Scattered: KDP and Free Promotion!

So, I have been looking into removing Scattered from KDP's select program.  As apart of the publishing program, I have to keep that specific work exclusive to Amazon.  There is nothing wrong with exclusivity if you have a killer marketing team or great promotional skills.  However, I feel that exclusivity has its drawbacks.

For one, your work only appeals to those with Kindles or Kindle apps.  Now, I happen to know that the Kindle app is very popular among android users.  That is a plus, but I have found that I receive the most sales from Barnes and Noble, not Amazon.  While being enrolled in KDP Select is supposed to change that, giving you work more exposure, it hasn't for me.  I made it onto a list of highest downloaded shorts with a mere 24 downloads.  That is nothing compared to the readership on Barnes and Noble.

Another drawback is that on Amazon your work has to be sold at a price.  I prefer my short stories to be free, but in order to do that, I have to space promotions that last only 5 days over a few months.  My short stories allow readers to get to know my writing style and so they become promotional tools within themselves.  If people like my shorter works, they are more likely to buy my novels; however, if I can't give them away for free, it defeats the purpose.  I do like that if I post this particular short to other outlets, Amazon should have a price match, making it fee on their site permanently.

Looking into my arrangement with KDP Select, I can place Scattered on Smashwords and other outlets in August where it will be FREE!!!  Right now, I decided to use my five days of free promotion.  So, from 5/22/15 to 5/26/15 Scattered will be available to download for FREE on Amazon.com.  Please take advantage if you are interested in reading it.  Otherwise, the next time you will see it free is in August.  Click the link below tomorrow for a free download.

Link: SCATTERED on Amazon

Updated Overboard Short Story Trailer

Hello, everyone.

As you know, I have been updating trailers and decided that the Overboard trailer would be next.  I have been working on it all day.  I wasn't happy with the original trailer, but at the time, didn't know what images to use or if I should create custom artwork for a short story.  In the beginning, I didn't put as much effort in the artwork for my shorts as I did my novels.  But now is the time to make something interesting.  Check it out.

OLD

NEW

I will keep the old trailers posted online, but for my website and Smashwords, I inserted the new trailer.  Also, the trailer says that the books is available on Amazon, but it is not yet.  Smashwords was working on a deal to post work on Amazon, but they have taken years.  I just might post them up myself, but I am not sure how to make them free on that site.  We'll see...

Download Scattered Free!

Hi, everyone.

From today until the 3rd of April, Scattered will be FREE on Amazon.com to download.  This opportunity comes around once every few months where I am able to put it up on Amazon for free.  It is not something they offer for more than five days at a time.  There have been people who work around it.  I have, personally, not figured out a way how I can do that for a work I want to post exclusively on Amazon.  If you have any suggestions, please post or forward them to me.

Scattered is a psychological thriller/murder mystery.  I am so proud of it.  I really believe it is one of my best works.  Give it a try and please share your thoughts by adding a review to Amazon.

Thank you!

Q/A: Are certain literary themes 'played out"?

Q: Are certain literary themes "played out"?

A: NO! I am a firm believer of writing what you love, regardless of the trends.

Why? Because like all trends, they come and they go. A few years ago angel books were all the rage. I read my share of handsome fallen angels, which were somehow really good at heart, that fell in love with the young protagonist. I read about three of those kinds of books when they were in style.

I read Fallen by Lauren Kate which was definitely not for me. I found all the babbling about how cute the love interest was in every chapter annoying. Plus, there were a lot of plot elements that didn't work for me. I read the Maximum Ride Series by James Patterson which I liked a lot. The first book was intriguing. By the time I got to the third book, it was less so. Lastly, I read, Indie author, Abra Ebner's Feather Trilogy. At first, I wasn't sure I was going to like novel. I was a few chapters in when I realized the first book was actually a page turner. I ended up liking it very much. Yet, before long, I was looking for something else....

The next trend was dystopian novels. While I like novels where the classic utopian society takes a downturn, I found myself looking for new novels that went against the grain. I wanted to read about witches, vampires, werewolves, and supernatural worlds. In other words, I found myself wanting to read something different from where the trend was going.

During this time, I re-read the Wicked Series by Nancy Holder which happens to be one of my favorites. It is about a battle between a family of witches and a powerful warlock. The first four books were awesome. I was not too pleased with the final book, but it was still worth reading. I read the whole Sookie Stackhouse Series, because I was a huge fan of True Blood. (Last season was horrible though). I also made a point to read, my favorite author ever, Richie Tankersley Cusick's Walk of the Spirits. It was basically about a girl who can see spirits and has to unlock the mystery of what happened to one who continues to plead for help. I liked it, but not as much as I loved her Unseen Series. I mean, I actually ordered the series before it was available in the U.S., having it shipped from the U.K. That series is about a demon who is in pursuit of a girl who it becomes obsessed with, killing everyone she is close to. Interesting, huh? I love Ms. Cusick's writing so much that I purchased all of her novels from my teenage years and read them again!

What can be learned by my reading habits? Well, as you can see, I read what I like. So, a trend can steer your writing choices, but it doesn't always translate to an instant audience. Odds are, when there so many books of one genre, a reader will be looking for a book that is different. Don't worry that the vampire or werewolf thing has been done before, because trends rotate like the earth...they always come back around.

Shattered

Hi, everyone.

I just wanted to give everyone an update. I have finished Scattered and sent it off to my editor. Hopefully, the story is cohesive enough for magazine submissions. If not, I am in for some rewrites. So, while one manuscript is being edited, I have begun another. I have started writing Shattered which is my new short that will be released to the public for FREE via all major online bookstores. It feels really good to write new characters and to put these ideas, which have been floating in my head for quite some time, onto paper. So, to tease you a bit of what is to come. I posted the first scene below as well as the books blurb.

Thanks and continue to leave those awesome reviews!



Identical twins, Miranda and Nastasia Moralez, couldn’t be more different. Being the head of the cheerleading team, Natasia is the most popular girl in the school. Miranda is not, taking photographs in her spare time for the school paper. Life is normal until a tragic accident takes the life of one twin. Miranda quickly realizes that the car crash that took her sister’s life was no accident. It was planned. Now, Miranda has to find out who wanted her sister dead before she succumbs to the same fate.

Story Excerpt (Unedited):

The impact was enough to throw my body up against the steering wheel, knocking the breath out of my lungs with a single blunt force. The sound of my ribs cracking echoed through my ears like the sound of branches breaking in a silent forest. Opening my mouth to scream, both in pain and panic, my voice was silenced by my own fear, blocking my airway like an obstruction.

Without warning, there was a turning and a sound of metal being crushed like a tin can under a great weight. Within an instant, my world spun around as if I was in a blender, cracking all the glass windows. Then the splintered windshield shattered. Small pieces of  glass rained on me like drops of water suspended in air. Each shard was as sharp as a dagger, stabbing me all over my body.

My head and shoulder hit the roof of the car as it slammed into the asphalt. Whimpering, I fought to regain control of my body, but when the car turned a final time, my forehead crashed into the steering wheel. The force was so great my head ricocheted off, causing the back of my head to hit the car seat. With my body beaten and broken, I could not move to shelter myself from the blows.

When the car came to a complete stop, it was on its side. The hideous shrieking of metal rubbing on asphalt evaporated into the air, and I was left in utter silence. Struggling to breathe, I managed to cry out for help before I lost consciousness and drifted off into nothingness....

Lament Update

So, I just finished writing Lament, and I will be sending it to my editor tomorrow. After her careful review and the changes that I need to make, I hope to have it in stores by next week. If that is not feasible, than it will be released the following week. So, please leave feedback in the "WIN A FREE COPY OF LAMENT" blog post, because I will be picking a winner really soon.

Thanks for all of your positive feedback on Barnes and Noble, Goodreads, and other sites. I do try to read them, and take everything into account. So keep posting!

Bookmarks and Wallpapers

Hello, everyone.

I just posted a new bookmark on my site for Wicked Magic. "The quote is something that I plan to add to the novel. It is something Willow will say about Nalin to justify her search for him.

I plan to add more bookmarks and wallpapers in the future for all my works. I have many ideas and I will hopefully have the time to execute them in the near future.

Stay posted to this blog and my website to see all the things I will be adding to my website.

Thanks!

Published Overboard!!!

For all of those that have been anxiously awaiting, I published Overboard last night on Smashwords and Feedbooks for FREE. It should be on Barnes and Noble and other sites within a few weeks.


I hope everyone enjoys this short story even though it is quite different from the others. This one is a psychological thriller which I first thought up when I was in the fifth grade. After a failed attempt at writing it, I finally decided to give it another go, and I am happy I did.


Thanks, everyone!