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This Was Never My Intention...

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I want to say right now, this wasn’t my plan when I wrote the first line of The Gouge.  The Gouge was meant to be a stand-alone story, and that is all.  I’m not a big fan of books in a series, mostly because it seems like a gimmick to sell the next book.  Okay, it’s cool, but it really wasn’t what I was aiming for.  When sat down to write The Blue Hole, (again it was meant to also be a stand-alone story) I decided to do something just for fun—I decided to make a character from The Gouge, Detective Jason Burns, make what was supposed to be just a cameo appearance in The Blue Hole.  I chose to do this for two reasons:  One, because I needed a detective for the story in The Blue Hole, and two, I lazily didn’t feel like creating a backstory for a new detective.  Afterall, the work had already been done with Burns’ character and his backstory fit the bill close enough for what I wanted.  Along the course of writing and finishing The Blue Hole, the book as a whole kind of morphed into a two
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If You've Reviewed a Book, You Are Awesome!

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People who rate and review books are amazing!  Not only have they used their own hard-earned money to purchase the book, but they went out of their way after reading it to tell people what they liked about it.  Believe me, nothing brings more satisfaction to an author's spirit than reading a review from an authentic reader. Sure, from time to time there are going to be a few bad reviews too.  There has to be.  Everyone is entitled to their opinion of a book.  Whenever these critical reviews pop up, I try to look on the bright side of this; someone still took the time to buy the book and read it.  (Hopefully, anyway.)  If I didn't meet their standards, I guess that's on me.  If I could please everyone with my writing, I wouldn't have a day job.  Right! If you've recently bought a book, or read a book, please take the time to post a review. Even if it's short and sweet like, "Hey, this book wasn't all that bad."  Shorter reviews are better for future
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BIG NEWS! THE GOUGE AUDIOBOOK IS HERE!

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The Gouge is now available in Audio Book Format! I want to thank Raymond Holdridge II for lending his voice to my story.  When he auditioned for the reading, I knew right away he was perfect for the job.  I have a feeling you will all agree!  You can find more about Raymond and his directorial and voice over work on his Instagram page right HERE !  Also, check out Smoking Polar Bear Productions  The Gouge is my debut novel, and for it to final be available in such a fun format is a real dream come true. If you already own the Kindle edition of The Gouge, that means you can download the audio book version at a huge discount!  Just visit the book's Amazon page here:  THE GOUGE on AMAZON ABOUT THE GOUGE: Carson ran away from Cypress Creek to escape his dark past; his father was the serial killer dubbed, "The Man in the Woods."  Twenty-two years have passed, and a simple text message threatens to bring all of Carson's secrets out into the open. The freshly slain bodies of
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BOOK REVIEW: The Manic Mission: Children of the Mob, BY: C.J. Simone

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  This was a wild ride right from the beginning.  In the first pages there’s action, mystery, thrills, and suspense, and it doesn’t let up from there.  Gabe is a very complex, and talented character with bipolar disorder.  He’s also the son of a mobster, and he has a noble mission.  Gabe’s disorder plays a key part in his actions, and the way the rest of the cast interacts with him.  The story is told from many different points of view, and this really helped pronounce the empathy for some of the characters.   I felt like there was a lot of dialogue, but that’s not a bad thing.   In fact, all the dialogue felt passionate, and their voices were authentic in tone.   It was easy to hear the voices saying the words written, and that of course assisted in drawing me into the story. This was a fun first installment to what I’m assuming will be a continuing series.   Recommended to people who enjoy mob style stories like The Sopranos .   Looking forward to the next installment!      The M
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Thinking Cookies!

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I've decided my first post of the year is going to be a sweet one!   This definitely is not the healthiest of posts, but I’m going to level with the both of you on how I keep my focus.  When I sit down to write, I tend to have a package of a certain sweet snack by my side.  I call them, “Thinking Cookies.”  Don’t laugh.  We all have that snack that we really believe helps up think and work, mine just happens to be a cookie.  Why is this I wonder?  Why do we tend to think better while we are nibbling (or sometimes scarfing) away on a treat?  Maybe it’s a comfort thing.  Luckily, science has shown us that it’s really just the sugars and fats increasing the dopamine levels in my brain, thus making it easier for me to focus on the characters in my stories, and all of their secrets.  So, do I really like cookies, or do I just like the dopamine?  It’s probably not worth thinking about—Nah, I like cookies, and they make me happy.  I function better, and I write better, when I’m happy.  Si
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2023, That's A Wrap!

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Well, that’s another year in the books.  Another twelve months have come and gone.  Where did it go so fast, and what have we to show for it?  It’s been a challenging year.   And judging by the number of posts I’ve made to this blog this year (only 11), it doesn’t look like I’ve been very productive either.   Well, I promise you, I’ve been doing my best.   The year started off very positive.   The Blue Hole had been out for a month or so, and it was gaining traction.   The promotions I had chosen to run were working well, and the few reviews that were trickling in were just the kind of positive reinforcement I needed to push forward on my third book.   All was looking very good.   Then I got the urge to throw the book away my work in progress and start over, and about mid-year, that’s exactly what I did.   Trying to sort out if this book was even worth taking a second stab distracted me from continuing to promote The Blue Hole and The Gouge.   It also kept me from checking in on my s
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BOOK REVIEW: Abandoned, By Vicky Ball

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Vicky Ball’s second book, much like her first, tackles some challenging and unfortunate situations that we tend to overlook, or ignore.   Using her main character, Maddie, as a vessel, the author masterfully captured the feeling of growing up in an alcoholic home and feeling like there is nowhere turn and nowhere to run.  Then, a small glimmer of hope, something to grasp onto and fight for is dropped into Maddie’s life in the form of a family she never knew she had.  But when Maddie goes in search for this hope, she doesn't find exactly what she expected.   I really enjoyed the way the story moved fast and the way that the characters spoke with one another in a very real way.  I did have some trouble resonating with the characters at the beginning, but I attribute that mostly to the fact that the target audience is more teen/young adult, which I am not.  However, once the majority of introductions were completed, I was completely drawn in and could not put it down.  Well done! Aban
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