Making Your Characters Suffer is the Best Part

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

My job as the author of the Gabby Wells Thriller series is to make Gabby’s life a living hell.  And I do, relentlessly. That’s what every author is supposed to do.  To torture the protagonist so you can torture the reader. Do I like making Gabby’s life an insurmountable mess?  Yes and no.  I like […]

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MNINS: Season 01, Episode 2 – What If…

Posted Sonlight Press Gabby Wells - Book 1, Gabby Wells - Book 2, Gabby Wells Novel, MNINS

Welcome to the second episode of My Name Is Not Steve – The Podcast by Storytellers about Storytelling with People Not Named Steve.  This time we talk about the storytelling power of What If… Mobile Users Listen Here or Subscribe on ITunes My Name Is Not Steve is a bi-weekly-ish podcast where we talk about […]

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Podcast – Endings, Christmas and New Beginnings

Posted Sonlight Press Faith, Gabby Wells, Gabby Wells - Book 1, Gabby Wells Novel, Marketing, Podcast

Author Pete Bauer and Dorothea Bauer talk about the top 3 things they did well in 2014, what they could improve upon and Christmas and share some exciting plans for 2015. Mobile Users: Click Here to Listen Topics Covered: Last Podcast New Podcast Top 3 Things We Did Well Top 3 Things We Need to […]

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Podcast – Generosity & Female Ninjas

Posted Sonlight Press Author Blog, Blog, Gabby Wells - Book 1, Gabby Wells - Book 2, Gabby Wells - Book 3, Gabby Wells - Book 4, Gabby Wells Novel, Marketing, Novel, Podcast, Screenplay, Writing

Author Pete Bauer and Dorothea Bauer talk about the generosity of the independent publishing community, female ninjas and audio books. Mobile Users: Click here to listen to the episode. Topics Covered: Independent Film Marketing Similar as Novels Competing with your Competitors Screenplays Collecting Dust Knowing your Audience Generosity of Independent Authors Hit and Miss Writing […]

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Podcast – Thanksgiving Episode & Mockingjay Part 1 Marketing

Posted Sonlight Press Author Blog, Blog, Faith, Gabby Wells - Book 1, Gabby Wells Novel, Marketing, Novel, Podcast, Screenplay, Writing

Author Pete Bauer and Dorothea Bauer talk about the issues with the Mockingjay Part 1 marketing approach and give thanks to those who have helped get them this far. Mobile Users: Click here to listen to the episode. In this episode: Thanksgiving Day Episode Mockingjay Part 1 Breaking Dawn Parts 1 & 2 Mockingjay Part […]

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Kneel & Prey Draft Complete

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

It’s taken writing over 500,000 words to get here. From the first attempt of converting 13 television scripts into a novel to 100 drafts later to a near finished product to tossing it out and starting over.  From turning the idea of five novels into five novellas and five novels to then deciding to write […]

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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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Off to the Beta Readers

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

I’m relieved. The first novel, Kneel & Prey, has been sent out to our first group of Beta Readers.  These readers will read the book and let us know of any outstanding issues with the plot, character or grammar that we missed. Sending it off to Beta Readers is an important step.  It means you’re […]

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Slowing My Writing Brain Down

Posted Sonlight Press Gabby Wells - Book 1, Writing

Readers love reading. That’s something I have to remind myself.  I know what you’re saying.  I’m an idiot for not knowing that already.  I do know it.  I promise. As I mentioned before, coming from a screenwriting background, I am an impatient writer (and reader).  I want to get through the story and figure out […]

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Introducing Character

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

As I mentioned in my last post, Kneel & Prey is the third time I’ve had to introduce the character of Gabby Wells in the series.  The first attempt was in Water & Blood, the second was The Homecoming Incident and the third is Kneel & Prey.  Each time I spent a lot of time […]

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Word Count & First Draft Finished

Posted Sonlight Press Author Blog, Faith, Gabby Wells - Book 1, Gabby Wells Novel, Marketing, Novel, Word Count, Writing

The first draft of Kneel & Prey has been completed. If you’ve been following along, this isn’t so much a first novel, as a reboot. 🙂  The first novel, Water & Blood, became the fifth novel.  The second first novel, The Homecoming Incident, was scrapped and will be offered later as a bonus.  So the […]

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Word Count and Under Writing

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

Even though the title of the first Gabby Wells novel was finally released (Kneel & Prey), I have been writing the first draft of the story since the beginning of August.  I originally set my word count goal at 50,000, but bumped it up to 65,000, because that’s the universally accepted length of an official […]

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Sonlight Press Announces Gabby Wells Thriller – Kneel & Prey

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

Sonlight Press is happy to announce the first novel in the Gabby Wells thriller series will be titled Kneel & Prey. In this fast-paced thriller by author Pete Bauer, Gabby Wells, a high school freshman from a small Florida town, tries to stop a fellow student who lost his father in the war on terror […]

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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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Podcast – 145,000 Words

Posted Sonlight Press Faith, Gabby Wells - Book 1, Gabby Wells - Book 2, Gabby Wells - Novella 1, Gabby Wells - Novella 2, Gabby Wells - Novella 4, Gabby Wells Novel, Marketing, Podcast

Author Pete Bauer and Dorothea Bauer discuss the impact of the novellas on the novels, causing for a rewrite of novels 1 and 2.  Plus the lessons learned from Teen Beta Readers. Teen Beta Readers Specific Expectations 145,000 Words A Professional Endeavor Art Show Facebook Art Polite Critiques Annoying Analysis Aging Well Novella Novels Semi-Mysterious […]

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Podcast – Hobby vs. Career

Posted Sonlight Press Author Blog, Gabby Wells - Book 1, Gabby Wells - Novella 1, Gabby Wells Novel, Marketing, Podcast

In this podcast author Pete Bauer and marketing head Dorothea Bauer talk about the different paths your writing career would take depending on if your approach it as a hobby versus a career. Writing as a Hobby vs. Career Three Mandatory Things Consistency & Deadlines Establishing Brand and Presence 1500 Words a Day 80/20 Rule […]

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Podcast – Novellas & Strategies

Posted Sonlight Press Gabby Wells - Book 1, Gabby Wells Novel, Marketing, Podcast

On this podcast author Pete Bauer and Sonlight Press marketing head Dorothea Bauer continue to talk about their latest findings as they hone their release strategy. Running Time: 42:36 Congratulations Lynette Noni Strategy History Recap More Novellas, If Necessary Has Fiction Lost Its Faith Cultural Christianity vs. Religious Belief Les Miserables Crosby, Bergman, Priests and […]

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Podcast – Novellas & Criticism

Posted Sonlight Press Faith, Gabby Wells - Book 1, Gabby Wells Novel, Marketing, Podcast

On this podcast author Pete Bauer and Sonlight Press marketing guru Dorothea Bauer talk about our shifting marketing strategies that includes increasing the amount of novellas while delaying the release of the first novel. Running Time: 39:11 Some of the topics covered include: Original Plans June 4th Novellas and Novels The Homecoming Incident Theme and […]

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Podcast – Finishing & Marketing

Posted Sonlight Press Gabby Wells - Book 1, Gabby Wells Novel, Podcast

On this podcast author Pete Bauer and Dorothea Bauer discuss the steps required to finish a book and marketing strategies. Some of the topics covered include: 97.3 Beta Readers Honest Feedback Genre Clarification Honoring Audience Intelligence Don’t Betray your Audience’s Expectations Give Them a Pie 1 to 5 Acclaim vs. Sales Knowing How to Market […]

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