Guest Author, Dani-Lyn Alexander

When Jason and Leah both grab the last dollhouse in the city,
neither of them is willing to let it go.

They go in search of another dollhouse,
and both find more than they bargained for.

I am excited to announce that beginning today, each Wednesday we will have a guest interview! The first few we have lined up will be guest authors from a variety of genres.  

We are thrilled to welcome our first guest author today, Dani-Lyn Alexander!  

Dani-Lyn, tell us a little about yourself.

I live on eastern Long Island with my husband, three kids, ages twenty-one, thirteen and two (surprise!!) and three dogs. I have always loved working with children. I've worked as a dance teacher and choreographer, directed and choreographed several high school plays, and written a children’s chapter book that will be released soon. I've always loved to read, and have had a book in my hand since I was about three. When my youngest son was born and didn't sleep through the night, I figured I’d try my hand at writing. I loved it!

What genres do you write?

Paranormal and Contemporary Romance.

Tell us about your newest release and what inspired you to write it.

The Dollhouse is a short story, and was just released by Still Moments Publishing as part of the For the Love of Christmas Anthology. I was enjoying the fact that this year I didn't have a ‘hard to find’ gift that would send me running frantically all over Long Island on a futile search.

What other books have you written?

Trust and Betrayal is my first novel, and was released by Etopia Press in October. The sequel, Truth and Deceit, will be released in January. I also have short stories included in several anthologies; Dangerous Men, Dangerous Places, Haunted Shadows, and For the Love of Christmas.

Dani-Lyn, thank you very much for stopping by and for being our first guest author!  It is very inspirational to know that in such a relatively short time you have accomplished so much.  I assumed you'd been at this for years!  And as if that successful body of work in a span of less than two years were not incredible enough, you did it all while being a busy wife and mom with a new baby...amazing!

Thank you, it's definitely been a hectic two years, but it's been great! And, thank you for having me, it was a pleasure to be here.

Best of luck with all of your endeavors...including The Dollhouse in the For the Love of Christmas Anthology, released today. We will be sure to check out all of your work!

All of Dani-Lyn's books are grouped together on the amazon.com link, below.  I for one will definitely be ordering For the Love of Christmas today!

http://www.danilynalexander.com

http://www.facebook.com/danilynalexander

http://www.twitter.com/#!/Dani-LynAlexander

http://www.amazon.com/Dani-Lyn-Alexander/e/B007RT5RFU

The YIN & YANG of it all!

Even though The Kabrini Message was written by a male and is primarily science fiction, which is often (although certainly not always) thought to be a more male oriented genre, there is some irony in the realization that it has been an entirely collaborative female influence that has brought it to the published page.

I'm not sure what, if any, significance that has, but it's interesting and a little paradoxical.

Originally I was (only slightly) concerned that because the writer/editor I hired to "polish" the novel is a woman, there could be an impact on the smooth transition we wanted to achieve.  That was never an issue.

Additionally:

The original manuscript for The Kabrini Message was typed by my mom, Marie Egles - I believe on a real "typewriter", not on a computer!  She encouraged Joe and was the one that, I feel, led me to the envelope of loose pages in my attic.

When I found The Kabrini Message, Gwen Jones (Joe's wife) was the legal owner and had she not been on board with having it published, this would never be happening.  Gwen was also present and "a sounding board" throughout the entire time of the writing of the novel.

Amy Bell of WritePunch, Inc. edited and polished the manuscript.

Professional psychic and astrologer Pennye Scullin, gave great advice all along the way.

Theresa McClinton produced the fabulous video trailer.

Ultimately, Annie Melton, founder of Etopia Press is the publisher that signed The Kabrini Message for publication.

So not only was the whole male/female thing not a great challenge to be avoided, but, as it turns out...a very diverse group of women is exactly what was needed to literally bring The Kabrini Message out of the attic and into the world!

Incidentally, if you have not yet seen the video trailer, please check it out:
The Official Kabrini Message Book Trailer

Crystals and Radios

At the end of a past post "Timeless Messages" the importance of crystals and radios was briefly referred to.

As previously mentioned, Navigating the Collapse of Time (Weiser Books, 2011) by David Ian Cowan, was written in 2011, yet many of the theories highly detailed in Mr. Cowan's book are touched on and are the underlying current of The Kabrini Message, written a quarter of a century earlier.

In the previous post, "Author's Bio", The Kabrini Message Author's passion for the world of ham radio was discussed.  Not mentioned in the bio was the fact that the author (J.R. Egles, aka "Joe") also worked in the field of radio for a time as a D.J. at a radio station.  That is certainly where some of the material for chapter 16 of The Kabrini Message (entitled "KUX Radio, Twelve Miles Away") came from.  Incidentally, "K2UX" were Joe's ham radio call letters.

The following are additional excerpts, all from Chapter 5, entitled "DNA - The Interface between Galactic Light and Human Potential" of Navigating the Collapse of Time (Weiser Books, 2011) by David Ian Cowan.  It discusses the significance of crystals and also, ironically, radios!

     "There seems to be an intelligence operating between life forms beyond the limits of physical proximity and bio-chemical messengers.  It is now appreciated that DNA is more crystalline in its qualities, which goes a long way toward explaining these observations of non-local communication."

     "Crystalline structures...creates what seem to act like a net, antenna or resonant matrix for specific frequencies of light/energy.  All true crystals have an electrical aspect as well."

    "I recall, as a child, getting a crystal radio kit for Christmas one year.  It was really cool!  All these wires and coils had to be put together and where you placed a certain wire on the quartz crystal determined which radio station you heard.  And there was no battery!  The crystal not only was the power supply for the radio...but also acted as an antenna receiving radio signals specifically matching the arrangement of molecules on the different faces of the crystal."

    " ...what we know about crystals can now be applied to our appreciation of how DNA functions".

     "What may help explain the crystalline nature of DNA is the fact that DNA is nested within a matrix of ideal or clustered water molecules....Water is the only liquid-crystal substance on Earth, other than perhaps mercury.  All life on Earth depends on it.  Even though water is in a liquid state and can rise in frequency into a vapor or descend into solid ice, the water molecule itself is 'dielectric', as are solid-crystal molecules.  That is, it can hold an electrical charge, like a solid crystal.  As such, water can be charged from an outside source like sunlight and thus go into a more coherent, crystalline functional state, in which it can absorb and emit energy and information."

     "Clustered water surrounding DNA is thus part of an information-sharing system that links the DNA through the quantum-physical structures of the extra-cellular matrix of the body along with the meridians and chakras to the macro universe of light, sound, cosmic radiation and extra-dimensional information.  Throughout the body, we find specific protein structures called 'microtubules' and 'actin filaments' that support clustered water molecules within them.  These structures make up a web of protein filaments literally connecting all cells and their DNA with the body's own Internet or information superhighway....Given that we now understand the meridians to be 'pathways of light,' we can truly say we are 'light beings.'  This is not just New Age mumbo-jumbo; it is solid science.  Consider the implications as the planet moves in the galactic photon beam.  And the whole system is being amped up from the center of the galaxy directly to the center of your cells!"

Granted, crystals and radios are not gone into as seriously or scientifically in The Kabrini Message as they are in the quotes above, but the theories, although much more subtle, are there.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Author Bio: J.R. Egles

Author J.R. Egles was born on November 23, 1949 in Elizabeth, New Jersey to Marie and Bob Egles.  He was the eldest of four children.  Other than a three year period from ages nine to twelve when the family lived in Hialeah, Florida, Joe was a lifelong New Jersey resident.

From an early age, Joe developed a fascination of astronomy.  Joe ground his own telescope lens from a big thick circular piece of glass about the diameter of a dinner plate.  Day after day, he spent endless hours in the basement of his family’s home grinding it with rouge.  When it was finished, he installed the lens in a large telescope that he built himself from scratch.  Joe’s father set a pipe in concrete in the backyard to serve as a mount for the telescope.  Joe was also an avid photographer whose favorite subjects were, of course, the stars and planets.  With that telescope, Joe was able to combine his passions for astronomy and photography by capturing amazing photos of the moon, planets and constellations.

The one thing that surpassed even his obsession for astronomy, however, was his enduring love of ham radio.  At a very young age, Joe joined the close knit community of “hams” when a neighbor introduced him to this unique world of communication.

When the sky was clear, Joe would spend the entire night out in the backyard gazing upward.  When it was cloudy, he would retreat inside where he’d chat with folks all over the world on his ham radio.  Back then, his ham call letters were “WB2UXJ”, and he could be heard calling, “This is Whiskey, Bravo, 2, Uniform, X-ray, Japan” throughout the night.  Later, after receiving what is known as an Extra Class license, the call letters became K2UX (and the mantra became “King, 2, Uncle, X-Ray”).  It was the pre-Internet version of online chatting.

Therefore, we should not be surprised that The Kabrini Message combines both of Joe’s loves: outer space and communication.

Joe graduated from Governor Livingston Regional High School in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey.  This was not the high school most residents of his home town of Garwood attended—Joe hand-selected the school because it offered electives in electronics.  After graduating from high school, Joe attended Union County College.

Joe wrote The Kabrini Message in Loveladies, New Jersey in 1987 over the course of about six months.  At the time, Joe was serving as a full-time, live-in caretaker of another Joe, his elderly grandfather.

Joe most recently lived in Ship Bottom, New Jersey with his wife, Gwen.  He was a father of three and a grandfather of four.

In January, 2010 Joe passed away at the age of 60.  Although he wrote a few short stories and did some freelance writing for a local newspaper, The Kabrini Message was his first and only novel.  The Kabrini Message was an idea 25 years ahead of its time, and there is no doubt that Joe is very pleased that his novel’s time has finally arrived!

Timeless Messages...

The following are detailed notes taken from the book Navigating the Collapse of Time (Weiser Books, 2011) by David Ian Cowan that I referred to in a previous post.  This is the book that my friend, astrologer and psychic Pennye Scullin practically insisted I read because of the parallel theories between it and The Kabrini Message.

The following are all direct quotes taken from the book, except where noted in RED, which are my notes.

NOTICE THE TIME PERIOD TO WHICH THIS FIRST GROUP OF QUOTES REFERENCE.  THEY ALL REFER TO THE EXACT TIME WHEN JOE ACTUALLY WROTE The Kabrini Messsage (1987):

“…the intense period of our awakening began during Harmonic Convergence in August 1987, when we began a twenty-five-year countdown to our awakening.  During this period of time, many memorable spiritual teachers have brought us critical information that has been challenging us to wake up.”

“The year 1986, identified by Jose Arguelles and others as the year of the Harmonic Convergence, marked the beginning of a 25-year countdown to planetary initiation into the photon band.  If you do the math, that brings us to the year 2012.  If you have not seen this year mentioned in some context in the past few years, I’m afraid you’re just not paying attention.”

“In 1986, as the Sun approached the primary boundary of the photon band, the Earth itself began to dip periodically into the band.  Initially, this was only for a period of a few weeks a year, with the Earth being exposed for longer periods as each year passed.  You can see Nature’s elegant plan for our gradual initiation into this region of intense energy.  If we were to be totally immersed all at once, it might not go so well for life on Earth.  The Mayans had a term for this 25-year transitional period – the Time of No Time, indicating that by the time it’s over, post-2012, time as we know it or experience it may not exist at all.  Or at least our relationship to time will have changed dramatically.”

“Interestingly, the Mayan calendar describes the period from 1986 to 2012 as the Time of No Time.”

Literary Agent Vs. Publisher

Do I really need an agent?

Like a lot of things in life, it might be nice, but frankly (and contrary to popular opinion), no, it is not absolutely necessary.

I spent one full year working hard soliciting them, but in the end it was not a literary agent that secured a publisher for The Kabrini Message.  At the end of that year I decided there was nothing to lose in my trying to go direct to publishers.  
In addition to Query Tracker, which I had used previously, I joined Writers Market (www.writersmarket.com) and used the same query process as before, but tailored to publishers as opposed to agents.

Once you narrow down the field of publishers to fiction as opposed to non-fiction, then science fiction as a genre, then (and this is the deal breaker MOST of the time) "authors NOT represented by a literary agent" it's a much smaller group being queried to than agents.  I was left with only 12 publishers through Writers Market and 9 through Query Tracker.  Much different than the nearly 70 agents I had diligently pursued.  And yet...within a little over one month I had an offer from a wonderful, visionary publisher, Etopia Press!

DO NOT let anyone tell you that unless you want to self-publish, you MUST have a literary agent.  Those are not the only two choices!

I am not opposed to agents.  It just didn't work out in this case.  I have nothing but the utmost respect for the literary agency I referred to earlier.  I am very grateful for their advice and assistance.  They offered many helpful suggestions, which I appreciated and followed to the letter with great results.  But I've had such a strong "feeling" about them from the very beginning and that intuitive sense has been 100% on target throughout this process.  So how, then, did they miss out on the book?  The only thing I can figure out is perhaps they were meant for the movie deal!

In the meantime, I am thrilled to say The Kabrini Message is being published (yes, without an agent, thank you very much!), by Etopia Press and I could not be happier!  I am so very grateful for the opportunity and to everyone there.  The staff and the warm and wonderful group of supportive authors at Etopia Press have been awesome!  Thank you Annie Melton and Etopia Press for believing!

Do you absolutely need an agent?  No!  Who knew?

The Kabrini Message is due out in early 2013.

"Heaven Sent" partners!

So I was advised by a well respected literary agency in Beverly Hills (who has many celebrity clients and specializes in not only books, but movies and turning books into movies) that I needed to have the manuscript "polished" and professionally edited and then could resubmit it for consideration.

I asked the few people I knew possessing any writing experience whatsoever for advice on where to find a good editor and was again told to just look on the internet.  Is that the standard “brush-off” from people that don’t want to be of any help?  I don’t know, but again, it worked!  The story of how I found our wonderful editor (who turned out to be so much more than just an editor), Amy Bell of WritePunch, Inc. is an incredible story in and of itself.  Basically, I asked for guidance as to what to do and who to trust and could not have received an answer more quickly, clearly and directly!

I am very grateful to my friend, Pennye Scullin, for several things.  First of all, Pennye had told me about a website:  www.law-of-abundance-living.com  which is a great inspirational website just for things in general.  I remember going on it and seeing so many inspirational articles that I didn’t have time to read at that moment and thinking that “some day when I have more time” I have to come back here and really look around.  So when I was feeling overwhelmed by all the information on-line regarding editors, I decided to stop searching and ask for guidance.  It occurred to me that perhaps I could go back on that website and read through some of the inspiring articles and get some kind of revelation as to what to do next.  Do I try to do it myself?  Do I ask family to help?  Do I hire a professional and if so, who?  How will I know they’re any good, right for the project and will “get” the whole emotional aspect? 

I went back on www.law-of-abundance-living.com and as I was scanning it trying to decide what to read first, I noticed a series of advertisements along the right hand side of the webpage, one of them listed on-line courses you could take; one of which said “Learn to be a Ghostwriter”.  I clicked on it, just to see where it would take me and there, on the page it linked to, was another advertisement for WritePunch, Inc.  I knew with absolute certainty, at that very moment, that was it…and it was!  I had asked for guidance as to where to turn and what to do next and in less than 5 minutes, Mom or Joe or both immediately lead me to Amy Bell of WritePunch, Inc. 

I instinctively knew that in hiring Amy, a very talented writer, she could fill in the pieces required that Joe was not here to do himself.  What ultimately happened is that Amy not only did that, but was so enthusiastic and emotionally connected that we often read each others thoughts and came up with the same ideas at the same time, over a thousand miles apart.  So many times I would get an idea I wanted to run by Amy and she would either beat me to it or say…”I was just thinking the same thing”.  We have been on the same wavelength, with a lot of help from above, throughout this whole process.  There is no doubt in my mind that Amy Bell and this book are, quite literally, a match made in heaven!  http://www.writepunch.com/   Thank you, Amy!

The second thing I am grateful to Pennye for is for relieving the burden I was placing on myself at every turn by constantly obsessing over “What would Joe do?” and “What does Joe want?”  Pennye pointed out that Joe did what Joe would do and frankly, what Joe wants now is for me to get the book published, by doing what I would do, not what he would do.   She further explained that the reason I found the book is because I am the one with the tenacity (although some might call it something else!) to see it through to publication, by doing what I would do.  Everything became so much easier after that simple revelation. Thank you, Pennye!

Pennye also strongly encouraged me to read another book, Navigating the Collapse of Time (Weiser Books, 2011) by David Ian Cowan, whose theories parallel much of what Joe describes in The Kabrini Message.  I did that and it made the “message” of The Kabrini much clearer.    BTW...there will be much more on these "parallel theories" in an upcoming post.  Thanks again Pennye!

Sapience

Important advice:  When attempting to get a science fiction novel regarding planets, the solar system, star systems, etc. published, it’s extremely helpful to have a good friend that’s a professional psychic and astrologer.  http://www.pennyestarinsight.com/

Again, thank you ladies!