Good day, book people. We live in a world filled with things that interrupt our daily lives, whether it’s the constant news cycle on television, premium TV channels, movie channels, sports channels, reality TV, YouTube, as well as social media. It’s no wonder that we often find ourselves sitting in our favorite chair or lounging on our couches and engrossed in what’s playing on the television screen or on our cellphones, tablets, or computers. It’s relatively easy to get distracted from what we might want or need to do, (which for me is reading and writing reviews). Add in work and family obligations and it’s truly amazing that we ever get anything done. I guess that also applies to authors, especially when they might be dealing with “writer’s block.” I’m pleased to welcome Sid Meltzer, author of Unwitting Accomplice, who will be sharing us with how he deals with “writer’s block.” I hope you’ll enjoy what he has to say and will follow the blog tour to learn more about this author and Unwitting Accomplice. Thank you, Mr. Meltzer for sharing with us today. The blog is now yours.
What’s on TV? Or, my half-century long case of writer’s block.
You’ve no doubt heard about the dreaded condition writers face at one time or another. When they’re simply unable to do their job, and put off sitting down at their keyboard day after day. Coming up with one lame excuse after another. Or when they finally do sit down, they find themselves staring at an empty page (all right, screen) unable to come up with anything worth reading.
Welcome to my world, friends.
For all of my adult life, I always knew I had a novel in me. And friends and kinfolk have often told me something along the lines of, “You know, Sid, you should write that down. There’s a book there, I bet.”
But I didn’t. Or couldn’t. Or wouldn’t.
People who study this condition say writer’s block could be due to factors such as being too hard on oneself, or fear of being compared to famous writers of famous books. It could also be due to lack of external motivation, like not getting attention and praise. Or lack of internal motivation, like a desire to tell one’s story.
To be fair to myself, some of my half-century old block was due to outside pressures. I worked many years as a copywriter, a job that sucked out all my mental energy. I had a wife and kids who needed a full-time husband and father. I had things to do and places to see.
To be honest with myself though, some of it was entirely internal. Who would want to read what I have to say? What would I write about? Who am I kidding? I can’t write worth a damn. What’s on TV?
Whatever the cause, there are cures – like talking it out with other writers, or psychotherapy, or better time management — proven to relieve writer’s block for many writers. For me, though, the cure was getting fired for the last time.
I was let go from my last copywriting job just as I turned 65 (entirely coincidental, I assure you) and started collecting social security. In other words, I enjoyed a little financial freedom that I never had before. Which meant I no longer had to write for lawyers, clients, and focus groups to earn my keep, and was now free to write for myself.
It took a few false starts, and a lot of on-the-job-training, but I eventually had a book that an agent believed in, and then a publisher believed in, and I hope you believe in as well. Unwitting Accomplice– – an epic fifty years in the making.
I may be guilty of procrastination in the first degree. But there’s no reason you should be. I hope you start reading, and enjoying, Unwitting Accomplice without delay.
Now, where did I put that remote?
Unwitting Accomplice
by Sid Meltzer
March 1-31, 2021 Tour
Synopsis:
How can a homicide be prevented when it’s still only in some stranger’s head?
Kim Barbieri, a tough, street-smart New York City crime reporter unfazed by male egos and mangled bodies, is sent an anonymous note with a sinister message:
I intend to commit a murder
She doesn’t know who the killer is.
She doesn’t know who his victim will be.
She doesn’t know where, when and how he will strike.
But there is one thing she does know: If she doesn’t learn to think like a killer, someone’s going to get away with murder.
Kudos for Unwitting Accomplice:
“The tension builds page after page, chapter after chapter, between the psycho driven to kill and the reporter determined to stop him—ending with a surprise twist I just didn’t see coming. And I’m a thriller writer!” ~ Steven Pressfield, bestselling author of Gates of Fire and A Man at Arms
Book Details:
Genre: Thriller
Published by: Rogue Phoenix Press
Publication Date: December 7, 2020
Number of Pages: 313
ISBN: 978-1-62420-579-8
Series: A Kim Barbieri Thriller
Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Goodreads
Author Bio:
Sid Meltzer took a couple of worthwhile detours on his way to becoming a crime fiction writer.
He started out as a NYS Supreme Court Probation Officer, a job that helped him see things from a criminal’s point of view— and let him peer into their minds’ many dark alleys.
Working with ethically-challenged rascals prepared him well for the caliber of people he met in his next career— advertising. That is where he learned how to craft stories that draw readers in and keep them engaged.
Unwitting Accomplice is his debut novel.
Catch Up With Sid Meltzer:
Goodreads
Instagram – @sidmeltzer
Twitter – @sid_meltzer
Tour Participants:
Visit these other great hosts on this tour for more great reviews, interviews, guest posts, and giveaways!
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Enter TO Win!:
This is a Rafflecopter giveaway hosted by Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours for Sid Meltzer. There will be 2 winners each receiving one (1) Amazon.com Gift Card. The giveaway begins on March 1, 2021 and runs through April 2, 2021. Void where prohibited.
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The Book Diva's Reads 
It must be so frustrating for an author when they hit writer blocks.
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