Michael Embry

 It’s been two months since the release of my last novel, Reunion of Familiar Strangers, the fifth book in the John Ross Boomer Lit series. Now it’s time to move on after spending time promoting the book, and frankly, taking a breather from writing. For those who follow this blog, you may have noticed this is my first post since Sept. 1.   But while the creative writing was put on hold,  I’ve done some research in the interim as part of the preparation for my next novel in the series. So tomorrow (Nov. 1), I’ll take on the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) challenge... Continue Reading

The fifth book in my John Ross Boomer Lit series, Reunion of  Familiar Strangers, hits the online bookstores today. The e-version of the novel has been available on preorder from Amazon since Aug. 27. It should now be in both e-book and print if everything goes as planned from Wings ePress. And with the book being printed and distributed by Lightning Source, a division of Ingram, it is available to bookstores, libraries, and other places that sell and purchase books.    In this novel, John and Sally attend his 50th high school class reunion. It’s an event that has been mentioned in... Continue Reading

 My wife and I fulfilled a “bucket list” trip earlier this month when we traveled to idyllic Mackinac Island to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary.  Overlooking the bay The 4.35 square mile island is located on Lake Huron,  between Michigan’s upper and lower peninsulas. The islet is listed as a National Historic Landmark. Mackinac Island State Park covers about 80 percent of the area. While the island has been a popular destination since the late 19th century, the 1980 movie “Somewhere In Time,” starring Jane Seymour, Christopher Reeve, and Christopher... Continue Reading

 We’re a month away from the publication of my next novel, the fifth in the John Ross Boomer Lit series.  And today, I’m announcing the title and revealing the cover. Drum roll, please: The cover was designed by graphic artist Trisha Fitzgerald-Jung, who has produced many covers for Wings ePress in the past few years.  She designed the last two  books in the series, “New Horizons” and “Make Room for Family.” As the title suggests, John and Sally Ross attend his 50th high school reunion, an event mentioned in the first novel, “Old Ways and New Days,”... Continue Reading

Are blurbs more effective in brick-and-mortar stores where prospective readers could pick up the book off a shelf and read the blurbs on the back cover or on one of the inside front pages? Or are they stronger on websites with catchy phrases to lure in potential readers?   In other words, do they help readers find out what the book is about and generate sales?  There are basically two types of blurbs. One is generated by the author or publishing house and generally found on the back cover.  Other blurbs are solicited by authors or publishing houses for use in an author’s book. But there... Continue Reading

 While having lunch with a longtime friend, he mentioned that he enjoyed my novels but confessed that he almost couldn’t finish one because he found it depressing.  He said he stayed with it and was relieved when it lightened up to some extent. I thanked him for the feedback. I told him that the novel probably reflected my state of mind at the time, but also that it was a mood that I wanted to convey to the readers. From his observation, I believe I succeeded. The novel in question is Old Ways and New Days, the book that launched my John Ross Boomer Lit series in 2015 (I retired that... Continue Reading

It’s been a while since I last posted (a little more than two months) and there’s really no excuse for it. I believe it may have been a mild, or perhaps moderate, case of writer’s block because I’ve never gone that long without posting something. Did you miss me? Don’t answer that!  It’s not like I’ve been sitting around doing nothing I’ve read two manuscripts from friends for blurbs to be included when their novels are published.  I also read another book, mine.  It was the galley to proofread for any typos or other problems. It’s... Continue Reading

My latest manuscript is back in the hands of my able and trusting editor. She’ll make the edits, send it on to a proofreader, and format the work into a galley proof.  I probably added another 800 words to the manuscript, bringing the total to about 60k. There were some transitions needed between scenes, dialogue fixes, and additional descriptive passages in the “show, don’t tell” category. The galley will return to me for a final read and minor edits for any typos as well as grammatical errors, and misspellings that may have slipped through on the first edits. If you’re... Continue Reading