Month: August 2013

Featured Book: Lies of the Dead

Lies of the Dead
by Shauna Bickley
Available from Amazon, Smashwords, and Barnes & Noble.

How well do we know those closest to us? When Liam kills himself, his older brother Tom needs to know why suicide was the only solution.

Tom and his sister Andi search for answers but don’t know who they can believe. Are Liam’s friends and associates the people they claim to be? Tom and Andi are propelled into a world where their ideas of right and wrong don’t exist, and where people demand what neither of them possesses.

Liam’s legacy of deceit is dangerous, and when Andi and her twin daughters are threatened, Tom realises that truth may have too high a price.

Cute Pictures of Puppies and Kittens

Jeeves! Where the devil are my bath salts?

Every once in a while I see someone bemoaning the fact that nothing they do on their Facebook page gets any attention unless it’s a cute picture of a puppy or kitten.

You can put a lot of fanfare into a book announcement, post an opinion poll, ask for help with something, and all you get is the sound of chirping crickets. But post a picture of a cute little animal, and whammo – near instant virality.

I have a theory about this. It seems to me that the appeal of puppies and kittens cuts across the lines that otherwise divide people. Race, age, gender, and income level just don’t apply. You don’t have to live in a certain part of the planet, speak a certain language, do a particular thing for a living. Continue reading “Cute Pictures of Puppies and Kittens”

A Wild Ride – Book Promotion

On August 3rd, 2013, I did my first ever promotion. I was nudged to do this by the wise and benevolent bestselling author Martin Crosbie. He really is a super swell dude. I decided to try to keep the momentum going for my latest book, Mr. Pish Goes to the Farm, which was released back in June. The planning for this promo started in June, in fact. After the book was out for two weeks, I raised the price of the book from the introductory offer of 99 cents to $2.99. This way, when the promo sale price dropped back to 99 cents, people would feel like they were getting a deal, indeed!

Despite hitting the top of three different “Amazon.com Hot New Releases” lists in June, there were ZERO sales in July. ZERO! We’re talking an internationally-known traveling terrier spreading knowledge and joy! Oh, the humanity! In any case, I was glad I’d plotted with Martin back in June to set up my promo. Here’s what I did. Continue reading “A Wild Ride – Book Promotion”

Flash Fiction: Your Vote Counts

The time of choosing is at hand. Who will be the next Flash Fiction Star? We had a number of great submissions this week. Kudos to all the entrants. Check out this week’s entries here. Vote for your fave then use those share buttons at the bottom of the post to spread the word.

Remember, all our winners will be included in the next edition of the IU Flash Fiction Anthology. So, support your fellow writers and participate in this week’s voting, then spread the word, bang the drums, and share the link to let everyone know the vote is on.

Polls close tomorrow at 5 PM.

 

Who penned your favorite flash fiction entry this week?

  • A.V. Carden (36%, 29 Votes)
  • Dick Waters (25%, 20 Votes)
  • Sherry Molteni (20%, 16 Votes)
  • Lynne Cantwell (11%, 9 Votes)
  • Jon Jefferson (6%, 5 Votes)
  • AL Kaplan (2%, 2 Votes)

Total Voters: 81

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NOTE: Entrants whose submissions exceed the 250 word limit are eliminated from the poll.