Author Jennifer Lynne Matthews, Guest Blogger

Please join me in welcoming author Jennifer Lynne Matthews as the special guest blogger here at Thoughts in Progress today as she makes a stop on her virtual book tour.

Jennifer’s current release is FASHION UNRAVELED. Here’s a brief synopsis of the book: “FASHION UNRAVELED offers an inside look into the operations of a small fashion design business. This book offers tips, tools of the trade and valuable insight into the industry. This acts as a guide for developing a customer, market and collection. The book introduces the reader to sourcing and production, as well as explains marketing concepts. Whether the reader is an entrepreneur, designer, student or craftsperson, this book will guide one through the business implementation process.

FASHION UNRAVELED introduces an in-depth look at creating a costing model, solid pricing and realistic budgeting. FASHION UNRAVELED is user friendly and was designed for the creative mind. Chapters are laid out with definitions and web links located in the sidebars of the book for ease in use. The second edition features over 400 pages of information transforming this into the "must read" resource for every designer entrepreneur. This book offers a new case study feature, following a small fashion business through their business launch, including their business plan. FASHION UNRAVELED also features several designer interviews, including a Q&A with British designer Timothy James Andrews and couturier Colleen Quen.”

As an educator at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (San Francisco & LA), Jennifer recognized that there was a need for a step by step educational manual to teach her students on how to start their own business. Consequently, she wrote the first edition of FASHION UNRAVELED in 2008 to provide such educational material; the second edition just recently came out. Jennifer stopped by today to talk about how “a business plan is not the end of the world.”

Business plans can be intimidating for anyone, which probably explains why there are thousands of books on how to write one. But do YOU really need one? Answer this question:
 
Do you sell things you make, resell merchandise you buy or sell your services for a profit?
    a.  Yes, I make a living doing it.
    b.  Yes, I’m making some money but I’d like to make a living doing it.
    c.  Yes, but it’s just a hobby that brings in a little extra cash.
    d.  No.
 
If you answered d, please proceed to the next article, I don’t know why you would even be reading about business plans. If you answered a, b or c, well then, we need to talk business plans.
 
I think the scariest words to an entrepreneur is “business plan,” so let’s make this subject a little less frightening. Here are 5 reasons we use a business plan.
 
1. Entrepreneurs are creative individuals, and as you may know, creative individuals are highly susceptible to short attention spans and the curse of unending multi-tasking. A business plan keeps these brave souls in check and organized.
 
2. In the excitement of starting a business, entrepreneurs want to buy anything and everything to get the business going. The business plan makes you lay out your planned expenses so you don’t go bankrupt before you even launch your business.
 
3. Business plans make us take everything into account and bring everything into perspective. It lays out what you expect to get out of your business, when you expect to see a positive cash flow and how you plan to get your customers?
 
4. Everyone has a million dollar idea, but how many of those people are able to make a million dollars off of it. With careful budgeting and forecasting, you can see if your million dollar idea is going to be your life force, transform itself into a thousand dollar idea or become the bane of your existence.
 
5. Because it’s for you and no one else!
 
The words “business plan” gets the reaction out of most as if someone scratched their fingernails down the chalkboard. But you know what? You can call it something else. Call it your gold plan, your kids college fund or your retirement plan, but for a business to be successful, it is a good idea to create a business plan even if you never show it to anyone but your cat Murray. 

Jennifer, thanks for guest blogging today. I think the words “business plan” can sometimes be a little overwhelming. I like the idea of calling it sometime else.

Now for a little background on Jennifer, also a lingerie designer and entrepreneur, who began her path in the fashion industry in 1994. She attended Florida State University, then the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, completing her degree in 1999. With a specialization in intimate apparel, she began working in the industry as a stylist and freelance designer.

In 2002, Jennifer opened her own business, Porcelynne Lingerie. FASHION UNRAVELED is built on Jennifer’s experience in both opening and sustaining a successful business. She brings the knowledge of running a small business and her expertise in the industry into her book and it continues into her classroom teaching.

Jennifer has won numerous awards for her designs and has received worldwide accolades for her work, including the Best of the East Bay and the Best of San Francisco Mastermind awards for her lingerie designs. Her most recent project has been on a reality TV show (currently being pitched to networks) as a co-producer and fashion consultant for a lingerie design competition show.

Future plans include authoring a collection of books on lingerie design, draping and clothing construction. She also aspires to open a showroom and education studio in the garment district of Los Angeles. For more information on Jennifer and her work, see www.fashionunraveled.com and www.porcelynne.com.

So what are your thoughts on a business plan? Does just the mention of the words bring on stress?

Author Brad Taylor & A Book Signing

Photo by Rod Pasibe

It’s my pleasure to welcome author Brad Taylor as the special guest blogger today at Thoughts in Progress as his book is released.

Brad’s book, ONE ROUGH MAN, has a level of authenticity unrivaled in thriller fiction and that’s because of him. Lieutenant Colonel (ret.) Brad Taylor has firsthand knowledge of cutting edge counter-terrorism strategies because of his experience in combat operations from more than 20 years in the U.S. Army Infantry and Special Forces.

Library Journal raves, “[Taylor] brings such incredible realism and authenticity that readers feel like they are looking over the shoulders of a real antiterrorist operation.”

To say that this is going to be an exciting series is an understatement. Brad’s unique military experience makes it hard to determine what is fact and what is fiction, and his writing keeps readers turning the pages. 

There’s an added bonus for those readers of this blog that are in the Atlanta, GA, area - Brad will be at a book signing on Sunday, Feb. 27, at the Eagle Eye Book Shop located at 2076 N. Decatur Road in Decatur, GA, beginning at 2 p.m. For more about the signing, contact the Eagle Eye Book Shop at (404) 486-0307 or visit their website at www.eagleeyebooks.com .

Brad stops by today to discuss his thorough research methods – including personal interviews and location scouting, such as with the Atlanta airport escape scene.

Ask twenty different authors what they think about the relative importance of research for a novel, and you’ll get twenty different opinions. On one side of the scale, some will say it’s irrelevant and that people read for good writing, not good research, and that water-tight research will never overcome bad writing. 

I’m on the other side of the scale. Yes, the writing comes first, but nailing the details only adds to the effect. There is no downside. Not bothering to conduct rudimentary research into the subject matter, in my mind, is insulting to the reader. It smacks of laziness, especially if the reader has some grasp of the subject. In fact, as a reader I can only get so far in a book if the information blatantly conflicts with the facts that I know. I’m not asking anyone to be an expert, but at least show me you can find Wikipedia. Or buy a Guns and Ammo magazine. I’ll forgive almost anything if the author shows me he tried.

Because of this, I’m rabid about research.  The knowledge base I gained from my previous career is absolutely essential as a starting point, but I don’t have an encyclopedic memory. Suffice it to say, I have to do an enormous amount of fact checking, from something as minute as how long a certain flight would take and the time-zones involved to whether a particular weapon fires from the open-bolt position. Invariably, whenever I try to wing it based on my memory and experiences alone, I find out I’m wrong. I’ve learned to fact-check just about everything. Luckily, if I can’t find the answer on my own, odds are very good that I know someone who can.

There is a trap with this, and I’ve fallen into it more times than I can count, and that is you want to show off the research you’ve done, babbling on about interesting but irrelevant tidbits, with the plot suffering as a result. I’ve just come to understand that out of all the research I do, only about two percent will make it into the book. Especially when talking about locations.

I’m a little bit of a perfectionist when it comes to real-world settings, and I research them relentlessly. I’ve traveled all over the world, which is a good thing when I want to describe a setting, but make no mistake; I have to really study locations to get them right. For example, I’ve been to both Central and South America, but I have never been to Guatemala or Belize, major settings in ONE ROUGH MAN. I had to research both forever, and ultimately didn’t use 99% of what I found, and in the end I’m sure that someone who’s actually spent some time there will find flaws. I’m okay with that, because I gave it my best shot. 

When I have the ability to do first-hand research, I do so. The Atlanta airport scene is a pretty good example of that. Basically, Jennifer and Pike get stopped at customs and have to break out of the secondary interrogation facility. I tried to write how they would evade capture, and escape what’s become one of the most secure areas since 9/11, using my own recollection of the airport. When I was done, I realized that I really didn’t know enough about the security of the airport, and that the way I had written it was a little hokey. I have been through that airport probably 500 times, but I’d never looked at the security from an evasion standpoint. One thing I was convinced of, though, was they weren’t going to escape by using normal passenger corridors. I called up some pilot friends of mine and proposed a simple question: how can I get out of the Atlanta airport without going the usual passenger route? They gave me the breakdown of what crew members do, to include locations of employee lounges and employee bus routes. From there, I simply flew to the airport and retraced Pike and Jennifer’s steps from customs, noting the security in place such as cameras, alarms, and checkpoints. After casing the place it was pretty easy to figure out how they could do it. 
Since I’m not independently wealthy, I couldn’t afford to do what I did with the Atlanta scene for the scenes in Bosnia, Oslo, or Guatemala. In those cases, I had to rely on the internet, my memory and friends with specialized knowledge. There’s a military phrase called Open Source Intelligence, which basically means, “read the paper and see what you can find out.” In today’s times, that means the internet, and it’s amazing what’s out there, from airport databases and flikr, to Google Earth and 360cities. Surprisingly, my favorite source is a blog from backpacking college students. Those folks go everywhere, and talk about everything from security at border crossings to the best way to get a taxi, complete with pictures. Suffice to say, just about anything can be found if one looks hard enough.

For instance, I’ve been inside the White House situation room – once – but I’m certainly not well versed on the White House floor plan, something I needed to be if Kurt was going to keep seeing the president. Obviously, getting in and stomping around the president’s personal space was problematic. Luckily, there’s an entire website dedicated to the history of the White House, complete with the floor plan through the years and photos.

I try to do that with any scene I write, but I’ll be honest, if I need something, I’ll create it. For instance, the Four Courts pub where Pike is ambushed is a real location in Clarendon, Virginia. The streets around it are accurate, as are the Metro stops to get there. I cased that area as well, trying to figure out how I would ambush Pike (and get a Guinness at the pub). I planned the ambush realistically, but added an alley to the left of the pub. It doesn’t exist in real life, but it does in my book. I know that sounds hypocritical, but I did this because in the end the writing does come first. The alley was critical to the story. 

I’ll fake things for reasons other than the story as well. Writers without my background can guess how widget X works, and if they get it right everyone wonders how they got the information. My problem is the opposite: I do know how things work, and most of that knowledge is classified, so I have to spend a lot of time tempering what I know when I write, even if it seems mundane. For instance, I’m currently working on a scene for book two where terrorists attack an Army Ammunition Supply Point. I traveled to and studied the ASP, then simply wrote how I would hit it to get to the ammunition inside. After I was done, I read it and thought, “What the hell are you doing? You’ve just written a blueprint on how to attack a U.S. Federal facility!” My insider knowledge, coupled with my tactical skill set, had made it too real. I had to go back and throw in some red herrings. I know I’ll get dinged on that by someone with the same knowledge as me, saying, “That would never work,” but that’s the point. 

In the end, I fall on the “research” bandwagon, although I realize there’s no way I’m going to be perfect. Mistakes will happen, no matter how much research I do, and I want to kick myself when that occurs, but it’s just the way of writing. Pike steals a Chevy Cutlass in Guatemala City to escape, and after all of the research on the city itself, I’m told by an advanced copy reader – after I’d blessed the final manuscript – that Chevrolet didn’t make the Cutlass. Oldsmobile did. 

Mistakes like that don’t make me throw my hands up at the futility of it all, because I owe it to the reader. My cut-line on real versus make-believe is the story itself. If you make something up for the purposes of the plot, knowing it’s wrong, and it makes the story stronger, then you’ve enhanced the enjoyment of the reader. On the other hand, using the story as an excuse for a lack of research is really just a shortcut – and the reader will know it. Maybe not all readers will care, but even if only one does, you’ve failed.

Brad, thanks so much for guest blogging here today. Research does add another layer to the story. From a reader’s viewpoint, I appreciate when an author has gone that extra step to do research for their book. It means to me they care.

For more on Brad and his writing, check out his website at www.bradtaylorbooks.com 

What are your thoughts on research? Do you think readers pay more attention to details than they once did?

REMEMBER -- if you live in the Atlanta area you can meet Brad on Feb. 27 at his book signing. Tell him you heard about it here!

I Got Nothing

Has this ever happened to you - the more you try to concentrate, the more your mind wanders in a thousand and one directions?

That was the state of my mind as I tried to compose this post last night. Due to unforeseen complications my guest author, Sheila Hendrix, was unable to be here today. Hopefully we can reschedule her post for a later date.

I know, I know … I should have a post on hand at all time to fill in just in case this happens. But I don’t and I didn’t. There is so much going on I always think I can come up with something out of thin air. Well, thin air appears to be all I got this time.

When I started to compile this post (I do it in longhand with pad and pencil first), nothing and everything came to mind. I couldn’t seem to pull all my thoughts into one point of view.

That’s when the guilt began to creep in. How can I send a post out into blogdom that has no substance? I feel as though I’m letting you - my friends and readers - down.

As I thought of this, I wondered how do writers handle that feeling? Is this thoughts that cross writers’ minds as they compose chapter after chapter? WOW, more pressure than I can image.

Since I’ve been blogging I’ve come to have a better understanding and appreciation for writers. I’ve always known there were deadlines and the pressure of coming up with new plots. But, I’m learning that writers face more and more pressures than I ever realized. I’m sure writing does have it’s glamorous side, but it’s not as simple and easy as the movies and TV make it out to be.

In my wandering way, I just wanted to say a big “THANK YOU” to all the writers out there. No matter if you’ve written for years or just getting started, or whether you’re on the New York Times bestsellers list or just getting the word out about your book. Writers helps us (the reader) escape to other worlds, eras and locations.

So with that in mind I’m ending this post, microwaving some popcorn and catching up on last night’s episode of Castle. As I said earlier, I know writing does have some glam to it, just look at Castle. :)

Istoria Books, Open For Submissions

It’s my pleasure to welcome author Libby Sternberg back to Thoughts in Progress. She's not here today to talk about her latest book, but instead her latest venture - Istoria Books, which is now open for submissions.

Thanks for having me here once again. This is a terrific place for authors and readers. In fact, I’ve been here as your guest as an author in the past, trying to promote various books.

But today I’m here to talk about a new ePress I’m starting--Istoria Books.

It’s no secret that sales of eBooks are growing. Just recently the New York Times ran an article about how young adult eBook sales now make up a quarter of those books sold by HarperCollins. Other publishers (and genres) report similar expansion in the eBook market.

Some authors are taking advantage of this market expansion by putting their books for sale on amazon and the like themselves. I salute them. It’s a tough slog to get your book professionally edited and formatted, to secure cover art and to handle ISBN registration, insurance and marketing.

For authors who don’t want to deal with all that work, Istoria Books offers an alternative. We’re a selective publisher, so you won’t be “self publishing” with us. We split royalties rather than pay advances, but we do not ask authors to “earn out” the costs of production. We cover those ourselves.

We want Istoria to be a place where readers can always find “Books you want to read at prices you want to pay.”

What does “books you want to read” mean? I think all readers, myself included, far too regularly encounter books they don’t get into, they don’t want to finish. Or, if they do want to finish the story, they just skip to the end to see how things wrap up.

While we understand that reading tastes are very subjective (and you can’t please everyone all the time), Istoria Books seeks to find stories you don’t want to give up on--good yarns. We want to find stories that you want to hear the author tell--you don’t just flip to the end to see what happens.

We suspect that some of these stories might have a hard time finding print publishers because of the marketing limitations traditional publishers face. They’re under tremendous pressure to find predictable successes. No wonder then that you see book after book with Tudor ladies on the cover (curiously, without faces!) or vampires or …whatever the bestselling trend happens to be.

Istoria Books can afford to take some chances on different kinds of stories. As we say in our submission guidelines, if your romance is told from the hero's POV, we'll still look at it. If your young adult novel features a college-age protagonist, we'll consider it. If your women's fiction book puts romance way on the back burner, we're open to it. If your inspirational involves a sinning protagonist, we'll still take a look.

The two questions we ask when reviewing manuscripts are: do I want to keep reading this story, and do I want to keep hearing this author tell it to me? A good story, well-told. 

We hope authors will check out our submission guidelines, at the “About Us” page on our website--www.IstoriaBooks.com. We hope readers will check out our offerings and get on our mailing list by signing up at our website or blog (www.IstoriaBooks.blogspot.com). Freebies and discounts will be available at various time to our subscribers.

In fact, Istoria Books is pleased to announce acquiring digital rights to Gary Alexander’s up-market/literary fiction DRAGON LADY.

Set in 1965 Saigon on the eve of the big troop build-ups in Vietnam, DRAGON LADY is bittersweet, funny, absurd and heartbreaking all at once, telling the story of a young draftee’s obsession with a Vietnamese woman, who could betray him in more ways than one. Gary’s intelligent voice--filled with dry wit--and his own experiences give this story a sharp sense of truth--the “truth within the lie” that all good fiction is. Gary served in Vietnam in ’65. When he arrived, he joined 17,000 GIs. When he left, 75,000 were in country.

Watch for news of the release of DRAGON LADY soon!

Libby, thanks for guest blogging here today and sharing your information on Istoria Books. The ebook world is expanding fast and each day I’m understanding more and more good points about it.

What are your thoughts on ebooks and publishing?

Valentine's Day And Twitter Parties

Today is Valentine’s Day, a day for lovers.

According to Wikipedia, “Saint Valentine’s Day, commonly shortened to Valentine’s Day, is an annual commemoration held on February 14 celebrating love and affection between intimate companions. The day is named after one or more early Christian martyrs, Saint Valentine, and was established by Pope Gelasius I in 496 AD.”

WOW, I have a feeling when Valentine’s Day was celebrated in 496 AD it was nothing like we celebrate now. Each year it seems it gets a little more out of hand - the flowers, the candy and the gifts. When I was in high school, students exchanged cards and boxes of candy. If you got a flower at school, it was usually a single rose but mainly the flowers were given after school at home. Nowdays, high schools look like a florists with so many bouquets of flowers being sent by the students to other students.

Don’t get me wrong. There’s nothing wrong with exchanging flowers, candy and cards. But it’s the simple things - everyday things - that have so much more meaning to me. The flowers that I prefer are the ones that come from the nursery so I can plant them, rather than from a florist where their beauty only lasts a week or so. I love roses, but I also love unusual varieties of herbs. Spending a lot of money on a gift doesn’t always make the gift special. How you give the gift and who’s giving it, now that’s special.

I’ve said all of that to lead up to a book giveaway and some interesting events going on Twitter today to celebrate the ‘day of love.’

What better way to celebrate Valentine’s Day than with a #SciKiss Twitter Party with THE SCIENCE OF KISSING author Sheril Kirshenbaum (@Sheril_).

@GrandCentralPub is hosting an all-day #SciKiss Twitter party today (Monday, Feb. 14) with all tweets related to THE SCIENCE OF KISSING and everyone is invited to attend! The day will be filled with all sorts of fun – trivia, giveaways, discussions, and much more.

In addition, Brianne from Hachette Book Group will be hosting a very special Valentine’s Day BlogTalkRadio show at 3:30 p.m. with Sheril and SEALING THE DEAL author, Diana Kirschner: http://ht.ly/3U85r. You won’t want to miss this fascinating and exciting discussion, so mark your calendars!

Also, in honor of Valentine’s Day and thanks to Brianne and the folks at Hachette Book Group, I can offer 3 more copies of THE SCIENCE OF KISSING as a giveaway. So if you missed your chance earlier at a copy, try again. Be sure to check out the giveaway guidelines at the end of the post and remember, books will be given away throughout the day on Twitter as well.

There’s also another Twitter party going on today to celebrate the day of love.

Forever Romance and Grand Central Publishing invite everyone to attend their “Valentine’s Day Twitter Party.” Be on @ForeverRomance and hashtag your tweets #4evrloveday to join the fun.

The party will get underway at 9 a.m. and run till 5 p.m. today, Feb. 14. Various authors will be at the party and they can’t wait to meet everyone.

Now to the giveaway here for a chance at 1 of the 3 copies of THE SCIENCE OF KISSING, send me an e-mail (mcbookshelf@gmail.com). Your subject line should read, “Win Valentine‘s Giveaway.” Your message should include your name and mailing address. The contest is open to residents of the U.S. and Canada only and no post office box addresses can be accepted. In addition, Hachette is advising winners that they will be subject to the one copy per household rule, which means that if they win the same title in two or more contests, they will receive only one copy of the title (or one set in the case of grouped giveaways) in the mail. (Winners here have always be great about letting me know if they have already won the book somewhere else so another winner can be selected. However, this announcement is something that has to be passed along from Hachette). And, just so you know, I don’t share the mailing information or use it for any other purpose. The deadline to enter this giveaway for a chance at one of the 3 copies of THE SCIENCE OF KISSING will be 8 p.m. (EST) on Tuesday, Feb. 22.

Here’s another look at the book trailer for THE SCIENCE OF KISSING, enjoy.

Hope everyone has a wonderful and HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY filled with all the things you love and wish for. Keeping in the spirit of the day, I’m sending you virtual flutes of champagne, bouquets of roses, and boxes of chocolate.

Sunday Salon: Time for Reviews

SHOT THROUGH VELVET by Ellen Byerrum

Fashion reporter Lacey Smithsonian has been one of my favorite protagonist for sometime.

Lacey knows her way around the fashion world and has an uncanny knack for finding dead bodies. She can pull off wearing vintage clothes while tracking down killers.

On her latest assignment Lacey is covering the last day of operation for a failing Virginia velvet factory. She’s on the tour with her hunky boyfriend, Vic Donovan, who will take over the security operations of the factory the next day. In the last vat of dye, the group finds not only a spool of midnight blue velvet but the body of the factory’s manager, nicknamed Blue Devil by the employees.

Workers dub the killer the ‘Velvet Avenger’ since they blame the manager, as well as the factory owners for closing the plant and costing them their jobs. Lacey has her hands full when she learns the newspaper’s publisher is one of the factory owners and appears to be targeted by the killer.

While trying to expose the killer, Lacey is also dealing with the dread of impending doom as she fears the Valentine’s Day curse will strike her again.

Author Ellen Byerrum touches on the economic hard times many are currently facing, but at the same time adds bits of humor to make Lacey’s story a fun read. SHOT THROUGH VELVET is the seventh installment in the Crime of Fashion Mystery series, but is a stand alone book.

Author Ellen Byerrum’s website is http://www.ellenbyerrum.com/

Shot Through Velvet by Ellen Byerrum, A Crime of Fashion Mystery, Obsidian, @2011, ISBN: 978-0-451-23250-2, Paperback, 336 pages

FTC Full Disclosure - This book was sent to me by the publisher in hopes I would review it. However, receiving the complimentary copy did not influence my review.

DÉJÀ VU by Fern Michaels

The Sisterhood, no longer fugitives, can begin to get on with their lives thanks to a presidential pardon.

As the ladies begin to settle in, they still have to deal with the fact that master criminal Hank Jellicoe is still at large. When approached by the Presidents the Sisterhood decides it’s time to bring the cunning mastermind to his knees.

Using their own unique tricks of the trade, the Sisterhood does what it does best - finds justice for those wronged giving the readers a few laughs along the way.
 
Déjà vu is the 19th installment in the Sisterhood Series. The story can be read without having read the previous books, but there will be gaps in the story.

Fern Michaels' website is http://fernmichaels.com/

Déjà vu by Fern Michaels, The Sisterhood Series, Read by Laura Merlington, Brilliance Audio, @2010, ISBN: 1-4418-1896-0, Abridged, 4 Cds, 4 Hours Run Time

FTC Full Disclosure - This audio book was given to me by my best friend who also enjoys the Sisterhood series and was the one who introduced me to this intriguing group of ladies.

Now what have you read (or listened) to this past week?

An Adventure And Sharing

Image from Google

Do you enjoy getting lost in a swashbuckling adventure from time to time? Do you enjoy sharing happiness, especially this close to Valentine’s Day?

Who doesn’t enjoy losing themselves in another world for a few hours a day or passing along well wishes to a friend? Well, I’ve got just the thing for you on both counts.

First, thanks to Ayelet of Gallery Books (a division of Simon and Schuster), I have a copy of author Richard Doetsch's latest release, THE THIEVES OF DARKNESS, to giveaway. This will be the paperback version that is slated for release on Feb. 22.

This irresistible thriller has been compared to Raiders of the Lost Ark meets The Thomas Crown Affair. Doetsch is also the author of THE 13TH HOUR.

Here’s a brief synopsis of THE THIEVES OF DARKNESS: A reformed master thief travels to Istanbul to keep an ancient artifact from falling into the wrong hands. Along the way he discovers that his new girlfriend has a few secrets of her own and is forced to put both their lives in danger for a greater good.

Michael St. Pierre thinks he has left his days as a master thief behind him. He's just started dating again following the death of his wife and has embarked on a new relationship with a beautiful, smart woman named KC. But then, he gets word that his best friend, Simon, is being held captive in a brutal and isolated middle eastern prison, sentenced to death. For the first time, Michael must break into a prison—this time to rescue his friend. Imagine his surprise when he finds KC in the neighboring cell. After a thrilling rescue, the three journey to Istanbul to complete the mission that led to their incarceration. 

Simon and KC are on the trail of a map that holds a secret as ancient as mankind, a secret that has roots in the foundations of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. In order to get their hands on the map and save Simon's life, Michael and KC must complete an amazing series of stunts and thefts, outwitting the authorities and a ruthless and equally skilled enemy. Old family secrets and loyalties come into play as they race through the secret underground tunnels of Istanbul, and eventually travel deep into the Himalayas to a mysterious land that might be the legendary Shangri-La itself. 

Doesn’t this sound like a terrific adventure to keep you guessing from the first paragraph to the last? I’ve got a feeling this is a fast pace, heart-pounding thriller.

Author Richard Doetsch’s website is http://richarddoetsch.com

Now for the giveaway which, I’m sorry to say, is only open to residents of the US. Send me an e-mail (mcbookshelf@gmail.com) with " Win The Thieves of Darkness” in the subject line. Your message should include your name and mailing address. Just so you know, I don’t share your mailing information or use it for any other purpose. The deadline to enter is 8 p.m. (EST) on Tuesday, Feb. 22 (paperback release date).

Now for sharing ‘well wishes’ with friends, just a couple of notes to share about fellow bloggers.

Vicki Delany’s book, NEGATIVE IMAGE, is up for a CBC bookies award for best mystery/thriller/horror. The voting is open until Sunday and she could use everyone’s vote. It's fast and easy and there is no sign in. Just scroll down to Mystery/thriller/horror, click the button NEGATIVE IMAGE and then click vote. Check out her blog @ One Woman Crime Wave for more information. 

Fellow blogger Roland Yeomans just published his first e-book, THE BEAR WITH TWO SHADOWS. Be sure to check it out, as well as Roland’s blog @ Writing In The Crosshairs.

I also want to draw your attention to the page listings under ‘Giveaways, Awards, Books.’ I’ve added a page entitled, AUTHORS AND THEIR BOOKS. Here I hope to add fellow bloggers who have new releases out, especially those who are self-publishing. If I don’t have your book listed, either leave me a comment or send me an e-mail with the information. I don’t mean to leave anyone out. Just remember, I aged this month and I’m naturally blonde so I may not remember as well as I should. LOL

Oh, and right below the page listings you’ll find a mystery is afoot.

So, are you ready for a little adventure and intrigue, as well as sharing in some fun with online friends?

 

 

Author Dorte H. Jakobsen Visits

It’s my pleasure to welcome author and fellow blogger Dorte Hummelshoj Jakobsen as the special guest blogger here today at Thoughts in Progress as she ventures out to promote her recently release.

Dorte just recently self-published her first book, CANDIED CRIME. DJ´S DAIM STORIES VOL I. Thanks to Dorte I finally have an international giveaway I can share with everyone. Dorte is graciously giveaway 3 electronic copies of CANDIED CRIME to some lucky visitors commenting on her post between now and 8 p.m. (EST) on Wednesday, Feb. 16. Be sure to include your e-mail address in your comments if it’s not included in your profile.

Dorte has stopped by today to answer some questions about your writing and her recently release.

Thank you very much Mason for opening your doors to an obscure crime writer from tiny Denmark! I really appreciate what you and other members of the blogging community do for indie authors like me. 
 
I am a Danish teacher of English, and in my spare time I read, review and write crime fiction. I am 49 years old - at least for a few hours.

I sold a few flash fiction stories to American magazines and publishers last year, and one week ago I published "CANDIED CRIME. DJ´S DAIM STORIES VOL I" via Smashwords.
 
I think the title says it quite clearly; this is crime fiction for fun - thirteen very short stories, lots of quirky characters and unexpected twists. Adverse affects: occasional snorts and giggles, but hardly any nightmares.
  
Mason - What inspired you to write these cozy flash fiction stories?

Dorte - I participated in an online writing course two years ago (in Danish), and when I had finished ten short writing tasks, I realized that what I had just learnt was called flash fiction in the English-speaking world. Before that I had never considered writing anything shorter than novels, but many of my virtual class mates thought my characters were funny and liked my twists, and when I began to publish some of them in English via my blog, I developed a small groups of readers who asked for more fun. It is still my ambition to write and publish crime novels, but right now it feels good to have some texts out there - and see that people actually download the free sample or buy the whole collection.
 
Mason - What was the easiest thing about self-publishing and what was the most difficult?

Dorte - Well, it took some hours to format the texts, but what struck me was that the whole process went so much smoother than I had expected. I used Smashwords´ free style guide and when I thought my file was okay, I just pushed that button - and realized I had happened to publish a book! Not a perfect copy, mind you, and I promise I will be more thorough and professional when I publish my next collection - and hopefully avoid ´white-hared´ women or other embarrassing typos. All in all, I am so impressed by Smashwords´ professional and user-friendly publishing platform. THIS IS EASY, FOLKS - IF YOU HAVE A NOVEL OR COLLECTION OF STORIES, JUST TRY IT! It´s much simpler than you can imagine.
 
And something that went even smoother - I sent a short e-mail to a local journalist, asking if they were interested in my venture. They filled a whole page, and when the regional radio and TV stations saw that, they called me and asked very politely for reviews - because e-books are a new phenomenon in Scandinavia. My, free radio and TV spots for the big fish in the local goldfish bowl!
 
Mason - Is there one author in particular that has influenced your writing and if so, how?

Dorte - Now, if I say P.D. James and Ruth Rendell, it might sound as if I compare my work to theirs. But though I have read thousands of crime novels over the years, there is something about the traditional British crime story that makes me return for more. More series, more authors. I can´t help it, I am an incorrigible Anglophile. (I am not even sure I want a cure).
 
As "CANDED CRIME" is cosy crime, I might mention the wonderful British television series "Midsomer Murders" and Inspector Tom Barnaby as another source of inspiration. Talk about quirky characters and mushroom collectors!
 
Mason - Do you keep to a certain schedule or location when writing?

Dorte - As I use a laptop, I can write anywhere so I have written most of my stories in our living room, surrounded by my family who are either reading or watching television. I wish I could say I had a schedule, but I work part-time and have to put my teaching first. Besides, I suffer from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, so I have days or sometimes even weeks when I am unable to write a word. On a good day I try to write for an hour or two, and if I can hit the one-thousand-word mark, I consider it a good day.
 
Mason - What can readers expect next from you?

Dorte - If only I could say a novel, but I think it is more likely that it will be a second volume of "DAIM STORIES", this time some that are more serious in tone than "CANDIED CRIME" (some of my dark materials). 

 
Dorte, thanks so much for guest blogging here today and providing the giveaway. You have given me a great appreciation for e-books and mushrooms (you’ll find out why in her book).

Now for a bit more information on Dorte. She teaches English at upper secondary level. In her spare time she reads and writes crime fiction in English and Danish, and in 2010 she sold her first flash stories to American magazines and publishers. For more on Dorte and her writing, check out her blog DJ’s krimiblog. And BTW, tomorrow - Saturday, Feb. 12 - is her 50th birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY DORTE!!!                     

Author Tina Collen On Tour

Author-artist Tina Collen stops by Thoughts in Progress today on her virtual tour of blogdom to promote her award-winning memoir, STORM OF THE I: AN ARTOBIOGRAPHY.

Tina stops by to talk about her writing. Be sure to check the end of the post for details about a contest Tina is hosting.

Every time I see a stack of my books, I can hardly believe it. They look so neat and well-behaved, so innocent, considering the torment and all-nighters it took to create them. I was so consumed by it all, for 5 years I disappeared from my normal life. It seemed like a giant detour—it turned out to be a life-changing experience. And I didn’t see any of it coming. 
 
I should have suspected, though ... because from the time I was a kid, I made everything in my life into an art project. I always have. What other kids would see as a pile of popsicle sticks, I’d see as a castle for hamsters waiting to happen.
 
I’ve just never done anything like writing a book before—I’m an artist and a graphic designer. But apparently what needed to come to the surface this time was my story, my memoir. Though, I couldn’t resist the urge to put art pieces into the book and playful interactive features like cut-outs, fold out panels (one is a series of paintings that gave me pause to consider whether we leave hidden messages to help ourselves along the way). There's even a pop-up that hands the reader a fortune cookie with a suggestion inside.
 
But I think all that entertainment was just my way of helping the medicine go down, because underneath this was actually a difficult story for me. One that I’ve been carrying around in my heart since I was a little girl.
 
When I was a kid, my father didn’t speak to me for days, sometimes weeks at a time. I rarely knew why he was so angry at me. I was a good kid. I got good grades. My sister and brother and I were all well behaved. Yet somehow, I was singled out.  
 
At the time I finished writing this book, he hadn’t spoken to me for fifteen years. My mother even asked me not to call the house, because he’d told her that if I did he would rip the phone right out of the wall. So I stopped calling. Though I was never physically abused, my father’s anger was the crucible in which I was forged.
 
Here's a passage about dinner time at my house when I was a kid. At the top of the page it says:

Navigating childhood is a daunting feat for anyone,
particularly a child 

 
"When my sixth-grade science class was introduced to Darwin’s Theory of Evolution, I was intrigued by the idea that basic self-interest is the driving force in all forms of life. That night at the dinner table, I couldn’t wait to recount what I had learned about natural selection. But I was blind-sided by my father’s reaction. “Sure you’d think that,” he said glaring across the table at me, his voice suddenly sharp. “Survival of the most selfish,” he muttered. Everyone stopped talking. The only sound we heard was his knife cutting the flank steak, scraping the plate. 
 
“But I learned it in school,” I said. “Survival of the fittest—it’s in my textbook. It wasn’t my idea. I just think it makes sense.” 
 
“I’m sure you do,” he snapped back, color flowing into his cheeks, “but that’s no excuse for doing what you want all the time. Where would you be if I didn’t put food on the table? You think I like getting up every morning and going to work? What if I only thought about myself and did what I wanted?” 
 
By this time, everyone was chewing in silence, looking down at their plates. I could feel the tension in the room seeping into my body. Adding to my misery was the feeling that I was responsible for making everyone else suffer. 
 
Back in our room after one of these blowups, my sister said to me, “You know it doesn’t matter if you learned it in school.” She was upset too. She put her hand on my arm. “Why do you have to cross him?” she asked me softly. 

I was silent for a while. Finally, I replied, “I don’t know.”

As the years went by the attacks got worse, much worse. So as a child I found creative outlets to nurture and distract me, to entertain myself. They gave me a sense of control in a situation over which I had no control at all. In the art I created, I made everything look nice; tried to make everything perfect. In this way I was able to soothe myself, able to let go of my father’s vision of me and create my own vision. 
 
So art is what centered me and from this safe place I went on to create a full life, to have a loving family of my own. I had a career that included not only graphic design but fine art—there were exhibitions on my work in Paris, Barcelona and a tour of museums in Germany. I designed toys for Mattel and made several entrepreneurial forays into the business world. I'd left my childhood behind. 
 
But the bookcase here in my house in Boulder, Colorado, a repository for the things with which I've surround myself … that bookcase tells another story—the story of my inner life. It's what gave birth to my artobiography, Storm of the i, the book that set me free.
 
We’re giving an autographed book away in a contest, asking people to leave a comment answering this question:  Oftentimes the objects we hold onto contain cryptic clues that point towards something deeper about ourselves. Take a look around your house (or your room) at the things with which you have surrounded yourself. Is there anything you are still hanging onto that seems to contain a hidden message for you? What do you think it is?

If you'd like to see a bit more about how Artobiography came into existence click here.
 
To purchase a personally autographed copy of Storm of the i go to www.TinaCollen.com and in the comment box include how you'd like it signed. Books are also available at Barnes & Noble, Borders and Amazon. If your favorite bookstore doesn't have it on the shelf they can order it for you. I look forward to hearing from you. Tina

The last stop on Tina’s blog tour is tomorrow, Feb. 11, when she’ll be visiting with Linda Lou at http://www.vegaslindalou.blogspot.com
 
Tina, thanks for guest blogging here  today. It’s always interesting learning how a story came about.

Now for a bit of background on Tina. She has been an artist all her life. Educated in graphic design at Pratt Institute, she has designed toys for Mattel and made many other entrepreneurial forays into the commercial world. Her artwork has been exhibited in Paris, Barcelona, Frankfurt and on a year-long tour of museums throughout Germany. In New York City it was shown at The PhotoForum on 5th Avenue and at The Erotics Gallery in SoHo. She lives in Boulder, Colorado by way of Brooklyn, Los Angeles and Aspen. For more on Tina, check out her website.

{Note from me, Sorry I haven't been around here or visiting your blogs lately. Work has gotten crazy and I haven't had a chance to check in during the day like I would like to. Hopefully, I'll get back to visiting everyone soon. In the meantime, thanks so much for stopping by here. Y'all are the best!}