Good Day!

The past ten days or so on the literary circuit have been amazing for me. I can honestly say I have had the best time ever when it comes to book sales - both eBooks and paperback, reviews, new leads, being used at a top business conference as an example of successful media selling, and of course writing! The new two or three part series is coming along nicely and should be ready for publication in a couple of months.

Four of my books are now officially classed as 'best-sellers' and I've passed a couple of milestones when it comes to sales. Of course I have to thank you for making all this happen. xx

The Surgeon's Blade reached a heady top 40 position in the UK Amazon market and is now hovering between position 85 and just dipping out of the top 100 every other day or so. At the moment it is registering on book lists  as;

• #2 in Books > Crime, Thrillers & Mystery > Psychological
• #2 in Books > Fiction > Psychological
• #5 in Kindle Store > Books > Fiction > Crime, Thrillers & Mystery > Thrillers > Suspense

   So again a HUGE thank you! You rock!

New Review
" Different times and different places. A little twist to the storie and some supernatural, all well woven together. Some of the stories were surprising and some just fun."  ~ A perfect neat review that sums up the book ~ thank you Caseyjay on amazon.com

So please enjoy!

Thank you once again and have a fabulous weekend!
Faithx

Good day!

Over the years I’ve found the subject of genre to be rather puzzling, especially as nowadays the line between genre often appears to ‘bleed’ between two, three or even four different genre. Genre is a French term and although it can be used as a "kind" or "sort" of virtually anything, the most common usage is of course for categorizing stories by television, film, theatre and prose and applies to both fiction and nonfiction books.

But because genre is nothing more than a loose, fuzzy logic way of categorizing these things I often find it difficult to place a certain book or film in one category and if you’re honest I’m sure there are many people who feel the same way.
A book genre is a particular class or type of book. Books can be divided into a broad assortment of genres, and people often use genre as a criterion when selecting a book to read and because of this, if you’re an author, ensuring your book is correctly listed is most important.

The two broadest genres are fiction and nonfiction. Fiction books involve events and stories which although perhaps based on truth, have not happened. Nonfiction covers topics which have a basis in fact, ranging from history books to home baking.

Within each basic division, there are a number of categories, and in some cases as I’ve already said, a book may span several genres and this is where it can become even fuzzier.

Some commonly-used categories of book genre in fiction include: romance, young adult mystery, thriller, suspense, horror, literary fiction, fantasy, and science fiction. Children’s fiction can also be divided into a different category, such as into picture books, young adult novels, and so forth.

Nonfiction can include things like art, history, politics, gardening, science, travel, sociology, biography, nature, and reference among many others. Nonfiction books like fiction books can also span multiple genres. For example I’ve just read a book written about a game park in Kenya (nature and research), which also covers travel within Africa. The book could be considered a nature book but it is also a travel book, since it involves a discussion of travel in a foreign country. Divisions can be found within each subcategory, as well: art, for example, includes art reference books, books about art history, books which showcase particular types of art, and so forth. Getting fuzzier?..

For many people, book genre is a very important factor in their decision to purchase a book. I write and I love reading mystery murder novels. But I’m not a huge fan of vampire or horror books which scares me witless! However, people sometimes find when they push outside the book genre they are familiar with they discover topics and authors which they grow to love.

Within book genre there are ‘conventions’, which are the many elements fans expect to find in a novel of that genre. For example, in my murder/crime novels my fans will expect a body to turn up pretty early in my books...and sometimes expect multiple bodies to appear!

These conventions are important when it comes to writing a successful novel. If I stumble across a group of readers who love and regularly buy Agatha Christie-type murder mystery books, then it makes good commercial sense to write something that is original and yet still follows the same basic pattern as all the others. Why would I waste the opportunity of tapping into this market by writing something completely different?

Genre fiction is also known as popular, commercial or category fiction and is nowadays sold as mass-market books. It also (usually) places a greater emphasis on plot and less emphasis on characterisation, ‘fine’ writing or the theme exploration itself which is more literary fiction. Then there’s mainstream fiction; another avenue to explore…as this is when a genre novel reaches beyond its usual audience and is bought and enjoyed by readers who don’t normally read that type of fiction.

Because mainstream fiction is genre fiction which breaks the rules…genre fiction follows a well-known pattern

Let’s take a crime novel then...and use examples of genre fiction V mainstream fiction

Conventions say in genre fiction a body should show up in the first few chapters, and preferably in the first few pages – in mainstream my murder isn't committed until halfway through.

Conventions dictate that the guilty should be brought to justice by the detective or sleuth in the closing pages – in mainstream my murderer gets away with it and an innocent man is arrested in his place.

Conventions dictate that the bulk of the plot should be devoted to the detection of the crime – I spend a large chunk of my novel describing the detective's troubled sex and home life. The question is have I written a detective novel at all? Well yes and no...

• No in the sense that it rips up the convention rule book for that particular genre and really couldn't be marketed as a part of that genre.
• Yes in the sense that it features a murder and a detective or sleuth attempting to solve the crime.

The solution therefore, is to market my novel to a more general audience, one which won't care about all the traditional conventions of detective fiction having been broken; they welcome a break with tradition. Or it could be classed and marketed not as a detective crime novel at all, but a novel about a man’s troubled sex life and the murder could be on the side almost!

This makes it mainstream fiction – but if the quality of the writing and the profundity of ideas explored put my novel into the prize-winning league, it would probably be considered as literary fiction.

And so mainstream fiction is...

It is genre or literary fiction which happens to sell well.
It is genre fiction which breaks the conventions.
I’ve made a short list of some of the principal fiction genre…there are plenty more!  

• Children’s,
• Chick Lit,
  
• Commercial Fiction,
• Contemporary,
• Crime,
• Erotica,
• Family Saga,
• Fantasy,
• Dark Fantasy,
• Gay and Lesbian,
• General Fiction,
• Graphic Novels,
• Historical Fiction,
• Horror,
• Humour,
• Literary Fiction,
• Military and Espionage,
• Multicultural,
• Mystery,
• Offbeat or Quirky,
• Picture Books,
• Religious and Inspirational,
• Romance,
• Science Fiction,
• Short Story Collections,
• Thrillers and Suspense,
• Western,
• Women’s Fiction,
• Young Adult.

Within each principal genre there are many sub-genres which are constantly changing as readers likes and dislikes change.

So I might write in my murder mysteries…Detective Fiction, Police Procedurals, Private Eye Novels, British plot, Women sleuths, Hard-boiled.

And what if my novel spans several genres?!! For instance: murder and romance? I have to decide which to focus on…what is the main theme and thrust of the plot? Is it murder or romance? It is important to recognise my specific genre as all novels within that genre will have similar characteristics which my fans will recognise and expect...I must keep these fans happy! My crime fans will expect the murder to take the main plot, not the romance. Indeed I could lose fans if I did this.

I have to decide whether I want to write the conventional way with genre fiction or as mainstream fiction as I certainly don’t want to fall between the two…I might lose my audience if it’s not conventional enough for fans of that genre and if it’s too much conventional genre it might not appeal or attract a mainstream or literary audience… I could end up with no audience at all! Another fuzzy dilemma!

Out of interest, those people who buy one fiction book a year, about 49% buy a book in the mystery, thriller and crime categories. The next most popular is science fiction (25%), and romance at 21%.

I hope I’ve clarified one or two things as I’m sure many people get confused over genre, especially new writers. There are some interesting sites on Google that go much more in depth regarding genre. One site is wiseGeek, which runs a series of questions and answers and I did use one or two ideas from that site as examples. There’s plenty more if you’re really interested.

Thanks for reading this post and as ever a huge thanks for my own fans of my mainstream murder/mystery/psychological/adventure/drama fiction books! Your continuing support is tremendous and this last week has been phenomenal!

Thanks and happy reading, whether you're a fiction fan, non-fiction, eBook or paperback lover!

Faithx

The Surgeon's Blade ~ free today!

Good Day!

I'm delighted to announce that, The Surgeon's Blade, the third in my Diana Rivers murder/mystery/psychological thriller is free for a few days. The reviews for this novel have been excellent and some readers have voted it as the best in the series - so far! Another novel will be added later in 2012 - don't worry if once you've read this book you'll have read all in the series.
So if you love mystery and murder in any form then please download you copy today!

Many, many thanks for your wonderful support, dear readers - by making my books free from time to time I feel I'm repaying your generosity.

Thanks once again.


Click on one of the links below to go straight to your Amazon of your country or either of the book covers for Amazon.co.uk and .com.
Amazon.co.uk
Amazon.com
Amazon.de
Amazon.es
Amazon.it
Amazon.fr

Happy reading!
Faithx

The Surgeon's Blade

When nursing sister, Libby Hunter wakes up in hospital following a traumatic sailing accident she discovers two deeply disturbing things. One - she has lost her memory and two – the stranger, (Nigel) whom she finds sitting by her bedside when she awakens claims to be her fiancé!

During her hospital stay, Libby regains most of her memory, except the bizarre fact is she cannot remember EVER being engaged to surgeon, Nigel. Against her will Nigel persuades Libby into agreeing to move in with him. Working on instinct she finds every excuses to put him off until she is completely sure of her true feelings.

During a series of attacks on nurses in London and Southampton, Libby finds herself in great danger when her home is broken into one night. Who is the intruder and does he plan on harming her? And is this connected in any way to the recent attacks on nursing staff. Will Libby be the attacker’s latest targeted victim?

Distressed Libby turns to pilot, Robert for help and understanding, but is he as respectable and kind as he appears to be? Is her so-called fiance, Nigel trustworthy, especially when his ex-wife, Stella enters the scene and Libby suspects them of rekindling their relationship?

The night time intrusion to Libby’s house sets in motion a downwards spiral of cataclysmic and terrifying events, culminating in our favourite sleuth, Diana Rivers stepping in to help solve the case in this chilling psychological mystery thriller, The Surgeon's Blade ~ guaranteed to keep you guessing up to the final pages

Diana Rapp didn't always write for her living as you'll see when you read further. Indeed writing came about during one of her low periods and is the reason for her success today. Read on...

Diane Rapp’s writing process:

I started writing to cure insomnia.  I sold real estate during a time that interest rates hit 20% and no one could qualify for new loans.  Stress overwhelmed me, and I spent sleepless nights trying to find creative ways to help my sellers and buyers.  I tried self-hypnosis classes, deep breathing exercises, and reading a ton of books to take my mind off the real world. 

After I ran out of books by my favorite science fiction authors, I started imagining my own stories while I waited to fall asleep each night.  That worked!  Yes, making up science fiction stories helped me fall asleep until that horrible day…the day I was compelled to write one down.  The characters haunted my dreams and demanded that I bring them to life.  I bought my first computer and started typing as fast as my fingers could move. 

Nothing was planned.  The words tumbled out of my subconscious where they’d been percolating night after night.  Everything was going fine until I hit a mental block.  What was going to happen next?  I didn’t know.  I hadn’t planned the book and the characters were satisfied to let me flounder alone.  I started experiencing more sleepless nights until I realized that I must explore what had happened before my story started.

Crazy?  Well my husband told me I was crazy on more than one occasion, but I knew I needed to write the beginning all over again.  I slept on it for a few nights and my fingers started typing again.  When the story got to a point that helped me understand the place I was stuck, I bounced back and forth until I finished three books.  Of course they were awful.  There were great moments but nothing hung together.  So I took classes, read books on writing, and started rewriting.   

Do I recommend this process?  No.  Now when I have an idea, I chart a timeline and write physical descriptions and histories of the characters.  I know them, how they look, their agenda, and how they fit into the plot.  A new character might force the story to take a side trip or derail the entire plan.  I introduced a new character in one book and I liked him so much I went back to the beginning and inserted him into the storyline much sooner.  He was a villain and you know how villains mess with your plans.

My writing is character driven.  I just don’t know how to “dream a plot” without putting characters into my dream.  Yes, I still imagine a scene from my current story as I fall to sleep, and my mind works on the scene until I’m compelled to write it down.  I get more sleep that way and more writing done.  I gave up selling real estate long ago.  I prefer to sell my ideas to willing readers who want to take a journey into my dream world. 

Many thanks Diane for sharing this with us. Another author who has found a unique way to use her talents. You can stalk Diana out by checking Check out Murder Caribbean-Style and Howl of the Wolf at www.quicksilvernovels.com.

Thanks for dropping by! And as usual I can't let another week go by without thanking all of you who continue to support me - one way or another! It is so greatly appreciated.

Faithx



  

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Shamrocks-N-Sirens 12 day Reader's Event is proud to have with us today, Author D.A. Graystone.  His suspense filled Psychological Thriller ‘Two Graves’ allows readers to take a look into the mind of a criminal. 

Derek Graystone was born in Rivers, Manitoba, Canada. After a brief stay there and in Trenton, Ontario, Canada, Derek has spent the majority of his life in London, Ontario, Canada. He graduated from the University of Western Ontario with a Bachelors Degree in English Literature in 1984.

Derek has had a varied career including jewellery store manager, warehouse manager for an ice cream distributor, manager of a gas station, and the finance and systems manager for a children's charity. In 2002, Derek quit his day job and started his own office automation and Internet presence company and a relaxation massage business with his wife. Derek is also a Reiki Master as well as having a successful online Wiccan business.
Derek's first book, The Schliemann Legacy, is a spy thriller involving Nazis, terrorists and the hunt for the treasures of Troy.
Derek followed up with Two Graves, a crime novel about a serial killer who is killing look-alikes of the people who bullied and terrorized him in his youth. Derek is planning to release the next in the Kesle PD series called Too Many Graves which will appear in 2012.
Currently, Derek is working on the first novel in the Witches of Aquarius series; Windcrusher will be released in 2012.
Derek lives with his wife Yvette in their home in London Ontario when they aren't visiting their island getaway in Exuma, Bahamas. Derek is also the father of four girls and one boy and has five granddaughters (and another grandchild on the way, due in August).



What is the main premise of this book?

I, like so many others, was bullied when I was a kid. But I’m not one to write an intellectual treatise on the cause and effect of bullying on children and adults. I’m not out to change the world.
I just want to get even.
If you were ever bullied, imagine if you finally had enough and decided to get even.
That is what my killer does in Two Graves. Using computer aged photos of his high school tormentors, my killer sets out to get even with look-alikes, using the killings to reveal their past crimes. And he has had years to dream up some imaginative, and rather gruesome, methods for getting even.



Where did the title come from?

The title is from the Chinese proverb; “When you set out on a journey of revenge, dig two graves.” This is a lesson that many of the characters in my novel have to learn.

When reading, do you prefer eBook or paperback?

I always thought I would be a paperback man – after all, I still do all my editing on paper, not the computer. I only bought my Kindle to make sure that my Indie published books converted well. And then I downloaded a novel to try it out and I have been hooked since. I love seeing my paperbacks sitting on a shelf but you can’t beat the convenience, clear image and ease of reading from the Kindle.

What projects are you currently working on?

Put it down to my own eclectic tastes, I can’t stick with a single genre. Currently, I am working on the first book in an urban fantasy series about witches, Spartan warriors, and old Gods called Witches of Aquarius. At the same time, because I get distracted easily, I am plotting out the sequel to Two Graves called Too Many Graves. What does it mean if you spend a large part of your day trying to decide if that really would be a good place to dispose of a body?

What one word describes how you feel when you write?

Seriously? You’re asking this writer to describe something with just one word? From someone who hasn’t met a short story that he couldn’t stretch into a novel, you want something in one word? OK, let’s go with…
Me.
More than at any other time, I feel like the “me” I want to be when I am writing.

Who designed this cover?

The cover was my design and, luckily, I happened across a beautiful naked body lying in the leaves. The knife was just an added bonus.

Where and when do you prefer to do your writing?

In the sunshine, on the deck of the house in Exuma that I intend to buy when I become an obscenely successful author. In fact, during the Shamrocks and Sirens event, that is exactly where I am, working on my next novel but, unfortunately, just for a week this time. Luckily, it is a very private deck (see below).

Do you ever write in your PJ’s?

I would if I ever wore them.

What’s your favorite beverage?

Pepsi. But unlike Lt. Mann in Two Graves, I quit drinking it when I hit an average of 8 to 12 cans a day. I’ve been clean for almost 6 years.

So do you like to cook? 

I suppose I am more of an eattie than a foodie but give me a BBQ and I can make anything.

What is something you never leave home without (apart from keys, money and phone)?

My good luck necklace that I have worn since I was in my 20s. It is a golden bunch of bananas that remind me of my dream of spending my days writing my novels on a tropical island.

Do you sleep in or get up early?

As the father of five and a registered insomniac, I can honestly say the last time I slept in was after my emergency appendectomy. And even then the damn nurses kept waking me up to see if I needed anything to help me sleep.

What is your favorite quote?-

 Living well is the best revenge.

If you were to attend a St. Patrick’s Day Party, which one thing would you never leave behind and why?

A Shillelagh because you never know when you might need a good blunt object.

Where can your readers stalk you?

Facebook http://www.facebook.com/dagraystone

Twitter: http://twitter.com/dagraystone

Web Site: http://www.dagraystone.com

GoodReads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5089051.D_A_Graystone

Good Day!

We're finally back home after our month long adventure in Australia and Bangkok. The whole trip was a memorable event, the best part being of course the birth of my first grand child, infant Felix. I'm not going to post photographs of him on here, as I don't think it is the correct thing to do...however lots of friends have asked to see him and they can on my Facebook page in a day or so. It is good to be home as there's nothing quite like one's own bed whatever and however good the hotel abroad might be!

One thing that struck me, especially in Thailand was the level of technology apparent almost everywhere. Almost everyone possessed a 4G mobile telephone and/or an eReader of some sort...and this is a third world country...the mind boggles as to just where technology is taking us.

Anyway, on to my latest guest and featured author, the talented and highly successful, Tim Ellis. Tim has a never ending stream of novels to his credit and seems to pop out a new one every 2-3 months. I only wish I had the time to do likewise! He also (usually) has at least four of his novels in the Top 100 on Amazon.co.uk. I've recently read his, "Orcs Quest" a fantasy that I thoroughly enjoyed and I'm 2/3 of the way through, "Jacob's Ladder", the first in his Randall and Stone murder series - all good stuff! Over to you, Tim!...

Tim Ellis – My writing process

So, what exactly is the writing process? When I think of a process I think of little men (or women – no, not women, that would just be weird) so, little men in blue overalls with yellow hats, carrying spanners and hammers, and working on pipes. Well, a process is carrying out a set of procedures or steps to convert something from one form to another. The question then, is how do I convert my ideas into books?

Well, first of all, I want a dramatic beginning to drag the reader into the story – both writing and reading are like a rollercoaster ride. When I’m writing, I’m like the reader, because I don’t know where the story is going. Now some people plan to various degrees, but I find that I can’t plan – I just write.

The ease with which the words flow depends on whether I’m working with some of my established characters such as Parish & Richards, or whether I’m creating someone new. If it’s an established character then I’m off and writing, but if its someone new I find a picture from Google Images that matches the picture of the character in my head, copy/paste into my book, and then I write. The type of person he/she is comes out in the action and dialogue. Here’s an example:

Tom Gabriel poked the business end of the Smith & Wesson 686P six-inch 7-shot double-action revolver barrel into the soft unshaven flesh beneath his jaw and pulled the trigger. The hammer cracked onto an empty chamber.

Cassie would have to wait another day, he thought.

Straight away, we know that each morning when he wakes up, Tom Gabriel plays Russian roulette with a view to joining his dead wife, Cassie. He knows that one day the hammer will fall on the single bullet, and he’ll be with her. For me, this behaviour tells you what type of man Tom is. He’s never been unfaithful to his wife, misses her like crazy and wants to be with her, leaves it up to fate (or God) to determine when that time will be. In the meantime, he carries on with his life. Faith says I can only have 500 words and I’ve used up 365 already – talk about pressure! So anyway, I write in scenes from (mostly) multiple viewpoints, and I make each scene as good as I can get it before moving on – I proofread and edit as I go along (although I do now have a qualified proofreader). In fact, each scene is a mini-story in itself – with a beginning, middle, and end. My books then are scenes, piled one on top of the other, like a house – or book – of cards. If you take one scene away, the book collapses, and isn’t that the way it should be?

Lastly, I aim for 1,000 words a day. I get up at five in the morning and start writing directly on my laptop. Sometimes I write less, sometimes I write more – but I don’t beat myself up if I do write less. Beneath the writing, I keep a word count by chapter, and in total, so I know how far along the rollercoaster ride I am – Oh no! This is where we plummet to our deaths - Aaaaaagh!


Thanks, Tim for a snapshot look into your writing day and process - did I really say only 500 words? If (like me), oyu're interested in Tim Ellis's books why not look him up on Amazon or take a look at his website?

Amazon.co.uk

Amazon.com

Tim Ellis Website ~ Home page