Great New Book Out Soon

As part of its Battlefields & Blessings series, AMG will release Cops On The Street this fall. I have several stories in this wonderful collection of true stories.

"It's a groundbreaking devotional book that demonstrates the vital difference men and women of faith make in law enforcement. As this is a date-specific daily devotional, stories that relate to a specific date or event (9/11/2001, major weather catastrophes, “line of duty” deaths, etc.) are strategically placed on or near the date the event occurred. This Battlefields and Blessings devotional book serves two purposes:
• It offers a glimpse into what it’s really like to be in law enforcement while demonstrating the spiritual side of the law enforcement community
• It presents law enforcement in a positive light as a career path filled with men and women who
care deeply for the communities they serve. "

Today I'm a guest on author, Susan Whitfield's blog. Check it out here: http://ping.fm/E9n7o

Check out my review on the New York Journal of Books: Stalling for Time, My Life as a FBI Hostage Negotiator. http://ping.fm/rJ0L6

What About Word Count?

A question was raised at Saturday's Riverside Writers meeting regarding word count; what constitutes a novel? Here are some guidelines:

• Novel over 50,000
• Novella 20,000 to 50,000
• Novelette 7,500 to 20,000
• Short story 1,000 to 7,500
• Flash fiction or vignette under 1,000

Building Your Cred As A Writer

Writing, either to earn a living, or done as a hobby, or even a combination of both, is a worthy endeavor. Writers are super people; I've yet to meet a writer I didn't like. We are like most creative people in that we want to share our work with others. To do that, we have to establish ourselves as "writers." One way to do that is to become a book reviewer.

Writing reviews of other peoples' work is beneficial in so many ways. First, it exposes you to how other authors write. It gives you a glimpse into how they develop plots and characters, how they create suspense and thrills. If your genre is non-fiction, it allows you the opportunity to see how they've researched their subject. Being a reviewer causes you to do two things: read and write, which are the building blocks for becoming a successful writer.

Whether you accept a paid position or one that offers no monetary compensation, the benefit of writing book reviews is that your name gets out to the literary world. You become someone who authors, agents, publicists, and publishers begin to recognize. Your byline becomes familiar, and it's also a good way to promote your own work at the same time. Depending on who you write for, your name becomes known to a much larger audience than if you were depending on your own website or blog.

Online book reviewing is quickly becoming "the way" to have new releases reviewed. This method is preferred by a large number of authors and publishers, if only for the sheer convenience of accessing it for blurbs, and dissemination of the review to a huge number of potential readers. I highly recommend becoming a book reviewer for those who want to become better writers and who want to develop skill in truly recognizing a well-written book.

Attention Self -Published Authors

Publishers Weekly now includes a quarterly supplement that will announce self-published titles and even review those they deem worthy of review. PW recognizes POD, DIY, author-financed, vanity fare, self-publishing--whatever you care to call it--as a burgeoning industry they can no longer ignore. The only caveat: the issue will cost $149.00; a processing fee which registers the titles online. Read more about it here: Publishers Weekly.

Good News About Books

Finally, some good news for a change. Barnes & Noble has announced it expects an outstanding title selection for fall 2010 in both fiction and non-fiction with strong titles ranging from thrillers, paranormal romance and mystery, to political memoirs, historical biographies and a strong line up in teen and young adult titles.

Thrillers dominate with The Confession, the first fall legal thriller from John Grisham; Dead or Alive, the first book from Tom Clancy since 2003; Cross Fire and Don't Blink from James Patterson; and Port Mortuary by Patricia Cornwell. In horror look for Stephen King's Full Dark, No Stars and What the Night Knows by Dean Koontz.

A strong line-up of historical biographies by prominent authors will hit shelves including Decision Points by former President George W. Bush, Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow; and Extraordinary, Ordinary People by former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Also expected to do well is America By Heart: Reflections on Family, Faith & Flag by Governor Sarah Palin, the follow-up to her bestselling memoir Going Rogue.

For readers of history and current affairs we are looking forward to Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, her first work since Seabiscuit, The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson and Obama's War by Bob Woodward.

Is Someone Lying To You?

You may find my September article on Officer.com interesting, not only for the pragmatic tools discussed, but if you write fiction your characters can use these methods of detection as well. Find it here: Can You Spot A Lie?

Should I Capitalize?

Many of us have some ambiguity regarding capitalization of titles and people. Here's a great thumbnail sketch which makes it clear when to capitalize or not. http://www.dailywritingtips.com/capitalizing-titles-of-people-and-groups/