Category Archives: Art

Art, audio, Books, Music, new release, podcast, Promotion, Radio, YouTube

Day 15 #MarchoftheWriter

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 How do you social?

On Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Linkedin… actually that’s not what this is about.

How do you connect with other writers, with your tribe and with potential new readers?

I have two answers for you.

The first; Go Indie Now.
Yep, you’ve seen me mention the media platform Go Indie Now and the workaholic, Mr Joe Compton.
Joe has created a platform where the indie community can meet, chat have heated debates, get drunk at Joe’s bar (Just kidding) – no I’m not!

Find out about new indie films, books and what’s hot in the gaming community. These shows, panels, interviews, and reports are entertaining for the public and the indie community.
Authors, there is so much you can learn from those that have done it all. We’ve all made mistakes so learn from those that have tried and failed but don’t give up. Get tips and get the inside scoop on what’s going down in the indie world.

Have you always wondered what’s inside a writer’s mind? How do they build these magical, dangerous and extraordinary worlds? How do they come up with the characters you love, with the plot twists and write stories that will keep you turning the page and gasping for more?

You will find these answers and more on the media platform Go Indie Now. So please support Joe and all the hard work he does for the Indie community. Seriously, this man just never stops.

The reason I mention this in my article about being social, is I have made some wonderful connections and long-lasting friendships with indies I’ve met while being a guest on the shows. This then takes me to their safe place. Their group, where I’m welcomed and treated as one of the family. Thus creating more connections and friendships, thus learning more from my peers.

Please subscribe to The Go Indie Now YouTube channel and take a look at the shows he hosts. Watch and be entertained, leave a comment and like the videos.
Thanks, and remember, it’s always time to Go Indie Now

And my other way to socialize is not knowing who is Behind The Pen. (Did you see what I did just then. lol)



Podcasts, Zoom interviews, Radio shows, they are so hot right now. If you want to find new readers, you have to step up, show your face, and let us hear your voice. There are thousands out there waiting to hear about exciting new books and authors they have never heard of. The world is yours to conquer!
Okay – maybe I went a little too far with that last line. But I’m sure you understand what I’m trying to say. People don’t know you. They don’t know your name, they don’t know your books, and now you have a chance to be seen, heard and noticed.
If you’re camera-shy, contact podcasts and radio stations. If the camera loves you, get on some pannels, shows and interviews. Your readers are out there waiting.

Behind the Pen is a YouTube show and audio podcast where I chat with all artists; musicians, authors, illustrators, writers, editors, anyone who uses a pen for work.


Art, Books, YouTube

Day 8 #MarchoftheWriters

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Writer’s DNA

Well, right now with my dark romances, it’s sex and violence. Sex sells, so does violence. Now imagine a book with them both!

I always throw my readers through a loop. Twists just come naturally to me, I don’t even know I’ve thrown one in there until after. I don’t want my novels to be predictable. I like to keep my readers on their toes. Just when you think you know what’s going on… you really don’t. Trust me.

Conflict. Every novel or flash fiction has to have a type of conflict. Conflict gets the juices going, the adrenaline rush and keeps those pages turning.

There is always a piece of me in my books, some more than others and I would never tell you which parts are fictional and which are reality.

I like my female characters to have heart, compassion, but still be strong and able to kick arse, either literally or with magic.

A satisfying ending. That doesn’t mean there will be a HEA. I write about real life, and real-life is dark and gritty. And in my fantasy, you still have the darkness – the good vs evil and the darkness the protagonist is fighting.

I had to put this in. DNA by BTS

Art, Books, Narrations, personal, podcast, Promotion, Radio, YouTube

New Challenge

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You know me I love a good challenge and when I take on something, I don’t back down.
This one is called March of The Writers and every day, we are given a prompt and it could be to write about a book, introduce myself, write flash fiction and so forth. I will be given a prompt and see if I can do one every day through March. This will be fun.

From the crazy mind of Author and YouTube addict, JD.Estrada. You can follow his blog and journey on https://jdestradawriter.blogspot.com

DAY ONE.

 New month, who dis?

Well, hello world. I’m Karina Kantas award-winning author and filmmaker. I have 15 books published, some independently, some under publishing contacts. I write in most fiction genres and I go through binges. Right now it’s Dark Romance.
I’m from the UK but I live on the Island of Corfu.

I’m a BookTuber, YouTuber, Podcaster and Radio Host and I also run Author Assist which offers affordable assistance to writers, authors and those in the publishing business. I’m a VA , Author Manager, Publicist, Book Trailer Creator, Designer of Graphics, Social Media Consultant, Marketing and Promotion Manager and Narrator… plus a few more I haven’t mentioned.

I’m the host of the Author Assist Radio Show. Which has just celebrated five years on the air. My YouTube and audio podcast is called Behind The Pen and I get to chat and have a laugh with many in a business where they use a pen such as Illustrators, writers, musicians, and so forth.

For all links for my social media ( I’m everywhere) and for the podcasts and my YouTube channel go to

https://linktr.ee/karinakantas

Art, audio, Books, Music, personal, podcast, Radio, YouTube

1 Year With The Audio Podcast Behind The Pen

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So to celebrate I had the audio podcast and the YouTube show both release this special episode at the same time.

This is about looking back at the last year, building solid friendship, and for me being completely open with you about something personal.

Please subscribe to the channel, click on that like button and feel free to leave a comment.

If you listen to the podcast on Spotify, please like the podcast.

https://anchor.fm/behindthepen/episodes/One-year-anniversary-of-Behind-The-Pen-e1cs04a

Art, Books, free books, Giveaway/prizedraw

Check out this Christmas giveaway. FREE to enter.

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Audiobooks, signed paperbacks, and a huge pack of author swag by best-selling award-winning author Victoria Saccenti

Join the Rafflecopter to enter for a chance of winning some cool prizes. There are prizes for international winners as well. Click below and goodluck.

A Rafflecopter giveaway

Art, Books, podcast, Promotion, YouTube

Maanarak Is Opening Up Her Soul.

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I spoke with Maanarak about her soon-to-be debut book. As authors, we always give a lot of ourselves in our stories and many are biographical.

Maanarak goes even further by writing poetry and these are powerful words that she spins into a tale of past experiences. She opens up her heart and leaves it on the page. Such a gift many would love to possess. Not only does she write this amazing poetry but she illustrates using her unique style to tell the story of the poem. And she doesn’t stop there. With each poem, besides it, she tells the truth behind the words.

If it wasn’t bad enough bearing your soul in poetry, to then write the story of where the words came from, is truly inspiring and terrifying at the same time and I take my hat off to her, (if I was wearing one) for being brave enough to let it all out. She doesn’t hide behind make-believe she tells it exactly how it is and that makes it so raw and honest.
Come and meet Maanarak, the lady Behind The Pen.

You can find Maanarak on Instagram and listen for the announcement of when this more than poetry book will be published.
https://www.instagram.com/maanarak.4/

Art, Books, Poetry, reviews, YouTube

The Poet Jonathan Koven

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Actually, Jonathan isn’t just a poet he’s a storyteller and a bloody good one as he just came second place in the prestigious Electric Eclectic Novella Contest and will be having his winning story, ‘Below Torrential Hill,’ published as a pocketbook this winter and will be part of the Electric Eclectic branding.

Back to Jonathan.

He’s a poet, an author and also an editor.

Jonathan Koven grew up on Long Island, NY, embraced by tree-speak, tide’s rush, and the love and support of his family. He holds a BA in English and Creative Writing from American University, works as a technical writer, and is Toho Journal’s head fiction editor and workshop coordinator. He lives in Philadelphia with his best friend and future wife Delana, and cats Peanut Butter and Keebler.

Take a look at his debut book.

Palm Line’s heartfelt poems speak to a transformative journey “to rediscover love as both a question and an answer.” Seeking hope, honoring family, finding love, accepting time’s passage, and understanding gratitude are all major themes explored in this dreamlike collection.

Where to buy

https://www.tohopub.com/product-page/palm-lines-jonathan-koven

Review Quotes

“Palm Lines invites one into a sensuous natural world . . . [Koven] is a writer of tremendous skill.”—Tracey Levine, author of You Are What You Are and Asst. Professor of English at Arcadia University.

“These are ecstatic poems which wrestle with surrender. Even as they reach outward, they are reflecting back, mapping the story of our own hands.”—David Keplinger, author of Another City, winner of 2019 UNT Rilke Prize.

“In Palm Lines, everything is humongous because of the gravity of the beauty and emotion observed—and language is the catharsis . . . This accessible collection offers the reader an opportunity to take a deep breath and reflect.”
—Sean Lynch, editor of Serotonin

These heartfelt poems speak to a transformative journey “to rediscover love as both a question and an answer.” Seeking hope, honoring family, finding love, accepting time’s passage, and understanding gratitude are all major themes explored in this dreamlike collection.

https://youtu.be/tWB9qY38Jak

Art

Now I must mention this amazing book cover above, which was illustrated by Tyler Lentini. It almost like a representation of a moving painting. And there is more of Tyler’s art work throughout the book.

Take a look at another illustration from this artist.

Just visualising this image, I can see a bird, a naked woman and a tree, but then I can see a cave with water rushing down into a waterfall and a forest. Art has so many concepts and it’s up to the eye of the beholder to take what they can from the image.

What do you take from this amazing painting?

Where to find Jonathan Koven

Art, films, podcast, Promotion, TV

Zeitgeist Film Festival 2021

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The theme this year is LA Apocalypse.

When? Fri June 4th – 6th June
Where? Huntington Beach California


Meet Alexandra Nakelski

Quirky, fun, sticks to her guns. Loves the ’80s and refuses to censor.

I had the absolute privilege of chatting with the owner and founder of the Zeitgeist Film Festival. She also is a Film Studies Professor at Peninsula College and a Film Professor at the University of New Mexico.

This lady has so much passion and we found out we have a lot in common when it comes to our opinions.

Watch this special episode of Behind The Pen

About: Zeitgeist (The Spirit of The Age) film festival.

A year and a half in the making. 158 films from around the world hand-picked and curated in this special presentation. You won’t see any of this on streaming. Welcome to the first post-pandemic event. Others went virtual, we are going live…

The Zeitgeist Film Festival is a non-profit 501(c)(3) that is here to make waves in the festival world! With ties all over the US and abroad, this festival stands to last the test of time or frankly even the Apocalypse! The Zeitgeist film festival will be making its debut and putting roots down in Orange County. We have brought some of the youngest, brightest, and most experienced minds together to build a festival that both cinema experts and aspiring videographers would be proud of. This festival promises to be a hit with old and young alike showing modern-day classics, Shorts, and Independent Features.

This year’s curation is a culmination of the last 5 years of my PhD research that I wanted to share with larger audiences and not just the few other scholars reading my work. In a term I coined: The “Auspicious Apocalypse” I look at the collective subconscious desire for the “end” in hopes to resurrect with something better, something new.  Sometimes you have to burn it all to the ground to start over.  Can we do this and maintain some semblance of humanity? Will it remind us the importance of community in doing so?  Perhaps the fear of the Apocalypse is worse than the Apocalypse itself. Is it wrong to choose not to crawl into a fetal position paranoid for whatever is coming and instead face the music and feel more alive now than we ever have? – Alexandra Nakelski

Check out the list of amazing films and the directors, casts members and special guests who will be there to talk with you and answer your questions. An amazing opportunity to get up close to those you admire. Alexandra has made sure she has catered for all ages in this Filmfest.

Check it out.
https://zeitgeistfilmfest.org

Art, Books, Craft, Promotion

Omnikent

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Can an idea accelerated by passion give wings to one’s dream?

Yes, it does for “Omnikent”.

Ominkent started its journey in 2018  with a set of three people, one idea and a dream. A dream to offer the best in class services and platforms to the ones whose writings we have grown up reading i.e. the Authors.

At Omnikent, the mission is to help the authors connect their writing with the right audience and become authorpreneurs, using technology, design, and data driven strategies. The services provided ranges from illustrations, custom web designs, brand building for authors through pre and post marketing services, E-commerce store set-up for author brand, book conversion to 2D/3D movies or web series.

The organisation is all-remote based out in Dubai with the team spread across the globe. On asked about what holds the team together despite geographical distances, Mr. Sanjay John Eapen, the CEO, Miss Sneha Ann Babu, the Chief Business Officer quotes, “Trust, Accountability and Transparency” as the key values which  drives the team and inspires them everyday to offer the best. The perfect balance of management skill and passion, helps them to provide the quality services by focusing on driving the entire operations of the organisation with utmost efficiency because of which the organisation today could successfully deliver 17+ projects within such a short span of time.

Going ahead, the plan is to leverage technology and design, to help authors get most out of their creativity and effort to be the best sellers in every market thereby, directing Omnikent to be the globally recognised brand that the authors can rely on, as in Omnikent we believe in nothing but “Authorpreneurship”.

Contact details:

http://www.omikent.com

Mail us at : hello@omnikent.com

Twitter : https://twitter.com/omnikent

LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/company/omnikentdigital

Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/omnikentdigital/

IG : https://www.instagram.com/omnikent/?hl=en

Art, Fashion, Magazine, Promotion, YouTube

Who is Jackie Bertolette?

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I will tell who is is NOT. She not an editor of a magazine that talks about dieting and how to lose weight, advertising stick thin models and promoting how we all should dress and ignoring the real women and men out there. Ignoring diversity.

Jackie Bertolette is a women on a ‘Mission’. She has opened up a platform that allows a never before seen, designer a place to showcase their work, a makeup artist that has never had the opportunity to work with catwalk models. For models of all shapes, sizes, race and sexual orientation . Everyone is included. Diversity is a must for Jackie and her volunteer staff of Haute Ohio Magazine.


This magazine may centre around Ohio and the Mid-West. but it’s download and shipped world-wide. Sadly it hasn’t reached the shelves where the top editorial magazines sit.

But it really should.

Jackie is such an awesome person for what she doing, that other magazine editors and creative directors should sit up and take notice. Things have changed and Jackie is embracing this change with open arms.

I get the opportunity to chat to Jackie about Haute Ohio Magazines and all the small business she owns and is involved in.
This is a must watch interview.

Enjoy.

http://www.hauteohio.com
http://www.discoveredmodel.com
http://www.lunadreamwear.com
http://www.jacquelinejphotographicarts.com

FB : @Haute Ohio Magazine

IG, Twit YouTube:  @ohfw_official