Vocal Expressions

Meet Klarke Taylor, a mother of two and happily married until her husband blew up her world with his lies and infidelity. Now, she has a pile of bills and creditors breathing down her back. So she devises a plan along with her two besties, Jeva and Breezy to get her a man to bail her out of her financial situation. Reo Laroque is the man who fits the bill. He’s a bestselling author and is looking for a woman who can be his wife. However, all doesn’t go so smoothly as he is caught up in a twisted case of love, lust and lies. This story had too much going on. Not only did Klarke have drama with her ex-husband, her boss and her new husband but her besties had issues with their men as well. While there were some interesting moments in this book, I felt the story would have been better served if it had fewer subplots. I perked up toward the end when Reo’s six-month-old daughter drowned in his pool and Klarke confessed to the crime but there was no hard evidence to put her away in jai...

Welcome to Part 2 of my review of Dawn Field’s “How to Fail as a Writer” blog and why you should do the opposite to WIN as a writer. 1.   Be as original as possible, forget conforming to any genre expectations. My opposite: As writers our work tend to fit into various categories or genres. You are either a fiction writer or non-fiction writer and sometimes even both. Nevertheless, there are rules or expectations from the publishing industry and from your readers as well. I write romantic suspense novels and so you would expect to see elements of danger and romance not a comedic novel. The blue print is out there for whatever genre you decide to write and it’s best to follow them if you want to be a successful writer. 2. Ignore the belief that publishable books have structure or that you need one. My opposite: Structure or plotline is what holds a book together. Without structure, your book will invariably fall apart. This can lead to reader complaints and that’s not a goo...

Author’s Bio: Larry Matthews is a veteran of thirty-five years in broadcast journalism, working in radio and television in major markets and networks. He has published eleven books, eight of them fiction. He was a street reporter, investigative reporter, anchor, news director, editor and producer. His Dave Haggard thrillers have been top-ten sellers on Amazon. What’s the inspiration for writing your book? LM: This is the 4 th Dave Haggard thriller. Each deals with a theme or crime. The first was about a psychopathic priest, the second about greed and corruption, the third about terrorism, and now the 4 th is about human trafficking. All of the Haggard books are Washington thrillers. Dave is a D.C.-based reporter, as was I, so I use my own experience as a platform for the stories. Nine Millimeter Solution is also about the cynicism that has overtaken our political world. Many people don’t know who the good guys are, so I try to use that confusion in the book. But there are cl...

I recently read a blog by Dawn Field titled "How to Fail as a Writer" and she listed 23 ways to do just that. While I'm sure there are more ways to fail, I wanted to talk about the first eight in Part I of my blog review of her list and why you should do the opposite to WIN as a writer. Here goes: 1. Don’t worry too much about your opening line. Readers will soon be past it and into the good stuff. My opposite: Please, please, please do worry about the opening line. Why? Because the first line of the first chapter determines whether readers will want to read the next paragraph or the next chapter of your novel. Once you get readers hooked they will want to read more of your work! 2. Don’t be concerned that your ending goes off with a fizzle. The rest of the book was worth the price of admission. My opposite: Endings are a pain. I struggle with this too because if you have a story that sizzles and pops you don't want to be stuck wondering how to wrap things ...

So you have a great idea for a fiction novel. Now, where do you start? As for me, I started out by taking a few creative writing classes and throughout the years I continued to hone my skills through various workshops and attending writers conferences. I have also spent so reading a wide variety of books some within my genre (romantic suspense) and others outside my genre (non-fiction, etc.). Anyway, I recently read the following John Grisham's suggestions for writing popular fiction and wanted to share them with aspiring writers. Also, this is a great reminder for me to see how I measured up against these suggestions. 1. Do  write a page every day - Failed, but I'm working on that. 2. Don't write the first scene until you know the last - Semi-failed. I have a tendency to write and figure things out as I go along. But, I'm working on at least having a road map of where I want my stories to go. 3. Do write your one page at the same place and time - When I do ...

Whew, now that the hustle and bustle of the holiday season are over, I'm now able to catch my breath and reflect back on 2017. For starters, 2017 was a year that pushed me artistically, personally and professionally. Anyway, here are a few things I was definitely proud of myself for doing: Hiring a publicist to revamp my website as it's been neglected for far too long and I love the new look!  Freshening up the cover of my first novel, Gotta Let It Go, relaunching the second edition and making it available online at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc.  Hiring an editor for the sequel, Gotta Get It Back - and yes this has been sitting for a few years. I'm shaking my head here because I'm guilty of not making this a priority amidst the craziness of life. But onward I go. Changing my look (new hairstyle) which came with a new level of sassiness. Diving into a new attitude about living, loving, and laughing out loud. Embracing when folks do their own thing and being ...

Author’s Bio: Daneace Terry Jeffery is a Baltimore-based children’s book author and a teacher who has taught for 19 years in Howard County, MD. Ms. Jeffery earned a B.A. in English and a M.S. in Literacy. She has five grandchildren who are all bi-racial. Another Me is the third book in the Ella series that is loosely based on the life of her eldest granddaughter. What inspired you to write your book? DJ: I was inspired to write the first book after the birth of my first bi-racial granddaughter. It was important to me to find books to add to her library that featured a bi-racial child. Unable to find the right book, I decided to publish my own. I was not looking for the “look I’m a bi-racial child” book, but just a regular picture book with the main character being bi-racial.  Is there any particular author or book that influenced you in any way either growing up or as an adult? DJ: Being a children’s book author was something totally out of my arena.  Growing up ...