Here’s the blurb and a link to Camosun – Publish Your Own E-book to register.

Thinking about publishing your writing but struck out with traditional publishers? Don’t fancy the headache of self-publishing in print? Then it’s time to join the latest publishing sensation.

You can publish your magnum opus (or cookbook, or romance, or…) in an electronic book format, sell it through major online booksellers and receive above average royalties as easy as a,b,c…well, almost.

This course will introduce you to all things e-book including set-up and formatting, online bookselling sites, e-reader choices, cover image basics and marketing possibilities.

And it’s only $49.00 (plus the dreaded HST). We had a full house last time so register early. Love to see you there!

Smashwords logo

They’ve entered into a partnership with one of the oldest and best ebook sites on the net: the Diesel Ebook Store.

Cooler still, most of my ebooks are now all available for sale through Diesel. This is amazing as I was unable to into Diesel on my own prior to joining Smashwords.

My new Diesel e-book links below:

- A Hemorrhaging of Souls

- Teed Off!

- Unnatural States

- Self Publish Your E-Book in Minutes!

- The Will of God

Hopefully, my little mystery writing primer, Youdunit Whodunit!, will soon join Diesel.

Now, if only Smashwords could get all my ebooks back into Barnes and Noble, life would truly be peachy.

After all, I’ve been waiting for months!

Have a peak at Chris Redding’s Blog to learn a bit about moi and to catch the opening salvo of my supernatural thriller, Unnatural States.

While you’re at it, why not spend a little time getting to know Chris? Her latest book is Corpse Whisperer.

I totally dig that title!

A Hemorrhaging of Souls cover

Clare Swindlehurst, of the excellent review site bluearchipelagoreviews, has just given my dark psychological suspense mystery a five-starred review.

(BTW, Clare defines this rating as…these books were gripping and thoroughly enjoyable. If I award a book 5 Stars it gets to stay on my bookshelf so that one day I can read it again. )

Her review:

This is a story of skeletons in closets and betrayal, with so many twists and turns you’d be forgiven for getting dizzy!

I was drawn into this book from the very first page, and Nicola does a wonderful job of weaving a tale with so many twists and turns, that I didn’t know whodunnit until the last page. I couldn’t even begin to tell you what happened in this book as it is so wonderfully complex, yet simple to follow along as you read it.

The characters are quirky and believable, and it’s always good to throw in a little romantic tension in a “will they won’t they” fashion!

If you have a few hours to spare and you want to escape from the world then download this book to your Kindle and get reading.

You may read this review and many others at bluearchipelagoreviews.com.

For more about A Hemorrhaging of Souls, including an excerpt, other reviews and links to buy here.

The information is gleaned from my little non-fiction e-book primer called Youdunit Whodunit! How to Write Mysteries. .

Don’t forget to slip in the Sly Bits:

• As mentioned earlier, a good mystery must follow the Rule of Fair Play. This means the audience should receive the same information as the Protagonist, thus giving the reader a chance to solve the crime by the end of the story
• Your job also involves developing these all-important sly bits — clues to the solution and red herrings to cause reader confusion — and then scattering them throughout the story
• Clues and red herring may be tangible (like a bloody glove) or intangible (like a character’s behaviour).
• Intensify suspense with a chase or a villain who escapes until the last possible moment or page
• Place the Protag or someone close to him or her at risk.

If you found this of interest, you may wish to see the previous posts.

…MORE how-to write a mystery tips and techniques continued in the next Friday post!

Find out more information or how to purchase this e-book, jam-packed with ways to immediately improve your writing, click Youdunit Whodunit (only $2.99US!).

Youdunit Whodunit!

The information is gleaned from my little non-fiction e-book primer called Youdunit Whodunit: How to Write Mysteries.

STORY STRUCTURE (PART 6 Continued)

LOOSE THE HOUNDS INTO THE MIDDLE:

Other mid-story development tidbits:

• Increase the tension and confusion by adding sub-plot entanglements, clues, red herrings, mistakes and misunderstandings. Find these distractions by playing around with answers to this question: what could reasonably and believably go wrong?
• Explore your characters’ motivations; remember the theme or the point of the story or what the Protagonist learns, about him or her or the world, foreshadows the solution
• Create conflict among characters to move the story forward. Witnessing a fist fight is riveting; eavesdropping on a happy couple not so much
• Ensure that EVERY scene provides information to the solution or essential character development. If not, throw it out. Sometimes your best writing should be tossed; them’s the breaks
• Increase the pace as the story unfolds
• Ensure that all plots, be they main or sub, continue to progress (and climax at the end)
• Avoid repetition, and
• Shun long periods without action. Remember: witnessing a fist fight is riveting; eavesdropping on a happy couple not so much.

…MORE how-to write a mystery tips and techniques continued in the next Friday Mystery Writing post!

Find out more information or how to purchase this e-book, jam-packed with ways to immediately improve your writing, click Youdunit Whodunit (only $2.99US!).

If you liked this, you may enjoy the previous post, One Damn Thing After Another

Cover for mystery writing primer, Youdunit Whodunit!

LOOSE THE HOUNDS INTO THE MIDDLE:

Other mid-story development tidbits:

• Never introduce the guilty party late in the book; that’s betraying the rule of fair game

• Generate more complications resulting from the criminal’s efforts at concealment or escape; these often result in a really big problem: a second murder or crime

• Remember that the strongest stories are intertwined, so construct your main and sub-plots to resonate or reflect one another. Perhaps your main mystery is a missing child; then a strong sub-plot would be to have one of your character’s searching for their birth family.

• Make it personal: have someone the reader likes be affected by the first murder or crime: maybe as a suspect? Or is in love with the suspect? Or their life’s changed by the crime?

Remember how MURDER SHE WROTE’S Jessica Fletcher always had some relationship with the victim or the suspect? So much so that no one would ever really want to be close to her!

• Develop and show strong motives for at least three characters and you’re off and running

…MORE how-to write a mystery tips and techniques continued in the next post!

Find out more information or how to purchase this e-book, jam-packed with ways to immediately improve your writing, click Youdunit Whodunit (only $2.99US!).

Prices for popular e-readers Nook and Kindle are coming down below $200.

Getting better all the time. Full NYT article here.

Gotta buy one soon…

UnnaturalStates

It’s from Groovy Writer who’s posting on a mobileread forum.

Wow, impressive. Great job, Nicola. Interesting premise, too. You put a lot of work into the multimedia site. Bet it kept you busy through the long BC winter!

Thanks, Groovy Writer!

The information is gleaned from my little non-fiction e-book primer called Youdunit Whodunit: How to Write Mysteries.

STORY STRUCTURE (PART 3)

HIT ‘EM EARLY; HIT ‘EM HARD (continued from Part 2):

• Hook and shock your audience by rocketing straight to the main crime or another crime so something important is happening, has just happened or will just happen. Set up the central plot problem (e.g., kidnapping or murder) or a major plot problem (like a stolen artefact or a missing person). This forces your villain forward; there’s no turning back

• Don’t bore your readers with long narrative passages where nothing is happening

Then consider falling back in the story; suspense is heightened when action is halted for a BRIEF explanation or flashback

• Establish the three most important characters (victim, criminal and sleuth), especially your Protagonist, tout suite

• Let us know why the Protag is involved:

This is easy with police procedurals but more challenging with amateur detectives or private eyes as they generally don’t have the authority or the credentials to be involved. Perhaps as an investigating cop? Or an avenging angel? Maybe a busybody neighbour? Inquiring minds need to know

• Give us a reason to care about your Protag (his wife’s had a stroke or she’s been evicted by landlord) AND furnish them with something personal at stake (he’s been demoted or she needs to prove her self worth)

• Quickly put your detective in a situation that reveals their character:

Take a swing at how I show the personality of my main character, Riley Quinn, in TEED OFF!:
“I didn’t want to leave. For a delicious instant, I’d found my playing zone again, that quiet, intimate space where nothing intrudes…where the ball, the swing and time are one. It’s like you’re watching, you’re not stressing, you’re just doing it, no big deal. Tears stung my eyes. Since the accident which forced me to abandon the Tour a couple of seasons ago, I thought I’d never find that zone again…”

• Establish more suspects within the next few chapters.

…how to write a mystery tips and techniques continued in the next post!

Find out more information or how to purchase this e-book, jam-packed with ways to immediately improve your writing @ Youdunit Whodunit (only $2.99US!).

Cover for mystery writing primer, Youdunit Whodunit!

Please touch base and let me know your best genre writing tips and techniques. I never stop learning.