Murder on the Geneva Express by JB Michaels – Guest Post

Today, I’m hosting author JB Michaels and his new book Murder on the Geneva Express as part of a blog tour by Lori Caswell, of Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours.

As part of the tour, I’m sharing a guest post by JB Michaels about ‘Writer’s Block and Research.’

Keep reading to check it out…

First, here’s a bit about the book

Synopsis for Murder on the Geneva Express by JB Michaels

Dead body found on Geneva Express!

In a perfect storm of misfortune, Mac O’Malley finds himself embroiled in a whodunnit that has everyone convinced HE has done it.

Mac and Millie race against time, flee from authorities both municipal and magical, and attempt to clear Mac and his good reputation from absolute incarceration.

 

Now for the guest post on Writer’s Block and Research!

When I get stuck it is not a matter of not knowing where to go next in the plot. I get stuck on details and solving potential plot hole issues and pacing. I honestly binge write so when I do find myself mulling over details and can't find a way out of it, the momentum of my writing suffers. As I began work on my third novel years ago and made it about 24 pages in but during those 24 pages was a timing issue.

My novels tend to use time as a tension builder, the marked crescendo of rising action, so when I had trouble with the time- frame I stopped writing until I figured it out. Alas, I had to sacrifice a time-period for the first chapter I envisioned for months beforehand. Yet in the process of embarking on this literary quest I learned that getting stuck in the mud can be gratifying if what comes out of it is a golden nugget. (Nugget is a funny word)

Every experience with writing seems worthwhile. Every obstacle when met with real-time persistence can be overcome. Since I could remember, the problem-solving element of writing invokes the sharpest critical thinking and truly immerses the author in their work. I know it does for me. So here is to getting stuck.

Sometimes getting stuck can be solved with research and learning!

A phone call to friends and family with knowledge of certain details of my story acts as part of research as does a quick search in a book or online but the fantasy comes first. The layout, storyboard, or plot diagram is laid out and then I fill it in with the information and details. I have absorbed a compendium of story materials through the years. My whole life is based around telling, researching, and writing stories. Whatever the story may be... my whole modicum of thought relates in some way to the fantastic. I can walk down the street and imagine the street suddenly jolting upwards, gravel and all, and then having to dodge out of the way of the debris and then come back to the real world and try to develop a story from the imagined catastrophe.

I try to come up with more exciting ways to communicate stories all the time. I am forever trying different ways to make something exciting, dramatic, and meaningful. Thus, fantasy comes first. It drives my curiosity to research and sometimes I don't research on purpose and wing it. Sometimes the realm of pragmatism doesn't mesh with a good fantasy.... Sometimes the truth is far more interesting. The fantasy and the research when balanced to great effect can truly complement a story thus making it worthwhile.

Some writers get too into their research, and it detracts from the story, others should have done more research both can take the reader out of the narrative and that is never good. Strike a balance.

I must say the bulk of my research is skill-related. Reading similar books to see how the author handles certain scenes counts as research as well. This I do and analyze. Most of the time I am able to pick up things rather quickly with my powers of absorption but the need to improve never wanes. I always know I can be better. I hope this blog made sense otherwise I might have to do more research on blogging.

 

About JB Michaels

I have spent my life in the study of story from riveting novels to the slam-bang action-packed world of comics to the examination of film history, I have spent a lifetime learning and examining the elements that make a story incredible. This steadfast dedication has led me to write stories of my own.

I am married and with a son, I have a great love of family. I hope that you enjoy my bestselling books that mash genres from thrillers to science fiction to fantasy!

Connect with JB Michaels via Facebook, Instagram, and Goodreads.

 

The Writer's Body Lexicon by Kathy Steinemann – Book Review

The Writer's Body Lexicon: Body Parts, Actions, and Expressions by Kathy Steinemann in the third book in The Writer's Lexicon Series. Each book offers a wealth of information to help writers write and edit their books.

This review is loooong overdue. I read The Writer's Body Lexicon before it was published and had the honor to write its Foreword. :)

The book opens with a "Read this First" section, which explains how to use the book and where readers can find what they need.

Like many books about writing, The Writer's Body Lexicon is an encyclopedia-like volume. It will be very hard to read it all at once or as if you're reading a novel.

"Sometimes a figure of speech adds the perfect touch. Exercise caution, though. Provide enough imagery to stimulate the imagination, but not so much that you slow action or bore readers."

To get the most of The Writer's Body Lexicon, determine what area of the body you need help with and look it up.

Regardless of the book or blog post you're reading, Kathy Steinemann will always point out that you don't need to "bloat your writing with superfluous words."

"Note that a frown on one’s face can be shortened to a frown. No point in bloating your writing with superfluous words."

The Writer's Body Lexicon covers everything from opinion adjectives, stacked modifiers and how to arrange them, colors and variegations, facial expressions, body parts (and the naughty bits), and much much more!

I also like Steinemann's use of other authors' quotes in The Writer's Body Lexicon. She quotes Ovid and Stephen King and offers writing tips from them.

 

 

If you're writing a fantasy novel with muscled-warriors, you should definitely check out the "Body Build Cheat Sheet" chapter. (p. 86)

And don't forget the part about the abs, here's a tip from Steinemann:

"Abs, abdomen, stomach, waist, midsection … No matter what you call this area of the body or how you describe it, well-chosen words will strengthen your writing.

Abs often occupy center stage in romance novels. They also appear in historical fiction where scantily clad gladiators compete for their lives. And let’s not forget bikini-wearing beach beauties stalked by monsters in horror stories."

If facial expressions are your weak spot – I know they are mine – you may want to visit the relevant chapter. As an author, you don't want your reader to tire of repetition. Sometimes you don't need a facial expression where the dialogue suffices.

The Writer's Body Lexicon and coffee in my library :)

I was recently reading a book where the main character "raised her eyebrows" over 35 times!  You can imagine how exasperated I was while reading it.

As a reader, I see lots of 'eyebrow raising' and 'nodding' and 'eyes widening.' So before you get your book published be sure to check out the chapter on Facial Expressions. Hint: It starts on p. 45.

 

“A new idea is delicate. It can be killed by a sneer or a yawn; it can be stabbed to death by a quip and worried to death by a frown on the right man's brow.” – Ovid

Although Steinemann offers hundreds of word options and descriptive alternatives in each chapter, she also encourages writers to create their own words like "flubbery --> flabby + blubbery" or "brawnilicious à brawny + delicious."

Think of The Writer's Body Lexicon as your go-to resource for descriptions, colors, and everything related to the body. 

 

Steinemann goes on to offer suggestions and indicators for writers to use when they want to create a descriptive and emotional scene. In the section "Effective Writing Agrees with Itself," Steinemann says this: 

"In real life, scowls, smiles, and curling lips reflect underlying emotions. They should do the same in fiction or creative nonfiction.

A protagonist in pain is unlikely to smile. A deceitful character probably won’t maintain eye contact with others."

A tip: You want to read the section on colors and variegations starting p. 32. 

There are soooo many useful tips in The Writer's Body Lexicon, I feel like I can quote the whole book! And it's over 500 pages - so there's a wealth of tips in there. 

I also read the first book in this series The Writer's Lexicon, where Steinemann offers tons of word replacements.

Authors: You no longer have to say 'said' every time a character says something. Steinemann has over 200 alternatives to 'said' and many other verbs in The Writer's Lexicon. 

To learn more about The Writer's Body Lexicon, check out its Table of Contents.

Discover all 3 books in the series via Kathy's blog and I highly recommend you subscribe for weekly writing tips, prompts, and her redundancy quizzes :)

Get The Writer's Body Lexicon by Kathy Steinemann via Amazon.

Overall rating for The Writer's Body Lexicon by Kathy Steinemann? 10 stars. 

Write Your Book in a Flash by Dan Janal – Book Review

"No one cares how many words your book contains. They care about reading the right content."

Write Your Book in a Flash by Dan Janal is a great resource for anyone planning to write or working on a book but is struggling to finish a draft. Be it the first draft or later drafts. 

The book offers tons of tips and comes with a series of exercises to help you write. It's an easy read.

I'd recommend you read Janal's book either while writing your book or before you start. It's a reference-type-of-book. I have a book I want to write so I'm planning to reread Write Your Book in a Flash as I write it so I can apply the tips mentioned inside.

"Confused readers don't buy books."

Janal references a ton of books in his own. As a book mentoring coach, he's read a lot and therefore shares much of what he's learnt and what he has used to write his own books (he gives examples from his works and others').

The first important question Janal asks the reader, and potential author is: "Why do you want to write a book?"

While Write Your Book in a Flash primarily deals with writing non-fiction books, much of the advice can be applied to fiction. Tips like starting where you feel comfortable and how to edit your book are applicable to any type of writing; fiction, non-fiction, blog content, anything.

"People want information. They know they aren't reading literature. If you solve their problems, you're a hero. If you don't help them, you're a zero."

Some honest tough love there with the above quote but Janal is 100% right. As opposed to reading novels, short stories, and poetry, people reading non-fiction and self-help books have desires and ideas other than wanting to be entertained. They pick up a book because they want to learn something and/or solve a problem.

My problem? The getting-to-write part of writing books - whether fiction or non-fiction. The sitting down and getting started. I've picked up several hints from Janal's book for both categories.

One of the things I liked about Write Your Book in a Flash was Janal's promise in the first chapter that he would teach the reader how to "overcome procrastination and conquer your limiting beliefs so you can write and finish your book" and goes on to deliver on that.

One of my favorite pieces of advice in Write Your Book in a Flash is Janal saying "Don't get married to your title." As a copywriter, I know what it feels like when you write a title that just wows you and you try to stick to it but then things don't go as planned.

I like how Janal uses his own books as examples. Regarding the "don't get married to your title" advice, he says that Write Your Book in a Flash was originally named How to Create an Outline for Your Book.

"Ugh!" he says about his former title. "That title told me what the book was about but it wasn't catchy. It also didn't convey the benefit to readers. Why would they want to write an outline for their book?"

Here's another tip about writing titles: "To find out what your prospects think of your title, you must ask them."

I must note that it took me a while to start Janal's Write Your Book in a Flash, which I got as a review request last year, because I had this fear of reading self-help books. But I have overcome that fear (to an extent) and I'm working on reading more non-fiction books as a means of self-learning and self-development.

I like Dan Janal's brutal honesty in the book. As writers, we are often afraid of how we will be received or when simply tell others we're working on books. But Janal's honesty comes like a reality check. He's been there, done that, and he's giving you the important tips and the more important "don'ts."

"Who do you think is the worst person to ask for feedback? No, it's not your mother. The worst person to ask is YOU, because you are NOT the target buyer of your book."

See what I mean? :)

There are tons more tips and quotable bits in the book but that would make my review much longer.

So overall, I think Write Your Book in a Flash is a must must-read. It's a book you can easily read once, twice, or several times. Think of the book as your tutor before and while you're writing. I highly recommend it and plan on reading it again once I start working on my non-fiction book.

Overall rating for Write Your Book in a Flash by Dan Janal: 5 Stars

It's worth mentioning that Write Your Book in a Flash was one of my top books of 2019. There's a list that I just updated with the new review. (I finished reading the book in December 2019 but just posted it in March 2020).

Note: I received a free copy of Write Your Book in a Flash from the publisher in exchange for a review. This did not affect my review in any way.

Author Interview with Kirsten Weiss - Wits' End Cozy Mystery Series

Join me in welcoming one of my favorite cozy mystery authors… KIRSTEN WEISS!

I've read several books for Kirsten and more are still on my to-be-read list. Today, I'm featuring Kirsten in an exclusive interview about her cozy mystery series At Wits' End, plus we talk about more of Kirsten's writing, her books, her poetry, who does she picture playing her characters if the series where to be shown on TV, NaNoWriMo, and lots more.

First here's the blurb for Close Encounters of the Curd Kind, book 3 in the Wits' End Series. It's followed by the interview and a giveaway.

Close Encounters of the Curd Kind: A Doyle Cozy Mystery

(A Wits' End Cozy Mystery)

Cozy Mystery

3rd in Series

Publisher: Misterio Press 

Publication Date: 5 September 2019

Print Length: 250 Pages

Digital ASIN: B07VVF9VDW

Blurb/Synopsis:

The truth is out there…

Way out there.

Susan Witsend, owner of the best little UFO-themed B&B in the Sierras, is absolutely, positively, not going to get involved in another murder case. Not with her small-town sheriff threatening jail time if she interferes in one more investigation.

So when her neighbor is murdered, Susan exerts all her willpower to stay out of the sheriff’s business. But her neighbor’s daughter, Clare, needs Susan’s help. Clare’s been experiencing lost time, a sure sign of alien abduction. Helping Clare is only neighborly… and totally not interfering.
Right?

Worse, Clare’s not the only one with UFO issues. Weird lights in the sky, vanishing cows, and little green men are bringing the mountain town of Doyle to the edge of a panic. Can Susan unearth the truth before her town spirals into chaos?
If you like laugh-out-loud mysteries with complicated heroines (and breakfast recipes), you’ll love Close Encounters of the Curd Kind, book 3 in the Wits’ End series of cozy mystery novels. Read this twisty cozy caper today!

Exclusive Interview with Nadaness In Motion

Part 1: Wits' End Books

Q: Can you tell us a bit about the Wits' End Cozy Mystery Series?

Kirsten Weiss: Wits’ End is an imaginary UFO-themed B&B set in the Sierra foothills. It features B&B owner Susan Witsend, a heroine with a complicated past and some anxiety issues. She deals with the latter by being hyper-organized – she doesn’t try to control others, but she’s determined to control her own life as much as she can. But when it comes to dealing with authority figures like an irate sheriff, where she has no control, she falls into to a bit of self-delusion and decides she’s an integral part to solving local murders. The sheriff disagrees, but Susan just can’t see it. Fortunately for Susan, her organizational skills make her a fairly decent detective.

Q: What first inspired this series?

Kirsten Weiss: I wanted a “straight” cozy mystery series set in the same fictional California town as my witch cozy mystery series, The Witches of Doyle. In my witch series, there are a lot of unexplained disappearances – at least, unexplained to the townsfolk. So to cope, the townsfolk make up their own explanation: aliens.

Q: The blurb mentions the book being 'a laugh out loud' novel. How do you know if the funny scenes you've included are, well, funny? (OR Humor is relative, do you include situations that made you laugh in real life in the books. How do you include humor in?

Kirsten Weiss: That’s a really good question. I find myself laughing when I edit the book, and I have editors and beta readers who give me feedback on what’s funny and what’s not. So… I think it’s a funny product, but you’re right. Everything is relative!

Q: Writing help experts always say that the main character has to have a flaw, what is Susan's biggest flaw (if possible apart from trying to solve mysteries)?

Kirsten Weiss: Anxiety. What she calls “the shadow” is almost always there, waiting to dig in. She’s constantly battling to keep it at bay, and she usually succeeds with the above-mentioned coping mechanisms.

Q: If this book series were turned into a movie or TV series, who do you picture as playing the roles of Susan, her security consultant, and the Sheriff?

Kirsten Weiss: I could see Jennifer Anniston as Susan, Ryan McPartlin as Arsen, and Valerie Cruz as the sheriff (the latter isn’t blond with the sheriff’s Shirley Temple curls, but I still think she’d be great in the role).

Part 2: Other Books and Series

Q: Have you fully completed any book series? Or since they have standalones so all series can have new books?

Kirsten Weiss: I feel like my Riga Hayworth paranormal mystery series is complete, but I find myself still turning out short stories and the occasional novella. I guess I’ll never say never to adding another book to a series!

Q: What books are you currently working on?

Kirsten Weiss: I’m working on book 2 in my Tea and Tarot cozy mystery series right now. Though Tarot is a running theme, it’s more of a “straight” cozy mystery.

Q: You write cozy mysteries (including paranormal) and steampunk novels, which have been the most fun to write (or research and write?)

Kirsten Weiss:They’re all fun, but steampunk was the most challenging to research. In order to make my steampunk world as “real” as possible, I wanted to include as much correct historical detail as I could. That meant getting the language right, the clothing, the geography, politics… It’s a lot of research!

Reading and Writing

Q: What are you currently reading?

Kirsten Weiss: I just finished a book on Norse religions as prep work for writing another book. And because what we know about Norse religions is pretty interesting!

Q: NaNoWriMo is a month away, do you still take part in it to get your books ready? If yes, (or if you have been), what tips can you offer to newbies starting out with NaNo?

Kirsten Weiss: No. I’ve done NaNoWriMo, but right now I’m on a different schedule, which includes editing another book, so I can’t devote an entire month to just writing.

Q: I know you wrote a poetry collection or supplement book, Tales of the Rose Rabbit, do you still write poetry? Are you planning to publish another collection? Or was this an exception? (Coming from a fan of Tales of the Rose Rabbit)

Kirsten Weiss: Thank you! I do still write poetry, though I don’t have any plans right now to publish. Right now, it’s more of a spontaneous thing, and I feel like to publish I need a theme that would give some cohesion to the collection.

Q: If you could tell your readers one thing right now, what would it be? 

Kirsten Weiss: Please feel free to contact me and let me know what you’d like me to write more of! You can contact me via my website at kirstenweiss.com.

Read Nadaness In Motion's book reviews for The Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum and Pressed to Death (Book 1 & 2 in The Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum cozy mystery books) as well as Tales of the Rose Rabbit (a poetry collection that's part of the Doyle Cozy Mystery series)

Also in 2016 – WOW how time flies! – Kirsten and I did a joint post on cozy mysteries and how they differ from traditional mysteries. Read 9 Ways Cozy Mysteries Differ from Traditional Mysteries

About Kirsten Weiss

Kirsten Weiss has never met a dessert she didn’t like, and her guilty pleasures are watching Ghost Whisperer re-runs and drinking red wine. The latter gives her heartburn, but she drinks it anyway.

Now based in San Mateo, CA, she writes genre-blending cozy mystery, supernatural and steampunk suspense, mixing her experiences and imagination to create vivid worlds of fun and enchantment.

If you like funny cozy mysteries, check out her Pie Town, Paranormal Museum and Wits’ End books. If you’re looking for some magic with your mystery, give the Witches of Doyle, Riga Hayworth, and Rocky Bridges books a try. And if you like steampunk, the Sensibility Grey series might be for you.

Kirsten sends out original short stories of mystery and magic to her mailing list. If you’d like to get them delivered straight to your inbox, make sure to sign up for her newsletter at kirstenweiss.com

Connect with Kirsten Weiss via Twitter: @KirstenWeiss    Facebook   and her  Blog (Great one by the way!)

Purchase Links    Kindle      iBooks     B&N     Kobo    Google Play    Video

Keep up with the rest of the blog tour for Close Encounters of the Curd Kind by Kirsten Weiss including book reviews, spotlights, interviews, and guest posts. Or Check the links below on each date.

October 9 – I Read What You Write – Book Review

October 10 – FUONLYKNEW – Spotlight

October 11 – Reading Authors – Spotlight & Nadaness In Motion – Author Interview

October 12 – Literary Gold – Spotlight & MJB Reviewers – Author Interview

October 13 – The Book Decoder – Book Review

October 14 – Lisa Ks Book Reviews – Book Review & Author Interview

October 15 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – Book Review

October 16 – Hearts & Scribbles – Spotlight & I Read What You Write – Guest Post

October 17 – Cozy Up With Kathy – Author Interview

October 18 – Baroness' Book Trove – Book Review

October 19 – Cassidy's Bookshelves – Spotlight

October 20 – Celticlady's Reviews – Recipe and Spotlight

October 21 - The Book's the Thing – Book Review and Guest Post

October 22 – Elizabeth McKenna - Author - Spotlight