ReaderZeen, a Magazine for readers is on its way this March 15, 2022. Order yours in advanced. Magazine will include author interviews, short stories, articles, and more surprises. Pre-order your copy or subscription today.
$15. or $10 for yearly subscription (quarterly).
SAMPLES FROM DEBUT MAGAZINE
YOU AND I ARE LOVE By Laurie Kehoe
You and I are love. Maybe it started when we met, when I saw your smile, heard your gentle voice. Maybe it started when we went shopping together for the first time and you wrapped your arms around me in the middle of the aisle. However, it started, it grew faster than either of us could imagine. It took hold of our hearts, gripping us in each other’s embrace. It captured our lives to be bound to one another forever.
When our bodies joined together for the first time, I knew that we were truly one flesh. No other could ever share the sanctity of my essence. No other could enter in to the secret places of my being. We spent our days growing stronger in our love and our nights entwined in our passion.
Then came the day it would be tested. The day we would have to choose love. It dawned like any other. We awoke with our faces toward each other, smiled, rose and greeted the morning. After....
laurettakehoe.com
facebook.com/ADreamofDragons
goodreads.com/author/show/15239022.Lauretta_L_Kehoe
You and I are love. Maybe it started when we met, when I saw your smile, heard your gentle voice. Maybe it started when we went shopping together for the first time and you wrapped your arms around me in the middle of the aisle. However, it started, it grew faster than either of us could imagine. It took hold of our hearts, gripping us in each other’s embrace. It captured our lives to be bound to one another forever.
When our bodies joined together for the first time, I knew that we were truly one flesh. No other could ever share the sanctity of my essence. No other could enter in to the secret places of my being. We spent our days growing stronger in our love and our nights entwined in our passion.
Then came the day it would be tested. The day we would have to choose love. It dawned like any other. We awoke with our faces toward each other, smiled, rose and greeted the morning. After....
laurettakehoe.com
facebook.com/ADreamofDragons
goodreads.com/author/show/15239022.Lauretta_L_Kehoe
MOVING ON By H.C. Kilgour
The box weighs heavily in my arms and my mind as I walk down the stairs. Even though I’m wearing shoes, I can feel the shag carpet on my bare soles in a now fleeting memory. I could walk these stairs blind and never trip; these stairs that I’ve known for so long that it could be a lifetime, these stairs that I’ve known for so long it has been a lifetime.
My sneakers make an almost inaudible thud as they step onto the hardwood floors of the downstairs. Where smiling faces of days and people past should be are holes from the nails that once held them aloft. The wall looks so barren and uninviting without any reminder of the beauty of life on it. I set the box at the foot of the stairs and run my hand along the wall’s pristine, white surface.
Looking down, I see a drop of green paint from when my parents had painted the walls when they’d first moved in. I balk for a second as I realize that was well over thirty years ago, when I was just old enough to remember the excitement of being able to call this place home. Memories flash across my mind and I can all but see the crayon on the wall from when my siblings decided it was fall in our forest-colored walls.
hckilgour.com
facebook.com/byhckilgour
instagram.com/by_hckilgour
The box weighs heavily in my arms and my mind as I walk down the stairs. Even though I’m wearing shoes, I can feel the shag carpet on my bare soles in a now fleeting memory. I could walk these stairs blind and never trip; these stairs that I’ve known for so long that it could be a lifetime, these stairs that I’ve known for so long it has been a lifetime.
My sneakers make an almost inaudible thud as they step onto the hardwood floors of the downstairs. Where smiling faces of days and people past should be are holes from the nails that once held them aloft. The wall looks so barren and uninviting without any reminder of the beauty of life on it. I set the box at the foot of the stairs and run my hand along the wall’s pristine, white surface.
Looking down, I see a drop of green paint from when my parents had painted the walls when they’d first moved in. I balk for a second as I realize that was well over thirty years ago, when I was just old enough to remember the excitement of being able to call this place home. Memories flash across my mind and I can all but see the crayon on the wall from when my siblings decided it was fall in our forest-colored walls.
hckilgour.com
facebook.com/byhckilgour
instagram.com/by_hckilgour
Getting Published is Just the Start By Randy Overbeck
At a recent author event—well, before the pandemic—an excited eighteen-year-old stepped up and asked me about my novel, Blood on the Chesapeake. After I’d given my elevator pitch, he pivoted and asked “How hard it to get a novel published?”
My response threw him. “The hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life.”
“Really?” He looked unconvinced. “I mean it looks like fun. First, you hole up in your room and write your story and then you get it published. I mean, you sign books and everything.”
I plowed on. “The book you see here took years to research, write and edit, and that doesn’t include all the time and effort it took to find the right publisher.”
The young man said, “I have a friend who wrote a fantasy novel and published it himself. Jeremy said it took him only about three months. No big deal.”
I nodded, not answering right away. “The self-publishing route wasn’t right for me, but it works for other authors. And it’s true that there are more routes to getting your book ‘published’ than ever before” I used the air quotes for a little emphasis. “But getting it ‘published’ is only a start. Unless you just want to be able to tell your family and friends ‘I got my book published,’ there is a whole lot more to it than seeing your words in print.”
He looked a little confused, so I went on.
authorrandyoverbeck.com
At a recent author event—well, before the pandemic—an excited eighteen-year-old stepped up and asked me about my novel, Blood on the Chesapeake. After I’d given my elevator pitch, he pivoted and asked “How hard it to get a novel published?”
My response threw him. “The hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life.”
“Really?” He looked unconvinced. “I mean it looks like fun. First, you hole up in your room and write your story and then you get it published. I mean, you sign books and everything.”
I plowed on. “The book you see here took years to research, write and edit, and that doesn’t include all the time and effort it took to find the right publisher.”
The young man said, “I have a friend who wrote a fantasy novel and published it himself. Jeremy said it took him only about three months. No big deal.”
I nodded, not answering right away. “The self-publishing route wasn’t right for me, but it works for other authors. And it’s true that there are more routes to getting your book ‘published’ than ever before” I used the air quotes for a little emphasis. “But getting it ‘published’ is only a start. Unless you just want to be able to tell your family and friends ‘I got my book published,’ there is a whole lot more to it than seeing your words in print.”
He looked a little confused, so I went on.
authorrandyoverbeck.com
Agent Harold Palmer is Back in Action!
I first met Bobby Nash on my podcast, Writer to Writer Interviews. He signed up to be interviewed and then interview me. I have been following him on social media and I am inspired by his courage to keep moving. During this time of the pandemic, he has still continued to market his books. During the past summer he was all masked up at a few book festivals and Comic Cons. He has decided to not allow the current times stop his flow. I asked him a few questions about his publishing journey. I hope it inspires you either as a writer reader.
1. When did you discover you wanted to be an author? I was a teenager when I really started taking writing seriously. I started out wanting to be a comic book artist and I wrote and drew my own comics. It was fun and I learned a lot about storytelling doing it. Once it was pointed out to me that I might have better success if I stopped splitting my focus between writing and art, I focused on the writing and a few short years later, I sold a comic script. I’ve been going non-stop since then.
2. What inspired you to publish your first book?
I had a story that I wanted to tell. That’s where it started. I also wanted to see if I could do it. Writing is a lot of work. It’s time consuming and at time, mentally exhausting. I didn’t know if I had it in me to finish a full novel so I set about challenging myself to do it. I did, and the first attempt was pretty bad, but with the success of finishing a novel, I decided to do it again. I was hooked.
3. Did you have any fears of publishing before you started? Oh, sure. Absolutely. “What if it sucks?” was a big fear. When I started, the publishing industry was much different that today. Self-publishing was not an acceptable path
4. What were three things your learned about the publishing process? Publishing is a hard, lonely job. You are alone most of the time, just you and your laptop. Oh, sure, your characters are there too, but if yours are anything like mine, they don’t listen to me. Ha! Ha!
Whether you are traditionally published or if you self-publish, the author is expected to do the bulk of the promotion for the book. This one scares a lot of people, but it’s absolutely true. You have to get out there and talk up your book. There’s no way around it.
Set attainable goals and celebrate them. Goals are important, but realistic goals
bobbynash.com
I first met Bobby Nash on my podcast, Writer to Writer Interviews. He signed up to be interviewed and then interview me. I have been following him on social media and I am inspired by his courage to keep moving. During this time of the pandemic, he has still continued to market his books. During the past summer he was all masked up at a few book festivals and Comic Cons. He has decided to not allow the current times stop his flow. I asked him a few questions about his publishing journey. I hope it inspires you either as a writer reader.
1. When did you discover you wanted to be an author? I was a teenager when I really started taking writing seriously. I started out wanting to be a comic book artist and I wrote and drew my own comics. It was fun and I learned a lot about storytelling doing it. Once it was pointed out to me that I might have better success if I stopped splitting my focus between writing and art, I focused on the writing and a few short years later, I sold a comic script. I’ve been going non-stop since then.
2. What inspired you to publish your first book?
I had a story that I wanted to tell. That’s where it started. I also wanted to see if I could do it. Writing is a lot of work. It’s time consuming and at time, mentally exhausting. I didn’t know if I had it in me to finish a full novel so I set about challenging myself to do it. I did, and the first attempt was pretty bad, but with the success of finishing a novel, I decided to do it again. I was hooked.
3. Did you have any fears of publishing before you started? Oh, sure. Absolutely. “What if it sucks?” was a big fear. When I started, the publishing industry was much different that today. Self-publishing was not an acceptable path
4. What were three things your learned about the publishing process? Publishing is a hard, lonely job. You are alone most of the time, just you and your laptop. Oh, sure, your characters are there too, but if yours are anything like mine, they don’t listen to me. Ha! Ha!
Whether you are traditionally published or if you self-publish, the author is expected to do the bulk of the promotion for the book. This one scares a lot of people, but it’s absolutely true. You have to get out there and talk up your book. There’s no way around it.
Set attainable goals and celebrate them. Goals are important, but realistic goals
bobbynash.com