This is incredibly cool. I just received a notification letter that read:
EPIC, the Electronically Published Internet Coalition™ (www.epicauthors.com) is delighted to announce that your entry, Unnatural States, is a finalist in the Science Fiction Category of the 2011 EPIC eBook Awards Competition™.
2011 EPIC finalist
These awards, presented by the Electronically Published Internet Connection (EPIC), honour the finest electronically published books of the year.
I’m delighted and excited; a wonderfully unnatural feeling.
UnnaturalStates
The winner of EPIC’s 2011 Science Fiction Category will be announced at EPIC’s annual conference, held in historical Williamsburg, Virginia, March 10-13, 2011.
I’ve been selling Youdunit Whodunit!, my little primer on writing mysteries, for several months.
Now, I’ve just launched a new book trailer for your enjoyment. It was an interesting challenge: my first non-fiction trailer. I decided to forgo music and go with narration.
Have a gander below. Love to know what you think!
Click here for more info and places to buy Youdunit Whodunit!. And thanks for your interest.
I’m going to forgo my usual Friday mystery writing tip (my apologies to all three of you who are disappointed ) to announce that I’m again teaching a half-day course on e-book publishing at Camosun College, Victoria, BC. The course is on Saturday, September 25th.
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!
Intro: I’ve been teaching a writers’ workshop at our local Camosun college on how to write a mystery novel. My students are eating it up, telling me that they’re learning lots of practical and usable tips and techniques, so I thought I’d offer bits and pieces of the workshop in my new Friday Mystery Writing blog posts.
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
I recently had the pleasure to assist Michael Hanson, a former officer with England’s famed Metropolitan Police, publish his first fiction e-book.
The Black Widow is an intriguing police procedural mystery from a man who’s been in the trenches. To purchase ($2.99 US) or to find out more information, check it out at Smashwords.com. The Black Widow will soon be available from a number of other online booksellers.
When you are getting a little long in the tooth and want to publish a book, modern technology and publishing changes mean that skilled help is necessary.
The lecture on E-Book Publishing given by Nicola Furlong makes it easy for all ages, and her creativity and imagination give the necessary encouragement to take this step to publish your book. She was tremendous help with mine.
Her blog will keep you up to date in a rapidly changing world of fiction and nonfiction reading.
Intro: I’ve been teaching a writers’ workshop at our local Camosun college on how to write a mystery novel. My students are eating it up, telling me that they’re learning lots of practical and usable tips and techniques, so I thought I’d offer bits and pieces of the workshop in my new Friday Mystery Writing blog posts.
Cover for mystery writing primer, Youdunit Whodunit!
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!).
I've been there, both print and e-book, and can help you. Get my free writing and publishing tips or listen for free to practical fiction writing techniques gleaned from my interviews with published authors at The Novel Experience Podcast. Maybe we'll both hit the best-seller list!
"What year these events transpired is of no consequence. Where they occurred is not important. The time is always, and the place is everywhere. Suddenly at noon, six days after the murders, birds flew to trees and sheltered roosts." (What the Night Knows, Dean Koontz)
) to announce that I’m again teaching a half-day course on e-book publishing at Camosun College, Victoria, BC. The course is on Saturday, September 25th. 
