Liebster!!! (No, it's not a type of cheese.)

First, I want to thank Clive Eaton for ‘nominating’ me for a Liebster Award. I don’t know where this blog chain started, but here are the requirements: I have to list 11 random facts about me, then answer the 11 questions asked by the person who nominated me (that would be Clive Eaton). 

I then nominate 11 bloggers to follow after me, and come up with 11 new questions for them. I post the award on my blog and it goes on – hopefully bringing new readers to our blogs. So, let’s get started:

Eleven random facts about me:

1) I’m comfortable ad-libbing just about anything.

2) I’m much more serious than many people would guess.

3) I adore my two little dogs: Bella and Chico.  Both Maltese.  Both toothless.  Both very sweet.

4) I hardly write at home, or even in my city.  To get into writing, I really have to be somewhere else entirely.  Best if it involves flying somewhere. 

5) During the last three weeks, I have had Häagen-Dazs for dinner at least twice.  Almost any flavour will do.

6) Between 2001 and 2003, I lived in Mexico.

7) According to my high school teachers, I should never have become a writer.  I usually got a “C” in English.  Don’t ask what I got in penmanship in the earlier school years.

8) A few years ago, I studied Microbiology and Biochemistry.  Pretty cool stuff!

9) Like my character PI Sasha Jackson, I am kind of claustrophobic.

10) When I go on a trip, I just like to wing it.  No plans.  No set itinerary.  Just wandering...

11) I got really lucky in online video poker.  I got 13 or 14 Royal Flushes in under a year.  (Statistically, a Royal Flush happens about once in every 40,000 hands, so getting so many was statistically off the map!)

Now to answer Clives’s 11 questions for me:

1) What’s your favourite all time album, and why? Probably the soundtrack to the musical Chess.  It’s one of the very few CDs or albums that does not have a song on it that I’d skip or fast-forward.  

2) You have a hot-air balloon with 10 famous people in it. The balloon is heading towards a volcano, which will kill all on-board. But, with just 9 passengers, the balloon could safely land. Whom would you sacrifice, and whom would you save above all others, and WHY?  I’d toss out Justin Bieber and save Stephen Hawking.  We need the latter’s brains, and don’t need the former’s music.

3) Marmite, Love or Hate? YUCK!!!!

4) You are invited to a dinner party with three other guests (dead or alive) -  Who would you choose, and why?  Christopher Hitchens.  Frank Zappa.  Albert Einstein.  Think of what a fascinating conversation it would be!

5) If you could change one thing about this World, what would it be?  That everyone could have the ability to fly.  Think of the problems that would solve!  Traffic congestion, pollution, etc.

6) Do you believe intelligent life exist beyond this planet? Please explain.  I’m not even sure that intelligent life exists on this planet ;-)

7) You could be given the answer to one question, yet unanswered by mankind, what would that question be?  What happened to Jimmy Hoffa?

8) If a famous author said they wanted to use a quote from you about one of their books:  Who would be the author, which book would you review, and what would be your one line quote?  Chris Hedges, Empire of Illusion.  I’m not sure what the quote would be, but it would relate to chapter two of that book.

9) Your favourite musician/band has agreed to play three songs to you and a small group of friends. Who would you choose, and what they play?  Jackson Browne: Doctor My Eyes, Running on Empty, and The Load/Stay.  I’d want all the folks who were involved in the 1978 BBC In Concert show at Shepherd’s Bush Theatre.  

10) You’ve been offered a VIP package to a sporting event. Which famous sporting event would you most like to see, and who would you want to see win it.  I don’t follow sports at all, but it would be cool to attend the Kentucky Derby.  I’d want to see a horse win it.

11) Which book do you wish you had written, and why?  Eats, Shoots and Leaves.  Damn, if only I had thought of it first...

My eleven nominations for the Liebster Award for blogging:  

Michael J. McCann @MichaelJMcCann1 http://michaeljmccannsblog.blogspot.ca/

Gloria Ferris @GloriaFerris http://gloriaferrismysteries.blogspot.ca/

ScottWhitmore @ScottWhitmore http://scottwhitmorewriter.wordpress.com/

Randall R. Peterson @ItsOnlyMeAndYou http://randallrpeterson.blogspot.ca/

Chloe Carstairs @ChloeGetsAClue http://chloegetsaclue.com/

Margot Kinberg @mkinberg http://margotkinberg.wordpress.com/

Sandra Nikolai @SandraNikolai http://sandranikolaiauthor.blogspot.ca/

Peggy A. Edelheit @samanthajamison http://samanthajamison.com/

Charmaine Clancy @charmaineclancy http://clancytales.blogspot.ca/

Gary Alan Henson @garyalanhenson  http://garyalanhenson.blogspot.ca/

Regina Puckett @ReginaPucket http://reginapuckettsbooks.weebly.com/blog.html

  

My 11 questions for the 11 Lucky Nominees:

1.         Think of any book you’ve read recently.  If that book (please tell us the title) were a meal, what would the meal be?

2.         What fictional character would you like to bring to life for just one day, and why?

3.         Have you ever met anyone famous?  If so, who, when and where?

4.         Finish this sentence: If I had to give up one of the five senses, I’d give up...

5.         Where is your happy place?

6.         What is one piece of writing advice you can offer aspiring authors?

7.         What subject did you hate the most in high school?  And like the most?

8.         Who among your friends, families, neighbours, colleagues, etc. was most surprised that you wrote a book?

9.         $10,000 dollars just fell into your lap.  What will you do with it?

10.     Do you think there is any truth to Astrology or Zodiac signs?

11.     If you could have any musician/composer/group/singer – whether living or dead – provide a soundtrack or a playlist for your latest book, who would you choose and why?

PI Sasha Jackson in conversation with PI Roman Dalton at Duffy’s Bar...

PI Sasha Jackson recently wandered over to the dark side for a visit with fellow PI (and part time werewolf) Roman Dalton.  Let's listen in while they chat over a few drinks...

SASHA: Okay, this round’s on me.  What are you drinking?

ROMAN: A couple of fingers of Dark Valentine. Or maybe a couple of claws.

SASHA:  I’ll have the same.  You know, this is my first time at Duffy’s, but I gather you’ve been here once or twice.  In fact, I heard from a reader that drinking at Duffy’s counts as your first and second favourite pastimes.  I’m all in favour of being a barfly, but why here?  What’s so special about Duffy’s?

ROMAN: You know that TV series Cheers? The one in a bar where everybody knows your name? In Duffy’s, no one knows your name. They either don’t want to know it, or get so drunk that they can’t remember it. Duffy’s is ‘a smoky, pokey bar full of sinners’, like in the Vic Godard song. My kind of dive - nowhere near a swimming pool.

SASHA:  You know I’m from Toronto, right?  In the west end of Toronto, near Bloor and Landsdowne, there’s a bar called Duffy’s Tavern.  It’s a bit of a dump.  I’ll have to drag you there if you ever visit Toronto. 

ROMAN: Sounds great, but I have to get so many rabies jabs when I travel abroad these days that I look like a pin cushion.

SASHA:  This is my first time in The City.  It’s much darker than I imagined, despite all the neon lights.  And the blood soaked streets are a bit slippery.  How do you live here without going completely nuts?

ROMAN: Some of us like the dark and dingy corners, love the smell of sin!

SASHA: You know, I absolutely love the fact that Duffy’s has a jukebox, and not just any jukebox, but a real Wurlitzer!  How cool is that?  I noticed that you just shoved in a bunch of coins.  What will we be hearing?

ROMAN: Well, that Tom Waits bloke keeps hanging around asking us to play his stuff. Then there’s Howlin’ Wolf, Warren Zevon...

SASHA:  I don’t know if you know this already, but I worked in the music biz for a while, doing bar gigs mostly, and our band usually did a lot of cover tunes.  Gotta tell you: I love Bessie Smith – now there’s a classic!  We sometimes used to include “St. Louis Blues” in our sets.  I hope I did her justice. 

ROMAN: Bessie’s “Downhearted Blues” is on the jukebox. That’s a fave of Duffy’s. Especially at ‘twilight time.’

SASHA:  I noticed that you also mentioned that Hank Williams is one of your faves.  Mine too.  But some people dismiss him as just a “country singer.”  I think those people are sadly misinformed.  Just think about the impact Hank has had on music.

ROMAN: Hank sings to the lost and lonely. The dispossessed. The flotsam and jetsam of life.  His ghost is a regular at Duffy’s. There are plenty of spirits here.

SASHA:  Our glasses are nearly empty.  Ready for another couple of fingers?  I mean: claws?

ROMAN:  Sure, but let me get this round.

SASHA:  My cases have involved some pretty weird people, and as it happens, I often find that sex is a major theme in my investigations.  I’ve worked at a phone sex line, I’ve bartended at fetish parties, and I’ve gone undercover as a hooker. 

ROMAN: Don’t try that round here in The City. If Count Otto Rhino’s witch-girls see a looker like you trying to poach their clientele … well, let’s just say you’ll be really undercover. Deep, deep cover.

SASHA:  Yikes.  Thanks for the warning, but not to worry: I left my fishnets and my stilettos at home.  Anyhow,  seems like your caseload is quite different from mine. You’ve had to duke it out with zombies and aliens.  How the hell do you manage that? 

ROMAN: The zombies are easy - slow and stupid - but those aliens have lots of sneaky tricks up their sleeves. They should operate a visa system to get into The City.

SASHA:  I hope I’m not prying, but does being a werewolf ever get in the way of being a private investigator?

ROMAN: Oh, yeah. Especially when you lose control and munch on your client.

SASHA:  Speaking of which, I’m getting kind of hungry.  What’s good to eat around here?

ROMAN: Well, when that moon is full and milky … anything goes!

To find out a bit more about Roman Dalton's world, check out Drunk on the Moon on Amazon.

Guest Blogger Lawrence Wray: Twitter for Writers

Today I am glad to have guest blogger Lawrence Wray here to talk about authors and social media, specifically Twitter:

Getting more followers/sales on Twitter for writers.

Twitter. It’s great, it’s addictive and it will get the word out there. You’ll meet lots of new friends, you get lots of help and advice, but it’s time-consuming and compulsive.

At the time of writing this I have 1459 followers, which took less than three months to acquire. Impressive to some, but just a drop in the ocean for others.

The first 100 was very hard, the next easier and so on, so here are some tips that I picked up along the way from various blogs and  tweets from friends.

Re-Tweeting. RT

The most important thing you can do on Twitter.  You’ll see ‘Please RT’ or ‘RT’ on some of the tweets and this means that they want you to spread the word - so do it.  The idea is that in return you’ll get lots of people who RT your tweets and on it goes.

It doesn’t matter if they are in competition with you (my opinion); so if for example they want you to RT a link to their novel, which is similar to yours, just do it. Not everyone is going to buy their or your novel and you stand a very good chance that they’ll get the idea and RT you back. PS: You’ll become addicted and won’t be able to help yourself  RT some of your favourite followers.

Quick RTs

Follow your time line and just click on anything you think relevant.

Time Consuming RTs (recommended and also used for new followers)

My method is to not only thank everybody who re-tweeted/followed me in a tweet but to visit their Twitter page and tweet something relevant for them. I do it with notepad and copy all the mentions, RTs and new follower notifications. You'll need a standard format for this and mine is:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Check out my great new followers. INSERT @NAMES HERE AND LEAVE A SPACE

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks for the RTs guys. Much appreciated. INSERT @NAMES HERE AND LEAVE A SPACE

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I use the dotted lines above and below as they indicate 140 characters and then I just copy and tweet them.

Next I delete the standard text, remove the lines and separate the @names (just the ones that have re-tweeted me), then copy and paste them  - one at a time - into the search box to visit their page, then pick something relevant that they would want re-tweeted and do that. ie: a link to their Amazon sales page.

It takes time but it’s worth it as some of them will RT your thanks and you’ll get more exposure and then someone will click on your link and bingo - you’ve just got a new follower.

The Downside

When you are using your list of people who have tweeted you and logging on to their feed, sometimes (frequently) they will have nothing for you to tweet about that seems relevant to either them or you and that’s after scrolling down 5, 10, 20 pages; so in this case what I do is copy their header and simply write something for them. ie: Follow @NAME and check out their blog/website at ADDRESS.   Again time consuming but you will get some wonderful thank you messages for taking the time and hopefully more re-tweets.

Sales

Logic dictates that if you’re always following and being followed by other writers, then why would they want to really buy your new masterpiece?  Maybe they won’t, but by re-tweeting for you, they will spread the word to people who will/might buy your book, who might follow you, who might RT you, and on it goes.

The Rewards

More followers, more recognition, more sales, reviews of your books, books to review for others, and, if you’re really lucky, someone will ask you to write a blog, which is a little validatory gift in itself - like this one :-)

Lawrence Wray has written two short stories and a novel.

A Five Star Experience of a Lifetime (Short Story)

Free at http://lawrencewray.wordpress.com/a-five-star-experience-of-a-lifetime-a-short-story-3538-words/

The Briefcase (Short Story)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Briefcase-ebook/dp/B00AMQJSXW

Money Man (Novel)

Will be released in winter 2013

Check out Lawrence's blog HERE. 
And - of course! - follow him on Twitter  @lawrence_wray

Guest Blogger David Lender: Arab Summer

Today I am pleased to have guest blogger David Lender.  Real events occasionally provide some inspiration for David's works.  Let's hear what he has to say about his newest release.

My new thriller, Arab Summer, is about an Arab Spring uprising in Saudi Arabia led by fundamentalist Shiite Muslims whose goal is to topple the Sunni Saudi regime and use its oil riches to hold the West hostage.  It's the next in the Sasha Del Mira series.  Sasha, the heroine of Trojan Horse and Sasha Returns, is a former concubine to the Saudi royal family who was recruited by the CIA as an informant, and later as an assassin.

The uprisings in Tunisia, Libya and Egypt that brought down Ben Ali, Qaddafi and Mubarak—dictators who brutally persecuted, repressed and murdered their citizens—started Arab Spring in 2011.  Since then, over a dozen other Arab states have witnessed at least some level of civil unrest challenging their governments, including the ongoing civil war in Syria between the al-Assad regime and opposition forces. 

The darker side of the Arab Spring movement has recently surfaced in the form of murderous acts by Islamic fundamentalists, not against repressive governments, but against innocents.  Islamic militants now control approximately one-third of Mali and are aggressively moving to take the entire country.  Armed Islamic fundamentalists recently organized the takeover of an international oil and gas facility in Algeria that resulted in the deaths of over 35 hostages, including Americans and Europeans.

Saudi Arabia is considered one of the most stable regimes in the Arab states, but the notion of an Arab Spring uprising there isn't so far-fetched.  Protests, some with 70,000 participants, over anti-Shiite discrimination, labor rights, release of prisoners held without charge or trial, and for equal representation in key government offices began in Saudi Arabia in 2011 and continue today.

Imagine this: A group of disaffected Shiite Muslim extremists seizes the Grand Mosque in Mecca—Islam’s holiest site—during the final days of the Hajj, the annual Muslim holy pilgrimage, and take thousands of hostages.  Their leader says that among them is the Mahdi, the prophesied “Redeemer of Islam” who will drive out all infidels from holy Saudi soil and lead Muslims into a new era.  They broadcast their demands from loudspeakers on the mosque’s minarets, including ceasing oil exports to the US and the expulsion of foreign civilians and military personnel from Saudi Arabia.  Saudi forces try unsuccessfully for weeks to retake the mosque, sustaining heavy casualties.  The Saudis ultimately enlist the help of foreign military forces to drive out the militants.

That actually happened in 1979.

In Arab Summer, something like that happens again.  Saif Ibn Mohammed al-Aziz, a ruthless terrorist, leads a Muslim fundamentalist group bent on a bloody coup of the Saudi Arabian government via an Arab Spring uprising.  As a prelude to his plan, he has Sasha Del Mira’s husband, Daniel, murdered.  Sasha comes out of retirement to avenge Daniel’s death and to help Tom Goddard, her old mentor at the CIA, stop the plot, putting her face to face with Saif, her former ally—and lover.

David Lender is a former investment banker who spent twenty-five years on Wall Street.  His first three novels: Trojan Horse, The Gravy Train, and Bull Street turned him into an e-book sensation.  His other novels include: Rudiger and Vaccine Nation.  More on David can be found at www.davidlender.net or at his Amazon author page.  Follow him on Twitter @davidtlender 

Is that a gun in your teapot...?

I really don't like guns, but the ones shown here are pretty cool!  Of course, these guns would be useless in a murder mystery.

Tea for two?  And then there was one...

Chocolate that's to die for!

Shoes for a Femme Fatale!

Happiness is Flower Power, Baby!

I have no idea what to say here... But I'm thinking "Annie Get Your Gun".

I want one of these for my morning coffee.  Don't speak to me until I've had a cup!

I really wonder what person out there had the time, the imagination, and the skills to make this?  Works on a metaphoric level, I guess.

I'd love to see a Jazz Quartet using instruments like this!

NB: I have not listed sources because I found each of these images on many websites and the original source was unclear to me.  I simply Googled "funny + gun" and "creative + gun", etc. and the images above turned up on multiple sites.