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Rented Rooms: A Collection of Short Fiction Paloma: A Mystery (Print and Kindle) Thirst: A Collection of Short Fiction Composition: A Fiction Writer's Guide for the 21st Century Publishing Tips: Weekly Strategies for the Independent Writer E-Books Thirst: A Collection of Short Fiction Composition: A Fiction Writer's Guide for the 21st Century Spots Blind: Short Fiction (PDF or TXT) Due to copyright infringement Publishing Tips is no longer available as a download Blog On Creative Writing and Publishing Links Links for Independent Writers News Articles, Thoughts, Reviews, Events Recent Work Excerpts, Micro Fiction, Poems Full Court Press Imprint of FCPress My Art Work Paintings and such |
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I'm from Buffalo, New York. I began writing in my forties having shown no particular talent earlier. In fact my two worse subjects in high school were English and typing. Go figure. Anyway, although my journey has been roundabout, here I am. My work has appeared in the following publications: The Southern Cross Review, Wilmington Blues, Plots with Guns, Unlikely Stories, Ascent Aspirations, A Cruel World, Zimmerzine, Cenotaph, Over Coffee, Tangents, and published by the Haworth Press. A short story, "The Accident", was a finalist in Otto Penzler's Great Mystery Stories of 2003. "DMV", another short story, received an award from Ascent Magazine. Besides writing I give seminars and have developed curriculums on: Novel Writing, Short Story Writing, Writing a Mystery, and Self Publishing. Venues for my seminars and presentations have been at Buffalo State College, Erie Community College, Albright Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo and Erie County Libraries, Just Buffalo Literary Center, and the Chautauqua Institution. I offer free seminars in the Western New York area. If you'd like me to speak to your class or organization, please E-mail me. I love talking to anyone, anywhere about my passion - writing and publishing. |
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heavy, thick, stout green bottle a’coke just out of ice sharp ridged cap popped against a metal loop p’ssssss then touched to parched lips |
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Excerpt
from "The Accident" Katya,
unfazed, sits on their couch,
while Lew slams the kitchen cupboard doors one after another, loudly,
deliberately.
(included in Rented Rooms) He’s
trying to get her attention, she imagines, waiting for her to scurry in
and ask
what's wrong, but she isn’t going to nibble, not after thirty-seven
years of
marriage, not after being a fish on a hook once too often. Closing
her eyes, Katya imagines
standing on a sunny beach at the water's edge with tiny waves nipping
at her
toes. Suddenly, a clamor of metal erupts. Katya jolts upright and looks
toward
the kitchen. He must have pulled the silverware drawer out too far.
After a few
moments, she hears the singular clink of odd pieces of flatware being
returned
to their molded spots. Well, Katya thinks, that should keep him quiet
for a
while. She settles back into the sofa and closes her eyes again. Her
two o'clock appointment had
phoned yesterday calling on a line with static and background traffic
noise. He
seemed in a rush, asking if he could come around in the morning, at
eight, if
you can imagine that! He even tried to bribe her with muffins. What was
it
about men, always trying to arrange you into their schedules? "Kay!"
Lew yells. Katya
opens her eyes. "Yes
dear." "Where's the damn sugar?" Continue |
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Full Court Press has released Blackbird Rising: A Novel of the American Spirit. It's a truly remarkable book by local award-winning author, bon vivant and all around great guy...Gary Earl Ross. Due
to an unauthorized Kindle version, Publishing Tips: Weekly Strategies
for the Independent Writer is no longer available.
NOTICE: Copyright infringement notifications will be served to those
parties who sell or tamper with this book or any other. To those affected by this decision, please know I will continue to post excerpts of this book on my blog. And of course the book remains available. Most recent published story...Of Similar Circumstance (adult content) Chautauqua Institution Class on Self-Publishing for Week Nine (August 24-28) |
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Spots
Blind is a
Free
e-book of short
fiction.
The stories
share a common theme of being blindsided - sometimes by family, friends, lovers; sometimes by our own refusal to see the truth. "You can’t always see what’s coming. The trajectory is misinterpreted, misconstrued, minimized. On the other hand someone could be blocking your view, on purpose, with malice. No matter what, that something is heading your way." Reviews: "Stories are mystic..." Simply Bookish |
You'd like Spots Blind if
you...
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Composition,
A Fiction Writer's Guide for the 21st Century, welcomes
you into the tech world of the independent writer. Writing,
publishing, marketing tips abound to encourage and educate. The time is
now. Take the plunge and turn your creative work into a book that
sells.
Reviews: "Composition: A Fiction Writer's Guide for the 21st Century is a brief but illuminating read about how to write a book from concept to creation,and then get it out there. It’s super easy to read, and for a non-fiction book, fast paced and fun..." The Compulsive Reader "Composition clears my bar for a to-do book... " BoggerNews "A priceless gem of a book..." Armchairinterviews Review. "A helpful guide for new writers..." ReserveBooks "A nice little book for any potential writers who just do not know how to get started." Curled up with a Good Book. More reviews . |
You'd like Composition if
you...
Purchase E-Book: Lulu Purchase Paperback: Amazon Barnes & Noble PayPal Comparison shop |
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Thirst
is a collection of short
stories where jaunty, lusty, creepy,
quirky characters, all needful, discover what they want is not what
they get. A man obsessed with terrorism, a woman in an abusive
marriage, a secret forced into the open are a few of the dilemmas faced
by desperate characters reaching blind. Included in Thirst is the
award-winning story "DMV".
Reviews: "Composed of twelve short fiction stories about human desire and want, Thirst captured my attention from the moment I began reading it. Ranging from a story about a professor's unquenchable thirst for young undergrad women to the enticing read of two women playing off each other in a bar to attract men, Linda Lavid's writing is sophisticated, masterful, and full of desire." Great New Books "This short story collection is exquisite, exciting and a pleasurably fast read. Each story, although different in nature, is woven to the next with the common threads of infidelity, a multitude of flaws and the ever delicious...jealousy." Literary Lighthouse Reviews "I would recommend this book to book clubs. I think discussing which story is each person's favorite and why would be very interesting. And anybody can find the time to read "Jealousy". Especially for those who read during breakfast...Linda Lavid manages to write stories that are short and sweet, but branches out to the short and bitter, and manages to make them all short and startling." Reader Views More reviews. |
You'd like Thirst if you...
Preview Book: Google Amazon Purchase E-Book: Lulu Purchase Paperback: Amazon Barnes & Noble PayPal Comparison shop |
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Rented
Rooms is
a collection of previously published short fiction. Purchase
Paperback: |
You'd like Rented Rooms if
you...
|
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Paloma,
a woman with three identities, is running hard and fast.
Someone wants her dead. But which identity is the killer after? Max
Laurent, retired FBI agent, throws himself into the mix. Paloma must
outwit the assassin. Max must outwit Paloma. Before coming to terms
with past misunderstandings and a child long ago abandoned,they must,
together or apart, find and eliminate the killer.
Reviews: "Not only do I highly recommend reading this book, it is also a keeper." Lighthouse Literary Reviews "Heart-stopping, blood pressure rising book..." Road to Romance "As much about the relationship between two people as it is about the plot to kill one of them..." Rambles "Filled with blood-rushing excitement...." Coffee Time Romance "Completely enthralling, a roller coaster ride of intrigue and deception." Roundtable Reviews "Really rather clever narrative..." Tregolwyn Book Reviews "Face-paced. A recommended read." Online Reviews of Books and Current Affairs. "Stays in your head long after you've finished the book." The Romance Studio |
You'd like Paloma if you...
Kindle Download: Amazon Purchase Paperback: Amazon Barnes & Noble PayPal Comparison shop (note: the ISBN for this book is 1593303130. Somewhere in the distribution process another author's name, Sarah Karyn, is listed as the author. Before ordering make sure you see the cover or check the ISBN.) |
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On
Creative Writing is a Free e-book. There are several aspects to writing fiction. Rendering what John Gardner in The Art of Fiction describes as a 'vivid and continuous dream' is a complicated affair. Story is created from the imagination of a writer, who in turn must translate it onto a page of symbols so that another person can read, absorb, and experience the story in a similar fashion. It's a remarkable process when you think about it. So, are you up for the challenge or is the writer's quintessential question nipping away inside: Do I have the talent? We imagine talent as some huge reservoir of subconscious knowledge that some lucky people are born with. We think of Shakespeare and Mozart and Einstein. But the truth is we all have talents of many kinds and measures. Talent is nothing more, or less, than an individual ability. And while there are gifted writers, I do not believe that having an innate talent is imperative to become an author. Fiction demands a working knowledge of many points of craft that can be taught and learned. And while mastering craft can be daunting, each one of us has the skills to meet the challenge. In fact, the quality most needed is neither talent nor knowledge, but the mad, unrelenting desire to tell a story. And with this passion, walk to the end of the diving board, loosed your shoulders, and take the plunge. Reviews: "User-friendly walk-through on Creative Writing." Learning the Learnable |
You'd
like On
Creative Writing
if you...
If you enjoy On Creative Writing, and would like a paperback, consider Composition: A Fiction Writer's Guide for the 21st Century. All the information plus more is in this paperback. A free download is available for another book in my Creative Writing and Publishing series....Publishing Tips: Weekly Strategies for the Independent Writer. |
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Publishing
Tips: Weekly
Strategies for the Independent Writer is a year’s
worth of
weekly tips in bulleted format on the following topics: Writing,
Editing, Publishing, Using
a Website, and Marketing. The layout of this book mirrors the
dilettante role
of every publishing writer where everyday we do a little of this and a
little
of that. In today's world writing and publishing is a dynamic
process: craft builds, technology morphs, markets explode. Still, no
matter where you are
on
this continuum, Publishing
Tips
will
provide valuable and useful information to you,
the inveterate, dreaming
CEO of one: the independent writer. Publishing Tips (red cover download) is no longer available due to an unauthorized Kindle version. Copyright infringement notifications will be served to those parties who sell or tamper with this book or any other. If you enjoy Publishing Tips: Weekly Strategies for the Independent Writer, you may like other books in my Creative Writing and Publishing Series...Composition: A Fiction Writer's Guide for the 21 Century (paperback and e-book) or On Creative Writing (Free e-book). Also, both my short story collections, Rented Rooms and Thirst, include author's notes at the end of every story. Here I discuss points of craft or inspiration for that story. Fiction goes beyond flights of fancy. Like all art, it reflects, and tries to make sense of, who we are in this world. |
You'd
like Publishing
Tips if you ...
Purchase Paperback: Amazon Barnes and Noble PayPal Comparison Shop |