Day: February 28, 2012

34th Nimrod Literary Awards

NimrodThe 34th Nimrod Literary Awards is now accepting submissions for the Katherine Anne Porter Prize for Fiction & the Pablo Neruda Prize for Poetry.

The prize for first place is $2,000 and publication; the prize for second place is $1,000 and publication.

Postmark Deadline: April 30, 2012. Entry/Subscription Fee: $20 includes both entry fee & a one-year subscription (two issues).

For more information, please visit their website.

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Indies Unlimited is pleased to provide this contest information for the convenience of our readers.  We do not, however, endorse this or any contest/competition.  Entrants should always research a competition prior to entering.

 

 

Inside the Mind of a Killer: Researching your Antagonist

Author DV Berkom

So there I was, minding my own business writing one of those truly twisted novels that grabs hold of you and has to come out when I came to the killer’s debut. I’d never attempted to write a character quite so creepy and wasn’t relishing that first passage. In fact, I continually wrote around him, putting off the scene until I felt I could do justice to him instead of creating a killer cliché. Yes, I could have abandoned the effort and gone on to something else, but a disturbing dream I’d had several months prior provided the inspiration for the story and I felt compelled to follow it through.

How do you write a fresh psychopath? Readers today have been clubbed over the head with serial killers (pardon the pun) to the point that it’s become a joke in many literary agencies and publishing houses. The only way I could think to do it was to go to my default: research. Continue reading “Inside the Mind of a Killer: Researching your Antagonist”

Write!

Forget everything you know. Tear down the gilt statues. Destroy your inked idols. Paint your words across the sky in bright vermillion. Whisper them on butterfly wings. Dance the dance of your forefathers, wrapped in silken words. Create for them a beautiful implosion. They are as blossoms falling. They are like wondrous corpses. Let the colors swirl and shift.

Continue reading “Write!”

Advertising Now Available on Indies Unlimited

From the time I started Indies Unlimited, people have asked me about advertising on the site. I wanted to be sure the site would be capable of generating sufficient page views to provide good exposure to any advertising effort before I offered any such packages.

Averaging the page views from just the last two months puts the blog on pace for over a quarter million page views a year, and the page views are trending consistently upward. February saw more page views than January despite having fewer days. In fact, page views have increased each month of operation since the inception of Indies Unlimited.

We will continue to offer a wide array of free features to help promote indie authors and books, including interviews, guest posts, sneak-peeks, and video trailers. If you feel your book is worth a small advertising investment (on a site attracting a lot of attention) please check the information on the “Advertise” tab. With three different packages, we may have something just right for you!