Kim Smith, author of Avenging Angel

Do you want to write a better book? Do you want characters that stay with your reader until they can't put the book down? Then build your characters until you know them as well as you know your closest friend, spouse, or child.

The best way to do this is, to write your character out on paper using ten to fifteen character traits or more. The more you know about him or her the better you will be at knowing what he or she will do in any given situation.

For example: what would your character do if he walked into the bank and it was being held up?

maybe this character's sheet looks like this :

age
gender
physical appearance
personality
job
childhood notes
parents names
education
prison record
nationality

and after you fill it out you realize this character is a young Asian man who has been known to have a hair-trigger temper and has even served time. Maybe he came from the mean streets in China or other place, and his parents were strict disciplinarians who beat him.

Now what about that bank robbery? Now what will he do?
This makes a huge difference, right?

Play with your own list and write characters out on paper. Learn who they are and you will always know what they will do.

NEW ISSUE AVAILABLE NOW!!!!

I have created a newsletter for the mystery lovers out there.

It is called "Southern Mysteries with a Side of GRIT" and it will host a variety of mystery related items, including reviews, interviews, and subscriber items like short stories, and mystery related articles.

If you would like to get a copy, please go to my website, http://www.mkimsmith.com and fill out the notify me slot on my homepage near the bottom of the page.

If you are a mystery reader, writer, reviewer etc. you are eligible to submit items for inclusion in the newsletter. Please click on the NEWSLETTER link in the left sidebar of my website and submit through the email button on the bottom of that page.

Southern Mysteries with a Side of GRIT will be available monthly.

My good friend Ron Adams (KEY LIME SQUEEZE, Enspiren Press) has posted a fabulous review of my new novel, Avenging Angel. You can read it on my website!

More Reviews to come!

If you are an aspiring author, still digging the trenches, learning the craft, you already know how difficult it is to write a full-length novel.

When I was just getting my feet wet, I always loved to hear words of encouragement from authors with a book or two under their belt. I felt like they had walked the road I journeyed down and they KNEW what it was like.

In order to keep this mental pat on the head going, I have created a new section on my website for new writers, called simply QUOTES for NEW WRITERS. And these quotes are from published authors, just for you to clip and tape to your monitor.

We all know how hard and lonely the writing life can be, but we also know (as published authors) that once you get to the top of this mountain, it is such an incredible view, and so worth it. We want you to keep going.

Here's the link, please bookmark it! Visit often and take any and all quotes that benefit you and your journey.

http://www.mkimsmith.com/quotes.html

I have not let moss grow under my feet since my acceptance for publication at Red Rose Publishing. Although having Avenging Angel accepted has meant as much to me as the birth of my children (so you know it means a TON), I know that I must continue to evolve and grow and feed the hunger of the masses of fans that I am accumulating.

My short story, THE MASK, is out in the Spring issue of http://www.mouthfullofbullets.com- Mouthfull of Bullets, and one in MFOB entitled Beach Bummed, and in http://www.mystericale.com - MYSTERICAL E, THE BLUE GOOSE is now available.

Just recently I had a micro fiction piece accepted at http://www.microhorror.com called DESPERATION.

I couldn't be happier about my fortune in having my work presented, and hope you will make plans to be a part of all this excitement by visiting these wonderful 'zines.