Ketchup Bottles

I'm talking about ketchup bottles and other stuff today at Indie Chicks Cafe. Random and fun. Stop by and relax for a while.

It's all better with friends.

Thirteen Years, A Whim, Donald Maass and a Book!

Please welcome novelist Michael J. Webb to Suspense Novelist.

Michael J. Webb graduated summa cum laude from the University of Florida and obtained his J. D. from the same university.  Over the past forty years he has travelled the world in search of adventure.

            He is a history buff, both ancient and modern, and is fascinated by the intersection of the scientific, supernatural, and Biblical world views, and has studied and taught from the Bible extensively for more than twenty-five years. He is also intrigued by recent discoveries in quantum physics that are now providing extraordinary insights into the reality of the spirit realm, especially as it relates to the study of Light.  He incorporates all of the above into his supernatural thrillers.

            Michael and his wife make their home in Charlotte, North Carolina.  

Last fall, on a whim, I entered a publishing contest sponsored by Risen Books (www.dndbooks.com).  Much to my surprise, my supernatural thriller, The Oldest Enemy, won.  I wrote the novel in late 1998 and early 1999 while reading two vastly different non-fiction books simultaneously:  one on exorcism and the other about the massive theft of art and gold by the Nazi’s during WWII.  (Story ideas come from the most unexpected places!) I tried for a couple of years to find an agent and/or a publisher, with no success.  After double-digit rejections from both, the manuscript went in the drawer. On Monday, October 1, 2012, 13 years after I wrote this fast-paced thriller, the E-book version of The Oldest Enemy will be released.  Then, on November 15, 2012 the paperback launches.  (I’m still a little bit in shock!)  Ironically, many of the exciting events that happen in the novel are now unfolding on the world stage.  Nope, it’s not serendipitous--it is the timing and Providence of Almighty God.  I also now have an agent, Don Maass of the Maass Literary Agency in NY.  That, too, is an awesome “God story.”  If you love to curl up and read a page-turning thriller with fascinating characters and a plot that will keep you on the edge-of-your-seat, be one of the first to get a copy of The Oldest Enemy.  If you’d like to hear more about my writing journey, its ups and downs, and the God moments all along the way, I’m starting a blog on my new website www.michaeljwebbfiction.com, or you can read my posts @ http://www.facebook.com/MichaelJWebbBooks.  If you have questions, comments, or would just like to correspond, write me @ michaeljwebbbooks@gmail.com. Blessings, and shalom.

Books by Michael:  The Master’s Quilt, The Nephilim Parchments (formerly Balaam’s Error), The Song of the Seraphim (Giants in the Earth trilogy), The Oldest Enemy, The Gathering Darkness (agented with Donald Maass at the Maass Agency).  He is currently working on The Devil’s Cauldron, the sequel to The Gathering Darkness.  He also authored a non-fiction work entitled In the Cleft of the Rock: Insights into the Blood of Jesus, Resurrection Power, and Saving the Soul.

It's all better with friends.

Chelsea Cain Interview by William Kenower

An excellent interview. One of the comments she makes toward the end regarding what she's learned from writing her most recent novel is exactly what I learned from reading Dean Koontz. Now if I can only apply it appropriately!











It's all better with friends.

The Long Run

A sprint requires a lot of skill. Speed. Leg muscles that respond quickly and a mindset that sees the goal right in front. The mental image is to be the first person to pull the tape away and win the game. Lean forward. Fracture the time by a few more hundredths of a second. You've got other able athletes on your heels. Push. Push…. Push.

A marathon is a different animal. It demands the runner take the long view. See the big picture. Acknowledge an awareness of strategy and a trust of the process. Develop muscles that can hang in there for the long run. 

Most new authors who elect the sprint strategy are doomed to fail. When their sales fall short of the goal they believe they should achieve at this very second, a certain level of panic sets in. Where the hell are their readers? Why aren't more people finding their book and once having found it, raving about it to the world? Without the answers (and the answers they seek don't exist), they decide their best course of action is to push.

A desperate person takes desperate measures. And most often, in real life, that's a terrible decision. No one I've ever met loves to be manipulated.

When I wrote my first manuscript (long before Red Tide), I began to understand that this was process. Even the 'overnight successes' authors had worked for years and formulated plans.

This is a marathon, and for that I'm grateful. I will hone my craft one book at a time and add to my base (whatever that is) one reader one at a time. I will appreciate each of them for the unique treasure they are. I won't push. (Well, I'll try not to push.) I don't want to be 'that person' who only communicates with others from a selling platform. I will not ever get so desperate I turn the marathon into a sprint.

A marathon makes me stronger. A marathon allows me to acquire skills and become a better writer. A marathon allows me to see more of the individuals who are cheering me on. A marathon not only lets me hear their voices, but see their faces.

I don't expect to be the next J.K. Rowling. I do expect to work at making Peg Brantley into an author her readers come to appreciate almost as much as she appreciates them. I'm in this for the long run.



It's all better with friends.

My Made It Moment

I'm honored to be included in Jenny Milchman's lineup of writers who share the moment that make them feel as if they've finally made it.

Read mine here.

It's all better with friends.

Sisters and Suspects

A Crime Wave in Blood

Two sisters. Two novelists. Two voices.

Peg Brantley, author of Red Tide and Lala Corriere, author of Widow's Row  and CoverBoy, are teaming together with Social Buzz Network to bring you free downloads of two books, and share insights into the world of a novelist.

Have you ever wanted to write a book? Have you ever wondered how it's done? Join us on Monday, August 13th at two o'clock Mountain Daylight Savings Time for a unique hour where we explore the minds of two authors who happen to be sisters. Genetics can be a very scary thing.

Should you be afraid?

Here's where you want to be for one hour on August 13th: Castle Rock Radio.

Call in? Make me feel important? Prove to them that they aren't backing a loser?

Heck, I might even give away a book.



It's all better with friends.

Fresh Baked and Burnt

Two new posts on two different sites:

At Crime Fiction Collective I'm asking a question for all readers: what attribute for a main character makes you love him or her? Is there something that's in your heart that hasn't been done lately?

And at Indie Chicks Cafe, I'm re-sharing my post about author angst and all of the torture we bring on ourselves.

Thank you for your support. I feel the love.


It's all better with friends.