Beyond Words

Michael L. Thal, an accomplished freelancer, is the author of The Legend of Koolura and Goodbye Tchaikovsky . He has written and published over eighty articles for magazines and newspapers including Highlights for Children , The Los Angeles Times, and San Diego Family Magazine . You can learn more about him at www.michaelthal.com . On February 18th, Michael's Novel, The Legend of Koolura will be free on Amazon   The Legend of Koolura tells the story of a sixth grade girl and how she obtained the cool powers . She has the ability to dematerialize at will and reappear where she chooses. She can move objects with her mind and she can even defy gravity!   But will these powers be of any use in stopping a stalker intent on her destruction? The stalker is determined to retrieve Koolura’s unrealized cool powers and hurt any of her friends who get into his way.   As the hour approaches for Koolura’s final confrontation with her nemesis, she...

For those who missed my last freebie day for INVISIBLE, I'm happy to announce that on February 8th and 9th, it will be free again. You can download the ebook on either of those days from http://www.amazon.com/Invisible-ebook/dp/B005LW21CC/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1360067421&sr=8-3&keywords=jeanne+bannon Lola’s not pretty. Lola’s not popular. Lola wishes she could disappear … and then one day she does just that...   For seventeen-year-old Lola Savullo, life is a struggle. Born to funky parents who are more in than she could ever be, Lola’s dream of becoming a writer makes her an outsider even in her own home. Bullied and despised, Lola still has the support of her best pal Charlie and Grandma Rose.   Not only is she freakishly tall, Lola’s a big girl and when forced to wear a bathing suit at her summer job as a camp counselor, Lola’s only escape from deep embarrassment seems to be to literally vanish. Soon after, she discovers the roots of her ne...

Synopsis - After Forever Ends   Orphaned by her mother and brushed off by her dad, fifteen year old Silvia Cotton has lived a lonely life. That is until her father moves the family from the Highlands of Scotland to the Midlands of Wales. It is there she is enrolled in Bennington, a private boarding school, and meets the charming and rebellious Dickinson twins, Oliver and Alexander. Her regrettable life is changed forever.     Locked into a fierce friendship with Alexander and lost to a whirwind romance with Oliver, Silvia finds herself torn away from everything she thought she knew. Married too soon, she moves with Oliver to a rustic cabin deep in a Welsh wood and embarks upon a life she'd never planned for, surviving on hope she never knew existed and faith she never knew she had. Through the years of laughter, joy, sorrow and tears, she makes her way through university and onto a career, only to surrender her ambition to raising her children...

    It's nearly the end of January and I haven't yet abandoned my new year's resolutions. I'm still exercising and watching what I eat and I'm writing more. So, good for me. However, my weight hasn't changed much and this is frustrating. But, I think I may have found a diet that's not really a diet. It's the Paleo Diet or, as it's better known, the Caveman Diet. The idea behind this way of eating is to eat as our ancestors did and by ancestors I don't mean grandma and grandpa. I mean our ancestors from waaaay back - cavemen and women.   Apparently, our bodies haven't changed all that much from the way they were way back when. And since farming/agriculture didn't exist in the days of the caveman as it does now, our bodies aren't used to grains and other simple carbohydrates, thus, we have a hard time digesting them. Most of the energy from these foods are unfortunately stored as fat. The Paleo diet consists of eating mainly...

     As a writer I'm always trying new ways to market my book, especially in this day and age when publishers expect authors to do much more than simply write the novel. Since the publication of, Invisible , I've run the marketing gamut - from blog hops, to radio interviews, to guest blogs, to every type of social media out there. My novel was selling but in no way was it a best seller.   When I heard about Amazon's Prime Select Program, I figured I had nothing to lose and gave it a try. I was pleasantly surprised. Recently, I had my first 'free' day and just discovered that almost 6,000 copies were downloaded. This is a wonderful way to get your book out there and in the hands of readers in order to develop a following. I know I won't be making any money when my book is given away for free, but something wonderful happened. In the days following the freebie day, my sales soared. Another fringe benefit has been the positive feedback Invisible has...

It's been a week since my surgery and I'm feeling pretty good. So good in fact that I've started to exercise again. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to exercise yet but I took it easy and went slow, only doing light aerobics on my elliptical trainer. I did 40 minutes! Yay me! I'm still swollen and bloated from surgery so I'm not bothering to weight myself yet. I don't want to be disappointed. Exercise and weight loss weren't my only resolutions. I'd also resolved to write more and to be more diligent with my writing. I'm proud to say that I've opened a vein and have begun to pour out my soul onto my computer screen again. I'm working on the second draft of my novel, Incarnate . I find rewrites to be slow going so I've set easily attainable goals. Just taking baby steps at the moment but at least I'm heading in the 'write' direction. I'd be curious to hear how other writers keep themselves motivated. I want to tha...

Invisible will be free on Monday January 14th. If you've got Invisible on your 'to read' list, now is the time to download a kindle edition free. For one day only. Lola’s not pretty. Lola’s not popular. Lola wishes she could disappear … and then one day she does just that...   For seventeen-year-old Lola Savullo, life is a struggle. Born to funky parents who are more in than she could ever be, Lola’s dream of becoming a writer makes her an outsider even in her own home. Bullied and despised, Lola still has the support of her best pal Charlie and Grandma Rose.   Not only is she freakishly tall, Lola’s a big girl and when forced to wear a bathing suit at her summer job as a camp counselor, Lola’s only escape from deep embarrassment seems to be to literally vanish. Soon after, she discovers the roots of her new “ability”.   Slowly, with Charlie’s help, Lola learns to control the new super power. The possibilities are endless. Yet power can be a...