Pre-order Lee DuCote's Across Borders

Lee DuCote has followed up Fields of Alica and Waterproof with a tale of intrigue in Across Borders.  In Across Borders, Lawson Caine, an eight year veteran of the Border Patrol, is stationed in Presidio Texas with legendary lawman Capt. James Garrett. Lawson, who is from a long linage of lawmen, has gained the respect and reverence from his team, Dale Chanson, Terry Bennet, and the crazy member, Alex Sweeny. Together as a team their mission is to protect the US by patrolling the borders of Mexico for illegal aliens and the never ending drug trade.

James Garrett, who goes by the name Cap, has trained many young rookies from the academy and served as a father figure before turning them over to other stations within the four states that border Mexico. Their greatest task and personal vendetta is to capture a famous smuggling lord who is barbaric and callous leaving many Mexicans to die in the rugged terrain of West Texas. Over the last few years Lawson and Sweeny have built a brotherhood and together they work through the struggle of Sweeny becoming a widower and raising his eight year old daughter all while keeping a guarded eye on the border.

Lawson never expected anything to come between his dedication with the Border Patrol and his brotherhood with Sweeny until he meets local pharmacy owner, Lia Gonzales. Against her father’s wishes and the dissension she causes with her family Lia continues to see Lawson not realizing the inevitable consequences. Love blind, Lawson leads his team into a dangerous situation with Lia’s brother, who works for the smuggling lord, and loses more than his relationship with Lia.

Will Lawson see the mistake he is making by continuing a relationship with Lia? Will Lia defy her father and keep a deep and passionate relationship with the Border Patrol Agent? In this story of protecting others on the border and the heartache of relationships you will find yourself in the lives of those who have sworn to uphold the law, no matter the cost. 

The eBook edition of Across Borders will drop on 1 Feb 16 and is available for pre-order from Amazon, Google, and Smashwords.

Follow Grave Distractions Publications on Twitter @GraveDistract, Facebook, Pintrest, or LinkedIn.

Author Tips: Five Things To Do Before Your First Book Is Released

One of the biggest questions we get from first time, and sometimes veteran, authors is, “Is there anything I need to do to prepare for the release of my book?” Of course, this is assuming your book is ready to roll and you feel like you’re sitting on your thumbs waiting for your book to drop. Here are five things any indie author can do before your release date that will help you in marketing and tracking feedback for your book.

1. Google Alerts. This lesser known functions of the all-seeing internet eye that is Google will email you alerts when certain keywords are published online. At a minimum, you should set up Google Alerts for your name and book title. When Google crawls sites that mention your name or book’s title, you’ll get an email with a short description of the page and a link to the mention. We’ve found that this service doesn’t catch 100% of keyword mentions and is limited to when Google’s algorithms crawl web pages. So don’t think that you’re getting up to the minute intelligence on when bloggers or other folks review or mention your book. However, it is a handy tool for following up on promotional opportunities and to find out what the buzz is about your book. Google Alerts is free and requires a Google account to access. You can find out more about Google Alerts at this link.

2. Secure Domain Names. Even if you’re not a web design guru, you should purchase a domain name, if available, for your name and your book’s title. (If your book title is unbearably long, consider some truncated version that anyone wanting more information about your book can easily remember.) In the best case scenario, you should design an author website and a separate website for your book. This will give you two different web platforms to promote your works which means an increased chance of potential readers finding you online. If you’re not web savvy enough to create your own website, securing these domain names will ensure no one else can should you want to create these sites in the future. There’s nothing more frustrating than deciding it’s time to make a website only to find out the domain name you want has been registered by someone else. There are plenty of drop and drag website design platforms (Yola, Wix, and Weebly all are easy to use) that make creating basic websites a simple affair. You should seriously consider spending the time to learn how create, or at very least update, sites using one of these services. One final note on websites, don’t get a free website from your hosting platform that assigns your domain name. This practice doesn’t look professional and your potential readers will think that your writing might not be professional as well.

3. Shore up your social media presence. Just like domain names, if you haven’t signed up for accounts on all the relevant social media sites, get to it. Accounts for you as an author on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, Pinterest, and LinkedIn should be claimed for the same reasons you should be claiming domain names. Even if you never use these platforms, which you should, they will be there if you ever want to take advantage of them. One note on Facebook, you should create an author fan page that is separate from your personal Facebook account. Most of your friends don’t always want to hear about your writing and you might not want your fans knowing about your personal life. If you want to create a fan page for your book as well, that’s great. However, it might be difficult for you to maintain both pages with enough content attract readers to both fan pages.

4. Keep a list of websites or blogs that you frequent. The chances are that if you’re writing on a specific topic, you’re visiting websites or blogs that relate to that topic. Start keeping a list of these websites with links to the webmaster or relevant writers on that site. When your book comes out, send them a press release about your book. If that blog or website has piqued your interest as a writer, they might show you some love by passing along the word about your book. You might also drop the hint to bloggers that you’d be willing to post a guest blog about a topic relevant to their site.

5. Take the time to think about what’s next. Before you start getting reviews on Amazon or see sales figures, plan what you’re next project is going to be. Many first time authors are discouraged by the results of their first book. If you do not take the time to plan your next project now, sans the background noise of your first book’s release, you might be tempted to give up. Insert any platitude you like here: “Rome wasn’t built in a day,” “There is no try, there is only do and not do,” or “Winners never quit and quitters never win” should suffice. Trite as they are, these statements are also true. Having your next project planned out will minimize the chances of never taking to the keyboard again. You have more stories to tell, so get out there and tell them.

Follow Grave Distractions Publications on Twitter @GraveDistract, Facebook, Pintrest, or LinkedIn.

Copyright Issues: The Difference Between a Copyright and a Registered Copyright

So what’s the big deal about registering a copyright for my book? Don’t I have inherent copyright protection when my work is created? These are a couple of questions we commonly get when either publishing works or performing author consulting services and, unfortunately, most authors don’t understand the distinction between copyright and a registered copyright. Here’s the lowdown on the difference between an inherent copyright and a copyright registered with the United States Copyright Office. (Remember that with any copyright issues, you should consult a licensed lawyer who actually knows something about intellectual property. Not all lawyers are familiar with intellectual property, and we certainly aren’t a legal authority and this article is purely informational.)

As a creator of any intellectual property, you do have an inherent copyright for your work. According to the United States Copyright Office, a copyright is:

Copyright, a form of intellectual property law, protects original works of authorship including literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works, such as poetry, novels, movies, songs, computer software, and architecture. Copyright does not protect facts, ideas, systems, or methods of operation, although it may protect the way these things are expressed. [And] your work is under copyright protection the moment it is created and fixed in a tangible form that it is perceptible either directly or with the aid of a machine or device.

Here’s the rub. When you finish your book, legally it is your work. However, with this “inherent” copyright you cannot sue someone for copyright infringement. You must register your copyright to have standing in a federal court to take legal action against someone who has hijacked your work. Think of your inherent copyright as an old guard dog with no teeth. Your trusted companion will bark at a burglar all he wants, but your guard dog can’t actually do any damage to the would be sneak thief. A registered copyright gives your guard dog a set of sharp metal dentures fit to chomp copyright infringers with Cujo-esque precision.

We would also strongly suggest that you file for a copyright as soon as your manuscript is finished (and by finished we mean independently proofed, edited, and read by disinterred parties) and before you start shopping your book to agents or publishing houses. It’s uncommon, but the unscrupulous out there could steal your work. Another thing to watch out for is anyone what wants to register a copyright under their name or company’s name. Most legitimate publishing houses can register a copyright for you as your agent. This means that the publishing house is simply filing the paperwork on your behalf, and you are the holder of the copyright. Should you agree to have a third party register a copyright under their name, no matter what “they say”, you’ve lost all legal rights to your work.

Registering a copyright can be as cheap as $35, so it’s an inexpensive insurance policy to protect your work. For more information about copyright registration, visit the United States Copyright Office’s website here.

Follow Grave Distractions Publications on Twitter @GraveDistract, Facebook, Pintrest, or LinkedIn. 

Hippocrates Wept by William F. Quigley, M.D.

Hippocrates Wept takes place in an alternate but not unimaginable post-September 11th world. Wall Street has crashed and HMOs have gone bankrupt. Congress and the President enact a universal healthcare system managed by the federal government. Under the National Health Security Act, hospitals and clinics become the property of the bureaucracy. Medical professionals, now salaried employees of the government, labor under strict diagnostic and treatment regulations set forth by Washington, and citizens are assigned specific physicians. Doctors breaching those mandated doctor-patient lists can be charged with a felony punishable by fines and up to five years in prison.

A vocal opponent of the government’s draconian healthcare policies, Dr. Ted O’Hara performs an emergency surgery for an abdominal aortic aneurysm on Joe Hanway, a friend who had saved his life in the Vietnam War. Hanway is not on Ted’s assigned list of patients. Aiming to quell swelling defiance of Washington’s edicts by doctors across the land, the Attorney General seeks to make an example of Dr. O’Hara, charging him with the “crime” of treating a patient without authorization.

Thus begins a gripping drama. With the action shifting from the operating room to the court room, Dr. O’Hara seeks to clear his name and challenge the system that would brand doctors as criminals. The case leads to remarkable twists and turns in the lives of Dr. O’Hara and his attorney, whose defense strategy hinges intriguingly on a pre-Civil War case of conscientious objection to the federal Fugitive Slave Law. Legal risks are the least of their worries, however, as the trial sparks a politically charged battle over government regulation of free enterprise – a battle that threatens lives.

In the vein of Robin Cook and John Grisham thrillers, the late William F. Quigley, M.D. has crafted a provocative cautionary tale rooted in real world leanings toward socialized medicine in America. With the juggernaut of Obamacare not fully realized, Hippocrates Wept dramatizes the slippery slope of government involvement in our healthcare system and reminds us that the people—even one person—can make a difference.

William F. Quigley, M.D. died in 2014 at the age of 83. Three days before he died, he happily signed a contract with Grave Distractions to publish the novel he had written in retirement from his profession as a surgeon. He knew his death was close; he hoped his novel might help to save the independence if not also the world-class expertise of the medical profession in America. This novel is the farewell address of a masterful surgeon and a hopeful romantic.

This title is available in traditional print and eBook formats at fine online retails such as Amazon, Google Books, Scribd, and Smashwords.

Jean Victoria Norloch Talks About Truth: A Novel

Author Jean Victoria Norloch talks about her first book Truth: A Novel on the Next Top Spiritual Author web site.  If you enjoy Ms. Norloch's book, please vote for her at the previous link.