Month: August 2013

Book Brief: Love’s True Second Chance

Love’s True Second Chance
by Jeff Dawson
Genre: Memoir
Word count: 50,000

Join Debbie and me for the love of a lifetime. From the halls of high school, to the joys of her accepting my class ring. Journey farther through a terrible break-up and the chance encounters in college where the wounds from the past still haven’t healed.

And finally, after thirty years, a reunification that will embark on the most intense love affair I could have ever imagined and the lessons in life, I had all but forgotten.

In the end, is “true love” worth a Second Chance even if it means a tragic end? The answer is an emphatic YES!

This book is available from Amazon and Smashwords.

Continue reading “Book Brief: Love’s True Second Chance”

Flash Fiction Challenge: Shape of an Ape

Photo by K.S. Brooks

Shape-shifting can be a tricky business. It doesn’t always go as quickly or as smoothly as I’d like.

It’s a tremendous help that humans share about 95 % of our DNA with other animals. That gives the elixir a jump start.

Whatever it is you change into though, it is very important to remember you have to get back to the lab to take the antidote, or you get stuck in your new form.

It’s also important not to get captured by zookeepers. I seem to be in a spot of trouble…

In 250 words or less, tell us a story incorporating the elements in the picture. The 250 word limit will be strictly enforced.

Please keep language and subject matter to a PG-13 level.

Use the comment section below to submit your entry. Entries will be accepted until Tuesday at 5:00 PM Pacific Time. Continue reading “Flash Fiction Challenge: Shape of an Ape”

This Week’s Flash Fiction Star: Sherry Molteni

Sherry Molteni is the readers’ choice in this week’s Indies Unlimited Flash Fiction Challenge.

The winning entry is recognized with a special feature here today and a place in our collection of winners which will be published as an e-book at year end.

Without further ado, here’s the winning story:

Continue reading “This Week’s Flash Fiction Star: Sherry Molteni”

What’s Under That Rock?

We’re not quite sure how we missed it back in March (although it might have been that one night when Rich Meyer spiked the gruel). But it came to our attention this week that Lulu, the print-on-demand company that many indies use instead of CreateSpace for their hard-copy books, began offering bundles of book publishing and marketing services a few months ago. Ranging in price from $999 to $3,199, the packages include such services as a custom cover, interior layout and design, e-book formatting, and an ISBN. At the $1,999 level, your book receives an “editorial review” and a “cover copy polish.” At the $2,999 level, you also get a website.

I bet you hadn’t noticed yet that you can get all this stuff on your own for significantly less – and in many cases, for free. So it probably won’t surprise you to learn that Lulu has contracted out these services to our old friend Author Solutions.

You remember Author Solutions, right? The vanity publisher that’s now calling itself “the world leader in indie book publishing”? The company that Random Penguin bought last year?

Why is it that every time you kick over a rock in the indie publishing world these days, Author Solutions comes crawling out from under it? Continue reading “What’s Under That Rock?”