Tag: Lane Diamond Author (Page 5 of 8)

Lane Diamond is once again hanging his “Freelance Editor” shingle.

January 10, 2012 / Lane Diamond / 0 Comments

Yep, because I love working 24 hours per day, I’m once again making room for a select few clients for my freelance editing service. Now that our initial blast of releases is complete for Evolved Publishing, my shingle, which has been down for several months, will hang once again.

My primary interest is in authors still needing some developmental assistance to bring their books to a level at which they are marketable. Frankly, I find this the most rewarding process – good for my heart and soul. There’s just no better feeling than helping writers get to that point where they can legitimately pursue their dreams of becoming published authors.

For more, just click on my EDITING SERVICE page.

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What makes a great character in fiction?

January 5, 2012 / Lane Diamond / 2 Comments

I love books that give me rich, real characters. They must appear as breathing, walking, talking people who live on the page. Do not give me plastic, shallow clichés, please.

Let us take, for example, Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee’s singular masterpiece. Is he an ordinary man engaged in an extraordinary act? Is he an extraordinary man doing what such men do? Is he a simple smalltown lawyer, an easy-going, unobtrusive gentleman hoping to raise his kids well and survive as a single father?

Yes. To all of those, yes. He is a rich, deep character for which we as readers can peel back layer after layer.

Here are some more of my favorite characters:

Santiago, the old Cuban fisherman from Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea.

Alessandro Giuliani, the World War I vet from Mark Helprin’s A Soldier of the Great War.

Hawkeye from James Fennimore Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans.

Owen Meany, the diminutive but strong protagonist in John Irving’s A Prayer for Owen Meany.

Jack Reacher from Lee Child’s series of thriller novels.

Myron Bolitor from Harlan Coben’s series of mystery-thrillers.

Odd Thomas from Dean Koontz’s multi-book series.

George Smiley from John Le Carre’s Cold War spy thrillers.

These are just a few, but each of them offers a rich emotional and intellectual depth that brings them to life. What do they look like? I don’t know. I don’t care. How they look is not something that grabs most readers by the throat and compels them to learn more about the characters. We want to know what really makes them tick.

As an author, I seek to create just such characters. Readers will judge whether I’ve succeeded, but early feedback for Forgive Me, Alex looks positive.

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Coffee – Elixir of the Gods

December 29, 2011 / Lane Diamond / 2 Comments

Abraham Lincoln said, “If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend six sharpening my axe.”

Preparation. I like that, but here’s my question: How could one even get started were it not for coffee?

Or am I just a lousy-morning person? Probably. I’ve always been a night owl, since my wee days as an aspiring author, back when pacifiers were an amazing distraction. (I gave those up years ago.)

I swear, sometimes I want to skip the whole brewing thing and go right to chewing on the beans.

I awoke this morning, as Arlo Guthrie once sang, “…hung down, brung down, hung up, and all kinds of mean, nasty, ugly things!”

Then I had a cup of coffee. Then I had a second cup of coffee. And I thought, “You know, I’m just about ready to dig into work and ge—” Then I had a third cup of coffee.

Aaaaahhhhhhhhh………… Yes, now I’m ready to get down to some serious work. Now I’ve sharpened my axe… err… brain.

Do you have a guilty pleasure that functions also as grease for your mental wheels?

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Dear Readers, Have you posted your reviews online?

December 28, 2011 / Lane Diamond / 2 Comments

One of the tools that authors have always relied on, indeed that many have lived or died on (metaphorically speaking), is the priceless Reader Review.

In this new eBook environment we live in, this is easier than ever, and arguably more important than ever. Let’s face it, when you go to Amazon or Barnes and Noble, or Smashwords, what’s one of the key indicators to help you decide if a book is worth your hard-earned entertainment dollar?

Yes, you can sample the book online, reading the first several pages, or even chapters, of the book. I always do this now. Indeed, I wouldn’t think of buying a book from an unknown author without doing so. The next thing I look at are the reviews. If there are only a couple of them, I assume—fairly or not—that those are from the author’s brother, or girlfriend, or husband, or favored pet. If there are several of them, I read them and get a better sense of whether I want to try the book.

And so, if you purchase (or pick up free) an indie author’s eBook, and you don’t leave a review, you’re making it harder for that author to succeed. Why should you care? Well, Dear Reader, if you like the author’s work, but that author fails and decides to just stick with the day job, you’ll lose a source of pleasant entertainment.

Thus, if you’d like to help out this poor starving author, or any other, please take a moment to post ratings and/or reviews. In my case, you can do so at:

For Forgive Me, Alex: Amazon ; Barnes and Noble ; Smashwords ; Goodreads.

For Paradox: Amazon ; Barnes and Noble ; Smashwords ; Goodreads.

For Devane’s Reality: Amazon ; Barnes and Noble ; Smashwords ; Goodreads.

For Wind Tunnel: Amazon ; Barnes and Noble ; Smashwords ; Goodreads.

For Well-Suited Sentry: Amazon ; Barnes and Noble ; Smashwords ; Goodreads.

For Evolution: Vol. 1: Amazon ; Barnes and Noble ; Smashwords ; Goodreads.

For Evolution: Vol. 2: Amazon ; Barnes and Noble ; Smashwords ; Goodreads.

So rate and review to your heart’s desire, and from the bottom of my heart, thank you.

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Today I posted at the Evolved Publishing blog: For Aspiring Authors.

December 28, 2011 / Lane Diamond / 0 Comments

Stop on over and say, “Hi.”

Evolved Publishing Blog

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Why set psychological thriller, “Forgive Me, Alex,” in sleepy little Algonquin, Illinois?

December 27, 2011 / Lane Diamond / 0 Comments

Yes, there is a method to my madness. Let’s face it: when we think serial killers and places like… oh, New York, Chicago, Miami, Los Angeles—any big city—we think, “Yeah, that’s just how it is.”

Yet when we think of human monsters assaulting small-town America, some out-of-the-way, comfortable little bedroom community or rural farm country, a certain sense of shock and dismay assaults us. Such locations are the “good” places, the quiet places where everyone knows his neighbors, the idyllic settings where bad things don’t happen—at least, where bad unnatural things don’t happen.

It’s silly, of course, since senseless murder is a horrifying event no matter where it occurs. Yet we feel differently about it when it happens someplace… safe. It upsets our fragile psychology, our sense of security, our comfort in letting the kids walk several blocks to school. Surely, no monsters hide in places like this.

Ah, but evil can lurk even where we least expect it. All the cruel beasts need is a supply of unwary subjects, a source of fuel to drive their sick, twisted, psychopathic engine.

Thus, I chose Algonquin, Illinois, my hometown, as the setting for Forgive Me, Alex, because it is just such a place. I felt comfortable helping the reader feel that sense of angst because, after all, I grew up there. I know it. I don’t spend too much time building up the setting, because I think that, beyond the aforementioned small-town qualities, the story would be effective in any small town. I do hope, however, that you get a sense of the simple, quiet nature of the place.

Don’t forget: You still have a few days to save $2.00 on the book at Smashwords. Just use Coupon Code BC83B. Don’t forget to post your review when done.

Thank you, and happy New Year.

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Holiday Reflections – A Sad Look Back, An Optimistic Look Forward

December 25, 2011 / Lane Diamond / 0 Comments

Once again, a Merry Christmas to one and all—be safe, be healthy, be happy. The second of those three—be healthy—is the source of quite a bit of personal reflection these days.

Bob Ashley, R.I.P.

A couple weeks ago, my brother, Bob Ashley, succumbed to cancer. Technically, Bob was my half brother on my father’s side—a father I barely knew. I’ll not go into the dysfunctional details; I’ll just say that I got to know Bob later in life—me in my early 40s, he in his mid-50s. We hit it off nicely, being of like mind in everything from humor (humor was a biggie) to family to politics to just plain living life. I liked Bob instantly. We never thought of each other as “half” brothers, just brothers who discovered each other later than we would have liked.

Despite the fact that Bob and I didn’t see a lot of each other in recent years, living some 1,000 miles apart, keeping in touch primarily through email and social media sites, my appreciation of him did not diminish. Indeed, before he got sick, we were trying to sort out plans for a long overdue visit. Thus, his passing hit home with a thump. Cancer has been such a scourge on my family over the years, as it has been for so many.

I’ve been battling my own health issue these past few years, a condition call Post-Concussion Syndrome (PCS). Again, I’ll spare you the details, except to say that it threw my life into a state of turmoil back in 2006. Since then, I’ve been battling my way back, sorting out a new, productive path to a brighter future, building hope and optimism back into my life. It’s been a tough slog, but the light at the end of the tunnel grows nearer, larger—I can almost reach out and touch it.

And so, through it all, and as I reflect on life during this holiday season, I can’t help but be reminded that nothing—absolutely nothing—is more important than your health, and the health and wellbeing of family and friends.

I hope you and yours are enjoying the blessings not just of the season, but of life without excessive worry or loss.

This one’s for you, Bob. Go gently into that good night, brother, and rest easy.

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A New Science Fiction Short Story – FREE – “Paradox”

December 19, 2011 / Lane Diamond / 0 Comments

That’s right: ***FREE***

Pick up Paradox – A Short Story, available FREE in all eBook formats at Smashwords and BookieJar.

It won’t be free at Amazon until they catch it with their eBots, and who knows how long that will take. In the meantime, if you absolutely, positively must buy it at Amazon, it’s priced at the minimum $0.99.

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Is “Take Your Child to a Bookstore Day” in jeopardy?

December 3, 2011 / Lane Diamond / 4 Comments

Today is Take Your Child to a Bookstore Day nationally. How many of you knew that?

This is a fantastic idea. Kids need to read more, to know the wonder and majesty of the written word, to let their imaginations carry them to worlds created wholly on the page.

Yet with the advent of the eBook, and the slow (or maybe not-so-slow) dwindling of print books, might this laudable event be in jeopardy? The Borders bookstore chain is already gone. Barnes & Noble is cutting back on shelf space, rather drastically in some cases. Mom-and-Pop bookshops are struggling to keep their heads above water—those that haven’t already vanished.

Fewer people are buying print books at all, and those who are do so more often online, or through discounters like Wal-Mart and Target. So where are parents going to take their children in the future?

Perhaps it’s time we started a new tradition: a monthly Read with Your Child day. We could use the third Saturday of each month, for example, and dedicate two hours per month to actually sit down and read with our kids, to talk about books, about their favorite stories and characters—and why they made their choices.

I remain more convinced than ever that kids must read more, particularly in a world dominated by television and computer games. Use eReaders. Go ahead! I mean, let’s face it: eReaders are right up your kid’s alley. Just read with them. Please! It does for their brain development what TV and computer games cannot.

And then maybe—just maybe—we’ll stop hearing twenty-somethings toss out sentences like this real-life gem: “It’s like… so… I don’t know, kinda like… well, you know what I mean?”

My response: “Well, no, I don’t know what you mean. Perhaps if you spoke English.”

Her response: “OMG! Like… whatever!”

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Newer Pictures of an Older Me, Family Visit, and Giants on Mini-Planes

December 2, 2011 / Lane Diamond / 0 Comments

I’m catching up now from the time I took off for the Thanksgiving holiday. It’s a slog, but I’m getting there.

One of the things I did was update this website, along with various social media sites where I play, with some new pictures. They show the newer, older me. Yikes! That’s okay.

My little sister, Dawn Lane Vornholt (aka Laney Bird), took the pictures while I was visiting her and Rich, her husband, in Georgia over the Thanksgiving holiday. She’s accustomed to taking pictures of beautiful things—mostly birds. I hope her camera survived the shock.

I hadn’t seen little sis in over three years, not counting our Skype conversations, so it was great to catch up. I also got to visit with Rich, a fun guy with a great sense of humor, and even his three daughters (from previous marriage), Hayley, Anna and Piper—good peeps, one and all. Rich and Dawn were exceedingly generous, and I had a great time.

I managed to meet up with my business partner, D.T. Conklin, while I was in Georgia. As fate would have it, he lives a little over an hour from my sister. We hammered out some business, enjoyed some good food and drink, and I met his lovely wife, Kesh. Don’t know what she sees in him, but… no accounting for taste. (Just kidding!)

I used to fly routinely on business and pleasure, jumping on planes dozens of times per year. The past few years, however, flying has been a rarity. Thank God! Man, I hate cattle cars… I mean airports. And I hate being a giant on those itty-bitty planes.

I mean… I must be a giant, since my right shoulder hung out in the aisle even as my left shoulder cozied-up with the person seated to my left. I wish they built planes for giants like me—you know, people who weigh more than 100 pounds. A few people on the plane were twice my size—well, twice my weight—and man, did I feel sorry for the people sitting next to them! No offense, big people, but that can’t be comfortable on a mini-plane. And I must have been on a mini-plane.

It’s also not a fun thing to land in a mini-plane when the wind is gusting to 60 MPH.

If I’m lucky, I won’t have to get on a plane for a while. I figure it will be at east a year, as plans now stand. Maybe by then, they’ll have built planes large enough to seat adults comfortably.

One can dream.

So now it’s back to the grind, to a workload that borders on insane. I swear, I’m busier than a one-winged bee at a honeycomb convention. Oh well, I guess that’s why I get the big bucks. Oh wait! Ahhhh… never mind.

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