Month: October 2013

Flash Fiction Voting

Who will be the next Flash Fiction Star? It’s time for IU readers to choose.

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 gets your vote for flash fiction star of the week?

  • Jacqueline Hopkins (34%, 27 Votes)
  • Lynne Cantwell (30%, 24 Votes)
  • Leonard Little (29%, 23 Votes)
  • Jon Jefferson (6%, 5 Votes)

Total Voters: 79

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

Going on a Witch Hunt

A friend called my attention to this post at a site called Amazon Alert: Your Guide to Unethical Authors. I read the article which largely focuses on a specific author who they allege to have purchased a large number of ‘fake’ reviews. The post ends with a list of authors who they claim have each purchased in excess of 500 fake reviews using the site fiverr.com. As I scanned the list I saw a bunch of names that meant nothing to me (I’m constantly amazed at how many indie authors are out there) along with a few I did know, a couple that should be recognizable to most of you.

But none of this is surprising or new. In the first (and thus far biggest) scandal over “fake reviews” a little over a year ago, the Fiverr site was one that got mentioned time and again as one source for getting these reviews. And there is no doubt in my mind that authors are using this site to get paid reviews. I was able to easily find authors who had done so and identify accounts on Amazon that were being used to post the reviews. Continue reading “Going on a Witch Hunt”

Book Blogger Spotlight: Me, Bookshelf and I

Meet Melissa (A.K.A., Miss Melvis). She’s the force behind the book blog, Me, Bookshelf and I.

“I’ve been a book lover for as long as I can remember and developed a love for all things chick lit in my late teens,” she says. “My friend suggested blogging at the beginning of 2013. We set up a joint venture for a short while but we were heading in different directions with our writing/subject matter, so I decided to set up Me, Bookshelf and I. I love reviewing books and I love writing, my blog is the perfect place for me to do both.”

Melissa has also just started writing her own debut novel, but says, “Between working full time, blogging, reading and everything else, I imagine it will be a long while before it hits the shelves.” Continue reading “Book Blogger Spotlight: Me, Bookshelf and I”

Top Ten Things an Author Should (or Shouldn’t) Do

Come, my friend, sit with me. Let me share the knowledge that the elders so freely gave to me when it was my turn to sit in that chair.

Let us hold our candles aloft and together we’ll part the darkness and find some wisdom amongst this lunacy. We’ll ignore the far off chatter from Goodreads, and we’ll disregard the smoke from the fires burning in the warring camps of Facebook groups.

I’ll unroll the parchment and together we’ll study these teachings and learn what we should and shouldn’t be doing. Continue reading “Top Ten Things an Author Should (or Shouldn’t) Do”