Let’s Go Out!

Being dumped is oddly freeing.

It wasn’t as though Robin could have met Dan in the real world, anyway. To do that, Robin would have to leave his house. But uploading his picture to the dating app Let’s Connect, only to have Dan let him down, is still disappointing. Now Robin has run out of excuses not to look outward, and for the first time in three years, he’s seeing many of the things he’s been hiding from—including his next-door neighbor, Sean.

The very same obstacle remains, however. Sean lives in the real world too. And if Robin wants to get to know him better, to move beyond friendship to something more, he’s going to have to step outside his front door.

Robin will have to go out.

LET’S GO OUT is the latest novel from Pocono Liar Kelly Jensen and is available now at Amazon and through Kindle Unlimited.

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Arch Enemies and The War of the Words

The prophecy said that The Chosen One would save the duchy from the evil gryphons that were about to escape from behind the magical arch.

Too bad they got the wrong guy.

When cowardly young bard Terin Ostler is called before the Duke and told that he fits the description of the hero of the prophecy, he is certain there has been a grave mistake. When the Duke’s own men later try to kill him and he is forced to go into hiding, he realizes that it may be his own grave that is in question.

Our young hero struggles to overcome his inexperience and limitations to figure out the meaning of the mysterious prophecy, accompanied by two squires who are torn between obeying the orders of the knight they have sworn to follow and doing what they believe is right.

Pocono Liars Club founder Michael A. Ventrella‘s first fantasy novel has now been reissued from Fantastic Books, and split into two smaller, more manageable books for the young adult reader. He blogs about the experience here.

Both books are available in paperback, kindle, and nook versions.

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Unexpected Friends

Saying goodbye is never easy. During their long friendship, Cornelia Parish had been the bane of Irwin Abernathy’s existence. Forever minding his business and trying to run his life. But even in death, Cornelia seems determined to make sure her best friend – former librarian, current bookshop owner, and interminable grumpy curmudgeon – doesn’t spend the rest of his insufferable days alone. Irwin is heartbroken. He loved Cornelia, and her death has left him shattered. But nothing – nothing – could have ever prepared him for the estate attorney’s phone call on the day of her passing. A road trip? To deliver letters to four strangers? Across the entire country! What’s Cornelia up to now? Despite the heartache, Irwin and the rest of Cornelia’s friends at the Abernathy & Crane Bookshop must pull it together –– if they expect to fulfill this last, unforeseen dying wish. UNEXPECTED FRIENDS is a touching story that speaks to the power of friendship, the agony of loss, and the potential for healing when one, overcome with grief, bravely face their fears to embrace and welcome into their life true love again. Written by Pocono Liar Sahar Abdulaziz, it’s now available on Amazon in softcover and kindle.
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Using social media to promote your books

Social media guru Tee Morris will be our zoom chat guest on January 13th at 7 pm.

Tee is the author of Podcasting for Dummies, Twitch for Dummies, Discord for Dummies, and Social Media for Writers, so he’ll be able to answer all your questions! His debut novel, MOREVI: The Chronicles of Rafe & Askana, became the first novel to be podcast in its entirety, making Tee one of the original vanguard of podcasting. His most famous series is the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences, penned with his wife, Pip Ballantine. The series and its short fiction podcast, Tales from the Archives, inspired the Y.A. spin-off series, Verity Fitzroy and the Ministry Seven.  His web page is TeeMorris.com.

EDIT: This was recorded and is now available in our “expert advice” section.

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Eating Authors!

Writer Lawrence Schoen has gathered 100 science fiction authors and asked them to write a short essay about their most memorable meal, which makes for a fascinating collection! EATING AUTHORS is now available as an e-book or a paperback.

And better yet, all the proceeds go to charity (fighting cancer).

The collection includes famous writers like Steven Barnes, Gregory Benford, David Brin, Myke Cole, Gregory Frost, Chuck Gannon, Laura Anne Gilman, Sally Wiener Grotta, Joe Haldeman, Sharon Lee, Jonathan Maberry, Jack McDevitt, L. E. Modesitt, Jr., James Morrow, Robert J. Sawyer, Alan Smale, Bud Sparhawk, Allen Steele, Michael Swanwick, Harry Turtledove, and many more, including our own Pocono Liar Michael A. Ventrella.

Order your copy here!

 

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The Stars to Guide Them

Astronomer Miriam Adler uses her expertise to identify star patterns from a 14th century cuneiform scroll, only to discover they date not to the past, but to two thousand years in the future. Certain factions in Rome, however, believe humanity is not ready to accept the revelations in the document, and are prepared to destroy it, and silence any who know its contents. Thus, she’s thrown into a power struggle within the Vatican that leads to the death of one colleague and the madness of two others.  

Undeterred by the danger, Miriam goes on a pilgrimage with a Jesuit companion who walks the fine line between reality and mental chaos. Their goal? To retrieve the original manuscript from the archives of Saint Catherine of Siena. After her Jesuit companion is kidnapped, she joins forces with a rogue Vatican Cardinal, his lifelong linguist companion, and her son, a Franciscan friar. Her quest takes her through Italy’s holiest shrines and the ruins of a Knights Hospitaller monastery on the Island of Rhodes. But the most dangerous path takes her along the fourth dimension of time. 

Pocono Liar M.A. Moore‘s latest novel THE STARS TO GUIDE THEM is now available, and is free on kindle for a limited time. There’s also a paperback edition. Click here to get your copy!

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Finding a Home for your Story

Our guest for the October 28th Zoom Chat is award-winning novelist Sarah Pinsker!

Sarah’s first novel, A SONG FOR A NEW DAY, won the Nebula Award this spring, and her short fiction has won the Nebula, Sturgeon, and Philip K. Dick Awards and been finalist for the Hugo and World Fantasy Award, among others. Her first collection, SOONER OR LATER EVERYTHING FALLS INTO THE SEA (Small Beer Press) was also published in 2019. She’s also a singer/songwriter with three albums and another forthcoming. She lives in Baltimore, Maryland.

We’ll be discussing how to find a home for your story, but Sarah is willing to answer any questions you may have.

EDIT: This was recorded and is now available in our “expert advice” section.

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The Case of the Unearthed Evidence

Cincinnati, October 1918 — As the Spanish influenza rages around the world, a body is buried behind a residence in an upscale neighborhood and concealed from discovery. What a perfect time to hide a crime …

Cincinnati, October 1965 — Fritz, the irrepressible six-month-old puppy belonging to Professor of Music Augusta McKee and her husband of six months, Homicide Detective Malcolm Mitchell, digs up a human bone in a neighbor’s yard where a flagstone patio is being replaced. An investigation quickly determines a body was buried there forty-seven years earlier—in 1918. Who was the victim? Who was the killer? Malcolm, with Augusta’s help, tracks down the decades-old clues to a crime of passion. Is it possible a case that old, that cold, could still be solved? Meanwhile, Malcolm is nearing the end of the investigation of a more recent crime, the murder of a young Cincinnati patrolman four years ago, in 1961. The police are convinced they know the identity of the killer, but they have a deadline to meet. Will they be able to prove it before the case goes cold? Will either of these victims receive justice?

THE CASE OF THE UNEARTHED EVIDENCE is the latest in Pocono Liar Susan Moore Jordan‘s popular Augusta McKee mystery series. You can get your copy now here!

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How to overcome story implausibility

Circuses that arrive by night, meteors hollowed out for low-tech space travel—how can we make our readers believe? Our guest at the October 14th Zoom Chat will be Kathryn Craft who will discuss concrete techniques that best-selling authors use to navigate the implausible and take your questions. 

Kathryn Craft is the author of novels The Art of Falling and The Far End of Happy (Sourcebooks), and chapters in Author in Progress and The Complete Handbook of Novel Writing (Writers Digest Books). Her 13 years as a freelance developmental editor inform monthly posts at WriterUnboxed.com, her Your Novel Year program, and her work with students enrolled in Drexel University’s MFA program. Kathryn is a member of the award-winning Tall Poppy Writers, and serves as the Women’s Fiction Writers Association’s 2020 Guiding Scribe. 

Her website is http://www.kathryncraft.com/for-writers.html

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Writing for Plays (and Comic Strips)

Our guest at next week’s Zoom Chat is Pab Sungenis, who will be talking about writing for plays and even comic strips!

Pab is a broadcaster who has worked for many radio stations, but is best known for his comic strip The New Adventures of Queen Victoria, which is syndicated daily by Universal Uclick. He is the author of the Sidekick series of Young Adult novels, published by Month9Books, and of the novels Go To Hell and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Columbine. He’s also written some plays which have been produced, and that’s one of the things we’ll be discussing at the chat.

The chat is free and is on Wednesday, September 30th at 8 pm EST.  Details on how to join are here.

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