First Word

3             Rosa Stephens was a Mexican girl who managed to pass as white. She used this to her advantage when she met Mason Stephens, a well-to-do businessman from San Diego. Rosa’s naturally fair complexion and strangely lit green eyes made her look exotic and unique, but not a poor Mexican girl whose family were migrate workers who picked strawberries and blackberries in Monterey every summer and pinot noir grapes in fall.   Mason met her at a wine tasting festival at Wine and Roses in the new Napa Valley, which was a swath of gold country land located near Lodi, California. Mason, a carefree but conservative man ran several branches of the Dollar Rental Car chain. He was an extremely handsome young man with close-cropped and gelled dark hair. He mostly wore a white shirt, tie and slacks to work each day. He did have a hearty laugh that anyone within a few yards could hear. He was athletic and snow skied at Bear Valley in the winter and boated on the San

2             Pete Mulligan stepped out of a long, black stretch limo in front the St. John Rehab Center located in Portland, Oregon. Nestled in the redwoods and shaded by the forest, the California Craftsman-style house had a long circular driveway with a three-tiered fountain out front that watered spilled over the sides to make a soft flowing noise. In front of the windows grew purple, yellow and pink flowers surrounded by lush ferns. The rehab center looked more five-star resort than treatment facility for the mentally ill and substance abuse addicts. The only giveaway was the check-in booth located in front of two large redwood doors that had keypad locks on them.             Pete stood out front while his chauffeur unloaded the trunk. He stared up at the looming redwood doors that touched the ceiling. Pete was a typical over-privileged Hollywood executive who had produced last year’s superhero blockbuster at Warner Bros. studio. Unfortunately Pete was al

  My new book The Abused is a dark psychological thriller about eight patients who go to rehab only to find themselves in danger when someone starts murdering the patients. 1             Her father loved the kittens more than his own daughter.             Merry had learned that lesson the hard way. She and her sister Carrie were sitting on the crumbling back stoop of the old 40’s style stucco blue house. Their gray tabby cat Fluffy had just had a litter of kittens – two black ones and a perfectly white one. Carrie, a precocious eight-year-old with dirty dishwater blonde hair and steely gray eyes, was taunting the white one with a stick. She picked up the kitten that softly mewed.             “Catch,” she suddenly said to Merry.             Merry, a sweet and frail-looking four-year-old with golden hair and light green eyes, looked up in surprise. What was she catching exactly? And then suddenly a white fur ball hurled toward her face. She managed to

1. Create the Table of Contents -- the table of contents is your book's road map (this mostly applies to nonfiction). Creating your table of contents will give you an idea of how to start. In all nonfiction books the structure should make sense in a kind of "unfolding" way. Each chapter should relate somehow to the chapter before it. For example, your introduction to your topic obviously should be in the front of the book. It's a standard approach. Now I am always for break the rules, but know the rules before you break them. 2. Chapter by Chapter -- You can work a chapter at a time finish and go onto the next one. Don't worry about editing until you have a first draft. 3. Outline the Structure of Each Chapter -- You will want the same road-map approach for each chapter, too. Once you have an acceptable outline back fill the content.

1. What inspired you to write Harmonic Wars ?   I saw a really cool and open-minded  documentary on the Great Pyramid of Giza. It prompted me to research similar sites around the  globe until I discovered that there was a great deal of archeological evidence that a highly advanced civilization may well have existed on a global scale thousands of years ago. I still have no idea about what the purpose of any of those sites were, but I knew I could make a really cool and compelling SciFi story about it. My research was compelling enough that I was able to be a guest on both Caravan to Midnight and Coast to Coast AM to discuss the research I did for Harmonic Wars as well as promote the book.   2. Who is your favorite character and why?   Alana, because she is a strong warrior. Her sassy and down-to-earth attitude was so much fun to write. She is proof that good and righteous people can be fierce warriors who keep their sensuality without being a slut. Arturo was als

1. Thinking that their editor is the same as a final proof and copy edit. Reality with books which are often very long is that an editor can't necessarily catch everything. Notice on most mastheads of magazines that you have several layers of editing -- the editor-in-chief, editor, managing editor and copy editor. The reason for the layers is that each role is slightly different. Even if you have a reasonably talented editor to clean up and help your copy shine, a final proof will still be a necessity. I try to tell writers this and often hear they don't need that final proof, which is completely wrong. When I end up showing them via a quick proof of a few pages how that belief is incorrect, it often opens their eyes to the true difficulty of getting a completely clean draft. 2. Not understanding that a Word document and a book template are two different sizes and produce a different page counts . I ask writers the size of the book, and they quote from the Word document. Sta

I have encountered clients who have no experience in marketing and publishing, hire 3L Publishing ( www.3LPublishing.com ) to publish their books, and then argue with the team about the process. If you're going to hire experts who have done something that you have no experience doing, the idea is to listen to the experts. Now the customer is always right, true. Problem is when the customer thinks he or she is right -- and their idea of right is simply wrong. When you're talking about writing and editing, and the customer's ultimate goal is professionalism yet they're not following expert advice and experience then the end result is not always professional. When it comes to writing some writers don't want their work touched no matter what the edit. I was joking with a friend of mine that some writers argue about grammar. My go-to solution is to not only explain why it's wrong, but also back up the answer with my favorite website Grammar Girl (yes, that's

Some of the great innovators (think Steve Jobs) or even great creatives (think Meryl Streep) have made a pointed effort to create their own visions. They are driven by their own ideas. They aren't following the sheep, they are leading the herd. Its easy to get sucked into the belief that you have to please the world. Other people's beliefs about you are important. Don't get me wrong, some people's opinions do have relevance. But if you're going to be a leader and not a follower, an innovator not a copier then you have to go to your own beat. You're going to face naysayers. You might even face an eye roll or two or a chuckle or giggle. But if you firmly believe in your vision and believe in yourself (most importantly) then you should see these people as unimportant. They're only there to remind you to stay the course of your own direction. So have confidence. Don't let others define you. You define you. And if you have a dream and a vision, pursue i