Month: September 2016

The Girl on The Train & Two Critical Elements of ALL Great Stories

Published on by Jan SikesLeave a comment

One of the VERY best pieces I’ve ever read on the core structure of a story.

Kristen Lamb's Blog

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There are two essential components all great writers possess and unfortunately these are highly unnatural abilities. Most of us have to hone and refine and strengthen these skills because they are so counter to human nature. First, most humans run from conflict. Great writers go straight for it. Secondly, most humans really don’t pay attention to or explore the motivations of others. Great writers master what makes other people tick.

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We humans are hardwired to avoid conflict and that makes sense. Wandering around in the brush gathering berries, fruits and small game left one exposed and vulnerable. For our ancient ancestors? Every day the goal of “not dying” was preeminent among the Things To Do. But the problem is this. Just because we now have high-rises, smart cars and Facebook, it doesn’t mean that our biology has caught up.

It’s why modern humans are struggling with so many neuroses…

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#RRBC – WRITER RESPONSIBILITIES

Published on by Jan Sikes17 Comments

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With the question posed, I had to give it some serious thought.

So, I decided to see what Webster had to say about the word “Responsible.”

“Answerable or accountable, as for something within one’s power, control or management (often followed by to or for)”

Accountable for my own actions as a writer…

My first and foremost responsibility, as a writer, is to myself. As with any other facet of life,  honesty with, and respect for, myself is #1. My writing voice is unique. It is my responsibility to use that voice to tell a story.

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Secondly, my responsibility is to my story and characters. It is my job to get inside their heads and let them tell me what I need to know. If I don’t do this, then I am never going to bring my reader along for the ride. The words will fall flat on the pages.

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The third part of my responsibility as a writer is in supporting and uplifting others. We are all on this journey together. It isn’t a competition to see who gets to the top first.

Writers are as diverse as the stars in the heavens or snowflakes that drift to earth in winter.

Many times, a writer’s existence is rather lonely. Friends and family often cannot relate to the way we think of our characters as real people. We may be labeled as eccentric or obsessed.

We have a strong need to belong to a community who supports, promotes, encourages and lifts each other.

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For me, The Rave Reviews Book Club is that community. This is not the only organization I belong to or strongly believe in, but it is the most supportive of any I have found. I’ve never been part of any other group that will openly share my books…even create attractive graphic designs to hawk my stories.

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But, there’s a catch. Nothing in life is a free ride and as a member of the Rave Reviews Book Club, my responsibility is to support, promote and propel others.

Does this sound like something that you’ve been searching for as a writer?

Not only is this community made up of authors, but also readers, editors, book designers, bloggers, radio broadcasters, and publishers .

It is truly a WHOLE community of support.

I invite you to take a close look at The Rave Reviews Book Club and all that it embodies.

If you feel this is a good fit for you, join. But, don’t expect to sit back and do nothing. It is your responsibility to get involved, support others and enjoy the support you receive.

If you decide to join, please say I sent you.  – JAN SIKES, AUTHOR

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#RRBC Pay-It-Forward Week!

Published on by Jan Sikes25 Comments

Today, I am supporting RRBC author, Lily Iona Mackenzie.

WOW! What a varied and bold life she has lived. I won’t go into a lot of detail because I want to get to her amazing books, but here’s an excerpt from the bio on her website.

A high school dropout, and a mother at 17, in her early years, Lily supported herself as a stock girl in the Hudson’s Bay Company, as a long distance operator for the former Alberta Government Telephones, and as a secretary (Bechtel Corp sponsored her into the States). She also was a cocktail waitress at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco; briefly broke into the male-dominated world of the docks as a longshoreman (she was the first woman to work on the SF docks and almost got her legs broken); founded and managed a homeless shelter in Marin County; co-created THE STORY SHOPPE, a weekly radio program for children that aired on KTIM in Marin; and eventually earned two Master’s degrees (one in Creative writing and one in the Humanities).

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And now, for the books!

fling_frontcover_low_4-13-15-copy  When ninety-year-old Bubbles receives a letter from Mexico City asking her to pick up her mother’s ashes, lost there seventy years earlier and only now surfacing, she hatches a plan. A woman with a mission, Bubbles convinces her hippie daughter Feather to accompany her on the quest. Both women have recently shed husbands and have a secondary agenda: they’d like a little action. And they get it.

Alternating narratives weave together Feather and Bubbles’ odyssey. The two women head south from Canada to Mexico where Bubbles’ long-dead mother, grandmother, and grandfather turn up, enlivening the narrative with their hilarious antics.

In Mexico, where reality and magic co-exist, Feather gets a new sense of her mother, and Bubbles’ quest for her mother’s ashes-and a new man-increases her zest for life. Unlike most women her age, fun-loving Bubbles takes risks, believing she’s immortal. She doesn’t hold back in any way, eating heartily and lusting after strangers, exulting in her youthful spirit.

Has Bubbles discovered a fountain of youth that everyone can drink from?

Order on AMAZON

all_this_mackenzie  All This is wonderful collection of poems. Indicative of the title, the poems range from the conventional lyric/narrative that captures an intense moment of emotion, an epiphany glimpsed briefly out of the corner of the eye, to the more experimental. Some of the poetry use intertextuality, language from other works, to explore meaning, perception, and layers of experience. Other poems play with language, letting it lead into unexpected places, exploring new terrain. In a few, placement on the page conveys the feel of musical notation and phrasing, the page a theatre where the interaction of language makes meaning rather than recreates a remembered event. At times, words in a poem are treated as paint and the sheet of paper as an expressionistic canvas. A book of poetry to keep close by you at all times.

Order on AMAZON

These are just two of this amazing author’s work. I invite you to visit her website for more info.

Lily Iona MacKenzie Website

Lily Iona MacKenzie on Facebook

Lily Iona MacKenzie on Twitter

A note about the Rave Reviews Book Club (RRBC)

RRBC is a community of writers and readers who put their egos aside and support each other on social media, on our blog sites and by reading and reviewing books that appeal to each of us as readers. If this sounds like something you would love to be a part of, I invite you to visit the website and read all about us! Click here.

And if you join, tell them I sent you!!!

It worked! The power of people!!

Published on by Jan Sikes1 Comment

Don’t tell me that people can’t make amazing things happen when we come together! Here is living proof. In ONE day, Eternally At War is now an Amazon #1 New Release!!  I know Jeanette Vaughan is grateful to everyone who joined in to make this happen.

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Help propel this title to #1 and WIN on 9-18-16!!

Published on by Jan SikesLeave a comment

Order your copies of ETERNALLY at WAR on this date.  At least one!   So we can push EAW to #1 in sales for that day. If you do, send an email to Jeannette Vaughn to let me know!!!!  You will be entered to win one of three $50 Amazon gift cards!     Use the link in the picture or click here:   http://amzn.to/2cTBpZA

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Sales go to support the Vietnam Veterans of America.  www.vva.org

Vietnam. A USMC A-4 Skyhawk pilot. PTSD. He survived Vietnam, but would he survive its aftermath? The experiences of combat produce different memories by those whom have served. Some return as warriors, seemingly unscathed. With others, their life is never the same. The horrors of each mission come back to haunt them for years. Ten years after returning from Vietnam as a two time decorated A-4 Skyhawk pilot, Captain Robert “Gene” Lathrop described war as hell. Flying the scooter as a part of VMA-311, he completed over 275 missions. His squadron completed 54,625 sorties dropping over 9 million tons of bombs. That record will never be broken. But the bomb damage assessment was steep for Captain Lathrop. The nightmares and emotional rage he experienced threatened to tear apart his family. To keep from unraveling, he sought a voice in the written word. This memoir serves as part of his mission to honor the men and women of the military. He believed veterans who return to peacetime should never feel eternally at war.

Thanks so much,  Jeanette Vaughan and Captain Robert “Gene” Lathrop, RIP

 

Introducing the third book in the John J. Cannon Trilogy – Our Justice

Published on by Jan Sikes7 Comments

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The terrorist leader and financier Matt Jacobs has figured out a way to eliminate the President. He is relying on John Cannon’s stature as a hero to help him carry it off. John finds himself walking the fine line of pretending to help Matt while trying to figure out a countermeasure to the plan.

The action begins with John fearing for his life. Clearly, whoever is trying to get him has a mission to accomplish and the elimination of John is at the top of the to-do list. The quest to survive takes John and his love, Stephanie from the beaches of Port Aransas to West Virginia and finally to Matt Jacob’s corporate headquarters at the Embarcadero Center in San Francisco. There John finally understands what he needs to do to protect both he and Stephanie from further mayhem.

The third book in the John J. Cannon Trilogy brings together two strong wills for a showdown. The question to be answered is who will feel the satisfaction that the achievement of justice delivers? John, Matt or neither?

Our Justice is available on Amazon and KDP now in e-book format for preorder at $2.99 with shipments starting on September 23rd. The paper edition will be available on Amazon September 23rd at $14.99. Here is the link for pre-order of the e-book https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LDFM9WM?ref_=pe_2427780_160035660

Excerpt.

I see out of the corner of my eye that Ned is on the phone. Hopefully, he’s calling in reinforcements since it looks like the SUV is gaining on us. Just as the rear window of the Focus blows inward, he finishes the call. Hundreds of pieces of glass hit Ned and me. Luckily, it’s shatterproof stuff, so we’re mostly okay cut wise. Ned crouches down and fires three quick shots with his 9MM. In the mirror, the SUV swerves to the left and almost explodes after it rams a parked car. “Stop,” Ned yells.

I slam on the brakes, which nearly tosses Ned through the windshield. “For shit’s sake, I don’t have a seatbelt on, junior, so take it easy. Just stop and turn around.”

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Author BIO

John’s main interests are reading and writing. He turned to writing as a full-time occupation after an extensive career in business. John writes fictional short stories and novels as well as a daily blog.  His first novel, My GRL is available on Amazon and wherever e-books are sold. His second, His Revenge is available on  Amazon and KDP Select.

John lives on a barrier island in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of South Texas with his wife and spoiled rescue pets.

Other places.

Blog Fiction Favorites – http://johnwhowell.com/

Facebook– https://www.facebook.com/john.howell.98229241

Twitter –https://www.twitter.com/HowellWave

Authors db –http://www.authorsdb.com/authors-directory/6604-john-w-howell

LinkedIn –http://www.linkedin.com/pub/john-w-howell/48/b59/462/

Google +https://plus.google.com/+JohnHowellAuthor/

Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7751796.John_W_Howell

Amazon Author’s page –https://www.amazon.com/author/johnwhowell

Martin Sisters Publishing –Http://www.martinsisterspublishing.com

 

 

Jem by Michelle Abbott #RRBC

Published on by Jan Sikes4 Comments

Another amazing Rave Reviews Book Club Author, Michelle Abbott, has written a compelling romance!

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The scars of abuse run deep from childhood into adulthood. Jem has those deep scars that he struggles to hide behind fierce anger, violence and brute strength. Never again will he take any abuse from anyone.

He’s had one true friend in life, Devon, whom he called ‘Angel’. She held him and comforted him when he cried or was afraid. She was four years his senior and to a four-year-old who knew nothing but abuse, she was truly that angel.

When he was fourteen years old, he had a red-headed angel tattooed on his arm to always remember her by.

How could he know she would show up in the oceanside town where he lived? And what a disappointment that she didn’t recognize him? In fact, she seemed afraid of the violence she saw him administer. But, somehow he knew that his angel would eventually recognize and love him again.

This is a romance of the deepest kind – from childhood into adulthood. When Devon, Jem’s angel, shows up, running from an abusive boyfriend, fate had to work hard to throw them together. Both are broken in their own ways and desperately need each other without knowing it.

I loved this story and couldn’t stop reading until I reached the end. I couldn’t wait to turn the next page to see what happened next. Of course, I knew they would eventually wind up together, sharing the same love they’d shared as children, but the plot twists along the way kept me reading. This is a great love story from Michelle Abbott and I highly recommend it to anyone who loves a character driven story

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Michelle Abott is a UK author who writes gritty, slightly dark, new adult romance, with heroes who fight against the odds and are protective of their girl. I recommend my books for ages 17+ due to strong language and sexual scenes.

Follow Michelle on Twitter and Facebook

Curious about the authors who support and promote through the Rave Reviews Book Club? Click here!

 

Struggling authors, please read.

Published on by Jan SikesLeave a comment

And, struggling authors, if you are looking for a community to show support, promote and propel you, scroll down to my previous blog about #RRBC!

Author Kyle Perkins

By Kyle Perkins.

So lately I have heard from a few people that they feel like they should just give up on writing because for whatever reason, they are feeling like it just isn’t worth it anymore. Whether they feel like they aren’t getting enough attention, don’t have enough fans, or whatever the case may be, they are wrong, and here’s why.

Writers and authors have a gift, and because we have that gift, we have an obligation, a responsibility to use it. We may “just” arrange words in such a fashion that people enjoy reading them, but a heart surgeon “just” transplants hearts, and astronauts “just” go to space. We need to stop treating writing like it is simply a hobby that “anyone” can do, because that’s not the case. We “just” take people to places they can’t go on their own, and give them a form of escapism…

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Views of the Neighborhood

Published on by Jan Sikes6 Comments

Wow!! Just beautiful!

Fiction Favorites

Today’s view of the neighborhood is the Chapel in the Dunes. On top of the highest dune in Port Aransas sits a tiny chapel. It was built in 1937 by Aline Carter who later became the Poet Laureate of Texas. It was in this chapel that Ms. Carter gave Bible lessons to the children of Port Aransas.

In the 1970’s Texas Artist John Cobb was inspired by Ms. Carter’s memory to paint the walls and ceiling of the chapel. His artistry along classic lines of the ancient biblical painters took over three years to finish.

So come with me on a tour.

We start with a long climb to the top of the dune

stairs to the Chapel

We see the chapel at the top

The woman to the right will give you an idea of the size of the chapel. Very tiny.

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Inside there are several pews, and you can begin to see…

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