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Showing posts with label ROLAND'S FANTABULOUS CONTEST. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ROLAND'S FANTABULOUS CONTEST. Show all posts

Thursday, September 1, 2011

THE VOTES ARE IN!!




THE VOTES ARE IN!!

And not a NO among them.

Victor and the spirit of Bruce Lee are irritatingly smug about it, of course.

THE NEW DRAW DATE for my FANTABULOUS CONTEST is

OCTOBER 1ST (October being my birth month and all.)

WRITE A REVIEW ON AMAZON ABOUT ANY OF MY eBOOKS, AND YOU RECEIVE 5 ENTRIES FOR THE CONTEST TO WIN :

A STEPHEN KING AUTOGRAPHED copy of NEEDFUL THINGS or

A DEAN KOONTZ AUTOGRAPED copy of THE TAKING or

A LAURELL K. HAMILTON AUTOGRAPHED copy of DANSE MACABRE!!

THERE WILL BE 3 WINNERS on OCTOBER 1ST.

I know many of you do not have much time. Three of my eBooks are short and not too exxpensive (99 cents) :

THE LAST SHAMAN

{Think Stephen King and Louis Lamour teaming to write their explanation of 2012.}

LET THE WIND BLOW THROUGH YOU

{Not unlike what Louis Lamour and Raymond Chandler might have written if they tried for a GODFATHER tale with a bit of ROMEO & JULIET thrown in.}

BLOOD WILL TELL

{What if STEPHEN KING visited the blood center in which I work and wrote an alien invasion tale certain to have you never donating blood or sleeping sound again.}

I'm not saying you should read and review those particular novels of mine -- just that they are affordable and short.
***

This just in : John Locke paves new road for self-published

It seems that perhaps John Locke has paved the way for us Indie Published Authors in a new way by signing with Simon & Schuster :

John Locke is not giving up any rights. He has not signed a “publishing” deal, but a distribution deal.

He will remain the publisher of the print editions. Simon & Schuster will distribute them. And he retains complete control of the digital editions –

no deal has been struck there.

Rather than abandoning the indie path, John Locke has leveraged his huge self-publishing sales to strike a highly unusual print deal.

It’s extremely rare for a publisher –

especially a major player like Simon & Schuster – to sign a “print only” deal of any kind. The reason for this is obvious: print is in decline and digital is exploding.

Normally, a print deal will involve the publisher licensing the rights to sell your book, for which they pay you royalties (and often an advance on royalties) in return.

This is very different. Essentially, as Mike Shatzkin points out, John Locke is hiring Simon & Schuster to distribute his books.

Details are scant at the moment. I don’t know if John Locke is paying them a percentage for their distribution services, or a flat fee, and I don’t know who is going to cover things like printing costs.

Either way, this is a fine deal for John Locke, and a progressive approach from Simon & Schuster.

They get a piece of the print action from a bankable self-publisher who was unwilling to sign a traditional publishing deal, and he gets access to the vast majority of readers who haven’t made the switch to e-books yet.

Everyone will make money out of this. Which is why it won’t be the last deal of its kind.

Many successful self-publishers aren’t interested in a traditional deal which forces them to give up the vast majority of their digital royalties.

Indeed, many of those who signed with Amazon’s imprints said that they wouldn’t have signed with anyone else, with the vastly increased digital royalties on offer being a major factor.

There position is understandable. They have built up a huge readership own their own, and they are loathe to hand that over to a publisher for a small slice of the digital pie.

Even though the vast majority of readers are still in print, self-publishers know which way the market is headed,

and often don’t want to be locked into a deal with poor digital royalty rates just to gain access to print readers (whose numbers will continue to fall).

If this deal is a watershed,

if the large publishers are now prepared to sign print-only deals, or distribution-only deals, there will be a lot of self-publishers interested.

It makes sense for publishers too –

at least in the short term. They have control of the print distribution network, and they can produce quality physical books at low prices.

They also know that the very best self-publishers are experts in targeting their readers, and selling to them.

Interesting, Roland

***

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

TIME TO VOTE







TIME TO VOTE!




SO FAR THE "YES" VOTES ARE AHEAD.


WHICH MEANS OUR PLATFORM BUILDERS FRIENDS WILL HAVE MORE TIME TO ENTER


MY FANTABULOUS CONTEST in which by writing a review of one of my books on AMAZON you could win :


NEEDFUL THINGS autographed by STEPHEN KING


or


THE TAKING autographed by DEAN KOONTZ


or


DANSE MACABRE autographed by LAURELL K. HAMILTON!



There will be THREE WINNERS.


You could be one of them.


Should I delay the drawing to allow the Platform Builders a fair chance?


YES or NO?

Making a black and white silent movie now takes courage. I will go see it, for it seems to have heart and creativity.
***

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

VOTE NOW!









Victor Standish here.

So there I was : downing ice teas with the Sensei (that's the Spirit of Bruce Lee to you, guys) and Roland.

We'd worked up a little thirst from practicing Wing Chun for an hour.

{I'd made the mistake of asking Sensei how Wing Chun was different from Jeet Kune Do. I'd forgotten that for him, the best explanation was action.}

And after a small sip of green tea, Sensei told Roland he was being unfair.

You know how big a softie Roland is, so he was all "What? How? When?"

"All these new visitors you have invited to your blog ...."

"The Platform Builder Guys and Gals, right?," I smiled.

Sensei did not smile back. He doesn't like to be interrupted.

"That is right, Victor. They have just arrived to hear about a contest for autographs that is about to end without giving them fair time to read, review, and enter."

Roland said, "I can see your point, but what can I do?"

"Postpone the drawing until say ... the Ides of September."

Roland rubbed his face. "I don't know how my long-time friends will feel about that."

I jumped in (Roland's more forgiving about being interrupted than the Sensei.) "Why not hold a vote Tuesday and Wednesday, letting everyone who visits you decide."

Sensei nodded. "That is a fine idea, Victor."

His eyes sparkled. "For once."

So there you have it, guys. It's up to you. Postpone the drawing (Yes) or Hold it at the regular time (No)

It's up to you. C'mon. Don't let me down in front of the Sensei!

YES or NO?
***


Saturday, August 27, 2011

THE FINAL WEEKEND!!

Now, that I have your attention!THIS IS THE FINAL WEEKEND TO ENTER!!

JUST WRITE A REVIEW OF ONE OF MY BOOKS


ON AMAZON ...


AND YOU GET 5 ENTRIES TO WIN EITHER :


NEEDFUL THINGS autographed by STEPHEN KING!


THE TAKING autographed by DEAN KOONTZ!!


DANSE MACABRE autographed by LAURELL K. HAMILTON!!!


The drawing for the three winners will be held on SEPTEMBER 1ST!!!





***

Sunday, August 21, 2011

THE COST OF YOUR CHOICES

There is a cost to your choices.

Take my FANTABULOUS CONTEST!

ONLY 10 MORE DAYS LEFT!

Just write a review on Amazon of one of my books and you could win :

NEEDFUL THINGS autographed by STEPHEN KING!

THE TAKING autographed by DEAN KOONTZ!

DANSCE MACABRE autographed by LAURELL K. HAMILTON!

Let these 10 days slip by. OUCH! You've lost your chance to win.


THEN ...

There is the cost of what you choose to do with your life ...

Few actors go to the movies. For one thing ... like seamtresses, they can see the seams in each part of what makes up the movie.

In like manner, writers tend to see the seams, too.

I've been reading Jim Butcher's GHOST STORY ... and I'm seeing the seams.

He wanted to write epic S.F. and Space Fantasy. He backed into Harry Dresden.

I think he wants out, just wrapping up loose ends and going through the motions. But when a great writer goes through the motions, he can still tell a great story.

The seams just show.

In the beginning, you can see him pushing against the inertia of his heart not being in the novel :

He stretches the beginning as if forcing himself to write.

He introduces new characters, putting off bringing in the family of characters that the reader has been worried about since the cliff-hanger ending of the last novel.

He's almost a fourth of the way into the book, and he is just now getting to the stuff loyal fans have been waiting to find out.

You lose readers like that.

Eric, a friend at work, tossed the book, saying, "He's lost it. He's just writing to fulfil a contract."

GHOST STORY took months and months longer than was promised. I can see why. The fire is gone.

The story is building momentum finally. But I feel like I've been pushing a stalled car with Jim.

Have you ever felt like that with a writer? Has your enjoyment of the read been spoiled by spotting the seams, by being chilled by the lost fire of the author?

That has been said of Charlaine Harris. I gave up on the Sookie Stackhouse books a few titles ago.

Tell me of your similar experiences.
***

Sunday, August 14, 2011

ONLY 17 DAYS LEFT!!!





ONLY 17 DAYS LEFT!!!

Just write a review on Amazon on one of my books,

and you get FIVE entries into my FANTABULOUS CONTEST to win

an autographed copy of

NEEDFUL THINGS

THE TAKING

DANSE MACABRE!

How cool is that? KING. KOONTZ. HAMILTON.

What a trio!

ONLY 17 DAYS LEFT!
***

Saturday, August 13, 2011

ONLY 2 WEEKS LEFT!! __ I HATE YOU entry encore _ I HATE YOU AS ONLY THE UNDEAD CAN HATE















ONLY TWO WEEKS LEFT!!

Actually 18 days left to write a review of one of my books on Amazon to enter ...

ROLAND'S FANTABULOUS CONTEST!!!

See? Even Megan Fox is writing a review.

(Of FRENCH QUARTER NOCTURNE by the way. She wants to play evil Maija or the revenant, Empress Theodora, or the ghost of Meilori just so long as she gets to play a scene where she kills Speilberg!)

Just think you may actually win an autographed copy of NEEDFUL THINGS, the last Castle Rock story. Someone has to win it. Why not you?

Sandra has already told me that if Megan Fox enters the contest, she is not letting me in the same room as the jar of entries! Sigh.
***


I HATE YOU blogfest entry : I HATE YOU AS ONLY THE UNDEAD CAN HATE!

http://tessasblurb.blogspot.com/

[From the soon-to-be published, THE LEGEND OF VICTOR STANDISH :

Victor Standish and his Victorian ghoul friend, Alice Wentworth, have survived more horrors than a Stephen King movie. Almost. It seems Victor has died saving his hero, Sam McCord.

The ANGEL OF DEATH has come for him. Despite his protests to save her, Alice insists on coming along, as do Father Renfield and the mysterious Sister Magda. They are standing at the head of the stairs leading down to the haunted jazz club, Meilori's] :


Everybody and their cousin could read my mind it seemed. Now, it was time to use it for me instead of it being used against me. I focused all the will I had and thought at Father Renfeild :

‘Now, Padre, now! Hold Alice. Hold her tight!’

“Ow, lad,” he snapped. “You didn’t have to shout.”

Alice frowned, “I heard noth ….”

She yelped as Renfield grabbed her from behind. Magda added her arms around Alice, too. I smiled bitterly. My girl sure struggled just the same. Then, she stabbed me with her words as I raced down the stairs.

“I hate you for this, Victor. I HATE YOU!”

She screamed, "I trusted you! Trusted! Do you know how hard that was for me after all these years?"

My steps slowed. "Yes, now you realize what you have done. I hate you, Victor. I hate you as only the undead can hate. I hate you so that there is no pity, no compassion, no ghost of the love you have killed by doing this! My hate will burn long, LONG after you die. I HATE YOU, VICTOR STANDISH!"

I stopped halfway down the steps and slowly turned to Alice, her neon blue eyes flaring and said, “D-Don’t let those be the last words I hear you say, Alice. P-Please.”

Black tears streamed from her strange eyes as she stiffened as if I had stabbed her as she mewed, “Dolt, imbecile, moron, dunce! Of course, I love you.”

I smiled despite my heart breaking. “I like it when you talk dirty to me, Alice.”

She whimpered, then managed to squeak out the words, “You are Victor Standish, and you will find a way back to me.”


***