Vocal Expressions

If you are a self-published author and you are looking for a step-by-step guide on how to navigate the public relations (“PR”) arena, then you need not look any further than this book authored by PR guru, Cherrie Woods.  Cherrie’s book is a great resource that tackles the 10 most frequently asked questions by authors about book publicity and how to increase their book sales. The book is practical and includes questions related to how to identify your book genre, how to choose the right book cover, how to build a platform, how to get reading opportunities and much more. I really liked how the book was formatted with each section beginning with a quote from “authors at varying points in their careers and from a variety of genres.” In addition, there is a notes section at the end of each question so authors can make a note of things that jump out at them.   I have been an author for several years and while I know how to do a lot of the things covered in this book, I defi...

Author’s Bio:  Jeff Markowitz is the author of the Cassie O'Malley mysteries, an amateur sleuth series set deep in the NJ Pine Barrens. After penning three books in the series, Jeff decided to embrace his dark side. His most recent book is the award-winning black comedy,  Death and White Diamonds . Jeff currently serves on the Regional Board of Directors of the New York Chapter of the Mystery Writers of America. He lives in Monmouth Junction, NJ with his wife, Carol. You can usually find him at his computer at 5:30 in the morning, plotting someone's murder. What inspired you to write your book? I “found” a dead body on the beach in Cape May. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say I “imagined” the dead body on the beach. You see, I have a writing exercise…I refer to it as finding the dead body. It’s an exercise in finding story ideas. When I find a body, I write a couple of sentences to capture the scene. But this time, the dead woman kept bugging ...

Speaking is a great way to grow your audience or your platform. Some of us are born orators while others of us must hone this skill. Some of us thrive on getting in front of an audience while others freak out before they do. Whichever category you fall into, there are some foundational questions to ask yourself if you want to dive into the public speaking arena. Here are some foundational steps to get you started: Speaking is a great way to grow your audience or your platform. Some of us are born orators while others of us must hone this skill. Some of us thrive on getting in front of an audience while others freak out before they do. Whichever category you fall into, there are some foundational questions to ask yourself if you want to dive into the public speaking arena. Here are some foundational steps to get you started: 1.          Define your target audience. This will help to ensure you are speaking in front of the ...

Author’s Bio: Christine (C.A.) Verstraete enjoys writing fiction with a bit of a “scare.” Her short stories have been published in anthologies and publications including, Happy Homicides 3, Mystery Weekly , Baby Shoes: 100 Stories by 100 Authors and Young Adventurers: Explorers, Heroes and Swashbucklers. She also is the author of a young adult novel , GIRL Z: My Life as a Teenage Zombie and books on dollhouse miniatures . Her latest is Lizzie Borden, Zombie Hunter . Learn more at her blog, http://girlzombieauthors.blogspot.com and her website, http://cverstraete.com . What inspired you to write your book? The Walking Dead. I started watching it and was hooked. I wrote a teen zombie book and then I realized there was a reason why Lizzie Borden did it…zombies – and wrote an adult zombie story. Is there any particular author or book that influenced you in any way either growing up or as an adult? I, of course, loved reading Stephen King. Bram Stoker’s Dracula is also...