Author: Stephen Hise

Stephen Hise is the Evil Mastermind and founder of Indies Unlimited. Hise is an independent author and an avid supporter of the indie author movement. Learn more about Stephen at his website or his Amazon author page.

A Reviewing System for Men

You’ve probably seen studies that show female readers outnumber male readers by a fairly wide margin. I don’t know what the margin is – you think I sit around reading studies all day?

Of course men do read. I don’t know what the scope or methodologies of the studies were, or whether they encompassed such reading materials as appliance instruction manuals and periodicals (ahem). Even so, that doesn’t mean men couldn’t make a better showing.

It seems obvious that part of the problem is the current rating system. I don’t know if you’ve ever looked closely at the current and most widely-used rating system for books, but it breaks down something like this: Continue reading “A Reviewing System for Men”

NaNo or NoWay?

November means National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo or NaNo). You will notice a sharp decline in posted pictures of kittens and puppies, and see an increase of posts that say nothing more than “1400 words today! Woot!”

This is because a lot of writers are concentrating all their energy into this annual effort to crank out a 50,000 word novel in 30 days.

I am not and have not been a participant in NaNo, but there are authors on staff here who are regular participants. There are others who do not see the point, or even think NaNo is actually a blight on humanity. NaNo seems to be one of those love it or hate it things. Continue reading “NaNo or NoWay?”

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”

Gift Baskets for the Holidays!

Advertisement

Whether you know someone who’s involved in a secretive paramilitary organization or someone who’s got a really bad rabbit problem, the Grenade-O-Gram Gift Basket is the perfect choice for bringing holiday cheer, birthday greetings, or just to say, “I care.”

Who among us has not fantasized about pulling the pin and lobbing a live one just like Rambo? Maybe your neighborhood is infested with zombies, vampires or worse.

Our gift baskets work for all occasions. You can choose from teargas, flash-bang, high-energy explosives, thermal and fragmentation grenades, OR you can mix and match!

Why not order our special twelve-pack ARMY OF ONE assortment and cover all the bases?

We deliver right to your door. Call 1-800-GRENADES today!