Good morning, bloggers!!

I am SO excited to welcome this very special guest today, John Howell!! John is a very talented writer, an incredible supporter of Indie Authors and an awesome member of Rave Reviews Book Club. When I heard the exciting news that John was selected as a “SPOTLIGHT” Author, I jumped at the chance to host him!!   🙂

So, without further ado, I present Author John Howell ………

This is the ninth stop on what has been a fantastic tour as a Rave Reviews Spotlight Author. If you would like to be chosen for this honor you need to be a member. To find out how, go to the website http://ravereviewsbynonniejules.wordpress.com/ and read all about it. You can also see all my tour stops listed under Spotlight Authors.

I would like to give your readers some information about the main characters in My…

Dive into the newest adventure of Luke Callindor, Nyx, Fizzle, & all their friends.
LEGENDS OF WINDEMERE: CURSE OF THE DARK WIND
IS LIVE!

Cover Art by Jason Pedersen

What’s the Story?

After their battles in Gaia and surviving the Island of Pallice, the champions of Windemere are off on their next adventure.

In his quest to be a hero and help others, Luke Callindor has jumped into danger countless times and would do so again without hesitation. So when he is infected by the toxic Dark Wind, it is up to his friends to find a cure and keep his courage alive. With time running out and their enemies in the shadows, one ally will make the decision to share in Luke’s suffering and forge a bond that runs thicker than blood. Such a sacrifice might not be enough when the truth behind this living curse comes to light.

Dive into the newest adventure of Luke Callindor, Nyx, Fizzle, & all their friends.
LEGENDS OF WINDEMERE: CURSE OF THE DARK WIND
IS LIVE!

Cover Art by Jason Pedersen

What’s the Story?

After their battles in Gaia and surviving the Island of Pallice, the champions of Windemere are off on their next adventure.

In his quest to be a hero and help others, Luke Callindor has jumped into danger countless times and would do so again without hesitation. So when he is infected by the toxic Dark Wind, it is up to his friends to find a cure and keep his courage alive. With time running out and their enemies in the shadows, one ally will make the decision to share in Luke’s suffering and forge a bond that runs thicker than blood. Such a sacrifice might not be enough when the truth behind this living curse comes to light.

The Newsman from The Muppet Show

After a successful Cover Reveal, I was content to let things coast until the debut of:

Curse of the Dark Wind on December 12th!

Then I realized, I should probably do something on the day of the debut.  Yet I didn’t want to organize a blog tour because those are a lot of work and haven’t had any payoff the last two times.  Besides, people are coming to the holiday time and that’s when scheduling things enters a realm of ‘hit, miss, and oops’.  So what did I come up with while I was painting, eating pizza, and cursing at my GPS?

First, I really should update the maps on the GPS.

Second, I’m going to make another call for volunteers for a BlOG BLAST!  It’s really simple this time.  Here are the steps:

1. Say you’ll help.
2. I post the ‘CURSE OF THE DARK…

Ronin Shimizu

Like my son, Ronin Shimizu was a young boy living in California. He was a cheerleader, like my son hopes to be one day. Ronin is described as positive and happy, like my son is often described. He endured bullying because he liked something that some people is “only for girls.” Sadly, my son knows exactly how that feels.

Last week, 12-year-old Ronin decided to end the bullying by ending his life.

I worry every day that my son will have this too in common with Ronin. Because the group of kids like Ronin and my son have the highest rate of suicide attempts in the world.

The articles about Ronin’s death report that in the years leading up to his suicide, Ronin’s parents made multiple complaints to his school about the homophobic and gender-based bullying their son was experiencing. The school’s response was inadequate and the bullying…

The recent allegations against several celebrities have led to a broader conversation on how we, as a society, don’t believe women. In a “he said, she said” situation, we trust the man and assume that the woman is either mistaken or lying. “Taking us seriously” means that we are advised of such and offered an explanation for our dismissal instead of simply being dismissed outright. It’s not only personal bias, conscious or not; there are institutional mechanisms perpetuating this state of affairs. No proof is ever sufficient if it comes from a woman. Should she present multiple affidavits, all signed and notarized in triplicate, she’ll be informed that they do not prove her claim; she, on the other hand, probably violated multiple rules and procedures by collecting and presenting her evidence in the first place. She should stop before she gets into more trouble.

Meanwhile, there’s a growing crop of…

Just a reminder that the Google Plus live interview with Sally Ember Ed.D will be tomorrow from 10:00 to 11:00 AM EST. Here are all the details:

Welcome to Episode 14 of *CHANGES* G+ HOA with author, John W. Howell, who writes thrillers. Join host, Sally Ember, Ed.D., LIVE, conversing with John on Wednesday, December 3, 10 – 11 AM Eastern Time USA, https://plus.google.com/u/0/events/c73le14imljt9q0vn1do99re6fg or catch our conversation any time on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZRG5j5fHuo

It should be a good exchange since this is the first time Sally has interviewed a thriller author. I think that’s okay because this will be the first time I’ve been interviewed by a doctor who hasn’t billed Medicare. Should be a good time for all who attend. If you can’t make it you can visit YouTube anytime after.

Please visit Sally’s The Spanners Series at https://sallyember.com/spanners/ for a complete listing of all the links and her blog at https://sallyember.com/

Come Healing

O gather up the brokenness
And bring it to me now
The fragrance of those promises
You never dared to vow

The splinters that you carry
The cross you left behind
Come healing of the body
Come healing of the mind

And let the heavens hear it
The penitential hymn
Come healing of the spirit
Come healing of the limb

Behold the gates of mercy
In arbitrary space
And none of us deserving
The cruelty or the grace

O solitude of longing
Where love has been confined
Come healing of the body
Come healing of the mind

O see the darkness yielding
That tore the light apart
Come healing of the reason
Come healing of the heart

O troubled dust concealing
An undivided love
The Heart beneath is teaching
To the broken Heart above

O let the heavens falter
And let the earth proclaim:
Come healing of the…

19 Short Story Competitions in 2015

I’ve been getting quite a few hits lately from search terms such as “when do I self-publish my novel?” and “when does a book need to be published for the Christmas market?”

I already pontificated on the issue of self-publishing for Christmas in this post, but that only dealt with one time of year. Now I’d like to talk in more general terms about seasonal trends in book sales. I have inhaled oodles of data on the subject. And so, in this post, and more to follow*, I’m going to take a look at questions like these:

• Which month of the year sees the most sales?
• Which month sees the least sales?
• How many sales do you need to make it into the Top Ten Bestseller list? Are there times of the year when the target is lower and this might be easier?
• Are there particular weeks in the year…