I'm Not on Facebook!

For some reason I have resisted being on Facebook. I have this blog, I'm on Twitter, Goodreads, and Linked-In, but I can't bring myself to be on Facebook. Maybe it's because I hear about the thousands of friends people have that puts me off.  Friends? Really? Or all the crazy things that happen to people on there because of what someone else decides to share about them. Yet, when promoting books, I'm told that Facebook is a place where I should definitely be. What do you think? What has been your experience with Facebook? I'd love to hear comments from you. Maybe I can be persuaded to join, or maybe you'll just confirm my current status.

"Tick Tock" Review

Tick Tock by James Patterson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Another enjoyable James Patterson book, with an ending that made sense. The book jumps from a seashore vacation location, to police headquarters, and back, based on a series of murders that call for the protagonist to be involved in investigating. He works, then he goes to his vacation home where his ten adopted children are waiting, then back. It's a bit frenetic but then that's what makes Patterson's books so engrossing. I didn't care for it too much at first, but then got into the twisted plot and ended up liking it. Note: Inside the book cover it says that Michael Bennett will be searching for "The Werewolf of Wisteria". This never comes up in the whole book. Whoever did PR should have caught that.



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Currently Reading

Tick Tock by James Patterson




I'm not quite halfway through the book. It seems a bit disjointed, and I'm not sure I like Bennett's involvement with his young nanny. More later when I've finished.



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Happy New Year!

It's a beautiful day in the Saddleback Valley in southern California where I live. Sunny days inspire me to accomplish things, and I'm diligently trying to finish my second novel NO GOOD DEED. I hope the new year will bring an abundance of discipline to keep me on track. I also wish for all of you a year of good health, good writing, and especially publishing and sales. As always, your tips on writing, publishing, and promotion are always welcome. We can expect even more changes in the book selling world in the coming year. Let's be ready for them.

Kindle Competition

When Kindle was first launched it was innovative and grew in popularity to the extent that others soon followed. Now Kindle is getting competition from the Nook and other e-readers. Seeing their lead disappearing, they've come up with Kindle Select. Read all about it on the Amazon Kindle site. It sounds good to Kindle authors until you read the fine print. If you sign up for it, your book is loaned via Kindle, and the author receives royalties based on the number of loans per month. In order to sign on, you must agree to NOT sell your book in any other digital format!!! Your book may never be loaned, so no royalties. But, it also can't be bought on the Nook, Sony reader, or in my case, as an e-book from my website. Why lose potential sales for an opportunity that may never come. The only one benefitting is Amazon by keeping your book available only on their reader.

Book Review

One Shot by Lee Child

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This is my first Lee Child book and it had me up late at night turning pages. "One Shot" was full of suspense, intrigue, and interesting characters. The plotting was great, and kept me guessing until the final pages. I really enjoyed it. However, I found Jack Reacher to be a strange person. He doesn't really live anywhere, wears the same clothes and shoes over and over, doesn't seem to be employed, yet has money to travel and live wherever he wants. I plan to read more of Child's books. There was one phrase he used constantly when dialogue was occurring - "Reacher said nothing." Sometimes this phrase appeared at least three or four times on the same page. It will be interesting to see if he does this in other books.



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Facebook, Twitter, OMG

I think it must have been easier to be a writer in Hemingway’s or Faulkner’s time. Not that inspiration came more easily. I’m sure they sat and stared at the same blank page the same as we do today, waiting for the right words to flow. No, I think it was easier because they didn’t have the internet and all the social networking that came with it.

It’s not enough today for a writer to just write. Now we have to write about writing. Before we do that we have to set up a website, or a blog (maybe both), sign on to Facebook, then find friends, go on to Twitter, or….. well, you know the rest. Let me assure you that I’m not down on social networking. I’ve met some wonderful people, and have garnered book reviews and interviews using the internet. Authors are generous in helping each other and I’ve returned the favor whenever I could. Unfortunately there are still only 24 hours in a day. Blogging, tweeting, and whatever else you’re into, take up time, time you could use to actually be writing that book or article you’re telling everyone about.

The social network sites we choose to be on (and as writers we’re obligated to choose something) are like little pets that have to be cared for and fed. So, instead of writing a few pages for my current novel, I’m trying to think of something profound to blog about, or tweet. As I’ve gathered followers, I’ve also chosen people to follow, so I feel it necessary to check their blogs, etc. as well, and make comments. When someone comments on one of my blog posts, I think it’s courteous to respond to them. More writing, more time spent. If you don’t post on a regular basis, your followers will lose interest in what you have to say. It’s a never-ending cycle. How does everyone do it?

I work best with a plan so I’m trying to come up with one which maximizes my time spent tending to my various sites and still allows the necessary hours to actually write. So far I haven’t been successful. It's still a work in progress.