103 ratings | 46 reviews | avg rating:3.58

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Charles Vella

Goodreads Author

Born

The United States

Website

http://charlesvella.com/

Genre

Fiction, Suspense, Humor and Comedy

Influences

Graham Greene, Eric Ambler, John LeCarre

Member Since

March 2013

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After a career in dysfunctional organizations of various types I've come to the conclusion that there aren't any other kinds. My first two books, Trojan Hearse and Poor Richard, are satires about what can happen when the vast power of government is handed to knuckleheads.

Now Boarding is a little different. It's about a young guy trying to get a foothold in the adult world and almost getting his head taken off in the process.

Only a few friends and family have read them so far but I'm going to be trying to get them a little more attention and we'll see what happens. ...more

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Popular Answered Questions

How do you deal with writer’s block?

Charles Vella Writing is more of a hobby to me than a business. That's not to say I wouldn't like to sell more of my novels, but one of the few advantages to not se…moreWriting is more of a hobby to me than a business. That's not to say I wouldn't like to sell more of my novels, but one of the few advantages to not selling many is that there's no time pressure. Even if they do start selling, I think writing novels has inherently less pressure than writing to a deadline, and I think that pressure is what mostly drives writer's block.

I try to write every day with the modest goal of 500 words a day. There are days when it is very easy and days when I can't actually hit that goal, but I try to make sure that even on bad days I write something. I often find that I sit down and don't really feel like writing so I start reading through what I've already written and start editing. After a while I start to get into a rhythm and jump to a new section. These often turn out to be my most productive days.

I have a harder time with the blog that I try to keep up. The pieces there are shorter and I want to put something out every week. But to be honest I don't hold those to as high a standard as I do my novels and I intersperse new pieces with book reviews and announcements, so it isn't too bad.(less)

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What’s your advice for aspiring writers?

Charles Vella As an aspiring writer myself it's probably better to say what advice I've been given from people who have achieved some success. I think the best piec…moreAs an aspiring writer myself it's probably better to say what advice I've been given from people who have achieved some success. I think the best piece of advice, which seems obvious but is easy to ignore, is to keep writing. Not only does your writing get better with practice, but the more books you put out there the more likely people are to notice your writing. I think there is a temptation to write one book and then spend all of your time trying to market it, which is a mistake.(less)

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Charles Vella’s books

Average rating: 4.09 · 58 ratings · 23 reviews · 7 distinct works

	Right of Passage 3.69 avg rating — 16 ratings — published 2015 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Poor Richard 3.92 avg rating — 13 ratings — published 2013 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Soul Source: Back and There Again 4.45 avg rating — 11 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Trojan Hearse 4.40 avg rating — 10 ratings — published 2011 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Now Boarding 4.29 avg rating — 7 ratings — published 2013 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Infil 1 really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Charles Vella's Notebook 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Charles Vella's Blog

Write a review. Tell a friend.

Hi everyone. If you’ve read a Charles Vella novel please consider writing an honest review on Amazon and telling a fellow reader about it. Independent publishing is a word of mouth business. Reviews are important for a couple of reasons. When people see a book with few or no reviews they hesitate to buy it no matter how interesting it looks. Also, there are marketing opportunities that are only op

Series by Charles Vella

Police State of Anarchy (1 book)
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Charles Vella (Goodreads Author)

3.69 avg rating — 16 ratings

Charles is Currently Reading

Charles Vella is currently reading

Charles Vella's Notebook

by Charles Vella (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

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Dec 12, 2017 03:19AM

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This group warmly accepts newcomers. Whereas mystery and thriller is the focus, we also love a great read, regardless of genre. Originally formed from ...more

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A group for readers and writers of humorous fiction.

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Welcome! Join us for our monthly group reads. We read Crime stories, Mysteries, & Thrillers. ...more

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THE BIGGEST GROUP FOR DYSTOPIAN LITERATURE ON GOODREADS. What you can do in the group? * You can say 'Hi', or tell us what you are reading * Yo ...more

THE Group for Authors! — 12972 members — last activity 3 hours, 18 min ago
This is a group for authors to discuss their craft, as well as publishing and book marketing.

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The place to be if you love mysteries with an 'international' flavor. Diverse authors, here: Jo Nesbo, Carmen Amato, Henry Chang, Arnaldur Indri ...more

Utopian and Dystopian Reading Group — 872 members — last activity Nov 13, 2025 04:24AM
This group is for anyone interested in Utopian and Dystopian Literature to discuss anything from Thomas More's Utopia to present day fiction. Everyone ...more

Pulp Fiction — 1915 members — last activity 19 hours, 4 min ago
Hard Boiled detective novels, noir, and great crime novels (old and new)

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Charles’s Friend Comments

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message 1: by Charles

May 20, 2017 04:10AM

Hi everyone,

My new book, Soul Source or Back and There Again, has just been released. It is available for $0.99 until the end of May at https://amazon.com/author/charlesvella. If you'd like to be a reviewer let me know by sending an email to CharlesLVella@gmail.com and I'll send you a complementary copy, paperback or Kindle, whichever you prefer. My goal is to get 10 reviews on Amazon by the end of the summer so if you like it please write a review and tell a friend. Thanks so much to all those who have read my previous books.

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