Friday, March 29, 2019

A Dream That Became Something Entirely Different by Mikal Dawn

Mikal Dawn

Here at Seriously Write, we celebrate the ways our writers’ lives are similar—yet, often different. For some, the journey to publication is straight ahead, but for others, the road may take them into unexpected areas. Author Mikal Dawn shares her personal experiences. 
~ Dawn 



A Dream that Became Something Entirely Different

It was three years ago, right around this time, that I finally started to take my writing seriously. It wasn’t that I thought I was good, or that I had dreams of fame or fortune (um, especially no dreams of fortune—that is definitely a very rare occurrence!). It was the quiet, gentle, constant voice of the Lord nudging me.

Can I admit that, when I joined the American Christian Fiction Writers association, I felt like a complete fraud? I knew everyone starts somewhere, and I knew it would be a process to build up to publication, but I thought everyone else had it all figured out immediately. It wasn’t until a well-known bestseller told me her first drafts were “downright ugly” that I realized every writer starts from the same place. And wow, did that make a difference. But it was my first critique—my first, very brutal critique—that pushed me out of my comfort zone.

I had no idea what she was talking about when the editor told me I had too much “telling” and too many clichés. I didn’t understand about “head popping” and the difficulty of writing a character who was mute (what was I thinking?!). I left that meeting feeling down, but I knew it wasn’t over. That meeting fanned a small flame that turned into a raging fire.

I joined a critique group through ACFW and met ladies who are now lifelong friends. They taught me, helped me through the rough few chapters of that original story before I set it aside and began a fresh story. And then after a few chapters of that story, they rolled their eyes behind their backs (I’m absolutely positive they did) as I started a third manuscript. This third one is what became my debut novel. I wrote it over the summer in 2016 while my kids were out of school, right before the ACFW conference. I finished that baby, polished it, and brought the first three chapters with me to the conference. And much to my shock, had interest from everyone I’d presented to! When I came home, however, there was that quiet, gentle voice again, telling me “No.”

What had been a dream to be traditionally published became something entirely different. I never did send my manuscript in to the agent and editors. Instead, I pursued indie publishing. It’s a lot of work—all creative decisions are yours (yay!), but so is the financial obligation. The support of the indie publishing community, however, is rich and powerful and oh-so encouraging. If this is a route you’re considering, please reach out to authors you know are indie published, including myself!

Publishing, no matter which road you take—traditional or indie—is hard work with little financial reward, but knowing you’re following the road God has laid out for you, knowing He is pleased with your obedience, is absolutely priceless. So go, follow that road.

“Write this for the next generation, that a people yet to be created will praise the LORD” Psalm 102:18 (International Standard Version).






He’s a board game champion, but can he win her heart?

Lia Walker burned the bridges—and her boss’s tie—when she quit her job at a car dealership to go work for the chancellor of a prestigious university. But when she arrives only to find out she can’t start her job, she’s burning with only one question: how will she pay her rent?

Garrison McGarville returned from working in Europe a champion—of a Ticket to Ride board game tournament. But his latest job—informing a distressed beauty she doesn’t actually have a job yet—has him feeling more like a loser.

When Garrison comes up with what he hopes is a game-winning move, will Lia dare to accept?



Mikal Dawn is an inspirational romance author, wedding enthusiast, and proud military (retired) wife. By day, she works as an administrative assistant for an international ministry, runs her kids to all their sports, and drinks lots of coffee. By night, she talks to figments of her imagination as she attempts to write while dinner is burning. And drinks lots of coffee. When she isn’t writing about faith, fun, and forever, she is obsessively scouring Pinterest (with coffee in hand, of course!) for wedding ideas for her characters.

Originally from Vancouver, Canada, Mikal now lives in Oklahoma (and praying it’s their last home!) with her husband, two of their three children, and one ferocious feline. Connect with Mikal on mikaldawn.com, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and Romance Readers Café.





Thursday, March 28, 2019

FOUR KEYS TO DYNAMIC CHARACTERS by Lisa Phillips

Hello! I’m so happy to be here, and glad to be a guest today. Recently I’ve been doing workshops in my 6th grader’s English class, and one of the topics I spoke on was: Characters.

This caused me to dig deep. To look at how I craft characters, and how I show their arc through the character.

Characters should NEVER be the same at the end of the book as they were at the beginning.

Here are 4 keys I came up with to crafting dynamic characters:

1. PERSONALITY

Start with an established archetype: the guardian type as a police officer, the nurturer type as a nurse or teacher. Now blend that archetype with a unique character: the police officer who is a gossip, a mom character who is a thrill seeker.

Your readers will see themselves in your characters. They’ll see their flaws. The things they want to do, or how they wish they could have reacted in a situation. Get creative with who your characters are at their core.

2. GOALS

What does your character want? Dynamic characters have goals. There is something they want more than anything. To get into college, or to get their coworker fired. Maybe they’d like their child to survive middle school (yes, please) or they want to get the one ring to Mordor. Even at the outset of Lord of the Rings, before he even found the ring, Frodo’s desire was to have more adventure in his life than just living in Hobbiton.

Your readers have wants, and goals. So give your characters the same. A yearning for peace. A way to make their marriage better.

However, underneath that there is something your character needs to LEARN in order to obtain this goal.

Which takes us to…
3. a LIE or WOUND

The Lie. Your character believes a lie about himself, or the world he inhabits. Your character suffered a wound in his past that taught him something. Unfortunately, what it taught him is wrong.

Only through this process of learning what he needs to know in order to reach his goal will your character realize what he believes—and that it’s wrong.

Take our thrill seeking mom. She believes, because of the trauma of losing her own mom as a child, that life must be sucked dry. Lived to the fullest. And so she goes after all the skydiving, bungee jumping and free climbing she can. What she wants (her goal) is to build a better relationship with her teen daughter. So she suggests a skydiving date. Well, the teen is afraid of heights.

Can you see the conflict building?

Our thrill seeking mom needs to learn that life can be full, but also quiet. And safe.

It’s not about one thing belief being wrong and the other right, necessarily. There’s nothing wrong with thrill seeking. There’s also nothing wrong with life being quiet. What it’s about for the story are those preconceived things we believe, that hold us back.

And we ALL have them. 
4. A DESTINATION

Every character needs a destination. Is this the place where they achieve their goal? Maybe. Sometimes they get what they want, and sometimes they don’t. It’s about what’s right for them to break the chains of what has held them back their whole life.

And so your character will arrive at a new place in their life by the end of the book—physically, metaphorically, or spiritually. Maybe one, maybe all three. They have learned the great truth that they needed to know. They have overcome the past, and those chains have been broken. Susan May Warren, whose writing advice can be found HERE, calls this the “new man.” The person they were always supposed to be.
A great example of this is THOR. At the beginning of Thor’s first movie, he’s a hotheaded prince who thinks he’s ready to be king. He’s all about fighting and conquering in the name of his people.

By the time he gets to Avengers: Infinity War, Thor is scarred. He’s gotten a serious haircut, lost an eye and now he is the Asgardian king. The thing he always wanted. But it was a hard-won battle that changed him. He’s humble now. He cares about people. And he’s willing to give his life to save others. 

What examples of great dynamic characters from books or movies can you think of? I’d love to hear your favorites.

Characters should NEVER be the same at the end of the book. 4 keys to crafting dynamic characters from Lisa Phillips on #SeriouslyWrite #Writetip





A British ex-pat who grew up an hour outside of London, Lisa attended Calvary Chapel Bible College where she met her husband. He’s from California, but nobody's perfect. It wasn’t until her Bible College graduation that she figured out she was a writer (someone told her). Since then she’s discovered a penchant for high-stakes stories of mayhem and disaster where you can find made-for-each-other love that always ends in happily ever after.

Find out more at authorlisaphillips.com



LISA’S LATEST RELEASE

His brother was the intended victim…

Now someone’s after him in this Secret Service Agents story
After a man is killed while carrying his brother’s navy ID, Secret Service agent Declan Stringer is determined to figure out why—even if it turns a killer’s sights on him. But first he must convince NCIS agent Portia Finch to partner with him on the case. As attraction sparks between them, Portia knows she’s on dangerous ground…because Declan is hiding deadly secrets.

Available from all great book retailers now.

Wednesday, March 27, 2019

When Life Comes at You Hard by Jennifer Haynie


Face it. If you’re a writer furthering God’s kingdom with your words, no matter the way you’re published, via the traditional or indie route, you will face opposition. Promise. I wish it weren’t so. I wish we could all write and that things go smoothly. They don’t.
My most recent novel, Exiled Heart, which came out on March 12, is a perfect example. It was my first novel many years ago via a traditional publisher. When the publisher went out of business a couple of years ago, I got my rights back and decided that Ziad’s story needed retelling in my more, updated style.
I worked hard on it, cutting 16,000 words, sharpening the writing, and crystallizing the issues surrounding this beloved character. My cover designer created one of my favorite covers.
When I came back from a writers’ retreat at the end of February, the fun began.
Within three hours of my return, I found out that my mother-in-law was in the hospital. Thankfully, what was first thought to be serious has turned out to be a result of a cold / bronchitis sickness that has swept through my part of North Carolina. Still, it rattled me a little.
Things at work shifted dramatically. My boss is leaving by the end of the month along with the position he occupies, meaning more work for the rest of us. Things are unsettled, and I worry about the morale of my coworkers. It feels low, and it worries me.
Finally, my print book and e-book went up on Amazon as planned except that for the hard copy, they mismatched the product descriptions—everything needed for someone to buy a hard copy. Thankfully, the e-book link functioned as intended from day one. I found this out two weeks ago after an exhausting day at work.
I’ll be honest. It’s been a struggle to push through this particular round of opposition, which has been fiercer than normal. I like to joke with my husband that maybe this will be my break-through novel because of it. I need to remember three things, as do all of us when facing opposition when writing.
  • God is sovereign. Nothing happens that He does not allow. That doesn’t mean only good things will happen. The tough things are what grow our faith. Those are what teach us to rely on the Creator and not on ourselves.
  • It’s during these tough times that we must run to Him and seek wisdom and comfort in Scripture. This is when daily immersion in His word helps. In those words of the Bible comes the strength we need to get through those tough times.
  • Will this season of opposition pass? It will. And I will trust that God will work things out for His glory and not my own. As it does, I pray that Exiled Heart touches many lives.

What have been times of opposition for you, and how have you pushed through them?



~~~~~~



After being an avid reader of suspense fiction for most of her life, Jennifer Haynie began writing and publishing suspense novels in 2012. She has now written over five indie suspense novels. In her spare time, she works for the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, enjoys working out, anything outdoors, and loves traveling. She currently lives outside of Raleigh with her husband and their two Basenji dogs. Her website is www.jenniferhaynie.com.

Tuesday, March 26, 2019

Four Ways to Care for Ourselves as Writers by Emily Wickham

Over a year-and-a-half ago, I traveled to Nicaragua with ZMI Family Ministries International. Shortly upon arrival, our team checked into our immaculate, comfortable hotel, and I felt enormous gratitude for such pleasant accommodations. Our leader understood the importance of caring for our physical needs so we could accomplish our mission of ministering to people. As writers, we also must care for ourselves so we can fulfill our calling.Let’s consider the following four ways: 

1. Care for One’s Heart 
“Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life" (Proverbs 4:23, NASB). Caring for the heart includes consistent time in God's Word. By soaking in the truth, we renew our minds and welcome the Holy Spirit to search us. Care also involves sincere prayer—opening our hearts to our heavenly Father. Nurturing our relationship with God keeps our writing motivations pure and our priorities straight. 

2. Care for One’s Body
“You have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body" (1 Corinthians 6:20). The context of this verse deals with sexual immorality, yet we can apply it to all aspects of physical health: 


• Exercise- Let’s stretch our legs every 45 minutes or so while writing. Even a walk in the neighborhood offers great benefits. 
• Quality Sleep- Let’s ask the Lord to supply us with the rest our bodies require. We won't function optimally if our bodies aren't recharged properly. 
• Nutritional food- A poor diet weakens our bodies and makes us more susceptible to illness. Let's choose our snacks and meals with a desire to steward our bodies well. 

3. Care for One’s Emotions
 “A joyful heart is good medicine, But a broken spirit dries up the bones" (Proverbs 17:22). Writers in general possess intense feelings, which enable us to touch people's hearts with words. Yet feelings also can lead us down the wrong path when hardship, pain, stress, or so on enters the picture. It's critical to recognize our emotions and handle negative ones in a Christlike manner. Otherwise, we risk shriveling up inside and perhaps even quitting. We should take our feelings to God and evaluate them with wisdom, for the Lord is our 'Wonderful Counselor' who guides us correctly. 

4. Care for One’s Mind 
“Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things”(Philippians 4:8). The mind functions as a gateway for good or evil, and we usually can choose what enters. God's Word specifies the material we should dwell on, and heeding His instruction benefits our outlook. It also improves our writing content. 

 Adhering to these four ways of self-care will strengthen us for the long haul. 

 Personally, I struggle with way #2. Which one challenges you the most? 

 [A longer version of this post was first published on Nov. 6, 2018 at www.proclaiminghimtowomen.com

Let’s care for ourselves as writers so we can pour more effectively into other people’s lives. #Writers #WritersLife @emilywickhamPH (Click to Tweet) 

                                                       ✏️📖✏️📖✏️📖✏️📖

EMILY WICKHAM seeks to stir hearts toward Jesus. She writes for Journey Magazine, a LifeWay publication, speaks at ladies’ events, and shares “Devotions for Women” videos on social media. Emily encourages Christian women plus equips Christian writers on her blog, www.proclaiminghimtowomen.com. She is the author of one Bible study, which was translated into Spanish in 2016. 

Emily, a resident of North Carolina, is Mark’s wife of 29+ years. They are the blessed parents of four children and one daughter-in-love. God’s faithfulness and love inspire Emily on her journey through life as she purposes to exalt Christ through written and spoken words. 

Connect with Emily
Website: www.proclaiminghimtowomen.com 
Facebook: www.facebook.com/emilywickham.author 
Twitter: www.twitter.com/emilywickhamPH 
YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/estherstudy 
Instagram: www.instagram.com/emilywickham.author 

Whether you’re a Spanish-speaking sister who longs to grow closer to Christ, or you’re looking for a Spanish Bible study to use for outreach in your community, please consider using Alcanzando la Justicia. It guides women through the book of Esther, challenging them to grow in righteous behavior—to make God-honoring choices each day. Daily prayers, Scripture readings, observation sections, author reflections, and application questions are included. This workbook is designed for individual or group use and contains instructions for following a one month, ten week, or thirty-one week schedule. See Emily’s website for special offers or purchase her book on Amazon.

Monday, March 25, 2019

Spring Fever by Mary Manners

 

Spring Fever

by
Mary Manners
 
 
I don't know how the weather has been in your neck of the woods the past several months, but here in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee, we have recorded one of the wettest winters on record. It seemed as if it would never pass. Days and days of dreary skies, chilly temperatures, and a stiff breeze have everyone longing for brighter days.
 
Sometimes writing is like a long, cold winter. Days spent hunched over a desk, nose to the grindstone, alone in an office, with nothing but a lukewarm cup of coffee and nary an end in sight. But, like the garden plants I am currently cultivating in my sunroom (minus the sun) and preparing to plant for harvest, writers must do the same with the stories we yearn to share. Plant the seeds, tenderly nurture them, take care of everyday tasks, and...wait.
 
 
 
 
Waiting builds patience. It makes us stronger...and better for the journey. So, when the days are long and cold, remember that sunshine and warmth are coming, and the dark winter days will soon be a thing of the past, a distant memory. Keep writing and trust that the seeds you have planted and are tending will grow into a delightful bounty sure to touch the hearts of many. And, should a rainy day come, you'll endure the lack of sunshine because the stories you cultivated will be the sunshine.
 
 

 



~~~~~
 
 
When a job transfer causes Jenna Palmer’s family to relocate across the country, Jenna moves away from her best friend and first love Carter Stevens. She promises to find him again. But as the years slip away and she dives into a career in pediatric trauma surgery, all that is left of her one time love are the memories—and a wish on the lucky penny Carter gave her.
 
Carter Stevens never forgot his first love. On their final morning together he gave her a special token along with his promise to love her forever. Though years have passed as he’s climbed the ranks of the Maple Ridge Police Department, he still longs for another glimpse of the smiling, green-eyed beauty who stole his heart and shared his love of adventure.
 
 
When an accident brings the pair together once again, memories and reality collide. Will their promise stand, or will time crush their promise…and their love?
 
~~~~~

Mary Manners is a country girl at heart who has spent a lifetime sharing her joy of writing. She lives in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee with her husband Tim and their rescue dog Axel, mischievous cats Colby and Rascal, 8 rambunctious chickens, and 13 fish.
Mary writes stories full of faith and hope. Her books have earned multiple accolades including two Inspirational Reader’s Choice Awards, the Gail Wilson Award of Excellence, the Aspen Gold, the Heart of Excellence, and the National Excellence in Romance Fiction Award.
 
Mary loves long sunrise runs, Smoky Mountain sunsets, and flavored coffee. She enjoys connecting with reader friends through her website: www.MaryMannersRomance.com.
 
 

 

 
 
 


Friday, March 22, 2019

May This Blog Haunt You Pleasantly (Part 3) by C. Kevin Thompson

C. Kevin Thompson

We’ve arrived. Part 3 completes this blog trilogy revolving around my reading of Les Standiford’s The Man Who Invented Christmas: How Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol Rescued His Career and Revived Our Holiday Spirits (You can read Part 1 and Part 2 here). As I stated before, if you want to learn about the writing life and how other writers who have gone on before us have endured the trials and tribulations therein, reading about them is just as important as reading about the craft itself. For one thing I found when learning about Dickens’s life was how universal some things are. It truly is a small world.

So far, we have covered the first two “gleanings” I gathered from my reading of this work. Gleaning #1 (found in Part 1 above) was: Authors have always wished to get their works in as many readers’ hands as possible, sometimes at the chagrin of their publishers (if they are traditionally published) or themselves (if they are independently published). And if not handled properly, it can become an all-consuming fire.

As much as this writing life can become a soul-wrenching conflagration, this mindset can worm its way into the writer’s business relationships as well, which led us to Gleaning #2 (found in Part 2 above): The constant tension between authors and publishers will always be a constant.

If an author like Dickens, who made such an impact of the art of story in relationship to the downcast and poor among us, then who are we to think that everything we write should be loved and adored by every editor and publisher who reads it? It’s actually quite the tip of the hat to arrogance, if you ask me. And believe me, I’ve asked me a lot. We all think, if we’re honest with ourselves, that what we write should be adored and published with an air of delight. It should be venerated and lavished with contracts fit for a king or queen. So, when we are told by an editor or agent, “I’m not interested,” or “It’s not something our house can support,” our proud belief in our work explains the utter incredulous nature of the expression on our face. It’s definitely something we need to work on, for sure.1

This brings us to my last gleaning from Les Standiford’s book.

Gleaning #3: Crooks abound in publishing, and sometimes in the unlikeliest of places.

Did you know Charles Dickens had to deal with pirates? Not the Jack Sparrow, “Where’s the Rum?” brand of pirate. He probably could have more easily accepted the “Yo-ho-ho,” parrot on the shoulder kind of buccaneer than the scallywags he faced.

Dickens had fought for years to have an International Copyright Law. He saw the practical and legal need and lobbied for it every chance he got, for the problems crossed the Atlantic—heading both east and west—and didn’t seem to play favorites. However, the pirates had their preferences, and popularity was always the key.

American authors popular in England watched as their works were literally stolen and reprinted in England. Edgar Allen Poe was a common victim. Such works as The Fall of the House of Usher (1839) and The Masque of the Red Death (1842) were both bootlegged from Poe’s pen by English publishers and sold to a British audience without Edgar receiving any compensation at all.

Dickens was Edgar Allen Poe’s contemporary, as well as his fellow quarry. His works traveled abroad, from England to America, were retooled, and sold for a pittance with no recompense heading into Dickens’s bank account. The one foray into plagiarism that caught my eye, though, was when A Christmas Carol landed in Boston, and was subsequently harvested by the publisher known then as Harper and Brothers.

Does the name of that company sound familiar? It should. Harper and Brothers later merged with Row, Peterson, and Company in 1962 to become Harper & Row. In 1987, Rupert Murdoch purchased the company for $300 million and merged it with his News Corporation. Then, three years later, he purchased William Collins, Sons & Co., a British company (ironically!), and HarperCollins was formed as a means of creating a worldwide English-speaking book market that has great potential, according to one analyst.2

The article I found went on to say, “Harper & Row evolved from a publisher of books on religion and ethics—its first title was Seneca’s “Morals”—to books by Mark Twain, James Thurber, E. B. White, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Moshe Dayan, Allen Dulles, Svetlana Alliluyeva, Erich Segal and Sylvia Plath” (emphasis added).3 Apparently, religion and ethics didn’t play a huge part in the company’s earlier days. There didn’t seem to be any feeling of remorse about the act of thievery. Even though copyright laws existed in both America (Copyright Act of 1790) and England (Statute of Queen Anne in 1710), they only applied to authors within their own borders.4

How convenient, right? There have always been legal loopholes…

Dickens, like others, knew there was little they could do about the literary poachers of their day who operated across the pond, much like we cannot do much about the ones that exist today.5 However, when a British publisher known as Lee & Haddock had planned to publish a “re-originated” version of A Christmas Carol—which turned out to be the book in its entirety with a few lines of introduction added and a few minor things changed—for two pennies a copy in their Parley’s Illuminated Library, in the January 6, 1844 edition, Dickens wrote his friend and legal counsel, Thomas Mitton, who filed a formal complaint with the courts.

That didn’t stop the pilferers, though. Because of Dicken’s enormous popularity, other works of his were lifted in a similar fashion, many of which being done so in a not-to-flattering manner. Such titles as The Posthumous Notes of the Pickwick Club, by “Bos,” Pickwick in America, Oliver Twiss, Nickelas Nicklebery, Barnaby Budge, and more were allegedly written by “Bos, Buz, Poz, and others.”6

Dickens, more than upset over Lee & Haddock’s actions, spent over a thousand pounds on legal fees in his court battle—a tough ride, considering Dickens was always on the verge of bankruptcy. He eventually won his fight against Lee & Haddock, and decided it was their fault he had accumulated these legal fees. So, he filed another lawsuit to recoup his funds. He won that case as well. That was when Lee & Haddock filed for bankruptcy, thus forcing Dickens to drop the case and absorb the legal fees when he was already in debt.7

So, what’s an author to do? Those, like Dickens, have gone on their crusades and fought for themselves and those writers who have come after. But there are two things that have come out of this Gleaning #3 for me.

1. There will always be pirates. Always have. Always will. And even the courts can’t eradicate them all. Sometimes, it seems, the laws of the land protect them with the loopholes that can be used as escape hatches. “There is no justice in the justice system,” one of my characters says all the time.

2. We are Christian writers. Most of us write Christian literature. Dickens didn’t (Neither did Poe, for that matter). And he was taken advantage of by unscrupulous publishers. In this ever-darkening world around us, I’ve often wondered how long it’s going to be before our works are rejected because of the emphasis on Jesus. I believe a form of censoring is coming that will be allowed (If Jesus doesn’t return before that happens!). The courts will declare the message of Christ anathema to all human beings and to be avoided at all costs.

So, what’s an author to do? I believe the answer is as simple and as complicated as this: write. In the admonition of Ephesians 5, “redeeming the time because the days are evil.” To use our talents to help as many people as possible see the light of Christ as it shines brighter and brighter in a dark world before our window as a writer closes. Take advantage of the avenues God supplies to get your word out about the Messiah.

And in the words of Tiny Tim, “God bless Us, Every One!”




1  My wife ran across a book that deals with this very issue recently, titled Free of Me: Why Life Is Better When It’s Not about You, by Sharon Hodde Miller. This book should be on every Christian writer’s shelf.

2 McDowell, Edwin. “Murdoch to Buy Harper & Row in Surprise Deal.” New York Times. 1987 March 31. 2019 March 18. https://www.nytimes.com/1987/03/31/business/murdoch-to-buy-harper-row-in-surprise-deal.html  

3 Ibid.

4 Standiford, Les. The Man Who Invented Christmas: How Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol Rescued His Career and Revived Our Holiday Spirits. Broadway Books; New York, NY, 2017. pp. 140-141.

5 Clark, Grant, and Shelly Hagan. “What’s Intellectual Property and Does China Steal It?” Bloomberg.com. 2018 March 22. 2019 March 18. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-03-22/what-s-intellectual-property-and-does-china-steal-it-quicktake

6 Standiford, Les. The Man Who Invented Christmas: How Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol Rescued His Career and Revived Our Holiday Spirits. Broadway Books; New York, NY, 2017. pp. 142-143.

7 Ibid., pp. 144-152.






(The Blake Meyer Thriller Series, Book 3)

A Perverse Tale. A Precarious Truth. A Personal Tribulation.

Supervisory Special Agent Blake Meyer is at an impasse. Bound and beaten in a dilapidated warehouse halfway around the world, Blake finds himself listening to an unbelievable story. Right and wrong warp into a despicable clash of ideologies. Life quickly becomes neither black nor white. Nor is it red, white, and blue any longer.

Every second brings the contagion's release closer, promising to drag the United States into the Dark Ages. Tens of millions could be dead within months.

Every moment adds miles and hours to the expanding gulf between him and his family. What is he to believe? Who is he to trust?




C. KEVIN THOMPSON is a husband, a father, a grandfather, and a kid at heart. Often referred to as “crazy” by his grandchildren, it’s only because he is. He’s a writer. Need he say more?

The first three books of his Blake Meyer Thriller series are out! Book 1, 30 Days Hath Revenge, Book 2, Triple Time, and Book 3, The Tide of Times, are now available! Book 4, When the Clock Strikes Fourteen, is coming March 2019!  Also, the second edition of his award-winning debut novel, The Serpent’s Grasp, is now available!

Kevin is a huge fan of the TV series 24, The Blacklist, Blue Bloods, and Criminal Minds, loves anything to do with Star Trek, and is a Sherlock Holmes fanatic, too. It’s quite elementary, actually.

Kevin’s Writer’s Blog: www.ckevinthompson.blogspot.com/
Instagram : ckevinthompson
Twitter: @CKevinThompson
Goodreads: C. Kevin Thompson