Month: November 2013

Sneak Peek: Salvation

Today we have a sneak peek from Salvation, the
paranormal romance novel by Alyssa Cooper.

Alec is a troubled young man struggling to accept the brutal loss of his parents. When he meets Maya, a girl determined to change his life, he finally begins to crawl towards the light.

But Maya is not what she seems.

She is a vampire, changed by the man who has been her guardian angel, father, and lover – but who is also her greatest enemy, putting them both in mortal danger. Together, they fight for survival, each desperately seeking salvation.

This book is available from Amazon US, Amazon UK, and Barnes & Noble.

Here is a book excerpt from Salvation…

Continue reading “Sneak Peek: Salvation”

Get in Gear for the Flash Fiction Vote

Ah, I can almost hear the wheels of cogitation turning as IU readers consider the flash fiction entries from this week’s challenge. It’s time for readers to pick a winner!

Check out this week’s entries here. Vote for your favorite, then use those share buttons at the bottom of the post to spread the word.

All our winners will be included in the next edition of the IU Flash Fiction Anthology. Participate in this week’s voting, then  share the link to let everyone know the vote is on.

Polls close tomorrow at 5 PM.

 

Which entrant lights your fire?

  • mtdecker (43%, 22 Votes)
  • Kathy Steinemann (39%, 20 Votes)
  • Jon Jefferson (10%, 5 Votes)
  • Shana Garcia (6%, 3 Votes)
  • Annette Hatton (2%, 1 Votes)

Total Voters: 51

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

Snooping Around the Engine Room – Web Source Code

We looked last time at how to assess the traffic a website receives when deciding whether it’s worth your attention and/or hard-earned cash. But suppose the idea is so new that the website hasn’t been around long. Or maybe traffic isn’t vital for you; perhaps you’re happy in a niche where the right people will find you, even if that’s not very many of them. In that case it’s handy know how SEO-savvy the website you’re considering advertising with, or writing for, really is. And yes, there’s a dirty little snooping tool.

When you look at any website, you have access to its source code and here’s how to find and assess it.

To get into the code you need to right-click somewhere on the web page. Make sure you’re clicking on the body of the page and not a picture. Right-clicking on the picture will give you a completely different menu. When you click on the actual site, you’ll see these options: Continue reading “Snooping Around the Engine Room – Web Source Code”

Book Blogger Spotlight: Cath ‘n’ Kindle Book Reviews

I’m pleased to feature Cath ‘n’ Kindle Book Reviews in the Book Blogger Spotlight this week. The blog is run by Cathy Speight. Cathy is a wife, mother, and grandmother. When she’s not skiing or cycling or cooing over her grandchildren, she’s reading on her Kindle. Though she read a lot in her youth, she says life got in the way, and she didn’t really find her way back to it until she bought a Kindle. Now she describes herself as “hopelessly Kindlestruck.”

In addition to being a top-notch book reviewer, editor, and beta reader, Cathy is also one of my favorite people on the planet. I first became acquainted with her through the Facebook group Book Junkies, where she also serves as an administrator.

Cathy was one of the early reviewers of my novel Upgrade, and was a reviewer for Bad Book and Triple Dog Dare as well. In each instance, I have been amazed at the great pains she took in providing me with excellent, highly detailed, and thoughtful feedback on the writing. By going above and beyond, Cathy has helped make me a better writer (to the extent I am trainable).

As a reviewer, Cathy is in the friendly but fair part of the spectrum. She has a genuine appreciation for the talent and work that goes into creating a book and tries always to see positives as well as opportunities for improvement. Continue reading “Book Blogger Spotlight: Cath ‘n’ Kindle Book Reviews”