By Mimi Pollack

June 25, 2015 (San Diego)--There are two camps in the world: dog lovers and cat lovers. However, there are many, who like me, love and appreciate both. The popularity of cats has grown and today more households have cats, and they have questions about their cats.

Cats can be such mysterious creatures! We wonder what they are thinking when they stare at us. To help clear up this mystery, Gary Weitzman, president of the San Diego Humane Society, and Aline Alexander Newman have co-authored an informative book  called How to Speak Cat.

By Sarka-Jonae Miller

June 18, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) - Author/actress/artist Vanessa A. Ryan joins us today as a guest columnist. Vanessa is the author of the cozy mystery A Palette for Murder (“Good fun” – Kirkus Reviews) as well as the Horror at the Lake series of vampire tales reminiscent of works like Dracula. Join Vanessa on Facebook and Twitter @Vanessa_A_Ryan if you have any more questions for her about her work, or if you just want to ask her what it was like being part of the cast of the original Magic Mike.

June 10, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) --How do you run a successful KDP Select giveaway? You seem to always rock them. – Jennifer Gilbert

Anyone who visits my SJ Publicity Facebook page regularly can see I'm an advocate of KDP Select giveaways. There are some authors who balk at the idea of giving away free books, but I look at a free ebook as a free sample. Don't you love free samples and the people who give them out?

Story and photos by Miriam Raftery

June 4, 2015 (Lemon Grove)—Five local living legends were honored on May 29^th at the Lemon Grove Library, where their portraits by prominent artist Mona Mills were unveiled.  Those honored reflect a diverse cross section of our community, each with stories to tell.

By Sarka-Jonae Miller

How can I get free material on formatting my manuscript for eBook conversion, and where can I find a good free eBook conversion application? Do you know any eBook retailers who pay through PayPal, since I can't receive payments through a US bank and prefer PayPal to posted checks? Also, can I find quality material on how to use Social Media to promote my books? – James Badmos

June 1, 2015 (San Diego's East County) - I recommend Draft2Digital.com for quality ebook conversion. You can upload a Word document and they will provide you with a mobi and epub file for free. Their program can create a table of contents, dedication page, copyright page, etc. so you don't have to do much formatting. In your case, you might want to allow them to do your distribution since they pay via PayPal.

May 31, 2015 (El Cajon) - Meet Linda Meckler, author of 30 books, public speaker, journalist & book publisher  will speak on June 2^nd at 6 p.m. in the Crest Library (105 Juanita Lane, El Cajon.)

East County News Service

May 28, 2015 (Alpine) – Local award-winning author Sarka-Jonae Miller recently launched “Ask the Author,” a column for East County Magazine.   You’re invited to join us as she discusses her experiences as a publicist and journalist at the Alpine Library on Saturday, June 6^th at 1 p.m.

Originally Published on the ECOreport

By Roy L Hales

May 25, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) - Alicia Previn’s new book, Give Bees A Chance, was written for children. Though most of the words are simple, the author also uses more sophisticated terms that she is confident younger readers will pick up by context. Her passion comes through every page, because Alicia Previn has worked closely with gardens, insects and the earth for most of her life. Gives Bees A Chance was written for children, but the message is for all of us.

By Sarka-Jonae Miller

May 23, 2015 (San Diego)--What's the best way to plan for writing the next book in a series, and secondly, what's the most efficient way to gain more readers? – M.L. Desir

Iraq: The War That Shouldn’t Be – You Decide, by M.M. Chantiloupe (Xlibris Corporation, 2010, 305 pages).

Book Review by Dennis Moore

May 16, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) - Although the Iraq war is over, we are still feeling the residual effects of that controversial campaign, and it is put into perspective by San Diego resident M.M. Chantiloupe in her book; Iraq: The War That Shouldn’t Be – You Decide. Chantiloupe writes a scathing analysis and rebuke of the Bush Administration in this well-written and incisive book. She asks rhetorical questions that gets us all to think about why we actually went into that war and the harm that it has done to America and Iraq, as well as the world itself. Central in her discussion is the false pretenses of weapons of mass destruction. Chantiloupe writes in a scholarly fashion her analysis of this war and its residual effects, such as the current threat of ISIS, or the Islamic terrorist threat.

May 14, 2015 (San Diego’s East County)--East County Magazine is launching a new column called Ask An Author that allows readers, students, writers, and anyone with questions about writing, publishing, and publicity to get answers from local award-winning novelist, publicist, and journalist Sarka-Jonae Miller.

Writing The Killer Treatment: Selling Your Story Without A Script, by Michael Halperin, (Michael Wiese Productions, Studio City, CA, 2002, 171 pages).

Book Review by Dennis Moore

May 8, 2015 (San Diego's East County) - Who better to write a book about screenwriting and the movie and television industry, than Michael Halperin? He has been called “the foremost authority on screenwriting in America.” Halperin has written for television, screen, and stage, and has published both fiction and non-fiction books. Halperin’s Writing the Killer Treatment: Selling your Story without a Script, sets the standard for advice and instruction in modern storytelling for those aspiring to be screenwriters.

For complete Calendar including Authors Events, go to www.SDWriteWay.org

By Dennis Moore

April 16, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) - Nuria Garcia Arteaga, whom this writer had the honor of writing a review of her publication Love Marathon in the East County Magazine, has taken a long and circuitous route to attend and participate in the 20^th Annual Los Angeles Times “Festival of Books” at USC. She has traveled thousands of miles to showcase her artistry at this event. Now living in The Netherlands, but originally from Peru, this author and entertainer will bring to the “Festival of Books” a dazzling compilation of music and literature. Click to view.

The Tempting: Seducing The Nephilim, by D.M. Pratt (BroadLit, Sherman Oaks, CA, 2015, 345 pages).

Book Review by Dennis Moore

The children of the supernatural beings who had married these women became famous heroes and warriors. They were called Nephilim and lived on the earth at that time and even later.

• Genesis 6:4 – Contemporary English Version

April 8, 2015 (San Diego's East County) - This gripping and riveting work of fiction by renowned author D.M. Pratt, The Tempting: Seducing The Nephilim, has the tone and theme of this well-written book set in the dedication of the book, as the author states: “And to all the women who have been taught to want the happily-ever-after dream, but courageous enough to face reality and still be willing to fight for true love”, and in the very first paragraph in the first chapter, when she states; “That dance led to the greatest seduction she had ever experienced in her life and ended with an orgasm so intense she was told she arched back and hit her head hard enough to give herself a concussion – which left her unconscious and in coma for over a year.” Pratt actually admits jokingly and with a smile, in a YouTube video: “There is a lot of sex in this story, I guess I have to get myself a boyfriend!” The author's attached BIO says a lot about this book and the author here.