Category: Writing

Do You Know About Worldcat.org?

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Let’s say you head to your local public library, in search of a particular book. However, you discover your local library doesn’t own a copy of the book you want. What should you do? There’s a few options. You could try and purchase a copy of the book online, via Amazon or Barnes and Noble, or another website. Or, maybe check with a different library. The best option, may be this one: have your library check the World Catalog.

WorldCat

Most public libraries participate in a program known as Inter Library Loan, or ILL. Some academic libraries participate as well. This allows libraries to receive materials from libraries outside of their city, state, and in come cases, country. Maybe you use the Queens Public Library in New York, and you need a copy of Of Mice and Men, and they don’t have one listed in their catalog. Perhaps a local library in Atlanta, Georgia has a copy to spare. Queens can use the ILL system to borrow the book from the library in Atlanta, so that you can borrow it from Queens. Pretty sweet, right?

This is where the World Catalog comes in. It lists materials available at libraries all over the world. So, if you’re looking for something, but can’t seem to find it at your local library, you may want to ask your librarian to check the World Catalog, to see if its available elsewhere. The borrowing time may differ from that of your local library, but at least you’ll have access to what you need. 

Check out the World Catalog when you have time!

The Finale of Lucia and the Saints

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Everything has a beginning and an ending. The same is true for my novella series, Lucia and the Saints. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but here it goes: the sixth and final volume of the series will be available next week. Yes, folks. The series is coming to an end.

The first volume was released on July 5, 2019. Readers were introduced to a young John Rafferty, when he was attempting to become a business man. This is not the John Rafferty we know (and potentially hate) from the Valentine series. Older Rafferty is cruel, vicious and uncaring. Younger Rafferty can be a bit of a wuss. 

But forget Rafferty for a moment. The main character is Lucia. Everything that happens, and every character in the world of Valentine can be traced back to Lucia. She’s bold and outspoken, and thirty times braver than Rafferty. Truthfully, between the two of them, she should be running the Syndicate.

I used to think prequels were useless. However, writing this series has given me a deeper appreciation for prequels. It’s interesting to find the connections between characters and events from the other series. With Lucia and the Saints: Volume Six, there’s a pivatol moment in which Lucia makes a decision that affects the lives of every other character in both the Valentine series and the Valentine Apart series. 

The entire series is available in ebook form. I will release the paperback versions by the end of the year. 

Woolaston Entertainment

Thank Goodness I Still Have CS5!

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I love using Amazon’s KDP. Seriously, I do. All of my books have been published (or re-published) via Amazon. However, when they combined Create Space with KDP, a terrible thing happened. Some of the templates for the cover designs, were removed. Unfortunately, this made things harder for me, because I prefer to have the books in a single series share a common cover design. But, all is not lost! I still have Adobe Photoshop CS5 on my old laptop!

I acquired CS5 when I was in art school. Becuase I was a student, I was allowed to purchase the program at a discounted price. While my old laptop nolonger runs as fast as it used to, CS5 is still installed. I have used it over the years, to create some of the images that appear on some of my book covers. With the loss of some of the templates in KDP, I turned to CS5 to create the entire cover for the upcoming The Age of the Daughter and Jo Fuentes: Project Sleep. They’re not perfect, but at least everything will still be uniformed.

Jo Fuentes: Project Sleep

Where there’s a will, there’s a way. 

Woolaston Entertainment

Lucia and the Saints: Volume Five

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There are so three reasons I’m excited about the release of my latest creation, Lucia and the Saints: Volume Five. (1) It’s my 30th published book! (2) It’s the second to last in the series, and (3) It helped me get over my writer’s block, and get out of my dry spell.

Volume Five is the step before the conclusion of the Lucia series. It also brings us closer to the next Valentine series, Valentine R. Should you read Lucia before Valentine R comes out? Not necessarily, but it may help to understand the story a little more. Whenever I write a companion or “spin-off” series, I try to make it stand alone. So, you can read it along with the original series, or you can read it by itself. Lucia works the same way. You can read it, without reading any of the Valentine books first, but it you do read both series, you will recognize the connections between the two.

Lucia Vol Five Cover

Volume Five sees the Lady Saints in action. They’re about to do something that will earn respect from several of the businesses in their area, and reveal another side of Lucia. The girls have a better understanding of who they’re working with, but they’re about to learn even more. Plus, an important person in Valentine’s life will be introduced.

Lucia and the Saints: Volume Five is available in ebook form, on Amazon. Look for it in paperback form by the end of the year.

Lucia Vol Five on Amazon

I’m Over My Dry Spell

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I went through a bit of a dry spell after I published my last ebook. Lucia and the Saints: Volume Four came out on August 2 of this year, and I haven’t released anything since then. My plan was, to keep on writing and publishing. But, sometimes things don’t work out the way we want them to. I didn’t feel like writing, even though I have a ton of material to work on, and books that I need to finish.  Experiencing a dry spell was not a good thing.

Last week, I forced myself back into writing. NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) is literally around the corner, and I’m hosting an event at my local library. This means, I need to get myself back in gear. I need to finish editing my mother’s latest book, A New England Serial Killer, and finish Jo Fuentes: Project Sleep and Lucia and the Saints: Volume Five and Volume Six. The good news is, I’m nearly finished with editing Mom’s book, almost ready to edit Jo Fuentes, and Lucia Five will be ready by Saturday. So, the dry spell has ended!

Woolaston Entertainment

I May Host a NaNoWriMo Event

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I know, I know: it’s October, and NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) isn’t until November. So, why am I talking about it so early? It’s because I have a bit of good news. My day job is at the Hampton Public Library, and there’s going to be a NaNoWriMo event at the location I work in, in November. Why is this so exciting? Becuase I may be the lucky person who gets to host it!

I don’t have all of the details just yet, but here’s what I can tell you so far:

Event: Creative Nonfiction Workshop

Place: Hampton Public Library Main Location

Date: November 14, 2019

Time: 12pm to 1pm

More details to follow! 

The Top 12 Books That Influenced My Writing

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Every writer can look back at some point in their life, and recognize the person, place or thing that encouraged them to start writing in the first place. Or, something that had an impact on their style of writing. For me, there have been many, many books which have influenced me. The number one book: Bunnicula by James Howe. My second grade teacher read it out loud to my class, and I was instantly hooked. I didn’t know it at the time, but I was receiving a lesson on personification (giving human attributes or qualities to a non-human object). I was already creating short picture books for myself, but this book made me want to be a WRITER. 

The actual list of influential titles is too long to post here, so I managed to narrow it down to 12. I still feel like it should be 15 strong, but we’ll stick to 12, for time’s sake. Here it is, in no particular order:

  1. Bunnicula and Nighty Nightmare by James Howe (couldn’t have 1 w/o the other)
  2. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz (all 3 in the series)
  3. Hellsing (manga series) by Kohta Hirano
  4. Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
  5. Revolutionary Girl Utena (manga series) by Chiho Saito, Be-Papas
  6. The Spiral Dance by Starhawk
  7. Grey by Pete Wentz
  8. Just Kids by Patti Smith
  9. Sailor Moon (manga series) by Naoko Takeuchi
  10. Nothing Feels Good: Punk Rock, Teenagers and Emo by Andy Greenwald
  11. The Haunting of Grade Three by Grace Maccarone
  12. Odyssey from River Bend by Tom McGowen

this book made me want to be a WRITER. 

It’s a pretty eclectic list, isn’t it? Childrens’ chapter books, Japanese manga, horror stories and fiction. I have to give an honorable mention to Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk, and The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman as well. 

So, which books would make your list? Feel free to share in the comments below!

New Theme For October

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NovocaineImage

With September drawing to a close, and October just around the corner (that corner is literally next Tuesday), I decided it was time to update the theme on this blog and the Woolaston Entertainment site. When most people think of October, they think of Halloween. Businesses and homes begin to display their Halloween decorations, and everything seems to be pumpkin flavored. I’m not a fan of pumpkin flavored anything, however, I will admit the Cheesecake Factory has a pumpkin flavored cheesecake that’s pretty good. But, back to the point of this post…(damn, now I want cheesecake…)

Halloween is one of my FAVORITE holidays. I watch horror movie marathons, wear a lot more black than usual (I wear a lot of black anyway, but during this time of year its more legit), and focus on anything scary. Last year, I released my first holiday inspired book, Erin Michaels: Spooky Bitch, which features Erin from the Our Lady of Righteous Rage series. So, Erin, my little feline Goth queen, is W.E.’s official mascot of the month of October. You’ll be seeing much more of her during the next few weeks. 

To celebrate the month, I’m having a special sale on copies of Erin Michaels: Spooky Bitch and The Witch of Fulton Lane. Plus, I’ll post some more snippets from the upcoming Age of the Daughter, the sequel to The Witch of Fulton Lane. And if you want to share any info about the things that scare you, feel free!

Woolaston Entertainment