News and Guest Post: Nick Wilford

Nick Wilford's Thoughts on Editing and His New Editing Service

 

With the rise and rise of self-publishing, it’s easier than ever to put your words and stories out there in the world. This is a great thing, and I’m all for it. However, it’s not just about the story - although of course, that is the most important part - but the way it’s presented. Don’t you want your baby to look its best before sending it out to seek its fortune? You wouldn’t spend months or years worldbuilding and honing your characters and storylines to be let down by a lack of editing. It’s just as important as an arresting cover image.

 

Nick Wilford, Freelance Editor is a one-stop shop for affordable editing, proofreading and formatting services. With professional training as a journalist and editor, the time has come to transfer these skills in order to help out the fellow authors I have come to love.

 But it doesn’t stop there. I’m ready to edit anything, from a crucial term paper you have due in, to a memoir or non-fiction work. Let me put that finishing touch on your masterpiece.

Feel free to take a look at my website for further details of my services and prices.

 Bio

 Nick Wilford is a writer, freelance editor and stay-at-home dad. Fascinated by words from a young age, he trained as a journalist before embracing the calling of fiction. When not writing he can usually be found spending time with his family or cleaning something. He has four short stories published in Writer’s Muse magazine. Nick is also co-running a campaign to get a dedicated specialist college built in Scotland.

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1 Word Interview with Michael Di Gesu and Celebrations

A 1 Word Wordle

Please give a warm welcome to Michael Di Gesu, my guest today for the 1 Word Interview!

Michael is a super talented writer, designer, and all around creative guy who has an amazing heart for helping others. His business, Michael Di Gesu Presents, is a service he's created to write book blurbs and introductions, and as many of us know from last year's A to Z, he's really gifted at making each person he presents feel priceless.

If you don't know Michael yet, please, visit him after reading his answers to this super short interview.

1. What's your current favorite word?

Atmospheric

2. In one word, what inspires you?

Life

3. What's one word that describes your writing habits?

Sporadic

4. What's one word that you wish you could get rid of in your writing?

Flash

5. What's one word that describes your writing desk?

Inviting

6. Share the best writing advice/tool/quote that helps you. (please limit to one sentence)

Never lose your passion no matter how many obstacles stand in your way.

7. What's your current project?

A 1940's Film Noir novella

Wow! I love those words, Michael!!! I even like flash . . . although I wonder just who is flashing whom in your fiction. :) Sorry, had a gutter moment there.
I can relate to sporadic writing habits, and I love that your desk is inviting.
I'm looking forward to reading that novella.

Many thanks to Viklit for hosting this weekly celebration!

Celebrate the Small Things:
1. I'm biking 3-4 days a week still, even on cold, dark, wet mornings.
2. I'm making snail pace progress on Champion in Flight, but slow progress is better than none.

 What are you celebrating? Do you know Michael? Go visit him today!

 

A word, a quote, and some thoughts on interviews . . .

1. A word (that I discovered recently):

Inveigle: to entice, lure, ensnare or to charm someone into doing something they might not have done otherwise.

I just like the sound of the word, and then the meaning makes it juicy. I'm not sure how I'll use it, but I started wondering . . . could someone inveigle for a good reason, and not a bad one? And how, and what would that look like, and why?

2. A quote:

“Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.” ― Neil Gaiman

(oh, but only big bad dragons, not friendly dragons like FatherDragon)

3. Some thoughts on interviews:

I find interviews mildly scary. Whereas I can post crazy things without thinking much about it on my blog or facebook status, I find myself hesitating over words in interview answers, wanting them somehow to be perfect. I don't know why. However, that is one of the reasons I'm using my "1 Word" interview format. I'm trying to lessen the pressure . . . however, I may have heightened it. I'm not sure.

Do you get nervous about interview answers?
Found any new words you like lately?
Or quotes?

Tara Tyler Interview

Pop! I'm back at my blog, just in time for an interview with Pop Travel author, Tara Tyler!
My questions are in the usual font, and Tara's answers are in purple.

Pop Travel is instantaneous, and it sounds like the perfect way to jet around the world. If you could Pop anywhere right now, where would it be?
To London so I could meet my crit partner and lots of blog friends there - it's going to take me a while, but someday I'll make it over!

How did you come up with the name for Pop Travel?
Ah, yes. The name comes from the concept of teleportation as I see it. When the process of gathering a person's micro-particles is complete, there is a pop. Hence, Pop Travel. Plus it sounded good!

The dream of teleportation has been around for a while, but you've taken it in a new and unique direction, so I have to ask, how did you start the book? Did you start with the concept of Pop Travel, and then go from there? Or did you come up with Cooper's character first? Or did it all come together right away?
It started as a result of the heightened airport security from terrorism scares – there had to be a better way to travel and not be exposed to and groped by TSA strangers! Wouldn't teleportation be cool! But every new technology has glitches and needs a hero to save everyone from greedy bad guys who cheat the system no matter the cost!

Cooper doesn't trust Pop travel. Would you trust Pop travel if it existed?
Probably not. I'm a pessimist. I don't like to fly much either, but I do what I have to!

I loved Pop Travel, and I struggled to come up with interview questions that wouldn't give away any spoilers and now I'm looking forward to the sequel, Simulation. Did you have a plan for the sequel when you started Pop Travel, or did something in Pop Travel give you the idea while you were writing it?
So glad you did and thanks for the great review! Oh, I'm excited about Simulation – really getting into it right now. It stemmed from something Hasan mentioned in Pop Travel, about his dumb androids and how he wanted to improve their programming. Then, his opportunist cousin steals his research to sell to the highest bidder! I've also got an outline for the third one, Disposal!

Cool!!! (just an add in from me)

So, there's this scene (hopefully not too much of a spoiler alert) in which you describe secret entrances and such at a Southern mansion. Do Southern mansions have secret tunnels and hallways? I've always kind of wondered. :)
There is a famous pirate tunnel in Savannah, Georgia and there are ghost stories floating around many old plantations, mostly in spooky Louisiana. Then there's the Underground Railroad, which was a code name for the escape route slaves could take to freedom, stopping at safe house "stations" along the way with "conductors" guiding them along. Some of the stations were rumored to have tunnels between them.

Thanks for the great questions! I haven't answered any like this yet. I really enjoyed it!
Thanks Tara!
And here's the scoop on Pop Travel!

Cooper thought he could get through
life without having to pop...

Pop Travel by Tara Tyler
A tale of deception and teleportation.

When a distraught client enters J.L. Cooper's small town detective agency ranting about a pop travel teleportation cover up, Cooper takes the case. He blames pop travel indirectly for his wife's death and would love to expose a glitch in it.

But the glitch turns out to be disintegrating travelers. And now, his client is dead, his secretary is missing, and a hitman is stalking him. Plus there's all the webcams watching his every move. So, Cooper has to find a way to expose the deadly flaw, while using pop travel to escape the maniacs covering it up, not to mention save a couple of tag-alongs he's not sure he can trust. No problem.

Available now on Amazon and Barnes & Noble

Goodreads    Trailer    FB Author Page

After having a hand in everything from waitressing to teaching math to rocket engineering Tara Tyler now writes and teaches in Ohio with her three active boys and Coach Husband. In addition to her novels, she has published short stories and poetry in Science Fiction, Fantasy, Thriller, and Humor. So many stories to tell!

CassaStorm Release!!!

I'm excited to take part in the Storm that's taking on the blogsphere for Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh's newest book, CassaStorm!

As part of the festivities for CassaStorm, Alex invited his followers to ask him any question about his latest release.

My Question: Will Byron, or his son, or anyone he knows start rockin' a guitar in this last book?

 

Alex's Answer: Sorry, no music in this one! Despite my love for rock music, it didn’t factor into the series.

However, Mini-Alex would be happy to play a song for you!

 

Cool! I'm ready to hear Mini-Alex rock! And then, I'm going to cozy up to my new copy of CassaStorm!

 

CassaStorm

By Alex J Cavanaugh

 

From the Amazon Best Selling Series!

 

A storm gathers across the galaxy…

 

Commanding the Cassan base on Tgren, Byron thought he’d put the days of battle behind him. As a galaxy-wide war encroaches upon the desert planet, Byron’s ideal life is threatened and he’s caught between the Tgrens and the Cassans.

 

After enemy ships attack the desert planet, Byron discovers another battle within his own family. The declaration of war between all ten races triggers nightmares in his son, threatening to destroy the boy’s mind.

 

Meanwhile the ancient alien ship is transmitting a code that might signal the end of all life in the galaxy. And the mysterious probe that almost destroyed Tgren twenty years ago could return. As his world begins to crumble, Byron suspects a connection. The storm is about to break, and Byron is caught in the middle…

“With a talent for worldbuilding and a compelling cast of characters, Alex J. Cavanaugh combines high powered space battles and the challenges of family dynamics to provide readers a space opera with heart.”
- Elizabeth S. Craig, author of the Southern Quilting and Myrtle Clover mysteries

 

“CassaStorM is a touching and mesmerizing space opera full of action and emotion with strong characters and a cosmic mystery.” – Edi’s Book Lighhouse

“Cavanaugh creates such an unforgettable world, and these characters will stay with you long after their story is over.”
- Cassie Mae, author of Friday Night Alibi and How to Date a Nerd

 

$16.95 USA, 6x9 Trade paperback, 268 pages, Dancing Lemur Press, L.L.C.

Science fiction/adventure and science fiction/space opera

Print ISBN 9781939844002 eBook ISBN 9781939844019

$4.99 EBook available in all formats

 

Find CassaStorm:

Barnes and Noble 

Amazon

Amazon Kindle

Goodreads

Book trailer

Alex J. Cavanaugh has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and works in web design and graphics. He is experienced in technical editing and worked with an adult literacy program for several years. A fan of all things science fiction, his interests range from books and movies to music and games. Online he is the Ninja Captain and founder of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group. The author of the Amazon bestsellers, CassaStar and CassaFire, he lives in the Carolinas with his wife.

 

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