Hamilton was reshaping the image of the vampire with her own take on the vampire mythos in her Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter fantasy novel series. While Hamilton's work draws on traditional vampire and fairy lore, her interpretation of these subjects brought new dimensions to the genres, influencing the direction of urban fantasy over the past two decades.Reading Laurell K. Hamilton focuses upon Hamilton's two bestselling series, the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series and the Merry Gentry series. The volume is intended as a resource for leaders of book clubs or discussion groups, containing chapters that examine Hamilton's role in the current vampire literature craze, the themes and characters in her work, and responses to Hamilton on the Internet. The book also provides a brief overview of Hamilton's life.

    There's more to it than just a detective, a dead body, and Colonel Mustard in the drawing room with the candlestick. Fortunately, Larry Beinhart--Edgar Award-winning author of You Get What You Pay For, Foreign Exchange, and American Hero--has taken a break from writing smart, suspenseful thrillers to act as your guide through all the twists and turns of creating the twists and turns of a good mystery. Drawing on advice and examples from a host of the best names in mystery writing--from Raymond Chandler and Mickey Spillane to Scott Turow and Thomas Harris--plus some of his own prime plots, Larry Beinhart introduces you to your most indispensable partners in crime: *Character, plot, and procedure * The secrets to creating heroes, heroines, and villains ("All writers draw upon themselves and their experience. While the whole of yourself might not be capable of being either a serial killer or an FBI agent, there are parts in each of us that are capable of almost anything.") * The fine art of scripting the sex scene *The low-down on violence ("A crime novel without violence is like smoking pot without inhaling, sex without orgasm, or a hug without a squeeze." ) *And much more!From the opening hook to the final denouement, Larry Beinhart takes the mystery out of being a mystery writer.

    

    Since then I have had three best sellers in the short romance category and am now making over $1,000 a month. I went from making $10.64 for January (my first month) to making $1297.72 for March (my third month). I am projected, by looking at sales, to make $1800+ for April (my fourth month). This book is a tell-all of exactly what I did and how I did it. This is a short book. I guarantee there is no fluff here. I get straight to the point and tell you exactly what I did. I truly want to help you become a bestselling author and help you make money writing books. Please, I encourage you to follow the steps outlined in this book. Happy Writing! #1 bestselling short romance author Hope Ford writes short, steamy, sweet romances. There is always an alpha male (because who doesn’t love an alpha male) and a woman he makes his queen. Sit back, grab a glass of wine, and get lost in this happily ever after story – that’s also a little naughty.

    Page by page, year by year, tender father-son memories of airplane watching transform into nightmarish, turbulent family drama.Upon the discovery that his father had been the victim of severe elder abuse as his health was rapidly deteriorating, the author finds himself reevaluating the decisions his father made throughout his life. With an unshakable ending, the author's probing dissection of a man he thought he knew reckons with disloyalty, depression, religion and death, leaving no stone unturned.Through sharp, sometimes hilariously brash analysis, decorated in plane metaphors and imagery, the author expresses his commitment to truth with sincerity and transparency. He reaches for forgiveness, understanding and compromise in the face of absurdity and uncompromising rigidity.Ultimately, he contemplates a different "flight path" drawn from past lessons. He encourages readers to do the same.A must-read for sons, fathers and families. Book-club discussion guide included.

    If you've ever felt that you had a story inside you - and wanted to know how to write and get it published, this book is for you. This book is intended for amateur and professional writers who may have lost their way. It guarantees inspiration, motivation, effective ways to counter 'writer's block' and provides you with easy, step by step instructions on how to write a short story that will sell.Rob Parnell is the respected author of 28 books on writing. Over the last eleven years Rob has taught over 100,000 students and subscribers from all over the world. His website, The Easy Way to Write, is considered one of the best writer's sites online.In The Easy Way to Write Short Stories That Sell, Rob Parnell explains how the first and best way to progress in a writing career is to master the art of short story writing. Here's what he says:"I don't know about you but at school they told us short story writing was harder than novel writing. For a full time writer this statement is nonsense - but it does show how short story writing is respected and even regarded with some degree of awe."The good news is that I can teach you the easy way to create a very publishable short story - and very quickly."My short story writing course has been downloaded more than any other of my resources - something like 90,000 times in the last ten years. I've completely revised its contents and included an up-to-date listing of all the short story markets currently available to the aspiring short story writer."Plus, to help and encourage new writers, I've added a link to another of my popular courses, The Easy Way to Achieve Writing Success. It's a free e-course available from a link at the end of The Easy Way to Write Short Stories That Sell.Here's what's included in this book:"A thorough examining of the art and craft of short story writing - and how to easily make money writing short stories for publication.PART ONE: MINDSET"We look at mental preparation and having the correct writer's mindset before we start. We examine time management, your self belief mechanisms, and goal setting. PART TWO: THE BASICS"Here we ponder the nature of inspiration and originality. How to come up with ideas, characters and subject matter for your stories. We also discuss more specific writing issues like genre, scope, style and how to deal with them.PART THREE: Construction Time"Here I introduce the 7-Step Story Generator, an easy way to come up with powerful short story ideas in less than ten minutes. In a whole new section I also show how to create instantly compelling characters."We delve in to character's agendas, their interactions, and the consequences of facing and overcoming obstacles. "Plus, how to use the 5-Point Plot Structure, and create compelling stories through the use of proper style and tone, the correct point of view, tense, and the all important twist at the end of your stories."For fan fiction and romance writers I explain the ‘1-2-3-Bang’ theory and other short story structures.PART FOUR: WRITING YOUR STORY"Here we examine the opening paragraph and its importance, professional techniques like fast writing, self-editing, formatting and polishing the final edit.

    No confusion. Just solid, fail-safe tips for writers to take their dictation to the next level. From the author of "The Writer's Guide to Training Your Dragon", this mini-guide will help you choose the right microphone, transcribe on-the-go with Dragon and put you on the path to sky-high word counts. You will also learn little-known tricks, such as:- Dictating into programs Dragon doesn't support - such as Scrivener;- Preventing a crash from taking your dictated text with it;- Creating a "Quiet Profile" for when you need to dictate without disturbing others;- Using the same profile on multiple computers - and keeping it updated;- Running your desktop Dragon app on an iPad or Android tablet - anywhere, anytime.Designed to get you up-and-running with this powerful software in no time, "Quick Cheats for Writing with Dragon" may make you want to never look at a keyboard again!

    It has been expanded to include simple ways to promote books using newer technology--always considering promotion and marketing techniques that are easy on the pocketbook and frugal of time. It also includes a multitude of ways for authors and publishers to promote the so-called hard-to-promote genres. The award-winning author of poetry and fiction draws on a lifetime of experience in journalism, public relations, retailing, marketing, and the marketing of her own books to give authors the basics they need for do-it-yourself promotion and fun, effective approaches that haven't been stirred and warmed over, techniques that will help rocket their books to bestselling lists. You'll also learn to write media releases, query letters and a knock 'em dead media kit--all tools that help an author find a publisher and sell their book once it's in print.

    Included are 175 easy-to-use strategies, lessons, and checklists for effective classroom management, and over 50 reproducible samples that you can adopt immediately for planning, evaluation, or assignments. The Guide helps you create a classroom that reflects the excitement for learning that every English teacher desires.

    The hull glides in silence and with such perfect balance as to report no motion. I sit up for another stroke, now looking down as the blades ignite swirling pairs of white constellations of phosphorescent plankton. Two opposing heavens. ‘Remember this,’ I think to myself.”Few people have ever considered the eastern United States to be an island, but when Nat Stone began tracing waterways in his new atlas at the age of ten he discovered that if one had a boat it was possible to use a combination of waterways to travel up the Hudson River, west across the barge canals and the Great Lakes, down the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico, and back up the eastern seaboard. Years later, still fascinated by the idea of the island, Stone read a biography of Howard Blackburn, a nineteenth-century Gloucester fisherman who had attempted to sail the same route a century before. Stone decided he would row rather than sail, and in April 1999 he launched a scull beneath the Brooklyn Bridge to see how far he could get. After ten months and some six thousand miles he arrived back at the Brooklyn Bridge, and continued rowing on to Eastport, Maine. Retracing Stone’s extraordinary voyage, On the Water is a marvelous portrait of the vibrant cultures inhabiting American shores and the magic of a traveler’s chance encounters. From Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where a rower at the local boathouse bequeaths him a pair of fabled oars, to Vanceburg, Kentucky, where he spends a day fishing with Ed Taylor -- a man whose efficient simplicity recalls The Old Man and the Sea -- Stone makes his way, stroke by stroke, chatting with tugboat operators and sleeping in his boat under the stars. He listens to the live strains of Dwight Yoakum on the banks of the Ohio while the world’s largest Superman statue guards the nearby town square, and winds his way through the Louisiana bayous, where he befriends Scoober, an old man who reminds him that the happiest people are those who’ve “got nothin’.” He briefly adopts a rowing companion -- a kitten -- along the west coast of Florida, and finds himself stuck in the tidal mudflats of Georgia. Along the way, he flavors his narrative with local history and lore and records the evolution of what started out as an adventure but became a lifestyle. An extraordinary literary debut in the lyrical, timeless style of William Least Heat-Moon and Henry David Thoreau, On the Water is a mariner’s tribute to childhood dreams, solitary journeys, and the transformative powers of America’s rivers, lakes, and coastlines.From the Hardcover edition.

    And while there are many resources out there on the "craft" of writing or how to find your creative voice as an "artist," there is little by way of practical advice on how to actually set about writing genre fiction for a career. Fiona McIntosh, one of Australia's most successful commercial authors across a range of genres, is here to set the record straight, and set aspiring novelists on a realistic path. She believes that if you have a tough hide and a philosophical attitude—as well as a damn strong work ethic—anyone can make a living from popular writing. And she's here to show you how.

    Whenyou upgrade to Extra Class, you gain access to the entire Amateur Radio frequency spectrum. Ues this book to ace the top-level ham radio licensing exam. Our expert instruction will lead you through all of the knowledge you need to pass the exam: rules, specific operating skills and more advanced electronics theory.

    And yes--so can you! This method is not only effective, it’s fun. You’ll never worry about the blank page again!An outline, or plot, is really just a roadmap through your story. A flexible roadmap. One possible route. There might be detours, once you start writing. You might take side trips you didn’t even see coming.But your roadmap helps you make sure you’re always headed in the right direction. Even diehard pantsers need to know where they’re going, if they want to actually get there.This three-hour method for outlining a book is my exact method for making sure that when I start writing a story, I finish it. I’m excited to teach it to you.You’ll learn how to:- Go from the spark of an idea to five key plot points.- Expand your key plot points into 30 or 40 scenes.- Use those scenes to write a fast zero draft.If you’re ready to actually write that book, this is the first step!Shaunta Grimes writes young adult and middle grade novels. She runs an online writing community, Ninja Writers, that has more than 50,000 members from around the world.

    We easily get addicted to the high of achieving our goals. This isn't always a bad thing but it can be when we lose sight of the more important things in life.Many people never really feel satisfied in their regular day to day living and so they constantly strive for something outside of themselves to make up for their feelings of boredom, unworthiness, or whatever it may be.In our success-driven culture, it's very easy to miss out on the simple joys in life. Most people find it very difficult to be happy with a simple existence.First of all, there is nothing wrong with striving for bigger things. There is also nothing wrong with living a very simple and ordinary existence.What is truly important in the grand scheme of things is how we FEEL and how we make others feel, and this, believe it or not, has nothing to do with the outward circumstances of our lives.It costs absolutely nothing to be a kind and loving person. It costs nothing to focus on the brighter side of life. It's all a matter of perspective and our ability to release the negativity within ourselves.This book discusses a simple but powerful strategy for releasing these negative emotions that block us from experience the joy of the present moment. It shows you step by step how to be happy regardless of your life circumstances. It's easier than you think. Enjoy :)