it’s my desk) never to go traditional publishing or to use an agent. Since I grew up with a bossy sister (think Lucy-Linus), I enjoy doing it myself in my own way, be it right or ruinous (insert Sinatra here, singing “I Did It My Way.”)

How many books do you have out?  What are the other titles and genres?  Tell us a little about the main character(s).

Currently, 8, though I also have several short stories or bundles of short stories. My main writing these days is the Mike Angel Mystery Series, and there are 6 of those: Dark Quarry, Dark Lake, Dark Blonde, Dark Poison, Dark Idol, and Dark Moon. These, if you haven’t guessed are a bit, uh, “dark.” Besides the 2001 Tree House Tales (20 short stories under the pen name DH Henry) I have a collection of 44 of my best short stories collected from 1998 on, 44Collected Stories by David H Fears (DH Henry). Obviously the mysteries are mysteries—so much of a dab of this and that; the short stories are in a wide range of genres. As a historian I enjoy wrapping a story around historical figures and events—the Mike Angel Series goes up against Chicago corruption in the Richard Daley administration; one short story that illustrates my love of history is “Pretty Boy Floyd We Need You Now.” Mixing history with fiction is very much like a slug of good scotch with a suds chaser. They both work.

My mystery novels are hard boiled to a degree, romantic to a degree (if you think of seduction and a growing love interest as romantic), with a smidge of the supernatural (Mike’s dead father “talks” to him during periods of danger), and humorous to a degree (how could I write without being humorous? Answer: I can’t.)

Mike Angel, aka (D’Angelo) is a too-young (30-35) and not-ready-for-prime time investigator, who, after a stint in Korea and with the NYPD, followed his father’s dream of establishing an elite agency; his father was murdered on his first case after retiring from the NYPD Detective force. Mike tends to be headstrong, rush-in with fists or bullets flying, has a weakness for drink and females in trouble (whether bad or good) and struggles with commitment issues. Mike’s a simple, what-you-see-is-what-you-get kind of straight forward guy, who is ambivalent about being a PI, and struggles with his failures. He’s a bottom line romantic though, not the tough woman-beating PI of Spillane, nor the cultured loner of Chandler.

Molly Bennett meets Mike in the first novel. She is then 24, a bright, cute, and shiny penny of optimism who is wise beyond her years. She loves Mike totally but understands, and more importantly, accepts him, knowing she cannot tie him down without his permission. She encourages him to let the relationship build slowly; is his office whiz and even helps on some cases by her cogent questions. Nothing ever gets her down, with the one exception of the death of her father (Dark Lake). She’s in it for the long haul, and will wait for Mike to understand he’ll never find a better mate, mainly because she’s convinced of it. She admires him to death and even encourages him to “fib when you need to” though this acts as a brake to his behavior. She also takes judo lessons and is a brown belt working toward a black belt. One misled reviewer thought Molly was “all right” with Mike’s womanizing. The poor thing (reviewer) didn’t understand just how Molly approaches this, so she needs to read the other novels.

Rick (“Don’t call me Richard”) Anthony (age 58-63) was the lead detective partner of Mike’s late father on the NYPD 23^rd precinct. He retired but didn’t want to fish or play golf. Over educated and burdened with a head-slapping vocabulary from taking every NYU night class available for 20 years, Rick is the analytical partner and balance to Mike’s rush-in nature. Rick came West to Chicago during Dark Lake (#2) and talked Mike into being his junior-senior partner. Though increasingly unable to endure rough and tumble as he ages, and with his own predilection for females (society widows, etc.), Rick provides a lot of humor and give & take with Mike & Molly, and keeps nudging Mike to commit to Molly. He also wants to hear about every salacious dame who trips Mike & beats him to the floor, as most of his bedroom enjoyment is vicarious through Mike’s missteps and adventures.

The late Chet Anthony, Mike’s father, gets a “quota” of words to use in warning Mike of dangerous situations; Only Mike “hears” this voice in his head and he hasn’t yet told anyone about it, though he’s convinced St. Peter is allowing Chet to speak to him. Chet also “warns” Mike by prickling and burning a long scar on Mike’s jaw that he earned when chasing down his father’s killer in Dark Quarry (#1). The Voice isn’t frequent enough to be overbearing or that Machina ex Deus thing writers are warned about, and it isn’t often enough for Mike to be sure one way or the other if he’s going bonkers.

By the way, I LOVE your book covers! When is your next book coming out?  What is it about?

Besides my historical reference work, Vol IV of Mark Twain Day By Day out late 2012 hopefully, I have a seed of an idea now for a 7^th Mike Angel Novel. What is it about? The murder of a stunning model, human frailties, danger, seduction/temptation. Sometimes these seeds drop in my briar patch from a certain image I’ve seen on the Net. This one is now germinating.

I also have an idea for a “chicken soup” type of book—that contains discussions of the last conversations with loved ones passed by a bunch of folks. I have at least 3 segments to add myself. Send me yours!

What advice would you give other people who are thinking about writing their first book, but then that self doubt comes in?

Self doubts are the worst. Read and act on a book called Be Your Own Best Friend, the gist of which is to tell yourself only those things that you would say to encourage your best friend, and flush the others. Then, go ahead and write, get a lot of crits, editor advice, beta readers (not family) and learn the difference between editing and revising. Lastly, put it to the drawer test—let it lie there as long as it takes to forget a lot of it. Then pull it out and do another read through. Read it also aloud—very important. You might want to read it backwards, or printed out in a diff. Font. Learn how to self-edit. Don’t buy too much into what “experts” tell you—be true to your vision. Finally, throw it out there—if you find you’ve made errors, ebooks are quite easy to edit & republish. Even paperbacks using Createspace are easy to change. 

What do you think are the five most important things a new author has to "take care of" to give them the best chance at success?

1)     Discover ways to exercise your imagination—without it no piece of writing, no matter how “correct” can be a good story.

2)     Study and learn the craft of writing fiction in whatever way you can. Read all the time—have at least a couple of reads going in the genre you plan to write in. See how others do it; observe & even ape the masters, but use your own head, heart & mystery.

3)     Have your life in proper priority—no one has to ignore family, God, Country, etc. to become a good or great writer. For what shall it profit a man if he gives up his soul for his writing? (I kinda borrowed that). If you don’t have a thick skin, rent one. Write what’s fun or exciting or scintillating to write.

4)     Don’t follow the crowd—they’re always proven to be dumb lemmings.

5)     Write regularly—don’t wait for some stupid “muse”—ass to chair; writing is discipline as well as fun.

Let's talk a little bit about you as a person now. Tell me, what about life never fails to make you laugh?

People mostly—those without a sense of humor are the funniest. Groucho movies, Peanuts cartoons, Old Seinfeld episodes, kids—what they say and how they say it.

What has surprised you about life that you were not expecting that is good?

A strong and surprising increase of love for children and animals; also being, feeling younger as I age.

How about same thing, but bad?

The tearing holes that come at the loss of a parent, or a life-long friend; a lonely warehouse of memories & no one to share them with.

What do you enjoy doing besides writing?

Historical research and reading history; eating those baby chocolate donuts while watching The Biggest Loser and Cupcake Wars with the wifey. Bicycling on some great trails in the woods near my home. Watching nourish old movies. “The stuff that dreams are made of.”

Finally, let's play the old genie in a bottle game. You get 3 wishes. They can't be general wishes, like "peace on earth", or all disease cured. No I wish my family, etc would stay healthy.  We all wish those kinds of things.  These 3 wishes are for personal, material things. What three things would you wish for?

I have no wishes for material things, understanding like the rich guy who tried riding that camel through a needle’s eye was on the wrong path. I’ve been a millionaire and also a pauper and learned that neither lifts the spirit. I hope to teach writing again someday and see once more the students catch my enthusiasm and learn to write better than they thought they could. I also wish my calico editor cat Sophie lives to be 20 or more years. She is now 11, and this interview has put her completely to sleep next to me.

What book by another author do you wish you would have written and why?

A tie: first, The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler because I think it is simply the best, the most sublime in the genre. Also Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy (I read all his novels one summer years ago), because he created a place called the Heath, which became a character in the moody novel. I try to re-read these two every year.

Any last things you would like to tell people about you or your writing?

I always strive to be a good storyteller first. As I taught my students, “you can pick all the flies off of a dead man but you’ll still have a corpse”—meaning, voice and story must take priority over grammar and correct diction. Of course you can be thin and rich too? I am challenged to bring back some popularity for the PI Mystery, hard boiled to a degree, but with my own ingredients applied as well. Seduction and romance carried beyond those famous fade out scenes, venturing into erotica territory. I aim for likable sympathetic characters with depth but also strive to give life to the minor characters even if they only have a brief time on stage. I’m probably done with short stories, but deeply respect the crafting of them and those who do it well, like Alice Munro. Not every writer can be a novelist. I read once that every short story could be a novel, and every novel could be a short story. Life is both—a novel, and a short story—way too short for most.

I thank you for this opportunity. My persona does not always come across well online. Many people actually think I’m a jerk! Of course this can be publicity of a sort. “Be good and you will be lonesome” – Mark Twain. Last, I’d like to see writers interviewed in Utube or Skype sessions. That’d be an improvement in that follow up questions would be added. Now I’ve done my one interview for 2012 and will go back to being a hermit in my den. Wake up, Sophie! It’s time for lunch.

Thanks, David.  And, Sophie, thanks for letting me borrow David for a few minutes.  I grew up with cats, but now have 2 parrots.  Something tells me you and my parrots would probably not be best friends...but I do love felines.

You can click on David's book titles that are linked above, or here is a link to all of David's books on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_tc_2_0?rh=i%3Astripbooks%2Ck%3ADavid+H+Fears&keywords=David+H+Fears&ie=UTF8&qid=1326122385&sr=1-2-ent&field-contributor_id=B002BMD05M

There are reviews and free samples for each book on Amazon.  I am betting you will quickly become a Mike Angel fan!