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YABC is excited to share the trailer reveal for

Beginner’s Guide To Publishing A Book by Hank Quense!

Read on to learn more about Hank, his book, and a giveaway!

Meet The Author: Hank Quense

Early in his writing career, he was strongly influenced by two authors: Douglas Adams and his Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy and Joseph Heller’s Catch-22. Happily, Hank has never quite recovered from those experiences.

He lives with his wife in northern New Jersey, a mere 20 miles from Manhattan, the center of the galaxy (according to those who live in Manhattan). They have two daughters and five grandchildren all of whom live close by.

For vacations, Hank and Pat usually visit distant parts of the galaxy. Occasionally, they also time-travel.

Besides writing novels, Hank lectures on fiction writing, publishing and book marketing. He is most proud of his talk showing grammar school kids how to create a short story. He used these lectures to create an advanced ebook with embedded videos to coach the students on how to create characters, plots and setting. The target audience is 4th to 7th graders. The book’s title is Fiction Writing Workshop for Kids.

Website * X * Facebook * Instagram

A message from Hank!

If you’ve written a book and are wondering how to get it published, this ebook will explain what your options are.

About the Book: Beginner’s Guide To Publishing A Book

Publishing a book these days is a baffling project because of the many options available. The situation is compounded by the amount of inaccurate, mis-leading or wrong information on the internet.
This problem is especially acute for authors who have completed their first book and are unfamiliar with the publishing industry.
This book is for those first time authors. It lists the publishing options now available and it offers practical advice on seeking agents and/or publishers. It also provides an introduction to the self-publishing process.
Overall, beginning authors will find this small ebook a valuable resource.

Purchase Now

Time for the Trailer Reveal!

Title: Beginner’s Guide To Publishing A Book

Author: Hank Quense

Release date: November 15, 2024

Publisher:  Strange Worlds Publishing

ISBN:979-8-9891163-3-1

Cover designer/artist credit:  Gary Tenuta

Ten (10) Winners will receive a digital copy of Beginner’s Guide To Publishing A Book  (Hank Quense) ~ International!

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YABC is excited to share the trailer reveal for

Beginner’s Guide To Developing A Plot by Hank Quense!

Read on to learn more about Hank, his book, and a giveaway!

Meet The Author: Hank Quense

Early in his writing career, he was strongly influenced by two authors: Douglas Adams and his Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy and Joseph Heller’s Catch-22. Happily, Hank has never quite recovered from those experiences.

He lives with his wife in northern New Jersey, a mere 20 miles from Manhattan, the center of the galaxy (according to those who live in Manhattan). They have two daughters and five grandchildren all of whom live close by.

For vacations, Hank and Pat usually visit distant parts of the galaxy. Occasionally, they also time-travel.

Besides writing novels, Hank lectures on fiction writing, publishing and book marketing. He is most proud of his talk showing grammar school kids how to create a short story. He used these lectures to create an advanced ebook with embedded videos to coach the students on how to create characters, plots and setting. The target audience is 4th to 7th graders. The book’s title is Fiction Writing Workshop for Kids.

Website * X * Facebook * Instagram

A message from Hank!

Developing a plot for a new story is a tough gig.  This book won’t make it easy, but it will provide examples and guidance.

About the Book: Beginner’s Guide To Developing A Plot

Creating a story is a complicated undertaking. In it, the writer has to ensure that various elements such as the characters, plots, scenes, dialog and others all mesh together and support each other.
The plot is important because the plot problem gives the characters a job: they have to fix or solve the problem. Unless they are the bad guys in which case their job is to prevent the problem from getting fixed.
However, the plot is one of the most difficult story elements to develop. Beginning writers are often frustrated by the complexity of merging plot events to form a chain of events that lead the reader from the inciting incident to the story’s climax.
I have seen beginners struggle with this issue during my fiction writing workshops. I came to realize these writers need more than just a lecture and a template to fill out. They need more guidance and examples. That is what my Beginner’s Guide To Developing A Plot provides: guidance and examples.

Purchase Now

Time for the Trailer Reveal!

Title: Beginner’s Guide To Developing A Plot

Author: Hank Quense

Release date: October 15, 2024

Publisher:  Strange Worlds Publishing

ISBN: 979-8-9891163-2-4

Cover designer/artist credit:  Gary Tenuta

Ten (10) Winners will receive a digital copy of Beginner’s Guide To Developing A Plot  (Hank Quense) ~ International!

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YABC is excited to share the trailer reveal for

Eden by Lisa Tolk!

Read on for more about Lisa, her book, and a giveaway!

Meet The Author: Lisa Tolk

Lisa Tolk is the author of young adult fantasy romance, Eden, her debut novel. A former AP English teacher, Lisa has pursued her lifelong dream of becoming a full-time author. Lisa created her own publishing company, Brave Girl Publishing, symbolizing both overcoming her own fears and the courageous female leads she creates.

Website * Facebook * Instagram

About the Book: Eden

A secret island. A guarded princess. And the handsome boy who saved her from the sea.

On the pristine island of Eden, Princess Kaya’s world is one of tranquility and tradition. Isolated from the modern world, she has been taught since childhood about the arrogance, selfishness, and greed of the Self-lands, as contrasted with her beloved Eden—a peaceful monarchy that has existed intact for hundreds of years.

Until now.

When King Orion is killed in what seems a tragic accident, the palace is in upheaval. Kaya is forced to flee amid the chaos and sets to the ocean alone. Caught in a raging storm, she washes up onto the shore of Owls Head, Maine—the real, mysterious, terrifying, Self-lands. . .

Drew Meredith finds a young, beautiful girl in a gossamer gown unconscious on the shores of his beach. Now, instead of college decisions and lacrosse scholarships, he is uncovering myths and legends, explaining chocolate and flip flops, and teaching a self-conscious princess how to have fun.

And new to both of them is the growing feeling of attachment and desire that binds them. . . and blinds them to impending disaster.

Purchase * Goodreads

Book Trailer: 

Title: Eden

Author: Lisa Tolk

Illustrator: Cover Art by Julia Day

Release Date: May 15, 2024

Publisher: Brave Girl Publishing

ISBN-13: 979-8894122403

Genre: Young Adult

Age Range: 12-24

*GIVEAWAY* 

Two (2) Winners will receive a signed copy of Eden  (Lisa Tolk) ~ US Only!

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YABC is excited to share the trailer reveal for

Beginner’s Guide to Creating Genuine Characters by Hank Quense!

Read on to learn more about Hank, his book, and a giveaway!

Meet The Author: Hank Quense

Early in his writing career, he was strongly influenced by two authors: Douglas Adams and his Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy and Joseph Heller’s Catch-22. Happily, Hank has never quite recovered from those experiences.

He lives with his wife in northern New Jersey, a mere 20 miles from Manhattan, the center of the galaxy (according to those who live in Manhattan). They have two daughters and five grandchildren all of whom live close by.

For vacations, Hank and Pat usually visit distant parts of the galaxy. Occasionally, they also time-travel.

Besides writing novels, Hank lectures on fiction writing, publishing and book marketing. He is most proud of his talk showing grammar school kids how to create a short story. He used these lectures to create an advanced ebook with embedded videos to coach the students on how to create characters, plots and setting. The target audience is 4th to 7th graders. The book’s title is Fiction Writing Workshop for Kids.

Website * X * Facebook

About the Book: Beginner’s Guide to Creating Genuine Characters

Creating a fictional character that gabs the reader’s attention is a difficult task

The Beginner’s Guide to Creating Genuine Characters makes the task much easier.

Filled with information and examples from books and movies, this Beginner’s Guide is targeted to writers who are just starting  to write their first story.

A story, whether it be a short story, a novel or a screenplay, is about the characters and their journey from the beginning of the story to the climax.

Inexperienced fiction writers struggle with character development.  To overcome their inexperience, they need guidance and examples and that is what this book is about: showing writers how to develop their characters.  The ebook uses artificial intelligence to generate reports on what makes a character ‘great.’  It also uses AI to generate what makes specific characters from literature and movies ‘great.’

The combination of AI reports and an in-depth template filled with examples makes this book just what every new fiction writer needs.

Topics covered in the book include:

• Introduction: Great character reports.
• Physical description. Allow the reader to build a mental image of the character.
• Biography: The character’s background and how the character thinks and what she wants out of life.
• Mental attributes: For both protagonist, antagonist and other main characters.
• Character arc: A necessary story within the story.
• Dominant reader emotion: How the character relates to the readers.
• Flaws: Make the character human.
• Motivation: Why does the character care about solving the plot problem?

All of these topics contain research reports on its importance and what is needed to make your character genuine and great.

Purchase Now

Click here for Book Trailer Reveal!

Title:  Beginner’s Guide to Creating Genuine Characters

Author: Hank Quense

Release date:  9/15/24

Publisher:  Strange Worlds Publishing

ISBN:  979-8-9891163-1-7

Cover designer/artist credit:  Gary Tenuta

Ten (10) Winners will receive a digital copy of Beginner’s Guide To Creating Genuine Characters  (Hank Quense) ~ International!

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Today we are very excited to share an interview with Author Chris Halvorson (Kaitlyn’s Wheel)!

Amazon * B&N * IndieBound * Goodreads

Meet the Author: Christ Halvorson

Chris Halvorson grew up in the Pacific Northwest. In fifth grade, he skipped a day of school to attend the Seattle Sonics championship parade. After dreaming of playing in the NBA himself, he soon realized he was too short and slow, so he followed his passion for books to become an author. He majored in Professional Writing at the University of North Alabama and received an MFA in Film Writing at Columbia University in the City of New York. He currently lives in Los Angeles, where he’s adapting Kaitlyn’s Wheel for a television series.

Amazon Author Page * Facebook

About the Book: Kaitlyn’s Wheel

In rural Iowa, Kaitlyn Stokes (18) witnesses a UFO over her house the night her father dies of cancer, giving her reason to believe the aliens took him away―as with Ezekiel’s Wheel in the Old Testament. She secretly hopes he might someday return as an “Ancient Astronaut,” a theory based on modern science.

In the Pacific Northwest, Zachary Taylor (18) reports to his high school principal that he was abducted by aliens, his impromptu excuse for skipping classes the day before. When the school secretary overhears him, she tells her teenage daughter and the story goes viral on social media, leading to a frenzy of TV news reporters outside his house.

Seeking answers, Kaitlyn connects with Zachary and they fall in love during their senior year. With graduation just months away, they could soon overcome the distance between them―or so they plan until Kaitlyn discovers their relationship was built on a prankish hoax.

Brokenhearted, she gets a mysterious signal over her satellite dish. If only her father could make contact, he would let her know that she and Zachary were brought together for reasons impacting the future of our planet. But the message may arrive too late … as Zachary hurtles toward a lethal force of nature.

Amazon * B&N * IndieBound * Goodreads

~Author Chat~

YABC:  What gave you the inspiration to write this book? 

One night, several years ago, I witnessed two glowing orange triangular shapes flying over the Pacific Ocean from my vantage point in Palisades Park (West Los Angeles). I stopped to watch, along with a female jogger whom I had never met – just the two of us there. We said very little, except something along the lines of “What is that?” After a minute or so, the two parallel crafts went flying off at incredible speed toward Malibu and quickly vanished. Without another word, the female jogger and I proceeded to head off in opposite directions. I think she was just as numbed by the experience as I was.

The day after, I learned that several people in the Palm Springs area had reported seeing military crafts being tested over the desert (about 100 miles away). Regardless, I thought that witnessing a UFO would have been a unique way to romantically connect with someone. I also thought it would make an interesting premise for a novel, but I didn’t have any material for what happens after the two people share the experience. Several years later, the story popped into my head while I was doing dishes in the sink.

YABC: Who is your favorite character in the book?

Kaitlyn, the title character.  I never had kids, but if I had a daughter, I would hope for her to share many of Kaitlyn’s qualities.

YABC: Which came first, the title or the novel?

The novel for sure. My working title was originally Kaitlyn’s Lights, and for months I was grappling to find the right title. It wasn’t until after I had a publisher (Bancroft Press) that I finally came up with Kaitlyn’s Wheel. Thankfully, my publisher agreed with the change.

YABC: What scene in the book are you most proud of, and why?

When Kaitlyn goes to visit her father’s grave and she runs into the pastor of her church. He’s the last person she wants to see because she hasn’t been to church in ages and has lost a lot of faith. To her own surprise, the pastor gives her some much-needed fatherly advice. I’m proud of that scene because it conveys a lot of emotion and uses the Midwest autumn season to establish the tone.

 YABC:  What’s a book you’ve recently read and loved?

Velvet was the Night by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

 YABC:  What is the main message or lesson you would like your reader to remember from this book?

We must work together to save our planet, so that future generations have a chance for a better world. What the planet needs more than anything is love.

YABC:   What advice do you have for new writers? 

There’s an adage that all great writers are great readers. It’s so true. Also, I would start with writing short stories instead of diving into a novel as your first work. Writing workshops can also be beneficial, but they can also be very discouraging. Much depends there on having classmates and instructors who give constructive criticism and encouragement rather than simply tearing your work apart (often through jealousy). If you have the passion to write, you will find your path.

YABC:   Is there anything that you would like to add? 

Writing younger characters was a “return to innocence” so to speak because it put me back in touch with my teenage self. I know technology has changed, and people have become less connected. The story is essentially about two people desperately seeking connection, and I hope to connect with my readers in telling it.

Title:  Kaitlyn’s Wheel

Author: Chris Halvorson

Release Date: April 4, 2023

Publisher: Bancroft Press

ISBN-10:  161088552X

ISBN-13: 978-1610885522

Genre: YA Teen Romance

Age Range: 14 and up

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YABC is excited to share the trailer reveal for

Flying Fillies: The Sky’s the Limit by Christy Hui!

Read on for more about Christy, her book, and a book trailer reveal!

Meet The Author: Christy Hui

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YABC is excited to share the exclusive trailer reveal for

Dylan Dover: Into the Vortex by Lynne Howard!

Read on for more about Lynne, her book, a book trailer reveal & giveaway!

Meet The Author: Lynne Howard

Lynne Howard, author of the Dylan Dover: Into the Vortex series, is a writer, lawyer, and teacher. Passionate about serving her community and dedicated to social and environmental justice, she lives in Toronto, Canada with her husband, children, and two dogs, Halle and Oliver.

Website * TikTok * Facebook

About the Book: Dylan Dover: Into the Vortex

Five Winners will receive a signed copy of Dylan Dover: Into the Vortex (Lynne Howard) ~US/CAN

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YABC is excited to share the exclusive trailer reveal for

A Measure of Serenity by Bryan Prosek!

Read on for more about Bryan, his book, an trailer reveal & giveaway!

Meet Bryan Prosek!

Bryan Prosek is a science fiction writer and business attorney. Along with his debut novel, The Brighter the Stars, he has published books and articles in legal trade journals and magazines. When he isn’t writing or practicing law, you can probably find him watching science fiction movies or television shows. He loves the big screen and the small screen. There’s a good chance that he’ll be watching one of the numerous Star Trek movies or series, but he could be watching anything from Guardians of the Galaxy to The Conjuring. Taking you to new worlds.

Website * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram

Meet A Measure of Serenity!

Eighteen-year-old Serenity Ashdown has a brilliant mind: she counts, calculates, and analyzes everything, all the time. Awkward. When her father suddenly disappears, Serenity follows his trail to a parallel dimension. The feds on the other side claim to want to help her go home, if she helps them reconstruct the right codes for the portal between worlds. But it’s soon clear they want something more: a gateway for invasion, because this version of Earth is dying.

When Serenity learns that her alter-ego was killed in battle, she assumes “the other Serenity’s” identity and uses her unique abilities to lead the resistance in a mortal fight against the tyrannical super-government that is poised to invade her universe. Serenity has no idea how to be someone she’s not, but she has to try—or she may not have a home to return to.      

Amazon * B & N * Indiebound

~ Exclusive Trailer Reveal ~

A Measure of Serenity

Author: Bryan Prosek

Publisher: CamCat Publishing

 Publish Date: November 2nd, 2021

*GIVEAWAY DETAILS* 

*Click the Rafflecopter link below to enter the giveaway*

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YABC is excited to share the movie trailer reveal for

Birds of Paradise!

Keep reading to learn more about the Birds of Paradise movie  

that is based on the phenomenal best-selling book,

Bright Burning Stars by A.K. Small!

In 2019, renowned writer and former professional dancer A.K. Small captivated the YA world with her debut novel, BRIGHT BURNING STARS [workman.com], which Entertainment Weekly called “YA catnip.” Praised as an “otherworldly…cerebral debut” by Booklist and “addictive, angst-y, and heartfelt,” by Kirkus Reviews, Small weaves an authentic, page-turning story of female friendship in which two dancers fight for center stage and a spot in the Opera’s prestigious corps de ballet. It is no surprise that this dazzling debut stole the spotlight and captured the attention of Amazon Studios.

And now, Algonquin is proud to share the news that BRIGHT BURNING STARS will be released on September 24^th as a major motion picture starring Kristine Froseth (Looking for Alaska and Sierra Burgess Is a Loser), Diana Silvers (Ava), and Jacqueline Bisset (Murder on the Orient Express).

Check out this stunning preview that has already garnered over 2 million views (and counting!) on YouTube

and another 285,000 views on starring actress Kristine Froseth’s Instagram,

where she has been drumming up excitement among her 1.1 million Instagram followers.

Fans of the hit Netflix series Tiny Pretty Things or favorites like Black Swan and Bunheads are sure to love this!

Meet Birds of Paradise!

Click HERE to watch Birds of Paradise on Amazon Prime (with subscription)!

Meet Bright Burning Stars!

“A compulsively readable story. I was breathless and battling tears up until the very last stunning turns onstage and beyond. A dazzling, heart-wrenching debut.” —Nova Ren Suma, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Walls Around Us

Would you die for the Prize?

Best friends Marine Duval and Kate Sanders have trained since childhood at the Paris Opera Ballet School, where they’ve forged an inseparable bond through shared stories of family tragedies and a powerful love for dance. When the body of a student is found in the dorms just before the start of their final year, Marine and Kate begin to ask themselves how far they would go for the ultimate prize: to be named the one girl who will join the Opera’s prestigious corps de ballet. Would they cheat? Seduce the most talented boy in the school, dubbed the Demigod, hoping his magic will make them shine, too? Would they risk death for it? Neither girl is sure.
 
But then Kate gets closer to the Demigod, even as Marine has begun to capture his heart. And as selection day draws near, the competition—for the Prize, for the Demigod—becomes fiercer, and Marine and Kate realize they have everything to lose, including each other.

Bright Burning Stars is a stunning, propulsive story about girls at their physical and emotional extremes, the gutting power of first love, and what it means to fight for your dreams.

  Amazon * B & N * Indiebound

Meet A.K. Small!

A. K. Small was born in Paris, France. At five years old, she began studying classical dance with the legendary Max Bozzoni, then later with Daniel Franck and Monique Arabian at the famous Académie Chaptal. At thirteen, she moved to the United States, where she danced with the Pacific Northwest Ballet for one summer and with the Richmond Ballet Student Company for several years. She’s a graduate of the College of William and Mary and has an MFA in fiction from Vermont College of Fine Arts. When she’s not writing, she spends time with her husband, her puppy, and her three daughters, and practices yoga. Bright Burning Stars is her first novel.

 ~ Praise for Bright Burning Stars ~

“A.K. Small’s debut novel, Bright Burning Stars, is basically YA catnip…Small’s attention to detail — the minutiae of Marine and Kate’s lives in the academy — is beautifully written, and both the propulsion of the drama between Marine and Kate and their own demons make this book compulsively readable. Small only leaves you wanting more from her ballet focused world.”

~ Entertainment Weekly ~

“Cutthroat ballerinas duking it out really never gets old.”

~ Cosmopolitan ~

*GIVEAWAY*

Three winners will receive a copy of Bright Burning Stars (A.K. Small) ~ (US Only)

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YABC is excited to share the exclusive trailer reveal for

A Light In The Sky by Shina Reynolds!

Read on for more about Shina, her book, an trailer reveal & giveaway!

 Thank you for tuning in for the exclusive world premiere of the A Light in the Sky book trailer! Available for preorder now!

~ Shina Reynolds ~

Meet Shina Reynolds!

SHINA REYNOLDS grew up in Nebraska, riding horses through wide-open fields. She wrote her first two books in her sixth-grade English class, the second of which went on to win an award at the Nebraska Young Author’s Conference. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree, graduating with honors in art history and with a minor in anthropology. Before writing her debut novel, A Light in the Sky , she worked in film, music, and modeling. Shina currently resides in Texas, where she spends the majority of the year trying to stay cool and imagining she lives in Ireland. When she’s not writing, she can be found painting abstractly, exploring the outdoors with her husband, and entertaining her mostly cuddly cat. 

Website * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram

Meet A Light In The Sky!

Red Queen meets The Scorpio Races in a high-flying new fantasy series filled with passion, betrayal, and adventure from debut author Shina Reynolds.

Seventeen-year-old Aluma Banks has always dreamed of soaring freely through the skies astride a powerful winged steed of her own. But flying is a privilege granted only to the Riders of the king’s Empyrean Cavalry, the aerial warriors who defend the borders of their land from the fallen Kingdom of Laithlann.

Each year, Rider hopefuls across Eirelannia compete in the Autumn Tournament for the honor of joining the Cavalry. Aluma, trained to ride and fight by her retired Empyrean Rider father, knows she has what it takes to prove herself worthy—if only her father hadn’t forbidden her from joining their ranks, in the hope of protecting his only daughter from the perils of war. To make matters worse, Thayer, Aluma’s best friend who could be becoming something more, is competing—and if he wins, he’ll leave her behind.

When Aluma’s father is tragically injured just before the Tournament, she finds herself unexpectedly thrust into this year’s competition. But as Aluma begins to pursue her dreams, she learns devastating secrets about the king and his never-ending war with Laithlann. In her quest for the truth, Aluma discovers a power deep within herself that may be the only way to save Eirelannia and the people she loves from the darkness that threatens to consume them all. 

Amazon * B & N * Indiebound

~ Exclusive Trailer Reveal ~

Written and directed by: Shina Reynolds

Starring: Lily Lequerica, Daniel Ferrell, and Michael Banks

Voiceover by: Shina Reynolds

Produced by : Wink Road Press and FoxForce

Edited by: Julin Jean

Director of Photography: Chris Pilarski

Sound by: Brian Baker

A Light in the Sky book cover design by: Micaela Alcaino

*GIVEAWAY DETAILS* 

*Click the Rafflecopter link below to enter the giveaway*

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