lindalavidicon L i n d a  A.  L a v i d                                                                                            

       Welcome
               My name is Linda Lavid and I write books, e-books, free downloads, articles and poetry/stories.
               I have won awards and teach extensively on writing and publishing.
               I'm interested in characters who mess up but keep going.
               For mystery lovers, check out Rented Rooms and Paloma.
               For character-driven stories, consider Thirst and Spots Blind.
               For writing and publishing series: Composition On Creative Writing  Publishing Tips
               For self-help: 101 Ways to Meditate: Discover Your True Spirit
               Thanks for visiting!
 
       
click on cover
101 ways to meditate
 for free offer and more
 
                                                                                                                                 Check out my ART SITE
Books:                                                                                                                                                                 
         spots blind     composition     thirst     rented rooms     paloma      creative writing freeebook     publishing tips   
(Click on book covers to learn more)
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quick links
                                                                                               Amazon
Rented Rooms: A Collection of  Short Fiction

                                                                                                           Paloma:  A Mystery (Print and Kindle)
                                                                                                           Thirst: A Collection of Short Fiction(Print and Kindle)
                                                                                                  Composition: A Fiction Writer's Guide (Print and Kindle)
                                                                                                     Publishing Tips: Weekly Strategies (Print and Kindle)
101 Ways to Meditate: Discover Your True Self (Print and Kindle)
E-Books
Thirst: A Collection of Short Fiction
Composition: A Fiction Writer's Guide for the 21st Century
Stories and books
  News
Articles, Thoughts
, Reviews, Events
Recent Work
Excerpts, Micro Fiction, Poems
Full Court Press
Imprint of FCPress
Links for the Independent Writer
Hyperlinks for Writing, Editing, Publishing
My Art Work
Paintings and such
Northside Writers
Writer's Group in WNY
All print books can be ordered from your local bookstore. Just supply them with my name and title. Thanks! Gr
Bio:   
linda lavid
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, Editing, 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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Poetry                                                                               Prose    
poetry

Quickly
in breaking dawn
turn the kaleidoscope
Quickly
pop the cork
and pass the bottle over
Quickly
let a hard rain
drench skin to bone
Quickly
before death,
touch me with warm familiar hands



prose
One More Hour
 

He liked to smoke and drink coffee. Stimulant overload. Then in the evening, get into the vodka. But when he stopped the routine, it got worse, catatonic, staring into space.  Anyway, somewhere between the ups and downs, was when I loved him...usually around 3 p.m. after he was awake and cleaned-up. He made me laugh with the crazy things he'd say and do, calling me Lula, dancing to Bob Marley. I'd get a good hour out of him before it got dark, before he finished off a pack of smokes, a pot of coffee, before he'd say, gotta run to the store, leaving me alone with barely enough oxygen to breath.

But I'm worried. It's been over three days. And I'm afraid, too afraid to walk down by the river, to a certain spot where we’d sit, the place where he'd told me he wanted to be buried, where the willow trees with their pourin' down branches swayed and rustled. So I'm waiting with the window open and the curtains blowin' in. I can't tell the police or his sister or mother...down by the river, maybe that's where they'll find him. I can't go there. Not just yet. I need to have hope there'll be one more hour left in him to love.    

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News

news



E-Reader comparisons About.com

Rube Goldberg YouTube

Upcoming sale venues: 
Weekly: Westfield Farmer's Market*, May 29 through October 2, Saturdays 9AM to 2PM
Light of the Lakes Westfield/Barcelona Pier, September 5, 5PM to 9 PM. Firework display @ 9:30 PM

Ongoing sale venues:
My books and artwork (paintings, note cards, magnets, pins) are now available at Surroundings Art Gallery & Framing located at 73 Main St in Westfield, NY.

*To all visitors of Wesfield Farmer's Market...If you enjoyed your experience at the market, please vote here. The zip code is 14787. 


An Excerpt from my book Publishing Tips...   

Writing Tip:  A concept called cause and effect is the internal integrity of the story that provides a logical framework and forward motion. Cause and effect occurs at every level of a story’s construction, from sentence to paragraph to page to chapter. Problems occur when: cause has no effect, effect has no cause, the effect precedes cause, or when  there is simultaneous cause and effect. Some examples…Cause with no effect: He flipped the switch and looked into her cold blue eyes. What is the effect of flipping the switch? Looking into her cold eyes? To follow cause and effect it should read: He flipped the switch. Light flooded the room. He looked into her cold blue eyes. Effect with no cause: This occurs when a character acts or reacts for no apparent reason, i.e., furious to calm with no transition. Effect precedes cause: He shot three times after pulling out the gun should read After pulling out the gun, he shot three times. Simultaneous cause and effect: Ripping off the sheet, she collapsed onto the bed.  This sentence implies that two events are happening at the same time which, when imagined, seems unlikely. Better stated: She ripped off the sheet and collapsed onto the bed.

Editing Tip: Weed out vague words such as: thing, something, stuff, aspect, area, factor, unit, situation, type, way, sort of, kind of, nice, a lot of, manner, ideas, activity, procedure, or any general word or phrase that tends to be overly inclusive. To remedy, either omit or replace with specific descriptive words.

Publishing Tip: Pre-publication reviews are usually found on the back cover of the book. Often they are extracted blurbs. Getting reviews before publication can put everything on hold. Not just in the time it takes, but once returned, they have to be edited, formatted, and placed wherever you’d like them to appear. If  there are time constraints, a fee may be charged. Different reviewers ask for different formats. Some want an (ARC) Advance Review/Reading Copy (Week Twenty-Eight/Publishing Tip), others are okay with a digital copy of the book. Whatever format you send, make sure it is fairly clean of typos and formatting problems. Another way of handling reviews is to find other authors, specialists in the field, or enthusiastic readers to say a few words. People enjoy seeing their name in print and if they like your book, it’s a win-win situation. Book Connector  The Complete Review   Midwest Book Review

Website Tip: Selling books directly to readers from your website is often the most profitable. For this reason, make book sales quick, easy and affordable. Showcase your books on the landing page with clear links to your bookstore or checkout. At checkout, offer payment options that allow for check or credit card. Put books on sale as well as offer to sign and gift wrap. Once a sale is made, ship quickly with a thank you note and/or promotional freebie, i.e., bookmark, pen. For practices to avoid when selling from your website see Week Twenty-Nine/Website Tip. PayPal Google Checkout

Marketing Tip: Advertise on Craigslist. It’s free and local. Depending on your book and what it’s about (niche), there are a range of classifieds to place an ad. Craigslist



Illusion is the greatest of all pleasures.  - Oscar Wilde
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spots blind
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...
  • question  relationships
  • like surprise endings
  • enjoy a literary tone
  • prefer short reads
  • are curious about human nature
  • see life as ironic
  • like plot twists 
  • are not offended by mild graphic sex
Download Free E-Book:  PDF or TXT
 
If you don't risk anything, you risk even more.  - Erica Jong
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composition
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...
  • are interested in creative writing
  • want to learn more about writing craft
  • started but are stalled on a project
  • need  advice on editing
  • are considering self publishing
  • want to learn about subsidy publishing
  • need more information on selling books
Preview Book:  Google    Amazon
Purchase E-Book: Lulu
Purchase Paperback:
   Amazon
   Barnes & Noble
  
PayPal

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A word after a word after a word is power.  - Margaret Atwood
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thirst
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...
  • have a sense of humor
  • are not offended by sex
  • question  motivations
  • enjoy quirky characters
  • like short reads
  • curious as to the creative process

Preview Book:  Google    Amazon
Purchase E-Book:  Lulu
Purchase Paperback:
    Amazon
    Barnes & Noble
  
 PayPal

Comparison shop
The violets in the mountains have broken the rocks.  - Tennessee Williams
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rented rooms

Rented Rooms is a collection of previously published short fiction. 
The stories featured in Rented Rooms are an eclectic collection in 
both style and genre. Tales of mystery, love gone awry and 
characters who cross the line comprise the whole. Added 
to each story are author's notes. These commentaries range
from the story's inspiration to its craft. Included in Rented Rooms 
is "The Accident", a finalist in Otto Penzler's Best Mystery Stories
of 2003. Whether to entertain,
inspire or educate, Rented Rooms 
is a primer for readers and 
writers alike. For an independent 
review, please visit:

Tregolwyn Book Reviews For more reviews click here. 

Purchase Paperback:
    Amazon
    Barnes & Noble
    PayPal 

Comparison shop

You'd like Rented Rooms if you...
  • enjoy mysteries
  • like surprise endings
  • watch Alfred Hitchcock movies
  • prefer short reads
  • wonder about romance
  • feel just desserts are sometimes warranted
  • curious to why we act the way we do 
  • are interested in quirky characters
  • write short stories
  • want to learn more about creative writing
Preview Book:
    Google    
    


The road to hell is paved with works-in-progress.  - Philip Roth

paloma
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...
  • enjoy mysteries
  • like quirky characters
  • are jaded about romance
  • believe one night of passion can  change lives
  • are kinder to others than to yourself
  • feel parent/child dynamics are complicated
  • enjoy fast moving plots
  • read Nora Roberts or Robert Ludlum    
  • are from Buffalo, New York
Preview Book:  Google    Amazon
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.) 
I wish I could write as mysteriously as a cat.  - Edgar Allan Poe


creative writing freeebook
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...
  • are interested in writing fiction
  • like to hone creative writing craft
  • want to get unstuck 
  • have trouble with writer's block
  • don't understand why you lose interest
  • feel you have little talent
  • don't know where your story is going
  • need some editing help
  • read E-Books
Download Free E-Book:  PDF or TXT

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.


A book must be the ax for the frozen sea within us.  - Franz Kafka
 publishing tips   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.

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 ...
  • are thinking about publishing
  • don't know where to start
  • are confused about the options
  • need to get motivated
  • have some fears about the process
  • would like to have some fresh ideas
  • have published but are overwhelmed
  • hate marketing your book
  • find the Internet overwhelming
Preview Book:  Google Amazon
Purchase Paperback:
    Amazon
    Barnes and Noble
   
PayPal

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Live Yes - moi
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101 ways to meditate

101 Ways to Meditate: Discover Your True Self is a primer to illuminate the landscapes within and beyond. Easily explained and specific, 101 Ways to Meditate, supplies a wide selection of processing, imagery, release, and inspirational meditations to make meditative practice life-affirming, insightful and fun. A 31-day journal is also included. Whether to explore metaphysical questions, experience higher awareness, or come to terms with the mystery within, meditation serves.

Reviews

If you are interested in reviewing this book, please send me an email. Thanks.

Also available as a FREE downloadable abridged version...
55 Ways to Meditate Click on cover
You'd like 101 Ways to Meditate if you...
  • want to be less stressed out
  • wish to explore holistic healing
  • feel there is a greater purpose 
  • are open to self discovery
  • have a curious nature
  • want to learn how to meditate
  • wish to understand yourself better
Preview Book:  Amazon
Purchase Paperback:
    Amazon
    Kindle   
    Barnes and Noble

    PayPal
 
   

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