Tuesday, April 30, 2013

The Individual’s Dream


Our guest blogger is Douglas Robbins author of The Reluctant Human.

The Individual’s Dream

The individual’s dream is never a dream to live on Mars and eat a ham sandwich. But it could be. Dreams are simply potential that was planted in our souls long before birth. And it consists of possibility. Each one of us has a different set of unique characteristics to fulfill for our betterment and the betterment of humanity. It is the way the world moves forward.
It is our responsibility as human beings to water that seed and tend to it. For that is our best self, our most fulfilled self, and in turn, our most radiant world. If we do not tend to that inner calling the soil dries, the answers become distant, and we become regretful of what we could have been as the world suffers. Then we end up watching television nightly and eating too much as the fears grow and our blood and thoughts sour.
Yet the dream has never been to cow-tow or be afraid or miss the shot at the buzzer, but it is to stand honorably and upright with our hearts, minds, and souls, fulfilled.

Best Free Online Digital eBooks – 35+ New Titles Tuesday 4-30-2013


We have over 35+ of best Free Online Digital eBooks to Read to choose from for your Tuesday reading pleasure. We sort all the free books and give you the best of the new Free eBooks for Kindle, iPad, and Kindle Fire on our The Top 100 Best Free Kindle Books. As a service to our authors, if you read a free book please give the author a review on Amazon.Thanks. Remember that many of the free online digital ebooks to read are priced at $0.00 for a very limited time (24-48 hours). Interested in new releases? Visit the New Book Releases for April 2013 List.
Other ways to be informed of great books:

Sand Dollar: A Story of Undying Love – “Like The Notebook with a Sixth Sense Twist”


Sand Dollar is one of those rare books that makes you feel, laugh and cry all at the same time. This smashing debut by Sebastian Cole reads like the best of Nicholas Sparks with just enough schmaltz. Moving and emotive, it’s every bit THE NOTEBOOK done up for summer.” ~ Jon Land, bestselling author of Strong At Break
Hello Digital Book Today readers. Our featured book is Sand Dollar: A Story of Undying Love by Sebastian Cole. Looking to discover the next Nicholas Sparks? How about a book similar to The Notebook but with a Sixth Sense Twist? Sebastian Cole’s debut novel, Sand Dollar: A Story of Undying Love, is currently a finalist for ForeWord Reviews Book Of The Year Award in the Romance category, as well as being a finalist in ForeWord Firsts debut literary competition for first-time authors. Sand Dollar was recently on the cover of Publishers Weekly (March 25th issue). The book has a rating of 4.6 stars on Amazon with over 80 reviews, many of which compare him to his favorite author, Nicholas Sparks. Whether or not he ever achieves that kind of success, touching the lives of others through his writing has been the single most gratifying thing he has ever done. At only $0.99, Sand Dollar just might be the best deal going!
Sand Dollar, a fantasy romance by Sebastian Cole, lives up to its subtitle, A Story of Undying Lovebookreview.com considers Sand Dollar an excellent romance novel and looks forward to reading more from Sebastian Cole.” ~ BookReview.com
“Attention all romantics: A worthy read.” ~ Maria C. Cuadro, Amazon Review
Book Description: Sand Dollar is an epic, heart-wrenching love story about the “one who got away.” It is best described as a romantic fantasy, kind of like The Notebook with a Sixth Sense twist. Similar to a Nicholas Sparks novel, but uniquely different, Sand Dollar is a thought-provoking, emotional read with real life situations that might even have you yelling at the main characters at times. A mixture of joy and heartache, this realistic portrayal of life is what sets Sand Dollar apart from other romance novels. And not only is it filled with plenty of twists and turns that will make it hard to put the book down, but the ending will knock your socks off!..…Read more on Amazon.

Author Interview #175: SEVEN-X by Mike Wech – A Psychological Suspense Novel


Our interview today is with Mike Wech, author of Amazon’s #1 Best Seller, SEVEN-X (rated 4.1 stars on 101 reviews).
SEVEN-X is a terrifying psychological suspense thriller that follows LA Times investigative reporter into the bowels of Uphir, (a remote experimental health facility) deep in the Guadalupe Mountains, in search of a missing death row prisoner. With an opportunity to break the story, Eddie voluntarily commits himself into the asylum in hopes of finding Annette Dobson, “The SIDS Killer.” She is rumored to have had her execution faked so she could be shipped to the asylum, have an exorcism and give birth to the child the world thinks is dead. Eddie’s journals, video diary and recordings leave a trail of breadcrumbs into experimental procedures conducted on patients without their consent. As he dives deeper into his investigation, Eddie is forced to confront his own demons as an unwilling participant in the asylum’s controversial rehabilitation procedures.
SEVEN-X is the first book in the SEVEN-X Trilogy, and will soon become a feature film. Mike is working with some of Hollywood’s best filmmakers to bring a unique 3D vision of SEVEN-X to the big screen.
AUTHOR INTERVIEW WITH MIKE WECH
Mike Wech, explores insanity, demonic possession and behavioral science with a unique first and third person narrative that draws the reader into the asylum to personally experience Eddie’s descent into madness. Reviewers are describing SEVEN-X as a chilling, creepy, intense horror that gets under your skin and makes your rethink the unseen world around you.
1. When did you start writing, and was there a significant event that prompted you to do so?
I started writing stories when I was about five. I used to write poems and tell stories to my friends. In school, I always liked writing and began to purse it professionally after college. I wrote plays, skits, spec television scripts and film scripts, before finally getting paid to write. Writing then became a full time job and I wrote for clients, commercially and corporately, neglecting the stories I wanted to tell. Finally, I took enough time out of my schedule and decided it was time to do my thing. I took twelve weeks off work and wrote SEVEN-X.
2. What inspired you to write SEVEN-X?
I’ve wanted to write a feature film for the last seven years, but have spent all my time making other people’s films. Finally I was in a position to take a significant amount of time out of my schedule and write. I knew I needed to create a self-contained horror/thriller that was low budget and became interested in creating a story based around an asylum. My research revealed about 200 asylums built in the mid to late 1800s, a few which were still functional to shoot a film in.

Monday, April 29, 2013

35+ Highly Reviewed Free Kindle Books For Monday 4-29-2013


We have the best Monday Deals with 35+ highly reviewed free Kindle books! Stock up for your spring reading needs as we have a great selection of the best free Kindle books for the Kindle, iPad, and Kindle Fire on our The Top 100 Best Free Kindle Books. As a service to our authors, if you read a free book please give the author a review on Amazon.Thanks. Remember that many of the free kindle books are priced at $0.00 for a very limited time (24-48 hours). Interested in new releases? Visit the New Book Releases For April List.
Other ways to be informed of great books:

Sunday, April 28, 2013

A Celebration of the Human Spirit


Our guest blogger is David Litwack author of There Comes A Prophet (4.4 stars, 36 reviews).

A Celebration of the Human Spirit

The Boston Marathon course ran past the front steps of the apartment building where I grew up in Brighton. We lived a bit after the twentieth mile, just over the crest of Heartbreak Hill. Since Patriot’s day was a holiday and we had no school, we’d go out every year and watch, a rite of spring, along with opening day at Fenway Park.
Back then, there were a paltry two or three hundred runners, not the twenty-five thousand plus of today. There were no prizes beyond a laurel wreath and the beef stew waiting at the finish. But thousands of onlookers would line the streets and offer complete strangers water and encouragement.
Another connection was when my dad was a kid, his scoutmaster was a man named Clarence Demar. Now, I suspect few of you have heard of him, but he won the Boston Marathon seven times around the 1920’s. He wasn’t a pro. He didn’t win prize money or endorsements. He just loved to run. He worked as a printer in Boston and used to train by running to and from work.
Of course, today the marathon is a bigger deal. Prize money was first awarded in 1986 and top finishers now compete for more than $800,000. The marathon is televised broadly and sponsored by large corporations. But most of that hullabaloo involves only the first few hundred runners, superhuman specimens who run faster per mile than most can conceive of and keep it up across hill and dale for twenty six miles.
They weren’t the ones targeted. The bombs were set to go off around four o’clock. That’s when the nine-minute-a-mile guys come in. These are people that will never win anything, if you don’t count the respect of friends and family and the pride in their accomplishment. Many of them are running for charity or in memory of a loved one. Lots of them have used the marathon as a goal, the pinnacle of a journey back from some hardship—stroke, cancer, addiction or personal loss. For them, the marathon is more than a road race. It’s a celebration of the human spirit.
Into this celebration came some deranged mind. It doesn’t matter whether their cause was political or religious, or they were just delusional. What they sought was not only to kill and maim innocent people, but to steal dreams.
Some people say that dystopian fiction is so popular today because we’ve become cynical. I think it’s because such stories show an individual’s ability to prevail over hardship and to shine even in the worst of circumstances. That’s the triumph of the human spirit—our ability to be at our best when things are at their worst.. And no one can steal our dreams.

25+ Best Free Books Added to The Top 100 List – Sunday 4-28-2013


Featured Free Online Kindle Book

Betty’s Child, 4.8 stars on 31 reviews. Memoir.
Selected free online Kindle Books from The Top 100 Best Free Kindle eBooks. Enjoy the best free online books to read with 30+ new Sunday freebies.
All of our books listed today are free ($0.00)! Remember that many of the free kindle Books are priced at $0.00 for a very limited time (24-48 hours). As a service to our authors, if you read a free book please give the author a review on Amazon. Thanks.

Saturday, April 27, 2013

Stress Reducing Techniques – Motorcycling and Movement


Our guest blogger is Douglas Robbins author of The Reluctant Human (4.5 stars, 31 reviews).

Stress Reducing Techniques – Motorcycling and Movement

When the world eats at my sanity and pisses me off or I just need to stop seeing the same four walls of my home office, I walk into the garage to fire up the red 2006 Suzuki V-Strom 650. Often I need movement to flush the stagnant puddle of my mind.
When the sun is shining and it’s warm enough, I hop on the bike, pull in the clutch, lift the gear arm with my left foot and pop it into first. Like a baby needing to be soothed the movement helps me de-stress and gets me focused on the moment and simpler things.
With the engine revving under me and the handle bar grips held tight the intensity of the movement begins rocking me into a state of focus. With my mind alert and my life on the line, the bills, incompetent politics of the world, my own incompetence and bad decisions, fade away, while frustrations are kept at bay. The senses heighten with each gear and each bend as I leave the neighborhood seeking my favorite windy roads at the state park a few miles away. There are no intersections at the park, no stops signs, no lights. I carve up the mountainside leaning in and breathing deep.
I twist the throttle under my wrist increasing speeds then easing off the gas and popping the bike into another gear moving faster feeling the wind, tasting the air.
It is a meditation and therapy to be on a motorcycle. Ideas are figured out while pure focus and survival instincts lock in. Ideas that were stuck in the brain get clarified while ones that weighed upon my soul just minutes earlier get left on the roadway. Patterns and stuck feelings loosen. There is a feeling of comfort riding the earth’s welcoming bosom.
I must focus completely while riding a motorcycle for my life is on the line. Everything from gravel to sticks to squirrels to bad inattentive drivers is the enemy.

The Newest Free Online Kindle Books to Read – Saturday 4-27-2013


Featured Free Online Kindle Book
How to Solve All Your Money Problems Forever: Creating a Positive Flow of Money Into Your Life, 4.5 stars on 23 reviews. Personal finance. Self help.
Selected free online Kindle Books from The Top 100 Best Free Kindle eBooks. Enjoy the best free online books to read with 30+ new Saturday freebies.
All of our books listed today are free ($0.00)! Remember that many of the free kindle Books are priced at $0.00 for a very limited time (24-48 hours). As a service to our authors, if you read a free book please give the author a review on Amazon. Thanks.

Friday, April 26, 2013

New Book Releases for April 4-26-2013


We are highlighting three exciting New Book Releases for April 2013 from our New Book Releases List (click to see all the new releases). If you are looking for something new to read this is a great place to start.
Tin God by Stacy Green. Trapped by poverty and without many allies, Jaymee Ballard is determined to reunite with the daughter she believes was stolen from her. But when the one person willing to help Jaymee ends up murdered in one of the historic mansions in Roselea, Mississippi, she realizes the secret of her past has come back to haunt her. Now any hope Jaymee has of making things right rests in a man she barely knows and is afraid to trust, a man with his own demons to fight. Up against years of deception, they rush to identify the killer before the evidence–and Jaymee’s daughter–are lost. TIN GOD is an action packed psychological mystery/suspense novel featuring a strong woman who is determined to stop a demented killer who will stop at nothing to bury the truth. Read more on Amazon.
Ambition by Stephen Maitland-Lewis. Having it all will never be enough for George Tazoli, an ambitious dealer on the trading floor of a prominent California bank. He is hand-picked for a special assignment to sell off bad loans, but not because he is dating the daughter of the bank’s president, rather for his skill at working the market. The promotion sends him to New York, putting a strain on his relationship, but then a scandalous discovery lures him into the gamble of a lifetime. George must gauge the risks — his direct superior is the bank’s president and his potential father-in-law, who is married to an heiress worth billions, all the more reason for George to vow his fidelity. Back at the bank’s headquarters, the president and his father, the chairman and grandfather of George’s L.A. girlfriend, are embroiled in a long-standing feud with another family of stockholders competing for control of the bank. The boardroom tension and ultimate showdown keeps everyone busy while George makes difficult choices that will teach him a lesson learned the hard way — even wealth has a price. Read more on Amazon.
Relative Malice by Marla Madison. When four family members are found dead after a home invasion, Detective Kendall Halsrud takes charge of the case. In the murder house, she discovers an empty crib with blood drops next to it on the wood floor. The family: a father, mother, teenage daughter, and young son have been fatally shot . . . but where is baby Philly? The desperate search to find the child derails when a man is arrested for murdering the family and claims to have killed the baby. Suspecting he had an accomplice, Kendall isn’t convinced. Refusing to give up on finding the child, Kendall persists in unearthing the family’s secrets. With the help of a hacker turned spurious fortune-teller and a former cop hired by the missing baby’s uncle, she discovers a furtive pedophile ring is planning on buying and sharing a baby. Can she stop them while there’s time to save Philly? Read more on Amazon.
See the complete list of all New Book Releases for April 2013 (click to see all the new releases). If you are looking for something new to read this is a great place to start.

How Do I Find Free Kindle eBooks? Visit the Top 100 Best Free Kindle Books 4-26-2013


How do I find free kindle ebooks? This is a common question. Look no farther. We looked at the 800+ free Kindle ebooks that were added this morning on Amazon and give you the best rated and reviewed free titles. We have 35+ new titles with many greatly exceeding our minimum requirements that are new to our The Top 100 Best Free Kindle eBooks. Grab a book or two for the weekend. All of our books listed today are free ($0.00)! As a service to our authors, if you read a free book please give the author a review on Amazon.Thanks. Remember that many of the free kindle books are priced at $0.00 for a very limited time (24-48 hours). Don’t forget to see the Latest New Book Releases for 2013 List.
Other ways to be informed of great books:

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Free eBooks for Kindle – 35 New Books for Thursday 4-25-2013


We have a great list of 35+ of the Best Free eBooks for Kindle for Thursday 4-25-2013. They are highly rated and all exceed our minimum standards. As a service to our authors, if you read a free book please give the author a review on Amazon. Remember that many of the best free ebooks for kindle are priced at $0.00 for a very limited time (24-48 hours). Always make sure that the price is $0.00 when downloading your best free eBooks for Kindle.
Interested in new releases? Visit the New Book releases for April List.
Click to see the entire list of Top 100 Best Free eBooks for Kindle.
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Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Author Interview #174: The Earth Painter (4.7 stars, 76 reviews) by Melissa Turner Lee


Our interview today is with Melissa Turner Lee author of The Earth Painter (4.7 stars, 76 reviews). Before we get to the interview a brief book description: If you like YA stories about strong young women becoming stronger as they learn to accept themselves, The Earth Painter is for you. When a self-conscious young woman discovers the boy in drama class is actually the immortal who painted the world into being, she becomes the target of another painter who hates humanity. The Earth Painter is a Young Adult Supernatural Romance set in the small mill town of Chesnee, SC. It revolves around Holly Scruggs, whose family has just moved back to Chesnee after her dad lost his job along with pretty much everything they owned. Her image conscious parents correct her to the point of brokenness until she meets Theo. He is the artist responsible for all the beauty of the land and he thinks Holly is beautiful, too. Together they will fight against Fritz, the water painter, who hates humans and is hiding a secret under the high school.

Interview with Melissa Turner Lee

First of all, thanks for letting me to interview you. Let us begin by talking about your book, The Earth Painter of which I found the story concept very intriguing and interesting. What was the inspiration behind the whole story?
My stories come to me through characters first. I was putting away clothes in my son’s room and saw a girl in an auditorium and a strange guy. And suddenly this normal girl was being asked to join a conflict going on right there in the school that no one there knew about.
How about the writing process? How did you plan out everything (plot, characters, setting. etc.) before you start?
I am a SOTP (Seat Of The Pants) writer. I have tried and tried to plot but I just can’t. I have the characters show up and I start asking them questions about who they are and what is going on. When those questions are answered, I sit down and start writing. It is after I work on making sure it all makes sense and is connected from start to finish.
Who was you favorite character and who does he/she remind you of in real life?
I’m assuming you mean from The Earth Painter. Hmm…Khai-Ree-Hloa-Theo reminds a bit of Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory.
The dynamic between the painters and the sciences reminds me of me and my husband. I’m all creativity and he is all logic. Makes for a very amusing life. J
How about your favorite scene? Does it represent any special moment of your life?
When Holly paints with Theo, that’s how writing feels for me. Like someone else is creating the story and I’m just the one typing it.
What was the biggest challenge you encounter so far as an author?

Authors and Depression


Our guest blogger is Eva Caye author several books including Dignity (To Be Sinclair series) which is rated 4.9 stars on 15 reviews.

Authors and Depression

The saying goes, “Write what you know.” I am an author who has suffered depression most of my life, though I was long unaware of it. After being diagnosed and treated for it these past ten years, I believe I can now speak with some authority, though I do not have a degree in health sciences.
Here are some authors who have suffered depression (by no means a definitive list): Samuel Johnson, John Keats, William Blake, Edgar Allen Poe, Charles Dickens, John Stuart Mill, Hans Christian Anderson, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Herman Melville, Walt Whitman, Guy de Maupassant, Friedrich Nietzsche, Oscar Wilde, Leo Tolstoy, Mark Twain, William James, Henry James, Joseph Conrad, Franz Kafka, Virginia Woolf, Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, William Carlos Williams, Sylvia Plath, Winston Churchill, T. S. Elliot, Anne Sexton, Agatha Christie, Tennessee Williams, Hunter S. Thompson, Kurt Vonnegut Jr., J. D. Salinger, Woody Allen, Anne Rice, Bob Dylan, Amy Tan, J. K. Rowling.
Just looking over the list will likely give you plenty of ideas on some possible ‘causes’ of depression. Born in dire poverty? Orphaned? Alcoholic parents? Horrific diseases? Lost loves? Brutal and lingering post-traumatic stress from wars? The pervasive abrasion of a culture of hate on a sensitive soul? Political exile? Loss of religious faith, or faith in any institution at all? A tragic accident taking years of recovery?
Regardless of the causes of depression, I feel there are two specific reasons why writing and depression seem to go hand-in-hand. First, what other legal methods can tortured human beings pursue to release horrific burdens and devastating offenses to their soul? Very few. Joseph Conrad’s vivid atmospheres were painted with the gloom and pessimism of his subjective life, like many of the authors mentioned above. William Blake’s poems not only burgeoned with mystical symbolism, he infused many of his personal beliefs in elusive allegories, chock-full of rebellious notions on the authoritarian attitudes of science, religion, and even of marriage laws, fueled by mystical visions and a childless marriage. And who could deny that any philosopher’s views of how life is, or how it is supposed to be, are based directly upon the inconsistencies they see around them, trying to organize them to make sense, once and for all?

35+ of the Best Free Online Kindle eBooks for Wednesday 4-24-2013


Discover 35+ of the Best Free Online Kindle eBooks for Wednesday 4-24-2013. They are highly rated and all exceed our minimum standards. As a service to our authors, if you read a free book please give the author a review on Amazon.Thanks. Remember that many of the free online Kindle ebooks are priced at $0.00 for a very limited time (24-48 hours). Always make sure that the price is $0.00 when downloading your free online books.
Interested in new releases? Visit the New Book Releases for April List.
Click to see the entire list of Top 100 Best Free Kindle Books.
Other ways to be informed of great books:

The Exemeus – A Fantasy, Dystopian Thriller – On Sale for $0.99


“Wow, what a great dystopian/fantasy. I really loved it.” ~ Michelle Lynn “Michelle’s Paranormal Vault”, Amazon Review
Hello Digital Book Today readers. Our featured book is The Exemeus (4.2 stars, 32 reviews) by Folomi Morris and Abeni Morris (sisters). “Welcome to one of the coolest dystopian worlds made!” The Exemeus is a fantasy thriller with “an interestingly paranormal twist on a dystopian”. It falls into the ever-growing genre of YA fiction (think Hunger Games) that is read by readers of all ages. The Exemeus is currently on sale for $0.99 (4/21-4/27). So grab a copy of The Exemeus and be ready to be taken on a thrill ride with this “enjoyable, quick-paced read for those who enjoy all genres of YA”.
“A fun dystopian adventure that brings in the supernatural. I look forward to reading the next book in the series.” ~ KariW, Amazon Reviews
“This book had it all, magic, romance, and adventure. I loved this book and can’t wait for the next one!!” ~ Bec, Amazon Review
Book Description: Hyalee Smith is dead, she just doesn’t know it yet. Her short life was devoted to love and to hate. Love of the man who stole her heart, hate for the man who stole the world. Murdered by the government she swore to destroy, she’s been given another chance to make it right. But to save the planet, she needs the help of the most powerful mystic the world has ever seen—unfortunately he hasn’t been born yet. In a world where fear is the only currency, Dephon has committed the ultimate crime: inspiring hope.
His only goal is to make it safely through ninth grade, but on a post-apocalyptic Earth run by the Treptonian government, it isn’t that simple. Heir to a legendary power, Dephon Johnson is the only threat to the government’s rule. And on Trepton, all threats must be eliminated. When hundreds of assassins are dispatched to neutralize him, Dephon is forced to fight back. His only chance of survival is to enlist the aid of the greatest warrior the world has ever known. The only problem is, she’s been dead for 13 years..…Read more on Amazon.
About the Authors: Folami and Abeni Morris are a sister-sister writing team. Together they wrote (and rewrote) The Exemeus, somehow managing to accomplish it without murdering one another. Despite their facial similarities, tendency to finish each other’s thoughts and stick up for each other constantly, no, they’re not twins and thus deserve their own individual bio. Folami Morris Folami grew up in the tiny city of San Mateo Ca, where nothing ever happens and no one ever leaves. She went to Xavier University for

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Best Free Online Digital Books – 45+ New Titles Tuesday 4-23-2013


We have over 45+ of best Free Online Digital Books to Read to choose from for your Tuesday reading pleasure. We sort all the free books and give you the best of the new Free eBooks for Kindle, iPad, and Kindle Fire on our The Top 100 Best Free Kindle Books. As a service to our authors, if you read a free book please give the author a review on Amazon.Thanks. Remember that many of the free online digital books to read are priced at $0.00 for a very limited time (24-48 hours). Interested in new releases? Visit the New Book Releases for March 2013 List.
Other ways to be informed of great books:

Author Interview #173: Geddy’s Moon (4.7 stars, 142 reviews) by John Mulhall


Our interview today is with John Mulhall, author of the new supernatural thriller Geddy’s Moon (horror, 4.7 stars, 142 reviews). Before we get to the interview, here’s a brief description of the book: Tyler is an amnesiac, drifting aimlessly across the country, struggling to regain his lost memories. When he arrives in Geddy’s Moon, a sleepy town in the middle of the Kansas wheat fields, fragments of his past begin to resurface. But as he establishes new relationships in town, and spends time with the local librarian and her son, he finds himself tormented by nightmares that grow more unsettling each night. What horrific events took place before Tyler arrived in Geddy’s Moon? And could he have brought a terrifying – and possibly supernatural – danger along with him? As the pieces of his fractured memory begin to fall into place, he fears that it may already be too late to keep himself, and those he’s begun to care about, safe from a vicious evil.

Interview with John Mulhall

1. When did you start writing? Was there a significant event that prompted you to do so?
Seeing the original Star Wars in a theater as a boy was a pivotal event for me. It really opened my eyes to the power of myth and story. So, storytelling is really something I started doing as a child, and something I’ve been doing almost my whole life. I guess, on some level, I knew that I’d eventually tell stories for a living, but I don’t think I realized that I’d be a writer, per se. I dabbled with it early on, but I didn’t really sit down to write seriously until I was already out of high school. And even then, it took me a while to really get going. In this case “a while” means over twenty years.
2. What’s Geddy’s Moon about?
It’s about a man with amnesia who wanders into a small town in Kansas called Geddy’s Moon and begins a new life there. He starts making new friends, developing a new relationship, all the while attempting to regain his old memories. But when he finally starts getting little flashes of things from his past, they’re not so great; they’re actually more like nightmares. So, he begins to question whether remembering is really the best idea, after all.
3. What inspired you to write it?
I was in a college psychology course, and we were studying psychogenic fugue states. And I found the idea utterly fascinating. In some cases, the people suffering from fugues would wander away from their old lives and just…erase their old memories. Then they’d create new personas and begin living new lives elsewhere. I found myself wondering what could happen in someone’s life that would be so horrible that they’d just erase their life to get away from it. That was really the original inspiration for the character of Tyler in Geddy’s Moon, and then the rest of the story kind of developed out of that.
4. Tell us a little about Tyler.
Well, that’s tricky. It’s hard to talk about Tyler without giving too much away. The book actually starts at a place where the central mystery really involves him searching for clues as to who he is. Is he a good person or a bad one? Was he a participant in some horrible event before he lost his memory? Or was he a victim? A witness? The secrets are lost in his memories. The reader discovers things about Tyler as he does.
5. Tell us a little about your process? Do you outline before you start writing?
I do outline. I know some authors are very critical of too much outlining, but if you’re writing something that is fairly intricate, plot-wise, I really think it’s necessary. For me, it’s akin to designing the blueprint for a house before you begin construction. If you don’t do that, things can go horribly wrong. The trick, I think, is to still allow the characters breathing room in that process, to allow them to speak for themselves. And I definitely think you can have both. Using the house analogy, it’s kind of like I’m the general contractor, and my characters are the new homeowners. They may not have huge influence on the basic blueprint once we’ve started building, but they’re still the ones deciding all the “detail” stuff. While I know that the house has two stories, a circular staircase, and 3 bathrooms, they’re the ones deciding on the floor coverings, wall colors, and light fixtures.
6. What is the hardest part about writing?
I think the hardest part for me is just starting, honestly. Knowing the ultimate destination, knowing how far I have to go, it’s sometimes difficult to just put one foot in front of the other and begin the journey, so to speak. It think that’s why my process is typically such a slow simmer. I’m not a writer who writes daily, I never have been. I tend to process for a long time, linking diverse story elements together, breaking down the story in my mind. When I finally start putting my ideas on paper, that’s when I know it’s getting real.
7. Where do you get the inspiration to write?
Inspiration is the easy part, for me. I get inspired a dozen times a day, and it can come from anywhere: a news story, an arcane bit of history, a joke. The trick is taking that inspiration and figuring out what to do with it. If something sticks in my brain, if it keeps popping up, then I start to explore it. What it is about that thing that appeals to me? What is the core of it? The more I continue thinking about something, the more excited I get to put my own spin on it. Typically one idea will eventually connect to another, and it all takes on a life of its own.
8. Who is your favorite author and why?
I don’t know that I can point to one favorite. I’m inspired by so many authors throughout history. I can tell you that my favorite book is Boy’s Life by Robert McCammon. I give that book as a gift to people I respect and care about, people that I hope will get the same thing out of it that I did. I think that novel definitely influenced my desire to tell the kind of story I did in Geddy’s Moon.
9. What do you like to do when you are not writing? What is your ultimate luxury?
Sadly, I’m not really very good about luxury. I’m kind of a workaholic, actually. I haven’t taken a legitimate vacation in over 4 years. But when I do get out, watch out; I tend to live in the extremes. But I do love good movies and good books. I love stories that are well told. And I cherish being taken on a trip by someone who is an expert guide. Discovering a wonderful story is like finding treasure.
10. What kind of reaction are you hoping for from readers of Geddy’s Moon?
Well, I’ve already gotten some really amazing reactions, and I’m very thankful for that, but I think the comments that I appreciate the most are when people say, “I don’t typically like horror, but this was different.” Now, I honestly don’t think my book is that different. I just think horror is a misunderstood and misperceived genre, and people find it easy to dismiss. It’s really unfortunate because when someone dismisses a whole genre, there are so many amazing stories that they’re missing out on. And people tend to forget that some of our most beloved writers wrote stories in the horror genre: Shelley, Stoker, Lovecraft, Poe, Melville, Wells, etc. My book isn’t terribly nihilistic, so maybe that’s why they perceive it as “different.” Or maybe it just doesn’t sync with their perception of horror, which likely stems from the awful, gory b-movies that litter late night cable. Whatever the reason, if my book can serve as a gateway for new readers to start exploring the genre, that makes me very happy.
Social media and buy links:
Connect with John Mulhall: Website / Blog / Facebook / Twitter / Amazon / Goodreads
Geddy’s Moon: Amazon / Amazon UK / Goodreads

Monday, April 22, 2013

New Book Releases for April 4-22-2013


We are highlighting three exciting New Book Releases for April 2013 from our New Book Releases List (click to see all the new releases). If you are looking for something new to read this is a great place to start.
The Wished-For Country: Stories of American Courage by Rebecca Del Giudice. A Senator stands alone against the march to war. A man risks his life to expose the Ku Klux Klan. A slave escapes to freedom – and takes a Confederate warship with him. These stories and many more like them are the focus of The Wished-For Country: Stories of American Courage. Author Rebecca Del Giudice has been researching and writing about American history for more than 20 years. During that time, she’s rediscovered unique stories that few Americans know or remember today. There’s the first woman doctor in the United States who was only admitted to medical school because her classmates thought it was a joke – but the joke was on them when she graduated first in her class. The Danish immigrant who enlisted a future president in his fight against poverty in the slums of New York. And the child of sharecroppers who awakened the conscience of a nation. Read more on Amazon.
Exiles in Time (The After Cilmeri Series) by Sarah Woodbury. Two years in Afghanistan; four years working for MI-5, the British security service; and the death of both of his parents from cancer. At the age of thirty-four, Callum thought he’d experienced the worst that life could throw at him. That is, until his boss ordered him to open a buried file on his desk and to take it seriously. His new assignment: to detain and question a pregnant woman and her ailing husband–and if need be, to stop them from returning to medieval Wales. Until today, Callum believed in his job and always followed orders. Until today, he thought time travel wasn’t real … Exiles in Time is a novel from the After Cilmeri Series. Other books in the series include Daughter of Time, Footsteps in Time, Winds of Time, Prince of Time, Crossroads in Time, and Children of Time. Read more on Amazon.
Submerged by Cheryl Kaye Tardif. Two strangers submerged in guilt, brought together by fate… After a tragic car accident claims the lives of his wife, Jane, and son, Ryan, Marcus Taylor is immersed in grief. But his family isn’t the only thing he has lost. An addiction to painkillers has taken away his career as a paramedic. Working as a 911 operator is now the closest he gets to redemption–until he gets a call from a woman trapped in a car. Rebecca Kingston yearns for a quiet weekend getaway, so she can think about her impending divorce from her abusive husband. When a mysterious truck runs her off the road, she is pinned behind the steering wheel, unable to help her two children in the back seat. Her only lifeline is a cell phone with a quickly depleting battery and a stranger’s calm voice on the other end telling her everything will be all right. Read more on Amazon.
See the complete list of all New Book Releases for April 2013 (click to see all the new releases). If you are looking for something new to read this is a great place to start.

40+ Highly Reviewed Free Kindle eBooks For Monday 4-22-2013


We have the best Monday Deals with 40+ highly reviewed free Kindle ebooks! Stock up for your spring reading needs as we have a great selection of the best free Kindle ebooks for the Kindle, iPad, and Kindle Fire on our The Top 100 Best Free Kindle Books. As a service to our authors, if you read a free book please give the author a review on Amazon.Thanks. Remember that many of the free kindle books are priced at $0.00 for a very limited time (24-48 hours). Interested in new releases? Visit the New Book Releases For April List.
Other ways to be informed of great books:

Sunday, April 21, 2013

Many Children See Auras


Our guest blogger is Cynthia Sue Larson author of Aura Advantage.

Many Children See Auras

You may recall having seen auras when you were a young child. Perhaps you could see the mood of your family members as waves and shapes of color that changed as they were angry, happy, or sad. Many children see auras around people and material objects, and can keep this ability if they are encouraged (or, rather, if they are not discouraged). While young children may not yet be able to describe the fullness of perception they experience with their beginner’s minds, they can convey some of their auric perceptions through art. When children can nurture their artistic vision and inner “knowingness,” they preserve their natural inborn talent to perceive the universe of energy as it truly is. Parents and teachers can provide support and help preserve these natural talents of children by being more aware of the effect of their words when they view children’s art. A supportive mother might say to her artistic toddler, “I like the way you colored your sister red and the dog green,” even if she doesn’t see a red haze around the sister or a green fog around the dog. The child may not even realize he is drawing something that his mother does not see—but this kind of encouragement will help him keep his perceptions keen.
My first memories of being a baby were a blur of sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and feelings. When I was in a room, I saw and felt swirls of colors that ebbed and flowed around me like waves of light in an ocean of color. There was serenity in my solitude, which would change into a cacophony of color when my parents returned to my room. I could see these colors whether my eyes were open or shut, although they seemed brighter and clearer when my eyes were open. As my eyes developed the skill of focusing on objects, I gradually paid more attention to what I could see when my eyes were open so that I could not see so well with them shut. In this way, my natural ability to see auras gradually fell dormant as I grew up.
When I was an infant, all my senses seemed interconnected, most especially vision and hearing. This way of experiencing the world is known as “synesthesia,” a Greek word that means “perceiving together.”

25+ Best Free eBooks Added to The Top 100 List – Sunday 4-21-2013


For this Sunday we have 25+ of the best free ebooks. A great chance to grab a book or two for the last day of the weekend. All of our books listed today are free ($0.00) on The Top 100 Best Free Kindle Books. As a service to our authors, if you read a free book please give the author a review on Amazon. Thanks. Remember that many of the free kindle books are priced at $0.00 for a very limited time (24-48 hours). Interested in new releases? Visit the New Book Releases for April List.
Other ways to be informed of great books:

The Beauty of Fear


Our guest blogger is JeanNicole Rivers who has appeared before on Digital Book Today. She is the author of Black Water Tales: The Secret Keepers.

The Beauty of Fear

Last week one of my FB friends posted a comment about no longer fearing not being loved and it touched a chord within me considering this particular fear is one of the concepts that I explore in my new novel, Unwanted (October 1, 2013).
Too much of any one thing is a bad thing, but fear is not an emotion of which anyone should want to completely rid themselves. Fear is beautiful and necessary.
I absolutely adore the horror/thriller genre as many people do, which is why it is so popular. Recently, a friend noticed the horror book I was reading and after she cringed she asked why in the world I would want to read a book that would scare me out of my wits. I thought about it and replied, honestly, that there is comfort in the emotion of fear.
Fear is an intrinsic and powerful mechanism built into the human design to keep us safe. People often associate the horror/thriller genre with bad things, demons, devils, ghosts, but it is more than that for me, it is an outlet to embrace my most fundamental fears, to expose them so that they no longer have power over me. The genre of horror at its best is not about making one jump at every strange noise or creepy shadow that one encounters, it is about learning what we as human beings fear most so that we can find ways to manage and cope with those fears, despite the fact that we may never be completely rid of them.
Fear makes us wise, humble vulnerable, it lets us know that we are not always in control and that lack of control is sometimes just part of the way the world works and something that we must accept. Fear makes us human and once we lose that fear we are no longer human, we become one of two things, monstrous or divine.
“Ultimately we know deeply that the other side of every fear is freedom.”
~Mary Ferguson
JeanNicole Rivers @JeanNicole19