J.M. NORTHUP's BLOG

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

KINDLE WHISPERSYNC

READ and LISTEN Seamlessly

Audible narration effortlessly syncs across all your devices allowing you to switch between reading and listening without ever losing your place. Learn more

You can switch between reading and listening on any device.
If you are listening to your favorite book on your commute home and then want to read where you left off once you get settled into your comfy chair at home with your pajamas, cat, and coffee, this allows you the freedom to make that happen!

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Meet The Goddess SNOWYSTRA


MEET MY CHARACTER

1.   Who are you?
o   What is your name?
·   Snowystra, Goddess of Winter   
o   Are you a fictional or historical character?
·   Clearly, I am an important part of history. You don’t think my silly sisters get all the credit, do you?
2.   Tell us about your story:
o   When and where is your tale set?
·   For your purposes, my destruction began in Starten with the foolish mortals who tried to save Danu, the sister that shouldn’t have lived.  Their interference made it impossible for me to leave the realm of Snowstrum without the Council’s inference.  Lucky for me, I had enough playthings to keep me occupied.
o   What is your personal goal?  I mean, what do you ultimately want?
·   To be recognized as THE Goddess and have all of you bow to me.
o   What is standing in your way?  What conflict(s) do you face?
·   Protect the Magic, Protect Danu, Save the Light.   Always blocking me from my true destiny.
3.   How do I get a copy of your book?
o   What is the title or working title for this piece?
·   Exigency, Book the Second of the Protectors of the Elemental Magic series
·   Beginnings, Book the Sixth of the Protectors of the Elemental Magic series
o   Is it available now or when can we expect to see it released?
·   Exigency is available now, but you’ll have to wait until Spring of 2020 for Beginnings.

Sunday, August 25, 2019

STEP INTO READING - Phonic Box Sets

READ BECAUSE IMAGINATION NEEDS FUEL!

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Meet Jenna Warnke

MEET MY CHARACTER

Hannah and Jenna
1.   Who are you?
o   What is your name?
·   Jenna Warnke
o   Are you a fictional or historical character?
·   Fictional
o   What should we know about you?
·   I lost my parents in a tragic car accident and had to move in with my aunt & uncle’s family.  Oddly, I am practically a twin of their daughter, my best friend and cousin, Hannah Mitchell.  Her older brother, Jason, still lives with us, as well.
·   I am about to turn eighteen and inherit my parent’s estate.  I am excited but, also, terrified.  Though Hannah always said Adam was her imaginary friend, I could see him, too.  I am worried there’s something in the forest around my home.
2.   Tell us about your story:
o   When and where is your tale set?
·   Snoqualmie, Washington – modern age.
o   What is your personal goal?  I mean, what do you ultimately want?
·   I want to live in peace.  I want to live in harmony with the world around me without being haunted by my parent’s death.  I want to discover who I am and become a writer like my parents were.
o   What is standing in your way?  What conflict(s) do you face?
·   I have my own stalker.  Okay, that might be a bit of an exaggeration, but it feels like that to me, especially when I discover the man of my dreams.
3.   How do I get a copy of your book?
o   What is the title or working title for this piece?
·   The Snoqualmie Valley Sasquatch SeriesBook One - REVIVED
Book Two - UNVEILED
Book Three and Four are in the works.

eBook is ALWAYS FREE on Kindle Unlimited

Saturday, August 24, 2019

John Holt's WIP - An Act Of Murder

WIPs and New Releases

BOOK ONE The Art of Murder
1)  Tell us about your work-in-progress, or WIP, as it’s known as in the industry or New Release…
My latest novel, “The Art of Murder” has just been made available as an ebook, and should be available as a paperback within the next few weeks. It is the eighth novel to feature private detective Tom Kendall. When two valuable oil paintings are discovered to be missing, presumed stolen, Kendall is asked to investigate on behalf of the Insurance Company. His task is to recover the paintings, or apprehend the person who took them. Reluctantly he accepts the job. Then the body of an art collector is discovered, and then another, the body of an employee of the gallery where the missing paintings belonged. “So what do you think?” asked Mollie, Kendall’s business partner. “What do I think?” Kendall repeated. “Well with two people dead, I think someone has been practicing the art of murder.”
My current WIP is entitled “An Act Of Murder”. A small local amateur dramatic group are performing a murder mystery play, ‘Murder At Larkhall Manor’, at a local village hall. During the performance a murder takes place, witnessed by 123 people in the audience. An open and shut case? Chief Inspector William Whittaker, of Scotland Yard, doesn’t think so.
The current work in progress, “An Act of Murder”, features a Scotland Yard detective, who first made an appearance in “A Killing In The City”, a crime novel featuring Kendall, on vacation in London. It is very early days yet with this project, and I would not expect anything being ready until the new year. So keep your eyes open.
As a taster – “The stage was in semi darkness, and there was complete silence, except for the ticking of a clock. Jean looked over to the far side of the stage. Young Timothy Saunders was waiting for his cue. He saw Jean looking at him, and he gave a nervous wave. She waved back. The clock on the mantle shelf started to chime the hour. A wind began to blow, rustling the curtains at the window. Right on time, a gun barrel could be seen poking through those curtains. The curtains slowly opened, and Tim walked on to the stage. He glanced around, and continued on until he reached the centre of the stage. He glanced around once more. Then he looked down at the figure lying asleep. He pointed the gun directly at the Colonel, and gently, slowly, squeezed the trigger. There was a loud thud. The Curtains came down indicating the end of Act Two.”

2) What inspired this tale?
I have now written 8 novels featuring my private detective Kendall; and three novellas featuring private detective Jack Daniels. The more I write the harder it is becoming to dream up a decent original plot. Not only do I have to dream up a crime, but I also need to show a motive, and who did it. Furthermore I have to come up with the clues necessary for Kendall, or whoever, to solve the crime. Some of the stories come about almost by accident. Sometimes an idea comes to mind. I start writing not really knowing where it will lead. The idea of a murder being committed in front of so many witnesses came to me one evening. So that’s the crime sorted, and I know who did it. I have an idea about motive, but how Inspector Whittaker will solve the case is, at present, a bit of a mystery.
But if any one has any ideas for a future crime investigation I would appreciate to hear about it. The best suggestion will receive one of my paperbacks.
Normally, I don’t feel the need for much research. After all I’m writing fiction stories, everything – places, names, events – are all made up. So generally, research isn’t that essential. Having said that, my novel “Diagnosis Murder” is loosely based on true events that happened in Florida and Georgia, during the first six months of 2016. At that time several doctors (over fifty) disappeared, and were later found dead. Some of the deaths were judged to be accidental. Others were considered to be suicides. Many, however, were far more sinister. In other words, they were murders. All of the doctors had a few things in common. They were all oncologists dealing with child cancers; they all practiced alternative therapies; and they were all highly critical of the pharmaceutical companies.

3) Do you relate to your character?
Kendall and I have a great deal in common. He is stubborn, once he gets an idea in his head you can’t shift it. I’m not quite as stubborn, but I do like to get things straight, and I won’t let things go if I think I’m right. Kendall is laid back, easy going. Same here I guess. The main thing that is common to both of us, is we both have a sense of humour.
Kendall came about through necessity. My first crime novel was based on political corruption. About a third of the way through the story there was a murder, the first, with more to come. It had to be investigated but the local police chief was part of the on-going corruption. So I really couldn’t use him could I? I needed a private detective, hence Kendall came along. That was in 2011, and he hasn’t gone away since. So far he has appeared in eight novels.
       

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

John Holt's THE THACKERY JOURNAL

Book Spotlight


“The Thackery Journal” is a total departure from my normal Private Detective novels, and way outside my comfort zone. So much so, that several people have asked why did I ever write it?  That’s a good question, and like much in life the answer isn’t straight forward.
I have always been fascinated by the American Civil War. A Civil War is the worst kind of war that there could be. A war that divides the Country and splits communities: a war that puts brother against brother, and father against son.  A war that splits families; and makes enemies of long-time friends. A war where in reality there are no winners. Indeed, a war where there could be no real winners, and where everyone loses something. The effects would be felt long after the war ends.  Could reconciliation and forgiveness really take place? How long would the wounds, mentally and physically, take to heal? Could communities divided by war, be re-united by peace? Even now statues of Confederate Generals are being torn down because of what they are perceived to stand for.
I remember one day at school, during a history lesson, we were asked what side we would have taken, Confederacy or Union. Why it should matter which side a British schoolboy would choose, in a war that had finished almost one hundred years before that particular school day, I will never know. Nonetheless I chose the South. Not because I was in favour of slavery, because I wasn’t. No, I chose the South because it seemed to me that the North was threatening to destroy a way of life. A much gentler, and simpler way of life.
But that in itself is hardly a reason for writing the book. If the truth be known, I never actually considered writing a Civil War novel at all. But sometimes, instead of the author being in command of what he, or she writes, it is the writing itself that takes charge. It will suddenly go in a totally unexpected direction, and you are forced to go with it to see where it leads.
I started to write “Thackery” almost thirteen years ago. I had finished my first novel “The Kammersee Affair” in December 2006, and the first of my Tom Kendall private detective stories, “The Mackenzie Dossier” had been published (as “The Mackenzie File” in August 2008). I had begun outlining my next novel, “The Marinski Affair”.
Somewhere along the line I got side-tracked. During my research into “The Kammersee Affair” (a story of hidden gold bullion) I found an item on the internet about a consignment of Confederate gold that had gone missing as the Civil War was coming to an end. The gold had, apparently never been found. I thought perhaps I could make up some kind of a story. The gold had obviously been stolen by someone, and I got to thinking how that person would feel as his pursuers caught up with him. Very quickly I had the makings of a fairly well developed final chapter. That chapter is now the last chapter of “Thackery”, and largely unchanged from when it was first written. It was also obvious that the gold had been stolen for a reason. I wondered what that reason could have been. Then I had an idea.
Although this story concerns itself with the War between the States, and the momentous events that occurred just after the Civil War ended, the story is completely fictitious, and has no basis in fact. Although the story makes use of certain actual events, places and people, it does so purely for its own purpose, and nothing more. It is merely a “What if” story, that supposes what could have happened in a certain circumstance.
Of the main characters, only three actually existed – President Abraham Lincoln, his assassin John Wilkes Booth, and General Ulysses S. Grant.

The Battle of Shiloh 1862

As the first sounds of gun fire echoed through the land, young men rushed to enlist, to fight for a cause that they believed was right. Shop assistants, bank clerks, farm labourers. All believing that the South would win. Right was on their side, and besides it would all be over by Christmas. 
Two life-long friends enlist on opposite sides of the conflict. Both believing that right was on their side, and both hoping that they would never meet each other on the battlefield. Their lives become inextricably entwined as the war nears its end culminating in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. On the night of April 14th 1865 Lincoln attended a performance at The Ford Theatre, in Washington.

A single shot fired by John Wilkes Booth hit the President in the back of the head. He slumped to the floor and died a few hours later without regaining consciousness. Was Booth a lone assassin? Or was he part of a much wider conspiracy? Was he part of something even more sinister? Was he part of a plot hatched by Lincoln’s own generals to replace Lincoln with General Ulysses S. Grant. A plot financed by stolen confederate gold bullion.

       
Jake Thackery                       Miles Drew

TheThackery Journal” has been translated into Portuguese, Swedish and Spanish. It is also available as an audiobook. I have a number of free promo codes available for use on Audible.com (US only). If anyone is interested pleaseleave a comment and I’ll get back to you.

Saturday, August 17, 2019

I AM ENOUGH TALK SHOW with Author Chimia Hill-Burton

SUNDAY AUGUST 18, 2019


Don't miss the amazing Author Chimia Hill-Burton during her appearance on the I AM ENOUGH Talk Show on Sunday, August 18, 2019 from 7pm until 9pm EST!

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