#writersofinstagram – Rosepoint Publishing

#ThrowbackThursday – Todd Borg – Book Review

#ThrowbackThursday

Renee began the Throwback Thursday meme on her blog, “It’s Book Talk“ to share some of her old favorites as well as sharing books published over a year ago. Sounded like a good reason to join! Means I’ll be going back over some of the first reviews I posted on Goodreads; my favorite authors, and some of my favorite stories from authors you might not have previously experienced. Hopefully, you’ll find either a story or author that interests you and you’ll check them out.

This week I am highlighting Todd Borg, another terrific, prolific author who has produced Tahoe Chase, #11 in his Tahoe series. I love Tahoe, just up in the Sierra’s from Sacramento and saw this cover. He has actually written fifteen of the Owen McKenna Mystery Thriller series. Tahoe Chase was published by Thriller Press. This particular book garnered 985 reviews and Borg consistently runs approximately 4.5 stars for his books.

Originally posted January 2, 2014 Continue reading “#ThrowbackThursday – Todd Borg – Book Review”

#AmReading – The Plot Is Murder (Mystery Bookshop) by V. M. Burns

Welcome to my #AmReading feature! I am highlighting an author and their book currently visible in the “Fair Weather” widget celebrating blue skies, following seas, and my Goodreads (currently reading) list.

This week I am presenting V. M. Burns and her book The Plot is Murder (Mystery Bookshop). I received an ARC from the publisher Kensington and NetGalley. The book will be released on November 28, 2017. Amazon classifies the novel as a mystery, thriller & suspense, crafts and hobbies, culinary, and animals (really!) and is the debut novel in a new series at 256 pages. It’s a shortie, y’all! (We can DO this!)

I will be presenting my review on Sunday, but in the meantime (from Amazon), here is the

Book Blurb: (Blurb from Amazon)

The small town of North Harbor on the shores of Lake Michigan is about to have a new mystery bookstore. But before the first customer can browse its shelves, the store’s owner is suspected of her own murder plot . . .

Samantha Washington has dreamed of owning her own mystery bookstore for as long as she can remember. And as she prepares for the store’s grand opening, she’s also realizing another dream—penning a cozy mystery set in England between the wars. While Samantha hires employees and fills the shelves with the latest mysteries, quick-witted Lady Penelope Marsh, long-overshadowed by her beautiful sister Daphne, refuses to lose the besotted Victor Carlston to her sibling’s charms. When one of Daphne’s suitors is murdered in a maze, Penelope steps in to solve the labyrinthine puzzle and win Victor.

But as Samantha indulges her imagination, the unimaginable happens in real life. A shady realtor turns up dead in her backyard, and the police suspect her—after all, the owner of a mystery bookstore might know a thing or two about murder. Aided by her feisty grandmother and an enthusiastic ensemble of colorful retirees, Samantha is determined to close the case before she opens her store. But will she live to conclude her own story when the killer has a revised ending in mind for her?

Author: (From Goodreads author page)

V.M. Burns was born and raised in northwestern Indiana, but is now thawing out in eastern Tennessee with her two poodles. She has a BA from Northwestern University, a Masters from the University of Notre Dame and an MFA from Seton Hill University in Writing Popular Fiction. She spent many years working as a trainer and now works as a training manager for an appliance manufacturer. Ms. Burns is represented by Dawn Dowdle at Blue Ridge Literary Agency. Contact her at author@vmburns.com ©2017 Virginia Williams I Love Likes and Comments--Please Share!

The Compass Island Incident – a Book Review

Title: The Compass Island Incident: November 1963 by Wade Fowler

Genre: Currently #1551 on Amazon Best Sellers Rank for Kindle Store, Kindle eBooks, Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Thrillers, Assassinations

Publisher: Sunbury Press – Milford House Press

Publication Date: November 22, 2017

Source: Sunbury Press – Milford House Press and NetGalley

Title and Cover: The Compass Island Incident – Compelling cover

I was excited to read this book for several reasons; one being yet another theory about the assassination of JFK, (2) it’s about one of our Navy ships, and (3) we certainly have history back then and can well remember the day. (Who can’t)

I’m sure we’ve never been satisfied with the findings of the Warren Commission that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. It was too monstrous, too heinous, too difficult to imagine that one disgruntled ex-Marine could have pulled off that act alone. No one believed it and wasn’t particularly surprised when the United States House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) concluded in 1979 that Kennedy was “probably assassinated as a result of a conspiracy.” It’s not like the barn door has ever closed on that discussion.

Therefore, another conspiracy theory may be laid out as a compelling fictional story and I enjoy those ship details and vernacular, the stories at sea of the roiling mountains of salt water and survival. “The Compass Island was no scat back. Evasion wasn’t her running style.” Continue reading “The Compass Island Incident – a Book Review”

Books Are Books? Print, eBooks, or Audiobooks?

Books Are Books?

DAY 20 PROMPT: Did you publish your book as a traditionally printed book, an eBook, an audiobook, or all three? How did you come to your decision?

When I worked in graphics creating flyers for gospel concerts, I had a boss whose mantra was “they don’t know what they are doing.” That went for some of the most successful acts he engaged as well as anyone in his band who displeased him in rehearsal and upon occasion included me.

I certainly had my share of bluffing my way into jobs or events, his position being one, but probably the biggest and most recent was the publishing of my grandfather’s manuscripts. Talk about clueless….

It wasn’t like I came to a decision whether or not to create a printed book, eBook, or audiobook as much as I was steered into making a simple stock print book, soft cover, 6 x 9. The biggest decision there was glossy or matt cover? It was only with the fifth book that I chose not to do a print book as the total word count created a novella-length book and I saw no reason to go to the expense of creating a formally printed book.

Also, having no other experience than the one NaNoWriMo steered me into–CreateSpace–I came to appreciate the quality of their binding, if not the cover paper (which tends to curl slightly at the corner) and the speed with which they completed orders. CreateSpace also steers you into distribution, so there again it’s not as if you are making any big decisions.

After having created those print books, it was (again) a natural progression to find the road into “Kindle” and from there eBook formatting, becoming ever more complicated entering the world of Smashwords. While it was felt that Smashwords gave me a far greater reach for the eBook version than did Kindle, I’d yet to see a big sales advantage (and eventually dropped it in favor of Amazon).

One of the first notices I had of the choice of eBooks over print books is that I’d used the stock format for CreateSpace which uses a font less friendly to older folks. The common complaint until I got that first book into the second edition with larger print was that the font was too small and difficult to read. I suspect as we see the progression of the aging population the push to eBooks will become ever more popular as they discover the option of making the print as large as needed for comfortable reading. Rather than getting bigger and better bookcases, we’ll be looking for ever larger eBook storage capacity or flash storage. Perhaps the bookcases will hold thousands of books–but on Kindles, Cruzer’s, SanDisks, or the Cloud?

The Happy Surprises in Publishing – A Writing Prompt

Day 17 Prompt: What has been the biggest surprise about writing/publishing your book? What has been the most enjoyable or most memorable aspect?

What has been the biggest surprise? Lots of surprises! As most people know by now, I’ve published my grandfather’s manuscripts written under the pen name of Stanley McShane. He also painted and sold various paintings with some dubious success under both his pen name and that of J. Wesley Rose. The paintings I have are on little pasteboard 8 x 10’s and were meant to illustrate his books.

Surprises Include:

Discovering that my mother really knew little about her father’s life, nor had been sufficiently interested enough to ask or get some of the most basic facts.
Reading and writing his manuscripts, discovering the tale we grew up with (that of his being born on board his father’s ship the “Marguerite” off the coast of New York) may not have been wholly true. Indeed, in succeeding manuscripts, he offers two additional accounts of his birth–including the one of his birth in a maternity home in New York while his father’s ship was being loaded as it was mentioned more than once that his mother always sailed on the Marguerite (which was named after her) with her husband, the captain. There are no birth records.
Stumbling over 90-year-old English common of the day and sailing jargon also common during the turn of the 20th Century as he claimed to have sailed into the early 1900s.
Walking in his shoes through streets still dusty from the choking red clay powder surrounding ghost and near-ghost towns where he sought riches.
Among the most enjoyable or memorable aspects would have to be the people; those who’ve bought and shared their stories; authors with whom I’ve created a rapport. Among the latter, I would have to note Michael Reisig, who wrote the “Road to Key West“ series as well as my favorite of his historical swashbuckling, page-turning adventure, the “Caribbean Gold“ series.

But the most amazing and happy surprise?

The discovery of a fella named Gary Long, coincidentally from Idaho where I published the books; claimed he had been in the possession of a McShane painting with one of his poems on the back. The poem stuck with him for the rest of his life, although unfortunately, the painting went missing. He had apparently been researching the name on the internet and wrote me. I was totally astonished and asked if I could use some of his story in the anthology I’ve been working on. I’ll be sending him a copy that includes his story when I complete and release “Sole Survivor.”