Authors & Books Archives ⋆ L.J. Diva

The meteoric rise of A.J. Finn, and the fall that’s bound to come with it.

15/02/2019 by L.J. Diva Filed Under: Authors & Books, Business & Legalities, Humans & Behaviour, Publishing Leave a Comment

Last year, on Aussie tv, I saw an interview with author A.J. Finn. I didn’t know who he/she was, had never heard of, or seen he/she before, so had no idea whether he/she was a man or woman.

Turns out, he was a man.

The book he was flogging, The Woman in the Window, seemed interesting, and I borrowed it from my local library.

I didn’t give it a flattering review, but you can read it here…

I found him to be very hyper, always talking, moving frenetically. I wondered if he was on drugs. He mentioned his mother was with him on the tour and in the audience. He mentioned he had bipolar. I thought, huh, okay, maybe that’s why he’s so hyper.

Little did I know…

This week The New Yorker magazine has come out with a blasting expose on A.J. Finn, also known as Dan Mallory and you can read it here…

It goes in depth into his life, his past, his family. Interviews have been conducted, people have been spoken too, and the lies that came out about his life and career are more than telling. It really makes you wonder how liars get away with so much.

From his lies about the death of his mother, the suicide of his brother (both are supposedly still alive), to claiming he had cancer, to social climbing his way through publishing houses and claiming to have discovered authors, to lying about another publishing house wanting him to gain a raise with the house he was already with.

When his book, The Woman in the Window was being auctioned, it created a publishing frenzy. And then those houses found out who the author was and dropped out of the running. William Morrow, who employed Mallory at the time, scored the book and a second in a deal that one New Yorker joked, “The call was coming from inside the house!” Of course they wanted to keep him in house, they would have known he was trouble.

Fox 2000 bought the rights to the movie which is coming out this year. It was reported he’d earned about two million out of it and no longer had to work. But as we all know, if you don’t work and blow through the money you have, you eventually end up with none. So, I wonder what he’s coming up with next?

The Stylist website have also done a story on him, but in a rather weird twist, made the article all about female authors and how publishing houses treat them, with the damning title of – “This exposé of a crime writer is a damning indictment of the way publishing treats women”.

Seriously!?

The story is not about female authors, it’s about a highly narcissistic male and the lies he told to get where and what he wanted. It ISN’T about female authors, but there will always be one who has to turn everything around to be about them. They sampled twitter replies about the article and Dan Mallory, and all of them turned the story around to be about female authors.

AGAIN, NOT ABOUT FEMALE AUTHORS!

I get really sick and tired of seeing women constantly make everything about them, and yes, I am a woman. For once in your freakin’ lives, read, see, hear what the actual story is about, and not what you WANT IT to be about. IT IS NOT ABOUT YOU AND FEMALE AUTHORS!

It’s about a man who has lied his way through life and used everybody and everything to get what he wanted, and the people who allowed it to happen and turned a blind eye to his revoltingly nasty ways.

I certainly won’t be watching the movie. To quote myself from my book review, “I know this is being made into a movie with Amy Adams, but I have no need to watch it since I’ve read it, and don’t want to see the stupidity of this character on the screen”.

I really hope that Dan Mallory falls from his pedestal, or burns his wings on the sun, because egotistical narcissists like him just don’t need to have their egos stroked.

Royal Star Publishing

15/11/2018 by L.J. Diva Filed Under: Authors & Books, Business & Legalities, Publishing, Websites & Social Media Leave a Comment

Two weeks ago I teased about my publishing house, and now, here she is.

About two years ago, I toiled with the idea of setting up my own publishing house.

It was 2016, I was writing under three names, about to release a plethora of books, and thought about a name to publish them all under.

So, in 2017, I bought a business name, set up a website, and then decided to change the name and the website. Check it out here.

I went from Royal Crown Press to Royal Star Publishing. You can see the website here.

It’s a basic website with a header, front page, and some social media apps. It has pages for series, kids, adult and non fiction.

It is updated every six months with the release of a new book, and generally sits there and is for show.

Now, every time I publish a book, I can use the name on the sales site so it looks more professional. Because that’s the whole point as an independent author/publisher. Having something that looks professional on your sale page and not the names Amazon or CreateSpace.

So Royal Star Publishing was born, and is growing.

I’ve surpassed 50 stories, non fiction, novellas and novels and there’s more to come. So, why not have my own publishing house? We currently have five in house imprints.

Chances is the fiction imprint for sexy and adult novels for women. Covering romance, it’s for more in depth genres, such as drama and lgbt, and features more sex, and mature adult themes.

Chances was named in honour of Jackie Collins’ book Chances. It suits this imprint perfectly as it’s about women and men taking chances on life and love.

Love Beats is the fiction imprint for light and lovely romance novels. Whether they be sweet, comedic, fun or lightweight, these romances will make you laugh before they make you cry. With more love than sex, these will get you through a wintry day in front of the fire, or a lazy day on the beach. (Will be for light romances)

Skull & Bone is the fiction imprint for children, tweens & young adults. Covering horror, paranormal, occult, fantasy, myths, folklore and all other genres with a slightly twisted edge. (All of the T.K. Wrathbone stuff so far)

Dream Star is the fiction imprint for children, tweens & young adults. Covering light and bright themes across all genres, it brings a little fun into their lives. (#teenblogger)

Notes on Life is our imprint that covers poetry and song lyrics. (Poems Of A Musical Flavour)

So, that’s Royal Star Publishing. We are not open for submissions, purely a name only business for myself at this stage. But who knows, maybe when I’m rich and famous and can afford to turn it into a company and publish other people…it might happen.

The Writing Groups I’ve Joined in the Last Year

08/11/2018 by L.J. Diva Filed Under: Authors & Books, Publishing, Websites & Social Media, Writing Leave a Comment

On the path through any journey, you need to keep educating yourself about your craft, reading, listening, watching, learning from all others that went before and all that have come after you.

It’s a great way to learn of all the new things that are coming our way.

As authors, we need to be across the board and on the ball because the publishing field is changing so much and so fast, that sometimes, we can’t keep up.

But one way of doing so, is to look at all of the writing/publishing groups you come across. Figure out if you can learn from them, if they are supportive of each other and not egotistically narcissistic in dictating how the publishing business is, and how authors should be.

Find a group that loves to learn and help each other out instead of pull each other down. And believe me, there are quite a few of those, apparently.

But the two I belong to, aren’t.

Alliance of Independent Authors I joined last year. Known as Alli, it was started by Orna Ross for authors like herself and grew from that. Alli has partnerships with companies such as Ingram Sparks where we self-publishing authors get a great deal on publishing our books with them.

There are book designers and editors who will do Alli members a deal, and John Doppler wades through all of the information on publishing houses and whether or not you need to beware and stay away.

For an author who’s already published, it’s a yearly cost of $129AUD. Varying levels of membership have varying costs, it all depends on where you are in your writing journey. Also, as a member, you get free books to publishing written by Alli members themselves, and you get to join the Facebook page.

The next group is Self Publishing Formula by Mark Dawson.

A former lawyer and trad pubbed author, when he was dumped by his pub house, as so many authors are, he started self-publishing and slowly built up Self Publishing Formula. You can join the Facebook group, buy the courses, watch or listen to the podcasts, and learn so much it’s ridiculous.

I really wish all of these things had been around 12 years ago when I wrote my first book. Back then, I only had my local writing centre and Romance Authors of Australia. I left both behind years ago.

If you’re a writer or author and are looking for your tribe, these are two groups you need to check out and join.

BOOK REVIEW: The Key and The Woman in the Window

25/10/2018 by L.J. Diva Filed Under: Authors & Books Leave a Comment

I’ve read two books in recent months, The Key by Kathryn Hughes and the, apparently, wildly popular The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn.

First up…The Key (available at Amazon here)

1956
It’s Ellen Crosby’s first day as a student nurse at Ambergate Hospital. When she meets a young woman admitted by her father, little does Ellen know that a choice she will make is to change both their lives for ever…

2006
Sarah is drawn to the now abandoned Ambergate. Whilst exploring the old corridors she discovers a suitcase belonging to a female patient who entered Ambergate fifty years earlier. The shocking contents, untouched for half a century, will lead Sarah to unravel a forgotten story of tragedy and lost love, and the chance to make an old wrong right . . .

I can’t remember how I found this book, I think I was looking for something else and saw the blurb and became interested.

It’s sad, I’ll put that out there now. I cried a lot at the mistreatment of Amy (won’t tell you who) and found the small twist to be surprising, but understandable since I figured someone’s father was someone of importance. I’m surprised it turned out the way it did, and yes, again, it was sad so have tissues ready.

It held my interest, had large print, even though it wasn’t a large print book, and I managed it in 2-3 hours. I may also read some of her other books as they seem along the same line and genre as this one.

Next up, The Woman in the Window (available at Amazon here)

It isn’t paranoia if it’s really happening . . .

Anna Fox lives alone—a recluse in her New York City home, unable to venture outside. She spends her day drinking wine (maybe too much), watching old movies, recalling happier times . . . and spying on her neighbors.

Then the Russells move into the house across the way: a father, a mother, their teenage son. The perfect family. But when Anna, gazing out her window one night, sees something she shouldn’t, her world begins to crumble—and its shocking secrets are laid bare.
I found out about this book when the author appeared on an Aussie tv morning show. It seemed really interesting so I got it from my local library, and while it’s just another one of “those books with woman/girl” in the title, and it is, there was a twist I didn’t see coming, BUT…

Within the first five chapters I figured out what happened to the husband and daughter.

By page 180 I wanted to punch the female lead in the head.

By page 200 something I wanted her dead she was annoying as hell. She was to blame for what had happened and quite frankly, who the fuck did she think she was, so, I take it the guilt trip she was laying on herself was the reason she stayed a drunk.

I understand WHY she was doing what she was doing BUT…it became all about her needing a crutch and not wanting to deal with what had happened even though she was seeing a doctor.

I cannot stand women, or people in general, who wallow in their self-pitying bullshit. Which she did.

I know this is being made into a movie with Amy Adams, but I have no need to watch it since I’ve read it, and don’t want to see the stupidity of this character on the screen.

I also think this book has been put in the thriller category, but it’s not actually thrilling. You can guess the storyline, and except for that one twist near the end which will leave you wondering about another tiny twist, it’s still not a thriller. I’d put it in the adult contemporary genre. It’s not horror, and not a thriller, but I guess publishing houses put anything under a genre these days. They’re not as picky as they used to be.

Have you guys read these books, and if so, what did you think?

In remembrance of my mentor and hero, Jackie Collins

18/09/2018 by L.J. Diva Filed Under: Authors & Books, Life - Death - Health Leave a Comment

It’s been three years since Jackie passed and I am still gutted by that fact. By the fact she died knowing she had ignored her lump until it was too late when she could have halted that damned disease in it’s track.

Oh Jackie…why?

In 2014 I had the vague idea for a porn star, yes, singular then, and then it grew in early 2015. When she died, I knew I had to get it out of my head and onto paper, then out into the world. And I did.

For Jackie.

Her death urged me on to write the initial novellas, then the novels came, and so this whole series is dedicated to her.

Jacqueline Jill Collins.

My inspiration, my hero, my mentor.

Back in 2007 when she was here in Aus, she was on morning tv and inspired me to write her a letter on her website. She answered on her site and subsequently answered a second question. I didn’t get to take a screenshot of it, but did manage to copy/paste her replies into word.

Here they are.

TIARA KING IN ADELAIDE (my questions)

Q: 1 – was it easy for you to first become published?

2 – how long does it take you to write a book from the very first idea to when it’s done and do you write your book from start to finish, or do you write each person’s story, then weave it all together?

3 – what is the genre of your books these days? Is it “romantic suspense” or “erotica?” And when does it cross the line and become erotica? When there’s romance, sex, murder, stalkers, killers in any one book, that’s quite a few genres.

There’s also something I hope you can help me with. For years I had a very vague idea of a book that I wanted to write and I kept thinking of a scene I read in one of your books. I kept thinking, that’s the sort of book I want to write, but for the life of me can’t remember the book. There was a man that made his woman strip down and serve his business friends drinks. She fluffed her hair, put on a gold belt, lipstick and stilettos then walked into the living room and asked the men what they wanted to drink. They stared in shock at the naked woman in front of them and then she walked back into the bedroom. That was one of yours, wasn’t it? I’ve only read a few of your books, but that scene clearly stuck in my head. So much so it’s been there for about ten years.

Jackie: Hey Tiara: Great name. Let me answer your questions.

1 – It was not easy, but I managed it.

2 – It takes me about nine months to write a book, and my characters take me on a visual trip.

3 – I would call my books “relationship” books, and they would probably listed under literature, although I consider myself a storyteller, not a literary writer!

And the book you are talking about was The Love Killers, and yes indeed, it was one of mine.

TIARA KING IN ADELAIDE (my second lot)

Q: Hi Jackie, I think my name’s great too, so if you ever want to use it for a character name, be my guest, just make me a hot, sexy, ass-kicking woman. Lol. I have a couple more questions:

1 – Who first suggested cutting down the chapters from the “normal size” to just a page or two. You or the publisher? I’ve found that a little strange since publishers like 20-25 page manuscript chapters, and in reading some of your books the chapter is sometimes only a page or two long. Although in thinking about it, it seems that each person’s story is a chapter and so the book flows that way. I’m curious as to why they are short, who thought of doing it and do you write that way?

2 – I heard you say when you were here in Australia that you don’t type, so does that mean you don’t type up your books – I know you write in longhand, so do I – I figure you have an assistant, so I just wondered how you present the book to your editor. If that’s not too rude a question.

Jackie: Hey Tiara:
Nobody suggested cutting down the chapters, that’s the way I write. I think short chapters are fun. I remember when I was growing up and reading books, I would be in bed at night really tired and I could never get to the end of the chapter because they went on forever. So my style of writing is short sharp chapters that really capture the characters and what is going on in their life. To answer your second question, I have a great assistant, Vida, who puts my handwriting onto the computer and types up all my books.

Here are some of my favourite quotes from her…

Amazon changes it’s rules for Australian shipping, so I’m glad I got my Jackie Collins books on time, and her interesting interviews about Hollywood.

07/06/2018 by L.J. Diva Filed Under: Authors & Books, Business & Legalities, Publishing Leave a Comment

This week, Amazon has changed it’s rules concerning Australians buying from it’s .com site.

We can no longer buy from America!

As simple and cut throat as that.

All because of our new GST (goods and services tax) that came in this year. In an effort to get more GST out of foreign stores selling in Australia, the government brought in new legislation for goods purchased under $1000. We never paid GST on them before, but thanks to arsehole store owners like Gerry Harvey of Harvey Norman stores, we now have to pay, and we now cannot buy.

Thanks a fucking lot for nothing you arseholes.

So that means, to skirt around paying the GST, Amazon has cut us off. They claim our Aussie Amazon store will now have over 60 million goods to buy from, not the 500 million they currently sell. It means, we cannot get most things, and what we can get, some things seem to have tripled, if not quadrupled in price.

Unfair on all counts.

Before long, all overseas stores will stop shipping to Australia as a way around paying taxes here, so that means we go back to the old ways of shopping, where overseas stores don’t ship here whatsoever.

It sucks, and we only have stupid Gerry Harvey to blame.

So, I’m glad I managed to buy the last book that Jackie Collins self-published via paperback before it happened, otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to buy it.

She obtained the rights to at least five of her books back before her death. I’m unsure if there were any more, but five of them came out in paperback and e-books with awesome new covers. She also updated The Bitch for the current times, and I’m glad I bought them.

Last year, her publisher released a special edition of Thrill. White covered hardback with animal lettering and gold edged pages.

It has an interesting interview, apparently one of her last, in the back of the book along with pictures. The interview is interesting in the fact she mentions the Hollywood casting couch, and since Harvey Weinstein was in the press last year, and is again, I thought I’d post a pic of that part of the interview.

In tracking down some of her older versions in paperback, I bought this US version of Lucky from the 80s or 90s, I want these covers because of the jewellery theme they went with, and found another interesting interview in the back of the book…

Jackie often said she knew all the secrets of Hollywood, but toned them down for her books. She never named names, often combined several celebrities into one character, but the celebs always thought they knew who they were in her stories.

She clearly knew more than she told, and here we are with Harvey Weinstein having his go round again. If only Jackie was still alive, the stories she could tell about this…