Month: October 2014

My Best-Ever Author Weekend

Lynne Cantwell medium shotI don’t mean to brag, but I had 850 people show up at my first book signing.

Okay, they might have been there to see Gene Wolfe, or Stephen R. Donaldson, or Elizabeth Bear, or Peter Straub, or Patricia McKillip, or…well, you get the idea. But I was there, too!

“There” was the 2010 World Fantasy Convention, in Columbus, Ohio. This annual convention travels to various venues around the world – last year’s was in Brighton, England – and is geared toward speculative fiction in general and fantasy in particular. Membership is capped at 850, and many of the attendees are authors, agents, and editors.

I went with friends, and we all went because Donaldson was going to be there. But one of the questions on the sign-up form was, “Are you an author?” I’d just had my first novel published by a small press, so I checked “yes” and put in the Calderwood Books website since I didn’t have one of my own yet. Not only did they believe me, but they put me on a panel. And they let me sign books with the big guys on Friday night. Continue reading “My Best-Ever Author Weekend”

Thrifty Thursday: Such a Deal!

used car ebooksThat’s right, Bernie has got a great deal for you! And if you download before midnight tonight, well… You know the rest. We’ve got free ebooks and 99 cent deals just for you. So pull up a chair and check out this week’s Thrifty Thursday.

Readers: look in the comment section below. If you see one you like, click over and buy it. How easy is that? (If you don’t see the book covers, adjust your browser’s adblock settings.)

Authors: if you have a book priced at 99¢ or less (that’s right, post your free eBooks here, too!), follow the instructions below and post it right in the comment section. Got more than one bargain book? Go ahead and post them all if you like, but only one book and ONE link per comment please!

We will convert your link to a clickable book cover. Do not attempt to insert an image in comments on your own. Just put the following information in the comment section:

1. Book title
2. Author name
3. A one sentence tweetable blurb (around 140 characters.)
4. ONE link to download the book (only secure retail sites – Amazon, Smashwords, B&N, Kobo, Apple/iStore, or Sony)
5. Whether your book is free or 99 cents (and for how long/what dates)

Then let your friends and fans know your book is available here today. Use the share buttons below, or copy the link in the address bar above and share the news on your favorite social media platforms. The more, the merrier, right?

So let’s give it a try, shall we? Please make sure to follow the RULES above. Now, go ahead and tell the world about your cheap read. IU is a safe-for-work site. PLEASE do not post links to erotica, religious, or political titles.

(Post your FREE eBooks here, too!)

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Which Castaway Story Gets Your Vote?

Vote5It’s time again to vote for the story which should win the honor of Flash Fiction Champion this week. It’s super easy – choose your favorite and cast your vote below.

Remember, the winning entries will all be included in the next edition of the IU Flash Fiction Anthology.

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

Voting polls close Thursday at 5 PM Pacific time.

Which Flash Fiction Entry Gets Your Vote?

  • Leland Dirks (35%, 22 Votes)
  • Joan Childs (33%, 21 Votes)
  • Bjoern Gabler (6%, 4 Votes)
  • David Borrowdale (6%, 4 Votes)
  • AL Kaplan (5%, 3 Votes)
  • Dick C. Waters (3%, 2 Votes)
  • Michael T Heath (3%, 2 Votes)
  • N E Chenier (3%, 2 Votes)
  • Ian Ker (2%, 1 Votes)
  • Kathryn El-Assal (2%, 1 Votes)
  • Timothy Wan (2%, 1 Votes)
  • Nancy DeCilio Gauthier (0%, 0 Votes)

Total Voters: 63

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NOTE: Entrants whose submissions exceed the 250 word limit are eliminated from the poll. ONE VOTE PER PERSON, please. Duplicate votes will be deleted. The results displayed above are unofficial until verified by administration.

Book Brief: Hoodoo Money

Hoodoo MoneyHoodoo Money (The Stolen Nickel Series Book 1)
by Sharon Cupp Pennington
Genre: romantic suspense
89,000 words

After her almost-wedding to a bigamist, successful children’s author Braeden McKay has given up on love. She’s content to live vicariously through her imaginary heroine, Platypus Pearl, and a gaggle of adventurous, web-footed cohorts – until a working vacation in New Orleans shakes up her quiet, structured world. Had she known that souvenir nickel stolen from the grave of a hoodoo woman would catapult her into a nightmare of betrayal and murder, she would have insisted her friend put it back. Cursed nickel or unfortunate happenstance? Sanderson Montgomery isn’t one to discount the supernatural beliefs of others. This is the Big Easy, after all, Mecca to the spiritual and the superstitious. As a veteran detective, neither does he ignore cold, hard fact. And the fact is, someone or something is bent on harming Braeden McKay, and it’s up to him to protect her while keeping his heart out of the mix. Can love, the very thing Braeden wants no part of, be the one force greater than any adversary – even a hoodoo curse?

Hoodoo Money is available at Amazon US, Amazon UK, and Barnes & Noble. Continue reading “Book Brief: Hoodoo Money”