Update: Author incorrectly listed as “Sally Melving”. The correct name is “Sylvia Melvin”.

Helena: Unwavering Courage is a biography book by Sylvia Melvin available in eBook on the Kindle.

Genre: Non-fiction – Biography
Length: 139 pages/30,000 words
Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 291 KB
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B005PTVLJU
Lending: Enabled

Synopsis

Can you imagine a woman burying her husband in the morning and then giving birth to his last child in the afternoon? On the morning of July 18, 1913, the village folk of Loring, Ontario, Canada, wake to the news that James Matthews, owner of the first auto wagon in the area, is thrown from his vehicle and dies with a crushed skull. Two days later, Helena, his wife, goes into premature labor and watches from her bedroom window as members of the Masonic Lodge along with friends and family escort his body to the cemetery.

No longer able to lean on her husband for support, Helena turns to two factors in her life she can count on—the love of her children and her faith. Together, they help her face a new and uncertain future.

Unaware of how her courage, humor, and determination impacts her family, Helena’s life is a testimony to succeeding generations.

Ebook available for only $2.99.

What Reviewers Say About Sylvia Melvin’s Work

Nicole Langan “Tribute Books Reviews” - “It is an enchanting idea to write a novel based on the life of one’s ancestor. Melvin does a terrific job bringing her grandmother’s past to life. What a wonderful way to preserve family history while at the same time sharing it with a larger audience. The book’s pictures increase the narrative’s depth. Helena’s portrait graces the cover while interior photos show Billy and Harry fishing on the river and Edith, Annie and Harry playing in the woods. An epilogue explains what happened to everyone once the narrative concludes with the 10 year anniversary of James Matthews’ death.

Overall, this is a real life heroine whose story deserves to be told.”

Michelle R. Barlow – “Helena Unwavering Courage is a wonderful story of hope and love in the face of great adversity. I read the book in one afternoon and loved the way the book made me go through a full range of emotions from sadness, to hope, and happiness. This story for me has a similar feeling of the beloved classic “Little Women” which also has a strong matriarch. I love the way Helena guides her children with such devoted love and never allows the tragedy of burrying (sic) her husband on the same day their precious baby girl is born make her sit down and give up. All moms whether married or single face many obstacles along the way of raising their children. Helena is an example of how no matter how difficult the stituations (sic) are with love and faith in God we can make it through the pain to embrace the joy of life and family.”

About Sylvia Melvin

Sylvia Melvin is an elementary school teacher and lives in Milton, Florida. She is active in the Panhandle Writers Group and enjoys writing novels and short stories.

Images Courtesy of Sylvia Melvin

We are extremely proud to announce that Author Outbreak is now a member of the AllTop.com family in the ‘books’ section.

What is AllTop

AllTop is ranked #2,777 currently in the world by Alexa and is #1,292 in the United States. The site describes itself as the ‘online magazine rack’ of the internet. The site lists or ‘aggregates’ top stories and then disseminates those headlines under their main categories.

Currently AllTop is the brain trust of Guy Kawasaki. You may be familiar with this name as he is the former chief evangelist of Apple. AllTop, true to its name, is picky about what they list as their stated goal is to make sure that only sites with real information and relevance get put into the pot.

Even Pro bloggers have talked about AllTop, including Chris Brogan (How AllTop Powers Bloggers).

The front page of the site then lists the best received links and articles that come into the site via the numerous RSS feeds submitted through the listing process.

What This Means For You

Because of AllTop’s close ties to major internet names and big companies, AllTop is considered a top destination to track things that the internet and blogosphere is interested in.

This means that for every book and every author submitted to AuthorOutbreak.com [and therefore to the RSS feed we put out], you are now going to be hitting a much wider segment of the internet through the AllTop portal. We are incredibly excited about this as it means we can get our members that much further above the roar of the rest of the internet.

How to Help Us Help You

If you are truly interested in helping us widen the reach (and therefore widen your listing’s reach), we could use your help.

First, watch our listing on AllTop.com [we’re at the bottom of the page since we’re new]. If you have an account with AllTop, go ahead and add us to your “My AllTop” by clicking the plus button. You’ll see that our listing there shows the last five posts in our RSS feed.

The more folks you can get to add that listing to their ‘My AllTop’ page, the more we rise to the top of the heap. This means that every time you get featured, your book listing gains more eyes on the links.

Second, if you are featured here and you see your link go up on AllTop, make a big to-do about it. Link to the AllTop page, link to the AuthorOutbreak.com page, and tweet about it. This gives further relevance in the eyes of search engines to that link and AllTop is more likely to move the listing further up towards their front page.

Third, help other authors out by following steps one and two for the authors you want to support.

Get Listed on AllTop

If you are willing to take a couple rejection emails, you can try to get your own blog listed on AllTop. You’ll need to go to their submission page and fill out the form. Be warned they are very picky and may choose not to list your site. But it might be useful to garnering you traffic if you succeed.

Are you listed on a big site? Let us know in the comments!

Genre: Non-Fiction – Advice & How-to
Length: 24,000 words
Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 112 KB
Publisher: K. Loren Wilson (July 29, 2011)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B005F9VV7W
Lending: Enabled

Synopsis

After selling 90 novels and teaching writing to more than 100 students, Jacqueline Diamond decided to share her knowledge of the craft of fiction in this 24,000-word book (that’s about 80 pages in conventional printing). You won’t find any one-size-fits-all schemes, just readable information with tips organized to help you no matter how much or how little writing experience you have.

This book is based on three articles previously published in Romance Writers of America’s monthly magazine plus Jackie’s workshop “Turning Your Weaknesses Into Strengths.” Everything has been updated and rewritten for this book. The author has also created study notes to help writers analyze techniques used in the first chapters of a mystery, a dark paranormal romance and a light Regency historical romance. Price: $2.99.

About Jacqueline Diamond

A former Associated Press reporter and TV columnist under the name Jackie Hyman, Diamond has won a Career Achievement Award from Romantic Times magazine, has finaled twice for RWA’s prestigious Rita Award, and has hit bestseller lists including Waldenbooks and USA Today.

Her novels have been translated into French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, German, Turkish, Japanese, Norwegian, Greek, Swedish, Hungarian, Korean, Czech and Danish. She currently writes the Safe Harbor Medical romance series for Harlequin American Romance. A full list of her novels is available on her website, www.jacquelinediamond.com, along with free writing tips. She has sold 90 novels in genres including fantasy, mystery, romance and paranormal.

Jackie teaches writing for Long Ridge Writers Group, which is college accredited in the state of Connecticut.

What Reviewers Say About “How To Write A Novel”

Gary F . Bale – “The mere fact that Ms. Diamond can say in a comparatively few pages what many authors struggle to confine to three or four hundred pages of “how to write” says it all. Although she downplays her vast experience as a writer and teacher a bit, there is no doubt she gets what the nuts and bolts of writing are and lays it out in a refreshingly straightforward treatment. I have read [and discarded] dozens of “how to write” books; this little gem, however, is a keeper!”

M.M. Smith – “How to Write a Novel in One (Not-so-easy) Lesson, was an instant eye-opener for me. And I speak as a consumer. Jackie provides ample advice with a wealth of examples. She compares right from wrong, and gives plenty of her best work to learn from. In my opinion, Jackie’s a pro – 90 books written, novels of which I read daily. I have every faith, you will learn something.”

Buy “How To Write a Novel”

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Genre: Suspense
Length: 57,000 words
Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 271 KB
Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1466247150
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Publisher: Blackwater Books Publishing (August 21, 2011)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B005IEOWTS
Lending: Enabled

Synopsis

Five-year-old Sara Sands loves to play on a beach in the Florida panhandle.

But when an oil platform blows up in the Gulf of Mexico and creates a spill, an oil company executive makes a self-serving decision that puts her in danger.

And Cotton Chastain’s gift of seeing into the future may be the only thing that can save little Sara.

About Tommie Lyn

Tommie Lyn has made her home in the beautiful Florida panhandle for over 35 years. Her husband of 48 years (who was her high school sweetheart) retired from the Navy after being transferred to Florida from Okinawa in 1975. Four of her novels and some of her short stories are set in the panhandle.

An avid reader since childhood, she began writing fiction five years ago and writes short stories and novels in a variety of genres: historical, mystery/suspense, supernatural thriller and mainstream fiction. Currently, a showcase of short stories is freely available for readers on her website. Seven of her novels are available for purchase from Amazon.com.

Encouraging other writers is important to her. In order to provide that encouragement, she maintains membership in writers’ groups. She’s been a member of the local Panhandle Writers Group four years and is a member of online writers’ groups as well.

Buy The Sands of Santa Rosa

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Images Courtesy of Tommie Lyn

Genre: Science Fiction
Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 523 KB
Print Length: 282 pages
Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0982514549
Publisher: Ridan Publishing (May 2, 2010)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B003KGBH3K
Lending: Enabled

Synopsis

The Golden Age of Sail has Returned — in the Year 2352. When his mother dies in a flitter crash, eighteen-year-old Ishmael Horatio Wang must find a job with the planet company or leave the system–and NerisCo isn’t hiring.

With credits running low, and prospects limited, he has just one hope…to enlist for two years with a deep space commercial freighter. Ishmael, who only rarely visited the Neris Orbital, and has never been off-planet alone before, finds himself part of an eclectic crew sailing a deep space leviathan between the stars.

Join the crew of the SC Lois McKendrick, a Manchester built clipper as she sets solar sails in search of profit for her company and a crew each entitled to a share equal to their rating.

Awards and Recognition

• 2008 Parsec Award Finalist for Best Speculative Fiction for Full Share
• 2008 Podiobooks Founder’s Choice Award for Double Share
• 2008 Parsec Award Finalist for Best Speculative Fiction for South Coast
• 2009 Podiobooks Founder’s Choice Award for Captain’s Share
• 2009 Parsec Award Finalist for Best Speculative Fiction for Double Share
• 6 out of 10 Top Overall Rated podio books (#3 Ravenwood, #4 Quarter Share, #5 Double Share, #6 Captain’s Share, #7 Full Share, #10 South Coast) as of May 2010
• 5 out of 10 Top Overall Rated by Votes podio books (#2 Double Share, #3 Quarter Share, #4 Full Share, #7 Half Share, #10 Captain’s Share) as of May 2010

About Nathan Lowell

Nathan Lowell has been a writer for more than forty years, and first entered the literary world by podcasting his novels. His sci-fi series, Trader’s Tales from The Golden Age of the Solar Clipper, grew from his long time fascination with space opera and his own experiences shipboard in the United States Coast Guard. Unlike most works which focus on a larger-than-life hero (prophesized savior, charismatic captain, or exiled prince), Nathan centers on the people behind the scenes–ordinary men and women trying to make a living in the depths of space. In his novels, there are no bug-eyed monsters, or galactic space battles, instead he paints a richly vivid and realistic world where the “hero” uses hard work and his own innate talents to improve his station and the lives of those of his community.

Dr. Nathan Lowell holds a Ph.D. in Educational Technology with specializations in Distance Education and Instructional Design. He also holds an M.A. in Educational Technology and a BS in Business Administration. He grew up on the south coast of Maine and is strongly rooted in the maritime heritage of the sea-farer. He served in the USCG from 1970 to 1975, seeing duty aboard a cutter on hurricane patrol in the North Atlantic and at a communications station in Kodiak, Alaska. He currently lives in the plains east of the Rocky Mountains with his wife and two daughters.

Buy Quarter Share

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All Images Courtesy of Nathan Lowell

Cheap VS Good

The study of price points is something that a lot of the more involved self-published authors pursue. They search for a price that attracts the highest numbers of readers while garnering the author the highest returns.

The most successful authors are now pricing between $.99 and $2.99. The $2.99 price point is of course receiving Amazon’s 70% royalty rate which is a higher rate of return than many others out there.

Commonly, authors who price at a much higher range look down on the lower price points. The more vocal online seem to feel that a lower price equates to a poor book. This is not so. And readers are quickly coming to grips with that fact.

Motivated to Sell

Amazon started the ‘Sunshine Deals’ program and the chart above shows the average price of best sellers over that period of time. This program highlights cheaper deals, and in doing so Amazon seems to have super charged sales in that price band, driving a large percentage of these books onto the bestseller list for the first time. It is worth querying whether the Sunshine Deals program has caused the decline of sales in higher priced books.

It is interesting to note that the Nook best seller list is regulated so that a book under $4 cannot achieve a best seller number higher than rank 126 (eBook Market Review, 2011).

But despite these specific issues on Amazon and Nook sales, the International Digital Publishing Forum or IDPF as it is commonly called is reporting the skyrocketing of sales of eBooks.

What does this mean for an author who has no eBook format? It means that you are less likely to get onto the most commonly checked sellers lists as well as missing an ever growing share of the market.

These are the latest reportings from the IDPF (Industry Statistics, IDPF 2011), and this year alone you can see the expanding growth of eBooks in returns.

Q1 10 – $91,000,000
Q2 10 – $88,700,000
Q3 10 – $119,700,000

The American Association of Publishers (AAP) also released a report in April of this year that contained the following insights into the sales growth of the industry.

“For the year to date (January/February 2011 vs January/February 2010), which encompasses this heavy post-holiday buying period, e-Books grew 169.4% to $164.1M while the combined categories of print books fell 24.8% to $441.7M.*

According to Tom Allen, President and Chief Executive Officer of AAP, “The February results reflect two core facts: people love books and publishers actively serve readers wherever they are. The public is embracing the breadth and variety of reading choices available to them. They have made e-Books permanent additions to their lifestyle while maintaining interest in print format books.” “ – AAP, 2011

The most obvious conclusions then become that while you should have a print version of your work available, it is becoming more important to use an eBook when you choose a launch. The public is much more likely to snap it up faster than a “dead tree version” as some authors have taken to calling traditional books.

Free Equals More Sales

As Best Selling paranormal and erotic romance author Tina Folsom learned to her pain, losing a free sample option on the Barnes&Noble store drastically cut sales. Barnes & Noble’s Nook store unexpectedly ceased offering free sample chapters for self-published erotica novels in early 2011. This meant that a potential reader would no longer be able to test drive an e-Romance before purchase. Folsom said she saw a 35% drop in sales (TheNextWeb.com, 2011), devastating her returns overnight. Barnes & Noble has not explained why they pulled this option for indie authors, but erotica published via traditional publishers did not lose the option.

If nothing else, this makes Amazon a much more attractive market for a self-published or indie author. For an Indie author, free does in fact pull in more sales. And one of the best ways to get your cheap eBooks to move is to offer a podiobook version. This is similar to an audiobook, but it is offered as a podcast.

Of course this means an author must record, edit, and release the podcast but a site like Podiobooks.com is perfect for authors looking to do just such a sales tactic.

Wrap Up

An Indie author’s best friend is the eBook and the best sales tactic is giving away either a free sample or a free book. Make sure you allow lending of the book to get the widest spread from readers. This is a sales promotion that can be turned to good effect if you are already looking at a broad readership in a genre like Romance or Paranormal Fiction.

Have any other sales ideas? Leave us a comment below!

Images courtesy of IBDF & eBook Market Review

Genre: Suspense/Thriller
Length: 72,000 words
Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 547 KB
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Publisher: BookBaby (July 26, 2011)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B005ESFUZI
Lending: Enabled

Synopsis

When a former cult member’s mysterious death shocks her two best childhood friends, they risk their lives by returning to the very compound where they escaped years earlier after killing the leader. Besides attempting to identify the killer, one must save her son, and the other must save her brother.

Becky Hartman is a bored, pill-popping housewife in Michigan with little excitement and less motivation. Jodie James is a free spirit, tequila-swilling bartender in Arkansas who avoids talking about her past. When the two women learn of their friend Samantha’s death, each must confront current cult leaders Josiah and Enoch Lazarus, sons of the fallen cult leader.

Josiah and Enoch intend to bring the Church into the mainstream and recruit an army for an impending holy war. Josiah sees the return of the women as an opportunity to avenge his father, and reconcile with his wife. Enoch sees their return as a way to rebuild a family by reclaiming his first love. Neither intends to let the women leave the cult again.

A conflicted PI, an ex-con youth minister, a jaded church elder, a gay waiter, the leader’s bitter ex-fiancée and Jodie’s thug boyfriend all become involved in the women’s plight. What begins as a newcomer’s weekend on the compound will end in bullets and flames, all with a documentary film crew on-hand to capture the drama.

About Penni Jones

Penni Jones is a stay-at-home mom who spends any free time she can get reading and writing. She resides in Michigan, but being a Southern Girl, she complains all winter. The Utopia of Noah Lazarus is her first published novel.

What Reviewers Are Saying About Penni Jones

C. Bratcher  – “There are many characters involved in the unfolding of this story and they are all very well developed and organized. The story keeps you on the edge of your seat without being overly shocking or brutal to the senses. My favorite quality of this book was the author’s ability to show the ‘villains’ as human and no just ‘bad people’. I hated to finish it. I look forward to more Penni Jones’s works.”

cherryred  – “I thought this book was great! I called into to work to finish it. The characters were well developed and the story kept me one the edge of my seat. I would recommend this book to anyone.”

Melodie N. Ladner – “The Utopia of Noah Lazarus” has a lot going for it. It’s written in a deceptively simple voice, lending gravitas to subject matter that might have come off as lurid and sensationalistic in different hands. It’s also written with breakneck pacing, flinging the reader around from one character, one location to the next, in a way that’s exciting to read.”

Buy The Utopia of Noah Lazarus

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All Images Courtesy of Penni Jones

Have you ever wondered where your writing is going? Have you ever hoped you could pick brains of truly creative people and know that the ideas you got were worth your time and effort? Have you ever wondered what you need to be truly great writer, and will that software you just saw actually help? Today we are highlighting some blogs that speak to those needs.

The Creative Penn

This site is run by Joanna Penn. TheCreativePenn.com is aimed at people who are interested in writing, publishing of all different kinds and internet marketing/promotion for their books (in print/eBook or audio format). Joanna’s main goal is to make this site a wealth of information for authors and writers online.

Fun Facts: Currently Joanna has around 20k followers on Twitter. The site has a great community and following. She also is a NaNoWrMo winner!

Spilling Ink

Spilling Ink is oriented for kids, authors of kids books, and kids at heart who love to write. They run contents, story starter ideas, and maintain a wealth of ideas for teachers and homeschoolers. The site was originally started in support of the book: Spilling Ink: A Young Writer’s Handbook. We recommend this site for our more youthful authors!

Fun Fact: The site maintains a list of online e-magazines that run fiction from young authors. They also run contents that kids can participate in and get published via.

The Creative Mind

The Creative Mind blog, by Douglas Eby, is a blog that explores some of the psychological influences that effect how you act creatively. Douglas Eby has a Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology and has over twenty years experience in both writing and publishing.

Fun Fact: This blog is full of theory and ideas from a completely unique perspective. It is an interesting read for those who want to more fully understand why they are creative and how to use your natural wiring to best advantage.

Becoming A Writer – Seriously

Becoming a Writer – Seriously, is a blog run by Thomas B. Colvin. Colvin has an extensive writing history having served as a teacher of English and History, as well as a professional trainer teaching communication and management skills. The site centers on the “four realms” of being a writer: Thinking, Organizing, Writing, and Promoting.

Fun Fact: As Information Officer at the Asian Development Bank, Thomas Colvin organized VIP briefings for Heads of State and Royalty in a multi-media briefing theater designed under his direction. The site also offers software recommendations for writers including business software for maintaining your money records as an author.

Writers Write

The WritersWrite.com site is a great site for all writers, not just authors. It maintains job listings, ads, awards, giveaways, feeds, networks, and much more for writers in all genres and platforms, including bloggers. Don’t miss their special Self-Publishing Section including Writer’s Classifieds.

Fun Fact: Writers Write has a lot of news regarding the publishing world. It’s worth following to stay up on publishing and writing concerns.

Writing Forward

Writing Forward is a blog that helps you polish your writing including grammar, journaling, and more. Some of their features include writing exercises, writing prompts, and writing resources to help your writing improve dramatically.

Fun Fact: One of their top posts includes The 22 Best Writing Tips Ever. Check it out and find out if you have your writing in tip-top shape.

Flogging The Quill

Ever heard of the page 90 test? Flogging the Quill lets readers decide if they’d turn the page after reading the 1st chapter of a novel. The site also aims to help authors learn to craft compelling stories.

Fun Fact: This site is an awesome way to get your novel in front of more viewers. Submit your first chapter to the Flogometer and get featured. We can’t guarantee a good rating though as ratings by the audience are subjective.

Page 99 Test

After reading page 99 of a novel, would you turn the page? The folks at page 99 want to see if your novel is good enough. Submit your novel for consideration and get some feedback from their audience.

Fun Fact: Like Flogging The Quill, the Page 99 Test site is an awesome way to get your book rated. You might even catch some good blurbs for the cover if the novel is well received!

Kindle Boards

Have you been searching for an author-friendly forum? Check out the Kindle Boards. You are bound to network here and might even find a mentor or two to help you learn the ropes of your particular situation.

Fun Fact: This board is centered mostly around Kindle, as the name implies. However, they also can help you get publishing leads and marketing ideas.

Time To Write

Ever wanted someone with this kind of resume to tell you how it’s done?

I’ve written on “Family Ties,” “Benson,” “Love Boat,” “Relic Hunter,” and the film, “The Real Howard Spitz,” starring Kelsey Grammer. I also wrote two TV movies for the Olsen twins back when they were just millionaires instead of billionaires, and the mini-series, “Midnight Man,” starring Rob Lowe. I’ve also been a script doctor on a number of projects.

Well check out Jurgen Wolff’s site Time to Write and find his posts regarding all things writing.

Fun Fact:  Wolff is connected to all sorts of top authors. Find links to their blogs and get story telling ideas straight from the pros! Like this one about plotting and creating tension when you write a novel.

A Newbie’s Guide to Publishing

A Newbie’s Guide to Publishing is the official blog by well-known and well-sold author J.A. Konrath. This is the go to blog for those who want to find out why self-publishing really is better than getting a contract with a publisher.

Fun Fact: Konrath offers how-to’s and incredible insights on why talent is not enough to get published. Check out all his latest ideas.

Blog Post Bonuses:

Here are some awesome blog posts that you should check out!

• How To Steal Like An Artist by Austin Kleon
• Traditional Publishing: Pros & Cons by Lauren Carr
• Doing A Cover Right by Allison Duncan [our editor]
• How A Self-Publisher Publishes by Brand Gamblin
• How Full-time Ebook Author Nathan Lowell Got Started with Podiobooks by Lindsay Buroker

Today’s featured Paranormal Romance is Haunted on Bourbon Street by Deanna Chase.

Genre: Paranormal Romance
Length: 80,000 words
Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 429 KB
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Publisher: Bayou Moon Publishing (July 24, 2011)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B005EHRSUY
Lending: Enabled

Synopsis

Jade loves her new apartment–until a ghost joins her in the shower.

When empath Jade Calhoun moves into an apartment above a strip bar on Bourbon Street, she expects life to get interesting. What she doesn’t count on is making friends with an exotic dancer, attracting a powerful spirit, and developing feelings for Kane, her sexy landlord.

Being an empath has never been easy on Jade’s relationships. It’s no wonder she keeps her gift a secret. But when the ghost moves from spooking Jade, to terrorizing Pyper, the dancer, it’s up to Jade to use her unique ability to save her. Except she’ll need Kane’s help–and he’s betrayed her with a secret of his own–to do it. Can she find a way to trust him and herself before Pyper is lost?

About Deanna Chase

Deanna is a native Californian, transplanted to the slower paced lifestyle of southeastern Louisiana. When she isn’t writing, she is often goofing off with her husband in New Orleans, playing with her two shih-tzu dogs, making glass beads, or out hocking her wares at various bead shows across the country. For more information and updates on newest releases visit her blog at www.deannachase.com.

What Reviewers Say About Deanna Chase’s Work

Amy Kuczewski – “This book was a very pleasant surprise to me, not an amateurish quest to be published, but a full fledged author waiting to be discovered. I read the book in about 4 sittings…but would have finished it in one if I could! The plot is multifaceted, full of well researched details and surprises. It’s a suspenseful romance, heavy on the sexual tension but not overdone and sleazy… I’m looking forward to another in the series.”

Rowyn Capers – “Deanna Chase is an excellent storyteller…It was light, fun and sexy. This is an all round fun, easy read, a great book to relax with. Each character comes alive right off the page. I’m not much for long descriptive narratives and I found myself again and again thinking well described, well written, perfectly vivid without losing my interest. In fact it held my interest from cover to cover, not something I can say about many books at all no matter how much I loved them. And, Ms. Chase can write erotica like the best of ‘em. Modern, beautiful and sexy, I’ve already said vivid! A smile, deep breath and a sigh just remembering some of the way she wrote those scenes.
Yeah, I recommend this book. I even had to recharge the kindle while reading it. Someone should make this a movie! This is a hit.”

Images Courtesy of Deanna Chase

The Featured Non-Fiction Book today is a Memoire by Katherine Klein.

Genre: Non-Fiction Memoire
Length: 77,000 words
Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 301 KB
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B003ZDO34S
Lending: Enabled

Synopsis

It’s not only a doctor’s medical school education, residency training, and launching into practice that’s so demanding, but what may be creeping into the professional’s personal life along the way.

Katherine Klein is a naive teenager with a contentious home life who marries despite her parents’ disapproval. As Katherine’s marriage progresses she reluctantly tolerates her husband’s boastful networking and meager contributions, and embarks on several careers before medical training.

After Katherine’s husband finally agrees to have children but doesn’t change his ways, her tolerance wanes, tension mounts, and the marital situation becomes explosive. Her husband refuses to leave the marital home and she is forced to flee with her children. While he is focused on threatening, harassing and stalking her, she is focused on providing unconditional love to her sons and maintaining competency as a physician.

But throughout Katherine’s unhappy marriage, she does not know that U.S. Family Courts can uphold discrepancy of income as an excuse to order an earning spouse to foot the other spouse’s legal bills both during and after a divorce. This makes the now fully-funded non-contributor unstoppable in his pursuit of continued litigation. Even more ominous is the reallocation of children and income by a “just legal system.”

This is an eye-opening, compelling memoir… one not to be overlooked.

About Katherine Klein

There’s not much more someone can write as a biography when they’ve gotten it all out in a memoir! Not to be humorous, but this is true. And I tend to be a quiet professional.

I did write this memoir to serve others. For young adults, (and others, as well), I hope they contemplate marriage more seriously than I did. Life is about choices, making unwise ones can be devastating. Also, for anyone considering divorce, U.S. legal settlements, custody and aftermath proceedings do not necessarily abide by any consistent set of rules, particularly if they are about justice. Perhaps books like this can foster future discussions about the vagaries of family court.

What Reviewers Are Saying About Katherine Klein’s Work

Mary Cowper, Reviewer (The Midwest Book Review) – “Faced with the unfairness of the courts that favor non-earners in a relationship, Katherine tells how her life in dealing with the sick is a stress relief versus her personal life. A Physician’s Plight is an intriguing read that shouldn’t be missed for readers of personal memoirs.”

Josh Grossman, MD,FACP, Col. (ret), U.S. Army Medical Corps (Tennessee Medicine, March 2011) – “This book pulls no punches – nothing is sacred, nothing is left out! Anesthesiologist Katherine Klein, MD, gives us “the good, the bad, and the ugly” of her family-of-origin, her marital suffering, and her divorce, which landed her in Family Court and deprived her of participation in much of the lives of her young children and – would you believe – the Family Court citing “income discrepancies” – she was forced by the court to pay not only her own legal fees but those of her ex-husband!” ….

“Might pre-marital counselors encourage young couples to read this thoughtful, valued text before their first marriages? Will the young couples, believing their young love to be unique, blithely ignore this text and forge ahead, perhaps landing in Family Court much as the author?”

Images courtesy of Katherine Klein