"The Mango Tree Cafe, Loi Kroh Road" Wins Award!

Well, Kids; I can now say that Alan Solomon and I have written an Award Winning Book!

So, I am proud to announce that "The Mango Tree Cafe, Loi Kroh Road" has WON in the following category: Best Online Marketing. As a result, I will be receiving a gold medal and the book will be categorized as a winning novel, along with the info below:

Finalists and Winners will also receive:A listing in the 2008 Next Generation Indie Book Awards Catalog which will be distributed to book buyers, media, and others! Exposure for a full year at http://www.indiebookawards.com/ as a Winner.

PLUS, the top 70 books will be reviewed by New York literary agent Marilyn Allen of Allen O'Shea Literary Agency or one of Ms. Allen's co-agents for possible representation in areas such as distribution, foreign rights, film rights, and other rights.

Ms. Allen has over 25 years of sales and marketing experience, including serving as Senior Vice President, Associate Publisher, and Director of Marketing for Harper Collins and directing sales and marketing teams for Simon & Schuster, Penguin Books and Avon Books.

Ms. Allen has had the pleasure of working with many best-selling authors including Stephen King, Ken Follett, Barbara Kingsolver, John Gray, Mary Higgins Clark, and many more.

Alan and I wish to thank YOU for being an important part of this award!

Cheers!

More Musings Later-

I've discovered a new toy for my Rants!

The new toy I speak of is called www.Onmylist.com . It is great! I have made a few list already, one about writing...as I have included here:Authors that Frustrate/Piss me off and some are in other categories.

By the way, a word about JK Rowling: She wrote the Harry Potter books and made a fortune. She is now writing a thriller. People are having a fit about it. "Why is she writing a thriller?"

Answer? Cause she wants to. Something tells me the woman loves to write and is sick of writing children's books. Give her a break will ya?

I don't think any author worth their salt writes for the love of money. I think they write because they love it.

I know that even if I won the lottery, I'd still write. But, that's me.

More Musings Later-

The Mango Tree Cafe, Loi Kroh Road Book Trailer is on YouTube!

Have you Noticed?

that writers are making the news?

Remember when a young teenager suffering with ADD/ADHD lost his way from his group on a camping trip? They were camping in the mountains where the evenings and nights got pretty cold. Well, the teenager remembered a book he had read recently where the fictional character also lost his way in the woods and followed the same survival techniques as the book's character. Amazingly, the teenager was found a few days cold and hungry, but very much alive.

Then unfortunately, the mentally ill killer from VA Tech was plastered all over the news as his former professors revealed that he took creative writing classes. His writing was so violent and angry that his teachers had geniune concerns for not only their safety, but his own. Sadly, we all know the results.

There is power in the written word. I hope one day, we can all write with care and responsibility.

More Musings Later-

Great Writing Allows You To See

I've had quite a few people ask me "What does it take to be a great writer?" There are all types of answers depending on the style of writing and so forth.



But for me? Great writing allows you to see. My favorite type of writing and reading for that matter, is storytelling or fictional writing. I've read some books and by some well-known authors (or their prospective ghostwriters I suppose) that were...well...not so memorable. Do you ever find yourself reading a chapter and then suddenly realizing, "What is going on in this chapter? Who is this character again? Why are they acting a certain way?".


When that happens to me, 2 words inevitably come to me. Famous author or not. BAD WRITING.


If I'm reading about a character, I want to know what they look like, what they are thinking, if they have crooked teeth, bad skin, a stutter or any other distintive trait. I want to SEE them in my mind. I want to know this person like the back of my hand.


If this character is so largely forgettable in a book, then why introduce them? My favorite example of this is John Grisham's "The Firm". When I was reading about Mitch (the main character). I instantly got a picture of a clean-cut version of Tom Cruise. And, when I read about his adventures, I could SEE Tom Cruise in my mind's eye.

By the same token, the reason I am such an OPPONENT of Laura Ingalls Wilder's TV version of her wonderful books is mostly because of the "Pa Ingalls" character. When I read her books, I SAW Pa. I knew that his hair was straight, course and thick. He had a matching beard. His hands were calloused as a result of his hard work. He was well-liked in the town and provided for his family. He was not necessarily handsome, but he was like any other homesteader in early American times.


He was NOT the curly headed, handsome, clean shaven actor in the series. And, Laura Ingalls' character wasn't the actress I saw either. I knew that when Hollywood tired of the actual events that happened in the book they would embellish. And, boy did they. The Ingalls adopted a boy so they could have that all-important son, Mary married a blind teacher, Pa never aged but Ma did and so on.

From L - R Standing: Carrie, Laura, Grace
From L - R Seated: Mary, Pa, Ma Ingalls

None of that ever happened in the book. Mary never married, Pa and Ma aged at the same rate, Laura's 2 sisters (Carrie and Grace) died fairly young, and the only boy the Ingalls had was stillborn. Those are the facts.


I know these things because Great Writing Allows You To See.


More Musings Later-

The Ultimate Goal of this Ghostwriter

As I have attested to many times in blogs before, I absolutely LOVE what I do for a living. To me, there is nothing better than getting up in the morning and working on a book.

As a ghostwriter, you will have all types of writing jobs from school papers to short stories to e-books to novels. What is my favorite? No question, a Fiction novel. But, is there really a call for a Ghostwriter to write fiction novels on a full-time basis? God, I hope so.

Some of the clients that I am working for at the moment are even offering 1/2 writing credit to me on their Fictional works. Am I so enamored with being anonymous that I refuse? Heck, no. Whether my name is prominently displayed or not, the nitty gritty of the matter is: I want to write fiction, period.

Agents: Know of any publishing houses or established authors that need a good Fiction novel Ghostwriter? If so, I’m available.

Taryn Simpson is a fulltime ghostwriter with 3 novels and 2 screenplays to her credit along with numerous novels she has ghosted for her clients. To learn more about her Ghostwriting: www.Taryn-Simpson.blogspot.com

I'm busier than a 1 legged man in a butt kicking contest...

Man....here it is 11pm on a Friday night and I'm finally winding down. Life couldn't get much better...I'm in the midst of writing 2 fiction books and am LOVING it. Yes, Virginia, I really get paid to do something I love.

Did anyone watch Oprah today? I firmly believe that there is something to "The Secret". As Dr. Phil used to say, "If you can verbalize it, you can achieve it."

Amen.
More Musings Later-