Novel – Page 9 – The Stories of Scott D. Southard

August 26, 2013

Hey writers! Do you need an editor?
You ever see the movie Rocky?

Of course, we all have!

And one of the things that make the movie so personal for so many people is that Rocky Balboa is the everyman making good, chasing his dreams. And while the other movies later on turn him into something akin to a Captain America taking on all of Russia and Mr. T, in this first movie he was like us… except with a lot more muscle.

So why am I bringing this up? Do you remember his coach Mickey? He was played by the tough Burgess Meredith, and the character was honest, always pushing him forward. He in many ways symbolizes the kind of coach we wish we all had in our corner. Yeah, he could be gruff but he believed in Rocky and supported his dream. Rocky would never have gotten as far as he did if it wasn’t for Mickey.

Okay, this may sound like I am rambling… but there is a point.

Writers and my fellow daydreamers of future New York Times Bestseller Lists, I can now be your Mickey! (more…)
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August 16, 2013

“Go get it!” Julie Valerie’s Book Blog gives A JANE AUSTEN DAYDREAM 5-Stars! Review, Interview and Excerpt.
Book reviewer and book blogger extraordinaire Julie Valerie has just given a wonderful review for my novel A JANE AUSTEN DAYDREAM. I am really flattered by it (and a little overwhelmed). Here is an excerpt from the review about the book:

A JANE AUSTEN DAYDREAM by Scott Southard, a fictionalized account of Jane’s life, is a book that should be placed on the shelf of every book-loving fan of Jane Austen because she’s absolutely “alive” on the pages of this book. She walks, talks, dreams. Her family (especially her older sister, Cassandra) moves about influencing Jane and the events around her. You’ll find a hauntingly accurate reading from a gypsy who predicts Jane will never die. (Through her words, I believe she is immortal.) And with Jane, you’ll explore love and explore deeper the age-old question: Did Jane ever find love in her own life?

I also gave an interview for the site that you can read below the review. We talk not just about the writing of the book, but also about my blog and my other books. Here is an excerpt:

Like the voice, I also had to walk a line between how “Austen” to go in it. Yes, the book can be considered a treasure hunt for the Austenities, but I also like to imagine that it is unique enough to be entertaining for those outside the Darcy fan clubs. At the heart of it, it is still my book, and I couldn’t help putting in fun post-modern twists and turns (including one very new literary surprise which I won’t ruin here).

You can read the review, the interview and an excerpt from the novel on Julie’s website here. I hope you will check it out.

If you would like to learn more about A JANE AUSTEN DAYDREAM, you can do so on this page for the book (https://sdsouthard.com/a-jane-austen-daydream/). A JANE AUSTEN DAYDREAM is available via Amazon (http://amzn.com/0983671923) where you can find it for the low price of $3.99 for eBook and $13.46 for print.
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June 18, 2013

The Others and the Extras: The Importance of Secondary Characters
Oh, the lament of the poor minor character!

Pushed to the sidelines, knowing full well that they are not the focus of the story.

Love is probably not in the cards for them. They are the ones injured in the line of duty or acting as living joke. Characters created merely to be a soundboard for the main characters, or something for the reader to compare the main character to in the universe of the story. A tool, nothing more.

It would be a thankless life, I am sure, if they were real. Probably spent at the refreshment table, trying not to fall asleep as they wait for their big moment in the sun. And then the scene arrives, there are a few quick jokes, maybe a heart-to-heart and then they are back at the table, once again snacking on one too many cookies. Waiting… always waiting.

Everything about the secondary character revolves around the main character. An existence built solely around another’s experiences. Even if a secondary character dies, it is a moment for the main character to reflect upon their own life decisions… unless they are an evil secondary character than usually they are left on the floor somewhere, discarded, a bloody remain for someone else to find later (but we never read about or see that bit in movies or television).

Yet, for me, the secondary characters are important; because like a missed plot point, an awkward description, or a writing oops, they have the power to rip me out of a story, leaving me on the sidelines of a tale just like them. (more…)
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June 14, 2013

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

For 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

Over 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!
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June 11, 2013

“…good fortune to land upon Mr. Southard’s writing.” Three New Reviews for A JANE AUSTEN DAYDREAM
I have three new reviews to share today for my novel A JANE AUSTEN DAYDREAM. On the website “Deanne’s Writing World” run by author Deanne Wilstead, she writes in her review:

I read A JANE AUSTEN DAYDREAM eager for a story of romance resembling hers in tone and style. And, while I definitely found this, I ended up enjoying Mr. Southard’s story for so much more. There is a depth and perceptiveness to his writing which actually had me in tears at one point….

You can read the rest of her review here.

There are also two new reader reviews on Good Reads; where the reviewers said about my novel:
- “Charming and Magical.”
- “As I read this wonderful book, I not only felt captivated by the characters, but also by the art of Scott D. Southard’s storytelling. It has inspired me to work harder on improving my own writing so I can tell a story just as well.”
You can find the rest of those on Good Reads 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
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June 11, 2013

Free eBook! My new novel MAXIMILIAN STANDFORTH AND THE CASE OF THE DANGEROUS DARE is out!
I’m proud to announce that my new novel MAXIMILIAN STANDFORTH AND THE CASE OF THE DANGEROUS DARE is now available! And to celebrate, it is being offered as a FREE EBOOK for a limited time (June 11 through June 15). You can get the free eBook from amazon.com here- http://amzn.com/B00CXSDEBE

It is also available as a paperback for the low price of $10.71, which you can find on amazon as well (http://amzn.com/1484034287). The book is also available via amazon in other countries, many also taking part in this one-time deal.

If you have ever enjoyed my blog or my writing or have ever been curious about my novels I hope you will take this opportunity to discover my fiction with this surprising new book. Also, I ask that you please tell other readers. I would love for more people to discover my work, especially during this special limited deal. Here is the back cover description for the book:

“For now, let me warn you of the morbid and sad tale ahead of you. This is a tale filled with horror, dark passages, ghostly apparitions, and deaths I would give my last shilling to forget.”

The cursed and foreboding McGregor Castle is the most terrifying and haunted location in all of the British Empire. Only a brave (or foolish) soul would consider visiting it, let alone staying within its walls for five days. In other words, a perfect dare for a man like Maximilian Standforth!

Maximilian Standforth, famed playboy aristocrat and private detective, is a genius with dangerous tastes. With Bob (his trusty carriage driver, biographer, and bodyguard) and Maggie Collins (actress, spy, and maid) by his side, Maximilian will experience horrors and madness unlike any seen before. For it is at McGregor Castle that the team will discover more than they ever could imagine in this very experimental and genre-breaking thriller.

I hope you enjoy my new, surprising, and unpredictable novel!
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June 10, 2013

“Funny and poignant. Very Jane Austen.” Rabid Readers Reviews A JANE AUSTEN DAYDREAM
Rabid Readers has just reviewed A Jane Austen Daydream! It is a fun review, and it’s not often that someone mentions your looks in a review. Ha! You will have to see what I mean by clicking here. But for a snippet, here is a bit about the book:

A Jane Austen Daydream is a wonderfully fun novel that is a must read for fans of Jane Austen. If you’re not a fan, give this book a shot and I’m willing to bet you will come away a convert… Cleverly written and well plotted, A Jane Austen Daydream should make any summer reading list. Pick it up and then let me know what you think.

You can read the rest of the great review 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!
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June 10, 2013

“Nightmares first take breath.” An Excerpt from MAXIMILIAN STANDFORTH AND THE CASE OF THE DANGEROUS DARE
I’m proud to announce that my new novel MAXIMILIAN STANDFORTH AND THE CASE OF THE DANGEROUS DARE is now available!

You can get the eBook from amazon.com for just $3.99 (http://amzn.com/B00CXSDEBE) or as a a paperback for the low price of$10.71 (http://amzn.com/1484034287). The book is also available via amazon in other countries.

This excerpt is from Chapter 7 (and depicts much of what you see in the great cover art), when our heroes and two questionable individuals arrive at the dreaded McGregor Castle. Enjoy!

–

Maximilian Standforth and the Case of the Dangerous Dare

From Chapter 7. The Gothic Landscape

Darkness.

Even in that cloudless and starless night, it seemed to win out against the sky’s eternity, surpassing it in black, the darkest and heaviest black.

All the stories Blackberry tried to tell us on the train, all the fear that McGregor showed at our departure could not match, could only hint at, the vision of horror in front of us. It looked like the kind of place you would believe was built in the center of hell, not to keep evil out, but to keep the evil in.

No words exist to express the horror of its peaks, the gothic nature of its shape and structure, the grimness of its design. I wish I could properly convey the feeling of terror it generated in all of us, dear reader. I wish I knew words that would fill you with the same dread we felt, the same repulsion, the same desire to escape, to run.

I do not. (more…)
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June 6, 2013

Two Book Giveaways and New Reviews: A Writing Update
This 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.
- To 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 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!
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June 4, 2013

“Witty, Fun.” A new review for A JANE AUSTEN DAYDREAM
Can a book about a fictional Jane Austen be enjoyed by people outside the regency/Austenite world? Let me give you Exhibit A- Christopher Lee Deards, a book reviewer who enjoys mostly horror, science fiction, and fantasy. Well, he just read the book and said:

Scott’s novel ate into my precious sleep time…. What hooked me though, and what I think would hook any reader, no matter their genre preference, is the witty, fun and genuine dialogue…. Scott’s Jane is the kind of woman most men would love to meet some day. She is strong, witty, kind and intelligent…. She is one of the more enjoyable characters I have read in literature in some time.

You can read the entire review on his website 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

I hope you will check it out!
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