Writing on Vacation

Posted Sonlight Press Author, Gabby Wells - Book 1, Gabby Wells - Book 2, Gabby Wells Novel, Writing

I just got back from a great vacation with my family in Virginia.  There were so many wonderful things to do that everyday was packed with activities.  There were a couple of times, however, when everyone else went out and I stayed back in the room and wrote. I loved it. The idea that I […]

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Trusting the Journey

Posted Sonlight Press Author, Author Blog, Faith, Gabby Wells, Gabby Wells - Book 1, Gabby Wells - Book 2, Gabby Wells - Book 3, Gabby Wells - Book 5, Gabby Wells - Novella 1, Gabby Wells Novel, Novel, Novella, Screenplay, Writing

God never seems to draw a straight line. I wish he did.  It’d sure make life a lot easier. The path I’ve been on in writing the Gabby Wells Thrillers is one of the most convoluted one could conceive.  Two years ago, almost to the day, I posted about this strange unfolding.  Back then I […]

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Podcast – Starting a Genre Mashup

Posted Sonlight Press Author, Author Blog, Gabby Wells - Book 1, Gabby Wells Novel, Novel, Podcast, Reviews, Social Media, Writing

Pete and Dorothea talk about participating in the recent Facebook Event: March to a Bestseller 2, genres, validation and the coming release of the first novel, Kneel & Prey. Mobile Users: Click here to listen to the episode. Topics Covered: Facebook Event Defining a New Genre First Novel Kneel & Prey Beta Reader Feedback Marketing […]

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Don’t Let Pride Diminish Your Opportunities

Posted Sonlight Press Author, Author Blog, Faith

Many years ago I worked in television for a bit and, like everyone else, started out at the bottom. I was a runner/gopher for over a year.  That meant I had to feed the crews, get lunches, run errands, etc.  Some people may think that would be a waste of time or “below me,” but […]

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In a Dark World, We Need Heroes

Posted Sonlight Press Author, Author Blog

The movie screens are full of superheroes.  From rich vigilantes who like to dress up in costume, to billionaire businessmen who create their own body armor to scientists who went too far to aliens who protect us from their fellow alien bad guys, superheroes are everywhere. Granted, the comic book generation has been around for […]

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Time Compression

Posted Sonlight Press Author, Author Blog, Gabby Wells, Gabby Wells - Book 1, Gabby Wells Novel, Novel, Writing

This happens to me a lot.  When I outline my book where the climax takes place at a certain place/time, I backtrack and plot when the things leading up to it should happen.  Invariably, as I write the actual story, things that I sketched out would take three weeks in the novel occur in a […]

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The Cost of Independent Publishing

Posted Pete Bauer Author, Blog, Gabby Wells, Marketing, Novel, Writing

Independent publishing is substantially cheaper than its ever been.  With Amazon and other distributors offering to distribute your ebook for a small fee and print your print book on-demand with nearly zero up front costs, publishing your book on your own has never been easier. However, to be taken seriously in the market and compete […]

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The Ampersand Dilemma

Posted Pete Bauer Author, Gabby Wells, Marketing, Novel, Novella

Now that we’re turning the novellas into novels, we’ll have to change some of the titles.  Here’s why. The original titles of the five books included an ampersand.  The first two are Water & Blood and Shadows & Lies.  For marketing purposes, we’d want to make all of the titles consistent, so we’re going to […]

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Writing as a Business

Posted Pete Bauer Author, Gabby Wells, Marketing, Novel, Novella, story telling, Writing

Whether you are independently published or traditionally published, the majority of the ownership for your success falls on your shoulders.  It is up to the author to write good stuff, build a fan base, establish beta readers and street teams and marketing plans. It’s why real writers treat writing as a business.  It’s where the […]

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Word Count and Wreaking Hovac

Posted Pete Bauer Author, Gabby Wells, Novella, Word Count, Writing

Been very efficient this past week, typing out over 12,000 words.  I’m nearing the end of the first draft of Lost & Found and I must say I’ve really enjoyed putting Gabby through hell. Writers have an odd relationship with the characters they love.  They create them, cherish them, give them hopes, dreams, goals, loves […]

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Writing is a Lot Like Golf… or an Ex-Girlfriend.

Posted Pete Bauer Author, Blog, Gabby Wells, Novella, Writing

Writing is a lot like golf. It only takes one good swing to keep you hacking away for another 18 holes. While working on the first draft of Lost & Found I inadvertently setup a really awesome situation.  The options were limitless.  With that came pressure not to screw it up. So, I tentatively started […]

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Word Count and 50,000

Posted Pete Bauer Author, Gabby Wells, Marketing, Novella, Word Count, Writing

Plotting out Lost & Found has really come in handy.  In a week I’ve written nearly 8,000 words.  The story is humming along.  I’m about half-way through, so it should end up in the 30,000 – 40,000 range, like the rest. I have been amazed how changes in the market, or new information I have […]

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Wordcount and Writing Backwards

Posted Pete Bauer Author, Blog, Gabby Wells, Novella, story telling, Word Count, Writing

I’ve been chugging along slowly, but surely.  Mostly slowly.  I was able to draft almost 7500 words on the Lost & Found novella before I slowed things down.  I realized that I knew the end of the story, but some of the middle parts were fuzzy. And, since I was diving head first into writing […]

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Word Count & Novella 3 (Really 2)

Posted Pete Bauer Author, Gabby Wells, Novella, Word Count, Writing

I finally finished the first draft of Skyway, one of the novellas of our five novella series.  It’s placement in the series has shifted, as I mentioned before, moving from novella #2, to novella #4.  The current word count is just over 40,000 and will probably need another 2,000-3,000 when all is said and done. […]

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Independent Publishing

Posted Pete Bauer Author, Blog, Gabby Wells, Marketing, Novel, Novella, Writing

It’s time to dump the term “self-publishing.”  Lets call it what it really is, independent publishing. A decade ago, the only legitimate way to get your book to the masses was through the traditional publishing houses.  Sure, there were some print-on-demand options available, but the quality of those books suffered in comparison.  The marketplace also […]

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