Celebrate: Happy Halloween & Freebies

Today I'm celebrating:

1) A great book!  Although I love horror, I'm not much into zombie books.  However, for Halloween I was given Monster Nation by David Wellington -- and I love it!  It's got some very original ideas and the author displays his MFA in Creative Writing with excellent prose but no literary pretentiousness.  Note: His novels were originally serialized on his blog and got so much attention a publisher approached him with a deal. Sweet!
2) I may be slowing down a bit and heading in a different direction with my writing - but I'm happier for it and less stressed. :)
3) Happy Halloween!! I hope everyone has a safe, fun, and fabulous time!

What are you doing on Halloween?

Foxy's Friday Freebies!

Foxy has been nosing around the net. 
When she finds great FREE STUFF, she'll feature it on Fridays Freebies posts -

• Free short stories, novellas, and novels
• Giveaways for books and swag
• Free services for authors

Here are Foxy's suggestions for October 31, 2014:

Creepy Freebies Hop – Win up to 13 books by following the links on the Milo James Fowler's blog. (ACT FAST - ends Nov 1st)

Free Audio Short Story – a horror story “Jack and the Bad Man” by award-winning poet Annie Neugebauer is on Pseudopod. (At the bottom of the post is the MP3 Audio file  - enjoy!)

$10 Amazon Gift Card, 2 Print Books, 8 eBooks are on the rafflecopter on Crystal Collier’s blog. (ends Nov 7)

Free Dark Fantasy Novel - Moonless by Crystal Collier will be FREE on these two dates -- 10/31 and 11/7 -- on Amazon.

Giveaway of Horror Novel – 5 copies of WITHER, a post-apocalyptic novel by Amy Miles, are being given away via rafflecopter on My Book Addiction. (ends Nov 8)


For Foxy's other Freebies, go to the Freebie page.

If anyone has a FREE short story (for download or online at a free ezine), novella, novel, special giveaway, or author service, please let Foxy know so she can plug you here!  Write to: laura.6eg(at)gmail.com

This post is part of VikLit's blog hop, Celebrate the Small Things. To be part of this blog hop, all you have to do is follow the link and put your name on the Mr.Linky list, and then be sure to post every Friday about something you're grateful  for that week.  It can be about writing or family or school or general life.  This is the funnest and easiest blog hop ever! 

Celebrate: Adventure on Nemesis Mountain & Freebies

Today I'm celebrating:
1) Going out with friends for Mexican food at the Hard Rock Cafe.  Yes, there's a Hard Rock Cafe in Hurghada, Egypt. It cost me 5 times what I spend in regular Egyptian restaurants or pizzarias, but the food was excellent.  YOLO (you only live once)
2) The "I finished Ch 11!" and accompanying happy dance may have been premature.  After some feedback from CPs, I'm going back to revise...
3) Speaking of CPs, a dear friend who was in a children's writing group with me is releasing an MG novel!  Read on to find out more!

MG Action/Adventure, Coming-of-Age

Emilio would rather eat a slimy worm than miss the fifth grade field trip. Nemesis Mountain must be full of rare leaf specimens and bugs for his collection. Besides, he needs a break from the playground and Hans’s nonstop teasing. His excitement is squashed when he gets lost in the woods with his worst enemy. 

Alone in the forest, the two boys battle to survive the harsh wilderness, facing challenges that will change their lives forever.

Buy on AMAZON

About the Author:
Annie McMahon is originally from Canada but now lives in New Jersey. She has a degree in computer programming, but her life took an unexpected turn and she ended up writing stories and articles instead of computer programs. Now she uses every spare minute to write children’s novels and to help other writers succeed.

Her three children have been the inspiration behind many of her short stories, over forty in total. Her flash fiction story, Paradoxical Neighbor, has been published by Nelson Education in a book for 10th graders, Nelson Literacy 10.

Annie has a certificate in copyediting, moderates a critique group for children's writers, and is the editor at UK Children's Publishing.

Annie's Links:

Blog  |  Twitter  |  Goodreads

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Foxy's Friday Freebies!

Foxy has been nosing around the net. 
When she finds great FREE STUFF, she'll feature it on Fridays Freebies posts -

• Free short stories, novellas, and novels
• Giveaways for books and swag
• Free services for authors

Here are Foxy's suggestions for October 24, 2014:

Free Short Story - "Sixpence and Rye and a Snake in a Pie: A Fractured Nursery Rhyme" by Jeff Chapman (a friend and an excellent writer!). The short story is permanently free on Amazon. 

$10 Amazon Gift Card, 2 Print Books, 8 eBooks are on the rafflecopter on Crystal Collier’s blog. (ends Nov 7)

$20 Amazon Gift Card giveaway to celebrate the anniversary of the release of YA Fantasy WHEN STARS DIE by Amber Skye Forbes.  Got to the rafflecopter on my previous post HERE (ends Oct 31)

 
For Foxy's other Freebies, go to the Freebie page.

If anyone has a FREE short story (for download or online at a free ezine), novella, novel, special giveaway, or author service, please let Foxy know so she can plug you here!  Write to: laura.6eg(at)gmail.com

This post is part of VikLit's blog hop, Celebrate the Small Things. To be part of this blog hop, all you have to do is follow the link and put your name on the Mr.Linky list, and then be sure to post every Friday about something you're grateful  for that week.  It can be about writing or family or school or general life.  This is the funnest and easiest blog hop ever! 

When Stars Die and Amazon Giveaway

I'm always looking for fun free stuff for my followers,  and I found a giveaway for a $20 Amazon gift certificate from Amber Skye Forbes to celebrate the anniversary of her book, When Stars Die.

When Stars Die by Amber Skye Forbes
YA Fantasy
From: AEC Stellar Publishing (Oct 22, 2013)

Read the blurb on Goodreads.

Buy:   AMAZON    SMASHWORDS




a Rafflecopter giveaway

Celebrate: Book Sale and Freebies

This week I'm celebrating:

My book is on sale for 99 cents!

• The sale starts Saturday the 18th and goes until Oct 31st.  Save $5 off the regular price and get a creepy and exciting read that's perfect for Halloween!

Buy links: Amazon, Bookstrand, Smashwords, MuseItUp, Kobo, Barnes&Noble, Omnilit.

• I'm also celebrating some good TV: "The Strain." (Yeah, we get stuff late over here.)  I'm not a huge fan of vamps, but this series does a great twist on them, and the FX are excellent!

• Not to forget about work - I finished Ch 11 this week. Yay!

Anyone got a TV series they're loving this fall?

Foxy's Friday Freebies!

Foxy has been nosing around the net. 
When she finds great FREE STUFF, she'll feature it on Fridays Freebies posts -

• Free short stories, novellas, and novels
• Giveaways for books and swag
• Free services for authors

Here are Foxy's suggestions for Oct 17, 2014:

Gigantic YA Book and Swag Giveaway - there's an amazing rafflecopter giveaway on Liz Fichera's blog of about 20 books, some signed, and swag. (ends Oct 30th)

Two Book Giveaway for Halloween - Win the Collected Works of Edgar Allan Poe or The Shining by Stephen King.  All you have to do to win is comment on Annie Neugebauer’s Blog during the month of October. For every post you comment on, you get an entry in the drawing. Read the full rules HERE (ends Oct 31)

Giveaway of a $10 Amazon Gift Card, 2 Print Books, 8 eBooks. This awesome giveaway is on the Rafflecopter at Crystal Collier’s Blog. (ends Nov 7)

Free Dark Fantasy Novel - Moonless by Crystal Collier will be FREE on these three dates -- 10/20, 10/31, and 11/7 -- on Amazon

 
For Foxy's other Freebies, go to the Freebie page.

If anyone has a FREE short story (for download or online at a free ezine), novella, novel, special giveaway, or author service, please let Foxy know so she can plug you here!  Write to: laura.6eg(at)gmail.com

This post is part of VikLit's blog hop, Celebrate the Small Things. To be part of this blog hop, all you have to do is follow the link and put your name on the Mr.Linky list, and then be sure to post every Friday about something you're grateful  for that week.  It can be about writing or family or school or general life.  This is the funnest and easiest blog hop ever! 

Celebrate: Autumn & Freebies

Celebrating the colors of fall!  

It's the glorious month of October!  The temperature's cool, school has settled down for teachers and students alike, and Nature's wearing her prettiest reds and golds.

I love autumn! The cooler weather gives me more energy than I've had all summer.  I feel like I can even think more clearly.  My projects are progressing faster now, and my CPs have caught the fall spirit and are writing faster too!

Do you feel an energy boost in fall?

Foxy's Friday Freebies!

Foxy has been nosing around the net. 
When she finds great FREE STUFF, she'll feature it on Fridays Freebies posts -

• Free short stories, novellas, and novels
• Giveaways for books and swag
• Free services for authors

Here are Foxy's suggestions for Oct 10, 2014:

Two Giveaways: 1 signed copy of HOT FLASHES AND COLD LEMONADE by Susan Swiderski and 1 copy of OLD BROADS WAXING POETIC, at Carol Kilgore’s Contest Page. (until Oct 31)  

Editing Giveaways of 2 queries, 1 long and 1 short synopsis by Wild Things Editorial Services. Read the rules and enter the rafflecopter on Kim Graff’s Blog (Move fast! Ends midnight Sunday Oct 12)

Free Novella "Edward, Con Extraordinaire" by Inge H. Borg about Edward, a roguish con-man, is free on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and Smashwords.

Two Free eBooks from zombie novel author extraordinaire, Rhiannon Frater. Read the excellent guest post and enter the rafflecopter giveaway on My Book Addiction. (Ends Oct 23)


For Foxy's other Freebies, go to the Freebie page.

If anyone has a FREE short story (for download or online at a free ezine), novella, novel, special giveaway, or author service, please let Foxy know so she can plug you here!  Write to: laura.6eg(at)gmail.com

This post is part of VikLit's blog hop, Celebrate the Small Things. To be part of this blog hop, all you have to do is follow the link and put your name on the Mr.Linky list, and then be sure to post every Friday about something you're grateful  for that week.  It can be about writing or family or school or general life.  This is the funnest and easiest blog hop ever! 

IWSG: How Far Would You Go?

So, after a long hard struggle to write, revise and get yourself published, you find your book isn't selling as well as you expected or it has received some bad--even mean--reviews.  Yes, you probably look like the girl in the picture above.  

How far would you go to improve your rates/reviews? 

Here are things I've seen people do:

• Go on forums or FB to say you've been horribly attacked and begging everyone on there to QUICK! go and write 5-star reviews for your book.
• Upload "different editions" of your book onto Goodreads and rate them all 5-stars yourself, and then use their "Combine Editions" function so that all your 5-star rates appear on the new-and-only listing for the book.
• Hire a company that promises you 10-20 "favorable" reviews for your book. 
• Have your friends/family open different email addresses to create pseudonym accounts so everyone can rate your book 5-stars from several different accounts.

A book that isn't selling or receives insulting reviews can be very depressing, but no one ever said publishing was fun.  Like any art, it's viewed subjectively and while some will love what you do, others will hate it.  

I'm not judging those who engage in the activities I've noted above.  I know everyone's just trying to muddle through the best they can.  But all those activities won't stop future bad sales or bad reviews.  Those things are part of the business.  You can't please all of the people all of the time. Even bestselling authors get vitriolic 1-star reviews.  

Instead of spending your time being miserable or trying to game the system, it's probably better to write that next book.  And then the next one. After all, you're a WRITER!


Do you think anything is going too far to improve rates/reviews?



This is a post for the Insecure Writer's Support Group, the brainchild of Alex J. Cavanaugh. It exists so the community of blogging writers can share and support each other, blog-hopping to cheerlead and commiserate. To find out more, visit: Insecure Writer's Support Group. Plus, check out the IWSG Website for lots of helpful info and links.