Shewanda Pugh - New Author Promo

    Whenever possible I like to give the give new authors the ability to get the word out on their newest creations. Shewanda Pugh's new novel offers a lttle something for everyone.

    Press info: "When an insecure woman begins a cloak-and-dagger love affair with a Japanese American man, she is intent on keeping her bigoted family in the dark albeit with devastating consequences. On the night of her brother s murder, Deena Hammond stumbles upon Takumi Tanaka, lost and on the wrong end of a .32. After rescuing him from the certain fate driving through the hood in a Porsche will bring, a sweet kind of friendship begins. A balm for her grief. Maybe, Deena likes to think, it happened the day her white mother killed her black father. Or maybe, it was always a part of them, like DNA gone bad. Whatever the case, Deena knows that her family would never approve, hell, never acknowledge her fast-growing love for Takumi. And had he never made love to her that way, in that unraveling, soul-searching sort of way, she could ve done the same. But love s a devil that way. So, their game begins. One where they hide what they are from everyone. Anyone. And Tak understands this for now. After all, Deena s career hinges on the favor of her mentor and boss, his hard-ass of a father. And the Hammond family is already stretched thin with grief. Yet, each step Deena takes toward family and career brings her closer to an acceptance she s never had. And away from him." 


    Shewanda Pugh is a native of Boston's inner city. She has a bachelor s degree in Political Science from Alabama A&M University and a Master s in Writing from Nova Southeastern University. Fueled from a young age, her passion for crossing societal boundaries like race, class and culture, is the inspiration for both her cluttered bookshelf and her writing. When she s not busy obsessing over fiction, she can be found traveling, nursing her social networking addiction or enjoying the company of loved ones.

Paperback
Kindle
Author Site

20% off Scrivener For All Camp NaNoWriMo Participants

Scrivener is a powerful content-generation tool for writers that allows you to concentrate on composing and structuring long and difficult documents. While it gives you complete control of the formatting, its focus is on helping you get to the end of that awkward first draft. It has been enthusiastically adopted by best-selling novelists and novices alike. As a Camp NaNoWriMo 2012 participant, you will be eligible for a 20% discount on Scrivener’s regular licence on either the Mac or Windows platform. Great news! Make sure to grab it now so that you have full use of it for NaNoWriMo 2012 in November.

If you’re looking for a discount on Scrivener for OS X or Windows (or both!), you can save 20% off the retail price by following the simple steps below (links open in a new window):
Get your 20% discount on Scrivener here!

Scrivener How-To Books

Books on Scrivener

The writing and story development program Scrivener is taking the world by storm. This amazing software has the ability to take users through the basic processes of structuring a full-length novel, writing and developing the story, then delivering it either as a manuscript for an agent or publisher or as an ebook direct to Kindle or iBook. The books below take you through the steps to becoming a successful writer, using Scrivener's host of features you can mold the program to work most efficiently for you.

Take Control of Scrivener 2

By Kirk McElhearn
In Take Control of Scrivener 2, an eBook from TidBITS Publishing, experienced author and senior Macworld contributor Kirk McElhearn walks the reader through using all of Scrivener’s main features for a real-world writing project. Note that this book currently covers only the Mac version of Scrivener. Available in ePub, PDF and MOBI. Buy now ($10)

Writing a Novel with Scrivener

By David Hewson
Excerpt from Amazon.com: Bestselling author David Hewson, creator of the successful Nic Costa series, offers a personal, highly-focussed guide to using this powerful application to create a novel, now newly-updated to cover the brand new release version for Windows.
Hewson, a Scrivener user for years who’s written five of his popular novels in the application, takes users through the basic processes of structuring a full-length novel, writing and developing the story, then delivering it either as a manuscript for an agent or publisher or as an ebook direct to Kindle or iBook.
Alongside the practical advice, he offers a working novelist’s insight into the process of writing popular fiction. And this book is, of course, created entirely within Scrivener itself, from development through to publication on Kindle, a process followed in detail in the book. Available in Kindle format. Buy at Amazon.com ($5.99)

Scrivener for Writers

By Ivan Pope
Excerpt from Amazon.com: They say everyone has a book in them, but writing any long piece is a complicated process, from the original idea, marshalling of sources, research, filing of texts, creation of structure, rough drafting, editing and production of final document.
From outlining ideas through to output of a formatted hard copy for an agent or publisher; from organisation of research through to the automatic generation of a Kindle ready copy, Scrivener for Writers helps you maket he best of this superb and economic piece of software.
Over 300 pages of content and illustrations include How to Write a Book; Getting Started; Get to grips with Projects; Getting Set Up; Finding Your Way around; Planning your Project; Writing and Editing; Managing Your Writing; Backup and Saving; Output and Printing
This is the Apple Mac OS X edition. Available in Kindle format Buy at Amazon.com ($4.99)

Scrivener for Dummies

By Gwen Hernandez
Excerpt from Amazon.com: Whether you’re a planner, a seat-of-the-pants writer, or something in between, Scrivener provides tools for every stage of the writing process. Scrivener For Dummies walks you step-by-step through this popular writing software’s best features. This friendly For Dummies guide starts with the basics, but even experienced scriveners will benefit from the helpful tips for getting more from their favourite writing software.
From idea inception to manuscript submission, Scrivener for Dummies makes it easier than ever to plan, write, organize, and revise your masterpiece in Scrivener.
Buy at Amazon.com ($4.99)

Weekly Express

Since I tend to spend way too much time reading other writer's blogs, I thought I would deliver some of the better ones I find. Here are this weeks articles delivered by the Weekly Express:

The 18 Rules I Learned In My First Year As A Full Time Writer - Myke Cole comes clean about the hard truths of being a writer.

The Secret to Writing? - Chuck Wendig keeps it short and sweet.

Authors Whose Names Sound a Little Too Related to Their Subject Matter - Emily Temple finds the wordplay humor in a name.

Tolkien’s 10 Tips for Writers - Some words of wisdom from The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by Humphrey Carpenter.

The Complete Works of H.G. Wells - I somehow stumbled across this the other day.

Lastly, our friends over at Shadowbinders have a Kickstarter Campaign going right now.  Stop by and donate to a great project.

Shadowbinders Web Comic

  I'd like to share a great web comic I stumbled across the other day. Shadowbinders bills itself as a magical Steamfantasy web comic.  The story follows Mia White, the main character of Shadowbinders. She is a 17-year-old student facing typical high school issues: crushes, friends, and bullies. Mia loves antiques and unusual objects. One day, her grandmother gave her a puzzle box that contained an unusual ring. The ring cannot be removed, but it gives her the ability to travel between two worlds. This other world being filled with magic and airships is beautifully illustrated.  Currently, the comic is updated three times a week, usually Monday, Wednesday, and Friday sometime during the day.
  The husband and wife duo of Thom Pratt and Kambrea Pratt work on the project together. Kam writes the story and Thom draws it. If you find yourself hooked consider making a donation by clicking on the link on their site.  You can get some nice prints, bookmarks and B&W sketches if you do!
  Shadowbinders Vol. 1 is now also available in paperback!

Her Majesty's Explorer: A Steampunk Bedtime Story

Her Majesty's Explorer: a Steampunk bedtime story It's a dirty job, but he loves it. St.John Murphy Alexander walks the world exploring for the Queen. He sees the most extraordinary landscapes, creatures and weather. He gets very, VERY dirty. Exhausted, he returns to H.Q. and gets ready for a well deserved rest and some sweet dreams. This gentle book, written by Steampunk novelist Emilie P. Bush and brilliantly illustrated by William Kevin Petty, is the perfect wind-down for your little adventurer.




Reviews from around the Steampunk world: 

 "The illustrations are adorable!" ~ Beyond Victoriana Blog

 "I did enjoy Steamduck. A wonderful whimsical story so real you might feel a little seasick. But in a good way." Jenny ~The Bloggess

 "St John Murphy Alexander marches the young reader through the excitement of exploration and duty, and lulls us with the tender familiarity of a comforting bedtime routine. The story is curious and intrepid, yet ready to be tucked in for a good night's sleep." ~ Nancy Overbury, Overbury Ink.

 "St. John Murphy Alexander, "Her Majesty's Explorer," is literature's most charming mechanical man since L. Frank Baum's Tin Man." ~ Jim Barnes Independent Publisher Magazine.

 "I just finished reading Her Majesty's explorer to Chloe (9 years old) and Isabella (just 6). They both loved it, and both wished they could have their very own Steamduck." Captain Robert of Abney Park.

 "Utterly charming" ~M.K. Hobson, Steampunk Novelist

 "This is the perfect childhood book for steampunk parents to introduce their children to the steampunk subculture. I use that term loosely. Steampunk has managed to increasingly wedge its way into popular culture and this book drives that opening wider and opens it to the youngest of readers." John Iwasz, ComicBooked.com

 "My syn­apses have always fired for a bot in uni­form..." ~ S. J. Chambers, co-author of The Steampunk Bible

 "A story that is sweet and dreamy-a perfect bedtime story and a great introduction for children to Steampunk." ~ Benito, Corral, Betwixt Book Reviews.

 "Absolutely charming. It is the Dr. Seuss of Steampunk, and... I LOVED it." ~ DJ Doctor Q, The Artifice Club and The Steampunk Chronicle.

Making a Living as a Full Time Fiction Writer

    Many of us would love to make a living writing fiction, and only fiction, full time.  Aspiring authors find whatever spare time they can muster to write. Would you need to write a bestseller or could you settle for a spartan existence if it meant doing what you love?   No day job, no boss (except maybe your agent or publisher).  Is this a realistic goal?  Realistic, yes.  Worth the sacrifice, maybe.  Only you can decide that for yourself.
 
    Over at BubbleCow they discuss Chip MacGregor's suggestions that the blueprint for becoming a full time writer is complex and is based on a three rule system.

1. You need to have four-to-six books earning you a royalty.
2. You need to have 18 months to 2 years of book contracts.
3. You need to have a plan in place.