Friday Five - Five Fun Things About Writing and Publishing Shadows of Twilight by Martin Sharlow

Martin Sharlow was always a storyteller. In his youth he used to play roleplaying games and usually he was the game master. That allowed him to create and modify stories and then tell them to his captive audience in the form of a game. Because of this and the many fantasy books he read, Martin went the next step and started writing fantasy novels.

Recently, however, Martin changed genres to vampire romance as he got bitten by the vampire bug. This happened after picking up one of the latest novels and finding himself hooked on it. Today Martin has written three vampire romance novels, and is in the process of writing many more.

Martin currently lives in Vancouver, WA with two of his three children, who help to keep him grounded in reality.

You can visit Martin Sharlow at http://www.wix.com/targoun/martin

Visit Martin’s tour page at Pump Up Your Book.

Friday Five - Five Fun Things About Writing and Publishing Shades of Twilight

Shades of Twilight came into being after I got bitten by the vampire bug. Before that time, all I read was fantasy. A fellow author wrote something that everyone thought was great. It wasn't in my normal genre, but I decided to check it out anyway just to see what all the hoopla was about. To my surprise, not only did I finish her book, but the next two as well. I then went on to watch several movies and TV shows on the subject, and then I knew I just had to write a vampire novel. When things perk my interest I have a hard time not taking the plunge. Shades is the result of that interest.

Shades was written in the first person point of view. This was my first attempt to ever write that way. Normally I write in third person, as most of the fantasy books I've read are written like that. To my surprise, this was the hardest book I ever wrote because of that one little change. It's crazy how difficult it was for me.

As difficult as it was to write, I actually found that the first person POV was actually more fun and versatile to use. It feels like a different skill type to write that way, and I have great respect for authors that can write in multiple POVs. I'm looking forward to writing the sequel, as I'm going to enjoy exploring all I can do with first person.

When I began this book, I only had my characters picked out. Usually I have a plot long before I have my main characters done. They usually grew out of the storyline, rather than the other way around. Not this time, and that caused a whole new set of problems for me. Rather than have a goal that needed doing or fixing and then creating characters, I had characters that needed goals. That coupled with the POV problem...Well let's just say this project was a challenge I wasn't expecting.

Some of the action scenes were were my favorite to write. The scenes where Melissa is scared to death at all the strange noises on her street outside as she makes her way home really creeped me out. I remember feeling like I was actually there. It helped that I had went down to the street at night and saw how spooky it could be. The park where they encounter supernatural events at also has a reputation of being haunted in real life. We went down there for research, and I'll tell you now, it definitely left an impression on me.

Thirteen Things About The Bedtime of the Sky and Other Sleepy-Bye Stories

The Bedtime of The Sky and Other Sleepy Bye Stories is an illustrated Children's book of five of my original bedtime stories in verse. This book was actually written long ago for my nieces and nephew, John, Catherine and Elizabeth, when they were very young children. Although they are now in college, actually two have graduated, I do have a new little reader to write for, my four year old niece Jillian! I love writing poetry and fantasy stories and to mix magic with ordinary experiences. These bedtime stories in verse reflect my idea that there is magic in everyday events. For instance, I just know that there is a Dragon in the sock drawer that eats socks so we cannot find them, or that Dolls have a secret longing to help us clean up our room late at night! A little about myself, I was born in England and although my parents moved us all back to America about a year after I was born, I truly believe that the stories and British classics that I grew up with, have had a huge impact i...

Frank Nash: the Most Inspirational English Teacher I Ever Did Know! By Vincent Zandri author of The Remains

I never set out to be a writer. Back in 1979, when I entered the Second Form in a 200 year old, all boys, military school called, The Albany Academy, I simply wanted to become a rock n’ roll star. Like Ringo or Keith Moon, I wanted to play drums in a huge rock band, make a ton of money doing it, get lots of girls, and see the world. While most of the uniformed boys sat attentively in math class, taking copious notes, I drew illustrations of huge drums sets and stared out the window. All that changed when for the first time, I was introduced to Frank Nash in my second term English lit and writing course. First thing that caught my attention was the classroom itself. The Academy was an old building even back then, having been built in the 1920s. Made of stone and strong woods, with real blackboards instead of chalk boards, the place seemed like a kind of time warp. A school caught perpetually in the 19th century instead of one that would see the 21st century in only two more decades. But...

Seven Things About Dangerous Impulses

Today, I we have author F.M. Meredith visiting with us. I have had the pleasure of meeting Marilyn at the Los Angeles Times Book Festival a number of years ago. Join me as she shares seven things about her book. 1. Dangerous Impulses is # 9 in the Rocky Bluff P.D. series. Though every mystery is complete, every crime solved and the book written as a stand-alone, things happen to the continuing characters: the police officers and their families. Rocky Bluff is a small Southern California Beach community, located between Ventura and Santa Barbara, and mostly overlooked by tourists. 2. In every RBPD mystery/crime novel there are ongoing characters. One of the most popular with readers is Officer Gordon Butler. Nothing ever seems to go easy for him. Though he is not the “star” in Dangerous Impulses like he was in No Bells , I think his fans will be happy with what he ends up doing near the end of the boo...

First Draft to Published

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