Month: September 2014

Seadrift – the prologue

~ Jonna Hawker Turek ~ Leave a comment

 

Prologue

 Waves explode furiously against the shore, clawing at the sand, as they are dragged back into seachestthe roiling sea.

Shells, sea creatures and refuse swept up from the ocean floor dash helplessly against rocky outcroppings, before being sucked back into the maelstrom.

Lightning sparks the crests of the waves, as the tempest moves on, reluctantly releasing its hold, and the frenzied surf’s passion wanes.

Ripples slide back down the beach, lacking the strength to carry their burden of flotsam with them.

Moonlight reveals kelp, broken planks and detritus littering the shore anseaweedd befouling the tide pools.

A tangle of seaweed and debris bobs gently in the foam.

Small ivory fingers curl up from the tangle, as though still seeking the comforting clasp of a guiding hand.

A Taste of Hollow

~ Jonna Hawker Turek ~ Leave a comment

Snippets from the award-winning first book of the Bunny Elder series, Hollow:

Prologue

A faded black ‘56 Dodge pickup rattles over the empty lanes, carrying its two passengers slowly through the sleeping village.

Hunched over the out-sized steering wheel, the driver peers carefully from side to side, occasionally shaking his head ruefully and muttering, as though searching vainly for something.

Across the cracked brown upholstery his companion seems unmoved by these signs of distress.

Leaning awkwardly against the rusty passenger door, eyes staring fixedly ahead, he gives no response to his chauffeur’s increasing frustration.

Proposed, but not included, draft illustration from Chapter Eleven.

 

Martha stepped into the house, turned on the porch light, and returned to get a better look at the carved pumpkin. With a small gasp she jerked back, her foot slipped in something slick on the porch floor, she tumbled into the railing and came to rest beside the over-sized pumpkin with its double grimace.
Martha stepped into the house, turned on the porch light, and returned to get a better look at the carved pumpkin.
With a small gasp she jerked back, her foot slipped in something slick on the porch floor, she tumbled into the railing and came to rest beside the over-sized pumpkin with its double grimace.

 

 

 

Reader Feedback is Priceless

~ Jonna Hawker Turek ~ Leave a comment

I am about a third of the way through my current work in progress, The First Ladies’ Club.

At this stage of a novel, I sometimes hit a dry patch where I wonder how to proceed, or if I should even bother writing another word.

I felt myself slipping down into just such a slump this week, but then one of my local readers dropped by my office to let me know she’d just finished “…and Something Blue,” and was eager for my next book.

I thanked her for the kind words and assured her I was hard at work on the next. It was a simple exchange, but her words sparked the fires of my imagination and rekindled my enthusiasm for my work in progress.

Whether you are a writer or a reader, never underestimate the power of reader feedback.

To encourage feedback, writers need to be accessible to their readers.

I make my Facebook page [https://www.facebook.com/jbhawker2012] open to public comment, my author email address [j.b.hawker2012@gmail.com] is posted on my site and my Amazon author page [http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B009I3H95Y] is part of my email signature. This blog links to my author page and posts on my Twitter account [@HawkerJB].

I’m trying to make it easy for my readers to contact me.

Of course, I frequently check out the reviews of my books for sale on Amazon. The reader who takes the time to post a review deserves to have those comments considered, be they encouragement or helpful criticism.

As a reader too, now I understand how important it is to the author, I try to offer encouraging reviews of the books I read.  My words just may be helping a fellow author out of a slump.

Words are powerful; words of encouragement are priceless.

 

Pulling back the curtain

~ Jonna Hawker Turek ~ Leave a comment

Like many new independent authors, I was naive about the publishing and marketing world. I believed when an author wrote a book, if it was published and got good reviews, it meant success was right around the corner. (Great American novel…or at least great american cozy, here I come!)

After publishing four novels, all getting pretty decent reviews, and finally dipping my toe into promotion and marketing, my fantasy bubble has well and truly burst.

While there are a few lucky authors whose writing careers took off the way I’d ignorantly imagined, most of us must scramble frantically simply to get our books noticed and begin to build a reader base.

I was surprised when I learned of some of the ways being used to get reviews and push good ones to the top of the list. I had foolishly assumed after the first few reviews from the author’s friends and family, all the rest were authentically from readers who cared enough about a book to post a critique.

Imagine my dismay to read a nasty “revenge” review of a friend’s book, after she had given an honest, but unflattering review of another author’s work. Who does that?

Loss of innocence can be a painful experience, but usually one which leads to  greater wisdom and maturity.

I’m looking ahead with eyes more widely open than before, but with hopes and dreams intact, as I learn to swim in the turbulent waters of the independent author.