First Word

I always notice little marketing ploys or things in business that I find absurd. I was out last weekend at Northstar and among the snack shacks (that were closed incidentally) was this little glass-enclosed structure called the Euro Snack. Hmm ... what might the "Euro" Snack sell? Maybe some unique European snack foods (hence the name). I laughed. They offered "French" hotdogs. I thought, where did the hotdog come from? Germany maybe ... but France? I didn't know hotdogs were a French specialty, but to further my amusement they were "frog" dogs. Now I don't know about you, but frog isn't really a common snack food. And it's not necessarily something I want in my hotdog. Well, honestly I don't eat hotdogs unless I'm desperately hungry for non-sugary snacks at the theater (and we'll call that true desperation). It's scary when the ingredients add the word "filler" as in filled with unknown substances. Well, back to...

I saw the great Maya Angelou speaking once. Her words are inscribed in my soul. To be able to touch lives with such authentic wisdom, grace and knowledge is a beautiful talent, and she had that talent in spades. My greatest wish is to be so enlightened and insightful that one day I can provide such inspiration and truth to others. As writers we have an amazing talent to share with the world pieces of our souls -- small parts of ourselves that we can bring to the page. It is an honor and a privilege to be graced with the talents to inspire and motivate other people with words. Maya could use words through her stories to accomplish great emotional feats to change lives. Think about it. The talent and gift to transcend time and space with your words and thoughts to transform lives ... to make other people think ... to challenge people to go inward and consider something greater. It is a monumental responsibility that writers are given from the heavens, and so like Maya Angelous use i...

Vengeance is Now (The Tate Holloway Series) Scott D. Roberts 3L Publishing (2013) ISBN 9780989136006 Reviewed by Tamra LeValley for Reader Views (9/13) Click here for review on Reader Views What is a disgraced ex-cop to do?  Open up a Private Investigator firm, become a gigolo and surf the waves to your heart’s content, of course.  In “Vengeance is Now” by Scott D. Roberts, that is what Tate Holloway did anyway and he was doing a darn good job too.  He was kicked off the police force for asking all the wrong questions about a case that he thought should not have been closed.  The real killer was just waiting in the wings to start his killing spree again and to have his nemesis, Tate, take the fall.  It was fail proof, wasn’t it?  This story starts with the tragic upbringing of a young boy who is traumatized by his sister’s consistent rapes and their mother’s inability to help herself, let alone her children.  They are eventually...

I like nothing better than to jump in the car and take a road trip -- destination unknown. Feel like going to the ocean? Okay, let's go ... and off we went. Which beach? Stinson Beach, an old favorite located near Marin and Mt. Tamalpais. The only detractor about Stinson Beach from the San Francisco side are the hairpin twists and turns down the coastline (if you suffer from motion sickness it's almost guaranteed you'll get sick unless you take Dramamine). After a lazy afternoon in Stinson, our next destination unknown took us along the Sir Francis Drake Road and into the small town of Fairfax. I had no idea a place called Fairfax existed. I found the town to be a curious place. First, the restaurants seemed to take bragging points for foods like an alligator sandwich and boar ravioli, which for all intents and purposes could be an old country favorite I have never heard about or just an odd combination ... you decide. Next in the "strange" land was this pla...

This is a rough draft of the Introduction from my forthcoming nonfiction book Nothing Sells Your Business Better than a Book.   Introduction When I open my presentations, I ask two questions: “How many of you throw away books in the trashcan?” I follow this question with the next one, “How many of you throw away brochures in the nearest garbage can?” The second question provides the audience’s a-ha moment. Most people feel value when they buy or are given a book. A book has weight. It has pages. It has merit. It conveys the perception of knowledge and expertise and time and money to publish. A feeling of guilt or at least a sense of environmental responsibility overcomes the desire to toss all that time, money, expertise, and most importantly “paper” into the garbage can. On the other hand, how many flyers, tri-fold brochures or one-sheets create such a moral or ethical dilemma that you actually feel guilty to throw it away? I’ll be honest. I’ve thr...

This week was all about awards. Author Scott D. Roberts was a Finalist in the Indie Excellence Awards for his freshman effort Vengeance is Now, and Jori Nunes won an award from Kohl's for her first book Chocolate Flowers written to raise awareness about child sexual abuse. These authors' wins represent the kind of excellence in publishing that 3L Publishing makes its mission. We set ourselves apart from other publishers by striving to make each book its very best. New and emerging authors like working with our team of award-winning editors and designers to publish books that are award worthy. As a publisher and in an industry where many people want to break in, I could make a lot of money publishing just anything. I personally do not want to contribute to the deluge of bad writing that is hitting the eBook market because publishing has become more mainstream. Writers mistakenly believe that because the distribution methods have become more open that they can just publish an...

Tate Holloway is back in a big way after riding the national media attention from capturing and killing the notorious serial killer “The Eye” and in the process uncovering political corruption in the City of San Diego. After being exposed by the media as a male escort and dumped by his girlfriend Nicole, in true Tate fashion he continues his lifestyle vs. recognizing his true feelings for her. All he wants to do is get back to work as a private investigator with his trusted sidekick Rita and attempt to get his life back in order. A phone call from one of his “regulars,” Bonnie thrusts him into a missing person’s case when her curious nephew, who was interning for the summer in Washington, DC, ends up missing, and she fears foul play. You see, Bonnie isn’t just any attorney. Her law firm represents and handles high-level security clearance matters between the defense department and civilian defense contractors. In his hunt for Bonnie’s nephew, Tate investigates the possible re...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE               MAY 20, 2014                                                             Contact: Michelle Gamble                                                             Mobile: 916-300-8012                           ...

In my not-thinking-ahead way I got myself into a situation. A local promoter asked me for my speaker's sheet. I haven't been on the speaker's track in two years, and speaking can breathe new life into sales and present new opportunities. Seizing the day, I quickly put together my speaker's sheet and to my surprise I was booked at numerous organizations. Knowing full well that the best way to leverage speaking is to have a product or service to sell, I realized I was now in a bind without anything to back up my talks. Being a quick thinker and a professional writer and author, I took the concept from my presentation and quickly developed a book concept. Problem somewhat solved, right? No. I now have to write that book as quickly as possible to leverage the upcoming opportunities. So here is my announcement. My new book Nothing Sells Your Business Better than a Book is being written to be released in the next month. Yes, I'm crazy and yes, I'm a publisher so th...

I was talking to a fellow writer about character development, and she said the funniest thing: "Sometimes I almost feel embarrassed to be a voyeur in my character's lives." Many writers talk about how their characters take on lives of their own. I always chuckle and think we're a bunch of crazy people with imaginary friends. It's true. My characters imbue their lives in my mind with all the facets of who they are. As I tell a story it unfurls much like life. In this case, I typically have an end in mind while most of us don't know our "ever after". It's like sitting as fortune teller and seeing the future in the crystal ball of my computer. You know where the story is going but what happens in-between is a bit of an enigma until you actually get to that point in the story. Writers write stories in different ways. A friend of mine uses note cards and says his desk looks like a serial killer's shrine. I write stories straight from my mind...

Yesterday a situation arose with a client. We were talking, and the client was duly upset about a disputed matter. We talked through the issue, and she wanted to talk with the other person involved. I told her to let it sit overnight and we would address it in the morning when cooler heads prevailed. As a manager, the "let-cooler-heads-prevail" philosophy is a good strategy to adopt. Automatic reactions to situation produce more automatic reactions, and misunderstandings can grow from what could have been a much more manageable issue into a major fallout. I do think there is a difference though between proactive management and "simmering" leadership. Being proactive is working out of Stephen Covey's idea about the 4th quadrant. Simmering on issues is a whole other thing in business we'll call "boiling pot" management. Boiling pots don't react or even behave proactively. Simmering pots boil and boil and boil until the issue spills over and bur...

The business environment regardless of the economy is constantly changing. As a business leader you have to be prepared to reinvent and change. If you're not growing you're shrinking and that's just a flat fact. No business stays stagnant or level or unchanging. The rule is (let me repeat) if you're not growing you're shrinking. So the idea is to keep your eye on business growth and be prepared to look at it over the long term. Has business been growing for a month or shrinking for a month? If you review your long-term growth pattern and it's overall shrinking then it's time to ask why? As you ask "why" and devise answers then your next step is to "solve" not worry. As a consummate worrier I have to push myself into the solution-oriented mindset. In the solution mode, get creative and think outside of the box. Try different ideas on for size. In my brainstorming session, I realized I had some opportunities on the horizon with a series o...

I used to work with a guy who said that every time we were on deadline for the magazine. I thought it was funny and pretty true. Stress is something we perceive. It's how we manage that perception that can either feel stressful or not. Think about it. Unless someone really is firing a gun at you maybe life isn't as stressful and you "feel" it is. I always liked what the book The Secret said about time: there is always enough time. I was thinking about stress because I was running late for a meeting yesterday. The phrase, there is always enough time soothed me in that moment. The "stress" melted away. Perception! I perceived it stressful because I was running late. But when I put a different message through my mind, the stress alleviated itself. My point is most stress is about perception and what we put on ourselves. Our self-talk is directly related to our stress levels. I'll give you another example. For some unexplainable reason I put a lot of p...

I recently hit a lag in projects and work. I believe that when faced with business decline you don't spend any time focused on the "deficit" but on the "reboot". Business works that way -- it ebbs and flows. You have flush times and then you have dry times. The overall goal is to get it evened out, but it never seems to work quite that smoothly. When I worked in corporate one of the ideas I was taught is "outflow gets inflow" -- and I have found that to be true. If you're not marketing (outflow) and reaching out toward new projects you're not going to attract what you need to grow your business. Tip 1: change your business strategies . Reinvent or think outside of the proverbial box and be open to stretch into new areas. We tend to fall into routines or ways we attract business. That channel is likely to dry up over time, and that is natural. If a channel dries up then you have to look to new revenue streams and that may require some crea...

Ever see someone walk across a busy intersection absorbed in texting on his/her Smart Phone? How common is that scene (and how dangerous)? When I lived in LA the scene of a guy or girl walking obliviously down a busy street texting or doing something else on his/her Smart Phone was as common as a McDonald's on every other corner. People go to restaurants to enjoy a lovely meal and instead of conversing with each other each one's head is down and each one is absorbed in something on the Smart Phone. Bored waiting for something? Just watch a movie on your Smart Phone. Don't feel like talking to your companion, play on your Smart Phone. Forget magazines in the waiting room. Download an article. Some of the conveniences are really great. Who doesn't want to watch a movie while waiting for something. The issue at hand is the disconnect and alienation. When I was married the TV was on 24 x 7. When I got divorced I swore to put an end to the major disconnect the flat screen ...

I saw an ad: How to publish your book for free. I found this annoying. I would imagine that it's how many graphic artists might feel when someone says I can color therefore I am a professional artist. We all run into those people who devalue your profession and think "anybody can do it" and then add to insult to it by suggesting it can be done FREE. I will just say one thing: free is as free does. Ever heard there is no such thing as a free lunch? There is no such thing as a free publishing service. Let me debunk some myths and then you'll see why it's never free if you want it done right. Anybody can write . Yes, it's true we're all taught in grammar school how to write. In every writing profession (and yes many different levels of writing exist, from technical to journalistic) there are specific rules and structures to follow. Do you know what are those rules? I always like this one (it's true): you can't break the rules unless you know the rul...

It has been said you can't really write anything until your 40's. I remember hearing this information and thinking, "Ack! I'm 20 ... that is a long ways down the road." How do you define or describe how inexperience influences writing? The essence in the knowledge of really knowing something or having a frame of reference from which to draw knowledge deepens your ability to write about it. Writing about visiting another country without ever having visited that country is not the same. You can research it and write about it, but can you really describe it -- the exact smells, the people, the places, the cracks in the sidewalk ... For young writers this news might be disheartening. You might be like I was at age 20 and think that is a long ways off ... so my best advice, stick with what you know and can relate to. When you're 16 and attempt to write about being 40 and getting a divorce because of your midlife crisis, it will show in the work. Something is just...