Book Expo and Dragons!

Yesterday I participated in the first Waldenbooks Local Book Expo in Martinsville, VA. There were sixteen authors in a wide range of subjects. Two of the authors were also publishers.


During the panel discussion, an author I had met at Book 'Em last fall commented that the biggest benefit was meeting other authors and the connections & leads that emerged from those encounters. Bob, that is so true! The friendships along the journey are what I treasure most! And I certainly value the friendship with the Waldenbooks staff there in Martinsville, because they have been such awesome supporters. Thanks Lynne, Amy, Heather and Sarah!

I also got to meet a dragon! Author J.G. Eastwood was in attendance, and she brought her dragon along, too! When he blew smoke, it was a hoot!

(Visit her at http://www.jgeastwoodauthor.com/ )

All in all, a wonderful experience!

Wit & Whimsey

I am in the middle of a fantastic marketing book, Marilyn & Tom Ross's "Jump Start Your Book Sales" and wanted to share some of their wit & whimsey insights:

"If a word in the dictionary was misspelled, how would you ever find it?"

"It took me fifteen years to discover that I had no talent for writing, but I couldn't give up because by that time I was too famous." - Peter Benchley

"Why isn't phonetic spelled the way it sounds?"

"The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese."

"I hear the definition of a dynamic presentation is a good beginning and a good end... with both sides as close together as possible."

"What's another word for thesaurus?"

Author Mark Andrew Olsen

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing
The Warriors (Bethany House April 1, 2008)
by Mark Andrew Olsen

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
MARK ANDREW OLSEN whose novel The Assignment was a Christy Award finalist, also collaborated on bestsellers Hadassah (now the major motion picture: One Night With the King), The Hadassah Covenant, and Rescued. His last novel was the supernatural thriller The Watchers. The son of missionaries to France, Mark is a Professional Writing graduate of Baylor University. He and his wife, Connie, live in Colorado Springs with their three children.

ABOUT THE BOOK:
A failed recon mission deep in the tunnels of Afghanistan has provoked a demonic onslaught that had been brewing for centuries. The mission's sole survivor is reformed black ops assassin Dylan Hatfield, and he once again teams up with Abby Sherman, now at the helm of the Watchers, an ancient spiritual force. Uncovering and preventing a secret wave of death whispered across cyberspace and threatening to be unleash against civilization will require another level of spiritual power and expertise--the Warriors.

Journeying across the Alps of Europe through the multilayered history of warfare in the unseen world, Dylan and Abby uncover an age-old stone engraving that rouses the church's Warriors to action, placing them dead center in one of the fiercest spiritual battles of their time!

And once again they are reminded: This is all part of a vast and perpetual war, a war beyond all human conflicts, one that has engulfed heaven and earth since before the dawn of history....

Abby Sherman is headed back to Israel, where a Watcher, the Sentinel of Jerusalem, lies dying. In her last breaths the old woman tells Abby of an ancient document prophesying humanity's full-scale entry into the ongoing conflict between armies of heaven and fallen angels.

Dylan Hatfield has decided to answer a summons from his old boss and join a secret operation, its mission to reconnoiter the Afghani tunnel complex from which Osama bin Laden escaped in 2001. What he discovers sears his very soul and likely will end his life.

Abby learns of the peril facing Dylan, and she sends out a call for intercession on his behalf. Her frantic email message sets in motion a series of harrowing events, propelling the two on a new mission and quest--one where the stakes are the lives of millions!

The Warriors is packed with high-octane action, featuring exotic international locales, with characters in a clash against spiritual "principalities and powers" with eternal consequences, The Warriors is a story that will enthrall, enlighten, and engage its readers.

If that piques your interest, you can read the first chapter HERE

"Olsen, one of the better writers in this subgenre, delivers powerful, action-packed plots that delve into mystical paranormal worlds." ~Library Journal, Feb. 2008
"Olsen delivers an entertaining thriller likely to be enjoyed especially by fans of the spiritual warfare genre."~PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

Google Earth For Research

Here's an unusual research source - Google Earth.

If you're writing a book that is based on a specific location, why not confirm the details by looking it up on Google Earth? It shows streets, buildings - even trees! You can also have restaurants, gas stations, points of interest, etc. pinpointed on the map, too. The maps are updated every few months, so it's fairly accurate. I used it recently double-checking the layout of Georgia Tech.

And look up your own house while you're at it, too!