Day: February 21, 2013

Sneak Peek: Hell’s Gift

Today we have a sneak peek from the new novel by author K.S. Haigwood, Hell’s Gift. Depression consumes the guardian angel, Rhyan, after his human charge chooses her soulmate over him. Filled with anger and despair, he lashes out. And when his hate-filled words land him neck-deep in Hell, he realizes he’s gone too far.

HELL’S GIFT
by K.S. Haigwood
Available from Amazon.

Someone cleared their throat. It must have been to get my attention, because we don’t have the human annoyances of allergies or head colds, and I was the only other being in the recreational room.

Nevertheless, I kept my head lowered and my eyes drifted shut in hope the approaching angel would get the hint that I had no interest in idle chit-chat.

“She’s happy, Rhyan.”

My lips parted and something in between a moan and a sigh escaped on the exhale. I’d heard the same line a thousand times. Next it would be, “You should be happy for her, not moping around here like a lost puppy. It’s been a year. She’s married to her soulmate and has a child now. You need to move on. Get over her already!” Continue reading “Sneak Peek: Hell’s Gift”

Propping Up Literary Genre Fiction Sales

Guest post
by Bill Stephens

Okay, I’ll admit it. I lack what it takes to write serious literary fiction. Stephen King settled that issue for me in his book, On Writing, when he said, “You will never be a great writer unless you are born with it.” Great writers must be passionate about something, right? I’m only passionate about things I shouldn’t eat or drink.

So the arrogance of someone so lacking as myself, offering up a thesis that literary fiction doesn’t sell and inferring that cognitive critters might solve that problem, is not lost on me. But even the most calloused devotees of esoteric fiction among publishing gurus, are hard pressed to make the case that a Nobel Prize winner will outsell a good murder mystery, thriller, vampire, S&M, or diet book. Continue reading “Propping Up Literary Genre Fiction Sales”

Mathieu Gallant Announces New Release

Author Mathieu Gallant is pleased to announce the release of his new apocalyptic science fiction novel, When the Levee Breaks.

In 2026, Robert Hendricks is searching for a place to hole up. The power grid is in shambles, and things are getting desperate. After a string of bad luck, and a decision to pitch in with relief efforts at the Saint John Regional Hospital, he comes face-to-face with his destiny, 153 years in the future. The story is only half told, and the worst is yet to come. What terrible memories still await the reclusive cab driver from Atlantic Canada?

When the Levee Breaks was released on December 31, 2012 by World Castle Publishing and is available from Amazon.com and Amazon UK.

Social Media and the Author

Is social media marketing simply a distraction from other, more productive activities, or does it work to move books?

You may have wondered this from time-to-time. There seems to be little correlation between your number of Twitter followers and your sales figures.

Most authors are not good marketers. We seem to either over-enthuse about our books, to the point we drive people away, or we are so meek we barely mention ever having written a book. We think to ourselves, isn’t that the kind of thing my 2,500 fans ought to know? Continue reading “Social Media and the Author”