My new Writing Group on Facebook!

 

Do you have a story to tell, a book you want to write or research you want to do on your family to write your family history and you just don't know where to start? This group is for you! It's a place to encourage one another, get information about how to start to write your personal story, and avoid the pitfalls writers fall into from lack of information.

Whether you want to write for yourself, your family or the world at large, come find out how many different ways there are to achieve your goals.

This group is NOT for professional writers, authors or those who are published already and are experts. It is not to a place to post ads for your works, seek reviews or critique others writing. It's for information sharing and encouragement. There will be links from my Blog, "I Write...Do You Write Too?", which will have information on the writing process, how to put together a professional presence, marketing, self-publishing, etc.

Spread the word, and if you live in the DMV, we will have Seminars and Meet and Greets at local libraries so that we can connect further. Every day of the week we will have different topics and contests so that we can help one another write to the best of our ability! Welcome, let's get started!

Get that Marketing together!

Sometimes, you have to do some marketing. Earlier this summer, one of my neighbors approached me, wanting to know about my writing.  She asked for a brochure for her book club, so they could know about what I was working on, and what I had out there. 

It's taken me a while to get around to it, but you have to be ready to meet the needs of your readers and potential readers.  

If you don't know how to create a business card, brochure or flyer, you can easily learn on sites like Poster My Wall which has ready-made templates, Avery.com, which also has ready-made templates and papers that you can purchase to print on, or on Vistaprint.


I have a new Facebook Page for budding writers called, 'What's Your Story?', which is a complement to my Blog, 'I Write...Do You Write, Too?' but it is ONLY for those who are beginners, no experts or know-it-alls.

I run into people who when I say I am an Author, they immediately tell me about the idea or project they want to work on, or are working on, but don't have a way to have questions answered or when they join some groups, they get critiques, not advice. 

So, I made up a brochure for that group, too (see the two examples below).  It's really not very hard to juggle more than one venture at a time if you know what you want the finished product to look like. So think of an overall theme for your Marketing materials, and try to make all of your products follow that same design.

I wanted to separate my books from my Facebook group for writers, so I kept the idea of the background, but use the same design motif for my business cards as I did for the background of the writing group. That makes the three cohesive, but different in some aspects.

If you don't have something on paper to give someone, even with the business card that I have on my phone that I can text, some people don't trust or want to deal with you.  This is true with ANY venture you undertake.  So take the time and get some business cards or brochures or flyers printed.

It will really help to explain what you do, what you write and give someone something to not only refer to themselves, but it will also allow them to show others what you do and pass your information along.

You are your BEST champion, make sure you put your best foot forward when it comes to your Business Cards, Brochures, and Flyers!

I've been busy...

Launching three books at once probably isn't a good idea.  But there are times when I've got to put out books to keep a series going, that I have to buckle down and finish what has been bubbling around in my head.  It's not that the story isn't there, it's just getting it out of my head and down into the computer.  Then there is the new format under KDP.  The cover setup is just insane.  It makes is very hard to gauge where it needs to go for EBook and Paperback, because even though some of my Paperbacks are 7 x 10, the Ebooks are not, so the size between the two uploads is WAY off.

Also, their interface for covers is WAY worse than Createspace's was.  There isn't an option to upload your own cover, with both front and back just dropping in without having to delete a bunch of boxes of text.  They really need a straight, 'Upload your own completed cover' box, you can't just do it in a simple upload.

Anyway, I have put out three new books.  One is a reboot of 'The Playbook' with a new Addendum to help men navigate the waters of the #Metoo era of accountability for actions past, present and future.  If you are a man who interacts with women in ANY way regularly, you need this book.  Here are the video and cover for it, you can get the book at this link: https://amzn.to/2UNpTsk

I also published the 7th book in the Pharaoh Memnet Series, Covenant Dread: The Goblin King.  It is, bar none, one of the most beloved books I have ever written!  I really loved the fight scenes, and had to do a lot of sword fighting research, to relay the brute strength of Goblin kind, but also the finesse of one of my main characters.  I explored the concept of self-hate, that even when it's understood why we are the way we are, how we can let others reactions change how we view even our strengths as deficits.  Here are the cover and video that goes with this series, you can purchase the book on Amazon at this link: https://amzn.to/2UFKEWC  If you have missed out on this series, catch up, we enter Vampire realms next, with Daywalkers: Twilight the Usurper.  

The last Series that I have published, is the second book in The Consortium Series, Modern Day Samurai: Bushido.  This series is written where the end of each book occurs in the first part of the next book.  I know it can be confusing, but I wanted to try a new format.  Books have become too regimented, its time to try something new.  Don't worry, there's enough teeth in each book that you get your read's worth.  We have moved from the Continental United States, then Africa, to Japan, where Thomas calls on his brothers and sisters to run down a foe hidden in strength that he will need their help to get to.  Because in Japan, there is no expiration on revenge when dishonor has been done to your family.  This book explores the lives of comfort women, a practice that impacted the lives of women in South Korea and Japan, with repercussions into our present days for victims who have been robbed of justice for this crime.  Here are the cover and video for the book, and the link to purchase on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2IX0ll7

   

I hope you enjoy the new works, don't hesitate to reach out, I love talking about the writing process!

In time for the Holidays, Book 10 and 11 in the Josef and Blair Series are now available on Amazon.com!  Old friends return and old secrets emerge in two books written that echo the times we are living in.  

I've never been a politically correct person and some of the viewpoints and assumptions in these latest releases echo what we are being faced with daily in America.  If you find a little of yourself in some of the characters, let me know.

Guard Your Flank - Book 10: Left, Reich and Centre, continues the saga of the Josef and Blair Series! Old enemies resurface and bring the fight to the Reich, making Josef and his brothers close ranks tighter than ever. 

The destabilization of countries and borders far from home make Josef's far-fetched plans to escape the threat of apocalypse make more sense to his family.

Old characters requested by readers once again become relevant as this book jumps past world events in a nod that no matter who is holding the reins of America, its the bit in the mouth of the turns it one way or the other. This story of love, fun, life and faith continues as the family grows from within and withou.  I really hope you enjoy the tenth and eleventh installment in the Josef and Blair Series!

Nothing Remains Hidden - Book 11:  Two Wrongs Don't Make a Reich, is the 11th installment in the Josef and Blair Series.  Book 10 became so large, I had to split the book into two parts, it simply did not make sense not to deliver them as a set.  

*Please note, these are NOT standalone books. Every part of the storyline is closely crafted to keep the story cohesive throughout. Please do not read them out of sequence, as you will be lost within several chapters. 

A special thank you to all of those who have come along with me on this ride, these books were first published in 1997. An extra special thank you to my ARC readers, you guys ROCK!

http://a.co/d/eQ85Xim

http://a.co/d/4cTeSMQ

New Books Dropping!

Well, I just finished Book 11!  Books 10 and 11 in the Josef and Blair Series will be released Christmas Day, 2018!  Here is the Cover for Book 10. 

The saga continues, as old enemies and new family plays a pivotal role in the continuation of the family.  I will post links when it's available! They will be available in Paperback (hopefully the new KDP platform is as easy to navigate as that on Createspace was), and EBook. Don't forget to leave a review, and its appreciated that you'd leave them for the other books. Life is full of second, third and even higher number of chances, so we should always try to do better each time we get another chance to do things the right way.

This lesson is pounded home when the past comes tumbling into the present of members of Josef's immediate and extended family, with dizzying results. Old secrets don't stay buried forever, and they often show up at the worst of times.

These books flesh out the family even more, they've grown, and you've accepted the growth in the writing of their saga, I appreciate that and thank you for continuing to hang with me in my earliest attempts to craft their story, to the more polished efforts I put forth now.

These books are about the evolution of a family from hate to love, from despair to hope and all of the emotions in between. If you have any questions at the end of Book 11, I encourage you to research what happens when those entrusted with the overseeing the will of the people in America are called to account through a number of codes put in place for just those crimes.

Now, its back to writing! Time to concentrate on The Goblin King, Book 7 in the Pharaoh Memnet Series and Modern Day Samurai - Book 2: Bushido, the second book in the Consortium Series.

Alternatives to KDP Select

If you have more than one book in a Series, the Fall and Winter Season is the perfect time to make Book 1, the first book in your series available for free.  This will help readers become more interested in later books in your series.  If you have over 5 books, toss another one perhaps Book 4 in there for free also.  There will be a lot of free books available to people who get new Electronic devices over the holidays, whether its phones, tablets or computers.  Just make sure your book is one that they have a chance of reading. 

Now, if you are distributing your books on Amazon, you may be tempted to opt into the 90 Day free exclusive that KDP offers.  The problem with that, is you can't sell your book anywhere else during that 90 day period. That could cut off some of your revenue stream.

I have found it easier to look at free and paid options where I can list my book for a standalone free giveaway, then push that out to my Email list and Social Media, or as part of a group giveaway or a group giveaway that features a lot of authors bundled into one anthology.

There are several great online sources I have found that will help you with this for Free.  One is Instafreebie.  You can go to Instafreebie.com and see what they require for you to list your books.  I have had great success with them!  You will need to save your book interior as an EPub book.  There are several ways to convert your book to an EPub format, all you have to do is google 'Online Epub converter', and then use one of those services.  I can't recommend the one I used, as it may not work for you, but there are a lot of choices, you should not have any issue converting your file.

Make sure you have a jpg. file of your cover, as you will need to upload that to Instafreebie also.  Make sure you have at least $30.00, so that you can sign on to have email addresses of those who download your book.  I admit, I am cheap, when someone says 'Free', I want it FREE.  But I made a mistake in not signing up for their $29.00 promotion that would've given me email addresses of readers.  Don't be cheap, you need those email addresses.

Now, if you want to optimize your money, and get some extra marketing, check out BooksGoSocial.com.  Now, just get them your information, and let them roll with it.  Check out their marketing videos, also.  They will send out blasts on their social media to readers, depending on what you want, their prices increase.  They also have Instafreebie and Bookfunnel giveaways, where they bundle books for different genres, you have to opt-in for your book though, so make sure you read their emails when they come over.  BooksGoSocial also lets you post on their Facebook pages (there are several, see what you are interested in) and market your book on a certain day, based on your name.

Bookfunnel.com is another way to get your books out to readers, they have a LOT of features that will let you deliver books to your readers in different formats, you can use them to deliver ARC's, and Beta copies to your readers.  They have an app that your readers can download and use, they have great reader support to make sure they get their books, and even have a process whereby authors can download a book and see exactly what their readers will experience.  It helps to know ahead of time what is actually going to happen before you push out a new experience to your readers.  Now, it is a paid service, so you may want to go the route I did.  I got onto a Bookfunnel giveaway through BooksGoSocial, for that same 29.00!  Get writing, its always good to have a great book you can give away for free, and lead readers to a great new series...YOUR series!

The Rain is helping

What are your triggers for just not writing today?  Weather is one of mine, but you might be affected by things such as stress, childcare or just too many chores to do today.  I used to be distracted by the same things, until I realized I had to guard my writing time like I used to guard my 'me' time.

You know, that one hour you have decided you will devote to yourself, by catching up on your reading, or taking a long bath or watching that show you had to DVR on Monday, and now its Friday night?  You have to carve out that hour, even if it means going to bed late or getting up early.  Listen to your body clock, and let everyone know that you are unavailable for that time, every day.

I came to realize most of the things that popped up from laundry to kid arguments could wait for an hour.  The world didn't end, the house didn't fall apart and the kids are still alive and breathing.

Now, I wouldn't recommend you start this today, right here and now.  You need to prepare your family, friends and enemies for your new business hours.  That's what you're doing now, taking care of business, EVERY day.


Don't let what has happened up to now overshadow your objective to carve out some time to attend to your writing every day.  You have to step back and decide what is the most dependable time in your 24 hours that you can take an hour to write, being realistic that when you make this decision, things are going to intrude and try and take you off your game.

Take this time to set up your writing area, get your printer, your computer, your post-it notes, working pens and pencils, a sketch pad and your favorite magazines together in one spot.  Build your playlists for inspiration (You can go cull a few of mine if you don't know where to start, just go to Spotify and look up Trisha Lindsey), make sure your little speaker has enough batteries and that you have a semi comfortable chair.  If you can set up your desk area away from family flow or have a door you can close and lock, that's even better.  You have smoke detectors, and that old baby monitor can come in pretty handy if your kids just can't give you a moment of peace.  If you have little kids that can't be left alone, then set their toys up at your feet, give them something to draw on and set a timer that stops at 30 minutes for treats as an incentive for them to leave you alone for a minute!  Make sure its treats they ONLY get at writing time, and give them a special treat when they chill enough for you to get your writing done.  It would be great to be able to write before they get up or after you get them to bed, but you're so tired by then you should be sleeping!


Choose your scheduled time and stick to it.  If you miss a day here or there, consider it vacation time.  Look around you and see if there is another time that you can choose, based on the day of the week.  Wednesday's are my best days, with Friday being the worst day for my writing time.  Everything I missed out on or postponed during the week usually slides to Friday, like it is a point of no return for that week!  If I let it slide over the weekend, then that just adds one more thing to next week's plate.  So I try to take Friday's off.

The weather outside has been frightful for going on a week now, I've seen the sun for a few hours one day so far.

I'm a sun person, and I want to see the sun!  So, until it shows up, I will have to just soldier through and keep writing.  You soldier through too, be encouraged!

Update your Website this Winter!

When is the last time you took a good look at your website?  Maybe its time for an update.  Some things you might want to check for are:

Are your pictures up to date?  I changed all of my covers with my transition to Createspace, so all of my covers were not up to date.

Are your links working properly?  When you publish your books, make sure that you have the most up to date links for them on your website.  Be sure to test the links also, its frustrating to readers when your links take them to unexpected or no longer functioning places online.

Do you have any new works that you need to list on your website?  You should be updating your website every quarter, so it becomes a regular landing spot for your readers.

How big is your writing becoming?  It may be a good time to update from a free Wix.com site to a dot com listing of your own.  I will need to do this soon, I have simply become lazy because all of my business cards have my website on them.  I want to get rid of my current cards so that I can start fresh.

What was your mood when you created your website?  Mine was dark, so my site is dark.  My blog is more upbeat, so its time for a new background.  Its alright for you to have a misstep, but if you do, just go back and correct it.  We all have ups and downs with our writing.

Has your email address changed?  My contact email changed after an inbox was overwhelmed with spam, so I had to change my email address on my website.

Is the REAL you showing up on your website?  Make sure there is some of your personality showing up on your website.  Don't just dial it in, and make it clinical.  Have a little fun with it!

What does your website look like on mobile devices?  Make sure it's not so overloaded with information and graphics it's taking forever to load.

Its Winter, but its not too early to do some advance Spring Cleaning on your Website.  If you need some help, talk to some Web designers, or go to the sites of some of your favorite authors and see how they interact with their readers.  You may not be able to use all of their bells and whistles, but take what you can and make it work for you.  Update your website, you can do it, be encouraged!

How to do your Cover, step by step.

I got a response on the last post from Sarah, asking how I removed backgrounds from pictures in Powerpoint.  I wish I could afford Adobe Illustrator or another such art app, because I would be in business!  That is my aim this summer, actually.  I love art, I paint large canvas, sketch and draw.  I always have an idea of what I want my covers to look like but am still working on my fonts for my cover art.  There are so many choices out there!

Anyway, when I begin a cover, I just go over to Pixabay.com and put in a search for pictures, looking for something that I can picture on my cover, based on the theme and main character or characters in that particular book.

Now, before you get locked into one photo, you need to look at the background.  If you are going to use it as is, that is one thing.  But if you only want parts of the art, then you need to find a picture with a consistent background color.  It keeps you from having to individually click on items to remove them.  Powerpoint isn't as good as MacPaint, which Apple NEVER should have stopped upgrading, but it's serviceable.   These are the pictures that I decided to use for a new cover for a book spinoff I haven't even envisioned yet, but I just LOVE this character.


 The pictures are all over this post, because I don't know what in the heck you have to do on Blogger to get them lined up in a row.  I've been messing with them for 15 minutes now, enough is enough, you get the picture, no pun intended.

So, here are my 4 pictures, with the large one on top the primary picture that I want to concentrate on.  Now, in order to get this picture to work, I have to remove some of the backgrounds.  The white patches on the left and the large patch of black over his shoulder on the right have to be removed.

Open up Pixabay.  Select your pictures, and download them to your drive.  Make sure you pick the pixel size that is in the medium range not the largest size file, but not the smallest.  Usually, Pixabay defaults to the size that most people choose. Then put them in a new folder on your desktop so you can keep up with them.  Open up Powerpoint.  Make as many blank pages as you need for the selected pictures. The good thing about Powerpoint is, as LONG as you INSERT pictures into the document, they will hold the DPI at 300.  If you cut and paste, all bets are off.

Choose INSERT, then PHOTO, then PICTURE FROM FILE.  Select your pictures, putting the one you want to emphasize the most as the first picture.  Select the first picture, and increase its size until it takes up the entire size of the page.  Make sure the FORMAT picture tab is highlighted, it will be PURPLE. Select the picture again.  Go to REMOVE BACKGROUND. Click the icon.  The parts that the program THINKS you want to get rid of will be shaded.  You just have to hover over anything you want to add or remove and click your mouse.  A + sign will add picture back in, a - sign when you want to delete something.  Look at these pictures:
 

Now, you will have to take your time and delete, then add, until you get what you want.  This is what I wanted.  Now, I chose two background pictures, because sometimes a dark picture is good, sometimes a light picture is good.  Once I get my picture together, I DUPLICATE the first page.  Now would be a GOOD time to save your work.  So name it something with the number 1.  That way you'll know which file is your original.

Now, to the backgrounds.  I intentionally picked two with the color in the middle, bleeding out to the edges.  I don't need to delete the middles, just shave a little of the dark off of the bottoms and side, so you SELECT the pictures, select CROP, then move the handles up a little to get rid of the excess dark around the edges.  Enlarge those two pictures until they take up the entire page again.

 

NOW you need to do another SAVE.  At this point, since this will be a background, you CAN do a SELECT All, COPY, then go to SLIDE 1.  PASTE the first picture on SLIDE 1.  Leave it selected, and SEND IT to the BACK, by clicking on the REORDER icon.

Then go grab the other one and do the same thing.  Then you need to add your text.  That's pretty simple, just make sure you select WORD ART for your text.  Then SELECT the 'A' icon with your text highlighted, and scroll over and SELECT TRANSFORM, then under the WARP header, select the first ABCDE under the header.  Now you can stretch and pull your Title and Author Name.  Play around with it.  Change the size BEFORE you transform or you will have to start OVER.  Also, if you are going to Createspace, you can't do 3-D Text.

When you think you have what you want, then save your work.  Don't just go straight to a JPEG Save!!!  I can't stress this enough.  Save it in Powerpoint, then do a SAVE AS JPEG, rename it something 'X to Upload' and save it to your Desktop if you can.

I have found through trial and error, to keep ALL Text and picture parts you want to show at LEAST 1/2 inch in from the sides.  Createspace has only ONE good choice for a cover that you make yourself, it's on the 4th selection page for COVERS, and is called MAJESTIC.  Leave the bottom right corner on your back cover blank, the White Scanning box from Createspace goes there.  Also, I changed one eye to gold, taking and cropping just the eye out of the last picture.  I plan to use the woman with the Golden eye on my back cover, I just figured out a wrinkle in my story that I can use that for!

 So, you have your Cover now.  You CAN do your own covers.  Just use your imagination, go get your pictures, look at covers that you like, and do your Cover if you can't afford to hire an Illustrator.  An Illustrator is best, but you can DO it!

 

Now, I have to go.  It's time to write some chapters...

Cover Tips

Are you new to writing?  I know many new authors don't have the funds to have beautiful covers made up, and often resort to using the static covers that Createspace has to offer, or they make up their own, thinking through one theme for their book.

Here are some recommendations if you just don't have the funds to hire an Illustrator, or pay someone in the Cover Creation field.

The first thing you should do, is look up some of the covers within your genre that are selling on Amazon right now.  I came up with this idea when doing a book promotion on Instafreebie.  One of the authors mentioned that all of the books with naked men's chests on their cover were flying off the giveaway like hotcakes.  As I scrolled through the listings, I saw his comment was dead on.

You can see that the Covers with some flesh showing got a lot of downloads.  This is a real time indicator, as there is little indication on these books as to what the interior file is, until you download them.

Evidently, a good set of abs and a chiseled chin was a major draw in that genre for your book to be downloaded!  You really need to know your Genre.  Look at the Fonts used and their layout.  Every little detail you can use to make your work stand out, you should try to use it.  For example, look at the fonts used on these books:  

See the difference?  Even a shadow of a character makes readers give it a try, Military men are buff, the first cover uses the reader's imagination!  Try to see what is selling each book, through the cover for your Genre, then go for it!

Sometimes, that might not be what you WANT to do, but you can't go wrong with following trends with a little bit of your own spice mixed in.

Often, if you must create your own cover, you don't have the right tools to do them.  When I first started creating my own cover art, I ran into an immediate issue.  Where could I find royalty free art that I did not have to pay for, nor deal with a lot of restrictions for the use of the art?  Many times I would see something that looked great, then it was from a site that charged a lot for that picture, and it could not have any commercial use.

Then I found a site called 'Pixabay'.  Now, just know, I REALLY didn't want to share this website with anyone, cause I don't want someone taking my cover art.  But I realized that most of the people who read my blog don't write within my genre.  And even if they do, I can personalize my covers so they don't look the same.

The second issue was, HOW do I create cover art without a really good Illustration program?  Then I hit upon just using my Powerpoint.  At first, KDP made you jump through hoops for work that was not at a correct size for their covers.  I must admit, I don't know if I tinkered with my Powerpoint measurements or if their size just worked.  I do know ONE thing though.  You HAVE to DOWNLOAD the picture, then INSERT it into Powerpoint to keep the DPI intact.  You cannot 'Click and Drag' or do a screenshot, THEN 'Click and Drag' that photo onto your Powerpoint file.  It will come out grainy when you stretch it.

Always choose 'Word Art' rather than just use a 'Text Box', so you can stretch and enlarge your text but not have to increase the font size.  You can find Fonts that will enhance your Book Title and Author name on many free font sites.  One I use is Fontcubes.  After you download the fonts, open them by clicking on them.  Then open your Font Book and import the new fonts.  You might get some warnings, but unless they say really dire stuff, I use them.  You have to judge that yourself.

Also, you will have to make a Front AND Back cover, so decide on a theme for your series and stick with it.  That way, readers know what they are viewing and they will get used to the continuity in your series.  If you update covers as I did for my Peace series, I used the old covers with a few changes for the Back Cover, and created new covers.  I got the pictures off of Pixabay for the new covers.  I deleted the backgrounds on some, which you can do on Powerpoint, then created new covers.  Here is an example:

ORIGINAL ART:

This was the original picture

This guy JUST happened to look like what I envisioned for
my main character 'James'.  James is a Serial Killer of Child Abusers
who manage to beat the rap.

And This is the Cover that I managed to combine.  I kept the text in Fall Colors, which worked well. 
See how I got some RED in there?  You may have to work to get it to shine, but don't give up!

It takes a little time and vision to create your own covers, but you can do it.  Inspiration can come from anywhere!  Look at covers in your genre and think, "I would love that for my book, but I would do X, Y and Z."  You can do ANYTHING you set your mind to.  Go outside of your comfort zone, and just CREATE.

I used the cover that was my original on the back cover.  I tend to just make a transparent box for my back cover text and drop a picture behind it.  I stick to a theme for each book.  This first picture is from my Peace Series.

This second cover is from my Consortium Series.  I love the front and back cover of this series! Each subsequent book will have a similar theme.  Use your font's to keep things consistent.  Figure out what color fonts tend to draw your eye in.  Just remember, you won't love every cover you see, but try to find out what sells and do a close approximation with a little twist of your own.  I have read that injecting RED in any cover draws the eye of the reader.  Red stimulates people's imaginations.

 

You just import your work, drop in your fonts, then save your cover as both a Powerpoint file (in case you have to go back and make changes) AND as a JPEG file.  Make sure you save the JPEG file to your Desktop first, so you can write over the file each time you have to make changes.  You may have to make changes to incorporate a barcode (Createspace puts theirs at the bottom of the page on the back cover on the right), or to incorporate the outer fringes where the copy won't print.  

Createspace has one cover Choice, MAJESTIC, that allows you to drop in your Cover as a JPEG file.  Just remember, they only have about 30 Spline Choice colors, so if you make a cover, make sure you can match it up with the Spline covers which will be in the middle of your book cover.  If the colors are off, it will look crazy.

So, don't be afraid to step outside of your comfort zone!  You can make up a great cover, all you have to do is open up a Powerpoint file!  If you have any questions, please reach out to me!  You can do it!  Be encouraged.

Putting yourself on the line

Does your art imitate your life?  I believe there is a little part of our lives in everything we write about.  Sometimes, your readers will have to read between the lines to see you in your writing.  Other times, we can make a concerted effort to write something that is highly charged and personal to us, as a catharsis or a memorial.

I wrote a Memoir with my one of my best friend's from High School, Yoshika called "Cold War Memories", it is a compilation and History Primer of Berlin and the interactions of Military Dependants with the city and populace from 1946 until the US left Berlin in 1994.  It is so hard to know your High School still exists, but no more American Students, no Military Brats, go there.

But the Peace Series was my own story, reaching way back into childhood memories I suppressed due to fear, shame and pain.  Writing from a point of understanding, strength, and clarity, I was able to make peace with my past over the many long years of putting this series together.  It is the only one I have put out there then yanked from publication, re-editing it with a machete, because it was too graphic with too many heated situations that did not add to the story.  It was raw with rage, anger, and retribution.  But the process was necessary because it had to come out, no matter how you write if your emotion and passion is not on the pages, it's like an empty rendering of letters and spaces.  You have to open a window or door to your soul so readers can follow that light out of the dark.

It took 5 Books, but the story is now told.  A 6th book gave me the strength to take the initiative and republish the other 4 books, then finish the 5th book to complete the story.

 

 

 

Don't worry about writing in a straight line when you choose to write your story.  Just sit down and start, just write!  You can go back and arrange your work later.  You may come to find that you will work in a certain a pattern after you get started, that changes based on your mood, or what you encounter as you write.  Don't get so locked in with doing things in a linear way, that you become overwhelmed.  You can flip from the middle, to the beginning, then to the end if that works for you.  You will have time to tie things together properly when you edit your work.

Childhood abuse is a topic not spoken of, still in the shadows after thousands of years.  Light needs to invade that darkness so that people can find their peace, from the point of view of the strong adult they now are, versus the scared, hurting child they used to be.  Victims need to know it is safe to heal wounds placed on them by others, many years before.

There is a section for victims help and with an explanation of who I am, at the end of each book.  I hope you will reach out for help in your adult life for childhood trauma, knowing you are not alone, and help is there for you.  There are many agencies that can help you, if you take that step to heal today.  Don't let another day pass without you taking back your life, and dismantling what was meant for evil towards you by a monster, turning it into something good.

All of the books in the series will be available on Amazon.com by weeks end, and I will try to post an Instafreebie Link for Book One next week!  You can find all of my books on my Amazon Author pages!

Trisha A. Lindsey Author Page

Ronin Schtihl Daire Author Page

Take your peace back, you have lost enough, it is a new year!  Walk into it with a new attitude.  God bless, be encouraged.

Interracial Romance Books on Instafreebie!

Hi all!  I have joined an Instafreebie giveway once again, joining other authors of Interracial Romance who wish to give readers free access to their books.  Joining an Instafreebie Giveaway is a very good way to get your work out there, especially if you have more than one book in a series.  I placed my Josef and Blair Series Book 1 up for download, because it gives readers from the other

author's exposure to my work also.  Just click on the book cover on the Instafreebie site, at the following link:  http://bit.ly/2CB4YPX  

If you only have one book, it might not be a good idea to put it in a Giveaway, but if you have several, then go to Instafreebie and sign up.  I have another Blog post that explains the reasons you should look into Instafreebie so please refer to it if you need more information about setting up your books to make them available to new readers.

This is the header for the Giveaway, the link and further info is below it.  If you want to help spread the word, just copy the Twitter Ready blub below and post to your page, we authors and readers have to stick together!  If you already have my book, go look at some of the other great authors, and please leave them a kind review.

Amazon is very review driven, a review does not have to be long and involved, they go a long way towards helping authors receive more exposure and  success.  Get your read on, be encouraged!

Blurb for Twitter, retweet to your heart's content please:

Come get your Swirl Love on! This is a free collection of #InterracialLove! Book One in the Josef and Blair Series is here for you on this #instafreebie giveaway! http://bit.ly/2CB4YPX  #amreading #interracialdating, #multicultural, #interracialromance