Tag Archives: Guest Post

“The Beauty of Eccentrics” A Guest Post on The Crafty Cauldron (Book Tour Day 5)

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Hey, Harry is reading!Okay, if the website The Craft Cauldron is not somehow related to Harry Potter and the Leaky Cauldron, I’m going to be disappointed. Back during the heyday of Pottermania I was a regular visitor to The Leaky Cauldron for all my Harry Potter news. I was even a devout follower of Pottercast (totally miss that podcast)… Okay, where was I?

It’s day five of my book tour for my new novel Permanent Spring Showers! Today I am on The Crafty Cauldron (which may or may not be Potter-related). One of the things that I think really make my book standout is the characters. Yeah, I’m pretty proud of them. They are unpredictable, strange, and wonderful, .

This guest post is entitled, “The Beauty of Eccentrics: The Characters in Permanent Spring Showers“. Here is an excerpt from the beginning:

To begin with, I’ve been known to hear voices.

I blame old time radio shows for this. When I was a young teenager, I was strangely addicted to them. The repeats used to play on this AM station in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Who knows? I may have been the only person in the whole listening area sitting by the radio with a ready tape deck, but I collected as many as I could. Jack Benny, Sherlock Holmes, Charlie McCarthy (a ventriloquist on the radio? How does that work?), I soon had a collection of shows filling up three tape cases.

I admit this is not something I readily told my friends then (like all awkward teenagers I did want to seem cool), but listening to those shows were almost more than just entertainment for me. In many ways they were each little lessons on finding original voices.

When I finally began to dare to dream of being a novelist, I know this time snuck its way into my own writing style. See, dialogue is always key for me in creation (sometimes it will be the foundation for an outline at the start of the writing process); and my characters, much like the ones on the old shows, speak to me.

You can read the entire post here, as well as enter for the giveaway and check out an excerpt from the novel.

This is the fifth entry in the tour. Yesterday, I gave an interview (here). This is the fourth guest post. The others are about passion (here), spring (here), and my advice to writers (here). Permanent Spring Showers

Just for the tour, the eBook of Permanent Spring Showers is on sale! It is on sale for only $1.99. So there is no better time to grab a copy! You can find it on amazon for Kindle here and for the NOOK here.

“Hope, Feathers, and Blogging” a Guest Post on Long and Short Reviews (Book Tour Day 1)

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FeatherHappy Monday everyone!

My virtual book tour is up and running! Sponsored by my wonderful publisher 5 Prince Books, for the next ten days I will appearing on different writing sites around the internet promoting my new novel Permanent Spring Showers. On some there will be an interview, on others there will be an exclusive post written by… this guy. Me. Hi.

Today, I am on the Long and Short Review with a guest post filled with some of my writing advice for new authors bravely considering taking on the publishing world. The post is called “Hope, Feathers, and Flogging.”

Here is an excerpt from the beginning:

Being a writer is not easy.

I’ve been chasing this dream since I was a teenager. I have had three different agents in my time, worked with numerous publishers and I have had highs (for example, the publication of my new novel Permanent Spring Showers) and lows. I’ve gotten close to achieving some of my dreams, and I’ve fallen a few times from them as well. There was even a point where I walked away from writing for four years.

Four years.

That is not to say I wasn’t getting ideas during that time and still dreaming something might happen, I was just exhausted and nothing felt worth the inevitable disappointment that I was sure would follow. Everything looked like a negative query letter waiting to happen. Yeah, I was fun to be around.

You can check out the rest of the guest post here.

The Long and Short Review also has an excerpt from my new novel, as well as a giveaway that will be running throughout the tour to win a copy of the book. But wait… there is more! Permanent Spring Showers

The eBook of Permanent Spring Showers will be on sale during the tour. It will be on sale for only $1.99 soon. So there is no better time to grab a copy! You can find it on amazon here.

Free eBook, New Reviews, a Guest Post, and a New Book!

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This has been a really fun week. With the release of my new novel Maximilian Standforth and the Case of the Dangerous Dare, there has been a lot going on. Let’s star with new Max news, before Austen…

Maximilian Standforth and the Case of the Dangerous Dare

Maximilian Standforth and the Case of the Dangerous Dare, CoverFor only a little longer, Maximilian Standforth and the Case of the Dangerous Dare is a FREE eBook on amazon.com. This is not just for the US Amazon, but also Canada and the UK! So if you are interested, this is the best time. The special ends on June 15 (where it will return to the low price of 3.99 for eBook and about $10 for print). You can find it on amazon here: http://amzn.com/B00CXSDEBE

Now those who read my blog could probably sense I was a little nervous about how people would react to this book. I use the word “experimental” and I mean it. I am doing something very unique here. Well, the first reader review has emerged on GoodReads. And to my great relief it is 5-stars! Here is a quote from it:

It is beautifully written. It reminded of these old fashion books I read as a child, that I used to read hiding from my parents and books that I understood without understanding them. Complicated I know but it is how I felt when I finished The Case of the Dangerous Dare (and dangerous, it was, believe me).

And remember you can read an excerpt from the book as well as learn about it via my posts on the Max page (here). I hope you will check it out.

A Jane Austen Daydream

A Jane Austen DaydreamOver the last day a new 5-star review has come out on amazon for A Jane Austen Daydream. I love this review. It is the kind that can make an author smile for days. Here are some excerpts:

Mr. Southard is an expert at writing in such a fashion as to induce feelings of hate, love, joy, sadness, and righteous fury. I wept, I laughed (out loud, scaring my cats, no doubt), I talked back at the characters making foolish decisions, I railed (in my mind) against those standing in the way of Jane’s happiness…In short, this author is a king at character development and mood setting… this book just might become a classic.

I had a guest post on The Undercover Soundtrack on the music inspiration around A Jane Austen Daydream, Belle and Sebastian. You can read my post here.

A Jane Austen Daydream is available via amazon.com where you can find it in print for just $13.85 in print and only $3.99 for the eBook. Here is the link: http://amzn.com/0983671923

Thanks for reading everyone!

“Belle & Sebastian Meets Jane Austen” A Guest Post on the Undercover Soundtrack

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Belle and SebastianToday I have a guest post up on The Undercover Soundtrack. For those that don’t know, it is a unique writing blog where writers share the music that influenced and inspired their writing. My post is on the music of Belle & Sebastian (one of my favorite bands) and how it impacted my new novel A Jane Austen Daydream. Here is the beginning of the article:

There is usually nothing more important to me than the music I have playing while writing a book.  Music can inspire me, engage me, keep my energy up when I need it to be up. It sets the mood for me, and the right song can pull the right levers to get me to go from point A to point B in a plot. It has also been known to drive the people that live with me crazy since while I am writing I may play a CD a few too many times (Just ask my wife about the writing of My Problem With Doors and my nonstop playing of O by Damien Rice; an album I am forbidden to play in her presence again). But what I used for A Jane Austen Daydream was something surprisingly contemporary. This was not something for Liz Bennet to dance to (but she might if given the chance).

You can read the rest of the article here, where I go into details on how Belle & Sebastian (especially their CD The Life Pursuit) changed my version of a certain famous novelist.

A Jane Austen DaydreamA Jane Austen Daydream is available via amazon.com where you can find it in print for just $13.85 in print and only $3.99 for the eBook. Here is the link: http://amzn.com/0983671923

And remember, my new experimental gothic novel Maximilian Standforth and the Case of the Dangerous Dare is a free eBook on amazon until June 15! You can check it out here.

Two Book Giveaways and New Reviews: A Writing Update

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How I lookThis is a busy and tiring time right now for me. With A Jane Austen Daydream out in the real world making new friends left and right and Maximilian Standforth and the Case of the Dangerous Dare about to be released. (Whoa!)

Here is a quick update on what you may have missed around my books and the opportunities out there on the internets to learn/read more:

  • On Indie Jane (a fun website for Jane Austen readers and writers) there is a book giveaway going on which ends on Sunday. One lucky recipient will win an ebook copy of A Jane Austen Daydream. I have also written a guest post for the site on the creation of the book called “Finding Jane’s Voice.” You can find the book giveaway and post via this link.
  • Maximilian Standforth and the Case of the Dangerous Dare, CoverTo celebrate the upcoming release of Maximilian Standforth and the Case of the Dangerous Dare I am having a book giveaway for it on Good Reads. Two good readers will win a signed print copy of the book! This bookgiveaway goes through Tuesday and you can enter it here.
  • Maximilian Standforth… will be officially released on amazon.com on June 11. On Monday, I will be sharing an excerpt from this creepy and unpredictable book. It will be available in print and eBook. I hope you will check it out.
  • This week A Jane Austen Daydream received three new 5-star reviews on amazon.com. “I loved this book.” “I couldn’t put it down.” “By the end of the novel you will, if you have a heart, feel for the characters, and you will be happy that you gave Scott Southard’s A Jane Austen Daydream a try.” You can read those and all of the reviews here.

A Jane Austen DaydreamA Jane Austen Daydream is available via amazon.com where you can find it in print for just $13.85 in print and only $3.99 for the eBook.

Here is the link: http://amzn.com/0983671923

Thanks for reading!