Find Time To Write, a new tool for authors

I know that many of you reading my blog right now are also authors. Some of you are already published and others may still be working up to that goal. Either way, as writers, we’re always looking for more help to understand this crazy publishing world we’re in and a way to make the most of our time.

Long time readers of A Life Among the Pages will recognize the name S.M. Boyce. She’s the author of The Grimorie Saga. I’ve seen her journey in the book world over the last few years, and I’m confident in saying that she knows her stuff.

I’d like to help spread the word about a new resource Boyce is bringing to authors, along with fellow author Heather Hildenbrand, FIND TIME TO WRITE. Here is more on this useful new course from these two great authors.

You want powerful? This is it.

This course is for the frustrated. The fed-up. The “I can’t possibly write another book because I’m too busy marketing” folks.

Authors S. M. Boyce and Heather Hildenbrand hear you.

Those two full time authors designed this course to help YOU find time to write in your everyday life. It’s full of time management mastery, mindset shifts, and lightbulb-epiphanies. Complete with a companion Facebook group for networking and support, this course will change how you operate your writing business.

The live-run course will begin in February 2015 with a free email-based 2-second tips mini-class leading up to it.

You do NOT want to miss out on this one. It’ll change your writing life.

Sign up + change your life!

About the Authors:

Heather is a full-time author who can’t imagine anything scarier than rush hour traffic. *shudders* She writes full-time and manages to find enough minutes for author coaching & strategy as well as raising two minions and being ridiculously in love with her new husband.

She also manages to live in two places at once, so she feels pretty confident she’s managing her time–instead of letting it manage her! You can get more updates on her #OutRAGEousLife on her website.

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Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads
Amazon | Smashwords

Boyce is a full-time novelist, editor, and writing coach with a flair for fun. In her writing, she specializes in action-packed stories that weave in fantasy, suspense, and main characters with a knack for mischief. In her coaching, she specializes in leveling up her authors in both business and writing skill. Visit her coaching site to work with her one-on-one.

Need a creative nudge to fuel your writing? Her Haven is the perfect opportunity for you connect with her in a creative way. In the Haven, you’ll get the inspiration, empowerment, and community to fuel your creative passions. Plus, you’ll get the scoop on the entire “behind the scenes” process of writing a novel.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads
Amazon | Smashwords

 

Books on Books

…no this isn’t a post about books having sex with other books. Well, I hope it’s not going to be like that. That could get awkward with all the high risk for papercuts. Let’s not let my mind wander further into that land of weirdness right now.

Books on books. What’s this all about? Well, I just finished reading Susan Hill’s Howards End is on the Landing and loved it. I’ve never read any of her novels before, but this one was mentioned on the Books on the Nightstand podcast  and like many books Ann and Michael mention, I felt the need to buy it. As you might remember, I found it at a garage sale last month and it became book number 2000 for my collection. So anyway, I finished reading this book today after stretching it out for a month. I didn’t want to finish it to be honest. It’s a shortish book (236 pages), so that was a task. I seem to enjoy when an author dedicates a book to talking about books.

It might seem dull, even to people who enjoy books, to talk about books passed the extent of a book review or blog post, but what I find happens more often than not, a writer brings in so much about life, a book’s author, history, and more. They turn into explorations of those topics, almost leaving the book behind. That’s why Hill’s book was enjoyable to me. Through her discussing the books she read from her home’s shelves for a year (without buying any new books, as her challenge to herself dictated), I got to know her. I got to learn about authors she’s known in her life and others that influenced her. I also learned that I’m not alone in they way I might impulse buy books or feel guilt about not reading a book I bought until years later.

Another notable “book on books” author is Nick Hornby. I love his books, but what I also enjoy his column, for The Believer, Stuff I’ve Been Reading, which has been compiled into a few collections so far. I think this was my first taste for someone writing about books. Hornby’s style really makes the column what it is, but it’s also the sharing of his reading life and lack of regret for certain habits (which many of us book lovers share) that keeps me coming back for more.

I’ve read a few more books in the past that fall under this category, and a few that barely do. I’d say memoirs in which an author talks about his/her writing life have a similar spot in my heart. I remember reading Annie Dillard’s The Writing Life and ending with the feeling that she was human like the rest of us. The same goes for other writing memoirs. Whether it’s a book loving author or an author writing about life and writing together, it grips me and makes me feel like I’m not so alone in some of my feelings about things. These people aren’t always extraordinary, but are just as interesting as if they did lead extraordinary lives.

Next time you pick up a book, or just look at one of your shelf, think about all that’s attached to it. The events that lead to you bringing it home or how you felt the last time you read a book by the same author. Books aren’t just objects and aren’t just the words types on the pages. They have a life of their own, and we’re lucky to be able to share the journey and add to those lives.

Do you enjoy reading about books? What are some of the books on books that you’ve enjoyed in the past? I’m always looking for more suggestion because my collection, though vast and diverse, doesn’t have many more to satisfy my craving of this type of book.

P.S. – One of the most dangerous things to come from reading books like this is that a TBR pile is almost guaranteed to double or triple. It’s unavoidable as books sound amazing as you read and have to write them down to check out later. You’ve been warned.

Review: Just Past The Trees (ARC) by Troy Aaron Ratliff

Title: Just Past The Trees
Author: Troy Aaron Ratliff
Rating: 4/5 Stars

“On a hot summer day in Central Florida, a young man discovers a bloodied body in a field behind the repair shop where he works. Grizzly and twisted, the body leaves few clues as to the offender, some questioning if such a horrible end could actually come at the hands of another. The young, struggling writer with the crummy landscaping job who found the body never expected what his find would lead to, nor the friendship he would develop with the fellow writer and crypto-zoologist interested in the case and pressing for answers. Together, neither of them could have guessed the incredible gift they would receive in their budding friendship, the invigoration to their writing, or the heart-stopping experience they would ultimately share.” (description from Goodreads)

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*This review is for an ARC copy I received from the author.

Ratliff comes through with  another pleasing read. It seems like the novella is the perfect place for Ratliff to dwell as a writer. I’m not saying that I wouldn’t want to read a full length novel from him….I would very much enjoy that. But his work in this shorter form works wonders for the stories he comes up with.

What I liked most about Just Past The Trees is the element of horror without being a straight up horror story. The reader only gets a hint of it. I was left wondering just where the story would go because of it. And while this is happening, the main character and his new friend discuss their life, their craft, and develop a bond many aspiring writers long to find.

This story is as much about a grizzly murder and the mystery of what’s in the forest as it is about finding that one thing in life to keep your passion alive and to pursue your dreams no matter the effort it’ll take to make them happen.

Even though I stated that I feel this was the proper length and format for the story, I still feel that I could use more. I mean this in a good way. I would read a follow-up short story or novella with the main character in it. It’d be interesting to see what panned out after Just Past The Trees. Maybe Ratliff will surprise us one day. Even without that, this novella was complete in itself, enjoyable to read, and has kept me a ran of the author’s work.

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Troy Aaron Ratliff has two other novellas and two short stories out as well. This novella, Just Past The Trees will be released tomorrow (Friday August 24th). If you feel like it, be sure to grab your copy. While you wait, you may want to check out Ratliff’s other work (all of which I have reviewed).

Short Stories:

High Bridge and Going Down
(review)

Novellas

Little Bernie’s Map and The Uninvited Guest
(review)                            (review)

Troy can be found here:

• Author’s Site
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Zazzle Store (featuring products with Troy’s original artwork)