People in unfamiliar circumstance almost always go with what they know and what they're familiar with. Take the plot of KING KONG, for example. A bunch of guys find themselves unexpectedly exploring a dangerous, uncharted, and mysterious island, and find to their amazement, honest-to-gawd dinosaurs and a big monkey. So what did they bring back to civilization? The monkey! Everyone's seen a big monkey. Nobody has ever seen a dinosaur. So what did they do? They went with what they were familiar. Look, I don't argue that it makes sense or is reasonable. I only argue that people go with what they know even if it's a big monkey. There's big monkey in this story and what follows is pretty much what I know.

Forecast Today: Mostly Deadly will be released at the end of January

while the author remains the same, this book could not be more different! Set across the Atlantic from Dasvidaniya, we find ourselves back on familiar American soil surrounded by a host of superbly drawn characters and gripping action!

After that last line is written and you sit back with a satisfied smile, the frantic need to get your novel out there sets in.

If you cannot afford, or simply choose not to use a professional copy-editor, it is imperative that you edit your book line by line, checking for misspelling, grammatical errors, plot holes, and making sure you've tied up all the loose ends.

Nothing kills a story like plowing through typos or missing words and the last thing you want is for someone to leave a review stating it would have been a great novel if it weren't for all the mistakes...

Whether we like it or not, people do tend to judge a book by its cover, so it is incredibly important to have a fabulous, eye-catching one.

Selecting the right font, font color, and placement of title and author name is also important. You don't want anyone skimming past your novel because the title was whitewashed by a colorful cover.

There are plenty of websites that you can use to find cover inspiration from other books in your genre, and if you're not graphically talented, it might be worth considering hiring a freelancer to help you out.

Once you've captured a potential reader's attention with a great cover, the next step is to reel them in with an exciting blurb.

No matter how good your novel is, a boring blurb could dissuade them from choosing your book.

It's difficult to hone it down to a few paragraphs after spending months or years creating a story that took you thousands of words to convey, so don't be afraid to ask a friend or fellow writer to help you out.

For inspiration why not read some of the blurbs from books that have hooked you in?

This month we're going to be giving away copies of Sarah Szabo's In Case of Emergency Please Notify: Jet Hunter. In order to be in with a chance of winning this month's prize, all you need to do is answer this question:

Where is 'Forecast Today: Mostly Deadly' set?

Clue: read the description in this newsletter!