#NationalReadABookDay is a great hashtag!

It's time for a little reading, beloved. A million twitterbirds told me it was #NationalReadABookDay and I am promoting all sort of books from all sorts of authors on Twitter and Facebook this week.

For today's blog post, I want to share my recent excerpt blog below. HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND!

LINK (Click Me, Sugar!)

https://therabbittrilogy.blogspot.com/2018/02/hunting-children-is-riskiest-venture-of.html

FICTION WRITERS- Getting help with a foreign character's DIALOGUE "De nada"

RABBIT FANS remember the Australian character, Rakum Cow Stuart Loudon, from Rabbit Legacy. He runs into Canaan at a Rest Area one night when Canaan needs a "buzz." In the upcoming third installment (Rabbit Redemption, Little Roni Publishers Jan 2018), he has a much larger role. Because of this, I needed help with his dialogue. I'm not Australian so my scope of Aussie dialect and language comes from Hollywood. 

HERE'S MY SOLUTION. The following is a helpful blog on what to do when your character isn't you!

DIALOGUE HELP: So what if your character is Australian and you're not? When I write fiction, my characters come as they are--I don't choose them, they arrive already formed. That means they aren't all White, Female, American, Christian, Southern Belles (touché). Thanks to social media, nearly every writer has friends around the country who they can ask for help to make sure their character sounds real and not "Hollywood."

Recently, I asked my friend and fellow author Stu Loudon for help bringing my Aussie character's dialogue to life. I know all about my character's personality, but not how he might say certain things. I asked Stu to help and he said YES.

IF YOU GET HELP, go through your novel and select portions where you need the friend to help out. Don't send the whole novel, or even the entire chapter--this will greatly slow down the response time. Send only what the friend needs above and beyond the dialogue to add his or her special native touch. Then, you should highlight the dialogue so your friend can go right to it easily. Keep in mind, no matter how much a friend or fan likes your work, he or she is busy 24/7 just like you are! Lastly, offer to pay them enough for a nice dinner. Trust me, there are a dozen good reasons to give a little monetary thank you for this help.

USING THE INTERNET: Sometimes you have to use the internet for this help. I googled "Aussie slang" in case my friend was too busy to help and dozens of sites came up. Of course, I would have bungled the job -- Americans wouldn't notice, but anyone who ever knew a true Australian would know I used the internet to make my character speak!

FINAL NOTE ABOUT GOOGLE TRANSLATE: Sometimes, your character speaks another language, or uses foreign phrases in his daily speech. For example, I have several Latino characters who may exclaim*, "Madre de dios!" or "Meirda!", or my German character may say, "jah," etc. etc. We all use Google Translate to make short sentences for our books. That is my advice--use it only for short items. It is not perfect, and if you know anyone who speaks that language, ask them to check it.

RABBIT TRILOGY

Author Beth Rider writes a vampire novel that angers a race of "real" vampires living under the radar since before Christ. Learn more at www.ellencmaze.com.

Purchase on Amazon:http://www.ellencmaze.com/re-released-for-2017.php 

Like Australian Author Stu Loudon on Facebook: click

*Use proper punctuation, too. This blog doesn't support upside-down exclamation points. :)

LOVE LETTERS to My Readers

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

1) You encourage me to keep at it. You have no idea how much it means to me that you took the time out of your busy day to tell me to GET GOING ON THE NEXT NOVEL!! Thank you, and I promise to get busy!

2) You send me emails when you're moved by the characters. Thank you! I love hearing how they come alive for you!!

3) You share my books with others because they meant so much to you. Thank you! I love your enthusiasm for my "babies"!

 4) When my books move you spiritually, you take the time to write and let me know. I've written thrillers that can frighten some people to pieces, but the spiritual undercurrent is always there to feed and move your soul.

5) You "liked" and visited my Facebook pages so often that I feel loved and supported even when my next book is a long time coming. Thank you, Facebook friends!! (If you haven't, please click HERE to come over and "like" my page! I have a new novel coming out this summer and will have tons of giveaways!)

6) You take the time to post reviews for me on Amazon. You may never realize how important this is. These reviews really push sales because of the customer-oriented algorithms exclusive to Amazon.com. THANK YOU SO MUCH!! (Click here to see or buy on Amazon!)

There are so many more that this blog could go on forever.  The bottom line is that without you, I'm only a writer. You make me an author because you read what I wrote. I am sending you a zillion cyber hugs and when our arms are tired of hugging, let's collapse in a pile of books together. I love books as much as you do!


HUGS and blessings,


Ellen C Maze
http://www.ellencmaze.com
ellenmaze@aol.com

GIVEAWAY of a 5-Star Vampire Novel -- Odd and Curious

GOOD THINGS HAPPEN to those who...

Take something that thousands of readers have loved and make it better? 

 That’s what Little Roni Publishers wants to do with my first novel, Rabbit: Chasing Beth Rider. On September 22, 2012 – three years after this curiously spiritual vampire novel first hit the shelf – Rabbit is breathed new life by this up-and-coming publishing house out of Byhalia, Mississippi.

That said, LET’S GIVE SOMETHING AWAY!!

I want to give away a paperback copy of the new edition. The cover has been re-imagined, and the interior re-edited, content altered slightly, and the entire collection of “Loose Rabbits” has been included in the back, along with awesome little footnotes and hints to enhance your Rabbit-hole experience.

If you haven’t been down this vampire rabbit hole, I invite you now. Post your email here or on Facebook to have your name put in the hat. I will draw every morning this week until Saturday, so we’ll have five winners in all. You do not have to comment every day. I will sum up your entries and keep them in the hat if not drawn. I’m nice that way!

Let’s get ready to cover our necks and dive into the world of Beth Rider and the Rakum who love (and hate) her!!

HERE   WE   GOoooooo!!