February 24, 2019
Less than delicate thoughts on Plagiarism (A gentle rant)
Good afternoon campers, like a badly buried Las Vegas hooker, I, author John McKay, have made my blogging return.
I’m sure everyone has heard about the plagiarism drama that unfolded on the interwebz this week. If not, just do a simple Google search or even Facebook or Twitter search and you’ll find lots! I have decided to stick my well-heeled snout into the kerfuffle, aren’t you grateful? (If you’re not, that’s ok. I’ll rant anyway!)
Papa Hemmingway (aka the legendary Ernest Hemmingway) said it so nicely: Writing is easy, just sit at a typewriter and bleed. Well that is what we are doing every time we close the old porn tabs (your mom is looking muy caliente, by the way) and fire up the Microsoft Word program (or whatever you use these days).
Writing is not easy, not even by a long shot. First you have to come up with an idea, one that has not already been used and would actually make for a decent enough book.
Okay wonderful, look at you looking all spiffy like.
Now just to barf out seventy to eighty frikken thousand words and you are set.
You have? Well golly Batman, aren’t we just the sexual tyrannosaurus this morning?
Now you need to edit it, find a publisher (That is a ransom note for another day), convince the publisher that you can actually sell said book. Then comes draft after draft, hostage negotiations with cover designers and formatters and then finally, you have the book in hand. (Ok, so, you don’t actually need to find a publisher, you can choose to self-pub, but that can be a lot more work for you, a busy adult with many things to do, and also another ransom note for yet another day.)
Now to deal with the troglodytes over at Amazon, not to mention the scammers and trolls on social media and all sort of mouth breather coming at you.
You’ve done it, you’ve made a book. Months and years of blood sweat and tears have gone into it. You are on the last helicopter out of Saigon with your nuts/ovaries still intact.
And then some talentless slob comes and steals your work? I beg your pardon dahling? Not even a polite request if they can quote you in their book (I would be honored, with publisher permission, of course. Manners will get you everywhere, love.) No, this inbred poodle fracker just waltzes into Berlin and takes entire passages and pages out of your book.
Not cool, mon amis, not cool at all!
I wish authors, both young and old, would realize this- your reputation as a writer is of paramount importance and once you’ve tarnished it, well it’s horrifically hard to get it back. The writing community is a small, incestuous bunch that doesn’t forgive and forget easily. Apart from the massive lawsuits, you would be lucky to write manuals for Hong Kong kitchen appliances after this! Your career for all intents and purposes is finished, my friend! You’d better warm up that Chucky Cheese mascot application as that’ll be about the only job you’ll be able to get now, and that’s it your lucky!
Sorry, I know I’m being a hot little biscuit this week, but it’s because I feel so strongly about this and I know many other authors and readers alike feel the same!
I know many a wonderful writer that toils away in the shadows for years without recognition. There are a great many amazing writers that never get the plaudits they so richly deserve. They deserve to see their books right next to mine on the bookshelves (hint hint, buy my book, you cretins) but then this classless Muppet comes along and steals their work. It’s wrong on so many levels!
I am therefore delighted that the book community has stood up so strongly against this particular thief. We have made our voices sound up loud and clear that such scumminess simply won’t be tolerated.
We must celebrate the hardworking writers out there, both indie and traditional and make every effort that the books they worked so hard on gets out there to the public.
As for those who commit plagiarism? A gulag in Siberia sounds lovely but banishment from the writing community would suffice. There is simply no space for them in our community. Ass-door-you bye bye.
Woof, the rant is finished kiddies. You can let Grammy out of her room now. The storm is over. One more like thing though, while I have your complete and undivided attention- why not check out my book? It will keep you on the edge of your seats!
That’s a damn promise.
Here’s the blurb and links and yeah, I will catch you on the dark side. LOL
Take care campers.
~JOHN MCKAY~
The Venom Protocols
“You should have left me alone.”
Charlotte Corday was once called the most dangerous woman on the planet by the FBI until she retired. But it’s not so easy to remain retired when the past is determined to drag her back into the hell she wanted to leave behind her.
To uncover the origins of the mysterious Valkyrie program, Charlotte fights through her own dark past, dredged up by those determined to keep her out of retirement… or out of the business permanently… and to find solace in her own razor blade filled mind.
Her own words—her own warning—will come to haunt them.
They should have listened.
UK ~ https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07C1W1SKX
US ~ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07C1W1SKX
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-venom-protocols
Google Play: https://goo.gl/CWkN9A
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/781944
February 2, 2019
Five-Book Series by Kara Liane
💜Five-book Series!💜
A Tryst of Fate Series
For less than $13 USD, you can have all 5 eBooks!
This contemporary series promises sweet moments, lots of romance, and plenty of steamy encounters. All stand-alones with HEAs and no cliffhangers!
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2xiS7vi
~ $3.99 (US) for Book 1; free in Kindle Unlimited
~ FREE for Novella 1
~ $3.99 (US) for Book 2; free in Kindle Unlimited
**Kindle Scout Winner**
~ $0.99 (US) for Novella 2; free in Kindle Unlimited
~ $3.99 (US) – for Book 3; Free in Kindle Unlimited
Giveaway by Kara Liane
*To enter this giveaway, follow this link to my author web site https://www.karaliane.com/current-giveaways
Details about entry and requirements are outlined in the contest rules. Thanks for entering and good luck! *closes 2/7/19 EST midnight.
Excited to have the chance to tell you about these great books!
Hey everyone I’d like to introduce myself, I’m Tayler Macneill. A little about myself:
I am what they call a hybrid writer and new to the business. I have always enjoyed writing but never gave it any serious thought until 2016 when I started writing “The Darkest Side of the Moon.” Before that I mainly wrote poetry which has been published through The American Poet Society and is in their library. I also wrote lyrics for a few of Paramount’s musicians which is up for grabs in their country catalogue. Currently I am working on a psychological crime thriller, a Supernatural Fantasy thriller, a psychological thriller and the sequel to The Darkest Side of the Moon. I love Animals, nature, music, movies and art of all forms. My dream is to be living somewhere with a view and a back yard for my puppy.
CHECK THESE OUT…
THE Darkest Side of the Moon 🌙 a cozy mystery only sci-fi style.
A cozy clean mystery suspense, only sci-fi style ❤️
The Darkest Side of the Moon 🌙
Charlie is just an ordinary girl, or is she? She lives in the city with her best friends, where mysterious murders keep happening and people keep disappearing without a trace. Planes are falling from the sky and trains are derailing. The people are oblivious to what is happening, even the police are left clueless. The city believes it’s a serial killer, but others believe it’s terrorism. No one actually knows just how widespread it is, though it’s everyone’s worst nightmare.
How would you feel if life as you knew it faded away or turned out it was just a lie? The world has their eyes open, yet no one sees the truth. Not Charlie, her eyes are wide open, and she sees it all!
#free to read chapter 1 from The Darkest Side of the Moon 🌙
https://www.facebook.com/notes/tayler-macneill/the-darkest-side-of-the-moon/668351686870651/
Or maybe you want something filled with action and horror?
The Crack of Evil 👿
A psychological horror supernatural suspense / action thriller (non gore)
Brandy moved to New York three months ago, and is living in an apartment with Cindy, Derek and Ben. They are young and life is exciting. Things should be easy. Their apartment is old and haunted, leaving it a little on the creepy side. The landlord says it has history and history creates character, but how much character does one apartment need? The foursome decide to throw a party, something small and quaint. On the day of the party, they pull out a Ouija board, to see who has been causing trouble. Satisfied, they move forward with their plans.
A storm brews outside the windows, but this storm is different. It’s Friday night, the music is up and the guests have arrived. There are extra guests, but who invited them? Derek and the girls discover the spirits have invited themselves, but Ben, the sceptic, doesn’t believe them—until nobody gets to leave.
A deranged murderer and his killer mistress like to play with their prey, before the kill. A night of psychological games and murderous intentions lead these friends down a dark path.
#free chapter of The Crack of Evil
https://www.facebook.com/notes/tayler-macneill/the-crack-of-evil/687568564948963/
BOTH BOOKS ARE AVAILABLE IN ALL BOOK STORES UPON REQUEST 📚
***books in getting analyzed for the option of being in a movie 🎥
Thanks so much for having me on the blog 🙂
Why do we do what we do?
Good morning/evening everybody. My name is John McCay and I am an author. This is my first blog entry so be gentle with me, okay? It’s my first time. The question was posed to me…
Why do we write?
Let’s be honest with each other here, the money is great. It’s a vindication that another person trusts us enough and that somehow we are doing something right. It still blows my mind that a reader can invest their hard earned money into something I wrote! I feel a total rush when I see those Amazon ranking numbers drop. I’m a dork when it comes to such matters, so please, excuse my enthusiasm. And, if you’re a writer, you know I speak the truth…we all get a touch of jealousy when another writer outsells us (especially when the book has a shirtless gorilla on the cover or has a greyish colour in the title! But I digress.)
We are human…
We want to feel like we belong and can hang with other authors. It’s human nature, I guess. But then I went deeper- and allow me, please, to use myself as a human guinea pig here- I got a Facebook message a few months ago from a person that I had never met before in my life. My jaw dropped to the floor when the person spoke of how my book got him through a very dark time in his life and pulled him back from the edge. He said it gave him hope. My little ole book, my baby, gave this man who I never met, hope! It gave him hope! It just absolutely blew my mind-still does. That’s when I first saw my scribblings for what they truly were- something special! My book gave a person in dire circumstances hope- the will to just step back off the ledge and lift their chin again. That’s a pretty powerful thing! That’s one thing we don’t always realise as writers.
There in lies the power of our words.
It’s a hard and messed up world we live in and it feels like we’re getting hammered with constant challenges day by day. But if our words can help the reader escape that reality, even for just a little bit, then we have succeeded more than we ever realised.
Reading is escapism…
It helps to hold back the shadow for just a little bit. It might sound like hyperbole but it’s true. In the greater context, our contribution is small compare to others. We writers don’t run into burning buildings or work long and painful hours in a nursing ward but maybe we are there to just give the slightest of nudges. Get up; try again.
You. Can. Do. This!
I was so upset the other day when a popular talk show host (I won’t name names here) said that comic books don’t have any value and that they are essentially for children.
Oh Zippy, let me sing you ze song of my people, ja?
I work with children every day of the year (professional cat herder/minion handler here, but we’ll leave that for another therapy session) and I tell you they idolize characters like Spiderman and Iron Man. A young child, still so new to the world can see and recognize the values and life lessons that these characters hold sacred to them. Their eyes light up when they see their heroes. They want to be like them. You are lying to yourself if you don’t think that has an impact on a child.
We need heroes now, more than ever before
Now, I am not saying you should put on some spandex and go jump off a building. (You will be road pizza and nobody wants that). No, I am talking about the little things here. Using your power to help the weak, to lift up those who’s heads have dropped. Little actions can change the world, one damn step at a time.
That’s what we do as writers
Be you a classical writer of major literary novels or something as simple as a comic book, you inspire others to be a better version of who they were yesterday. Another based his Dungeons and Dragons game on one of my books, which is epically cool also.
So yeah…
…that is my song and dance for today.
Keep writing!
Even if you think it is complete and utter Moose kaka, you never know who is out there reading your words and getting inspired or even just finding the strength to lift their head, get out of bed and look the world right in the eyes again.
February 1, 2019
Author Post: Kelsie Rae Fifty-fifty
Hey everyone! I’m Kelsie and I’m so excited to be here and share my upcoming release Fifty-Fifty: A Lover’s Landing Novella.
Here is the blurb:
I need the money. Now. It’s not my fault that the bed and breakfast my grandpa left me is a giant failure. My only hope is to sell the place and cash in on what little it has to offer. The only problem? I have to convince her, my Grandpa Jay’s pseudo-grandchild, that it’s a good idea too. And she’s even more stubborn than I am.Beau
Nope. There ain’t no way I’m gonna uproot my two-year-old daughter by sellin’ the only home she’s ever known for an entitled city boy unwillin’ to give his granddaddy’s bed and breakfast a chance of thrivin’. Jay, why did you have to partner me up with him? He’s even more stubborn than I am!
About Kelsie
Kelsie is a sucker for a love story with all the feels. When she’s not chasing words for her next book, you will probably find her reading or, more likely, playing with her “monsters”.
She adores chocolate, photography, baking, and chick flicks. And now that she’s actively pursuing her writing dreams, she’s set her sights on someday finding the self-discipline to not eat an entire batch of cookies in one sitting.
The Procrastinate Reader