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Welcome to Author Wednesday. It’s my pleasure to welcome author Jade Kerrion to my blog today. Jade writes science fiction. With an undergraduate degree in biology and philosophy, becoming a science fiction writer was a logical next step in a multifaceted career path. I hope you enjoy reading her post today about the importance of critique groups to the writing process.

Finding the Right Critique Group

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A few weeks ago, I went on a date with three older women. We split a 16� pizza with 8 toppings and talked about the men we had married (and in some cases, divorced.) We also talked about the novels we were writing. Through the entire meal, my heart pounded. I knew the three women were evaluating me. It was, in effect, a first date.

At the end of the meal, I had apparently passed muster and was deemed worthy. I was invited into their critique group � which was exactly what I’d wanted ever since I’d heard of the Attic Girls � a play off Stephen King’s reference to his muses, the “boys in the basement.� (Actually, my muse is male and looks like Orlando Bloom, but that’s not the point.)

I’d joined many critique groups before, but why did I want to join the Attic Girls so badly? What makes a critique group good? Obviously, you want to be with strong writers whose feedback can help you grow, but it turns out, the volume of work you can get critiqued over a realistic timeframe is equally important.

Before I joined the Attic Girls, I was part of a critique group that met once a month. The group was large, about twenty to thirty people. Given the size, you could only read about three pages of your work. Let’s see . . . I can write a novel of 85,000 words in three months, and in three months of the critique group, I’d be able to share nine pages of my novel? Out of 200+ pages? That’s hardly enough feedback to make a difference to the novel.

I then found another group. This one met twice a month, and it was about half the size of the first group. You were encouraged to bring five pages of your work. Much better. Even so, over three months, I’d be able to share only thirty pages of my work. Better than nine pages, of course, but still a far cry from 200+ pages.

The Attic Girls, on the other hand, meet every week. Each week, two days before the meeting, we send our work to each other by email. We read the documents on our own time, and then spend the meeting itself providing feedback. The volume of the work you send out is up to you. The Attic Girls didn’t seem to flinch at the fifteen-page document I sent out last week. Think about it, fifteen+ pages a week . . . sixty+ pages a month . . . 180+ pages in three months. That’s almost my full novel. The Attic Girls provide timely feedback that allows me to keep up with my publishing schedule of three books a year.

In addition, the beauty of a small and consistent critique group is that your fellow writers grow with you. They figure out your style. They know if you’re writing hard and trying to find the best turn of phrase or if you’re just coasting along with acceptable but mediocre sentences. Best of all, because we meet in person, we hold each other accountable. If someone doesn’t offer something up for a reading two weeks in a row, we call her out.

The Attic Girls don’t replace my faithful cadre of beta readers, but where my beta readers enjoy the whole story and are tasked with calling out major plot holes or character lapses, my critique group focuses on the details that well-trained novelists notice, like POV shifts. The Attic Girls are the people running beside me in that endless marathon instead of just cheering from the sidelines.

If you don’t already utilize a critique group, I strongly encourage you to join one. It doesn’t matter if it’s large or small, online or in-person. It’s important to connect with other writers and to learn how to give and receive feedback. Perhaps one day, you’ll head out, as I did, on a nervous first date with a fabulous critique group.

About Jade: Jade Kerrion started out in fan fiction. She developed a loyal reader base with her fan fiction series based on the MMORPG Guild Wars, and was accused of keeping her readers up at night, distracting them from work, housework, homework, and (far worse), from actually playing Guild Wars. And then she wondered why just screw up the time management skills of gamers? Why not aspire to screw everyone else up too? So she made the transition to writing and publishing books that aspire to keep you from doing anything else useful with your time.

Jade unites cutting-edge science and bioethics with fast-paced action in her award-winning Double Helix series. and its sequels, and , have been described as “a breakout piece of science fiction� and drawn rave reviews for their originality and vision.

Her novel, , is a Young Adult spinoff the Double Helix series.

She is also the author of , a compelling and whimsical view of Earth’s history through the eyes of the two students assigned to manage our planet.

She lives in Fort Lauderdale, Florida with her wonderfully supportive husband and her two young sons, Saint and Angel, (no, those aren’t their real names, but they are like saints and angels, except when they’re not.)

Social media and buy links:

Connect with Jade Kerrion: / /

Perfection Unleashed: / / /

Perfect Betrayal: / / /

Perfect Weapon: / / /

When the Silence Ends: / / /

Earth-Sim: / / /

Ìý

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Today I’m participating in the 777 Novel project.

I’m gearing up for Trail in the Sand‘s virtual blog tour, starting next week on the forty-third anniversary of Earth Day. I’m visiting fifteen different blogs in seven days, which means I’m writing guests posts until my fingers are nearly raw. I’m still attempting to keep up with my own blog.

Worldwind Virtual Book Tour

I thought this exercise sounded like fun to do with my new manuscript for my novel Safe HarborÌý- working title only. If you have any suggestions for a different title please. . . Also, this was an easy and fun post to put together. Hope you enjoy it, too.

Here are the rules: Share 7 lines from page 7 or 77 of your manuscript or go to page 7 or 77 and count down 7 lines and copy the next 7 lines of your manuscript.

I chose to go to page 77, which happened to be the start of a new chapter:

“Daniel drove into Venice Village, carefully avoiding the potholes in the dirt streets filled with water from the rains that drenched the area after Hurricane Charley exited the state the week before. Tall cranes stood motionless on the site where 120 condominiums would soon rise to meet the claws of the machines. As dusk approached, Daniel imagined the machinery as dinosaurs waiting to pounce on their prey, not heeding anything but the need to fill an empty and large stomach.

Some of the bridges over the canals were still under water, but Daniel knew Rob and his buddies would be staying near the bridge at the back of the compoundÌý where a rise in the landscape provided relief from the flooded canals. Daniel noted as he drove that drainage culverts and retention ponds, while not fully complete or functional, still had not performed in any way that gave him confidence this folly of creating the Floridian Venice would work.

He saw Rob and Jeremy walking toward the car so he slowed down, careful to not get stuck in some of the muddy ruts in the road, which had been carved by the trucks and machinery of the crews working diligently to bring the perfect housing complex to St. Johns County.

Rob climbed in the front seat and Jeremy climbed in back behind him.�

Safe Harbor examines the folly of man when he transforms nature for his benefit. Nature always wins in the end. A group of ordinary citizens form an odd group as they attempt to stop an international conglomerate from destroying the natural world they treasure.

Why don’t you give it a try? This was fun to see where the 777 took me. Let’s hear yours!

Ìý

Good morning � Today rather than writing a review, I’d like to offer a press release announcing the release of Aggravated Circumstances, a new women’s fiction/legal saga by author Michele Shriver. Michele is a fellow Indie Author and blogger. She’s hosted me twice on her blog: February 13 and March 8 with a guest blog,

I’m pleased to share her good news about her new release. Michele will also be featured on this blog on Author Wednesday May 22.

Drum roll, please, for Aggravated Circumstances by Michele Shriver. . .

A family can be torn apart in an instant. Putting it back together is a harder task.

A relapsed addict opens the door to find a cop with a search warrant, setting off a chain of events that will cause four lives to intersect.

Devin Lenox has already lost one child to the system, and this time she vows it will be different. If she’s going to make it, though, she’ll need something she’s never had before- someone on her side.

Her battle with depression behind her, Elisa Cahill looks forward to resuming her legal career. Devin’s case seems like the perfect opportunity to do that, and bury her own past demons in the process, at least if old grudges don’t prove to be her undoing.

Child protection worker Taylor Ross struggles to balance a social life with her demanding job and has little sympathy for people like Devin, at least at first. When Taylor starts to see Devin in a new light, she finds herself at odds with her superiors. Will she be willing to go to bat for Devin, and what price will she pay if she does?

Sarah Canfield is a compassionate judge who is not afraid to make difficult decisions, but will her past link to Devin undermine her objectivity and cause her to put her own family at risk?

A look inside the child welfare system, the people who work in it and the lives it impacts, Aggravated Circumstances is a story of despair, hope, and recovery.

Available now from:

Amazon/Kindle:Ìý

Barnes & Noble:

Kobo:

Add the book on Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ:

About the author:

Michele Shriver lives in the Midwest U.S. where she maintains her law practice in addition to pursuing a writing career. In her free time, she enjoys Zumba fitness, bicycling and the NFL and NHL.

Contact:

[email protected]

Twitter: @micheleshriver

Facebook Page: Author Michele Shriver

Welcome to Author Wednesday. I’m very excited to host a new, but solid friend and author, Alana Agerbo. When I started this blog last year, Alana was one of my first followers and one of the first to comment on my posts. I remember how excited I was when she posted one of my blogs to Facebook. I began following her blog, , and discovered a writer with extraordinary talent and a woman modest about her craft. I also made a friend, even though we’ve never met in person. To me, she will always be “Hazy� in name, but clear and poetic in her prose. I present to you with great pride and joy, my friend and author, Alana Agerbo AKA Hazy.

I Can Be Silver

By Alana “Hazy� Agerbo

I am gray.

Dappled Gray. I’m unconcerned whether we see a drama or a comedy, have pasta or potatoes, drink red or white. Not for indifference, but because I consider it food for creativity and know I will well digest whatever we end up with. When you choose, my status quo is removed. You can run the show, should you so desire. Shrouded in many shades of black and white. I am gray.

I am medium.

In recent years, I’ve realized it’s OK to be a jack-of-all-trades, master of none. This has stopped me in the past from following dreams and admitting goals. When a medium is supposed, a want for large is tough to declare. Resentment for succumbing to this weakness is fruitless. Instead, I trust in time and place. My number has now been called, and I’m answering in slow, stuttering spurts. I am medium.

I am guilty.

A mother of three who works freelance, not in writing, but in make-up, I am responsible for tucking my passion between freshly laundered piles of clothes or at the bottom of my brushes and creams. I have let others� feelings sway me. I have spent years telling myself it wasn’t meant to be, my own discourager and dissuader. I am guilty.

I am stubborn.

Now forty-two, I admit I am seeking to nab a spot on your local bookshelf. I want to be published. There, I said it. It’s taken me this long to stop writing in the backs of lost journals or pages torn from old coloring books and begin writing for all to see, or in reality, whomever grants a visit to my heart . I am stubborn.

I am selfish.

I want. I need. I love. I write. I sit down blank, empty, and somehow, it comes. Tentatively, I’m getting to know my muse; a trigger from the day before . . . a conversation, an event . . . maybe a memory from long ago, sometimes an emotion from something, somewhere. Other times simply a word or an outcome my imagination has altered, realities morphed into metaphors. Whatever it is, it feeds me, and I set the table, an eager, welcoming host.

Delaying chores, responsibilities and obligations, I write. In my defense, I sincerely believe it will be but an hour. Most always, it is more than a few. I am selfish.

I will be silver.

I have found, that with any luck, elbow grease, and a little polish, I begin to sport spots of shine. As with most things, purpose, persistence, and practice prosper and with nourishment, they grow. I’ve grazed on knowledge with which only the tenacious and committed are blessed. Gray is a version of silver. I will be silver.

A little bit about Hazy Ìý

Alana AgerboÌýwrites out of Vancouver, Canada. She began her blog in March 2012 in an attempt to pin the words skittering through her mind, and it has inspired her to write on an almost daily basis. She does have a dusty old manuscript lying in drawer,Ìýcomplete with more than a fewÌýletters of rejection, but is hopeful to see her work on a shelf one day, not a speck of dust to be found. Alana hasÌýhad some works published on . Ìý

She blogsÌýÌýandÌý, tweetsÌýÌýand is on F just like the rest of the world.

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At the beginning of the year, I posted my goals for 2013. Here we are three months into the year, so it’s time to see how I’m doing once again. I highly recommend checking on the goals. I’ve never done it before this year, and I’m finding it’s a great motivator that keeps me moving.

Writing Goals for 2013

Launch . I published it on Amazon and have a print copy ready to proof. I plan to do a big launch for the novel by the end of January.

Update: Trails in the Sand is available on Kindle and in paperback on Amazon. It’s also available on . So far, sales remain slow.Ìý There are eight reviews on Amazon â€� all five-starÌý Several review copies are still out, and I’m waiting for more reviews to appear. I decided to sign up for a blog tour with Worldwind Virtual Blog Tours so I’m busy writing guest posts for the tour, which begins on Earth Day, April 22. The tour lasts one week. Also, I signed up for World Literary Cafe’s Shout Out for April 22. I’ll report in my next update on whether I feel these two things were worthwhile.

Finish Safe Harbor. I started this novel in 2007 but stopped when I decided I needed to find a wildlife officer to interview. I left for the big , which led to the creation of Live from the Road. When I returned from Route 66, I took a new job with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and became very familiar with wildlife officers and experts. Now there’s no excuse not to finish the almost completed draft. I start by pulling out the spiral notebook where it’s housed and giving it a read. I always recommend that writers let pieces incubate, but five years isn’t what I meant.

ÌýUpdate: I’ve read through the draft, made notes, and decorated my bulletin with character cards. I’m rearranging chapters now and and filling in gaps. I’m starting on Chapter Five this week.

Publish a book of essays on my travels. I already have a name: Odyssey to Myself. I have most of the pieces written in various stages. It’s a matter of pulling it all together into one cohesive story of my travels from 2004-2009 as I discarded an old life and moved into a new phase.

Update: ÌýNothing to report here.

Pull together all of my gardening blog posts from my blog into a book. I see it as a primer for gardening and preserving produce. Again, I have all the pieces here and there, I just need to pull it all together.

Update:Ìý This book is coming along nicely. I’ve written the first four chapters (Introduction, Year Round Gardening, Winter, and Spring). I’ll be starting the chapter on Summer this week. The drafts of the first four chapters are on my husband’s desk awaiting his proofreading pen.

Read the pile of books on my desk, both fiction and nonfiction. Reading is an essential part of the writing journey. How fortunate for me to have a career that requires reading for improving my craft.

Update:Ìý I read another eBook and finished In the Time of Butterflies by Julia Alvarez. I started reading Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver this past week.

Establish myself as a bestselling author. Every year this one makes it to my list. Here’s to 2013Ìý being the year it happens. For me, this goal refers to making a living as an author. I want to be able to pay more than the electrical bill each month with the proceeds from my storytelling.

Update:Ìý Stay tuned.

How’s it going for you in 2013 so far?

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Genre � Science fiction/fantasy

Synopsis � With blood on her hands, strange words coming out of her mouth, and her face all over the media, Em knows that she stopped the jungle battle, stormed into the armed courtroom, and defeated the zealot soldiers. However, as she works for the aliens controlling her, her emotions are torn between what she knows must be her real life and the life she is now living. How is it that she is able to step into the middle of a war and stop it without getting killed? How is it she doesn’t remember her “old� life? And, how will she decide whether or not she wants this sci fi life that’s been thrust on her? Yves, one of the gods from out there somewhere, is assigned to take care of Earth. He’s a rookie learning to be a Power and trying to communicate with Em. For full media impact, Yves manipulates the reporting to maintain constant attention on Em and her exploits. The world falls in love with this “madame of miracles.� Meanwhile, Em agonizes over the impact of her actions and whether or not they are right. Em is not the only one confused and agonizing. Coming from the sterile world of the gods, Yves succumbs to human emotions. Jealousy takes over as he watches Em and her lover. He plots to end their affair, but in doing so risks losing his chance for advancement, his chance to free his people, and even risks losing his life.

My Review â€� I don’t usually read science fiction or fantasy. In fact, it’s the last thing I’d choose to read. However, I read Darlene’s biography and wondered how she was able to solve her heartbreak over wanting to help the people she met while living in Mali many years ago. When Darlene signed up for Author Wednesday (), I decided to readÌý, the first book in her series. My review is based solely on my enjoyment as a reader, not on my knowledge of how a science fiction novel should be written.

Through the other worldly powers of Em, or Miracle Madam as the world comes to know her, the reader travels to the worst corners of hell that exist right here on Earth. From Africa to Europe and back again to the gangland streets of Los Angeles, we are transported along with Em. In the beginning, Em suffers the shock of her new abilities that have come to her as an adult as the result of a typical wish of any caring ten-year-old child. She wished back then for the magic to save the world.

Em struggles with her decisions and even wonders if war isn’t something that must exist in this world in order to achieve peace. The answers aren’t easy and neither is the work. I believe Em is the incarnation of the author’s wish to save her beloved Mali.

I read once that classic novels do one of two things. Either the hero is extraordinary and is put into ordinary circumstances and forced to cope with the everyday world. Or the hero is ordinary and is placed into extraordinary situations and forced to cope. Em falls into the latter group. She’s a normal high school principal who is suddenly thrust onto the world stage making destiny-changing decisions as she becomes the most revered and beloved woman in the world. She’s a modern day Joan of Arc who must sacrifice her ordinary life to achieve the goal of straightening out Earth for the better. Ms. Jones achieved a level of believability for me that I didn’t think would be possible in a science fiction novel.

The “Powersâ€� who guard and pull the puppeteer’s strings on Em are a fantastical lot, from Yves to the Mentor to Elspeth, Yvesâ€� sister. The switch in point of view, from the Powers to earth, is very confusing in the beginning. Also, the switch in setting with Em’s character from principal to the Miracle Madame is equally confusing at first. However, with the inclusion of Ron, her eventual lover, I found myself grounded and better able to make the transitions. Ron is an average-looking actor who’s thrust into the limelight by a movie Em helps produce. His rather mundane and ordinary life Ìýis touching and pitiful, even after he meets Em because he knows he can’t keep her with him or do anything to stop the course of events. When I found myself thinking about the characters after I stopped reading, I knew the author managed to hook me with the plot.

As the Powers observe the happenings on Earth, the reader learns more about Em, and as unbelievable as the Powers seem, they make the Earth characters more realistic.

Many characters are introduced during the novel, but most are only mentioned once. I found it confusing and wondered at the necessity of including them. Some of them, such as Tony, could have been expanded for more depth of Ron. In addition, Francois seems to be an important character in the beginning of the book, but he is only mentioned in passing in the rest of the novel. Perhaps he comes back in the next book in the series. I hope so because I felt he was one character I’d like know better.

Ms. Jones makes several important commentaries on our modern world. Em argues with Ron over the issue of salaries of movie stars and the discrepancy in what a teacher makes each year. Through Em, we also are given a view into our acts of giving to those less fortunate than ourselves by simply writing a check. Em takes Ron down into the streets of L.A. to see what it’s really like for the folks he thinks he’s helping by giving them money without knowledge of what’s it’s really like to be poor and to live without hope.

Embattled is a book that made me think. I recommend trying it, even if you aren’t a fan of science fiction. I did, and I liked it. In addition, I’d like to continue reading this series and applaud the author for bringing attention to the plight of those less fortunate through an entertaining art form.

Coming Soon � Worldwind Blog Tour

Welcome to Author Wednesday on Writing Whims. Today, Darlene Jones stops by to talk about herÌýnovels, , ,Ìýand .

Ìý

Darlene’s experiences during her time living Mali so touched her life, she decided to give voice to them in her novels. Book Review Friday will feature a review ofÌýEmbattled, which I’ve just finished reading.

From Darlene Jones:

Many years ago a young girl left the safety of Canada for adventure in Africa. This was in a generation when young girls didn’t go anywhere on their own and certainly not to the “the dark continent.�

I was that young girl and going to Mali demanded I adapt to:

A different climate. I exchanged the snowy cold of Alberta winters for the arid Harmattan winds of the Sahara. I certainly wasn’t prepared for the force of the heat that pressed on me as I stepped off the airplane. Over the days and weeks that followed, I learned how the heat saps your energy until you feel that you can barely drag yourself around. A person who shall remain nameless said that the Africans were lazy. This person lived in an air-conditioned house, drove an air-conditioned car, and worked in an air-conditioned office.
A different culture. I very quickly packed away my mini-skirts and wore a pagne, the rectangle of cloth that women wrapped around themselves to be a skirt. I hired a houseboy � sounds degrading, but the $8 a month I paid him supported a family of seven. My salary was about $140 a month and that was ample to live on. I learned the proper greetings that came before any exchange whether buying a stamp or fruit at the market. I learned to bargain. The list goes on.
A different language. I spoke French, but not fluently, so I had to work at perfecting that. I also tried to learn a little Bambara, the most common local language. My students put me to shame. They could speak four or five local languages, had learned French (the official language of the country), and were studying English (I was their teacher) and German in school.

But above all, I had to adapt to time travel for most Malians lived the way they always had. Modern conveniences consisted of basic items such as kerosene lanterns and little else.

I brought home with me a love for Mali, the Sahara, and Malians that burns as brightly now as it did then.

It was the plight of Malians that inspired my novel series. Since I couldn’t wave a magic wand to make life better in Mali, I chose to do that fictitiously. I wrote my books to entertain, but also with the hope that readers would see the world in a broader perspective. I hope that doesn’t make my books sound preachy, because they’re not intended to be, but I don’t think I could have written them in any other way given my experiences in Mali. The wide warm smiles of Malians stay with me always. I hope that warmth and positive outlook is conveyed in my stories.

Darlene on Darlene:Ìý A long time ago, I lived in Mali. Every single day, I wished I could wave a magic wand to relieve the heart-wrenching poverty. The story line of my books reflects my desire to wave that wand and make the world a better place. If only wishes could come true. And of course, every novel needs its love story, so along with the sci-fi magic, I’ve added the requisite romance.

Initially, I intended to write “a� novel. The story and characters took over and the ending of the first demanded another. Two books became three and three became four.

I’ve always believed we can’t be the only beings existing in the vastness of the universe. There must be others “out there somewhere� and I brought some of them along for the ride. The setting stays, for the most part, within the realities of our world, but I’ve found that I love the magic the sci-fi element of other beings can bring to the story.

Book four, Em and Yves, will be released by the end of April or May at the latest.

Briefly: Em and Yves asks the question: What if you could go “up there?� Why does this obsession drive Emily’s life when she doesn’t believe in heaven? Even the wonderful Dr. David can’t help her find the answers she needs.

Learning that she has lived other lives shocks Emily. Then Yves takes her to his world. There she meets gods and Powers and people rescued from doomed planets � living the perfect heavenly life. She knows she belongs “up there� with Yves, but all is not as idyllic as it appears. Emily is the only one who sees the danger. Will she be able to save Yves� world?

What if you could go “up there?� Why does this obsession drive Emily’s life when she doesn’t believe in heaven? Even the wonderful Dr. David can’t help her find the answers she needs.

Where to buy Darlene’s books:

Embattled

Amazon:ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý

Apple ibook:ÌýÌý

Smashwords:ÌýÌý

Empowered

Amazon:ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý

Apple ibook:ÌýÌý

Smashwords:ÌýÌý

Embraced

ÌýAmazon:ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý

Apple ibook:ÌýÌý

Smashwords:ÌýÌý

Contact Darlene

Blog:Ìý

Website:

Amazon Author Central:

Suwanee River � Florida’s only whitewater

By

In the past few weeks, I resurrected the first draft of a novel I began in 2006 and then left when I accepted a job with the state in Tallahassee, Florida, in 2007. It’s tentatively titled Safe Harbor. The protagonist, Emily Booth, and the antagonist, Julia Curry, are names from another novel I started thirteen years ago, but forgot about until I started working on Safe Harbor. I thought I’d taken most of the stuff from the older work, The Learning Curve, and melded into Safe Harbor.

But all last week, scenes kept popping into my mind about a house on the Suwannee River where an artist comes to live and soon enough is embroiled in the town politics when he starts teaching art at the local high school. I remember spending many lovely afternoons sitting on the banks of the Suwannee River writing scenes for the novel. Then as happens, life intervened and the novel was put aside . . .until this week. I wasn’t even certain if a manuscript existed from that first draft or if I had a word processing program that could read it. I wrote most of it in 2000 on an old Mac computer. Yesterday, I begin searching and on the external hard drive, attached to a newer but still old Mac that I keep around for its graphic capabilities, I found twenty chapters and 27,000 words in a file titled The Learning Curve. My new PC with Word 2010 opened the file with lots of silly little marks, but in between those funny squiggles lay the text.

Today I glanced through the pages, and there were the scenes I’d been thinking of this week. My writing is a little immature � particularly with the dialogue � but it’s a still a workable manuscript waiting for my return.

I consider it a wonderful gift. It’s ironic that now I write in Pittsburgh, the home of Stephen Foster who penned the song that made the Suwannee River a known quantity in the world. Stephen Foster never saw the river he made famous, but I’ve visited many times and crossed it even more times in my travels throughout north Florida. I’ve swam in its waters and paddled down its flow that leads to the Gulf of Mexico and I’ve sat on its high banks and breathed in the beauty of my beloved north Florida.

Here’s an excerpt, I particularly like, and which I discovered needed very little editing before I felt it ready to share. It’s also an excerpt without dialogue. How wonderful to see how much I’ve learned as a writer throughout the years.

I present to you the readers of my blog, the first ever reveal of The Learning Curve:

Most folks imagine the Atlantic Ocean when they think about Florida’s sandy beaches. However, except for a song by Stephen Foster, very few know that the Suwannee River, which flows from the Okefenokkee Swamp in Georgia down to the Gulf of Mexico in north Florida, boasts some of the sandiest beaches anywhere. From the high sloping hills down to the beaches caressing the wide expanse of river, the shores of the Suwannee contain some of the finest sand in the state.

Paul looked out at the sparkling river and the bare branches of the cypress trees hugging the shore. The house sat on a bend in the river, so in either direction he looked, the river disappeared around a bend. To the south lay the Gulf of Mexico and to the north lay much of the same as the river traversed through secluded rural Florida, an undiscovered jewel in this sunshine state. He sat on the porch and remembered all the times he tried to paint this scene from memory. He hadn’t been able to do it, not even from a photograph.

He moved to his truck as if propelled by some outside force. He pulled out his case of paints, canvas, and easel. Without stopping, he moved to the yard that sat on a high bluff above the river and began to set up his equipment. He thought of nothing but capturing the essence of what lay before him. He wanted to preserve the sparkles of the winter sun as it began its slow descent over the river. He wanted to capture the dullness of trees, which in a few short months would overpower everything around it, even the river. He felt the current of life flowing through his veins and the power of nature attacking his hands. This moment was why he had come, and he knew he couldn’t leave it for so long ever again. He painted until the sun began to dip behind the trees on the western bank of the Suwannee and gave its last gasps on the water.

P.C. Zick books set in Florida

Florida’s sea turtles saved from oil spill in Trails in the Sand

wild and crazy world of Florida politics in Tortoise Stew

Website Update: 1:00 a.m.: My hit 150 likes today! Thank you for making my Friday that much better.Ìý

Yes. This movie is based off of Jack Kerouac's book, , and, before I continue, I have to clarify howÌýmuch of a fan I am of Kerouac. I first studied him in 2010. I readâ€�

From P.C. Zick: While I don't profess to be in the league of Kerouac, I did keep my copy of On the Road close while traveling down Route 66 in 2007. My novel is my modern female version of a road trip.

I’m taking a break from Book Review Friday this week to catch up on my own reading. Here’s something from one of my fellow Indie Authors. Please note at the end of the post, Jade offers 50 percent coupons for her books. This is a great way to start the weekend. See you next Friday.

Jade Kerrion’s two newest novels, Earth-Sim and When the Silence Ends, are pulling in fantastic reviews. Please take a moment to check them out and take advantage of the book launch sale. Keep reading to find the coupon code!

EARTH-SIM

Amazon Rating: 4.8 Stars (13 reviews)

“Earth-Sim starts off awesome and just keeps getting even better…Ms. Kerrion has done an amazing job with her world-building…This is one book that I will find myself rereading over and over � and one that I will encourage all of my friends to read.�—Cara Drake, Amazon reviewer

Was the super-continent of Pangaea split because of a management dispute? Is the biblical flood the earliest evidence of why “technology and water don’t mix�? If you always suspected that mass extinctions, such as the Black Death, had an otherworldly reason, you just might be right. Is there a real message hidden in the mysterious manuscripts that human sages and savants have created through the generations? Is there life out there, beyond our planet, and why has none of it shown up on Earth yet?

Earth-Sim is a unique spin on the history of Earth and the history of mankind. What if Earth and the entire universe were actually part of a simulation program? What if the most iconic and memorable events in Earth’s history were decisions (or more frequently accidents) triggered by two college students, Jem Moran and Kir Davos, who are still sorting out the finer points of working together and more importantly, still arguing over the finer points of planetary management?

Bring your sense of humor. Earth-Sim is frequently whimsical and often irreverent. Either way, you finally have someone to blame for the state the world is in.

E-books available at , , , , ,

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BOOK LAUNCH SALE (50% DISCOUNT): Grab a copy of Earth-Sim for only $1.50 at with coupon code MS68F. Valid until April 15.

When the Silence Ends

Amazon Ratings: 4.6 Stars (9 reviews)

“Wow! When the Silence Ends is captivating! I laughed, I cried, I could not put it down. Forget Harry Potter and Twilight…every young adult should read this book!�—KatRomeo, Amazon reviewer

When you choose your friends, you also choose your enemies.

Seventeen-year old Dee wants nothing more than to help her twin brother, Dum, break free from the trauma in their childhood and speak again, but the only person who can help Dum is the alpha empath, Danyael Sabre, whom the U.S. government considers a terrorist and traitor.

The search for Danyael will lead Dee and Dum from the sheltered protection of the Mutant Affairs Council and into the violent, gang-controlled heart of Anacostia. Ensnared by Danyael’s complicated network of friends and enemies, Dee makes her stand in a political and social war that she is ill equipped to fight. What can one human, armed only with her wits and pepper spray, do against the super-powered mutants who dominate the Genetic Revolution?

America, nevertheless, is ripe for transformation. Exhausted by decades of belligerence between humans and their genetic derivatives–the clones, in vitros, and mutants–society is on the verge of falling apart or growing up. Dee, with her sassy attitude and smart mouth, is the unwitting pebble that starts the avalanche of change. In her quest to help her brother become normal, Dee will finally learn what it means to be extraordinary.

When the Silence Ends is a Young Adult novel in the award-winning Double Helix series.

E-books available at , , ,

Paperbacks available at , , ,

BOOK LAUNCH SALE (50% DISCOUNT): Grab a copy of When the Silence Ends for only $1.50 at with coupon code FL93Y. Valid until April 15.

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