And so it begins..."The Hobbit" Finally Comes to the Silver Screen in December!

So many of us grew up reading the books of J.R.R. Tolkien, and can't get enough of the fantastic realms of middle-earth. Heck, even moi, a lowly thriller writer, is a huge fan of both the books and films, and I can't wait for The Hobbit to be released this December.

But there's another reason I'm also quite happy it's finally a major motion picture.  And that's because as sure as I'm sitting at this desk typing away, I know there will be kids wanting to read even more because of the film, thus inspiring a whole new generations of readers.  Pardon the unjust-comparison if you will, but I call this the "Potter Effect", although the target reader may be slightly older than the beginning H.P. reader.  I also think this trend is catching on in schools because at my son's middle-school, he and his classmates are being introduced to middle-earth and are presently reading THE HOBBIT.

Don't you love it when teachers are able to link popular culture and literature?

Ready to inspire a new generation of readers!

But what for adult fans of Tolkein who can't wait?  What can we do to bide our time until Peter Jackson once again casts his cinematic spell upon all of the world?

Well, we could try doing these things~

 1)Dance!  While away the hours waiting and burn some calories galloping and boogey-ing along with your favorite wizard. Psy who?  Gandalf's style is waaay cooler.

2)Challenge Gollum in a contest of riddles just like Bilbo Baggins did! Link to this recently- launched app by Warner Bros called,       

                                     Riddles in the Dark

3)Catch up on the latest happenings in middle-earth fandom on this site:  The Hobbit Blog

4)Dress up as a wizard or hobbit for Halloween!

Good costume ideas:

Wear a pointy hat and be a kick-butt wizard!
or be a Hobbit!

But please... don't forget Hobbit feet.  This kid above forgot the feet and I'm deducting one piece of 

candy for this infraction.

A must-have!  Hobbit feet!

But maaaybe don't wear this costume below.

Unless you enjoy people screaming and running

away from you.

  

Typical reaction to an Orc.  

So, are you excited about the upcoming release of  The Hobbit?  Have you read the book?

Congratulations to...

SLJ, the lucky reader who won an autographed copy of  A CUP FULL OF MIDNIGHT by Jaden Terrell!

The new release by Jaden Terrell, A Five Star Read!

And there's more fun to come as October Thrills and Chills continues for the rest of the month!

Stand Up and Cheer for Beta Readers!

Show Book Love to Your Writing Friends~Offer to Beta Read for Them!

Now I must admit, I’ve been feeling rather lucky lately, because, I’m beta reading two manuscripts (incredible thrillers) and I’m having a blast.

Hopefully you and your writing circle friends are doing the same thing for one another, as I think it’s an integral step to take before submitting your work to an agent.  Plus, It’s like getting a front row seat to a new Broadway play on opening night.  You’re one of the first to see and experience it, and your opinion counts. 

The Beta Read is Your Front Row Seat On Opening Night!
 Your Opinion Counts!

But what’s the truly exciting part?  Reading a good manuscript, knowing you're helping your friend turn it into great manuscript, and eventually into a book.  Thus,  with every  suggestion or critical comment we make, or nuance we tell them we love, we’re encouraging our friends as writers and helping them elevate their craft.

Are beta reads time consuming?  Sometimes.   But as I’ve learned, each read has brought with it a rich and rewarding experience.  It’s been fun, and  through my friends’ manuscripts, I’ve had some pretty damned amazing literary adventures, and virtually traveled to military bases, circuses, college campuses, Alaska, haunted houses, and super-secret scientific laboratories. 

Yea, I guess you could say I’ve enjoyed my front row seat. 

In the end, it’s my hope that I won’t be one of the few in the audience getting a taste of these fine manuscripts, but one of thousands.  I truly hope that one day, not too far in the distant future, I'll see them as books populating shelves at my local bookstore.

Ask to Beta Read For Your Friend!  Show a Little Manuscript Love!
After all, we know how many hundreds of hours they spent writing it.  

My friends are outstanding writers, but I want them become great authors.  So I’ll keep turning the pages they’ve spent hours writing, and when I’m finished reading, I’ll stand up and cheer for them from this front row seat.

I could not resist.  This little fella's too cute.  

Do you beta read or critique manuscripts for your writing friends?  What do you love best about doing this?

Meet Author Jaden Terrell & Win A CUP FULL OF MIDNIGHT!

Well folks, it's here!  October Thrills and Chills has begun, and with it comes A CUP FULL OF MIDNIGHT and a trivia contest after our author interview.

Jaden Terrell is the author of the Jared McKean mysteries and a contributor to Now Write Mysteries, a collection of writing exercises published by Tarcher/Penguin for writers of crime fiction. Terrell is the executive director of the Killer Nashville Thriller, Mystery, and Crime Literature Conference and a recipient of the 2009 Magnolia Award for service to the Southeastern Chapter of Mystery Writers of America. The former special education teacher is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Private Eye Writers of America, International Thriller Writers, Sisters in Crime, and the Tennessee Writers Alliance. A graduate of the Citizen Police Academy and the FBI/TBI Citizen Academy, Terrell has a red belt in Tae Kwan Do and is certified in Equine Sports Massage Therapy. Contact the author at: http://www.jadenterrell.com

Tonight we're joined on my virtual front porch with my friend, author Jaden Terrell, and she's popped by to answer a few questions.

Welcome Ms. Terrell.

Visit Author, Jaden Terrell's webpage:  http://www.JadenTerrell.com

Q:  When did you first decide you wanted to become a writer?
Jaden:  From the time I was old enough to understand that I could never be an Indian chief, I've wanted to be a writer. When I was eight, and people asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I always said a teacher and a writer, and that’s never changed.

Q:  Who are your literary influences?
Jaden:  I have so many. For crime fiction: Dennis Lehane, Steven Womack, Robert Crais, Jonathan Kellerman, Lawrence Block, and Timothy Hallinan. In general: J.R.R. Tolkien, Stephen King, John Knowles. I should probably add Louisa May Alcott (Little Women, Little Men, and Jo’s Boys), L.M. Montgomery (Anne of Green Gables), and Eric Knight (Lassie Come Home), because I read them over and over when I was a child.

Q:  Do you have any advice for new writers seeking a literary agent?
Jaden:  Write the book first. Finish your first draft without self-consciousness, and after it’s done—and only after it’s done—revise and edit until it’s as good as you can possibly make it. Anne Lamotte’s book Bird by Bird is a must-read for any aspiring writer.  While it’s never too soon to educate yourself about the publishing business, the quality of the book should come first. As for agents, www.aaronline,  www.agentquery.com and www.writersdigest.com are all good sources for agents. You can search by genre to narrow the field. Then do your homework by looking up their websites, looking them up on Preditors and Editors (http://pred-ed.com/pubagent.htm), and checking out their sales on Publishers Marketplace. Conferences, like Killer Nashville, Sleuthfest, Thrillerfest, and Backspace, can also be great places to meet agents. You can learn a lot about writing an affective query from Nathan Bransford’s website, www.nathanbransford.com, or Janet Reid’s Query Shark blog, www.queryshark.blogspot.com. Educate yourself.

Q:  Tell us a little more about yourself.
Jaden:  When I can find the time, I like to play with our pets, read for pleasure, play guitar (I’m not a professional; I just play enough to write songs and amuse myself and my closet friends), do canine freestyle (which is heeling and tricks to music) with my dogs, massage and give treats to my 32-year-old quarter horse, draw, paint, and make dolls.

Q:  Do you see a bit of yourself, or anyone you know, in the characters you've brought to life in your novels?
Jaden:  Some of the characters, like Jared’s son Paul and his housemate Jay, are composite characters. Paul has traits of several students I taught when I was a special education teacher, and Jay is inspired by—but not literally based on—a good friend I lost to AIDS. I think there must be some part of the writer in every character. I hope I have very little in common with the villains in my books, but I have to be able to find a way to understand why they do what they do. I wouldn’t take the actions they take, but I have felt the emotions that lead to the actions.

Thank you so much for the interview and for the great advice.  But what's that?  You've got a few autographed copies of A CUP FULL OF MIDNIGHT you'd like to give away to some lucky readers?  

Awesomesauce!

Well I say we kick things up a notch, and begin the first contest of October Thrills and Chills with a fun trivia contest, and award the winners your latest release!

First, let's lay down some rules:

1)You may enter from the time the post is up on October 1, 2012 until the contest ends at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (also known as Hotlanta time) October 5, 2012.  
2)Only ONE entry per person.  
3)From the pool of entrants who get the answers right, we'll take their names (please leave a name your reply and email if you're not subscribed to the blog) and I'll place them in my son's football helmet and draw out the names of the winners on October 5th!  
4)If you are chosen a winner I will need your contact information so we can send you the book.   
And now, let the trivial pursuit begin!

Choose the best answer, a, b, c, or d!

1)Jared McKean is an investigator in what city:
a) Las Vegas
b) Nashville
c) Memphis
d) Kodiak, Alaska

2) (Not book related, but somewhat Halloween-related.  Gotta throw a curve ball now and then!) Elaine Benes, character on Seinfeld, tried to choose her own theme song because her boyfriend at the time drove her crazy with his.  What song did she choose?
a) Brick House
b) The Seinfeld Theme Song
c)Witchy Woman
d) Desperado

3)What superhero bobblehead do we see in Ch. 1 of A CUP FULL OF MIDNIGHT?
a)Superman
b)Captain America
c)Spiderman
d)Batman

4)Name of Jared McKean's ex wife  (You gotta dig for this one!  Hint:  See author's website. Second hint:  Brooks & Dunn sang a song called...)
a)Maria
b)Elena
c)Margot
d)Melissa

Good luck!

James Bond Turns Fifty!

And he still looks fabulous. Fleming was Bond...the most interesting man in the world.
(I had to add: He's in a tie with my hubs...the other most interesting man in the world!)

^Second most interesting man in the world.
And now to mention it, why on earth is Bond drinking a Heineken in Skyfall?
That's fifty shades of WRONG.

 Since a teen, I've read Ian Fleming's books and have to say that the books and movies hugely influenced me as a thriller writer, because the intrigue and exotic locales make for selfish escapism.  I like my reads to sweep me off my feet and away to places filled with adventure, romance, and of course...danger.
In my evil little manuscript, THE DEATH BROKERS, there's the same mix.  My homage to Ian.

Thank you Mr. Fleming for fifty years of style and intrigue.  
Nobody does it better.  Epitome of Cool.

We'll touch on Mr. Bond's golden anniversary in future posts this year, but for today, let's talk about how to travel like Bond.  Grab your martini (shaken not stirred) in one hand and passport in the other and let's go to the place where it all began.  Goldeneye!

This is where Fleming's fingers tapped away on the typewriter creating the legend of Bond.  It's no stretch to see how he could have gleaned literary inspiration while being in such a glorious local.  Now I've been to Jamaica twice, but haven't yet been to Goldeneye, but can say it is indeed on my bucket list.  And another item on that list is to have my photo snapped while sitting at his desk.  Le sigh.  A thriller writer can dream, right?  I have also been to one more Bond location, made famous in the remake of Casino Royale, having had dinner at the One and Only Ocean Club during a stop-over in the Bahamas.

Here's a few photos of this fabulous villa located in Orcabessa, Jamaica.

Now that we've discovered where the books were written, we'll jet away in future posts to discover some of the cities and sights made famous in the novels.  For me, travelling like Bond would be THE ultimate road trip.

Want to see more?  Check out Tripadvisor: 

Yes, YOU can vacation Like Bond!

For our imaginary travel itinerary, read this outstanding article by Robert Reid over at Lonely Planet:

Lonely Planet's 007 Travel Guide


What books have inspired your travel?  Tell us about it.


And before I go, here's more gratuitous Bond inspiration!
If you take Chris Cornell + James Bond, you get the coolest spy song ever.  

10.1.12~October Thrills & Chills Begins! Author Interview & Fun Trivia Contest!

Yes folks, it's time to roll out "October Thrills and Chills", and during the month we'll meet some great authors and you'll have the chance to win their latest releases!

On Monday, I'll interview Jaden Terrell about her latest thriller, A CUP FULL OF MIDNIGHT, and we'll unveil a fun trivia contest.  It's the perfect time to curl up with a warm blanket, cup of hot tea, and a great book, and we'll be giving away autographed copies of her latest release to a few lucky readers next week!

There will be more surprises during the month, and I can't wait to bring them to you.  It's my way of saying thank you for making "Soul and Sweet Tea" a success.  Couldn't have done it without you.  Thanks for your friendship and support.  And also, keep sending good thoughts my way because THE DEATH BROKERS, my evil little manuscript, really wants to become a great book.  We're beginning a journey together, my manuscript and I, and it all begins with a query.

October Thrills and Chills Coming Soon! Author Interviews & Book Giveaways!

Want a good read that will last you all the way to Thanksgiving?  Then stay tuned, because I'm bringing you October Thrills and Chills, coming mid-month!

And Soul & Sweet Tea will be participating in the all-too-fun-and-famous, "Spooktacular Giveaway Hop" hosted by I Am a Reader Not a Writer!  Which can help you jump all around the web to visit fabulous book and author blogs so you can win even more prizes.

http://www.iamareadernotawriter.blogspot.com ~  Mark your Calendars!

Leaves are falling, there's a chill in the air, and it's the perfect time to curl up with a good book.  While  enduring the query process for my manuscript, THE DEATH BROKERS, I thought it'd be rather fun, and honestly a great distraction, if I introduced wonderful new authors to you and brought even more fun contests to the blog this month, and there will be fabulous books to be won as we celebrate the season.

So curl up with a pumpkin latte and get your comfy fleece throw out of the closet and fall in love with fall, courtesy of a good book and my little blog.

I mean what else are you going to do?  Watch nonstop football or skulk about your front porch wearing an oversized Snuggie while pointing a remote control and muttering "avada kedavra" at your annoying neighbor who just used his leaf blower to blow five tons of leaves into your yard?  Seriously, reading a good book is a much better choice.

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I really can't wait to bring to you one contest, which I'm dubbing "Trick or Treat".  Won't spill the details, but it's going to be a combination of quick thinking, reflexes, and pure chance.

Right now I'm lining up our featured authors who'll stop by for a cup of hot tea (hey, it's getting chilly outside) and a book chat, and can't wait to bring this month of great reads to you.