Vocal Expressions

I’ve been an avid Eric Jerome Dickey fan for many years. He has mastered an addictive fiction formula that pulls you into a story filled with characters readers both love and love to hate. Sometimes the characters and their motivations will have you scratching your head and at times you can totally understand why they do the things they do. Anyway, let’s dive into this novel which is the prequel to Bad Men and Wicked Women which I’ve read and thoroughly enjoyed . When I first met the main character Ken Swift and his sidekick, Jake Ellis, I knew I found a dynamic duo I would love to learn more about. Ken and Jake are debt collectors (enforcers) for San Bernardino. At the heart of the first book was the complications of Ken Swift’s daughter Margaux, now a young woman walking into his life after several years. Why? Because her mother, Jimi Lee after divorcing him, whisked Margaux away from him as a child in effort to get back into the good graces of her Ethiopian family. In the preq...

Author’s Bio: Award-winning screenwriter and director Bonné Bartron has always loved books, but it took the world shutting down for her to finally write one. Whispers is a spine-tingling thriller with a sharp satirical perspective, the perfect genre for her to cozy up to in these unprecedented times. The most humorous moments live in the tension of fear, and Bartron serves both up in her debut novel.  On October 6, 2020, Whispers debuted at #13 on the satire best seller charts, and #10 on the Amazon new release best seller list. On October 8, 2020 Whispers took #1 and #2, for the paperback and e-book respectively, on the Amazon Best Sellers New Release charts in the following categories: sociology of abuse, satire, mystery, and political misconduct.  Deliah Lawrence: What inspired you to write your book? Bonné Bartron: It was more of a response to feeling silenced. I saw something else spreading with COVID and realized if I was going to have any chance of helping or contribut...

Author’s Bio: Amazon best-selling author Sharon Buchbinder’s broad range of writing includes internationally best-selling textbooks and award-winning novels that tell haunting tales of love, family secrets, forgiveness, extraordinary abilities, truth, justice, and redemption. She believes happily-ever-afters are born through strengths developed in overcoming adversity in fiction and real life.  Sharon’s Western romance ghost stories are woven with supernatural and Native American paranormal suspense elements. Set in small towns in the American West with strong female heroines, sexy male heroes, secret government agencies, undercover agents, shape-shifters, werewolves, weretigers, ghosts, jinnis (genies), telekinesis, teleportation, and remote viewing, these stories will make you wonder about those bumps in the night. For more information go to: https://www.sharonbuchbinder.com Deliah Lawrence: What inspired you to write your book? Sharon Buchbinder: The Missing and Murdered In...

Like many authors, I’ve had to cancel a few in person appearances and other author events since the pandemic. Bummer. But I was pleasantly surprised when I received an email from Georgia Harris, a friend of Emma Lou Black (the founder of the Heritage Book Club in Lexington, Kentucky) asking whether I would be available to meet virtually and discuss my first romantic suspense novel, Gotta Let It Go with her book club – The Ladies Who Love Literature.  Without hesitation, I jumped at the opportunity to connect with these avid readers via Zoom.  After we locked in the date (October 10, 2020 at 4 p.m.) I began communicating with Gayle Lloyd, a founder of the book club. She prepared a flyer (see below) with details of who they are, the types of books they like to read, and their logo designed by Belinda Stallings-Fields (another founding member) denoting the “chic, sophisticated persona of this group of enthusiastic readers." This was awesome! Needless to say, I was super excit...

A friend of mine thought of me when she read the book’s description (protagonist who works outside of the law in the vein of Scandal and Revenge to right various wrongs). But the title was what really intrigued me to read it. Anyway, the gritty social-issue threw me for a loop and brought to mind the movie Precious depicting physical and emotional abuse by the hands of those who should care about you.  Diving into the book: the setting is LA and rotates around actors, directors, blackmail, folks using sex as favors, “Me too” movement, etc. I liked the voice of the protagonist (Estlyn Collins/Dillion Hayes) but I found it very unrealistic that at 25 years old she would have the wealth of experience as a lawyer to wheel and deal like she did throughout the novel. The other characters were colorful enough (foster care brother Rory, good friend Dean, lover Cal/Linus) and via their POVs and flashbacks gave readers insights into who Estlyn is and why she acts the way she does. Overal...

I completed a phone consultation this past week with an author who wants his children’s book to be accepted into major school systems throughout the U.S. His book is written in verse (which is becoming more popular), the main characters in the book are minority children and he is an educator who teaches 3 rd grade students. With these three great elements tied to his book product, he is almost ready to begin a PR campaign. But the one thing he’s missing is a professional website.   My potential client asked why does he need a website if he has a great social media presence. I responded with parents and school systems have a choice from the over 20,000 children books published every year (according to the American Library Association). This means the competition is stiff and it is tough to stand out in this crowded market. So, if a potential buyer from this group hears about his work, they will want to know more information about him and his book product and won’t want to dig t...

Every author wants their 15 minutes of fame via traditional media which is typically two minutes on television, a short print article or 15-20 minutes on radio. However, the traditional media route is highly competitive, are usually more amenable to traditionally published authors and are better accessed via a publicist. Nevertheless, indie authors should not despair. Why? Because as many authors already know, there is a whole world of online media that may not have the large audiences attributed to traditional media, but they are very effective in growing your public profile and book sales.  These online media include blogs, video podcasts, audio podcasts, IG videos, etc. and are much easier to access. Even more important, they provide a great way to share your interviews via links that can be posted on your social media channels and on your website. In addition, they provide invaluable practice should the big opportunities come along in the future.  If authors are not ab...