Blogging, Writing, and Publishing

        Jason backed into one of the boxes hard, receiving a good poke in the kidneys. He stood involuntarily erect with pain, and stifled a cry of protest and curses.      “Jason, I’m scared,” Cora whimpered. “I want to get out of here.” She saw Jason respond with an increasing nervousness. He looked like he would rather be doing anything else.      “I’m still working on it. It’s not going as quickly as you would like.” Cora heard the man in the lab coat protest.      “Mr. Evans wants something done now. If you don’t produce, he gets upset. When he gets upset, I get angry. I like being angry, but you won’t like it at all.”      Cora’s jaw dropped open as the men continued to argue. She looked to Jason for clarification, but his wide-eyed stare  showed nothing but horror.      They backed away from the doors, but the men’s loud shouting continued. Cora reached for Jason’s hand. A...

I've shared with you many possibilities for free online marketing and brand awareness opportunities with niche and specialized industries. Success is possible after you develop a platform and your audience trusts you. Well, what about fiction? Same formula applies, develop a platform and your audience will trust you. Though the formula applies, you may find yourself starting over if your fiction does not involve your core specialized market audience. For example, my core niche audience is security professionals. They are interested in my "how-to" books, articles and blogs. However, as a whole, they are not interested in a novel about missionaries in Indonesia. I could get luck writing a thriller novel featuring a main character performing in the niche industry, but I can generally expect to start all over with a new platform. So, how does one create a buzz, gather an audience and sell their fiction? Here are 4 ideas. 1.  Start a blog featuring snippets of your book....

The days seemed to melt into each other as John learned the intricacies of his new plane. He enjoyed the privilege of flying the only yellow airplane in the nation; the main reason he named her Buttercup. Even people deep in the forest who had no affiliation with missionaries felt a sense of ownership when they saw the plane fly over. “I’ve come to know the sound of your plane,” Marta said. “That’s what the Johnsons said at my last stop. It’s really nice to be wanted.” John beamed. “Are you so sure it’s you everyone wants to see?” Marta teased. “All right, so everyone wants to know what I have in my cargo bin. I feel like Santa Claus year round.” “I guess it’s good to see you too. I need to use my English now and again so I don’t forget,” said Marta. “That’s so nice of you to say so.” John enjoyed the game they often played with each other. The lines around her eyes when she smiled told him of the joy he had brought to her. It was such an easy smile, and he didn’t have to try hard to g...

     In her hut, Marta lay staring at the grass roof; it had been a fitful sleep. Bouts of fitful tossing were triggered by images of John. She wasn’t sure if he would fit in, or remain on Irian Jaya, but she hoped he would stay. She couldn’t believe her feelings for this man, and passed them off as curiosity. After all, he was fresh and full of conversation. But she had met men and women who came to visit as evangelical missionaries, preaching for a short time before moving on. Pilots, doctors and other medical persons came, as well as the Peace Corps and United Nations workers. None had the allure that John already had over her. He seemed to own some part of her, and she wasn’t ready to give it over. She had to get him out of her mind....her heart. No, she couldn’t admit he had her heart. She finally rolled from her bed for the short trek to the stream where she washed. On the way, she saw John and the old man. She saw him smile and trot toward her. He looked like he ha...

  CHAPTER 10      High in the mist-filled mountain tops two figures danced excitedly around their chubby friend. Another tall and lanky character observed it from under the wide brim of his bush hat. He allowed himself a rare smile. The boys have earned some excitement.      “Bart found the ore. Finally, he did something besides trying to kill us with his food,” Charles said excitedly, much to Bart’s dismay.      “My food gave you the strength to carry on. Didn’t it, Angus?” Bart said, looking hopefully to the boss.      “Kissing up to him won’t get you much,” said Roger. “But finding this gold will.” He grabbed the short and stout Bart in a headlock and rubbed his dirty hair heartily, excited that the months of mining had finally been rewarded.      Bart smiled in his goofy manner, enjoying the much needed praise.      Roger and Charles let out a roar of pleasure as they tossed the baseball-...

 To be effective team builders, organizational leaders and commanders must be able to identify and interact with both formal and informal teams, including— The traditional chain of command. Chains of coordination directing joint, interagency, and multinational organizations. Chains of functional support combining commanders and staff officers. Although leading through other leaders is a decentralized process, it does not imply a commander or supervisor cannot step in and temporarily take active control if the need arises. However, bypassing the habitual chain of command should be by exception and focused on solving an urgent problem or guiding an organization back on track with the leader’s original guidance Jeffrey W. Bennett, ISP is the owner of Red Bike Publishing . Jeff is an accomplished writer of non-fiction books, novels and periodicals. He also owns Red bike Publishing. Published books include: "Get Rich in a Niche-Insider's Guide to Self Publishing in ...

   “Let’s help them,” Tucker said, grabbing John’s hand and pulling him toward the commotion in the forest.      The village surroundings had been busy with the sound of leaves crunching, vines cracking, and rhythmic chants for the past 30 minutes. Tucker led laughing gleefully as they went to investigate. Finally they found twenty men pulling on thick vines as they advanced the progress of a huge sago palm toward the village.      “It is big, John. It will bring us lots of food. The kind you eat a lot of last time,” said Tucker.      “I don’t remember eating food from a tree. What do you mean?” John asked as he stepped in behind one of the men.      Both John and Tucker were now struggling with the cumbersome tree. They made slow progress as the tree scraped across the jungle floor inch by inch. Awkward at first, John soon fell in with the rhythm of the cadence and found the load easier to bea...

     The sun painted streaks of pale blue and yellow through the morning sky. Birds were awake, singing to anyone appreciative enough to listen. The moon was full and bright as it still sat high in the western sky.      John listened intently. He was used to the sounds of the jungle, something he would actually miss. Gone were the distractions of machines. However, he prayed that they would soon be getting back to the plane that would take them back to their world–civilization.      Suddenly he was aware of something new–silence. The singing had abruptly stopped, but why? Birds go silent as a survival instinct, he thought. He listened more intently, as the ground would be soft, muffling any footsteps.      There! In the brush – a slight movement. He focused his eyes to one side of the dark, heavily vegetated area hoping to catch something in his peripherals. Behind about fifty yards, vines and branches moved...

     “Okay, I’ll demonstrate flying through these passages before these clouds get too low,” Steve yelled over the roaring engine. “Do you see the break in the mountains ahead? Fly to those, staying as far right as you can.”       “I’m staying to the right, and I don’t mind telling you this is a little nerve racking.”      “I’m with you, but this is the only way to some of the villages.” Steve knew John would have a hard time at first. “Just remember to stay to the right. That way if you find you may have mistakenly flown the wrong passage, you will have ample room on the left side for maneuvering.”       “Well, I can tell you that this barely leaves enough to turn. I’d hate to have to make a hasty U-turn or other emergency procedures,” said John.       There was only a mile of flying space between mountain–plenty of room for turning a car around, but an airplane is another...

“What'd you do that for?” Angus yelled. “He was going to eat me,” the overweight Bart whined a little too loudly. He still had his shotgun poised over his head. “No he wasn’t, you fool. He probably heard all the commotion you made and came to investigate,” said Charles. “What in the world was this aborigine doing up at this time of night?” Bart complained, laboring for air. “Probably guarding the camp from lads like us,” Charles chided. “Keep it down! Did you have to hit him so hard? I think he’s dead,” Angus chastised. “I said I didn’t mean to. You shouldn’t have brought me here. You should’ve left me to guard the camp instead of Roger,” Bart continued to whine. “This stuff scares me and I hate walking through it. I can’t believe you made me come.” “We needed someone competent to stand by at camp. We didn’t think you could cause trouble under supervision,” Charles continued. Angus dug into his back pack and pulled out an ornament he took from an Asmat warrior he fo...