Release Day for The Tzohar Legacy!

Whew, the day is finally here!

I started researching this book in 2007! And it went through several versions before ending up the fun, adventurous tale it is today while maintaining its heart. Each version fleshed out a different aspect – making Belial less cartoonish, giving Zayde more of a story before the hospital, giving voice to certain Jewish values, adding locations.

So, why self-publish?

I queried many, many agents with this manuscript. My theory is that mainstream publishers don’t know what to do with a book with Jewish characters that isn’t really about them being Jewish. While I think this is a universal tale that any child can enjoy, publishers have to think about how to market a book and who to target. I didn’t make that easy.

As for Jewish publishers, well, they tend to focus on holidays and major rites of passage, like the Bar/Bat Mitzvah. I didn’t want to focus on those things. I wanted to write a fantasy adventure that just happened to feature Jewish kids. Kids a bit like me and my own little brother. Kids like my own sons.

Anyway, I hope you and/or your kids enjoy my little tale of global adventure and hijinks. And I’d love if you could share the book or my posts with friends who have kids who might enjoy this book.

Thanks to my friends and family for joining me on this adventure!

Buy The Tzohar Legacy!

New Pre-Order: The Tzohar Legacy

The Tzohar Legacy is now available to pre-order on most ebook retailers! Buy it now; read it on April 28th, 2020!

Amazon

Apple

Barnes and Noble

Kobo

Universal Book Link (for all available retailers)

Thanks to all of my friends and family for your continued support!

Tzohar Cover Reveal

Here it is! The beautiful cover for my upcoming The Tzohar Legacy. What do you think?

Pre-order details coming soon.

Thanks to the amazingly talented Beth Hull for the cover and for years of encouragement.

Welcome!

I’m so excited you found me!

And I’m so excited that I’ll soon be publishing my first middle grade novel, The Tzohar Legacy, on all ebook platforms. I’m just waiting for a final editing pass and the cover.

I’ll update with a pre-order announcement and a cover reveal as soon as I can.

 

A whole new world…

It’s been a long time since I published a post here. It’s because of that secret project I mentioned in an earlier post – I was busy writing and publishing books for adults under a pen name.

And now I’ve made a big decision.

I’m going to take all the knowledge I learned about indie publishing and use it to make sure my young adult novels see the light of day. I’m going to make sure my young adult novels get into the hands of readers.

It won’t happen right away. Those novels have been neglected for the past two years, and they need some love and attention before they’ll be worthy of the hands of readers. So, sit tight and join me on the journey.

I’ll have a short story for you soon…well, soon-ish.

Until then, thanks for finding your way here!

Cover Reveal: Dawn of the Vie

Hey Friends,

Long time, no see. Well, I’m back and I’m happy to take part in the cover reveal blog tour for my friend, author Laura Diamond. I critiqued a much earlier version of this book and even roped in my  nephew to beta read this for Laura.

Dawn of the Vie
by Laura Diamond
(Immortal Aliens, #1)
Published by: Curiosity Quills Press
Publication date: October 3rd 2016
Genres: Dystopian, Science Fiction, Young Adult

Synopsis:

Since their Arrival less than 30 years ago, immortal Vie rule the planet like the super-predators they are. Enslaved humans are their servants…their entertainment…and their food. Anemies—humans with various types of anemia—are simply exterminated. Their nutritionally deficient blood is useless to the Vie.

Or so it’s thought…

_________

Alex, an Elite Vie, is a bit of a Renaissance Alien. Part scientist, part Raid Specialist, part drug addict, he knows Anemie blood is valuable. Rather than blindly carrying out his boss’s kill order, he convinces some colleagues to spare a few Anemies, not only for study, but also to reserve a secret stock.

The more Anemie blood Alex drinks, the more he slips into delusion, and the more his double life threatens to crumble. But quitting Anemie blood is not an option. Every Anemie has their own personal flavor. Each gives a unique high.

When Alex takes a hit of Justin’s blood, his hallucinations bleed into reality…

_________

Anemie Justin knows his little sister, Sammie, and he are living past their expiration dates. It becomes a guarantee when they’re bitten by a Vie named Alex during a raid. (The bite is fatal, thanks to a toxin carried in Vie saliva.) Alex adds insult to injury by promising Justin a second chance—an antidote in exchange for agreeing to be a lab rat.

And a mule…of his own blood.

When Justin says no, Alex takes off with Sammie.

All Justin has to do is find them, beat Alex, and cure himself and Sammie. All he has is a stake and serious lack of self-preservation.

No problem.

_________

Alex wants Justin’s blood.

Justin wants his sister back.

GAME ON.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29901849-dawn-of-the-vie?ac=1&from_search=true

Here’s the beautiful cover:

AUTHOR BIO:

Laura Diamond is a board certified psychiatrist currently specializing in emergency psychiatry. She is also an author of all things young adult—both contemporary and paranormal. An avid fan of sci-fi, fantasy, and anything magical, she thrives on quirk, her lucid dreams, and coffee. When she’s not working or writing, she can be found sniffing books and drinking a latte at the bookstore or at home pondering renovations on her 225 year oldfixer upper, all while obeying her feline overlords, of course.

Author Links:

https://lbdiamond.wordpress.com/

https://www.facebok.com/AuthorLauraDiamond/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5815639.Laura_Diamond

https://twitter.com/DiamondLB

When Book Love Isn’t Shared

Last year I listened to Jonathan Stroud’s The Screaming Staircase, the first book in the Lockwood & Co. series. And I loved it. I went on and on about it to my kids.

A-Read said I’d brought it home from the library months earlier and he hadn’t gotten past the fifth or so chapter. “What?! How is that possible? Where were you in the story?”

He explained and I understood. It started off strong with an adventurous case but then backed up to explain how the main character, Lucy, ended up with Lockwood and George. I’d enjoyed the beginning enough that I was invested and didn’t mind the backstory (which included action). But A-Read wasn’t engaged enough. He put it down and never picked it up again. And despite my ebullient assurances that the narrative goes back to plenty of action, he just wouldn’t give it another try.

Two months ago, I brought it home from the library again, this time for Sprite. And I borrowed book 2 for myself. I just returned The Screaming Staircase to the library last week. He’d only read 43 pages. Like his brother, he’d put it down and never picked it up again. He just kept finding other books he wanted to read more. He didn’t even make it to the backstory section.

“You’re still in the scene where they’re dealing with the ghost?! And you stopped reading?!”

Yup.

One of the boys tried to tell me that he just has different taste from me. But no, with these kinds of books, we usually have similar taste.

So how is it possible that I can love these books sooooo much and they don’t? Honestly, I don’t get it.

But I guess this is related to why and how some books can be so popular while others, perhaps just as well-written and tightly-plotted, aren’t. Why it can be so hard for some books to stand out of the pack, for some manuscripts to break out of the slush.

Somehow, I have no problem accepting that my manuscripts aren’t for everyone. But I can’t accept that my children don’t even like a book I love.

Weird, huh? (Them, I mean. LOL!)

To pen name or not to pen name

One reason I’ve been too busy to update my blog in the past six months is that I’m working on a kinda secret project. I’ve been writing in a category and genre completely different than I have for the past ten…um, twelve years.

It’s been fun to explore a new genre and to write for a new age category. Really fun. And I plan to work towards publication of this new project.

Hence the big question: to use a pen name or not?

Using my real name will make promotion so much easier. I can build on the base I’ve already created and I won’t have to fear someone finding out who I really am. I won’t have to duplicate social media efforts and have multiple web sites.

But, using a pen name means I can protect my real identity and my reputation as a children’s writer. And just because I’m experimenting with something new doesn’t mean I’m turning my back on my MG and YA projects, so I do need to protect my reputation. Someday, my novels for tweens and teens will be published and I wouldn’t want to confuse my readers.

If you’ve used a pen name, why? How have you handled the marketing and promotion piece? Would you do it differently if you could start over?

If you’ve chosen not to use a pen name, why not?

I’d love to hear from you so please leave a comment with your answer to the above questions or just some support. I wouldn’t have survived this long on the journey without my friends, so thanks to all of you!

Writers write. Period.

Writers write.

I’m sure you’ve heard these words. It’s how we explain what we do, our addiction or obsession or compulsion or whatever. It’s how we keep ourselves motivated.

I’ve even used them with Sprite. He told me recently he wants to be a writer when he grows up. But I never see him writing and he doesn’t express an interest in writing now. Most writers I know started as kids. We all have stories of the journals we kept or the stories we wrote in elementary school. I wrote a mystery story set on a cruise ship in middle school and entered poetry contests in high school.

For Sprite, I think it’s a matter of wanting to be like Mom. I can’t imagine why. I don’t exactly make it look glamorous. But who knows? Maybe he’ll catch the writing bug when he’s older.

While I have no trouble accepting myself as a writer, as an author is another matter. I’ve now had six books published, all freelance projects for the educational market, and one in my own name. By definition, an author is someone who writes, but we commonly use the word to mean a published writer.

So why do I find it so hard to accept the title of author?

Maybe because the freelance gigs were just jobs and I haven’t yet published the kinds of things I always dreamed of having published: novels for teens and tweens.

Is it a magic pill? Once I (finally) get a novel traditionally published, will I suddenly feel like an author? How does an author feel that’s different from a writer?

All I can do is continue on my path. To write.

To my published friends, when did you start feeling like an author?

To my pre-published friends, do you think you’ll feel differently once you’ve been published?

Finally! My New Year Post!

Another year has come and gone. Another year filled with reading and writing (and work and family).

2015 saw more freelance work, and a friend and I chose to concentrate on characterization. We read books about character and studied new and old characters to see if we could figure some things out that would help us in our own writing.

My not-so-little-anymore readers have continued to be great readers. Sprite has been devouring anything written by Stuart Gibbs. A-Read finished The Hunger Games trilogy and is now obsessed with Rick Yancey’s new series which started with The Fifth Wave (and he and RocketMan saw the movie last night).

I’m looking forward to some changes in 2016. More writing opportunities. Maybe a change at work (shh). And, of course, lots more reading.

What’s on your plate for this new year?