Shannon Iwanski's Blog
December 21, 2014
Cover Reveal
The cover was designed by TatteredWolf Studios.
September 28, 2014
Death Has a Name
One of the things I want to do as an author is to help promote other authors. If you’ve never tried to market yourself or your books, you have no idea how much hard work and time it takes. So, why not give a shout-out to other dedicated wordsmiths who are doing what they love?
Death Has a Name by Jerry Hanel is a paranormal thriller/detective series that follows Brodie Wade. As a child, Brodie was taken from his mother when unexplained injuries began appearing on his body. On top of those were the ‘hallucinations.’ Unfortunately, what no one knew or would believe when told, was that Brodie can see The Truth. The Truth manifests itself as an opaque, white mist that emanates from anything and everything that has a desire to be understood or known. Whether it’s the body of a murder victim or a police file containing evidence, there’s always something that wants Brodie’s attention. Since no one else can see it, Brodie comes off as unbalanced–which he pretty much is.
Now, I don’t like synopses of books where the plot and characters are explained in detail. Why even bother reading the book if you know everything that happens? It’s like being told who the killer is and then reading a mystery novel. Having said that, I will tell you that Brodie isn’t my favorite character in the book. That would be Detective Phil Dawson. Phil has a good heart mixed in with the skills of a life-long cop. He basically serves as Brodie’s handler, and he certainly has his hands full. It’s Phil’s down-to-earth demeanor that makes Brodie’s (at times) over-the-top idiosyncrasies easier for me to handle.
Death Has a Name is a quick, easy read. It might take some time to bond with the characters, but the plot moves along very quickly once it gets going. As with any book, there are predictable aspects to it, and there are characters that are cookie-cutter cliches, but for the most part you’ll definitely find aspects of them to appreciate and enjoy.
On Amazon.com, the novel has 23 5-star ratings and 27 4-star ratings. If I was to rate the book, I would probably fall into the 4-star category, but that’s only because I’m nit-picky about some of the writing mechanics, and for me the main character isn’t the main character. I’ve already purchased a (signed) copy of the second book in the series, Thaloc Has a Body, and I’m looking forward to reading it.
If you want to know more about author Jerry Hanel and his other novels, check him out on Facebook.
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By (author): Jerry Hanel
Kindle Edition:
Check Amazon for Pricing Digital Only
September 18, 2014
Organized for Homicide
Amazon.com Description: Organization expert Kate McKenzie is looking forward to her newest consignment: organize the cross-country move for a divorced father and his two children. But when a dead body turns up, Kate’s carefully organized plans are thrown into chaos. Was it an accident? Or murder? Kate aims to find out and ends up falling more emotionally involved than she’d expected when the victim’s teenaged daughter becomes the police’s lead suspect. As a mother herself, she just can’t let the girl not only lose a mother but possibly lose her freedom and future as well. While the police follow the chain of evidence, Kate follows her gut, leading her on a dangerous investigation that could result in more than one death if she doesn’t watch her step…
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Organized for Homicide (Organized Mysteries Book 2) (Kindle Edition)
By (author): Ritter Ames
Kindle Edition:
Check Amazon for Pricing Digital Only
Release date September 5, 2014.
Catching Up
I hate the fact that my last post on here was in May. That’s due in part to several life changes, like buying a house and changing jobs, but I promise to do better.
By now everyone has heard about Amazon’s new Kindle Unlimited program. I’m happy to say that Ride the Train is available through that program. Tell your friends!
Also, if you haven’t checked out A Murder of Storytellers be sure to do that. I posted a Throwback Thursday blog today.
One of the other things I’ve tried to do with this site is to expose my readers to other Indie authors. In Tulsa there is a lot of talent, and A Murder of Storytellers is getting to know more of them. Having said that, you should check out Purple Ink Writers. They have an event coming up in Muskogee in October. Check it out!
Last but not least. A Murder of Storytellers is holding open submissions for two different anthologies. Check out Submittable for submission guidelines for Rocket Ride and Beyond the Nightlight. Hurry, though, because the deadline for Nightlight is October 13!
May 21, 2014
Once Upon A Time
Don’t worry. This isn’t about the hit TV show. There are no spoilers here. 
Recently I’ve been doing some interviews at various blogs, and one of the questions that gets asked frequently is how/when did you know you wanted to be a writer. The truth is, I’ve pretty much always known. In kindergarten, I learned to read using the books found here. Since I learned to read using stories about animals, that was what I wrote. Except, since I never do anything the short or easy way, I wrote plays instead. While I can’t remember any of them or torture you with them, there was something very frustrating about them that I still remember to this day–nobody in my family could be convinced to act in them. To this day I remain convinced that the world suffered a great loss because of this.
We never know where the spark of creativity is going to hit. For some it comes through life’s heartaches and tragedies. Others find it in the stars of the Milky Way, stretching overhead from one horizon to the other. Wherever you find your creativity, there will always be those who cannot see the drive or passion behind it. The trick is to never let that bother you, no matter how much it bothers you. The only way to get from reading the word “See” to writing a novel that will entertain people is to keep putting more and more words together. And always keep in mind what Mark Twain said, “A successful book is not made of what is in it, but what is left out of it.”
May 14, 2014
She Gets It!
There is a woman I know through my work, who is one of the kindest, sweetest, most supportive people I’ve had the good fortune of knowing. Her care and concern are genuine, and I always look forward to talking to her. It doesn’t matter if we’re talking about our dogs, the latest episode of Game of Thrones, her jewelry (which is amazing!), or any of the myriad television shows we can geek out about together. Conversations with her are always stimulating and enjoyable.
I say all of that to get to the point of Ride the Train. She started reading it yesterday. Anyone who has read the book knows that the subject matter could be considered controversial or, at the least, upsetting for someone who doesn’t agree with the message. I was very nervous about her reading it, since I know that she is active in her church. She’s an open-minded woman, I just didn’t know to what extent.
This morning started off with a great conversation about how she had to force herself to put the book down. For an author, any author, that is a magical thing. It means that someone is so enthralled, engrossed, or enchanted by your book, characters, plot, or all of the above, to the point that life around them could burn to cinders, and they wouldn’t notice. Avid readers know this feeling. Authors enjoy hearing about it.
The best part of the conversation was realizing that she gets the message, and she agrees with it. I’ve long known that she is a proponent of gay rights, and I mentioned her open-mindedness. However, to hear my thoughts and feelings echoed in her words, based on what I had written, was as welcome as her asking after the health of my dogs. It is a wonderful feeling.
Susan, thank you for getting it!
Great News!
Starting tomorrow, May 15, 2014, Ride the Train will be available at sites other than Amazon.com. Be sure to look for it on Google Play, Smashwords, Goodreads.com, and other sites!
May 6, 2014
Chihuahuas Hold the Key
My chihuahua, Tobin, who is in charge of everything–it’s true; just ask him–had to go visit the vet yesterday. In his desire to be the biggest, baddest dog in the house, he likes rough-housing with the Great Dane-Boxer mix, Sisko. His latest foray into the ring ended with either a bruised or strained muscle. Instantly my rambunctious bundle of barking energy became a shaking ball of pain. I know what you’re thinking–chihuahuas all shake. Not Tobin. That’s why when he woke me up at four o’clock in the morning whimpering, growling, and shaking badly enough that my pillow felt like it was alive, I knew there was something terribly wrong with my baby.
For anyone who doesn’t have pets, who doesn’t love an animal as if it was a baby, you might not understand. But imagine how you feel when your child stands beside your bed in the middle of the night, crying, because (s)he’s sick, hurting, or scared. You’re instantly wide awake, trying to figure out what’s wrong, and doing everything in your power to make it right. Well, as you might guess, Tobin couldn’t tell me what was wrong. Sadly, even though he understands absolutely every syllable that comes out of my mouth when I have lengthy conversations with him, I can’t understand him.
Tobin’s situation got me to thinking about the characters I write. If you’re not aware of this, an author’s characters become real to him. They become like his children, and he wants to do everything he can to take care of them and give them the best life they can possibly have. If you’ve read my novel, Ride the Train, you know what happens at the end of section one. That was a terrible thing to write, even though I knew what the ultimate outcome would be. (If you’re wondering what I’m talking about, you’ll just have to read it. No spoilers!)
Part of taking care of characters is letting them grow and do their own thing, even if you don’t want them to do it. Like any good parent, you have no choice, though. The best characters have their own lives, their own voices. They choose their actions and words, and the author must step back and let them be. Don’t get me wrong, the author could force the character to do anything, but then the story suffers. The reader can tell when characters are not authentic, when they’re not doing what they want to do. The overall quality of the work suffers because of it.
As helpless as I felt with Tobin and not knowing exactly what was wrong with him, I have characters that are trying to tell me what they want. Sure, they’ve been silent for the better part of a year. But I’ve been waiting, thinking about them, biding my time until they decided to speak to me. Now, they’ve started telling me what they want, and I can hear them, loud and clear. Their story will be told–the way they want it to be.
And just so I don’t leave you wondering, Tobin is doing much better. The vet gave him some pain pills to help get him through the worst so he can heal. Overnight my shaking bundle of non-verbal pain returned to my boisterous, playful monster who rules over all with an iron fist. And I’m so happy he has.
Happy Days, Sweetheart Giveaway
Goodreads Book Giveaway
Happy Days, Sweetheart
by Adrean Messmer
Giveaway ends June 06, 2014.
See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.
March 16, 2014
Countdown Sale
Find the link here.
