Vampires and Robots

It's December 31st. New Year's Eve. A time when I typically stay hunkered down at home with a beer and a book because I'm old and people don't take the dangerous reality of drunk driving as seriously as they should. Occasionally, I'll look back at the past year, reflect on this or that, and look ahead at what's to come. I say occasionally because honestly, without looking back at this blog, I can't even remember if I did that last year. But I will say a few words today on 2016. Admittedly, there was a lot of rough things happening in 2016. Our global landscape is changing, both physically and politically, and not for the better. A lot of beloved celebrities died, some too soon and others because, well, none of us are immortal. But I can't get behind this negativity surrounding the year itself. 2016 is a numeric designation used for chronicling events both good and bad. The number cannot be blamed for all the bad that has happened. Likewise, we are no...

Hi folks. You may recall that last year in December, I stopped advertising my books and instead used my social media accounts to promote charitable organizations and positivity. Well, in the wake of recent events and because I'm already being bombarded by tasteless holiday car ads, I've decided to once again do the same and I've decided to start today. I am taking down my pinned tweet for my book and putting up a message of peace. I will do the same for Vlad. Facebook currently has a black box as both my profile picture and header. I do not need to explain why, but once I decide to change it, I will upload something pleasant and not anything business related. To those who think this is actually a stunt to get you to feel bad and buy my books, I assure you, life doesn't work like that. Last December was my lowest royalty month since 2013 when I didn't have a single completed series. I will continue to post freebie books periodically, but I'll not be doing any a...

It's that time again!  I know! I can hardly believe it myself! SupportIndieAuthors is once again having a spooky Halloween party and this one is even bigger and better than last year.  We have four days of FREE books! Four days of 99¢ discounted books! And four days of box sets for $2.99 or less! The event begins on Friday, October 28th and runs through Monday, October 31st (that's Halloween!!!) So while you wait, come check out the participants and maybe follow them on social media! See you there!

As I've discussed in previous posts, I have a little issue I like to call summer brain. This year has been particularly difficult in that I ended up scrapping two projects because my brain didn't want to attempt to make sense of them while the rest of me was melting under the Texas sun. I even made a post here, talking about my last attempt to write something that would steer me back in the direction of serious author and well, about two dys after I wrote that blog, I had a flash of inspiration. Two months later, I have a book. And like the last six items I've written, it may be of the sci-fi/fantasy variety, but it is firmly planted in the humor category as well. Specifically, satire. Shameless Cover Plug Naturally, as I started writing what I had hoped was a one off summer brain tale of a second banana to a supervillain, ideas began to pop into my head for a second and third book, with the possibility of many more to come. This... this would not do. I'm an au...

I've got things to say. At some point, I promise, I will use this blog to sound off about something insightful. In fact, I've been meaning to post something here about owning up to the type of author I am, but alas,today is not that day. Today, I am announcing a sale: Are you ready for this? For three days, starting on Friday, September 16th, I will be offering the Kindle edition box set of my romantic sci-fi action and adventure series, The Eyes of The Sun at the crazy low price of 99¢. This deal will be a Kindle Countdown sale, which means it is only valid in the US and UK markets. Following the three day sale, the price will go up to $2.99 and then $4.99 before reverting back to the regular price of $6.99 (The UK price will only go up once to £2.99 before reverting to regular price). Visit: http://getBook.at/EyesComplete   to grab your copy! This is not a sale I plan to hold very often, if ever again,so take advantage while you can! ...

So I've decided to add this new segment to the Write On! series called Our 15 Minute Spotlight. I shouldn't have to tell you that I'm speaking of Andy Warhol's fifteen minutes of fame and not the fact that fifteen minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance, but apparently, I just did. This segment is reserved for authors who I've personally read, loved, and noticed were for one reason or another, not getting the spotlight they rightfully deserved, so I butted my big nose into their business and decided to see how I could help out. Which brings us to our first author couple: Riley and Sara Westbrook. The Westbrooks have written in a variety of genres through the (now defunct) Big World Network publisher, but as of right now, only have one complete series on Amazon in Kindle ebook format. The series is called "Breath of the Titans" and is epic fantasy, sometimes known as high fantasy, but in the case of this particular story, high may refer to...

There's a bit of advice I've seen splashed around the internet that says: if you want to accomplish your goals, don't talk about them. By talking about your goals, supposedly, you get a false sense of accomplishment and never really do anything. I'm not a fan of taking advice from random internet sources, or anyone really, so if you don't mind, I'd like to take this opportunity to talk about my current project. You see, I mentioned it last year, but I suffer from a made up syndrome called Summer Brain. When the mercury rises above 90° F, my ability to think creatively goes away. The problem with this, however, is that I try to fight it tooth and nail. You see, despite trying to project this image of a free spirit with no timetables or boss to report to, I have been chugging along on a pretty strict schedule for a while now. You probably didn't notice, but since November, I have published something every 90 days. There's a reason for this. It keeps my...

Image Credit: Steven Verdile Hi Everyone!  It's almost time for America's birthday! Last year, in celebration of all things boozy, 'splody, and book related, a ragtag group of indie authors, led by the courageous Mr. Charles Hash, got together and offered a bunch of books for free . Well, one year later, that ragtag group of twelve authors has grown into an unruly mob of nearly fifty authors! That's right, it's time for  Hash's Bash 2.0! Image Credit: C.B. Archer This year, we're pulling out all the stops. The event will run from July 1st through the 4th and we'll have nearly 100 free and discounted books! Image Credit: Marie Silk As has become a tradition, in the week leading up to the event, we like to give our potential readers a chance to get to know all of our participating authors. While the group has outgrown the interviews this time around, we have dedicated a section of the event website to author biographies and social m...

Hi Folks! Today I'm handing over the blog to Missy Sheldrake, author, artist, sculptor, and Support Indie Authors moderator. The third book in her series, Keepers of the Wellsprings, is out today and as such, she is having a huge weekend sale on the first and second book. Buy links are added below, but first, here's Missy to tell you about her series: The Keepers of the Wellsprings Series I’m excited to announce that the third book in the Keepers of the Wellsprings series, Call of Brindelier , is now available on Amazon! If you haven’t read the previous books yet, read on for a super-quick crash course. When I started writing this series, I really wanted to tell a story that was rich with fantasy, but not overly dark or mired with war and violence. I wanted to show the light side of fantasy: the cheerful, magical, uplifting side which I always drink up whenever it emerges in a story, and which always seems to be so fleeting in fantasy tales. I wanted to tell a s...

Today is Friday the 13th, a day considered unlucky by otherwise rational folks. For some, it's an excuse to stay home, avoid ladders, mirrors, and black cats. For others it's an excuse to watch cheezy horror flicks and wear hockey masks. For twenty-something me, it was an excuse to wear black lipstick, smoke clove cigarettes, and sneer about mainstream music being the devil and death is just so cool, you guys!  Ahem... Since we only get one Friday the 13th this year, I decided to honor it by posting a handful of neat little secret jokes and asides I threw into my books. Nothing below should spoil the stories they came from, but they may add insight or a giggle for those of you who might have read them. 13: None of the witches in the Discordant series had names until Bogie shouted "Geez Louise!" As soon as I typed the demon's frustration, I knew my blonde witch with the big hair had to be named Louise. I wasn't kidding when I said these stories wri...