We are moving, packing are bags, we are breaking up with BLOGGER!

Well we are saying goodbye it is time for a change...

Change is good. Change means that there are bigger things ahead. Change to us means that there will be no more frustration. I guess that Blogger really just wasn't for us. We tried it and it really just didn't fit. It's almost like a pair of jeans that you tried on at the store and you bought them and then you got them home and they didn't look or feel as good. Ladies you know exactly what I am talking about-well Blogger was just that. We had heard such great things about it so we tried them on for size and then we took them home and well guess what? We are needing to take them back to the store and metaphorically get a new pair so now we are going to be at Wordpress.

So here is our new address. You can still find all the old reviews and "Feature Friday" authors on here but we are going to be starting fresh with the new blog. We will not be moving again that is for sure. I don't know about anyone else but moving is the worst....Transferring over and creating new content is fun but also somewhat difficult. So our new home over at Wordpress will be our permanent BLOG! So please follow us over there.

So we are moving, packing our bag, and breaking up with BLOGGER! So we must say goodbye now. Put our new pair of jeans on and move on. So goodbye Blogger and hello Wordpress. We hope to see you there.

Our new address is www.hotlitbooks.wordpress.com

Thanks,

Gabriella D.

Feature Friday with Author Michelle Hughes.

Feature Friday with Author of Tears of Crimson Vampire Series.

Michelle Hughes

Give us a little bit about you and how you started writing Vampire Erotica?

All of my vampire books are based off of dreams I've had.  I'm not sure I ever intended to write erotica it just happened that those dreams were the ones that fueled my imagination.  Rafe (one of the characters in my book) has been with me in dreams from my early teenage years and he's pretty persistent about having his stories told.  In these dreams he would take me to other worlds and we would explore many things together, passion being one of them.

You also have Erotic Novella and a BDSM book, so how do you choose which genre you will write your next book in?

I would have to say that the book chooses me.  I know this sounds strange but my dreams have always prompted me to write.  If I dream about a certain situation I have to write about it.  Most of them I would never tell the people I'm closest to about. I don't know how this works for other authors, but my muse will continue filling my head with dreams until I write them down.

Does the story come first or the character?

Always the character for me.  Being introduced to someone new in my dreamland is always a shock and I vividly feel those emotions of first meeting in those dreams.  Depending on the temperament of the character, I can go through a whole gamut of fear, desire, or pleasure.  With the story it's like being led through a moving picture and experiencing each situation.  Thankfully I haven't had nightmares in years, which is why I don't write horror.

Do you find yourself fighting with what would you do if you were the character or do you more find yourself if you were someone else what would you want to do?

I don't know if it's fortunate or not, but since I live out my stories in dreams first I write exactly what I see happening in them.  In essence, I become the character until the book is finished no matter what age they are.  I never fight against myself internally about what my characters do, it's hard to fight with yourself.

With all that you are involved in what is your writing routine like and how often do you write?

With the latest book 10 Nights, it was absolute insanity.  84,000 words in 14 days and I paid a price for that one.  As many people know I'm a mom of five so any writing that I do has to be done after my crew here has gone to bed.  For me that means no sleep if I get hit by the muse which was continuous for two weeks on this project. I managed 3 hours a day and ended up at the doc with a nice little fever and cold.   I don't have a schedule, when I'm inspired I write.

As you know, Hotlit Books’ goal is to help authors, so what advice do you offer?

I like to tell my writing friends that I have no idea what works to push a book, so I try everything.  It's insanity some days, but I will try and push out blog posts for the five blogs I maintain, talk to friends and fans on twitter and facebook, answer the emails, post on Triberr, update my feed140 tweets, stop in at goodreads, and make sure I share all posts with stumbled upon and pinterest.  I also try and share my friends work on facebook and twitter daily. 

What past or present author would you like to collaborate on a book and why?

Charlaine Harris is still my favorite author and I would love to collaborate with her.  As another Southern writer I think we have many of the same little quirks in our writing and while Charlaine keeps her work pg -13 (shocking if you've watched True Blood) I would love to add a little more steaminess into her scenes.  She write in a way that always keeps me entertained and I just think it would be fun to see how a book would turn out if we collaborated.  Of course, I would be just as happy to take over writing the True Blood scripts. 

When you write does it have to be quiet, or do you have music playing, TV on etc…?

It depends on the mood I'm in.  There are nights when a little music will help get my creative juices flowing and others when it just annoys and distracts me.  The television on would drive me crazy and I'd probably be ready to throw it through a window if I had to write with it on.  There are enough people talking in my head when I write, I really don't need anything else going on around me.

Okay I am going to ask a few hard ones now.  So if you had to choose one of your books as your best one, which would it be and why?

After all the edits and rewrites, I would have to say my first Tears of Crimson Book.  I'm not so sure it's better than the rest, but there is more of me invested if that makes sense?  My soul went into that book and it took me two years to complete it.  That book lifted me out of a great depression and changed my outlook on life, so it will always be my favorite.

In your opinion, do you think that vampires written today are any different than ones written in the days of Bram Stoker?

I think today's vampires are substantially different, and I see no problem with that.  I loved Dracula, still do, he was such an influence on my writing.  I love all vampires, and will read or watch anything with that theme.  I have no idea what it is that draws me to this beautiful creature but I do know that it pulls me in and makes me wish that they were real.

Today we cannot seem to get away from someone having a criticism. How do you handle criticism for your work?

My first bad review nearly broke me.  When you spend two years writing out a story that engulfs your entire life and have someone stomp on it, it's heartbreaking.  I cried for hours and then I put on my big girl panties and lifted my chin.  There are going to be people who hate what you do, there is no way around it.  I remember going through my favorite authors and reading every bad review they had and that was what saved my sanity.  In my opinion, if all those wonderful authors I love to read had such terrible reviews, then I had to look at it from the standpoint that maybe I didn't suck as bad as the reviewer said.  As my granny use to say, there's an arse for every seat, so I look at it this way, there are readers for every book.

Do you prefer Twilight, Vampire Diaries or True Blood style of Vampire?

I prefer them all.  My favorite from all those shows is Eric.  He is the yummiest thing since sliced bread and while I will watch or read anything vampire related, he is my heartthrob. From the Twilight series, I was actually a Jacob fan. 

If given the choice would you let a vamp turn you?

I would say you're a little late buddy, and yes.  Without any second doubts at all, if vampires were real I would definitely be standing in line to be turned.  Eternal life, are you kidding me?  Of course it would be nice to go back about twenty years first.  If you run across any sexy vampires, please send them my way!

Follow Michelle!

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Interviewed by: Xavier Zyta

Feature Friday with author of Halo of the Damned, Dina Rae Tosto

Feature Friday with author of Halo of the Damned, Dina Rae.

Interviewed by Xavier Zyta
This is our third feature Friday and we are honored to have Dina Rae, she is being interviewed by 
co-founder of Hotlit Books, Xavier and we think it's pretty darn interesting. Check out what this former teacher has to say to Hotlit Books and what has motivated her to write about the Freemason's and much more.

Dina Rae Tosto - Author of Halo of the Damned, The Last Degree and the short story Be Paranoid and Be Prepared.

   I (Xavier) like conspiracy novels, so what is it that pushes you to write them? 

  

  Big, big fan of conspiracy.  Love Dan Brown, Jesse Ventura, Alex Jones, Jack VanImpe, Brad Meltzer, and the True Channel.  Took decades of interesting ideas and turned them into a plot for The Last Degree.

     What is the trickiest thing about coming up with a storyline for you?  I tend to get more involved in the plot and forget about the characters-then I go back and realize how few details were written about them.  Time to edit.

  Do you write an outline? 

Towards the end I do, but not the beginning or middle.

    Do you know how the book will end when you start or how do you come up with when to end it? No, I wasn’t sure for any of my books how they would end and I like writing that way.  The endings aren’t part of a formula.

Dina Rae

   Do you find writing yourself in any of your characters or who you would like to be?  

  I write in 3rd person, lmtd. POV, past tense verbs.  Not ready for 2nd person or 1st person yet, but hope to try it one day.  Both seem so hard to write in because there are so many things each character cannot know but the reader has to know to keep the novel going.

    

 In Halo of the Damned you write of nephilim, of which, I find of an interesting discussion.  How did that inspiration come to you? 

  I am a Christian and always found the story about Lucifer and a 1/3 of all angels waging war on God a fascinating story.  Satan is the star and no one even thinks about all of the others who went with him.  In Enoch another fall is mentioned in which angels voluntarily descended from Heaven and mated with women, producing nephilim.  The Flood destroyed them, but both falls and the Yezidi angel cult inspired me for my novel.

     

     How much research did you do for The Last Degree with the Masonics? 

I watched many TV specials and read several articles on the Internet and libraries.  I even read part of Albert Pike’s Morals and Dogma, an enormous book that sort of act like their handbook.  I also researched the Illuminati and other secret societies.  Many of the articles kept crossing over, further adding to my inner circle theory.

   

 Which do you prefer writing novels or short stories and why? 

Novels.  Short stories have to be short and there is no room to expand on your story.

  

 How long have you been writing?  

Two years.

      What advice would you like to offer authors? 

Certainly not in a position to give advice, but found Stephen King’s On Writing and Writer’s Digest very helpful.

      

What genre do you like to read?  

   Thriller, horror, biography, historical fiction, and mystery are my favorite.  Every once in a while a romance will catch my eye. 

Thanks so much for having me!

Find out more about Dina @

http://www.dinarae.co  https://www.facebook.com/dina.rae.50
www.dinaraeswritestuff.blogspot.com

If you would like to be featured like Dina please contact us at www.hotlitbooks.org/contact.

Feature Friday-Javier Robayo Author of The Next Chapter

Feature Friday (AUTHOR) Javier Robayo

Our new FEATURE FRIDAY program starts with a bang!!! Our past featured author, Javier Robayo is interviewed by Hotlit Books co-founder Xavier Zyta and talks about his sequel to his successful book The Gaze which is The Next Chapter.

The  Next Chapter

Javier Robayo

 

Being that The Next Chapter is a continuance of The Gaze, did you know you were going to continue the story before you finished The Gaze? 

No, if anything I always said I wouldn’t write a series, but something happened with Gaze.  One of the main characters nearly stole the show and I had a feeling readers were going to want more.  It didn’t take long to come up with the story and I committed to it by writing the three chapter excerpt at the end of Gaze. 

I understand the Gaze’s cover was your wife, how did you approach her to do it.  Why did you not continue with her on the cover of The NextChapter?

Oh, my Sheri gets a kick out of people thinking that’s Samantha’s face.  Her eyes are as beautiful as gems to me, and nothing spoke the name of the novel like her gaze did, and so I asked her to show me a series of emotions until we got The Shot.  I went all paparazzi on her for at least an hour and some fifty decisions later, found the perfect combination of ambiguous intensity.  It came out better than I ever dreamed!  It looks so much better in the newest cover. 

The Gaze/Javier Robayo

The Next Chapter is a story onto its own and I wanted something that held the most symbolism within the story.  I was researching the meaning of colors and came across this legend of the Autumn Harvests.  People celebrated not only the change of the seasons, the death of a year and the rebirth of another, but they all hoped to change themselves.  This was a change for their next life in the new year.  It tied in with Lewis’s journey perfectly.

Do you do an outline before you start a book or do you just do it as you are writing it?

I don’t do outlines at all.  I’ve tried and it just doesn’t work for me.  I like getting to know my characters and once they are fused into my mind, they literally take over the story.  I’ve deleted entire chapters because I’d feel Samantha or Gwen telling me, “that’s just not what I would do.”  I will take credit for the situations, but the emotional reactions that drive the stories are all theirs.

What is the hardest thing for you when you are writing?

The hardest thing for me is to stay detached from my characters.  In Gaze, Samantha’s reactions and feelings are so overwhelming I’d end up laying my head on the keyboard in tears.  I couldn’t talk about what I was writing with Sheri because I’d end up choking up bad.  Even after finishing the novels, I go through this emotional crash where I feel as though I miss them terribly.  It happens to many authors, but after investing so much time into creating their lives, they come to mean so much to you.  Such strong emotional response often got in the way of where I wanted to take the story.

Do you suffer from distractions when writing?

Ha!  I work swing shifts at a steel mill full of its own brand of never-ending drama, and at home, I have two little girls who demand my attention along with the upkeep of the house and life in general.  Most of my writing takes place once everyone goes to bed.  There were many times when my alarm would go off, making me aware that I’d been at the keyboard the entire night.  I paid for it dearly as I tried to get through the day.

Do you have a hard time setting time aside to write?

Yes.  For me, writing comes easier when I’m in the mood to write and those moods have no specific schedule.  I’ve gotten up at 3am to write because my mind just had to get everything out, and other times, despite Sheri taking the girls to visit friends, and giving me time to write, I couldn’t compose a single word.

How long did it take to write The Gaze?

I wrote the first draft in about ten months, add to that two more of editing and if I peek, I could probably keep writing it.  A solid year went into it.

How long did it take you to write The Next Chapter?

With the characters and the setting already established, I was able to produce a final draft in four months then spent one more adding and editing.  It wasn’t that I had all this time, it was just that my characters helped me move the story along at a good clip.

Did it seem easier to write The Next Chapter?

I’ve learned so much after writing Gaze.  Honestly, the easy part was writing the novel.  The promoting is its own monster!  Writing, like any skill, is something that gets better the more you do it.  I took a risk by going into active present rather than a retrospective voice like Gaze.  I wanted my reader in the moment, unable to figure out what would happen next.  I didn’t have to do as much research as I did for Gaze and that helped me a great deal.

How much of The Next Chapter would you put in the first book if you had to do it all over again?

Well, that’s a tough one.  The worst review I’ve had on Gaze was centered around its length.  Dramas tend to be on the long side and I’ve learned that as an author, I’d better justify its volume by providing good content.  I could’ve easily threaded a large percentage of Chapter into Gaze, but that would’ve put that novel over the 1200 page mark.

Would you want to be one of your characters and if so which one?

Aw man!  That’s just not fair!  I’d love to be Tony, just because he’s cool and grounded.  I’d love to be Jason Stephen, because well, all the girls want him and he’s pretty much everything a guy would like to be in the eyes of a girl.  Of course, there’s Lewis, who’s had a huge following since the first time he graced the pages of Gaze.  I’d like to be a friend like him.  I’d love to have a friend like him.

I can’t choose just one.  Gwen, Samantha, even Audrey have such strengths and allure, I’d be happy to be any one of them.

What is your favorite movie?

The Shawshank Redemption, the writing is so rich, incredibly emotional.

Would you like to make The Gaze and The Next Chapter into a movie?

It’d be a dream come true.  I’ve been blow away by the connections many of my readers have developed.  I’ve often been asked what I did to make a reader go on and on in their reviews.  There have been some personal emails in which readers have told me just what Gaze has done for them.  If the novels ever made into movies, I’d be so interested to see just how many people connected to the characters and identified with their weaknesses and strengths.

Who would you want to play the lead characters?

This is one I’m always ready to answer

Kate Beckinsale as Samantha Reddick

Jude Law as Lewis Bettford

Sophia Bush as Gwen Amaya

Adam Garcia as Tony Amaya

Rachel McAdams as Quinn McDermont

Chris Evans as Jason Stephen

Chris Hemsworth as Brooks Waldenberg

And the incredibly talented singer Adele as Audrey Burton

Will there be Another Chapter? 

Before releasing The Next Chapter, I fought a losing battle against the fear that I did not meet the expectation of Gaze readers.  I was wrong.  I’ve even had a few tell me they liked Chapter even better.  As it happened in Gaze, there is a slew of seed that could blossom into a third installment.  My closest friends and my editor pretty much demand another installment.  I’m committed to writing two other novels, but after that, we’ll see…

Tell us about your VP's and distribution center employees. ie; your girls and how your family plays a role in you being in an author.

I have to take a bit of time on this one.  It all starts with my dad.  He taught himself computers and everything to do with them since we arrived in 1988.  None of us ever thought how vital his skills would prove to be once I started writing.  He also has an artistic background and both covers were finalized by him.  My Sheri is my most brutal critic and harsh observant.  It took such a big effort to evoke a little shimmer in her eyes with Gaze.  Once I moved her to blink a tear or two down her cheek, I knew I had a chance.

My VP of distribution, Kendra Marie, makes sure I stay grounded and remember what is most important in life.  Her smiles and little words of encouragement, along with her understanding for the hours and hours on the keyboard, are tremendous help. 

My little Inventory Manager, Amber Gabrielle, is a pistol.  She has no qualms in coming down and getting in my face, hands fisted at her waist, “enough writing, let’s go in the pool, Dad!” 

I’ve drawn so much inspiration out of their observations and the way they look at life through new eyes, forcing me to see it all for the first time.  They are my motivation to establish a writing career that will enable me to be always around them.  I’ve missed more than a few things by working weekends, holidays, and strange hours that kept me from seeing them.  Along with my wife, they are my everything.

Lastly, thank you Hotlit Books so so much for the opportunity to be a small part of your growth and I hope that you know I’ll always do what I can for Gabriella Deveraux and company.  It’s been a real pleasure.

Javier A. Robayo

If you want to forward on please do,


X

Who am I Wednesday with Hotlit Books

Who am I Wednesday with Hotlit Books

Post by  Co- Founder of Hotlit Books Xavier Zyta

In addition to Hotlit Books promoting authors, I (Xavier) have created the project of Who Am I Wednesday.  I thought it would be great to offer the ability for services or anyone that can offer something for authors.  I thought it would be great to start with Hotlit Books.  Gabriella Deveraux, founder of Hotlit Books (her baby) sat down with me to go over these questions.   

So with my first question is Who Am I – Hotlit Books?  Well Hotlit Books is a non-profit organization that started almost eight months ago. It’s a fantastic site for authors and ran by authors.

What made you want to start HotlitBooks? I started Hotlit Books because I really felt there was not another site out there that was featuring authors as the main focus, which I felt should be done. I wanted to focus on the author as this is truly what makes the book special.

Even though Hotlit Books is still in its infancy, is it where you thought it would be now?  Actually no, it has grown into something completely different but I am so overwhelmed everyday with joy of how it has turned out.

Everybody knows the 5 year question so where would you like Hotlit books to be in 5 years? I really would like to see Hotlit Books helping even more authors by having workshops online and on location. I would love to have writer conferences with big-time authors. I would absolutely love to be able to pass on our successes to the younger generation.

As many people, are not aware but you spend hours a day working on Hotlit Books, what is your average time spent to promote Hotlit Books? I do spend quite a few hours some days I lose track but yesterday I spent sixteen hours working. On average I would have to say I spend at least 15+hours a day promoting and networking for Hotlit Books. Wow did I just admit to that? So yeh 15+hours at least and that’s 7 days a week. I don’t ever take a day off either.

Do you find it hard to balance everything?  Extremely! As I stated in my own personal blog this week I write a lot of lists and one of those lists is for my personal life as well. I have to include this or I will just focus on Hotlit and that’s it. Which is not very balanced at all. I also have to be reminded by loving partner to take time to relax.

You have two books out right now, when will we see the third installment in the Erotic Hotel Series? I don’t really know. It’s summertime here in the Pacific Northwest so it’s hard for me to write when the weather is so beautiful. So maybe by December, but it will be the last and final installment.

With accepting different types of genres, have you experienced any that you feel is hard to promote? Yes, but I will not say what that is. It’s not that it is hard to promote as far as the site is concerned, but as far as my own personal beliefs. But we do not discriminate on our site we will promote any genre.

What genre do you prefer to read? Hmm. That’s a good question. I love reading about faeries. I love reading light hearted stories. I also like reading self- motivating and or inspiring stories.  I can read some historical books and I like a good romance every so often.

Can you spill the beans on anything new or ideas you may be thinking of doing for Hotlit Books? Nope my lips are sealed but I am currently working on something pretty darn big-so stay tuned!

What do you feel is the hardest thing to do for running Hotlit Books? Promotions, I feel that getting the word out and gaining trust of the people out there is the hardest thing, yet it is also the most rewarding. When you read that people love the site and or that we are doing a great job it makes you feel wonderful and warm inside.

What would you like people to know about Hotlit Books and you? Hotlit Books and myself truly represent the author and their best intentions. We believe in the stories that they have to tell. We feel that a story is the key to our past, it leads down a path, a journey that someday when we are all gone, our grandkids and our great grandkids will be able to read these stories and know who we were as people , as writer’s and about the world we once lived in. This is why we love books and this is why it is so important to believe in the literary arts.

I want to thank Gabriella for taking time out of her busy day to answer these questions.  Hopefully, this lets you know who Hotlit Books and Gabriella Deveraux.  If you would like to do Who Am I Wednesday, please contact us. 

Xavier Zyta

You can find Hotlit Books at www.hotlitbooks.org and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/HotlitBooks

We have moved! Find us at www.hotlitbooks.org

Post #006-We have MOVED!

You can find us at www.hotlitbooks.org

Our new LOGO!

As you can tell by the title we have moved. We are now at www.hotlitbooks.org. As most of you who follow us on Twitter or Facebook know that our site through our host at webs.com has had more problems that we care to list. So we made an organizational decision to move our site to a more reliable host.


We are now through Moonfruit, which is affordable and most of all reliable. As I am sure you are aware by now we have changed everything. From logo design to the lay of the "land" so to speak. We know this will better serve all of you, the reader, and the author.


We are really excited about our future here in our new digs and we think you will be too. There are great things ahead for us as an organization and for our authors. As always we are still needing your help.


Through our site you can find multiple ways to get involved with our wonderful organization. From memberships to ad space. Your donations and dollars go to our operating costs and our FEATURED AUTHOR program, which will help us continue the program in the future. Literary arts keep the history of our ancestors alive by telling a story. Keep this art going by contributing today by visiting www.hotlitbooks.org .


Thanks for visiting our new site and believing in us as organization. Special thanks to our friends, followers, current members, and our sponsors.


Thanks again,


Gabriella Deveraux-Founder

#005 Keeping Up with the Joneses

#005 "Keeping Up with the Joneses"

We have all heard the saying of keeping up with the "Joneses". You are probably wondering what this has to do with books. Well it has a lot to do with it and we will explain in further detail in this post. First let's explain or go over what it really means to keep up with the Joneses. According to Wikepedia.com it is referring to one's comparison to a neighbor as a benchmark or social caste or the accumulation of goods. 

We also would like to give you an example of some ideas. Neighbor "Joe" just bought a brand new lawnmower. Neighbor "Jim" now wants that lawnmower and goes out and purchase said lawnmower. 

In the real estate market the "Joneses" theory works in this manner; a house is priced at $120k that same house with the same square feet and amenities can not and should not be listed for anything but $120k. This is what is called Market Value.

Are you starting to see how this is going to relate yet?

If your "neighbor" ie; a book in your neighborhood (Amazon,Smashwords, etc..)has that particular house on your block ie; (genre) and you list your home ie; (book) at a higher price. No one will come buy your house. They will be looking at the other lower priced houses on the block. Look around at your neighbors, check out the block and see what houses are being listed at and try to beat their prices and get your fair share of the market. Wouldn't you rather have sales at a lower price and take less commission than no sales at all? 

Before setting your price on your E-Book take a drive around the block and check out the real estate. Make sure you get your share of the market. Look at your genre and see the trends that are happening and price your book accordingly. You will be successful if you have the right price on your book. 

Good luck and KEEP WRITING!

Gabriella Deveraux

#004 The Grammar Police are Coming!

Written by Xavier Zyta

www.hotlitbooks.com

First let me state, that I am not the Spelling and Grammar Police, nor am I the Punctuation Pope.  I am writing this so that it may give other independent or dependent authors the idea to be on the lookout.  

See example below. 

Betty was having a rotting morning. As her coffee pot had died and she needed her fix.  She was having a bad hair day.  It didn’t cooperate either.So it was ponytail day.  The day of catastrophy continued, she couldn’t find a pair of pantyhose, that didn’t have a big ruin in it.  The chase had caused her to be late.  She didn’t really have time to stop for coffee, but she needed it and it was her morning richual.  She felt frazzled, and didn’t have that normal perky feeling.  Her name called for her cup of heaven.  She moved quickly to pick it up, and snatched it off the counter.  As she turned in such a hurry, she didn’t notice Owen awaiting his jafa.  All she noticed was her cup of heaven slip out of her hand.  And turn to a liquid hell on the floor and on Owen’s pants.  The expleteves flew from her mouth, like she was spewing a bad taste in her mouf. 

She then realized where she was and her fast like a thermometer drop in boiling water flew to full red.  “I am so sorry”, was out of her mouth without her even known it could propell so fast.   Owen was trying to pull the legs of his pants away from scalding his legs.  He exclaimed, “It is okay, accidents happen”.    

Can you spot the all the errors in the above?

Amazingly, I read a lot and have been mainly focusing on independent authors works.  Unfortunately, with this I have been noticing a lot of errors.  Let us go over some of the errors that I have read in recent months. 

First of all, there have been the dreaded spelling errors that seemingly pop up.  Words are overlooked for correct spelling and with the simple use of spellchecker in your software this can easily be fixed.  Take your time and do the extra step to use spellchecker, as it is so annoying to read a word and know that it was incorrectly spelled.  Personally, I can overlook one or two but when you have a book that on almost every page there is an error it takes away from the story.  I love a good story and I will finish it even though there are these errors, I know some people will not. 

Secondly, there have been many instances with the issue of grammar.  Grammar is the set of structural rules that govern the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in any given natural language.  When you are doing a story that helps you jump out of the normal grammar rules, then that is easy.  These cases are when you are doing a fairy tale, alien story, cultural story etc.  Even though you will have to follow some of the grammar rules, it is best to also use the grammar checking in your software. 

The third issue in this blog is punctuation.    A run on sentence is the killer of telling your story.  Commas are a great thing and sometimes do get used too much.  I think if you are telling the story, the best thing to do is say it aloud and listen to how you are telling it and it will help you to know when to use punctuation. 

Below you will find a website that may help in this but the best thing, I think, is just pay attention to what you are writing.  It will help if you get an unbiased person to look over your work and offer suggestions.  This does not mean you need an English teacher to do this but to have a friend, colleague or someone you trust to go over your work.  This will happen after you run it through your spell and grammar checker.  Also be aware of the correct word to use as there and their have different meanings.

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/

As always keep writing, so we can read your great stories.

X

Making your mark!

Post #003
Make your mark!

Well we lost another author Ray Bradbury, the infamous author known for such great as The Illustrated Man and Fahrenheit 451 and well it got us to thinking how do you want to make your MARK?


Writer's have something to say! What is it that you want to say to the world? Are you saying it clearly and precisely? What are you conveying? Is your personality coming through your writing? 


What great writers do you read that you feel have made their mark? On the world? In your life?


These are the questions you need to ask yourself this week as you continue to write your bestseller.


Start a journal and or if you already have one for your writing specifically ask yourself what do you want to say to the reader? What message are you trying to convey about your story? 


As Ernest Hemingway used to say "sit down at a typewriter and bleed".  This week pour yourself out into those pages. This is how the great writers of yesterday became classics of today. They gave us their heart and soul.






What mark do you want to leave? 

Post #02
Guest Blogger-Xavier Zyta
New reviews with Hotlit Books

Hello my name is Xavier Zyta, and I am lucky to be collaborating with Gabriella Deveraux on her baby at HotLit Books.  If you are not familiar with HotLit Books, then I will give you a short description.  HotLit Books is for independent authors to showcase their latest works.  For 2 week s Hotlit Books will feature an author and a book that they have recently released.  This is great exposure for the author, and to you the readers it gives you a place to look for new released books.  The key thing to this is as a reader it is free to find out what is out there and being that we will be putting these in genres to make it easier for locating what you the reader may want to digest next.  Gabriella started this site just for the purpose of helping other independent authors and it has been doing great for the past 3 months and we have had 5 authors and the list has grown exponentially.  The increasing traffic, just like yourself has made it a success for independent authors and increased sales for the authors.  Why not? It is a win-win situation,a free spot for both the writer and the reader for Ebooks. 

Gabriella is a published author of erotica and I am published in Mystery/Erotica.  We have been friends for almost 7 years now and have different styles to our books and what we look for in a story.  I was lucky enough to be her first featured author and have been promoting HotLit Books, so it is easy to understand how I would join her and collaborate with her at HotLit Books. 

We will be adding Ebook reviews to HotLit books and offer to review books on HotLit Books.  This will be a no nonsense style.  If you want a review of your book, please check out the Review tab on our main site.  I will put it to you in the simplest form.  This will be an honest review and not like some of the sites, where it is a fluff review, just so you get a 5 star rating (rating scheme to be determined).  If you want your book reviewed honestly, then you will know that it will be reviewed honestly and fairly. We both love to read and to have someone tell us a story.  If you wrote it, then you are telling a story and we love to read different stories and be introduced to new characters and situations.  We have a variety of genres that we read and there is no story that we will not look at and review.  Sorry, you won’t be able to shock us with your story and we will not turn a book down just because of content.  Again though, be understanding that we will review it fairly.  We will not be grammar the police though, but more of the story police.

If you are an independent author and have a book that has been recently released, you should view our Author Inquiries page.  What does it hurt?  We will start asking for a donation, which could be anywhere from $2 to what you would like to donate.  There is a lot of time that Gabriella puts into this, and I don’t think that a lot of authors understand how much time she actually puts into getting their books out.  We will begin in July doing local to the Portland, Or area promoting HotLit Books with different area activities. 

This blog has been started to offer authors a resource for writing, promoting and the development of their books.  Thank you for taking the time to read Hotlit's Blog and we look forward to hearing and working with you and if you have any questions and or suggestions please contact us at www.hotlitbooks.com. 

Xavier Zyta

All Inclusive, Hotlit Books new blog

Post #01


We are now including REVIEWS to the featured author program.  We have not only started a brand new blog which will be featuring new stories about authors, resources, and other great information that our team has found just for the INDIE AUTHOR, but now we are going to be offering a review for the self published author.  Just one more step in the right direction of creating a great service, an ALL INCLUSIVE service for the writer!

We hope that you will join us today and celebrate with us in our success and check out our PAST AUTHORS page or check out how you can help us continue our journey by donating to our cause.  We do not take a profit we are really doing this just to help the author, like us have a place to call home!  Visit us today at www.hotlitbooks.com  or LIKE our page at https://www.facebook.com/HotlitBooks

Please see us at our new address at www.hotlitbooks.org