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Showing posts from June, 2013

SBD and Promo

Let's get this done now: an early SBD... thumbs up for a Spark of Death by Bernadette Pajer. The book has a nice portrait of turn-of-the-20th-century Seattle and I like spending time with the hero, Professor Bradshaw. He's ever so slightly persnicketty and fastidious but, it turns out, for good reason. Golly, he's a sweet guy. The only part I didn't love was the romancey bits, which is kind of funny, since, you know. Romance writer. I even enjoyed the electrical engineering bits though I most resemble the clodhopping cop who can't follow the lectures. As soon as I hit send on this blog entry, I'm on the hunt for the next in the series. No wait, I can't. I have a Billy Boyle book that's about to expire. Eek.  Next up on the agenda.... I have some presents for you . This is the promo part, but really, don't roll your eyes. I'm talking GIFTS! and the strings are very lightly attached, practically invisible. What do I have? AUDIOBOOKS at

new story time...need ideas?

Here, get a fish fish bowl, put a bunch of ideas in it. Pull them out for a story. Or, if you don't want to bother with pieces of paper, use the internet. Some sites shown with the results from a push of a generator button.  http://shortstoryideas.herb.me.uk/random.htm Umbrella, vanity, run. http://www.seventhsanctum.com/generate.php?Genname=storygen This is a slice-of-life tale. The story is about a policeman who must work with a quiet clerk. It takes place in a galaxy-spanning imperium. Archaeology versus respecting native cultures plays a major role in this story.   http://writers-den.pantomimepony.co.uk/writers-plot-ideas.php   An unprofessional feminist and a prospector get together - after they witness a murder - to regain their reputation. Events are straightened out by a new witness . that site has some fun things like "plot twist"  The cleaner ruins the brother.   http://rangen.co.uk/writing/plotgen.php   gives us some action ad

woe is scrivener

I've come to a point in a book that makes me realize that no matter how much I enjoy spending time with these characters, there's no actual story in this story. The internal conflict is low grade; the external confusing. So I figure I'd load everyone onto a bus and take them out for a drive. The bus, in this case, is one of those Miraculous Organizing Writing Programs. And so far, I've lost touch with the characters and I feel old and completely separated from anything resembling a spark of imagination. Also I can't figure out how to switch between windows without a lot of cursing and thumping. To make matters worse for myself--because that's what I'm here for--I took a break and wandered around the internet looking at reviews of my stuff (and there aren't many and no one likes my books and why do I bother? This tastes so bad and the portions are too small.) So yeah, pretty much business as usual. Here, let me step out of the self-pity closet and

The Tail of the Dog, the fundraising story

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You can read the book free here my blog or at goodreads (or eventually at the new m/m romance website ) But if you want to give money to a worthy cause (and I don't just mean to pay off  my kid who did the cover for me)   You can buy a copy at Amazon OR You can buy a copy at Barnes and Noble.  for less than a dollar!  Once I've paid the kid and Amazon has taken its chunk, all of the profits from sales for the next half year will go to a rescue I've seen in action. If you're one of my facebook friends, you've probably noticed the pictures I occasionally post: adoption pleas for pups who're about to be euthanized ** Nearly every time the dogs are listed, we get to type "ADOPTED!" on those links, and it's often thanks to these guys, showing up at the zero hour for the City of Hartford animal shelter. From their webpage: Ruff Start Happy Tails is dedicated to the rescue and placement of homeless animals, many of whom are rescue

The short free m/m

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This story is posted over at the goodreads group (you can only read it there if you're a member) and eventually I'll put it up at Amazon, with the profits going to an animal rescue organization. In the meantime, here it is on my blog!! STORY LETTER: Dear Author, This is me, the adorable one in the picture, yes the one on the left. You won't believe what I had to go through with the two cuties next to me! And what will lie ahead of us? Please help telling our story! Thank You! Anke Word Count: 10,583 Warning: This is cute and contains no sex. THE TAIL OF A DOG by Summer Devon Copyright © 2013 Summer Devon I’m not saying that I hated people, but I came within a whisker of loathing each and every one of them. After I got dumped, I learned fear. When I saw one of those two-legger assless creatures, I’d take off running. I’d ended up in a place that stank of any number of creatures’ misery. I’m an upbeat sort of a dog, so when I think of tha

what do we have to offer our listeners today?

I have a short thing coming out this week and then a full book out in July and a couple of audiobooks any day now and . .  when I think of all these things with my name on them I think PROMO-OH-NO. I've read several books' worth of articles and listened to hours of talks and the only thing they all seem to agree about is promo, yeah, got to do it. Get it done, they say, and I agree (the difference between us is they provide happy, heartening cheers, plus a lot of spreadsheets and handouts). So consider this an advance warning about the tweets, the facebook pushes, the google plus buzzing, the articles here and elsewhere. I wish I could do a NPR thing -- if I manage to sell 10K copies of a book, I promise to shorten my promo period. Give me your money now AND you get this book AND maybe this coffee mug** AND we all get me to shut up. So I can be bribed. Anyone want 10K copies of an ebook? Sorry, I can't do anything about the other 900,000,000 authors with books/recordi

A free ebook!

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For the next 24 hours or so, you can get this Kate Rothwell title free.   4.5 stars! from RT Magazine This is a sweet, funny and emotional tale. This modern take on Daddy-Long-Legs, by Jean Webster, has wonderful, fully developed characters... This incredible story will appeal to adult as well as young readers. -- Romantic Times Thank You, Mrs. M. is a wonderful read...This is a poignant and enjoyable read. -- Night Owl Reviews This is not just Daddy Long Legs gender-reversed and updated for shock value, but a thoughtful and really interesting re-imagining of how the story might play out in today's world. There are light homages to the original, which add a bit of extra glow to the romance if you're a fan, but what really made the story for me were the differences. It turns out the unknown philanthropist, here dubbed by our narrator Ben as "Mrs. Moneybags," has private, very unexpected motivations for helping orphaned Ben through college. And it was