Five for forever — Out in print now!

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It is only a first small step, and not the final version. But I wanted my wife to be able to hold my new book Five for forever in her hands and read it. Style-wise it is the first book I wrote not only dedicated to her, but actually for her liking, as she usually reads chick lit along the lines of Cecilla Ahern or Jojo Moyes. As mentioned before, there will be slight overhaul. So it is your chance now to buy the first edition print version before I will adapt it later this month. Who knows how much it will be worth in a few years from now?

Five for forever is like the movie Notting Hill, but with kids involved. A widowed California boat builder with four kids falls in love with the greatest movie star of our time. Love and conflict might tear them apart again, but never underestimate the power of kids to make things right again between the grown-ups.

You can order it on Amazon or on other online retailers or (when you are in the US) in bookstores.

Wordsmithing — from good to great...

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Five for forever, my latest novel is out "ad-interim" as a print version on Createspace.com. The eBook version will be exclusivly available on Amazon.com's Kindle Press publishing house. Which brought me—for the first time in my life—a royalty advance, and a second round of editing service for free.

I had given the manuscript already to an online editing service, where I got a good compromise between cost and delivery. I had thought the editing already pretty solid, but the editing service of a publishing house brought it to a different level. Alone the experience and learning from that one second excellent edit gave me so many improvements to my own writing filter.

Let me give you three examples from what the editor improved, apart from spelling, grammar, or wording changes:

Point of view crosscheck: Each chapter of Five for forever is told from the viewpoint of another main character. I usually had a mix of dialogue and thoughts, where the thoughts usually commented the spoken word or action.

Consistency: My main female character Louise comes from simple upbringing. A few paragraphs later I described the same upbringing as a mix of poverty and violence. Daaat, buzzer noise! Was her upbringing just poor, or was also violence involved.

Readability: The main male character Rick's kids have regular names like Charles or Britta. Real life gives those kids nicknames or abreviated names. Charles is called Charlie and uncool Britta might become Bri. Even though this might reflect real life, the editor reminded me of a great writer's truth: a story is not real life, it is a story written in an intellectual abstraction on paper (tree-based or silicone-based). So the law 'Do not to confuse the reader' trumps the law of social interaction: stick with one name throughout the book, the nicknames only are accepted in extreme emotional situations or to make a point.

All extremely good advice! I love it! (Although I hate the editing process as such)

Serial, Editing, Writing — Updates from the desk

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Hi there, long time no news, but finally...

Serial: Kind reminder, A Brilliant Plan is still developing on Wattpad.com. Chapters 5 & 6 are up now and our heroine Calendar Moonstone is involved deeper and deeper into the net of murder, intrigue, and 150 year old diamond mystery.

Editing: Tuesday brought back my romantic comedy (with kids) Five for Forever from the Amazon editing service. I already had run the book past one editor to be able to publish it in case Kindle Publishing wouldn't pick it up. But they did, so I have the luxury of another round of publisher sponsored editing. I had thought the previous version was a solid one, but boy, had I been mistaken. Tons of suggestions and corrections to go through. I hope to finish by end of next week, eager to get it on the market.

Writing: My new Troubleshooter full sized novel is coming along nicely. It is set in London once more and a mix of Three Days of Condor meets The Jackal. I am about to reach the end of Act 3, where the main mystery will be revealed, sending Paul and his story-sidekick into a frenzied race against time to stop a conspiracy.

Week after Week: A Brilliant Plan serialization on Wattpad

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Hi everyone. A Brilliant Plan, out now for almost three years on Amazon and almost all other eTailers in print and digital is now being published on Wattpad in atwice-a-week serial. Expect one full chapter, some longer, some shorter, on Wattpad. Head over and get your fix. It's for free. Depending on the success it might convince me to start writing the third Calendar Moonstone adventure, which I have put on ice for now (but the storyline is already there).

It's a fast paced story about diamonds, jewelry, murder, and betrayal. Calendar Moonstone is an acclaimed jewelry designer, on the heads and around the necks of European Royals. By day. By night, she is a compulsive cat burglar, stealing diamons for thrill and profit. A quick art gallery job goes wrong when Calendar stumbles upon a dead body and a century old mystery. It will not be the only body. The question is: will Calendar be among them?

 

Sunday News: Five for Forever coming soon in print

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Five for Forever, my first romantic comedy has been submitted into Createspace's formatting checker today and into Kindle Press' review process. As I have no comparission on speed, my assumption is that print will be out faster than the digital edition this time. A first for me. But at least it gives my wife the chance to read the book finally; she's sticking with good old paper.

Here is the reveal of the complete cover. Hope you like it. The digital edition will only show the front page, of course.

I had to do some minor adjustments to the digital edition, just some wordsmithing in the summary pages and the About the Author section.