Meet Thriller Author, Jude Hardin

Hey, Jude, how’s it going?

Huh? Are we on the air already?

I first met Jude Hardin on a boat in Seattle. We had both been invited to a Thomas and Mercer’s writing conference, which was also a meet and greet for authors. Read Lee Goldberg’s summary of our weekend HERE. Somehow Jude and I got talking about serial killers and we had an instant connection. We both figured anyone on the boat that day, including the two of us, could be serial killers. Is that how you remember it, Jude?

I just remember being really hungry, and not getting to eat much because I spent the entire lunch period talking to some really cute blonde about thrillers. Was that you?

The moment I returned from Seattle, I read Jude’s short story, RATTLED. It’s 32 pages. I loved every word. I raced through it with a smile on my face. Nicholas Colt, a private investigator, makes the mistake of picking up a hitchhiker! Don’t do that people! Never pick up a hitchhiker. On the other hand, maybe that would make for a great romance novel: A woman who has hit rock bottom picks up a dangerous looking hitchhiker because she figures she has nothing to live for. The hitchhiker is dark and dangerous, complete with knife hooked to his belt, and so begins their road trip. She falls in love, of course! That’s how I get my ideas. They randomly pop into my head. I’m not going to ask Jude where he gets his ideas because he talks about that HERE. Instead, let’s talk about Jude’s past vocations: fence installer, pizza delivery man, convenience store clerk, freelance journalist, film extra, professional drummer, bartender, avionics technician, carpet cleaner, chemical plant supervisor, substitute teacher, and registered nurse. 

Wow! Can you tell us which of these jobs you liked best? I believe you told me you played the drums with Stephen King’s band…or maybe I imagined that.

Yes, Steve and I are old pals. Not Stephen King the author, of course. Stephen King the heating and air conditioning technician. We’ve been talking about getting the old band back together, and this time we’re going to get SERIOUS.

But really, my favorite out of all those jobs would have to be film extra. You get to goof off all morning, and then you get to have lunch with Bill Murray, and then you get to goof off all afternoon. And they pay you for it!

Jude is a naturally funny guy. He is the king of puns and jokes on Facebook. For example, here are a few examples:

My friend lost his strongbox in a poker game. It was a safe bet.

My friend wanted to try the craps tables in Vegas, but he said they looked a little dicey.

Jude’s latest:  A man walks into a bar...a few minutes later he's taken to the hospital to be checked for a concussion. One of his commenters had a funny reply: A Priest, a Minister and a Rabbi walk into a bar. The bartender says, "Is this some kind of joke?" 

Okay, Jude. What’s up with the jokes? Do you have a zillion joke books laying around or do you make these up yourself?

I steal them from Stephen King. The HVAC guy. He’s a real corker!

Ha! How many books have you released with Thomas and Mercer?

Four. And you want to know something really wild? There are intersecting streets in Seattle with those exact same names. Thomas and Mercer. Talk about a coincidence!

But yeah, four books, and the experience has been quite positive overall. Especially the free food and booze they gave us at the conference!

T&M published four of the seven titles in my Nicholas Colt series: CROSSCUT, SNUFF TAG 9, KEY DEATH, and BLOOD TATTOO. Each one is available in ebook, paperback, and audio.

Do you still self-publish, too?

Absolutely. I guess I’m what they call a hybrid author. And I want to make it perfectly clear that there’s a big difference between hybrid and GMO. Enough said about that.

My self-published books include COLT, SYCAMORE BLUFF, and BAD NURSE, all thrillers.

Self-publishing is a lot of hard work, but I enjoy being in control of the process from start to finish. And you can’t beat the royalty rates!

What are you working on now?

A near-future short story called “A Time for Dying.” I know what you’re thinking, but it’s not as cheerful and upbeat as it sounds. You’ll just have to trust me on that for now. When that’s finished, I’m going to start working on something that might actually sell. Like cupcakes. I understand they’re very popular at the moment.

And now, what we’ve all been waiting for, Jude Hardin’s newest release, iSEAL, the first in a series.

A civilian contractor for the Department of Defense has created an implantable brain-computer interface that will make the fiercest warriors on the planet exponentially smarter, faster, and deadlier.

Codename: iSEAL

After years of painstaking research, the device is finally ready for human trials.

Desperate to be reinstated as a Special Forces candidate, Nathan Brennan reluctantly volunteers for the study. Four weeks as a lab rat and his military career will be back on course.

Unfortunately, by the end of day one, he finds himself on the run from the police, the CIA, and a mysterious criminal mastermind named Oberwand.

With no memory of his past, and with little hope for a meaningful future, Brennan must utilize every weapon in his binary arsenal just to stay alive.

I can’t wait to read iSEAL!! Thanks for being a good sport and answering my questions, Jude. Do you have anything you would like to add?

Just that you’re one of the coolest people I’ve ever met, and that it was super generous of you to feature me and my work here on your website. Thanks so much, Theresa!

To learn more about Jude, go HERE

To buy iSEAL, go HERE

A Positive Attitude Can Change Your Life

I wrote this post a few years ago, but I might as well have written it two days ago. It all rings true. This time of year can be hectic and challenging for many people, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Life is a gift. Be grateful for your friends and family. Be grateful to be alive. Be Buddha!

“We become what we think about, all day long.”

--Ralph Waldo Emerson

On January 1, 2007, I decided to begin a new life and I’m not talking about making New Year’s resolutions. I made goals for myself: Exercise five days a week and write five pages a day—NO MATTER WHAT (Laundry, groceries, cleaning, cooking would have to wait until my daily goals were met). I decided to call this the ME year. I also decided to fill myself with positive energy and then pass it on to my family and anyone else I happened upon. Right away things started happening. I received an email from a local journalist asking to interview me about my life as a writer. She didn’t care that I was a struggling unpublished writer. The interview was enlightening and fun. People began to approach me and told me that my story inspired them. My kids began to notice a difference in me. The woman I exercise with left a DVD of The Secret at my door. I watched it twice and I knew my positive thoughts had attracted the DVD right to my doorstep.

“Imagination is everything. 
It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.”

--Albert Einstein

The Secret DVD has flaws. Don’t we all? If you watch the entire DVD though, hanging on to the stuff that works for you, it could change your life. I was mesmerized because I knew I had already started using some of the principles of the Law of Attraction. Like attracts Like. Negative attracts Negative. Positive attracts Positive. Below are the things that helped me. And remember, the Law of Attraction is only ONE tool to help you improve your life.

Take responsibility. Take responsibility for the things, good and bad, that have happened in your life. I feel I attracted the bad things and the good things that have come my way. Scientists have proven that we are all made up of energy. Think of yourself as tiny particles. Quantum physicists have proven that like energy attracts like energy. Whatever it is you choose to focus on is exactly what you are drawing to you. Start focusing on the things you want: happiness, financial freedom, a stress-free life, a publishing contract, etc. And then begin to visualize these things as if they have already happened to you. It only takes seconds to feel the power of good positive thoughts. When you’re tired, don’t think “tired.” Think energizing thoughts. If you can’t go to bed and take a nap, what good is thinking about how tired you are going to do you? You have nothing to lose by thinking positive. Nothing. Take all negative words out of your life. If you keep telling yourself that a task is going to be hard, then guess what? It’s going to be hard!

Be grateful. I think this is THE most important thing to do if you truly want to change your attitude and your life. Be grateful for every single thing you have. If you aren’t getting along with someone, remember all the wonderful things about that person. Look around you and be grateful for your eyesight. Be grateful for your legs that help you get around. If a messy house drives you nuts, be grateful you have a roof over your head. Be truly grateful and you’ll make room to receive more wonderful things into your life.

Be positive. Positive that you’re going to get a front parking spot at the store. Positive that today is going to be the best day ever. Positive that you will get everything done that you need to. Positive that any financial problems will take care of themselves. Positive that you will write five pages a day, that you will get an agent, that you will publish.

Action. Don’t just sit on the couch wishing. Do something. You might not know what to do, but putting yourself out there, even if it’s going for coffee with a friend, will lead to the next thing or idea. The very ACT of being, thinking, and feeling positive will make you feel happier. If you want to be published some day, you need to write. If you want to be rich, you need to come up with an idea or go to work. If you want to have a stress-free life, you need to stop sweating the small stuff AND the big stuff. You need to take action.

Amazing changes will occur. Once you start thinking positive, everybody you come into contact with, including your family, will react differently toward you. They will become more accommodating and/or cooperative. You’ll relax more and worry less. You’ll look and feel younger.

Life Still Happens. Think positive, but also keep your logic intact and know that your car might still break down, your kid might not make the soccer team, you might lose your car keys or stub your toe, but HOW you REACT will make all the difference in the world. Since surviving cancer, Lance Armstrong said, “I now have good days and great days.” You don’t have to survive cancer to feel the same way.

“We will not build a peaceful world by following a negative path.”

--Martin Luther King Jr.

Being positive, for whatever reasons, doesn’t appeal to everyone. Read up on the Law of Attraction and positive thinking and convince yourself to give it a chance. The power of positive thinking can do things beyond your imagining. If the idea seems strange, give it a try anyhow. You have nothing to lose, but only to gain. Ignore what others might say or think about you once they discover you are changing the way you think. My son pointed out that people aren’t changing around me, but that I’m seeing people in a new way, perhaps even through rose-colored glasses. Maybe he’s right. But you know what? It’s working for me. The other day I came home from a two hour PTC meeting and my daughter asked me how it went and I said, “AMAZING.” And it was. My husband rolled his eyes and said, “Everything that happens to you can’t possibly be amazing.” I laughed and said I would stop using that word around him so much and I could see his mind reeling, perhaps remembering the old me, and he said, “No. No. Keep doing whatever you’re doing. I like it.”

“We are shaped by our thoughts, we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves.”

--Buddha

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Das Buch

Nachdem ihr Verlobter sie vor dem Altar sitzen gelassen hat, beschließt Jill Garrison, in Kalifornien ein neues Leben anzufangen. Und sie erfüllt sich ihren größten Wunsch: ein Baby – heutzutage dank Samenbank kein Problem mehr. Einen Vater hatte die selbstbewusste Ex-New-Yorkerin dabei nicht mit eingeplant.

Doch da hat sie die Rechnung ohne Derrick Baylor gemacht. Auch wenn der attraktive Footballstar seine Zustimmung zur Verwendung seiner Samenspende schon lange zurückgezogen hatte, will er seinen Sohn ganz bestimmt nicht ohne Vater aufwachsen lassen.

Der familienbewusste Quarterback und die überzeugte Single-Mom geraten zunächst immer wieder aneinander, doch schon bald stellen sich ganz andere Gefühle ein. Und so stellt sich die Frage: Ist zwischen Windeln und Fläschchen noch Platz für die ganz große Liebe …?

Thanks to ALL of my readers all around the world. I recently had my first contemporary romance, Having My Baby, translated to German thanks to the Libelli Agency! The book is at #39 today. 

LIKE Agentur Libelli on Facebook today! 

Don't Stop Dreaming

Hi everyone! Yesterday, I was lucky enough to get a Kindle Daily Deal for all three of my books in my Lizzy Gardner Series. And then all of my friends and my author support group and people I never met tweeted and shared and my books hit #2, #3, and #6!

I don't know what to say except THANK YOU to every person out there who gave my books a chance. If you've read my blog or an interview that I've done over the past 2 1/2 years, then you know that after writing for 20 years, I finally got lucky. A brilliant man over at Amazon found a way to make it possible for EVERY writer to publish their book(s) and hopefully find readers. THANK YOU, Mr. Bezos.

If you're thinking of self-publishing, click on the green button on the upper left corner of my website "Steps to Self-Publishing" and that should be enough to get you going. After you release your book to the world, start writing your next book. I'm a big proponent of trying everything at least once, but I got carried away and for the past nine months or so I did more traveling and promoting than writing. Don't make the same mistake I did. If you're a writer, always make writing your priority. The signings and conferences I attended were great, but as far as I'm concerned, they're not the reason my books hit #2, #3, and #6. Some writers can do both, I'm just not one of them. 

So, that's my advice to you. WRITE. READ. WRITE SOME MORE.

DREAM BIG and NEVER GIVE UP!

I am blessed and grateful.

Meet Raen Smith

This past week, I was at a booksigning in Chicago and Detroit with amazing authors, Denise Grover Swank, Jana DeLeon, Jasinda Wilder, Liliana Hart, Debra Holland, and Tara Sivec. We had a wonderful time meeting readers, bloggers and writers. 

One author, Raen Smith, talked to me and other authors about her journey so far with self-publishing. Like many indie authors, she is struggling to find her audience/readers. We know they're out there, it's just not always easy to stand out in the crowd. I have yet to read Raen's books, but House of Fire and House of Steel are both in my TBR pile and I plan to get to them soon!

Author Raen Smith loves creating dark and twisted tales with a sprinkling of happily ever after. When she isn't writing novels, she spends her time wrangling two small sons and teaching at a technical college. She lives in a small corner of Wisconsin with her husband and two sons.

***

From author Raen Smith comes a new bone-chilling suspense series. House of Steel introduces young art professor Delaney Jones, who after sleeping with her student, is entangled in a lethal vendetta. She must follow the instructions of a mysterious messenger to save the student and the lives of the ones she loves. 

House of Steel: http://amzn.com/B00DL7Q3PU

House of Fire is the page-turning second novel where Delaney uncovers the truth about her family and her connection to a criminal underworld so shocking she fears to unravel it.

House of Fire: http://amzn.com/B00EH2RXG6

I am hoping Raen finds her readers sooner rather than later. Her third book in the series is due to be released November, 2013.