Author: Kristina Stanley

Mystery Mondays: Christina Philippou on Writing Mysteries Into Fiction

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 4 Comments

Part of the fun of Mystery Mondays is discovering new authors and new books to read. I’ve also discovered it’s a way to learn about how other authors get published. Today, Christina Philippou is here to talk to us about writing mysteries.

Her debut novel, Lost In Static is published by Urbane Publications, and this is their mission: To find the daring, aspirational, and exciting new authors, and bring them to a whole new audience.

That sounded pretty cool to me, so I thought I’d share that in case any of you are looking for way to get published.

Now on to Christina…

Writing Mysteries Into Fiction

by Christina Philippou

Hello and thank you for having me today – I am delighted to be contributing to Mystery Mondays!

My novel, Lost in Static, is a contemporary mystery so, with that in mind, I wanted to talk about writing mysteries into fiction…

Not every mystery relates to something lost, or stolen, or something overt like a secret held by a character (although many of these mysteries do appear in some form or another in my writing). Some mysteries simply relate to what the narrator or, in the case of Lost in Static, narrators know that the reader doesn’t. This may not be the traditional use of mystery in fiction, but it is becoming increasingly common.

But how do you write something that is not a mystery to you, the author, so that it appears like a mystery to the reader? The answer is not a simple one.

One method is when thLost in Static covere narrator knows something but, because it is so obvious to them, they do not actually bother explaining. This makes it increasingly frustrating for the reader. For example, in the case of one of my protagonists, we know that he is writing to someone. But who is he writing to? He doesn’t bother to tell us until quite far into the plot because he knows exactly who he’s writing to, but the reader wants to know because it potentially could (and does) affect the story.

Another method is the idea of an unreliable narrator. As Lost in Static tells the same story from four (sometimes contrasting) points of view, some narrators spin the events in a different way than others. But how can the reader work out who is telling the truth and who is lying? This becomes even more difficult when the protagonists themselves don’t realise their memory is shaky or that they don’t have the full facts.

Which brings us back to the
traditional role of mystery in fiction – the mystery that not even the protagonists are aware of the answers to because, well, they are a mystery that needs to be solved…

LOST IN STATIC

SoLost in Static covermetimes growing up is seeing someone else’s side of the story.

Four stories. One truth. Whom do you believe?

Callum has a family secret. Yasmine wants to know it. Juliette thinks nobody knows hers. All Ruby wants is to reinvent herself.

They are brought together by circumstance, torn apart by misunderstanding. As new relationships are forged and confidences are broken, each person’s version of events is coloured by their background, beliefs and prejudices. And so the ingredients are in place for a year shaped by lust, betrayal, and violence…

Who is Christina Philippou?

Christina Philippou’s writing career has been a varied one, from populating the short-story notebook that lived under her desk at school to penning reports on corruption and terrorist finance. When not reading or writing, she can be found engaging in sport or undertaking some form of nature appreciation. Christina has three passports to go with her three children, but is not a spy. Lost in Static is her first novel.

Christina is also the founder of the contemporary fiction author initiative, Britfic.

You can connect with Christina on her website, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Google+.

Lost in Static is the gripping debut from author Christina Philippou. Whom will you trust?

Thanks for reading…

 

 

 

Descent Had Me Falling for Canadian Author Kristina Stanley – Sarah Butland – Imagination Captured

~ Kristina Stanley ~ Leave a comment

I love how Facebook sends me memories. This one appeared today from one year ago and it’s too lovely not to share…

 

Source: Descent Had Me Falling for Canadian Author Kristina Stanley – Sarah Butland – Imagination Captured

Pageflex Persona [document: PRS0000040_00072]

 

If I hear of a contest I’m eligible for I enter it, especially if the prize consists of books so when I heard of Imajin Book’s contest celebrating their Canadian success and authors I had to enter.

A few days later I found out that I won the ebook by Kristina Stanley, Decent (A Stone Mountain Mystery Book 1) and I was thrilled! Only it got buried in another pile of downloads, projects and my own writing and then I was reminded again and went searching for it.

With a much more pleasant winter than last, I was delighted to read of a fictitious, but very likely, blustery mountain and ski resort. Downhill Skiing While you Sit!Much like I imagine a mogul run would feel like, the mysteries of Descent had my heart racing with all of its bumps in the road and twists on the path. Filled with a lot of characters, each one seemed as real and honest as […]

Source: Descent Had Me Falling for Canadian Author Kristina Stanley – Sarah Butland – Imagination Captured

Farley’s Friday: Smelly Dogs Need A Bath!

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 8 Comments

Farley here,

This whole event was Piper’s fault. She’s a border terrier and likes to roll in stuff.

I’m not sure how her antics evolved into me getting a bath, but she rolled in some kind of fuel and out came the soap.

My humans are excited that she smells. Like she doesn’t smell all the time, so they plop her in the bath. You can see how much she loves it.

Piper in Bath

 

I’m rolling on the carpet laughing when Kristina says, “You too.”

“What?” I bark. “I don’t stink.”

I run and hide under the table, but it’s no use. Within seconds I’m in the tub too.

Farley in Tub

Silly Piper. I’ll have to train her not to roll in stinky stuff. Now we both smell of soap.

Woof Woof.

The Importance Of Author Endorsements

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 12 Comments

Many of you know I’ve sold the eBook and print rights for my upcoming novel LOOK THE OTHER WAY to Imajin Books.

Now the publishing journey moves quickly. Imajin Books has a fast paced schedule and I need to keep up.

In my book, The Author’s Guide To Selling Books to Non-Bookstores, I wrote about the importance of endorsements. Here’s a little excerpt:

AGTSBNBWhy Are Endorsement Important

When you take your book to a store, endorsements on the front and back cover will add legitimacy to your books. That’s promotional material every time someone picks up your novel.

I believe this is more important for printed books than eBooks. The image of your book cover online may be too small for a potential buyer to read the endorsements. In a store, the endorsements may just give you an edge over other books on the shelf.

The endorsements that go on your cover are ones that connect with your readers. You want to find authors who write in your genre that readers will recognize. Having an endorsement from your mom is nice, but it won’t help sell your book. Unless your mom is a famous author, in which case, go ahead and use her.

The first endorsement for LOOK THE OTHER WAY is in!

I asked an author who has more romance in her novels than I do in the Stone Mountain Mystery series because LOOK the OTHER WAY is a romantic suspense novel.  I asked an author whose books I’ve read and loved.

SO WHO DID I ASK?

KAT FLANNERY

Kat FlanneryKat Flannery’s love of history shows in her novels. She is an avid reader of historical, suspense, paranormal, and romance. When not researching for her next book, Kat can be found running her three sons to hockey and lacrosse. She has her Certificate in Freelance and Business Writing. A member of many writing groups, Kat enjoys promoting other authors on her blog. She’s been published in numerous periodicals. Her debut novel CHASING CLOVERS has been on Amazon’s Bestsellers list many times and was #62 over all their titles. LAKOTA HONOR and BLOOD CURSE (Branded Trilogy) are Kat’s two award-winning novels and HAZARDOUS UNIONS is Kat’s first novella. Kat is currently hard at work on her next book.

AND NOW FOR THE ENDORSEMENT!

“LOOK THE OTHER WAY is a fast paced ride complete with a tidal wave of emotions, suspense, and a well crafted who-done-it tale. Miss Stanley has impressed me yet again with her keen ability to keep the reader wanting more!”

What’s LOOK THE OTHER WAY about?

It’s the beginning of a new series set in the Bahamas. The mystery takes place aboard a Lagoon 380 catamaran, which happens to be the type of boat I lived on for 5 years.

Mattina sailing
Mattina in the Bahamas

Here’s the blurb:

A year after her Uncle Bobby mysteriously disappears in the turquoise waters surrounding the Bahamas, Shannon Payne joins her grieving aunt to trace his last voyage. Shannon hopes the serenity of the sea might help her recover from a devastating breakup with her fiancé.

Sailing their 38-foot catamaran, A Dog’s Cat, is Captain Jake Hunter, a disillusioned cop who has sworn off women. While Shannon tries to resist her growing attraction to the rugged captain, she uncovers some dark truths about her uncle’s death that might send all three of them to the depths.

Thank you to Imajin Books for once again supporting me!

Imajin Books is a Canadian publisher that publishes suspense, mystery, thriller, paranormal, horror, romance, fantasy, young adult and select non-fiction. They will be open for submissions April 2017, so keep your eye on the website if you’re looking to submit a novel this year.

Mystery Mondays: Damon L. Wakes on Planning Your Novel

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 13 Comments

It’s Monday again, and we’re here with Damon L. Wakes author of Ten Little Astronauts.

Planning Your Novel by Damon L. Wakes.

Personally, I don’t like to plan my books in too much detail. Knowing (at least in your head) how you get from beginning to end is essential, but for me summarising individual scenes seems excessive: I feel as though I might as well just write the scenes themselves.

What I find does help is to take a pack of record cards and note down all the major plot points, one per card. This makes for a really quick way to put together an outline of the story, and you’re free to add or remove cards as necessary, even while you’re working. There are other advantages to this sort of plan too, but I think those are best left for another post.

I first tried this approach when writing my prehistoric fantasy novel, Face of Glass, but it proved especially handy while plotting out the twists and turns of my sci-fi murder mystery, Ten Little Astronauts, which has since been accepted by Unbound!

 

 TEN LITLE ASTRONAUTS

engine-roomThe U.N. Owen is adrift in interstellar space. With no lights, no life support, no help for ten trillion miles, it seems as though things can’t get any worse. Then, Blore finds the body.

Ten Little Astronauts is Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None set in space. The novella takes the essence of Christie’s murder mystery and condenses it down into a tense, hard sci-fi thriller.

Ten astronauts are awoken from suspended animation to deal with a crisis on board their ship. Selected from a crew of thousands, none of them knows any of the others: all they know is that one of their number is a murderer. And until they work out who it is, none of them can go back to sleep.

With the environment of the ship itself acting as an added threat, the story progresses at a faster pace with a more rapid series of twists. Setting the mystery in interstellar space – where a radio message could take years to reach anybody – also offers an immediate explanation as to why the characters can’t simply call for help, eliminating a lot of the introductory scene-setting of Christie’s original.

Despite the futuristic setting, the world of Ten Little Astronauts conforms as closely as possible to the scientific understanding of the present day, based on extensive research drawing on everything from the ion thrusters of NASA to the vessels preserved at the Royal Navy Submarine Museum. Grounded in reality, the science fiction acts as a backdrop to a mystery that can be broken down and solved by conventional means. The characters and premise will be well familiar to fans of Agatha Christie, but the story itself is brand new.

Pledging to support Ten Little Astronauts at Unbound is more than just buying a book: it’s an opportunity to bring that book into the world. The novella is already written, but it needs your help to make it into print. Of course, there are also rewards for supporters, ranging from digital copies of the book all the way up to a writing workshop with the author.

Book Cover:

Not available yet, as that’s one of the things that the crowdfunding campaign aims to cover. However, there is this video filmed on board HMS Alliance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXjvSRTPDRs .

 

WHO IS Damon L Wakes?

unbound-portraitDamon L. Wakes was born in 1991 and began to write a few years later. He holds an MA in Creative and Critical Writing from the University of Winchester, and a BA in English Literature from the University of Reading.

Every year since 2012, Damon has produced one work of flash fiction each and every day during the month of July. He usually writes humour and horror, occasionally at the same time. Tackling so many stories with such a short word count has given him a knack for well structured narratives formed of tight prose.

When he isn’t writing, Damon enjoys weaving chainmail. He began making chainmail armour ten years or so ago, but quickly discovered that there was no longer much of a market for it and so switched to jewellery instead. He now attends a variety of craft events, selling items made of modern metals such as aluminium, niobium and titanium, but constructed using thousand year-old techniques.

Damon’s other interests are diverse. He has at various times taken up archery, fencing and kayaking, ostensibly as research for books but mostly because it’s something to do.

Links:

Website: www.damonwakes.wordpress.com

Blog: https://damonwakes.wordpress.com/posts/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authordamonwakes

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DamonWakes

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6560972.Damon_L_Wakes

Newsletter: https://damonwakes.wordpress.com/newsletter/

Ten Little Astronauts: https://unbound.com/books/ten-little-astronauts

Farley’s Friday: What’s for dinner?

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 15 Comments

Farley here,

Humans are odd. They bring rodents into the house and expect me not to chase them.

I can see them hiding behind the glass door! They’re holding these things called Guinea Pigs. They squeak. They run in bursts. So tempting…

farley-and-guinea-pigs

I’m a wheaten terrier, stress the terrier. I just want a little sniff of the creatures.

What harm could that do?

Woof Woof.

 

Big-Picture Editing and Word Count Per Scene – Feedback For Fiction

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 11 Comments

As a writer, you’ve probably read there are recommended lengths for a manuscript depending on the genre you write in. We’ve done some research and thought we’d share that with you.

In order of length, word count guidelines for a few of the popular genres are:

  • Novellas: 20,000 to 30,000
  • Middle Grade: 25,000 to 40,000
  • Romance: 40,000 to 100,000
  • Young Adult: 50,000 to 80,000
  • Mysteries, thrillers, and suspense: 70,000 to 100,000
  • Paranormal: 75,000 to 95,000
  • Fantasy: 90,000 to 100,000
  • Horror: 80,000 to 100,000
  • Science Fiction: 95,000 to 125,000
  • Historical: 100,000 to 120,000

Genre length may vary with different publishers, so check submission guidelines carefully. If you’re self-publishing, readers of the genres have come to expect a certain word count, and you don’t want to disappoint them, so think about the word count and make a conscious decision on the length of your novel.

But what about word count per scene?

When you’re about to begin a big-picture edit, you may wonder if counting the number of words per scene is important. We think it is, and we’ll tell you why.

Scene Emphasis

After you’re happy with the total word count for your novel, it’s time to evaluate how your word count is spread across your scenes.

By counting the words in each scene, you can see where you are putting emphasis and where you are not. Without knowing the specific word count, you don’t have a method to know if a critical scene is too short or a minor scene is too long.

Patterns

Some authors like to write scenes of the same length for the entire novel. Others vary the scene word count. The choice is yours, and you can use it to your advantage if you evaluate the per scene word count from a big-picture view.

If you follow a pattern (same word count per scene) throughout your novel and one scene is way longer than the rest of your scenes, make sure this is the climax scene. If it’s not, you probably have too many words in the scene.

How I Used Word Count To Improve My Novel

You can see in the Word Count Per Scene graph below, that scene 2 in chapter 3 is over 6000 words long. The other scenes in the novel are all under 2000 words. I discovered this during my big-picture edit of DESCENT (my first novel).

This was a scene early in the novel where my main protagonist, Kalin Thompson, moves to Stone Mountain Resort. In great detail, the scene described Kalin moving into her new apartment. After I looked at the word count, I realized I’d written the scene to give the reader a feel for resort life. Nothing much happened in the scene to move the plot forward.

I knew I needed to fix this. Instead of putting the details in one scene,  I cut the scene and sprinkled the details throughout the other scenes.

This improved the story by eliminating an info dump but still leaving in details that showed the reader what it’s like to move to a ski resort. If I hadn’t reviewed the word count of the scene in the context of the other scenes, I might have missed this.

How The Feedback App Will Help

Depending on the software you use to write your novel, counting the words in each scene can be a time-consuming exercise.

For example: In Microsoft word, you’ll highlight each scene and look at the word count displayed at the bottom of each page. In Scrivener, it’s a little easier. The word count is displayed at the bottom of each screen if you’ve broken your text into scenes as you write. In either case, you’ll have to keep track of the word count and evaluate it from a manuscript level.

The Feedback app will automatically break your novel into scenes and create a report showing you how many words are in each scene. You’ll be shown a graph, and can easily see where you need to focus on word count. Word count is one of the Key Elements Of Fiction the app uses to help you perform your own big-picture edit.

The Feedback App will also show you the breakdown of scenes per chapter. We’ll talk about this in another blog.

 

Download our free eBook, BIG-PICTURE Editing And The Key Elements Of Fiction and learn how big-picture editing is all about evaluating the major components of your story. We call these components the Key Elements Of Fiction.  Our eBook shows you how to use the key elements of fiction to evaluate your story and become your own big-picture editor.

Source: Big-Picture Editing and Word Count Per Scene – Feedback For Fiction

Mystery Mondays: Call For Author Guest Blogs

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 13 Comments

Promoting Reading – Promoting Authors

Mystery Mondays began in July 2015. Authors from many genres who write with a hint of mystery have told you about their books, answered your questions about writing and shared their thoughts with you.

Every Monday, you’ve be introduced to another author and maybe discovered someone you’re not familiar with.

Are you an author interested in guest blogging?

I am now accepting guest blog requests for the next few months of 2017 starting on March 27th so if you’re interested contact me here.

If you’d like to participate, here’s what you need to qualify:

  • you are a published author – traditional or Indie or any other way that I don’t know about,
  • or you are about to publish fairly soon
  • and you want to promote other authors and spread success,
  • you write novels with a hint of mystery,
  • you are willing to engage in the comments section when readers comment on your post.

All I ask from you is that you follow my blog, comment on author’s posts and help share via Twitter and Facebook.  If you’re interested send me a message via my contact page.

The Guidelines:

You’ll have to send me your bio, back text of your novel, author photo and book cover. I’d like you to write something about yourself, your novel, your research, a writing tip or a publishing tip.

Please keep in mind I am a family friendly blog. I do reserve the right to edit anything I think might be inappropriate for my audience, which I will discuss with you first. I think anything under 700 words is great, but it’s your book so up to you.

I’m looking forward to hearing from you and sharing your novel with the Internet world.

Mystery Mondays: Lily Black on Riding the Authorial Rollercoaster

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 5 Comments

storm-of-attraction-hi-resWelcome to Mystery Mondays. Today we’ll go on an emotional ride with author Lily Black.

Let’s give her a gift by sharing this post and helping her spread the word about her debut novel Storm Of Attraction!

Riding the Authorial Rollercoaster (without losing your breakfast) in three easy steps by Lily Black

As writers and authors, we’ve willingly stepped away from the midway games, with their big fluffy teddy bear prizes. We’ve scarfed down the last of our cotton candy, and asked someone else to hold our hat and coat. We’ve climbed on a rollercoaster, because that’s just what being a writer and author feels like.

Early on, I thought this was a temporary state. That once I got comfortable writing books, it would get easier. Once I had a solid critique group. After I signed an agent, or after my first book was published. But I’ve done all of the above (and undone some of them) and also watched as friends advanced their own careers, and I’m now confident that the particular swoops of the rollercoaster may change, but authors never get off for long.

So here are my suggestions for how to survive riding the authorial rollercoaster!
1–Ever notice how much easier it is to scream and wave your hands on a roller coaster when other people are doing it, too?  This applies to submissions—whether to agents or publishers as well!  Find other authors in the same stage you’re at, or only a little further down the path.  Having a group like that to hang out with socially is great, because the challenges you’re facing now go way beyond needing help with a manuscript and are hard to explain to someone who hasn’t been there.

2–Promise yourself you’ll buy that cute little stuffed unicorn if you get on the ride and don’t jump off in the middle.  Why the reward?  Well, you’d celebrate if you got a contract, right? Probably rush out and buy yourself that fluffy unicorn you’ve been eyeing! But when you’re riding the submission roller coaster, getting a contract is beyond your control.  In fact–and this is important–the moment where you get a contract is actually a reflection of all the many things you did right up to that point. So isolate those things you did right/will do right to get there, and as you go forward, reward yourself in bite-sized pieces for taking those steps.

3–What about that writing thing you’re supposed to be doing?  How does that fit into this roller coaster riding?  You’ll spend a lot of time standing in line—that is, waiting on reviewers, publishers, and everyone else.  And when you’re doing that, it’s tempting to focus entirely on how nervous you are about the roller coaster, and how you hope this time you don’t cry and you’ll be brave enough to lift your hands.  But you’ve got to take your mind off the roller coaster and focus on your next book. So, one of your daily things you get rewarded for (like the fluffy unicorn, above) should be writing, revising, and working on the next book.

BONUS, because this particular section of the roller coaster has steep curves and someone just lost their hat: Once in awhile, remind yourself of all the rejections that world famous bestselling authors received.  I know, I know!  This will feel like an indulgence, and maybe a tad narcissistic since they’re all so amazing and you’re just you.  But you know what?  They were noobs once, too, and setbacks happen to the best of us.  A little reminder that rejection is part of the process, and not a value statement of your book can really help you survive those sharp turns.
After eight years of riding every rollercoaster in town, my first romantic suspense launched into the world just two weeks ago. Now I’m enjoying some new swoops and turns as the reviews come in. It’s already been quite the ride, but I promise to throw my hands up if you will. 😉

lily-with-zeke-largeLily Black believes in true love, but is also quite sure going after it is the scariest thing we’ll ever do!  She explores this dynamic in her romantic suspense novels, which are set in the small imaginary town of Willowdale, where people dream big, love deeply, and kick butt if necessary.  She has a black belt in Chung Do Kwan Tai Kwon Do, and has also trained in everything from judo to broadswords.  She lives in North Carolina, where she works as a content editor for a small publisher, and divides her free time between the mountains and the sea with her very patient and loving husband and their teen daughter. She is also the co-creator of the Book Ninjas’ Blush-O-Meter. Readers everywhere search the Book Ninja’s online catalog for romance, YA and chicklit novels in all genres, and find books that match their blush level!

Her debut romantic suspense–Storm of Attraction–launched February 13th, 2017 from Red Adept Publishing.  She welcomes you to join her on the journey!

Author website: http://www.lilyblackbooks.com/

Book Ninja’s Catalog: http://www.book-ninjas.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Lily-Black-1713161408963150/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lilyblackbooks

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16078435.Lily_Black

 

Storm of Attraction

storm-of-attraction-hi-resLove is worth fighting for.

Alexa Wolving has just one rule: never give a guy a second chance. That works just fine in the safe life she’s built. In the charming town of Willowdale, her day job as a librarian balances perfectly with her evening job as a black belt instructor. But when she attracts the attention of a stalker, Alexa’s carefully built world begins to crumble.

Drew Cosimo knows he broke Alexa’s heart five years ago when he took his first Ranger assignment and disappeared from her life. Now that he’s out of the army, he’s moving back home to Willowdale. He’s not looking for a fight, but making peace would be easier if Alexa hadn’t told the entire town he was a money-grubbing jerk. Despite the tension between them, Drew is quick to offer his protection when a stalker forces Alexa from her home.

As the stalker’s attacks escalate, Alexa and Drew are forced to face their painful past and the simmering attraction between them. They must fight to save each other before everything they care about goes up in flames.

 

New Book Deal: Imajin Books and Kristina Stanley

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 26 Comments

I’m thrilled to announce I’ve sold the eBook and print rights for my upcoming novel LOOK THE OTHER WAY to Imajin Books.

What’s LOOK THE OTHER WAY about?

It’s the beginning of a new series set in the Bahamas. The mystery takes place aboard a Lagoon 380 catamaran, which happens to be the type of boat I lived on for 5 years.

Mattina sailing
Mattina in the Bahamas

Here’s the blurb:

A year after her Uncle Bobby mysteriously disappears in the turquoise waters surrounding the Bahamas, Shannon Payne joins her grieving aunt to trace his last voyage. Shannon hopes the serenity of the sea might help her recover from a devastating breakup with her fiancé.

Sailing their 38-foot catamaran, A Dog’s Cat, is Captain Jake Hunter, a disillusioned cop who has sworn off women. While Shannon tries to resist her growing attraction to the rugged captain, she uncovers some dark truths about her uncle’s death that might send all three of them to the depths.

Thank you to Imajin Books for once again supporting me!

Imajin Books is a Canadian publisher that publishes suspense, mystery, thriller, paranormal, horror, romance, fantasy, young adult and select non-fiction. They will be open for submissions April 2017, so keep your eye on the website if you’re looking to submit a novel this year.