March 2023 Self-Promotion Party!

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Hello to everyone! We are now in Spring, and I thought it would be a good time to share what you have been writing and what you have written. I want once again to offer an opportunity for all writers who follow this blog to share information on their books. It can be very difficult to generate publicity for our writing, so I thought this little effort might help. All books may be mentioned, and there is no restriction on genre. This includes poetry and non-fiction.

To participate, simply give your name, your book, information about it, and where to purchase it in the comments section. Then please be willing to reblog and/or tweet this post. The more people that see it, the more publicity we can generate for everyone’s books.

Thank you for participating!

Keep on writing!

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Celebrate and promote your writing! Shout it out to the world! Let everyone know about your work!

Don’t be shy. Be your own best promoter and publicist!

Feel free to promote a new or an older book!

I hope this idea is successful, and I hope many people share information on their books!

Available on Amazon

Get The Draft Done! is available here: Amazon.com

Gallows Hill can be found here in ebook.

Gallows Hill in paperback can be found here.

An interview about Gallows Hill can be found here.

Please follow the following links to find my novel:

ebook

Print book

Thank you!

My radio interview:

interview

Available on Amazon

Available on Amazon

Stories Have Magic!

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There is magic in stories.

Magic is the transmutation of objects or the manipulation of the world in ways that move outside the realm of science. Whether or not magic is real in the sense of the here and now world is not the point; magic is a metaphor for fiction. Stephen King says, “books are a uniquely portable magic” (104). This magic is in the words, in their transmitting from the writer to the reader other worlds and ideas. In writing fiction, writers create a world that was not there; even so-called realistic, literary writers create an alternate world that readers inhabit when they read the book. The writers and the readers, in a mystical incantation, create another reality, one that can be so strong sometimes that readers can be moved to tears or laughter or sadness or joy or grief or sorrow or despair or hope. Readers come to care about the characters and feel empathy as if they were real.

That is a kind of magic.

Neil Gaiman, in his introduction to Ray Bradbury’s  60th Anniversary Edition Fahrenheit 451, speaks to the power of the written word and stories: “Ideas—written ideas—are special. They are the way we our stories and our thoughts from one generation to the next. If we lose them, we lose our shared history. We lose much of what makes us human. And fiction gives us empathy: it puts us inside the minds of other people, gives us the gift of seeing the world through their eyes. Fiction is a lie that tells us true things, over and over” (xvi). It is through the creation of artificial worlds, no matter how speculative or fantastic, that we experience our world in more intensity and with deeper clarity. This act of magic is what we share as writers and readers. I am honored to be a mere apprentice in the magic of writing novels.

Works Cited

Gaiman, Neil. “Introduction.” Ray Bradbury. 60th Anniversary Edition Fahrenheit 451. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2013.

King, Stephen. On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft. New York: Scribner, 2000.

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A Few Thoughts on Reading!

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“No matter how busy you may think you are, you must find time for reading, or surrender yourself to self-chosen ignorance.”

                                                                   Confucius

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“Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.”

                                                                    Frederick Douglass

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“There are many little ways to enlarge your child’s world. Love of books is the best of all.”

                                                          Jacqueline Kennedy

“Reading is the essential food to the nourishment of the human spirit.”

                                                                              Charles F. French

Remember to keep reading!

A Few Thoughts

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As the year comes to its conclusion, I was considering what I thought might be among the most important daily habits to have, not including work and writing! So, I want to present three suggestions to everyone, and their order is not important:

1) Find a bit of joy every day.

2) Learn something new each day.

3) Show some kindness so that you can make the world a better place.

I don’t think these ideas are either revolutionary or new, but I hope they are useful.

To everyone–be well!

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December Self-Promotion Party

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It is now almost Winter, and it is time once again for a book promotion party!

I want to offer an opportunity for all writers who follow this blog to share information on their books. It can be very difficult to generate publicity for our writing, so I thought this little effort might help. All books may be mentioned, and there is no restriction on genre. This encompasses fiction, poetry, plays, and non-fiction. If I have neglected to mention a genre, please consider it to be included.

To participate, simply give your name, your book, information about it, and where to purchase it in the comments section. Then please be willing to reblog and/or tweet this post. The more people that see it, the more publicity we can generate for everyone’s books. I will continue to do these parties every few weeks.

Thank you for participating!

Promote your books!

Spread the word!

Keep on writing!

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Available on Amazon

Get The Draft Done! is available here: Amazon.com

Gallows Hill can be found here in ebook.

Gallows Hill in paperback can be found here.

An interview about Gallows Hill can be found here.

Please follow the following links to find my novel:

ebook

Print book

My radio interview:

interview

Available on Amazon

Available on Amazon

More Quotations On Books!

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“A room without books is like a body without a soul.”

                                                                  Marcus Tullius Cicero

 

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“I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library.”

                                                                 Jorge Luis Borges

 

 

“Books are the perfect entertainment: no commercials, no batteries, hours of enjoyment for each dollar spent. What I wonder is why everybody doesn’t carry a book around for those inevitable dead spots in life.”

                                                                Stephen King

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Books are the food and drink for the human soul.”

                                                                       Charles F. French

 

 

How Is Your Writing Progressing?

November is coming to an end, and some of you have been doing NaNoWriMo, and others have continued with a somewhat less frenzied pace.

I am one of the people who tries to write on a regular basis and avoids binge writing. I recently finished a first draft of my latest horror novel, so I have begun a first draft of another book–I never run out of ideas! Soon, I will also work on revising a previous draft of a historical fiction/romance novel.

By the way, if you are wondering how I manage to do this, check out my book Get The Draft Done!  Helping Writers Finish Their First Draft — how’s that for a bit of shameless self-promotion?!

So, I ask all of you: how is your writing going?

Available on Amazon

Get The Draft Done! is available here: Amazon.com

Gallows Hill can be found here in ebook.

Gallows Hill in paperback can be found here.

An interview about Gallows Hill can be found here.

Please follow the following links to find my novel:

ebook

Print book

Thank you!

My radio interview:

interview

Available on Amazon

Available on Amazon

Education Quotations

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“Children must be taught how to think, not what to think.”

                                                                              Margaret Mead

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“The mind once enlightened cannot again become dark.”

                                                                              Thomas Paine

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“Do not train a child to learn by force or harshness; but direct them to it by what amuses their minds, so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of the genius of each.”

                                                                              Plato

“Education is essential for the improvement of humanity, and it must continue throughout a person’s life. We are never too young nor too old to learn. We must embrace curiosity about the world around us, and we should learn every day of our lives.”

                                                                             Charles F. French

It Is Time For The November Self-Promotion Party!

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Hello to all the writers out there and reading this blog!

It is well into the month of November, so it is time for a shameless self-promotion party; please do not be shy about your work.

Writers need to be their own best publicists, and we should also help each other!

Let the world know about your book(s)!

Promote them as much as you can!

Shout to the world about your writing!

Tell us about your book(s), and leave an image and a link if you can.

Here is my shameless self-promotion: my latest nonfiction book can help writers who have issues with finishing first drafts of their books. If that is you, I offer direct, practical advice on how to Get The Draft Done! Helping Writers Finish Their First Draft by Charles F. French.

In order for as many people to see your work as possible, please Tweet, and reblog this post!

Please remember to be proud of your work!

My latest novel is Evil Lives After: The Investigative Paranormal Society, Book 3.

Available on Amazon

Get The Draft Done! is available here: Amazon.com

Gallows Hill can be found here in ebook.

Gallows Hill in paperback can be found here.

An interview about Gallows Hill can be found here.

Please follow the following links to find my novel:

ebook

Print book

Thank you!

Maledicus:Investigative Paranormal Society Book I

My radio interview:

interview

Available on Amazon

Available on Amazon

Distant Flickers

I am very proud to host this post for the newly released anthology, Distant Flickers featuring 8 excellent authors. Please check out this excellent book!

~ 8 Accomplished Authors
~ 10 Memorable Stories
~ Compelling Characters at a Crossroads
~ What Choices Will They Make?

The emotive stories in this anthology take readers to the streets of New York and San Francisco, to warm east coast beaches, rural Idaho, and Italy, from the early 1900s, through the 1970s, and into present day.

A sinister woman accustomed to getting everything she wants. A down-on-his luck cook who stumbles on goodness. A young mother who hides $10 she received from a stranger. The boy who collects secrets. A young woman stuck between youth and adulthood. Children who can’t understand why their mother disappears.

The distinct and varied characters in Distant Flickers stand at a juncture. The loss of a spouse, a parent, a child, oneself. Whether they arrived at this place through self-reflection, unexpected change, or new revelations—each one has a choice to make.

Book information:

 Title: Distant Flickers: Stories of Identity & Loss

Genre: Short Story Anthology

Universal Purchase Link: https://books2read.com/-distantflickers?format=all

Book Trailer:

 Link: https://vimeo.com/751438828

Contributors’ Bios:

 Link: https://vimeo.com/753604128/2839b7b9e4

Excerpt:

Opening Paragraph

“Idaho Dreams”

by Joyce Yarrow

 Cora would never have admitted this to Damien, but there were times when she missed Seattle so much that traces of salt air flowed through her nostrils and she heard a faint ferry horn in the distance. On such mornings the interminable blue sky of Idaho threatened to drive her mad and she was haunted by the blurred faces of old friends. Oh, to be able to return to bygone haunts like the Zeitgeist Cafe, where she took breaks from teaching aerobics at the fitness center near King Station.

Excerpt:

Opening Paragraph

“Idaho Dreams”

by Joyce Yarrow

 Cora would never have admitted this to Damien, but there were times when she missed Seattle so much that traces of salt air flowed through her nostrils and she heard a faint ferry horn in the distance. On such mornings the interminable blue sky of Idaho threatened to drive her mad and she was haunted by the blurred faces of old friends. Oh, to be able to return to bygone haunts like the Zeitgeist Cafe, where she took breaks from teaching aerobics at the fitness center near King Station.