IRS – 3 Letters to Fear in a #Crime #Fiction #Mystery #AtoZChallenge

Today is the “I” Day in the A to Z Challenge – 2016.

Lifetime Loser was my debut novel that focused on the white-collar crime of fraud in a small business. However the story transcends civil wrongdoing when criminal tax laws are broken. Events can suddenly change in life when the IRS knocks on your door.

Lewferd E Zerrmann, an egocentric, control freak, committed a heinous crime when in the company of three party goers. To cover up the offense he enlists the company of a deceitful accountant, a deceptive title company executive, a crooked lawyer, and a corrupt politician

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Once the deception is put into place he recruits a naïve rube – golf pro J Dub Schroeder - to be the managing minority partner of a golf course operation. An unlawful death, an estate swindle, and bogus accounting to funnel dollars out of the business are buried behind years of dishonesty.

For fifteen years the sham goes unnoticed until the CID (Criminal Investigative Division) of the IRS follows up on some accounting improprieties. The criminal side of the law lays the foundation for a lengthy legal battle in civil court between two business partners.

Will the IRS prevail? Can the crook get away with the fruits? How will the fraud victim fight back? Are remedies available in the U.S. Justice system?

I won’t spoil the ending but Lifetime Loser has enjoyed enormous success with tens of thousands of Kindle downloads. During a recent promotional period it reached the #6 Overall position on Kindle as well as the #2 position in Crime Fiction and #1 ranking in Sports / Golf. Pick up an eBook copy and let me know if the IRS is an agency to be feared.

James Ross has penned several novels from the Prairie Winds Golf Course setting. The stories are character-based, cross many genres, and have become Kindle favorites. Visit his  website for detailed information, reader comments, and contact links.

#Hashtags – Who Would Have Ever Thought About Their Effectiveness? #AtoZChallenge

Today is the “H” Day in the A to Z Challenge – 2016. Let’s discuss hashtags.

Computers and social media have changed our world. Okay, I’ll stop the understatements. Who would have ever thought that our communication would be altered so dramatically in the process?

Twitter was born. Tweets with 140 characters took over our online presence. With that new form of communication the hashtag was invented. For those that are new to this label, a hashtag is the # sign that is used in front of a word. It is treated as a metadata tag to make it easier for users to find content that they are searching for.

The hashtag is vital for those that use social networking and microblogging services. Topics that are of interest to an online user are easily found. Groups with similar interests are easily identified. The infinite world of cyber space can be navigated more simply.

Online users that comment on articles or write blogs or post regularly on the internet can tag a word or group of words and more easily reach out to an audience. Make a point to understand the value of the hashtag. Their use reduces the online world to a manageable entity. Who would have ever dreamed of that concept two decades ago?

James Ross has penned several novels from the Prairie Winds Golf Course setting. The stories are character-based, cross many genres, and have become Kindle favorites. Visit his website for detailed information, reader comments, and contact links.  

A #Golf Setting For My Cozy #Mysteries - #AtoZChallenge

Today is the “G” Day in the A to Z Challenge – 2016. In that regard we will honor golf.

Middle age does different things to different people. Moods change. Behavior is altered. Opportunities once available seem to disappear. For me, that time in my life provided an opportunity to tell a mysterious story from a golf setting.

That occasion came in a roundabout way. Events and characters were swirling in my head. One of my golfing buddies suggested that the story would make a good movie. So after a golf trip he asked me what I was going to do after we returned home. I replied, “I’m going to write that movie.”

Needless to say he was skeptical. However it was the start of my writing career. After doing some online research I joined an internet screenwriting site. Soon after I purchased the proper software and the characters and plot came alive. It was agreed after several rewrites and critiques that the basics for a story were present. When the final version of the screenplay was finished I asked my consultant what would help it sell in Hollywood.

His reply was frank. “The book.”

I digested that for a couple of months and then admitted that I had nothing else to do at the time. I opened the screenplay and used it as the outline for my first novel – Lifetime Loser. A year and a half later after some rewrites and extensive editing my first novel was published. The feeling was indescribable.

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But then a funny thing happened. The characters were screaming to tell another story. One novel has become six. The recurring characters at the golf course serve as the perfect foils for the intrigue and mystery that surround the clubhouse.

The stories are realistic, character-based fiction. The setting is Prairie Winds Golf Course high atop the Mississippi river bluffs east of St. Louis. The screenplay won a lot of awards at various indie film fests but is now gathering dust. However the books are available on Amazon in hard cover and paperback version and on Kindle in eBook format.

Give my books a try. The genres vary but most lean toward the cozy mystery area. There is no doubt that you will like the characters. They are diverse, from all walks of life, and memorable. Start with LifetimeLoser. I’d be interested to hear back from you.

James Ross has penned several novels from the Prairie Winds Golf Course setting. The stories are character-based, cross many genres, and have become Kindle favorites. Visit his website for detailed information, reader comments, and contact links.

Finish Line – A #Golf Setting For a #Cancer Victim - Great For YA #Readers #AtoZChallenge

Today is the “F” Day in the A to Z Challenge – 2016.

Finish Line is the second book in the Prairie Winds Golf Course series and I’m using the A to Z Challenge to do a little shameless self-promoting. Some readers don’t care for the ending, but my view has always been that the journey is far more adventurous than the final words in the story.

At any rate, Curt, a co-owner of the golf course is stricken with colon cancer. His battle is personal and life-threatening. Just when he is beginning his battle he receives a call from an old girlfriend that has since remarried. Her son, Justin, who was a toddler when they dated, got into some mischief with a friend at the start of their summer vacation. Their debt was one that necessitated summer employment.

Tina, the old girlfriend, inquired about employment for the two teens. Curt was anxious to provide the opportunity and the pair got jobs. Thus begins a summer to remember for the two impressionable teenage boys.

Not only does the duo learn that their problems pale in comparison to a man fighting cancer, but they are exposed to a group of golfing misfits that call the clubhouse their home-away-from-home. Lessons that they will carry the rest of their lives are learned from the new acquaintances that welcome them into their world.

Finish Line is available on Amazon in hard cover and paperback versions as well as on Kindle in eBook format. Experience the camaraderie. The book is recommended for adult and young adult readers.

James Ross has penned several novels from the Prairie Winds Golf Course setting. The stories are character-based, cross many genres, and have become Kindle favorites. Visit his website for detailed information, reader comments, and contact links

The #eBook Explosion and the eBook Bundle #AtoZChallenge

Today is the "E" Day in the A to Z Challenge - 2016.

Who would have ever thought a generation ago that eBooks would be replacing the published versions of books that have paper pages and a bind? Those that did have that vision are now basking up the rays on some desirable beach.

eBooks have changed the playing field for authors. Instead of spending lots of dollars and countless hours to bring a physical product to market and then incur a shipping cost that oftentimes costs more than the book, writers can bring their product to market in a fraction of time at an affordable price. Amazon has been a pioneer in this industry. The Kindle reader dominates the eBook market. Virtually millions of titles are available for download in a matter of seconds.

Authors now essentially get paid by the page. The eBook program originally started with prices on each book. However since the eBooks could not be physically examined the consistency varied. Sometimes eBooks with very few pages cost as much as full blown novels. That discrepancy garnered negative feedback from readers. So Amazon developed a Kindle Unlimited program which allows participants to read for free any number of eBooks from participating authors. These eBook pages can also be read free of charge by any Amazon Prime member. The number of pages read is tracked electronically on a daily basis. That information is shared daily with the author.

The process is clean, swift, and cost effective. Readers do not have to wait for a book to be delivered. Shipping costs are avoided. The eBook concept has revolutionized the publishing industry. I suppose the longer you live the more likely you might see everything. eBooks are gaining in popularity and are the wave of the future.

In fact, one thing that it has allowed me to do is create eBook bundles. That is a 3-book package at a reduced cost. Now I’ve got JamesRoss – A Character-Based Collection and James Ross – A Young Adult Trilogy. Try one!

James Ross has penned several novels from the Prairie Winds Golf Course setting. The stories are character-based, cross many genres, and have become Kindle favorites. Visit his websitehttp://www.authorjamesross.com/home.html for detailed information, reader comments, and contact links.

Dementia – Memory Loss Makes For Memorable Characters #AtoZChallenge

Today is the “D” Day in the A to Z Challenge – 2016.

Creating characters is my favorite thing to do when I write a book. A lot of thought goes into their name, physical characteristics, and situations which with they are placed. In the course of writing my novels I’ve had the opportunity to create over 300 characters. The nice thing about that is that my characters reappear in my stories. They must be unique and memorable to keep the pages turning.

Dementia is a term that describes the decline in mental ability so much so that it affects daily life. The memory loss can reduce a person’s ability to perform everyday activities. Short term memory loss can affect a person’s ability to pay bills, remember appointments, focus, and reason. Technically the brain cells become damaged and the disease prohibits those cells from communicating with each other. Treatments vary depending on how quickly the disease is treated.

In Pabby’s Score one of the regulars in the pro shop brings his elderly father into the clubhouse to meet the guys. The character suffering from the disease quickly obtained a nickname – Uncle Woo – because he reminded one of the war veterans of a guy that he knew when stationed overseas. His antics and recollections force grins. The outlandish behavior is not only sad, but comical.

As the plot develops Uncle Woo winds up playing a pivotal role in the story. Give the book a try. It is available on Amazon or on Kindle in eBook format. This book rose to the #2 Overall position on Kindle during a promotional period. It was also the Number 1 most downloaded book in the Crime Fiction, Legal Thriller, and Teen categories.

James Ross has penned several novels from the Prairie Winds Golf Course setting. The stories are character-based, cross many genres, and have become Kindle favorites. Visit his website for detailed information, reader comments, and contact links.

#Cancer Amid the Fictional Characters I Create - #AtoZChallenge

Today is the "C" Day in the A to Z Challenge - 2016.

With six character-based books and a seventh on the way it is difficult to write a story without having cancer strike a character. Any of my readers will admit that my stories have as much to do with a cross-section of American people as they do with plots. A big part of life in the United States deals with cancer. If the disease doesn’t hit you personally, then you’d be hard-pressed to find someone that hasn’t had a relative or friend or acquaintance that it has affected.

Finish Line is my second novel. One of the owners of the golf course is stricken with colon cancer. The twist is that the battle to combat the virus comes when the victim is in the process of mentoring two teenage boys at a critical time in their lives. Suddenly small problems in life pale in comparison to the fight to survive. Minor events take on a new perspective. Ironically a lifetime lesson is delivered in a roundabout way.

My seventh book, Buford’s Tree, which is under construction, also deals with the deadly disease. A middle-aged high school football coach is stricken. His inner circle is affected as well as hundreds of friends and acquaintances. Unexpected events as well as an intense desire to live drive the plot.

It’s unrealistic to write about life in America without including episodes where cancer has crept into lives of people that we know. Visit the Author James Ross website. My fictitious characters are forced to deal with the very things that we must deal with in everyday life. If my written words someday help one person fight the battle then I will feel as if my message was successfully delivered.

James Ross has penned several novels from the Prairie Winds Golf Course setting. The stories are character-based, cross many genres, and have become Kindle favorites. Visit his website for detailed information, reader comments, and contact links.http://www.authorjamesross.com/