 Today I would like to welcome Juliet B. Madison to talk about her latest project, an anthology in aid of MacMillan Cancer Support. Welcome Juliet, Please tell us more about how we can participate in this event. Thanks Sarah Jane. CALLING ALL FAN FICTION WRITERS I am looking for dedicated people to write a short story about my Detective MC DI Frank Lyle & the other characters in the DI Frank Lyle Mystery Series. For those of you who already write fan fiction based on movies and TV shows this should be a cinch. Even if you have only ever read one DI Lyle book it should provide you with plenty of possible DI Lyle fan fiction scenarios. Any kind of fan fiction is your chance to take the story the way you’d like it to have gone rather than the way it actually turned out. You can write in American or British English, I don’t mind since it’s the individual’s interpretation of the characters and series story arc that matters, not the writing style. I do however prefer the use of the words post-mortem, as opposed to autopsy, and mortuary rather than morgue as these sound inherently more British. Also CSI is modern terminology. In Britain at the time of the DI Lyle series the term SOCO (Scene of Crime Officer) was in far more commonplace use. I have already written my own contribution, Sudden Impact, and received two more very wonderful stories. I know that there are more whose arrival in my inbox is fairly imminent. The stories do not have to be police procedural, they can be in any genre you choose, provided they feature DI Frank Lyle series characters. I would especially love to read a DI Lyle goes steam punk story. The winner of the best story will be announced and the winning story published on my website on July 4th, 3 days after the closing date, as well as being announced on Facebook and Twitter. The winner gets a personally signed DI Frank Lyle series paperback of their choice and a special mention in the completed anthology. I am putting together this anthology to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support, a charity close to my heart. There are very few of us today whose lives have not been affected, either directly or indirectly by cancer at some point. You can find out more about this wonderful charity here If you’re stuck for information or ideas you can visit my crime author site. If you need to ask any questions then you can email me or PM me on Facebook You can give cameo roles to your partners, kids, friends and other people important to you. It’s your story so enjoy the experience. Don’t forget to include a brief author bio (do not include it in the total word count of the story) You can read the full details and T&Cs of the competition here There is also a Facebook event running from now until June 30th 2015, in which you can participate here You can visit Surveymonkey to take the DI Lyle anthology Survey Thank you Juliet, that sounds amazing and we wish you every success with this please come back and let us know how it's going and maybe give us a sneak preview nearer to release day! If you would like to connect with Juliet her links ar at the end of this post. If you enjoyed this post please comment, share or tweet, every share helps indie authors gain exposure. Take care, Sarah Jane  http://julietbmadisoncrimeauthor.weebly.com/ http://difranklylefanz.weebly.com/ https://twitter.com/JulietBMadison www.facebook.com/JulietMadisonCrimeAuthor
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  Welcome to my meet the author feature here at Rukia Publishing. Today I would like to welcome Jeffrey G. Roberts author of The Healer, a sci-fi novel which will make you think 'What if?' You can read my review on the Rukia Review page Author bio: Jeffrey G. Roberts I was born in New York City, and raised on Long Island, NY, and South Florida; namely Miami and Fort Lauderdale. I soloed in a Cessna 150 on Halloween, 1968. All my friends know I am addicted to airplanes! I then attended Northern Arizona University, in Flagstaff, Arizona, where I received degrees in writing and history. I have written for several publications, and am in the process of publishing several more books and short stories; one of which is the novel CHERRIES IN WINTER, available currently through Kellan Publishing Company. I love studying about UFO’s, fringe science, suppressed inventions, and the unknown & unexplainable. I’m a Pisces. I reside in Tucson, Arizona. Welcome Jeffrey and thank you for taking the time to chat with me today. How long have you been a writer and how did you come to writing? I’ve been a writer since graduating from Northern Arizona University in 1974; but I’ve been seriously engaged in it for about 20 years. What are the best and the worst aspects of writing? The best aspects of writing are probably the finished product – that I have actually created something that never existed! The worst aspects? The work involved in doing just that. What inspires you to write? Probably 2 words: “What if?” Who or what has had the greatest influence on your writing and why? I could say my Dad, who was a writer for radio after WW II, but as far as authors who have influenced me the most, 2 stand out: Ray Bradbury and Douglas Adams. How did you conduct your research for - The Healer? It took about a year of work; utilizing the internet, libraries, my own books, and speaking with experts in various fields. I did extensive research on Mars, obviously, geology, physics, time travel theories, engineering, The Face on Mars, of course, astronautics, medicine, futurology, politics, and many other disciplines. I’m a stickler for accuracy. Can you tell us a little about The Healer and the background to it’s characters? Basically, THE HEALER concerns a doctor from Earth, Reynolds Cully, who is awarded a Harvard grant to study the ancient Martian brain physiology, using the knowledge of their race, stored within the titanic Face on Mars. But while there a shadowy religious extremist group is dead set against unearthing Martian antiquities, believing them to be blasphemous. And after Dr. Cully utilizes an ancient Martian time/space machine to travel to Alaska 168 years in the past, to study, and hopefully solve a century old medical mystery in Anchorage, this terrorist group, back in 2181 – destroys the time machine on the Mars end! Now he’s stranded 168 years and 150 million miles from loved ones. How will he survive in this primitive land? Moreover, how will he heal using 2181 medicine, without risking exposure of his true identity, thus possibly altering history? But he has no choice, for he is – THE HEALER. And he dreams of returning home someday. Are reader reviews important to you? Very important; and very difficult to obtain. Do you have a writing schedule? How often do you write? I have no set schedule. But every day I devote my time to some aspect of my career, whether it be writing, researching or promoting my work. Who is your target audience? My target audience is largely college educated, and lovers of hard science fiction. They probably have a background in science; perhaps post graduate. They have an interest in space exploration, and reject government secrecy concerning knowledge of Mars, that should not be withheld, but made available for the edification of humanity. Do you have any blogs/websites? I have a blog page on my website, at http://www.Atalespinner.weebly.com. What is your advice to new writers? Never give up, only believe half the so-called experts that try to criticize your work, and develop your own “voice” in your writing. If you adhere 100% to every writing textbook available, that’s precisely what your fiction will sound like – a textbook. And it will be bland and without color, without YOUR particular brand of writing. Do you think great writers like Hemingway, Bradbury, Steinbeck, etc., followed every single writing rule precisely? Of course not. They developed their own style, their own voice. And the world loves them for it. Do the same! What would your friends say is your best quality? A sense of imagination & creativity, and a sense of wacky humor. What do you do when you are not writing? TV calms me down and relaxes me. Often times it gives me ideas. While in graduate school, I discovered something that took my mind away from my textbooks and the grind of graduate level study – comic books! I didn’t have to think, and they were chewing gum for the eyes! Jeffrey where can our readers get a copy of your book? Here are the links Sarah Jane Amazon Barnes & Noble iTunes Kobo Thank you for an entertaining interview, Jeffrey. Readers, if you have enjoyed this blog post please comment, tweet or share to Facebook, all authors need exposure and every share helps. Thanks for reading, Sarah Jane  The Martian face: Around 2035, we'll know what the Face on Mars really is. Is humanity ready? THE HEALER is one possible scenario; and its consequences - when one man found out!
 Who is Frank Kusy? Born and raised in the fog-shrouded streets of 1960s London, and with more than 30 years of travel writing experience under his belt, aspiring Buddhist and incorrigible cat-lover FrankKusy is a SUNDAY TRIBUNE RECOMMENDED AUTHOR and a four-time Gold Medal Winner on the Harper Collins Authonomy site. He has been awarded the AIA Awesome Indies Seal of Excellence for his flagship book 'Rupee Millionaires', and has been a featured author on several promotional sites, including Indie Book Bargains and FreeBooksy. His books have received international press acclaim, and have made the Kindle Top 100 List three times, climbing as high as #5. In April 2015 his popular children's book 'Ginger the Gangster Cat' won a coveted GOLD MEDAL from the Wishing Shelf Independent Book Awards.  What is this blog post about? Off the Beaten Track is on 99c/99p sale until 23rd May. If you haven't read the other books in the series don't worry. In the words of Julie Haigh from the We Love Memoirs Facebook group, "Off the Beaten Track is the third of Frank's Asian memoirs, it comes right between Kevin And I In India and Rupee Millionaires - but it doesn't matter if you haven't already read those-Frank actually wrote it out of order anyway!" Get your copy here http://smarturl.it/OBTFK15 Follow Frank on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/frank.kusy.5 He loves to chat with readers. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Wussyboy He is an #RPBP tweeter! GoodReads blogs https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/6569769-pushkar-get-blessed OFF THE BEATEN TRACK: MY CRAZY YEAR IN ASIA In 1989, Frank Kusy found himself the unwilling love pawn of a booted and on a Harley low rider. Then he fell in love with someone else, and it got a lot worse. Trapped in a small bedsit in London, with strange foreign curses coming through the door, he jumped at the chance to write a travel book on South East Asia. There followed the craziest year of his life: he got married in a Balinese village, attacked by giant spiders in Australia,and bombed on the Cambodian border. Not to mention starting a new business in India, nearly killing the King of Thailand and receiving the death penalty in Malaysia. Oh, how Frank wished he'd never met that crazy Polish biker chick… We would love it if you could share, tweet or comment on this blog post to help increase exposure for indie authors. Have a great day, Sarah Jane   99c/99p Sale!!! Until 25th May The Lullaby Illusion is on 99c/99p sale. Author website http://www.lullabyillusion.com/ Amazon UK Amazon US The Lullaby Illusion details the harrowing personal journey of a young American woman facing seemingly insurmountable situations while living in the Middle East and Europe. After many miscarriages and the loss of a child in childbirth on the island of Cyprus, Susan seeks solace by creating art and recording her vivid dreams. Through difficult life changes—Cyprus’s bloody coup and war in 1974, a rescue from a sinking ship in the Indian Ocean, learning of her husband’s secret life, and surviving his deadly assault in Belgium, she discovers her “ticking clock” is not the child she fails to produce, but rather her creative potential. Following her vivid dreams and intuition, she successfully reinvents herself as an artist and writer. From beginning to end, Susan Joyce reminds us of the stream of awareness that flows through all of us. Here is one of the many 5-star reviews 5.0 out of 5 stars Ode to the human spirit 2 Dec. 2013 By Wussyboy Format: Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase This is a wonderful, wonderful memoir - expertly told and with bags of incident and finely judged humour. Ms Joyce has a very vivid dream-life (keeps a dream diary, I do that!) and one night dreams that she was a wild pinto running free across the Arizona desert. Her friend asks if the horse said anything, and Susan quips `Neighed a lot!' I also LOVED the birthday suit episode - won't give too much away, but the `it didn't need much pressing' line had me in fits! Following a divorce, a series of miscarriages and a tragic still-birth, Ms Joyce realises that having children is not a guarantee of happiness - she achieves new fulfilment as a writer of children's books...inspired by dream visits from a singing elephant. This is no ordinary singing elephant either, it sings in rhyme! "An elephant won't forget you when you're happy. An elephant won't forget you when you're sad. 'Cause an elephant knows the secret is remembering it all-- Learning from the good times, and the bad." One gets the feeling that Ms Joyce has taken this to heart...her story recalls a good and comfortable life suddenly turned bad when the 1974 Cyprus coup forces her out of her paradise home - her "lullaby existence" - and into a hail of flying bullets. And that's just the start of her troubled travels - both in her extended globetrotting in the real world (nearly drowned in the Indian Ocean!) and in the reflective travels of her dream world as she reflects on and learns to overcome each new challenge (including finding out her hubby is a spy!) with both courage and wisdom. `The Lullaby Illusion' is an ode to the human spirit - a testament to a life lived fully and well and made strong by the experience.  Author Susan Joyce
Born in Los Angeles California, Susan Joyce spent most of her childhood in Tucson, Arizona and returned to LA as a young working woman. Inspired as a child by postcards from her globe-trotting great aunt, Susan left the United States at age 20 to see the world. She planned on being gone for a year, but ended up living her 20s and 30s in Europe and the Middle East. As a Jill of all trades, she worked as a secretary, freelance writer, taught computer classes, wrote songs, and became an accomplished artist while writing her first children's book, "Peel, the Extraordinary Elephant." An award winning author and editor of children's books. Susan has just completed a memoir of a twelve year 'roller-coaster' period of her life, titled "The Lullaby Illusion--A Journey of Awakening." You can read more about Susan in her 'Meet the author' feature here We would love you to leave a comment, share on Facebook or tweet this page to increase exposure :) Have a great day. Sarah Jane  For your chance to win a paperback copy of A Twist of Fortune by Mike Martin simply answer the following question:
In Mike's recent guest blog at Rukia Publishing titled 'Setting the scene for a good story' where did Mike tell us that the picture on the cover of 'A Twist of Fortune' was taken? If you missed the blog post here is the link: http://www.rukiapublishing.com/sarah-janes-blog/setting-the-scene-for-a-good-story-by-mike-martin-rpbp To enter send a Facebook message containing the answer from this page. Competition closes 31st May 2015. The winner will be notified by Facebook message and postal details requested. Good luck :) Sarah Jane Welcome to today's guest blogger Kenneth Morvant who takes us into the ever changing world of sci-fi! Asterion is on 99c promotion get your copy now! Where No One/Everyone Has Gone Before When we think about the groundbreaking books and movies of the past we simultaneously think about the lack of them in the present. We live in a world of recycled storylines and endless remakes of varying success. In the world of science fiction we have the great books of the past such as Foundation Trilogy, Dune and other grand world building novels. They created worlds that existed far way in space and time. In them the writers explored alternative civilizations and biology. The Left Hand of Darkness explored gender and its impact on a society. Other writers dealt with subject matter that was closer to home. Countless books dealt with the consequences of scientific experimentation. The question of what is the result of what we are doing and do we really know what the result will be. The Shrinking Man, The Fly, and many others heightened our hysteria concerning what scientists and governments were doing in hidden places and what they might unleash upon a trusting population. So these stories have been told and what is new today? Some bright spots tapped the under reached markets. The Harry Potter series reached the juvenile market with great success. Other age groups have books targeted at them. So what’s the future of science fiction? We live in a world that is in flux. Some seek the ideals of harmony and peace, freedom and liberty. Others still seek to dominate and control, enslave and abuse. Science fiction of the past opened our minds to other possibilities and warned of unknown consequences. They can still do that, but I think it’s time to focus on our near future. New technology and ideas can be used for good and also for evil. Sometimes there is a thin line between what’s good and bad. Sometimes it’s a difference in opinion. The powerless minority fight for equality until they become the majority. Then the cycle begins again with new players. Freedoms can easily be lost for the sake of security and once lost, they might be lost forever. The future of ten or twenty years forward may not resemble what we have today. That is where Asterion starts. An America controlled by one leader for life who sees his grip slowly slipping away. He seeks a way to maintain his hold on the masses. Up until now, the control of businesses, religion and other social entities was enough, but now that control is slipping from his hands. He sees his salvation in a genetically created beast made for work that his operatives can modify for war. He sees the young creators of the beast as naïve and trusting of the government. The scientists in control of the experiment must now survive their creation and the government in order the right the wrong. They join with freedom fighters and the battle for America begins. By Kenneth Morvant Thank you Kenneth, for being a Rukia Publishing guest blogger today. Readers please show your appreciation by tweeting, sharing and/or commenting below. Sarah Jane Asterion by Kenneth Morvant is available for just 99c/99p - get your copy now! Amazon UK Amazon US  Welcome to our Friday guest blog which comes from a Rukia Publishing featured author - Mike Martin. Today we look at how Mike sets the scene for his novels.Setting the Scene for a Good Story By Mike Martin Like many mystery or fiction writers, scenery and setting are crucial to my stories. I have often joked that the weather is a character all to itself and in an ocean-side setting that is often the case. In Newfoundland, a small island on the easternmost tip of Canada, there’s always a little bit or a lot of wind, and almost always the threat of some form of precipitation. That has allowed me to add pace or increase the tempo of the stories almost like adjusting the barometer. Certain things can only happen in certain settings, although as fiction writers we do stretch that as far as our reader’s imagination will take us. For my books, the small coastal communities are tightly knit and full of secrets. My job is to pry them loose. I also have a responsibility to portray an authentic voice for both the setting and the communities. The words and actions of my characters are visitors to their world and I have to try and allow both to interact with integrity. In order to maintain that true voice I try to only use places that I have actually seen or visited. Just for me, I think it would be hard to write about a librarian in the Deep South, although I admire those who do. And I do try and use all my senses to describe the setting, what it looks like, sounds like, smells like, feels like and sometimes even tastes like. This makes writing the story more than a cerebral exercise. It involves all of my senses and I hope it makes it more enjoyable to read at the end. But because we are visual creatures it all starts with what we see. For each of the books in the Sgt. Windflower Mystery Series I have been inspired by a setting or a scene. Then comes the initial start of the story, followed closely behind by the characters who tell me the rest of the story. My job is just to write it down. Simple, right? So did I get the inspirations for my books? Here is the cover from Book #1, The Walker on the Cape  This is the lighthouse on the wharf in Grand Bank, Newfoundland. As soon as I saw it I knew that’s where the adventure would begin. One of the interesting things about this photo is that I found it online when I was looking for a cover image. It had been taken and posted by a blogger from Georgia in the U.S. We added a little fog and rays of sunshine coming through the clouds and the effect is stunning. Here is the cover from Book #2, The Body on the T  This is another great picture. It’s a boardwalk reaching out into the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Sometimes when you walk along the fog starts creeping in from the ocean and in minutes you are completely covered by the stuff. You literally can’t see your hands in front of you. Another great place to start a mystery story. Here is the cover from Book #3, Beneath the Surface  As you can see this picture features an iceberg which has drifted in close to shore. This is actually not unusual and there are often hundreds of icebergs that drift down along the coast of Newfoundland from the Arctic and Greenland during the spring each year. They are always fascinating to see and one of the main characteristics of icebergs is that only 1/8th of the iceberg is visible above the surface. The rest is Beneath the Surface. Finally here is the cover from Book #4, A Twist of Fortune  This is a picture of the inner harbour in Fortune, Newfoundland. The buildings are small fishing sheds or stages that the local fisherman use for storing equipment and supplies. This would be a very familiar sight in many small fishing communities on the east coast of Canada. The dark clouds in the background signify a coming storm for both the fishermen and the community. If you want to know more you have to read the book!!!
Thank you, Mike, the images are spectacular and your insight into the origins and their influence gives readers a greater understanding of the importance and creative thinking required by fiction authors. Readers, I hope you have enjoyed this feature. If you have any questions for Mike feel free to comment below. To show your appreciation for his guest blog be sure to share it on Facebook and/or Twitter using #RPBP Thanks for reading, Sarah Jane To find out more about Mike and his books visit his author website http://sgtwindflowermysteries.com/ A Twist of Fortune is now available as an e-book for only $2.99 Here’s where you can buy it: AMAZON: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00W4CKGBA BARNES & NOBLE: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-twist-of-fortune-mike-martin/1121721096 BOOKLOCKER: http://booklocker.com/books/7981.html ITUNES: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/a-twist-of-fortune/id985784123 KOBO: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/a-twist-of-fortune-1 Connect with Mike on: Twitter @mike54martin Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheWalkerOnTheCapeReviewsAndMore |
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Photos used under Creative Commons from Rising Damp, Nelo Hotsuma, Archives New Zealand
