Morgan Mandel was a member of the Blood-Red Pencil from 2008 until 2016. She writes in the romantic comedy and mystery/suspense genres. Morgan's latest releases After suffering the devastating loss of her parents, Rina returns home to confront the man who’d broken her heart. Danger awaits her when she plots revenge. She has no idea the man she defies is not the person she once loved. Laugh and cry with Morgan Mandel as she shares the antics and trials she and her husband experience through adopting dogs. Bursting with anticipation, Hailey awaits the arrival of her first child. She has no idea her world will soon be shattered. In the midst of pain, an unexpected offer arises. If it doesn’t pan out, she’s in for further heartbreak. Should she take the chance? Morgan's top articles at the Blood-Red Pencil Kindle and Smashwords Quirks Twitter Don'ts Secrets of Genre Strategy Morgan Mandel Interviews Popular Male Romance Cover Model, Jason Aaron Baca ...

Last week I was reading The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield. It’s a best seller with lots of good reviews. And some not so good. Read the not-so-good ones before buying this book. I had borrowed the book from the library because I was interested in the Pressfield’s observations about procrastination and what makes creative folks fight their creativity, sabotaging that internal drive to make art. It’s all about Resistance, he says. If you read the book, you’ll get used to seeing that word over and over: Resistance. Pressfield says he has the answer to all our procrastination problems. Become a pro by acting like a pro. Show up to work every day. Show up at the same time every day, prepared to create. Then create. Okay, I thought. I can do that. The next morning, even though I’d had only one cup of coffee and felt foggy and sleep-deprived, I hurried to my computer and sat down, ready to work. My second cup of coffe...

It's August, and the heat is on, in more ways than one. I'm outside every morning in the early morning hours taking long walks with Buster, my miniature pinscher. Then, I sit in the shade for about an hour afterward and watch Buster enjoy the great outdoors. I'm just not into the sun and heat like I used to be. Buster, who likes the sun more than I do. Strangely enough, though I've been avoiding the sun, it's still catching up with me. My arms sport a decent suntan, which is even more apparent when I take off my watch. While inside, I've been wasting too much time on mundane things, like housework. Then I tell myself I'll spend only half an hour on Facebook, and it turns out to be way past an hour. I need to get out my kitchen timer and put it right by my desk and stop fooling around when it goes off. Tentative cover for Awake, A Good Twin, Bad Twin Thriller I must get Awake , my good twin,bad twin thriller, finished. So far, progress is eking ...

Yes, it's fun to root for the good guy, but even more intriguing if the bad guy isn't all that bad. How often do you read a book or watch a movie, and feel sorry for the bad guy? The answer could be more often than not. Evil happens for a reason. Sometimes the why is apparent, sometimes you need to dig for a motive. One reason might be how a person is brought up by parents or lack of parents. An early in life tragedy, a recent one, or a combination of factors might play a part in changing a person's character. Even ultra-sensitivity to a perceived slight might be all it takes. Whatever the case, a writer needs to weave the motive(s) into the story line, so the reader will understand why a crime is committed. In Two Wrongs , my perma-free book for kindle and other ereaders, being accused and sentenced for a murder he didn't commit is powerful enough motive for my antagonist, Kevin, to cross over to the dark side once he's freed from prison. If I wove the ...

Image by Susan , via Flickr I watched the movie adaptation of Brooklyn the other night. In it, the protagonist snubbed someone. I admit the person snubbed could get on anyone's nerves. Still, the charitable thing to do would have been to be nice to that person. The snub made me lose some respect for the protagonist. Since up to that point I really liked her, a dilemma presented itself. Could I be charitable enough to forgive her shortcomings? If I didn't, wouldn't I be following her bad example? When I thought about it, I realized real people aren't perfect, so why should I expect a book or movie person to be ideal? If a fictional person is too perfect, that can be just as irritating as one who slips up. Still, there's only so much I'll forgive about a book or movie protagonist. Once that line is crossed, I'm very disappointed. I can't tell you exactly when or how that will happen, because I never know. If an author or script writer is adept...

I don't claim to know all the ways to get readers hooked, but I know some I can share with you. 1. Get a Fantastic Cover.  That's not so easy. One approach might be to study the covers of bestselling authors in your genre, and determine if those covers have anything in common with each other. Or, if an author you happen to know has a cover you really like, ask who designed it. 2. Start Each Book With A Hook. In this fast-paced world, an author has to grab the reader immediately. This may sound obvious, but it can be the most difficult to do. One way to accomplish this is to begin the first paragraph in the middle of an action sequence to pique the reader's curiosity about what's going on and what'll happen next. Or, pose a question. If it's a good one, the reader will want to know the answer. 3. Write a Series . If readers like your character(s), or a certain locale, they're more likely to come back for more, kind of like watching a TV series. 4. Do...

You’ve written a story, and want to share it on Amazon, so the whole world will see it. Before doing so, you need to make sure everything is up to speed. There's lots of ground to cover, but here are a smattering of helpful hints to get you rolling. Do a title page with your book's name, then skip down a few lines and add your author name. Speaking of titles - Don’t choose one that’s been around the block. Readers get confused easily, and if someone recommends a title, the reader might go to the wrong book, instead of yours. Do single space your document. Do indent the first line of your paragraphs, instead of tabbing. Do make page breaks for each chapter and number the chapters. Don’t repeat certain words, especially unusual ones that readers will remember. Do use a Thesaurus or Google to find synonyms. Don’t begin every sentence the same way. Vary the structure. Don’t tell the reader too much backstory. Sprinkle it in a little at a time. Don’t let the cat out of the ...

I have a special treat for you today. My guest is male cover model, Jason Aaron Baca , whose image has graced so many covers, he's closing in on Fabio’s record of 460. Jason Aaron Baca of Los Gatos, CA is a romance novel cover model of over 400 books. Jason was a high school and college baseball player before trying his hand at acting. While on location in Bodega Bay, Ca where he was a double for an actor in “I Know What You Did Last Summer” he was discovered by a photographer and asked to take photos. From there, Jason went on to pose for many different clothing lines including YMLA, Sketchers, and many others. http://amzn.to/1o6oQOZ In 2007 he discovered Romance Novel Cover modeling and put his attention into modeling exclusively for that. AND NOW, HERE’S THE INTERVIEW: Welcome to Blood-Red Pencil, Jason. Don’t let our blog name scare you. We’re just a bunch of editors and authors sharing experiences and advice. This February we’re focusi...

I remember the word, drone, when it was a verb or, at best, an inglorious adjective, certainly not a hip noun. Drone used to mean going on and on about monotonous stuff that no one cared about. My, how times have changed! Multirotors, nicknamed drones, are sweeping the country in more ways than one. Drones are often employed by the government in military operations, but also perform such mundane tasks as delivering library books for universities. Once cleared, Amazon plans to use them for thirty minute package deliveries. This drone had been used at a local concert for aerial shots. I was surprised to learn how accessible drones are, and in many cases, inexpensive.They're so popular that they now need to be registered with the FAA for $5.00, if they're over 0.55 pounds after the batteries, propellers,and camera are loaded. They come in various prices, shapes, sizes, and capabilities. I've seen ads from reputable companies, such as Dell, listing sale prices of le...

Christmas hype often overshadows Thanksgiving, but it shouldn't. Around Thanksgiving, I can't help but be grateful for my many blessings, chief of which are the gift of life, the gift of love, and the gift of country. I've also received another gift, one that sees me through hard times and give me joy. That is the gift of writing. My earliest recollections are of my father driving me and my brothers to the library, where we'd take out stacks of books to bring home and devour.  As I grew older, I dreamed of being a writer, but that's all it was, just a dream. I had no idea how to follow through, or even if I could. That all changed one evening when I attended a presentation at my local library, There, various members of the Chicago-North Romance Writers of America chapter shared how and why they wrote. Though they came from various walks of life, and seemed like normal, everyday people, they'd managed to write books,and many of these women had actually g...

Whether or not you write paranormals, you still have the opportunity to include a ghost or two in your book. Here are some obvious and not-so-obvious ways: Physical Description - Ghostly pallor - A way to describe when a character turns pale or looks sick. Conflict Resolution -  When a character is presented with a quandary, is there a ghost of a chance to rise above it? Is there a light, however dim, at the end of the tunnel? An Unpleasant Event - Is your character dogged by a ghost from the past? Does the memory cause guilt, despair or sadness? In The Company of Loved Ones - Perhaps your character has lost a dear one, yet the warmth of that relationship continues after that person has departed. Your character may even talk to or think about that cherished one as if that person were still alive. Play Pretend - Portray a ghost as an actual character. It can be friendly or mean-spirited, depending on the tone of your book. Halloween - When all else fails, have your charac...

Once your book is released, how can you reach readers? Getting noticed by the mainstream audience isn't easy, and can be costly. No longer can we rely on social media sites to do the job. Facebook has cracked down on posts which include links, which means if you do post about your book, many of your friends won't even see it. Belonging to a Facebook group devoted to books appears to be a good solution, but don't be surprised if you notice the other members are also authors. Yes, authors do love to read, yet what about readers who aren't authors? Where are they hiding? Here are some suggestions to ferret some of them out. Yes, an exchange of money is involved, but almost everything seems to fit that description these days. Perhaps one of my suggestions will work for you. Place an ad in a newspaper. You'll be charged by the size of the ad and what length of time you want it to run. The charge may also depend on whether or not it's running in a metropolita...