Greetings

from the

Amazing Authors Showcase

January 15, 2000

Newsletter #2

You can read it here or on site where you will find much more!

Hello from everyone at the Amazing Authors Showcase! Our numbers on staff are growing, as is the size of the newsletter, in case you hadn’t noticed. Growth is a good thing, especially when that growth brings in new people with new ideas and things to contribute. If you’re interested in becoming a part of the Showcase, let us know. We have a number of new areas planned, and they will all require work. This might be a good opportunity for you aspiring ezine writers to take the plunge and get your first byline.

The POLLS, Boss, The POLLS!

Pepper Raines still has a firm grip on the number 3 spot of the Preditors and Editors Web Polls under Short Stories with her fabulous Christmas story SANTA WAS A TRUCKER. Way to GO, Pepper! And B. Colin Cubbage is right up there in the top thirty of Novels with her recently epubbed book, THE PIT. Currently, Amazing Authors Ezine is in the top twenty of fiction ezines, too. You can view all of the voting results, and cast your own ballots at the following site:

Preditors & Editors Poll http://critters.critique.org/predpoll/

Folks, this is a very prestigious and important poll, and a great opportunity for you to voice your opinion on web content and give your own little ezine a hefty boost in prestige. We are delighted to have made the list and climbed up the ranks steadily, thanks to YOUR voting. But if you’ve not voted yet, you still have until the end of January to participate, and we encourage all of you to do so. Remember, you can vote with every one of your email addresses.

MORE STUFF IN THIS ISSUE

We have a new book review for you in this issue, along with contributed articles and a host of things to tickle your funny bone. All of this great material is still FREE, despite our moving into a larger web location with more room and a whole new millennium in which to operate. That means everything you’re reading right now can be freely distributed to your online buddies.

All we ask is that if you use something out of this newsletter or the ezine, please properly credit it to us or the original author. And while you’re at it, tell your friends about the Amazing Authors web site, including your "real world" buddies, or send them the following url so they can come to visit:

http://members.aol.com/df4pepper/writers.html

NEW AMAZING AUTHORS:

We've added a number of exciting new writers to the Showcase since the last issue. Drop by the authors’ pages and leave a note in their guest books, or send them email and let them know you read their stories.

NICOLE BIGGERS (AquinasFan@aol.com)

Nicole Biggers lives in California. She is starting both her college education next year at Boston College and her quest to become a published author. She writes stories and novels about American western life and has a novel underway entitled THE WAGON TRAIN for which she is seeking an agent. An excerpt from this novel is posted for your reading pleasure on Ms. Biggers’ page.

KAREN ISAACSON (JacobNEsau@aol.com)

Karen Isaacson lives in Montana. As a watercolor artist, writer and observationist, people have always been Karen's favorite subject. She has completed several short stories and novels, among which are WHEN YOU WISH UPON AN APPLE, a teen book, and EDITH HEPPLEWART LIVES! an adult novel. Her newest book, THE BLUE MARBLE, a middle grade novel included on Karen’s author page, is a delightful read for young and old alike.

SEABURY AND LOVE (Co-Authors)

Debra Seabury and Ronald Love both live in Washington State. They have co-authored a fast moving novel entitled CALCULATED RISK, which was selected as the first ever collaborative effort represented here on the Showcase.

Seabury has authored a number of titles for The Center for Applied Research in Education including Ready-to-Use Science Activities for the Elementary Classroom and Earth Smart. Love has written and produced fifty-seven television commercials, including a CLEO award winner. Together, these two have crafted a fabulous new action/adventure/intrigue story that reads like it was taken straight from tomorrow’s headlines. In fact, Seabury and Love have received so much attention for this novel, that we have decided to upgrade them to our new FEATURED AUTHORS for February! Congrats, Ron & Deb!

KELLY WOLF (dkwolf3@juno.com)

Kelly Wolf was born and raised in New York. She attended the State University at Brockport. Writing is now an outlet for her creative energy and sharing her stories has become a true delight. When she is not writing, Kelly studies and practices aromatherapy and herbology, and also spends a lot of time with her family. Her excerpt from THE LAST SNOW is a great start on a novel that deals with life and love.

NEWS FROM THE WRITING WORLD:

(Paraphrased from NEW YORK TIMES articles)

(1) The French publisher Havas and the Italian publisher Mondadori have announced agreements to publish electronic books that can be read on the coming Microsoft Reader software and downloaded from Web sites.

(2) One of the leading U.S. booksellers, Barnes & Noble, bought a 49 percent stake in iUniverse.com., a new electronic publisher that charges a fee to would-be authors to post manuscripts in electronic versions.

(3) NetLibrary has established outposts in China, India and the Philippines, where workers are converting books to electronic copies by typing the text into computers. The digital versions are then copied, edited and refined by “book builders” at a rapidly expanding Boulder headquarters, where two shifts of employees work from 7 a.m. to midnight converting about 50 books a day.

(4) Since August, NetLibrary has sold more than $1.5 million in electronic books to libraries such as that of the University of Texas, which bought 1,000 copies and acquired 5,000 more titles through consortium purchases.

Editorial Comment: Confederate General “Stonewall” Jackson said the key to victory is being the “fustest with the mostest.” That’s what all epublishers should strive for, but in the process, make sure their content is also the best.

ACCOLADES TO AMAZING AUTHORS

TO PEPPER RAINES

FROM: mkilby99@email.msn.com

I loved the story about Santa existing and it brought tears to my eyes. Thank you!! Although I don't have a lot of memory about childhood Christmas' I enjoyed the story and I did try to give my children a good Christmas, fighting my inlaws all the way. When my children asked me if there was really a Santa I told them "Well all I know is that Santa stops coming whenever the person stops believing," and they always believed a few days before and after.

TO PEPPER RAINES

FROM: Ray Spencer

I am honored that you chose my article for your initial issue of the Amazing Authors E-Zine of year 2000. It looks great. Congratulations on your current ranking on the Preditors and Editors Fiction Webzine poll--and to you, Jon, and B. Colin Cubbage for making the esteemed list. Hard work does pay off.

Plus, hooking up with Anne Rice (one of my favorite authors) and Tom Clancy is another testimony to your organization's resourcefulness. Pardon the word usage but you all continue to "Amaze."

TO PEPPER RAINES

From: Marshall Dunham (candles@casco.net) thru info@estreetjournal.com

Rattlin good yarn (A WILD TEXAS WIND). Kept me reading all the way thru and reminded me a lot of a great ride I once hitched in a semi across Texas. Enjoyed it.

TO AMAZING AUTHORS SHOWCASE

From: Erin McCarty (bilbopooh@hotmail.com)

Pepper...Wow! How did you <get my new page up and running> so fast? Especially with all of those graphics! My parents and I were cracking up just looking at the pictures! It's so

awesome!! Thanks!

From: Debra Seabury (WRDSMTH54@aol.com)

Dear Jon and Pepper,

Thank you both for all of your efforts in launching Love & Seabury's new thriller on Amazing Authors Showcase. Ron and I are delighted with this first public exposure for Calculated Risk. We are doubly pleased since we're currently querying agents and have already been able to link one of them directly to the site. No postage, no waiting.

Thanks, too, for your patience. Your respect for serious writing, and for those who struggle to create it, shows in your attention to detail and your unwavering good humor in dealing with cyber newbies. Thanks for giving Calculated Risk (and us) a first rate Internet introduction.

Editorial Comment: It’s been our pleasure to work with dedicated writers like you, “Wordeeee”!

CONTRIBUTED ARTICLE

The Rules Of Writing

Author Unknown

1. Verbs HAS to agree with their subjects.

2. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.

3. And don't start a sentence with a conjunction.

4. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.

5. Avoid cliches like the plague. (They're old hat)

6. Also, always avoid annoying alliteration.

7. Be more or less specific.

8. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are (usually) unnecessary.

9. Also too, never, ever use repetitive redundancies.

10. No sentence fragments.

11. Contractions aren't necessary and shouldn't be used.

12. Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.

13. Don’t be redundant; don’t use more words than necessary; it's highly superfluous.

14. One should NEVER generalize.

15. Comparisons are as bad as cliches.

16. Don't use no double negatives.

17. Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.

18. One-word sentences? Eliminate.

19. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.

20. The passive voice is to be ignored.

21. Eliminate commas, that are, not necessary. Parenthetical words however should be enclosed in commas.

22. Never use a big word when a diminutive one would suffice.

23. Kill all exclamation points!!!

24. Use words correctly, irregardless of how others use them.

25. Understatement is always the absolute best way to put forth earth shaking ideas.

26. Use the apostrophe in it's proper place and omit it when its not needed.

27. Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "I hate quotations. Tell me what you know."

28. If you've heard it once, you've heard it a thousand times: Resist hyperbole; not one writer in a million can use it correctly.

29. Puns are for children, not groan readers.

30. Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.

31. Even IF a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.

32. Who needs rhetorical questions?

33. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.

34. Proofread carefully to see if you any words out.

35. Check for mispellings.

BOOK REVIEWS:

WINGS OF THE VALIANT

©1999 Mark Edward Jones (WingsotheValiant@aol.com)

(currently available from B&N and Borders for $29.95 in CD rom only)

REVIEW BY: Anonymous reader @ Amazon.com

This is a brilliant introduction to a new publishing format, the interactive CD-ROM book. While it could have had some more graphics, the special effects of sound and music don't take away from your imagination while reading. And Jones creates an amazing world to really let the mind go.

The characters are well developed, even the minor ones, and it's nice to see several subplots that intertwine nicely with the main part of the story. The main character’s emotional and physical roller coaster seems real as he goes through some incredible pain, loss, and suffering while trying to keep his sanity.

The story's pacing is good and the main backstory involving ancient Peru is interesting and informative. I just have one complaint ~ it's so well composed, I just wonder where the actually historical part ends and the fiction begins.

The action is top-notch, easy to follow, and fun to read. The last part of the story is in almost a different mood than the rest of the book and the ending, while not completely a surprise, ties up everything neatly and definitely leads to a sequel which I look forward to seeing. What else can I say but it's a thoroughly enjoyable book and deserves two thumbs up!

OF LITTLE VALUE

©1999 Mark Mann (Novelone4@aol.com)

(Under consideration for publication)

REVIEW BY: LeLienne@aol.com

In an industry where literary critics use hyperboles to endorse a novel and where fantasies are boundless, Of Little Value provides a refreshing story about one man's greatest adventure--life. With life comes pain, disappointment, and personal triumph. Recognition, self discovery and love are Mark Mann's themes in Of Little Value. Literature is attractive when the reader has the ability to do more than merely visualize. Mann's novel allows the reader to recognize him/herself in a character. Mark Mann masters this quality by developing more than mere characters on a page; he elucidates people we know, people we love, people like ourselves.

QUICKIES OF THE WEEK:

Merge-matic books from the Washington Post Invitational: readers were asked to combine the works of two authors and provide a suitable blurb.

WINNER: "Machiavelli's The Little Prince"

-- Antoine de Saint-Exupery's classic children's tale as presented by Machiavelli. The whimsy of human nature is embodied in many delightful and intriguing characters, all of whom are executed. (Erik Anderson, Tempe, Ariz.)

First Runner-Up: "Green Eggs and Hamlet"

Would you kill him in his bed?

Thrust a dagger through his head?

I would not, could not, kill the King.

I could not do that evil thing.

I would not wed this girl, you see.

Now get her to a nunnery. (Robin Parry, Arlington)

Honorable Mentions:

"Where's Walden?"

-- Alas, the challenge of locating Henry David Thoreau in each richly detailed drawing loses its appeal when it quickly becomes clear that he is always in the woods. (Sandra Hull, Arlington)

"Catch-22 in the Rye"

-- Holden learns that if you're insane, you'll probably flunk out of prep school, but if you're flunking out of prep school, you're probably not insane. (Brendan Beary, Great Mills)

"2001: A Space Iliad"

-- The Hal 9000 computer wages an insane 10-year war against the Greeks after falling victim to the Y2K bug. (Joseph Romm, Washington)

"The Maltese Faulkner"

-- Is the black bird a tortured symbol of Sam's struggles with race and family? Does it signify his decay of soul along with the soul of the Old South? Is it merely a crow, mocking his attempts to understand? Or is it worth a cool mil? (Thad Humphries, Warrenton)

"The Silence of the Hams"

-- In this endearing update of the Seuss classic, young Sam-I-Am presses unconventional foodstuffs on his friend, Hannibal, who turns the tables. (Mark Eckenwiler, Washington)

------------

Can you imagine working for an organization like this? It has fewer than 1000 employees with the following statistics:

*29 have been accused of spousal abuse

*7 have been arrested for fraud

*19 have been accused of writing bad checks

*117 have bankrupted at least two businesses

*3 have been arrested for assault

*71 cannot get a credit card due to bad credit

*14 have been arrested on drug related charges

*8 have been arrested for shoplifting

*21 are defendants in lawsuits

*In 1998 alone, 84 were stopped for drunk driving

(No, this is NOT some sleezebag aluminum siding company we’re talking about---it’s actually the U.S. Congress!)

THE BOTTOM LINES:

If you have news of your own writing exploits or something you think will be of value to the Amazing Authors readership, please send the information to be included with the next newsletter to AmazingAuthors@aol.com. The next issue should be in the mail around the first of February. Until then, we wish you great success in your writing and creative efforts.

The Staff of the Amazing Authors Showcase

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