EVERYONE WANTS TO BE AN AUTHOR

Hi to all my faithful friends and family. I know it's been way too long since I last posted, but since retirement I haven't had many free moments and those I have had I've used to write my next novel, BRIDGETOWN MURDERS, a sequel to BRIDGETOWN HIGH.

Before I retired I had a wonderful critique group called The Writer's Pen (you know as in pig pen, ha ha ha) I was co-moderator of the group. All our members were great writers and wrote some very interesting and exciting stories We were also close friends and gave each other great reviews and critiques. I have to give great credit to them for the success of my currently published novel, BRIDGETOWN HIGH. Unfortunately, our little group fell apart and disbanded.

Now, I don't have anyone to critique with. Being a writer can be a lonely business. Not that I mind being alone, it's just that I don't get a lot of good feedback from loneliness.

If anyone reading this is interested in critiquing my new novel, drop me a line or respond to this post. I can't afford to pay, which is part of the problem but maybe we can share critiques. Let me know if you are interested helping pro-bono.

By the way, my first novel is still available through Amazon. If you haven't  bought it yet, here's the link to its Amazon site: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B015RMGAQI/ref=cm_sw_su_dp. 

Also, let me know how you liked, or like, it. You can enter your email address to the side bar and you will get all my updates, or just respond to this post.

Thanks to all,

Paul W. West, Author

BRIDGETOWN HIGH

Hi, to all my faithful followers and friends (all the same).


Today's post won't be long. I just want to inform you of two exciting events coming up. No, it's not about a cover reveal for my next novel. Rather, it's about two almost as exciting events, at least I think so, and that is two upcoming blog tours/media blitz for my novel BRIDGETOWN HIGH. Also, my book is being sent out again for reader's review. I'm hoping these events will make my book more visible that will, hopefully, turn into sales. At least it should help my book to raise higher on Amazon's ranking. The first  tour will be done from September 14 thru 20, and the second will be the first week of October.


Another exciting thing is that YOU can help.

How?


If you sign up by sending me your email address you will be entered. Then, when the events are happening, the tour companies will send you an (for want of an better term) advertisement. Then, all you need to do is forward it to all your Facebook and Twitter "friends," or anyone else you can think of. That's it.


Just send your email address to paulwwest@yahoo.com.


Thanks in advance as I'm sure all of you will be willing to help.

And, in case you haven't yet, BRIDGETOWN HIGH is still available at Amazon in both paperback and Kindle.

Thanks, EVERYONE.

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Hi everyone.


Did you miss me? Being gone for two weeks makes for a long wait between my postings.

I just got a message from a man looking for help with his writing. Someone had referred him to me as thinking I could help him with his career. I felt inadequate as his writing goals seemed a lot higher than mine, but I tried to help and referred him to this posting.

However, by the time I wrote back to him, his message disappeared and I felt frustrated not being able to respond and maybe even help him. If this person was you, please contact me again, or comment below.

For today's post I though I would talk a little about characters. I for one, prefer to read about someone who feels real, verses cardboard characters.

So, how do we do that? Many novels are about magic or science fiction where the main character's only purpose is to save a world or something like that, but in the meantime we don't really get acquainted with the main character. In a book titled "How to Write Best-Selling Fiction," by Dean Koontz, he makes few comments that I feel are of value here. He says:

"Your lead character doesn't have to leap tall buildings in a single bound, and he doesn't have to stop speeding bullets with his bare hands, but he darn well better know the difference between right and wrong, and he better be kind to animals, and it sure wouldn't hurt any if he brushed his teeth regularly...

"If your heroine is a beautiful actress, a fine painter, and engineer, a cabinetmaker, a superb cook, a daring test pilot, a whiz at electronics, a doctor, a lawyer, and an Indian chief, don't you think you ought to humanize her at least to the extent of giving her a zit on the end of her nose?"

I know these sound a bit flippant, even humorous, but there's a lot of truth there. Your characters must be real if you expect to write "best-selling fiction."

So, how are your characters developing.

In my novel, "Bridgetown High," I tried my best to develop all the main characters, even to the point of going into the heads of Jeff Marino, the antagonist as well as Mark Wilkerson, the protagonist. I think I succeeded. Reviews of "Bridgetown High" have almost always been positive and one of the main things reviewers point out is the realism of the story and its characters.

So, until next week, keep working on your novel and take a minute to read mine, if you haven't already https://www.amazon.com/dp/1680583093/ and it would be great if you would write a review to help Amazon and Goodreads to rate my novel at a level it is worth. The higher my ranking the more likely my book is to sell, and you can say you were a part of it.

Thanks to all of you for making this effort a success.

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Hi to all my family and friends.


Today, I'm a little short on time to write a blog posting. But I ran across a review a lady gave me for Bridgetown High. In case you are undecided as to whether or not to buy a copy of my book and read it, maybe this review will help you decide.

Review by Marsha L Ceniceroson February 14, 2017

Format: Paperback

Author Paul W. West, a great author and wonderful storyteller; this book is great for teenagers too. On that point is no cursing, nor sexual content, just a downright nice read that brings the reader back to the 1960’s. The characters are filled with emotions that truly stand out, especially, Mark Wilkerson, who bears a terrible sum of guilt which leads to some scary moments. I found this story to be an overall great read, very realistic in many ways and would make a great movie! Highly recommended.

You can read more review like this by going to Amazon and Goodreads and searching my name, or the name of my novel.

Next week I promise I'll get back to my review of Dean Koontz's book "How to Write Best Selling Fiction." Until then, have a wonderful week.

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