Friday, February 21, 2020
My very first book signing
Tuesday, October 24, 2017
Why Reading is Important
NATIONAL LITERACY MONTH AND WHY READING IS IMPORTANT
DISCLAIMER: Most of this is painful for me to talk about, but my desire is to show people why reading is important and that people should read.
September was National Literacy Month and even though I am a month late I want to tell why reading is important and how it helped me to earn 3 degrees and indie publish 5 books.
Lets start off at the beginning, it was 1975 in East North port on Long Island, New York. Up to that time I was a normal enough kid I played baseball, collected baseball cards and enjoyed life. It was a Bell rose Elementary School when problems started. I was having trouble sitting still, understanding math and trouble writing and reading. I got send to James E. Allen Learning Center in Dix Hills, NY and since this was the 1970s the dark age of mental health care.
Almost immediately the teachers started calling me and the other kids names and some of the others were physically disabled and had bigger problems that me. I was still struggling and the teachers were calling me stupid, telling me I was dumb and would never amount to anything. (I didn't know I had severe ADHD Disability of Math & Written Expression, Inner Personal/Occupational disorder, Schizotypal personality Disorder didn't discover this till 2006 but I'm getting ahead of myself) It was a teacher there I can't remember her name but she was the only teacher who was nice to me. She helped me understand basic math and improve my reading understanding. She encouraged me to start reading books. The first book I really read cover to cover was 'Where the Wild Things Are" and then I read "The Count of Monti Cristo.'
She then helped me learn to write better and in my book of poems 'Poems From the Heart' cover poems written during that time and you should check it out. Well I was able to handle school and then I was kidnapped to Lilburn, Georgia in 1979 (that's what I call my dads transfer) I wanted to stay in NY. Well I was enrolled in Trickum Middle School which I attended till 1982 when I graduated to Parkview High School where I graduated in 1985. I was having issues and if you saw my high school transcript you would understand. The grades were based on this undiagnosed problems and the negative verbal abuse I suffered at that school in NY.
I had trouble writing and I was able to do math. In those days math was not a requirement for graduation and we did not have computers, internet, cell phones. There were teachers there that encouraged me to read and that fact helped me survive and I was able to transport myself to other places. I loved reading and I soon learned to write well. I joined the military 1984-86 when ADHD and the other mental health issues (also not diagnosed) caused me to get Honorable discharge. I was writing always I wrote just for the joy of writing and my first book Bad Memories was written by me in 1988-90 and published 2015 reedited 2015 and 2017.
I am skipping a lot of stuff and will just say that reading helped me finally get my 3 degrees and write 5 fiction books and poetry. I learned a lot at Gulf Coast Community College, Gulf Coast State College and Florida State university. Writing all those reports, essays, research papers and a 6k word novella helped. Reading helped me get jobs and be able to have successes in life such as they are. I want people to keep reading and never quit. Reading opens your mind and you are never too old to learn to read.
I want to thank my teachers and professors at Gulf Coast Community/State College and Florida State University for helping me to improve my writing and though process. I also want to thank those high school teachers who also helped me.
Monday, October 23, 2017
First review of Bad Memories Book Two
1 Sep 2017
(BAD MEMORIES #2): ASYLUM
BACK COVER BLURB: Doctor Peter Alexander is hired to be doctor at the Middleton Home for the Mentally Retarded in Jonesville, Florida and he finds out his training and reality conflict.
Set in 1957-1968 Florida he must survive a cruel nurse, patients and staff who are more same than sane.
Will Doctor Alexander survive? Will he maintain his sanity?
FIRST SENTENCE {INTRODUCTION}: The events in this novelette, set in a fictional town in Florida, are based on the historical records of physical and mental abuse that occurred at Penhurst Asylum in Pennsylvania, Letchworth Village in Rockland County, New York and Willowbrook State School in Staten Island, New York.
MEMORABLE MOMENT {PAGE 21}: At 7pm Doctor Alexander opened the rusted solid metal door to the basement of building B with a squeal of rust his heart jumped a beat as the door slammed shut. He looked down the dark corridor and he sees a light coming from under a black door.
SOURCE: Received from the author.
READ FOR: Not applicable.
MY THOUGHTS: Not particularly the best written of books and in need of an edit and yet Asylum is one of those books in which the author obviously has a real ardor for the subject - that of institutional abuse - at the heart of the book.
With a nurse that makes One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest's Nurse Ratched look like a pussy cat and and an ending that, though I kind of knew it was coming, still saw me covered in goosebumps, essentially the stuff of nightmares ... for those of us Brits of a certain age it put me in mind of one of those dramas that formed Tales Of The Unexpected (the British anthology series featuring tales of horror, mystery and suspense) that saw the teenage me watching the television from between my fingers.
For myself personally a tad too short. I'd be interested to know if there are plans to bring the Bad Memories series (which so far consists of two novelettes) together in one edition of horror, mystery and suspense.
Thursday, August 17, 2017
my you should you care about my characters and books
https://kdp.amazon.com/amazon-dp-action/us/dualbookshelf.marketplacelink/B01N5GZSFMWHY YOU SHOULD CARE ABOUT MY BOOKS AND CHARACTERS
I am still reading and using "Writing the Breakout Novel" book and its handbook written by Donald Maass 1st introduced to me in my FSU creative writing class in Spring 2017. My 2nd book "Bad Memories: Asylum" the 1st 6k words were completed for the class assignment. [I RECOMMEND the above book and workbook for all new authors]
On page 74-75 of chapter three titled "stakes" asks why should you care about the protagonist or story Well I can answer this question as it related to the Bad Memories series, any one of us can and do suffer from mental illness or issues of some degree. We at any time can be committed to a asylum or hospitalized.
I am a mental illness suffer with three diagnosed mental illnesses and while not like the ones the characters in my books suffer from this is one of the reasons you should care about my books. [YOU should also make readers care about your characters and give them the reason to read] The 2ND reason you should care is the background story of my books are based on true events that happened at Pennhurst, Letchworth Village, Willowbrook, these are the most serious events. Everything from abuses physical and sexual to having teeth forcibly removed for biting staff to murder by negligence.
The 3RD reason you should care about my books is that the protagonists have real life issues that they must deal with and that most people have on some level.
The 4TH and final reason is that I have and still have to fight through the adult ADHD disability of math & written expression and 3 others to have 5 fiction books completed. As far as I am willing to say some of the events my protagonists go through might or might not reflect my inner thoughts.
Bad Memories both only 99 cents
Tuesday, March 21, 2017
Bad Memories made it to the finals
My book Bad Memories made it to the final round of the 2017 UK writers competition and I will know by May 20th if I won either 1st, 2nd or 3rd place. I would like 1st, but I will take 3rd.
Since this is a finalist I hope you will check it out.
Since this is a finalist I hope you will check it out.
READ the finalist in the 2017 UK writing competition only 99c
A doctor at the Allendale Asylum for ten years Dr. John Miller tried to stop the physical abuse and corruption there but three people mysteriously died and he got fired, now John Miller has to confront his past and solve the string of murders that connect back to his past at the asylum. The authorities didn't believe him at the asylum and later when more bodies showed up, they still didn't believe him.
Psychological mystery book based on true events from Pennhurst, Letchworth Village and Willowbrook
BOOK .99c
(Amazon US) https://kdp.amazon.com/amazon-dp-action/us/dualbookshelf.marketplacelink/B01N5GZSFM
(Amazon UK) https://kdp.amazon.com/amazon-dp-action/uk/dualbookshelf.marketplacelink/B01FUGZBGQ
(Amazon Canada) https://kdp.amazon.com/amazon-dp-action/ca/dualbookshelf.marketplacelink/B01N5GZSFM
Also available in audio book on Amazon
Monday, March 13, 2017
outlines for my FSU creative writing novel assignment
this is the timeline outline I did of my class assignment 6k word novel
I then did a regular outline of the book which filled this in since its in word doc form I can't post it here. But when I turn in the final version and have a grade I will be publishing the book, it will increase to a 10k word.
2017 UK writing competition
I am still waiting to find out if I made it into round three. out of 3k+ entered only 250 mage it to round 2, now only 25 will make it into round 3.
There are only 1st, 2nd, 3rd place I hope I win at least 3rd place.
There are only 1st, 2nd, 3rd place I hope I win at least 3rd place.
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