No Paragon

Sooner or later any writer on the web (especially on Linked In) will run into mega-spammer Paradon Books (a revolution in publishing they will tell you) or Indie Writers Support. They exist, they say, only to help you get to be a star. But there are a few problems… like they don’t seem to actually exist.

This innovative publisher—though it’s hard to pin down what is so revolutionary about them, or what they actually publish–lists a PO box in Great Falls Montana, and sometimes a street address there: 804 47th Street S, Great Falls MT. And a photo of their huge glass building with their name on the front. But Google Street reveals that address to be a small residential building, and the big glass skyscraper doesn’t exist. At least not in Montana. The post office box is unconfirmed and their phone number is an 866 non-geographical toll-free. Which does not answer, or even ring (sometimes it returns a “fax screech”.) All email addresses for the company and people associated with it are hotmail or gmail, none use their own “names” in the addresses. If you Google them up, you run into a chorus of deep suspicions, including mentions on “419” sites that have reason to suspect them as originating from that area code—Nigeria—which is richly associated with email spamming and scamming. Continue reading “No Paragon”

Book Promotion 101 – 7 Critical Marketing Principles for Authors

Guest post
by Donna Fasano

Promotion, especially for new Indie Authors, can look like a harrowing hike up Mount Kilimanjaro—fraught with slippery slopes, hair-raising heights, and dangerous cliffs. But it doesn’t have to be, not if you take it one step at a time. So let’s tighten our bootstraps and take a little hike. Continue reading “Book Promotion 101 – 7 Critical Marketing Principles for Authors”

2013 Update – LinkedIn Profile Tip – Links

LinkedIn is a happening place. Rosanne Dingli explained why authors and businesspeople should be on LinkedIn. You can read her article here. Once you’re on LinkedIn, there are a couple of things you can do to get better exposure. The method many people agree has the most impact is the “links” section.

To add (or spiffy up) your links, go to the profile section of your account. This will take you to the “edit” screen. In the image to the left, you can see at the very bottom right there is a tiny gray rolodex card next to the words “Edit Contact Info.” This is where LinkedIn allows you to supply a maximum of three external links. Many people just put in their http address and leave it at that. But LinkedIn allows you to do something even better – actually describe where the link goes – so there isn’t a bunch of ugly html sitting on your profile. Also, I like the fact that this gives people a clue what they’re clicking. Continue reading “2013 Update – LinkedIn Profile Tip – Links”

Featured Book: The Bank of the River

The Bank of the River
by Michael Richan
Available exclusively from Amazon.

Steven is anticipating a quiet sabbatical at a new home. Instead, knockings and grisly apparitions begin to haunt him, relentlessly tormenting him at night. With a recent divorce and a son in college, he is left alone to deal with the ghosts lurking in the shadows of his house.

Steven is determined to find a rational explanation. His father Roy offers to help, and soon Steven discovers Roy has dormant supernatural skills. Steven’s natural skepticism clashes with Roy’s “gift,” but soon Steven finds himself assisting Roy as he battles the forces inside his home. Together they unearth something much more sinister and evil than either expected.

The Bank of the River is a fast-paced and thrilling horror novel that explores supernatural gifts, a father’s rediscovery of those gifts, and a son’s destiny to accept them.