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Post-Apocalypse and our Fear of the Unknown

WolfenA brief announcement before I begin this week’s post: Wolfen is well on the way with edits, and doing great! I should have a release date to share in the coming weeks, so stay tuned! =)

Having said that, and on counsel of my editor and betas, I have amended the genre classification for Wolfen from Horror to Post-Apocalypse (which, at least on one storefront is filed under Horror, so I’m not sure how much difference it will make, but there you have it). This is because as shudder-worthy as many scenes in the book are, none of us felt it was frightening enough as a whole to warrant a full horror standing. I blame Aiden’s relentless sense of humor. The guy just can’t take anything seriously for most of the book…

Anyway, this got me thinking, because Post-Apocalypse seems to be all the rage these days, especially in YA fiction, and often combined with dystopian themes, and it kind of begs the question why? Contrary to the bandwagon theory which suggests authors hop on to make a buck, I don’t think that is the case. I think the theme is one that is on everyone’s mind these days, world wide, at least in some subconscious capacity. Again, why? Well, in my humble opinion…

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David vs. Goliath: The Fight Spills Out

Dear readers, This will be a controversial post. I wasn’t going to get further involved, but I’ve been dragged into the debate willy nilly, so I am speaking out, come what may. You may have already seen some of this on my Facebook Note, but here’s a bit more background on it. This post is the result of a series of saddening events that happened very close together. First, yesterday evening, I read this Yahoo article which waxed lyrical about why Amazon should be allowed to set eBook prices for authors and publishers. Hmm… do they also set prices for other products sold in their marketplace? One wonders… Then I read one of the comments to this article, a small-minded, vindictive… Read More »David vs. Goliath: The Fight Spills Out

David vs. Goliath: From Where The Author Sits

This is the type of post I don’t like writing. Mainly because I hate to be the bearer of bad news. I am writing it now because this issue is something everyone should be paying attention to, readers, publishers, and authors alike. This morning I did my usual rounds of news-checking, which includes reading the Smashwords blog. If you get a chance, give this article on Amazon vs. Hachette a read. It’ll be an eye-opening experience.

A quick recap: Amazon is trying to lower the royalty rates it pays to Hachette publishing house. Hachette does not want to agree. The negotiations have led to some pretty nasty practices by Amazon to list Hachette titles as out of stock, advertising “similar books at lower prices”, etc. Basically, here’s what you need to know:

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On Readers and Reading

Read1 I had a plan today. It was to sit my behind down at a computer and get in a solid word count for Wolfen. I am so close to the finish line I can smell it. But while I was doing my daily social media rounds, I came across an article that completely derailed my train of thought. It was about reading, and the decline in male readership. If you have a few minutes to spare, I encourage you to check it out here. The statistics and survey responses are really something.

So my plan changed. Instead of writing a chapter or two, I came here to write a blog. But what’s a blog without pictures? Therefore, in a separate tab, I opened a stock image site and did a quick search for “reading.” Here’s what I found:

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DIYDay Lesson 17: Swag

Greetings and salutations! I know you’ve all been itching for more of these lessons, so I figured the next step on our DIY journey is author swag. If you are just tuning in, I strongly suggest you check out the previous DIY posts which can be found here. There is a sort of method to my madness and it makes more sense when followed from the beginning. 🙂 And now on to swag. What is it? Swag is an industry term for promotional materials and giveaway items related to the author and his/her books. The first thing you need to know about swag is it costs money. Yes. Sadly, the old adage is true. There is no such thing as… Read More »DIYDay Lesson 17: Swag

Baby It’s Cold Outside And You’ve Got Work To Do!

Hello and welcome to the first Just Romance BlogHop of 2014! If you’re just joining us, you can check out all the participating authors from the beginning by clicking the picture below: [gigya src=’http://justromance.me/bloghop.swf’ quality=’high’ wmode=’transparent’ width=’250′ height=’21’ bgcolor=’#ffffff’ lan=’en’ allowScriptAccess=’always’ flashvars=’url=https://justromance.me/jrmbloghops.php?hop=coldoutside&author=aliannedonnelly’] And now here’s my contribution to the warm chills and heated shivers: An excerpt from my latest release, The Royal Wizard. Winter days are perfect for getting cozy and learning a little magic, wouldn’t you agree? 😉 * * * * * Concentrate * * * * * “Listen until you hear everything. Every movement of the air as you breathe, every beat of your heart, the hum of the candle flame, the chatter of mice…everything.” Saeran shifted… Read More »Baby It’s Cold Outside And You’ve Got Work To Do!

12 Days of Christmas Contest Winners and #Wolfen Excerpt

The contest is officially over! And the winners are…. 1st Place: $50 Amazon Gift Card – Heather Vargas 2nd Place: Autographed print copy of The Royal Wizard and bronze dragon head pendant – Logan Keys 3rd Place: Autographed print copy of The Beast Series and metal rose pendant – Kimberly Grenfell One Random Winner: The complete Blood Series in eBook format of winner’s choice – Yuri Bellamy    Congratulations to all the winners! And now on to more fun stuff… For those of you itching for more of Wolfen, you might notice there are three brand new wallpapers available on the downloads page with quotes from the book. Full screen and widescreen versions are posted, just click on the size… Read More »12 Days of Christmas Contest Winners and #Wolfen Excerpt

(Mis)Adventures in Marketing the Me

I didn’t have a DIYDay post in me this week. I don’t feel qualified to “teach” on this subject since I suck at it. But I am learning. For example, I have learned that a well-made graphic will draw thousands of eager eyes. A graphic is like the three-second window into YOU, which has massive appeal in today’s world of  overstimulation, information overload and short attention spans. We can’t help it. We’re all busy people! We no longer have 30 seconds for the elevator pitch, there are too many of them vying for our attention. Give us something worth looking at, do a double take, and then come back to find out more. An invaluable lesson learned: A site banner… Read More »(Mis)Adventures in Marketing the Me