Some villains are just plain nuts, right? Wrong. On a serious note, whether its done consciously or not, I think there are some illnesses and mental disorders that often sit behind some of the greatest villains. Understanding these disorders and their sometimes comorbid nature allows us to create more authentic villains. I want to tread carefully here, I think it’s important to respect mental health and the sufferers, importantly, I am not suggesting people or characters with mental health issues are villains or antagonists, just that some of the great villains have these disorders.

There are some important lessons we can learn from these illnesses which can help us to being authenticity to our characters. Having an awareness of these disorders can give you insight, genuine reactions, and understanding of what the source of their conflict can be – which gives you more plot and more depth to your characters. 

I first watched the Exorcist when I was about 9, I don’t know whether it was the projectile green vomit or badly done makeup, but I wasn’t impressed. These days it might be a little different. I was skeptical about everything back then. These days I’m only skeptical about some things because I know there really are things that go bump in the night. Scary movies, books or stories, have a better effect. Leaving me switching lights on, scanning rooms and ceilings and ensuring there’s a hockey stick within reaching distance!

I’m my own worst enemy and can never please myself. I started this series because I wasn’t happy with my villain, guess what, I’m still not. So I started investigating what makes a really scary bad guy. This post aims to identify what sets apart your Lemony Snicket from your Michael Myers (Halloween).

BOOK MARKETING TIPS

Is your book full of hooks?

If you don’t understand the question, don’t worry. I’ll explain it shortly.

After I ask a different question.

Why did you read this article?

I realize that you haven’t committed yet. At any moment, you could walk away.

And so could customers when they check out your book. Remember that.

The hooks make the difference:

• Did the title or image with this post grab your attention?
• Did it make a promise, like more book sales?
• Obviously, the beginning held your interest long enough for you to reach here.

YOUR BOOK NEEDS HOOKS

What is a hook?

A hook is something that catches your potential reader’s attention, arouses a reader’s curiosity, or engages your reader’s interest, for example. Anything that encourages potential customers to read your book effectively serves as a hook.

Your book should have several hooks:

• Your title can actually…

As I finish my lunch and prepare to head out from work to spend  Christmas Eve with my kids, I will take time tonight, and tomorrow, to remember the families who cannot do the same.

I will be ever mindful, and teach my kids the same mindfulness, that it is because of them and their sacrifices, sometimes their total sacrifice, that allows us to have what we have.

A fragile relative peace in our lifetime and as much protection as we could hope to have.

Thank you to the real heroes (originally written and published in the Record Journal Sunday December 19, 2010).

FROM WALLINGFORD – Let’s celebrate our real heroes
by Jason Zandri

A week before Thanksgiving, my neighbor David Gessert called one afternoon and asked me if I was going to be around on Wednesday. He mentioned that he and the neighbors were going to be having a…

What I’m about to suggest to you is something that I’m in the process of updating, and it’s not quite complete with all my books, so don’t yell “Liar, Liar!!” yet. I think it’s a really good idea for your paper books to act as the marketing tools that they should be for your other writing. Self publishing a paper book on Createspace is fairly easy. Writing a book blurb or synopsis, on the other hand, has always seemed harder than writing an actual full length novel to me. On a paperback, what’s on the tail is vital though. I think that it’s just as important as the cover design for a book that you hold in your hands to read. The first thing I do in a bookstore after glancing at the cover is turn it around. I read the author’s biography, eyeball his or her photo, and then…

There are a couple of reasons why you might want to offer your eBook with its paperback version at a steeply discounted price, or even free using Kindle Matchbook. People love a bargain, so it stands to reason that they’re really going to like the freebie best of all, but for instance – when buying a paper book as a gift they then can get the eBook for themselves at a steep discount – bonus. If someone is spending ten bucks for a paper book, an extra ninety nine cents shouldn’t be hard to spend. You get the full seventy percent royalty on the small sale which isn’t a huge pile to be true, but most importantly it also gives your rankings a boost. Also noteworthy, giving a free full colour eBook with a black and white paper self help book can do wonders to boost your CreateSpace sales.