New releases coming down the pike

cj Sez:  NEXT SATURDAY, February 7, 2015, my friend, Dean James, is having a book signing for the hardcover version of ARSENIC AND OLD BOOKS, one of the books in his cat in the stacks mystery series.

 

The signing is scheduled to take place at 5-6:30 p.m. at the White House Hotel in Biloxi, MS.

Everyone is welcome to stop by and chat with Dean (who writes as Miranda James) and have some fun. Check out the reviews on Amazon at http://amzn.to/1KgYjT0

Next comes Carolyn Haines’ BOOTY BONES, a Sarah Booth Delaney mystery that will be out in paperback on February 15. Carolyn plans to be at the White House Hotel for Dean James’s book signing and expects to join in the fun. She says she’s also going to go ghost hunting, because, and I quote, “I think this wonderful, historic old hotel will be an excellent setting for my next creepy book.” She writes her creepy stuff under the pen name of R. B. Chesterton.

Check out BOOTY BONES at http://amzn.to/1Adfq8j 

Dean and Carolyn's novels are enjoyable reads, and that kind of excellence doesn’t happen overnight. These two Gulf Coast authors have honed their craft over the years and continue to work hard at putting out their very best effort for their readers.

One of the blogs I follow is that of author/editor/chief-cook-and-bottle-washer, Hope Clark at   http://www.fundsforwriters.com  Her “Funds for Writers” blog has been on the Writer’s Digest’s 101 Best Websites for Writers list every year since 2001. Anyway, Hope says: “Writing well takes time. It isn't an instinct. You are not born with it. You do not accidentally write a stupendous tale. You develop this talent with hard work and a crazy number of hours invested in making your craft better.”

That means all writers, but especially aspiring writers, need to participate in workshops, critique groups, conferences, and READ in the genre you write. Before a writer can develop his/her own writing voice, (s)he must read the good work of other published authors.

Now, to inspire you to look at your own WIP, here’s another famous first line: 

It was a wrong number that started it, the telephone ringing three times in the dead of night, and the voice on the other end asking for someone he was not. —Paul Auster, City of Glass (1985)

Be sure to check out the new “Meet The Author” widget on the right side of our page. Lyrical Pens will soon post info about more local authors' new books with a smidge of info about them or the book.

You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same.

cj