POINT OF NO RETURN

Create, Pitch, Sell

Coffee Break

January--

The last few years were very stressful. I felt as though I existed under a dark cloud.

The first day of this year arrived with the promise of a better tomorrow. I think this wonderful feeling has a lot to do with my writing career. Meaning, I finally have one.

So...in the year 2011, I will
—have no less than six books available by December.
—use CreateSpace to turn my eBooks into paperbacks.
—learn how to snorkel.
—pan for gold out West, just for fun.
—find something good to say about rainy days.
—spend more time with the people I care about.
—reclaim the little things in life that used to make me smile [being awakened by songbirds, sunny days, starry nights, hiking, boating, the sound of waves lapping against the hull or the shore, the smell of fresh-baked bread, the smell of fresh-cut grass, wind rustling autumn leaves....]

I'm putting Fire on Amazon.com sometime in March. Ashes, book three in the Point Jove series, should be available in May.

Serial Quiller is getting new cover art. I changed the setting for Serial Quiller 2 from St. Augustine, Florida to Corpus Christi, Texas.

2011 began on a high note. I'm going to do everything I can to make sure it ends that way.

Reward For Finishing New Novel [Almost There!]

New Book Releases For January

DAMAGE by John Lescroart http://johnlescroart.com/
THE LOST GATE by Orson Scott Card http://hatrack.com/
BUFFALO WEST WING by Julie Hyzy http://juliehyzy.com/
A LONELY DEATH by Charles Todd http://charlestodd.com/
THE POISON TREE by Erin Kelly http://www.erinkelly.co.uk/
LAKE OF DREAMS by Kim Edwards http://kimedwardsbooks.com/
MR. MONK ON THE ROAD by Lee Goldberg http://leegoldberg.com/
CYPRESS HOUSE by Michael Koryta http://www.michaelkoryta.com/
UNEARTHLY by Cynthia Hand http://www.cynthiahand.blogspot.com/
THE BOOK OF TOMORROW by Cecelia Ahern http://cecelia-ahern.com/
YOU KNOW WHEN THE MEN ARE GONE by Siobhan Fallon http://siobhanfallon.com/
HOME FOR A SPELL by Madelyn Alt http://home.mchsi.com/~licata/
THE WATER WARS by Cameron Stracher http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/240506.Cameron_Stracher
THE ATTENBURY EMERALDS by Jill Paton Walsh http://www.greenbay.co.uk/jpw.html
GIVE ME YOUR HEART by Joyce Carol Oates http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3524.Joyce_Carol_Oates

Attitude

Screenwriter Blogs And Websites

The Artful Writer… http://artfulwriter.com/
MovieBytes… http://www.moviebytes.com/
MN 2 Hollywood… http://mn2la.blogspot.com/
By Ken Levine… http://kenlevine.blogspot.com/
ScĂ©nario-Buzz… http://www.scenario-buzz.com/
The Thinking Writer… http://thinkingwriter.com/
A Writer's Life… http://leegoldberg.typepad.com/
Jane in Progress… http://www.janeespenson.com/
Go Into The Story… http://www.gointothestory.com/
The Screenwrightist… http://www.screenwrightist.com/
C-Squared Forever… http://csquaredforever.blogspot.com/
Running With My Eyes Closed… http://www.jillgolick.com/
Cyber Screenwriter… http://cyberscreenwriter.blogspot.com/
Write Here, Write Now… http://www.lucyvee.blogspot.com/
Writing For Performance… http://robinkellyuk.blogspot.com/
BBC Writersroom… http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/writersroom/
Sheri Candler Marketing and Publicity… http://www.shericandler.com/
Screenwriting 101 or Misadventures in WA Film… http://rwhyde.blogspot.com/
Suite101: Writing For Stage/Screen… http://www.suite101.com/writingforstagescreen

Point Jove Series, Part 2

This is an example of the cover for Fire, the second book in my mystery series [Smoke on the Water is the first]. I'm about ready to put this book on Kindle.

Fire [working title] -- A reporter furthers his budding career as a crime scene photographer by filming new construction being set ablaze by his older brother, who has a dark secret of his own.

Excerpt-
Flames reached the height of the trees, and glowed magnificently against the night sky. The acrid stench of smoke and the hiss and crackle of burning timber thrilled him. A wide grin spread across his face. It was not a sadistic grin, or a grin of triumph; it was simply an expression of joy over the sights and sounds being recorded on the late model camcorder he'd recently purchased from a pawn shop. Wooden support beams buckled, and the roof caved in with a thunderous roar.

His heart thumped wildly. Perspiration chilled his skin. He lifted the tripod and rotated it ninety degrees to his left to face another newly built house, this one perched on the rocky bluff overlooking the White River arm of Eagle Rock Lake. He wiped the lens with the cuff of his sweatshirt. Popped the cap off a roadside flare, struck the end to light it, then threw the flare at the gasoline soaked interior. The unoccupied two-story building burst into a fireball. He ducked his head reflexively, covering his eyes with his arm.

"Yeehaw!" Stan Barstow cheered, jumping up and down.

Copyright 2011 Sharon Austin All Rights Reserved

Promoting Indie Authors

My mystery novel, Smoke on the Water, has recently been listed on Mark's Writers Bloc and Spalding's Racket. Mark O'Neal and Nick Spalding do an outstanding job of promoting independent authors through their blogs. Stop in and take a look. You might discover a new favorite author, genre, or perhaps an exciting new series.

Mark's Writers Bloc http://www.markswriterbloc.com/

Spalding's Racket http://spaldings-racket.blogspot.com/

Upcoming Writers Conferences

JANUARY
Jan. 7-11, American Library Association Midwinter Meeting
San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, California
http://www.ala.org/ala/conferencesevents/upcoming/midwinter/index.cfm

Jan. 28-29, Murder Goes South
Smyrna Community Center in Smyrna, GA
http://murdergoessouth.com/


FEBRUARY
Feb. 4-6, Love is Murder
Intercontinental Chicago O'Hare Hotel in Rosemont, IL http://www.loveismurder.net/

Feb. 5, Cape Fear Crime Festival
New Hanover County Library in Wilmington, NC http://capefearcrimefestival2.com/

Feb. 5, Murder in the Magic City
The Homewood Library in Birmingham, AL http://www.murderinthemagiccity.com/

Feb. 18-21, San Francisco Writers Conference
The Mark Hopkins Hotel in San Francisco, CA http://www.SFWriters.org

MARCH
Mar. 3-6, Sleuthfest
Hilton Deerfield Beach/Boca Raton in Deerfield Beach, FL http://www.mwaflorida.org/sleuthfest.htm

Mar. 12-13, Tucson Festival of Books
University of Arizona Campus in Tucson, AZ http://tucsonfestivalofbooks.org/

Mar. 24-27, Left Coast Crime
La Fonda Hotel in Santa Fe, NM http://www.leftcoastcrime.org/2011/

APRIL
Apr. 27-28, Mystery Writers of America
Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York, NY http://www.theedgars.com

Apr. 29-May 1, Malice Domestic
Hyatt Regency Hotel in Bethesda, MD http://www.malicedomestic.org/

MAY
May 19-22, CrimeFest
Bristol Marriott Royal Hotel in Bristol, UK http://www.crimefest.com/

May 26-28, Mayhem in the Midlands
Embassy Suites Hotel in Omaha, NE http://www.omahapubliclibrary.org/programs/mayhem

JUNE
Jun. 3-5, Bloody Words
Hotel Grand Pacific in Victoria B.C. http://www.bloodywords2011.com/

Jun. 24-27, American Library Association Conference
Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, LA http://www.alaannual.org/