Find the Girl, A Fantasy Novel, No1 for 412 Days

 Find the Girl, No1 most popular 412 days

Donan Berg's first fantasy novel, Find the Girl, A Fantasy Novel,

has, on June 7, reached a milestone 412 days as the most popular

novel on AuthorsDen.com, all genres. In fact, on this day, eight

spots in the top ten for most popular were filled by Author Donan Berg novels.

We're prompted to shy away from humble to say there's something special

about his novels, be they fantasy, mystery, thriller, action, or romance?

To explore Eta Dorcas' reality and her time travel new world visit

Find the Girl, A Fantasy Novel 

On World Book Day, Find the Girl, A Fantasy Novel

was featured as Book of the Moment by Caleb and Linda Pirtle.

Their website is at Book of the Moment

Find the Girl, A Fantasy Novel, has been joined by Author Donan Berg's

second fantasy, Lucia's Fantasy World. Now out as a free read on 

Amazon's KindleUnlimited and also available in paperback. Click on

the link below to learn more, including a free chapter read.

Lucia's Fantasy World

Additional clicks on the links below will allow you to check out

five-star reviewed Author Donan Berg novels.

One Paper Heart

Aria's Bayou Child, A Thriller

Alexa's Gold

A Body To Bones

And many more if you visit Author Donan Berg's homepage 

Author Donan Berg Home Page  Here you will find Donan Berg's biography

and a connection to his novels, short stories, writing tips, articles and poetry.

"A Body To Bones" Book Reviews

A Body To Bones, First Skeleton Series Mystery Author Donan Berg Review Number One: By E. Harris (Reader) 6/25/2018 Ten years ago Sarah Hamilton made a mistake. Never far from her mind were the reminders of the consequences. Not wanting to dwell on the past, she tried to look towards the future. This was not to be when an investigation into recently found skeletal remains threatens not only her secrets, but her safety as well. Will she survive the turmoil? The author has crafted an intriguing and suspenseful mystery novel. The tension builds slowly and keeps the reader engrossed throughout. When least expected, the narrative takes unexpected twists and turns. The well-drawn characters are an interesting group as are their roles in the story. I found this to be a well written and engrossing novel. Highly recommended. I received a complimentary copy of the book. The opinions expressed are my own. Review Number Two: By Laura H. (Reader) 5/8/2018
The meticulous and lengthy descriptions of the characters in this story are an integral piece of recognizing the clues. The masterful way Berg entwined them into the story shows the extent of his creativity, imagination, and depth of writing. As a debut novel, this book deserves the praise it has received. If this publication is any indication, this writer has a prolific career ahead as a novelist. The twisting and turning storyline keeps the reader enthralled and wondering 'who done it' and 'why' to the end. What this reader supposed happened and why--was way off! The reader quickly becomes invested in the character's lives as horrific findings are unveiled. The complex secrets, lives changed, and Sarah's role--brings the town and its events into focus. Sarah's difficult decisions and finally confrontation with the past are written beautifully. The book highlights how incredibly complicated a police investigation is and how the simplest observation, say: a key, can change the future of an entire town. This reader is looking forward to reading the next novel in this series. One can hope it is as well-written and engaging as this one. Also a big plus is the price is reasonable.  Review Number Three By Glenda Bixler (07/2018) Reading the Prologue of Berg's first book certainly will grab readers and have them continue to learn what happens! Ten years has passed for Sarah Hamilton with a burden hanging over her... Clearly she had not yet felt God's forgiveness for her act... I have often thought that God sees our contrite heart and forgives us long before we are able to fully accept that... Then, too, what of the man who had been involved? Had he even thought to seek forgiveness, especially when we later learn, that Sarah was not the only woman with whom he had been involved... The small-town intrigue and gossip is alive and well in Clinton... The morality of the characters in the novel plays an important part as, ten years later, a body is found...or should I say, bones of a body... For this skeleton had missing bones that soon became part of the mystery... There was mystery in town this past week as every citizen wondered about the disappearance of Father Cornelius Murphy, pastor of St. Mary's Catholic Church of Clinton. ~~~ But before then, we learn more about the lives in Clinton a small town, of less than 900...for, of course, each is known and involved in some way in those events that the Pioneer Ledger shares to its readers once a week. Sarah and her husband are well-known and respected, and involved with local church activities. Sarah Hamilton is married to the editor/owner. One of those moral issues she has suffered under was her mother's dictates of how a Christian woman should act. One definitely was that she should take care of the home and not work outside it. But the Hamiltons actually lived in the building where the newspaper was created and printed... and her husband really did need her help. So, while agreeing to help with the paper, once more she buried her personal feelings of guilt and sense of doing something wrong... I had great sympathy for this woman living very much like I did in a small town... Throughout the story, the Hamiltons, not only because of their news-gathering activities, remain involved...We soon learn that there had been two disappearances around the mid-50s... One of them was the wife of the neighbor of the Hamiltons, who also owned a large warehouse in which the bones were later found. The other was the disappearance of a local priest... The officials, including local and federal, do an excellent job in pulling the investigation together and the created characters add greatly to the enjoyment of the hunt for whodunit! And the possible villains, including even Sarah, are explored as we learn more about the bodies, keeping us guessing. My intuition was right again, but the author keeps readers on the edge until almost the end of the book, as Sarah faces danger from the killer! I was pleased how the author allowed our main character's family to come together after all that had happened and we find a quite satisfactory ending after more than a decade of hidden secrets... A solid whodunit mystery that I highly recommend! GABixlerReviews (End of Reviews) Read this and other reviews of Author Donan Berg novels at Author Donan Berg Website . In addition, Author Berg's most popular story, "Inspiration" and most popular article "Aisle Two Romance, Chapter One" are both at the above website. Also see earlier post of "Inspiration" that appears on this blog. Thank you to E. Harris, Laura H., and G. Bixler and other readers for your continued strong support.

Inspiration by Donan Berg

After three months, Author Donan Berg's "Inspiration" still trending as the most popular inspirational story at AuthorsDen

To read it free click here: Inspiration by Donan Berg . Thank you for your read. All reads help advance Donan's story to be the most popular of all stories. Last check showed it at number six; number one is within reach.

While there, check out Donan Berg's A Body To Bones, at last check, the most popular novel at AuthorsDen. For romance fans there's Aisle Two Romance, chapter one listed under articles.

Again, thank you to all.

Real Life Character Building

Fiction novel writers never ignore characters. Characters live and
breathe as the heart and soul of every potential masterpiece.

How does the novelist get there?

Consider this perspective; they blend in the physical attributes of hair color, body build,
eye color etcetera, but, more important, they interview their characters to gain a
deeper understanding.

They ask each character in turn, digging to get as much information as possible:

1. What life experiences have you enjoyed?

2.  What physical things have you enjoyed, even loved?

3.  What experience or physical object liberated you?

4.  What ideas and held beliefs have you outgrown?

5.  What spiritual concepts have controlled your life?

6.  What secular ideas have guided your life?

7.  What physical or emotional risks have you taken?

8.  What dangers have you avoided or courted?

9.  What sufferings have helped you grow?

10. What people shaped or influenced you life? To what degree?

Donan Berg is the author of entertaining mystery and heartwarming romance. His 2016 romance,
One Paper Heart, won the Feathered Quill Gold Award First Place for Romance. His latest is a
romantic thriller, Alexa's Gold. Ask for both at your favorite book retailer.

Week of Reading Contrasts

A simple truth: Reading always teaches. What it teaches is a separate inquiry.

This week the pages of two books filled my brain.  Both were book club selections.

The first, All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr, surpassed the first obstacle of "Oh, here's another book dealing with World War II." Spoiler alert: The hype that this was a "love story" between a French blind girl and a young German Hitler youth doesn't pan out.

The back-and-forth juxtaposition of their two lives transcends. The rich detail of their lives driven home by strong verbs. The horrors of war sketched without becoming all consuming. What is captivating is the inner drives and obstacles of multiple characters brought together by a jewel that strings out the novel's suspense.

The second, Into the Beautiful North by Luis Alberto Urrea, mounted page-after-page of disappointment for its tale of Mexican illegals on a "quest" to recruit men who had crossed the border to return to a Mexican village to protect it against banditos. Billed as a comedy, there was an absence of laughs and many attempts to use crude, boorish, and bathroom references to create humor.

The plot was shallow. Clichés abounded. There were stereotypical characters.

Better one read The Distance Between Us by Reyna Grande for a better factual and emotional understanding of illegal immigration along the United States southern border.

Clarity, the writing challenge.

Writing clarity is always a challenge. It's one reason authors have editors. With humility, this writer fills both roles with herculean effort to keep them separate.

This posts harvests true-to-life examples taken from works, if not yet published, then designed to be published. In each example, see if your mind hesitates while it grasps for meaning.

I'll refuse to divulge the names of the authors and their titles. This post is for educational purposes, not shaming. If you chuckle, don't tell me.

Let's go:

Number one:  "He walked haltingly into his walker and turned it off and then sunk into his chair by the window."

Response:  Can you tell exactly what he did?  If he could walk, why the need for a walker? What do we miss? Wheelchairs are motorized, walkers generally not.

Number two:   "The master bedroom was larger, with a deck overlooking the beach and had an attached bathroom."

Response:  Wouldn't it be great if the beach had an attached bathroom? Those pesky connectors like the word "and" always send the wrong signal.

Number three: "Caroline glanced around then bent low and whispered a warning."

Response:  Punctuation can help with clarity. Wouldn't it be a faster read if the sentence said: "Caroline glanced around, bent low, and whispered a warning." Generic words always pose a problem. "Around" is one such example. What if, Caroline glanced left and right before she bent low. If she did go in a circle, the word "twirled" adds more clarity than "around."

Number four:  "Though, if I had to shoot through my purse today, I'd be madder than a hornet." She wrinkled her nose and untucked it from the pit of her arm. "It's new."

Response:  Plastic surgery, anyone? Yes, it's a difficult day when one has to untuck their nose from their armpit.  The purse would be easier.

Number five:  "Well what's wrong then?" Jackson asked, then before she had time to answer ran another question to her on its heels. "You haven't been spotted...?"

Response:  As with the previous example, body parts can be cumbersome to reference. Why not identify the other speaker with greater specificity than a pronoun? Place a period after asked. Insert "Judy's mouth gaped without a word spoken. 'You haven't been spotted...'"

Undoubtedly there's more examples in the world of writing. I'm returning to my efforts to craft words imbued with clarity so strong no reader misunderstands or has to detour into a foggy mist of vagary. My fingers are crossed for both you and me.

Donan Berg's latest literary effort is Alexa's Gold, a romance mystery with extra thrills. Click this link for to obtain a free sample of Alexa's Gold e-book , multiple e-readers supported. The trade paperback arrives at major retailers April 25, 2017.

Author Berg's 2016 First Place Gold Award romance, One Paper Heart, remains available at www.smashwords.com/books/view/553245, libraries, and major book retailers.

Alexa's Gold Arrives April 11, 2017

Author Donan Berg, 2016 Feathered Quill Romance Gold Award winner, releases his latest romance thriller on April 11, 2017.

The new novel is entitled:

Alexa’s Gold

Mystery, Romance, Thrills

 Fall in love with Alexa’s grit. She has it all: pluck, courage, stamina, and the endless farmyard gravel she waits to inherit from her Grandma. Yes, Grandpa’s buried gold coins are hers, if? Multiple BIG IFs. If she sleuths Grandma’s recipe clue. If she outwits those who would steal it. If Grandma’s lawyer fights off her mother’s will challenge.

 As a Chicago probation officer, Alexa witnesses crime firsthand. Her goal is simple: she doesn’t wish to be the lightning rod that attracts harm to her two-year-old son Samuel.

 America’s Heartland poses her biggest risk. Who does she trust? Is she safe? Will romantic love find her? And blossom?

Alexa’s Gold spins an elaborate web of unsuspected twists and turns sprung with gusto.

About the Author

Donan Berg intrigues readers with characters who battle everyday concerns to become truly heroic. He writes an addictive antidote prescription to the blues. His life’s journey has been as a journalist, corporate executive, and lawyer living in America’s heartland with roots in his native Ireland. In 2016 he won the Feathered Quill First Place Gold Award for Romance.

E-book, multiple formats, April 11, 2017 at  www.smashwords.com/books/view/713346
or at major book retailers.

Explore New Writing

Merry Christmas

Wishing all, individually and collectively, the merriest 2016 Christmas ever.

I filled a lull to engage in reading aspiring novel writers outside the stream of those for whom I get paid to do freelance editing.

The novel picked up today, women's fiction, stopped me cold in the first few pages.

This book and writer, who shall remain anonymous, hit me with the following two sentences:

1.  "Anne spent the next year was in a blur of creative frenzy."

Obviously the word "was" should be deleted as one simple grammar cure.

Even then the narrative presentation smacks of dullness. I think I know what is meant. You may get a greater understanding if I reveal Anne is a portrait painter.

Would you say "blur" is the right word? Blur can be defined as "obscure," "haze,"

"stain," "cloud," and "dim."

Rather than "spent" would you be more impressed if Anne "unleashed" a frenzy of creative talent?

2.  "Inside the warmth and happy mood lighting welcomed them, and they ...."

Are you dangling with me? If you read further, the scene starts as two people walk into and begin a conversation in a bar. You might rearrange the words to state: "Warm lighting and a happy mood welcomed ___ and ___ ." That may not be true. It could be "____ and ____, in a happy mood, were welcomed by the bar's warmth." "Happy mood" could be expanded to tilt one's understanding in another direction: "Joyous voices, interrupted by song and laughter, greeted _____ and _____."

No matter what you decide, isn't the fact that you had to delay your reading to grasp an understanding of what the words were crafted to mean annoying?

Still, it's no reason to avoid new writers. Pick up one of their books or download a digital copy. The hunt for hidden treasure is always exciting.

Again, Merry Christmas.