Guest Post: Covert Dreams

What motivates you as a writer?    

Writing is a lonely avocation, just my trusty computer at my side by side, as I work hard to create people, places, and plots that other people might enjoy reading. Marketing one’s own writing is an extremely lonely business. Unlike having a traditional publisher and all of its clout behind me, I have only myself, and I am a writer, not a salesperson. I find it difficult to toot my own horn, though I know that it is essential in order to get word of the very existence of my work out to the reading public. So what keeps me going? The writing, of course, gives me a lot of enjoyment. I am actually like a reader as I write. I never quite know how things will turn out in the end, not only of the book itself, but also in specific scenes. I thoroughly enjoy working with words, stringing them together in a creative way. Language has always fascinated me. Can you goose a goose? Does a house burn up or burn down? If you are going to come visit me, are you coming or going? Why would you want to swipe your card at a cash register if you already own the card? There is a huge difference between snap to and snap at. The list can go on and on. I love to play with words as I write, and this can be seen in COVERT DREAMS.

            Marketing my own work, however, is a completely different ballgame. I am a good writer, but I lack a lot in the area of salesmanship. I do seek out as many reviewers, interviewers, and bloggers as I can, and I am very thankful for all of these people, but every hour I spend tooting my own horn could be spent creating, my real forte. So what keeps me plugging away at telling others about my work, you might ask? The answer is found in the wonderful reactions that readers have to my work. Their excitement serves to push me forward. I like people, and it makes me happy to see that they, in turn, like what I have created. Here are a few random lines from posted reviews of COVERT DREAMS on my Amazon author’s site as examples of what I mean:

            “This story will not disappoint as it sucks you right into these lives from page one and doesn't let go until the last page is turned.”

            “If you enjoy psychological thrillers and exotic locales, this is the book for you.”

            “This is the best book, bar none, that I've read in an eon. It grabbed me by the collar and wouldn't let me go…. I felt I was in the hands of a master.” 

            “…it [COVERT DREAMS] was like I was reading Robert Ludlum and the Borne series.”

            “I'm looking forward to reading more from this wordsmith! Michael Meyer is a born storyteller!”

            “Covert Dreams is ‘I got captured’-reading, as opposed to ‘escape’-reading.”

            I think you can see what I mean. It is pretty heady stuff, the type of thing that helps me keep the faith.

Blurb:

Is the mysterious disappearance of an American in today's Saudi Arabia somehow linked to a terrible murder in Munich back in 1984? What is real, and what is not? Who is really who, and why? What is behind the murder, the kidnappings, and the nightmares all leading up to what end? COVERT DREAMS is an international thriller that will keep you on the edge of your chair. It grabs you in the very first sentence and then never lets go. The mounting intensity moves from the beer gardens of Munich to the burning sands of Arabia. Just as you think you have things figured out, wham, another twist! Do you love mysteries? Do you love thrillers? Do you love suspense? If so, then COVERT DREAMS is for you.
About the writer:

 Mike Meyer recently retired from a 40-year career as a professor of writing, amassing numerous teaching awards along the way from both his students and his colleagues. He lives in the Southern California wine country with his wife, Kitty, and their two other cats. Many years ago, he was a student in Germany. He has since visited Munich numerous times. He also was a professor at the University of Petroleum and Minerals in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, and has traveled extensively throughout the Middle East. The locales he writes about here are real.
Links: My Amazon book link: http://www.amazon.com/Covert-Dreams-ebook/dp/B005WO860K/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_2

My Amazon website: http://www.amazon.com/Michael-Meyer/e/B005E7M8CW/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1