Hello all! I wanted to post a note here on Get Jack’d that I am now, officially looking for reviewers for my first book A Blade Away. If you are interested in getting a free, pre-release copy, contact me via email at jlwallen AT monkeypantz DOT net. Follow Email PostShare […]
Monthly Archives: March 2011
This is a very hot topic among indie writers, and with good reason. Outside of a poorly written and developed story, there are two things that will turn a reader off faster than anything to a book: Poor grammer and poor formatting. Although, for writers like myself, grammar is an […]
Writing Help: Formatting your ebooks
I totally spaced on Sample Sunday yesterday, so I’m offering up a sample of A Blade Away. This book is the first in the Fringe Killer series and will be on sale within the next couple of weeks. The sale prices is $0.99, which a real bargain considering the amount […]
Sample Sunday (a day late): A Blade Away
It simply won’t go away. At least not until we indie writers find that ideal sweat spot that keeps consumers coming back. It’s an incredibly frustrating issue among the indie community for a number of reasons, but primarily because the consumer community seems to want to keep the price of […]
Why I am against the .99 cent price
Recently I had a lengthy discussion with my editor about track changes. She and I use different applications for writing/editing — she uses Microsoft Office and I use LibreOffice. We discovered a bit of an issue between the two office suites, with regards to track changes. During that discussion, I […]
Writer help: Using track changes
It’s Sample Sunday again, good ladies and gents. Today I share with you the beginning of Chapter Two from my upcoming release A Blade Away. Follow Email PostShare on Tumblr
Sample Sunday: A Blade Away
This has been a very interesting week for me and my first “baby” that is soon to be “born” unto the reading world. The baby in question is A Blade Away and, after my editor worked her magic on the text, we decided some serious changes were necessary to avoid […]
Character evolution
Today has been one of those days. It started with a phone call from my editor informing me about some serious changes that had to be made to one of my books. No big deal. I’m always down with change and her changes (as always) are spot on. It was […]
Don’t you want to scream and cry?
A bloody war has begun. The dogs have been released and they smell the blood of the unjust. It is a dark time and all manner of dark agents are walking among us. That, of course, could easily be the battle cry of the traditional publishers. They see the tides […]
Cry havoc: Traditional publishers vs. self publishers
As a writer, we have to make leaps of faith on a daily basis. Be it for a story line we have developed, dropping a character into a scene that might not work out, a title, a book cover, a blurb for a book…the list of leaps goes on and […]
A huge leap of faith
I wanted to post something quick to bring to light some news to everyone. It’s nothing earth-shattering, life-changing, or time-travel worthy, but it’s still news that begs repeating. Are you ready for it? Are you suuuuuure? Follow Email PostShare on Tumblr
News that’s news worthy
Writing Believable Antagonists As long as I’ve been reading and writing, I’ve had a soft spot for well-drawn villains and antagonists. Even as a kid, I found myself sitting on the sidelines quietly rooting for cartoon villains like Wyle E. Coyote and Gargamel. It wasn’t because I hated the Roadrunner, […]
Guest Post: Jennifer Melzer
Each of the novels in my zombie trilogy all have a sort of “gimmick”. In the first novel the protagonist, being a journalist, makes use of a digital recorder to help chronicle his transformation from human to zombie. In the second novel, My Zombie My, Bethany frequently tunes into an internet radio […]
Sample Sunday: My Zombie My
Back when I was in grad school, studying acting, I had a great script analysis class, taught by a phenomenal instructor. She was passionate about what she taught and knew more about deconstructing a script than anyone I have ever known. That class really helped me understand the ebb and […]
The art of developing a plot
I’ve been listening to The Fixx a lot lately. Probably one of my favorite bands from the ’80’s who survived the hairspray and keyboards to evolve into something brighter and better than anyone thought possible. But that’s not what this post is about. Although the title was inspired by a […]