Books for Writers


-FOR WRITERS-

by Adron J. Smitley

Stomping Kittens is the long-awaited sequel to the critically acclaimed writing manual 'Punching Babies: a how-to guide' by award-winning and best-selling fantasy author Adron J. Smitley. Inside, the aspiring author will discover everything they need to know on how best to plot their first novel, specifically fantasy, from the spark of an idea to a finished book. Stomping Kittens guides you by the hand with its unique and highly detailed First Fantasy Novel Chapter By Chapter Blueprint Formula while also filled to the brim with writing knowledge that is guaranteed to help you create stories of every genre, providing an entire college worth of writing education in mere hours of reading you are sure to reference over and again throughout your writing career. Stomping Kittens lays out everything for you in detail, from the essentials of great three-dimensional character creation, a plethora of plot formulas and how to apply them, a thorough explanation of the structure of Acts and their essential plot points, the best way to build dramatic story structure architecture, and how to apply the necessary flaw vs. virtue argument as the spine of your story and the soul of its protagonist, all while affording you tons of examples from movies for quick ease of reference which are deconstructed for you while the entire process of writing your first fantasy novel is explained in simple detail.

Also included is Adron's NaNoWriMo Novel Generator.

If you read only one book on writing . . . this should be that book!

So grab your high heels and get ready to make writing your novel as easy as Stomping Kittens!



$4.99 digital
$14.99 paperback
FREE with Kindle Unlimited!



by Adron J. Smitley

There is nothing new under the sun, and the same holds true when it comes to storytelling but for the creative twists applied to what has already been written before you.

A hero goes on a journey?
Been there.
A stranger comes to town?
Done that.

Steal this Story! teaches aspiring authors the essential techniques of how and why to craft your best story by stealing its logline then renovating it into something special needing told from your unique perspective.


$2.99 digital, $6.99 paperback, or FREE with Kindle Unlimited!



by Adron J. Smitley

From award-winning and best-selling fantasy author Adron J. Smitley comes On Writing Well: a collection of teaching articles advising everything plot, character creation and relationships, flaws and virtues, theme and premise, logline construction, productive writing and editing, self-publishing, and detailed explanations into essential dramatic story structure architecture that will leave never a dull moment in your next great novel regardless the genre.

Guiding you with proven techniques from first draft to finished manuscript, On Writing Well provides both novice and veteran writers a wellspring of insights into the cunning art of how best to master your writing craft to its fullest potential.


$2.99 digital
$9.99 paperback
FREE with Kindle Unlimited!



by Dwight V. Swain

Adron: "This is, in my opinion, the single greatest book on writing. Ever. Light on plot and character, though heavy on writing technique, Dwight covers a vast array of essential skills from proper scene construction to the selling of your fiction and everything in between. This is a must have book for every writer, especially so the novice who would do well to commit its valuable contents to memory."


Techniques of the Selling Writer provides solid instruction for people who want to write and sell fiction, not just to talk and study about it. It gives the background, insights, and specific procedures needed by all beginning writers. Here one can learn how to group words into copy that moves, movement into scenes, and scenes into stories; how to develop characters, how to revise and polish, and finally, how to sell the product.
   No one can teach talent, but the practical skills of the professional writer's craft can certainly be taught. The correct and imaginative use of these kills can shorten any beginner's apprenticeship by years.
   This is the book for writers who want to turn rejection slips into cashable checks.



by Adron J. Smitley

How to make writing a novel (or screenplay, or any story, really) as easy as punching babies. A step-by-step guide for logically plotting your story from beginning to end every exciting step of the way.


$2.99 digital
$6.99 paperback
FREE with Kindle Unlimited!


T.J. Koker - 5 star Amazon review: "Guide dog. While the title nearly caused me to avoid the book entirely, I decided to dive in on a fellow writer's recommendation. If you are looking for structure in your writing or a sounding board for plotting and pace:THIS IS YOUR BOOK. Simply put, if you are seriously considering writing as a career this book needs to be a part of your resource library."

Lee Man - 5 star Amazon review: "My new bible! This book takes all the books I've ever learned from and combines them into an easy, concise doctrine with examples from a well known movie. I love how he took elements from the snowflake method, Save the Cat, Dwight Swain's motivation/reaction units, Joseph Campbell's Hero Journey and much more and united it with concrete examples from the movie The Matrix."

Daniel Wadsworth - 5 star Amazon review: "Fantastic and useful. Clear, simple, to the point and helped me organize my thoughts. Best book on structure I've seen."



by Victoria Lynn Schmidt, Ph.D.

Adron: "Writer's block is a myth, and this book proves it. Containing full explanations of 55 dramatic situations, you have access to a bountiful variety of ideas to inject logical conflict throughout your story along your characters' harrowing journeys or even to base the plot of your entire novel around."


It's been said that there are no new ideas; but there are proven ideas that have worked again and again for all writers for hundreds of years.
   Story Structure Architect is your comprehensive reference to the classic recurring story structures used by every great author throughout the ages. You'll find master models for characters, plots, and complication motifs, along with guidelines for combining them to create unique short stories, novels, scripts, or plays. You'll also learn how to:

   • Build compelling stories that don't get bogged down in the middle
   • Select character journeys and create conflicts
   • Devise subplots and plan dramatic situations
   • Develop the supporting characters you need to make your story work

   Especially featured are the standard dramatic situations inspire by Georges Polti's well-known 19th century work, The Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations. But author Victoria Schmidt puts a 21st-century spin on these timeless classics and offers fifty-five situations to inspire your creativity and allow you even more writing freedom. Story Structure Architect will give you the mold and then help you break it.
   This browsable and interactive book offers everything you need to craft a complete, original, and satisfying story sure to keep readers hooked!



by Adron J. Smitley

Most writers fall into one of two categories: Plotter or Pantser.
So which type of writer are you?
Plotters enjoy an order of logic and prefer writing their stories by the guiding maps of their outlines with every chapter detailed so they know the destination before their journey to a finished novel.
Pantsers enjoy a chaos of emotions and prefer writing their stories by the seat of their pants with every chapter a new discovery along their journey to a finished novel.
Regardless which type of writer you are, this universal plot skeleton will help guide you from the creation of your story to its satisfying conclusion.
Pen the Sword can lead you by the hand every plotting step of the way . . . or point you in the right direction then allow you free rein to wander in the exciting bliss that is the great unknown of your imagination.
The choice is yours.


$2.99 digital
$6.99 paperback
FREE with Kindle Unlimited!



by K.M. Weiland

Adron: "An excellent teaching resource on how to craft and more importantly develop fantastic three-dimensional characters as well progress them through their satisfying arcs of change and growth."


Powerful Character Arcs Create Powerful Stories.
   Have you written a story with an exciting concept and interesting characters—but it just isn’t grabbing the attention of readers or agents? It’s time to look deeper into the story beats that create realistic and compelling character arcs. Internationally published, award-winning novelist K.M. Weiland shares her acclaimed method for achieving memorable and moving character arcs in every book you write.
   By applying the foundation of the Three-Act Story Structure and then delving even deeper into the psychology of realistic and dynamic human change, Weiland offers a beat-by-beat checklist of character arc guidelines that flexes to fit any type of story.
   This comprehensive book will teach you:
  • How to determine which arc—positive, negative, or flat—is right for your character.

  • Why you should NEVER pit plot against character. Instead, learn how to blend story structure and character development.

  • How to recognize and avoid the worst pitfalls of writing novels without character arcs.

  • How to hack the secret to using overarching character arcs to create amazing trilogies and series.

  • And much more!
   Gaining an understanding of how to write character arcs is a game-changing moment in any author’s pursuit of the craft.



by Joe Navarro

Adron: "The single best book on body language I've ever read that is guaranteed to add depth to your characters and their interactions, because the best dialogue isn't what's said but what's implied and we do that through body language."


From the world’s #1 body language expert* comes the essential book for decoding human behavior

Joe Navarro has spent a lifetime observing others. For 25 years, as a Special Agent for the FBI, he conducted and supervised interrogations of spies and other dangerous criminals, honing his mastery of nonverbal communication. After retiring from the bureau, he has become a sought-after public speaker and consultant, and an internationally bestselling author. Now, a decade after his groundbreaking book What Every BODY is Saying, Navarro returns with his most ambitious work yet. The Dictionary of Body Language is a pioneering “field guide” to nonverbal communication, describing and explaining the more than 400 behaviors that will allow you to gauge anyone’s true intentions.

Moving from the head down to the feet, Navarro reveals the hidden meanings behind the many conscious and subconscious things we do. Readers will learn how to tell a person’s actual feelings from subtle changes in their pupils; the lip behaviors that betray concerns or hidden information; the many different varieties of arm posturing, and what each one means; how the position of our thumbs when we stand akimbo reflects our mental state; and many other fascinating insights to help you both read others and change their perceptions of you.

Readers will turn to The Dictionary Body Language again and again—a body language bible for anyone looking to understand what their boss really means, interpret whether a potential romantic partner is interested or not, and learn how to put themselves forward in the most favorable light.




-FOR LIFTERS-

by Adron J. Smitley

Progressive overload is the #1 key factor to training success regardless the lifter. The formula for building a bigger, stronger, better you is very simple: squat, push, pull, done. And the recipe for achieving it is even simpler: train hard and brief, rest long and easy, repeat.
   There's no need to complicate life with an excessive amount of unnecessary exercises that only hinder your training goals instead of helping them bloom to fruition because most of us are not genetically gifted bodybuilders or competitive powerlifters.
   But how does one set sail on their weightlifting journey in the vast ocean of training confusion? How many sets? How many reps? How many exercises? How many training days per week?
   Basement Strong provides you all the answers!
   You don't have to kill yourself in the gym every day for grueling hours on end, and in fact you shouldn't. Minimalist training supplies the solution to all your lifting needs while also leaving the rest of your life open to pursue other rewarding endeavors.
   Designing your training routine is a work of beauty when you get it right, and a labor of frustration when you get it wrong. Fortunately for you, Basement Strong is chock-full of proven minimalist strength training routines coupled with 20+ years of hard-earned weightlifting knowledge to help guide you to achieving a 300lb Bench Press, a 400lb Squat, and a 500lb Deadlift . . . or much, much higher!
   Basement Strong is designed for the average trainee looking to be the best they can through hard work, determination, perseverance, and lots of satisfying sweat. You won't spend hours at a time in the gym because you don't need to. Get in. Train hard. Get out. And grow Basement Strong.
   Only have a barbell, weights, and a space of basement or garage floor? Get Basement Strong. Have access to a public gym? Get Basement Strong. Have a few years of lifting notched on your training belt but you've been spinning your wheels while changing your routine every few weeks and all your lifts are stuck? Get Basement Strong. Are you a parent too busy with the kids during the week and can only lift on the weekend? Get Basement Strong. Are you a skinny nerd tired of being bullied? Get Basement Strong. Are you a young buck or doe looking to pack on some useful muscle for football or field hockey season? Get Basement Strong. Are you an older trainee looking for the elusive fountain of youth and vigor? Get Basement Strong.
   Whoever you are and whatever your training goals, release the caged manimal (or womanimal) inside of you and get Basement Strong!


$2.99 digital, $7.24 paperback, or FREE with Kindle Unlimited!

One Measly Hour Per Week . . . or the Easiest way to become an Author!

So you wanna be an author. Great! But you don't have the time to become an author. Single sad Indian tear rolling down upon they ...