{"mode":"live","websiteData":{"about":{"bio":"

Steven Walker served as an Infantry Officer during two decades traveling the world to many exciting (and not so exciting) places. After his military tours, he became a business owner, then became a high school teacher, guidance counselor, and head baseball coach.

He grew up loving Humphrey Bogart, Richard Widmark, and Edward G. Robinson with his father. These influences and his miltary experience sparked the idea for his Gunny Mac Private Detective series.

Steven lives in central Ohio on five acres with his beautiful wife Susan and two Borders collies Mollie and Beauregard Pierre Townsend Walker. When he isn't writing, Steven gardens, mows his acres, walks, runs, and shoots his weapons whenever possible.

$\"\"$ Fun Facts:

I openly admit I love dogs better than most people…not all people, just most.
I have been accused by people of being sentimental and I plead guilty. I attribute that to my relationship with God.
People have asked me how it feels to write a novel. It feels like coming off an infamous US Marine Corps twenty-mile forced march with full combat gear in 95-degree heat in a little more than three hours… so tired but glad I didn’t fall out!

Interviews & Press

Interview, The Big Thrill, Jan 2021
Interview, Thriller Magazine, 2021
Interview, Red Headded Book Lover, 2022

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The action packed series Gunny Mac Private Detective will have a third novel published in Ausgust 2023. Gunny Mac and the characters you have come to love go to help their buddy Navajo Code Talker Henry Running Bear wounded with Gunny Mac and Wojo on Guadalcanal. Some one wants to kill Henry and his family and only Mac and the boys can stop it.

","subheading":"Trouble in Tomahawk Gap","title":"Gunnymac Private Detective Trouble Due out in August 2023"},"meta":{"order":"3"},"id":"qMIyMXVR3hyjgT4pRlHep","schedule":{},"awards":{},"assets":{},"purchase":{},"reviews":{},"products":[],"series":{}}],"books":[{"about":{"description":"

Sample Chapter from Gunny Mac Private Detective Trouble in Cleveland

It's 1943, and Gunny Mac and the boys go to Cleveland when saboteurs destroy Alan Burke's father's ship-building factory on the Cuyahoga River needed to build Liberty ships. Father John is murdered in the confessional at the Shrine of St. Stanislaus, and Mac will burn down Cleveland to find those respon/sible.

The intrigue mounts as Mac and his crew of wounded veterans from the Guadalcanal campaign search for the men responsible... Was it the Black Hand movement, the Cosa Nostra who gave Mac the kiss of death in Hawaii, or the Polish, Slovenian, or Italian mafia.

Grab yourself a pierogi or an Italian spaghetti dinner and hang on for this hilarious, intriguing ride through history.

","subheading":"","title":"Gunny Mac Private Detective: Trouble in Cleveland"},"assets":{"coverPhoto":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/wild-ink-pages-prod.appspot.com/o/user-content%2F38cqf86lTNFdCqkmtnoz5%2FTrouble%20in%20cleveland_1675382988089.jpeg?alt=media&token=55997d46-a122-449d-b04c-1bf08c706867"},"meta":{"order":"2"},"purchase":{"barnesandnobleLink":"https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/gunny-mac-private-detective-trouble-in-cleveland-steven-walker/1142843980;jsessionid=8D811D4A48E6351A1C469D9117C071F1.prodny_store01-atgap06?ean=2940166922243","custombookstore1Link":"https://www.amazon.com/Gunny-Mac-Private-Detective-Cleveland/dp/1735702633","custombookstore1Name":"Amazon — Paperback","custombookstore2Link":"https://books.apple.com/us/book/id6445143216","custombookstore2Name":"Amazon — Audiobook","custombookstore3Link":"https://www.amazon.com/Gunny-Mac-Private-Detective-Cleveland-ebook/dp/B0B6Q738GV/","custombookstore3Name":"Amazon — Ebook","custombookstore4Link":"https://www.kobo.com/us/en/Search/Query?fcmedia=Book&query=9781735702643","custombookstore4Name":"Kobo","custombookstore5Link":"https://www.scribd.com/book/614622395/Gunny-Mac-Private-Detective-Trouble-in-Cleveland-Gunny-Mac-Series-2","custombookstore5Name":"scribd","custombookstore6Link":"https://books.apple.com/us/book/id6445143216","custombookstore6Name":"Apple Books"},"schedule":{"publishDate":"2022-07-15T17:00:00.000Z"},"products":[],"id":"ld46bkCmpYQAAXwSXldGk","awards":{},"reviews":{},"series":{}},{"about":{"description":"

Henry Running Bear is back home recovering from war injuries and tending peacefully to his sheep. The Marines and Guadalcanal are still fresh in his memory.

But the war won't leave him alone.

President Roosevelt imprisoned 120,000 Japanese Americans. Some escaped and now want revenge.

The Nazis and the Japanese track Henry down in New Mexico with only one mission in mind…get Henry Running Bear!

He sends a message to his wife deep in the Navajo Reservation. Tell General Bennett where I'm going. Tell him to send a message to my Marine brother, Gunny Mac. \"I'll make my last stand at Tomahawk Gap. Semper Fidelis.\"

Hang on to your Stetson as Mac battles eighty miles of unforgivable terrain, weather, and Nazis who want what Henry knows…and Mac deader than the rainbow trout he had for breakfast.

They survived the fury of Guadalcanal, and now Mac will have to knock down the gates of hell to save his friend!

A story of loyalty and honor between two Marines…one now a private detective and one a Navajo sheepherder; an intense, gut-wrenching trip through history, with characters that will leave you begging for more.

THE THIRD NOVEL IN THE GUNNY MAC TRILOGY.

Trouble in Chinatown

Trouble in Cleveland

Trouble in Tomahawk Gap

Gunny Mac and the characters you have come to love go to help their buddy Navajo Code Talker Henry Running Bear wounded with Gunny Mac and Wojo on Guadalcanal. Someone wants to kill Henry and his family, and only Mac and the boys can stop it.

","subheading":"A Gunny Mac Noir Detective Novel","title":" Trouble in Tomahawk Gap"},"assets":{"coverPhoto":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/wild-ink-pages-prod.appspot.com/o/user-content%2F38cqf86lTNFdCqkmtnoz5%2FTomahawk%20Gap%20Book%20Cover%5B9812%5D_1723821556199.jpg?alt=media&token=72294bc9-5ea4-41d1-a80b-74ebcbbc0473"},"purchase":{"amazonLink":"https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DCLF2Z7K","barnesandnobleLink":""},"schedule":{"draft":false,"publishDate":"2024-08-22T16:00:00.000Z"},"series":{"order":"3"},"products":[],"id":"heffcaNqd9","awards":{},"meta":{},"reviews":{}},{"about":{"description":"

Gunny Mac Private Detective has been awarded the finalist Award from American Fiction Awards for 2023

If you liked the movie \"Casablanca\" or the \"Best Years of Our Lives,\" you will fall in love with this book!

$\"\"$

It is 1942, the First Marine Division is fighting for its survival on Guadalcanal. President Roosevelt orders all the money in Hawaii collected, destroyed, and replaced by money with Hawaii written across the back of each bill. Funny money that the Japs can't use if they invade the Hawaiian Islands; if Guadalcanal falls.

Millions of dollars collected and some of the money is about to be taken by anybody who is somebody.

LT. Commander Kincaid, a drunk, thief, and gambler is in charge of destroying the money, has his own plans on what to do with some of the money.

But one man is standing in his way. A bayoneted, shot up Navy Cross winner, hero of Bloody Ridge...a man who hates what he is forced to become...a civilian. Awaiting a medical discharge, Gunny Mac is lost without his Marine Corps. He buys a two- dollar book on how to be a private eye...and Chinatown will never be the same.

But sometimes you have to throw the book away...

But he's not alone. His fellow wounded Marines, at the naval hospital, now out of the fight, have lots of fight left in them.

Mac's best friend, Gunny Wojohowitz, needs Mac to help him track down the one man he needs to kill...

Padre McCaffery, a fighting, whiskey-drinking, cigar smoking Jesuit priest, winner of the Navy Cross recruits Marines in the psych unit to ensure Mac stays safe with hilarious results...

LT. Burke a Naval officer...a wealthy, spoiled Harvard graduate who is sent to the Marines as an Artillery Forward Observer as punishment, seeks forgiveness and redemption and drags Mac deeper into the corruption of Chinatown.

They shed their blood and their human psyche, but they face one more battle for their country, and for their friends. One last battle...one last victory!

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\"A unique heist set in Hawaii during World War ll\"
— Thriller magazine Interview

\"...a twisty turny, shocking journey that is guaranteed to keep you hooked until the very end!\"
— Aimee Ann, Red Headed Book Lover

\"Fast paced action novel with strong characters and a believable plot including some surprising but real historical info. [...] Couldn't stop reading until the end! Can't wait till the next one!\"
— Jan, Goodreads Reviewer 5-Star Review

\"This is a captivating novel…Gunny Mac Private Detective…I would say if you are bored with the same old books then take a chance with this gem because you wil not be disappointed. It has everything you want in a great story, and that is spine-tingling good content, dynamic, memorable characters, and a brilliant author. Gunny Mac Private Detective gets five stars from me, book lovers!\" — Aimme C

\"This is a great beach read and one fun novel..just enough violence…just enough romance and characters you will never forget. Padre McCaffery is my favorite and he will be yours too. The plot will keep you praying the good guys will win.\"
— Susan C

\"I thought my fraternity brothers were close… nothing like these beat-up wounded marines and sailors with no experience as detectives take on the whole world. A fun filled ride you won’t forget.\"
— Ben H.

\"I served with Steve Walker and his story rings with authenticity because he knows what it means to serve as a grunt and only those feelings he portrays in his characters can come from real life. A great novel you won’t be able to put down.\"
— Lt Col Roger F.

\"As a graduate of Notre Dame I finally get to read about a Jesuit priest who is a genuine hero, the padre of a Marine Battalion, and one character you will never forget…he is a funny, cigar smoking, whiskey drinking hellion who will fight and die for his Marines. A man who shows the world how to be a man and a priest, and at the same time show his undying love for his God!\"
— Ted D.

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Say hello! I'd love to hear from you. Drop me an email using the contact form below.

","email":"gunnymac26@gmail.com"},"customHtml":{"pages":{"*":"\n\n\n\n\n\n","home":"\nhttps://www.thrillerfest.com/download/itw_logo_med.jpg\n\n\n\n\n\n $\"The$ ","ld46bkCmpYQAAXwSXldGk":""}},"id":"38cqf86lTNFdCqkmtnoz5","meta":{"createdDate":"2022-09-10T20:31:08.134Z","purchased":true,"slug":"steven","stripeCustomerId":"cus_OZ0zuU08KOchA9","websiteType":"standard"},"navigation":{"blogTags":"News\nNovel Construction\nNovel Writing\nNovel Marketing"},"posts":[{"about":{"title":"Get Free Help for Writing Your Book"},"schedule":{"draft":true},"id":"3kaishoL7QKfnJyp5xgTc","assets":{}},{"about":{"title":"New Blog Post"},"id":"8pdY4FA7ZG","schedule":{},"assets":{}},{"about":{"content":"

Marketing With Facebook Ads.

","title":"New Blog Post"},"assets":{"coverPhoto":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/wild-ink-pages-prod.appspot.com/o/user-content%2F38cqf86lTNFdCqkmtnoz5%2Fpulp%20picture%20woman%20bullet%20hole_1708186406761.jpg?alt=media&token=921b8941-46fa-4096-b987-98fab5ecb452"},"id":"aCMHmiTqfh","schedule":{}},{"about":{"content":"","tags":"news","title":"How Do I Find Ideas to Write a Novel?"},"assets":{"coverPhoto":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/wild-ink-pages-prod.appspot.com/o/user-content%2F38cqf86lTNFdCqkmtnoz5%2F425700e3aee431a70364d04b8af71dfb_1675876186327.jpg?alt=media&token=0cec0dd0-f006-47fa-9183-7b48338cf3da"},"schedule":{"draft":true},"id":"ay3uWpUUb6s48ebQKKES5"},{"about":{"content":"

Marketing With Facebook Ads

I have covered figuring out your Concept and Premise of your novel (scroll down and find it on my blog). That is step one.

I take it for granted you know your genre.

Your first scene in your first chapter should set up the precipating event.

in my novel Gunny Mac Private Detective Trouble in Cleveland,

Alan Burke dialed the phone while simultaneously trying to light his cigarette. It didn’t go well. The phone slipped out of his hand as he flailed around and tried to catch it. He heard the familiar voice on the other line.

“Mac Detective Agency, may I help you?”

He finally retrieved the phone. “Yeh, this is Burke. Is Mac around?”

“Hi, Alan, good to hear from you. I’ll transfer you.”

Burke drew deep on his cigarette as he watched the comings and goings from the bottom floor of the Terminal Tower, one of Cleveland’s landmarks.

“Mac here; what’s going on, Alan?”

“I need you and the boys down here to assist me. They just blew up one of Burke Enterprises' factories; ten people dead, and the factory was half-destroyed. It’ll be out of business for at least a month. Critical lumber our military needs, and runway matting.”

“How do you know someone blew up the factory?”

“Dynamite residue and the type of explosion. The city safety director asked for help from the FBI, and they brought in a forensic specialist. They would have killed my father if the explosion had been three minutes sooner.”

“Do they think it was Nazi saboteurs?”

“Don’t know what the hell happened, Mac. My father would like to employ our detective agency to figure out what happened. He lost some friends in that explosion.”

“How is the Padre doing?” asked Mac.

“He’s been busy with that monastery. He’s ensuring we have our Cleveland headquarters ready to move in.”

“Look, I’ll bring Wojo and Detectives Peterson and Reynolds.” Mac paused for a few seconds while quickly going over several scenarios. “On second thought, I’ll bring most of the boys down. Tell your dad not to worry and to be careful. I’ll have Reynolds watch over him when we get there. I’ll see you in a few days.”

In this short scene here is what we have told the reader:

1. A factory has been blown up.

2, A war is going on.

3. We have identified our protagonists.

4. Our location Cleveland.

5. We have identified a possible culprit the Nazi.

6. The Mac Detective Agency is going to investigate.

The scene has been set. Not alot of words or explanation...just the facts ma'm.

Next we will work on what happens in the rest of the chapter.

","tags":"Novel Construction","title":"TheFirst scene in Chapter one"},"assets":{"coverPhoto":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/wild-ink-pages-prod.appspot.com/o/user-content%2F38cqf86lTNFdCqkmtnoz5%2Fsexy%20woman_1667754410260.jpg?alt=media&token=6c69e22b-319d-4f75-9f92-b7d109b3fd5a"},"schedule":{"draft":false},"id":"eWC2oLSXg7ZyOiS42LPxB"},{"about":{"content":"

Many new writers have an incorrect idea of what an edit consists of and what edits they need. Not only how many edits but what does each edit accomplish. You as an author soon realize where your strengths and weakness lie.

When I started out I thought editing consisted of all three types of edits rolled into one. In plain speak I thought Developmental editing...Line Editing, and Copy editing went together like a good bourbon and an excellent cigar. All three edits for a low price under the auspices of book editing.

Unforunately that is not true.

Each editing often comes with a price tag. The most expensive is Developmental editing. For my first book I paid a well known editor $1,850.00 to give me a fifty page report on the strengths and weaknesses of my novel.

Was it worth it? Yes and no. Yes... in the sense I learned rather quickly what my strengths and weaknesses were and I could always go over the fifty page report to fix potential errors. No... in the sense it cost me $1,850.00 to be told what I should have learned by myself. I did save time on the learning curve.

What about Line Editing and Copy editing?

Let me talk to you as if you were a son or daughter. I hope that is OK with you. Finding a good editor is crucial to your success. Why do I say that? Let me list some reasons why.

• Finding mistakes in a 90,000 word novel is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Did you ever hear that from your parents or grandparents? No matter how many stinking times you go through your novel mistakes are still there. I edited my first novel (55) times, had my lawyer wife edit it, a good friend and a graduate of Notre Dame edit it, I paid for two editors to edit it and still found eight punctuation errors. This caused me to have my formatter reformat my book three times for money lost.

• Editors make mistakes!

•Take this as my opinion only:) Most editors want half money down or want the whole amount before they begin. DO NOT DO THIS.

We have been taught by people who have a skill as an editor that they control the money. I have paid editors ahead of time and they have done a CRAPPY job. Somehow they think they can do a crappy job because they put in the time and effort. They think they should get paid no matter how much they mess up your book and you and I are left holding onto a bag of excrement.

NO, NO, NO.

My formatter doesn't get paid until I see the completed project, my cover artist does not get paid until I'm completly happy with my cover, my audio narrator does not get paid until I'm completely happy with his narration. This is the complete truth. This is my team. I love them and they love me. We help each other become the best we can become. We are friends!

Work out a plan with an editor. One chapter at a time or two chapters at a time or the whole book completely edited, but donot pay them until you are completely happy. Do you understand my children?

• I have written and published three novels and my fourth is in the editing process...my process. Yes I actually edit my own books many times before I send it to an editor.

Why?

If you are a writer you also must be an editor. Learn the skills of an editor. This will save you money.

• Do I use any software?

Of course! I may be a retired Marine but I have a brain:).

I use Grammarly and Wordtune to edit before I Line and Copy edit.

These two programs get me in the ballpark with fewer errors. Grammarly also keeps tabs on the words I have wriiten while writing my novel. Each novel comes in over one million words written.

• Finding a good editor is like finding that perverbial needle in the haystack. Keep at it. If someone edits one chapter and its bad...tell them no thank you and move on until you find a good one. If they won't do this tell them to hit the road. Explain to the editor that you want him or her on your team and they will make money if they edit for you.

The following infogram is done by Amelia an editor who wrote an article for ALLi (join this organization I don't get a penny for this recommendation). She must be quite talented!

Until we meet again. Happy trails to you!

https://wintersediting.com/.

","tags":"Novel Writing","title":"What is an Edit?"},"assets":{"coverPhoto":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/wild-ink-pages-prod.appspot.com/o/user-content%2F38cqf86lTNFdCqkmtnoz5%2FThe-Editing-Spectrum-Infographic_1681755701230.jpg?alt=media&token=19dbf567-04dc-46ac-99eb-ea2cd2b075a6"},"schedule":{"draft":false},"id":"fYmdnNC886"},{"about":{"title":"New Blog Post"},"id":"gi9qPTyGGx","schedule":{},"assets":{}},{"about":{"content":"

Why is it so difficult to form a team?

In all the years I served in the military as an infantry officer, none of my company commanders, battalion commanders, regimental commanders, or division commanders ever interviewed me to ask how they could help me be a better officer, what my career aspirations were, or how my abilities could be used to better their command.

In all the years I served as a teacher, not one principal interviewed me to ask me how they might make me a better teacher, what career aspirations I had, or what skills I might possess to make their school a better place for students.

The same thing occurred in business.

They only wanted one thing—zero defects.

While in the field, my battalion commander relieved one of my fellow company commanders. The captain stood in the tent, crying. My commander informed me that I would be taking over his line company.
I asked why? The battalion commander looked at me. \"Because he is worthless.\" I looked at him and said, \"Who was supposed to train him?\" I won't tell you what the battalion commander said to me.

No person is born without defects. In fact, we were defective from the moment we were born. I believe it's called original sin.

I'm an author with defects, striving to write better each day and finding like-minded people to help me along the way. I don't know all the answers, just some of them. As I tell my wife with a grin on my face, I'm not exactly right all the time, but I'm never wrong:)

All kidding aside, most people care more about themselves than other people, and that's normal, especially in a country like ours where a lot of people don't believe in God.

People don't have zero defects.

You are not a leader if you just tell people what to do, issue orders, and if it is not done, reprimand that person.

Building my author team has been a struggle; I would be lying to you if I said it was easy. It has taken me five years of wasted money and time to build an incomplete team. Why? It is because people really don't care about me or what I'm trying to accomplish. They want my money.

I'm not a total failure... I have a great book cover artist, a great book formatter, a great audiobook narrator, and a decent writer (me):)

I care about each of these people, and they are my friends. They care about me. We have taken the time to get to know each other and, in the process, have tried to help each other be successful.

My incomplete team has ethics, morals, and values.

My goal for the rest of my life is to help people become writers and, in the process, develop leaders. I know this process will make me a better person

","tags":"Novel Writing","title":"Why is it so Hard to Build a Team?"},"assets":{"coverPhoto":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/wild-ink-pages-prod.appspot.com/o/user-content%2F38cqf86lTNFdCqkmtnoz5%2Fflat%2C750x%2C075%2Cf-pad%2C750x1000%2Cf8f8f8.u40_1673908074302.jpg?alt=media&token=f20e390a-0afc-4af0-91e0-d3b0ac69f872"},"id":"kWQGcHFsIISILvlgVs0ma","schedule":{}},{"about":{"title":"New Blog Post"},"id":"nXe6HuAaS9","schedule":{},"assets":{}},{"about":{"title":"New Blog Post"},"id":"rM8hdq9Nhb","schedule":{},"assets":{}},{"about":{"title":"New Blog Post"},"id":"skEsvqjM4B","schedule":{},"assets":{}},{"about":{"content":"

Hello folks...just want you to know I will have another Gunny Mac novel coming out this year...here is a bit of teaser....

Gunny Mac Private Detective Trouble in Tomahawk Gap.

Gunny Mac and the detectives you have grown to love are back once again to stop the killing of Henry Running Bear, a Navajo Code talker who served with the boys on Guadacanal.

Someone wants the code Henry has and is willing to do anything to sell it to the Japanese. No one hurts a Marine who served with Mac.

The action is played out in the mountains of New Mexico where death waits around the corner.

","tags":"News","title":"New novel coming out!"},"assets":{"coverPhoto":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/wild-ink-pages-prod.appspot.com/o/user-content%2F38cqf86lTNFdCqkmtnoz5%2Fpulp%20picture%20woman%20bullet%20hole_1672764949577.jpg?alt=media&token=47954aa0-0bcf-479f-82fc-d86790db1d28"},"id":"uX2Udb0F9QJlOD9lirFUx","schedule":{}},{"about":{"content":"

For my fans waiting for the release of my new novel, Trouble on Jeykell Island...it hopefully will be released in June 2026.

Of course we all know what happens when we plan on an event...something always seems to happen! I will release more information as time goes on.

","title":"Release Time of New Novel in June 2026"},"assets":{"coverPhoto":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/wild-ink-pages-prod.appspot.com/o/user-content%2F38cqf86lTNFdCqkmtnoz5%2FA%20tough%201943%20private_1768489581880.png?alt=media&token=757aa3cd-4b40-4c3f-a938-209ad82f875d"},"schedule":{"publishDate":"2026-01-15T17:00:00.000Z"},"id":"87aap5m9LG"},{"about":{"content":"

This June author Steven Walker will have his 4th Gunny Mac novel completed if everything goes as planned. We know how things go in life:) The title will be Trouble on Jeykell Island.

This is where the federal reserve was founded by the richest people in America. Carnegie, Rockefeller, Morgan, and the Rothchilds. Jeykell Island, SC was their winter retreat filled with huge manisions that matched their appetite for wealth. They left the winters of New York and Chicago to continue their love of life. But in 1943-44 the war was going on and life on Jeykell Island became different. Mac and his detectives once again embark on a journey to uncover truth and stop the wartime corruption that threatens america from the inside!

","title":"New Novel in Progress"},"assets":{"coverPhoto":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/wild-ink-pages-prod.appspot.com/o/user-content%2F38cqf86lTNFdCqkmtnoz5%2FA%20tough%201943%20private_1768488829651.png?alt=media&token=ffe38733-b2f9-4e9e-b9fd-46973c71208d"},"schedule":{"publishDate":"2026-01-15T17:00:00.000Z"},"id":"rKAh5c5k56"},{"about":{"content":"

Veracity: Conformity to facts; accuracy,

_{Probity: The quality of having strong moral principles; honesty, and decency.}

Most likely, the two words above are spoken infrequently in one's daily conversations. Or, for that matter, are not part of a typical businessman's or woman's thoughts.

On the other hand, these words are likely to be separate from the client's vocabulary.

They are words that must be ingrained in your mind.

In all my years of military leadership, running civilian businesses, and dealing with the writing world as an author, they are words as scarce as hen's teeth.

Today, I will talk about writers and the marketing of our books.

My pappy once gave me some advice. He said to write what you are passionate about and make the rest of the shit up!

There is nothing wrong with that as long as it is fiction. If it is nonfiction, you must be fair and honest.

That goes for marketing also. Watch and listen carefully to people or businesses that contact you and want to market your novel. Before you spend a dime, understand what they are telling you.

Let me explain. One company or individual will say to the newbie writer dying to sell one book. \"We have 40,000 people on our email lists. Another will say they have 250,000 people on their email lists. Some divide the list into specific genres. They will say things like we will tweet out your novel 3x a day or for one week and keep it on our website for a year or forever. Some say we will have an image of your book with a caption, and the newbie writer gets excited. You can buy packages: bronze, silver, or gold. You can pay for a one-shot deal or pay monthly.

You will notice all with made-up testimonials. In fact, I read a report that the photos are of models. Sometimes, when you read the small print, it says they are not actual photos of customers. Now, you have images of famous people explaining how good a product is when it is fake and produced by AI.

In some ways, they may be telling you limited, truthful things.

They may have thousands of emails and have sorted them out into genre-specific fields. They don't tell you that you most likely have a better shot at winning the lottery than selling a single copy of your book.

Your book may be presented to thousands of email addresses who may not see them, ignore them, or are not interested.

All you have to do is send them a check or credit card number, pay $20.00-$40.00-$60.00 or more, and get disappointed.

With most of these companies, a phone number is nonexistent.

Many of these advertisements sent to you are people who sign up for affiliate marketing to make a quick buck. If you have a complaint, they ignore it or tell you they just passed the advertisement on to you; they are not the actual company.

Before you spend your hard-earned money on this sort of deal, at least check them out and see if they have a guarantee. The answer is NO! Their escape clause is that we cannot guarantee someone will buy your book. If they say YES give them a shot.

My only advice is to develop a team around you that cares about you, people who have veracity and probity and have fun.

PS. Do your own damn marketing! Get in the street and meet people.

If you need more assistance, contact me at my author website: gunnymac.com

","tags":"Novel Marketing","title":" Marketing Companies. Understand Who They Are and What They Do"},"assets":{"coverPhoto":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/wild-ink-pages-prod.appspot.com/o/user-content%2F38cqf86lTNFdCqkmtnoz5%2FGunny%20Mac%20Cover%20Badge%5B9082%5D_1700838908806.jpg?alt=media&token=2cf11fb6-f680-403a-86f0-2f1540e5eeee"},"schedule":{"draft":false,"publishDate":"2023-11-24T17:00:00.000Z"},"id":"bCKkB7N4dB"},{"about":{"content":"

I have decided, after much deliberation, not to waste any more money paying groups or individuals my hard-earned money to market my books. I will explain to you why. Recently, on LinkedIn, where I try to mind my own business and share ideas, I get inundated with people trying to sell me their services for my publishing company, Seadog Publishing. I'm polite and understand people want to make a living just like me. They ask the right questions but give me the wrong answers. I tell them I'm a writer, and learning to market my books is time-consuming. The worst part is it takes me away from my writing and leaves me in a foul mood. I find it challenging to write and spend hours learning how to market. It took me five years to learn to write fiction!

I have learned over the years why they fail to market my books. I know some wise-ass will say...write a book that people want to read:) But my book is fun and enjoyable to a small audience. I don't write romance novels, for goodness sake! My first novel just won some acclaim as a finalist for best book in 2023. (American Fiction Awards).

If someone finds my market, I will make enough money if 1% of the world's population buys my book, and I have three of them in my series.

LOL

But alas, marketers are lazier than most writers.

I get the feeling that most business people who market novels lack business sense and are out for instant money without putting in much effort. They look for volume.

Again, not one marketer has told me I only deal with books I love, understand, or feel I can market. They think short term...money now...so the dummy author will use me once, and I have $60.00 in my pocket, and who cares if he comes back as a repeat customer. It would be more advantageous, I think, if they thought long-term. Keep this customer for life!

This would lead to long-term relationships and more money down the line.

I can guarantee that no marketing company or individual reads my book. They have no clue what they are marketing. Of course, this takes time and effort... kinda like writing a novel.

If you are trying to market your novel, let me give you some knowledge...and my opinion.

Don't waste your money on these people or companies that might sell 3-6 books for you and make you think you are successful. I have paid $60.00 and sold three books many times. That is expensive. I could fill this blog with all the people and companies that have failed me.

If you contact me individually, I will share those with you.

Some rules and facts to help you.

1. Make sure they read your book/novel. Talk to someone and have them explain your book.

2. The moment someone contacts me saying we will market your book to our email lists and social media, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc, three times a day, week, month, and keep your book on our listing page forever, run like hell away.

3. They throw mud against the wall in hopes that someone, through pure luck, buys your book.

4. You pay them your hard-earned cash to broaden their business, not yours.

5. If you decide to use a person or company and not take my free advice, ask them this: I want you to read my book and understand it enough to market it to the proper audience. Please indicate the plan of action, markets, and people you will specifically search for to sell my novel. They will try and blow smoke up your behind and try to act like they know what they are doing. Demand them to have a detailed plan of action. Oddly, they will not call, text, or have anything to do with you.

So, what do I recommend?

You are going to have to put your interest ahead of anyone else. You must study and learn how to market your book or books. You will have to spend money and time. You will have to do the hard work. You will have to have an author website. You must learn all the ins and outs of using that website. You will have to learn how to sell your books on your website. You will have to have several books to market. You will have to have a paperback...Ebook and audiobook to sell.

You must learn to write good novels and market like a pro.

I have a vintage truck with advertisements on the side doors and back. I go to fairs and vintage auto shows, talk to veteran groups, give talks to seniors, and sell my books off my truck tailgate. I meet people, I have fun, I get emails. I develop relationships and develop friendships.

I'm taking a course on how to market...I never stop learning because if I'm to be successful, it will be up to me.

I served in the Marine Corps, and they taught me there is no substitute for winning. And like a good Marine, you must be tough and know what you are doing.

You can do it. Anyone who needs assistance, email me from this site, and I will help you.

gunnymac.com

","tags":"Novel Marketing","title":"You Can Do Your Own Marketing!"},"assets":{"coverPhoto":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/wild-ink-pages-prod.appspot.com/o/user-content%2F38cqf86lTNFdCqkmtnoz5%2FGunny%20Mac%20Cover%20Badge%5B9082%5D_1700231237827.jpg?alt=media&token=501f15af-9d36-4635-8c94-dc628d41c09d"},"schedule":{"publishDate":"2023-11-17T17:00:00.000Z"},"id":"aXVdhYrz5N"},{"about":{"content":"

My private detective series, Gunny Mac Private Detective features four unique characters and three side characters that could almost carry a story by themselves. Unique in the sense, each bring characteristics that convey strength, weakness, humor, and a hardness which allows them to fight and possibly die for their honor.

I didn't mean to take away from my protagonist Gunny Mac, but his personality made men of character want to be around him. I didn't plan on it being that way, it just happened. Now I'm stuck with characters who take the spotlight off of my main character.

My characters are men who grew up in the 1920s and 1930s and who have been thrust into WWII. My novels are not military novels, but novels of men badly wounded and medically discharged from combat on Guadalcanal in 1942.

My main protagonist is Gunnery Sergeant Mac a career Marine who hates what he has been forced to become, a civilian. In a lot of ways he is a lost soul without his Marine Corps and now faces a world he knows little about.

Gunnery Sergeant Wojohowitz Mac's best friend who served with Mac for eighteen years. They are like brothers who will fight each other over anything, yet possess a familial love for each other that nothing can break. Both tough men who value honor more than life.

Lt. Burke, a Harvard graduate blueblood who grew up spoiled and without honor. A man possessing everything and yet decides nothing is worth the effort to keep. It takes the Navy to punish him and send him to Uncle Sam's Misguided Children (USMC) in the First Marine Division on Guadalcanal as a Forward Observer. Here he seeks redemption for past mistakes learning to be a man; under the tutelage of Gunnery Sergeant Wojohowitz.

Padre McCaffery, a Jesuit priest, a padre in the First Marine Division on Guadalcanal. A hard drinking, cigar smoking, warrior for Christ who earns the Navy Cross on Guadalcanal fighting to save his wounded Marines. Shot in the head and leg he is not the same priest as before.

Sergeant Peterson a young Marine of twenty, wounded in the head and eye who will follow Mac into hell and put out the fire.

Corporal Reynolds whose love and respect for Peterson and Mac will never end. They are his only family.

The snoz, whose big heart is only eclipsed by his huge proboscis. A former jockey he is a lost soul until Mac rescues him.

And last but not least Seadog the black lab puppy that helps Mac stay alive in the hospital with his puppy warmth and love.

In the last couple decades we have been swamped by movies of super hero’s...men and women who have super powers. I never really appreciated them because I was surrounded by men without super natural powers that did super natural things. Make believe super hero’s were fake and I could not relate.

I asked a thirty-year old why his age group loved super hero’s. He said because they didn't have real hero’s. I shook my head in sorrow and left.

That is why I started writing my detective series about the worlds greatest generation...my hero's who in times of trouble elevated themselves to super hero’s.
I hope you get to know my characters. They are based on my experiences and people I have been involved with or saw from a distance.

I hope if you read my novels you will experience that feeling you get when you take your eyes off the book close them and smile at these wonderful zany men who helped shape America in her times of need. God bless all of them on this Memorial Day. Everyone a super hero!

","tags":"Novel Writing","title":"Real Men...Real Hero's on this Memorial Day"},"assets":{"coverPhoto":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/wild-ink-pages-prod.appspot.com/o/user-content%2F38cqf86lTNFdCqkmtnoz5%2Fbookbub%20ad%20image_1685285949577.jpg?alt=media&token=dbf5b243-e47a-47db-9426-63b3272ba924"},"schedule":{"publishDate":"2023-05-28T16:00:00.000Z"},"id":"qxunnEJKRe"},{"about":{"content":"

I realize google doesn't want to promote articles unless they are a thousands words or more but I'm not going to do that. I cut the fluff and I get to the point.

Your time is valuable, so is mine.

I have been writing novels for five plus years. I have listened to hundreds of gurus on podcasts, websites, and read many of their blogs and books. They are interested in selling and upselling their products. They give you a pin prick of real information and try to sell you a product where they get paid. Nothing wrong with that, its the American way. But it never stops!

I don't get any money from anyone.

If there is a person out there that wants to do that...send me an email...HAHA

I'm going to give you my testimonial on one person and two products just because they are truely worth your valuable time and money.

The person!

His name is Larry Brooks and his website is: Storyfix.com. Take it to the bank he is excellent and saved my writing career. I met him at a writing conference in columbus, Ohio and he taught me what I needed to know for $50.00. The best deal I ever had. Go visit his website...go buy his books. Worth a college education. I went to his writing conference while I was writing my first novel Gunnymac Private Detective Trouble in Chinatown. After he taught me about Concept and Premise, I finished my novel in three months. He is a great guy and wonderful teacher.

I tried several editing software programs and the one that is my favorite is Grammarly. It should be...it has edited 36 millions words of mine. I think we are tight! My mistakes (as I write) are displayed on the right side of my document. I look at it and it shows me where in my document the error is. On the right side I click on the error and it corrects my document. After using it for a few years it has adapted to my writing and language! Its so simple to use I can use it! Try it out you'll thank me by buying one of my books!

HAHA I guess I'm as bad as the rest!

Wordtune is a cheap but tremendous AI product. When I have written an awkword paragraph or I feel its awkward and I'm missing something, I copy that paragraph and put it in Wordtune and click edit. Most of the time it gives me 6 or 7 new wordings. Some are bad, one or two are wonderful. I correct it and I can edit again and it gets better. I don't use the sections to shorten or lengthen a paragraph.

You can try it for free...as the announcer once said, \"Try it you'll like it!\"

Happy Trails till we meet again.

Steve

","tags":"Novel Writing ","title":"What Writing Software Do I Recommend?"},"assets":{"coverPhoto":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/wild-ink-pages-prod.appspot.com/o/user-content%2F38cqf86lTNFdCqkmtnoz5%2Fweary-us-marine-with-a-cigarette-photo-u1_1682344051892.jpg?alt=media&token=ff1760e0-8a01-4d12-82db-625e70a58211"},"schedule":{"draft":false,"publishDate":"2023-04-24T16:00:00.000Z"},"id":"qfqWeb6GCq"},{"about":{"content":"

Ohio weather is far behind, and I hope my friends are comfortable and warm.

While I have been away enjoying the simple pleasures of South Carolina and the temperatures in the high 70s and 80s, my writing has continued. In fact, my word production has increased. I decided Hemmingway was not any more disciplined than me. He lived among chickens, cats, gin, and heat in Key West, Florida, and never missed a beat. Gee that must have been fun. I may need to run out and get a few bottles of gin.

Unfortunately, a writer spends long periods alone, banging away at the computer keys. Hemmingway was a gregarious personality; I wonder if all his alone time caught up with him. Memo to self: get out more!

In my mind, I often close my eyes and visualize a thought entering my eyes and pushing its way through the folds of my brain, powered by neurons and synapses. I imagine bursts of emitted light in the interior of my brain's housing group and wonder if there are crunching sounds as my tiny idea fights through accumulated memories and sealed-off passageways. And when the idea stops transmitting, something in my brain takes a sledgehammer to the memory vault and clears the way for the right word or emotion.

I smile as I realize it's me cutting and slashing my way through a triple-canopy jungle with a machete, knowing I have to reach my objective or fail.

The objective!

Trying to find the one word that will allow me to continue writing...my objective for that moment.

My brain is like the Library of Congress, a vast, spacious room with stacks of volumes covered in dust. Just waiting for me to grab and devour the contents.

A book opens on a page, and my brain reads it. This is the one thought I never forget and always repeat to myself.

\"Write what you are knowledgeable about and passionate about.\"

That is why I never have writer's block.

I have trained my mind to chisel and hammer its way through the recesses of my brain and never quit until it figures out the next step. Train the brain...wow, I have such a clever slogan!

My advice is to make your brain your best friend. Remind it that \"What the mind can conceive and believe in, it can achieve.\"

You must work your brain hard! You are the master, and it will eventually do what you want!

","tags":"Novel Writing","title":"Writers Block"},"assets":{"coverPhoto":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/wild-ink-pages-prod.appspot.com/o/user-content%2F38cqf86lTNFdCqkmtnoz5%2Fwall%20of%20bricks_1678545558040.jpg?alt=media&token=6d2972c8-ab96-41ac-86e5-a5558841c7ad"},"schedule":{"draft":false,"publishDate":"2023-03-11T17:00:00.000Z"},"id":"k4gkX4emKW"},{"about":{"content":"

Just a note... I wanted to say a few words about people who claim to dislike literary agents, as if there is a plot to keep us authors from being discovered. If that is the case, as an infantry officer who has gone through many training schools to avoid capture in various climes, they are really good! Especially how they get away from me, LOL! Here are a few of my thoughts.

Every job has its fun parts, and every job can make you feel overwhelmed by the sheer force of the job. Too much work, insufficient time, boss constraints, talent, deadlines, how much money you must make for the company to keep your job... I could go on and on, but why bore you with facts you already know. Being a literary agent must be a job that is hell on earth. There are so many books to look at and decide what will sell and what won't. After a while, being in a sort of bubble, you begin to lose the ability to know what is good or bad or what will sell. You start to lose perspective, like a person who rates restaurants and must eat food every day. Tastes start to mingle together, taste buds get overworked, and food becomes an enemy. You lose the zeal to eat food. They may look at the next book like I do after a Thanksgiving dinner, when I rub my stomach, and envision a thick steak with mashed potatoes the next day.

I think the best way to find a literary agent is to read about them, understand what they are looking for, respect their time and effort, read the books they love, and become friends with one—send them a note, tell them you appreciate the books they represent, and depending on the agent, send some flowers. Become a fan and a friend. Just my opinion, folks... I think I will try my own advice:) LOL

","tags":"Novel Marketing","title":"Literary Agents...Who are They?"},"assets":{"coverPhoto":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/wild-ink-pages-prod.appspot.com/o/user-content%2F38cqf86lTNFdCqkmtnoz5%2Fscreaming%20woman_1678462012692.jpg?alt=media&token=80bfba2b-9906-4473-90a2-436da13de82f"},"schedule":{"draft":false,"publishDate":"2023-03-10T17:00:00.000Z"},"id":"8avHT8Bikt"},{"about":{"content":"

Sir:

Good morning. I wrote a blog post, \"Why is it so hard to form a publishing team.\" (Visit my author website at gunnymac.com to read.) I have been a businessman, a Marine Corps officer, and a high school teacher. Now I write novels. I only do business with people who see me as a partner, not a client, as a friend, not a means to an end. Over the years, I have worked with editors who demand outrageous sums of money and deliver really bad results. Website designers who demand outrageous sums of money to take a year to develop a horrible site that does not allow me to change the website or do what they say it will do. I have worked with professional marketers who take my money and deliver nothing. I have sold more of my books than a marketing company I have hired. Companies in this day and age lack probity, employ legal thievery, and hire people with no conscience or desire to do their job correctly. Instead of looking at me as an author... as a potential source of income, they decide to take the money first and hell with me. No longer do I do that. I'm looking for an editor to join my team, but they will earn that right by editing for me first and completing the job before I pay them. Sounds strange, doesn't it? Just think of clients who have to pay and hope for results—that is even funnier! My team consists of an actual artist who does my covers; now he is my friend who knows me and knows he will get paid because he cares about me, and I care about him. When his cover is complete, and I like it; I pay. My narrator for my audiobooks delivers amazing results, then I pay him, and he works until I'm happy. He is my friend, and we share funny stories all the time. He also goes over my books and makes me think of changes that are needed. He does this because he is a professional and a friend. I hope this is sound advice from a writer who just wants to write. Good luck.

Steven Walker

Author of the Gunny Mac Detective series.

","tags":"Novel Marketing","title":" Wisdom #6: A Letter to a Marketing Company"},"assets":{"coverPhoto":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/wild-ink-pages-prod.appspot.com/o/user-content%2F38cqf86lTNFdCqkmtnoz5%2Flove%20me%20or%20leave%20me%20poster_1676470320499.jpg?alt=media&token=78847cae-b09c-453a-9a30-0b87b401ecd8"},"schedule":{"publishDate":"2023-02-15T17:00:00.000Z"},"id":"09Lx1xwKMzQWLSFPlUUp1"},{"about":{"content":"

A Guide to Constructing Scenes and Sequels in Fiction Writing

When it comes to writing scenes and sequels, most fiction novelists have their own individual approaches. However, there are some common elements that can help a new writer create vivid, effective scenes and sequels in their stories. In this blog post, we’ll explore the essential elements of scene and sequel construction so you can start incorporating them into your work.

Scenes vs Sequels - What’s the Difference?

First off, let's explain the difference between scenes and sequels. Scenes are moments of action that drive the plot forward. These moments often contain dialogue or descriptions of environment or emotion. Sequels, on the other hand, are moments of reaction that follow the scene. They provide opportunities for characters to process what has just occurred in a scene. By understanding these two different components of storytelling, writers can tell more effective stories by creating unique situations for characters to experience.

All of you have read a story where the scene has set up tension, Then the ending sentence promising a solution.

Their eyes widdened when they heard the clip clop of horses coming down the trail.

Then the sequel begins...to explain the possible danger of the horses coming down the trail.

Elements of Scene Construction

When constructing a scene in fiction writing, there are certain elements you should consider including:

- Setting: Where is the story taking place? Are there any special details that need to be included?

- Characterization: Who is involved in this scene? What do they look like? How do they act or react when interacting with each other and/or their environment?

- Conflict: What kind of conflict exists between people or within an individual's internal thoughts? Is it physical or emotional?

- Closure: Does this scene resolve any conflicts within the story or does it introduce new ones? How does this scene affect future events in the story overall?

Elements of Sequel Construction

In addition to creating scenes, writers must also craft sequels for their stories. The purpose of a sequel is for characters to reflect on what has happened and move forward with decisions based on those reflections. Consider these points when constructing a sequel:
- Reaction: How do characters react both physically and emotionally after experiencing something from a previous scene? Do they feel shock, sadness, joy, anger etc.? Why do they feel this way?

- Reflection: After reacting emotionally to what has happened in a previous scene, how does a character reflect upon those emotions before making decisions about how to proceed with their story arc going forward? -

Resolution: Does this sequel resolve any conflicts brought up in the previous scene(s)? If not, how will these unresolved issues be addressed going forward in the story arc as a whole?

Conclusion: Scene and sequel construction plays an important role in telling effective stories through fiction writing. By understanding both components individually—as well as how they interact with each other—writers can create compelling storylines that keep readers engaged from beginning to end! It takes practice but once you understand how scenes and sequels fit together seamlessly like puzzle pieces you’ll be able to craft engaging stories for your readership! Good luck!

Happy trails till we meet again!

","tags":"Novel Construction","title":"Partnership Between Scene and Sequel"},"assets":{"coverPhoto":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/wild-ink-pages-prod.appspot.com/o/user-content%2F38cqf86lTNFdCqkmtnoz5%2FOarchitect%20plans_1675953379023.jpg?alt=media&token=87592940-8c3d-4997-91aa-a87db2173cbd"},"schedule":{"draft":false,"publishDate":"2023-02-09T17:00:00.000Z"},"id":"yipdoP6zmKzzB7HzHtZvl"},{"about":{"content":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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Update: Author Complaints at Adelaide Books

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Author: Victoria Strauss
Categories: Small Press Complaints

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In early 2021, as part of a post about several troubled small presses, I wrote about mounting problems at New York-based Adelaide Books, as evidenced by an increasing number of author complaints about delays, poor editing, terrible communication on the part of Adelaide's owner, Stevan Nikolic, and lagging royalty payments.

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Also problematic: Adelaide's extra-contractual demand for a book purchase as a condition of publication, royalties paid on net profit, and a seriously overstuffed publishing schedule that even a large house with a big staff (neither of which describes Adelaide) might have trouble managing.

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The problems at Adelaide have only expanded since, leading to a Watchdog warning from the Alliance of Independent Authors and the establishment of an Adelaide authors' group on Facebook where authors have been sharing their experiences, including their largely fruitless efforts to get Nikolic to respond to questions about delays and mistakes, queries about royalties, requests for rights reversion, and more. Most recently, Adelaide authors have been enraged to discover that Nikolic and his wife (for whom Adelaide Books is named) are living not in the US, as they believed, but in Portugal, where they run a large and well-stocked bookstore that was the subject of several glowing news articles in 2022 (the articles, which describe Adelaide Books as having \"expanded\" to Lisbon, do not mention any of the publisher's difficulties).

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Last year, Adelaide authors approached the Authors Guild for help. Initially, Nikolic was no more responsive to the AG than he was to his authors--but a few days ago, in the Adelaide authors' group, the AG reported some success. AG reps met with Nikolic, who pleaded financial distress (if I had a dollar for every problem publisher who has blamed financial problems for non-performance, I'd have a nice nest egg by now) and an overstocked list (as noted, that's not a new issue for Adelaide, which has always had an absurdly huge publishing schedule), and agreed to a series of remediations, including reverting rights for authors who want to get out of their contracts, providing the digital files to those who request them, paying all royalties currently in arrears, and refunding authors who paid for books but never got them.

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The Authors Guild can assist with this process, but only for members (it is inviting authors who aren't yet members to join). Authors who aren't eligible to join, or who don't wish to, should follow up with Nikolic directly (possibly a challenge, given his track record of not responding to emails).

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Reportedly, PW will be reporting on the Adelaide situation in an upcoming issue. I'll post an update when that happens.

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Time will tell if any of Nikolic's promises are fulfilled. Adelaide authors, please leave a comment here or email me to let me know.

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","tags":"News","title":"Be Careful About Publishers"},"assets":{"coverPhoto":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/wild-ink-pages-prod.appspot.com/o/user-content%2F38cqf86lTNFdCqkmtnoz5%2Fbook%20cover%2017_1675079616030.jpg?alt=media&token=b6c1c1d2-2895-4045-bb33-9e2900fb05cc"},"schedule":{"publishDate":"2023-01-30T17:00:00.000Z"},"id":"sNsRgcFHaq4A6LpemyltF"},{"about":{"content":"

1. Use Quote Marks and a comma.

Before your dialogue starts puts a quotation mark at the front and the back.

Example:

\"I'm not going through with it,\" she said.

A comma is used because you have a dialogue tag (she said) to identify the speaker.

\"I hate you,\" shouted Betty.

2: When you have another speaker answering the one before it; create a new paragraph indicating a new speaker.

As you can see with this dialogue it is confusing... donot do this.

“I don't like the color blue it makes me look fat,\" said Lucy.\" \"No it doesn't, it makes you look skinny,\"said her husband.

This is a correct example:

“I don't like the color blue, it makes me look fat, said,” said Lucy.

“No it doesn't, it makes you look skinny,” said her husband.

3. Put a period Inside of Quotation Marks When Not Using Dialogue Tags

\"You are the love of my life.\"

When you have a dialogue tag use a comma.

\"You are the love of my love,\" she said.

No diagogue tag use a period.

Another example:

Gunny Mac grabbed his bourbon and walked to the window. \"We will fight this and fight hard.\"

Do not do this:

Gunny Mac grabbed his bourbon and walked to the window. \"We will fight this and fight hard\".

4. Remember simple sentence dialogue is the best because it shows action and is used to move a story forward. Avoid Run-On Sentences – Use Multiple Sentences if Necessary

Below is an example of a run-on sentence in dialogue with way too much punctuation.

“I plan on killing him,” said Officer Troy, “I’m going to kill him any where I can, not just at his home, but on the street, taking a crap, in church wherever the hell can.”

This above example has several mistakes in it. First of all, you should not put a comma after a dialogue tag. (I put it in bold). It’s best to use two separate sentences.

“I plan on killing him,” said Officer Troy. \"I'm going to kill him any where I can. At his damn home taking a crap. He is a dead man, not safe on the street or even in church.\"

I Changed the above into three sentences. each conveying a personal threat with in the quotation marks.

5. Do Use a Comma for Action Within the Dialogue

“I love this brand of cigar,” said Mac, carefully taking it out of the humidor.

“I think it’s unhealthy,” said Mark, wondering why on earth he would want to smoke that smelly thing, something that reminded him of a big turd. “You do realize it’s the same color as a turd, don’t you?”

In this instance, we DO use a comma, because it separates the dialogue tag from the action. In this case, Mac is doing a physical action as he takes the cigar from the humidor. Mark’s action is not a physical action. However, it still counts as a verb and an action all the same.

6. Know How to Punctuate Dialogue in Reverse

Dialogue tags and action donot have to be at the end of a sentence, it could be at the beginning. In all of our examples so far, we’ve put the dialogue tag at the end. In this case, you simply end the dialogue with a period and use a comma after the dialogue tag.

Mac shouted, “Leave my damn cigar alone if you know whats best for you.\"

Looking into his eyes, Mark said, “I just worry about your health dad.\"

Basically, when the dialogue tag or the action comes first, you simply reverse the dialogue punctuation marks for the comma and the period.

7. Here is an example when you have one speaker speaking several paragraphs.

Simply omit the end quotation mark at the end of the first paragraph and begin the second paragraph with a quote mark.

This can sometimes be confusing to readers, but there are times when it is appropriate.

“Hell, with the police commissioner, I have a lot to say about this matter.” Mac played with his zippo lighter. \"This will not stand up against the Attorney General. He will destory our case before the general public.\" He stared right through the Captain as if he wasn't there.

\"That’s where I am today. I have nothing but comtempt for him.\"

I’m going to destory him financially, morally and there’s nothing you can do to stop me.

Dialogue can be used effectively in many different ways. Sometimes it is better to break up your dialogue with different speakers or to add action – but it’s not always necessary. I added some movement between dialogue of Mac, that is up to you, your style your way of writing.

","tags":"Novel Construction","title":"How to Write Dialogue"},"assets":{"coverPhoto":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/wild-ink-pages-prod.appspot.com/o/user-content%2F38cqf86lTNFdCqkmtnoz5%2Ffc9a249d-ffc5-4a2a-9e6c-d671e1bef826.__CR0%2C0%2C970%2C600_PT0_SX970_V1____1674923731286.jpg?alt=media&token=1adab175-f03b-4998-982f-0223961f872e"},"schedule":{"draft":false,"publishDate":"2023-01-28T17:00:00.000Z"},"id":"vJPR0Hvc3gIVCOZw62PrQ"},{"about":{"content":"

I have joined many facebook groups to gain an insight how new writers think. Once in a while I hear a poor voice in the wilderness crying out for help. It is a pitiful voice and I fight against answering the call for help. My Catholism overcomes the tiny voice of reason... don't do it! And yes I answer. Usually with the best of what I have learned in my life. I use passion, experience, truth and reason. These words develop into knowledge and wisdom.

That is a mistake my fellow writers. In todays society those four words I mentioned above are not utilized, learned, appreciated, or lived by.

If you share with these people the fact that the road to perdition is strewn with the bones of people who wanted to write but who have not yet lived a full life, they have no desire to learn why.

I guess because everything I've done in my life has been hard to master. Someone could say it was because I'm stupid or immature, or someone could say I chose challenging paths. I will leave that to people who know me well.

Simple fact; we were designed to achieve and overcome.

If you are not in the process of overcoming an abstacle you aren't growing as a person. Or living! This is where passion is born in the soul of each human being.

Obstacles destroy many people instead of what they are meant to do...make people stronger.

Overcoming an obstacle is in fact achieving.
When you overcome an obstacle you gain experience.

Truth is learned because you can't overcome any obstacle without understanding truth. You have to stare into the eye of truth!

You learn how to reason using truth as your guide posts.

So it goes with writing. To most of us mortals writing a novel is different shall we say. Most people defeat themselves before they even begin. They tell their subconscience mind they can't do it...or they are stupid, or not educated enough.

All unreasonable thoughts!

I believe anyone who has attained an 8th grade education and can read and write can write a novel. But first you have to live. Don't make writing a novel bigger than you.

If I can write three novels you can write three novels...if you really want to do it and pay the price. The price I paid ...I will not share with you that unique price because your price will be your price!

Good luck and god bless.

PS. When you see the train coming get out of the way. Ask for help!

$\"Seadog$

Seadog Publishing

","tags":"Novel Writing","title":"When Writer's See a Train Coming at Them!"},"assets":{"coverPhoto":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/wild-ink-pages-prod.appspot.com/o/user-content%2F38cqf86lTNFdCqkmtnoz5%2F8c8fb243d1f8d0211f17ebcb5bfb2c93_1673960797710.jpg?alt=media&token=7e366aca-b64c-44d9-823d-3082a2d1e23b"},"schedule":{"draft":false,"publishDate":"2023-01-17T17:00:00.000Z"},"id":"imV9FGWyaWx2tZKpu2V44"},{"about":{"content":"

Many people ask the question...where do you get your ideas from? Well, I will confess to you 99% of the time I find them. You have heard me say over and over again-write about what you have knowledge of and what you are passionate about. I love history...I know alot about history and all my stories are based on a true event that happened...then I fictionalize the story. The world we live in has so much information available to us. Somewhere I read that the worlds knowledge is doubled evry few hours.

Most people are interested in what happened yesterday because they feel it is relevant to their lives; if its new... its important and fresh.

I chuckle at that because what is fresh to me is something nobody heard of before and its hard to believe it really happened. This woke society thinks the worst thing that can happen is if someone calls you a name.

So much history has been lost because it is not taught anymore. That history is just as important and entertaining as history that is made today.

Stories are about people and peoples basic needs, wants and desires have not changed that much in two thousand years.

Just remember that a story about a crime, event or experience of a person as been replicated somewhere down the historical line and the best part nobody knows about it. It is fresh and entertaining!

Happy trails till we meet again!

","tags":"Novel Writing","title":"# 6 Wisdom"},"assets":{"coverPhoto":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/wild-ink-pages-prod.appspot.com/o/user-content%2F38cqf86lTNFdCqkmtnoz5%2Ffc9a249d-ffc5-4a2a-9e6c-d671e1bef826.__CR0%2C0%2C970%2C600_PT0_SX970_V1____1673875373632.jpg?alt=media&token=07fd6be2-1ef3-470a-81b0-d2a911af206b"},"schedule":{"publishDate":"2023-01-16T17:00:00.000Z"},"id":"cSLzYISV7bABP1mQjQEZy"},{"about":{"content":"

Look... I write like the old black and white movies about heroic newspapermen of the 1940s and 1950s. You know when the story was everything and so was the truth. Men who went after the scoop because it was their job to bring out real facts to the American public.

I'm not saying I'm heroic, only that I'm usually behind the times because I don't like the times we are living in.

And I am not a techno guy. I barely can type on my computer and if I run into problems it usually takes me hours to figure out what my problem is.

So for me to use different software it is unusual. I have tried different sotware only to find out that it is not as easy to use like they advertise. Then I ask for my money back after several hours of wasted time.

Today I'm going to pour out my love and praise for two examples which have helped me and brought me into the modern world. Two items that even I can use and they are extremely helpful.

1. Grammarly. Wow it gets better each time I use it. It seems to understand how I write and then corrects me. It corrects me as I write. Punctuation...mispelled words...awkward sentences... extra words I don't need-it slaps me along side my brain housing group and each time I learn from my mistakes. It is teaching me how to write more effectively. Its so easy a former Marine could use it...LOL (me).

I could go into such detail that I would bore you to tears. Try the free version...by the way I donot receive any money from them- so this is love from me to you.

2. WordTune... it is an AI program that assists the writer in editing. WOW! It doesn't write the story for you but put your curser before the sentence or paragraph you need help with and you get four or five different paragraphs that are usually better than mine. When I use it; I take one of their choices about 80% of the time. The good part is once you take one of their corrections...it corrects again to get an outstanding new sentence or paragraph! It sort of whittles choices down to the best one...then I use grammarly and my writing is WOW!!!!

This software is internet based...I almost didn't buy because of this but it is seamless. Again i don't receive money fro this company.

I hope I helped you writers a little bit. Happy trails until we meet again!

","tags":"NEWS","title":"Software to Help You Write Better."},"assets":{"coverPhoto":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/wild-ink-pages-prod.appspot.com/o/user-content%2F38cqf86lTNFdCqkmtnoz5%2Fbook%20cover%2013_1673706026096.jpg?alt=media&token=b077ae05-02a9-4f8d-9a1b-ed06a48f9d79"},"schedule":{"publishDate":"2023-01-15T17:00:00.000Z"},"id":"g8G9hSd0iRC3UrigKjz77"},{"about":{"content":"

We are spending January, February, and March at Seabrook Island and Beaufort, South Carolina. The weather has been beautiful, and I've been writing, writing, and writing onward to my goal of completing my third novel, Gunny Mac Private Detective Trouble in Tomahawk Gap.

The best part is I've gotten to love my characters, and I know them so well they basically write the novel for me, like giving free rein to a horse. They react to my story and events, and I go along for the ride. I guess that happens when I spend so much time with them—well, over a million and a half words have been written. (It's all about them!) I have to slap them back in line when they head off in the wrong direction.

My advice to writers has always been: \"Good things happen when you have a passion for and knowledge of what you are writing about.\"

I have been around so many men like my main characters that I know how they will react because real men who are good men react the same way under the same conditions; especially if the men are self-aware, principled, and honorable.

Why write about nasty, unprincipled men?

For example it would be hard for me to write about someone who kills for fun or for no reason. I could write about other types of killing, but I can not comprehend why someone would murder another person.

My brain is not wired that way...I wouln't know where to go with him or her. There would be spaces in my brain that I could not connect with the character leaving my story fragmented.

You maybe different and that is excellent but I know who I am and therefore write about what I can relate too! Try it you will lke it!

","tags":"Novel Writing","title":"Your Characters Write the Novel"},"assets":{"coverPhoto":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/wild-ink-pages-prod.appspot.com/o/user-content%2F38cqf86lTNFdCqkmtnoz5%2Fmurderheadline_1673702646065.jpg?alt=media&token=5b804032-9849-41a9-bfb0-bdb5ec355075"},"schedule":{"publishDate":"2023-01-14T17:00:00.000Z"},"id":"iLOZ48pAizO6HogVZXJoK"},{"about":{"content":"

So true...I remember in high school I read Napoleon Hill's masterpiece, \"Think and Grow Rich.\" In his book he says, 'what the mind can conceive and believe in, it can achieve'. Writing a novel is no different. Think about it for a second! I told a young man a while back, who was having confidence issues, you are not alone buddy, most of us average men and women have the same issues. We as writers must not make writing a novel bigger than ourselves. There are millions of libraries with millions of books, by millions of authors. We have a computer between our ears, we need to engage whatever resources we have and write. I believe as Hill states we must form a mastermind group that will help us succeed. A group of people we trust to guide us as we progress through a book. I have a small group, an audio narrator, a cover designer, and a book format expert. They care about me and want my book to be the best. They tell me things about my book knowing I will respond in a thankful way because it is impossible to hurt my feelings...I know I do not possess zero defects and people are much more capable at a lot of things than me. I'm so thankful for any help they give me. Becoming a writer is like getting older and growing up. At first; as a child some things are difficult but as we age and learn and grow riding that bicycle is easy, and then driving a car. A writer starts out as an infant with little knowledge and things seem hard, but as you study, write, and learn from people you begin to understand. It is a process. Alexander G. Bell conducted 10,000 experiments trying to invent the light bulb. Someone asked him how it felt to fail so much. He looked at them and said, \"I have found 10,000 possible reasons why I eventually will be successful.\" My fellow writers, you can do it. Write about something you are knowledgeable and passionate about and then write, write, and write.

","tags":"Novel Writing","title":"Wisdom # 5 How to Combat Low Esteem"},"assets":{"coverPhoto":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/wild-ink-pages-prod.appspot.com/o/user-content%2F38cqf86lTNFdCqkmtnoz5%2Fscreaming%20woman_1672067545068.jpg?alt=media&token=be8ba228-1fa0-4a5f-bdf3-225b7cbae2bd"},"schedule":{"publishDate":"2022-12-26T17:00:00.000Z"},"id":"hbK46pM9mfXLP9hwCcevq"},{"about":{"content":"

Featured Author Steven G. Walker

$\"Author$

Featured Interview With Author Steven G. Walker

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Raised in Cleveland, Ohio in a Slovenian and Italian neighborhood. Until I published my second novel…Gunny Mac Private Detective Trouble in Cleveland did I realize what an impact Cleveland made on me.

I served during two decades as an Infantry officer and I now live in central Ohio on a small farm with my wife and two border collies. Molly the border collie and Beauregard Pierre Townsend Walker a tricolor 75 pound border collie I call the big lug. He is a GBC…a giant border collie the size of a large lab.

We have a large garden and I mow many acres which tends to mellow me out.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I was in the 6th grade…I read forty books that year, had the highest academic average and was the number one citizen in the school. I started reading in the 2nd grade and never stopped.

I started writing as a young U.S.Marine, writing articles for Leatherneck magazine for $5.00 an article. I wrote every day in a note book about my experiences as a Marine

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Some of my favorite authors: William Eckert, David McCullough, Dean Koontz, Preston and Child, Stephen Hunter, Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler.

My favorite genre…the noir hard boiled private eye who will drink, and fight but never give up his honor for money or for a person.

Many people ask me what it felt like to write a book. I don't know what to say except there are millions of books and millions of authors…no big deal.

The they ask me how I felt after finishing my novel…just a sense of relief that I didn't quit.

My dad inspired me to write…he said, \"Son write what you know about and make up the rest!\" He introduced me to the black and white movies of the 1940s and 1950s with Bogart, Broderick Crawford, Alan Ladd and famous private eyes like Sam Spade, Mickey Spillane, Micheal Shayne, and Charlie Chan. I love them.

I write like Raymond Chandler because no one writes like this any more and I miss new stories of private eyes like Sam Spade…so I decided to write some. I reread my books which are in EBOOK, paper back and audio book format.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest is Gunny Mac Private Detective Trouble in Cleveland.

Someone killed Father John in the confessional at St. Stanislaus church in Cleveland, Ohio and a factory is blown up on the Cuyahoga River.

Mac returns to the city that he loves to find nothing but trouble.

It is 1943 and Cleveland is the crown jewel East of the Mississippi River where gangsters and the Hollywood elite hang out and the city elite welcomes them with open arms thanks to the millions of dollars spent by Andrew Carnegie and Rockefeller.

Mac and his detectives battle the Nazis, the Black Hand Movement, with the help of the Polish, Slovenian, and Italian mafias in ethnic Cleveland.

Mac brings his detectives, Burke, Wojohowitz and the lovable Padre McCaffery with him to solve these crimes with hilarious results.

Grab yourself a pirogi and some Fettuccine Alfredo and strap yourself in for a wild ride!

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

Steven G. Walker’s Website

Steven G. Walker Twitter Account

To discover a new awesome author, check out our Featured Authors page. We have some of the best authors around. They are just waiting for you to discover them. If you enjoyed this writer’s interview feel free to share it using the buttons below. Sharing is caring!

If you are an author and you want to find new readers come submit your book to our Awesome Book Promotion service.

","tags":"News","title":"You can write a Novel"},"assets":{"coverPhoto":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/wild-ink-pages-prod.appspot.com/o/user-content%2F38cqf86lTNFdCqkmtnoz5%2Flove%20me%20or%20leave%20me%20poster_1672067446166.jpg?alt=media&token=38235fdf-ef34-4009-b35b-ec1a8326236d"},"schedule":{"publishDate":"2022-12-26T17:00:00.000Z"},"id":"lFPMsbydZWZx7CjNFS5WA"},{"about":{"content":"

I'm proud to be a new member of the Military Writers Society of America.

As an Ambassador I will travel to different locations and help veterans tell their stories. Hopefully I can guide them from writer to published author.

If you know a veteran that wants to share their stories and help save treasured memories and experiences please have them contact me or give me their contact information and I will contact them.

My email address is: gunnymac26@gmail.com

","tags":"news","title":"Selected to be an Ambassador for the Military Writers Society of America"},"assets":{"coverPhoto":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/wild-ink-pages-prod.appspot.com/o/user-content%2F38cqf86lTNFdCqkmtnoz5%2FScreen%20Shot%202022-11-30%20at%208.27.07%20AM_1669814999750.png?alt=media&token=f80e3194-c7b1-462f-9529-7854f96085fd"},"schedule":{"publishDate":"2022-11-30T17:00:00.000Z"},"id":"i4s9830fDI4iMdE7e4Lsj"},{"about":{"content":"

I'm writing this article surrounded by my two Border Collies... Miss Molly and Beauregard Pierre Townsend Walker, a 75-pound tri-colored Border Collie. They are much smarter than me, and I often ask them for help. They just look at me as if to say, \"Hey, we helped you write the last two novels, but we can't do everything.\"

And by the way, Beau said I didn't fully fulfill my cookie contract and he wasn't going to work anymore until I paid him 1,422 good boy cookies. (How did he sneak that in the contract?) Why in the world did I send him to law school?

When I read about marketing, my head spins around like a poltergeist. When I listen to marketing experts, they often explain in detail what you should do; using terms I do not understand. In other words, they are bad teachers. It is like a teacher trying to teach you calculus when you are just learning algebra 1.

Marketing is big business, especially for those cashing in on the guru business side of marketing. The prices are outlandish. Everyone is always telling me they will make me a bestseller on Amazon. My head hurts after hearing all this garbage.

So what does an indie writer do?

WRITE! And write more!

1. Your goal should be to publish more than six books, and at least ten if you can do it.

If you try hard, you can sell at least 100–200 books per year, multiplied by ten. That is 1,000 to 2,000 books per year multiplied by your profit.

2. It is important to publish in all formats: paperback, e-book, and audiobook.

It's the long-haul, baby! It's called the Five-Year Plan. Most businesses take five years to show a profit.

3. Your books... must be of high quality, professionally edited, and have a well-done book cover.

4. Develop an author website. You can market yourself there for free!

5. Try all the free areas to download your book information. There are thousands.

Most Facebook sites that claim to allow you to promote your book for free are ineffective because all the users care about is trying to sell their own books.

6. Market your book through your sphere of influence. I go and meet my friends at a local pub twice a week. While there, my friends brag about me being an author. People want to buy my book. Since I'm a retired Marine, many veterans want a copy of my book. They are amazed to actually meet the author.

7. Join groups—church groups, the VFW, the American Legion, etc.

I'm fortunate to have been selected as an ambassador for the American Military Society of Writers, where I help veterans write their stories.

8. Give copies of your book in person in exchange for a review. Tell them it is part of the deal. It is cheaper to do this than to pay for reviews.

Remember to spend your money wisely—on good editing, good formatting, and a good cover.

If you have any questions, please contact me via my contact page on my author website. http://www.gunnymac.com or at gunnymac26@gmail.com

Happy trails to you until we meet again.

","tags":"Marketing","title":"My Marketing Morass"},"assets":{"coverPhoto":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/wild-ink-pages-prod.appspot.com/o/user-content%2F38cqf86lTNFdCqkmtnoz5%2Fdog%20in%20heaven_1671201142719.jpg?alt=media&token=53344af7-2b2b-4362-9f93-099709c12185"},"schedule":{"publishDate":"2022-11-30T17:00:00.000Z"},"id":"iU4Mtz47MJUXEp6OYMDIQ"},{"about":{"content":"

A new writer... if you want to make money; is undertaking a serious venture into the unknown.

I mean where is the book that is published covering every aspect of creating a business writing novels?

If you found one it would be at least few thousand pages long, weigh many pounds and cost hundreds of dollars...and the person trying to comprehend it would fall fast asleep or throw the book away and never write a single word. Such is the amount of knowledge a person needs. As a professor once told me and I'm sure you heard this...how does one eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

On my way to a writing career and my life I walked the road less traveled. Like my Gunnery Sergeant told me... \"Pain is good, extreme pain is extremely good.\" And that is why they call the USMC...\"Uncle Sam's Misguided Children.\"

I have callouses on my eyeballs from writing so much and on my ass from sitting behind my computer for hours per day writing.

So what's a few hardened parts of my body? As long as my heart is soft and pliable and can witness paragraphs that make me cry and my heart quiver.

Hell, it may not affect you but it affects me!

And I'm betting if it affects me it will...affect you!

","tags":"Novel Writing","title":"#4 Wisdom"},"assets":{"coverPhoto":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/wild-ink-pages-prod.appspot.com/o/user-content%2F38cqf86lTNFdCqkmtnoz5%2F0000003472-ElementComphqpwC_1668288926077.png?alt=media&token=7a225bbf-da8c-4500-9d40-8b0868fe7a56"},"schedule":{"publishDate":"2022-11-13T17:00:00.000Z"},"id":"wjoKSS4KfkIhFx99OA2k5"},{"about":{"content":"

Seadog Publishing Presents...Steven Osarczuk

Today we have the honor of interviewing Steven Osarczuk our narractor that does all of Seadog Publishing narration of our novels.

You may listen to the the interview or read it.

1. Please tell us about yourself?

Well, I've been an audiobook narrator and voice over artist for a few years now. Prior to that I was self employed as a custom woodworker/ carpenter and ran my own woodshop for about 10 years. Before that, I was a law enforcement officer for 27 years. I started as a communications officer in Dispatch and worked my way through the ranks to Lieutenant, commander of operations. I oversaw day to day operations, training, the Detective Division and the Tactical Officers Division and Internal Affairs. I myself was a Critical Incident and Crisis Manager as well as a Hostage Negotiator on the tactical response team. I am also a fine arts painter with a focus on Photo Realism and Art History - which was my major in college. I'm a father of three adult children and Papa to one very special grandson. My wife Marie has quite successfully run her own legal service for the last 27 years and we live in a bucolic valley along the Hudson River here in upstate NY.

2. Are you an author?

Yes and no. I have no book titles to my credit but I have been writing and editing stories for well over 30 years.

3. What made you decide to narrate fiction books/nonfiction books?

As far back as I can remember in my adult life I always had the notion to become a voice over artist but more along the lines of a radio DJ and not an audiobook narrator. However, I never knew how to go about achieving that. Back then the technology was not within everyday reach like it is now. When my friend of 38 years finished his book and we were able to publish it I quite by accident stumbled across the audiobook platform. In publishing his book the question was asked, \"Would you like to make your book into an audiobook?\" and I said, \"Yes.\" Then I taught myself how to do that and because I am also a carpenter, I built myself a nice studio and loaded it with all the latest and greatest audio equipment and gadgets.

4. What should an author expect from a narrator?

From a good narrator an author should expect 1. Experience - knowing how to maneuver through the worlds of audiobook creation and the different platforms out there. 2. Should expect advice and counsel regarding industry standards as well as the do's and don'ts of audiobook productions. 3. Should expect the narrator to be an excellent storyteller and not simply narrate the lines but perform them. 4. The narrator should know both sides of the process - writing and what it takes and means and narrating and performing the written word. 5. The narrator should be professional, timely and without ego. 6. Should be in constant communication with the author regarding the elements, characters and plots of the story. 7. The author should expect to be made part of the narrator production team and participate in production as much as possible. It should be the goal of the narrator to make the very best audiobook he/she is capable of.

5. What should a narrator expect from an author?

A narrator should expect from an author: 1. A professionally edited manuscript. 2. To communicate with the author on a regular basis. 3. An understanding that although we all want our books produced into audiobooks like right now, the process takes time.

6. How much advance notice does an author who wants to use your professional narration services need to give you?

Narrators schedule work months in advance because it takes months to narrate and produce an audiobook. I would say a good time frame to use would be about 6 months. If you can secure a future date with your narrator then consider that a win.

7. Did you always have an excellent set of pipes?

Well, thank you for the kind words. I appreciate the compliment but what I have I was born with, so thanks really goes to mom and dad. All the men in my family have this voice.

8. Your different voices are unique. Is this natural, or do you have to work at it?

Natural? oh dear no.... I was raised on Long Island and have only one accent - that one....a Long Island accent. Hiding that accent is work. The beauty of the studio is that I can take as long as I need to, to speak any language or use any accent the characters might have. I have to work at it constantly. I do so by listening and parroting what I hear.

9. What are your goals as a narrator?

My personal goal as a narrator is to have fun, make new friends across the globe and tell great stories. My professional goal as a narrator is to bring voice to your characters in the way you've always heard them in your head and to create the very best audiobook I can and to give your novel a voice for all time.

10. Do you accept all books and authors who want to use your services?

No. I really do hate turning down work but unfortunately it is a part of the business. Production schedules dictate a lot of what can be done in the course of a year and as much as my voice might not be the right fit for every author, every author's book might not be the right fit for me. And as much as audiobook narration is acting, the narrator must have a connection with the story in order to be believable. There are aspects and/or subject matter in certain books that I find distasteful and won't take on.

Here is a list of Steven's narration titles:

Here is what I have - I've also done voiceover book promotion video trailers and some Youtube voiceover work as well and some video game word building voiceover narration.

An Attended Death Fifteen Tales of Horror and Suspense by Anthony James Mazza

4 hours 30 minutes

In Plain Sight by Edmund Okocha

7 hours 49 minutes

Super Moon Protocol by JT Fluhart

7 hours 10 minutes

Something To Think About by Johnnie Williams III

2 hours 9 minutes

Blackout by Cate McKoy

6 hours 13 minutes

Coins For The Skull by Chad Dingler

6 hours 56 minutes

Orks of Orakian by EMBUgaming

Slug Wiseman by Michael Flowers

7 hours 29 minutes

Take Control of Your Life by J.Paul Nadeau

6 hours 45 minutes

Extracting Elian by Keith A. Roberts

2 hours 55 minutes

Quotes From Famous Men YouTube video by JackFrank698

I Woke Up Without an Ed by Don Harpell

Under 5 minutes

Gunny Mac Private Detective

Trouble in Chinatown by Steven Walker

8 hours 2 minutes

Gunny Mac Private Detective

Trouble in Cleveland by Steven Walker

5 hours 46 minutes

Apologia For The Law and The Sabbath

by Roger Hadad

4 hours 29 minutes

The Heart of Demesne

by James W. Killman

8 hours 30 minutes

","tags":"News","title":"Interview with Steven Osarczuk"},"assets":{"coverPhoto":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/wild-ink-pages-prod.appspot.com/o/user-content%2F38cqf86lTNFdCqkmtnoz5%2Fsteven%20Orsarczuk%20picture_1668518392341.jpg?alt=media&token=c9136d88-4fb8-4440-9ab8-f5c0b047cb1b"},"schedule":{"publishDate":"2022-11-12T17:00:00.000Z"},"id":"tZy9VNSKj9WVVl2VJAWXH"},{"about":{"content":"

Marketing is an area that takes much time to master, and money. Not only do you have to write an entertaining book, but it must be edited correctly, the cover must be just right, and the writer must be one tough cookie. A writer friend once told me that you don't start making your money back until you have at least five of six books published in multiple formats. It's expensive and time consuming. The knowledge base you must have is enormous. Building out your Amazon page, blurbs, author website, and education is almost heartbreaking. A writer must look long term and not be looking to make immediate money... (my opinion only) because odds are that won't happen. Writing is a business...like most businesses you can't afford to be undercapitalized and you must expect five years before your business is fully developed and making money. I remember a great author who committed suicide because he wrote an excellent book that no one wanted to publish. After his death his mother kept sending it out month after month to publishers. One bought it...the title, \"Confederacy of Dunes\" It won the Pulitzer Prize.

","tags":"Novel Marketing","title":"Marketing Your Novel"},"assets":{"coverPhoto":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/wild-ink-pages-prod.appspot.com/o/user-content%2F38cqf86lTNFdCqkmtnoz5%2Fflat%2C750x%2C075%2Cf-pad%2C750x1000%2Cf8f8f8.u40_1667827867227.jpg?alt=media&token=4af88dd7-58fe-469e-b447-ccf6f23453ef"},"schedule":{"publishDate":"2022-11-09T17:00:00.000Z"},"id":"15eibBkxp9wCTUpgG6Prm"},{"about":{"content":"

The picture you see is the cover of my second novel...you can tell just from the cover who these characters are and the story behind them!

We will begin the thought process of writing a novel like a builder builds a house...ground level. I don't want to confuse the beginner novelist so I just want throw out some ideas you may want to consider in your writing. They are important in deciding how you are going to write your novel and the emphasis in the areas you think are important.

Character Development

Are characters in your story more important than the plot? Is the plot more important than the characters?

I know in my novels the characters take over and drive the plot. They direct where and what happens in my novels. I want them to be respected and loved by the readers. Thats why I tell writers all the time, know your characters inside and out. They will act naturally in driving the plot forward. Here is an example of two charcters one an easy going Christian and one a tough compassionate Marine. The Christian nice guy would react differently if assaulted. He might fight back if hit a second time...he might try hard to avoid violence...he might try to talk his way out of the situation. The marine most likely would fight after the first hit or even stop it before he got hit...he might just subdue the predator or he might ensure a stay in the hosptal for the wise guy.

Plot

The plot is the road map from the beginning of your story to the end. The plot is contained within your Concept and Premise of your novel. Some writers write by the seat of their pants and some have detailed outlines.

There are six parts of a plot which I will go into at a later time. Just put these explanations in the back of your mind.

Characters are introduced and the setting is established.

The event that starts the story...the inciting event that happens to the character or characters. A murder...a betrayal...a world event. It affects your character in a way that changes the direction of their life.

The action must continue to rise along with the tension. Events take place to stymie him or her in the pursuit of their goal.

The next step...the character is out in a situation where an important decision must be reached.

The climax of the story... will your hero survive?

The ending can be happy or sad...a resolution is found...they live ...they die...they get divorced...they find redemption.

Setting

Important because of your characters. They have to live and interact in this environment. Are they out of there comfort zone...do they understand the people around them, do they need to develop as fighters...or peacemakers. Some readers like exotic locations in a setting. In my first novel Gunny Mac Private Detective Trouble in Chinatown I chose Chinatown in Oahu Hawaii during WWll.

Point-of-View

First person, second person or third person. I will go into this in great detail in another post. I recommend third person.

Theme

Theme is like an iceberg...most of it invisible to the naked eye. It is basically the beliefs of your characters that come out to the reader because of the way they act. Its invisible because you don't preach the theme you show by the actions of your character. Take redemption as an example. Your character can show remorse, forgiveness, hurt over their deeds etc. etc.

Style

Some experts call it your individual voice...I call it your characters individual voice. It's your characters word choices dialect, mannerisms, looks, fashions and experiences...weaved into your plot and theme.

","tags":"Novel Writing","title":"Elements or Structure of a Novel"},"assets":{"coverPhoto":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/wild-ink-pages-prod.appspot.com/o/user-content%2F38cqf86lTNFdCqkmtnoz5%2Ffront%20cover%20Cleve%20july28_1667916948599.jpg?alt=media&token=9753328c-7b7d-44a3-a7f9-7a6ba07ba1b2"},"schedule":{"publishDate":"2022-11-09T17:00:00.000Z"},"id":"lXTD4tlqivRZqhdwcko5C"},{"about":{"content":"

I often scan facebook writing groups and I see new writers talk about writers block...how they can't seem to figure out the next scene or event that will take place.

In my humble opinion there are reasons for that.

A. You lack knowledge of what you are writing about. You have a great idea, but you are writing in a vacuum; you have an idea...but no connection to a stream of consciousness.

B. Your background is limited. You have not run into situations that produce real life events or have not run into wonderfully different people.

1# Reality check.

Most readers want to be entertained and not abused by sadistic bloody encounters, or terrible memories of your childhood where readers are left weeping and hating the mean world we live in. They want to escape our crazy up-side-down world and be entertained.

C. When I told my father I wanted to be a writer he smiled, took the cigar out of his mouth and said, \"Son, write what you know about and passionate about and make the rest of the shit up!\"

History is replete with stories of love, passion, betrayal, faithfulness unto death, love of god, hatred...do some research and come up with just one small idea and make it grow.

#2 reality check.

The writer doesn't need a college degree or a degree in creative writing, but the writer must be a curious and passionate person. Without these two friends you are doomed. You don't need raw talent or a 150 degree IQ. Writing can be developed through hard, hard work and dedication to your craft.

D. I recommend the following before you start writing the Great American Novel.

1. Read and study books on writing

2. Go to a writers conference or two

3. Read many books in you genre to get a feel how to write in thet genre.

4. Write, write, write, and write more. Learn how to put words into cohesive sentences, sentences into paragraphs, and paragraphs into scenes, and scenes into chapters.

","tags":"Novel Writing","title":"Writing Wisdom # 3"},"assets":{"coverPhoto":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/wild-ink-pages-prod.appspot.com/o/user-content%2F38cqf86lTNFdCqkmtnoz5%2Fbook%20cover%2011_1667820840611.webp?alt=media&token=93497319-5d4d-4c6b-9cb7-bf54a28997f7"},"schedule":{"draft":false,"publishDate":"2022-11-08T17:00:00.000Z"},"id":"cEZ9AhWApy109NT82F10aC9"},{"about":{"content":"

I have spent five years trying to learn how to write a novel...I read twenty books on fiction technique, I attended numerous writers conferences, I listened to 100 blogcasts, reviewed at least three hundred writing websites, and have reviewed over thirty writing facebook groups. What have I learned?

I learned how to write by writng over one million words in the process of writing my first novel.

I have over four hundred undergraduate hours and over 140 graduate hours.

Guess what?

They did not help me write my detective series.

What did help me?

Logic...common sense, knowing my subject matter and making the rest up.

And the last important item...passion for my genre.

Gee, Steve is that all? Then I can be a writer. My response is anyone can be a writer if they write to better their craft. No one wakes up and has the fundamentals needed to write a novel correctly. After your writing internship or being a writing apprentice then you are ready to write.

","tags":"Novel Writing","title":"Writing Wisdom #1"},"assets":{"coverPhoto":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/wild-ink-pages-prod.appspot.com/o/user-content%2F38cqf86lTNFdCqkmtnoz5%2Fwoman%20and%20man_1667657118794.jpg?alt=media&token=031cd26b-7364-4d4a-8092-9a2782a35813"},"schedule":{"draft":false,"publishDate":"2022-11-07T16:00:00.000Z"},"id":"oM3Jg0aQDNzp1huagqDf7"},{"about":{"content":"","tags":"\nNovel Writing","title":"Writing Wisdom #2"},"assets":{"coverPhoto":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/wild-ink-pages-prod.appspot.com/o/user-content%2F38cqf86lTNFdCqkmtnoz5%2Fdetective-banner_1667574438145.png?alt=media&token=3528eef7-afd0-4b6c-9ae1-77a32fa106c8"},"schedule":{"draft":false,"publishDate":"2022-11-04T16:00:00.000Z"},"id":"ziaFpP1ubxGbtih3ii53A"},{"about":{"content":"

Interview for Red Headed Book Lover

By Aimee Cook, originally published on redheadedbooklover.com

1. Thank you for joining us at Red Headed Book Lover! Please tell us more about yourself.

I grew up in Cleveland, Ohio in a Slovak family. My mother never finished the eighth grade to help support her family and my dad did not finish high school because he enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1942. I won’t go into detail, just say I didn’t have much of a child’s life between G 7 and graduation from high school.

I grew up shy and introverted. I made a vow to myself to live a happy life after I was emancipated.

I joined the Marine Corps and it was the best thing that ever happened to me. It was nice to be around real men who guided me and helped me flourish and grow into a young man.

I served for two decades and later went on to become a high school teacher, guidance counselor, and teacher evaluator, and head baseball coach. Along the way, I married my college sweetheart and the rest is history as they say.

2. Could you please tell us, readers, about your book and what inspired you to write your book.

Firstly, I would say there are not enough books out there about the 1940s and 1950s Private Eyes, so I decided to write a series about one. I guess it’s considered old school.

My father worked in a factory on Coit Rd. in Cleveland, Ohio. He would come home at midnight from his shift smelling of the factory floor grease and we would fry balcony sandwiches together, smeared with yellow mustard. We would turn on channel eight and he would introduce me to the gangster and detective movies of the 1940s and 1950s.

The likes of Edward G. Robinson, Humphrey Bogart, Sidney Greenstreet, Peter Lorrie, and Richard Widmark. Movies like “Casablanca”, “Where the Side Walk Ends”, the “Maltese Falcon”, “Double Indemnity”, and “To have and have Not”.

Tough, Private Eyes like Sam Spade, Michael Shayne, Charlie Chan, Mickey Spillane, and the Continental Ops.

I loved those beautiful movies and characters. I miss my time with my dad.

I simply got tired of reading about the same detectives in modern writing about some guy cutting out eyes and hearts and leaving them as calling cards. Far too much violence and not enough humor and character development.

3. What would your advice be to aspiring authors?

Wow, this is a tough one! I’m far from an expert but I have learned much in the last five years and I don’t want people to think I’m a know it all but here goes nothing.

Novel writing is like learning to play a musical instrument…it takes time and practice to play somewhat well and simply hundreds of hours practicing to become an expert. Writing is no different.

Grammarly kept a record of my words I wrote and rewrote and it was well over one million, actually 1.2 million to achieve an 89,465-word novel. It amazes me when I hear writers say they have a best seller in them but have not taken the time to learn their craft and just start writing.

Would you have a person build your house without the knowledge to pound a nail or an architect who didn’t understand building codes and how to write up house plans?

How did I do it?

I read over 400 books in my lifetime in just my genre. You must read what you want to write!

I took my favorite authors and copied my favorite chapters word for word to get a feel on how to write a scene and chapter. Tough and boring to do that, but I was a Marine grunt. LOL.
I went to writer’s conferences, read twenty books on novel construction, dialogue, and plot construction.
I joined professional groups in my genre.
I searched the internet for writing gurus.
I found them worthless because they gave you just enough information to buy their product which I didn’t do, same with writing podcasts which consisted of them talking about everything except serious writing.
I searched for friends who would criticize my writing and I said thank you for making me a better writer. If you can’t accept criticism, you are in the wrong business.
I edited my book 55 times,
rewrote whole chapters, and changed scenes.
I would look at a scene and say gosh I love it but it is wrong and I would smile and rip it out!

For a novice like me…it costs money to self-publish.

Maybe some people can do everything themselves and are extremely talented not me. I hear indie writers ask how can I do this for free or at little cost?
Good luck! Budget at least $5,000.00 to self-publish.
My cover cost $450.00
editing $1,000.00
formatting $150.00
ISBN’s (ten) $445.00
Professional organizations $150.00
professional books $300.00
developmental editing (this saved me) $1,800.00
and audiobook…$450.00
Book trailer $40.00

This does not include money to market your book.

Aspiring writers must understand this…you do not need college degrees to write a book…but you must have a passion to learn.

If you lack the money to self-publish… write and learn your craft while you save money from one job…two jobs or three jobs.

Anybody can write a novel but you have to have the guts to finish one.

I laugh when I tell new writers with dreams… it’s not that hard to write a book! There are millions of books by millions of authors!

The world is full of wishers and not enough doer’s Most of all have fun writing and learning!

4. In your opinion what is the most important thing about a book?

Interesting question…I’ll answer it from my heart.

Character!

I like character-driven plots! Characters that I relate to who are searching for redemption because we are all fallen creatures in some capacity. Characters that possess no superman qualities or abilities, but struggle like me in life.

No magic bullets, that suddenly make their life sweet and nice.

Characters who know they are human above all else yet struggle with everything they possess to be good and not to spiral out of control and destroy everything in their path.

I like characters who chart their course in life based on not being popular but content in the knowledge they are living a good life.

Like a priest told me once… it’s not our job as Christians to leave the world a better place but leave the world a better Christian.

Being a good person entails making tough decisions in life that often leave you standing alone against the crowd.

5. What is your writing process like?

I write about fifteen hours a week…some days one- hour other days much more. No rhyme or reason. What fits my busy schedule.

I develop my concept and premise first. I then use logical progression.

In Catholic school, Sister Rose taught us logic which didn’t make logical sense to me. LOL. Since my novels are character-driven I use their human traits to dictate how they react to events. This can only happen if you know and love your characters.

(look up logic formulas if interested) Without going into logic formulas; it goes like this. (A) happens…logically several things may happen? Pick one… after that happens several things could happen pick one that makes sense. Keep doing that and that will fill in your plot.

I edit each page as I go along and then continue to edit because the direction of my story changes as my characters react to various events they put themselves in. This helps me develop my plot continuously.

I don’t know the ending. My characters develop my story within my concept and premise.

I don’t believe in writer’s block which gets a lot of writers mad at me. My opinion is if you know yourself… your story and characters will react in a way that makes you sad or happy!

6. What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before writing a book?

A writer friend of mine said, “Write what you know about and have a passion for.” I know the Marine Corp inside and out because I was a Marine and I l loved the history of WW ll and their exploits. My dad fought in the toughest battles of WW ll and he told me about his time in service.

I researched early WW ll history and found a gem I thought would lead to a great book. Roosevelt deciding to burn all the money in Hawaii so the Japanese could not get our money to finance their fight against us if Guadalcanal fell and replace it with money with Hawaii written across the back of each bill. Worthless to the Japanese if they invaded the islands.

I spent about two more hours researching the Cosa Nostra in the 1930s and 1940s.

My new novel…Gunny Mac Private Detective Trouble in Cleveland was a lot of fun. Once again, I used the information I knew. I grew up in Cleveland, I know the Catholic Church…I know the Polish and Slovenian cultures. I’m having a blast

Also, don’t forget my love of the hard-boiled noir private eye genre of Raymond Chandler, Mickey Spillane, and Dashiell Hammett!

7. Do you have a set schedule for writing or do you write when you feel inspired?

Good question. Being inspired is like getting motivated. I don’t believe in those two words

Inspiration and motivation are temporary, to say the least.

That is why you must have a passion to be a writer! Because I have a passion to write I’m inspired and motivated every day. I can’t wait to get up and write. If I had to wait to get inspired or motivated it would be a cold day in hell before I wrote anything!

Writing is so much a part of me I feel lost without working at my craft. Like I’m not doing what God intended me to do. It’s similar as I felt when I was a Marine on active duty…I couldn’t wait to wear my uniform with pride and do my job.

8.Do you read much and if so, who are your favorite authors?

Yes, I read about four books a month. Reading is one of the most pleasurable pastimes I have in my life.

Some of my favorite authors: Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, Mickey Spillane, Stephen Hunter, Lee Child, Nelson Demille, Preston & Child, John Grisham, Dean Koontz, Leon Uris, Michael Connelly just to name a few.

9. Lastly, when can we readers expect to read more wonderful books from you?

“Gunny Mac Private Detective Trouble in Cleveland”, will in out in three months. I have half-finished a novel, “Between Heaven and Hell”, about the drug war and my time in an intelligence agency. I’m also working on a novel about the baseball legend Ty Cobb.

","tags":"News\nNovel Marketing","title":"Interview for Red Headed Book Lover"},"assets":{"coverPhoto":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/wild-ink-pages-prod.appspot.com/o/user-content%2F38cqf86lTNFdCqkmtnoz5%2FSeadog-Logo-Lone-2-240x300_1664225333525.jpeg?alt=media&token=195f101a-da80-4123-a52d-1639c8873b02"},"schedule":{"publishDate":"2022-04-01T17:00:00.000Z"},"id":"8Un19ofqrRlZCjZs4Y86e"},{"about":{"content":"

Move on over Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett there is a new hard-boiled detective novelist on the scene presenting his latest book, Gunny Mac Private Detective Trouble in Chinatown!

I started writing about private eyes, shamus, gumshoes, private dicks, sleuths, bird-dog, and snoopers, because I fell in love with black and white movies of the 1940s and 1950s.Who doesn't love Casablanca with Humprey Bogart as Sam Spade the quintessential movie in this genre. And who could forget the cool suave Peter Gunn, certainly not me!

I read detective fiction today and it leaves me sick at heart. Hearts cut out and eyeballs mailed to people. I read to escape what is happening around me on a daily basis, not to regurgitate the mayhem I witness every day.

Today's novels just do not satiate me. I'm left hungering for a deeper connection to my characters and setting, a deeper connection for justice, a deeper connection to men doing the right thing when no one is looking. I'm looking for a man who must be tough, who will not be intimidated by society threatening him because he doesn't act like the sheeple around him. Yeh, he drinks bourbon and smokes cigars because he likes them. Just like millions of men around the world.

He is a man who is seeking redemption because all humans should be seeking redemption. People are perfectly flawed and far from perfect. But if you're in trouble, you want him and his gun looking out for you.

My private detective in my series is Gunny Mac, you can identify him when he was a Marine because he had three strips up and two down. He was shot to pieces on Guadalcanal in 1942 and won the Navy Cross saving Bloody ridge from being overrun. He is medically discharged due to his wounds and becomes a private detective in Chinatown, Hawaii

Chinatown will never be the same. And either will you.

If you liked \"Casablanca,\" or the \"Best years of Our Lives,\" or any of Frank Capra's movies you will fall in love with Gunny Mac, his best friend Gunny Woitowitz, Lt. Burke, the spoiled blue blood Harvard graduate who learns how to be a man, and last but not least Lt. McCaffery a Jesuit priest, former padre of the Raider Battalion who empties the psyche unit at the naval hospital to help Gunny Mac. We must not forget Mac's lovable black lab, Seadog who is given to Mac at the hospital by the nurse he grows to love.

A little violence, a little suspense, a little romance, a little bit of laughing, and a whole lot of good ole fashioned sentimental tears.

First published on Linkedin

","tags":"News","title":"Hard-boiled Private Detective"},"assets":{"coverPhoto":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/wild-ink-pages-prod.appspot.com/o/user-content%2F38cqf86lTNFdCqkmtnoz5%2F1642862779893_1663265494547.jpeg?alt=media&token=19388ffb-91b0-4a1c-b7e0-c8d91e7f7e3d"},"schedule":{"publishDate":"2022-01-22T17:00:00.000Z"},"id":"0dm3kqoI0FCcr2eRQT9Es"},{"about":{"content":"

As an Architect and Builder of a story, the very first step is figuring out your CONCEPT and PREMISE.

Your novel begins right here.
Concept and Premise
You must understand these two concepts.
If you do your novel will be much easier to write.

$\"\"$

CONCEPT

IS BUILT AROUND A UNIQUE
WHAT-IF-QUESTION
THAT CAN BE PITCHED IN
ONE TO THREE
SENTENCES

$\"\"$

CONCEPT:
WHAT IF A MAN CAME DOWN FROM THE HEAVENS

PREMISE

AND PROMISED ETERNAL LIFE?

A protagonist whose life is interrupted or disrupted
Relates to a specific problem, need, or opportunity
Launching a quest, mission…with the desired outcome
Reasons or important stakes that compel the character to respond, then resolve the issues
In the face of opposition (which is the antagonist/entity) will oppose goals and their own motivation.
This calls for higher and higher or (stronger) responses and course of action, which evolve an attack on the problem.
Leading towards a courageous resolution resulting from the hero’s decisions and actions
Setting up a specific outcome

Thank you Larry Brooks for your Concept and Premise

","tags":"Novel Construction","title":"Lesson 2: It Starts Here: Concept and Premise"},"assets":{"coverPhoto":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/wild-ink-pages-prod.appspot.com/o/user-content%2F38cqf86lTNFdCqkmtnoz5%2Fflat%2C750x%2C075%2Cf-pad%2C750x1000%2Cf8f8f8_1675080135171.jpg?alt=media&token=9a6c6b3d-7c7c-4d0d-bb0f-f9c92b6c2858"},"schedule":{"publishDate":"2021-08-27T17:00:00.000Z"},"id":"wB1Kk0ABfIW9nR6qAGtrr"},{"about":{"content":"

I will use the beginning scene in my third novel Gunny Mac Private Detective Trouble in Tomahawk Gap as an example.

We shall use some scenes from my novel Gunny Mac Private Detective Trouble in Chinatown to illustrate what a scene should do in Lesson 6

PS. This is not a scene!

$\"\"$

What is the purpose of a scene? It has only one main job…to drive the story forward!!! If it doesn’t move the story along what is its purpose?

Forget it kid…forget the scene… UNLESS…it does one or several of the actions listed below.

Introduce action
A reaction to an event
Introduce a character
Character development
Establish mood
Set the stage…the setting
Show an inciting incident
Intensify a conflict.

I’m going to make this simple because I’m a simple guy…give me some bourbon and a cigar and a good radio to listen to a baseball game and you have a scene my personal scene.

Just joking…a scene has a beginning, a middle, and an end.

If you start a scene with me sitting on my porch, smoking a cigar, and listening to a baseball game you might bore someone to death if that’s all that happens.

Let’s flesh it out using the above points. The man sitting on the porch is the protagonist…at this point, the reader doesn’t know this. He’s a retired Marine Gunnery Sergeant who raises horses in Colorado. (Introducing the setting)

Gunnery Sergeant Mac is searching for peace after being wounded on Iwo Jima. (Introducing the main character)

He is relaxing after a hard day working with his horses (establish the mood)

Up the pine-covered hillside in front of him, he hears a shot and a man comes tumbling down the side of the hill. (Showing an inciting incident)

He grabs his rifle and runs toward the man. When he draws near and sees the man; he realizes it’s one of his former Marines. (Intensifies a potential conflict)

The wounded man says something to him and dies. (Leaving the reader hooked and wanting to read the next chapter)

Wow! This is the beginning of my third novel.

But ladies and gentlemen is that easy or what? It is this simple to set up a scene.

Do you have to have all these points …no…depends on what you need the scene to accomplish for your story.

What is the purpose of this scene…you probably can figure that out quickly. All I have to do now is flesh it out. Does it have a great ending? Yes, the man dies as he is telling the protagonist something important that sets the stage for the rest of the book.

Now on to Lesson 6 where we will see some scenes from my published novel Gunny Mac Private Detective Trouble in Chinatown.

","tags":"Novel Construction","title":"Lesson 5: What is a Scene?"},"assets":{"coverPhoto":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/wild-ink-pages-prod.appspot.com/o/user-content%2F38cqf86lTNFdCqkmtnoz5%2Fscene%20picture_1673706130092.jpg?alt=media&token=1862e1cd-0f24-4e1a-b28f-9a61efc7af08"},"schedule":{"publishDate":"2021-08-26T17:00:00.000Z"},"id":"atiagbAqmVfPPDvCK3xiE"},{"about":{"content":"

As I stated in one of my earlier lessons I had a framework that I wanted to write around but I had no story. Here are those individual items I wanted to write about.

I wanted to write about events in the 1940s and 1950s because I love that time period.

I have a certain genre I love.

I always have a main character that I love.

I always have a sense of the story I love

I love dogs…so they are in my novels.

I’m Catholic, and some of my heroes are priests and characters who profess to be Catholic.

I like good guys to win and bad guys to lose.

I also write about things that I’m passionate about or have some information that can help me write the story.

As you can tell, I already have elements of my story included every single time.

I can’t figure out how somebody can write fantasy and create a whole new world that they never experience. I wish I could do that.

$\"\"$

My stories tend to be sentimental, hard-boiled, detective novels. Why? Because I like those types of characters. I like sentimental characters when they have to be… and when the need arises… to be violent. Kindhearted and sweet when they need to be, brutal and unforgiving when they have to be. I like to write about a person who recognizes their need for redemption. That’s because most of us are far from perfect human beings, and we need redemption.

So now I had to find a concept and premise that I could put these elements into and have a story.

$\"\"$

After some research, I accidentally ran into a bit of history. Please remember I love World War II history. I found out that President Roosevelt was convinced that the First Marine Division fighting for its life on Guadalcanal was about to be defeated. He knew if Guadalcanal fell the Japanese would attack Hawaii. So he came up with a plan to collect all the currency in the islands and burn the money at two locations: at a mortuary and a sugar cane factory. He then would reissue American dollars with the word Hawaii stamped across the back of each bill. If the Japanese did invade Hawaii they could not use our currency against us.

You can still buy some of the bills with the word Hawaii stamped across the back of a bill. I also located a 500-page report written by a General during that time, which briefly discusses the burning of the money and the problems they were having in the Hawaiian Islands at that time.

Concept: What if President Roosevelt in 1942 felt he had to collect and burn all currency in Hawaii and reissue notes with Hawaii written across the back of each bill.

$\"\"$

Premise: What if four wounded veterans are the only ones to stop gangsters, government officials, and crooked cops from stealing the money.

Bingo…I had what I needed to begin my story!

In Lesson 5, I will discuss my next steps involved in writing Gunny Mac Private Detective Trouble In Chinatown.

","tags":"Novel Construction","title":"Lesson 4: Gunny Mac Private Detective. How did I Start?"},"assets":{"coverPhoto":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/wild-ink-pages-prod.appspot.com/o/user-content%2F38cqf86lTNFdCqkmtnoz5%2Flove-me-or-leave-me-poster-300x300_1663267338436.jpeg?alt=media&token=ff7baf41-ae92-4cec-90ef-a9beb419b7bf"},"schedule":{"publishDate":"2021-08-25T17:00:00.000Z"},"id":"oPVzpkRLUBa90dis6tXBt"},{"about":{"content":"

So Much Information Out There!

I had a degree…I had my Masters of Science…I thought I should know how to write a novel. I certainly had read enough of them. I started to look over my favorite fiction novels and I went through them with different colored pens. Blue for narration, yellow for dialogue, green for different tags ie. he said, she said, etc., etc. I circled adverbs because they were supposed to be the evil of writing. I used purple for any information on the setting. I had the most trouble with point of view (POV). It reminded me of math….some problems I just could not grasp easily. Then after doing fifty problems and practicing I got the math and then wondered what was so hard about that math problem. Then I would look at all the different colors to try and figure out what percentage each of these was in each novel. Then I would go to scenes in each chapter. I learned to write novels this way.

The lesson I learned is this… I took too much time trying to learn how to write by listening to gurus. I spent numerous hours reading and listening to them only to understand they never gave me the answers…just enough information to get me to their up-sell. I wasted much time chasing down worthless information. I should have been tearing apart great novels and seeing how they were constructed.

I do want to tell you there is a plan all fiction stories must follow according to the genre you are writing in. No, this will not impinge on your creativity, but enhance it. You must understand that you are:

The Architect and the Builder of Your Novel

What does that mean? Let me explain it this way. Let’s say you are constructing a new home. (A writer constructs a novel and is the architect of a novel)). An architect designs the building to adhere to zoning, building codes, material specifications, types of material, and placement. He also designs sets of plans so the builder can construct the building as the owner wants, yet follow all the rules to avoid having to tear down code violations at great cost and waste of time. Once the plans are complete the builder can build the home to the satisfaction of the owner. (The novel will have to please the reader of that genre).

So… the Architect designs the building and makes plans.

So…the Writer as an Architect uses Concept and Premise to design his book in a genre.

So… the Builder takes the Plans and Builds the home. $\"\"$

So…the writer then uses the same plans that every Successful Author used to write his book.

What plans are these you might ask?

$\"\"$

Now I didn’t think up these beautiful parts of a novel that must be included in your successful novel. In fact, they have been around since people started writing, but one man put it all together in such a beautiful way; yet I still had problems following his plans because it is not easy to learn how to write fiction unless you are Larry Brooks at Story Fix.com.

Then you begin to build a story scene by scene.

","tags":"Novel Construction","title":"Lesson 3: The Novelist is Both the Architect and the Builder of a Novel "},"assets":{"coverPhoto":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/wild-ink-pages-prod.appspot.com/o/user-content%2F38cqf86lTNFdCqkmtnoz5%2FOarchitect-plans-300x220_1663267232755.jpeg?alt=media&token=36ecc3eb-93cf-4b60-8d38-87620852e271"},"schedule":{"publishDate":"2021-08-25T17:00:00.000Z"},"id":"ww28aKrJKDTa4Sj7IpLPm"},{"about":{"content":"

Below this picture is the last two scenes in Chapter 1 of my novel: Gunny Mac Private Detective Trouble in Chinatown. I will explain to you what each scene represents and why.

$\"\"$

My first Chapter was designed to do a few things.

Introduce Gunny Mac and Gunny Wojo
I needed to show the reader who Gunny Mac was and why he had to leave the Marine Corps after getting terribly wounded on Guadalcanal in 1942.
The audience now knows that Gunny Mac wins the Navy Cross and is an actual hero.

Scene 1

The scenes job.

To show Mac survives: because just before that most indications were he did not survive.
To show he didn’t feel he was a hero
To show somehow he was going to survive with the help of people

Col Edson walked the ridgeline after the fight that lasted all night. Edson’s Ridge was littered with dead Japs, wounded, and dead Marines. Navy corpsmen were taking care of the wounded Marines, and litter bearers were removing the dead. The battalion surgeon was busy triaging the Marines not expected to live when he heard a calm voice behind him. “Where is he, Dr. Ryan,” asked Col Edison.

“I moved him over to the best spot I could find, Sir. He is the third litter on the right.”

Col. Edison walked over to the litter, and Dr. Ryan followed. The Colonel knelt next to the wounded Marine, his face contorted in pain. He looked down at the blood-encrusted Marine and placed his hand on him. Edson started to pray out loud, and Mac opened his eyes. The bullet wound through the side of his throat made him speak as if he was choking.” My boys stopped them, Sir, didn’t they!” Edson jerked his head up at the gasping sounds from Gunny Mac.

“No, you stopped them, Gunny, a fight that will go down for ages! Edson yelled to the surgeon. “Get this Marine to my tent now, and if he dies, I’ll hold you personally responsible. I want every possible help for him.”

Scene 2

The job of this last scene in the Chapter.

To show Mac made it to Hawaii and to a Naval hospital
To show how badly wounded he is
To show he is fighting for his life with the help of hospital staff
To introduce Lt. Van Deer who he falls in love with
To introduce the second love of his life Seadog.

$\"\"$ Five days later, Lt. Van Deer sat in a briefing with the Head surgeon at the naval hospital in Oahu, Hawaii. She leaned forward, listening intently to her boss explain the injuries of their newest patient, who had been flown in directly from an aircraft carrier.

The surgeon put on his reading glasses and glanced through the patient’s medical records. “Gunnery Sergeant Mac sustained enormous injuries, and it is a miracle he is alive. All total, he received thirty-seven wounds. The doctor shook his head as he marveled at the list of wounds, shot in the side of his throat, two gunshot wounds to his arms and leg, deep bayonet wounds in the side and stomach, knife wounds, and slashes, the rest minor shrapnel wounds. Medically, it doesn’t look good…, but they say he was the reason they held onto Bloody Ridge. And we must hang onto him. He will need extra help, and I will ask for volunteers to work their shifts and stay with him through the night. He has given his all to us, and we must give our all to him. But don’t forget we have hundreds of wounded Marines who also need our love and support.” Lt. Van Deer’s hand shot up immediately. She shouted out, “I’ll care for him from midnight till my morning shift begins…someone can watch him from five to twelve.” The surgeon smiled and told everyone to sign up for their extra shifts and called Lt. Van Deer over to him. ”I was hoping you would take the overnight shift and be with him. If anyone can help him, it will be you. Just remember there is an excellent chance he might die. I don’t want you heartbroken.” The surgeon started to walk away and turned around to Van Deer. “I get more amazed every day of my life by these Marines; there is no quit in them.

At midnight Lt. Van Deer walked over to Mac’s bedside, leaned over him, and wiped the sweat off his forehead. She sat in the chair by his bed, listening to the sounds around her. She heard his labored breathing caused by the drain tube in his neck. His face was calm and peaceful. He needed something to hang onto, and earlier that morning, she had an idea. She knew Mac could die in the next two weeks. She lifted the puppy from her shopping bag and placed him on the pillow next to Mac. His little pink tongue stretched out and licked Mac on the side of his face. As if the puppy understood he curled around the unwounded side of Mac’s neck and fell asleep. Lt. Van Deer watched the two sleeping, and tears filled her eyes. She prayed in silence for the Marine in the bed and waited for morning to come.

","tags":"Novel Construction","title":"Lesson 6: Scene Construction"},"assets":{"coverPhoto":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/wild-ink-pages-prod.appspot.com/o/user-content%2F38cqf86lTNFdCqkmtnoz5%2FScreen-Shot-2020-11-17-at-12.16.56-PM_1663253624187.png?alt=media&token=2bd0a599-4484-4939-9c99-fc48595b87d7"},"schedule":{"publishDate":"2021-08-22T17:00:00.000Z"},"id":"wPKUHtrXLmk9OeCgkeA6n"},{"about":{"content":"

In this lesson, we will cover the important concept of writing about what you love. Once you grasp these two simple concepts, you can begin to look deeper into your novel. It makes no difference to me if you are a pantser (a person who sits down and starts writing) or a plotter (where you outline your novel) when you begin to write.

People have different comfort levels when it comes to writing a novel, and that’s okay. You should have some basic concepts of what a novel entails, especially if you self-publish or find a publisher.

A novel should be at least 60,000 words and no more than 90,000 words. Why do publishers like a limit of 90,000 words? For two basic reasons. One: A first-time novelist may have plot problems with a longer, complex plot, and Two: It is much more expensive to print the book. Just simple ideas that may get in the way of your success. You can do whatever you want.

How I write a novel may not be the way you write a novel. That’s perfectly all right.

I write about events in the 1940s and 1950s because I love that time period.

I have a certain genre I love.

I always have a main character that I love.

I always have a sense of the story I love

I love dogs…so they are in my novels.

I’m Catholic, and some of my heroes are priests and characters who profess to be Catholic.

I like good guys to win and bad guys to lose.

I also write about things that I’m passionate about or have some information that can help me write the story.

As you can tell, I already have elements of my story included every single time.

I can’t figure out how somebody can write fantasy and create a whole new world that they never experience. I wish I could do that.

Lesson Two; we will talk about the very start of a writer being an architect and builder: We will dive deeper into how I put a novel together.

","tags":"Novel Construction","title":"Lesson 1: What You Write About You Should Love"},"assets":{"coverPhoto":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/wild-ink-pages-prod.appspot.com/o/user-content%2F38cqf86lTNFdCqkmtnoz5%2Fimichael-shayne-200x300_1663266636570.jpeg?alt=media&token=280ec348-4376-4ba5-815e-2b91486fd10c"},"schedule":{"draft":false,"publishDate":"2021-08-10T17:00:00.000Z"},"id":"cbuKjDOvH4vkm0F024KD7"},{"about":{"content":"

You are committed to writing a novel! That is outstanding.

Now you must be committed to spending money.

I’m not trying to sell you or up-sell you… just trying to help writers. I get nothing from anybody who is somebody.

I have published posts on at least thirty Facebook writing groups and have read thousands of posts by aspiring writers.

Through it all, I’m left with some qualms about my fellow writers, mostly the new writers who were like me. That is not good. In my haste to become a writer, I fell hook, line, and sinker for all the information telling me you could do everything on the cheap. I was like the wino who smiles when he sees a three-dollar bottle of wine.

Though someone could get as drunk on a three-dollar bottle of wine as a fifty-dollar bottle of wine; the same effects and economics do not work with writing.

I’m sure there are very talented writers out there who can be experts at everything and write several novels at the same time while drinking $$$$ wine, but I was not that person.

I struggled to learn the rules of my genre and the rules of novel writing.

I read, went to writers’ conferences, and wrote 1.3 million words to get my 89,000-word novel complete along with 55 edits. But enough about writing. Let’s talk about costs associated with self-publishing.

Ever notice most of the established rich authors have generic-looking covers? But their name is in large font and emblazoned on the front cover. That is because any book Dean Koontz writes I will buy! The cover means nothing to me, the name says it all.

You and I on the other hand need a great book cover to entice someone to pick it up and read a few lines. So my advice is to pay for a great book cover.

$\"\"$ $\"\"$ This is an image of my logo which my book cover artist painted for me. It captures the essence of my black lab Rosebud. She is in dog heaven and I miss her every single day of my life. Noah got the colors right along with that beautiful glint in Rosebud’s eyes that I loved so much! My advice is don’t scrimp on money when it comes to your logo or book cover. In a few months, my new novel; Gunny Mac Private Detective Trouble in Cleveland comes out. Of course designed by Noah. http://artstation.com

If you are looking for a developmental editor, I used a great one and got back 50 pages of pure gold. This by far was the best learning experience I have ever received. A BFA in Creative Writing for 1% of an undergraduate degree. Cost; $1,800.00 dollars. Bill who owns Greenleaf Literary Services did one heck of a job for me. http://grenleafliteraryservives.com

I used Jera Publishing for my formatting. Along with chapter images. Kimberly was a wonderful person to deal with and a real pro. She is patient and cares about her authors. I received my manuscript in every form imaginable for book and ebook formatting. She was wonderful. Cost: $150.00. http://self-pub.net

Editor. Spend the money and get it done right. You won’t regret it. Make sure you get a sample ten-page edit to see if you are compatible with the editor. I had one “woke” editor who kept telling me how to write and what to write and that my writing made her feel uncomfortable. I guess that was not allowed. She was a professor at a University. I fired her. Make sure they have experience in your genre. Get testimonials. You need an excellent editor…don’t rely on your bright capable Notre Dame graduate. They know nothing about editing a novel.

Do you need an author website…? In my humble opinion yes you need an author website. Pay for a simple website to sell your book and to sell you. You can spend a lot of money on website design, but you can get it done for about $400-$450.00. Especially if you want to sell your books on your website so people can download your ebooks and audiobooks.

The book trailer... not needed but I can direct you to someone on linked in that will do a great job for $100.00. Mine cost$40.00.

ISBN’s: You must do your own research on this issue… You can get free ISBNs but your publisher will be that company you got the free ISBN’s from. I bought ten ISBNS from Bowkers for $450.00. You will need an ISBN number for each book, ebook, and audiobook.

Writers conferences... go to one or two and learn. I went to the Larry Brooks conference in Columbus, Ohio. If I had known about Concept and Premise (which he taught me) I would have cut three years off my writing time. His website: http://Storyfix.com. The best fifty bucks I ever spent. (for the conference).

Writer’s podcasts: My opinion… a waste of time. All they try to do is upsell you and talk about everything except writing.

Writers on the Internet. They give you just enough information to try to upsell you on the real information. Waste of time. If you need additional help for free…no selling…just free information… contact me on my author website. I will be writing on marketing in the future. My email address: gunnymac26@gmail.com

$\"\"$ Steven Walker
Hard-boiled Private Detective author
Gunny Mac Private Detective Trouble in Chinatown
Gunny Mac private Detective trouble in Cleveland is due out soon!

The author is a retired Infantry officer, retired teacher, and author. It is a desire of his to assist new writers in any way possible.

His genre is Hard-boiled Private Detective fiction, You can reach him at…gunnymac26@gmail.com

","tags":"Novel Writing","title":"What Are the Costs to Self-Publish?"},"assets":{"coverPhoto":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/wild-ink-pages-prod.appspot.com/o/user-content%2F38cqf86lTNFdCqkmtnoz5%2Fpexels-mali-maeder-101708-768x512_1663268153726.jpeg?alt=media&token=b78b07fb-d72f-4247-9778-0cbdccbb6770"},"schedule":{"publishDate":"2021-07-22T17:00:00.000Z"},"id":"ql3TWMBTcDPRe61sTCEuv"},{"about":{"content":"

Gunny Mac Private Detective Trouble in Chinatown by Steven Walker

by Tim O’Mara, originally published on thebigthrill.org

It’s the onset of World War II. President Roosevelt is collecting and burning the currency in Hawaii in case the Japanese invade. Corrupt military officers, gangsters, and police officials are poised to steal as much of that money as they can. A badly wounded Marine Gunnery Sergeant and three other wounded veterans team up to stop them.

Got it? Good. That’s the plot of Steven Walker’s crime thriller, Gunny Mac, Private Detective—Trouble in Chinatown (Seadog Publishing, October 2020.)

This novel clearly took a lot of research. I asked Steven to talk a bit about that.

“I stumbled upon the fact about Roosevelt wanting to burn the money,” he began, “because he felt that the First Marine Division was going to be defeated on Guadalcanal which would leave Hawaii free to be invaded by the Japanese and our resources used against us. I downloaded the actual five-hundred-page official after-action report on what took place during this crucial time. I spent about eighty hours of research online and went through my personal military library. I knew a lot about this time period and noir private detective fiction.”

Steven’s father was a military man. How did that play into the writing process?

“My dad was a terrific storyteller and I grew up laughing all the time. He relayed to me many personal experiences in Hawaii like drinking as much beer as possible, eating French fries, and throwing up all over the street. He was eighteen years old. They trained in Maui and lived in tents to get ready for Iwo Jima. He told me much about the Marines in 1943 through 1947.

“My own years in the Marines shaped me and allowed me to write what I know. I can still feel the jungle heat and humidity, the smell of wet canvas, jungle rot, and, of course, all the good and bad characters, officers and enlisted. All my characters are men I knew, including Padre McCaffery, who drank bourbon like water, smoked cigars like they were free, was brave, and loved God.”

Not being a military man myself, I asked Steven what makes a good Gunnery Sergeant a good P.I.? I could feel his smile.

“Great question!” he said. “In the 1930s and ’40s, Marines who made it to this rank were harder than woodpecker lips. They had fought insurrections, guarded mail trains; the Marine Corps was their family. Like the gunnery sergeants of today, they were the backbone of the Corp: they led men, trained them, and disciplined them. They’re a cagey lot, prone to rebellious streaks, profane, yet profess a love of people. They have a code of honor and won’t break it. They will walk a mile out of their way to take care of bad guys and bend over backward to help a young Marine. They’re smart about the ways of the world (and often kept me out of trouble.) They will fight until they die, and live life to the fullest. They’re also the funniest people I’ve ever known. Good humor comes from men who are in a bad situation and make fun of it.”

Sounds like someone I’d want watching my six.

Trouble in Chinatown is filled with enough bad guys for two books. What makes a good antagonist and what does he or she bring out in our hero?

“First,” he explained, “I don’t like terrible, horrible villains. I feel they must have some good and not totally dark like today’s modern villains whereby in the third chapter they are cutting hearts out and mailing them to people. I stop reading. My villains are more like Casper Gutman in the Maltese Falcon: fat, sneaky, bad, but with a sense of humor and some good. Then there’s Johnny Friendly, the gangster in On the Water Front. Lee J. Cobb plays the bad guy who uses other people to bully and kill him. In the beginning, he is the successful gangster, but by the end, the beast within him—the wounded animal—becomes clearly visible, as he’s revealed to be as human and vulnerable as the poor people he exploited.

“Just as our hero is about to turn bad,” Steven continued, “and maybe lose his soul, he is saved by the villain’s cruelness. He has a choice to stay decent or turn bad. Because he has a code of honor, he stays on the right side of being human.”

While reading this novel, it became quite clear to me that Steven was not just a fan, but also a student of noir fiction. I asked the obvious: Who are his major influences?

“Brett Halliday, a pseudonym for Davis Dresser; I love his wisecracking funny detective, Michael Shayne. Mickey Spillane, who wrote about Mike Hammer. Earl Derr Biggers who introduces us to Charlie Chan, the Chinese detective in Honolulu. Samuel Dashiell Hammett—Sam Spade, Nick and Nora Charles, and the Continental Op. Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, whose FBI agent, Aloysius Xingu L. Pendergast, is one of my favorite detectives.

“And my dear father, of course, who introduced me to all these great writers and the films they inspired. Thanks, Dad.”

I knew that Steven is, like me, a huge baseball fan. I wanted his opinion on how a good novel is like a good baseball game.

“You and I are on the same wavelength,” he told me. “First of all, it is an American game and noir detective fiction is all-American. Both have deep roots in our culture. Baseball starts slow, sometimes like a novel, and the tension builds until you are eating your fingers to the quick. Your heart is beating a mile a minute and you are standing, waiting for your hero to hit it out of the park. I believe it’s the most dramatic sport in our culture. The same with a novel: conflict and tension build until you must have a satisfying ending with your hero saving the day. When I hear a baseball game over the radio, my heartbeat goes down and a peacefulness comes over me. A good novel leaves me in that same pleasant state of euphoria.”

As for Steven’s personal journey as a writer…

“It took me five years to be a writer,” he said. “I fought it. I didn’t want to put in the work. I was working full time and just played around with my ideas. I didn’t know what I was doing until I found out about the concept and premise. (Thanks Larry Brooks!) When I understood those two ideas, I wrote my novel in nine months.

“(With Trouble in Chinatown) I had fifty-five rewrites and countless edits. I realized I had to stop tweaking it because a writer is never satisfied with what they have written. I have the sequel—Gunny Mac Private Detective Trouble in Cleveland—half complete. Once I had my characters, they wrote the book for me. Someone asked me how I felt about finishing and publishing my novel. Like I feel after finishing an infamous twenty-mile forced hike in the Marine Corps in a little more than three hours—tired, but thankful I didn’t fall out.”

Finally, I asked, “How about your dream panel at ThrillerFest?”

“Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, Mickey Spillane, Dean Koontz, Stephen Hunter, Preston and Child, and Nelson Demille. The subject? What makes the quintessential American detective and how does he or she relate to your heroes?”

","tags":"News\nNovel Marketing","title":"My Interview in the Big Thrill Magazine"},"assets":{"coverPhoto":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/wild-ink-pages-prod.appspot.com/o/user-content%2F38cqf86lTNFdCqkmtnoz5%2FScreen%20Shot%202022-09-26%20at%203.39.20%20PM_1664224783339.png?alt=media&token=673ce0c5-d756-4734-bc02-c6c292763032"},"schedule":{"publishDate":"2021-01-31T17:00:00.000Z"},"id":"tlLOBNI0Nfj7Q7hEqt7by"}],"slides":[{"about":{"content":"

No one writes like this anymore, but Walker does... As Raymond Chandler would say,

\"He talks like a man of his age talks—that is, with a crude wit, a lively sense of the grotesque, a disgust for a sham and a contempt for pettiness!\"

","title":"Raymond Chandler quote"},"assets":{"coverPhoto":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/wild-ink-pages-prod.appspot.com/o/user-content%2F38cqf86lTNFdCqkmtnoz5%2FUntitled%20(720%20x%20643%20px)%20(600%20x%20800%20px)_1728710232295.png?alt=media&token=8fa468e9-600b-49b5-8ba1-a46c7488bee0"},"meta":{"order":"1"},"navigation":{"content":"Learn More","link":"/books"},"id":"sod35Ef7j03kYrcIbwLaZ"},{"about":{"content":"

","title":"Trouble in Chinatown Book Trailer "},"assets":{"coverPhoto":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/wild-ink-pages-prod.appspot.com/o/user-content%2F38cqf86lTNFdCqkmtnoz5%2FUntitled%20(500%20%C3%97%20800%20px)%20(450%20%C3%97%20600%20px)%20(3)_1673541422103.png?alt=media&token=ac512f43-275b-441f-8670-c5a1f6abfb77"},"meta":{"order":"2"},"navigation":{"content":"Learn More","link":"/book/gunny-mac-private-detective-trouble-in-chinatown"},"id":"07YnW90tERCHuwVlrapZP"},{"about":{"content":"

If you loved the movie “Casablanca,” or “The Best Years of Our Lives,” and “It’s a Wonderful Life,” you will love this novel!

","title":"If you loved the movie..."},"assets":{"coverPhoto":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/wild-ink-pages-prod.appspot.com/o/user-content%2F38cqf86lTNFdCqkmtnoz5%2FUntitled%20(720%20x%20643%20px)%20(600%20x%20800%20px)_1728710256347.png?alt=media&token=646601ac-8d36-44bc-af0c-a6f88dcaf46f"},"meta":{"order":"2"},"id":"73ZSt3ljiYRKNX3OK4Kj9","navigation":{}},{"about":{"content":"

\"I served with Steve Walker and his story rings with authenticity because he knows what it means to serve as a grunt and only those feelings he portrays in his characters can come from real life. A great novel you won’t be able to put down.\"

— Lt Col Roger F.

","title":"Gunny Mac Series"},"assets":{"coverPhoto":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/wild-ink-pages-prod.appspot.com/o/user-content%2F38cqf86lTNFdCqkmtnoz5%2FUntitled%20(720%20x%20643%20px)%20(600%20x%20800%20px)_1728710270170.png?alt=media&token=d2a645d7-922f-4aad-8f44-8e62d6d8aa20"},"meta":{"order":"3"},"navigation":{"content":"Learn More","link":"/books"},"id":"1WUe8ser1Xn7Im3Iz3bL0"},{"about":{"content":"

\"...nothing like these beat-up wounded marines and sailors with no experience as detectives take on the whole world. A fun filled ride you won’t forget.\"

\"...spine-tingling good content, dynamic, memorable characters, and a brilliant author.\"

","title":"Trouble in Cleveland"},"assets":{"coverPhoto":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/wild-ink-pages-prod.appspot.com/o/user-content%2F38cqf86lTNFdCqkmtnoz5%2FUntitled%20(500%20%C3%97%20800%20px)%20(450%20%C3%97%20600%20px)%20(4)_1673541462977.png?alt=media&token=5dbb4188-565e-4b9d-a9a9-dafb382729bc"},"meta":{"order":"4"},"navigation":{"content":"Learn More","link":"/book/gunny-mac-private-detective-trouble-in-cleveland"},"id":"rAMmhlaXNTVxsnUbsyAPu"},{"about":{"content":"

This is a captivating novel… Gunny Mac Private Detective… I would say if you are bored with the same old books then take a chance with this gem because you wil not be disappointed. It has everything you want in a great story, and that is spine-tingling good content, dynamic, memorable characters, and a brilliant author. Gunny Mac Private Detective gets five stars from me, book lovers!

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This is a great beach read and one fun novel... just enough violence… just enough romance and characters you will never forget. Padre McCaffery is my favorite and he will be yours too. The plot will keep you praying the good guys will win.

","title":"This is a great beach read"},"assets":{"coverPhoto":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/wild-ink-pages-prod.appspot.com/o/user-content%2F38cqf86lTNFdCqkmtnoz5%2FUntitled%20(720%20x%20643%20px)%20(600%20x%20800%20px)_1728710286721.png?alt=media&token=b0bd2621-ab57-4ad4-a950-1c0a39f3a0ea"},"meta":{"order":6},"id":"aRKVyDCa9KTQwBQPdC14q","navigation":{}},{"about":{"content":"

I thought my fraternity brothers were close… nothing like these beat-up wounded marines and sailors with no experience as detectives take on the whole world. A fun filled ride you won’t forget.

","title":"I thought my fraternity brothers"},"assets":{"coverPhoto":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/wild-ink-pages-prod.appspot.com/o/user-content%2F38cqf86lTNFdCqkmtnoz5%2FUntitled%20(720%20x%20643%20px)%20(600%20x%20800%20px)_1728710298892.png?alt=media&token=f2596fe3-d210-4fbf-82de-22e17f18fd9a"},"meta":{"order":7},"id":"xAs6IyJ2PnVL5hs4XJhhX","navigation":{}},{"about":{"content":"

As a graduate of Notre Dame I finally get to read about a Jesuit priest who is a genuine hero, the padre of a Marine Battalion, and one character you will never forget… he is a funny, cigar smoking, whiskey drinking hellion who will fight and die for his Marines. A man who shows the world how to be a man and a priest, and at the same time show his undying love for his God!

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LOREM IPSUM es sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Volutpat ac tincidunt vitae semper quis lectus. Consequat nisl vel pretium lectus quam id leo in. Et odio pellentesque diam volutpat commodo sed egestas egestas fringilla. Aenean vel elit scelerisque mauris pellentesque pulvinar pellentesque.

At tellus at urna condimentum mattis pellentesque id. Tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac. Viverra ipsum nunc aliquet bibendum enim. Et tortor consequat id porta nibh venenatis cras sed felis. Tortor pretium viverra suspendisse potenti nullam. Sed arcu non odio euismod lacinia at quis.

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For speaking engagements, NAME is exclusively represented by The Literary Agency.\n

To inquire about having NAME speak at your event, please contact NAME, JOB TITLE at The Literary Agency at NAME@email.com.

For film and television rights, NAME is represented by NAME at Agency. Please contact NAME at NAME@email.com.

For literary rights inquiries, please contact NAME of The Agency at NAME@email.com.\n

For all other inquiries, please contact NAME of The Agency at NAME@email.com\">NAME@email.com.

For speaking engagements, NAME is exclusively represented by The Literary Agency.\n

To inquire about having NAME speak at your event, please contact NAME, JOB TITLE at The Literary Agency at NAME@email.com.

For film and television rights, NAME is represented by NAME at Agency. Please contact NAME at NAME@email.com.

For literary rights inquiries, please contact NAME of The Agency at NAME@email.com.\n

For all other inquiries, please contact NAME of The Agency at NAME@email.com\">NAME@email.com.

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