Of Ink and Quille

As an author, especially in todays industry, you do have to have some ideas for marketing yourself, your books, your very brand. Something I hear all the time is to have a backlist of books, and I do. Currently I  have thirteen books out under my name and another seven under my pen name. Some of these books are doing well, others seem to have fallen off the reader's radar. In the hope that I can generate new interest, and thus improve my connection to my readers I'm going to try something different. Too often we forget what has come before, I can tell you what titles I have, what genres, even a bit about each of my books...but if a reader doesn't know about them what good will that do? I write for the love of it. Its part of me. But, I also have to be honest when I say the royalties are also a big reason why I continue to do this. So, each week I'm going to feature my backlist - tidbits, trivia, and more to refresh these stories in my fans' minds. This week we...

Ella Jade I’ve been a writer my whole life. As a child, I had an active imagination. The stories and plots have always played out in my head but I never knew what to do with them. I have books filled with stories. Writing has been my escape for as long as I can remember but I never knew what to do with my tales. That all changed when I discovered the eBooks industry. Becoming a published author has affected my life in many positive ways. Getting the opportunity to work with so many talented publishers and editors has helped me perfect my craft. In the two years since I took the plunge and started submitting my work, I’ve become a stronger writer. I’m learning to take more risks and explore some sub-genres that I have never tried before. I just finished penning my first paranormal romance. I’ve also met some really great writers and readers along the way. There are so many people willing to help and support you in the writing community. I’ve been lucky enough to make some really grea...

No longer content in the shadows of his older brothers and on a quest to find his destiny, Bryce Fraser's chosen path is fraught with danger, passion, and decisions. Can his unspoken love for spirited, beguiling Fallon be triumphant in a time of war and uncertainty, or will they both fall prey to the devious plans of a traitorous laird from a rival clan?   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ EXCERPT : Loch Ryan Scotland, 1307 “ Wa . . . water,” Bryce mumbled, but there was no one there to listen.   His throat was parched and he ran his tongue over dry, cracked lips, but his action offered no relief. An entire loch lay only a few feet away, but he couldn’t muster the strength to drag himself to the bank and quench his thirst. “ Cold . . . so cold.” Despite the sun beating down on him, he’d swear he was encased in ice. His life’s blood seeped from his wounds, soaking the ground beneath him. He tried to raise his head, but the excruciating pain radiating across his che...

Good morning everyone, please welcome our special guest Melissa Kendall who has taken a few moments out of her busy schedule to share some insight into who she is and her writing.   1.When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer? I've always been a writer I guess but I made the decision to give being a published author a go about eighteen months ago. 2. How long does it take you to write a book? Far longer than it should. When I have a good flow going I can get about 1000-1500 words written an hour. 3. What is your work schedule like when you're writing? I don't really have a schedule I have to work around my four year old so my writing is very sporadic. 4. What would you say is your interesting writing quirk? I write my best after midnight when everything is quiet and it is just me awake in the house. 5. Where do you get your information or ideas for your books? Ideas come to me in the strangest places. I remember one time I wa...

I've been lucky enough to be published for over five years now, with multiple books available. It hasn't always been easy, juggling family, friends, work, and writing can be trying at the best of times but when you throw in the biggest chunk of time...well it can be trying. I'm not talking research or signings, or readings, or writing...no I'm talking about something else. Something many of us cringe at the thought of doing. Promoting ourselves. To be successful, we can't sit on our laurels and wait for readers to find us. The internet is a massive place, full of twists, turns, and black holes. To be recognized one must do whatever they can to be noticed. Many new authors hear about the latest thing in social networking - and jump on the bandwagon. I'd be the first to admit that I count myself in that club. Try it all and see what works. However, by the time you've joined, created a place for yourself, and become noticed...your readers are sitting there ...

Inspiration Comes in Strange Places… Where did the idea for Make Me Stay Come from? One night back in January, I couldn't get the Katy Perry song The One That Got Away out of my head. I was humming it in the shower and bam, the idea for my newest novella hit me. I hopped out of the shower, wrapped a towel around myself and logged onto my computer as fast as I could. It was one of those moments where I had to get the scene down. It didn't even matter that I was wet and shivering. It was the first time in my writing journey where I started at the end of the book. The chapter kept playing out in my head, and I knew no matter what happened from the beginning of the story on, I had to end up with what I had just written. Now, don't ask me what that song has to do with a BDSM romance, I'm still not sure. But, for whatever reason those lyrics triggered something in my subconscious. The inspiration was so strong that I managed to write Make Me Stay i...

Today's Spotlight Check Out Time by Rosa Sophia Naomi Vogler blames herself for her mother's tragic death, continually reliving the accident in her nightmares.  When she reconnects with her estranged father, he invites her to live with him in a little town called Witchfire.  A simple job stocking shelves overnight at a local grocery store seems a perfect distraction.  But when the manager of the store is found dead in the boiler room, Naomi's boring job becomes something much more complicated.  No matter how she looks at it, one thing is certain: retail is murder. Rosa Sophia is the author of the Paranormal Mystery  Taking 1960 .  She currently resides in south Florida .    Please visit her online:     Site        Facebook        Twitter

    In the beginning (don't you love it when a story or article begins - in the beginning)!             At first, as people sought to record transactions, their history or laws, everything was written by hand. It took time to record small bits of information. Any book was a labor of love, and only available to the ruling class or members of the religion of the time. And so it was for hundreds of years.             As the Black Plague in Europe wiped out hundreds of people, the landed lords or royals had to actually hire help. Farmers moved to the villages and towns that sprang up and the newly hired residents had to learn the rudiments of ciphering and reading to do business. Information about what was happening locally was important and that news became available. It was handwritten and pinned to the tavern door, or read aloud at the local inn by someone who ...

Feedback: How To Give It, How To Get It by Jo Sparkes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ BLURB: Feedback … a kinder word for criticism, is an organic component to life. When a toddler learns to walk, he falls. He screams, cries – and persists. What would happen to the human race if he gave up after a few bumps? Before we could read self-help books, before we could understand a language and sit in a classroom, we learned by trial and error. “Feedback” is the natural teaching process. It’s how the creator set it up. It’s how the world actually works. Here, at last, is a simple process for getting the most from all the feedback the world offers us. ~*~  Please welcome Jo Sparkes to Of Ink and Quille. Today she's stopped  by in her impressively busy schedule to tell us what inspired her to write her current book: Feedback - A Writer's Guide to Spinning Gold. Welcome, Jo. What inspired this book? I was teaching screenwriting at a college, and a teenager asked a question....

An interview with Kellie Stone Welcome. Going Out of My Mind By Kellie R. Stone “ Don't think. Thinking is the enemy of creativity. It's self-conscious, and anything self-conscious is lousy. You can't try to do things. You simply must do things.” ~ Ray Bradbury I have always been creative. And, you know what “they” say: Write what you know. On my journey as a women’s life coach, I was forced to come to grips with my own areas of self-doubt and complacency. One area was desperately flawed…the one that repeatedly said, “Kellie, you have to be good at everything, teach everything, share everything!” As much as I wanted to believe I could be all that, I couldn’t. “So, what are you REALLY good at?” I asked myself. “Creating and making things more beautiful,” the REAL me answered. It was during that candid self-chat, I realized my target, my focus, was about to change. Instead of being all things to all people, I had to be who I was meant to be- a woman who unders...

Please join me in welcoming Pamela from Beachwalk Press for today. This new publishing house, is the new home for my reprint, The Cowgirl's Christmas. Welcome Pamela, thanks so much for joining us. First, I’d like to thank Patricia for giving me the opportunity to visit here today. A little about myself: I started in this business as a romance author, several years later I moved into editing, and eventually became the managing editor for Lyrical Press. Now with the opening of Beachwalk Press, I’ve stepped into the publisher position. Beachwalk Press is strictly a romance publisher. We publish all sub-genres of romance. Our books range in length from 15,000 words to 75,000 words. All of them have a rating of “sensual” or higher. We are currently publishing only eBooks, although we may eventually move into print publication. At this time our books are available in five different formats: pdf (for Adobe Reader), lit (for Microsoft Reader), mobi (for Mobi and Kindle...