Author Archives

I am a writer of adventure stories (although this is not an official category my writing spans YA, NA, Speculative Fiction, and Romance) who taught high school English in a past life.

I am a freelance writers and editor who loves giving creative writing workshops and advising about the self-publishing landscape. I'll have 3 books published in my Chronicles of Xannia series as of April 2017, 3 non-fic industry publications, three short stories in two anthologies, and one essay on the believability factor in fiction writing in a guide to writing.

I am a mother and a wife with an OCD bent toward organization - but I hate cleaning and anything related to it, so I'm definitely not a housekeeper! ;)

I learned how to shoot an olympic bow when I was in high school and I look forward to taking it up again in the future.

I enjoy playing adventure games on my PSIII, X-Box 360, and Wii.

I have a quick mind and a good sense of humour but I am not a humourous person, though I try.

• Do Book Trailers Sell Books?

  By M.J. Moores on July 23, 2015 • ( 4 )

  

  Publicity Tip #95 ~ This is a bit of a controversial topic in that it’s entirely subjective to the person interpreting the data… but nails to knuckles, in my books the answer is no, not directly. But that’s not a… Read More ›

• Editing Tip #95 – Have You Started Your Story in the Right Place?

  By M.J. Moores on July 20, 2015 • ( 2 )

  

  In answer to the question prominently placed above, most writers will give a resounding “YES”… but half of them are likely to be wrong (my personal statistic based on editing others’ work). Over the years I’ve read a number of… Read More ›

• 7 Essential e-Publishing Tips

  By M.J. Moores on July 16, 2015 • ( 1 )

  

  Publicity Tip #94 ~ Today’s tip comes courtesy of Author Kylie Betzner’s comedic fantasy book blog. She kindly invited me to stop by yesterday to share some of what I’ve learned since starting my travels on this self-publishing journey.

• A coupla things that baffle me about Amazon’s book reviews system…

  By M.J. Moores on July 15, 2015 • ( 0 )

  

  Originally posted on Seumas Gallacher:
  ? …sharp as a billiard ball me, sum’times… no question, what’s left of my wee grey cells frequently have difficulty in getting together for a blether… however, I don’t feel I’m entirely bereft of the…

• Editing Tip #94 – Final Proofs: Don’t Take Anything for Granted

  By M.J. Moores on July 13, 2015 • ( 11 )

  

  You’re that totally prepared author, you know, the one who’s done at least 3 Drafts of your book: self-edited, peer-edited, beta-edited and professional edited to the point where you’ve just received the final print proof for your book and you’re… Read More ›

• Book Review: Captured in Crystal / Fantasy

  By M.J. Moores on July 12, 2015 • ( 0 )

  

  Captured in Crystal – A Tale from the Six Kingdoms                                    Author: Melanie Card Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Stars. Recommended Reading. Genre: Fantasy / Romance. Thea’s quiet existence apprenticing as Librarian for the Amber Order… Read More ›

• Diversifying for Discoverability – Pt.2

  By M.J. Moores on July 10, 2015 • ( 1 )

  

  Publicity Tip #93 ~ In the past few years it’s become common knowledge that if you can get an e-version of your book into the virtual marketplace then you’re making your writing available to twice as many potential readers (1/2… Read More ›

• Editing Tip #93 – Be Devious with your Character Descriptions

  By M.J. Moores on July 6, 2015 • ( 8 )

  

  The mark of a truly talented crafts-person when it comes to writing is how the author integrates the physical characteristics of his entourage within the folds of the story. I have read many a book where an author has written… Read More ›

• Colours

  By M.J. Moores on July 5, 2015 • ( 5 )

  

  Originally posted on Sue Vincent's Daily Echo:
  Sue Vincent's Daily Echo View original post

• Diversifying for Discoverability?

  By M.J. Moores on July 2, 2015 • ( 5 )

  

  Publicity Tip #92 ~ In the past I have sung the praises of getting your book noticed by using book discovery platforms – most notably Goodreads, Library Thing & Shelfari. Having a presence on Goodreads, the largest book discover platform… Read More ›