…Authors… do yeez have yer own ‘Brand’?…

I’m a firm believer in author branding…set yourself apart.

Seumas Gallacher

…I exchanged some views the other day with a fellow scribbler about the merits of maintaining a Blog… at the last count, there’s about a trillion, gazillion, squillion blogs swirling around in the internet ether… my discussee kinda wondered, ‘why bother doing one when there are so many already out there?’… well, I s’pose it boils down to yer own personal objectives… this ol’ Jurassic started doing one on the advice of many respected comrades-in-ink, who averred that ev’ry scribe WURTH her or his laptop-tapping salt needs to be present on the SOSYAL NETWURKS… whatever the truth or otherwise of that advice, I did begin to produce my blog, a mere two and half years ago… at the time, it made sense to me to try to broaden my ‘reader reach’, but since then, the blog has evolved into a creature with more elements than a chemistry…

View original post 332 more words

Path of a Bullet Now Available!

 

Just in time for Black Friday and Cyber Monday…

Path of a Bullet – A Collection of Short Stories featuring Ike

is available for the Ike lover on your list…even if the Ike lover is you!

A year in the making – Path of a Bullet is chock full of nuts…as well as psychos, dirtbags and sleezeballs of all kinds, but don’t worry – Ike is there to save the day!

I’m not going to toot my own horn about this collection, I’m going to let critically acclaimed author Seumas Gallacher do it for me…

‘…for afficianados of clever, solid, pacy action writing, PATH OF A BULLET is for you… a compilation of great short stories dressed up as a loose calendar of events spins around Ike, an improbable, roustabout hero… ex-Seal, six-feet-five, 275 pounds of muscle, carefree by nature, but caring by inclination… a modern off-white Knight in shining armour, likes his beer, his liquor, and his ladies… most of whom seem to have need of the self-dispensing justice and skills that his past has endowed him with… 

…Ike’s principal source of income comes from heavy duty collection work for a local bookmaker in Florida’s Flagler Beach and St. Augustine, and provides a baseline for the stories…

…Tim Baker’s ear for punchy narrative  runs through this rapid-fire collection, in which a few hand-picked author pals have also contributed… Ike is an enduring character you can’t help but take to, although some of his methods will have you wincing…

~Seumas Gallacher, Author of the Jack Calder crime series

To get your paperback copy of this must-have collection click here

and

For the kindle version click here

If one book isn’t enough Ike for you please visit my website – www.blindoggbooks.com – for the rest of the collection!

 

As always – thank you for reading

Tim Baker – update on a new book

The word is spreading…19 stories about Ike – what a bargain!!

Reading Recommendations

Path of a Bullet – A Collection of Short Stories featuring Ike available in print and eBook!
Amazon – eBook and print
Createspace – print

There are plenty of heroes in the world of crime-fiction, each with their own personality and style.

Ike has earned a seat at that table, but, being Ike, he prefers to find his own table…and let others sit with him.

A former US Navy SEAL, Ike’s current position as an enforcer for a local bookie often puts him in close contact with an element of society most of us fortunately never see. These encounters usually lead to trouble and Ike routinely inserts himself at the center of it all to make sure innocent people aren’t hurt. Ike has a tendency to…shall we say…bend some of the rules…and even break a few on occasion, but his moral compass is always strong and true.

It’s this very…

View original post 871 more words

Let’s Talk About Ike, Baby

There’s always a hold-out…somebody who thinks they are immune to Ike’s charms. The truth is…Ike’s powers are like the gravitational pull of the sun. You can fight it if you want, but once you’re caught in it, resistance is futile and you’re going to melt in the end!

The Transparent Author

So, there’s this guy….he’s broad-shouldered, cocky, drinks Budweiser and rides a Harley. A true man’s man. I hear he’s single too.

Apparently women flock to him. They go for his cunningness, his dedication to truth and justice…oh, and his good looks.

However there’s one big snag. Ike, the White Knight on an Iron Horse is not real—at least I don’t think he is.

Truth be told, when it comes to the man and his lore, I’m feel like an eight year old at Christmastime. While everyone tells me to believe, I have doubt. They share his stories, shout his name in praise, wear t-shirts professing their devotion to him, but me? I’ve never seen the guy…except in books.

I’m beginning to think he’s all made up.

Ike’s stories appear on book shelves across the world including in the novels Eyewitness Blues and Living the Dream. And though these books, written…

View original post 325 more words

Path of a Bullet is Locked and Loaded

I am very excited to announce that Path of a Bullet – A Collection of Short Stories featuring Ike will be available on December 1.

Acclaimed author Seumas Gallacher has read it and had this to say about it…

“…for aficionados of clever, solid, pacy action writing, PATH OF A BULLET is for you… a compilation of great short stories dressed up as a loose calendar of events spins around Ike, an improbable, roustabout hero… ex-Seal, six-feet-five, 275 pounds of muscle, carefree by nature, but caring by inclination… a modern off-white Knight in shining armour, likes his beer, his liquor, and his ladies… most of whom seem to have need of the self-dispensing justice and skills that his past has endowed him with… 

…Ike’s principal source of income comes from heavy duty collection work for a local bookmaker in Florida’s Flagler Beach and St. Augustine, and provides a baseline for the stories…

…Tim Baker’s ear for punchy narrative runs through this rapid-fire collection, in which a few hand-picked author pals have also contributed… Ike is an enduring character you can’t help but take to, although some of his methods will have you wincing…”

~Seumas Gallacher, Author of the Jack Calder crime series’

I was extremely flattered by that endorsement, and I’m fairly confident that Path of a Bullet will live up to Seumas’ praise.

This book was a year in the making. It contains 18 stories…but only 12 of them were written by me.

The other six were written by writer friends of mine.

For some of them it will be the first time their work has been published…making it a very special occasion indeed.

Over the past twelve months I had lots of fun writing my Ike vignettes, but I have to admit – it was just as fun working with the contributing authors too.

It was also very flattering that these writers thought enough of me and my work not only to become involved, but to write fan-fiction about my character. I can’t think of higher praise for a writer.

I’d like to share with you some of their thoughts about the experience…

Ann Marie Vancas

“This will be the first time I have ever been published.  My writing has mostly remained hidden.  It’s like having a crush you don’t want to reveal… But like love…once you know it’s right…you want to tell the world.”

Gi Arena  

“I’d like to thank fellow author and friend, Tim Baker, for giving me the opportunity to write about his elusive character, Ike. I had the best time pairing Ike with my character, Ruby. I hope you enjoy it just as much as I loved writing it.”

 Becky Pourchot 

“I must say, I never thought I’d be in a compilation of Ike stories. Action stories were never my thing. That said, I liked the idea of pushing myself out of my comfort zone. In the end I had a lot of fun with it. Who knows, someday I might even write more stories featuring the tough guy, hero.”

Lockie Young 

“It was an absolute pleasure working with Tim on this project. I tried to get behind the character of Ike, and figure out what he would want. I think I came up with just the down to earth guy to get Ike the goods he really wants.”

Becky Heishman 

“I didn’t have to write a story for Tim Baker’s anthology. I’m a pretty fair writer with my own thing going on. But I believe in Tim Baker and his talent. I believe that his character, Ike, has the potential to become a cultural icon. So when the Tim Baker rocket ship is launched into the stratosphere, I want to be onboard.”

 Susan Toy 

“Bequia Blues, a pure piece of Ike fan fiction that takes the man to my Caribbean home of Bequia, was written and submitted for inclusion in Path of a Bullet, because Tim Baker assured me I’d be able to go on a date with Ike as payment. That I’d stay on the boat with him, go for dinner and drinks at The Golden Lion, meet Brewski and Mr. Donebedian, and ride on the back of Ike’s Harley down A1A. That hasn’t happened yet and I’m beginning to think it never will. I’ve been hearing rumours lately that larger-than-life Ike is actually, and indeed, a fictional character! And that he may not exist AT ALL!!! WTF??? This all proves you just can’t trust novelists, because they all lie like a dog!”

This was my first attempt at compiling an anthology, but the experience was so positive that I plan to make it an annual event.

I’ve even come up with a possible title for next year’s version…Muzzle Velocity.

I’d like to take this opportunity, once again, to thank all six of my guest authors for their hard work and dedication to the project and I’d like to thank you, the reader, in advance for supporting independent authors.

As always – thank you for reading

Indie Author Spotlight – Lilo Abernathy

I would like to introduce you to one of my many writer friends.

Lilo Abernathy is a somewhat eccentric, deep-thinking, warm-hearted young woman of at least 43 years. She started out as a restaurant chain hostess and worked her way up to the exciting world of global mergers and acquisitions. She has enjoyed an on again/off again relationship with formal education and has been affectionately referred to as information hound. In the evenings, she fills her writing breaks by scanning the internet for answers to provocative questions, such as: “What causes diamonds to be formed in different colors?”

One thing that never changes is Lilo’s ongoing love affair with books. A born bibliophile, by age ten she finished all the children’s books in the house and started devouring the adult section. By age 15, she was working her way through grocery store book aisles and libraries. Just as Picasso had his blue period, Lilo had her own periods of readership–urban fantasy, paranormal romance, Gothic novels, etc. Now she’s planning on creating a bookshelf for you to enjoy.

For fans of paranormal romance and urban fantasy here is a good place to start:

The Light Who Shines
When Supernatural Investigation Bureau agent Bluebell Kildare (a.k.a. Blue) arrives at the scene of the crime, it’s obvious the grotesquely damaged body of the deceased teenage boy was caused by far more than a simple hit and run; and she vows to catch the killer. Using her innate sixth sense, Blue uncovers a powerful magical artifact nearby. She soon discovers it acts as a key to an ancient Grimoire that was instrumental in the creation of the Vampire breed and still holds the power to unravel the boundaries between Earth and the Plane of Fire.

Blue and her clever wolf Varg follow a trail that starts at the Cock and Bull Tap and leads all through the town of Crimson Hollow. Between being sidelined by a stalker who sticks to the shadows and chasing a suspect who vanishes in thin air, the case is getting complicated. If that isn’t enough, Dark Vampire activity hits a record high, and hate crimes are increasing. However, it’s Blue’s growing feelings for Jack Tanner, her sexy Daylight Vampire boss, that just might undo her.

While Blue searches for clues to nail the perpetrator, it seems someone else is conducting a search of their own. Who will find whom first?

Danger lurks in every corner, and Blue needs all her focus in this increasingly dangerous game or she risks ending up the next victim.

Meet Blue:

Bluebell Kildare: Blue is a Supernatural Homicide Detective and a gifted empath who has a pure spirit and a will of steel. She was orphaned at a young age and has had a tough life so far. Yet, she continually picks herself up by the boot straps and fights to do what is right, regardless of the cost. Just how high will the cost be?

Buy it here:

Connect with Lilo:

SOCIAL NETWORKS
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/lilojabernathy
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Lilo_Abernathy
Goodreads:https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7789942.Lilo_Abernathy
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/liloabernathy/

SITE AND BLOG
Website: https://sites.google.com/site/lilojabernathy/home
Blog: http://lilojabernathy.blogspot.com/

Please support Independent Authors

 

As Always – Thank you for reading

25 Ways to Help Self-Published Authors

Independent authors rely on you, the reader, to help them succeed. Here are 25 very simple ways you can help. Even if you only do a few – it will be helpful and greatly appreciated.

NaNoWriMo – The Fast Track to Disappointment

Here it is – November 3^rd – and the big word acronym in the writing world this weekend was NaNoWriMo.

For those of you outside the loop…NaNoWriMo is short for National Novel Writing Month.

The goal, in short, is to try to write a novel (or at least 50,000 words of something) during the month of November by creating an account on the NaNoWriMo website and tracking your progress. You can earn badges (badges?…) and even win real prizes.

Several of my writer friends are participating. Their facebook feeds had posts of their progress over the weekend (2,000 words today, etc).

I wish them luck in their quest…I really do, but if anybody is waiting for me to jump up and down shouting the praises of this event…well let’s just say I hope they packed a lunch, because they’ll be waiting a long time.

I can’t condone it…I’m sorry.

It’s not that I don’t want people to write…nothing could be further from the truth.

It’s just that this whole concept of writing a novel (or 50,000 words if you want to look at it that way) in a month is, in my opinion, dumb.

Why am I so critical of something that promotes writing?

Because I liken it to gyms and health clubs who advertise New Year’s Specials…knowing full well that there are thousands and thousands of commitment-phobes out there who say they want to get in shape, but what they really mean is they want to be able to say they tried. They sign up in December and hit the treadmill with a vengeance in January…by the middle of February they start finding excuses to miss a day here and there and by Easter-time they’ve gone back to wearing sweatpants and eating ice cream in front of the TV.

I’m not saying it can’t be done…I’m saying it shouldn’t be done.

Writing a book is not a race or a contest.

In my opinion, NaNoWriMo, for all of its good intentions, does more harm than good by convincing people they weren’t good enough.

Sort of like if the gym had taken a new crop of overweight accountants and threw them into a Navy SEAL training program.

One or two of them might survive, but the majority of them wouldn’t last two hours – and they’d walk straight out of the gym looking for the nearest McDonald’s.

NaNoWriMo might produce a few decent manuscripts, but for the most part it does nothing more than satisfy the consciences of people who “have always wanted to write a book” by allowing them to say “I tried.”

To those people I say this…

If you want to write a book…really want to write a book…then don’t worry about what month it is and don’t tell yourself that you need to do it in thirty days.

Just sit your ass down in front of the computer and start writing. You’ll know you’re finished when you type The End – not because the calendar tells you so. Then you win the prize. You win the satisfaction of saying “I did this”.

Maybe you weren’t the fastest, or the best – but simply by doing it and seeing it through to the end, you will have accomplished something that the vast majority of people haven’t, and never will – regardless of what month it is.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As always – thank you for reading