Top Shelf Indie Book Award Nominee – Song of the Fairy Queen!

Posted by vjlink on 11:13 pm in award, epic fantasy, heroic fantasy, News, strong heroine | 0 comments

A Top Shelf Indie Book Award Nominee (I didn’t submit it, someone else nominated it and Top Shelf thought it was worthwhile. I’m floored.) http://topshelfmagazine.net/index.php/sci-fi-fantasy “Brilliant, absolutely Brilliant. Having just finished reading ‘Song of the Fairy Queen’, I have to admit that it was one of the best books I have read in a while.”...

It’s Thriller/Mystery month!

Posted by vjlink on 3:58 pm in books, Cover Art, Mystery, novels, Thriller, Uncategorized | 0 comments

Don’t Stop Protesting, Don’t Stop Fighting #TimesUp #metoo #EnoughisEnough #NeverAgain #GunControl

Posted by vjlink on 12:14 am in About the writer, Millersburg Quartet, The Last Resort, Uncategorized | 3 comments

We thought we’d won. We thought we’d raised the issue of domestic violence. We thought change was on the horizon. We were wrong. We stopped fighting too soon. Domestic violence continues to kill — and not just the victims. On Feb. 22, 2018 a police officer died aiding a neighbor. The shooter had a long history of domestic violence, an active protective order against him, and three open warrants, including for assault. A man barred from owning firearms shot two officers in Westerville OH with a gun purchased by a friend,...

I write fantasy novels for grownups

Posted by vjlink on 10:07 pm in epic fantasy, heroic fantasy, strong heroine, Uncategorized | 0 comments

Do you like fantasy novels with realistic, complex characters, fantastic worlds with Elves, Dwarves, Men, Fairy Queens or High Priestesses, where battles of the mind and the heart are fought as well as battles against uncanny enemies? Epic, heroic, historic Arthurian fantasies. Tolkienesque or G. R. R. Martin (with healthy relationships and without the incest and rape. Why does G. R. R. not have any positive relationships between his characters?) In other words, not YA. I prefer to be realistic about all aspects of relationships in the books...

Audio – Part 2

Posted by vjlink on 5:56 pm in #writing, advice, audiobooks, books, epic fantasy, heroic fantasy, writers | 0 comments

Okay, to be honest, I never considered myself to be an audio person, although I know a lot of people who use audiobooks for traveling to and from work or on vacation. I had my reservations about doing that (more on that later) but as with many authors I love my readers, so, as with print and e-books, I wanted to give those who liked audio the chance to hear my books. So, a few years back I took the leap into audiobooks. I was excited, but I had trepidations. ACX/Audible was available through Amazon, so I set it up through them. The process...

Audio – I’m so excited!

Posted by vjlink on 12:56 pm in audiobooks, books, epic fantasy, heroic fantasy, News, Uncategorized, writers | 0 comments

Once before I dallied with the idea of doing audiobooks, starting with one of the novellas in The Coming Storm series – Setting Boundaries – a prequel to the series.  At best the result was ‘meh’. The narrator was okay, but he was convinced fantasy had to be read with a ‘British accent’ – I’m not sure why. And his accent wasn’t really British. It wasn’t horrible, but there was just something… that wasn’t quite there. I had wanted to have the whole series on audio with the...

Should you get New Cover Art?

Posted by vjlink on 8:58 pm in advice, Cover Art, e-publishing, new writers, Uncategorized | 0 comments

Should you or shouldn’t you purchase a new cover? That is the question. A good cover isn’t cheap. Here’s how to determine the answer: Does it portray your genre? Is it working? Is it bringing readers to your book? Do your reviews reflect that? A hard-edged thriller cover should be a stark as the content. A fantasy cover should let the reader know whether it’s epic/mythic (landscapes, castles, swords), urban (edgy, usually dark, street views), heroic/tolkienesque/arthurian (pastoral, swords, magicians), historical, or a...

Being Right or Being Kind

Posted by vjlink on 5:58 pm in advice, e-publishing, new writers, Uncategorized, writers | 0 comments

When did manners become a bad word? When did behaving well turn into a bad thing? When did political correctness become a pejorative? Has the general negative attitude of this country permeated to all levels? When did it become more right to be cruel than to be kind? There has been a ‘debate’, and I use that word very loosely, about a certain situation on Facebook that degenerated into name calling, unkindness, and worse. Bullying. The person involved was ganged up on by a large number of people. Even worse, since it was...

Romance

Posted by vjlink on 6:56 pm in books, e-publishing, Millersburg Quartet, novels, Romance, strong heroine, Uncategorized | 0 comments

Romance novels tell us not how men are, but how we wish them to be. A few years back (I’m not telling how many *laughing*) I found myself in the position of watching my (previous) marriage at the beginning of the inevitable downward slide toward divorce. It was a tough time. Worse, because I was trying to follow my dream of writing. That was what tipped over the apple cart. What saved me was reading, of course. More particularly, reading a series of specific books – Nora Roberts Chesapeake Bay series. Knowing N.R.’s history...

The Coming Storm series

Posted by vjlink on 3:53 pm in epic fantasy, heroic fantasy, News, novels, strong heroine | 0 comments

This book isn't in your Library! Please check the ISBN/ASIN number you provided.My new advertising banner for the Coming Storm series.  What do you think?