It hasn't been easy watching the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy on television. Seeing images of wrecked homes and heartbroken people who have lost everything is never pleasant. But there is one remarkable thing that takes place when these things happen: we all come together, remembering who we are, and what we can do to help.
This month I will be donating $1.00 from every…
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Added by Cheryl Bradshaw on November 16, 2012 at 3:15am —
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I'm thrilled to announce the third release in my Sloane Monroe series, I Have a Secret. …
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Added by Cheryl Bradshaw on May 17, 2012 at 7:15am —
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Starting today, December 25th to December 29th, the first novel in my Sloane Monroe series, Black Diamond Death, is FREE… Continue
Added by Cheryl Bradshaw on December 26, 2011 at 4:53am —
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Christmas is a time for giving back and that's why our authors have come together to offer gifts of ALL kinds to show their appreciation. From books, to gift cards, to gift baskets, it's all there, it's FREE, and most of all, you can even enter to win a Kindle Fire!!!
http://holidaybloghop.blogspot.com/p/holiday-blog-hop.html
Added by Cheryl Bradshaw on December 22, 2011 at 5:35am —
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For a limited time, Amazon is offering both my novels, Black Diamond Death and Sinnerman, for free if you are a member of Amazon Prime. When I considered whether I'd join up or not for a few months I decided it would be a great way for me to give back to my readers -- so enjoy and happy holidays!…
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Added by Cheryl Bradshaw on December 15, 2011 at 7:04am —
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A few days ago I was pleased to have best-selling and newly Thomas & Mercer signed thriller writer, David Lender, as my guest on my blog.
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Added by Cheryl Bradshaw on December 8, 2011 at 4:30am —
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A couple months back when I was asked to be part of the
Indie Chicks anthology I was actually dealing with a really personal situation in my life at the time. I was at a crossroads and had an important decision to make, one that I never saw coming. …
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Added by Cheryl Bradshaw on November 2, 2011 at 1:50am —
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I am sooo excited to be part of the Coffin Hop this year! There are 100 authors participating which means YOU have a chance to win some really cool prizes like a Nook, gift cards, books, t-shirts, and even a chance to have your name in a novel!
Although I'm not a horror writer...YET, I am a mystery/thriller writer. I write the…
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Added by Cheryl Bradshaw on October 26, 2011 at 4:55am —
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This week on Free Book Friday, my novel, Sinnerman is featured, and I will be giving away three personally autographed copies. You can enter to win by clicking HERE. And good luck to everyone!… Continue
Added by Cheryl Bradshaw on October 16, 2011 at 5:34am —
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When I'm not writing, my time is spent
editing novels for other writers. I usually only take on 3-4 a month max so I get the time I need in for my own writing. Lately I've read some books for writers that I thought were really hum-drum. And at the same time, I've been editing novels and seeing the same kind of issues novel after novel...and by that, I don't mean to say the writing is bad at all; in fact, I've edited some…
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Added by Cheryl Bradshaw on August 16, 2011 at 3:00am —
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J. Carson Black is the bestselling author of seven novels, including her Laura Cardinal series, which currently has under three titles under its belt.
She has a total of 12 books; seven published and also one short story. Her Laura Cardinal series has three books in the series: Darkness on the…
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Added by Cheryl Bradshaw on July 28, 2011 at 2:46pm —
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So the other day I was reading a fairly interesting article that included stats on the publishing industry, and I love statistics, so it was right up my alley.
Did you know that right now over 500,000 books are being published each year? This includes both self-pubbed and traditional.
Of those, how many do you think sell more than 500 copies (of one book)?
50%? Nope.
25%? Nope.
I'll tell you. 2%. That's right, 98% of books published today don't…
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Added by Cheryl Bradshaw on June 22, 2011 at 1:46am —
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For Dan Coleman, et al...
About a year ago I opened up the first page of the novel I just started reading and it said:
It was one hell of a night to throw away a baby (Julia Spencer-Fleming)
And whoa nellie, I was hooked! And you want to know the interesting part? I had JUST read a how-to book that said never, never, ever, start a book with "IT". As a reader, I couldn't have disagreed more - I was completely wrapped up in this baby. Why was the baby…
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Added by Cheryl Bradshaw on June 1, 2011 at 2:24am —
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Nancy C. Johnson is the author of
Her Last Letter which is doing excellent right now on Amazon. It's currently #79 in the Kindle Store, #2 in Women Sleuths and #3 in Romantic Suspense. …
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Added by Cheryl Bradshaw on May 17, 2011 at 1:32am —
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Hello everyone!
I wanted a place on Facebook where readers and writers could come together in one centralzed location to interact and mingle with some of your favorite authors and to meet and get to know new and upcoming authors.
Here's just a few things readers can expect from the authors of the group:
*Authors sharing information about their works
*Announcements of contests, promotions & giveaways
*Q&A with the authors
*Author…
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Added by Cheryl Bradshaw on May 3, 2011 at 1:40am —
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A red herring by definition is a person that gives your readers a false trail to follow. They fall under the "whodunnit" category and can lead the reader to falsely believe someone else committed the crime while concealing the identity of the true villain. You cannot have a mystery without them.
When I was growing up I loved the game CLUE. And it serves as a good example of what a red herring is. Lots of suspects who all look guilty in some way. There was nothing as satisfying as…
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Added by Cheryl Bradshaw on April 15, 2011 at 5:32am —
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The Persnickety Protagonist
Creating an interesting protagonist that characters will be invested in takes some time and research as well as a lot of thought to put them all together in one fun, exciting, messed up package.
One of the first things you need to decide is the profession they are in. Are they a…
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Added by Cheryl Bradshaw on April 10, 2011 at 6:19am —
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About a year ago I opened up the first page of the novel I just started reading and it said:
It was one hell of a night to throw away a baby (Julia Spencer-Fleming)
And whoa nellie, I was hooked! And you want to know the interesting part? I had JUST read a how-to book that said never, never, ever, start a book with "IT". As a reader, I couldn't have disagreed more - I was completely wrapped up in this baby. Why was the baby thrown away, who's baby was it, where was it…
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Added by Cheryl Bradshaw on April 8, 2011 at 4:20am —
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It's one of the most important if not THE most important part of the novel - the opening. Daunting to say the least! I remember when I first created my list of potential literary agents that I wanted to query, it was stressful to read that if the query passed muster, a lot of agents wanted to look at the first chapter or two only.
It's hard not to overthink the beginning because it's the first impression, and it really matters.
That being said, here are some tips I have…
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Added by Cheryl Bradshaw on April 7, 2011 at 2:21am —
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Behold, the info dump.
The backstory by definition: events that happened prior to the start of the plot, essentially the history, the characters past. You know...once upon a time in a land far, far away...
Newbies tend to want to start with a ton of backstory about their protagonist thinking that a big info dump is necessary for the reader in order to understand everything. But what is important to understand is that readers are smart. And they don't need all that info in…
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Added by Cheryl Bradshaw on April 6, 2011 at 3:02am —
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