Risk on Kindle & In Store

Finally, my latest novel, 'Risk' is now available on Kindle in addition to its original paperback version. It also has the benefit of the 'Look Inside' feature, which I often use when purchasing books. 

Reviews can sometimes be misleading, whereas the 'Look Inside' allows the reader to sample an extract before deciding to buy. It is similar to a wine tasting without the same 'side effects'! The paperback novel is now on sale at one of France's main supermarkets, Intermarché in Bonnat, in the Creuse.  

How Readers can help Writers

Hints for for readers (advice from Penny Sansevieri, CEO and founder of Author Marketing Experts, Inc.)

Review the book: Readers are some of the best resources for reviews. Like a book? Please review it. Even if you don’t like it review it, too. Most authors welcome feedback if it’s constructive. Always be positive.

Video reviews: If you’re ready to take this a step further, why not offer a video review? Amazon lets you do this and I know, as an author, I would be thrilled if someone reviewed my book on video! If you do this, send the video clip via Dropbox or YouSendit and keep the clip to under a minute. Hold up the book and smile!

Photo sharing: This is a fun, visual way to share your love for a book. Even better, snap a picture where you’re reading it. Authors love this so much!  

Local bookstores: Though it may seem like every author who is published gets a shot at bookstore shelf space, the truth is that most don’t. If you’ve found a book you love and had to buy it on Amazon because your local store didn’t carry it, tell them. Bookstore managers have told me if they get multiple requests for a book they will consider stocking it.

Buy the book for a friend:  This is pretty basic. If you love the book you just read, buy a copy for a friend. When you gift it, remind the person to review it.

Social Media: Sharing has become part of our lives. We share good  and bad news but when was the last time you shared what you are reading? Here’s where that great picture you just took of you reading a book can come in handy. 

Salon du Livre

Mike Welham, author of 'Crime Pays' outside
The Glass Key bookshop in Montmorillon
looking serious but ready to sign copies of
his latest novel, 'Death of a Scientist'.

Mike and I held a joint signing event during the weekend of the 'Salon du Livre' book fair in the picturesque environment of the Cité de l'Ecrit.

Next weekend, we are together again at an event in Bonnat, Creuse where will will be signing our latest novels 'Risk' and 'Death of a Scientist' at the Intermarché supermarket.

A Fine Line between 'Hook' and 'Dénouement'.

What is the difference between a 'hook' and a 'dénouement' when writing fiction?
At a recent book-signing event, a conversation with a fellow writer focussed on how to hold the reader's attention (eg at the end of a chapter) by whetting the reader's appetite.
I have read some novels that create such a desire to discover what happens next that they are difficult to put down; others have the opposite effect, a desire to quickly finish the chapter, to resume at a later stage.
My friend and I discussed several chapter endings from two of my previous novels:

'Ignorant of the future consequences of his actions, the young Grenadier Weber dutifully followed the doctor.'

'His wish was about to be fulfilled in disastrous circumstances.'

'However, a most unexpected source would reward their persistence.'

'...fast moving events elsewhere in the region were about to change their lives.'  

'They were living a dream with no guarantees that it would become reality.'

'He worried needlessly; Alice would provide a solution to his dilemma.'

'There would be resolution but not in the manner that he expected.'

How would the reader react to the above chapter endings?  I am interested to know if other authors have the same dilemma about engaging the reader without divulging too much information.  

 

Medallion of Evil

Medallion of Evil:

Working title of next novel.
Not sure yet about the front cover.
Framework for story in place.
Staying with the WWII theme.
This time with more German POV.
Written about 4,000 words so far.
Some more research needed.
Working to complete by end of year.
Hoping to publish before Xmas.
Short extract below.

Chapter 1

Monique stared at the accumulation of junk—memories of past generations. Why do families hoard such stuff? The aged ochre shell of a low wattage light bulb dangled from a frayed cord like an over-ripe pear. Drapes of dust-laden cobwebs shimmered in this paltry light source, casting grotesque shadows across the attic. The cramped roof space contained a clutter of cardboard cartons, wooden crates and stored luggage that tottered precariously upwards towards oak beams encrusted with years of grime. Finding her grandmother’s old battered trunk had seemed an impossible task but within minutes, she spotted the tarnished brass handles protruding from the mass of lumber as though begging discovery.

She remembered the first time she had encountered grandma’s souvenirs and personal belongings. One month after the old woman’s death, mother considered that the family had allowed sufficient time for respectful mourning. Armed with an assortment of cleaning materials, Monique had accompanied her mother and elder sister, Elodie to ‘spring-clean’ the property by the lake prior to moving in. Though they had spent many happy hours as youngsters at the house, on this occasion the atmosphere was goose-pimplingly scary, contrasting starkly with summertime visits picking strawberries in the extensive gardens. Now, with grandma’s death—apparently, grandpa had died during the Second World War when still a young man—the emptiness conveyed a palpable sadness. Bare oak floors resonated to their footsteps like never before; windows no longer sparkled in the sunshine. Yet it had seemed that, no matter how much effort they employed in dusting and polishing, a musty ‘old person’ smell lingered, especially in the rooms upstairs. After two more days tidying and separating the items they wished to sacrifice to the real world by retaining, destroying, selling or donating to charitable organisations, the property stood ready for its new occupants. In later years, the girls compared the general clear out to a sorting room at the local Red Cross offices before they restored decades of family memorabilia to the attic.

On the day that Lady Diana Spencer married Prince Charles, the Arnaud family—mother Bernadette, father Edouard and their two daughters— became the new residents of grandma’s house. The imposing three-storey property stood overlooking the lake at Cieux, a small town northwest of Limoges in south central France. A fresh start to a bright future awaited them with the past consigned to the obscurity of cobwebs and spiders in the musty loft space.

Once again, that odour of decay wafted over Monique as she pulled the trunk from its storage where it had rested since that unforgettable housekeeping exercise twelve years previously. Delighted with such a rapid detection of her prize—the attic still gave her the creeps—with some relief, she descended to the warmth and comfort of the living room. She dumped the rescued heirloom at her sister’s feet.

“This is it,” she gasped, still breathless from the ordeal of clambering down from the attic with the weighty baggage. “I’m certain that it will contain what we need.”

Elodie was quiet and extremely shy, in stark contrast to her lively sister; she eyed it with little enthusiasm. The trunk looked shabby and emitted a nasty smell; it reminded her of their deceased grandmother.

Copyright © 2013 by James R. Vance

RISK NEW NOVEL by JAMES R VANCE

NEW VIDEO to launch RISK

I have added an updated video to You Tube to
complement the launch and book-signings of my
latest novel, RISK.

http://youtu.be/CalggFzvPpo







What else can one do on a wet June afternoon in
France, waiting for the imminent thunderstorm, but
write a poem?.....What! Poetry and I?....Never!
But hold on.....what is this?

Ode to an Author & His Work

There was a man from Limousin,

whom some considered a ‘flash-in-the-pan’.

He started writing mystery crime

but changed by going back in time

to writing novels on World War Two

about the evil that some men do

to innocent victims, children too.

Sadly, all the tales are mostly true

but who cares, apart from me and you?

He passed his time in Haute Vienne,

picking up stories as and when

from geriatrics who survived to tell

their stories of the living hell

that they endured beneath the weight

of Pétain’s guilt and Hitler’s might.

We won the war but lost the peace;

the Germans’ grip will never cease.

Write the books and tell the world,

yet no one seems to be appalled.

Life moves on and memories fade

of lives and homes that they once gave

to win the freedom we now cherish,

with no regard for those who perished.

I hope the stories you will retain

therefore, their sacrifice was not in vain.

Copyright ©James R. Vance

2013

Book Signing

Saturday & Sunday at Salon du Livre in Montmorillon. 

Joint signing with Mike Welham at the Glass Key

bookshop from 10h.00. 

James (shop proprietor) will be serving wine

to selected visitors. 

Make a date!

Retired But Never Forgotten

So much debate about Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement,
especially now the Mourinho 'bandwagon' has returned
to Chelsea.
There were several more retirements this year; maybe,
without mentioning all their names, it's time for many of
our footballing heroes to move on.
However, one name above all others will be spoken
about for years to come.
Not many people will remember let alone have seen the
great Eddie Colman who sadly died in the Munich air
disaster in 1958. I am fortunate to have watched him
playing for Manchester United. As a young footballer,
I was in awe of him. He was the greatest mid-fielder
(half-back in those days) alongside the magnificent Duncan Edwards. What an incredible partnership. Colman was simply the best....until Paul Scholes appeared on the footie scene. A genius. Thanks for the wonderful memories.